Chandragiri fort built in 11th century.

Sri Krishna deva raya (1471-1529)

1646 anexxed to GOLCONDA TERRITORY

West asia Sectarian conflicts

Sunnis VS Shias
Saudi ---sunnis
Iran----Shias
Iraq

witnessed a bloody phase of sectarian strife in the aftermath of the U.S. invasion

Parts of the country, including the second largest city, Mosul, are still under the control
of Islamic State.

Yemen

the Shia Houthi rebels are fighting forces loyal to a Saudi-protected government led by
Sunnis.

Bahrain

Shia rebellion which was crushed by a Sunni monarch with the help of the Saudi

Reason
cold war between Saudi Arabia and Iran
use sectarianism as a vehicle to maximise their interests

Alliances
Riyadh (Saudi) has the support of Sunni monarchs and dictators in the Arab world
Iran is aligned with Iraq and Syria, besides its proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and
the Houthis in Yemen
Cold war intensified after execution of
Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr
a respected cleric among the Shia community
the driving force behind the 2011 protests in the countrys east, inspired by Arab
Spring protests elsewhere
Tehran had repeatedly asked Riyadh to pardon him.

Lodha committee

The Supreme Court appointed the Lodha committee last year to suggest ways to rid
cricket administration of its many obvious ills, such as lack of transparency and
accountability

Significant Recommendations

Government servants and ministers be kept out of cricket administration

The radical idea of legalising betting in cricket
BCCI be brought under the ambit of the Right to Information Act

Critique

Legalising betting is certainly fraught with problems; it will open the floodgates for
match-fixing.
Legalising betting would be nothing short of a betrayal to the lovers of the game

India-Pakistan relations

This should be a relationship that is driven by neither hawks nor doves but by a clear
charter of goals and the steady hand of a confident leadership
There is a very human desire for peace in both countries
Terror groups targeting India continue to operate with impunity from Pakistani soil
The emphasis in our relations with Pakistan must be on keeping the channels of
dialogue open together with vigilant intelligence and an astute assessment of
Pakistans moves

The Christmas Truce of 1914

Between German and Allied soldiers a momentary truce in a landscape of conflict.

Two nations singing a carol in the middle of a war
The next day the hostilities commenced again.

Growth to go forward, it must be environmentally and socially concordant.

Experiences over the past decades establish the necessity for safeguards.
In their absence,
1. New road projects in forest areas of Brazil and Indonesia have aided the
encroachment of agriculture and livestock and massive deforestation
2. The Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada river eventually displaced over
2,00,000 people, while Chinas Three Gorges Dam displaced six times as many.
And inefective measures can be very costly
3. The 1978 Amoco-Cadiz tanker spill on the Brittany coastline of France led to
claims of $250 million, while the costs in the 2010 BP-Amoco Gulf of Mexico
oil spill in the U.S. were 100 times as much
compared to these benefits (or avoided damages), the cost of having safeguards is
typically small often 3 per cent or less of the project cost
Therefore, Safeguards promise high economic returns

Mere presence of safeguards may not be useful

Safeguards must be legally binding, and compliance should be enforceable, flexibility

can speed up project approval, but for risky projects, the resulting damages could just
delay project completions.
International policy should govern safeguards, rather than national systems that by law or
in practice are not yet equivalent.
under national systems; for example,

1. the collapse of a garment factory near Dhaka, Bangladesh

2. a mining disaster involving a dam burst in Minas Gerais, Brazil;
3. explosions at a container storage station in Tianjin, China.
It is not enough to have systems in place, implementation and oversight need
strengthening. In particular, downstream supervision of how safeguards are being
followed on the ground needs to be bolstered, but without weakening upstream
regulation.
The efficiency with which processes and procedures are followed can usually be
improved a great deal

7/1/2016

The Peoples Representation Act

Section 8

MLAs and MPs who were awarded two years or more jail term as punishment gets
disqualified
The members get disqualified the moment judgment is signed by the judge

Nepal tensions and its reasons

Oli government took initiative of three-point package, constitutional amendments on

participation in the state organs on the basis of proportionate inclusiveness

Delineation of electoral constituencies on the basis of population
Demarcation of provinces was to be undertaken in a three-month period through a
political mechanism on the basis of consensus
other demands including those pertaining to citizenship are to be resolved
through negotiation and appropriate notification

SLMM rejected the Oli governments three-point package as inadequate

11-point charter of demands
Original demands
1. demarcation of provinces which related to five districts, Sunsari, Jhapa and Morang in the
east and Kanchanpur and Kailali in the west;
2. restoring population as the primary criteria for electoral constituency delimitation
3. proportional representation in government jobs
4. issues relating to citizenship
Added demands
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

democratisation of the army and other security agencies

restructuring of the judiciary
declaring Nepal a multi-national state
equal status to other languages like Hindi and Bhojpuri
reference to the principle of proportional representation in
the section on Fundamental Rights

the establishment of a constitutionally empowered Inclusion Commission to

monitor implementation of the proportional representation principle

Why does the slow down in china economy have implications on commodity prices?
A slowdown in China impacts commodity prices as the country is the biggest consumer of many
commodities, including base metals
What does this Sensex mean and how is it calculated?
Sensex = sensitive index
Index or Indicator that shows the worth of stocks of 30 company that are listed in the BSE.

changed from time to time

method
30 companies

to make the Sensex an accurate index

How the Sensex is calculated?

free-float market capitalization
Market capitalization is simply the worth of a company in terms of its shares
Now, only the open market shares that are free for trading by anyone, are called the freefloat shares. When we are calculating the Sensex, we are interested in these free-float shares!

BSE will decide the free-float factor of the company.

multiply the "free-float factor" with the market cap, we will get the free-float market
cap which is the value of the shares of the company in the open market

Sensex at a particular point

free-float market cap of all the 30 companies

Add free float market cap of all the 30 companies
relate to the Sensex base

30 companies that make up the Sensex

selected and reviewed from time to time by an index committee
Index committee
made up of academicians, mutual fund managers, finance journalists, independent governing
board members and other participants in the financial markets
Main criteria for selecting the 30 stocks
1. Market capitalization in the Top 100 market capitalizations of the BSE and is more than
0.5% of the total market capitalization of the Index.
2. Have been traded on each and every trading day for the last one year. Exceptions
,extreme reasons like share suspension etc
3. Among the top 150 companies listed by average number of trades per day for the last one
year
4. companies should be leaders in their industry group
5. should have a listing history of at least one year on BSE
6. should have an acceptable track record.

BS-VI norms

BS-VI is the Indian equivalent of the Euro-VI norms

At present, BS-IV norms are being followed in over 30 cities while the rest of the country
followed BS-III norms
BS-VI emission norms require some design changes in vehicles, particularly more bonnet
space.
Each stage of new technology required validation of over 6-7 lakh km before switching
over to BS-VI norms directly
No other country has skipped a standard and leapfrogged to a new standard directly
The government had earlier planned to implement BS-V from 2019 and BS-VI from
2021 for four-wheelers
Advantages of BS-VI implementation
particulate matter (PM) emission for diesel cars would be 80 per cent less than BS-IV
nitrogen oxide (NOx) level would be 83 per cent lower
sulphur content in fuel norms for diesel and petrol under both V and VI standards would
not change at 10 parts per million, though it is substantially less than the 50 mandated for
both fuels under BS-IV
Problems in Implementation
prices of vehicles go up. Estimates 1 lakh for diesel vehicles and 20000 for petrol
vehicles
Introducing technologies without proper validation and testing on the Indian roads will
raise questions over several safety issues, such as car fires
Availability of the requisite fuel
BS-V and BS-VI are totally different, especially for diesel vehicles
for diesel vehicles, we need to start using particulate filter
BS-VI we need to reduce NOx
BS-VI , we need to bring down both PM2.5 and NOx
Time is a constraint.

Rolling out the BS VI standard nationally, skipping BS V, has significant cost implications for
fuel producers and the automobile industry, but its positive impact on public health would more
than compensate for the investment
Major pollutants such as fine particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon
monoxide emitted by millions of vehicles on Indias roads are severely affecting the health of
people, particularly children whose lungs are immature and hence more vulnerable

Thousands of premature deaths and rising rates of asthma episodes highlight the urgent need to
make a radical and complete shift to modern fuels and vehicle technologies.
Implementation of the BS IV fuel standard failed

because this was not done all over the country and the technical standard also permitted a
higher level of sulphur in the fuel
Higher sulphur results in high volumes of fine respirable particulates measuring 2.5
micrometres (PM2.5) being generated in emissions
even this was not followed uniformly, many vehicles, especially commercial passenger
and freight carriers, have been using lower standard fuel supplied outside big cities
This has rendered their catalytic converters incapable of absorbing pollutants.

Poor civic governance has left roads unpaved and public spaces filled with debris and
construction dust, constantly re-circulating particulate matter in the air.
the monitoring of diesel passenger and commercial vehicles the biggest contributors to total
emissions for compliance with emissions regulations remains poor
the Saumitra Chaudhuri Committee on Auto Fuel Vision and Policy 2025 recommended
appropriate levies to fund the transition to cleaner low sulphur fuels
study by the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi on fuel policy and air quality concluded that
the best results would be achieved by raising the fuel standard and introducing policy initiatives
that would influence passenger behaviour and cut personal travel kilometres by 25 per cent
It took nine years for the government to make BS-IV fuels available from 2017 throughout the
country we are talking about transiting to BS-VI in three years.
Automobile industry raised two major concerns on the early deadline on the availability of fuel

DBT plan
Leakages , when the subsidy does not reach the recipient due to corruption, pilferage or other
causes
Mis-targeting benefits higher income groups that dont really deserve the subsidies, thereby
needlessly increasing the governments expenditure
DBT plan is to address this issues arising out of subsidising

simply involves transferring the subsidy amount directly to the beneficiaries bank
accounts instead of having to fiddle around with differential pricing for the
underprivileged

This has resulted in effectively solving the leakage and mis-targeting problems in some schemes
This need more work to be efficient
DBT scheme for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) subsidy
PAHAL
Pratyaksh Hanstantrit Labh

consumers link their Aadhaar number to a bank account and receive the subsidy amount
for 12 cylinders in a year
without an Aadhaar number could furnish any other bank account to receive the subsidy

DBT addresses the leakages issue

Income cap addresses the mis-targeting problem
DBT in the kerosene scheme the Centre is incentivising States to adopt
Instead of being used as lighting fuel its most common use
kerosene is being used to adulterate diesel among other things
Over-subsidising kerosene

The subsidy amount each household is due is calculated on the basis of the total amount
of kerosene sold divided by the number of eligible household
result in each household receiving about double the subsidy amount it should be getting
because total usage also takes into account pilferage
overestimate actual household-level usage

Ministry of Overseas Indian Afairs merged with MEA

to avoid duplication of work

to improve efficiency
Foreign workers-related issues and emergencies to have better diplomatic back-up and
coordination

MEA wanted the key operational posts, including that of the Protector General of Emigrants, one
of the most important offices in MOIA, to have diplomatic focus.
The post of Protector General of Emigrants
Issuing registration certificates to recruitment agents who send workers abroad.

Many lessons from traditional economics which have not been sufficiently well absorbed in
policy making, for example, in India

Successful market economy for continued fast growth and development

The market economy does well for industries and agriculture, by and large, with a few
exceptions, it does not do well for education and healthcare. There you need the
government to come in in a big way
Issue of asymmetric information: the fact that quite often the buyers dont know what the
seller is selling

Privatise healthcare at a basic level without first providing public health is something that will
not be possible in India

India is the only country which is trying to get universally educated and universal
healthcare through the private sector
Japan, U.S., Europe, China, Vietnam, Cuba, Hong Kong, Singapore, whether they are
politically right or politically left, they all saw the importance of the state in making
education and healthcare widely spread and universal

The basic thing that ails the Indian people is lack of education, lack of healthcare and lack of
social security

An unhealthy, uneducated labour force--It is very difficult to generate income from them
and very difficult for solidly-shared development growth at a high level to continue

Libya and its chaos

chaos since the 2011 overthrow of long-time dictator Muammar Qadhafi

IS has been gaining influence
The country has had rival administrations since August 2014, when an Islamist-backed
militia alliance overran Tripoli, forcing the government to take refuge in the east.
The United Nations is pressing the rival sides to accept a power-sharing deal.

Seed funding

The earliest round of capital for a startup company (or) Initial capital used to start a
business
Seed funding allows a startup to develop a prototype product and generate sufficient
investor interest for successive financing rounds
The sources of seed funding include the founders' personal savings and investments from
family and friends
Banks usually do not lend to startup companies because of the high risks, and venture
capitalists tend to stay away from seed funding
A startup entrepreneur might have more success with angel investors and private equity
funds.

Particularly vulnerable Tribal group (PVTG)

Earlier termed as primitive Tribal group

The Dhebar Commission (1960-1961) stated that within Scheduled Tribes there existed
an inequality in the rate of development.
During the fourth Five Year Plan a sub-category was created within Scheduled Tribes to
identify groups that considered to be at a lower level of development. This was created
based on the Dhebar Commission report and other studies. This sub-category was named
"Primitive tribal group".
The features of a such a group include a pre-agricultural system of existence, that is
practice of hunting and gathering, zero or negative population growth, extremely low
level of literacy in comparison with other tribal groups.
Groups that satisfied any one of the criterion were considered as PTG.
In 2006 the government of India proposed to rename "Primitive tribal group" as
Particularly vulnerable tribal group"

K T WEIR TECHNOLOGY

KT (Kolhapur-Type) weir technology, popularly known as bridgecum-barrage

to utilise water in small quantities for irrigation at numerous locations
Originally developed in the kollapur region of maharastra.
Used to intercept and store the receding monsoon flows in streams and rivers.
They comprise of masonry piers and removable R C C boards.
R C C boards have length of about 2 to 2.5m length depending upon the spacing of
piers, depth of about 30cm.

Piers are designed and constructed to withstand the pressure due to storage and floods in
the river.
The weirs are kept open during the main rainy seasons. They are inserted in to the slots
built in the piers one by one during receding monsoon to store the river flow.
The water stored in the river course is pumped at suitable sites for lift irrigation and
water supply upstream of the weir.

Malegaon yatra

The second biggest animal fair in the country after Rajasthan's Pushkar mela
Takes place in the month of Pousya (December-January)
The fair goes back at least 350 years in this small town in Loha taluka of Nanded district
in Maharashtra
Reflects the culture and traditions of the notified castes and dependent communities in
areas that were once part of the Hyderabad State under the Asaf Jahi rulers.
It served as a meeting place for the scattered families of communities like Vaidu, Kaikari,
Potharaju, Masanjogi, Chudbudkewale, Wadderas and Pardis from the TelanganaMarathwada-Karnataka regions
Apart from the trade in cattle, fair was also an occasion to hold panchayats to settle
disputes among the scattered communities
The Malegaon yatra, or jatra, revolves around the temple of Khandoba, the deity
worshipped as Mallanna and Mailara in Telangana and Karnataka by many communities
The annual event is believed to have started during the reign of the Qutub Shahi kings in
the Deccan and given its present colour and shape by the Nizams of Hyderabad

Food processing sector

Food processing, including infrastructure such as cold chain and marketing, helps farmers
get a higher return for their produce and the consumer also benefits with higher
availability of quality food items without having to pay a higher price
Food processing industry at lower investment has good potential for generating
employment, apart from making agriculture sustainable.

Global Positioning Systembased fleet safety management system for houseboats

Houseboats will be tracked on a Geographic Information System (GIS) map

SOS/panic buttons for timely emergency response
The route taken by a houseboat will be geofenced to prevent route violations
iTAC integrates advanced technologies in GPS, Global System for Mobile
Communication (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), and microprocessor
subsystem

The GPS module on the houseboat will capture the geographical coordinate data and send
the spatial information in real time to the control room via Internet
A tilt sensor will sound an alert when the houseboat tilts beyond a particular angle
The server at the central monitoring system will process the GPS data and relay the
information in real time, to information retrieval interfaces
The tracking software application can provide route, halt, distance travelled, speed
violation, fleet summary, and geofence alert.

Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgender (LBT) community

Constant compartmentalisation of ones identity is one of the biggest stress factors to the
mental health of Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgender (LBT) community
Identities are diferent at diferent places. The person has to do with this constant juggling
act and thats the most taxing thing for most people from the LBT community
Violence from the partner was also one of the reasons leading to the psychological trauma
to people of the LBT community
If a person is in a lesbian relationship and is faced with violence, who does that person go
to? There is hardly any legal protection
Mourning the loss of a partner too becomes a huge issue. How do you do that? There is
no legitimacy to the relationship in the outside world. That takes a toll on mental as well
as physical health
livelihood problems for transgender individuals who admit their sexuality
Access to health care is also one of the major issues of concern
doctors are not sensitive when told he or she is treating a homosexual

Deobandi Movement

Deobandi The movement is named after the town of Deoband in Uttar Pradesh, India.
History In 1886, several prominent scholars founded an Islamic Seminary in the
modest town of Deoband, north of Delhi. The founder of the institution is Qasim
Nanautawi. Rashid Ahmed Gangohi, a close friend and a scholar, was instrumental in
establishing the institution.
Founding Majority of the rebellion and resistance to colonization had been crushed by
the East India Company. Therefore, the Ulamaa gathered at Deoband and created a safe
haven for those still committed to preserving Islam and resisting the occupation by the
British. Once gathered and organized there, they began to develop a plan to not only build
up a resistance, but also preserve and spread Islam in the subcontinent.

Accomplishments

Awareness and Establishment of the Muslim Identity Since before the end of Mughal
rule, the Muslim identity had been eroding away. Muslims had become influenced over
time by the Hindu customs and culture around them, the British presence only worsened
this situation. To counter this, a grassroots effort was initiated to revitalize and preserve
the Islamic identity and necessary religious practices among the common populace.

Organization of Islamic Education Up until the British colonization of the Indian

subcontinent, Islamic education at both the basic and advanced levels was conducted in
the classical model of seeking knowledge. After having dealt with an organized effort
against not only Islamic education but also against the Islamic identity itself, coupled
with the already deteriorating condition of the Muslims, the Ulamaa decided to organize
and structure the institutions and standard of Islamic education. Thus the initiation of the
Dar-ul-Uloom and the adoption of the Dars-Nizaami curriculum.

Politics of the Subcontinent Two phases:

o During British colonialism The Ulamaa spearheaded the movement to oust the
British from the subcontinent. They devised ways to secretly organize and recruit
people in different areas of the subcontinent, and eventually fought the British
resulting in the martyrdom and execution of many Ulamaa.
o After Partition The Deobandi Ulamaa have remained politically active in the
subcontinent after partition in their respective countries. They strive to give the
religiously conservative Muslims a voice in their politics and represent Islamic
interests in the lawmaking and governing of their country.

Deviant Sects The Deobandi scholars have also been vigilant in refuting deviant sects
and erroneous thought.
o Shia The Deobandi Scholars have been active in countering the efforts of
Shiaism in the subcontinent and therefore adopted love of the Companions as one
of their principles.
o Qadyaanism A special division (al-Majlis al-Aalami li Tahaffudh Khatmin
Nubuwwah) was created to refute and eventually erase Qadyaanism and other
false religions of its type from the subcontinent.
o Shirk and Biddah As mentioned earlier, Hinduism had an effect on the
Muslims. This manifested itself in the shape of shrines, tombs, grave
worshipping, and other practices of Shirk. Sufism had also introduced many
corrupt thoughts and innovations into the Muslims. The Scholars of Deoband
have worked hard to combat these evils in Muslim communities.
Modern thought and Hadith rejection This was a Fitnah that slowly transformed over
time. It began with the erroneous interpretation of Ahaadeeth and criticism of Sahaabah.
This later developed into reason over obedience and eventually took the form of all-out
Hadith rejection

Final Thoughts

The Deobandi movement and particularly the Dar-ul-Uloom system were established to
provide structure in the areas of education and politics for the Muslims of the
subcontinent. Emphasis was placed on Hanafi Fiqh because it was the Fiqh of the
majority. Strict adherence to Fiqh was encouraged to create religious discipline in a
people that had been corrupted for centuries, as mentioned above, and who were now
pray to new unorthodox ideologies.

However, there was not a uniformed Aqidah for the scholars of Deoband. There has
always remained a difference of opinion among the Deobandi Ulamaa in regards to
certain issues such as, Aqidah, flexibility in Fiqh, Tasawwuf and other spiritual routines.
These differences have remained until now and have influenced some of the Dar-ulUlooms in certain aspects and in some institutions have enriched the academic experience
by providing an array of ideas and thoughts due to the variety of the teachers and
scholars. This has no doubt caused some issues in certain parts of the world, especially in
current times; nevertheless this approach has served the Deobandi movement well.

The structure and simplicity of the educational system that the Dar-ul-Uloom is based
upon is a remarkable and potent combination. It has proven for over a century that it can
produce results very efficiently. Likewise it can be recreated anywhere, at any time with
wondrous results.

Memorization of the Quran has remained an integral part of the educational curriculum in
Deobandi institutions

Is it constitutional to keep women off temple

Religious customs and temple entry restrictions violating womens constitutional rights
The Supreme Court said no temple or governing body could bar a woman from entering
the Sabarimala shrine in Kerala where lakhs of devotees throng every year
Women may or may not want to go [to worship at Sabarimala], but that is their personal
choice
The Constitution rejects discrimination on the basis of age, gender and caste
SHANI SHINGNAPUR TEMPLE
when a woman attempted to enter the sanctum where the idol of Lord Shani is installed.
The violation caused the trustees to perform purification rituals

Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP)

The government has approved major changes to the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP).

The highlights of the new procedure are

New category to promote domestic manufacturing,

including government funding for R&D and
recognition of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in technology development

How can india revive its economic growth in 2016

In 2015,

The Global growth rate projected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is 3.1 per
cent
Advanced economies growing at around 2 per cent
Developing economies at 4 per cent
World Bank estimates are even lower
Europe stumbled through despite the problem of Greece rearing its head from time to
time
oil-exporting countries suffered most with a sharp decline in oil prices along with Russia
and Venezuela
Even countries which had gained as a consequence of a fall in crude oil prices have not
really shown faster growth
Among the developing economies, the major concerns are centred at China. With trade
surpluses falling, China has to turn to its domestic demand to spur the economy. There
are concerns about its financial system.
Among BRICS bloc, India has shown a good performance.

In 2016,

The IMF had projected the global growth rate for 2016 to be 3.6 per cent
Advanced economies growing at 2.2 per cent
Developing economies growing at 4.5 per cent
Among the advanced economies, the United States shown an improved performance.
Oil prices are not expected to rise, which means that oil-producing countries will
continue to be in a limbo
Among the developing economies, concerns about china continues and may decline
further
In U.S, the rise in interest rate may have its own effects on capital flows to developing
economies
As a consequence, financial markets may see greater volatility.

Indiasteps need to be taken

Supply side, in agriculture, the growth rate may not be higher than previous year. The
erratic weather in 2015 does not hold out much promise for 2015-16.
The services sector, growth rate will not be much different from that of the previous year
Only possibility of improvement is in the industrial sector

IIP for April-October 2015 shows a distinct improvement over the corresponding period of the
previous year
The problem from the demand side,

external demand, as reflected in the performance of exports, has been weak

Exports during the period of April-October declined by 17.6 per cent due to the decline in
the export of petroleum products, by more than 50 per cent
Non-oil exports also declined by 8.7 per cent during this period.
Private consumption could pick up partly because of the benefit accruing to consumers
due to the fall in petroleum prices
Consumption goods sector of IIP has done well.
Public sector investment has shown a rise
Capital expenditure of the Central government during the period April-October 2015 rose
by 31 per cent
Bulk of the public investment came from the public sector enterprises.
private corporate investment showed stagnation

From the demand side

only redeeming feature is the rise in public investment not be adequate to pull the
economy strongly forward
Indias exports will face a challenging task in 2016
Despite a lower-than-expected growth in nominal GDP, revenue growth has remained
close to the budgetary expectations

Expenditure side

Subsidy burden came down because of a fall in crude price

All this kept government expenditures at budgeted levels and allowed it to stick to the
fiscal consolidation path
Capital expenditures rose substantially.
2016 however is going to be tough, Additional burden imposed by the Seventh Pay
Commission is substantial
Expenditure on pay and pension will increase by 20 per cent and it will amount to a
burden of 0.4 per cent of GDP after taking into account the additional tax revenue on the
increased emoluments
The ability of the government to raise money for capital expenditures will be limited.

Relaxing the fiscal consolidation path is not a solution

A larger fiscal deficit will not only take up a greater share of the available pool of savings but
also cause an increase in the interest rates
This is hardly conductive to a growth in private sector investment.
Private consumption may show a rise, particularly because of the additional income in the hands
of government employees happened in the past every time a pay commissions recommendations
have been implemented.
If we look at the present position of private corporate investment there is some improvement in
relation to stalled projects but no strong pick up in the new projects
For the investment climate to improve
The government has an important role to play here.
The government can easily remove cumbersome rules and procedures and tone up the delivery
system.

How should india respond to west asia tensions?

The WANA (West Asia, North Africa) region is home to more than seven million Indians
who account for more than half of all remittances to India adding up to $70 billion.
Indias energy dependence on the region is another reason for deeper engagement
The turmoil of the past few years in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen has unleashed untold
sufferings on Indians working there
India cannot afford to ignore this peril, or simply issue advisories for citizens not to go
there
It will have to take a deeper interest in resolving the regional conflicts
Sending troops to these areas is not an option.

Disability is not a divine gift

This assertion is a grave misreading of

the place of rights in realising human dignity

and

the role of the state in ensuring protection against discrimination

it is important to recognise that accessibility and support services for persons with severe
disabilities are indispensable to the protection of their right to life, bodily integrity, and dignity
under the Constitution
We need an honest acknowledgement, at least by constitutional courts, that our prisons are
simply not equipped to provide custodial treatment that does not erode the fundamental right to
life, equality, and dignity of prisoners with disabilities(D saibaba case)
Odd- even policy of delhi

cars are not the major polluters, 10 per cent

trucks and two-wheelers together contribute to 80 per cent of pollution
the contribution of four-wheelers to air pollution in Delhi is just 2 per cent
the odd-even trail, with additional exemptions, only a 0.5-1 per cent reduction in
pollution can be expected
This could be marginally higher depending on the impact of the wind
In 2008, a study by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute attributed
only 6.6 per cent of particulate matter emissions to vehicles
The IIT study attributed 38 per cent of pollution to road dust
During Beijings red alerts issued in December 2015 and January 2016 over levels of
particulate matter that Delhi regularly experiences, restrictions on car usage were only a
part of a bouquet of emergency measures imposed

Other measures

temporary controls on industry and construction

banning the use of fireworks
the increase in use of public transport by the elite could put pressure on the government
to improve it (though this lesson is to be learned more by the Delhi Transport
Corporations bus system than the metro system, which is already used more than buses
by the rich)

The greatest success of the scheme has undoubtedly been the fact that emergency levels of
pollution are now being hotly discussed by citizens.

What are the lessons that recent militant attacks taught us to tackle internal security?

Pathankot case demonstrates that even when a country has actionable intelligence,
controlling a terrorist threat requires better coordination, decision-making and presence
of mind..

the United Jihad Council (UJC) took responsibility for the attacks. JeM is not currently
known to be part of the UJC
here is grave need to rethink the security apparatus in major cities, especially in
democratic countries that have lent strategic, diplomatic or tactical support to counterinsurgency campaigns against radical outfits in West Asia.
Terrorist groups stay ahead of intelligence agencies because they often prefer to go lowtech (where intelligence agencies rely heavily on technology)
the sheer scale of radicalised groups across the world, and bureaucratic bungling within
intelligence agencies, slows down operations
intelligence agencies of different countries often do not share information with each
other
The end result of these dual processes hybrid tactics of terror that have evolved
substantially over time and intelligence agencies that miss red flags is a massive loss
of life in urban population centres
26/11, It was more a failure of policy implementation and the inability of our intelligence
agencies to pin down what specific targets were at risk and the exact date and time they
would be at risk.
Fighting those who are ready to die for a cause is tricky because conventional methods
of warfare do not work against such actors
Their modus operandi remains one of inflicting maximum damage and even in death,
they booby-trapping their bodies by lying on grenades that kills any careless combatant,
who moves the body.

Today ensuring the security of big population centres and military bases is not a task that any
country can undertake by itself.
This is an era of transnational terrorist attacks
The UJC, for instance, consists of 13 affiliated terrorist organisations
Terrorists exploit the lack of cooperation between countries, but this should give us the strongest
case for more cooperation between intelligence agencies domestic and worldwide
Increasing cooperation means

sharing lessons learnt

training personnel
emulating tactic
sharing intelligence
sharing technology advancements between countries

cooperation needs to be institutionalised

single act of terrorism today involves multiple countries

So, any effective security measure to combat terrorism necessitates the inclusion and
cooperation of other countries
GCTF
30 founding members (29 countries plus the EU)
GCTF has facilitated numerous talks and policy proposals with a multilateral strategy in mind.
Many other such initiatives have successfully integrated nations and regional blocs from around
the world in a combined security network.

if Indias monsoon rainfall were to dip below 10 per cent of the normal and span between 20 and
40 per cent of the countrys area called a deficient year instead of an All India Drought Year
where the deficit exceeds 40 per cent and would have been called an All India Severe Drought
Year, will now be a Large Deficient Year.

The IMD has never used the term drought in its forecasts
Declaring droughts was the prerogative of States
meteorological drought 90 per cent shortfall of the average monsoon rainfall
but not sufer an agricultural drought if the shortfall didnt afect more than 20 per cent
of the States area.
Drought is not a measure of productivity (agricultural).

Afghan Peace process

stalled Afghan peace process and end nearly 15 years of bloodshed

Taliban fighting to re-impose their strict brand of Islamist rule
Peace efforts last year stalled after the Taliban announced that their founder, Mullah
Mohammad Omar, had been dead for two years
The Taliban, who were ousted in 2001, remain split on whether to take part in talk

Mansour group shown signs of warming to the idea of eventually joining peace talks
other groups are considering negotiating
A splinter group headed by Mullah Mohammad Rasool Akhund, which rejects Mansours
authority, has dismissed any talks where a mediating role is played by Pakistan

India enters 2016 Economy

With inflation under control

economy benefiting from lower commodity prices

these advantages would only yield sustainable growth acceleration once Indian corporate and
bank balance sheets are repaired, and if the private sector remains internationally competitive
the longer-term sustainability of the measures taken to spur growth
steps initiated to spur foreign direct investment,
implement inflation targeting
address banking sector constraints

ICRA, Moodys Indian affiliate, expects Indias gross value added at basic prices to expand 7.7
per cent in 2016-17 compared with the 7.2 per cent growth projected for 2015-16.
Anticipates a boost in consumption from pay revisions for government employees and
pensioners
potential upturn in agriculture therefore rural demand
pick-up in investment will only unfold with a lag
the pay revision for central government employees and pensioners following the Seventh Pay
Commission would also pose a challenge to the management of the fiscal deficit and inflation

Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

Half Yearly Report on Management of Foreign Exchange Reserves
Countrys foreign exchange reserves, which were $350.4 billion as on September 2015,
able to support imports for 9.8 months up from 8.9 months as on end March
As on end March, 2015, foreign exchanges reserves were at $341.64 billion
Import cover
important indicator of the stability of the currency
eight to ten months of import cover is essential for the stability of the currency.

Foreign exchanges reserves

mainly consist of foreign currency assets (FCA)
though there is also gold,
special drawing rights
reserve tranche position in International Monetary Fund
in the basket
Reserve Tranche Position (RTP)
Each member of the IMF is assigned a quota, part of which is payable in SDRs or specified
usable currencies ("reserve assets") and part in the member's own currency
Difference between a member's quota and the IMF's holdings of its currency is a country's
Reserve Tranche Position (RTP)
Movements in the FCA occur mainly on

account of purchases and sales of foreign exchange by the RBI

income arising out of the deployment of the foreign exchange reserves
external aid receipts of the Central Government
the effects of revaluation of the assets

RBI intervention in the currency market

intervention in the currency market
The central bank has also intervened in the currency future markets
intervene in the Exchange Traded Currency Derivatives (ETCD) segment in addition to
spot and forward market.
eTaal
is a portal that disseminates e-transaction statistics of national and State level egovernance projects
Transactions related to e-governance in the country almost doubled in 2015
3.53 billion transactions took place in 2014
doubled in 2015 to 6.95 billion.

short-finned pilot whales stranded

short-finned pilot whales are deep water whales, diving up to 1,000 metres
who form stable matrilineal kinship groups.

Possible causes

This particular group could have been stranded while in search of food, the favourite
being squids
The short-finned pilot whales use call dialects to communicate within the group
One of the animals could have been isolated after falling sick or in search of food
The other whales might have followed it and might have been stranded as they could not
have communicated effectively within the group
a combination of environmental factors such as high levels of noise from shipping
activity
the resulting hearing loss and new stresses might be afecting their behaviour
sometime ago that researchers discovered profound hearing impairment in a stranded
short-finned pilot whale, besides similar loss in other species of stranded dolphin
species of stranded dolphins. Sensitivity to low frequency sound is key for whales, as
they use echolocation for orientation.

Injury caused to one pilot whale could have implications for an entire pod, as these squideating creatures generally found in deeper tropical and sub-tropical waters across the
world act in a gregarious manner and could fatally follow a sick individual to the shore as
a group
stranding of 40 short-finned pilot whales recorded in Elizabeth Bay, North Andaman, in
2012,
undersea earthquake of 4.7 Richter magnitude that could have sent out magnetic waves
and disoriented them, causing them to change their navigational path
disorientation caused by unfamiliar territory that greeted the whales as they followed fastmoving dolphins, tidal currents, or powerful military sonar from ships of the Andamans

Problems in implementing NFSA

Inclusion errors: well-of households often get away with claiming that they meet the criteria
Exclusion errors: there are gaps and mistakes in the SECC data, not always corrected by the
complaints process
Alternatives

Madhya Pradeshs pioneering attempt to link the PDS with a database of local residents
(the Samagra register) maintained by gram panchayat functionaries
improvements is the transparency of the entire process
Even in Jharkhand, the list of NFSA ration cards is available on the Net in a readerfriendly format, with all requisite details
makes it a lot harder to cheat

NFSA is not restricted to the PDS

Other critical components include

maternity entitlements

The PDS itself need not be confined to NFSA entitlements

In several States, some households are now eligible for subsidised pulses and edible oil as well
Sc ruling on jallikattu

The court has ruled that animals have a right against human beings inflicting unnecessary
pain and suffering on them
the entire sport has been declared violative of the law against cruelty
Treating animals in a humane, nonexploitative way is now a constitutional requirement
for any executive action related to them.

Financial Literacy Survey

The recent Ratings Services Global Financial Literacy Survey conducted by Standard & Poors
shows that India scored a low 24 per cent among the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India,
China and South Africa) against the average of 28 per cent and the highest of 42 per cent (South
Africa).
The study attempted to capture the percentage of financially literate adults based on four
concepts
1.
2.
3.
4.

risk diversification
inflation
interest calculation
compounding

Relevance of Annual budget in India

India seems to be slowly focussing more on a long-term fiscal policy rather than on the
annual Budget.
not only imparts economic stability but also ensures continuity and sustainable growth
Also, in a country that is on an ascending curve, mid-year adjustments should be allowed
to be made
Budgets have been reduced to a mere accounting exercise:
Earlier, the import policy could make or break industries.
the power of the Budget used to be in the taxation rates and quantitative restrictions. But
over a period, the rates have come down and so has the room for maneuverability
It is imperative to have both a fiscal vision and a fiscal mission
For instance,
bills such as the GST would fall under the fiscal vision category. These take many years
from conceptualisation to implementation given our vibrant multi-party system.
once the vision is drawn, we have to go into mission mode with two- to five-year
horizons
As Parliament sits often, the sanctity of annual budget-making could easily be diluted and
quarterly statement of accounts should be presented.

special category status

the special category status for plan assistance was granted by the national development
council to some States that were characterized by a number of features necessitating
special consideration
and/or sizeable share of tribal population
strategic location along the borders with neighbouring States

economic and infrastructural backwardness

non-viable nature of State finances
hilly and difficult terrain States.
low population density
the 14th Finance Commission had not made any distinction between special and general
category states in determining the norm and recommendations. low population density

Chinese dor (also referred to as Chinese manja)

nylon thread, commonly known as Chinese dor (also referred to as Chinese manja), used
to fly kites during Sankranti festival
the use of such material could potentially cause adverse affects on soil, water because the
nylon thread is nonbiodegradable
the threats posed to birds like vultures, kites, owls, pigeons among other

(Marcos --Marine Commando Force (Marcos) of the Indian Navy

the Marcos is Indian Navys pride, and it specialises in everything, from counter
insurgency to underwater operations and sabotage to anti-piracy operations
It has a strong communication network
any intruder can be spotted even during night with the help of night vision equipment
the best among the Special Forces in the world and even held in high esteem by the U.S.
Navy Seals

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C-31

aimed at putting the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System 1E satellite into a geosynchronous orbit

The IRNSS 1E

is the fifth satellite in the navigation constellation.

IRNSS-1E, the fifth of the seven-satellite Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System
(IRNSS) into space
workhorse PSLV C-31 rocket lifted the 1,425 kg satellite
the first four satellites IRNSS-1A, 1B, 1C and 1D
mission life of 12 years was launched into a sub geosynchronous transfer orbit with a
284 km perigee (nearest point to Earth) and 20,657 km apogee (farthest point from Earth
inclination of 19.2 degree with reference to the equatorial plane
carried
navigation and ranging payloads
including a rubidium atomic clock
C-band transponder

corner cube retro reflectors for laser ranging.

the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)

Italy has invoked international arbitration challenging Indias jurisdiction to try the marines
Italian marine Massimiliano Latorre
nother marine, Salvatore Girone

waterways

the development of waterways would reduce logistics cost

enabling India to effectively compete in the international market
Coastal shipping and inland water transport is
a fuel efficient,
environment friendly and
cost effective mode, especially for bulk goods.
While the road transportation cost per km is Rs.1.50 and for the Railways it is Re.1,
for waterways, it would be 25 to 30 paise

Awareness should be created to reduce the logistics cost which was adding 30 per cent to the
cost of any product exported from India, thereby making our products uncompetitive in the
global markets. The government is working on a priority basis to bring down the logistics cost

service tax has been brought on par with road and rail transport
The government has also relaxed cabotage (right to operate transport services within a
particular territory) for specialised vessels like Ro-Ro, Hybrid Ro-Ro, car carriers and
truck carriers for a period of five years
steps for the modernisation, mechanisation and computerisation of the coastal shipping
system to promote transparency

New crop insurance scheme-- Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

the premium amount for farmers at a maximum of two per cent for foodgrains and
oilseeds
five per cent for horticulture and annual commercial crops

the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana replacing the existing National Agricultural
Insurance Scheme (NAIS) as well as the modified NAIS
The farmers share of premium has been substantially reduced and the government will
provide subsidy on premium,
government liability on premium subsidy would be shared by the Central and State
governments on a 50:50 basis
1.5 per cent for all rabi crops
In case of annual commercial crops such as cotton and horticultural crops, it will be only
five per cent
No upper limit on government subsidy. Even if the balance premium is 90 per cent, it will
be borne by the government.

The canyon system

made up of a chain of winding and linear features buried under several kilometres of ice in one
of the least unexplored regions of the Earths land surface Princess Elizabeth Land (PEL) in East
Antarctica.
World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)

the global body for promotion and protection of intellectual property rights (IPR)
The Geneva-headquartered WIPO encourages and provides assistance to all its 188
member countries in formulating a national IPR policy
WIPO does not dictate or prescribe any mandatory measures and activities are member
(country)-driven.
According to data compiled by IndiaSpend, of the total 67,342 patents granted in India
during 2006-15, those pertaining to foreign inventors were 56,727 only 10,615 went to
Indian inventors
In the WIPO's Global Innovation Index 2015 that surveyed 141 economies in the world
Indias was ranked 81.

the Union Budget

is presented each year on the last working day of February by the Union Finance Minister
to the Parliament.
Although the Indian Constitution does not mention the term Budget it provides that the
President shall in respect of every financial year cause to be laid before both the Houses
of Parliament, the House of People (Lok Sabha) and the Council of States (Rajya Sabha)
a statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government for that year.

This statement known as the Annual Financial Statement is the main fiscal or budgetary
document of the Government.
Budget was first introduced on 7th April, 1860, two years after the transfer of Indian
administration from East-India Company to British Crown

National Road Safety Authority

is pending for approval.

The proposed authority will prescribe minimum safety standards for vehicles, roads and
drivers
Around 1.5 lakh people are killed in road accidents every year

India running towards stagflation

the overseas export markets and the rural economy, are both facing independent
challenges
Global trade growth has been becalmed by Chinas slowdown and is now being roiled by
the yuans depreciation
back-to-back deficient monsoons have sapped rural consumption capacity
the accelerating retail inflation could end up posing a significant risk, of combining with
the faltering growth to produce

Fiscal Consolidation

refers to the steps taken by any Govt. to check the rising Fiscal Deficit.

For those who don't know what Fiscal Deficit is, read on:

Fiscal Deficit = Budgetary Deficit + Market Borrowings + other liabilities

Every year when the Budget is presented before the Parliament, it consists of two main
things: Income (or Revenue) of Govt. & Expenditure of Govt. When this Expenditure of
Govt. is more than the Income of Govt., the budget is called as a 'Deficit Budget'.

This deficit in the budget can be calculated based on various factors, and depending upon
the formula used may be called with different names like Budget deficit, Fiscal deficit,
Revenue deficit, etc.. For Fiscal deficit, we use the formula mentioned above.
This is basically a measure of how much money Govt. need in addition to what it already
has to cover the expenses of this year.
This Fiscal deficit is bad for many reasons (quite obviously, your Govt. borrowing money
to cover its expenses can't be a good thing).
Some of the reasons are
Creates Inflation
Implies ineffectiveness of Tax collection machinery - -Black Money
Higher rates of interests for Govt. Bonds
Higher amount to be paid as interest on Bonds.
Hence, higher expense next year creating more Fiscal Deficit

In simple terms, if Fiscal Deficit isn't a planned one, it is going to create more Fiscal Deficit,
which is bad for any Economy.

To arrest this, the Govt. takes measures to limit the expenditure and increase the earnings

. Some of the steps that Govt. may take are

Cut down the subsidies
Reforms in Tax Structures
Improve profit generated by Public Sector Enterprises
Recover Black money
Austerity measures (limiting Govt. expenditures by limiting perks & privileges of Ministers, and
other avoidable expenditures)

Hence, Fiscal consolidation implies to arrest the current Fiscal deficit problem, and taking steps
to prevent such problem occurring in future as well
Grameen Bhandar Yojana
a capital investment subsidy scheme for construction / renovation of rural godowns was
introduced in 2001-2002
main objectives of the scheme

creation of scientific storage capacity with allied facilities in rural areas to meet the
requirements of farmers for storing farm produce,processed farm produce and
agricultural inputs
promotion of grading
standardization and quality control of agricultural produce to improve their marketability
prevention of distress sale immediately after harvest by providing the facility of pledge
financing and marketing credit

to strengthen agricultural marketing infrastructure in the country by paving the way for the
introduction of a national system of warehouse receipts in respect of agricultural commodities
stored in such godowns
to reverse the declining trend of investment in agriculture sector by encouraging private and
cooperative sectors to invest in the creation of storage infrastructure in the country
The project for construction of rural godowns can be taken up by individuals, farmers, groups of
farmers/growers, firms, non-Government organizations (NGOs), Self Help Groups(SHGs),
companies, corporations, co-operatives, federations and agricultural produce marketing
committees in the country
Location-it should be outside the limits of Municipal Corporation area
Rural godowns constructed in the food parks promoted by the Ministry of Food Processing
Industries shall also be eligible under the scheme for assistance
Size-shall be decided by an entrepreneur
Subsidy
under the scheme shall be restricted to a capacity of minimum 100 tonnes and maximum 30,000
tonnes
Rural godowns of smaller size upto 50 tonnes capacity will also be eligible for subsidy under the
scheme as a special case based on viability analysis
In hilly areas
rural godowns of smaller size upto 25 tonnes capacity will also be eligible for subsidy
Conditions--

entrepreneur may obtain a licence to operate the godown, if required by the State Government
concerned, under the State Warehousing Act or any other relevant laws
structurally sound on account of engineering considerations and functionally suitable to store the
agricultural produce
rural godowns of 1,000 tonnes capacity and more should get accreditation from Central
Warehousing Cooperation (CWC)
Credit Linked Assistance--Subsidy under the scheme is linked to institutional credit
available to only such projects as are financed by commercial banks, Regional Rural Banks, state
cooperative banks (SCBs), State Co-operative Agricultural and Rural Development Bank
(SCARDBs), Agricultural Development Finance Companies (ADFCs), North Eastern
Development Finance Corporation (NEDFI), Urban Cooperative Banks etc
Assistance under the scheme shall be available on capital cost of construction of godown
including the cost of allied facilities like boundary wall, internal road, platform, internal drainage
system, weighing, grading, packaging, quality certification, warehousing facilities which are
functionally required to operate the godown
The farmers keeping their produce in the godown shall be eligible to avail pledge loan on
hypothecation of their produceas per the guidelines issued by RBI/NABARD and as per normal
banking practices followed by the financial institutions
Rate of subsidy-33.33% of the capital cost of the project for SC/ST entrepreneurs and their cooperatives and
projects located in North - Eastern States, hilly areas subjected to maximum ceiling on subsidy of
Rs.3.00 crores
all categories of farmers, agriculture graduates and cooperatives--25% of the capital cost subject
to maximum ceiling on subsidy of Rs.2.25 crores
all other categories of individuals, companies & corporations etc--15% of the capital cost subject
to maximum ceiling on subsidy of Rs.1.35 crores
25% of the capital cost of the project for renovation of godowns of cooperatives with assistance
from NCDC
Subsidy shall be released through NABARD for projects financed by commercial, cooperative
banks and RRBs
It will be kept in the Subsidy Reserve Fund Account of the financing bank and shall be tax free.

farmer suicides

There is a need of farmer oriented policy and not packages,

when loan waivers were announced in 2008, there was a drop in suicides

Indian Jews

1.
2.
3.

first migrant Jewish group entered the Indian subcontinent about 1,500 years ago
The study relating to the unique blend of Indian and Middle Eastern Ancestry has been
published in the recent issue of the Natures online journal, Scientific Reports
the Jewish migrants married local people and as a result their original Jewish genome got
diluted
Due to admixture with local people for several generations, their genetic mutations
which make them susceptible for various cancers were almost absent
There are three main distinct Jewish groups living in India
the Jews of Kochi in Kerala
the Bene Israel in Mumbai,
Baghdadi Jews in Kolkata
sharing of specific maternally inherited mtDNA and paternally inherited Ychromosomal
haplogroups between all the Indian Jewish groups and lack of them among other local
Indian populations can be seen as a remnant of a shared ancestry with Middle Eastern
populations

Gorge or Canyon

A gorge or canyon (caon, old spelling occasionally still used) is a deep ravine between
pairs of escarpments or cliffs and is the most often carved landscape by the erosive
activity of a river over geologic timescales
Rivers have a natural tendency to cut through underlying surfaces so will eventually wear
away rock layers to lessen their own pitch slowing their waters; given enough time, their
bottoms will gradually reach a baseline elevationwhich is the same elevation as the
body of water it will eventually drain into
This action, when the river source and mouth are at much different base elevations will
form a canyon,particularly through regions where softer rock layers are intermingled with
harder layers more resistant to weathering

A canyon may also refer to a rift between two mountain peaks, such as those in ranges
including the Rocky Mountains, the Alps, the Himalayas or the Andes
Usually a river or stream and erosion carve out such splits between mountains

Canyons within mountains, or gorges that have an opening on only one side are called
box canyons
Slot canyons are very narrow canyons, often with smooth walls
Most canyons were formed by a process of long-time erosion from a plateau or table-land
level. The cliffs form because harder rock strata that are resistant to erosion and
weathering remain exposed on the valley walls
Canyons are much more common in arid than in wet areas because physical weathering
has a more localized effect in arid zones
The wind and water from the river combine to erode and cut away less resistant materials
The freezing and expansion of water also serves to help form canyons. Water seeps into
cracks between the rocks and freezes, pushing the rocks apart and eventually causing
large chunks to break off the canyon walls, in a process known as frost wedging
The freezing and expansion of water also serves to help form canyons. Water seeps into
cracks between the rocks and freezes, pushing the rocks apart and eventually causing
large chunks to break off the canyon walls, in a process known as frost wedging
Canyon walls are often formed of resistant sandstones or granite.
Submarine canyons form underwater, generally at the mouths of rivers

India and pak

Following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, jihadist terrorism had already reared
its ugly head in Kashmir and tensions rose between the two countries
V.P. Singh approved Foreign Secretary-level talks which focussed for the first time on the
issue of Confidence Building Measures (CBMs)
the first CBMs were concluded in 1991
Other agenda items were gradually added on to the Foreign Secretaries dialogue,
while the Directors General of Military Operations of the two sides focussed on finding a
resolution for the Siachen glacier
Together with Pakistans Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Mr. Gujral
framework of an eight-point Composite Dialogue
Despite ups and downs in the political relationship when the dialogue got suspended, the basic
structure remained intact

Diferent subjects were dealt with by the relevant Secretaries while the Foreign
Secretaries directly dealt with the subjects of peace and security, including CBMs and
Jammu and Kashmir, and also coordinated the process
Siachen was handled by the Defence Secretaries
Sir Creek by the Surveyors General
trade and economic relations by the Commerce Secretaries
Tulbul Navigation Project/Wular Barrage by the Water Resources Secretarie
Terrorism and narcotics were tied up together and handled by the Home Secretaries

Changes in Pakistans domestic politics, in the Army, and the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan
created a set of new short-term priorities for Pakistan in which India did not figure.

Revised Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP),

The Defence Acquisition Council has approved a revised Defence Procurement Procedure
(DPP),
Aim

boosting indigenous defence procurement and encouraging better participation from the
Indian private sector

The Council is headed by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and includes key stakeholders of
the defence establishment
Among its key decisions is a proposal to introduce a new category of acquisition termed Buy
Indian (or IDDM, indigenous design development and manufacturing),
Under Buy Indian,
domestically designed equipment with 40 per cent indigenous components or foreign-designed
equipment with 60 per cent local components will be considered
new DPP has significantly increased the offset threshold for foreign contracts from Rs. 300 crore
to Rs. 2,000 crore (with 30 per cent of the contract value to be procured from within India
it has certain provisions for encouraging Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
the DPP is an incremental improvement over recent efforts to reduce Indias import dependence,
which stands at 65 per cent of total defence procurement
to help create a robust military industrial complex within the country
critical view
It is imperative that India succeeds at the earliest in creating a cutting-edge domestic military
industrial base
no major nation state has transitioned to becoming a developed economy without one.
Such a complex would create not only latest war machines but also hothouse innovations and
technologies to improve overall scientific capabilities, and make India self-reliant at least in
critical area

If the ambition is to truly make Make in India a reality in the defence sector,
the DPP falls significantly short of expectations

Many private sector participants have been flagging a host of issues

and inbuilt biases against indigenisation
two key impediments to Indias private sector becoming active participants in defence
R&D and production
1. monopoly enjoyed by defence public sector units,
2. favours that foreign suppliers enjoy

monopoly enjoyed by defence public sector units --DPSUs are the workhorses of the sector as well as the biggest drag on indigenous military
research
favours that foreign suppliers enjoy--Indias over-dependence on foreign military vendors, several biases have crept in favouring them
in procurement
A foreign vendor gets most of his payment on self-certification of project progress
while Indian vendors have to wait for a government inspectors certification, which can delay
payments by several months
A foreign vendor enjoys upfront customs duty exemption,
while the excise duty exemption for a local supplier is a reimbursement months after he has
supplied an item
new DPP may work towards expanding the number of participants in military tenders, but it may
not help dramatically improve the present environment for all participants..
Free Basics

people claiming digital technologies as a right and not just something that the market
provides on its own terms
The Internet can be seen as a new neutral system of society, one that organises our lives,
which can become very dangerous if its manipulative potential is not closely watched and
kept in check.
There will always be corporatist tendencies to place control points on this neutral
network, with various kinds of free services as the incentive, but which would lead to far
greater economic and other forms of exploitation
platform abuses

how Facebook used its monopoly social networking platform for a huge political
campaign in its own favour, making and sharing lakhs (11 million, according to
Facebook) of template responses to the regulators consultation
implication
platform abuse are not diicult to see
Imagine a close election contest in the future
Facebook, say, has 70 per cent of adult Indians as its users
two main parties and, say, FDI or higher corporate taxes has become the key election
issue
if Facebook does a similar campaign two weeks before the elections, taking a strong
position favouring one side, reaching and engaging its users in a manner that others
cannot do using the same platform
As the Internet quickly transforms our social systems and becomes an essential element,
there will soon be other kinds of platform neutrality issues

Hasan Khan Mewati

ambitious Khanzada Rajput Muslim ruler of Mewat
Battle of Khanwa

fought near the village of Khanwa, about 60 km west of Agra, on March 17, 1527
second major battle fought in modern day India, by the first Mughal Emperor Babur after
the first Battle of Panipat
After defeating Ibrahim Lodi,
the first Mughal Emperor Babur faced many Lodi warriors including Sikandar Lodi and
his son Mahmud Lodi who rallied behind the prestigious Muslim Rajput ruler Khanzada
Raja Hasan Khan Mewati of Mewat
Hasan Khan Mewati, being himself a Rajput, easily gained the support of Rana Sanga, a
powerful Hindu Rajput; together they sought to defeat and overthrow the first Mughal
Emperor Babur and his Muslim Mughals but betrayed by the King of Malwa
Hasan Khan Mewati was killed in the Battle of Khanwa (March 1527)

How can India gain from relations with china

The Pakistan-China bond, often termed an allweather friendship, is deeper than ever
before, reinforced by the concrete to be used in their biggest infrastructural initiative, the
$46-billion ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) announced in April 2015
China is involved closely in other subcontinental developments, such as the AfghanistanTaliban talks, that will have a bearing on India-Pakistan ties

the biggest source of tensions between India and China, the border issue in Jammu and
Kashmir, is geographically linked with Pakistan
on the subject of terrorism, it is China that has had a higher rate of success in controlling
the levers in Pakistan that run terror groups than most other countries.
China today is a close friend to Russia, controls much of the Asian economy and has
most of Europe in its debt
Indias largest trading partner
China is also involved too deeply with each of Indias neighbours, including Afghanistan,
the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and especially Pakistan
Afghanistans decision to trust China as a guarantor for its talks with the Taliban
even the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline will draw from
reserves developed by Chinese loans
it benefits India to engage China in promoting infrastructure and fighting terror in the
neighbourhood
A new push to Beijing is worth making in a year India hopes to push for the elusive UN
Security Council seat.

India heralding a decided shift towards the U.S., signing the joint vision statement for the
AsiaPacific and Indian Ocean region with the U.S
The agreement was the first of its kind, committing India to ties with the U.S. outside of South
Asia, specifically mentioning ensuring freedom of navigation and over flight in the South
China Sea as a goal.
Indian strategic ties with the U.S. and Japan, both allied against China on the South China Sea
issue
While Indias move to the U.S.-Japan corner will no doubt win it strategic power in one respect.
But it loses in another respect.

Fundamental Duties : Part IVA (Article 51A)

Originally, the Constitution of India did not contain these duties

added by 42nd and 86th Constitutional Amendment acts
11 Fundamental duties
Citizens are morally obligated by the Constitution to perform these duties
non-justifiable, without any legal sanction in case of their violation or non-compliance

The Fundamental Duties of citizens were added to the Constitution by the 42nd
Amendment in 1976, upon the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee that
was constituted by the government earlier that year
borrowed the concept of Fundamental Duties from USSR
brought our Constitution in line with article 29 (1) of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and with provisions in several modern Constitutions of other countries
suggested that a few more Fundamental Duties
duty to vote in an election
duty to pay taxes
may be added in due course

Fundamental Duties have the element of compulsion regarding compliance.

Comprehensive legislation is needed for clauses (a), (c), (e), (g) and (i)
The remaining 5 clauses, which are exhortation of basic human values, have to be developed
amongst citizens through the education system by creating proper and graded curricular input
from primary level of education to the higher and professional levels..
Justice Varma Committee was constituted in 1998 to work out a strategy as well as
methodology of operationalizing a countrywide programme for teaching fundamental Duties in
every educational institution as a measure of inservice training
legal provisions
In order to ensure that no disrespect is shown to the National Flag, Constitution of India
and the National anthem,
the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 was enacted
The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act 1950 was enacted soon after
independence, inter alia, to prevent improper use of the National Flag and the National
Anthem
Flag Code of India, which has been made available to all the State Governments, and
Union territory Administration (UTs).In order to ensure that the correct usage regarding
the display of the National Flag is well understood
number of provisions in the existing criminal laws
under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)
activities which encourage enmity between different groups of people on grounds of
religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc. are adequately punished. Writings,
speeches, gestures, activities, exercise, drills, etc. aimed at creating a feeling of insecurity
or ill-will among the members of other communities, etc. have been prohibited
under Section 153 B of the IPC

Imputations and assertions prejudicial to the national integration constitute a punishable

offence
under the provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967
A Communal organization can be declared unlawful association
Sections 295-298 of the IPC (Chapter XV)
Offences related to religion
Provisions of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 (earlier the Untouchability
(Offences) Act 1955).
Sections 123(3) and 123(3A) of the Representation of People Act, 1951
soliciting of vote on the ground of religion and the promotion or attempt to promote
feelings of enmity or hatred between different classes of citizens of India on the grounds
of religion, race, caste, community or language is a corrupt practice
A person indulging in a corrupt practice can be disqualified for being a Member of
Parliament or a State Legislature under Section 8A of the Representation of People Act,
1951

Jaish-e-Mohammad
Set up by Masood Azhar
After he was released at Kandahar by the Indian government in 1999 in exchange for
hostages on board IC-814
2001 Parliament attack
deadly bombing of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly building in Srinagar
several terror attacks since then

Lieutenant-General J.F.R. Jacob

one of the heroes of the 1971 war with Pakistan.

Born in Kolkata in 1923, where his Jewish family had migrated from Baghdad
started his military career with the British Indian Army
He served across Asia and Africa, graduated from artillery schools in England and the
U.S., and finally opted to serve with the Indian Army after Independence
began his career during World War II in 1942 as a young Army officer
served in northern Iraq, North Africa, Burma (now Myanmar) and Sumatra as part of the
British forces
After World War II, Lt.Gen. Jacob graduated from artillery schools in England and the
United States
composed an Indian Army manual on desert warfare
took part in the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965
In the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971

a crucial role in negotiating the surrender of Pakistan in Dhaka

appointed as Governor of Goa and Punjab.

Namami Gange

Clean Ganga initiative

Central government will be setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV
The Chief Secretaries of all States through which the Ganga passes will be made
members of the board of this SPV
would select municipal commissioners of big cities on the Ganga route

Dera Sacha Sauda

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

non-profit Social Welfare and Spiritual Organization, established in 1948, by the ascetic
Mastana Balochistani, as a centre for spiritual learning
main centre is situated in Sirsa, Haryana, in the northern region of India
Shah Mastana's endeavour was to bring a spiritual awakening among the masses and to
uplift humanity, in order to create a better world.
Param Pita Shah Satnam Singh Ji Maharaj was the second spiritual guru
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan became the third leader of DSS on 23 September
1990
Dera Sacha Sauda defines its mission as
To freely propagate true meditation throughout the world to attain inner self-confidence
and see God.
To educate people that God can be found only by true meditation learnt from a selfless
true master and not with money.
To see the world as one, and believe in the same ONE God.
To promote love and tolerance amongst people of all religions, castes, color and regions
without any discrimination.
To promote adoption of drug and alcohol free, meat/egg/fish free diet and restore correct
values and character.
To promote morality and convince people about the harms of immorality, promiscuity
and high risk behavior
Welfare activities
"tertiary" healthcare to the rich, while also providing "free" healthcare to the poor
Poojaneeya Mata Kartar Kaur Ji International eye bank, a part of the Shah Satnam
Ji Specialty Hospital ranks third in the country and is the largest in terms of a
single motivator driven eye bank
Green S Welfare Force
has more than 65,000 doctors, engineers, rescuers, paramedics, and tradesmen
The organisation has rendered aid during many of India's natural disasters
Cleanliness campaign
Welfare in the flood affected areas of Uttarakhand

 Welfare of transgender people

filed a petition in the Supreme Court to grant legal status to transgender people
Encouraging organic farming
Automation of jobs
World Development Report (WDR)

Automation of jobs was in some cases leading to inequalities in the labour market
between high-skill and low-skill workers.
The 2016 WDR issue titled Digital Dividends
Almost 1.063 billion Indians were offline even though India ranked among the top five
nations in terms of the total number of Internet users, along with China, the U.S., Japan
and Brazil.
40 per cent of the worlds population is connected by the Internet, With nearly 20 percent
of the worlds population unable to read and write
the spread of digital technologies alone is unlikely to spell the end of the global
knowledge divide.
The report also cautioned that with the advent of big data

which includes likes of Indias Aadhaar unique identity project

secret snooping by governments can be for legitimate law enforcement reasons but sometimes
violates laws and rights
as the Edward Snowden revelations about spying by the security agencies of the United States,
the United Kingdom, and others have shown

57 percent of Indians believe private information on the Internet is very secure, but only
18 percent of French and 16 per cent of German respondents do
There were numerous examples worldwide of success stories where the power of the
Internet had been leveraged to improve, for example, the delivery of public
servicesseveral cases of NGOs partnering with the Indian government and such digital
citizen engagement led to success with projects such as I Change My City, I Paid A
Bribe, and the Karnataka BVS.
The delivery of services through the Internet ultimately depends on the regulation of the
service sector itself
India, along with Ethiopia and Zimbabwe, has the greatest restrictions on service trade.
the Indian case is the need to have an appropriate business environment, which shapes
how firms adopt and use technology
A poor business climate and vested interests often hold back digital adoption
Among online firms, the economics of the Internet may enable natural monopolies to
exploit their dominant position, hurting consumers and suppliers.

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement--Canada-India free trade

agreement

Instead to focus on completing the ratification process of the TransPacific Partnership

(the U.S.-led mega regional FTA between 12 Pacific rim nations, including Canada)

India is not a part of the TPP

wanted India to first ensure that the bilateral Foreign Investment Promotion and
Protection Agreement (FIPA) is signed and brought into force, before proceeding with
the FTA talk
The FTA includes opening up merchandise goods and services trade between both the
countries
The investment aspects are covered separately by the FIPA
The FTA is meant
to help Canadian companies get greater access to Indias huge market comprising over
1.25 billion people
Indian firms obtain more access to the lucrative North American market by using Canada
as a hub

Diferences on FIPA
Canada has diferences with India
regarding clauses in the proposed FIPA including on the Investor-State
DisputeSettlement (ISDS) mechanism
In case of any dispute
India wants investors to exhaust the domestic remedies before approaching
international tribunals
Canada is worried about judicial delays in India and wants flexibility to help
investors approach international tribunals at the earliest
Canada wants India to ensure protection of investment commitments made
based on existing policies in case any roll-back / changes in those policies
later hurt those investment plans.
India has not agreed to Canadas demands on these issues fearing that they
will lead to the government losing policy space
Objections of India
clauses proposed by Canada namely
MFN-forward and ratchet

MFN-forward is to ensure that future concessions accorded by India to

any other trading partner country under a bilateral pact are extended
automatically to Canada as well and vice-versa
India has opposed MFNforward saying each FTA is inked on the basis of a
unique relationship with the partner country and automatically extending all
such benefits to Canada will lead to imbalances and conflicts
Ratchet is to make sure that the benefits arising from future liberalisation of
Indias domestic policies are automatically extended to Canada, and viceversa
India is against ratchet as it will result in a loss of policy space for the
government
India has also opposed Canadas attempts to include labour and environment
standards as well as competition and government procurement in the FTA
India-Canada trade in 2014-15 was just $6 billion
with Indias exports at $2.2 billion and imports from Canada worth $3.8 billion much below the
potential.
FDI inflows from Canada to India during April 2000-September 2015 were only $586 million (or
0.22 per cent of the $265 billion in total FDI India received in those 15 years).

The Chaya Someswara Swamy temple

thrikutalayam constructed by the Kunduru Cholas in 11th and 12th centurie

famous for a mystifying shadow that falls on the Sivalingam
The pillars in front of the Garbhagudi (west) are placed in such a way that they allow
formation of single shadow by scattering of light irrespective of the position of the sun
The application of properties of light in framing the pattern of the pillars by the designer
of the temple over six hundred years ago reveals the scientific consciousness of our
architects

Eventhough Crude oil prices are low why petrol prices are high in india

crude oil price was hovering around 136 US dollars per barrel sometime ago.
The price has now come down to 31 US dollar

A litre petrol cost

Rs. 26 in Pakistan

Rs. 22 in Bangladesh
Rs. 19 in Cuba
Rs. 14 in Italy
Nepal and Srilanka, the price is fixed at Rs. 34 a litre
Rs. 65 in India
11.8%-Central tax
9.75%- excise duty
4 %--VAT
8 per cent State tax
and all of there took the price to Rs 50 a litre
Over and above that the government was collecting another Rs. 15 as other taxes taking the total
price to Rs.65 a litre

Nag

indigenouslybuilt third generation, fireand-forget anti-tank missile

4-km range capability of Imaging-Infrared seeker, which guides the missile to the target
after its launch

The U.S. governments Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA)

launched two years ago to contain the spread of new and emergent infections following
the Ebola outbreak,
has pumped in a whopping $ 8 million to map the rising anti-microbial resistance in India
and build capacities to tackle it better
The rising anti-microbial resistance is a serious health concern in India,
This project is aiming, rather ambitiously, at the creation of a national network where
hospitals will pool in their data on infection rates, which would then be in the public
domain for patients to make an informed choice when they have to select a hospital to
undergo treatment
The projects larger goal, however, is containing the spread of infections given the huge
volume of traffic between India and the U.S

Capacity Building and strengthening of hospital infection control to detect and prevent
anti-microbial resistance in India
jointly executed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the All India
Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the India oice of Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC
The project will map surveillance of bloodstream infections, ventilator acquired
pneumonia and other hospital-acquired infections

Evolutiion of constitution--part

The history of the framing of the Constitution is a history of conflicting and clashing
philosophies
The Constitutions fundamental rights chapter grants
rights to individuals against the state
to individuals against other individuals
groups and communities against the state,
as a final layer, allows the state to restrict these rights for various reasons of
social and public interest

Article 25(1)
guarantees to all persons the right to freely profess, practise, and propagate their religion
Article 26(b)
grants to religious denominations the right to manage their own affairs in the matter of religion
Overriding both these
Article 25(2)
allows state intervention in religious practice, if it is for the purpose of social welfare or reform
or the throwing open of Hindu religious institutions of a public character to all classes and
sections of Hindus
During the debates in the Constituent Assembly, B.R. Ambedkar
The religious conceptions in this country are so vast that they cover every aspect of life,
from birth to death,
I do not think it is possible to accept a position of that sort
There is nothing extraordinary in saying that we ought to strive hereafter to limit the
definition of religion in such a manner that we shall not extend beyond beliefs and such
rituals as may be connected with ceremonials which are essentially religious..

 Over the years, the Supreme Court has itself restricted the scope of the religious
protection clause to essential practices of a religion
holding that the state cannot use the reform clause to reform a religion out of existence
it has nonetheless held that aspects beyond essential practices have no protection from
state intervention
the Sabarimala governing boards argument
prohibition of women is justified by custom
Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Rules, 1965,
permit prohibiting women from accessing places of worship where custom or usage requires
it
The right to freedom of religion under Article 25(1) is enforceable against the state, and not
against other individuals, or corporate bodies
whether the Travancore Devaswom Board, which controls access to the shrine, can be equated to
the state.
In fact, in an earlier decision, the Kerala High Court already appears to have held that it
can.
.
Previously, the Supreme Court has held that corporate bodies that are functionally,
financially and administratively under the control of the state can be equated to the state
for the purposes of fundamental rights.
autonomous
Travancore Devaswom Board is an autonomous body.
it derives its main income from the administration of the temple.
its members are appointed bythe State legislature
Therefore
,it might be difficult to argue that the board is functionally or financially under the control of the
state
if the board cannot be equated with the state, then the constitutional right under Article 25(1) is
not enforceable against it.

The Supreme Court has held that if one private party obstructs another private party from
exercising her constitutional right, then it is the duty of the state to effectuate her right by
restraining the former from continuing with its obstruction.
Therefore, the women worshippers may ask the court to direct the state to take all necessary
steps to guarantee that they are allowed to access and worship at the Sabarimala shrine
Here is another route the court might take. The
The Kerala Hindu Places of Worship Rules speak about customs and usages
The Supreme Court has held that while personal law is exempt from the application of the
Constitution, mere custom is not
It might therefore simply strike down the offending rule on the ground that it discriminates on
grounds of gender, and therefore violates the Constitution
The Sabarimala case is not the only case of this sort that is before the judiciary. Last year, a
group of women approached the Bombay High Court asking for the recognition of their right to
enter and worship at the Haji Ali Dargah shrine. The matter is presently awaiting a decision
Question of gender justice in religious institutions at the forefront of the judicial landscape.
It is now the task of the courts to craft a solution that advances the constitutional guarantee of
equality, nondiscrimination and freedom of religion, while remaining cognisant of the fact that
the Constitution also guarantees the right of religious sects and denominations to selfgovernance.

How can technology help in solving maoist problem

India needs to have two strategies to solve the Maoist problem, one for Maoists and one for
Maoist supporters
Adivasis become Maoist supporters because we do not talk to them, because we do not
help them solve their problems
Mainstream India only talks to the creamy layer of Adivasis, those who have learnt our
languages
Many a time, this small but powerful section has let down fellow Adivasi brethren more
than any outsider
Reaching out to the Adivasis living in remote areas is admittedly difficult since many of
these areas are controlled by Maoists, but we can talk to them through the airwaves.
We need to reinvent the radio to solve the Maoist problem

 With many Adivasis now having access to mobile phones, we need to train and encourage
them to record their songs and report their problems in their language on platforms such
as
CGNet Swara, a voice-based online portal that allows people in the Central Gondwana
region to report local news by making a phone call
Their messages, when recorded, need to be relayed to the authorities who can then
proactively take up their issues.
Never mind the connectivity issues, even if they do not receive mobile phone network
signals in their village, they can at least receive signals in most of their weekly markets
that they visit every week
Radio does not speak in their languages and talks about [Barack] Obama, Osama [bin
Laden], which they do not understand
we should strive to create a bottomup media
which is more participatory.
We need Adivasi broadcasting cooperatives.
We need democratic and real social media.
India is the worlds largest democracy but it has not allowed radio for public use yet.
One can launch a newspaper and a television channel but not a radio station
This needs to change. Radio must be regulated as any other media but a free radio,
including medium wave and short wave, linked with mobile phone and Internet, can
solve the Maoist problem.
FM is an urban phenomenon; the battle to allow private FM stations to broadcast news is
not going to help Adivasis in Central India.
Experiments like Free Basics of Face
Maoist insurgency is a 19th century problem which has a 21st century solution.
However, an Internet-centric approach is not enough.still an oral country
We need to connect Internet with voice to reach the last mile,
We also need to use the 19th century technology of shortwave radio, which may be an
obsolete technology for urban India but is still the only communication technology for
many Adivasis in remote forests
With appropriate technologies we also need to use ministries appropriately
A combination of Digital India with a more autonomous Information and Broadcasting

How can Polio in Pakistan affect India

In September 2014, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that polio was no
longer endemic in Nigeria.
That leaves the disease confined to two countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
As long as polio exists anywhere, its a threat to children everywhere,because the
possibility of polio spreading from endemic countries to polio-free countries via
travellers is real.

 For instance, between 2003 and 2014, there were 191 new importation events into
previously polio-free countries.
These importations resulted in 3,763 reported cases in 43 countries, according to a paper
published in June 2015 in the journal BMC Medicine.
In 2011, exportation of polio from Pakistan to China (polio-free since 1994) led to 10
polio cases in children and 11 in adults; there were two deaths as well.
In December 2012, polio virus from Pakistan was discovered in sewage samples
collected at two sites in Cairo, Egypt
To prevent reintroduction of polio, in January 2014
India made it mandatory for all travellers from polio-endemic countries to receive an oral
polio vaccination at least six weeks prior to departure to India
A key variable in determining if the virus will gain a foothold or spread widely in the
case of any importation from Pakistan or Afghanistan is the level of immunity at the
population level.
While any flare-up of the disease or disruption of the immunisation programme should be
of great concern for India, the only way it can remain disease-free is by increasing the
individual and thereby the herd immunity
India which has already introduced inactivated polio vaccine in six States on November
30, should quickly expand it to the rest of the country.
India has successfully been polio free for five years and it cannot afford any virus
imported from Pakistan to cripple even a single child

What are the impediments to basi scientific research programmes in India

It takes six months to get a reagent while in the West, you get it in one day. By the time a
scientist starts doing an experiment, it is already done and published somewhere else.
We cannot compete with the world unless we change the way in which we use science.
Financial and managerial flexibility for research organisations is the need of the hour

The Start-up India, Standup India action plan

Rs. 10,000 cr. to be provided over four years

making tax-free the profits of these fledgling units for three years,
no visits by labour inspectors for three years,
quicker and subsidised patent clearances
apply for clearances online, and easier exits for failed ventures with a provision for
winding them up within 90 days under a proposed bankruptcy and insolvency law.

Public Health spending in india

India contributes to 21 per cent of the global disease burden, but has one of the lowest
public health spending in the world
Although there has been rapid economic growth in the country in the past two decades,
funding to public health care, surprisingly, has not been a priority for successive
governments
one of the fastest growing economies in the world, spends only 1.3 per cent of GDP on
public health
lowest among the BRICS nation
The draft National Health Policy 2015 document highlighted
the need to increase public health funding to reach 2.5 per cent of the GDP by 2020,
a much needed and welcome step, which however may not be sufficient, given the
magnitude of the problem.
The private sector plays a minimal role in preventive health care
Most Indians access the generally expensive private sector for curative care, even for
minor ailments
Given the large population, low percapita income and a high burden of disease in India,
the country needs high quality comprehensive primary care that is free or easily
affordable at the point of service and impartially accessible to all
highly inadequate spending and an acute paucity of trained manpower.
influx of funds to address the various infrastructural and technological deficiencies is
urgently needed.
The majority of the population in India lives in the rural areas and strengthening rural
public health care systems should be an immediate priority.
trust towards the highly stretched public health care system is eroding and driving almost
everyone towards the highly unregulated private sector
The NITI Aayog is of the opinion that the private sector would need to play a significant
role and has suggested the need for a universal health insurance scheme..
insurance schemes have their limitations
denial of certain services for many categories of illnesses
oversupply of some services in the private sector

Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) scheme

The workers in the unorganized sector constitute about 93% of the total work force in the
country.
The Government has been implementing some social security measures for certain
occupational groups but the coverage is miniscule.
Majority of the workers are still without any social security coverage.

 One of the major insecurities for workers in the unorganized sector is the frequent
incidences of illness and need for medical care and hospitalization of such workers and
their family members.
Despite the expansion in the health facilities, illness remains one of the most prevalent
causes of human deprivation in India.
Health insurance is one way of providing protection to poor households against the risk
of health spending leading to poverty
poor are unable or unwilling to take up health insurance because of its cost, or lack of
perceived benefits
RSBY has been launched by Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India
to provide health insurance coverage for Below Poverty Line (BPL) families
The objective of RSBY is to provide protection to BPL households from financial
liabilities arising out of health shocks that involve hospitalization
Eligibility
Unorganized sector workers belonging to BPL category and their family members (a
family unit of five) shall be the beneficiaries under the scheme
responsibility of the implementing agencies to verify the eligibility
beneficiaries will be issued smart cards for the purpose of identification

Benefits
1. in - patient health care insurance benefits as would be designed by the respective
State Governments based on the requirement of the people/ geographical area.
2. However, the State Governments are advised to incorporate at least the following
minimum benefits in the package / scheme
a) The unroganised sector worker and his family (unit of five) will be covered
b) Total sum insured would be Rs. 30,000/- per family per annum on a family floater
basis
c) Cashless attendance to all covered ailments
d) Hospitalization expenses, taking care of most common illnesses with as few
exclusions as possible
e) All pre-existing diseases to be covered
f) Transportation costs (actual with maximum limit of Rs. 100 per visit) within an
overall limit of Rs. 1000

Funding Pattern
1. The beneficiary would pay Rs. 30 per annum as registration/renewal fee
2. Contribution by Government of India
(a) 75% of the estimated annual premium of Rs. 750, subject to a maximum of
Rs. 565 per family per annum
(b) The cost of smart card will be borne by the Central Government

3. Contribution by respective State Governments

(a) 25% of the annual premium, as well as any additional premium
(b) The administrative and other related cost of administering the scheme would
be borne by the respective State Governments
Shortcomings
1. the missing components of outpatient care as part of the scheme
2. the problem of exclusion--BPL families who are entitled to the scheme
but do not figure on the list

Is new crop insurance panacea for all ills?

National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NIAS) of 1999 and Modified NAIS of 2010
failing to address the concerns of the farmers that range from
high premium
linkage to crop loan
cap on claims to abysmal coverage
PMFBY promises to address some of these concern
(1) reducing the premium drastically to 1.5 per cent for rabi food grains
(2) two per cent for kharif
(3) up to five per cent for horticulture and cotton crops
(4) removal of cap both on government subsidy on payment of premium
(5) as well as on claim ensuring farmers get the entire sum insured
(6) almost doubling the coverage from 23 per cent now to 50 per cent
(7) In terms of crop area it plans to extend it to 50 per cent of the 194.40million
hectares from the present level of 27 per cent.
Low premium and use of mobile and satellite technology for accurate assessment of
losses were commendable
India needs an efective, inclusive and universal crop insurance scheme to act as a
safety net for farmers as frequency of extreme weather events due to climate change,
is likely to increase in the future
Ambiguity
(1) over the insurance unit whether it will be village as has been consistently
demanded by farmers or block or something else
(2) the fate of tenant farmers whose number is substantial, no clarity on whether they
come under the ambit of the new insurance scheme or not
(3) the past track record with coverage not exceeding seven per cent at any time, the
proposal to extend it to 50 per cent as highly ambitious
(4) the equal sharing of the premium subsidy by the Centre and the State
governments. this model would not work given the measly budget allocations
made to agriculture by the State governments. better if the Central government
had taken the entire responsibility as the estimated expenditure of Rs. 9,500 crore
was not a big amount.

Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act-2003

The objective of the Act

ensure inter-generational equity in fiscal managemen

long run macroeconomic stability
better coordination between fiscal and monetary policy
transparency in fiscal operation of the Government

The Government notified FRBM rules in July 2004

to specify the annual reduction targets for fiscal indicators

specifies reduction of fiscal deficit to 3% of the GDP by 2008-09 with annual reduction
target of 0.3% of GDP per year by the Central government.
revenue deficit has to be reduced by 0.5% of the GDP per year with complete elimination
to be achieved by 2008-09
Finance Minister has to explain the reasons and suggest corrective actions to be taken, in
case of breach

FRBM Act provides a legal institutional framework for fiscal consolidation mandatory for the
Central government to take measures

to reduce fiscal deficit

to eliminate revenue deficit
to generate revenue surplus in the subsequent years

The Government can move away from the path of fiscal consolidation only in case of natural
calamity, national security and other exceptional grounds which Central Government may
specify

Act prohibits borrowing by the government from the Reserve Bank of India, thereby,
making monetary policy independent of fiscal policy
Act bans the purchase of primary issues of the Central Government securities by the RBI
after 2006
preventing monetization of government deficit

Act also requires the government to lay before the parliament three policy statements in each
financial year
1. Medium Term Fiscal Policy Statement
2. Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement
3. Macroeconomic Framework Policy Statement

Introducing Fiscal Responsibility Legislations (FRLs)

states have implemented their own FRL to impart fiscal discipline at the state level
due to the global financial crisis, this was suspended and the fiscal consolidation as mandated in
the FRBM Act was put on hold in 2007-08.
The crisis period called for increase in expenditure by the government to boost demand in the
economy
As a result of fiscal stimulus
the government has moved away from the path of fiscal consolidation

Amendments to FRBM Act 2012

Through Finance Act 2012 Ammendments were made to the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget
Management Act, 2003 through which it was decided that in addition to the existing three
documents,

the Medium Term Expenditure Framework Statement (MTEF)

before both Houses of Parliament in the Session immediately following the Session of
Parliament in which
Medium-Term Fiscal Policy Statement,
Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement and
Macroeconomic Framework Statement are laid.
Effective Revenue Deficit and Medium Term Expenditure Framework statement are
the two important features of amendment to FRBM Act in the direction of expenditure
reforms

Effective Revenue Deficit and Medium Term Expenditure Framework statement are the two
important features of amendment to FRBM Act in the direction of expenditure reforms
Effective Revenue Deficit
difference between revenue deficit and grants for creation of capital assets
will help in reducing consumptive component of revenue deficit and create space for
increased capital spending
Medium-term Expenditure Framework statement will set forth a three-year rolling target for
expenditure indicators
As per the amendments in 2012

the Central Government has to take appropriate measures to reduce the fiscal deficit,
revenue deficit and effective revenue deficit
to eliminate the effective revenue deficit by the 31st March, 2015
thereafter build up adequate effective revenue surplus and also to reach revenue deficit of
not more than 2 % of Gross Domestic Product by the 31st March, 2015
thereafter as may be prescribed by rules made by the Central Government

the Central Government may entrust the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India to review
periodically as required, the compliance of the provisions of FRBM Act and such reviews shall
be laid on the table of both Houses of Parliament.

Through financial policy 2015,

the target dates for achieving the prescribed rates of effective deficit and fiscal deficit were
further extended

The effective revenue deficit which had to be eliminated by March 2015 will now need
to be eliminated only after 3 years i.e., by March 2018.
The 3% target of fiscal deficit to be achieved by 2016-17 has now been shifted by one
more year to the end of 2017-18.

Environment faces threat from barrage on Pranahita

The impact assessment is necessary all the more because

the Pranahita sanctuary downstream of the proposed barrage site has been declared an
eco-sensitive zone by the Union government
The area has several prehistoric fossil sites
the rare vulture habitat in Bejjur mandal
The eco-system from the lotic (in flow) to lentic (static as in reservoir), there will be a
great change in hydrology downstream of the dam
Trapping of silt in the barrage starves the delta of sediment as in the case of the KrishnaGodavari delta, being called the delta-in-peril for the same reason
It will impact severely on the already fragmented habitats and wild animal migration
corridors

DO we have any evidence that Black money generated in india circulating as a genuine
investment?