table of contentstable of contents. 1. polity and governance ..... 1

Table of Contents

1. Polity and Governance .................................................................................................. 1

1. Failure of government schemes to curb declining sex ratio (Relevant for GS Mains Paper I and

II) .................................................................................................................................................. 1

2. SC makes national anthem mandatory in cinema halls (Direct Question can be asked in

Prelims and GS Mains Paper I) .................................................................................................... 1

3. EC must consider state funding of polls: Nirmala (Question can be asked on State funding of

Elections in Prelims and Mains Paper II) ...................................................................................... 3

4. Evaluation of Janani Suraksha Yojna (Question can be asked on JSY in Prelims and Mains

Paper II) ....................................................................................................................................... 4

5. Higher Number of Districts in Telangana (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II, No question can be

asked in Prelims) .......................................................................................................................... 4

6. MPs submit plea to remove Hyderabad High Court judge (Question can be asked in Prelims on

procedure for removal of HC Judge) ............................................................................................ 5

7. Draft Motor Vehicle Rules include an option to record a pledge on driving licences (Topic to be

read only for understanding, No Direct Question can be asked) ................................................ 6

8. Wage payment through banks ordinance gets President nod(Question can be asked in Prelims

and GS Mains Paper II and III) ..................................................................................................... 7

9. Horse racing not animal cruelty: SC (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct

question can be asked) ................................................................................................................ 8

10. Pending cases in Courts (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct question can be

asked) .......................................................................................................................................... 9

11. Recommendations for judicial reforms by Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and

Justice (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked) .................. 9

12. Triple talaq is cruel, says Allahabad HC (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct

question can be asked) ................................................................................................................ 9

13. Ex-IAF chief Tyagi held in Agusta case (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct

question can be asked) .............................................................................................................. 10

14. 5-judge Bench to decide on Nov.8 notification on demonetisation (Direct question can be

asked in Prelims) ........................................................................................................................ 11

15. The Rajasthan high court scrapped the Rajasthan Special Backward Classes (SBC) Reservation

Act 2015 that provisioned for 5% quota to five communities (Topic to be read only for

understanding, No Direct question can be asked) ..................................................................... 12

16. Justice A.P. Shah, released its report -- Towards a Framework for Compensation and

Rehabilitation for Victims of Wrongful Prosecution/Conviction (Relevant for GS Mains paper II,

Not Relevant for Prelims) .......................................................................................................... 12

17. Ex-CJI calls for more power to human rights panels (Question can be asked on powers of NHRC

in Mains paper II) ....................................................................................................................... 13

18. ‘Aadhaar ID for more exams under study’ (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II and Prelims) ........ 14

19. IBSA meet may see pact to boost trade (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper II) ....... 15

20. Cabinet clears Bill to give autonomy to 12 major ports (Relevant for GS Mains paper II) ........ 17

21. RS passes Disabilities Bill with more benefits (Relevant for GS Mains paper II) ........................ 18

22. Allegations against Rijiju (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be

asked) ........................................................................................................................................ 19

23. Air Force officers can’t grow beard on religious grounds, says SC (Relevant for GS mains

Paper II) ..................................................................................................................................... 20

24. Liquor vends on National, State highways banned (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II and

Prelims) ...................................................................................................................................... 21

25. Centre mulls merger of cyber, telecom dispute appeals tribunals (Relevant for GS Mains Paper

II and III) ..................................................................................................................................... 22

26. J&K has no sovereignty: SC (Relevant for GS Mains paper II).................................................... 22

27. Supreme Court ordered to regularise the woman pilot in permanent commission (Relevant for

GS mains Paper II) ..................................................................................................................... 23

28. Evaluation of proposed permanent tribunal for inter-state water disputes (Relevant for GS

mains paper II) ........................................................................................................................... 25

29. CBSE mandated board exams for Class 10 (Relevant for GS mains Paper II) ............................ 26

30. RSS-affiliated think tank readies Uniform Civil Code drafts (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS

Mains Paper II) .......................................................................................................................... 27

31. Armed forces to get parity in pay(Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question

can be asked) ............................................................................................................................. 28

32. Passport rules changed to help single mothers, orphaned children (Direct question can be

asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper II) ................................................................................... 28

33. Land of religious body can be acquired: HC (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct


34. Need to link Aadhaar with details of voters’: EC (Topic to be read only for understanding, No

direct question can be asked) .................................................................................................... 30

35. Union Cabinet approves creation of Indian Enterprise Development Services (Direct Question

can be asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper II) ........................................................................ 32

36. Madras High Court bans unauthorised Sharia courts in Tamil Nadu (Topic to be read only for

understanding, No direct question can be asked) ..................................................................... 32

37. Only State can remit life sentence: SC (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct


38. Pranab against ordinance route to amend Enemy Property Act (Question can be asked on

Enemy Property Act in Prelims and Mains Paper II) .................................................................. 33

39. Year in Review of Kashmir front (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct question

can be asked) ............................................................................................................................. 35

40. Suresh Kalmadi, accused in CWG scam, appointed Life President of Indian Olympic Association

(Question can be asked on IOA in Prelims and GS Mains Paper II) ........................................... 36

41. Former Home Secretary Anil Baijal to be Delhi Lt Governor (Question can be asked on

appointment of Lt. Governor in Prelims) ................................................................................... 37

42. Financial data management body mooted (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II) ........................... 37

2. International Relations and Organisations .................................................................. 39

1. Upcoming Heart of Asia meet in Amritsar (Direct question expected in GS Prelims, Relevant for

GS Mains Paper II) ..................................................................................................................... 39

2. U.S. for closer defence ties with India (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II) ................ 40

3. India to train Vietnam’s Sukhoi fighter pilots (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II) ....................... 41

4. State of Chakmas in India (Direct Question can be asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper II) ... 41

5. Kolkata-Mizoram trade route to open via Myanmar (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains

Paper II) ..................................................................................................................................... 42

6. Recent Escalations in US- China Relations (Question can be asked in Prelims and Mains Paper

II on ‘One China Policy’) ............................................................................................................. 43

7. India, Indonesia resolve to fight terror (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct


8. Venezuela warns about cybercrime (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct


9. Qatar abolishes ‘kafala’ labour system (Direct question can be asked on ‘Kafala

system’ in Prelims and GS Mains Paper II) .......................................................................... 45

10. Issue of Rohingyas (Direct question can be asked in Prelims and GS mains Paper II) ............... 46

11. Myanmar ‘resented’ Indian claims of hot pursuit in its territory (Topic to be read only for


12. Tajikistan, India step up security ties (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct


13. India, Kyrgyzstan seek a global pact against terror (Question can be asked on CCIT and

Khanjar exercise in prelims) ....................................................................................................... 48

14. Terror Attack in Berlin, claimed by IS (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct


15. Nepal to hold military exercise with China (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II) ......... 49

16. Hong Kong revokes visa-free entry to Indians (Topic to be read only for understanding, No


17. UNSC passes resolution admonishing Israel’s illegal settlements (Topic to be read only for


18. 5th India-Arab partnership conference held in Muscat, Oman(Direct question can be asked in

Prelims) ...................................................................................................................................... 51

19. Nepal rejects India’s ‘open sky’ offer (Question can be asked on ‘Open Sky Offer’ in Prelims,

Relevant for GS Mains paper II as well) ..................................................................................... 52

20. Sharif inaugurates China-backed n-power plant (Question can be asked in Prelims) .............. 53

21. Cabinet’s gives nod for International Solar Alliance pact (Direct question on International Solar

Alliance can be asked in Prelims and GS mains Paper II and III) ............................................... 53

22. Ceasefire deal in Syria (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be

asked) ........................................................................................................................................ 54

23. Russia announces plans to expel 35 American diplomats (Topic to be read only for


3. Economy ..................................................................................................................... 56

1. Criticism of demonetisation (Relevant for Prelims and GS Mains Paper III) ............................. 56

2. Demonetisation exercise impact deflationary shock (Relevant for Prelims and GS Mains Paper

III) ............................................................................................................................................... 57

3. Govt. to hold lucky draws to boost digital transactions (Topic to be read only for


4. Discounts offered on digital transactions (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct


5. Centre to fund digital discounts (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question

can be asked) ............................................................................................................................. 58

6. Suspicious post demonestisation transactions under ED scanner (Question can be asked on

Shell Companies in Prelims and GS Mains Paper III) ................................................................. 59

7. Cap on Jan Dhan withdrawal (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can

be asked) ................................................................................................................................... 60

8. 3 CMs opt out of digitisation panel (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct


9. Tax on Gold (Direct question can be asked in Prelims) .............................................................. 62

10. Double counting of deposits ruled out (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct


11. Illegal exchange of old currency with new currency (Topic to be read only for understanding,

No direct question can be asked) .............................................................................................. 64

12. Ordinance to end RBI’s liability (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question

can be asked) ............................................................................................................................. 64

13. I-T Act change to help small firms move to e-payment (Topic to be read only for


14. RBI sets one-time limit for big deposits of old notes (Topic to be read only for understanding,

No direct question can be asked) .............................................................................................. 66

15. Banks asked to lower charges on digital transactions above Rs. 1,000(Question can be asked

on IMPS and NEFT) .................................................................................................................... 66

16. Protests hit Venezuela following demonetisation (Topic to be read only for understanding, No


17. Less demand for Bandwidth for growth (Relevant for GS mains Paper III) ............................... 67

18. State of implementation of NFSA (Question can be asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper II and

III) ............................................................................................................................................... 68

19. Sagarmala Project (Question can be asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper II and III) .............. 69

20. Reserve Bank holds rates, cuts growth forecast (Question can be asked in Prelims and GS

Mains Paper II) .......................................................................................................................... 70

21. Allegation of attempt to extend Test Data Exclusivity norms (Question can be asked in Prelims

and GS Mains Paper II on concept of data exclusivity) .............................................................. 71

22. Evaluation of waiving off the import duty from wheat (Question can be asked in GS Mains

Paper III) .................................................................................................................................... 73

23. India – ASEAN trade levels (Question can be asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper II and III) . 74

24. Rupee slips after Fed’s decision (Question can be asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper III) ... 74

25. RBI opposes proposal to set up separate payments regulator (Question can be asked in GS

Mains III) .................................................................................................................................... 75

26. Taxman can scrutinise political parties’ accounts, says Centre (Topic to be read only for


27. Interview of Secretary IT, reviewing legal framework for securing digital payments

(Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked) ............... 76

28. Easy regulations for taxi and other transportation companies (Topic to be read only for


29. EPF rate slashed to seven-year low (Direct question can be asked in Prelims) ......................... 78

30. Japan drags India to WTO against steps on iron, steel imports (Question can be asked in

Prelims and GS Mains Paper III) ................................................................................................ 78

31. Thorough analysis of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (Relevant for GS Prelims and

Mains Paper II and III) ............................................................................................................... 79

32. What is Rose Valley Group Scam? (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II and III) .......... 82

33. Amendments in DTAA to control Round Tripping (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II

and III) ........................................................................................................................................ 83

34. PM Narendra Modi launches UPI based mobile payment app called BHIM (Question can be

asked in Prelims) ........................................................................................................................ 84

4. Environment ............................................................................................................... 86

1. Notify plan for ‘health emergency’ in Delhi-NCR: SC (Direct question can be asked on pollution

levels .......................................................................................................................................... 86

2. State of Environment refugees (Relevant for GS Mains Paper III) ............................................. 87

3. 2016 set to be hottest year on record (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper III) ......... 87

4. Friends of fish oppose subsidies for IUU fishing (Relevant for GS Prelims) ............................... 88

5. Cancel illegal salt pans in Sambhar Lake: NGT (Question can be asked in Prelims on Salt pans,

Relevant for GS Mains Paper III as well) .................................................................................... 89

6. Stay out of ‘laddu’ kitchen, TTD tells food inspectors (Question can be asked on Provisions of

FSS act in Prelims) ...................................................................................................................... 89

7. Change in Real estate environmental impact assessment norms (Chances of question being

asked are less) ........................................................................................................................... 91

8. National Wildlife action plan (Direct question expected in Prelims and mains paper III) ......... 91

5. Internal Security and Disaster Management ............................................................... 94

1. Base Movement (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct question can be asked) 94

2. Nagrota terrorist attack (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct question can be

asked) ........................................................................................................................................ 94

3. Choppy seas prevent rescue of tourists from Andamans (Question can be aksed in Prelims on

name of islands) ........................................................................................................................ 95

4. Murder rate declining in India (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct question

can be asked) ............................................................................................................................. 96

5. Cyclone Vardah hits Chennai (Direct question expected in Prelims) ......................................... 96

6. NIA to seek death penalty for IM convicts in Hyderabad blasts (Question can be asked in

Prelims on NIA) .......................................................................................................................... 98

7. U.S. art dealer with links to Subhash Kapoor arrested (Topic to be read only for understanding,

No Direct question can be asked) .............................................................................................. 99

8. India among world’s top five defence spenders (Direct question can be asked in Prelims) .... 100

9. Blockade in Manipur (Relevant for GS Mains paper III) .......................................................... 100

6. Science and Technology ............................................................................................ 102

1. $750-million deal for 145 artillery guns .................................................................................. 102

2. Britain’s £5 note opposed on account of use of Tallow (Question can be asked in GS Prelims on

‘Tallow’) ................................................................................................................................... 102

3. New model to forecast fog over airports (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct

question can be asked) ............................................................................................................ 103

4. Delhi High Court reverses ban on combination drugs (Question can be asked on FDCs on

Prelims and Mains Paper III) .................................................................................................... 104

5. HIV: The self-test option (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper III) ............................ 105

6. Navy says no to Tejas variant (Questions can be asked on tejas in Prelims) .......................... 106

7. DRS clears the test (Question can be asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper III) ..................... 107

8. Hyperloop: New travel technology (Very important for Prelims and GS Mains Paper III) ...... 108

9. Resourcesat-2A joins the observation deck (Question can be asked in Prelims) ..................... 109

10. Kounotori Experiment (Very important for GS Prelims and Mains Paper III) .......................... 110

11. What is a Death Star? (Question can be asked in Prelims) ..................................................... 110

12. NITI Aayog rolls out health index (Question can be asked in Prelims) .................................... 111

13. India test launched Agni 5 (Very important for Prelims and Mains paper III) ......................... 113

14. India inching towards second strike capability (Very important for Prelims and Mains paper III)

................................................................................................................................................. 114

15. Gurgaon may become first in country to get Caterpillar Train (Very important for Prelims and

Mains paper III) ....................................................................................................................... 115

7. Relevant only for Prelims .......................................................................................... 117

8. China opens world’s highest bridge to traffic .......................................................................... 117

9. India’s first Digi Dhan mela held in Gurugram ........................................................................ 117

10. Meghalaya to host 2022 National Games and Goa will host in 2017 ..................................... 117

11. Sasikala, became the General Secretary of AIADMK ............................................................... 117

12. Cheetahs ‘sprinting’ towards extinction, only 7,100 left: Study .............................................. 118

13. After Tarun Gogoi, Mahanta loses NSG security cover ........................................................... 119

14. India ranks 4th in 2016 Global Wind Power Installed Capacity Index ..................................... 120

15. PM lays foundation stone of country’s first Indian Institute of Skills in Kanpur ...................... 120

16. 6,117 Kuchipudi dancers put A.P. in Guinness book ................................................................ 121

17. Huge dead zone discovered in Bay of Bengal .......................................................................... 121

18. Delhi L-G Najeeb quits ............................................................................................................. 122

19. Blue ice .................................................................................................................................... 122

20. Sunny Leone to receive PETA person of the year award ......................................................... 123

21. Nomura’s India growth indicator slumps to 20-yr low ............................................................ 123

22. Cyrus Mistry steps down as director of Tata group firms........................................................ 124

23. Point of Sale terminals: How do they work? ........................................................................... 125

24. In surprise move, Lt. Gen. Bipin Rawat appointed next Army Chief ........................................ 126

25. Rio gets UNESCO world heritage status .................................................................................. 127

26. Pakistan launches Babur missile ............................................................................................. 127

27. A towering tribute to Bhakti saint Ramanuja.......................................................................... 127

28. Trump: Time person of the year .............................................................................................. 128

29. Justice J S Khehar is the new CJI ............................................................................................. 128

30. B.S. Bhullar to head DGCA ....................................................................................................... 128

31. Motorised paraglider completes 4,500-mile migration to follow migratory birds ................. 128

32. JAYALALITHAA NO MORE ........................................................................................................ 129

33. Baluchari Sarees: An iconic Textile .......................................................................................... 129

34. Asthana is interim CBI chief ..................................................................................................... 129

35. Nikki Haley appointed as US Ambassador to UN .................................................................... 130

Practice Questions based on Current affairs ................................................................... 131

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Shubham s IAS, SCO , Sector C, Chandigarh. Contact 75979-00000, www.shubhamsias.com Page 1

Polity and Governance

1. Failure of government schemes to curb declining sex ratio (Relevant for GS Mains Paper I and II)

Data trends:

New data from the Civil Registration System (CRS) of the Registrar General of India point to

the hardening of the pattern, with a fall in sex ratio at birth from 898 girls to 1,000 boys in

2013, to 887 a year later.

This depressing trend is consistent with evidence from the Census figures of 2001 and

2011.

Need to Evaluate Government Schemes:

1. The BJP-led government responded to the silent crisis with the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign, which focusses on the prevention of sex-selective abortions, creation of

opportunities for education and protection of girl children.

Now that the scheme is set to enter its third year in January, there should be a speedy

assessment of its working, particularly in districts with a poor sex ratio where it has been

intensively implemented.

2. A wider assessment needs to be made on why States such as Tamil Nadu with a strong

social development foundation have slipped on sex ratio at birth (834), going by the CRS

data for 2014.

2. SC makes national anthem mandatory in cinema halls (Direct Question can be asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper I)

SC mandated Cinema s to play National Anthem in the Beginning of the shows:

1. The Supreme Court ordered cinema halls to mandatorily play the national anthem before every screening even as all those present have to stand up to show respect.

2. All doors in a cinema hall should remain closed to prevent any kind of disturbance when

the anthem is played.

3. Cinema should also display the national flag on screen when the anthem is played.

2


4. It further banned the exploitation of the national anthem for financial benefit and

ordered that there should not be dramatisation of the anthem or its inclusion as part of any variety show.

5. Also, the court said, the anthem or part of it should not be printed or displayed in places disgraceful to its status.

The Bench said the order should come into effect in 10 days and directed the Centre to

distribute the order to Chief Secretaries of States and Union Territories. It wanted the order

to be widely publicised in print and electronic media.

Basis of Judgement: The practice, according to the court, will instil a feeling of committed patriotism and nationalism. The playing of the anthem, the Bench said, is to be seen as an opportunity for the public to express their love for the motherland.

Judicial Activism by SC:

The order came on a writ petition. The petition, referring to the Prevention of Insults to the National Honour Act of , claimed that the national anthem is sung in various circumstances which are not permissible and can never be countenanced in law. However, it had not asked for a direction that it be played in cinemas.

Criticism of judgement on locked doors:

The Supreme Court judgment in 2014 on the Uphaar Cinema tragedy, which saw 57 people

die in a stampede after they were locked inside the theatre hall and fire broke out, held that

while theatres were entitled to regulate entry and exit, under no circumstances should

doors — which also double up as emergency exits — be bolted or locked.

Rule 10 (8) of the Delhi Cinematographic Rules mandates that all exit doors and doors through which the public have to pass on the way to the open air shall be available for exit

during the whole time the public is in the building and during such time shall not be locked

or bolted.

In light of the interim order by the Supreme Court to play the national anthem in

cinemas, which are the States that have already made it compulsory for theatres to

do so?

Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Goa are among the States that have passed orders to this

effect.

3


Under what law did these States make it mandatory?

The States have done this under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.

What does this Act entail?

The Act, which addresses insults to the Constitution, the national flag and the national

anthem, has its genesis in Article 51 (a) of the Constitution, which enjoins a duty on every

citizen of India to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the

national flag and the national anthem.

Provisions of the act:

The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 is an Act of the Parliament of India

which prohibits desecration of or insult to the country's national symbols, including the

National Flag, The Constitution, Indian map and the National Anthem.

National flag and constitution

Whoever in any public place or in any other place within public view burns, mutilates,

defaces, defiles, disfigures, destroys, tramples upon or otherwise shows disrespect to or

brings into contempt (whether by words, either spoken or written, or by acts) the Indian

National Flag or the Constitution of India or any part thereof, shall be punished with

imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.

National anthem

Whoever intentionally prevents the singing of the Jana Gana Mana or causes disturbances

to any assembly engaged in such singing shall be punished with imprisonment for a term,

which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.

How was the national anthem played in theatres before?

Yes, it was a practice to play the national anthem after a film ended. But with people

walking out even as the anthem was playing, the practice was discontinued.

3. EC must consider state funding of polls: Nirmala (Question can be asked on State funding of Elections in Prelims and Mains Paper II)

Commerce & Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Election Commission of India

(ECI) needs to look into the proposal for state funding of elections to combat the influence

of cash and black money in them.

4


What is State Funding of Elections?

State funding of elections in aid means that the contesting candidates would be given

certain basic aid from State such as free telephone connection, free internet connection,

free publicity material, etc. to a limited extent. The private expenditure by candidates and

receipt of donations from public for elections will not be allowed.

Significance of State Funding of Elections:

The State funding of elections will significantly reduce use of money in elections. This will

reduce the influence of donators on political parties. Moreover, politicians will not require

huge amount of money to contest elections and thus would not be pressurised to indulge in

corruption.

4. Evaluation of Janani Suraksha Yojna (Question can be asked on JSY in Prelims and Mains Paper II)

Outcome of Janani Suraksha Yojna:

Over the last decade, a government programme aimed at increasing institutional deliveries

has changed the health-seeking behaviour of Indian women.

A new study has found that the maternal health programme Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY)

led to a 22 per cent increase in women delivering in government hospitals between 2004

and 2014.

What is JSY? Launched in , JSY, the world s biggest conditional cash-transfer scheme, aimed to

promote institutional delivery — instead of delivering babies at home — to improve India s infant and maternal mortality rates.

Under JSY, pregnant women choosing to deliver at the hospital and the health worker who

motivated her to take the decision get cash incentives — Rs.1,400 for the woman and

Rs.600 for the Accredited Social Health Activist in rural areas and Rs.1,000 and Rs.200

respectively in urban areas.

5. Higher Number of Districts in Telangana (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II, No question can be asked in Prelims)

Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao originally intended to create just 14 new districts; this

was one of the election promises for the 2014 polls. Later, on the basis of the report of a

Cabinet subcommittee, a draft notification was issued for 17 new districts. But after fresh

5


demands from sections of the people, the Chief Minister finally settled on 21 new districts

for a total of 31.

Advantages of more districts

The new units could facilitate better monitoring of government schemes, and provide a

more even distribution of resources.

Reasons for creating new districts: But the government s reasons for creating new districts morphed from administrative to political. The decision to increase the number of districts was taken following the spiralling

of an agitation in Jangaon, Sircilla and Gadwal.

Disadvantages of more districts:

1. Undivided Andhra Pradesh had fewer districts. Alongside the benefits in terms of ease of

governance of smaller districts, there are costs to be borne: creation of additional

administrative infrastructure, transfer of personnel, and replication of paperwork.

2. The Rs. 1 crore sanctioned for each district for initial arrangements will hardly suffice. At

present, the existing staff are being redeployed, and existing buildings are being utilised for

administrative purposes.

But in the longer term the State will have to incur huge expenditure to create

administrative infrastructure in each new district headquarters town.

6. MPs submit plea to remove Hyderabad High Court judge (Question can be asked in Prelims on procedure for removal of HC Judge)

6


Sixty-one Members of Parliament have submitted a petition to initiate removal proceedings

against Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy of the Hyderabad High Court, to Rajya Sabha

chairperson, Hamid Ansari. Mr. Ansari is yet to give any ruling on it.

Reasons for submitting petition

The petition also cites pamphlets published by a local non-governmental organisation of

Kadapa — Gadhikot Dalita Nyayaporata Committee — that allege that Justice Reddy and his

brother have forcibly taken over land belonging to Dalit communities in the area.

7. Draft Motor Vehicle Rules include an option to record a pledge on driving licences (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct Question can be asked)

Proposed amendment in law on motor vehicles

Under the move, the Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry will introduce driving

licence forms with an option to declare that the licence holder is willing to donate organs in

case of accidental death. A draft to amend the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, has been

published, which must be implemented by the States.

Statistics on road accidents

7


The death rate due to road accidents in India is among the highest globally – 11 per lakh

population, according to World Road Statistics 2015 published by International Road

Federation, Geneva.

In 2015, 1.46 lakh people were killed in road accidents in the country, which translates into

400 road deaths per day — an increase of five per cent over 2014, as per official estimates.

Rationale behind proposed amendment

There is little awareness among people of organ donations. Around 1.5 lakh people die in

road accidents every year, many of them from severe head injury. People who end up brain

dead can donate their organs. An NGO, Gift Your Organ Foundation, estimates that about 67

per cent of those who die in road accidents suffer head injuries and a significant number

are left brain dead.

Low rate of organ donation in India

One estimate by Organ India, an NGO, says there is a need for about 200,000 kidneys,

50,000 hearts and 50,000 livers for transplantation each year. Currently, around 5,000

kidneys, 1,000 livers and a small number of hearts are transplanted annually. The Organ Donation Rate of . per million in India is poor, compared with America s , Spain s . , and Croatia s . per million.

8. Wage payment through banks ordinance gets President nod(Question can be asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper II and III)

President gave assent to Payment of Wages (Amendment) Ordinance, 2016:

President Pranab Mukherjee has approved the Payment of Wages (Amendment)

Ordinance, 2016, to enable industries to pay wages through cheque or by direct credit into

bank accounts of workers earning up to Rs. 18,000 a month without their permission.

Details: The ordinance doesn t make payment of wages mandatory through the banking system and employers can still pay salaries through cash.

The Payment of Wages Act of 1936 required employers to take permission from employees

before paying salaries through cheque or bank credit.

Future Implications:

8


The ordinance empowers the Centre or State governments to specify industries or

establishments where wage payment can be made mandatory through the banking system.

Background:

Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya introduced the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill, in the Lok Sabha on December , but it couldn t be cleared, owing to the impasse in Parliament.

The Payment of Wages Act states that all payment of wages should be in cash, with a

provision asking employers to obtain written permission of the worker to pay either by

cheque, or by crediting the wages to his or her bank account.

The Centre decided to take the ordinance route as its decision to scrap the old Rs. 500 and

Rs. 1,000 currency in November led to a cash crunch and employers were encountering

problems in paying workers through cash.

Validity of Ordinance:

An ordinance is valid for six months and the Centre needs to get it passed in Parliament

within that period.

Criticism of Ordinance:

The haste in ensuring payment of salaries through banks through an ordinance is

unjustified, particularly when the entire banking service is in disorder. It sought to take

away the worker s right to take wages in their preferred mode i.e cash.

9. Horse racing not animal cruelty: SC (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct question can be asked)

SC Judgement

Horse racing per se is not cruelty, the Supreme Court said. A Bench of SC made this

observation while issuing notice to the Rajasthan government on a petition challenging a

High Court order banning tonga races in the State.

Rationale by SC

The Supreme Court judgment had clearly distinguished bulls as bovine animals unfit for running, while horses as solid-hoofed quadruped, domesticated for riding . The petition referred to how the Supreme Court in observed that the horse s anatomy enables it to make use of speed and can be usefully used for racing, etc, unlike bulls .

9


10. Pending cases in Courts (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct question can be asked)

As on December 31, 2015

1. 61,700 cases were pending in the Supreme Court.

2. 38.70 lakh cases were pending in the High Courts

3. 3.70 crore cases were pending in District and Subordinate Courts

11. Recommendations for judicial reforms by Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

1. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice, which has examined the

delay in filling vacancies in the Supreme Court and High Courts, has called for transparency

in the appointments process on the part of the judiciary and the government, while

ensuring the independence of the former.

2. The committee also recommended the raising of the retirement age of Supreme Court

judges to 67 from 65 and that of High Court judges to 65 from 62 and the consideration of a

fixed tenure for Chief Justices.

About the committee

The committee, headed by Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Anand Sharma, tabled its

report in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. The report is now under the purview of the Law

Ministry but the recommendations are only advisory in nature.

12. Triple talaq is cruel, says Allahabad HC (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct question can be asked)

Allahabad High Court arguments on Triple talaq

1. The Allahabad High Court has observed that Muslim law in India was being applied

contrary to the spirit of Koranic laws and the Prophet s teachings. . The court said the arbitrary and unilateral use of triple talaq by Muslim husbands was not in sync with Islamic laws, and it was a popular fallacy that a Muslim man enjoys, under the Koranic Law, unbridled authority to liquidate the marriage . . Holding triple talaq as cruel and the most demeaning form of divorce practised by the

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Muslim community , the court said personal laws, of any community, could not claim supremacy over the rights granted to individuals by the Constitution . . The court acknowledged that triple talaq has been deprecated and was not followed by all sects of Muslims in the country.

High Court views on writ petition

The court made the observations while dismissing the writ petition of a 23-year-old

Muslim woman Hina and her husband, 30 years older than her, who had approached it seeking protection from harassment by the woman s mother and police.

The husband submitted in court that he had divorced his first wife through the custom of triple talaq only to marry Hina, his second wife. The couple from western U.P. s Bulandshahr district were seeking the court s directions to stop their harassment by Hina s family, and to ensure their safety and security.

Final order in hands of SC

The court, however, added that since the issue of triple talaq was in the Supreme Court, it

would not like to comment on it further.

13. Ex-IAF chief Tyagi held in Agusta case (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct question can be asked)

Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi (retd.) was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation,

along with his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan, for alleged involvement in

the Rs. 3,700-crore AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal case.

Charges on S.P. Tyagi

The CBI has determined that about Rs. 450 crore, or 12 per cent of the Rs. 3,767-crore deal

for procurement of 12 helicopters was paid as bribes. The government rescinded the

contract in January 2014 in view of the bribery allegations.

According to the official, Mr. Tyagi allegedly entered into a conspiracy with other accused persons in and conceded to change the Air Force s consistent stand that the , -

metre service ceiling of VVIP helicopters was an inescapable operational necessity. It was

instead reduced to 4,500 metres. This helped AgustaWestland to meet the eligibility criteria for the contract. The kickbacks were received through middlemen and relatives.

11


Chargesheet: a boost to extradite British middlemen The first charge sheet is expected to boost the agency s request for extraditing alleged British middleman Christian Michel, who undertook about 300 trips to India between 1997

and 2013, from the UAE. First time arrest of a military chief The arrest of Indian Air Force former chief Air Chief Marshal (ACM) S.P. Tyagi by the Central Bureau of Investigation is the first instance of a serving or retired military chief being arrested on charges of corruption. Way forward In this case, the Indian hand in the deal has been corroborated by an Italian court. But a case is only as good as its conclusion. And defence deal investigations have a habit of getting complicated by the difficulties in securing the kind of evidence that is required to secure firm convictions. How this case, which has significant political ramifications, plays out, remains to be seen.

14. 5-judge Bench to decide on Nov.8 notification on demonetisation (Direct question can be asked in Prelims)

Demonetisation under review of Supreme Court

The Supreme Court ordered the setting up of a five-judge Constitution Bench to test the validity of a November demonetisation notification and the legality of the government s implementation of the policy.

Nine questions

The questions include whether the RBI notification and the "limited withdrawal" of one s own money were violations of Articles 14 (right to equality), 19 (freedom of speech, trade,

occupation, etc), 21 (fundamental right to protection of life) and 300A (right to property) of

the Constitution. The apex court also wants the Constitution Bench to decide whether the very implementation of the notification suffered from substantive and procedural unreasonableness .

No interim relief

The court refrained from providing any drastic interim relief in terms of complaints raised

by the petitioners, including that banks were not honouring the notified Rs. 24,000 weekly

withdrawal limit of money and the expiry of exemptions granted to the public's use of

demonetised Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 500 notes for essential services and institutions like railway

ticketing and payments at government hospitals and pharmacies.

12


Decision of government given pre-eminence in economic matters

The Supreme Court said it trusted the government to be the best judge of its own economic

and fiscal policies. The court placed its faith in the government's assurances that the policy

was triggered to weed out black money, counterfeit currency and choke terror funding. Section 26 of RBI Act, Legal tender character of notes.— (1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), every bank note shall be legal tender at any place in India in payment, or on account for the amount expressed therein, and shall be guaranteed by the Central Government (2) On recommendation of the Central Board the Central Government may, by notification in the Gazette of India, declare that, with effect from such date as may be specified in the notification, any series of bank notes of any denomination shall cease to be legal tender save at such office or agency of the Bank and to such extent as may be specified in the notification. Question under review in context of section 26 (2) is whether government can withdraw complete set of Rs. 500 and 1000 notes or only particular series of notes.

15. The Rajasthan high court scrapped the Rajasthan Special Backward Classes (SBC) Reservation Act 2015 that provisioned for 5% quota to five communities (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct question can be asked)

Basis of HC Judgement

The court struck down the notification of October 2015, saying there were "no

extraordinary circumstances" to allow the state's overall reservation in government jobs

and education institutes to go beyond the 50% cap. Following the notification, the overall

reservation in the state reached 54%, which was in violation of the 50% cap set by the

Supreme Court.

Background

The Act had provided 5% reservation in jobs and educational institutes to five

communities: Gujjars (Gurjars), Banjara (Baldia, Labana); Gadia-Lohar (Gadolia), Raika

(Rebari, Debasi) and Gadaria (Gaadri, Gayari).

16. Justice A.P. Shah, released its report -- Towards a Framework for Compensation and Rehabilitation for Victims of Wrongful

13


Prosecution/Conviction (Relevant for GS Mains paper II, Not Relevant for Prelims)

View of Tribunal on Acquitted Innocents The report of the jury that heard the first People s Tribunal on Acquitted Innocents took strong exception to news coverage which destroys a person s reputation by creating a widespread perception of guilt, without any verdict in the court of law .

Details of the report

1. The jury, which was chaired by Justice A.P. Shah, released its report -- Towards a

Framework for Compensation and Rehabilitation for Victims of Wrongful

Prosecution/Conviction.

. The People s Tribunal, which gathered testimonies of several acquitted innocents, and the report of the jury, had been organised by The Innocence Network, an all-India collective

that works for the rights of the wrongfully prosecuted or convicted.

3. Drawing on the principles of public law, the report called upon the government to grant compensation to the exonerees for the loss and harm caused to them and for violating their right to life and liberty under Article of the Constitution.

4. Releasing the report, Justice Shah said that when a person dies in the custody of the State, the burden to prove their innocence should be on the custodians. Torture has become a routine and endemic practice in investigative procedure in India, he said.

5. The Prevention of Torture Bill has been languishing in Parliament for more than four

years, and no government seems interested in passing it despite India being a signatory to

the UN Convention Against Torture.

. The rampant discourse on war on terror legitimates the arrests of Muslim youth and

grants impunity to investigators.

17. Ex-CJI calls for more power to human rights panels (Question can be asked on powers of NHRC in Mains paper II)

Views of P. Sathasivam

Human rights commissions in the country could do with more rights of their own, a former

Chief Justice of India suggested.

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Reliance on Executive to implement recommendations Speaking at the National Human Rights Commission s Human Rights Day event here, Justice (retd.) P. Sathasivam, who is now the Governor of Kerala, said the NHRC and State Human

Rights Commissions should be able to execute their own orders.

Present status

At present, the commissions can take up cases of human rights violations and make

recommendations for monetary compensation to victims, but have to rely on the Union and

respective State government to execute the order.

According to him, while the NHRC and SHRCs act as civil courts when it comes to

summoning witnesses or documents, they lack the power to implement orders that the civil

courts have.

18. Aadhaar ID for more exams under study (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II and Prelims)

Proposal to make Aadhar mandatory for other exams

After making the Aadhaar card mandatory for all candidates appearing for the Joint

Entrance Examination (JEE) to check impersonation, the government is considering

extending the requirement to other competitive examinations.

Proposal for National Testing Institute to conduct exams

In another exam reform proposal, the Centre is also planning to start a specialised National Testing Institute to conduct all important examinations which are now being conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

Union HRD Minister, Mr. Javadekar said the government was preparing a Cabinet note to

set up a National Testing Institute to hold competitive examinations for entry into

educational institutions in engineering, medical and other fields.

Reason for recommending use of Aadhar

Aadhaar is a photo identity and a unique identity. In some States we see impersonation,

which will be prevented.

Present status

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Aspirants seeking entry to the prestigious IITs, NITs and designated institutes, except

candidates from Assam, Meghalaya and Jammu and Kashmir, have to write the JEE (Mains)

examination in 2017 using their Aadhaar.

Controversy over mandatory use of Aadhar

There has been a controversy over whether the government can mandate Aadhaar for such

activity, with the Supreme Court reminding the government that it could not mandate the

Aadhaar number for scholarship schemes.

Justification by Government

Asked whether the government could demand possession of Aadhaar to appear for an

examination, as no service or benefit was being provided, government said this was for

security purposes.

19. IBSA meet may see pact to boost trade (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper II)

Proposal for CEPA with MERCOSUR and SACU:

The proposal for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India

and the two separate customs unions – MERCOSUR and SACU respectively – to boost trade

and investment ties, likely to accord it priority at the forthcoming IBSA Summit.

Agenda of sixth IBSA Summit:

The agenda at the sixth IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa) Summit – likely to be held in India

in mid-2017 – would be the three IBSA members enhancing contribution to the IBSA Fund to support more developmental projects across the world.

The summit could also see the three major emerging market economies strengthening

trilateral cooperation on renewable energy projects.

Current Scenario:

On trade, India has a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with MERCOSUR and both the

sides are looking to expand its coverage.

Negotiations on way:

India is also negotiating a PTA with Southern African Customs Union (SACU). A PTA

between MERCOSUR and SACU had become operational from April this year.

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Significance of CEPA:

The proposal for an India – MERCOSUR – SACU CEPA is to expand the scope of the PTAs

from just trade in goods and then convert them into a comprehensive agreement that will

also cover investments, trade in services and areas including intellectual property rights

and competition laws among others.

Trade account of IBSA:

Intra-IBSA trade (export and import) in 2012 was about $50.5 billion, which was only 3.4

per cent of their total trade with the rest of the world.

About IBSA Fund:

On the IBSA Fund, the three IBSA member-nations had in March 2005 agreed that each of

them will pitch in with an annual contribution of $1 million to the Fund.

The Fund had received contributions of only about $18 million, adding that the aim was to

enhance it soon to $40 million to assist 25 projects every year, especially in least developed

countries.

Accomplished projects out of IBSA fund:

The projects completed by the IBSA Fund include those in Burundi (combating HIV/AIDS),

Palestine (sports promotion and rehabilitation of cultural/hospital centre), Sierra Leone

(human development and poverty reduction), Cape Verde (health care infrastructure,

drinking water), Guinea-Bissau (agriculture development), Haiti (solid waste collection),

Cambodia (empowering people with special needs) and Vietnam (rice production).The

IBSA Fund also supported Laos in the formulation of projects and Timor-Leste through a

technical exchange.

What is a Customs Union?

A customs union is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a

common external tariff policies for non-members. The participant countries set up

common external trade policy, but in some cases they use different import quotas.

What is SACU?

SACU is the oldest existing customs union in the world. It was established in 1910 pursuant

to a Customs Union Agreement. With the advent of independence of territories, the

agreement was updated and it was re-launched as the SACU with the signing of an

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agreement between the Republic of South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. After

Namibia's independence from South Africa in 1990, it joined SACU as its fifth member.

What is MERCOSUR?

Mercosur is also a Customs Union. Its full members are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay,

Uruguay and Venezuela (Venezuela was suspended in December 2016).

20. Cabinet clears Bill to give autonomy to 12 major ports (Relevant for GS Mains paper II)

Cabinet clears Major Port Authorities Bill, 2016:

The Union Cabinet approved the draft Major Port Authorities Bill, 2016 to replace the

existing Major Port Trusts Act, 1963 in a bid to empower 12 major ports to perform with

greater efficiency on account of full autonomy in decision-making.

Details:

1. Under the proposed Bill, Port Authority has now been given powers to fix tariff which

will act as a reference tariff for purposes of bidding for PPP projects.

2. The Bill proposes to reduce the size of the board of the Port Authority from 17-19 to 11

members. The Board will include representatives of respective state governments,

Railways Ministry, Defence Ministry and Department of Revenue along with a member

representing employees of the Major Ports Authority.

The Ministry said a compact board with professional independent members will strengthen

decision-making and strategic planning.

3. The Board of the Port Authority has been allowed to fix the scale of rates for other port

services and assets including land.

4. The number of sections in the new Bill stand reduced to 65 from 134 in the Major Trusts

Act of 1963.

5. An independent review Board has been proposed to look into disputes between ports and PPP concessionaires, to review stressed PPP projects and suggest measures to revive

such projects.

6. It has been proposed to give the Board full powers to enter into contract, over planning

18


and development, fixing of tariff except in national interest, security and emergency arising

out of inaction and default. The present law requires the Centre s approval in such cases.

21. RS passes Disabilities Bill with more benefits (Relevant for GS Mains paper II)

Rajya Sabha passed Disability Bill: The Rajya Sabha passed the Disabilities Bill with the list of disabilities expanded from

seven to 21 and the quantum of reservation increased for people suffering from disabilities

from three per cent to four per cent in government jobs.

In higher education institutions, the quota has been increased from three per cent to five

percent.

Details:

The types of disabilities now include mental illness, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral

palsy, muscular dystrophy, chronic neurological conditions.

It also strengthens the office of chief commissioner and state commissioners for Persons

with Disabilities, which will act as regulatory bodies.

Background:

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014, moved in the Upper House earlier this

month by Social Justice Minister, also gives effect to the United Nations Convention on the

Rights of Persons with Disabilities and related matters.

Penalties for violations:

It provides for imprisonment ranging from six months to two years, along with a fine

ranging from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 5 lakh, for discriminating against differently abled persons.

National and State Commissions for persons with disabilities:

These commissions will be established by central and state governments respectively. They

will be composed of experts. They will identify any laws, policies or programmes

inconsistent with the Act. They can also inquire into matters relating to deprivation of

rights and safeguards available to disabled persons. They will also monitor utilisation of

funds disbursed by governments for the benefit of disabled persons.

Central and state advisory boards on Disability:

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They will be constituted Central and State governments respectively. The will advise

governments on policies and programmes on disability. The will also review the activities

of organisations dealing with disabled persons. Current Status of the bill: The bill still have to go through the Lok Sabha before being presented to President for assent.

22. Allegations against Rijiju (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Who is Kiren Rijiju?

Kiren Rijiju is Union Minister of State for Home Affairs of India.

Allegations:

Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju is alleged for an involvement in a Rs 450 crore hydel

project scam in Arunachal Pradesh.

The nature and extent of the graft allegations against Rijiju as follows:

1. In a petition before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), a Gujarat-cadre IPS officer

Satish Verma has alleged that his services as the Central Vigilance Officer (CVO) of a power

corporation were curtailed after he flagged a transportation scam worth Rs 450 crore

involving Rijiju's cousin and a fraudulent land deal in Gujarat.

2. Verma has sent a 129-page report to CVC, CBI and Ministry of Power, in which he has

alleged corruption in the construction of two dams for 600 MW Kameng Hydro Electric

Project -- one of the biggest hydro-electric projects in Arunachal Pradesh. The site of the

project -- West Kameng -- falls in Rijiju's parliamentary constituency Arunachal West.

3. Verma alleges that several fake and inflated bills were presented by contractors to

allegedly siphon off money in the name of transporting rocks needed for the dam

construction. The report says that the transportation cost was decided arbitrarily, and

many transport challans and records provided by the contractor, Patel Engineering Limited

(PEL), were found to be fake. Kiren Rijiju's cousin Goboi Rijiju was one of the sub-

contractors in the project.

4. The reimbursement of PEL's bills for the period between May and July 2015, after Verma

sent an advisory to the Head of Project flagging the alleged irregularities. However, on

20


November 9, MoS Kiren Rijiju wrote a letter to the Ministry of Power, saying the funds

should be released.

5. Apart from the report, evidence against Rijiju includes a taped conversation between Verma and Goboi Rijiju, in which the latter offered to help the CVO with a promotion, on the behest of 'bhaiya' (Kiren Rijiju), if the officer cleared the payments that had been stuck for months.

23. Air Force officers can t grow beard on religious grounds, says SC (Relevant for GS mains Paper II)

SC s direction to bar IAF personnel from growing beard:

The Supreme Court held that personnel working in the Indian Air Force cannot grow a

beard based on religious grounds.

SC bench said that the Centre s decision to prohibit personnel of a particular community from sporting beard does not infringe upon the fundamental rights.

Background:

The apex court verdict came on two petitions filed separately by two personnel challenging

the IAF authorities confidential order prohibiting Muslim personnel from growing a beard.

Claim of the petitioner:

Petitioner, in his petition had contended that the order was in contravention of

fundamental fights of the citizen and also a government letter issued through the Ministry

of Home on July 18,1990. The said letter of the home minister permitted the uniformed

Muslim/Sikh personnel to sport beard on religious grounds, provided prior permission was

sought from the authorities.

Centre s viewpoint:

The Centre had said that the IAF order prohibiting personnel from growing a beard was in

the interest of cohesiveness in a combat force and it also has security implications.

It had said that these policies are secular in character and have not been framed to govern

the conduct of air force personnel of any particular religion.

21


24. Liquor vends on National, State highways banned (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II and Prelims)

SC bans issuance of liquor licences alongside the highways:

The Supreme Court banned States and Union Territories from granting licences for the sale

of liquor along National and State highways across the country, noting that drunken driving

was the main culprit behind a large number of road accidents in the country.

Details of the judgment:

1. A Bench of justice said the licences of liquor shops across the highways will not be

renewed after March 31, 2017.

2. The judgment ordered that the prohibition on sale of liquor alongside highways would

extend to stretches of such highways that fall within limits of municipal corporations, city

towns and local authorities.

3. The court prohibited signages and advertising of availability of liquor on highways and

ordered the existing ones to be removed forthwith from both national and State highways.

4. It ordered that no shop for sale of liquor should be visible from the National and State

highways. Neither should they be directly accessible from the highways nor should they be

situated within a distance of 500 metres from the outer edge of the highways or service

lanes.

5. The court ordered all the States and Union Territories to strictly enforce the directions. It gave the Chief Secretaries and the State police chiefs a month s time to chalk out a plan for enforcement of the judgment.

Reason for this judgment:

The judgment is a result of the deep concern the court had expressed recently on the 1.5

lakh fatalities annually in road accidents. It had blamed the Centre and the States for not

doing enough as lives were lost on the roads.

Earlier order of the Supreme Court:

Earlier Supreme Court prohibited display of liquor on national and State highways to

reduce impulse buying of liquor. As a result, liquor vends situated on these highways were

22


not allowed to display liquor and diverted entry of liquor vends to opposite side of that of

highways.

25. Centre mulls merger of cyber, telecom dispute appeals tribunals (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II and III)

Centre plans the merger of CyAT and TDSAT:

The Centre is looking to converge the Cyber Appellate Tribunal (CyAT) and Telecom

Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). A Cabinet note to this effect would be

moved shortly.

About CyAT:

Cyber Appellate Tribunal has been established by the Central Government under

Information Technology Act, 2000. CyAT adjudicates matters related to information

technology and is seen carrying significance at a time when the government is pushing for

digital payments.

About TDSAT:

The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), was established to

adjudicate disputes and dispose of appeals with a view to protect the interests of service

providers and consumers of the telecom sector and to promote and ensure orderly growth

of the telecom sector.

26. J&K has no sovereignty: SC (Relevant for GS Mains paper II)

SC clarified the following with regard to autonomy granted to J&K: Jammu and Kashmir has no vestige of sovereignty outside the Indian Constitution, and citizens of the State are first and foremost citizens of India, the Supreme Court has held.

Thus, law made by parliament is applicable in J&K as well.

Reason for presenting clarification about the autonomy degree granted: The court made this observation while describing as wholly incorrect the conclusion arrived at by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court that the State has absolute sovereign power to legislate laws touching the rights of its permanent residents regarding their immovable properties.

What is the issue?

23


Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest

(SARFAESI) Act, 2002, made by Parliament provide that banks can acquire the mortgaged

property in case of non-payment of loans.

Transfer of Property Act of Jammu & Kashmir, 1920 provides that only permanent

residents of J&K can own property in the state.

The State Bank of India had appealed against the High Court verdict which held that the

SARFAESI Act would collide with the Transfer of Property Act of Jammu & Kashmir, 1920.

The J&K government was of the opinion that the SARFAESI Act encroached upon the property rights of permanent residents of the State and would need concurrence of the J&K government under Article .

About SARFAESI Act, 2000:

The Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security

Interest Act, 2002 (also known as the Sarfaesi Act) is an Indian law.It allows banks and

other financial institution to auction residential or commercial properties to recover loans.

About Article 370 of the constitution:

Article 370 of the Indian Constitution is a 'temporary provision' which grants special

autonomous status to Jammu & Kashmir. Under Part XXI of theConstitution of India, which

deals with "Temporary, Transitional and Special provisions", the state of Jammu & Kashmir

has been accorded special status under Article 370.

Provisions of Article 370:

According to this article, except for defence, foreign affairs, finance and communications,

Parliament needs the state government's concurrence for applying all other laws.

Thus the state's residents live under a separate set of laws, including those related to

citizenship, ownership of property, and fundamental rights, as compared to other Indians.

Relevance of Article 370 in the present context:

As a result of this provision, Indian citizens from other states cannot purchase land or

property in Jammu & Kashmir.

27. Supreme Court ordered to regularise the woman pilot in permanent commission (Relevant for GS mains Paper II)

24


SC ordered the continuation of service of a lady pilot: A Bench offered relief to Ms. Kaur in her fight against the rules of the Establishment, under which her time as a pilot was over.

Background: Ms. Kaur s application for a permanent commission was rejected in March . The establishment said she was not entitled to seek one.

The Union, represented by Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi, had appealed against a

December 2016 order of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), directing the government to

reconsider her application for permanent commission and let her continue to serve the

country.

The AFT asked the authorities to decide her application in two months. But the Union

decided to take the fight to the Supreme Court and seek a stay of the order.

Relevance of the decision:

The outcome of Ms. Sandhu s case brings cheer to several women officers waging a battle in the Supreme Court for equal opportunity.

Similar petitions observing gender bias: The Army s appeal against a March Delhi High Court judgment holding that women officers deserve better from the government is pending in the Supreme Court for five years now.

The High Court had observed that if male officers can be granted permanent commission, there is no reason why equally capable women officers can t. The High Court ruling was on a batch of petitions filed by several women officers to stop discrimination against women Army officers, who are given only Short Service Commission for periods extendable up to

10 years. The Army had cited the extreme difficulties a woman officer may have to face in

combat situations.

The Navy too appealed against another Delhi High Court order declaring that sexist bias blocked women s progress. The Navy had contended that men and women are identified by the same yardstick .

About AFT:

25


Armed Forces Tribunal or AFT is a military tribunal in India. It undertakes the cases of

military officials.

28. Evaluation of proposed permanent tribunal for inter-state water disputes (Relevant for GS mains paper II)

Union proposal for establishing permanent tribunal for inter-state water disputes: The Union Cabinet s proposal to have a permanent tribunal that will subsume existing tribunals is expected to provide for speedier adjudication. But whether this will resolve the

problem of protracted proceedings is doubtful.

Reasons for doubt over proposed Permanent Tribunal:

1. Given the number of ongoing inter-State disputes and those likely to arise in future, it

may be difficult for a single institution with a former Supreme Court judge as its

chairperson to give its ruling within three years.

2. Its interlocutory orders as well as final award are likely to be challenged in the Supreme

Court.

SC judgement on Inter-State Water Dispute Act baring court interference:

This month, in a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court said it had unfettered power to hear

an appeal arising from a river water dispute tribunal under Article 136 of the Constitution.

It has interpreted the ouster clause in the Inter-State Water Disputes Act as one that merely

bars the court from entertaining an original complaint or suit on its own, but not its power to hear appeals against a tribunal s decisions. Thus, finality and enforcement of a tribunal s award may remain elusive.

Provision of Dispute Resolution Committee:

Dispute Resolution Committee will be an expert body that will seek to resolve inter-State

differences before a tribunal is approached and thus may prevent needless litigation.

Positive features in proposed changes:

1. A positive feature of the proposed changes is that there will be an expert agency to

collect data on rainfall, irrigation and surface water flows. This acquires importance

because party-States have a tendency to fiercely question data provided by the other side.

2. A permanent tribunal having reliable data in its hands sounds like an ideal mechanism to

apportion water.

26


Future of body inter-state water dispute resolution mechanism depends on State

governments political will:

Having an institutional mechanism is one thing, but infusing a sense of responsibility in

those helming State governments is quite another.

Adjudication, by whatever mechanism, should not be at the mercy of partisan leaders who

turn claims into dangerously emotive issues. Institutional mechanisms should be backed by

the political will to make them work.

29. CBSE mandated board exams for Class 10 (Relevant for GS mains Paper II)

Board exams for 10th standard, now a compulsary norm:

Board exams for Class X are set to become compulsory for all Central Board of Secondary

Education students from as the CBSE s governing body unanimously approved a proposal in this regard.

The decision will now have to be approved by the government before it is implemented.

Current status:

Currently, it is optional for CBSE students. They can choose between the Board exam or a

school-based examination.

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30. RSS-affiliated think tank readies Uniform Civil Code drafts (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper II)

The India Policy Foundation (IPF) headed by RSS ideologue Rakesh Sinha has also been

holding consultations since 2012, and has come up with drafts of a UCC.

Issues in drafting UCC:

Three issues which are non-uniform in personal laws — marriage, divorce and succession.

Earlier, adoption too was in this list, but after the Juvenile Justice Act, it is now not religion-

specific.

Controversy over RSS follower heading India Policy Foundation:

It is alleged that Rakesh Sinha has interest in promotion of Hindu religion and UCC may

give importance to hindu practices and specially suppress religious freedom of muslims.

What is India Policy Foundation?

India Policy Foundation (IPF) is a non-profit research institute and a registered trust, based

in New Delhi. It is an autonomous institute guided by an academic council comprising

eminent scholars and intellectuals from a wide cross-section of the Indian society. The IPF

is currently headed by Honorary Director, Prof. Rakesh Sinha, a prominent political

scientist and professor of Delhi University.

What is UCC?

Uniform civil code is the proposal to replace the personal laws based on the scriptures and

customs of each major religious community in India with a common set governing every

citizen. These laws are distinguished from public law and cover marriage, divorce,

inheritance, adoption and maintenance.

Article 44 of the Directive Principles in India sets its implementation as duty of the State. In

contemporary politics, the Bharatiya Janta Party and the Left support it while the Congress

Party and All India Muslim Personal Law Board oppose it.

Goa has a common family law, thus being the only Indian state to have a uniform civil code.

The Special Marriage Act, 1954 permits any citizen to have a civil marriage outside the

realm of any specific religious personal law.

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31. Armed forces to get parity in pay (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Armed forces granted NFU:

The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) granted armed forces Non-Functional Upgrade (NFU) in

pay and allowances in parity with civilian counterparts.

The court has directed the government to implement NFU within three months from the

date of the judgment and that arrears for the last three years be paid to petitioners. In

pronouncing the verdict, the court has dismissed the submission by the Defence Ministry

that defence services are not entitled to and do not deserve NFU.

What is NFU (Non Functional Upgrade)?

Non Functional Upgrade is the name of a scheme implemented by UPA Government, in

2008, to reward civil servants of Central Group A Civil Services, including members of the

Indian Police Service (IPS), with automatic time bound pay promotions till the Higher

Administrative Grade (HAG).

The promotion under NFU scheme is independent of organizational requirements, vacancy,

level of responsibility or span of control of a post. NFU scheme ensures that all IPS and civil

servants, at a minimum, retire at a grade equated by Government with Lt Generals, Vice

Admirals, and Air Marshals of Armed Forces. For instance, batch mates of a Secretary to the

Government of India who have not been promoted will be entitled to the same pay after a

certain time lapse.

There is no international precedent for NFU scheme which has had wide-ranging financial,

organizational, governance implications.

Background: The Sixth Pay Commission had granted NFU to most Group A officers but not the military. Since then, armed forces had been demanding a one-time notional NFU to ensure parity.

However, the Seventh Pay Commission gave a mixed verdict on it and the issue has since

been referred to the anomalies committee.

32. Passport rules changed to help single mothers, orphaned children (Direct question can be asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper II)

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Passport rules eased:

A three-member committee was formed by the Ministry of External Affairs and the

Ministry of Women and Child Development that gave the following recommendations:

1. No compulsory need of birth certificate. Applicants can submit any of the following

documents: • PAN Card, birth certificate, voter identity card, Aadhaar or driving license • Students can submit transfer certificate/school leaving certificates

2. Online passport application form now requires the applicant to provide the name of any

one among the father, mother or legal guardian.

3. No marriage certificates needed for married applicants.

4. No need to name the spouse in cases of applicants who are divorcees.

5. Orphaned children can submit a declaration from their respective orphanages while

sants can name their spiritual gurus.

Significance of changes in existing rules:

1. Reduced role of agents: The new rules will eliminate the role of non-government

agents and touts.

2. Customization: The new rules of enabling single parents to apply for passport and non-

requirement of the application to provide the name of her/his spouse in case of separated

or divorced persons etc. provides a fair degree of customization in the form filling and

other compliance procedures.

3. Simplicity: The annexures have been brought down to nine from the 15 required under

the Passport Rules, 1980.

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4. Faster Processing: Simplifying of rules ensures the faster processing and delivery of

passports.

33. Land of religious body can be acquired: HC (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Allahabad High Court decision to acquire religious land for public purpose:

The Allahabad High Court has ruled that a land belonging to a religious body can be acquired for a public purpose while asking the Church of North India Association and NHAI to work out modality for demolition or shifting of a church for construction of a six-lane road.

Background:

Church of North India Association filed a plea, which had challenged an August 17, 2012,

notification by which four plots of land were acquired in Firozabad district for construction

of a by-pass connecting Agra with Etawah.

Petition filed for the violation of fundamental rights:

1. The association had moved the court contending that the impugned notification hurts the sentiments and religious conscience of the Christian community which violated the right to freedom of religion and the freedom to manage religious affairs guaranteed under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution.

2. The petitioner had also argued that the acquisition of the land violated the Place of Worship Special Provisions Act which safeguards all religious properties .

Court s Plea:

The court said that the Place of Worship (Special Provisions) Act only bars any person from converting any place of worship of any religious denomination or different religious denomination and that the provision had been introduced to see that communal harmony is not disturbed and persons of one religious community may not take on the other.

34. Need to link Aadhaar with details of voters : EC (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Why is Aadhar linking to voter details needed?

The Election Commission of India stated that there is no fool proof mechanism to verify

their identity and block duplicity and has given a mixed response to the Supreme Court on

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providing absentee voting rights, like electronic voting and proxy voting, to over 300

million domestic migrants in the country.

It said there was a need to ensure that a voter was enrolled only once in the electoral roll

by linking his Aadhaar number with the electoral detail.

Committee constituted to empower the voting rights of domestic migrants:

The top poll body had last year set up a committee to study the possibility of amending the

electoral law to empower voters who have migrated to other States within the country.

It said there was no reliable information or documentation on the number of domestic

migrants in the country. The last one on them is the 15-year-old 2001 Census data of 314.5

million.

Difficulties in assigning voting rights to domestic migrants:

1. Any provision of absentee voting rights to the loosely defined term domestic migrants would become a logistical nightmare for the Commission.

For example, they are so spread out that an election in one Assembly constituency would

mean electoral arrangements in 4,120 Assembly constituencies.

2. Besides, enforcement of Model Code of Conduct would suffer and the concept of level

playing field would get defeated with national parties having an advantage over State

parties.

. It said multiple vernacular data and varying patterns of spelling and difficulty in ascertaining the date of birth of voters had given rise to multiple entries of voters.

The Commission, however, did not totally negate the idea of providing domestic migrants

with absentee voting rights, saying it might be extended only to a small subset of migrants

who formed an identifiable and countable class of electors not delinked from their present place of registration and only temporarily absent from their place of ordinary residence.

About Absentee Ballot:

An absentee ballot is a vote cast by someone who is unable or unwilling to attend the

official polling station to which the voter is normally allocated.

Increasing the ease of access to absentee ballots is seen by many as one way to improve

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voter turnout, though some countries require that a valid reason, such as infirmity or

travel, be given before a voter can participate in an absentee ballot.

Numerous methods have been devised to facilitate this, For eg, Voting at a different polling station, Postal voting, Proxy voting, Internet voting etc.

35. Union Cabinet approves creation of Indian Enterprise Development Services (Direct Question can be asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper II)

The Union Cabinet gave its approval to the Cadre review and formation of a new service in

the name of Indian Enterprise Development Services (IEDS).

Key Facts:

1. The IEDS will be created in the Office of Development Commissioner (MSME), Ministry of

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

2. Its creation will help to strengthen the organization and to achieve the vision of Startup

India, Stand-up India and Make in India.

3. It will also enhance the capacity and efficiency of the organization and help in achieving growth in MSME sector through a focused and dedicated cadre of technical officers.

36. Madras High Court bans unauthorised Sharia courts in Tamil Nadu (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Ban on unauthorised Sharia courts:

The Madras High Court has banned all unauthorised Sharia courts in mosques across Tamil

Nadu, saying centres of worship were only to be used for religious purposes.

Reason for the judgment pronounced: The court s pronouncement came in response to a PIL filed by a non-resident Indian

mentioning that such sharia courts are operating as a court of law from mosques and dealt

largely with matrimonial disputes, even going to the extent of passing divorce orders.

Background:

Earlier in 2014, Supreme Court had refused to ban Sharia courts saying the interpretations

made by Islamic judges are not legally binding. It even held that these courts could pass

verdicts only when individuals submit to them voluntarily.

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What are sharia courts?

India's Muslims follow their own laws governing family life and other personal issues such

as marriage and divorce, with Sharia courts used to rule on such matters and mediate in

disagreements.

37. Only State can remit life sentence: SC (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

SC refrained from remitting life sentence:

The Supreme Court refrained itself from allowing any reprieve to four convicts who have

served 25 years of their life sentence for the murder of an elderly couple in Kolkata in 1991

noting that the power to grant remission is exclusively that of the State government and

not the judiciary.

A Bench of Justices acknowledged, in its recent judgment, that the convicts have suffered

incarceration for more than 25 years and, therefore, there should be a chance for remission

of further prison sentence. But the court declined to intervene, simply observing that this is a power which can be exercised by the State.

Similar instance: The judgment is in sync with the Tamil Nadu government s review petition on the question of who has the actual authority — the Centre or the State — in granting remission for life

convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

Tamil Nadu has sought a review of the Constitution Bench verdict in the high-profile case.

38. Pranab against ordinance route to amend Enemy Property Act (Question can be asked on Enemy Property Act in Prelims and Mains Paper II)

President objects to pass ordinance one after another:

The ordinance to amend the 50-year-old Enemy Property Act, was promulgated for the fifth

time, albeit with some reservations being expressed by President Pranab Mukherjee on

why the government has been unable to clear the Amendment Bill in Parliament.

Background:

The ordinance was proclaimed, for the first time, on January 7 this year. It was passed by

34


the Lok Sabha on March 9 but was subsequently referred to the Select Committee of the

Rajya Sabha.

It was re-promulgated for the second time on April 2 and a third time incorporating the

amendments suggested by the Rajya Sabha Select Committee on May 31.

Since it was to expire on August 28, the President promulgated the fourth ordinance a day

before that.

Why amendment is needed?

The Amendment Bill aims to make changes to the Enemy Property Act to guard against

claims of succession or transfer of properties left by people who migrated to Pakistan and

China after wars.

What is enemy property? Enemy property refers to any property belonging to, held or managed on behalf of an enemy, an enemy subject or an enemy firm. The government has vested these properties in

the Custodian of Enemy Property for India, under the Act in 1968, an office instituted under

the Central government.

As per the proposed amendments, once an enemy property is vested in the Custodian, it

shall continue as such, irrespective of whether the enemy, enemy subject or enemy firm has

ceased to be one due to reasons such as death.

About Enemy Property Act:

The Enemy Property Act was enacted in the year 1968 by the Government of India, which

provided for the continuous vesting of enemy property in the Custodian.

The Central Government through the Custodian of Enemy Property for India is in

possession of enemy properties spread across many states in the country.

In addition, there are also movable properties categorized as enemy properties.

The 2016 bill seeks to do the following: • The Bill amends the Enemy Property Act, 1968, to vest all rights, titles and interests

over enemy property in the Custodian for the Enemy Property for India.

• The Bill declares transfer of enemy property by the enemy, conducted under the Act, to

be void. This applies retrospectively to transfers that have occurred before or after 1968.

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• The Bill prohibits civil courts and other authorities from entertaining disputes related to

enemy property.

39. Year in Review of Kashmir front (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct question can be asked)

The year 2016 has been one of the worst in recent times for the Army in terms of casualties

in Jammu and Kashmir with major attacks on military installations and heightened tensions

along the border with Pakistan.

1. Pathankot Air base attack: It began on a bitter note with an attack on the Pathankot

Air Force station in the early hours of January 2.

2. Uri and Nagotra Attack: There were major attacks on Army bases in Uri and Nagrota

in the latter part of the year, resulting in significant casualties on security forces. There was

also a dramatic spike in cross-border firing after the Uri attack.

3. Rise in infiltration bids: With increase in infiltration attempts, the number of

terrorists killed has also gone up. Over 140 terrorists were neutralised. There was also an

upward trend in the number of suicide attacks compared with the last two years.

4. Unrest due to killing of Burhan Wani: Things took a dramatic turn particularly after

the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani in July which plunged the Kashmir

Valley into a spiral of protests and violence.

5. Active border: The ceasefire declared by India and Pakistan along the border in 2003

and which brought relative peace came under severe stress this year especially after the Uri terror attack which claimed the lives of soldiers and the resultant surgical strikes carried out by the Army along the Line of Control (LoC).

6. Increase in militant ranks: The number of terrorists in the Valley is estimated to be

somewhere around 200-300.

After Burhan Wani s killing there is a rise in radicalisation among the youth and more locals have joined militant ranks.

Statistics of loss of army personals:

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The Army lost 63 personnel in Jammu & Kashmir, almost double that of last year. In 2015,

it lost 33 personnel and in 2014, 32.

40. Suresh Kalmadi, accused in CWG scam, appointed Life President of Indian Olympic Association (Question can be asked on IOA in Prelims and GS Mains Paper II)

IOA assigned Kalmadi and Chautala lifetime presidents:

Indian Olympic Association has named Commonwealth Games scam-tainted Suresh

Kalmadi and controversial former president of the Boxing Federation of India Abhay Singh

Chautala as honorary lifetime presidents.

Implication of being a lifetime president of IOA:

A life president has no voting powers and can only attend an AGM.

About IOA (Indian Olympic Association):

The Indian Olympic Association is the body responsible for selecting athletes to represent

India at the Olympic Games, Asian Games and other international athletic meets and for

managing the Indian teams at the events.

Who is Suresh Kalmadi?

Mr Kalmadi, an MP from Pune, served as the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the

Commonwealth Games, held in India in October 2010.

Why was Mr Kalmadi in jail?

Suresh Kalmadi was given bail by the Delhi High Court in a corruption case related to the

Commonwealth Games.

He was accused of handing out a Rs. 141-crore contract to Swiss Timing for its timing

equipment - the deal was inflated by Rs. 95 crores. The Central Bureau of Investigation,

which probed the case, filed a chargesheet against Kalmadi in May 2011.

Suspension of IOA

The Indian Olympic Association was suspended by the Sports Ministry after failing to

respond to the show cause notice issued to it questioning the decision to confer life

presidency on Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Chautala.

Stand of Government

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The government has suspended the deemed recognition, granted by it to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), until the IOA reverses its decision to appoint Suresh Kalmadi

and Abhay Chautala as Life Presidents.

Both Kalmadi and Chautala have corruption cases pending against them.

Implication of suspension

Following the suspension, IOA will cease to enjoy the privileges and prerogatives bestowed

on it by the Government as the National Olympic Committee. All Government assistance,

financial or otherwise, to IOA will also be stopped.

41. Former Home Secretary Anil Baijal to be Delhi Lt Governor (Question can be asked on appointment of Lt. Governor in Prelims)

Anil Baijal to be appointed next Delhi s Governor:

Former IAS officer Anil Baijal is all set to be appointed as next Lieutenant Governor of Delhi

as President Pranab Mukherjee gave his approval.

Mr.Baijal, a 1969 batch IAS officer of U.T cadre, served as Home Secretary under the Atal

Bihari Vajpayee government.

Selection Process of the Governor:

The Governor is not elected by the process of direct or indirect voting (like the Chief

Minister, the Prime Minister or the President). The Governor of a particular state is

appointed directly by the President of India, for a period of five years.

Powers of Lt. Governor:

The Indian Constitution has bestowed similar powers and functions on the Governors and

Lt. Governors as enjoyed by the President of India. In India, the rank of Lt. Governor is

present in the Union Territories (UTs) of Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and

Puducherry.

42. Financial data management body mooted (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II)

Statutory body to standardize financial sector regulators data:

A committee set up under the Department of Economic Affairs has recommended the

creation of a statutory body that will standardise data from all financial sector regulators in

a single database and will provide analytical insights based on the data.

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Bill in Parliament is pending —the Financial Data Management Centre Bill 2016—to create

the statutory body.

Functionality of statutory body:

It shall be the duty of the Data Centre to take measures to standardise data from regulators

in consultation with the regulators, enable financial service providers to submit data in a

standardised electronic format, analyse the data and maintain a financial system database.

Powers of the proposed body:

The powers of the Financial Data Management Centre (FDMC) will include the

establishment, operation and maintenance of the financial system database along with

collecting financial regulatory data and providing access to it.

The body will also provide analytical support to the Financial Stability and Development

Council (FSDC) on issues relating to financial stability.

39


International Relations and Organisations

1. Upcoming Heart of Asia meet in Amritsar (Direct question expected in GS Prelims, Relevant for GS Mains Paper II)

What is Heart of Asia Conference?

The HoA process, supported by the wider international community, originated under the

aegis of the Istanbul Conference in November 2011, which underscored the need for

regional cooperation and confidence-building to resolve underlying problems facing

Afghanistan and anchoring the state s development in a regional environment that is stable, economically integrated and conducive to shared prosperity.

Present HoA Details:

India hosted the Heart of Asia (HoA) conference in Amritsar. It is aimed at speeding up

reconstruction in war-torn Afghanistan and bringing peace and normalcy to the nation.

It saw participation from 14 states: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan,

Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and the

United Arab Emirates.

Outcome of Heart of Asia Conference in Amritsar

View of PM Modi and Ghani

With tough statements on terror pointed at Pakistan, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani

and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urged Islamabad to end its selective approach to fighting terror groups on its soil, and end terror sanctuaries for groups that target them at the Heart of Asia summit.

Statement by Afghanistan President

As permanent co-chair of the summit, President Ghani s words were the most stinging, directly rejecting Pakistan s proposal of $ million fund for development in Afghanistan. This fund could very well be used for containing extremism because without peace, any amount of assistance will not meet the needs of our people.

President Ghani said the sharp words indicated his disappointment with Pakistan for its

refusal to shelter Taliban terrorists and take no action against them, which had led to 2015

and 2016 becoming the worst years for civilian casualties in Afghanistan.

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View of Pakistan s Foreign Afairs Adviser Pakistan s Foreign Afairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz called the attempt by India and Afghanistan to blame only Pakistan for the Afghan situation simplistic . Mr. Aziz said: The security situation in Afghanistan is very complex. It is simplistic to blame only one country for the recent upsurge in violence. We need to have an objective and holistic view, Support from Russia to Pakistan Pakistan received unexpected support from the Russian delegation at the conference. I am sure President Ghani had strong reasons to do so, but I don t think the HoA is the right place for settling scores, Russia s special envoy on Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov told presspersons after the session.

2. U.S. for closer defence ties with India (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II)

National Defence Authorisation Act of US

The National Defence Authorisation Act 2017 is scheduled to be passed by the U.S Congress seeks executive action to recognise India s status as a major defence partner of the United

States and strong action by Pakistan on terrorism.

Draft bill details

1. India –US future defence relationship

The draft bill released said technology transfer to India and defence cooperation must be consistent with United States conventional arms transfer policy.

A move supported by a pro-India group to designate India a major non-NATO ally in the bill was abandoned earlier this year after it failed to garner enough support among

powerful members of the Congress.

The U.S has already recognised India as a major defence partner in June, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi s visit, but the implications of it remains undefined.

2. Pak must act against Haqqani

The new law will tighten the screws on Pakistan to take more credible action against the

Haqqani terror network. The text proposes to tie $400 million of the total $900 million in

coalition support funds for Pakistan for 2017 to a certification by Secretary of Defence. In

2016, the amount was $300 million, which was not released after Secretary Ash Carter

refused to certify in favour of Pakistan.

The law will require the Defence Secretary to certify, among other things, that, Pakistan

41


has taken steps to demonstrate its commitment to prevent the Haqqani Network from using any Pakistani territory as a safe haven and has shown progress in arresting and prosecuting Haqqani Network senior leaders and mid-level operatives.

3. India to train Vietnam s Sukhoi fighter pilots (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II)

In a further boost to its growing defence ties with Vietnam, India has agreed to train the southeast nation s Sukhoi-30 fighter pilots.

China factor

India and Vietnam have been steadily stepping up their cooperation, especially in the

defence sector, against the backdrop of the growing assertiveness of China in the region.

Factors facilitating defence cooperation

1. Both India and Vietnam operate Russian Su- jets and the two countries models differ slightly in their configuration.

2. India already trains Vietnamese sailors in operating Kilo class submarines, which Hanoi

had begun inducting since January 2014. India operates over 200 Su-30MKI fighters and

nine Kilo-class diesel electric submarines.

4. State of Chakmas in India (Direct Question can be asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper II)

On August 16, 1947, Lord Louis Mountbatten announced the Boundary Commission Award.

The Chittagong Hill Tracts, a deeply forested, mountainous, area bordering Tripura,

Mizoram and Myanmar, with a majority Buddhist population (about 97 per cent), was

awarded to Pakistan, with the logic that the area was inaccessible to India and would

provide a rural hinterland to Chittagong.

In 1962, the Pakistani government imposed further misery on the Chakmas by building the

Kaptai dam. Approximately 40,000 Chakma tribals, who had lost their homes and farmland

due to flooding, emigrated to India as refugees. Despite opting for India during the

Partition, the Chakmas were routinely ignored, then and now and have faced atrocities

from locals.

Who are Chakma people?

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The Chakma, also known as the Daingnet people, is an ethnic group concentrated in the

Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. Today, the geographic distribution of Chakmas is

spread across Bangladesh and parts of northeastern India and western Burma.

Within the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the Chakma are the largest ethnic group and make up

half of the region's population. The Chakma profess Theravada Buddhism. The community

is headed by the Chakma Raja.

5. Kolkata-Mizoram trade route to open via Myanmar (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper II) A deep water port built in Myanmar s Sittwe on the Bay of Bengal by India is ready to be commissioned.

About Sittwe Port

Sittwe is the capital of Rakhine State (which has been in the news for the plight of Rohingya

Muslims) in south-western Myanmar. It is located at the mouth of the Kaladan river, which

flows into Mizoram in north-eastern India.

Construction of the sea port is the first phase of an integrated $500-million project being

funded by a long-term interest-free loan provided by India. Dredging of the river and inland

water terminals are included in the plan.

The strategic advantage would be that it would significantly lower the cost and distance of

movement from Kolkata to Mizoram and beyond. Once shipments arrive at Sittwe, they will

be transferred to smaller freight carriers which would sail upstream into Mizoram.

Other Points of Contacts

Also on the anvil are 10 border haat points to facilitate local economic activity between

Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Myanmar.

Meanwhile, Myanmar Airways International has just supplemented Air India s twice weekly service between Yangon and Kolkata to double the direct flights between the two

cities.

Present access to North-East

India has for years sought transit access through Bangladesh to ship goods to the

landlocked north-eastern States. At present, the only route to this region from the rest of

43


India is a rather circuitous one through a narrow strip of Indian territory nicknamed the Chicken s Neck in West Bengal, sandwiched between Bhutan and Bangladesh.

6. Recent Escalations in US- China Relations (Question can be asked in Prelims and Mains Paper II on One China Policy

Seizure of underwater American drone in South China Sea:

The seizure of an American underwater drone in the international waters of the South

China Sea by the Chinese Navy marks the latest flashpoint in bilateral relations that have

entered uncharted territory with the election of Donald Trump as U.S. President. Though it

is not clear if the capture of the drone, which China agreed to return later, was a junior-

level act by sailors or a strategic move directed by Beijing.

Issue of Taiwan:

Mr. Trump accepted a congratulatory call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, a move

that invited an angry response from China, which sees Taiwan as a breakaway province.

It is alleged that Mr. Trump escalated matters by questioning the One- China policy.

One China Policy

The One-China policy refers to the policy or view that there is only one state called "China",

despite the existence of two governments that claim to be "China". As a policy, this means

that countries seeking diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC,

Mainland China) must break official relations with the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) and

vice versa.

The One China policy is also different from the "One China principle", which is the principle

that insists both Taiwan and mainland China are inalienable parts of a single "China".

China foreign Ministry response to Trump s statement China s Foreign Ministry warned that any change in the U.S. s one-China policy will impair ties between Beijing and Washington. Upholding the one China principle is the political basis for developing China-U.S. ties.

Trump s statement

In an interview on Fox News by President-elect Donald Trump, where he questioned the U.S. s persistence with the one-China policy, unless there were concessions from Beijing on

trade and other issues.

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He also blamed China for devaluing its currency, and not cooperating with Washington on

North Korea and the South China Sea.

The one-China policy underscores recognition of China s sovereignty over Taiwan — a

position that has been held by the U.S. since 1979.

7. India, Indonesia resolve to fight terror (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Indo- Indonesia common stand . India and Indonesia, the world s most populous Muslim nation, decided to expand their defence and maritime security ties and resolved to deal with terrorism.

2. During the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesian President Joko

Widodo, the two countries, among the very few fast-growing large economies, also decided

to boost trade and investment in the areas of oil and gas, renewable energy, information

technology and pharmaceuticals.

3. The issue of South China Sea figured prominently. In a veiled message to Beijing, both

sides said the dispute must be resolved through peaceful means.

The issues were discussed at meet in New Delhi between Indian PM and Indonesian

President.

Importance of Indonesia to India

Indonesia is a most populous muslim nation of the world. It shares value of secularism with

India. Thus, it stands in opposition to nations which have adopted Islam as state religion

such as Pakistan.

8. Venezuela warns about cybercrime (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Venezuela undergone demonetization too warned about cyber-attacks:

Venezuela, which like India has withdrawn its highest currency note from the market, has

cautioned about cyber-crimes that target digital economy.

Relevance of the warning:

45


Venezuela has the highest per head web connectivity in Latin America and could have gone

for digital economy. But several cyber-attacks have shown that the digital economy is in

fact far more vulnerable to cyber-attacks than real currency transactions. Venezuela s telecom and banking sectors suffered a series of cyber-attacks in 2016, which has

prompted the government to stick to currency-based economy.

Since India shares the same scenario of switching to digitalisation, it must consider the

potential risks assosiated with it and come up with the solutions to overcome its impact.

Reason behind the demonetization in Venezuela:

The recall of 100 Bolivar notes is aimed at neutralising the mafia networks based in

Colombia and supported by Brazil and the United States who want to destabilise Venezuela

financially and politically.

9. Qatar abolishes kafala labour system (Direct question can be asked on Kafala system in Prelims and GS Mains Paper II

Qatar defunct Kafala System: Qatar s Labour Minister said the kafala rules would be abolished from December . He said a contract-based system to govern the gas-rich Gulf emirate s . million foreign workers would take its place.

What is Kafala system? Under kafala , all foreign workers working in Qatar require a local sponsor, in the form of

an individual or company, and need their permission to switch jobs or leave the country.

The system was compared to modern-day slavery and left vulnerable workers with little

protection and open to abuse.

Implication of abolition of Kafala System:

1. Freedom of movement is guaranteed under the new rules including giving workers the

right to change jobs. Any worker mistreated will automatically be allowed to change jobs.

2. The exit visa formally needed to leave the country under kafala will be abolished, although workers will still need their employers' permission to go home.

An appeals committee has been established for expats who are denied permission to leave.

46


10. Issue of Rohingyas (Direct question can be asked in Prelims and GS mains Paper II)

Massacre in Myanmar over Rohingyas:

Since October 9, when soldiers poured into Rakhine, over 130 Rohingyas have been killed

and dozens of buildings in their villages torched. The United Nations estimates that 30,000

Rohingyas have been displaced by the ongoing violence in Rakhine.

According to analysis of satellite images from Human Rights Watch, more than 1,000

houses in Rohingya villages have been razed in northwestern Myanmar. Bangladesh has

provided food and shelter to around 30,000 documented Rohingyas.

Commission constituted to study the Rohingyas issue: Assuming office as the State Counsellor of Myanmar after her party s landslide victory in 2015, Ms. Suu Kyi initiated the formation of an independent and representative advisory commission led by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to seek lasting solutions to the Rohingya crisis.

This was the first time any concrete initiative was undertaken by the Myanmar authorities

after the 2012 Rakhine State riots between the Rakhine Buddhist majority and the

Rohingya Muslim minority.

Provisions of Burma Citizenship law denying citizenship to Rohingyas:

Since the enactment of the 1982 Burma Citizenship Law, which effectively denies to the

Rohingyas the possibility of acquiring a nationality, the 1.33 million Rohingyas have led

perilous and uncertain lives and have migrated in large numbers to safer places.

Who are Rohingyas?

Rohingyas are members of Muslim community inhabiting western Burma (Myanmar). The

UNHCR estimates 800,000 Rohingya live in Burma's mountainous Rakhine state. The

Rohingyas are immigrants from Bangladesh, some of whom have stayed in Myanmar over

generations.

11. Myanmar resented Indian claims of hot pursuit in its territory (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

View of Myanmar Government

47


. Myanmar deeply resented the Narendra Modi government boasting in June last year that Indian troops had entered its territory in hot pursuit of secessionists in Manipur and

Nagaland, a government official said on condition of anonymity.

2. The Myanmar Army (known as Tatmadaw) was of the view a group photo of Indian

soldiers said to have been taken inside Myanmar had flora and fauna in the background

that did not match with those in areas bordering Manipur.

An editor of a newspaper said the Myanmar government conveyed the same opinion to his publication. The then President Thein Sein s office cryptically commented we have learnt that the military operation was performed on the Indian side of the border .

3. Cross-border operations were not unknown under previous government in Delhi, but not

advertised in order to avoid embarrassing Myanmar.

Background

In the episode concerned, the Indian Army suffered a heavy ambush by armed separatists

in Manipur. At least 18 soldiers were killed, following which the rebels fled to neighbouring

Myanmar. A few days later, Indian parachute commandos in helicopters reportedly carried

out a cross border raid, in course of which, the Defence Ministry maintained, around 40

rebels were taken out.

Neutral view

There is a consensus that Indian jawans did enter Myanmar. What local inhabitants doubt,

though, is the amount of damage inflicted by them. Nearby villagers told rights activists

that there was heavy bombardment and the rebel camps were destroyed, but there was no evidence of significant casualties .

12. Tajikistan, India step up security ties (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Highlights:

1. Tajikistan and India signed an agreement against terror financing and money laundering.

2. Tajikistan extended support to India s candidature for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and India s bid for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council.

3. Both sides also signed agreements on bilateral investment and avoidance of double

taxation.

48


The two sides indicated that relationship was expected to deepen in 2017, which would mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

13. India, Kyrgyzstan seek a global pact against terror (Question can be asked on CCIT and Khanjar exercise in prelims)

Highlights of Kyrgyzstan President, Almazbek Atambayev visit to India:

Following a bilateral summit at Hyderabad House:

1. The delegations finalised plans to hold the annual joint military exercises named Khanjar-IV in February-March. The Khanjar-II exercises were held in March in Kyrgyzstan and Khanjar-III in March-April 2016 in Gwalior.

2. The visiting delegation also welcomed India s proposal for training Kyrgyz forces for U.N. peacekeeping assignments.

3. Both sides reiterated the demand for global counter-terror norms to fight terrorism in

Asia, and called for the adoption by the United Nations of the draft Comprehensive

Convention on Combating International Terrorism.

What is CCIT?

The Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism is a proposed treaty which

intends to criminalize all forms of international terrorism and deny terrorists, their

financiers and supporters access to funds, arms, and safe havens.

The negotiations for this treaty are currently under way has been under negotiation at the

United Nations General Assembly's on Terrorism and the United Nations General Assembly

Sixth Committee (Legal). The negotiations are currently deadlocked.

14. Terror Attack in Berlin, claimed by IS (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

IS Terror attack in Berlin:

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a truck attack on a crowded Berlin

Christmas market that left 12 people dead and nearly 50 injured. IS said in a statement that the attacker in Berlin is a soldier of the Islamic State and carried out the attack in response to calls for targeting citizens of the Crusader coalition .

Reason stated for the attack:

Germany is not involved in anti-IS combat operations, but has Tornado jets and a refueling

plane stationed in Turkey in support of the coalition fighting militants in Syria, as well as a

frigate protecting a French aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean, among other assets.

49


About the incident:

Witnesses saw only one man flee from the truck after it rammed into the crowd at the

Christmas market, smashing wooden stalls and travelling 60 to 80 metres before coming to

a halt.

Criticism of Chancellor of Germany:

Ms. Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, has been criticised for allowing in huge numbers of

migrants last year, addressed head-on the possibility that an asylum-seeker was

responsible for the carnage.

15. Nepal to hold military exercise with China (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II)

Nepal to hold first ever military exercise with China:

Nepal will hold its first ever joint military exercise with China on February 10. The focus of

the military exercise, named Pratikar-1, will be on training Nepali forces in dealing with

hostage scenarios involving international terror groups. Nepal has conducted exercises

with India earlier.

No repercussions on India:

Analysts say that though the military drill with China does not violate the 1950 India-Nepal

treaty of peace and friendship, it does appear unconventional.

India-Nepal treaty of peace and friendship:

The 1950 India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship (official name Treaty of Peace and

Friendship Between The Government of India and The Government of Nepal) is a bilateral

treaty between Nepal and India establishing a close strategic relationship between the two

South Asian neighbours. The treaty was signed at Kathmandu on 31 July 1950.

The treaty allows free movement of people and goods between the two nations and a close

relationship and collaboration on matters of defense and foreign policy. Under this treaty,

Nepal is required to consult India to make defence purchases.

The present government in Nepal headed by Prachanda demands deletion of provisions

relating to defence and foreign policy from this treaty.

50


16. Hong Kong revokes visa-free entry to Indians (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Hong Kong altered visa norm for Indians:

Hong Kong, which used to be part of a block of countries that gave Indians unconditional

visa-free entry, has introduced pre-registration for Indian nationals to prevent illegal immigration.

Previous Provisions:

Under the previous visa agreement, Indian visitors could visit the Hong Kong Special

Administrative Region for 14 days without visa requirements.

Reason behind alteration of the visa norms:

Overstaying Indian nationals violating visa norms prompted Hong Kong, a China-

administered territory, to alter its visa agreement with India.

17. UNSC passes resolution admonishing Israel s illegal settlements (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

UNSC passed a resolution against Israel:

The UN Security Council passed a resolution with a 14-0 majority urging Israel to halt its

illegal settlements programme in the occupied Palestinian territories.

US abstains from voting: The vote is notable as Israel s pre-eminent backer, the United States, chose to abstain. It

will be difficult for the Trump administration to have this resolution overturned, passed as

it was without a veto.

Gravity of the resolution:

The resolution, by way of its adoption under Chapter 6 of the UN Charter, is not binding

and comes only with recommendations.

It therefore does not affect the status quo in the occupied territories. Even so, its

unambiguous language stating that the settlements constitute a violation of international

law offers hope for the Palestinians who have filed a suit (that includes the construction of

settlements) against Israel in the International Criminal Court.

51


Israel s reaction:

It has refused to comply with the terms of the resolution. This outrageous behaviour has

been made possible by the unrelenting support provided by the U.S. in the past.

US-Israel Relations:

While Mr. Obama has had a testy relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu, his administration continued to fund and arm Israel.

The U.S. had also recently worked out a deal that provides $38 billion in military aid over 10 years to Israel, cementing long-established strategic ties. Seen in this light, the administration s decision to abstain in the most substantive resolution on Israeli settlements since 1980 is even more remarkable.

18. 5th India-Arab partnership conference held in Muscat, Oman(Direct question can be asked in Prelims)

India-Arab Partnership Conference, Oman:

The fifth edition of the India-Arab Partnership Conference was held in Muscat, Oman from

December 14 to 15, 2016. It was organised by the Oman Foreign Ministry, Arab League

Secretariat in association with the Union Ministry of External Affairs of India.

Key Facts:

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The aim of the conferences was to enhance flow of investments from both sides, accelerate

the investment projects of prioritized sectors, provide conducive environment for export

promotion. Around 500 representatives including from the Arab League and Indian

government officials, businessmen, investors and academicians participated in the

conference.

19. Nepal rejects India s open sky offer Question can be asked on Open Sky Offer in Prelims, Relevant for GS Mains paper II as well

Open sky offer rejected by Nepal: Nepal has rejected India s open sky offer to allow unlimited flights between the two countries.

What is open sky offer?

Open Sky Policy: Open sky refers to an agreement between two countries to allow any

number of airlines to fly from either of them without any restriction on number of flights,

number of destinations, number of seats, price and so on.

Why India is interested in engaging with Nepal via Open Sky Policy: India has been keen on countering Nepal s recent engagement with China on the road, railways and port connectivity.

Current Status:

Airlines from India and Nepal are now allowed to operate 30,000 seats from each side.

Nepal has long been pushing for new airspaces to ease congestion on the existing routes

and to save time and cost for air passengers.

India and Nepal signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a joint technical committee to examine Nepal s request for developing new air routes.

India s Open sky agreement with other nations:

The latest development comes days after India signed an agreement with Sri Lanka,

Jamaica, Guyana, Czech Republic, Finland and Spain to allow airlines to operate unlimited

flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

Among SAARC countries, India doesn t have any open sky agreement with Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan. It allows unlimited flights from Bangladesh and Maldives at 18 domestic

airports, from Sri Lanka at 23 airports, and from Bhutan at all its airports.

53


20. Sharif inaugurates China-backed n-power plant (Question can be asked in Prelims)

Power-starved Pakistan received a major boost as a China-backed 340 MW nuclear power

plant in its Punjab Province was inaugurated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Status of Nuclear Plants in Pakistan:

The fourth nuclear plant Chashma-III is located at Chashma where another plant, Chashma-

IV, is also being built. Mr. Sharif expressed confidence that Chashma-IV nuclear power plant

would also become operational before its deadline of mid next year.

Chashma-II and Chashma-III power plants are the most efficient plants in the country, providing more than MW of electricity to the national grid. Pakistan s first nuclear plant was supplied by Canada in 1972.

Target of nuclear energy:

8,800 MW of nuclear energy by 2030.

21. Cabinet s gives nod for International Solar Alliance pact (Direct question on International Solar Alliance can be asked in Prelims and GS mains Paper II and III)

Cabinet approved Solar Alliance pact:

The Union Cabinet gave its ex-post facto approval to the proposal of the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy for the ratification of the International Solar Alliance s framework agreement by India.

About ISA (International Solar Alliance):

The International Solar Alliance is an alliance of more than 120 countries, which come

either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The

alliance's primary objective is work for efficient exploitation of solar energy to reduce

dependence on fossil fuels.

The initiative was launched by Modi at the India Africa Summit, and a meeting of member

countries ahead of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in

November 2015. The alliance is a treaty-based inter-governmental organization.

The Framework Agreement of the International Solar Alliance opened for signatures in

Marrakech, Morocco in November 2016, and 121 countries have joined.

54


22. Ceasefire deal in Syria (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

New ceasefire deal in Syria

The ceasefire reached between Syria s government and Opposition, with the mediation of Turkey, Russia and Iran, could be a turning point in the country s civil war.

Unlike the two previous failed ceasefires this year — which were negotiated between

Russia and the U.S. — the latest one is sponsored by countries directly involved in the

conflict.

Chances for deal to be implemented

1. View of Syrian Government

For the Syrian government, this is an opportunity to announce it is ready for a peaceful

settlement. Though President Bashar al-Assad has repeatedly claimed that he would retake

the entire territory from the rebels, a military solution appears to be illusory. A prolonged

conflict will exhaust the regime forces further and multiply the humanitarian costs.

On the other side, after the victory in Aleppo, the regime could now negotiate with the

rebels from a position of strength.

2. View of rebels

For the rebels, the momentum is gone. Their support is limited to certain parts such as

Idlib, Daraa and the outskirts of Damascus. The question they face is whether they should

continue fighting a never-ending war of attrition or seek to gain leverage from whatever

military influence they are left with.

3. View of Russia

By promoting a negotiated deal, it could retain its core interests in Syria while at the same

time projecting itself as a power broker in West Asia.

4. View of Turkey

Turkey wants to limit the spillover effects of the war on its soil and stop Kurdish rebels

from capitalising on the chaos in Syria. This explains why Turkey and Russia have come

together now despite their bitter relations last year.

55


Challenges

But these objective conditions alone may not produce sustainable peace.

1. It is still not clear which rebel groups have agreed to the ceasefire. Turkey supports

only some of the rebel groups, while several other groups get support from Gulf

monarchies.

2. There are jihadist elements as well in the Opposition, such as Fateh al-Sham, that could

play the spoiler by carrying out attacks on government positions.

3. Besides, the Kurdish question remains unaddressed. If Kurds are invited for talks,

Turkey might withdraw its support for the peace process. Way forward For now, however, if the ceasefire holds at least till next month s Astana summit of the related parties, it could be a new beginning for Syria.

23. Russia announces plans to expel 35 American diplomats (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Russia has announced plans to expel 35 American diplomats from the country in a tit-for-

tat response to a similar move by United States of America. Earlier US President Barack

Obama had ordered the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats (suspected as spies) and

imposed sanctions on two Russian intelligence agencies over their involvement in hacking

US political groups in the 2016 presidential election. The US sanctions has also closed two

Russian compounds in New York and Maryland cititng reason that they were used by Russian personnel for intelligence-related purposes

56


Economy

1. Criticism of demonetisation (Relevant for Prelims and GS Mains Paper III) . More than per cent of India s workforce still earn their wages in cash. These consist of hundreds of millions of agriculture workers, construction workers and so on. While the

number of bank branches in rural areas have nearly doubled since 2001, there are still

more than 600 million Indians who live in a town or village with no bank.

2. The vast majority of Indians earn in cash, transact in cash and save in cash, all

legitimately. It is the fundamental duty of a democratically elected government in any

sovereign nation to protect the rights and livelihood of its citizens.

3. Black money in India is a genuine concern. This is wealth that has been accumulated over

years by those with unaccounted sources of income. Unlike the poor, holders of black

money have access to various forms of wealth such as land, gold, foreign exchange, etc.

Evidence from these past attempts has shown that a large majority of this unaccounted

wealth is not stored in the form of cash. All black money is not in cash, only a tiny fraction

is. 4. The government has actually made it easier to generate such unaccounted wealth in the future by the introduction of a Rs.2,000 note. 5. It is no surprise that the logistical challenge of replacing billions of old currency notes with new ones is a monumental one. It is a huge challenge in most nations, and in a country as vast and diverse as India it was bound to be doubly so. This is also one reason why most nations that have undertaken such currency swap operations have done so over a certain time period and not as a sudden overnight operation. 6. It is heartbreaking to see and hear of millions of poor Indians standing in long lines to withdraw some money for basic sustenance. 7. The macroeconomic impact of this decision of the government is likely to be hazardous. At a time when India s trade numbers are at multi-year lows, industrial production is shrinking and job creation is anaemic, this policy can act as a negative shock to the economy. This can have ripple effects on GDP growth and job creation.

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2. Demonetisation exercise impact deflationary shock (Relevant for Prelims and GS Mains Paper III)

Demonetisation resulted sharp decline in inflation rates:

The deflationary shock has manifested itself in a deceleration in retail inflation, as demand

for a range of goods and services has been damped.

That the headline Consumer Price Index-based gauge hit a two-year low of 3.63 per cent for

November is therefore no surprise, especially given the additional factor of a favourable

base effect — the reading was 5.41 per cent in November 2015.

What is Base Effect?

The base in Base effect refers to Initial value or Base value. Base effect is used to calculate

the inflation in the present year in relation to the prices in the corresponding period of

previous year.

3. Govt. to hold lucky draws to boost digital transactions (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Luck draws to promote cashless payments

In a bid to promote cashless economy, the NITI Aayog proposed organising weekly lucky

draws for all consumers and merchants using digital modes of payments with a focus on poor, lower middle class and small businesses .

The budget for this scheme, according to official sources, is likely to be about Rs. 125 crore.

The NITI Aayog assured that all those who have used digital payment systems after

November 8 will be eligible to participate in the scheme.

4. Discounts offered on digital transactions (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Benefits offered for digital payments

1. Digital payments for petrol and diesel at government-run petrol pumps will get a

discount of 0.75 per cent.

2. Service tax, on digital transactions of up to Rs. 2,000, would also be waived.

3. Also, those who make digital payments to buy general insurance from public sector

58


companies will get a 10 per cent discount, and those buying life insurance will get an 8 per

cent discount.

4. All suburban rail travellers will get a 0.5 per cent discount on the purchase of monthly or

seasonal passes using digital payments from January 1.

5. Regional rural banks and cooperative banks would issue Rupay debit cards to all 4.32

crore farmers with kisan credit cards to enable them to make digital transactions.

6. Travellers paying for railway catering, accommodation and retiring room facilities

electronically would get a 5 per cent discount.

7. The Central government departments and central public sector undertakings will ensure

that transaction fee or MDR (merchant discount rate) charges associated with payments

through digital means shall not be passed on to the consumers and all such expenses shall

be borne by them.

5. Centre to fund digital discounts (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Centre to bear the cost of incentives given on digital payments:

The Centre has decided to bear the burden imposed on public sector firms on account of

the many discounts and incentives offered to promote digital payments.

The plan is to create a new expenditure head in the exchequer s accounts that will absorb the costs of such measures. Public sector insurers, oil-marketing firms and others will thus not take a hit on their books for the Centre s cashless push.

The government has offered many discounts on transaction charges and merchant discount

rates that accompany payments using cards or online last week.

More measures for encouraging the digital payments:

Apart from it, other measures were being put in place to enable a cashless transactions

ecosystem.

1. All government organisations, public sector undertakings and authorities have been

advised to review rules and regulations to support digital payments, adopt payment-

related solutions and absorb transaction fees and activate payments facility through the Pay Gov India if they have such a facility.

59


2. All geographical areas across the country have been mapped with banks/bank mitras and dark/grey spots where there are no banks or even banking correspondents identified.

3. The possibility of providing connectivity through VSAT is also being considered and

other means on a priority basis.

4. A non-tax receipt portal, bharakosh.gov.in, has been developed to enable users to make

non-tax payments to the government for 237 categories including spectrum charges, RTI

application fees, and purchase forms online, without going to either a bank or a

government office.

5. Mobile banking through interoperable automatic teller machines (ATM) has been

launched, 81,000 ATMs or 12 banks are already live and another 15,000 machines are

expected to go live shortly.

6. All 5.5 lakh fair price shops run by the government are being equipped with micro

ATMs/PoS terminals, which will enable them to undertake digital payment transactions or

even be banking correspondents.

7. A standardised, interoperable multi-purpose, multimodal National Common Mobility

card is being developed for smart cities and is ready for testing on a pilot basis.

While many of these measures had been announced by Finance Minister last week, more

formalisation of, or structures around, a cashless ecosystem seems to be taking place

within the government machinery.

6. Suspicious post demonestisation transactions under ED scanner (Question can be asked on Shell Companies in Prelims and GS Mains Paper III)

Suspicious post-demonetisation transactions running to hundreds of crores of rupees,

including online fund transfers, have come under the scanner of the Enforcement

Directorate.

In this connection, the agency has also zeroed in on a large number of shell companies in

whose accounts the funds were transferred after the deposits.

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About Shell Companies

A shell corporation is a company which serves as a vehicle for business transactions

without itself having any significant assets or operations.

Some shell companies may have had operations, but those may have shrunk due to

unfavorable market conditions or company mismanagement. A shell corporation may also

arise when a company's operations have been wound up, for example following a takeover, but the shell of the original company continues to exist.

Shell corporations are not in themselves illegal, and they do have legitimate business

purposes. However, they are a main component of the underground economy, especially

those based in tax havens. Shell companies can also be used for tax avoidance.

About Enforcement Directorate

The Directorate General of Economic Enforcement is a law enforcement agency and

economic intelligence agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting

economic crime in India. It is part of the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.

The prime objective of the Enforcement Directorate is the enforcement of two key Acts of

the Government of India namely, the Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 (FEMA) and

the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (PMLA)

7. Cap on Jan Dhan withdrawal (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

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RBI limits cash withdrawals from Jan Dhan Accounts:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to limit cash withdrawals from Jan Dhan

accounts at Rs. 10,000 per month to avoid misuse. While full KYC-compliant account

holders can withdraw Rs. 10,000 in a month, partial KYC-compliant account holders can

withdraw only Rs. 5,000.

Following the withdrawal of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 denomination currency notes, regular

account holders are allowed to withdraw Rs. 24,000 per week.

Motive behind restricting the withdrawals:

There has been a surge of deposits in Jan Dhan accounts following the withdrawal which

came into effect from the midnight of November 9.

What are Jhan Dhan Accounts?

Jan Dhan Accounts were opened by various banks under PM Jan Dhan Yojana. The accounte

were opened with the objective of enhancing financial services. The services offered were:

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1. Opening of account with zero balance

2. Minimum identification documents for opening account such as Aadhar card. 3. The scheme provide life cover of Rs. 30,000/- payable on death of the beneficiary,

subject to fulfillment of the eligibility condition. 4. After satisfactory operation of the account for 6 months, an overdraft facility will be

permitted

5. A debit card with each account.

8. 3 CMs opt out of digitisation panel (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Only Chandrababu Naidu and Shivraj Singh Chauhan will remain members. Bihar s Nitish Kumar, Tripura s Manik Sarkar and Puducherry s V. Narayanasamy have refused the Narendra Modi government s invitation to join a sub-committee of Chief Ministers. Reasons for opting out: These Chief Ministers belonging to opposing party do not support government s move of demonetisation. About Digitisation Panel The panel is tasked with suggesting possible ways to ease problems in the wake of the Centre s decision to promote digitization and cashless transactions.

9. Tax on Gold (Direct question can be asked in Prelims)

Taxation of Gold would be covered under Taxation laws (Second Amendment) Bill,

2016:

The government decided that all gold jewellery will now be taxed under the Taxation Laws

(Second Amendment) Bill, 2016, passed by the Lok Sabha.

Govt. declared following categories of gold tax free:

The gold exempted from tax ranges from: 1. Gold jewellery amounting to 500 gm per married woman 2. Gold jewellery amounting to 250 gm per unmarried woman 3. Gold jewellery amounting to 100 gm per male member of a family 4. Gold jewellery received through inheritance. 5. Gold jewellery bought through disclosed income.

However, the instruction highlighted by the Finance Ministry emphasises the discretion of

63


the assessing officer in such cases. The officer may decide to exclude a larger quantity of jewellery from seizure after considering the family s status, and its custom and practices.

10. Double counting of deposits ruled out (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Bankers of apex bank denied the possibility of double counting:

Bankers and former central bank officials assert there is virtually no scope for the figures

on deposits of withdrawn high-value banknotes released by the Reserve Bank of India to be inaccurate on account of double counting .

RBI only looks at the currency chest data and the notes that were deposited at the RBI

counters.

Background:

Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das had flagged the possibility that the Rs.12.44

lakh crore figure reported by the central bank could be higher than the actual amount of

withdrawn currency deposited with the banking system since the November 8

demonetisation announcement due to double counting.

Data verification: Specified Bank Notes SBNs of Rs. and Rs. , returned to RBI and currency chests amounted to Rs. . lakh crore as of December , , R. Gandhi, Deputy Governor of the RBI, had said on December 13.

What are Currency chests?

To facilitate the distribution of banknotes and rupee coins, the Reserve Bank has

authorised select branches of scheduled banks to establish Currency Chests. These are

actually storehouses where banknotes and rupee coins are stocked on behalf of the Reserve

Bank.

Possibility of double counting:

The possibility that double counting may have taken place is suggested by some

economists who have said that some banks, which do not have their own currency chest,

may have deposited the withdrawn notes in a chest of another bank. This in turn could

have led to both, the bank making the deposit and the bank tallying the deposits made at

the chest, reporting the same figures separately to the central bank, they claim. There are

64


many banks, particularly private sector and cooperative banks that do not have their own

currency chests.

Background:

As on November 8, the value of banknotes that ceased to be legal tender from the next day

was Rs.15.44 lakh crore, according to the government. Banks had started to accept deposits

of these notes from the public from November 10. The Centre had expected Rs.10 lakh crore to come back into the banking system, as per the Attorney General s submission to the Supreme Court last month.

11. Illegal exchange of old currency with new currency (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Hoarding of new currency and gold:

Investigations into the hoarding of new currency notes in the denomination of Rs.2,000

have implicated not only mining barons and contractors, but also government officials and

politicians.

Recent searches in the residence and office premises of Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary P. Rama

Mohana Rao (who has since been replaced) leading to the seizure of loads of cash and gold

prove to this point.

Who is behind exchange of currency?

It is now clear that in the first few days after the demonetisation announcement, when

government-imposed limits on withdrawals were in force, and people were queuing up

before banks, several unscrupulous officials of both public sector and private banks

conspired to convert demonetised notes to benefit black marketers and corrupt public

servants.

12. Ordinance to end RBI s liability (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Ordinance promulgated to remove the liabilities of RBI:

The Union Cabinet approved the promulgation of an ordinance to help extinguish the Reserve Bank of India s liability towards currency notes of Rs. and Rs. , , which were withdrawn on November 8.

Details:

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The government had set December 31, 2016 as the deadline for depositing into banks these

currency notes.

After that date, those still holding such notes would be able to deposit them at the RBI up to

March 31, along with an explanation as to why they failed to deposit the notes earlier.

Need of ordinance:

Under Section 26 of the RBI Act, there is an obligation of payment of legal tender by the

central bank. Now, old Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 have ceased to be legal tender but the legal

obligation on RBI also needs to be relieved.

13. I-T Act change to help small firms move to e-payment (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Centre amends IT tax provisions:

The Centre will amend the Income Tax Act in Budget 2017 to reduce the rate of deemed

profit from 8 to 6 per cent for small firms with a turnover of less than Rs.2 crore who

receive their payments electronically.

Current Provisions:

Under the existing provisions of section 44AD of the Income-tax Act, 1961, in case of

certain assessees (i.e. an individual, HUF or a partnership firm other than LLP) carrying on

any business (other than transportation, agency, brokerage and commission) and having a

turnover of Rs.2 crore or less, the profit is deemed to be eight per cent of the total turnover.

There is a provision under the Income Tax Act for small business and service providers If a business has a turnover of less than Rs.2 crore, it is not required to maintain books of

account.

In such cases, the Income Tax Department takes into account a deemed profit of eight per

cent for tax purposes. The tax is computed on this eight per cent. This change does not

apply to service providers.

Reduction is applicable on electronic transactions only:

The statement clarified that this reduction in the rate of deemed profit would apply only to

the revenue generated from electronic transactions with the rate remaining unchanged for

revenue from cash receipts. But what about people who have both cash income and

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electronic income? The Department will have to apply two different percentages on these

companies.

14. RBI sets one-time limit for big deposits of old notes (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

RBI puts limitations on depositing old currency notes:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has placed restrictions on deposits exceeding Rs. 5,000,

using these notes.

Explanation on record will be kept for depositing old currency notes:

In a circular issued, the central bank said that individuals can deposit the old Rs. 500 and

Rs. 1,000 denomination currency notes, totalling more than Rs. 5,000 only once till

December 30 and that too, if they provided satisfactory reasons as to why these deposits

had not been made earlier.

Even if the value of a single deposit totalled less than Rs. 5,000, and the tenderer had

cumulatively exceeded Rs. 5,000 in multiple deposits, they would be subjected to the same

procedure, the RBI said.

The RBI said the explanation provided by the depositor should be kept on record to

facilitate an audit trail at a later stage. Banks have been asked to flag the deposits in their

systems so that no more deposits were allowed for that account.

Deposit limit for non KYC compliant:

The banking regulator has also clarified that for accounts that are not fully KYC-compliant,

the value of deposits using such notes would be restricted to Rs. 50,000. Any amount of old

currency can be deposited into KYC- compliant account with explanations. Statistics of total deposits received till date: According to the latest RBI data, Rs. 12.44 lakh crore of old notes had been deposited back into the banking system, as of December 10. The total value of the old Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 currency notes in circulation, as on November 8, was Rs. 15.44 lakh crore.

15. Banks asked to lower charges on digital transactions above Rs. 1,000(Question can be asked on IMPS and NEFT)

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Govt. directed the banking sector to reduce the transaction fee for digital payments:

In order to further promote digital and card payments, government has issued a direction

in public interest to all public sector banks, in accordance with which these banks shall not

charge fees for transactions settled on Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) and Unified

Payments Interface (UPI) in excess of rates charged for National Electronic Funds Transfer

(NEFT) for transactions above Rs 1,000, with service tax being charged at actuals up to

March 31, 2017.

What is IMPS?

Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) is an instant interbank electronic fund transfer service

through mobile phones. It is also being extended through other channels such as ATM,

Internet Banking, etc.

What is NEFT?

National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) is one of the most prominent electronic funds

transfer system of India. Started in November 2005, NEFT is a facility provided to bank

customers to enable them to transfer funds easily and securely on a one-to-one basis. It is

done via electronic messages.

16. Protests hit Venezuela following demonetisation (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Cash crunch sparked social unrest in Venezuela post demonetisation:

Venezuela became a country mostly without cash, sparking scattered protests and looting

around the country as people fumed at having their already limited purchasing power cut

off almost entirely.

Background:

President Nicolas Maduro had made a surprise announcement that the 100-bolivar note would go out of circulation by the week s end amid the world s highest inflation.

17. Less demand for Bandwidth for growth (Relevant for GS mains Paper III)

Disappointing recent auction of telecom spectrum:

The recent auction of 2350 megahertz of telecom spectrum was disappointing. Only seven

out of 11 telecom players in India participated, and there were takers for just around 40

per cent of the prized radio frequency band on offer. In fact, four operators will fork out 90 per cent of the Centre s receipts from this auction, around Rs. , crore, half of which

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will accrue to the exchequer this fiscal. That translates into a 43 per cent shortfall from the

Budget estimates from spectrum sales for this year.

Argument by Government:

The official argument is that the poor response is a function of the high indebtedness

(nearly Rs. , crore at last count of India s telcos.

View of Telcos:

Telcos cite the high base price set by the government, pegging the potential value of the

spectrum at Rs.560,000 crore. Any operator looking to build a national network using the

most efficient spectrum on offer in the 700 MHz band would need over Rs.57,000 crore.

Burden on bandwith:

In many areas, networks that should operate at 65 per cent capacity are working at 95 per

cent due to high congestion, leading to poor voice services, as the telecom regulator, R.S.

Sharma, noted recently.

The focus of the existing telcos strategy for this auction has been to acquire enough spectrum to bolster 4G data services in urban markets, where they expect tough

competition from the new player, Reliance Jio.

Lessons for future:

This could have a bearing on the quality of connectivity and the reach of several of the government s ambitious programmes, from Digital India to direct benefit transfer.

18. State of implementation of NFSA (Question can be asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper II and III)

State of implementation:

The euphoria around the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, seems to have

dwindled. As per the statements by Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public

Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan, the Act was to be fully implemented across India by July

2016.

As of now, only five States have fully executed it as per the provisions of the Central Act and

the progress in other States has been tardy. The front runners are Punjab, Haryana,

Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

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The Act has been partially implemented in Bihar, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka.

Results expected from act:

The Act, if fully implemented, is likely to benefit 720 million people through availability of 5

kg per capita per month of subsidised foodgrains (rice, wheat and coarse cereals) at a much

lower rate than that in the open market. This would ensure food security and enhance

nutritional status.

Provisions of National Food Security Act, 2013 i) The act covers 67% of total population and recognizes the legal right of the population

for food. Out of 67% of total population, 75% will be identified from rural areas and

50% form urban areas.

ii) The actual beneficiaries will be identified by respective state governments.

iii) The beneficiaries will be entitled to rice, wheat and coarse cereals at rate of Rs. 3, 2 and

1 respectively per kg subject to 5 kg per person and 25 kg for one household. State

government can provide additional items and more subsidies in accordance with their

own will.

iv) The Act requires Public Distribution System reforms such as use of Aadhar cards for

identification of beneficiaries, computerization of PDS system, etc.

v) To improve the status of women, the act requires replacement of existing ration cards

with new ration cards in the name of adult woman of the household.

Reason for non-implementation of the act

The act has not been implemented because state governments have not been able to

identify the beneficiaries (75% population in rural areas and 50% population in urban

areas.)

19. Sagarmala Project (Question can be asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper II and III)

Sagarmala project is an initiative of the Government of India to transform the existing

Ports into modern world class Ports and integrate the development of the Ports, the

Industrial clusters and hinterland and efficient evacuation systems through road, rail,

inland and coastal waterways resulting in Ports becoming the drivers of economic activity

in coastal areas.

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

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Background

In March 2015 Cabinet gave approval for this project to develop 12 ports of India.

The programme aims to promote port-led development in the country by harnessing

India's 7,500-km long coastline, 14,500-km of potentially navigable waterways and

strategic location on key international maritime trade routes.

The Sagarmala Development Company was given the nod for incorporation by Indian

Cabinet in July 2016 with an initial authorized share capital of Rs 1000 Crore to give a push

to port-led development.

Six megaports are planned in Sagarmala project.

State Place

Kerala Vizhinjam

Tamil Nadu Colachel

Maharashtra Vadhavan(near Dahanu)

Karnataka Tadadi

Andhra Pradesh Machilipatnam

West Bengal Sagar Island

20. Reserve Bank holds rates, cuts growth forecast (Question can be asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper II)

Repo rate unchanged

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.25 per cent.

View of MPC

The MPC was of the view, that given a reduction of 25 basis points in October, which

cumulated to a reduction of 175 basis points since January 2015 — a further reduction in

the policy rate is not required. All six members of the committee voted to hold rates.

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sagarmala_Development_Company&action=edit&redlink=1

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

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

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

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

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vadhavan&action=edit&redlink=1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Reason for not reducing interest rates

International factors such as increase in crude prices, rise of interest rates in US and along with continued firmness in the prices of some food items posed risks to the central bank s inflation outlook.

Withdrawl of CRR increase

There was some relief for banks. The RBI announced that with effect from the fortnight

starting December 10 it was withdrawing the incremental 100 per cent cash reserve ratio

requirement it had imposed last month on deposits received post-demonetisation.

Economic growth status The central bank s monetary policy committee also pared its projection for Gross Value Added (GVA) growth in the fiscal year ending March 2017 to 7.1 per cent, from 7.6 per cent, in the wake of an unexpected loss of momentum in the second quarter and on account of

the effects of the withdrawal of high-denomination banknotes, which was still playing out.

What is GVA?

Gross value added is the measure of the value of goods and services produced in an area,

industry or sector of an economy, in economics. Gross domestic Product – Indirect Taxes +

Subsidies = Gross Value Added

How do rise in interest rates in US can cause inflation?

Expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will resume its normalisation of policy by raising

interest rates on December 14 have combined with a homeward-bound flight of capital from emerging markets in the wake of Donald Trump s win in the presidential election to buoy the dollar at the expense of other currencies. The rupee has not been spared, forcing

the RBI to intermittently intervene to reduce volatility. Given that the exchange rate has the potential to exert upward inflationary pressure as a bulk of the country s commodity imports, including crude oil, are largely paid for in dollars, the RBI had little choice but to ensure that at least interest rates don t end up being another alibi for capital outflows.

21. Allegation of attempt to extend Test Data Exclusivity norms (Question can be asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper II on concept of data exclusivity)

Backdoor extension of Data exclusivity

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In a scathing letter to the Government of India, the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA)

took issue with what it considered to be a backdoor extension for data exclusivity norms in

the country.

It pointed to the recent government proposal to change the four-year time limit for State-

level drug regulatory approvals to 10 years, arguing that this effectively results in a long

and damaging data exclusivity.

What is Test Data exclusivity?

Test Data exclusivity is a kind of intellectual property protection wherein clinical trial and

other data submitted by an originator drug company cannot be used or relied upon by a

drug regulatory authority to approve a generic version of that drug for a certain period of

time.

The notion is that without such protection, the originator company lacks the necessary

commercial incentive to conduct expensive trials and take a potential drug to the market.

Blocking generic entry for some years will, the theory goes, help drug companies invest in

clinical trials.

Need to reduce Data exclusivity norms

India has long resisted U.S. and EU pressure to institute data exclusivity norms, seeing it as

a barrier to generic entry and more affordable drug prices.

Present provisions

Under the Act as it stands now, a new drug continues to remain new even after it has been approved once by the Central regulator (Drugs Controller General of India, or DGCI)

upon submission of local clinical trial data establishing safety and efficacy in India.

However, it loses newness after four years, which means a drug manufacturer can short-

circuit the process and go directly to a State regulatory authority and procure drug

approval. It is this four-year period that is now sought to be enhanced to 10 years, an

extension that the IPA argues constitutes an enhancement of data exclusivity norms in

favour of large pharma companies, particularly MNCs.

Whether it really constitutes Data exclusivity

This depends in large part on the kind of data that generic companies have to submit in

order to gain approval for their follow-on drugs. If they are forced to submit the same kind

of clinical trial data that originators have submitted to the regulatory authority, then this

does amount to data exclusivity.

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For almost all generics will simply wait for the term (four years) to expire rather than

undertake the expensive process of generating clinical trial data afresh. It is for this reason

that world over, generic drugs are approved upon a simple showing of bio-equivalence:

that the claimed molecule is the same as the one already approved. And therefore, there is

no sense in having the generic applicant repeat all clinical trials afresh.

Unfortunately, our Act is not very clear on the kind of studies/data that a generic applicant

is meant to submit.

22. Evaluation of waiving off the import duty from wheat (Question can be asked in GS Mains Paper III)

Centre's decision to waive off import duty from wheat attracts criticism: The Centre s decision to waive import duty on wheat has predictably attracted a strong

criticism. Opposition parties have questioned the move, which comes days after the government s assertion that demonetisation of high-value currency notes did not impact

the sowing of the rabi crop, with a greater area being cultivated compared to the same time

a year ago.

Potential impact of waiving the import duty:

Dumping of wheat stock in India at a time when the minimum support price (Rs.1,625 a

quintal) is higher than international prices.

Farmer s Viewpoint:

Farmers argue, this could lead to distress sales when the current crop is harvested over

March-April.

Govt. s Viewpoint:

The government, on its part, has noted concerns about the warmer winter forecast, which

could affect wheat output and trigger inflation. This February, when prices of food articles

that make up 46 per cent of the consumer price index were cooling off, the government

expected the trend to continue if the monsoon was normal after two years of drought.

Now at year-end, following a normal monsoon, inflation remains under control but wheat

prices have been moving up swiftly.

Frequent changes in import duty rates:

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There is no doubt that fiddling too often with wheat import duties — from 10 per cent to

25 per cent, then back to 10 per cent and finally to zero, all within 500 days — sends mixed

signals to farmers and traders, though the latter group will be pleased with the duty-free regime. But equally, it is necessary to change one s mind when the situation so demands, which it currently does.

23. India – ASEAN trade levels (Question can be asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper II and III)

Future trade targets between India-ASEAN:

India, ASEAN set target of $100 billion trade to be achieved by 2020.

Current trade:

Currently the trade between ASEAN and India is 57 billion dollars. ASEAN and India will

celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2017.

What is ASEAN?

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional grouping that promotes

economic, political, and security cooperation among its ten members: Brunei, Cambodia,

Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

24. Rupee slips after Fed s decision (Question can be asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper III)

Fed rate hike resulted into rupee depreciation:

The rupee weakened against the U.S. dollar after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark

interest rate, in a widely anticipated move, by 25 basis points. The Indian currency slid 40

paise to close at 67.83 per dollar.

How the FED rate hike influence the value of domestic currency:

The increased Fed rate would enable the investors to fetch high returns from the

investment made in US, causing the flight of investment from India to US. Further,

withdrawl of foreign investment from India would generate the demand of dollar and

supply of rupee and would lead to appreciation of dollar and depreciation of rupee.

What is federal Reserve?

Federal Reserve or simply the Fed) is the central bank of the United States like Reserve

Bank in India.

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25. RBI opposes proposal to set up separate payments regulator (Question can be asked in GS Mains III)

RBI opposition to Payment Regulator

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has opposed a move to establish a separate entity to

regulate payments and settlements, a function that is currently under the central bank s purview.

Background

In September, the Centre had set up a 11-member committee on Digital Payments headed

by Finance Secretary Ratan Watal. The panel was to have laid out a roadmap for digital

payments, which at present stand at 20 per cent of all transactions. A key goal is to halve India s cash-to-GDP ratio to six per cent.

Recommendations of the committee

The committee had suggested that a separate board for retail payments PRB (Payments

Regulatory Board) to be set up as an independent body. The report comes at a time when

the Centre is pushing to boost digital payments in the wake of the withdrawal of high-value

currency notes. Opposition by RBI on following grounds The global experience has been that the retail payment systems are under the central bank for a variety of reasons including the role of the central bank as the lender of last resort.

26. Taxman can scrutinise political parties accounts, says Centre (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Political parties are also in the ambit of scrutiny, clarified Centre:

The Ministry of Finance sought to clarify that deposits of demonetised high-value currency notes into political parties bank accounts could also be subjected to scrutiny under the

Income Tax law.

Reason behind the rumour of political party being exempted from the scrutiny:

The inference seems to have been drawn because of the fact that the income of the political

parties is exempt from Income Tax under Section 13A.

Details:

1. The ministry has said that accounts of each party have to be audited by a chartered

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accountant and parties have to submit a report to the Election Commission about the donations received within a prescribed time frame.

2. The exemption from Income Tax is given to only registered political parties subject to

conditions which includes keeping and maintaining books of accounts and other

documents as would enable the Assessing Officer to deduce its income.

3. In respect of each voluntary contribution in excess of Rs.20,000, the political party will

have to maintain a record of such contributions along with the name and address of such

person who has made such contribution.

What does Article 13A of Income Tax Act state?

Section 13A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 grants exemption from tax to political parties in

respect of their income. This income could be from house property, other sources, capital

gains and income by way of voluntary contributions received from any person.

These categories of income qualify for exemption without any monetary or other limit and

the income so exempted would not even be included in the total income of the political

party for the purpose of assessment.

27. Interview of Secretary IT, reviewing legal framework for securing digital payments (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

What are the areas you have identified as crucial to push the transition towards

more digital payments?

The focus is on four things. First is to review the legal framework for digital payments and

cybersecurity, and see whether there is anything that we need to do. There are some areas

where we need to work, so we are comprehensively reviewing that.

The second area is new technologies that are coming up. We need to encourage these

because unless technology is very easy to use and very convenient, it is difficult for people

to go cashless. We are looking at near field communications (NFC), embedded iris- and

biometrics-enabled smartphones, USSD-enabled mobile banking. A lot of start-ups are also

coming up with applications using these technologies. We are trying to see which of those

can be suitable.

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The third area is using our own CSC (common service centre) network for getting one crore

citizens enrolled into digital payments.

And the last is to create awareness — through the TV channel that we have launched

(DigiShala) and a knowledge repository website, where all information on digital payments

can be found.

Is there any proposal to allow interoperability of mobile wallets?

The committee of Chief Ministers, chaired by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu

Naidu, has discussed this with the Reserve Bank of India and the decision was that, for the

time being, we will allow interoperability of bank-backed mobile wallets. Currently, there

are three types of mobile wallets — given by banks, given by telecom players such as Airtel

Money and Jio Money, and players like Paytm. In the first stage, it has been decided to make the banks wallets interoperable.

28. Easy regulations for taxi and other transportation companies (Topic to be read only for understanding, No direct question can be asked)

Decision of Union Government to boost sharing of vehicles:

To encourage cheaper travel solutions, reduce the number of cars on the road, Union

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways have been given the green light sharing of seats

b to taxi and bike companies.

The States had been asked to place an appropriate cap on the duty hours of drivers for road

safety and labour law protection.

Background:

The seven-member committee under the Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and

Highways, set up in May 2016 to review the existing regulatory framework for taxis and

other passenger vehicles, has recommended the following provisions. The

recommendations have been accepted by Union Government.

1. Steps to encourage new forms of urban mobility like bike-sharing and e-rickshaws to

create reliable alternatives to car ownership and to offer last mile connectivity.

2. The panel viewed the taxi permit regime as being highly onerous, and one that limits the growth of the taxi and shared mobility industry.

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3. The states have now been asked to facilitate grant of permits for City Taxi and All India

Tourist Taxi Permits (AITP) without any restriction on numbers.

4. To reduce delays and to embrace digital technology, online permits have been

recommended. The committee has recommended online conversion of personal vehicles to

commercial taxis where they comply with the rules, on payment of requisite charges. This

is to facilitate use of idle assets.

29. EPF rate slashed to seven-year low (Direct question can be asked in Prelims)

EPF interest rates reduced:

The Central Board of Trustees of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)

reduced the interest rate payable on their PF savings for this financial year to 8.65 per cent,

as against 8.8 per cent in 2015-16. This is the lowest return on EPF savings in the last seven

years.

Rationale behind lowering the interest rate:

1. The decision to recommend this interest rate was made keeping in mind the overall

economic scenario where interest rates are coming down.

2. Even at 8.65 percent, EPF will deliver better returns than other savings instruments such

as Public Provident Fund, GPF and post office term deposit schemes.

30. Japan drags India to WTO against steps on iron, steel imports (Question can be asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper III)

Japan took steel imports issue to WTO:

Japan has dragged India to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against certain measures

taken by New Delhi on imports of iron and steel products.

Background:

India and Japan implemented a comprehensive free trade agreement in 2011. It gave easy

access to Japan in the Indian steel market. Indian industry has time and again demanded to

take out the steel sector from the pact. But it can happen only after both the sides agree to

do the same.

The bilateral trade between the countries stood at $14.51 billion in 2015-16. Trade is

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highly in favour of Japan. India has imposed minimum import price (MIP) on imports of

certain iron and steel products. The government extended MIP on 19 products till February

4, 2017.

India s Viewpoint:

According to the commerce ministry sources, WTO-compliant measures like anti-dumping

duty should be used to overcome the issue of cheap imports of commodities.

India has imposed MIP as growing imports from steel surplus countries like China, Japan

and Korea with predatory prices have been a major concern for the domestic industry since

September 2014.

WTO s Dispute Settlement Process: . As per the WTO s dispute settlement process, the request for consultations is the first

step in a dispute.

2. After 60 days, if consultations fail to resolve the dispute, the complainant may request

adjudication by a panel.

What is Minimum import price?

MIP (Minimum Import Price) is the minimum price per tonne that Indian firms have to pay

while importing products into India.

For instance, The Govt. of India on February 5, 2016 had imposed the MIP on steel ranging

from $341 to $752 per tonne on 173 steel products. This can be seen as government's

policy of promoting domestic growth of steel manufacturing industry and restricting and

reducing dependence on externally manufactured steel products. (Without MIP, Indian

importers would be able to import more steel since internationally the cost of steel is low

owing to slow economic growth worldwide.) However WTO (World Trade Organisation) is

not happy with such measures which restrict international trade.

31. Thorough analysis of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II and III)

Several NGO s licence called off under FCRA:

In early November, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs rejected the licence renewal

applications, under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA), of 25 non-

governmental organisations (NGO).

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That means these NGOs can no longer receive funds from foreign donors. Many of the

affected organisations were rights-based advocacy groups, with some involved in human

rights work.

Govt. s defence to this move:

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has defended its action by claiming

that these organisations had violated FCRA norms by engaging in activities detrimental to

public interest.

Criticism:

Civil society members have issued statements condemning the move, charging the government with abuse of legal procedures .

Earlier instance of rejection of licences:

In 2015, the Home Ministry had cancelled the FCRA licences of 10,000 organisations.

Prominent international funding agency Ford Foundation, the environmentalist group

Greenpeace, and human rights advocacy group Lawyers Collective have all been targets of

FCRA-linked curbs on their activity, suggesting a larger pattern in the way the state has

used this law.

The origins of the FCRA:

The original Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act was enacted in 1976 by the Indira

Gandhi-led government during the Emergency. It prohibits electoral candidates, political

parties, judges, MPs and even cartoonists from accepting foreign contributions. As the inclusion of cartoonists under its ambit suggests, the intent was to clamp down on

political dissent.

Rationale behind the act

The ostensible justification given for the law was to curb foreign interference in domestic

politics. The FCRA was aimed at preventing political parties from accepting contributions

from foreign sources.

Foreign funding permitted in economy after 1991

India embraced foreign funding by opening up the economy in 1991. With the state wooing

foreign investment, Indian businesses, too, helped themselves to foreign funds. And so did

our political parties, despite the FCRA, 1976, expressly prohibiting them from accepting money from foreign sources .

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Political Parties amending FCRA to suit their convenience:

Both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress were pulled up by the Delhi High

Court in 2014 for violating the FCRA by accepting contributions from the Indian

subsidiaries of the London-based multinational, Vedanta.

It ordered the government and the Election Commission to take action against both the

parties. The BJP-led NDA government did not take action against the BJP. Nor did it do so

against the Congress, which, as the leading Opposition party, did not think it appropriate to

protest this flagrant flouting of a judicial directive.

Instead, earlier this year, the government quietly introduced a clause in the Finance Bill that amended the relevant section of the FCRA, , so that what was hitherto a foreign company now became an Indian company. This amendment was introduced with retrospective effect — a brazen attempt to legitimise the FCRA violations of the two parties.

This amendment has also opened the doors for all political parties to accept funding from

foreign companies, so long as it is channelled through an Indian subsidiary.

FCRA, 2010

It may be pertinent to point out here that it was the Congress, under the stewardship of

Manmohan Singh that replaced the original FCRA, 1976, with a more draconian version in

2010. But why the new law? To answer that question, we need to consider the differences

between the two legislations.

The new FCRA/ Major changes between the old and the new version of FCRA:

Human rights activist draws attention to three changes that render the new Act more

stringent than the old one.

1. Firstly, FCRA registration under the earlier law was permanent, but under the new one,

it expired after five years, and had to be renewed afresh. This instantly hands the state a

whip with which to bring errant organisations to heel.

One may recall that earlier this year, 11,319 NGOs lost their FCRA licences without the

government having to either examine their records or suspend their registrations

individually — their licences simply expired as the deadline for renewal passed.

2. Second, the new law put a restriction (50 per cent) on the proportion of foreign funds

that could be used for administrative expenses, thereby allowing the government to control

how a civil society organisation (CSO) spends its money.

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3. The third and most important distinction is that while the 1976 law was primarily aimed at political parties, the new law set the stage for shifting the focus to organisations of a non-political nature .

The FCRA Rules, 2011, framed by the United Progressive Alliance government, has served

the NDA well as a manual on how to target inconvenient NGOs, especially those working on

governance accountability.

Double standards of FCRA favouring Political Parties and Businesses

Put simply, a political class that has no qualms taking money from foreign sources, that

amended the FCRA to let itself off the hook for past violations, that opened the doors for all

political parties to accept foreign funding, that paved the way for Indian businesses to

access foreign capital, is now anxious to prevent CSOs from accessing foreign funds because

some of them question its policies in a democratic battle to protect constitutional rights

and entitlements.

International Criticism:

Last April, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and

of Association undertook a legal analysis of the FCRA, 2010. He submitted a note to the Indian government which stated unambiguously that the FCRA provisions and rules are not in conformity with international law, principles and standards .

32. What is Rose Valley Group Scam? (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II and III)

According to reports, Rose Valley chit fund scam amounts to almost Rs 60,000 crore. The

scam is believed to be the biggest ponzi fraud in India and the scam itself is at least three

times bigger than Saradha scam.

Making of a scam

- Rose Valley, as per the ED estimates reportedly collected money from depositors across

India, especially West Bengal, Assam and Bihar

- In March , the ED arrested group s chairman Gautam Kundu.

- Huge amounts were allegedly siphoned off and transferred to other accounts

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- ED is certain a major portion of the money was used to bribe politicians for smooth

running of the ponzi chain.

- Rose Valley hotels & entertainment reportedly owns nearly 23 properties across India

- In addition, all the 2,600 bank accounts of the company, which together hold cash

balances of Rs 800-1,000 crore, have been frozen by the government

- There are as many as 30 companies under the Rose Valley banner on paper, which

includes companies such as Rose Valley Airlines, Rose Valley Microfinance, Rose Valley

Fashion, Rose Valley Consultancy, Rose Valley Beverages, Rose Valley Infotech and Rose

Valley Housing Finance, says a news report

What is Ponzi Scheme?

A Ponzi scheme also a Ponzi game is a fraudulent investment operation where the operator,

an individual or organization, pays returns to its investors from new capital paid to the

operators by new investors, rather than from profit earned through legitimate sources.

Operators of Ponzi schemes usually entice new investors by offering higher returns than

other investments, in the form of short-term returns that are either abnormally high or

unusually consistent.

Trinamool MP held in chit fund scam

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP and actor-turned-politician Tapas Paul was arrested by the

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Rose Valley Group chit fund

scam case.

33. Amendments in DTAA to control Round Tripping (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II and III)

India secured amendments to the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Singapore, effectively closing one route of laundering domestic black money by round-tripping it from countries like Mauritius, Cyprus and Singapore.

The Centre got the DTAA amended with Mauritius in May and since the Singapore tax

treaty was based on the same terms as Mauritius, efforts were afoot to re-negotiate the

pact with Singapore. A similar treaty with Cyprus was amended in November.

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How the amendments will control Round Tripping?

There was a reasonable apprehension that these agreements were being misused for

round-tripping domestic black money, organising its flight outside the country and

bringing it back into the country through these three routes.

The tax exemptions for investors under the existing agreement will be discontinued from

April 1, 2017. Investments made before March 31, 2017, will be grandfathered, and after

that, for two years, the capital gains will be shared half and half between the country of

residence of investor and India. Post-2019, the entire capital gains becomes exclusive to

India.

A significant apprehension about these pacts was the complete exemption of taxes on

capital gains that investors could utilise in the name of double tax avoidance as these three countries had no capital gains taxes. So the beneficiary would not pay any capital gains tax in India on the ground that the Singapore taxation rules would be applicable to them and there was no capital gains in those jurisdictions.

What is Round Tripping? The term round-tripping is self-explanatory. It denotes a trip where a person or thing

returns to the place from where the journey began. In the context of black money, it leaves

the country through various channels such as inflated invoices, payments to shell

companies overseas, the hawala route and so on. After cooling its heels overseas for a

while, this money returns in a freshly laundered form; thus completing a round-trip.

This route is far from simple or straightforward. Those indulging in this game are past

masters who make the money flow through multiple layers consisting of many entities and

companies.

34. PM Narendra Modi launches UPI based mobile payment app called BHIM (Question can be asked in Prelims)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched UPI based mobile payment application called

BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money).i, The app is rebranded version of UPI (Unified Payment

Interface) for simpler digital payments without cash.

Key Facts

1. BHIM is Aadhaar-based payments app developed by the National Payment Corporation

of India (NPCI).

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2. The app allows easily transferring money or making a payment from your bank account

using only phone number.

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Environment

1. Notify plan for health emergency in Delhi-NCR: SC (Direct question can be asked on pollution levels

Order of SC:

The Supreme Court ordered the government to urgently notify a graded response action

plan to combat a new and heightened level of air pollution called health emergency in Delhi and the National Capital Region.

Details of the order: A health emergency will be declared if the air quality worsens five times the standard. This would invite blanket ban on constructions, entry of trucks and imposition of odd-even

scheme in Delhi-NCR.

Background: The new plan was framed after the Supreme Court raised questions about the authorities preparedness to combat levels of air pollution when the entire city will be shut down and human lives are threatened . A Bench pointed to how Beijing and Singapore were shut down due to air pollution reaching life-threatening proportions.

The Supreme Court-approved plan drafted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)

in consultation with noted environmentalist Sunita Narain.

Need of the plan

The plan urges to kick-start necessary preparations so that the response plan is in place at least four weeks in advance of the anticipated critical pollution days ahead. This almost-

lethal level of pollution is reached when the air quality worsens beyond the severe category. As of now, air pollution is graded from moderate to poor , very poor , and lastly, severe . While the worst category according to air quality index is severe at microgram per cubic metre at PM 2.5 and 401 microgram per cubic metre at PM10, the threshold for this

category health emergency will be 300 microgram per cubic metre for PM 2.5 and 500

microgram per cubic metre for PM10, which are five times the standard. A health emergency will be declared if the air quality worsens five times the standard. What is the normal level of pollution?

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Normal level is 60 microgram per cubic metre for PM 2.5. Normal Level is 100 microgram per cubic metre for PM 10.

2. State of Environment refugees (Relevant for GS Mains Paper III)

Who are environmental refugees?

An increasing number of people globally are facing displacement due to droughts, famines,

rising sea levels and other natural disasters caused by climate change. This class of

migrants has been labelled as environmental refugees in popular literature.

Number of Enviromental Refugees

According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, an international body reviewing

trends of internal displacement, an estimated 24 million people are being displaced

annually by natural disasters since 2008.

No protection to Environmental Refugees

The UN Refugee Convention (1951) grants certain rights to people fleeing persecution

because of race, religion, nationality, affiliation to a particular social group, or political

opinion. The rights they are entitled to follow principles of non-discrimination, non-

penalisation, and non-refoulement. However, people migrating due to environmental disasters have no such recognition of their refugee status in international law, leaving

them without any basic rights of rehabilitation and compensation.

Failure on part of Paris Agreement to recognise environmental Refugees

The Paris Agreement presented a unique opportunity to set the record straight by

addressing the challenge of increasing environmental refugees. Before the negotiations

commenced, numerous demands were made to incorporate ways to tackle climate

migration in the final agreement. However, the Paris Agreement falls considerably short of

these expectations.

3. 2016 set to be hottest year on record (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper III)

State of Global warming

The world is likely to cross 1.2°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels in 2016,

coming dangerously close to breaching the 1.5°C warming level, which is an ambitious

target to stay safe from the worst impacts of climate change.

Report of WMO

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In a preliminary assessment provided by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in its Status of the Global Climate in report, the global UN weather agency warned that

2016 will be the hottest year on record, with global temperatures even higher than what

2015 experienced.

Global temperatures for January to September 2016 have been about 0.88°C above the

average (14°C) for the 1961-1990 reference period, which WMO uses as a baseline.

4. Friends of fish oppose subsidies for IUU fishing (Relevant for GS Prelims)

Friends of Fish is seeking a ban on subsidies for IUU fishing

India has notified the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on the subsidies it pays fisherfolk

amid demands from a U.S.-led group of nations for a ban on subsidies given for illegal,

unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.

Stand of India

The move comes even as India has expressed concern over committing to norms at the

WTO l level that will impact the livelihood of its subsistence fisherfolk.

The filing to the WTO Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM), shows fishery subsidy schemes at the Central-, state- and union territory-levels provided for

subsidies worth Rs.284 crore in 2014- , and they mainly aim to protect and secure the livelihood of traditional and poor fishing communities.

India, among others, has expressed apprehensions that the demand for a ban on subsidies

for IUU fishing could lead to prohibition even on fishing that could be termed non-IUU. This

could, in turn, harm the interests of lakhs of subsistence fisherfolk in poor and developing

nations.

Ban sought on Unsustainable fishing

The U.S.-led group, Friends of Fish , is seeking a ban on subsidies given for IUU fishing, citing the rising global demand for fish and the consequent increase in unsustainable fishing.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture , almost a third of commercial fish stocks are now fished at biologically unsustainable levels, triple the level of 1974.

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The demands of the Friends of Fish grouping include ensuring a ban on subsidies,

including that on fuel, which cut operating costs.

No concrete definition of IUU

This is because currently there is no unanimity among WTO members on what constitutes

IUU fishing.

5. Cancel illegal salt pans in Sambhar Lake: NGT (Question can be asked in Prelims on Salt pans, Relevant for GS Mains Paper III as well)

Direction of NGT

The central zonal bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Rajasthan

government to cancel allotments of salt pans in the Sambhar Salt Lake that fall within the

wetland and run contrary to the mandate of Wetland Rules, 2010.

Illegal brine extraction

The illegal business of brine (water strongly impregnated with salt) extraction in the

Sambhar Lake was first highlighted in the fact-finding report in 2010. The report had

mentioned that 15-20 borewells were operating in every bigha of land during that period

and over exploitation of water resources had lowered the groundwater level by almost 60

metres in the area.

While Sambhar Salts Ltd (SSL), a government venture, which has over 90 square miles at

Sambhar and Nawa, produces two lakh tonnes of salt per annum, private companies

together make around 20 lakh tonnes a year.

What are salt pans?

Salt evaporation ponds, also called salterns or salt pans, are shallow artificial ponds

designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The seawater or brine is fed into

large ponds and water is drawn out through natural evaporation which allows the salt to be

subsequently harvested.

6. Stay out of laddu kitchen, TTD tells food inspectors (Question can be asked on Provisions of FSS act in Prelims) The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams TTD , which makes the famed Tirupati Laddu , is faced with a demand to get it certified by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India

(FSSAI).

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Stand of TTD The TTD is not open to the idea of inspectors walking into its kitchens, and the laddu being treated as food under law. It has denied permission for an inspection, on the ground that the potu where the laddus are made is an auspicious place to which outsiders are not admitted.

Stand of FSSAI

The FSSAI has asked the Devasthanam to obtain a food safety licence like any other Food

Business Operator.

Whether Laddu are within the pruview of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 Director, Food Safety Management System FSMS said that the laddu is food as defined under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

The applicability of the Act is not affected whether the food is purchased or distributed free

of cost. TTD therefore has to obtain a licence and fulfil all responsibilities of the FSS Act.It is

alleged that the laddus were made in an unhygienic manner.

The deficiencies are noticed at every stage, including manufacture, storage, distribution

and sale. Materials such as bolts, nuts, key chains and gutka covers have been found in the

laddus.

About FSS Act provisions

1. The FSS Act states that only those with clean clothes and without infections shall be

involved in the manufacture and packing of food items.

2. Regular reports on the health condition of the cooks should be submitted and a fitness

certificate obtained.

3. The packaging should carry details of ingredients and date of manufacture and expiry.

View of TTD TTD officer had claimed the laddus could not be defined as food as they are holy and pilgrims were not consumers.

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7. Change in Real estate environmental impact assessment norms (Chances of question being asked are less)

States given more autonomy

Buildings and real estate projects, between 20,000 and 300,000 sq. metres, will no longer

need to be assessed for their environmental impact by the Centre. Projects beyond 300,000

sq. metres will be assessed by centre.

From now on, States can integrate the clearance process of such projects into their building

by-laws to streamline environmental clearance to a significant chunk of building projects.

Projects kept for self declaration

While areas less than 20,000 sq metres only need a self-declaration, those between 5,000

to 20,000 sq. metres need to follow environmental norms during construction and

maintenance phase.

Qualified Building Environment Auditors

A new category of consultants, called Qualified Building Environment Auditors,

empanelled by the Union environment ministry, would assess and certify building projects.

Environmental Cell

Local authorities would now have to compulsorily constitute an Environmental Cell to

support appraisal, compliance and monitoring of building projects.

Criteria for evaluation

Projects would be evaluated on their energy use, especially renewable energy sources,

waste water management, waste segregation and tree plantation and maintenance.

8. National Wildlife action plan (Direct question expected in Prelims and mains paper III)

National Wildlife Action Plan for 2017-2031:

The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MOEFCC) had come up with a

draft third National Wildlife Action Plan for 2017-2031. The draft contains detailed

recommendations to be followed in the protected areas. Once approved, this plan will

replace the second National Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016). The first and second

National Wildlife Action Plans were adopted in 1983 and 2002 respectively.

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Salient Features

The key areas of focus of this plan is 17, which includes integration of climate change into

wildlife planning, conservation of coastal and marine ecosystem, mitigation of human-

wildlife conflict, focus on wildlife health among others.

1. Wildlife conservation:

The draft plan places special emphasis on rehabilitation of threatened species along with

conserving their habitats like inland aquatic, coastal and marine ecosystems. Protection of

protected areas includes ban on certain activities, regulation on tourism and law

enforcement.

2. Ban on certain activities:

Mining and big irrigation projects would not be permitted in protected areas and wildlife

corridors. The plan asks the environment ministry to work with Ministry of Steel to bar

mining activities in Protected Areas and wildlife corridors.

Further, it wants proper rehabilitation of degraded and abandoned mining areas. It has

classified sand mining as a highly destructive activity in which many stakeholders are

involved including politicians. It wants Ministry of water resources to opt for minor

irrigation projects instead of big irrigation projects in the protected areas. It has favoured

the use of water harvesting units like ponds, check-dams, wells etc.

3. Tourism:

While the plan encourages tourism in wild life areas, it wants restrictions to be placed on

the number of tourists and vehicles entering inside a protected area. It provides for the

strict monitoring and regulation of the tourism activities. In case of any conflict between

tourism and conservation interests of Protected Areas, the plan categorically favours the

conservation interests of Protected Areas. It wants to add emphasis on tourism facilities

which are sustainable, eco-friendly, clean and wholesome and moderately priced rather

than lavish five star facilities.

4. Law enforcement:

The draft calls for setting up of new regional forensic laboratories, a special Tiger

protection force, special courts to deal with wildlife crimes such as poaching and

smuggling. It has observed that the investigation of wildlife crime still lags behind despite

the establishment of the National Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and has called for the

capacity building of frontline guards and officers responsible for investigating wildlife

crimes.

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Critical Comment/ Shortcomings:

1. Neglect of Wildlife living outside of the forests:

In this draft, wildlife living outside the forest areas has been neglected. Wolves, great

Indian bustards, hyenas, leopards, tigers, elephants among others are known to live outside

of the forests. The draft is silent about the management of these populations.

2. Regulation of technology:

The forest department makes use of drones and camera traps to monitor the protected

areas. The draft has ignored the ethical and social consequences of the use of such

technologies and has not come up with any framework for self-regulation regarding the

usage of such technological instruments. The fact that the use of drones and camera traps

may violate the privacy of the local people living in protected areas is completely ignored.

3. Issue of feral dogs and cats:

The draft plan is the first national policy which acknowledges the damages caused by the

feral dogs and cats in the wildlife habitats. It simply states that the issue must be managed.

Apart from that the draft is silent about the suggestive measures which need to be taken to

address the issue.

4. Invasion of exotic species:

The draft plan wants a national policy to check invasion of exotic species by 2018. But

before drafting, it wants a complete inventory and mapping of species and area. Critics

argue that preventing invasion of exotic species needs more attention and such efforts

should begin immediately. The draft plan instead wants to do mapping first, which seems

to be an excuse to delay implementation.

5. Duration of plan:

It is viewed that implementing the same plan for conservation for 14 long years will make

it ineffective. The plan period must be kept shorter to absorb the contemporary realities

and scientific advances.

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Internal Security and Disaster Management

1. Base Movement (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct question can be asked)

What is Base Movement?

Base movement is a mysterious organisation under investigation for three blasts at court

complexes in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala.

When was the Base Movement formed?

It was on January 26, 2014 that N. Abbas Ali (27), a painter in the temple city of Madurai took an oath with his four friends to establish the Base Movement in India, a recently

discovered terrorist outfit responsible for explosions at five judicial courts since April this

year.

Why was it formed? Their aim was to Islamise the country and since they were against the barbaric practices of Islamic State, falling back on al-Qaeda was the natural choice.

A senior Home Ministry official said till last year, the group limited its activities to sending

letters to various jails and other district authorities citing grievances against the jail

administration. But, this year onwards, it started planting explosives at courts.

Who is the chief of the group?

N. Abbas Ali, a painter who also owns a small library in the name of Dar-ul-Ilm, which

primarily stocked religious books, in Nelpettai in the heart of Madurai city. It was here that

the five friends took the bayan (oath) pledging their allegiance to the Base Movement,

inspired by the al-Qaeda.

What is the significance of the name of the group? Al of al-Qaeda means Base in Arabic, and the five friends, who were inspired by the

global terrorist outfit, decided to name their group after that.

2. Nagrota terrorist attack (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct question can be asked)

The attack comes just two months after militants stormed an Army camp in Uri, resulting in

the death of 19 soldiers.

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Details about Nagotra Incident:

The three terrorists entered the camp in Nagrota, near Jammu city and not very far from

the headquarters of 16 Corps, one of the largest and most important corps of the Indian

Army.

Wearing police uniforms, the terrorists reportedly scaled a wall and stormed the base,

where many military families were staying. Seven soldiers, including two Majors, were

killed as they fought to prevent a hostage situation.

Points to ponder/enquire:

It is important to investigate how heavily armed terrorists reached the 166 Medium

Regiment premises in a securitised area, despite several road blocks on the road to

Nagrota.

Worst year marked for cross border militancy:

With the latest incident, at least 89 security personnel have been killed in Jammu and

Kashmir so far in 2016.

Implications:

In fact, the attrition rate among the security forces has been going up steadily vis-à-vis the

terrorists. Decades of experience in fighting insurgencies and the diverse tactics adopted to reduce security force casualties have in recent months been challenged by the terrorists focus on security installations, aimed at causing maximum casualties among the forces.

Reasons for rising attacks: The violence level within Jammu and Kashmir is a result of several factors: 1. the unrest in the Valley, 2. the state of India s relations with Pakistan 3. the situation along the border, both the International Boundary and the Line of Control.

3. Choppy seas prevent rescue of tourists from Andamans (Question can be aksed in Prelims on name of islands)

Nearly 1,500 tourists remained stranded at Neil and Havelock, two famous tourist destinations of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, after Navy ships failed to dock because of heavy swells formed due to the depression (low pressure) over southeast Bay of Bengal. Neill Island and Havelock Island islands belong to the South Andaman.

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4. Murder rate declining in India (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct question can be asked)

Declining murder rate in India

Official data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) show that the murder rate in

India has been steadily declining over the past two decades.

The murder rate (murders per lakh population) for 64 years (from 1952 to 2015) from the

NCRB were compiled by the Clio Infra Project — a project which has collected worldwide

data on social, economic, and institutional indicators — and The Hindu.

Data show that the rate has declined from 4.6 in 1992, the peak year of violence (in terms

of murder rate) to 2.6 in 2015. After a steady rise from 2.7 in 1952 to the highest rate

witnessed in the early nineties — with the rate staying between three to four murders per

lakh population in the eighties — we are back to low figures.

Unsafe Patna

Among mega cities, Patna turns out to be the least safe, having a murder rate of 11.3 — four

times that of the national average in 2015. Meerut, Ludhiana, Faridabad and Agra come

next. Kolkata, Kochi and Mumbai happen to be the safest, all having a rate of less than one

murder per lakh population.

Data based on FIRs only

However, the NCRB numbers are based on FIRs alone. Crimes for which FIRs are not

registered are not accounted for in the official data. But unlike other crimes, data for

murders are understood to be closer to reality as there is little incentive and possibility in

under-reporting murder cases. Further, as compared with other crimes, murders are is less

likely to pass unnoticed.

5. Cyclone Vardah hits Chennai (Direct question expected in Prelims)

Naming the cyclone

Vardah, an Urdu word meaning red rose, contributed by Pakistan.

Tropical Cyclones

A tropical cyclone is an intense low pressure area or a whirl in the atmosphere over

tropical or sub-tropical waters.

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From the centre of a cyclonic storm, pressure increases outwards. The rate at which the

pressure increases, determines the strength of the cyclone.

As per the criteria adopted by World Metrological Organization, Indian Metrological

Department, the low

pressure system is classified into following categories:

1. Low pressure areas with maximum sustained surface winds of speed between 31 Km/h

and 61 Km/h are classified as tropical depressions.

2. Wind speed between 62 Km/h and 88 Km/h is called tropical cyclones. Once, winds

attain such a speed, tropical cyclone assigned a name.

3. When wind speed is between 89-18 Km/h, it is called as severe cyclonic storm.

4. When wind speed is between 119-221 Km/h, it is called as very severe cyclonic storm.

5. When wind speed exceeds 221 Km/h, the cyclone is called as super cyclonic storm.

Naming of Tropical Cyclones

Tropical cyclones are named to enable ease of communication among general public and

weather experts. Moreover, at a time two or more cyclones can affect the same region,

names can reduce the confusion about which cyclone is being described.

Names for tropical cyclones were adopted in WWII in some regions. By mid s all the regions except North Indian Ocean region began using names for tropical cyclones.

In 2003, north Indian Ocean region also began practice of naming tropical cyclones. Various

regional organizations comprising of member nations prepare a pre- determined list of

names. These names are used in sequential order.

State of Chennai after encountering Vardah: Chennai s durability has been challenged by the severe cyclonic storm, Vardah. The storm hobbled the city s infrastructure by nightfall, downing power and communication cables, blocking roads, disrupting rail and air transport, and spreading a carpet of darkness.

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It is to the Tamil Nadu government s credit that basic mobility was restored overnight, and fallen trees were removed to allow some traffic to ply.

Role of technology in overcoming the impact of catastrophe:

Vardah also demonstrated that in the time of social media and the Internet, speedy official

and community messages can influence the outcome of a catastrophe.

While economic damage was inevitable, cautionary advice put out on social platforms

urging people to stay safe helped reduce the number of casualties. Remarkably, the

community also responded with readiness, creating online groups and sharing messages

offering help and advice. It is of course possible to learn even more by going back to

citizens and harnessing data on their experience using online tools.

Stats of destruction over east coast of India:

Tropical storms are an annual affair, with the more vulnerable eastern coast taking a

pummelling from 92 severe cyclones out of a total of 262 between 1891 and 1990, and

several more in the years since.

Way Forward:

It is vital, therefore, that the learnings from each event are shared nationally, and the

capacity of officials and communities to manage disasters built continuously. Among the

securities available to individuals in many countries is insurance against property losses.

Suggested Measures includes:

1. Viable policies should be made available in India too, as this would bring scrutiny on administrative measures and potentially improve outcomes. 2. A citywide blackout also underscores the importance of rooftop solar and battery storage systems as supplementary power sources for households and corporates. 3. Planting trees with strong root systems and pruning the canopy ahead of cyclone season could reduce uprooting.

6. NIA to seek death penalty for IM convicts in Hyderabad blasts (Question can be asked in Prelims on NIA)

NIA to call for capital punishment for Hyderabad blats convicts:

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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) would be pressing for death sentence for five

members of the banned terror outfit, the Indian Mujahideen (IM), convicted by a

Hyderabad court last week for planning and executing the Dilsukhnagar blasts in 2013.

A Hyderabad court is expected to announce the quantum of sentence.

Background:

On February 21, 2013, two simultaneous bomb explosions took place at Dilsukhnagar

market in Hyderabad, which had killed 18 and injured 131 people. A pregnant woman was

among those killed.

The case was cracked after the arrest of two senior operatives of IM, from the Indo-Nepal

border in August 2013 by the NIA.

About NIA:

National Investigation Agency (NIA) is a central agency established by the Indian

Government to combat terror in India. It acts as the Central Counter Terrorism Law

Enforcement Agency. The agency is empowered to deal with terror related crimes across

states without special permission from the states.

The Agency came into existence with the enactment of the National Investigation Agency

Act 2008 by the Parliament of India on 31 December 2008.

NIA was created after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks as need for a central agency to

combat terrorism was realised.

About Indian Mujahideen:

Indian Mujahideen is a Terrorist Group formed on 2010 and founded by Abdul Subhan

Qureshi. The Indian Mujahideen in June 2010 was declared a terrorist organisation and

banned by the Government of India.

The IM is receiving financial and material assistance from the Inter Services Intelligence

(ISI), backed by the Government of Pakistan, which is also providing shelter to several

absconding members of the IM in Karachi and at other places in Pakistan.

7. U.S. art dealer with links to Subhash Kapoor arrested (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct question can be asked)

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A prominent art dealer in New York closely linked to alleged idol smuggler Subhash Kapoor

has been arrested for acquiring and selling stolen artefacts from several Asian countries,

including India. Nancy Wiener, who runs the Nancy Wiener Gallery, and has a history of

contact with Kapoor — now facing trial in Tamil Nadu for idol smuggling — was arrested.

Who is Subhash Kapoor?

Subhash Kapoor is a New York-based art dealer on trial in Chennai for allegedly running a

$100 million international smuggling racket. He was previously the owner of the Art of the

Past gallery in Manhattan. His sister business, Nimbus Import/Exports, specialised in

selling antiquities from across the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia to major

museums around the world.

8. India among world s top five defence spenders (Direct question can be asked in Prelims)

India acquired fourth rank in Defence spenders: India is among the world s top five defence spenders with its military budget at USD . billion, overtaking Saudi Arabia and Russia.

The US, China and the UK remain the top three defence spenders while India has the fourth

largest military budget, followed by Saudi Arabia and Russia, India spent USD 50.7 billion

this year on defence, up from USD 46.6 billion last year. India is set to overtake Britain with

the third-largest defence budget by 2018 as a result of its modernisation drive.

The US remained way ahead of the world with a budget of USD 622 billion, followed by

China at USD 191.7 billion while the UK spent USD 53.8 billion on defence this year, Saudi

Arabia USD 48.68 billion and Russia USD 48.44 billion.

9. Blockade in Manipur (Relevant for GS Mains paper III)

Paramilitary forces deployed in Manipur:

The Centre has rushed around 4,000 paramilitary personnel to Manipur in the wake of

violence following the economic blockade of the National Highways connecting the State.

Reason behind the escalation of tension in the territory of Manipur:

The decision was taken in the wake of violence following the economic blockade imposed

by the United Naga Council since November 1 on two National Highways — NH-2 (Imphal-

Dimapur) and NH 37 (Imphal-Jiribam) that serve as lifelines for the landlocked Manipur.

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Nagaland CM s appeal:

Nagaland Chief Minister has sought the intervention of the Centre and the Manipur

government in securing the lives and property of Nagas in the Imphal Valley of Manipur.

He claimed that they were being prevented from proceeding to their villages in the hills.

Some valley-based organisations were threatening them, he alleged.

NSF action plan: The Naga Students Federation, meanwhile, has decided to impose a total blockade on all Manipur-bound vehicles, including passenger and goods carriers, in the Naga-inhabited

areas till the Manipur government gave an assurance to the Nagas about their safety in the

State.

What are paramilitary forces?

A paramilitary is a semi-militarized force whose organizational structure, tactics, training,

subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but which is

not included as part of a state's formal armed forces. Central Armed Police Forces were

formerly referred as Paramilitary Forces.

A paramilitary may also commonly fall under the command of a military, even despite not

being part of the military or play an assisting role for the military in times of war.

The term "paramilitary forces are conventionally used to refer to two forces i.e. Assam

Rifles, Coast Guard and Special Frontier Force. A uniform nomenclature of Central Armed

Police Forces for five forces namely CRPF, BSF, ITBP, CISF, SSB has been adopted.

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Science and Technology

1. $750-million deal for 145 artillery guns

Inter-Governmental deal signed between India and US:

After years of negotiations, India signed a government-to-government deal with the U.S. for

145 M-777 Ultra-Light Howitzers worth $750 million under the Foreign Military Sales

programme.

This is the first major artillery deal signed by India after the Bofors scandal in the late

1980s.

Details:

The manufacturer, BAE Systems, will conclude an offset agreement estimated at about

$200 million. Twenty-five guns will be imported and the remaining 120 assembled in India.

BAE Systems has already selected the Mahindra group as the local offset partner.

All about Bofors Scandal:

The Bofors scandal was a major political scandal that occurred during the 1980s initiated

by Indian National Congress politicians and implicating the Indian prime minister, Rajiv

Gandhi and several other members of the Swedish and Indian governments who were

accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors AB for winning a bid to supply India's 155 mm

field howitzer.

The scandal relates to illegal kickbacks paid in a US$1.4 billion deal between the Swedish

arms manufacturer Bofors with the government of India for the sale of 410 field howitzer

guns.

2. Britain s £5 note opposed on account of use of Tallow (Question can be asked in GS Prelims on Tallow

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£5 note faced opposition in Britain:

Vegans, religious groups protest use of tallow to produce longer lasting currency. A new £5 note issued by the Bank of England has generated concern and anger among religious

groups, vegans and vegetarians after it emerged that it uses Tallow.

What is Tallow?

Tallow is derived from animal fats (suet) and is a substance that is also widely used in the

manufacture of candles and soap.

Benefits of using Tallow

The new note is the first of a series based on polymer being issued by the central bank, as

part of a drive to make notes that last longer, stay cleaner and are harder to counterfeit than paper notes. New £ and £ polymer notes are due to come out in and respectively. The bank estimates these notes last 2.5 times longer than paper.

3. New model to forecast fog over airports (Topic to be read only for understanding, No Direct question can be asked)

New model to be developed to forecast fog:

A series of organisations has partnered with the airport authorities here to develop a

system that can warn of fog atleast 6-24 hours in advance, calculate its severity, and

estimate when it is likely to lift enough for flights to take off and land safely.

Details of the mechanism: About instruments have been installed abutting one of the runways in Delhi s Indira Gandhi International Airport.

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It is clarified that the forecasts would continue to be issued by the Indian Meteorological

Department (IMD).

Functionality of new model:

These instruments will measure the surface meteorological conditions, radiation balance,

turbulence, thermo-dynamical structure of the surface layer, droplet and aerosols

microphysics, aerosol, fog water chemistry, vertical profile of winds, temperature, and

humidity, to describe the conditions that cause fog.

Relevance of new model to predict fog status:

1. If information like that were to be available, then airlines could arrange to cancel flights

that saves money and avoids inconvenience to people.

2. It would be able to warn of extreme pollution events such as the severe smog that

enveloped Delhi this year after Diwali.

Current status:

Currently, the IMD issues fog advisories to airports. But they are, at best, delivered a few hours in advance and don t give information on when the fog is expected to lift.

What is IMD?

The India Meteorological Department (IMD), also referred to as the Met Department, is an

agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India.

It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting

and seismology. IMD is headquartered in New Delhi.

4. Delhi High Court reverses ban on combination drugs (Question can be asked on FDCs on Prelims and Mains Paper III)

Delhi HC quashed the ban on fix dose combination:

Quashing the ban on 344 fixed dose combination (FDC) drugs, Delhi High Court said that

the Centre had acted in a haphazard manner and did not take the advice of the statutory

bodies under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act before issuing the March 10 notification.

What is a fixed-dose combination?

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Fixed dose combinations are drugs with two or more active ingredients in a single dosage,

acceptable only when the drugs so combined have a therapeutic advantage.

Grounds of removing ban:

1. The Centre had imposed the ban under Section 26A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. The

court said the section gave no carte blanche to impose a ban.

The Health Ministry had banned the sale and distribution of 344 of them — considered

unsafe and with no therapeutic justification — based on the recommendations of the

Kokate expert committee.

2. Noting that the power cannot be exercised in public interest for any reason other than

the drug being risky or not having any therapeutic value, the Bench said the same had to be

decided based on scientific technical reasons on the advice of the Drugs Technical Advisory

Body (DTAB) and the Drugs Consultative Committee (DCC) constituted under the Drugs

Act.

The court wondered why the Centre took advice of Kokate Committee and not the DTAB

and DCC.

5. HIV: The self-test option (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper III)

Need for self-test option:

1. Though much progress has been achieved in India in making HIV testing accessible and

free of cost, many infected persons remain unaware of their status.

Across the world, nearly 40 per cent of people with HIV are unaware of their infection and

run the risk of unknowingly transmitting it.

2. Besides going a long way in preventing new infections, early diagnosis will help in a

prompt start to treatment and enable the infected to live longer and healthier.

3. Though there has been a 66 per cent drop in incidence in 2015 in India compared with

2000, the total number of people with HIV in India was estimated to be 2.1 million.

Of this, 1.5 million were detected and tested at integrated counselling and testing centres

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(ICTC) and about a million people are on treatment. This leaves about half a million who

are unaware of their HIV status.

4. Despite greater awareness, people with HIV still face stigma and discrimination. As a

result, getting everyone at risk of HIV infection tested has been a challenge.

About OraQuick self-testing option:

The WHO-approved OraQuick HIV self-testing is based on HIV antibodies present in oral

and blood samples. The test can detect antibodies developed within three months of

getting infected. It is a screening test, and a positive result should be reconfirmed though a

blood-based test.

The OraQuick self-testing makes diagnosis easier and faster, besides ensuring privacy and

confidentiality, thus encouraging more people to get tested.

Shortcomings:

1. But there are challenges in terms of counselling and sensitivity, with the accuracy of the

tests pegged at around 93 per cent. Counselling has to be done through innovative ways,

such as over the telephone, as in the case of the U.S.

2. Unlike the conventional method of getting tested at ICTCs, people self-testing should be

more aware about the possibility of false negatives. But the risk of not getting tested far

outweighs the limitations posed by self-testing.

Way forward:

Twenty-three countries have in place policies that support HIV self-testing. It is time India

adopted it quickly to enable more people to test themselves and help break the

transmission cycle.

6. Navy says no to Tejas variant (Questions can be asked on tejas in Prelims)

The indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas does not meet

requirements, Navy Chief Admiral said.

Reason given for the abovesaid:

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Observing that the current weight of the Naval LCA with the underpowered engine does

not allow it to fly from a carrier, Admiral Lanba said. Moreover, Navy needs a carrier-based

aircraft in the timeline of the induction of the aircraft carrier.

Present combat aircraft used on Aircraft Carrier:

The Navy currently operates Russian MiG-29K fighters from the aircraft carrier INS

Vikramaditya and which will also fly from the first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC)

Vikrant once it enters service. A second IAC weighing 65,000 tonnes is currently in the

design phase and the Navy Chief said that they would soon approach the government for

approval. The Navy is looking for an alternative to the Mig-29.

7. DRS clears the test (Question can be asked in Prelims and GS Mains Paper III)

India has a fascinating history with the Decision Review System. It was involved in its

conception, was one of the first two countries to put it to trial, and then became the only

nation to refuse to use it in bilateral engagements.

Emergence of idea of DRS

The DRS was a result of the Sydney Test of 2008, in which consistently poor umpiring

created a fractious atmosphere, leading to some of the ugliest scenes cricket has seen.

First time implementation of DRS

India and Sri Lanka were the first to audition it in a three-Test series in 2008. But it was

this very experience that shaped much of India s opposition: the argument was that the technology wasn t faultless and it allowed room for unskilled human intervention.

Opposition by India

While the rest of world cricket embraced the DRS, with a vast majority of players and

virtually every umpire taking the view that it improved the game beyond measure, India

held out for perfection. This it was able to do because of the influence it wielded in the sport s administration.

The agreement to trial the DRS during the series against England was viewed by many as a

welcome end to intransigence.

Two significant developments altered matters.

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1. The technology grew more sophisticated: the frame rates of the cameras improved

manifold, from 75 frames a second in 2011 to 340 now, providing more data for the path of

the ball to be predicted

2. a sound-based edge detection system, allied to slow-motion cameras, helped establish

the first point of impact on the pad, greatly reducing human intervention.

Way forward

It remains to be seen if India continues to use the system after the England series. But the

signals are that it has accepted it. There is no doubt that the DRS needs even more

refinement and greater standardisation. But with India now on board, the chances are

better of the evolution of an even more robust system that protects cricket from umpiring

errors.

8. Hyperloop: New travel technology (Very important for Prelims and GS Mains Paper III)

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, also known as HTT, is an American research company formed using a crowd collaboration approach (a mix of team collaboration and crowdsourcing) to develop a transportation system based on the Hyperloop concept, which was envisioned by Elon Musk in 2013.

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9. Resourcesat-2A joins the observation deck (Question can be asked in Prelims)

Remote sensing satellite Resourcesat-2A was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space

Centre in coastal Andhra Pradesh, Sriharikota . It was the only satellite aboard the PSLV-

C36 rocket.

Success streak

In 2016, nine missions have taken off successfully from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre,

including the more powerful GSLV. For the light-lifting PSLV, it was the 37th straight

successful flight.

What is remote sensing satellite?

Remote sensing satellite involves acquisition of information about an object or

phenomenon without making physical contact with the object and thus in contrast to on-

site observation. Remote sensing uses cameras to capture images, thermo sensors to

record tempretarues, etc. PSLV vs GSLV 1. The PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) and GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) are two rocket launch systems developed by the Indian Space Research Organization, or ISRO, to launch satellites into orbit. The PSLV is the older of the two and the GSLV even inherits some of the technologies of the former in its design. 2. The main reason behind the advent of the GSLV is the capability to lift greater loads into space. While the PSLV can only lift slightly over a ton of payload to GTO (Geostationary Transfer Orbit), the GSLV is capable of lifting more than double that with a rated capacity of 2 to 2.5 tons. 3. One of the main reasons why the GSLV has such an increased load is its utilization of a cryogenic rocket engine for its last stage. The cryogenic rocket engine provides more thrust than conventional liquid rocket engines but the fuel and oxidizer needs to be super cooled in order to keep them in a liquid state. 4. There is also a difference between the PSLV and GSLV in terms of the rocket itself. The PSLV has 4 stages that alternate between solid and liquid fuels while the GSLV has three stages with the only the first stage having solid fuel. 5. To assist the first stage in lifting the heavy rocket, the PSLV has 6 strap-on solid rockets. Four of these rockets are lit prior to the launch and the rest are fired in the air. The GSLV also has strap-on rockets but there are only 4 of them and they have liquid fuel. Although

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the strap-on rockets of the GSLV provide slightly less thrust than those on the PSLV, they burn three times longer and provide greater assistance to the first stage. 6. When you look at their track records, it is easy to see that the PSLV is more reliable. With 18 launches, 16 of those were successes while only the first one was a total failure; the remaining one is called a partial failure as the satellite did not reach the intended altitude. The 7 launches of the GSLV have had worse results with 4 ending in failure and only two successes; it also has one partial failure launch.

10. Kounotori Experiment (Very important for GS Prelims and Mains Paper III) Japan s space agency lauched Kounotori White Stork , a space capsule that will attempt to clean space debris orbiting around earth, using an unusual approach.

ORBITAL DEBRIS:

Orbital debris, which consists of man-made objects, is usually the residue of inactive space

vehicles.

WHY IS THERE A NEED TO CLEAN SPACE DEBRIS:

Because these objects move at high speeds and can collide with incoming space vehicles, there s a case for cleaning them out.

TECHNOLOGY USED: The Kounotori uses a kind of electrodynamic tether forged from thin wires of stainless steel and aluminium. One end of the strip will be attached to debris and the electricity

generated by the tether as it swings through the earth s magnetic field. It is expected to slow the speed of space junk and pull it into a lower and lower orbits.

Eventually the detritus will enter the earth s atmosphere, burning up harmlessly long before it has a chance to crash to the planet s surface.

WHAT IS ELECTRODYNAMIC TETHER?

An electrodynamic tether (EDT) is a simple idea, but one with an amazing number of uses.

An EDT system is made up of two masses in orbit connected by a long, flexible, electrically

conductive cable; the tether is essentially a wire that moves through the magnetic field of

the Earth (or another planet or large body).

11. What is a Death Star? (Question can be asked in Prelims)

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The Death Star is a star — a lot like our sun — that likely consumed the planets that once

orbited it.

HIP , is a kind of solar twin, about light years away, containing four times more lithium than what a typical 6-billion-year old star like it would normally have. It also

contains a huge store of heat-resistant metals which are found in abundance in rocky

planets. The amount of lithium and the engulfed rocky planet material in the atmosphere of

HIP68468 adds up to the equivalent of the mass of six earths.

Computer simulations show that billions of years from now, the accumulated gravitational tugs and pulls between planets will eventually cause mercury to fall into the sun but it isn t yet known if a similar fate awaits planet earth.

12. NITI Aayog rolls out health index (Question can be asked in Prelims)

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States to be ranked annually as per Performance on Health Outcomes index:

The government think tank NITI Aayog rolled out a Performance on Health Outcomes index

that will rank various States on the basis of their performance on measurable health

indicators.

What is Performance on Health Outcomes index?

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It is the index which is meant to capture the annual incremental improvements by States,

rather than focus on historical achievements.

It includes indicators in the domains of health outcomes and a few key inputs and

processes.

Relevance of the index:

1. It will be used to propel action in the States to improve health outcomes and improve

data collection systems.

2. The health index will assist in State-level monitoring of performance, serve as an input

for providing performance-based incentives and improvement in health outcomes.

13. India test launched Agni 5 (Very important for Prelims and Mains paper III)

India tested Agni 5:

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India tested its indigenously developed intercontinental surface-to-surface nuclear capable ballistic missile Agni- from the Wheeler Island APJ Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast. This was the fourth test of Agni-5 missile. While the first test was conducted in April 2012,

the second test was carried out in September 2013, and the third in January 2015.

Significance of Launch:

This is the second time that Agni-5 has been launched from a canister. Ability to launch

from a canister adds to the flexibility to launch missile from any base without sophisticated

capacity.

Specifications/About Agni 5: 1. The indigenously-developed Agni 5 is a surface-to-surface missile 2. Agni-5, is capable of striking a target more than 5,000 km. 3. It is about 17-metre long, 2-metre wide and has launch weight of around 50 tonnes. 4. The missile can carry a nuclear warhead of more than one tonne.

Present status of Agni Missiles:

The present armoury of Agni series includes:

1. Agni-1 with 700 km range

2. Agni-2 with 2,000 km range

3. Agni-3 with 2,500 km range

4. Agni-4 with 3500 km range

After some few more trials, Agni-5 will be inducted into the services.

14. India inching towards second strike capability (Very important for Prelims and Mains paper III)

With the test of AGNI 5 and the recent commissioning of the indigenously built nuclear

submarine INS Arihant, India is inching towards creating a robust and world-class second-

strike capability. For a nation sworn to no-first-use of nuclear weapons, a reliable second-

strike capability is an absolute necessity.

About Agni 5 launch:

Agni-V rose up from a canister mounted on a truck stationed at Dr. Abdul Kalam Island,

Odisha, and went up a few hundred kilometres before following a ballistic trajectory and

splashing down near Australian waters, some 20 minutes after the launch.

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This was the fourth test of the Agni-V missile, but the second from a canister mounted on a

road mobile launcher. With the four tests, Agni-V is now ready for induction into the

Strategic Forces Command, which already operates other Agni missiles with a target range

from 700 km to 4,000 km.

15. Gurgaon may become first in country to get Caterpillar Train (Very important for Prelims and Mains paper III)

Haryana Government has taken the lead to set up a pilot corridor for the Caterpillar Train (C-Train , a new concept for urban mass-transit solution in Gurgaon. It has been designed

by an Indian Railway officer Ashwani Upadhyaya which had won a global award at the MIT

in the United States. The C Train concept was co-invented by Ashwani Upadhyaya along

with Emil Jacob, both PhD scholars at MIT. C-Train, envisages a citywide network of

lightweight, elevated train coaches running at about 100 kmph.

What is Caterpillar Train? The Caterpillar Train is a miniature form of a tram that requires only a five metre-wide

road for installation, making it a suitable mode of public transport near residential areas.

Its coaches have wheels below and on top, giving it a caterpillar-like appearance.

The train is envisaged to have lightweight cars that run on top of or suspended below

elevated rails supported by steel poles. The weight, cost and size of the coaches, apart from

usage of land, is very less in comparison to a metro train. Unlike the metro, which relies on

heavy pillars and corridors, a caterpillar train runs on poles joined together to form an

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arch.

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Relevant only for Prelims

1. China opens world s highest bridge to traffic

China has opened Beipanjiang towering bridge hanging 565 metres (1,854 feet) above a

gorge in southwestern China to traffic. It is claimed to be the world s highest bridge.

2. India s first Digi Dhan mela held in Gurugram

The first Digi Dhan mela in the country was held in Gurugram, Haryana to promote digital

and cashless transactions.

Events at mela

1. The Lucky Grahak Yojana (LGY) for consumers and Digi Dhan Vyapar Yojana (DVY) for

merchants were launched to enable people to purchase items only by making digital

payment.

2. The fair also educated the people on how to use mobile phones or AADHAR for making

payments online.

Objective of the scheme

The Union Government has launched LGY to encourage the consumers and DVY to

encourage merchants for transition to digital payments. The main focus of these award

based schemes is to bring the poor, lower middle class and small businesses into the digital

payment fold. The National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) is the implementing

agency for these schemes. The award based schemes were started on December 25, 2016

and will end on April 14, 2017 on Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti.

3. Meghalaya to host 2022 National Games and Goa will host in 2017

Meghalaya will host the 2022 National Games. In this regard, Indian Olympic Association IOA accepted Meghalaya s bid to host the National Games. Meghalaya will be the third northeastern state after Manipur and Assam to host the National Games. The 2022 National Games will coincide Meghalaya s years of statehood. Goa is hosting National Games in November 2017.

4. Sasikala, became the General Secretary of AIADMK

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Sasikala became General Secretary of AIADMK:

V.K. Sasikala was nominated general secretary of the AIADMK by its general council.

Factors that favored Sasikala becoming the Secretary of the Party:

1. She was the closest friend of Jayalalithaa, something that means a lot in the personality

cult-based structure of the AIADMK.

2. Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, the only other possible contender, himself backed Ms.

Sasikala.

Other issues with regard to the AIADMK (party politics):

1. A possible risk is that the authority of Mr. Panneerselvam as Chief Minister could be

undermined by the ascent of Ms. Sasikala.

Already several ministers have, both privately and publicly, urged her to take over as Chief

Minister. The post is hers for the asking, given that she has the backing of most MLAs; Mr.

Panneerselvam himself is unlikely to offer any resistance.

2. However, as an accused in the disproportionate assets case against Jayalalithaa, Ms.

Sasikala is awaiting a judgment in the Supreme Court in an appeal against her acquittal by

the Karnataka High Court after a conviction by the trial court.

3. Following searches in the residential and office premises of Chief Secretary P. Rama

Mohana Rao by Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate authorities, questions have been

raised about the involvement of higher-ups in the AIADMK in corruption. This has been

reinforced by the fact that some top leaders have been close to mining baron Sekhar Reddy,

who has been arrested for possession of huge amounts of cash in new currency notes.

5. Cheetahs sprinting towards extinction, only 7, left: Study

Study states Cheetahs are on the verge of being Extinct: Cheetahs are sprinting to extinction due to habitat loss and other forms of human impact, according to a new study out this week which called for urgent action to save the world s fastest land animals.

Count of Cheetahs:

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Cheetah numbers in Zimbabwe have plunged by more than 85% in 16 years and fewer than

50 individuals survive in Iran, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Wildlife

Conservation Society (WCS) warned.

The study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, estimated that

just 7,100 cheetahs remain in the wild, occupying just 9% of the territory they once lived

in. There were an estimated 100,000 cheetahs at the beginning of the 20th century,

according to previous estimates.

6. After Tarun Gogoi, Mahanta loses NSG security cover

Former Chief Minister of Assam Prafulla Kumar Mahanta who was an ally of the National

Democratic Alliance-I has been stripped of National Security Guard (NSG) cover.

Rationale behind scrapping the national security guard cover: The move is in line with the government s efforts to stop the specialised counter-terror

force from performing VIP security duty.

The Home Ministry removed the NSG cover of Mr. Gogoi, Former Assam CM in a previous

exercise.

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About NSG (National Security Guard) Cover:

Persons protected by the NSG are entitled to Z plus security and at any given time around

40 commandos are deployed to provide proximity cover.

There are 13 other VIPs enjoying such security, including Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Criticism:

It is alleged that the decision had not been taken on merit but due to political reasons as

Mr. Gogoi belonged to opposition party, which is discriminatory.

7. India ranks 4th in 2016 Global Wind Power Installed Capacity Index

India ranked 4th in Global Wind Power Installed Capacity Index:

India ranked 4th in the Global Wind Power Installed Capacity index with cumulative

installed wind power generation capacity of 25,088 MW in 2015. The index was released as

part Global Wind Report Annual Market, flagship publication of the Global Wind Energy

Council (GWEC).

Key facts:

The index was topped by China, followed by US and Germany with cumulative installed

wind power generation capacity of 145362 MW, 74471 MW and 44947 MW respectively.

India has achieved the largest-ever wind power capacity addition of 3,423 MW in 2015-16,

exceeding the target by 44%.

8. PM lays foundation stone of country s first Indian Institute of Skills in Kanpur

PM inaugurated IIS, Kanpur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid foundation stone of the country s first Indian Institute of Skills (IIS) in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He also inaugurated the Kaushal Pradarshini (Skill

Exhibition) for the youth of Uttar Pradesh to portray major skill development initiatives of

the Union Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Ministry.

About Indian Institute of Skills (IIS):

The IIS is being opened by the Union Skill Development Ministry in partnership with the

Institute of Technical Education, Singapore.

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The idea of IIS was conceptualised by PM Modi during his visit to Singapore s Institute of Technical Education. Its primary objective is to empower India s youth to be more employable and self-sustainable. The Union Skill Development Ministry is also set up six

such institutes across country in coming years.

Kaushal Pradarshini is a skill exhibition for the youth of Uttar Pradesh to showcases state-

of-the-art vocational training practices across different sectors.

9. 6,117 Kuchipudi dancers put A.P. in Guinness book

Kuchipudi in world record: With a spectacular Mahabrinda Natyam show, , performers created a new Guinness World Record here, for the largest Kuchipudi dance.

Dancers from across the country were joined by those from U.S., Dubai, U.K., Russia, Hong

Kong and Mauritius.

About Kuchipudi:

Kuchipudi is one of the ten major Indian classical dances. It originated in a village of

Krishna district in modern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kuchipudi is a dance-drama

performance art, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text of Natya Shastra.

About Guinness World Record:

A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and officially verified

in a specific skill or sport.

The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from

first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond.

10. Huge dead zone discovered in Bay of Bengal

Dead zone discovered in Bay of Bengal: Scientists including those from India have found a huge dead zone of an estimated , square kilometres in Bay of Bengal. This area is said to support microbial processes that

remove vast amount of nitrogen from the ocean.

What is Dead zone?

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Dead Zone is an area in water body that contains little or no oxygen (or they are hypoxic) in

bottom and near-bottom water. Mostly they occur naturally but it can be caused by

excessive nutrient pollution from human activities coupled with other factors.

They are well-known off western coasts of North and South America, off coast of Namibia

and off west coast of India in Arabian Sea.

What has led to the expansion of dead zones?

In recent times, warming of the atmosphere through climate change is predicted to lead expansion of dead zones in the ocean.

Key Findings

Researchers, demonstrated that some oxygen does exist in the Bay of Bengal waters. But

the concentration of oxygen is much less than standard techniques could detect and some

10,000 times less than that found in the air-saturated surface waters.

The researchers also discovered that the Bay of Bengal hosts microbial communities that

can remove nitrogen but at really slow rates. Removing more nitrogen from the oceans

could affect the marine nitrogen balance and rates of marine productivity.

11. Delhi L-G Najeeb quits

LT. Governor of Delhi, Najeeb Jung quits:

The decision of Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung to quit surprised the Union as well

as Delhi administration.

A senior Home Ministry official said that Mr. Jung would be required to continue in his

office till a successor was appointed even as sources close to him confirmed that the former academician had been contemplating a stint at teaching for some time now . The reason of

sudden quit is not yet clear.

12. Blue ice

Airlines denied the practice of Blue ice:

Domestic airlines have denied dumping human excreta mid-air. They said the lavatory

waste is stored in a tank inside the aircraft. It is cleaned by the ground crew only after the

plane lands.

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Dumping of waste during the flight may happen rarely due to leakage. Some aviation

experts said it was not possible for a pilot to dump a tank while in flight, as there were no

controls inside the aircraft for doing this.

What is blue Ice?

Blue ice, a term used for frozen sewage material leaked mid-air, as a rare occurrence which signifies a leaking toilet system, leading to the formation of ice in high altitude.

Background:

National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered a fine of Rs. 50,000 on airlines emptying toilet

tanks in the air.

In its order, the NGT had asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to issue a

circular to all airlines using the Delhi airport to ensure that they do not release any waste

while landing or taking off at the airport or near it.

Petition filed:

The petitioner had told the court that excreta fall on houses near the airport due to evacuation of the aircraft toilet canisters while flying.

13. Sunny Leone to receive PETA person of the year award

Sunny Leone- PETA person of the year:

Actress Sunny Leone will receive PETA's person of the year award for her dedication to

promoting the rescue of homeless dogs and cats, as well as her compassion for animals

abused and killed for their skin.

What is PETA?

PETA is an non- governmental organization which stands for People for Ethical treatment

of animals. PETA has branches across the world.

14. Nomura s India growth indicator slumps to -yr low

Nomura indicated lowest CLI in 20 yrs: Japanese financial major Nomura said its Composite Leading Index CLI for India for early — tracking the non-agricultural GDP growth with a two-quarter lead — had slumped

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to the lowest level since the series started in 1996, due to demonetisation and the

consequent cash crunch.

What is the 'Composite Index of Leading Indicators'?

The Composite Index of Leading Indicators, otherwise known as the Leading Economic

Index (LEI), is an index published monthly by the Conference Board used to predict the

direction of global economic movements in the months to come.

It is made up of 10 economic components, whose changes tend to precede changes in the

overall economy. The Conference Board, founded in 1916, is an independent research

association that provides its member organizations with economic and financial

information.

BREAKING DOWN 'Composite Index of Leading Indicators'

The 10 components of the Composite Index of Leading Indicators are:

1. The average weekly hours worked by manufacturing workers;

2. The average number of initial applications for unemployment insurance;

3. The amount of manufacturers' new orders for consumer goods and materials;

4. The speed of delivery of new merchandise to vendors from suppliers;

5. The amount of new orders for capital goods unrelated to defense;

6. The amount of new building permits for residential buildings;

7. The S&P 500 stock index;

8. The inflation-adjusted monetary supply (M2);

9. The spread between long and short interest rates; and

10.Consumer sentiment.

The Composite Index of Leading Indicators is a number used by many economic

participants to judge what is going to happen in the near future. By looking at it in relation

to business cycles and general economic conditions, investors and businesses can form

expectations about what is ahead, and make better-informed decisions.

15. Cyrus Mistry steps down as director of Tata group firms

Cyrus Mistry resigned from Tata Group of companies:

In a surprise move, Cyrus Mistry resigned from the boards of all publicly listed companies of the Tata group after Ratan Tata s illegal coup to unceremoniously remove him as the chairman of Tata Sons.

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16. Point of Sale terminals: How do they work?

The government wants banks to install three lakh Point of Sale terminals in the next three

months. Following the withdrawal of high-value currency notes, activity at PoS terminals

saw exponential growth, even as the number of new such machines installed has also gone

up. Here is how it works:

What is a PoS terminal?

A point-of-sale (POS) terminal is a computerised replacement for a cash register which can

process credit and debit cards. A customer needs to enter a card PIN to complete the

transaction using the PoS terminal.

What are the charges?

The end-customer does not have to pay any charges for swiping his or debit/credit cards at

the PoS terminals.

However, the merchant has to pay the issuer bank what is known as merchant discount

rate (MDR). The issuer bank is the one which installs the machines at the merchant

establishment. In theory, though customers don t have to pay, in practice, merchants increase the cost of the product and services sold, in a move to pass on the charge incurred

by them to the customer.

Separate charges for debit and credit cards

MDR is capped for debit cards but not for credit cards. Effective July 1, 2012, RBI capped

the MDR for debit cards at 0.75 per cent of the transaction amount for value up to Rs.2,000

and 1 per cent for a transaction amount for value above Rs.2,000.

For credit cards, the MDR varies between 1.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent. Following the

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withdrawal of legal tender status to the old Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 currency notes, RBI had

asked banks to waive off the MDR till the end of December.

Last week, RBI also lowered the MDR cap for debit cards effective between January 1 to

March 31, 2017. In this period, MDR is capped at 0.25 per cent for debit card transactions

up to Rs.1,000 and 0.5 per cent for transactions above Rs.1,000 up to Rs.2,000.

Settlement

The accounts are settled at the end of the day when the merchant opts for it. The bank credits the amount to the merchant s account, after deducting charges, the next day.

Sharing of charges

The MDR that the merchant pays is divided among three entities, the issuer bank (which

issues the debit card), the acquirer bank (which installs the PoS), and the payment

gateway. The issuer bank get the maximum share of the MDR.

17. In surprise move, Lt. Gen. Bipin Rawat appointed next Army Chief

Lt. Gen Bipin Rawat appointed as new Army Chief:

The government announced Lt Gen Bipin Rawat as the next Chief of Army Staff.

Controversy held in appointment:

The appointment goes against the long held tradition of appointing the senior most eligible

officer to the post.

By seniority, Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern

Command should have been appointed.

Similar instance in history:

The last time the senior most eligible officer was not appointed was in 1983 when Prime

Minister Indira Gandhi choose to appoint Lt Gen A.S. Vaidya as the Chief contrary to

expectations that Lt Gen S.K. Sinha would be the Chief. Lt Gen S.K. Sinha, then Vice Chief,

choose to resign in June 1983 after the appointment though he was to retire in early 1984.

Implication of the Appointment:

With this appointment two senior most officers have been superseded, unprecedented in

the military so far. Lt Gen P.M. Hariz, Southern Army Commander is second in seniority

after Lt Gen Bakshi.

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Who is Chief of Army Staff?

The Chief of the Army Staff is the commander and usually the highest-ranking officer of the

Indian Army. The position is abbreviated as COAS in Indian Army, and usually held by a

four-star officer in the rank of General.

The current COAS is General Dalbir Singh, who took office on 1 August 2014 following

retirement of General Bikram Singh. Lt Gen Bipin Rawat, will succeed General Dalbir Singh

when he retires on 31 December 2016

18. Rio gets UNESCO world heritage status

Rio entered the list of UNESCO Heritage Sites:

Rio de Janeiro, nicknamed the Marvelous City, officially entered the UN's list of world

heritage sites in recognition of its soaring granite cliffs, urban rainforest and beaches.

Prominence of City:

Rio got a big tourism boost during the 2014 football World Cup and this August's Olympic

Games. However, persistent high crime, last year's Zika epidemic, and political instability

have hurt the city's image.

19. Pakistan launches Babur missile

Pakistan Army has successfully test fired an enhanced version of an indigenously-designed

Babur cruise missile. The missile incorporates advanced aerodynamics and avionics that

can strike targets both at land and sea with high accuracy.

Range: It can hit targets located at 700 km with all kinds of warheads. Thus, it brings many

Indian cities within its range.

20. A towering tribute to Bhakti saint Ramanuja

About the statue:

A towering 216-feet-high panchaloha statue of 10th century Bhakti saint Ramanuja will be

the second biggest in the world (the tallest being the Great Buddha in Thailand at 302 ft),

forming the centrepiece of a Rs.1,000 crore complex of 108 temples on the outskirts of

Hyderabad.

What is statue of equality:

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The Statue of Equality crafted in China is conceptualised as a tribute to Ramanujacharya s

philosophy and teachings, and its installation will mark the launch of the 1,000th birth

anniversary celebrations.

About Ramanuja

Ramanuja (traditionally, 1017–1137 CE) was a Hindu theologian, philosopher, and one of

the most important exponents of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition within Hinduism. He was

born in a Tamil Brahmin family in the village of Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. He is

philosophical foundations for devotionalism were influential to the Bhakti movement.

21. Trump: Time person of the year

Person of the Year (called Man of the Year until 1999) is an annual issue of the United

States news magazine Time that features and profiles a person, a group, an idea, or an

object that "for better or for worse has done the most to influence the events of the year".

22. Justice J S Khehar is the new CJI

Justice J S Khehar is the 44th Chief Justice of India (CJI).

23. B.S. Bhullar to head DGCA

B.S. Bhullar, a 1986-batch IAS officer has been appointed chief of the Directorate General of

Civil Aviation (DGCA).

What is DGCA?

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is the Indian governmental regulatory

body for civil aviation under the Ministry of Civil Aviation. This directorate investigates

aviation accidents. It is headquartered in New Delhi.

24. Motorised paraglider completes 4,500-mile migration to follow migratory birds The conservationist and human swan Sacha Dench has become the first woman to cross the English Channel in a motorised paraglider during her epic 4,500-mile journey following

migrating birds from the Russian tundra to Britain to better understand the reasons for

their declining numbers.

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25. JAYALALITHAA NO MORE

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa who is also the general secretary of the All India

Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is no more. She suffered a cardiac arrest a

day earlier. She was 68.

There are two main political parties in Tamil Naidu, the ruling party AIADMK and the

opposition party DMK.

About Jayalalithaa

Jayalalithaa Jayaraman (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian actor and

politician who served five terms as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, for over fourteen

years between 1991 and 2016. She was a leading actress before her entry into politics and

appeared in 140 films from 1961 to 1980 in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi industries.

26. Baluchari Sarees: An iconic Textile

About Baluchari Sarees:

Baluchuri Sari is a type of sari, a garment worn by women across India and Bangladesh.

This particular type of sari originated in Bengal and is known for depictions of mythological

scenes on the pallu of the sari. It was mainly produced in Murshidabad (presently

Bishnupur) and its surrounding places of West Bengal is the only place where authentic

Baluchuri sarees are produced.

The Baluchari Sari has been granted the status of Geographical indication in India.

27. Asthana is interim CBI chief

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

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

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

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

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

130


After almost a decade, the country s premier investigative agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), will not have a full-time director, with the government handing over

additional charge of the post of director to a Gujarat cadre IPS officer, Rakesh Asthana,

currently its additional director, following the superannuation of Anil Kumar Sinha.

How is CBI Director appointed?

The CBI director is picked by a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the

Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India for a two-year term. However, the Modi administration did not call a meeting of the committee to select Mr. Sinha s successor in the agency.

28. Nikki Haley appointed as US Ambassador to UN

Nikki Haley (born Nimrata "Nikki" Randhawa) is an American politician who has served as

the 116th Governor of South Carolina since 2011. President-elect Donald Trump has

nominated Haley for Ambassador to the United Nations.

Haley is the first woman to serve as Governor of South Carolina; at the age of 44, she is the

youngest current governor in the United States. She is the second Indian-American, after

Bobby Jindal, to serve as governor in the United States.

Practice Questions based on Current affairs

1. The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 is an Act of the Parliament of

India which prohibits desecration of or insult to the country's national symbols, including

the National Flag, The Constitution, Indian map and the National Anthem. The maximum

imprisonment under the act for causing disturbances to any assembly engaged in singing of

national anthem is

(a) Imprisonment of six months

(b) Imprisonment of one year

(c) Imprisonment of three years

(d) Imprisonment of five years

2. Launched in 2005, Janani Suraksha Yojna, the world s biggest conditional cash-transfer

scheme, aimed to promote institutional delivery instead of delivering babies at home to improve India s infant and maternal mortality rates. Consider the following statements

regarding Janani Suraksha Yojna:

1. Janani Suraksha Yojna is available to all women irrespective of their economic status.

2. Janani Suraksha Yojna is available in both urban as well as rural areas.

3. Under Janani Suraksha Yojna Accredited Social Health Activist who motivate women for

institutional delivery was also given cash incentive.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1 and 2

(b) 1 and 3

(c) 2 and 3

(d) 2 only

3. President Pranab Mukherjee has approved the Payment of Wages (Amendment)

Ordinance, 2016, to enable industries to pay wages through cheque or by direct credit into

bank accounts of workers earning up to Rs. 18,000 a month without their permission. What

is the maximum life of an ordinance?

(a) One month

(b) Six months

(c) 1 year

(d) No time limit is mentioned in the constitution

4. Which of the following are within the powers of National and State Human Rights

Commission?

1. The commissions can take up cases of human rights violations and make

recommendations for monetary compensation to victims.

2. It is mandatory on the Union and respective State government to execute the orders of

the Commissions.

3. Commissions have powers of civil courts when it comes to summoning witnesses or

documents.


(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 3

(c) 2 and 3

(d) 1, 2 and 3

5. India has a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with MERCOSUR and both the sides are

looking to expand its coverage. Which are the following nation is not a member of

MERCOSUR?

(a) Brazil

(b) Argentina

(c) Uruguay

(d) Bolivia

6. On the IBSA Fund, the three IBSA member-nations had in March 2005 agreed that each

of them will pitch in with an annual contribution of $1 million to the Fund. Which one of the

following statements is correct about IBSA fund?

(a) The fund amount is utilized on projects only in India, South Africa and Brazil.

(b) The fund is constituted to overcome harmful impacts of climate change.

(c) The fund is utilized for promotion of cultural exchanges among member nations.

(d) The fund is utilized for various types of projects mainly in developing nations.

7. The Union Cabinet gave its approval to the Cadre review and formation of a new service

in the name of Indian Enterprise Development Services (IEDS). IEDS is proposed to

function under which of the following ministries?

(a) Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

(b) Ministry of Personnel

(c) Ministry of Labour and Employment

(d) Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

8. The Heart of Asia (HoA) process underscores the need for regional cooperation and

confidence-building to resolve underlying problems facing Afghanistan. Recently, the

(HoA) conference was held at which of the following places?

(a) Amritsar

(b) Istanbul

(c) Kabul

(d) Islamabad

9. Which of the following pair is not correctly matched?

Country : Community in news

1. India : Lamas

2. Myanmar : Rohingyas

3. Bangladesh : Chakmas

Select correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 2 only

(b) 3 only

(c) 1 and 2 only

(d) None of the above

10. Sittwe is the name of port in Asia. India is engaged in development of Sittwe port. The

port is located in which of the following countries?

(a) Myanmar

(b) Bangladesh

(c) Iran

(d) Vietnam

11. Khanjar is a joint military exercise of India with a Central Asian nation. Which of the

following Central Asian nation partners India for this exercise?

(a) Tajikistan

(b) Turkmenistan

(c) Kazakhstan

(d) Kyrgyzstan

12. Which of the statement about International Solar Alliance (ISA) are incorrect?

1. Only those countries which completely lie between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic

of Capricorn are current members of ISA.

2. The objective of the mission is to send a joint mission to the sun by 2025 to study about

various solar phenomena.


(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

13 Which of the following can be directly attributed to demonetization exercise of India?

1. Increase in GDP growth and job creation.

2. Inflation has been brought down.

3. Digital push for Indian economy.


(a) 1 and 3 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) All of the above


14. Which of the following statements about Agni 5 are correct?

1. It is indigenously developed, surface-to-surface, intercontinental nuclear capable

ballistic missile.

2. It is capable of striking a target more than 7,000 km.

3. The missile can carry a nuclear warhead of more than one tonne.


(a) 1 and 3 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) All of the above


15. Which of the following statement represents the functions of currency chests?

(a) These are actually storehouses where banknotes are stocked.

(b) These are units where currency notes are printed.

(c) These are regional head branches of various banks.


16. The government recently decided that all gold jewellery will now be taxed under the

Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016, passed by the Lok Sabha. However certain

categories are declared exempted. Which of the following categories given below are

exempted.

1. Every female is allowed jewellery amounting to 500 gm of gold.

2. Male member of a family is allowed jewellery amounting to 100 gm of gold.

3. Gold jewellery received through inheritance.

4. Gold jewellery bought through disclosed income.


(a) 1, 2 and 3

(b) 1, 3 and 4

(c) 2, 3 and 4

(d) All of the above

17. In the electronic banking terminology, which of the following terms are correctly

expanded?

1. IMPS - Indian Money Payment Service

2. UPI - United Payments Interface

3. NEFT - National Electronic Funds Transfer


(a) 3 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) All of the above

18. Which of the following provision is there in National Food Security Act, 2013?

(a) The act covers 75% of total population and recognizes the legal right of the population

for food.

(b) The actual beneficiaries are identified by the central government.

(c) The beneficiaries are entitled to rice, wheat and coarse cereals at rate of Rs. 1, 2 and 3

per kg respectively.

(d) To improve the status of women, the act requires replacement of existing ration cards

with new ration cards in the name of adult woman of the household.

19. With reference to megaports planned under Sagarmala project, match the following

places with respective states

State Place

1.Kerala a.Machilipatnam

2.Tamil Nadu b.Colachel

3.Karnataka c.Vizhinjam

4.Andhra Pradesh d.Tadadi

e.Sagar Island


(a) 1-e ,2-c ,3-d ,4-a

(b) 1-c ,2-a ,3-b ,4-e

(c) 1-c ,2-d ,3-b ,4-a

(d) 1-c ,2-b ,3-d ,4-a

20. India's first Indian Institute of Skills (IIS) is being set up by the Union Skill Development

Ministry in partnership with the Institute of Technical Education, Singapore. Where will it

be located?

(a) Kanpur

(b) Hyderabad

(c) New Delhi

(d) Bengaluru

21. Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional grouping that promotes

economic, political, and security cooperation. Which of the pair is incorrect set of member

countries of ASEAN?

(a) Brunei, Laos, Indonesia

(b) Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar

(c) Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand

(d) Vietnam, Japan, Philippines

22. Recently a committee on Digital Payments suggested to set up a separate independent

board for retail payments - PRB (Payments Regulatory Board). The committee was headed

by

(a) Ratan Watal

(b) Urjit Patel

(c) Amitabh Kant

(d) Y. Venugopal Reddy

23. Recently a mobile app named BHIM was in news. Which of the following are correct

about BHIM app:

1. BHIM is Aadhaar-based payments app developed by CERT-In.

2. The app is rebranded version of UPI (Unified Payment Interface), allows easily

transferring of money or making a payment from bank account using only phone

number.

3. It is an app launched by the Government of India celebrating Bhimrao Ambedkar's

125th birth anniversary, informing people about life of the father of India's

Constitution.


(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 3 only

(d) 1 and 2

24. Tallow is used in paper currency to make paper currency last longer and stay cleaner. What is Tallow?

(a) It is a type of tree pulp.

(b) It is a type of animal fat.

(c) It is a type of inorganic compound.

(d) It is a type of Oil derived naturally from earth.

25. Which of the following capital city is situated on National Highway 2 (NH-2)?

(a) Lucknow

(b) Imphal

(c) Kolkata


26. Which of the following are correct about Hyperloop technology?

1. It is transportation system in which a tube carrying passengers travels at speed of 1200

Km/hr in a vacuum.

2. It uses power from renewable sources of energy.


(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

27. Japan s space agency recently launched Kounotori with aim:

(a) to study kuiper belt objects.

(b) to orbit Mars and look for possibility of oxygen generation on the planet.

(c) to clean space debris orbiting around earth using an unusual approach.

(d) to monitor Chinese activity on disputed Spratly Islands in South China Sea.

28. A towering 216-feet-high statue will be the second biggest in the world (the tallest

being the Great Buddha in Thailand at 302 ft). The statue will be located in a complex of

108 temples on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The statue is proposed to be called as Statue of

Equality . The statue will be a tribute to which of the following Indian Philosopher?

(a) Ramanuja

(b) Shivaji Bhonsle

(c) Vallabhbhai Patel

(d) B. R. Ambedkar

29. Nikki Haley (born Nimrata "Nikki" Randhawa) is an American politician of Indian

origin. Recently, President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Haley for which of the

following posts?

(a) Ambassador to the United Nations

(b) Ambassador to South Asian region

(c) Secretary of State

(d) Foreign Secretary

30. Consider the following statements about PSLV and GSLV?

1. The PSLV is the older of the two and the GSLV even inherits some of the technologies of

the former in its design.

2. The GSLV can lift greater loads into space as compared to PSLV. One of the main reasons

why the GSLV has such an increased load is its utilization of a cryogenic rocket engine for

its last stage.

3. The PSLV has 4 stages that alternate between solid and liquid fuels while the GSLV has

three stages with the only the first stage having solid fuel.


(a) 2 and 3 only

(b) 1 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 2 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer Key

1- (c) 2- (c) 3- (b) 4- (b) 5- (d)

6- (d) 7- (a) 8- (a) 9- (d) 10- (a)

11- (c) 12- (c) 13- (b) 14- (a) 15- (a)

16- (c) 17- (a) 18- (d) 19- (d) 20- (a)

21- (d) 22- (a) 23- (b) 24- (b) 25- (b)

26- (c) 27- (c) 28- (a) 29- (a) 30- (d)

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