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INDEX

1. National news 1.1 Centre approves creation of National Testing Agency

1.2 Currency in Public hands surges

1.3 Centre doubles down on GST’s gains for consumers

2. International News 2.1 Pacific deal reached, sans U.S

2.2 South China sea, Rohingya on ASEAN map

2.3 Ready to alter economic corridor route China

3. Polity and Governance 3.1 New Education policy draft by Dec

3.2 Why haven’t electric cars caught on in India, asks SC

3.3 Over 200 govt websites made Aadhaar details public: UIDAI

4. Economy 4.1 Weak Manufacturing drags down IIP growth to 3.8%

4.2 More banks may sign MOUs with govt

4.3 Economy gets Moody’s thumbs up

5. Science and Tech 5.1 Forget curtains switch to smart windows

5.2 Burden of disease shifts to non-communicable ailments

5.3 PSLV built by domestic industry by 2020

6. Environment / Geography 6.1 Bonnet macaques losing their ground in south India

6.2 Green activists hail BS-VI roll-out plan

7. Security 7.1 Futuristic combat vehicle plan a game changer: Army

8. India and World 8.1 India, Russia chopper deal on right track

8.2 Pacific Ocean’s 11 - Trans-Pacific Partnership

9. Short News

9.1 DSC prize for Arudpragasam


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Current Affairs (11 to 20 November, 2017)

1. National News

1.1 Centre approves creation of National Testing Agency

The Union Cabinet approved the creation of a National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct

entrance examinations for higher educational institutions.

Its creation will relieve the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) – which conducts

exams like the National Eligibilty-cum-Entrance Test – and the All India Council for Technical

Education of the burden of conducting entrance tests.

The Hindu had first reported on December 13, 2016, about the Centre's move to set up the NTA.

“The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the creation of

a National Testing Agency (NTA) as a Society registered under the Indian Society Registration

Act, 1860, and as an autonomous and self-sustained premier testing organization to conduct

entrance examinations for higher educational institutions,” said a press release.

The NTA will begin by conducting exams managed by the CBSE and gradually conduct other

examinations too.

“The entrance examinations will be conducted in online mode at least twice a year, thereby

giving adequate opportunity to candidates to bring out their best,” the release added. “In order

to serve the requirements of the rural students, it would locate the centres at sub-

district/district level and as far as possible would undertake hands-on training to the students.”

The NTA will be chaired by an eminent educationist appointed by the Ministry of Human

Resource Development. There will be a Board of Governors comprising members from user

institutions.

The Centre will give an initial grant of ₹25-crore to the NTA to start its operations in the first

year. Thereafter, it will be self-sustaining.

“Establishment of NTA will benefit about 40 lakh students appearing in various entrance

examinations. It will... also bring in high reliability, standardized difficulty level for assessing the

aptitude, intelligence and problem solving abilities of the students,” the release said.

1.2 Currency in Public hands surges

Rapid remonetisation, coupled with the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax, may have

reversed some of the progress made towards a less cash economy — one of the objectives of

the demonetisation exercise of last year.

Currency in the hands of the public registered a robust growth after the new tax system was

rolled out in July.

According to data from the Reserve Bank of India, currency with the public, which was growing

at 14.7% on a year-to-date basis till June, gained momentum from July — the month when GST

was introduced.


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Between March 31 and October 27, currency in the hands of the public grew 22.5% as compared

with 6.6% a year earlier. The data shows currency with the public was Rs. 12.64 lakh crore at the

end of March and had grown to Rs. 15.48 lakh crore as on October 27.

The rapid pace of remonetisation was cited as one of the main reason for the growth in cash

with the public. Also, economists said the GST roll-out could be another reason as small traders

are now holding more cash.

RBI data shows currency in circulation was Rs. 16.35 lakh crore on November 3, this year

compared with Rs. 17.94 lakh crore on November 4 last year, just before demonetisation was

announced. So, about 90% of the currency of the pre-demonetisation levels has come back into

circulation.

1.3 Centre doubles down on GST’s gains for consumers

A day after the Centre notified the latest set of cuts in the rate of tax to be levied on a wide

range of goods as part of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the Union Cabinet approved the


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creation of the National Anti-profiteering Authority to ensure that businesses pass on the

benefits of GST to consumers.

Coming well over four months after the new indirect tax system was introduced on July 1, the

decision to set up the enforcement body marks the government’s resolve to ensure that the

latest tax rate reductions approved by the GST Council on more than 200 items are

implemented immediately by businesses.

Crucially, the authority has been granted wide-ranging powers, including to cancel the

registration of offending firms in extreme cases.

The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the creation of the posts of Chairman and Technical

Members of the National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) under GST, following up immediately

on yesterday’s sharp reduction in the GST rates of a large number of items of mass

consumption.

This paves the way for the immediate establishment of this apex body, which is mandated to

ensure that the benefits of the reduction in GST rates on goods or services are passed on to the

ultimate consumers by way of a reduction in prices.

The GST Council held that restaurants had failed to pass on the benefit of input tax credit to

customers. It decided to remove restaurants’ ability to avail themselves of input tax credit while

at the same time slashing the final tax rate to 5%.

The changes including removal of input tax credit immediately spurred controversy, with some

restaurant chains including McDonald’s raising their pre-tax base prices while keeping the final

bill charged to customers unchanged, triggering a storm of protests on social media.


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2. International News

2.1 Pacific deal reached, sans U.S

Ministers from 11 Asia-Pacific countries agreed to press ahead with a major trade deal without

the U.S., as the world’s largest economy seeks to go it alone under President Donald Trump's

‘America First’ policy.

Mr. Trump pulled his country from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) at the start of the year,

dismaying allies and casting into doubt an agreement heralded for tying lower tariffs to strong

environmental and labour protections.

He has been something of a lone protectionist voice at the APEC summit in the Vietnamese city

of Danang where world leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping, have been keen to promote the

virtues of free trade and multilateral deals.

In a joint statement on Saturday morning, the remaining countries — dubbed the TPP-11 — said

they had “agreed on the core elements” of a deal at the sidelines of the APEC summit in the

Vietnamese city of Danang, after days of stalled talks raised fears it could collapse altogether.

The Ministers said further talks would be needed to reach a full consensus before inking the

deal, which now carries an even longer official name — the Comprehensive and Progressive

Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

2.2 South China sea, Rohingya on ASEAN map

The maritime dispute over the South China Sea, exodus of the Rohingya citizens of Myanmar

into Bangladesh and India, North Korean nuclear posturing and Islamic State-linked terrorism

are likely to be the key talking points at the 31st ASEAN summit beginning here on Monday.

The South China Sea has been at the centre of all discussions on multilateral problems at the

ASEAN-China level, which has been further complicated by China’s land reclamation projects

aimed at building air surveillance and domination projects in the region.

Common future

ASEAN has been battling with the task of framing a Code of Conduct (CoC) for the common

maritime future, which officials of the Philippines say is likely to get the green light during the

ASEAN summit.

“We expect the leaders to announce the negotiations but the actual start of the negotiations

will probably happen sometime next year,” Foreign Affairs spokesperson Robespierre Bolivar

said in a press interaction at the International Media Centre.

Attention is also focused on Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi who arrived here on

Saturday and her presentation of the Rohingya issue.

Rohingya crisis


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A Bangladeshi source told The Hindu that Dhaka expected ASEAN to raise the issue in a

prominent way and convince Myanmar to stop the atrocities against the Rohingya. It is likely to

be a major issue at the “retreat” where leaders can speak freely about all issues away from the

media glare.

“It will be discussed, it will be up to Myanmar to raise the issue because this is a domestic

concern for them,” said Mr. Bolivar giving the official position of the Philippines.

The presence of the pro-Islamic State militants in the Maraqi city in southern Philippines is also

expected to receive attention as the fight with the militants has been a major domestic issue of

the Philippines. The developments in Marawi have also emerged as a reason for it to seek

international support. China has in recent months extended support to the Philippines.

Counter-terrorism

“China also provided timely weaponry assistance in the counter-terrorism campaign in Marawi,

and on the second day after the campaign successfully concluded, Chinese engineering

machinery were delivered for local reconstruction,” said Premier Li Keqiang of China in a

newspaper article in Philippenes.

It is expected that the simmering tension between North Korea, the U.S. and Japan will also

feature prominently.

2.3 Ready to alter economic corridor route China

China may consider alternative routes through Jammu and Kashmir to address India’s concerns

regarding the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that passes through Pakistan-occupied

Kashmir (PoK).

In an interaction with experts on Chinese affairs and students, Beijing’s envoy Luo Zhaohui

suggested the alternative routes, and said he was keen on accomplishing a bilateral friendship

and trade treaty during his stint in India.

“We can change the name of CPEC [China Pakistan Economic Corridor]. Create an alternative

corridor through Jammu and Kashmir, Nathu La pass or Nepal to deal with India’s concerns,”

said the envoy in a speech at the Centre for Chinese and South-East Asian Studies in the School

of Language, JNU, on Friday.

The Ambassador made a detailed presentation of the expectations on both sides and said that

while the Dalai Lama’s presence and activities remain an issue for China, Beijing recognised that

India’s expectations on the CPEC and Masood Azhar were also issues that both sides need to be

deal with.

Dynamic situation

Referring to the dynamic situation in the world, Ambassador Luo said, “There is widespread

change in world affairs since the coming to power of President Donald Trump of the U.S.”


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“President Trump sealed $250 billion worth of trade deals with China. Would that be possible if

China was a threat,” he asked, arguing that China and India as growing economies must

cooperate with each other.

“One of my goals is to have a treaty of friendship and free trade with India,” he said, elaborating

that both sides need to find more areas to collaborate like the Delhi smog. “Beijing also has

smog and two sides can jointly deal with this issue.”


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3. Polity and Governance

3.1 New Education policy draft by Dec

Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar stated that the Kasturirangan

Committee on the new education policy was expected to submit its first draft by the end of

December.

Mr. Javadekar, however, did not offer a clear date as to when the policy — expected for the past

three years — would be implemented, saying this would happen well in time to ensure quality

education from 2020 to 2040.

“In the leadership of Dr. Kasturirangan, an eight-member team was formed. Two days ago, they

had a two-day meeting, which was their fifth meeting. They say they will give their first draft by

December-end,” Mr. Javadekar said.

To the next level

“I can say with certainty that this new education policy will for the next 20 years take the

country to the next level. It will offer a new vision of modern thought and growth in science,

technology and human values. It will ensure that good human beings and good citizens are

nurtured,” the Minister said.

Asked by when this would happen, the Minister said, “The idea is to have an ideal policy

effecting positive changes in education from 2020 to 2040. It will be implemented well in time

for this.”

Earlier, a committee had been set up under the leadership of the former Cabinet Secretary TSR

Subramanian to prepare a draft, which was eventually submitted but accepted just as “inputs”

for the policy.

The Kasturirangan Committee was set up after the submission of this draft.

3.2 Why haven’t electric cars caught on in India, asks SC

The Supreme Court on Friday wondered why big automobile companies are not investing in

solar-powered and battery-operated cars in India as much as they do abroad.

A Bench led by Justice Madan B. Lokur orally pointed out that solar and battery cars have

become popular across the world for their clean energy. The court said efforts should be made

to drive the market up for such cars in public interest and for a clean environment.

Emission norms

The car manufacturers, meanwhile, said they would meet the April 2020 deadline for achieving

BS-VI emission norms.


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The court directed the Union to respond to an application filed by its amicus curiae and senior

advocate Harish Salve to ensure sufficient supply of gas in the National Capital Region so that it

can be used as the principal fuel.

The court asked the Centre to respond to Mr. Salve’s application to “direct the Union to oversee

measures to strengthen the distribution of electricity in the NCR to ensure that there is no

shortfall in the availability of electricity”.

The Centre, represented by Additional Solicitor General A.N.S. Nadkarni, has sought some time

to respond to the court.

3.3 Over 200 govt websites made Aadhaar details public: UIDAI

More than 200 Central and State government websites publicly displayed details such as names

and addresses of some Aadhaar beneficiaries, the Unique Identification Authority of India has

said.

In response to an RTI query, the Aadhaar-issuing body said it had taken note of the breach and

got the data removed from those websites. It, however, did not specify when the breach took

place.

It said Aadhaar details have never been made public from/by UIDAI.

“However, it was found that approximately 210 websites of Central and State government

departments, including educational institutes, were displaying the list of beneficiaries along with

their name, address, other details and Aadhaar numbers for information of general public,” it

said.

The Centre is in the process of making Aadhaar mandatory to grant benefits of various social

service schemes.

“UIDAI has a well-designed, multi-layer approach and a robust security system in place and the

same is being constantly upgraded to maintain the highest level of data security and integrity,”

the RTI reply said.

The architecture of the Aadhaar ecosystem has been designed to ensure data security and

privacy which is an integral part of the system from the initial design to the final stage, it said.

Continuous updates

“Various policies and procedures have been defined, these are reviewed and updated

continually thereby appropriately controlling and monitoring any movement of people, material

and data in and out of UIDAI premises, particularly the data centres,” the UIDAI said.

It said security audits are conducted on a regular basis to further strengthen security and privacy

of data. Besides this, all possible steps are taken to protect the data, the authority said.


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4. Economy

4.1 Weak Manufacturing drags down IIP growth to 3.8%

Industrial production grew at a slower pace of 3.8% in September, mainly due to subdued

performance of the manufacturing sector, coupled with contraction in output of consumer

durables.

Factory output measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) rose 5% in

September 2016 and 4.5% in August this year, data released by the Central Statistics Office

(CSO) showed on Friday.

According to the data, IIP grew at a meagre 2.5% in April-September this fiscal compared to

5.8% in the first half of 2016-17.

In September, growth in the manufacturing sector, which accounts for 77.63% of the index,

slowed to 3.4%, from 5.8% a year earlier. During April-September, manufacturing grew at 1.9%,

down from 6.1% in the same period last fiscal.

Consumer durable goods output contracted by 4.8% in September as against a growth of 10.3%

in the previous year. During the first half of this fiscal, the output of these goods declined by

1.5% as against a growth of 6.9% last year.

Electricity generation growth slipped to 3.4% in September compared to 5.1% a year before.

However, mining recorded a growth of 7.9% in the month under review as against a contraction

of 1.2% a year ago.

According to the use-based classification, growth rates in September 2017 came in at 6.6% for

primary goods, 7.4% for capital goods, 1.9% for intermediate goods and 0.5% for

infrastructure/construction goods compared to the previous year.

4.2 More banks may sign MOUs with govt

The government is planning to ask more public sector banks to enter into an agreement with it if

they want more capital, provided banks improve their performance.

This was communicated by finance ministry officials to the bankers in the two-day meeting that

concluded on November 12.

Earlier, the government had entered into an agreement with 11 banks, and had asked them to

submit a turnaround plan and had linked capital infusion with the pace of turnaround.

Conditional infusion

Some of the banks that had been asked by the government for a turnaround plan in that

instance were IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, UCO Bank and United

Bank of India. “In the last six months some more public sector banks have reported losses.

These banks also have to sign an agreement with the government for capital,” said a chief

executive of a public sector bank who attended the meeting.


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In the earlier round of MoUs, banks were asked to achieve several parameters such as reduction

in gross non-performing assets, increase in recovery, restriction of slippages, among others. In

other words, capital infusion in these laggard banks were to be linked to their performance.

Recently, the government had announced a capital infusion of ₹2.11 lakh crore in public sector

banks over two financial years, starting from the current fiscal. Of the amount, the government

plans to issue recapitalisation bonds worth ₹1.35 lakh crore and the remaining would come

from budgetary provisions and fund raising by banks from the market.

While finance ministry officials have not committed any time frame by which the first tranche of

capital will be infused, bankers said they expected it by December.

The Reserve Bank of India has mandated 50% provision for cases admitted in the National

Company Law Tribunal. Initially, the RBI had handed over a list of 12 companies for insolvency

and bankruptcy proceedings.

It added a second list comprising 28 companies, bad loans to which were to be resolved by

December, failing which they too were to be referred for bankruptcy proceedings.

4.3 Economy gets Moody’s thumbs up

Global credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Services raised India’s sovereign rating for the

first time in 13 years, citing the country’s high growth potential in the years to come, thanks to

economic and institutional reforms.

“The decision to upgrade the ratings is underpinned by Moody’s expectation that continued

progress on economic and institutional reforms will, over time, enhance India’s high growth

potential and its large and stable financing base for government debt, and will likely contribute

to a gradual decline in the general government debt burden over the medium term,” the agency

said in a statement, upgrading the Indian government’s rating as a local and foreign currency

issuer from Baa3 with a positive outlook to Baa2 with a stable outlook.

Borrowing obligations rated Baa2 are subject to moderate credit risk. They are considered

medium grade and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics. Baa3, by contrast,

was the lowest investment grade rating.

A rebuttal to critics

For the government, the upgrade serves as a strong rebuttal for critics who have panned its

handling of the economy — coming on the back of India’s rise in the World Bank’s ease of doing

business index, and as a culmination of persistent efforts to get rating agencies to acknowledge

India’s improved macroeconomic situation.

The financial markets reacted positively to the development, with the BSE Sensex rising 236

points and the rupee rising to ₹64.62 per dollar before closing at ₹65.02 per dollar, up 0.47%.


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Acknowledging that some steps such as the GST and demonetisation have ‘undermined’ growth

in the near term as reflected by the slower GDP growth of 5.7% in the first quarter of 2017-18,

Moody’s said it expects real GDP growth in India to moderate to 6.7% in this fiscal year.

But the agency believes that the disruption effect of these reforms will fade as the government

helps small and medium enterprises and exporters with compliance issues under the new

indirect tax regime and growth will rise to 7.5% in 2018-19, and remain robust, thereafter.

Higher growth potential

“Longer term, India’s growth potential is significantly higher than most other Baa-rated

sovereigns,” the agency said.

“While a number of important reforms remain at the design phase, Moody’s believes that those

implemented to date will advance the government’s objective of improving the business

climate, enhancing productivity, stimulating foreign and domestic investment, and ultimately

fostering strong and sustainable growth,” it noted.

Asked if a slippage on the fiscal deficit targets for this year could trigger a review of the rating,

William Foster, vice-president, Sovereign Risk Group at Moody’s Investors Services, said the

stable outlook denotes that “we do not expect a rating change in the foreseeable future.”

“We forecast the general government budget deficit at 6.5% of GDP this fiscal year, similar to

the last two fiscal years. Lower government revenues than planned in the budget and somewhat

higher government spending could lead to a deficit somewhat wider than targeted. However,

we think that the government’s commitment to fiscal consolidation remains,” Mr. Foster told


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The Hindu, asserting that steps taken to broaden the tax base and improve the efficiency of

government spending will contribute to a gradual narrowing of the deficit over time.

Although the rating agency agreed that a lot remains to be done such as fixing the GST’s

implementation challenges, weak private sector investment and the slow resolution of banks’

bad loans, Moody’s said it expects at least some of these issues to be addressed over time and

will help further improve the Indian government’s effectiveness and overall institutional

framework.

Basing its upgrade on the sustainable growth that reforms will trigger and the greater stability in

government debt going forward, the agency also flagged the need for acting on other important

fronts ‘which have yet to reach fruition’ such as planned land and labour market reforms.


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5. Science and Tech

5.1 Forget curtains switch to smart windows

Scientists at Bengaluru have developed a smart window that automatically turns from

transparent to opaque when heated and also gets back to its original transparent state when

the heat is removed. These windows can

potentially be used in homes, offices, and even

cars and aeroplanes.

Researchers at the Centre for Nano and Soft

Matter Sciences (CeNS) have come up with

three different types of windows

(thermochromic, hydrocarbon, hydrogel) with

different behaviours.

Windows made of hydrogel change from transparent to opaque when heated and back to

transparent when heat is removed. Thermochromic and hydrocarbon windows are opaque at

room temperature and become translucent and transparent respectively when heated.

Solar and electronic controls

Basic component of these optoelectronic devices (electronic devices that operate on both light

and electrical currents) is the transparent heater.

Thermochromic windows have an ordinary glass-based transparent heater coated with

commercially available temperature-sensitive pigments. This allows it to turn from opaque to

translucent when heated “This window can be used in cold winter regions, when you want the

sun to warm up your room through passive smart window.

The second and third type windows were fabricated by filling in either hydrocarbon (commonly

available fatty acid) or a hydrogel (hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose) between a glass mounted

with transparent heater and a plain glass.

The hydrogel windows can restrict infrared radiation thus reducing the indoor temperature. The

researchers found that the temperature in an experimental control area with hydrogel window

was nearly 10 degree C lesser than plain glass windows.

5.2 Burden of disease shifts to non-communicable ailments

The ‘India State Level Disease Burden’ report, prepared as part of the Global Burden of Disease

(GBD) Study 2016, and published in Lancet, has found that every State in India has a higher

burden from non-communicable diseases and injuries than from infectious diseases.

The study used multiple data sources to map State-level disease burden from 333 disease

conditions and injuries, and 83 risk factors for each State from 1990 to 2016.


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“The contribution of non-communicable diseases to health loss — fuelled by unhealthy diets,

high blood pressure, and blood sugar — has doubled in India over the past two decades. Air

pollution and tobacco smoking continue to be major contributors to health loss.

The estimates are based on analysis of all identifiable epidemiological data from India over 25

years. The report, which provides the first comprehensive set of state-level disease burden data,

risk factors estimates, and trends for each state in India, is expected to inform health planning

with a view toward reducing health inequalities among States.

The effort was to produce an open-access, public good knowledge base, which has the potential

of making fundamental and long-term contributions to improving health in every state of the

country, through provision of the best possible composite trends of disease burden and risk

factors for policy makers to utilise in their decision making.

5.3 PSLV built by domestic industry by 2020

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing to hand over the entire gamut of

launch vehicle manufacture to domestic industry by

2020.

“Until now, public and private industries have only

supplied devices, components and sub-systems for ISRO’s

launch vehicles, including the PSLV and the GSLV. Our

effort is to give a push to industry for production of end-

to-end systems.

By 2020, we hope to have the first completely industry-

built PSLV,” Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC)

Director K. Sivan.

Consortium of companies

Inaugurating the National Aerospace Manufacturing Seminar (NAMS 2017) organised by the

Society of Aerospace Manufacturing Engineers, he said efforts were on to set up a consortium of

companies for the purpose.

“Ultimately, we hope to see industry make the transition from vendors supplying parts, to

partners providing integrated systems”.

The theme of the seminar was ‘Aerospace Manufacturing in India-Vision 2030.’

ISRO already has a partnership with private industry to produce satellites. The IRNSS-1H

communication satellite aboard the ill-fated PSLV C-39 was the first to be produced by a

consortium of six companies.

He stressed on the need for industry to reduce the manufacturing and material cost without

compromising on quality to bring down the launch cost. ISRO, he said, had tightened tolerance

to error following the failure of the PSLV- C39 mission.

Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) Director S. Somanath said the industry partnership for

satellite production had paved the way for the transition to industry-made launch vehicles. He


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said automation and the increased use of composites and additives were turning the

conventional manufacturing process on its head.

Reusable launch vehicles promise to bring down launch cost but pose a problem for industry

due to lower demand. The solution is to create a market for more missions.


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6. Environment / Geography

6.1 Bonnet macaques losing their ground in south India

It’s tough times for south India's bonnet macaques — a monkey that we think is irritatingly

common could be losing ground to the larger and more aggressive rhesus macaque of the north.

Other factors contributing to their decline include rapid urbanisation (as roadside trees are

felled and vegetation lost) and their disappearance from temples and tourist spots, says a study

published in PLOS ONE.

Bonnet macaques are endemic commensals: they are found only in peninsular India and live in

close proximity with humans, adapting to habitats ranging from riverside temples to roadside fig

trees.

However, a study in 2011 suggested that rhesus macaques were invading the bonnet’s habitats

in south India.

Surveys

To assess the current status of bonnet macaques, a team of scientists from institutes including

Tamil Nadu’s Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) surveyed roadsides

(1,140 km in total) in peninsular India which were considered the southernmost boundary for

rhesus macaques and compiled distributional data from earlier studies in the area.

They found that rhesus macaques have spread as far south as Karnataka’s Raichur district —

adding 24,565 sq km to their former range — in an area where bonnet macaques used to reside.

The team collated information on bonnet macaque presence from surveys between 1989 and

2015 along 651 km of Mysore's roadsides and found that over the last 25 years a staggering 65%

of the population has disappeared.

The scientists predict that many of these populations will go locally extinct in 10 years. High-

resolution satellite and Google Earth imagery between 2000 and 2006 and from 2015 onwards

showed a decrease in tree cover on and around these roads; the loss of contiguous canopies

now prevents the monkeys from colonising new areas.

6.2 Green activists hail BS-VI roll-out plan

Environmentalists welcomed the Centre’s decision on Wednesday to advance the rollout of

cleaner fuel, compliant to Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI) norms, in Delhi by two years, but added that a

regional approach was needed to make it more effective.

The Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas announced that BS-VI fuel norms would be

implemented in Delhi by April 1, 2018, instead of the scheduled deadline of April 2020. For the

rest of the country, the earlier deadline would remain.

Sunita Narain, director general of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and a member

of the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, said: “This is the kind of


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proactive and responsive leadership we need to see in our government. This is also the kind of

drastic measure that is required given the scale of the crisis.”

In a statement, the CSE said that it was ironic that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry had

taken the lead instead of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, which is the nodal ministry

for environment regulations.

While the complete gains of the BS-VI norms would only be seen when vehicles also moved

from BS-IV to the new norms, the decision to advance the cleaner fuel standards should not be

underestimated, said Anumita Roychowdhury, CSE’s executive director and the head of its anti-

air pollution campaign.

For others, the step, though welcome, did not cover a large enough area. With the National

Capital Region facing a smog crisis due to a combination of crop burning in Punjab and Haryana

and high background pollution in Delhi last week, the need for region-wide action was once

again highlighted.


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7. Security

7.1 Futuristic combat vehicle plan a game changer: Army

The two ambitious projects to equip the Army with futuristic combat vehicles are a game

changer for the Indian industry, a senior Army officer.

“The Futuristic Infantry Combat vehicle (FICV) and

Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV) programmes are

going to be the biggest game changers for the Indian

defence industry ecosystem… Sometimes big ticket

items take little more time but they do not fall. I am

confident that very shortly you will hear the FICV going

into the next level,” said Lt. Gen. AB Shivane, Director

General Mechanized Forces while addressing a seminar on armoured vehicles organised by the

Centre for Joint Warfare Studies.

The FICV is an ambitious effort to indigenously design and manufacture a futuristic infantry

vehicle by the private industry by roping in foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers.

The Army has a requirement for more than 2,600 vehicles.

On the other hand, the FRCV is a tender for the procurement of futuristic tanks through the

Strategic Partnership model. Last week, the Army had issued the Request For Information (RFI)

for 1,771 tanks. Lt. Gen. Shivane said the FRCV would replace the Russian T-72 tanks presently in

service.

Speaking at the seminar, Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat said the Army was passing through an

important phase in equipment management.

Arjun tanks to continue

Rejecting reports that the FRCV programme would “scuttle” the indigenous Arjun tank, Lt. Gen.

Shivane said the service had already inducted the Arjun Mk-1 tanks.


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8. India and World

8.1 India, Russia chopper deal on right track

India and Russia are in the final stages of concluding the deal to build Kamov-226T utility

helicopters in India. A Russian team is in India to hold discussions on the joint venture that will

manufacture the helicopters.

“A Russian team is in India for technical discussions on the JV with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.

(HAL). The Request For Quotation (RFQ) should be issued by the government to the JV in about

a month or so after the current round of discussions,” an official source said.

India and Russia have concluded an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for 200 helicopters

with technology transfer estimated to cost over $1 billion.

As per the deal, 60 helicopters will be imported from Russia and at least another 140 built in

India by the HAL.

After the RFQ is issued to the JV, the final commercial deal should be concluded very quickly as

there are fixed timelines on the process, the source added.

The India-Russia JV is between the HAL and Russia’s Rostec-JSC Rosoboronexport and Russian

Helicopters.

The Kamov-226T helicopters are meant to replace the ageing and obsolete Cheetah and Chetak

fleets of the Indian armed forces. The number is expected to go beyond 200 given the large

requirement from the services.

India and Russia intend to export the Kamov-226T to third countries after meeting the domestic

requirement.

8.2 Pacific Ocean’s 11 - Trans-Pacific Partnership

When Donald Trump abandoned the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in his very first

week after being sworn in as U.S. President, there were doubts whether the trade agreement,

painstakingly negotiated over more than a decade, would survive.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had termed the TPP without the United States — which

contributed 60% of the combined Gross Domestic Product of the 12 members — as

“meaningless”.

Ten months on, exactly at a time when Mr. Trump was visiting Vietnam, trade ministers from

the remaining 11 nations agreed in Danang in principle to a new pact, the Comprehensive and

Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), revising some of the features

of the TPP.

For the agreement to take effect, the pact requires domestic ratification, which is expected to

be complete by 2019.

This major step taken by the 11 countries of the Pacific Rim excluding the U.S. is a reflection of two

things.


22


First, these countries recognise that multilateral free trade, contrary to any misgivings, is

beneficial in the long run.

The TPP in its current form has significant protections for labour and environment and is in this

regard an advance over other free trade agreements.

Second, the U.S.’s self-exclusion reflects a failure on the part of the Trump administration;

studies have shown significant benefits in comparison to minor costs — in terms of jobs — to

the U.S. on account of the pact.

US Stand on TPP

As things stand, the pact without the U.S. can only be interpreted as yet another step that

diminishes American power and the international order that it has so far led.

Already, Mr. Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord and his repudiation of the

Iran nuclear deal have raised suspicions about American commitment to well-negotiated

treaties that seek to solve or have solved long-standing issues.

Mr. Trump couches his regime’s policies as populist nationalism — ‘protecting labour’ in the

case of the abandonment of the TPP, promoting jobs in fossil fuel-intensive sectors to justify the

repudiation of the Paris Accord, and retaining American exceptionalism in West Asian policy in

scrapping the Iran nuclear deal.

While rhetoric to this effect had fuelled his presidential campaign with a heavy dose of

populism, the actual effect of going through with these actions has been to create a suspicion

among America’s allies about his reliability when it comes to standing by old commitments.

Mr. Trump’s agenda to pull his country out of multilateral agreements has coincided, ironically,

with the rise of China as the leading world power promoting globalisation.

Now the ASEAN-plus-six Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), on which China

is pushing for an agreement, could benefit from complementarities with the CPTPP.

India, which is also negotiating the RCEP, must utilise this opportunity to win concessions on

services trade liberalisation as part of the plan.


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9. Short News

9.1 DSC prize for Arudpragasam

Sri Lankan writer Anuk Arudpragasam on Saturday took away the 2017 DSC Prize for South Asian

Literature for his powerful novel The Story of a Brief Marriage .

The award was announced at the closing ceremony of the three-day Dhaka Lit Fest in the

Bangladesh capital and was a fitting end to a festival that saw a record turnout in the historic

Bangla Academy campus.

The book was given the award for its “intensity and rich detail,” said Ritu Menon, jury chair, who

highlighted that it had been a tight contest. The other four short-listed works were equally

acclaimed books — Anjali Joseph’s The Living , Aravind Adiga’s Selection Day , Karan Mahajan’s

The Association of Small Bombs , and Stephen Alter’s In the Jungles of the Night .

The winning book is a tender exploration of unexpected love set in the middle of the terrible

violence of the Sri Lankan civil war.


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