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MAHITHI MONTHLY

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MAHITHI MONTHLY- OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016

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October-Karnataka News

PANEL FOR REBUILDING DEVARAJA MARKET IN MYSURU 11 42 MORE TALUKS DECLARED DROUGHT-HIT IN KARNATAKA 11 BELAGAVI, DAVANGERE GET RS 388 CRORE EACH FOR SMART CITY MISSION 12 R K LAXMAN'S UNPUBLISHED DOODLES ON SHOW AT CARTOON GALLERY 13 NEW CELL SOON IN DELHI TO AID PEOPLE FROM KARNATAKA 14 PARTHENIUM TO DETECT MELAMINE IN MILK 14 IISC, JAPANESE FIRM JOIN HANDS TO STUDY AGRICULTURE SECTOR 16 MINARET OF PROTECTED TOMB CRUMBLES 17 'SUDHA MURTHY' CHAIR LAUNCHED AT IISC 18 KAMOV-226T HELICOPTERS 18 STATE SUFFERS RS 6K-CR CROP LOSS 19 MYSURU TO GET CINEMA SCHOOL 20 FUND FOR INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT OF GOVT COLLEGES 20 HC NOTICE ON ILLEGAL SAND MINING 20 GERMANY TO STUDY HIGH SPEED CHENNAI-BANGALORE-MYSORE ROUTE 22 WOMEN WITH NO CASTE APPLY FOR PDO POST 22 GREATER REGULATION OF PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES 23 FIVE-DAY KSHEERA BHAGYA SCHEME YET TO TAKE OFF 24 ART OF STORY-TELLING IN BANGALORE METRO 25 CROPS HAVE WILTED IN STATE'S CAUVERY BASIN 25 60TH YEAR OF VIDHANA SOUDHA 26 BANGALORE FOOTBALL CLUB WINS SEMIFINAL, CREATES HISTORY 27 FIRE AUDIT OF ALL HOSPITALS IN KARNATAKA 28 NEW ZEBRA ENCLOSURE AT BANNERGHATTA BIOLOGICAL PARK 29 ‘KITTUR UTSAV-2016’ 29 RASHTRIYA MADHYAMIK SHIKSHA ABHIYAAN (RMSA) 30 GOVT TO GO AHEAD WITH TIPU JAYANTHI 31 FORTIFIED RICE FOR GOVT SCHOOLKIDS 31 PANEL TO SUBMIT INTERIM REPORT ON LAKE ENCROACHMENTS SOON 33 HASANAMBA TEMPLE DECKED UP FOR ANNUAL PUBLIC VIEWING 34 NEW NORMS GOVERNING FEES IN UNAIDED SCHOOLS 34 CM-LED PANEL TO SELECT RAJYOTSAVA AWARDEES 35 MYSORE: CORPORATION TO SET UP PLANT TO RECYCLE CONSTRUCTION DEBRIS 36 VARSITY LAUNCHES MAHABHARATA E-TEXT ANNOTATION PROJECT 36 KANNADA SAHITYA PARISHAT TO LAUNCH NEW WEBSITE 37 BOGUS RATION CARD CREATORS 37 DA HIKE FOR STATE GOVT STAFF 38 STATE GETS CENTRAL FUNDS FOR IRRIGATION PROJECTS 38 RS 15,742-CR PLAN TO REVIVE ECOLOGY IN MINE-RAVAGED DISTS 39 KARNATAKA DEMANDS RS 3,375 CR DROUGHT RELIEF FOR KHARIF 2016 40 BILL IN BELAGAVI SESSION TO CHECK VARSITY IRREGULARITIES 41 RS 11,000-CR CROP LOSS IN KHARIF SEASON 41



November-Karnataka-News

BHIMGAD SANCTUARY 42 PANEL WANTS CAUVERY SUPPLY TO FARMERS MODERNISED 43 STARTUP THAT SOLVES CITY PROBLEMS WINS URBAN VENTURE CHALLENGE 43 APP-BASED CUBBON PARK CIRCUIT TOUR TO BE LAUNCHED ON NOV 1 44 NEW DAILY AIR SERVICE ON HUBBALLI-B'LURU ROUTE 44 KARNATAKA TO REPLICATE DELHI’S 'MOHALLA CLINICS’ 45 KARNATAKA SLIPS TO 13TH PLACE IN EASE OF DOING BUSINESS 45 DEPARTMENT ALLOWS FARMERS IN RAMANAGARA DISTRICT TO KILL WILD BOARS 47 IMPROVEMENT WORKS ON CHARMADI GHAT PLANNED AT RS 6 CRORE 48 61 ACHIEVERS FELICITATED WITH RAJYOTSAVA AWARD 49 IFFI BRINGS MAGIC OF MOVIES TO VISUALLY CHALLENGED WITH AUDIO DESCRIPTION 49 ALL FORMS OF CHEWING TOBACCO BANNED, GOVERNMENT TELLS HC 50 CABINET SUB-COMMITTEE ON SAND CRISIS 50 CORPORATION BANK TO SHIFT BASE 51 CULTURAL CARNIVAL HAMPI UTSAV OFF TO A COLOURFUL START 51 KARNATAKA HAKKI HABBA (BIRD FESTIVAL) 52 KARNATAKA GOVT TO INTRODUCE PUBLIC HEALTH COURSES FOR NON-MEDICAL STAFF 53 KARNATAKA - GOVT SLASHES TAX ON CCTV CAMERAS TO INCREASE SURVEILLANCE 54 MOBILE UNITS TO CHECK POLLUTING VEHICLES 54 INDELIBLE INK FOR BANKS WILL COME FROM MYSURU 55 KARNATAKA HIGH COURT GETS FIVE NEW ADDITIONAL JUDGES 56 E-CHARAK APP 56 MAHAMASTAKABHISHEKA 57 KARNATAKA REAL ESTATE (REGULATION AND DEVELOPMENT) RULES, 2016 57 KARNATAKA TO REVIEW QUOTA FOR BACKWARD CLASSES IN PANCHAYATS & MUNICIPALITIES 59 ROTARY, MINTO TO START EYE-SCREENING CENTRES IN RURAL KARNATAKA 59 GOVT PLANNING TO GRANT OFFICIAL STATUS TO KANNADA FLAG 60 KARNATAKA: LAW TO CURTAIL PLANTING OF SAPLINGS THAT CAUSES ECO DAMAGE 60 LOWER HOUSE PASSES BILL TO REGULATE AYUSH PRACTITIONERS 61 MYSURU PRESS CHURNING OUT RS 3 CR CURRENCY PER DAY 63 MID-YEAR REVIEW SHOWS STATE CASH HAPPY 63 RURAL WI-FI FOR ‘DIGITAL INCLUSION’ OF VILLAGE ENTREPRENEURS 64 MYSURU RAILWAY DIVISION INTENSIFIES TRACK PATROLLING 64 HUBBALLI-DHARWAD TO HOST STATE OLYMPICS GAMES 66 SPECIAL DRIVE TO CURB NARCOTICS MENACE 66 PROPOSALS FOR EXPANSION OF BELAGAVI, HUBBALLI & MYSURU AIRPORTS 67 NAGABHARANA'S ALLAMA AMONG SEVEN VYING FOR GANDHI MEDAL AT IFFI 68 6TH PAY COMMISSION FOR KARNATAKA EMPLOYEES 68 STATE PLANS POLICY TO CONNECT WITH NON-RESIDENT KANNADIGAS 69 NAMMAKPSC MISC NEWS 70



October-National-News

POLITY

THE CITIZENSHIP (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2016 72 THE HIV AND AIDS (PREVENTION AND CONTROL) BILL, 2014 72 DRAFT WATER BILL 75 LAW COMMISSION SUGGESTS CHANGES IN GOVT. DRAFT BILL ON CHILD ABDUCTION 76 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON VOTER EDUCATION 76 IOC ATHLETES’ COMMISSION 77 INDOSAN 77 SPORTS SECTOR GETS THE INFRASTRUCTURE STATUS 78 ‘NASHA MUKT BHARAT ANDOLAN YATRA’ 78 5TH INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST CONCLAVE 78 VAYOSHRESHTHA SAMMAN-2016 79 RESERVATION FOR MARATHAS 79 CENTRALIZED PUBLIC GRIEVANCE REDRESS AND MONITORING SYSTEM 82 PROHIBITION LAW 82 REFORMING DEFAMATION LAWS 85 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT 87 JANANI SURAKSHA YOJANA 88 UNIFORM CIVIL CODE ISSUE 89 NUCLEAR TRIAD 91 CENTRE PLANS TO REVIVE COUNTER-TERROR BODY 92 SMALLER PARTIES, INDEPENDENTS IN RAJYA SABHA UNITE FOR MORE TALK TIME 92 NATIONAL SUMMIT ON FORTIFICATION OF FOOD 93 ELECTION RULES AMENDED 94 FIRST NATIONAL TRIBAL CARNIVAL 95

ECONOMY

RS. 65,250 CR. MOPPED UP VIA NEW BLACK MONEY WINDOW 97 SIT SET TO COMB P-NOTE DATA FOR BLACK MONEY 97 CENTRE CONSTITUTES INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY BOARD 98 CENTRE EYES SOPS TO SPUR INTERNAL TRADE 98 RBI TO BE DIVESTED OF DEBT MANAGEMENT ROLE IN 2 YEARS 99 REGULATION OF PENSION PRODUCTS 99 INDIA TO PROMOTE INDIGENOUS EXPERTISE IN CYBER SECURITY, TO FUND START-UPS 100 FIRST MEDIPARK IN INDIA 101 CASHLESS ECONOMY 101 CERC PANEL SUGGESTS OVERHAUL IN TRANSMISSION PLANNING 103 NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMICS 104 INDIA’S FIRST INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION CENTRE 105 CENTRE ACCEPTS PAY PANEL RECOMMENDATION ON PROMOTION 106 DBT IN KEROSENE 106 MGNREGA 107 INDIAN BRIDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 109 PAYMENTS BANKS – SUCCESS? 110 CENTRAL ASSISTANCE FOR 99 PRIORITIZED IRRIGATION PROJECTS UNDER AIBP 113 REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY SCHEME “UDAN” LAUNCHED 114



ZED SCHEME 116 SC/ST HUB 116 URJA GANGA 117

SCIENCE & TECH AND ENVIRONMENT

AIRCRAFT WITH INDIAN AIRBORNE WARNING SYSTEM SET FOR INDUCTION 119 INS TIHAYU 119 INDIA TO PUSH FOR FUNDS AT CLIMATE TALKS 120 PARIS AGREEMENT 121 DELHI TOPS MOST POLLUTED MEGACITY LIST 121 GREEN TRAIN CORRIDORS 122 SC STAYS COMMERCIAL RELEASE OF GM MUSTARD TILL OCT 17 122 INDIA TO HOST FIRST AMCDRR AFTER SENDAI FRAMEWORK 123 GSAT-18 COMMUNICATION SATELLITE 125 ETHANOL BLENDING 125 MINING SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM 126 KIGALI AGREEMENT 127 THREE PARENT BABY 129 DELHI'S INDIRA GANDHI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT 131 HIMANSH 131 WORLD TSUNAMI AWARENESS DAY 132 INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR DISASTER REDUCTION 133 PROTEIN-RICH RICE 133

October-International-News

BIMSTEC V/S SAARC 135 BIMSTEC LEADERS’ RETREAT 2016 OUTCOME DOCUMENT 135 IF SAARC FAILS, THERE’S BIMSTEC: INDIA WARNS PAKISTAN 136 BRICS 137 BRICS MEET - BUILDING RESPONSIVE, INCLUSIVE AND COLLECTIVE SOLUTIONS 137 INDIA RUSSIA DEFENCE DEALS 139 MFN STATUS AND PAKISTAN 139 CHINA’S ONE-ROAD-ONE BELT INITIATIVE: A NEW MODEL OF GLOBAL GOVERNANCE 141 UN COURT REJECTS DISARMAMENT CASE AGAINST INDIA 144 GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX REPORT RELEASED 145 NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE 146 VICE-PRESIDENT HAMID ANSARI VISIT TO HUNGARY AND ALGERIA 146 INDIA, ALGERIA MULL FERTILIZER JV 146 NEW SECRETARY-GENERAL OF UN 147 2ND JOINT TACTICAL EXERCISE BY INDIA AND CHINA 147 GLOBAL REGIME ON DRONES USAGE 147 10TH INDIA AND UNITED STATES TRADE POLICY FORUM 148 GLOBAL GENDER GAP 149 INDIA RANKS 130 IN WORLD BANK’S EASE OF DOING BUSINESS 150 CO2 LEVEL REACHES RECORD HIGH IN 2016: WMO 151



November-National-News

POLITY

COMMUNAL HARMONY WEEK OR QUAMI EKTA WEEK 152 NATIONAL SERVICES AUTHORITY (NALSA) 152 NATIONAL ANTHEM MUST BE PLAYED BEFORE SCREENING OF FILMS 153 INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION NETWORK (ICN) 153 UNION GOVERNMENT EXTENDS AFSPA IN THREE DISTRICTS OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH 154 PRADHAN MANTRI SURAKSHIT MATRITVA ABHIYAN 155 CELEBRITIES ENDORSING PRODUCTS 156 PM LAUNCHES “HOUSING FOR ALL” IN RURAL AREAS 157 CONSTITUTION DAY 2016 157 AIRSEWA PORTAL 158 SOON, SEARCH ENGINES TO BLANK SEX SELECTION ADS 158 SC SETS UP PANEL ON NIGHT SHELTERS 159 INDIA STILL LOSING FIGHT AGAINST CHILD PNEUMONIA, DIARRHOEA EPIDEMICS 160

ECONOMY 161

STATES RANKING IN ‘EASE OF DOING BUSINESS’ 161 BENAMI PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS PROHIBITION ACT 161 GST COUNCIL SETS RATES & TAX SLABS 162 GOA WILL BE FIRST STATE TO GO CASHLESS 162 AKODARA BECOMES INDIA’S FIRST DIGITAL VILLAGE 163 "HUNAR HAAT" 164 GOLDEN PEACOCK AWARD FOR CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 164 NATIONAL STUDENT STARTUP POLICY 164 AGRICULTURAL MARKETING AND FARMER FRIENDLY REFORMS INDEX 165 BANKS TO REPORT FRAUDS OF RS 1 CRORE 166 INDIA RISES TO SECOND SPOT ON GLOBAL BUSINESS OPTIMISM INDEX 166 FOOD SECURITY ACT IMPLEMENTED 167 ANTI-DUMPING DUTY 167 'SAUR SUJALA YOJANA' 168 INCOME-TAX AMENDMENT BILL 169 E-PASHUHAAT 170 NATIONAL MILK DAY 170 GOVERNMENT ROLLS OUT PRADHAN MANTRI YUVA YOJANA FOR ENTREPRENEURS 171 NOTES BAN TO SIGNIFICANTLY DISRUPT ECONOMIC ACTIVITY: MOODY’S 172 GOVT ASKS NABARD TO DISBURSE RS 21,000 CRORE TO FARMERS 173 MERCHANT SHIPPING BILL 173 SEBI EASES RULES FOR ANGEL FUNDS 174 A RELOOK AT DEFENCE BLACKLIST 175 ‘ISLAMIC WINDOW’ IN BANKS 175 5TH INTERNATIONAL TOURISM MART 176 272 PRODUCTS REGISTERED AS GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION SO FAR’ 177




CLEAN ENERGY EQUITY FUND FOR ADDITIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY 178 FLY ASH UTILISATION POLICY 178 RUSTOM-2 DRONE 179 PRITHVI-II MISSILE 180 INDIGENOUSLY DEVELOPED SONAR SYSTEM 181 JHELUM-TAWI FLOOD RECOVERY PROJECT 182 SPECIAL COMMITTEE FOR INTER- LINKING OF RIVERS 183 INDIA SIGNS AGREEMENT TO BECOME AN ASSOCIATE MEMBER OF CERN 184 GLOBAL UNITY TO ACT ON PARIS CLIMATE DEAL 185 128TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF CV RAMAN OBSERVED 185 ISRO DRONES HELP MAP DISASTERS IN NORTH-EAST 186 MODERN RFID ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEM INTRODUCED AT PARADIP PORT 187 13TH WORLD ROBOT OLYMPIAD 187 GUIDED MISSILE DESTROYER INS CHENNAI JOINS THE INDIAN NAVY 187 CERN 188 PRITHVI-II MISSILES 189 AGNI-I MISSILE 189 HIMALAYAN PROJECTS FACE FLOOD RISK 190 RAILWAYS TO INTRODUCE ‘TRI-NETRA’ 191 FASTEST SUPERCOMPUTER 192 NATIONAL GAS HUB 192 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BRUCELLOSIS 2016 193 WORLD LIKELY TO CROSS 1.2°C GLOBAL WARMING LEVEL THIS YEAR 194

November-International-News

INDIA-PALESTINE SIGN MOU FOR SETTING UP TECHNO PARK IN RAMALLAH 195 INDIA- SRI LANKA SET UP JOINT WORKING GROUP TO ADDRESS FISHERMEN ISSUE 195 PM MODI’S JAPAN VISIT 196 INDUS WATERS TREATY 198 INDIA – US LAUNCH USD 95 MILLION CLEAN ENERGY PROJECTS 198 WHO: ZIKA NO LONGER A WORLD PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY 199 INDIA, CHINA JOINT TRAINING EXERCISE HAND IN HAND 2016 200 SWITZERLAND TO SHARE INFORMATION ON INDIANS HOLDING SWISS BANK ACCOUNTS 201 WHO SETTLES INDIA, EU MEDICINE DISPUTE 201 SAMPRITI-2016 202 INDIA AND NEW ZEALAND 202 INDIA AND UK SIGN THREE BILATERAL ADVANCE PRICING AGREEMENTS 203 REVISED DTAA AGREEMENT SIGNED BETWEEN INDIA AND CYPRUS 204 CHINESE SHIP OPENS NEW TRADE ROUTE VIA GWADAR PORT IN PAKISTAN 204 SUB-REGIONAL MOTOR VEHICLE AGREEMENT 205 INDIA IS ‘NON-COMMITTAL’ ON MARKET ECONOMY TAG FOR CHINA 206 NSDA SIGNS MOU WITH BRITISH COUNCIL 206



OCTOBER-2016 KARNATAKA NEWS

NAADA HABBA - Mysuru Dasara-2016

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and writer

Chennaveera Kanavi, inaugurated the 406th

Dasara atop the Chamundi Hill at 11.45 am on

1st Oct

The two took the Akash Airavat, a private

eight-seater aircraft, launched by the

Karnataka State Tourism development

Corporation.

Preparations started at the Chamundeshwari

temple from early morning with special pujas.

In the evening, at the main venue of the

cultural programmes, in front of the Mysuru Palace, Hindustani vocalist Somanath

Maradura was honoured as Asthana Vidwan.

Most heritage buildings and the main roads and the Raja Patha (royal route) of the Jamboo

Savari had been illuminated.

Elephant Arjuna carried the golden howdah this year too. Last year, due to drought, just Rs

4 crore was spent on the festivities. Though the situation is worse this year, the

government has released Rs 14.25 crore.

The theme for the Dasara this year is ‘Water Conservation’.

Private Durbar

Scion of the erstwhile royal family Yaduveer

Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, for

whom this was the second Dasara,

launched his ‘Khasagi Durbar’ (private)

according to traditions of the 600-year-old

Yadu dynasty, on 1st Oct.

This was his first Dasara after his wedding

with Trishika Kumari Singh.

He conducted the durbar during the

Navaratri and also conducted Ayudha Puja

on October 10.

On Vijayadashami, he offered Banni puja.

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‘Golden Chariot’ offers a regal five-star treatment and a wholesome experience of witnessing

Mysuru and Dasara at a tariff of Rs 30,000 per person for two nights and a day.

The ‘Royal Routes: Mysuru Palaces–Like Never Before’ initiative is aimed at showcasing the rich

history and culture of the city and popularising its lesser-known places. The trip starts in Mysuru

and tourists can explore the royalty in a day at Rs 4,900 excluding taxes.

Mysuru gets 15-day air service for Dasara

In order to provide air connectivity to

Mysuru ahead of the Dasara festival, the

Department of Tourism has launched

‘Akasha Ambari’, a special flight from

Bengaluru’s HAL airport.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah inaugurated the

air service on 1st October by flying to

Mysuru in the charter.

The Beechcraft B-300, twin-engine, nine-

seater aircraft will fly to Mysuru twice a day

until October 15.

The one-way fare was Rs 4,000 (all inclusive).

The air service is aimed at attracting foreign tourists who find it time-consuming to travel

between Bengaluru and Mysuru by road.

The department had also introduced a special Dasara package on ‘Golden Chariot’ and

‘Royal Routes’ offerings to draw tourists to Mysuru.

Air-show light up Mysuru skies

Mysureans, and also tourists got a chance to

enjoy colourful metal birds fly in the skies above

the Bannimantap Grounds, in the city, on

October 7.

The Mysuru Dasara Committee, in association

with the Mysore Flying Association (MFA), has

organised the Mysuru Dasara Airshow-2016 as

part of the festivities.

The show thrilled the spectators and introduced

them to the experience of radio-controlled

flying, which will be near to real aircraft

manoeuvres.

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Did you Know?

The radio-controlled aircraft

are powered by electric

motors, nitro methane and

also petrol engines. They

can be flown up to a height

of 1,800 metres.

However, for visibility,

during airshows were flown

up to a height of 600 metres

only.

About Mysore Flying Association (MFA)

MFA is a non-profitable organisation run by a group of professionals from various fields,

who are into flying radio-controlled aircraft, aero-modelling, aerial photography, aerial

pollution monitoring and conducting of air shows at various institutions and social events

across the country.

The objective of MFA is to promote and popularise the flair for flying among youngsters,

students and others.

Its activities include providing theoretical and practical guidelines. MFA’s members have

been participating in the Mysuru Dasara, Madikeri Dasara and also at various educational

institutions since 2011.

The airshow included the display of static aircraft

models, followed by aerobatic flying of various

radio-controlled aircraft, helicopters and multi-

copters.

Professional radio-controlled aircraft pilots from

various parts of the state showcased their skills

during the show.

The youngest pilots of the show were in between

10-12 years of age.

The highlights of the airshow were: planes,

multirotors and helicopters among the flying

models. Among planes, there are electric sky-

surfers, high-wing, mid-wing and low-wing

trainers, Raven 35, Tucano-90 and scanner airplanes. Among multirotors, there are hexa-

copters, octa-copters and quad-copters. Helicopters include electric and nitro-powered

fliers.

The airshow also displayed an array of static models like Boeing A 747-8 Intercontinental,

which is 18-foot long, a J10 jet electric turbine and various other electric models.

Helicopter joyride in Mysuru Dasara

The helicopter joyride that had been launched as part of Dasara celebrations had turned

out to be a huge hit among the people, especially youth.

The 10-minute ride gives them an opportunity to enjoy the bird’s eye view of the city,

including Mysuru Palace, Lalitha Mahal Palace, Rajendra Vilas Palace, Chamundi Hill and

Karanji Lake.



Did you know Golden howdah insured for Rs 27 crore

United India Insurance Company, Mysuru,

has issued a policy, covering the golden

howdah for Rs 27 crore.

The golden howdah, which belongs to the

erstwhile royal family of Mysuru, weighs

around 750 kg.

The policy has been issued in the name of

Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, wife of late

Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar.

The period of coverage for the howdah is

from October 10 to 16.

The insurance covers the golden howdah against accidental damage during the

procession, according to a press release.

Colourful end to Dusehra festivities

Curtains came down on the traditional 11-day Dussehra on 11th Oct, with an impressive

"jumbo savari" (procession of caparisoned

elephants) witnessed by tens of thousands

amidst rain, marking the grand finale.

Celebrated as "naada habba" (state festival),

the event showcased Karnataka's cultural

heritage resplendent with folk art forms, as

'Arjuna' led the other richly embellished

elephants through the more than 5-km route

from Mysuru Palace to Bannimantapa.

Thousands of people from the city and

tourists from outside the state lined up the streets as 'Arjuna', carrying the idol of goddess

Chamundeshwari in a 750-kg golden howdah, found its way majestically from the grand

Mysuru Palace to the terminating point.

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Panel for rebuilding Devaraja Market in Mysuru

Why in News: The Task Force for Quality Assurance

in Public Works (TQAPW) has recommended the

reconstruction of Devaraja Market, a portion of

which collapsed in August.

The task force will also submit a report to the

state government, which will take a decision

whether to renovate or reconstruct the

building

Members of the taskforce, including chairman B R Srinivasamurthy, C N Babu, L Basavaraju

and Syed Shakeeb-Ur-Rahman have prepared the report.

According to the report, the building should not be renovated as the roof and foundation

of the building have become weak.

The renovation of the Lansdowne Building was stopped after a portion of Devaraja Market

caved in last month.

Mumbai-based Savani Construction Company is doing the restoration work of both the

120-year-old Lansdowne Building and Devaraja Market. The authorities have earmarked Rs

12.5 crore — Rs 9 crore for Devaraja Market and Rs 3.5 crore for Lansdowne Building.

42 more taluks declared drought-hit in Karnataka

Why in news: The Karnataka government declared

an additional 42 taluks in 13 districts as drought

affected, taking the total number of affected taluks

in the state to 110.

Although there have also been incidents of

excess rains and floods in Kalaburagi, Bidar

and Raichur, Jayachandra said there are both

incidents of floods and drought in the state

and those officials had been directed to prepare memorandum to the Centre, seeking

assistance.

50 more taluks may get added to the list.

Other than Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, the situation was bad in most of the districts

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What is smart city project?

Currently, 31% of India’s population lives in cities; these cities also generate 63% of the nation’s economic activity.

These numbers are rapidly increasing, with almost half of India’s population projected to live in its cities by 2030. Smart Cities focus on the most pressing needs and on the greatest opportunities to improve quality of life for residents today and in the future.

The Smart Cities Mission is a bold new initiative by the Government of India to drive economic growth and improve the quality of life of people by enabling local development and harnessing technology as a means to create smart outcomes for citizens.

Smart cities are projected to be equipped with basic infrastructure will offer a good quality of life through smart solutions.

Assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, robust IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation along with safety of its citizens are some of the likely attributes of these smart cities.

Belagavi, Davangere get Rs 388 crore each for Smart City mission

The cities of Belagavi and Davangere have

received Rs 388 crore each, 10 months after

being selected for the Smart City initiative,

to execute their planned projects.

The Centre and state governments have

chipped in with Rs 194 crore each (two

annual instalments for the five-year Smart

City Mission).

Belagavi Smart City Limited and Davangere

Smart City Limited, two special purpose

vehicles (SPVs), for programme

implementation have been registered with

the Registrar of Companies.

The SPVs are companies with a board of

directors from the state government, Union

ministry of urban development and

independent directors. The SPVs have been

put in place to ensure autonomy in

decision-making and mission

implementation of smart cities.

Official sources in Karnataka Urban

Infrastructure Development and Finance

Corporation (KUIDFC), the nodal agency for

the Smart City initiative, said the process of

public consultation for deciding on the

vision statement and objective of the smart

city programme has been completed.

At present, both in Belagavi and Davangere,

the process of shortlisting the project

management consultant is on.

Belagavi has plans to boost its basic

infrastructure by improving roads, utilities

and amenities like water supply and

transportation facilities.

It is also keen on development of

neighbourhood parks and improvement of

employment opportunities through

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development of factories and skill development centres at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore over the

next five years.

In Davangere, besides taking up improvement in basic infrastructure, there are plans for

taking up development of Mandakki Bhatti, a major hub of puffed rice manufacture units.

The plan is to provide environmental-friendly modern machines and develop civic

infrastructure in the locality under public private partnership model.

Other projects planned include redevelopment of Mandipet wholesale market and

improvement of the 200-year-old Durgamba temple, located in the heart of the city. The

Durgamba temple can be taken up for revitalisation under the heritage and cultural

precinct head of the Smart City initiative.

R K Laxman's unpublished doodles on show at Cartoon Gallery

Public will get a peek into the mind of

legendary cartoonist R K Laxman at the Indian

Cartoon Gallery, where his 97 unpublished

doodles will be exhibited.

Seeing Doodu, as Laxman was known at home,

doodling constantly whenever he visited his

family in Mysuru, his older brother R K

Srinivasan gave him a scrapbook to sketch.

Sketched over a period of 16 years from 1975

to 1991, these drawings are a mix of full-fledged political cartoons and things around

Laxman that aroused his curiosity.

His classic humour is seen in others like the sketch of a man crushed under a large one

rupee coin and a beggar with a bowl, full of jewellery and money, whom Laxman calls

“victim of inflation”.

Scenes from hearings of the Shah Commission, which inquired into excesses committed

during the Emergency and Indira Gandhi, walking on a barbed wire with a halo around her

head are among the unpublished cartoons.

Former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, whose prohibition policy Laxman disagreed with, is

shown playing cards and drinking alcohol, things the leader regarded ‘social evils.’

Laxman’s family members including ‘Malgudi Days’ fame author R K Narayan are also

featured in the book. Dated December 1, 1983, the cartoon shows Narayan with a ghost

hovering above him, both looking scared of each other.

On most of the sketches, Laxman has scribbled his humorous comments.

V G Narendra, managing trustee of Indian Institute of Cartoonists, became aware of book’s

existence after he met Laxman’s nephew R S Krisnaswamy

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After Krisnaswamy’s father passed away in 1991, Laxman stopped drawing in the book. He

does not intend to publish the collection as the sketches are the private thoughts of the

artist.

New cell soon in Delhi to aid people from Karnataka

An exclusive cell will be opened in Delhi to provide assistance from the Union government

to people of Karnataka.

The Centre will provide all help to people of Karnataka and this cell will work as a nodal

office between Kannadigas and the Centre.

It will be opened and managed by union ministers hailing from Karnataka.

Parthenium to detect melamine in milk

Why in News: Scientists at the Indian Institute of

Science (IISc) have developed a low-cost handheld

device that uses the extracts of the parthenium weed

to detect melamine in milk and milk products.

Melamine is a compound commonly used in

making adhesives and plastic.

A survey on milk adulteration conducted by the

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in 2011 reported that about 70% of

the collected samples were adulterated.

While adulterants like detergent, urea, caustic soda, skimmed milk powder and glucose

and water can be easily detected, it is not the case with melamine.

Advanced analytical techniques that require experts are used for melamine detection in

milk.

In 2008, around 54,000 babies were hospitalised in China due to consumption of milk and

milk products adulterated with melamine. It resulted in the death of six infants.

Parthenium poses a major problem for farmers as it is an invasive weed that hinders

farming, causes asthma in human beings and various illnesses in cattle.

The IISc scientists, however, discovered that if leaf extracts of this weed are used as a

reducing agent in the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (creation of nanoparticles of silver)

the melamine interferes with the synthesis and results in a colour change in milk.

This visible change depends on the extent of this interference, and one can estimate the

quantity of melamine present. This colour change can be directly observed with the naked

eye.

The problem of detection of melamine can be overcome by utilising a simple way of

integration of micro fluidics with nanotechnology leading to a low-cost device of around Rs

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What you need to know about SPARSH....

Sparsh is the Social Innovation programme for Products: Affordable & Relevant to Societal Health. The programme is initiated by BIRAC under the aegis of Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India.

The programme aims at promoting the development of innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems. The scheme will tackle major social issues and offer new ideas for widespread change. The scheme aims to invest in ideas and innovations that improve health care of all Indians and encourage affordable product development in the social sector.

The scheme intends to create a pool of social innovators in the biotech arena who will identify the specific needs and gaps in healthcare. The social innovators will be provided financial and technical support for developing market-based solutions that have potential to bring cost effective health care breakthroughs to vulnerable populations in particular.

Sparsh objectives

Identify and provide support to cutting edge innovations towards affordable product development that can bring significant social impact and address challenges of inclusive growth.

Provide support in form of impact funding of biotech product innovations (with social goals) that can be scaled.

Create and foster a pool of social innovators in biotech and provide a platform to share best practices, understand intricacies of business models in social innovation and network.

5,000 that people can use at home instead of sophisticated equipment costing lakhs of

rupees

The team has filed a national and international patent for this technological innovation.

The study was conducted under the Social Innovation Programme for Products:

Affordable and Relevant to Societal Health (SPARSH) project that is funded by the

Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council.



About Internet of Things:

The internet of things (IoT) is the internetworking of physical devices, vehicles, buildings and other items—embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity that enable these objects to collect and exchange data.

The Global Standards Initiative on Internet of Things (IoT-GSI) defined the IoT as "the infrastructure of the information society."

The IoT allows objects to be sensed and/or controlled remotely across existing network infrastructure,creating opportunities for more direct integration of the physical world into computer-based systems, and resulting in improved efficiency, accuracy and economic benefit

When IoT is augmented with sensors and actuators, the technology becomes an instance of the more general class of cyber-physical systems, which also encompasses technologies such as smart grids, smart homes, intelligent transportation and smart cities.

Each thing is uniquely identifiable through its embedded computing system but is able to interoperate within the existing Internet infrastructure.

The interconnection of these embedded devices (including smart objects), is expected to usher in automation in nearly all fields, while also enabling advanced applications like a smart grid, and expanding to the areas such as smart cities

IISc, Japanese firm join hands to study agriculture sector

Why in News: An IoT (internet of things) development centre has been established at the Indian

Institute of Science (IISc) in collaboration with Japanese business consulting firm alfa TKG.

The alfa TKG has been working with the Inter-disciplinary Centre for Water Research

(ICWaR) at IISc as part of a MoU signed with the centre last year.

A faculty from the centre said that in Japan, farmers are small (in terms of area) just like

India and grow a lot of paddy.

The firm is looking at tech methods for improving water efficiency through the use of

sensors.

One of the first areas of collaboration will be in the field of water and agriculture.

It will be futile to use more water for farming as only the right amount can ensure

productivity.

Agriculture needs the efficient use of water. Many farmers do not know about the sensors;

which sensors to apply and for what purposes — to detect water levels, crop growth- Such

information can be compiled by the use of simple and cheaper sensors available, such as in

mobiles, technology that converts details in a photograph into information.

These systems and applications can help farmers get exact information on aspects like crop

status, irrigation and resource distribution.

The firm will also be looking at solutions for manufacturing sector and will focus on small

and medium-scale industries



Minaret of protected tomb crumbles

A right-side minaret of the mosque adjacent to Ain-ul-Mulk’s Tomb, a centrally protected

monument in Vijayapura, has crumbled.

Other minarets and the decorative parapet of the mosque are also in a state of

dilapidation and may collapse anytime.

Located on a sprawling 40-acre land at Ainapur tanda on Sindagi Road, Ain-ul-Mulk’s Tomb

and the mosque adjacent to it are heritage sites of national importance maintained by the

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Though these are important structures from the medieval period, the ASI has not cared to

maintain them properly.

The tomb, with a gracefully shaped dome, is the burial place of Ain-ul-Mulk, one of the

officers of Ibrahim Adil Shah I, who rebelled against the king and was killed near the city in

1556.

The king ordered the construction of a tomb and mosque for the rebel officer as he was

once his most trusted servant.

Watching this giant tomb and the elegantly shaped mosque is a scene to behold. On the

walls of the mosque and the tomb inside is some delightful stucco work in the shape of

great pendants. The ASI undertook some conservation work at the site in 2008, but

appears to have forgotten it ever since.

As a result, the plaster on the dome and the outer wall of the tomb has been peeling off.

Delicately sculpted minarets and the parapet are in a precarious condition and may

crumble anytime.

Bushes have grown at several places on the dome as well as on the mosque.

Water seeps through the walls during the rains, and the dome has developed cracks.

Not only Ain-ul-Mulk’s Tomb, there are several other centrally protected monuments in

Vijayapura which are in a pathetic condition.

The ASI has washed its hands of by deputing an attendant to some of the monuments



'Sudha Murthy' chair launched at IISc

Why in news: The “Mrs. Sudha Murthy Distinguished

Chair”, one of the three distinguished chairs

instituted by Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan

and his wife Sudha Gopalakrishnan at the Indian

Institute of Science (IISc), was launched here

on Wednesday.

The first of these three chairs, the ‘K Vaidyanathan Distinguished Chair’, was launched in

June and Prof Shihab Shamma from the Institute of Systems Research, the University of

Maryland, College Park, USA, was its first recipient.

The second chair of professorships launched on Wednesday has been named after Sudha

Murthy, chairperson of the Infosys Foundation and an alumnus of IISc.

Professor Vasant Honavar, the Edward Frymoyer Endowed Professor of Information

Sciences and Technology at the Pennsylvania State University, is the first recipient of the

chair. Each chair has been set up with a corpus of Rs 10 crore.

Honavar is also the Director of the Center for Big Data Analytics and Discovery Informatics

and the Director of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University.

A release from the IISc has described Honavar’s expertise in the field of artificial

intelligence, bioinformatics, data science, health informatics,

neural computing and neuroinformatics.

In June 2015, Pratiksha Trust, Bengaluru, founded by Kris and Sudha Gopalakrishnan, set

up the three distinguished chair professorships so as to bring top researchers in the areas

of neuromorphic computing, computational neuroscience, machine learning and data

science to IISc and to help strengthen research and international collaboration.

Kamov-226T helicopters

Why in News: Decks have been cleared for the manufacturing of Russian-origin Kamov-226T

helicopters in India as the two countries are set to ink a batch of agreements in Goa on

8th October

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited would sign three documents — a share holder’s

agreement, a memorandum of understanding and an article of association for the joint

venture — with Rostec Corporation and Russian Helicopters, paving the way for local

production of one of the world’s most well known helicopters in India.

HAL is likely to set up the production line in its new helicopter unit in Tumakuru, whose

foundation stone was laid by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2016.

The public sector aviation major plans to start production at Tumakuru from 2018 onward.

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The Kamov Ka-226 is a small, twin-engined Russian utility helicopter. The Ka-226 features an interchangeable mission pod, rather than a conventional cabin, allowing the use of various accommodation or equipment configurations

Did you know about World Sight Day

World Sight Day, observed annually on the second Thursday of October, is a global event meant

to draw attention on blindness and vision impairment. It was originally initiated by

the SightFirstCampaign of Lions Club International Foundation in 2000.

It has since been integrated into VISION 2020 and is coordinated by IAPB in cooperation with

the World Health Organization.

Last December, New Delhi and Moscow signed a preliminary agreement on the

manufacture of Ka-226T military helicopters in India under the Make in India scheme.

State-owned HAL piped Anil Ambani-led Reliance Defence as the principal partner in the

deal, which is estimated to cost $1 billion.

New Delhi is looking for new light-weight helicopters as HAL has stopped production of

ageing Cheetah and Chetak which are of 1960s

vintage. Previous attempts to purchase military

choppers to replace the ageing fleet did not

yield results.

Besides the Russian choppers, HAL also plans to

use the Tumakuru facility for the production of

lighter, three-tonne machines light utility

helicopters needed for reconnaissance and

surveillance and the attack helicopter.

State suffers Rs 6K-cr crop loss

The crop loss due to drought in 110 taluks is around Rs 6,000 crore, according to a state

government estimate.

The state government has said the Centre would be requested to send an official team to

assess the loss and release funds to take up relief works.

The crop loss due to floods and drought would be estimated separately. The revenue

department has begun the assessment process and later a memorandum requesting the

Centre’s assistance would be submitted.

Drilling borewells has been restricted due depletion of ground water. But the restriction

would be relaxed wherever there is severe shortage of drinking water.



Mysuru to get cinema school

The University of Mysore (UoM) has added another feather in its cap. It has tied up with

Franco-Indian Film Society to set up a film school at the foot of Chamundi Hills.

The new school will be housed on a 20-acre campus with state-of-the-art technology with

an ambience of a mini-film city.

The cinema school will introduce 31 courses in cinematography, scri-ptwriting, editing,

direction, sound engineering, costume designing, dance, choreography, lighting and many

more.

It will offer certificate, diploma, undergraduate, master’s and doctoral programmes. The

degrees will be accredited by the UoM.

Fund for infrastructure development of govt colleges

Why in news: The government had agreed to provide Rs 511 crore for the infrastructure

development of government first grade and technical colleges.

There are as many as 412 first grades colleges and 81 technical colleges in the state.

In order to increase the proportion of enrolment of students to pursue higher education,

the government had decided to provide the necessary infrastructure.

The money will be utilised to improve buildings. Also, incomplete building works will be

completed. Toilets and library facilties will also be provided using the funds.

Among the 412 first grade colleges, only 44 colleges have permanent principals.

Appointments will be made in colleges with acting principals. The recruitment process of at

least 2,160 posts of assistant professors will be completed by December.

Meanwhile, the Government First Grade College in Mandya had been upgraded as an

autonomous college status.

HC notice on illegal sand mining

Why in News:The Karnataka high court ordered notice to the state government and the Ballari

district administration in PIL complaining of illegal sand mining in the Tungabhadra river.

A vacation division bench headed by Justice B V Nagarathna issued notice to three

contractors allegedly involved in illegal sand quarrying.

Many have claimed that illegal quarrying of sand from the Tungabhadra riverbed at

Hachcolli village and its transportation by trucks was seriously weakening the bridge across

the river, the only transport link from Siruguppa to Ballari, Haveri and Dharwad districts.



Mains Question:

Q. Examine the Impact of Sand Mining in Karnataka?

Excessive in-stream sand-and-gravel mining causes the degradation of rivers.

In-stream mining lowers the stream bottom, which may lead to bank erosion.

Depletion of sand in the stream-bed and along coastal areas causes the deepening of rivers and estuaries, and the enlargement of river mouths and coastal inlets.

It may also lead to saline-water intrusion from the nearby sea. The effect of mining is compounded by the effect of sea level rise. Any volume of sand exported from stream-beds and coastal areas is a loss to the system.

Excessive in-stream sand mining is a threat to bridges, river banks and nearby structures. Sand mining also affects the adjoining groundwater system and the uses that local people make of the river.

In-stream sand mining results in the destruction of aquatic and riparian habitat through large changes in the channel morphology.

Impacts include bed degradation, bed coarsening, lowered water tables near the stream-bed, and channel instability. These physical impacts cause degradation of riparian and aquatic biota and may lead to the undermining of bridges and other structures. Continued extraction may also cause the entire stream-bed to degrade to the depth of excavation.

Sand mining generates extra vehicle traffic, which negatively impairs the environment. Where access roads cross riparian areas, the local environment may be impacted.

According to the petitioners, the contractors are using mechanized equipment as against

manual quarrying operation permitted under the agreement and also undertaking

quarrying at will.

What is Sand Mining

Sand mining is a practice that is used to

extract sand, mainly through an open pit.

However, sand is also mined from beaches,

inland dunes and dredged from ocean beds

and river beds. It is often used in

manufacturing as an abrasive, for example,

and it is used to make concrete. It is also

used in cold regions to put on the roads by

municipal plow trucks to help icy and

snowy driving conditions, usually mixed

with salt or another mixture to lower the

freezing temperature of the road surface

(have the precipitations freeze at a lower

temperature). Sand dredged from the

mouths of rivers can also be used to

replace eroded coastline.

Another reason for sand mining is the

extraction of minerals such as rutile,

ilmenite and zircon, which contain the

industrially useful elements titanium and

zirconium. These minerals typically occur

combined with ordinary sand, which is dug

up, the valuable minerals being separated

in water by virtue of their different

densities, and the remaining ordinary sand

re-deposited.

Sand mining is a direct cause of erosion,

and also impacts the local wildlife.For

example, sea turtles depend on sandy

beaches for their nesting, and sand mining

has led to the near extinction of gharials (a

species of crocodiles) in India. Disturbance



of underwater and coastal sand causes turbidity in the water, which is harmful for such organisms

as corals that need sunlight. It also destroys fisheries, causing problems for people who rely on

fishing for their livelihoods.

Removal of physical coastal barriers such as dunes leads to flooding of beach side communities,

and the destruction of picturesque beaches causes tourism to dissipate. Sand mining is regulated

by law in many places, but is still often done illegally.

Germany to study high speed Chennai-Bangalore-Mysore route

Germany will begin a study of a high-speed southern corridor linking Mysuru-Bengaluru-

Chennai-Vijayawada in January 2017

The calendar was finalised at a meeting between Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and

visiting Transport minister of Germany Alexander Dobrindt at Rail Bhavan.

An earlier proposal had limited the corridor to Mysuru-Bengaluru-Chennai. It is now

proposed to extend it to Vijayawada.

The study will be funded by the German government.

The 906-km long proposed corridor will support trains running at speeds of more than

300 km an hour.The earlier route was only 475 km.

The two countries had signed an MoU in April last when the Indian Railway Minister visited

Germany.

Railways also requested Germany to undertake a study of one station for

renovation/redevelopment.

Railways has earmarked 400 stations to be redeveloped as smart stations with added

passenger amenities involving private players.

The German expertise in the field of high speed rail, increasing speed of existing routes,

station development, multi modal logistics terminal and automobile logistics are of

interest to India.

Women With No Caste Apply For PDO Post

Mohanakumari and Mani, who are being looked after since their childhood at Odanadi

Seva Samsthe, an NGO working for the welfare of orphans and poor children in Mysuru..

They could not submit their online applications as they could not fill up the mandatory

caste column as they were not aware of their castes.

They got relief from Karnataka High Court as the court permitted them to apply for the

posts of Panchayat Development Officer (PDO) by mentioning “NIL” in the mandatory

column for mentioning the caste of the applicants in the online application system.

Justice B.V. Nagarathna, in an interim order, also permitted the girls to submit applications

in physical form in case the online applications are not accepted due to not mentioning of



caste while directing the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA), which is conducting

examination to select eligible candidates for the posts, to accept such applications for the

purpose of scrutiny.

The KEA’s instructions to the applicants had said that caste column should consist of a

minimum of three letters.

Pointing out that the petitioner girls wanted to apply under the General Category (GM)

quota, the petitioners’ counsel had pointed out that denial of an opportunity for applying

for a job sans mentioning caste while applying under GM amounts to discrimination

amongst the job-seekers.

The Court adjourned further hearing while ordering issuance of notices to the State

government and the KEA.

Greater regulation of private Universities

The State government has decided to amend the law for greater regulation of and control

over private universities established in Karnataka.

Expert committee headed by former Goa University Vice-Chancellor B.S. Sonde has been

told to examine the laws pertaining to the establishment and running of these private

universities and suggest suitable amendments.

The State has 11 private universities, however, permission has been given to 22 through

separate private university Acts; 11 are yet to be established.

Many of these were approved by the Assembly without deliberation.

Regulation is required to ensure that clauses are introduced to improve the efficiency,

transparency and functioning of the universities.

The committee would suggest amendments to each Act, which would have to be approved

by the legislature in the winter session.

The regulation will include detailed criteria for appointing a Vice Chancellor for private

varsities on the lines of those for State-run varsities.

Efforts will be made to enhance admission for domicile students in Karnataka from 25 per

cent to 40 per cent in all private varsities.

One of the amendment aims to ensure that a private university takes approval from the

State government before starting new courses or enhancing intake. Other measures

include disclosing the curriculum followed by the varsity and an inspection by the

Karnataka State Higher Education Council.



What did the Govt promise

The State government’s promised

a year ago to provide milk to

students five days a week under

the Ksheera Bhagya scheme

remain unfulfilled. Chief Minister

Siddaramaiah, in principle, had

also given the nod to extend

distribution of milk from three to

five days for children in

anganwadis, government and

aided schools.

Five-day Ksheera Bhagya scheme yet to take off

What is Ksheera Bhagya Scheme?.

The Ksheera Bhagya Scheme was launched on 1st

Aug 2013 by GOK in co-ordination with KMF to

provide nutritious food with protein and fat

which is essential for healthy growth and all-

round development of School Children as well as

Anganwadi in the State.

Ksheera Bhagya Scheme was a dream project

conceived by KMF based on the suggestion of

honourable CM of Karnataka to help the poor

children of the State and also the Milk producers

to dispose their surplus milk.

Challenges as per the Government

Currently Rs. 510 crore is being spent annually to provide milk thrice a week to 39 lakh

anganwadi children and 62 lakh students in government and aided schools.

If the milk has to be provided five times a week, they will require an additional Rs. 300

crore which is a huge financial commitment, the government hence delaying its

implementation,

Under the Ksheera Bhagya scheme, launched in August 2013, hot water is added to 18

gram of full-cream milk powder to make 150 ml of milk, which is a child’s daily quota.

Children in anganwadis who were given skimmed milk initially, have been getting full

cream milk since July 1 this year.

Other challenges

The Karnataka Milk Federation distributed milk in flexi packets on a trial basis for two

weeks to 1,100 government and aided schools in Bengaluru last month,

KMF authorities and the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) are not considering

switching to these packs owing to logistical issues.

Although students were thrilled to consume milk from flexi packets as its consistency

is good, serving it on a long-term basis is expensive & the other challenge would be

disposing the milk packets.



Why is this scheme important?

The scheme has benefited students as a majority of them come from lower economic

backgrounds and do not consume milk at home. Extending the scheme to all working days will

have benefit students health-wise

Art of story-telling in Bangalore Metro

BMRCL has decided to add an extra feature for the metro passenger, from November, four

Namma Metro stations will tell passengers a story about Bengaluru through art.

As part of a tie-up with several art institutions around the city, the Bangalore Metro Rail

Corporation (BMRCL) has decided to dedicate four stations to the art of story-telling.

‘Festival of Stories’, the artwork will include murals and paintings and tracking the

evolution of the city into a major metropolis over the years. Work on the murals has

already begun.

In October, students, faculty and well-known artists from around the country started work

at the MG Road Metro Station, the Kempegowda Majestic Metro station, the Cubbon Park

metro station and the Sampige Road metro station.

Very soon, there will be several events around the Cubbon Park metro station which will

have performances by various artistes, talks, art installations and guided tours of the

neighbourhood. This will be followed up by a street art festival

The project will include muralist Harsh Vardhan Kadam, Curator Orijit Sen, graphic

storyteller George Mathan, visual artist Sameer Kulavoor and street artists Collin van der

Sluijs and Okuda.

It will include stories of Bengaluru that will bring out a sense of nostalgia in Metro users.

Crops have wilted in State's Cauvery basin

Why in News: Highlighting the severity of water crises in the Cauvery basin areas, a high-level

panel has said that crop sown on 1.88 lakh acres in Karnataka have withered away due to

shortage of water.

The panel headed by Central Water Commission chairman (CWC) G S Jha in its report

submitted to the Supreme Court said Karnataka has sown 6.15 lakh acres under the

command areas of the Kabini, Hemavathy, Harangi and KRS and about 1.88 lakh acres have

withered away.

The team which toured Karnataka and Tamil Nadu following the direction of the Supreme

Court said that in Karnataka it is a mix of paddy, maize, sugarcane and ragi whereas in

Tamil Nadu it is Samba paddy, turmeric and sugarcane.



Water requirement: The total

water requirements of Karnataka

up to the end of May 2017

including irrigation, drinking water

and evaporation (6 tmcft) are

65.48 tmcft while the availability

up to the end of May 2017 is 89.16

tmcft. The total water requirement

of Tamil Nadu will be 163 tmcft

(irrigation of 12 lakh acres,

drinking, evaporation and

releasing three tmcft to

Puducherry) against the expected

availability of 143.18 tmcft up to

the end of May 2017.

In November 2005, Abdul

Kalam, as President of India,

had addressed a joint

session of the legislature as

part of Suvarna Karnataka,

the year-long golden jubilee

celebrations of Karnataka’s

formation.

In Karnataka, the survived crops are of mid

growth stage, requiring limited period of

watering and may require only three to four

waterings/ irrigation to survive the crops which

are in pre-wilting stage.

In the current year, Tamil Nadu had only single

Samba crop in the command area of the Mettur

reservoir to be cultivated on 12 lakh acres for

which the government is expected to provide

water.

The report observed that the allocation of

assessed 740 tmcft of water has been made by

the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal among all

the riparian states considering the flows at 50%

dependability. This implies that on an average,

every two years out of four years are likely to be low flow years.

Inflow into Karnataka reservoirs are 49.76% of the normal flows as on October 13 after

taking into consideration the average inflow in the last 29 years. Flow at Biligundlu (water

release point from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu) is 40.75% of the normal flows as on October

12. (This means the flow at Biligundlu was 58.37 tmcft as on October 13 against the

scheduled flows of 143.23 tmcft in a normal year).

60th year of Vidhana Soudha

Why in News: The Karnataka legislature secretariat, which is preparing to celebrate the 60th year

of the Vidhana Soudha, is considering to invite the President of India to address a special joint

session of the legislature.

Speaker K B Koliwad has formed a committee of officials headed by IAS officer

Lakshminarayana for preparing a blueprint. The

departments of Public Works, Finance and Personnel

and Administrative Reforms are involved in the

planning.

The late chief minister Kengal Hanumanthaiah is

acknowledged as the architect of Vidhana Soudha,

whose foundation was laid on July 13, 1951, by

Jawaharlal Nehru.

The construction was completed in 1956 and it was

formally inaugurated on October 10, coinciding with

Vijayadashami. K C Reddy was the chief minister during the inauguration.



About Bangalore Football Club

Bengaluru Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Bengaluru,

Karnataka.

The club participates in the I-League, India's top-tier football league. It is the first ever

club to have won the I-League in its debut season.

The team is currently owned by Mumbai-based company, JSW Group and its managing

director is Sajjan Jindal.

The club's home ground is the 24,000 seater Sree Kanteerava Stadium.

Formed in July 2013, the club has established itself as a premier footballing

establishment in the country with a strong community focus, modeled on the lines of

the football club structure in England and other European countries.

The club has launched various programs for the football loving youth of the city. In April

2014, the club launched the first BFC Soccer School in the city with an aim to capture

budding young football talent. Other initiatives include the BFC in the Community

program which is mainly a social responsibility program for the club support around the

city. The program is currently headed by John Killa.

When the building project was conceived, Kengal Hanumanthaiah was the Congress party

head in the state.

The building was constructed at a cost of Rs 1.84 crore.

The plan is to conduct the session before December-end. The winter session of the

legislature in Belagavi will not be cancelled. There are suggestions to combine the

celebration of the diamond jubilee of the Soudha with the reorganisation of the state.

Officials are planning to come out with a book highlighting the uniqueness of Vidhana

Soudha and hold an exhibition to depict its history. Cultural events would be part of the

celebrations and hence, the event may extend for two days

Bangalore Football Club wins semifinal, creates history

Bengaluru Football Club (BFC) created history at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on 19th Oct,

by becoming the first Indian club to enter the final of the AFC Cup.

Having drawn the first leg 1-1 in Johor last month, BFC won 3-1 here, on what was the

greatest night of the club’s history.

BFC will meet Iraq’s Air Force Club in the final, on November 5, in Doha.



What happend in Bhubaneshwar

hospital?

At least 22 patients were killed and

more than 20 injured in a fire that

broke out at SUM Hospital in

Bhubaneswar, in one of the worst such

incidents involving a medical facility in

Odisha.

This was the second such incident in

the state in six months. On May 31, a

fire broke out at the state-run SCB

medical college and hospital in

Cuttack. More than 100 patients had a

providential escape when the

cardiology department got engulfed.

Fire Audit of all hospitals in Karnataka

Why in News: Close on the heels of the fire tragedy that claimed 20 lives in a hospital in

Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, the Fire and Emergency Services Department has ordered a fire audit of

all hospitals in Karnataka.

Fire officers will inspect all in-patient

hospitals in the State, irrespective of the

height of the building. All hospitals will be

checked for compliance with fire safety

measures.

M.N. Reddi, Director General of Police, Fire

and Emergency Services said fire officers in

the nearly 200 fire stations in the State have

been instructed to submit audit reports by a

week.

Hospital managements have been asked to

check for compliance with the National

Building Code norms for fire preparedness.

Several hospital staff admitted that while fire

safety infrastructure, such as extinguishers,

exists, there is a question mark over

maintenance and upgrading equipment.

In government hospitals, especially due to the

large number of patients which is usually not proportionate with the manpower available,

maintaining equipment is a tough ask, let alone conducting mock drills or training the staff

in fire safety

Officials hope to identify such problems through the fire audit as there is always a large

number of people in hospitals, many of them incapacitated and would be unable to take care

of themselves. The intensive care units have a lot of electric equipment making them

predisposed to accidents



Last year, Infosys Foundation

supported BBP through the

development of a Tiger Enclosure,

construction of two lakh liter

capacity water tank and five

borewells, and a monetary token

of appreciation to the contract

employees.

New zebra enclosure at Bannerghatta Biological Park

Dr Sudha N. Murthy inaugurated the new enclosure of zebras at the The Bannerghatta

Biological Park, which was recently built by the Infosys Foundation.

The enclosure is spread over 3,600 square metres and was built at an approximate cost of

Rs 63 lakh.

Two pairs of zebra were procured from Zoological

Center, Tel Aviv, in Israel and were released to the

new enclosure for public view. Sudha Murthy also

named the zebras as Bharat, Pruthvi, Kaveri and

Hemavathi

The full-fledged enclosure at BBP will provide basic amenities for the animals like holding house, feeding trough, along with a visitor’s path at the view point.

This addition of ‘stripes’ to the existing variety of over 1,900 animals of 95 species will augment the attraction quotient of the park, thereby encouraging more visitors to BBP.

‘Kittur Utsav-2016’

Why in News: The historical Kittur Fort, the seat of the erstwhile princely state of Kittur ruled by

Rani Chennamma in the early 19th century, hosted ‘Kittur Utsav-2016’, the annual cultural

extravaganza organised by the district administration and the Department of Kannada and

Culture.

The three-day event began on 23rd Oct. The State-sponsored festival is organised to celebrate ‘Vijayothsava’, the heroic battle the

queen of Kittur fought against the British army in 1824. Since then, her historic deeds have celebrated in songs and stories.

This time of year is festive for the residents Kittur town of Bailhongal taluk, situated along the Pune-Bengaluru NH-4, and for the large number people from adjoining villages and towns who converge at Kittur to watch the cultural programmes depicting various art forms and sports native to north Karnataka and other parts of the State.

The festivities were symbolically set off last with Small Scale Industries and district in-charge Minister Ramesh L. Jarkiholi offering ceremonial puja at the memorial of Rani Chennamma in Bailhongal town before flagging off the ‘Vijay Jyoti’.

The main events commenced with the arrival of the Vijay Jyoti, after travelling through all the 10 taluks of the district, in Kuttur town on the morning of October 23. After according a ceremonial reception to the Vijay Jyoti, a grand cultural rally will be flagged off at 10 a.m.

The State government has sanctioned Rs. 30 lakh for the festivities



RMSA Objectives

1. To improve quality of education

imparted at secondary level

through making all secondary

schools conform to prescribed

norms.

2. To remove gender, socio-

economic and disability barriers.

3. Universal access to secondary

level education by 2017, i.e., by

the end of the XII Five Year Plan.

4. Universal retention by 2020.

Action plans

1. Additional class rooms

2. Laboratories

3. Libraries

4. Art and crafts room

5. Toilet blocks

6. Drinking water provisions

7. Residential hostels for teachers

in remote areas

Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan (RMSA)

Why in news: The State Cabinet ordered a probe into the alleged misappropriation of Rs.

1,909.07 crore sanctioned for civil works under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan

(RMSA).

A team of officials of Law, Public Works, and

Primary and Secondary Education departments

would conduct the probe into the execution of

2,010 works taken up under the scheme during

the Bharatiya Janata Party government.

The panel had been asked to submit the report

in two months.

The Centre has stopped releasing funds for the

RMSA in the State following allegations that

officials and contractors had claimed money by

producing fake bills.

Poor quality of work, payments for incomplete

works, and other irregularities had been noticed

in the project which is funded jointly by Union

and State governments.

Earlier, a complaint was filed with the Karnataka

Lokayukta seeking a probe. However, the

government has decided to continue the

implementation of the RMSA which would

benefit students in rural schools.

About RMSA

This scheme was launched in March, 2009 with the objective to enhance access to secondary education and to improve its quality.

The implementation of the scheme started from 2009-10. It is envisaged to achieve an enrolment rate of 75% from 52.26% in 2005-06 at secondary

stage of implementation of the scheme by providing a secondary school within a reasonable distance of any habitation.

The other objectives include improving quality of education imparted at secondary level through making all secondary schools conform to prescribed norms, removing gender, socio-economic and disability barriers, providing universal access to secondary level education by 2017, i.e., by the end of 12th Five Year Plan and achieving universal retention by 2020.



Govt to go ahead with Tipu Jayanthi

The state government has decided to go ahead with Tipu Jayanthi celebrations on

November 10 despite opposition from the Sangh Parivar.

Home Minister G Parameshwara held a review meeting on 20th Oct to discuss security

arrangements across the state in the run-up to the celebrations.

The main event will be organised at Vidhana Soudha by the Department of Kannada and

Culture. Tipu Jayanthi programmes will also be held at all taluk and district headquarters.

Why in controversy?

Tipu Sultan, also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the son of Sultan Hyder Ali of Mysore

and ruled the Kingdom of Mysore from 1783 to 1799.

Tipu died at a young age of 48 and was succeeded by Krishnaraja Wodeyar III. Tipu's legacy

has often been a matter of debate for historians as there is a huge population in present-

day Karnataka who despise the ruler for his atrocities towards Hindus, including the

conversion of Hindus to Islam.

The controversy was sparked off when the Karnataka government decided to celebrate

November 10 as Tipu Jayanti as was announced a year ago.

Tipu is considered a "treacherous tyrant" by the people from Coorg, Mangaluru, and

certain parts of Kerala.

Fortified rice for govt schoolkids

Why in News:In an effort to tackle hidden hunger or micro-nutrient malnutrition, fortified rice

will be introduced through the Midday Meal Scheme in government schools in Bengaluru Urban,

Dharwad and Ballari districts.

The meals will be distributed for a year by the non-profit, The Akshaya Patra Foundation,

which is already providing hot-cooked meals in about 3,000 schools in the state.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Karnataka government

and the non-profit to implement the project from October 24 onwards in 2,600

government schools to cater to more than 4.5 lakh students.

Under the provision, rice, fortified with micronutrients and vitamins, will be cooked along

with normal rice in the proportion of 1:99. Fortified rice can improve learning skills in

Mathematics for students of classes 4 and 5.

Another MoU signed between the government and Akshara Foundation will extend an

existing programme to six more districts.

In the first stage, the foundation distributed kits consisting of abacus, decimal sets and

number beads to schools in six districts in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region.



About Us Akshaya Patra Foundation:

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation headquartered in Bengaluru, India. Our organisation strives to fight issues like hunger and malnutrition in India, by implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in the government schools and government-aided schools. Akshaya Patra aims not only to fight hunger but also to bring children to school.

Since 2000, the organisation has worked towards reaching more children with wholesome food on every single school day.

Akshaya Patra is continuously leveraging technology to cater to millions of children. Its state-of-the-art kitchens have become a subject of study and they attract curious visitors from around the world.

Today Akshaya Patra is the world’s largest (not-for-profit run) mid-day meal programme serving wholesome food to over 1.6 million children from 13,210 schools across 11 states in India.

Midday Meal Scheme

The Midday Meal Scheme is a school meal programme of the Government of India designed to improve the nutritional status of school-age children nationwide.

The programme supplies free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary classes in government, government aided, local body, Education Guarantee Scheme, and alternate innovative education centres, Madarsa and Maqtabs supported under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and National Child Labour Project schools run by the ministry of labour.

Serving 120,000,000 children in over 1,265,000 schools and Education Guarantee Scheme centres, it is the largest such programme in the world.

Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which India is a party, India has committed to providing "adequate nutritious foods" for children. The programme has undergone many changes since its launch in 1995.

The Midday Meal Scheme is covered by the National Food Security Act, 2013

This year, the programme will be extended to Bengaluru Rural, Chikkaballapur,

Chamarajanagar, Chitradurga, Gadag and Dharwad districts, benefiting 1.29 lakh students

in 4,149 schools.

The foundation will also provide training to teachers on the use of the Mathematics kit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midday_Meal_Scheme#cite_note-:1-1



About 15,000 acres of

lake land is encroached.

The committee will also

recommend steps to be

taken to protect the

lakes.

Initiatives taken by Government

Restoring lakes and facilitating

restoration of ground water table.

EIA studies

Take remedial measures to restore &

revitalise dying lakes & co-ordinate

efforts of various organisations.

Conserve lakes, facilitate restoration

of depleting ground water table,

improve environs.

Protection, conservation,

reclamation, restoration,

regeneration & integrated

development of lakes.

Environmental planning & GIS

mapping of lakes and surrounding

areas.

Monitoring and management of

water quality and lake ecology.

Utilising lakes for the purpose of

education and tourism.

Panel to submit interim report on lake encroachments soon

Legislative assembly Speaker K B Koliwad on 20th Oct said the legislature committee on lake

encroachments would submit its interim report in about a month and a half.

The committee will make recommendations to the

government on action to be taken against the encroachers

of lakes in Bengaluru Urban and Bengaluru Rural districts.

Koliwad, who is also the committee chairman, said that he

will be inspecting eight places in Bengaluru on October 24

and 25.

These places are Puravankara, J P Nagar; Symbiosis,

Bengaluru east; Bagamane Tech Park, Byrasandra lake; V R

Bangalore Mall, Krishnarajapuram; first grade college, Old Airport Road; Karle company near

Manyata Tech Park; Brigade, Dasarahalli survey number 61; lakes adopted by Embassy Group.

Lake Encroachment

Bengaluru, once called the "City of Lakes"

is fast losing its water bodies due to

encroachment, a report released recently

by the state government has revealed.

Most of the lakes have vanished due to

encroachment and construction activity for

urban infrastructure expansion.

The city once had 280-285 lakes of which 7

cannot be traced, 7 are reduced to small

pools of water, 18 have been

unauthorisedly encroached by slums and

private parties, 14 have dried up and are

leased out by the Government.

28 lakes have been used by the Bangalore

Development Authority to distribute sites

and build extensions for residential areas

The remaining lakes are in fairly advanced

state of deterioration.



Hasanamba temple decked up for annual public viewing

The Hasanamba temple is all decked up and illuminated for its annual festival, Hasanamba

jatra, scheduled to be held this year from October 20 to November 1.

The temple opens only once in a year during Deepavali. The temple authorities have

made elaborate arrangements and sought the assistance of ex-servicemen to man the

crowds. The temple authorities have taken up development works at a cost of Rs 82 lakh.

The temple is opened once in a year during Ashwayuja Masa, on the Thursday after

‘poornima’ (full moon day). The doors of the temple would be opened at 12.30 pm on

October 20 and closed by 7.30 pm. The public will be allowed entry into the temple from

October 21 to November 1 from 6 am to 2 am, with an interval of four hours.

More than 13 lakh people from several parts of the state and beyond are expected to visit

the temple. Barricades have been erected to streamline the crowd and shelters set up to

protect devotees from scorching sun and rain. A drinking water unit has also been set up at

a cost of Rs 6 lakh.

Hassan Milk Union Limited (Hamul) will distribute water packets for free while the

Muzrai department has made arrangements to distribute food for 50,000 devotees

everyday.

Eight varieties of prasada, including rice pulav, chitranna, bisi bele bath, uppittu and

avalakki will be served to devotees.

Philanthropists have donated 110 quintals of rice as there is a need for 400 quintal of rice

for 13 days. A special ticket would cost devotees Rs 300.

New norms governing fees in unaided schools

Why in News: A group of parents from Karnataka Students Parents’ Association met Chief

Minister Siddaramaiah to express their dissatisfaction with the draft rules to amend the

Karnataka Educational Institutions (Regulation of Certain fees and Donations) Rules, 1999.

The rules will regulate fee collected in private unaided schools following the state

syllabus.

The draft rules fix the total fee collected from students on the basis of expenditure on

salary of teaching and non-teaching staff plus a percentage of the same towards

maintenance and operation costs of the school.

This percentage has been revised from the earlier 30% to 50% for schools in gram

panchayats and town panchayats, 60% for those in city municipal councils, 75% for those

in municipal corporations other than BBMP and 100% for schools in BBMP limits.

The association opposed this new formula for calculating the fee.



About Rajyotsava award

The Rajyotsava Awards, the second highest civilian honour of the Karnataka state are

conferred annually by the Karnataka Government on the occasion of the birth of

Karnataka State on November 1 celebrated as Kannada Rajyotsava.

The awards celebrate achievements by persons of eminence in their chosen fields. The

awardees are from the fields of literature, music, dance, theatre, journalism, sports,

medicine, education, agriculture, Information Technology and Science.

The awards are presented in Bangalore by the Chief minister of Karnataka. Each award

carries an amount of Rs. 100,000, a shawl, a citation and a memento. In addition to

that, the government allots commercial land for eligible awardees

The association also submitted a memorandum, which includes a demand to make the

draft rules available in Kannada as the document is presently available only in English and

hence would be inaccessible to several parents.

They have also demanded that the government give wide publicity to the draft rules by

publishing it in print and electronic media.

CM-led panel to select Rajyotsava awardees

The state government informed the High Court that the candidates for the Rajyotsava

award for 2016 would be selected by a panel headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

However, for 2017, the guidelines framed by the Justice Nagmohan Das committee to

select candidates for the award will be followed.

Additional Advocate General A G Shivanna said that due to shortage of time, the newly

framed guidelines could not be followed for this year.

Justice S Abdul Nazeer, while asking the government to follow the existing rules in

selecting candidates for the award this year, directed the government to submit the list of

selected candidates to the court in a sealed envelope.



Mysore: Corporation to set up plant to recycle construction debris

The Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) has come up with a solution to end the menace of

construction and demolition debris being indiscriminately dumped along the roads and

vacant/unused lands.

The civic body has joined hands with a private company to recycle the debris into usable

bricks and interlocking tiles.

The corporation will not be investing on setting up the recycling plant but will be giving the

land measuring six acres at the sewage farm in Vidyaranyapuram for the plant.

A Hyderabad-based company, which has been recycling solid waste at the sewage farm

here since many years, is setting up the plant for recycling the building debris.

The same firm has set up a similar plant at New Delhi, the Mysuru plant is being set up at a

cost of Rs. 9 crore.

More than 100 tonnes of debris was generated in the city which is chaotically dumped

across the city, especially along the isolated stretches of the Outer Ring Road (ORR).

Five sites in MCC limits will be identified for dumping of debris by those in the construction

industry.

The company will be lifting the debris from these sites for recycling at its plant.

After the city was judged the country’s cleanest city under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan,

the corporation was under “pressure” to address the problem of illegal and indiscriminate

dumping of construction debris.

The scale of debris had increased over the years with the rise in constructions owing to the

rapid expansion of the city.

Varsity launches Mahabharata e-text annotation project

The Dvaita Philosophy Resource Centre of Manipal University launched a 40-month

research project on Mahabharata e-text annotation project.

Srinivasa Kumar N. Acharya, assistant professor and centre coordinator said that the

project was titled ‘Grammatical analysis and XML tagging of Mahabharata’.

This project will help to take this knowledge to international audiences.

One research coordinator and five research associates had been appointed for this

purpose.

The six Sanskrit scholars are traditionally trained and also have knowledge of computers

These six scholars will work under the guidance of subject experts and an advisory

committee.

“Amba Kulkarni from University of Hyderabad, Shrinivasa Varakhedi from Karnataka

Sanskrit University, Bengaluru, and Gerard Huet from Paris, will be guiding this project.



The parishat is also planning to

have Kannada activities in various

countries.

After Kannada got classical

language tag, the State received

Rs. 11 crore from the Union

government for studying and

developing the language.

Efforts are on to have Kannada

Study Seats in Jawaharalal Nehru

University and elsewhere. The

State has granted Rs. 30 crore for

organising Vishwa Kannada

Sammelan.

The state government has

decided to give either a five kg

LPG cylinder or a cooking stove to

the beneficiaries of Ujjwala

scheme of the Centre in urban

areas.

Those in rural areas would be

given three options: a cooking

stove, a refill cylinder or solar

lights. Under Ujjwala scheme, the

Centre gives free LPG

connections to the BPL families.

Kannada Sahitya Parishat to launch new website

Manu Baligar, president of the Kannada Sahitya

Parishat, has announced that the new website of

the parishat will be launched at the 82nd Akhila

Bharat Kannada Sahitya Sammelan.

The new website will be Unicode based and

viewer-friendly.

The parishat has plans to digitise all major

Kannada works including dictionaries and making

them available on the parishat website.

A portal for the Kannada Vijnana Tantrajnana

Samiti will also be launched in the same literary

event.

Writer Kum. Veerabhadrappa will be its head, will

be set up to study the of Kannadigas in the border

areas of neighbouring States.

Bogus ration card creators

Why in News: The state government has decided to crack the whip against those who are

involved in creating bogus ration cards by linking fictitious Aadhaar card numbers.

Food and Civil Supplies Minister U T Khader said that action will taken against owners of 950

fair price shops where the bogus

Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards have been seized &

Licences to run the shops would be withdrawn

and criminal cases would be booked against them.

Besides, a departmental enquiry has been ordered

to ascertain the involvement of the officials.

Food coupons have been generated illegally by

linking fictitious Aadhaar card numbers with

bogus ration cards.

Involvement of local food inspectors is suspected

as seeding of Aadhaar card numbers is done at

their level.

About 1.6 lakh such bogus ration cards have been

seized in the past few days. Most of the cases are

reported in Bengaluru.



In Karnataka, the fund has

been released for the Upper

Tunga Irrigation Project

(Haveri, Shivamogga and

Davangere districts) and Sri

Rameshwara Irrigation

project (Belagavi), Karanja

(Bidar), Bhima (Kalaburagi)

and Narayanpur Left Bank

Canal System (New Kalaburagi

and Vijayapura).

Cases will be booked under the Essential Commodities Act and the Indian Penal Code against

the culprits.

The government is seriously considering doing away with the system of private individuals

running fair price shops following the large-scale irregularities. Instead of extending their

cooperation in implementing the public distribution system, many shop owners are misusing

it.

Hence, the department is exploring the possibility of running all 20,000 shops with the help of

Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Corporations and the Gram Panchayats.

DA hike for state govt staff

The state government on 21st Oct increased the dearness allowance (DA) of government

employees by 4.25 percentage points.

The DA is now 40.25% from the earlier 36% of the basic pay with retrospective effect

from July 1, 2016.

This will apply to all the permanent government employees and other employees drawing

salaries from the government.

The revision will also apply to retired state government employees and pensioners coming

under UGC/AICTE and ICAR.

State gets Central funds for irrigation projects

Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti on 21st Oct announced that the Centre has

released the first instalment of Rs 1,500 crore to 18 states, including Karnataka, as central

assistance for taking up a total of 99 irrigation projects under the Accelerated Irrigation

Benefits Programme (AIBP).

These funds were sanctioned for the completion of

the on-going irrigation projects and funds will be

released through National Bank for Agriculture and

Rural Development (NABARD).

With the sanction of funds to complete the pending

irrigation projects in drought-hit areas, will address

major water crises.

Following an increase in farmers’ suicides in the past

two years due to failure of rainfall, the Centre has

decided to release more funds to states to take up

irrigation projects in drought-prone districts.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his budget speech in



2016, had announced the plan to create a dedicated Long Term Irrigation Fund in NABARD

with an initial corpus of about Rs 20,000 crore and an amount of Rs 12,517 crore was

provided as budgetary resources and market borrowings during the 2016-17 fiscal year.

Rs 15,742-cr plan to revive ecology in mine-ravaged dists

Karnataka has submitted a Rs 15,742-crore plan to the Supreme Court, spelling out the measures it intends to take to reclaim and rehabilitate areas destroyed by illegal mining of iron ore in the three mineral-rich districts of Ballari, Chitradurga and Tumakuru.

In a proposal submitted to the Supreme Court, the Karnataka government stated that its Comprehensive Environment Plan for the Mining Impact Zone (CEPMIZ) would revive the forest and the environment in these districts.

The CEPMIZ, which was prepared in consultation with the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC), will be implemented over 10 years, the written submission states.

Of the estimated cost of Rs 15,742 crore, Rs 11,842 crore will come from the special purpose vehicle, Karnataka Mining Environment Restoration Corporation (KMERC).

The railways will contribute Rs 1,000 crore and iron ore lessees and steel plants of these districts Rs 2,900 crore.

The KMERC’s task is to mitigate the impact of mining, repair the damage caused by mining, take up afforestation and address issues in education, health, nutrition, water supply, employment and minor irrigation

About Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme:

The Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) was launched during 1996- 1997 to give loan assistance to the States to help them complete some of the incomplete major/medium irrigation projects which were at an advanced stage of completion and to create additional irrigation potential in the country.

As per the existing AIBP criteria effective from December 2006, grant amounting to 25% of the project cost for major and medium irrigation projects in non-special category States and 90% grant of the project cost for major/medium/minor irrigation projects in special category States are provided to the selected projects. The minor irrigation schemes in non-special category States falling in drought prone/tribal areas are treated at par with special category States and are provided 90% grant of the project cost. Major and medium projects providing irrigation benefits to drought prone/tribal area and flood prone area are also eligible for 90% grant of the project cost.



7 Main Types of Drought Recognized in India

Following main types of drought may be

recognized: 1. Meteorological Drought 2.

Hydrological Drought 3. Agricultural Drought 4. Soil

Moisture Drought 5. Socio-Economic Drought 6.

Famine 7. Ecological Drought

Meteorological Drought:

It describes a situation where there is a reduction in

rainfall for a specific period (days, months, seasons

or year) below a specific amount (long term

average for a specific time).

Hydrological Drought:

Hydrological drought is associated with reduction

of water. A meteorological drought often leads to

hydrological drought. Generally it takes two

successive meteorological droughts before the

hydrological drought sets in. There are two types of

hydrological droughts viz., (0 surface water drought

and (ii) ground water drought.

Agricultural Drought:

Agricultural drought is concerned with the impact

of meteorological/hydrological drought on crop

yield. When soil moisture and rainfall conditions

are not adequate enough to support a healthy crop

growth to maturity thereby causing extreme

moisture stress and wilting of major crop area, it

leads to agricultural drought

Soil Moisture Drought:

This is a situation of inadequate soil moisture

particularly in rainfed areas which may not support

crop growth. This happens in the event of a

meteorological drought when the water supply to

soil is less and water loss by evaporation is more.

Socio-Economic Drought:

It reflects the reduction of availability of food and

income loss on account of crop failures

endangering food and social security of the people

in the affected areas.

Famine:

A famine occurs when large scale collapse of access

to food occurs which, without intervention, can

lead to mass starvation.

Ecological Drought:

Ecological drought takes place when the

productivity of a natural eco-system fails

significantly as a consequence of distress induced

environmental damage.

Karnataka demands Rs 3,375 cr drought relief for Kharif 2016

With Karnataka facing drought for sixth consecutive year, the state government sought a central assistance of Rs 3,375 crore to tackle the situation.

Two state ministers, Kagodu Thimmappa and Krishna Byre Gowda, met Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and sumitted a memorandum in this regard.

In the meeting, the Union Minister informed the state ministers that a central team will soon visit the drought-hit districts to assess the situation

The state has also sought a financial assistance of Rs 120.13 crore to help those farmers who have not sown paddy in the Cauvery command area districts

In the memorandum, the state government said that prolonged continuous dry spell in the drought-declared taluks has destroyed an area of 25.57 lakh hectares crop and loss is estimated at Rs 11,051.33 crore.

Though the state had an overall deficit of 18 percent during South-West monsoon, there is very high spatial temporal variability of rainfall pattern across the state.

The state government said the rainfall deficit was (-) 57 percent in South Interior Karnataka, (-) 37 percent in Malnad during August and (-) 72 percent in South Interior Karnataka and (-) 36 percent in Malnad during September. Buoyed by good rains during June, cultivation of kharif (summer) crops was taken up briskly across the state in 71.67 lakh hectares.

As the season progressed, good rainfall received during June and July was completely offset by deficit rainfall received during August and September

New Terminology

Since it can’t control the weather but can control language, the state forecaster India Meteorological Department (IMD) has decided to simply replace the word



“drought” to describe poor rainfall with “deficient year” and “large deficient year”.

What appears to be an exercise in euphemism is actually part of an effort to help people better understand the terms used in weather forecasts

IMD also changed several terms used by the forecaster based on the recommendation of a committee that was set up by the director general

Bill in Belagavi session to check varsity irregularities

The government will introduce a comprehensive bill in the winter session of the legislature at Belagavi to bring state universities in Karnataka under a uniform legislation.

The bill, whose draft is under preparation, will seek to check irregularities in the universities.

All universities have to submit the details on their finance, infrastructure, faculty and future plan in a month.

The government is preparing a master plan to improve higher education in the state by way of infrastructure development and faculty recruitment.

The government is considering taking a loan from the World Bank for the purpose.

Rs 11,000-cr crop loss in kharif season

Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said that the state had incurred crop losses to the tune of Rs 11,000 crore during the kharif season as per the primary report submitted by the department officials.

110 taluks had been declared drought-hit and relief works were being taken up.



The government has directed the revenue and agriculture officials to conduct a joint survey on crop loss and based on the report by the officials, the state would seek Rs 3,000 crore compensation from the Centre.

The rains had failed in October and there was a possibility of the government declaring drought in rabi season also.

However, the government will wait for the next 15 days to see whether the state receives good rains and later declare all taluks as drought affected.

To discourage cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugar cane and paddy, the government has planned to give importance to millets.

At present, a support price of Rs 1,600 has been announced for ragi and jowar and they have been included under the PDS.

To encourage farmers to opt for millets, the government has submitted a proposal to the Union government, asking it to enhance the support price to Rs 2,100 for millet.

This was the only solution to discourage cultivation of water-intensive crops.

Bhimgad sanctuary

Why in news: With the government declaring Bhimgad forest in Khanapur taluk of Belagavi district a wildlife sanctuary in 2011, the problems of villagers living in its ambit have compounded.

Villagers living in the core area have been put to hardship as the Forest Department is not allowing any development work apart from forest-related activities in the reserve forest.

While people are willing to relocate, for the past one year the state government is delaying formation of a five-member District Rehabilitation Committee headed by assistant commissioner to determine the rehabilitation package.

There has been no response to a letter by the Belagavi deputy conservator of forest (DCF) on rehabilitation, which was forwarded by deputy commissioner to state government in 2015.

Of the 13 villages with a total population of 4,000 that lie in the wildlife sanctuary, eight are in the core forest area.

Residents of six of these villages are voluntarily willing to relocate outside the forest area, but within Khanapur taluk, if they are given fair compensation.

Experts say that as per National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) guidelines, at least Rs 10 crore is required to rehabilitate villagers living in the core area.

The villagers say that the compensation of Rs 10 lakh per ‘family’, (to be read as all individuals aged above 18 and not dependent on others) as per the NTCA rules, is too less.

As per the villagers they were losing fertile land and ancestral houses & have been demanding fair compensation, rehabilitation within Khanapur taluk and scientific evaluation of our immovable properties.

In the last four years, they have hardly received compensation from the government for crop or cattle losses caused by wild animals.

Bhimgad and surrounding forest is a catchment area, which meets 90% water requirement of the region.



Panel wants Cauvery supply to farmers modernised

A high-powered technical committee formed by the Supreme Court to make ground analysis in Cauvery basin states has favoured “optimal, dynamic and resilient” planning of the cropped area to neutralise the deficit impact of water allocation.

It pointed out that the infrastructure to deliver water to the farmers was century-old with very low conveyance efficiency which needs to be modernised for optimal use of scarce water.

The committee headed by Central Water Commission chairman G S Jha and comprising representatives from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala, concluded that the water application techniques are outdated and unscientific and the value of water was not realised.

The water applied to the field is on the concept of flooding from one field to another adjacent field and as such the water consumption is on the higher side and during period of distress this becomes very significant depending upon the soil condition. T

The conveyance efficiency can be further improved by piped distribution network and application efficiency by micro irrigation (sprinkler and drip) and precision irrigation

Social impact

Highlighting the social impact of water shortage, the committee cited the plight of farmers in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

In the absence of required water, the labour employment for farming and fishing is also limited, creating a scenario of unemployment and financial hardship to them.

A large number of suicides have been reported from Mandya district of Karnataka. The Karnataka government has declared 42 of the 48 taluks under Cauvery basin as drought-affected on the Central government guidelines, it said.

The committee also pointed out that the efforts by Tamil Nadu in providing subsidised agricultural inputs can bear fruits only when sufficient water is made available for the full crop period.

At the same time, the committee said that the drinking water demands as made by Karnataka needs to be optimised and efficient delivery mechanism needs to be put in place. It also favoured automated water measuring instrumentation, crop alignment and diversification and participatory irrigation management for optimal, efficient and equitable distribution of water amongst the farmers.

Startup that solves city problems wins Urban Venture Challenge

A startup that channelises youth to locate problems in urban spaces and then work together to solve them, won the Urban Venture Challenge, 2016 Pitchfest at the Indian Institute of Management (IIMB)

Based in Bengaluru, Reap Benefit mainly works in the area of environment and civic problems and in the process helps the youth in developing problem-solving skills.



Spread over 205 acres, the park hosts a variety of indigenous and exotic botanical species, trees, natural rock outcrops, walking paths and several historical buildings and monuments including Attara Kacheri (now the Karnataka High Court), Sheshadri Iyer Memorial Hall which houses the State Central library, Venkatappa Art Gallery, State Archeological Museum among others.

Reap Benefit solves mostly local issues. The way we go about it is simple – we collect data about a particular problem, understand the issue and develop solutions for problems

Reap Benefit won a cash prize of Rs 50,000 and have also got a direct entry into the N S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL) ‘launchpad’ that will bolster their prospects of making their venture even bigger.

App-based Cubbon Park circuit tour to be launched on Nov 1

The Tourism department will soon launch an app-based ‘circuit tour’ within the confines of Cubbon Park in Bengaluru guiding visitors explore the flora, fauna and heritage buildings inside the iconic lung space.

‘Cubbon Park circuit’ will be the first of Bengaluru specific tourism circuits that have been curated by the department and is tentatively scheduled to be launched on November 1 to commemorate Kannada Rajyotsava.

As a part of the project, the department has funded a startup to develop an app-based audio guide that can be downloaded on a mobile phone or tablet

Visitors can listen to the narrative on the app and if required seek additional details at the information desks. The history-oriented can visit different historical landmarks inside the park.

The circuit has been put in place after coordination with various departments including Horticulture, Culture, Public Works, Archeology among others

After studying the response to the Cubbon Park circuit, the department plans to launch circuit tours in other popular destinations in Bengaluru including Basavanagudi, Chamarajpet, Malleswaram among others

New daily air service on Hubballi-B'luru route

Coimbatore-based Air Carnival will start a daily air service between Hubballi and Bengaluru from October 30.

Air Carnival is one of the new airlines which got permission from the Union Civil Aviation Ministry to start domestic air service to connect more cities at lower fare and to promote tourism.

Organised by the IIMB-Real Estate Research Initiative and supported by Stanford’s The Center on Democracy, Development and Rule of Law and Asia Initiatives, the challenge aims to identify entrepreneurs who are working on ideas and ventures that will transform India’s cities.



Each of these centres will have a doctor, a pharmacist and a nurse. The government will also equip these centres with diagnostic tools for conducting various medical tests on the patients

In fact, the mohalla clinics in Delhi are equipped to conduct over 30 different types of tests and initial diagnosis.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana shared the first position, leading on almost all parameters, including tax reforms. They got credit for smoother grant of land, labour and construction permits.

Last year, KARNATAKA state came ninth

The regional airline is already operating from Coimbatore, Chennai and Madurai in Tamil Nadu and this service will be extended to Mangaluru, Tirupati, Visakhapatnam and Rajahmundry by end of the month.

Karnataka to replicate Delhi’s 'Mohalla clinics’

The Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) concept of `Mohalla Clinics' in Delhi is all set to be replicated in Karnataka with the government deciding to establish extended health centres in slums and labour colonies across the state.

The move comes in the backdrop of a recent field-study conducted by the Karnataka's health department officials on mohalla clinics (community clinics) in Delhi.

There are 2,200 primary health centres (PHCs) across Karnataka but these are inadequate to meet the demands of the people, especially in the rural areas. Moreover, we are not in a position to open new PHCs because of financial and logistical constraints.

The plan is to source the point of care testing instruments for these centres through Infosys Foundation and Biocon

Karnataka slips to 13th place in ease of doing business

Ranked ninth in 2015, Karnataka has slipped to the 13th position in the ‘ease of doing business’ ratings this year.

Union Commerce and Industries Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the ranks. The Centre’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and the World Bank jointly award the ratings.

Karnataka featured among the better-performing states in tax, environment, labour and inspection reforms.

Gujarat slipped to the third position from last year’s first. In the crucial area of construction permits, Karnataka lost, despite the authorities saying most approvals were streamlined and made available online.

In tax reforms, Karnataka was lauded for mandating e-registration for value-added tax (VAT), central sales tax (CST), professional tax, and entry tax.

The state got a pat for promoting online payments and providing support for e-filing of tax papers.



Karnataka was also hailed for implementing advanced automated solutions for environment- and pollution-related applications.

Curiously, in August this year, the Centre had ranked Karnataka first on the basis of investments received. The state got Rs 67,757 crore between January and June, three times more than what Gujarat had received.

What's this index?

The ease of doing business index was created by the World Bank Group, a group of five international organisations that lend to 'developing' countries.

The index has been around since 2003, and uses inputs from officials, lawyers, business consultants, accountants and other professionals to rank 185 economies.

It uses 10 sub-indices, measuring, among other things, the cost and time involved in getting permissions to start a business and pay taxes.

The index also gauges how easy it is to gain access to infrastructure, construct buildings,, and register property and obtain protection for it



What happens when animals are

declared Vermin?

Once declared vermin, that particular

species can be hunted or culled

without restriction.

If implemented, it will apply to wild

animals listed in various Schedules of

the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA)

1972, other than Schedule I & Part II of

Schedule II that lists most endangered

and iconic species like tigers, leopards,

and elephants.

Existing legal provisions for objective

management of man-animal conflict:

Section 11(1)a of the Wildlife

Protection Act (WPA) authorizes chief

wildlife warden to permit hunting of

any problem wild animal only if it

cannot be captured, tranquillized or

translocated.

For wild animals in Schedule II, III or IV,

chief wildlife warden or authorized

officers can permit their hunting in a

specified area if they have become

dangerous to humans or property

(including standing crops on any land).

Section 62 of Act empowers Centre to

declare wild animals other than

Schedule I & II to be vermin for

specified area and period.

NOVEMBER-2016 KARNATAKA NEWS

Department allows farmers in Ramanagara district to kill wild boars

The state forest department has issued a

notification allowing culling of wild boars

in Ramanagara distric, by declaring them

vermin.

The notification issued by the Ramanagara

forest office which has legalized the

hunting of wild boars, if they are found

damaging crops in any part of the district.

This is contrary to Section 62 of the

Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which

allows hunting of some wild animals,

including wild boars, in specific areas.

The pitch to declare wild boar a vermin

was formally made by Bengaluru Rural MP

DK Suresh, who complained that the hairy

beasts were prolific breeders and caused

extensive damage to crops.

The boars, uproot flower bulbs, sugarcane

crops, damage paddy fields and other

crops. "Some people have even given up

farming because of the menace,"

While farmers in Ramanagara district have

hailed the move, wildlife activists have

slammed it because they fear this could

result in massive hunting of the animal as

its meat is considered a rare delicacy.

They say it would have been wise if before

declaring pigs vermin, a scientific study

was conducted whether the boar

population is rising or decreasing, and

their impact on agriculture.

Some forest officials said the move would

set a bad precedent and shift to other wild

animals like monkeys and peacocks



Charmadi Ghat is a Ghat in Belthangady and Mudigere taluk of Dakshina Kannada and Chikkamagaluru. It is one of the points in Western ghats through which motorable road passes connecting Dakshina Kannada with Chikkamagaluru district.

It lies on National Highway 234 which connects Mangalore to Viluppuram.

Nearest places are Charmadi village, Kottigehara and Banakal.

Charmadi Ghat starts from Charmadi village(11 km from Ujire) and ends at Kottigehara(14 km from Mudigere). Charmadi Ghat connects the north eastern part of Dakshina Kannada to Chikmagalur district and the prominent highway is connecting Ujire (9 km from Dharmasthala) to Kottigehara (about 50 km from Chikmagalur).

Ballarayanadurga is a fort atop a hill located about 10 km from Sunkasale, on the Kottigehara - Kalasa route.

Ballarayanadurga fort can be accessed from 2 sides - the shorter route from Sunkasale, located on the way from Horanadu or the longer route from Bandaje. In the Charmadi ghat, there is a waterfall named Bandaje Arbi (Arbi in Tulu means waterfall) which falls from a height of 200 feet. Gadaikallu peak has an elevation of 1700 feet

Principal chief conservator of forests BG Hosmath, however, allayed such fears saying they

have imposed stringent guidelines to prevent any misuse. "Farmers can kill the boar using

only licensed guns, but they cannot consume the meat. The carcass has to be buried or

burnt as per guidelines, and videography of the method of disposal has to be furnished to

the forest official.

Improvement works on Charmadi ghat planned at Rs 6 crore

The National Highways division of the Public Works Department, Mangaluru, has

submitted a Rs 6-crore proposal for improvement of the Charmadi Ghat road (NH 234),

identified as an alternative to the Shiradi Ghat road (between Hassan and Mangaluru), on

which the second phase of works will be launched.

The shoulders on either side need to be improved using gravel to cater to the surge in

traffic. As many as 482 sharp curves have been identified from Bantwal to Charmadi Ghat

alone.

It was also suggested that the road shoulders can be improved using ‘charalu’ (sand and

pebble mixed substance found near rivers and pits) instead of sand which is too loose for

the intended work



The award winners were

draped in a ceremonial shawl

and felicitated with a 20

gram gold medal, a purse of

Rs 1 lakh and a citation.

61 Achievers felicitated with Rajyotsava award

Sixty-one achievers from various fields received the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award at the

61st Karnataka Rajyotsava programme held at Ravindra Kalakshetra.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah, Kannada and Culture Minister Umashree, Bengaluru

Development Minister K J George and Mayor G

Padmavathi felicitated the award winners.

Siddaramaiah appreciated the expert committee and

minister Umashree for selecting the awardees.

“Karnataka Rajyotsava is the most prestigious award in

the state. Those who have received this honour are

the guiding light for society.”

IFFI brings magic of movies to visually challenged with audio description

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, International Film Festival of India (IFFI), has tied up with

Saksham, a non-governmental organisation, to bring the magic of movies to the visually

challenged.

The idea is to make movies accessible to all, and, in the process, reach out to wider

audiences.

Initiated in collaboration with UNESCO, the move, aimed at empowering persons

belonging to marginalised sections of society, will see the visually challenged enjoy films

screened at IFFI like common audiences.

Undertaken under Audio Described Movies for Blind People project by Saksham, these

films have been provided with specially done audio description which provides visually

impaired persons, a true sense of what is happening on the screen.

Normally visually impaired people or those with low-vision, watch movies following sounds

and perceive what the filmmaker has offered to spectators.

Since lots of crucial information is provided through facial expressions, costumes,

ambiance, environment and body language, such information does not reach persons with

blindness and are perceived based on audio clues.

To overcome this, a practice has been started of creating audio descriptions for crucial

visual information, common in European and American countries, making viewing of

movies by visually impaired persons a very fulfilling and wholesome experience.

Besides description of scenery, costumes, facial expressions and body language of the cast

involved, they provide a flavor of what is happenings between natural pauses in the

dialogue.

The audio-described films are distributed free, and have received tremendous response

from audiences, following screenings at the International Film Festival, in Hyderabad,

October last.



The 22 films are Black, Munna Bhai MBBS, Hanuman, Kat Kat Kad Kaddu, Karamati Coat, Kabhi

Pass Kabhi Fail, Taare Zameen Par, Stanley ka Dabba, Chakkad Bakkad Bombe Bo, Heda Hoda,

Hello, Little Terrorist, Burfi, 3 Idiots, Peepli Live, Dhobi Ghat, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, PK, Gandhi,

Tamil films Haridas, Devat Tremangai, Telugu film Amulyam and children’s films.

Incidentally, UNESCO has been working to improve access to culture for people with

disabilities through initiatives like accessible museums and heritage sites, accessible

content, art education, and dance curriculum for visually impaired.

All forms of chewing tobacco banned, government tells HC

The state government submitted to the High Court that it has banned all forms of chewing

tobacco, including the flavored and scented varieties.

The government filed its affidavit along with the order of the Food Safety Commissionerate

dated October 26, 2016, stating that it will enforce the provisions of Food Safety and

Standards [Prohibition and Restriction on Sales] Regulation, 2011.

The government submitted to the court that rule 2.3.4 of the Regulation Product not to

contain any substance which may be injurious to health; tobacco and nicotine shall not be

used as ingredients in any food products will be enforced.

Though Karnataka has banned gutkha, plain chewing tobacco is still sold separately in

separate pouches.

Cabinet sub-committee on sand crisis

A cabinet sub-committee headed by Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister

T B Jayachandra has been set up to look into the sand crisis that has been plaguing Udupi

and Dakshina Kannada districts.

The committee which has been asked to submit its recommendations in two weeks also

comprises elected representatives from the two coastal districts.

The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on 3rd

Nov.

During the meeting, the elected representatives highlighted that the enforcement of the

new sand policy had hit the construction industry in the two districts.

The sand problem had worsened to such an extent that all construction activities in the

coastal districts had come to a halt.

They have demanded a separate extraction policy for the two districts.



New sand policy

Provides for a levy of rs 10 on every cubic metre sand sold to revive the environment damaged by it.

It also allows to levy rs 20 as an administrative fee at district levels.

the district corpus would be used for reviving the environment in the sand mining areas as per supreme court order, national green tribunal and guidelines of the central government on mineral rules of 1994.

The policy envisaged setting up sand monitoring committees at district and taluk levels to monitor illegal sand mining which is rampant in parts of the state.

The district-level committees have been given powers including fixing retail prices of sand

Taluk committee will identify the sand mining blocks and mining allowed in the blocks through tenders by Public Works Department

The policy also prohibited usage of mechanised exploitation of sand

To prevent misuse of trip sheets, the government had proposed to issue licences on special security paper and the load carrying vehicles are to be fitted with Radio Frequency identity tags

Corporation Bank to shift base

With Corporation Bank all set to move its major operations from their head office in

Mangaluru to Bengaluru, the coastal city is close to losing its status as the cradle of

banking.

Though the bank may retain Mangaluru as its headquarters, it would be by name only, like

Manipal-based Syndicate Bank that moved bulk of its operations to Bengaluru.

Its board of directors agreed to the conceptualisation and layout plans at its 8-acre land at

Yelahanka in Bengaluru. It would have every facility, including the staff training college.

Cultural carnival Hampi Utsav off to a colourful start

Why in News: The cultural carnival, ‘Hampi Utsav’ was off to a colourful start at Eduru Basavanna

main stage at Hampi, once the capital of the mighty Vijayanagara empire, with Chief Minister

offering floral tribute to the statue of Goddess Bhuvaneshwari.

Cultural programmes, by artistes from within the country and abroad, are set to be

organised on nine stages in the capital of the erstwhile Vijayanagar empire.

There are also competitions in archery, rifle shooting, rural sports, adventure sports,

women’s fest, poets’ meet for children and a state-level poets’ meet. The town sparkled,

with the monuments decked up with colourful electric lights.

The inaugural ceremony was held at the dais set up at the Basavanna Mantapa opposite

the Virupaksha temple.

Fireworks in the sky added glitz to the occasion, attended by visitors from far and wide.

Cultural programmes, by artistes from within the country and abroad, were organised on

nine stages in the capital of the erstwhile Vijayanagar empire.



The first two editions were

organised at Ranganathittu

bird sanctuary and Kali

Tiger Reserve while the

third edition was planned

at Magadi lake in Gadag

district.

There are also competitions in archery, rifle shooting, rural sports, adventure sports,

women’s fest, poets’ meet for children and a state-level poets’ meet. The town sparkled,

with the monuments decked up with colourful electric lights.

Chopper rides to be offered for seven days during Hampi Utsav

The Hampi Utsav Samiti has organised chopper rides titled ‘Hampi By Sky’ for a period of

seven days as part of Hampi Utsav-2016.

This is the third year in succession Hampi By Sky is being organised during the festivities.

This time the number of days has been increased because of the popularity of the activity.

Karnataka Hakki Habba (bird festival)

Why in News: The third edition of the Karnataka Hakki

Habba (bird festival) will be celebrated at Daroji Karadi

Dhama, near Hampi.

The first two festivals were held in Mysuru and Uttara

Kannada districts.

The winged beauties in particular will be studied and

observed during the third edition of Karnataka Bird Festival, to be held in JSW

Interpretation Centre, Daroji Bear Sanctuary, near Kamalapur.

The Karnataka forest department and Eco Tourism Board are organising the event.

However, it was shifted to Hampi due to less water in Magadi lake and less migratory birds

following the failure of monsoon in the region

The varied landscape of Hampi rocky boulders, small lakes, Tungabhadra reservoir, canals,

dry scrub jungle all provide the ideal habitat for birds.

A large number of winter migratory birds such as flamingos and sandpipers come to

Hampi every year. Even the Great Indian Bustard, a highly endangered species has been

sighted in Ballari district.

Bombay Natural History Society and BirdLife

International have selected Hampi as an Important Bird

Area (IBA) as it has a significant population of the

yellow-throated bulbul, a globally threatened species.

The Bird Festival aims to provide a platform for well-

known naturalists, experts, forest officers, bird

photographers to share their insights & thoughts. This

festival focuses on putting bird conservation at center-

stage.



Daroji Karadi Dhama is also the biggest sloth bear sanctuary in Asia, with rich flora and

fauna.

Over 200 bird species have already been recorded in and around Daroji and the district has

been a haven for migratory birds including Great Indian Bustards, flamingos, and bar-

headed geese.

The festival is being organised by the Department of Forest and the Karnataka Eco-Tourism

Development Board, in association with the local birdwatchers’ association, according to

S.K. Arun, amateur wildlife photographer and honorary district wildlife warden.

Many experts are expected to participate in the festival and interact with the participants.

Need for special training:

According to a top official at the Indian

Institute of Public Health, the training

would be intended to ensure better

implementation of various health

schemes, with emphasis on preventive

health care.

Under the National Health Mission,

several programmes have been

launched. Not all doctors, nurses and

paramedics are trained in the

implementation of these. Public health is

something particular to a specified area

and needs to be understood well. The

training intends to offer the same.

For instance, the city is witnessing a

relapse of the dengue epidemic. Then,

public health experts can look at the

reasons behind the relapse and suggest

measures to be put in place. Hence,

educating the staff in this regard would

benefit the government, with cost

effectiveness being one aspect of it.

Some of the highlights are a bird photo exhibition, workshops on bird photography, guided

bird-watching walks and lectures by naturalists.

To motivate people to take up bird-watching and photography, there will be sessions by

experts who will give tips on how to identify birds and take photographs.

Karnataka Govt to introduce public health courses for non-medical staff

The state government is all set to introduce

postgraduate and short-term courses in public

health for non-medical staff working in various

government hospitals across the state.

The Department of Health and Family Welfare

has sought that the Indian Institute of Public

Health, under the Public Health Foundation of

India (PHFI), start these courses in Public Health

and Management in Bengaluru.

At present, the institute is offering a

postgraduate training programme for medical

officers in batches.

The new training will be conducted for selected

non-medical staff such as paramedics, nurses,

ground-level health workers such as Accredited

Social Health Activists (ASHA) and Link Workers.

Training would be offered to staff from both the

Ayush department and those working under the

Department of Health and Family Welfare.

Among the other courses, the institute would



Over the past few years,

installation of CCTV cameras have

been made mandatory at schools

in order to ensure safety of

children; at all ATM kiosks

(following the attack on a woman

inside the money vending kiosk of

a nationalised bank in the heart of

Bengaluru in 2014) and crowded

public places among others.

The vehicles are fitted with

equipment to monitor

three pollutants from

vehicles smoke density

from diesel vehicles,

carbon monoxide and

hydrocarbons in petrol

vehicles.

offer Master’s and PhD programmes in Public Health, and Clinical Research.

Karnataka - Govt Slashes Tax On CCTV Cameras To Increase Surveillance

Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras and its peripherals are all set to become cheaper

with the Commercial Taxes department slashing the rate of Value Added Tax (VAT) on the

products from 14.5% to 5.5%.

The low compliance with the directions of enforcement agencies to mandatory install CCTV

cameras in schools, jewellery shops and

establishments has prompted the state

government to slash the VAT rate on these

electronic security gadgets, in a bid to boost their

sales.

The installation of the gadgets was made

mandatory in public transport vehicles following

the gang-rape in Delhi in 2012.

The finance department officials feel the

reduction in VAT rate by nine percentage points

on CCTV cameras and its accessories would help

improve sales.

Mobile Units To Check Polluting Vehicles

Why in News: Karnataka State Government Launches Mobile Units To Check Polluting Vehicles

To monitor vehicular pollution, the Karnataka State

Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) on 16th Nov launched

12 vehicles fitted with sophisticated emission monitoring

equipment.

Of the 12, eight will be posted to check the growing

vehicular population in Bengaluru, while one each will be

deployed in Mysuru, Mangaluru, Dharwad and

Kalaburagi.

Vehicular emissions cause more than 42 per cent of

Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter pollution in the city, and more than two-thirds of

the nitrous dioxide emissions.

Vehicular pollution monitoring checks will be conducted by the KSPCB, Transport

department and Traffic police.

The vans having sophisticated machines will help to do on-the-spot vehicle checks as well

as check the validity of the emission centres.



About The Mysore Paints and Varnish Ltd

The company was established in 1937 by Nalwadi Krishnaraj Wadiyar, the then ruler of

Mysuru, as Mysore Lac and Paint Works Limited, according to the MPVL’s general manager, C

Harakumar. In 1962, the MPVL was selected to manufacture indelible ink.

Ever since, the company has been manufacturing the indelible ink and supplying it to the

Election Commission of India, the National Physical Laboratory, the Union government and

the National Research Development Corporation.

It got its present name in 1989. It also exports ink to Thailand, Singapore, Nigeria, Malaysia,

Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa.

Even if someone produces PUC certificate, they can check if the values shown are correct

& inspectors have the power to cancel the fitness certificates of “habitual offenders”.

Even Tier-II and III cities in the state are facing the problem, according to the KSPCB data.

Tumkur, which is being promoted as an industrial hub, has seen a 96% increase in dust,

while Hubli has seen a 33% increase in dust.

However, the government’s initiative comes “too little too late” as Bengaluru has crossed

over 65 lakh vehicles and adds almost 1,500 new vehicles on the roads each day.

Other cities in India, particularly Delhi, have been grappling to curb pollution levels that

have reached dangerous limits in recent times.

Earlier this month, Delhi’s pollution levels were 10 times over safe limits, another 41 Indian

cities, with population of over 1 million, have bad air quality, according to the Central

Pollution Control Board data

Did You Know: Currently, emission testing is done primarily by the transport department based

only on Pollution Under Control certificate (and often, motorists are allowed to go if the

certificate is not produced).

Indelible ink for banks will come from Mysuru

The Union government has ordered banks to use indelible ink on those swapping scrapped

notes.

The Mysore Paints and Varnish Ltd (MPVL), the only company authorised to manufacture

the substance in the country, are working overtime to meet the huge demand.

The colour and quality of the ink will be on a par with that used in elections.



How will e-Charak app help?

It is designed to help industries and producers by eliminating middlemen.

It will also help the department know where spices like cinnamon are produced illegally

in the guise of minor forest produce and how much.

The app is also useful in keeping tabs on the prices. Many industries use herbs and

medicinal plants that grow only in the forest.

The KaMPA is also preparing a detailed list of medicinal plants grown in the forest.

Cinnamon is grown in the Western Ghats districts of Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru and

Shivamogga.

The KaMPA, which functions under the Forest Department, had written to 1,100 village

forest committees, 200 industries and 60 farmers who grow medicinal plants and 20

LAMPS (Large-sized Adivasi Multi-Purpose Co-operative Societies) to register on the app.

It has completed listing plants grown in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu,

Mandya, Bidar and Tumakuru, and is working on listing those grown in Chitradurga,

Ballari, Koppal and Gadag.

Karnataka High Court gets five new additional judges

The number of judges in the High Court of Karnataka has increased to 30, against the

sanctioned strength of 62. The appointments were made after 22 months.

Justices Kempaiah Somashekar, Kotravva Somappa Mudagal, Sreenivas Harish Kumar, John

Michael Cunha, and Basavaraj Andanagouda Patil took oath as additional judges on their

elevation to the High Court from the cadre of senior district judges.

e-Charak app

Why in News: e-Charak app by Forest dept to check illegal supply of medicinal plants, Herb

Through the Android app launched by the Ministry of Ayush, the Karnataka State Medicinal

Plants Authority (KaMPA) can check whether spices like cinnamon have been obtained

from trees growing in the forest or on private land.

Most of the medical plants and herbs grown in the forests of Karnataka are illegally

supplied to the market.

These plants and herbs are used in Ayurveda, Unani and other systems of herbal medicine.

Their demand ranges between one kg and two tonnes a year.

The app lists all the registered industries, plants and herbs that can be legally extracted,

where the plants are available and what is their demand.



About Mahamastakabhisheka

The Mahamastakabhisheka (lit. grand consecration) is an important Jain festival held

once every twelve years in the town of Shravanabelagola in Karnataka, India.

The festival is held in veneration of a 17.3736 metres (57.000 ft) high statue of the

siddha Bahubali.

The anointing last took place in 2006, and the next ceremony is going to take place in

2018.

As the Mahamastakabhisheka begins, consecrated water is sprinkled onto the

participants by devotees carrying 1,008 specially prepared vessels.

The statue is then bathed and anointed with libations such as milk, sugarcane juice, and

saffron paste, and sprinkled with powders of sandalwood, turmeric, and vermilion.

Offerings are made of petals, gold and silver coins, and precious stones. Most recently,

the ceremony's finale has included an enormous shower of flowers from a waiting

helicopter.

Purified water and sandalwood paste is poured over the statue from a scaffolding. This

event continues for weeks.

Mahamastakabhisheka

Why in News: The Mahamastakabhisheka for the statue of

Gommateshwara in Shravanabelagola, held once in 12 years, will be

conducted from February 7 to February 26, 2018.

This will be the second Mahamastakabhisheka of the century.

The first one was held in 2006.

Shravanabelagola seer Charukeerthi Bhattaraka Swami

announced the dates.

Karnataka Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2016

Why in News: Real estate agents operating in Bengaluru and other major cities of the state may

have to shell out hefty sums to register themselves under the new Real Estate (Regulation and

Development) Act, 2016.

The state government has in its draft rules the Karnataka Real Estate (Regulation and

Development) Rules, 2016 — prepared for implementing the Act proposed to create two

categories of real estate agents: those operating in the Bengaluru Metropolitan Region

(BMR) jurisdiction and those in other planning areas outside the BMR jurisdiction.



Highlights of Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016:

Seeks to establish Real Estate Regulatory Authorities (RERAs) in every state within one year of the Act coming into force.

Functions of a RERA include: Ensuring that residential projects are registered, and their details uploaded on the RERA

website. Ensuring that buyers, sellers, and agents comply with obligations under the Act. Advising the government on matters related to the development of real estate.

It proposes to establish a escrow account in which 70% of the amount collected from buyers for a project must be maintained in a separately in a bank and must only be used for construction of that project

If the promoter fails to register the property with RERA, he may be penalised up to 10% of the estimated cost of the project. Failure to register despite orders issued by the RERA will lead to imprisonment for up to three years, and/or an additional fine of 10% of the estimated cost of the project.

Dispute resolution mechanism is one of the best parts in the bill. It seeks to establish Real Estate Appellate Tribunals, in states and union territories to hear appeals against decisions of RERAs.

Two separate slabs of registration and renewal fees have been proposed in the draft

notified on October 24 this year.

Registration fee proposed for the agents in the BMR is higher compared to those operating

in other places.

An individual agent has to pay Rs 50,000 as registration fee and Rs 5 lakh for a real estate

company in the BMR It is Rs 25,000 for an individual outside the BMR jurisdiction and Rs

2.5 lakh for real estate entities.

The Centre has in its rules fixed Rs 10,000 for an individual agent and Rs 50,000 in case of

real estate firms. The registration will be valid for five years.

However, there is no mention of registration fee for the projects in the draft copy. The

Centre has fixed Rs 5 per square metre for up to 1,000 sq m area and Rs 10 per sq m

beyond this limit.

The Real Estate Act envisages ensuring transparency and accountability in the sector.

Except for the registration fee, the state government has adopted almost all the provisions

of the rules notified by the Centre recently, including the rate of interest payable by the

promoter to the allottee in case of refund or compensation.

Besides, there is ambiguity in the draft on jurisdiction of agents operating in Bengaluru:

The draft says the jurisdiction is within the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development

Authority (BMRDA) jurisdiction. BMRDA includes six local planning authorities of BIAAPA,

Nelamangala, Anekal, Hoskote, Kanakapura and Magadi. But the BDA and the BBMP do not

fall under the BMRDA jurisdiction. Official sources in the housing department, however,

said it is the BMR jurisdiction.



According to the present reservation system, seats in both urban and rural local bodies for

SC/STs is fixed based on their population.

The OBC quota is divided into two categories. Backward Classes (A) category, comprising a majority of communities under the state OBC list, is provided 80% reservation, while Backward Classes (B) with dominant communities like Lingayats, Vokkaligas and Bunts, is provided the balance 20% reservation.

Rules stipulate only such candidates who are not income tax or sales tax assessees and

who do not own more than 10 hectares of farmland, are eligible to contest under

category BC. Besides, 50% seats in all categories are reserved for women.

Karnataka to review quota for backward classes in Panchayats & Municipalities

The Karnataka government has decided to revisit the present system of reservation

provided to backward classes in panchayats and municipalities.

A committee, headed by Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister H K Patil, has

been constituted to examine various aspects of reservations provided to backward

classes in local bodies and recommend changes if required.

Ministers T B Jayachandra, H Anjaneya, R Roshan Baig, Eshwar Khandre and Karnataka

State Backward Classes Commission chairman H Kantharaj, are among the other members,

on the panel.

The committee was constituted in September this year following a direction of the

Supreme Court on a petition challenging the present system of reservation to backward

classes in panchayat raj institutions and municipalities.

The system had been challenged by the Karnataka Kurubara Sangha, which questioned the

basis on which the quota had been fixed.

Rotary, Minto to start eye-screening centres in rural Karnataka

The Rotary International under its Vision 2020 project has collaborated with Minto

Ophthalmic Hospital, Bengaluru,to meet shortage of opthalmologists in rural areas.

Specialists at the Minto Hospital would train technicians who would be posted at the

proposed vision screening centres. Technicians (not opthalmologists) would be trained to

operate the Fundus Camera with anterior segment photography. They will click images of

the patients’ eyes and send them to doctors in speciality hospitals and, reports are

generated. If required, patients would be asked to visit the hospital for treatment.

Patients can get their eyes checked free of cost at these centres, which would be linked to

hospitals where one can avail of free treatment. The equipment for the centres has been

procured and training of technicians will begin soon.

As part of the project, a Fundus Camera would be placed at four centres. To begin with,

centres will be set up at Kanakapura in Ramanagaram district and Jigani in Bengaluru



Urban district, which will be linked to Vittala Institute of Opthalmology and, Shidlaghatta in

Chikkaballapur district and Maddur in Mandya district that will be linked to Drishti Eye

Care.

Govt planning to grant official status to Kannada flag

The Karnataka government is contemplating grant of official status to the Kannada flag.

The Kannada flag, rectangular in shape, with a strip of yellow (top half) and red in equal

measure, symbolises Kannada and Karnataka.

The flag was first conceived by Bengaluru-based social activist M Ramamurthy, who used

it as a flag for a party founded by him “Kannada Paksha” in 1965.

The Kannada Development Authority in 1998 did recommend that official status be

granted to the Kannada flag. However, the law department turned down the proposal

citing legal hurdles.

In 2012, the then BJP government issued a circular making it compulsory for government

offices, schools and colleges to hoist the Kannada flag on November 1.

However, a division bench of the Karnataka high court questioned the government’s move

to hoist any flag other than the national flag. The circular was subsequently withdrawn.

Karnataka: Law to curtail planting of saplings that causes Eco Damage

The Karnataka government took the legislation route to curtail planting of saplings that

have adverse effect on environment and ground water.

The Legislative Assembly passed the Karnataka Preservation of Trees (Amendment) Bill,

2016 that provides for regulating the planting and cultivation of saplings which cause

ecological damage and erode soil fertility.

The bill, also provides for the government to regulate planting of saplings which support

and hosts pests.

However, the bill has not named any specific species that are harmful to nature and

should be banned from cultivation.

The state government, through a circular in 2012, had banned planting of acacia and

eucalyptus as these two species caused environmental damage. However, there was no

effectively implementation of the circular.



Eucalyptus Tree

Eucalyptus trees (Eucalyptus spp.) are native to Australia, but have adapted to climates all

over the world thanks to their shallow root system, and grow in India.

These trees have a shallow root system, which developed as a way to survive in a harsh

native environment, where accessing a limited amount of rainfall is crucial to survival. It’s

this shallow root system that can make eucalyptus trees a danger.

About 90 percent of a eucalyptus tree’s roots grow in the top 12 inches of soil. This

shallow root system grows rapidly, and along with a strong taproot, the lateral roots are

vital to keeping a eucalyptus tree upright.

A eucalyptus tree’s taproot must grow down into the soil at least 6 feet to ensure good

anchorage. The lateral roots spread out for up to 100 feet to help support the rest of the

tree, and this can be an issue for nearby buildings and structures.

As the shallow eucalyptus roots grow and produce secondary thickening growth, they can

heave up paved surfaces above and around them.

Lower House passes bill to regulate Ayush practitioners

To crackdown on the menace of fake AYUSH doctors, registration of Ayurvedic,

Naturopathy, Siddha, Unani, and Yoga practitioners has been made mandatory in the

State.

The Legislative Assembly passed a bill that makes registration compulsory for Ayurveda,

Yoga, Unani, Naturopathy and Siddha (Ayush) practitioners.

The Karnataka Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Siddha, Unani and Yoga Practitioners

Registration and Medical Practitioners Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Bill, 2016

seeks to regulate these practitioners. Registered practitioners will be issued an ID card,

which should be compulsorily displayed at their clinics.

According to the provisions of the bill, unregistered practitioners will be punished with a

fine that may extend to Rs 20,000 for the first offence and Rs 2 lakh fine and imprisonment

of one year for the second offence and a fine of Rs 5 lakh and imprisonment for three

years for the subsequent offence.

What is "Ayush"

The Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy,

abbreviated as AYUSH, is a governmental body in India purposed with developing,

education and research in ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine), yoga, naturopathy,

unani, siddha, and homoeopathy, Sowa-rigpa (Traditional Tibetan medicine), and other

Indigenous Medicine systems.



Other Bills Proposed/passed:

The Assembly also passed a bill that proposes to expand the authority of the Bengaluru

Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to give administrative approval for projects

up to Rs 10 crore without bringing it before the Cabinet. Hitherto, the BWSSB had the

authority to clear projects up to Rs 1 crore.

The House passed a bill, which provides for allowing tapping of neera, the sweet sap from

coconut trees. The Karnataka Excise (amendment) Bill, 2016 also provide for promoting by

products of neera such as palm jaggery and palm sugar to help farmers increase their

revenue.

The Assembly passed the Karnataka Good Samaritan and Medical Professional

(Protection and Regulation during Emergency situations) Bill, 2016 that seeks to provide

protection to ‘Good Samaritans’ and medical professionals who help accident victims from

civil and criminal liabilities.

A bill that proposes to change the name of Karnataka State Women’s University after

12th century social reformer Akkamahadevi, the minister said the government intends in

bringing a comprehensive legislation for all the state universities. A committee headed by

former Vice Chancellor of Bangalore University N R Shetty has submitted its report in this

regard.

The department was created in March 1995 as the Department of Indian Systems of

Medicine and Homoeopathy (ISM&H). AYUSH received its current name in March 2003.

That time it was operated under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The Ministry of AYUSH was formed with effect from 9 November 2014 by elevation of the

Department of AYUSH.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, in its election manifesto, said it would increase public

investment to promote AYUSH and start Integrated Courses for Indian system of Medicines

and Modern Medicine.

Ayush is also a common Hindu given name, derived from Sanskrit, meaning "life".



Mysuru press churning out Rs 3 cr currency per day

The Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited (BRBNMPL) — the Reserve

Bank of India’s currency printing press in Mysuru, has been printing currency notes worth

Rs 3 crore every day.

In order to address the problem of change, the press has been according priority to notes

of Rs 500 denomination.

The BRBNMPL has been directed to increase the output, by working 24 hours a day. The

staffers have been told to work in two shifts.

At present, more than 600 workers are involved in printing of notes. The press staffers,

who were working five days a week, have been putting in six days of work for the past

three months.

The new notes of Rs 500 denomination were being printed at the press units in Nashik

(Maharashtra) and Dewas (Madhya Pradesh). Both these units are maintained by the

Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India.

However, the responsibility has now been transferred to the Mysuru unit, following

technical problem and low-capacity of the Nashik and Dewas units.

As many as 120 soldiers of Assam Regiment have also been deputed to the Mysuru press

for boosting production. They are assisting the press staffers in feeding currency paper into

the machines and packing.

Mid-Year Review Shows State Cash Happy

Revenue surplus is Rs. 8,751 cr. in the first six months of financial year 2016-17

Karnataka has a comfortable cash position and there is no need to avail loans from the

Reserve Bank of India (RBI), according to the Mid-Year Review of State Finances 2016-17.

During the first six months of the financial year 2016-17, the revenue surplus was Rs. 8,751

crore as compared with the budget estimate of Rs. 522 crore, reflecting a comfortable mid-

year revenue position.

The revenue surplus would be maintained at the end of FY 2016-17.

The report, which was tabled in the State Legislative Assembly, said that during the first

half of FY 2016-17 due to the reasonably comfortable cash position, there was no

necessity to avail Special Ways and Means Allowances (SWMA) or Normal Ways and

Means Allowances (NWMA) from RBI.

When there is a mismatch in the cash flow of the receipts and payments, the State

government avails loans in the form of SWMA/NWMA from RBI. The RBI makes payments

for 90 days.



Rural Wi-Fi for ‘digital inclusion’ of village entrepreneurs

The Karnataka government launched rural Wi-Fi services in 11 gram panchayats, with

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah saying such a ‘digital inclusion’ will give village-level

entrepreneurs ready access to online market place for their products and services.

He also launched the “Grand Challenge Karnataka”, an initiative under the multi-sector

Start-up Policy to scout for new technologies or innovations that can offer solutions to

some of the prevalent problems in the state.

The gram panchayats benefitting from the Wi-Fi initiative include two each in Mysuru,

Tumkuru, Gadag, Ballari and Kalburgi and one in Bagalkot district.

The rural population in these gram panchayats can make use of the services by buying

concessional Wi-Fi vouchers.

The impact of digital inclusion will be manifold which would enable village-level

entrepreneurs ready access to online market place and have opportunity to explore new

markets for their products and services.

Grand Challenge Karnataka aims to channelise innovations for social impact and in the

process support the establishment and growth of start-ups.

The government has approved a proposal to set up six common instrumentation centres

across the state which will provide opportunity to electronic hardware startups and

MSMEs to have easy access to high quality instrumentation facilities for fine-tuning their

products.

The IT and BT department is in the process of setting up a finishing school in Animation

and Visual Effects in association with Industry bodies

The government was contemplating setting up centres of excellence in aerospace, cyber

security and other related areas to provide high-end skilling in areas of emerging

technologies.

Government has been augmenting industrial infrastructure in two-tier and three tier cities.

The state also intends to support setting up of technology business incubators in the

potential areas of Internet of Things, Electronics System Design and manufacturing,

Robotics, 3D Printing, Nanotechnology, Medical devices, Health technology and Clean

technology, in phases across the state.

Mysuru Railway Division Intensifies Track Patrolling

The Mysuru Division of South Western Railways has initiated additional precautionary

measures to beef up rail safety following the recent train accident near Kanpur that

claimed nearly 150 lives.

This includes early morning foot patrolling to detect flaws on tracks, besides deputing

supervisors on trains to identify any noise during movement of trains.



Types of Patrolling

(a) Keyman's daily patrol. (b) Gang patrol during abnormal rainfall or storm. (c) Night patrolling during monsoon. (d) Security patrolling during civil disturbances and for movement of VIP specials. (e) Hot weather patrolling for long welded rails/ continuous welded rails. (f) Watchmen at vulnerable locations.

Additional Patrolling

Some of the measures are in addition to the built-in

safety inspection protocols that are already in

place across the Indian Railway system, and are

being rigorously implemented.

Supervisors who move from coach to coach and

those in the locomotive ensure that the level of

alertness of the ground staff is high.

There was a system in place to replace old coaches

that have operated for nearly 25 years. As many as

seven coaches were replaced in the Mysuru Division

in May this year.

Senior divisional safety officer Venkateshwar Rao said there are six Ultrasonic Flaw

Detecting equipments attached to six teams stationed at Arsikere Junction, from where

periodical checks and inspections are conducted as per their programmed protocol across

the division.

These equipment help detect minor flaws and issue an alert to reduce the speed of trains

on that section till the repairs are carried out.

Some of these safety measures are a regular and

ongoing feature and in case of a minor defect or

flaw in the rails, then precautionary measures are

taken.

Foot Patrolling

The division has about 1,200-km of track which

are monitored regularly for rail fracture and minor

defects.

But, it is foot patrol on a daily basis keyman

patrolling that is important.

During winter, keyman patrolling duties start from

as early as 5.30 a.m. as rail fractures take place

mostly during this time.

http://nammakpsc.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/KPSC-UPSC-IAS-IPS.jpg



The State Level Olympics Games was

first held in Bagalkot in 1987 and then,

in Mandya and Mysuru in 2007-08.

Subsequently, after eight years, the

event was being conducted in

Hubballi-Dharwad, which meant the

event was being conducted in North

Karnataka after 30 years.

The competitions would be conducted

in different categories of 25 sports

events and only archery and shooting

competitions would be held in

Bengaluru.

Hubballi-Dharwad to host State Olympics Games

Why in News: The twin cities of Hubballi-

Dharwad will host the State Level Olympics

Games from February 3 to 10 and 275 gold, silver

and bronze medals each would be awarded in as

many events to be held during the mega sports

event.

The event is being jointly conducted by the

Karnataka State Olympics Association and the

Department of Youth Services and Sports.

The State government had allocated Rs. 3

crore and directed the officials to make

arrangements for food and accommodation

for 5,000 sports persons and 1,000 coaches,

referees and officials. As many as 11 sub-

committees have been formed.

Special drive to curb narcotics menace

Why in News: Home Minister G Parameshwara said that a special drive would be launched

throughout the state to check the narcotics menace.

While Karnataka had registered 0.6% of drug abuse cases in the country, Punjab had

registered 36% of such cases.

However, the statistics furnished by the minister shows an upward trend in the cases

recorded in Karnataka.

In 2014, while 42 cases were registered, 83 people were arrested; in 2015 as many as 69

cases were registered and 141 people were arrested. This year, till October, 234 persons

were arrested in 93 cases.

A special cells had been created in Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Bengaluru,

Mangaluru and Belagavi to check the sale of narcotics.

The cell had been set up to nab drug peddlers and pharma companies manufacturing

narcotics. As many as 45 special police stations had been assigned to check drug

trafficking.

It had come to light that small pharma units have been set up on the outskirts of

Bengaluru, where chemical-based drugs were being manufactured, which were being sold

to users in other states and also exported.



Drug Abuse in Bangalore

The growing number of drug rackets busted by

the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Bengaluru, in

the last two years is a clear indication of rampant

drug abuse in the IT city. In 2014, NCB Bengaluru,

busted eight drug rackets.

The number went up to 17 in 2015, as per the

data available with the agency. The concern was

discussed in a meeting at NCB’s head office in

Delhi too, a senior official looking after

operations told Youth Ki Awaaz.

According to NCB officials, youngsters are more

vulnerable to drug addiction. Drug peddlers know

this and prey mostly on them.

For the record, Bengaluru with a huge floating

population, is infamous as the ‘drug capital’ of

south India.

On the basis of raids conducted by the NCB, the

drug most popular among Bengaluru’s youth is

LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide also known as

acid), followed by hashish, ecstasy pills,ganja,

heroin, cocaine and MDMA, a pure form of

ecstasy that goes by the street name ‘molly’.

It had also come to fore that

chemical-based drugs were sold to

youths and schoolchildren in larger

numbers, as opposed to plant-

based narcotics.

Social Media & Social Stigma

To counter the drug menace, NCB,

Bengaluru decided to take its fight

public back in June 2014 and

launched a Facebook page for the

same. The move was intended to

reach out to the tech-savvy young

population of the city and create

awareness on drug abuse.

There is, however, a downside to

creating awareness in the virtual

world. Experts working for

rehabilitation of addicts say online

platforms such as Facebook and

Twitter could prove counter-

productive.

Proposals for expansion of Belagavi, Hubballi & Mysuru airports

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has received proposals for the expansion and facelift of

airports in Belagavi, Hubballi and Mysuru, the government.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has received 364 acres of land at Belagavi, 588 acres

at Hubballi and 142 acres at Mysuru from the state against the projected requirement of

370 acres, 600 acres and 310 acres respectively.

AAI has commenced the work on extension and strengthening of the runway, taxiways and

isolation bay and construction of the new terminal building, ATC tower-cum-fire station,

sub-station, new apron, boundary wall and associated work at Belagavi Airport.

The AAI has recently constructed a new Doppler VHF Omni Directional Range (DVOR)

building and Non-directional beacon (NDB) building at Hubballi airport. AAI has also

commenced the work on extension, strengthening and widening of runway, taxiways and

isolation bay and construction of new terminal building, ATC tower-cum-technical block-

cum-fire station, sub-station, new apron and other ancillary buildings and services,

including the perimeter road.



About Nagabharana’s Allama

Nagabharana’s Allama is period-musical biopic on 12th C philosopher Allama Prabhu, famed

for his vachanas and teachings and whose quest for knowledge helps him question social

practices and overcome his weakness.

How Allama, who is born to a temple dancer, embarks on an inner quest for knowledge

seeking answers to his core constituents towards self-realisation, his evolution to attaining

the stature of Prabhu, forms the film’s fulcrum.

According to Nagabharana, if one were to pay tribute to one’s culture and language, one

needs to draw inspiration from treasures of one’s rich history.

The AAI has appointed IIT Delhi as a consultant for preparation of a detailed project report

for the runway extension work at Mysuru airport.

Nagabharana's Allama among seven vying for Gandhi medal at IFFI

Filmmaker T S Nagabharana’s Allama has been nominated for this year’s prestigious

International Council for Film, Television and Audio-visual Communication (ICFT)-Unesco

Gandhi Medal.

Allama, which features in the Indian Panorama Section, at the 47th International Film

Festival of India, at Goa, has seven other films in contention for coveted award.

They are the Dutch film A Real Vermeer by Rudolph van de Berg, Iranian film Beluga by

Mehdi Jafri, Turkey-Hungarian film Cold of Kalandar by Mustafa Kara, Latvian film Exiled by

Davis Simanis Jr, Israeli feature Harmonia by Ori Sivan, Canadian-Chinese-Korean film The

Apology by Tiffany Hsiung and French-Spain-German film The Family: Dementia by

Giovanna Ribes.

The medal is awarded to a film which best reflects Gandhian ideals of peace, tolerance and

non-violence.

6th pay commission for Karnataka employees

Why in News: The sixth State pay commission would be set up in the 2017-18 budget, Chief

Minister Siddaramaiah said in the Legislative Council.

There was a disparity between central and Karnataka government employees' pay scales.

He said the working conditions of central and state governments differ, adding, the state

governments cannot formulate pay-scale on par with central government's.

The state government has so far constituted five pay commissions and two official pay

committees.



The policy is being brought out

at a time when Bengaluru will

play host to the next edition of

Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (Non-

Resident Indian Day) in January

next.

The event will be held between

January 7 and 9 and Prime

Minister Narendra Modi will

deliver the key-note address.

The Karnataka government is

expecting a large number of

non-resident Kannadigas to

attend the event.

State plans policy to connect with non-resident Kannadigas

Why in News: A draft Non-Resident Kannadigas (NRKs) policy looks at fostering closer ties with

Kannadigas living abroad and to connect socially and economically with them.

The policy, approved by the state Cabinet in Belagavi, is drafted by the Department of

Industries and Commerce and seeks to take measures to meet the “aspirations” and

“requirements” of Non-Resident Kannadigas.

What are the proposals?

To draw investment, the policy proposes to

encourage NRKs with an early seed capital fund.

It also proposes to create a platform for them to

share their expertise and knowledge for the

development of the state. It proposes to provide

angel funding for start ups in collaboration with NRI

companies and organisations.

The policy proposes to set up an exclusive

NRK investment promotion cell to facilitate early

clearance of proposals, priority in land allotment

among others.

The policy proposes to create a database of

Kannadigas living abroad. According to officials in

the industries department, at present there is no

count of the NRKs.

At the social level, the policy will open NRK Cells at various cities across the world which have

a large number of residents who are Kannadigas.

It also proposes to work out a scheme to provide assistance to those involved in calamities

abroad and if required, bring them back to their native place.



NammaKPSC Misc News

The state government temporarily withdrew a government order which stipulates a basic

minimum educational qualification of SSLC for recruiting anganwadi cooks. The members

contended that this would deprive several rural and poor women from earning a decent

living.

The 11 city corporations in the state, including the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike

(BBMP) and the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC), have collected Rs 41.75

crore as taxes in eight days after the Union government permitted the urban local bodies

to accept demonetised notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 for tax payments.

A medieval era settlement which lies buried beneath the ground near Nelamangala is likely

to be unearthed next year. The artefacts and monuments scattered all over the place in

Manne village, around 20 km from Nelamangala here, reveal the glorious past of the

western Ganga dynasty. The Gangas ruled the region from 4h century AD to 8th century

AD, till they were defeated by the Rashtrakutas. The place thrived till the 10th century AD,

before slipping into oblivion. R Gopal, director of the state Archaeology department, told

that, in June, a survey was done and it was found that excavating the place would be

beneficial.

The Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) issued the Government

Orders providing for two new allowances and a hike in uniform allowance for police

personnel. The order states that police personnel will get a conveyance allowance of Rs

600 and Rs 1,000 as hardship allowance every month. Their monthly uniform allowance

will go up to Rs 500 from Rs 100. These allowances apply only to the lower rung police

personnel — constables, head constables, assistant sub-inspectors and sub-inspectors —

and will come into effect from December 1.

All taluks to get two dialysis units by Jan 1. Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ramesh

Kumar told the Legislative Council that government would start two dialysis centres in all

the taluks by January 1, 2017. The units will have all the facilities and patients need not

depend on private hospitals for any of the services. A nominal charge of Rs 150 would be

collected irrespective of patient’s caste, community and economic background, he said.

Among the 250 dialysis units in the state, 19 are defunct.

Bahuroopi, the annual theatre festival of Rangayana-Mysuru, is going international this

year with the participation of troupes from Poland, Uzbekistan, Spain and Israel, besides

staging of plays in various Indian languages, from January 13 to 18, 2017.

State Bank of Mysore held camps at village and hobli/taluk levels on Saturday in the state

to help those who did have bank accounts to open new accounts. This was part of an

initiative of the Ministry of Finance to ensure financial inclusion of workers in the

unorganised sector and daily wage labourers. The move would help those who deal only in



cash. SBM is also persuading firms, SME units, plantation estates etc to encourage their

staff to open bank accounts and issue RuPay debit cards for seamless flow of cash.

Anushree K, a Class VII student of Shree Mahaveer Vidyalaya, Koti Road, Shivamoga eme-

rged the winner of the state-level painting competition on the theme: "Conservation of

Water and Pollution" .Anushree will represent the state at the national level competition,

which will be held in Delhi.

Govt lists 22 general holidays for 2017. The state government released a list of 22 general

holidays for the calendar year 2017. The list, however, does not include Mahaveer Jayanthi

(April 9) and the last day of Moharram (October 1) as they fall on Sundays.April 1 has been

declared holiday only for closing of accounts of commercial banks and co-operative banks.

Local holiday is declared for Kodagu district only on account of Tula Sankramana on

October 17 and Huttari festival on December 4, a government notification stated.If any

of the holidays for Muslim festivals does not fall on those dates, then the government will

grant holidays for its employees belonging to the community on the date of observance.

Besides, the government has notified 17 restricted holidays for its employees.



NATIONAL NEWS OCTOBER 2016

POLITY

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016

Highlights of the Bill:

The Bill amends the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs,

Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible

for citizenship.

Under the Act, one of the requirements for citizenship by naturalisation is that the

applicant must have resided in India during the last 12 months, and for 11 of the previous

14 years. The Bill relaxes this 11 year requirement to six years for persons belonging to the

same six religions and three countries.

The Bill provides that the registration of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders may

be cancelled if they violate any law.

Why is it being opposed?

Civil society groups are opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, terming it

“communally motivated humanitarianism.”

The proposed amendment to the Citizenship Act, 1955, seeks to grant citizenship to non-

Muslim minorities from Muslim majority countries, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains,

Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

According to activists, this would mean, for instance, that the sizeable population of Hindu

migrants from Bangladesh living in Assam would become citizens while Muslims who

migrated to Assam from East Bengal a century ago would continue to be harassed as ‘illegal

migrants from Bangladesh.

The new Bill also violates Article 14 of the constitution, say activists. Since Article 14 of the

Constitution guarantees equality to all persons, citizens and foreigners, differentiating

between people on the grounds of religion would be in violation of the constitution.

The HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014

Why in News: The Union Cabinet has approved the amendments to the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014.

The HIV and AIDS Bill, 2014 has been drafted to safeguard the rights of people living with HIV and affected by HIV.



HIV bill

HIV-related discrimination

formal mechanisms

legal accountability

Key provisions in the bill:

1. Role of governments:

Under the Bill, central and state governments are obliged to provide for anti-retroviral therapy (ART) and management of opportunistic infections (infections that take advantage of weakness in the immune system and occur frequently).

The bill also prohibits specific acts of discrimination by the state, or any other person, against HIV-positive people, or those living with such people.

2. Provisions related to discrimination:

The Bill lays down penal provisions for any discrimination practised against a person with HIV/AIDS and breach of confidentiality.

The protection mandated in the Bill extends to the fields of employment, healthcare services, educational services, public facilities, property rights, holding public office, and insurance.

It also provides for confidentiality of HIV-related information and makes it necessary to get informed consent for undertaking HIV tests, medical treatment and research.

3. Provisions related to ombudsman:

The bill also provides for an ombudsman. According to the provisions of the Bill, an ombudsman shall be appointed by each state government to inquire into complaints related to the violation of the Act and the provision of health care services.

The ombudsman shall submit a report to the state government every six months stating the number and nature of complaints received, the actions taken and orders passed.

4. Provisions related to guardianship:

Provisions related to guardianship are also specified. A person between the age of 12 to 18 years who has sufficient maturity in understanding and managing the affairs of his HIV or AIDS affected family shall be competent to act as a guardian of another sibling below 18 years of age.

The guardianship will apply in matters relating to admission to educational establishments, operating bank accounts, managing property, care and treatment, amongst others.

5. Role of courts:

Cases relating to HIV positive persons shall be disposed off by the court on a priority basis.



In any legal proceeding, if an HIV infected or affected person is a party, the court may pass orders that the proceedings be conducted (a) by suppressing the identity of the person, (b) in camera, and (c) to restrain any person from publishing information that discloses the identity of the applicant.

When passing any order with regard to a maintenance application filed by an HIV infected or affected person, the court shall take into account the medical expenses incurred by the applicants

Significance

It makes discriminating against a person living with HIV/AIDS a punishable offence. What was until now achieved through executive orders will, once Parliament passes the Bill, be laid down in statute.

The Bill seeks to give a legislative framework to existing norms of non-discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS — most crucially, making it a legally punishable offence to deny such a person health insurance on the ground of the infection that causes lowering of immunity.

The Bill incorporates feedback from stakeholders, and also recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare to which it was referred after being introduced in Rajya Sabha in February 2014.

The Bill prohibits any individual from publishing information advocating feelings of hatred against HIV positive persons and those living with them.

What’s left out?

The Bill brings a rights-based approach to AIDS treatment, making it imperative for both the central and state governments to provide treatment “as far as possible”. Though the Bill lays down that treatment is the right of the patient, it stops short of making it a legal right — and therefore, a patient who is denied ART treatment cannot ordinarily drag any government to court.

Way ahead:

The stigma of having HIV or AIDS in India remains intense, despite having the worlds third-largest population of people with either. And that stigma isn’t just social: it frequently means that patients end up having to cough up much more money for either insurance or medical treatment simply because of their condition. Some places even simply turn away people with HIV or AIDS.

There are approximately 21 lakh persons estimated to be living with HIV in India and the percentage of patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatment currently stands at a mere 25.82% as against the global percentage of 41%, according to the 2015 Global Burden of Diseases (GBD).

The adult prevalence is in the range of 0.3%, of which around 40% are women. Some states have more people living with HIV/AIDS than others. Four high-prevalence states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu account for about 55% of the total cases in the country. The prevalence of HIV has been decreasing over the past decade



This law makes that sort of discrimination criminal, while also easing the process by which people living with HIV or AIDS get access to treatment. Even if it cannot do away with the stigma itself, the law offers a clear legal recourse and should loom large as a threat for insurers and hospitals that don’t recognise the evils of turning down or discriminating against people with HIV or AIDS.

Conclusion:

Since the new law is intended to both stop the spread of the disease and help those who have become infected get antiretroviral therapy as well as equal opportunity, it will take a high degree of commitment to provide effective drugs to all those in need. Most importantly, the HIV Bill is a result of numerous consultations with all the communities affected by HIV and other stakeholders, within and out of government, standing together to prevent the spread of HIV. The success of the Bill is partly guaranteed because of the PLHIV community, which has the highest stake, has been involved at each turn the Bill has taken. When it becomes law, the HIV Bill will not suffer for lack of persons pushing its implementation. However, its success will have far-reaching impacts on other health legislations that need to be enacted.

Draft Water Bill

The Centre has come out with a draft National Water Framework Bill, 2016. Aim of the Bill: It aims to resolve several inter-state disputes over river water sharing.

Highlights of the draft:

The draft says that every person has a “right to sufficient quantity of safe water for life” within easy reach of the household regardless of caste, creed, religion, age, community, class, gender, disability, economic status, land ownership and place of residence.

It provides for a mechanism to develop and manage river basin in an integrated manner so that every state gets “equitable” share of a river’s water without violating rights of others.

It pitches for establishing River Basin Authority for each inter-state basin to ensure “optimum and sustainable” development of rivers and valleys.

It also devises an integrated approach to conserve water and manage groundwater in a sustainable manner.

The draft Bill proposes establishing institutional arrangements at all levels within a state and beyond up to an inter-state river-basin level to “obviate” disputes through negotiations, conciliation or mediation before they become acute.

It also says that each River Basin Authority will prepare a master plan for the river basin, under its jurisdiction, comprising such information as may be prescribed. The master plan, so prepared, will be reviewed and updated every five years after due consultation with all other planning agencies and stakeholders.

Since water is a ‘state’ subject, the proposed legislation will not be binding on states for adoption even if it becomes a law through Parliament in due course.

It will work as a model bill for the states, giving them a framework to come out with local laws to use and conserve water.



Way ahead:

The draft Bill will go to the Union cabinet for its approval. Once it gets the required nod, the Union water resources ministry will introduce it in the Parliament.

Law Commission suggests changes in govt. draft Bill on child abduction

The 21st Law Commission in its first report has recommended a series of changes in the draft Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction Bill-2016, proposed by the Women and Child Development Ministry.

Proposed Bill:

In June, 2016, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) uploaded on its website a proposal to enact a draft of the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction Bill, 2016. This was considered as it was imperative to have an enabling legislation in India before accession to the Hague Convention.

The draft Bill was prepared following a reference made by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to the Law Commission of India to consider whether recommendations should be made for enacting a suitable law and for signing the Hague Convention.

Recommendations made by the commission:

One-year jail term for wrongful retention or removal of a child from the custody of a parent. The offenders may include one of the parents or family, relatives and others.

Three months punishment for wilful misrepresentation or concealment of fact as regards the location or information about the child or for voluntarily preventing the safe return of the child.

International Conference on Voter Education

The first ever Global Conference on Voter Education titled ‘Voter Education for Inclusive, Informed and Ethical Participation’ is being held in New Delhi.

It is being organized by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in association with UNDP.

Motto – “No Voter to be Left Behind”.

The proposed Bill considered the removal to or the retention of a child in India to be wrongful if it is in breach of rights of custody attributed to a person, an institution, or any other body, either jointly or alone, at a place where the child was habitually resident immediately before the removal or retention.

It further stipulated that the removal to or the retention in India of a child is to be considered wrongful where at the time of removal or retention those rights were actually exercised, either jointly or alone, by a person, an institution or any other body, or would have been so exercised, but for the removal or retention.



This Conference represents nearly 40% of the world’s population under a single roof, bears the testimony to the importance of the Conference on the world stage.

People are at the center of focus of this conference and deliberations would be held in great detail so as to adopt best practices across the world to ensure Voter Education and maximum Electoral Participation of the People.

Participants are also planning to establish a Global Knowledge Network on Voter Education, VoICE.NET, which will be an innovative wide platform to share knowledge resources, interact on discussion board, sharing platform for events and practices in various countries and also extend knowledge and resource support to all stakeholders.

IOC Athletes’ commission

Why in News: Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has been appointed as a member of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Athletes’ Commission.

IOC Athletes’ Commission

A body maintained by the International Olympic Committee for the purpose of representing athletes. It was established in 1981.

The Commission is a consultative body whose function is to act as “the link between active athletes and the IOC”.

It makes recommendations to the IOC’s executive bodies, and its chair serves as a member of the IOC Executive Board.

It works in liaison with similar athletes’ commissions of the Continental Associations, individual National Olympic Committees and the International Sports Federations.

12 members are elected to the Commission by Olympic athletes for a term of eight years. In addition, the President of the IOC may appoint up to seven further members, “to ensure a balance between regions, gender and sports”, and there are two ex-officio members: one from the World Olympians Association, and one from the International Paralympic Committee.

The elected members are usually also elected to the IOC itself shortly after becoming members of the Commission, and serve on the IOC for the duration of their membership of the Commission.

INDOSAN

INDOSAN is envisaged as an annual national event, that brings together all stakeholders

working in sanitation government, NGOs, academicians, researchers, partner agencies,

corporates on one platform for a shared vision.

Bringing together all such stakeholders, will create an opportunity for collective vision,

collective understanding of the key elements of the Swachh Bharat Mission programme.



INDOSAN is the platform, where unfolding story of Swachh Bharat will actually happen,

where each state will share their approaches most suitable to them to reach ODF.

INDOSAN will discuss on all these approaches, emerging innovations, learnings are cross

shared, for the benefit of all. It was recently held in New Delhi.

Sports Sector Gets the Infrastructure Status

Sports infrastructure will be included under the Harmonized Master List of Infrastructure

Subsectors. This is mainly aimed at addressing the issue of deficit of sports infrastructure

in the country.

The sports sector now becomes eligible for obtaining long term financial support from

banks and other financial institutions on the same principle as is available to other

infrastructure projects.

This inclusion would encourage private investment in a public good which has socio-

economic externalities in a country with young population.

It will also bolster investment in sports infrastructure sector which will contribute to the

economy and help in promotion of health and fitness of the people of this country as also

provide opportunities for employment in the new and exciting sectors.

‘Nasha Mukt Bharat Andolan Yatra’

It is a nation-wide campaign to make society liquor free.

It was launched at Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on October 2 to mark the birth anniversary

of Mahatma Gandhi.

5th International Buddhist Conclave

It is being organized by the Ministry of Tourism in Varanasi-Sarnath in collaboration with

the State Governments of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Participants in the Buddhist Conclave will include international Buddhist opinion makers,

tour operators and media, as well as State Governments and domestic tour operators

promoting pilgrimages to the Buddhist sites in the country.

The International Buddhist Conclave is also one of the initiatives being taken by India as its

commitment as the land of origin of Buddhism and to improve the experience of pilgrims

as well as tourists wishing to savor the essence of Buddhist heritage, at the Buddhist sites

of the country.

The Conclave will include presentations, panel discussion, business to business meetings

between the international and domestic tour operators, an exhibition highlighting the

Buddhist attractions in India, as well as visits to important Buddhist sites in and around

Varanasi and Sarnath.



Vayoshreshtha Samman-2016

They are National Awards for Senior Citizens. They were recently presented by the

President to eminent senior citizens and institutions in recognition of their service towards

the cause of elderly persons, especially indigent senior citizens.

Vayoshreshtha Samman is a Scheme of National Awards instituted by the Ministry of Social

Justice & Empowerment (D/o Social Justice & Empowerment) initially in 2005 and was

upgraded to the status of National Awards in 2013, for institutions involved in rendering

distinguished service for the cause of elderly persons especially indigent senior citizens

and to eminent citizens in recognition of their service/achievements.

The awards are presented on 1st of October every year pursuant to the adoption of a

resolution by the UN General Assembly to observe the year 1999 as the International Year

of Older Persons.

Reservation for Marathas

Why in News: The issue of reservation has once again come to the fore. Marathas in Maharashtra

have come out on the streets in unprecedented numbers and with unusual calm to present their

grievances.

What’s the issue?

Marathas have reiterated their demand for reservations, similar to communities in other

states, notably the Gujjars in Rajasthan, Jats in Uttar Pradesh, and Patels in Gujarat. On the

other hand, they have also demanded for the repeal of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled

Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (PoA).

Background:

The Marathas who are almost one-third of Maharashtra’s population are not a

homogeneous community. Historically, they evolved from the farming caste of Kunbis who

took to military service in medieval times and started assuming a separate identity for

themselves. Even then they claimed hierarchy of 96 clans.

But the real differentiation has come through the post-independence development process,

creating classes within the caste:

A tiny but powerful section of elites that came to have control over cooperatives of sugar,

banks, educational institutions, factories and politics, called gadhivarcha (topmost strata)

Maratha.

The next section comprising owners of land, distribution agencies, transporters, contracting

firms, and those controlling secondary cooperative societies, is the wadyavarcha (well-off

strata) Maratha.

The rest of the population of Marathas comprising small farmers is the wadivarcha (lower

strata) Maratha.



Demand for Reservation:

The demand for reservation for the Marathas has been around since 1997. Various

committees were appointed to look into the matter.

The government-appointed committee under a retired judge R M Bapat, had rejected

granting them inclusion in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in its July 2008 report.

The government instead of rejecting or accepting the report appointed a new committee

under the retired judge B P Saraf.

Before the Saraf committee submitted its report, the government set up another special

committee headed by Narayan Rane. Rane recommended 16% reservation.

The eager government got it accepted by the cabinet and hurriedly issued an ordinance. To

its misfortune, the Bombay High Court stayed it in a matter of a public interest litigation

(PIL) objecting to the OBC status for the Marathas. This was simply because total

reservations in the state would go up to 73%, exceeding the limit set by the Supreme Court.

Need to reexamine our reservation policy?

Changed external conditions: Since independence, the external conditions which initially

led to reservations have changed tremendously. Economic growth has resulted in a decline

in poverty numbers from 37% of the population to 22%. Such development should have

brought down the number of people seeking reservations, in contrast, rewards to

government jobs have grown sharply.

Increased popularity: Wage increases associated with the Sixth Pay Commission and the

expected implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission have made government jobs

highly attractive. Hence, many groups historically tied to the land are now seeking

favourable treatment while seeking entry into non-farm work.

Increased competition: In the last decade, access to government jobs has been declining for

all groups. The India Human Development Survey (IHDS) by University of Maryland and

National Council of Applied Economic Research shows that although in 2004-05 15.3% of

men aged 22-39 with education level of class 12 or more had a regular salaried job in the

government or public sector, this proportion fell to 11.7% by 2011-12. This is because

government jobs have stagnated while educational attainment has increased rapidly. Thus,

it is not surprising that more claimants for these scarce jobs are aggressively staking their

claims.

Ambiguity in the reservation process: Since the First Backward Classes Commission headed

by Kaka Kalelkar submitted its report in 1955, several attempts have been made to identify

backward castes, resulting in frequent discordance between these lists. Lack of consistency

and clarity has led to ambiguity in the entire process of reservation, leaving communities

like Jats, Marathas and Patels dissatisfied.

Lack of Data: The problem is exacerbated by the lack of credible recent data. Since the 1931

Census, the only effort at collecting data on different castes and their socio-economic

circumstances was undertaken by the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC), 2011. The



National Commission for Backward Classes claimed, in a report dated February 2015, that

these data are neither available nor usable for the purpose of establishing the economic

condition of various castes.

How can we address these problems?

Regular Surveys: Conduct regular surveys to identify the beneficiaries who can claim the

benefits under the reservation policy. This can be achieved by including data on caste in

census surveys. The present phase in the planning cycle of the 2021 Census is the ideal time

for ensuring that comprehensive data about caste and religion for all the groups, including

forward castes, backward castes, and SCs and STs, are included in this Census.

Reevaluation: These data should also be used to re-evaluate the eligibility of groups for

inclusion in reserved categories every 10 or at least every 20 years. Much of the social

stratification in India is linked to the occupational status of the various castes. With the

changes in the economy, we can expect both the link between caste and occupation to

weaken and the economic fortunes of various occupations to change considerably. The

opportunity for re-examination of the caste-wise economic status would facilitate the

setting up of a structure for the redressal of grievances.

Ensure wider reach: We must also find a way of ensuring a churn in the number of

individuals eligible for benefits to ensure that these benefits reach the widest segment of

society. Though the creamy layer criteria exist, it has not been very effective. With the

advent of the Aadhar card, one way of ensuring that the same families do not capture all

the benefits is to ensure that each time someone uses their reserved category certificate,

their Aadhar number is noted down and linked with the certificate.

Limiting the use: It may be stipulated that the reserved category certificate can be used

only once in 20 years, thus allowing for the benefits to reach even the sections that have

hitherto been excluded from their ambit. This would ensure that the same individual is not

permitted to obtain both college education as well as a government job by using the same

eligibility criterion, nor can one obtain an initial posting as well as promotion using the same

criterion.

The main argument of the Marathas is that a majority of them are backward. This argument is

axiomatic, applicable to any caste or community including Brahmins, and pricks the logic of

backwardness as the basis for reservations. It is true that the majority of the Marathas are

small landholders, and they took pride in their sociopolitical dominance, neglected education

as well as the changing environment. Over the years, with mounting agrarian crisis, mainly due

to neo-liberal policies of the government, accentuated by the crop failures in Maharashtra in

the previous three seasons, they experienced severe erosion of their status.

However, as a community, they still own most land (32% of Marathas own in excess of 75% of

land) and dominate all spheres of public life. Even then if they are included, the other OBCs will

be up in arms against them; some already are.



Conclusion:

The key to dealing with the quota quagmire lies in shuffling people in and out of the

eligibility criteria and ensuring that the benefits are not concentrated among certain groups

and/or individuals. All these principles are consistent with the democratic ideals and vision

of social justice envisaged in India’s Constitution. It may be possible to achieve a consensus

across the political spectrum for adopting a non-political and pragmatic approach to

reservations. It is time we address the challenge of reservations honestly, fairly and

innovatively by creating opportunities for all disadvantaged children. Along with improving

school education outcomes, a more rational model of reservation based on equity and

common sense must be envisaged.

Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System

Certificates of Appreciation were recently awarded to the Ministries/Departments based on

their performance in the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System

(CPGRAMS).

From each category one Ministry/Department is selected for issue of Certificate of

Appreciation based on the parameters of percentage of disposal and quality of disposal.

A three member Committee evaluates the performance for each quarter.

CPGRAMS

The CPGRAMS is an online web enabled application to facilitate speedy redress of public

grievances as it allows for online lodging and status tracking of grievances by the citizens.

The system is flexible enough to be extended to multiple levels as per the requirement of

concerned Ministry/Department/ Govt. Organization for speedy forwarding and redress of

grievance.

With this, the Government aims to have minimum Government and maximum Governance

with citizen centric approach.

Award Scheme is expected to bring a sense of competitiveness in Ministries/ Departments

to address public grievances.

Prohibition Law

Why in news: Recently, the Patna High Court struck down as unconstitutional Bihar’s

amendments to its 1915 Excise Act that prohibited the sale or possession of alcohol.

The judgment argued that even laws that sought justification in the Directive Principles of

State Policy in the Constitution had to be reasonable and must respect fundamental rights.

In addition, the court said, the punishments prescribed by the law were “quite

unreasonable and draconian and cannot be justified in a civilised society.



In response to this, the Bihar government has come out with a new and more stringent

liquor-ban law with provisions such as arrest of all adults in the family if anyone consumes

or stores alcohol.

The government has notified the Bihar prohibition and excise act, 2016, to ensure that the

ban on sale and consumption of alcohol, including Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL),

continues in Bihar.

Under the new law, those flouting the ban face up to 10 years in jail, a fine of up to Rs 10

lakh and there is also a provision to confiscate the house or premises where liquor is stored

or drunk. Though in a rare case, it also prescribes death penalty if people die after

consuming hooch.

Also, in a separate action, the government will appeal in the Supreme Court against the

strike-down in the high court.

Ban on alcohol consumption:

Alcohol is a subject in the State list under the seventh schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Article 47 of the Directive Principle in the Constitution of India states that “The state shall

undertake rules to bring about prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal

purposes of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health.”

Advantages of ban

Prohibition of alcohol limits and/or prevents alcohol addiction. This particular addiction can

easily ruin people’s lives, including their jobs, their friends, their families, and obviously

themselves too.

Alcohol, especially in large quantities, can damage people’s kidneys and livers, and can

eventually lead to death.

Some religions (such as Islam, Mormonism, and some Pentecostal Christians) expressly

forbids the consumption of alcohol.

Some argue that there is a direct correlation between alcohol consumption and an increase

in crime. Violent crimes, assault, and disorderly conduct are most common with persons

who are intoxicated.

Prohibition reduces the causalities and damages through drunk driving.

Alcohol can be a very expensive habit.

Issues with ban

There are serious doubts about the governments’ political will and administrative ability to

prevent total sale and consumption of liquor.

Ban may also lead to smuggling of illicit liquor and production of spurious liquor.

It also spawns massive corruption. Prohibition may not automatically result in wise and

healthy spending patterns.



Blanket bans could adversely affect tourism, hospitality and other businesses, besides being

an unfair intrusion into personal choices of a large section of people who can afford liquor

and consume moderately.

Alcohol addiction is considered a victimless crime, since it primarily affects the alcoholics.

While it does affect the people around alcoholics, it does not directly affect them. People

can always keep their distance from or leave alcoholics, if they choose.

Criminal organizations will mostly profit from prohibition and, that in return, will promote

other illegal activities.

In most cultures and religions, social drinking is an acceptable practice.

Also, people should have the freedom of choice to decide to drink alcohol or not, as long as

that freedom does not infringe on the freedoms of other people. Therefore, a law

prohibiting alcohol would remove the freedom of choice.

The sale of alcohol contributes to the economy of the state through the tax directly and

through the tourism, indirectly. The State Excise in India is mainly imposed on the sale of

liquor, which is commonly known as Liquor tax. The states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh

and Punjab earn a large portion of their revenue from the State Excise. Because of the ban

in consumption of alcohol in dry states, they are regarded as a poor contributor.

What can be done to discourage alcohol consumption?

Enforce a minimum price for alcohol.

Raise the legal drinking age.

Stop distribution of new licenses.

Ban marketing of alcohol.

Conclusion:

While total prohibition may be a laudable objective and one of the Directive Principles of

State Policy, it is doubtful whether this will bring down consumption. In a non-permissive

society, it may only result in converting drinking into a covert activity, a phenomenon

requiring policing and also bringing corruption in its wake. It is evident that the problem is

complex and there can be no easy solutions, especially one that fits all. Therefore, addiction

should be addressed at two levels: temperance campaigns to promote moderate

consumption and opening of de-addiction centres to help those suffering from addiction.

Just a blanket ban will not work.



Sections 499 and 500:

Sections 499 and 500 in the IPC deal with criminal defamation. While the former defines the offence of defamation, the latter defines the punishment for it.

Section 499: Whoever, by words either spoken or intended to be read, or by signs or by visible representations, makes or publishes any imputation concerning any person intending to harm, or knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm, the reputation of such person, is said, except in the cases hereinafter expected, to defame that person.

Section 500: Whoever defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.

Reforming defamation laws

Why in news: A BJD Member of Parliament is planning to propose a new Bill to reform the laws on defamation. Currently, the law favours protecting the right to reputation over the right to free speech and a new law may actually be the best way to fix the situation.

What is defamation all about?

Defamation refers to the act of publication of defamatory content that lowers the reputation of an individual or an entity when observed through the perspective of an ordinary man. If defamation occurs in spoken words or gestures (or other such transitory form) then it is termed as slander and the same if in written or printed form is libel. Defamation in India is both a civil and a criminal offence.

In Civil Law, defamation falls under the Law of Torts, which imposes punishment in the form of damages awarded to the claimant (person filing the claim).

Under Criminal Law, Defamation is bailable, non-congnizable and compoundable offence. Therefore, the police cannot start investigation of defamation without a warrant from a magistrate (an FIR cannot be filed). Further, the charges can be dropped if the victim and the accused enter into a compromise to that effect (even without the permission of the court).

Why defamation should remain a criminal offence?

Arguments ‘In favor’:

Defamation should remain a penal offence in India as the defamer may be too poor to compensate the victim in some cases.

Since there is no mechanism to censor the Internet from within, online defamation could only be adequately countered by retaining defamation as a criminal offence.

Also, criminalisation of defamation is part of the state’s “compelling interest” to protect the right to dignity and good reputation of its citizens.

Unlike in the U. S, defamation in India cannot be treated only as civil liability as there is always a possibility of the defamer being judgment free, i.e., not having the adequate financial capability to compensate the victim.



Besides, Sections 499 and 500, framed in 1860, cannot be said to obsolete in a modern democratic polity as there are 10 exceptions to Section 499 of the IPC. These exceptions clearly exclude from its ambit any speech that is truthful, made in good faith and/or is for public good.

Arguments ‘Against’:

‘Truth’ is generally considered to be a defence to defamation as a civil offence but under criminal law, truth is a defence only in a limited number of circumstances. Besides the statement or writing being demonstrably true, it also requires to be proved that the imputation was made for public good.

Critics argue that defamation law impinges upon the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression and that civil defamation is an adequate remedy against such wrongs.

Many countries worldwide are in favor of treating defamation as a civil wrong, not as a criminal offence. Also, in 2011, the Human Rights Committee of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights called upon states to abolish criminal defamation, noting that it intimidates citizens and makes them shy away from exposing wrongdoing.

The misuse of law as an instrument of harassment is also pervasive in India. Often, the prosecutor’s complaint is taken at face value by courts, which send out routine notices for the appearance of defendants without any preliminary examination whether the offending comments or reports come under one of the exceptions spelt out in Section 499. Thus, the process itself becomes the punishment.

Criminal defamation has a pernicious effect on society: for instance, the state uses it as a means to coerce the media and political opponents into adopting self-censorship and unwarranted self-restraint.

The law can also be used by groups or sections claiming to have been hurt or insulted and abuse the process by initiating multiple proceedings in different places.

Also, criminal defamation should not be allowed to be an instrument in the hands of the state, especially when the Code of Criminal Procedure gives public servants an unfair advantage by allowing the state’s prosecutors to stand in for them when they claim to have been defamed by the media or political opponents.

Defamatory acts that may harm public order are covered by Sections 124, 153 and 153A, and so criminal defamation does not serve any overarching public interest. Even though Section 499 provides safeguards by means of exceptions, the threat of criminal prosecution is in itself unreasonable and excessive.

What needs to be done now?

Reforms to defamation would best be done through the enactment of a new statute. Such a law should decriminalize defamation and reform civil defamation to make it fairer and clearer.

The new law should also factor in the Internet and new media when deciding issues like who can be punished for defamation and how.



Limits should also be set around civil defamation—not only must the loss to reputation be serious, the proof must also be substantial. The complainant must demonstrate that material injury was caused to their reputation as a direct result of the alleged statement.

Truth, opinion and reasonable inference should also be made viable defences in defamation suits.

Courts should also be empowered to impose exemplary costs on frivolous suits that waste their time.

To ease the burden of the judiciary, it is vital that courts are required to only hear serious defamation cases that haven’t been amicably settled.

Legal reforms can also be supplemented by measures addressing the imbalance of resources, such as indemnification clauses in contracts for journalists and a form of defamation insurance.

Conclusion:

While the right to reputation may be protected by the Constitution, it should not be at the cost of freedom of speech. Free speech is necessary because, among other things, it enables the media to hold governments and individuals accountable. Freedom of speech should also protect the right to offend within reasonable limits, i.e. to legitimately criticize the rich and powerful. Ultimately, some kind of reform is necessary—free speech is meaningless without the right to reasonably offend. If the ability to legitimately criticize is not protected, voices throwing light on important issues will continue to be silenced by the rich and powerful. And without those voices, the Indian state could be dramatically altered or compromised while Indians are kept in the dark.

Domestic Violence Act

Why in News: The Supreme Court has widened the scope of the Domestic Violence Act.

The court has ordered striking down of the two words from Section 2(q) of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, which deals with respondents who can be sued and prosecuted under the Act for harassing a married woman in her matrimonial home.

The court has ordered the deletion of the words “adult male” from the act. Thus, the order has paved the way for prosecution of women and even non-adults for subjecting a woman relative to violence and harassment.

The order allows a woman to seek legal action against her daughter-in-law and even her minor grandchildren for domestic violence. Earlier, only daughter-in-law could sue her husband and his women relatives. But a domestic violence complaint couldn’t be filed against the daughter-in-law as the accused under the law could only be adult males.

Reasons

According to the court, these words violated right to equality under the Constitution and are discriminatory. Also, the court observed that the microscopic difference between male and female, adult and non adult, regard being had to the object sought to be achieved by the 2005



Act, is neither real or substantial, nor does it have any rational relation to the object of the legislation.

Background:

The ruling came on an appeal filed against a judgment of the Bombay High Court in 2014 that had read down the Act to hold that complaints could be filed against the women too. The top court, however, set aside this judgment on the ground that the provision could not be read down.

The domestic violence act came into force in 2005 to protect women from physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse at home. Under the act, an offender can be prevented from selling his house or businesses or both to ensure the victim is not left to fend for herself.

Janani Suraksha Yojana

Why in news: A new study brings in first conclusive evidence of the role played by Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) in reducing ‘socioeconomic disparities’ existing in maternal care.Janani Suraksha Yojana

According to the study, JSY has led to an enhancement in the utilisation of health services among all groups especially among the poorer and underserved sections in the rural areas, thereby reducing the prevalent disparities in maternal care.

Three key services of maternal care were used for the analysis: full antenatal care (full ANC), safe delivery, and postnatal care

Significance of these findings:

The study was conducted using data from two rounds of the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) — conducted in 2004-05 and 2011-12. The IHDS data serves two advantages in this case.

First, round 1 of IHDS was conducted in 2004-05 when the JSY was not in place and round two was conducted six years after the launch, providing a before-after scenario for comparison.

Secondly, the IHDS is a longitudinal data set — same households were interviewed in both rounds, which allows to examine changes in maternal care patterns

Major findings:

The increase in utilisation of all three maternal healthcare services between the two rounds was remarkably higher among illiterate or less educated and poor women.

The usage of all three maternal healthcare services by the OBC, Dalit, Adivasis and Muslim women increased between the surveys.

After the implementation of the JSY, there was generally a narrowing of the gap between the less educated and more educated women and between the poorer and richer women.

It was found that women in their early twenties were more likely to avail of each of the three maternal health care services as compared to their older women. Also, the incidence of



women availing maternal healthcare services decreases with the increase in the number of children they have delivered.

The study notes that the gap in access to healthcare between the marginalised group of women and those who are financially better-off has declined since the advent of the JSY program. But, inequality in access to maternal care persists.

Background:

High incidence of maternal mortality continue to plague India. As per the latest Lancet series on maternal health, India accounted for 15% of the total maternal deaths in the world in 2015 — second only to Nigeria — with 45,000 women dying during pregnancy or childbirth.

About Janani Suraksha Yojana:

Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) is a safe motherhood intervention under the National Rural Health Mission (NHM).

It is being implemented with the objective of reducing maternal and neonatal mortality by promoting institutional delivery among poor pregnant women.

The scheme is under implementation in all states and Union Territories (UTs), with a special focus on Low Performing States (LPS). Janani Suraksha Yojana was launched in April 2005 by modifying the National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS).

Uniform civil code issue

The development comes days after the Union government told the Supreme Court that ‘triple talaq’, ‘nikaah halala’ and polygamy were not integral to the practice of Islam or essential religious practices. Subsequently, the Law Commission had put up on its website a questionnaire, comprising 16 questions, to seek public opinion on the civil code issue.

Triple talaq

‘Triple Talaq’ is a procedure of divorce under the Sharia Law which is a body of the Islamic law. Under this, a husband can divorce his wife by pronouncing ‘Talaq’ thrice.

In spite of protests by Muslim women and activists world-wide the procedure is still prevalent in most countries.

There are several instances where ‘triple talaq’ has enabled husbands to divorce their wives arbitrarily, devoid of any substantiation.

According to a study, 92% of Muslim women in India want oral triple talaq to go. Oral talaq or ‘triple talaq’ delivered through new media platforms like Skype, text messages,

email and WhatsApp have become an increasing cause of worry for the community. The ‘triple talaq’ has been abolished in 21 countries including Pakistan, but is still prevalent in

India. The Centre reasons that these practices are against constitutional principles such as gender

equality, secularism, international laws etc.



The government also argues that when these practices are banned in Islamic theocratic countries, the practices could have absolutely no base in religion and are only prevalent to permit the dominance of men over women.

Uniform civil code?

Uniform civil Code is a proposal to have a generic set of governing laws for every citizen without taking into consideration the religion.

Article 44 of the Constitution says that there should be a Uniform Civil Code. According to this article, “The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India”. Since the Directive Principles are only guidelines, it is not mandatory to use them.

Need for UCC

A secular republic needs a common law for all citizens rather than differentiated rules based on religious practices.

Another reason why a uniform civil code is needed is gender justice. The rights of women are usually limited under religious law, be it Hindu or Muslim. The practice of triple talaq is a classic example.

Many practices governed by religious tradition are at odds with the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Indian Constitution.

Courts have also often said in their judgements that the government should move towards a uniform civil code including the judgement in the Shah Bano case.

Challenges to implement UCC

India being a secular country guarantees its minorities the right to follow their own religion, culture and customs under Article 29 and 30. But implementing a Uniform Code will hamper India’s secularism.

All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), along with several other organisations associated with the Muslim community, has opposed the Law Commission’s questionnaire on the possibility of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC). They have decided to boycott the entire exercise.

AIMPLB has also observed that the Centre’s recent affidavit in the Supreme Court rejecting the validity of the triple talaq was an underhand means to impose a UCC in India.

According to the Muslim board, “The uniform code is not suited for this nation. There are so many cultures in India and they have to be respected. A uniform code is against the spirit of the Constitution, which safeguards the right of citizens to practise their culture and religion.” Also, UCC, when implemented, will bring to an end country’s pluralism and paint all in “one colour”.

Way ahead:

The government cannot remain silent on the issue anymore. It is obvious that the government would have to face several challenges from many conservative groups on this front. But, it will



have to work hard to build trust, and more importantly, make common cause with social reformers rather than religious conservatives, as has been the wont of previous governments.

One strategic option is to follow the path taken after the fiery debates over the reform of Hindu civil law in the 1950s. Rather than an omnibus approach, the government could also bring separate aspects such as marriage, adoption, succession and maintenance into a uniform civil code in stages.

A comprehensive review of several other laws in the context of gender justice would also do well.

Conclusion:

What is unfortunate is the demand for UCC has always been framed in the context of communal politics. Many see it as majoritarianism under the garb of social reform. It needs to be understood that changes are gradually and slowly accepted by the society and are significant for every individual irrespective of community, gender and caste. Rational debates should be there without polarizing a country like India whose secular fabric and national integrity cannot be put at stake. Reforms are needed in all personal laws whether it is Hindu, Muslim or Christian but it is required that these demands come from the people themselves. Forcing a particular set of rules on people will not serve the real purpose of uniform civil code.

Nuclear triad

Why in news: India has quietly completed its nuclear triad by inducting the indigenously built strategic nuclear submarine INS Arihant into service. With this India joins the select group of countries which have a nuclear triad ( UK, USA, France, Russia and China)

INS Arihant

Arihant is capable of carrying nuclear tipped ballistic missiles, the class referred to as Ship Submersible Ballistic Nuclear (SSBN). SSBNs are designed to prowl the deep ocean waters carrying nuclear weapons

The vessel weighing 6000 tonnes is powered by a 83 MW pressurised light water nuclear reactor.

It will be armed with the K-15 Sagarika missiles with a range of 750 km and eventually with the much longer range K-4 missiles being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation.

Significance

India’s deployment of a nuclear-armed submarine could put the nation into a naval arms race with regional powers, potentially prompting China to assist its nuclear-armed allies Pakistan and North Korea in developing similar technologies.

India subscribes to a No First-Use policy on nuclear weapons. It regards nuclear-armed submarines as a deterrence aimed at preventing the outbreak of war.



The Arihant is harder to detect than India’s nuclear weapons platforms on land and in the air, giving it a “second-strike” capability. This would allow India to retaliate against an enemy who managed to destroy the rest of its nuclear arsenal in a first-strike.

Centre plans to revive counter-terror body

The Centre is planning to revive the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), a project conceived in 2012.

The government is planning to rework the NCTC proposal to allay the fears of State governments that their intelligence gathering mechanism would be encroached upon by the Centre.

It was after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack that the then Home Minister suggested setting up of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), on the lines of the one in the United States and the British Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, for coordinated counter-terror operations.

However, concerned that such an agency could well be abused by the Centre for political ends, many Chief Ministers struck down the idea primarily because the unit was to function under the Intelligence Bureau and, unlike the U.S. agency, it would be empowered to conduct searches and arrests under Sections 43 and 43A of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

Smaller parties, Independents in Rajya Sabha unite for more talk time

Vice-President Hamid Ansari has formally recognised a group of 22 MPs belonging to parties with less than four MPs and certain independents as a consolidated block — the United Group.

This is only the third time in the history of Indian Parliament that this is happening, the first was in 1983, and the second in 1990.

What was the need for it?

Hailing from ideologically diverse backgrounds and including nominated MPs, this group of MPs have united to secure more time to speak in House debates, where their solitary or numerically lean status afforded them as little as three minutes of speech time.

NCTC

to be located within the Intelligence Bureau

It has the power to conduct searches and arrests in any part of India.

will carry out counter-terror operations and collect, collate and disseminate data on terrorism.

maintain a data base on terrorist and their associates including their families.

formulate a response to terror threats. It is meant to serve as a single and effective point of control and coordination of all counter terrorism measures.

mandate to carry out anti-terror operations, if any, through, or in conjunction with, the State

police.



Significance of this move:

Smaller parties and independent MPs who may want to contribute to debates rarely get enough time to put forward a cogent argument. But, with this grouping, now such MPs form the third largest group in the Rajya Sabha, after the Congress and the BJP. Now, they also will find a place in the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) that decides time allotment.

Time allotted to parties to speak on debates depends entirely on their strength in the House. A grouping of this kind will, therefore, make it possible to speak for

National Summit on Fortification of Food

The National Summit on Fortification of Food to address interventions in combating micronutrient malnutrition in the country was recently inaugurated.

Highlights

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is co-hosting the two day Summit in partnership with related central ministries / departments and development partners.

The Summit will bring together experts from the nutrition and development communities as well as representatives from state governments, academics, technical supporters and donors to beneficiaries past and present.

It provides a platform to discuss and debate – presenting in-depth analysis and impact assessments, important and case study examples of food fortification programs as well as learnings and challenges to build on so effective food fortification efforts can carry on delivering in the future.

There will be a number of themes including the roles of industry, government, academia and civil society; improving compliance and measurement; cost-benefit analysis; modelling potential for impact and the required investments.

Food fortification

Food fortification or enrichment is the process of adding micronutrients (essential trace elements and vitamins) to food. Food fortification is a proven and effective strategy to meet the nutritional needs of a large number of people across various sections of the society, including the poor and underprivileged as well as the vulnerable, such as pregnant women and young children.

Fortification requires neither changes in existing food patterns, habits nor individual compliance.

It is socio-culturally acceptable and does not alter the characteristics of the food. It can be introduced quickly and can produce nutritional benefits for populations in a short period of time. It is safe and cost effective, especially if advantage is taken of the existing technology and delivery platforms.

Food fortification reinforces and supports existing nutrition improvement programmes and is part of a broader, integrated approach to prevent micronutrient deficiencies, thereby complementing other approaches to improve health and nutrition.



What is the significance of the new rule?

The e-transfer of postal ballot will replace existing system in which postal ballots were sent through the Department of Posts.

It will ease the logistical issues involved in ensuring that the ballot paper of the constituency, where a voter is eligible to vote, is sent in time.

Thus, it will cut time in transmission of the ballot paper and help the EC overcome logistical problems.

Food fortification in India:

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has formulated a comprehensive regulation on fortification of foods namely ‘Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Foods) Regulations, 2016’.

These regulations set the standards for food fortification and encourage the production, manufacture, distribution, sale and consumption of fortified foods. The regulations also provide for specific role of FSSAI in promotion for food fortification and to make fortification mandatory. This sets the premise for the national summit on fortification of food.

Election rules amended

Why in news: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has amended the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 to facilitate the e-transfer of postal ballot.

The new rules empower a returning officer in any constituency to send postal ballots to an eligible voter by electronic means as specified by the ECI.

In India, postal ballots have played a critical role in extending the electoral process to voters who are unable to exercise their franchise due to either the nature of their job or geographical location of their posting.

How the e-transfer of postal ballot will work?

The returning officer can send ballot through a web portal with a ‘One Time Password (OTP)’ to voters.

The voter needs to download the ballot for voting.

The voter after voting will physically return the ballot through post. It should be noted that two-way e-voting has not been recommended by the Election

Commission, citing security and secrecy concerns.



The four day long carnival has been organised by Ministry of Tribal Affairs to promote a sense of inclusiveness amongst the tribals.

The carnival will showcase and promote various facets of tribal culture on a large scale.

First National Tribal Carnival

Why in news: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated First National Tribal Carnival-2016 in New Delhi on 25th Oct

The tribal carnival would showcase the capabilities of the tribal communities, in the national capital.

The Prime Minister said that the life of the tribal communities was marked by intense struggle & yet the tribal communities had imbibed the ideals of community living, and of living cheerfully despite troubles & the Government was committed to using modern technology such as underground mining and coal gasification, which would minimise disturbance to tribal settlements.

He also spoke of the Rurban Mission, which would focus on development of rural growth centres.

Union Tribal Affairs Minister said that his Ministry is concentrating on the education of tribals through Eklavya School and scholarships for the tribal youth.

The minister said Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojana is another important scheme of his Ministry which has proved beneficial for the tribals & The Ministry is equally concerned to provide suitable market for the forest products produced by tribals.

The underlying idea is to :

Preserve and promote various facets of the tribal life relating to culture, tradition, customs and their skills

To expose it to the general public with a view to utilizing the potential for overall holistic development of the Scheduled Tribes.

Activities like displaying documents on traditional socio-culture aspects, exhibition of art/artifacts, cultural performances, demonstration of skills like sports, paintings, traditional healing practices etc. will be part of the four day event.

Workshop on issues like Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) its implementation, benefit to tribal community and its drawbacks, Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006 and its implications and reservation in politics and recruitment will also be part of the carnival.

What will include in the carnival?

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The carnival will provide the stage for deliberations on important subjects affecting tribal development.

It will also give an exposure of marketability of tribal products like textiles, paintings, artefacts so that it has a catalytic effect on income-generating activities and tribal livelihood.

The events during the carnival will be a mix of live musical and dance performances, exhibitions, display of craft, fashion show, panel discussion, book fair etc.

It will have a mix of art, music, traditional food and one of its kind of non-stop venue for lively entertainment of India’s traditional tribal way of life full of experience and knowledge.

Who all are participatingin the carnival?

About 1600 tribal artists and around 8000 tribal delegates from States/UTs such as Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Telangana, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Sikkim, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Tamil Nadu are attending the carnival.

Eminent tribal personalities who have excelled in various field i.e sports, art and culture, literature, academic, medicine etc. are also attending the carnival.

Do you know About VANBANDHU KALYAN YOJANA?

VKY a strategic process. It aims at creating enabling environment for need based and outcome oriented holistic development of the tribal people.This process envisages to ensure that all the intended benefits of goods and services under various programmes/schemes of Central as well as State Governments actually reach the target groups by convergence of resources through appropriate institut ional mechanism.

Scope

It covers all tribal people and all areas with tribal population across the country.

Objectives

Improving the quality of life in tribal areas Improving the quality of education Qualitative and sustainable employment for tribal families Bridging infrastructure gaps with focus on quality Protection of tribal culture and heritage

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ECONOMY

Rs. 65,250 cr. mopped up via new black money window

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has received total disclosures of Rs. 65,250 crore

under the Income Disclosure Scheme, 2016 in the form of cash and other assets.

A four-month window was provided under the scheme for declaring undisclosed income or

black money.

Background:

The Income Declaration Scheme offered people with undisclosed income to declare it by

paying a penal tax rate of 45% on such income. Assets specified in the declaration were

exempted from Wealth tax.

These declarations also enjoyed immunity from prosecution under the IT Act, Wealth Tax

Act and the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988.

SIT set to comb P-Note data for black money

The special investigation team (SIT) on black money has asked the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to furnish the details of all those investing through participatory notes (P-Notes).

This is the first time the government-constituted body has sought such massive amount of data, which includes the list of beneficial owners and transfer trials of investors taking the P-Note route to invest in domestic equity and debt markets.

Background:

The SIT wants to ensure that the regulatory changes made by Sebi are sufficient to curb misuse of tools, particularly with respect to end beneficiaries. The expert panel is concerned that the P-Note route could still be used by Indian companies to bring back unaccounted money.

In May, Sebi tightened norms for P-Notes. It had increased KYC requirement, issued curbs on transferability and prescribed stringent reporting for P-Notes issuers and holders. It mandated issuers to follow anti-money laundering laws.

The tightening of P-Note norms was triggered by the concerns raised by SIT in 2015, especially over the investment coming from Cayman Islands, the top destination for P-Note investors investing in the Indian securities market.

P-Notes:

P-Notes are derivative products issued by FPIs in foreign markets which give their holders the right to have a share of the profit and loss from underlying Indian stocks but at the same time help maintain anonymity about the actual owners of those notes.

P-Notes allow foreign investors to take exposure to Indian stocks without registering with Sebi. These instruments are issued by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) registered with Sebi.



Background:

Currently there is no single regulatory body or ministry for domestic trade — comprising mainly non-corporate small businesses providing employment to an estimated 460 million people. Also, the current approach and the environment is considered only conducive for foreign retail giants and their Indian partners or counterparts

There are about six crore such enterprises in the country with an annual turnover of around Rs.30 lakh crore. About 70% of the country’s retail trade has not been linked to computers and digitised.

Centre constitutes Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board

The Centre has constituted a four-member Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI)

under the Chairmanship of MS Sahoo.

Key facts:

The oath of office was administered by Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley.

Sahoo is appointed as IBBI Chairman for a period of five years.

While the Centre has for now set up the IBBI with four members, going forward this will be

expanded to 10 (including the Chairman). Three whole-time members and two other

members are to be appointed

Insolvency and Bankruptcy code 2016

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 seeks to establish the Insolvency and Bankruptcy

Board of India, to oversee insolvency resolution in the country.

The Board will have 10 members, including representatives from the central government

and Reserve Bank of India.

It will register information utilities, insolvency professionals and insolvency professional

agencies under it, and regulate their functioning

Centre eyes sops to spur internal trade

The Centre is planning a three-pronged approach to revitalise India’s retail and wholesale trade. This includes:

1. Establishing a regulatory body for national internal trade (retail and wholesale).

2. A comprehensive domestic trade policy. 3. A Board for Internal Trade.

Details:

The new approach aims to generate employment and improve financial inclusion of small traders. It also aims to enhance ease of doing business in the country.

It will also be linked to the NDA government’s flagship initiatives such as Digital India, Skill India and Make In India.



RBI to be divested of debt management role in 2 years

The Centre has decided to set up an independent agency to manage its debt. As a precursor, the Finance Ministry will soon set up the Public Debt Management Cell (PDMC) in the Budget Division.

Key facts:

PDMC will allow separation of debt management functions from RBI to the Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) in a gradual and seamless manner, without causing market disruptions. The cell will be converted to a statutory authority in about two years’ time.

This move would help divest the RBI of its dual and often conflicting roles as the banker and manager of the Centre’s borrowing.

Functions of PDMC:

The PDMC will at present only have advisory functions to avoid “any conflict” with the statutory powers of the RBI.

To start with, it would plan the borrowings of the Centre, manage the Central government liabilities and monitor the cash balances.

It would also develop an integrated debt database system as a centralised data base for all liabilities of the government on a near real time basis.

It will also advise government on matters related to investment, capital market operations and interest rates on small savings as well as undertake requisite preparatory work for PDMA.

Composition of PDMC:

The PDMC would be staffed with 15 “experienced” debt managers from the Budget Division, RBI, middle office and other units and would be under the overall supervision of the Joint Secretary (Budget), Department of Economic Affairs.

Way ahead:

The transition process from PDMC to PDMA would be implemented by a joint implementation committee (JIC). The JIC would in turn be supervised by the monitoring group on cash and debt management that would be co-chaired by Economic Affairs Secretary and RBI Deputy Governor.

Regulation of pension products

The Finance Ministry has set up a high-level committee to consolidate the regulation of pension products that is currently being done by three different watchdogs including the insurance and stock market regulators.

The committee will be formed by the Department of Financial Services, would have representatives from all financial sector regulators — SEBI, IRDA, RBI and PFRDA.



Need for indigenous expertise in cyber security:

India’s cyber security market size is about $4 billion (about Rs 26, 729.5 crore), which is expected to grow nine-fold to $35 billion by 2025. According Nasscom data, there are about 150 cyber security companies in India. However, the security landscape in India still remains considerably untouched by investors.

Besides, in some ways, cyber attacks are 21st century plagues, and to stay secure, we need widespread immunity and awareness. India is not there yet.

Need for consolidation:

Pension product regulation is piecemeal in India. While the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) was set up with the intent of regulating all pension products, insurers and mutual funds continue to sell pension products outside its watch, creating confusion among consumers looking to build a retirement nest egg.

Currently, pension products floated by insurance companies come under the purview of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) while those sold by mutual funds are overseen by the SEBI.

The Centre has asked the committee to look into the issue of bringing all those companies which are offering pension plans under the purview of PFRDA.

PFRDA:

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is a pension regulatory authority which was established in 2003.

It is authorized by Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial Services. It promotes old age income security by establishing, developing and regulating pension funds

and protects the interests of subscribers to schemes of pension funds and related matters. It is also responsible for appointment of various intermediate agencies such as Central Record

Keeping Agency (CRA), Pension Fund Managers, Custodian, NPS Trustee Bank, etc.

India to promote indigenous expertise in cyber security, to fund start-ups

India is building its first platform for homegrown cyber security companies to promote indigenous expertise in the field and help local firms get a larger share of the country’s digital security technology budget.

In this regard, the government and industry have come together to prepare a road map to create a platform for digital and cyber security products and solution companies.

o This includes creating a special fund for cyber security start-ups to groom them to build local solutions to tackle internet security challenges.

Data Security Council of India (DSCI) will collaborate with the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeITY) and the Technology Development Board of the Department of Science and Technology for the platform and funds.



First Medipark in India

Why in News: Giving a push to local production of hi-end medical equipment, the government has given its nod to HLL Lifecare to sub-lease over 300 acres of land in Chennai to set up the country’s first medical devices manufacturing park.

The Medipark project will be the o first manufacturing cluster in the medical technology sector in the country, o envisaged to boost local manufacturing of hi-end products at a significantly lower cost, o resulting in affordable healthcare delivery, o particular in diagnostic services to a large section of people.

The proposed Medipark would contribute to development of medical devices and technology sector and allied disciplines in the country, which is still at a nascent stage besides generating employment and give a boost to the government’s “Make in India” campaign.

The medipark will be developed in phases, spread over seven years for completion and in the first phase, physical infrastructure will be developed while the plots will be leased from the third year onwards.

The project will also reduce the dependence on imports and create a strong base for the growth of indigenous and domestic industry by providing access to state-of-the-art infrastructure and technology.

Cashless economy

Why in News: According to the recently released data pertaining to payment, clearing and settlement systems in 23 major economies by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), moving towards a cashless economy remains a herculean challenge for India.

Performance of India:

India lags far behind both emerging market and developed peers in the move towards a cashless economy.

India ranks the lowest among BRICS countries in terms of per capita non-cash transactions. Non-cash payments transactions in India amounted to only 11 per inhabitant in 2015, much lower than other BRIC economies, with China reporting 17 such transactions per inhabitant in 2014.

Debit cards accounted for the most number of non-cash payment transactions in India in 2015. But, the number of debit card holders in India remains relatively low. In India, one in two people have a debit card, which also typically functions as an automated teller machine (ATM) card.

Number of Point of Sale (PoS) terminals and ATMs in India are low by global standards when adjusted for population.

Also, India lags many of the emerging market peers in terms of mobile money penetration. E-money transactions amounts to only a minuscule 0.05% of all non-cash retail transactions, while accounting for 5.5% of the volume.



What is a cashless economy?

It is a situation in which the flow of cash within an economy is non-existent and all transactions have to be through electronic channels such as direct debit, credit and debit cards, electronic clearing, payment systems such as Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), National Electronic Funds Transfer and Real Time Gross Settlement.

Benefits of a cashless economy:

Usage of cashless mechanisms would ensure that loopholes in public systems get plugged, and the intended beneficiaries are able to avail the benefits due to them. It also leads to increased efficiency in welfare programmes as money is wired directly into the accounts of recipients.

Efficiency gains can also be seen as transaction costs across the economy come down.

Reducing use of cash would also strangulate the grey economy, prevent money laundering and even increase tax compliance, which will ultimately benefit the customers at large.

It also provides an on-ramp to financial inclusion and enables e-commerce growth.

Benefits for individuals:

No need for queues outside ATMs. No cashout during long holidays. No waiting for a deposited cheque to be credited. No risk of carrying currency notes in the wallet.

What perpetuates use of cash in India?

A high propensity to save in and use cash. Cash intensive supply chains require many merchants to transact in cash. A large shadow and remittance based economy is also to be blamed for the situation. Gender imbalance in use of digital payments has further aggravated the problem. This is due

to insufficient focus on financial literacy. Also, costs of point-of-sale terminals and operating costs are still high in India.

What needs to be done now?

Effective implementation of existing initiatives like Jan Dhan Yojana and DBT helps to some extent.

A robust payments mechanism to settle digital transactions should be put in place. Incentives such as a service tax waiver should be given when credit cards or other forms of

digital settlements are used. The Reserve Bank of India too will have to come to terms with a few issues, from figuring out

what digital payments across borders means for its capital controls to how the new modes of payment affect key monetary variables such as the velocity of money.

The regulators also need to keep a sharp eye on any potential restrictive practices that banks may indulge in to maintain their current dominance over the lucrative payments business.



Way ahead:

Greater usage of digital payments will save trillions of rupees for the Indian economy as it will help bring down the cost of cash.

In this regard, India can learn from other countries in the developing world, which have managed to reduce their dependence on cash even while bringing more people in the folds of the formal banking network.

Kenya has been a well-documented success story, where mobile money has spread much faster and deeper than in India. Kenyan households with access to mobile money were able to manage negative economic shocks (like job loss, death of livestock or problems with harvests) better than those without access to mobile money, according to World Bank research.

Conclusion:

While the recent initiatives of the central bank and the government to make cashless transactions easier are laudable, India has a long road to travel in her journey towards a cashless future.

CERC panel suggests overhaul in transmission planning

A committee appointed by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission has suggested an overhaul in transmission planning to facilitate transfer of power on economic principles. The committee was headed by power system expert Mata Prasad.

Important suggestions made by the committee:

Transmission planning should be aligned to meet customer aspirations as opposed to the existing system where transmission is associated with long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs).

According to the committee, transmission planning can be done on the basis of projected load of the states and anticipated generation scenario based on economic principles of merit order operation.

In case of renewable energy sources, the transmission system may be planned by the central transmission utility (CTU) based on estimated capacity additions in perspective plan and renewable purchase obligations of each state.

To promote the power market, the transmission corridor allocation should be suitably made. 5% of each flow gate may be reserved for day-ahead collective transactions, which may be released for the contingency market in case of non-utilisation of the corridor by power exchanges. The percentage of reservation may be reviewed after one year of operation.

The committee has suggested system studies be carried out for various generation and load scenarios during peak and off-peak hours, considering renewable capacity addition and scheduling of various generating stations that don’t have any PPAs.

The committee has emphasised the need for the creation of a central repository of generators in the Central Electricity Authority of India (CEA), where any generation project developer proposing to set up a new generation plant must register itself. This will not only



provide vital data for the transmission planning process but will alleviate problems due to uncoordinated generation additions.

The committee has also made a strong case for hand-holding of states by CEA and CTU for accurate demand forecasting. It is also suggested that states procure software for short-term, medium-term and long-term demand forecasting.

Nobel Prize in Economics

Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmstrom have been awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science for their insights into how best to write contracts, the deals that bind together employers and their workers, or companies and their customers.

Both the awardees have sought to determine how contracts can encourage mutually beneficial behaviour.

Holmstrom’s research

On employment contracts, including between CEOs and shareholders.

Hart’s research

has looked at whether providers of public services, such as schools, hospitals, or prisons, should be publicly or privately owned. The research showed that “incentives for cost reduction are typically too strong”. Privatizing those types of services can lead to a reduction in quality greater than the advantages of cost savings.

Hart and his co-authors were particularly concerned about private prisons. Federal authorities in the United States are in fact ending the use of private prisons, partly because — according to a recently released U.S. Department of Justice report — conditions in privately-run prisons are worse than those in publicly-run prisons.”

Why the 2016 economics Nobel for contract theory ?

What is contract theory all about?

Contract theory is not merely the study of legally binding contracts. Broadly defined, it studies the design of formal and informal agreements that motivate people with conflicting interests to take mutually beneficial actions. Contract theory guides us in structuring arrangements between employers and employees, shareholders and chief executives, and companies and their suppliers.

In essence, contract theory is about giving each party the right incentives or motivations to work effectively together

Contracts are signed mainly for the following reasons: o A contract helps the two sides of the deal work together over a long period of time. o The contract creates rules that allow agents with different interests to cooperate to

achieve some goal. No market economy can work without such cooperation premised on trust but also backed by the law



Significance of MCIA:

At present, most of the global business disputes involving Indians land in the Singapore or the London arbitration centres. The total outflow of funds to resolve such cases, complete with logistics and other related expenditure, works out to around $ 5 billion, sources said. A centre in India can significantly bring down this cost.

What are the main concerns?

1. There are various nuances in our contracts. They could be formal or informal, depending on whether they are enforced by law or social norms. They could be complete or incomplete, which is based on whether they take into account all possibilities that lay in the future.

2. One side of a contract may know more than the other because of information asymmetry, so insurance companies, for example, may end up covering people with health problems rather than the healthy, through what is called adverse selection.

3. There are also agency problems 4. —as when managers who are under contract with shareholders actually try to

maximize their own earnings rather than those of their shareholders

Significance of contract theory:

Contract theory helps us understand these problems. And helps us solve them through better contract design.

Hart and Holmstrom have developed elegant and powerful methods that are taught to all students in economics. Their work forms the fundamental building blocks of many areas beyond economics, such as finance, law, public policy and management.

They have studied two potential issues: informational problems and incomplete contracts. By studying these two issues, Hart and Holmstrom developed what has become modern contract theory.

India’s first international arbitration centre

Why in news: The Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA), India’s first international arbitration centre, was recently inaugurated in Mumbai.

This is being seen as a major step towards making Mumbai an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) and providing an arbitration platform for Indian business houses to negotiate commercial disputes.

Key facts:

The MCIA will be an independent, not-for-profit organisation governed by a council comprising eminent national and international legal luminaries.

It can resolve disputes between different companies or individual.

It will have a 12-month timeline to complete arbitration seated in India and a prescribed fee structure as per the size of the disputed contract amount, which will enable both parties to know the cost of arbitral proceedings before they approach MCIA.



Centre accepts pay panel recommendation on promotion

The Union government has accepted the recommendation of the 7th Pay Commission on Modified

Assured Career Progression (MACP) for Central employees.

Highlights

There shall be three financial upgradations under the assured promotion scheme counted

from the direct entry grade on completion of 10, 20 and 30 years services respectively or 10

years of continuous service in the same level in Pay Matrix, whichever is earlier. This would

ensure one minimum promotion for every 10 years till 30 years of service.

MACP envisages mere placement in the immediate next higher level in the Pay Matrix. Thus

in certain cases where regular promotion is not between two successive levels in the Pay

Matrix, it will be different than what is available at the time of regular promotion. In such

cases, the higher level in the Pay Matrix attached to the next promotion post in the

hierarchy of the concerned cadre/organisation will be given only at the time of regular

promotion.

The Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme was originally introduced in 2008

following the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission.

DBT in kerosene

Jharkhand has become the first state in the country to implement Direct Benefit Transfer

(DBT) in Kerosene in four identified districts namely, Chatra, Hazaribagh, Khunti and Jantara

from 1st October, 2016.

Under the DBTK Scheme, PDS kerosene is being sold at non-subsidised price, and, subsidy,

as admissible, is being transferred to consumers directly into their bank accounts.

This initiative of the governments is aimed at rationalising subsidy, based on the approach

to cut subsidy leakages but not subsidy per se.



MGNREGA

Why in News: The MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act)

scheme has successfully completed 10 years. Considered one of the biggest social welfare

programmes in the world, this programme aims at generating 100 days of work in rural areas. In

the last 10 years, the programme has lifted lakhs of people out of poverty, though many lacunas

still exist in it.

Background:

It was in February 2006, that Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

(MGNREGA) was for the first time notified on an experimental basis in 200 odd districts

across the country. The event marked a watershed in the right-based entitlement

framework of the country and for the first time provided a legal guarantee for wage

employment.

The Act, guaranteed a minimum 100 days of employment out of the 365 days in a year to

every willing household, within 15 days of making such a requisition. This is the only law

in the country that is not budget constrained and is not supply driven.

MIS:

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is not only a

pioneering livelihood security programme but also a great example of proactive disclosure

of information through its Management Information System (MIS).

It is the first transaction-based real-time system for any public works programme in the

country that is available in the public domain.

There has been a digitisation of all the processes in MGNREGA — right from a worker

registering demand for work, to work allotment, to finally getting wages for completed

works.

Another notable feature of the MIS is the availability of information through online reports

at various levels of disaggregation. This has enabled any citizen to monitor the

implementation of the programme and has consequently charted a new paradigm of

transparency since the enactment of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Individual worker details from around 2.5 lakh gram panchayats are available in the

MGNREGA MIS.

Some of the objectives of MIS are as follows:

Bring transparency to the entire system.

Make various registers, muster rolls, documents available to public.

Provide single window interface for all stakeholders of NREGA.

Maintain records of 100 days of employment to a family.



Maintain accounts and generate all registers/documents to be kept at Gram Panchayat in

the format specified in guidelines.

Track transfer of funds to various implementing agencies.

Decide when and how much funds to replenish in which account.

Highlight the irregularities, send alerts to various stakeholders.

However, the sheer scale of information available on implementation is no mean achievement.

While this system is certainly a great feather in the cap of a transparent democracy, there are

few shortcomings:

Firstly, the MIS is accessible only from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Indian Standard Time. This is a huge

impediment for collaborative work across time zones.

Second, it does not provide any data dictionary. A data dictionary is a repository of all the

names of variables/columns used in various reports, containing a brief explanation of its

meanings. Such a dictionary is crucial so that any citizen accessing the online reports can

understand the content in them.

Third, the nomenclature of the column names in the online reports is not consistent. The

same column name is labelled differently in different reports. For instance, what is referred

to as the Payment Date in the report of weekly works (‘Mustroll Report’) is known as the

Second Signatory Date in a report titled ‘FTO Second Signatory’. Payment Date is also a

misnomer as it does not refer to the date on which a worker gets paid.

Fourth, some obvious worker-centric links in the data structure are missing. For example,

every household that does MGNREGA work has a unique job card number. This number is

crucial to get work. Upon completion of a work week, a Funds Transfer Order (FTO) is

generated containing the details of each job card holder’s earned wages. On the MIS, there

is no clear link between these two crucial pieces. As such it becomes difficult to follow the

trail of each job card holder from the time of work demanded to getting the wages.

What is to be done?

Record maintenance at the Gram Panchayat level requires to be streamlined. This should be

monitored closely at all levels and funds should be linked to proper maintenance of records.

Original data fed into the system should be checked before updating the MIS.

There is a need to put in place stricter controls for data modification after authentication

and closure of data entry.

The staff deployed to feed the data should be properly trained and they should be held

accountable in case of data fudging. Operational Guidelines are required to be followed.

Lessons can be emulated from Andhra Pradesh’s e-Muster, e-Measurement, e-Muster

verification and e-check Measurement.

A governance framework for the MIS needs to be put in place that lays out the minimum

standards and accountability of the Ministry managing the system. Such a framework must

be built in consultation with all concerned parties and should follow the provisions of the

law (both MGNREGA and RTI).



The system design choices should reflect the values of the worker-centric programme and

hence principles need to be followed for compassionate design.

Conclusion:

The rampant discrepancies noted naturally raise questions as to the way forward regarding

accurate data reporting with respect to social welfare schemes such as the MGNREGS. On one

hand, technology is not a silver bullet for effective implementation and monitoring of MGNREGS.

But on the other hand rejecting the MIS outright would be like throwing out the baby with the

bathwater. The system should have proper checks and balances. While the automated calculation

is a progressive measure, its basis must be correct and transparent. The MIS is a powerful

mechanism to have an evidence-based discourse for monitoring basic services.

Indian Bridge Management System

IBMS is being developed to create an inventory of all bridges in the country and rate their

structural condition so that timely repair and rehabilitation work can be carried out based

on the criticality of the structure.

IBMS is the largest platform in the world owned by a single owner, with database that could

exceed 1,50,000 bridge structures. So far 1,15,000 bridges have been inventorized, of which

85,000 are culverts and the rest are bridges.

During inventory creation each bridge is assigned a unique identification number or

National Identity Number based on the state, RTO zone and whether it is situated on an

National Highway, State Highway or is a district road.

Then the precise location of the bridge in terms of latitude-longitude is collected through

GPS and based on this, the bridge is assigned a Bridge Location Number.

Thereafter, engineering characteristics like the design, materials, type of bridge, its age,

loading, traffic lane, length, width of carriage way etc are collected and are used to assign a

Bridge Classification Number to the structure.

These are then used to do a structural rating of the structure on a scale of 0 to 9, and each

bridge is assigned a Structural Rating Number. The rating is done for each component of the

structure like integral and non integral deck, superstructure, substructure, bank and

channel, structural evaluation, deck geometry, vertical clearance, waterway efficiency etc.

In addition to the structural rating, the bridges are also being assigned Socio-Economic

Bridge Rating Number which will decide the importance of the structure in relation to its

contribution to daily socio-economic activity of the area in its vicinity

Significance

Lack of any data base on bridges in the country has led to a situation where there is no clear

idea about the exact number and location of bridges. Hence, it has become difficult to

maintain bridges in proper working condition. Poor condition of bridges hampers efficient

transport and has also led to accidents and loss of lives on several occasions.



Based on this inventory IBMS will analyse data and identify bridges that need attention.

Further inspection will be carried out wherever required to improve the operational

availability of the structure, enhance its life and prioritize repair and rehabilitation work.

The data will help to decide which bridge needs critical attention, or which needs to be

rebuilt.

Payments banks – success?

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in 2015, gave its approval in principle for 11 entities to set up payments banks. For this, RBI selected entities with experience in different sectors and with different capabilities so that different models could be tried. This move had generated much excitement across the country.

However, of the 11 licence holders, only eight remain in the fray now. Profitability concerns, coupled with the limited scope of business activity, are proving to be the biggest deterrent. Those who have backed out have cited competitive pressure on the margins as the main reason.

Why licence holders are bailing out?

Payments banks are not allowed to lend. This will limit their earning potential.

Profits will be a challenge as margins are very thin.

As income channels are limited, payments banks will be under pressure to generate volume.

Competition has intensified in the digital money transfer space with banks joining the race.

Government initiatives aimed at the unbanked population have considerably reduced the scope of doing business for payments banks.

Payments bank have to primarily survive on fee-income since 75% of their deposits have to be mandatorily invested in government bonds with maturity up to a year.

What are payment banks? Payment banks are non-full service banks, whose main objective is to accelerate financial inclusion Scope of activities of Payment Banks

Payments banks will mainly deal in remittance services and accept deposits of up to Rs 1 lakh.

They will not lend to customers and will have to deploy their funds in government papers and bank deposits

They can accept demand deposits.

They can issue ATM/debit cards but not credit cards.

Distribution of non-risk sharing simple financial products like mutual fund units and insurance products, etc. is allowed

Mandatory requirements

Capital requirement: The minimum paid-up equity capital for payments banks is Rs. 100 crore.

Leverage ratio: The payments bank should have a leverage ratio of not less than 3%, i.e., its outside liabilities should not exceed 33.33 times its net worth (paid-up capital and reserves).

Promoter’s contribution: The promoter’s minimum initial contribution to the paid-up equity capital of such payments bank shall at least be 40% for the first five years from the commencement of its business.

Foreign shareholding: The foreign shareholding in the payments bank would be as per the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy for private sector banks as amended from time to time.

SLR: Apart from amounts maintained as Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) with the Reserve Bank on its outside demand and time liabilities, it will be required to invest minimum 75% of its “demand deposit balances” in Statutory Liquidity Ratio(SLR) eligible Government securities/treasury bills with maturity up to one year and hold maximum 25% in current and time/fixed deposits with other scheduled commercial banks for operational purposes and liquidity management.

.



Also, payments banks can only accept deposits up to Rs 1 lakh. To get deposits, competing with regular banks which offer up to 7% return on their savings deposits, payments banks will have to offer aggressive rates. However, a majority of the amount in government bonds for a maximum 7.45% -8%, would mean no real business.

The cost to set up and run operations far outweighs the benefits.

Other challenges before these banks:

The success of these new entities will depend to a great extent on their ability to go beyond serving the well-banked smartphone-carrying consumers, who have been the focus of digital payments in India so far.

Payments banks will need to creatively reach the low-income and financially underserved—the so-called base of pyramid (BOP) consumers. However, developing a model that is both effective in reaching the BOP consumer and commercially profitable, is far from easy. It will require a paradigm shift.

Income at the BOP tends to be more irregular and unpredictable, often cobbled together from various sources. Besides, savings are limited, often taking the form of small amounts saved daily that need to be banked quickly to prevent them from being spent.

Formal credit histories are also virtually non-existent. There is heavy reliance on informal networks like friends and family for financing big-ticket needs. Leveraging technology to reduce cost-to-serve will of course be important, but much more will be needed.

Why the need for high CAR?

The measure is meant to protect depositors in case a bank goes bust and maintain stability in the financial system. (CAR gives banks a cushion to absorb a reasonable amount of losses if too many loans go bad.) It also discourages banks from making excessively risky loans and investments.

The regulator is more concerned about the operational risks that such banks will face than the credit risks.

Payments banks are expected to provide small savings accounts and payments/remittance services to migrant labourers, low-income households, small businesses and other unorganized sector entities, and expand financial inclusion in Asia’s third largest economy.

Since nothing prevents regular commercial banks from offering such services, the payments banks will have to spend tons of money to create the right infrastructure to be in the business. The RBI is apprehensive that the payments banks will end up burning too much capital in building their franchises.

Also, more than the protection of the depositors, the regulator is concerned about the future of the payments banks themselves.

Measures needed

Payment banks will have to deepen their understanding of the unique needs of base of pyramid (BOP) consumers and develop products and customer experiences tailored to these needs.



Payment Banks will need to develop new products that are better suited to the financial lives of BOP consumers, for example, daily micro-saving products and micro-loans that rely on non-traditional data.

They will need to develop partnerships with other financial institutions to meet the full scope of customer needs. They will need to embed within their organization the ethos of providing a respectful and positive customer experience to BOP customers to earn their trust and loyalty.

Technology is, of course, going to be key to keeping costs low. The use of Aadhaar-linked authentication, know-your-customer and e-sign and the proliferation of mobile/online payment systems hold special promise for reducing the cost of delivery.

Since Smartphone penetration is low and digital literacy is a major challenge among the BOP, payments banks will need to rely on physical agent networks, at least in the foreseeable future, to serve this segment.

Currently, banks largely rely on Business Correspondents (BCs) who are dedicated to the financial services business. To achieve scale and keep costs manageable, players will need to harness the potential of varied agent models—ranging from dedicated ‘wealth advisors’ at one end of the spectrum to ‘lite’ BC agents who just focus on a few simple transactions while doing core businesses at the other.

Players will also need to harness the potential of the neighbourhood store, by making it worth their while to accept digital payments. They will need to rely heavily on small-ticket transactions for revenues, given limitations to their net interest income.

Conclusion:

Over the last few years, large banks, including private lenders, have significantly expanded their networks in rural areas. This means that these markets are no longer wide open for new business with limited competition. Banks are offering most services that payments banks can and hence, for payments banks to offer a new and differentiated proposition will not be easy. Hence, payment banks will have to learn as they go along and adapt themselves to the eco-system inhabited by the small-income groups and small enterprises.



Central assistance for 99 prioritized irrigation projects under AIBP

The government has released the first installment of Rs. 1500 crore to the states as central assistance for 99 prioritized irrigation projects under Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Program (AIBP).

This amount has been released for 50 projects in the states of Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan and Telangana

Total funds required for completion of all the 99 identified projects have been estimated at Rs.77595 crore. These projects will cover all most all drought prone districts of 18 States of country and will also go a long way to contain the incident of suicide by farmers.

AIBP:

Central Government launched the AIBP in the year 1996-97 to provide Central Assistance to major/medium irrigation projects in the country, with the objective to accelerate implementation of such projects which were beyond resource capability of the States or were in advanced stage of completion.

Priority was given to those projects which were started in Pre-Fifth and Fifth Plan period and also to those which were benefiting Tribal and Drought Prone Areas. From the year 1999-2000 onwards, Central Loan Assistance under AIBP was also extended to minor surface irrigation projects (SMI) of special category States.

Later, during 2015-16, PMKSY was conceived amalgamating ongoing schemes viz. Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) of the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (MoWR,RD&GR), Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) of Department of Land Resources (DoLR) and the On Farm Water Management (OFWM) of Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC).

The scheme will be implemented by Ministries of Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Development.

The major objective of PMKSY is to achieve convergence of investments in irrigation at the field level, expand cultivable area under assured irrigation, improve on-farm water use efficiency to reduce wastage of water and enhance the adoption of precision-irrigation and other water saving technologies (More crop per drop).



Regional Connectivity Scheme “UDAN” Launched

The Centre has unveiled a regional connectivity scheme, know n as UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik), with flights priced at Rs.2,500 for one hour of flying time to and from regional airports.

A “first of its kind” in the world, UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) will be based on market mechanism as well as bidding for a minimum of 50% seats in the participating airline’s flight and the rest would be market-based pricing.

The scheme UDAN envisages providing connectivity to un-served and under-served airports of the country through revival of existing air-strips and airports. The scheme would be in operation for a period of 10 years.

Key features of the scheme:

The UDAN scheme will be applicable on flights which cover between 200 km and 800 km with no lower limit set for hilly, remote, islands and regions which are security sensitive.

Under the UDAN scheme, the flights are bound to connect at least one RCS airport (underserved and unserved airports).

The RCS caps fares and also offers a ceiling for the VGF available for each route. Which means the airlines cannot charge beyond the caps specified from passengers.

For the shortest route under the scheme fare has been capped at Rs 1,420. For longest route, fare has been capped ar Rs 3,500.

The Centre has also decided to provide concessions such as 2% excise on Value Added Tax (VAT) and service tax at 1/10th.

State government are bound to provide free security and fire service, utilities at concessional rates and reduce VAT on ATF to 1%.

There will be no landing charges, parking charges and Terminal Navigation Landing Charges will be imposed for RCS flights.

How does it works?

UDAN has a unique market-based model to develop regional connectivity. Interested airline and helicopter operators can start operations on hitherto un-connected

routes by submitting proposals to the Implementing Agency. The operators could seek a Viability Gap Funding (VGF) apart from getting various

concessions. All such route proposals would then be offered for competitive bidding through a reverse

bidding mechanism and the route would be awarded to the participant quoting the lowest VGF per Seat.

The operator submitting the original proposal would have the Right of First Refusal on matching the lowest bid in case his original bid is within 10% of the lowest bid.

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This would be achieved through

(1) a financial stimulus in the form of concessions from Central and State governments and airport operators

(2) a Viability Gap Funding to the interested airlines to kick-off operations from such airports so that the passenger fares are kept affordable.

Central Government would provide concessions in the form of reduced excise duty, service tax, permission to trade ASKMs for Non-RCS (UDAN) Seats and flexibility of code sharing at the RCS (UDAN) airports.

State governments will have to lower the VAT on ATF to 1% or less, besides providing security and fire services free of cost and electricity, water and other utilities at substantially concessional rates.

Airport operators shall not impose Landing and Parking charge and Terminal Navigation Landing Charges in addition to discounts on Route Navigation Facility Charges.

A Regional Connectivity Fund would be created to meet the viability gap funding requirements under the scheme.

The successful bidder would then have exclusive rights to operate the route for a period of three years. Such support would be withdrawn after a three year period, as by that time, the route is expected to become self-sustainable.

The selected airline operator would have to provide a minimum of 9 and a maximum of 40 UDAN Seats ( subsidized rates) on the UDAN Flights for operations through fixed wing aircraft and a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 13 Seats on the Flights for operations through helicopters.

On each such route, the minimum frequency would be three and maximum of seven departures per week. Route networks would also be encouraged under the scheme to achieve economies of scale and optimal usage of aircraft.

The fare for a one hour journey of appx. 500 km on a fixed wing aircraft or for a 30 minute journey on a helicopter would now be capped at Rs. 2,500, with proportionate pricing for routes of different stage lengths / flight duration.

The RCF levy per departure will be applied to certain domestic flights.

The partner State Governments (other than North Eastern States and Union Territories where contribution will be 10 %) would contribute a 20% share to this fund.

For balanced regional growth, the allocations under the scheme would be equitably spread across the five geographical regions of the country viz. North, West, South, East and North-east.

The States have a key role under the scheme. The selection of airports where UDAN operations would start would be done in consultation with State Government and after confirmation of their concessions.

Advantage:

It may be recalled that revival of dysfunctional airports and starting operations on un-served airports has been a long standing demand of most States and this will be addressed through UDAN to a large extent.

The UDAN is likely to a give a major fillip to tourism and employment generation in the hinterland. Through introduction of helicopters and small aircraft, it is also likely to significantly reduce travel

timings in remote and hilly regions, as well as islands and other areas of the country.



ZED scheme

Why in news: Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently launched the Zero Defect, Zero Effect (ZED) scheme for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The ZED model will sensitise MSMEs to emphasise delivery of high quality products with zero defects.

It aims to rate and handhold all MSMEs to deliver top-quality products using clean technology

The aim is to help MSMEs evolve and grow by providing them adequate training and funding to move up the value chain and produce quality products.

The ZED Maturity Assessment Model has been conceived and structured to o offer graded benchmark levels of an organisation’s performance o through a set of standard enabler and outcome parameters o focusing on quality and environmental performances.

There will be sector-specific assessment parameters for each industry such as food processing, textiles, leather, auto parts, etc.

SC/ST hub

The National SC/ST Hub, which provides support to entrepreneurs from the community, was recently launched by the PM.

Key facts:

It will have an initial outlay of Rs 490 crore.

The hub will work towards strengthening market access/linkage, monitoring, capacity building, leveraging financial support schemes and sharing industry-best practices.

It will also enable central public sector enterprises to fulfill the procurement target set by the government.



Urja Ganga

Why in News: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched several development schemes in Varanasi at the total cost of Rs 5000 crore.

PM Modi launched “Urja Ganga”, an ambitious gas pipeline project which will provide piped cooking fuel to residents of Varanasi.

This ambitious project spreads over Odisha,Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

Prime Minister Modi also dedicated 765/400 KV GIS Varanasi Power Sub-station, laid foundation stone of Varanasi City Gas Distribution Project; inaugurated Varanasi Postal Region, Expansion Project of Diesel Locomotive Works (Phase 1); laid foundation stone for second line and electrification of Allahabad-Varanasi Rail Line , and set up of Perishable Cargo Centre at Rajatalab Railway Station.

The Prime Minister felicitated select beneficiaries of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, and handed over LPG connections to select Ujjwala beneficiaries. He also released a commemorative postage stamp on Varanasi City.

About Urja Project

The gas pipeline project aims to provide piped cooking gas to residents of Varanasi within two years and, in another year after that, cater to millions of people in states like Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.

From Varanasi’s perspective, an 800-km long MDPI pipeline will be laid and 50,000 households and 20,000 vehicles will get PNG and CNG gas respectively.

The government estimates that around 5 lakh gas cylinders will be sent at rural areas annually.

According to GAIL, with the Urja Ganga project, 20 lakh households will get PNG connections.

The project is said to be a major step towards collective growth and development of the Eastern region of India.

GAIL has built a network of trunk pipelines covering the length of around 11,000 km. With Urja Ganga project, this number will further increase by 2540 km. Work on the 2540-

km long Jagdishpur-Haldia and Bokaro-Dhamra Natural Gas pipeline project will begin and will be completed between 2018 and 2020.

The government has combined the development of gas pipeline across the Eastern region with CDG development of cities falling within this network. Seven East India cities; Varanasi, Patna, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack will be the major beneficiary of this network development.

The LNG terminal at Dhamra will provide clean fuel to the Industrial Development of the Eastern states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.

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25 industrial clusters in these 5 states will be developed using gas from this pipeline. The government is estimated to invest Rs 12,490 crore for the development of 2540 km long natural gas pipeline project in Eastern India region.

Five regions including 40 districts and 2600 villages will benefit from this project.



Named after Tihayu island (presently known as Katchal island) in the Nicobar group


Aircraft with Indian airborne warning system set for induction

The DRDO has fitted its own airborne early warning and control system (AEW & CS) on a

modified Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft imported from Brazil.

With this, the first of the two small surveillance aircraft carrying the first Indian airborne

early warning system is slated to be inducted into the Air Force in about two months.

Airborne early warning and control system (AEW & CS):

It is developed by DRDO in collaboration with CAB (Cantre for Airborne Systems) that

provides an airborne surveillance system.

The AEW&C system is developed to serve the Indian Air Force

o in detection and tracking,

o identification and classification of threats,

o guidance and interception control,

o display of air situation picture and

o multisensor data integration.

The system enables the armed forces to communicate with fighter jets and other AEW&C

assets, while it also allows for Search and Rescue (SAR) operations, mission planning as well

as record and replay for post mission analysis.

INS Tihayu

The Indian Navy has commissioned the highly manoeuvrable fast attack craft INS Tihayu at the Eastern Naval Command.

INS Tihayu is the second ship of the four follow-on Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (FO-WJFAC), being built by M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE).

Conceived, designed and built indigenously, the commissioning of this ship completes the addition of another chapter to the nation’s ‘Make in India’ initiative and indigenisation efforts in the field of warship design and construction.

Specifications- o The 320-tonne INS Tihayu, measuring 49 meters can achieve speeds in excess of 35

knots. o The ship is capable of operating in shallow waters at high speeds and is equipped

with enhanced fire power. o The warship is fitted with advanced MTU engines, water jet propulsion and the

latest communication equipment

Built for extended coastal and offshore surveillance and patrol.



India to push for funds at climate talks

At the upcoming climate talks in Morocco in November, India is planning to stress most on

trying to operationalise the $100 billion corpus — called the Green Climate Fund —

committed by developed countries. Only a fraction of it has been pledged so far.

India would push for developed countries to make good on their prior commitments on

finance and technology. So far, India has received only $2 million of the $10 million

committed this year.

India is stressing on the issue as these funds will help nations work on fulfilling their

Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) which aim to reduce carbon

emissions through a host of solutions. As part of its INDC plans, India had promised to bring

down its emissions intensity, or emissions per unit of the GDP, by at least 33% by the year

2030 as compared to 2005 levels.

Green Climate Fund (GCF):

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a fund within the framework of the UNFCCC founded as a

mechanism to redistribute money from the developed to the developing world, in order to

assist the developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate

change.

How it helps?

The Green Climate Fund will support projects, programmes, policies and other activities in

developing country Parties using thematic funding windows.

It is intended to be the centrepiece of efforts to raise Climate Finance of $100 billion a year

by 2020.

The Fund will promote the paradigm shift towards low-emission and climate-resilient

development pathways by providing support to developing countries to limit or reduce

their greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the impacts of climate change, taking into

account the needs of those developing countries particularly vulnerable to the adverse

effects of climate change.

The Fund will strive to maximize the impact of its funding for adaptation and mitigation, and

seek a balance between the two, while promoting environmental, social, economic and

development co-benefits and taking a gender-sensitive approach.

Who will govern the Fund?

The Fund is governed and supervised by a Board that will have full responsibility for funding

decisions and that receives the guidance of the COP.

The Fund is accountable to, and functions under the guidance of, the COP.



Paris agreement

India has ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change on the 147th birth anniversary of

Mahatma Gandhi.

India became 62nd country to ratify the agreement.

The Paris Agreement on climate change will enter into force one month after 55 countries

that account for 55% of global GHG emissions ratify the agreement

Delhi tops most polluted megacity list

According to WHO, Delhi’s air is the worst among world megacities.

Key facts:

The data show that fine-particulate-matter (PM2.5) levels were almost four times above

daily safe levels, on average, for the seven-day period from September 22 to 28, 2016. For

long-term exposure, these 24-hour levels are nearly 11 times above the WHO health

standards.

Over the monsoons, Delhi’s air was relatively cleaner because the rain and wind diminished

the impact of pollutants. But with the season changing, air-quality also diminished, meaning

prolonged exposure affects healthy people and “seriously impacts” those with existing

disease.

Fine-particulate-matter

Delhi recorded a PM10 level of 229 µg/m³, followed by Cairo with 179 µg/m³ and Dhaka

with 158 µg/m³ – the top three megacities with the most polluted air globally. Beijing and

Shanghai were sixth and seventh on that list.

Delhi was the only megacity to record a PM10 level above 200 µg/m³, exceeding the WHO

air quality standard of 20 µg/m³ by more than 900%. Beijing and Shanghai reported ambient

air pollution levels of 108 and 84 µg/m³ respectively.

Within India, the smaller cities of Gwalior and Allahabad measured the worst levels of

ambient air pollution at PM2.5 levels of 176 µg/m³ and 170 µg/m³ respectively. A significant

portion of northern India falls in a zone with “critical” air pollution-reporting PM2.5 levels of

over 70 µg/m³ in the WHO’s mapping of air pollution and population.

What’s the concern?

In 2012, with one million deaths, China reported the highest toll from PM2.5 and PM10

pollution. At the time, India followed, reporting 621,138 deaths, nearly 10% of the global

toll (6.5 million deaths) associated with outdoor and indoor air pollution.

However, between 2011 and 2015, in a comparison of megacities with population above 14

million, Delhi’s ambient air-pollution levels were worse than Beijing and Shanghai.



WHO guidelines:

The WHO guideline for annual mean levels for PM10 is 20 µg/m³ and for PM2.5 is 10 µg/m³.

For 24 hours, the levels should not exceed 50 µg/m³ (for PM10) and 25 µg/m³ (for PM2.5).

Why exposure to PM 10 is not good?

It is because most air-pollution deaths are caused by fine, invisible particles, called PM2.5,

about 30 times finer than a human hair. These pollutants, if inhaled deep into the lungs, can

cause heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer and respiratory diseases, and are known to pose

the greatest risk to human beings. PM10, or coarse particulate matter with diameter

between 2.5 and 10 micrometers, are primarily made up of dirt and dust from farming,

factories and roads, and caused due to the crushing of rocks and soil.

Green train corridors

The Indian Railways has declared the Okha-Kanalus (141 Kms) and Porbandar-Wansjaliya (34 Kms) sections of Gujarat in Western Railway as the Green Train Corridors.

Green train corridors

Green Train Corridors are sections of the railways which will be free of human waste on the tracks.

This is being achieved by the installation of bio-toilets in all coaches of Indian Railways.

Railways have taken up a mammoth task of providing human discharge free bio-toilets in all its coaches to make the entire railway track a green corridor by 2020. Railways have already provided around 48,000 bio-toilets in about 14,000 passenger coaches.

The 114-km stretch in Tamil Nadu between Rameswaram and Manamadurai had been identified as a Human Waste Discharge Free Train Corridor and was formally inaugurated as the first green corridor in July this year. Accordingly, ten passenger trains consisting of 286 coaches moving over this section have been provided with bio-toilets.

SC stays commercial release of GM mustard till Oct 17

The Supreme Court has stayed the commercial release of the Genetically Modified (GM)

mustard crop for 10 days and has asked the Centre to take public opinion on such seeds

before releasing them for cultivation.

Background:

Mustard is one of India’s most important winter crops which is sown between mid-October

and late November.

The court is hearing a plea filed seeking a stay on the commercial release of GM Mustard

crop and prohibition of its open field trials.



The plea sought to prohibit open field trials and commercial release of Herbicide Tolerant

(HT) crops, including HT Mustard DMH 11 and its parent variants.

The GM mustard in question—DMH-11—has been developed by the Centre for Genetic

Manipulation of Crop Plants of Delhi University. If it gets the green light from the

environment ministry’s GEAC, it will be the first GM food crop to be commercially

cultivated in India.

Right now, only GM cotton is allowed. GEAC is the environment ministry’s regulator for

GMOs and transgenic products.

India to host first AMCDRR after Sendai Framework

The Government of India is hosting the Asian Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) next month in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). The hosting of the Conference re-affirms India’s commitment to the cause of Disaster Risk Reduction.

Key facts:

This is the first AMCDRR after the advent of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRRR), adopted at the third UN World Conference in Sendai, Japan in March, 2015. It will set the direction of Sendai Framework implementation in the region.

AMCDRR 2016 will focus on collaboration, consultation and partnership with governments and stakeholders to mainstream DRR in the region’s development narrative.

The Conference will adopt the ‘Asian Regional Plan for Implementation of the Sendai Framework’ endorsed by the Asian countries.

It will also consolidate the political commitment of governments towards preventing and reducing risk as well as strengthening resilience in the form of a political declaration.

Voluntary statements of action of stakeholder groups towards a ‘shared responsibility’ approach in implementation of the SFDRR would also be adopted.

About Sendai Framework:

The “Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030” was adopted during the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai, Japan in March, 2015.

It is the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda, with seven targets and four priorities for action.

It was endorsed by the UN General Assembly following the 2015 Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR).

The Framework is for 15-year. It is a voluntary and non-binding agreement which recognizes that the State has the primary role to reduce disaster risk but that responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders including local government, the private sector and other stakeholders.



The new Framework is the successor instrument to the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters.

The implementation of the Sendai Framework involves adopting integrated and inclusive institutional measures so as to work towards preventing vulnerability to disaster, increase preparedness for response and recovery and strengthen resilience.

The Seven Global Targets:

Substantially reduce global disaster mortality by 2030, aiming to lower average per 100,000 global mortality rate in the decade 2020-2030 compared to the period 2005-2015.

Substantially reduce the number of affected people globally by 2030, aiming to lower average global figure per 100,000 in the decade 2020 -2030 compared to the period 2005-2015.

Reduce direct disaster economic loss in relation to global gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030.

Substantially reduce disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services, among them health and educational facilities, including through developing their resilience by 2030.

Substantially increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020.

Substantially enhance international cooperation to developing countries through adequate and sustainable support to complement their national actions for implementation of this Framework by 2030.

Substantially increase the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information and assessments to the people by 2030.

The Four Priorities for Action under the Framework:

Understanding disaster risk. Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk. Investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience. Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to “Build Back Better” in

recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.



GSAT-18 communication satellite

Why in news: Marking another success for the space agency, ISRO’s latest communication satellite GSAT-18 has successfully been launched from Arianespace’s European launcher Ariane-5 VA-231 in French Guiana.

Key facts:

GSAT-18 is the 20th satellite from ISRO to be launched by the European space agency and this mission was the 280th for Arianespace launcher family.

The main aim of GSAT-18 is to provide telecommunications services. It would strengthen ISRO’s present fleet of 14 operational telecom satellites.

GSAT-18’s mission life is around 15 years, and carries Ku-band beacon to help in accurately pointing ground antennas towards the satellite.

Television, telecommunication, VSAT and digital satellite news gathering are a few of the services that GSAT 18 will support in coming days.

The satellite carries 48 communication transponders in C-band, upper extended C-band and Ku-band for providing various services to the country.

The GSAT-18 has been placed in a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). In the coming days, ISRO will perform the orbit raising manoeuvres to place the GSAT-18 in the Geostationary Orbit (36,000 km above the equator).

Ethanol blending

Why in News: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the mechanism for revision of ethanol price for supply to Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to carry out the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme.

The new mechanism is as follows:

For the next sugar season 2016-17 during ethanol supply period from 1st December, 2016 to 30th November, 2017, the administered price of ethanol for the EBP Programme will be Rs.39/- per litre.

Additionally, charges will be paid to the ethanol suppliers as per actuals in case of Excise Duty and VAT/GST and transportation charges as decided by OMCs.

If the need arises to increase/reduce the retail selling price of Petrol by Public Sector OMCs, then such increase/reduction would proportionately factor in the requirement of maintaining the fixed cost of purchase of ethanol during the ethanol supply year.

The prices of ethanol will be reviewed and suitably revised by Government at any time during the ethanol supply period that is from 1st December, 2016 to 30th November, 2017 depending upon the prevailing economic situation and other relevant factors.

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Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme

Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme was launched by the Government in 2003 which has been extended to the Notified 21 States and 4 Union Territories to promote the use of alternative and environment friendly fuels. This intervention also sought to reduce import dependency for energy requirements.

However, since 2006, OMCs were not able to receive offers for the required quantity of ethanol against the tenders floated by them due to various constraints like State Specific issues, Supplier related issues including Pricing issues of ethanol.

In order to augment the supply of ethanol, a need was felt to put in place a new mechanism for pricing of ethanol. Accordingly, the Government in December, 2014 decided that the delivered price of ethanol at OMC depots would be fixed in the range of Rs. 48.50 per litre to 49.50 per litre including Central/State Government taxes and transportation charges.

The decision has helped in significantly improving the supply of ethanol. Ethanol supplies increased to 67.4 crore litres in 2014-15 and the projected supplies for ethanol supply year 2015-16 are around 120 crore litres.

Mining Surveillance System

Why in news: The government has launched the Mining Surveillance System (MSS). It uses space technology for curbing illegal mining activity in the country.

MSS is a o satellite-based monitoring system o which aims to establish a regime of responsive mineral administration, o through public participation, o by curbing instances of illegal mining activity through automatic remote sensing

detection technology.

Ministry of Mines, through Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), has developed the MSS, in coordination with Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG), Gandhinagar and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY).

Significance of MSS:

Developed under the Digital India Programme, MSS is one of the first such surveillance systems developed in the world using space technology. The current system of monitoring of illegal mining activity is based on local complaints and unconfirmed information. There is no robust mechanism to monitor the action taken on such complaints.

In the MSS the maps of the mining leases have been geo-referenced. The geo-referenced mining leases are superimposed on the latest satellite remote sensing scenes obtained from CARTOSAT & USGS.

The system checks a region of 500 meters around the existing mining lease boundary to search for any unusual activity which is likely to be illegal mining. Any discrepancy if found is flagged-off as a trigger.



Automatic software leveraging image processing technology will generate automatic triggers of unauthorized activities. These triggers will be studied at a Remote Sensing Control Centre of IBM and then transmitted to the district level mining officials for field verification. A check for illegality in operation in conducted and reported back using a mobile app.

A user-friendly mobile app has been created which can be used by these officials to submit compliance reports of their inspections. The mobile app also aims to establish a participative monitoring system where the citizens also can use this app and report unusual mining activity.

Kigali agreement

Why in news: After seven years of negotiations, 197 countries have finally reached a historic agreement in Kigali, Rwanda, to amend the Montreal Protocol and phase down hydrofluorocarbons. The Kigali Amendment is one that could avoid global warming by up to 0.5° C

Key facts on Kigali agreement:

The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol o is legally binding and o will come into force from 1 January 2019. o Under Kigali Amendment, in all 197 countries,

including India have agreed to a timeline to reduce the use of HFCs by roughly 85% of their baselines by 2045.

All signatory countries have been divided into three groups with different timelines to go about reductions of HFCs. These include:

o Wealthy, developed countries, such as the United States and the European Union, will start to limit their use of HFCs within a few years and make a cut of at least 10% from 2019.

o Rapidly developing countries, including many in Latin America, will freeze their use of HFCs starting in 2024.

o Developing countries, specifically India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq and the Gulf states, will freeze their use starting in 2028.

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are a type of fluorinated gas most often used as coolants in refrigerators and air conditioners, and in aerosol sprays. They are also used for commercial, residential and automotive purposes.

They were meant to replace HCFCs in order to protect the ozone layer but their global warming potential (GWP) has increasingly become a matter of concern in climate negotiations. They are hundreds to thousands of times more potent that carbon dioxide. Currently, HFCs are currently the world’s fastest GHGs, with emissions increasing by up to 10% each year.

Growth of HFCs has mainly been driven by a growing demand for cooling, particularly in developing countries with a fast-expanding middle class and hot climates.



Montreal Protocol

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer is a landmark international agreement designed to protect the stratospheric ozone layer. The treaty was originally signed in 1987 and substantially amended in 1990 and 1992.

Significance

While the Paris pledges for climate change under UNFCC are broad, they are also voluntary, often vague and dependent on the political will of future world leaders. In contrast, the Kigali deal includes specific targets and timetables to replace HFCs with more planet-friendly alternatives, trade sanctions to punish scofflaws, and an agreement by rich countries to help finance the transition of poor countries to the costlier replacement products. So, the new accord may be more likely to yield climate-shielding actions by industry and governments.

Issues

HFC emissions contribute far less to climate change than carbon emissions. They are more potent, but less widely used.

Alternatives to HFCs have significant challenges: toxicity, price, flammability.

Developing countries in hot regions with serious use for HFC-based air conditioners, such as the Gulf States, will not have to limit emissions for more than 10 years.

China, the world’s largest producer of HFCs, will not start to cut their production or use until 2029.

India and the Kigali agreement:

Initially, India was not ready to agree on a freeze year but then it showed flexibility. Freeze year is the year in which phase down of HFCs starts. Not only it agreed on freeze year, but also agreed to advance it to 2028. This is four years later than its peer club countries China, Brazil and those in Africa, and achieving maximum reduction by 2047, two years after they do.

In welcome contrast, however, India has ordered the manufacturers of HFC 23 — a by-product of another chemical used in refrigerant gas manufacture and with a staggeringly high contribution to global warming — to now capture and dispose of it at their own cost.

The decision is of particular significance, considering the expansion of refrigeration and air conditioning in India with a rise in incomes, leading to higher levels of HFC release into the atmosphere.

Conclusion:

As with the Paris Agreement on climate change, which is strengthened by the Kigali amendments, developing countries will legitimately expect rich countries to aid them as they seek to acquire green technologies for industrial use. Now, given the impact of global warming, countries and people who have historically never been part of the problem should not have to argue their case for liberal assistance. Increased global rise in temperatures is melting the glaciers at a frightening speed and some small islands have already been submerged by the rising ocean levels. Let this Kigali amendment act as a wakeup call that we are living on a precipice; it only needs one more human folly to kiss our planet goodbye.



Three parent baby

Why in news: The birth of the world’s first “three-parent baby,” a child who carries genetic information from three different people, was recently announced.

How was it done?

The baby was created via an IVF (in vitro fertilization) procedure that involved three people: the mother, the father and a woman who donated eggs. This specialized IVF procedure is called spindle nuclear transfer.

Scientists took DNA from the nucleus of the mother’s egg cell and inserted that genetic material into an egg cell from the donor.

The nucleus of the donor egg had been removed, but the egg still contained a bit of DNA from the donor woman: That is, it contained genetic material from the mitochondria, or the cell’s energy powerhouses, which have their own DNA. The egg was then fertilized with sperm from the father.

In this case, the procedure was done because the eggs of the mother contained faulty mitochondria. This caused four miscarriages and the death of two of her children from a neurological condition called Leigh syndrome.

Spindle nuclear transfer

In the spindle nuclear transfer in this case, the scientists took five egg cells from the mother and removed a cellular part called the spindle, which carries the mother’s chromosomes. The researchers inserted these spindles into five donor eggs that had their nuclei removed, but which contained healthy mitochondria.

The donor eggs then underwent in-vitro fertilization and developed for several days in a dish. Of the five early stage embryos, just one had a normal number of chromosomes. It was implanted into the mother, who gave birth to a healthy boy after 37 weeks of pregnancy.

Need

A small number of children each year are born with faults in their mitochondrial DNA which can cause diseases. Mitochondria are small structures that sit inside our cells and provide them with energy. They have their own set of 37 genes which are separate from the 20,000 or so genes that shape who we are.

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Challenges

Experts have warned that three-parent babies could be at greater risk of cancer and premature ageing, and would need to be monitored all their lives.

Since this is uncharted territory and the children born from this technology would have heritable genetic changes, there are also significant unknown risks to future generations.

There are numerous serious risksassociated with this technology. These include most notably the possibility that developmentally disabled or deceased babies will be produced

Did you know?

The UK is the only country to have introduced laws to permit the technique. The European country legalized the treatment in 2015.

Mitochondrial diseases tend to strike in childhood and get steadily worse. They often prove fatal before adulthood. The parts of the body that need most energy are worst affected: the brain, muscles, heart and liver. Conditions include Leigh’s disease, progressive infantile poliodystrophy and Barth syndrome. Faulty mitochondria have also been linked to more common medical problems, including Parkinson’s, deafness, failing eyesight, epilepsy and diabetes.

There are no treatments for mitochondrial diseases, which affect about 1 in 6,500 babies in the more serious forms. Women at risk of passing them on have few options available to them if they want to give birth to healthy children.

They could opt for using donor eggs or, in some cases, a form of pre-natal genetic diagnosis before one of their own IVF embryos is placed back into their womb. Creating IVF embryos using mitochondrial donation offers an opportunity of having their own, genetically related children who are free of mitochondrial defects.

Furthermore, the process could mean that mitochondrial diseases are eliminated completely from future generations of that family.

Issues

Mitochondrial transfer passes on genetic changes from one generation to another. That raises ethical concerns because any unexpected problems caused by the procedure could affect people who are not yet born, and so cannot give their consent to have the treatment. Mitochondria are not completely understood, and the DNA they hold might affect people’s traits in unknown ways. For that reason, some scientists believe mitochondria should be better understood before the procedures are legalised.

Some people are opposed on religious or ethical grounds, particularly with pro-nuclear transfer technique which involves creating and then destroying a fertilised egg in order to treat another embryo.

Others believe that there will be inevitable “carry over” of defective mitochondria from the affected mother’s fertilised egg to the donor egg. These mutant mitochondria could multiply during embryonic development to cause disease, perhaps in way we do not yet understand. This is why, they say, we need to do more research before allowing it to be used on people.



Delhi's Indira Gandhi International airport

Why in News: The national capital's Indira Gandhi International Airport's (IGIA) Terminal 3 (T3) has achieved "Platinum" rating from Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).

DIAL is a GMR Group-led consortium which manages and operates IGI airport.

The recognition has made IGIA's T3 as the first "Platinum" rated green airport terminal building in India under "Green Existing Building O&M Rating System" by IGBC.

The announcement was made during the 14th Green Building Congress, 2016 organised by IGBC in Mumbai.

The primary focus of the design team at T3 was promoting energy efficiency and improving environmental quality. T3 is designed to be a model for passenger-friendly and environmentally responsible airport facilities

Last month, IGIA was accorded carbon neutral status by Airports Council International (ACI). IGIA had then become the first airport in the Asia-Pacific region to achieve carbon neutral status

HIMANSH

What is it? It is a high altitude research station in Himalaya (HIMANSH literally meaning, a slice of ice), situated above 13,500 ft established by Ministry of Earth Sciences

This is an Indian government’s initiatives to better study and quantify the Himalayan glacier responses towards the climate change.

Located in Spiti Valley, one of the most uninhabited parts of the country, Himansh is considered to be the highest point from where an Indian glacier research facility is functioning.

The research lab, established by the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), has automatic weather stations, ground penetrating radars, geodetic GPS systems and other sophisticated facilities to study glaciers and their discharge.

The facility will serve as the base for Terrestrial Laser Scanners and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to digitise glacier movements and snow cover variations,

The station houses many instruments to quantify the glacier melting and its relation to changing climate.

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Did you know?

Following the devastating Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 that killed 230,000 people in 14 countries, the Indian government established an Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC) under the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) at Hyderabad.

The centre, operational since October 2007, has state-of-the-art infrastructure for generating and disseminating tsunami bulletins for the entire Indian Ocean region.

Some of the instruments that are available at this research facility include, Automatic Weather Stations for weather monitoring, water level recorder for quantifying the glacier melt, ground penetrating radar to know the thickness of glaciers, geodetic GPS systems to study the glacier movements, snow fork for studying snow thickness, steam drill, snow corer, temperature profilers, as well as various glaciological tools.

World Tsunami Awareness Day

Why in news: The First World Tsunami Awareness Day was observed on November 5 during the Asian Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) 2016

The conference took place between November 2-5, was organised by the government of India in collaboration with the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). It included various activities to raise awareness through thematic events, exhibitions, and distribution of awareness materials.

India, along with 23 other Indian Ocean countries, participated in a tsunami mock drill on September 7-8. Besides increasing awareness, the drill evaluated the preparedness of participating nations to handle tsunami and other similar emergency situations.

History:

On November 5, 1854, a villager in Wakayama prefecture, Japan, was concerned about an impending tsunami after a high-intensity earthquake. He set on fire rice sheaves on the top of a hill.

Fellow villagers, who went atop to put off the fire, were saved even as a tsunami destroyed their village down below.

To commemorate that day of "Inamura no Hi" (the burning of rice sheaves), a resolution was jointly proposed by 142 countries, including Japan, as a follow-up of the third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The UN designated November 5 as the World Tsunami Awareness Day.

Challenges:

Rough weather, marked by harsh winds and freezing temperature, makes living and research activities a challenge even for the toughest of researchers. During winter, the temperature would plummet to –30 degree Celsius. The Digital Satellite Phone Terminal system established at Himansh is the only communication link to the outer world. During emergency situations, help has to arrive in helicopters.



Disaster Management in India:

The Ministry of Home Affairs has set an agency, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in India which looks after the natural or man-made disasters and co-ordinates with crisis response. The authority was established in 2005 by the Government of India.

The Prime Minister is the de facto Chairperson of NDMA and governs a 19-member board.

As per a survey last year, very high rate of malnutrition was found among preschool children in tribal areas showing conditions like being underweight and stunted growth, which indicates a critical situation.

Over five lakh children in the state are underweight, with tribal districts like Bastar, Dantewada, Kondagaon and Narayanpur having a comparatively higher rate of malnourishment then other districts.

However, the government has been making several efforts with schemes like 'Vazan Tyohar' (weight festival) and nutritious meal week to overcome the malnutrition issue.

International Day for Disaster Reduction

The United Nations General Assembly declared October 13 as the International Day for Disaster Reduction which is also a part of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction

International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) was observed globally on 13 October 2016 with theme Live to Tell: Raising Awareness, Reducing Mortality.

The day encourages every citizen and government to take part in building more disaster resilient communities and nations.

The 2016 edition marks the launch of the new "Sendai Seven" campaign by United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). Sendai Seven is centred on the seven targets of the Sendai Framework, the first of which is reducing disaster mortality. UNISDR’s campaign seeks to create a wave of awareness about actions taken to reduce mortality around the world.

The International Day for Disaster Reduction is celebrated on October 13 every year. The day is celebrated to spread awareness and encourage citizens and the government about disaster risk reduction and building disaster-resilient nations. This year, the theme for the day is 'Live To Tell: Raising Awareness, Reducing Mortality'.

Protein-rich rice

Why in news: A protein-enriched rice variety has been developed by the Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalay (IGKV) and researchers hope it would serve as a boon for malnourished population, especially children, in the tribal-dominated Chhattisgarh.

The researchers worked for seven years to develop the variety of rice that is rich in protein along with high zinc content

The rice variety will play a crucial role in fighting protein deficiencies, since rice is the staple food of the state and consumed on a regular basis, the research focused on enhancing its micro-nutrients and protein contents.

For majority of the people who do not eat meat products or can't afford pulses, rice could be a good source of proteins.



The present varieties of rice are not rich in protein content as it is mainly having carbohydrates, so they are developing zinc-rich rice varieties along with rich protein content.

The new developed rice variety has over 10% protein content, which is three per cent more than what is found in any popular variety and has 30 PPM zinc content.



INTERNATIONAL NEWS OCTOBER 2016

Focus- Regional grouping

BIMSTEC V/S SAARC

BIMSTEC Leaders’ Retreat 2016 Outcome Document

The leaders of seven-member BIMSTEC recently met in Goa for an outreach meeting with BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).

India has declared its commitment to play an asymmetric role in energising BIMSTEC.

Meanwhile, the BIMSTEC countries, endorsing the Indian stand without naming Pakistan, have slammed states which “support and finance terrorism, provide sanctuary to terrorists and terror groups” in BIMSTEC Leaders’ Retreat 2016 Outcome Document issued recently.

The BIMSTEC also said “there should be no glorification of terrorists as martyrs” — a clear reference to Hizbul militant Burhan Wani who was killed by security forces in Kashmir in July and later hailed as a “martyr” by Pakistan.

The BIMSTEC document also strongly condemned the “recent barbaric terror attacks in the region” — a reference to attacks in Uri and Dhaka.

BIMSTEC countries have also agreed reiterated their strong commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and stress that there can be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds whatsoever.

BIMSTEC - Bay of Bengal Initiative for

Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic

Cooperation

An international organization involving a group of countries in South Asia and South East Asia.

Comprises of seven countries, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Main objective - Technological and Economic cooperation among South Asian and South East Asian countries along the coast of the Bay of Bengal.

Headquarters - Dhaka.

22% of the global population

Combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.7 trillion.

In the last five years, BIMSTEC member states have been able to sustain an average 6.5% economic growth trajectory despite global financial meltdown.



SAARC - South Asian Association for

Regional Cooperation.

It is a geopolitical cooperation maintained for mutual benefits between eight south Asian nations: India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Maldives.

SAARC Summits are held annually. There have been, however, times when the summits skipped a year.

The diplomatic summits can only take place when all the members of SAARC are present.

SAARC Secretariat is based in Kathmandu. It is responsible for monitoring the activities of the cooperation.

Apart from its members, SAARC has nine countries with observer status: Australia, China, Iran, Japan, Mauritius, Myanmar, South Korea, the United States, the European Union. It is in permanent diplomatic relations with the United Nation as well

Additionally, BIMSTEC leaders have expressed their commitment to expedite the signing of the BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, and early ratification of the BIMSTEC Convention on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism, Transnational Organised Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking.

Significance for India

The BIMSTEC is a bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia.

The two Southeast Asian countries in the grouping, Myanmar and Thailand, have a crucial place for India’s ambitious connectivity plans for northeastern region. Myanmar is only Southeast Asian country India has a land boundary with. An India-Myanmar-Thailand highway is one of the key projects that figures in a big way in the government’s Act East (earlier Look East) policy.

With the India-Pakistan bickering coming in way of a smooth functioning of the Saarc, groupings such as BIMSTEC can take forward the concept of regional cooperation in a different manner.

If SAARC fails, there’s BIMSTEC: India warns Pakistan

India has sent out a clear message to Pakistan, warning it that South Asian nations would find other ways to cooperate on regional initiatives if it continues to block initiatives under the SAARC banner. In this regard, foreign Secretary S Jaishankar has presented a snapshot of what a ‘SAARC without Pakistan’ could achieve.

Background:

The future of SAARC has been increasingly questioned after the cancellation of the summit that was scheduled to be held in Islamabad. The Summit had been cancelled in the heighted tensions following the terrorist attack on a military camp in Jammu and Kashmir’s Uri. Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Sri Lanka too had pulled out of the Islamabad summit, citing an unfavourable atmosphere due to an escalation of terrorist activities.

The continuing tensions between India and Pakistan have given rise to doubts over whether the consensus needed for a SAARC Summit will be reached in the near



future. This in turn has led to the idea of a regional grouping without Pakistan being mentioned with increasing frequency in the discourses of South Asian countries.

BRICS

BRICS meet - Building Responsive, Inclusive and Collective Solutions

The 8th BRICS summit has ended with the adoption of the Goa Declaration.

The theme for the summit was “Building Responsive, Inclusive and Collective Solutions”.

Goa declaration:

On terror

The Declaration urged the dismantling of terror bases

said nations should adopt a comprehensive approach that includes tackling radicalisation, recruitment, cutting off terror funding systems and address terrorism on the internet and social media.

The declaration mention ISIS, Al Qaeda and Jubhat ul Nusra.

The declaration calls for a “holistic approach” and says all counter-terrorism measures should “uphold international law and respect human rights”.

The declaration also emphasized the need for adaptation of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) in the UN General Assembly

Global order

Urgent need to reform the United Nations, including UN Security Council, to increase representation of developing countries.

It also expressed its confidence in resolving international problems that require collective efforts for peaceful settlement of disputes through political and diplomatic means.

The declaration also condemned unilateral military interventions and economic sanctions in violation of international law and universally recognised norms of international relations.

Concerns about the situation in the Middle East and North Africa were also expressed.

BRICS countries have expressed their support for finding ways to the settlement of the crises in accordance with international law and in conformity with the principles of independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the countries of the region.

New Delhi Declaration on Education

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What is BRICS?

BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The grouping was originally known as "BRIC" before the inclusion of South Africa in 2010 The term was first prominently used in a Goldman Sachs report from 2003, which

speculated that by 2050 these four economies would be wealthier than most of the current major economic powers.

The BRICS thesis posits that China and India will become the world's dominant suppliers of manufactured goods and services, respectively, while Brazil and Russia will become similarly dominant as suppliers of raw materials.

It's important to note that the Goldman Sachs thesis isn't that these countries are a political alliance (like the European Union) or a formal trading association - but they have the potential to form a powerful economic block.

BRICS is now also used as a more generic marketing term to refer to these four emerging economies.

The BRICS grouping's first formal summit, also held in Yekaterinburg, commenced on 16 June 2009, with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Dmitry Medvedev, Manmohan Singh, and Hu Jintao, the respective leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China, all attending.

Realising the need to educate more and more people, BRICS nations have adopted the 'New Delhi Declaration on Education' resolving to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all.

The declaration was adopted at a conference of Education Ministers of the BRICS nations -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- held to discuss and coordinate areas of mutual interest and develop framework for future cooperation in the field of education.

The Declaration, among other things, involves initiating actions to formulate country-specific targets within the broader scope of the Sustainable Development Goal four (SDG4), reaffirming the need for universal equal access to quality education, including secondary and higher education, technical and vocational education and training, and lifelong learning opportunities for all.

It also calls for the BRICS countries' collaboration in education, research and innovation through the BRICS Network University and organising an annual conference of the BRICS Network University, encouraging more universities to participate in the BRICS University League to facilitate student mobility and collaborative research.



India Russia defence deals

S-400 missile systems:

India and Russia have signed a deal on S-400 missile systems, a game-changer in countering airborne threats.

Designed by the Almaz-Antey Central Design Bureau, the S-400 Triumf, referred to as SA-21 Growler by NATO, is considered one of the most advanced long-range defence systems in the world.

It can tackle all airborne targets at a range of up to 400 km. The system has 8 launchers, a control centre, a powerful radar and 16 missiles that are available for reload.

The system is capable of firing three types of missiles, hence creating a layered defence for any country that owns it.

The S-400 would help check short and medium range ballistic missile threats.

India is the second purchaser of this system after China, which had struck a deal with Russia for S-400 last year.

Kamov:

India and Russia have signed a deal to jointly produce 200 Kamov Ka-226T helicopters, at the India Russia Summit in Goa. The helicopters are believed to boost the capabilities of the armed forces.

Kamov 226T will replace the ageing Cheetah and Chetak choppers.Kamov Ka-226T helicopters

Kamov is a small, twin engine Russian utility helicopter. It is manufactured by Russian Helicopters.

This light multipurpose helicopter has a maximum takeoff weight of 3.6 tons. It can carry up to one ton payload. It has a maximum speed 220 Km/hr.

The machine has excellent maneuverability and handling, easy maintenance.

MFN status and Pakistan

In the midst of rising tensions in the wake of the Uri attack, some in India are calling for the withdrawal by India of the most favoured nation (MFN) trade status for Pakistan.

Most favoured nation

Most Favoured Nation is a treatment accorded to a trade partner to ensure non-discriminatory trade between two countries vis-a-vis other trade partners.

The importance of MFN is shown in the fact that it is the first clause in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Under WTO rules, a member country cannot discriminate between its trade partners. If a special status is granted to a trade partner, it must be extended to all members of the WTO.

MFN essentially guarantees the most favourable trade conditions between two countries. These terms include the lowest possible trade tariffs, the least possible trade barriers and very



crucial to trade relations– highest import quotas. The disclaimer only requires equal treatment to all Most Favoured Nations.

India Pakistan status in this regard

The MFN status was accorded to Pakistan in 1996 as per India’s commitments as a WTO member.

But Pakistan has not reciprocated, reportedly citing “non-tariff barriers” erected by India as well as huge trade imbalance. According to the WTO’s report on the Trade Policy Review of Pakistan (in 2015), “Pakistan is in the process of offering India Non-Discriminatory Market Access” (similar to MFN).

India and Pakistan have great trade potentials. But trade among the two is not much because of political mistrust. Pakistan has been slow to take a positive decision on conferring the status to India.

An important factor that makes it difficult for Pakistan to confer MFN status to India is the political impact of the tone of MFN status. It may feel that India is the most favored nation for Pakistan in literary sense though MFN means non-discrimination.

To overcome that, Pakistan has devised a new term called Non Discriminatory Market Access (NDMA) which is equivalent to MFN. Such alteration of the MFN is happening elsewhere as well. For example in the US, the MFN is named as Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) clause. Pakistan has recently promised that it will confer India the NDMA status soon.

Bilateral trade between India and Pakistan stands at $2.61 billion. The major commodities and goods in which both countries trade include cement, sugar, organic chemicals, cotton, man-made filaments, vegetables and certain fruits and tubers, mineral fuels, mineral oils, salts, earths, stone, lime, dry fruits, steel and plastering material.

Impact of such a move

India could consider making use of a ‘security exception’ clause — Article 21(b)(iii) — in the GATT to deny the MFN status to Pakistan or bring in certain trade restrictions.

Economic logic. o Free trade remains the best policy even if your trading partner wishes to be more

closed. o Second, trade with Pakistan accounts for less than 1% of India’s total trade, and the

figures for Pakistan are not very much higher. Thus, even strategically, trade policy with respect to Pakistan today can neither be offered as a carrot nor wielded as a stick. Nor does it amount to much for India.

o Third, offering MFN status to a trading partner is an obligation, not a choice, for WTO members. The fact that Pakistan is not living up to its WTO obligations is not a good reason for India not to do so. Indeed, India would be perfectly within its rights to raise Pakistan’s non-compliance at the WTO.

o Finally, free trade fosters not just prosperity but also peace and friendship. Though it will have only a “symbolic” impact in trade terms, politically it could result in India

losing goodwill in the South Asian region, where it enjoys a trade surplus and is a party to a



free trade pact called SAFTA, which also includes Pakistan. The move may also not go down well at the WTO-level.

Impact on Pakistan:

The immediate impact could be very little, looking at the volume of trade between the two sides. However, India may opt to drag Pakistan to the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body. This will allow New Delhi to remove trade benefits afforded to Islamabad under MFN status.

Another step which India may consider is withdrawing concessions provided to Pakistan under provisions of the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement. New Delhi can further ask members of the SAFTA to follow suit. And in the light of recent events, members of SAFTA are unlikely to stand against India’s move.

India has already made it clear that it will go all out to isolate Pakistan. And the latest decisions are part of India’s peaceful retaliation against Pakistan.

Why Pakistan should consider granting MFN status to India?

Granting MFN status to India may be beneficial for both countries. It may expand the size of the market because of trade creation and trade diversion. This possibly can help expand production on a large scale and also infuses competition into markets.

India is a huge economy relative to Pakistan; opening up of trade between the two countries will expand the markets for both countries, stimulate investment both domestic and foreign, and thereby increase the growth rate of the economies of the respective countries. This in turn can create employment opportunities, increase income levels and lead to improvement in the standards of living in both the countries.

Such “investment creation” can be partly offset by what might be called “investment diversion” when investments are diverted from the most rational location in the world to Pakistan and India. The MFN status can also benefit consumers, producers and workers in Pakistan because of more trade with India.

Conclusion:

India can legitimately claim the moral high ground in fulfilling our WTO obligations while Pakistan does not. Revoking Pakistan’s MFN status would shred this advantage. It may offer revanchist satisfactions, but it would not reflect mature statesmanship.

China’s One-Road-One Belt Initiative: A New Model of Global Governance

With its ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative, China is now seeking to establish its identity as a

world class power. The One-Road-One-Belt (OROB) initiative for connectivity, with clear

strategic advantages for China, contrasts sharply with existing treaty-based integration

concepts where the geographical scope, partner countries, strategy, principles and rules are

clearly defined at the outset. 34 countries have already signed cooperation agreements

with China.



One Belt, One Road initiative

The One Belt One Road initiative is the centrepiece of China’s foreign policy and domestic

economic strategy. It aims to rejuvenate ancient trade routes–Silk Routes–which will open

up markets within and beyond the region.

Through this initiative, China’s plan is to construct roads, railways, ports, and other

infrastructure across Asia and beyond to bind its economy more tightly to the rest of the

world.

Significance

South Asia is the least integrated region in the world, and that is not in line with global

trends. The new initiative aims to integrate the region.

The Initiative, seen more as a policy indicator than a set of projects, will link three

continents – Asia, Europe and Africa.

China has cash and deposits in Renminbi equivalent to USD 21 trillion, or two times its GDP,

and expects that the massive overseas investment in the OROB will speed-up the

internationalization of the Renminbi.

It is also seen as a strategic response to the military ‘re-balancing’ of the United States to

Asia.

Structural challenges:

First, the perception, process and implementation to date do not inspire trust in OBOR as a

participatory and collaborative venture. The unilateral ideation and declaration — and the

simultaneous lack of transparency — further weaken any sincerity towards an Asian entity

and economic unity. However, China says that it is committed to pursue wide-ranging

consultations with the 60-plus nations on this issue.

It is widely accepted that through this initiative China is projecting its military and political

presence along OBOR. China is also willing to underwrite security through a collaborative

framework. Hence, few countries including India have wholeheartedly not welcomed this

initiative.

Another challenge deals with the success of the ‘whole’ scheme, given that the Chinese

vision document lays out five layers of connectivity: policy, physical, economic, financial and

human. While no developing country will turn away infrastructure development

opportunities financed by the Chinese, they may not necessarily welcome a rules regime

built on a Chinese ethos.

This belt runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Hence, a formal nod to the project will

serve as a de-facto legitimisation to Pakistan’s rights on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and

Gilgit-Baltistan under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that is closely related to

OBOR.



China is also aware that it is investing in a risky environment and that the OROB initiative may not be commercially rewarding.

China has a three-fold solution to these problems:

First, it invites governments to organize summits to identify issues and seek common

understandings, cooperation memorandum and people-to–people contact as the basis for

regional cooperation.

Second, China is also organizing technical workshops of the concerned countries to facilitate

investments and is partnering with multilateral institutions in this effort to give greater

legitimacy. It is entering into areas the United Nations and bilaterals have ignored but have

been considered important by developing countries. For example, a workshop to harmonize

intellectual property rights legislation was organized in Beijing in July, jointly with the World

Intellectual Property Organization.

Third, China is using money to resolve security issues, like paying Pakistan for an army

division dedicated to the protection of Gwadar and is actively considering setting up a

private security agency, borrowing ideas from something the United States has done for

decades, but paid for by the companies rather than the government.

India and OBOR:

With China now a USD 10 trillion economy, compared to India’s economy of USD two

trillion, India is at a defining movement on how the Asian Century will be shaped. The

strategic question is whether Asia will have two poles, as it has had throughout history, or

will India remain at Asia’s periphery as a regional power?

Chinese political expansion and economic ambitions, packaged as OBOR, are two sides of

the same coin. It is being seen as both a threat and an opportunity. To be firm while

responding to one facet, while making use of the opportunities that become available from

the other, will largely depend on the institutional agency and strategic imagination India is

able to bring to the table.

China is keen to have India on board and both recognize that working together is necessary

for achieving the ‘Asian Century’. India should seek to ‘redefine’ OROB to add a strong

component for a ‘Digital Asia’, as that is where our comparative advantage lies, and for

Asian connectivity to have two nodes, in China and in India, as has been the case

throughout history.

Way ahead:

China is determined to push the OBOR initiative as it sees connectivity rather than global

rules leading to increased trade, and continuing growth. China plans to have free-trade

agreements with 65 countries in the six ‘economic belts’ of the OBOR, accounting for two-

thirds of the world population and 30% of GDP and consumption. The areas of cooperation

include fibre optics, telecommunication, trade facilitation, monetary policy coordination



and arrangements to manage financial risk. Bringing together policy areas that are currently

split between the United Nations and Bretton Woods Institutions is a long-standing demand

of developing countries.

The OROB initiative has moved beyond the discussion stage to being politically and

economically accepted widely. In April 2016, an agreement was signed with the United

Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), treating

implementation of the OROB initiative as promoting regional cooperation. This is in part an

answer to India’s concerns that connectivity should be built through consultative processes

and not unilateral decisions

Conclusion:

It is fair to say that China, in deploying the OBOR initiative, has demonstrated a level of

ambition and imagination which is mostly absent in India’s national discourse. India has so

far been suspicious of the strategic implications of this initiative. If India sheds its inhibitions

and participates actively in its implementation, it stands to gain substantially in terms of

trade. Arguably, OBOR offers India another political opportunity. There seems to be a

degree of Chinese eagerness to solicit Indian partnership. OBOR could potentially allow

India a new track to its own attempt to integrate South Asia. However, India should act

strategically on issues such as OBOR which will have a significant impact on India’s vital

interests.

UN court rejects disarmament case against India

The United Nations’ highest court has rejected nuclear disarmament cases filed by the Pacific nation of the Marshall Islands against Britain, India and Pakistan, saying it did not have jurisdiction.

The International Court of Justice ruled that the Marshall Islands had failed to prove that a legal dispute over disarmament existed between it and the three nuclear powers before the case was filed in 2014, and that “consequently the court lacks jurisdiction.”

Background:

In 2014, the Marshall Islands – a Pacific Ocean territory with 55,000 people – accused nine countries of “not fulfilling their obligations with respect to the cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament”. They included China, Britain, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and the United States.

Eight of the nine countries originally targeted in the lawsuits have officially admitted to possessing a nuclear weapon. Israel has never acknowledged having one, though observers believe it is the sole nuclear-armed nation in the Middle East.

The government, based in the Marshall Islands capital of Majuro, said by not stopping the nuclear arms race, the countries continued to breach their obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) – even if the treaty has not been signed by countries such as India and Pakistan.



The Marshall Islands government says it had decided to sue the world’s nuclear heavyweights as it has a particular awareness of the dire consequences of nuclear weapons. Between 1946 and 1958 the United States conducted repeated nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands.

In March 2014 the Marshall Islands marked 60 years since the devastating hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll that laid waste on the island and exposed thousands in the surrounding area to radioactive fallout. The 15-megatonne test on 1 March, 1954 was part of the intense cold war nuclear arms race and 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

Global Hunger Index report released

According to the latest Global Hunger Index data, hunger levels in developing countries may have fallen 29% since 2000, but India is still rated as a country with ‘serious’ hunger levels in the 2016.

Global hunger index

The report is released by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). The hunger index ranks countries based on

o undernourishment, o child mortality, o child wasting (low weight for height) and o child stunting (low height for age).

The GHI ranks countries on a 100-point scale. Zero is the best score (no hunger), and 100 is the worst, although neither of these extremes is reached in practice.

Highlights of the report:

It ranked India 97 among 118 countries, faring worse than all its neighbours China (29), Nepal (72), Myanmar (75), Sri Lanka (84) and Bangladesh (90), except for Pakistan (107) in measures of hunger.

India’s status o Ranks 97 among 118 countries o one in three children in India has stunted growth o 15% of the country’s population are undernourished. o India’s score is 28.5.

Hunger levels are “alarming” in seven countries, with Central African Republic (CAR), Chad and Zambia experiencing the worst levels. Nearly half the population in CAR and Zambia and one in three people in Chad, are undernourished.

The report also said that another 43 countries, including India, Nigeria and Indonesia, have “serious” hunger levels.

At the current rate of decline, more than 45 countries – including India, Pakistan, Haiti, Yemen, and Afghanistan – will have “moderate” to “alarming” hunger scores in the year 2030.

Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest hunger levels, followed closely by South Asia.



Nobel Prize for Literature

The American singer songwriter Bob Dylan has won the 2016 Nobel prize for literature. He is the first musician to win the award.

Vice-President Hamid Ansari visit to Hungary and Algeria

Significance of the Hungary visit

Should serve to underline and acknowledge the support and understanding that India has extended to that country over a long time.

Hungary is a parliamentary constitutional republic in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Romania to the east, Serbia to the south, Croatia to the southwest, Slovenia to the west, Austria to the northwest, and Ukraine to the northeast. The country’s capital and largest city is Budapest.

It is a member of the European Union, NATO, the OECD and the Schengen Area.

Significance of Algeria visit

In the case of Algeria, which has rich oil, gas and phosphatic resources, India sees this visit as an opportunity to kindle interest in cooperative ventures.

Collaboration in the field of space missions is also on the horizon. Algeria is a sovereign state in North Africa on the Mediterranean coast. It is the largest

country in Africa. Algeria is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia, to the east by Libya, to the west by Morocco, to the southwest by the Western Saharan territory, Mauritania, and Mali, to the southeast by Niger, and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. The country is a semi-presidential republic.

India, Algeria mull fertilizer JV

India is keen to join hands with Algeria to explore the possibilities of setting up a multi-billion dollar fertilizer project, bearing in mind the phosphatic reserve available in this North African country which is estimated to be more than 5 billion tonnes. A meeting in this regard was also recently held between the two countries.

The estimated phosphate reserve in Algeria is estimated to be more than 5 billion tonnes and possible Indian investment in the sector is expected to be $5 to 7 billion.

Implications of this move:

Around 90 to 95% phosphate being used by Indian fertilizer companies is imported and the production cost is also very high. The price of fertilizer in India is expected to come down along with the subsidy burden if the talks between the two countries lead to setting up of a joint venture mega fertilizer company in Algiers..



New Secretary-General of UN

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has formally elected Antonio Guterres as the new Secretary-General of the United Nations.

He will serve for five years starting from January 1, 2017. The UN Secretary-General is the head of the United Nations Secretariat and is de facto

spokesperson and leader of the UN.

2nd joint tactical exercise by India and China

As part of the ongoing initiative to enhance interaction and cooperation between India and China, under the provisions of Border Defense Cooperation Agreement, 2013, the Indian and Chinese armies recently held Second Joint Exercise “Sino India Cooperation 2016”. It was held in Ladakh.

During the day long exercise on Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) a fictitious situation of earthquake striking an Indian Border village was painted. Thereafter joint teams carried out rescue operations, evacuation and rendering of medical assistance.

The exercise is aimed at increasing the level of trust and cooperation between the two border guarding forces along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh.

The joint exercise, compliments the Hand in Hand series of the India -China joint exercises and the effort of both the nations to enhance cooperation and maintain peace and tranquility along the border areas of India and China.

Global regime on drones usage

The US, along with 40 other states, has issued a declaration outlining the principles which govern the export and use of armed drones to ensure they do not cause instability or help terrorism and organized crime. The declaration has set the stage for a meeting next year to hammer out the details.

“Export and Subsequent Use of Armed or Strike-Enabled Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

(UAVs)”

The declaration named as Export and Subsequent Use of Armed or Strike-Enabled Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)” “recognizes that misuse of armed or strike-enabled drones “could fuel conflict and instability and facilitate terrorism and organized crime” and therefore “the international community must take appropriate transparency measures to ensure responsible export and subsequent use”.

The declaration also tries to strike a balance between global good and national interest by noting that such concerns shouldn’t be seen as undermining a state’s “legitimate interest” to produce, export or acquire such systems, thereby trying.

It lays out five key principles for international norms, including:

The “applicability of International law” and human rights when using armed drones.



A dedication to following existing arms control laws when considering the sale of armed unmanned systems.

Sales of armed drone exports take “into account the potential recipient country’s history regarding adherence to international obligations and commitments”.

Countries who export unmanned strike systems follow “appropriate transparency measures” when required.

A resolution to continue to “ensure these capabilities are transferred and used responsibly by all States.

What’s the concern now?

The declaration has not been signed by countries such as France, Russia, Brazil and China. This makes it certain that next year’s meeting will find it very difficult to achieve a consensus which will be needed to set up a global regime.

It doesn’t go far enough, as the standards in the joint declaration are lower than those that the US maintains for its own exports and there is little incentive for countries to strive for higher standards.

10th India and United States Trade Policy Forum

10th India-United States Trade Policy Forum (TPF) meetings are being held at New Delhi. These meetings aim to increase the bilateral interaction between the two countries and increase the momentum on resolving trade concerns.

Under TPF there would be technical level discussions on issues concerning with Agriculture, Services and Goods, IPR and Manufacturing.

Significance of TPF:

The TPF provides the venue for evaluating progress that has been made on trade and investment issues between the US and India at the ministerial level.

It will allow the United States and India to advance on-going bilateral efforts to expand trade and investment through forward-looking policy initiatives that can benefit our manufacturers, workers, innovators, service providers, farmers, and ranchers.

Discussions in the TPF are generally organized around key issue areas, including intellectual property, opening investment in manufacturing, agriculture, and services.

The bilateral cooperation under TPF has resulted in resolving several market access issues and cooperation in services, manufacturing and IPR. India is looking forward to maintain the momentum further in the current TPF.

INDIA US TRADE SIGNIFICANCE

The bilateral commercial ties between the United States and India are growing stronger as reflected by increased bilateral trade in Goods and Services of $109 billion and highest ever FDI inflows in 2015-16.



GLOBAL GENDER GAP

Why in news: India has substantially improved its rank in the Global Gender Gap index moving from 108th to 87th position within a year, according to a report released by the World Economic Forum (WEF)

It is ranked second in the South Asian region, next only to Bangladesh. However, the 2016 report by WEF says that in terms of “health and survival”, India still

lags at 142nd rank, or third last, globally. In terms of economic participation by women, India ranked 136 and in terms of education,

it is at the 113th position. India has closed its gender gap by 2 per cent in a year and its gap now stands at 68 per cent

across the four pillars that WEF measures — economy, education, health and political representation.

The major improvement has been in education where ,India has managed to close its gap entirely in primary and secondary education

In the economic sphere, much work remains to be done. India ranks 136 in this pillar out of 144 countries.

On educational attainment, India was ranked at 113th place; in terms of health and survival, it was a placed at a lowly 142, while on political empowerment it was among the top 10 countries.

According to the WEF’s Global Gender Gap Report 2016, the prospects of global workplace gender parity slipped further, and economic parity between the genders could take 170 years after a “dramatic slowdown in progress”.

In 2015, projections based on the Global Gender Gap Report data suggested that the economic gap could be closed within 118 years, or 2133. The latest report noted that the prospects for workplace gender equality have slipped beyond our lifetimes to 2186.

The report said slowdown partly down (due) to chronic imbalances in salaries and labour force participation, despite the fact that, in 95 countries, women attend university in equal or higher numbers than men.

In this latest edition, the report finds that progress towards parity in the key economic pillar has slowed dramatically with the gap – which stands at 59 per cent – now larger than at any point since 2008.

Behind this decline are a number of factors. One is salary, with women around the world on average earning just over half of what men earn despite, on average, working longer hours taking paid and unpaid work into account.

Another challenge is stagnant labour force participation, with the global average for women at 54 per cent compared with 81 per cent for men. Moreover, the number of women in senior positions also remains stubbornly low, with only four countries in the world having equal numbers of male and female legislators, senior officials and managers.

Globally, the leading four nations continue to be Scandinavian: Iceland (1), Finland (2), Norway (3) and Sweden (4).



About World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a Swiss nonprofit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva. Recognized by the Swiss authorities as the international institution for public-private cooperation, its mission is cited as “committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas”.

The Forum is best known for its annual winter meeting for five days in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland.

The meeting brings together some 2,500 top business leaders, international political leaders, selected intellectuals, and journalists for up to five days (winter) to discuss the most pressing issues facing the world.

Beside meetings, the foundation produces a series of research reports and engages its members in sector specific initiatives

This marginal improvement came on the back of slight improvement in four indicators:

1. Getting electricity 2. Enforcing contracts 3. Trading across

borders 4. Registering property.

India Ranks 130 in World Bank’s ease of doing business

India has moved one rank up to the 130th position in the World Bank’s ‘ease of doing business’ ranking for 2017.

Improving India’s ranking in the report has been a key target of the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India which had been ranked 130 in the 2016 report, was placed at 131 according to the revised rankings for last year released on 25th Oct, thus reflecting a marginal improvement.

Over the past two years, the government has implemented a host of reforms to make it easier for businesses to start, operate and exit.

It is therefore disappointing that these achievements are not covered by the report due to methodological issues.

The government has engaged with the World Bank multiple times in the process, and is hopeful that they will take into account all the implemented reforms in future reports

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) said that a dozen of important reforms like enactment of bankruptcy code, GST, introduction of single window system for building plan approvals and online ESIC (Employees’ State Insurance Corporation) and EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation) registrations were not recognized by the World Bank this year.

The objective of the department is that in the next 3-4 years, India must come in the top 30 countries as far as ease of doing business is concerned



What is Ease of Doing Business Index?

The ease of doing business index is an index created by the World Bank Group. Higher rankings (a low numerical value) indicate better, usually simpler, regulations for

businesses and stronger protections of property rights. Empirical research funded by the World Bank to justify their work show that the economic

growth impact of improving these regulations is strong. The ease of doing business index is meant to measure regulations directly affecting

businesses and does not directly measure more general conditions such as a nation's proximity to large markets, quality of infrastructure, inflation, or crime

CO2 level reaches record high in 2016: WMO

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached a record-high level, ushering in a "new era of climate reality," according to the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The global average concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached a milestone of 400 parts per million in 2015, the first time since modern record-keeping began in 1960, according to the WMO.

As per the UN in 2016, the global carbon dioxide concentration rose even higher, breaking a new record

The rise was fuelled by El Nino, which led to droughts in tropical regions and reduced the capacity of forests and oceans to absorb carbon dioxide

Although carbon dioxide levels have reached 400 parts per million in the past in isolated locations and times, 2015 was the first year that the global average levels for the entire year reached the 400 parts per million mark, according to the report.

The WMO predicts that the carbon dioxide concentrations will stay above this threshold for the entirety of 2016 and will not dip below that level for many generations.



NOVEMBER-2016 NATIONAL NEWS

POLITY

Communal Harmony Week or Quami Ekta Week

Why in news: Communal Harmony Week or Quami Ekta Week observed all over the country from 19th Nov to 25 Nov.

The week was observed with a view to foster the spirit of communal harmony, national integration and pride in the vibrant composite culture and nationhood.

This occasion provided an opportunity to reaffirm age-old traditions and faith in the values of tolerance, coexistence and brotherhood in a multi-cultural and multi-religious society.

The Quami Ekta Week involved various programmes like discussion sessions on ‘Welfare of Minority and Linguistic Harmony’ and on ‘Importance of Women in Indian Society and their role in Nation Building’.

Activities for children like drawing competition with the theme ‘Unity in Diversity’ and go as you like competition on communal harmony, costumes of different States and communities of India was also organised.

The observation of the Quami Ekta Week helps in highlighting the inherent strength and resilience of the nation to withstand actual and potential threats to the eclectic and secular fabric of the country.

The Minority Affairs Ministry is organising cultural harmony conclaves to showcase the country's rich culture & arts and also pitched for ensuring cultural harmony, which protects people from religious narrow-mindedness.

Cultural harmony conclaves are being organised separately in big cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Kolkata and Bengaluru.

National Services Authority (NALSA)

Why in news: The Union government announced that Jagdish Singh Khehar, a judge of the Supreme Court, will be the new Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).

He succeeds Anil R. Dave who retired as a judge of supreme court after completing the tenure of six years.

NALSA has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, to provide free legal services to weaker sections of society.

Roles & Responsibilities of National services authority (NALSA)

The aim is to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reasons of economic or other disabilities.

NALSA also organises Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes.



NALSA identifies specific categories of the marginalised and excluded groups and formulates various schemes for the implementation of preventive and strategic legal service programmes.

Services provided by the agency include free legal aid in civil and criminal matters for the poor and marginalised people who cannot afford the services of a lawyer in any court or tribunal,under the authority of the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987.

Its purpose is to provide free legal services to eligible candidates (defined in Sec. 12 of the Act), and to organize Lok Adalats for speedy resolution of cases.

The Chief Justice of India is patron-in-chief of NALSA while second senior most judge of Supreme Court of India is the Executive-Chairman.

National anthem must be played before screening of films

WHY IN NEWS: The national anthem must be played in all theaters before movie screenings, the Supreme Court has directed.

Everyone should stand when the anthem is played and the national flag should be on the screen, said the court.

It said the practice will “instill a feeling within one a sense of committed patriotism and nationalism.”

The Bench said it is the duty of every person to show respect when the national anthem is played or recited or sung under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act of 1951.

The government, represented by Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi, said it completely agrees with the need for specific guidelines to show respect and honour for the national anthem and the flag.

In its interim order, while awaiting a detailed response from the Centre, the apex court issued a complete ban on the commercial exploitation of the national anthem and the flag.

The court further banned the dramatisation of the anthem or it to be used in any part of any variety shows or for entertainment purposes.

The court banned the display of the national anthem on any “undesirable or disgraceful places.” It said such display “tantamounts to disrespect.”

It also banned the display, recitation or use of the abridged version of the national anthem

International Competition Network (ICN)

Why in news: International Competition Network (ICN) has accepted the proposal and decided that Competition Commission of India would host the 2018 ICN Annual Conference.

This will be held at Delhi in March –April 2018. ICN is an international body comprising 132 members from 120 competition jurisdictions exclusively devoted to international competition enforcement.

CCI has also been inducted as an ex-officio member of the steering group member of the ICN for a period of 3 years.

CCI eagerly looks forward to hosting this international event which will provide a rare opportunity to attract domestic and international competition enforcement experts to



deliberate on international best practices and host of competition issues being faced by the Competition agencies the world over.

Union Government extends AFSPA in three districts of Arunachal Pradesh

Considering Naga underground factions' increased indulgence in extortion and inter-factional rivalry, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has extended Armed Forces Special Powers Act or AFSPA in three districts of Arunachal Pradesh. The districts (Tirap, Changlang, and Longding) have been specified as 'disturbed areas' under Section 3, AFSPA.

The Centre has decided to extend the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in three districts of Arunachal Pradesh. One of the primary reasons cited by the Centre is “extortion and intimidation” by the cadres of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), who are “contriving to dominate areas hitherto occupied by NSCN (Khaplang).”

The notification has been issued even after the NDA government signed a ‘framework agreement’ with NSCN-IM in September 2015 to find a final solution to the six-decade-old Naga issue.

The Home Ministry’s latest notification, issued on November 4, has, for the first time, said the AFSPA was being extended in the districts of Tirap, Changlang and Longding, all bordering Assam, as the NSCN-IM was desperate to regain control from the NSCN-K.

Background:

After decades of violence, the NSCN-IM had entered into a ceasefire agreement with India in 1997. The largest group representing the Nagas has demanded a “Greater Nagalim” or a contiguous land for the Nagas, across the States of Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Mizoram.

The NSCN-K (now banned ground) had unilaterally abrogated the ceasefire in March 2015 but NSCN-IM continues to be in a ceasefire pact with the Union Government.

Earlier in August 2015, the Union Government had signed a ‘framework agreement’ with NSCN-IM to find a final solution to the six-decade-old Naga issue.

The ceasefire signed with NSCN-IM is only for Nagaland; it does not include Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. This notification has been issued after much consultation between the security agencies.

What is Armed Forces (Special Powers) Acts or AFSPA?

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Acts allows the Indian Armed Forces to observe a strict vigil in what the acts term as 'disturbed areas'.

The Indian Armed Forces include the Indian Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, paramilitary forces such as Assam Rifles, Indian Coast Guard and Special Frontier Force and inter-service commands and institutions such as the Strategic Forces Command, the Andaman and Nicobar Command and the Integrated Defence Staff.

The acts are not invoked in cases of civil unrest during elections. The AFSPA is invoked when a case of militancy or insurgency takes place and the international borders of India



are at risk. It provides army officers and jawans legal immunity for their actions in disturbed areas.

After giving warning, an officer can fire upon or use other kinds of force, even if it causes death, against the agitator who is acting against the law and order in the 'disturbed area', for the maintenance of public order.

Seize any unauthorised arms storage, hide-outs, shelter or training camp which is being used by the militants.

Arrest anyone who has committed cognisable offences or is suspected of having committed such a crime, without a warrant

Search any place to make such arrests, or to recover any suspect, or confiscate unauthorised arms and ammunition

Stop and search any vehicle or vessel, suspected to be carrying such a person or weapons The arresting officer must present the suspect to the nearest police station with least

possible delay, with a report of the circumstances that resulted in the arrest No Army officer can be held against any arrest under the AFSPA. No prosecution or any

other legal proceeding can be made against the arrest or seize. Even the state government cannot question his action.

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Acts were applied to the seven north-eastern states of India (Seven Sisters) on September 11, 1958. Since 1990, Jammu and Kashmir has also been included under the AFSPA rule. The acts were also applied in Punjab and Chandigarh in 1983 and was revoked in 1997.

Pradhan mantri surakshit matritva abhiyan

Why in news: Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) was launched by the Union Government.

Under this scheme, free health check-ups to pregnant women at government health centres and hospitals will be provided.

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda announced the scheme in New Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also addressed the program back in June 2016 during his monthly radio address Mann Ki Baat.

Features of PMSMA

To provide healthy life to pregnant women To lower the maternity mortality rate To make pregnant women aware of their health issues and diseases To ensure safe delivery and healthy life of baby The national programme aims to provide pregnant ladies free ante-natal services (ANC)

and required treatment for free on 9th of every month The scheme is applicable for all pregnant women. It will provide all kind of medical check

up completely to free to pregnant women



These check ups will take place at the medical centres , government hospitals , and private hospitals and clinics across the country

These free of cost tests will include blood pressure, sugar level, weight, haemoglobin test, blood test and screening.

Women will be marked differently using different colour stickers based on their health problems so that doctors can easily detect the problem. Different colour stickers will be Red Sticker for Serious patients, Blue Sticker for High blood pressure and Yellow Sticker for Other diseases.

Celebrities endorsing products

Why in news: GoM recommends heavy fine and ban on celebrities endorsing products in misleading ads

The government is focussing heavily on taking action against those celebrities who endorse ‘misleading’ products.

A panel of ministers earlier recommended a jail term and a heavy fine. However, the proposal of jail term has been dismissed. Under the new proposal, celebrities cricketers, actors or globally renowned artists, will be required to independently verify the guarantees being made about products they promote.

A high-level Group of Ministers (GoM) has approved imposing a heavy fine and ban on celebrities who endorse products making unrealistic and dodgy claims.

The Consumer Protection Bill, 2015, which seeks to replace the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, by inserting tough measures for the protection of consumer rights and providing strict punishment to violators, was presented in Parliament in 2015.

It was referred to a Standing Committee, which gave a report suggesting measures like making celebrities accountable for the brands they endorse, and called for severe penalties such as jail term for celebrities endorsing the brands, publishers and broadcasters of misleading advertisements and manufacturers of such products.

The panel had recommended that for first-time offence, the offender celebrities may be penalised with either a fine of Rs 10 lakh or imprisonment up to two years or both. For second-time offences, it had suggested a fine of Rs 50 lakh and imprisonment of five years.

It was seen that in no other country is a celebrity advertising products jailed. So the GoM decided to do way with the recommendation.



PM Launches “Housing for All” in Rural Areas

Prime Minister Shri Narendra has formally launched “Housing for All” in rural areas under which the Government proposes to provide an environmentally safe and secure pucca house to every rural household by 2022

Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin)

In its first phase the target is to complete one crore houses by March 2019. The unit cost for these houses has been significantly increased and now through

convergence a minimum support of nearly Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 1.6 lakh to a household is available. There is also a provision of Bank loan upto Rs. 70,000/-, if the beneficiary so desires.

The selection of beneficiaries has been through a completely transparent process using the Socio Economic Census 2011 data and validating it through the Gram Sabha.

PMAY-G is also a major step forward in bringing together Skill India, Digital India, Make In India, IT/DBT Aadhaar platform and Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY).

The programme provides for skilling 5 lakh Rural Masons by 2019 and allows over 200 different housing designs across the country based on a detailed study of housing typologies, environmental hazards and the households’ requirements.

A large scale use of local materials is envisaged along with a complete home with cooking space, electricity provision, LPG, toilet and bathing area, drinking water etc through convergence.

The programme targets the poor households and uses ICT and space technology to further confirm correct selection of beneficiaries and progress of work. The entire payments are through IT/DBT mode with Aadhaar linked Bank accounts with consent, to ensure complete transparency and accountability.

There is a provision for orientation of beneficiaries. A 45 days on site hands-on skill training of Rural Masons helps poor households to move up the skilling ladder.

Constitution Day 2016

The Constitution Day in India, also known as Samvidhan Divas, is celebrated on 26th of November every year to spread the importance of the constitution and thoughts and ideas of Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar.

On this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted the Constitution of India, which went into effect on 26 January 1950.

The Government of India declared 26 November as Constitution Day in honour of Dr.B.R. Ambedkar who is known as the Father of Constitution of India.

The day is celebrated to value and preserve the rich heritage of composite culture and to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.

Constitution Day will work as a catalyst and the day will also promote to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life and to have compassion for living creatures.



AirSewa portal

Why in news: Airsewa portal was recently launched by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. It is an initiative of the Ministry to offer people a convenient and hassle-free air travel experience.

Highlights

It will be operated through an interactive web portal as well as through a mobile app for both android and iOS platforms.

The portal will include a mechanism for grievance redressal, backoffice operations for grievance handling, flight status/schedule information, airport Information and FAQs.

Users will have an option to check the flight status and schedule between any of airports. Flights can be searched on the basis of flight number or for all flights to a particular airport.

Airport Information will display basic weather information and connecting flight details from the airport. Airport information will include basic details and contact information regarding airport services like wheel Chair, transport/parking, rest and relax, Wifi services etc.

Soon, search engines to blank sex selection ads

The Supreme Court has directed the Central government to constitute a nodal agency to monitor and trigger search engines to crack down on online pre-natal sex determination advertisements.

The court has ordered that the nodal agency should receive complaints about illegal online advertisements under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act of 1994.

It should communicate the tip-offs to online search engines like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, which would delete these advertisements within 36 hours of getting the information.

This interim arrangement would continue till it took a final decision on the continued existence of online sex selection ads.

The court was hearing a petition filed in 2008 in the background of increasing instances of female foeticide. The petition contended that pre-natal sex determination tests continue with impunity despite being made illegal in 1994.

PCPNDT Act

The Pre-conception & Pre-natal Diagnostics Techniques (PC & PNDT) Act, 1994 was enacted in response to the decline in Sex ratio in India, which deteriorated from 972 in 1901 to 927 in 1991.

The main purpose of enacting the act is to ban the use of sex selection techniques before or after conception and prevent the misuse of prenatal diagnostic technique for sex selective abortion.

Offences under this act include conducting or helping in the conduct of prenatal diagnostic technique in the unregistered units, sex selection on a man or woman, conducting PND



test for any purpose other than the one mentioned in the act, sale, distribution, supply, renting etc. of any ultra sound machine or any other equipment capable of detecting sex of the foetus.

Key features of the act:

The Act provides for the prohibition of sex selection, before or after conception. It regulates the use of pre-natal diagnostic techniques, like ultrasound and amniocentesis

by allowing them their use only to detect few cases. No laboratory or centre or clinic will conduct any test including ultrasonography for the

purpose of determining the sex of the foetus. No person, including the one who is conducting the procedure as per the law, will

communicate the sex of the foetus to the pregnant woman or her relatives by words, signs or any other method.

Any person who puts an advertisement for pre-natal and pre-conception sex determination facilities in the form of a notice, circular, label, wrapper or any document, or advertises through interior or other media in electronic or print form or engages in any visible representation made by means of hoarding, wall painting, signal, light, sound, smoke or gas, can be imprisoned for up to three years and fined Rs. 10,000.

The Act mandates compulsory registration of all diagnostic laboratories, all genetic counselling centres, genetic laboratories, genetic clinics and ultrasound clinics.

Amendment:

Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994 (PNDT), was amended in 2003 to The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition Of Sex Selection) Act (PCPNDT Act) to improve the regulation of the technology used in sex selection. The Act was amended to bring the technique of pre conception sex selection and ultrasound technique within the ambit of the act. The amendment also empowered the central supervisory board and state level supervisory board was constituted. In 1988, the State of Maharashtra became the first in the country to ban pre-natal sex determination through enacting the Maharashtra Regulation of Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques Act.

SC sets up panel on night shelters

The Supreme Court has asked the government to respond on the lackadaisical attitude shown by authorities in providing sufficient number of night shelters to the poor and homeless in the towns and cities of northern States despite the availability of funds.

Committee to verify the availability:

The court has also directed that a committee headed by former Delhi High Court judge Justice Kailash Gambhir be constituted to verify the availability of night shelters, including if they are in compliance with the operational guidelines under the NULM and to inquire



into the reasons for slow progress in setting up shelter homes by the States/Union Territories. The committee has been given four months to submit its report.

Terms of reference:

The committee shall inquire about non-utilisation and/or diversion/misutilisation of funds allocated for the scheme for providing shelters to the urban homeless.

The committee shall issue suitable recommendations to the States to ensure that at least temporary shelters are provided for the homeless in urban areas to protect them during winter season. The State governments shall ensure compliance with the recommendations along the time frame indicated by the committee.

Destitute in urban areas continue to suffer without shelters. In spite of the availability of funds and a clear mechanism through which to disburse them, there is unsatisfactory state of affairs on the ground. Poor continue to shiver in the winter cold as welfare measures like the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) scheme continue to remain a distant dream.

India still losing fight against child pneumonia, diarrhoea epidemics

World Pneumonia Day 2016 was observed on November 12. 2016 Theme: “Keep the Promise, Stop Pneumonia Now”.

On this day, the Pneumonia and Diarrhoea Progress Report was published by the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC.)


The report puts India at the top of the list of 15 nations, as it did last year, and the years before. India had a total of 2,96,279 deaths from pneumonia and diarrhea.

The report also notes that India is among the 12 nations that have improved their Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD) score this year.

Nearly 15 years after the introduction of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in 2000, five countries among those with the highest pneumonia burden — India, Indonesia, Chad, China and Somalia — are still not using the vaccine in their routine immunisation programmes, the report noted.

In addition to thinking of vaccines, the report points out other simple proven interventions in order to prevent these deaths, including antibiotics, exclusive breastfeeding, and access to treatment and care.

Also urging nations to go beyond business as usual, the report chronicles innovations that help speed up the process and better chase the goal of cutting down the number of preventable child deaths.

What has India been doing in this regard?

India recently announced a partial introduction of the vaccine in five states (Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh) from 2017. India introduced rotavirus vaccines in four States in 2015.



Highlights of the Act:

Up to seven years’ imprisonment and fine for indulging in benami transactions

Furnishing false information is punishable by imprisonment up to five years and fine

Properties held benami are liable for confiscation by government without compensation

Initiating Officer may pass an order to continue holding the property and may then refer case to Adjudicating Authority

Adjudicating Authority will then examine evidence and pass anorder

Appellate Tribunal will hear appeals against orders of Adjudicating Authority

High Court to hear appeals against orders of Appellate Tribunal

ECONOMY

States Ranking in ‘EASE OF DOING BUSINESS’

WHY IN NEWS: Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have jointly topped the ease of doing business ranking with a score of 98.78 per cent while Gujarat, the former number one, has slipped to the third position.

The rankings are on the basis of a 340-point business reform action plan and their implementation by the States. This covers the period from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016

The World Bank said that it was interesting this year that four of the seven states with the lowest income levels in India have found a place in the top ten ranks, while all the seven such states had an implementation rate of over 75 per cent.

The index also puts Jharkhand (7th), Rajasthan (8th), Uttarakhand (9th) and Maharashtra (10) in the top ten

Karnataka stands at 13th position, falling down by four positions. Last year stood at 9th position.

Benami property transactions prohibition act

WHY IN NEWS: The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016, designed to curb black money and passed by parliament in August, came into effect on 1st Nov 2016.

The new law to prohibit benami transactions, which also provides for up to 7 years imprisonment and penalty for those indulging in such activities

The amendments aim to strengthen the Act in terms of legal and administrative procedure.

While the existing law provides for up to three years of imprisonment or fine or both for carrying out benami transactions, the amended legislation would provide for seven years imprisonment and fine.

The Act defines benami transactions, prohibits them and further provides that any violation is punishable with imprisonment and fine. The PBPT Act prohibits recovery of the property held benami from benamidar by the real owner.



States have indicated that they would like the GST Council to be separate from the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers but the final call is likely to be taken by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. According to State Finance Ministers, the Empowered Committee can be a platform for States to discuss their regional issues while the GST Council can oversee the implementation of the indirect tax reform.

If there is a genuine property which belongs to a Church or a Mosque or a Gurdwara or a Temple, section 58 says that the government has the power to exempt it

What is Benami property?

A transaction is considered benami (literally ‘nameless’ or ‘without a name’) when the consideration for a property that is transferred to a person or is held by him/her is paid by another person.

In such transactions, the person who pays for the property is the ultimate beneficiary of the property, directly or indirectly, in the future.

Such a property is considered benami, and is illegal under the Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2015.

GST council sets rates & tax slabs

The GST Council on 4th Nov decided on a four-tier structure of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent for the Goods & Services Tax (GST) regime scheduled for roll-out next April.

The lower rates would apply on essential items and the highest on luxury and de-merit goods, which would also attract a cess.

There will be no tax on essential items such as food – this is likely to beat down inflation, which has afflicted food items in particular.

The outgo will be more for those who buy luxury cars, aerated drinks, and cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Dubbed “demerit goods”, these will be taxed at 28% and attract a cess that may take the total to 40% or more, though there is no confirmation yet of how much the cess will be.

The collection from this cess as well as that of the clean energy cess would create a revenue pool that would be used for compensating states for any loss of revenue during the first five years of implementation of GST.

Goa will be first state to go cashless

WHY IN NEWS: People of Goa in 2017 will carry no cash as the state is set to become cashless starting from December 31.

People will be able to buy using their mobile by dialing *99# and follow the instruction for transactions.

The phone does not have to be a smartphone for making transactions and the money will be debited from the bank account of the person making transactions



‘Less-cash’ first, ‘cashless society’ next: PM Narendra Modi appeals in ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio address

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the biggest public push for a ‘cashless economy’ on his monthly ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio address.

He acknowledged that while a ‘cashless’ society is not immediately possible, and appealed to the people to work towards it by being part of a ‘less-cash’ society immediately.

He asked citizens to learn how this digital economy works.

The government will conduct drives to educate small vendors about cashless transactions in Mapusa and Panaji. There wouldn’t be any minimum limit for the transactions and no fees will be charged for them,

While cash transactions are not being banned, the move is to encourage a cashless society.

Also, there will be no minimum limit on the cashless transfer of money. No fees will be charged for any of these transactions over the mobile.

Normally the money is debited by online payments and by swiping cards, but this system is being introduced for small vendors to become tech-savvy who don’t have the swiping machines

Akodara becomes India’s first digital village

Akodara, India’s first ‘digital village’ is located in Gujarat’s Sabarkantha district. Situated 90 km from Ahmedabad,

The village has been functioning normally despite the chaos demonetisation has brought to the rest of the country, as neither shops nor citizens of the village deal in cash.

The village of 1,200 people has been adopted by ICICI Bank, helped by the local administration, so that it can be showcased as an example of the bank’s vision of the digital future that awaits India’s hinterland.

From the merely cosmetic, like embellishing the archway at the village entrance with the ICICI logo, to the very practical improvement of providing access to modern banking to the villagers, the bankers at ICICI have gone all out to showcase their vision in Akodara.

If some of the interventions, such as installing CCTV cameras in the village anganwadi and in schools, seem a bit gimmicky, many others are useful and potentially revolutionary when imagined on a large scale — across whole districts and regions in the country.

Residents of Akodara have been using e-banking for everything. From buying milk and groceries to paying bills and drawing salaries, everyone here uses mobile phones for their payments.

The bank, with help from the local administration, has helped every villager have access to modern banking facilities.

The village has almost 100% financial rate and all mobile banking is done in Hindi, English and Gujarati languages.



"Hunar Haat"

Why in news: Power minister Piyush Goyal, Minority Affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvialong with the minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar inaugurated "Hunar Haat", at India International Trade Fair(2016) at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.

About 184 master artisans from all corners of the country are showcasing their traditional art and skills at about 100 stalls in "Hunar Haat" at India International Trade Fair.

"Hunar Haat" exhibition is aimed at promoting and supporting artisans from Minority communities and providing them domestic as well as international market for display and sell their products.

It will be providing an excellent platform to artisans belonging to Minority communities from across the nation to display their art and skills before the domestic and international visitors.

"Hunar Haat" also displays other arts/crafts like marble work from Rajasthan; beautiful handicrafts from Gujarat; Pashmina and bronze work from Kashmir. Besides, centuries old Ayurvedic, Unani health care; glass artefacts; Indian silk-cotton work is also a part of the exhibition

Golden Peacock Award for corporate governance

Why in News: The prestigious Golden Peacock Award for Corporate Governance for this year has been conferred upon the 'Maharatna' firm, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).

SAIL was presented the award on account of its exemplary performance in the field of corporate governance that is for balancing the interests of all the stakeholders of the company shareholders, management, customers, suppliers, financiers, government and the community

Golden peacock award:

The Institute of Directors (India) was established on 13 July 1990 as an apex association of directors to improve their professional competence.

In 1991, the Institute of Directors established the Golden Peacock Awards for the recognition of "corporate excellence.

National Student Startup Policy

Why in news: President Pranab Mukherjee launched the National Student Startup Policy on the opening day of the second visitor’s conference at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The National student startup policy, formulated by AICTE, aims to create 100,000 technology based student start-ups and a million employment opportunities within the next 10 years.

The policy plans on achieving this by developing an ideal entrepreneurial ecosystem and promoting strong inter-institutional partnerships among technical institutions.



Maharashtra got 81.7 and Gujarat was second at 71.5, Puducherry, Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir got the lowest three grades, of 4.8, 7.3 and 7.4, respectively.

About the index:

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.

These indicators reveal ease of doing agribusiness as well as opportunities for farmers to benefit from modern trade and commerce and have wider option for sale of her/his produce.

These indicators also represent competitiveness, efficiency and transparency in agri markets. The second area of reforms included in the index is relaxation in restrictions related to lease in and

lease out agricultural land and change in law to recognise tenant and safeguard land owners liberalisation.

The third area included in the index represent freedom given to farmers for felling and transit of trees grown on private land. This represent opportunity to diversify farm business.

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. States and UTs have been ranked in terms of the score of the index.

The index is aimed at helping states identify and address problems in the farm sector, which suffers from low growth, low incomes and agrarian distress.

It emphasises the much-desired need for an appropriate startup policy to propel the youth of India through and beyond the 21st century.

Adequate job creation is a priority - The job creation figures of 1.35 lakh in 2015, which is the lowest in seven years, are not encouraging. With machines fast replacing men, we have to look at a paradigm shift. We have to prepare our youth, who are buzzing with innovative ideas, to turn into entrepreneurs.

Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index

Why in news: Maharashtra has been ranked first state in the country on reforms in agricultural marketing, followed by Gujarat and Rajasthan, by the NITI Aayog.

Its first-ever index on reforms in the farm sector was issued. Termed the Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index, it ranks states on

three major parameters reforms in agricultural marketing, land lease and forestry on private land.

The minimum score of zero implies no reforms at all; a score of 100 would mean the opposite and the friendliest to farmers.

Three states and four Union Territories — including Bihar and Kerala — did not figure in the list, as these do not have any Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act.

The state of Maharashtra achieves first rank in implementation of various reforms. The state has implemented most of the marketing reforms and offers the best environment for doing agribusiness among all states and UTs.

Madhya Pradesh was ranked fourth, followed by Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Goa and Chhattisgarh.



Banks to report frauds of Rs 1 crore

Why in news: Central Vigilance Commission has now made it mandatory for the public sector banks to report to it all such matters involving funds over Rs one crore.

Based on the reports, the anti-corruption watchdog, which has hired four General Manager ranked officers from bank as advisors, will recommend whether CBI probe can be ordered.

According to CBI data, in 2015, the agency had probed 171 cases of bank frauds involving funds of Rs 20,646 crore. In addition, CBI is also investigating the Ponzi schemes involving funds of over Rs 1.20 lakh crore.

The Commission will also call regular monthly meetings of senior officials of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), CBI and banks to monitor probe in suspected bank frauds of Rs 50 crore and above.

The banks have been asked to share their reports ofFraud Monitoring and Reporting (FMR) mechanism with the CVC in the suspected fraud cases of Rs one crore and above.

India rises to second spot on global business optimism index

India improved its ranking by one spot in a global index of business optimism, with policy reforms and Goods and Services tax (GST) expected to become a reality soon, says a survey.

According to the latest Grant Thornton International Business Report, India was ranked second on the optimism index during the third quarter (July-September 2016).

Indonesia took the top spot, with the Philippines coming in third. India was ranked third during the April-June period after being on top for two consecutive

quarters. The improvement in the optimism ranking in the recent past clearly reflects that the

reform agenda of the government and its efforts on improving the climate for doing business are having an impact

High business optimism was also complimented by the rise of employment expectations. India regained its top position on this parameter, from second position in the April-June period, while profitability expectations also moved up.

High business optimism was also complimented by the rise of employment expectations. The report is prepared on the basis of a quarterly conducted global business survey of 2,500 businesses across 36 economies.

Meanwhile, in terms of revenue expectations, India slipped to third position from top in the previous quarter. Globally, business optimism stands at net 33 per cent, rising 1 percentage point from the previous quarter but falling 11 percentage points over the year.



Food Security Act implemented

Why in news: The National Food Security Act (NFSA), which envisages supply of subsidised food grains, has been implemented across the country.

Kerala and Tamil Nadu have also rolled out the NFSA from November. With this, now the Act has been implemented in all the States and Union Territories.

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.

As a result, 81.34 crore persons will get wheat at Rs. 2 per kg and rice at Rs. 3 per kg Now Union Government will focus on further reforms in the public distribution system (PDS) including end to end computerization in order to check leakages and diversion of food-grains.

About national food security act 2003

The National Food Security Act, 2013 (also Right to Food Act) is an Act of the Parliament of India which aims to provide subsidized food grains to approximately two thirds of India's 1.2 billion people.

It was signed into law on 12 September 2013, retroactive to 5 July 2013. The National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA 2013) converts into legal entitlements for

existing food security programmes of the Government of India. It includes the Midday Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Services scheme and the Public Distribution System. Further, the NFSA 2013 recognizes maternity entitlements.

The Midday Meal Scheme and the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme are universal in nature whereas the PDS will reach about two-thirds of the population (75% in rural areas and 50% in urban areas).

Under the provisions of the bill, beneficiaries of the Public Distribution System (or, PDS) are entitled to 5 kilograms (11 lb) per person per month of cereals at the following prices: Rice at ₹3, Wheat at ₹2, Coarse grains (millet) at ₹1

Pregnant women, lactating mothers, and certain categories of children are eligible for daily free cereals.

Anti-dumping duty

Why in news: The Centre has imposed antidumping duty on imports of steel wire 4.76 % rods from China to protect domestic manufacturers from cheap in-bound shipments.

Anti-dumping duty is being imposed for six months on import of wire road of alloy or non-alloy steel from China.

The effective duty rate would be calculated after deducting the value of the goods and the anti-dumping duty payable when the import price is below USD 504 per tonne, said a Revenue Department notification.



The duty arrived at would be 10 per cent in the first year and will gradually reduce to 6 per cent by 2019

A 10 per cent ad valorem minus anti-dumping duty payable will be imposed on imports up to November 22, 2017. This will be lowered to 8 per cent between November 23, 2017 and November 22, 2018.

Six per cent ad valorem minus anti-dumping duty payable, if any, (will be imposed) when imported during the period from November 23, 2018 to May 22, 2019 (both days inclusive) at an import price below USD 504 per ton on CIF basis

An anti-dumping duty equivalent to the difference between the landed value of steel products and USD 499 per tonne will be imposed on products exported by Minmetals Yingkou Medium Plate Co Ltd.

In case of other producers, the anti-dumping duty would be the difference between the landed value and USD 538 per tonne

The ‘landed value’ of imports was defined as the assessable value as determined by the customs and includes all duties of customs

India previously slapped anti-dumping duty on certain cold-rolled flat steel products from four nations, including China and South Korea.

Anti-dumping measures are taken to ensure fair trade and provide a level-playing field to the domestic industry. They are not a measure to restrict imports or cause an unjustified increase in cost of products.

The Director General (Safeguard), in his final findings on August 2, 2016, “had come to the conclusion that increased imports of subject goods into India has caused and threatened to cause serious injury to the domestic producers of subject goods, thereby necessitating the imposition of safeguard duty on imports of the subject goods into India.

'Saur Sujala Yojana'

Why in news: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Saur Sujala Yojana in Chhattisgarh that would provide solar powered irrigation pumps to farmers at a subsidized price.

Chhattisgarh would be the first state to implement the scheme. Besides, Prime Minister also dedicated the state’s first man-made jungle safari and Bus

Rapid Transit System (BRTS) at Naya Raipur.

Key Facts:

Under the scheme, solar powered irrigation pumps of 3HP and 5HP capacity worth Rs 3.5 lakh and Rs 4.5 lakh respectively would be distributed to the farmers by March 31, 2019.

The beneficiaries would get the pumps at the subsidised price. 51,000 farmers would be benefitted in the state with the launch of the scheme in next two

years. The scheme will be given priority in those areas where electricity connection has not

reached yet



The five-day ‘Chhattisgarh Rajyotsav’ – the statehood celebrations- will be held at the sprawling Rajyotsav Sthal at Naya Raipur, the upcoming new capital of Chhattisgarh.

Income-Tax Amendment Bill

Why in news: The Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016 proposes to amend Section 115BBE of the Income Tax Act to provide for a punitive tax, surcharge and penalty on unexplained credit, investment, cash and other assets.

Against current provision of 30% flat tax rate plus surcharge and cesss, a steep 60% tax will be levied on unaccounted income together with 25% surcharge of tax (15% of such income). So total incidence of tax will be 75% with no expense, deductions or set-off allowed.

Also, the assessing officer can levy an additional 10% penalty, taking the total tax incidence to 85%.

The current provisions for penalty in cases of search and seizure are proposed to be amended to provide for a penalty of 30% of income if it is admitted, returns filed and taxes paid. In all other cases, 60% will be the penalty.

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, 2016’

An alternative Scheme namely, ‘Taxation and Investment Regime for Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, 2016’ (PMGKY) has been proposed in the Bill.

The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) notified along with other provisions of Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Act, 2016 came into effect from 17 December 2016.

PMGKY is Union Government’s second income disclosure scheme (IDS) to allow tax evaders to come clean with unaccounted wealth. It provides for 50 per cent tax and surcharge on declarations of unaccounted cash deposited in banks

The salient features of the Scheme are as under:

Declaration under the Scheme can be made by any person in respect of undisclosed income in the form of cash or deposits in an account with bank or post office or specified entity.

Tax @30% of the undisclosed income, surcharge @33% of tax and penalty @10% of such income is payable besides mandatory deposit of 25% of the undisclosed income in Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme, 2016. The deposits are interest free and have a lock-in period of four years.

The income declared under the Scheme shall not be included in the total income of the declarant under the Income-tax Act for any assessment year.

The declarations made under the Scheme shall not be admissible as evidence under any Act (eg. Central Excise Act, Wealth-tax Act, Companies Act etc.). However, no immunity will be available under Criminal Acts mentioned in section 199-O of the Scheme.



e-Pashuhaat

e-pashuhaat portal was recently launched to connect farmers and breeders of bovine animals

The portal was launched on the occasion of birth anniversary of the father of India’s White Revolution Verghese Kurien and National Milk Day.

The Centre through the portal will provide all details at a single platform, including availability of bovine germplasm.

It will be a platform for sell of bovines, including information on semen, embryos and live animals with all the agencies and stake holders in the country.

The portal would make the farmers aware of availability of quality disease free bovine germplasm with different agencies in the country.

Animal fodder varieties, its volume and price information is also available in this portal. Farmers willing to purchase bovine animals can also avail the information of animal transport facilities in this e-pashu haat portal.

Since there is no authentic organised market for animals, the portal is likely to help fill in the vacuum.

The portal will also connect the farmers with the milk cooperatives in the country.

National Milk Day

November 26 was observed as National Milk across the country Day to mark the birth anniversary of Father of the White Revolution Dr. Verghese Kurien.

The idea of observing National Milk Day was first mooted by Indian Dairy Association in 2014 on the lines of World Milk Day observed on June 1 under the aegis of UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

The first NMD was observed on 26 November 2014 by all Indian diary sector majors including National Dairy Development Board, Indian Dairy Association along with state level milk federations.

Dr Kurien was an Indian social entrepreneur known as the ‘Father of the White Revolution’ for launching Operation flood — the world’s largest agricultural development programme.

Known as the ‘milkman of India’, Dr Kurien was the founder-Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) from 1965 to 1998, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF) from 1973 to 2006 and the Institute of Rural Management (IRMA) from 1979 to 2006, which are owned and managed by farmers and run by professionals.



How will it benefit

MSDE has plans to distribute around Rs 7,000 crore to states to help align them with the Centre's skill development agenda.

The Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) will work closely with the local authorities and industries towards job aggregation. Those who perform well will be incentivised while those who do not perform will have to exit

The conference also saw Rudy unveil the guidelines for state engagement under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 2.0 (2016-20) in the presence of state ministers.

MSDE has allocated around Rs 3,000 crore of 25 per cent from the funds earmarked for the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) to the states to achieve its target of training 10 million people over 4 years.

Emphasising on the importance of being self-sustainable, MSDE announced the institutionalisation of National Entrepreneurship awards for first generation achievers below 30 years. The entrepreneurship awards are proposed to be given on January 16, 2017.

Government rolls out Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana for entrepreneurs

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship announced launch of Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana to scale up an ecosystem of entrepreneurship for youngsters.

The scheme was launched to mark 2nd Foundation Day of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).

Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana

The scheme spans over five years (2016-17 to 2020-21) with a project cost of Rs 499.94 crore and will provide entrepreneurship education and training to over 7 lakh students in 5 years through 3,050 institutes

It will also include easy access to information and mentor network, credit, incubator and accelerator and advocacy to create a pathway for the youth.

Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana has national and international best practices of learning in entrepreneurship education.

The institutes under the PM's Yuva Yojana include 2,200 institutes of higher learning (colleges, universities, and premier institutes), 300 schools, 500 ITIs and 50 entrepreneurship development centres through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)



Notes ban to significantly disrupt economic activity: Moody’s

On November 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, thereby withdrawing 86% or Rs 14 lakh crore worth currency from circulation.

In a report titled ‘Indian Credit — Demonetisation Is Beneficial for Indian Government and Banks; Implementation Challenges Will Disrupt Economic Activity’, Moody’s has said the move to ban old Rs 500/1000 notes is affecting all sectors of the economy to various extent, with banks being the key beneficiaries.

Important observations made by the report:

Demonetisation will significantly disrupt economic activity and lead to weaker growth in near-term, though in the long run it can boost tax revenues and translate into faster fiscal consolidation.

There will be a loss of wealth for individuals and corporates with unreported income, as some will choose not to deposit funds back into the formal financial system to avoid disclosing the sources of these funds.

In the immediate period, demonetisation would significantly disrupt economic activity, resulting in temporarily weaker consumption and GDP growth.

Households and businesses will experience liquidity shortages as cash is taken out of the system, with a daily limit on the amount in old notes that can be exchanged into new notes.

Corporates will see economic activity decline, with lower sales volumes and cash flows, with those directly exposed to retail sales most affected.

However, greater formalisation of economic and financial activity would ultimately help broaden the tax base and expand usage of the financial system, which would be credit positive.

Impact on banks:

Banks would benefit significantly from a move towards digital payments, given their role as intermediaries for such transactions. Rising bank deposits could lower lending rates, a positive for the banks.

In the nearer term, however, the asset quality will deteriorate for banks and non-bank finance companies, as the economic disruption will significantly impact the ability of borrowers to repay loans, in particular for the loans against property, commercial vehicles and micro finance sectors.

A prolonged disruption could also have a more significant impact on asset quality, as both corporate and small-and medium-sized enterprise customers have a limited ability to withstand a sustained period of economic weakness.



Impetus to digital economy:

In the medium term, the impact on businesses will depend on how quickly liquidity returns to the system and transaction flows are restored. The government could prevent the same amount of cash returning into the system, in an effort to increase the use of non-cash transactions and digital payments.

This would improve the overall operating environment for doing business in India — by improving the ease and speed at which payments reach manufacturers and reducing corruption — but would prolong the economic disruption.

However, consumption in India is still largely cash-driven, and a move towards digital payments would require a likely gradual change in consumer habits.

Govt asks NABARD to disburse Rs 21,000 crore to farmers

Government has allowed NABARD to disburse Rs 21,000 crore to cash-starved farmers, helping them sow winter crops like wheat ahead of the sowing season. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) will disburse the money to farm cooperatives for onward payments to farmers.

Why this was necessary?

The move is aimed at easing liquidity crisis facing farmers who were left with very little cash to buy seeds and fertilizers for winter crops due to restrictions placed on bank withdrawals post demonetisation.

The government’s demonetisation move, which swept away 86% of currency in circulation, has badly hit farmers leaving them without cash just ahead of the sowing season. This has also threatened crop production in a year that came after two successive years of drought. More than 40% small and marginal farmers get crop loans from cooperative institutions.

Way ahead:

The sanction of Rs 21,000 crore to the district central cooperative banks (DCCBs) will enable them to pass on or grant funds to the primary agriculture cooperatives. This will then help in meeting crop loan requirements of farmers in Rabi season. This will help in smooth flow of credit for farmers to enable them to undertake rabi requirements.

Merchant Shipping Bill

Why in News: The Cabinet has approved a new Merchant Shipping Bill by repealing the 58-year old law, a move that will promote ease of doing business, transparency and effective delivery of services.

The Merchant Shipping Bill, 2016, is a revamped version of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958. It provides for repealing of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, as well as the Coasting Vessels Act, 1838.



Need for new law

The Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, had become a bulky piece of legislation over the years as a result of various amendments carried out in the Act from time to time. It was amended 17 times between 1966 and 2014, resulting in an increase in the number of sections to over 560. These provisions have been meticulously shortened to 280 sections in the Bill.

Highlights

Provisions of the Bill are aimed at simplifying the law governing merchant shipping in India. In the new bill, certain redundant provisions will be dispensed with and the remaining

provisions will stand consolidated and simplified so as to promote ease of doing business, transparency and effective delivery of services.

The significant reforms that will follow enactment of the Bill include augmentation of Indian tonnage promotion/ development of coastal shipping in India, introduction of welfare measures for seafarers and registration of certain residuary category of vessels not covered under any statute.

Also, the Coasting Vessels Act, 1838, an archaic legislation of the British era providing for registration of non-mechanically propelled vessels to a limited jurisdiction of Saurashtra and Kutch, is proposed to be repealed since provisions have been introduced in the Merchant Shipping Bill 2016 for registration of all vessels for the whole of India.

SEBI eases rules for angel funds

Why in news: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has liberalised norms for angel funds to invest in early-stage entities as part of its attempts to facilitate fund-raising for start-ups.

Key facts:

In this regard, SEBI has decided to amend the SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012.

The regulator has increased the upper limit for number of angel investors from forty nine to two hundred.

Angel Funds will also be allowed to invest in start-ups incorporated within five years instead of the earlier norm of three years.

The requirements of minimum investment amount by an angel fund in any venture capital undertaking has been reduced from Rs.50 lakh to Rs.25 lakh.

The lock-in requirements of investment made by angel funds in the venture capital undertaking has been reduced from three years to one year.

Such funds have also been allowed to invest in overseas venture capital undertakings up to 25 per cent of their investible corpus in line with other Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs).



Benefits:

This move will greatly benefit start-ups looking for raising venture funding not just for the money but for the other value addition that raising money from a venture capital firm brings such as direction and mentorship from seasoned investors.

A relook at defence blacklist

The Defence Ministry is all set to review cases of blacklisted firms as it prepares a new list of such entities following the new policy unveiled by it which is a mixture of heavy fines and graded banning.

The review will include about a dozen firms that came under blanket blacklisting in the previous regime, a move which the forces were unhappy about as it proved detrimental to their modernisation plans.

Recently, the defence acquisition council chaired by the defence Minister gave its nod for a new policy on dealing with arms companies guilty of corruption.

Highlights of the new policy:

Under its new liberalised blacklisting policy for arms companies, India will now be open to doing business even with a banned firm if there is no alternative available to its weapon system or equipment in the market.

This can be done on the grounds of national security, operational military readiness and export obligations, after the vice-chief of the Service concerned, the chief of the integrated defence staff or the additional secretary (defence production) signs a certificate to that effect and gets permission from the “competent authority”, who is the Defence Minister.

Another key element of the new policy is that unlike the blanket ban of 10 years, the government has said that ban on serious defaulters will be for minimum five years. The policy does not mention the maximum time period for ban.

The policy will have a graded system of punishment to deal with agents of the arms companies and weed out corrupt practices seen intrinsic to procurement of arms and ammunitions.

The new approach to blacklisting is aimed at removing major obstacles in the way of military modernisation.

‘Islamic window’ in banks

Why in news: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed the opening of “Islamic window” in conventional banks for “gradual” introduction of Sharia-compliant or interest-free banking in the country.

In this regard, both the Centre and the RBI have been exploring the possibility of introduction of Islamic banking for a while now to ensure financial inclusion of those sections of society that remain excluded due to religious reasons.



What is Islamic banking?

Islamic or Sharia banking is a finance system based on the principles of not charging interest. The charging of interest is prohibited under Islam.

Initially, a few simple products similar to conventional banking products may be considered for introduction through the Islamic window of conventional banks after necessary notification by the government. Introduction of full-fledged Islamic banking with profit-loss sharing complex products may be considered at a later stage on the basis of experience gained in course of time.

5th International Tourism Mart

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in association with the North Eastern States and West Bengal is organising the “International Tourism Mart” in Imphal, Manipur from 23rd – 25th November, 2016.

This is the 5th International Tourism Mart. It is an annual event organised in the North Eastern region with the objective of

highlighting the tourism potential of the region in the domestic and international markets. It brings together the tourism business fraternity and entrepreneurs from the eight North

Eastern States and West Bengal. The event has been planned and scheduled to facilitate interaction between buyers, sellers, media, Government agencies and other stakeholders.

Buyer and Media delegates from around the world and from different regions of the country are participating in the Mart and will engage in one-to-one meetings with sellers from the North East Region. This will enable the tourism product suppliers from the region to reach out to international and domestic buyers, with the objective of promoting tourism to the region.

The International Tourism Marts are organised in the North Eastern States on rotation basis. The earlier editions of this mart have been held in Guwahati, Tawang, Shillong and Gangtok.

The highlight of this 5th International Tourism Mart 2016 is that it is being organised during the Sangai Festival. The Sangai festival is an annual major cultural festival organised by State Government of Manipur every year from November 21 to 30.



272 products registered as geographical indication so far’

As many as 272 products such as Sangli raisins, Banaras metal repousse craft and Beed custard apple have been registered as geographical indications since September 2003, according to a government data.

During this fiscal so far, 11 products have been registered as GI from states including Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. In 2015-16, 26 items got GI status.

What GI tag?

GI status is an indication that identifies goods as produced from a particular area, which has special quality or reputation attributable to its geographical origin.

GI registration confers:

Legal protection to the products. Prevents unauthorised use of a GI by others. Helps consumers get quality products of desired traits. Promotes economic prosperity of producers of goods by enhancing demand in national

and international markets.

Key facts:

The GI tag is an indication which is definite to a geographical territory. It is used for agricultural, natural and manufactured goods.

India’s Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act 1999, has come into force with effect from September 15, 2003.

For a product to get GI tag, the goods need to be produced or processed or prepared in that region. It is also essential that the product has special quality or reputation.

Under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, geographical indications are covered as an element of intellectual property rights (IPRs).

They are also covered under the WTO’s Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement.

The famous goods which carry this tag include Basmati rice, Darjeeling Tea, Chanderi Fabric, Mysore Silk, Kullu Shawl, Kangra Tea, Thanjavur Paintings, Allahabad Surkha, Farrukhabad Prints, Lucknow Zardozi and Kashmir Walnut Wood Carving.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target of raising India's renewable energy target to 175 gigawatts by 2022, more than five times current usage, as part of the fight against climate change by the world's third-biggest greenhouse gas emitter and to supply power to all of the country's 1.3 billion people.

Ahead of the Paris climate talks in November last year, Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal had said that the central government is planning a USD 1 billion private equity fund for the renewable energy sector.


Clean energy equity fund for additional renewable energy

WHY IN NEWS: The Indian government and three state-run firms will jointly set up an equity fund of up to $2 billion for renewable energy companies to tap into to help New Delhi meet its clean energy goals.

Private and public companies will be able to dip into an initial amount of more than $1 billion starting next fiscal year.

India's government hopes the Clean Energy Equity Fund (CEEF) will attract pension and insurance funds from Canada and Europe.

Around $600 million of the initial pool will come from the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, under the finance ministry, and the rest from state entities NTPC Ltd, Rural Electrification Corp and the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency.

New and Renewable Energy Ministry has already processed the proposal and sent it to the Finance Ministry to initiate a USD 2 billion clean energy equity fund to push renewable energy capacity addition as envisaged by the central government.

The fund will be launched soon, within this fiscal, as all the spadework has been completed by the New and Renewable Energy Ministry after discussing it at a length with NTPC Ltd, Rural Electrification Corp (REC) and Power Finance Corp (PFC)

The government is also seeking to collect USD 4 billion per year in the next 3-4 years for a clean energy fund.

FLY ASH UTILISATION POLICY

WHY IN NEWS: Maharashtra has become the first state to adopt Fly Ash Utilisation Policy, paving way for prosperity by generating “wealth from waste”, and environment protection.

Maharashtra Cabinet approves a policy for 100 per cent use of fly ash generated from thermal power plants and biogas plants for construction activities.

This fly ash will be used to make bricks, blocks, tiles, wall panels, cement and other construction materials.

It will save soil excavation and protect environment. Earlier, use of fly ash was allowed within 100 kms radius of power plant, now it has been extended to 300 kms.



What is fly ash?

Fly ash is a fine, glass powder by-product recovered from gases of burning coal in thermal power plants during production of electricity.

They are micron sized earth elements primarily consisting silica, alumina and iron.

What are environmental concerns?

The Fly ash causes air pollution. It can also contaminate water and soil systems. The wet disposal of Fly ash results in leaching of toxic heavy metals in ground water

system.

Uses

Fly ash can be used as a replacement for some of the Portland cement contents of concrete.

It can be used in the production of bricks for building construction. Central Government has made it mandatory for use of fly ash bricks in construction

activities happening 500km around thermal power plants.

The policy will create new employment opportunities in the power plant areas and also make available raw material for construction at low cost to help ‘Housing for All’ projects.

RUSTOM-2 DRONE

WHY IN NEWS: Rustom-II, India’s indigenously developed long-endurance combat-capable drone, successfully completed its maiden flight, giving a boost to India’s development programme for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV).

The Defence Research and Development Organisation successfully carried out the maiden flight of TAPAS 201 (RUSTOM-II), a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV.

It has an endurance of 24 hours and can conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions for the country’s armed forces.

The UAV can also be used as an unmanned armed combat vehicle on the lines of the US’s Predator drone.

The test flight took place from Aeronautical Test Range(ATR), Chitradurga, 250 km from Bangalore, which is a newly developed flight test range for the testing of UAVs and manned aircraft.

The flight accomplished the main objectives of proving the flying platform, such as take-off, bank, level flight and landing among others.



TAPAS 201, a multi-mission UAV is being developed to carry out Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) roles for the three armed forces with an endurance of 24 hours.

It is capable to carry different combinations of payloads like Medium Range Electro Optic (MREO), Long Range Electro Optic (LREO), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Electronic Intelligence (ELINT), Communication Intelligence (COMINT) and Situational Awareness Payloads (SAP) to perform missions during day and night.

About Prithvi

Prithvi, the first missile developed under Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), has the capability to carry 500 Kg of warhead.

It has a length of nine meters with one metre diameter thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engine and uses Advanced Inertial Guidance System (AIGS) with maneouring trajectory and reaches the targets with accuracy.

The missile was inducted in the Armed Forces in 2002.

Prithvi-II missile is one of the proven weapon systems of the country and it dives at the target at an 80 degree angle.

The missile’s short range variant was first tested in January 1996 and inducted in the Armed forces in 2002.

TAPAS 201 has been designed and developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), the Bangalore-based lab of DRDO with HAL-BEL as the production partners.

The UAV weighing two tonnes was put into air by a dedicated team of young scientists of DRDO.

It was piloted (external and internal) by the pilots from the armed forces. It is also the first R&D prototype UAV which has undergone certification and qualification for the first flight from the Center for Military Airworthiness & Certification (CEMILAC) and Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA).

Many critical systems such as air frame, landing gear, flight control and avionics sub-systems are being developed in India with the collaboration of private industries.

Rustom-II will undergo further trials for validating the design parameters, before going for User Validation Trials.

PRITHVI-II MISSILE

WHY IN NEWS: The Indian Armed forces today successfully test fired two nuclear capable Prithvi-II ballistic missiles back-to-back in salvo mode from two mobile launchers at a defence test facility off the Odisha coast.

Mounted on two Mobile Tatra Transporter-erector Launchers (MTL), the indigenously developed surface-to-surface medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) were launched from the launching complex-III (LC-III) of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea.

The missiles having a strike range of around 350 km fired at two different targets met all mission parameters

Similar twin trial had been conducted on October 12, 2009 from the same base where both tests were successful



Advantages

With the induction of these four systems, the underwater surveillance capability of the Indian Navy will get a boost, besides providing a fillip to the quest for self-reliance in this critical area of technology.

The missiles were randomly chosen from the production stock and the entire launch activities were carried out by the specially formed strategic force command (SFC) and monitored by the scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of training exercise

Two naval ships located at the impact points tracked and monitored both the missiles destroying the targets. All the radars and other sensors along the east coast also monitored the missiles trajectory parameters, the official informed.

Indigenously developed SONAR system

Why in News: INDIAN NAVY INDUCTS FOUR UNDERWATER SONAR SYSTEM DEVELOPED BY DRDO:

The Indian Navy on 18 November 2016 inducted four types of indigenously developed SONAR systems. The sonar systems are capable of boosting the Navy’s underwater surveillance capabilities.

The four sensors were handed over to the Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba by Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

The systems have been designed and developed by Naval Physical & Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), a Kochi based laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

FOUR TYPES OF SONARS:

ABHAY:

ABHAY is an advanced active-cum-passive integrated sonar system designed and developed for the smaller platforms such as shallow water crafts and coastal surveillance/patrol vessels.

It is capable of detecting, localizing, classifying and tracking sub-surface and surface targets in both its active and passive modes of operation.

The prototype of this compact sonar installed onboard a nominated naval platform has successfully completed all user evaluation trials to demonstrate the features as per the Naval Staff Qualification Requirements. Indian Navy has proposed to induct this SONAR on three of the Abhay class ships.

HUMSA UG:

HUMSA UG is designed for upgrading the existing Humsa sonar system. This system is proposed to be installed on seven ships of three different classes of ships



AIDSS:

It stands for Advanced Indigenous Distress sonar system for submarines. It is a distress SONAR. It is an Emergency Sound Signalling Device, which is used to indicate

that a submarine is in distress and enable quick rescue and salvage. It is a life-saving alarm system designed to transmit sonar signals of a pre-designated

frequency and pulse shape in an emergency situation from a submarine for long period, so as to attract the attention of passive sonars of ships or submarines in the vicinity and all types of standard rescue vessels in operation.

NACS:

It determines the in-situ performance of the SONAR systems, which are used to find the frequency-dependent 3-D transmission and reception characteristics of the SONAR.

It is also used to measure the magnitude and phase characteristics of the SONAR transmission and reception electronics and the transducers.

Jhelum-Tawi flood recovery project

Why in news: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti formally launched the World Bank funded mega US $250 million Jhelum-Tawi Flood Recovery project which would give a massive push to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of infrastructure post 2014 floods in the State

The project was conceptualised and pursued by former Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed in the aftermath of devastating floods of 2014 and was formally launched after completion of all formalities.

The Government of India and the World Bank signed a USD 250 million credit agreement as per the Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project

Project is funded by credit from the International Development Association, the concessionary lending arm of the World Bank with a mature of 25 years including a 5 year grace period

Project aims at reconstruction and recovery of support in flood affected areas where public infrastructure and livelihoods are badly impacted

It will focus on 20 flood affected areas in the state including Pulwama , Kupwara, Baramulla and Jammu the project will also focus on disaster risk mitigation.

The loan assistance would not only comprise fund flow from the world body but also expertise to handle such projects and the necessary technological advancements as well. It will also facilitate capacity building and creation of livelihood.

The loan assistance from the World Bank would be shared by Centre and the State Government on 90:10 basis and it would be operative for five years ending June 2020

The works to be completed under the project include projects in core sectors like roads, bridges, hospitals and other infrastructure projects. A key factor of the project is that the sectoral and geographical equities have been adequately ensured.



INTERLINKING OF RIVERS PROJECTS:

The project is being managed by India's National Water Development Agency (NWDA), under its Ministry of Water Resources. NWDA has studied and prepared reports on 14 inter-link projects for Himalayan component, 16 inter-link projects for Peninsular component and 37 intrastate river linking projects.

How is the Project Divided

The project has been divided into three parts:

1. Northern Himalayan rivers inter-link component 2. Southern Peninsular component 3. Intrastate rivers linking component

Reason behind the Project

The average rainfall in India is about 4,000 billion cubic meters, but most of India's rainfall comes over a 4-month period – June through September.

Furthermore, the rain across the very large nation is not uniform, the east and north gets most of the rain, while the west and south get less.

India also sees years of excess monsoons and floods, followed by below average or late monsoons with droughts.

This geographical and time variance in availability of natural water versus the year round demand for irrigation, drinking and industrial water creates a demand-supply gap, that has been worsening with India's rising population.

Special committee for inter- linking of rivers

Why in News: The Union Cabinet approved constitution of 'special committee for inter-linking of rivers' in compliance with a Supreme Court order, a move the government said will help in monitoring "precious" projects to be carried out under its National Perspective Plan, 1980

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval to the Status-cum-Progress Report and constitution of 'special committee for inter-linking of rivers' in compliance of Supreme Court judgement dated 27.2.2012

The status-cum-progress report of the special committee will be submitted bi-annually for information of Cabinet to facilitate "faster and appropriate" decisions in the interest of the country.

India’s National Water Development Agency (NWDA) under Ministry of Water Resources has been given the responsibility of managing the project.

The project was proposed by NDA Government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The court also held the opinion that success of this project would save people living in

drought-prone zones from hunger and those living in flood-prone zones from destruction.



INDIA SIGNS AGREEMENT TO BECOME AN ASSOCIATE MEMBER OF CERN

India and the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) signed an agreement on November 21 on making India an associate member state of the research organisation that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world.

This follows CERN Council’s adoption of the resolution to this effect on September 15, 2016.

Who signed the agreement

The agreement was signed by Sekhar Basu, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy and CERN Director General Fabiola Gianotti in Mumbai.

What is CERN

CERN, based in Geneva on the French-Swiss border, is the world’s largest nuclear and particle physics laboratory, where scientists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the Universe by using the most sophisticated scientific instruments and advanced computing systems.

Contribution by India

In recent years, Indian scientists have been involved in all pioneering activities at CERN. India has made significant contributions to the construction of the Large Hadron Collider

(LHC), in the areas of design, development and supply of hardware accelerator components/systems and its commissioning and software development and deployment in the machine.

The discovery of the Higgs Boson at the LHC is the most talked about scientific discovery in recent memory.

Indian scientists have played a significant role in the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiments, which is one of the two large experiments that have led to the discovery of the Higgs Boson. They have been named as part of this historic discovery.

How will India Benefit

Becoming an associate member of CERN will enhance participation of young scientists and engineers in various CERN projects.

It will also open opportunities for Indian industries to participate directly in CERN projects. The industries now can directly bag contracts for specified requirements of CERN. Earlier, the supply of required material, components and services was in the form of kind

(without any charge). Now, the companies can directly bag the order and provide the services. After becoming an associate member, India also has to contribute a certain amount of

money for research activities.



This would involve annual contribution of 11.5 million swiss frank from Indian government to CERN.

The CERN has 22 member states, four associate member states while observer status is given to four states and three international organisations

Global unity to act on Paris climate deal

U.N. climate summit, the 11-day meeting here concluded with all participating member nations coming together to reaffirm their commitment to climate action under the Paris Agreement adopted last year.

The nearly 200 nations attending the COP22 summit adopted the Marrakech Action Proclamation, sending out a strong signal to the world on climate action.

Responding to an invitation by the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, heads of state from close to 90 countries, and, delegations from other U.N. member countries issued the proclamation to signal a shift towards a new era of implementation and action on climate and sustainable development.

The nations demanded solidarity with those countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, highlighting the need to support efforts aimed at enhancing their adaptive capacity, to strengthen resilience and to reduce vulnerability.

A Climate Vulnerable Forum, comprising a group of over 45 most vulnerable countries, was launched, which adopted an agenda for maintaining the target of limiting warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.

The countries also called for an increase in the volume, flow and access to finance for climate projects, alongside improved capacity and technology.

Doha Amendment

Given the gaps in emissions reduction has to stay on course for keeping global warming levels under 2 degrees C, the nations also called for urgently raising ambition and strengthening cooperation among the countries to close the gap between current emissions trajectories and the pathway needed to meet the long-term temperature goals of the Paris Agreement.

The nations, who are parties to the Kyoto Protocol (which does not include the U.S.), also encouraged the speedy ratification of the Doha Amendment, with its focus on pre-2020 action.

128th birth anniversary of CV Raman Observed

The 128th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate Bharat Ratna Sir CV Raman was observed on November 7, 2016. Various functions including debates have been organized in schools and colleges across India to commemorate the day.

Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (7 November 1888 – 21 November 1970) was an Indian physicist born in the former Madras Province in India presently called as Tamil Nadu.



What is Raman Effect?

Some part of light beam after passing through a transparent medium gets scattered. This phenomenon of scattering of light is termed as Raman Scattering and the cause of

scattering is called the Raman Effect. The wavelength of these scattered rays is different from that of the incident rays of light.

About NESAC:

NE-SAC, located at Umiam (near Shillong), Meghalaya, is a joint initiative of DOS and North Eastern Council to provide developmental support to the North Eastern region using space science and technology.

The NE centre was started in the year 2000 to provide Space technology-based communication and technology support to the region.

The centre has the mandate to develop high technology infrastructure support to enable NE states to adopt space technology inputs for their development.

At present, NE-SAC is providing developmental support by undertaking specific application projects using remote sensing, GIS, satellite communication and conducting space science research.

He carried out ground-breaking work in the field of light scattering, which earned him the 1930 Nobel Prize for Physics.

He discovered that when light traverses a transparent material, some of the deflected light changes in wavelength. This phenomenon, subsequently known as Raman scattering

He was the first Asian and first non-white to receive any Nobel Prize in the sciences. Before him Rabindranath Tagore had received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913.

In 1954, India honoured him with its highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna. He was the first recipient of the Bharat Ratna along with politician C. Rajagopalachari,

philosopher Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. National Science Day is observed every year in India on February to mark the discovery of

Raman Effect.

ISRO drones help map disasters in north-east

The Shillong-based North-Eastern Space Applications Centre (NE-SAC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation has tested unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to assess several regional problems, ranging from measuring diseased paddy fields to damage caused by frequent landslides in the north eastern region of the country.

NE-SAC has taken the initiative for design and assembling of UAVs for various applications

UAVs can perform efficient surveys for disaster-prone or physically inaccessible areas, quick damage assessment of landslides, floods and earthquakes and enable timely relief measures.

Among various services provided on request to the north-eastern States using the drones, NE-SAC mapped the area affected by landslides along Meghalaya’s life line, NH40. It gave the extent of damage caused to pest-infested paddy fields in Naramari village of Assam.



Modern RFID Access Control System Introduced at Paradip Port

Paradip Port has introduced the modern Radio-frequency identification (RFID) Access Control System for controlling and tracking the entry and exit of vehicular as well as human traffic into and out of its prohibited area.

The implementation of the system was done as per the directives of the Ministry of Shipping.

Paradip Port is the first among all Major Ports to have successfully implemented the RFID Access Control System adding yet another distinction to its string of achievements.

The new RFID system is inherently accompanied with enhanced Maritime Security features. Faster and efficient movement of traffic across the gates leading to reduction in congestion, simplified online payment procedure, availability of real-time information on number of different types of vehicles, equipment, port user personnel inside the prohibited area, availability of entry and exit details of a particular person, vehicle inclusive of the gate no. instantly through which the traffic moved, are some of the added advantages of the new system.

RFID

RFID tagging is an ID system that uses small radio frequency identification devices for identification and tracking purposes

An RFID tagging system includes the tag itself, a read/write device, and a host system application for data collection, processing, and transmission.

An RFID tag (sometimes called an RFID transponder) consists of a chip, some memory and an antenna.

13th World Robot Olympiad

The 13th World Robot Olympiad is being held in India.

It is jointly organized by National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) under the aegis of Ministry of Culture and India STEM Foundation (ISF).

The theme for this year’s event is ‘Rap the Scrap’.

Guided Missile Destroyer INS Chennai Joins the Indian Navy

INS Chennai, a P 15A Guided Missile Destroyer, has been commissioned into the Indian Navy. This marks the formal induction into the Navy of the third and the last of the three ‘Kolkata’ class destroyers.

INS Chennai

The vessel is indigenously designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house organisation, Directorate of Naval Design and constructed by Mazagon Dock Limited, Mumbai.

Following her formal induction, INS Chennai will be placed under the operational and administrative control of the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command.



About CERN:

CERN is the world’s largest nuclear and particle physics laboratory, where scientists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the Universe by using the most sophisticated scientific instruments and advanced computing systems. CERN is based in Geneva on the French-Swiss border. Presently CERN has 22 member states, four associate member states, and the observer status is given to four states and three International Organizations.

In due course, the ship will be assigned to the Western Fleet and would be base-ported at Mumbai.

The ship measures 163m in length, 17.4m in breadth with a displacement of 7500 tonnes and can rightfully be regarded as one of the most potent warships to have been constructed in India.

The ship is propelled by four powerful Gas Turbines, in a Combined Gas and Gas (COGAG) configuration, capable of achieving speeds in excess of 30 knots.

The ship has enhanced stealth features resulting in a reduced Radar Cross Section (RCS) achieved through efficient shaping of hull, full beam superstructure design, plated masts and use of radar transparent materials on exposed decks.

INS Chennai is packed with contemporary and sophisticated ‘state of the art’ weapons and sensors such as Surface to Surface Missile and Surface to Air Missiles. The ship is fitted with a modern Surveillance Radar which provides target data to the gunnery weapon systems of the ship.

The ship’s Anti Submarine Warfare capabilities are provided by the indigenously developed Rocket Launchers and Torpedo Launchers. The ship is equipped to fight under Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) warfare conditions.

A unique feature of this ship is the high level of indigenisation incorporated in the production, accentuating our national objective of ‘Make in India’.

Some of the major indigenised equipment / system onboard INS Chennai include Combat Management System, Rocket Launcher, Torpedo Tube Launcher, Automated Power Management System, Foldable Hangar Doors, Helo Traversing system, Auxiliary Control System and the Bow mounted SONAR.

CERN

Why in news: India and European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) have signed an agreement making India an Associate Member State of CERN. This follows CERN Council’s adoption of the resolution to this effect in September 2016

Background:

The participation of Indian scientists in CERN dates back to early 1960s, which has become much stronger and closer for the last quarter of a century with the support of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Department of Science and Technology (DST). In 1991, DAE had signed a formal agreement with CERN, which continues till today.

In recognition of most significant contributions, in 2003, India was awarded the Observer status of CERN, and subsequently invited to join CERN as an Associate Member. Last year, the Indian Cabinet gave its approval following which the CERN Council has accepted India as an Associate member.



Significance

As an Associate Member of CERN, India will be a part of the huge scientific and technological endeavor. The India-CERN association as a whole is interdisciplinary in nature and the involvement of physicists, electronics hardware and software engineers will pave the path for overall knowledge development in the best possible way.

Becoming Associate Member of CERN will enhance participation of young scientists and engineers in various CERN projects and bring back knowledge for deployment in the domestic programmes.

It will also open opportunities for Indian industries to participate directly in the CERN project.

Through the Teachers programme, teachers teaching in the higher secondary schools would also be able to participate in the programme and pass on the knowledge and quest for high-end science to their students, thereby encouraging large number of students to pursue their career in science.

Prithvi-II missiles

Why in news: Two Prithvi-II missiles were recently successfully test-fired from the launch complex-III of the Integrated Test Range near Balasore in Odisha. The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) fired the missiles from a road-mobile launcher.

Key facts:

Prithvi-II is a short-range surface-to-surface missile. Inducted into India’s armed forces in 2003, Prithvi II is the first missile to be developed by

DRDO under India’s prestigious IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Program). The twin-engine Prithvi-II is 8.56 metre in length, 1.1 metre in width and weighs 4,600 kg.

It has the ability to dodge enemy missiles. The missile, capable of reaching targets 350 km away, can carry a 500-kg nuclear warhead. The battlefield missile has a flight duration of 483 seconds and a peak altitude of 43.5km.

Also, Prithvi is India’s first indigenously-built ballistic missile. Prithvi-II has been designed to operate with both liquid and solid fuels and is capable of

carrying both conventional and nuclear payloads.

Agni-I missile

Why in news: The strategic missile, Agni-I, was recently test-fired from the Wheeler Island, off Damra village on the Odisha coast. The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) fired the missile positioned on a massive truck called a road-mobile launcher.

Key facts:

Agni-I is a 12 tonne, 15 metre long, 700km range missile. It has a specialised navigation system called Ring Laser Gyro- INS to ensure high degree of

accuracy to hit the target.



It is a single stage missile that is powered by solid propellants and can carry a nuclear warhead of 1000kg.

Agni-I can be fired from both road and rail mobile launchers at short notice. The DRDO has designed and developed the series of Agni missiles.

Himalayan projects face flood risk

According to an analysis of Himalayan glaciers and their possible future impact on livelihoods in States adjoining the region, potential hydro power projects in the Himalayan region would need to factor in chances of increased floods from the formation of new lakes and the expansion of existing ones due to melting glaciers.

The results are part of a modelling study by Swiss researchers on the impact of climate change in the Himalayas.

Highlights of the study:

441 hydro-power projects spanning India, Nepal, Pakistan and China, that is, 66% of constructed and potential hydro power projects, are on possible Glacier Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) tracks, which means they could be gorged with extra water from melting glaciers.

Almost a third of these hydro power projects could experience GLOF discharges well above what these dams account for.

Therefore if hydro-power projects were to be situated close to these glaciers, they would have to account for higher water flows. They might need extra design or safety features.

There is a paucity of data regarding the health of Himalayan glaciers, and depending on their location within the Himalayan range, there were varying rates of glacial melt.

https://i2.wp.com/www.insightsonindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Himalayan-glaciers-global-warming.jpg



Indian scenario:

In the Beas basin, six lakes in 1989 had increased to 33 in 2011, and in the Parvati Valley catchment area, there was an increase from 12 lakes (in 1989) to 77 lakes (in 2014). Most of the Himachal Pradesh lakes were relatively small or with a capacity of a million cubic metres, and only a few of them had a capacity larger than 10 million cubic metres of water.

The findings come even as researchers note that global warming could cause glaciers to melt rapidly, which is already evident in an increase in the number of glacier-fed lakes in Himachal.

Railways to introduce ‘Tri-Netra’

Why in news: Railways may soon get an advanced system, called “Tri-Netra”, on its trains which will help reduce train accidents by keeping a record of the track maintenance and will also provide better visibility during foggy days. A proposal in this regard has already been initiated.

Tri-Netra

Tri-Netra stands for “terrain imaging for diesel drivers infrared, enhanced optical and radar assisted system”.

The system provides a locomotive pilot a clear view of up to one kilometre on a straight track, even during inclement weather. This helps in maintaining high speed in poor visibility and avoid delay in arrivals.

TRI-NETRA is designed to “see” the terrain ahead of the running locomotive during inclement weather by combining the images captured by the three sub-systems and to create a composite video image which shall be displayed in front of the Loco Pilot on a computer monitor.

Significance:

During fog, heavy rain and also during night, the locomotive pilots face serious challenges in looking out ahead to spot any obstruction on the track such as vehicles which get stuck while crossing the track or trees or boulders which have fallen across the track etc. Because of the heavy momentum of the running train, the train driver has to always adjust the speed of the train such that he or she can stop the train on visually seeing the obstruction. In fair weather and in daytime, this is not a problem since train driver has a clear view of the track ahead. But in poor visibility, he has to reduce the speed suitably so that the brakes can be applied in time to stop the train without hitting the obstructions.



Fastest supercomputer

For the eighth consecutive year, China has retained the top spot in the list of the world’s fastest supercomputers for its ‘Sunway TaihuLight’ which can perform 93 million billion calculations per second.

This was announced in the latest edition of the semiannual Top 500 list of supercomputers released recently.

TaihuLight, the massive supercomputer, built entirely using processors designed and made in China has been crowned as the world’s fastest.

TaihuLight made its appearance in June, replacing the former champion, Tianhe-2, also a Chinese system but built based on Intel chips.

National gas hub

Why in news: The government is planning to come up with a national gas hub, which would be a trading platform for gas at market-determined price. A final form of this Indian benchmark will be ready within a year.

What is a gas hub?

A gas hub is a physical point where several gas pipelines come together or intersect. It is a trading place for gas at market determined prices

The ministry of petroleum and natural gas is working towards setting up a common gas hub after the government introduced a new gas pricing formula in 2014. This gas price is applicable for six months wherein the average prices of US-based Henry Hub, the UK-based National Balancing Point, Canada’s Alberta Gas and gas gets reflected.

Significance of this move:

If the idea gets cleared, India will also have a gas-trading place similar to international hubs such as the US’ Henry Hub and the UK’s National Balancing Point. While Henry Hub is a physical point where several gas pipelines come together, National Balancing Point is a virtual trading point.

Present scenario:

At present, the Indian domestic natural gas price is calculated on a half-yearly basis, based on a weighted average of Henry Hub, National Balancing Point, Russian gas and Canada’s Alberta Gas.

A gas hub works exactly like a stock exchange does. There are buyers and sellers, and prices are determined by market forces. Gas is thus freely traded.

This is a huge positive for upstream companies in India as prices will be market-driven. Moreover, it seems like the domestic natural gas pricing will be uniform with the move.



International Conference on Brucellosis 2016

Why in news: International Research Conference on Brucellosis was recently inaugurated in New Delhi.

On the sidelines, the centre also launched programme of “Brucella Free Villages” for implementation on pilot scale in 50 villages covering 10 states.

This programme will be supported by guidelines and standard operating practices along with an IT enabled application

Key facts:

The three day International Conference on Brucellosis is being organized by the Department of Biotechnology in collaboration with Indian Council for Agriculture Research.

The conference is result of DBT’s network programme on Brucellosis launched in 2012 to address this epidemiology and for development of new generation of vaccines and diagnostic kits.

The Conference provides a technical platform for scientist and experts from all over the world.

Participants from 26 countries include USA, Belgium, Germany, Nigeria, Argentina, Spain and Turkey.

The three days deliberations would address various issues on Brucellosis covering broad and interdisciplinary field of “One Health” concept revolving around Brucella Pathogenesis & Host-pathogen interaction; Human Brucellosis; Epidemiology and Control; Brucella research in India; Canine and Wildlife Brucellosis; Diagnostic methods; and Vaccines & Immunology.

Symptoms:

In humans brucellosis can cause range of symptoms that are similar to the flu and may include fever, sweats, headache, back pain and physical weakness.

Severe infections of the central nervous system or lining of the heart may also occur.

Diagnosis:

Quite often brucellosis is diagnosed after ruling out all other fevers such as those caused by malaria, typhoid, dengue etc. Therefore, the disease is under reported and many medical professionals are not even aware of the problem.

Brucellosis is a dreadful disease caused by the genus of the bacteria known as Brucella infecting various species of Brucella cows, buffalos, sheep, goats, deer, pigs, dogs and other animals as well as humans. The disease causes economic losses of about Rs. 28000.00 Crores. Brucellosis is endemic in India. Human become infected by coming in contact with animals or animal product like meat and milk contaminated with these bacteria.

Dairy man, veterinarians, butchers and other animal handlers are exposed to high risk of brucellosis infection



World likely to cross 1.2°C global warming level this year

According to a preliminary assessment provided by the World Meteorological Organisation in its Status of the Global Climate in 2016 report, the world is likely to cross 1.2° C of global warming above pre-industrial levels in 2016. This comes dangerously close to breaching the 1.5° C warming levels advised as an ambitious target to stay safe from the worst impacts of climate change.

The Paris Agreement last year had adopted 2°C as the absolute threshold for staying within safe global warming levels. However, 1.5°C was advised as an ambitious target, especially bearing in mind the fate of small island countries such as Haiti or Maldives that are threatened with submergence due to sea-level rise and extreme weather events.

Global temperatures for January to September 2016 have been about 0.88°C (1.58°F) above the average (14°C) for the 1961-1990 reference period, which WMO uses as a baseline.


The report warned 2016 will be the hottest year on record, with global temperatures even higher than what 2015 experienced.

While the extra heat from the powerful El Niño event has disappeared, the heat from global warming will continue.

In parts of Arctic Russia, temperatures were 6°C to 7°C above the long-term average. Many other Arctic and sub-Arctic regions in Russia, Alaska and northwest Canada were at least 3°C above average.

Because of climate change, the occurrence and impact of extreme events has also risen. ‘Once in a generation’ heatwaves and flooding are becoming more regular. Sea level rise has increased exposure to storm surges associated with tropical cyclones.

The WMO report also outlined the major weather events associated with increasing global warming levels in 2016:

In total, there have been 78 tropical cyclones globally in 2016 as of October 31, close to the long-term average.

The most significant, in terms of casualties, was Hurricane Matthew affecting Haiti and parts of the U.S. Typhoon Lionrock caused destructive flooding and heavy casualties in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and Cyclone Winston was the most severe tropical storm on record to affect Fiji.

The Yangtze basin in China had its most significant summer floods since 1999. Sri Lanka experienced flooding and landslides in mid-May.

Above-normal seasonal rainfall in the Sahel led to significant flooding in the Niger River basin, with the river reaching its highest levels in about 50 years in Mali.

There were a number of major heat waves and droughts experienced during 2015-2016. The year started with an extreme heat wave in southern Africa, exacerbated by the ongoing drought.

The report also mentions Phalodi in Rajasthan, India which set a new record for heat in India recording 51.0°C on May 19.



NOVEMBER-2016 INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India-Palestine sign MoU for setting up Techno Park in Ramallah

India and Palestine signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for setting up of Palestine-India Techno Park in Ramallah.

During the visit of President Pranab Mukherjee to Palestine in October last year, the announcement for setting up of park was made.

India has announced grant of $12 million for setting up the park with payment of $3 million each on half-yearly basis for 2 years and the Palestinian side has made the land available for the project.

Once completed, the Technopark will serve as an IT hub in Palestine with complete IT facilities offering a one-stop solution to all IT-related service requirements, providing state-of-the-art technology, hosting IT companies and foreign compani ..

The assistance is part of government of India's strong commitment to support Palestinian cause.

The project will help job creation, business and other opportunities for young Palestinians

India- Sri lanka set up joint working group to address fishermen issue

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.

Major objectives of the joint working group include expediting the transition towards ending bottom trawling, working out modalities for handing over apprehended fishermen and cooperation on patrolling.

JWG will meet every three months and the Ministers of Fisheries will meet every six months, according to a joint communique issued by the Foreign Ministries of the two countries.

The Indian and Sri Lankan delegations in the JWG would include representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, the Coast Guards and Navies of the two countries.

Sumanthiran, who belongs to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), has been seeking a ban on bottom trawling in both Sri Lanka and India. This is the first time, a Tamil MP has been included in a Sri Lankan official delegation discussing the fishing issue with India.

Terms Of Reference for JWG

1. Expediting the transition towards ending the practice of bottom trawling at the earliest, 2. Working out the modalities for the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for handing over

of apprehended fishermen 3. Ascertaining possibilities for cooperation on patrolling.

The issue of the release of detained fishing vessels will be discussed at the first JWG meeting.



Both governments agreed on setting up a hotline between the two Coast Guards. There was support for expediting the provision of communication tracking sets to the

fishermen. They also agreed to the request by the Fishermen Associations that there should be no

violence and no loss of life in the handling of fishermen by the Navies and Coast Guards of the two countries.

The Ministers noted that the process is underway for the release of fishermen presently in custody on either side.

PM Modi’s Japan visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was on a three-day visit to Japan, sealed a landmark nuclear energy pact that will materialise after six years of negotiations.

India is in advanced negotiations with US-based Westinghouse Electric, owned by Japan’s Toshiba, to build six nuclear reactors in the south – a part of New Delhi’s plan to ramp up nuclear capacity ten-fold by 2032.

Along with the $1.5 billion deal for U-2 amphibious aircraft, the civil nuclear agreement were the highlight of the talks between Mr. Modi and Mr. Abe, which was followed by business meetings and a call on Emperor Akihito

India maintains a voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing, but has thus far refused to sign on to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) or given any other undertaking outside of its commitments at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The PM’s talks in Japan coincided with a critical meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Vienna which will consider the question of criteria on whether to admit India and Pakistan, the two non-signatories to the NPT that have applied for membership.

India has made predictability an important part of its pitch for the NSG membership, which would come under a cloud if it were to allow Japan to cancel its agreement in the event of a nuclear test, which explains the sharp focus on the exact text of the agreement in Tokyo.

India and Japan have also been trying to close a deal on the supply of amphibious rescue aircraft US-2 to the Indian navy, which would be one of Japan’s first sales of military equipment since Prime Minister Abe lifted a 50-year ban on arms exports.

India signs landmark civil nuclear deal with Japan

India has signed a historic civilian nuclear deal with Japan during the annual bilateral summit held in Tokyo.

Background:



The nuclear deal had been under negotiation for six years and was firmed up during the 2015 visit of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to India when the principles of the agreement were frozen. However, the final seal on the text had to wait legislative clearance from Japan, which has 13 civil nuclear agreements with countries such as France and the U.S.

Key facts:

India is the first non-member of the non-proliferation treaty (NPT) to have signed such a deal with Japan. The deal will help India access Japan’s nuclear market.

The deal includes the option that Japan can give a year’s notice before terminating it in case India breaks the nuclear testing moratorium that it had extended to the Nuclear Suppliers Group in 2008.

The deal is significant as it will help guarantee Japan’s continued support to India’s civil nuclear programme.

The deal will bring Japan into the Indian nuclear market where France and Russia have already have a strong presence.

Significance of this agreement:

The pact signed is an indicator of what has been going on for the last few years which is a very significant warming up of Indo-Japan relationship.

It has a security content and very solid mutually beneficial content. Looking at the geopolitics today, there are problems in India’s foreign relations with

respect to China therefore, there is a need to develop close relationships with those who may be on our side when the need is there.

The nuclear issue in many ways was a constraint. It was preventing India and Japan from engaging in a more robust and wide spectrum manner. With the agreement being concluded at the political level, when it now moves into the techno commercial domain meaning the Indian entities like our nuclear power cooperation has to engage with Japanese entities, the insurance and financial issues will be settled and negotiated carefully and slowly.

The deal will allow Japan to supply nuclear reactors, fuel and technology to India which was earlier prohibited.

It is important for India’s renewable energy plans especially considering the target of 175 gigawatts (GW) of energy generation by 2022 and the target of nuclear capacity of 63GW by 2032.

Since this is the first time that Japan has signed a nuclear deal with a non-member of NPT, it adds credibility to the India’s prudent behaviour with respect to use of nuclear technology.



It is indeed a much-needed moral boost for India’s aspirations of getting membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

The signing of the deal will boost bilateral trade. From a Japanese point of view, negotiations with US-based Westinghouse Electric are in

advanced stages and they have agreed to build six nuclear reactors in India. Japanese companies, such as Toshiba, have significant holdings in Westinghouse and other U.S. and French partners negotiating for nuclear reactors now. Signing of this deal makes it easier for such deals to materialise

Indus waters treaty

Why in news: India has lashed out at the World Bank over its decision to favour Pakistan on the Indus Water Treaty dispute process over the Kishenganga and Ratle dam and hydropower projects.

India had asked for a neutral expert to be appointed over Pakistan’s objections to the projects first, Pakistan appealed directly for a Court of Arbitration (CoA) to be set up as it claims India has violated the 1960 treaty.

Surprised at the World Bank’s decision to appoint a Neutral Expert, as sought by the Indian government and at the same time establish a Court of Arbitration as wanted by Pakistan, India said proceeding with both the steps simultaneously “legally untenable”.

Under the Indus Waters Treaty, signed between India and Pakistan and also the World Bank in 1960, the World Bank has a specified role in the process of resolution of differences and disputes.

Pakistan had sought the establishment of a Court of Arbitration, which is normally the logical next step in the process of resolution in the Treaty. The Neutral Expert can also determine that there are issues beyond mere technical differences

The current proceedings under the treaty concern the Kishenganga (330 megawatts) and Ratle (850 megawatts) hydroelectric power plants which being built by India on Kishenganga and Chenab Rivers.(Neither of the two plants are being financed by the World Bank Group.)

Last week PM Modi held a high level meeting on the issue , where several senior officials proposed that India should pull out of the arbitration entirely unless the World Bank changes what one official referred to as its “legally untenable” stance on Pakistan “intransigence”.

India – US launch USD 95 million clean energy projects

The US announced two financial projects worth USD 95 million in India to bring more energy-efficient appliances to rural sector, as part of its efforts to continue the global transition to zero-and-low carbon energy sources.

The US has committed USD 70 million in Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) financing for renewable energy projects in India; and announced to launch a USD 20 million partnership this week with the philanthropic sector to bring more efficient appliances to rural Indian villages.



The USD 75 million OPIC financing is for a utility-scale PV project in Telangana. It is sponsored by ReNew Power Ventures. This commitment represents the rapid mobilisation of financing under a USD 250 million

facility to support up to 400 MW of new solar power projects in India across multiple states.

Further the OPIC and Indian Government will this week formally launch a USD 20 million distributed solar facility in partnership with leading philanthropies.

Known as US-India Clean Energy Finance program (USICEF), it will address a key financing gap in the Indian distributed solar market by funding early-stage project preparatory work.

USICEF is anticipated to unlock up to USD 400 million in long-term debt financing from OPIC and private sector investors.

According to the White House fact sheet, the Rockefeller Foundation’s Smart Power for Rural Development Initiative is also announcing a new partnership with the Clean Energy Ministerial’s (CEM) Global Lighting and Energy Access Partnership (Global LEAP) to accelerate the deployment and use of energy efficient off-grid devices in rural India.

The US Department of State will, subject to Congressional notification, provide funding for Global LEAP to support the development and roll out of a programme to deploy energy- efficient devices such as televisions, fans, and refrigerators at selected Smart Power supported mini-grid sites.

It will also develop a strategy for a programme-wide scale-up targeted to reduce energy costs for some of the poorest people in India.

When deployed it is expected to reduce energy consumption by over 50 per cent for rural households, increase revenue for mini-grid operators by over 300 per cent per household, and generate rural employment for people involved in distribution and supply chain management of the devices.

Noting that the US President Barack Obama’s leadership has catalyzed a global transition towards a clean energy economy, the White House said from 2010-2015 alone, the US has invested in more than USD 11 billion in international clean energy finance.

At the same time, the US has made research and development a top priority. Key achievements include establishing Mission Innovation (MI), with the leaders of 19

countries, to accelerate innovation by doubling public investment in clean energy research and development to USD 30 billion over five years.

WHO: Zika no longer a world public health emergency

The World Health Organization announced that the Zika virus outbreak, linked to deformations in babies’ heads and brains, no longer poses a world public health emergency, though it warned the epidemic remains a challenge.

Brazil, the epicentre of the outbreak, has however refused to downgrade the risk, while experts swiftly lashed out against the world health body’s decision.

The Zika virus remains a highly significant and long term problem, but it is not any more a public health emergency of international concern

While Zika causes only mild symptoms in most people, pregnant women with the virus risk giving birth to babies with microcephaly a deformation that leads to abnormally small brains and heads.



It can also cause rare adult-onset neurological problems such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which can result in paralysis and even death.

In the outbreak that began in mid-2015, more than 1.5 million people have been infected with Zika, mainly in Brazil, and more than 1,600 babies have been born with microcephaly since last year, according to the WHO.

The UN’s global health agency declared the Zika epidemic a global health emergency in February 2016.

Researchers earlier this year warned that at least 2.6 billion people, over a third of the global population, live in parts of Africa, Asia and the Pacific where Zika could gain a new foothold, with 1.2 billion at risk in India alone. Brazil yesterday said it would continue to treat the outbreak as an emergency.

The WHO was careful yesterday not to dismiss the risk still posed by the virus, which has been detected in 73 countries worldwide, mainly in Latin America and the Caribbean.

India, China Joint Training Exercise Hand in Hand 2016

Why in news: The sixth edition of India-China Joint Training Exercise “Hand in Hand 2016” started in Pune, Maharashtra.

The exercise continues a series of joint exercises between the two neighbours. This will be the sixth such exercise by the Indian Army with the People’s Liberation Army of

China, and is part of a series held annually and alternately in India and China. The first exercise was held in China at Kunming of Yunnan province in 2007 and the last

exercise was held in October 2015 in Kunming Military Academy, Yunnan Province in China It seeks to promote healthy military to military relations between the two armies and

developing joint strategies for conducting operations in a counter terrorism environment. It is supervised by a Joint Directing Panel comprising senior officials of both nations. Exercise Hand in Hand 2016 will be conducted in three phases. The first phase of the

exercise consists of familiarization with the weapons and equipment. The second phase conducts basic training that includes combat conditioning, firing of

personal weapons and support weapons This phase also includes practice of drills like establishing covert observation posts, house

clearing, and cordon and search, humanitarian and disaster relief operations. The third phase of the exercise is the conduct of joint operations. The exercise will be

attended by senior military observers of both the countries.



Switzerland to share information on Indians holding swiss bank accounts

India will now automatically receive information on Swiss bank accounts of its citizens from September 2019.

The country has been trying to control the problem of corruption and black money by adopting different measures.

Alleged use of Swiss bank account by politicians and business tycoons has been an election issue since the ‘Anna andolan’ in 2013.

The protests and growing sentiment against black money and corruption in the country led to fall of 10-year-long Congress rule and a clear majority to BJP in 2014 General Elections.

While Switzerland has conformed to the global standards on automatic exchange of information with the signing of the declaration, India, on its part, has promised to safeguard the confidentiality of the data.

Switzerland, which has always been at the centre of the debate on black money allegedly stashed by Indians abroad, used to be known for very strong secrecy walls till a few years ago around its banking practices.

A huge global pressure has resulted in Switzerland relenting on the tough secrecy clauses its local laws gave to the banks. Several information requests on details about Indians who had accounts in Swiss banks are still pending.

However this does not talk about exchange of information based on stolen data or pending requests from India.

The Switzerland Department of Finance said the automatic exchange of information with India will be implemented based on the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (MCAA).

On June 6, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann at Geneva and discussed the need for expeditious exchange of information for combating tax evasion together with an early start to negotiations on the Agreement for Automatic Exchange of Information.

As a follow up, Adhia and Switzerland’s State Secretary for International Financial Matters Jacques de Watteville met on June 15 and agreed to move towards an early agreement for the implementation of AEOI between the two countries.

WHO settles India, EU medicine dispute

In a significant victory for the global access to medicines campaign, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has dropped the term ‘counterfeit’ and retained ‘falsified’ to describe medicines of inferior quality.

The terms were being used interchangeably to confiscated Indian made generic drugs exported to other countries by showing that they were in violation of intellectual property.

Settling a long standing dispute between India and the European Union (EU), WHO clarified that ‘counterfeit’— will now be used by member States with respect to protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).

This decision by the WHO settles a long-standing battle about labelling of drugs. For far too long, genuine generic medicines have been labelled as counterfeit.



The confusion had taken away the much needed attention from the substandard medicines — which is a bigger public health problem for developing countries. Additionally, big pharmaceutical companies were using the term ‘counterfeit’ to describe generic medicines and disrupting trade of generic medicines.

Sampriti-2016

Why in news: India-Bangladesh defence cooperation, a joint military training exercise ‘Sampriti 2016’ was conducted at Tangail near Dhaka in Bangladesh from November 5-8.

The 14-day (from 05 to 18 November 2016) joint military exercise was held at Shaheed Salauddin Cantonment in Tangail, Dhaka (Bangladesh’s Capital).

About Sampriti

The SAMPRITI 2016 will simulate a scenario where both nations are working together in a Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism environment under the UN Charter.

The exercise is likely to include counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations army personnel from both countries will also be “familiarised” with each other’s organisational structure and tactical drills.

It will culminate with a final validation exercise in which troops of both armies will jointly practice a Counter Terrorist Operation in a controlled and simulated environment.

SAMPRITI Exercise is important bilateral defence cooperation between India and Bangladesh. Earlier six editions of the exercise were hosted alternately by both countries. The first edition of the exercise in this series was held at Jorhat in Assam in 2010.

India and New Zealand

What in news: The Union Cabinet has approved the ratification and entry into force of the third Protocol to the Convention between India and New Zealand for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income (Convention). The Protocol was signed on 26th October, 2016.

Key facts:

The Protocol will stimulate the flow of exchange of information between India and New Zealand for tax purposes which will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance.

It will also enable assistance in collection of tax revenue claims between both countries. Article 26 on ‘Exchange of Information’ of the existing Convention has been replaced with

a new Article in the Protocol which is in line with the international standard for exchange of information.

A new Article on ‘Assistance on Collection of Taxes’ has been added in the Protocol. The Protocol shall enter into force on the date of notification of completion of the

procedures required by the respective laws of the two countries for entry into force of the Protocol.



Background:

The Central Government is authorized under section 90 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 to enter into an Agreement with a foreign country or specified territory for exchange of information and recovery of income tax for the prevention of evasion or avoidance of income-tax chargeable under the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Convention between India and New Zealand:

The Convention came into force on 3rd December, 1986. The Convention was amended in 1997 through a First Protocol and in 2000 through a Second Protocol. Subsequently, India proposed to further amend the Convention through a Third Protocol to update the Exchange of Information Article as per the international standard and to insert an Article on Assistance in the Collection of taxes.

Accordingly, negotiations were entered into with New Zealand and agreement was reached on both the Articles of the Third Protocol

India and UK Sign three Bilateral Advance Pricing Agreements

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has signed three Bilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) with UK taking the total number of APAs signed [both- bilateral and unilateral] so far to 111.

Background:

These Agreements are a result of the understanding reached with the Competent Authority of United Kingdom (UK) some time ago. The Competent Authorities of India and UK had earlier exchanged mutual agreements amongst them under the Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) Article of the India-UK Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC).

The newly signed Agreements cover international transactions in the nature of payment of intra-group service charges and pertain to the telecom industry. They also have a roll-back provision.

With this, India and UK have concluded 5 bilateral APAs and some more would be concluded in the near future. The total number of bilateral APAs concluded so far by the CBDT is 7.

The Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) Programme was introduced by the Finance Act, 2012 with a view to provide a predictable and non-adversarial tax regime and to reduce the litigation in the Indian transfer pricing arena. An APA can be entered into for a maximum of 5 years at a time.

Rollback of APAs was announced in the Budget in July 2014 to provide certainty on the pricing of international transactions for 4 prior years (rollback years) preceding the first year from which APA is to be applicable.



Revised DTAA Agreement signed between India and Cyprus

A revised Agreement between India and Cyprus for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal evasion (DTAA) with respect to taxes on income, along with its Protocol, was recently signed in Nicosia. The agreement will replace the existing DTAA that was signed by two countries in June 1994.

Key facts:

New DTAA provides for source based taxation of capital gains arising from alienation of shares, instead of residence based taxation provided under the existing DTAA. However, a grandfathering clause has been provided for investments made prior to 1st April, 2017, in respect of which capital gains would continue to be taxed in the country of which taxpayer is a resident.

The new Agreement provides for Assistance between the two countries for collection of taxes and also updates the provisions related to Exchange of Information to accepted international standards, which will enable exchange of banking information and allow the use of such information for purposes other than taxation with the prior approval of the Competent Authorities of the country providing the information.

The new Agreement expands the scope of ‘permanent establishment’ and reduces the tax rate on royalty in the country from which payments are made to 10% from the existing rate of 15%, in line with the tax rate under Indian tax laws.

It also updates the text of other provisions in accordance with the international standards and consistent policy of India in respect of tax treaties.

Chinese ship opens new trade route via Gwadar port in Pakistan

A new international trade route in Southwest Pakistan has been opened up by a Chinese ship exporting goods to the Middle East and Africa. With this, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has become a reality. This route that is being developed by the Chinese in Pakistan is expected to make huge amount of economic gains for the country.

What is CPEC?

The CPEC is one of the most important projects of the ‘one belt, one road’ project initiated by China that aims to connect the Asian economic giant with Europe and Africa, thereby making the country a bigger player in world economic affairs.

Consisting of a number of road, rail and pipeline ventures, the CPEC connects Xinjiang in Northwestern region of China with Pakistan’s Gwadar port on the Arabian sea, going over the Pakistan occupied Kashmir territory of Gilgit-Baltistan and the disputed region of Balochistan.

Reportedly, the port at Gwadar will have the capacity to manage 19 million tons of crude oil which will be directly transferred to China.



As a multi-million dollar project, the CPEC is reported to have brought Pakistan twice the amount of foreign investments the country received since 2008.

How does it benefit Pakistan?

For Pakistan, the Chinese investment in the south-western region of the country is a game-changer for the economy, especially considering the fact that despite the high concentration of mineral resources in the region it has remained the poorest district.

The $46 billion promised by China will be used in generating close to 17,000 megawatts of electricity at a cost of $34 billion through coal, nuclear and other renewable energy projects. The rest of the money would be utilised in building up transport infrastructure

Sub-regional Motor Vehicle Agreement

Why in news: An ambitious road connectivity plan involving Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) has hit a roadblock with the upper house of Bhutan parliament deciding against ratifying the motor vehicle pact.

A large cross-section of people in Bhutan, including lawmakers, have expressed concerns over the environmental impact of allowing large number of vehicles enter the country after it ratifies the pact.

This is the second time that the Indian government’s sub-regional road connectivity plan has hit a hurdle. Earlier, Pakistan scuppered the Saarc motor vehicle agreement by refusing to come on board.

India then decided to tap its eastern neighbours to boost regional connectivity. Bypassing Pakistan, India moved to have an agreement with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan to remove restrictions on vehicular movement in the subcontinent.

How will this impact the agreement?

The BBIN agreement – signed in Bhutan’s capital Thimpu in July – will become operational only when all the four countries ratify it. India, Bangladesh and Nepal have already ratified the pact.

This might also derail the entire plan as any restrictions which are beyond the reasonable won’t be accepted by the other member countries.

The Union Cabinet had approved a proposal to sign the SAARC MVA during the SAARC Summit in Kathmandu in November 2014.

Accordingly, it was considered appropriate that a sub-regional Motor Vehicle Agreement among Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) may be pursued.

The pact will allow seamless movement of passenger and cargo vehicles among the four countries.

Under the agreement, the “contracting parties” will allow cargo vehicles for inter-country cargo, including third country cargo and passenger vehicles or personal vehicles, to ply in the territory of another country “subject to the terms of the agreement”. All vehicles, however, will require a permit for plying through the other country.

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India is in a bilateral motor vehicle agreement with Nepal and Bangladesh, but a multilateral pact would go a long way in boosting trade in the region.

India is ‘non-committal’ on market economy tag for China

Indian government has indicated that it is not inclined to automatically grant the coveted ‘Market Economy Status’ (MES) to China this December under World Trade Organisation (WTO) norm.

According to India, granting MES to China will severely curb the ability of nations including India to impose anti-dumping duties on “unfairly priced” Chinese imports.

With this, India has taken sides with the U.S. and European Union in stating that unlike in ‘market economies’ where prices of items are market determined (based on demand & supply conditions), there is still a significant government influence in the Chinese market.

Citing the provisions in the ‘Protocol on the accession of China to the WTO’ in 2001, Beijing has said WTO member countries must fulfil their promise to deem China a ‘market economy’ from December 2016.

NSDA Signs MoU with British Council

Why in news: National Skill Development Agency and The British Council have signed a MoU to collaborate for undertaking joint research projects in the area of skill development.

Key facts:

This collaboration comes as a part of strengthening the overall research mechanism in skill development space and to encourage research collaborations with various national and international organizations.

Under this partnership, The British Council and the National Skill Research Division (NSRD), a research division under the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) will work closely with each other to build research collaborations between the UK and India over a period of three years in the skilling domain.

The partnership aims to promote knowledge exchange and research collaborations between UK and India in the skills space and to strengthen capacity of research organisations in both the countries so as to be able to work in collaborative research environments in the Sector.

The topic for the joint research study in first year of collaboration is “Future Skills” that will focus on, understanding labour market trends and identifying future employment in India in selected manufacturing and service sectors in view of changing technology.

What is a non-market economy?

A “non-market economy” is any foreign country that does not operate on market principles of cost or pricing structures. When this is the case, sales by the exporting country do not reflect fair value.



About NSDA:

The National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

It coordinates and harmonizes the skill development efforts of the Indian government and the private sector to achieve the skilling targets of the 12th Plan document and beyond.

It plays a pivotal role in bridging the social, regional, gender and economic divide by ensuring that the skilling needs of the disadvantaged and marginalized groups like SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities, women and differently-abled persons are taken care of through the various skill development programmes and also by taking affirmative actions as part of advocacy.

The NSDA’s role is also to anchor the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) and facilitate the setting up of professional certifying bodies in addition to the existing ones.

This kind of collaboration is in alignment with the overall mandate of the recently established National Skill Research Division that will serve as a think tank on research related to skill development and evolve as a credible research organization in skills space at the national level.



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