Current News Analysis 31 -10 -2016 A. GS1 Related B. GS2 ...

Current News Analysis

31-10-2016

A. GS1 Related

B. GS2 Related

1. PM tells nation to forge unity, fight separatist tendencies

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/forge-unity-fight-separatist-

tendencies-pm-tells-nation/article9286595.ece

Category: National programs and policies

Topic: OROP

Key Points:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Rs. 5,500 crore has been allocated for

implementing the OROP scheme, an issue that had been hanging fire for the last 40

years, even as he lauded the valour and sacrifice of the armed forces amid tension on

the border with Pakistan. PM fulfilled the promise made to ex-servicemen on the One

Rank, One Pension scheme.

PM Modi in his monthly Mann ki Baat programme on All India Radio – 25th in the

line, asked the people and the State governments to find ways of forging unity across

the country and work to defeat separatist tendencies and mentalities.

2.Last Maoist bastion may have begun to crumble

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/last-maoist-bastion-

may-have-begun-to-crumble/article9285915.ece

Category: Extremism

Topic: Naxalism

Key Points:

The last Maoist bastion in the Andhra - Odisha Border (AOB) area may have begun

to crumble. This much was evident when a team of crack anti-Maoist forces from

Andhra Pradesh and Odisha took the battle to the AOB, took them by surprise and

killed 30.

Since the Maoist movement began in Andhra Pradesh in 1967 the densely forested

AOB, stretching across 1,200 sq km through parts of Visakhapatnam and East

Godavari in AP and Malkangiri and Koraput in Odisha, was considered

impregnable.

The Greyhounds and their Odisha counterparts were taking no chances. About 80

of them, armed to the teeth, were ferried by copters to Munchingput three days before

they attacked their targets.

Planning took place with consultations between the top police and paramilitary

officials posted in Odsiha, AP and Chhattisgarh and with inputs from IB.

As local tribal people are not helping them, the Maoists now depend on cadres from

the Bastar region. Leadership from the tribal people is also minimal and tribal people

do not accept leadership from upper caste cadres, which leads to a conflict. Most of

the cadres from the AOB have deserted or have surrendered and Maoists now depend

on the Koya tribe from Chhattisgarh region, said Sukhdev a surrendered Maoist.

More importantly, the entire tribal leadership in the AOB area has been wiped out

with the killing of Bakuri Venkat Ramana alias Ganesh, a Special Zonal Committee

Member (SZCM) in the encounter.

3. EU, Canada sign FTA

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-canada-trade-idUSKBN12U0HU

Category: Bilateral

Topic: EU – Canada FTA

Key Points:

The European Union and Canada signed a free trade agreement that aims to

generate jobs and growth. The FTA is a step that should enable a provisional

implementation of the pact early in 2017 with the removal of most import duties.

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement – CETA’s passage has not

been smooth. French-speakers in southern Belgium, a minority within their own

small country and accounting for less than 1 percent of the 508 million EU consumers

likely to be affected by CETA, raised objections that held up the deal until a

breakthrough.

The Canada agreement is seen as a springboard to a larger EU deal with the United

States, known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Treaty (TTIP), which has

been the target of labor unions and environmental and other protest groups.

CETA will increase Canadian-EU trade by 20 percent and boost the EU economy

by 12 billion euros ($13 billion) a year and Canada's by C$12 billion ($9 billion).

The deal will eliminate tariffs on almost 99 percent of goods. The beneficiaries

would include, for example, carmakers or the EU textile sector, for which Canadian

duties of up to 18 percent can be imposed at present.

For the EU, it is the 1st trade pact with a G7 country and a success plucked from the

jaws of defeat at a time when the bloc's credibility has taken a beating from Britain's

vote in June to leave after 43 years of membership.

C.GS3 Related

1. RSS Formidable

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/singapore-navys-stealth-

frigate-comes-calling-at-visakhapatnam/article9286540.ece

Category: Defense - Navy

Topic: Stealth Frigate

Key Points:

The Singaporean Navy’s Stealth frigate RSS Formidable arrived at Visakhapatnam

on a 5 day visit to Eastern Naval Command (ENC) as a part of the ongoing

Singapore-India maritime bilateral exercises. The two Navies share a long-standing

relationship with regular professional interactions which include exchange

programmes, staff talks and training courses.

RSS Formidable is the 1st of the 6 multi-role stealth frigates which forms part of the

185 Squadron based at Changi.

Bilateral cooperation between Singapore and India was first formalised when the

Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) ships began training with Indian Navy in 1994

and 2016 edition, SIMBEX-16 is being held in the Bay of Bengal region - the 23rd

such exercise in the series is aimed at increasing interoperability between the RSN

and the Indian Navy as well as at developing common understanding and procedures

for maritime security operations.

During SIMBEX-16, the Singapore Navy will be represented by RSS Formidable

and maritime patrol aircraft Fokker 50, operating from Port Blair. The thrust of the

exercises at sea this year would be on anti-submarine warfare (ASW) - integrated

operations with surface, air and sub-surface forces, air defence and surface encounter

exercises.

The Indian Navy will be represented by INS Ranvijay, a guided missile destroyer,

INS Kamorta, an indigenous ASW stealth corvette, one Sindhughosh-class

submarine, in addition to long range maritime patrol aircraft P8I, maritime patrol

aircraft Dornier, advanced jet trainer Hawk and integral rotary wing helicopters

are also scheduled to participate in the exercise.

2. GRAPES – 3 experiment

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/indian-muon-trackers-get-a-

handle-on-solar-storms/article9281700.ece

Category: International experiments

Topic: R&D

Key Points:

The GRAPES-3 experiment is a special telescope-array established in Ooty, Tamil

Nadu to detect muons from cosmic ray showers. The experiment has detected a

surge in muon intensity correlated with a weakening of the earth’s magnetic field due to a solar storm that hit the earth on June 22, 2015.

The experiment is Indo-Japanese collaboration, it is unique in that it can be used to

study solar storms and space weather at distances up to two times the earth’s radius,

unlike satellite-based studies that can yield information only about what is happening

in their vicinity.

A coronal mass ejection (CME) left the sun on June 21, 2015 and, along with two

such others that left the sun on June 18 and 19, reached earth on June 22, 2015. Solar

flares are often followed by CMEs which are nothing but giant clouds of plasma

which also contain embedded magnetic fields. This CME was associated with a solar

flare from the sunspot region 12371 near the central disc of the sun. This caused a

solar storm and ensuing radio blackouts and Aurora Borealis. Analysing data from

the GRAPES-3 muon-tracking telecope, scientists have inferred that while it lasted,

the CME resulted in weakening the earth’s magnetic field, allowing high energy cosmic rays to burst through.

This method can serve as a monitor of solar storms

D. GS4 Related

E. Important Editorials

The Hindu

1. Get serious about fighting TB

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/get-serious-about-fighting-tb-

says-who/article9285813.ece

Pushed to a corner owing to lack of political will on the part of countries with a high

burden of tuberculosis, the World Health Organisation has called for the first

United Nations General Assembly session on the disease.

The fight against TB cannot be won as long as the high-burden countries, particularly

India which has the highest TB burden in the world, do not galvanise their

government machinery effectively. While the number of deaths caused by TB and

the incidence rate had been consistently dropping from the historical highs

globally, there has been a recent uptick that is much larger than previously estimated.

The primary reason is the sharp increase in the incidence estimate from India from

2.2 million cases in 2014 to 2.8 million in 2015. Ironically, the revised disease

burden estimate for India is an interim one; the actual burden, which could be much

higher, will be known only when the national TB prevalence survey that is scheduled

to begin next year is completed. The number of estimated deaths caused by TB more

than doubled from 220,000 in 2014 to 483,000 in 2015. As in the case of incidence,

the revised estimate for deaths could also be an underestimation.

The increase in incidence owes to a 34 per cent rise in case notifications by health-

care providers in the private sector between 2013 and 2015. Yet, in 2015

notifications by doctors in the private sector comprised only 16 per cent of the total.

Though notification was made mandatory in 2012, only 1.7 million incident TB cases

in the public and private sectors were notified in 2015. Thus the fate of 1.1 million

patients is simply not known: they have fallen off the radar.

For an effective fight against TB, the control programme needs to be aware of every

single patient diagnosed, and offer treatment to all. If there are only about 50 per cent

of the patients approaching the private sector who successfully complete treatment, a

recent study has shown that in 2013 only about 65 per cent of the 1.9 million who

approached the public sector completed the treatment regime. The crisis has been

aggravated with the disease becoming more expensive and difficult to treat and the

number of people with drug-resistant forms increasing.

The national TB control programme is behind schedule with respect to critical

programmes including the expansion of the GeneXpert pilot programme, scaling up

of drug sensitivity testing, and the introduction of a child-friendly paediatric TB drug.

Only sustained action on several fronts can help bring TB under check. The global

war will not be successful till India wins the battle within its own boundaries first.

F. Concepts-in-News: Related Concepts to Revise/Learn:

1. Concepts-in-News: Related Concepts to Revise/Learn

WHO

Tuberculosis

Naxalism

One Rank One Pension scheme

Stealth Frigate

Free Trade agreement

2. BILLS/ACTS/SCHEMES/ORGS IN NEWS

BILLS/ACTS/SCHEMES/ORGS

IN NEWS

Links to Refer

One rank One pension

scheme

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Rank,_One_Pension

3. Tags

CETA

TB

OROP

Practice Questions

Date: 31

st October, 2016

Category: Defense

Topic: Navy Source: The Hindu Difficulty level: Easy Type: Factual

1. RSS Formidable sometimes appears in news. It is

a) Singaporean Navy’s Stealth frigate

b) Indian Navy’s indigenously built Nuclear powered submarine

c) Indian Navy’s Attack submarine

d) Singaporean Navy’s Aircraft Carrier

Ans (a)

Date: 31

st October, 2016

Category: S&T

Topic: Research & development

Source: The Hindu Difficulty level: Medium Type: Factual

2. Grapes - 3 experiment, a joint collaboration of India and Japan is related to -

a) Green House technology

b) Study the Extra - Terrestrial life

c) Green Revolution

d) Study solar storms and space weather

Ans (d)

Date: 31st October, 2016

Category: International trade Topic: Preferential trade agreements

Source: The Hindu Difficulty level: Medium Type: Conceptual

3. Which of the following preferential trade agreements represent the highest form of

Economic integration among the countries?

a) Free trade agreement

b) Customs Union

c) Economic union

d) Common market

Ans (c)

Date: 31st October, 2016

Category: Defense - Navy

Topic: Joint military exercise Source: The Hindu Difficulty level: Medium Type: factual

4. SIMBEX-16, the joint naval exercise held in the Bay of Bengal region is between -

(a) India and Singapore

(b) India and Nepal

(c) Singapore and Afghanistan

(d) India and Pakistan

Ans (a)

Date: 31st October, 2016

Category: Extremsim

Difficulty level: Medium Type: Factual

5. The Red Corridor, a region in the east of India is used to describe -

a) Terror outfits

b) Naxalite – Maoist insurgency

c) Smuggling activities

d) Both a and b

Ans (b)

Comprehensive News Analysis

01-11-2016

B. GS2 Related

1. More differently abled attend schools than before: Census

http://www.thehindu.com/data/more-differently-abled-attend-schools-than-before-census/article9288745.ece

Category: Social Justice Topic: Vulnerable sections of society

Key Points:

Nearly two-thirds of the disabled population in the age-group of 5-19 in 2011 were attending educational institutions, according to new census data release

2. Caught in the crossfire

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-loc-and-border-area-caught-in-the-crossfire/article9288617.ece

Category: International Relations Topic: India-Pakistan

Key Points:

Exchange of fire between Indian and Pakistani forces on the Line of Control and the

International Boundary has rendered the 2003 ceasefire ever more fragile The brunt of these exchanges is borne by the civilian population in the border

villages Hundreds have been shifted to shelters and bunkers for safety The density of civilian settlement is much higher on the Indian side in comparison to

Pakistan’s. As a result, the increased firing across the border creates more pressure on India

After the two countries agreed to a ceasefire in 2003, the resultant calm had won the

confidence of local residents The current spiral of violence threatens this peace dividend After the surgical strikes, the security forces retain a free hand in responding to

infiltrations and instances of firing The latest incident underscores the need for an urgent political initiative to prevent

the cycle of brutality and reprisal from acquiring its own momentum, as happened in

the early 2010s It is time the government gathered the reins to address the issue politically and have

peace restored on the border

C. GS3 Related

1. A.P., Telangana top in ease of doing business

http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/ease-of-doing-business-andhra-pradesh-telangana-tops-2016-allindia-ranking/article9288074.ece

Category: Indian Economy

Topic: Development

Key Points:

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have jointly topped the 2016 all-India State/Union

Territory-wise ease of doing business rankings, while last year’s topper Gujarat slipped to the third spot

The rankings have been arrived at on the basis of a 340-point business reform action

plan and their implementation by the States The World Bank said what was interesting this year was that four of the seven States

with the lowest income levels in India had found a place in the top 10, while all the seven such States had an implementation rate of over 75 per cent

These low-income States included Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar

The Bank, along with the Centre’s Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) was involved in the process of reviewing the evidence submitted by States/UTs regarding implementation of reforms for the rankings

D. GS4 Related

D. Important Editorials

The Hindu: The pivot through Kabul

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/the-pivot-through-

kabul/article9289358.ece

Category: International Relations Topic: India - Afghanistan

Key Points:

India is a small fish in this pond. But its clout is growing

Indian arms exports doubled by value from 2012- 13 to 2014- 15 to over $ 200 million

The recipients included Afghanistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Vietnam, South Korea, and even major exporters like Russia, Israel, and Britain. Most of these have been spares

and minor equipment Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a $ 500 million line of defence

credit to Vietnam during his trip to Hanoi, building on an earlier line of credit two

years ago for Indian patrol boats India has a long history of modest arms provision and training in South Asia and

Africa, but by and large it has held back from game- changing sales that would have strategic ripples

India’s growing arms footprint in Afghanistan points to an important future aspect of

its regional power projection

Recommended: http://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/india-afghanistan-strengthen-security-ties

PIB: NITI Aayog launches the first ever Agricultural Marketing & Farm Friendly Reforms Index.

Maharashtra ranks first

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=153145

Key Points:

NITI Aayog has identified three key areas for reform and is now persuading states to

undertake the reforms. The areas identified for immediate reforms are:

Agricultural market reforms

Land lease reforms

Reforms related to forestry on private land – felling and transit

of trees

Agricultural development in India has entirely ignored the potential of marketing and has

continued to follow its old trajectory

Therefore, the benefits that can be accrued from agriculture are largely untapped

Productivity is some states is regrettably low and there is a vast disconnect between

prices received by farmers and the prices paid by consumers

Moreover, private capital and modernization have completely evaded agriculture,

resulting in barely any addition to the value chain

The poor state of reforms in the sector is also the primary reason for the non-performance

of agricultural food processing industry in India

NITI Aayog has launched an index to rank States and UTs that is based on

implementation of seven provisions proposed under model APMC Act, joining eNAM

initiative, special treatment to fruits and vegetables for marketing and level of taxes in

mandis

The Index is named as “Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index” and it has a score which can have minimum value “0” implying no reforms and maximum value “100” implying complete reforms in the selected areas

The state of Maharashtra achieved first rank in implementation of various reforms

F. CONCEPTS IN NEWS

1. India – Pakistan

2. India – Afghanistan

3. Niti Aayog

4. Air Quality Index

Tags:

Air Pollution, Agriculture, Education, India-Pakistan, APMC act

G. BILLS/ACTS/SCHEMES/ORGS IN NEWS

Analysis of the Transgender Persons Bill

http://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/the-transgender-persons-protection-of-rights-bill-2016-4360/

Practice Questions

Date: 1st November, 2016 Category: Indian Economy Topic: Money and Banking, International Trade Source: Hindu Difficulty level: Moderate Type: Factual

1] Which of the following organizations brings out the publication known as ‘World Economic Outlook’?

(a) The International Monetary Fund (b) The United Nations Development Programme (c) The World Economic Forum (d) The World Bank

Answer: (a)

Date: 1st November, 2016 Category: Geography Topic: Various Parts of the World Source: Hindu Difficulty level: Moderate Type: Factual

2] Consider the following statements,

1] The neighbouring countries of Laos are, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and China.

2] Vietnam shares a coastline with the Gulf of Tonkin.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a) 1 Only

b) 2 Only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

Ans(c)

Date: 1st November, 2016 Category: Art and Culture Topic: Buddhism Source: Hindu Difficulty level: Moderate Type: Factual

3] Consider the following statements about the ancient Nalanda University?

1] Nalanda was established in the 5th century AD in Bihar, India.

2] It was devoted to Buddhist studies, but it also trained students in fine arts, medicine,

mathematics, astronomy, politics and the art of war.

3] Hsuan Tsang, the famous pilgrim from China came here and studied and taught for 5 years in the

7th Century A.D.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a) 1 and 2 Only

b) 3 Only

c) All 1, 2 and 3

d) 2 and 3 Only

Ans(c)

Date: 1st November, 2016 Category: Polity and Governance Topic: Planning Source: Hindu Difficulty level: Moderate Type: Factual

4] Which of the following is true regarding the river Brahmaputra?

1] NITI Aayog is the premier policy ‘Think Tank’ of the Government of India, providing both directional and policy inputs.

2] At the core of NITI Aayog’s creation are two hubs – Team India Hub and the Knowledge

and Innovation Hub.

3] The Team India Hub leads the engagement of states with the Central government, while the

Knowledge and Innovation Hub builds NITI’s think-tank capabilities. These hubs reflect the two key

tasks of the Aayog.

a. 1 and 2 Only b. 2 and 3 Only c. All 1, 2 and 3 d. 2 Only

Ans(c)

Date: 1st November, 2016 Category: Polity and Governance Topic: Govt. Schemes Source: Hindu Difficulty level: Moderate Type: Factual

5] Which of the following is/are true?

1] National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) is all India electronic trading portal which aims at to form a

unified national market for agricultural products by making a network for the markets related to the

existing Agricultural Product Marketing Committee (APMC).

2] Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana has been launched to provide relief to the farmers due to

poor monsoon. Under this scheme emphasis are being put on “water to each and every farm” that is to say to provide facilities of irrigation to each and every farmer along with enhancement of water

conservation skill.

a. Only 1 b. Only 2 c. Both 1 and 2 d. Neither 1 nor 2

Ans(c)

Comprehensive News Analysis

02-11-2016

B. GS2 Related

1. Fourteen centuries later, Xuan Zang to build another bridge to India

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/xuan-zang-to-build-another-bridge-to-india/article9292498.ece

Category: International Relations Topic: India-China

Key Points:

Seventh century Chinese pilgrim and scholar-monk Xuan Zang, also known as Huan-

Tsang, is a traveller-historian familiar to Indians The Chinese Consulate General in Kolkata has decided to use his work at a public

event here to explain the depth of China’s relationship with India over the last 1400 years and focus on “cooperation.”

Ties between the neighbours have dipped in recent months over differences on

India’s entry to the Nuclear Suppliers Group, UN terror listing of Masood Azhar and campaign against Chinese goods. But the effort is to focus on “cooperation” rather than “competition.”

In the decade that began in 630 AD, Xuan Zang came to India through Kashmir after

visiting Central Asia, Iran and Afghanistan He travelled from north to east during his 14-year stay and lived in Bihar for a couple

of years At Nalanda University, Xuan Zang interacted with students and scholars, mastered

local languages and discovered Buddhist stupas

2. Why diversity needs secularism

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/why-diversity-needs-secularism/article9292832.ece

Category: Indian Democracy Topic: Secularism

Key Points:

These two words — secular and socialist — entered the Constitution when most leaders of the Opposition were under arrest for their resistance to the Emergency

Since these words were retained during the 44nd amendment under the Janata Party regime, it is suggestive of a broad consensus among India’s political leadership for their insertion in the Constitution

Why did our founding fathers not include them in the Constitution in the first place?

Scholars have tried to explain this. In his presidential address to the Indian History Congress, Malda, in 2015, historian Sabyasachi Bhattacharya argued that it was Jawaharlal

Nehru’s and Ambedkar’s larger belief in the values of equality and justice that encouraged them not to introduce these words

One wonders how one could speak of equality and justice in a multi-religious society without secularism

Diversity as a political project can only be effective with secularism as a working foundational value

C. GS3 Related

1. Lack of inclusion linked to the allure of jihadism

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/lack-of-inclusion-linked-to-the-allure-of-jihadism/article9292477.ece

Category: Internal Security

Topic: Terrorism

Key Points:

A new World Bank analysis has found the factors most strongly associated with

foreign individuals’ joining the organisation have to do with lack of economic and social inclusion in their country of residence

The analysis finds that terrorism cannot be associated with poverty or low levels of

education It found strong association between a country’s male unemployment rate and the

propensity of that country to supply the IS recruits, but could not detect any robust

correlation between the propensity to be a supplier of recruits and the measures of

socio-economic diversity such as the Gini coefficient (measures income inequality)

and measures of fractionalisation that capture ethnic, linguistic, or religious diversity Wealthier countries (as measured by their per capita GDP) are more likely to supply

foreign recruits. The researchers found similar patterns on using the Human

Development Index as a proxy for economic development “We find that Daesh [IS] did not recruit its foreign workforce among the poor and

less educated, but rather the opposite,” the researchers wrote “Policies that promote job creation, therefore, not only benefit young people seeking

jobs, but may help thwart the spread of violent extremism....”

D. GS4 Related

D. Important Editorials

The Indian Express: The overrated urban spinoff

http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/brics-urbanisation-forum-smart-

city-rural-3732844/

Category: Indian Economy

Topic: Development

Speaking at the third BRICS Urbanisation Forum in Visakhapatnam on September 14,

Deputy Chairman of the Niti Ayog, Arvind Panagariya, announced that “Without cities we can’t grow rapidly”. He added, “urbanisation plays an important role in poverty alleviation”

A recent report prepared for the UN points out that, over the last two decades, India’s urban population increased from 217 million to 377 million, and this is expected to reach

600 million by 2031 — 40 per cent of the country’s population

The current pattern of urbanisation is largely taking place on the fringe of cities, much of

it is unplanned and outside the purview of city codes and bylaws

It is already imposing high costs

A recent IMF study measured the impact of urbanisation on rural poverty in India

It distinguished between the location and the economic linkage effects

Location - entails reduction in rural poverty due to the change in residence — from rural

areas to cities

Economic - focuses on the impact of growth of the urban population on the rural poverty

rate

There are several channels through which urban population growth affects poverty in

surrounding areas: Consumption linkages, rural non-agricultural employment,

remittances, rural land/labour ratios, rural land prices and consumer prices

Urbanisation has a significant poverty-reducing effect on the surrounding rural areas

Over the entire period in question, poverty reduced between 13 per cent and 25 per cent

as a result of urbanisatio

But this reduction is not as substantial when compared to the reduction in rural poverty

brought about by state-led rural bank branch expansion, which explains approximately

half of the overall reduction of rural poverty between 1961 and 2000

So, without comparison of direct and multiplier effects of rural transformation and

urbanisation, an isolated analysis of either sector is likely to be misleading

PIB: Kerala declared Open Defecation Free

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=153172

Category: Social Justice

Topic: Health

Key Points:

The State of Kerala today became the third State overall and the largest State so far to be

declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) (Gramin)

Freedom from open defecation has been proven to lead to significant health benefits in terms of

incidences of water-borne diseases, especially in children, and provide safety and dignity for all,

especially women and senior citizens

Kerala, with a rural population of approximately 3.5 crores, is also the largest State so far to

have achieved the ODF Status, after Sikkim (~6 lakhs) and Himachal Pradesh (~70 lakhs)

Importance of behaviour change communication by the state, effective solid and liquid waste

management and the role of local governance in sustaining the ODF Status of the State cannot

be ignored

F. CONCEPTS IN NEWS

1. Swacchh Bharat Abhiyan

2. India-China

3. Urbanisation

4. Poverty

5. Terrorism

Tags:

Agriculture, Huan Tsang, ISIS, Secularism

G. BILLS/ACTS/SCHEMES/ORGS IN NEWS

International Monetary Fund

https://www.imf.org/external/about.htm

Practice Questions

Date: 02nd November, 2016 Category: International Relations Topic: India-China Source: Hindu

Difficulty level: Moderate Type: Factual

1] Which of the following is true?

i. The Yellow river in China falls in the gulf of Pohai ii. The city of Shanghai is situated at the mouth of the river Yangtze

a. Only 2 b. Only 1 c. Both 1 and 2 d. Neither 1 nor 2

Ans (c)

Date: 02nd November, 2016 Category: Governance Topic: Secularism Source: Hindu Difficulty level: Moderate Type: Analytical

2] Which of the following is/are enshrined by Article 25 of the constitution?

i. All persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to

profess, practise and propagate religion

ii. Freedom as to payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion

a. Only 2 b. Only 1 c. Both 1 and 2 d. Neither 1 nor 2

Ans(c)

Date: 02nd November, 2016 Category: Security Topic: Terrorism Source: Hindu Difficulty level: Moderate Type: Factual

3] Which of the following is not true?

a. Established in 1835, Assam Rifles is the oldest of all paramilitary forces b. AR's job is to counter insurgency and hold border security operations along Indo-Myanmar

border c. BSF came into being in the wake of the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war, to ensure the security of the

borders of India and is also called the 'First Wall of Defence of Indian Territories' d. None of the above

Ans(d)

Date: 02nd November, 2016 Category: History Topic: Travellers Source: Hindu Difficulty level: Moderate Type: Factual

4] Which of the following is true regarding travelers in Ancient India?

i. Megasthenes was a Greek traveler who wrote the book ‘Indica’ ii. Hsuan Tsang was a Chinese traveler who stayed for more than a decade in

India and was followed by another Chinese traveler called Fahien a. Only 1 b. Only 2 c. Both 1 and 2 d. Neither 1 nor 2

Ans(a)

Date: 02nd November, 2016 Category: Society

Topic: Urbanisation Source: Hindu Difficulty level: Moderate Type: Analytical

5] Which of the following is true?

i. The level of urbanisation is measured in terms of percentage of urban

population to total population

ii. An urban agglomeration may consist of any one of the three combinations: (i) a

town and its adjoining urban outgrowths, (ii) two or more contiguous towns

with or without their outgrowths, and (iii) a city and one or more adjoining

towns with their outgrowths together forming a contiguous spread a. Only 1 b. Only 2 c. Both 1 and 2 d. Neither 1 nor 2

Ans(c)

Current News Analysis

03-11-2016

A. GS1 Related

B. GS2 Related

1. Centre moots registry to vet geospatial data

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/centre-moots-registry-to-vet-

geospatial-data/article9296731.ece

Category: National programs and policies

Topic: Geospatial data

Key Points:

The government is developing a national data registry to collect and store

geospatial data. The registry will also serve as a source of authenticated information

which means the officials at the Survey of India would vet it for accuracy and see

whether it contains information that contravenes national security.

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) will be the nodal coordinating

agency for the implementation of the Registry. It requires all agencies - state, private

and academic to collect and store geospatial data to share it with the registry.

The purpose of such a registry was to create a catalogue that would prevent

duplication of data sets and help users locate the right agencies to source

information. The registry will be a meta-data repository: it will not actually be a

source of geospatial data but will only inform about the nature of the data a service

provider has. Thus, everyone from restaurant-location-service providers to hospital-

location aggregators will have to comply with the directive, and the government may

bring in legislation.

The data registry initiative, though independent of the Geospatial Bill, would also

double as a clearing house for geospatial applications. The Survey of India is the

foremost authority on different kinds of map. Such a registry would serve as a check

on the quality of data.

Note - India’s geospatial industry covers a wide range of services, from information

on remote-sensing information to personalised services, and, according to industry

estimates, expected to be $20 billion market by 2025.

2. Indo-Sri Lanka fishermen talks end in stalemate

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/indosri-lanka-fishermen-talks-end-

in-stalemate/article9296510.ece

Category: Bilateral

Topic: Indo – Srilanka Fisherman issue

Key Points:

A fresh round of bilateral talks between Indian and Sri Lankan fisher leaders at

Rameswaram over a long pending issue ended in a stalemate. The Sri Lankan fisher

leaders rejected a demand from their Indian counterparts for a 3 year phasing out

period from Sri Lankan waters.

12 fishermen association members from Tamil Nadu and 10 of their counterparts

from northern Sri Lanka met at the conference arranged by Union ministry of

External Affairs at Rameswaram after a gap of nearly one and a half years, with all

previous rounds of negotiations related proving futile. However, this was the first

meeting in which high-level government officials from both sides were also present.

The Sri Lankan fishermen want their Indian counterparts to stop engaging in

bottom-trawling, a fishing practice known to harm the marine ecosystem. Indian

fishermen demanded they be allowed to do fishing for 85 days per year for the next

three years following which it will withdraw the fishermen completely.

Sri Lankan fishermen group strongly put forth its position that it won’t release any

single vessel arrested without following due procedures. The Sri Lankan fisher

leaders demanded compensation for the losses incurred due to alleged fishing by

Tamil Nadu fishermen in their waters before moving forward with further dialogue.

The Sri Lankan fishermen alleged that Tamil Nadu fishermen illegally hatch fisheries

stock causing huge losses to them.

3. Nepal asks India to avoid interference

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/avoid-interference-nepal-to-

india/article9296619.ece

Category: Bilateral

Topic: India - Nepal

Key Points:

Nepal accorded a warm welcome to President of India Pranab Mukherjee but asserted

that India should avoid interfering in the internal issues of the country. Soon upon

the arrival of the Indian President, divisions in Nepali politics became evident on the

issue of constitutional amendments for the Madhesi people of the plains, even as

the visiting President praised the democratic struggle in Nepal and urged his hosts to

draft a constitution that would address the diverse social fabric.

Nepal maintained that Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda was on his

way to complete a series of amendments to the year-old Constitution, but said they

would prefer to do so without interference from major powers, including India.

C.GS3 Related

1. States yet to come up with options for cess on GST

http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/states-yet-to-come-up-with-

options-for-cess-on-gst/article9296695.ece

Category: Economy

Topic: GST

Key Points:

Multiple slabs, ranging from 0 to 26 per cent, with a cess on ultra luxuries and

demerit goods in the top-most slab, is the only rate structure for consideration in the

GST Council, which is scheduled to reconvene for the next round of deliberations.

The States that had objected to the imposition of cess on GST, leading the last

Council meeting to end inconclusively, have not put up any alternative proposals for

inclusion in the agenda. The States’ main grouse was that the Centre’s proposal

regarding the imposition of a cess on the GST for generating the revenues it will need

to fund compensations to States for losses arising out of the transition to the new

indirect tax regime would amount to the use of GST revenues for compensating GST

losses.

GST Council officials explained that the option of fixing the top-most slab at a level

higher than the proposed 26 per cent as an alternative to the imposition of the cess

is not feasible: “Not all of the revenues raised from the GST will come to the Centre

as it will have to devolve 42 per cent of the collections to all states, including those

not suffering losses, in accordance with the Finance Commission’s award… so the

Centre will have to raise revenues in excess of the sum required to fund the

compensations…this will overburden tax payers”. This would also hold for revenues

raised from direct taxes such as income tax for compensating States.

On the other hand, the revenues mopped up from the cess, the Centre argued would

go into a separate escrow account from where direct disbursements will be made only

to those states that will be eligible for compensations from the Centre in line with pre-

determined formulae.

GST Council officials also ruled out a single-rate GST saying it would be too

regressive. A country like India cannot overnight raise the incidence of indirect taxes

on goods and services consumed by the poor to 12 or 15 or 15.5 per cent and at the

same time we can also not slash taxation rates falling on the rich to these levels from

40 per cent or more currently

2. S&P rules out India rating upgrade

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-business/sp-rules-out-india-rating-

upgrade/article9297333.ece

Category: Credit Rating Agencies

Topic: S&P

Key Points:

Credit rating agency Standards & Poor ruled out any upgrade in India’s sovereign

rating through 2017 despite policy stability and reforms. The Agency’s Global

Ratings maintained the lowest investment grade rating of ‘BBB - ’ with a ‘stable’

outlook for India saying it wants to see more efforts to lower government debt to

below 60 per cent of the GDP and that it did not expect revenues to rise enough to

meaningfully lower the deficit over the medium term.

S&P said the stable outlook balances India’s sound external position and inclusive

policy making tradition against the vulnerabilities stemming from its low per capita

income and weak public finances.

Reacting strongly to the ratings, the Department of Economic Affairs said the

upgrade did not come despite the fact that reforms undertaken by India was

unparalleled by any major economy anywhere in the world and that called for

introspection on part of the rating agencies.

D. GS4 Related

E. Important Editorials

The Hindu

1. Green farms and clean air

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/air-pollution-green-farms-and-

clean-air/article9296645.ece

The massive pollution cloud enveloping northern India every year is a good

example of the growing disconnect between official policy and ground realities. It

has been known for long that burning of agricultural waste in the northern States

significantly contributes to the poor air quality in large parts of the Indo-Gangetic

Basin, with local and cascading impacts felt from Punjab all the way to West Bengal.

Harmful fine particulate matter measuring 2.5 mm in diameter (PM2.5) is among

the pollutants released. Punjab responded to the issue with a prohibition on the

burning of paddy straw, and the launch of initiatives aimed at better utilisation of

biomass, including as a fuel to produce power. Yet, there is no mission mode

approach to the annual crisis.

The efforts do not match the scale of agricultural residues produced, for one, and fail

to address farmers’ anxiety to remove the surplus from the fields quickly to make way

for the next crop. The national production of crop waste is of the order of 500

million tonnes a year, with Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and West Bengal topping the list.

Again, 80 per cent of straw from paddy is burnt in some States, impacting air quality

and depriving croplands of nutrients.

It is an irony that the national capital and several other cities suffer crippling

pollution in the post-monsoon and winter months partly due to biomass burning,

when demand for fodder is rising and the surplus material could be used productively.

Pilot projects to produce power using biomass demonstrated in Rajasthan, and

mechanised composting and biogas production units of the Indian Agricultural

Research Institute could be scaled up, and farmers given liberal support to deploy

such solutions. Given the twin benefits of pollution abatement and better productivity,

conservation agriculture needs to be popularised. This would encourage farmers to

use newer low-till seeding technologies that allow much of the crop residues to

remain on site, and curb the release of a variety of pollutants.

Burning residues add greenhouse gases that cause global warming, besides

pollutants such as carbon monoxide, ammonia, nitrous oxide and sulphur dioxide

that severely affect human health. Sustained work is called for, given that higher

agricultural productivity to meet food needs is inevitable, with a cascading increase in

biomass volumes.

The challenge is to identify measures to utilise it. By one estimate, if India can reach

its own air quality standards for fine particulate matter from all sources, annual

premature deaths can be cut by almost 10 per cent. A programme to cut pollution

from waste-burning would be a good start.

F. Concepts-in-News: Related Concepts to Revise/Learn:

1. Concepts-in-News: Related Concepts to Revise/Learn

Geo-spatial data

Indo-Lanka Fishermen issue

Air Pollution

One Rank One Pension scheme

Credit rating agencies

GST Council

Survey of India

2. BILLS/ACTS/SCHEMES/ORGS IN NEWS

BILLS/ACTS/SCHEMES/ORGS

IN NEWS

Links to Refer

Credit Rating Agencies

GST

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_rating_agency

http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/all-you-need-to-

know-about-goods-and-services-tax/article7929788.ece

3. Tags

S&P

Madhesis

OROP

Practice Questions

Date: 3

rd November, 2016

Category: Economy

Topic: GST

Source: The Hindu

Difficulty level: Medium

Type: Conceptual

1. Which of the following statement is not correct regarding GST Council?

a) It upholds the Federal structure of the Indian political system in Tax administration

b) It is headed by the Union Finance minister

c) All 29 states are represented in the council

d) The centre and states have equal voting rights

Ans (d)

Date: 3

rd November, 2016

Category: Bilateral

Topic: Madhesis

Source: The Hindu

Difficulty level: Medium

Type: Factual

2. Madhesi people of the plains appears in news in the context of -

a) India - Nepal

b) India - Sri Lanka

c) India - Pakistan

d) Pakistan - Afghanistan

Ans (a)

Date: 3rd

November, 2016

Category: National Organizations

Topic: Survey of India

Source: The Hindu

Difficulty level: Medium

Type: Conceptual

3. Which of the following statements are correct regarding the Survey of India?

(i) It is India's central engineering agency in charge of mapping and surveying.

(ii) Survey of India publishes maps and the unrestricted category maps can be

obtained at very reasonable prices from its several Geo-spatial data centers.

a) (i) only

b) (ii) only

c) Both (i) and (ii)

d) Neither (i) nor (ii)

Ans (c)

Date: 3rd

November, 2016

Category: Environment

Topic: Air pollution

Source: The Hindu

Difficulty level: Medium

Type: factual

4. The National Air Quality index is released annually by

(a) Union ministry of Environment & Forests

(b) Union ministry of Science & Technology

(c) Central pollution control board

(d) National air quality monitoring agency

Ans (a)

Date: 3rd

November, 2016

Category: Credit Rating agencies

Difficulty level: Medium

Type: Factual

5. Which of the following is not a credit rating agency -

a) Standards & Poor

b) Moody’s

c) CRISIL

d) NIFTY

Ans (d)

Current News Analysis

04-11-2016

A. GS1 Related

B. GS2 Related

1. PM makes a pitch for concurrent elections

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/prime-minister-narendra-modi-makes-

pitch-for-concurrent-elections/article9301418.ece

Category: Indian Polity

Topic: Elections

Key Points:

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi asked the media to encourage debate on

issues that have a constructive effect on society, including organising simultaneous

polls for Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. The Prime Minister gave the example of

holding simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and Assembly, adding that leaders of

almost all political parties had privately admitted that something must be done on the

issue.

PM further said issues such as the frequent application of the model code of

conduct, poll funding etc. also need to be re-looked seriously.

2. 11,000 NGOs will not get foreign funds

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/11000-ngos-will-not-get-foreign-

funds/article9301417.ece

Category: Regulation of Foreign Contribution

Topic: Foreign Contribution Regulation Act

Key Points:

2 years after the Union government cancelled the Foreign Contribution Regulation

Act - FCRA licences of 10,000 NGOs, the licences of another 11,000 NGOs expired

as they did not apply for renewal in time.

Union ministry of Home affairs said expiry technically meant cancellation and the

NGOs could no longer receive foreign funds now. Among the most significant

cancellations were Adani Foundation promoted by business tycoon Gautam Adani,

Oxfam Trust, the Indian arm of the British human rights organisation and Salam

Balak Trust, which works for children’s rights.

The fate of another 1,700 NGOs is in a limbo as the Home Ministry has put them

under closed category for submitting incomplete documents.

This brings down the number of NGOs that can receive foreign donations from

33,000 to 25,000. Since the FCRA licence is given for 5 years, this year all the NGOs

had to apply for a renewal and the last date was June 30. The last time such an

exercise was done was in 2011 after the FCRA Act was amended in 2010.

3. Food Security Act implemented

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/food-security-act-implemented-

paswan/article9301829.ece

Category: National programs and policies

Topic: NFSA

Key Points:

Union Food ministry said the National Food Security Act - NFSA, which envisages

supply of subsidised foodgrains, has been implemented across the country. As a result

of the implementaion, 81.34 crore persons will get wheat at Rs. 2 per kg and rice at Rs. 3 per

kg.

At the current coverage, the monthly allocation of foodgrains to States and UTs

under the Act is about 45.5 lakh tonnes, with a subsidy implication of about Rs.

11,726 crore per month or about Rs.1,40,700 crore per year.

The Centre would now focus on further reforms in the public distribution system.

4. India, Chinese forces face off in Demchok over water project

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-china-standoff-in-

demchok/article9299943.ece

Category: Bilateral

Topic: India - China

Key Points:

The Indo Tibetan Border Police and the Chinese Army have been engaged in a faceoff

with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army along the Line of Actual Control in Leh’s

Demchok area. The Chinese side is objecting to an irrigation project under the

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to link a village with a

hot spring.

5. India opens IITs to Nepal students

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-opens-iits-to-nepal-

students/article9301335.ece

Category: Bilateral

Topic: India - Nepal

Key Points:

India announced that from 2017, Nepalese students would be able to compete for seats

in IITs in a move to reach out to the younger generation of Nepal. Announcing the new

opportunity for the students of Nepal, President of India Pranab Mukherjee said

academic and student exchange programmes had been part of the long tradition in

bilateral ties and India would continue to help Nepal with developing its human

resources.

President Mukherjee said the youths of South Asia should not remain hostage to

baggage of history, and urged that they should have more opportunities in education,

health, and technology and employment generation. He also met with a broad spectrum

of political and civil society figures in the evening and reminded Nepal that India

remained committed to its Neighbourhood first foreign policy.

6. Sampriti-7

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/india-bangladesh-joint-

exercise-from-tomorrow/article9302566.ece

Category: Bilateral

Topic: India - Bangladesh

Key Points:

Bangladesh and India will hold a 14-day joint military exercise, code-named Sampriti-7

at Shaheed Salauddin Cantonment in Bangladesh’s Ghatail, Tangail to practise counter-

terrorism and disaster-management operations. The bilateral defence cooperation

endeavour, hosted alternately by both countries, is into its 7th

edition.

The joint exercise will simulate a scenario where both nations are working together in a

counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism environment under the U.N. Charter. The

first exercise in this series was held at Jorhat in Assam in 2010.

7. High Court says Parliament’s nod needed for Brexit

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/parliaments-nod-

needed-for-brexit-high-court/article9302535.ece

Category: International

Topic: BREXIT

Key Points:

The High Court ruled that Brexit could not be triggered without a parliamentary vote

which is considered as a major victory for ‘Remain’ campaigners and those alarmed by

the British government’s efforts to single-handedly control the country’s exit from the

European Union (EU).

The court rejected government arguments that clauses in a piece of legislation from

1972 gave it the power to act without parliamentary approval when it came to triggering

Article 50, which gives EU member states a 2-year period to withdraw.

The court said government’s argument was contrary to the fundamental constitutional

principles of the sovereignty of Parliament and the government’s lack of entitlement to

use its prerogative powers to change domestic law. The developments are the latest

dramatic twist in the political drama that has enveloped the U.K. since the surprise vote

in favour of leaving the EU in June, 2016.

The government has announced it will appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, with a

hearing likely to take place in early December at the earliest.

The Conservatives are likely to rally around the Prime Minister. On the Labour side,

though there are many Labour MPs who campaigned against leaving, the clear Brexit

vote in many of their constituencies leaves them unlikely to vote against what is seen as

the clear will of the people.

C.GS3 Related

1. IISc produces a salt to combat bacterial infections

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/iisc-produces-a-highly-efficacious-

salt-to-combat-bacterial-infections/article9301125.ece

Category: S&T

Topic: Developments

Key Points:

A team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Science - IISc Bangalore has

successfully produced a highly efficacious binary salt of two commonly used drugs -

norfloxacin (antibacterial) and sulfathiazole (antimicrobial) using crystal

engineering.

It has enhanced pharmaceutical effects compared to the physical mixture of the two

drugs. The underlying reason for the salt’s improved efficacy is the better solubility

and diffusion of the drugs, particularly norfloxacin and, therefore, enhanced

bioavailability and pharmaceutical activity.

Norfloxacin in a pure form or in a physical mixture has low solubility and

permeability, so the amount of the drug that goes through the membrane and gets into

tissues is less. To compensate for this, higher dosages of norfloxacin drug are

generally used.

But in the case of the binary salt both diffuse together. It is like sulfathiazole pulls

norfloxacin across the membrane so both the drugs are available at the same time at

the site of action to combat the microbes together. The potency of the salt and the

physical mixture of the drugs was tested on E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus and

fungi. Studies showed that the salt was able to achieve the same result of inhibiting

bacterial and fungal growth at about half the concentration of the physical mixture.

2. NASA completes construction of largest space telescope

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/nasa-completes-construction-of-

largest-space-telescope/article9299732.ece

Category: S&T

Topic: NASA – Largest space telescope

Key Points:

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration - NASA has successfully

completed building the largest space telescope, James Webb Space Telescope one

that is 100 times powerful than the Hubble Space Telescope and may find the first

galaxies that were formed in the early universe.

The James Webb Space Telescope will be the successor of NASA’s 26-year-old

Hubble. The Webb telescope’s infrared cameras are so sensitive that it needs to be

shielded from the rays of the Sun. A 5-layer sunshield of the size of a tennis court will

prevent the heat from interfering with the telescope’s infrared sensors.

The layers work together to reduce the temperatures between the hot and cold sides

of the observatory by about 298 degrees Celsius. Each successive layer of the

sunshield, made of kapton, is cooler than the one below. The space agency has also

made the first important optical measurement of James Webb Space Telescope fully

assembled primary mirror, called a Center of Curvature test.

3. Council fixes 4-level GST rate structure

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/council-fixes-4level-gst-rate-

structure/article9302611.ece

Category: Economy

Topic: GST

Key Points:

The Goods and Services Tax - GST will be levied at multiple rates ranging from 0 per

cent to 28 per cent. Ultra luxuries, demerit and sin goods, will attract a cess for a period

of five years on top of the 28 per cent GST. Overcoming opposition from some States,

the GST Council finalised a multiple-slab rate structure, including the cess, for the new

indirect tax. The quantum of cess on each of these will depend on the current incidence of

tax.

Major decisions taken by the Council:

On nearly half of the consumer inflation basket, including food grains, the GST will

be at 0 per cent.

The lowest slab of 5 per cent will be for items of common consumption.

There would be two standard rates of 12 per cent and 18 per cent, which would fall

on the bulk of the goods and services. This includes fast-moving consumer goods.

Most services are expected to become costlier as the ones being taxed currently at the

rate of 15 per cent are likely to be put in the 18-per cent slab.

The services being taxed at lower rates, owing to the provision of abatement, such as

train tickets, will fall in the lower slabs.

The highest slab of 28 per cent will include white goods and all those items on which

the current rate of incidence varies from 30-31 per cent.

D. GS4 Related

E. Important Editorials

The Hindu

1. Getting real on OROP

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-getting-real-on-

orop/article9301342.ece

The suicide of Subedar Ram Kishen Grewal, allegedly over delay in receiving

arrears under the One Rank, One Pension scheme, has set off a political storm. In a

related move, the ex-servicemen groups demanding unconditional OROP have

resumed their protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar; it had been called off six months ago

after assurances from Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. Amidst all this, the real

issues in the implementation of OROP have been lost sight of.

The veterans are demanding OROP in its rightful form, which going by the

accepted definition implies uniform pension to armed forces personnel retiring with

the same rank and length of service regardless of the date of retirement. Among the

major concerns highlighted by the veterans are: annual equalisation as against the

approved five years; exclusion of those who opt for premature retirement (PMR) from

the ambit of OROP; implementation from April 2014; and adoption of the highest pay

scale of 2013 for revising pension. The government’s predicament is obvious. Except

for PMR, all these are financial issues and have budgetary implications. Annual

pension revision for over 20 lakh people would also be an administrative challenge.

The big issue is PMR, as it has consequences for the armed forces that go beyond

extra pension money. The Centre’s OROP notification said personnel who opt to get

discharged henceforth on their own request will not be entitled to its benefits. This

made a distinction between those who opted for PMR in the past and those who may

do so in future.

There is still no clarity on the criteria of PMR, which has created confusion in the

rank and file, particularly among those who are looking to leave the service after

completing the pensionable service or have been superseded and have no further

chances of promotion. It is debatable whether officers opting to leave the service on

their own for better prospects and drawing regular pension should be given the

additional benefit of OROP. However, there needs to be clarity to the PMR criteria,

else it could push back efforts to build a younger Army and improve promotion

opportunities. As for the implementation status, about Rs.5,500 crore had been

disbursed; of the roughly 20.6 lakh pensioners, only one lakh are still to get the

money. That the protests in Delhi have dwindled reflects the larger mood among

the veterans. It is a welcome step that OROP has been granted after 40 years of

demands, but the Centre must quickly iron out the remaining wrinkles.

F. Concepts-in-News: Related Concepts to Revise/Learn:

1. Concepts-in-News: Related Concepts to Revise/Learn

Election reforms

Foreign contribution regulation act

James Webb Space Telescope

One Rank One Pension scheme

Food security act

GST Council

2. BILLS/ACTS/SCHEMES/ORGS IN NEWS

BILLS/ACTS/SCHEMES/ORGS

IN NEWS

Links to Refer

GST http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/all-you-need-to-

know-about-goods-and-services-tax/article7929788.ece

3. Tags

FCRA

Hubble space telescope

OROP

Practice Questions

Date: 4

th November, 2016

Category: Indian Polity

Topic: Election reforms

Source: The Hindu

Difficulty level: Medium

Type: Conceptual

1. Which of the following Commission / Committee is related to Electoral reforms?

a) Sarkaria Commission

b) Madan Mohan Punchi commission

c) Dinesh Goswami committee

d) None of these

Ans (c)

Date: 4

th November, 2016

Category: S&T

Topic: Space

Source: The Hindu

Difficulty level: Medium

Type: Factual

2. NASA has successfully completed building the largest space telescope. The name of the

telescope is -

a) James Webb Space Telescope

b) Hubble Space Telescope

c) Chandra Space Telescope

d) Discovery

Ans (a)

Date: 4th November, 2016

Category: Bilateral

Topic: defense exercise

Source: The Hindu

Difficulty level: Medium

Type: Conceptual

3. Joint military exercise, code-named Sampriti-7 appears in news in the context of

a) India and Pakistan

b) India and Bangladesh

c) India and Nepal

d) India and U.S.

Ans (b)

Date: 4th November, 2016

Category: Administrative Reforms

Topic: Committee

Source: The Hindu

Difficulty level: Medium

Type: factual

4. Shanta Kumar Committee is related to

(a) Police reforms

(b) Public distribution system reforms

(c) Pollution control

(d) Sustainable development

Ans (b)

Date: 4th November, 2016

Category: Bilateral

Difficulty level: Medium

Type: Factual

5. Recently, India opened up entrance of IIT’s to the students of

a) Nepal

b) Maldives

c) Pakistan

d) Bangladesh

Ans (a)

Comprehensive News Analysis

05-11-2016

B. GS2 Related

1. Encephalitis ravages Odisha tribe, claims 60 children

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/encephalitis-ravages-odisha-tribe-claims-60-children/article9307310.ece

Category: Social Justice Topic: Health

Key Points:

The on-going outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (JE and AES) has severely affected the Koya community, Malkangiri‟s indigenous tribe

Deaths have also been reported from the Bhumia, Paraja and Kondh tribes

Few deaths have also been recorded among Bangladeshi settlers, who live close to the Koyas villages

Koyas in the remote and inaccessible Kalimela and Korukonda blocks have been the worst hit

2.Ominous curb on media freedom

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/govt-asks-ndtv-hindi-to-go-off-air-for-24-hrs-ominous-curb-on-media-freedom/article9306356.ece

Category: Governance Topic: Freedom of speech and expression

Key Points:

The order of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, directing that Hindi television channel NDTV India be taken off air for 24 hours on November 9, is a serious violation of media freedom

Ever since media coverage of the terror attacks in Mumbai in November 2008 created a controversy, it has been accepted that there is a need for restrained and responsible coverage of anti-terrorism operations and potential hostage situations

The News Broadcasting Standards Authority, set up by the News Broadcasters Association, came up with a set of rules

The Ministry could have either approached the authority, which is headed by a former Supreme Court judge, or formed an independent panel to adjudicate the question

Instead, it has invoked a rule introduced in June 2015 that imposes a blanket ban on all live coverage of any anti-terrorist operation until it ends

It has cited statutory provisions that empower the government to regulate or prohibit the transmission of TV programmes

There is no mention of any provision for appeal. None can reasonably argue that irresponsible live coverage of an ongoing operation should attract no penalty

A problem arises when the penalty is decided by a government panel

Taking a channel off air for however brief a period is a serious decision that could be read as a signal to other newsrooms to self-censor

C. GS3 Related

1. Still unwieldy but just in time

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/gst-still-unwieldy-but-just-in-time/article9306355.ece

Category: Indian Economy

Topic: Taxation

Key Points:

The cess on top of GST to be levied on luxury and sin goods is neither desirable nor efficient

Unless its levy is restricted to end-use products at the point of sale, it would further distort the efficiency gains from GST as input credit for cess paid on intermediary goods is unlikely

The government has argued that the cess will help compensate States for five years and that the Council can take a call on doing away with it thereafter

Similar visibility should be provided on dovetailing the multiple tax rates into two or three in the coming years, if not the international norm of a single GST rate

Multiple rates will not just pose an administrative challenge but also spur ugly corporate lobbying of the kind that the Finance Minister wanted to nix by phasing out exemptions in direct taxes

2. Turkey wants India to start free trade pact talks soon

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/turkey-wants-india-to-start-fta-talks-soon/article9306162.ece

Category: Indian Economy

Topic: External Trade

Key Points:

Turkey wants India to start talks on a proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) soon and said the ongoing political turmoil will not impact foreign investment flows

Though there is an India-Turkey Joint Study Group report on “the feasibility and possibility of concluding a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement” (CEPA or, in other words, a FTA), no dates have been fixed for starting FTA negotiations

In FY‟16, India-Turkey trade had shrunk nearly 28 per cent year-on-year to $4.91 billion of which India‟s exports to Turkey were $4.14 billion (contraction of 22.7 per cent) while Turkey‟s exports to India fell 47 per cent to $776 million

D. GS4 Related

D. Important Editorials

PIB:Paris Climate Agreement Comes into Force Today

Environment Ministry Building to Display „Smiley‟ With Lights, with Slogan – “We

Did It”

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=0

Category: Environment Topic: Climate Change

Key Points:

The “Paris Climate Agreement”, comes into force on 4th November 2016. India and other

countries will display a „Smiley‟ with lights, with the slogan "We Did It" on important

buildings

India ratified the Paris Agreement on 2nd October 2016, the birth anniversary of Mahatma

Gandhi and the Agreement has the support of majority of the countries

This is a global effort

Till date, 94 Parties have ratified it, of the 197 Parties to the United Nations Framework

Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

The image has the globe as the background of smiley

Along with the image, "Paris agreement - We did it - #SmileforthePlanet" will be displayed

on one side of the Ministry‟s building in the evening today, to celebrate the Paris Agreement

Indira ParyavaranBhawan will be displaying the symbol in India

PIB:India, UNISDR sign Statement of Cooperation on Sendai Framework

Reiterate commitment and cooperation towards Disaster Risk Reduction

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=0

Category: Disaster Management Topic: International Cooperation

Key Points:

India and United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction signed a Statement of

Cooperation during the second day of the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk

Reduction (AMCDRR) 2016

The Statement underlined the guiding principles, objectives and areas of cooperation

between India and UNISDR towards the effective implementation and monitoring of the

Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), which was adopted at the

Third World Conference on DRR at Sendai in Japan in March, 2015

India will partner with UNISDR to work towards strengthening the capacity of Asian

countries in ensuring risk resilient development

It will also facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experiences, and collaborative efforts

towards addressing critical regional challenges

The cooperation aims to ensure effective implementation and monitoring of the Sendai

Framework through Training and capacity building for Asian countries; promoting

international and regional cooperation to reinforce political commitment, facilitate

knowledge sharing and strengthen the capacity of UNISDR for monitoring and review of

the Sendai Framework

F. CONCEPTS IN NEWS

1. Paris Climate Summit

2. Sendai Framework

3. Japanese Encephalitis

4. GST

5. Freedom of Speech and Expression

Tags:

Climate Change, Disaster risk management, taxation, Japanese encephalitis

G. BILLS/ACTS/SCHEMES/ORGS IN NEWS

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

http://www.unisdr.org/who-we-are

Practice Questions

Date: 5th November, 2016 Category: Geograhpy Topic: India-Turkey Source: Hindu Difficulty level: Moderate Type: Factual

1] Which of the following encircles the Mediterranean sea?

a. Turkey b. Egypt c. Algeria d. All of the above

Ans (d)

Date: 5th November, 2016 Category: Governance

Topic: Freedom of speech and expression Source: Hindu Difficulty level: Moderate Type: Analytical

2] Which of the following is/areenshrined by Article 19 of the constitution?

a. freedom of speech and expression;

b. freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in certain

education institutions

c. freedom to form associations or unions

d. Only a and c

Ans(d)

Date: 5th November, 2016

Category: Disaster Management Topic: Institutions Source: PIB Difficulty level: Moderate Type: Factual

3] Which of the following is true?

i. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 is the successor instrument to the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-2015

ii. It was adopted on March 18, 2015 at the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai, Japan

a. Only i b. Only ii c. Both I and ii d. None of the above

Ans(c)

Date: 5th November, 2016 Category: Social Justice Topic: Health

Source: The Hindu Difficulty level: Moderate Type: Factual

4] Which of the following is true regarding Japanese Encephalitis?

i. Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a flavivirus related to dengue, yellow fever and West Nile viruses, and is spread by mosquitoes

ii. There is no cure for the disease a. Only 1 b. Only 2 c. Both 1 and 2 d. Neither 1 nor 2

Ans(c)

Date: 5th November, 2016

Category: Environment

Topic: Climate Change Source: PIB Difficulty level: Moderate Type: Factual

5] Which of the following is not true?

i. The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which commits its Parties by setting internationally binding emission reduction targets

ii. In Doha, Qatar, on 8 December 2012, the "Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol" was adopted

a. Only 1 b. Only 2 c. Both 1 and 2 d. Neither 1 nor 2

Ans(d)

Current News Analysis

06-11-2016

A. GS1 Related

B. GS2 Related

1.Delhi’s air quality turns hazardous

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/delhis-air-quality-turns-

hazardous/article9310423.ece

Category: Air pollution

Topic: Delhi’s air quality

Key Points:

In its worst spell of persistent pollution in nearly two decades, New Delhi’s air

quality slipped into the hazardous level with low wind speed and high moisture

content ensuring that the city remained engulfed in smog and suffered poor visibility

throughout the day.

Delhi government said the high level of smog had turned Delhi into a gas chamber

and blamed the stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana for the problem. It further

said the Centre needed to intervene to mitigate the alarming levels of smog in the city.

Centre for Science and Environment said the city had registered shockingly high

levels of particulate (PM-10 is in the range of 900-1700 microgram per cubic metre:

standard level is 100) and benzene (cancer causing agent).

2. India, Sri Lanka start Joint Working Group to address fishermen issue

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-sri-lanka-set-up-joint-working-

group-to-address-fishermen-issue/article9310518.ece

Category: Bilateral

Topic: India – Srilanka Fisherman issue

Key Points:

The Union ministry of External affairs said India and Sri Lanka have agreed to set

up a Joint Working Group on Fisheries (JWG) and a hotline between their Coast

Guards to address the long-standing issue of fishermen from Tamil Nadu being

arrested. The decision came 3 days after fishermen of the 2 countries failed to reach

an agreement on ending fishing in Sri Lankan waters by Indian fishermen.

It was decided that JWG would meet every 3 months while the Ministers of

Fisheries on both sides would meet every 6 months beginning January 2017 along

with Coast Guard and Naval representatives to discuss the protracted issue.

The terms of reference of the JWG includes expediting the transition towards ending

the practice of bottom trawling at the earliest, as well as framing procedures for

returning fishermen arrested by both sides, and the possibility of joint patrolling.

However, the issue of their seized boats is unresolved, and has been an emotive issue

in Tamil Nadu, with the State government writing to the Centre on several occasions

to negotiate for their release. The issue of the release of detained fishing vessels will

be discussed at the first JWG meeting.

A few days back, the Rural Fishermen Society president offered a deal for Indian

boats to be allowed to fish in Sri Lankan waters for 85 days every year for the next 3

years before they are phased out. Rejecting that offer, fishermen from Jaffna said

they wanted an immediate end to bottom trawling, a practice that depletes the ocean’s

resources, and refused to return more than 100 trawlers seized by Sri Lankan

authorities since 2014.

3.Retired judges to wield the gavel again

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/retired-judges-to-wield-the-gavel-

again/article9310431.ece

Category: Judiciary

Topic: Judicial reforms

Key Points:

The Union government after a gap of six months has agreed to a resolution passed by

the judiciary in the Chief Justices and Chief Ministers Annual Conference in 2016

to use the services of retired High Court judges with proven integrity and track record

to tackle pendency of cases. The resolution, forwarded by the Delay and Arrears

Committees of the judiciary, had been hanging fire since April - 2016.

Article 224-A of the Indian constitution: The provision to use the services of retired

judges is open to the Chief Justices of High Courts under Article 224A of the

Constitution with the previous consent of the President as an extraordinary measure

to tide over case pile-ups.

Contents of the resolution: Keeping in view the large pendency of civil and criminal

cases, especially criminal appeals, where convicts are in jail and having due regard to

the recommendation made by the 17th Law Commission of India in 2003, the Chief

Justices will actively have regard to the provision of Article 224A of the Constitution

as a source for enhancing the strength of judges to deal with the backlog of cases for a

period of two years or the age of 65 years, whichever is later until a 5 plus zero

pendency is achieved.

Five plus zero initiative - It is an initiative by which cases pending over five years

are taken up on priority basis and their numbers are brought down to zero. These

concerns highlighted in the conference includes: The pendency of cases in the High

Court has been stagnant for over 3 years; 43 per cent of the pendency is of cases of

over 5 years; concentration of ‘five years plus’ cases in a few High Courts; and

stagnant pendency figures of five years plus cases (33.5 per cent in 2015) in district

courts.

Accordingly, it was resolved that all High Courts shall assign top-most priority for

disposal of cases which are pending for more than five years; In High Courts, where

arrears of cases pending for more than five years are concentrated shall facilitate their

disposal in a mission mode. The High courts shall progressively thereafter set a target

of disposing of cases pending for more than four years. The Conference had resolved

that while prioritising the disposal of cases pending in the district courts for more

than five years, additional incentives for the judges of the district judiciary be

considered.

MoP on appointments - The agreement comes at a time when the Executive and the

Judiciary are trying to find a common ground on the memorandum of procedure

for judicial appointments in High Courts and ths Supreme Court.

Note - As on June 30, 2016 while the total sanctioned strength was 21,303, the

subordinate courts were functioning with 16,192 judicial officers - a shortage of

5,111. The 24 High Courts face a shortage of nearly 450 judges. Nearly three crore

cases are pending in courts across India.

4. Jal Marg Vikas project

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-business/waterways-project-nod-

by-dec-sought/article9310596.ece

Category: National programs and policies

Topic: National Waterways

Key Points:

The Union Shipping Ministry will seek Union Cabinet’s approval for the Jal Marg

Vikas project with contracts worth Rs 2,000 crores already awarded, under which

National Waterways-1 is being implemented.

The Ministry is also planning a maiden issue of infrastructure bonds worth

Rs.1,000 crore in two tranches to fund this World Bank-aided project. The cost has

ballooned from Rs.4,200 crore at conception in 2013 to Rs.5,369 crore now. It

involves developing a 1,620-km navigable waterway between Haldia and Varanasi.

Plans were also afoot to move LNG-fuelled vessels and tankers on this stretch. The

IWAI plans to procure various types of vessels once they are designed to suit the

riverine channel that passes through 4 states.

5. India-China border talks slated for 2017

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/indiachina-border-talks-slated-for-

next-year/article9310430.ece

Category: Bilateral

Topic: India – China border talks

Key Points:

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi

agreed to hold the next round of border talks in India in 2017 at a meeting held in

Hyderabad. The meeting came against the backdrop of a series of dampeners

appearing prominently in the bilateral ties, including the recent stand-off between the

two Armies at the border. Mr. Doval and China’s State Councillor Yang Jiechi

discussed a gamut of issues covering bilateral, regional and international issues of

mutual interest.

However, the meet did not carry any reference to the 2 key issues of India’s

concern vis-a-vis China - India’s entry to the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the U.N.

ban on Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar. Both are held up because of

China’s tough positioning.

6. Lebanon deal underscores Hezbollah’s clout

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/lebanon-deal-underscores-

hezbollahs-clout/article9310386.ece

Category: International

Topic: Lebanon deal

Key Points:

Lebanon’s President asked Sunni Muslim leader Saad al-Hariri to form a new

government after he won the support of a majority of MPs and the endorsement of

the influential parliament speaker.

Mr. Hariri’s nomination is part of a political deal that resulted in the election of

Christian leader Michel Aoun, a close ally of the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, as

head of State, ending a two-and-a-half year long presidential vacuum.

A big concession on the part of Mr. Hariri, the deal has underscored Hezbollah’s

dominant position in Lebanon and the diminished role of Mr. Hariri’s regional

backer, Saudi Arabia, which appears more focused on confronting Iran elsewhere in

the region.

The quick formation of a new administration with cross-party support will help revive

government in a country where political conflict has paralysed decision-making,

economic development and basic services, and raised fears for its stability.

7. AERA to hold talks on new airport tariff

http://www.thehindu.com/business/aera-to-hold-talks-on-new-airport-

tariff/article9310326.ece

Category: National programs and policies

Topic: Civil Aviation - AERA

Key Points:

The Airport Economic Regulatory Authority - AERA has initiated a process to adopt

a hybrid-till approach for calculating airport fees and the regulator is slated to hold

talks with airlines and airport operators to seek their views. The regulator has called

for a meeting of airlines, airports, International Air Transport Association - IATA,

Airports Authority of India - AAI, state governments, consumers’ organisation, fuel

suppliers, and ground handling companies, among others.

Currently, AERA has a single-till model in place to determine aeronautical charges

at 20 major airports across the country, including Kolkata and Chennai. The airports

at Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad follow a shared-till model.

The National Civil Aviation Policy has called for adopting a hybrid-till model for all

airports under which 30 per cent of airport operator’s non-aeronautical revenue would

be used to subsidise airport costs. The move to switch to hybrid-till may revive

private developer interest in running the airports as the model increases their revenue.

IATA had also said that the proposal to switch to hybrid-till ignores the conclusions

reached by Finance Ministry which had said that single till is the most appropriate

approach for India.

C.GS3 Related

1. Astronomers to gather in Goa for SKA science meet

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/astronomers-to-gather-in-goa-for-

science-meet/article9310348.ece

Category: S&T

Topic: Developments

Key Points:

The Square Kilometre Array - SKA will hold its annual science meeting in Goa. The

meeting is expected to be attended by almost 200 scientists and astronomers, who will

present their latest results and discuss cutting edge science projects that can be

achieved when the SKA becomes operational. SKA is an international effort to build

the largest and the most sensitive radio telescope in the world.

The SKA will be a collection of thousands of dishes and radio receivers spread

across two sites in Africa and Western Australia. Currently, Australia, Canada,

China, India, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden and United

Kingdom are involved in the project.

The NCRA-TIFR in Pune is the nodal institute for overseeing SKA related activities

in India.

D. GS4 Related

E. Important Editorials

F. Concepts-in-News: Related Concepts to Revise/Learn:

1. Concepts-in-News: Related Concepts to Revise/Learn

Judicial Reforms

Indo-Lanka Fishermen issue

Air Pollution

Memorandum of Procedure - MoP

Jal Marg vikas project

Nuclear Suppliers Group

2. BILLS/ACTS/SCHEMES/ORGS IN NEWS

BILLS/ACTS/SCHEMES/ORGS

IN NEWS

Links to Refer

Square Kilometer Array -

SKA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_Kilometre_Array

3. Tags

TIFR

Lebanon deal

Square kilometer array

Practice Questions

Date: 6

th November, 2016

Category: S&T

Topic: SKA

Source: The Hindu

Difficulty level: Medium

Type: Factual

1. Square Kilometre Array – SKA sometimes appears in news. It is

a) A large multi radio telescope project aimed to be built in Australia and South Africa

b) Largest Radio telescope built by China

c) Indigenously built nuclear powered submarine of India

d) Space station of USA

Ans (a)

Date: 6

th November, 2016

Category: National programs and policies

Topic: Jal marg vikas

Source: The Hindu

Difficulty level: Medium

Type: Factual

2. The Union ministry of shipping’s ‘Jal Marg Vikas’ program is being funded by -

a) Asia development bank

b) World Bank

c) Japan International cooperation agency

d) International monetary fund

Ans (b)

Date: 6th November, 2016

Category: Bilateral

Topic: Indo-China

Source: The Hindu

Difficulty level: Medium

Type: Factual

3. International boundary ‘McMahon line’ is located between

a) India and China

b) India and Pakistan

c) Myanmar and China

d) India and Myanmar

Ans (a)

Date: 6th November, 2016

Category: Judiciary

Topic: Judicial reforms

Source: The Hindu

Difficulty level: Medium

Type: factual

4. Article 224-A of the Indian constitution is related to

(a) Appointment of the Supreme court and High court judges

(b) The provision to use the services of retired judges is open to the Chief Justices of

High Courts with the previous consent of the President as an extraordinary measure to

tide over case pile-ups.

(c) Removal of the Supreme court and High court judges

(d) Delhi High Court

Ans (b)

Date: 6th November, 2016

Category: National programs and policies

Difficulty level: Medium

Type: Factual

5. 5/20 rule appears in news in the context of -

a) Defense procurement policy

b) New IPR policy

c) New Civil Aviation policy

d) Foreign trade policy of India 2015-20

Ans (c)