Table of Contents - Prepmate plans to revise no-detention policy ... SC says jails are overcrowded...

Table of Contents

1. Polity ...................................................................................................................................... 1

1. Criteria of Disability Linked Compensation to armed forces

(Direct Question can be asked) .............................................................................................. 1

2. Sports federations must be NGOs with NITI Aayog for govt funds

(Relevance: Regulation of Sports Bodies) .............................................................................. 2

3. Constitution Bench declines to go into Hindutva verdict (Relevance: Role of religion in

Politics) .................................................................................................................................. 3

4. Rajasthan drive to end child marriages

(Relevance: Social reforms in India)...................................................................................... 4

5. CABE plans to revise no-detention policy

(Relevance: Reforms under no-detention policy) ................................................................... 5

6. Kerala govt. website compromised PDS Beneficiary data (Relevance: Lack of awareness

about data security) ................................................................................................................ 6

7. Replacement of postal ballots by e-postal ballots

(Relevance: Voting reforms) .................................................................................................. 7

8. Mumbai Haji Ali Dargah to allow entry of women

(Relevance: Equal status to women in religious institutions) ................................................ 7

9. Gurgaon city is now officially renamed Gurugram

(Relevance: Renaming of cities on basis of traditional names) ............................................. 9

10. Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’s approval by MNS (Relevance: Bias against Pak actors and Hooliganism by political groups) ...................... 10

11. Revisions in UDAN Scheme (Regional Connectivity Scheme)

(Relevance: Direct Question can be asked on scheme) ...................................................... 11

12. SC steps in to protect victims of cow vigilantism

(Relevance: Victimisation of minorities by cow vigilantist groups) .................................... 12

13. TRAI wants Jio rivals to pay Rs. 3,050 crore fine

(Relevance: Fine on telecommunication companies for refusing to give inter-connection

service to Jio) ...................................................................................................................... 13

14. India’s dissent over capping aviation emissions baffles IATA (Relevance: Debate on

curbing Airline emissions) .................................................................................................. 13

15. SC seeks details of compensation for dog-bite victims

(Relevance: Inadequate measures for compensation of dog bite victims) .......................... 14

16. Compulsory voting is not practical in India, says Zaidi

(Relevance: Issue of compulsory voting in India) ............................................................... 14

17. Criminal defamation case to continue against Kejriwal

(Relevance: Possible curb on freedom of Speech and expression with criminal case on

defamation) .......................................................................................................................... 15

18. KWDT-II verdict

(Relevance: Tribunal order on Andhra and Telangana water sharing issue) .................... 15

19. Evaluation of fire accidents in the hospitals

(Relevance: Lack of fire safety measures) ........................................................................... 16

20. SC to Katju: Join the Soumya case hearing

(Relevance: Extra-ordinary measure for justice, Fb post treated as review petition) ........ 18

21. 75% cut-off planned for NIT admission

(Relevance: Importance to board exam results for admission to engineering colleges) .... 19

22. Debate on arbitrary use of authority by TN Govt.

(Relevance: Arbitrary act by State) ..................................................................................... 19

23. Dissolve Shunglu panel: Delhi govt.

(Relevance: Controversy over appointment of Shunglu Committee) .................................. 21

24. Smaller parties, Independents in Rajya Sabha unite for more talk time

(Relevance: Representation of smaller parties in Rajya Sabha) ......................................... 21

25. SC says jails are overcrowded by 150%, laments plight of inmates

(Relevance: Condition of prisoners) ................................................................................... 23

26. Maratha march effect: Fee waiver for more students

(Relevance: Pressure groups) ............................................................................................. 24

27. Legal Position and convention for allocation of CM portfolio (Relevance: Direct

Question can be asked) ....................................................................................................... 24

28. Who will regulate pension products?

(Relevance: Inter-regulatory conflict over pension products) ............................................ 25

29. Karnataka’s ban on e-cigs turns into vapour near schools (Relevance: E- cigarettes

popularity among school children) ..................................................................................... 26

30. Pendency not due to judge shortage alone: Law ministry

(Relevance: Judicial Reforms) ............................................................................................ 26

31. Aadhaar must for LPG subsidy after November

(Relevance: Mandatory use of Aadhaar for availing subsidies after grant of legal status to

Aadhar) ................................................................................................................................ 27

32. Janani Suraksha Yojana pays dividends: Study

(Relevance: JSY impact on IMR and MMR) ....................................................................... 28

33. Frivolous’ RTI pleas is becoming problematic, PMO issues advisory (Relevance: Measures to control frivolous RTIs) ............................................................... 29

34. Foreign medical graduates fail MCI exam

(Relevance: Direct question can be asked) ......................................................................... 30

35. Need of Simpler law for Land Acquisition

(Relevance: Tougher Land Acquisition law hampers industrial growth ) .......................... 32

36. SC blocks BCCI funds to State units

(Relevance: SC pressurizes BCCI adopt reforms) .............................................................. 32

37. Supreme Court stays Patna HC order quashing prohibition (Relevance: SC accepts

draconian Bihar prohibition law) ....................................................................................... 33

38. Bill to protect HIV community from bias gets Cabinet approval

(Relevance: Legal measures to eliminate discrimination against people with AIDS) ......... 35

39. SC interference in resolution of Cauvery dispute

(Relevance: Failure of mechanism to resolve inter-state water disputes) ........................... 37

40. Ban triple talaq, says Women Law Board

(Relevance: Gender Equality among Muslim Women) ........................................................ 39

41. Prasar Bharati CEO resigns

(Relevance: Issue of autonomy of Prasar Bharti) ................................................................ 39

42. SC confirms 25-year jail for Vikas Yadav in Katara murder case (Relevance: Honour

Killing) ................................................................................................................................. 40

43. No visa for Baloch leader Naela Quadri

(Relevance: Lack of policy for refugees) .............................................................................. 40

44. Debate over reservations through Public Clout

(Relevance: Direct Question can be asked) ......................................................................... 41

45. Supreme Court sends Shahabuddin back to jail

(Relevance: Criminalisation of politics) .............................................................................. 42

46. Budget merger may need Parliament’s nod (Relevance: Extent of powers under executive orders) ........................................................ 43

2. International Relations and Organisations ....................................................................... 45

1. Nitaqat Scheme

(Relevant for GS Mains Paper II) ........................................................................................ 45

2. No Russian representation in UN Human Rights Council (Relevance: Sidelining of

Russia in international politics) ........................................................................................... 45

3. Sharif sacks minister over news report on army rift

(Relevance: Difference of opinion between government and millitary on supporting

terorrism in India) ................................................................................................................ 46

4. Mosul under control of Iraqi Government

(Relevance: Weakening ISIS) ............................................................................................... 47

5. Reason for unrest against government of Venezuela

(Relevance: Falling oil prices and problems for oil exporting nations) .............................. 47

6. Pakistan High Commission staffer expelled for espionage (Relevance: Indo-Pak

Relations) ............................................................................................................................. 48

7. Major Terror attack in Quetta, Pakistan

(Relevance: Unrest in Pakistan) .......................................................................................... 48

8. Pak. freezes accounts of 5,100, including Azhar

(Relevance: Action by Pakistan against terrorist groups) ................................................... 49

9. Present Status of India’s NSG Membership Prospects (Relevance: Chances of India’s membership of NSG) ......................................................... 49

10. NSG: New Zealand to play constructive role

(Relevance: India’s membership of NSG) ............................................................................ 50

11. India, China conduct first military exercise in J&K

(Relevance: Confidence building measure between India and China) ................................ 51

12. U.S. stands in solidarity with India on cross-LoC strikes (Relevance: US support on

terrorism) ............................................................................................................................. 51

13. India to lend a helping hand to Myanmar’s reconciliation efforts (Relevance: Support to democracy in Myanmar) .................................................................................................. 52

14. India- China differences on terrorism from Pakistan

(Relevance: Direct question can be asked) .......................................................................... 53

15. Outcome of BRICS meet held at Goa

(Relevance: BRICS dominated by discussion on terrorism, BRICS- BIMSTEC Outreach) 54

16. Russia gives S-400 systems to boost India’s air defence (Relevance: Indo-Russian

Defence ties) ......................................................................................................................... 54

17. The Differences among BRICS nations (Relevant for GS Prelims, Mains Paper II) ..... 55

18. Ban demand on Chinese imports

(Relevance: Indo- China trade relations) ............................................................................ 56

19. China- Bangladesh Relations

(Relevance: Growing Chinese relations with India’s neighbours) ...................................... 57

20. Deteriorating US-Russia Relations

(Relevance: for GS Mains Paper II) ................................................................................... 57

21. Maldives quits Commonwealth grouping

(Relevance: Question on democracy in Maldives) ............................................................... 58

22. Views of Sheikh Hasina

(Relevance: South Asia Politics) .......................................................................................... 60

23. Saudi war in Yemen

(Relevance: Criticism of Saudi action in Yemen)................................................................. 62

24. Sri Lankan PM: Foremost place for Buddhism in new Constitution

(Relevance: Questions on Secular character of SL) ............................................................ 64

25. MH17 brought down by Russian missile: Probe

(Relevance: Results of probe on MH 17 knocked down last year) ...................................... 65

26. India, Sri Lanka possible economic pact

(Relevance: Indo-SL Economic Relations) .......................................................................... 65

27. Sri Lanka to build 100,000 barrels per day refinery with India’s IOC (Relevance: India’s assistance to SL) .................................................................................. 66

28. Declining importance of NAM


29. UN court rejects disarmament case against India


30. N-deal with Japan


31. OPEC’s decision to reduce Oil Output (Relevance: OPEC attempt to re-emerge) ........................................................................... 70

32. China blocks tributary of Brahmaputra to build dam

(Relevance: Indo- China Brahmaputra water sharing issue) .............................................. 70

33. SAARC summit ‘postponed indefinitely’ (Relevance : Weakening SAARC) ......................................................................................... 72

34. Failure on peace deal in Syria


35. India unhappy over Russia-Pakistan ties

(Relevance: Russia-Pakistan Ties) ....................................................................................... 73

36. Colombia’s Santos wins Peace Nobel for deal with FARC (Relevance: Direct question

can be asked) ........................................................................................................................ 74

37. Outcome of Raffale deal

Relevance: Direct Question can be asked) .......................................................................... 76

3. Economics ........................................................................................................................... 78

1. DND is made toll-free by Allahabad HC

(Relevance: Intervention by Courts to stop Toll Collections on behalf of public) ............... 78

2. India- S. Korea DTAA notified

(Relevance: Question can be asked on implications of DTAA with South Korea) .............. 79

3. Evaluation of ranking attained in ease of doing business (Relevance: Direct Question is

Probable) ............................................................................................................................. 79

4. ‘One India’ push for ease of business (Relevance: Measures to enhance Ease of doing business) ................................................ 81

5. Global Gender Gap Report by WEF

(Relevance: Status of women in India) ................................................................................ 83

6. The data breach at banks

(Relevance: Vulnerability of important data) ..................................................................... 83

7. Full convertibility on capital account unlikely for few years (Relevance: State of Capital

Account Convertibility) ....................................................................................................... 84

8. Evaluating China’s Economy (Relevance: Why Indian economy is performing well but Chinese economy suffered from

reduction in growth in recent years) ................................................................................... 85

9. Forex reserves touch record high of $372 billion

(Relevance: State of forex) .................................................................................................. 86

10. Just 20 blocks kept for private explorers

(Relevance: Emphasis on public sector units for exploration of mines) ............................ 86

11. New regime at RBI debuts with rate cut

(Relevance: Trend of Monetary Policy) .............................................................................. 87

12. CIL to pay Rs.2,500 cr. more as levies

(Relevance: Contribution towards District Mineral Foundation) ...................................... 88

13. Rs. 65,250 cr. mopped up via new black money window (Relevance: Funds collected

under Voluntary Disclosure of income scheme) ................................................................. 89

14. Reliance inks defence deal with Dassault

(Relevance: Outcome of defence deal with France to purchase Raffale fighter aircraft) . 90

4. Environment ........................................................................................................................ 92

1. Kigali Agreement on HFCs

(Relevance: Direct Question is expected) ........................................................................... 92

2. Two-thirds of wild animals may go extinct by 2020, warns report (Relevance: State of

Biodiversity) ......................................................................................................................... 94

3. India ratifies Paris climate agreement


5. Internal Security ................................................................................................................. 95

1. Evacuation along Pak border

(Relevance: Evacuation along Pakistan border) ................................................................. 95

2. Operation Ginger: Surgical Attack carried in the past.................................................... 95

3. Centre plans to revive NCTC

(Relevance: Anti-terrorism measures in India) .................................................................... 96

4. Dealing with the Maoists


6. Science and Technology ..................................................................................................... 98

1. Range of BrahMos to be doubled

(Relevance: Implication of becoming member of MTCR) .................................................... 98

2. High rate of TB in India

(Relevance: Incidence of TB in India).................................................................................. 98

3. National Academic Depository

(Relevance: Digitisation of degrees) .................................................................................... 99

4. Centre forms panel to monitor bird flu

(Relevance: Recurrence of Bird Flu threat) ......................................................................... 99

5. WHAT ARE CIRCUMSTELLAR DISKS?

(Relevance: Direct Question can be asked) ....................................................................... 100

6. No need to panic, card holders told

(Relevance: Security of data) ............................................................................................. 101

7. Delhi’s air quality very poor: SAFAR (Relevance: Air Pollution in enclosed urban areas) .......................................................... 102

8. Now, India has a nuclear triad

(Relevance: Direct question can be asked) ........................................................................ 103

9. 3D-printed material helps bones regrow

(Relevance: Application of 3-D Printing) .......................................................................... 104

10. Health spending Analysis


11. What is an electronic paper?


12. All about GM Mustard


13. What is a ‘hyperelastic bone’? (Relevance: Direct Question can be asked) ....................................................................... 107

7. Prelims Only ...................................................................................................................... 108

1. PM Modi to present Ramnath Goenka journalism awards ........................................... 108

2. Second Mars mission ...................................................................................................... 108

3. Yazidi IS survivors win EU prize ................................................................................... 108

4. Tata Sons sacks Cyrus Mistry ....................................................................................... 108

5. Beijing to have world’s biggest air purifier tower ........................................................ 109

6. Delhi gets an ‘Election Museum’ .................................................................................. 109

7. Gandhian activist Mewa Ramgobin dead ..................................................................... 110

8. Tiangong-2 SPACECRAFT ........................................................................................... 110

9. Putin, Modi to inaugurate work on Kudankulam reactor today ................................... 110

10. Guterres formally apppointed as UN chief ................................................................. 111

11. Cricket’s ranking put to the Test ................................................................................. 112

12. New species of Pika discovered (Relevant for GS Prelims) ........................................ 112

Model Test Papers

GS Paper I

GS Paper II

GS Paper III

GS Paper IV

ESSAY

Shubham s )AS, SCO , Sector C, Chandigarh. Contact -00000, www.shubhamsias.com Page 1

1. Polity 1. Criteria of Disability Linked Compensation to armed forces (Direct Question can be asked)

Recommendations by Seventh Pay Commission

The recommendation was that from the current formula of % of pay for % disability , the disability element should now be granted at the fixed rate of Rs. 27,000, Rs.17,000 and Rs.12,000

for Commissioned Officers, Junior Commissioned Officers and Other Ranks respectively for 100 per

cent disability, and proportionately reduced for lesser disability.

Basis of recommendations

The observation was that as there was an increase in the percentage of disabled officers in the

defence services vis-à-vis the lower ranks, benefits needed to be slashed from the percentage of pay system to a slab system which would be more equitable for ranks other than officers.

Criticism of recommendations . Surprisingly, no such corresponding equitable change was recommended for civilian disability pensioners, including those from the Central Armed Police Forces, who continue to receive benefits on the basis of percentage of pay .

2. There is a higher probability of officers incurring disability than jawans since the latter start

retiring in their 30s after about 15-plus years of service. Officers retire in their 50s after a service

period spanning 30 years or more.

3. In the higher ranks, the difference is more glaring. A Lieutenant General who is 100 per cent

disabled and drawing a disability element of Rs.52,560 as of December 31, 2015, would now get

Rs.27,000 on January 1, 2016. His civilian counterpart, on a par earlier, would now get Rs.67,500. Ministry s order The Defence Ministry ordered implementation of the th Pay Commission s recommendations on pensions but added the disability pension component will be paid as per the old system until the pay panel s Anomaly Committee comes out with a solution. Implication of the order As per the order, for those who started getting pensions before January 1, 2016, revised pension will be calculated by multiplying by 2.57 the old pension drawn in December 2015.


Background A soldier getting disability pension as a percentage of his salary will get a fixed slab-based amount if the pay panel s recommendation implemented. 2. Sports federations must be NGOs with NITI Aayog for govt funds (Relevance: Regulation of Sports Bodies)

Decision of NITI Aayog

Sports federations that have not registered themselves as NGOs with a NITI Aayog portal will no

longer be entitled to funds from the government. NITI Aayog has categorically stated that NSFs are

to be treated as NGOs.

Response of Sports Federations

While majority of the federations have acceded to the government order, several such as the All

India Tennis Association (AITA) are waiting for now. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is

learnt to be taking legal opinion, while the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is reported to be concerned and confused about the implications of getting itself registered as an NGO.

Reason for treating Sports Federations as NGOs

1. The purpose of the new policy was to bring in more transparency in the way funds are utilised.

He said that the federations will have to give details such as the names of their office-bearers, their

address, registration details, PAN number, etc, after which a unique identification number would be

generated. The NSFs will have to use this unique ID to apply for grants.

. All information regarding the NSFs, including their projects and achievements, will be

maintained online via the portal. NITI Aayog has recently made a portal for regulation of NGOs. It

takes away dependence on physical paperwork since everything will be done online. It will be easy

to monitor as well.

3. NITI Aayog will reportedly conduct an annual review of every federation and also monitor them

as per the prescribed guidelines. Fear of Federations Federations fear the aid they receive from international bodies will be under scrutiny. As per NITI Aayog guidelines, officials may conduct checks to monitor their schemes. In case of default, the ministry may consider acquiring assets or blacklisting them. The federations fear they might be answerable to CAG and Lokayukta.


The other concern for most federations is what happens to the funding they receive from respective international federations. Said an AIFF office-bearer, )f we are registered as an NGO, we need to understand whether it will have any impact on the annual grants we receive from FIFA. We need to know the differences in the way an NGO receives foreign funding compared to a sports federation, since we are registered under the Societies Registration Act. 3. Constitution Bench declines to go into Hindutva verdict (Relevance: Role of religion in Politics)

SC declined to review its 1995 judgment on Hindutva

The Supreme Court has declined plea of social activist to review its 1995 judgment.

A seven-judge Bench clarified that the Supreme Court is now examining only what constitutes

corrupt electoral practice under Section 123 (3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

Specifically, the Constitution Bench is hearing arguments on whether it amounts to a corrupt

electoral practice if a candidate ropes in the services of religious leaders to use their mass appeal to

swing votes in his or her favour.

What does 1995 judgment state The judgment stated that (indutva or (induism is a way of life and has nothing to do with


narrow fundamentalist (indu religious bias . Justice Verma had concluded in that no precise meaning can be ascribed to the terms (indu , (indutva and (induism ; and no meaning in the abstract can confine it to the narrow limits of religion alone, excluding the content of )ndian culture and heritage .

Section 123 (3) of Representation of People s Act bars candidate from adopting the following

means

The promotion of feelings of enmity or hatred between different classes of the citizens of India on

grounds of religion, race, caste, community, or language by a candidate for the furtherance of the

prospects of the election of that candidate or for prejudicially affecting the election of any

candidate.

According to judgment, the use of the term (induism or (indutva doesn t lead to violation of section 123(3) of Representation of People Act because the term doesn t confine itself to religion.

View of Social Activists They contended that the judgment s interpretation of (indutva had curtailed faith in secularism. 4. Rajasthan drive to end child marriages (Relevance: Social reforms in India)

Rajasthan Govt initiated Sajha Abhiyan to end child marriages Under the banner of Sajha Abhiyan of the Rajasthan government, UNFPA and UN)CEF, a district-

level Abhiyan Yatra was flagged off in Dausa for complete elimination of child marriages in the

State. A call was given on the occasion to make Rajasthan child-marriage-free.

Need of the drive

Child marriage in Rajasthan continues to be much higher than the national average. In order to

address the issue, the State government, with the support of UNFPA and UNICEF, has taken the lead

in developing a comprehensive strategy and action plan for doing away with the marriages of minor

boys and girls.

Details about Sajha Abhiyan

Women and Child Development Minister flagged off the yatra, which will wind its way through as

many as 50 village panchayats in the district during the next 25 days to generate awareness among

the rural populace.


A significant aspect of the yatra is that it would apprise the people in the rural areas of the ill effects

and harmful consequences of child marriage and convince them to get such marriages nullified if

they have taken place in their families and neighbourhood. 5. CABE plans to revise no-detention policy (Relevance: Reforms under no-detention policy)

Plan to execute no-detention policy only till 4th standard

The process has been set in motion for the return of examinations in Classes V and VIII to arrest the decline in educational levels because of the current no-detention policy till Class 8.

CABE s advice to Centre govt.

The Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) — the apex body on educational issues —advised

the government

1. To amend the Right to Education (RTE) Act to empower States to decide whether they want to do

away with the no-detention policy in schools.

2. There is also a proposal to allow the re-examinations that would be immediately conducted for

students who failed in Classes V and VIII so as to facilitate their passage to the next stage.

What does current Non-Detention policy states?

As per the NDP, no student can be held back in the same class or expelled from school until the end

of Class VIII, the time when the student attains the age of 14.

The NDP was introduced in conjunction with the Right to Education Act (RTE) in 2010. Section 30

(1) of the RTE Act states that no child shall be required to pass any Board examination till completion of elementary education .

Arguments in Favour

1. Those in favour argue that the NDP has led to a decline in dropout rates in elementary school,

keeping the child in the learning cycle for at least eight years, as envisioned by the RTE.

2. Empirically, it has been found that since the introduction of NDP, there has been a steady rise in

enrolment at the elementary level across gender and social classes.

3. Further, a policy brief document from the Centre for Policy Research states: Research evidence indicates that detention of students by a year or more does not improve learning .


4. Even the Gita Bhukkal Committee [constituted by the MHRD] admits that there is no research

that shows that repeating helps children perform better. But research does say that repeating has

adverse academic and social effects on the child.

Arguments against the Policy

1. But those who are against the policy worry that automatic promotion to the next class leaves no

incentive for both the student and the teacher, which deteriorates the quality of education. . With no fear of detention, students start skipping school and don t pay attention in the class. 3. According to the Delhi government, over 50 per cent of the students in government schools failed

to clear the Class-IX examination last year — the first time they faced serious exams.

4. Further, promoting students who are not well equipped with concepts from previous class

pushes down the standard of the whole class, making it difficult for the teacher to teach the

curriculum at the expected pace.

5. T.S.R. Subramanian panel on education policy states that the No Detention Policy till Class VIII

has adversely affected academic performance of students

6. Kerala govt. website compromised PDS Beneficiary data (Relevance: Lack of awareness about data security)

Kerela Govt. compromised PDS beneficiary data

The Kerala government may have compromised the privacy of Public Distribution System

beneficiaries, by making available their personal information online.

Details

Personal data such as monthly income, electoral card details, consumer numbers of power and

cooking gas connections of 1.5 crore residents were published on the Civil Supplies website,

throwing open the possibility of misuse by private companies and individuals.

A capable team can download the entire data in a few hours and use it in myriad ways. Even the

neighbourhood mischief-maker could use the data for other purposes. Such situations happen

because there is little awareness on data security at the top level in government departments.

Background

The Civil Supplies Department released the draft list of 1.54 crore PDS beneficiaries, prepared as

part the Food Security Act, 2013, on its website. The list was published so that the public could


verify their personal data and apply for corrections, if necessary, before new ration cards are

printed next year.

The list of beneficiaries for each ward is available as a single report, from which individual ration

card numbers can be obtained.

This number can be used in the View ration card details page, where the personal details of individuals of a particular family are available. These include date of birth, gender, job, monthly

salary, electoral identity card number, consumer numbers of power and cooking gas connections,

besides information on any welfare pensions or housing schemes.

7. Replacement of postal ballots by e-postal ballots

(Relevance: Voting reforms)

A change in The Conduct of Election Rules, now empowers a returning officer in any constituency to send postal ballots to an eligible voter by electronic means as specified by the Election Commission. Implications of Change in Rules The change will go a long way in easing logistical issues involved in ensuring that the ballot paper of the constituency, where a voter is eligible to vote, is sent in time. In the 2014 general elections, over one million voters used postal ballots. The change will cut time in transmission of the ballot paper and help the EC overcome logistical problems. Till now, postal ballots were sent through the Department of Posts. OTP for voters With the new rule, the returning officer can send it through a web portal with a One Time Password to voters. The voter needs to download the ballot for voting. What was the need for Postal Ballot In India, postal ballots have played a critical role in extending the electoral process to voters unable to exercise their franchise— due to either the nature of their job or geographical location of their posting. The armed forces best illustrate the point. 8. Mumbai Haji Ali Dargah to allow entry of women (Relevance: Equal status to women in religious institutions)


Bombay High Court Order

Bombay High Court ordered the Haji Ali Dargah Trust to give equal access to women to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the famed dargah in Mumbai on a par with men .

The High Court held that the ban imposed by the Trust, prohibiting women from entering the

sanctum sanctorum of the Haji Ali Dargah, contravened Articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution

and said women should be permitted to enter the sanctum sanctorum like men.

SC directions

Haji Ali Dargah Trust filed appeal against the order. Disposing of the challenge raised by the Trust against the (igh Court decision, the Supreme Court allowed the Trust two weeks time to remove certain structural obstructions inside the dargah:

1. To give women unrestricted view of the sanctum sanctorum.

2. The hearing also saw the court nudge the Trust on why it had separate entrances for men and

women into the dargah.


Background

Prior to 2011, the Dargah did not discriminate against woman and allowed free entry to people

across all religions. However, Dargah Board then imposed ban on women entry into Dargah on the

ground that women should not come near to male God.

Response of Dargah Trust on same entry and right of woman of entry to Dargah

Segregation of devotees on the basis of gender (and age) is essential and was practised as is

evidenced from the hadiths and the Sunnah.

This is not only necessary from a religious point of view, but also from the point of view of ensuring

ease of access, comfort and crowd control to segregate men from women and children.

While hadiths do not bar women from entering places of worship where their exists infrastructure

for segregation, hadiths do indicate that in Islam there is a higher reward for women if they were to

offer prayers (Namaaz) in house.

What are Hadiths?

A collection of traditions containing sayings of the prophet Muhammad with accounts of his daily

practice (the Sunna) constitute the major source of guidance for Muslims apart from the Koran.

9. Gurgaon city is now officially renamed Gurugram

(Relevance: Renaming of cities on basis of traditional names)

Gurgaon city has now officially been renamed as Gurugram.

Reason for renaming

It was in April this year that the Haryana Government had floated the proposal to rename Gurgaon

as Gurugram based on the historic connect of the city with Guru Dhronacharya. The legend has it

that the town derived its name from the name of Guru Dronacharya; the village was given as gurudakshina to him by his students; the Pandavas and hence it came to be known as Guru-gram,

which in course of time got distorted to Gurgaon.

Mixed reactions on renaming

The decision of the government to change the name of the city evoked mixed reactions. While the

local BJP leaders welcomed the move, the rival political parties termed it a cosmetic measure and

advised the government to better concentrate on improving the infrastructure in the city. The

young, however, felt that the name did not go well with the reputation of the city and sounded old-

fashioned.


Procedure for renaming

After the order of the state government, the proposal for the name change was sent to union

government for its approval. Then, the changed name was notified through official gazette of State. 10. Ae Dil (ai Mushkil s approval by MNS (Relevance: Bias against Pak actors and Hooliganism by political groups)

Details of Meeting

Representatives from the Film and Television Producers Guild of India Ltd., Maharashtra

Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis

met in Mumbai to resolve a month-long predicament facing film-maker Karan Johar and his soon-

to-be-released movie Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

Outcomes . At the end of the meeting, Mukesh Bhatt, the president of the Producers Guild, announced that a voluntary donation of a certain amount would be made to the Army Welfare Fund, regardless of whether the film makes a profit or not. If the film turns in a profit, there would be further

donations. However, later on Army refused to accept the donation.

2. The Guild also agreed to not cast any Pakistani actor in their movies in future. Mr. Johar said he

would put a slide to honour and pay tribute to the armed forces before the slide honouring his late

father Yash Johar appears on screen.

Questions arisen on account of meeting

1. What does it say about the state s inability, or unwillingness, to stand up to extra-constitutional

threats?

The first is to ask is how the MNS (or any political party, for that matter) can presume, and be

allowed, extra-constitutional power to enforce a ban on cultural expression, be it films, books,

plays, cartoons, paintings, stand-up comedy, etc, solely because it does not cohere to its ideology, or

because it allegedly hurts nationalist sentiments.

The Ae Dil Hai Mushkil episode is not the first time that the freedom of expression has been sought

to be suppressed. Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is different because it has a Pakistani actor in a small role at a

time when India is attempting to isolate Pakistan diplomatically for state support to terror acts

targeted at India.


2. Should the Chief Minister s office be used to broker a deal between two parties, instead of asserting its authority and standing up to hooliganism and ensuring law and order?

Diminishing the Chief Minister s office

Coming to the second question: why was the Maharashtra Chief Minister s office — irrespective of

who occupies it — used to mediate and broker a deal between a film producer and a political party?

In fact, why did Mr. Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, not stand up to MNS hooliganism

by assuring adequate protection to Mr. Johar for the screening of his film?

Brokering a peace deal between warring factions can be a noble cause. This wasn t the case here. )t was akin to a case of a school bully taking on a soft target, and the principal deciding to side with

the former. With his inability to stand up for the politically weak and succumbing to threats of

violence, the Chief Minister has set a precedent for similar protests in the future.

It is a dangerous template, and enough vigilante groups will see the terrain to be easy for political pickings. Mr. Thackeray s party, which has negligible clout in the State legislature or in policymaking, has been trying to retain its public relevance by consistently using threats of violence

against chosen communities (migrant workers from north India, the film industry, etc), threats that

are eventually ignored by the state.

3. What does it tell us about Mumbai s fading status as a hub for liberal, progressive political discourse when the Chief Minister plays mute spectator to what many would term political

extortion?

The city has been defined by its various qualities, but three things stand out: it has historically

stood for liberal thought, respect for law and order, and embracing newcomers as its own. This

openness has been under attack for many years now. And by siding with Mr. Thackeray, the Chief Minister has struck another blow against the city s ethos. )t is for this reason that Mr. Fadnavis s role in the Ae Dil Hai Mushkil imbroglio is yet more disturbing.

Karan Johar s Position Mr. Johar was, like the rest of us, not aware of the sudden turn of events and the anti-Pakistan sentiment being whipped up. It is a simplistic explanation, however, to a complex situation. Therefore, we must get back to the questions at hand. 11. Revisions in UDAN Scheme (Regional Connectivity Scheme) (Relevance: Direct Question can be asked on scheme)


Recent Changes to the Scheme

The Centre will provide higher a subsidy to airlines that operate flights between two regional

airports under the regional connectivity scheme. The subsidy amount given to airlines that operate

between two unserved or underserved airports will be 10 per cent higher than the sum offered to

airlines that connect only one regional airport. There are 16 airports that have had no flights in the

past one year and another 399 airports or airstrips that have not seen flight operations for more

than three years.

Details of UDAN Scheme

Under the scheme, also known as UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik), the Centre will provide a three-year subsidy to fund the losses of airlines to enable them to offer airfares at Rs. , for an hour s flight on half the seats. The subsidy amount for airlines connecting to one regional airport will vary

between Rs.2,350 and Rs.5,100 per seat depending upon the distance covered between two

destinations. 12. SC steps in to protect victims of cow vigilantism (Relevance: Victimisation of minorities by cow vigilantist groups)

SC to seek response from Centre

A Supreme Court bench asked the Centre and several State government to respond to a PIL petition seeking to declare cow vigilantes extortionists and put an end to their atrocities against Dalits and minority communities.

Akhlaq s case necessitated SC s intervention

The Supreme Court's intervention comes shortly after investigating officials found there was no

evidence of cow slaughter by Mohammed Akhlaq, who was beaten and lynched last year on

suspicion of storing beef in his house at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh.

Details of PIL filed

The PIL petition contended that cow vigilantes groups should be punished under various provisions

of Indian Penal Code as well as under Schedule Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of

Atrocities) Act, 1989.

Undue protection to cow vigilantes by state govts.

The petition pointed out that some State governments even provide protection to cow vigilantes.

It highlighted the Gujarat Animal Prevention Act, 1956 which deems that all who act to protect

cows are deemed public servants and no legal action shall be instituted against them, the petition

contended.


The case is the same with the Maharashtra Animal Prevention Act, 1956 and the Karnataka

Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act.

Further, the Gujarat Animal Prevention (Amendment) Rules, 2011, provide that authorised persons

under these rules include those employed in gau-shalas.

13. TRAI wants Jio rivals to pay Rs. 3,050 crore fine (Relevance: Fine on telecommunication companies for refusing to give inter-connection service to Jio)

TRAI recommended a hefty fine on Airtel, Vodafone and Idea

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended a hefty penalty of Rs. 3,050

crore on top three telcos — Airtel, Vodafone and Idea — for violating their licence agreement and

denial of interconnection to new player Reliance Jio. The recommended fine for the Airtel and

Vodafone amounts to Rs. 1,050 crore, for Idea the penalty has been suggested Rs. 950 crore.

Background

This development comes on the back of a prolonged battle between the Mukesh Ambani group s new telecom venture Jio and these incumbent operators, with the former alleging that its

subscribers were unable to make calls to other networks as other operators were not providing

adequate inter-connection points. 14. )ndia s dissent over capping aviation emissions baffles )ATA (Relevance: Debate on curbing Airline emissions)

IATA disappointed over )ndia s dissent over cubing aviation emissions

Global airline body, International Air Transport Association (IATA) has expressed disappointment over )ndia s opposition to a global pact for curbing aviation emissions proposed by the United Nations )nternational Civil Aviation Organisation )CAO in Montreal recently.

Other developing nations like China, Indonesia, Zambia and Kenya have signed the global pact.

Rationale behind dissent

Although 65 countries signed the pact committing to cap emissions at 2020 levels, India and Brazil

were among countries that opted out as it felt the deal would be unfair for developing countries

where the civil aviation market is not mature and the airlines are limited compared to the

developed economies.


What is IATA? The )nternational Air Transport Association is a trade association of the world s airlines. )t consists of 268 airlines, primarily major carriers, and represents 117 countries. The IATA's member airlines

account for carrying approximately 83% of total Available Seat Kilometers air traffic.

IATA supports airline activity and helps formulate industry policy and standards. It is

headquartered in Montreal, Canada with Executive Offices in Geneva, Switzerland.

15. SC seeks details of compensation for dog-bite victims (Relevance: Inadequate measures for compensation of dog bite victims)

SC to adopt measures for compensating the dog bite victims

Faced with the threat stray dogs pose to human lives, the Supreme Court sought from the Animal

Welfare Board of India (AWBI) and other authorities the details of measures to give adequate

compensation to dog-bite victims and their families.

Inadequate provisions in the existing regulations to compensate the victims

Noting that many of these victims were from poor families and breadwinners, a Bench of Justices

acknowledged the arguments by an advocate representing the victims — that neither the

Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, nor the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules of 2001

provided for compensation to dog-bite victims.

Grave situation

The court then posted the case for hearing when it would specifically consider the grave situation prevalent in Kerala because of the excessive stray dog population.

SC-appointed committee s Report stated

In its second report, a Supreme Court-appointed Committee, led by the former Kerala High Court judge said immediate reduction of the stray dog population, and not birth control, was the need of the hour.

The committee countered animal lovers claim that sterilised dogs become docile.

16. Compulsory voting is not practical in India, says Zaidi

(Relevance: Issue of compulsory voting in India)

View of CEC on Compulsory Voting


Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Nasim Zaidi said the idea of compulsory voting has not been

found so practical in India, but comparative benefits of compulsory voting and education-led

mobilisation of voters will be worth examining again.

The CEC said the Systematic Voters Education should be carried out. In 2014 elections, 66.4 per

cent voter turnout in an electorate of 834 million in the national elections was an achievement.

Most significantly, women s participation was at a record high of . per cent.

View of Govt. )n response to a private member s Bill on compulsory voting, introduced in the Lok Sabha, the government had also said it would not be possible to bring in such a law that punishes those who

do not vote.

Why the demand for compulsory voting is made?

Low voter turnout and increasing apathy to vote among specific groups of people enable candidates

to get selected with low representation among the voters. 17. Criminal defamation case to continue against Kejriwal (Relevance: Possible curb on freedom of Speech and expression with criminal case on defamation)

View of Delhi High Court Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal suffered a setback when the Delhi High Court dismissed his plea seeking stay on trial court proceedings in a criminal defamation case filed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley saying, there was no illegality in continuing it simultaneously with a civil defamation suit. Plea filed by Mr. Kejriwal Mr. Kejriwal contended that proceedings before the trial court should be stayed since a civil suit was pending before the High Court. No double jeopardy Regarding Mr. Kejriwal s submission that continuation of both the cases would amount to double jeopardy, the court said the contention of the petitioner is not tenable in view of the fact that the proceedings initiated by respondent no. Jaitley against him are entirely different .

While the civil proceedings have been initiated claiming damages for damaging the reputation of the respondent no.1, the case at hand is the criminal defamation. Pendency of both the cases cannot be said to be amounting to double jeopardy, the court said. Implication of Judgement Conviction under Civil case for defamation would mean payment of damages for compensation. However, Conviction under criminal case for defamation may lead to imprisonment as well.


18. KWDT-II verdict (Relevance: Tribunal order on Andhra and Telangana water sharing issue)

Details of Verdict by KWDT-II

In its verdict, the KWDT-II (Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal – II) decided to maintain status quo on

the allocation made to upper riparian States Maharashtra and Karnataka and take up further action

on distribution of water to Telangana and Andhra Pradesh out of the allocation made to the

erstwhile united State.

The verdict would mean that the project specific allocations and other operational protocols would

be confined to the two States much against their demand that allocations be made afresh among the

four riparian States.

Demand of Review by Andhra and Telangana

It comes in the light of forceful pleas submitted by the two States on the need to reallocate water

among the four States consequent on the bifurcation of the erstwhile AP.

They contended that the allocation in 2013 was made before the enactment of the AP

Reorganisation Act and that even Parliament had given its endorsement for reconsideration of the

allocations made before bifurcation.

The two States argued that Section 89 in the AP Reorganisation Act 2014 was implicitly

incorporated to ensure reallocation among all the riparian States, but the tribunal maintained that

the provision pertained to Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The Union Water Resources Ministry too

had concurred with the view that the Section was confined to the two States and favoured

redistribution of water between them.

Karnataka hailed the verdict

The Karnataka government hailed the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-)) s decision not to re-look

into the allocation of water among the four riparian States.

Decision by KWDT- I

In its 2010 report, the tribunal had allocated 666 tmcft to Maharashtra, 911 tmcft to Karnataka and

1,001 tmcft to A.P.


19. Evaluation of fire accidents in the hospitals (Relevance: Lack of fire safety measures)

Fire broke out in SUM Hospital, Bhubaneswar

The tragic death of at least 22 people and injuries caused to dozens of others in the SUM Hospital

fire in Bhubaneswar throws up the question: what lessons were learnt from the AMRI Hospital fire

in Kolkata that claimed over 90 victims five years ago?

Learning from failures

Was the hospital fire fighting system activated immediately and were emergency measures taken to

evacuate patients? These and other aspects of the incident must be addressed by an impartial

investigation.

)f each deadly fire in a medical facility provided lessons in hindsight, )ndia s hospitals should be witnessing fewer events annually, with a sharp decline in casualties. That would follow the global

trend, as causes of hospital fires are understood better, and regulations tightened for safety of

patients, their families, visitors and staff.

Lack of safety measures and effective mechanism reported in the current incident

There are reports that not enough could be done in the SUM Hospital fire to move patients away

quickly, as the blaze spread and affected vulnerable people receiving intensive care. It is also

believed there were not enough ambulances available to shift the patients out.

Study on why fires in hospitals could be particularly fierce

One study by IIT Kharagpur engineers points to enrichment of the local environment by oxygen

leaks, which sets off fires in thin plastics.

The National Building Code is specific, requiring hospitals to have horizontal evacuation exits for

bedridden patients and sprinkler systems for structures of specified height, which would cover

most medical institutions.

Centre s view

Prevention of fires and emergency response are not high priorities in India, viewed by the Centre as

a municipal function under State governments. With a steady decline in the enforcement of urban

regulations and building plans, fire risks have multiplied in public buildings.

Way Forward


It will take enormous political will and active judicial oversight to enforce best practices and rein in

violators.

Meanwhile, patients and visitors could get a modicum of risk protection and suitable compensation

if all institutions offering any form of medical care are compulsorily required to be insured against

disasters. Such a regulation would make a hospital insurable only if it installs good quality fire

warning and control systems.

Evacuation from places where the fire has broken out is not the responsibility of the hospital alone, it is also the local administration s. Looking ahead, the Centre and State governments should address fire risk in medical institutions as

a top order priority. This can be achieved by understanding the hazard, adopting the right

infrastructure, enforcing the building code, and holding frequent fire drills to do things correctly in

an emergency.

20. SC to Katju: Join the Soumya case hearing (Relevance: Extra-ordinary measure for justice, Fb post treated as review petition)

In an unconventional order, a Supreme Court Bench took suo motu judicial notice and converted a

Facebook post of a former Supreme Court judge, Justice Markandey Katju, into a review petition and asked him to personally appear in court to debate his online criticism of the Bench s verdict, commuting the death penalty in the sensational 2011 Soumya rape and murder case.

Justice Katju s blog post said the September judgment was regrettable and needed to be reviewed in open court.

The Bench said Justice Katju s views expressed in the blog – Satyam Bruyat – deserved the respect and consideration and a debate was in order.

Constitutional bar on Justice Katju Participation (owever, Article of the Constitution may act as a bar on Justice Katju from participating in such a debate. The Article specifically mandates that no person who was a judge of the Supreme Court shall plead or act in any court or before any authority within the territory of )ndia.

Background

View of State


The State argued that the convict attacked the victim and beat her black and blue inside the woman s compartment of a passenger train in which she was travelling alone. (e then raped her on the rail track. Even if the deceased [Soumya] jumped out from the train, it was occasioned by the accused since otherwise she would lose her life or honour.

Senior advocate appearing for Soumya s mother, asked the Bench whether a person who forced a person to jump out of a train is not equally liable for the consequences of such an escape.

View of Judiciary

Justice Pant, however, said the court was satisfied that the convict caused the grievous injuries to

Soumya inside the train and had raped her on the rail track. But there was no conclusive proof from

the State to show that she was pushed out of the moving train by Govindachamy.

Justice Lalit observed that if she had died from the injuries sustained from the jump, Govindachamy

cannot be held guilty of murder.

We are convinced of the fact that he attacked her in the train, that he committed rape, for which we

have confirmed life imprisonment. But we are not convinced that he committed murder. 21. 75% cut-off planned for NIT admission (Relevance: Importance to board exam results for admission to engineering colleges)

Percentage below 75 in class 12th may soon bar admission in NIT

Candidates securing below 75 % in the Class-12 examinations may soon be ineligible to secure

admission in the National Institutes of Technology, irrespective of their JEE (Mains) scores. For Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes candidates, there will be some relaxation, with the cut-

off for eligibility being 70 %.

Recommendation by Ministry of HRD to CSAB

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has recommended that the Central Seat

Allocation Board (CSAB) make this change in the eligibility criteria for admission to the NITs.

It is now up to the CSAB to take a final call on this, though the body – which is responsible for seat

allocation for the NITs – is known to go by the government s advice.

About NITs

The 31 NITs – next in line of prestige after the IITs in technical education – offer admission to about

18,000 students each year at present, which is higher than the 10,000 students the IITs admit at


present.At present, the minimum eligibility criterion for admission to NITs is 70 % for general

candidates and 65 % for SCs and STs.

Reason for raising the eligibility standard N)T has been brought at par with ))T s criteria. At present, the eligibility criterion for admission to the IITs is 75 % in Class-12 for general and OBC candidates and 70 % for SC/ST candidates,

irrespective of JEE scores and resultant all-India Rank. 22. Debate on arbitrary use of authority by TN Govt. (Relevance: Arbitrary act by State)

Arrest of people on the plea of spreading rumours about ill health of Tamil s CM

The recent arrests of several people in Tamil Nadu on charges of spreading rumours about the

health of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa are a cause of serious concern.

While the State police might have its reasons to worry about threats to public order in the wake of

wild rumours circulating on social media, arresting so many people reflects a forceful behaviour

and a failure to distinguish between unfounded speculation and motivated trouble causing

elements.

Background Nearly a month after the Chief Minister s unfortunate hospitalisation, the people of Tamil Nadu

know very little about her health, other than the details released through sparsely-worded hospital

bulletins.

Given that there has been no official word from the State government, it is not entirely unnatural

that her extended stay in hospital has led to people speculating about her ill-health — some of them

owe allegiance to rival political parties.

Abuse of authority

To arrest people on charges of posting WhatsApp or Facebook messages is a gross abuse of

authority. If the government is keen on curtailing rumours, it would do better by keeping people updated regularly on the broad state of the Chief Minister s health, a matter that is a source of concern for all well-meaning people in the State.

Criminal intimidation, public mischief are sections of the law that have been used by police, at the

behest of overenthusiastic political bosses, on the basis of a mistaken sense of personal loyalty to

Ms. Jayalalithaa.


Instances of arrest without sufficient cause and proof

The arrest of two employees of a bank in Coimbatore is particularly unsettling, as the police went

solely by the word of an AIADMK functionary.

Neither the CCTV footage nor the testimony of other bank employees suggests any attempt on the

part of those arrested to disrupt public order or, even, spread rumours. Even if the two employees did speak of the Chief Minister s health condition, the conversation constituted a private exchange — it cannot be compared to posts on social media.

23. Dissolve Shunglu panel: Delhi govt. (Relevance: Controversy over appointment of Shunglu Committee)

Delhi Cabinet passed a resolution to dissolve Shunglu Commitee

The Delhi Cabinet passed a resolution terming the three-member Shunglu Committee constituted

by Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung unconstitutional and advised him to dissolve it.

Background

Following the High Court order stating that the L-G is the administrative head of Delhi, Mr. Jung had

set up an expert committee to examine the 400-odd files pertaining to decisions taken by the government without LG s approval since February .

Delhi Govt. s arguments

1. There is no provision in the Constitution, or in any statute or rule, which mandates setting up of

an external committee to inquire into on-going projects of public welfare, question officers and

threaten to recommend administrative and criminal action against them.

2. The government work was being adversely impacted due to the on-going enquiry by the

committee.

LG s response

The committee is examining only those files where illegalities have been committed and have thus

been accepted by the Ministers themselves by virtue of the fact that they themselves have

submitted these files. The L-G office has not issued any instructions to stop any work.

SC hearing

The Supreme Court will hear the matter on November 25 and is likely to pronounce its verdict.


24. Smaller parties, Independents in Rajya Sabha unite for more talk time (Relevance: Representation of smaller parties in Rajya Sabha)

The United group

Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari has recognised a group of 22 MPs belonging to parties with

fewer than four members and some Independents as a consolidated bloc. They will get more time to

speak in debates.

Hailing from ideologically diverse backgrounds and including nominated MPs like cricketer Sachin

Tendulkar and boxer Mary Kom, this group of MPs have united to secure more time to speak in

House debates, where their solitary or numerically lean status afforded them as little as three

minutes of speech time.

Rarity of grouping

This is only the third time in the history of Indian Parliament that this is happening, the first was in

1983, and the second in 1990.

Place in Business Advisory Committee

With this grouping, united group is the third largest group of MPs in the Rajya Sabha, after the


Congress and the BJP and will find a place in the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) that decides

time allotment.

Stimulus to create the United Group

Members from smaller parties raised this issue with the Vice-President and since it is only for the

purposes of participating in debates it made a lot of sense.Time allotted to parties to speak on

debates depends entirely on their strength in the House.

Implication of United Group being formed

A grouping of this kind will, therefore, make it possible, say, for a party like the Sikkim Democratic

Front with a single MP to speak for as much time as say, a Samajwadi Party with 19 MPs in the

Upper House. 25. SC says jails are overcrowded by 150%, laments plight of inmates (Relevance: Condition of prisoners)

SC reprimanded for overcrowding in jails

A Bench, in a judgment on a suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL), observed that prisons are

crammed with inmates by over one and a half times the permissible limit.

Judgement states

Fundamental rights and human rights of people, however they may be placed, cannot be ignored

only because of their adverse circumstances.

Inaction observed by SC in this regard

The recent judgment refers to jails in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Assam,

Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in this context, observing that in spite of

directions by the Court, the prison authorities have not been able to take any effective steps for

reducing overcrowding in jails.

The court found that authorities have defied repeated orders of the Supreme Court to draw a viable plan of action to de-congest jails.

Instead, prison authorities have banked on ad hoc proposals like the construction of additional

barracks or jails, and these proposals have no time limits for implementation.

SC s directions

The Supreme Court directed the Ministry to get the manual ready by November 30 and present it in


court.

It also ordered the Ministry of Home Affairs to receive and collate plans of action for de-congesting

jails from the various States and Union Territories in the next six months.

Moreover, the SC directed the government to prepare a viable Plan of Action within the next six

months and hand it over to the apex court by March 31, 2017. 26. Maratha march effect: Fee waiver for more students (Relevance: Pressure groups)

Maratha Cabinet extended fee waiver for economically backward students

Under pressure from the Maratha community, the Maharashtra Cabinet extended 50 per cent fee

waiver to all categories of students pursuing professional and higher education courses with a

family income of less than Rs. 6 lakh per annum.

Maratha agitation becomes the basis of this fee waiver scheme

The decision comes against the backdrop of the State-wide silent rallies being staged by the

Maratha community since September.

Eligible Institutions for availing the scheme benefits

EBC category students studying in government, aided and non-aided colleges, which offer

professional courses such as engineering and medicine, will benefit from the newly-launched

Rajashri Shahu Maharaj Fee Reimbursement scheme.

Students who have secured admission in government universities, government-approved deemed

universities and private unaided colleges through centralised entrance test will be eligible for the

benefits under the scheme.

Eligibility criteria

As per the scheme, students from families with income less than Rs. 2.5 lakh per year will have no

eligibility criteria to get benefits under the EBC category, while those with income ranging from Rs.

2.5 lakh to Rs. 6 lakh will have to secure at least 60 per cent in Class XII to become eligible for

benefits under the scheme.

27. Legal Position and convention for allocation of CM portfolio

(Relevance: Direct Question can be asked)


Transferring CM s portfolios Tamil s Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao have allocated the portfolios held by the ailing Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, to her seniormost colleague in the Cabinet, O. Panneerselvam. The arrangement, to

continue until Ms. Jayalalithaa resumes her duties.

Similar instances in the past )n , Governor S.L. Khurana assigned M.G. Ramachandran s portfolios to V.R. Nedunchezhiyan

and asked the latter to preside over Cabinet meetings, constitute a guiding precedent favoured by

several jurists.

Theoretical support: D.D. Basu says in his Shorter Constitution of India : )f the Governor allocates the functions of the Chief Minister, under Art.166(3), to some other

Minister during the temporary absence (say, illness) of the Chief Minister, the functions of the Chief

Minister under the Constitution can be discharged by that other Minister, e.g., to preside over

meetings of the Council of Ministers; to communicate to the Governor the decisions of the Council of Ministers under Art. a ; to advise dissolution of the Legislative Assembly under Art. b . Way forward Given what has transpired recently in Tamil Nadu, it may be advisable to adopt the convention that the minister next in seniority to the Chief Minister is automatically recognised as officiating chief executive when she or he is temporarily unavailable, due to ill-health or otherwise. 28. Who will regulate pension products? (Relevance: Inter-regulatory conflict over pension products)

Committee is set up for consolidation of regulating pension products

The Finance Ministry has set up a high-level committee to consolidate the regulation of pension

products that is currently being done by three different watchdogs Pension funds, insurance and

stock market regulators.

PFRDA should be the supreme body to regulate pension products

Pension products floated by insurance companies come under the purview of the Insurance

Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) while those sold by mutual funds are overseen by

the SEBI.

While the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) was set up with the intent

of regulating all pension products, insurers and mutual funds continue to sell pension products

outside its watch, creating confusion among consumers of pension products.


About PFRDA

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is a pension regulatory

authority which was established by Government of India in 2003. PFRDA promotes old age income

security by establishing, developing and regulating pension funds and protects the interests of

subscribers to schemes of pension funds and related matters.

About committee

The committee to be formed by the Department of Financial Services, would have representatives

from all financial sector regulators — SEBI, IRDA, RBI and PFRDA. 29. Karnataka s ban on e-cigs turns into vapour near schools (Relevance: E- cigarettes popularity among school children)

E-cigarettes officially banned but its wide availability became a cause of concern for

Karnataka govt.

The rise of e-cigarettes, is worrying the State Government s (igh Powered Committee on Tobacco Control, as it learns of the trend among school children of its rampant use.

Concerns about rising trend of E-cigarettes

Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) has discovered that some

teens have turned e-cigarettes into devices for consuming e-drugs such as hashish oil, marijuana

wax and cannabis products sold by the black trade in cartridges.

While online sales have stopped, e-cigarettes are easily available in petty shops, fancy stores,

provision stores and even bakeries. The Committee asked the ADGP (Crime) to step up

enforcement.

About E-cigarette

An electronic cigarette or e-cigarette is a handheld electronic device that vaporizes a flavored liquid

usually made of nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerine, and flavorings.

The user inhales the vapour. Using e-cigarettes is often called vaping. The fluid in the e-cigarette,

called e-liquid. The health risks of e-cigarettes are uncertain. While they are likely safer than

tobacco cigarettes, the long-term health effects are not known. There is early evidence they can

help people quit smoking although they have not been proven to work better than safer, regulated

nicotine replacement products.


30. Pendency not due to judge shortage alone: Law ministry (Relevance: Judicial Reforms)

Law Ministry stated

Contrary to perception, the shortage of judges is not the sole reason for increasing pendency of cases, the Law Ministry has said, citing data of states like Delhi and Gujarat that are struggling to

dispose of cases despite a higher judge-population ratio.

Background

The ministry s note comes months after Chief Justice of )ndia TS Thakur lamented inaction by the Executive to increase the number of judges from the present 21,000 to 40,000 to handle the avalanche of litigations.

Other factors quoted by ministry for pendency of cases

The ministry said a variety of factors contribute to the delay in disposal of court case including :

1. frequent adjournments in cases

2. strikes by lawyers

3. rise in appeals

4. indiscriminate use of writ jurisdiction by courts

5. lack of adequate arrangement to monitor, track and bunch cases for hearing.

Comparison of states to justify the above-stated factors

States with a higher judge-population ratio such as Delhi and Gujarat are also struggling to dispose

of pending cases.

Conversely, states such as Tamil Nadu and Punjab, ranked lower in terms of judge-population ratio,

have comparatively lesser number of pending cases. 31. Aadhaar must for LPG subsidy after November (Relevance: Mandatory use of Aadhaar for availing subsidies after grant of legal status to Aadhar)

Aadhar to be mandatory for LPG subsidy

The government has made Aadhaar mandatory for availing cooking gas (LPG) subsidies but has

given two months grace period for citizens to get the unique identification number.

For those not yet having Aadhaar, it gave time till November 30, 2016 to make application for


enrolment for the unique identification number. This notification shall take effect immediately in all

states except Assam, Meghalaya and Jammu & Kashmir.

System of LPG Subsidy

Government currently gives 12 cylinders of 14.2-kg each at subsidised rates per household in a

year. The subsidy on every cylinder is transfered in advance directly into bank accounts of

individuals, who then buy the cooking fuel at market rates.

32. Janani Suraksha Yojana pays dividends: Study

(Relevance: JSY impact on IMR and MMR)

What is JSY?

Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) (Mother Security Scheme) is an Indian Government scheme proposed

by the Government of India. It was launched in 2005 by the Prime Minister of India. It aims to

decrease the neo-natal and maternal deaths happening in the country by promoting institutional

delivery of babies. This is a safe motherhood intervention under the National Rural Health Mission

(NRHM).

It is a 100% centrally sponsored scheme it integrates cash assistance with delivery and post-

delivery care. The success of the scheme would be determined by the increase in institutional

delivery among the poor families.

JSY Outcomes . According to a paper, JSY has led to an enhancement in the utilisation of health services among all groups especially among the poorer and underserved sections in the rural areas, thereby reducing the prevalent disparities in maternal care.

2. While previous studies had shown the impact of JSY in reducing maternal mortality, it was not

known if it had reduced socioeconomic inequalities — differences in access to maternal care

between individual people of higher or lower socioeconomic status.

Details of the Study

The study was conducted using data from two rounds of the India Human Development Survey

(IHDS) — conducted in 2004-05 and 2011-12. The IHDS data serves two advantages in this case.

First, round 1 of IHDS was conducted in 2004-05 when the JSY was not in place and round two was

conducted six years after the launch, providing a before-after scenario for comparison. Secondly,

the IHDS is a longitudinal data set — same households were interviewed in both rounds, which

allows to examine changes in maternal care patterns.


Three key services of maternal care were used for the analysis: full antenatal care (full ANC), safe

delivery, and postnatal care.

There were three major findings.

First, the increase in utilisation of all three maternal healthcare services between the two rounds was remarkably higher among illiterate or less educated and poor women. This documents the

effect of the JSY scheme, where women with little or no education were motivated to utilise maternal health care services, the study says.

Secondly, the usage of all three maternal healthcare services by the OBC, Dalit, Adivasis and Muslim

women increased between the surveys. The study found that after the implementation of the JSY, there was generally a narrowing of the gap between the less educated and more educated women and between the poorer and richer women.

Thirdly, it was found in the survey that women in their early 20s were more likely to avail of all

three maternal health care services as compared to their older women.

Concerns

Inequality in access to maternal care persists. The study, however, notes that the gap in access to

healthcare between the marginalised group of women and those who are financially better-off has

narrowed with JSY.

High incidence of maternal mortality continue to plague India. As per the latest Lancet series on

maternal health, India accounted for 15 per cent of the total maternal deaths in the world in 2015 — second only to Nigeria — with 45,000 women dying during pregnancy or childbirth. 33. Frivolous RT) pleas are becoming problematic, PMO issues advisory (Relevance: Measures to control frivolous RTIs)

PMO s advisory in context of filtering RTI applications

Annoyed with the non-stop flow of applications under the Right to Information Act (RTI), most of them disrespectful, the Prime Minister s Office PMO has recently put out a primer on what it is

obliged to do and not to do under the law.

A recent advisory made it explicit that the Central Public )nformation Officer CP)O of the PMO is obliged under the RTI Act to provide only such information which is held by it or under its control

and related to its function(s) as defined under the Business Rules, 1961.


Growing numbers of frivolous RT) s

The current PMO receives on an average 1,500 RTI applications daily and since Prime Minister

Narendra Modi took office in the last week of May 2014, the number of applications handled so far

has already crossed 10 lakh.

Example of RTI Applications filed at PMO

A sample of questions directed at the PMO, available on its website, show that most of them are

irreverent. The first on the list is not non-serious but actually triggered a controversy. It was about

the percentage of marks PM obtained during his graduation in 1977.

But others are a category in themselves. For instance, spending on spices and vegetables used by

the PM, what was the speed of the Internet at the PMO (which is 34 mpbs), which company

manufactures the teleprompter that the PM uses and who pays for the expense, even questions like

if the PM has read the Indian Constitution.

Rules pertaining to cater RTI applications

1. Making it clear that it is authorised to part with information which is in its possession or related

to the functioning of the Prime Minister and his office, the advisory has said matters relating to

Ministries/department of the Central government will be transferred to that other public authority.

In case of doubt in regard to allocation of work among the Ministries/departments of the Central

government, the applicants may refer to the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules,

1961, which delineates the work allocation for each Ministry and department.

2. Applications for obtaining information which pertain to multiple public authorities (involving

more than one Ministry/Department) shall not be transferred to such other public authorities and

the request of the RTI applicants in such cases, is liable to be rejected.

3. Likewise, on matters relating to State and Union Territory governments, the applicants have been

asked to address their applications to the public authority concerned in the respective jurisdictions.

4. The advisory said the CPIO is also not required to furnish information which requires drawing of

inference; obtaining information held by other public authority; or furnish replies to hypothetical

questions. 34. Foreign medical graduates fail MCI exam (Relevance: Direct question can be asked)


Foreign medical graduates don t tend to Qualify Foreign Medical Graduate Examination

(FMGE)

A foreign medical degree may sound like a passport to a successful practice in India. But in reality,

only a woefully small percentage of doctors with foreign degrees equivalent to the MBBS get to

practice in the country — at least legally.

Somewhere between 70 and 80 per cent of these students fail to clear the mandatory screening

examination conducted by the National Board of Examinations (NBE).

What is FMGE?

Medical Council of India Screening Test, also known as Foreign Medical Graduates Examination

(FMGE), is a licensure examination conducted by the National Board of Examinations (NBE) in

India.

Background

Since 2002, it has been mandatory for All Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) to clear an

examination Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE) to secure a Medical Council of India

(MCI) registration, without which they cannot practice in India.

Statistics

Out of the 29,968 students who have appeared for the last five examinations, only 3,610 (a mere 12

per cent) have passed. Records from the MCI and the NBE reveal that while thousands of FMGs

appear for the exam every year, the pass percentage has rarely gone beyond 26 per cent.

What happens to the majority who fail to clear the FMGE?

Several students who fail to qualify begin practising without approval of Medical Council of India.

Allegations on FMGE and the response?

Allegations are that the NBE has deliberately kept the FMGE tough to keep out foreign medical

graduates.

An official stated in response that FMGE is like any other licensure exam, fully based on the MC) s curriculum, with no negative marking.

Points to ponder

1. The fact that the pass percentage of FMGE has been consistently low over the years would

certainly raise a pointer about the quality of education received.


A number of the unsuccessful students have graduated from medical universities in China, Russia

and Ukraine, which are a big draw for Indians aspiring to be doctors. These countires offer

undergraduate degrees equivalent to the Indian MBBS at a far lower cost and without the tough

entrance examinations and admission process.

2. Illegal Practice by the unsuccessful foreign medical graduates.

3. Non –issuance of license even when there is a serious shortage of health workers.

35. Need of Simpler law for Land Acquisition (Relevance: Tougher Land Acquisition law hampers industrial growth )

Why amendments to the Land Acquisition law is required?

Problems in land acquisition makes investing in India virtually impossible — industrial parks that

Singapore had proposed in the past remain non-starters.

Modernising )ndia s land laws was high on the government s agenda in -15; an ordinance was

promulgated thrice to effect necessary changes till Parliament could pass a law. Global investors

were assured that land acquired under the ordinance would be safe from any subsequent changes

to the law. But the Centre changed position in the face of Opposition resistance.

A model land-leasing law formulated by the Niti Aayog was mooted for States to adopt instead, but

a billion-dollar plant is unlikely to come up on leased foundations.

Implications of problems in acquiring land

Since then, a proposed nuclear plant has moved out from Gujarat owing to land acquisition problems, )ndia s largest FD) proposal from South Korea s Posco is all but off, and job creation has hit a five-year low.

The Prime Minister has set a target for India to reach the top 50 ranks in the Ease of doing business

index, but getting a construction permit online is no good if large tracts of land cannot be provided

job-creating investment.

36. SC blocks BCCI funds to State units (Relevance: SC pressurizes BCCI adopt reforms)


SC directs State Cricket Associations to abide the Lodha Committee reforms

The Supreme Court barred BCCI's 25 State cricket associations from using BCCI funds till they accept the Justice Lodha Committee s reforms in letter and spirit.

A Bench ordered that the BCCI will not disburse amount to State cricket associations till BCCI and

State Cricket Associations adopt reforms as suggested by lodha Panel.

Background

SC has taken the decision to force BCCI and State Cricket Associations to adopt Lodha Panel

Recommendations. 37. Supreme Court stays Patna HC order quashing prohibition (Relevance: SC accepts draconian Bihar prohibition law)

SC Stays (C s orders

The Supreme Court gave a thumbs-up signal to the Bihar government by staying a Patna High Court

order quashing the State's prohibition law.

Details

The Bench was hearing a petition filed by the Nitish Kumar government against the High Court

order which quashed the notification banning consumption and sale of liquor in the State.

Back-story

Despite the High Court order, on Gandhi Jayanti the State government had come out with a new law

banning liquor, with harsher provisions like arrest of all adults in the event of recovery of the liquor

in their house.

In its notification, the government notified the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 to ensure that


the ban on sale and consumption of alcohol, including Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) as well as

spiced and domestic liquor, continued in the State.

In its appeal, the Bihar government has urged the apex court to decide whether State could impose

absolute prohibition on distribution and consumption of liquor and whether an individual could

claim right to consume liquor as his or her fundamental right under the Constitution.

New prohibition law enforced in Bihar after HC quashed the old law

At a special Cabinet meeting, the State government notified the new Bihar Prohibition and Excise

Act, 2016 which ensured complete ban on sale and consumption of liquor — both Indian Made

Foreign Liquor and country-made — in the State with immediate effect.

This new law, though, is by and large based on the previous one, which was set aside by the High

Court.

It retains most of the previous provisions but the government has also introduced some harsher

clauses to plug the loopholes.

State s Viewpoint

The ban on liquor had received a warm welcome from all corners of the State. It will move Supreme

Court on Friday against Patna High Court verdict striking down previous law

HC judgment on Bihar Prohibition and Excise Bill, 2016

The Patna High Court set aside the amended Bihar Prohibition and Excise Bill, 2016, which had

banned the sale and consumption of liquor in the State.

Opposition parties hailed the High Court verdict and said the prohibition law was excessively harsh.

Problems with Prohibition

1. Liquor bans have led to a spurt in the consumption of illicit brews. 15 persons died this week following consumption of illicit alcohol in Bihar s Gopalganj district. 2. Incidence of hooch tragedies tends to be higher when prohibition is in force as the trade is driven

underground: the black market grows and production becomes unregulated.

Reasons for such problems

Of late, political parties have resorted to the prohibition card, sensing the growing support for such

a move among large sections of women, especially in the lower income groups, who have had to

deal with financial neglect and physical abuse by drunken family members.


However, the States starved of revenue from the liquor business have been hesitant to invest

adequately in prohibition enforcement. The end result is that bootleggers and illicit brewers just

replace liquor shops.

Bihar Prohibition Law

In any case, Bihar seems to have gone too far with its prohibition legislation.

1. Provisions for punishing family members above the age of 18 in case of consumption of alcohol at

home, and the top management of companies in case of consumption within their company

premises, are draconian to the point of being absurd.

2. Also, district magistrates can impose fines on whole villages or communities in case of repeated

violations of the prohibition regime.

But other than changes to the law, the government seems to have done nothing to facilitate

enforcement on the ground. The liquor trade appears to have gone underground, thus increasing

the risks for the most vulnerable sections of the population.

38. Bill to protect HIV community from bias gets Cabinet approval (Relevance: Legal measures to eliminate discrimination against people with AIDS)

Cabinet approved HIV Bill

The Union Cabinet, approved the long-awaited amendments to the HIV Bill, granting stronger protection to the country s ()V community.

About HIV Bill

The Bill prohibits discrimination against people living with HIV (PLHIV) in accessing healthcare,

acquiring jobs, renting houses or in education institutions in the public and private sectors.

1. The Bill lists various grounds on which discrimination against HIV-positive persons and those

living with them is prohibited. These include the denial, termination, discontinuation or unfair

treatment with regard to:

a. employment

b. educational institutions

c. health care services

d. residing or renting property

e. standing for public or private office

f. provision of insurance.


Further, requirement for HIV testing as a pre-requisite for obtaining employment or accessing

health care or education is also prohibited.

2. Establishments keeping records of information of PLHIV have been asked to adopt data

protection measures as the Bill requires that no person shall be compelled to disclose his ()V status except with his informed consent, and if required by a court order.

Statistics

There are approximately 21 lakh persons estimated to be living with HIV in India and the

percentage of patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatment currently stands at a mere

25.82% as against the global percentage of 41%, according to the 2015 Global Burden of Diseases

(GBD).

Further proposals with regard to the bill

There is also a need to address the inadequate funding, the procurement system that is resulting in

drug shortages and the lack of clarity in the HIV policy.

There is also a proposal that every HIV infected person below the age of 18 years has the right to

reside in a shared household.

Possible Implementation of the bill

1. Such laws, however, can only deliver benefits within the overall constraints imposed by an

underfunded public health system. Where the legislation can make some difference, with active

monitoring by HIV/AIDS support groups, is in ensuring that acquiring the infection does not mean

an end to education, employment, access to housing and healthcare due to discrimination.

2. The success of the anti-discrimination aspects hinges on the readiness of governments to accept

the inquiry findings of ombudsmen, to be appointed under the law, and provide relief.

3. Since the new law is intended to both stop the spread of the disease and help those who have

become infected get antiretroviral therapy as well as equal opportunity, it will take a high degree of

commitment to provide effective drugs to all those in need.

Level of access to treatment

In August, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare put the number of people getting free

treatment nationally at 9,65,000, of which 53,400 are children. This must be viewed against the

most recent estimate last year, that 2.1 million people live with HIV in India, of whom 7,90,000 are

women. Regional variations in access to diagnosis and treatment must be addressed.


Factors which will impact implementation

The legislation and the structure of complaints redress that it proposes should provide some relief

to thousands of families that face discrimination in admitting children to school, an infected

individual getting a job, or treatment in hospital.

Unlike many other diseases, however, HIV/AIDS has received global attention and funding, thus

building up pressure on governments to come up with supportive policies.

Communities will now have the opportunity to ensure that the strongest element of the prospective

law, assuring confidentiality of HIV status, is enforced. A breach could invite imprisonment and a

fine.

Low Possibility of Insurance access

Yet, the proposals approved by the Cabinet fail on one important count: the insurance industry is allowed to use actuarial calculations to limit access to products to people with ()V. The Centre s initiative is palpably weak, since a universal system would not discriminate against people with any

form of illness, and would fully embrace the goal of health and welfare for all. 39. SC interference in resolution of Cauvery dispute (Relevance: Failure of mechanism to resolve inter-state water disputes)

CWDT s initial proposal to set up Cauvery Management Board

When the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) proposed the setting up of a Cauvery

Management Board, it did so for very good reasons. During monsoon deficit years, the pattern of

flows in the different sub-basins will not match the schedule of water deliveries worked out on the

basis of normal year readings.

About CMB

The CMB was conceived as a body that would monitor the storage position in the Cauvery basin and

the trend of rainfall, and assess the likely inflows for distribution among the States.

Allegation of Political interests of Government

The fact that the Centre did such a hasty U-turn on the CMB while making its submission in the

Supreme Court suggests that political factors may have been at play. The Assembly election in

Karnataka, where the BJP has high stakes, is less than two years away.

In contrast, Tamil Nadu, where the BJP has no real base, has recently concluded its election.


Article 262 in The Constitution of India states

Adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter State rivers or river valleys

(1) Parliament may by law provide for the adjudication of any dispute or complaint with respect to

the use, distribution or control of the waters of, or in, any inter State river or river valley

(2) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, Parliament may by law provide that neither the

Supreme Court nor any other court shall exercise jurisdiction in respect of any such dispute or

complaint as is referred to in clause ( 1 ) of article 262.

As per provision of Article 262, Parliament has passed Inter-state water disputes Act, 1956 which

provided that an adhoc tribunal shall be constituted for a particular inter-state water dispute.

Moreover, the act bars interference of regular courts in resolving issues related to inter-state water

disputes because inter-state water disputes issues are important and need to be resolved within a

limited time frame.

However, in present case the Supreme Court interference in Cauvery issue calling for reconstitution

of technical team defeats the objectives of Inter-State water disputes act, 1956.

Order of SC

The Supreme Court put on hold its order to constitute the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) and finally settled for the Centre s suggestion to appoint a technical team to visit the Cauvery basin and report back on the ground reality there.

The technical team led by G.S. Jha, Chairman, Central Water Commission, will visit the river basin

along with nominees of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala to submit a report in the

Supreme Court.

Allegation by SC

Tamil Nadu accused the Centre of playing into the hands of the Karnataka government to deny the people of Tamil Nadu their share of Cauvery water.

Appearing for the Centre, Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi, at the outset of the hearing, submitted

that the October 30 order to constitute the Cauvery Management Board cannot be complied with.

Mr. Rohatgi said while the CMB was recommended by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal in its

final order in 2007, the tribunal award itself was under challenge in the Supreme Court.


The Bench agreed with Mr. Rohatgi, saying it was more appropriate to defer the setting up of the CMB. It then proceeded to list the appeals for hearing on October 18.

40. Ban triple talaq, says Women Law Board (Relevance: Gender Equality among Muslim Women)

A)MWPLB s decision to file petition with SC

All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board (AIMWPLB) has decided to file the petition with

Supreme Court to ban triple talaq, punish men who give divorce arbitrarily and allow women to

seek divorce.

The AIMWPLB has also sought a ban on nikah halala , where a woman who has been divorced through triple talaq has to marry another man and consummate her marriage with him before

being eligible to remarry her ex-husband.

41. Prasar Bharati CEO resigns (Relevance: Issue of autonomy of Prasar Bharti)

Prasar Bharati Corporation CEO Jawhar Sircar has submitted his resignation four months ahead of

the end of his tenure, which was to draw to a close in February 2017.

The 1990 Prasar Bharati Act states:

The chairman or any other member may resign his office by giving notice thereof in writing to the

President of India and on such resignation being accepted, the chairman or other member shall be

deemed to have vacated his office.

Possible reasons for resignation

1. Mr. Sircar was appointed by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. It is alleged that

the BJP Government is interfering in the functioning of Prasar Bharti which is an autonous

organisation.

2. More recently, Mr. Sircar wanted to ensure the slot sale policy mechanism for Doordarshan,

which was slipping steadily on the revenue and viewership front, but it was difficult to get everyone

on board as there were many who had serious doubts about its effective implementation.

About Prasar Bharti

Prasar Bharati is India's largest public broadcasting agency. It is an autonomous body set up by an


Act of Parliament and comprises Doordarshan Television Network and All India Radio, which were

earlier media units of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. 42. SC confirms 25-year jail for Vikas Yadav in Katara murder case (Relevance: Honour Killing)

SC judgment in Katara murder case Murdering a man in cold blood in the guise of brotherly or fatherly honour, and thus eliminating a woman s choice of her life partner is a crime of extreme brutality, the Supreme Court.

The observations came in a judgment confirming the prison sentence of 25 years without remission to Uttar Pradesh politician D.P. Yadav s son Vikas Yadav in the murder of young Nitish Katara in 2002. Another convict, Sukhdev Pehelwan, will serve a sentence of 20 years.

Both Vikas and Pehelwan were given an additional sentence of five years despite their longer jail

terms. Now, the judgment directed all sentences to run concurrently.

Details of the case

Both Vikas and Pehelwan are accused of murder of Katara, MBA graduate and the son of a Railway

official to stop his relationship with Vikas s sister Bharti. Terming the Katara murder planned and cold, the apex court confirmed the (igh Court s finding that the motive to kill the victim was drawn from some kind of uncalled-for and unwarranted superiority based on caste feelings. )t said the murder and the ensuing brutality shown to the victim s corpse was clearly a result of the anger of the brother on the involvement of the sister with the deceased. The court recalled the criminal antecedents of Vikas Yadav, and the fact that he was prosecuted in the celebrity bartender Jessica Lal murder case. It said the Nitish Katara murder was committed when Vikas was on bail in the Jessica Lal case. 43. No visa for Baloch leader Naela Quadri (Relevance: Lack of policy for refugees)

Refusal of granting visa to Baloch leader

Sending out a negative signal about its support to the Baloch freedom movement, the Government

of India has denied visa to prominent Baloch nationalist leader Naela Quadri Baloch.

The denial of visa to the Kabul-based activist has prevented her from travelling to India for a media

gathering where she was to be the lead speaker.


Mazdak Dilshad Baloch, her son, and a leading figure of Free Balochistan, is at present campaigning

in India for the Baloch cause.

Opposition to CPEC by Baloch

Prof. Baloch has been a strong opponent of the ongoing CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor)

project which is aimed at connecting Balochistan s Gwadar port with western China. Veteran diplomats have compared the visa denial to Prof. Baloch to the Dolkun Isa case. In April,

Germany-based Uighur dissident, Dolkun Isa was similarly denied visa before he could attend an event in Dharamsala. Mr. )sa later blamed China for )ndia s denial of visa. The denial of visa to Prof. Baloch has also highlighted )ndia s silence on granting of political asylum to Baloch leader Brahumdagh Bugti. During the weekend, Mr. Bugti said India was yet to respond to

his request.

44. Debate over reservations through popular pressure (Relevance: Direct Question can be asked)

Maratha s demand over reservations

The immediate provocation for the series of rallies in the name of Marathas might appear to be the

rape and killing of a 14-year-old girl in Ahmednagar district being all the three accused so far in the

case are Dalits.

While the protesters have demanded justice for the victim, their rallies have been used as a pretext

for Marathas to reiterate a long-standing demand for reservations under the Other Backward

Classes category and for scrapping the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of

Atrocities) Act of 1989.

Similar conquests in other states over reservations

The Marathas demand for reservations mirrors similar ones made recently by Patidars and Jats in Gujarat and Haryana, respectively. As with Patidars and Jats, the demand for inclusion in the OBC

quota is fueled by anxiety about relative economic backwardness among a large cross-section of

Marathas.

Reason for demand of reservations and scrapping POA Act

Their inability to move up the economic ladder and the lack of adequate opportunities in a sluggish

agrarian economy have been key factors in the agitations for reservations.


The other key demand in the Maratha agitations, for the scrapping of the POA Act, seems to be

clearly directed at perceived Dalit assertion. Such demands have been voiced in the past too by

political groups representing landed backward classes in States such as Tamil Nadu.

The implementation of the POA Act has been sketchy across India, and Maharashtra is no exception.

Conviction rates remain low, even if reporting of crimes against SCs and STs and their registration

have increased, as a result of increasing awareness among Dalits and Adivasis of their legal options.

Indeed, there is a case for better implementation of the Act, certainly not for its scrapping.

Economic backwardness can t be held as a criteria for reservations

The demand for reservations for Marathas, traditionally seen as upper castes , goes against the spirit of affirmative action that has guided eligibility for quotas in Central and State lists.

Marathas are a dominant caste and play a central role in electoral politics as well as the political

economy of the State.

In any case, it has been judicially established that economic criteria alone cannot be taken as

determinants of backwardness.

The Bombay High Court had stayed an order by the previous Congress-NCP government for 16 per

cent reservations for Marathas in educational institutions and jobs over and above the almost 50

per cent quota for SC/STs and OBCs put together.

What is POA Act?

The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 an Act of the Parliament of

India enacted to prevent atrocities against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.

The Act is popularly known as POA, the SC/ST Act, the Prevention of Atrocities Act, or simply the

Atrocities Act.

45. Supreme Court sends Shahabuddin back to jail (Relevance: Criminalisation of politics)

SC orders in Shahabuddin case

The Supreme Court ordered former RJD MP Mohd Shahabuddin to be sent back to prison 20 days

after he came out on bail.

The Supreme Court ordered the Bihar government and the trial court to complete the trial as early


as possible.

Rationale behind SC judgment The Supreme Court observed that the (igh Court erred in granting Shahabuddin bail as a matter of course without taking into consideration the overall facts . It noted that several cases against him are pending in various stages of trial and appeal in various

courts of Bihar and in the Patna High Court.

The Supreme Court however refrained from expressing any opinion on the merits of the Rajiv

Roshan murder case in which Shahabuddin got bail.

The court further stated that there was a conscious delay in the conduct of his trial and directed that all steps as contemplated in law should be taken to dispose of the case, as early as possible .

Background

Shahabuddin was granted bail by the Patna High Court on September 7 in the Rajiv Roshan murder

case and was released from Bhagalpur jail on September 10. He has already remained in jail for 11

years in connection with several cases.

The Supreme Court order came on separate pleas by the State and the victim's father,

Chandrakeshwar Prasad to cancel Shahabuddin's bail.

Roshan, the eye witness to the gruesome killings of his two younger brothers, was also killed a few

days before he was to testify in court. 46. Budget merger may need Parliament s nod (Relevance: Extent of powers under executive orders)

Centre may have to pass resolution in Parliament to merge the budgets

The Centre may have to pass a resolution in Parliament in the upcoming session to finally put an

end to the practice of presenting a separate Rail Budget.

Although the Constitution does not provide for a separate Rail Budget, it was separated from

general finances after a resolution was passed in the Legislative Assembly (now Parliament) based

on the recommendations made by the Acworth Committee in 1921.

Background

Based on the recommendations made by Acworth Committee, it was decided that the separation of


Railway Finances be effected by means of a resolution to be laid before the Legislative Assembly

(now Parliament) and that the Assembly be asked to agree to it, on conditions of anonymity. The

matter was placed before the House, which voted the Convention resolution of 1924.

At Present, Union Government has passed an executive order to merge the Railway Budget with

General Budget.

Opposition Claim

After the Union Cabinet approved merger of railway and general Budget, opposition parties

attacked the government for not consulting the Parliament.


2. International Relations and Organisations 1. Nitaqat Scheme (Relevant for GS Mains Paper II)

Nitaqat (Scheme) to bring relief to working Indians in Saudi Arabia A support scheme for the Nitaqat Saudi-sation of the workforce , introduced by Saudi Arabia this week, is expected to benefit a large number of Indian expatriates facing retrenchment. Particularly

relieved are many Keralites whose jobs in shops and companies had been under threat.

About Nitaqat

According to the new support scheme, business establishments in yellow and red categories can

continue to employ the expatriates after paying a special monthly fee.

As per the support scheme, an employer will have to pay a fee of 3,600 Saudi Arabian Riyal (SAR)

for avoiding the appointment of a Saudi citizen. For every second Saudi national not appointed, the

company will have to pay SAR 4,200. The fee will be SAR 4,800 for every third Saudi citizen. And,

for the fourth, the fee will jump to SAR 9,000.

The support scheme will be particularly beneficial to small business establishments which need to

appoint a handful of Arabs. By paying this monthly fee, they can continue with the existing

expatriate employees.

Background

The tightening of expatriate labour and employment laws in Saudi Arabia as part of reducing

unemployment in the Kingdom has affected thousands of Indians. The restrictions were such that

40 per cent of the employees in companies and shops had to be Saudi nationals.

2. No Russian representation in UN Human Rights Council (Relevance: Sidelining of Russia in international politics)

No Russian representation in UNHRC

Russia has been voted off the United Nations Human Rights Council amid mounting allegations of

being responsible for war crimes in relation to its actions in Syria. The 193-member General Assembly on Friday elected 14 members to the 47-nation council, the UN s main body charged with promoting and protecting human rights. Russia which received 112


votes lost its regional seat to Hungary, with 144 votes, and Croatia with 114 votes. Fate of other members Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, China, Brazil, Rwanda, Hungary, Croatia, Cuba, South Africa, Japan, Tunisia, the US and UK - many of which have themselves been condemned for human rights abuses - all won seats on the council. Guatemala was the only country running for a seat beside Russia to not be elected. Advocacy by Human Rights Groups Human rights groups had specifically called for countries to reject the candidacies of Russia and Saudi Arabia, which has been accused of indiscriminate attacks against civilians in Yemen. Saudi Arabia s election, however, was a foregone conclusion since it was running unopposed for its regional seat. )n rejecting Russia s bid for re-election to the Human Rights Council, UN member states have sent a strong message to the Kremlin about its support for a regime that has perpetrated so much atrocity in Syria, said Louis Charbonneau, UN director at (uman Rights Watch. The US and Russia have been in talks to try and bring an end to the fighting in Syria, that has led to the deaths of up to 500,000 deaths. Millions of people have fled, both internally and overseas, triggering a refugee crisis in Europe. 3. Sharif sacks minister over news report on army rift (Relevance: Difference of opinion between government and millitary on supporting terorrism in India)

Information Minister of Pakistan sacked

The Pakistan government today sacked Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid over the recent leaked media report about a rift between the civilian and military leaderships on support to

militancy.

Reason for sacking

Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid leaked sensitive information of a high-profile national security

meeting to the Dawn reporter.

Rashid is a close aide of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and reports suggest that the anti-army

information could not have been leaked without his consent.

Background A rift between the civilian and military leaderships on the powerful )S) s covert support to terror groups in the country was the subject of a news report in the Dawn newspaper. The daily stood by

the story issued on October 6.


4. Mosul under control of Iraqi Government (Relevance: Weakening ISIS)

After losing Tikrit in April 2015 and Fallujah in June 2016, the Islamic State has been left with little

territory under its control in )raq. Mosul, the country s second largest city, is its last significant bastion.

Relevance of Mosul for ISIS

1. It was where its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a caliphate in June . 2. And it was the ability of the IS to establish territorial control and run an administration that

qualitatively separated it from other radical jihadi groups such as al-Qaeda.

3. The capture of Mosul symbolised its effectiveness in combat against a weakly organised Iraqi

army and a sectarian Iraqi state.

Capture of Mosul

When a coalition of Iraqi armed forces, the Kurdish Peshmerga, Shia militia groups supported by

U.S.-led air strikes and other special forces marched on Mosul, the long-planned offensive to defeat

the IS decisively was finally put into action. 5. Reason for unrest against government of Venezuela (Relevance: Falling oil prices and problems for oil exporting nations)

The continued fall in global petroleum prices under Mr. Maduro s watch has put the country s social welfare model under severe strain. )n the past, the government leveraged the country s immense petroleum reserves to fuel a welfare economy and spend heavily on subsidies.

This model resulted in several structural flaws in the economy — corruption in state enterprises,

heavy dependence on imported consumer goods due to meagre incentives for production in a

highly subsidised economy, and artificial price and exchange controls that resulted in a black

market for foreign currency and persisting inflation. When oil prices were high and export revenues

booming, these flaws did not hurt the economy much. In fact, there was a reduction in poverty

levels, increase in literacy and better health indices over the last decade.

But falling oil prices exacerbated Venezuela s economic problems, forcing the government to print

money to cover expenses in the face of rising debt, which created a hyperinflationary cycle. Reforms

that would stabilise the currency, reduce subsidies and remove artificial price controls will be in


order. But it will be difficult for his regime to carry out these reforms without a political

compromise of some kind.

6. Pakistan High Commission staffer expelled for espionage (Relevance: Indo-Pak Relations)

Action by India

A day after a Pakistan High Commission (PHC) staffer, Mehmood Akhtar, was allegedly caught

receiving defence-related information from two )ndian spies , he was declared persona non grata and asked to leave India.

Mr. Akhtar has been accused of working as an ISI agent. The police said they believed more PHC staffers were involved in the espionage racket. Mr. Akhtar belongs to the Baloch regiment of Pakistani Army and was on deputation to the intelligence agency ISI since 2013.

Response of Pakistan

In a tit-for-tat response, Pakistan expelled an official Mr Surjeet Singh, an official of the Indian High

Commission, as persona non grata posted in the High Commission of India in Islamabad.

Pakistani accused Indian for violation of the Vienna Convention over the expulsion of Mr. Akhtar.

Vienna Convention

The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 is an international treaty that defines a

framework for diplomatic relations between independent countries. It specifies the privileges of a

diplomatic mission that enable diplomats to perform their function without fear of coercion or

harassment by the host country. This forms the legal basis for diplomatic immunity. 7. Major Terror attack in Quetta, Pakistan (Relevance: Unrest in Pakistan)

Terror attacks in Pakistan

The attack on a police academy in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan s Balochistan province, is the second major terrorist strike in the city in recent months.

In August, 73 people were killed in a suicide attack at a hospital. This time, the attack was carried

out in a more sophisticated manner. At least three militants entered the academy and started firing

indiscriminately before two of them blew themselves up.


In 2014 Peshawar school massacre, 148 people, mostly children, were killed by Tehreek-i-Taliban

Pakistan (TTP) militants.

Evaluation of recent terror attacks

Following the terror attacks, the army had launched a large-scale operation against the militant

groups operating in the north-west.

But as the attacks in Quetta and Lahore this year would suggest, this resurgence of terror has new

security dimensions. First, the site of the violence this time is Quetta. In recent years, Balochistan has been the focus of Pakistan s counter-terror operations as the province is expected to play a

major role in the $46- billion economic corridor China is building, connecting Gwadar to Xinjiang.

Second, if the only major terror group the Pakistan army had been fighting till a few years ago was

the TTP, an increasing number of groups and offshoots have made the fight more complex. This week s Quetta attack, for instance, has been claimed by three groups — a faction of the TTP;

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a sectarian militant group, and the Islamic State.

The Lashkar claims it cooperated with the IS to carry out the assault. If true, this opens the

possibility for the IS to operate in Pakistan, where it does not have a strong organisational

presence, through coordination with other terror groups.

8. Pak. freezes accounts of 5,100, including Azhar (Relevance: Action by Pakistan against terrorist groups)

Bank accounts of terror suspects frozen in Pakistan

Authorities in Pakistan have frozen bank accounts with more than Rs.400 million of over 5,100

terror suspects, including Jaish-e-Mohammed JeM chief Masood Azhar who is under protective custody after the terror attack on the Pathankot air base, officials said.

Around , suspects whose accounts were frozen by SBP were listed in category A of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, a term used for terrorists put on exceptional risk or high risk. 9. Present Status of )ndia s NSG Membership Prospects Relevance: Chances of )ndia s membership of NSG

The next NSG session is in Vienna — expected in November. There the question of )ndia s Membership of NSG will rise.


Link between NSG Membership and Climate Change Commitments )ndian experts argue that )ndia s entry to the group was tied to its need for clean energy and climate change commitments.

How? NSG membership will enable India to access nuclear fuel, reactor and technology. These will

boost civil nuclear energy power sector in India and thus reduce pollution in India.

Stand by various countries . The government will once again focus on its push for )ndia s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) this week with the three-day visit of New Zealand Prime Minister John Key

from Monday.

2. Negotiators are also gearing up for the second round of talks with China followed by an New

Zealand is among the countries led by China that have demanded a set criteria for non-signatories

of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

. The government has attempted to extract statements of support from each of the holdout countries that did not back )ndia during the June plenary in Seoul, where New Delhi s bid failed. There are still four or five countries that have not budged on their stand since June, indicating that apart from China, countries such as )reland, Austria, New Zealand and members of the New Agenda for coalition that takes a hard line on the NPT, are still the sticking point.

4. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought, but not received, outright declarations of

support from two other members of the coalition —South Africa and Brazil — at last week s BR)CS summit in Goa.

One of the reasons for the silence is that both Brazil and South Africa fought hard and domestically

controversial battles to join the NSG, and could only do so after they agreed to sign the Non-

Proliferation Treaty. Therefore, they have resisted full-fledged membership for India without it

signing the NPT, or a formal procedure being set. Significantly, in 2008, both Brazil and South Africa had backed )ndia s bid for an NSG waiver, as part of the )BSA grouping. . Meanwhile U.S. officials have said they will make all efforts to resolve )ndia s NSG status by the

end of this year. 10. NSG: New Zealand to play constructive role Relevance: )ndia s membership of NSG


No concrete support extended to India by New-Zealand on NSG status

India failed to get an outright statement of support for its bid to become a member of the Nuclear

Suppliers Group from New Zealand Prime Minister John Key after talks with Prime Minister

Narendra Modi.

New Zealand is part of a group called the New Agenda for Coalition which promotes the NPT and

pushes for nuclear disarmament worldwide.

Run up to important meet

The visit comes in the run-up to a crucial NSG Consultative Group (CG) meeting to be held in Vienna specifically to consider whether countries that haven t signed on to the NPT can be considered for membership.

The meeting will be held on November and . )ndia s membership bid failed to make headway in June this year in Seoul.

11. India, China conduct first military exercise in J&K (Relevance: Confidence building measure between India and China)

Joint Military exercise in Eastern Ladakh

India and China for the first time conducted military exercises in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in

Eastern Ladakh amidst the growing uneasiness in the bilateral relationship.

The exercise comes in the backdrop of stalemate over India's multilateral disagreements with China

over blacklisting of terrorists at the United Nations and membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group

(NSG).

In 2010, China had refused to issue a visa to the Northern Army Commander Lt. Gen. B.S. Jaswal as

part of a high-level exchange saying he controlled a disputed area. This is the second joint tactical exercise under the China-)ndia Cooperation and was held in the Chushul area, where the two countries fought a brief but intense war in 1962.

The first exercise was held on the Chinese side in February in the area of Border Personnel Meeting

Hut at Chushul Garrison of Eastern Ladakh, along with Chinese troops of Moldo Garrison.

The Army in a statement said that this is part of the on-going initiative to enhance interaction and

cooperation between India and China, under the provisions of Border Defence Cooperation

Agreement 2013.


12. U.S. stands in solidarity with India on cross-LoC strikes (Relevance: US support on terrorism)

US viewpoint with regard to India s stand on terrorism

U.S. Ambassador Richard Verma stated that U.S. supports cross-LoC strikes by India and

Washington has drastically cut assistance to Pakistan in the past five years over concerns on terror.

In a rare admission that the U.S. had spoken to the Pakistani leadership about the use of proxies as terror groups, Mr. Verma also said it was important to stand in solidarity with )ndia on that front. When asked why the strong words by the U.S. don t see an impact on the ground, especially on the

subject of groups like the Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Ambassador Verma

revealed that since 2011, U.S. military aid to Pakistan had dwindled 73 per cent over differences with the Pakistan government s action on terror, indicating the recent hold on F-16 sales as well as

$300 million withheld by the Pentagon.

No comments given on )ndia s entry in NSG Mr. Verma said he was optimistic , but wouldn t commit to a timeline on when )ndia s membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group would come through, nor did he respond on whether President

Obama would engage the Chinese leadership directly to discuss its opposition. 13. )ndia to lend a helping hand to Myanmar s reconciliation efforts (Relevance: Support to democracy in Myanmar)

Aung San Suu Kyi s visit to India )ndia has offered to help in Myanmar s national reconciliation effort, officials said, shortly after State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi began her first state visit to India.


During the meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, the issue of reconciliation came up again. The two leaders discussed the manner in which )ndia could support Myanmar s agenda of national reconciliation, socio-economic development and strengthening democracy.

In Goa, the visiting leader, who is also the winner of the Nobel peace prize had described rising terrorism as an issue of common concern between )ndia and Myanmar. )ndia s proposal for assistance came a day after the Ministry of External Affairs announced that New Delhi is willing to play a more active role in stabilising and unifying the Bay of Bengal

community, including Myanmar.

14. India- China differences on terrorism from Pakistan (Relevance: Direct question can be asked)

Highlights of India-China meet . )ndia and China cannot afford to have differences on terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told President Xi Jinping at a bilateral meeting just ahead of the BRICS summit in Goa, and directly

raised the need to designate Jaish-e Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as a terrorist at the U.N.

On the issue of designating Jaish-eMohammad leader Massod Azhar a terrorist in the UNSC 1267 committee on which China has placed a hold, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said there were still different views on )ndia s listing application in the case.

. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed )ndia s hopes for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group at a bilateral summit ahead of the eighth BRICS summit

here.

Although officials didn t report any major shift in China s opposition, they described as hopeful the process set into motion of meetings between the two nuclear negotiators of the countries.

China expressed its reluctance to isolate Pakistan in the name of terrorism

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed Pakistan a mothership of terrorism , China said it was against linking any country or religion with terror.

)n a sharp reaction to a question about Mr. Modi s remark against Pakistan at the BR)CS summit in Goa attended among others by President Xi Jinping, Ms. Hua, foreign secretary of China, said the international community should recognise the great sacrifices made by Pakistan in combating terrorism.


We oppose linking terrorism with any specific ethnicity or religion. This is our long-standing position.

Who is Masood Azhar?

Masood Azhar is the founder and leader of the UN-designated terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed,

active mainly in the Pakistan-administered portion of the state of Kashmir. 15. Outcome of BRICS meet held at Goa (Relevance: BRICS dominated by discussion on terrorism, BRICS- BIMSTEC Outreach)

Outcome of BRICS Summit

The 8th BRICS summit ended here on Sunday with the adoption of the Goa Declaration which

pledged opposition to terrorism, even as India failed to get a consensus on references to cross-border terror and Pakistan-based terror groups in the final statement.

Statement by PM in BRICS Summit Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, the most serious direct threat to our economic prosperity is terrorism. Tragically, its mother-ship is a country in )ndia s neighbourhood.

First BRICS-BIMSTEC Outreach Meeting

BIMSTEC meeting was for the first time held on sidelines of BRICS meet. Member nations called for

greater collaboration among BRICS countries, including Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa

besides India, as well as members of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and

Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) grouping, on issues such as terrorism, economy, trade as well as

connectivity.

The first BRICS-BIMSTEC Outreach Meeting that was also attended by Russian President Vladimir

Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Jacob Zuma and Brazilian President

Michel Temer.

Among the BIMSTEC leaders present were Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda , Myanmarese leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Bhutanese Prime Minister Tsering Tobgay.

BIMSTEC nations has 1.5 billion people and a combined GDP of $ 2. 5 trillion. , the countries of had

shared aspirations for growth, development, commerce and technology.


Other Issues discussed The declaration called for resolution of the civil war in Syria, in accordance with the legitimate aspirations of the people of Syria and sought action against U.N.-designated terrorist groups like IS.

16. Russia gives S-4 systems to boost )ndia s air defence (Relevance: Indo-Russian Defence ties)

Highlights of India-Russia Summit

1. India and Russia, signed 16 important deals including one on S-400 missile systems, a game-

changer in countering airborne threats.

Details of Defence deal:

Apart from the Inter-Governmental Agreement on the missile system — worth nearly Rs 39,000

crore — Russia also agreed to sell Kamov 226T helicopters and four Krivak class stealth frigates to

India.

The Kamov 226T helicopters will be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Rostec

State Corporation of Russia under a joint production plan.

2. )ndia and Russia sealed a deal on information security aimed at countering terrorism, drug trafficking and other illegal cross-border activities.

Significance of Russia s position with regard to bilateral ties

The Russian position on cross-border terrorism from Pakistan is significant since it had held a joint

military exercise with Pakistan in the last week of September. 17. The Differences among BRICS nations (Relevance: Direct Question can be asked)

Several reasons to believe that the BRICS forum, once comprising the world s fastest growing

economies, is running out of steam . The slump in oil prices has affected Russia and Brazil s growth stories, and Russia has paid heavily for western sanctions over Ukraine.

2. Chinese manufacturing saw its weakest growth in years.

. )ndia, the world s fastest growing economy, has faced a contraction in ))P figures.


. The South African Finance Minister said his economy was in a crisis this year, with revised growth estimates falling below 1 per cent, and 26 per cent unemployment, fuelling violent protests.

Instances to depict the weakening of ties between India and BRICS nations

1. The other shift is political. Two years ago, when newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi

took his first official visit outside the neighbourhood to Fortaleza, Brazil, to attend the BRICS

summit, he was yet to take his decisive shift toward the U.S.

As a result, the BRICS joint statement included some bold paragraphs on counter-western views, on

issues including Palestine, and the world economic order that are unlikely to find space in the Goa

declaration.

. Meanwhile, bilateral ties between )ndia and China have reached new lows: with China s CPEC clinch with Pakistan and )ndia s shift to the U.S. strategic corner on the South China Sea.

. Russia s shift away from an exclusive relationship with )ndia, an ambivalence on defence ties with Pakistan consistent with its new dependence on China is another factor that is loosening some

of the mortar between the BRICS countries.

4. Brazil and South Africa are known to have reservations on )ndia s bid for the NSG membership.

Possible agendas of 8th BRICS summit securing the personal interests of member nations . The Modi government has made it clear that it wants to see strong language on terrorism, with specific references to cross-border terror, safe havens, funding and sponsorship of terror groups,

that China may seek to temper on behalf of Pakistan.

2. Russia would like the full backing of BRICS for its actions in Syria, which )ndia and Brazil s new pro-U.S. government may resist.

3. China would like all BRICS countries to express support on the South China Sea, which India may

find difficult to do.

About BRICS?

BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia,

India, China and South Africa. Originally the first four were grouped as "BRIC", before the induction

of South Africa in 2010.

The BRICS members are all leading developing or newly industrialized countries, and are

distinguished by their large, fast-growing economies and significant influence on regional affairs.


18. Ban demand on Chinese imports (Relevance: Indo- China trade relations)

Commerce and Industry Minister opposed complete ban on Chinese imports )ndia can t impose a blanket ban on all imports from China, but it is possible to introduce anti-

dumping duties and safeguard mechanisms on certain products to protect consumers and

producers based on factual evidence.

Her remarks assume significance in context of a growing popular clamour to boycott Chinese goods in view of its stance on )ndia s security concerns.

Current trade between India-China

Trade between the two Asian economies declined from more than $72 billion in 2014-15 to $70.7

billion in 2015- . )ndia s trade deficit with China rose to $52.68 billion from $48.48 billion in

2014-15.

What is Trade Deficit?

Trade deficit is the amount by which the cost of a country's imports exceeds the value of its exports.

19. China- Bangladesh Relations

(Relevance: Growing Chinese relations with )ndia s neighbours

Highlights of China - Bangladesh meet in the backdrop of BRICS Summit . Bangladesh and China have agreed to elevate their cooperation to strategic partnership during Chinese President Xi Jinping s visit to the South Asian country. . The two countries have also agreed to jointly advance China s belt and road initiative and establish institutional cooperation in areas of maritime issues and counter-terrorism. . Mr. Xi s milestone visit to Dhaka, first in 30 years by a Chinese president, also witnessed the signing of 26 agreements on different sectors. 20. Deteriorating US-Russia Relations (Relevance: Direct Question can be asked)

A big foreign policy challenge awaiting the next U.S. President is the frosty relationship with an

angry, resurgent Russia. Talk about a post-Cold War partnership between the world s two greatest military powers is now a thing of the past.


Instances to support a cold war theory persisting between US-Russia

It looks like a throwback to the Cold War days with Russia and the U.S. fighting a proxy war in

Ukraine, leading two competing military operations in Syria and raising allegations and counter-

allegations on a host of issues, ranging from human rights violations and breaking international norms to interfering in each other s domestic politics.

The suspension of Russia from the G-8 moved Moscow farther away from the West, while sanctions

negated the goodwill built, since the 1990s, between Moscow and the West.

Stressed scenario between US-Russia following Syrian conflict

Tensions came to a head this month when the U.S. pulled out of talks with Russia over the Syria

conflict.

This was immediately after President Vladimir Putin abandoned a key nuclear disarmament treaty

with Washington, demanding the removal of sanctions on Moscow.

Conclusion

If the aggressive and stubborn behaviour of both countries display are any indication, international

politics is set to get a lot more dark.

Russian economy is struggling in the wake of the slump in oil prices. Its currency is in a free fall. Its

geopolitical influence is largely limited to the Central Asia and Caucasus. And its foreign policy doesn t have any high moral ground—the interference in Ukraine was a direct threat to the modern international system, while in Syria it s defending a brutal regime that s accused of killing its own citizens.

But in an international system largely dominated by the U.S., Russia, still an extremely

consequential military power, remains the key player whose cooperation is necessary to resolve several of today s crises. Treating it as a rogue nation or trying to isolate and weaken it through sanctions and other means could only be counterproductive.

The Iran nuclear deal shows that even the most complex international issues could be resolved if

Russia and the U.S. work together with creative diplomacy. Ideally, that should set the model for

U.S.-Russia partnership.

21. Maldives quits Commonwealth grouping

(Relevance: Question on democracy in Maldives)


The Maldives angrily quit the Commonwealth after a long complicated dispute over its human

rights record since the overthrowing of its first democratically-elected leader four years ago.

Reason behind Maldives's exit from the Commonwealth

The island nation said it had been treated unjustly and unfairly by the bloc, a voluntary association of more than 50 countries, many of them former territories of the British empire.

Background

The Commonwealth put Male on notice after Mr. Nasheed stood down as President in February

2012 and said he had been forced out in a coup.

The former British protectorate has come under intense international pressure since the

controversial conviction of former President Mohamed Nasheed on terrorism charges.

It has since criticised the government over its crackdown on dissidents and its controversial judiciary, and sent a special envoy to try to improve the archipelago s rights record.

US stand

The United States has said democracy is under threat in the strategically located archipelago, which


sits on key international shipping lanes. Washington has criticised the trial against Mr. Nasheed and

demanded his release.

UN s viewpoint A UN panel has also ruled that Mr. Nasheed s imprisonment last year was illegal and ordered the

regime of President Abdulla Yameen to pay him compensation.

About Commonwealth

The Commonwealth of Nations, or the Commonwealth is an intergovernmental organisation of 53

member states that were mostly territories of the former British Empire.The Maldives became the

most recent nation to withdraw from the Commonwealth.

22. Views of Sheikh Hasina

(Relevance: South Asia Politics)

Issues Discussed in Interview

1. Suspension of SAARC

2. Bangladesh view on Pakistan

3. State of democracy in Bangladesh

4. Bangladesh-China Relations

5. BIMSTEC – BRICS Meet

Bangladesh was a founder of SAARC in the 1980s, but it has also been one of the first

countries to pull out of the summit in Pakistan this year. Is this the end of SAARC?

No, as we said in our official statement on pulling out, we consider that the environment prevailing

in the SAARC region at this particular time is not conducive to hold the SAARC summit. Bangladesh

has certain sensitivities over the International Crimes Tribunal [ICT of Bangladesh], where Pakistan

showed its dissatisfaction with our processes and even raised the issue in their parliament. They

started interfering in our internal affairs by making unacceptable remarks. There is a lot of pressure

on me to cut off all diplomatic ties with Pakistan for their behaviour. But I have said the relations

will remain, and we will have to resolve our problems. The fact is, we won our liberation war from

Pakistan, and they were a defeated force.

Wasn t terror emanating from Pakistan the main issue for you? The fact that Bangladesh,

Bhutan, Afghanistan and India pulled out of SAARC at the same time after the Uri attack

seemed coordinated, to isolate Pakistan.

It was over the situation in Pakistan that we decided to pull out. The common people are the biggest

sufferers of terrorism there. And that terror has gone everywhere, which is why many of us felt


frustrated by Pakistan. )ndia and Pakistan also have their bilateral problems, and ) don t want to comment about that. India pulled out because of the [Uri attack], but for Bangladesh the reason is

totally different.

There have been calls from around the world to stop the hangings of people charged with

collaboration during the war of liberation from Pakistan at the ICT. Have these hangings 45

years later brought any sense of closure for Bangladesh?

Of course they have. After what happened in 1971 — they massacred civilians, raped more than

2,00,000 women, burnt village after village — it was a national demand from those who suffered at

that time that these people must be tried.

You re saying this is the people s demand. Yet elected Jamaat leaders have been hanged or

are in jail, many opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) office-bearers are under

arrest or have gone abroad to escape prosecution. Aren t you confusing the war crimes trials

with your own political rivalries? No, it isn t about my political rivalries. )f you believe in freedom, in an independent country, how can you support these anti-liberation leaders? The BNP has patronised the war criminals. The cases

against BNP leaders are different, and relate to corruption or crimes committed by them. So if these

leaders are not guilty, they should face the trial and not try and flee the country. When I was in

opposition, they filed a dozen false cases against me too.

You brought back democracy to Bangladesh in 1996, yet today you preside over a

parliament with no opposition in it. Do you think in the next election, you will bring the BNP

opposition back into the process?

As far as the BNP is concerned, they decided to boycott the elections. I telephoned [BNP leader] Begum Khaleda Zia, but she didn t take my calls, and even refused my condolence visit for her son s death by closing the door on me. She has ordered her party workers to protest, to carry out acts of violence. )t was her fault to stay out of elections and ) hope she doesn t make the same mistake next time. But ) won t allow democracy to be jeopardised by her misdeeds.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Bangladesh ahead of his visit to India for the BRICS-

BIMSTEC summit which you will also attend, and your ties with China are being watched

very closely in India. Despite the opening of ties, why does trade with India lag so far behind

trade with China?

It depends on the private sector, where they want to buy goods from. Bangladesh has also been

quite vocal about the huge trade imbalance between our two countries and removal of trade

barriers, which is going on in phases. We also plan for the establishment of Indian SEZs at Mongla

and Bheramara that would increase the FDI flow into Bangladesh and narrow the trade gap.


China is Bangladesh s biggest trading partner, it is its biggest defence partner, Bangladesh

plays a large role in China s One Belt, One Road initiative. )sn t it a valid concern for India

that Bangladesh could become what is known as China s string of pearls in the region?

You spoke of the good relationship between India and Bangladesh. If that is the sentiment, then

how can you make the allegation that Bangladesh is inclining more towards China? No. Our policy is

very clear. We have good relations with everyone and we want to maintain that. And I believe

connectivity is a very large part of good relations, so we can all join and improve our trade volumes

and that means the economic condition of our people will improve. If the purchasing power of our

people will increase, who will be the bigger beneficiary of that in our region? India.

You will visit India for the BRICS- BIMSTEC summit this week, and then hopefully later this

year for a bilateral visit. Tell us what you hope to achieve.

The problem in our region for all of us is almost the same: we have one common enemy and that is

poverty, which we must fight to eradicate. With neighbouring countries we may have many

problems, but I believe it can always be solved. India and Bangladesh have done it, like we agreed to

a Ganges water treaty. As far as BRICS is concerned, we have expectations that BRICS leaders will

extend a supporting hand to BIMSTEC with its New Development Bank at affordable terms.

Will you discuss ways of better border management during your visit, since despite the

implementation of the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA), while the enclaves have been

settled, other issues remain, like illegal migration and border firing?

Yes, the LBA was a long-standing problem which we solved after 45 years. So if the big problem has

been solved, we can resolve these smaller problems too. As far as border killings are concerned, our

border forces on both sides, the BSF [India s Border Security Force] and the BGB [Border Guard Bangladesh] have agreed to jointly investigate the incidents where BSF personnel have shot and

killed innocent Bangladeshi villagers, and the Home Ministers are discussing this. A few dots

[problems] may remain, but see what a big, extraordinary example we have set for the world by

exchanging our people and land so smoothly. 23. Saudi war in Yemen (Relevance: Criticism of Saudi action in Yemen)

Saudi Arabia s military operation in Yemen Saudi Arabia s 8-month-long military operation in Yemen has been charged with attacks on

civilian centres and mass casualties.


Saudi s incessant violence regime in Yemen against houthis

Since its start in March 2015, the brutal military campaign in Yemen has evoked international

criticism against the Saudis for the use of excessive force, even allegations of war crimes.

But Saudi Arabia has appeared to pay no heed. Riyadh claims it is defending the internationally

recognised regime of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, which operates out of the southern city

of Aden, against Shia Houthi rebels.

But while defending a government that doesn t seem to enjoy any legitimacy at home, Riyadh and its allies have turned Yemen into a humanitarian catastrophe.

Damage occurred

The UN estimates that over 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have so far been killed and millions

displaced since the Saudi intervention.

Besides, the country s already poor healthcare system has crumbled and its economy is in a shambles. More than half of Yemen s million people do not get enough food, while close to 400,000 children endure severe malnutrition.

Background

The Houthis officially called Ansar Allah is a Zaidi Shia-led socio-political movement that emerged

northern Yemen in the 1990s and has fought against the central government on and off since 2004.

The movement initially sought an end to economic under-development, political marginalization

and perceived discrimination in Zaydi areas, and sought greater autonomy in areas where they are

predominant.

Tension between the Houthis and the central government steadily grew in the 1990s, with war

breaking out in 2004 with the group, a rebellion against then President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Saudi s intentions behind this military operation

This is because Riyadh sees this war as part of its rivalry with Iran. It considers the Houthis to be

agents of Iran, and does not want Tehran to have a proxy presence in its backyard.

US role in Saudi bombings

Washington supports the campaign through intelligence-sharing and by vetting targets. Moreover,

the Obama administration announced a $60-billion arms deal for Riyadh months after the Yemen operation began. )t expressed deep concern after the Sana a bombing, but stopped short of taking any action.


Way forward The U.S., which recently pulled out of the Syria peace talks citing Russia s bombing of Aleppo, should ask similar questions of the Saudis, and use its ties with Riyadh to find a diplomatic solution

to the Yemen crisis.

What Yemen needs is an immediate ceasefire between the Houthis and the Saudis, followed by talks

involving all parties, not more bombings.

24. Sri Lankan PM: Foremost place for Buddhism in new Constitution (Relevance: Questions on Secular character of SL)

Sri Lanka PM s viewpoint over Buddhism supremacy Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe s recent remarks that Buddhism would be given the foremost place in Sri Lanka s new Constitution has sparked concern among sections.

Mr. Wickremesinghe said all political parties and religious leaders across faiths had no issue in giving priority to protect Buddhism in the country.

Arguments against the supremacy of single religion in a state Tamil National Alliance TNA , the main political grouping here representing Sri Lanka s northern Tamils, argued If equality is a provision, then you cannot give primacy to one religion. They

termed the move exclusionary .

Sri Lanka s religious Demography Buddhists are Sri Lanka s majority religious group, accounting for about per cent of the island s population. Hindus are the largest religious minority, constituting 12.6 per cent of the population,

while Muslims and Christians, respectively, make up 9.7 per cent and 7.6 per cent.

Concerns over religious intolerance in Sri Lanka

The debate over giving primacy to Buddhism in the Constitution comes amid concerns over

apparently growing religious intolerance and alleged Sinhala-Buddhist colonisation in post-war Sri

Lanka.

Cautioning that such an exclusionary provision might spark tensions and old fears. Experts argue

that it should be remembered that it was a similar constitutional provision that privileged one language over the other that eventually became a cause for Sri Lanka s civil war.


What is Secularism?

If a country does not have an official state religion, it is secular. India does not have a state religion,

so it is secular. But Islam is the state religion of Pakistan, therefore Pakistan is not a secular state.

25. MH17 brought down by Russian missile: Probe

(Relevance: Results of probe on MH 17 knocked down last year)

Inquiry states that Russian transported missile knocked down the flight MH17

The missile that downed flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine was transported from Russia, a criminal

inquiry revealed.

Investigators said they had "irrefutable evidence" that the BUK missile system was used to blow the

Malaysia Airlines plane out of the sky, investigators also confirmed the device was fired from a field

in a part of eastern Ukraine then controlled by pro-Russia separatists.

The new details appeared to back up long-standing accusations from Ukraine and the West that

pro-Russian rebels were to blame using a missile which may have been provided by Moscow.

Details of the tragedy

The Boeing 777 was ripped apart mid-air during a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur over

Ukraine, where a war pitting separatists allegedly armed by Russia against the Kiev government

erupted in April 2014.

All 298 people on board the plane including 196 Dutch citizens were killed.

But despite two official international investigations, the burning questions of who gave the orders

and who pulled the trigger remain unresolved. 26. India, Sri Lanka possible economic pact (Relevance: Indo-SL Economic Relations)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will sign an

enhanced bilateral economic partnership by the end of this year to allow the free flow of services,

investments and technology. This will be in addition to the existing Free Trade Agreement (FTA)

between the two nations.


Benefit expected to Southern States Mr. Wickremesinghe said that closer economic ties can accelerate growth among )ndia s five southern States and Sri Lanka.Sri Lanka and the five southern States, including Karnataka, Andhra

Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, together have a population of 272 million people and a combined gross

domestic product of more than $500 billion, Mr. Wickremesinghe said.

Proposal for Larger Regional Cooperation

Sri Lanka suggested the creation of a larger special zone of economic co-operation around the Bay

of Bengal to India, which takes on board Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia in addition to BIMSTEC

countries. BIMSTEC stands for Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic

Co-Operation and its members are Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and

Nepal.

Sri Lanka is negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Singapore, while India already has

comprehensive economic partnership pact with the latter, so there is scope for a trilateral

arrangement to boost the three economies, he said.

27. Sri Lanka to build , barrels per day refinery with )ndia s )OC Relevance: )ndia s assistance to SL

Sri Lanka will build a second refinery in Trincomalee in Northern Sri Lanka with a capacity of at

least 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) in a tie-up with Indian Oil Corp.

Comparison with China

India has been vying for major projects in the island nation where China has secured multi-billion

dollar infrastructure projects including a $1.4 billion high-end property development and others

ranging from a coal plant to ports. 28. Declining importance of NAM (Relevance: Direct question can be asked)

Absence of PM from NAM Summit

A summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) without the Indian Prime Minister is like Hamlet

without the Prince of Denmark and that is what was enacted in Venezuela recently. The only other

time when an Indian Prime Minister stayed home was in 1979, when the historic Havana summit took place. Prime Minister Charan Singh s absence, however, had nothing to do with NAM; this time,

the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a political message.

Criticism of NAM


One argument is that NAM did not have any binding principles and that it was a marriage of

convenience among disparate countries.

Another argument being heard is that NAM countries did not come to our help on any of the critical

occasions when India needed solidarity, such as the Chinese aggression in 1962 or the Bangladesh

war in 1971. Even in the latest struggle against terror, NAM has not come to assist India in any way.

Strengths of NAM

Though the criteria for NAM membership are general, anti-colonialism, anti-imperialism and anti-

racism were essential attributes of NAM countries. There was a consensus on nuclear disarmament

also till India broke ranks by keeping out of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The diversity reflected in both Singapore and Cuba being NAM members has been its strength.

Therefore, Egypt signing the Camp David Accords with Israel in 1978 or India signing the Treaty of

Peace, Friendship and Cooperation with the Soviet Union in 1971 did not result in any disruption of

membership.

Present Role of NAM

The question we need to ask is whether our continued involvement with NAM would stand in the

way of our 21st century ambitions. The very informal nature of NAM permits members to operate

individually. It also has the facility of members reserving their positions, as we did on the non-

proliferation positions of NAM.

Our new nearness to the U.S. is not a red rag in NAM and our ability to be helpful in formulating U.S.

policies gives us an advantage. No NAM country may agree to isolate Pakistan, but the NAM forum

will be an effective instrument to project our anti-terrorist sentiments.

NAM is particularly important in elections at the UN, including the possible identification of new

permanent members of the Security Council. The NAM position may not be decisive, but in the

normal process of consultations, every grouping will get its own weightage and it is convenient to

have a lobby behind us. NAM today, like the Commonwealth has always been, is a heritage we need

not discard.

About NAM

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a group of states which are not formally aligned with or

against any major power bloc. As of 2012, the movement has 120 members.

The organization was founded in Belgrade in 1961, and was largely conceived by India's first prime


minister, Jawaharlal Nehru; Indonesia's first president, Sukarno; Egypt's second president, Gamal

Abdel Nasser; Ghana's first president Kwame Nkrumah; and Yugoslavia's president, Josip Broz Tito.

All five leaders were prominent advocates of a middle course for states in the AnchorDeveloping

World between the Western and Eastern Blocs in the Cold War. 29. UN court rejects disarmament case against India (Relevance: Direct question can be asked)

Nuclear Disarmament case rejected by UN The United Nations highest court rejected nuclear disarmament cases filed by the Pacific nation of the Marshall Islands against Britain, India and Pakistan, saying it did not have jurisdiction.

The International Court of Justice ruled that the Marshall Islands had failed to prove that a legal

dispute over disarmament existed between it and the three nuclear powers before the case was

filed in 2014, and that consequently the court lacks jurisdiction.

About the case

The Marshall Islands originally filed cases against all nine nations that have declared or are

believed to possess nuclear weapons: the U.S., Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel

and North Korea.

But only the cases against Britain, India and Pakistan got to the preliminary stage of proceedings.

Interest of Marshall Islands in filing the case against nuclear disarmament

An official acknowledged that the Marshall Islands had a particular interest in nuclear disarmament by virtue of the suffering which its people endured as a result of it being used as a site for extensive nuclear testing programmes.

UN s rationale behind its ruling

The court said that using or threatening to use nuclear arms would generally be contrary to the laws of war and humanitarian law.

But it added that it could not definitively rule on whether the threat or use of nuclear weapons would be legal in an extreme circumstance of self-defence, in which the very survival of a state would be at stake.


30. N-deal with Japan (Relevance: Direct Question can be asked)

Importance of nuclear agreement with Japan

India has completed agreements for civil nuclear cooperation with 11 countries so far, including the

U.S., Russia, Australia, Canada and South Korea, but the upcoming agreement with Japan could be

the most significant.

Japan is the only country to have been the victim of a nuclear attack, and its decision to sign an

agreement with India, a country that has not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear

Weapons (NPT), would be a first. Reservations in Japan against nuclear energy have hardened after

the Fukushima accident.

Importance given to India by Japan Tokyo s support to the deal so far is therefore an indication of the importance it accords to relations with India.

For India, the civil nuclear agreement with Japan is especially important for the message of trust it

would convey to Nuclear Suppliers Group members in a year the country hopes to have its admission accepted. Japan s support at the NSG has been particularly marked.

In fact, India and Japan share many multilateral platforms, including membership of the G-4 group that is knocking at the UN Security Council s door for reform.

Benefits to India

1. Beyond symbolic reasons, Japanese nuclear energy technology and safety parameters are widely

considered to be cutting-edge, and many critical parts needed for Indian reactors are made by

Japanese manufacturers. These will not be available to India until the agreement is done. Although )ndia has even considered trying to manufacture them locally, there won t be alternatives to Japan

for several years.

2. Even the U.S. civil nuclear deal, that is yet to be actualised, is contingent on the deal with Japan,

given that the current discussions for six reactors in Andhra Pradesh are with Westinghouse, which

is owned by the Japanese company Toshiba.

Reasons for delay in deal The main sticking point has been )ndia s refusal to sign the NPT, as it considers the treaty unfair to the developing world. This is why New Delhi is keen on ensuring that in the haste to seal the deal by

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ndeal-with-japan-ready-to-be-sealed/article9176599.ece


the time Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Japan this winter, it doesn t give in to pressure to adhere to anything more than its own self-declared moratorium on testing.

The Japanese insistence on a nullification clause that the agreement would cease as soon as India

tests, will be judged with this balance in mind. Particularly post-Fukushima, Japanese

manufacturers will also be expected to be more generous with India on the liability issue, given

their own experience with the enormous cost of cleaning up. 31. OPEC s decision to reduce Oil Output (Relevance: OPEC attempt to re-emerge)

OPEC meet over curbing the output

The agreement reached at the extraordinary meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, in Algiers, to trim the cartel s collective output by about , barrels a day, in an effort to balance supply and demand in the global oil market, caught markets by surprise.

Declining oil prices marked the need of balancing the demand and supply chain

It was well-acknowledged that the group needed to take decisive action to staunch the two-year-

long slide in global crude prices, that saw oil prices more than halve from about $103 a barrel in

end-August 2014 to $45.45 a barrel on September 1 this year.

OPEC nations badly affected

For instance, Saudi Arabia found itself with a fiscal deficit of 16 per cent of GDP in 2015 that is

projected to slightly narrow to about 13 per cent this year. This year the kingdom was driven to

make its first overseas borrowing in more than a decade, a five-year $10 billion loan.

What is OPEC?

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a permanent, intergovernmental

Organization, created at the Baghdad Conference in 1960. Member nations of OPEC includes Iran,

Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela Qatar ,Indonesia ,United Arab Emirates, Algeria,

Nigeria, Ecuador, Angola and Gabon.

OPEC had its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, on September 1, 1965.

OPEC's objective is to co-ordinate and unify petroleum policies among Member Countries, in order

to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers; an efficient, economic and regular supply

of petroleum to consuming nations; and a fair return on capital to those investing in the industry.


32. China blocks tributary of Brahmaputra to build dam (Relevance: Indo- China Brahmaputra water sharing issue)

China has blocked a tributary of the Brahmaputra as part of a major hydro-electric project, whose

construction began in 2014. The state-run Xinhua news agency is reporting that the blockage of a tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo river is part of China's most expensive hydro project. About Brahmaputra river

The Brahmaputra in its upper reaches is called Yarlung Zangbo, after it originates from the Angsi

glacier in western Tibet, southeast of Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake.

Indus treaty review coincidence China s move coincides with the debate in )ndia on the careful assessment of )ndus water flows into Pakistan following a cross-border raid in Uri that killed 18 Indian troops.

The project on the river Xiabuqu in Xigaze (Place), also called Shigatse, involves an investment of $ million, the head of the project s administrative bureau was quoted as saying.

Impact on India

Shigatse, a railhead of the Qinghai-Tibet railway, is a few hours driving distance away from the

junction of Bhutan and Sikkim. It is also the city from where China intends to extend its railway

towards Nepal.

It is as yet unclear whether the dam will have any impact on water flows towards India and

Bangladesh — the two riparian states that are drained by the Brahmaputra.

So far, China has maintained that its dams do not restrict the flow of water towards India as they

are based on run-of-the river principle.

Ambitious hydro power plans China s th five year plan has proposed significant hydropower expansion along rivers that also originate in the Tibetan plateau.

Although the plan does not mention any river specifically, it is anticipated that the new dams are

envisaged along the Yarlung Zangbo, Lancang (Mekong) and Nu (Salween), all originating in the

Tibetan plateau.

2013 MoU

India and China have set up an Expert Level Mechanism on trans-border rivers. In 2013, they


signed a memorandum of understanding on trans-border rivers, under which China has been

supplying data to India on water flows. 33. SAARC summit postponed indefinitely (Relevance : Weakening SAARC)

SAARC to be postponed

Blaming India for derailing the 19th SAARC Summit, Pakistan announced that the summit

scheduled for November 9 and 10 in Islamabad will now be held on an alternative date.Nepal

subsequently issued an official statement seeking an indefinite postponement of the summit.

Sri Lanka pulled out from SAARC

Sri Lanka joined India, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Bangladesh in demanding the summit should not be

held. Sri Lanka is thus the fifth country to boycott the summit proposed after India expressed its inability to participate in the event following the attack in Uri and Colombo s decision has come as a further setback to Pakistan.

Statement issued in response by Sri Lanka The General Provisions of the SAARC Charter require that decisions at all levels shall be taken on

the basis of unanimity, and this applies to the convening Heads of State or Government of SAARC Member States as well.

Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said in a statement, Sri Lanka condemns terrorism in all its forms and

manifestations, and stresses in this regard the need to deal with the issue of terrorism in a decisive manner .

About SAARC

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is regional intergovernmental

organization and geopolitical union in South Asia. Its member states include Afghanistan,

Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. 34. Failure on peace deal in Syria (Relevance: Direct question can be asked)

Failure to establish peace in Syria

Over the past five and a half years, every international effort to bring violence in Syria to an end has

collapsed. The UN has largely been a spectator since what began as civil strife spiraled into a deadly


war between the regime and a group of rebel groups supported by outside powers. In this time, half

a million people have been killed.

Efforts went in vain

1. The Geneva peace plans over Syria did not even take off.

2. Russia and the U.S. had earlier agreed to cease hostilities, but the agreement did not hold.

About Geneva peace talks

The Geneva peace talks on Syria, are intended peace negotiations between the Syrian government

and opposition in Geneva under the auspices of the UN. Although formally started on 1 February

2016, they were formally suspended only two days later, on 3 February 2016.

About ceasefire Agreement between US and Russia

US was in support of rebels asking for a democratic rule by overthrowing existing government in

Syria, whereas Russia favored Syrian regime.

When Moscow and Washington, which support the regime and the rebels, respectively, decided to

go ahead with talks despite the initial setback and finally came up with a proper ceasefire

agreement earlier this month, hopes were high about bringing at least some temporary relief to

Syrians.

But within a week of reaching the agreement, the Syrian regime and the rebels are back fighting

each other, erasing the advances made through months of negotiations.

Key hindrances to achieve truce

President Bashar al-Assad is now making advances in the battlefield. Recapturing Aleppo, once Syria s largest city, has always been high on his agenda, and he may be less keen to compromise at a time when he is winning.

But the problem is that while trying to recapture the city his forces might commit another

massacre, which the world should not let happen.

Way Forward

The U.S. and Russia need to stay engaged in talks. The word truce may appear to be a cliché in today s Syria, but an international ceasefire deal between the U.S. and Russia still seems to be the

best option to turn around the Syrian situation.


35. India unhappy over Russia-Pakistan ties (Relevance: Russia-Pakistan Ties)

India-Russia ties likely to be affected )ndia s ties with Russia are likely to be affected if Moscow continues to expand military relations

with Islamabad. Criticising Pakistan-Russia ties, Indian Ambassador to Russia warned of problems ahead in bilateral ties, even as both sides planned a major summit on the sidelines of the upcoming Goa BRICS summit.

)ndia s response to the growing ties between Russia-Pakistan

India officially conveyed unhappiness over the growing Pakistan-Russia ties after both countries held the first ever joint military exercise in Pakistan s northwest.

India had expressed concern over the exercise with Pakistan during the 22nd India-Russia Inter-

Governmental Commission (IRGC).

Significance of studying ties between Russia-Pakistan

The statement of the Indian ambassador is significant as it set the mood for the 17th India-Russia

Annual Summit in Goa.

The summit, to be held in the backdrop of the BRICS summit, will witness signing of a number of

bilateral pacts. During the summit, both sides will also plan the 70th anniversary of the

establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

Russia s stand

Russia condemned the September 18 terror strike in Uri which claimed the lives of 19 Indian

soldiers but went ahead with the military exercise with Pakistan even as India blamed Pakistan for

not acting against the terror modules.

However, Russian government think tank sources indicated that Russia may not be on the same

page with India on Pakistan highlighting that Moscow did not want to leave Pakistan alone.

Technical co-operation between India-Russia

Recently, India-Russia ties reached a new landmark in nuclear energy cooperation with the

dedication of Unit 1 of the Kudankulam nuclear power project jointly inaugurated by Prime

Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin through video conference.

Both sides also agreed to work together on the remaining stages of Kudankulam 2,3,4,5 and 6. Other projects are also likely to come up under the Make in )ndia programme.


36. Colombia s Santos wins Peace Nobel for deal with FARC (Relevance: Direct question can be asked)

Nobel Peace Award conferred on Columbian President Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize for his resolute efforts to end more than five decades of war in his country.

The award was unexpected after voters rejected the terms of the landmark accord Mr. Santos

clinched last month with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) leader, Timochenko.

Unexpected choice of awardees- Viewpoint of Colombian people

Nobel watchers had initially tipped Mr. Santos and Timochenko as likely joint winners of the

prestigious prize but quickly revised their choice to only President of Colombia after the

referendum on peace accord was rejected by Colombian people.

The committee justified the award that the aim was to encourage peace efforts in the war-torn country, which are now in real danger of collapse.

Colombian Conflict

The Colombian conflict has claimed more than 260,000 lives and left 45,000 missing over

five decades.

What is FARC?

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army, is a guerrilla movement involved in

the continuing Colombian armed conflict since 1964.

Accord with FARC

The accord, signed on September 26, 2016, provided for the disbanding of FARC militants and for

the rebels to join the political process as a routine political party, besides acknowledging the demands by FARC to address discrimination in Colombia s rural areas through development programmes and land distribution.

FARC also agreed to dismantle drug production facilities in areas in its control which had helped

finance the war against the Colombian government. This was a landmark accord that provided an

opportunity not just for peace but also for better prospects against drug production and trade in

Colombia.


Background

The accord, signed on September 26, was supposed to be ratified following an October 2

referendum but merely a week after the accord, the government received a setback as its attempt to

get the accord ratified through a referendum failed.

About 50.23 per cent of the voters (the voter turnout was less than 40 per cent) voted against the

peace agreement. Both the government and FARC have ruled out a return to war despite this setback, and even the advocates of the no vote, including former President Álvaro Uribe, have

sought fresh negotiations for what they deem to be a better accord.

Implications of award on Colombian peace process

The Nobel committee recognises that despite the setback there is the need for a broad-based

dialogue to further the peace process.

In doing so, it has provided Mr. Santos the persuasive pulpit he had lost following the referendum.

The award should enable his government to seek a renewed accord that does not militate against

the previous one and seals a durable peace. The Peace Prize is a testimonial to the patience

required to bring about closure to complex, long-running conflicts. In this case at least, it is well-

deserved.

37. Outcome of Raffale deal

Relevance: Direct Question can be asked)

An integrated facility will be commissioned by the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and its

French partner Dassault in Nagpur in the next few months for the execution of offset contracts of

the just-concluded deal for 36 French fighters. A significant part of the whopping Rs. 30,000 crore

offsets would be executed through the joint venture, Dassault Reliance Aerospace.

According to industry sources, the new facility will come up in the Reliance Special Economic Zone

(SEZ) in Nagpur, and it would be fully operational within the next 12 months.

What is Offset Clause? Last month )ndia and France concluded a € . -billion deal for 36 Rafale multi-role fighter jets in a

fly-away condition. There is a 50 per cent offset clause under which French industry will invest half

the contract value back in the country which is expected to develop some expertise domestically in

the aerospace sector.

Officials said 74 percent of the 50 percent offset value should be exported from India. This is

expected to result in Euro 3 billion over the next 7 years.


How 50% of the contract value will be invested in India?

Four French companies which have a major stake in the Rafale deal — Dassault Aviation, Thales,

Safran and MBDA — will execute offsets worth about Rs. 30,000 crore as per their share. The

Dassault-Reliance JV will only execute a part of the offsets.

The first three companies individually have about 25-30 percent share in the aircraft which will

also be the case in executing the offsets. Another 10 percent is held by several other French

companies based on their contribution. MBDA is the weapons manufacturer which is also part of

the contract.

As per the agreement about 30 percent of the Rs. 30,000 crore i.e. about Rs. 9,000 crore has to be

invested in Reseach & Development (R&D) along with the Defence Research and Development

Organisation (DRDO) for technology development.


3. Economics 1. DND is made toll-free by Allahabad HC (Relevance: Intervention by Courts to stop Toll Collections on behalf of public)

Delhi-Noida-Direct flyway is made Toll free

The Allahabad High Court directed the operators of the Delhi-Noida-Direct, better known as the

DND, to make the flyway toll-free with immediate effect.

The bench of judges gave the order on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by the Federation of Noida Residents Welfare Association FONRWA .

Reason stated for the judgment of making DND flyover toll-free

The Company has started giving dividends to its share-holders. This simply means the company has

earned profits from the revenue generated by recovery of user fees from the commuters of DND

flyover i.e. the NOIDA Toll Bridge.

As per the settled position of law no private person or company can be allowed to earn profit from

the public property at the cost of public at large.

Company s view The counsel for the Noida Toll Bridge Company Limited NTBCL said the company s contract with the Noida Authority was binding and collection of toll over the bridge was less than the estimate as

per the contract.

After going through the arguments, the court said the NTBCL had already realised the construction

cost of the flyover, therefore, there was no need to continue with the realisation of toll fee.

Order of SC Deflating the DND flyway toll company s claims of having constructed the best road in the country, the Supreme Court did not stay the Allahabad (igh Court verdict to stop charging toll on commuters.

The Bench said it would consider the toll company s suggestion for the apex court to appoint an independent auditor or even have the Comptroller and Auditor General check the cost-

expenditures-income derived by the Noida Toll Bridge Company for having built and operated the

eight-lane flyway connecting the National Capital with satellite Noida regions for the past 15 years.


2. India- S. Korea DTAA notified (Relevance: Question can be asked on implications of DTAA with South Korea)

DTAA signed between India and South Korea

The government notified a new Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between India and

South Korea, which was signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Seoul in May

2015.

The provisions of the new DTAA will have effect in India in respect of income derived in fiscal years

beginning on or after April 1, 2017.

What is DTAA?

A DTAA, also referred to as a Tax Treaty, is a bilateral economic agreement between two nations

that aims to avoid or eliminate double taxation of the same income in two countries.India has

Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with 88 countries, but presently 85 has been in

force. How does a DTAA works? Suppose a person, from say India, moves to foreign land to make a living. He leaves behind some residential property, land, or investments of any other sort which are also a source of his income. Now this investment will be taxed not only in India but also the foreign land where he resides, as earning from India will be added to calculate total global earning and then taxed in his country of residence. So eventually he is paying tax twice on the same income. To avoid this we have a treaty called DTAA which India has signed with over 80 countries. The precise manner in which one is exempted from paying the tax twice varies from one treaty to another. For instance the resident country may exempt the income earned in the foreign land or may grant credit for the tax paid. 3. Evaluation of ranking attained in ease of doing business (Relevance: Direct Question is Probable)


Target of Government

The Narendra Modi government had set itself the target of breaking into the top 50 in the World Bank s annual ranking of countries on ease of doing business.

One notch improvement in last year ranking

The Bank in its Doing Business 2017 report now ranks India 130 among 190 countries, just one

notch higher than last year, is therefore likely to be taken as a signal of the snail s pace of economic reform.

Seventy-five per cent of the 283 reforms reported this year were carried out by the developing economies, and the world s ten best improvers include Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Kenya and

Indonesia.

The Bank acknowledges )ndia s gains in simplifying tax payments, trade procedures and contract enforcement (though it still ranks a low 172 on this front). Most heartening is that India is now the

26th easiest place to get an electricity connection, up 25 places from last year. The average time

taken to get a connection has come down from 138 days in 2013-14 to 45 days in 2015-16.

Besides, transformative changes such as the proposed Goods and Services Tax and insolvency and

bankruptcy norms, if implemented by June next year, could propel )ndia higher in the Bank s next report.


Absolute improvement in performance

India had made a noticeable improvement in the distance to frontier (DTF) score — an absolute

measure of progress towards best practices.

While ranking is relative, DTF score is an absolute figure. India was 35th in DTF improvement last year. )ndia has improved and is at . compared with last year s . , while the perfect score is 100. New Zealand that is ranked first has a DTF score of 87.01.

About DTF score

DTF (distance to frontier) measure complements the annual ease of doing business ranking, which

compares economies with one another at a point in time. The score is given out of 100.

)ndia s argument over assessment of the rank

The government has argued that the Bank only focuses on two big cities, Delhi and Mumbai, while

reforms are happening across States. About Ease of Doing Business Report Word Bank Doing Business reports, introduced in 2004, review business regulations and their enforcement across countries —190 this year. The latest edition takes into account developments in one year up until June 1, 2016.

4. One )ndia push for ease of business (Relevance: Measures to enhance Ease of doing business)

The Centre is working with State governments to introduce a One )ndia concept, the most ambitious ease of doing business initiative so far.

About One )ndia model Under the one-form-one-portal model, aimed at attracting huge investments, the processes will be

simplified to an extent where investors will need to fill only a single e-form for investing and doing

business anywhere in India.

Currently, firms are mandated to complete multiple forms at the Central and State-levels, and it gets

more complicated as each State has different requirements and regulations.

Aim of the One )ndia concept The reform plan is among steps aimed at helping raise )ndia s global ranking on the World Bank Group s Doing Business index — from 130 in 2016 — to the top 50 among the 189 economies


featured on the list.

The proposed concept will also make it easy for investors to even change plans midway and shift

projects to different locations in India where it is easier to do business.

Proceedings undertaken for implementing the portal As an initial measure, a draft Common Application Form is being circulated among states for their feedback where a few states have already accepted the concept.

However, discussions will be held on possible exceptions, including for environment and security-

related clearances.

The Centre is already developing an e-Biz project that is basically a government-to-business portal.

Details of the e-Biz portal

Introduced in January 2014, the portal has an integrated payment gateway and currently offers 17

pan-India services (at the Central government-level).

The services offered under the portal — which firms and investors can use 24X7 online — are on

starting, running and closing down a business.

The state-level services on offer include that of Delhi (two services), Andhra Pradesh (13) and

Odisha (15). The upcoming services include seven Central government and other services, 13 from

Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra (10), Delhi (six), and Haryana and Tamil Nadu (eight each).

Other States have been asked to link their services to the portal soon, and the aim is to integrate

more than 200 services within a few years.

The thrust will be on quality by reducing the cost, time and processes involved, and ensuring

greater transparency. For instance, States have been asked to do away with the requirement of fees

for services, wherever the fee involved is nominal.

Business Identification Number

Also in the pipeline is a permanent account number (PAN)-based Business Identification Number

(BIN) for firms.

This unique business ID will integrate about 18 identification numbers including the existing

Company Identification Number.


5. Global Gender Gap Report by WEF (Relevance: Status of women in India)

India ranked 87 in Global Gender Gap Report

The World Economic Forum (WEF) reckons that the gender gap in India has narrowed down over

the past year — with the gap closing in primary and secondary education enrolments — pushing it up in the Forum s global gender gap rankings from last year to in .

Shortcomings in gender gap despite improved ranking

India remains one of the worst countries in the world for women in terms of labour force

participation, income levels as well as health and survival.

Achievements of India )ndia s women rank highly on political empowerment (9th in the world) and the country is closing

the gap on wage equality and across all indicators of the educational attainment sub-index, fully closing its primary and secondary education enrolment gender gaps.

Criticism of India

However, )ndia also sees some regression on women s estimated earned income and continues to rank third-lowest in the world on (ealth and Survival, remaining the world s least-improved

country on this sub-index over the past decade. Also, India has not removed barriers to women s participation in the workforce.

About Global Gender Gap Report

The Global Gender Gap Report was first published in 2006 by the World Economic Forum. The

2016 report covers 144 major and emerging economies. The Global Gender Gap Index is

an index designed to measure gender equality. The report considers four broad dimensions of

gender equality — economic participation, education, health and politics.

6. The data breach at banks (Relevance: Vulnerability of important data)

Extent of Data Breach

The data breach at 19 Indian banks that has led to more than 32 lakh debit cards being blocked or

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Economic_Forum

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_(statistics)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measures_of_gender_equality


recalled is a wake-up call for the banking industry.

While the actual number of complaints received so far, 641, and the sum of money that appears to

have been fraudulently withdrawn, Rs.1.3 crore, are both small relative to the scale of the potential

data theft, it is disconcerting that it has taken almost six months for the system to officially

acknowledge the incidents and initiate steps to address them.

Possible source of Data theft

A private bank appears to have been a point of entry for the data criminals who, according to

reports, may have infiltrated using malware at ATMs operated by a third-party payment services

vendor. The National Payments Corporation of India has been coordinating investigations into the

incident, and a forensic audit is expected to reveal preliminary findings soon. 7. Full convertibility on capital account unlikely for few years (Relevance: State of Capital Account Convertibility)

India is not looking at full capital account convertibility for the next few years, a senior finance

ministry official said.

View of ex-RBI Governor

Raghuram Rajan, the previous Reserve Bank of India governor, had said that the central bank was

looking at bringing in capital account convertibility in a few years.

Even the International Monetary Fund (IMF), that has advocated such convertibility for decades,

has become more cautious about its benefits for developing economies in the recent past.

Alternative steps taken by the recent govt. to ease the foreign capital

1. Enumerating the steps taken by the government in the past two years to ease access to foreign

capital, be it portfolio flows or foreign direct investment, new instruments have also been made

available for foreign investors such as rupee-denominated offshore bonds (also known as masala

bonds) and alternate investment funds.

2. The external commercial borrowings framework was liberalised significantly in December 2015

with the caps (on such borrowings) enhanced.

3. Despite the currency risk, the Indian market offers attractive returns to foreign investors. The

return on government securities is 7 per cent to 8 per cent and return on equity is higher.


What is Capital account convertibility?

Capital Account Convertibility means that rupee can be freely convertible into any foreign

currencies for the acquisition of assets like shares, properties and assets abroad. Further, the banks

can accept deposits in any currency. Capital Account controls are used by the state to protect the

economy from potential shocks caused by unpredictable capital inflows and outflows.

Currency account convertibility means the freedom to convert one currency into other internationally accepted currencies, wherein the exporters and importers were allowed a free

conversion of a rupee.

In India, Current account is largely convertible but there are severe restrictions on capital account.

Alternative Investment Funds

Alternative Investment Funds are the investments which do not happen via the traditional modes of

investment such as stocks, bonds, cash, property etc. The other avenues have been put into the

Alternative Investments, though there is no proper definition of AI. Some of the alternative

investments include the commodities, private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, and financial

derivatives as well as assets such as paintings, other arts, wines, antiques coins and stamps. The

gains in these assets would be called capital gains and provisions accordingly would apply to them.

8. Evaluating China s Economy (Relevance: Why Indian economy is performing well but Chinese economy suffered from reduction in growth in recent years)

GDP growth of China indicates it a stable economy

The latest GDP data from China show the world s second-largest economy seemingly in good health.

Third-quarter growth was . per cent, reflecting the government s continued pump priming by way of increased spending.

Shift in China s strategy

Earlier this decade the Chinese government began a rebalancing of the economy by shifting the focus away from a production and export-led model to an increasingly domestic consumption and

services reliant one; it has had some success in this with domestic consumption contributing 71 per

cent of GDP growth in the first three quarters of 2016.

Still, the high level of government spending and the mounting debt — core debt as a percentage of

GDP exceeded 250 per cent in the first quarter according to data compiled by the Bank for

International Settlements — are causes for concern.


Comparison with India

While Chinese economic growth is on account of exports but Indian economic growth has been

mainly on account of domestic consumption. In times of slow growth in Global economy, China is

focusing on creating domestic demand to maintain its path of economic growth.

9. Forex reserves touch record high of $372 billion

(Relevance: State of forex) )ndia s foreign exchange reserves scaled a new high of $ . billion. Reasons for increase in Forex Reserves 1. The imports have reduced in value on account of low global oil prices. 2. The imports of gold have reduced from last year. 3. There is rise in FDI across various sectors. 10. Just 20 blocks kept for private explorers (Relevance: Emphasis on public sector units for exploration of mines)

Low ratio of blocks allotted to private explorers vis a vis state entities

The Centre has decided to reserve for private explorers just 20 blocks out of a total 100 blocks to be

allotted under the new mineral exploration policy.

The remaining 80 blocks are to be allotted to government and public sector entities, with a time-

bound target to complete the exploration within one year.

Details

Thirty blocks are to be allotted to the Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd. (MECL) and the

Geological Survey of India (GSI) each, while central public sector firms will be assigned 20 blocks

for exploration purposes. MECL and GSI are under the administrative control of the mines ministry.

Reason stated for the bias allocation

The ministry has cited a paucity of exploration firms in India for the low number of blocks kept

aside for the private sector at this juncture.

Untapped reserves

Despite large reserves of minerals including copper, bauxite and iron-ore, )ndia s progress on their exploration has been quite poor with just 10 per cent of a potential 8 lakh square kilometres being

explored till date.


Basis of exploration policy

Under new policy, permits for exploration of non-hydrocarbon minerals are to be auctioned to

private sector players on a revenue-sharing basis.

The exploration rights would be awarded to the bidder seeking the minimum revenue-share if their exploration results in the discovery of `auctionable reserves.

Even though private players, including foreign investors, were already allowed to explore blocks for

determining mineral reserves, the new Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act of

2015 necessitated a change in the system.

Previous basis before the enforcement of Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation)

Act 2015

Previously, a reconnaissance or exploration permit could be converted into a prospecting licence

and mining lease if mineral reserves of viable scale were discovered.

New Mechanism as per the law

Since the new mining law requires all blocks with identified mineral reserves to be auctioned

instead of being allotted by an administrative mechanism, such conversion of a reconnaissance permit isn t possible. 11. New regime at RBI debuts with rate cut (Relevance: Trend of Monetary Policy)

Decision by Monetary Policy Committee

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided at its first policy review to reduce the benchmark repurchase rate by basis points to . per cent. The Reserve Bank of )ndia s key policy interest

rate has now been cut to its lowest level since 2011.

What is Repurchase rate?

Repurchase rate is the rate at which banks park their excessive funds with RBI. In case Repurchase

rate is lowered, then bank have less incentive to park funds with RBI and consequently they resort

to lending in market.

Prediction on future interest rates

Market participants expect interest rates to ease further in the next policy review in December.


New RBI Governor Urjit Patel clarified that the central bank aims to achieve the 4 per cent inflation

target within a range of +/- 2 per cent as the medium term objective, that is, by 2021. This means,

the earlier objective of taming inflation to 4 per cent level by March 2018 stands null and void.

Implication of rate cut

The 25 basis points rate reduction was largely factored in by the market with the 30-share Sensex

gaining 377.33 points on expectations of a rate cut. On following day, the Sensex gained 91.26

points to close at 28,334.55.

With this rate cut, RBI has reduced the policy rate by 175 bps since January 2015. However, banks

so far have not passed on the full quantum of the rate reductions to lending rates which Mr. Patel

acknowledged.

Fears of inflation on account of rate cute sidelined by recent WPI inflation data

Inflation Data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Wholesale price inflation eased marginally in September to 3.6 per cent from 3.7 per cent in August due to a cooling off of food prices, Inflation in the food category eased to 5.75 per cent in September from 8.23 per cent in August.

The slowdown in the growth of the WP) comes at a time when )ndia s retail inflation also eased sharply.

RBI rate cut approved

This shows that the Reserve Bank of India was correct in cutting rates in its latest policy review,

according to experts.

As such, inflation has declined due to the sufficient rains and some supply side management by the

authorities.

12. CIL to pay Rs.2,500 cr. more as levies (Relevance: Contribution towards District Mineral Foundation)

Additional mining levy on CIL

Coal India Limited is likely to fork out an additional Rs.2,000 crore to Rs.2,500 crore as mining

levies, with the Centre making the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) levy applicable on coal

mining from the same date as it is for other minerals.

Levy on coal mining from retrospective effect


You can t have two sets of different rules for mining activity of major minerals and coal, a top government official told, confirming that the Coal Ministry has now issued a fresh notification making DMF applicable from January , . Coal is also generically a mineral, but the DMF levy was applied retrospectively for major minerals governed by the mines ministry, and prospectively

for coal and lignite governed by the Coal Ministry.

Earlier, Coal mininstry was in favour of levy on coal from prospective effect.

Use of levy

The levy is used to fund local area development projects under the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra

Kalyan Yojana and has so far yielded more than Rs.3,200 crore.

Miners have to pay an additional levy on top of royalty payments towards the District Mineral

Foundation that will finance development projects in mining-affected areas, under the Mines and

Mineral Development and Regulation Act of 2015.

The DMF levy is pegged at 30 per cent of royalty for mines allotted administratively in the past and

10 per cent for those acquired through transparent auctions — now a norm for all coal mines and

major minerals such as iron ore.

13. Rs. 65,250 cr. mopped up via new black money window (Relevance: Funds collected under Voluntary Disclosure of income scheme)

Finance Minister issued statement on IDS Scheme, 2016

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced that the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had

received total disclosures of Rs. 65,250 crore under the Income Disclosure Scheme, 2016 in the

form of cash and other assets. In all, 64,275 declarations were filed online and via the prescribed

forms.

The four-month window under the scheme for declaring undisclosed income or black money that

had escaped assessment closed recently.

Evaluation of collection

The tax department is aware that Rs.65,250 crore is just the tip of the iceberg — it had sent seven

lakh letters to suspected evaders based on information on about 90 lakh high-value transactions

that took place without PAN card details.

What is IDS (Income Disclosure Scheme), 2016?


The scheme had provided a one-time opportunity to black money holders who had not paid full

taxes in the past to come clean by declaring their domestic undisclosed income and assets by paying

tax plus penalty at the rate of 45 per cent.

The CBDT removed the difficulties that had been expressed by those wanting to avail of the scheme,

especially with respect to making the tax payment within a short span by agreeing to accept it in

three installments, the last being in September 2017.

The declarants have been assured of absolute confidentiality.

Income declaration Scheme, 1997

During Voluntary Disclosure Scheme of 1997, government had mopped up Rs. 9,760 crore in taxes

at an average of about Rs. 7 lakh per declarant.

Way Forward

The tax department must crack down on such evaders and spruce up its data-mining methods to expand the country s shallow tax base. While the department s efforts have revealed undisclosed income of over Rs.58,000 crore in the last

two and half years, and more is being pursued from tax havens where Indian holdings have come to

light, all of this is akin to treating the symptoms without addressing the root cause.

)f the Centre is serious about attacking )ndia s thriving black economy, it needs to be bold and, for starters, make electoral funding transparent, curb the misuse by the wealthy of tax-free income

sops for farmers, and encourage cashless transactions.

14. Reliance inks defence deal with Dassault (Relevance: Outcome of defence deal with France to purchase Raffale fighter aircraft)


RCom signed agreement with Dassault

The Anil Ambani led-Reliance Group signed an agreement with Dassault Aviation of France, the

makers of Rafale fighter jets, for a joint venture in India to be named Dassault Reliance Aerospace,

to execute offsets for the Rafale deal.

Joint Venture linked to Raffale deal

India agreed to buy 36 Rafale jets in a flyaway condition from France for € . billion, or about Rs. 59,000 crore.

The purchase agreement has 50 per cent or up to Rs. 30,000 crore offset obligation. Dassault will

have to invest about Rs. 30,000 crore in the Indian defence ecosystem.


4. Environment 1. Kigali Agreement on HFCs (Relevance: Direct Question is expected)

Agreement to cut emissions of greenhouse gases

Countries came to an agreement in Kigali to phase out a family of potent greenhouse gases by the

late 2040s and move to prevent a potential 0.5 degree Celsius rise in global temperature by the end

of the century.

About (FC s

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are a family of greenhouse gases that are largely used in refrigerants in

home and car air-conditioners. HFCs are replacement of Chloro-Flouro Carbons (CFCs) which were

banned on account of harmful impact on Ozone layer.

They are currently the world s fastest growing greenhouse gases, with emissions increasing by up to 10 per cent each year. They are one of the most powerful, trapping thousands of times more heat in the Earth s atmosphere than carbon dioxide CO .

About 200 countries to reduce the use of (FC s

In all, 197 countries, including India, China and the United States, agreed to a timeline to reduce the

use of HFCs by roughly 85 per cent of their baselines by 2045.

Significance of agreement

The agreement is significant in that it amends the 1987 Montreal Protocol, initially conceived only

to plug gases that were destroying the ozone layer, to now include gases responsible for global

warming. This has been the surface of agreements such as the recently ratified Paris agreement that pushes countries to cap global warming to well below degrees Celsius by .

Details of the agreement

As per the agreement in Kigali, all countries are in one of three groups with different timelines to go

about these reductions.

The richest countries, including the U.S. and those in the European Union, will freeze the production

and consumption of HFCs by 2018, reducing them to about 15 per cent of 2012 levels by 2036.

China, Brazil and all of Africa, will freeze HFC use by 2024, cutting it to 20 percent of 2021 levels by

2045.


India is part of a group that will only be freezing HFC use by 2028 and reducing it to about 15 per

cent of 2025 levels by 2047.

Agreement seems to be the efficient mechanism over the other climate change treaties Unlike the more glamorous Paris agreement that will come into force by and doesn t legally bind countries to their promises to cut emissions, the amended Montreal Protocol will bind

countries to their HFC reduction schedules from 2019.

There are also penalties for non-compliance as well as clear directives that developed countries

provide enhanced funding support estimated at billions of dollars globally.

The exact amount of additional funding will be agreed at the next Meeting of the Parties in

Montreal, in 2017. Grants for research and development of affordable alternatives to

hydrofluorocarbons will be the most immediate priority.

The details of this will be worked out in subsequent meetings of the countries committed to the

Montreal Protocol agreement.

)ndia s Response

India pressed for a more lenient deadline at the Rwanda negotiations. Ultimately, it agreed to start

freezing HFC use in 2028, four years later than its peer club countries China, Brazil and those in

Africa, and achieving maximum reduction by 2047, two years after they do.

Challenge before India

1. India has ordered the manufacturers of HFC 23 — a by-product of another chemical used in

refrigerant gas manufacture and with a staggeringly high contribution to global warming — to now

capture and dispose of it at their own cost. The decision is of particular significance, considering the

expansion of refrigeration and air conditioning in India with a rise in incomes, leading to higher

levels of HFC release into the atmosphere.

2. One of the questions before India in its implementation of Montreal Protocol commitments is the need to align its goals for Make in )ndia with green technologies in order to remain competitive in

global markets.

Way Forward for India

Inducting alternatives to HFCs, such as hydrocarbons, ammonia and carbon dioxide, in the relevant

industries should happen sooner than anticipated and possibly become even attractive as the cost


of technologies falls. The changeover is actually an opportunity to achieve a leapfrog effect. The

imperative, in any case, should be environmental.

2. Two-thirds of wild animals may go extinct by 2020, warns report (Relevance: State of Biodiversity)

Living Planet Assessment Report by Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and World Wildlife Fund

(WWF)

1. Global wildlife populations have fallen by 58 per cent since 1970, a report says.

2. If the trend continues that decline could reach two-thirds among vertebrates by 2020.

The figures suggest that animals living in lakes, rivers and wetlands are suffering the biggest

losses. Human activity, including habitat loss, wildlife trade, pollution and climate change

contributed to the declines.

About Living Planet Assessment Report

The Living Planet Report is published every two years and aims to provide an assessment of the state of the world s wildlife. This analysis looked at 3,700 different species of birds, fish, mammals,

amphibians and reptiles — about 6 per cent of the total number of vertebrate species in the world. 3. India ratifies Paris climate agreement (Relevance: Direct Question can be asked)

Paris Deal ratified by India

India ratified the Paris Agreement on Climate Change by depositing the instrument of ratification

with the United Nations on Sunday, the 147th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

India is the 62nd country to ratify the agreement, which will enter into force one month after 55

countries that account for 55 per cent of global emissions ratify the agreement.India had also linked

the ratification of the treaty to its admission to the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

Little gap to bridge for the deal to come into force With today s action by )ndia, which accounts for . per cent of the emissions, the Agreement only

needs slightly more than 3 percentage points to reach the 55 per cent threshold.

At least 14 other countries, representing at least 12 per cent of global emissions, have committed to

ratifying the pact before the end of the year.


5. Internal Security 1. Evacuation along Pak border (Relevance: Evacuation along Pakistan border)

Question on Evacuation Questions mount over the Punjab government s decision to evacuate around eight lakh people along the Pakistan border, with intelligence sources telling that it was not based on any security

assessment from the central agencies.

The evacuation of around 800 villages situated within 10 km distance of the International Border

has become a political issue, with the Opposition questioning the rationale behind the move.

Who Guards border with Pakistan

The Border Security Force mans the 2,308 km-long border with Pakistan from Gujarat to Jammu

and Kashmir.

In Jammu district, 192 km of the International Border, referred to as a working boundary by

Pakistan, is manned by the BSF, while the remaining 8 km is secured by the Indian Army. The 740

km LoC, running along Kashmir is entirely secured by the Army.

No Precedent of evacuation and cross border firing There has been no instance in the past when the border villages in Punjab have been evacuated like this, said a senior BSF official.

Another official said it was highly unlikely that there would be firing along the Punjab border, as

both the sides are densely populated and dominated by agrarian population.

2. Operation Ginger: Surgical Attack carried in the past

Over a few weeks in the summer of 2011, India and Pakistan staged two of the bloodiest cross-

border surgical strikes in which at least 13 soldiers were killed, and six of them decapitated. Five of

those heads were carried across the border as trophies — two to Pakistan and three to India.

Pakistan raid on India

The Pakistani raiders struck a remote army post in Gugaldhar ridge in Kupwara, on the afternoon of

July 30, 2011, surprising the six soldiers from the Rajput and Kumaon regiments.


Revenge by India

In revenge, the Indian Army planned Operation Ginger. The operation had lasted 45 minutes. They

had been inside enemy territory for about 48 hours, including for reconnaissance. At least eight

Pakistani troops had been killed and another two or three more Pakistani soldiers may have been

fatally injured in the action. Three Pakistani heads — of Subedar Parvez, Havildar Aftab and Naik

Imran — three AK 47 rifles and other weapons were among the trophies carried back by the Indian

soldiers. 3. Centre plans to revive NCTC (Relevance: Anti-terrorism measures in India)

Centre s plan to revive National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC)

The Centre is planning to revive the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), a project conceived

by the UPA government in 2012 but vehemently opposed by then Chief Minister of Gujarat,

Narendra Modi.

A senior home ministry official said the NCTC proposal would be reworked to diminish the fears of

State governments that their intelligence gathering mechanism would be encroached upon by the

Centre.

A 2012 notification on NCTC has not been rescinded yet, the proposal is very much under

consideration.

About NCTC

The National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) is a proposed federal anti-terror agency to be

created in India, modelled on the National Counter terrorism Center of the USA.

The proposal arose after the 2008 Mumbai attacks aka 26/11 attacks where several intelligence

and operational failures revealed the need for a federal agency with real time intelligence inputs of

actionable value specifically to counter terrorist acts against India.

The proposal has however met with much criticism from the Chief Ministers of various states who

see this as a means of weakening India's federalism.

The NCTC proposes to have powers to seek information from all State and central agencies and

maintain records of terror suspects, their family members in a single database. It will also have the

mandate to carry out anti-terror operations, if any, through, or in conjunction with, the State police.


4. Dealing with the Maoists (Relevance: Direct question can be asked)

The recent death of members of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) in an operation by the

security forces on the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border is a big blow to the outlawed group. The joint

operation was led by anti-Naxalite units of the Andhra Pradesh and Odisha police in Malkangiri

district in Odisha.

Declining influence of Maoists

1. The military setbacks apart, the Maoists are today diminished politically as well. The desertion of

their top tribal leaders and the surrender of tribal cadres have set the Maoists on the back foot.

2. The Maoists have been unable to expand as a political force in the plains areas; and as a guerrilla

force they have been limited to the remote and hilly tribal belt of central India.

Position of Maoists earlier

Not too long ago, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had identified the Maoist movement as the

biggest internal security threat. Buoyed by the unification of various Naxalite outfits into one party

in 2004, they had consolidated themselves in some districts, taking advantage of the weak presence

of the welfare and administrative agencies. But by subordinating political activism to militarism

they have done little for tribal empowerment; instead, they settled for a war of attrition against the

state.

Evaluate of State Strategy against Maoists

The state on its part has adopted dual strategy of containing the military threat of the Maoists and

expanding its developmental footprint in these districts. After driving the Maoists away from

undivided Andhra Pradesh into parts of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Odisha, development

strategy has been implemented unevenly and with mixed results.

What is Greyhounds ?

GreyHounds is a special force of the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states which

undertakes high risk operations against Naxalite terrorists. The force, which numbers around 2,000

in the state, moves around in small bands of 15-25 commandos. They are specially trained for deep

forest pursuit and combat.

What is Special Operations Group ?

The Special Operations Group (SOG) is a 1000-strong elite anti-insurgency force chosen from more

than 100,000 troopers of the Odisha Police. It was raised with the idea of "involving the passive

Odisha Police in the anti-terrorist activities and giving a local face to these operations".


6. Science and Technology 1. Range of BrahMos to be doubled (Relevance: Implication of becoming member of MTCR)

India and Russia have agreed to double the range of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile that the

two produce together. The range will be extended to over 600 km and it would only require slight

re-engineering.

Implication of becoming MTCR member This follows )ndia s recent accession to the Missile Technology Control Regime MTCR . Earlier, India was denied access to the missile technology with range over 300 km as it was not a member

state.

Background

When the two countries teamed up to develop the missile in 1998, which is based on the Russian

Yakhont anti-ship missile, its range was limited to 290 km as Russia was a member of MTCR but

India was not. While it was a joint development, most of the critical systems on board the missile,

including the seeker, come from Russia.

BrahMos, which is one of its kind, has already been deployed by the Army and the Navy in anti-ship

and precision strike roles respectively. The air version is at present undergoing testing. 2. High rate of TB in India (Relevance: Incidence of TB in India)

India had about 2.7 million people with tuberculosis in 2013, which is 23 per cent of the global burden of TB. )ndia also accounted for per cent , , of the world s missing patients —

those may not have received effective TB care or may have received potentially suboptimal TB care in )ndia s private sector.

According to estimates by a team of researchers, of 2.7 million patients, only 72 per cent were

evaluated at Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP) facilities, about 60 per cent

successfully diagnosed, 53 per cent registered for treatment, and 45 per cent completed treatment.

Recurrence-free survival only in 39% of patients


In all, only 39 per cent of 2.7 million patients achieved optimal outcome of one-year recurrence-free

survival. 3. National Academic Depository (Relevance: Digitisation of degrees)

With the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approving the establishment of a

National Academic Depository (NAD), all academic degrees, certificates and awards in the country

would soon be digitally available for verification.

The NAD is expected to be operationalised in three months and would be rolled out throughout the

country in 2017-18. Academic institutions would be directed to upload and authenticate all

documents in digital form.

Benefits

1. Requests for access to academic awards, for example, from potential employers, and academic

institutions would be only on the basis of consent of the student.

2. Fake degrees would become a thing of the past. However, only recognised institutions would be

asked to upload the degrees.

3. Students will be able to receive degrees in time. It will be mandatory on educational institutions

to submit dergrees in time.

4. Centre forms panel to monitor bird flu (Relevance: Recurrence of Bird Flu threat)

Committee constituted to monitor bird flu break outs

The Central Government has formed a three-member committee to keep a close watch on the bird

flu situation with 24 deaths being reported due to the virus, including 11 ducks at the Hauz Khas

Deer Park in the Capital.

The move comes even as the Delhi government maintained that there was no threat to human

beings from the bird flu scare.

A new Bird Flu virus detected

The Central Government s Department of Animal (usbandry, Dairying and Fisheries added that a new bird flu virus subtype, H5N8 (earlier virus type H5N1), which is even more dangerous, had

been confirmed in samples from the Gandhi Zoological Park in Gwalior.


An official stated H5N8 is not known to cause harm to human beings. There is also no threat if a

person eats properly cooked chicken, as the virus cannot survive high temperature.

Preventive measures being sought

1. Constant vigil being observed by Government agencies in & around National Zoological Park to

monitor & contain H5 Avian Influenza in co-ordination with State level Agencies.

2. It also asked the Environment Ministry to issue advisories to all wildlife/bird sanctuaries in the

country.

3. In view of transportation of poultry and related products between Rajasthan and Delhi, the Rajasthan government has asked field officers to take precautionary measures to check its likely outbreak in the State.

4. Previously, the Delhi government shut down the Hauz Khas Deer Park amid bird flu scare, and

cancelled leaves of all officials of the Delhi Animal Husbandry Department.

5. The Delhi government had started a helpline number (011-2389 0318) where citizens could

report cases of bird flu and seek help.

About Avian Influenza Key facts • Avian influenza (AI), commonly called bird flu, is an infectious viral disease of birds. Most avian

influenza viruses do not infect humans; however some, such as A (H5N1) and A (H7N9), have

caused serious infections in people. • Outbreaks of AI has potential to cause serious disease in people and their pandemic potential.

5. WHAT ARE CIRCUMSTELLAR DISKS? (Relevance: Direct Question can be asked)


They are a huge clump of matter composed of gas, dust and fragments of planets, in orbit around a

star. Researchers reported in the Astrophysical Journal Letters that they may have found the oldest

such disk around a red dwarf star, called AWI0005x3s, which may be at least 45 million years old.

So far, astronomers have only found disks no older than 30 million years old. This discovery is doubly special because it relied on a find by citizen scientists as part of a project called Disk Detective, led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight

Centre.

6. No need to panic, card holders told (Relevance: Security of data)

View of NPCI on possible debit card data compromise

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the domestic payment gateway, has urged debit

card customers whose data has been compromised, not to panic as all the necessary actions have

been taken to deal with the fiasco. The advisory issued by the NPCI to banks for re-issue of cards is more a preventive exercise. According to a statement issued by the NPCI, 641 customer complaints from 19 banks have been received and the amount involved is Rs. 1.3 crore. RBI regulation in this context states


According to RBI norms, if the customer is not responsible for a fraudulent transaction, then the bank will be liable to pay compensation. Banks alerted All affected banks have been alerted by all card networks that a total card base of about . million could have been possibly compromised, the statement said. The total debit card base of the country is 697 million. Backgorund According to the NPCI, the problem was detected when some bank customers complained that their cards were used fraudulently mainly in China and U.S. while customers were in India. Suspecting that it could be a case of card data compromise, all the three payment gateways that operate in India — RuPay, Visa and MasterCard — swung into action in September. State Bank of )ndia SB) , the country s largest lender which is in the process of replacing over . million debit cards, corroborated the NPC) s views. About NPCI National Payments Corporation of India is the umbrella organisation for all retail payment systems in India, with a vision to enable citizens of the country to have access to e-payment services at anyplace and anytime. Founded in 2008, NPCI is a not-for-profit organisation registered under section 25 of the Companies Act, . The organisation has been promoted by the country s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India. 7. Delhi s air quality very poor: SAFAR (Relevance: Air Pollution in enclosed urban areas)

The Capital s air quality took a turn for the worse with monitoring stations across the city recording it in the very poor category.

Pollutants reported by System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR)

The average (24-hour rolling) of PM2.5 and PM10, suspended respirable pollutants, were recorded

as 120.8 and 248 micrograms per cubic metre by System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting

and Research (SAFAR), as against the corresponding safe limits of 60 and 100.

About SAFAR?

Govt. of India, has introduced a national initiative, "System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting

and Research" known as "SAFAR" for greater metropolitan cities of India to provide location

specific information on air quality in near real time and its forecast 1-3 days in advance for the first

time in India.

It has been combined with the early warning system on weather parameters. The SAFAR system is

developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, along with institutions namely India


Meteorological Department (IMD) and National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting

(NCMRWF).

The implementation of SAFAR is made possible with an active collaboration with local municipal

corporations and various local educational institutions and governmental agencies in that Metro

city.

The ultimate objective of the project is to increase awareness among general public regarding the

air quality in their city well in advance so that appropriate mitigation measures and systematic

action can be taken up for betterment of air quality and related health issues.

It engineers awareness drive by educating public, prompting self-mitigation and also to help develop mitigation strategies for policy makers.

8. Now, India has a nuclear triad

(Relevance: Direct question can be asked)

Induction of INS Arihant into service

India has quietly completed its nuclear triad by inducting the indigenously built strategic nuclear

submarine INS Arihant into service.

INS Arihant was formally commissioned by Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba in August. To maintain

secrecy, it is not being referred to as INS Arihant, sources added. )NS which stands for )ndian Naval Ship is affixed to a ship only after it is inducted into service.

About Arihant

INS Arihant is the lead ship of India's Arihant class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile

submarines. The 6,000 tonne vessel was built under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project

at the Ship Building Centre in the port city of Visakhapatnam.

The vessel is powered by a 83 MW pressurised light water nuclear reactor. The project to build a

strategic vessel began as the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project in the 1980s and the vessel

was launched in 2009 by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Since then it was put to extensive sea

trials and the reactor on board went critical in 2013.

It will be armed with the K-15 Sagarika missiles with a range of 750 km and eventually with the

much longer range K-4 missiles being developed by the Defence Research and Development

Organisation.


Arihant is capable of carrying nuclear tipped ballistic missiles, the class referred to as Ship

Submersible Ballistic Nuclear (SSBN).

SSBNs are designed to prowl the deep ocean waters carrying nuclear weapons and provide a nation

with an assured second strike capability — the capability to strike back after being hit by nuclear

weapons first.

Relevance for India Strike capability is particularly important for )ndia as it had committed to a No-First-Use policy as part of its nuclear doctrine.

With this India joins the select group of countries which have a nuclear triad, i.e. capable of

delivering nuclear weapons by aircraft, ballistic missiles and submarine launched missiles. 9. 3D-printed material helps bones regrow (Relevance: Application of 3-D Printing)

A cheap and easy method to make synthetic bone material has been shown to stimulate new bone growth when implanted in the spines of rats and a monkey s skull, researchers said.

Human trials using the biomaterial, called Hyper-Elastic Bone [HB], could begin in the next five

years, according to the research team from a University. The material has great mechanical

properties and it was very easy and rapid to 3D print.

The material is made mostly of a ceramic, which contains mineral found in teeth and bones, and polymer, both of which are used in the clinic.

10. Health spending Analysis (Relevance: Direct Question can be asked)

Analysis of Health spending by a survey 1. Bulk of the total public money spent in State-level healthcare system is not spent on medical services, but goes to wages and salaries of human resource, reveals a study of health accounts of six States. Wages and salaries account for 86 per cent of the total public expenditure in Punjab, 72 per cent in Maharashtra, 65 per cent in Kerala, 52.5 per cent in Madhya Pradesh and 35 per cent in Odisha. 2. The per capita total cost of care — which includes money spent by patients as well as that spent by the government on paying salaries to staff, for health subsidy etc — is mostly cheaper in the public sector than in the private sector.


3. Another finding has important implications for public health policy: in all States studied, the total cost of an inpatient episode — which involves hospitalisation — is much higher in private sector compared to public sector. 4. The bulk of the total money circulating in Indian healthcare (69 per cent) comes from Out Of Pocket (OOP) payment by households. The OOP is the money which individuals pay outof their own. 11. What is an electronic paper? (Relevance: Direct Question can be asked)

E-paper is a technology that mimics the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. The paper is similar to the Kindle tablet. )t isn t lit up like a standard display, but rather reflects the external light which illuminates it. Therefore, it works very well where there is bright light, such as out in the sun, in contrast to standard LED displays that work best in darkness. At the same time, it needs only a tenth of the energy that a Kindle tablet uses, which itself uses much less energy than a tablet LED display. The e-paper is less than a micrometre thin, bendable and gives all the colours that a regular LED display does. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have developed the basis for a new electronic paper . Their results were recently published in the journal Advanced Materials. 12. All about GM Mustard (Relevance: Direct Question can be asked)

About GM Mustard (DMH-11)

Mustard, a self-pollinating crop, is difficult to hybridize, that is, cross-pollinate. Researchers at the


Delhi University have genetically modified an Indian mustard (Varuna) and an East European

mustard line in order to cross-pollinate them.

They have sought permission to commercially release the resultant hybrid named DMH-11 and to

use the two GM parental lines for developing new hybrids.

Benefits of DMH -11

1. Experts claim that by virtue of being a hybrid (rather than a GM crop), DMH-11 yields about 30

per cent more than a reference mustard variety. Given )ndia s huge import bill for edible oil, they

argue, this effort to boost mustard yields must be welcomed. There are concerns that the yield

advantage of GM mustard has been over-estimated by comparing it with dated mustard reference

varieties.

2. GM mustard is resistant to the herbicide glufosinate, and thus a herbicide-tolerant (HT) crop.

What is glufocinate?

Glufosinate - ammonium is a highly effective herbicide used to control weeds in more than 100

crops in 82 countries around the world. It is effective against a broad range of weeds, eliminating

the need to apply several herbicides to control different weeds on a given crop.

A farmer growing DMH-11 can potentially get rid of weeds with a blanket spray of glufosinate,

which will kill all the plants except the mustard crop.

Concerns

1. The principal reasons were that herbicides adversely impact the vast constituency of manual

laborers, for whom weeding provides livelihood.

2. The GM Mustard crop herbicide resistant trait may transfer to local wild varieties leading to

emergence of herbicide-resistant or super weeds.

3. Government has not shared complete details about the crop, its impact, etc. with the Public.

Denying citizens a voice in this matter is all the more serious considering that no labelling regime is

in place in India. That is, if commercialised, citizens will not have the choice of opting out of GM

sarson da saag, for instance.

SC s direction to the Centre

The Supreme Court stayed the commercial release of Genetically Modified (GM) mustard crop and

asked the Centre to seek public opinion on such seeds before releasing them for cultivation, even as


the government approval is awaited.

13. What is a hyperelastic bone ? (Relevance: Direct Question can be asked)

Hyperelastic Bone or HB is a breakthrough in reconstructive surgery. It is a new synthetic material

that can be implanted under the skin as a scaffold for new bone to grow on, or used to replace lost

bone matter altogether. Surgeons currently replace shattered or missing bones with a number of

things.

Present Options with surgeons The most common option is an autograft where a piece of bone is taken from a patient s own body, usually from a hip or a rib, and implanted where it s needed elsewhere in the same patient s skeleton. Surgeons prefer autografts because they re real bone complete with stem cells that give rise to cartilage and bone cells to provide extra support for the new graft.

Comparison of Present Techniques with Hyperelastic Bone

Researchers at Northwestern University,U.S., say that the hyperelastic bone (made of

hydroxyapatite, a naturally occurring mineral that exists in our bones and teeth) will provide

strength to create bone.

The idea is that a patient would come in with a nasty broken bone — say, a shattered jaw — and

instead of going through painful autograft surgeries or waiting for a custom scaffold to be

manufactured, he or she could be X-rayed and a 3D-printed hyperelastic bone scaffold could be

printed that same day.


7. Prelims Only

1. PM Modi to present Ramnath Goenka journalism awards

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will present the awards for outstanding work in 2015, across 28

categories, at a ceremony in New Delhi.

About Ramnath Goenka Awards

Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards, which acknowledge the finest in Indian

journalism, print and broadcast, and in all languages. The awards were instituted by the Ramnath

Goenka Memorial Foundation in 2005 to celebrate the legacy of the founder of the Express Group,

the Ramnath Goenka.

The awards recognise and honour excellence in journalism. Categories cover the print and

broadcast media spectrum, from investigative, political and sports journalism, to feature writing

and interpretative writing.

2. Second Mars mission

The second Indian Mars orbiter mission, MOM-2 is being aimed for around mid-2020. It will focus

on new ways to look at Mars from a closer orbit than MOM-1, which was designed more for

reaching and orbiting the red planet, according to Indian Space Research Organisation.

3. Yazidi IS survivors win EU prize

Two Yazidi women who survived a nightmare ordeal of kidnapping, rape and slavery at the hands

of Islamic State jihadists won the European Parliament's prestigious Sakharov human rights

prize. Nadia Murad and Lamia Haji Bashar have become figureheads for the effort to protect the

Yazidis, followers of an ancient religion with more than half a million believers concentrated in

northern Iraq.

About European Parliament's prestigious Sakharov human rights prize

Given each year by the EU Parliament, the award is named after the dissident Soviet scientist

Andrei Sakharov, who died in 1989, and honours individuals who combat intolerance, fanaticism

and oppression, often falling foul of their governments as a result. 4. Tata Sons sacks Cyrus Mistry


The Tata Sons board on sacked Cyrus Mistry, less than four years into his term at the helm of the

software-to-steel conglomerate. The board gave no reason for the abrupt removal of the 48-year-

old Irish citizen and named his predecessor Ratan Tata, 78, as interim chairman.

Possible reasons for removal of Cyrus Mistry

1. Mr. Mistry, who had earlier headed the Shapoorji Pallonji Group s construction business, had been considered by some analysts to be struggling to lift the large and diverse conglomerate s financial performance.

2. Emblematic of the difficulties were the decision to divest the flagship Tata Steel s struggling U.K. steel assets — the company had acquired Corus Plc in 2007 for $13.1 billion — and the inability to

resolve a bruising corporate-divorce with Japan s NTT DoCoMo. 3. While two of the group s bluechips, Tata Consultancy Services and Tata Motors outperformed the benchmark BSE Sensex during Mr. Mistry s -month reign appreciating as much as 92 per cent

and 81 per cent respectively, four other key group companies underperformed.

4. Tata Trusts, the principal shareholder of Tata Sons with a 66 per cent stake, had not been impressed with Mr. Mistry s performance. 5. Beijing to have world s biggest air purifier tower

China to deploy world s largest outdoor air purifier China will deploy the world s largest outdoor air purifier, seven-metre-tall tower, designed by a

Dutch engineer in its smog-hit capital Beijing.

Functionality of Tower

The tower can capture about 75 per cent of PM 2.5 and PM 10 tiny particles in its vicinity and then release purified air to create a bubble of fresh air around it. The tower can clean , cubic metres of air per hour through its patented ozone-free ion technology.

6. Delhi gets an Election Museum

An Election Museum inaugurated showcase )ndia s historical electoral journey through artefacts, rare photographs, documents and archival film footage.The centre is established to create an environment and learning place to celebrate )ndia s electoral legacy and to look back into electoral

management and to learn democracy with Mahatma Gandhi. With the use of nearly 200 archived

photographs, artefacts and maps and references, the centre tries to showcase the electoral journey


of the country.

The exhibits include metal ballot boxes used in the first general elections in 1952, the ones used in

1996 and samples of old election symbols. Visitors will also be able to see an archival documentary — The Great Experiment — chronicling the first general elections in the country.

7. Gandhian activist Mewa Ramgobin dead

South African struggle icon and Gandhian activist Mewa Ramgobin has died at the age of 83 after a

prolonged illness. Ramgobin, the former president of the Natal Indian Congress fought

discrimination against Indians in South Africa. Ramgobin was married to Ela Gandhi, a human rights activist and Mahatma Gandhi s granddaughter. He was involved in the activities of the Phoenix Settlement Trust that was established in 1904 by

Gandhi near Durban during his tenure in South Africa.

He established a Gandhi museum and library, and educated people of different races on Gandhian

thought and philosophy. He is the author of Waiting to Live and Prisms of Light.

8. Tiangong-2 SPACECRAFT

CHINESE ASTRONAUTS ENTER SPACE LAB

Two Chinese astronauts entered the Tiangong-2 space laboratory on Wednesday for a 30-day stay, China s longest manned space mission. 9. Putin, Modi to inaugurate work on Kudankulam reactor today

With two 6 X 1,000 MW Pressurised Water Reactors (PWR), built with Russian technology, up and

running, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited will commence construction of the third

and the fourth reactors at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) site.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will formally lay the

foundation for the new reactors through video-conferencing from Goa, venue of the two-day BRICS

summit.


NPCIL chairman and managing director Sathish Kumar Sharma and Atomstroyexport Group of

Companies (the Engineering and Construction Division of Russian State Atomic Energy

Corporation) president Valery Limarenko will jointly lay the concrete at the KKNPP site.

10. Guterres formally apppointed as UN chief

The UN General Assembly formally appointed Antonio Guterres as the new Secretary-General of the

United Nations, replacing Ban Ki-moon.

The 193 member states adopted a resolution appointing the former Prime Minister of Portugal for a

five-year term beginning January 1.

Challenges before new Secretary General

Mr. Guterres will have to expediently attend to a number of pressing issues, including the

worsening international refugee crisis and the scourge of terrorism, both in part linked to the

debilitating Syrian war.

An equally challenging agenda point facing Mr. Guterres is to find creative ways to bridge the chasm

between Western powers on the one hand and Russia and China on the other.

Credentials of Mr. Guterres

His experience as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees will come in handy as he goes about

negotiating to find shelter for and rehabilitate refugees from Syria, who at last count numbered well

above four million worldwide.

About Secretary General

The Secretary-General of the United Nations (UNSG or just SG) is the head of the United Nations

Secretariat, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General also acts as the

de facto spokesperson and leader of the United Nations.

Procedure for appointment

Article 97 of the United Nations Charter determines that the Secretary-General is "appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. As the recommendation must come from the Security Council, any of the five permanent members of the Council can veto a

nomination.

Despite the Charter giving the General Assembly provisions to influence the selection process, the

chosen Secretaries-General reflect that the selection process remains in the control of the


Permanent Members.

Some customs have developed regarding the selection process, such as that the appointee may not

be a citizen of any of the Security Council's five permanent members.

11. Cricket s ranking put to the Test

)ndia s ascent to the number one position in Test rankings offers cause for cheer. Recently, )ndia has played 500th test Match. The Match was between India and New Zealand at Kanpur. This is the fourth instance of )ndia securing the top slot in the )nternational Cricket Council s rankings since it was introduced in 2003. For a squad evolving from the pangs of transition and with big shoes to fill,

from those of Sachin Tendulkar to those of Anil Kumble, it has done remarkably well. The combined

numbers of the playing XI at Kolkata were 28.54 years in age and 27.54 in the average number of

Tests played — for such a young team to register dominance, under Virat Kohli s captaincy, is no mean achievement.

12. New species of Pika discovered (Relevant for GS Prelims)


Scientists claim to have discovered a new species of Pika, a mammal belonging to the rabbit and

hare family, in the Himalayas in Sikkim.

About Pika

The team collected fecal pellets and tissue samples of what they expected to be the Asian Pika and found them to be quite distinct from all other species .

Pikas are members of the rabbit family and live in the mountains or in temperate regions. The

common name "pika" is used for any member of the Ochotonidae family. Pikas do not hibernate

unlike other mammalian species inhabiting such cold climates.

"Pikas are a keystone species and ecosystem engineers, and studying their evolution can shed more

light on the Himalayan ecosystem,"

Shubham’s IAS

2016 Mains Test Series

Test: GS Mains Paper II Time allowed: 3 hrs

The question paper consists of 20 questions. Candidates are required to attempt all the

questions. Each question is worth 12.5 marks and maximum word limit is 200. Content of

the answer is more important than its length.

Q.1. The reforms suggested by Lodha Panel in functioning of BCCI will improve the standards of Cricket administration in India. Explain. The mandatory nature of these reforms is symbolic of prevalent judicial activism followed by Higher Judiciary . Comment.

Q.2. The recurrent suicides in prisons may be an indication that all is not well with the reformatory system in India. What can be reasons for possible suicides inside prisons? How these suicides can be tackled?

Q.3. Theft of Ancient Indian Sculptures has been in news since Independence. Why it is

specifically difficult to curb theft of sculptures? What suggestions do you pose to curb their

theft in India? Q.4. The bias of medical practitioners for tubectomy rather than equal emphasis on all

available contractive options is symbolic of patriarchal and dictatorial mindset in our country. Explain the statement. Also, enumerate the consequences on account of over-

emphasis on tubectomy?

Q.5 The setting up of a Rail Tarrif Authority will be beneficial not only to cash strapped railways but also the common public. Justify. Do you think that the authority, if established, will reduce the populist pressure on the railway ministry?

Q.6 How are the benefits given under Special Status different from those conferred as part

of Special Central Assistance? On what criteria is Special Status accorded to a particular

state? Do you think such criteria should be made more objective?

Q.7 What are the provisions of Anti-defection law? Why was it not applicable on defection

by 43 MLAs in Arunachal Pradesh? On the other hand, it was applicable on defection by 9

MLAs in Uttarakhand?

Q.8 Which provisions in our constitution pose a challenge to the post of parliamentary

secretaries? Do you think that by holding post of parliamentary secretary members of

legislature even become liable for disqualification from holding posts of legislator?

Examine in light of relevant provisions of constitution.

Q.9 Why the provisions of Section 124A of Indian Penal Code are regarded as excessive in

nature? Do you think that Supreme Court judgement on Section 124A strikes a right

balance between Sedition and freedom of Speech and expression?

Q.10 The inclusion of Sports Federations into category of NGOs will usher in an era of transparency in functioning of NGOs. Critically Evaluate. Does this inclusion enhance the

powers of NITI Aayog? Do you think it is appropriate to give powers of supervision to an

executive, advisory body over democratically elected sports bodies?

Q.11 Foreign Contribution Regulation Act has been in news recently in context of NGOs?

What are the provisions of this act which are often not adhered to by NGOs? Why there is a

special case for strong regulation of foreign contributions in comparison to domestic

contributions?

Q.12 There is a widespread consensus that there should be reduction in role of UGC

because of its failure to discharge certain aspects of its roles in the past. Discuss the

statement in context of recommendations made by Education Panel headed by TSR

Subramanian?

Q.13 Though India has signed nuclear agreement with nations like Namibia, yet there has

been no deal for exchange of Uranium from these nations. Which African treaty forbids

such a deal? Explain its provisions? Do you this there is a special case in context of India to

change the provisions of this treaty?

Q.14 The reluctance of India over BCIM is rooted in Internal security and External Security threats. Examine these threats. Can BCIM play a positive role in integration of India with North-East?

Q.15 In year 2016, twice Syrian peace talks agreement has been arrived at in Munich and

Geneva respectively. However, both the agreements have proven to be very short lived.

Explain the broad details of these agreements. Why these agreements have been a failure?

Q.16 Bangladesh as a transit route can aid in economic development of Tripura. How?

Identify the possible routes through Bangladesh which enhance the accessibility of

Tripura? Identify the steps taken recently by Indian and Bangladesh to pursue this route?

Q.17 The development of Chabahar Port promises not just Economic interests but also

Strategic interests of India. Explain the various economic and strategic interests of India

associated with development of Chabahar port?

Q.18 Do you think that in context of India,membership of NSG and attainment of emissions

reduction targets are interlinked to each other ? Why India is adamant on a specific

exception to its admission and does not agree to a criteria based admission even for

countries who are non-signatory to NPT?

Q.19 Question: What are the provisions of Indus Water treaty? Why the provisions have

been called into question recently? Do you think it is appropriate on behalf of India to

suspend the treaty?

Q.20 Question: Even after three decades of suffering from terrorism, India has not been

able to draft a consistent policy to deal with terrorism. What is the need of such a policy?

What are the options considered by India post Uri attack to deal with terrorism? Evaluate

the possible implications of these options on interests of India?

Shubham s IAS, SCO , Sector C, Chandigarh. Contact : -00000, www.shubhamsias.com

Page 1

Shubham’s IAS

2016 Mains Test Series

Test: GS Mains III Time allowed: 3 hrs

The question paper consists of 20 questions. Candidates are required to attempt all the

questions. Each question is worth 12.5 marks and maximum word limit is 200. Content of

the answer is more important than its length.

Q.1 It is often argued that more of privatization leads to less of inclusive growth. In other

words, inclusive growth is an attribute of Socialist economies. Do you think inclusive

growth and privatization are contrary to each other? Evaluate in context of changes seen in

Indian economy post- independence.

Q.2 Landlessness is the best predictor of rural poverty in India, more than caste or

illiteracy, a fact that has emerged clearly in the socio-economic and caste survey . In this regard, what should government do to address rural landlessness? Critically examine.

Q.3 Inland waterways in India makes up a paltry Less than 3% of the total transport,

compared with China s %. Examine the potential and importance of inland waterways sector for Indian economy and measures taken by government to tap their potential.

Q.4 High Minimum Support Prices (MSP) induce distortions, some of which ultimately

hurts the poor. Examine its merits and demerits.

Q.5 It is often said that Prime generator of economic growth in India in the post-

liberalization period has been the service sector. Do you agree with this view? What has

been its implications on the balance of payments in India?

Q.6 The formation of Monetary Policy Committee will give primary control over Monetary Policy to Government from RBI . Explain the question in context of composition of Monetary Policy Committee. Do you favour formation of Monetary Policy Committee to

replace the existing system where RBI decides on Monetary Policy?

Q.7 Citing relevant provisions of Draft Regional Connectivity scheme, explain how it will

change the air-traffic in India? Do you think that the Draft Regional Connectivity scheme is

return to era of strong regulation over civil aviation sector?

Q.8 What are Masala Bonds? Do you think that Masala bonds may overturn the reduced

reliance on External Commercial Borrowings in recent years?

Q. 9 There is increasing case for merger of banks after declaration of large NPAs by public

sector banks. How do merger of banks resolve the issue of higher NPAs of public sector


Page 2

banks? What can be possible challenges in merger of SBI with its associate banks?

Q. 10 The Government recently carried out demonetization by asking people to return Rs.

500 and 1000 currency notes. To what extent such demonetization exercise will be helpful

in curbing parallel economy in India? What effects does such demonetization have on poor

without bank accounts?

Q.11 What is Acquila drone? Do you think that Acquila project has objectives similar to that

of Project Loon by Google?

Q.12 The advances in launch vehicle technology will reduce not only cost but also enhance

capability of ISRO to undertake more complex space missions. Elaborate the statement in

context of Scramjet Technology?

Q.13 Explain the details of the Paris Agreement. With ratification by India on 2nd October,

do you think the chances of Paris agreement coming into force are almost certain?

Q,14 The terror attacks in Bangladesh and radicalization of some youth in India has highlighted the concerns that India is not insulated to threat from ISIS. Explain in context of above statement that why ISIS is a threat to India. Also, explain the factors which hamper

the radicalist agenda of ISIS in India?

Q.15 What are the non-lethal pellets? What restrains are required to be adopted by security

forces while using them? Do you think that their excessive and unrestrained use has

created new internal security challenges for Indian State? Examine with examples.

Q.16 What are the expected comprehensive patterns of intelligence expected to be

generated by NATGRID? How NATGRID can resolve the problem of coordination among

intelligence agencies?

Q.17 The organized crime and insurgency movements feed into one another. In the light of

this statement, examine the linkages between organized crime and insurgency movements

within India citing practical examples? Q. Even after nearly three decades of suffering from cross border terrorism, India has not been able to adopt consistent policy in tackling with terrorism. What is the need for such a policy? What are the various options recently considered by Government in

response to the Uri terrorist attack?

Q.19 The hawala system poses challenges not only to economic system but also to internal

security of India. Discuss the statement. Can virtual currency networks replace the Hawala

system in future?


Page 3

Q.20 The rise in drug-resistant diseases is attributed faulty medical approach followed by

Indian Medical Practitioners. Explain. Also mention the other reasons for rise in anti-biotic

diseases in India? What are the mechanisms available to reduce excessive consumption of

anti-biotics in India?

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Shubham’s IAS Test Series

GS Paper - IV

Ethics Time allowed 3 hours

SECTION – A

1. When public administrators invest in social capital

the outcome is good governance. Discuss.

(10 marks, 150 words)

2. What is social influence? Illustrate how the

techniques of social influence facilitate effective

administration.


3. Rights are protected not by law but by social and moral conscience of the society . Evaluate. (10 marks, 150 words)

4. What are values? How are they acquired? How do

they help administrators make their behavioral

choices parsimonious?


5. Bring out the relationship between the following:

(a) Impartiality and objectivity

(5 marks, 75 words)

(b) Empathy and compassion

(5 marks, 75 words)

(c) Integrity and honesty


(5 marks, 75 words)

6. Ethical framework for governance in a democracy

must necessarily begin with ethical values in politics.

Discuss.


7. Write a moral critique of the following assertions:

(a) Human beings are inherently self-interested, thus

envisaging a corruption free society is, at best, an

utopian ideal.


(b) Gandhi’s path of ahimsa and satyagraha cannot be a

panacea, it can no longer be effective in, fighting terrorism of contemporary times . (10 marks, 150 words)

(c) Market values, rather than moral values, constitute the core values of professional life. Thus, professional life is beyond the purview of moral scrutiny.


(d) There is no independent ethical knowledge, it is simply determined by the commands of God . (10 marks, 150 words)

8. Given below are the three quotations of great moral

thinkers/philosophers. For each of these quotations,

bring out what it means to you in the present context:


(a) Dare to be free, dare to go as far as your thought leads, and dare to carry that out in your life. _ Swami Vivekananda

(5 marks, 50 words)

(b) No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background, or his religion.

People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to

hate they can

be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. _ Nelson Mandela

(5 marks, 50 words)

(c) It is necessary for a princes who wishes to maintain his position to learn how not to be good. _ Machiavelli

(5 marks, 50 words)

SECTION – B

9. Traffic police has caught a person driving under the

influence of alcohol. The person was constantly

throwing tantrums and dropping names. The

undeterred constables brought him to police station

where the SHO rang the DCP explaining the situation.

The DCP made sure that law was followed. However

the person was soon released by higher authorities as

he was well connected.

What is the impact of such behavior by higher

authorities on the morale of police force? What


measures should DCP take to ensure that morale is kept

high despite such setback?


10. A close friend of yours comes to write last paper of

Graduation exams unprepared since he was attending

to his ailing mother. Though, he is otherwise very

sincere and talented but today he pleads with you to

show him the answer-sheet for copying. He promises

to learn all the answers afterwards. He is the only

child of his mother and hi is financially very weak.

Moreover, he is not in a position to meet academic

expenses of one more year. He has already secured

job but he needs graduation degree in order to

become eligible for the appointment.

Would you allow him to copy from your answer-sheet?

Why or why not?


11. A terrorist group, as per intelligence reports, has

planted a nuclear bomb in a city, which may explode

in few hours time. The police summon a suspect for

interrogation but he refuses to divulge any

information. The police personnel are of the view that

the suspect would disclose the location of the bomb if

tortured and this would enable them to avert major

loss of lives by defusing it in time.

Is torture morally justified according to you, in such a

crisis situation? Why or why not?



12. Mr. X had a serious neurological ailment as a child.

The doctors say that he is all right now and most

likely that problem would not recur in future. Mr. X

has cleared the written exam of a job and he is in dire

need of this job to bear medical expenses of his

parents. However, he did not furnish his entire

medical history in the application as that would have

made him ineligible.

Do you think his act of concealment can be morally

condoned, keeping in mind his concern for his parents?

Why or why not?


13. Mr. Y is working in a private organization as a HR

head, he is about conduct job interviews for some

very important positions. Just before the interviews, he is summoned to the chairman’s office for customary briefing. Chairman asks him categorically

not to appoint any woman and dalit candidates.

Chairman opines that women are by nature inferior

to men, and women are not able to contribute

efficiently because of their domestic responsibilities

as wife and mother. Further, Chairman expresses

serious doubt over the competence and merit of dalit

candidates. Chairman states that being a private

organization they are not under any constitutional

obligations. Problem with Mr. Y is that if he goes

against the wishes of Chairman then he would lose his

own job.


Bring out and discuss the ethical issues involved in the

above case. What would you do, if you were in the

position of Mr. Y?


14. Mr. Z was working in the research and development

department of a Tobacco Company. He was quite

happy working for this Company until he came to

know about a clandestine plan. The Company wanted

to enhance the potency of nicotine in their cigarettes.

It developed a cigarette that allowed nicotine to be

absorbed more rapidly by the body. Such cigarettes

were more addictive and more dangerous to smokers.

Mr. Z raised concerns over this plan. As a result he

was removed from the job and was given death

threats to prevent him from disclosing any

information in public. However, keeping public

interest in mind, Mr. Z planned to blow the whistle.

Bring out discuss the ethical issues involved in the

above case. What do you understand by Whistle-

blowing ? Is it morally defensible, since it involves breach of loyalty and hostility to parent organization?

Suggest measures to safeguard interests of whistle-

blowers.


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Page 1

Write TWO Essays, choosing ONE from each of the Sections A and B, in about 1000-

1200 words each : 125×2 = Total 250 marks.

Section-A (125 marks)

Write any one of the following essay in 1000-1200 words.

1. The Simple Things in life seems more meaningful with age

2. Character of a nation builds from values of its leader

3. Religion can never completely replace Science

4. Formal system of learning emphasizes on theory and informal system of learning

emphasizes on social skills

Section-B (125 marks)

Write any one of the following essay in 1000-1200 words.

1. Fourth Industrial Revolution may be a challenge in reaping Demographic Dividend

2. Moral Crisis of youth in India

3. Is Democracy consistent with Classless society?

4. The increasing pace of generation gap in developing countries

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