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From Plate To Plough: A vision coloured green http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/union-budget-2018-operation-greens-allocation-arun-jaitley-indian-farmers-5069070/

The finance minister in his budget speech announced Operation Greens, on the lines of Operation Flood, with a seed capital of Rs 500 crore.

India is the second largest producer of vegetables in the world with about 180 MMT. Operation Greens wants to replicate the success story of the operation flood in fruit and vegetables, starting with tomatoes, onions and potatoes.

The main objective of this project is to reduce price volatility in these commodities, thereby helping farmers boost incomes on a sustainable basis.

It also aims to provide these vegetables to consumers at affordable prices The litmus test of this scheme would be in containing the explosions and

arrests in prices Yields of potatoes, onions and tomatoes have shown a healthy growth by

contributing to almost half of the country’s vegetable production. Major hurdle being price collapse when their production rises sharply. Onus lying on country lacks modern storage facilities and the links between

processing and organized retailing are very weak. Operation green

Links major consumption centers to major production centers with a minimal number of intermediaries.

The APMC Act will have to be changed to allow direct buying from FPOs, and giving incentives to these organisations, private companies and NGOs to build back end infrastructure as was done in the case of milk under operation flood.

The announcement of tax concessions to FPOs(farmer producer organisations) for five years is a welcome step, if it encourages building such critical infrastructure

Second is the investment in logistics, starting with modern warehouses, that can minimize wastage

Third is linking the processing industry with organized retailing. Dehydrated onions, tomato puree and potato chips should become cheap, so

that an average household can use them Processing industry adds value and absorbs surpluses. Hence the finance

minister’s announcement of increasing the allocation for the food processing industry by 100 per cent is a welcome step.

Sex ratio at birth dips in 17 of 21 large states

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Sex ratio at birth is an important indicator and reflects the extent to which there is reduction in number of girl children born by sex-selective abortions Context

A report was released by Niti Aayog about Sex Ration at Birth (SRB) which said there was decline in 17 out of 21 states of the country and laid emphasis on the need to check on sex selective abortion and implement the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994 effectively.

Gujarat recorded an alarming dip of 53 points where SRB fell to 854 females from 907 females per 1,000 males born from 2014-15 (base year) to 2015-16 (reference year) in this indicator

Details Gujarat is followed by Haryana, which registered a drop of 35 points,

Rajasthan (32 points), Uttarakhand (27 points), Maharashtra (18 points), Himachal Pradesh (14 points), Chhattisgarh (drop of 12 points), and Karnataka (11 points), the Healthy States, Progressive India report states.

However certain states did witness some progress and improvement. Punjab registered a rise of 19 points, followed by Uttar Pradesh (10 points) and Bihar (9 points).

Despite having maximum newborn deaths, India reduces under-five mortality rate by 66% Reduction in under-five deaths

1. India has notched up a 66 percent reduction in under-five deaths between 1990 to 2015

2. Still, India has the largest number of babies dying in the world 3. India is the only major country in the world to have a higher mortality for

girls as compared to boys Meeting MDG target

1. India has almost met its Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target, though it is way past the MDG era

2. With the current rate of decline, India is back on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target for the under-five mortality of 25 per 1,000 live births by 2030

3. This was highlighted in a UNICEF report named “Every Child Alive” 4. Reducing child mortality s not only a part of the Sustainable Development

Goals but also a part of the National Health Policy Quest for innovation http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/quest-for-innovation/article22785743.ece Background:

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Nationally representative study of diabetes in India has found that more than 10% of Indians living in urban areas are affected with the disorder.

However, the more worrisome fact is that half the population living with diabetes has absolutely no knowledge of it.

Health care is one of the few sectors that calls for ongoing investment and persistent research, innovation and development

Delivering pioneering medicines to tackle the ever-increasing occurrence of new diseases, is central to health care and pharmaceuticals

There is a persistent global drive to invent fresh, life-saving and life-improving treatments to counter diabetes.

Our government has a long way to go in order to integrate world innovation with health policies and tackle an epidemic such as diabetes.

This is appropriate as the country’s youth populace is increasingly being exposed to non-communicable diseases (NCDs)

Therefore, without a proper policy to integrate global innovation into the India’s health-care dominion, the nation’s development is in peril.

People living with diabetes, nearly every aspect of their life gets affected like special dietary concerns and the necessary lifestyle alterations, along with daily medicines and regular check-ups.

The clamor for a robust world-class IPR policy is needed in the country, if we are to fortify our efforts to tackle diabetes.

India, Iran and a divided Middle East First presidential visit from Iran since 2003

• Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani is on three-day visit to India • For the Islamic Republic of Iran, it is the best of times and the worst of times • Iran’s regional influence has never been as expansive as it is today • Yet, there is a huge push back against Tehran from some of its Arab

neighbors, Israel and the Trump Administration Delhi’s biggest current challenge in dealing with Iran

• There is a conflict sharpening between Iran and Saudi Arabia • India’s public discourse on relations with Iran has for long been framed it in

terms of Tehran’s relations with Washington • During the early decades of the Cold War, India stayed away from the Shah

of Iran, a secular modernizing ruler • This was because he was too close to the United States • Today, one of the main problems is the unending enmity between Iran and

the US India was relieved when the US, under President Barack Obama, and Iran in

2015 concluded a nuclear deal The deal opened up some space for international commercial cooperation

with Tehran Recognising the reality of regional conflicts in the Middle East

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• India would certainly want to see a serious effort to reconcile the current tensions between Iran and its Arab neighbors

• Delhi does not have the power to mitigate the tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia

• But Delhi can certainly encourage the emerging trends for political and social moderation in the Middle East

• India has positively viewed the recent calls from the political leadership in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE for reclaiming Islam from violent extremists

Chabahar Port Details

The $500 million deal promises to lead to the development of a deep-water port, a 500-km rail line linking it to Iran’s rail network, and new aluminium and urea plants.

The Chabahar agreement marks a new level in India’s overseas ambitions, establishing a genuinely strategic presence not just in one of the world’s great energy markets, but potentially giving Indian business access to some of the fastest-growing economies of the future.

Freed of sanctions, Iran’s economy is expected to grow sharply in coming years; Indian businesses will now be in a position to capitalise on the coming boom.

Though Central Asia has faced severe economic difficulties in recent years, as a consequence of low energy prices, there’s little doubt about the region’s long-term potential.

The deal will also allow India to expand its strategic presence in Afghanistan, allowing businesses in both countries to bypass a Pakistan that has proven reflexively hostile to allowing transit rights to trade between them.

In short, the deal signals that India, like China, has big-league ambitions. Strategic importance of the move

India has also been able to convince USA that Indo-IRAN relations should not be looked in the context of US-IRAN relations as Afghanistan is important and IRAN hence becomes important link.

Through IRAN, India is also having its focus on Central Asia beyond to Russia and Europe.

So, India with Australia, USA, Japan and IRAN are also trying to have an alternative maritime route to OBOR

USA was not able to achieve much in the region despite all security & military measure, and economic assistance, so it is looking towards India as a prospective partner to stabilise the situation in Afghanistan.

USA is now willing to put pressure on Pakistan so that it does not destabilise Afghanistan any more than what it has been doing.

Indian strategic goal is achieved proving Pakistan to be the roadblock in stabilising Afghanistan and its trade with India through land route.

There can be no stable Afghanistan without Pakistan ceasing its interference and India can’t be a major player in Afghanistan which Pakistan sees as a strategic depth.

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If this route becomes successful and viable then Afghanistan’s growth will take-off India’s investment in a big way, but India should also keep Chinese and Pakistan’s interruption in mind.

Issue Area The fate of the Chabahar project will depend on successive governments

showing sustained resolve in the face of geopolitical hurdles. Relations between Tehran and the West, though vastly improved, remain

fraught, with many hardliners in Iran believing the country was short-changed in the nuclear deal that paved the way for an end to sanctions. Differences over Iran’s role in Syria and Afghanistan.

Indian governments will also have to incentivise private corporations for using the Iranian route to transit goods to Central Asia, rather than the fast, cheap networks they now use through Singapore and China.

Finally, the project can only be successful if Indian manufacturing is globally competitive

Way forward One is that the port itself, with a relatively modest capacity, must not become

a casualty of dilatory work by the Indian agencies responsible. Second is that ambitions must not be moderate should indeed be expanded.

Not just Afghanistan,but all of Central Asia should be opened up to trade with India through Chabahar.

India has been rightly wary of the Chinese international infrastructure investment programme that goes by the name of “One Belt, One Road”; but the extent that it plans to link Iran to eastern China through Central Asia should not be ignored in the development planning for Chabahar.

India needs to energize its diplomacy to keep engagement with Iran on an even keel,irrespective of outside pressure.

On both security and economic grounds, therefore, the re-emergence of Iran has given India a big new card to play in its neighbourhood. It must use the additional strategic space wisely, and follow up on commitments swiftly.

Chabahar-Zahedan railway In May 2016, during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to Iran,

agreement was signed to develop two terminals and five berths at Port of Chabahar and to build a new railway line between Chabahar and Zahedan, as part of North–South Transport Corridor, by Indian Railway’s public sector unit Ircon International

The law, penalty, and aid for acid attack cases SC verdict for acid attack survivors

1. The Supreme Court in May 2013, while ruling on the case of Delhi-based acid victim Laxmi Agarwal, called for regulation on the sale of acid

2. It directed state governments across the country to frame a policy for the welfare of victims

3. SC also ruled that state governments should hand over Rs 3 lakh as compensation for victims and ensure free treatment at any hospital

Effect of SC verdict

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1. Since the SC’s 2013 ruling, states have taken steps to regulate the sale of acid such as sulphuric acid and hydrochloric acid, which are used for toilet cleaning purposes

2. Dairy farmers use sulphuric acid to determine fat content in milk Plans on for ‘parallel’ Belt and Road

1. Australia, the U.S., India, and Japan are talking about establishing a joint regional infrastructure scheme

2. This would be an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative 3. It is an attempt to counter Beijing’s spreading influence

Details not available 1. The plan involving the four partners was still nascent 2. It is unlikely to be announced during Australian Prime Minister’s visit to the

U.S. later this week India-ASEAN Relations India recently hosted the mega India-ASEAN commemorative summit shortly, marking 25 years of bilateral relations. How did the partnership evolve?

• Ever since the launch of the Look East Policy in 1991, the bilateral relations have travelled a long distance.

• The two sides established a Sectoral Dialogue Partnership in 1992. • This was elevated to a full-fledged dialogue partnership in 1996, and India

also became a member of ASEAN Regional Forum. • The bilateral tie up was further taken to a strategic partnership level in 2012. • Currently, ASEAN and India have about 30 platforms for engagement,

including an annual leaders’ summit and ministerial dialogues. • The India-ASEAN bonhomie has broadened at political, strategic, security

and defence level ties, in addition to the economic realm. • ASEAN is now clearly the central pillar of India’s Act East Policy.

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How is the economic integration?

• Despite multifrontal engagements, the prime focus continues to be the furtherance of economic and commercial ties.

• Evidently, ASEAN is India’s 4th largest trading partner, and India is the 7th largest trading partner of the bloc.

• The economic integration process further strengthened after the creation of the ASEAN-India free trade area in 2010.

• This was followed by the implementation of the India-ASEAN agreement on services and investment in 2015.

• Given all these, the bilateral trade and investment ties are still way below the true potential.

• Besides, the balance of trade has always been in favour of ASEAN member countries.

• The Indian FDI into ASEAN nations accounts for 22% of its total outbound FDI; far less in comparison to the US, the EU and Japan.

• Also, the investment share is skewed, with 99% of the total FDI inflows from the region coming from Singapore alone.

• This is because of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with Singapore.

• The other major Southeast Asian economies including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand account for less than 1%.

What are the roadblocks?

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• SMEs are a vital aspect of both Indian as well as the ASEAN economy, contributing nearly 45% to the Indian manufacturing.

• However, a range of factors hamper FDI inflows and SMEs collaboration between India and ASEAN countries.

• Some of them include: 1 challenges in establishing a supply chain 2 poor infrastructure 3 bad maritime and air connectivity 4 bureaucratic costs involved in complex tax and duty structures 5 licensing, and other business activities • Complexity - All the countries of the region have differing levels of socio-

economic development, posing a challenge. • The Indian SMEs have to adjust with a new set of supply-chain strategies to

each country's varying regulatory requirements. • Technology - The SME sector in India is hugely dependent on foreign

technologies because of lack of in-house R&D. • China - The CLVT countries (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand) are

emerging as manufacturing hotspots for China. • China is increasingly outsourcing its production to countries along the Belt

and Road project, mainly ASEAN members. • Given the low levels of manufacturing, these countries stand to gain from

industrial capacity cooperation with China. • The dominant Chinese footprint in the region makes the competition even

tougher for Indian SMEs. What should India focus on?

• Technological upgrading is pivotal to enabling the SMEs to be more competitive in the global market.

• India's logistics sector and the supply-chain environment should be developed to a world-class level.

• The ongoing projects and arrangements for infrastructure development and connectivity should be carried on without delays.

• They include: 1 India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway 2 Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles

Agreement, 2016 3 Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project (linking the

Kolkata with Myanmar’s Sittwe port) • LDCs of ASEAN bloc, like Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar, are the

beneficiaries of generalised system of preferences in US and EU. • Indian manufacturers setting up business units here are bound to get the

benefits while exporting to the US and EU markets. India must use the upcoming commemorative summit to project it as a lucrative investment destination for the ASEAN countries. Building maritime capacity in South-East Asia ASEAN’s rising importance

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1. ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) has been on a roll since January

2. In the span of slightly over a month, the 10-member regional bloc participated in four major events: the commemorative summit with India, Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting Retreat, Asean Foreign Ministers’ Retreat, and an informal defense ministers’ meeting with China

Problems being faced by ASEAN 1. Asean is certainly more preoccupied with the scourge of extremist violence

and terrorism, especially following the Marawi debacle (ISIS had besieged city of Marawi in the Philippines)

2. It is also coping with the evidently intensifying great power rivalries 3. There are concerns over the persistent militarization activities in the

disputed waters Prospects for India

1. India has more room to grow its involvement 2. Many ASEAN governments have long viewed New Delhi as a counterweight

to China 3. What New Delhi has in South-East Asia is what Beijing has only in the past

decade started doing and not yet accomplished in the Indian Ocean 4. Indian maritime forces have been conducting regular deployments east of

the Malacca Straits through a set of bilateral maritime security and naval relations

5. They have accumulated geographical familiarity and knowledge over many decades

Way forward It may reap greater benefits for these extra-regional powers to coordinate

with each other instead of disparate national approaches to assist South-East Asia’s maritime security capacity-building, which could lead to duplication and overlap of efforts

The Quad may serve as such a platform, short of being a formal alliance, to facilitate such efforts

Over 40 Indian languages, dialects heading to extinction Endangered dialects

• More than 40 languages or dialects in India are considered to be endangered • They are believed to be heading towards extinction as only a few thousand

people speak them Languages in the country

• According to a report of the Census Directorate, there are 22 scheduled languages and 100 non-scheduled languages in the country

• These are spoken by a large number of people — one lakh or more • There are 42 languages which are spoken by less than 10,000 people

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• A list prepared by UNESCO has also mentioned about the 42 languages or dialects in India are endangered and they may be heading towards extinction

SC verdict today on sharing of Cauvery waters

Why in news?

A Special Bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, will

pronounce its verdict on appeals filed by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala against

the final award of the Cauvery Tribunal in 2007 on the allocation of the river waters to

the three States.

What is Tamil Nadu’s plea?

The Tamil Nadu government urged the Supreme Court to initiate a fundamental change

in the water-sharing arrangement..

Tamil Nadu said it wanted a judicial order and did not want to depend on the Centre

that took six years to publish the Tribunal award in the gazette in 2013.

Is it the Parliament’s call?

Centre had tried to apprise the Bench that it was Parliament’s call to finalise the water-

sharing scheme under the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956.

But the court remained firm, saying the judiciary had a role and the judgment in the

appeals would speak for itself.

By upholding the approach of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal, the Supreme Court

has supported the possibilities of a practical water-sharing course of action among the

riparian States.

Decision

Court has reduced the Tribunal’s allocation for Tamil Nadu and raised Karnataka’s

share.

It has underscored that no single State has power in accessing water assets and that

streams are national resources. This is a critical acknowledgment of the guideline of

impartial dissemination of between State streams.

The Supreme Court’s message is that the Center ought to get down to making a lawful

and specialized system to execute the Tribunal’s honor, as adjusted by the judgment.

Strongest affirmation ever on a State’s right to its share of water on a regular basis

without having to hurry to the court for ad hoc orders to open the washes of reservoirs

during monsoon-deficit years.

Possible consequences at the state level

Tamil Nadu, as a State that has seen agrarian trouble in its delta areas, should be happy

with any recommended designation being met according to a schedule.

Karnataka can take heart from the decrease in its required discharge target and the

additional share for Bengaluru.

Neither State should be aggrieved by the condition that equity is at the heart of a water-

sharing arrangement.

Resolving Inter-state water dispute

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It is mainly about balancing the competing genuine demands and interests of each State

and coming up with a rational sharing arrangement.

The parties should see the judgments as the culmination of a fair and scientific

adjudicative process. They should pose no further impediment to the smooth

implementation of the order and be prepared, for the next 15 years, to share both the

bounty and distress caused by nature.

Centre has not covered itself in glory throughout the dispute It should comply with the

court’s direction and set up the Cauvery Management Board and Water Regulation

Committee as part of the scheme.

It will be terrible if the States and the Center are hesitant to acknowledge this decision

and decline to recognize its certainty.

Solar alliance biggest achievement since Paris accord: Modi

1. International Solar Alliance has been the biggest development on tackling climate change since the Paris Accord of 2015, according to PM Modi

2. The aim is to move towards a fossil-free future and keep global temperatures from rising above 2°C by end of century

3. He was speaking at World Sustainable Development Summit International Solar Alliance

1. The ISA was launched on November 30, 2015, in Paris, on the sidelines of COP-21, the UN climate conference

2. India and France initiated the International Solar Alliance and it already has 121 members

3. ISA aims at increasing solar energy deployment in member countries and it came into legal, independent existence in December

4. It is the first treaty-based international intergovernmental organization to be based out of India

5. The ISA aims to mobilize more than $1000 billion in investments by 2030 for “massive deployment” of solar energy

Should Supreme Court proceedings be live-streamed?

The Indian legal system is built on the concept of open courts.

Open courts are the ones where proceedings are open to all members of the public.

But in reality, on any given day, only a handful of people can be physically present and

are allowed in the courtroom.

To promote transparency, live-streaming has been allowed for both Lok Sabha and

Rajya Sabha proceedings since 2004.

Similarly, the recording of videos in the highest courts in Canada and Australia, the

International Court of Justice, shows that this exercise is neither novel nor so difficult

To educate common people on how the judiciary functions is a strong reason in favor

of allowing live-streaming of court proceedings

It presents a hope for the Indian legal system to finally deliver on its promise to

empower the masses, not be scared of them

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All you need to know about PNB fraud

In news

Punjab National Bank (PNB), the country’s second-largest public sector lender, is now

in the middle of a ₹11,400 crore transaction fraud case.

PNB informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that it has detected some fraudulent and

unauthorised transactions in one of its branches in Mumbai to the tune of $1771.69

million (approx).

Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) received two complaints from

PNB against billionaire diamantaire Nirav Modi and a jewellery company alleging

fraudulent transactions worth about 11,400 crore, the Press Trust of India reported.

This is in addition to the 280 crore fraud case that he is already under investigation for,

again filed by PNB.

According to the complaint filed by PNB with the CBI on January 28, the fraudulent

issuance of Letters of Undertakings (LOU) was detected at the Mid Corporate Branch,

Brady House in Mumbai.

A set of partnership firms — Diamond R US, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamonds —

approached the bank on January 16 with a set of import documents and requested for

Buyer’s Credit to make payments to overseas suppliers.

What is the role of CVC ?

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), India’s apex body for checking corruption

in the government, has summoned senior officials of the Reserve Bank of India and the

Finance Ministry, along with the Chief Vigilance Officer of Punjab National Bank

(PNB), early next week to assess how the Rs. 11,500 crore fraud reported by the

government-owned PNB, slipped past all the in-built checks and balances in the

banking system.

An official aware of the development said the CVC would like to ascertain if there is a

systemic issue that needs to be corrected, as it isn’t convinced by the bank’s claims that

junior employees colluded with the fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi and other

banks were to blame for not carrying out due diligence on the letters of undertaking

(LoUs).

What does the RBI have to say?

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the failure of internal controls was the main

reason for the Rs. 11,500 crore fraud that occurred in Punjab National Bank (PNB).

The banking regulator, in its first reaction since the issue came to light on described

the fraud as a case of operational risk arising out of delinquent behaviour by the bank’s

employees.

What is ‘KYE’? Is it time to bring back KYE?

The Rs. 11,500-crore fraud in the state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) has brought

back into focus the importance of Know Your Employee (KYE) norms for banks,

according to some experts.

As early as 2005, when the banking sector was in the initial stages of adopting

technology, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had highlighted the importance of banks

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enforcing KYE norms, which would act as a firewall against frauds committed in

connivance with employees.

Woods and trees ‘India State of Forest Report 2017’

• The Environment Ministry’s ‘India State of Forest Report 2017’ based on satellite imagery, present a net positive balance in the form of 24.4% of India’s land area under some form of forest or tree cover

• According to the report, forest and tree cover together registered a 1% rise over the previous estimate two years ago

• However, according to some experts, such an estimate through remote sensing does not really provide deep insights into the integrity of the green areas

What should be done? India must review the programmes that it has been pursuing to revive forests And move away from monoculture plantations that are favoured by even

forest development corporations in many States Scientific reforms to bring true nature back are needed

India Among Top Ten Nations in the World in Terms of Forest Area

India ranks among the top ten countries of the world in terms of forest area, despite the fact that none of the other 9 countries has a population density of more than 150 persons per sq km, compared to India, which has a population density of 382 persons per sq km.

India is ranked 10th in the world, with 24.4% of land area under forest and tree cover, even though it accounts for 2.4 % of the world surface area and sustains the needs of 17 % of human and 18 % livestock population”

The increase in the forest cover has been observed as 6,778 sq km and that of tree cover as 1, 243 sq km.

The total forest and tree cover is 24.39 percent of the geographical area of the country”

State-wise break-up Andhra Pradesh (2141 sq km), followed by Karnataka (1101 sq km) and

Kerala (1043 sq km) have shown the maximum increase in forest cover. Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover of 77,414 sq km in the

country in terms of area, followed by Arunachal Pradesh with 66,964 sq km and Chhattisgarh (55,547 sq km).

In terms of percentage of forest cover with respect to the total geographical area, Lakshadweep with (90.33 per cent) has the highest forest cover, followed by Mizoram (86.27 per cent) and Andaman & Nicobar Island (81.73 per cent)