Insights Daily Current Affairs + PIB: 12

December 2018
insights ias • December 12, 2018

Insights Daily Current Affairs + PIB: 12 December 2018

Paper 2:

Topics Covered:

1. Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and

issues arising out of their design and implementation.
2. Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and
States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions
and bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable
sections.

National Pension Scheme

What to study?

For Prelims: Key features, objectives of the scheme.

For Mains: Significance of the scheme and its role in ensuring financial
security of the citizens.

Context: The government has approved a slew of measures under the National
Pension Scheme (NPS).

Changes approved in the National Pension System:

Mandatory contribution by the Central Government enhanced by 4 percent

from the existing 10 percent to 14 percent for employees covered under NPS
Tier-I
Central government employees will be provided with freedom of choice for
selection of Pension Funds and pattern of investment.
Payment of compensation for non-deposit or delayed deposit of NPS
contributions during 2004-2012
Contribution by Government employees under Tier-II of NPS will now be
covered under Section 80 C for deduction up to Rs 1.50 lakh for the purpose of
income tax at par with schemes such as General (PF), Contributory PF,
Employees PF and Public PF, with lock-in period of 3 years.
The entire withdrawal will now be exempt from income tax as the tax
exemption limit for lump sum withdrawal on exit has been enhanced to 60
percent.

Implications:

The move is set to benefit around 36 lakh subscribers, including approximately 18

lakh Central government employees covered under NPS. It will cost the exchequer
Rs 2,840 crore in the current financial year.

What is National Pension System (NPS)?

National Pension System (NPS) is a government-sponsored pension scheme. It

was launched in January 2004 for government employees. However, in 2009, it was
opened to all sections.

The scheme allows subscribers to contribute regularly in a pension account

during their working life. On retirement, subscribers can withdraw a part of
the corpus in a lumpsum and use the remaining corpus to buy an annuity to
secure a regular income after retirement.
This system is managed by PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory and
Development Authority).

Who can join NPS?

Any Indian citizen between 18 and 60 years can join NPS. The only condition is that
the person must comply with know your customer (KYC) norms.

Can a Non Resident Indian (NRI) join NPS?

Yes, an NRI can join NPS. However, the account will be closed if there is a change in
the citizenship status of the NRI.

Sources: the hindu.

Paper 2 and 3:

Topics Covered:

1. Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-

governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential.
2. Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their
effects on industrial growth.

PCS 1x System

What to study?

For Prelims: Objectives and features of PCS 1x System.

For Mains: Ease of Doing Business in India- Present scenario, potential,
challenges and ways to address them.

Context: Indian Ports Association (IPA) under the guidance of Ministry of

Shipping launched the Port Community System ‘PCS1x’.

Significance:

The platform has the potential to revolutionize maritime trade in India and bring it
at par with global best practices and pave the way to improve the Ease of Doing
Business world ranking and Logistics Performance Index (LPI) ranks.

About PCS 1x:

‘PCS 1x’ is a cloud based new generation technology, with user-friendly interface.

This system seamlessly integrates stakeholders from the maritime trade on

a single platform.
The platform offers value added services such as notification engine,
workflow, mobile application, track and trace, better user interface, better
security features, improved inclusion by offering dashboard for those with no
IT capability.
Another major feature is the deployment of a world class state of the art
payment aggregator solution which removes dependency on bank specific
payment eco system.

Other Features:

It is an initiative that supports green initiatives by reducing dependency on

paper.
It has been developed indigenously and is a part of the ‘Make in India’ and
‘Digital India’

Indian Ports Association (IPA):

IPA was constituted in 1966 under Societies Registration Act, with the idea of
fostering growth and development of all Major Ports which are under the
supervisory control of Ministry of Shipping.

Sources: the hindu.

Paper 2:

Topics Covered:

1. Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure,

mandate.

UN Panel of Auditors

What to study?

For Prelims and Mains: UN Panel of Auditors- composition, objectives, functions

and significance.

Context: Comptroller and Auditor General Rajiv Mehrishi has become the Vice-
Chair of the UN Panel of Auditors.

About UN Panel of Auditors:

The United Nations Panel of Auditors consists of External Auditors of the United
Nations and its agencies.

The United Nations General Assembly in 1959 established the Panel of

External Auditors, comprising the individual external auditors of the United
Nations system, who are also Heads of Supreme Audit Institutions.
Presently, the panel consists of 11 countries — India, Germany, Chile, Canada,
France, Italy, Philippines, Ghana, Indonesia, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
Currently, the panel is chaired by the Comptroller and Auditor General of the
UK.

Functions of the Panel of External Auditors:

Panel Members share experiences and methodologies so as to ensure

uniformity of external audit practices throughout the United Nations system.
Panel Members provide independent assurance to Member States and other
stakeholders in relation to the proper use of the Organizations’ resources as
well as their economic, efficient and effective use.
They also play a significant role in assisting the Organizations to improve their
operations and their internal control activities.
The findings and recommendations of Panel Members are taken seriously, and
the status of recommendations is closely monitored to ensure timely and
effective implementation.

Sources: the hindu.

Paper 2:

Topics covered:

1. Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s

interests, Indian diaspora.
2. Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure,
mandate.

Global Compact for Migration

What to study?

For Prelims: Global compact for migration- highlights.

For Mains: Need for a global compact and the pattern of migration
worldwide.

Context: The global compact on migration was adopted recently at an

intergovernmental conference in Marrakech, Morocco by 164 UN Member States.
Alongside, the UN also launched the Migration Network to support the compact’s
implementation at country level.

About the Marrakech Compact on Migration:

In the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, adopted in September
2016, the General Assembly decided to develop a global compact for safe, orderly
and regular migration.

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) sets out a
common, comprehensive approach to international migration.

The GCM is a voluntary, non-binding document that introduces no additional

obligations to states. It is a global agreement setting out a common framework,
shared principles and best practices on international migration.

It aims at cooperation between states and promotes measures to strengthen

regular migration pathways, to tackle irregular migration, and to protect human
rights of migrants among other objectives.

The compact includes 23 objectives and a set of possible actions for each one,
from which governments can draw in responding to the issue.
Notably, the Global Compact establishes a United Nations mechanism
allowing Governments and companies to contribute technical, financial and
human resources for implementing it.
The global compact is framed consistent with target 10.7 of the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development in which member States committed to
cooperate internationally to facilitate safe, orderly and regular migration.

Opposition:

The US quit negotiations early on, in December 2017, and was followed by Hungary
seven months later. Dominican Republic, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Israel,
Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia also refused to sign the document.

Why is it being opposed?

States with a restrictive migration agenda, such as Hungary, consider the

symbolic act of approving the GCM as a sign that they are promoting
migration.
Those that have rejected it fear it will turn into common practice, or even
common law. While not legally binding, it should be a politically guiding
framework, which sets out ground rules for the long term.
Some states that have rejected the GCM are especially worried about human
rights references within the document. In their view, an emphasis on human
rights contradicts what matters for them: securing borders.

Need for a global compact:

Over 250 million migrants worldwide account for 3% of the world’s entire
population, but contribute 10% of the global gross domestic production (GDP).
Migrants remittance is huge contributor to their home countries’ development.

Sources: the hindu.

Paper 2 and 3:

Topics Covered:

1. Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure,

mandate.
2. Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology,
bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.

Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT)

What to study?

For Prelims: SWIFT- objectives, features and significance.

For Mains: Significance, need for SWIFT.

Context: SWIFT India has appointed ex-SBI chief Arundhati Bhattacharya as the
new chairman of its board.

Background:

SWIFT India is a joint venture of top Indian public and private sector banks and
SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication). The
company was created to deliver high quality domestic financial messaging services
to the Indian financial community. Bhattacharya said the venture has a huge
potential to contribute significantly to the financial community in many domains.

What is SWIFT?

The SWIFT is a global member-owned cooperative that is headquartered in

Brussels, Belgium. It was founded in 1973 by a group of 239 banks from 15 countries
which formed a co-operative utility to develop a secure electronic messaging
service and common standards to facilitate cross-border payments. It carries an
average of approximately 26 million financial messages each day. In order to use
its messaging services, customers need to connect to the SWIFT environment.

Functions:

SWIFT does not facilitate funds transfer: rather, it sends payment orders,
which must be settled by correspondent accounts that the institutions have
with each other.
The SWIFT is a secure financial message carrier — in other words, it transports
messages from one bank to its intended bank recipient.
Its core role is to provide a secure transmission channel so that Bank A knows
that its message to Bank B goes to Bank B and no one else. Bank B, in turn,
knows that Bank A, and no one other than Bank A, sent, read or altered the
message en route. Banks, of course, need to have checks in place before
actually sending messages.

Significance of SWIFT:

Messages sent by SWIFT’s customers are authenticated using its specialised

security and identification technology. Encryption is added as the messages leave
the customer environment and enter the SWIFT Environment. Messages remain in
the protected SWIFT environment, subject to all its confidentiality and integrity
commitments, throughout the transmission process while they are transmitted to
the operating centres (OPCs) where they are processed — until they are safely
delivered to the receiver.

Sources: the hindu.

Paper 2 and 3:

Topics Covered:

1. Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and

issues arising out of their design and implementation.
2. Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental
impact assessment.

‘Eco-sensitive zones’

What to study?

For Prelims: Eco Sensitive zones- how are they declared and key provisions in
this regard.
For Mains: Significance and the need for these zones, and issues related to
management of these zones.

Context: The Supreme Court has directed the Union Environment Ministry to
declare 10 km area around 21 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries across the
country as ‘eco-sensitive zones’.

The court took the initiative after its amicus curiae informed the court that
the State governments have taken no effort to protect the area around these
sanctuaries and parks.

What are Eco-sensitive zones?

The Environment Protection Act, 1986 does not mention the word “Eco-sensitive
Zones”.

The section 3(2)(v) of the Act, says that Central Government can restrict areas in
which any industries, operations or processes shall not be carried out or shall be
carried out subject to certain safeguards

Besides the section 5 (1) of this act says that central government can prohibit or
restrict the location of industries and carrying on certain operations or processes
on the basis of considerations like the biological diversity of an area, maximum
allowable limits of concentration of pollutants for an area, environmentally
compatible land use, and proximity to protected areas.

The above two clauses have been effectively used by the government to
declare Eco-Sensitive Zones or Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFA). The same
criteria have been used by the government to declare No Development Zones.

Criteria:

The MoEF (Ministry of Environment & Forests) has approved a comprehensive set
of guidelines laying down parameters and criteria for declaring ESAs. A committee
constituted by MoEF put this together. The guidelines lay out the criteria based on
which areas can be declared as ESAs. These include Species Based (Endemism,
Rarity etc), Ecosystem Based (sacred groves, frontier forests etc) and
Geomorphologic feature based (uninhabited islands, origins of rivers etc).

Sources: the hindu.

Mains Question: It is argued that the Eco Sensitive Zones (ESZ) marginalise local
interests and would prove detrimental to conservation in the long run. Critically
examine

Paper 2 and 3:

Topics Covered:

1. Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and

issues arising out of their design and implementation.
2. Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support
prices.

Online portal “ENSURE”

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare launched a portal ENSURE –

National Livestock Mission-EDEG developed by NABARD and operated under
the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries.

Entrepreneurship Development and Employment Generation (EDEG):

Under the Mission’s component EDEG, subsidy payment for activities related to
poultry, small ruminants, pigs etc., through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) goes
directly to the beneficiary’s account.

To make it better, simpler and transparent, the NABARD has developed an online
portal “ENSURE” which makes the information related to beneficiary and
processing of application readily available.

Benefits:

The flow of information/funds will be quicker and more accountable.

The burden of extra interest due to delay in the disbursal of the subsidy
would now be reduced.
Accessing the portal will be on real-time basis and list of beneficiaries can be
easily prepared.

Source: PIB

Paper 2 and 3:

Topics Covered:

1. Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources,

growth, development and employment.
2. Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
3. Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-
governance, e-applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential;
citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other
measures.

Vision of a New India – USD 5 Trillion Economy

The Ministry of Commerce & Industry is creating an action-oriented plan which

highlights specific sector level interventions to bolster India’s march towards
becoming a USD 5 trillion economy before 2025.

Services sector – USD 3 trillion,

Manufacturing sector – USD 1 trillion, and
Agriculture sector – USD 1 trillion.

Impact on Services Sector:

The share of India’s services sector in global services exports was 3.3% in 2015
compared to 3.1% in 2014. Based on this initiative, a goal of 4.2% has been
envisaged for 2022.
As the Services sector contributes significantly to India’s GDP, exports and job
creation, increased productivity and competitiveness of the Champion
Services Sectors will further boost exports of various services.
Embedded services are substantial part of ‘Goods’ as well. Thus, competitive
services sector will add to the competitiveness of the manufacturing
sector as well.

Promotion of Trade:

Commerce Ministry is closely working with the Finance Ministry to ease credit flow
to the export sector, especially small exporters to ensure adequate availability of
funds to them.

The Commerce Minister has identified 15 strategic overseas locations where the
Trade Promotion Organizations (TPOs) are proposed to be created.

Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES):

TIES aid with setting up and up-gradation of infrastructure projects with

overwhelming export linkages like the Border Haats, Land customs stations, etc.

The Central and State Agencies, including Export Promotion Councils,

Commodities Boards, SEZ authorities and apex trade bodies recognized under the
EXIM policy of Government of India, are eligible for financial support under this
scheme.

India Improves Ranking in Ease of Doing Business:

India had made a leap of 23 ranks in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business
Ranking this year (2018) to be ranked at 77.

India now ranks first in Ease of Doing Business Report among South Asian
countries compared to 6th in 2014.

Multi-Modal Logistics Parks Policy (MMLPs):

MMLPs is to improve the country’s logistics sector by lowering over freight

costs, reducing vehicular pollution and congestion and cutting warehouse
costs with a view to promoting moments of goods for domestic and global
trade.

Reasons for Improvement in Ease of Doing Business:

To support start-ups and lower tax rates for MSMEs quicker environmental
clearances from 600 days to 140 days has been implemented,
Abolition of inter-state check post after implementation of GST has been