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1. RIGHTS ISSUES:
• Quota for Marathas approved
• To resign is a right of the employee: SC
• PIL urges minimum wages act for domestic workers
2. STATE LEGISLATURE:
• It’s not yet time to revoke AFSPA: Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh
3. JUDICIARY:
• Share non-confidential info on Rafale Deal, SC tells Govt.
• SC warns HCS over vacancies
• No Double jeopardy bar if there was no trial: supreme court
• Deny MSP to stubble burners: NGT
• SC Pulls up states for delay in recruitment of judges
4. GOVERNANCE
• Madras HC bans online sale of drugs
• RBI Autonomy is ‘Essential’, says centre
• ENDOSULFAN: council panel wants waters tested
5. INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS:
• PLEA Seeks ban on convicts from contesting polls
1. INDIA AND ITS NEIGHBOUR:
• China backs Pakistan’s ‘Quest for Peace’ via talks
• China taps India as digital economy partner
• Sirisena dissolves Sri Lanka parliament, polls on Jan. 5
2. INTERNATIONAL POLICIES & SCHEMES:
• Xi calls for ‘NEW ERA’ in ties with Pakistan
• Iran oil: India to get U.S. Sanctions waiver
3. INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS – SUMMITS, WORKING, ORGANISATIONS:
• Myanmar meet didn’t discuss Rohingya issue
• India to join Afghan Peace talks
• Saudi Arabia in talks to cut crude output
2. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. POLITY / GOVERNANCE
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• Fitch retains rating for India at ‘BBB-’
• Global fight on malaria stalled: WHO
• Maldives to pull out of china FTA
• WTO panels to review U.S. Steel, aluminium tariffs
• EU, U.K. Reach draft deal on Post-Brexit relationship
• China hopes for trade war solution at g20 xi-trump talks
• Sri Lanka signs port deals with china Amid political upheaval
4. INDIA BILATERAL COOPERATION:
• ASEAN member countries of RCEP offer India concession
• Pm Calls for Inclusive Indo-Pacific
• India, china Agree to expand military ties
• India, Russia to build stealth frigates
• India, china set for first Post-Wuhan border talks
1. AGRICULTURE, INSURANCE, SUBSIDY, MARKETING:
• Why are onion prices fluctuating?
• Efforts on to harness ai to improve Tea Quality
• India to export sugar to China
• Cotton prices harden on higher minimum support prices
• Is crop insurance scheme losing steam?
• Farmers’ march to demand fixed MSP, freedom from debts
2. BANKING:
• Challenge to the Reserve Bank of India’s Reserve(s)
• RBI unlikely to open window for NBFCS
• Govt. Wants more say in RBI decision-making
• RBI-centre tussle: in case of a split vote, governor holds the aces
3. CAPITAL MARKET:
• ECB norms for infra firms eased
• SBI sells over ₹400 Cr. Electoral bonds
4. TAXES AND TAXATION:
• GST, a game-changer reform for logistics sector
3. ECONOMY
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• Govt plans linking e-way bill with FASTAG, logistics data bank to check GST evasion
5. INFRASTRUCTURE ROAD, INLAND, RAILWAY AVIATION, HOUSING, RURAL &
URBAN:
• Six airports set to be privatized
6. INDUSTRIES, TEXTILE, E -COMMERCE, PHARMA, SERVICE:
• Government Announces incentives for MSMES
• IIP growth slips to 4.5% in September; retail inflation eases to 3.31% in October
• TRAI to analyse implications of over-the-top services’ growth
• National biopharma mission
7. GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT, NATIONAL INCOME:
• Behind India’s leap in ease of doing business
• Sc to hear plea on pf pension plan
8. WTO, INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
1. BIO DIVERSITY
• 461 Elephants electrocuted between 2009 and 2017
• Water ATM’s may help in bridging safe water gap
• New team of wildlife experts to probe killing of tigress AVNI
• 6 kg of plastic found in dead whale’s stomach
• Andaman & Nicobar Islands: home to a tenth of India’s fauna species
• Indian leopard
2. CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACTS:
• Japan Island feared to be ‘Missing’
• Report sees climate risk from rise in Indian ac units
• A virtual climate summit to cut carbon footprint
• Extreme weather turning arctic brown, may impact climate change: study
• Fragile climate puts food security at risk: UN Report
• Brazil loses forests equal to ‘1 MN football pitches’
3. POLLUTION AND WASTE MANAGEMENT
• Only ‘Green’ Crackers can be sold in Delhi, says SC
• Delhi air worsens after Deepavali
4. ENVIRONMENT
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• NGT imposes Rs 50 crore fine on Punjab over river pollution
• EPCA calls for curbs on Non-CNG private vehicles
• New index quantifies how air pollution cuts life expectancy
4. NATIONAL CONSERVATION & MITIGATION
• Saving wetlands in Tamil Nadu from extinction
• Amaravati: MOEF ‘no’ to forest use
5. DISASTER MANAGE UNIT:
• California fire death toll rises to 83
6. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
1. SPACE TECHNOLOGY
• ‘NASA’s historic dawn mission to asteroid belt comes to end’
• GSAT11
• New space industry emerges: servicing satellites in orbit
• Lunar lander faces crucial test
• ISRO’S imaging Satellite HYSIS is all set for launch on November 29th
• Nasa's insight lands on mars 'with 1 lakh Indians'
• ISRO puts ‘sharp eye’ into orbit
• ISRO plans to make GAGANYAAN mission indigenous
2. BIOTECHNOLOGY:
• ‘China halts work on gene-editing babies’
3. MEDICINE AND PHARMACEUTICALS
• HIV infected children likely to suffer cognitive impairment: study
• ’Mini human placenta’ may help prevent reproductive disorders
4. NEWER INVENTION
• Kilogram gets a new definition
• Rafale fighter made for India takes maiden flight
• Navy makes formal request for multi-Role U.S. Copters
5. SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
6. DEFENCE
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• IEDS pose biggest risk in Manipur, insurgents coming from Myanmar: Army
• NSCN-K faction opens to peace talks
• Criminal law ill-equipped to deal with cases of riots: Delhi HC
• Heavy snowfall snaps connectivity to valley
• Cyclone GAJA
• Literacy levels in rural India Suffer From migration of families
• Farmers badly hit by Demonetization, Admits Agriculture Ministry
• An Endangered Tribe- the Sentinelese
• India to study marijuana-derived drugs
• Incredible India campaign: TAWANG monastery
• SAUBHAGYA yojana
7. INTERNAL SECURITY
8. MISCELLANEOUS
8. SCHEMES
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QUOTA FOR MARATHAS APPROVED
GS 2: Parliament and State Legislatures – structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers
& privileges and issues arising out of these.
Topic: State Legislature
Context:
• The Maharashtra Cabinet on Sunday cleared the decision to extend reservation to the
Maratha community by creating a new category called Socially and Educationally
Backward Class (SEBC) on the recommendations of the State Backward Class
Commission.
Details:
• The reservation quantum will be fixed by the Cabinet sub-committee assigned to chalk out
the technical aspects of the law that will be presented in the next two weeks.
• The recommendations are Marathas are socially and educationally backward class of
citizens with miniscule representation in the government and semi-government services;
socially and educationally backward class can be extended benefits of reservation under
Articles 15(4) and 16(4) of the Constitution and in view of such extraordinary and
exceptional condition, the State government is liable to take action.
• The quota has been approved under extraordinary and exceptional condition for the fact
that this would cross 50% mark set by the Supreme Court
• This step does not approval from the centre or various bodies of centre because this do not
require including or merging Maratha reservation with that of the OBCs.
TO RESIGN IS A RIGHT OF THE EMPLOYEE: SC
Mains level: GS 2: Governance
Prelims level: Not much
Context:
• To resign is a right of an employee and he cannot be forced to continue, the Supreme
Court has said in a recent order.
Details:
• An employee cannot be compelled to serve in case he is not willing “until and unless there
is some stipulation in the rules or in the terms of appointment or disciplinary proceedings
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is pending or contemplated which is sought to be avoided by resigning from the services.”
says the Supreme Court
• This is the case related with the appeal of a former Air India engineer, who was refused
his dues by the Central government carrier.
PIL URGES MINIMUM WAGES ACT FOR DOMESTIC WORKERS
Mains Level: GS: 3 - Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of
resources, growth, development and employment.
Prelims Level: Growth and Development
Context:
• A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking its intervention to bring dignity to
“India’s invisible workforce in the informal sector” — the domestic workers, in the form
of financial guarantee through minimum wages.
Details:
• Domestic workers are amongst the lowest paid and often amongst the most informal
group of wage employees.
• They are frequently excluded from minimum wage protection.
• A minimum wage recognizes the economic and social contribution of these workers and is
a key means of ensuring the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. Domestic
workers should also be entitled to this without any discrimination
• ILO Convention No. 189 recognizes that “Each Member shall take measures to ensure that
domestic workers enjoy minimum wage coverage, where such coverage exists, and that
remuneration is established without discrimination based on sex”. Though India has not
ratified this convention yet, we as a nation striving towards welfare approach, shall work
towards achieving this. They are facing multiple because of its unorganized and
unrecognized nature such as absence of social security benefits such as health insurance,
pension, leave benefits and as such
• Provision of assured minimum wages could help them to come out the above difficulties.
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IT’S NOT YET TIME TO REVOKE AFSPA: MANIPUR CHIEF MINISTER
BIREN SINGH
GS 3: Various security forces and agencies and their mandate
Context:
• The time has come to review the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Manipur
but it cannot be completely lifted as yet, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said.
Reasons:
• Manipur has bordered by Myanmar and hence insurgency movement is a cause of
concern in the bordering areas. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 provide the
security forces an immunity to operate in insurgency-hit areas.
• Finding the persons involved in extremist activities in Manipur is becoming difficult
because of the fact they are mixed with the population of the state, hence the role of
security forces in tackling any extreme situations becomes necessary
About AFSPA:
How a region is declared ‘disturbed’?
• Section (3) of the AFSPA empowers the governor of the state or Union territory to issue an
official notification in The Gazette of India, following which the Centre has the authority
to send in armed forces for civilian aid.
• Once declared ‘disturbed’, the region has to maintain status quo for a minimum of three
months, according to The Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act, 1976.
• The state governments can suggest whether the act is required to be enforced or not. But
under Section (3) of the act, their opinion can be overruled by the governor or the Centre.
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SHARE NON-CONFIDENTIAL INFO ON RAFALE DEAL, SC TELLS GOVT.
GS2: Governance
Context:
• The Supreme Court has asked the government to provide the information “which can be
legitimately placed in the public domain” to the petitioners and asked to file the affidavit
in case of objections in disclosing the details to the public.
About Rafale aircraft:
• It is a 4th generation aircraft with
twin engine, multi role aircraft.
• It is capable of carrying out all
combat missions: air defence,
interception, ground support, in-
depth strikes, reconnaissance,
anti-ship strikes and nuclear
deterrence, can carry out both
air-ground as well as air-to-air
attacks
• This could be used for long range possession attack missions
• The 4th generation Aircraft capabilities involve Situational awareness in which Aircraft
has got those sensors which enable the pilot to be aware situationally and detect the
enemy Aircraft for which the Rafale has got AESA radar.
About Rafale deal controversy:
Background:
• Initially the tender was placed in 2007 for 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircrafts
(MMCRA) fighters
• Dassault Aviation of France was selected because of its low bid in 2012
• As per the earlier deal, 18 fighters out of 126 were to be imported in a fly away condition
to India
• And there would be a technology transfer for the remaining 108 aircrafts and HAL would
be manufacturing these with the technology transfer from Dassault
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• But due to challenges in fixing the price details, the deal got struck and remained
unsigned.
• In 2015, It was then announced that Dassault would manufacture 36 aircrafts in a flyway
condition and to be imported into India
• This announcement has brought various concerns and allegations
Controversial points
• No provision on ‘Technology transfer’ as mentioned in the earlier deal has been provided.
• The new deal which mentions on 50% offset clause, which would indeed facilitate the
implementation of ‘Make in India’ by Dassault through offsets for 50% value for the
supply protocol is contended on the point (with the major share by the private company)
on how it would benefit in the long term of improving air defence. Here no role is given
for Indian public sector company including HAL, as mentioned in the earlier deal.
• The cost negotiated in the current deal is also said to be higher than the previous deal and
also not put in the public domain citing security reasons
Way forward:
• Sharing the information in public and clearing the alleged points sooner to enhance the
operational capability of IAF and hence strengthen combat preparedness.
SC WARNS HCS OVER VACANCIES
GS 2: Role of judiciary
Context:
• The Supreme Court on Thursday cautioned the States and the High Courts that it would
resort to a “centralised selection mechanism” if they did not act promptly to fill the over
5,000 judicial posts lying vacant in the lower judiciary. There are 5,133 vacant posts across
the High Courts and the recruitment process is under way for 4,180 posts and for 1,324
posts it is yet to begin, according to data given to the Supreme Court.
Reason for this statement by the Supreme Court:
• The slow process of recruitment is inadequate for smooth functioning of courts
• The SC has said that the timeline provided to fill the recruitment of judicial officers by the
states and High courts has been missed.
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Mains question
• Indian judiciary system is facing a problem of understaffed judiciary. Discuss its
repercussions and resolutions.
• According to the Law ministry data, India has 19 judges per 10 lakh people on an average,
which also tells that judiciary faces a combined shortage of over 6,000 judges, including
over 5,000 in the lower courts itself.
Consequences of understaffed judiciary
• Judicial backlog and delay
• Delayed justice would give mental and monetary harassment to litigants
• It would also result in lesser number of cases and restrain public from filing cases
• It provides a way to perpetuate crime and remove the fear of law and punishment from
the mind of perpetrators.
• It could also to poor data management system in place
Way forward:
• Need to improve the infrastructure of judicial system and increase the human resources at
the disposal of judiciary
• Information technology can be used to standardize data management system and used in
accelerating the cases. Institution of morning and evening courts could be leveraged.
• Increasing the judge strength by increasing recruitment as well as the retirement age of
judges; Setting up of special courts like commercial courts, e-courts, ADR methods for
speedy disposal of cases.
• Improving physical infrastructure of courts to improve efficiency
• The above steps could be incorporated in a holistic manner to see reduce the consequences
of understaffed judiciary in India.
NO DOUBLE JEOPARDY BAR IF THERE WAS NO TRIAL: SUPREME COURT
Context:
• The bar of double jeopardy does not arise if an accused was discharged of a criminal
offence, even before the commencement of trial, on the basis of an invalid sanction for
prosecution, the Supreme Court has held.
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Details:
• Article 20(2) of the Indian constitution says that ‘No person shall be prosecuted and
punished for the same offence more than once’
• The bench has made a judgment that “if an accused has not been tried at all and convicted
or acquitted, the principles of double jeopardy cannot be invoked at all.”
• If an earlier order of sanction was found to be invalid, there is no bar for the competent
authority to issue a proper order of sanction for prosecution
• The courts are not to quash or stay the proceedings under the Act merely on the ground of
an error, omission or irregularity in the sanction granted by the authority unless it is
satisfied that such error, omission or irregularity has resulted in failure of justice
DENY MSP TO STUBBLE BURNERS: NGT
GS 3: Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices
Context:
• Stating that State governments had failed to curb stubble burning, the National Green
Tribunal (NGT) on Monday summoned the Chief Secretaries of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana
and Uttar Pradesh.
• Officers have been directed to draw up a plan to provide economic incentives and
disincentives to farmers.
Details:
• During the hearing, it was suggested to the Bench that incentives could be provided to
those who are not burning the stubble and disincentives for those who continue the
practice.
• It was also suggested to deny the MSP benefits to those who continue to burn the crop
residue
About National Green tribunal:
• The National Green Tribunal has been established on 18.10.2010 under the National Green
Tribunal Act 2010 for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental
protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources.
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• The responsibilities also include enforcement of any legal right relating to environment
and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property and for matters
connected therewith or incidental thereto.
• It is a specialized body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental
disputes involving multi-disciplinary issues. The Tribunal is not bound by the procedure
laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, is guided by principles of natural
justice. The Tribunal's dedicated jurisdiction in environmental matters shall provide
speedy environmental justice and help reduce the burden of litigation in the higher courts.
• The Tribunal is mandated to make and endeavour for disposal of applications or appeals
finally within 6 months of filing of the same.
SC PULLS UP STATES FOR DELAY IN RECRUITMENT OF JUDGES
GS 2: Governance
Context:
• The Supreme Court on Thursday pulled up various
State governments and the administrative side of
the High Courts for delay in filling vacancies in
subordinate judicial services.
Details:
• It is said that there are more than 5,000 vacancies
for subordinate judicial posts
• More than three crore cases are pending in the
lower courts.
• The source of the problem lay in poor infrastructure, from courtrooms to residences for
judges, and a sheer lackadaisical approach to conducting the appointment process on
time.
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MADRAS HC BANS ONLINE SALE OF DRUGS
GS 2: Role of Judiciary
GS 3: Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects
on industrial growth.
Context:
• The Madras High Court on Wednesday
directed the Union Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare and the competent authorities
under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, to
immediately stop online sale of medicines that
could be sold only in pharmacies on the
prescription of a registered medical
practitioner.
Why this:
• Though Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 bans the online sale of drugs without licenses,
the online sale without license is happening.
• The online drugs disguised as cheap products may end up selling harmful products.
• Unscientific sale, prescription may not be checked properly
• High chances of drugs online by unlicensed prescribers, which may end up harmful to
patients and also lead to unregulated sales.
About Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945:
• The Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 are the set of rules under The Drugs and Cosmetics
Act, 1940 which contains provisions for classification of drugs under given schedules and
there are guidelines for the storage, sale, display and prescription of each schedule.
RBI AUTONOMY IS ‘ESSENTIAL’, SAYS CENTRE
GS2: Role of statutory bodies
Context:
• The Ministry of Finance has acknowledged that the autonomy of the Reserve Bank of
India is an ‘essential and accepted governance requirement’. On the other hand, it neither
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confirmed nor denied that it had issued directives to the central bank under section 7 of
the RBI Act.
Section 7 of the RBI Act
• The provision in the RBI Act empowers the government to issue directions to the RBI.
• The details are given below.
• Though the RBI is an independent entity in terms of decision making on economic
matters, it has to listen to the government on certain matters.
1. The Central Government may from time to time give such directions to the Bank as it may,
after consultation with the Governor of the Bank, consider necessary in the public interest.
2. Subject to any such directions, the general superintendence and direction of the affairs and
business of the Bank shall be entrusted to a Central Board of Directors which may exercise
all powers and do all acts and things which may be exercised or done by the Bank.
3. Save as otherwise provided in regulations made by the Central Board, the Governor and
in his absence the Deputy Governor nominated by him in this behalf, shall also have
powers of general superintendence and direction of the affairs and the business of the
Bank, and may exercise all powers and do all acts and things which may be exercised or
done by the Bank
Current situation:
• This particular section has not been used till recently. Now it is not clear if the government
has invoked this provision due to different opinions in handling the issue between the
government and the RBI.
• The government has invoked this for the cases of differences on easing lending rules for
the banks under the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) and February 12 circular.
Way forward:
• The government has to make clear guidelines if it has invoked Section 7 of the RBI act and
also make clear guidelines on further steps by consulting with various stakeholders
including the RBI.
• This could as a framework to solve the differences between the government and the RBI.
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ENDOSULFAN: COUNCIL PANEL WANTS WATERS TESTED
GS 3: Environmental conservation
Context:
• The Assurances Committee of the Karnataka Legislative Council on Wednesday directed
the Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner to get the surface and the groundwater of
endosulfan-affected areas tested to verify whether they are the still contaminated with the
chemical.
Details:
• It has been said that there had been an extensive usage of endosulfan between 1980 and
2000, people continuing to get affected by the symptoms raises suspicion as to whether it
is still present in the environs.
• Meanwhile there are suggestions and demands like opening of permanent rehabilitation
centres, four more day-care centres, well-equipped ambulance for victims, providing
nutritious food, vocational training to victims and others.
About Endosulfan:
• Endosulfan is an off-patent organochlorine insecticide and acaricide that is being phased
out globally. Endosulfan became a highly controversial agrichemical due to its acute
toxicity, potential for bioaccumulation, and role as an endocrine disruptor.
• Because of its threats to animal and human health and the environment, a global ban on
the manufacture and use of endosulfan was negotiated under the Stockholm Convention
in April 2011. The ban has taken effect in mid-2012, with certain uses exempted for five
additional years.
• More than 80 countries, including the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, and
several West African nations, the United States, Brazil, and Canada had already banned it
or announced phase-outs by the time the Stockholm Convention ban was agreed upon. It
is still used extensively in India, China, and few other countries.
Endosulfan usage in India:
• India is one of the largest producers and consumers of endosulfan in the world. It is
widely used in most of the plantation crops in India. The toxicity of endosulfan and health
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issues due to its bioaccumulation came under media attention when health issues
precipitated in the Kasargod District (of Kerala) were publicized
• Effects such as
✓ Humans- congenital disabilities, hydrocephalus, diseases of the nervous system,
epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and severe physical and mental disabilities.
✓ endosulfan also attacks flora and fauna. For examples, it has found that it has killed
butterfiles, insects, frogs and also birth defects such as calves were born with
twisted legs and other with two heads.
• This inspired protests, and the pesticide was banned in Kerala as early as 2001, following a
report by the National Institute of Occupational Health. In the Stockholm Convention on
Persistent Organic Pollutants of 2011, when an international consensus arose for the global
ban of the pesticide, India opposed this move due to pressure from the endosulfan
manufacturing companies
• This flared up the protest, and while India still maintained its stance, the global conference
decided on a global ban, for which India asked a remission for 10 years.
• Later, on a petition filed in the Supreme Court of India, the production, storage, sale and
use of the pesticide was temporarily banned on 13 May 2011, and later permanently by the
end of 2011. Later due to continuous protests and impact on human health and
environment, India has agreed to phase out use of Endosulfan by 2017 and all existing
stock of the pesticide in the country is past its expiry date
PLEA SEEKS BAN ON CONVICTS FROM CONTESTING POLLS
GS2: Governance
Context:
• The Supreme Court on Thursday nodded in favour of considering a petition for a life-time
ban from contesting elections for politicians convicted in criminal cases.
• The ban has been proposed as a measure to rid politics of criminality and corruption
Where to use this?
• Role of supreme court in decriminalization of politics
• Nexus between politicians and criminals
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Mains question
What do you understand by criminalization of politics, discuss on this existence in society and
suggest solutions to eradicate the same.
• Criminalization of politics means that the criminals entering the politics and contesting
elections and getting to the Parliament and state legislatures and also acting as a pressure
group and influencing the political decisions to act in their favor.
• Recent Data from the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) indicate that 179 out of
the 543 elected Members of Parliament in the present Lok Sabha have criminal case
pending against them. In the case of over 100 MPs, the cases were of a very serious nature
such as crimes against women and kidnapping. The data shows how the politics has been
criminalized in India.
Reasons for criminalization of politics
• The unholy nexus between the politicians and criminals is mainly due to the mutual gain
that they get for each other. Politicians need the muscle power and also money power
from them to gain vote bank and win elections. On the other hand, criminals need the
patronage of politicians to continue with their criminal activities and to enjoy illegal
activities without punishment under due process of law.
• Use of social factors such as caste and religion in politics also causes criminalization of
politics. Corruption in the society, lack of development, illiteracy, poverty etc. are added
culprit for the criminalization of politics. Criminalization of politics would devalue the
entire the political system and only give way to corruption, nepotism, favouritism,
impacts the effectiveness and efficiency of institutions and thereby erode the trust of
people in the government and highly impact distributive welfare and inclusive society.
Hence there is need to eradicate this existence from the society.
Measures to decriminalization of politics
• The Election Commission of India (ECI) should have the power to audit the financial
accounts of political parties, or political parties’ finances should be brought under the
right to information (RTI) law.
• Election Commission should be given more power, when dealing with Corruption cases.
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• Fast-track courts should be established to handle the cases on politicians. Recently a step
has been taken by the central government regarding the same.
• Inner party democracy should be brought in, in terms of political parties refusing tickets
to the tainted. The Representation of the People Act, 1951 should be amended to debar
persons against whom cases of a heinous nature are pending from contesting elections.
• State funding of elections could be mooted; it has been supported by various committees
like Indrajit Gupta Committee and 2nd ARC.
• There is an utmost need to cleanse the politics to impart better justice, welfare,
development and growth to all and to realize the real democracy.
CHINA BACKS PAKISTAN’S ‘QUEST FOR PEACE’ VIA TALKS
Context:
• Without specifically referring to the Kashmir issue, China backed Pakistan for trying to
resolve “outstanding issues” with India through dialogue, and also supported Pakistan on
their quest to enter NSG and expansion of counter terrorism.
Details:
• China appreciated Pakistan quest for peace through dialogue, cooperation and
negotiation, on the basis of mutual respect and equality
• Supported Pakistan’s efforts for improvement of Pakistan-India relations and for
settlement of outstanding disputes between the two countries
• China supported Pakistan on nuclear non-proliferation efforts and its adherence to NSG
guidelines and also recognized Pakistan’s efforts in strengthening financial regulations to
combat terrorism financing.
• Pakistan, on the other hand, supported active membership of China at SAARC (China is
now an observer at SAARC)
• Both the countries also agreed to expand defence cooperation (China is the main supplier
of defence equipment for Pakistan)
• They also agreed to make full use of the China-Pakistan Defence and Security consultation
mechanism, deepen cooperation in areas such as military exercises, training cooperation,
personnel exchanges, and equipment and technology cooperation
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CHINA TAPS INDIA AS DIGITAL ECONOMY PARTNER
GS-3: Effect of liberalization on Indian Economy
Context:
• As a part of Beijing’s drive to cyber-connect with Eurasia, China is roping in India as a
niche digital partner.
Details:
• China has signed ‘strategic cooperation’ agreement on 2D coding with India, citing India’s
strength in 2D coding configuration
• This is made to strengthen the frontier for trade and investments. For example this could
act as the gateways for linking genuine buyers and sellers, as well as for making digital
payments by scanning QR codes
• With the use of 2D coding, trade volumes can expand greatly, as the new technology will
go a long way in building commercial trust.
SIRISENA DISSOLVES SRI LANKA PARLIAMENT, POLLS ON JAN. 5
Context:
• The political crisis in Sri Lanka deepened after President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved
Parliament, paving the way for early general elections in the country. According to a
notification, general elections will be held on January 5 and the new Parliament will meet
on January 17
Details:
• The dissolution of Parliament comes days after Ranil Wickremesinghe was sacked as
Prime Minister and replaced by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa
• The strength of Sirisena and Rajapaksa’s coalition in Parliament stood at 106, seven shorts
of the simple majority mark. Rajapaksa was to prove his strength on the floor of the House
on November 14.
• But this dissolution has been criticized widely since it is unconstitutional given the four-
and-half-year term rule and now the Parliament stands dissolved some 21 months ahead
of its schedule in August 2020, amid a worsening constitutional crisis triggered by the
surprise sacking of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe
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XI CALLS FOR ‘NEW ERA’ IN TIES WITH PAKISTAN
GS 2: International Relations
Context:
• Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan has arrived in Beijing to rework “all-weather” ties
with China.
More in details:
• Pakistan is in difficult economic situation with very big deficits, a fiscal deficit and a
current account deficit and also Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have reached an
alarming low of around $8 billion — barely sufficient to finance about two months of
imports.
• Saudi Arabia had also extended its aid to Pakistan
Implications of this visit
• It is been clear from the meeting that the relationship between China and Pakistan has
strengthened their all-weather strategic partnership
• The economic package a loan of $ 1.5 billion and a donation of $ 1.5 billion, along with an
additional package of $ 3 billion for the Economic Corridor of China and Pakistan (CPEC).
• Analysts say that China needs the full support of Pakistan to make the CPEC a success.
China has billed the $ 62 billion project as the lead company of its Belt and Road Initiative
(BRI).
IRAN OIL: INDIA TO GET U.S. SANCTIONS WAIVER
GS 2: International Relations
Context:
• India is likely to be one of eight countries which can temporarily import oil from Iran post
sanctions.
More in details:
• This would allow Indian oil companies to continue to import about 1.25 million tonnes of
oil a month till March from Tehran
• Eight jurisdictions also include Japan, China, South Korea. The rest four yet to be
identified. It is said to be released coming Monday
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• China, the leading importer of Iranian oil is still in discussions with the US on other terms.
• The waivers are only temporary, and the U.S. will expect countries that get them to keep
cutting Iranian imports in the months ahead, according to the U.S. administration official,
who declined to give details on the volume of oil the nations will be allowed to buy under
the exemptions.
• Countries that get waivers under the revived sanctions must pay for the oil into escrow
accounts in their local currency. That means the money won’t directly go to Iran, which
can only use it to buy food, medicine or other non-sanctioned goods from its crude
customers. The administration sees those accounts as an important way of limiting Iranian
revenue and further constraining its economy.
Background:
• About Nuclear
deal/Joint
Comprehensive Plan
of Action (JCPOA)
and US withdrawal
• US President Donald
Trump announced
on May 8 that he will
pull the United
States out of the Iran
nuclear deal, a 2015
agreement that
capped over a
decade of hostility between Tehran and the West over its atomic program.
• It was signed between Iran and the P5 (five permanent members of the UNSC- Britain,
China, France, Germany, Russia and the US) plus Germany and the EU. The deal made an
agreement to limit Iranian nuclear programs in return for relief from the US and other
economic sanctions. The US has pulled out of the deal citing Iran’s incompliance with the
deal, though it did not provide any evidence.
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MYANMAR MEET DIDN’T DISCUSS ROHINGYA ISSUE
GS 2: India and its neighbouring countries
Context:
• India did not discuss the deportation of Rohingya with Myanmar at a meeting held last
month.
Details:
• India has been taking a route of diplomatic channels to deport the illegal migrants from
Myanmar to send back. Recently, seven Rohingya, who were caught in Assam in 2012,
were sent to Myanmar after the latter verified their credentials
• India and Myanmar also agreed on providing security cooperation along the international
border and facilitating movement of people and trade across the border.
• They also agreed to cooperate in preventing smuggling of wildlife and narcotic drugs and
strengthening cooperation on international border management, including construction of
subsidiary pillars to better demarcate the border.
Mains Question
1. Discuss the challenges in handling Rohingyas in India and what should India do in
tackling Rohingyas?
• The Rohingyas are persecuted Muslim minority group residing in the Rakhine state of
Myanmar. They have not been recognized as citizens of Myanmar and hence considered
as ‘stateless entities’ by the Myanmar government, which is making them identity-less,
state-less. Hence, with no citizenship, this hassled to large scale exodus of the Rohingya
population to neighbouring countries like India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand and
Indonesia.
• The exact number of Rohingyas living in India is not known, it is said there are around
40,000 of them in India, of which around 5,700 are in Jammu. This illegal migration has
impacted the
Challenges:
• It is suspected that some Rohingyas have connections with Islamic states and other
extremist groups, which has high security implications in India especially in North eastern
states and Jammu Kashmir
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• It is also alleged that they are involved in illegal activities such as mobilization of funds
through hawala channels and also indulging in human trafficking
• Influx of illegal migrants would destabilize further north-eastern corridor and impact
demographic profile and cause social, economic, political and cultural problems
• They also have illegally acquired identity documents such as Aadhar, Pan card etc. which
raises the concern of naturalization of illegal migrants by fraudulent means
• Steps like deportation would also violate the fundamental rights under Article 14
(equality) and 21 (right to live with human dignity), which are guaranteed to both citizens
and foreigners. Considering the challenges in place, it is necessary for India to come out
with appropriate solutions
Solutions:
• A strong refugee policy should be adopted.
• Strengthening border management with Myanmar and regulate the inflow of illegal
migration. Also regulate ‘Free movement regime’ (FMR) (FMR allows that allows ethnic
communities living on either side of the border to travel 16km across the boundary
without a visa), because this has made checking infiltration difficult.
• India should also provide funds to Myanmar government to improve the socio-economic
conditions in the Rakhine region
• India should extend its humanitarian approach and take leadership and collaborate with
the neighboring countries and work towards ending the repression and atrocities causing
to these communities.
INDIA TO JOIN AFGHAN PEACE TALKS TODAY
GS 2: India and its neighbouring countries
Context:
• In a significant departure from India’s stand on engaging the Taliban, the government
announced it would participate at a “non-official” level. Two former senior diplomats will
attend talks on the Afghanistan peace process to be held in Russia on Friday.
Details:
• The talks, known as the “Moscow format”
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• This will include a “high-level” delegation from the Taliban as well as a delegation of
Afghanistan’s “High Peace Council”, along with representatives of 12 countries including
Afghanistan, India, Iran, China, Pakistan and the US and will mark the first time an Indian
delegation has been present at the table with the Taliban representatives based in Doha.
Implications:
• India taken this departure to support all efforts a t peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan
that will preserve unity and plurality, and bring security, stability and prosperity to the
country
• India's consistent policy has been that such efforts should be Afghan-led, Afghan-owned,
and Afghan-controlled and with participation of the government of Afghanistan
About ‘The Heart of Asia’ Process:
• The Heart of Asia Process was established in Istanbul, Turkey to provide a platform to
discuss regional issues, particularly encouraging security, political, and economic
cooperation among Afghanistan and its neighbours
• The participating countries include Pakistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and the
United Arab Emirates.
• It is an intergovernmental organization and the Permanent chairmanship is occupied by
Afghanistan
• Three pillars of this conference process are:
✓ Political Consultations: Political consultation involving Afghanistan and its near
and extended neighbours
✓ Confidence Building Measures (CBMs): Areas for CBMs identified in the Istanbul
Process document are Disaster management, Counter-terrorism, Counter-narcotics,
Trade, Commerce and Investment, Regional infrastructure, and Education.
✓ Cooperation with Regional Organizations
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SAUDI ARABIA IN TALKS TO CUT CRUDE OUTPUT
GS 3: Effect of liberalization of Indian Economy
Context:
• Saudi Arabia, the world’s top crude exporter planned to cut output from next month
Details:
• Saudi Arabia plans to reduce oil supply to world markets by 0.5 million barrels per day in
December as the OPEC faces uncertain prospects in its attempts to persuade other
producers to agree a coordinated output cut.
• The cut represents a reduction in global oil supply of about 0.5 percent.
• Riyadh was surprised by the waivers granted by Washington to Iran's main customers
such as China and India, a move which hit oil prices. (Washington gave 180-day waivers
to eight Iranian oil buyers - China, India, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Greece, Taiwan and
Turkey. This group takes as much as three-quarters of Iran's seaborne oil exports per trade
data)
• Now Saudi Arabia wants to act to prevent a further slide in prices and is leading
discussions on cutting oil output next year.
• An agreement on oil reduction by OPEC and its allies would depend on the level of
Iranian exports after the United States imposed sanctions on Tehran but granted Iran's top
oil buyer’s waivers to continue buying oil. OPEC and its allies will meet in Vienna on
December 6-7 to decide on output policy for 2019.
FITCH RETAINS RATING FOR INDIA AT ‘BBB-’
GS 3: Indian Economy
Context:
• Fitch Ratings on Thursday retained India’s sovereign rating at ‘BBB-’, the lowest
investment grade rating, although maintaining its stable outlook.
Details:
• The company has mentioned that the economy would dismiss any hovering effects of
demonetisation and GST during 2018-19 and 2019-20. India’s rating balances a strong
medium-term growth outlook and favourable external balances with weak fiscal finances
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and some lagging structural factors, including governance standards and a still-difficult,
but improving business environment
• The agency said that a favourable economic growth outlook supported India’s credit
profile, even though real GDP growth fell to 6.6% in financial year 2017-18.
• It forecasts growth to rebound to 7.3% in FY19 and 7.5% in FY20
• It found that India had the highest medium-term growth potential among the largest
emerging markets.
Sovereign credit rating
• A sovereign credit rating is credit rating of country or sovereign entity. It gives investors
insight into level of risk associated with investing in particular country, including its
political risk.
• At request of country, credit rating agency evaluates country’s economic and political
environment to determine representative credit rating.
• Obtaining good sovereign credit rating is usually essential for developing countries in
order to access funding in international bond markets. Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investors
Service and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) are big three international credit rating agencies
controlling approximately 95% of global ratings business.
GLOBAL FIGHT ON MALARIA STALLED: WHO
GS 2: Issues Relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to
Health, Education, Human Resources.
Topic: Health
Context:
• The World Health Organization on Monday said global efforts to fight malaria have hit a
plateau as it reported there were more cases of the killer disease in 2017 than the previous
year.
Details:
• The latest WHO report showed that the number of malaria cases climbed to 219 million
last year, two million higher than 2016
• The main reason for increase in malaria cases is lack of international funding to handle
preventive and curative process
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• Another constraint in fighting malaria has been mosquitoes building up resistance to some
insecticides
• Most malaria cases reported last year were in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Ghana, India, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Tanzania and
Uganda.
• A considerable proportion of people at risk of infection are not being protected, including
pregnant women and children in Africa
• The disease killed 4,35,000 people last year, the majority of them children under five in
Africa.
About Malaria:
• Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease affecting humans and other animals caused
by parasitic single-celled microorganisms belonging to the Plasmodium group.
• The disease is most commonly transmitted by an infected female Anopheles mosquito.
The mosquito bite introduces the parasites from the mosquito's saliva into a person's
blood. The parasites travel to the liver where they mature and reproduce. The disease is
widespread in the tropical and subtropical regions that exist in a broad band around the
equator. This includes much of Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
About WHO:
• The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that
is concerned with international public health. It was established on 7 April 1948, and is
headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
• The WHO is a member of the United Nations Development Group. Its predecessor, the
Health Organization, was an agency of the League of Nations.
• It publishes reports such as
✓ World Health Statistics
✓ The global burden of disease
✓ World Health report
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MALDIVES TO PULL OUT OF CHINA FTA
GS 2: International Relations
Topic: India and its neighbouring countries
Context:
• The Maldives’ new government will pull out of a free trade agreement (FTA) with China
because it was a mistake for the tiny nation to strike such a pact with the world’s second
biggest economy, the head of the largest party in the ruling alliance said.
Details:
• It is the latest sign of a backlash against China in the Maldives
• The Chief of the Maldivian Democratic Party (ruling federal alliance) says that the trade
imbalance between China and the Maldives is so huge that FTA between Maldives and
China is not helping Maldives and is benefitting only China, acting as new-way treaty.
• It is said that China-led infrastructure boom has left the tiny country of a little more than
400,000 people debt-ridden, and a free trade pact would only make the situation worse
given the lopsided nature of the relationship.
• The new administration plans an audit of the deals signed by the Yameen administration,
but it said it had no plans to suspend or cancel any of the projects, such as airport
expansion and housing contracts, given to Chinese firms.
• The new President of the Maldives has decided that the country will rejoin the
Commonwealth group of former British colonies following a two-year absence
Background:
• The Maldives, a South Asian country, located in the Indian Ocean, situated in the Arabian
Sea. It lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India.
• The Maldives is a founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC).
• Maldives is among a number of small countries where China has invested billions of
dollars building highways and housing as part of its Belt and Road Initiative. Through
that initiative, Beijing hopes to improve trade and investment flows with much of Asia
and parts of the rest of the world.
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WTO PANELS TO REVIEW U.S. STEEL, ALUMINIUM TARIFFS
GS 3: Indian Economy
Topic: WTO
Context:
• The World Trade Organization agreed on Wednesday to hear complaints from a range of
countries over new U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, as well as complaints from
Washington over retaliatory duties.
Details:
• The WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body
(DSB) agreed to establish panels to
review steel and aluminum tariffs of
the U.S.
• The DSB will create separate panels
for the complaints by the European
Union (EU), China, Canada, Mexico,
Norway and Russia, after the U.S.
said it would not agree to a single
panel to hear all of them.
• The DSB agreed on Wednesday to
Washington’s request for three panels
to rule on the legality of retaliatory
tariffs imposed by Canada, China and the EU.
• It also agreed to a U.S. call for a panel to be created to review “certain Chinese measures
pertaining to the protection of intellectual property rights.”
• The decision to establish the panels follows rounds of failed consultations between the
parties.
About WTO:
• The World Trade organization, an institution established in 1955 has replaced General
Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT).
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• It deals with the global trade rules and makes provisions to ensure that the nations follow
rules-based trade order and hence increase international trade in entirety.
Dispute mechanism of WTO:
• Any trade disputes taken at WTO are handled by Dispute resolution body, which reports
to the Ministerial Conference of WTO. It is handled at three levels.
1) Consultations between the parties;
2) Adjudication by panels and, if applicable, by the Appellate Body; and
3) Implementation of the ruling, which includes the possibility of countermeasures in the
event of failure by the losing party to implement the ruling.
EU, U.K. REACH DRAFT DEAL ON POST-BREXIT RELATIONSHIP
GS: 2 International Relations
Topic: International organizations
Context:
• The British government’s Brexit process reached another milestone as the European
Commission said that the U.K. and the EU had agreed at a negotiator level and in
principle the draft political declaration on the future relationship between the two sides.
Details:
• This marks the symbolic victory for the Britain to move ahead with the Brexit process
• Unlike the withdrawal agreement, which would be binding, the political declaration is
more of a statement of future ambitions of new relationship between the EU and the UK,
which includes not just trade but also movement of people
• The declaration established the parameters of an “ambitious, broad, deep and flexible
partnership”
• However, the declaration appeared to live up to one point repeatedly stressed by U.K.
authorities on their intention to end free movement and bring in “visa-free travel” for
short-term visits only.
Background on Brexit:
• European Union was originally formed with six nations in 1957. European Union or EU is
an experiment to transform the relations between nations based on functionalist ideology.
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Today, it is a gigantic transnational entity of 28 countries, including the U.K., which joined
only in 1973.
• Though part of EU, Britain has traditionally had a 'Eurosceptic' stand. It continues to use
the Pound as its currency, while most EU nations have moved to Euro. Neither does it
participate in the Schengen border-free zone, which allows passport-free travel in EU.
Formation of European Union is an outcome of Single European Act, 1991.
• Mashtricht Treaty converted the EU into a monetary union. Lisbon Treaty strengthened
political, foreign affairs and security integration of policies of countries of European
Union. Interestingly, this is the second time U.K. has sought a referendum on this issue. In
1975 Prime Minister Harold Wilson called a referendum after considerable opposition rose
from within the country on U.K. staying with the European Economic Community, the
precursor of the EU. With 67 per cent of those who voted preferring to 'Remain', U.K.
stayed on.
Reasons for Brexit:
• The primary contention is that Britain does not earn, in fact loses more from being part of
European Union. Also, it was said that EU’s policies were too protectionist and did not
favour competitiveness to the extent that would be beneficial for the British economy
• Post the Sovereign Debt Crisis, EU introduced Fiscal Compact and tighter control on
national budgets. Britain was not comfortable with these ideas
• Germany’s proposal to impose taxes on financial transactions also did not find favour
with London, which is an important financial hub. Huge legal migration from EU, adding
credence to local fears was the fact that since 1997, 3/4th of jobs created are taken up by
EU immigrants
• Xenophobia, perception that immigrants pose a threat to national security, especially
when the EU obliged on it members to accommodate refugees during Syrian crisis, which
Britain refused. It was also said that the EU also gradually transforming for a More Closer
union, which is pursuing for more powers to EU parliament, while, limiting the authority
of British Parliament. A referendum was held on June 23, 2016, to decide whether Britain
should exit or remain in the European Union. 51.9% of voters favoured exit of Britain from
EU. It is the first time since the EU was founded in 1957 that a member country is leaving.
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CHINA HOPES FOR TRADE WAR SOLUTION AT
G20 XI-TRUMP TALKS
GS 2: International Relations
Topic: International Organizations
Context:
• China said that it hopes US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping can
find a solution to the trade war when they meet at the G20 summit next week.
Details:
• The talks in Argentina come as the two countries have failed to reach any agreement to
resolve a dispute that escalated after Trump slapped huge tariffs on Chinese goods,
prompting tit-for-tat responses.
• The tensions between the US and China also well reflected in APEC summit recently
• It is hoped that both sides could work together on the basis of mutual respect, balance and
benefit, which could help to find a solution to solve the problem
• China hopes the G20 will uphold its backing of multilateralism at the summit, which will
take place from November 30 to December 1 in Buenos Aires. It is a fact that the global
trade has shown its decline due to unilateralist and protectionist measures.
• China also supports reforms of the World Trade Organization to enhance its authority and
effectiveness
About G20:
• It is an international forum for the
governments and central bank governors
from 20 major economies.
• Founded in 1999
• Its aim was to review policy decisions to
enhance international financial stability
• It now deliberates on global economic issues
and other important development
challenges.
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SRI LANKA SIGNS PORT DEALS WITH CHINA AMID POLITICAL
UPHEAVAL
Mains Level: GS2: International Relations
Prelims level: Not much
Context:
• Sri Lanka penned two multi-million-dollar contracts with Chinese firms for a port
upgrade project on Thursday in the middle of a political hiatus that has raised doubts over
the legitimacy of the government and the legality of the deals.
Details:
• The debt-saddled island has long been a target of Beijing’s ambitious Belt and Road
infrastructure scheme to connect China with countries cross Asia and beyond, while
regional power India has also been vying for deals to counter China’s influence.
• But a political crisis triggered by President Maithripala Sirisena’s replacement of Prime
Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was in turn sacked by
parliament, has raised doubts over who can legitimately make decisions in the country.
• Foreign countries have yet to recognize the new government and Wickremesinghe’s party
has said any decisions by Rajapaksa’s cabinet are illegal.
• State-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority had signed two contracts with Chinese firms worth
more than $50 million combined after the deals were approved by Rajapaksa’s disputed
cabinet last week.
• India, which accounts for around 80 percent of Colombo’s trans-shipment business, has
raised concerns over increasing Chinese projects in Colombo.
• New Delhi had been pushing Sri Lanka for the award of an estimated $1 billion contract
for a second foreign-operated container terminal in Colombo.
• But that deal was the subject of an argument between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe just
before his ouster, in which Sirisena reportedly said the country couldn’t give any more of
its assets to foreigners.
• The political instability and economic malaise have raised questions over Sri Lanka’s
ability to service large external debt taken to finance reconstruction following the end the
civil war in 2009. It owes around $8 billion to China, official data shows.
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ASEAN MEMBER COUNTRIES OF RCEP OFFER INDIA CONCESSION
GS 2: International Relations
Context:
• Several Asian member countries of the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership (RCEP) have offered India a significant concession on the extent to which it
needs to open up its markets, in a bid to encourage it to join the partnership quickly
Details:
• Concessional offer for India to open up only about 83% of its market, as compared to the
original 92% that the RCEP agreement stipulated
• It also allows for bilateral agreements to be made so India can perhaps open up to China
gradually and not in one go. This is made to alleviate India’s concerns in opening up
markets with China and furthering the skewing trade deficit with China.
• December 2018 has been fixed as deadline for finalizing these RCEP negotiations
• Upcoming Parliament elections in India and also in Indonesia and Australia makes it
harder for governments to give any concessions on tariffs and subsidies closer to polls,
given political compulsions
About RCEP:
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• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has free trade agreements with
six partners namely People’s Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Japan, India as well
as Australia and New Zealand.
• In order to broaden and deepen the engagement among parties and to enhance parties’
participation in economic development of the region, the leaders of 16 participating
countries established the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
• The RCEP was built upon the existing ASEAN+1 FTAs with the spirit to strengthen
economic linkages and to enhance trade and investment related activities as well as to
contribute to minimizing development gap among the parties
• RCEP grouping comprise the 10 ASEAN members and their Free Trade Agreement
partners, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and Republic of Korea.
PM CALLS FOR INCLUSIVE INDO-PACIFIC
GS 2: International relations
Context:
• India calls for inclusive Indo-pacific region at recent Singapore summit
Details:
• India called for enhancing multilateral cooperation and economic and cultural ties among
member-nations at the 13th East Asia Summit (EAS) in Singapore.
• India has been participating in the EAS since its very inception in 2015
• India also reiterated its commitment to a peaceful, prosperous and open Indo pacific
region
• Inclusive EAS would indeed supplement Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
of ASEAN
About East Asian Summit:
• The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a regional forum held annually by leaders of, initially, 16
countries in the East Asian, Southeast Asian, and South Asian regions, based on the
ASEAN Plus Six mechanism. Membership expanded to 18 countries including Russia and
the United States at the Sixth EAS in 2011. Since its establishment, ASEAN has held the
central role and leadership in the forum. EAS meetings are held after the annual ASEAN
leaders’ meetings, and play an important role in the regional architecture of Asia-Pacific.
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• Member Nations Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand,
United States and Vietnam
• India, being a founding member of the East Asia Summit, is committed to strengthening
the East Asia Summit and making it more effective for dealing with contemporary
challenges.
About RCEP:
• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has free trade agreements with
six partners namely People’s Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Japan, India as well
as Australia and New Zealand.
• In order to broaden and deepen the engagement among parties and to enhance parties’
participation in economic development of the region, the leaders of 16 participating
countries established the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
• The RCEP was built upon the existing ASEAN+1 FTAs with the spirit to strengthen
economic linkages and to enhance trade and investment related activities as well as to
contribute to minimizing development gap among the parties
• RCEP grouping comprise the 10 ASEAN members and their Free Trade Agreement
partners, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and Republic of Korea.
INDIA, CHINA AGREE TO EXPAND MILITARY TIES
GS 2: India and its neighbouring countries
Context:
• India and China are set to expand their military ties, in tune with the spirit of the Wuhan
informal summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra
Modi in April.
Details:
• This agreement would add another layer of exchanges between military personnel of the
two countries. For the first time, cadets from Indian and Chinese military academies, as
well mid-level officers, will meet each other regularly. It tends to expand military
exchanges between personnel at all levels in the aftermath of the Wuhan summit
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• This would further ease the tension existing between military personnel following Doklam
crisis
About Wuhan Summit:
• It is the first informal summit to exchange views on overarching issues of bilateral and
global importance, and to elaborate their respective visions and priorities for national
development in the context of the current and future international situation.
• They shared the view that peaceful, stable and balanced relations and proper
management of the bilateral relations between India and China will be a positive factor for
stability amidst current global uncertainties
• The two leaders expressed their support for the work of the Special Representatives on the
India China Boundary Question and urged them to intensify their efforts to seek a fair,
reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement.
• The two leaders further directed their militaries to earnestly implement various
confidence building measures agreed upon between the two sides, including the principle
of mutual and equal security, and strengthen existing institutional arrangements and
information sharing mechanisms to prevent incidents in border regions.
• Also agreed to push forward bilateral trade and investment in a balanced and sustainable
manner by taking advantage of complementarities between their two economies
• Also discussed ways to promote greater cultural and people-to-people exchanges
• They shared views on their respective foreign policy visions of achieving global prosperity
and security such as in facilitating sustainable solutions for global challenges including
climate change, sustainable development, food security etc
• They recognized the common threat posed by terrorism, and reiterated their strong
condemnation of and resolute opposition to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
They committed themselves to cooperate on counter-terrorism.
• It was also discussed to have more such summits, alongside an agreement between the
leaders for provision of greater ‘strategic communications’ at the highest level.
• The agreement between India and China to work together jointly on an economic project
in Afghanistan, with details to be worked out through diplomatic channels.
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INDIA, RUSSIA TO BUILD STEALTH FRIGATES
GS 3: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and
developing new technology.
Topic: Defense
Context:
• India on Tuesday signed a $500 million deal with Russia to locally manufacture two
stealth frigates with technology transfer. The agreement was signed between Goa
Shipyard Limited (GSL) and Rosoboron export of Russia.
Details:
• The deal is for material, design and specialist assistance from Russia for the ships. Balance
work will be done by GSL, and it will have a whole lot of Indian equipment, including
BrahMos missiles. The work on the two frigates will start in two years by mid-2020 and is
expected to be completed by 2026-2027.
• Also, India recently signed a $1 bn deal with Russia for direct purchase of two frigates.
The basic structures of the two frigates are already ready at the Yantar shipyard in Russia
and will be finished now.
Stealth technology:
• The goal of stealth technology is to make an
airplane invisible to radar. There are two
different ways to create invisibility:
1. The airplane can be shaped so that any
radar signals it reflects are reflected away
from the radar equipment.
2. The airplane can be covered in materials
that absorb radar signals.
• Most conventional aircraft have a rounded shape. This shape makes them aerodynamic,
but it also creates a very efficient radar reflector. The round shape means that no matter
where the radar signal hits the plane, some of the signal gets reflected back. A stealth
aircraft, on the other hand, is made up of completely flat surfaces and very sharp edges.
When a radar signal hits a stealth plane, the signal reflects away at an angle, like this. In
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addition, surfaces on a stealth aircraft can be treated so they absorb radar energy as well.
The overall result is that a stealth aircraft can have the radar signature of a small bird
rather than an airplane
INDIA, CHINA SET FOR FIRST POST-WUHAN BORDER TALKS
GS 2: International Relations
Topic: International Organizations
Context:
• National Security Adviser Ajit Doval arrived in Chengdu on Friday for boundary talks
with China’s Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi, to build on the Wuhan
informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi
Jinping that took place in April.
Details:
• The discussion is unlikely to yield any major breakthrough on the resolution of the
boundary question, because the political situation is not ripe at both sides of the nations.
Trade war tensions in China, forthcoming elections in India and as such. However, this
discussion is significant because this would be an important brainstorming exercise to
move forward on border management between India and China
• The meeting would also have discussions on the preparation for a meeting between Prime
Minister Modi and President Xi on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting
About Wuhan Summit
• It is the first informal summit to exchange views on overarching issues of bilateral and
global importance, and to elaborate their respective visions and priorities for national
development in the context of the current and future international situation.
• They shared the view that peaceful, stable and balanced relations and proper
management of the bilateral relations between India and China will be a positive factor for
stability amidst current global uncertainties. The two leaders expressed their support for
the work of the Special Representatives on the India China Boundary Question and urged
them to intensify their efforts to seek a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable
settlement. The two leaders further directed their militaries to earnestly implement
various confidence building measures agreed upon between the two sides, including the
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principle of mutual and equal security, and strengthen existing institutional arrangements
and information sharing mechanisms to prevent incidents in border regions.
• Also agreed to push forward bilateral trade and investment in a balanced and sustainable
manner by taking advantage of complementarities between their two economies
• Also discussed ways to promote greater cultural and people-to-people exchanges
• They shared views on their respective foreign policy visions of achieving global prosperity
and security such as in facilitating sustainable solutions for global challenges including
climate change, sustainable development, food security etc.
• They recognized the common threat posed by terrorism, and reiterated their strong
condemnation of and resolute opposition to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
They committed themselves to cooperate on counter-terrorism. It was also discussed to
have more such summits, alongside an agreement between the leaders for provision of
greater ‘strategic communications’ at the highest level. The agreement between India and
China to work together jointly on an economic project in Afghanistan, with details to be
worked out through diplomatic channels.
WHY ARE ONION PRICES FLUCTUATING?
GS 3: Effect of liberalization on Indian Economy
Reasons for price volatility of onion
• Despite increase in onion production over the years from 5.5 million tonnes till 2002-03 to
nearly 20 million tonnes in recent years, there is a recurring surge in onion price every
October due to below reasons.
• Increasing domestic demand and overseas demand which is well reflected in growth in
per capita demand and change in preference for Indian consumers for onion
• Production fluctuations Reduced price changes even after increasing supply is not being
passed on to the ultimate consumers by way of reduction in prices by retailers
Way forward:
• National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) should keep a
check on exploitation and market manipulation by private trade, besides price
stabilization. Usage of market intelligence, public stocks, technology could also help here.
EFFORTS ON TO HARNESS AI TO IMPROVE TEA QUALITY
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Context:
• The Tea Research Association (TRA) is planning to harness front line technologies based
on artificial intelligence (AI), chatots and sensor-based machinery to boost tea quality
while equipping the age-old industry to face the ravages of climate change.
INDIA TO EXPORT SUGAR TO CHINA
Context:
• In a boost to sugar mills sitting on surplus stocks, India will start raw sugar exports to
China in early 2019, and is in talks to finalize exports to Indonesia and Malaysia as well.
Details:
• Raw sugar is the second product after non-basmati rice that China will import from India
• It is a move to reduce the $60 billion trade deficit that China has with India
• India is the world’s largest sugar producer with a production of 32 million tonnes in 2018.
However, domestic consumption is only around 25 million tonnes, sugar producers have
been left with large surplus stocks, driving down prices and affecting both mills and
sugarcane farmers. Hence this move would increase revenue for sugar producers and also
stabilize the domestic price of sugarcane.
COTTON PRICES HARDEN ON HIGHER MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICES
GS 3: Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices
Context:
• The cotton season has commenced this year with an unusual trend — prices are up despite
new arrivals.
Details:
• The prices usually drop when the new season starts. However, this year, prices are
remaining firm for several reasons, say the trade and industry representatives.
• The main cause is the hike in minimum support price (MSP) and this also increased the
market price of cotton. The movement of international prices will also have an impact on
the domestic cotton prices. If China levies duty on import of cotton from the US, which is
a major cotton producer, it will have an impact on the international and Indian cotton
prices.
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IS CROP INSURANCE SCHEME LOSING STEAM?
GS 3: Agriculture
Context:
• More than 84 lakh farmers, which are around 15% of the total farmers insured in the first
year of the Union government’s ambitious Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana in 2016-17,
withdrew themselves from the scheme in 2017-18, a reply to an RTI application has
revealed.
Reasons behind the failure of the scheme:
• The scheme is routed through insurance companies, who are the most benefiters
• There is also delay in pay-outs by the insurance companies and also there is high
difference between the payments approved and the payment actually made. The problems
such as localized calamity is not investigated by the insurance companies, resulting in
lesser claims to farmers by the insurance companies
• These problems defeat the whole purpose of insurance — which is to provide timely relief
against crop loss/damage, so that the farmer can at least repay his bank loans and is not
forced to go to the moneylender
• There is lack of political will by the state governments to bear 50 per cent of the premium
subsidy and also to conduct crop cutting experiments (CCE) to determine yield losses
• There are operational issues in conducting CCE. The sample size in each village was not
large enough to capture the scale and diversity of crop losses. In many cases, district or
block level agricultural department officials do not conduct such sampling on ground and
complete the formalities only on paper. It is also noted lack of trained outsourced
agencies, scope of corruption during implementation and the non-utilization of
technologies like smart phones and drones to improve reliability of such sampling.
• The scheme is not reaching the non-loanee farmers at a larger scale. The number of
insurance coverage of non-loanee farmers to loanee farmers is substantially less
• There has been no concerted effort by the state government and insurance companies to
build awareness of farmers on PMFBY. Insurance companies have failed to set-up
infrastructure for proper implementation of PMFBY. There is still no direct linkage
between insurance companies and farmers.
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FARMERS’ MARCH TO DEMAND FIXED MSP,
FREEDOM FROM DEBTS
Mains Level: GS: 3 - Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support
prices
Prelims Level: Agriculture
Context:
• Farmers are demanding to bring legislation for a guaranteed minimum support price
(MSP) for their crops.
Details:
• The list of crops under MSP changes based on the recommendation of the Commission for
Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and approval by Cabinet Committee on Economic
Affairs (CCEA)
• Hence there is a uncertainty prevails in terms of provision of MSP, which necessitated a
guaranteed MSP structure
• Assured price would provide them the clear path to plan their crops for cultivation
combining with other factors such as climatic conditions, supply chain, credit and as such
• It is said that though MSP has been announced for 24 agricultural commodities by CCEA,
in reality the MSP is skewed in nature and more tilted towards rice and wheat.
• Lack of insured MSP for all announced crops, creates not just uncertainness but also
making farmers to fall into debt trap
• Hence farmer organizations have started to demand for a legislation to promise the price
structure.
Proposed bills by Farmer organizations:
• Last year, similar demands have been raised by farmer organizations and they proposed
the below to ensure their needs.
• Key demands of The Farmers’ (Right to Assured Price for Agricultural Produce) Bill, 2017
• Cost of production should be according to the Ramesh Chand Committee (March 2015)
recommendations and labour time spent on each crop.
• Declare MSP for all crops and farm produce. MSP should be fixed at no less than one and
half time the real cost of production.
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• Reduce cost of cultivation through appropriate subsidies, input price regulation,
production incentives and support for low or zero cost cultivation methods.
• Ensure sufficient funds to implement government’s statutory obligation under MNREGA
with wages not below the minimum wages and a social audit of implementation.
Key demands of the Debt Bill 2017:
• Immediate Debt Relief: waive existing loans and protect farmers from future debt trap by
setting up a Farmers’ Debt Relief Commission.
• Immediate waiver of entire outstanding agricultural loans of all farmers. Waiver should
cover all categories of banks.
• Debt freedom to be extended to settlement, swapping and waiving of non-institutional
loans of farmers including sharecroppers, tenants, agricultural labour, adivasi and women
farmers.
• Effective disaster relief and universal and zero premium crop insurance.
• Transition from high input agriculture to low input sustainable methods.
• Reform banking systems to ensure that priority sector agri-lending goes to small farmers
and their collectives rather than agri-business companies and city dwellers.
About Minimum Support Price:
• Minimum Support Price (MSP) is a form of market intervention by the Government of
India to insure agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices.
• The minimum support prices are announced by the Government of India at the beginning
of the sowing season for certain crops on the basis of the recommendations of the
Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
• MSP is price fixed by Government of India to protect the producer - farmers - against
excessive fall in price during bumper production years.
• The minimum support prices are a guarantee price for their produce from the
Government. The major objectives are to support the farmers from distress sales and to
procure food grains for public distribution.
• In case the market price for the commodity falls below the announced minimum price due
to bumper production and glut in the market, govt. agencies purchase the entire quantity
offered by the farmers at the announced minimum price.
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• Minimum support prices are currently announced for 24 commodities including seven
cereals (paddy, wheat, barley, jowar, bajra, maize and ragi); five pulses (gram, arhar/tur,
moong, urad and lentil); eight oilseeds (groundnut, rapeseed/mustard, toria, soyabean,
sunflower seed, sesamum, safflower seed and nigerseed); copra, raw cotton, raw jute and
virginia flu cured (VFC) tobacco.
CHALLENGE TO THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA’S RESERVE(S)
Context:
• There are many issues on which the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Centre disagree
but the most significant one is over the treatment of the sizeable reserves in the central
bank’s balance sheet.
Details:
• The centre is facing immense challenge on recapitalization of banks, which require
sizeable amount of outlay
• Financial needs and challenges due to the forthcoming Parliament elections
• Reserves are kept under two heads- currency and gold revaluation reserve and
contingency reserve
• The reserves are built through transfers from the annual surpluses in the profit and loss
account of RBI. The balance surplus after transfer to reserves is given to the Centre as
dividend. The main aim of currency and gold revaluation reserve is to handle rupee
appreciation and in case of any decline in the rupee value of gold
• The contingency reserve is meant to cover depreciation in the value of the RBI’s holdings
of government bonds (both domestic and foreign), if yields rise and their prices fall. It is
also meant to cover expenses from extraordinary events such as demonetization, money
market operations and currency printing expenses in a year of insufficient income.
• The contingency reserve supports the central bank’s role as the lender of the last resort.
• The reserve is also a cover for the deposit insurance fund given that the Deposit Insurance
and the Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the RBI.
Solution:
• Hence considering the above importance of having sizeable reserves, it would be prudent
to consider sharing any part of the reserve with the centre.
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• The way ahead would be forming a committee having representatives from government,
the central bank, academicians and the market and consider all aspects of the RBI’s
balance sheet and suggest a safe buffer in reserves and set out a fair method of sharing the
reserve.
RBI UNLIKELY TO OPEN WINDOW FOR NBFCS
GS 3: Indian Economy
Context:
• Amid growing demand for liquidity support for non-banking finance companies, the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is unlikely to provide any special support to the sector,
though it will continue to provide funds to the banking system as liquidity deficit in the
system is a concern.
Details:
• RBI says not all NBFCs are having liquidity, it is only mid-sized and smaller NBFCs,
mostly housing finance firms facing crisis not bigger NBFCs that have high ratings
• RBI says ‘Special window’ option should be explored only when all the other avenues fail.
Background on Liquidity crises in NBFCs:
• It all started with the failure of redemption of commercial paper dues by Infrastructure
Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS), which has blown into a possible liquidity crisis for
the entire NBFC universe.
• The government demand of having special refinance window for NBFCs has been rejected
by the RBI as it believes that there is no systemic risk now and special refinancing window
should only be the last resort.
• The RBI also mentioned that there is no liquidity crisis in the entire sector of NBFC except
housing sector, it also mentions that there is credit growth in few other sectors of NBFC.
• Anticipating liquidity crunch, the RBI has announced ₹40,000-crore liquidity infusion in
November through open market operations, which is a welcome move.
About NBFCs:
• A NBFC is a financial institution that provides banking services without meeting the legal
definition of a bank, i.e. one that does not hold a banking license.
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• It is established as a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 but its operations
are often still covered under a country’s banking regulations.
• NBFCs may be engaged in the business of loans and credit facilities, savings products,
investments and money transfer services.
• The Reserve Bank of India is entrusted with the responsibility of regulating and
supervising the Non-Banking Financial Companies by virtue of powers vested under
Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
GOVT. WANTS MORE SAY IN RBI DECISION-MAKING
GS 3: Indian Economy
Context:
• The government wants greater involvement in the RBI’s decision-making as it feels the
current practice leaves it out on many critical issues such as single-day default turning a
loan into an NPA.
Details:
• The Centre feels that as the representative of the people, it should be involved in
critical policy decisions made by the Reserve Bank of India
• The central board of the RBI will meet on Monday where the government is expected
to push for easing of norms for lending to the MSME sector, relaxing the Prompt
Corrective Action (PCA) framework for weak banks and appropriate size of reserve to
be maintained by the central bank, among others.
• The Centre and the RBI seem to be turning around to reach a solution, particularly
with respect to relaxation of PCA framework and easing of lending norms for the
MSMEs
Background on Centre-RBI differences:
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Key contention points:
1. Regulation of state-run banks
a. The RBI governor has stated that the RBI does not have enough powers to regulate
state-run banks. According to them, these banks have dual control that is by both
the RBI and the central government.
b. And also mentioned they have no power to remove directors and management at
state-run banks, cannot supersede bank boards, does not have the power to force a
merger or trigger liquidation of state-run banks.
c. The Central government counters this statement by mentioning that “powers of RBI
are wide-ranging and comprehensive to deal with various situations that may
emerge in all banks, including public sector banks”.
d. RBI has powers to inspect the bank and its book of accounts, has a nominee
member on the board of state-run banks and is part of a committee within the
board that approves large loans.
e. RBI can appoint additional directors on the banks’ boards.
f. Besides, the whole-time directors are appointed in consultation with RBI, the
government said.
g. The issue came in light on PNB crises which criticized banking regulator for not
taking enough measures despite having Prompt Corrective Action (PCA)
framework in place.
2. Independent payment regulator
a. The Government has suggested to have an independent payment regulator to foster
competition, consumer protection, systemic stability and resilience in payment
sector
b. However, the RBI has contended this measure mentioning that having independent
payment regulator would break the existing linkage between the activities of
traditional banking system and payment banks.
c. And also new independent payment regulator would not be practically
experienced as the RBI, who gained much experience over the last several years.
3. RBI’s PCA framework
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a. RBI has placed stringent restrictions on mainly small banks due to worsening
capital, asset quality and profitability. These stringent restrictions are defended by
the RBI that they are much less stringent that Basel norms
b. However, it has put pressure on the central government because of liquidity
pressure.
4. February 12 circular/circular on Non-performing assets
a. The RBI has this circular which put strict rules on banks to address NPAs
i. Doing away with traditional restructuring schemes
ii. Imposition of the one-day default role.
iii. The RBI has maintained that these steps would improve overall credit
culture and makes banks proactive in dealing with NPAs and reduce bad
loan accumulation in future.
b. As these measures would reduce liquidity in the economy and hence provide route
towards inflation, this has created tension between the centre and the RBI and also
agitated industry and banks.
RBI-CENTRE TUSSLE: IN CASE OF A SPLIT VOTE, GOVERNOR HOLDS
THE ACES
GS 3: Indian Economy
Topic: Banking
Context:
• The Monday’s meeting of the Reserve Bank of India’s Central Board will be as important
for the actions taken as for the fact that it’s the first time the body has met since the ‘RBI vs
Finance Ministry’ tussle broke out in the open.
Details:
• One of the main issues with bodies like the RBI Board and the Monetary Policy Committee
is whether decision making by committee is preferable to one man calling the shots.
• The government prefers decisions by committee, as can also be seen by how it pushed to
install a Monetary Policy Committee to replace the Governor as the sole arbiter of
monetary policy decisions.
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• However, provisions such as Section 13 of the RBI Act are paving a way for disagreement
between them.
• Section 13 of the RBI Act says: “The Governor, or if for any reason, he is unable to attend,
the Deputy Governor authorized by the Governor under the proviso to subsection (3) of
section 8 to vote for him, shall preside at meetings of the Central Board, and, in the event
of an equality of votes, shall have a second or casting vote.” In other words, the Governor
is the tie-breaker in all decisions of the Board. The Governor becomes a deciding authority
in case of tie.
• On the other hand, how this provision be handled by both the government and the RBI
would be decided in coming days and meetings.
ECB NORMS FOR INFRA FIRMS EASED
GS 3: Indian Economy
Context:
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday relaxed external commercial borrowing (ECB)
norms for infrastructure companies and tweaked certain hedging provisions.
Details:
• The central bank has reduced the minimum average maturity requirement for ECBs in the
infrastructure space to 3 years from 5 years at present
• Also reduces the average maturity period requirement for eligible borrowers exempted
from hedging their exposure fully to 5 years from 10 years currently. ECBs with a
minimum average maturity period of 3 to 5 years in the infrastructure space will also have
to meet a 100 per cent mandatory hedging requirement.
• However, ECBs falling under this revised provision, but raised prior to the date of this
circular, “will not be required to mandatorily roll over their existing hedges.
Implications:
• The move will help firms that have been looking to raise money overseas given the tight
liquidity conditions in the domestic markets, and spiking interest rates. Any increase in
the inflow of ECBs would also ease pressure on the rupee-dollar exchange rates.
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SBI SELLS OVER ₹400 CR. ELECTORAL BONDS
GS 2: Governance; GS 3: Indian Economy
Context:
• More than ₹400 crore worth of electoral bonds were sold by the State Bank of India (SBI) in
the 10-day window of October, a sharp rise from the ₹32 crore worth of bonds sold in the
July tranche, according to data the bank released under the Right to Information.
Details:
• The electoral bond data assumes significance against the backdrop of the Assembly
elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram.
• The data also pointed that there is next-to-no demand for electoral bonds of smaller
denominations and the majority of the bonds sold were in the highest denomination of ₹1
crore
About Electoral bond:
• An electoral bond is designed to be a bearer instrument like a Promissory Note — in
effect, it will be similar to a bank note that is payable to the bearer on demand and free of
interest.
• It can be purchased by any citizen of India or a body incorporated in India.
• The bonds will be issued in multiples of ₹1,000, ₹10,000, ₹1 lakh, ₹10 lakh and ₹1 crore and
will be available at specified branches of State Bank of India. They can be bought by the
donor with a KYC-compliant account.
• Donors can donate the bonds to their party of choice which can then be cashed in via the
party's verified account within 15 days.
• Every party that is registered under section 29A of the Representation of the Peoples Act,
1951 (43 of 1951) and has secured at least one per cent of the votes polled in the most
recent Lok Sabha or State election will be allotted a verified account by the Election
Commission of India. Electoral bond transactions can be made only via this account.
• The bonds will be available for purchase for a period of 10 days each in the beginning of
every quarter, i.e. in January, April, July and October as specified by the Central
Government. An additional period of 30 days shall be specified by the Central
Government in the year of Lok Sabha elections.
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• The electoral bonds will not bear the name of the donor. In essence, the donor and the
party details will be available with the bank, but the political party might not be aware of
who the donor is.
• A donor will get a deduction and the recipient, or the political party, will get tax
exemption, provided returns are filed by the political party
• Apart from this, the maximum amount of cash donation that a political party can receive
be capped at ₹2,000 and that parties be entitled to receive donations by cheque or digital
mode, in addition to electoral bonds.
GST, A GAME-CHANGER REFORM FOR LOGISTICS SECTOR
GS 3: Indian Economy
Topic: Taxes and Taxation
Context:
• It has been 15 months since the rollout of what is considered one of India’s biggest tax
reforms — the Goods and Services Tax (GST). But we are already witnessing a major
positive transition in the logistics sector.
Details:
• As per a recent survey, the Indian logistics sector provides livelihood to 22 million-plus
people, which is expected to be over 40 million by 2020. The high rate of growth in the
next couple of years is expected largely due to implementation of GST.
• How GST has transformed the logistics sector in a positive way
• It has reduced complex procedures, documentation and formalities in the supply chain of
logistics sector. For example, GST has replaced at least 7 indirect tax heads and has
eliminated the need for warehouse hubs across States. Also, GST has eliminated check
posts across the nation and thereby waiting time, leading to at least 12-15% reduction in
the turnaround time of trucks.
• This has led to better utilization of assets like vehicles and warehouses, which lead to
efficiency and increased productivity thus lowering overall cost.
• This would considerably benefit the supply chain directly and India’s growth indirectly.
• GST implementation has paved for logistics players to invest in optimizing supply chains
and invest in value-added planning
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• Post GST, there is a marked improvement in the use of technology and digitization by
logistics players
• Equipped with technology and software for load design solutions, vehicle geo-tracking,
inventory tracking and route optimization, third party players add more value to their
customers’ supply chain.
• The Centre created a new division in the Commerce Ministry to deal with the integrated
development of logistics and urged all stakeholders to bring to India relevant best
practices to enhance efficiency in logistics.
• The centre has also conferred 'infrastructure' status to the logistics sector, which is helping
the sector to avail cheaper finance (2% lower) for its warehousing and cold storage needs.
• Together, the implementation of GST and other reforms have already started bringing
efficiencies into the supply chain of various firms.
• The above steps have resulted in jump from the 54th position in 2014 to 44th in 2018 in the
World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index for India.
• With improvement in logistics sector, there would definitely be an uptrend in exports
sector.
• And since the logistics sector is indirectly related with manufacturing and employment
growth, these domains could see positive reflections due to the improvement in the
supply chain of the logistics sector and hence better economic growth in entirety.
GOVT PLANS LINKING E-WAY BILL WITH FASTAG, LOGISTICS
DATA BANK TO CHECK GST EVASION
GS 3: Indian Economy
Topic: Tax and Taxation reforms
Context:
• The Revenue Department is planning to integrate e-way bill with NHAI’s FASTag
mechanism and DMICDC’s (Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project) Logistics Data
Bank (LDB) services, to facilitate faster movement of goods and check GST evasion.
Details:
• This will improve operational efficiencies across the country’s logistic landscape.
Currently, lack of harmonization under the ‘track and trace’ mechanism in terms of
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sharing information among different agencies is affecting the ease of doing business in the
country. Besides, it is also impacting the logistic costs of the companies.
• The proposal will also help in preventing goods and services tax (GST) evasion by
unscrupulous traders who take advantage of the loopholes in the supply chain
• The integration of the e-way bill system with FASTag and LDB is expected to help boost
tax collections by clamping down on trade that currently happens on cash basis
• Integration of e-way bill with FASTag will help revenue authorities track the movement of
vehicles and ensure that they are travelling to the same destination as the transporter or
the trader had specified while generating the e-way bill.
• It will also help the suppliers locate the goods through the e-way bill system. Transporters,
too, would be able to track their vehicles through SMS alerts that would be generated at
each toll plaza
• The official said that the implementation of the proposal would require inter-ministerial
coordination as integration would have several operational and technical challenges.
About FASTag:
• FASTag is a device that employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for
making toll payments directly from the prepaid account linked to it. It is affixed on the
windscreen of your vehicle and enables one to drive through toll plazas without stopping
for cash transactions.
• It has a validity of five years. They have to be recharged as and when the requirement
arises. They facilitate quick checkout of the vehicles from the toll lanes.
• National Highway Authority of India operates FASTags on Electronic Toll collection
System
SIX AIRPORTS SET TO BE PRIVATIZED
GS3: Indian Economy and Infrastructure
Context:
• The Union Cabinet on Thursday gave an “in principle” approval for operating, managing
and developing six non-metro airports — Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati,
Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru — under the Public Private Partnership (PPP).
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Implications:
• The PPP model would help to create world-class infrastructure in airports
• It also helps in increasing revenue for Airports Authority of India (AAI)
• PPP in infrastructure projects brings efficiency in service delivery, expertise, enterprise
and professionalism, apart from harnessing the needed investments in the public sector
About Airports Authority of India:
• The Airports Authority of India or AAI under the Ministry of Civil Aviation is responsible
for creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing civil aviation infrastructure in India.
• It provides Air traffic management (ATM) services over Indian airspace and adjoining
oceanic areas. It is a Miniratna- Category – 1 Public Sector enterprise
About GAGAN:
• GAGAN stands for GPS-Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) is a satellite-based
navigation system that
will serve as a low-cost
substitute to GPS
service over the India,
Bay of Bengal, South-
east Asia and Middle
East along with
expansion up to Africa.
• The system has been
jointly developed by
ISRO and AAI.
• It is primarily being
used in aviation sector
for precise position information Services.
• With this, India becomes the third country in the world, after USA and European Union,
to offer Global Navigational Satellite System (GNSS) based precision approach services to
civil aviation sector.
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• It will make airline operations more efficient by increasing fuel savings, direct routes, ease
of search and rescue operations, reduced workload of flight crew and Air Traffic
Controllers and cost savings due to withdrawal of ground aids.
GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES INCENTIVES FOR MSMES
GS 3: Indian Economy
Context:
• The government has announced 12 measures to boost the Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSME) sector
Key aspects covered in these measures
• Access to credit
✓ Announcement of launch the 59-minute loan portal to enable easy access to credit for
MSMEs.
✓ 2% interest subvention for all GST registered MSMEs, on fresh or incremental loans
and for exporters who receive loans in the pre-shipment and post-shipment period, the
Prime Minister announced an increase in interest rebate from 3 percent to 5 percent.
• Access to market
✓ Compulsory 25% procurement instead of 20% of total purchases from MSMEs, to
strengthen the market access for MSMEs. Out of 25% mandated procurement, 3%
should be reserved for women entrepreneurs. Compulsory registration of public
sector undertakings on GeM
• Technology upgradation
✓ 20 innovation hubs and 100 spokes in the form of tool rooms to be formed across
the country to support the MSMEs
• Ease of doing business
✓ Simplification of government procedures such as factory inspections will be
sanctioned only through a computerized random allotment, and inspectors must
upload reports on portal within 48 hours.
✓ Also, for minor violations under the Companies Act, the entrepreneur will no
longer have to approach the courts, can correct them through simple procedures.
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Clusters of pharma MSMEs will be formed, given the sector’s importance, with the
Centre bearing 70 per cent of the cost of establishing these clusters.
• Sense of security for employees
✓ The mission will be launched to ensure that they have Jan Dhan Accounts,
Provident fund and insurance. All the above measures said to be monitored over
the next 100 days in 100 districts to check its implementation progress and
requirement on changes.
About MSME sector:
• It is the second largest employment generating sector after agriculture sector
• It contributes to around 31% to nation GDP and 45% share in overall exports. At present
Section 7 of MSMED Act classifies MSMEs on the basis of investment in plant and
machinery for manufacturing units and investment in equipment for service enterprises.
Significance of MSME sector:
• It plays a crucial role in providing large employment opportunities at lower capital cost
and also help in industrialization of rural and backward areas and helps in reducing
regional imbalances. They act as a ancillary units to large industries. They contribute
immensely to the socio-economic development of the country
IIP GROWTH SLIPS TO 4.5% IN SEPTEMBER; RETAIL INFLATION
EASES TO 3.31% IN OCTOBER
GS 3: Indian Economy
Context:
• Growth in industrial activity as measured by the Index of Industrial Production slowed
marginally in September to 4.5% due to slowing growth in the manufacturing and capital
goods sectors
Details:
• Consumer inflation stood at a 13-month low of 3.31 per cent in October, government data
showed on Monday, this was lower than estimates of 3.67 per cent.
• Food deflation stood at 0.86 per cent in October, as against inflation of 0.51 per cent in the
previous month, according to the official release.
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• Economists said the surprise dip in food prices led to softening of consumer inflation.
TRAI TO ANALYSE IMPLICATIONS OF OVER-THE-TOP SERVICES’
GROWTH
GS 3: Indian Economy
Context:
• The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Monday re-started the
discussion on “regulatory issues and economic concerns” with regard to over-the-top
(OTT) services such as WhatsApp and Skype, with its consultation paper on
‘Regulatory Framework for OTT Communication Services’.
Details:
• This consultation paper seeks to analyse and discuss the implications of the growth of
OTT services
• Also, the relationship between TSPs and OTT players, whether any change is required
in the current regulatory framework and the manner in which such changes should be
affected
• The telecom operators have been pitching that the OTT players be brought under a
licensing regime to create a level playing field since they offer similar services such as
voice calling and messaging. A licensing regime will likely lead to OTT players paying
up levies such as license fee, spectrum charges, besides adhering to quality of service,
lawful interception and customer grievance redressal norms.
NATIONAL BIOPHARMA MISSION
GS 3: Science and Technology
About National Biopharma Mission:
• The pharmaceutical industry holds a promising future for India, and the National
Biopharma Mission is anticipated to be the game changer for Indian Pharmaceutical
Industries.
• The mission aspires to create a conducive ecosystem to encourage entrepreneurship
and indigenous manufacturing in the sector by strengthening technology transfer
capabilities in the private and the public sector.
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• It aims to make India a hub for design and development of affordable, novel and
effective biopharmaceutical products and solutions.
• The mission strives to encourage entrepreneurship to transform the health standards of
the people of India through affordable medicines.
• A Public Sector Undertaking of Department of Biotechnology – Biotechnology Industry
Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) is involved in the implementation of the mission.
It is expected to integrate expertise from national and international corridors to
provide strategic guidance and direction to yield promising results through the
product development value chain. The government of India launched the Innovate in
India (I3) program under the National Biopharma Mission. It is the first ever industry-
academia mission to speed up biopharmaceutical development in India. It aims at
plugging-in the gaps in the pharmaceutical sector such as,
• Unconnected centres of excellence.
• Lower focus on translational research.
• Staggered funding.
Innovate in India Program:
• It is a flagship program of Government of India and has received financial assistance
from the World Bank.
• It will build sustainable networks for collaboration between the industry, academia
and in turn support the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
• The program is expected to widen India’s share (currently 2.8%) to 5% in the global
biopharmaceutical market resulting in additional business opportunity.
• Though India is an active participant in the global biopharmaceutical market and has
contributed towards manufacture of low-cost life-saving drugs such as heart valve
prosthesis, affordable insulin, rotavirus vaccine etc., it is still 10-15 years behind its
peers and faces stiff competition from Korea, China etc. Therefore, there was an urgent
need for innovation, creation and facilitation of scientific discoveries.
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BEHIND INDIA’S LEAP IN EASE OF DOING BUSINESS
GS 3: Indian Economy
Context:
• India’s leap in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings this year has slipped
under the radar, in the cacophony (loud confusion) over demonetization and the RBI-
Centre spat.
Details:
• India has been one of the biggest improvers in terms of improving the Ease of doing
business rank, with its rank shooting up from 100 to 77, among 190 countries. This is quite
a big jump, given that its rank crept up from 142 to 100 in the four years from 2015 to 2018.
• The improvement in ranking has placed India a better destination to do business than
BRICs peers such as Brazil (109) and South Africa (82) and West Asian economies such as
Qatar (83) and Saudi Arabia (92).
• On the other hand, India’s biggest competitors such as China (46) are ahead of India
What did India has improved to get this jump
• Mainly from sharply higher scores on two ‘doing business’ indicators — securing
construction permits and trading across the borders. It also made smaller improvements
in starting a business and getting credit. Quicker GST registration moves, abolition of site
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inspections in Mumbai, Upgrades in port infrastructure (such as a move to online
documentation and facilities for exporters to seal their containers on their own) have
helped to improve the rankings
Scope for improvement
• Registration of properties – existing system takes 69 days to register a piece of property
and the norm for OECD countries is 20 days
• Despite GST in place, tax payment in India is still complex. A typical Mumbai-based
firm makes 13 tax payments a year, spends 278 hours on this and coughs up 52% of its
profits.
SC TO HEAR PLEA ON PF PENSION PLAN
Mains Level: GS 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services
relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Prelims Level: Rights issues
Context:
• The Supreme Court has posted for hearing on January 25 a petition filed by retirees and
members of the Employee’s Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995 against the government and the
Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), which administers the scheme.
Details:
• The petitioners claim that a 2014 amendment and a 2017 circular exclude thousands of
pensioners from receiving pension
• The EPFO’s August 28, 2014 amendment had raised the wage ceiling amount for the
scheme to Rs. 15,000 and amended the option for contribution on higher salary for existing
employees, introducing a cut-off date of September 1, 2014.
• It also reduced the pensionable salary considerably by averaging 60 months’ salary
instead of 12 months to determine the last drawn salary amount, hence it reduced the
effect of salary increase over the period of time in pension calculation.
• According to the petition, the effect of this amendment is to
✓ Exclude all new employees who joined after September 2014 from joining the
pension scheme altogether
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✓ Exclude serving employees from benefiting from the option of contributing to the
pension scheme on maximum salary
✓ Deny the benefit of opting for the scheme to retired employees if they missed the
cut-off date.
• The amendment and cut-off date were not given sufficient publicity to allow employees to
opt for pension on higher salary if they wished. Hence the majority of the employees
remained ignorant of the options available to them to get pension.
461 ELEPHANTS ELECTROCUTED BETWEEN 2009 AND 2017
GS3: Biodiversity
Context:
• Between August to October 2018, more than a dozen of elephants died of electrocution in
the eastern and north-eastern part of India, including seven in Odisha’s Dhenkanal
district.
• Electrocution: Electrocution is death or serious injury caused by electric shock, electric
current passing through the body.
More in details:
• This is causing a serious concern, because upon analyzing the elephant deaths in India due
to electrocution between 2009 and 2017 points out that, every year, about 50 elephants
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have died on average due to electrocution, totaling 461 elephants electrocuted between the
year period.
• It is said that main reason for these deaths particularly in east-central and northeastern
parts of the country is because of the expansion of elephants in the new areas causing
human-elephant conflict and improper monitoring.
Steps to be taken:
• Need for greater surveillance and protection of elephant corridors
• Greater coordination between the Forest and Power department
• Continuous monitoring of electrical wires passing through areas of elephant movement
• Proper zone wise management plan for different elephant landscapes as no one-fits all
approach would work out due to different landscapes in elephant dominated areas.
Fact:
• The States with the highest elephant population are Karnataka (6,049), followed by Assam
(5,719) and Kerala (3,054).
Where to use this:
• Man-wildlife conflict
• Role of community in wildlife protection
• Development Vs Biodiversity
WATER ATMS MAY HELP IN BRIDGING SAFE WATER GAP
Context:
• With 82 crore people who still do not have access to piped water and 70% of water in the
country contaminated by pollutants, the government is increasingly starting to accept
small water enterprises — such as water ATMs and community purification plants — as
an alternative solution to the safe drinking water challenge.
About Water ATM:
• The water ATM is a dispensation system, which can be automatic with a coin or smart
card, or manual. This which provide communities with 24/7 safe water access. They are
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solar powered and cloud connected, thus enabling remote tracking of the water quality
and of each pay per use transaction
NEW TEAM OF WILDLIFE EXPERTS TO PROBE KILLING OF TIGRESS AVNI
Context:
• The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has constituted a three-member team
of independent wildlife experts to probe how the man-eating tiger Avni (T1) was killed.
(State Wildlife Warden was authorised to decide on a declaring an animal a man-eater)
• The three-member team will have experienced wildlife experts from the Wildlife Trust of
India
6 KG OF PLASTIC FOUND IN DEAD WHALE’S STOMACH
GS 3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact
assessment
Topic: Environmental Pollution
Details:
• A sperm whale has been found dead in Indonesia with 115 plastic cups and 25 plastic bags
in its stomach, raising concern among environmentalists and throwing the spotlight on the
country’s rubbish problem.
• The items were part of nearly 6 kg of plastic waste discovered in the 31-foot carcass when
it washed ashore in Wakatobi National Park, in Southeast Sulawesi province, on Monday.
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• Indonesia is the world’s second biggest contributor to marine debris after China.
Consequences of plastic pollution:
• Large impact on ocean wildlife and habitats
• Small pieces of plastic are eaten by fish, turtles and seabirds, often resulting in their death.
Animals and birds can also become tangled up in plastic debris, leading to serious injuries
and fatalities.
• Over time, plastic material does not bio-degrade, but breaks down into tiny particles
known as micro plastics, which can be eaten by small marine animals and enter the food
chain and polluted the food chain. Tiny particles of plastic even build up in fish brains,
altering their behaviour. Plastic debris often contains chemicals added during
manufacture that can absorb and concentrate contaminants such as pesticides, heavy
metals and persistent organic pollutants (e.g. polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs).
• This pollution is extremely difficult to remove from the environment or trace back to its
source due to bioaccumulation and biomagnification.
Solution:
• Local actions such as bans on plastic bags, maximum daily limits for emissions into
watersheds, and incentives for fishing gear retrieval. Countries should come together to
establish measurable reduction targets for plastic waste. A meaningful international
agreement—one with clearly defined waste reduction targets is the need of the hour.
• Effective policies must take into account all stages of the lifecycle of plastic—connecting
producers to users and ultimately to waste managers.
• Banning single-use bags and making consumers pay a significant amount for the more
durable ones is a feasible solution.
ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS: HOME TO A TENTH OF INDIA’S
FAUNA SPECIES
Mains level: GS 3: Environmental protection
Prelims level: Biodiversity
Context:
• A recent publication by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) titled Faunal Diversity of
Biogeographic Zones:
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• Islands of India has for the first time come up with a database of all faunal species found
on the island, putting the number at 11,009. The documentation proves that the islands,
comprising only 0.25% of India’s geographical area, are home to more than 10% of the
country’s fauna species.
Details:
• It implies the presence of rich faunal species in such a small area of an island, making the
islands one of the richest ecosystems and biodiversity hot spots in India
• Another unique feature of the islands’ ecosystem is its marine faunal diversity, which
includes coral reefs and its associated fauna.
• Some species are very restricted in a particular area and hence make it vulnerable to any
anthropogenic threat
• The population of the islands, which includes six particularly vulnerable tribal groups
(PVTGs) — Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa, Sentinelese, Nicobarese and Shompen’s —
is not more than 4 lakhs. But the number of tourists has crossed more than the population
putting pressure on ecosystem
• The report also cautions that tourism, illegal construction and mining are posing a threat
to the islands’ biodiversity, which is already vulnerable to volatile climatic factors.
INDIAN LEOPARD
Mains Level: GS 3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental
impact assessment
Prelims Level: Biodiversity
• It is a leopard subspecies widely distributed on the Indian Subcontinent
• It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because populations have declined
following habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching for the illegal trade of skins and body
parts, and persecution due to conflict situations. The Indian leopard is one of the big cats
occurring on the Indian subcontinent, apart from the Asiatic lion, Bengal tiger, snow
leopard and clouded leopard. The Indian leopard is distributed in India, Nepal, Bhutan
and parts of Pakistan. Bangladesh has no viable leopard population except on occasional
sightings. The Indian leopard inhabits tropical rain forests, dry deciduous forests,
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temperate forests and northern coniferous forests but does not occur in the mangrove
forests of the Sundarbans.
• It is thought that the Indus River in the west and the Himalayas in the north form
topographical barriers to the dispersal of this subspecies. In the east, the Ganges Delta and
the lower course of the Brahmaputra River are thought to form natural barriers to the
range of the Indochinese leopard.
• Panthera Pardus is listed in CITES appendix
JAPAN ISLAND FEARED TO BE ‘MISSING’
GS 1: Important Geophysical phenomena
Context:
• A tiny island named ‘Esambe Hanakita Kojima’ is missing.
About Esambe Hanakita Kojima:
• It is in northern Japan, which was officially surveyed and registered by Japan’s coastguard
in 1987, but the exact size of the island was not measured because of its tiny size. Until
recently, it rose 1.4-metre (four-and-a-half feet) above sea level, and was visible from the
very northern tip of Japan's northern Hokkaido island, but now, it has disappeared.
• The disappearance of the island might affect Japan’s territorial water spread.
REPORT SEES CLIMATE RISK FROM RISE IN INDIAN AC UNITS
GS 3: Environmental conservation
Context:
• By 2022, India is expected to have a fourth of the world’s air conditioning units, and the
risks to climate from this could be immense, according to a report.
Details:
• The refrigerants (hydroflurocarbons-HFCs) used for cooling are the major contributors to
global warming, and if left unchecked, they could cause global temperatures to rise by 0.5
degrees Celsius
• Hence there is need to have a technology solution that could help to reduce the impact by
one-fifth and ensure that air conditioning units use 75% less electricity. Why
Hydroflurocarbons are posing threat to climate. Earlier Chloroflurocarbons were used as
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cooling agents in refrigerators and air-conditioners. But these were found to be Ozone-
depleting substances; they had been phased out by Montreal Protocol.
• These ozone depleting substances have been replaced by hydroflurocarbons as cooling
agents in refrigerators and air-conditioners. They have a thousand times more potential to
cause global warming effect than commonly known greenhouse gases like carbon Dioxide,
methane etc.
• For this an amendment to Montreal protocol has been made and this amendment is
referred as Kigali agreement
Kigali Agreement:
• It is a legally binding agreement between the signatory parties with non-compliance
measures.
• It will come into effect from 1st January 2019 provided it is ratified by at least 20-member
parties by then.
• It has divided the signatory parties into three groups-
• The first group consists of rich and developed economies like USA, UK and EU countries
who will start to phase down HFCs by 2019 and reduce it to 15% of 2012 levels by 2036.
• The second group consists of emerging economies like China, Brazil as well as some
African countries who will start phase down by 2024 and reduce it to 20% of 2021 levels
by 2045.
• The third group consists of developing economies and some of the hottest climatic
countries like India, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia who will start phasing down HFCs by
2028 and reduce it to 15% of 2024-2026 levels till 2047.
• It also has a provision for a multilateral fund for developing countries for adaptation and
mitigation.
Significance of Kigali agreement
• It strengthens the Paris Agreement which sets an ambitious target of restricting the rise in
global temperature below 2O Celsius, as compared to pre-industrial level.
• Unlike Paris agreement, it gives clear, concrete and mandatory targets with fixed timelines
to the signatory parties to achieve their targets.
• It would prevent the emission of HFCs equivalent to 70 billion tons of CO2.
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VIRTUAL CLIMATE SUMMIT TO CUT CARBON FOOTPRINT
GS 3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact
assessment
Topic: Climate change and its impacts
Context:
• World leaders will participate in an innovative climate change summit on Thursday
that will take place entirely online so it is carbon neutral.
Details:
• The eco-friendly event stands in stark contrast to many other international political
summits, which involve thousands of delegates jetting across the world to a venue
where they stay in air-conditioned comfort.
• The Virtual Climate Summit is the brainchild of Marshall Islands President Hilda
Heine, whose low-lying Pacific island nation will drown beneath rising seas if global
warming continues unabated.
• This will be the first global political meeting to be held online. This step has shown that
even small nations such as the Marshalls could make a big difference on the world
stage using creative, climate-friendly solutions.
• The virtual summit’s main aim is to encourage the international community to keep
global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
EXTREME WEATHER TURNING ARCTIC BROWN, MAY
IMPACT CLIMATE CHANGE: STUDY
Mains Level: GS: 3- Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental
impact assessment
Prelims Level: Climate Change
Context:
• The increasing number of extreme events is causing dieback of Arctic plants or ‘browning’
across Arctic regions, a study has found.
Details:
• According to the research, Arctic is warming twice as fast as the global average.
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• This causes plants to dieback and overall reduce the ability of Arctic ecosystems to help
combat climate change. Previously, scientists had found that increasing summer warmth
in the Arctic was encouraging vegetation to grow, turning areas green.
• But this study brings out the other picture of the climate change on the Arctic ecosystem
About Arctic Browning:
• Arctic browning is declining biomass or productivity in Arctic regions
• Extreme events linked to winter weather—such as abrupt periods of extreme warmth—are
among the key drivers of Arctic browning
• These events can cause sudden plant damage across huge areas.
FRAGILE CLIMATE PUTS FOOD SECURITY AT RISK: UN REPORT
Mains Level: GS 3: Public Distribution System- objectives, functioning, limitations,
revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security
Prelims Level: Agriculture, Growth and Development
Context:
• Feeding a hungry planet is growing increasingly difficult as climate change and depletion
of land and other resources undermine food systems, the U.N. Food and Agricultural
Organization said on Wednesday as it renewed appeals for better policies and
technologies to reach “zero hunger.”
Highlights of the Report:
• The report says humans have outstripped Earth's carrying capacity in terms of land, water
and climate change, which is in-turn putting pressure on these natural resources and
causing depletion and hence making food availability to all a difficult job.
• The report quoted that about 820 million people are malnourished due to unavailability of
nutritious food to all. The efforts at the global level have to be made to avail food to all.
• According to the report, the prime reasons for food security are
▪ Poverty
▪ Civil Strife and other conflicts. Below are few examples.
✓ In Yemen, where thousands of civilians have died in airstrikes by a Saudi-led
coalition, the aid group Save the Children says 85,000 children under 5 may have
died of hunger or disease in the civil war.
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✓ In Afghanistan, severe drought and conflict have displaced more than 2,50,000
people, according to UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency.
• According to the FAO estimates, the global demand for food would jump by half from
2013 to 2050.
• And it says the solution lies in expanding land to help in increasing crop productivity. On
the other hand, it also admitted the challenges on land due to urbanization and industrial
growth.
• UN ‘s State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report also pointed on the
worrying trend on food security at global level.
According to it, the challenges towards food security:
• Impact of the economic downturn
• Violent conflicts
• Fall in commodity export revenues
• Failure of agriculture owing to drought and floods
• All the findings represent a setback to all countries trying to meet the Sustainable
Development Goals, in particular Goal 2 on Zero Hunger "End hunger, achieve food
security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture"
About Food and Agriculture organization:
• It is a specialized agency of the UN with headquarters Italy, leads international efforts to
defeat hunger.
• It acts as a neutral forum, serving both developed and developing countries, where all
nations meet as equals to negotiate arguments and debate policy
• It is also a source of knowledge and information, and helps developing countries in
transition modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices, ensuring
good nutrition and food security for all.
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BRAZIL LOSES FORESTS EQUAL TO ‘1 MN FOOTBALL PITCHES’
Mains Level: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact
assessment
Prelims: Climate change
Context:
• Deforestation in Brazil has reached such epic proportions that an area equivalent to one
million football pitches was lost in just one year, Greenpeace said.
Details:
• Between August 2017 and July 2018, deforestation increased by almost 14%, with an area
of 7, 900 sq. km of forest cleared, according to the governmental institution of special
investigations.
• The Amazon rainforest represents more than half of Earth’s remaining rainforest and
covers an area of 5.5 million sq. km, about 60% of which is in Brazil.
• But it is under threat from illegal logging as well as farming, in particular from soybean
plantations and pasture land for cattle.
• Between 2004 and 2012, deforestation in Brazil was slowed through controls imposed at a
government level as well as by the private sector. But these controls seem not be under
control, showing high deforestation.
• It is said that if these are not controlled now, Amazon deforestation could explode into an
unimaginable situation.
ONLY ‘GREEN’ CRACKERS CAN BE SOLD IN DELHI, SAYS SC
What are green crackers?
• The commonly used pollution-causing chemicals – aluminum, barium, potassium nitrate
and carbon – have either been removed or sharply reduced in the green crackers to reduce
emissions by 15-30%
• They do not contain harmful emission chemical and hence less harmful than the
conventional crackers
• The “green” crackers have been tested for color, smoke, brightness and particulate matter
and are found to emit less smoke and noise. The biggest factor is that they would be 25-
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30% cheaper to manufacture and manufacturers would not have to make any changes in
their facilities.
Other judgments made by SC:
• The SC has provided 2-hour slot to fire crackers and asked the states to fix their own slot
based on their own tradition and custom except Delhi. As far as Delhi-NCR is concerned,
the court did not relax its rigor both in terms of the time-slot for bursting crackers and the
mandatory manufacture and sale of green crackers.
• The court also refused to lift the pan-India ban on sale of crackers online through e-
commerce websites
DELHI AIR WORSENS AFTER DEEPAVALI
GS 3: Environmental pollution
Context:
• Amidst a flagrant violation of the Supreme Court’s restrictions on bursting crackers, a day
after Deepavali, Delhi saw its Air Quality Index (AQI) in the ‘severe’ category in line with
the previous two years, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board
(CPCB).
Details:
• This poor air quality is attributed to “unfavourable conditions coupled with pollutants
generated from fireworks.” The air quality has reached its severe pollution level (AQI-
410) after 8 p.m.
• The cumulative effect of existing pollution load and pollutants release due to use of
fireworks as well as meteorological conditions like calm condition with significant
humidity attributed to present situation
• There are also instances which reported instances of crackers being burnt beyond the
interval (8-10 p.m as permitted by the Supreme court)
About National Air Quality Index:
• Launched under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014.
• Aim is ‘one number- one colour-one description’ for the common man to judge the air
quality within his vicinity Air quality is declared in 6 categories
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• Index considers eight pollutants i.e. PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, CO, O3, NH3, and Pb for
which short-term (up to 24-hourly averaging period) National Ambient Air Quality
Standards are prescribed
• The AQI has been developed by the Central Pollution Control Board in consultation with
IIT-Kanpur and an expert group comprising medical, air-quality professionals and other
stakeholders.
About SAFAR
• It has been introduced by the Ministry of Earth Sciences for greater metropolitan cities to
provide location-specific information on air quality in near real time and its forecast 1-3
days in advance for the first time in India
• In addition to regular air quality parameters like PM2.5, PM10, Sulfur Dioxide, Ozone,
Nitrogen Oxides, Carbon Monoxide, the system will also monitor the existence of
Benzene, Toluene and Xylene.
• New system also to track UV-Index, PM1, Mercury and Black carbon in real time.
NGT IMPOSES RS 50 CRORE FINE ON PUNJAB OVER RIVER POLLUTION
GS 3: Environmental pollution
Context:
• The National Green Tribunal on Wednesday ordered the Punjab government to submit a
fine of Rs. 50 crore as environmental compensation for polluting rivers Sutlej and Beas due
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to industrial discharge. The Bench has asked the Punjab government to recover the fine
from industries in two weeks
About National Green tribunal:
• The National Green Tribunal has been established on 18.10.2010 under the National Green
Tribunal Act 2010 for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental
protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources.
• The responsibilities also include enforcement of any legal right relating to environment
and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property and for matters
connected therewith or incidental thereto.
• It is a specialized body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental
disputes involving multi-disciplinary issues.
• The Tribunal is not bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure,
1908, is guided by principles of natural justice.
• The Tribunal's dedicated jurisdiction in environmental matters shall provide speedy
environmental justice and help reduce the burden of litigation in the higher courts.
• The Tribunal is mandated to make and endeavour for disposal of applications or appeals
finally within 6 months of filing of the same.
EPCA CALLS FOR CURBS ON NON-CNG PRIVATE VEHICLES
GS 3: Environmental pollution
Context:
• The Environment Pollution Control Authority has asked the CPCB to look into curbing the
use of non-CNG private vehicles during high pollution episodes in Delhi-NCR.
Why Compresses Natural Gas (CNG) is better than other fuels
• Cleanest Burning fuel of all fossil fuels, since natural gas is composed mainly of methane,
burning it produces only carbon dioxide and water vapour rather than other fossil fuels
which produces higher carbon emissions, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and also
particulate matter.
• It is said that carbon monoxide emission is reduced by about 80% in CNG-powered cars
compared to gasoline-powered vehicles. CNG also produces 45% less hydrocarbons than
gasoline. And although natural gas also produces greenhouse gases, it is considerably
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reduced compared to gasoline or diesel. This helps reduce the harmful effects of
greenhouse gases to the environment particularly through global warming.
• It leaves little or no residue compared to gasoline or diesel. Thus, the damage to the pipes
and tubes of the vehicle’s engine is greatly reduced.
• There is also less particulate matter that can contaminate the motor oil. This results to
longer periods in between maintenance procedures and hence reduces maintenance costs
• CNG also has a high ignition temperature of about 1163 degrees Fahrenheit and a
flammability rating of approximately 5 to 15% gas in air. This reduces the risk of fire if and
when a leak happens.
• CNG is also lighter than air and will simply dissipate into the atmosphere in the case of
leaks. Meanwhile, gasoline or diesel will pool in the ground when there is a leak which
results to a very dangerous fire hazard. CNG is a non-toxic fuel that does not pose any
danger of contamination to ground water.
NEW INDEX QUANTIFIES HOW AIR POLLUTION CUTS LIFE EXPECTANCY
GS 3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact
assessment
Topic: Pollution
Details:
• A new index has found that fossil fuel-driven particulate air pollution reduces global
average life expectancy by 1.8 years, making it the single greatest threat to human health.
• Produced by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC), the Air
Quality Life Index (AQLI) — the ‘L’ stands for ‘Life’ — found that particulate pollution’s
effect on life expectancy exceeds that of communicable diseases such as tuberculosis and
HIV/AIDS, behavioral killers like cigarette smoking, and even war.
• In India, people would live 4.3 years longer on an average if their country met WHO
guidelines on particulate concentration – expanding the average life expectancy at birth
there from 69 to 73 years
• Loss of life expectancy is highest in Asia, exceeding 6 years in many parts of India and
China. India and China, which make up 36% of the world’s population, account for 73% of
all years of life lost due to particulate pollution.
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SAVING WETLANDS IN TAMIL NADU FROM EXTINCTION
GS 3: Biodiversity
Context:
• The Madras High Court has decided to step in to ensure wetlands conservation
Details:
• The High court has decided to take up suo motu PIL petitions to ensure that Ramsar
Convention sites within their jurisdictions are maintained properly
• The step has been taken recently to appoint amicus curiae (senior counsel) to suggest steps
on preservation of wetlands
About Wetlands:
• According to the Ramsar Convention on Wetland, wetlands are defined as “areas of
marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with
water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the
depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters".
Significance of wetlands
• Protect shores from wave action, reduce the impact of floods, absorb pollutants and
improve water quality
• Provide habitat for animals and plants
• Provide a range of environmental, social and economic services
• Play a significant role in aesthetic enhancement of landscapes.
AMARAVATI: MOEF ‘NO’ TO FOREST USE
Mains Level: GS 3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental
impact assessment
Prelims Level: Biodiversity
Details:
• The Ministry of Environment’s Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has rejected eight
proposals from the Andhra Pradesh government entailing the diversion of about 3,300
hectares of forest land for infrastructure projects in the State’s capital city of Amaravati.
According to the records of a meeting of the FAC, the State government had sought
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permission to divert land in various forest divisions in Guntur district for projects
including an ‘Adventure Eco Theme Park’ and a ‘Science City’.
About Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change:
• It is the nodal agency in the administrative structure of the central government for the
planning, promotion, co-ordination and overseeing the implementation of India's
environmental and forestry policies and programmes.
• The primary concerns of the Ministry are implementation of policies and programmes
relating to conservation of the country's natural resources including its lakes and rivers, its
biodiversity, forests and wildlife, ensuring the welfare of animals, and the prevention and
abatement of pollution.
• While implementing these policies and programmes, the Ministry is guided by the
principle of sustainable development and enhancement of human well-being.
• The broad objectives of the Ministry are:
✓ Conservation and survey of flora, fauna, forests and wildlife
✓ Prevention and control of pollution
✓ Afforestation and regeneration of degraded areas
✓ Protection of the environment and
✓ Ensuring the welfare of animals
• Article 48A says that "The State shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment
and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country."
• The effect of this article also transferred wildlife and forests from state list to concurrent
list of the constitution, thus giving the central government the power to overrule state
decisions on that matter.
CALIFORNIA FIRE DEATH TOLL RISES TO 83
GS 3: Environment
Topic: Environmental Degradation
Context:
• The death toll from the wildfire in northern California rose to 83 Wednesday after crews
found two more sets of remains in burned-out buildings, officials said.
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Details:
• Climate change has brought warmer temperatures and extreme variations in snow and
rainfall, causing both dry and wet years, these variations brings more fires through
burning.
• Fires that move quickly through tinder-dry brush can also be more deadly
• Dry conditions delay the winter rains, and gusty winds fan the fires that are still burning.
• Shifting population means more chances for ignitions, with people moving into flammable
places and literally building homes in the line of fire
• It is said that humans cause 84 percent of wildfires, and lightning causes the rest
• Malfunctioning equipment and downed power lines are also reasons behind
• Careless campers are responsible for some fires
‘NASA’S HISTORIC DAWN MISSION TO ASTEROID
BELT COMES TO END’
GS 3: Science and Technology
Context:
• A NASA spacecraft that launched 11 years ago, which studied two of the largest objects
the asteroid belt, has need its mission after running out of hydrazine fuel and is in an
uncontrolled state about Ceres, thus ending its mission
About Dawn mission:
• It has a mission of studying two of the three known protoplanets of the asteroid belt, Vesta
and Ceres
• It is the first spacecraft to orbit two extra-terrestrial bodies.
Asteroid belt:
• Circumstellar disc in the solar system located roughly between the orbits of the planet Mars
and Jupiter
• It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets
• About half of the mass of the belt is contained in the four largest asteroids: Ceres, Vesta,
Pallas, Hygiea
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GSAT11
GS 3: Science and Technology
Context:
• GSAT-11 returns to the Guiana Space Centre (a French and European Spacecraft to the
northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, France) for the second time in six months after it
was taken back to ISRO in April for inspections. And the target data for launch has been
postponed to December 4 2018.
About GSAT 11
• The heaviest geostationary communication satellite with its lift-mass of about 5600 Kg
• It is planned to be launched using the European spacecraft (Ariane-5 launch vehicle) in
French Guiana as ISRO’s own Geo Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV
MKIII) rocket can only lift a satellite weighing not more than four tonnes to Geostationary
transfer orbit
Significance
• It is a multi-beam satellite operating over India in Ka/Ku bands employing frequency
reuse technique
• It helps to link the villages and towns in this country with quality high-speed Wi-Fi
service and also integrate internet and television services
• It could generate a bandwidth of more than 12GBPS connectivity and hence could provide
the Indian region superior communication and much supportive for internet-driven
services, VSAT operations and rural connectivity
Why it has been recalled:
• GSAT-11 had the same set of power system configuration has GSAT-6A and RISAT-1
✓ RISAT-1 died prematurely and GSAT-6A has lost communication soon after launch
because of suspected power system failure
• Also, to check the if the provisions made for the deployment of the solar panel are per
requirements
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NEW SPACE INDUSTRY EMERGES: SERVICING
SATELLITES IN ORBIT
GS 3: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, Nano-technology, bio-
technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights
Topic: Space Technology
Details:
• Today's world has been seeing increasing number of satellites from nations and also
private players on various purposes. But when these satellites run out of fuel, they can no
longer maintain their precise orbit, rendering them useless even if their hardware is still
intact.
• In recent years, new aerospace companies have been founded to try and extend the
lifespan of satellites, which many clients would find this more profitable than relaunching
new ones.
• These aerospace companies finding ways to inspect it, refuel it, and possibly even repair it
or change components, and put it back in the correct orbit.
LUNAR LANDER FACES CRUCIAL TEST
GS 3: Science and Technology
Topic: Space
Context:
• The Chandrayaan-2 lunar lander’s sensors
will undergo a crucial test in the next few
days as the mission is planned to be
launched in around two months.
Details:
• The ISRO plans to fly the sensors on an
aircraft over its artificial lunar site at
Challakere to see how they will function
and guide the Chandrayaan-2 landing
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craft when it starts descending on the lunar terrain.
• For the test, a prototype module carrying the sensors will be flown on one of ISRO’s two
small aircraft. As the plane descends from around 7 km to about 1 km over the artificial
terrain, the sensors must show how they will guide the soft landing of the lunar craft at
the right spot, speed and position.
• The recent success of the GSLV-MkIII-D2 launch vehicle has given ISRO the confidence to
go ahead for its operational vehicle which will launch Chandrayaan-2.
About Chandrayaan-2:
• Chandrayaan-2 is India's second lunar exploration mission after Chandrayaan-1.
• Developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the mission is planned to be
launched to the Moon by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk
III).
• It includes a lunar orbiter, lander and rover, all developed by India.
ISRO’S IMAGING SATELLITE HYSIS IS ALL SET FOR LAUNCH ON
NOVEMBER 29th
Mains level: GS 3: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, Nano-
technology, bio technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Prelims level: Space Technology
Context:
• HysIS, the country's first hyperspectral imaging satellite for advanced earth observation, is
slated for launch on Thursday from Sriharikota.
Details:
• ISRO is all set to launch its workhorse rocket PSLV-C43 carrying India’s earth observation
satellite HysIS and 30 co-passenger satellites, including 23 from the US, from Sriharikota
on November 29.
• The space agency said the 45th flight of PSLV will be launched from the First Launch Pad
(FLP) of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota.
• The satellite will be placed in 636 km polar sun synchronous orbit (SSO) with an
inclination of 97.957 deg. The mission life of the satellite is five years. The co-passengers of
HysIS (the primary satellite of PSLV-C43) include one micro and 29 nano satellites from
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eight different countries, the agency said, adding, all these satellites will be placed in a 504
km orbit by PSLV-C43.
• The countries comprise United States of America (23 satellites), Australia, Canada,
Columbia, Finland, Malaysia, Netherlands and Spain (one satellite each).
• These satellites have been commercially contracted for launch through Antrix Corporation
Limited, the commercial arm of ISRO
About HysIS:
• It is an earth observation satellite, which provides hyperspectral imaging services for
range of applications in agriculture, forestry and assessment of coastal zones, inland
waters, soil and other geological environments and as such.
• Indian military would also be a user of its data
• The primary goal of HysIS is to study the earth’s surface in visible, near infrared and
shortwave infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
• HysIS will be ISRO’s first full-scale working satellite with this capability
• India has been one of the forerunners to use hyperspectral imaging technique in their
satellite services
About Spectral imaging and Hyperspectral imaging:
Spectral Imaging:
• It is an imaging process that uses multiple bands across the electromagnetic spectrum.
• While an ordinary camera captures light across three wavelength bands in the visible
spectrum, red, green, and blue (RGB), spectral imaging encompasses a wide variety of
techniques that go beyond RGB.
• Spectral imaging may make use of the infrared, the visible spectrum, the ultraviolet, x-
rays, or some combination of the above.
• It may include the acquisition of image data in visible and non-visible bands
simultaneously, illumination from outside the visible range, or the use of optical filters to
capture a specific spectral range.
• It is also possible to capture hundreds of wavelength bands for each pixel in an image,
instead of just three.
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Hyperspectral imaging:
• Hyperspectral imaging, like other spectral imaging, collects and processes information
from across the electromagnetic spectrum.
• The goal of hyperspectral imaging is to obtain the spectrum for each pixel in the image of
a scene, with the purpose of finding objects, identifying materials, or detecting processes
About PSLV:
• The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is an expendable medium-lift launch vehicle
designed and operated by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
• PSLV is a four-stage launch vehicle with alternating solid and liquid stages. PSLV-C43 is
the Core Alone version of PSLV which is the lightest version of PSLV.
• Due to its unmatched reliability, PSLV has also been used to launch various satellites into
Geosynchronous and Geostationary orbits, like satellites from the IRNSS constellation.
• Payload to Sub GTO: 1,425 kg
NASA'S INSIGHT LANDS ON MARS 'WITH 1 LAKH INDIANS'
Mains level: GS 3: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, Nano-
technology, bio technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Prelims level: Space Technology
Context:
• Around 1,38,899 Indians landed on the flat Elsium Planitia region of Mars after travelling
for six months jn NASA's Insight (Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations,
Geodesy and Heat Transport) mission.
Details:
• It was not a manned mission.
• The names of these space-crazy Indians had been etched on a silicon wafer microchip
using an electron beam to form letters with lines one-one thousandth the diameter of a
human hair.
• This tiny chip was attached to the top hull of the lander
About NASA’s InSight:
• The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport
(InSight) mission is a robotic lander designed to study the deep interior of the planet Mars.
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• It was manufactured by Lockheed Martin and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory.
• It has to place 'seismometer', on the surface to measure the seismic activity and provide
accurate 3D models of Mars's interior and measure heat flow and transfer within Mars
using a heat probe to study the planet's early geological evolution.
ISRO PUTS ‘SHARP EYE’ INTO ORBIT
Mains Level: GS 3: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, Nano-
technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Prelims Level: Space
Context:
• Indian Space Research Organization’s reliable workhorse PSLV rocket soared into the
skies from Sriharikota's first launchpad carrying with it India's first hyperspectral imaging
satellite (HysIS), an advanced earth observation satellite, and 30 foreign satellites.
Details:
• During the 112-minute-long mission, PSLV C43 first delivered India's primary satellite
into the polar sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 630 km 17 minutes and 27 seconds
after the launch and is now in the process of delivering 30 international co-passengers
after descending to 504 km altitude in two batches. The 30 commercial satellites, including
one micro and 29 Nano satellites, are from eight countries. Of the total 30 satellites whose
combined weight is 261.5 kg, 23 are from the US. In another first for ISRO, satellites from
Australia, Colombia, Malaysia and Spain are being flown of the first time by an Indian
rocket.
• Though hyperspectral imaging was first tried by ISRO in an 83-kg IMS-1 experimental
satellite way back in May 2008 and later on Chandrayaan-1 mission in the same year for
mapping lunar mineral resources, this is the first time a full-fledged hyperspectral
imaging satellite has been launched. HysIS, which can see in 55 spectral or Colour bands
from 630 km above the ground, carries two payloads. One to capture images in the visible
near-infrared (VNIR) range of the light spectrum and another in the shortwave infrared
infrared (SWIR) range. The satellite is designed to provide earth observation service for
five years till 2023.
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About HysIS:
• It is a earth observation satellite, which provides hyperspectral imaging services for range
of applications in agriculture, forestry and assessment of coastal zones, inland waters, soil
and other geological environments and as such.
• Indian military would also be a user of its data. The primary goal of HysIS is to study the
earth’s surface in visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared regions of the
electromagnetic spectrum.
• HysIS will be ISRO’s first full-scale working satellite with this capability
• India has been one of the forerunners to use hyperspectral imaging technique in their
satellite services
About Spectral imaging and Hyperspectral imaging:
Spectral Imaging:
• It is an imaging process that uses multiple bands across the electromagnetic spectrum.
• While an ordinary camera captures light across three wavelength bands in the visible
spectrum, red, green, and blue (RGB), spectral imaging encompasses a wide variety of
techniques that go beyond RGB.
• Spectral imaging may make use of the infrared, the visible spectrum, the ultraviolet, x-
rays, or some combination of the above.
• It may include the acquisition of image data in visible and non-visible bands
simultaneously, illumination from outside the visible range, or the use of optical filters to
capture a specific spectral range. It is also possible to capture hundreds of wavelength
bands for each pixel in an image, instead of just three.
Hyperspectral imaging or Hypsex imaging
• Hyperspectral imaging, like other spectral imaging, collects and processes information
from across the electromagnetic spectrum.
• It combines the power of digital imaging and spectroscopy.
• The goal of hyperspectral imaging is to collect and process the information from across the
electromagnetic spectrum and enables distinct identification of objects, material and
processes on the earth by reading the spectrum for each pixel of a scene from space
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About PSLV:
• The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is an expendable medium-lift launch vehicle
designed and operated by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). PSLV is a four-
stage launch vehicle with alternating solid and liquid stages. PSLV-C43 is the Core alone
version of PSLV which is the lightest version of PSLV. Due to its unmatched reliability,
PSLV has also been used to launch various satellites into Geosynchronous and
Geostationary orbits, like satellites from the IRNSS constellation. Payload to Sub GTO:
1,425 kg.
ISRO PLANS TO MAKE GAGANYAAN MISSION INDIGENOUS
Mains Level: GS 3: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, Nano-
technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Prelims Level: Space
Context:
• The Indian Space Research Organisation wants to make the ambitious manned mission
Gaganyaan “more and more” indigenous by utilising the facilities available in the country,
ISRO Chairman K. Sivan said here on Thursday.
Details:
• The space agency is aiming to undertake the first unmanned programme under the
Gaganyaan project by December 2020. If Gaganyaan is successful, India would become the
fourth nation to achieve the feat.
About the Gaganyaan Mission:
• It will be India’s first manned space mission.
• Under it, India is planning to send three humans (Gaganyatris) into space in low earth
orbit (LEO) by 2022 i.e. by 75th Independence Day for a period of five to seven days.
• The mission was announced by Prime Minister during his 72nd Independence Day
speech.
• Under this mission, crew of three astronauts will conduct experiments on microgravity in
space. The crew will be selected jointly by Indian Air Force (IAF) and ISRO after which
they will undergo training for two-three years. India will be fourth nation in the world
after USA, Russia and China to launch a human spaceflight mission. Enhancement of
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science and technology levels in the country, serve as national project involving several
institutes, academia and industry, improve of industrial growth, inspire youth, develop
technology for social benefits and improve international collaboration.
‘CHINA HALTS WORK ON GENE-EDITING BABIES’
Mains Level: GS 3: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, Nano-
technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
GS4-Ethics
Prelims Level: Biotechnology
Context:
• A Chinese scientist who stoked criticism over his claim that he had created the world’s
first genetically-edited babies faced mounting pressure as China ordered a halt to his
scientific activities and warned he may have broken the law.
Details:
• China's National Health Commission has ordered an investigation into the experiment,
which was condemned by the scientific community in China and abroad. Chinese
government has said that creation of gene-edited babies blatantly violated the country's
relevant laws and regulations and said that it has breached the bottom line of morality and
ethics.
About the experiment:
• The experiment has successfully altered the DNA of twin girls born a few weeks ago to
prevent them for contracting HIV. But the details of this experiment have not yet been
revealed. And not independently verified, triggered an immediate backslash.
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HIV INFECTED CHILDREN LIKELY TO SUFFER COGNITIVE
IMPAIRMENT: STUDY
Mains Level: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services
relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Prelims level: Acts and Amendments
Context:
• Children infected with the Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) have to endure a
significant adverse impact on their
neurodevelopment and cognitive functioning, a
new study has revealed.
Details:
• HIV infected children have shown lower scores in
neuropsychological test.
• This shows their attention deficit, reduced memory life, decreased visual-motor
coordination and as such
• Also shows significant fluctuations in regions of the brain that are associated with
auditory, language, sensory and motor functional networks
• The condition that is seen often with HIV infected adults is dementia. This is associated
with the decline in memory and thinking skills and also affects the structure and
functioning of the brain. The HIV-infected children are also seemed to be affected with
similar conditions of dementia
About HIV:
• HIV (Human Immunodeficieny virus) is a virus spread through certain body fluids that
attacks the body’s immune system, specifically the CD4 cells, often called T cells.
• Over time, HIV can destroy so many of these cells that the body can’t fight off infections
and disease. These special cells help the immune system fight off infections.
• Untreated, HIV reduces the number of CD4 cells (T cells) in the body. This damage to the
immune system makes it harder and harder for the body to fight off infections and some
other diseases.
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HIV in India:
Few important facts:
• A new report from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) says
India has brought down HIV incidence
• HIV is highly prevalent in states of South, West and North East
• India achieved MDG goal 6. Between 2010 and 2017, new HIV infections have decreased
by 27% and AIDS-related deaths have decreased by 56%
Reason for HIV in India:
• Unsafe sex
• Migration and mobility
• Injecting drug usage with contaminated injecting equipment
• Stigma with HIV infected patients, making less accessible to health care
Steps taken by the government:
• National AIDS Control Program (NACP) has been established in 1986, implemented AIDS
Control program in four stages
• Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (Professional Conduct, & Ethics) Regulations, 2002– It
lays down certain duties on the part of doctors towards the HIV/AIDS patients.
• Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act, 1986- It provides for conducting compulsory medical
examination for detection of HIV/AIDS among the victims of trafficking.
• HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017- It seeks to provide rights and prevent
discrimination against persons with HIV and AIDS
• National Strategic Plan (2017-24) aims towards fast track strategy of ending the AIDS
epidemic by 2030 and is expected to pave a roadmap for achieving the target of 90:90:90.
• Mission SAMPARK aim is to trace those who are Left to Follow Up and are to be brought
under Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) services. Project Sunrise: It aims for prevention of
AIDS specially among people injecting drugs in the 8 North-Eastern states.
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’MINI HUMAN PLACENTA’ MAY HELP PREVENT REPRODUCTIVE
DISORDERS
Mains Level: GS 3: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, Nano-
technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Prelims Level: Biotechnology
Context:
• Scientists have created artificial mini-placentas in the laboratory after nearly three decades
of research, offering hope for tackling miscarriages, stillbirths and premature births as
well as transform pregnancy research.
Details:
• The new 'mini-placentas' are a cellular model of the early stages of the placenta and may
shed light on mysteries surrounding the relationships between the placenta, the uterus
and the foetus and enable research to prevent some infections passing from the mother's
blood to the foetus as well as on Zika virus. It will play an important role in helping us
investigate events that happen during the earliest stages of pregnancy and yet have
profound consequences for the life-long health of the mother and her offspring.
• The placenta supplies all the oxygen and nutrients essential for growth of the foetus, and
if it fails to develop properly the pregnancy can sadly end with a low birthweight baby or
even a stillbirth
• The placenta is absolutely essential for supporting the baby as it grows inside the mother.
When it doesn't function properly, it can result in serious problems, from pre-eclampsia to
miscarriage, with immediate and lifelong consequences for both mother and child.
• Many pregnancies fail because the embryo does not implant correctly into the lining of the
womb (uterus) and fails to form a placental attachment to the mother and also there lies
complexities in studying this early period of development and hence giving little
understanding on the whole picture.
• Hence creation of artificial mini-placenta will help in better understanding of inner
processes and inter-connections.
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KILOGRAM GETS A NEW DEFINITION
GS 3: Science and Technology
Context:
• Scientists have changed the way the kilogram is defined.
Details:
• Currently, it is defined by the weight of a platinum-based ingot called "Le Grand K" which
is locked away in a safe in Paris.
• Researchers voted to get rid of it in favor of defining a kilogram in terms of an electric
current.
• The decision was made at the General Conference on Weights and Measures.
• For more than a century, the kilogram has been defined as the mass of a cylinder of
platinum-iridium alloy kept in a high-security vault in France. That artifact, nicknamed
‘Le Grand K,’ has been the world’s sole true kilogram since 1889. But now, the kilogram
and all of the other main measurement units will be defined using numerical values that
fit handily onto a wallet card.
• The new definition involves an apparatus called the Kibble balance, which makes use of
the constant to measure the mass of an object using a precisely measured electromagnetic
force.
• Unlike a physical object, the new formula for the kilo, also known as “the electric kilo,”
cannot pick up particles of dust, decay with time or be dropped and damaged. It is
expected to be more accurate when measuring very, very small or very, very large masses
and help usher in innovations in science, industry, climate study and other fields.
RAFALE FIGHTER MADE FOR INDIA TAKES MAIDEN FLIGHT
GS 3: Internal Security
Context:
• As the political controversy over the Rafale fighter jet deal continues in India,
manufacturing of the aircraft customised as per specifications of the Indian Air Force (IAF)
is making progress. The first aircraft built by Dassault Aviation for the IAF, a two-seater
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variant, made its maiden flight on October 30 in France and is designated RB 008,
according to official sources.
About Rafale Aircraft:
• It is a 4th generation aircraft with twin engine, multi role aircraft.
• It is capable of carrying out all combat missions: air defence, interception, ground support,
in-depth strikes, reconnaissance, anti-ship strikes and nuclear deterrence, can carry out
both air-ground as well as air-to-air attacks
• This could be used for long range possession attack missions. The 4th generation Aircraft
capabilities involve Situational awareness in which Aircraft has got those sensors which
enable the pilot to be aware situationally and detect the enemy Aircraft for which the
Rafale has got AESA radar.
NAVY MAKES FORMAL REQUEST FOR MULTI-ROLE U.S. COPTERS
GS 3: Internal Security
Topic: Defense
Context:
• India made a formal request to the U.S. for the purchase of 24 MH-60R Multi-Role
Helicopters (MRH) for the Navy in a deal estimated at $2bn. This is among a series of
defence procurements and inductions from the U.S. and Russia in the last two months.
Details:
• This is because of shortage of helicopters
• Also, as replacement of existing helicopters which are in obsolete in nature
• Multi role helicopters are integral part of frontline warships like aircraft carriers,
destroyers, frigates and corvettes. Availability of MRH with Indian Navy will help to plug
existing capability gap. For years, Indian Navy has argued that its warships lack any
modern anti-submarine helicopters with existing Sea King fleet now being obsolete. At
present less than 10 Sea King helicopters are operational and their absence has forced
Indian Navy to sail its warships without support of these helicopters. Frontline destroyers
of Indian Navy have hangars which can house two helicopters of this class but frequently
put to sea without any integral helicopter support.
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IEDS POSE BIGGEST RISK IN MANIPUR, INSURGENTS
COMING FROM MYANMAR: ARMY
GS 3: Challenges to internal security
Context:
• There have been efforts to taken to contain the Manipur’s decades old insurgency and
reduce the insurgent camps in the Manipur state. However hidden militancy continues to
take advantage of the hilly terrain and porous border with Myanmar and carry out attacks
with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and sophisticated weapons.
Details:
• Hidden militancy become evident by the recoveries of weapons, IEDs and apprehension
of cadres
• It is found that they have Ak-47s, rocket launchers and missiles
• Secured border networks in the North-Eastern states especially Manipur becomes
important, because of its greater significance in connecting ASEAN countries and hence
India’s Act East policy. 16km Free movement regime along the Manipur-Myanmar border
also adds difficulties in finding insurgents
Why IEDs are posing much threat:
• IEDs is a bomb constructed from military or non-military components, that is frequently
employed by guerrillas, insurgents, and other non-state actors against conventional
military force. It is cheap and relatively easy to construct, can be made anywhere from a
wide range of materials- from everybody tools to commercial explosives
• It could inflict grievous physical injuries and kill thousands upon explosion of single
bomb
NSCN-K FACTION OPENS TO PEACE TALKS
GS 3: Internal security
Context:
• A breakaway group of the outlawed National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang
(NSCN-K) on Monday said that the outfit was keen on pursuing the Naga peace process
that it had abrogated three years ago.
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Background of Naga political issue:
• The British annexed Assam in 1826, and in 1881, the Naga Hills too became part of British
India. The first sign of Naga resistance was seen in the formation of the Naga Club in 1918,
which told the Simon Commission in 1929 “to leave us alone to determine for ourselves as
in ancient times”. In 1946 came the Naga National Council (NNC), which, under the
leadership of Angami Zapu Phizo, declared Nagaland an independent state on August 14,
1947. The NNC resolved to establish a “sovereign Naga state” and conducted a
“referendum” in 1951, in which “99 per cent” supported an “independent” Nagaland.
Origin of NSCN:
• On November 11, 1975, the government got a section of NNC leaders to sign the Shillong
Accord, under which this section of NNC and NFG agreed to give up arms. A group of
about 140 members led by Thuingaleng Muivah, who were at that time in China, refused
to accept the Shillong Accord, and formed the National Socialist Council of Nagaland in
1980. Muivah also had Isak Chisi Swu and S S Khaplang with him. In 1988, the NSCN split
into NSCN (IM) and NSCN (K) after a violent clash. While the NNC began to fade away,
and Phizo died in London in 1991, the
NSCN (IM) came to be seen as the “mother
of all insurgencies” in the region.
• The Government of India, while taking
effective measures to put down the
insurgency, decided to meet the genuine
aspirations of Nagas and, therefore, carved
out a separate State of Nagaland on
December 1, 1963.
• Demand of Naga militant group
The Naga rebels have been insisting on
their sovereignty and also demanding the
creation of a ‘Greater Nagaland’ or
Nagalim, which consists all the Naga-
inhabited areas of neighbouring Assam,
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Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and some portions Myanmar, which it considers to be the
rightful homeland of the Nagas.
Establishment of Nagalim is the objective of NSCN (IM), according to which Nagalim lies
in the Patkai range at the trijunction of China, India and Myanmar.
Issues in conceding to the demands of Nagalim
• It would affect sovereignty and integrity of the nation as well as the states
• It would also create problems mainly in geopolitical aspects and border management in
the neighbouring country Myanmar.
• The solution lies in negotiations, for which NSCN-K decision to open for peace talks is a
good step.
CRIMINAL LAW ILL-EQUIPPED TO DEAL WITH
CASES OF RIOTS: DELHI HC
Mains Level: GS 2: Governance
Prelims: Judiciary
Context:
• Noting that the general criminal law is ill-equipped to deal with communal riots cases, the
Delhi High Court on Wednesday suggested several reforms, including possibility of
entrusting investigative and prosecution process in such cases to authorities other than
normal agencies of the State.
Details:
• The Delhi High court has mentioned that there are always allegations of political
influence, which acted as the root cause for those communal riots, helped the perpetrators.
• The High Court’s observation came while upholding the conviction of 70 persons in
connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases in Capital’s Trilokpuri area.
• The High court mentioned that judicial reforms in terms of assessing, investigating and
prosecuting communal riots have not yet happened in a meaningful way
• It went ahead and said that possibility of entrusting such tasks to authorities other than
normal agencies of the State needs to be explored, to inject a sense of neutrality in the
investigative and prosecution process and hence to avoid political influence.
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• It also suggested handling the initial task of gathering evidence and preserving evidence
to entrust to the National Human Rights Commissions in these cases of communal riots
situations.
• Once a Commission of Inquiry is instituted, under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952,
further investigative process by gathering all evidence for such cases can be taken over by
such Commissions of Inquiry.
• And for this it suggested amendments to the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952 and the
Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 to entrust the responsibility of investigation in
communal riots
HEAVY SNOWFALL SNAPS CONNECTIVITY TO VALLEY
GS 1: Important Geophysical phenomena
Context:
• Kashmir witnessed an early spell of snowfall this year, forcing closure of all three major
highways (Jammu-Kashmir, Poonch-Srinagar, Kargil-Srinagar) connecting the Valley with
the rest of the country.
• Air traffic was suspended and heavy snowfall also affected power supply.
Details:
• According to the Indian meteorological department, this was the first time since 2009 that
Srinagar city witnessed snowfall in November.
• This is the rare occurrence that in the last decades, it was only the fourth time that it has
snowed in Srinagar in November with 2008 and 2004 being the earlier instances
• Presence of western disturbances has brought heavy snowfall in the Himalayan region
and a cold wave to North Indian plains.
CYCLONE GAJA
GS 1: Important Geophysical phenomena
Context:
• A deep depression in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a cyclonic storm ‘Gaja’ and is
likely to cross the North Tamil Nadu and South Andhra Pradesh coast between Cuddalore
and Sriharikota on November 15
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About Cyclone Gaja:
Cyclone ‘Gaja’ is named by Sri Lanka
• Cyclone, 'Gaja', which lay around 860 km northeast of Chennai and moving at a speed of
12 kmph is likely to intensify into a 'severe cyclonic storm' within in 24 hours
• It is also likely to weaken gradually and cross the north Tamil Nadu and south A.P. coasts
between Cuddalore and Sriharikota as a cyclonic storm during November 15 forenoon.
LITERACY LEVELS IN RURAL INDIA SUFFER
FROM MIGRATION OF FAMILIES
GS 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to
Health, Education, Human Resources.
Topic: Education
Context:
• Literacy levels in rural households of India dip with seasonal migration, the UNESCO
global education monitoring report 2019 has observed, bringing out the educational
challenges thrown up by migration.
Details:
• Seasonal migrant children lack access to education due to absence of educational
institutions near work sites. And they end in work, rather than education. This early work
makes them vulnerable to abuse and exploitation
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• Broken families in rural areas mainly due to migration of male member in families have
psychologically impacted the education of children at home. Also lack of literacy of female
members at home also not enabled the sharing of importance of education to next
generation
Steps taken by India to address this:
• The Right to Education Act in 2009 made it mandatory for local authorities to admit
migrant children.
• National-level guidelines were issued, allowing for flexible admission of children,
providing transport and volunteers to support with mobile education, create seasonal
hostels and aiming to improve coordination between sending and receiving districts and
states
• Few state governments have also taken steps for migrant children’s education
• But, most of the interventions are focused on keeping children in home communities
instead of actively addressing the challenges faced by those who are already on the move.
• The solution lies in having inter-state migration policy by the states emphasizing on
education to strengthen education for children at both migrated and home states.
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FARMERS BADLY HIT BY DEMONETIZATION, ADMITS AGRICULTURE
MINISTRY
GS 3: Major crops cropping patterns in various parts of the country, different types of
irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and
issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers
Topic: Agriculture
Context:
• Millions of farmers in India were unable to buy seeds and fertilizers for their winter crops
because of demonetization, according to a report submitted by the Union Agriculture
Ministry to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance.
Details:
• Demonetization came at a time when farmers were engaged in either selling their Kharif
crops or sowing the Rabi crops. Both these operations needed huge amounts of cash,
which demonetisation removed from the market.
• Agriculture is a cash economy and millions of farmers were unable to get enough cash to
buy seeds and fertilizers for their winter crops due to demonetisation
• Even bigger landlords faced a problem such as paying daily wages to the farmers and
purchasing agriculture needs for growing crops.
• As per report by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), it says that 1.5
million jobs were lost during January-April 2017 post-demonetisation.
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AN ENDANGERED TRIBE- THE SENTINELESE
GS 1: Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.
Topic: Diversity of India
Details:
• The Sentinelese, a negrito tribe who live on the North Sentinel Island of the Andamans,
have not faced incursions and remain hostile to outsiders.
• The inhabitants are connected to the Jarawa on the basis of physical, as well as linguistic
similarities. Archeological reports confirm the presence of Sentinelese in the islands to
2,000 years ago.
• The Govt. of India issued the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal
Tribes) Regulation, 1956 to declare the traditional areas occupied by the tribes as reserves,
and prohibited entry of all persons except those with authorization.
• Photographing or filming the tribe members is also an offence. The rules were amended
later to enhance penalties. But restricted area permits were relaxed for some islands
recently.
• The Sentinelese have been fiercely hostile to outside contact. But in 1991 they accepted
some coconuts from a team of Indian anthropologists and administrators. Some
researchers argue that the Sentinelese have been mostly left alone even from colonial
times, unlike other tribes such as the Onges, Jarawas and Great Andamanese, because the
land they occupy has little commercial attraction.
INDIA TO STUDY MARIJUANA-DERIVED DRUGS
GS 3: Science and Technology
Topic: Medicines and Pharma
Context:
• Three major science administrators in India — the Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research, the Indian Council for Medical Research and the Department of Biotechnology
— are getting together to promote research in herbal drugs, some of which involve
deriving new drugs from marijuana.
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Details:
• The researchers to study if the strains of marijuana could be effective in the treatment of
breast cancer, sickle-cell anaemia as well as be “bio-equivalent” to marijuana-derived
drugs already approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA)
• Marijuana (or hemp), more formally parts of the cannabis super-family, is illegal for
commercial cultivation though it grows as weed in several parts of the country.
Uttarakhand, Jammu, Uttar Pradesh have allowed restricted cultivation of the plant for
medical research.
• Because of restrictions, the scope of these drugs in treating terminal cancer patients is not
studied properly
• The studies into the therapeutic potential of marijuana is part of a larger governmental
thrust to making new drugs derived from herbs and plants that find mention in
Ayurvedic and other traditional-medicine knowledge systems.
INCREDIBLE INDIA CAMPAIGN: TAWANG MONASTERY
Mains Level: GS1: Art and Culture
Prelims Level: Places in news
• The Incredible India campaign has goofed up on Tawang Monastery in Arunachal
Pradesh, suggesting the ancient structure was built just three decades ago.
About Tawang Monastery.
• Known in Tibetan as Gaden Namgyal Lhatse, the Tawang Monastery was built according
to the wishes of the 5th Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso. It was founded in 1680-81
by a monk named Merag Lodre Gyatso of the Gelug sect after the 4th Dalai Lama gave
him a painting of goddess Palden Lhamo to be kept in the monastery.
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• An eight-meter high gilded statue of Lord Buddha dominates the sanctum of the
monastery.
• Local legend has it that China had attacked Tawang in 1962 primarily to extract the secret
to eternal youth believed to be buried under the monastery built at about 10,000 ft above
sea level.
SAUBHAGYA YOJANA
GS 3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
Topic: Infrastructure
Details:
• Surprisingly, despite the many rural electrification schemes that India has launched
since 2005, there are about 3.21 crore households in India still without electricity.
Pradhan Mantri Saubhagya scheme has been announced to fix this.
• This was flagged off in September 2017, with the objective of electrifying all left-out
Indian households
• The original completion date of March 2019 has been advanced to December 2018.
• The scheme covers both urban and rural households.
• Under it, free electricity connections are provided to below poverty line (BPL)
households, while other households have to pay ₹500 for the connection. This is
recoverable by the power distribution company in 10 instalments along with the
electricity bills.
• Defaulting households whose electricity connections have been disconnected will not
be covered. The beneficiaries for free electricity connections will be identified using
Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data.
• The cost of electricity consumption shall have to be paid by the respective consumers
as per prevailing tariff of the DISCOM/Power Dept.
• Solar power packs of 200 to 300 Wp with battery bank for un-electrified households
located in remote and inaccessible areas
• The Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC) is the nodal agency for the
operationalization of the scheme. The Gram Panchayat and public institutions in the
rural areas will be authorized to carry out billing and collection tasks.