table of contents · table of contents polity & governance ..... 1

Table of Contents

Polity & Governance .............................................................................................................................. 1

1. Five-judge statute Bench to decide on Aadhaar validity (Relevant for GS Prelims and

Mains Paper II) ............................................................................................................................................ 1

2. Judicial safe zones: on special deposition centres in courts (Relevant for GS Prelims

and Mains Paper II)) ................................................................................................................................. 2

3. Speed up trial of politicians, says SC (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II)..... 3

4. Death of Baby Sherin: Adoption process, who s eligible, what safeguards are in place

for the child (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II) ..................................................... 3

5. Moving up (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II) ........................................................ 5

6. The war on TB (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II) ................................................ 6

7. PM to inaugurate World Food India 2017 (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper

II) ....................................................................................................................................................................... 7

8. Various schemes and programs initiated by the Government to achieve the target of

Doubling of Farmers Income (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II) .................. 8

9. Delhi LG cannot simply sit on files and stultify governance: Justice Chandrachud

(Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II) ............................................................................... 8

10. On NTPC boiler blast: Unsafe boilers (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II) 10

11. SC comes to the aid of construction workers (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II, GS

Prelims) ....................................................................................................................................................... 11

12. Odd-even scheme called off (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II) ..................... 12

13. Stormy scenes in Supreme Court over college bribe case (Relevant for GS mains

Paper II)....................................................................................................................................................... 12

14. What is the lowdown on the fight against criminal MPs? (Relevant for GS Mains

Paper II)....................................................................................................................................................... 14

15. Medical college bribe case: CJI decides who hears a case even if facing allegation,

Supreme Court underlines (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper II) ............... 15

16. Cabinet approves Continuation of sub-schemes under Umbrella Scheme Integrated

Child Development Services (ICDS) (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper II)

......................................................................................................................................................................... 16

17. Shri R.K. Singh launches Saubhagya Web-Portal – a Platform for Monitoring

Universal Household Electrification (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper II)

......................................................................................................................................................................... 19

18. Regional connectivity scheme Phase II: Massive ramp-up in air links to North East, J-

K (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper II) .................................................................. 21

19. Money laundering case against retired Orrisa HC judge (Relevant for GS Mains

Paper II)....................................................................................................................................................... 22

20. Government set to achieve Rural Housing Targets (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains

Paper II)) ..................................................................................................................................................... 23

PrepMate.in PrepMate App

21. Why protesters are seeking ban on film Padmavati (Relevant for GS Mains Paper

II)24

22. Triple talaq: Govt plans to make practice a punishable offence, likely to table Bill in

winter session (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II) ........................................................................ 25

23. EPS-OPS group is AIADMK (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II) ...................... 26

24. More seats for Sikkim Assembly (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II) ............ 27

25. Transforming 115 backward districts across the country (Relevant for GS Mains

Paper II)....................................................................................................................................................... 29

26. Difference of opinion between the Judiciary and the executive over Judicial

appointments (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II) ........................................................................ 30

27. NK Singh appointed chairman of 15th Finance Commission (Relevant for GS Prelims,

Mains Paper II) ......................................................................................................................................... 30

28. All you need to know on Supreme Court ruling eased bail in money laundering

charge (Relevant for GS Prelims, Mains Paper II) ..................................................................... 32

29. SAUBHAGYA Scheme launched in Manipur (Relevant for GS Prelims, Mains Paper II

& III) .............................................................................................................................................................. 34

30. 12th Inter-State Council meet held (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II) .... 35

31. On I-T raids at Jayalalithaa s residence (Relevant for GS Mains paper II) ..................... 36

International Organizations and Relations ............................................................................... 38

1. 200 dead in N. Korean n-site mishap (Relevant for Mains Paper II)................................. 38

2. Terror in New York (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II) ................................... 38

3. On Rohingya crisis: Suu Kyi in denial (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II) 39

4. India s hopes fade for Farzad-B gas field deal (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains

Paper II)....................................................................................................................................................... 40

5. Change, yet continuity: on Jerome Powell s nomination as US Fed Chief (Relevant for

GS Prelims and Mains Paper II) ......................................................................................................... 41

6. Royal flush: on the surprise crackdown of Crown Prince of Saudi (Relevant for GS

Prelims and Mains Paper II) ............................................................................................................... 42

7. India Pavilion Launched at Cop 23 in Bonn Conserving Now, Preserving Future is

India s Theme (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II) .............................................. 43

8. FEMA norms eased to spur investment from overseas (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS

Mains Paper III) ....................................................................................................................................... 44

9. Pacific trade deal reached, sans U.S. (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II) ... 45


charge (Relevant for GS Prelims, Mains Paper II) ..................................................................... 45

11. India and Bangladesh interconnectivity explained (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS

Mains Paper II) ......................................................................................................................................... 46


12. The Hariri mystery: on the former Lebanon PM s absence (Relevant for GS Prelims

and GS Mains Paper II) ......................................................................................................................... 49

13. Joint Indo-Bangladesh Exercise Sampriti 2017 Culminates (Relevant for GS Prelims

and GS Mains Paper II) ......................................................................................................................... 50

14. All you need to know about the turmoil in Zimbabwe (Relevant for GS Prelims and

GS Mains Paper II) .................................................................................................................................. 51

15. Pacific Ocean s 11: on TPP without U.S. (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II)

......................................................................................................................................................................... 52

16. Cabinet approves India s Membership for European Bank for Reconstruction &

Development (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS mains Paper II) ......................................... 52

17. Pak. court frees Hafiz Saeed (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II) ........................................... 54

18. Evaluation of India s foreign Policy in context of election of Justice Dalveer Bhandari

(Relevant for GS Mains Paper II) ...................................................................................................... 55

19. Egypt Mosque Attack 2017: All you need to know (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains

Paper II)....................................................................................................................................................... 56

20. Greater Nagalim claims: As NSCN(IM) deal nears fruition, why three Northeastern

states are agitated (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS mains Paper II) ...................................... 56

21. Shaktikanta Das appointed as India s G 20 Sherpa (Relevant for GS Prelims, Mains

Paper II)....................................................................................................................................................... 58

22. Pakistan s Law Minister, Zahid Hamid puts resign: The recent protests in Pakistan

(Relevant for GS Mains Paper II) ...................................................................................................... 58

23. New Cross-Border Train between India & Bangladesh, Kolkata-Khulna Bandhan

Express (Relevant for GS Prelims and Prelims Paper II) ...................................................... 59

24. Indo – Kazakhstan Joint Exercise PRABAL DOSTYK 2017 Begins (Relevant for GS

Prelims and Mains Paper II) ............................................................................................................... 60

Economics .............................................................................................................................................. 61

1. Cabinet approves Special Banking Arrangement (SBA) for payment of outstanding

subsidy to fertilizer companies during 2016-17 (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS

Mains Paper III) ....................................................................................................................................... 61

2. Crypto currencies, ICOs under SEBI lens (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper

III) .................................................................................................................................................................. 63

3. The lowdown on the stimulus to banks (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III)

......................................................................................................................................................................... 63

4. Why Paradise Papers matter: they lift the veil for regulators to peek in(Relevant for

GS Prelims and Mains Paper III) ....................................................................................................... 64

5. All you wanted to know about Bharat 22 ETF (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS

Mains Paper III) ....................................................................................................................................... 68


6. Centre doubles down on GST s gains for consumers (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS

Mains Paper III) ....................................................................................................................................... 69

7. Moody’s upgrade Sovereign Credit Rating of India to Baa2 from Baa3 (Relevant for

GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper III) ............................................................................................... 71

8. Economy gets thumbs-up from Moody s (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS mains Paper III)

......................................................................................................................................................................... 74

9. Need for fine balance on GST National Anti-profiteering Authority (Relevant for

GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III) ....................................................................................................... 75

10. President signs bankruptcy ordinance (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper

III) ...........................................................................................................................................................76

11. What do amendments to IBC mean to promoters? (Relevant for GS Mains Paper III

and GS Prelims) ....................................................................................................................................... 78

12. TRAI backed Net neutrality (Relevant for GS Prelims, Mains Paper II & III) ................ 79

13. Hit refresh: on the slashed GST rates (Relevant for GS Mains Paper III and GS

Prelims) ....................................................................................................................................................... 81

Environment ......................................................................................................................................... 82

1. Mass bathing in Ganga aggravates anti-microbial resistance woes (Relevant for GS

Prelims and Mains Paper III) ............................................................................................................ 82

2. India’s first Blackbuck conservation reserve to come up in UP (Relevant for GS


3. Excessive rainfall in Bengaluru. What has been impact? (Relevant for GS Mains

Paper I) ........................................................................................................................................................ 85

4. Marooned once more: on Chennai’s need for flood management (Relevant for GS


5. 2017 is set to be in top three hottest years: WMO (Relevant for GS Prelims and

Mains Paper I) .......................................................................................................................................... 87

6. About the climate change meet underway in Bonn (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS

Mains Paper III) ................................................................................................................................89

7. Pollution crisis due to paddy stubble burning (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains

Paper III) ..................................................................................................................................................... 90

8. Delhi air pollution: A (crop) burning issue, and the way out (Relevant for GS

Prelims, GS Mains Paper III) ............................................................................................................. 93

9. Chennai, during the northeast monsoon (Relevant for GS Mains Paper I) ..................... 96

10. Warm, warmer: on climate change (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III) 98

11. Punjab: Smog delays wheat sowing, but farmers reluctant to blame straw burning

(Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper III) .................................................................. 99

12. Centre to launch BS-VI fuel in Delhi from 2018 to battle smog (Relevant for GS

Prelims and GS Mains Paper III) ..................................................................................................... 100


13. Centre Promulgates Indian Forest (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 to Encourage

Bamboo Cultivation in Non-Forest Areas (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper

III) ........................................................................................................................................................ 101

14. How a dust storm from 3,000 km away smothered Delhi this month (Relevant for

GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper I) ........................................................................................................ 103

15. BS-VI emission norms for vehicles: So near and yet so far, here is why (Relevant

for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III) ............................................................................................. 105

Internal Security ................................................................................................................................ 109

1. The lowdown on the dengue epidemic (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper

III) ................................................................................................................................................................ 109

2. New J&K surrender policy to target local militants (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS

Mains Paper III: Internal Security) .............................................................................................. 110

3. Why has India struggled to buy fighter aircraft? (Relevant for GS Mains Paper

III)111

Science & Technology ........................................................................................................................ 114

1. Draft Regulation of CAR on Civil Use of Drones Announced (Relevant for GS Prelims

and Mains Paper III) ............................................................................................................................ 114

2. India-made Falcon will fly in 2022, says Reliance Group (Relevant for GS Prelims

and Mains Paper III)............................................................................................................................ 115

3. Secret cavity found in Great Pyramid (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper III)

....................................................................................................................................................................... 116

4. First Heli Expo India & International Civil Helicopter Conclave Inaugurated

(Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper III) ...................................................................... 118

5. DRDO Conducts Successful Flight Trial of NIRBHAY Sub-Sonic Cruise Missile

(Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper III) ...................................................................... 119

6. All you need to know about Block Chain Technology (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS

Mains Paper III) ..................................................................................................................................... 119

7. Inland Waterways Authority of India pushes for early completion of Jal Marg Vikas

Project on Ganga (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III) ..................................... 122

8. Air-launched Brahmos missile test-fired for the first time (Relevant for GS prelims,

GS Mains Paper III) .............................................................................................................................. 122

9. Draft space law has place for private players (Relevant for GS Mains Paper III) ..... 123

Social Issues ....................................................................................................................................... 124

1. Indians add more years to their lives (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper

I) ........................................................................................................................................................... 124

2. India s Manushi Chhillar Brings Home Miss World Crown After 17 Years (Relevant

for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper I) ................................................................................................... 125


3. All you need to know about the Kerala love jihad case (Hadiya issue) (Relevant for

GS Mains paper I) .................................................................................................................................. 125

Miscellaneous ..................................................................................................................................... 127

1. 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup (Relevant for GS Prelims) .......................................................... 127

2. Indian Women s hockey team won Asia Cup 2017 (Relevant for GS Prelims) ............ 128

3. Teaching ethics to aspiring civil servants (Relevant for GS Prelims) ............................. 128

4. Girl power: on the winning of Women Hockey Team (Relevant for GS Prelims) ....... 129

5. PM congratulates Chennai on inclusion in UNESCO creative Cities Network (Relevant

for GS Prelims) ........................................................................................................................................ 130

6. Scientists have discovered new species of Bananas (Relevant for GS Prelims) .......... 131

7. Under pressure: on Gurugram s Ryan School murder case (Relevant for GS Prelims)

....................................................................................................................................................................... 131

8. Northeast to get India s first ever Air Dispensary : Dr Jitendra Singh (Relevant for GS

Prelims) ..................................................................................................................................................... 133

9. The India Youth Development Index and Report 2017 (Relevant for GS Prelims) .... 133

10. Namami Barak Festival (Relevant for GS Prelims) ................................................................. 134

11. Justice Dalveer Bhandari re-elected to the International Court of Justice (Relevant

for GS Prelims) ........................................................................................................................................ 135

12. India becomes second largest fish producing country in the world (Relevant for GS

Prelims) ..................................................................................................................................................... 136

13. Manipur Sangai festival 2017 (Relevant for GS Prelims)..................................................... 136

14. National Biomaterial Centre inaugurated (Relevant for GS Prelims) ............................ 137

15. Cabinet approves setting up of the 15th Finance Commission (Relevant for GS

Prelims) ..................................................................................................................................................... 137

16. Government announces Trajectory to achieve its targets of commissioning 100 GW

of Solar generating capacity and 60 GW of Wind power by 2022 (Relevant for GS

Prelims) ..................................................................................................................................................... 138

17. President Of India Inaugurates International Gita Mahotsava-2017 (Relevant for GS

Prelims) ..................................................................................................................................................... 138

18. Demi- Leigh Ne –Peters (South Africa) became Miss Universe 2017 (Relevant for GS

Prelims) ..................................................................................................................................................... 138

19. Pandit Narayanrao, proponent of Gwalior gharana, passed away (Relevant for GS

Prelims) ..................................................................................................................................................... 139


Polity and Governance

1. Five-judge statute Bench to decide on Aadhaar validity (Relevant for GS Prelims

and Mains Paper II)

Constitution bench for Aadhaar Scheme

Supreme Court decided to constitute a five-judge Constitution Bench to hear petitions

against the validity of the Aadhaar scheme.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India DipakMisra took the step after falsehoods had been

spread about Aadhaar linking.

A separate Bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan, meanwhile, issued notice to the

government, challenging the mandatory linking of Aadhaar with mobile numbers.

Urgent mentioning

A Constitution Bench may be set up to decide finally for the various Aadhaar challenges

pending before the court since 2014 instead of passing any interim orders. The government

however did not mention anything about its proposal as it extend the date for the

mandatory linking of Aadhaar with mobile phones, bank accounts and various welfare

schemes from December 31, 2017 to March 31, 2018.

The decision to set up a five-judge Bench comes despite Justice Rohinton Nariman s

separate judgment in the nine-judge Bench declaring privacy as a fundamental right.

Historic judgment

It had referred the legal question to a nine-judge Bench, which came out with the historic

judgment in favour of the common man s fundamental right to privacy against state

intrusions.

The nine-judge Bench verdict has a crucial bearing in the Aadhaar petitions, which have

argued that Aadhaar s use of biometric details like fingerprints and iris scans violate bodily

and informational privacy.

The petitioners argue that mandatory requirement of Aadhaar for these schemes constrict

rights and freedoms which a citizen has long been enjoying unless and until they part with

their personal biometric information to the government .


1

The petitions have termed the Aadhaar Act of 2016 as unconstitutional and contrary to

concept of limited and accountable governance.

(Adapted from The Hindu)

2. Judicial safe zones: on special deposition centres in courts (Relevant for GS

Prelims and Mains Paper II)

What is the Supreme Court direction?

The Supreme Court s direction that within three months there should be at least two

special deposition centres under every high court s jurisdiction is a positive step towards

ensuring a conducive and protective atmosphere for vulnerable witnesses.

What is the need of Deposition centres?

It has long been recognised that children testifying as witnesses find the courtroom

experience intimidating. In many cases, they are victims themselves. Deposition centres

takes forward the principle already contained in laws relating to children. For instance, the

Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act provides for child-friendly procedures

during a trial.

Child friendly procedures during a trial

Under this law, the officer recording a child s statement should not be in uniform; also,

during court proceedings steps must be taken to ensure that the child is not exposed to the

accused. The court is allowed to record a child s statement through video conferencing, or

using one-way mirrors or curtains.

Present status of Deposition centres in India

At present, Delhi has four such deposition centres, backed by guidelines framed by the

Delhi High Court. The Delhi High Court s guidelines are inspired by the UN Model Law on

Justice in Matters involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime.

Objective behind these centres

The main objectives include eliciting complete, accurate and reliable testimony from child

witnesses, minimising harm, and preventing secondary victimisation .

Secondary victimisation, or the harm that occurs not due to a criminal act but through the

insensitive response of institutions, systems and individuals, is something that vulnerable

witnesses often experience in cases of sexual violence. The creation of special centres

would have to imply much more than a safe space for recording the testimony of

vulnerable witnesses.


2


3. Speed up trial of politicians, says SC (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II)

Setting up of Special Courts for politicians

The Supreme Court asked the government to frame a central scheme for setting up special

courts across the country to exclusively try criminal cases involving political persons.

In a determined effort to cleanse politics of criminality and corruption, the apex court said

it takes years, probably decades, to complete the trial against a politician.

By this time, he or she would have served as a minister or legislator several times over.

Rejects argument

Countering the Centre s argument that setting up such courts would depend on the

availability of funds with the States, Supreme Court bench ordered the government to place

the scheme before the next date of hearing. It said the scheme should provide details of the

funds required to set up such courts.

The Bench said the Supreme Court would directly interact with the State governments on

issues like the appointment of judicial officers, public prosecutors, court staff and other

requirements of manpower and infrastructure for the special courts.

Seeks report card

Giving no quarter, the apex court directed the Centre to submit a report card by December

13 on the status of the 1,581 criminal cases pending against Members of Parliament and

State Legislative Assemblies at the time of the 2014 elections.


4. Death of Baby Sherin: Adoption process, who s eligible, what safeguards are in

place for the child (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II)

About Sherin Mathews

After the body of three-year-old Sherin Mathews was found in a culvert in suburban Dallas

in Texas — the child s adoptive father said she had choked on milk that he had tried to

physically assist her in drinking.


3

The child was adopted two years ago from Mother Teresa Anath Seva Sansthan orphanage

by Wesley and Sini Mathews, an Indian-American couple living in the US. The baby was

called Saraswati; they named her Sherin.

Who can adopt an Indian child?

According to adoption guidelines notified in January this year, prospective adoptive

parents have to be physically, mentally and emotionally stable, financially capable and

should not have a life-threatening medical condition. Singles are eligible, but a single male

cannot adopt a girl child. A couple must be married at least two years and their cumulative

age at the time of adoption cannot exceed 110 years (55 in case of a single parent). The

minimum age difference between the child and either adoptive parent should not be less

than 25 years. Preference shall be given to place the child in adoption with Indian citizens

and with due regard to the principle of placement of the child in his own socio-cultural

environment, as far as possible, say the Fundamental Principles of Adoption.

What formalities must prospective parents resident outside India fulfil?

All prospective parents irrespective of nationality have to register with the Central

Adoption Resource Authority (CARA). After registration, children are assigned by turn, and

foreign couples are treated at par with Indian ones. Any Non-Resident Indian, Overseas

Citizen of India or foreign prospective adoptive parents, living in a country which is a

signatory to the Hague Adoption Convention and wishing to adopt an Indian child, can

approach the authorised foreign adoption agency or the central authority for preparation

of their home study report, and for registration in the Child Adoption Resource Information

and Guidance System. Alternatively, they can approach the government department or

Indian diplomatic mission concerned in that country.

Shirin Mathews

The home study report, which looks at the couple s family, circumstances, etc., is prepared

by the adoption agency. It remains valid for two years, and is the basis of any adoption

attempts that the couple make during that period. Parents are given a chance to adopt on a

first registered, first served basis. They are shown photographs, child study reports and

medical examination reports of up to six children in their preferred category. The process

of matching must be completed in 15 days.

When is a child eligible to be adopted?

A child has to be declared legally free to be adopted before being shown to a couple for

adoption. When a missing child is found, the District Child Protection Unit has to advertise

the particulars and photograph in a state-level newspaper with wide circulation within 72

hours of receiving the child. Local police have to submit a report about the child s parents


4

or any living family. The Child Welfare Committee declares the child legally free for

adoption as per laid down procedures.

What legal process has to be followed?

The adoption petition is filed in court by the adoption agency. Adoption proceedings have

to be completed within two hearings and the petition has to be disposed of within two

months of its filing. The certified copy of the order has to be obtained by the agency within

10 days. It must also obtain the birth certificate of the child with the names of the adoptive

parents.

How many children are adopted in India every year?

Figures available with CARA show that between 2010 and 2017, adoptions have gone down

drastically in the case of in-country adoptions, and by a smaller factor in the case of inter-

country adoptions. In 2010, 5,693 children were adopted within India and 628 outside the

country. In 2016-17 (until March 31, 2017) these figure were 3,210 and 578 respectively.

The fall is because norms have been tightened to protect the children. Despite the

safeguards though, not all adoptive children stay safe, as Sherin s death shows.

(Adapted from The Indian Express)

5. Moving up (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II)

India moves up the doing business index, but the challenges remain formidable

India s surge in the latest World Bank report on the ease of doing business around the

world — from the 130th position last year to the 100th — could not have come at a better

time for the government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set for his government the target of entering the top 50

in the Bank s index, from the 142nd rank India was placed at in 2014 soon after he

assumed office.

Steps to move up

Specific steps to cut red tape seem to be paying off, with the Bank recognizing India as one

of the top 10 countries that have made improvement over the past year, and the only large

country to see a significant shift.

The introduction of the new insolvency and bankruptcy resolution process, simplifications

in the payment of statutory dues such as provident fund contributions and corporate taxes

and easier access to credit are among the key changes that spurred India s latest ranking. It


5

is also notable that India is now the fourth best placed in the world for minority investors,

well ahead of several developed nations.

The Bank s report, based on executive actions and ground-level feedback from businesses

in Mumbai and Delhi till June 1 this year does not take into account the impact of the goods

and services tax. The quality and pace of course correction on the GST will determine if

India can hold its 100th position or move up further.

Need reforms

As the country s largest urban agglomerations, Mumbai and Delhi cannot host the kind of

large factories that India needs to generate adequate employment. It is critical that such

procedural reforms reach the hinterland and a road map be drafted for the larger

legislative changes needed in matters such as land acquisition. Lastly, while foreign

investors are important, they often take their cue from the mood of domestic businesses.

Last week, for instance, Sunil Bharti Mittal said the ease of doing business remains a

concern despite the government s best intentions, and mooted a structured dialogue

between India Inc. and policy-makers on the irritants to investment. The government, with

great orators in its ranks, could perhaps be a better listener.


6. The war on TB (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II)

Drop in cases of TB

There is a glimmer of hope with India registering a slight drop in the number of new

tuberculosis cases and TB deaths in 2016 compared with 2015. From an estimated 2.84

million new cases in 2015, the number dropped marginally to 2.79 million in 2016,

according to the World Health Organisation s Global tuberculosis report, 2017.

In terms of mortality, the drop was from 0.51 million in 2015 to 0.43 million in 2016. The

number of deaths and the incidence rate have been falling both globally and in India. The

targets set in the End TB strategy are global reduction of 20% in incidence and 35% in

mortality by 2020, taking 2015 as the base year. To reach that target, the global drop in

incidence has to be 4-5% a year — currently it is about 2% a year. Also, the percentage of

deaths should come down from the current 16% to 10%.

Data of India

With India accounting for the highest TB incidence (23%) and mortality (26%) globally,

success in realising the End TB targets hinges largely on the country strengthening its


systems. The first step in defeating the disease and achieving the targets is to record every

diagnosed patient through case notification (that is, when a person is diagnosed with TB, it

is reported to the national surveillance system, and then on to the WHO). There was a 34%

increase in case notifications by health-care providers in the private sector between 2013

and 2015. It improved from 61% in 2015 to 69% in 2016.

Still needs improvement

There is much work remains to improve case notifications as only 1.9 million TB cases in

the public and private sectors were notified in 2016, leaving a 25% gap between incidence

and notification, the largest in the world. Though notification was made mandatory in

2012, multiple surveys and surveillance data still show large under-reporting of detected

TB cases, especially in the private sector.

Steps taken

For the first time, baby steps have been taken to offer preventive TB treatment to a small

(5%) number of people who are HIV-positive, and 1.9% of children below five years who

are household contacts of people recently diagnosed with pulmonary TB. Notably, domestic

funding (74%, $387 million) for anti-TB work has been more than that from international

sources (26%, $124 million). While better funding might help India inch closer to its stated

goal of ending TB by 2025, much more is needed in terms of funding and commitment on

all fronts.


7. PM to inaugurate World Food India 2017 (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains

Paper II)

The Prime Minister inaugurated World Food India 2017. WFI is the most anticipated

international mega food events, as India welcomes to host biggest ever congregation of

global investors and business leaders of major food companies.

Aim of WFI

The World Food India aims to transform Food Economy and realize the vision of doubling

of farmers income by establishing India as a preferred investment destination and

sourcing hub for the global food processing industry. The World Food India platform will

strengthen India s position as a Global Food Factory and is a positive step towards making

the Country Food Secure.

Expectations from WFI

India is expected to attract an investment of US$ 10 billion in food processing sector and

generate 1 million jobs in the next 3 years.


7

Participation of Countries

Germany, Japan and Denmark are Partner Countries to World Food India. Italy &

Netherlands are the Focus Countries.

(Adapted from The PIB)

8. Various schemes and programs initiated by the Government to achieve the target

of Doubling of Farmers Income (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II)

Prime Minister has set a target to double the farmers income by 2022. The Ministry is

working towards achieving the goal. And to achieve this target, the Prime Minister has

advocated a seven-point strategy.

Seven Point Strategy

i. Special focus on irrigation with sufficient budget, with the aim of Per Drop More Crop .

ii. Provision of quality seeds and nutrients based on soil health of each field.

iii. Large investments in Warehousing and Cold Chains to prevent post-harvest crop losses.

iv. Promotion of value addition, through food processing.

v. Creation of a National Farm Market, removing distortions and e-platform across 585

Stations.

vi. Introduction of a New Crop Insurance Scheme to mitigate risks at an affordable cost.

vii. Promotion of ancillary activities like poultry, beekeeping, and fisheries.

Other schemes for Farmers

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Paramparagat

Krishi Vikas Yojana, Soil Health Card, Neem-Coated Urea and e-NAM Schemes are a few of

the programs that aim to improve the productivity and earnings of the farmers.


9. Delhi LG cannot simply sit on files and stultify governance: Justice Chandrachud

(Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II)

A historical Verdict regarding LG

The Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi cannot cancel out proposals or schemes forwarded

by the Council of Ministers to him by simply sitting on them.

He [LG] is bound to pass the difference of opinions [between the LG and the Delhi Council

of Ministers] to the President for early resolution.


What had happened?

The AAP government argued that the High Court declared the LG to have complete control

of all matters regarding National Capital Territory of Delhi, and nothing will happen

without the concurrence of the LG.

The Kejriwal government wants the Supreme Court to lay down the law on whether the LG

can unilaterally administer the National Capital without being bound by the aid and

advice of the elected government.

High Court ruling

The Delhi High Court said that LG has special powers greater than the President, greater

than other Governors of States.

About the 69th Amendment of Constitution

The 69th Amendment of the Constitution in 1992 gave the National Capital of Delhi special

status with its own democratically elected government and legislative assembly.

About Article 239AA (4)

Sub-section (4) of Article 239AA mandates that a Council of Ministers shall aid and advice

the LG in his functions regarding laws made by the Legislative Assembly.

Present issue

The focus of the current controversy is a proviso to Article 239AA (4), which mandates that

in case of a difference of opinion between the LG and the Council of Ministers, the former

has to refer the issue to the President. In the meanwhile, while that decision is pending

before the President, the LG, if the matter is urgent, can use his discretion to take

immediate action.

The Constitution Bench, prima facie said that the Delhi government s ability to aid and

advice the LG is limited to subjects other than public order, police and land in the National

Capital. It said that the proviso to Article 239AA (4), on plain reading, seems to give

primacy to the LG.

LG thinks he is supreme law

LG thinks he is suprema lex [supreme law] on six grounds.

1. One, that Delhi is still a Union Territory.

2. Two, Parliament makes the law for Delhi under Article 246 (4) of the Constitution.

3. Three, Article 239AA has brought in no change to Delhi s status as a Union Territory

simplicity.

4. Four, the proviso gives him the power of defiance.


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5. Five, he has to concur to every decision made by the Delhi government.

6. Six, he can take independent decisions.

Unlike other union territories like Puducherry, Delhi was recognised as special through a

constitutional amendment.

Article 239AA provided the Delhi Legislative Assembly the same powers as any other State

legislature. The 69th Constitutional Amendment was passed to create legislative

accountability through a democratically elected government. The Legislative Assembly

could make laws for any part of Delhi, except in subjects of public order, police and land.


10. On NTPC boiler blast: Unsafe boilers (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II)

The boiler explosion at NTPC s Unchahar power plant in Rae Bareli underscores the

importance of inspections and protocols for hazardous industrial operations. It has cost at

least 32 lives and caused severe injuries to scores of personnel.

Indian Boilers Act, 1923

High pressure boilers are hazardous pieces of equipment, which are strictly regulated by

special laws. In fact, the basic objective of the Indian Boilers Act, 1923 is to ensure the

safety of life and protection of property by mandating uniform standards in the quality and

upkeep of these units.

Why it s a big mistake of Govt.?

The accident was entirely preventable because boilers are designed to provide warnings as

soon as dangerous pressure builds up and trigger automatic safety devices at a critical

point. They should undergo periodic inspections to ensure that all these features are

working and intact.

What happened at the Unchahar Plant?

At the Unchahar plant, the blocking of an outlet for waste gases by ash, unusual in a fairly

new boiler, calls for an inquiry into the quality of the equipment and the fuel used. Ideally,

these aspects should be investigated by an external agency and not the NTPC.

Ignorant and Corrupt nature of Govt.

Industrial regulation has, unfortunately, come to be viewed as a barrier to ease of doing

business in India. This is a result of inefficiency and corruption and the typical response of


governments has been to relax crucial safety checks. Self-certification and third-party

certification of facilities has received support from policymakers even in the case of boilers.

The Unchahar accident shows it is in everyone s interest to have a transparent regulatory

mechanism for hazardous industrial activity. The safety and welfare of workers and the

public at large cannot be compromised. A rigorous approach to accident reporting must

become part of the process if the weak spots in regulation are to be addressed.

(Adapted from the Hindu)

11. SC comes to the aid of construction workers (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II, GS

Prelims)

Rs. 37,000 crore cess collected should reach the labourers

With over Rs. 37,000 crore collected as cess to be used for the welfare of 2.8 crore

registered construction workers across the country, Supreme Court has a cause of worry —

whether the huge sum of money will really be used for the benefit of labourers in the high-

risk and hazardous construction industry which are mostly controlled by private

companies.

Misuse of construction cess

The Social Justice Bench of the Supreme Court has been closely monitoring the government

over the past two years on the issue. It had once, in a hearing in 2015, vented about how

ridiculous it was that thousands of crores collected as a construction cess for the benefit

of building workers ends up at the mercy of some babus .

Marked hike

The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment informed the Bench that the number of

workers registered under the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of

Employment and Conditions of Service) Act of 1996 has increased from 2.15 crore to 2.8

crore.

The cess collected has also seen a marked hike from Rs. 25,477 crore to Rs. 37,482 crore.

The Ministry reported to the Court that the utilisation of the cess amount for the welfare of

workers has also increased from Rs. 5,371 crore to Rs. 9,491 crore.

The Ministry said that a national portal to create awareness of schemes for workers is

under construction.



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12. Odd-even scheme called off (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II)

After NGT asked Delhi govt. not to make exemptions

The Delhi government called off the roll-out of the odd-even scheme that was to remain in

force from November 13 to 17, after the National Green Tribunal allowed it with a rider

that exemptions given to two-wheelers and cars driven by women would have to go.

The Aam Aadmi Party government had announced that it would implement its car-

rationing programme for a third time in order to curb pollution in the city.

PM levels down

The air quality index was still in the severe category, but down to 403 from 486, according

to the CPCB. The NGT asked the Delhi government to provide a justification for

implementing odd-even from November 13, when pollution levels were forecast to come

down.

Direction of NGT

The NGT directed the Delhi government to implement the scheme, but on the condition

that there would be no exemption to any person, officer or individual, including two-

wheeler riders from the odd-even scheme .

The government welcomed the NGT s decision to allow odd-even scheme, but decided to

defer its roll-out.


13. Stormy scenes in Supreme Court over college bribe case (Relevant for GS mains

Paper II)

There was high drama in the Supreme Court after a bench led by CJI Dipak Misra junked an

order passed by Justice J Chelameswar in a petition relating to an alleged Medical Council of

India scam.

Bribes taken using the names of Judges

In an unprecedented turn of events, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court junked an

order passed by Justice J Chelameswar, which had referred a Medical Council of India (MCI)

scam to a constitution bench of the top court.

Justice J Chelameswar had referred to a constitution bench, comprising five senior-most

judges , a plea claiming that alleged bribes were taken using the names of the Supreme

Court judges promising to secure favourable settlement of a case.


SO WHAT IS THE BIG SUPREME COURT CONFLICT ABOUT?

1. Justice J Chelameswar had heard the matter, despite orders from the Chief Justice of

India (CJI) that his bench cannot hear the matter, since matters of the roster are decided by

the CJI.

2. However, senior advocate Dushyant Dave had submitted that the medical admission

matter was being heard by the bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, and hence, he

should not be involved with it either in the judicial or on the administrative side.

3. Saying he is the master of the roster, Chief Justice of India Justice Dipak Misra said judges

cannot assign matters to themselves. Reports coming in from the Supreme Court suggest

CJI Misra asserted only he is the master and the last word on setting up of apex court

benches to look into the cases, a snub to Justice J Chelameswar, who is the second senior-

most judge in the Supreme Court.

4. The hearing was boycotted by senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, who is reported to

have yelled at Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. You are alleged to be a part of this scam.

How can you hear the matter? Bhushan is reported to have said in court.

5. Bhushan then walked out of the court after a heated debate with the Chief Justice of India

Dipak Misra. The Supreme Court Bar Association has recommended contempt proceedings

against Bhushan.

6. The conflict is over a plea by the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms that

has sought the setting up of an SIT to probe the role of Orissa High Court judge Ishrat

Masroor Quddusi in enabling private medical colleges to admit students to MBBS courses

despite the Supreme Court barring the institutes from doing so.

7. Quddusi, an Orissa High Court judge between 2004 and 2010, has been accused by the

CBI of legally guiding the private medical colleges and assuring them of favourable

settlement of their cases in the Supreme Court. The judge was arrested in September and is

currently lodged in New Delhi s Tihar Jail.

8. Extraordinary proceedings in SC in the case seeking SIT Investigation in medical college

bribery case involving the CJI.

9. There must be an independent, but credible & thorough investigation in this case of

alleged Corruption at the top of the judiciary. The guilty must be held to account. Any

attempt to cover it up will only undermine public confidence in the judiciary.


13

10. The court proceedings were extraordinary in that the CJI was asking all kinds of

lawyers who were not parties to say things against the order of Court 2, w/o hearing

petitioner. He tried to justify his role in the medical college case & speak against

impropriety of Court 2.

(Adapted from Indiatoday.in)

14. What is the lowdown on the fight against criminal MPs? (Relevant for GS Mains

Paper II)

Anti corruption movement gaining momentum in Hyderabad as many students of Dwaraka

High School shouts Anti-corrupt

The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to come up with a scheme to establish special

courts to try politicians facing criminal cases. The government itself was not averse to the

idea. It will now have to spell out within six weeks the funds that it is ready to earmark for

setting up these courts throughout the country. Thereafter, the court intends to address the

issue of appointing judicial officers, prosecutors, and other manpower and infrastructure

requirements. The court has indicated that it will interact with representatives of the States

too, as it is the State governments that will be prosecuting most of these cases. In addition,

the court has sought details of the status of 1,581 cases involving candidates who had

disclosed details of pending criminal proceedings against them while filing their

nominations for the 2014 elections. As per a March 2014 Supreme Court order, cases

against politicians ought to have been disposed of within one year. In addition, it has

sought details of fresh cases filed since then and the status of their disposal.

How did it come about?

The matter came to court, thanks to a petition filed in public interest by Ashwini Kumar

Upadhyay, an advocate who says he has been active in anti-corruption movements. He is

also a spokesman for the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Last year, he moved the

Supreme Court for a direction to the Centre to come out with steps to debar all convicted

persons from electoral politics for life. Under the present law, a convicted person is

disqualified for contesting elections for six years from the date of release from prison. The

petition also demands that special courts be set up to decide criminal cases related to those

in the legislature, the executive and the judiciary within one year. He has submitted that

34% of the Members of Parliament have criminal cases pending against them and the

government is doing nothing to decriminalise the polity. He has cited various reports of the

Law Commission and other documents relating to electoral reforms and criminalisation of

politics to back his claims.


Why does it matter?

Criminalisation of politics is an issue that worries independent institutions such as the

Supreme Court and the Election Commission more than the political parties in the country.

The perception that the political class manages to wriggle out of serious criminal cases

because of a protracted and repeatedly postponed trial adds to the problem. While the

law s delays are quite well-known, it is obvious that such delays have a beneficial effect on

influential accused, who invariably face the case while being free on bail. In most cases,

delayed trials result in poor accused languishing in jail for long. Further, it is seen that

many political leaders facing criminal proceedings continue to engage in routine political

activity, fighting elections or even holding public office. It is not often that some of them

quit office in the interest of a fair trial.

What next?

As the Supreme Court has already fixed a one-year deadline from the date of framing of

charges for completion of trials involving Members of Parliament and Assemblies in an

order passed in 2014, the court can be expected to take a tough stand on delayed trials

against politicians. The establishment of special courts will be subject to the availability of

funds, especially from the States. Some individuals affected by the order may some day

question the validity of subjecting to them to proceedings in special courts rather than the

regular courts of jurisdiction. The Criminal Procedure Code provides for a speedy trial.

Under Section 309, once the examination of witnesses begins, the court should hold day-to-

day hearings until all listed witnesses are examined. However, this provision is hardly

adhered to. Merely complying with this may significantly expedite cases involving

politicians. It is possible that the current proceedings may lead to some legal changes

aimed at decriminalising politics. While the Election Commission has taken the stand that it

may support the plea for debarring convicted persons from electoral contest for life, the

Centre will have to make up its mind on whether it would endorse such a drastic measure.


15. Medical college bribe case: CJI decides who hears a case even if facing allegation,

Supreme Court underlines (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper II)

End of the Controversy

The dust seems to have settled, at least for now. The Supreme Court dismissed the PIL filed

by advocate Kamini Jaiswal seeking an SIT probe into the medical college admission scam

case. (An FIR in the case by the CBI had named unknown public officials and allegations

were made against the chief justice of India, Dipak Misra.)


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Decision of Court

The three-judge bench led by justice RK Agarwal held that the conduct of senior lawyer

Prashant Bhushan was unethical and amounted to forum shopping – a practice adopted

by litigants to get their cases heard by a particular court for a favorable judgment.

The court went on to say that Bhushan repeatedly made allegations without verifying the

facts. It was of the opinion that Bhushan s conduct was contemptuous. However, it did not

initiate contempt proceedings against him and others.

The court, in its order, said the FIR was not against any judge and the law currently does

not permit that an FIR can be filed against a judge. It also held that the allegations against

the CJI are baseless and there was no need to seek his recusal.

Justice Arun Mishra said that the CJI is competent to assign the matter and observed that

seeking recusal of Justice Khanwilkar was further damaging to the institution.

The SC said damage has been done to the institution and unnecessary doubts raised on it

for no reason. The court said it was not initiating contempt proceedings against Prashant

Bhushan or Kamini Jaiswal in the hope and expectation that the bar and bench shall stand

united.

It ended by saying that whosoever and however powerful and mighty is not above law, not

even the judges or the Supreme Court.

What happened on November 13

In a hearing that lasted for over 90 minutes, the three-judge bench of justices RK Agarwal,

AM Khanwilkar and Arun Mishra heard the plea of Jaiswal seeking an SIT probe into the

medical examination scam.

Justice Mishra on the bench raised questions of impropriety on the part of Prashant

Bhushan alleging him of forum shopping . The bench questioned Bhushan as to why he

took the CJI s name when there is no direct allegation against him.

Justice Mishra also expressed his concern over the image of the judiciary and the eventual

loss of respect due to the ongoing events at the Supreme Court.

The court told Bhushan point blank, Is it not per se contempt the way CJI s name has been

drawn into the controversy? Any person can claim to a client that they can influence the

judges. Do the judges become liable?


After being repeatedly accused of contempt, Bhushan responded, he mentioned the matter

again on Friday because there was a last-minute change in the listing of the first petition.

Court number 2 is the senior-most court after the CJI. He believed that CJI should not have

heard this petition. He believe that CJI should have recused himself from the case both on

the judicial and the administrative side.

Attorney general KK Venugopal, who made a surprise entry from the judge s forum, began

by clarifying that it is impossible to enter the jam-packed courtroom through ordinary

doors.

He argued that the Supreme Court is facing a crisis which has been brought by this case.

There is a crisis of confidence. It is wrongly submitted in the petition that the CJI cannot

hear the case.

Warning to Prashant Bhushan

The hearing ended with an open warning to Prashant Bhushan when he insisted that the

FIR by the CBI is sensitive and puts serious allegations. Bhushan went on to say that the

matter has been continuously dealt by CJI bench in Supreme Court and even the current

bench is not fit to hear the case.

(Adapted from dailyo.in)

16. Cabinet approves Continuation of sub-schemes under Umbrella Scheme

Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS

Mains Paper II)

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for continuation of

Anganwadi Services, Scheme for Adolescent Girls, Child Protection Services and National

Crèche Scheme from 1.4.2017 to 30.11.2018 with an outlay of over Rs.41,000 crore. These

are the sub-schemes under Umbrella Scheme Integrated Child Development Services

(ICDS)

Features:

The approved Schemes include:

1. Anganwadi Services

2. Scheme for Adolescent Girls

3. Child Protection Services

4. National Crèche Scheme

The Cabinet has also approved:


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– Implementation of Scheme for Adolescent Girls for out of school girls in the age group of

11-14 years, its phased expansion – Phasing out of the on–going Kishori Shakti Yojana for out of school girls in the age group

of 11-14 years.

Cost Sharing

The decision also provides for conversion of National Crèche Scheme from Central Sector to

Centrally Sponsored Scheme with the revised cost sharing between Centre and States as

60:40 for all States and UTs with legislature, 90:10 for NER and Himalayan States and

100% for UTs without legislature and implementation of the Scheme through States/UTs

instead of existing implementation agencies.

Impact:

The sub-schemes listed above are not new schemes, but are continuing from the XII Five

Year Plan. The programme through targeted interventions will strive to reduce the level of

malnutrition, anaemia and low birth weight babies, ensure empowerment of adolescent

girls, provide protection to the children who are in conflict with law, provide safe place for

day-care to the children of working mothers, create synergy, ensure better monitoring,

issue negative alerts for timely action, encourage States/UTs to perform, guide and

supervise the line Ministries and States/UTs to achieve the targeted goals and bring more

transparency.

Beneficiaries:

More than 11 crore children, pregnant women & Lactating Mothers and the Adolescent

Girls will be benefited through this scheme.

Implementation Strategy and Targets:

Anganwadi Services (ICDS) and Child Protection Services are already in operation in the

entire country. The Scheme for Adolescent Girls will be expanded in a phased manner.

National Creche Scheme will continue to be implemented in 23,555 creches. Approval for

National Nutrition Mission shall be obtained separately.

Background:

The ongoing schemes have been rationalized by the Government in financial year 2016-17

and have been brought under Umbrella ICDS as its sub-schemes. These sub-schemes need

to be continued for delivering the child related services to the intended beneficiaries.

The aims of these schemes are as under:


Anganwadi Services (ICDS) aims at holistic development of children under the age of six

years and its beneficiaries are children of this age group and Pregnant Women & Lactating

Mothers.

The objective of the Scheme for Adolescent Girls is to facilitate, educate and empower

Adolescent Girls so as to enable them to become self-reliant and aware citizens through

improved nutrition and health status, promoting awareness about health, hygiene,

nutrition, mainstreaming out of school AGs into formal/non formal education and

providing information/guidance about existing public services.

The objectives of Child Protection Services are to provide safe and secure environment for

children in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection, reduce

vulnerabilities through a wide range of social protection measures, prevent actions that

lead to abuse, neglect, exploitation, abandonment and separation of children from families

etc., bring focus on non-institutional care, develop a platform for partnership between

Government & Civil Society and establish convergence of child related social protection

services.

National Creche Scheme aims at providing a safe place for mothers to leave their children

while they are at work, and thus, is a measure for empowering women as it enables them to

take up employment. At the same time, it is also an intervention towards protection and

development of children in the age group of 6 months to 6 years.

(Adapted from PIB)

17. Shri R.K. Singh launches Saubhagya Web-Portal – a Platform for Monitoring

Universal Household Electrification (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper II)

The Ministry of Power and New & Renewable Energy, launched the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj

Bijli Har Ghar Yojana – Saubhagya Web Portal.

About Saubhagya

The Saubhagya Dashboard is a platform for monitoring household electrification progress,

which would disseminate information on Household Electrification Status (State, District,

village-wise), Household Progress on live basis, State-wise Target vs Achievement, Monthly

Electrification Progress, etc.

Challenges and Benefits

The Ministry said that achieving electrification of 4 crore households is a big challenge,

nevertheless the Government is committed to achieve this target by December 2018, with

the cooperation of all the States.


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This would, in turn, bring about a huge improvement in the Quality of Life of the Citizens of

India.

Change in Power Ecosystem

The Government is bringing a change in the Power ecosystem in the Country by pushing

towards mandatory metering of all new electrical connections through pre-paid or smart

meters. This would make paying of electricity bills viable for the poor, reduce power losses

and increase compliance in paying electricity bills.

Power Generation through Crop Residue

On the sidelines of the Saubhagya Web portal launch, it is also informed that the Ministry

has directed NTPC to mix straw/ crop residue pellets with coal, upto 10%, for power

generation in all of its Thermal Power Plants.

This step would reduce crop residue burning in agriculture dominated States like Punjab,

Haryana etc. and hence reduce air pollution that is currently being experienced.

BACKGROUND OF SAUBHAGYA SCHEME

Saubhagya scheme was launched by Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi on 25th

September, 2017 with an outlay of Rs. 16,320 Crores including Budgetary Support of Rs.

12,320 Crores. Under Saubhagya scheme, all willing households in rural areas and poor

families in urban areas are given free electricity connections. There are around 4 Crore un-

electrified households in the country and they are targeted for providing electricity

connections by December 2018.

Till recently, the focus of electrification has been on village electrification through creation

of village electricity infrastructure for all households and providing free electricity

connections to poor household families in rural areas. Now, Saubhagya has come into

existence for providing free electricity connections to all households (both APL and poor

families) in rural areas and poor families in urban areas.

Nodal Agency

Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC) is the Nodal Agency for the

operationalization of the scheme throughout the country.

(Adapted from PIB)

18. Regional connectivity scheme Phase II: Massive ramp-up in air links to North

East, J-K (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper II)


IInd Phase of Regional Connectivity

Moving to step up air connectivity to remote and strategic locations in the North-East and

Jammu & Kashmir, the government has identified 24 airports and helipads, including nine

in Arunachal Pradesh, which borders China, for the second phase of the Regional

Connectivity Scheme (RCS).

24 Airports & Helipads under the scheme

Of the 24 airports and helipads identified by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, nine are in

Arunachal Pradesh, five each in Assam and Manipur, two in Jammu & Kashmir and one each

in Meghalaya, Tripura and Sikkim.

A total of 88 unserved and underserved airports and helipads were involved in the initial

round of RCS second phase.

Aim of IInd Phase

It aims to provide air connectivity to the hinterland to provide an impetus to the economic

growth of regional centres, including unconnected towns and cities, the government

decided to keep the focus on priority areas including the North-East, Jammu & Kashmir

and other hilly regions of the country.

About Ist Phase

In the list of routes awarded in the first phase of the scheme, announced in March, only six

airports in the North-East — Shillong, Dimapur, Imphal, Silchar, Aizawl and Agartala —

were connected. The first round did not involve routes to Jammu & Kashmir.


21

Airports under various authorities

Several airports identified under the RCS are currently being used by the Indian Air Force.

These include Daporijo, Yinghong, Ziro, Pasighat, Along, Tuting and Walong in Arunachal

Pradesh, and Kishtwar and Kargil in Jammu & Kashmir. The aerodromes at Tezpur, Jorhat

and Lilabari in Assam are also operated by the IAF, but will have separate civilian enclaves

under the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The other airports are under the aegis of either

the AAI, or respective state governments.

Aim

The infrastructure expansion being undertaken at these strategic locations is primarily

being done with the objective of improving connectivity. He played down the defence

angle to the air connectivity ramp-up.


19. Money laundering case against retired Orrisa HC judge (Relevant for GS Mains

Paper II)

What is the issue?

The Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case against retired Orissa

High Court Judge I.M. Quddusi and others in connection with an alleged conspiracy to get

the case of a Lucknow-based medical institute that was barred from admitting students

settled in the Supreme Court.

What is the role of CBI?

The case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act has been registered on the basis of

an FIR lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation in September. Among those named as

accused were Bhawana Pandey, B.P. Yadav, Palash Yadav, Sudhir Giri and Biswanath

Agrawala. The CBI arrested the retired judge and four others, including a hawala

operator.

What are the details?

The case is related to one Prasad Institute of Medical Science of Prasad Education Trust

that was one of the 46 colleges barred by the government from admitting students for one

to two years, owing to substandard facilities and non-fulfilment of set criteria.

It is alleged that accused B.P. Yadav and Palash conspired with Justice (retired) Quddusi,

one Bhawana Pandey and others to get the issue resolved in the Trust s favour. They met

Justice Quddusi and Ms. Pandey through Sudhir Giri of Venkateshwara Medical College in

Uttar Pradesh s Meerut, alleged the CBI FIR.


The accused wanted relief from the Government Order dated August 10, which had

debarred the college from admitting fresh students for two years. The order also

authorised the Medical Council of India (MCI) to encash a bank guarantee of Rs. 2 crore

furnished by the institution.

The Trust moved the Supreme Court against the order, but withdrew allegedly at the

instance of Justice Quddusi and filed a petition in the Allahabad High Court.

The High Court instructed that the college not be struck off the list of institutions notified

for counselling till the next date of hearing, August 31. An interim stay on encashment of

bank guarantee was also given. However, the college was not permitted to admit fresh

students.

The MCI challenged the directions in the Supreme Court. That petition was disposed of on

August 29, as the other side did not claim any benefit from the said order.

The Trust then filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court. Justice Quddusi and Ms. Pandey

allegedly assured the Trust representatives that the issue would be resolved in the

Supreme Court through their links.

The accused engaged Biswanath Agrawala, a resident of Bhubaneswar, who claimed that he

had close contacts with the relevant senior public functionaries. He allegedly sought huge

gratification for inducing the officials concerned, the CBI has alleged.


20. Government set to achieve Rural Housing Targets (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS

Mains Paper II)

Hon ble Prime Minister launched Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin) exactly one year

ago on 20th November, 2016 from Agra. A target of completing one crore new houses by

31st March, 2019 was set. Of these, 51 lakh houses had to be completed by 31st March,

2018.

Status of the scheme

As on 20th November, 2017, 9.03 lakh houses have already been completed. It is expected

that 10 lakh PMAY(G) homes will be completed by 30th November, 2017, 15 lakh houses

by 31st December 2017, 25 lakh houses by 31st January, 2018, 35 lakh houses by 28th

February, 2018 and 51 lakh houses by 31st March, 2018.


23

Method of deciding beneficiaries

The use of Socio Economic Census (SECC 2011), validation by Gram Sabha and use of Space

Technology for geo-tagging has ensured that there are least inclusion errors and it is only

the homeless and those living in one kuccha room with kuccha roof or two kuccha rooms

with kuccha roof are the beneficiaries of this pro-poor programme.

(Adapted from PIB)

21. Why protesters are seeking ban on film Padmavati (Relevant for GS Mains Paper

II)

While the film has not even been certified as yet, everyone has an opinion on the film and

are calling for a ban. The reasons range from the picturisation of film s song, Ghoomar, to

alleging that the film is distorting history.

Padmavati has an important place in Indian literature but there is little proof of the

legendary queen s existence.The film is based on Padmavat, a poem written in the 15th

century by Malik Muhammad Jayasi.

Here s a look at the various objections that people have raised against the film that is

set to hit theatres on December

1. Alleged romance between Deepika Padukone s Padmavati and Ranveer Singh s Khilji

Karni Sena stopped the shoot of Padmavati in January alleging the film showed a romantic

relationship between Padmavati and Khilji. We have learnt that the filmmakers are

portraying the film as a love story between Alauddin Khilji and Padmini, which is a blatant

distortion of history.

Padmavati director Bhansali categorically said, once in January and then again in

November, that there is no dream sequence showing romantic scenes between Padmavati

and Khilji in his film.

2. Distortion of history in the film

From the BJP leaders to Rajasthan royals, a lot of claims have emerged about Padmavati

distorting history. Historians say there is no record of Padmavati being the cause of Chittor

siege.

Historian Irrfan Habib has said that after 250 years of the Chittor incident, Malik

Mohammad Jayasi for the first time mentioned Padmavati in his creation Padmavat . But

Jayasi has mentioned that the princess of Singhaldeep (presently Sri Lanka) Padmavati was

married to Raja Ratan Singh of Mewar. Padmavat is a long poetry collection and is an


integral part of our literature. Official historian of Mewar darbar Shayamal Das has

described Padmavati but in some other context.

3. Ghoomar song portrays Padmavati as painted doll

The song Ghoomar and publicity material portrays an incorrectly attired courtesan-like

painted doll in the song as the very queen .

4. The dancing queen

The Ghoomar (traditional folk dance of Rajasthan) is not performed in the way it has been

shown in the film and the queens never take part in the dance.

5. Indecent clothes in Ghoomar song

The queen is shown performing the Ghoomar dance in indecent clothes because Deepika

is showing her midriff. A Rajput queen would never perform before an audience nor bare

her midriff.

6. Padmavati, an attack on Hindutva

The film Padmavati is anti-Hindu and anti-national. It is an attack on Hindu pride.

7. Film propagates the tradition of sati

A plea filed in the Allahabad high court claimed Padmavati propagates the practice of sati

and sought a ban on the film. HC rejected the plea saying that the Central Board of Film

Certification will take a call on the movie.

8. Glamourising Alauddin Khilji

There film is glorifying the negative character of Alauddin Khilji rather than our own rich

history. The exact portrayal of Khilji will be revealed only after the film releases as nobody

has seen the film yet, including CBFC.

View of Supreme Court

The Supreme Court turned down a plea challenging the release of the film as it distorts

history. It said that since Padmavati hasn t been cleared by the censor board yet, the court

could not take it up.

(Adapted from the Hindustan Times)

22. Triple talaq: Govt plans to make practice a punishable offence, likely to table Bill

in winter session (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II)

Plan of government


25

Three months after the Supreme Court set aside the centuries-old practice of instant triple

talaq or talaq-e-biddat in which Muslim men divorce their wives by uttering talaq three

times in quick succession, the government has taken the first step to consider a legislation

that will make triple talaq a criminal offence. A Bill to this effect is likely to be tabled in the

winter session of Parliament.

Judgement of Supreme Court

On August 22, in a landmark 3-2 verdict, three of five judges on a Constitution Bench —

Justices Rohinton F Nariman, Uday U Lalit and Kurian Joseph — called the practice un-

Islamic and arbitrary and disagreed with the view that triple talaq was an integral part of

religious practice.

Need for law to punish triple talaq

A source in the government said: There have been reports of a number of divorces by way

of talaq-e-biddat happening even after the Supreme Court verdict. This could be because of

lack of knowledge among Muslim husbands of the the apex court decision.

It could also be because of lack of deterrent punishment for the act of talaq-e-biddat.

In spite of advisories to members of the community against this archaic practice, there

seems to be no decline in the practice of divorce via talaq-e-biddat.

The government suspects there may be many such unreported instances of instant triple

talaq elsewhere in the country.

Once a law is in place, the Muslim clergy will have no role in cases of talaq-e-biddat and

women can directly approach police for redressal. As of now, police are helpless because no

action can be taken against the husband in the absence of punitive provisions in law.


23. EPS-OPS group is AIADMK (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II)

Which faction has been allowed AIADMK symbol?

The Election Commission of India allotted the AIADMK s popular two leaves symbol to the

ruling faction headed by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and his deputy O.

Panneerselvam, holding that this faction was also entitled to use the party name as the

group enjoyed majority in its legislative and organisational wings.

Which is the other faction?


The other faction headed by V.K. Sasikala, jailed former aide of late Chief Minister

Jayalalithaa, and her nephew T.T.V. Dhinakaran, lost its claim to represent the real

AIADMK.

This is the second time the AIADMK has managed to reclaim its name and frozen poll

symbol – the previous one being in 1989.

Basis of Election Commission order

The 83-page EC order noted that in the legislative wing, it had the support of 34 Lok Sabha

and eight Rajya Sabha MPs, and 111 Tamil Nadu and four Puducherry MLAs. The Sasikala-

Dhinakaran faction was supported by three Lok Sabha (one of them Vasanthi Murugesan

switched loyalties to Mr. Palaniswami) and three Rajya Sabha MPs and 20 Tamil Nadu

MLAs (including 18 disqualified legislators).

When did the split arise?

The split following Mr. Panneerselvam s rebellion against Sasikala (whose name he had

proposed as leader) when she sought to replace him as CM in February, had led to the

formation of the AIADMK (Amma) and AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma) factions.


24. More seats for Sikkim Assembly (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II)


27 27

Why there is a proposal to increase seats in Sikkim assembly?

The Home Ministry has proposed an increase in the number of seats in the Sikkim

Assembly from 32 to 40. The expansion will be the first since the State merged with India in

1975.

The seats are being increased to accommodate people from the Limboo and Tamang

communities, notified as the Scheduled Tribes in Sikkim in January 2003. Of the eight seats

proposed to be increased, five will be reserved for Limboo and Tamangs.

What is the present arrangement of seats?

Now, Sikkim has 12 seats reserved for Bhutias and Lepchas, two for the Scheduled Castes,

one seat for the Sanghas and 17 general seats. As per constitutional provisions, the total

number of seats for STs should be in proportion to the population.

The seats for Bhutia and Lepchas are reserved not on the basis of them being a Scheduled

Tribe, but as a sequel to a political agreement in 1973 between the Government of India,

ex-Chogyal (King) of Sikkim and political parties.

Intervention of the Supreme Court


A petition was moved in the Supreme Court that Limboo and Tamangs were not adequately

represented in the Assembly and the apex court on January 4, 2016 directed the Home

Ministry to take necessary action.

Need for change in Representation of Peoples Act

There will be amendments to the Second Schedule to the RP Act, 1950, whereby total seats

in Sikkim Legislative Assembly will be 40 in place of existing 32, reserving five seats for

Limboo and Tamang, while retaining existing reservations for Bhutias, Lepchas, Scheduled

Castes and Sanghas, a draft proposal of the home ministry said.

The proposal also said that Section 5A of the RP Act, 1951 will be amended to provide that

in case of a seat reserved for Limboo and Tamang tribe, he is to be a member of Limboo and

Tamang tribe specified in the Representation of Sikkim Subjects Act, 1974 and elector or an

assembly constituency in the State.


25. Transforming 115 backward districts across the country (Relevant for GS Mains

Paper II)

In keeping with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi s vision of a New India by 2022,

Government has embarked upon a major policy initiative for the rapid transformation of

115 backward districts across the country.

Background:

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given a Vision for a new and vibrant India by

2022, the year when India celebrates its 75th year of Independence.

A total of 115 districts have been identified for this purpose on the basis of objective

criteria. Such criteria include education, health, nutrition basic infrastructure like rural

road connectivity, rural household electrification, access to potable water and individual

toilets etc. These districts include 35 districts which are affected by violence by Left Wing

Extremists. Besides, while selecting these districts, it has been ensured that Ministries of

Government of India, implementing social sector Scheme would select at least one most

backward districts in every State for extending the reach of the programme in different

part of the country. Improvement in one district is likely to spur similar growth in

neighbouring districts through demonstration effect.

(Adapted from PIB)


29

26. Difference of opinion between the Judiciary and the executive over Judicial

appointments (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II)

View of Union Law minister

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad hold the view that the Supreme Court s 2015

verdict striking down the law creating the National Judicial Appointments Commission

(NJAC) reveals the judiciary s distrust in the Prime Minister and the Law Minister.

His question whether an audit is needed to determine what has been lost or gained since

the collegium system was created in 1993 is not without merit.

View of Supreme Court

Chief Justice Dipak Misra responded that the judiciary reposes the same trust that the

Constituent Assembly had in the Prime Minister, and that the judiciary indeed recognized

and respected the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution.

There was really no need for such a public affirmation of first principles in a democracy.

Need for change in collegium system

The present collegium system is flawed and lacks transparency, and there is a clear need to

have a better and more credible process in making judicial appointments. It is clear that

differences over formulating a fresh Memorandum of Procedure for appointments are

casting a shadow on the relationship.

What is the need?

It is best if both sides take a pragmatic view of the situation and sink their differences on

the new procedure, even if it involves giving up a point or two that they are clinging to. For

a start, they could both disclose the exact points on which the two sides differ so that

independent experts will also have a chance to contribute to the debate. If it is the right to

veto a recommendation that the government wants on some limited grounds, the

Collegium must not be averse to considering it. Resolution of this matter brooks no further

delay.


27. NK Singh appointed chairman of 15th Finance Commission (Relevant for GS

Prelims, Mains Paper II)

N.K Singh-Chairman of 15th Finance Commission:


The government announced that former revenue secretary NK Singh will be the chairman

of the 15th Finance Commission (FC) that will recommend distribution of taxes between

the Centre and the states.

Other Members:

Shaktikanta Das (Former Economic Affairs Secretary)

Ashok Lahiri (Former Chief Economic Adviser)

Ramesh Chand (Niti Aayog member)

Anoop Singh (Georgetown University Adjunct Professor)

What is Finance Commission?

Finance Commission is a body set up under Article 280(1) of the Constitution. Its primary

job is to recommend measures and methods on how revenues need to be distributed

between the Centre and states.

The FC is formed every five years to recommend principles governing the allocation of tax

revenue between the Centre, states and local bodies.

Role of Finance Commission:

The Commission will work on the principles which should govern the grants-in-aid of the

revenues of the States out of the Consolidated Fund of India and the sums to be paid to the

States by way of grants-in-aid of their revenues under Article 275 of the Constitution.

The Commission will also suggest measures to augment the Consolidated Fund of a State to

supplement the resources of the Panchayats and Municipalities.

Additional issues that are likely to be taken up by the Commission:

The panel has been asked to take into account the impact of the GST, including payment of

compensation for possible loss of revenues for 5 years, and abolition of a number of cesses,

earmarking thereof for compensation and other structural reforms programme, on the

finances of Centre and States.

The government has further tasked the Commission to suggest a fiscal consolidation

roadmap for the Centre and the states.

The Commission may consider proposing measurable performance-based incentives for

States, at the appropriate level of government in areas in following areas including

expansion and deepening of tax net under GST, progress in moving towards replacement

rate of population growth, increase in capital expenditure, eliminating losses of power

sector, promoting digital transactions, ease of doing business, among others.


31

Constitution of 15th Finance Commission:

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had last week set up the 15th Finance

Commission and its terms of reference. Given that the commission will take around two

years to complete the exercise, the government has decided to set up the Commission. The

recommendations of the 15th FC will have to come into effect from April 1, 2020.

Timeline/Duration:

The recommendations of the previous 14th Finance Commission, chaired by former

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Y V Reddy, are valid from 2015 to 2020. The

recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission will be implemented for the period

starting 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2025.

Recommendations of 14th Finance Commission:

The 14th FC had suggested sharp 10 percentage points rise in tax devolution to states to 42

per cent of the divisible pool of the tax revenue between FY16 and FY20, compared with

the previous five-year period. This recommendation was accepted by the Narendra Modi

government.



charge (Relevant for GS Prelims, Mains Paper II)

SC relaxed the provision of PMLA, 2002 Act in favor of the accused:

The Supreme Court struck down a stringent provision of the Prevention of Money

Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 that denied bail to an accused unless the court was

convinced that he was not guilty.

The apex court also ordered a fresh trial in all cases where bail under such provisions had

been denied to the accused.

Implications:

The ruling could have widespread ramifications for those accused under the Act — and for

cases under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the agency responsible for

probing money laundering offences.

Ruling opposed by the Attorney General:

The ruling, opposed by Attorney General K.K. Venugopal in court, is also being seen by the

government as a setback in the fight against black money.


How PMLA, 2002 came in existence?

In many ways, the PMLA was a result of the opening of the Indian economy in the early

1990s. As the economy opened to foreign investment and forex reserves began to rise, the

government felt a need for an easing of forex regulations in the country.

A Bill was thus brought to remove the draconian provisions of the Foreign Exchange

Regulation Act (FERA), which made even spending freely abroad difficult for an Indian.

Thus, the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) was born in 2002.

The most important change was that a forex violation was turned into a civil offence from a

criminal one, allowing for compounding of the offence by way of a fine. This did not require

the arrest of an offender.

But, as FEMA was being drafted, agencies enforcing forex regulations pressed for a new

law, FEMA turning the anti-money laundering apparatus in the country almost toothless.

This was also when internationally, there was a thrust on choking terror financing and the

free movement of illicit money across borders.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was created in 1989 to coordinate anti-money

laundering efforts across the world — as a member, India was under pressure to do its bit.

The PMLA was also created as a response to the political declaration adopted by the special

session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) held on June 8 and 10, 1998,

calling on member states to adopt anti-money laundering legislations.

But, since its origin, the Act has been a matter of debate because of its provisions — at

times, it has also been called draconian .

The Prevention of Money Laundering Act was finally passed in 2002. It, however, came into

force only on July 1, 2005. The Act was further amended in 2009 and 2013, increasing its

ambit.

Other Acts/Enactments endorsing tough course of Bail:

The tough bail condition now applied to offences under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, the

Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, the Antiquities

and Arts Treasures Act, the Transplantation of Human Organs Act 1994, the Passports Act,

the, Information Technology Act and other laws.

Why there was a need of relaxation in it?

Those accused under the PMLA rarely got bail before an incarceration that could last

anywhere between two to three years. Given that money laundering offences attract


33

between three to seven years of punishment in jail, this was considered practically like

serving the sentence. Almost no one got bail until a chargesheet in the case was filed.

Of the over 120 persons accused by the ED and arrested under the PMLA since 2005, no

more than two to three people have secured bail in a matter of months.

Notably, the ED has had painfully slow progress in its cases and has, till date, been able to

secure conviction in only two of the over 2,300 cases it has registered.

Supreme Court view behind the ruling:

However, the Supreme Court has now said that the Section stood in violation of Article 21

(the right to life, liberty and security of a person) and Article 14 (the right to equality). Yet,

the PMLA in totality is a very stringent Act.

Apart from bail, the Act has very tough provisions on the attachment of property, the

recording of statements and arrest and prosecution.

Notable facts about PMLA, 2002:

The PMLA is among very few Acts in the country wherein a statement recorded by an

authorised agency officer is admissible as evidence in court. Such powers are not available

to the police under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

The Director, ED, can pass orders to provisionally attach a property belonging to an

accused if she/he is convinced that this has been purchased with the proceeds of a crime

under a scheduled offence.

The PMLA also puts the burden of proof on the accused as it presumes intent.

Response from the ED with respect to this ruling:

Interestingly though, despite the SC s decision, ED sources say the order would not directly

impact on its cases as these are largely based on documentary evidence where financial

trails have been established. As far as bail is concerned, the agency will invoke existing

provisions.


29. SAUBHAGYA Scheme launched in Manipur (Relevant for GS Prelims, Mains Paper

II & III)


The Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (SAUBHAGYA) was launched in Manipur. A

total of approximately 1.75 lakh households (1.62 lakh rural households and 0.13 lakh

urban households) of Manipur are proposed to be included under the Scheme.

Details of the Scheme:

It may be noted that Saubhagya is a scheme launched to achieve universal household

electrification in all parts of the Country at a cost of Rs. 16,320 crore including Gross

Budgetary Support (GBS) of Rs. 12,320 crores from Government of India.

Keeping in view the role of electricity in human and socio-economic development,

Government of India has formulated the scheme to ensure last mile connectivity and

electricity connections to all remaining un-electrified urban and rural households in the

country. All States and Union Territories of the country are required to complete household

electrification in their respective jurisdiction by 31st March, 2019.

REC is a nodal agency

Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC), a Navaratna CPSE under the Ministry of

Power has been appointed as the nodal agency for coordinating the implementation of the

scheme.

The prospective beneficiary households for free electricity connections under the scheme

will be identified using Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC), 2011 data.

(Adapted from PIB)

30. 12th Inter-State Council meet held (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II)

Rajnath chaired Inter-State Council meet:

Union Home Minister, Rajnath assured the constructive role of central govt. in promoting

cooperative federalism.

Furthermore, he suggested that the Centre should not charge any cost to the State

government whenever Central forces are deployed at the request of the State government.

What is co-operative federalism?

Cooperative federalism, also known as marble-cake federalism, is a concept of federalism in

which national, state, and local governments interact cooperatively and collectively to solve

common problems, rather than making policies separately but more or less equally (such

as the dual federalism of the 19th-century United States) or clashing over a policy in a

system dominated by the national government.


35

Opposition to the Commission s Recommendations:

Andhra Pradesh had opposed the recommendation made by the Puncchi Commission that

Central forces could be deployed without the concurrence of the State government.

Details of the Commission:

The Commission was set up by the government under the chairmanship of Justice (Retd.)

Madan Mohan Punchhi, former Chief Justice of India, in 2005 to look into Centre-State

issues keeping in view the changes in the polity and economy of India since the Sarkaria

Commission.

It submitted its report in 2010 containing 273 recommendations in 7 volumes.

The subjects discussed at the standing committee meeting included financial transfers from

the Centre to the States, Goods and Services Tax, structure and devolution of functions to

local bodies and district planning.

The standing committee considered 118 recommendations contained in Volumes III, IV and

V and finalized its recommendations.

Parties to the meeting held:

Those who attended the meeting included Union Ministers Arun Jaitley (Finance) and

Thawar Chand Gehlot (Social Justice and Empowerment); Chief Ministers Raman Singh

(Chhattisgarh), Naveen Patnaik (Odisha), Vasundhara Raje Scindia (Rajasthan) and Manik

Sarkar (Tripura).


31. On I-T raids at Jayalalithaa s residence (Relevant for GS Mains paper II)

Allegation of influence by central government

Searches and seizures by the Income Tax department following the death of Chief Minister

Jayalalithaa were without doubt integral to the clean-up operation in a State known for

brazen corruption and abuse of power at different levels. But some of the actions of the

enforcement agencies have given the impression that they are selective in nature, leading

to charges that they were motivated by the political interests of the Bharatiya Janata Party,

which heads the government at the Centre.

Nature of recent raids by Income tax officials

In the latest instance, Income Tax officials searched the residence of Jayalalithaa, following

up on seizures made at properties held by the family of her friend V.K. Sasikala. But


curiously, Income Tax officials were insistent that the rooms used by Jayalalithaa were not

the object of inquiry.

Possible strategy of BJP

Jayalalithaa remains a revered figure in Tamil Nadu s politics, and the BJP s efforts over the

last several months have been two-fold: to acknowledge her political legacy and to

denounce the claims of the Sasikala family as its true inheritor. Not surprisingly, in an

attempt to undermine the BJP s control of the narrative, Sasikala s nephew, T.T.V.

Dhinakaran, described the searches as an assault on Jayalalithaa s soul. The credibility of

the searches thus hinges on the Income Tax department widening the net beyond the

Sasikala family and cracking down on corruption at the highest levels.

Other evidences suggesting political motives

Adding to the credibility issue is the evident lack of serious follow-up on searches made

earlier. Within weeks of Jayalalithaa s death, Income Tax officials conducted searches

against the then Chief Secretary, P. Rama Mohana Rao, and claimed to have unearthed

assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. But almost a year later, there is

little forward movement in the case.

Similarly, searches at the properties of Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar, a confidant of Mr.

Dhinakaran, have yielded little in terms of framing of charges. Mr. Baskar remains a

Minister, but he is a little warier of associating openly with Mr. Dhinakaran. The political

impact of the searches is infinitely greater than their legal consequences. Both factions of

the AIADMK seem eager to please the BJP, which does not have much more than a toehold

in the State.

What needs to be done?

In the absence of the searches resulting in serious action, the Central enforcement agencies

will appear as no more than political weapons in the hands of the BJP. Widening the scope

of and deepening the probe consequent to the searches are essential for taking the drive

against political corruption to its logical end. Just as important, however, is the need for

enforcement agencies to demonstrate their independence and credibility.



37

International Organisations and Bilateral

Relations

1. 200 dead in N. Korean n-site mishap (Relevant for Mains Paper II)

Consequence of Nuclear testing

More than 200 people are feared to have died when a tunnel caved in at North Korea s

nuclear test site, triggered by its latest explosion.

A tunnel collapsed at Punggye-ri after the North Korea conducted its sixth and largest

underground nuclear test on September 3. Some 100 workers were killed in the initial

collapse.

Radiation concerns

Experts have warned that the underground tests could cause the mountain to collapse and

leak radiation into the atmosphere near China s border.

The latest test — the sixth at the site since 2006 — triggered landslides in the detonation

area and beyond, according to satellite pictures taken the day after.


2. Terror in New York (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II)

The terrorist attack in New York confirms fears that terrorism, especially in the West, is

becoming more decentralised, with individuals radicalised by terrorist ideology taking up

arms on their own.

Like the lone wolf terrorists in Nice or Berlin, who killed over 100 people last year, the

New York attacker ploughed a pickup truck into a busy bicycle path in Manhattan, killing

eight.

About the terrorist

Officials say SayfulloSaipov, the 29-year-old Uzbek immigrant, was inspired by the Islamic

State and wanted to inflict maximum damage. This is a unique challenge for governments.

Inspired from ISIS


Over the last few years, Western agencies have foiled multiple terror plots. The U.S. is a

case in point. It has not seen any major coordinated terror attack since September 11,

2001. But the chances of detecting and foiling a sophisticated terror plan by a network are

higher than preventing a lone wolf attack. Even before the IS suffered military defeats in its

core territories in West Asia, it had outsourced terror to members and sympathisers. This

means that someone inspired by the IS world view and living in, say, New York or Nice

doesn t have to contact IS handlers or wait for orders from Raqqa or Mosul. He or she can

be both planner and executor. That is what happened in Nice, Berlin, Orlando and now New

York.

Challenges before US Govt.

Governments face both political and security challenges.

The political challenge is to find the root causes of radicalisation and address them. This

cannot be done without support from community members and leaders.

The security challenge is to be more efficient when it comes to preventive measures.

There is also a challenge to prevent polarisation along religious or ethnic lines while

sounding the message of unity and resolve to fight terror.


3. On Rohingya crisis: Suu Kyi in denial (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II)

Nearly three months after the violence escalated against the Rohingya in Myanmar s

Rakhine State, leading to the migration of more than half a million to neighbouring

Bangladesh, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi finally visited the region.

Position of Suu Kyi

This is extremely disappointing. Ms. Suu Kyi endured years of house arrest and unremitting

hostility from the military junta before emerging victorious in a free and fair election two

years ago. But despite taking over a top post after the election, her civilian government s

powers have been clipped as the military still holds sway over defence, home affairs and

border issues.

Minimal Role of Suu Kyi

Ms. Suu Kyi, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, has found it pragmatic that not to

challenge the official rhetoric in Myanmar, which suggests the military s actions were

aimed at tackling terror in Rakhine.

This could be for two reasons.


39

1. First, she does not want to upset the fragile balance of power in the fledgling democracy

after years of rule by the junta.

2. Second, there is a clear lack of empathy for the Rohingya in a country that has seen the

rise of Buddhist and Bamarmajoritarianism that has corresponded with an official

othering of the Rohingya, who are Muslims, as non-citizens.

Despite the widespread international condemnation of her government s actions, Ms. Suu

Kyi has sought to pander to the domestic gallery by defending the military s actions in

Rakhine. Her conduct during her visit to the region this week suggests that she has no

intention of effecting any real or meaningful change in her government s position on the

Rohingya.


4. India s hopes fade for Farzad-B gas field deal (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains

Paper II)

What is Farzad-B gas field?

It is an offshore oil field located in Persian Gulf within territorial waters of Iran. It began

production in 2013 and produces natural gas. The total reserves of the Farzad B gas field

are around 21.7 trillion cubic feet of which around 60 percent is recoverable and

production is slated to be around 1.1 billion cubic feet/day. Indian government is trying to

negotiate a deal to get rights to dig gas.

India and Iran Deal regarding Farzad- B gas field

As India and Iran engage in a blame game, the fate of the multi-billion dollar Farzad-B gas

field contract that India has been pursuing with Tehran since 2009, seems doomed. Iran

accuses India of inflexibility, while India charges Iran with changing goal posts and

adopting delay tactics in an attempt at negotiating a more favourable deal.

But both sides agree that the future of the contract is uncertain.

Impact of U.S. curbs

The Indian companies has been trying to secure the contract for development of the field

since then, but was first hindered by the sanctions against Iran imposed by the U.S.

between 1995 and 2016. With the lifting of those sanctions, Indian companies renewed

efforts to secure the rights to the field.


Initially, the deal was meant to be completed by February 2017, but has been delayed due

to extended negotiations, forcing both sides to alter their offers several times.

Gas prices have been steadily falling globally as supply is outstripping demand. Gas prices

at the Henry Hub in the U.S. — one of the factors used in India s gas pricing formula —

averaged $2.98 per MMBtu in October, down from $3.75 in December last year.

Geopolitical advantage

Energy analysts say that India desperately needs gas, and that Iran remains one of the best

options. Geographically, Iran is the closest to India of all the countries in that region. It is

the shortest pipeline distance to get gas from there.

Farzad-B- Important in overall context

The Farzad-B deal is important in the overall context of India-Iran relations, as well. While

India bought oil from Iran even during the years of U.S. sanctions, relations recently have

seen a bit of a downturn. The impasse over the deal has affected the oil trade, with India

recently reducing its crude oil purchases from Iran (down 30-40% from a year ago).

Iran, in retaliation, slashed the number of days of credit offered to Indian companies from

90 to 60 days. Unofficial estimates peg Iranian oil as accounting for 15-20% of India s total

oil imports.


5. Change, yet continuity: on Jerome Powell s nomination as US Fed Chief (Relevant

for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II)

Jerome Powell s nomination as Fed chief

President Donald Trump s decision to name Federal Reserve Board Governor Jerome

Powell as his pick to head the central bank signals that the businessman-turned-politician

has plumped for continuity even as he ushers in change.

Background

Mr. Powell, who was appointed by President Barack Obama as Fed Governor in 2012 and

worked alongside the incumbent Chair, Janet Yellen, over the past five years, will represent

policy continuity in the monetary management of the world s largest economy.

What is the reason for choosing Powell?

With the economic engine ticking over nicely and creating jobs, and the markets buoyant,

there was little reason for Mr. Trump to run the risk of choosing someone who may have


41

altered the calibrated approach the Fed has adopted in overseeing the recovery from the

global financial crisis.

Mr. Powell had served in the Treasury Department during the George H.W. Bush

administration means that he will receive bilateral support in the Senate.

Effect on India

Emerging markets, including India, can heave a small sigh of relief with Mr. Trump s choice,

given the influence the Fed s interest rate decisions have on global capital flows.

Mr. Powell delivered a lecture on Prospects for Emerging Market Economies in a

Normalising Global Economy , he acknowledged the challenges the economies faced as a

result of the normalisation of global financial conditions. And crucially, he stressed that

the best thing the Federal Reserve can do — not just for the United States, but for the

global economy at large — is to keep the house in order through the continued pursuit of

the dual mandate of fostering economic conditions that achieve both stable prices and

maximum sustainable employment.


6. Royal flush: on the surprise crackdown of Crown Prince of Saudi (Relevant for GS


About Mohammed bin Salman

Ever since he was named the defence minister of Saudi Arabia in 2015, Mohammed bin

Salman has had little patience for the way the kingdom is being ruled. In June, two and a

half years into the reign of his father, King, Salman, he replaced Mohammed bin Nayef as

Crown Prince.

In recent weeks, he had taken on the Salafi religious establishment. Recently, he sprang

another surprise by ordering the arrest of senior government ministers, officials and 11

Princes, including the billionaire Alwaleed bin Talal, and the powerful chief of the National

Guard, Mutaib bin Abdullah.

Reason of Arrest

The immediate reason for the arrests is not known. The palace version is that they were

carried out as part of a new campaign against corruption that is spearheaded by Prince

Mohammed.

Personal reason for this move


The recent crackdowns suggest that Prince Mohammed is consolidating his power. He first

had Prince Nayef removed from his path to the throne as Crown Prince. As one of the

richest among Saudi royals, Prince Alwaleed is known for his cosy ties with Western

governments and less conservative views. Prince Mutaib, a favourite son of the late King

Abdullah, is an influential figure within the palace. By arresting both, Prince Mohammed

potentially neutralised the money and power centres that could pose challenges to him in

the future.

Emerge as a Powerful Prince

With the latest arrests, at just 32 years of age Prince Mohammed appears to have

established himself as the most powerful Saudi Crown Prince in decades. He is practically

in charge of key policy decisions and has taken control of all branches of the Saudi security

services — the military, internal security and the National Guard.

He clearly has the King s ear. Still, Prince Mohammed is playing a risky game. In a short

span of time, he has opened multiple fronts in the still-unfolding internal power struggle. In

Saudi Arabia, where the rulers traditionally distribute power among the different branches

of the royal family as a balancing tactic and get their decisions approved by the ulema for

legitimacy, Prince Mohammed s moves are upending tradition.

By concentrating power in his own hands and turning against other Princes as well as some

clerics, he has upset the balance in the system. Quick consolidation of power could perhaps

allow him to reshape the governance model.

The anti-corruption campaign, which sounds much like that led by Chinese President Xi

Jinping, will have popular support, which he could use to continue to target his rivals. But

Prince Mohammed s track record so far is devoid of any major achievement. His ambitious

plan to reform the economy has been a non-starter. His foreign policy moves also backfired

with the Yemen war spinning further out of control and the Syrian civil war turning in

favour of President Bashar al-Assad, who is seen as an adversary by Riyadh. With the

Riyadh-Tehran rivalry in West Asia hotting up again, these developments are also bound to

have repercussions beyond Saudi Arabia.


7. India Pavilion Launched at Cop 23 in Bonn Conserving Now, Preserving Future is

India s Theme (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper II)

The India Pavilion at COP 23 was inaugurated by Union Minister of Environment, Forest

and Climate Change, at Bonn in Germany. The Minister is leading the Indian delegation,


43

which is participating in the 23rd Conference of Parties (COP-23) to the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) being held at the Bonn, Germany

from November 6-17, 2017.

Theme of India

India s theme for COP 23 Conserving Now, Preserving Future takes India s message

forward.

The India Pavilion will create awareness about India s positive climate actions.COP 23, the

India Pavilion, focuses on India s positive climate actions on adaptation, mitigation, clean

technology innovation and renewable energy.

Background

The India Pavilion at COP 21, Paris and COP 22, Marrakesh showcased climate change

related activities under the themes of Climate Justice and Sustainable Lifestyles.


8. FEMA norms eased to spur investment from overseas (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS

Mains Paper III)

Simplification of FEMA for foreign investors

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has simplified the Foreign Exchange Management

(Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident outside India) Regulations, by putting

all the 93 amendments under one notification, a move that will make it easier for foreign

investors to invest in the country.

The Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), introduced in 1999, was amended 93

times.

About the new notification

The new notification combines two regulations on foreign investments –

One which is popularly called investment in an Indian company or a partnership, or in a

limited liability partnership, or FEMA 20,

And the other — FEMA 24, investment in a partnership firm.

Another significant change is the introduction of a late submission fee that could allow an

investor to regularise any contravention due to non-reporting, by paying the fee.

Big impact


It is going to impact in a very big manner because 60-70% of the contravention cases which

RBI receives are due to delays in reporting.

In addition, any transfer of investment from non-resident Indians to any non-residents has

been brought under the automatic route, and is thus not subject to reporting.


9. Pacific trade deal reached, sans U.S. (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II)

A major trade deal between 11 Asia- Pacific countries

Ministers from 11 Asia-Pacific countries agreed to 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.

US left TPP

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

year. In a joint statement, the remaining countries — dubbed the TPP-11 — agreed on the

core elements of a deal at the sidelines of the APEC summit in the Vietnamese city of

Danang.

CPTPP

The 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).


10. Navigation rights figure in first Quadrilateral talks (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS

Mains Paper II)

31st ASEAN and 12th East Asia Summit

Beginning a new diplomatic initiative, India participated in the first formal official-level

discussions conducted under the recently mooted regional coalition known as the Quad ,

the quadrilateral formation that includes Japan, India, the United States and Australia.

Discussion of Quad

The discussions focussed on cooperation based on their converging vision and values for

promotion of peace, stability and prosperity in an increasingly inter-connected region that

they share with each other and with other partners. They agreed that a free, open,


45

prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region serves the long-term interests of all countries

in the region and of the world at large.

Issue of Navigation rights

The Quad discussed the need for freedom of navigation in South China sea. China is

attempting to control the navigation rights in South China sea.

Why freedom of navigation is important to India?

Freedom of navigation in South China sea is important for India because South China sea

connects India to Japan and South Korea. Both the nations are important trading partners

of India.


11. India and Bangladesh interconnectivity explained (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS

Mains Paper II)

Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina, flagged off the Kolkata-Khulna Bandhan

Express, to follow in the tracks of the erstwhile Barisal Express, which was stopped during

the 1965 war with Pakistan. The weekly train service will cross the international border at

Petrapol outside Bongaon in North 24-Parganas district, and will be the second train to

Bangladesh after the Kolkata-Dhaka Maitree Express.

The two countries, and especially India s Northeast, stand to gain enormously from closer

road and rail links. Efforts have, however, progressed slowly.

Bus Service

1. Agartala-Dhaka-Kolkata, 910 km

Service on the 490 km Agartala-Dhaka route began in September 2003, and ran irregularly

until January 2015, when it was stopped for security reasons. Service was restarted in May

2015 on an extended Agartala-Dhaka-Kolkata route (910 km).

But this service, too, has become irregular.


2. Guwahati-Shillong-Dhaka, 450 km

Formally inaugurated in December 2015, but service did not continue.

Train Service

1. Kolkata-Dhaka Maitree Express

In 2008, rail links disrupted by hostility with erstwhile East Pakistan were reestablished,

the 375-km route crossing the border at Gede on the Indian side and Darshana on the

Bangladesh side.

The Maitree Express runs six days a week, and was, until the November 9 inauguration of

the Bandhan Express, the only rail link with Bangladesh.

2. Agartala-Dhaka service

A 15-km line between Agartala and Akhaura being built by the Indian Railways is set for

completion by the end of 2018. Agartala has recently got a direct train to Sealdah (Kolkata)

via Badarpur, Haflong, Lumding, Guwahati and New Jalpaiguri, a 37-hour journey that an

Agartala-Dhaka-Kolkata train can cover in less than a third of this time.

3. Siliguri-Parbatipur link

A line links Siliguri in North Bengal to Parbatipur in northern Bangladesh, by which India

sent a 42-wagon consignment of high speed diesel manufactured by Numaligarh Refinery

in Assam in March 2017. But there is no regular goods train movement on this route, and


47

passenger services are unlikely soon, given trans-border crimes and infiltration in the

North Bengal sector.

Boat Service

Kolkata-Dibrugarh waterway through Dhaka and Guwahati, started in 1844 by the East

India Company and shut after the 1965 war, was recently reopened. Cargo vessels have

been occasionally plying through Bangladesh under a Protocol on Inland Water Transit and

Trade. Heavy machinery and equipment for the Numaligarh refinery and Lower Subansiri

hydroelectric project in Arunachal Pradesh have been transported by this route.

In 2011, heavy over-dimensional consignments of turbines and other machinery for the

Palatana power project in Tripura were shipped through Ashuganj port in Bangladesh.

When the Lumding-Badarpur railway was shut for gauge conversion last year, India moved

foodgrains to Tripura by waterways through Bangladesh, saving on both time and

transportation costs.

Road Transport

Kolkata-Dhaka-Northeast seamless cargo

In November 2015, seamless road cargo transport between Kolkata and Agartala through

Bangladesh was tried out successfully under the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal (BBIN)

Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) for Regulation of Passenger, Personnel and Cargo

Vehicular Traffic, signed by these countries in June.

Regular services are yet to start.

Northeast, the biggest beneficiary

The creation of East Pakistan — and subsequently, Bangladesh — significantly increased

the distance between the Northeast and the Indian mainland.

Earlier and Now

Until 1947, a train to Guwahati from Kolkata took hardly 12 hours. Today, despite

increased speeds, the journey takes at least 18 hours by the fastest train, while a normal

train — such as the Kamrup Express — takes almost 24 hours through Siliguri or New

Jalpaiguri.

Before Partition, people travelled from Guwahati to Kolkata via Lalmonirhat, in the

Bangladesh district close to where the Brahmaputra crosses the border. Trains between

Assam and Kolkata through East Pakistan stopped in 1947; trains between West Bengal

and East Pakistan stopped after the 1965 war.



12. The Hariri mystery: on the former Lebanon PM s absence (Relevant for GS

Prelims and GS Mains Paper II)

Sudden resignation of Lebanon s PM

Saad Hariri s shock resignation as Lebanon s Prime Minister has not just plunged the

country into another spell of political instability, but also reignited regional tensions

between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Political History of Lebanon

Lebanon has been a theatre for proxy regional battles for years. Eleven months ago, Mr.

Hariri, a Sunni with close business and political ties with Saudi Arabia, had formed a

coalition with Hezbollah, a Shia party-cum-militia that has Iran s support. This had, in turn,

allowed the election of Michel Aoun as Lebanon s President. But since then Riyadh has

become increasingly impatient with Mr. Hariri s failure to confront Hezbollah, whose

militia wing was involved in the Syrian civil war on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad,

another Saudi rival.

Reason for his resignation

It was against this backdrop that Mr. Hariri announced his resignation from the Saudi

capital and blamed Hezbollah and Iran for his decision.

His continued absence has triggered speculation that he was forced by the Saudis to resign

and is being held in Riyadh against his will at a time when the kingdom is turning up the

heat on Hezbollah and Iran.

Regional Risks

There are regional stakes involved in this situation. Hezbollah has evolved into a battle-

hardened semi-conventional military force.

In 2006, Israel attacked Lebanon with the aim of destroying Hezbollah, with little success.

Since then, Hezbollah has amassed weapons from Iran and has got battlefield training in

the Syrian civil war.Its political arm has enormous influence in Beirut s corridors of power.

Concern of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is concerned about this growing military and political influence of what it sees

as an Iranian proxy. U.S. President Donald Trump has backed Saudi policies.


49

Riyadh has the silent support of Israel, which sees Hezbollah as a threat on its northern

border. If the Saudis forced Mr. Hariri to resign, they will prefer another Sunni leader who

takes a more confrontational view of Hezbollah.

Saudi Arabia has also asked its citizens to leave Lebanon, signalling potential military

action.

It is unfortunate that Lebanon is once again becoming a pawn on the West Asian

geopolitical chessboard.


13. Joint Indo-Bangladesh Exercise Sampriti 2017 Culminates (Relevant for GS

Prelims and GS Mains Paper II)

Joint Indo-Bangladesh Training Exercise SAMPRITI 2017, which is being conducted at

Counter Insurgency & Jungle Warfare School, Vairengte in Mizoram culminated with a

validation exercise.

7th in SAMPRITI Series

It is the seventh such exercise in the SAMPRITI series. The exercise has been aimed to

strengthen and broaden the aspects of interoperability and cooperation between the Indian

and Bangladesh Armies.

It was conducted in a progressive manner wherein the participants initially familiarised

themselves with each other s organisational structure and tactical drills. Subsequently, the

training advanced to various joint tactical exercises by the two Armies.

The final exercise was reviewed by Major General Md Moshfequr Rahman of the

Bangladesh Army and Major General M S Ghura of the Indian Army. The combined exercise

was an unprecedented success. Besides promoting understanding and interoperability

between the two Armies, it further helped in strengthening bilateral ties.

Background

SAMPRITI Exercise is important bilateral defence cooperation between India and

Bangladesh. Earlier six editions of the exercise were hosted alternately by both countries.

The first edition of the exercise in this series was held at Jorhat in Assam in 2010.

(Adapted from PIB)


14. All you need to know about the turmoil in Zimbabwe (Relevant for GS Prelims

and GS Mains Paper II)

The military in Zimbabwe launched a coup on November 15, 2017, calling it a bloodless

correction to target criminals surrounding long-time leader Robert Mugabe.

Who is Robert Mugabe?

Robert Mugabe is the only leader Zimbabwe had since it won freedom from British colonial

rule in 1980. At 93, Mr. Mugabe is the world s oldest head of state. His poor health has

fuelled a bitter succession battle as potential replacements jockey for position. His lengthy

rule has been marked by brutal repression of dissent, mass emigration, vote-rigging and

economic collapse since land reforms in 2000.

What triggered the current stand-off between military and the civilian government?

Mr. Mugabe sacked long-time ally and Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, widely

expected to succeed the former and take control of the ruling ZANU-PF party. Mr. Mugabe s

move is seen as an attempt to install his wife Grace — 41 years younger than her husband — as Vice-President and eventually take over the top job from him.

How intense is the battle to succeed Mr. Mugabe?

Earlier in 2016, the country was gripped by a bizarre spat between Ms. Grace and Mr.

Mnangagwa that included an alleged ice-cream poisoning incident that laid bare the pair s

rivalry. Ms. Grace has become increasingly active in public life in what many say was a

process to help her eventually taking the top job. She was granted diplomatic immunity in

South Africa in August 2017 after she allegedly assaulted a model at an expensive

Johannesburg hotel where the couple s two sons were staying.

What is the military s stand?

Days after Mr. Mnangagwa fled the country after his dismissal, Army chief General

Constantino Chiwenga warned Mr. Mugabe to stop purges of ZANU-PF.

Did the military stage a coup?

Though the action had all the hallmarks of a bloodless coup, the Zimbabwean military

chose to avoid the word coup.

How does the civilian establishment react?

The main opposition MDC party called for civilian rule to be protected. No one wants to see

a coup. If the Army takes over, that will be undesirable. It will bring democracy to a halt.



51

15. Pacific Ocean s 11: on TPP without U.S. (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper

II)

TPP without US

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 .

CPTPP: Future of TPP

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.

Implication for US

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.

Nature of US policies under Trump

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.


16. Cabinet approves India s Membership for European Bank for Reconstruction &

Development (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS mains Paper II)

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved India s

Membership for European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD)


Necessary steps will be initiated by the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of

Finance to acquire the membership of the EBRD.

Impact:

Membership of EBRD would enhance India s international profile and promote its

economic interests. Access to EBRD s Countries of Operation and sector knowledge.

India s investment opportunities would get a boost.

It would increase the scope of cooperation between India and EBRD through co-

financing opportunities in manufacturing, services, Information Technology, and

Energy.

EBRD s core operations pertain to private sector development in their countries of

operation. The membership would help India leverage the technical assistance and

sectoral knowledge of the bank for the benefit of development of private sector.

This would contribute to an improved investment climate in the country.

The membership of EBRD would enhance the competitive strength of the Indian

firms, and provide an enhanced access to international markets in terms of business

opportunities, procurement activities, consultancy assignments etc.

This would open up new vistas for Indian professionals on the one hand, and give a

fillip to Indian exports on the other.

Increased economic activities would have the employment generating potential.

It would also enable Indian nationals to get the employment opportunity in the

Bank.

Financial Implications:

The minimum initial investment towards the membership of EBRD will be approximately €1 one million. However, this assumption is based on India deciding to buy the minimum

number of shares (100) required for obtaining the membership. If India were to buy a

higher number of Bank shares, the financial implications could be higher. In-principle

approval of the Cabinet at this stage is being obtained for joining the Bank.

Background

The issue relating to acquiring the membership of the European Bank for Reconstruction

& Development (EBRD) had been under consideration of the Government. With the

country s impressive economic growth over the years and enhanced international political

profile, it was considered appropriate that India should expand its presence on the global

developmental landscape beyond its association with the Multi-lateral Development Banks

(MDBs) such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and African Development Bank.

The decision to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the New

Development Bank (NDB) was taken earlier in this backdrop.


53

(Adapted from PIB)

17. Pak. court frees Hafiz Saeed (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II)

About Hafiz Saeed

Saeed, a declared terrorist by the U.N., the U.S. and India for his involvement in the 2008

Mumbai attacks, had been under house arrest since January 2017. Saeed carries a bounty of

$10 million announced by the U.S. for his role in terror activities.

Decision of the court

A Pakistani court ordered the release of Hafiz Saeed, the chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and

one of the alleged masterminds of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that killed more than

160 people.

A review Board of the Lahore High Court overruled the government s request to extend the

detention citing that Saeed s release may trigger international sanctions against Pakistan.

Concept of justice cannot be brutalised and terrorised in the name of fight against

terrorism, the High Court said in its ruling.

What helped release of Saeed?

Last month, authorities had withdrawn terrorism charges against Saeed and the JuD, a

front of the terror organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba, and kept him in detention under the

Maintenance of Public Order Act, paving the way for his release.

Saeed s detention was extended four times since January when the government cracked

down on the JuD and its charity arm Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation.

The Kashmir factor

Analyst and retired Pakistani general Talat Masood told AFP that Saeed is given special

treatment by the government because they think that his organisation was supportive in

Kashmir .

Following a brief period of house arrest in 2008, Saeed led a high-profile public life and

regularly delivered fiery anti-India speeches till January this year.



18. Evaluation of India s foreign Policy in context of election of Justice Dalveer

Bhandari (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II)

The election of Justice Dalveer Bhandari to the International Court of Justice for a second

term is a major diplomatic success for India.

About election process at ICJ

Five of the 15 judges of the ICJ are elected every three years. The winning candidates

required a majority in both the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council

in simultaneous voting through secret ballot.

About the recent elections

This year there were six candidates for five slots. While four candidates were elected

smoothly, Justice Bhandari and Christopher Greenwood of the United Kingdom ended in a

dead heat as the former won the UNGA and the latter the UNSC in multiple rounds of

voting.

The U.K. wanted to end the voting and move to a conference mechanism, which involves

selecting a panel of three UNGA members and three UNSC members, who would then elect

the judge. This mechanism has never been used before.

India opposed the move, and the U.K. could not gather adequate support for its demand in

the UNSC. The U.K. then withdrew its candidate, paving the way for Justice Bhandari s re-

election.

Evaluation of the election

India and the U.K. had staked considerable diplomatic goodwill in the election, and the

outcome is significant politically for both.

U.K. s perspective

For the first time, the U.K. will not have a judge on the ICJ. It is also the first time that a

permanent member of the UNSC has lost at the ICJ on a vote. In this context, the loss at the

ICJ is being read as confirmation of the U.K. s diminishing role in global affairs.

India s perspective

For India, soon after its failure to gain membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the

lobbying for the ICJ election has different lessons. India s success was built primarily on the

support of developing countries, among whom it has nurtured goodwill over the decades.

Japan also appeared to align with the P-5. India s support in the UNGA was expanding with

subsequent rounds of voting, a reality the U.K. and the U.S. could not brush aside. For India,


55

the takeaway is clear: to find a louder global voice, it also needs to put more emphasis on

ties with countries away from the high table.


19. Egypt Mosque Attack 2017: All you need to know (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS

Mains Paper II)

A horrific terrorist attack has killed more than 235 people and wounded as many as 130

during prayers at the Rawdah Mosque in Egypt. Islamic militants are to blame.

The attack, which occurred November 24 in the North Sinai province, was the deadliest

ever attack on Egyptian civilians by Islamic extremists .

Here s what you need to know:

1. Gunmen Opened Fire on Worshippers During the Attack From Ambush Locations

The carnage played out as people gathered for prayers in the mosque.

2, The Attack Bears the Hallmarks of ISIS

Who committed the attack? According to CNN, no one claimed responsibility in the hours

right after it, but it bore similarities to tactics used by ISIS.

3. Children Died in the Attack as Terrorists Sprayed Machine Gun Fire at People

Children were among those killed in the attack, in which the terrorists wielded machine

guns. Masked insurgents wearing military uniforms and waving black flags carried out the

massacre as they surrounded and stormed the building – including a kindergarten full of

children – during Friday prayers.

4. It Was the Deadliest Terrorist Attack in Modern Egyptian History

Egypt has been plagued with deadly terrorist attacks for years, but the mosque attack in

November 2017 is considered the country s deadliest in its modern era.

(Adapted from heavy.com)

20. Greater Nagalim claims: As NSCN(IM) deal nears fruition, why three

Northeastern states are agitated (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS mains Paper II)


The map of Greater Nagalim on the NSCN(IM) website comprising all Naga-inhabited

areas shows a 1,20,000 sq km sprawl across the Northeast and Myanmar. It covers a

sizeable portion of

1. Assam s Tinsukia, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao

districts;

2. all of Longding, Tirap, Changlang, Lohit and Namsai districts in Arunachal; and 3. large

parts of Manipur s Ukhrul, Senapati, Chandel and Tamenglong districts.

The area of Nagaland state is only 16,527 sq km, a fraction of the NSCN(IM) s Greater

Nagalim .

NSCN(IM) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah said a few months ago that the historic

Framework Agreement signed with the government of India in August 2015 recognises

the legitimate right of the Nagas to integration of all Naga territories . However, central

government does not agree to the point that areas of nearby states will be merged into

nagali,.

NSCN (IM) is an insurgent organisation negotiating with central government on behalf of

nagas.



57

21. Shaktikanta Das appointed as India s G 20 Sherpa (Relevant for GS Prelims, Mains

Paper II)

The government appointed former economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das as India s

G20 Sherpa till December 31, 2018 for the Development Track of the G20.

Details:

There are two tracks in G20 — Finance Track and Development Track. Finance Track is

managed by the secretary (economic affairs) as India s deputy to G20 and the Development

Track is coordinated by the Sherpa.

What is a Sherpa?

A Sherpa is a personal representative of the leader of a member country at international

summits like G8 and G20. The Sherpa engages in planning, negotiation and implementation

tasks. They coordinate the agenda, seek consensus at the highest political levels, and

participate in a series of pre-Summit consultations to help negotiate their leaders

positions. NITI Aayog s former vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya was India s last Sherpa at

the G20 Summit. ENS


22. Pakistan s Law Minister, Zahid Hamid puts resign: The recent protests in

Pakistan (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II)

Zahid Hamid resigned after weeks of big protests staged by the protestors.

Details of the protests held:

Thousands of protesters massed in Pakistan s major cities in response to the government

efforts to disperse an Islamist rally in Islamabad, with the military hesitant.

The Islamist group (Tehreek-e-Labbaik) was demanding the resignation of Pakistan s Law

Minister Zahid Hamid over a hastily-abandoned amendment to Khatm-i-Nabuwwat

(finality of prophethood), the oath which election candidates must swear.

Demonstrators have linked the issue to blasphemy — a highly contentious matter in

Muslim Pakistan that has fuelled violence many times before.

Counter Response:

An Interior Ministry order said the federal government had authorised the deployment of

sufficient troops to control law and order in the capital until further notice.

Background:


Nawaz Sharif was disqualified due to corruption charges , As per law no disqualified person

can hold any public office, so he had to step down as a Prime Minster and also as a Party

Leader of PML(N).

To tackle the judgement PML(N) government passed a Election Reform Bill; that any

disqualified person can hold party leadership that established Nawaz Sharif as Party

Leader again. But in the bill, subsequent changes were made that threatens the khatam-e-

Nubuwat clause as per Islamists (finality of prophethood), the oath which election

candidates must swear.

So, Islamists marched to the Islamabad (Capital City) to Protest and blocked main

interchange between Islamabad-Rawalpindi named Faizabad.

Government in apprehension of any terrorist attack blocked all governmental building with

double containers. Therefore, protests are held.


23. New Cross-Border Train between India & Bangladesh, Kolkata-Khulna Bandhan

Express (Relevant for GS Prelims and Prelims Paper II)

Earlier Initiatives

The Bandhan Express train is the second train to be flagged off after the introduction of

Maitree Express between Kolkata and Dhaka Cantonment stations in April, 2008. It covers

the distance between Kolkata and Khulna through Petrapole & Benapole route to cater to

the demands of the people from both the countries to enhance the connectivity.

Schedule of Bandhan Express

The Bandhan Express will be a weekly service on every Thursday. The immigration and

Customs checks will take place at Kolkata International Passenger Terminal for the Indian

side and at Benapol border station for Bangladesh side.

About Bhairab and Titas Bridge

The second Bhairab Bridge and Titas Bridge in Bangladesh built under the assistance of the

Government of India are two of the most important projects in Bangladesh for

infrastructure and rolling stock development.

The one kilometre long second Bhairab Railway Bridge was built over the mighty Meghna

river at a cost of around USD 75 millions by Indian contractors and consultants. Similarly,


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the Titas bridge over river Titas in Eastern Bangladesh was built with a cost of around USD

25 million.

Both these bridges are on the main Chittagong to Dhaka Trunk Rail Line, which will help in

faster movement of both passenger and freight trains of Bangladesh.

(Adapted from PIB)

24. Indo – Kazakhstan Joint Exercise PRABAL DOSTYK 2017 Begins (Relevant for GS


A fourteen day joint training exercise PRABAL DOSTYK – 2017 between the Indian Army

and the Kazakhstan Army commenced with the Opening Ceremony at Bakloh, Himachal

Pradesh. PrabalDostyk means Robust Friendship It is second edition of the joint military

training exercise between both countries. The first edition of exercise was held in

Karaganda region of Kazakhstan in September 2016.

About the joint Exercise

The fourteen day joint training aims to build and promote bilateral army-to-army relations

and exchange skills and experiences between Kazakhstan and the Indian Army. It also aims

at enhancing military ties between two countries for achieving interoperability between

two armies.

The exercise will help in strengthening ties between two countries and would serve as

platform for exchange of drills and procedures leading to seamless interoperability. The

training contingents comprise of platoon strength from the 11th Gorkha Rifles of Indian

Army and similar strength of Kazakhstan Army.

The Indian troops participating in joint exercise have undergone extensive training in

counter terrorism and low-intensity conflict operations at Counter Insurgency and Jungle

Warfare School, Vairengte, Mizoram.

(Adapted from PIB & gktoday.in)


Economics 1. Cabinet approves Special Banking Arrangement (SBA) for payment of outstanding

subsidy to fertilizer companies during 2016-17 (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS

Mains Paper III)

Implementation of Special Banking Arrangement

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has accorded the ex-post facto approval for implementation of Special Banking Arrangement (SBA) for Rs. 10,000 crore for payment of outstanding claims because of fertilizer subsidy in the year 2016-17. CCEA has also approved that, in future, Department of Fertilizers would avail the SBA with the concurrence of Department of Expenditure. Loan for settlement

Under the SBA, the Government raised a total loan of Rs. 9,969 crore for settlement of outstanding subsidy bills with SBI. The loan amount along with interest liability on the part of Government amounting to Rs. 80.90 crore were paid to SBI. SBA for an amount of Rs. 10,000 crore for the year 2016-17 has already been implemented/ operationalised to overcome the liquidity problems of the fertilizer companies. Background:

Government is making available fertilizers, namely Urea and 21 grades of P&K fertilizers to farmers at subsidized prices through fertilizer manufacturers/importers. For making funds available to the fertilizer companies against their subsidy claims, Ministry of Finance had approved SBA for an amount of Rs. 10,000 crore with Government interest liability limited to G-Sec rate. Accordingly, an SBA was worked out with SBI for an amount of Rs. 10,000 crore to meet the outstanding subsidy claims of fertilizer companies. The loan together with Government interest thereon has been repaid from 2017-18 within the sanctioned budget. (Adapted from The PIB)

2. Crypto currencies, ICOs under SEBI lens (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper

III)

Regulator examining means to deal with coin offerings

The rising popularity of crypto currencies and the increasing number of entities looking at raising funds through Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) has caught the attention of the capital market regulator, which is evaluating whether such instruments and offerings can be brought under its regulatory purview.


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Crypto currencies like bitcoin, ethereum and such offerings have been under government radar for long and discussions have been held between various bodies, including SEBI and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on the possible ways in which this segment can be regulated. The central bank is of the view that these instruments are securities and so SEBI should be the regulating body. Concrete presentation

The regulator is evaluating whether these instruments can be regulated under the current SEBI Act or if there is a need for the government to give additional powers or amend the existing law. About ICO

An ICO, like an equity initial public offer (IPO), is an issuance of digital tokens that can be converted into crypto currencies and are mostly used to raise funds by start-up firms dealing in blockchain technology and virtual currencies like bitcoins and ethereum. Unlike an IPO, which is governed by SEBI regulations, there is no regulatory body for ICOs in India. According to data from UK-based CoinDesk, nearly $2.7 billion has been raised globally through ICOs since 2014. Concerns related to ICOs can be gauged from the fact that China recently banned such offerings after its central bank said that ICOs are illegal public finance mechanism used for issue of securities and money laundering. Status of Bitcoins in India

According to a recent study, more than 2,500 Indians invest in bitcoin daily. Start-ups like Zebpay, Unocoin, Coinsecure, Searchtrade, Belfrics and Bitxoxo are some of the well-known players in the bitcoin and blockchain segment in India. While crypto currencies and ICOs have risks and involve pooling of money, it cannot be regulated by SEBI unless it is relatable to the securities market. Bitcoins are neither commodities derivatives nor securities under Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956. Concerns regarding Bitcoins

Bitcoin players, meanwhile, feel that instead of a regulator, the industry is in more urgent need of a self-regulatory organisation (SRO) that could formally lay down principles to take care of concerns like money laundering and other possible misuse. US Status

In the US, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) applies a so-called Howey Test to determine if an instrument is to be considered a security. Self-Regulatory Regime

SEBI has an extremely well-regulated process in place and there is no need for a new regulator for ICOs. Bitcoin start-ups such as Zebpay, Unocoin, Coinsecure and Searchtrade came together to form the Digital Asset and Blockchain Foundation of India (DABFI) to lay down self-regulatory regimes for trading of bitcoins and other blockchain-based digital


assets apart from standardising Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Suspicious Transaction Reports (STR) norms for the member companies. What are Cryptocurrencies?

A cryptocurrency (or crypto currency) is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange using cryptography to secure the transactions, to control the creation of additional units, and to verify the transfer of assets. Cryptocurrencies are classified as a subset of digital currencies and are also classified as a subset of alternative currencies and virtual currencies. Bitcoin, created in 2009, was the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Since then, numerous cryptocurrencies have been created. These are frequently called altcoins, as a blend of bitcoin alternative. Bitcoin and its derivatives use decentralized control as opposed to centralized electronic money/centralized banking systems. The decentralized control is related to the use of bitcoin s blockchain transaction database in the role of a distributed ledger. (Adapted from The Hindu & Wikipedia.org)

3. The lowdown on the stimulus to banks (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper

III)

Capital Infusion in Public sector Banks

The government has announced a capital infusion in public sector banks amounting to Rs. 2.11 lakh crore over financial years 2017-18 and 2018-19 through the issue of recapitalisation bonds, enabling the banks to tap the market, and through budgetary support. Money comes from Various resources

Of this sum, Rs. 1.35 lakh crore will come through recapitalisation bonds, Rs. 18,000 crore from the budget and Rs. 58,000 crore that banks can raise from the market. However, the government is yet to decide on the modalities of the recap bonds. What are Recapitalisation Bonds?

The government has issued recapitalisation bonds in the past, between 1986 and 2001, worth over Rs. 20,000 crore. The process typically is that the government issues the bonds in lieu of capital. After lenders subscribe to these bonds, the money raised by the government is used to infuse fresh equity into the banks. Except the interest that has to be paid, there will not be an additional burden on the government. It is likely to have a marginal impact on fiscal deficit. Cause of this move

Capital has eroded significantly in public sector banks due to the pressure of bad loans. These banks are overly dependent on the government for funds due to their limited ability to tap the capital market because of the subdued valuation of their share price.


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Why Govt. chooses the Recap Bonds?

Most of the public sector banks shares are trading at a discount to their book value. Moreover, the government is also constrained to make a significant capital allotment from its budget, since it wants to stick to the path of fiscal discipline. The Finance Ministry has pegged the fiscal deficit target at 3.2% of the GDP. So, recap bonds were an option which fulfilled both objectives: supporting banks with their capital needs but without disturbing the fiscal math. Background

According to a report by State Bank of India, from 1986 to 2001, the interest paid by the government on recap bonds worked out to 0.07% of GDP per annum on average. But during the period, the banks paid dividends to the government amounting to 0.06% of the GDP on an average. So, the net impact on fiscal deficit was only 0.03% of the GDP. Consequences of this move

The move will strengthen the capital adequacy of public sector banks, which is required for provisioning for bad loans and adhering to the Basel-III framework. Analysts and rating agencies claim the capital infusion will be sufficient for public sector banks. What is the need of the hour?

While capital infusion is welcome, it must be ensured that the government is not throwing good money after bad money. Improving credit discipline and risk management systems are the need of the hour for public sector banks. The governance issues of the banks and their over-enthusiastic lending in the past need to be addressed. (Adapted from The Hindu)

4. Why Paradise Papers matter: they lift the veil for regulators to peek in(Relevant

for GS Prelims and Mains Paper III)


What are the Paradise Papers?

A trove of 13.4 million corporate records, primarily from Bermuda firm Appleby, as well as from Singapore-based Asiaciti Trust and corporate registries maintained by governments in 19 secrecy jurisdictions, often referred to as tax paradises . The leaks — which constitute the most detailed revelations ever of such records — were obtained by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). How are Paradise Papers different from Offshore Leaks (2013), Swiss Leaks(2015)

and Panama Papers (2016)?

Like the three major global financial leaks in the Paradise Papers also reveal tracks of veiled offshore financial activities. Like Mossack Fonseca (of Panama Papers, 2016), Appleby helps set up companies and bank accounts overseas, provides nominee office-bearers, and facilitates bank loans or transfer of shares, in multiple secrecy jurisdictions. But unlike in the previous leaks, the latest revelations are more about mega corporate than individual players and how they took advantage of and, in many cases, misused offshore jurisdictions.


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What Are Paradise Papers? What do the Paradise Papers show?

They reveal offshore footprints of some of India s major corporate players as well as of a few high-value individuals — the astounding scale of incorporating shell overseas companies to various ends. Internal communications show how a majority of these companies with offshore residency was wholly controlled from India. Appleby itself red-flagged round tripping on occasion by questioning if offshore funds meant for investing in India were sourced from India. There are instances of the assets of Indian companies being used to guarantee loans raised by offshore companies without disclosing it to Indian regulators. Changing ownership of offshore companies to actually change the ownership of shares held by them in Indian companies without paying taxes in India turns out to be another common malpractice. Is it illegal to set up offshore companies?

Not necessarily. India has double-taxation avoidance agreements (DTAAs) with several countries with lower tax rates than its own, and companies — overseas corporate bodies (OCBs) — incorporated in such countries can use their tax residency certificates (TRC) to enjoy the tax benefits available legally. So what is the excitement about?

The revelations help regulators overcome the obstacle of secrecy. After the Panama Papers, for example, regulators everywhere were able to investigate several instances of financial malpractices hidden in the records of Mossack Fonseca. The sheer size of the Paradise Papers trove, and the corporate-centric leads they provide, marks a big step forward. How tax evasion is happening?

Normally, a company is entitled to arrange its financial affairs in whichever way it wishes to reduce its tax liability. Merely the fact that the motive for a particular transaction is to avoid tax does not invalidate the transaction unless the law of the land specifically says so. There is a corporate army engaged in imaginative bookkeeping to discover and exploit legal loopholes and evade tax under the corporate veil. According to the Westminster principle, if a document or transaction is genuine, courts or the regulator cannot go behind it to look for any supposed underlying substance. How paradise papers is a treasure?

Only if a fraud is established can a court or regulator pierce the corporate structure, since fraud unravels everything — even a law, if it is a stumbling block — because no legislature intends to guard fraud. In such cases, the principle of lifting the corporate veil or the doctrine of (economic) substance over (legal) form can be applied. The Paradise Papers are a treasure trove of such leads and evidence. For example, in its bouquet of services, Appleby provides proxy directors for companies set up in tax havens.


These directors, either persons or shell companies, obviously have no real authority to decide the fate of the millions of dollars they move in the directions of their clients — holding companies or beneficiaries, or their representatives. Many offshore companies, the Papers reveal, are sham entities engaged in tax evasion/avoidance, manipulation of the market, money laundering, round tripping (taking untaxed money out of the country through inflated invoices and then bringing it back as an investment), parking black money, bribing, etc. Such insight into corporate ingenuity allows regulators to step in, besides strengthening the case for better laws and global tax reforms. What constitutes a fraud, and what are the remedies in Indian law?

The obvious malpractices, as evidenced by the Paradise Papers, are tax fraud, money laundering, round tripping, parking black money, bribing, etc. Also, treaty shopping, by which a resident of a third country can take advantage of the provisions of DTAA. If an entity without any commercial/business substance, that is, a shell company that exists only on paper, is placed in a holding structure only to avoid tax, the test of fiscal nullity — substance over form — is applied. If the decisionmaking powers of an offshore subsidiary s directors are fully subordinate to the holding company (or beneficiary) such that they are mere puppets, the offshore subsidiary, irrespective of its legal residency, may for all practical purposes be considered a resident of the same jurisdiction to which its holding company (or beneficiary) belongs. Section 6 (3) of Income Tax Act, 1961

With effect from April 2017, Section 6(3) of the Income Tax Act 1961 provides that if the place of effective management of a company is in India, the company will be considered resident in India .

The clause explains place of effective management as the place where key management and commercial decisions that are necessary for the conduct of business of an entity as a whole are in substance made . What about companies set up in countries that have a DTAA with India?

A DTAA does not stop the I-T Department from denying tax treaty benefits, if it is established that a company has been inserted as the owner of the shares in India, at the time of disposal of the shares to a third party, solely with a view to avoid tax. I-T, in such a situation, is entitled to look at the entire transaction as a whole, and may take into consideration the real transaction between the parties. Part of Paradise Papers

The corporate registries of 19 secrecy jurisdictions are part of the Paradise Papers. These are Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Cook


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Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Labuan, Lebanon, Malta, Marshall Islands, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent, Samoa, Trinidad & Tobago and Vanuatu. Of these, India has DTAA with only Malta and Trinidad & Tobago. Why is it important to have better tax laws and global tax reforms?

Tax avoidance is a global problem. Recently, global corporations such as Google, Amazon and Starbucks have faced strong regulatory intervention and public backlash for allegedly manipulating legal loopholes to avoid paying tax. In the wake of the Panama Papers, then US President Barack Obama had called for international tax reform to curb the huge problem of global tax avoidance and make sure everyone pays their fair share .

What has been the progress so far?

Laws specifying general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR) are in force in countries like the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Hong Kong. There is FATCA in the US. In Europe, anti-tax avoidance measures in the pipeline include a blacklist of offshore tax havens and a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) for the EU, meant to block transfer of profit to low-tax jurisdictions. Lack of clarity and absence of appropriate provisions in the statute and/or the treaty regarding the circumstances in which judicial anti-avoidance rules would apply, has led to litigation in India. About GAAR

India s Direct Taxes Code Bill, 2010 envisages creation of an economically efficient, effective direct tax system, proposing GAAR to prevent tax avoidance. Introduced by the then finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in 2012, GAAR came into effect from April 1, 2017. India introduced this retrospective clarification to the I-T Act to ensure that cross-border transactions of assets would be taxable if they derive, directly or indirectly, their value substantially from assets located in India. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

5. All you wanted to know about Bharat 22 ETF (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS

Mains Paper III)

What is it?

Bharat 22 is an ETF that will track the performance of 22 stocks the government plans to pare its stake in. An ETF (exchange traded fund) pools money from investors and channels it into a basket of stocks, mirroring an index and its performance. An ETF unit represents a slice of the fund; issued units are listed on exchanges for anyone to buy or sell at the quoted price. Bharat-22 ETF includes


The Bharat-22 ETF will span six sectors — basic materials, energy, finance, FMCG, industrials and utilities. Besides public sector banks, miners, construction companies, and energy majors, the ETF will also include some of the government s holdings in SUUTI (Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India). In fact, the SUUTI heavyweights (L&T, ITC and Axis Bank) have a 40 per cent weight on the index. Other big names in the long roster include SBI, Power Grid, NTPC and ONGC (5 to 9 per cent each). Tail-enders include NALCO, Indian Oil, Coal India, Bharat Electronics, Bank of Baroda, NBCC (India), Indian Bank and SJVN. The Bharat 22 ETF will be managed by ICICI Prudential AMC while Asia Index will be the index provider. Why is it important?

The ETF mechanism has proven to be a smart, effective way for the government to help meet its disinvestment targets, a key factor to keep fiscal deficit under control. Earlier, when the government set out to monetise the family silver by selling big stakes in individual PSUs, the stocks would invariably get beaten down in the run-up to the offer and also attract employee ager. The ETF route provides a neat workaround by letting the government pare small stakes (2-3 per cent) in a big basket. Everyone s happy — the state gets its money, investors get a piece of PSUs and employees are glad to stay under the PSU umbrella. The energy stocks-heavy CPSE ETF, launched in 2014, has raked in a cool Rs.11,500 crore or so in three tranches. And the Government seems to be aiming higher this time. The Bharat 22 ETF has more than double the 10 stocks in the CPSE ETF and much wider sector coverage. The divestment target in 2017-18 is R.72,500 crore, of which just about Rs.9,300 crore has been raised so far. The Government has made no secret of its intent to use the ETF route as a vehicle for disinvestment. So, expect Bharat 22 to make a splash. The timing and the composition of this ETF is also nifty. The market is on a roll and the Government can extract top dollar. Also, by mixing and matching the good and the not-so-good, value can be got from stocks which otherwise might have found the going tough. (Adapted from thehindubusinessline.com)

6. Centre doubles down on GST s gains for consumers (Relevant for GS Prelims and

GS Mains Paper III)


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Creation of National Anti- Profiteering Authority

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 creation of the National Anti-profiteering Authority to ensure that businesses pass on the benefits of GST to consumers. 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. About National Anti- Profiteering Authority and its functioning

The chairman and the four members of the authority have to be less than 62 years. As per the structure of the anti-profiteering mechanism in the GST regime, complaints of local nature will be first sent to the state-level screening committee , while those of national level will be marked for the Standing Committee . If the complaints have merit, the respective committees would refer the cases for further investigation to the Directorate General of Safeguards (DGS). The DG Safeguards would generally take about three months to complete the investigation and send the report to the anti-profiteering authority. If the authority finds that a company has not passed on GST benefits, it will either direct the entity to pass on the benefits to consumers or if the beneficiary cannot be identified will ask the company to transfer the amount to the consumer welfare fund within a specified timeline. The authority will have the power to cancel registration of any entity or business if it fails to pass on to consumers the benefit of lower taxes under the GST regime, but it would probably be the last step against any violator.


According to the anti-profiteering rules, the authority will suggest return of the undue profit earned from not passing on the reduction in incidence of tax to consumers along with an 18 per cent interest, as also impose penalty. From 18 % to 15 %

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%. (Adapted from The Hindu & ndtv.com)

7. Moody s upgrade Sovereign Credit Rating of India to Baa2 from Baa3 (Relevant for

GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper III)

Moody s Investors Services upgraded India s sovereign ratings to Baa2 from its lowest investment grade (Baa3) giving credit to the Narendra Modi government s reforms initiatives. A credit rating evaluates the creditworthiness of a borrower. Corporations and governments issue bonds to borrow money. What does it mean in respect of bonds?

When you buy a bond, you are lending your money to someone—the government or a private company, entity who promises to repay within a specified tenure. Credit ratings, as explained earlier, represent the ability of the bond issuer to repay. A higher rating implies the bond issuer has a lower likelihood of defaulting on payments. What are sovereign ratings?

Sovereign credit ratings act as a guide to gauge an economy s monetary, fiscal and regulatory environment, as well as, policy consistency. A favourable rating raises the economy s attractiveness as a global business hotspot and investment destination. How are they calculated?

There are no specific mathematical formulae. Agencies use publicly available information, historical trends, discussions with government officials and future outlook to determine credit ratings. What is the rating scale?

Rating scale is as follows, from excellent to poor: AAA, AA+, AA, AA-, A+, A, A-, BBB+, BBB, BBB-, BB+, BB, BB-, B+, B, B-, CCC+, CCC, CCC-, CC, C, D. Anything lower than a BBB- rating is considered risky. Moody s Investors Services has upgraded India s sovereign ratings to Baa2 from its lowest investment grade (Baa3) giving credit to the Modi government s reforms initiative. Who calculates credit rating?


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Moody s, Standard and Poor s (S&P) and Fitch Ratings are among the ones which operate worldwide. In India, commercial credit rating agencies include CRISIL, CARE and ICRA among others. Whom does the credit rating benefit?

It is used by individuals and entities that purchase the bonds issued by companies and governments to determine whether the borrower will repay as promised. What is a junk bond?

Bonds that have higher credit rating are also known as investment-grade bonds. Bonds with very low credit rating are known as junk bonds because of a stronger likelihood of default. What is India s current sovereign rating?

Credit rating agency Moody s Investors Services on Friday upgraded India s sovereign ratings to Baa2 from its lowest investment grade (Baa3), endorsing the Narendra Modi government for its wide-ranging program of economic and institutional reforms . It has now changed the outlook for India s rating to stable from positive. What has Moody s said about the Indian economy?

Moody s said 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 financial base for government debt, and will likely contribute to a gradual decline in the general government debt burden over the medium term. In the meantime, while India s high debt burden remains a constraint on the country s credit profile, Moody s believes that the reforms put in place have reduced the risk of a sharp increase in debt, even in potential downside scenarios. Why is the upgrade significant?

The upgrade comes at a time when rating agencies Standard and Poor s (S&P) and Moody s have cut China s sovereign rating. Moody s cut China s long-term local and foreign currency issuer ratings to A1 from Aa3 on May 24 on concerns that the country s financial strength would erode in the coming years. S&P followed by cutting China s long-term sovereign credit ratings one notch to A+ from AA- on September 21. This is a sign of rising confidence in the Indian economy among the international community, vis-à-vis China. This also marks a major turnaround about the international investment community s views about India. All credit rating agencies had criticised India for policy paralysis and political gridlock in 2013, holding back reforms that could potentially lead to a

downgrade in India s sovereign ratings.


The Modi-government, which rode to power in 2014, has vowed to turn India into an investors darling by removing bureaucratic sloth, eliminating red tape and reverse the country s image as a dodgy place to do business. The Moody s upgrade appeared to be an endorsement of the measures taken in the last three years. The upgrade, which has commended the government on ushering in business-friendliness, procedural ease, regulatory architecture and removing bureaucratic red tape, could not have come at a more opportune time for the government that is battling to help the economy claw out of a three-year slowdown. India s real or inflation-adjusted GDP growth has sharply moderated to 5.7 percent in April-June, the slowest in 13 quarters, amid lingering effects of demonetization and an untidy rollout of the nation-state goods and services tax (GST) from July 1. What has prompted the upgrade for India?

The government, in a series of meetings with rating agencies over the last two years, has made a strong pitch for an upgrade given the raft of reforms it has undertaken—from a nationwide goods and services and tax (GST) to a new insolvency law. 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. The reform programme will thus complement the existing shock-absorbance capacity provided by India s strong growth potential and improving global competitiveness. Among other things, it acknowledged improvements to the monetary policy framework; measures to address the overhang of non-performing loans (NPLs) in the banking system; and measures such as demonetization, the Aadhaar system of biometric accounts and targeted delivery of benefits through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system intended to reduce informality in the economy. Other important measures which have yet to reach fruition include planned land and labour market reforms, which rely to a great extent on cooperation with and between the States, it said. India has also leapfrogged into the 100th rank in the World Bank s Ease of Doing Business rankings, jumping 30 notches from last year. The report also recognizes India as one of the top 10 improvers in this year s assessment, having implemented reforms in 8 out of 10 Doing Business indicators. How does sovereign rating affect a common person?

If you have a regular day job — teacher, manager, doctor, software, real estate and so on — you may have to benefit from a possible upgrade of India s sovereign ratings. A strengthening economy could prompt companies to accelerate capacity expansion plans, increase hiring, raising job prospects for many. An upgrade at this point could have a positive bearing on India s currency and equity markets. A rating upgrade could be interpreted by foreign funds as a sign of a growing economy, which may prompt them to


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put more funds in Indian markets. The resultant flow of dollars could strengthen the rupee and buoy stock markets. (Adapted from moneycontrol.com)

8. Economy gets thumbs-up from Moody s (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS mains Paper

III)

View of Moody s Credit rating agency

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. What is the change in rating?

The agency upgraded the rating 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 of government

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 Rs. 64.62 per dollar. Reason for slow growth

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. What needs to be done?

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.


(News Adapted from The Hindu)

9. Need for fine balance on GST National Anti-profiteering Authority (Relevant for GS

Prelims, GS Mains Paper III)

What is National Anti-profiteering Authority?

Over four months into the troubled implementation of the goods and services tax, the Centre has operationalised a provision in the GST law that has been worrying industry. The National Anti-profiteering Authority, whose constitution was approved by the Cabinet , is empowered to crack down on firms that fail to pass on the benefits of the tax regime to consumers. What can National Anti-profiteering Authority do?

The authority can order businesses to reduce product prices or refund to consumers undue benefits ; in extreme cases it can impose a penalty on errant firms and cancel their

registration as taxpayers. Where the consumers are difficult to trace individually, the amount construed by the authority to be the extent of undue benefit will be deposited in a consumer welfare fund. What will be the structure of National Anti-profiteering Authority?

The authority will have its own bureaucracy — including a screening committee in each State that consumers can complain to; a standing committee in which profiteering


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allegations with an all-India impact can be taken up; and an investigation wing that will vet complaints with prima facie merit and report its findings to the NAA. How has the need for body emerged?

The trigger for setting up the authority is clearly the recent large-scale reduction in tax rates on more than 300 items, of which about 200 rate changes were to come into effect from November 15. The government is keen on ensuring that consumers have a better perception of the GST s ground-level impact. Problems in implementation of change in order

Union Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia has urged companies (especially those in the fast-moving consumer goods segment) to ensure that new maximum retail prices are inscribed on products from November 15, even on existing inventory in the market. While wholesalers can still implement this, reaching every last retailer is a challenge. But firms have been warned that the entire retail chain must reflect revised prices in order to avoid anti-profiteering action; and the expectation is that there will be some exemplary action soon to make industry fall in line. Restaurant chains are also likely to face the heat for retaining price hikes; even though their tax rate has dropped, they no longer get any credits for taxes paid on inputs. What is the need of the hour?

Protecting consumer interest is important, but the prospect of the government monitoring prices and asking businesses to justify pricing decisions instead of letting market forces play out is unnerving. The NAA could take a cue from, if not partner, the Competition Commission of India in this, and focus on firms raising prices indiscriminately in markets where they enjoy a dominant position, or forming pricing cartels. The government must ensure that the authority s powers are used transparently and only where there is genuine consumer/public interest at stake. Else, it runs the risk of making profit itself a bad word. (Adapted from The Hindu)

10. President signs bankruptcy ordinance (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper

III)

President gave his assent to the ordinance approved by the Union Cabinet to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to strengthen the regime. What are the provisions of the ordinance?

The ordinance aims at putting in place safeguards by prohibiting wilful defaulters, those associated with non-performing assets (NPAs), and the habitually non-compliant, from regaining control of the defaulting company or stressed assets through the back door in the garb of being a resolution applicant . The sale of property to a person who is ineligible to be a resolution applicant … has been barred, an official statement said.


To ensure that the norms are enforced effectively, a new section provides for punishment… [which] is fine, which shall not be less than Rs. 1 lakh but which may extend to Rs. 2 crore. Who are Ineligible persons?

According to the statement, a new section has been introduced in the IBC that makes certain persons ineligible to be a resolution applicant . Those being made ineligible include wilful defaulters, those who have their accounts classified as NPAs for one year or more

and are unable to settle their overdue amounts including interest thereon. The ineligible persons also include those who have executed an enforceable guarantee in favour of a creditor, in respect of a corporate debtor undergoing a Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process or liquidation process under the IBC. Also ineligible are those who are promoters or in management of control of the resolution applicant, or will be promoters or in management of control of corporate debtor during the implementation of the resolution plan, the holding company, subsidiary company, associate company or related party of the above referred persons, the statement said. What was the need of ordinance?

The ordinance aims at putting in place safeguards to prevent unscrupulous, undesirable persons from misusing the IBC, the statement said. Actions against defaulting companies to prevent misuse of corporate structures for diversion of funds, as well as weeding out of unscrupulous elements from the resolution process would help strengthen the formal economy and encourage honest businesses and budding entrepreneurs to work in a trustworthy, predictable regulatory environment, it added. In addition to putting in place restrictions for such persons to participate in the resolution or liquidation process, the amendment also provides such check by specifying that the Committee of Creditors (CoC) should ensure the viability and feasibility of the resolution plan before approving it. (Adapted from The Hindu)

11. What do amendments to IBC mean to promoters? (Relevant for GS Mains Paper

III and GS Prelims)

What is bankruptcy? What is the IBC s intent?

A company is bankrupt if it is unable to repay debts to its creditors (banks, suppliers etc). The inability to repay debts by some Indian firms has resulted in a huge pile of non-performing assets for the banking system. The Indian government had introduced the IBC as a method to tackle the issue. Under the Code, a resolution has to be found for the indebted company within 270 days. Otherwise, a


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liquidator is appointed. The company can also opt for voluntary liquidation by a special resolution in a general meeting. How has IBC progressed? Why was the amendment needed?

According to Manish Aggarwal, partner and head — resolutions, special situations group, KPMG in India, the resolution to stressed assets picked up steam under IBC and investors started warming up to the huge opportunity. The question was whether existing sponsors / promoters of corporate debtors (ie the company with debt and under the insolvency proceedings) can directly or indirectly acquire stake in these firms post acceptance of a resolution plan which would have entailed substantial discount to outstanding loans of lenders. He pointed out that the key questions were — can promoters seek a huge cut from lenders and be back in the business? Does this provide a level playing field to other prospective bidders? Does this send the right political and economic signals? The government took note of all these concerns expressed by investors, and that s what led to the recent (amendment) ordinance. What does the recent amendment do?

Nishit Dhruva, managing partner, MDP & Partners, a full-service law firm, said with the present amendment promoters/directors and guarantors, along with their related parties of the corporate debtor or company undergoing an insolvency resolution process, are prohibited or debarred from filing resolution plans. This was needed to prevent the back-door entry of errant promoters into the company, thereby taking advantage of the haircuts and thus getting a premium for their own wrongdoings, he added. What are the key elements of the amendment?

The amendment has inserted two new sections in the insolvency code — Section 29A, which provides for persons ineligible to be a Resolution Applicant; and Section 235A, which provides for punishment for contravention of the provisions where no specific penalty or punishment is provided. Section 29A says those ineligible to be a Resolution Applicant include:

Wilful defaulters (ie, those associated with non-performing assets, or are habitually non-compliant and, therefore, are likely to be a risk to successful resolution of insolvency of a company); Those whose accounts are classified as Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) for one year or more and are unable to settle overdue amounts including interest and charges relating to the account before submission of the Resolution Plan;


Those who have executed an enforceable guarantee in favour of a creditor, in respect of a corporate debtor undergoing a Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process or Liquidation Process under the Code and others connected to the above, such as promoters or those in management control of the Resolution Applicant, or those who will be promoters or in management control of corporate debtor during the implementation of the Plan, the holding company, subsidiary company, associate company or related party of the above persons. Section 235A provides for punishment for contravention of the provisions where no specific penalty or punishment is provided. The punishment is fine which shall not be less than one lakh rupees but which may extend to two crore rupees. What the amendment means in terms of NPA resolution? What are the key

challenges?

Mr. Dhurva points out that key challenge would be to invite expression of interests and resolution plans from applicants who are not related to the Corporate Debtor after conducting due diligence about the creditworthiness of such buyers. KPMG s Aggarwal says even though there have been concerns about the amendment, it ensures that errant promoters don t end up getting the business back with all sacrifices being made by the lenders. As situation evolves, and experience manifests, these clauses can be further tweaked, however, there was a need to send a strong message for first few large cases that government means business, he added. (Adapted from The Hindu)

12. TRAI backed Net neutrality (Relevant for GS Prelims, Mains Paper II & III)

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) came out in strong support of Net neutrality in a series of recommendations following a long process of consultations on the issue. Warning has been issued by the TRAI against any discriminatory treatment including blocking, degrading, slowing down or granting preferential speeds to any content. TRAI had barred telecom providers from charging differential rates for data services in its Prohibition of Discriminatory Tariffs for Data Services Regulations, 2016, effectively blocking such attempts by Facebook and Airtel. Subjects inclusive in the ruling:

The content mentioned includes all content, applications, services and any other data, including its end-point information, that can be accessed or transmitted over the Internet. How have the conclusion been drawn?

These recommendations have been arrived on the pre-consultation paper issued in May 2016 to identify key issues and a detailed consultation paper in January 2017 which focussed on identifying the requirements, design, scope and implementation of Net


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neutrality framework in India. Based on the responses received, open house discussions were held in three cities. Stringent clause/warning for Service providers:

The service providers should be restricted from entering into any arrangement that has the effect of discriminatory treatment based on content, sender or receiver, protocols or user equipment. What is net neutrality? Net-Neutrality

Net neutrality refers to the principle that internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source and without favouring or blocking particular products or websites. Net neutrality is also called network neutrality, internet neutrality or net equality. Possible consequences of lack of Net-Neutrality 1. Lack of net-neutrality may enable certain websites to promote them at cost of others. For e.g. big e-commerce giants may influence internet service providers to enhance data-access speed while block other small e-commerce retailers. 2. Information access to people may also be manipulated. What is TRAI?

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is an independent regulatory body established by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act 1997 to oversee the telecommunications industry in India. TRAI is charged with ensuring the orderly growth of the telecom sector while protecting the interests of both telecom service providers and consumers. It encourages technological improvements and makes recommendations for how providers can improve efficiency and technical compatibility. To that end, TRAI establishes standards for quality of service (QoS) and supervises how service providers share revenue. TRAI also conducts periodical surveys to ensure that telecom service providers are acting in the best interest of consumers and are operating in compliance with universal service obligations. (Adapted from The Hindu)

13. Hit refresh: on the slashed GST rates (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II and GS

Prelims)

The script was altered for the second time in two months but with far greater impact after

Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised far-reaching changes to simplify the goods and

services tax regime, especially for small businesses and consumers

Recent relief measures by GST Council


The Council lowered the tax rates on over 200 products, compared to 27 items in its

previous meeting and about 100 tweaks since GST rates were finalised in May.

Earlier

Over 1,200 products and services had been placed in five tax brackets — 0%, 5%, 12%,

18% and 28%. These rates no longer hold for about a quarter of items, and the highest tax

bracket is left with just 50 products, compared to more than 250 in July.

About small businesses

The ambit of the Composition Scheme for small businesses has been expanded twice —

from an initial turnover threshold of Rs.75 lakh per year to Rs.1 crore (in October), and

now further to Rs.1.5 crore.

Challenge faced by the Finance Ministry

With returns for the first month of the tax yet to be filed by all registered taxpayers and less

than three months to go till the presentation of the Union Budget, Finance Ministry face a

unique challenge on revenue visibility.

In the interest of the exchequer and the taxpayer, whatever other improvements the GST

needs must be implemented at the earliest — whether they are stuck because of a lack of

consensus (letting inter-State suppliers avail of the Composition Scheme), poor

implementation (the GST Network) or simply the lack of bandwidth to think through.



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Environment

1. Mass bathing in Ganga aggravates anti-microbial resistance woes (Relevant for GS

Prelims and Mains Paper III)

Antimicrobial Resistance

Mass-bathing in the Ganga during pilgrimages may be contributing to anti-microbial

resistance (AMR). Such resistance is said to be the reason for certain key antibiotics

becoming ineffective against diseases, including tuberculosis.

Sampled Ganga & its Results

Some years ago, researchers from the Newcastle University in the United Kingdom and the

Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi sampled water and sediments at seven sites along the

Ganga in different seasons.

In 2014, they reported in the peer-reviewed Environmental Science and Technology that

levels of resistance genes that lead to superbugs were found to be about 60 times greater

during the pilgrimage months of May and June than at other times of the year.

The researchers had then said preventing the spread of resistance-genes that promote life-

threatening bacteria could be achieved by improving waste management at key pilgrimage

sites.

Report of Govt.

The government report —— Scoping Report on Antimicrobial Resistance in India — cites

this study too along with a compilation of all scientific studies done in India on the threat

from AMR, causes and sources that aggravate it. The report notes that India has some of the

highest antibiotic resistance rates among bacteria that commonly cause infections in the

community and healthcare facilities.


Earlier data

In 2014, India was the highest consumer of antibiotics, followed by China and the United

States. However, the per-capita consumption of antibiotics in India was much lower than in

several other high-income countries.

Other Factors of AMR

Other than cultural factors such as bathing in the Ganga, the drivers of AMR included

excessive use of antibiotics in the livestock industry and unchecked discharge of effluents

by the pharmaceutical industry.


2. India’s first Blackbuck conservation reserve to come up in UP (Relevant for GS



83

The Uttar Pradesh State Cabinet has approved Blackbuck Conservation Reserve in trans-

Yamuna belt near Allahabad. It will be first of its kind conservation reserves in India

exclusively dedicated to Blackbuck.

In this regard, state government has evoked Section 36 A (1) and (2) of the Wildlife

Protection Act, 1972, to declare the conservation reserve.

Key Facts

The wildlife conservation reserve will come up on over 126 hectares in Meja forest division

known for its rocky, undulating and arid terrain. A herd of around 350 Blackbucks is

estimated to be inhabiting the region.

It will help in conservation of blackbuck in effective way. It will also create awareness

about biodiversity conservation and provide opportunities for people s participation. It will

also encourage eco-tourism and locals will get opportunities for employment.

About Blackbuck

Indian Blackbuck (Antilopecervicapra) is an antelope and is the only living species of the

genus Antilope. It is considered to be the fastest animal in the world next to Cheetah. The

horns of the blackbuck are ringed with one to four spiral turns and the female is usually

hornless.

Habitat

Blackbuck inhabits grassy plains and slightly forested areas. Due to its regular need of

water, it prefers areas where water is perennially available. It is found in Central- Western

India (MP, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra and Odisha) and Southern

India (Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.

Protection Status

Hunting of blackbuck is prohibited under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.

It has been categorised least concerned in IUCN Red Data Book.

The Bishnoi community of Rajasthan is known worldwide for their conservation efforts to

blackbuck and Chinkara.

(Adapted from gktoday.in)

3. Excessive rainfall in Bengaluru. What has been impact? (Relevant for GS Mains

Paper I)


With unprecedented rainfall lashing the city over the past couple of months, Bengaluru is

injured and damaged. Not only has the rainfall broken records, making it the city s wettest

year, it may also be one of the deadliest. So far, over 16 persons have died since May, apart

from at least five persons who were killed in road accidents caused by potholes that have

sprouted after the rain abated. Houses collapsed, lakes overflowed, and major roads were

inundated. Is Bengaluru afraid of the rains?

How intense were the rains?

The city has received more than 1,660 mm of rain since January, more than any year since

the India Meteorological Department (IMD) started its monitoring station at the end of the

19th century. Last year, when many parts of Karnataka witnessed drought-like conditions,

it received around 1,100 mm in the whole year. However, this year s rainfall has been

erratic. After strong pre-monsoon spells in May, the first two months of the monsoon were

unusually dull with just 83 mm and the prospect of another drought year raised its head.

These anxieties were washed away in mid-August, with the night of August 14 seeing

nearly 129 mm of rain. For the next two months, near incessant rainfall has lashed the city,

with the rain gauges recording in excess of 1,200 mm — 25% above the average annual

rainfall.

What has the impact been on roads?

Roads were flooded, and then developed potholes — over 35,000, according to the Bruhat

Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Around 90% of the potholes have been fixed, and

most major roads are in a decent state now.

What about the water crisis?

Rain in Bengaluru is not entirely linked to water crisis. Bengaluru gets its drinking water

from the Cauvery basin, which requires rain in the Western Ghats. Water levels in the

reservoirs are much higher than they were last year, so no water crisis is expected.

Why did the city get flooded?

1. Meteorologists point out that heavy spells of rainfall — where over 12 mm is recorded in

an hour — were unusually common this season.

2. Meanwhile, the urban heat island effect also saw some parts of the city — the heavily

concretised landscapes of south and east Bengaluru, for instance — receiving far more rain

than the relatively green north Bengaluru. That the city has expanded beyond its means has

contributed to the problem.

3. Stormwater drains that crucially connect between lakes are badly designed or have been

encroached upon or choked with sewage and garbage.


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4. Lakes have been lost and whatever exists has been lined with sludge, reducing the

capacity to hold excess rainwater.

5. Layouts and rampant construction have propped up in natural depressions of the city —

all of which leave the water with no place to go but into houses.

What can be done?

Civic experts point out that reviving numerous lakes, including the nearly 1,100-acre

Bellandur and Varthur lakes, is critical to ensuring that the city can sustain rain such as this

year s. Besides allowing for storage of over five thousand million cubic feet of water, these

lakes ensure that more than double their storage capacity percolates to the soil.

Interlinking these lakes is a stormwater drain system that utilises the city s terrain to

transfer water from the catchments to another. However, out of 853 km of stormwater

drains, only 400 km has been strengthened.

Moreover, the completed drains have all-concrete lining. This means the rainwater gushes

to lakes rather than percolate into the surface.

Whether the rain has intensified due to climate change — which means stronger

downpours and more erratic monsoons — or 2017 was just an anomaly, what is for certain

is that unless the infrastructure is overhauled, Bengaluru cannot cope with rain.


4. Marooned once more: on Chennai’s need for flood management (Relevant for GS


North East Monsoon and Chennai

Chennai s date with a strong northeast monsoon ought to be a cause for all-round relief

since the water fortunes of more than eight million residents of the metropolitan region

depend on this weather system.

People’s Fear

Yet, the heavy rains in the meteorological sub-division, exceeding the normal by 93% in the

period of four days from November 1, left tens of thousands of citizens in a state of despair.

Flood waters abandoned them in the rapidly growing suburban housing clusters, with

many having to flee to safer places fearing a repeat of the deluge of 2015.


While there have been efforts to alleviate immediate misery through the distribution of

relief material in some places, the larger issue of how the city deals with flood and drought

cycles remains unaddressed.

Need to conserve the traditional lakes and Canals

Chennai is a lower elevation coastal city with global aspirations, and very high population

density.

Scientific management should have ensured the preservation of the many traditional lakes

and canals that existed in the city s core a century ago to absorb the intense downpour of

about 1,300 mm of rain, most of it in an annual window of a few weeks. Successive

governments have allowed the mindless draining of wetlands and their conversion into

expensive real estate, with catastrophic consequences.

Need – Integrated Flood Management System

Chennai and its sprawl extending to two neighbouring districts should return to the

traditional wisdom of creating tanks and lakes for water storage, and rejuvenating old

silted ones, in order to harvest the floods and replenish depleted groundwater.

The finding from a study shows that 27 tanks have totally disappeared and another 400

have lost almost their entire capacity. This underscores the need to revive such natural

sponges

Need of the Infrastructure

Tamil Nadu, one of India s most urbanised States, has a poor record in this area, resulting in

fragile slums. New housing has mushroomed in Chennai s suburbs, where municipal bodies

are mired in incompetence and corruption. It is these localities with little infrastructure

that have borne the brunt this year.

The remedial structures should be built for existing localities. Poor waste management is

exacerbating the problem by blocking drains, canals and lakes, while ill-planned road

projects are cutting off flood flows. These have to be immediately addressed.


5. 2017 is set to be in top three hottest years: WMO (Relevant for GS Prelims and

Mains Paper I)

The year 2017 will be one of the three hottest years on record, with many high-impact

events, including catastrophic hurricanes and floods, debilitating heat waves and drought,


87

says a provisional statement on the State of the Climate released by the World

Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Reasons/Causes

The average global temperature from January to September 2017 was approximately 1.1°C

above the pre-industrial era.

As a result of a powerful El Niño, 2016 is likely to remain the warmest year on record, with

2017 and 2015 being second or third.

The WMO statement, which uses 1981-2010 as the baseline, was released at the United

Nations (UN) climate changeconference in Bonn.

The past three years have all been in the top three years in terms of temperature records.

This is a part of a long term warming trend. Earth has witnessed extraordinary weather,

including temperatures topping 50 degrees Celsius in Asia, record-breaking hurricanes in

rapid succession in the Caribbean and Atlantic reach as far as Ireland, devastating monsoon

flooding affecting many millions of people and a relentless drought in East Africa.

Extreme events

Extreme events due to climate change have affected the food security of millions of people,

with agriculture accounting for 26% of all the damage and loss associated with medium to

large scale storms, floods and drought.

Further, between 2000 and 2016, the number of vulnerable people exposed to heatwave

events increased by approximately 125 million.

In 2016, 23.5 million people were displaced during weather-related disasters. In Somalia,

more than 7, 60, 000 internal displacements have been reported by UN agencies.

About India

All-India rainfall for the 2017 monsoon season (June to September) was 5% below average.

However, above average rainfall in the Northeast and adjacent countries led to significant

flooding. Many parts of the Indian subcontinent were affected by monsoonal flooding. The

most serious flooding occurred in mid-August in eastern Nepal, northern Bangladesh and

nearby northern India. Mawsynram (India) received more than 1400 mm from August 9 to

12.

Three major and high-impact hurricanes occurred in the North Atlantic in rapid succession,

with Harvey in August, followed by Irma and Maria in September.


Sea level stable

The global mean sea level (GMSL) has been relatively stable in 2017 to date, similar to

levels first reached in late 2015. This is because the temporary influence of the 2015-16 El

Niño continues to unwind and GMSL is reverting to values closer to the long-term trend.

However, preliminary data shows that a rise in GMSL may have started to resume from

July-August 2017 onwards.


6. About the climate change meet underway in Bonn (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS

Mains Paper III)

The 23rd conference of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change under way in

Bonn faces the challenge of raising the ambition of the world s leaders, and giving practical

form to the provisions of the Paris Agreement.

US withdraw from the Paris Agreement

Although 169 countries have ratified the accord, and there is tremendous support for

greener, low-risk pathways to growth worldwide, the Trump administration in the U.S., one

of the top emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs), has announced it will withdraw from the

pact.

Even if it will take until 2020 to achieve an actual withdrawal, the U.S. action reverses the

overall momentum achieved in Paris in 2015, and negates President Barack Obama s legacy

of regulations designed to reduce America s GHG emissions, especially from the use of coal.

China- reduce the risk of Climate Change

It is heartening that China, which has achieved rapid economic growth and leads in GHG

emissions, is firmly behind the pact to reduce the risk of climate change. There is steady

progress in the growth of renewable energy sources as they become cheaper and the

efficiency of solar, wind and energy storage technologies improve.

The Agreement has a benchmark of raising $100 billion a year by 2020.

Risks involved

Major risks from climate change, such as extreme weather phenomena, loss of agriculture,

water stress and harm to human health, pose a threat to millions around the world. For

some countries, such as Fiji, which holds the presidency of the Bonn conference, and other


89

small island-states, the future is deeply worrying because of the fear that sea levels may

rise sharply due to climate change.

Level of India

India s emissions have been rising overall, but it has committed itself to lowering the

emissions intensity of its GDP by 33-35% by 2030 from the 2005 level. India has been

awarded among the highest levels of multilateral climate funding at $745 million since

2013. Securing funds for mitigation and adaptation is a high priority for India, but it must

ensure that States acquire the capacity to absorb such assistance efficiently.

While the emphasis on a giant renewable energy programme has won global acclaim, the

focus is equally on India s readiness to embrace green technologies across the spectrum of

activity, including buildings and transport.


7. Pollution crisis due to paddy stubble burning (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains

Paper III)

Impact of Paddy stubble burning

A major reason for the poor air quality is the burning of paddy stubble by farmers in

Punjab and Haryana. This practice comes in handy for farmers as they prepare their fields

for sowing Rabi crops. However, the thick smoke which emanates because of setting fields

on fire poses serious health hazards for people. Burning fields also affects the quality of the

soil, robbing it of vital nutrients. The smoke contains toxic chemicals which causes

respiratory problems and other diseases.

The smoke combined with vehicular emissions make the air we breathe deadly. The

national capital is the most affected by bad air quality as it lies close to Punjab and Haryana.

Burning fields a common practice

In India, there are two cropping seasons—Rabi and Kharif. The first one generally starts

from April and lasts till October. The Rabi season lasts from November till April. To prepare

their fields quickly for sowing wheat and other Rabi crops, most farmers burn the crop

residues after paddy harvesting gets over. Every year in Punjab, about 7 to 8 million metric

tonnes of paddy residue is burnt openly between October and November. Though erring

farmers have been warned by the state authorities, they continue with this practice as it

involves no cost.

Reason for continuance of Paddy stable burning


Experts say lack of adequate machinery makes strict implementation of not burning fields

impossible. Though farmers are being offered machines on subsidy to clear the stubble,

they continue to resort to burning.

Between the paddy harvesting and wheat sowing seasons, farmers get just 15-20 days. To

clear the paddy stubble, a large number of machines are required at low prices, which is

most often not the case.

Source: NASA s Earth Observing System Data and Information System

In this image, the red spots show the approximate locations where paddy fields have been

burnt in Punjab.

Air quality deteriorating

With continuous burning of paddy fields, Delhi s air quality is degrading. Data collected

from October 30 to November 2 shows that there has been a continuous rise in the Air

Quality Index (AQI) of the city. The more the AQI rises, the more people are likely to suffer

from adverse health impacts. The monitored value of AQI from October 30 to November 2

ranges from 201 to 297 which falls under the Very Unhealthy category.


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Source: US Embassy data calculated as per Indian standards by SAFAR, MoES-IITM-IMD

Punjab and Haryana are both responsible for causing air pollution due to burning. These

two states contribute to 48 per cent of the total emission due to paddy burning across

India. Burning of crop residues emits traces of carbon dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide,

nitrous oxide, sulphur dioxide and particulates which affect human health. It is estimated

that India annually emits 1,44,719 mg of total particulate matter from open burning of

stubble.

Poor air quality is especially bad for the elderly, children, and people with chronic

respiratory conditions. Pollution as a result of paddy stubble burning can affect the

respiratory system and aggravate asthma.

The government’s stand

The National Green Tribunal has imposed a complete ban on the open burning of leaves

and other materials which emits toxic pollutants into the atmosphere. The Punjab Pollution

Control Board (PPCB) has recently issued a notification banning the burning of crop

residues across the state. In January this year, Ex- Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had

announced a special grant worth Rs 1 crore to any district which prohibits open burning of

paddy stubble.

Though the Punjab and Haryana governments are providing farmers with paddy seeders

and shredders at subsidised rates, using them to remove stubble is not common.


Manpreet Singh, chairman, PPCB, said, It is very difficult to stop this practice of burning as

there is no other alternative available for farmers to recultivate on the same of patch of

land within a short span of 15 days.

(Adapted from The Hindu and downtoearth.org)

8. Delhi air pollution: A (crop) burning issue, and the way out (Relevant for GS

Prelims, GS Mains Paper III)

The current smog and poor air quality in the National Capital Region has been blamed in

part on stubble burning by farmers, especially in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana. What

is the genesis of the problem? What are its potential solutions?

How widespread is crop stubble burning?

It is mainly confined to Punjab, Haryana and parts of western Uttar Pradesh and

Uttarakhand, where farmers grow paddy and wheat, and harvest these using combine

harvesters. This belt produces an estimated 34 million tonnes (mt) of paddy straw every

season, of which some 23 mt is from combine-harvested fields and burned within less than

a month s span between mid-October and around November 10.

But why does this happen only with combine harvesting?

In manual harvesting using sickles, the crop is cut close to the ground. The resultant paddy

straw after threshing i.e. separation of grain, can be used as fodder or packaging material.

As against this, combines — machines that harvest, thresh and clean the separated grain at

one go — operate at 50-60 cm above the ground. Assuming the average paddy plant is one

metre (100 cm) tall, it would generate 40-50 cm of loose straw and 50-60 cm of standing

stubble. Disposal of this residue isn t easy. Normal paddy straw, as it is, fetches very low

rates, as it cannot be finely cut or made into chaff (bhusa) like wheat straw. Leftover straw

is practically useless. For farmers in North India — who have the option of feeding their

animals wheat bhusa, sugarcane tops, jowar, bajra and other superior fodder — it is only

worthy of burning.

Aren t combines used to harvest paddy in other states as well — such as Andhra Pradesh,

Tamil Nadu and Karnataka? Why don t we hear of farmers there resorting to stubble

burning?

They, to begin with, don t have as many alternatives to paddy straw as their Northwestern

Indian counterparts. But a more important reason has to do with wheat. In the Punjab-

Haryana-Western UP belt, this is usually a 140-150 day crop maturing towards mid-April


93

when maximum temperatures are just about to cross 35 degrees Celsius. For achieving

maximum yields, which requires growing for the full duration, farmers have to plant before

November 15. That, however, isn t possible without harvesting of paddy and field

preparation happening well in time for the sowing of wheat.

Normally, paddy itself is not ready for harvesting before October 15. In the case of long-

duration varieties like Pusa-44 — which takes 160 days to mature from the time of sowing

seeds in the nursery — this could extend for even longer. Narrowing the window further

for farmers in Punjab is a water-saving law — the Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water

Act, 2009 — which bars nursery sowing and transplanting of paddy before May 15 and

June 15, respectively. Given the small turnaround window of hardly 20 days between rice

harvesting and the optimal sowing of wheat, the flexibility to clear the field of leftover

straw, whether by manual removal or in situ incorporation, is limited. The least-cost and

most time-saving option is to simply burn.

Can t there be any technological fixes to this problem, which addresses concerns of

environmental pollution from burning and also does not impose costs on the farmer?

One way out is to reduce the paddy crop s duration, which, in turn, increases the farmer s

time to prepare for the sowing of the next wheat crop. Such breeding for shorter durations

is already happening.

According to G S Mangat, head of the department of plant breeding and genetics at Punjab

Agricultural University (PAU) in Ludhiana, Pusa-44 covered almost 40% of the state s total

non-basmati paddy area five years ago. This year, its share was only 18%, and that of PR-

121, a variety that matures in 140 days, was 28%. PAU has recently released an even

shorter-duration (125-day) variety, PR-126. It gives an average 30 quintals of paddy per

acre, which is close to the corresponding yields of PR-121 (30.5 quintals) and Pusa-44 (32

quintals).


Breeding for a reduced duration can help extend the planting window for wheat. But it still

does not eliminate the stubble problem — for the farmer, burning remains the least-cost

method for getting useless straw off his field. Alternatives such as residue incorporation,

while attractive in theory, entail costs by way of 2-3 extra tillage operations and use of

chopper-shredder machines for reducing the size of straws. Farmers may well continue

setting their fields on fire, even after planting short-duration paddy varieties.

So is there a cost-less, win-win solution at all?

The most viable technology seems to be what is called Turbo Happy Seeder (THS). This is a

tractor-mounted machine that basically cuts and lifts the standing stubble, drills the wheat

seeds into the bare soil, and deposits the straw over the sown area as a mulch cover. The

THS not only dispenses with the need for burning residue, but actually allows wheat to be

planted even on fields containing straw.

Moreover, the time savings are huge. Stubble burning causes moisture loss. So, the farmer

has to give one irrigation and wait for seven or eight days until the field has the right

amount of moisture. After that, he has to undertake ploughing through two rounds of disc

harrow, cultivator and planking operations. Only on this finely-prepared seedbed can

wheat sowing take place. But with THS, you can harvest paddy and sow wheat the same

day, says Harminder Singh Sidhu, senior research engineer at the Ludhiana-based Borlaug

Institute for South Asia, who was involved in the development of the machine while he was

with PAU.

The THS, however, had a problem because it couldn t take care of the loose straw harvested

by the combine. This residue — as opposed to the standing stubble — has to be uniformly

spread on the field to enable efficient sowing of wheat. For this, PAU has developed a

Super-Straw Management System (S-SMS), which is an attachment that can be fitted on any

combine harvester. The S-SMS ensures that the loose straw thrown by the combine is also


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cut and spread evenly on the field. The concurrent use of THS and S-SMS technology

appears to be the best bet for the moment.

But these surely wouldn’t be coming for free, right?

A THS costs roughly Rs 1.3 lakh, while the S-SMS adds another Rs 1.2 lakh to the Rs 18

lakh-plus price for a combine. But these machines needn t be owned by farmers. They can

be used on a custom-hiring basis, just as combines are today. For the farmer, there is real

gain from both time and cost savings on account of not having to do any field preparation

for planting wheat. There could be further gains if the central and state governments were

to subsidise the purchase of these machines by combine operators/service providers.

The Happy Seeder Planting Wheat On A Field

The good news is that there is some progress already on the ground. Kahan Singh Pannu,

chairman of the Punjab Pollution Control Board, claims that the state has this year reported

only 39,686 incidents of crop burning so far, compared with 67,969 for the same period in

2016. Also, sales of THS machines have crossed 1,200 units in the current season, which is

indicative of their increasing acceptance among farmers.

(The Indian Express)

9. Chennai, during the northeast monsoon (Relevant for GS Mains Paper I)

It is becoming a standing joke in Chennai that schools might as well write off two months in

the year — November and December.

Chennai since 2015

Since 2015, when the northeast monsoon season descended as a cataclysm on a city that

was scarcely prepared for it, the impending monsoon brings a measure of menacing and

unease to residents.

Three years on, the level of preparedness leaves much to be desired. The first showers

were intense and left many parts in a shambles — water-logging on the roads and water

entering homes in low-lying areas, while on a night of particularly heavy rain, the entire

city slowed down in waters that flowed on the roads, not unlike waves crashing on the

shore.

Why is it so vulnerable?

As the city grew and expanded beyond its core, it was built over water bodies that were

cleared out to make space for human settlements.


As more and more people moved to urban areas, these settlements filled out and the

resources soon grew inadequate for the growing population dependent on them.

Natural draining paths were built over. In addition, years of rampant encroachment on

waterbodies and lake beds did not help. Inadequate monsoon preparation, in terms of

desilting tanks and deepening water channels and storm water drains and removing

encroachment, has not been adequately addressed across the city and suburbs.

Did drought stop the greater damage?

The monsoon of 2017 came after a summer of drought, as the city struggled to find water

from multiple sources to meet its drinking water needs. The Chennai district has so far

registered 674.8 mm of rain this season. This is 70% more than the average of 397.9 mm

for the season.

Though in the first heavy spell of November, Chennai recorded 30 cm of rain, on

subsequent days, the volume of rainfall came down, and the rain spells too were relieved

by short dry periods. The city s four reservoirs that had dried out are still only over a third

full.

In many places, inexplicably, roads were dug up to undertake waterline/storm-water and

sewer line repairs though it is common knowledge that the northeast monsoon wings its

way at October-end.

What happened in 2015?

In retrospect, scientists co-related the unprecedented heavy rain between November 30

and December 2 in 2015 to an active El Nino year. It is true that the quantum of rainfall was

high, but it was not the rain alone that was responsible for the disaster that followed.

A key element that is still being pointed out was the reportedly slow release of excess

water from Chembarambakkam lake, which flooded the entire city and led to the loss of

many lives and property worth several crores.

Improper silting of waterways and stormwater drains, rampant encroachments that stood

solidly in the path of the water, giving residents very little or insufficient warning to leave

their homes, as the floodwaters raced to the city. Water entered homes, over several floors,

and washed out people and their possessions.

What next?

Environmental activists insist that drastic action to evict encroachers and those who sit on

water bodies must be taken. Better preparedness of official machinery to face the floods


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across the city, as some pockets faced this November, is crucial. It is the only way a natural

calamity is not exacerbated by man-made errors, they point out.


10. Warm, warmer: on climate change (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III)

As the 23rd conference of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bonn shifts

into high gear, developing countries including India are focussing on the imperatives of

ensuring adequate financing for mitigation and adaptation. They are moving ahead with

specific instruments for loss and damage they suffer due to destructive climate-linked

events.

India in Greenhouse Gas Emission

India s progress in reducing the intensity of its greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP

by 20-25% from 2005 levels by 2020, based on the commitment made in Copenhagen in

2009, has been positive.

Early studies also suggest that it is on track to achieve the national pledge under the 2015

Paris Agreement for a 33-35% cut in emissions intensity per unit of growth from the same

base year by 2030, and thus heed the 2°C warming goal.

Since this performance is based on a growth rate of just over 7%, and the parallel target for

40% share of renewable energy by that year, the national road map is clear.

Need to change the Approach by Developed Countries

What is not clear is the impact of extreme weather events such as droughts and floods that

would have a bearing on economic growth. It is in this context that the rich countries must

give up their rigid approach towards the demands of low and middle income countries, and

come to an early resolution on the question of financing of mitigation, adaptation and

compensation.

Promises made by India

India could further raise its ambition in the use of green technologies and emissions cuts,

which would give it the mantle of global climate leadership.The climate question presents a

leapfrog era for India s development paradigm.

Already, the country has chalked out an ambitious policy on renewable energy, hoping to

generate 175 gigawatts of power from green sources by 2022. This has to be resolutely


pursued, breaking down the barriers to wider adoption of rooftop solar energy at every

level and implementing net metering systems for all categories of consumers.

About Transport Decarbonisation Alliance

At the Bonn conference, a new Transport Decarbonisation Alliance has been declared. It is

aimed at achieving a shift to sustainable fuels, getting cities to commit to eco-friendly

mobility and delivering more walkable communities, all of which will improve the quality

of urban life. This presents a good template for India, building on its existing plans to

introduce electric mobility through buses first, and cars by 2030. Such measures will have a

beneficial effect not just on transport choices, but on public health through pollution

abatement. A national law to raise the efficiency of transport could well be the answer,

which the States will readily adopt if supportive financial arrangements are built in.


11. Punjab: Smog delays wheat sowing, but farmers reluctant to blame straw burning

(Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper III)

According to the agriculture department, the best time to sow wheat in Punjab is from

October-end to November 15.

Period for Sowing the Wheat Crop

The best period for sowing the wheat crop is about to end in Punjab. But Farmers have not

been able to sow a single acre yet. Now, they are worried that late sowing will affect the

yield adversely, but they have no option but to wait for some more days. The reason:

there s too much moisture in the fields, and the dense smog from crop stubble burning

have prevented the sun from breaking through.

Effects of late sowing of wheat

Sowing after November 15 means less yield. Late sowing could decrease yield by two

quintal. Timely sowing gives us 22 to 24 quintal wheat per acre. According to the

Agriculture department the best wheat sowing time in the state is from October-end till

November 15 (after this period yield gets affected). Officials confirmed that wheat sowing

was set back because of the dense smog due to stubble burning by farmers.

Still not ready to Accept the mistake

Most farmers and Kisan unions are still reluctant to link stubble burning to the smog that

has delayed wheat sowing.


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Farmers Unions, meanwhile, continue to assert that the smog was not created by the

paddy stubble burning, and that farmers were being unfairly targeted. According to them,

there could be other reasons such as industrial pollution.

Meanwhile, those who said they stopped burning paddy stubble said they were suffering

for no fault of theirs.

Everyone is now waiting eagerly for sunshine. Now, it has rained and hence it will no doubt

give some relief from smoggy weather, but wheat sowing will be delayed further as fields

will be wet. A number of farmers are still to get rid of their paddy stubble, for them the

sowing will be delayed by nearly a month.


12. Centre to launch BS-VI fuel in Delhi from 2018 to battle smog (Relevant for GS

Prelims and GS Mains Paper III)

In a bid to deal with the critical pollution situation in the national capital, the Ministry of

Petroleum has brought forward the date for the rollout of BS-VI fuel for Delhi to April 1,

2018 instead of the original deadline of April 1, 2020.

BS VI fuel Move in Delhi

Taking into account the serious pollution levels in Delhi and adjoining areas, the Petroleum

Ministry in consultation with Public Oil Marketing Companies has decided for preponement

of BS-VI grade auto fuels in NCT of Delhi with effect from April 1, 2018 instead of April 1,

2020.

OMCs have also been asked to examine the possibility of introduction of BS-VI auto fuels in

the whole of NCR area with effect from April 1, 2019.

Benefits of BS VI fuel

The rollout of BS-VI fuel in Delhi works well for the auto manufacturers as they can test

their vehicles using the fuel, and it also serves as the first stage in shifting the entire

country onto BS-VI from BS-IV.

Availability of BS-VI fuel in Delhi from April 2018 also gives an opportunity to the vehicle

manufacturers in this region to test and validate the BS-VI vehicles being developed by the

auto industry so as to be fully ready for the April 2020 deadline.

Background


Bharat stage emission standards (BSES) are emission standards instituted by the

Government of India to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion

engines and Spark-ignition engines equipment, including motor vehicles. The standards

and the timeline for implementation are set by the Central Pollution Control Board under

the Ministry of Environment & Forests and climate change.

The standards, based on European regulations were first introduced in 2000. Progressively

stringent norms have been rolled out since then. All new vehicles manufactured after the

implementation of the norms have to be compliant with the regulations. Since October

2010, Bharat Stage (BS) III norms have been enforced across the country. In 13 major

cities, Bharat Stage IV emission norms have been in place since April 2010 and it has been

enforced for the entire country since April 2017. In 2016, the Indian government

announced that the country would skip the BS-V norms altogether and adopt BS-VI norms

by 2020.

(Adapted from The Hindu & Wikipedia.org)

13. Centre Promulgates Indian Forest (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 to Encourage

Bamboo Cultivation in Non-Forest Areas (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper

III)

Provisions of ordinance

The Union Government, in a landmark initiative, has promulgated the Indian Forest

(Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 to exempt bamboo grown in non-forest areas from

definition of tree, thereby dispensing with the requirement of felling/transit permit for its

economic use. Bamboo, though, taxonomically a grass, was legally defined as a tree under

the Indian Forest Act, 1927. Bamboo grown in the forest areas shall continue to be

governed by the provisions of Indian Forest Act, 1927.

Position before ordinance

Before this amendment, the felling and transit of bamboo grown on forest as well non-

forest land attracted the provisions of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 (IFA, 1927). This was a

major impediment for bamboo cultivation by farmers on non-forest land.

Objective behind amendment

The major objective of the amendment is to promote cultivation of bamboo in non-forest

areas to achieve twin objectives of increasing the income of farmers and also increasing the

green cover of the country. It will also create a viable option for cultivation in 12.6 million

hectares of cultivable waste land.


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The measure will go a long way in enhancing the agricultural income of farmers and tribals,

especially in North-East and Central India. The amendment will encourage farmers and

other individuals to take up plantation/ block plantation of suitable bamboo species on

degraded land, in addition to plantation on agricultural land and other private lands under

agroforestry mission. The move is in line with the objective of doubling the income of

farmers, besides conservation and sustainable development.

The other benefits of amendment include enhancing supply of raw material to the

traditional craftsmen of rural India, bamboo based/ paper & pulp industries, cottage

industries, furniture making units, fabric making units, incense stick making units. Besides

promoting major bamboo applications such as wood substitutes and composites like

panels, flooring, furniture and bamboo blind, it will also help industries such as those

dealing with food products (bamboo shoots), constructions and housing, bamboo charcoal

etc. The amendment will greatly aid the success of recently constituted National Bamboo

Mission.

Present cultivation of bamboo

Bamboo grows abundantly in areas outside forests with an estimated growing stock of

10.20 million tonnes. About 20 million people are involved in bamboo related activities.

One tonne of bamboo provides 350 man days of employment. An enabling environment for

the cultivation of bamboo will help in creation of job opportunities in the country. The

amendment will unleash the potential of bamboo in terms of rural and national economy

apart from ecological benefits such as soil-moisture conservation, landslide prevention and

rehabilitation, conserving wildlife habitat, enhancing source of bio-mass, besides serving as

a substitute for timber.

Demand of bamboo

The current demand of bamboo in India is estimated at 28 million tonnes. Though India has

19% share of world s area under bamboo cultivation, its market share in the sector is only

6%. At present, India imports timber and allied products, such as pulp, paper, furniture etc.

In 2015, India imported about 18.01 million cubic meters of timber and allied products

worth Rs 43000 crores. The amendment will help in addressing some of these issues,

besides meeting the demand from domestic production.

As per the assessment of United Nation s Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO),

the bamboo business in the North-East Region alone has a potential of about Rs. 5000

crores in the next ten years. The amendment will therefore, help in harnessing this great

potential and enhance the scope to increase the present level of market share and improve

the economy of the entire country, particularly the North Eastern region .


(Adapted from PIB)

14. How a dust storm from 3,000 km away smothered Delhi this month (Relevant for

GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper I)

Where did the storm began?

It began as a giant swirl over Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in the last week of October,

grounding aircraft and halting the war against the IS — and was then propelled eastward

by a set of peculiar atmospheric conditions, covering all towns and cities in its path by a

choking, blinding haze.

Reasons for smog in Delhi: Two Extreme events

On November 16, the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research

(SAFAR) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences published a Scientific Assessment of Delhi

Winter Air Quality Crisis for the period November 6-16, which listed two Extreme events

behind the smog in Delhi and its neighbourhood.

Extreme 2 was the stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh; Extreme 1 ,

the SAFAR report said, was a large multi-day dust storm that emerged at Iraq, Kuwait and

Saudi Arabia in the last week of October 2017 and continued up to November 3-4 .

Which extreme event was more harmful?

Surprisingly for many, the report blamed this storm much more than the burning of stubble

for Delhi s air quality crisis during that period — the pollution contribution of Gulf dust

storm on peak day (November 8) was around 40% and from stubble burning was 25% .

Storms Getting Worse

While dust storms are normal in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq, there has been an

increase in their frequency, especially in Iraq, over the past decade. Scarce rain and

advancing desertification are the key reasons, and Iraq s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is

in discussions with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) for a regional solution. UNEP

had predicted last year that within the next decade, Iraq could witness 300 dust events per

year.


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15. BS-VI emission norms for vehicles: So near and yet so far, here is why (Relevant

for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III)

Govt now wants super clean fuel in Delhi by April next year. Can automakers supply the cars? What are the practical, financial and technological hurdles to meeting the deadlines on govt s clean fuel roadmap? On the face of it, the November 15 decision by the union Petroleum Ministry to advance the introduction of BS-VI grade petrol and diesel in Delhi by two years to April 2018 appears to be a logical step in fighting air pollution. Delve deeper, and doubts emerge over possible implementation impracticalities. First, it took as many as seven years for the entire country to shift to BS-IV. The attempt this time is to leapfrog one stage — BS-V — altogether, and that makes the switch to BS-VI that much more difficult for both the oil companies and automobile makers. This is the second time that the government has shifted the goalposts — in January 2016, it had decided to skip BS-V and go directly to BS-VI, but only by 2020. Second, the introduction of higher grade fuel will be beneficial only if it is done in tandem with the rollout of BS-VI compliant vehicles. Using BS-VI fuel in the current BS-IV engines or, conversely, running BS-VI engines on the current-grade fuel, may be ineffective in curbing vehicular pollution, and may damage the engine in the long run. Third, even if automakers were to bring forward their manufacturing schedules, it doesn t make practical sense for them to build BS-VI compliant vehicles for just one city. Also, carmakers give technical reasons (explained below) for why the first lot of BS-VI vehicles is likely to miss the government s April 1, 2018 deadline. The full migration to manufacturing only BS-VI vehicles nationwide can happen only by April 1, 2020, automakers say. Sulphur Content

The main difference between BS-IV and BS-VI (which is comparable to Euro 6) is in the amount of sulphur in the fuel. BS-VI fuel is estimated to bring around an 80% reduction in sulphur content — from 50 parts per million (ppm) to 10 ppm. Also, according to analysts, NOx emissions from diesel cars are expected to come down by nearly 70% and, from cars with petrol engines, by 25%. For automakers, the big hurdle in jumping directly from BS-IV to BS-VI norms lies in equipping cars with two key fitments, and road-testing them within the time schedule. Implementation of the intermediate BS-V standard was originally scheduled for 2019. While this stage has been bypassed, the BS-VI standard, originally set to come in by 2024, was advanced by four years, in line with India s promises at the 2015 Paris Climate Change Conference, and the broad public sentiment against the air pollution in major Indian cities. Automakers insist that BS-VI norms may not bring perceptible change in air quality but may increase the prices of vehicles by Rs 20,000-Rs 2 lakh, and that it will be a challenge to upgrade technologies to meet the higher norms in the time available.


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About The BS Norms

The BS — Bharat Stage — emission standards are norms instituted by the government to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicles. India has been following European (Euro) emission norms, although with a time lag of five years.


India introduced emission norms first in 1991, and tightened them in 1996, when most vehicle manufacturers had to incorporate technology upgrades like catalytic converters to cut exhaust emissions. Fuel specifications based on environmental considerations were notified first in April 1996 — to be implemented by 2000, and incorporated in BIS 2000 standards. Following the landmark Supreme Court order of April 1999, the Centre notified Bharat Stage-I (BIS 2000) and Bharat Stage-II norms, broadly equivalent to Euro I and Euro II respectively. BS-II was for the National Capital Region and other metros; BS-I for the rest of India. From April 2005, in line with the Auto Fuel Policy of 2003, BS-III and BS-II fuel quality norms came into existence for 13 major cities, and for the rest of the country respectively. From April 2010, BS-IV and BS-III norms were put in place in 13 major cities and the rest of India respectively. As per the Policy roadmap, BS-V and BS-VI norms were to be implemented from April 1, 2022, and April 1, 2024, respectively. But in November 2015, the Road Transport Ministry issued a draft notification advancing the implementation of BS-V norms for new four-wheel vehicle models to April 1, 2019, and for existing models to April 1, 2020. The corresponding dates for BS-VI norms were brought forward to April 1, 2021, and April 1, 2022, respectively. Soon afterward, however, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari announced that the government had decided to leapfrog to BS-VI from April 1, 2020, skipping BS-V all together. Question Marks

While the Petroleum Ministry s November 15 announcement asserted that the fuel upgradation was on schedule, questions have been raised about the ability of the oil marketing companies to deliver on the claim. The upgradation to BS-VI is likely to cost well over Rs 40,000 crore — this, however, is still a lesser challenge than getting the auto companies to make the leap. Carmakers have said there isn t enough time to carry out design changes that will include adapting two critical components — diesel particulate filter and selective catalytic reduction module — to conditions specific to Indian driving, where running speeds are much lower than in Europe or the US. Also, rolling out higher grade fuel and vehicles first in the cities has inherent drawbacks, as was evident in the BS-IV implementation. Just outside the peripheries of designated BS-IV cities, BS-III vehicles could be registered; BS-IV vehicles (especially heavy vehicles) were more expensive, and BS-III fuel was cheaper than the BS-IV equivalent. Interstate trucks and buses, the biggest polluters, were forced to stay on with BS-III engines simply because the fuel outside cities did not conform to BS-IV norms. Investment Needs


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The full transition to BS-IV took from 2010 to April 2017, because refiners were unable to produce the superior fuel in required quantities. Broadly, BS-IV petrol and diesel have 50 ppm of sulphur, as compared to 150 ppm for petrol and 350 ppm for diesel under BS-III standards. Oil companies are learnt to have put in Rs 30,000 crore between 2005 and 2010 to upgrade; the auto industry claims to have made a similar investment. Oil firms will have to invest another about Rs 40,000 crore to upgrade to BS-VI; additional investments by automakers will inevitably raise the prices of vehicles. The auto industry argues that the huge improvements in vehicular technology since 2000 have had little impact in India due to driving, road and ambient conditions. The technology that will be used in future BS-VI vehicles, though, will have considerable impact, they claim. BS-V diesel vehicles were to have engine upgrades, particulate filters, lots of sensors, and electronic control. Petrols were to have catalyst and electronic control upgrades. Industry estimates of required investment to upgrade from BS-IV to BS-V were to the tune of Rs 50,000 crore. DPFs (diesel particulate filters) have specific problems in the Indian context, and would have to be optimised for these conditions. Low driving speeds would make it difficult to achieve temperatures of 600 degrees Celsius required to burn the soot in DPF, and equipment manufacturers would have to work with temperatures of 400 degrees. Usually, diesel is injected to increase temperatures, but excess fuel in the compartment can cause a fire. The integrity of the vehicle too has to be considered — this would require validation tests over 6-7 lakh km, which may take up to four years. BS-VI vehicles, too, require DPFs; in addition, they have to be equipped with an SCR (selective catalytic reduction) module — the optimisation and fitment of which, too, could take an estimated three-four years. At every stage, the technology is increasingly more complex. To attain the specified super low emissions, all reactions have to be precise, and controlled by microprocessors. Since BS-V is to be skipped entirely, both DPF and SCR would need to be fitted together for testing, which, auto firms say, would make it extremely difficult to detect which of the technologies is at fault in case of errors in the system. Ideally, the technologies must be introduced in series, and then synergised. It s no surprise that auto firms are not too enthusiastic about the shift. (Adapted from The Indian Express)


Internal Security

1. The lowdown on the dengue epidemic (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper

III)

What is it?

The National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) records show that

1,29,329 people fell sick with dengue this year, while 200 died. India’s official numbers are

well known to be gross underestimates, with private hospitals often not reporting the

disease.

In fact, a 2014 study calculated that the actual number of cases between 2006 and 2012

was 282 times the NVBDCP number.

But even if one were to factor in the undercounting, 2017 is an extraordinary year.

This is due to three reasons. First, India is getting better each year at reporting dengue,

leading to more cases being counted.

Second, dengue itself is becoming more endemic due to urbanisation. The dengue mosquito

thrives in urban habitats, in water pooled under a flower pot for example. As population

explodes in rural areas, what was initially an urban disease has moved to these regions too,

says Arunkumar Govindakarnavar, a virologist at the Manipal Centre for Virus Research

who runs a surveillance project for febrile illnesses in 10 States.

Third, dengue epidemics follow a natural cycle as population immunity waxes and wanes.

But given our patchy data collection, it has been hard to glean out such cycles.

How did it come about?

As dengue burden rises in the country, the likelihood of more people becoming severely ill

grows.

This is because more infections raise the chances of the virus mutating to a more virulent

form. It also raises the risk of a phenomenon called antibody-dependent enhancement.

The dengue virus has four serotypes, or types that are classified by the type of antigen (a

molecule on the viral surface which human antibodies recognise) they have.


109

These serotypes are DENV-1, DENV2, DENV-3 and DENV-4. When a person is affected by

one dengue serotype, she develops antibodies against it, which protect her for the rest of

her life. If the same person is then infected by a different serotype, she is likely to develop

severe disease.

This is because, in some cases, antibodies against the first serotype worsen the second

infection, instead of protecting against it.

This phenomenon is called antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) and results in a more

dangerous illness called dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF).

Why does it matter?

Severe dengue haemorrhagic fever causes blood vessels to leak, which leads to a loss of

blood pressure. If this isn’t treated quickly by replacing bodily fluids, the person can go into

shock and can die. But treating a patient of DHF is a delicate balance, and hard to do in the

high-pressure environment of an outbreak, says Mr Arunkumar. First, doctors must learn

to spot severe cases and avoid indiscriminate admission of mild cases. For this, they need

to look beyond easily-measured parameters like platelet counts, to symptoms that need

careful observation. Haemorrhagic fever shows up as a puffy face, loss of blood pressure,

low pulse rate and a range of other symptoms. Once it develops, fluids need to be given

with care. It often happens, says Mr Arunkumar,that doctors give patients too much fluid,

which too has dangerous consequences.

What next?

Given the burden of dengue, the economic cost for India is huge. One calculation based on

data from Madurai estimated the 2012 medical cost of dengue for India to be $548 million.

According to the study, a hospitalised person spent an average of $235.20, usually out of

her own pocket. Costs like this are a blow to daily-wage earners, because hospitalisation

also means a loss of income. The good news is that, across the world, early treatment keeps

mortality levels as low as 2%. India is still pondering over introducing the world’s first

dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, and for good reason. Studies show that people who have never

been exposed to dengue can develop severe disease if they get dengue a few years after

vaccination. This is thought to be due to ADE. So, for vaccination to be helpful, between 50

and 70% of the population needs to have been exposed to the virus. India is conducting

seroprevalence studies to calculate exposure rates before it takes a call.


2. New J&K surrender policy to target local militants (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS

Mains Paper III: Internal Security)


Call to local militants to surrender

With a fresh surrender policy being framed by the government, the Army and the J&K

Police asked all local militants to give up arms and assured them full cooperation to join

the mainstream. Over 130 local militants are still active in the Valley. We are after foreign

terrorists. said J&K DGP.

They said local militants could use the helpline if they want to come back. A police official

said the government has taken inputs from all security agencies to frame the fresh policy.

Difference with earlier policy

Earlier, the surrender policy was limited to those who crossed the Line of Control into

Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early 1990s and were stuck there.

The new surrender policy is considering provision of passports and jobs to any local youth

who gives up the gun and support for his full assimilation into society, official sources

said.

Result of new policy

Around 60 boys have already been brought back into the fold , said the police. At least 190

militants have been killed this year. Of these, 66 were locals.


3. Why has India struggled to buy fighter aircraft? (Relevant for GS Mains Paper III)

Why is the IAF looking for new jets?

The Indian Air Force, one of the largest in the world, operates a diverse mix of legacy and

modern fighter jets, including MiG-21, MiG-27, MiG-29, Jaguar, Mirage 2000, Su-30MKI and

Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas.

India sees the possibility of a two-front war — with Pakistan in the west and China in the

north — and to be able to tackle it, the IAF has a projected requirement of 44 fighter

squadrons. However, it now has 33 squadrons, much lower than the sanctioned strength of

42 squadrons. With the IAF set to phase out 11 squadrons of the ageing MiG-21s and MiG-

27s, the number may dip to 25 squadrons, according to a report of the Parliamentary

Standing Committee on Defence released early this year.

Have we tried in-house?

The LCA programme was launched in the early 1980s to indigenously build a single-engine

lightweight fighter jet to replace MiG-21s. But delays in development, coupled with


111

sanctions, meant time and cost overruns. After a long development cycle, the Tejas is now

in the process of being inducted. The IAF has placed orders for 40 of them in the basic

configuration and constituted its first squadron last year with three aircraft. It is scheduled

to place orders for 83 aircraft in the Mk-1A configuration with specific improvements. So,

by 2024, the service is likely to have 123 Tejas aircraft, making up six squadrons.

Is there need to import jets?

The delay in the development of Tejas and its induction meant looking for the alternatives

from abroad. The idea to buy new fighters to replace the single-engine MiG-21s came up in

2000. After several iterations, the search for a single- engine fighter metamorphosed into

the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) contest for which both single- and twin-

engine aircraft were evaluated. The request for proposal (RFP) for 126 MMRCA was issued

in 2007, and after extensive evaluation, the twin-engine Rafale, built by Dassault Aviation

of France, was selected as the lowest bidder in 2012 and contract negotiations began. The

aircraft was supposed to be built in India under technology transfer, but after several years

of negotiations there was a gridlock.

What is the deal for Rafale?

In 2015, visiting Paris, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise announcement to

buy 36 Rafale jets in a fly-away condition through an inter-governmental agreement, citing

critical operational necessity of the IAF. After some tough negotiations in September the two countries concluded a € . -billion deal for 36 aircraft, spares, weapons and

a five-year maintenance guarantee. This was the first fighter aircraft deal India had signed

since the purchase of Sukhoi from Russia in the late 1990s. Deliveries are scheduled

between 2019 and 2022. However, 36 is too small a number to meet the requirements or

even make operational viability for maintenance and support. Over the last few weeks, a

controversy has been raging over the Rafale deal for 36 jets. The Congress has raised

questions about the high cost per aircraft, about Rs.1,640 crore, without any technology

transfer, the relatively small number, and also alleged that procedures were circumvented

in the announcement.

What is the way forward?

In the next couple of months, the IAF is scheduled to issue the tender under the strategic

partnership model of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) for selecting a single-

engine fighter over a 100 of which will be built in India by a private sector player with

technology transfer by the foreign original equipment manufacturer. However, given the

convoluted procurement process and the inexperience of the private sector in defence

manufacturing, it has to be seen how soon the deal is concluded.


In addition, India and Russia have been negotiating the joint development of the Fifth

Generation Fighter Aircraft. But talks have protracted over high cost and the work share.

Given the current trend, the travails of the IAF to make up the fighter strength are likely to

continue.



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Science and Technology

1. Draft Regulation of CAR on Civil Use of Drones Announced (Relevant for GS Prelims

and Mains Paper III)

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation announced draft regulations on civil use of

Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, commonly known as Drones.

About the Drones

As per the draft Civil Aviation Requirements for Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), the

drones have been classified as follows on the basis of their maximum take-off weight :

1) Nano : Less than or equal to 250 gm

2) Micro : Greater than 250 gm and less than or equal to 2 kg.

3) Mini : Greater than 2 kg and less than or equal to 25 kg.

4) Small : Greater than 25 kg and less than or equal to 150 kg.

5) Large : Greater than 150 kg.

As per the draft regulation all drones are proposed to be operated in visual line of sight,

during day time only and below 200 feet. Dropping of any substance, carriage of hazardous

material or animal or human payload is not permitted.

Commercial Drones Registration

All commercial categories of drones except those in the Nano category and those operated

by government security agencies, will have to be registered by DGCA as per ICAO proposed

policy, in the form of Unique Identification Number (UIN).

Various Categories

The Mini and above categories will require Unmanned Aircraft Operator Permit (UAOP),

but the model aircraft up to maximum take-off weight of 2 Kgs flown below 200 feet inside

educational institution premises will not require UIN/UAOP.

Other Provisions

The draft regulation also mandates remote pilots to undergo requisite training, except for

Nano and micro categories.

As per the draft regulation, the Micro and above category drones will have to be equipped

with an RFID/SIM, return to home option and anti-collision lights.

The draft regulation also specifies certain restricted areas of operations of drones. Drones

cannot be operated within an area of 5km from the airport, within permanent or


temporary Prohibited, Restricted and Danger Areas as notified by AAI in AIP and without

prior approval over densely populated areas or over or near an area affecting public safety

or where emergency operations are underway and within 50 km from international border

and beyond 500 m (horizontal) into the sea along the coastline.


2. India-made Falcon will fly in 2022, says Reliance Group (Relevant for GS Prelims

and Mains Paper III)

The Reliance Group s joint venture with Dassault Aviation to manufacture components for

Rafale fighter aircraft is much talked about.

However, the group is also harbouring ambitions to fly out business jets and passenger

planes made entirely in India.

About the Joint Venture Reliance, in a joint venture with the €3.6 billion Dassault Aviation, will start making the business jet Falcon from January 2018 at the Dassault Reliance Aviation Limited (DRAL)

facility in Mihan, Nagpur and the first Falcon is expected to fly out of Mihan as early as

2022 for the global markets.

About Falcons

Falcons play in the wide-cabin, long-range aircraft segment as they can fly distances

between 6000-12000 km, covering a range of travel needs.

The Falcon aircraft assembled at the DRAL facility will be the first to be manufactured for

the export market by an Indian-owned facility.

The manufacturing facility at the Dhirubhai Ambani Aerospace Park is located in the Mihan

SEZ. It is a 51:49 venture between Reliance Aerostructure and Dassault Aviation.

The company expects to make 20 Falcons a year, with 2,500 Falcons delivered in the last 50

years, of which 2,100 Falcons are operational in 80 countries.

Employment plans

It will directly employ over 700 engineers for the Falcon assembly-line alone, giving

indirect employment to 3,000 others.

Revenue & Expenditure


115

A Falcon 2000S costs $30 million-$40 million, while the Falcon 8X costs upwards of $60

million. The company expects revenues of Rs.800 crore a year from the venture.


3. Secret cavity found in Great Pyramid (Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper III)

What lies beneath: A 3D artistic view shows a hidden internal structure in Khufu s Pyramid.

AFP/Nature Publishing Group/Scan Pyramids Mission AFP/Nature Publishing Group/Scan

Pyramids Mission

A passenger plane-sized void has been discovered in the middle of the Great Pyramid of

Egypt, where it has lain secret and untouched for 4,500 years.

About the Secret cavity

The space is one of four cavities, along with the king and queen s chambers and Grand

Gallery , now known to exist inside the giant monument constructed under Pharaoh Khufu

of ancient Egypt.


It is big, said co-discoverer Mehdi Tayoubi of the ScanPyramids project, which has been

exploring Khufu s pyramid since October 2015 with non-invasive technology using

subatomic particle scans. The discovery was published in science journal Nature .

It s the size of a 200-seater airplane, in the heart of the pyramid.

Khufu Pyramid of Egypt

The Khufu pyramid is the oldest and only surviving construction among the Seven

Wonders of the Ancient World, and one of the largest buildings ever erected on Earth.

1st major Structure- Inside the Great Pyramid

The cavity is the first major structure found inside the Great Pyramid since the 19th

century, the research team said.

The exact shape and size of the void is fuzzy — its purpose and possible contents a

mystery.

But it is thought to be at least 30 metres long, and located above the Grand Gallery — a

sloped corridor almost 50 m long and 9 m high — that links Khufu s burial chamber at the

pyramid s centre to a tunnel leading outside.

The monument — 139 metres high today, and 230 metres wide — was erected as a tomb

for Khufu, also known as Cheops.

Completed closed

The big void is completely closed, which means anything inside it would not have been

touched by anyone after the pyramid (was) built .

The monarchs of ancient Egypt built these monumental tombs for themselves, complete

with coffin to hold their embalmed mummies, and stocked with everything they could

require for the afterlife — food, clothing and jewellery.

Khufu s pyramid was plundered long before it was visited by modern archaeologists, and

no relics remain from any of the known chambers.

Technique used

The team used a technique called cosmic-ray muon radiography , which allowed them to

visualise known and potentially unknown voids in the pyramid without having to touch a

single stone.


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What are Muons?

Muons are charged, heavy particles formed from the interactions of cosmic rays with atoms

in the upper atmosphere.

Similar to X-rays, which can penetrate the human body and allow bone imaging, these

particles can follow a mostly straight line through several hundreds of metres of stone

before decaying or being absorbed.

Contents unknown

By recording the position and direction of each muon as it travels through the pyramid,

muon detectors can distinguish cavities from stone.

The muon imaging technology can t confirm (whether) there are some artefacts or not.

Anything inside would be too small for muon imaging.

The team is already turning its attention to new technology for the next step — possibly a

miniature robot that can travel through tiny holes to examine the inside of the void without

disturbing anything.


4. First Heli Expo India & International Civil Helicopter Conclave Inaugurated

(Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper III)

The 1st Heli Expo India and International Civil Helicopter Conclave-2017 is inaugurated.

Advantages of this service

This helicopter taxi service has a huge potential for enforcing law and order, air ambulance

services, to check forest fire and can provide better connectivity to religious and tourist

destinations located in rough terrain of hilly areas.

India has achieved a growth rate of about 20% in domestic air travel section in the last

three years, which is the highest growth rate in the world Civil Aviation Sector. However,

this growth rate is confined to fixed wing traffic only and the helicopter traffic is much less

in India.

New National Civil Aviation Policy

As per the new NCAP, helicopters are free to fly from point to point without prior

ATCclearance in airspace below 5000 feet. The aviation agencies should start exploring the

option to start helicopter taxi services between Delhi -NCR and other North Indian States.


(Adapted from PIB)

5. DRDO Conducts Successful Flight Trial of NIRBHAY Sub-Sonic Cruise Missile

(Relevant for GS Prelims and Mains Paper III)

NIRBHAY- Successfully tested

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) achieved yet another feat with

the successful test flight of NIRBHAY – India s first indigenously designed and developed

Long Range Sub-Sonic Cruise Missile which can be deployed from multiple platforms. It

was successfully test fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, Odisha. The

missile has the capability to loiter and cruise at 0.7 Mach, at altitudes as low as 100 m. The

flight test achieved all the mission objectives completely from lift-off till the final splash,

boosting the confidence of all scientists associated with the trial.

About the Missile

The guidance, control and navigation system of the missile is configured around the

indigenously designed Ring Laser Gyroscope (RLG) and MEMS based Inertial Navigation

System (INS) along with GPS system. The missile majestically cruised for a total time

duration of 50 minutes, achieving the range of 647 km. The missile was tracked with the

help of ground based radars and other parameters were monitored by indigenous

telemetry stations developed by DRDO.


6. All you need to know about Block Chain Technology (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS

Mains Paper III)

What is blockchain?

Currently, most people use a trusted middleman such as a bank to make a transaction. But

blockchain allows consumers and suppliers to connect directly, removing the need for a

third party. Using cryptography to keep exchanges secure, blockchain provides a

decentralized database, or digital ledger of transactions that everyone on the network can

see. This network is essentially a chain of computers that must all approve an exchange

before it can be verified and recorded.

How does it work in practice?

In the case of Bitcoin, blockchain stores the details of every transaction of the digital

currency, and the technology stops the same Bitcoin being spent more than once.


119

Image: Financial Times

Why is it so revolutionary?

The technology can work for almost every type of transaction involving value, including

money, goods and property. Its potential uses are almost limitless: from collecting taxes to

enabling migrants to send money back to family in countries where banking is difficult.

Blockchain could also help to reduce fraud because every transaction would be recorded

and distributed on a public ledger for anyone to see.

Who is using it?

In theory, if blockchain goes mainstream, anyone with access to the internet would be able

to use it to make transactions.


Currently only a very small proportion of global GDP (around 0.025%, or $20 billion) is

held in the blockchain, according to a survey by the World Economic Forum s Global

Agenda Council.

But the Forum s research suggests this will increase significantly in the next decade, as

banks, insurers and tech firms see the technology as a way to speed up settlements and cut

costs.

Companies racing to adapt blockchain include UBS, Microsoft, IBM and PwC. The Bank of

Canada is also experimenting with the technology.

A report from financial technology consultant, it is estimated that banks spent $75 million

last year on blockchain. And Silicon Valley venture capitalists are also queuing up to back it.

(Adapted from weforum.org)


121

7. Inland Waterways Authority of India pushes for early completion of Jal Marg Vikas

Project on Ganga (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III)

About the project

Jal Marg Vikas is a project on the river Ganga which is being developed between Allahabad and Haldia to cover a distance of 1620 Kms. The project envisages development of a fairway with three metres depth which would enable commercial navigation of at least 1500 ton vessels on the river. Objective

The objective of this is to ensure adherence to timelines and budgeted costs of the project and full compliance with the other stated guidelines. Functions of this project

The Jal Marg Vikas Project seeks to facilitate plying of vessels with capacity of 1500-2000 tons in the Haldia-Varanasi stretch of the River Ganga. The major works being taken up under JMVP are development of fairway, Multi-Modal Terminals, strengthening of river navigation system, conservancy works, modern River Information System (RIS), Digital Global Positioning System (DGPS), night navigation facilities, modern methods of channel marking etc. (Adapted from PIB)

8. Air-launched Brahmos missile test-fired for the first time (Relevant for GS prelims,

GS Mains Paper III)

About the test

In a milestone, a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was fired succesfully for the first time

from a Sukhoi-30MKI fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force.

The missile was gravity dropped from the Su-30MKI from its fuselage, and the two-stage

missile s engine fired up and was propelled towards the intended target in the Bay of

Bengal.

Brahmos ALCM, which weighs 2.5 tonnes, is the heaviest weapon to be deployed on India s

Su-30 fighter aircraft. It has a range of 290 km.

Completes tactical cruise missile triad

Brahmos, the world class weapon with multi-platform, multi-mission role is now capable

of being launched from land, sea and air, completing the tactical cruise missile triad for

India, the statement noted.


The land and sea variants of Brahmos are already operational with the Army and the Navy.

Recently, the range variants were upgraded from 290 km to 450 km after India joined the

Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).

BrahMos is a joint venture between India and Russia and named after the Brahmaputra and

Moskova rivers.


9. Draft space law has place for private players (Relevant for GS Mains Paper III)

It will legally allow commercial, private players

The draft of the future Indian space law will legally allow commercial and private space

players.

The Department of Space put out a 20-page draft of the Space Activities Bill, 2017, for

public feedback.



123

Social Issues

1. Indians add more years to their lives (Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains Paper

I)

A first-of-its kind report on the India State-Level Disease Burden, released. It has revealed

severe inequalities in the disease burden in different States.

Improvement in Life Expectancy

For instance, life expectancy at birth in the country improved significantly during 1990 to

2016 — from 59.7 years and 58.3 years for females and males, respectively in 1990 to 70.3

years for females and 66.9 years for males in 2016.

Huge difference between States

But in a measure of the continuing inequalities, the life expectancy for females in Uttar

Pradesh was 66.8 years — below the national average and 12 years less than in Kerala,

where it was 78.7 years.

Again, men in Kerala enjoyed a life expectancy of 73.8 years, but the corresponding figure

for men in Assam was 63.6 years.


The study found that while under-5 mortality was improving in every State, there was a

four-fold difference in the rate of improvement among States, which again indicated health

inequalities.

Health issues in India

The per person burden from many of the leading infectious and non-communicable

diseases varies 5-10 times between different States and malnutrition continues to be the

single largest risk for health loss in India, which is higher among females and is particularly

severe in the empowered action group States [Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh,

Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand] and Assam.

Report

The report was prepared under the India State-level Disease Burden Initiative, a joint

project between the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the Public Health

Foundation of India (PHFI), and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), in

collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The report s findings were

published in the journal Lancet.


2. India s Manushi Chhillar Brings Home Miss World Crown After 17 Years (Relevant

for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper I)

Indian model Manushi Chhillar was crowned Miss World 2017 on November 18, 2017.

Prior to this, she was crowned Femina Miss India 2017 on June 25, 2017.

Chhillar is the sixth Indian beauty to have won the title, actress Priyanka Chopra to have

won the title last in the year 2000. Manushi Chhillar was crowned the 54th Femina Miss

India World 2017.

She represented her home-state Haryana as the Miss India Haryana 2017 at the Femina

Miss India 2017 and competed with 29 other contestants from different Indian states.

Chhillar is one of the very few highly qualified Miss India winners who were medical

students during their reign.

(News Adapted from The Times of India)

3. All you need to know about the Kerala love jihad case (Hadiya issue) (Relevant

for GS Mains paper I)

What is the case about?


125

The case pertains to the marriage of a Muslim with a Hindu woman after she allegedly

converted to Islam. The Kerala High Court ruling on a Habeas Corpus plea, on May 24,

2017, declared the marriage null and void. The marriage was allegedly conducted on

December 19, 2016 at the Puthur Juma Masjid near Kollam. The woman, a homeopathy

student, allegedly changed her name. Shafin Jahan had met her with his family in August

2016 in response to her advertisement on a marriage website.

What happened after that?

Mr. Jahan moved the Supreme Court against the High Court ruling and requested the apex

court to order the woman s father to produce her. He claimed that her father is holding her

in illegal confinement after the High Court arbitrarily annulled their marriage,

condemning it as love jihad . It is not love jihad if an adult Hindu woman, on her own

volition, converts to Islam and marries a Muslim man according to Islamic rites, Mr. Jahan

told the Supreme Court.

What does the father say?

According to her father, the woman is a helpless victim trapped by a well-oiled racket

that uses psychological measures to indoctrinate people and convert them to Islam. He

claims that Mr. Jahan is a criminal and his daughter was trapped by a network with

connections to Popular Front of India and even the Islamic State. My daughter once told

me that she wants to do sheep-farming in Syria… even the most liberal of fathers would be

shocked to hear this, the father told the Supreme Court, adding that such conversions and

marriages were not rare in Kerala. His daughter s case was only the tip of the iceberg, he

said.

What does the Supreme Court say?

The Supreme Court first ordered the National Investigation Agency to investigate the issue.

On October 3, it, however, questioned the very annulment of the marriage by the High

Court and the legality of the girl s father keeping her in his custody for the past several

months.

What did the NIA tell the court?

The NIA had told the Supreme Court that the marriage is not an isolated incident and it

had detected a pattern emerging in Kerala. It submitted that it had found that the same

people were behind the women s conversion and marriage. There is the same lady. The

entities behind this are the same. The girls convert and they refuse to stay with their relatives. These people take them in and the marriage is done during that time… This matter requires further investigation.



Miscellaneous

1. 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup (Relevant for GS Prelims)

International Football Tournament

The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the 17th FIFA U-17 World Cup, a biennial international

football tournament contested by men s under-17 national teams. Organized by FIFA, the

tournament took place in India between 6 and 28 October 2017, after the country was

awarded the hosting rights on 5 December 2013.

Tournament- 1st time in India

The tournament marked the first time India have hosted a FIFA tournament and the first

Asian hosted U-17 World Cup since 2013. The attendance for this World Cup was a record

1,347,133 surpassing China s 1985 edition where it was 1,230,976.

About Matches

The matches were played in six stadiums in six host cities around the country, with the

final taking place at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, West Bengal. Twenty-three teams,

besides the host India, managed to qualify for the tournament via participating in their

various continental under-17 tournaments.

Nigeria- 1st compulsory Title holder

The reigning FIFA U-17 World Cup champions, Nigeria, did not have the opportunity to

defend their title after failing to qualify for this edition. In failing to qualify, Nigeria became

the first incumbent title holder since Switzerland in 2009 to fail to qualify for the

subsequent edition.

Victory of England

England won the U-17 World Cup for the first time after coming back from a two-goal

deficit and beating Spain 5–2 in the final. This meant England became the second nation,

after Brazil in 2003, to win both of FIFA s under-age (U-20 and U-17) World Cup

tournaments in the same year.

England has also become the third country, after Brazil and North Korea, to win both U-17

and U-20 World Cup in their respective gender tournaments on the same year, as North

Korea had also won both U-17 and U-20 Women s World Cup last year.

(Adapted from Wikipedia.org)


127

2. Indian Women s hockey team won Asia Cup 2017 (Relevant for GS Prelims)

About Women s Hockey Asia Cup 2017

The 2017 Women s Hockey Asia Cup was the ninth Hockey Asia Cup for women. It was held

from 28 October to 5 November 2017 in Kakamigahara, Gifu, Japan. The winner of this

tournament qualified for the 2018 World Cup in England. India won their second title, after

beating China in the final.


3. Teaching ethics to aspiring civil servants (Relevant for GS Prelims)

Issue of Cheating by an IPS

The arrest in Chennai of an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer on probation, for cheating

during the civil service examination, raises questions on future recruitments to the All

India Services and the training of officers.

The incident also took place some months after the government approved all the

recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, which was done in the hope that more

pay would mean greater levels of honesty and dedication on the part of public servants.

What should be the proceedings against him?

Unlike in normal criminal justice matters, the burden here of proving innocence rests with

the offender, as long as the decision is to proceed against him in an internal inquiry and

terminate his services thereafter. However, going by the severity of the offence, it is

doubtful whether the ends of justice will be met by resorting only to departmental action.

There is always a public perception that double standards are applied when punishing

criminals in high places. This is why there is no option but to prosecute the officer in a

court of law. Of course, he should be given every opportunity to defend himself, but the dice

seem heavily loaded against him. The punishment aside, what needs to be revisited in this

context is the provision in civil service rules that permits a serving officer to constantly

look for opportunities outside the service to which he or she had been allotted in the first

instance.

Impart Instruction on Ethics also

The pride of the Indian Police is the National Police Academy in Hyderabad that trains IPS

recruits. It offers comprehensive training to shape the profile of police officers. In recent

years, some measures have been initiated to impart instructions in ethics. The Chennai

incident throws serious doubts over the quality of such inputs aimed at character-building.


The NPA faculty, including its director, must enhance the quality of instruction in ethics. In

sum, there must be the instruction of trainees in ethical behaviour.

Further, supervisors in the State Police do not play the role required of them to train IPS

probationers once they are assigned for field training after finishing the course at the NPA.

Only a few senior officers take interest in instilling the right values in IPS trainees. This is

not only because of sheer indolence and the low priority accorded to responsibility of

monitoring training, it is also because of the declining moral standards of senior police

officers themselves.


4. Girl power: on the winning of Women Hockey Team (Relevant for GS Prelims)

India may have won the final of the women s Asia Cup hockey tournament against China in

a penalty shootout, but it was a fully deserving victory. Throughout their campaign in

Japan, team members played out of their skin to register the win, which has secured them a

spot in next year s World Cup emphasis on merit, not as wild-card entrants.

Earlier position of Indian women in Hockey

The triumph came against formidable hurdles, and in the absence of any expectations.

Indian women were never the favourites, going into the tournament ranked 12th in the

world and fourth in Asia — behind World No. 8 China, Korea and Japan.

Hurdles in the path

India defeated defending champion Japan in the semi-finals. This happened despite a

degree of pre-tournament disarray. The team lost its second coach in the space of a year,

and Harendra Singh came in the assignment just a month before the Asia Cup, that too with

no previous experience of having worked with a women s hockey team. The team had other

issues to grapple with as well; the fitness and skill levels had slipped. The lack of

expectations, sadly, was clear from the fact that there was no live telecast, not even online

streaming. Such live updates as there were came via social media.

India needs to boost the Women hockey Team

The hockey federations must heed this victory and use this occasion to considerably scale

up support to the women s game. The insistence on appointing foreign coaches, despite the

clear discomfort and disconnect among the women in matters of communication, has

unnecessarily cost India too much time. The inadequate competitive exposure made

available for the team was unfortunate.


129

About the Coach- Harendra Singh

Harendra Singh has his work cut out too. He has a reputation for being obsessed with

results. He is a disciplinarian who has the ability to coax the best from his players, lead

from the front and put in the hard yards. In fact, it is a reflection of the team s hard work,

dedication, discipline and focus on the game that someone who is regarded as the most

difficult Indian coach to work with is already in awe of his players. The road ahead is

arduous, and 2018 will be crucial for the women and men, with the World Cup and the

Commonwealth Games as well as an Olympic spot to be secured through the Asian Games.

Captain Rani Rampal s girls have shown they can do it.


5. PM congratulates Chennai on inclusion in UNESCO creative Cities Network

(Relevant for GS Prelims)

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has congratulated people of Chennai on inclusion

of Chennai in UNESCO creative Cities Network.

About UNESCO Creative Cities Network

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) is a project of UNESCO launched in 2004 to

promote cooperation among the cities which recognized creativity as a major factor in their

urban development. As of 2017, there are 180 cities from 72 countries in the network.

The Network recognizes the following creative fields: • Crafts and Folk Arts • Media Arts • Film • Design • Gastronomy • Literature • Music

The overall situation and activities within the Network is reported in the UCCN

Membership Monitoring Reports, each for a 4-year period for a particular city.

The Network recognizes the concept of creative tourism, defined as travel associated with

creative experience and participation.

(Adapted from The PIB and Wikipedia.org)

6. Scientists have discovered new species of Bananas (Relevant for GS Prelims)


Botanists in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been looking for banana species. The

islands are a biodiversity hotspot that hosts seven different species of wild banana that we

know of, not to mention numerous, yet undocumented, others.

Musa Paramjitiana- a species of wild banana

The latest discovery, published in the Nordic Journal of Botany, is of a species of wild

banana named Musa paramjitiana, in honor of Paramjit Singh, who happens to be the

director of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI). The species was found in North Andaman s

Krishnapuri forest, 6 kilometers from any human habitation.

About this species

The plant grows to a height of nine metres and bears an edible, sweet-and-sour tasting fruit

that is boat-shaped and has numerous bulb-shaped seeds. Its conservation status has been

declared as Critically Endangered as it has so far been spotted in only two locations on the

islands, each with 6 to 18 plants in a clump.

Critically endangered

No population has been located in the other regions of the Andaman Islands, and the

drastic disappearance of its mixed forest habitat indicates that the species should be

considered Critically Endangered, based on IUCN Red List categories and criteria.

Conserve germplasm

These discoveries present a great opportunity for plant breeders and horticulture experts

to improve the existing banana crop. The germplasm of all the wild banana species needs to

be conserved on an urgent basis, since most of these are found in very small habitats and at

risk of extinction.

In 2014,botanists discovered Musa indandamanensis, another wild banana, in a remote

tropical rain forest on the Little Andaman island. It has dark green cylindrical flower buds.


7. Under pressure: on Gurugram s Ryan School murder case (Relevant for GS

Prelims)

Why police investigators should not jump to conclusions, influenced by public outrage

The poor quality of police investigation in the country has once again come under focus.

The twist in the probe into the murder of a seven-year-old boy at a school in Gurugram,


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Haryana exposes how unreliable the police can be when it comes to investigating grave

crimes amidst a public outcry and close media scrutiny.

Change of stand by CBI

The Central Bureau of Investigation now claims that it was a 16-year-old student who

murdered Pradyuman Thakur at the Ryan International School, and not the bus conductor

arrested earlier for the offence by the local police. If the latest account is true, the police

must explain why it made the sensational claim that Ashok Kumar, the conductor of the

school bus, had committed the murder in the school s washroom on September 8, and that

he had confessed to it. The motive, the police had claimed, was that the child had resisted

his attempt to sexually assault him.

Recent claim by CBI

The CBI says that in fact a Class XI student had killed his junior school mate in a bid to get

examinations postponed and a parent-teacher meeting called off. Closed-circuit television

footage is cited as a crucial piece of evidence against the senior student, who is now under

arrest, although the CBI says the role of Ashok Kumar remains under investigation. In their

eagerness to show results and demonstrate their efficiency, the Gurugram police

announced the bus conductor s arrest on the very night of the murder. Reports that the

school s bus driver was under pressure to identify the knife allegedly used in the murder to

be part of the bus toolkit add to the suspicion that the police were trying to frame the

conductor.

Pressure of media

Given the media glare that accompanies such tragedies, the police must learn not to

succumb to the temptation to wrap up probes under public pressure. That the police had to

extract a false confession is downright disgraceful, but it is not an isolated case in a country

known for its primitive investigative methods.

Need of Police reforms

Studies on police reforms have highlighted the need to make the investigation process

more scientific and more rooted in forensic analysis, but custodial torture and extracted

confessions continue to be reported.

The muddle in the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case probe is a telling example of how both the

local police and the CBI can botch up the investigation and lead to unfair incarceration.

When two narratives emerge from different police agencies for a heinous murder, a sense

of disquiet among the public is inevitable. The onus is now on the CBI to avoid such pitfalls

and show that the initial narrative was false and its subsequent account is closer to the

truth.



8. Northeast to get India s first ever Air Dispensary : Dr Jitendra Singh (Relevant for

GS Prelims)

Northeast is all set to get India s first-ever Air Dispensary based in a helicopter and the

Union Ministry of Development of Northeast (DONER) has already contributed Rs. 25 crore

as part of the initial funding for this initiative.

About Air Dispensary

It is a helicopter based Dispensary/OPD service in such far flung and remote areas, where

no doctor or medical facility was available and the patient, in need, also did not have any

access to any medical care.

About the plan

The helicopter will be based at two locations, namely Imphal in Manipur and Meghalaya in

Shillong. Both cities have premier postgraduate medical institutes from where specialist

doctors, along with the necessary equipment and paramedical staff, would be able to move

into the helicopter and hold a dispensary/OPD in different locations across the eight States

of North Eastern Region.

On its way back the same helicopter can also transport a sick patient, requiring admission,

to a city hospital.

The three twin-engine helicopters are planned to be placed for initial operation on six

routes in the region around Imphal, Guwahati and Dibrugarh.

(Adapted from PIB)

9. The India Youth Development Index and Report 2017 (Relevant for GS Prelims)

Union Ministry released the India Youth Development Index and Report 2017. The Rajiv

Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD), Tamil Nadu, an Institute of

National Importance has come out with Youth Development Index and Report 2017.

Objective

The objective of constructing the India Youth Development Index (YDI) 2017 is to track the

trends in Youth Development across the States.


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Key Highlights – The Index enables recognizing the high and low performing states, identifies the weak

domains and informs the policy makers the priority areas of intervention for youth

development in the states. – The Construction of Youth Development Index for the year 2017 was done using the

latest definition of youth as used in National Youth Policy – 2014 (India) and World Youth

Development Report of Commonwealth (15 – 29 years) as well as using the

Commonwealth Indicators in order to facilitate Global comparison. – In the India Youth Development Index 2017, the first five dimensions are retained same

as that of Global YDI. – The indicators and weights have been modified based on the availability of data at sub-

national level and the importance of the indicators in explaining Youth Development with

the aim of capturing the multidimensional properties.

Significance – This report is of immense value to enable comparisons across geographical areas and

categories, as human development index has done in comparing the development situation

across regions, nations and localities. – The index also measures the achievements made besides serving as an advocacy tool for

youth development and facilitates to identify priority areas for development of Policy and

Interventions. – The YDI-2017 will enable the policy makers track the national and the regional progress

as well setbacks in youth development policies, planning, priority identification and

implementation strategies. – Besides providing insights to suggest alternatives and options, it also aids in judicious

allocation of resources.

(Adapted from PIB)

10. Namami Barak Festival (Relevant for GS Prelims)

The first ever Namami Barak festival was held at Silchar in Assam. The event was organised

at 3 locations in Barak Valley also known as Southern Assam.

Key facts

The 3-day festival was held to pay tribute to river Barak and highlight its potential for

inland water trade. The festival also showcased the local culture.

About Barak river

Barak River is 564 kilometres long river. It rises in hill country of Manipur where it is

biggest and most important of hill country rivers. After Manipur it flows through Mizoram


and Assam. It later enters Bangladesh where it forks into Surma and Kushiyara rivers. The

sixth national waterway stretch is on this river.

(Adapted from PIB)

11. Justice Dalveer Bhandari re-elected to the International Court of Justice

(Relevant for GS Prelims)

Justice Dalveer Bhandari got re-elected to the International Court of Justice.

About Justice Dalveer Bhandari

Justice Bhandari is an Indian member of the International Court of Justice and was a judge

of the Supreme Court of India. He was nominated by the Government of India as its official

candidate at ICJ in January 2012. The vacancy arose after the resignation of sitting Court

Judge Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh from Jordan on being appointed as Prime Minister. In

the elections held on 27 April 2012, Bhandari secured 122 votes in the United Nations

General Assembly against 58 for his rival, Florentino Feliciano, who was nominated by the

Government of the Philippines.

He was re-elected for a second term on 20 November 2017 after UK s nominee Christopher

Greenwood withdrew his nomination.

Manner of Election of ICJ judge

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial body of the UN. Established

in 1946 to replace the Permanent Court of International Justice, the ICJ mainly operates

under the statute of its predecessor, which is included in the UN Charter. It has two

primary functions: to settle legal disputes submitted by States in accordance with

established international laws, and to act as an advisory board on issues submitted to it by

authorized international organizations.

Selection Process

The Court is composed of 15 judges serving in their individual capacities. Candidates are

first nominated by the national groups in the Permanent Court of Arbitration. From the list

of candidates, judges are elected to nine-year terms by an absolute majority in both the

General Assembly (97 votes) and Security Council (8 votes). The timing of elections is

staggered so that the GA elects a third of the Court once every three years.

The ICJ statute describes qualified candidates as persons of high moral character, who

possess the qualifications required in their respective countries for appointment to the

highest judicial offices, or are jurisconsults of recognized competence in international law.

Past judges have been law professors, diplomats, and judges.


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Although the judges do not represent their nations but act as independent agents, there

cannot be more than one judge of each nationality.

As a matter of practice, the Court often includes judges with the same nationality as one of

the States party to a case. A State party with a case before the ICJ, when no judge of its

nationality is a member of the Bench, may choose a justice to sit ad hoc on the bench.

(Adapted from PIB and http://www.unelections.org)

12. India becomes second largest fish producing country in the world (Relevant for

GS Prelims)

According to Union Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Shri Radha Mohan Singh, the

total fish production in the country reaches at about 11.41 million tonnes in 2016-17.

(Adapted from PIB)

13. Manipur Sangai festival 2017 (Relevant for GS Prelims)

Every year the State of Manipur celebrates the Manipur Sangai Festival from 21st to 30th

November. The Festival is named after the State animal, Sangai, the brow-antlered deer

found only in Manipur. The festival started in the year 2010.

The festival helps promote Manipur as a world class tourism destination. The State s

classical dance form, Ras Leela is quite famous all over the world for its distinctiveness

from any other dance forms in India. The Ras Leela forms an important part of the dance

performances at the Manipur Sangai Festival.

The festival will also bring to light an array of Manipur s best indigenous handlooms and

handicrafts products. The themed huts of the variety of tribes at the heritage park will

represent the living-style of these tribes and exhibit their indigenous products. The artistry

and creativity of the tribes of Manipur will be seen in their handloom and handicrafts

products which are otherwise not widely available in the market.

Manipur s famous martial arts- Thang Ta (a combination Spear & Sword skills), Yubi-Lakpi

(a game played with greased coconut like rugby), Mukna Kangjei (a game that combines

hockey and wrestling), and Sagol Kangjei- Modern Polo (believed to have evolved in

Manipur) all form part of the festival.


(Adapted from manipurtourism.gov.in)

14. National Biomaterial Centre inaugurated (Relevant for GS Prelims)

Smt. Anupriya Patel, Minister of State (HFW) today inaugurated the National Biomaterial

Centre (National Tissue Bank) at the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization

(NOTTO). The main thrust & objective of this centre is to fill up the gap between demand

and supply as well as quality assurance in the availability of various tissues.

In India, it is mainly the living donors who are donating organs and only about 23% of the

organ transplant is being done with organs obtained from the cadavers. There is a need to

promote cadaver or deceased organ donation rather than relying on living donors in order

to avoid the risk of commercial trading of organs and also to avoid the inherent risk to the

health of the living donor.

(Adapted from PIB)

15. Cabinet approves setting up of the 15th Finance Commission (Relevant for GS

Prelims)

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the setting

up of the 15thFinance Commission. Under Article 280 (1) of the Constitution, it is a

Constitutional obligation. The Terms of Reference for the 15thFinance Commission will be

notified in due course of time.

Background:

Article 280(1) of the Constitution lays down that a Finance Commission (FC) should be

constituted …within two years from the commencement of this Constitution and thereafter at the expiration of every fifth year or at such earlier time as the President considers necessary… .In keeping with this requirement, the practice has generally been to

set up next Finance Commission within five years of the date of setting up of the previous

Finance Commission.

Fourteen (14) Finance Commissions have been constituted in the past. The 14th Finance

Commission was set up on 02.01.2013 to make recommendations covering the period of

five years commencing on 1st April, 2015. The Commission submitted its Report on 15th

December, 2014. The recommendations of the 14thFinance Commission are valid upto the

financial year 2019-20. In terms of Constitutional provisions, setting up the 15thFinance

Commission, the recommendations of which will cover the five years commencing on April

1, 2020, has now become due.

(Adapted from PIB)


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16. Government announces Trajectory to achieve its targets of commissioning 100

GW of Solar generating capacity and 60 GW of Wind power by 2022 (Relevant for GS

Prelims)

The Government today announced the trajectory for achieving its targets of commissioning

175 GW of Renewable Energy (RE), 100 GW of solar generating capacity and 60 GW of

wind power, by 2022.

(Adapted from PIB)

17. President Of India Inaugurates International Gita Mahotsava-2017 (Relevant for

GS Prelims)

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the International Gita

Mahotsava-2017 today (November 25, 2017) in Kurukshetra, Haryana.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that the message of the Gita is relevant for all

times to come. From an ancient society based on agriculture to a society based on

commerce and industry, and now to a knowledge society – the message of the Gita has been

everlasting. The Gita guides us in resolving the dilemmas and struggles between right and

wrong that exist within every human being. What is right and what is wrong? , What

should we do and not do? Answers to these questions emerge from the Gita.

(Adapted from PIB)

18. Demi- Leigh Ne –Peters (South Africa) became Miss Universe 2017 (Relevant for

GS Prelims)

The woman representing South Africa won the Miss Universe crown.

Details:

Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, was crowned during the event at the Las Vegas, USA.

This year s edition had the most contestants ever, including the first ever representatives of

Cambodia, Laos and Nepal.

Prize Awarded:

The 22-year-old Nel-Peters has earned a yearlong salary, a luxury apartment in New York

City for the duration of her reign and more prizes.


About Miss Universe Contest:

Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by the Miss Universe

Organization. Along with Miss World and Miss Earth, Miss Universe is one of the most

important and publicized beauty pageants in the world. The group is three three events

along with Miss International are known as pageants. Miss Univerese is held in more than

190 countries worldwide and seen by more than half a billion people annually.


19. Pandit Narayanrao, proponent of Gwalior gharana, passed away (Relevant for GS

Prelims)

Eminent exponent of the Gwalior gharana of Hindustani classical music, Pandit Narayanrao

Bodas, passed away at 84 after a brief illness. He belonged to Gwalior Gharana.

Hindustani Music

Hindustani music originated in the Vedic times. It has Persian, Afghan and Turk influence

due to the continuous Islamic invasions in northern India. It is associated with the northern

part of India whereas the Carnatic music is associated with the southern part of India. The

artist is independent under hindustani music to innovate and improvise the music. This led

to emergence of multiple gharanas. It has only six principle ragas. The ragas under this

music are time, mood and season specific. It gives more emphasis on musical instruments.

The tempo is slow to fast under this music. It includes the instruments, namely Tabla, Sitar,

Sarangi and flute.



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