Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Civil Services Magazine DEC'14
Civil Services Magazine DEC'14
Civil Services Magazine DEC'14
Index
Financial Inclusion
DECEMBER,2012
2014
AUGUST,
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India and Japan
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Judicial Appointment Process
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FINANCIAL INCLUSION
India has grown substantially
since liberalization and GDP of India
has seen a multifold increase over the
last two decades. But this growth has
not been inclusive enough and since
the turn of the century government
has turned their attention towards
inclusive growth. Financial inclusion
is an important tool for the growth to
be inclusive. Financial inclusion
defined by the Rangarajan committee
as The process of ensuring access
to financial services and timely and
adequate credit where needed by
vulnerable groups such as weaker
sections and low income groups at
an affordable cost. This statement
says financial inclusion means financial
services should be accessible to
everyone especially to the low
income section and these financial
services should be available at a cost
that is affordable to everyone.
Different countries are in different
stages of financial inclusion and in
India it is to provide banking solution
for everyone. In India only few are
included with in the financial ambit.
In India after independence at
various stages government has tried
to increase the people with in the
ambit of organized financial services.
In the initial phase of financial
inclusion government nationalised
the banks. Nationalisation of banks
gave government the opportunity to
decide about the rates and also it
provides better control over the
overall functioning of the banks.
During this phase government
provided bank licenses with focus on
uncovered area and also they
provided for priority sector lending.
In the second phase which started in
2
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appointment process of
judiciary.
(5) India is the only constitutional
democracy where the
judiciary appoints its own
judges.
In keeping these criticism in
mind parliament has passed a bill for
appointment in higher judiciary. With
the passing of National Judicial
Appointments Commission (NJAC),
the collegium system of appointing
judges to the Supreme Court and
high courts is set to become history.
The new legislation seeks to replace
the existing judges-appointingjudges system with a 6-member
Commission.
The Judicial Appointments
Commission will consist of
(a) The Chief Justice of India,
Chairperson, ex officio;
(b) Two other Judges of the
Supreme Court next to the
Chief Justice of India in
seniorityMembers, ex
officio;
(c) The Union Minister in charge
of Law and JusticeMember,
ex officio
(d) two eminent persons, to be
nominated by the collegium
consisting of the Prime
Minister, the Chief Justice of
India and the Leader of
Opposition in the House of the
PeopleMembers.
Involvement of executive and
legislature in the appointment of
higher judiciary is definite
requirement but separation of power
should be maintained and it should
also be seen that impartiality of
judiciary is not hampered.
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2. Home assignment: where Multiple Choice Questions of the learned chapters will be
given for self evaluation.
3. Important current affairs materials for civil services preliminary examination will be
provided
4. Online Tests will be conducted after the end of each subject.
5. At the end of your course, five comprehensive test will be conducted to evaluate your
performance.
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NATIONAL ISSUES
Taking Decisions on Moral
Grounds By Trial Courts has
become a Fashion: HC
government decides to
withdraw money from the
Consolidated Fund of India.
After every such withdrawal,
the particular Appropriation
law becomes infructuous.
Komagata Maru Centenary
Observed on 29th September
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transport buses, saying the
party in power can use it to its
advantage and disturb the level
playing field.
In a communication to Chief
Electoral Officers of all states,
the EC referred to the issue of
allowing election related
advertisements on state road
transportation and municipal
corporation buses.
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is presiding over the Bench
monitoring the 2G spectrum
scam.
Terrorism Divides, Tourism
Unites: PM
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apple orchards itself so that
they may have a more handson experience of the plucking,
packaging and marketing
processes involved. The
department also conducted a
competition for farmers
growing exotic varieties of
apples. Various local hotels and
food chains have also set up
stalls selling apple based
products.
The Save Kappatagudda
Campaign
he explained.
Mr. Ashisar said the seer of
Gadag Tontadarya Math,
Siddhalinga Swami, who led
the agitation against setting up
the POSCO steel plant, and
A n n a d a n e s h w a r a
Mahashivayogi Math seer,
Abhinava Annadaneshwara
Swami, have extended support
to the Save Kappatagudda
campaign.
Pandavulametta: A Prehistoric Site
barring of course K.
Venkateswara Rao, freelance
archaeologist, who frequently
travels to the place to see that
they are in tact.
The only problem is
Pandavulametta and other
prehistoric sites have never
been aggressively promoted as
world tourism spots. Though
neglected these monuments
are in reasonably good shape,
basically because not many
people know their existence.
All of them lack basic
infrastructure facilities even
pathway to reach them, says
Mr. Rao who has submitted a
concept paper to top officials
of the Tourism Department.
US Court Issues Summons Against
Narender Modi
It is no less historically
significant as Stonehenge,
Machu Picchu and Biskupin in
Poland. Like Stonehenge,
which is variedly believed by
archaeologists as a sun
worshipping
place,
a
prehistoric observatory and
even as place of healing,
Pandavulametta too is seen as
sacred worshipping place.
Stonehenge, prehistoric
monument in United Kingdom,
attracts seven lakh tourists from
all over the world annually.
Another such prehistoric site
Machu Picchu in Peru in South
America draws three lakh
tourists. Millions of dollars are
generated from these two sites.
But not a soul visits our own
prehistoric
monuments
abounding a cluster of hillocks
of
Pandavulametta,
Sangamayya Konda and Sailada
though located just about 14
km from the district
headquarters of Srikakulam
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intentional infliction of
emotional distress.
All allegations pertain to the
role that the plaintiffs
perceived Mr. Modi to have
played in presiding over the
anti-Muslim pogrom that
occurred in Gujarat in 2002,
when he was the states Chief
Minister.
Business-to-business a priority
over
government-togovernment engagements in
Modis visit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
is expected in New York a day
after unveiling his Make in
India plan on 25th September
for a five-day visit expected to
focus on boosting the Indian
economy.
Calling the U.S. a vital partner
for our national development
as he left for his tour, Mr. Modi
said he hopes to draw
especially on the rich
possibilities of partnership in
education, skills, research,
technology and innovation.
During his visit, Mr. Modi will
address corporates at different
levels, from a breakfast meeting
with 11 top CEOs, one-on-one
meetings with leading business
figures, including the heads of
Boeing, GE, IBM, but also with
investment management firms
Blackrock and KKR, and finally
an address to business chamber
USIBC
members
in
Washington.
Another big priority for the PM
will be energy supplies, as he
will try to disentangle the
nuclear knots over Indias
supplier liability laws, speaking
directly to the heads of GE and
Westinghouse that have bid for
plants in India. Mukesh Ambani
will be part of the business
delegation during the visit.
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across the five Ganga river basin
States.
National Tax Tribunal Act is
Unconstitutional: SC
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demarcating ESAs. He said that
if Kerala had completed its
demarcation of ESAs, then let
it be finalized.
A 28-year-old Bangalore-based
architect has been named
young leader of tomorrow by
Time magazine for his
pioneering work in designing
affordable flood-proof houses
for slum dwellers.
Alok Shetty is among leaders
of tomorrow who are working
hard to change their worlds
today,
Time said as it named six
inspirational young persons in
its first class of next generation
leaders.
Mr. Shetty, who studied
Masters in architecture at
Columbia University, came at
the problem with an approach
he brings to all of his projects
marrying smart design with
a commitment to sustainability.
Mr. Shetty, working with the
Bangalore-based nonprofit
Parinaam Foundation, is
designing homes for hundreds
of slum dwellers whose
makeshift houses flood during
the heavy rains and become
breeding grounds for diseases
like malaria.
Cleanliness Index
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SC objected UGC
12
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The foundations co-chairs,
Melinda Gates and her
husband, former Microsoft cofounder and CEO Bill Gates, are
in India to meet the new
government, including Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and his
Cabinet colleagues.
The second largest parasitic
killer in the world after malaria,
kala azar is concentrated in 52
districts in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh,
Jharkhand and West Bengal.
India officially reported fewer
than 5,000 kala azar cases in
2011 and fewer than 100
deaths due to the disease,
according to the World Health
Organisation.
However, the international
health community believes
these
to
be
gross
underestimation; while India
reported just over 1,000 malaria
deaths in 2011, medical journal
Lancet placed the estimate 40
times higher.
Lalitha Kumarmangalam as the
Chairperson
of the National Commission for
Women (NCW)
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The foster care proposal will
cover children below 18, who
are either deserted or unable
to get care at home.
Minors in conflict with the law
would also be eligible for foster
care services.
To reverse the declining child
sex ratio (CSR) across the
States, the Minister said 100
critical districts have been
identified and efforts would be
made to correct the imbalance.
The Child Line (1098), an
emergency outreach service
for children in need of care and
protection, is to be expanded
from 282 locations to 343
locations by the end of
Financial Year 2014-15.
The Union Ministry for Women
and Child Development
(WCD) which has set a target
to bring down malnutrition
levels and improve the skewed
sex ratio has decided to bolster
child care in the country by
introducing the concept of
foster homes and creating
awareness about sexual abuse.
Presenting the Ministrys 100day report, Union WCD Minister
Maneka Gandhi said that in
collaboration with the Union
Human Resource Development
Ministry, a project would be
undertaken in schools where
with the aid of teachers and
non-governmental
organisations, students would
be
made
aware
of
inappropriate touch.
L.K. Advani as the Chairman of
the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha
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reconstituting the National
Board for Wildlife (NBWL) after
the apex court had earlier
stayed all the decisions of the
standing Committee.
In the affidavit the government
has retained the Gujarat
Ecological Education and
Research (GEER) Foundation
and added four NGOs
World Wildlife Fund for NatureIndia, New Delhi, Aranyak,
Guwahati, Nature Conservation
Society, Jharkhand and the
Bombay Natural History
Society, Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Dont Celebrate my Birthday,
Instead Help J&K: Modi
16
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industry body Assocham.
Jammu & Kashmir has been hit
by the worst floods in over a
century, throwing basic
infrastructure like power,
railways and communication in
the state completely out of
gear.
The initial estimated loss to
hotels, trade, agriculture
horticulture, roads and bridges
in the Jammu and Kashmir
regions itself is Rs. 2,630 crore.
Besides,
high-cost
infrastructure like Railways,
power and communication in
the hilly terrains would have
suffered a loss of about Rs.
2,700-3,000 crore, the industry
body said.
Over 1.84 Lakh People Rescued in
J&K
In an order communicated to
the media, Mr. Katju said that
on the basis of material available
in the public domain, he
believed that Mr. Raos remarks
amount to intimidation of
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media personnel under threat
of dire consequences and
violate the fundamental right of
freedom of expression and
speech.
The panel comprises senior
journalists, with Rajeev Ranjan
Nag as convener and K.
Amarnath and Krishna Prasad of
the Outlook magazine as
members.
It was asked to investigate if Mr.
Rao made the statements
attributed to him that he would
break the necks of, and bury
underground, mediapersons
and that they should salute the
Telangana people if they wish
to live in Telangana; if there
was any threat perception to
the media in the State; and
what steps were necessary for
the medias protection there.
The order was in response to
complaints
from
representatives of the Indian
Journalists Union and its
affiliate, the Telangana Union of
Working Journalists.
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rights movements of journalists
till his last days.
Rajdeep Sardesai to Join TV
members
and
five
independent NGOs and
representatives from 10 States
or Union Territories.
The Supreme Court on August
25 had in response to a petition
put on hold the over 100
proposals approved by a
truncated standing committee
of the Board notified on July 22
which had only two non-official
members and one government
organisation on board, apart
from a representative only from
Andhra Pradesh.
The government did not
constitute a full fledged Board.
The apex court while staying
the August 12 decisions of the
standing committee, said they
were not in consonance with
section 5 A the Wildlife Act,
1972.
The Bench directed that none
of the orders passed by the
standing committee would be
given effect to until the next
date of hearing after two weeks
from August 25.
The order came in response to
a petition filed by Pune resident
Chandra Bhal Singh.
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The Gorakhpur MP, the BJPs
lead campaigner in U.P. has
been charged with violating
several sections of the model
code : these relate to activities
that aggravate existing
differences or create mutual
hatred or cause tension
between different castes and
communities, religious or
linguistic, making an appeal to
caste or communal feelings for
securing votes, and using
religion for furtherance of the
prospects of election of a
candidate, promoting enmity
or hatred between different
classes of the citizens of lndia
on grounds of religion, race,
caste, community, or language
to help a candidate.
This comes against the
backdrop of Yogi Adityanath
consistently
making
inflammatory
speeches
through the campaign, the most
recent on Sunday when he
blamed people of a minority
religion for the States recent
communal tensions.
Bihar Tops in Growth: CSO
in 2012-13.
The second-best performing
State is Madhya Pradesh, which
grew at 9.89 per cent. Delhi is
third with a growth rate of 9.33
per cent.
The CSO-verified growth rate
for 2012-13, however, is lower
than that reported by Bihars
Statistics Directorate. The State
government had reported a
growth rate of 15.05 per cent.
All major industrial States lag
behind Bihar. Growing at 7.96
per cent, Gujarat is ranked sixth
and Maharashtra ninth with
6.18 per cent.
As the growth rate for the bulk
of the States is higher than the
national GDP, the economic
slowdown is not reflected in
the data. Normally, the States
GDP adds up to about 90 per
cent of the national GDP. The
difference is the output of the
sectors that do not belong to
any State such as the Bombay
High.
Over the years, discrepancies
have been increasing between
the GSDP data in the States
reports and the figures that
finally come out after
discussions with the CSO and
validation.
J&K missing in
CWC flood forecast list
The
National
Waqf
Development Corporation
(NAWADCO) and the National
Building
Construction
Corporation
signed
a
memorandum
of
understanding (MoU) to
develop Waqf properties in
Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh and Karnataka.
Union Minority Affairs Minister
Najma
Heptullah
said
NAWADCO had identified two
properties in Rajasthan, six in
Madhya Pradesh and seven in
Karnataka and one piece of
land in Delhi for development
as institutional and commercial
projects.
The public-sector NAWADCO
was established last December
with an authorised share capital
of Rs. 500 crore to mobilise
resources for developing Waqf
properties in a Shariahcompliant way.
The resources generated by
such development of Waqf
properties will be used for the
welfare of Muslims.
NAWADCO was set up on the
recommendations of the
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Sachar committee report,
which estimated that Waqf
properties, if properly
developed, could fetch an
annual income of Rs. 1.2 lakh
crore.
Allegations against you are serious,
SC tells CBI chief
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State Disaster Relief Fund he
convened a crisis review
meeting with the Cabinet
Secretary and other senior
officials in the national capital.
The Centre also announced Rs.
2 lakh ex-gratia to the next of
kin of those who died in the
floods.
Also, Rs. 50,000 would be
given from the Prime Ministers
National Relief Fund (PMNRF)
to those grievously injured.
Though official figure of the
deaths is not available, by all
accounts at least 160 people
have lost their lives so far.
States free to add official language:
SC
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up cases against MPs and MLAs
facing charges which attract
disqualification, directing them
to seek day-to-day trial in
courts, appoint special public
prosecutors and ensure regular
monitoring.
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The Government of India also
has the sole right to mint coins
of all denominations.
However, since the RBI was of
the view that with the repeal of
Section 2 of the Currency
Ordinance, the Government of
India is not empowered to issue
note of denominational value of
one rupee, the law ministry
opinion was taken.
The Law Ministry in its opinion
stated that the Coinage Act of
2011, which consolidates the
laws relating to coinage and the
mints, does not bar the
Government of India from
printing one rupee notes.
Section 4 of the Act provides
that the central government
may authorise minting of coin
of denomination not higher
than Rs. 1,000, it said, adding
that the definition of coin in the
Act makes it clear that
Government of India one rupee
note is included in the
definition of coin.
The Act defines a coin as
made of any metal or any other
material stamped by the
Government or any other
authority empowered by the
Government in this behalf and
which is a legal tender
including commemorative
coin and Government of India
one rupee note, the ministry
said in its opinion.Further,
apart from the metal, the coin
may be made of any other
material, it said.
The ministry said while
repealing the Currency
Ordinance, 1940, necessary
provisions for inclusion of
Government of India one rupee
note within the meaning of
Coin have been consciously
incorporated in the Coinage
Act, 2011. Further, the RBI, as
24
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Supreme Court sources said the
case files had been sent back
to him and he was expected to
appear in the case in
November. They said he
decided to withdraw his letter
after the court asked him to
reconsider his decision.
Early this month, he had written
to Chief Justice of India R.M.
Lodha, expressing his decision
to bow out as amicus curiae. He
had also returned the files
concerning the case to the
Supreme Court Registry.
Mr. Subramaniums report on
the condition of the temple
and
its
assets
in
Thiruvananthapuram had
created a storm.
The report had complained of
corruption and disregard of
ethics in the temples
administration.
Bollywood actor-producer
Aamir Khan said that he is
donating Rs.11 lakh towards
supporting the Mumbai Film
Festival, which is facing a funds
crunch for its forthcoming 16th
edition this year.
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citizenship of a surrogate child,
created by new reproductive
technology.
The problem of citizenship of
a surrogate child was
highlighted in the case of twin
babies born to an Indian
surrogate mother and a
German father, Jan Balaz, in
2008.
The two boys, Balaz Nikolas
and Balaz Leonard, were
conceived by an Indian
woman in Gujarats Anand
district in January 2008.
Justice Gogoi suggested that
the government could
consider dual citizenship for
surrogate children born in such
circumstances.
India violating privacy of Internet
users: report
Unhappy
with
the
governments affidavit setting
out its plans to clean the Ganga,
the Supreme Court said it
wanted to monitor the progress
made in efforts to restore the
river and asked for a roadmap.
It is better if you can show us a
PowerPoint presentation. Also,
fix milestones so that we can
assess the progress, a Bench
comprising Justices T.S. Thakur
and R. Banumathi said.
It seems the Ganga will not be
cleaned even after 200 years,
the Bench observed after
perusing an affidavit filed by
the Director of the National
Mission for Clean Ganga, which
outlined plans to rejuvenate the
river and its ecology.
Toilets mandatory in aided schools
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Erring schools will not be
issued a fitness certificate and
would not be allowed to take
up new admissions.
India talking to WTO members on
food subsidy issue
Modi@100 days
A fund-raising campaign on
social media helped the
Mumbai Academy of Moving
Image (MAMI), the festival
organisers, overcome a
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crippling financial crisis after
their contract with Reliance
Entertainment, the sole
sponsor for the past five years,
expired in February. Since
then, we were searching for the
new sponsor. But we were
unsuccessful, said festival
director Srinivasan Narayan.
The social media campaign
helped the organisers raise Rs
1.5 crore in just two days. They
are now expecting Rs. 5 crore
by October.
The uncertainty over the
festivals future triggered a
social media campaign,
#pledge4MAMI from wellwishers.
As the word spread, the entire
film fraternity came forward and
now the industry itself is taking
care of the festival. We are
getting commitments from
many individuals and we have
also opened our website of the
contributions from ordinary
fans, Mr. Narayan said.
Katjus solution for ending IndoPak. problems
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First Ajmer literature festival
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Medium: English
Publisher: UPSCPORTAL.COM
Gist of Yojana
Gist of Kurukshetra
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National Issues
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu
briefs Modi on IS
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International Issues
suggested that a very different
aspect of the Prime Ministers
agenda was a source of deep
concern his social and
political views.
Suman Narayan, a young
Indian-American based in San
Jose, California, who had
travelled to New York solely to
be a part of the festivities here,
said Mr. Modis presence in the
U.S. had energised the
community and made it upbeat
about the future of Indias role
in the world.
While Mr. Narayan expressed
confidence that this would lead
to more investment in research
and development in India,
especially if the U.S. looks to
capitalise on the change in the
Indian government, he seemed
less sure of Mr. Modis political
or social agendas other than the
promise of investment and
growth that they held out.
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is
Indias philosophy: Mr. Narendra
Modi at UNGA
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31
International Issues
was in the U.S. and he was
immune from prosecution at
this time. The allegations in the
case pertain to the role that the
plaintiffs perceived Mr. Modi to
have played in presiding over
the anti-Muslim pogrom that
occurred in Gujarat in 2002.
Previewing some of the likely
subjects of discussion between
the two leaders the officials
recognised that their summit
would occur at a remarkable
time in international affairs,
including the fight against IS in
West Asia and the challenge of
tackling Ebola in West Africa.
The officials also reiterated the
summit meetings intention to
address a broad spectrum of
policy issues including security
cooperation, defence, trade,
and Indias positive role in
numerous trilateral contexts.
Bamiyan (Afghanistan) will be
SAARC cultural capital for 2015
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International Issues
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33
International Issues
John Key
Swept to a historic Victory
Scotlands pro-independence
leader Alex Salmond resigned
as first minister and leader of
his political party, hours after
Scots voted to remain in the
United Kingdom.
Salmonds impassioned plea to
launch a new nation fell short,
with Scots choosing instead the
security of remaining in union
with England, Wales and
Northern Ireland.
The referendums result
prevented a rupture of a 307year union with England,
bringing a huge sigh of relief to
Britains economic and political
establishment.
Sweeping a Historic Vote
Coup
leader
Voreqe
Bainimarama was on the verge
of sweeping a historic vote to
become Fijis first elected
leader in eight years, as
international observers gave
the ballot a stamp of approval.
With 70 per cent of the vote
counted following poll, Mr.
Bainimaramas Fiji First Party had
60.1 per cent, well clear of its
nearest rival, the Social
Democratic Liberal Party
(Sodelpa) on 26.7.
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International Issues
liberal Professor of Islam shot dead
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35
International Issues
openness of his papacy, Pope
Francis asked to marry 40
people from different social
backgrounds who would be a
realistic sample of modern
couples.
Popes very rarely perform
marriages the last one was in
2000. One of the couples was
single mother Gabriella and her
partner Guido, whose previous
marriage was annulled by an
ecclesiastical tribunal.
The last time a Pope performed
a marriage was under the
leadership of John Paul II in
2000, and before that in 1994.
It comes three weeks before a
major synod of the Catholic
Church will discuss the divisive
issues of marriage, divorce and
conception.
Japans
WWII film idol Yamaguchi dies
Space
Exploration
Technologies Corp (SpaceX)
Falcon-9 rocket will launch a
Dragon cargo spacecraft
loaded with more than 5,000
pounds of scientific equipment
and supplies, the U.S. space
agency said in a statement.
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International Issues
It will also carry a small
flowering plant related to
cabbage that would allow
scientists to study plant growth
and adaptations in space.
It will be the fifth trip by a
Dragon spacecraft to the
orbiting laboratory.
The spacecrafts 2.5 tonnes of
supplies and materials are
critical for the implementation
of 255 science and research
investigations that will occur
during the stations Expeditions
41 and 42.
Besides, the spacecraft will
carry science payloads like the
ISS-Rapid Scatterometer to
monitor ocean surface wind
speed and direction.
IS releases beheading video of
British aid worker
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37
International Issues
Paisley co-founded both a
church and a political party,
leading the Free Presbyterian
Church of Ulster and the
Protestant, conservative
Democratic Unionist Party
(DUP). AFP
WHO: Ebola death toll hits 2,400
and pay.
Japans centenarian population
reaches new record
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International Issues
Xis visit will mark a new era in bilateral ties: Beijing
In response to a question, he
said Beijing was open to
exploring the possibility with
Moscow of linking India with
the $400 billion mega energy
tie up that China had recently
signed with Russia.
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39
International Issues
two Iranian companies last
month was seen as the first step
toward making Internet access
easier. But he went further and
said filtering was counterproductive.
World Media Summit invites
entries for Global Awards for
Excellence
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International Issues
a new study is likely to delay
the project, they said.
The plaza is likely to become
operational by May next.
The levels of pollution caused
by traffic diversions, the
increased number of visitors to
T. Nagar, the rise in garbage
collection and heightened
commercial activity will also be
assessed. Displacement of
hawkers and impact on their
livelihood will be part of the
study.
India-Japan ties will only bring
psychological comfort: China daily
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41
International Issues
to India, Nepal and Bhutan.
These are part of the Chinese
governments mission 2020 for
infrastructure in Tibet.
The lines are also seen as a
triangular defence for China,
allowing it to rush troops and
military hardware to its sensitive
southern borders with India at
short notice.
U.S. Post Service to release stamp
on Akkineni
42
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Indian History
Indian Polity
Indian Economy
Geography
General Science
Environment
General Knowledge
MCQ For Practice
Indian History
Indian Polity
Indian Economy
Geography
General Science
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
Environment
General Knowledge
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43
economic complementarities,
promote investment and trade,
and facilitate people-topeople contacts.
China has amplified the pitch
on its vision of the Maritime Silk
Road (MSR) amid the
repositioning of American
forces in the Asia-Pacific and
an emerging trade deal
between Washington and its
traditional regional allies.
Over $10 billion investment is
expected from China during
Mr. Xis visit. Currently, Chinese
investment in India stands at
$400 million.
Progress has been made in the
negotiations on the boundary
question, and the two sides
have worked together to
maintain peace in the border
area, wrote the Chinese
Premier in connection with the
decades-old border issues that
have marred Sino-Indo ties for
long.
President Xis visit may provide
Narendra Modi a rare chance
to seize the moment by stating
Indias political intent on solving
the border row between the
two countries, beginning with
measurable steps to clarify the
Line of Actual Control, and to
root out border incidents.
With India and China deciding
to mark 2014 as a year of
friendly exchanges, talks on
the issue of stapled visas might
figure in the meeting.
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You will be provided current affairs on various important topics on a weekly basis.
Important national and international news from various sources at a single platform for your
convenience.
Each and every topic will be given point wise , making it easier to grasp.
Very handy when it comes to various competitive exams..
Planning Commission
Ministry of External Affairs
National Portal of India
National
International
Economy
India And The World
Sports
In The News
Science and Technology
Burning Issues (Editorials From Different Newspapers)
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Economy
ECONOMY
billion in fresh investment here.
Amazon launched about a year
ago in India.
Mr. Bezos said that connecting
small and medium businesses
with the digital market is a
prime area for Amazon and will
be a key differentiator
compared to competition.
Refusing to be drawn into a
discussion on the competition
with Google in key businesses,
he said that drone-deliveries
are technologically proven but
will have to wait for rules and
regulations to be framed.
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Economy
very long time, a favourable
environment to lower the
benchmark repo rate, which
has remained at 8 per cent for
the greater part of the year.
The broad macro-economic
indicators have generally been
positive even though one lead
indicator the index of
industrial production (IIP)
continues to remain erratic.
Most significantly, inflation data
for August both retail and
wholesale have delivered
big, pleasant surprises. Retail
inflation based on the
consumer price index (CPI) has
declined by almost a full
percentage point from July
from close to 8 per cent to just
above 7 per cent.
Reserve Bank of India unlikely to
cut policy rate
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47
Economy
Mr. Geete said the government
was working on a one-time
settlement proposal for six
terminally ill PSUs, which could
not be revived, to eliminate
higher recurring expenditure.
The six companies which
cannot be revived are:
Hindustan Photo Films; HMT
Bearings; HMT Watches; HMT
Chinar Watches; Tungabhadra
Steel Products Ltd; and
Hindustan Cables. These six
companies have employee
strength of 3,603, the Minister
said at a press conference to
mark the 100 days of the NDA
government here.
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Economy
ONGC Chairman and Managing
Director Dinesh K. Sarraf said
The oil discovery in Krishna
Godavari basin block KG-DWN98/2 or KG-D5 is the first large
oil production from the Staterun Oil and Natural Gas
Corporations (ONGC) major oil
discovery in the Bay of Bengal
will east coast. The block also
has 10 gas discoveries.
Make In India campaign
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Economy
According to the details made
available to users, the new
generation Scorpio will be
available in six variants.
Motorcycle Fazer FI
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Economy
Journal . Facebook has been
involved in this video initiative
for at least six months, it said.
IANS
Global auto makers
Seek friendly Policy
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51
Economy
(UPASI) for 2014-15.
Mr. Vijayan owns MSP
Plantations, Yercaud, and has
been serving on the Executive
Committee of UPASI since
2002-03.
N. Dharmaraj has been elected
Vice-President, an UPASI
release said. PTI
Subhash Chandra Garg appointed
as World Bank ED
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Economy
will help consumers pay in
dollar, pound settling, euro and
Singapore dollar initially and
eventually be made available in
all major currencies.
Ration shops in Retail Avatar
The
dual-SIM
device,
launched exclusively through
online marketplace Snapdeal,
runs on Android KitKat
operating system, and comes
with 2GB RAM, 5-inch HD IPS
display, leather finish back,
13MP rear and 5MP front
camera,
8GB
memory
(expandable up to 32GB), and
2500 mAh battery.
Microsoft unveils new look for
MSN in India
Aiming
to
offer
a
comprehensive and seamless
experience to users to access
content via its website and
apps across screens (PCs as well
as mobiles) and operating
platforms, software giant
Microsoft unveiled the new
look of its MSN website in India.
The preview in India had been
made live for users starting
Monday and Microsoft was
inviting people to try out the
new web experience, he said,
adding they could also leave
feedback on the site.
State Bank
Launches New Travel Card
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53
Economy
It is based on the existing Gx
Grade and comes with the
options of seven and eight
seater in both Euro III and Euro
IV engines, a release from the
company said.
Available in the diesel variant,
the price starts from
Rs.12,90,947 to Rs.13,00,710
(ex-showroom New Delhi).
Innova LE will be available at
Toyota showrooms at select
cities whereas in other cities,
Innova Limited Edition
accessory package will be
available.
Promotional air fares from Indigo
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PART - I: Comprehension
PART - II: English Language Comprehension
2. Interpersonal & Communication Skills & Decision Making & Problem Solving
4. Basic Numeracy
5. Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency
the planet.
The spacecraft was launched
on its nine-month-long odyssey
on a PSLV rocket from
Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh
on November 5, 2013. It had
escaped
the
Earths
gravitational field on December
1 and was placed in the
Martian orbit on September 24.
Pesticides in tea Trouble
Brewing
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55
undisturbed.
The so-called Rochester Cloak
is not really a tangible cloak.
Rather, the device looks like
equipment used by an
optometrist. When an object is
placed behind the layered
lenses it seems to disappear.
Previous cloaking methods
have been complicated,
expensive, and not able to hide
objects in three dimensions
when viewed at varying angles,
they say.
Earths water is older than the
solar system
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together at Sriharikota.
The date of its launch depends
on an earlier flight of the PSLVC26, which will put into orbit
the third regional navigation
spacecraft, the IRNSS-1C. If the
PSLV is flown in the week
starting October 9 as planned,
GSLV-MkIII can follow on the
second launch pad a fortnight
after it, Dr. Radhakrishnan said.
The C-26 vehicle is also getting
assembled at Sriharikota.
Expanded U.S. marine preserve
to be worlds largest
Far off Americas shores, an
ocean preserve flush with rare
seabirds, turtles and marine
mammals will grow to roughly
three times the size of California
under a memorandum that U.S.
President Barack Obama
signed on 25th September.
The expanded Pacific Remote
Islands Marine National
Monument will cover 490,000
square miles (1.2 million sq.
km), making it the largest marine
preserve in the world, the
White House has said. The
move puts the remote waters
surrounding a collection of
islands offlimits to drilling and
most fishing in a bid to protect
fragile underwater life.
Millions of marine animals live
in the bio-rich expanse
included by the new
monument, which will also add
new protections for more than
130 seamounts underwater
mountains where rare or
undiscovered species are
frequently found.
Commercial fishing, deep-sea
mining and other extraction of
underwater resources will be
banned, but recreational
fishing will still be allowed, in
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57
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61
Practice Tests to evaluate your performance. Your written answers would be checked thoroughly and
communicated to you.
Course Planning to ensure that you cover all the topics in time.
SPORTS
17th Asian Games
India on Day 10
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Sports
medallist, put on a stupendous
show in winning 3-0 against
Zalimkhan Yusupov of Tajikistan
in the title clash.
Asian games 2014: India on day
9 (28th September)
Indian pair of Sania Mirza and
Prarthana Thombare settled for
a bronze after losing their
womens doubles semifinal to
Chinese Taipeis Chin Wei Chan
and Su Wei Hsiehin in the Asian
Games, in Incheon.
Yuki Bhambri clinched Indias
lone singles medal in tennis at
the ongoing Asian Games,
settling for a bronze in the
mens event after unforced
errors cost him the semifinal
clash against Japans Yoshihito
Nishioka in Incheon.
Three women Mary Kom
(51kg), L Sarita Devi (60kg)
and Pooja Rani (75kg) entered
the semifinals of their
respective weight categories
with commanding victories
assuring India of at least a
bronze medal.
Indian race walkings wonder
girl won a sensational silver in
the 20km at the 17th Asian
Games here. It was the
countrys first-ever womens
silver in the event at the Asiad.
A few hours later, quarter milers
M.R. Poovamma and Arokia Rajiv
picked up bronze medals
while Manju Bala brought
another in the womens
hammer throw.
Asian games 2014: 8th day
India earned their second gold
medal in the 17th Asian Games
after the mens compound
archery team bagged the
yellow metal by getting the
better of South Korea.
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63
Sports
third midway through the Asian
Games golf tournament.
Sawarn Singh wins bronze in
rowing
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Sports
Manoj for the award after the
Sports Authority of India (SAI)
erroneously informed the panel
that the boxer had failed a
dope test.
The panel stuck to its choices
even after it became clear that
Manoj had never tested
positive.
Asian Games
17th Asian Games began with
a lovely show of colour, light
and vibrant music at the
Incheon Asiad Main Stadium.
Nepal led the athletes march,
following
the
Korean
alphabetical order, and loud
cheers were reserved for Japan,
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65
Sports
the Test and ODI skipper until
the 2015 ODI World Cup.
Afridi has played 381 ODIs and
74 T20 internationals.
Afridi, 34, who captained
Pakistan in ODIs and T20
matches in 2010 and 2011
before being removed by the
board said he was delighted to
get back the responsibility.
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Sports
the junior boys (under-17)
final at the Ambedkar Stadium.
The major attraction in the
junior boys section will be the
Brazilian side Colegio Estadul
Santo Antonio. The players
from the club regularly train at
the Fluminense Academy.
Committee formed to
Oversee Camp Conditions
Sports Minister Sarbanand
Sonowal constituted a highlevel committee for the
inspection of catering and
other facilities at the Indira
Gandhi Sports Complex where
camps in boxing and
gymnastics for Asian Gamesbound athletes are being held.
The committee, led by Joint
Secretary (Sports) and comprising of senior officials from
the ministry and the Sports Authority of India (SAI), visited
the complex to inspect the
kitchen, storage, waste disposal
and washing areas and discussed the issue with athletes,
coaches and the mess contractor.
The committee was asked to
submit a detailed report within
twenty four hours.
However, finding the hygiene
and food at the venue to be
satisfactory, it instead decided
to provide suggestions to
improve the conditions.
Rohan Bopanna to receive Davis
Cup Commitment Award
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67
Sports
hit 15 fours and one six off 243
balls in five and a half hours.
Kemar Roach was the best of
the hosts bowlers with four for
64, while fellow pacer
Shannon Gabriel grabbed two
for 25 and left-arm spinner
Sulieman Benn, two for 44.
West Indies, needing just 13 for
victory, eased to the target
before the lunch interval.
Ian Chappell picks India among
WC favourites
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Sports
400 athletes, as against an
overall list of 950 members,
including 24 per cent officials.
The argument was to keep a
possible proportion of a medal
for every three sportspersons.
The SAI was pleased with the
improved strike rate of a medal
for every 3.41 athletes in the
recent
Glasgow
Commonwealth Games.
Anand fifth in World Rankings
An inactive Viswanathan
Anand moved up two places
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Dear Aspirants,
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The competitive examination comprises of three stages :
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IN THE NEWS
Ashraf Ghani as
Afghanistan new
President
similar circumstances.
In September, 2001, AIADMK
general secretary Jayalalithaa
had to step down as her
appointment as Chief Minister
was quashed by the Supreme
Court.
town of Tobruk.
The ceremony followed weeks
of political maneuvering in the
fractious assembly, as clashes
continued between rival
militias near the capital Tripoli
and in the eastern city of
Benghazi.
In Benghazi, the largest city in
eastern Libya, radical Islamist
militias have succeeded in
pushing rival forces loyal to
retired general Khalifa Haftar
out of most areas.
The Tobruk-based parliament,
the House of Representatives,
has swung behind the antiIslamist forces, declaring the
main Islamist militias to be
terrorist organizations.
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71
In the News
Bachchan in 1991. Born on
August 1, 1939, in Atarra
(Banda, Uttar Pradesh), Mishra
completed his BA and MA
(English) at the University of
Allahabad.
Giving away the award,
constituted by the K K Birla
Foundation, Home Minister
Rajnath Singh said that it has
been recognised as the highest
literary award in India.
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more.
Artist, cartoonist, film director,
designer and painter, Bapu
(born
Sathiraju
Lakshminarayana) leaves
behind a legacy as one of the
finest filmmakers on the
firmament of Indian cinema.
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The Vision
Our aim is to guide the candidate, in making different decisions while facing the UPSC. We welcome the
aspirants to discuss, with us, their problems and confusions, anytime. Any aspirant may subscribe to the
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We wish the candidates All the Best for the their preparations!!
Selected Articles
from Various
Newspapers
& Journals
SELECTED
ARTICLES
FROM
VARIOUS
NEWSPAPERS & JOURNALS
Battle Lines Sharpen over GM
Moratorium on Introduction
The moratorium had been
imposed because of four crucial
reasons. First, no State government
cutting across party lines and
ideologies
supported
the
commercialisation. Second, there
appeared to be no overwhelming
consensus on it in the domestic and
international scientific community.
Third, there were concerns that seed
supply would be the monopoly
direct and indirect of one
multinational company. Fourth, there
appeared to be a persuasive case for
more tests and trials under an agreed
protocol and under an independent
regulatory agency that would inspire
wider confidence.
Professor Visvanathan draws
attention to the public consultations
that were held which he feels
strengthened the democratic
process. These took place in seven
cities Ahmedabad, Bangalore,
Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Kolkata,
Hyderabad and Nagpur. Kolkata and
Bhubaneswar were selected
because West Bengal and Odisha
account for 50 per cent of brinjal
production in India. Ahmedabad was
selected because of the success of
Bt cotton in Gujarat. Nagpur was
chosen because it is the home of
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The
just-concluded
Commonwealth Games in Glasgow
featured a few highs for India, but
unfortunately it also marked some
new lows for the country. While the
gold medal-winning feats of discus
thrower Vikas Gowda and badminton
player Parupalli Kashyap signalled
breakthroughs in these events after
several decades, the news that broke
on the concluding day, of two Indian
officials being arrested, was
disgusting and deplorable. From an
overall perspective, India slumped,
not unexpectedly, to the fifth place
in the medals tally from its second
spot in the New Delhi Games though
there were handsome contributions
from the shooters, wrestlers and
weightlifters. Four years ago, even as
our athletes punched above their
level to post a record tally of 101
medals, the sports administrators had
faced corruption charges that
startled the country. Today, following
the modest success by the Indian
contingent, the sports administrators
are once again the butt of ridicule.
There is a need for the Union
Government to enforce discipline
among sports administrators, and for
the Indian Olympic Association
(IOA) to view the alleged criminal
conduct of its secretary-general
seriously. The process of reforms in
the IOA, enforced by the
International Olympic Committee
(IOC) last year, with backing from the
Union Government, could be
frittered away by misconduct of
officials.
England, following its success
in the 2012 London Olympics,
predictably displaced Australia from
its perch at the top of the medals tally
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such as India.
The NDBs mission must be to
create a business structure where
borrowing countries are given
greater agency in prioritising the
kinds of projects they would want
funded. Over a decade, this could
become the demonstrator project
through which the relationship
between donors and recipients,
lenders and borrowers, will be
rewritten. Hopefully this will be in
favour of developing economies and
will enable the reimagining of
economic pathways.
The third reality perhaps, the
most debated is that the location
of the NDB is immaterial when
governance and ownership is equally
shared. Location has frequently been
confused with ownership, skewed by
our imagination of existing institutions
such as the World Bank. According
to its Articles of Agreement, major
policy decisions at the World Bank
are made through a Super Majority
85 per cent of votes. Vote shares
in turn are determined by the level of
a nations financial contribution. With
around 16 per cent voting share at
the World Bank, the U.S. has a de
facto veto. Conversely, BRICS, with
40 per cent of the global population
and a combined GDP of $24 trillion
(PPP), collectively accounts for a
mere 13 per cent of the votes at the
World Bank.
As such, the concentration of
voting power and headquarter
location in Washington DC in the case
of the World Bank is merely a
coincidence. Japan dominates the
functioning of the ADB with a 15.7
per cent shareholding, despite the
headquarters being located in the
Philippines.
It is also useful to note that
previous World Bank presidents have
been U.S. citizens and the
International Monetary Funds (IMF)
list of managing directors is
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87
poverty alleviation.
The energy density of fossil fuels
is very high, and requires large
investments in mining, transport,
power generation and distribution.
Only the state and big business can
make the large investments required
to produce energy from fossil fuels.
To recover investments, it makes
sound business sense to sell it for
profit rather than to alleviate poverty.
Biomass has an energy density that is
half to a fourth of fossil fuels, and its
energy conversion technologies are
simpler,
requiring
smaller
investments. Energy from these
sources is cheaper and more
accessible to the poor to meet daily
needs.
In the last two decades, Indias
economy has grown rapidly, but so
has the gap between the rich and the
poor. Indias GDP quadrupled. Indias
Gini index, a measure for income
inequality where zero denotes
complete equality, is up from 0.32 to
0.38. For two decades India has sung
the 10 per cent growth mantra, paying
little heed to distributive justice.
There is growing consensus that
trickle down benefits of growth
have been weak in India. If the trends
of the last two decades continue, it
will take India several decades to lift
the people under the poverty line
above it, provided global warming
and peak oil dont tip the global
economy into a crisis. If either
happens, the poorest and the most
vulnerable will be impacted the most.
The Myth of Happy Old Age
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91
planning
and
management
represented by Singapore. At the
end of the last millennium, the
Karnataka Chief Minister even
pragmatically promised strips of
Singapore despairing at the
hurdles in India posed by
democracy. Meanwhile, IT giants who
made Bangalore their home spoke of
building a home where no buffaloes
roam a la Santa Clara, California, with
Narayana Murthy, the CEO of Infosys,
as the Mayor.
Though we dont have a smart
city yet in India, a 100 of them have
been provided for in the latest
budget, following the model of
Gujarats Dholera. Gujarats Dholera,
which is stoutly being resisted by
you guessed right those who will
be dispossessed, we see many real
estate companies occupying the
Internet with their offers of
smartness. The enchantment with
smart cities, which began with the
previous Finance Minister, was
significant enough to be made a part
of the 12th Five Year Plan. Needless
to say, such ambitious technological
visions involve huge finances, and
once more, predictably, the mere
thought of the quick millions to be
made in building these dreams is
leading many companies, not to say
governments such as that of
Singapore, to salivate.
Is the smart city the one size
fits all solution to the myriad
problems that plague the cities and
towns of the subcontinent? One
quickly realises that it is not; rather,
the smart city will evade the
intolerable strains on public and
private life posed by the
ungovernable Indian city. In order to
do this, smart cities will design a
new future for their inhabitants:
greenfield sites will be made to
ensure the homogeneity of its
population. It is a scaling up of the
gated community concept to the
city level.
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103
productive by raising the materiallabour ratio, because materialintensive works lead to the creation
of tangible assets instead of earth
structures that get washed away. This
belief has no basis. It is all the more
dubious, bearing in mind that
material-intensive works are more
vulnerable to corruption. Thousands
of useless pucca structures have
been built under programmes such
as the Integrated Action Plan (IAP),
Backward Regions Grant Fund
(BRGF) and Member of Parliament
Local Area Development Scheme
(MPLADS) more for the purpose
of siphoning off material funds than
to create productive assets. On the
other hand, some labour-intensive
works can be very productive, e.g.
land levelling and contour bunding.
Even a good earth road is often much
better than a pucca road built with
sub-standard material by a corrupt
contractor. Judging from recent
experience, there is nothing wrong
with the current 60:40 norm for the
labour-material ratio in NREGA works.
Lowering the norm to 49:51 (an odd
figure, perhaps borrowed from the
stock market) would severely dilute
the employment objective of NREGA
without doing anything to make
NREGA works more productive. A far
better way of enhancing the
productive value of NREGA works
would be to provide more technical
assistance to Gram Panchayats.
Much remains to be done to
ensure that NREGA is corruptionproof not just the wage
component but also the material
component. Meanwhile, the
transparency safeguards that have
been painstakingly built into NREGA
are crying to be extended to other
domains. In this and other respects,
the programme is a great learning
tool. This process aspect of NREGA
deserves more recognition than it has
received so far.
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follow the Chinese strategy of longterm soft funding for Africa. Beijing
has for long provided concessional
loans to African countries to cushion
them from the lower quality (and
higher costs) of its products and
projects; the U.S. and American
MNCs would possibly do the same.
For most African governments
facing a serious capital crunch, such
long-term soft loans are often
irresistible. Second, with many
African states facing serious security
challenges, the U.S. may also
leverage its Africom umbrella to gain
an economic advantage.
As New Delhi plans to host the
third India-Africa Forum Summit
(IAFS-3) in December 2014, what are
the implications of the Washington
event for us? First, forceful re-entry
of the U.S. and its deep-pocketed
MNCs may lead to a more intense and
potentially unfair competition in
Africa. Second, greater U.S.
engagement in infrastructure building
may release synergies in Africa that
we can leverage. For example, better
roads can mean more Indian vehicles
being sold. Third, if American MNCs
increase production of primary
commodities in Africa, it may benefit
India as their end-user. Fourth, Indian
subsidiaries of the U.S. MNCs stand
to gain. Finally, over the past 15 years,
India has successfully created some
key interfaces in Africa in areas such
as power, Information and
Communications Technology, and
healthcare. A U.S. entry into these
may affect market access for us.
Africans, who have often played the
China card with us, could now play
the U.S. card as well.
India would do well to prepare
IAFS-3 with a Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities and Threats (SWOT)
review of the past six years of the
IAFS process. The following domains
suggest themselves:
(i) Being a developing country with
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E-GOVERNANCE
Government in present era has
to be SMART, citizens want a
government which is simple, moral,
accountable, responsive and
transparent. Citizens want simple
processes which take less time and
energy. Citizens also want that
interactions
between
the
government and them should be
smooth and being the primary owner
of the information citizen should be
provided with all the information. In
order to achieve all above use of
Information technology is a necessity.
Processes in India generally contain
lot of paper work, less flexibility and
it less takes lot of time to get response
from the government officials. Citizens
also need to visit lot of places in order
to complete a single work.
In order to achieve all the above
objectives government approved the
Digital India programme. This is an
ambitious programme to transform
India into digital empowered society
and knowledge economy.
Department of Electronics and
Information Technology (Deity) will
look into its execution. Digital India
is phased programme with the year
of completion as 2018. But the
expense to provide traditional
services and to extend around-theclock availability to those services can
be astronomical. Multi-channel
access through web, phone or text
message can offer constituents access
through those channels that suit their
needs and preferences.
This programme will help
government in reducing the costs
substantially by migrating users from
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