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No. 5, A.K.S.Nagar, Gandhi Park, Coimbatore 641 001. P a g e | 1

Current Affairs Material

October 2017

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INDEX Title Page No

1. Polity 7

1.1 Newly 5 Governors Appointed 7

1.2 SC to Hear Rohingya plea for help 7

1.3 CVC to Develop Integrity Index of 25 Organizations 8

1.4 Comments Sought on Draft Guidelines for Groundwater Extraction

9

1.5 Election Commission Announces Assembly Poll Schedule to Himachal Pradesh, Stalls Announcement of Gujarat Poll Schedule

10

1.6 IWAI Raises Rs.660 Crore Through Bonds 11

1.7 Tea Board Proposes Rs.100 Crore Package for Darjeeling Estates

11

1.8 Rajasthan Law : No Probe Against Judges, Officers Without Sanction

12

1.9 Passive Euthanasia Already a Law, Says Govt. 13

1.10 SC Asks Centre to Strike a Balance Rohingya Issue 15

1.11 Lawyers as Seniors: Supreme Court Frames Rules for Itself, 24 High Courts

15

1.12 Setup Centre Under All High Courts for Vulnerable Victims: SC 16

1.13 Memorandum Of Procedure for Appointing Supreme Court & High Court Judges is Delay

17

1.14 Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act 2016 Brought into Force 18

1.15 Karnataka Needs its Own Flag 19

2. Economy 20

2.1 India Emerging as a Leader Among Milk Producing Nations 20

2.2 SIDBI Revamps Portal for Easy Credit Access 21

2.3 Boosting of Public Sector Bank 22

2.4 Is Loan Waiver Affect Economy? 24

2.5 National Policy for Domestic Worker 25

2.6 NIIF Gets First Investor 25

2.7 India Could Provide Universal Basic Income of Rs. 2,600 in a Year: IMF

26

2.8 Information Utility Under the IBC 27

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2.9 Advance Pricing Agreement (APAs) 29

2.10 RBI includes HDFC Bank in the To Big to Fail List 29

2.11 India to Flag Worry on Pace of Services Talk at RCEP 30

2.12 Task Force on Employment and Exports and its Terms of Reference

31

2.13 UJALA Scheme Launched in Melaka, Malaysia 32

2.14 Trai Recommendes Delicensing of Some Spectrum for M2M Services

32

2.15 DIPP to Move Cabinet Note on Guarantee Fund for Startups 33

3. Security 34

3.1 Army Finalizes Plan to Modernize Weapons 34

3.2 INS Sukanya at Indonesia for Co-Ordinated Patrol of IMBL 36

3.3 Navika Sagar Parikrama Tarini Enters Fremantle 37

3.4 Centre Appoints Shri Dineshwar Sharma at its Representative in J&K

37

3.5 Universal Social Security Plan 39

4. Science & Technology 41

4.1 Faster, Cheaper Urinary Tract Inflection (UTI) 41

4.2 IIT Team Use Plant Extract, Heat to Kill Skin Cancer Cells 43

4.3 Man Booker Prize: George Saunders Wins for Linclon in the Bardo

44

4.4 CERT In Issues Alert on Locky Ransomeware 46

4.5 Diksha Portal 47

4.6 Andhra Pradesh to Get Indias First Hyperloop 48

4.7 Considering the Extend FAME India Fame 49

4.8 Sun and Sea Water Powers Vegetable Farms in Jordan 49

4.9 Scientists Make Fuel from Oxygen in Air 50

5. International Relations 51

5.1 Spain Hit by Constitutional Crisis 51

5.2 India European FTA Talks This Month 51

5.3 China Wants India to go Slow On Asia Africa Corridor 52

5.4 5 Banks of BRICS Nations Signed Pact for Credit Lines 53

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5.5 BRICS Leaders Xiamen Declaration 53

5.6 Surya Kiran Joint India Nepal Army Exercise 54

5.7 Undersea Line from Iran to Port Cheap Gas 55

5.8 India & China Need to Demarcate LAC 55

5.9 India Refuses to Join Declaration of International Meet Against Myanmar

56

5.10 Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni Visit to India 57

5.11 India & US Hold 11th Trade Policy Forum Meeting in Washington D.C

57

5.12 Spain Sacks Catalan Government after Independence Declaration

59

5.13 India, France Decide to Boost Co-Operation in Indo Pacific Region

59

5.14 New US Policy is a Game Changer: Ashraf Ghani 59

5.15 IBSA Trust Fund Agreement 60

5.16 First Ever Tri Services India Russia War Exercise India 61

5.17 Catalonia Crisis: Spain Moves to Suspend Autonomy 61

5.18 Centre Plans New Integrated Check Point 62

5.19 India Invited to Join SCO Contact Group Meeting on Afghanistan 64

5.20 India Denounces Call to Give Up Nukes, Sign NPT 65

5.21 US, Israel Quit UNESCO 66

5.22 Mitra Shakti 2017 67

5.23 India Starts on Implementation of Motor Pact 67

5.24 India Acts Against Bottom Trawling 67

6. Environment 68

6.1 Hortinet 68

6.2 Tigers to Make Comeback in Buxa Reserve 69

6.3 Breakthrough Listen 70

6.4 Uninhabited Lakshadweep Island Parli I Vanishes, 4 other Shrinking Fast

71

6.5 Pluto Mountains Named After Tenzing Norgay, Edmund Hillary 71

6.6 Agriculture 72

6.6.1 Muddle Over Nod for GM Mustard 72

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6.6.2 Raw Jute Demand Falls, Farmer Sell Crop Below MSP 73

6.6.3 Boosting Horticulture 74

6.7 Animal & Plants 75

6.7.1 Cabinet Approves Change of Status for Marine Body IALA 75

6.7.2 Pondicherry Shark, Red Sea Torpedo and Tentacled Butterfly Ray May Have Become Extinct, Fear Scientists

75

6.8 Pollution 76

6.8.1 SC Ban Dirty Pet Coke, Frunance Oil in Haryana, Rajasthan, UP

76

6.8.2 Centre Eases Norms for Sewage Plants 77

6.8.3 India Tops List of Pollution Linked Deaths: Study 78

6.8.4 Graded Plan to Combat Air Pollution 79

6.9 New Projects 79

6.9.1 Telangana Launches IoT Policy, E Waste Management Policy 79

6.9.2 Srisailam Reservior Project 80

7. Geography 81

7.1 Northeast Monsoon Expected to Set in by October 26 81

7.2 El Nino Causes Record Co2 Spike in 2015 2016: NASA 82

7.3 Calamities Displace 23 Lakhs Every Year in India 83

8. Social Issues 84

8.1 Guidelines of PradanMantriMatruVandanaYojana 84

8.2 Rohingya Children to Get UNHCR Cards in Bengal 85

8.3 Saurashtra Narmada Avataran Inrrigation Yojana (SAUNI) 85

8.4 Social Media Campign to Promote Geographical Indications 86

8.5 National Nutrition Strategy 87

8.6 No Move to Fix National Minimum Wage at Rs.18,00/ Month: Govt 87

8.7 Two New Contraceptives Launched by Health Ministry to Aid Family Planning

88

8.8 Upto 18,000 Rohingya Fled Myanmar Violence Last Week 89

8.9 International Literacy Day 2017 90

8.10 Government Unvelis Rules to Tackle On Board Disruptive and Unruly Behaviour by Passengers

91

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8.11 Army to Induct Women into Military Police Soon to Probe Gender Crimes

92

8.12 Campaign on Women for Women: #IAmThatWomen 93

9. Culture 94

9.1 Ahmedabad get Status of Indias First World Heritage City by UNESCO

94

9.2 Thumri 94

10. Education 95

10.1 Cabinet Approves MoU Between India and Belarus for Cooperation in the Field of Vocational Education and Training

95

10.2 Schemes for Skill India Mission 97

11. Development 97

11.1 Ministry of Railways may ask Finance Ministry to Fund its Share Towards, Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK)

97

11.2 ACI ASQ Survey 98

11.3 NHAI Bharatmala Programme 99

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OCTOBER 2017

1. Polity

1.1 Newly 5 Governors Appointed President Ram NathKovind has appointed new Governors to Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and Meghalaya. President appointed Banwarilal Purohit as the Governor of Tamil Nadu, Brig. (Dr.) B.D. Mishra (Retd.) as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, Satya Pal Malik asthe Governor of Bihar, JagdishMukhi as the Governor of Assam and Ganga Prasad as the Governor of Meghalaya.

Appointment and tenure of Governors: Quick look:

The governors and lieutenant-governors are appointed by the president for a

term of 5 years.

Article 157 and Article 158 of the Constitution of India specify eligibility

requirements for the post of governor.

The term of governors office is normally 5 years but it can be terminated earlier by: Dismissal by the president on the advice of the prime minister of the country, at whose pleasure the governor holds office or Resignation by the governor.

There is no provision of impeachment, as it happens for the president.

1.2 SC to hear Rohingya Plea for Help

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an urgent plea made by two Rohingya Muslim immigrants against the governments proposed move to deport their 40,000-strong refugee community back to their native Myanmar, where discrimination and possibly summary executions await them.

Background:

A plea was filed in the supreme court by Rohingyas for protection of the life and liberty of their community. Petitioners say, the Centres move to deport them violated the constitutional guarantee that the Indian state should protect the life and liberty of every human being, whether citizen or not.

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As per the petitioners, The proposed deportation is contrary to the constitutional protections of Article 14 (equality), Article 21 (right to life) and Article 51(c) (respect for international law and treaty obligations) of the Constitution.

Recently, the National Human Rights Commission issued notice to the government on the proposed deportation plan.

Who are the Rohingya?

Few years ago, religious and ethnic tensions between the Rohingya Muslims and the Rakhine Buddhists (who make up the majority of the population in Mayanmar) escalated into widespread, deadly rioting. Hundreds of thousands were forced to flee. Since then, ongoing violent attacks have forced even more people to leave their homes.

The Myanmar Government says that Rohingya people are not Burmese citizens but the Rohingya have been living in Myanmar for generations. Today, they are a people with no home or citizenship.

Rohingya people are being widely abused and exploited. They are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.

Way ahead:

The Myanmar Government should immediately end the violent crackdown on the Rohingya and amend or repeal the 1982 Burma Citizenship Law to provide the Rohingya people with full citizenship in the country. Bangladesh and other governments in Southeast Asia must ensure those fleeing violence and seeking protection, are granted access. Guaranteeing they will not be pushed back or

arbitrarily detained and instead that all their rights will be respected.

1.3 CVC to Develop Integrity Index of 25 Organizations

Context:

In line with the broader strategy and emphasis on preventive vigilance, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) believes that the next level of systemic change can be through the tool of Integrity Index.

The CVC has therefore decided to go in for development of the Integrity Index-based on bench-marking of internal processes and controls within an organization as well as management of relationships and expectations of

outside stakeholders.

The Main Objectives of Integrity Index:

Define what constitutes Integrity of Public Organizations.

Identify the different factors of Integrity and their inter-linkages.

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Create an objective and reliable tool that can measure the performance of organizations along these above factors.

Validate the findings over a period of time to improve upon the robustness of the tool that measures Integrity.

Create an internal and external ecosystem that promotes working with Integrity where public organizations lead the way.

CVC has adopted a research-based approach for creating an integrity index

that various organizations can use to measure themselves.

1.4 Comments Sought on Draft Guidelines for Groundwater Extraction

The Central Groundwater Authority (CGWA) has sent Draft guidelines for issuance of NOC for ground water withdrawal and draft Public Notice to the Chief Secretaries of all the State and Administrators of Union Territories for their comments within 60 days.

Reasons for coming up with draft guidelines

Due to the increasing number of litigations in the National Green Tribunal, various branches of Tribunal are directing CGWA to ensure that the groundwater withdrawal in the country should be in accordance with law.

These guidelines will ensure a uniform regulatory framework across the country so that the discriminatory practices in regulation are either mitigated or minimized.

Major Revisions

The major revisions in the guidelines are

Pan India coverage,

Decentralization of the No Objection Certificate (NOC) issuing authorities, dispensing with the provisions relating to submission of artificial recharge proposals and construction of artificial recharge structures by project proponents

Introduction of a water conservation fee in lieu of recharge mechanism;

Funds raised through the water conservation fee to be used by States for effective groundwater management.

Central Grounder Water Authority

The CGWA constituted by Government of India under Section 3(3) of the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986 has been regulating groundwater development

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and management in the country. The authority has been granting NOC for withdrawal of ground water by industries/infrastructure/mining projects.

1.5 Election Commission Announces Assembly Poll Schedule to Himachal Pradesh, Stalls Announcement of Gujarat Poll Schedule

PM slammed Opposition that it has no right for questioning the Election Commissions motives in delaying the announcement of the Assembly poll schedule

for the Gujarat State.

Reason:

Election Commission is bound by a 2001 Supreme Court judgement, which says there cannot be a gap of more than 3 weeks between the notification and the announcement of the election.

The Relief and rehabilitation work in flood-hit Gujarat would get affected if polls were announced as model code of conduct would have come into

immediate effect

Election Commission of India

Articles 324 329 mention the Election Commission of India and contain all

the relevant provisions.

The ECI Conducts Presidential, Vice Presidential, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assembly, and State Legislative Council elections.

It also evaluates and verifies election applications.

It also is responsible for administrative functions such as announcement preparation of electoral rolls.

It prescribes Model Code of Conduct to prevent electoral malpractices.

Any dispute relating to the conduct and management of elections have to placed before the Election Commission of India. However, any dispute with respect of LS, RS, and State Elections have to be placed before respective High Courts.

Removal of Election Commissioners

A petition was filed in the Supreme Court pointing out the vagueness in the procedure for removal of Election Commissioners.

Election commission of India, a constitutional body is headed by a Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and two Election Commissioners.

They are appointed by the President of India on the recommendation of PM and Council of Ministers.

CEC and EC have tenure of six years or hold office till the age of 65 years and receive salary and other allowances similar to the Judge of the Supreme Court of India.

Though they are appointed in a similar manner with equal tenure and salary, their removal process varies.

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According to the Article 324 (5), CEC can be removed only by the order of the President, just like a judge of the Supreme Court.

But the provision is silent about the procedure for the removal of EC and only provides that ECs cannot be removed except on the recommendation of CEC.

Petitioner has alleged that this kind of discrimination will create ambiguity and affects the autonomy of the office.

1.6 IWAI Raises Rs. 660 Crore through Bonds

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has raised Rs660 crore through a bond sale to finance the development

of national waterways.

It is the second time that the authority has raised money through a bond sale. Last year, it was allowed to issue infrastructure bonds worth Rs1,000 crore but the authority raised only Rs340 crore.

The money raised from the bonds is intended to be used by IWAI for the development of national

waterways.

Know about IWAI:

Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is the statutory authority in charge of the waterways in India. Its headquarters is located in Noida, UP. It does the function of building the necessary infrastructure in these waterways, surveying the

economic feasibility of new projects and also administration.

1.7 Tea Board Proposes Rs 100 Crore Package for Darjeeling Estates

The Tea Board has proposed a Rs 100-crore relief package for tea estates in the Darjeeling hills, where production has resumed after nearly three months of shutdown due to an agitation for a separate state. The relief package, however, has failed to bring cheer to the industry.

Background:

Plucking and other operations at the 87 tea estates in the region had come to a halt after the Gorkha Janmukti Morchas strike call on June 9 demanding a separate state, called Gorkhaland. The growers of Darjeeling tea had sought Rs 325 crore as assistance to prune the overgrown bushes and prepare for production in April. But the demand was not accepted by the board which, on advice based on the Tea Research

Associations survey of the problem, cut it to Rs 100 crore.

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The strike, the first time in the history of Darjeeling tea industry, has wiped out almost 70% of the annual tea production.

About Tea Board of India:

The Tea Board is set up under the Tea Act 1953. It has succeeded the Central Tea Board and the Indian Tea Licencing Committee which functioned respectively under the Central Tea Board Act, 1949 and the Indian Tea Control Act, 1938 which were repealed.

The Tea Board is functioning as a statutory body of the Central Government under the Ministry of Commerce.

The Board is constituted of 31 members (including Chairman) drawn from Members of Parliament, tea producers, tea traders, tea brokers, consumers, and representatives of Governments from the principal tea producing states,

and trade unions. The Board is reconstituted every three years.

Functions:

The Tea Board India is responsible for the assignment of certification numbers to exports of certain tea merchants. This certification is intended to ensure the teas origin, which in turn would reduce the amount of fraudulent labelling on rare teas.

The Tea Board Indias tasks include endorsement of the diverse production and productivity of tea, financial support of research organisations and the monitoring of advances in tea packaging as it relates to health beneficial aspects.

It coordinates research institutes, the tea trade and government bodies, ensuring the technical support of the tea trade in the global industry.

1.8 Rajasthan Law: No Probe Against Judges, Officers without Sanction

Rajasthan government has passed an ordinance which seeks to protect both serving and former judges, magistrates and public servants in Rajasthan from being investigated for on-duty action without its prior sanction. The Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 has been promulgated in this

regard.

Highlights of the ordinance:

The ordinance amends the

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Criminal Code of Procedure, 1973 and also seeks curb on publishing and printing or publicising in any case the name, address, photograph, family details of the public servants.

It seeks to bar the media from reporting on accusations till the sanction to proceed with the probe is obtained.

No magistrate shall order an investigation nor will any investigation be conducted against a person, who is or was a judge or a magistrate or a public servant.

If there is no decision on the sanction request post the stipulated time period, it will automatically mean that sanction has been granted.

The Ordinance made additions to sections 156 (3) and 190 (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) which empower a magistrate to take cognizance of an offence and order an investigation.

Violation would call for two years imprisonment.

1.9 Passive Euthanasia Already a Law, says Govt.

More than six years after sanctioning passive euthanasia as a legitimate option to end lives of people in a permanent vegetative state, the Supreme Court has decided to examine the more complex concept of a living will where removal of life support is authorised in case of an irreversible coma. SC was hearing a plea by NGO Common Cause to declare right to die with dignity as a fundamental right within the fold of right to live with dignity, which is guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

What is a Living Will?

A living will is a document prepared by a person in a healthy state of mind specifying that if s/he slides into a vegetative state because of an irreversible terminal illness, the debilitated existence should not be prolonged with the help of life support systems or other medical interventions.

In such a case, relatives will be spared the agonising decision of removing life support and doctors will be guided solely by the living will. In several cases, the reluctance to pull the plug on a loved one even when s/he is in a vegetative state prolongs the pain of the patient.

Active and passive euthanasia:

Active euthanasia, the intentional act of causing the death of a patient in great suffering, is illegal in India. It entails deliberately causing the patients death through injections or overdose.

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But passive euthanasia, the withdrawal of medical treatment with the deliberate intention to hasten a terminally ill patients death is partially allowed.

The patient, family, friends and legal guardians cant take the decision on their own, but need a high courts approval bill for stopping treatment.

Euthanasia in law:

The government told the court on Tuesday there was already a law on passive euthanasia and it had drafted a management of patients with terminal illness-withdrawal of medical life support bill.

The issue of euthanasia was first examined by the health ministry in consultation with the experts in 2006, based on the 196th Law Commission of India report. However, it was decided to not make any laws on euthanasia.

Aruna Shanbaug case:

In 2011, the Supreme Court, while hearing the case of Aruna Shanbaug, who was in a vegetative state for nearly 30 years, had legalised passive euthanasia

partially.

A nurse at KEM Hospital in Mumbai, Shanbaug was in a vegetative state since 1973 after a brutal sodomisation and strangling with a dog-chain during a sexual assault. She died in 2015 while on a ventilator for several days after suffering from pneumonia.

SC gave patients living in a vegetative state the right to have treatment or food withdrawn, and laid down guidelines to process passive euthanasia in the case of incompetent patients. The guidelines include seeking a declaration from a high court, after getting clearance from a medical board and state government.

Medical experts on euthanasia:

Doctors have a mixed reaction to legalising euthanasia. They say the government needs to take a careful approach before legalising passive euthanasia when the measures to prolong the life of the patient are withdrawn.

Most doctors, however, agree that euthanasia should be made legal in cases where there is no scope of a patient recovering. But many feel that India is not yet ready for a decision like this which requires a mix of sensitivity and maturity.

A major concern is the misuse of the law. If it is legal to passively allow or actively hasten death, whats to say an aged parent wont be hastened in favour of an inheritance, or a spouse have treatment withdrawn for the sake of a hefty insurance payout?

Euthanasia in other countries:

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Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide have been legal in The Netherlands and Belgium since 2001 and 2002. In the US, Switzerland and Germany, euthanasia is illegal but physician-assisted suicide is legal. Euthanasia remains illegal in the UK, France, Canada and Australia.

1.10 SC Asks Centre to Strike a Balance on Rohingya Issue

The Supreme Court has asked the government to strike a balance between humanitarian concern for Rohingya community staying in India and the countrys national security and economic interests. With this, the status quo continues even though the court gave the community the liberty to approach it in case of any

contingency.

Background:

A plea was filed in the supreme court by Rohingyas for protection of the life and liberty of their community. Petitioners say, the Centres move to deport them violated the constitutional guarantee that the Indian state should protect the life and

liberty of every human being, whether citizen or not.

As per the petitioners, The proposed deportation is contrary to the constitutional protections of Article 14 (equality), Article 21 (right to life) and Article

51(c) (respect for international law and treaty obligations) of the Constitution.

1.11 Lawyers as Seniors: Supreme Court Frames Rules for Itself, 24

High Courts

The Supreme Court of India has laid down guidelines for itself and 24 High Courts to govern the exercise of designating lawyers as seniors and has ordered setting up of a permanent committee headed by the Chief Justice of India assisted by a secretariat. The direction came based on a petition challenging the designation

process.

Composition of the permanent committee:

In the case of the Supreme Court, the permanent committee will comprise the Chief Justice of India and two seniormost companion judges, Attorney General of India and a representative from the bar nominated by the first four members.

For the HCs, it will have the Chief Justice of the respective HC and the Advocate General of the state in place of CJI and Attorney General.

Selection procedure:

A permanent secretariat will be set up to which applications including

proposals from the judges will be submitted.

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On receipt of such applications or proposals from Honble Judges, the Secretariat will compile the relevant data and information with regard to the reputation, conduct, integrity of the Advocate(s) concerned including his/her participation in pro bono work; reported judgments in which the concerned Advocate(s) had appeared; the number of such judgments for the last five years.

The Secretariat will publish the proposal of designation of a particular Advocate in the official website of the Court concerned inviting the suggestions and views of other stakeholders in the proposed designation. The cases will then be put up before the Permanent Committee for scrutiny.

The Committee will interview the candidate and make an overall evaluation on the basis of his/her number of years of practice, judgments (reported and unreported) which indicate the legal formulations advanced by the Advocate concerned in the course of the proceedings of the case, pro bono work done by him/her, domain expertise of the applicant in various branches of law and publications by the advocate.

The candidates will also have to take a personality test. After a name is considered and approved by the permanent committee, it will be put before the Full Court (involving SC/HC judges as the case may be) which will decide to accord senior designation to an advocate either unanimously or by majority, through secret ballot. The Full Court may also recall the senior designation of

a lawyer if it feels he is guilty of conduct that disentitles him to the same.

Background:

Section 16(1) of the Advocates Act, 1961 recognises senior advocates. Section 16(2) says that an advocate may, with his consent, be designated as senior advocate if the Supreme Court or a High Court is of opinion that by virtue of his ability (standing the Bar or special knowledge or experience in law) he is deserving or such

distinction.

Supreme Court rules say the Chief Justice and the judges may with the consent of the advocate, designate an advocate as senior advocate if in their opinion by virtue of his ability; standing at the Bar or special knowledge or experience in law the said advocate is deserving of such distinction. It was contended that this was

not transparent.

1.12 Set up Centres Under All High Courts for Vulnerable Victims: SC

Context:

The Supreme Court while lauding the Delhi High Court for setting up vulnerable witnesses deposition complexes has asked other High Courts in the

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Country to follow suit in consonance with guidelines postulated in Sakshi v. Union of India and Ors.This case pertained to the rape of a deaf, dumb and mentally

challenged minor girl.

Reason:

Victims often end up being ill-treated by the very system they had approached in the hope of justice. Delay and intimidating questions during trial in a hostile

environment lead to fewer convictions.

Guidelines:

A screen or some arrangement by which the victim does not see the body or face of the accused.

Reducing cross-examination questions to writing and handing them over to the judge to be put to the victim in a language that is clear and not embarrassing.

Sufficient breaks for victims of child abuse or rape while testifying.

Significance:

Encourages a vulnerable victim to make a statement.

Upholds the right of vulnerable witnesses to be protected while testifying in court.

Order is in consonance with international norms in these matters.

1.13 Memorandum of Procedure for Appointing Supreme Court & High Court Judges is Delay

Background:

Constitution Benchs historic decision, in October 2015, to strike down the governments National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) law. The NJAC law had given politicians an equal say in judicial appointments to

constitutional courts.

In December 2015, Apex Court directed the centre to iron out the dos and donts of judicial appointments to the Supreme

Court and the high courts.

Issues:

Delay in the appointment of regular Chief Justices in high courts despite the recommendation of the Supreme Court.

Six of the 24 high courts have been without regular Chief Justices for months.

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Some High Courts like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have acting Chief justice for more than a year now while such arrangement should not have continued for more than a month.

No further delay in finalisation of MoP in larger public interest

RTI Act and CBI

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court for an early hearing of a petition challenging a 2011 government notification regarding RTI.

The notification includes the CBI on the list of intelligence and security organisations under the second schedule of RTI.

Section 24 under 2nd schedule of RTA says that provisions of revealing information to the public will not apply to intelligence and security organisations, which include IB, RAW, NIA, CBI and the Enforcement Directorate.

However, the act clearly states that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations will not fall under Section 24.

Earlier, the Delhi High court has ruled that the allegations of corruption do not attract blanket exemption given to the CBI under Section 24.

It can be denied only if they fell under Section 8(1) of the RTI Act which gives 10 grounds on which information can be denied.

This case had been transferred to the apex court following the governments

claim of multiplicity of such petitions in several High Courts.

Pro bono legal services

Ministry of Law and Justice introduced the pro bono legal services scheme aiming to connect those in need of legal aid with lawyers through use of technology.

Pro-bono legal services It is a web based platform through which the interested lawyers can register themselves to volunteer services for litigants who are unable to afford it.

Supreme Court has recently released the guidelines, which says that a lawyer should have fought a certain number of cases pro bono (free of cost) in order to be designated as a senior lawyer. The government wants the same principle to

be followed in the appointment of judges.

1.14 Bureau of Indian Standards Act 2016 Brought into Force

A new Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) Act 2016 which was notified on 22nd March, 2016, has been brought into force with effect from 12th October, 2017. Parliament had in March 2016

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passed the law to replace the BIS Act of 1986.

Highlights of the act:

National standards body: The Act establishes the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as the National Standards Body of India.

Compulsory certification: The Act has enabling provisions for the Government to bring under compulsory certification regime any goods or article of any scheduled industry, process, system or service which it considers necessary in the public interest or for the protection of human, animal or plant health, safety of the

environment, or prevention of unfair trade practices, or national security.

Hallmarking: Enabling provisions have also been made for making hallmarking of

the precious metal articles mandatory.

Simplified conformity: The new Act also allows multiple type of simplified conformity assessment schemes including self-declaration of conformity against a standard which will give simplified options to manufacturers to adhere to the standards and get certificate of conformity.

Authority for verification: The Act enables the Central Government to appoint any authority/agency, in addition to the BIS, to verify the conformity of products and services to a standard and issue certificate of conformity.

Repair or recall: There is also a provision for repair or recall, including product liability of the products bearing Standard Mark but not conforming to the relevant

Indian Standard.

Significance :

The new Act will further help in ease of doing business in the country, give fillip to Make In India campaign and ensure availability of quality products and

services to the consumers.

1.15 Karnataka Needs its Own Flag

Chief minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah has once again invoked Kannada pride, saying the government is firm on Karnataka having a state flag.

Background:

Some activists had urged the government to design a separate flag for Karnataka and accord statutory standing for that. Following this, the Karnataka State government had constituted a nine-member committee headed by Principal Secretary, Department of Kannada and Culture, to study and submit a report to the government on the possibility of designing a separate flag for Karnataka and providing it a statutory standing.

Are states permitted to have their own flags?

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In S.R. Bommai v/s Union of India (Supreme Court 1994) case, the Supreme Court has declared that federalism is a basic feature of the Constitution and States are supreme in their sphere. This being the Constitutional position, there is no prohibition in the Constitution for the State to have its own flag.

However, the manner in which the State flag is hoisted should not dishonour the national flag. It has to be always below the national flag. The national flag code specifically authorises use of other flags subject to the regulation by the

court. So, State flag is not unauthorised.

2. Economy

2.1 India Emerging as a Leader Among Milk Producing Nations

Context:

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister said India is emerging as a leader among milk producing nations at Pashu Arogya Mela in Semwapur, Motihari. India produces 163.7 million tonne milk in 2016-17 worth over Rs.4 lakh crore. There are 19 crore cattle in the country, which amounts to 14% of the total cattle

population of the world.

Rashtriya Gokul Mission:

Rashtriya Gokul Mission, 2014 is a focussed project under National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development.

Its objective is to conserve and propagate indigenous breeds in an organized and scientific manner.

Progress update:

1250 MAITRI centres are being set up to facilitate artificial insemination for cattle on the doorstep.

One Gokul Gram (Integrated Indigenous Cattle Centres) will have 500 animals with high genetic quality, out of which 300 will be reproductive animals. The Gokul Grams will rear Lal Sindhi, Sahiwal and Gir breeds along

with Bachaur.

Indigenous animals:

Indigenous animals are more suitable for the country particularly suitable for climate and environment of their reproductive areas. They are endowed with qualities of heat tolerance, resistance to diseases and the ability to thrive under

extreme climatic stress and less than optimal nutrition.

Conclusion:

Dairy farming has been a traditional source of livelihood and it has a deep connection with the agricultural economy. It is essential to increase productivity of

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Indigenous breeds in the country through commercial farm management and balanced nutrition.

2.2 SIDBI Revamps Portal for Easy Credit Access

Small Industries Development Bank of India(SIDBI) has revamped its portal namely www.udayamimitra.in with enhanced features to provide easy access to credit and hand holding services for Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSME)

Key Features:

The portal brings transparency and competition among lenders

It removes the need to approach several banks individually

The portal is mobile-enabled and provides a self-assessment module.

It sends various information on registered MSMEs from time to time.

It also allows loan applications to be perused and picked up by multiple lenders.

SIDBI:

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), set up on April 2, 1990 under an Act of Indian Parliament, acts as the Principal Financial Institution for the Promotion, Financing and Development of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector and for Co-ordination of the functions of the institutions engaged in

similar activities.

Public Financial Management System (PFMS)

PFMS, earlier known as Central Plan Schemes Monitoring System (CPSMS), is a web-based online software application.

It is developed and implemented by the Office of Controller General of Accounts.

It is launched with the objective of tracking funds released under all Plan schemes of GoI, and real time reporting of expenditure at all levels of Programme implementation.

In 2013, its scope was enlarged to cover direct payment to beneficiaries under both Plan and non-Plan Schemes.

In 2014, it has been envisaged that digitization of accounts shall be achieved through PFMS.

The biggest strength of PFMS is its integration with the Core banking system.

Union Finance Ministry has recently ascertained the mandatory use of PFMS will help in monitoring the flow of funds to beneficiaries of different

government welfare schemes.

https://i0.wp.com/www.insightsonindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/sidbi.jpghttp://www.udayamimitra.in/https://www.sidbi.in/

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Udyami Mitra' portal

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has revamped its Udyami Mitra with enhanced features.

The portal was launched to improve accessibility of credit for the MSMEs.

It helps MSMEs for submission of loan applications which can be picked up by multiple lenders.

It aims at bringing in transparency in processing of loans by the banks.

Now non-banking finance companies and small finance banks are being on-boarded on the platform for enhancing flow of credit to MSMEs.

Under the new capitalisation plan banks will have to compete for loans through the revamped udyamimitra portal.

2.3 Boosting of Public Sector Bank

The Centre unveiled an ambitious plan to infuse 2.11 lakh crore capital over

the next two years into public sector banks (PSBs).

Context:

PSBs are burdened with high, non-performing assets(Asset Quality Review , RBI)

Twin-Balance Sheet Problem

Private investment is cut down

Steps :

Govt has taken massive step to capitalise PSBs in a frontloaded manner, to support credit growth and job creation.

Govt plans to fund through budgetary provisions of 18,139 crore and the sale of recapitalisation bonds worth 1.35 lakh crore.

The balance would be raised by the banks themselves by diluting the governments equity share.

Cabinet also approved 5.35 lakh crore for massive road infrastructure investment under Bharat Mala Programme.

Solution:

These steps will boost flagging economic growth and create jobs.The effect of recapitalisation on the fiscal deficit would be determined by the type of bonds and as

to who the issuing authority would be.

Twin-Balance Sheet Problem:

The balance sheets of both public sector banks (PSBs) and some corporate houses are in terrible shape and it has been seen as a major obstacle to investment and reviving growth. The problems faced by the

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Public Sector Banks are linked directly to that of the corporate sector. Companies borrowed a lot of money from banks to invest in infrastructure and commodity- related businesses, such as steel, power, infrastructure etc. But now, due to slump in both these sectors, the corporate profits have hit new lows. With low profits, the corporates are not able to repay their loans and their debts are rising and in turn cut down on investments.

Anti-Profiteering Screening Committee

The Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax Commissionerate has constituted a state-level 'anti-profiteering screening committee' in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

An officer each from the state government and Central government has been included in the committee.

The committees are being constituted to ensure that any reduction in the tax (GST) rates on supply of goods and services or the benefits of input tax credit,

should be passed on to the consumers.

Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX)

MCX is a platform for commodity traders that facilitate online trading, settlement and clearing of commodity futures transactions.

It was initially under the regulation of Forward Market Commission (FMC).

After the merger of FMC with SEBI, MCX comes under the purview of SEBI.

The government has recently launched gold as an option under futures trading in MCX for the first time.

Thus it allows investors to enter into contracts to either buy or sell gold in the future at a pre-determined price.

MCX offers more than 40 commodities across various segments such as bullion, metals and other agricultural commodities.

Small Savings Scheme

In a notification, the government has allowed banks, including top three private sector lenders, to accept deposits under various small savings schemes.

This is done mainly in order to encourage savings through schemes like National Savings Certificate (NSC), recurring deposits and monthly income plan.

As per the notification, all public sector banks and private sector ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank will receive subscription from the expanded portfolios.

Until now, most of the small savings schemes were sold through post offices.

So far, these banks were allowed to receive subscription under Public Provident Fund, Kisan Vikas Patra-2014, Sukanya Samriddhi Account, Senior Citizen Savings Scheme-2004.

Increased outlets for selling small savings scheme would result in higher mobilisation under the scheme.

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On the basis of the decision of the government, interest rates for small savings schemes are to be notified on a quarterly basis since April 1, 2016.

Geographical Indications (GI)

The Cell for IPR Promotions & Management (CIPAM) under the aegis of the DIPP has launched a logo and tagline/slogan contest for Geographical Indications (GIs) of India on MyGov.in website.

CIPAM has also launched Gift a GI campaign to enhance the visibility and thus help in branding and promotion of registered GI products.

CIPAM has also launched a social media campaign to promote Indian Geographical Indicators (GIs) with #LetsTalkIP.

A Geographical Indication (GI) is primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured product (handicrafts and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory.

Typically, such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness, which is essentially attributable to the place of its origin.

Some of the examples of registered Indian GIs are Darjeeling Tea, Tirupathi Laddu, Kangra Paintings, Nagpur Orange, Kashmir Pashmina etc.

2.4 Is Loan Waiver Affect Economy

Maharashtra government has rolled out the loan waiver scheme and announced the first list of 8.4 lakh beneficiaries across the state, for whom the government will pay banks Rs 4,000 crore under the scheme.

Concerns:

According to the Economic Survey 2016-17, the burden of farm loan waivers could be as much as `2.2-2.7 lakh crore if all states start offering the relief and would stoke short-term deflationary shock in the economy.

The survey estimates that loan waivers by all states could reduce aggregate demand by as much as 0.7% of GDP. This is because the states funding the loan waiver would have to prune spending and possibly raise taxes to improve revenue and stick to their fiscal deficit limits, although private demands tends to get a boost from the loan waivers.

Even as the central government makes significant efforts toward fiscal consolidation, the higher debt burden of the states could push up general government debt.It appears that loan waiving can provide a short-term relief to a limited section of farmers.

it has a meagre chance of bringing farmers out of the vicious cycle of indebtedness. There is no concrete evidence on reduction in agrarian distress following the first spell of all-India farm loan waiver in 2008. In the longer run,

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strengthening the repayment capacity of the farmers by improving and stabilising their income is the only way to keep them out of distress.

2.5 National Policy for Domestic Workers

Ministry of labour and employment is considering to formulate a national policy for domestic workers under which part-time, full-time and live-in workers, employers, private placement agencies will be clearly defined.

With this, the ministry is set to give legal status to domestic workers in the country by formulating a national policy that will ensure minimum wages and equal remuneration for around 47.5 lakh domestic workers in India including

30 lakh women.

Key

The policy aims to promote right to fair terms of employment relating to minimum wages, protection from abuse/harassment and violence, access to social security benefits such as health insurance, maternity benefits and old age pensions as provided by existing and upcoming schemes of central and state government, which may include contribution from employer/workers.

An institutional mechanism will be set up to provide for social security cover, fair terms of employment, grievance redressal and dispute resolution for domestic workers. Besides, the policy will seek to regulate recruitment and placement

agencies to avoid any harassment.

Placement agencies charge a certain proportion of domestic workers salary every month, over and above one-time fees they charge from the employer for providing such help. The new policy, though, is likely to make it mandatory for placement agencies to charge a one-time 15-day salary from domestic workers and in turn provide them with social security cover, including medical and health insurance.

2.6 NIIF Gets First Investor

The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) of India has signed an investment agreement worth $1 billion with a wholly owned unit of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

As part of the partnership agreement, ADIA will become the first institutional investor in NIIFs Master Fund and a shareholder in National Investment and Infrastructure Ltd, NIIFs investment management company.

This agreement marks the culmination of an extensive process of collaboration with ADIA to develop an investment structure that is attractive to international investors, while remaining closely aligned with NIIFs objectives.

http://niifindia.in/

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NIIF:

NIIF was set up in 2015 as an investment vehicle for funding commercially

viable greenfield, brownfield and stalled projects in the infrastructure sector.

NIIF will invest in areas such as energy, transportation, housing, water, waste management and other infrastructure-related sectors in India.

The corpus of the fund is proposed to be around Rs40,000 crore, with the government investing 49% and the rest to be raised from third-party investors such as sovereign wealth funds, insurance and pension funds, endowments etc.

IMFs growth projection

In IMFs recent world economic outlook report, it has raised its projection for economic growth of major economies, but it drastically reduced the growth rate for India.

It projects that India would grow by 6.7% in 2017 and 7.4% in 2018 which are 0.5 and 0.3 percentage points lower than earlier projections.

It cited demonetisation and GST as the reason for slower growth.

At this rate, India will lose the tag of the fastest-growing major economy. China is projected to grow by 6.8 per cent in 2017.

2.7 India Could Provide Universal Basis Income Rs. 2,600 in a Year: IMF

In its Fiscal Monitor Tackling Inequality, the IMF has discussed UBI, a proposal that has been widely debated recently and is being tested in several

countries, devoting extensive space to its case for India.

IMFs observations on the idea of providing a UBI:

IMF estimates India could provide a universal basic income (UBI) of Rs 2,600 a year to every person if it eliminates food and energy subsidies.

Even such a modest level of UBI will incur a fiscal cost of about 3% of GDP, but would outperform the public food distribution and fuel subsidies on three counts.

It will address the under coverage of the near 20% lower income groups in the PDS, address the issue of higher income groups cornering bigger subsidies and increase generosity benefits received by the lower income groups.

In case of fuel subsidies, the IMF simulation goes beyond budget subsidy of cost-price difference to the extent prices are below efficient levels that would internalize the negative externalities associated with fossil fuel consumption.

The flip side of this is that eliminating the wider subsidies would require a sharper increase in prices than the case when budget subsidies are removed.

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The IMF cites a 2016 study that pegs the order of increase at gasoline (67%), diesel (69%), kerosene (10%), LPG (94%) and coal (455%).

What is UBI?

A basic income is an income unconditionally granted to all on an individual

basis, without means test or work requirement.

Advatanges

Can address poverty and inequality more effectively.

Address income uncertainty due to impact of tech on jobs.

Help garner support for unpopular structural reforms.

Disadvantages of UBI:

Unnecessary benefits to higher income groups.

High fiscal costs crowding out other spending.

Discourages labour supply.

Gini Coefficient

Gini Coefficient is a statistical measure to gauge the inequality of income or wealth within nations or states.

Its value varies from zero to 1; zero indicating perfect equality and one indicating the perfect inequality.

A general rise in the measure indicates that government policies are not inclusive and may be benefiting the rich as much as the poor.

It can be used to compare income distribution of a country over time as well

Free Trade Pact with Mauritius

India and Mauritius are negotiating to revive efforts for a free trade agreement that was suspended in 2013 due to disagreement over the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA).

DTAA was revised last year clearing the hurdle for the FTA.

This FTA isofficially referred to as the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA).

Mauritius is a FTA member of the Common Market for Southern and Eastern Africa and the Southern African Development Community.

Indian investors couldtake advantage of it once the FTA is in place.

The revised DTAA gives India the right to tax capital gains arising from sale or transfer of shares of an Indian company acquired by a Mauritian tax resident

from April 1, 2017.

2.8 Information Utility Under the IBC

National e-Governance Services Ltd (NeSL) has become Indias first information utility (IU) for bankruptcy cases under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy

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Code 2016. NeSL is owned by State Bank of India and Life Insurance Corporation Ltd., among others. Recently, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI)

eased ownership norms for setting up such utilities.

What is an information utility?

Information utility is an information network which would store financial data like borrowings, default and security interests among others of firms. The utility would specialise in procuring, maintaining and providing/supplying financial information to businesses, financial institutions, adjudicating authority, insolvency professionals and other

relevant stake holders.

Why is it important? How useful is it?

The objective behind information utilities is to provide high-quality, authenticated information about debts and defaults. Information utilities are expected to play a key role as they allow storage of financial information of registered users

and expeditiously process and verify information received.

Moreover, the database and records maintained by them would help lenders in taking informed decisions about credit transactions. It would also make debtors cautious as credit information is available with the utility. More importantly, information available with the utility can be used as evidence in bankruptcy cases

before the National Company Law Tribunal.

What are the rules governing these utilities?

Information utilities are governed by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy code 2016 and IBBI (Information Utilities) Regulations 2017. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) oversees aspects such as registration and cancellation of these entities, their shareholding and governance among others. Recently, IBBI eased norms for information utilities, allowing Indian firms listed on stock exchanges to hold 100% in such firms. It also allowed individuals to hold 51% in the utility for a period of three years.

How will the utilities help stakeholders in the insolvency process?

It is mandatory for financial creditors to provide financial information to the information utility. When they initiate insolvency proceedings against the defaulting firm (known as corporate debtor), the utilities may help as they would act as a centralised platform for accessing data. Unlike financial creditors, it is optional for the

operational creditor to provide financial information to the utility.

What are the key challenges for these utilities?

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While the onus is on financial creditors, operational creditors and corporate debtors to provide the required information, procuring authentic information might be a challenge due to the sensitivity involved. There may also, be resistance in sharing information. Since it is a digital database, there is the risk of exposure to data piracy

and data theft.

2.9 Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs)

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has entered into 4 more Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) during August, 2017. Out of these 4 Agreements, 3 are Unilateral and 1 is a Bilateral.

With the signing of these 4 Agreements, the total number of APAs entered into by CBDT has reached 175. This includes 162 Unilateral APAs and 13 Bilateral APAs. In the current financial year, a total of 23 APAs (2 Bilateral and 21 Unilateral) have been signed till date.

The 4 APAs entered into during August, 2017 pertain to various sectors of the economy like Telecom, Banking, Manufacturing and Education.

What are APAs?

The APA provisions were introduced in the Income-tax Act in 2012 and the Rollback provisions were introduced in 2014. The APA scheme endeavoursto provide certainty to taxpayers in the domain of transfer pricing by specifying the methods of pricing and setting the prices of international transactions in advance. Since its inception, the APA scheme has been well-accepted by taxpayers and that has resulted in more than 800 applications (both Unilateral and Bilateral) being filed so far in five years.

The progress of the APA scheme strengthens the Governments resolve of fostering a non-adversarial tax regime. The Indian APA programme has been appreciated nationally and internationally for being able to address complex transfer

pricing issues in a fair and transparent manner.

2.10 RBI includes HDFC Bank in the To Big to Fail List

After adding the State Bank of India and private lender ICICI, the Reserve Bank of India has listed HDFC to systemically important banks list.

The addition means that HDFC has now being considered as too big to fail bank. Since 2015, the central bank has been identifying banks whose failure

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would impact the whole financial system. These banks are subject to more rigorous regulation and capital requirement.

Systematically Important Banks (D- SIBs):

A few banks assume systemic importance due to their size, cross-jurisdictional activities, complexity, lack of substitutability and interconnectedness. The disorderly failure of these banks has the propensity to cause significant disruption to the essential services provided by the banking system, and in turn, to the overall economic activity. These banks are considered Systemically Important Banks (SIBs) as their continued functioning is critical for the uninterrupted availability of essential banking services to the real economy.

SIBs are perceived as ones that are Too Big To Fail (TBTF). This perception of TBTF creates an expectation of government support for these banks at the time of distress. Due to this perception, these banks enjoy certain advantages in the funding markets.

The indicators the RBI uses for identifying Domestic-SIBs are: size, interconnectedness, substitutability and complexity. Based on the sample of banks chosen for computation of their systemic importance, a relative composite systemic importance score of the banks is computed. The RBI will determine a cut-off score beyond which banks will be considered as D-SIBs.

D-SIBs are subjected to differentiated supervisory requirements and higher intensity of supervision based on the risks they pose to the financial system.

2.11 India Flag Worry on Pace of Services Talk at RCEP

At the forthcoming ministerial-level meeting on the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) involving 16 Asia-Pacific nations, India has decided to raise concerns regarding the slow pace of negotiations on services trade liberalisation as opposed to higher priority being accorded to commitments to open up

goods trade in the region.

Indias concerns:

India is upset that other RCEP nations seem to be focused more on extracting as much (binding commitments) as possible on eliminating tariffs to open up goods trade, instead of sticking to the RCEP Guiding Principles and Objectives which state that the negotiations on trade in goods, trade in services, investment and other areas will be conducted in parallel to ensure a comprehensive and

balanced outcome.

What you need to know about RCEP?

RCEP is between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and the six states with

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which ASEAN has existing FTAs (Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand).

RCEP negotiations were formally launched in November 2012 at the ASEAN

Summit in Cambodia.

Way ahead:

India has decided to talk tough and state that any more discussions on opening up goods trade will be only after ensuring that negotiations on services trade liberalisation catch up with talks on goods trade. India is keen that in return for agreeing to open up goods trade (where most RCEP nations have an advantage), other member nations must commit to substantial liberalisation of services trade including on easing norms on movement of professionals and skilled workers across borders for short-term work.

2.12 Task Force on Employment and Exports and its Terms of Reference

In a bid to provide a major thrust to job creation by enhancing Indias exports, the NITI Aayog has set up a task force to be headed by its Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar. The task force, which includes government and private sector representatives, will submit its report by November.

The steps outlined by the taskforce to address this challenge of creating well-paid,

formal sector jobs, include:

Proposing a comprehensive plan of action to generate employment and alleviate under-employment in both goods and services sectors and low wages by boosting Indias exports in key labour-intensive industries

Recommending sector-specific policy interventions in key employment sectors

Recommending measures to enhance trade in services with high employment potential

Identifying key macroeconomic factors constraining exports and suggesting methods to address these constraints

Assessing the effectiveness of existing schemes to promote exports

Addressing issues related to logistics, export credits and trade facilitation

Suggesting ways to enhance the availability of data on trade such that it is reliable, globally comparable and timely, particularly with respect to trade in

services.

Background:

Incidentally, the Three Years Action Agenda unveiled by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley recently had also stressed on creation of well-paid jobs by exploiting the potential in exports. The action agenda had also laid emphasis on creation of well-paid jobs by expanding the formal sector.

Way ahead:

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While the Indian workforce has high aspirations, a majority of the workers are still employed in low-productivity, low-wage jobs in small, micro and own-account enterprises. An urgent and sustained expansion of the organized sector is essential to address Indias unemployment and under-employment issue. An important strategy is also to enable a shift towards more labour-intensive goods and services that are destined for exports. Given the importance of exports in generating jobs, India needs to create an environment in which globally competitive exporters can emerge and flourish.

2.13 UJALA Scheme Launched in Melaka, Malaysia

Indias zero-subsidy UJALA programme has paved the way for a brighter future and has now travelled to Malaysia. Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under Ministry of Power, Government of India has launched UJALA (UnnatJyoti by Affordable Lighting for All) Scheme in the State of Melaka, Malaysia. The scheme has seen successful implementation in the UK.

With a fairly large switch to LED bulbs, Melaka will also be able to reduce carbon emissions by around 19,000 tonnes per year.

Key facts:

Under the scheme, each household in Melaka will get 10 high quality 9-watt LED bulbs at a cost of only RM 10 (10 Malaysian Ringgit), which is a special price and is almost half of what in being offered in the market.

The EESL plans to distribute about 1 million 9W LED bulbs, replacing 18W CFLs in Melaka.

The initiative will have the logistical assistance and facilitation support from Green Growth Asia, a non-profit organisation in Malaysia.

The price of each bulb will be way lesser than global average price of LED bulbs, which still swings between 3-5 USD.

About UJALA scheme:

The main objective of the scheme is to promote efficient lighting, enhance awareness on using efficient equipment which reduce electricity bills and help

preserve environment.

The scheme is being implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Union Ministry of Power. The scheme will not only help reduce consumers their electricity bills but also contribute to the energy

security of India.

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2.14 Trai Recommends Delicensing of Some Spectrum for M2M Services

In order to facilitate the smooth roll-out of machine-to-machine (M2M) communication sutilising licence exempt airwaves, sectoral regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has recommended delicensing of a chunk of

spectrum in a few bands.

Important recommendations made:

Allocation of spectrum: Spectrum allocation should be technology and service neutral and no separate spectrum band should be allocated exclusively for M2M services. However, in order to facilitate the smooth roll-out of M2M services utilisinglicence exempt spectrum, 1 MHz of spectrum at 868 MHz (867-868) and a chunk of 6 MHz of spectrum at 915-935 MHz is recommended to be delicensed. Delicensng the V-band (57-64 GHz) on various occasions may be done on priority.

Composition of M2M apex body: Regulatory authorities whose sector would get impacted by M2M communications like Trai, Central Drugs Standard Control Organization, National Highways Authority of India, Inland Waterways Authority of India, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission etc and Ministry of Law and Justice should be members in M2M apex body formed by Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

Registration: M2M service providers should register with DoT and all access service providers and unified licence holders using licenced spectrum shall be allowed to provide M2M services. All unified licence virtual network operators shall be accordingly be allowed to provide M2M connectivity and DoT may amend the licence condition for the same.

What is M2M?

M2M is the basis for automated information exchange between machines and can impact various industry verticals like smart city, smart grid, smart water, smart transportation, smart health etc. The government has also recognized the potential of M2M and emphasized the same in National Telecom Policy 2012.

2.15 DIPP to Move Cabinet Note on Guarantee Fund for Startups

Keen to ease the flow of loans to startups, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) will move a cabinet note on a credit guarantee fund for

budding entrepreneurs.

Credit guarantee fund:

The fund was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of the

Startup India action plan in January 2016.

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The fund managed by the DIPP has a corpus of Rs 2,000 crore and will enable greater financial support to startups.

The government will use the fund to stand guarantee for loans given to startups.

A credit guarantee mechanism will help startups raise debt funding through the formal banking system.

Background:

Start-ups and entrepreneurship are critical to Indias efforts to restart private investment into the economy, in the face of risk aversion, stalled or slow investments from corporate India. Start-up India initiative was launched in January 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a move to help start-ups and catalyse entrepreneurship.

The Start-up India Action Plan lists out a comprehensive set of structural and regulatory reforms Income tax exemption, easing compliance through reduction of regulations and having fixed qualifications as to what a start-up is.

The action plan also provided an 80% waiver on patent filing fees by start-ups and advisory services, It also created a Rs.10,000crore fund-of-funds which is

to be managed by professionals drawn from the private sector.

3. Security

3.1 Army Finalises Plan to Modernise Weapons

The army is set to launch a fresh hunt for 7 lakh assault rifles, 44000 light machine guns (LMGs) and 44600 carbines to replace its ageing and obsolete weapons.

Reason:

fault lines found in the entire range of small arms except the AK-47

Our casualties in counter-terror operations can be reduced by half if soldiers are

provided better assault rifles

Reason for delay:

Armys failure to finalise the specifications

single-vendor situation

Significance:

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Modernisation of the Army must be in tune with the evolving security threat facing the country. All its deficiencies will be addressed to strengthen its combat

capability.

Some terminologies:

RFI (request for information) is a process whose purpose is to collect information about capabilities of various vendors.

A lightweight rifle developed from the sub-machine gun, which may be set to fire automatically or semi-automatically.

A light machine gun (LMG) is a machine gun designed to be employed by an individual soldier, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. Light machine guns are often used as squad automatic weapons.

A carbine is a long arm firearm but with a shorter barrel than a rifle or musket. Many carbines are shortened versions of full-length rifles, shooting the same ammunition, while others fire lower-powered ammunition, including types designed

for pistols.

Vikram Class offshore Patrol Vessel

Vikram is the first of a series of seven offshore patrol vessels (OPV).

OPV are long-range surface ships capable of coastal and off-shore patrolling, policing maritime zones, control & surveillance, anti-smuggling and anti-piracy operations.

It is the country's first-ever such defence craft to be built in a private shipyard (L&T).

It is likely to be inducted into the Indian Coast Guard in April 2018.

INS Viraat

INS Viraat, the second aircraft carrier in the Indian naval fleet is set to become museum which was proposed by the Andhra Pradesh Government.

INS Vikrant is India's first aircraft carrier.

INS Viraat is the second centaur class aircraft carrier in service.

Earlier known as HMS Hermes, it served Royal Navy of UK from 1950 to 1980's and later re-commissioned in Indian Navy in 1987.

It holds the Guinness Record for being the oldest-serving warship.

It played a pivotal role in the Indian peacekeeping operations in Sri Lanka and the 1999 Kargil War.

It also took part in major operations like Op. Parakram a India Pakistan in the LOC and Op. Pawan by IPKF to take control of Jaffna from the LTTE as part of the Indo-Sri Lankan accord.

INS Vikramaditya

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US team members of joint working group (JWG) on aircraft carrier cooperation have been allowed to visit and operate Russian built Aircraft INS Vikramaditya.

INS Vikramaditya is a Kiev class aircraft carrier which was commissioned by Russian Navy in 1987 under the name Baku.

It was later renamed as Admiral Gorshkov and later offered to India in 2004.

It is the biggest and heaviest ship to be operated by the Indian Navy.

INS Vishal

INS Vishal is a follow up of INS Vikrant class air craft carriers.

It is currently being built by Cochin Shipyard limited for the Indian Navy.

It is intended to be the first supercarrier to be built in India.

It would be a 65,000-70,000 tonne, nuclear-powered vessel that launched aircraft with an "electro-magnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS)".

EMALS uses electro-magnetic energy to catapult aircraft to launch speed.

India's selection of EMALS would allow the US a place in the design of the ship. Touchdown Exercise Of The Indian Air Force Lucknow-Agra Highway

A Major Touchdown Exercise Of The Indian Air Force Was Held On The Agra Lucknow Expressway At Bangarmau In Unnao District Of Uttar Pradesh Today. As

Many As 20 Fighter Aircraft Took Part In The Special Exercise.

The Drill Witnessed The Participation Of A C-130J Transport Aircraft With Garud Commandos For Assault Landing As Well As Three Jaguars, Six Mirages, Six SU 30s In Touch Down And Take Off Operations. This Is The Second Time That A Touchdown Exercise Was Held At Agra Lucknow Expressway.

INS Sukanya

The Sukanya-Class Patrol Vessels Are Large, Offshore Patrol Craft In Active Service With The Indian Navy.

Currently There Are 3 Lead Ships Under This Class INS Sukanya, Subhadra And Suvarna.

INS Sukanya Has Recently Participated In The Bilateral Exercise CORPAT (Coordinated Patrol) Between India And Indonesia.

The Exercise Is Aimed To Foster Closer Maritime Ties With Countries

Located On The Rim Of The Indian Ocean.

3.2 INS Sukanya at Indonesia for Co-ordinated Patrol of IMBL

INS Sukanya Arrived At Belawan Indonesia To Participate In The 30th Edition Of CORPAT (Coordinated Patrol) And 3rd Bilateral Exercise Between The Indian Navy And The Indonesian Navy. The Exercise Is Aimed To Foster Closer Maritime

Ties With Countries Located On The Rim Of The Indian Ocean.

CORPAT:

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CORPAT Is A Bilateral Maritime Exercise Between India And Indonesia. Both Countries Have Been Carrying Out Maritime Exercise Twice A Year Since 2002. The CORPAT Exercise Between The Two Navies Aims To Enhance Mutual Understanding And Inter-Operability Between The Navies , Carries Search And Rescue Operations, Institutes Measures For Vessels Indulged In Unlawful Activities As Well As Control Pollution.

Significance:

It Demonstrates Indias Commitment To Its Ties With Indonesia And To The Maritime Security In The Indian Ocean Region.

The Exercise Seeks To Strengthen The Existing Bonds Of Friendship Between India And Indonesia

As Part Of The Indian Governments Vision Of SAGAR (Security And Growth For All In The Region), Indian Navy Has Also Been Involved In Assisting Countries In The Indian Ocean Region With EEZ Surveillance, Search And

Rescue And Other Capability Enhancement Activities

3.3 Navika Sagar Parikrama Tarani Enters Fremantle

INSV Tarini Entered Fremantle (Australia) Port Today During Its Maiden Voyage To Circumnavigate The Globe. This Is The First-Ever Indian

Circumnavigation Of The Globe By An All-Women Crew.

INSV Tarini:

INSV Tarini Is A 56 Foot Sailing Vessel Built In India By M/S Aquarius Shipyard Pvt Ltd, Goa

It Was Inducted Into The Indian Navy Recently In February 2017

It Has Raymarine Navigation Suite And An Array Of Satellite Communication Systems For Perfect Navigation Anywhere In The World

It Showcases The Make In India Initiative On The International Forum.

Navika Sagar Parikrama:

The Voyage Of Navika Sagar Parikrama Began From Goa Coast In September 2017 And Will Be Finishing Around March 2018

The Expedition Will Be Covered In Five Legs, With Stop-Overs At 4 Ports: Fremantle (Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falklands), And Cape Town (South Africa).

The Project Is Considered Essential Towards Promoting Ocean Sailing Activities In The Indian Navy Along With Showcasing The Governments

Support For Empowering Women.

Significance:

It Also Aims To Showcase Nari Shakti On The World Platform And Help Revolutionise Societal Attitudes And Mindset Towards Women In India By Raising Visibility Of Their Participation In Challenging Environs.

http://www.indiafoundation.in/vision-of-sagar-security-and-growth-for-all-in-the-region/

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The Voyage Aims To Show Case The Make In India Initiative By Sailing Onboard The Indigenously Built INSV Tarini.

The Crew Would Monitor And Report Marine Pollution On The High Seas.

3.4 Centre Appoints Shri Dineshwar Sharma as Its Representative in J&K

Former Intelligence Bureau (IB)Chief Dineshwar Sharma Is Appointed As Representative Of Government Of India To Initiate And Carry Forward A Dialogue With The Elected Representatives, Various Organizations And Concerned

Individuals In The State Of Jammu And Kashmir.

Background:

J & K Valleys Prolonged Anti-India Protest, Rising Insurgency In Kashmir, Intense Counter- Insurgency Operation Has Caused Acute Distress In The Region. Demand For The Political Outreach Emerged To Prevent Radicalisation Of Local

Youth Which Is The Topmost Concern For The Indian Security Establishment

Tasks Ahead For The Interlocutor:

He Will Have Rank Equivalent To A Cabinet Secretary And Complete Independence In Deciding Who To Hold Talks With.

He Is Likely To Hold Talks With Mainstream Local Political Workers Of The PDP, National Conference And Congress, Heads Of Various Religious Seminaries In The Valley, Local Student Unions Etc

He Would Try To Know How Things Are Panning Out On The Ground For And Against India And Try To Understand The Legitimate Aspirations Of The

People Of The State.

About Dineshwar Sharma:

He Has Worked As Mediator For Talks With Various Insurgent Groups Based In Assam.

He Has Worked As Director Of The IB Include 2015 Gurdaspur Attack, Uri Attack In 2016, Rise Of ISIS Recruitment In Kerala

He Has Served As DIG Of The Border Security Force (BSF) And As The IG Of CRPF In Charge Of Jammu And Kashmir.

Significance:

If A Political Dialogue, Towards A Lasting Solution, Were To Begin Between All The Stakeholders, It Would Help In Confidence-Building Measures Between The

Government, Civil Society And Dissidents.

INS Shardul And ICGS Sarathi

INS Shardul And ICGS Sarathi Are Visiting Jakarta, Indonesia To Expose The Trainees To The Conduct Of IN Warship In Foreign Waters, Port

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Familiarisation And Foster Bridges Of Friendship Between The Two Countries.

INS Shardul, Also Known As Royal Bengal Tiger Is The Lead Ship Of The Shardul-Class Amphibious Warfare Vessels.

Indian Coast Guard Ship Sarathi, Third Ship In The Series Of 6 Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) Was Commissioned Last Year

3.5 Universal Social Security Plan

In An Attempt To Improve The Life Of The Extremely Poor People Of India, The Government Has Drafted A Rs 1.2 Lakh Crore Plan To Provide Universal

Social Security Coverage For The Poorest People Of The Country.

About The Scheme:

This Broader Programme Envisages Three Categories The Poorest

20%, Who Will Get A Government Payout; Those Who Subscribe On Their Own And Formal Sector Workers Who Will Need To Set Aside A Fixed Proportion Of Income

Toward The Scheme.

The Scheme Will Have Two Tiers. The First Of These Comprises Mandatory Pension, Insurance (Both Death And Disability) And Maternity Coverage And The

Second, Optional Medical, Sickness And Unemployment Coverage.

Funds Collected Under The Universal Social Security Scheme Will Be Divided Into Sub-Schemes And Be Ringfenced, Meaning The Benefits And The

Contribution Will Be Commensurate.

Need:

Indias Total Workforce Currently Stands At 450 Million. Though The Statistics Make It Sound That A Large Fraction Of The Indian Population Is Employed, It Is Rather Saddening That Only A Little Over 10% Are In The Organised Sector And

Get To Enjoy The Basic Social Security.

In Fact, Among The 10 Million People Who Add On To The Workforce Every Year, Most Of Them Dont Receive The Minimum Wage And Lack Any Kind Of Social Security Coverage, The Reason Being That Most Them Belong To The Unorganised Sector.

Way Ahead:

While Funding The Scheme Will Be A Challenge For The Government, Which Has Pledged To Stick To The Deficit Target, It Is Seen As One That Will Gain Broad Popular Support. The New Policy Will Be Part Of The Social Security Code, One Of

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Four Codes That The Labour Ministry Is Finalising And Will Subsume 17 Existing Items Of Legislation Governing Social Security Coverage In The Country.

Project 28

Project 28 Is A Class Of Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvettes Currently In Service With The Indian Navy.

They Are The First Anti-Submarine Warfare Stealth Corvettes To Be Built In India.

The Project Was Approved In 2003, With Construction Of The Lead Ship, INS Kamorta Commencing On 2005.

Three Of The Four Corvettes, INS Kamorta And INS Kadmatt, INS Kiltan Were Commissioned In 2014, 2016 And 2017 Respectively.

INS Kavaratti Is Under Construction And Slated To Be Completed By End Of 2017.

INS Kiltan

INS Kiltan (P30), Third Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Stealth Corvettes Built Under Project 28 (Kamorta Class) Was Recently Commissioned Into The Indian Navy.

Key Facts:

The Ship Gets Her Name From Old INS Kiltan (P79), A Petya Class ASW Ship That Served The Nation For 18 Years Before Being Decommissioned In June 1987. It Is Named After The Coral Island Belonging To The Lakshadweep Group Of Islands.

Regarded As A Very Prestigious Acquisition, INS Kiltan Is One Of The Most Potent Warships To Have Been Constructed In India.

More Than 80 % Of The Ship Is Indigenous With State Of The Art Equipment & Systems To Fight In Nuclear, Biological And Chemical (NBC) Warfare Conditions. INS Kiltan Is The First Major Warship With Superstructure Entirely Of Composite Material.

Main Features:

The Sleek And Magnificent Ship Is Propelled By Combination Of Diesel And Diesel (CODAD) Propulsion System Of Four Diesel Engines To Achieve Speeds In Excess Of 25 Knots And Has An Endurance Of Around 3,500 Nautical Miles.

The Ship Has Enhanced Stealth Features Resulting In A Reduced Radar Cross Section (RCS) Achieved By X-Form Of Hull And Superstructure Along With Optimally Sloped Surfaces.

The Very Low Under Water Acoustic Signature Makes It A Silent Killer On The Prowl. The Ships Advanced Stealth Features Make Her Less Susceptible To Detection By The Enemy And Help In Effective Employment Of Soft Kill Measure Like The Chaff.

It Is The Indigenously-Built Anti-Submarine Warfare Stealth Corvette.

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It Has Been Recently Inducted Into The Indian Navy.

It Is The Latest Indigenous Warship After Shivalik Class, Kolkata Class And Sister Ships INS Kamorta And INS Kadmatt.

It Is India's First Major Warship To Have A Superstructure Of Carbon Fibre Composite Material Resulting In Improved Stealth Features.

The Ship Derives Its Name From One Of The Islands In Aminidivi Group Of The Lak

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