Jun 16, 2017 PIB

IASbaba Press Information Bureau (PIB)- 7th May to 13th May , 2017

IASbaba Press Information Bureau (PIB) – 7th May to 13th May 2017 ARCHIVES GS-1 Centenary Celebrations of Bharat Sevashram Sangha (Topic: Art and Culture) About: Bharat Sevashram Sangha is a Hindu charitable non-governmental organisation in India, headquarters at Kolkata. It was founded in 1917 by Acharya Srimat Swami Pranavanandaji Maharaj. The Sangha has hundreds of ashrams in India and other countries including the United Kingdom, United States, Guyana, Canada, Fiji and Bangladesh. Work The Sangha has responded to natural calamities in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa states, the Bengal famine of 1943, the Bhopal disaster, the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. At times of political unrest such as the Partition of India, the Sangha has set up refugee camps and war evacuee camps in the border areas. Celebrating Buddha Purnima (Topic: Art and Culture) About: The Buddha Jayanti falls on the Vaisakha Purnima, that is, on the full moon day of the month of Vaisakha according to the Indian lunar calendar. This is the most important occasion for Buddhists celebrating the Gautama Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and Mahaparinirvana on the same day. In the first meeting of “World Fellowship of Buddhist” held at Colombo, Sri Lanka in May 1950, it was decided to commemorate Vaisakha Purnima as the Buddha’s thrice blessed day. Buddha Purnima is also celebrated as Waisak Day or Vesak Day. A brief look India is the origin of many world religions including the Buddhism. Buddha’s entire events of like took place in India. The advent of the Buddha Sakyamuni in 6th century BCE brought a radical reformation in the culture of philosophy and spirituality in the India. His teaching of Karuna, compassion, and Maitri, loving kindness, give an equal perspective towards all sentient beings including human beings within which no classes are allowed. With the philosophy of dependent origination and practice of non-violence rooted in love and compassion, Buddhism made immense contribution to the culture of peace. To promote Buddhism, GoI organized the 2500th anniversary of Buddha’s Mahaparinirvana as international mega event in 1956. Nava Nalanda Mahavihara was established in 1951 in Nalanda, Bihar to revive the ancient seat of learning in Nalanda. In 1959, Central Institute of Buddhist Studies was established in Leh, Laddhak. In 1968, Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies was established for the promotion of Buddhist and Tibetan studies. Central Institute of Himalayan Culture Studies, Dahung, Arunachal Pradesh was established in 2003. In 2010 Nalanda University was established at Rajgir to recreate the Ancient centre of Wisdom. India has enshrined the dharma wheel of Buddhism on the national flag. Celebrations around the world Home to 255 million Buddhists — the world’s largest Buddhist population — China sees one of the most widespread celebrations. Most of the action revolves around Buddhist temples, where people light incense and leave offerings. In South Korea, the holiday comes to life in a Lotus Lantern festival, best viewed at Seoul’s Jogyesa Temple. In Sri Lanka, people decorate their homes with paper lanterns. Colombo’s Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple hosts a colorful Vesak Day festival. In Ipoh, Malaysia, Buddhist devotees practice the ritual of “Sunning Buddha.” Also at Enlightened Heart Tibetan Buddhist temple, monks place a sacred Tibetan Buddhist painting — called a “Thangka” — in the sun to absorb its powers. In Nepal, thousands of Buddhists flock to Lumbini, his birthplace, where they donate supplies to disadvantaged communities and pay tribute to monasteries. GS-2 India elected to head UN-Habitat, the United Nations’ Human Settlements Programme (Topic: International Relations) About: UN Habitat came into being in 1978. It promotes socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements across the world. UN-Habitat reports to the United Nations General Assembly. As an inter-governmental policy making and decision making body, the Governing Council of UN-Habitat seeks to promote integral and comprehensive approach to human settlements, assist the countries and regions in addressing human settlement problems and strengthen cooperation among all countries on human settlement issue. India will be leading the organisation for third time after heading it in 1988 and 2007. India will be the President of the Governing Council for the next two years. The theme of the 26th Meeting of the Governing Council is “Opportunities for effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda”. The New Urban Agenda was adopted by the world community at Quito, Ecuador in 2016. Real Estate Act comes into force from 1st May 2017 (Topic: Govt Acts and Policies) About: With Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act,2016 coming into force, it involves regulation of real estate sector involving over 76,000 companies across the county. From now, developers shall get all the ongoing projects that have not received Completion Certificate and the new projects registered with Regulatory Authorities within three months i.e by July end. This enables the buyers to enforce their rights and seek redressal of grievances after such registration. The Act ushers in the much desired accountability, transparency and efficiency in the sector with the Act defining the rights and obligations of both the buyers and developers. Some of the major provisions of the Act, besides mandatory registration of projects and Real Estate Agents include: Depositing 70% of the funds collected from buyers in a separate bank account in case of new projects and 70% of unused funds in case of ongoing projects; Projects with plot size of minimum 500 sq.mt or 8 apartments shall be registered with Regulatory Authorities; Both developers and buyers to pay the same penal interest of SBI’s Marginal Cost of Lending Rate plus 2% in case of delays; Liability of developers for structural defects for five years; and Imprisonment of up to three years for developers and up to one year in case of agents and buyers for violation of orders of Appellate Tribunals and Regulatory Authorities. Stats: As per industry information, between 2011 and 2015, real estate projects in the range of 2,349 to 4,488 projects were launched every year amounting to a total of 17,526 projects with a total investment of Rs.13.70 lakh cr in 27 cities including 15 State capitals. About ten lakh buyers invest every year with the dream of owning a house. Launch of “One IP- Two Dispensaries” and “Aadhaar Based Online Claim Submission” Schemes on International Labour Day (Topic: Issues related to health) About: One IP- Two Dispensaries– ESIC has given an option to an Insured Person (IP) to choose two dispensaries, one for self and another for family through an employer. This will benefit all IPs, especially migrant workers who are working in other than home State, while their families are living in their native States. Because of non-availability of option of second dispensary, the dependant members of family are often deprived of medical benefits. Aadhaar based Online Claim Submission- all EPF Members who have activated their UAN and seeded their KYC (Aadhaar) with EPFO will be able to apply for PF final settlement (form19), Pension withdrawal benefit (Form10-C) and PF part withdrawal (Form31) from the their UAN Interface directly. The three forms collectively form more than 80% of EPFO’s claim workload. VIDYA VEERTA ABHIYAN (Topic: HRD) About: Ministry of Human Resource Development to encourage varsities to display portraits of Param Veer Chakra-decorated soldiers to instill sense of “nationalism” and “patriotism” among the students. MHA advisory to States/UTs on Prison Reforms (Topic: Govt Acts and Policies) About: The 5th National Conference of Head of Prisons of States and UTs on Prison Reforms was held in September 2016. Some important resolutions were adopted for guidance and implementation by the State/UT Prison authorities The nomenclature of ‘Prisons Department’ may be changed to “Prisons and Correctional Administration”, which should have integrated prison, correctional and probation services. Every State should establish a Welfare Wing under Prison Department comprising Welfare Officers, Law Officers, Counselors and Probation Officers. To ensure basic uniformity, all States and Union Territories should revise their existing Prison Manuals by adopting the provisions of Model Prison Manual, 2016 The Prisons should be linked with Courts through video conferencing for expeditious trial and to save costs in escorting under-trials to the Courts. The existing vacancies in all ranks of Prison Departments to be filled up expeditiously. Prison e-system should be integrated with Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) as well as e-Courts on priority basis. Combined training of Prison, Police, Health Department and Judiciary on under-trial Management to be conducted periodically. The States and UTs have been advised to make concerted efforts to implement the same in a time bound manner, which will go a long way in alleviating the condition of prison inmates and bring the desired improvement in prison administration. GS-3 29th India- Indonesia Co-Ordinated Patrol (Corpat) (Topic: S&T) Objective: Apart from securing the trade sea route, the Coordinated Patrol also serves to enhance mutual understanding and inter–operability between the two navies of Indonesia and India. The CORPAT thus reflects the shared concerns between the two countries for a peaceful Indian Ocean for the benefit of international community. The close defence relations between India and Indonesia have been growing steadily with regular joint activities and exchanges of personnel between the Armed Forces of the two countries. Under the broad ambit of this strategic partnership, Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) and the Indian Navy have been carrying out coordinated patrolling twice a year since 2002 near the International Maritime Boundary Line to keep this part of the Indian Ocean region safe and secure for commercial shipping and international trade. Project “LOcal Treatment of Urban Sewage Streams for Healthy Reuse) (LOTUS HR) (Topic: Environment) About: LOcal Treatment of Urban Sewage Streams for Healthy Reuse (LOTUS HR) is an Indo-Netherlands joint project funded by Department of Biotechnology(DBT), Govt of india and NWO/STW, The Govt of Netherlands. Aims To demonstrate a novel holistic (waste-) water management approach, that will produce clean water that can be reused for various proposes (e.g. industry, agriculture, construction etc.), while simultaneously recovering nutrients and energy from the urban waste water, thus converting drain into profitable mines. Special attention will be paid to pathogen removal and removing conventional and emerging pollutants. Special attention will be paid to pathogen removal and removing conventional and emerging pollutants. From the early start of the project, end-users (municipality, DDA, DJB, NGO’s, and companies like Shell, Hydrorock, Nijhuis, Berson, etc.) will be engaged in design at the pilot location as well as in formulation of specific research sub-questions. This will facilitate rapid adoption of the Water Resuse safety plan and the newly developed products. DBT in consultation with DDA has identified the Barapullah drain, Sarai Kale Khan, in the state of Delhi for setting up on-site experimental testing lab and for the establishment of a pilot plant. Department of Telecom (DoT) Launches Tarang Sanchar (Topic: S&T) About: It is a web portal for Information sharing on Mobile Towers and EMF Emission Compliances. It will help in clearing the myths and misconceptions of public on mobile towers and emissions from them. There are over 25,000 studies by WHO in the last 30 years on the subject and there is no proof that EMF radiation has any harmful effect on human health. In future, it will help in identifying the blind spots and it is also environment friendly as no paper work is required for this. For realising the vision of Digital India, it is necessary to have more and more mobile towers in every nook and corner of the country as mobile phone today has become an essential requirement for all including the poor in the remotest corner of the country The portal will allow users to get a tower or base station checked for radiation emission, for a fee of Rs 4,000. The portal also has ‘EMF Overview’ and ‘Learn’ Sections, which provide numerous articles, booklets and videos, to further educate the citizens about EMF and coverage of telecom services. In addition to Government to Citizen (G2C) services, portal also facilitates Government to Business (G2B) service delivery in a transparent and eco-friendly manner. National Steel Policy 2017 (Topic: Growth and Development) About: Union Cabinet has given its approval for National Steel Policy (NSP) 2017 which enshrines the long term vision of the Government to give impetus to the steel sector. NSP 2017 seeks to enhance domestic steel consumption, ensure high quality steel production and create a technologically advanced and globally competitive steel industry. Key features of the NSP 2017: Create self-sufficiency in steel production by providing policy support & guidance to private manufacturers, MSME steel producers, CPSEs Encourage adequate capacity additions Development of globally competitive steel manufacturing capabilities Cost-efficient production Domestic availability of iron ore, coking coal & natural gas Facilitating foreign investment Asset acquisitions of raw materials Enhancing the domestic steel demand Highlights Indian steel sector has grown rapidly over the past few years (Production in 2016-17= 100 MT) It is third largest steel producer globally, contributing to about 2% of the country’s GDP. NSP 2017 aspires to achieve 300MT of steel-making capacity by 2030. It seeks to increase consumption of steel and major segments are infrastructure, automobiles and housing. Steel Ministry will facilitate R&D in the sector through the establishment of Steel Research and Technology Mission of India (SRTMI). With the roll out of the National Steel Policy-2017, it is envisaged that the industry will be steered in creating an environment for promoting domestic steel and thereby ensuring a scenario where production meets the anticipated pace of growth in consumption. Background Steel is one of the most important products in the modern world and forms the backbone to any industrial economy. The sector is of strategic importance to India due to its extensive application right from construction, infrastructure, power, aerospace and industrial machinery to consumer products. Owing to the strategic importance of the sector along with the need to have a robust and restructured policy in present scenario, the new NSP, 2017 became imminent. Though, National Steel Policy 2005 sought to indicate ways and means of consolidating the gains flowing out of the then economic order and charted out a road map for sustained and efficient growth of the Indian steel industry, it required adaptation in view of the recent developments unfolding in India and also worldwide. SAMPADA (Scheme For Agro-Marine Processing And Development Of Agro-Processing Clusters) (Topic: Agriculture) About: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for re-structuring the schemes of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) under new Central Sector Scheme – SAMPADA for 2016-20 coterminous with the 14th Finance Commission cycle. The objective of SAMPADA is to supplement agriculture, modernize processing and decrease agri-waste. SAMPADA is an umbrella scheme incorporating ongoing schemes of the Ministry like Mega Food Parks, Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure, Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure, etc. It now also includes new schemes of Infrastructure for Agro-processing Clusters, Creation of Backward and Forward Linkages and Creation / Expansion of Food Processing & Preservation Capacities. The implementation of SAMPADA will result in creation of modern infrastructure with efficient supply chain management from farm gate to retail outlet.

Jun 15, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs 15th June, 2017

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 15th June 2017 Archives NATIONAL/SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY TOPIC: General Studies 2 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests. India and its neighborhood‐ relations. General Studies 3 Science and Technology‐ developments and their applications and effects in everyday life Awareness in the fields of IT, Space Can Big Data Analytics lead to eColonisation of India: What is Big Data? Big Data, as the term implies, refers to the storage of unusually large magnitude of data in electronic form (order of terabytes and higher). Big Data in itself hold no significance. It is the big Data analysis enabled by increased computational capability & tools which gives us useful insights. How does Big Data work? Big Data works on the principle that the more you know about anything or any situation, the more reliably you can gain new insights and make predictions about what will happen in the future. By comparing more data points, relationships will begin to emerge that were previously hidden, and these relationships will enable us to learn and inform our decisions. What is unique about Big Data Technology (BDT) is the scale at which this data collection can take place. For instance, Google has stored petabytes of information about billions of people and their online browsing habits. Similarly, Facebook and Amazon have collected information about social networks. Significance of big data analytics : Throws surprising trends which would be otherwise hard to detect. For example, This year Economic survey utilized Big Data analysis to give several surprising facts e.g. inter-state people movement is rather high. Possible application: Health- Big Data is being used to find solutions of Multi Drug Resistant bacteria, HIV/AIDS, Cancer etc. Data-driven medicine involves analyzing vast numbers of medical records and images for patterns which can help spot disease early and develop new medicines. Education- Andhra Pradesh govt has cooperated with tech giant Microsoft to analyze school drop out rate and suggest solutions. Climate change- A number of variable affecting climate change makes big Data only option for successful analysis and suggesting remedial steps. Agriculture- It can be employed to analyze soil health, predict water availability, impact of pesticides etc. Agriculture is being revolutionized by data which can be used to maximize crop yields, minimize the amount of pollutants released into the ecosystem and optimize the use of machines and equipment Predict and respond to natural and man-made disasters- Sensor data can be analyzed to predict where earthquakes are likely to strike next, and patterns of human behavior give clues which help aid organizations give relief to survivors. Big Data technology is also used to monitor and safeguard the flow of refugees away from war zones around the world Crime tracking & prevention- It can be used to reduce crime by exposing Nexus and crime trends invisible by naked eyes. Police forces are increasingly adopting data-driven strategies based on their own intelligence and public data sets in order to deploy resources more efficiently and act as a deterrent where one is needed. Make our everyday lives easier and more convenient- Shopping online, crowdsourcing a ride or a place to stay on holiday, choosing the best time to book flights and deciding what movie to watch next are all easier thanks to Big Data. Improved governance- Big data and advanced analytics platform can play a critical role in integrating and exploiting the multiple data sources to help tax departments in efficient discharge of their responsibilities and bridging the tax gap. This will not only help them build integrated views of tax filers and individual tax submissions but also empower them to respond in a more targeted way , thereby using resources optimally. It is an indispensable tool for effective policy making , efficient public service delivery and better resource optimization. Big Data can enhance the government’s ability to serve its citizens and address major national challenges involving the economy, healthcare, job creation, natural disasters, and terrorism. Dangers of big data analytics: Data privacy – The Big Data we now generate contains a lot of information about our personal lives, much of which we have a right to keep private. Increasingly we are asked to strike a balance between the amount of personal data we divulge, and the convenience that Big Data powered apps and services offer. Data security- One major problem with collecting and storing such vast amounts of data overseas is the ability of owners of such data stores to violate the privacy of people. Foreign governments or rogue multinationals could clandestinely access these vast pools of personal data in order to affect policies of a nation. Such knowledge could prove toxic and detrimental in the hands of unscrupulous elements or hostile foreign governments. The alleged Russian interference in the U.S. election tells us that these possibilities are not simply science fiction fantasies. Data discrimination – When everything is known, will it become acceptable to discriminate against people based on data we have on their lives? We already use credit scoring to decide who can borrow money, and insurance is heavily data-driven. We can expect to be analyzed and assessed in greater detail. Potential drain of economic wealth of a nation- Currently, the corporations collecting such vast amounts of data are all based in developed countries, mostly in the U.S. Most emerging economies, including India, have neither the knowledge nor the favourable environment for businesses that collect data on such a vast scale. The advertising revenue that is currently earned by local newspapers or other media companies would eventually start to flow outside the country to overseas multinationals. What India can do? Chinese example: China has apparently understood the dynamics of big data analytics and taken measures to counter its threat. It has encouraged the formation of large Internet companies such as Baidu and Alibaba and deterred Google and others from having major market share in China by using informal trade restraints and anti-monopoly rules against them. India may not be able to emulate China in this way, but we could take other countermeasures to preserve our digital economy independence. The heart of building companies using BDT is their ability to build sophisticated super-large data centres. By providing appropriate subsidies such as cheap power and real estate, and cheap network bandwidth to those data centres, one would encourage our industries to be able to build and retain data within our boundaries. In the short term, we should also create a policy framework that encourages overseas multinationals such as Google and Amazon to build large data centres in India and to retain the bulk of raw data collected in India within our national geographical boundaries. We should also build research and development activities in Big Data Science and data centre technology at our academic and research institutions that allow for better understanding of the way in which BDT can be limited to reduce the risk of deductive disclosure at an individual level. We need to develop software and train individuals on how to protect their privacy and for organisations and government officials to put in place strict firewalls, data backup and secure procedures. It should be ensured that the information is not distorted; not disclosed; not appropriated; not stolen; and not intruded upon within specified rules and guidelines. Hence the importance of government regulation and policies on the use of such collected data and associated privacy rights. India also needs to adopt BDT in areas where it can prove to be beneficial. Gartner, a research firm expects over 25% of global firms to have adopted big analytics for at least one security and fraud detection use case by 2016 and therefore, countries such as India, China, and Singapore will find themselves at the receiving end, if they do not translate their failure- to adoption of Big Data for increased security purposes. Conclusion: The government has approved the “Digital India” Plan that aims to connect 2.5 lakh villages to the Internet by 2019 and to bring Wi-Fi access to 2.5 lakh schools, all universities and public places in major cities and major tourist centres. This is indeed a very desirable policy step. But unless we evolve appropriate policies to counter the side effects of the Digital Plan, this could also lead to the unforeseen e-Colonisation of India. We need to make sure that India finds a way to protect both financial rewards and ensure individual privacy and national security through appropriate safeguards. Connecting the dots: What do you understand by big data technology? Discuss its applications as well as danger involved in adopting BDT. Elaborate on measures required to be taken by India in order to ensure privacy, check data theft and at the same time benefit from the rewards of BDT. INTERNATIONAL  TOPIC:  General Studies 2 Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests. China's inroads into Myanmar The first priority Aung San Suu Kyi had on assuming office was to establish ethnic peace in Myanmar, where minority groups have resorted to armed insurrection. President Thein Sein, who headed the Government earlier, had negotiated cease-fire agreements with a number of these groups. But, a number of influential and powerful groups continued with their revolts. Rather than appreciating Suu Kyi’s efforts to seek ethnic peace, western powers and Islamic busybodies such as Turkey and Malaysia chose to pressurise Myanmar for alleged violation of the human rights of its Rohingya Muslim population. On the other hand, China’s approach to Myanmar’s ethnic problems which is forcing Myanmar into a tight Chinese bear hug. How China prevails The long-running ethnic insurgencies in Myanmar now involve 22 armed groups, comprising ethnic minorities. Amongst the strongest of these groups are the United WA State Army (UWSA) and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which operate across the India-China-Myanmar tri-junction. These groups receive weapons and logistical support from China. The KIA has backed India’s north-eastern separatist groups such as ULFA and the NSCN (Khaplang), in consultation with government officials in China’s neighbouring Yunnan province. Cross-border attacks by the UWSA are a major instrument of China to pressurise Myanmar. China also regards Myanmar as a land bridge to the Indian Ocean. Beijing skillfully used its security and economic leverage to ‘persuade’ Suu Kyi to give it a significant say in her quest for peace agreements with armed separatist groups. China shielded Myanmar from western criticism in the UN, on the issue of Rohingya Muslims. It reportedly persuaded the UWSA recently to accept a ceasefire. It is acting similarly with the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO). Large Chinese infrastructure and mining projects in Myanmar have come up since the early 1990s, with scant regard for environmental degradation and displacement. Apart from displacement of thousands, this project involved the transmission of 90 per cent of the power generated to China. India at a disadvantage India has to recognise the reality that it cannot match China in weapons supply, or in a range of infrastructure and industrial projects. India, for example, cannot match Chinese supply of JF 17 fighters manufactured in Pakistan, as our much-touted Light Combat Aircraft has not yet been operationalised. Likewise, our public sector infrastructure projects such as the Sittwe Port, the Kaladan Corridor linking our landlocked north-eastern States to the Bay of Bengal at Sittwe, or the proposed 1800 MW hydro-electric project, have either been delayed or abandoned. While diplomatic efforts enabled us to get a stake in successful offshore gas exploration, we lost access to the gas because of our inability – and indeed inefficiency – in devising measures to transport/transfer and utilise the gas, which is now transshipped to China by a pipeline. Private sector projects to use Myanmar’s vast bamboo resources for the paper industry, or investment in the agricultural sector have similarly been delayed, or failed. Problems for India have now increased, because of covert Chinese support for India’s north-eastern separatist groups. China’s envoy to Myanmar has “facilitated” talks with the KIO – a development India should closely monitor. China now has an ability to significantly influence Myanmar insurgent groups. India-Myanmar cooperation needs a review: We need to review and restructure our economic cooperation with Myanmar, with an increasing focus on assisting the populations living close to our borders through schemes for education, health, communications and small/village industries. The main area which has won us gratitude is vocational training and education facilities for Myanmar personnel. The rupee could be made legal tender for such cross-border projects. This could be undertaken in close cooperation with Japan and the Asian Development Bank and duly integrated with new measures now being considered for giving momentum to Regional Cooperation through BIMSTEC. Conclusion: Despite above developments, India has continued its engagement with Myanmar, with both Army Chief General B. P. Rawat and Foreign Secretary Jaishankar visiting Myanmar recently. The Indian Armed Forces have traditionally had friendly relations with their Myanmar counterparts. Both countries face problems of armed separatist groups using each other’s soil. This should be focused upon. Further India must reorient and review its relationship with Myanmar if it wants to maintain stability in Northeastern region of the country. Connecting the dots: India and Myanmar relation is facing challenges due to China's inroads into Myanmar. Discuss advantages which India has over China which it can leverage to improve relation with Myanmar. Northeastern India is already a disturbed region due to insurgency. Discuss how strengthening of China's relationship with Myanmar may further worsen the situation. 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Jun 15, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs 14th June, 2017

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 14th June 2017 Archives NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 3 Infrastructure: Energy Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. India’s Energy Transformation India has gained global attention for its ambitious clean energy targets. India is now expected to play a major role in global energy transformation, by maintaining its own pledges, holding to account the developed world and thus, building global confidence.  India has become a frontrunner in energy transformation: India added more renewable energy (RE) capacity than conventional generation capacity in 2016-17. RE tariff in the country dropped to a level that is cost competitive with coal-fired generation. According to EY’s renewable energy country attractiveness index, India pipped the US to become the second most attractive country for RE investments. According to government data, the share of renewable energy in the total installed capacity was 13% at the end of financial year 2016. But it is expected to increase significantly in the coming years, with solar a big driver. Ambitious targets: In 2014, the domestic RE target was revised to 175 GW of installed capacity by 2022. In 2015, in its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC), India made a global pledge to achieve 40% cumulative installed capacity from fossil-fuel-free resources by 2030. The country already has 33% fossil-fuel-free generation capacity, and as predicted by Central Electricity Authority, it may achieve the INDC target sooner. Issues: 1) Domestic target versus global pledge No sync between the domestic target and global pledge: Several analyses have pointed out that if India achieves the 2022 target, it will likely overachieve the INDC target for next five years. As many of the distribution companies (discoms) are struggling with surplus capacity and storage capacities are yet to be developed, RE will add to power scheduling and balancing woes. 2) Mismatch between RE capacity and energy generated: Actual generation from proposed RE capacity is unclear due to uncertainties in capacity utilization factor. In 2016-17, with 17.52% share of generation capacity, RE contributed only 6.59% of energy generated. Part of this is blamed on reluctant evacuation by unwilling discoms, who have already contracted for higher amount of conventional power than their existing demand. Similarly, 33% fossil fuel-free capacity contributed less than 20% of the energy generated. Even if India achieves its INDC target, given its reliance on RE, the share of fossil fuel-free energy generated will not change much. Source: http://www.livemint.com/r/LiveMint/Period2/2017/06/14/Photos/Processed/w_oped.jpg 3) Focus on building a domestic reform coalition is inadequate: Past experiences in India suggest Centre-pushed reforms have failed to sustain, owing to poor sub-national adoption. Sustaining the desired energy transformation needs alignment of interests and building a reform coalition between the Centre, states, utilities, regulators and private players, among others. On the deployment front, while there is good progress in reaching the 60 GW utility scale solar capacity, rooftop solar is lagging behind. As of April, only 1.5 GW capacity has been installed against a target of 40 GW by 2022. 4) Conventional power suppliers will be affected: The rise in cheap supply from renewable sources would affect the demand from conventional power suppliers in India. A hit in revenue will hurt the ability of thermal power companies to repay loans, which would mean more trouble for the banking sector. The fall in tariffs(solar power) may make adjustments difficult for conventional power producers 5) MNRE’s singular focus on solar energy in the renewables mission: India is the fourth largest producer of wind energy in the world, with a total installed capacity of 27GW. Since wind power dominated the field of renewables for the longest time, the thrust for solar energy is understandable. However, the goal of 60GW by 2022 undermines its actual growth potential. According to National Institute of Wind Energy, India has the capacity to install and generate 302GW of wind power, as well as increase its production to 67GW by 2020 itself with the right push. More takers of RE: Some states seem to be aligning with the domestic narrative of using RE for energy security and economic development, though with varying objective and approach. While states like Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have added RE to their industrial thrust, building on the economic development narrative, states like Odisha have taken up RE to bridge energy access gap. Simultaneously, there is an emerging political mandate for RE. Many members of Parliament and legislative assemblies across party lines have taken up RE installation as a key part of their local area development. During recent state assembly elections, RE development featured in manifestos of many political parties. Government departments are being encouraged to adopt RE deployment in their activities. RE is allowed as a legitimate item under CSR (corporate social responsibility) spending. Way ahead: A high-level policy signal is in place, a political mandate is shaping up and implementing actors are coming up. To meet the global expectations, India needs much more proactive and creative actions. It needs to ensure that proposed RE capacity transforms the consumable energy mix. To do so, India must balance between complementing generation capacities rather than pushing for preferred technologies. In addition, given the unpredictability of RE generation, the time is ripe for storage capacity development. The proposed policy goal of electric vehicles is a welcome step, but it needs to be creatively used for storage, while reaping other co-benefits. Finally, the state must facilitate a domestic coalition for energy transformation, by aligning interests. We should prioritise the increase in shares of all renewable sources proportionately for greater reach in clean energy. Portugal and Costa Rica, for example, depend upon a renewable energy mix that affords due importance to solar, wind and hydropower, and the results speak for themselves Ensuring the right incentives are in place, not just for solar but all renewables, as well as strictly directing funds from the coal tax to NCFE to facilitate larger investment. Conclusion: With ambitious targets and policy incentives India is surely on its path of energy transformation. Globally moving towards renewable energy will help fight climate change while domestically it will help in energy security and economic development. Connecting the dots: India is expected to play a major role in global energy transformation. The goals and policy incentives are in place, but more needs to be done. Discuss. ECONOMY TOPIC: General Studies 3 Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth. Reorienting India’s trade policy It is vital that India’s trade policy, while taking cognizance of GST’s nitty-gritties, also realigns domestic trade infrastructure with the altering global trade landscape. India’s commerce ministry is conducting a mid-year review of its trade policy to closely align it with the roll-out of the goods and services tax (GST) on 1 July. It might make more sense to re-anchor the policy in the shifting framework for global trade and the rapidly evolving nature of globalization. Altering global trade landscape: Deep resentment against globalization’s misaligned distribution effects, a widening wage gap and increasing inequality have given birth to an aggressive brand of nationalism. Brexit in the UK, US President Donald Trump’s executive decisions on trade (withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, restricting H1B visas, threatening the North America Free Trade Agreement) or geopolitical moves (hectoring European leaders or abandoning the Paris climate change agreement) were custom-built to address localized grievances. Australia, New Zealand and Singapore are also following in the US’ footsteps, complicating India’s traditional trade matrix. Belt-Road initiative, a vehicle designed to rejuvenate China’s surplus domestic capacity and to give expression to its expansionist aspirations. The second is the recent schism in the Gulf with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Libya, Yemen and the Maldives collectively imposing informal sanctions against Qatar by shutting down transport links and choking essential supplies. Way forward: Three areas demand trade policy’s attention. 1) Targeting alternative markets: Less reliance on traditional trade partners in the West while increasing India’s trade and investment footprint in alternative markets, such as the African continent. India started looking at Africa seriously after the launch of economic reforms in 1991 and then with renewed vigour after the 2008 crisis. However, promises to increase two-way trade between India and Africa to $90 billion by 2015 have remained largely unfulfilled. India’s trade with Africa touched $56.7 billion during 2015-16, down from $72 billion in 2014-15. The drop is largely due to the fall in oil prices, which contracted India’s import bill with Nigeria. Meanwhile, China-Africa two-way trade touched $215 billion during calendar 2014. India has intensified its relationship with Africa, which includes initiating several high-level visits since 2015. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Pranab Mukherjee and vice-president Hamid Ansari have between them visited 16 countries, with senior cabinet ministers visiting the remaining countries on the continent. During May, the African Development Bank held its 52nd annual meeting in Ahmedabad. More needs to be done, of course. Trade policy can examine how coordinated action between commerce, finance and external affairs ministries might help in expanding India’s trade efforts; for example, a larger presence of Indian banks outside the conventional East African can help reduce export credit costs. 2) Linking India's trade policy with Make in India: Second, there is a need for a clear link between India’s trade policy and Make In India, including strategic linkages through global value chains. Policy clarity will be required whether India desires domestic manufacturing platforms that double as supply hubs for a global market, or assembly units that can be folded up and relocated elsewhere when cost arbitrage dries up (Chinese mobile units are perhaps a good example). Trade policy may be able to play a role here. 3) Focusing on trade in services: Finally, there is trade in services. There seems to be a concerted move within the rich countries—through the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development—to open up trade in services, including movement of professionals. This has been India’s longstanding demand because trade in services has been asymmetric so far—high in capital flows, information and communication technology, but low in free movement of professionals. Rising unemployment, particularly in Europe, could be driving Western agencies to prise open employment markets elsewhere. India’s demand (and strategy) for trade facilitation in services should find some articulation in the revised trade policy. Conclusion: Recent developments are bound to reorder the global trade system. Therefore, it is imperative that India’s trade policy also realigns domestic trade infrastructure with the altering global trade landscape. It is also perhaps the perfect opportunity for the policy to be more of a strategy document rather than a manual. Connecting the dots: India's trade policy must be re-oriented asper the recent developments, both domestic as well as global. Discuss. MUST READ The best times, the worst times Hindu Waiting for reconciliation in Myanmar Hindu Moroccan Spring Hindu Detecting possibilities Hindu Error of commission Indian Express Language matters Indian Express Not worth the tax Indian Express The Indian Navy's humanitarian impulse Livemint Reorienting India's trade policy Livemint Why India should set store its FTA with Europe Business Line Rushing to get last mile delivery right Business Line China is Nepal's new best friend Business Line  

Jun 14, 2017 RSTV Video

The Big Picture - Asia-Africa Growth Corridor- Can it be a game changer?

Asia-Africa Growth Corridor- Can it be a game changer? Archives TOPIC:  General Studies 2 India and its neighborhood‐ relations Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests Important International institutions, agencies and fora their structure, mandate About AAGC: The Asia-Africa Growth Corridor or AAGC is an economic cooperation agreement between the governments of India and Japan. India on 25 May 2017 launched a vision document for Asia-Africa Growth Corridor or AAGC at the African Development Bank meeting in Gujarat. It aims for Indo-Japanese collaboration to develop quality infrastructure in Africa, complemented by digital connectivity. The vision document is a study jointly produced by three research institutions of India and Japan in consultation with other Asian and African think tanks. It envisages closer engagement between India and Africa for “sustainable and innovative development”. The AAGC will envisage people centric sustainable growth strategy, details of which would be evolved through a process of detailed consultation across Asia and Africa. It will be anchored to four pillars: Development and cooperation projects; Quality infrastructure and institutional connectivity; Enhancing capacities and skills and People-to-people partnership. It will accord priority to development projects in health and pharmaceuticals, agriculture and agro-processing, disaster management, and skill enhancement. It will have special focus on Africa, India and South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Oceania. How is it different from China's OBOR? The two projects- AAGC and OBOR are qualitatively different in their approach. While China through OBOR concentrates on infrastructure and cheque-book diplomacy. OBOR is meant to growth trade by building trade infra be it on land route or maritime. AAGC is to promote a broader spectrum of cooperation projects and programes focused on the development of Africa’s human resources. Projects under AAGC are people oriented. They are synchronized with African priorities be it in health, education, skill training etc. While OBOR is more of infra centric whether sustainable or non sustainable. The partnership is based on the strength India has in Africa which is more people to people contact, network based strength rather than rebalancing business by pushing investment out of huge forex reserves. While China is in infra, the AAGC has a totally different orientation. It is suitably modest. China' OBOR is oriented towards Eurasian mainland while AAGC is maritime oriented. AAGC is much more collaborative and its focus on capacity building unlike OBOR initiative. The willingness of India to partner with Japan to assist Africa is different from China's methods of going alone. Can it be a game changer? The potential for the partnership to become a game changer is huge because of following factors- Commonness of our needs. India's strengths being Africa's needs. The huge size of India and Africa. Focus of population is shifting in Africa. This means there will be massive requirements for capacity building. Compatibility the India and Africa share. Partnership with Japan is itself going to be highly beneficial. While Japan has its own strength of finance, India has the ability to deliver. Centuries of relationship with Africa, India is already running various programmes running in India for Africans like the Barefoot college etc. All this things will come very handy. In past decades or so India an Africa has connected more effectively. African Development Bank holding annual meeting in Gujarat and the success of India Africa forum summit highlights the strengthening relationship between India and Africa. Who else can we get on board? US can be specifically in agriculture, research and development. But with Mr. Trump as President such partnership becomes difficult South Africa can also be involved. But its relation with china must be taken into account as big flagship project of China appears to be in South Africa. Germany and France- both have been active in Africa, both have technology, fund and both the nations have close relation with India. Challenges: Way ahead: China is rapidly expanding its footprint in Africa. They have been investing heavily in the Africa. Even small sectors like poultry have been taken over by China. So India and Japan do not have the luxury of time. India and Japan should immediately initiate a few joint pilot projects involving the companies of India, Japan and a few African countries in identified areas such as health care, agriculture and blue economy. They should increase the scope of their development projects, create synergy among themselves and engage proactively with other willing partners. Projects already successful in India like neem coated urea, solar plants, DBT, irrigation etc. - all such can be implemented in Africa at the earliest. India should also be open minded to what she can learn from African nations. For example- the mobile based payment system of Kenya. People to people contact- Govt should recognize that in India we need to do lots of work regarding sensitization and changing the mindset of people here towards Africa. Or else the basic objective of people centric relationship wont get fulfilled. It is not just the government that will have to so whatever it can to improve our quality of relation with Africa, Business men, corporates must also be incentivised. Conclusion: AAGC is of course a win-win partnership for both India and Africa. It will provide new force and dynamism to Asia-Africa relationship. However, timing is of essence when AAGC is concerned and thus India needs to expedite. Africa is trying to connect to us and it is our responsibility to be considerate, show compassion and respect towards Africa Connecting the dots: The vision document Asia Africa Growth Corridor was launched by India and Japan soon after the launch of China's OBOR initiative. Discuss the differences between the two and the potential the AAGC holds to be a game changer in the Africa-Asian relationship.  

Jun 14, 2017 AIR

All India Radio - Campaign for Open Defecation Free Nation- Assessing Progress

Campaign for Open Defecation Free Nation- Assessing Progress ARCHIVES Search 7th March 2017 http://www.newsonair.com/Main_Audio_Bulletins_Search.aspx Campaign for Open Defecation Free Nation- Assessing Progress Search 13th March 2017 http://www.newsonair.com/Main_Audio_Bulletins_Search.aspx  TOPIC: General Studies 2 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes Introduction Swachh Bharat Mission was launched on 2nd Oct, 2014. It aims at making India clean by October 2, 2019 with a two-fold objective: Making the country 100% free from open defecation Ensuring 100% modern and scientific municipal solid waste management. The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) has two sub-missions - SBM (Rural) and SBM (Urban). The SBM is in sync with the Goal 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals which commits the countries of the world to achieve universal access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation and hygiene to all in the next 15 years. Components of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: Construction of household and community toilets. Door to door garbage collection. Eradicating manual scavenging. Proper and scientific disposal of municipal waste, waste management and treatment. Bringing in behavioural changes and awareness generation. Progress under Swachh Bharat Mission: Construction of toilets: The priority was given to the construction of toilets at individual households and if there was no space available the community toilets were provided. Public toilets were constructed at public spaces like railway stations and bus stations. Above the Central assistance of Rs 4,000 per construction of each toilet in urban areas, 13 states are providing additional assistance in the range of Rs 4,000 to Rs 13,000. Solid Waste Management: Solid waste management includes segregating waste at source; collecting, transporting and storing waste; as well as processing, treating and finally disposing of it. In urban areas there has been progress in door to door waste collection. Transportation and processing of waste is also taking place at faster pace compared to previous year. There has been an increase in the number of compost plants from 40 to 145. Waste Management: Waste to Energy: The Ministry of Fertilizers provides Rs 1500 for market development assistance for per ton of compost generated. For conversation of waste to energy, the Ministry of Power has made it mandatory that the power generated from waste to energy plants has to be purchased by the state DISCOMs. Behavioural change: This is a very important segment to make the progress sustainable. Apart from approaching through celebrities, the government has established swachhata doot (community volunteer), engaging community organisations, engaging local celebrities and those people who are having respect among the people, NGOs and media. The impact of poor sanitation is being disseminated to people in an organised manner. Through NGOs, women Self Help Groups (SHGs), advertisements through print and visual media the information is spread to the people about the importance of using the toilets to sustain the efforts of eliminating open defecation. However, Information, education and communication (IEC) is not being paid adequate attention. The guidelines require that 8% of the funds be allocated for IEC activities. During the 2016-’17 financial year, 1% of the total expenditure had been made on information, education and communication up to January according to a survey. In contrast, 98% of the funds had been spent on construction of toilets in individual households. Swachh Survekshan: It is an initiative launched by Ministry of Urban Development through which the government is bringing competition among cities towards creating cleaner cities and towns. The cities are ranked on the basis of various parameters. The objective of the survey is to encourage large scale citizen participation and create awareness amongst all sections of society about the importance of working together towards making towns and cities a better place to live in. ‘Swachh Suvekshan-2017’ was done to assess and rank 500 cities and towns based on levels of sanitation and efforts made by respective urban local bodies and also to capture progress towards achieving ‘Open Defecation Free’ status. Looking beyond sanitation: Not just in terms of toilet construction but also into issues of sustainability of toilets, equity in access to drinking water across social categories, gender and culture. Of the households with a latrine which had at least one member of the family defecating in the open, the most common reasons cited were absence of water and the pit being too small. The allocations for rural water – specifically the NRDWP (National Rural Drinking Water Programme) – have remained almost stagnant (Rs 6,000 crore in 2016-17 RE to Rs 6,050 crore in 2017-18 BE). This could have serious consequences, especially in view of the fact that the recent drought situation in the country, has exacerbated the drinking water crisis and has even led to slip-backs in toilet usage. What needs to be done for making urban areas clean/swachh? An integrated solid waste management policy for each city. Supporting the nationwide effort for waste reduction and implementation of a waste diversion policy in accordance with MoEFCC SWM 2016 Rules. Designate areas as transit points for different waste streams. Set up channel of distribution of organic manure. Partner RWA’s, schools, hospitals ,NGO’s and CBO’s for outreach awareness programmes. Designate green belts for horticulture waste management. Set up drop off centres for e-waste and hazardous waste in each ward. Create more recycling stations/centres and engage authorised recyclers. Set up of Construction And Demolition Waste plant. Restrict illegal and indiscriminate dumping of construction debris. Conclusion: According to the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS), sanitation coverage has gone up from 42 percent in October 2014 to 60 percent in 2017. As per MWDS, three states – Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim – 85 districts across the country and 1,52,535 villages have already been declared open defecation free (ODF). These achievements have clearly contributed to making sanitation a political priority. Importantly, the mission is running in a time-bound manner with a clear deadline to achieve the above objectives. As per World Bank report, per person in the country spends around 6500 rupees per year on health issues. If this amount is invested on sanitation, this will help to increase the productivity of people in particular and the nation at large. With almost two-and-half years after the SBA’s launch, we are moving in right direction but many more steps would be required for the country to become ‘swachh’ and fulfill the dream of a Clean India. Connecting the dots: It has been two years since the launch of an ambitious programme Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Discuss the progress, achievements as well as the challenges in its implementation. Also mention what more needs to be done to achieve the goal of making India clean by 2019. Also Read: Swachh Bharat Abhiyan analysis:

Jun 14, 2017

Saumya Pandey (Rank 4) 1st Attempt CSE 2016-IASbaba’s ILP Student

Rank- 4, Saumya Pandey CSE 2016 who was our ILP-2016 student proudly shares her experience with IASbaba.  When we met Saumya Pandey, she had a brilliant story to tell! What a humble and inspiring personality she 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 her 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”. ###pIntegrated Learning Program, (ILP) she was also regularly following our other initiatives like 60 days Plan, Daily Current Affairs, Daily Current Affairs Quiz, TLP, PIB gist, monthly magazine etc. The ILP admission credentials of Saumya Pandey is given below IAS Topper Rank 4, Saumya Pandey UPSC CSE 2016 Marks Card Watch Saumya Pandey sharing her Complete Preparation Strategy with Mohan Kumar S, Co-Founder IASbaba When we made ILP  (Integrated Learning Program), we had a vision that a person situated in the remote corners of the country can clear the exam relying only on it . That's the reason we mentioned it  was not a mere test series , but a comprehensive learning platform! Let’s hear the role of Integrated Learning Program (ILP) in her Success from Saumya Pandey herself- Once again Heartiest Congratulations from IASbaba!! We were very glad to hear from Saumya Pandey that many in Top 20 (Ranks) were followers of IASbaba!  You can also check our Toppers from CSE-2016- Click Here Thank You IASbaba Team

Jun 13, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs 13th June, 2017

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 13th June 2017 Archives NATIONAL TOPIC: General studies 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector or Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources. General studies 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. Inclusive growth and issues arising from it. Start Up India Pan- Taking it forward Start Up Action Plan- Introduction: The action plan with 19 measures focused on simplification and hand-holding, funding support and industry-academia partnership and incubation. E-registration, self certification system. A dedicated web portal and mobile app. No inspection during the first 3 years. 80 percent reduction in the application fee of start up patent. Easy exit policy. Inclusion of Credit Guarantee Fund. Relaxation in Income Tax for first three year. Special Arrangement for Female applicants. Introduction of Atal Innovation Mission. Steps taken by the Government: To facilitate ease of doing business, the government promised a compliance regime based on self-certification. The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified 36 industry sectors that are practically non-polluting as belonging to a white category. A fast-track, low-cost intellectual property regime was promised. Now, a list of more than 400 empaneled patent and trademark registration agents has been published The government is a huge buyer of goods and central ministries and departments have been directed to relax the turnover and experience criteria for public procurement, so as to promote purchases from start-ups. Instituting of a Rs10,000 crore fund-of-funds. The Small Industries Development Bank of India has been given the task of operating and managing this fund, which will invest in alternate investment funds registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The government also promised to build a start-up culture in the country. A call centre was operationalized to resolve queries and provide hand-holding support to start-ups. A website and mobile app were launched with information on the start-up action plan, incubators and IP facilitation. An interactive online learning and development module to educate start-ups and aspiring entrepreneurs was launched. Start-up fests were announced. The Finance Act 2016 allowed exemptions to long-term capital gains if those are invested in units of specified funds. Exemption was also introduced for long-term capital gains arising upon transfer of a residential property if such gains were invested in an eligible start-up. Exemption from “angel tax” was a more relevant sop as investment by residents in eligible start-ups stood to gain from this concession. Issues: The government’s initiative has had an impact on only a small section of start-ups. Many of the steps taken by government is unlikely to have a meaningful impact unless the number of recognized starts-up is in the thousands. So far, there have been only limited disbursements—commitments to the tune of about Rs600 crore have been made and there is a budget allocation of Rs1,100 crore. This is a small amount compared to the nearly Rs16,000 crore start-up funding in 2016. The details of the promised credit guarantee fund for start-ups are not out yet except that it is intended to have a corpus of Rs2,000 crore, to be built over four years. Since start-ups don’t make profits in their early period and the minimum alternative tax is still applicable, the benefits of a three-year tax holiday are only notional. Way forward: All start-ups, regardless of whether they are considered innovative by the government, should be able to enjoy the benefits, so as to encourage entrepreneurship and generate jobs. The government should not get into defining and deciding what innovation means. Ease of closure- A critical measure to enable start-ups which could go on to fail (and a lot of them do) is the ease of closure. In this regard, the rules for voluntary liquidation are still in the works. The rules should be released and notified soon permitting start-ups to wind up business within 90 days. Start Up festivals and The Grand Challenge award announced by government is welocme . But such hand-holding is the job of incubators and accelerators, and the government should focus on clarifying policy questions. Conclusion: It is commendable that the government thought of start-ups as a separate category, recognized their potential, and came out with a visionary plan to promote start-up culture and entrepreneurship in India. However, much of its efforts have been restricted by what we can term bureaucratic impediments, so progress has been limited. The government needs to review the policy soon, remove impediments and give a stronger impetus to start-ups. Importantly, it also needs to reduce the flight of successful start-ups to other jurisdictions. Thus a lot more needs to be done to provide a strong fillip to the start-up world. Connecting with the dots: While Start Up Action Plan launched by government is a welcome step, much more needs to be done to make it successful and establish a healthy Start Up culture in India. Discuss the challenges and elaborate and steps to be taken. 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. Redefining India-Russia relationship St. Petersburg Declaration: Marking 70 years of diplomatic ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the St Petersburg Declaration in June 2017, envisaging an action plan for deepening relations in all areas, including political and economic development of the two countries and also to ensure that their ties contribute to the establishment of a more peaceful and just world order. Key Points: Both the countries will work towards a higher level of military- to- military cooperation by holding regular joint land and sea military exercises and this year both the countries will conduct the first ever Tri-services exercise INDRA-2017. Stating that the economies of India and Russia complement each other in the energy sector, it said that they would strive to build an 'Energy Bridge' and expand bilateral relations in all areas of energy cooperation, including nuclear, hydrocarbon, hydel and renewable energy sources and in improving energy efficiency. According to the Declaration, the growing nuclear power partnership between India and Russia has opened opportunities for developing advanced nuclear manufacturing capabilities. It said that connectivity must be strengthened, while reiterating their commitment to build effective infrastructure for the International North South Transport Corridor and implementation of the Green Corridor. The Declaration said both India and Russia regard the establishment of the multi-polar global order in international relations and thus, they would enhance collaboration to democratize the system of international relations, based on the principles of the rule of law and the central role of the United Nations. Russia reaffirmed its support for India's bid for permanent membership in the UN Security Council and the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Both countries strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Both the nations called for early conclusion of negotiations on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism to strengthen the global counter-terrorism normative and legal framework to combat this scourge. Convergence: In specific areas such as defence hardware and technology, nuclear energy and oil and gas any cooperation is of mutual benefit. There may even exist longer-term convergence in helping shape a multipolar international political and security architecture. Divergence: However, these shared interests must be balanced against divergences that are inherent in the very dramatic transformations which have taken place in the two countries themselves, and in the regional and global situation since the end of the Cold War, which have inevitably altered the overall context of our relations. Shared China concerns It is the shared perception of a Chinese threat which brought Delhi and Moscow together. The end of the Cold War changed this, with Russia no longer looking at China as a current security threat. The early settlement of their border dispute, the expansion in their economic and trade relations and the emergence of China as a major recipient of Russian weapons and defence technologies brought about an asymmetry in perceptions of China between India and Russia. But Russian perceptions of a long-term Chinese challenge to its interests persisted, and still do. For example, Russian nuclear experts have been reluctant to deep cuts in nuclear weapons in bilateral negotiations with the U.S. precisely because the gap with China’s expanding and qualitatively better nuclear arsenal is diminishing and this heightens Russian concerns. Chinese inroads into Central Asia and Eastern Europe are also a concern for Russia, which regards both these regions as part of its strategic periphery. What this means for India? We need to adjust to a new and more positive phase in Russia-China relations, learn not to We shouldn't rely on Moscow to confront Chinese hostility towards India or support India against Pakistan. We should seek to build a broader framework of relations based on the longer-term Russian concerns about the emergence of China. Russia, like India, prefers a multipolar world and is unlikely to accept a junior league status in a Chinese-dominated world. For the same reason, Russia may welcome a higher-profile role by India in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In this context, India should pursue the proposed Free Trade Agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union and seek to play a more active role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as a member. A more united and coherent European Union may well be open to re-engaging with Russia, and this should be encouraged by India. In an increasingly fluid international situation, an India which has strong relations with the U.S., Western Europe and Russia is in a unique position to play a larger geopolitical role. It can use its enhanced relations with each to upgrade its relations with the other major powers. This will also diminish Chinese pressures on India. Defence, nuclear, energy ties India and Russia should focus on maintaining and expanding their already considerable cooperation in the defence hardware and nuclear energy sector. Both sectors are important to Russia as well as to India. The loss of the Indian market in these two areas would be a blow to Russia and they would deprive India of advanced technology not always accessible elsewhere. Since the end of the Cold War, India sought to establish a strong, long-term energy partnership with Russia. While some important deals like the Sakhalin oil and gas project have been a success, the early promise of expanding cooperation in this sector has been mostly belied. Russia has seen its interests better served by giving priority to Western Europe and China. India has been rather low on the radar. In St. Petersburg, there was a reference to India and Russia setting up an “energy corridor” and another reference to the use of natural gas as a relatively clean and climate-friendly fuel. This must be followed up with some concrete and practical steps. Conclusion: Russia’s current closeness to China is tactical; its long-term interest both globally and in its neighborhood are not aligned with China. India should pursue its relations with Russia keeping this reality in mind. This 18th annual India-Russia summit appears to have been more substantive than the previous ones. The altered context has to be acknowledged by both sides and there should be an unsentimental reckoning of both the challenges and opportunities that could define India-Russia relations in the new millennium. Connecting the dots: This year India and Russia celebrated 70 years of diplomatic ties. Discuss how the altered global context calls for redefining India-Russia relationship. MUST READ More to it than MSP Hindu The rot in farming Hindu Corner of a shared field Hindu Corridor of economic uncertainty Indian Express Does Gandhi have a caste? 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Jun 12, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs 12th June, 2017

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 12th June 2017 Archives NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 2 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. General Studies 3 Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment Science and Technology‐ developments and their applications and effects in everyday life Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology A shift towards Electric Vehicles(EVs) In news: In May 2017 Nagpur became the first Indian city to have an electric cab fleet—with about 100 EVs from the Mahindra stable and around 100 e-rickshaws from Kinetic linked to the Ola transport aggregator platform. Also, the state-run power giant NTPC set up its first Electric vehicle(EV) charging stations in Delhi and Noida. Policy shifts: Power minister Piyush Goyal has announced that government officials and agencies will soon be using only EVs. Public buses are also expected to go electric. Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari has promised a national EV policy before the end of the year The government’s think tank, Niti Aayog, has already put out a road map for India’s mobility transformation that has three core elements: “shared”, “electric”, and “connected”. The goal, according to the power minister, is to have no diesel or petrol car sales in the country by 2030. This marks a sharp shift from the current policy that incentivizes both hybrid vehicles – which combine fossil fuel and electric power – and electric cars. NITI Aayog's mobility plan: In its report Niti Aayog recommends- The government must subsidize the EV industry while penalizing conventional cars. Taxes and interest rates for loans on EVs should be lowered. The sale and registration of conventional cars should be lowered Using taxes from diesel and petrol car sales to create electric charging stations. It also suggests setting up “a manufacturer consortium for batteries, common components, and platforms to develop battery cell technologies and packs and to procure common components for Indian original equipment manufacturers.” NEMMP & FAME India Scheme: In 2015, as part of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP), the government had launched the FAME India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) scheme with an aim to promote eco-friendly vehicles, offering incentives on electric and hybrid vehicles. The FAME India scheme is aimed at accelerating sales of eco-friendly vehicles to up to 7 million vehicles by the year 2020. However, sales of EVs have been abysmally poor. Mainstreaming electric vehicles will require : An overhaul of the country’s energy and transport infrastructure. For example, EV charging stations will have to be set up on a war footing. Electricity generation will have to improve significantly even as its piggybacks on the push for solar energy. EV technology (especially the battery) will have to become much cheaper before it can perform well in a price-sensitive market like India. If these challenges can be tackled effectively and India can leapfrog to EV technology, then of course, the benefits to be had are numerous. Benefits of EVs: Environment-friendly EVs will reduce air pollution and thus contribute to the fight against climate change. As per NITI Aayog's report EVs will help in cutting down as much as 1 gigatonne (GT) of carbon emissions by 2030 Lower India’s dependence on imported oil Will cut India’s energy demand (from the road sector for passenger mobility). Save the country $60 billion in energy bills on petrol and diesel by 2030(As per Niti Aayog) EVs efficient—with regenerative braking capturing energy otherwise wasted and also due to the inherent efficiency of motors, especially at low speeds The focus should not only be on EVs: Apart form EVS there also other technology options which shouldn't be ignored. Like, Hydrogen-powered fuel cells It offer an equally eco-friendly option. Both are zero emission, and the hydrogen-powered fuel cells can in fact be recharged faster. They also give more mileage than the lithium-ion batteries commonly used in EVs today. CNG vehicles They are cheap, almost as clean as EVs, and the related infrastructure is already in place. The government should not be deciding the winner? Issue: Governments generally do not have a good track record when it comes to picking tech winners. For example, After the 1970s energy crisis in the US, the Carter administration pumped millions of dollars into thermal solar technology which did not yield any viable commercial results even as the old photovoltaic cell technology continued to evolve. Later, corn-based ethanol was all the rage and the government again put good money into developing a market for it but eventually it too collapsed. These examples indicate there are many risks associated with the government picking the winner—a job that is better left to the market and industry. Conclusion: The government should have a role. However, instead of trying to pick winners, the government should focus on building an enabling business environment that supports research and innovation. Thus, instead of pumping money into one project or firm, it should support clean energy research in general. That way, the government does its part in steering the policy ship towards clean energy while still being technology-agnostic. Connecting the dots: With NITI Aayog's mobility transformation plan a shift in government's strategy towards Electric Vehicles(EVs) is visible. Discuss the challenges involved in adopting the EV technology in Indian context ad also the benefits such transformation would provide. NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 2 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. General Studies 3 Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment Science and Technology‐ developments and their applications and effects in everyday life Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology Harnessing wind power through Kites Introduction: Wind energy in India has seen steady development in the last decade. With 32,279.77 MW of installed wind generation capacity (compared to 12,288.83 MW of solar power), India is one of the leading generators of wind energy worldwide. Yet, due to certain constraints, and more recently the more competitive rates in solar energy, there are concerns that the share of wind energy may decline. Benefits of wind power over solar power: Unlike non-storage solar energy, wind turbines are not affected by night and day. Challenges in generating wind power: Generation of electricity from wind energy depends on both the season and geographical location. Wind farms require massive areas of land. In India, wind turbines produce 70 to 80 per cent of their generation in a span of six months. Moreover, to calculate the annual kilowatt per hour (kWh) produced from a turbine, one has to calculate the estimated number of hours of wind at a certain height as well as its speed. On an average, in India, the plant load factor (PLF) is only around 20 to 30 per cent. Hence, with a 25 per cent PLF, a 1.5 MW turbine would produce around 3,285,000 kWh in a year. Below a wind speed of around 30 mph, however, the amount of energy generated would be quite small. Government's policy towards wind power: The government has announced that its target for wind energy generation by 2022 is 60,000 MW. What needs to be done? Harnessing the wind energy potential will require huge investments as well as the requisite land. However, this problem may be resolvable through the use of a new technology – scores of kites to generate wind energy. This technology is believed to not only cut the cost of generating wind energy but also enhance the efficiency quotient. How does it work? The basic idea is to locate the kites, which are essentially light and controllable aerodynamic flying devices, in a formation at heights of around 750 metres and more in order to harvest the strong and consistent winds available in that region of the atmosphere (wind velocity at those heights is twice that at the ground level) and thus generate low-cost energy. The system is operated in periodic pumping cycles, alternating between reel-out and reel-in of the lines attached to the kite and the drum on the ground. During reel-out, the kite flies in figure-eight manoeuvers at high speeds of 70 to 90 km/h, creating a high traction force which is converted into electricity by the drum and the connected generator. Once the kite reaches the maximum height, it is de-powered by releasing the steering lines so that the whole wing rotates and aligns with the wind. Using the drum/generator module as a winch, the kite is then pulled back to the initial position to start the next pumping cycle. De-powering reduces the traction force during reel-in by 80 per cent, thereby allowing less energy to be consumed as against the energy generated during the reel-out cycle. Once the descent is complete, the kite is allowed to climb once more, where it generates electricity once again. This allows these kites to be more efficient than traditional wind turbines. Source:https://www.thememo.com/2017/05/30/kite-wind-farms-take-off-in-uk-as-fut.... Benefits of using kite wind: According to some estimates, the cost of generation from these kites could be around 50 to 60 per cent less than from traditional wind farms, both on- and off-shore. Moreover, these kite power systems can be flexible. As modular, small-scale power production plants, they can be applied to single houses, for autonomous electricity production as well as for remote areas and villages not yet connected to the power grid. At the same time, they can also serve as huge power plants generating several megawatts and even gigawatts. For example, an Italian firm, KiteGen, has developed a prototype with a capacity for producing 27 MW of peak power. Some of the advantages kite power systems have over conventional turbines include negligible noise emission and bird hits, near invisibility, and ability to withstand storms. Moreover, they do not need huge concrete foundations and tonnes of steel for the tower and the blades. As a result, they do not require scarce metals or rare earth elements like neodymium for the magnet in a wind power plant, thereby making them far more environment-friendly than their conventional counterparts. Wind kites also require less power to operate. Challenges: Some technical issues will have to be resolved before these kites can replace traditional turbines. A major challenge is lightning, which could damage the small computer placed inside the kite. Given the height at which the kites would be flying, the location of these wind farms will have to be carefully planned so as not to interfere with or hamper the flight paths of aeroplanes. Conclusion: Although India is no longer deemed power-deficient, it is by no means energy secure as millions of people do not have access to grid connections. As connectivity increases, the demand for power will surge. Moreover, initiatives like Make in India, Power for All Campaign for total rural electrification by the end of 2017, and the drive to ramp up the use of electric vehicles in place of fossil fuel-based vehicles, among others, will see a quantum jump in energy consumption. While evolving solar technology can fill some of the gap, the government should also look at other new energy technologies across the energy spectrum to meet its energy generation target. India’s record in wind energy development is good. But the existing technology is fast becoming outdated. Evolving technologies like kite wind should therefore be considered. Connecting the dots: The government has set a target of generating about 60 GW of wind energy generation. Discuss the challenges involved in relying on wind turbines and how kites can be used to harness wind power. MUST READ Neighborhood first in Nepal Hindu Six days of war 50 years of occupation Hindu Leave them alone Hindu Economic forecasting is not a science Hindu The crops of wrath Indian Express The right balance-China, Pakistan and India Indian Express A great figurehead Indian Express Whose fight is it anyway? Indian Express The great highway loot Indian Express Why are telecom firms in the doldrums? Livemint The evolving state of Indian states Indian Express Entrepreneurship and jobs-Think small Livemint Angry Bharat Business Line

Jun 12, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs 10th June, 2017

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 10th June 2017 Archives NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 3: Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices Inclusive growth and issues arising from it. General Studies 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections Understanding the agitating farmers In news: Farmers in two of the largest states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have resorted to agitation. The protests have come soon after the Uttar Pradesh government waived farm loans earlier this year, setting off similar demands in other States. Farmers from Kerala in April, 2017 staged protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar carrying skulls of fellow farmers who have committed suicides. Farmers' demands: Full waiver of farm loans. Hikes in the minimum support price for agricultural produce. Writing off of pending electricity bills. Government's response: Maharashtra government promised to waive farm loans of small and marginal farmers worth about Rs. 30,000 crore and set up a State commission to look into the matter of raising the MSP for crops. The Chief Minister also promised that buying agricultural produce below their MSP would soon be made a criminal offence. Issues: Indian farmers faced two consecutive years of drought in 2014-15 and 2015-16. Such an occurrence — two droughts in a row — only happened five times since 1870, and on three occasions in independent India: The mid-sixties, the mid-eighties and now. Despite this rare farmer tragedy, we did not observe any farmer riots during the recent drought years. More than 5,500 farmer suicides were recorded in 2014 and the figure rose at least 40% in 2015, with Maharashtra contributing the most, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.In Maharashtra, which witnessed the highest number of farmer suicides between 2014 and 2015. Between 2014 and 2015, the state saw an 18 per cent jump — from 2,568 to 3,030. The National Crime Records Bureau attributed the reasons to crop failure, failure to sell produce, inability to repay loans, and other non-agriculture factors such as poverty and property disputes. Pic credits: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/farmer-suicides-up-42-between-2014-2015/articleshow/56363591.cms Why are farmers agitating? Socio-economic reason: The socio-economic explanation is that nobody wants to be a farmer anymore. Because it is unremunerative, and relatively hard physical work. The children of farmers aspire for a well-paying urban job. But the economy is not producing enough jobs to accommodate the migrants from farmer families. This leads to frustration, despair, unrest. Hence, the riots. The rural-urban wage gap is wide at 45%, almost four times that of China. The share of farming in GDP is under 14%, although more than half of India’s 1.25 billion people still depend on it. Demonetisation: The Centre’s decision to demonetise high-value currency notes in November last year came as a severe jolt to farmers as cash is the primary mode of transaction in agriculture sector. Pricing of agricultural produce: Steep fall in the prices of agricultural goods: The price slump, significantly, has come against the backdrop of a good monsoon that led to a bumper crop. The production of tur dal, for instance, increased five-fold from last year to over 20 lakh tonnes in 2016-17. Irrespective of price fluctuations, MSPs are supposed to enable farmers to sell their produce at remunerative prices. But procurement of crops at MSP by the government has traditionally been low for most crops, except a few staples such as rice and wheat. This has forced distressed farmers to sell their produce at much lower prices, adding to their debt burden. In Madhya Pradesh, this year was the second year of a bumper onion crop with no buyers. Farmers were forced to sell produce at for Rs 2 to 3 per kg as the state government delayed announcing procurement price of Rs 8 per kg. 33% of onion procured by the government rotted in absence of adequate storage facility Our farm subsidy policy encourages the production of only low-value staples, such as rice and wheat, and the output of fruits and vegetables — that more Indians are eating and farmers producing — is not covered by the government’s minimum support price. Much of the farm distress sweeping India now stemmed from a glut of potatoes, onion and tomatoes. Agriculture still at mercy of monsoon rain: For far too long, farming has been at the mercy of nature, especially the June-September monsoon rain. Agriculture in India is facing a tough time because of its dependence on the monsoon. Over 50% of the crop area does not have any irrigation facility and almost three-fourth of the annual rainfall is concentrated in four months a year, between June and September. A deficit monsoon for two consecutive years in 2014 and 2015 and unseasonal showers ahead of the winter harvest in 2015 have hit the farmers hard. Entire south India is bearing the brunt and Tamil Nadu is facing the worst drought in 140 years. Poor productivity: The use of technology is patchy, and only one-tenth of every rupee the government spends on rural areas goes to improving productivity — which is why farmers in India grow 46% less rice an acre than their Chinese counterparts. Agricultural market- Yet not reformed: The monopoly of traders over local agricultural markets is perpetuated by law, which bars farmers from selling directly to consumers. This kills any chance of farmers getting a fair price, lining the pockets of commission agents instead. Politicisation: The cardinal malaise lies in successive governments treating agriculture as a source of votes and not an engine of growth Why farm loan waivers is not a solution? Farm loan waivers are only a “temporary necessity” to address the agricultural crisis in the country and not a permanent solution to the problem, according to MS Swaminathan, agriculture scientist and the architect of India’s Green Revolution in the 1960s. With poor extent of indebtedness and reported increase in suicides among farmers in distress, loan waivers appear as the easy solution to the problems of the farming sector. But it comes at a cost. Issues related to loan waiver - Farm loan waivers disrupt “credit discipline” among borrowers as they expect future loans to be waived as well. It does increase the problem of moral hazard by penalising sincere and law abiding farmers. It gives rise to a tendency to default if the loan waivers are not a one-time solution but keep appearing every decade. It certainly leads to a deterioration in the performance of banks but also has an impact on credit off-take and repayments. It was the same approach of writing off loans of big corporate defaulters which has led to a situation of unprecedented NPAs in the banking system. But it also penalizes the small and marginal farmers who are more dependent on non-institutional sources of loan such as the local moneylender. The interest on these loans is higher but these are excluded from any loan waiver scheme. Way ahead: The old, labour-intensive methods must give way to technology for efficiency and higher yield Pricing and subsidy mechanism must be overhauled. The focus should be more on making the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana a success rather than demanding farm loans waivers from banks. The government should look at diversifying the cropping pattern and developing new technology to fight drought. Bringing green revolution to eastern India(BGREI) must be implemented in true spirit. The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, the new crop damage insurance scheme approved by the Union cabinet in January 2016, is also a vast improvement on the old crop insurance model in vogue since 1970s. The new scheme which has the lowest premium so far has proposed use of remote sensing, smart phones and drones for quick estimation of crop loss and speedy claim process. The focus should be more on making this a success. Conserving water, improving the irrigation facilities, and developing agriculture markets and competition can be the building blocks for growth in agriculture and mitigating farmers’ woes. State governments are barking up the wrong tree by resorting to loan waivers. The only long-term solution is to gradually align crop production with genuine price signals, while moving ahead with reforms to de-risk agriculture, especially by increasing the crop insurance cover. Expediting steps to reform the Agricultural Produce Market Committee system and introduce the model contract farming law would go a long way to free farmers from MSP-driven crop planning Conclusion: To be sure, India is reforming parts of its economy. But not farming. If farmers are to escape poverty, farming needs to become more like manufacturing: Teched up operations, free as far as possible from imponderables, churning out quality produce that fetch the right price. It is imperative that policymakers and analysts understand the causes behind the riots in order to best insure society, and farmers, from economic doom. In the past, a single season of dry spell was enough to send the economy into recession. Now failed monsoons trigger localised distress. That’s an improvement. Still, far too many farm households remain too poor. And unless the rural economy is unshackled from a time and policy warp, our dream of double-digit economic growth will remain just that: A dream. Connecting the dots: Recent riots by farmers from states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh shows how despite continuous efforts by the government the state of agriculture remains grim. Discuss what are the reasons behind rioting farmers and what should be done to improve livelihood of farmers and Indian agriculture. NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 2 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. A calibrated approach to reforms It was a common thing to make bureaucracy responsible for inexplicable delays in policy formulation and implementation. The bureaucracy was seen as the biggest stumbling block for a policy-driven progress. However, in the hindsight, it has been now validated that India’s calibrated, less hurried approach to opening up the economy in certain sectors was against the convention of the time. But the reality is now different. Though it is always tempting to suggest that policy makers should hit the reforms accelerator, the complex present is the truth. Making the right policies There is no merit in following the herd in thinking and implementing the popular policy choices. Prudent policy making steers clear of such approaches. Rather, there is a need to evaluate the policy choices on the merits of the argument. Though some might think it as a delaying tactic, but given that policymaking is both an art and a science, the policy maker should take all the arguments and choices available to make an informed decision. As economist Dani Rodrik argued “When knowledge is limited, the rule for policy makers should be, first, do no harm”. This can be explained as When India approached IMF in 1991 for loans to tide over its balance of payments crisis, there were conditionalities wherein IMF called for liberalisation of India’s current and capital accounts. Yet, India moved towards current account convertibility, it wasn’t fast on capital account convertibility which was conventional thing to do. However, when India was recovering from her 1991 financial crisis, another crisis was in the making in the East Asian Countries which had already embraced full capital account convertibility. There was a heavy capital inflow in these countries which when coupled with fixed exchange rate regimes resulted in asset bubble burst in 1997. Thus, post the crisis, there was new policy understanding about the difference between the theory and practice of capital account liberalisation and how free movement of short-term capital flows had destabilising effect on individual economies. Contrastingly, India’s approach of gradual lifting of capital controls was considered sustainable. Sub prime crisis During the global economic recession of 2008, India was amongst the less affected countries. This was because till them RBI had not allowed Indian banks to invest in synthetic structured products like MBS, CDOs, and CDS. The irony is in the fact that these products were rated AAA despite having sub-prime American housing loans. A conservative approach towards such instruments saved India from the direct contagion risk of the great recession whereas US and European banks had invested heavily in subprime tranches and hence were largely affected. The lesson learnt was- earlier, accepted wisdom that free capital flows across borders would usher in higher investments and work as tonic for sick economies proved not completely true. In 2012, IMF came around to the view that robust institution building should precede capital liberalisation. Also, that free capital flows at times, might do more harm than good. Trade liberalisation The theories mending the trade liberalisation policies has changed over the time period. Earlier the convention was to protect infant industry by giving state support through high import tariffs or domestic subsidies until the industries have matured and attained economies of scale. During WWII, US had one of the highest import tariffs in the world. Now, the conventional wisdom has changed over time. With the era of globalisation and incoming of WTO agreement, trade facilitation has changed. India has two examples of diametrically opposite views made by the policymakers which resulted in two different results which hold a lot of value. When India signed the Information Technology Agreement (ITA-I) in 1997 under WTO’s Singapore Ministerial Conference it removed tariff protection for IT hardware products covered in the agreement. Thus, electronic hardware imports became cheap which led to huge influx of Japanese, Korean and Chinese manufactured IT hardware. This negatively impacted Indian nascent electronics manufacturing as other countries had built their capabilities previously whereas in India, the infant IT manufacturing industry was barely born. The effect today is such that Indian presence in this industry is hardly felt. On the other hand The auto and auto-ancillary sector in India was protected through high import duties and other conditions in terms of mandatory localisation provisions and investment restrictions This led to healthy growth of auto sector in India. Today, India is a hub of world class auto and auto parts sector. This led to slowly withdrawal of most restrictions except high duties on fully assembled vehicles. Conclusion There was a time when India was considered as a slow liberaliser and high import tariff country. But om infact it was this organised policy making and long term vision which has helped India in most sectors. Today the world is once again turning to high import duties to protect their domestic jobs and also restrict China from spreading its tanctacles of becoming manufacturing hub in Asia. India is in a good position in critical areas and sensitive sectors. Though it is not that policy reforms should continue at slow rate only, but to consider diverse developmental strategies possible while making a policy for a complex society. Connecting the dots: Though it is considered that fast paced reforms are key to faster economic growth, the reality has been different. Do you agree? discuss in detail how reforms in policies should be shaped. MUST READ Fault lines in the fields The Hindu The arc to Tokyo The Hindu Proper protocol The Hindu The Kerala model Indian Express UK's election of delusions Indian Express Time for reflection, fellow doctors Indian Express Uncertainty in Britain Business line   Three crucial stumbling blocks in farming Business line  

Jun 11, 2017 Motivational Articles

Creative Guidance – NLP Learning Strategy Effectiveness – Inspirational & Educative Articles

NLP Learning Strategy Effectiveness: To continue with the example of reading, writing and recollecting information; let us look at how the technique of NLP can be used to better understand the effectiveness of these actions. First try and observe the trigger for action. Is it fear, excitement or simply a routine? Understanding this is very important as this gives you an idea of why you do what you do. If the trigger is fear, then probably you will not be able to wholeheartedly dedicate yourself with passion. Observing the tiny internal thought patterns that trigger action will help you to unlock the underlying systems and processes of learning. NLP can become an indispensable tool on your journey towards effectiveness and success. Here is an example of learning strategy from Microdot: A good way to ensure success when rising to meet a challenge such as learning a new skill is to follow these five principles for success:- Know your outcome Take positive action Have enough sensory awareness to know if you're being effective Have behavioral flexibility Operate from a physiology and a psychology of excellence A systematic and scientific approach to learning will increase your chances of success dramatically. Instead of approaching learning haphazardly and wasting enormous amounts of time simply expecting results; you can focus on the strategy and approach to learning. Here are few key points to remember about NLP Learning Strategy: There is a clear and definite patter to our learning The patterns are embedded in our thought process Key to unlocking the patterns is observation Use a test operate and test exist strategy to see if an action works Successful patterns can be cultivated To be continued….. “The articles are a copyright of The Ahamo Movement and IASBABA.”