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MAHITHI MONTHLY

NammaKPSC is a one stop website to cater to all the needs of young graduates aspiring to enter government/public service in Karnataka. It is the only website that provides exclusive materials related to all the exams conducted by Karnataka Public service commission (KPSC)

KPSC is a constitutional body under the Indian Constitution, which conducts exams to recruit civil servants for the state of Karnataka, starting from Group A posts like Karnataka Administrative service (KAS) and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP), Medical Officers, Judicial Officers to all other related services like Teachers, FDAs and many more as and when required.

Today there is increasing aspiration to enter the government service and walk the corridors of power has led to an increase in the competition. Further, there has been constant changes in the way exams are being conducted, making it even more challenging. This is where NammaKPSC comes in, to help the best to become better.

Our aim is to reach out to the those whose access to expensive coaching institution is limited. We keep our services free to all the aspirants to ensure that society at large will get the brightest and the best.

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Polity, History, Economy etc Important links download free material Tests for self evaluation Forum for the aspirants to interact with the

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MAHITHI MONTHLY- April 2016

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Contents

KARNATAKA STATE ISSUES Astrophysicists develop model on solar flares ..................................................................................... 5 Industries get duty exemption for captive power generation ............................................................. 5 3,000 NRIs to attend Pravasi Diwas in B'luru ....................................................................................... 6 Central govt cuts Karnataka's monthly kerosene quota by 3% ........................................................... 6 Autonomous status for Classical Kannada centre soon ....................................................................... 7 Toll payment goes electronic on 24 national highways in state .......................................................... 8 Policy for protection of kids in schools ................................................................................................. 8 Comprehensive Environment Plan for reclamation and rehabilitation of land destroyed by illegal

mining ................................................................................................................................................... 9 Govt for quota in works for SC/STs ...................................................................................................... 9 Govt takes e-route to check fake caste, income certificates ............................................................... 9 Proposed Karnataka sports policy ...................................................................................................... 10 Now, a helpline to receive complaints on surge pricing .................................................................... 11 Online farm machinery aggregators ................................................................................................... 11 Three heritage sites from Karnataka miss Unesco bus ...................................................................... 12 Mahaveer Award ................................................................................................................................ 12 Revamp of housing coop societies ..................................................................................................... 12 Solar power rates go through the roof ............................................................................................... 13 Heat wave in Karnataka ...................................................................................................................... 13 Karnataka to get state organ transplant organisation ....................................................................... 15 Technology ensures KSRTC drivers don't leave you stranded ........................................................... 16 Malnourished children in state to get Spirulina boost ....................................................................... 16 Cheaper Golden Chariot to soon run with short-haul trips ............................................................... 17 Regional consultative meet on climate change ................................................................................. 17 RDPR department to close all unauthorised bank accounts .............................................................. 17 Panels formed to study drought ......................................................................................................... 18 Suicide prevention squad at dist centres soon .................................................................................. 18 K'taka may get lion's share of funds for tiger conservation ............................................................... 18 Power crisis pushes farmers to go for solar-powered pump sets ...................................................... 19 Minister endorses Reclamation and Rehabilitation plan for Ballari .................................................. 19 Joining hands with CFTRI .................................................................................................................... 20 Special postal cover on Pilikula Nisargadhama released ................................................................... 20 Bike Taxis ............................................................................................................................................ 20 Mysuru’s drinking water is contaminated: study ............................................................................... 21 Arecanut farmers in trouble ............................................................................................................... 22 State government notifies rules for taxi aggregators ........................................................................ 22 Poor green cover in 4 dists of N-K, H-K raises red alert ..................................................................... 24 Agumbe's crisis ................................................................................................................................... 24 Karnataka High Court stays operation of new ACB ............................................................................ 25 Govt green-lights Rs 1,622-cr highway project in state ..................................................................... 25 Dandeli rated best wildlife destination .............................................................................................. 25



Question paper leak to be made a criminal offence .......................................................................... 25 Govt plans to carve out 124 new hoblis in state ................................................................................ 26 Blood Banking App .............................................................................................................................. 26 KSRTC to induct 15 Scania buses ........................................................................................................ 27 Shivamogga girl selected for SAKURA programme ............................................................................ 27 Contingency plans prepared to tackle water crisis ............................................................................ 28 State’s institutions top 3 of 4 categories ............................................................................................ 28 Govt. offices to work from 8 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. .................................................................................. 28 Create your own blood bank account ................................................................................................ 29

NATIONAL ISSUES

All you need to Know about National Court of Appeal ...................................................................... 30 Cure for high medicine bills: A generics prescription law .................................................................. 32 All new mobiles to have panic button from 2017 .............................................................................. 32 Reforms a must to boost apparel exports- WB report ....................................................................... 33 Irani’s Sanskrit request draws ire ....................................................................................................... 34 Over 200 Govt. projects hurt by time, cost overruns ......................................................................... 35 Last satellite of India’s regional navigation system launched into orbit ............................................ 36 ISRO app to protect heritage, aid architects ...................................................................................... 36 Anomolies in the 10th schedule ......................................................................................................... 37 FIPB clears FDI proposals worth Rs.13,000 crore ............................................................................... 39 Finance Ministry rolls back move to pay 8.7 per cent interest on EPF .............................................. 39 Change in DD policy comes under fire ............................................................................................... 40 Rising demand for reservation ........................................................................................................... 40 Emissions lower, but dust pollution up, finds study .......................................................................... 41 The ironies of small States .................................................................................................................. 42 Pharma exports climb 9.7 % in FY16 .................................................................................................. 44 Govt. to set up sex offenders registry ................................................................................................ 45 Banking facility soon for LoC trade ..................................................................................................... 45 New Rules to revamp Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act ........ 45 National Switch Day ............................................................................................................................ 46 Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan ................................................................................... 46 New mining exploration policy moots incentives .............................................................................. 47 Amendments in the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015 .................................................... 47 Swamy, Sidhu, Mary Kom among six nominated to RS ...................................................................... 49 SC restores President’s Rule ............................................................................................................... 49 Only 3 purity marks for gold jewellery: Govt. .................................................................................... 49 UDAY bonds fetch Rs.99,000 crore..................................................................................................... 49 Centre deploys sanitation messengers nationwide ........................................................................... 50 Rare primate sighted in Arunachal Pradesh ....................................................................................... 50 Telecom firms putting profit before service’...................................................................................... 51 Kala-azar: Samples taken from animals.............................................................................................. 51 NGT halts Tawang hydro power project ............................................................................................. 52 A misguided ban in Delhi .................................................................................................................... 53



Concern over high incidence of mad cow disease ............................................................................. 53 After Mann Ki Baat, govt. eyes cross-border charcha ........................................................................ 54 Government to introduce ‘Twitter Seva’ for start-ups ...................................................................... 55 Bank deposit growth slowed to a five-decade low in FY16................................................................ 55 To push mineral hunt, Govt. to tweak 1967 data-sharing curbs ....................................................... 55 Spot fine for open defecation, states told .......................................................................................... 56 WHO gives 2 weeks to replace problem polio vaccine ...................................................................... 56 Ground handling firms mull legal battle over aviation rules .............................................................. 57 Tap forex pool to help exporters: Ministry ........................................................................................ 57 Kerala High Court puts an end to use of high-decibel pyrotechnics .................................................. 58 Maharashtra introduces Bill against caste panchayat ....................................................................... 59 Feminisation of the aged .................................................................................................................... 60 India set for an ‘above normal’ monsoon .......................................................................................... 61 Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan .................................................................................................. 62 Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) ............................................................................................ 62 NITI Aayog plans new planning framework ........................................................................................ 64 Health cover: Too little, too scarce .................................................................................................... 64 Centre to draw up strategy for kharif season .................................................................................... 65 Centre plans model law on groundwater ........................................................................................... 65 Is the mighty Ganga drying up? .......................................................................................................... 66 India pharma industry and IPR controversy with US.......................................................................... 67 Govt. notifies new rules on waste management ............................................................................... 68 Colourful start for India’s fastest train ............................................................................................... 69 MCI chief for revival of common entrance test for medical courses ................................................. 69 Stand-up India scheme unveiled ........................................................................................................ 69 Group of joint secretaries to suggest ways to reboot flagship schemes ........................................... 70 Concurrent elections for state and centre ......................................................................................... 71 Govt. lowers freight target for ports .................................................................................................. 72 Towards restorative criminal justice .................................................................................................. 72 Centre orders probe against Indians linked to tax havens ................................................................. 76 National Institutions Ranking Framework (NIRF) ............................................................................... 76 Rail, road connectivity to top Board of Trade agenda ....................................................................... 77 For the disabled, it’s a breeze in Kamrup ........................................................................................... 78 "My Vote, My Assam" campaign ........................................................................................................ 79 Now, men too can’t enter core area in Trimbakeshwar .................................................................... 80 Private equity inflow falls ................................................................................................................... 80 NITI Aayog finalises Model Act for farm land lease ........................................................................... 81 Visa, labour mobility curbs to figure during GES April meet .............................................................. 81 New campaign to empower villages- Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan ...................................... 82 SC can’t be bypassed on inter-State disputes: Haryana ..................................................................... 83 End gender discrimination at temples, HC tells Maharashtra ........................................................... 83 One in five adults may be obese by 2025: study ................................................................................ 84 Olive Ridley turtle hatchlings released into sea ................................................................................. 85



INTERNATIONAL ISSUES India, PNG sign MoUs on IT, health .................................................................................................... 87 ‘Make in India’ not at cost of IPR: U.S. ............................................................................................... 88 Masala Bonds to Tap the UK Investor Community ............................................................................ 88 Indo-Thai Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) ............................................................................................ 89 RCEP draft moots tough curbs on cheap medicines .......................................................................... 89 Expansion of India - Chile Preferential Trade Agreement .................................................................. 90 International Solar Alliance - Ministerial meet held .......................................................................... 91 China to launch ‘core module’ for space station................................................................................ 92 India, U.S. to conclude pact on aircraft carrier cooperation .............................................................. 92 ‘Hidden’ vetoes must go, India tells U.N. ........................................................................................... 93 US Defence Secretary visit to India .................................................................................................... 93 China responds cautiously to Indo-U.S. logistics pact ........................................................................ 94 Govt. imposes anti-dumping duty on N-Butyl Alcohol ....................................................................... 94 Global Financial Stability Report by International Monetary Fund (IMF) .......................................... 94 India hands over remains of WW-II soldiers to U.S. ........................................................................... 95 India Maldives ..................................................................................................................................... 95 New front opens in war on superbugs ............................................................................................... 97 India offers to invest $20 billion in Iran .............................................................................................. 98 Pearly nautilus may get extra protection ........................................................................................... 98 ‘World Autism Awareness Day’- April 2 ............................................................................................. 99 India supports UN instrument on conservation of biodiversity ....................................................... 100 Global economy losing momentum, governments must act: IMF’s Lagarde .................................. 101 India - Saudi Arabia ........................................................................................................................... 101 West Bengal- a transit point for cross country human trafficking ................................................... 104 China to export electricity along the New Silk Road ........................................................................ 105 Syrian refugees arrive in Germany ................................................................................................... 106 ‘Indian drug firms will face challenges in U.S.’ ................................................................................. 108 Highlights of the 4th NSS ................................................................................................................... 108 Azerbaijan announces ceasefire ....................................................................................................... 109 USIBC team to push for ‘stronger’ IPRs ............................................................................................ 110 Chinese infrastructure bank eyes loans to India .............................................................................. 111



On November 4, 2015, a malfunction of the radars at Sweden’s airports grounded all of the country’s commercial flights. Similarly, on March 13, 1989 the hydroelectric transmission system in Quebec, Canada suffered a nine-hour outage. Such events are often triggered by solar flares - a sudden burst of high-energy particles and radiation from the Sun reaching the Earth.

KARNATAKA STATE ISSUES

Astrophysicists develop model on solar flares A team of astrophysicists from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) and the

University of Oslo, Norway have developed a numerical model that explains how magnetic fields from deep below the Sun’s surface can produce energetic flares in the Sun’s corona.

The team studied the behaviour of sunspots and solar flares and their findings have changed the way these phenomena are understood

The team studied a special type of sunspots called Delta sunspots that have a complex magnetic topology. They also carried out numerical simulations on super computers starting with initial conditions consisting of a thin horizontal sheet of magnetic field underneath the solar surface

Solar flares and coronal mass ejections are the main drivers of space weather in the heliosphere

What are sunspots and Solar flares? Sunspots are temporary dark spots that appear on the solar surface due to concentrations of magnetic flux. Solar flares on the other hand are sudden bursts of energy that occur when the magnetic energy that has built up in the solar atmosphere is suddenly released

Industries get duty exemption for captive power generation The state government exempted industries from paying the electricity duty on captive

generation of power for self-consumption up to 500 kilowatts. The exemption limit of the electricity duty (5 paise per unit) had been increased to

encourage more industries to generate power on their own. What is meant by Captive power generation? Captive Generating plant means a power plant set up by any person to generate electricity primarily for his or her own use and includes a power plant set up by any co-operative



Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas has been held since 2003 and it is only for the seventh time that the event is being held outside New Delhi. On earlier occasions, the meet had been held in Mumbai (2005), Hyderabad (2006), Chennai (2009), Jaipur (2012) and Kochi (2013).

The reason cited by the Centre is the glaring mismatch of figures pertaining to the number of households having LPG (domestic) connections and the number of households availing subsidised kerosene under the public distribution system (PDS) in the state.

society or association of persons for generating electricity primarily for use of members of such co-operative society or association.

3,000 NRIs to attend Pravasi Diwas in B'luru As many as 3,000 non-resident Indians (NRIs) and persons of Indian origin (PIOs) are

likely to attend the next edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas scheduled to be held in Bengaluru in January next year.

the three-day event will commence from January 7. The event is held to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community to the development of India.

On January 7, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will inaugurate an interaction programme between the youth from various parts of the world. On January 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially inaugurate the event.

Exhibitions, seminars and the issues raised by the NRIs and also interactions with various chief ministers will be held during the meet.

The state government will showcase investment opportunities in manufacturing, aerospace, information technology, industrial infrastructure, tourism among others.

Central govt cuts Karnataka's monthly kerosene quota by 3% With the Karnataka government showing reluctance to check the misuse of highly

subsidised kerosene, the Centre has started cutting the state’s kerosene quota as part of its effort to reduce the subsidy burden.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has for the first time in the recent past cut Karnataka’s monthly quota of kerosene by 3% starting April this year.

While the state-owned oil companies – IOC, BPC and HPC – have sanctioned LPG connections to 1.04 crore households, the State Food and Civil Supplies (SFCS) department claims to have been supplying kerosene under the PDS to 87 lakh non-LPG households.

But ironically, the state has 1.32 crore households as per the 2011 population census.

The SFCS department provides three litres of kerosene a month to a two-member family and five litres to families having more than three members each.

A litre of kerosene costs about Rs 42 in the open market. Beneficiaries under the PDS pay only Rs 18 per litre and the remaining Rs 24 is the subsidy component.

Though the oil ministry was aware of kerosene being misused, it was not in a position to take any action in the absence of authentic data. But now, after linking a majority of LPG connections with Aadhaar-based bank accounts, the oil companies have created a database of their consumers.



The Centre had accorded classical language status to Kannada in 2008 and the CESCK was set up in the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysuru, with a plan to translate classical Kannada texts into other Indian languages, English and select European languages.

The cloth bags made of plastic

Ever since the ban on plastic came into effect in Karnataka, retail outlets, shopkeepers and hoteliers have switched to cloth bags. But a majority of these so-called fabric bags are made of non-biodegradable material.

They are actually polypropylene bags that have a high density of plastic content and fall under the purview of the ban.

Authorities attribute their widespread usage to lack of awareness among retailers and consumers.

This could explain the newfound popularity of paper cups even though they are neither as eco-friendly as they are touted to be nor recyclable. In fact, they have a layer of plastic inserted between two layers of paper so that they can hold hot drinks, such as tea or coffee.

Many shops still use Styrofoam plates and cups, which are essentially made of thermocol, which is also banned.

The oil ministry has, therefore, taken a bold decision to reduce the kerosene quota. The ministry is also planning to bring down the quota in proportion to the actual number of non-LPG BPL families in a phased manner

Autonomous status for Classical Kannada centre soon Union Minister for Human Resource Development Smriti Irani said the Centre will take

all steps to grant autonomous status to Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Kannada (CESCK) at the earliest

After meeting a delegation comprising Union ministers and Members of Parliament from Karnataka, Kannada writers and activists, the minister told reporters that as the ministry had to follow certain norms before granting autonomous status to the CESCK, all actions were being taken to meet the demand at the earliest.

The CESCK has agreed to shift the institution from Mysuru to Bengaluru as desired by the Karnataka government.



What is RFID?

Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) is the use of radio waves to read and capture information stored on a tag attached to an object.

A tag can be read from up to several feet away and does not need to be within direct line-of-sight of the reader to be tracked.

How does a RFID system work?

A RFID system is made up of two parts: a tag or label and a reader. RFID tags or labels are embedded with a transmitter and a receiver. The RFID component on the tags have two parts: a microchip that stores and processes information, and an antenna to receive and transmit a signal. The tag contains the specific serial number for one specific object.

To read the information encoded on a tag, a two-way radio transmitter-receiver called an interrogator or reader emits a signal to the tag using an antenna. The tag responds with the information written in its memory bank. The interrogator will then transmit the read results to an RFID computer program.

Toll payment goes electronic on 24 national highways in state Toll collection has gone electronic on select

National Highways in Karnataka, thus curtailing the long queues at toll plazas.

The facility has been introduced on 24 NHs in the state where vehicles with prepaid tags can zip through the toll plazas.

The toll plazas on these highways have earmarked a separate lane for entry of vehicles with FASTag, a reloadable tag that employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for making toll payments directly from the prepaid account linked to it.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which has introduced e-tolling in 275 toll plazas across the country, has roped in ICICI and Axis Bank, to sell FASTags (stickers with embedded details). These tags have to be stuck on the windshields of vehicles. These tags could be used for all categories, kinds, makes and types of vehicles.

Online recharge of tags is also being done SMS alerts for toll transactions, low balance

etc, are also sent to the purchasers. The validity of the tag is five years and the users will get 10% of toll payments as cashback incentive.

The electronic mode of toll payment is voluntary at present. However, it may be made mandatory in future at some locations to make management of toll plazas easier, according to the NHAI.

A vehicle with the tag may use any lane at toll plaza by making cash payment. Vehicles without valid tag entering the FASTag lane will be charged double the applicable toll amount in cash.

Policy for protection of kids in schools The State Cabinet gave its nod to Karnataka

State Child Protection Policy, 2016, which recommends preventive and corrective measures to ensure that children are not subjected to physical or mental abuse in schools.



The policy suggests that there should be a child-centric approach to make schools safer.

It also proposes designated roles for school management, parents, teachers and other stakeholders.

The policy makes it mandatory that every school should have a child protection committee

It seeks a commitment and responsibility on the part of the school management to ensure the safety of children on the school premises. It puts in place a mechanism for monitoring and review of the implementation of the child protection standards

Comprehensive Environment Plan for reclamation and rehabilitation of land destroyed by illegal mining

The Cabinet gave its nod for submission of a Rs 7,000-crore Comprehensive Environment Plan for reclamation and rehabilitation of land destroyed by illegal mining in Ballari, Chitradurga and Tumakuru districts to the Supreme Court.

The plan was prepared in consultation with the Centrally Empowered Committee (CEC) following a direction by the Apex Court

Rs 7,000 crore has already been pooled in by the government by earmarking 10% of the total sale proceeds from the iron ore sold through e-auction, royalty and fines col-lected from mining companies and auctioning of mining pits.

Govt for quota in works for SC/STs The state Cabinet decided to reserve a certain percentage of work for the Scheduled

Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/sts) in the tendering process of the various government departments.

A suitable amendment to the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act, 1999, would be brought in to provide reservation to the SC/sts in tenders below Rs 50 lakh.

As much as 17.15% of the tenders would be reserved for the scs and 6.95% for the sts. The percentage figures were arrived at based on the population of the two communities.

These works would be directly allotted to the SC/STs and they would not have to go through the tendering process. The only clause is that the work should not exceed Rs 50 lakh.

Govt takes e-route to check fake caste, income certificates The state government has taken the e-way to put a check on students who furnish

fictitious caste and income certificates while seeking admission to professional courses.

The government has recently integrated the atalji janasnehi kendra’s software with that of the karnataka examination authority (kea), enabling online verification of caste and income certificates.

The kea can access soft copies of caste and income certificates issued in any of the 900 atalji janasnehi kendra across the state.

Students who will be appearing for CET this year need not produce hard copies of caste and income certificates. Instead, they can furnish only the unique numbers assigned to each of these certificates. The move will go a long way in preventing people from hoodwinking the authorities by submitting fictitious caste and income certificates



Its a unique sports policy as all aspects of sports right from sports for citizen, children, sports infrastructure to outlining a road map for sports in Karnataka till 2030

The revenue department, under which atalji janasnehi kendras (also called nadakacheris) function, introduced online system for obtaining important documents, including caste and income certificates, issued at atalji kendras.

One can apply seeking these certificates and take print outs of these certificates after the approval online. The department receives close to 1 crore applications every year seeking caste and income certificates.

Residence certificate, domicile certificate, land less certificate, non-creamy-layer certificate and living certificate are some of the documents issued at atalji kendras.

This apart, the revenue department is now working with the social welfare department for creating a similar system: integration of atalji kendra software with that of the social welfare department’s.

It will help the department to verify the authenticity of caste and income certificates furnished by the students to avail scholarships.

Official sources in the social welfare department said a random verification of documents conducted by the department recently in kolar district, revealed that about 40% of income certificates submitted by the students were not valid.

Validity of these certificates had expired (income certificates will be valid for five years). There is a likelihood of some students having misused the scholarship scheme. Integration of software will prevent such misuse

Proposed Karnataka sports policy The Karnataka Knowledge Commission (KKC) has submitted a Sports Policy to the state government covering a wide gamut of aspects including sports for all and a long-term road map for the state to emerge as a major sports destination. KKC had constituted a 18-member task force co-chaired by eminent sports personalities such as Prakash Padukone and Rahul Dravid to prepare the policy. What does the policy say:

1. Promote sports in schools 2. Encourage decentralised competitions and

hunt for talent 3. Action plan for motivating sports excellence 4. Rewarding sports achievers 5. Building sporting institutions and facilities 6. Suggested that physical education be

implemented as a compulsory subject in the syllabus of every public school across the state.

7. All children in the state aged between 6 and 14 years have to be involved in at least half- hour a day of organised physical activity/sport.

8. The government constitute “karnataka kreeda aayoga,” an empowered statutory institution, comprising representatives from government, sports and civil society to examine, monitor issues of sports in the state.

9. A goal that athletes training in karnataka win at least 4 gold medals at the olympics and the state be regularly placed within the top 3 (in terms of medal tally) at every edition of the national games.

10. A multi-sports competition should be organised in every taluk headquarters every quarter.



11. Every taluk and town municipality need to have one active community sports centre and every district at least one sports career counselling and information cell

12. The number of qualified sports coaches in Karnataka needs to be increased ten-fold to at least 1,000 by 2030

The KKC has calculated that the government will have to set aside Rs 660 crore for the next three years to implement all the suggestions made in the policy.

Now, a helpline to receive complaints on surge pricing In an attempt to take action against aggregators who are getting customers to shell out

over-the-top surcharges, the transport department will launch a helpline that will take note of customer complaints, following which action will be taken against the aggregator.

At worst, this could include suspension of the aggregator’s licence.

Such strong action against private app-based operators has become possible after services like Ola and Uber came forward this week to register with the department under the Karnataka On Demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules, 2016.

The department has been receiving several complaints from citizens who have been forced to pay surge prices up to five times the normal fare.

However, the only complaints that will be taken up will be those in which the customer has been charged more than the maximum rate fixed by the government.

This is currently fixed at Rs. 80 for 4 km and Rs. 19.5 per km after. What does this mean? The aggregators can offer a low per kilometre rate and increase this by two or three times during surge timings taking the total money paid up to Rs. 18 per km, which would still be below the fixed rate.

Online farm machinery aggregators Karnataka farmers will soon be able to hire farm machinery using their mobile phones,

just like urban residents book taxis. This online aggregation method for farm machinery is to help tackle shortage of labour

and to ensure optimum use of equipment owned by farmers. Farm machinery owned by some farmers can be made readily available on rent to

those who do not own them, especially in the wake of mechanisation becoming a key factor that can reduce cost of labour

Labour accounts for 38 to 40 per cent of the total production cost for most of the prominent crops. On the other hand, farm mechanisation for certain crops, including ragi, has shown that it is possible to increase revenues by reducing production cost.

While it is not economically feasible for small farmers to own tractors or harvesters, big farmers who own them do not need them round the clock. At the same time, big farmers are keen on renting out their costly machinery

It will encourage rich farmers to buy farm machinery and register it for hire as an investment option. This would help fight shortage of farm equipment

In a bid to have an in-depth understanding of the issue, Karnataka Agriculture Price Commission has also enlisted the University of Agricultural Sciences-Bengaluru to



Which are the heritage site?

Monuments of Srirangapatna Island Town; Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala (Belur and Halebid); Monuments and Forts of Deccan Sultanate (Bidar, Vijayapura, Kalaburagi), were included in the Unesco’s tentative list on April 15, 2014.

Why?

The government had proposed the amendments following complaints from the members of delay in allotment of sites by societies. There were also complaints pertaining to irregularities and allotment of sites to non-members.

assess the requirement of different farm machinery by farmers, while the UAS-Raichur has been commissioned to study the pros and cons of custom-hiring of farm machinery.

Three heritage sites from Karnataka miss Unesco bus The three heritage sites in Karnataka that could

have made it to the final list of the Unesco World Heritage List nominations have missed the bus this year.

In March, 2015, the state government had announced Rs three crore in its budget for preparation of the nomination dossiers for all three, so that they could be added to the final list by the Centre in 2016

However, politics and blame game in the state Heritage and Archaeology department have led to delays and impediments, it is said. As a result, the three sites will not be part of the final list during this year's Unesco meet in Istanbul in July

Mahaveer Award The state government has decided to institute the Mahaveer Award from next year

onwards The Mahaveer Award for individuals who have contributed to the welfare of society The Mahaveer Award for 2016 was presented to Sudha Murty, chairperson of Infosys

Foundation. In her absence, her husband Narayan Murthy collected the award

Revamp of housing coop societies The state government’s proposal to usher in

reforms in the functioning of housing cooperative societies is likely to be delayed for sometime.

The proposal to amend the Karnataka Co-operative Societies Act, 1959, with provisions to fix a deadline for distribution of sites and bring in transparency in their operations, has now been referred to the law department to ensure it does not clash or overlap with the provisions of the Real Estate Act passed by Parliament recently.

The state amendments proposed to make it mandatory for all housing co-operative societies to develop and allot sites within two years to a member who has applied for a site. If sites are not allotted on time, the societies will have to pay interest on the deposits collected from the members. It also proposed to initiate criminal action against authorities of societies who indulge in maladministration and misappropriate of funds.

At the same time, the cooperation department recommended to the revenue department to amend Section 109 of the Land Reforms Act, 1961, to allow housing cooperative societies to purchase land directly from farmers.



Solar power rates go through the roof With the cost of rooftop solar power exceeding the present market rate, the

government has stopped signing tripartite pacts for solar energy with industry. It will now get into pacts only with households, provided they generate power only for

their consumption The government initially wanted to promote renewable energy and allowed building

owners, financiers and escoms to sign tripartite agreements. The price fixed by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) for one

unit of solar power is Rs 9.56 for those who have not availed subsidy and Rs 7.20 a unit for those who have availed subsidy.

However, in the last two years, the cost of solar power in the open market has drastically declined to under Rs 5 a unit.

The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), which is executing a 2,000 MW solar park at Pavagada in Tumakuru district, has quoted Rs 4.65 a unit while it is Rs 4.34 a unit in the recent tenders in Rajasthan

The KERC is now likely to announce a revised solar power tariff, which could be less than Rs 5 a unit, on April 20. It will also come up with the gross metering concept where the entire power generated on a rooftop can be sold to the grid.

Under the net metering concept, the power generated is used by the installer while the excess power is sold to the grid.

According to the new order, no domestic rooftop installation can sell power to the grid as it is restricted to their installed capacity. This is being done to discourage people from investing in rooftop panels for households

Heat wave in Karnataka The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre has forecast heat wave

conditions across the state. In order to ensure there are no casualties due to sun strokes, the centre has urged

people to start their day early and stay indoors at noon. Normally, such a warning is issued for the northern Karnataka regions, where

temperatures soar above 42 degree Celsius during summer. But this year, it is being done across the state, including Bengaluru and other parts of interior and coastal Karnataka.

Awareness programmes To ensure that there are no casualties this year, the team is educating the people, including the government officials across the state, to start their day early by 8 am and take a break by staying indoors from 12.30 pm to 4 pm, as the temperatures during this time are high.

The Disaster Monitoring Centre has forecast that the temperatures could rise above 44 degrees Celsius in most parts of north Karnataka and will be 2-3 degrees higher than normal in most parts of the state

Cases of deaths due to heat wave conditions are mostly reported in Bidar, Kalaburagi, Raichur, Vijayapura and Ballari. There are occasional cases of casualties from central Karnataka.

The extreme weather is fuelled by El Nino



Know All about Heat Wave.....

A Heat Wave is a period of abnormally high temperatures, more than the normal maximum temperature that occurs during the summer season in the North-Western parts of India.

Heat Waves typically occur between March and June, and in some rare cases even extend till July. The extreme temperatures and resultant atmospheric conditions adversely affect people living in these regions as they cause physiological stress, sometimes resulting in death.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has given the following criteria for Heat Waves :

Heat Wave need not be considered till maximum temperature of a station reaches atleast 40*C for Plains and atleast 30*C for Hilly regions

When normal maximum temperature of a station is less than or equal to 40*C Heat Wave Departure from normal is 5*C to 6*C Severe Heat Wave Departure from normal is 7*C or more

When normal maximum temperature of a station is more than 40*C Heat Wave Departure from normal is 4*C to 5*C Severe Heat Wave Departure from normal is 6*C or more

When actual maximum temperature remains 45*C or more irrespective of normal maximum temperature, heat waves should be declared. Higher daily peak temperatures and longer, more intense heat waves are becomingly increasingly frequent globally due to climate change. India too is feeling the impact of climate change in terms of increased instances of heat waves which are more intense in nature with each passing year, and have a devastating impact on human health thereby increasing the number of heat wave casualties.

Higher daily peak temperatures and longer, more intense heat waves are becomingly increasingly frequent globally due to climate change. India too is feeling the impact of climate change in terms of increased instances of heat waves which are more intense in nature with each passing year, and have a devastating impact on human health thereby increasing the number of heat wave casualties.

Health Impacts of Heat Waves

The health impacts of Heat Waves typically involve dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and/or heat stroke. The signs and symptoms are as follows:

Heat Cramps: Ederna (swelling) and Syncope (Fainting) generally accompanied by fever below 39*C i.e.102*F.

Heat Exhaustion: Fatigue, weakness, dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps and sweating.

Heat Stoke: Body temperatures of 40*C i.e. 104*F or more along with delirium, seizures or coma. This is a potential fatal condition



Do you know about Jeeva Sarthakathe?

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had announced in the recent budget that the Zonal Coordination Committee of Karnataka for Transplantation (ZCCK) would be renamed Jeeva Sarthakathe, an organ donation facilitation cell.

Probable Interview Question:

As a District In charge what Emergency response should be taken in Heat wave situation?

A warning is issued by the India Meteorology Department (IMD) about the heatwave conditions

Emergency response mechanisms will be alerted The State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) issues an advisory to the State

Police Chief, Director General of Fire and Rescue Services, Labour Commissioner, Director of Health Services, and District Collectors recommending precautionary measures to be adopted.

The advisory called for alert messages to be issued to hospitals, ambulance networks, anganwadis, public health centres, and workplaces in the wake of the severe weather warning.

Water and ORS are to be stocked at these places labourers may be exempted from working in the open sunlight from 11 a.m. to 3

p.m. to avoid sunstroke or sunburn. All workplaces, hospitals, anganwadis, and PHCs will be asked to ensure cool

drinking water and ORS packets to handle any contingency and directions issued to rush victims of sunstroke to the nearest hospital for further care.

The public are urged to avoid travel in open sunlight between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Karnataka to get state organ transplant organisation State Organ and Tissue Transplant

Organisation (SOTTO), which will function under the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) will be set up in Bangalore

This is one of the changes being considered in the wake of the guidelines issued by the Union government that each state have a SOTTO.

Karnataka will fall under Chennai, which has been chosen to have the Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation in the South.

Besides Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep will come under Tamil Nadu.

These changes are aimed at facilitating better co-ordination between the state governments and at the national level as far as organ and tissue transplantation are concerned



Spirulina is a cyanobacterium (blue-green algae) that can be consumed by humans and other animals. There are two species, Arthrospira platensis and Arthrospira maxima.

Arthrospira is cultivated worldwide; used as a dietary supplement as well as a whole food; and is also available in tablet, flake and powder form. It is also used as a feed supplement in the aquaculture, aquarium and poultry industries.

Technology ensures KSRTC drivers don't leave you stranded The new vehicle monitoring units (VMU) installed on around 2,000 Karnataka State

Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses has been able to clamp down on state transport bus crew leaving passengers stranded by deviating from designated routes and skipping stops

VMU, with a GPS, records details like the route the bus has taken and the time taken. It is also equipped with a technology that shows how the driver drives like excess use of the throttle.

Based on evidence recorded in the VMU, a driver was also suspended for skipping a stop, sending a strong message to errant drivers.

This incident made them realise that they cannot lie to higher-ups since they are under constant surveillance. The technology is a boon to women passengers, who can rest assured they will be dropped off at the designated stops

Malnourished children in state to get Spirulina boost The Department of Women and Child

Development has launched a dietary supplement programme for anganwadi children in Karnataka claiming that the initiatives carried out by three major corporates had yielded positive results in addressing malnutrition.

As announced in the state budget, the department has decided to administer Spirulina to severely malnutritioned anganwadi children in the state. The plant-based dietary supplement will be supplied to the children in sugar-coated granular form.

According to the department’s data, there are 23,295 “severely malnutritioned” children. But, it has set aside a budget of Rs 3.6 crore for administering Spirulina to 25,000 children.

It will be administering two grams of Spirulina per day per child for 180 days, as recommended by JSW Foundation.

In its concept note, the department has stated that the pilot programme carried out by it, in association with JSW Foundation in Sandur taluk in Ballari, has brought down malnutrition levels from 33 per cent to eight per cent. Following this, a decision was taken to supply Spirulina to all the districts in Karnataka.

It has to carry out extensive IEC (information, education and communication) campaigns to convince the parents of these children about administering Spirulina.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanobacteria

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthrospira



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_supplement

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_food

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fodder

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaculture

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquarium

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poultry

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poultry



Luxury Trains of India

Royal Rajasthan on Wheels. Palace on Wheels. Maharaja's Express. Deccan Odyssey The Golden Chariot

The Golden Chariot is a luxury tourist train that connects the important tourist spots in the states of Karnataka, Kerala, Goa, TamilNadu and Puducherry. It is named after the Stone Chariot in the Vitthala Temple at Hampi.

11 coaches that are named after dynasties that ruled the region:

Kadamba, Hoysala, Rashtrakuta, Ganga, Chalukya, Bahamani, AdilShahi, Sangama, Satavahana, Yadukula and Vijayanagar.

Cheaper Golden Chariot to soon run with short-haul trips The tourism department has decided to

slash fares, increase its frequency and introduce a number of short hauls to put the train back on tracks.

These shorts hauls are being planned between the Pride of South or Southern Splendour packages.

The department aims to introduce these services from October and will seek permission from railways

An official explained that the Golden Chariot was hit when railways hiked haulage charges.

According to the initial contract, haulage charges were based on profit sharing and seasons.

But for the last three years, fixed haulage charges of Rs 43 lakh have been levied. In 2015-16 (from October to March) the train made 10 trips and earned Rs 494 lakh and in 2014-15, it made 11 trips for a revenue of Rs 547 lakh.

Normally, the train makes 17 trips but it was brought down to 12 because of high haulage charges.

Regional consultative meet on climate change A regional consultative meeting on climate change organised jointly by MoEF and

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) was held in bangalore Representatives from various state governments and union territories like Karnataka,

Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Puducherry attended the meeting.

The state one of the most vulnerable to climate change as nearly 50 % areas are drought prone and 70 % of agricultural activities depend on rainfall.

RDPR department to close all unauthorised bank accounts More than one and a half years after the unauthorised parking of funds coming to light,

the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj department has initiated steps to close all unauthorised bank accounts.

The RD&PR department has recently submitted a proposal to the government seeking its permission to operate all schemes pertaining to the controversial Rural Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation (RDWSS) department, which functions under the RD&PR department, through the state Treasury.

Unauthorised accounts opened in nationalised banks, co-operative societies and grameena banks to park funds meant for rural drinking water schemes are proposed to be closed.

The money deposited in those accounts (bank accounts opened unauthorisedly) will be utilised after the completion of auditing work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Chariot

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourist_train

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourist_train

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karnataka

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerala

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_Nadu

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puducherry

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puducherry

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hampi8.JPG

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hampi8.JPG

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vitthala_Temple&action=edit&redlink=1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kadamba_Dynasty

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoysala

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashtrakuta

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Ganga_Dynasty

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalukya

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalukya

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahamani

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adil_Shahi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sangama_Dynasty

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satavahana

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satavahana

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yadukula&action=edit&redlink=1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vijayanagara_Empire



Did you know?

Karnataka has the highest tiger population in India. The following Protected Areas have been recognized as Tiger Reserve in Karnataka during the following years:

1. Bandipur National Park (in 1973)

2. Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary (in 1998)

3. Nagarhole National Park (in 2000)

4. Anshi National Park – Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary (in 2006)

5. BRT Wildlife Sanctuary (in 2011)

As per the final report of Punati Sridhar Committee, set up to look into the unauthorised parking of funds in the RD&PR department, a whopping Rs 1,335.89 crore meant for various schemes were deposited in 1,128 bank accounts over the years against the norms.

Funds pertaining to both the state schemes and the Centre-sponsored schemes were deposited in these accounts.

The unauthorised parking of funds had badly affected the implementation of the rural water supply scheme such as the multi-village scheme and installation of water purification plants at places where groundwater was contaminated.

Though the committee had stated in its report that parking of funds meant for a scheme in more than one bank account was illegal, it was silent on those involved in the illegal act and reasons for depositing such a huge sum of money in various banks.

As the Punati Sridhar Committee has revealed that the department had submitted false utilisation certificates to the Centre to get fresh grants

Panels formed to study drought The state government constituted four cabinet sub-committees comprising ministers

and senior officers ahead of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s review of the drought situation between April 15 and 30.

The committees have been divided according to revenue divisions. The committee members are required to visit the respective districts and furnish

reports by April 30.

Suicide prevention squad at dist centres soon State government has decided to set up suicide prevention squad in all district centres Each squad will be provided Rs 1 lakh along with a telephone connection, helpline

number and a psychiatrist. NGOs can set up the squads too. The squad set up in Bengaluru on an experimental basis had received 3,680 calls. Of

these, 2,700 calls were pertaining to mental health. As many as 2,100 calls were related to suicide

The task force has recommended to the state government for compulsory sex education at high school level. The syllabus for the same is being prepared at Nimhans.

K'taka may get lion's share of funds for tiger conservation

The Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change increased the funding from Rs 180 crore to Rs 380 crore. Add to it the 40% stakeholder funding, it will be increased to Rs 500 crore.

The funds will be divided among 49 tiger reserves across India, based on the tiger reserve area and tiger population

The funds will be used to increase the area to mitigate conflicts, strengthen tiger and elephant corridors and buy land to increase forest cover.



Do you know about Surya Raitha Scheme?

Allows farmers to set up small solar power plants in their farms and sell electricity at the tariff fixed by Karnataka Energy Regulatory Commission.

Government will also supply solar pump sets at subsidized prices to overcome the power crisis being faced by farmers due to a huge gap in demand and supply

The farmers will be allowed to sell surplus power generated in their farms at the rate of Rs. 9.56 per unit to ESCOMS (Electricity Supply Companies) without subsidy

These are vital to increase the tiger density in the state. At present, tiger density is 18 tigers per 100 sq km in Bandipur and Nagarhole. Stress will also be laid on habitat improvement

As per the latest Tiger Census report, Karnataka houses 406 tigers of the 2,226 in India. The Western Ghats stretch, in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Goa, now houses 776 tigers; making it the richest and most densely tiger-populated landscape globally.

Power crisis pushes farmers to go for solar-powered pump sets Farmers, looking at ways to skirt the daily

worry of frequent power cuts and fluctuations in fuel prices, are showing interest in installing solar photovoltaic (PV) water pumps for irrigation in north Karnataka.

With the installation of 388 PV pumps in 2015-16, the State has achieved more than 50 per cent of the country’s target of 700 PV pumps for the year. Many farmers use it to get water from wells, rivers, and canals in Belagavi, Vijayapura and Bagalkot districts, though the region is reeling under drought.

With more number of sunny days in the year, north Karnataka farmers can tap solar energy to the maximum by installing PV sets and by availing loans from banks, officials said.

The NABARD provides 50 per cent of subsidy to farmers to install solar PV pumps. The cost of five HP pumps is around Rs. 5 lakh. The subsidy amount is released to the bank where farmers apply for loans to set up the pumps. The scheme is financed by commercial banks, rural regional banks, and district credit cooperative banks. Though loans vary with each bank, cooperative banks charge around 3 per cent on loans. The repayment period is nine years

The subsidy amount is available only for solar systems that are procured from the Ministry of New Renewable Energy’s empanelled manufacturers/entrepreneurs.

Minister endorses Reclamation and Rehabilitation plan for Ballari Minister of State for Mines and Geology endorsed the already prepared Rs. 4,500 crore

Reclamation and Rehabilitation (R&R) plan for Ballari district The R&R plan was prepared by the district administration as per the directions of the

Supreme Court, according priority to improve the infrastructure facilities in the health, education, communication and transportation sectors, improving the water quality, restoration of forest, ecology and environment among other things in the areas that were ravaged by mining activities in the district.

The Karnataka Mining Environment Restoration Corporation, to act as Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), will be implementing it over the period of next five years.

The R&R plan, which has been prepared in consultation with the legislators, will be posed before the Cabinet on April 20 for its approval before forwarding it to the



Supreme court appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) for its green signal to go ahead with its implementation.

Rs. 7,000 crore (being 10 percent of sales proceeds of iron ore sold through e-auction in three districts of Ballari, Tumkuru and Chitradurga) was being utilised for the R&R plan.

Joining hands with CFTRI The Raitha Mitra Farmers’ Producers Company Ltd. has spread its wings by joining

hands with the country’s premier food laboratory, the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) in Mysuru, for research and promotion of seeds grown by farmers.

CFTRI and Raitha Mitra recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Nutriplanet Foods Private Ltd. for a collaborative effort to explore the scientific progress in nutraceuticals and taking up research in the field.

While Raitha Mitra will supply the seeds of Chia and Quinoa, high-energy foods, to Nutriplanet Foods, CFTRI will transfer technology it developed for the preparation of high energy foods to the firm.

The CFTRI had introduced “super foods” Chia, Quinoa and Teff, which are imported varieties, among the farmers in Mysuru, considering their energy value. The Raitha Mitra consequently encouraged farmers to cultivate Chia in Mysuru and other districts

Special postal cover on Pilikula Nisargadhama released The Department of Posts released a special cover on Dr. Shivaram Karanth Pilikula

Nisargadhama to commemorate the 20 years of the nisargadhama. The cover released in the office of the Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim showed the

traditional ‘guttu mane’ (traditional manor house) in the nisargadhama in the front side.

Components: On the back, there is brief description about the nisargadhama and its various

components – in English and Hindi along with the licence number issued by Karnataka Postal Circle, Bengaluru.

The nisargadhama, located 10 km away from the city, is spread over an area of 356 acres and dedicated to conservation of bio-diversity of the Western Ghats, heritage and culture, creation of awareness in science and technology and promotion of tourism.

Bike Taxis Bike taxis are being termed illegal because private vehicles with white board

registration plates are being used for a commercial purpose. Bengaluru was the second city, after Bangkok in Thailand, where Uber introduced a

bike taxi service. But it was stopped in March after bike taxis were seized. The service was re-launched

as a pilot with Uber announcing that it would not charge a commission for providing the service.

The department termed this too as illegal. However, some aggregators continue to run these services.

Bike taxis reduce commute time as well as cost. Considering how congested the city’s traffic is, there needs to be as many options as possible



Artificial ripening of fruits

Artificial ripening of fruits, including mango, banana and others, is harmful to health.

Apples are coated with wax to enhance their shelf life. Paraffin wax, bee wax and carnauba wax are coated on the imported apples.

Chemical dyes and saccharin are injected into fruits like watermelon to enhance the colour and sweetness.

Usually, mangoes are ripened using calcium carbide and such fruits taste sour since the pulp will remain unripe.

Hopcoms in Mysuru get bananas seasoned in the ripening chamber using ethylene gas.

Mysuru’s drinking water is contaminated: study A study has revealed that the drinking water supplied to Mysuru and surrounding

regions is chemically contaminated. The study, undertaken by the city-based

National Institute of Engineering (NIE), indicated that the drinking water sources were contaminated with the chemical phthalate, which is detrimental to ones health in the long run.

Groundwater contamination was also observed owing to the seeping in of domestic sewage in many places, including borewells near open drains.

The groundwater in industrial zones of Mysuru was found to be contaminated with a variety of chemicals of which phthalates are extensively used in formulations of pesticides and plastics.

The two-year study on water quality in general and phthalate contamination in particular was carried out by postgraduate students and two faculty members of the Department of Civil Engineering at NIE, with funding from the Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP), a World Bank–MHRD initiative, according to G.L. Shekar, principal, NIE. Water samples were collected from surface and groundwater sources within Mysuru city. The sample locations included residential areas of Kuvempunagar and Gokulam, and commercial areas such as Irwin Road and Hootagalli industrial areas. In addition, water samples were also collected from the Kabini and Cauvery, the two main surface sources of drinking water to Mysuru city.

Initial extraction of analyte (substance for testing) was done at the Environmental Engineering Laboratory at NIE and further analysis was carried out at a reputed research institute in Bengaluru, according to K.C. Manjunath and M.S. Kanchana, who led the study.



Arecanut farmers in trouble Arecanut growing belts in Karnataka and Kerala are experiencing significant rise in

temperature since March which can result in reduced fruit set and shedding of premature nuts

Crop plants are highly sensitive to increased fluctuation in temperature during reproductive phase. Increase in maximum temperature decreases the photosynthesis and reduces pollen germination. This results in reduced fruit set and shedding.

Apart from this, there was severe incidence of inflorescence dieback (8 per cent to 16 per cent) in five districts of Karnataka. This disease is caused by the fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides . It induces shedding of buttons.

The Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), headquartered in Kasaragod in Kerala, has asked farmers to maintain optimum moisture in the arecanut gardens through irrigation.

It has also advised for mulching the garden to reduce evaporation losses.

State government notifies rules for taxi aggregators Current rules for taxi aggregators makes it mandatory for them to sign up with the

Transport Department and provide details of vehicles attached to them. The Karnataka On-demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules,

2016 was made into a law almost a month and half after it was notified inviting public objections.

What law says 1. The law requires aggregators to maintain digital records of every driver and trip

besides details of passengers. 2. A complete list of drivers with vehicle documents must also be provided to the

Transport Department on a quarterly basis. 3. Aggregators can also charge a maximum rate fixed by the government inclusive of surge

pricing which cannot cross the set fares at any time. 4. While the rules do not address surge pricing directly, the cap on fares at 19.50 Rs/km

with a minimum charge of Rs 80 for 4 km effectively means that aggregators cannot charge more than the fixed rates under any circumstances.

5. According to the rules, the fare currently decided by the government is inclusive of ‘any other charges’. Aggregators routinely charge up to Re 1 a minute from customers over and above the per km fare as a charge for using the vehicle. These charges increase during times of surge pricing along with the minimum fare and the per km fare.

6. Also make the installation of a tamper-proof meter mandatory. Fares can be collected from the customers based only on these meters and this part has drivers confused.

7. Fare shall be charged only from the point of boarding to the point of releasing taxi by the passenger

8. Licensee to ensure that the antecedents of every driver of the taxi is verified by the police authorities before the driver is allowed to use the licensee’s platform

9. Licensee to send photo of the driver along with vehicle details to customer’s mobile before boarding

10. Driver of the taxi shall not have been convicted within the past seven years for any cognizable offence under the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973



Anthropology Optional.... Let us go back to the forests, demands Hakki-Pikki tribe....

Taking serious exception to registering a case under the Explosive Substances Act, 1908, against 22 tribe members, Hakki-Pikki people of Angadihalli in Belur taluk have urged the State government to send them back to the forests.

Who are Hakki-Pikki people?

The tribal community, a nomadic tribe, was provided shelter at Angadihalli in early 1960s.

During the time of rehabilitation, around 42 families were granted land. In the last 50 years, the number of families has increased, but the quantity of land

remained same. Now, hundreds of tribal families do not have land even to bury their dead.

The Hakkipikki tribes are said to be semi nomadic and the tribe has four clan divisions namely the Gujratia, Kaliwala, Mewara and Panwara. Among these clans Gujratia is considered as being the highest status clan whereas Mewara is considered as the lowest one.

As far as the languages are concerned, these Hakkipikki tribal communities converse with each other in the beautiful dialect of the language of Gujaratia.

The origin of these Hakkipikki tribal communities also has got a rich history behind it. As per the records of the anthropologist of the Indian subcontinent, the Hakkipikki tribal community has claimed to establish relation with the legendary Ranapratap Singh.

Further, it has been said that this Hakkipikki tribal community is a Kshatriya or warrior tribal community who had to migrate downwards towards the southern part after being defeated by the famous Mughal kings.

In order to sustain their livelihood, these Hakkipikki tribal communities have taken up occupations like hunting. In fact it has been said that the unique name of the community is Padi Rajputh or Melshikari, as this Hakkipikki tribal community have developed expertise in hunting airborne creatures.

For some inquisitive reason, the name Hakkipikki was assigned to the community and has remained with it since then. In fact, in the official documents, the community has been recorded as Hakkipikki. The Hikkipikki tribes are well conversant in their local dialect Vahgri, Kannada, Tamil and Hindi and some also speak Malayalam and Telugu languages.

Following the tradition of most of the nomadic tribal communities, these Hakkipikki tribal communities too follow the rules of matriarchy.

When the male member of the Hakkipikki family is out for most part of the year, a woman of the Hakkipikki tribal community maintains the family.

Many of the Hakkipikki tribal community women also take a trip selling beads. Hakkipikki females in general execute skillful jobs like polishing beads, organizing decorative flowers and vases amongst the tribal communities.

Religion has got an ardent faith in the numerous gods and goddesses. Every clan of the community has their own deities and marriage of the worshippers of the same deity is strictly prohibited.

Amongst the numerous deities these Hakkipikki tribal community is the ardent followers of the Goddess Chamundeshwari. They consider 'Dadaji' as their supreme God.

Apart from these gods, they worship Jogan, Vikhli, Nokor, and Dugao-Kalka. They are considered as believers of Hindu religion and apart from these their religious beliefs encompass some other religious beliefs, rituals and ceremonies, rites etc.



Deforestation, encroachment of forest land for agriculture and unscientific afforestation with acacia trees are said to be the major reasons.

Despite receiving an average 6,500 mm of rainfall in the last five years, Agumbe is not able to hold water because of deforestation

The land has lost its seeping capacity. And to top it, the Forest department has been planting acacia trees, which consume nearly four to five times more water than a native tree.

Experts say these trees not only lead to depletion in groundwater but also affect the health of the soil.

Poor green cover in 4 dists of N-K, H-K raises red alert North Karnataka in general and Hyderabad Karnataka in particular appear to be

heading for a severe environmental crisis due to fast depletion of forests with 11 districts having forest cover less than 10%.

But the more alarming situation is in four districts - Koppal, Raichur, Bidar of H-K region and Vijayapura of Mumbai Karnataka region, which have a forest cover of less than 1%.

Vijayapura is the least or almost no forest district with a coverage of 0.11%. The other poor districts are: Koppal-0.19%, Raichur-0.35% and Bidar-0.99%.

Kalaburagi (including Yadgir) comes next with a forest cover of 1.82%. The ideal forest cover of a district as prescribed by the National Forest Police is 33% of

its geographical area. Karnataka’s forest cover is 18.84% as per the Forest Survey of India report for 2014,

but as per the annual report of the state forest department for 2014-15, it is 22.61%. The other districts of North Karnataka having less than 10 per cent forest cover are:

Gadag-2.62, Bagalkot-3.04, Belagavi- 8.16, Haveri-8.27, Dharwad-9.04 and Ballari-9.15. Only five districts have less than 10% forest cover. They are: Chitradurga-4.95,

Tumakuru-5.21, Kolar (including Chikkaballapur)-6.15, Mandya-6.21 and Bengaluru Urban-6.85.

Increased deforestation and degradation of environmental resources have serious implications for production and resilience of the ecosystem. Apart from the unabated general deforestation, what is causing more concern is the qualitative degradation of natural forest stock

Agumbe's crisis Agumbe, which was considered the Cherrapunji of South India not so long ago for its record

rainfall, is not only receiving less rainfall during monsoon now, but is also staring at a water crisis during summer in the last three to four years

Cherrapunji, at one time, held the record for the highest rainfall in India.

According to the statistics from the meteorological department, the average annual rainfall at Agumbe has been 8,000 mm.

In 1962, it recorded 11,343 mm, the highest in the last 53 years.

However, in 2015, the Agumbe station recorded only 5,000 mm of rainfall, the lowest ever in the area.

Agumbe, which is part of the Western Ghats, plays a vital role in maintaining the balance of bio-diversity in entire South India.

“The Western Ghats, which constitute only 5% of the total Indian landscape, ensure not only water security, but also food security.

Several villages around Agumbe are facing a water crisis The state government imposed a ban on the plantation of

acacia and eucalyptus in forest land in 2011 for their harmful qualities. Yet, Vaanathi’s department has planted these saplings this year, too.



Karnataka High Court stays operation of new ACB In a setback to the Congress government in the state, the Karnataka High Court today

stayed the operation of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, saying the corruption cases being probed by Lokayukta and pending sanction for prosecution should not be transferred to the newly-formed investigation agency.

The bench also said any action initiated by ACB would be subject to the result of the PIL filed before the Court.

The petitioner, in his PIL, challenged the validity of creation of ACB. Note: Read all about ACB in March edition of Mahiti Monthly

Govt green-lights Rs 1,622-cr highway project in state The Centre approved construction of the four-laning of national highway 63 from

Hosapete-Ballari-Karnataka/Andhra Pradesh border section with the investment of Rs 1,622-crore

The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved building of the project on engineering, procurement and construction basis.

The total length of the road will be approximately 95.37 km. The government said about 3,88,728 man-days will be generated locally during the

construction period of the highways, in line with the estimate that 4,076 man-days are required for building one kilometre of highways.

Dandeli rated best wildlife destination Dandeli in Uttara Kannada was declared India’s favourite wildlife destination during

the recent HolidayIQ’s Better Holiday awards. This was the first time a destination in karnataka had been conferred the ‘people’s

award’. The award was given based on the review of domestic tourists. It is the tourists who have rated the place based on hospitality, affordability,

connectivity, activities and location. Dandeli offers wildlife safari, trekking, birdwatching, adventure sports and water

sports. It has good connectivity to Goa, which is also a preferred location

Question paper leak to be made a criminal offence The Education department has decided to invoke criminal procedure to penalise those

indulging in acts like paper leaks, which will henceforth be considered a criminal offence.

This decision follows the leakage of II pu chemistry question paper twice. A decision has been taken to amend the karnataka education act to introduce the

punishment clause. Supporting, copying or leak of question papers by officials, teachers, parents or students will be considered a criminal and non-bailable offence. The department will frame these new rules and send it for suitable amendments

There is also a proposal to separate the PU examination board from the administrative wing of the department.

The two are now merged and they need to be separated to curtail malpractices and irregularities

The 3-member committee constituted to supervise the Chemistry re-exam, will compile recommendations for revamping the PU Board. The committee comprises PU



Education Director Ramegowda, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan project Director P C Jaffer and Principal Secretary, Primary and Secondary Education, Ajay Seth.

Govt plans to carve out 124 new hoblis in state In a major redrawing of its administrative divisions at the grassroots level, the state

government is considering carving out 124 new hoblis. Hoblis are the third tier in the administrative divisions in the state after districts and

taluks. At present, there are 747 hoblis in the state. The proposals to carve out new hoblis were based on the recommendations submitted

by the four regional commissioners to the state government. The regional commissioners based their recommendations on the population data,

local demand and quantum of revenue transactions. Revenue department officials point out that having more hoblis will help in

decentralisation of general administration. Each hobli is headed by an official of the rank of deputy tahsildar.

People can get their revenue transactions like issue of pahani, applying for various certificates done at the hobli level instead of going to the taluk headquarters.

Besides, various departments, including meteorology, agriculture, take hobli as the unit for their data bases like measuring rainfall, crop yield among others

However, creating 124 new hoblis comes with a huge price – Rs 124 crore. By modest estimates, at least Rs 1 crore is required for creating a new hobli.

Sources in the government said the new hoblis will be carved out in phases as the financial implications are huge.

The highest number of new hoblis have been recommended from the Belagavi subdivision - 57, with 43 in Belagavi district alone, followed by Haveri (6), Gadag (3), Vijayapura (2) and 1 each in Uttara Kannada, Dharwad and Bagalkot districts.

As many as 40 new hoblis have been suggested for the Kalaburagi division, 23 for Mysuru and 4 for Bengaluru division. There is also a proposal before the government to carve out 11 new assistant commissioners’ offices in the state

Blood Banking App The Indian Red Cross Society launched a Blood Banking App to address the shortage of

blood in the country. The app will allow a user to keep track of the entire process from blood deposit,

withdrawal and transfer. The app will enable people to deposit their blood on a regular basis by opening a

'Blood Banking Account' at any Red Cross-affiliated blood bank. A unique account number will be assigned to each individual to help monitor the account through the app.

Later, the app will also record the required information, track the account and provide timely reminders on when the next savings is due. The blood can also be transferred to others and the app will let users or the account holders know how much blood is available in the account.

The blood bank account holders can keep track of the entire blood deposit cycle on the digital platform efficiently.



INSPIRE programme

INSPIRE is an innovative programme developed by the the Department of Science & Technology to attract talent to the excitement and study of science at an early age, and to help the country build the required critical resource pool for strengthening and expanding the S&T system and R&D base. It is a programme with long term foresight.

INSPIRE has three components:

1. Scheme for Early Attraction of Talent (SEATS)- Scheme for Early Attraction of Talent (SEATS) aims at attracting talented youth to study science by providing INSPIRE Award, to experience the joy of innovations, of Rs.5,000/- to one million young learners in the age group 10-15 years.

2. Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE)- Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE) aims at attracting talented youth into undertaking higher education in science intensive programmes, by providing scholarships and mentoring through 'summer attachment' to performing researchers.

3. Assured Opportunity for Research Careers (AORC)- Assured Opportunity for Research Careers (AORC) aims at attracting, attaching, retaining and nourishing talented young scientific Human Resource to strengthened the R&D foundation and base by offering doctoral INSPIRE Fellowship in the age group 22-27 years, in both Basic and Applied sciences (including engineering and medicine).

KSRTC to induct 15 Scania buses The KSRTC will induct 15 Scania buses into its fleet in the next two weeks. The buses

will ply on new routes. The Airavat Diamond Class has been augmented for five routes — Hyderabad, Chennai,

Ernakulam, Tirupathi and Nellore — to begin with. Each of these Airavat Diamond class buses cost Rs 91 lakh.

Scania buses have been chosen over Volvo buses because they come at lower rates, lower maintenance costs and inexpensive spare parts.

These buses will be equipped with a flight-like safety video to educate passengers on do's and don'ts at the time of emergency. The buses are also speed limit compliant according to state regulations and are built with fire retardant material in all critical areas

Shivamogga girl selected for SAKURA programme Anivtha G., a 10th student of Kumudvathi Residential School in Shikaripur, has been

selected to visit Japan under the Japan-Asia youth exchange programme in science, a programme launched by Japan Science and Technology Agency also known as SAKURA science plan.

A project prepared by Anvitha on laser micro projector in 2014-15 was awarded second prize at the national-level science competition conducted as part of the Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) launched by the Ministry of Science and Technology. A total of 30 students from India will visit Japan under the SUKURA programme this year.

A laser diode connected to a direct current source is used as a source of light in the project. The intense beam of monochromatic light from the laser diode is made to fall on a water drop that trickles down from a syringe attached to a stand on the opposite side. The projector can be used by health institutions and municipal bodies to assess the quality of water.



Contingency plans prepared to tackle water crisis As many as 336 villages and hamlets are likely to go without drinking water supply

from local sources and will be dependent on tankers if there is no rainfall in May-June, even as the district administration is waiting for Maharashtra to release water from its reservoirs into the Krishna.

The State government was pursuing its request for the release of 2 tmcft of water into the Krishna.

However, there was no official communiqué from the Maharashtra government or the district authorities in Satara or Kolhapur. The Maharashtra government could consider the State’s request and release the water in a week

Four contingency plans had been prepared to address the issue. As of now, water is being supplied by tankers to 81 villages. Though there were prospects of rainfall in May, the number of villages exhausting their water sources was rising by two or three every day in parts of Chikkodi, Raibag, Gokak, Ramdurg and Athani.

The government has provided Rs. 50 lakh each for Assembly constituencies through the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and another Rs. 50 lakh each for 10 taluks under the contingency plans.

The funds would be utilised to rejuvenate and repair borewells, open wells, pipelines, and open ‘goshalas’ and supply fodder to the cattle.

State’s institutions top 3 of 4 categories Institutions from the State have managed to top three out of four categories in the

NIRF. The Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru,

and Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences top the lists for management, university and pharmacy, respectively.

No engineering college in Karnataka made it to the top 20, despite the State having over 200 engineering colleges. The National Institute of Technology, Surathkal, was the highest ranked engineering college from the State at 22.

Govt. offices to work from 8 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. After much dilly-dallying, the State government finally issued a special notification

changing the office timings of government offices in six districts of Kalaburagi Revenue Division and two districts of Belagavi Revenue Division. The new timings will come into effect on April 2.

During April and May, the government offices will function without a break from 8 a.m. to 1.30 p.m.

The office timings have being changed in view of the prevailing heat wave condition, which is expected to further intensify and peak during April and May.

The government order will cover Kalaburagi, Ballari, Raichur, Yadgir, Koppal and Bidar in Kalaburagi Revenue Division and Vijayapura and Bagalkot in Belagavi Revenue Division.



Create your own blood bank account WHAT

Indian Red Cross Society’s unique mobile app To be initially launched in Bengaluru, will be extended across the country in phases.

HOW does it work? Create a personal blood bank account deposit blood (by donating) withdraw it as and when required. you can even transfer blood to a friend’s account just as you transfer funds. Users can open a Blood Bank Account at any Red Cross-affiliated Blood Bank. The app will record the required information, track the account and provide timely

reminders on when the next savings (blood donation) is due. It will allow blood bank account holders to keep track of the blood deposit cycle on the

digital platform. WHY or purpose?

The app has been designed to encourage blood donations and ensure availability. In order to maintain stock, blood banks depend heavily on replacement donors. Even if

a person finds the right group in a bank, the blood is usually made available only with the replacement. The app is meant to avoid all these hassles.

The app would enable people to deposit their blood on a regular basis.



NATIONAL ISSUES All you need to Know about National Court of Appeal

1. What is a National Court of Appeal? The National Court Appeal with

regional benches in Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata is meant to act as final court of justice in dealing with appeals from the decisions of the High Courts and tribunals within their region in civil, criminal, labour and revenue matters.

In such a scenario, a much-relieved Supreme Court of India situated in Delhi would only hear matters of constitutional law and public law.

2. How will the NCA help ease the apex court’s burden? The Supreme Court is saddled with civil and criminal appeals that arise out of everyday and even mundane disputes. As a result of entertaining these appeals, the Supreme Court’s real mandate — that of a Constitutional Court, the ultimate arbiter on disputes concerning any interpretation of the Constitution — is not fulfilled. By taking up the Supreme Court’s appeals jurisdiction, the NCA will give the former more time for its primal functions. 3. What is the Supreme Court’s position on creating an NCA?

The Supreme Court itself, as early as in 1986, had recommended establishment of an NCA with regional Benches at Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata to ease the burden of the Supreme Court and avoid hardship to litigants who have to come all the way to Delhi to fight their cases.

But subsequent Chief Justices of India were not inclined to the idea of bifurcation of judicial powers, and that of forming regional benches of the apex court.

A government order in 2014 too rejected the proposal that such a court of appeal is constitutionally impermissible. The outlook changed in February 2016 when the Supreme Court admitted Chennai lawyer V. Vasanthakumar’s petition for setting up an NCA.

4. What is the government’s position on the NCA? In an order dated December 3, 2014 the Centre rejected Mr. Vasanthakumar’s proposal

for a National Court of Appeal with regional Benches. The Ministry cited three grounds for rejecting the idea — The Supreme Court always

sits in Delhi as per the Constitution; the Chief Justices of India in the past have “consistently opposed” the idea of an NCA or regional benches to the Supreme Court; and the Attorney-General said an NCA would “completely change the constitution of the Supreme Court”.



229th report of the Law Commission's view

Retaining the New Delhi bench of the Supreme Court as a Constitutional Court and the establishment of Cassation Benches of the Supreme Court in the four regions at New Delhi, Chennai/Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai.

The 2009 report pointed out that since Article 130 of the Constitution provides that “the Supreme Court shall sit in Delhi or such other place or places as the Chief Justice of India may with the approval of the President, from time to time, appoint”, the creation of Cassation Benches of the Supreme Court would require no constitutional amendment.

It also pointed out how this basic model with appropriate variations has worked very successfully in countries such as Italy, Egypt, Ireland, the U.S. and Denmark.

Other reports which suggest for a national court of appeal

95th report of the Law Commission titled “Constitutional Division within the Supreme Court — A proposal for”;

the 125th Law Commission report titled “The Supreme Court — A Fresh Look”;

reports of the parliamentary standing committee on personnel, public grievances, law and justice

the 120th report of the Law Commission on “Manpower planning in judiciary”.

In addition to the above, Mr. Robinson’s report referred to earlier is also available to guide the deliberations of the government.

5. What is the current status of the proposal?

The Supreme Court in March 2016 decided to form a Constitution Bench to debate the idea of an NCA.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur had said it was time to debate if the Supreme Court was too burdened to provide equal justice to all.

A verdict in favour of NCA would act as a great influence on Parliament to amend the Constitution itself to make room for NCA.

The government, however, holds that the idea is a “fruitless endeavour” and will not lessen the burden of 2 crore cases pending in trial courts.

Why the need for NCA The issue relates to access to

justice, that is at the core of our constitutional values. The problem is essentially threefold.

The numbers quoted below are from a study by Nick Robinson titled “A Quantitative Analysis of the Indian Supreme Court’s workload”

Constitutional Court The Supreme Court was meant to

be a Constitutional Court. However, the sheer weight of its case backlog leaves the court with little time for its primal functions. The backlog was still a staggering 59,468 cases as of February 2016.

A ‘substantial question’ of constitutional law has to be heard by five or more judges.

In the 1960s it was common for the court to decide over 100 such cases a year. In the past decade the average is now fewer than eight constitution benches a year.



In effect, therefore, the functions of the Supreme Court as a Constitutional Court have been seriously impaired.

Ease of access Geographical proximity to the court is definitely an aspect of access to justice. The fact

that the Supreme Court sits only in New Delhi limits accessibility to litigants from south India.

Of all the cases filed in the Supreme Court, the highest numbers are from high courts in the northern States: 12 per cent from Delhi, 8.9 per cent from Punjab and Haryana, 7 per cent from Uttarakhand, 4.3 per cent from Himachal Pradesh, etc.

The lowest figures are from the southern high courts: Kerala 2.5 per cent, Andhra Pradesh 2.8 per cent, Karnataka 2.2 per cent and a mere 1.1 per cent from Madras High Court. There is therefore an urgent need to find a solution to such an inequitable state of affairs.

Judicial activism The Supreme Court, it must be acknowledged, has played its role as sentinel qui vive of

the Constitution. This does not, naturally, go down well with the other organs of the state and while

their present proclivity to abide by the orders of the Supreme Court is creditable, it is but natural that attempts may be made to curtail the constitutional powers of the court.

The problem of backlog may be a convenient handle for the other organs of the state to seek drastic curtailment of the court’s powers. Well-regarded leaders in stable democracies have attempted this in the past.

An institution which on a daily basis hauls up several other bodies for defects and deficiencies must place itself well above criticism of any nature

Cure for high medicine bills: A generics prescription law

The Central government is considering the introduction of a law to make it mandatory for doctors to prescribe generic drugs so that patients can access affordable medicines provided through state-run Jan Aushadhi stores.

A major hurdle that doctors don’t prescribe generic medicines supplied through Jan Aushadi stores, so patients find it tough to ask for the correct generic equivalents. So an ordinance or Act of Parliament is proposed to ensure that doctors prescribe generic drugs or include a clause ‘or equivalent generic drug,’ when they prescribe a branded drug

The BPPI is the agency under the Department of Pharmaceuticals entrusted with implementing the Jan Aushadhi programme which was launched in 2008.

All new mobiles to have panic button from 2017

Starting next year, all mobile phones sold in India will come with a dedicated ‘panic button’ that can be used to send out a signal in case of distress.

The Panic button and Global Positioning System facility in all mobile phone handsets Rules, 2016, notified by the Department of Telecommunications on April 22, are aimed at improving the safety of women and ensuring a quick response from security agencies.



The notification says that no handset shall be sold in India from January 1, 2017, without a panic button and all handsets must also have GPS from January 1, 2018.

Once the panic button is pressed, a signal/call will be made to the nearest security agency. However, the details of how the system will work are yet to be finalised.

Reforms a must to boost apparel exports- WB report

India needs to soon carry out reforms to cash in on the opportunity to be an apparel manufacturing and exporting major as China slowly relinquishes its lead position. The World Bank estimated that even a 10 per cent increase in Chinese apparel prices could create at least 1.2 million new jobs in the Indian apparel industry.

The apparel sector of China — which holds the largest share of global apparel trade at 41 per cent (as against India’s share of just 3.5 per cent) — is likely to be hit by factors such as higher wages and the production shift to higher value-added industries like electronics. It presents a huge opportunity for South Asian nations.

How- according to a World Bank report titled ‘Stitches to Riches? Apparel Employment, Trade, and Economic Development in South Asia,

1. Reducing tariffs, 2. ease barriers to the import of manmade fibres, such as more transparency for duty

drawback schemes and bonded warehouses, and removing anti-dumping duties on manmade fibres,

3. India could also lower excise taxes or provide other incentives to develop a domestic manmade fibre industry,

4. shorten lead times by using industrial parks to provide better infrastructure in a concentrated way.

5. easing labour norms 6. promoting foreign investment- by adopting clear and transparent policies on foreign

ownership (already in place for textiles) and within Export Promotion Zones, 7. facilitate market access and diversify markets by taking advantage of market access to

emerging markets 8. Help its apparel sector connect to global value chains (where production processes

are situated in different countries) and 9. consider joining mega free trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership

to get preferential access to huge and lucrative markets such as the U.S’ would also yield dividends for other light manufacturers like footwear and toy,

Though India is gaining market share, Southeast Asian countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam) are outperforming all South Asian countries in overall apparel export performance, product diversity, and other non-cost related factors

India’s annual apparel exports stood at about $12 billion as against China’s $145 billion



Irani’s Sanskrit request draws ire

Union Education Minister Smriti Irani's ‘request’ to IITs to teach Sanskrit provoked strong reactions

Ms Irani told Parliament on Monday that IITs have been asked to teach Sanskrit to facilitate the study of science and technology as reflected in its literature.

She cited the report of a panel that had suggested that IITs may facilitate study of science and technology as reflected in Sanskrit literature along with inter-disciplinary study of Sanskrit and modern subjects.

This is another case where the kernel of good intention (supporting serious scholarship on Sanskrit) has been lost in an ill-designed formulation.

Why sanskrit scholarship The state of Sanskrit scholarship in the country — in proportion to how important

Sanskrit is to our intellectual heritage — is truly abysmal. While there are of course, individually, a few good scholars, there is very little by way of sustained intellectual achievement that would meet international standards.

Serious scholarship will be able to discover both Sanskrit’s achievements and its blind spots.

Sanskrit, as an intellectual idiom, would not be able to disentangle “scientific” texts entirely from metaphysical, philosophical, literary or ethical traditions. One is fundamentally missing the point in looking for scattered scientific information, or thinking that one can simply excise the non-scientific parts from the scientific parts of a text. One risks misunderstanding both science and “non-science” (religion/philosophy/literature, etc), when, instead, one should look for a new meaning in both that should serve as new ways of negotiating contemporary dilemmas.

It is only in this sense that the Sanskrit intellectual tradition can be a living, rather than dead history. Perhaps the concentration on Sanskrit science is to move away from the more controversial social aspects of the Sanskrit world (questions of gender, caste, etc). But this is foolhardy as there is no way science can be separated from the social, and there should be confidence that the study of Sanskrit can take into account the weaknesses of that world view, even as it celebrates Sanskrit’s great achievements.

It is the humanities that can relate most meaningfully to the set of concerns that have been so ably articulated in Sanskritic formulations of the ethical life.

Rekindling interest The way Sanskrit is taught institutionally in India is essentially through syllabi that

have been frozen for decades, and in an examination format that kills innovative thinking.

To really make Sanskrit come alive, one has to ask questions that feed into contemporary intellectual questions —

1. how might the sophisticated systematisations of doubt in Indian philosophy feed into similar questions being asked in Western analytic philosophy?

2. How might the idea of mood developed so eloquently by Bhavabhuti relate to ideas of self in modern Telugu literature?

3. What was the relationship between science, ethics and politics then, and how might this conjuncture relate to present dilemmas?



We are far from any of this happening, because we have failed to separate the wheat from the chaff. The aim is to teach Sanskrit not out of a mindless patriotism, but as it speaks to other disciplines — literature, or historiography, or science. This is by no means an easy task.

To many, for example, Sanskrit literature is too ornate, and does not have the easy identification that, say, reading Greek dramatists might have.

The challenge of pedagogy is to be able to make this Sanskritic world interesting — and only those who have tried hard to teach it know how difficult this is.

Further, Sanskrit is reduced to a language. To teach Sanskrit in a civilisational sense is not to have to learn Sanskrit at least in the early stages.

there would need to be a whole range of pedagogical and intermediate material explaining the special significance of Sanskrit ideas — be they in science or any other field. This is the work the government would do well to support and encourage

Over 200 Govt. projects hurt by time, cost overruns

The cost of 238 major projects of the union government have almost doubled from the original estimate of Rs.2.4 lakh crore to Rs. 4.6 lakh crore, according to latest official data.

The number of projects exceeding the budget surged 43 per cent by March 2016 over a period of four years, the data on projects costing Rs.150 crore or more showed.

The causes for time and cost overruns are project-specific, depend on a variety of technical, financial and administrative reasons, and differ from project to project

The number of Central projects that have overshot their deadline for completion increased by 31 per cent,from 260 as on April 1, 2012 to 341 as on March 1, 2016. The data showed while 166 central projects had overshot their budget as on April 1, 2012, it increased to 238 as on March 1, 2016.



Significance

Easing the process of obtaining construction permits,

Will help the NMA keep a tab on encroachments around monuments.

It will also give you the elevation — the height of the site with respect to mean sea level. It will help architects not only for the NMA approval, but also for the approval of the Airports Authority of India.

Last satellite of India’s regional navigation system launched into orbit India’s own navigational system was completed and will be called NAVIC (Navigation

with Indian Constellation) The seventh and final satellite of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System,

the IRNSS 1G, was launched into a sub geosynchronous transfer orbit with a perigree (nearest point to earth) of 284 km and an apogee (farthest point to earth) of 20,657 km. The satellite was launched on board the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), which took off from the Sriharikota launch pad at 12.50 p.m.

With this launch, the IRNSS constellation of seven satellites is now complete.The system will be similar to the Global Positioning System (GPS) operated by the United States with 24 satellites and the Glonass, Galileo and BeiDou systems of Russia, Europe and China respectively.

An area of 1,500 km from Indian boundaries will be covered under the navigational system.

An accuracy of better than 20 m being claimed by ISRO The navigation system will be offered as an open or Standard Positioning Service

and a superior, coded military Restricted Service. NAVIC- was dedicated to India’s mariners and fishermen who have been navigating

using the sun and stars as waypoints for hundreds of years.

ISRO app to protect heritage, aid architects Architects and real estate developers who plan

to construct buildings close to national monuments can soon download a new mobile app named Smarac Citizen, which will grant them construction permits within a few minutes.

Based on a proposal from the National Monuments Authority (NMA), the app has been developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), containing the maps of 3,686 Centrally-protected monuments across the country.

Earlier, the NMA had to send teams to the areas close to historic monuments, where developers sought construction permits.

The teams had to ensure that permits were granted only to projects beyond 300



91st amendment

The National Democratic Alliance government sought to address this aberration through the Constitution (Ninety-first Amendment) Act, 2003.

It omitted paragraph three from the Tenth Schedule that allowed one-third of the parliamentarians/legislators to split from their parent party. However allowed two-thirds of the members of a parliamentary/legislative party to merge with an existing political party or form a new political party.

Essentially what this constitutional amendment did was raise the wholesale defection bar from one-third to two-thirds.

metres from the outer boundary of a monument. The process from application for permission to survey took at least five months. The app will tell you how far new constructions are from any particular protected monument

Anomolies in the 10th schedule

10th schedule The Constitution (Fifty-second Amendment)

Act, 1985 added the Tenth Schedule to the Indian Constitution to curb the growing tendency of political defections by parliamentarians and legislators from one party to another after elections. Members of Parliament and State legislatures are liable for disqualification if they leave the political party on whose symbol they got elected and join another, or violate the party whip to vote a certain way in the House.

The original Tenth Schedule while penalising individual acts of defection, it recognised the principle of splits whereby if one-third of the members of a legislative party broke away and formed a separate group or joined another political party, they could continue as members of the legislature.

Setting the one-third bar was explained in terms of “honest dissent” — that is, a critical mass of numbers would be swayed not by monetary considerations or the perks of office but by deep ideological or policy differences.

In reality, individual defections turned into a got converted into a mass-scale malady.

Legislator's right to vote is the calamity However, thirty-one years after the 1985 law, perhaps the time has come to assess as

to how this statute-imposed morality suppresses legislator’s right to vote according to his conscience, convictions, common sense and constituency concerns.

The Tenth Schedule has altered the fundamental character of the Westminster model of parliamentary democracy whereby legislators, rather than articulating the predilections and priorities of the territorial constituency that they represent, have become but virtual hostages of a whip-driven tyranny. It is the political party that now exercises hegemony over law making and policy formulation rather than the voter.

Did the framers of the Indian Constitution, when they chose the universal adult suffrage paradigm, contemplate that the system would be upended whereby choice would be with an individual elector but legislative power would reside in a political party?



What can be done

Whips can be issued only for those legislative items that threaten the stability of government. This little tweak restricting the rigours of the whip would free up the legislative space and ensure that every government strives not only for cross-party consensus on legislation but reaches out to individual lawmakers rather than just their leaderships, deepening participatory lawmaking in the process.

Viewed from this perspective, is the Tenth Schedule not in violation of the fundamental tenets of the Constitution if not the basic structure doctrine?

Tyranny of the party line

It is the party whip, which directs its members which way to vote practically on each and every bill. This enforced adherence to the party line means that a member invariably ends up voting for a bill if he/she is on the Treasury benches and against a bill if he/she is in the Opposition

This leads to the odd spectacle of parliamentarians sometimes voting against a legislative instrument which they had supported previously, depending on whether their party occupies the Opposition or Treasury benches.

This has the effect of disincentivising lawmakers from seriously thinking, researching or even rifling for best practices to incorporate into legislation that is before the House for consideration and focus their energies on procedural matters. This, when legislation is the principal function of Parliament.

The problem becomes heightened as Indian laws do not come with a sunset clause. If a bad law is enacted, it would remain on the statute books for at least a century if not more.

An unfortunate trend that has recently manifested itself is the use of House majorities to get even Private Members’ Bills defeated at the introduction stage. It restricts whatever little space individual members have left for legislative activity. The argument of the establishment (the collective of political parties) that standing committees of Parliament serve that very function doesn’t hold, because an MP only serves on one standing committee and the practical possibility of getting onto even one more committee is almost non-existent.

Empowering the legislator All this needs to change so that the empowerment of the

individual can coexist with the imperatives of political stability and public probity.



FDI is prohibited under the Government Route as well as the Automatic Route in the following sectors:

1. Atomic Energy 2. Lottery Business 3. Gambling and Betting 4. Business of Chit Fund 5. Nidhi Company 6. Agricultural (excluding

Floriculture, Horticulture, Development of seeds, Animal Husbandry, Pisciculture and cultivation of vegetables, mushrooms, etc. under controlled conditions and services related to agro and allied sectors) and Plantations activities (other than Tea Plantations)

7. Housing and Real Estate business (except development of townships, construction of residential/commercial premises, roads or bridges

8. Trading in Transferable Development Rights (TDRs).

9. Manufacture of cigars, cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes, of tobacco or of tobacco substitutes.

FIPB clears FDI proposals worth Rs.13,000 crore

Government panel FIPB cleared. Rs.13,030 crore worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country increased by 40 per cent to USD 29.44 billion during April- December of 2015-16. The foreign investment inflows were at $21.04 billion in the same period of previous fiscal

FDI A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an

investment made by a company or entity based in one country, into a company or entity based in another country.

An Indian company may receive Foreign Direct Investment under the two routes as given under:

1. Automatic Route- FDI is allowed under the automatic route without prior approval either of the Government or the Reserve Bank of India in all activities/sectors as specified in the consolidated FDI Policy, issued by the Government of India from time to time.

2. Government Route- FDI in activities not covered under the automatic route requires prior approval of the Government which are considered by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.

3. Inter ministerial panel FIPB can clear proposals worth up to Rs 5,000 crore. The ones above that amount go to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

Finance Ministry rolls back move to pay 8.7 per cent interest on EPF

The Finance Ministry on Friday backtracked from its attempt to lower the payout on Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) savings for 2015-16 to 8.70 per cent, after a week-long tussle with the Labour Ministry, which had announced 8.80 per cent returns.

This marks the third time, in little over 50 days, that the government has rolled back contentious policy decisions pertaining to retirement savings of the working class.



Change in DD policy comes under fire

Doordarshan plans to move from the current self-financing category, where producers invest money to make serials/programmes which are then marketed by Doordarshan, to a regime where prime-time slots will be auctioned, fetching the broadcaster more revenues.

At stake, according to officials, are 19 prime-time and mid-prime time programmes, whose futures look uncertain if the old policy is junked mid-way.

Reservation for the economically backward In a clear and misguided surrender to Patidar agitators demanding reservations in

jobs and education, the Gujarat government has announced a 10 per cent quota for the economically backward among upper castes. Those with an annual family income of less than Rs.6 lakh will be eligible. The Patidars constitute a crucial vote base for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, and the quota signals the political failure of the various carrot-and-stick measures attempted by the State government to get on top of their long agitation.

This proposed quota is in addition to the existing 49 per cent reservations for the Other Backward Classes and SC/STs, and an ordinance is to be promulgated to this effect.

Last year, Rajasthan passed a Bill providing 14 per cent reservations to the economically backward, in a move to appease upper castes.

Neither legislation is likely to pass judicial scrutiny. In Indra Sawhney v. Union of India,the Supreme Court had limited the total quota to 50 per cent, a figure both States intend to exceed. A series of judgments have established that economic criteria alone cannot be taken as determinants of backwardness.

Tamil Nadu is an exception as a constitutional amendment was passed in 1994 to allow the State to continue to set the limit for reservation at 69 per cent.

Rising demand for reservation

Notably, the demand for reservations by the largely prosperous Patidars has little to do with their present socio-economic status. Their agitation, like the one waged by Jats, has been directed more at the reducing socio-economic “gap” between them and the OBCs.

Communities that identified themselves with the upper strata of society are increasingly seeking “backward” status for a variety of reasons.

1. There is a shift in the aspirations for traditionally landed and business communities, as their young seek better education and white-collar jobs.

2. Following the implementation of the Mandal Commission’s recommendations, OBC leaders have asserted themselves electorally and forged formidable political alliances.

3. It is the change in the balance of socio-economic power that has lent popular support to agitations by the middle castes all over the country; new politicians on the block, such as Hardik Patel, who has resisted all attempts at being co-opted by the BJP, have emerged from this social churning.

Do we need such a policy?



SAFAR

Under the plan scheme “Metropolitan Advisories for Cities for Sports, Tourism (Metropolitan Air Quality and Weather Services), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Govt. of India, has introduced a major national initiative, "System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research" known as "SAFAR"

Its applicable 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 . It has been combined with the early warning system on weather parameters

SAFAR envisages a research based management system where strategies of air pollution mitigation go hand in hand with nation’s economic development to target a win-win scenario.

The SAFAR system is developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, along with ESSO partner 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.

At one level, this adds some weight to the theory that the reservation policy has helped not only to uplift the socially underprivileged and the historically backward but also to reduce caste inequities.

But by trying to buy peace on the street with an impulsive decision, the Gujarat government has exposed its weakness in the face of the Patidar agitation.

If the policy of reservations must be revisited, then the way to do this is by calling for a review of the list of OBCs and restructuring the creamy layer of exclusion to benefit the really deserving.

Emissions lower, but dust pollution up, finds study

An analysis of air quality data from eight stations in Delhi by the Union Ministry of Earth Science’s SAFAR has found that the level of the dangerous ozone gas has been less this April compared to 2015.

Despite favourable weather conditions, ozone has been less than last year. This is not much to do with the odd-even scheme as the level was less during April 1 to 15 as well. It points to an overall reduction in emissions from all sources

Delhi has seen several measures in the past year that could have contributed to the reduction, including the Supreme Court-ordered imposition of ‘green tax’ on commercial vehicles entering the city. According to the Environment Pollution Control Authority, which was tasked with monitoring the implementation of the tax, the number of commercial vehicles entering Delhi has decreased by 50 to 60 per cent

Ozone Ozone or trioxygen, is an inorganic

molecule with the chemical formula O3 Low level ozone (or tropospheric ozone) is

an atmospheric pollutant. It is not emitted directly by car engines or by industrial operations, but formed by the reaction of sunlight on air containing hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides that react to form



ozone directly at the source of the pollution or many kilometers down wind. Ozone becomes a bigger concern in the summer as the hot weather lends itself to its

formation. Although ozone was present at ground level before the Industrial Revolution, peak

concentrations are now far higher than the pre-industrial levels, and even background concentrations well away from sources of pollution are substantially higher.Ozone acts as a greenhouse gas, absorbing some of the infrared energy emitted by the earth.

The ironies of small States

The political crisis in Uttarakhand and subsequent developments have once again catapulted a number of rather familiar questions onto the political terrain.

The formation of three small States in 2000, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand nourished hopes that democracy would be deepened.

Reason Smaller political units facilitate contact between the government and the governed,

and enable local populations to imprint their opinions and interests onto the consciousness of their representatives.

The other reason for welcoming small States is that in each case, demands for statehood followed struggles against injustice.

But after state formation State leaders have shown great willingness to play into the hands of the Central government, presumably for a price. In the process, representatives have forgotten the history of their own societies.

The story of Chattisgarh From the late 1970s till 1991 India witnessed one of the most transformative social

movements in the country. After the visionary leader of the Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha (CMM), Shankar Guha

Niyogi, was assassinated by the henchmen of the liquor lobby, the CMM focussed not only on the struggle for wages, but also on alternative development strategies that inspired radical political consciousness among the Dalits and the Adivasis.



Figures speak - India Human Development Report 2011

Today the incidence of poverty among Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) households in Chhattisgarh is much higher than in other social groups in the State and the country.

Chhattisgarh ranks low on Human Development Index rankings, with more malnourished women, underweight children, and illiterate people than the national average.

People in the densely populated forests and hills of Dantewada and Bastar, where a majority of the STs live, are the most illiterate.

Ironically, Chhattisgarh is a mineral-rich and power-surplus State.

Figures speak - India Human Development Report 2011

Jharkhand,- with vast natural resources, accounted for 70 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product of Bihar before 2000.

Remains one of the most economically backward States of the country.

The SC and ST population constitutes around 12 per cent and over 26 per cent of the State’s population. Poverty figures in these two communities are much higher than corresponding figures at the all-India level. A higher percentage of children of the communities suffer from malnutrition and illiteracy.

And it gave to us an enormously creative interpretation of citizenship. A citizen of Chhattisgarh is one who contributes to the productive resources and does not exploit people even if she is not born in the region.

It was precisely this aspect of justice that went missing when Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh.

Jharkhand story TThe demand for statehood in Jharkhand

emerged from a 200-year-old struggle against exploitation.

In the 1970s the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha led by prominent communists and tribal leaders focussed on the direct delivery of justice to exploited tribal communities in the mineral-rich areas, in agrarian districts, and in plantations.

They launched a concerted effort against displacement.

The demand for statehood was part of the demand of control over resources by tribal communities.

Today it is precisely these demands for justice that have been put on the back burner by leaders

Negative Fallout The political vacuum created by systemic

injustice in both States have stepped the Maoists, with their ideology of a new world geared towards the interests of the poor and the oppressed.

Uttarkhand story Uttarakhand falls into a different category

because it is inhabited by hill people, many of them belonging to the upper castes.

The region came into the limelight when in the 1970s local communities mobilised against transfer of forest resources to commercial companies.

The Chipko movement in the Kumaon and the Garhwal regions became famous for novel modes of protest and awareness of environmental harm. People protested against appropriation of resources and actions that impinged upon their bare survival.



The demand for statehood on the ground of special needs was articulated by leaders in national parties, and gained momentum in the late 1990s.

Goals realised? In all these three small States, struggles had mobilised for justice more and

independent statehood less. Quickly, however, some leaders realised that identity politics is more likely to attract

the attention of ruling groups than appeals to justice. With the formation of three small States the two paths — the fight against injustice and the drive to hoard power in the name of identity — have diverged.

In the process, the claims of representative democracy have been replaced by aspirations to political power and distasteful compromises made in pursuit of profit.

Justice follows only when the wants of people who have elected representatives are addressed. But representatives have cynically chosen to look the other way when matters of justice are involved. They seem to have only a will to power; to be part of a new exploitative elite.

But they forget that the history of struggle is the future of struggle. Maoism is one extreme form of struggle against corrupt appropriative and greedy elites; there are others.

The chasm between the needs of the people who struggle for survival, action and inaction by representatives, and lack of remedial justice has compromised representative democracy enormously. The issue is not only one of federalism; defections from one party to another indicate renunciation of the basic obligations of representatives, even as their own people starve

Q. Critically examine the Merits and Demerits of demand for a separate state for Hyderabad-Karnataka Region. Q. Interview Question: Do you think Hyderabad Karnataka Region should be given a separate statehood?

Pharma exports climb 9.7 % in FY16 The country’s pharmaceutical exports reported a 9.7 per cent jump in 2015-16, with

nearly 33 per cent growth in shipments to the U.S. market, Generic drugs form the largest segment of the Indian pharmaceutical sector, with 75

per cent market share (in terms of revenues). Over-the-counter (OTC) medicines and patented drugs constitute 21 per cent and 9 per cent share respectively of the total market revenues of $20 billion

Significance of these numbers India supplies 20 per cent of global generic medicines in terms of volume, making the

country the largest provider of generic medicines globally. Indian companies had managed to maintain and increase their market share in most

sectors despite countries all over the world experiencing fall in exports Despite several domestic companies facing the heat from USFDA last fiscal, the 33 per

cent growth in U.S. exports showed they were capable of taking on these regulatory challenges.

Over 55 per cent of India’s exports are to highly regulated markets. In order to take Indian pharma to the next level, the Commerce Ministry has taken the

initiative to position the country as a hub for affordable, credible and sustainable pharmaceutical products.



Govt. to set up sex offenders registry The government is planning to set up a sex

offenders registry in the country, on the lines of those maintained in western countries including the U.S. and the U.K.

Details of sexual offenders even below 18 years of age would be included in the database, which will be put up on the website of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB),

The government plans to publicise their photographs, addresses, PAN card details, Aadhaar card number, fingerprints and DNA samples through this registry.

The proposal to set up a registry was first mooted after the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape case in Delhi.

The names and details of sexual offenders, both below and above 18 years of age would be put up only after they have been convicted and completed their sentence in jail. The details will not be included if the case are under trial and are in appeal in a higher court.

This will be an online database of charge-sheeted sexual offenders in the entire country, which people can access through a Citizen Portal in the upcoming Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) project.

Significance It would be a handy tool for the law enforcement agencies as well. It will instil fear in the minds of repeat sexual offenders and the public would be

benefited from it

Banking facility soon for LoC trade The Jammu and Kashmir government welcomed the resumption of India-Pakistan

dialogue and pledged to take the cross-Line of Control (LoC) trade and tourism to the next level by providing banking facility and expanding its scope.

As of now, there is exchange of goods on a barter system. However, the Reserve Bank of India has given its consent to banking facility, which will make the cross-LoC trade easy

New Rules to revamp Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act

Some of the important provisions are: Completion of investigation and filing of charge sheet in the court within sixty days. Provision of relief for offences of rape and gang rape (This provision has been

introduced for the first time.) Delinking requirement of medical examination for getting relief amount for non-

invasive kind of offences against women like sexual harassment, gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of women, assault or use of criminal force with intent todisrobe, voyeurism, stalking.

Provision of admissible relief amount to SC/ST women for offences of grievous nature, on conclusion of trial, even though not ending in conviction.



The Plan has four objectives.

1. Detect and interrupt all poliovirus transmission

2. Strengthen immunization systems and withdraw oral polio vaccine

3. Contain poliovirus and certify interruption of transmission

4. Plan polio’s legacy

Increase in the existing quantum of relief amount Provision of admissible relief in cash or in kind or both within seven days to the

victims of atrocity, their family members and dependents. Rationalization of the phasing of payment of relief amount to victims for various

offences of atrocities. Regular Reviews of the scheme for the rights and entitlements of victims and

witnesses in accessing justice at the State, District and Sub-Division Level Committees in their respective meetings.

National Switch Day After introducing the inactivated polio

vaccine (IPV) into the routine immunisation (RI) schedule, the country is preparing to implement yet another step of the Global Polio Endgame Strategic Plan

The nation will totally phase out trivalent Oral Polio Vaccine (tOPV-effective against type 1, 2, 3 of polio virus) and replace it with bivalent OPV (bOPV) on April 25, ‘National Switch Day’. May 9 is the national validation day when the entire nation will be certified as a non-user of tOPV

tOPV is being completely removed from the cold chain and disposed of as per national guidelines under direct supervision in all district headquarters. The process has to be very thorough because this withdrawal of the type 2 polio virus component is a globally synchronised move and hence the presence of even a single vial of tOPV anywhere after the national switch day poses a huge risk of even bio terrorism.

Only bOPV will be used for all immunisation activities since April 25, alongside IPV.

Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan The Polio Eradication and Endgame

Strategic Plan 2013–2018 is a comprehensive, long-term strategy that addresses what is needed to deliver a polio-free world by 2018.

The plan was developed by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in consultation with national health authorities, global health initiatives, scientific experts, donors and other stakeholders, in response to a directive of the World Health Assembly.

The Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018 addresses the eradication of all polio disease, whether caused by wild poliovirus or circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus, while planning for the backbone of the polio effort to be used for delivering other health services to the world’s most vulnerable children.

IPV shortage worsens



The global shortage of IPV has worsened as governments of 126 nations have been buying up the stocks and this has hit the private sector hospitals hard.

IPV is not available any more in the open market and only government hospitals are now providing it.

Because of the shortage, following the recommendation of the Indian Expert Advisory Group, infants are being given two fractional intra-dermal doses of 0.1 ml of IPV at six weeks and 14 weeks instead of the full 0.5 ml intramuscular dose.

Though IPV has just been introduced in the public sector, most private sector paediatricians had made a total shift to four full doses of IPV for immunising children ages ago. Many of them are now forced to refer their patients to government facilities for IPV

New mining exploration policy moots incentives To make exploration more attractive for private players, the Union government will

reimburse the costs to mining firms that fail to find adequate mineral wealth and offer them a share of the revenue from blocks where they do strike valuable reserves.

However, the exploration firms will not enjoy any preferential right to the blocks where they find viable mineral reserves or be eligible for direct compensation from firms that end up operating the mines they discover

If the player is given a reconnaissance permit they will be paid a certain percentage of the revenue throughout the 50-year period of the mining lease, if minerals are found.

Under the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulations) Act of 2015, reconnaissance permits cannot be converted into a prospecting licence or a mining licence as it mandated auctions for all mineral block allocations. So, there would have been no guarantee that a player will get anything out of exploration

The models that were considered earlier were granting the right of first refusal to explorers for forming a mining joint venture with public sector firms to tap blocks where they find reserves

Amendments in the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015 The Union Cabinet gave its approval to move official amendments in the

Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015. The legislation will ensure expeditious utilization of accumulated unspent amounts

available with the ad hoc Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) in an efficient and transparent manner.

The unspent amounts presently is of the order of Rs.40,000 crore, and fresh accrual of compensatory levies and interest on accumulated unspent balance, will be of the order of approx. Rs. 6,000 crore per annum.



Background

While according prior approval under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 for diversion of forest land for non-forest purpose, Central Government stipulates conditions that amounts shall be realised from the user agencies to undertake compensatory afforestation and such other activities related to conservation and development of forests, to mitigate impact of diversion of forest land.

These amounts are deposited in the State-wise accounts operated by an Ad-hoc Authority consisting of two officials of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change one representative of the Comptroller and Auditor General and one representative of the Chairperson of the Central Empowered Committee.

In the absence of permanent institutional mechanism more than Rs.40,000 crores have accumulated with the said ad-hoc Body.

In order to provide for the establishment of funds under the public accounts of India and the public accounts of each State and crediting the monies under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 Central Government introduced the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015 in the Lok Sabha on 8th May 2015.

Lok Sabha referred the Bill to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment & Forests.

Utilization of these amounts will facilitate timely execution of appropriate measures to mitigate impact of diversion of forest land, for which these amounts have been realised.

Apart from mitigating the impact of diversion of forest land, utilisation of these amounts will result in creation of productive assets and generation of huge employment opportunities in the rural areas, especially the backward tribal areas.

The provisions of the current bill include 1. The Bill provides for constitution of

an authority at national level and at each of the State and Union territory Administration

2. The authority is responsible for administration of the funds and to utilise the monies so collected for undertaking artificial regeneration (plantations), assisted natural regeneration, protection of forests, forest related infrastructure development, Green India Programme, wildlife protection and other related activities

3. The bill makes the list of environmental services inclusive and to delete some of environmental services for which credible model to assess their monetary value does not exist.

4. Provides for prior consultation with States Governments for making rule under the new legislation.

5. Also provides for use of monies realised from the user agencies in lieu for forest land diverted in protected areas for voluntary relocation from protected areas.



Swamy, Sidhu, Mary Kom among six nominated to RS

The Rashtrapati Bhavan approved a list of six nominated members to the Rajya Sabha They include senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, former Test cricketer and BJP MP

Navjyot Singh Sidhu, boxing legend Mary Kom, Economist Narendra Jadhav, journalist Swapan Dasgupta and Malayalam actor Suresh Gopi.

These nominations to the Upper House are for achievers in various spheres of public life, and total 12 in number. As of now, there are seven vacancies among these 12, for which six names have been announced, and one kept in abeyance.

The government can nominate members in this category at anytime and it is not bound to an electoral cycle like the other seats.

SC restores President’s Rule

The Supreme Court on restored President’s Rule in Uttarakhand till April 27, barely a day after the Uttarakhand High Court quashed the Centre’s decision

A Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh admitted the Centre’s challenge to the High Court decision and brought back President’s Rule in the State for the simple reason that the judgment, dictated on April 21 by Uttarakhand Chief Justice K.M. Joseph in open court, was not yet available in the public domain.

Only 3 purity marks for gold jewellery: Govt.

With the introduction of BIS Act 2016, the government is likely to allow only 22k, 18k and 14k gold jewellery to be sold by jewellers in its hallmark logo instead of purity marks such as 916 and 875.

The move is expected to enable customers to understand easily the purity of gold, which they purchase.

The government plans to change jewellers’ logo also along with the hallmark logo. Ït is difficult to identify jewellers currently, which are having codes like AJ, KJ and MJ.

Instead of these jewellery codes, alpha numeric codes which are given for the jewellers’ licenses would be hallmarked to identify the shop owner

The jeweller has to provide a “plain marking area” with a width of one mm and length of 10 mm.

Jewellery would not be allowed to hallmark without this marking strip of stipulated size. Earlier it was difficult for customers to identify the hall marked area.

However, mandatory hallmarking will be enforced only on jewellery weighs more than two gms.

UDAY bonds fetch Rs.99,000 crore

Eight states have issued bonds worth over Rs.98,959.96 crore under UDAY Bonds scheme in 2015-16 UDAY

UDAY Bonds scheme is aimed at improving operational and financial efficiency of state power distribution companies.



Swachh Bharat Mission

Launched in October 2014, Swachh Bharat Mission is aimed at bridging the gaps between sewerage and solid waste management and constructing several million toilets in urban centres.

The government aims to build 1.4 crore household toilets, 2.5 lakh community toilets and 2.6 lakh public toilets by 2019 with Rs.14, 623 crore.

One of the primary goals is to make India an open defecation-free country, where people would have constant access to toilets at homes and in public spaces.

The Power Ministry had unveiled UDAY (Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana) on November 20, 2015.

The scheme is expected to help discoms save about Rs. 1.8 lakh crore in the next three years. The cumulative debt of discoms is Rs 4.37 lakh crore.

As part of the scheme, Reserve Bank had issued the special bonds (non-SLR special securities) on behalf of eight state governments in the last fiscal

These securities have been issued by the state governments under the Government Securities Act, 2006 and are eligible for market repo

Centre deploys sanitation messengers nationwide The Ministry of Urban Development has deployed Swachh Dhoots (sanitation

messengers) to boost its campaign against open defecation, a practice widely spotted in low-income urban centres.

In early March, the Ministry asked the urban local bodies of 75 cities to build self-help groups, including ASHA workers, in every municipality and send them to the neighbourhoods where open defecation is a norm. Of these teams, Swachh Dhoots would be chosen to turn the campaign into a hyper-local one.

The idea is to make people anxious about and disgusted at excreting in public spaces Each Swachh Dhoot would focus on one area and work towards making it clean. If a

Swachh Dhoot succeeds in turning one area into defecation-free zone, the Ministry will reward him or her with Rs.5,000

Rare primate sighted in Arunachal Pradesh

A group of wildlife photographers and biologists in India have reported sighting of a new species of primate, in Arunachal Pradesh.

Macaques, which are distant cousins of langurs and gibbons, are a hard catch and was only the third macaque ever discovered since 1903.

The Mentawai macaque (Macaca pagensis) was found in Indonesia in 1903 and Arunachal macaque (Macaca munzala) in 2005. The new species becomes the 22nd known macaque species and the 9th in India.

It had several distinguishing characteristics from similar-looking macaque species, such as the Rhesus



Kala-azar Control Efforts in India- KALA-AZAR

ELIMINATION INITIATIVE

National Health Policy Goal: Kala-azar Elimination by the year 2010

Elimination Programme is 100 per cent Centrally Supported (except regular staff of State governments & infrastructure)

In addition to kala-azar medicines and insecticides, cash assistance is being provided to endemic state s since December 2003 to facilitate effective strategy implementation by states

Macaque, Arunachal Macaque, Tibetan macaque and Assamese macaque. They have an even fur, a relatively-hairless short tail, prominent pale to white side-and

chin-whiskers creating a white cheek and round facial appearance, dark facial skin on the muzzle, long and thick hair on its neck, and a round male genitalia

This is an important find for biodiversity in India and shows white-cheeked macaque has a wider range and population spread than thought

Telecom firms putting profit before service’

A “cartel” of four or five telecom firms, having a billion subscribers, are making Rs. 250 crore a day but not making investments on their network to improve services to check call drops, the government told the Supreme Court

There was a 61 per cent growth in the subscriber base for telecom companies from 2009 to 2015 and they were diverting part of the spectrum to data for making more money. The Attorney General said that in India, the investment by telcos during the past five years has been Rs 5 billion, while it was Rs 50 billion in China during the same period.

COAI, a body of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India and 21 telecom operators, including Vodafone, Bharti Airtel and Reliance, have challenged the Delhi High Court order upholding TRAI’s decision making it mandatory for them to compensate subscribers for call drops from this January.

Kala-azar: Samples taken from animals As part of the control measures by the Health Department in the wake of detecting

kala-azar or black fever in Kollam district in kerala, a team from the veterinary department arrived at the village to collect blood samples from domestic animals such as cats and dogs.

Such animals are reservoirs for the parasite that spreads the disease. The village has a large concentration of these animals

What is Kala-azar? Kala-azar is a slow progressing indigenous

disease caused by a protozoan parasite of genus Leishmania

In India Leishmania donovani is the only parasite causing this disease

The parasite primarily infects reticuloendothelial system and may be found in abundance in bone marrow, spleen and liver.

Post Kala-azar Dermal Leishmaniasis (PKDL) is a condition when Leishmania donovani invades skin cells, resides and develops there and manifests as dermal leisions.

Some of the kala-azar cases manifests PKDL after a few years of treatment. Recently it is believed that PKDL may appear without passing through visceral stage.



Black-necked crane

Is a species that breeds on the Tibetan plateau and migrates to Tawang for the winter. The bird, most commonly found in China, is legally protected in Bhutan and India and is considered

sacred to certain Buddhist traditions. It is whitish-gray, with a black head, red crown patch, black upper neck and legs, and white patch to the

rear of the eye. A festival in Bhutan celebrates the bird while the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir considers it as the

state bird. The black-necked crane is rated as ‘vulnerable’ in the International Union for Conservation of

Nature (IUCN) list of endangered species is listed in India’s Wildlife Act as a Schedule 1 species, which gives animals and birds the highest legal

protection. The black-necked crane summers mainly in the high altitude Tibetan Plateau. The breeding areas

are alpine meadows, lakeside and riverine marshes and river valleys. They also make use of barley and wheat fields in these areas. Wintering areas tend to be in sheltered valleys or lower altitudes.

However habitat modification, drying of lakes and agriculture are threats to the populations. In many areas, dogs belonging to herders are a major threat to young birds. The drying of wetlands can cause increased accessibility of the nests leading to predation while a rise in the water level can submerge nests.

How Kala-azar is transmitted? Kala-azar is a vector borne disease. Sandfly of genus Phlebotomus argentipes are the

only known vectors of kala-azar in India Kala-azar Vector in India

There is only one sandfly vector of Kala-azar in India Phlebotomus aregentipes Sandflies are small insects, about one fourth of a mosquito. The length of a snadfly body

ranges from 1.5 to 3.5 mm. They prefer high relative humidity, warm temperature, high subsoil water and abundance of vegetation. Sandflies breed in favourable micro-climatic conditions in places with high organic matter that serve as food for larvae

What is the extent of problem of Kala-azar in India? Endemic in eastern States of India namely Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West

Bengal 48 districts endemic; sporadic cases reported from a few other districts Estimated 165.4 million population at risk in 4 states Mostly poor socio-economic groups of population primarily living in rural areas are affected An organized centrally sponsored Control Programme launched in endemic areas in 1990-91

NGT halts Tawang hydro power project

The threat to the future of a vulnerable bird species has halted the Rs. 6,400-crore hydro power project in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. The project is planned on the Nyamjang Chhu river and is the largest of 13 hydro power projects to be built in the Tawang basin.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has suspended the Union Environment Ministry’s clearance for the project granted in 2012.

The court noted that the clearance didn’t consider the impact of the hydro project on the habitat of the black-necked crane

Other species that are found in the region include the red panda, the snow leopard and the Arunachal macaque Macaca munzala, a recently-described primate species in the area, according to court



A misguided ban in Delhi The Delhi government’s decision to ban surge pricing by taxi service aggregators,

which follows a similar ban imposed by Karnataka, is misguided. Arbitrary interventions in the demand-supply market are pointless in the absence of

alternative solutions. Obtrusive regulation of these new players would work against the interests of both the

commuter and the driver. Surge pricing, essentially an algorithm-based mechanism that determines fares based

on supply and demand, exists in slightly dissimilar forms in other areas, including that of transport.

Advantages of aggregators The rapid growth and popularity of taxis ‘managed’ by aggregators across India is a

testimony to the fact that public transport and transit facilities remain hopelessly inadequate

Aggregators are part of the new economy; they use modern technology to disrupt the traditional, and often moribund, market.

In general, aggregators have helped customers — with more taxi options and reduced prices.

There is evidence to suggest that drivers of taxis and autorickshaws who ply under an aggregator’s brand earn more on an average than they would otherwise.

There has also been substantial competition from domestic players in the aggregator market, allaying fears about monopoly operations by multinational players.

They have succeeded by bringing in efficiencies in both cost and convenience, which have been central to their popularity.

Some regulations of course are both necessary and welcome. For instance, guidelines have been released by the Ministry of Road Transport to

ensure that taxi commutes are safe and that aggregators cannot be owners of fleets unless registered as operators.

Governments can do more in the medium term to enhance options in terms of better modes of public transport, greater frequency of bus and metro services during rush hour

Adoption by mass transport of applications using similar algorithms to allow passengers to plan their commute better.

A more useful intervention would have been to enhance public awareness about how these algorithms work in commuters’ favour, and at the most cap surge pricing to a predetermined multiple of the regular rate.

Concern over high incidence of mad cow disease

Three patients suffering from Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease (CJD), a rare and fatal degenerative brain disorder, have been admitted to the Department of Neurology in the Government General Hospital in AP

The high incidence of the CJD,, has caused a great deal of concern



Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease

Its a rare and fatal degenerative brain disorder, Its also termed as Mad Cow Disease.It has an incidence rate of 1 in 1.5 million The disease is caused by infectious protein particles called prions, which mainly

attack the neurons of the brain. The onset of CJD begins with the Protenicuous Particular Cellular (Prpc), with a

soluble nature, turning into an insoluble nature (PrPsc), crystallising, and later degenerating the cells. People consuming contaminated meat are at risk of getting infected with CJD. Variant CJD (vCJD) is caused by eating contaminated beef products.

Occurrences of the CJD could be sporadic, inherited, or infectious.The alarming trend is that there is an increase in the sporadic disease. It can also be transmitted from person to person like the HIV.

The disease is characterised by rapidly progressive dementia The symptoms range from depression, anxiety, incoherent talk and unwieldy gait,

known in medical parlance as myoclonic jerks. An MRI scan has classical CJD Cortical Ribbon Sign (CRS). Unfortunately, the CJD cannot be cured and the prognosis is rather painful

About DRM transmitters

DRM transmitters are powerful, but under-utilised as digital receivers are expensive. The DRM super transmitter costs over Rs. 80 crore and has found few takers in India as it

requires expensive receivers, which cost over Rs. 8,000. Officials of AIR have defended the use of Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM). DRM has the twin

capabilities of anologue and digital transmission, which makes it perfect for simulcast modes.

People do listen to FM radio (available on cell phones) and car music systems) so it would have been nice to install more FM transmitters if the objective is to reach listeners. The only advantage of DRM is that it has a longer range than FM

Two years ago, the Sam Pitroda Committee set up to suggest a road map for the Prasar Bharati, had struck a cautious note in its report: Digitalise the present AM radio system to a new digital radio transmission after due evaluation subject to cost and availability of DRM receivers. In the transition period, FM may be expanded as per demand. AIR has set 2017 as deadline to achieve total digitisation.

AIR is using both FM transmitters and DRMs to reach out to India’s neighbours. This radio transmission had played an important role in the liberation of Bangladesh

After Mann Ki Baat, govt. eyes cross-border charcha

President Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) transmitter in Chinsurah (West Bengal) on June 28 to broadcast to Bangladesh a mix of programmes from AIR’s External Services Division

All India Radio (AIR) officials are calling it a soft diplomatic initiative involving the humble radio.

Encouraged by the success of Mann Ki Baat , the AIR’s External Services Division is reaching out to Pakistan and Bangladesh, with a two-fold objective: To reach listeners in these countries and counter Chinese Radio International.



Reasons

Due to declining interest rates Issuances of tax free bonds Rush to cash in on small

savings before old rates expire.

High real interest rates

Government to introduce ‘Twitter Seva’ for start-ups As part of its steps to support budding entrepreneurs, the government on April 21 will

launch a new service, Twitter Seva, to address various queries of start-ups in a timebound manner.

Any start-up, which wants to access government irrespective of any department, they can (put their queries).

Bank deposit growth slowed to a five-decade low in FY16 Reserve Bank of Indiadata- Deposit growth in the country’s banking system slowed

to a 50-year low of 9.7 per cent in the last financial year Explanation

The central bank has reduced the repo rate or the policy rate by 150 bps to 6.5 per cent since January 2015. Banks followed suit by reducing deposit rates as well as lending rates.State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, for example offers 7.25 per cent for one-year deposits.

Bank deposits had increased by 12.1 per cent in the previous financial year.

Other reasons include issuances of tax free bonds and a rush to cash in on small savings before old rates expire. The government had announced a reduction in the interest rates on small savings schemes in March, and the old rates were applicable till March 31.

High real interest rates is one reason for low deposit growth as the savers are spending more. Real interest rate is the rate which a depositor gets after adjusting for inflation.

Credit growth, on the other hand, is yet to pick up despite reduction in interest rates. According to RBI data reported on April 1, year-on-year credit growth was 10.7 per cent, as compared with 12.2 per cent in the preceding 12-month period.

To push mineral hunt, Govt. to tweak 1967 data-sharing curbs

Under the Geological Survey of India's data sharing and accessibility policy, India has digitised a lot of its baseline geo-science data including gravity contour maps, aeromagnetic, radiometric and geo-chemical mapping

But it cannot be put in the public domain or shared without a defence ministry clearance for ‘restricted’ areas. The ministry of defence had imposed a number of restrictions on the dissemination of maps, ground and aero geophysical data and data pertaining to restricted areas, in August 1967

About 40 per cent of the country fell within the restricted area. An estimated 10 per cent of territory with obvious geological potential fell in such restricted areas.

Though foreign direct investment of up to 100 per cent had been allowed in the mining sector under the automatic route since 2006, the lack of credible geological data had dented investor interest so far.

Change in guidelines



Other measures being taken by the government to facilitate mining

Separately, the Forest Advisory Committee under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has approved a proposal from the Mines Ministry to ease green clearances for exploration by linking permits to the extent of tree canopy in an area.

Where tree cover is less than ten percent of the reconnaissance area- Clearances will not be required

Areas with over 70 per cent tree cover - inviolate or ‘no-go’zones. Once the changes are notified, forest clearances would be granted at the district

level for blocks where the tree canopy is between 10 and 40 per cent of the exploration block.

State forest departments would grant clearances in cases where the tree canopy is between 40 and 70 per cent.

The Ministry of Defence has decided to alter these guidelines issued in 1967 that bar putting data in public domain

The guidelines will be relaxed to a great extent so that even geological data obtained from past explorations can be shared

Spot fine for open defecation, states told The urban development ministry has suggested state governments amend their

municipal laws to incorporate provisions for spot fine, penalty or cleaning charge from people caught defecating in open. It has also suggested similar changes in the state laws to fine people caught littering.

This was stated by the ministry in its recent circular issued to chief secretaries of all states.

Suggestions The ministry has asked them to enforce such provisions in municipal wards that are

declared open defecation free (ODF) and litter free. The ministry has asked all state governments to ensure that such provisions cover all

municipal wards by October 2018. It has advised that the municipal commissioners or any authorised officer can levy the

fine, penalty or charge from violators.

WHO gives 2 weeks to replace problem polio vaccine

The World Health Organization has given countries two weeks to replace a problem polio vaccine blamed for some outbreaks of the crippling disease. WHO is hoping to wipe out this virus once and for all.

Why? The live polio virus used in some vaccines is one of the biggest obstacles to eradicating

the disease. The wild version of the virus now exists only in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but a type of vaccine that contains small amounts of weakened but live polio still causes occasional outbreaks elsewhere.

What’s the concern now?



Oral polio vaccine (OPV) replicates in the gut and can be passed to others through faecal-contaminated water — meaning it won’t hurt the child who has been vaccinated, but could infect their neighbours.

What needs to be done? Long-term, WHO recommends that the OPV should be phased out worldwide and

replaced by the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV).

Ground handling firms mull legal battle over aviation rules

The Ground Handlers’ Association of India (GHAI)is planning to drag the government to court over the policy uncertainties plaguing the sector for the past nine years.

Ground-handling services include aircraft cleaning and servicing, loading and unloading of food and beverages, besides cargo and luggage handling at the airports.

The association also flagged safety concerns on the government’s proposal to allow airlines to handle their own services at airports — known as self-handling — under the proposed civil aviation policy. Allowing contract workers in airport operations of airlines would lead to safety hazards, it cautioned.

Airlines prefer self-handling to reduce the cost of operations and for better efficiency. While older domestic airlines prefer self-handling at most airports, GHAI takes care of ground-handling for foreign carriers.

According to the draft civil aviation policy, there will be at least three ground-handling agencies at any airport, with no upper limits, and airlines will be allowed to do self-handling. It also proposes to allow charter operators to self-handle at all airports. The airlines and ground-handlers have been permitted to hire contract labourers.

Third party ground-handlers especially with foreign ownership of unknown origin are themselves a serious security risk, according to domestic airlines

Tap forex pool to help exporters: Ministry

What does the Commerce Ministry say It wants the central bank to use a part of its foreign exchange reserves to give long-

term loans at low interest rate to the Exim Bank of India So that the Exim bank can pass it on to exporters at lower rates than bank credit. The forex reserve has now increased to a record high of around $360 billion. This level

of forex reserve is enough to fund imports of over 10 months. Also partly because of a shrinking import bill. Higher import cover indicates greater currency stability and India’s capacity to absorb

external shocks, such as the impact of an outflow of funds following a rate hike by the US Fed, and support its domestic economy.

Why The aim is to help reduce the costs and enhance the competitiveness of exporters at

a time of global trade slowdown and weak demand overseas Rate of export credit in India is between 11 and 12 per cent as against 2-3 per cent

in the Euro area (except Greece), 2.6 per cent in Taiwan, 4.6 per cent in Thailand, 5.5



per cent in China and 6.2 per cent in Malaysia, according to a study by exporters’ body FIEO.

Exporters, citing the contraction in the country’s goods exports for 15 months since December 2014, have been demanding credit at lower rates to help increase their competitiveness in global markets. However the Reserve Bank of India feels that the actual cost of credit for Indian companies is lower than what is cited as their source of funds includes external borrowings at lesser rates

Is it possible to lend at lower rates Exim Bank of India has been citing constraints including that it is permitted a low

leverage ratio, of around 11 times the bank's net-owned funds, in comparison to that of its Chinese counterpart, where the ratio is 77 times.

Exim Bank has sought relaxation of norms including a higher leverage ratio, of at least 15 times its NOF, and more capital from the government.

But RBI was reluctant to permit a higher leverage ratio for the Exim Bank. The Finance Ministry was unwilling to give more capital to the Exim Bank given the

fiscal constraints. The Exim Bank, according to the Commerce Ministry, was therefore finding it difficult

to finance project exports due to these operational limitations. What else can be done

The Commerce Ministry had also supported a proposal of categorising the entire export credit given by all lenders separately under priority sector lending without much riders to help bring down the cost of credit for exporters

Kerala High Court puts an end to use of high-decibel pyrotechnics

The Kerala High Court ordered strict enforcement of the provisions in the Explosive Rules, banning the use of high-decibel crackers and display of fireworks between the hours of sunset and sunrise, at places of worship in the State.

The Bench directed officers of the Central and State governments to ensure that explosives were used only in accordance with the Explosive Rules 2008 in the State. If there was any lack of supervisory control by the official concerned, it should be considered a dereliction of duty, the Bench said.

The court came down heavily on the police for not preventing the fireworks display at Paravur though the temple committee had failed to produce the required licence

Potassium chlorate, beautiful but dangerous Investigators probing the cause of the fireworks disaster at the Puttingal Devi temple

near Kollam hinted that rival teams possibly used potassium chlorate, a banned explosive. They had also probably sourced the chemical illegally from matchstick factories.



Potassium chlorate

Potassium chlorate was discovered by French chemist Claude Louis Berthollet during the end of the 18th Century.

The principal reason for using it in pyrotechnics is for the production of beautiful colours. Despite its inherent risk, the reason it is sometimes used in pyrotechnics is because it is cheap and easily available.

How does it work?

According to the Royal Society of Chemistry, potassium chlorate has very powerful oxidising ability. When heated, it decomposes to produce oxygen.

The oxygen so produced fuels the flame of the lit firework, thereby increasing the temperature of the firework even further. The extra heat generated excites the electrons in the colour-producing chemicals added in the firework mixture and thus produces beautiful colours.

The oxidising property of potassium chlorate is also its biggest disadvantage when used in fireworks. It has an inherent property to become very reactive, especially when mixed with sulphur; the potassium chlorate-sulphur mixture becomes dangerously sensitive to friction and may spontaneously ignite.

Hence, potassium chlorate is banned for use in fireworks.

Limited use

Despite the risks, potassium chlorate is relatively safe when used in tiny amounts. It is used along with sand and red phosphorus in caps for use in toy guns. When the

cap is struck by a metal head of the gun, friction is generated that ignites the red phosphorus. The heat generated by the burning red phosphorus triggers the decomposition of the potassium chlorate. The oxygen released by potassium chlorate further assists the burning of the red phosphorus. The end result is the sound.

The same principle is used in safety matches.Matchstick head contains tiny amount of potassium chlorate, antimony sulphide and powdered glass. When matchsticks are struck, the friction generated ignites the red phosphorus.

Maharashtra introduces Bill against caste panchayat Maharashtra government presented the much-awaited bill against caste panchayats in

the State Once introduced, Maharashtra will be the first State in the country to enact a law

against social boycott of individuals or families by caste panchayats. As per the proposed law, an imprisonment of up to three years or fine which may

extend to rupees one lakh is proposed. The offence registered under the act will be congnizable and bailable. It will be tried by a judicial magistrate of the first class.

Maharashtra, in recent times, has witnessed an increasing number of incidents of social boycott and violence at the orders of caste panchayats. Rationalist Narendra Dabholkar too had picked up the issue before his murder in Pune. For years, A number



Disadvantages of female longevity

Women traditionally have a much lower economic status than men in the household, which then plays out in the form of financial hardships in their twilight years. They don’t know banking, where the investments have been made or where the money has been kept by the husband

Financial constraints are further compounded by illnesses of old age. The survey found a high proportion of the elderly battling chronic illnesses and around 8% of the elderly, particularly those aged over 80, confined to their beds.

of activists and academics have been demanding an act against the foul practices of caste panchayats for years.

This won’t be the first time that the state is taking a lead in formulating such acts. Maharashtra was also the first in the country to enact anti superstition law.

Feminisation of the aged

India has more elderly women than men with the sex ratio of the country’s 60-plus population recorded at 1,033 women per 1,000 men in the 2011 Census, up from 1,029 in the 2001 census.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has put out these figures in the latest National Sample Survey report on ‘Health in India’

Experts describe the pattern as feminisation of ageing, which in the context of a developing country like India, brings with it health and financial concerns.

According to the Health in India report, around 70 per cent elderly women in both urban and rural India are economically dependent on others. And around 35 per cent of women aged over 80 are immobile.

The sex ratio in the country had shot up from 930 in the 1991 Census to 1,029 in 2001. However, the National Sample Survey in 2004 recorded a drop in this ratio to 999, before it went up again in 2011.

Among rural areas, the highest sex ratio (1,289) was reported in Gujarat and in urban Assam it was recorded as 1,476.

The overall proportion of the elderly in India, home to the world’s largest youth population, too has gone up. An estimated 87.6 million aged people live in India, about 69 per cent of them in rural parts.

In 1981, the share of the elderly population per 1,000 in rural India was 68, which went up to 88 in 2011. In urban India, the elderly share was recorded at 54 per 1,000 in 1981, going up to 81 in the 2011 Census.

But about 50 per cent of the elderly population is totally economically dependent on others.

The share of elderly women (per 1,000 population) in both urban and rural areas is higher than those of men.



Reasons for above normal monsoon

Waning El Nino

El Nino — a global, meteorological phenomenon that’s associated with a warming of the waters of Central Pacific and correlated with droughts in India

And the historical observation that 7 out of 10 years, in the last century, that followed an El Nino saw normal or above normal monsoon rains in India. The years 2014 and 2015 were among the strongest El Nino years in meteorological history and were blamed for the climatically rare event of successive drought years.

Though Pacific temperatures haven’t cooled enough, “El Nino neutral conditions” are expected to set in between June and July.

Positive Indian Ocean Dipole

Positive Indian Ocean Dipole — where the western portions of the Indian Ocean are warmer than the east and thereby push rain-bearing clouds over India — is also likely to form during the middle of the monsoon season, according to the IMD.

La Nina

Finally, a La Nina — or an anti-El Nino — and associated with heavy rains in India was expected to set in around September, too late for the Indian monsoon, but its onset is generally considered enabling for the rains.

India set for an ‘above normal’ monsoon

India’s official weather forecasting agency India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said the monsoon is likely to be “above normal” and likely to be 106 per cent of the average of 89 cm.

Monsoon rains within 96 per cent and 104 per cent of this average are considered “normal” in the terminology of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The monsoon will be fairly well distributed but southeast India will get slightly less rain some regions would see floods and that the

chances of drought — defined as a deficit of 10 per cent or more — were only one per cent this year. In any given year, the chances of such a drought are 16 per cent.



The idea itself is not new as subsidised connections to BPL households have been provided under various schemes even earlier. However, the scale of this programme is what sets it apart.

Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan

Aimed at improving rural livelihoods and strengthening the Panchayati Raj across the country, the Centre, in collaboration with States and panchayats, will launch a 11-day, nation-wide village self-governance campaign.

The ‘Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan’ will begin on April 14 from Mhow in Madhya Pradesh, on the occasion of 125th birth anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

During the campaign between April 14 and April 16, a ‘social harmony programme’ will be conducted in gram panchayats, through which villagers will honour Dr. Ambedkar

Between April 17 and April 20, ‘village farmer assemblies’ will be held in gram panchayats, focussing on agriculture and farmers. In these assemblies, information regarding agriculture schemes will be shared with farmers and their suggestions for improvements in agriculture will be solicited

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)

The Rs.8,000-crore scheme aims to provide subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections to about 60 per cent of below poverty line (BPL) households — roughly as many households as there are in Germany — by 2019.

Until 2013, 75 lakh predominantly rural, subsidised BPL connections were disbursed under various schemes. Fifty-five lakh subsidised BPL connections are claimed to have been provided in the last year under the “Give Back” scheme linked to the “Give It Up” campaign. In comparison, the PMUY aims to provide subsidised connections to five crore households in three years.

About 75 crore Indians, especially women and girls, are exposed to severe household air pollution (HAP) from the use of solid fuels such as biomass, dung cakes and coal for cooking.

A report from the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare places HAP as the second leading risk factor contributing to India’s disease burden. In comparison, poor sanitation, which has received much-needed attention of late, ranks 15th. According to the World Health Organization, solid fuel use is responsible for about 13 per cent of all mortality and morbidity in India (measured as Disability-Adjusted Life Years), and causes about 40 per cent of all pulmonary disorders, nearly 30 per cent of cataract incidences, and over 20 per cent each of ischemic heart disease, lung cancer and lower respiratory infection.

However, the real test of the PMUY and its successor programmes will be in how they translate the provision of connections to sustained use of LPG or other clean fuels such as electricity or biogas.

Challenges: Affordable cost



First, cooking fuel should be available at an affordable cost to back up the initial provision of subsidised connections. Each BPL household would have to spend up to Rs.5,000 each year on LPG even at current subsidised prices — in addition to a one-time cost of Rs.1,800 for the connection — which may be unaffordable to many.

The PMUY has proposed payment in instalments for stoves and cylinders to address this challenge, which is welcome. In addition, it may consider increasing LPG subsidies for the first few cylinders bought in a year by BPL households. With the success of the “Give It Up” campaign and the proposal to proactively exclude all those earning above Rs.10 lakh per annum from LPG subsidies, the burden on the exchequer for the increased subsidies to BPL households may be minimal, particularly in comparison to the huge health and economic benefits that come with it.

Distribution system The distribution system needs to be strengthened to be able to meet the expected

increase in demand, particularly in rural areas, as non-availability of fuel could push people back towards using solid fuels.

Ensuring reliable, sustained, last-mile supply would require multiple steps. It requires a large extension of distribution networks, especially in rural areas, since

each rural distribution agency typically caters to fewer customers than urban agencies. Reports that many Jan-Dhan accounts have zero balance raise concerns about whether

subsidy transfer to such accounts will work effectively; so, implementation of direct benefit transfer schemes must be made more robust.

Effective monitoring and grievance redressal systems are equally important to ensure that problems in the scheme are highlighted and addressed early.

The scheme should be accompanied by a focussed public relations campaign, similar to the national tuberculosis or Swachh Bharat campaigns, to build awareness and create a “demand pull”, not only for clean cooking but also for good service.

Ensuring reliable supply is also likely to require strengthening the refining, bottling and pipeline infrastructure.

In the absence of such supporting measures, the PMUY runs the risk of failing like the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana, which succeeded in extending physical electricity infrastructure at great cost but has not been able to ensure a reliable supply of affordable electricity to households.

Widening the reach Finally, while the PMUY targets only BPL households, there is a need to widen the net

for two reasons: one, because of known inclusion and exclusion errors in BPL lists, and two, because BPL may be a narrow definition of deprivation and many non-BPL households may also not be able to afford LPG connections.

The wider net could just be all rural households or all households except those meeting well-defined exclusion criteria such as ownership of certain categories of assets.

The PMUY is a bold and much-needed initiative, but it should be recognised that this is just a first step. It will result in truly smokeless kitchens only if the government follows up with measures that go beyond connections to actual usage of LPG. This may require concerted efforts cutting across Ministries beyond petroleum and natural gas and including those of health, rural development and women and child welfare



NITI Aayog plans new planning framework

NITI Aayog, the government’s policy think tank, is working on a sector-based medium-term planning framework

The new planning framework could replace five-year plans, the last of which is set to end in 2016—17. The current financial year, 2016-17, is the last year of the 12th five-year plan. With the Planning Commission scrapped, the process for formulating a 13th five-year plan government has not been initiated, as a consequence of which the era of five-year plans is set to end in India this year.

It was possible to synchronise with the finance commission cycle, the financial approval of schemes and projects of both the central and state governments

The finance secretaries meeting was held to assess the impact on the evolution of public financial systems at the central and the state levels following the discontinuation of the five-year plans.

There was a need to clearly differentiate between our medium and long-term growth potential. While medium-term growth is dependent on past performance, long-term growth, on the other hand, can only be enhanced by structural reforms and improving the productive capacity of the economy.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced in the Budget Speech that from the next financial year, the plan and non—plan distinction will be done away with for expenditure classification.

The government had constituted a committee for proposing a new format of budget statements and accounts

The committee to be headed by Special Secretary Expenditure will co-opt state secretaries. There's a need to move to a cost-centric approach where establishments, schemes and projects are treated as such and revenue-capital distinction will be the basis of expenditure classification as required by the constitutional framework

The primary units of appropriation at both central and state levels are being revisited to create a clear distinction between revenue and capital items of expenditure so that accounts can be prepared in a bottoms-up manner.

The officials also discussed economic policy matters concerning the Central and the state governments.

Cooperation of the States was sought in achieving sustained increase in economy-wide capital spending, imperative for delivering on the goal of sustainable growth and rise in income levels.

Health cover: Too little, too scarce Latest National Sample Survey (NSS)

Over 80 per cent of India’s population is not covered under any health insurance scheme

Despite seven years of the Centre-run Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), only 12 per cent of the urban and 13 per cent of the rural population had access to insurance cover.



Around 86 per cent of the rural population and 82 per cent of the urban population were not covered under any scheme of health expenditure support

Further, it was found that coverage is correlated with living standards, as in urban areas, over 90 per cent of the poorest residents are not covered, while the figure is 66 per cent for the richest residents. According to the report the poorer households appear unaware or are beyond the reach of such coverage, both in rural and urban areas.

This has been evident for a while. RSBY has become a showcase tool than actually reaching people in any large numbers.

Private doctors emerged as the single-most significant source of treatment in both rural and urban areas. The survey found that 72 per cent of the treatment provided in rural areas and 79 per cent in urban areas was availed in the private sector.

In the previous round of this survey, the corresponding figures were 78 per cent in rural areas and 81 per cent in urban areas, which shows that the overall share of public sector saw a slight increase.

The rural population spent, on an average, Rs.5,636 for hospitalised treatment in a public sector hospital and Rs.21,726 at a private sector hospital.

The biggest hurdle in seeking medical treatment was “financial constraint”, reported by over 55 per cent and 60 per cent people in rural and urban areas, respectively. In rural areas, the next most important reason was no medical facility available in neighbourhood, accounting for 15 per cent cases, while this figure was just 1.3 per cent for urban areas.

Centre to draw up strategy for kharif season Realising the gravity of the agrarian situation after two back-to-back droughts, the

Union government is all set to formulate a crop production strategy for the coming summer (kharif) season to ensure that the plan to double farmers’ income in the next six years gains momentum.

A national conference on kharif campaign was organised by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfareby in New Delhi on April 11 and 12

Senior officials of agriculture and allied sectors from the Centre and States reviewed the performance of the preceding crop season and formulate a crop production strategy for kharif.

Kharif campaign-2016 assumes great importance in view of the recent crop damage on account of moisture stress due to deficit, and uneven and untimely rains, hailstorm and other natural calamities across various States.

Notably, the south-west monsoon during the previous kharif season was weak leading to a rain deficit of 14 per cent. Also, the rabi 2015-16 season had experienced less post-monsoon and winter rains.

Centre plans model law on groundwater

The India Water Week — a multidisciplinary conference, held on April 4, to discuss India’s challenges with freshwater management

It had a session on legal remedies to address the depleting ground water resources and also discuss legal aspects of the issue



What could be the reasons

1. Deficit rainfall 2. Dry winter 3. Increasing exploitation of

the river in its upper reaches.

4. Hydel power projects 5. Indiscriminate withdrawal 6. Considerable exploitation of

groundwater for irrigation, which affects the base flow.

The Central government is likely to begin consultations with States to frame an Act to prevent the misuse of fresh water, a rapidly diminishing resource in India. Experts from the Water Resources Ministry have already visited a few States to ascertain the groundwater situation

Though all groundwater is considered freshwater, the latter can also include water from ponds, lakes and other sources of surface water.

The management of water is a State subject in India and that has complicated efforts to manage water resources.

According to the India Water Portal, as much as 85 per cent of rural drinking water is derived from wells, with 88 per cent of it used for irrigation purposes. Up to 48 per cent of the urban population also uses groundwater.

A recent study by the Central Ground Water Board found that groundwater exploitation and contamination has affected nearly 60 per cent of Indian districts.

This is not the first time that the Centre has mooted an over-arching legislation for the management of ground water.

Since the 1970s, says a report by the now-renamed Planning Commission, laws have been mooted to encourage States to use groundwater more judiciously but except for Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra (drinking water focus), Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and union territories such as Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, these laws haven’t been effectively implemented.

Is the mighty Ganga drying up?

The Ganga that has nourished the Indian civilisation for centuries has recorded a historically low inflow in its lower reaches this year, going by the evidence on the ground.The inflow at the Farakka barrage in West Bengal nearly halved, compared with the quantum of water available in the last two years. The NTPC’s plant beside the barrage had to shut operations from March 10.

There is already a historically low inflow downstream of the Farakka in the Ganga, which reflects the health of the entire river basin.

Though the Ganga goes dry during the lean season from March, historically low inflow underscores serious concerns over upstream withdrawal

However, with the onset of Himalayan snowmelt in mid-April, the water levels would improve from the first week of May. In June, with the monsoon, the levels would rise again

Glaciologists studying the Himalayan sources of the river allay concerns that reduced snowmelt from the retreating glaciers might further affect the water levels. The glacial retreat has affected the flow in the river but its effects have been more localised. The amount



of water coming from the glacial melt to the Ganga is not so significant as to affect the entire river basin. So we need to look at tributaries to the river coming from Nepal as 80 per cent of the river’s flow downstream comes from there.

Studies conducted by the IIT had shown that anthropogenic stress through expansion of cities by the river, denudation of forests, encroachment of floodplains and excess groundwater extraction had affected the river severely. In order to protect the cities by the river from floods, embankments are constructed, and these elevate the river. As a result, there is more run-off during the rains, and rainwater doesn’t percolate deep enough to recharge its aquifers. And this is a gradual process whose effects are now being felt.

More detailed investigation into the causes of water levels dipping is required, including the glacial retreat, as there is a dearth of information.

India pharma industry and IPR controversy with US

India is the world’s principal producer and supplier of quality generic medicines which include antibiotics, and TB, malaria and HIV treatments in developing countries.

Yet, India has, in recent years, repeatedly been singled out by the United States government and the multinational pharmaceutical industry for what they characterise as the insufficient enforcement of the multinational pharmaceutical industry’s intellectual property (IP) and India’s independent patent examination system.

U.S. demands for more stringent IP enforcement, fast track examination of patent claims of companies and a moratorium on compulsory licensing have dominated DIPP’s discussions with stakeholders in the past year.

Recent events The dispute over medicines and patent enforcement with the U.S. has resulted in

a global public relations disaster for the government The recent revelation in the media that U.S. industry lobby groups such as the U.S.-

India Business Council (USIBC) and U.S. Chamber of Commerce received verbal, private assurances from Indian officials that India will not use ‘compulsory licensing’ (CL) to create price-lowering competition for patented medical products.

The USIBC also said that it had conducted “trainings” for India’s patent examiners. The training by a group that also receives funding from pharmaceutical companies, compromises the independence of the patent examination system, which was designed with the social objective of stopping drug giants from indulging in “evergreening”

Evergreening is a strategy by which patent holders seek multiple 20-year patents on the same product, extending the period of monopoly and exclusivity.

Issues There is growing criticism in the U.S. and the European Union of an ever-upward

spiralling of drug pricing for products protected by lengthy IP monopolies, which threaten people’s access to health and the sustainability of health services.

At the domestic level, India faced the issue of access to “single source patented medicine” for the new tuberculosis (TB) drug Bedaquiline, patented by Johnson and Johnson. In the absence of domestic suppliers of affordable generic versions of the



Significance

Over the past month, the Central Environment Ministry has notified a bunch of rules spanning the recycling and treatment of a variety of refuse, including biomedical, plastic and electronic waste among others. This is an essential component of Swachh Bharat (Mission)

Nearly 62 million tonnes of waste are generated annually in India, of which only 11.9 million are treated and nearly half — 31 million — is dumped in landfill sites. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, municipal authorities, as of 2013-14, have so far set up only 553 compost and vermin-compost plants, 56 bio-methanation plants, 22 refuse derived fuel plants and 12 waste-to-energy plants.

By 2031, municipal solid waste is expected to increase to 165 million tonnes and, if untreated, would require 1240 hectares of land.

Implementing this across the country would mean that municipalities would have to change several by-laws.

medicine, India’s TB programme was forced to rely on a donation from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The revelations also contradict past diplomatic commitments which include the one at the recent India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) —thus undermining India’s soft power with developing countries — where the country is recognised as the “pharmacy of the developing world”, championing the cause of low-cost generic production of lifesaving medicines for emerging economies.

The U.S. pharmaceutical industry is confident that it has successfully created a chilling effect on Indian authorities who will not process any more CLs on their patented blockbuster medicines.

Conclusion In the area of intellectual property, public health and access to medicines, the

government should consider its independence, including from the U.S. and its pharmaceutical industry lobbyists, to be of the utmost importance.

To do otherwise is to impede India’s progress towards adopting legal flexibilities allowed under international trade rules to protect domestic access to as well as international trade in generic medicines.

This in turn will threaten to undermine access, for millions of people in the developing world, to affordable treatment.

Govt. notifies new rules on waste management The Environment Ministry has notified

rules The rules on solid waste management

have been amended after 16 years Rules took effect from April 6

Provisions of the rules A key provision is to formalise the

profession of rag-picking. Makes it incumbent on a wide range of

groups — hotels, residential colonies, bulk producers of consumer goods, ports, railway stations, airports and pilgrimage spots — to ensure that the solid waste generated in their facilities are treated and recycled.

Though the onus on garbage management would continue to be the responsibility of municipal bodies, they would be allowed to charge user fees and levy spot fines for littering and non-segregation.

There would be a “transition period” of two to five years, beyond which fines would be imposed

Local bodies with a population of one lakh or more were required to set up



Medical Council of India

The Medical Council of India (MCI) is the statutory body for establishing uniform and high standards of medical education in India.

The Council grants recognition of medical qualifications, gives accreditation to medical schools, grants registration to medicalpractitioners, and monitors medical practice in India

solid waste processing facilities within two years, census towns below a lakh would be given three years and old and abandoned dump sites would have to be closed or bio-remedied within five years.

Colourful start for India’s fastest train Indian Railways launched the much-touted Gatimaan Express, fastest train in the

country. The semi high-speed train, with a 5,400 horse power electric locomotive and top

speed of 160 kmph, covered the nearly 200 km distance between Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station and Agra Cantonment station in exactly 100 minutes, as promised.

It is, however, only slightly faster than the Bhopal Shatabdi launched 28 years ago, which takes 117 minutes to reach Agra but also takes a longer route, starting from the New Delhi Railway station.

For the passengers, the high points were the ever-smiling train hosts and hostesses, who greeted them with flowers and chocolates.

MCI chief for revival of common entrance test for medical courses The MCI has approved the proposal for Common Entrance Test NEET in its general

body meeting and it has been sent to the government. The final decision of the government is awaited

The new system would ensure reservation of seats as per norms of different States.

The syllabus would be common throughout the country.

The MCI is also working on similar uniform exit examination for MBBS, postgraduate (courses) and super-specialities

The MCI, in the last two years, had been making efforts to revise, revamp and upgrade the existing 1997 Regulation in Graduate Medical Education, incorporating many of the recommendations made by the Undergraduate Working Group.

This document envisages some major changes in the existing regulations, including a two-month foundation course during which students will be oriented to the national health scenario, medical ethics, professional development, and communication skills.

The document also incorporates early clinical exposure of students from first year onwards which would be integrated with learning in basic and laboratory sciences

Stand-up India scheme unveiled Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the ‘Stand-up India’ scheme The scheme was announced during his Independence Day speech last year, is being

unveiled on April 5 to mark the birth anniversary of Congress Dalit Leader Babu Jagjivan Ram.

Aim:



To promote entrepreneurship among women, scheduled castes and tribes by enabling them secure easier loans

Loans of between Rs.10 lakh and Rs.1 crore for setting up new enterprises.

Will help in creating 2.5 lakh entrepreneurs throughout the country

Every bank branch will be required to provide two such loans – to a Dalit or SC/ST person and a woman.

Group of joint secretaries to suggest ways to reboot flagship schemes

The Government has constituted a group of joint secretaries from select ministries to evolve strategies to put more substance and speed into the action plans for flagship programmes such as Digital India, Swachh Bharat, Skill India and Make in India.

This marks a departure from the traditional approach of setting up groups of ministers or committees of secretaries to devise such plans,

The mandate of this group is to finalise a strategy over the next month and a half to ensure these programmes deliver outcomes with a greater visible impact on the ground before the 2019 general election.

Marathon interactions are being held to evolve a fresh strategy for each of these that can be executed before the next general election. The group of joint secretaries has been tasked with formulating a blueprint for each programme. Initial presentations have been circulated to the respective nodal ministries for their comments and inputs.

The ministers concerned have also been instructed to hold discussions with officials at the level of deputy secretary and above to finalise a strategy. The final presentations are to be made to the Prime Minister.

The objective of the action plan is to take the development model to the next level for quicker delivery. The plans will be based on views of multiple ministries with the involvement of all mid-level and above government officials

It is a good move if it helps to improve the ease of doing business in these sectors and accelerates investment flows.

The new action points formulated by the joint secretaries’ group that pass muster with the government could then be added to the Prime Minister’s monthly monitoring system to ascertain the status of various critical projects and policies across the country. On the fourth Wednesday of every month, the Prime Minister usually meets secretaries of the Union government and chief secretaries of all State governments to review the progress of projects under implementation. These meetings are held over video-conference, using an ICT-based multi-modal monitoring system called PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation).



Issues with simulatneous elections

Q. Will holding simultaneous elections to the State Legislature and the Lok Sabha impact voter behaviour, and hence electoral outcomes?

It is a widely held belief among political observers and politicians that the Indian voter is astute and distinguishes between voting for her State government vis-a-vis the national government.

An analysis according to a think tank in Mumbai shows that on average, there is a 77 per cent chance that the Indian voter will vote for the same party for both the State and Centre when elections are held simultaneously. They analysed electoral data since 1999 to understand voter behaviour in simultaneous elections and otherwise. In 77 per cent of these constituencies, the winner came from the same political party. In other words, when handed two ballots at the same time to choose their representative for both Parliament and State Assembly, voters chose the same party in 77 per cent of the cases.

This trend of choosing the same party has gone from 68 per cent in 1999 to 77 per cent in 2004 to 76 per cent in 2009 and 86 per cent in 2014.

Justifiable attempts to alter India’s permanent election malaise can have a tangible and perhaps undesirable impact on voter behaviour.

The belief that the voter distinguishes between voting for her State government vis-a-vis the national government has no evidence

Concurrent elections for state and centre Simultaneous elections for State Assemblies and Parliament can have a tangible, and

perhaps undesirable, impact on voter behaviour ‘The permanent campaign’ in 1980

that lamented the culture of election campaigns crowding out time for policymaking.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently bemoaned the incessant demands of electioneering for various State elections leaving little time for governance. He called for reforming India’s electoral cycle to hold simultaneous elections to State Legislatures and Parliament, to break out of this ‘permanent campaign’ syndrome.

Facts speak In India’s own version of the

‘permanent campaign’, in the last 30 years, there has not been a single year in which there has been no election either to a State Assembly or to Parliament.

In 1967, 22 States held elections along with the Parliament elections. That number dwindled to four by 2014.



Reasons

Gobal slowdown affected cargo volumes.

European economic crisis, ban on export of iron ore by

some states, A drop in imports from China

and Decrease in industrial output

in India.

Why concurrent elections Efficiency in terms of costs and resources aside, Intangible impact of this perpetual election mode on the legislative and executive

abilities of the Central government is perhaps far more onerous to the nation than mere exchequer losses.

This reform seems to have won support across the political spectrum, including regional parties, save for the Trinamool Congress.

Govt. lowers freight target for ports Major ports failed to achieve 695 million tonnes freight handling target set by the

Shipping Ministry for 2015-16 13 major ports in the country ended 2015-16 by recording a moderate growth of 4.13

per cent over the year-ago period by handling 606.37 million tonnes of cargo. Consequences

Following this, the Ministry scaled down the target for 2016-17 to 644 million tonnes, lower by nearly 51 million tonnes from the 695 million tonnes fixed for 2015-16.

For the current year, six ports (Haldia, Paradip, Kamarajar, Chennai, V.O. Chidambaranar and Cochin) have been asked to handle 10 per cent more cargo than they handled during 2015-16, five ports (Mumbai, JNPT, Visakhapatnam, New Mangalore and Kandla) are to handle an additional 1 to 5 per cent cargo while targets for Kolkata and Mormugao have been scaled down marginally.

During 2015-16, major ports handled 606.37 million tonnes against 581.34 million tonnes in the year-ago period. Coal for power plants, fertilisers, pulses, iron and steel and petroleum products were the main drivers of this growth.

The new target provided huge relief to Port officials as it was fixed on a scientific basis.

Towards restorative criminal justice Purpose for which criminal justice was set up : securing life and property.

Issues with the way criminal justice is designed and administered today 1. No deterrance- because of the delay and uncertainties involved in its processes and

ineffective punishments it imposes on those few who get convicted. 2. Backlog of cases- 30 million criminal cases pending in the system (the annual capacity of

which is only half that number), and with another 10 million or more cases being added every year

3. Bureacratic discretion- It provides wide discretion to the police and the prosecution, rendering the system vulnerable to corruption and manipulation and endangering basic rights of innocent citizens.

4. No victim compensation- It ignores the real victim, often compelling him/her to find extralegal methods of getting justice.

5. Heavy economic costs on the state for its maintenance without commensurate benefits in return.

Plea bargaining and India's experience



A plea bargain is any agreement in a criminal case between the prosecutor and defendant whereby the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a particular charge in return for some concession from the prosecutor.

On the recommendation of the Committee on Reforms of Criminal Justice System (2003), India also adopted “plea bargaining” under Chapter XXI-A of the the Code of Criminal Procedure

Applicable to cases punishable up to seven years of imprisonment for negotiated settlement without trial.

However, the Bar and the Bench seem to be allergic to plea-bargained settlement, with the result that even after a decade of its introduction, it remains a dead letter not invoked by those caught in the system.

Victim-oriented criminal justice and India's experience Victim-oriented criminal justice- means restoring the confidence of victims in the

system and achieving the goal of justice in whichever sense the idea is conceived. Toward this end, the system must 1. confer certain rights on victims to enable them to participate in the proceedings,

including the right to be impleaded and to engage an advocate in serious offences, the right to track the progress of the proceedings, the right to be heard on critical issues and to assist the court in the pursuit of truth.

2. Victims have the right to seek and receive compensation for injuries suffered including appropriate interim relief irrespective of the fate of the proceedings.

3. Victims may also submit a victim impact statement to the courts setting out the effect of the crime on their lives.

The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act of 2006 adopted a small part of the recommendation on victims and left the rest for future consideration. This did not help in changing the system to a victim-centric one; nor did it support a restorative approach necessary to make the system serve its reformatory and deterrent functions meaningfully.

International practices - restorative justice Several countries across the world are now replacing the adversarial model of criminal

justice partly or wholly with different models of restorative justice, yielding promising results in crime control.

The process is more collaborative, consensual and inclusive, that is characteristic of indigenous systems of justice. The role of the state is reduced and the participation of communities encouraged.

Several years ago US faced a similar situation. It adopted plea bargaining and diversion to administrative and quasi-judicial institutions in a big way. Result- less than a third of criminal cases are allowed to go for trial.

Diversion is followed in the U.K. as well. Recently, it reformed its criminal justice system giving a central role to the victims to direct their cases in the system.

In Russia, Australia and several other countries, the victim is brought centre stage through what is called “restorative justice” to replace unproductive aspects of conventional criminal processes

Committee on criminal justice reforms recommendaions The committee on criminal justice reforms recommended a threefold strategy to arrest

the drift and to prevent total disaster.



1. Legal reform - Both substantive and procedural The law,, requires a fresh comprehensive look based on changes in society and

economy as well as priorities in governance. The guiding principle in the reform process should be decriminalisation wherever

possible and diversion, reserving the criminal justice system mainly to deal with real “hard” crimes.

A suggestion was made to divide the Penal Code into four different codes — 1. a “Social Offences Code” consisting of matters which are essentially of a civil nature

and can be settled or compounded through administrative processes without police intervention and prison terms;

2. a “Correctional Offences Code” containing offences punishable up to three years’ imprisonment where parole, probation and conditional sentences can be imposed in lieu of prison terms and can be handled under summary/summons procedure where plea bargaining can be liberally invoked without the stigma of conviction;

3. an “Economic Offences Code” where property offences which affect the financial stability of the country are dealt with by a combination of criminal and administrative strategies including plea bargaining (both on charge as well as on punishment) with a view to making crimes economically non-viable; and

4. an “Indian Penal Code” which will have only major crimes which warrant 10 years’ imprisonment or more or death and deserve a full-fledged warrant trial with all safeguards of a criminal trial. The police and prosecution systems will accordingly be reorganised making them more specialised, efficient and accountable.

2. Institutional reform The second strategy proposed by the committee was institutional reform of police

processes, including 1. investigation of crimes, 2. professionalisation and rationalisation of court systems with induction of technology

and 3. limiting appeal procedures to the minimum required. It is here the committee sought to bring in a bigger and responsible role to victims of

crime in the whole proceedings. Today, a victim-centric approach in criminal justice can also mean healing the wounds

through reconciliation and restorative means of justice rather than letting it get prolonged in the system, leading to frustration and more wrongs.

Restorative justice Restorative justice is more akin to indigenous systems of quick, simple systems of

resolution of wrongs which enjoy community support, victim satisfaction and offender acknowledgement of obligations.

Thus perceived, restorative justice takes on board all three parties — the offender, the victim and the community — in a harmonious resolution of the injury, maximising the sense of justice and restoring peace and harmony in the community.

Restorative justice is distinct from mediation though it involves meetings and dialogues to fix responsibility for wrongdoing and to find a solution acceptable to all three parties.

More importantly, it directly addresses victim needs and therefore emphasises the private dimensions of a public wrong. It is not a substitute to the formal criminal



justice system, but a good backup to reduce its workload and to increase the sense of justice in the system as a whole.

In a sense, the concept of “plea bargain” is closer to the idea and processes of restorative justice and therefore nothing new to criminal proceedings.

A distinctive feature of restorative justice is that it looks at the needs of crime victims which are today outside criminal justice concerns, leading to frustration and alienation of victims from the system itself.

The victim is deprived of information on why he should suffer the injury and how it is going to be repaired. He would perhaps feel vindicated if the offender were to make an effort to right the harm, even if partially, by restitution. The victim would respect the system if it could make the offender assume responsibility and persuade him to transform himself.

Restorative justice therefore aims to respond to the needs of the victim and help sustain interpersonal relationships while reinforcing offender obligations. Justice, in other words, should engage with victims, offenders and the right-thinking members of the community in an effort of reconciliation and repairing of harm.

This approach begins with a concern for victims and their needs even when no offender has been identified or apprehended.

This is not to be confused with the khap panchayat model of arbitrary decision-making by a few elders of the locality. Due process requirements are followed in restorative justice while participation is enlarged and made transparent, inclusive and accountable.

While doing so, the system respects diversity as a social fact, interrelatedness as a virtue and correcting/healing the harm as a major objective.

Conclusion Crime and violence constitute a major impediment for development and social

integration for a plural society like India. The adversarial model of criminal justice, with punishing the offender as its only aim, has proved costly and counterproductive.

Communities have to be involved and victims given rights in finding ways to correct the wrong.

While keeping the adversarial system for certain serious and complex offences, India needs to experiment with more democratic models aimed at reconciliation and restoration of relationships.

Restorative justice is a welcome idea particularly in the matter of juvenile justice, property offences, communal conflicts, family disputes, etc.

What is needed is a change of mindset, willingness to bring victims to the centre stage of criminal proceedings and to acknowledge that restoring relationships and correcting the harm are important elements of the criminal justice system.



What is Panama Papers?

The Panama Papers (Panama Leaks) are a set of 11.5 million leaked documents detailing attorney–client information for more than 214,000 offshore companies associated with the Panamanian law firm and corporate service provider, Mossack Fonseca. The leaked documents contain the identities of company shareholders and directors associated with Mossack Fonseca shell companies. Among other things, they illustrate how wealthy individuals, including public officials, hide assets from public scrutiny.

Under the NIRF, ranking parameters fall under five broad headings —

1. Teaching, learning and resources;

2. Research, consulting and collaborative performance;

3. Graduation outcomes; 4. Outreach and inclusivity; 5. Perception.

Centre orders probe against Indians linked to tax havens The government ordered the formation of a special agency to investigate Indians who

figure in the ‘Panama papers’ — a set of over 11 million leaked documents that reveal how the rich and the connected around the world used tax havens for salting away their wealth.

The documents, about the clients of one of the world’s biggest law firms, Mossack Fonseca, headquartered in tax haven Panama offering such services, were leaked to a German newspaper, which in turn shared them with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

The multi-agency group that was set up following directions from Prime Minister Narendra Modi will consist of officers from the investigative units of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, the Financial Intelligence Union and Foreign Tax & Tax Research division and the Reserve Bank of India.

The Special Investigation Team on Black Money, appointed under the Supreme Court’s directions, had in its third report submitted last year to the court said that various departments were not prepared to share the information received in tax evasion cases.

Based on an investigation with the ICIJ of the documents leaked from the secret filesover 500 Indians, including high-profile actors and businessmen, could have links to secret firms in overseas tax havens.

Among those the newspaper named in its reports are actors Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, real estate firm DLF’s promoter K.P. Singh and Vinod Adani, elder brother of Adani Group founder and chairman Gautam Adani. Several of those the newspaper named have denied any wrongdoing.

The records were first accessed by Munich-based newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung . Following the leaks, tax authorities in the U.K., France, New Zealand and Australia said they would look into the charges of money laundering or tax avoidance, arising from the expose.

National Institutions Ranking Framework (NIRF) ‘India Rankings 2016’- The first of its kind

ranking of educational institutions released by the government

Unveiled by the Human Resources and Development Ministry

It covers 3,500 institutions in four categories: university, engineering, pharmacy and management.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_breach

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offshore_tax_haven

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_services

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_services

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mossack_Fonseca



Did you know?

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras is the best institute for engineering and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM)-Bangalore is the best for management according to NIRF

In the category of universities, the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, is rated the top-ranked institute

Institutes were asked to submit their own data which was then verified by the National Bureau of Accreditation.

Architecture was included in the list when the Ministry had announced plans for the ranking last November, but due to the lukewarm response from institutes, this category was dropped from the list.

The Indian Institutes of Technology have occupied all 10 places in the engineering category of the ranking announced by the government. While six old IITs made it to the list, four new ones — Ropar, Gandhinagar, Patna and Hyderabad — were also among the top ten. The IIT-Madras beat the IIT-Bombay and the IIT-Kharagpur to claim the first position

This ranking is in response to global rankings in which Indian universities and colleges usually do not fare too well. The framework is different from global rankings in that it will judge institutions based on country-specific parameters.

The new ranking framework has been drafted to provide “an Indian context to educational aspirations and needs”. This will help institutions that conduct research in languages other than English and are focused on inclusive education, two factors that are overlooked by international agencies.

Rail, road connectivity to top Board of Trade agenda Meeting of the Board of Trade (BoT)

Headed by Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman The BoT was reconstituted on March 23. It comprises representatives from the

concerned ministries and from leading companies belonging mainly to export-oriented sectors, besides export promotion councils, industry chambers and trade experts.

The board is meeting to evolve steps to boost India’s exports Issues that will might be discussed Infrastructure related issues

The issue of better rail and road connectivity from export clusters to ports and airports at the state-level is expected to top the agenda.

The infrastructure-related issues will be taken up especially since the BoT comprises secretaries of the ministries of shipping, aviation and surface transport as well as the heads of National Highways Authority of India, Railway Board and the Container Corporation of India.

Earlier the commerce department was looking at bridging the gaps in export-related infrastructure through the Assistance to States for Infrastructure Development of Exports (ASIDE) Scheme. Now the allocation for the ASIDE Scheme is practically nil and subsequent to higher allocation to the States in the Central taxes (in accordance with the Finance Commission’s suggestion), it has been left to the States to fund such infrastructure projects.



Many States face shortage of funds or have different priorities and they neglect export-related infrastructure. This has in turn added to the logistics cost for exporters.

During the meeting of the (Centre-State) Council for Trade Development and Promotion in January 2016, it was pointed out that ‘poor (export-related) infrastructure’ was the top-most factor hampering exports, and that the role of the states was crucial in addressing this.

Minimum Import Price (MIP) on 173 steel items Besides, engineering exporters will raise their concern over the Minimum Import

Price (MIP) on 173 steel items They said has led to a major increase in their raw material costs and was therefore

hurting engineering exports. Though the government had said the MIP will not be applicable to imports under the

Advance Authorisation Scheme (AAS), AAS was not used by the small exporters and had sought a price reimbursement mechanism.

Other issues The recent cutback in government aid for export marketing under the Market Access

Initiative Scheme. Export Promotion Councils and FIEO have been officially informed that they would be given lesser Market Access Initiative (MAI) Scheme support, a move they said will hurt small exporters who rely on such assistance to participate in reputed international fairs and get more export orders, especially during a global trade slowdown

Problems faced by exporters in getting refund of duty and taxes from the government. Also slated for discussion is a proposal to grant interest subsidy on pre and post-

shipment rupee export credit to merchant exporters (who procure goods from manufacturers for exports) from sectors such as handicrafts, carpets and agriculture.

Indian exports have declined from $314 billion in FY’14 to $310 billion in FY’15. Exports in FY’16 are expected to shrink further to around $260 billion

For the disabled, it’s a breeze in Kamrup

Even while the politics of polarisation plays out in the high-stakes Assam Assembly elections, a silent effort towards inclusion is under way in the State. One such instance is the way the district administration of Kamrup Rural in Lower Assam has been trying to help the differently abled vote without hassles.

Measures being taken Officials at the booth, sector and zone levels in various

constituencies are being sensitised to, and trained on, provisions to be made available for persons with disability in the polling stations.

The administration has struck a partnership with Shishu Sarothi, a non-profit organisation for rehabilitation and training of people with multiple disabilities.

The provisions for the differently abled include priority



without having to queue up with other voters; reserved parking space; signage; ramps to help enter the polling station; and permission to take the wheelchair inside and to bring a family member or person of choice to the station.

Seats will be provided for them as well as the elderly, the infirm, pregnant women and lactating mothers.

The Kamrup election district has set up the Kamrup-Disability Assistance Centre (K-DAC) to encourage differently abled persons to come out and vote through awareness campaigns and radio outreach.

"My Vote, My Assam" campaign

The initiative is part of a wider campaign — “My Vote, My Assam” — to leave no voter behind

The voting percentage in the district is around 75 per cent overall, but there exist pockets where the turnout is low.

The campaign is focussing on the differently abled, the elderly and the infirm because they mostly miss out on voting. A plan is on to felicitate the senior-most voter who turns up to vote in every booth.

The issue goes beyond sensitisation of the electoral machinery and the workforce Political parties tend not to see the differently abled as a vote bank, though their

numbers could be as high as 100 million in India, going by the U.N. estimate that 10 per cent of the population globally have some kind of disability.

A higher turnout by the differently enabled would force governments to adopt a rights-based approach towards them vis-à-vis policy-making

The initiative is having a ripple effect, with the administration in Kamrup (Metropolitan) planning to start a similar one. With more than a week to go before Lower Assam goes to the polls on April 11, expect more districts to sign up to an inclusive election.



Trimbakeshwar

The ancient temple, located 30 km from Nashik, is a major Lord Shiva shrine of the country, which has one of the 12 ‘jyotirlingas’ , drawing devotees from far and wide.

As per tradition, only men were allowed entry daily between 6 and 7 am into the area where the main ‘linga’ is placed, that too by putting on a specific gear called the sovala (silk clothing). Women, can, however have ‘darshan’ from outside the core area.

Apparently the ban on entry of women into the ‘garbhagriha’ dates back to the Peshwa period and is not something enforced in recent times.

Some priests in the temple town said most of the women devotees might not want to defy the tradition.

Seeking to give a scientific dimension to the practice, they said there are certain rays that concentrate in the core area which could probably be harmful to the health of women.

Now, men too can’t enter core area in Trimbakeshwar The Trimbakeshwar temple authorities has imposed restriction on men’s entry into

the sanctum sanctorum of the Lord Shiva shrine here to provide “equal treatment” to both the genders

Background The decision comes in the wake of Bombay

High Court verdict giving women equal rights on entry into temples and held it is the fundamental right of women to go into places of worship

It had also directed the state government to take pro-active steps to ensuring compliance with the law which prevents discrimination against women vis-a-vis entry to places of worship.

The debate over the issue of womens’ entry into the sanctum sanctorum of temples in Maharashtra escalated after a woman last year tried to enter and offer prayers at the Shani Shingnapur temple in ‘breach’ of the age-old practice.

This had prompted the temple committee to suspend seven security men and the villagers to perform “purifications”.

At the Shani shrine in Ahmednagar too, the temple management has shunned the practice of special pooja for men in the last two months after agitation demanding women’s entry into the ‘garbhagriha’ gained momentum.

Now both men and women are offering prayers from an equal distance from the idol. As of now, only priests are allowed on the sacred sanctum.

After the HC order Bhumata Ranragini Brigade Trupti Desai and 25 other women activists were taken into preventive custody to stop them from entering into the inner sanctum of the Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar. They were later released.

Private equity inflow falls Private equity inflow in India slowed to $2.3 billion in the first three months of

calendar year 2016, down 48.8 per cent from $4.5 billion in the same period, according to data from VCCEdge.

The numbers fell 50.7 per cent sequentially from the fourth quarter of calendar year 2015, indicating a lean period for deal activity, which had hit a peak in Q3 of 2015, according to VCCEdge.



There was a dip in venture capital funding with deal value falling to $334 million in the first quarter of 2016, when compared to $1.8 billion in the same period last year, the data showed.

Deal volume in angel and seed investments was up 36.2 per cent to 188 deals in the first quarter of 2016, from 138 deals a year ago.

The report confirms emerging trends mapped by VCCircle, which pointed to waning investor interest for ecommerce start-ups and shows a general consensus among private equity and venture capital investors that valuations of India’s start-up swill need to drop as investments by limited partners will moderate

NITI Aayog finalises Model Act for farm land lease

NITI Aayog is all set to propose a Model Act for freeing up of farm land through leasing.The Model Act is being finalised by an expert committee which NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya had set up in September 2015 under former Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) chairman T. Haque.

Whereas the bill to amend the land acquisition law remains stuck with a parliamentary committee

Provisions The Act is meant for States that plan to legalise farm land leasing. State governments are expected to improvise it to suit the local socio-political

requirements. Land ownership will remain secure and will revert to the owner and in case the parcel

of land is sold before the tenure of the lease is complete, the rights of the tenants will be secure

No changes will be made in the land records Attestation of the lease is proposed to be done at the level of the sarpanch, local bank

official or notary. The Model Act proposes that farmers and farmer groups be allowed to lease out land.

The definition of ‘farm land’ is proposed to be broadened to include food processing. The Model Act proposes quicker litigation process in case of disputes, by suggesting

recourse through criminal proceedings and special tribunal, the source said. It is expected that the dispute settlement will be taken up at the level of the Gram

Sabha, Panchayat and Tehsildar. At present, only land owners can avail of crop insurance schemes or loans. Also,

disaster relief in case of drought and crop damage is provided only to the owners and not cultivators. The Model Act will enable share croppers to receive such benefits and relief. Lessee cultivators could raise crop loans on the basis of expected produce.

Visa, labour mobility curbs to figure during GES April meet

Global Exhibition on Services (GES) The second (annual) edition of Global Exhibition on Services(GES) is slated for April

21-23 to boost trade and foreign direct investment in the services sector and will be held at Greater Noida in the national capital region.



GES — to be organised by the government along with the industry body CII and the Services Export Promotion Council — is likely to witness discussions by experts from the fields of politics, business, academics, policy making and media.

The government will utilise the upcoming GES to garner support for India's proposal for a Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) on Services

TFA on Services The TFA on Services was proposed by India along the lines of the WTO's TFA on Goods

(aimed at easing customs rules to expedite global trade flows in the merchandise sector).

However, so far India's proposal for a TFA in Services has found few takers at the multilateral level

Services sector accounts for over half of the total global employment growth, commerce and industry

A recent study has estimated an additional gain of $39 trillion in global GDP over 25 years, if border barriers are removed for trade in services.

Labour mobility norms The GES will also see discussions on another important area of India's interest —

regarding elimination of curbs on temporary movement of professionals and relaxation of labour mobility norms across the world

Removal of restriction on temporary movement of professionals and easing labour mobility could constitute major step towards facilitation of international trade in services leading to global growth, employment and prosperity.

India had recently dragged the U.S. to the WTO over the Obama administration's move to hike fees for H1B and L1 visas — temporary work visas for skilled professionals.

Being the largest user of these visas, India feels America’s decision is “discriminatory” because it will mainly impact Indian tech firms.

India is also taking up with the U.K. its concerns over the recent restrictions in the British immigration law that is likely to hurt professionals including from India.

Even in the proposed free trade agreement with the European Union, India is pushing for greater market access in services.

The GES focus sectors, among others include banking and financial services, education and environmental services

New campaign to empower villages- Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan

Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan - a Central government’s campaign to strengthen Panchayati Raj in villages and ensure social harmony, empowerment of women and uplift of farmers

It will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh in April, on the occasion of 125th Birth anniversary of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar.

The campaign would be held all over the country from April 14 to 24. The campaign will be run jointly by Union Rural Development and Panchayati Raj,

Agriculture, Social Justice, Labour and Information and Broadcasting Ministries along with States and will culminate on April 24 on the Panchayati Raj Day



Background

The court was hearing a public interest litigation petition filed by senior advocate Nilima Vartak and activist Vidya Bal challenging the prohibition of entry of women into the Shani Shingnapur temple.

The petition seeks the entry of women not just into the temple but also into the sanctum sanctorum.

The court had earlier stated that any temple or person imposing restrictions could face a six-month jail term under a law and asked the government to make a statement whether it was worried about the sanctity of a deity.

SC can’t be bypassed on inter-State disputes: Haryana

The Haryana government invoked judicial precedents in the Cauvery river water sharing dispute case to submit in the Supreme Court that no State Assembly can pass a law to negate the apex court’s constitutional powers to adjudicate and decide inter-State disputes.

A law passed by the State legislature to circumvent or render infructuous a Supreme Court verdict was a clear encroachment by the lawmakers into the judiciary’s terrain.

Background In a hearing of the Presidential Reference on the validity of the Punjab Termination

of Agreements Act of 2004 before a Constitution Bench On March 14, even as the Supreme Court began hearing the President’s Reference on

the 2004 Act, the Punjab Assembly went ahead and passed the Punjab Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal (Rehabilitation and Re-vesting of Proprietary Rights) Bill, which provided for the return of over 5,000 acres of land acquired from farmers for the canal. The act has jeopardised the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal project

On March 17, the apex court ordered status quo and made it clear that it would not be relegated to the status of a “silent spectator” by any State Assembly.

The court had appointed the Union Home Secretary, Punjab’s Chief Secretary and Director General of Police as joint receivers to ensure no alterations were made in the canal structure and related properties.

Punjab urged the Bench to first decide on the State’s decision to return the land acquired for the canal back to the farmers.

End gender discrimination at temples, HC tells Maharashtra

The Bombay High Court order The State was duty-bound to prevent gender

discrimin-ation on entry to temples. It was its fundamental duty to ensure the

fundamental right of women was protected. The court said the State must enforce the law

and if the government was not sincerely doing it,then the will take some action.

Ordered the State, the Home Minister and the Secretary, Home, to implement the provisions of the Maharashtra Hindu Places of Public Worship (Entry Authorisation) Act, 1956, and direct the Superintendents of Police and the Collectors to ensure compliance.

If a temple allows men in the sanctum sanctorum but prohibits women, this Act and its provisions can be used.

The government should give wide publicity to the Act.



Implications

The study warned of a looming epidemic of “severe obesity” with significant health and economic costs.

There will be health consequences of magnitudes that we do not know

Obesity and especially severe and morbid obesity, affect many organs and physiological processes.

Some of these, like higher cholesterol or blood pressure, can be dealt with through medicines. But for many others, including diabetes, we don’t have effective treatment.

One in five adults may be obese by 2025: study

Research published in the Lancet medical journal More than six percent of men and nine percent of

women will be severely obese. With a BMI of 35 one is categorised as severely

obese, and from 40 upward as morbidly so. One is considered underweight below 18.5,

overweight from 25 up, and obese from 30 — when the risk of diabetes, stroke, heart disease and some cancers escalates massively.

People are divided into healthy or unhealthy weight categories based on a universally-adopted measure dubbed Body Mass Index (BMI) — a ratio of weight-to-height squared. A healthy BMI ranges from 18.5 to 24.9.

It used Body Mass Index (BMI) for the study The survey claimed to be the most

comprehensive of its kind conducted to date. The ratio of obese adults has more than doubled

in the 40 years since 1975, and will climb further in the coming nine. One in five adults could be obese by 2025.

Of about 5 billion adults alive in 2014, 641 million were obese, it found.

It used data from 1,698 studies involving 19.2 million adults from 186 countries which are home to 99 per cent of the world’s population. Children were excluded.

The ratio of underweight people in the world declined at a slower rate than obesity grew— from about 13.8 per cent in 1975 to 8.8 per cent for men, and 14.6 per cent to 9.7 per cent for women.

At current rates, more women will be severely obese (a BMI of 35 or more) than underweight by 2025, and world will miss its stated target of halting obesity at 2010 levels.

More than a fifth of men in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Ethiopia, and a quarter of women in Bangladesh and India, were underweight.

In 2014, world’s fattest people lived in the island nations of Polynesia and Micronesia, where 38 per cent of men and more than half of women were obese, said the study.

Nearly a fifth of world’s obese adults (118 million) lived in six high-income countries — the U.S., Britain, Ireland, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

The U.S. was home to one in four severely obese men and almost one in five severely obese women in the world.

At the other extreme, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia and Eritrea had the lowest BMI numbers in the world, with averages as low as 20.1.



Olive Ridley turtle hatchlings released into sea

Hundreds of tiny Olive Ridley turtle hatchlings looked at sunlight for the first time and entered the Bay of Bengal, helped on their way by scores of eager hands of volunteers on the Visakapatnem beach

The tiny creatures floundered, stopped and crawled away into the sea and the tides washed them into the Bay.

Olive ridley sea turtle The olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), also known as the Pacific ridley

sea turtle, is a medium-sized species of sea turtle found in warm and tropical waters, primarily in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

The olive ridley sea turtles are considered the most abundant, yet globally they have declined by more than 30% from historic levels. These turtles are considered endangered because of their few remaining nesting sites in the world.

Nesting grounds - Olive ridley turtles are best known for their behavior of synchronized nesting in mass numbers, termed arribadas. Interestingly, females return to the very same beach from where they first hatched, to lay their eggs. Mating is often assumed to occur in the vicinity of nesting beaches, but copulating pairs have been reported over 1,000 km from the nearest beach.

Olive Ridley sea turtles migrate in huge numbers from the beginning of November, every year, for mating and nesting along the coast of Orissa.

Threats There has been decline in the population of these turtles in the recent past due to mass

mortality. The 'Homing' characteristics of the Ridley sea turtles make them more prone to mass casualty.

The voyage to the natal nesting beaches is the dooming factor for the sea turtles. Since Gahirmatha coast serves as the natal nesting beach for millions of turtles, it has immense importance on turtle conservation

However, the greatest single cause of olive ridley egg loss results from arribadas, in which the density of nesting females is so high, previously laid nests are inadvertently dug up and destroyed by other nesting females. In some cases, nests become cross-contaminated by bacteria or pathogens of rotting nests.

Humans are still listed as the leading threat to L. olivacea, responsible for unsustainable egg collection, slaughtering nesting females on the beach, and direct harvesting adults at sea for commercial sale of both the meat and hides.

Other major threats include mortality associated with boat collisions, and incidental takes in fisheries. Trawling, gill nets, ghost nests,longline fishing, and pot fishing, have significantly affected olive ridley populations, as well as other species of marine turtles. Between 1993 and 2003, more than 100,000 olive ridley turtles were reported dead in Odisha, India from fishery-related practices.

In addition, entanglement and ingestion of marine debris is listed as a major threat for this species.

Coastal development, natural disasters, climate change, and other sources of beach erosion have also been cited as potential threats to nesting grounds. Hatchlings which use light cues to orient themselves to the sea are now misled into moving towards land, and die from dehydration or exhaustion, or are killed on roads.



Large scale commercial exploitation and trade of olive ridley skins. Conservation

In Schedule - I of Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (amended 1991). All the species of sea turtles in the coastal water of Orissa are listed as "vulnerable" as

per IUCN Red Data Book. The sea turtles are protected under the 'Migratory Species Convention' and CITES

(Convention of International Trade on Wildlife Flora and Fauna). India is a signatory nation to all these conventions. The Gahirmatha Beach in Kendrapara district of Odisha (India), which is now a part

of the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, is the largest breeding ground for these turtles. The Gahirmatha Marine Wildlife Sanctuary, which bounds the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary to the east, was created in September 1997, and encompasses Gahirmatha Beach and an adjacent portion of the Bay of Bengal.

Bhitarkanika Mangroves were designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 2002. It is the world's largest known rookery of Olive Ridley sea turtles. Apart from Gahirmatha rookery, two other mass nesting beaches have been located which are on the mouth of rivers Rushikulya and Devi.

Conservation successes for the olive ridley have relied on well-coordinated national programs in combination with local communities and nongovernment organizations, which focused primarily on public outreach and education.

Arribada management has also played a critical role in conserving olive ridleys.Lastly, enforcing the use of turtle excluder devices in the shrimp trawling industry has also proved effective in some areas.

Another major project, in India involved in preserving the olive ridley sea turtle population was carried out in Chennai, where the Chennai wildlife team collected close to 10,000 Olive Ridley turtle eggs along the Marina coast, of which 8,834 hatchlings were successfully released into the sea in a phased manner.



India PNG relations

India would provide anti-retroviral drugs and equipment to benefit 20,000 HIV positive patients in Papua New Guinea, a figure that would help at least half the number of those suffering from the disease. UNAIDS estimates say that between 37,000 and 41,000 people were living with HIV in 2014 in the country, which has a population of about eight million.

India would assist capacity-building and human resource development, besides offering to share its advanced techniques and technologies in the agriculture sector.

Papua New Guinea reiterated its support for India’s claim for permanent membership in the UN Security Council and agreed to expedite a proposed Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (IPPA) to facilitate investments.

It announced visa-on-arrival facility for Indian tourists Papua New Guinea is estimated to have 35 trillion cubic feet of natural gas as

recoverable reserves. Indian companies are looking at projects coming up in Papua New Guinea after natural gas was discovered in the country’ s Southern Highland Province. Gas discoveries elsewhere in the country have evoked interest among Indian companies that believe they could participate in associated projects as well as in some gas blocks.

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

India, PNG sign MoUs on IT, health Four memorandums of understanding were signed during President Mukherjee’s visit,

the first state visit by an Indian head of state to the island nation of Papua New Guinea. MoUs signed

India agreed to provide a line of credit of $100 million to Papua New Guinea for infrastructure projects The request for the line of credit had been made in August 2015 by Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of a summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation.

Signed a pact to set up a ‘Centre of Excellence’ in information technology. Other agreements related to cooperation on agricultural research and health.



India's stand

The government of India does not engage with the process as it considers it an infringement on the country’s sovereignty. India considers the categorisation is arbitrary and mostly a political decision, in order to reward or punish a target country.

Masala bonds

Masala bonds are primarily rupee denominated bonds issued to overseas buyers

In 2015, IFC issued the first Masala bond listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The bonds worth over Rs 1000 crore were issued in a range of tenors, including a ten-year, 10 billion rupee-denominated bond to raise funds for infrastructure projects.

‘Make in India’ not at cost of IPR: U.S. The US Trade Representative’s annual Special 301 report, that identifies trade

barriers to U.S. companies and products due to a foreign government’s intellectual property regime, has placed India on the Priority Watch List, the same as last year.

The report identified many measures taken by the government as encouraging in terms of providing a better IP protection regime, but raised multiple concerns, particularly related to the potential erosion in IP standards due to its push for promoting domestic manufacturing.

The report comes amid lingering disagreements between the two countries on many trade issues, in the context of India’s efforts to promote local manufacture. “

Concerns cited in the report The U.S remains concerned about actions and

policies in India that appear to favour local manufacturing or Indian IPR owners

From movies and music to green technology and pharmaceuticals, U.S. creators and innovators have a significant competitive advantage in the area of intellectual property. Rules are often discriminatory or that discourage creativity and innovation

India has not taken the opportunity to address long-standing and systemic deficiencies in its IPR regime and has endorsed problematic policies

The report pegged losses from piracy of music and movies in India at approximately $4 billion per year and the commercial value of unlicensed software at $3 billion

U.S continues to monitor India’s application of its compulsory licensing law. It said India was the source of a lot of pirated and counterfeit goods reaching the U.S shores.

Masala Bonds to Tap the UK Investor Community As India gears up to meet its ambitious

renewable energy targets of 175 GW of installed capacity by 2022, the country is exploring international mechanisms of funding and is evaluating new and innovative tools to finance the renewables sector.

As a step in this direction, Indian public sector giants are likely to examine rupee denominated debt instruments like Masala Bonds to create and develop a new market and identify benchmark prices for these new instruments.

Companies including NTPC, Neyveli Lignite Corporation, Power Finance Corporation, Power Trading Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation are likely to launch



these Masala Bonds totalling $1 billion in the next three or four months in the UK to gauge the investor appetite.

The tenor of these bonds is likely to be limited to a band of five to seven years and these are going to be in smaller denominations ranging from $150-250 million. These will be subject to decisions made by the Boards of the PSU energy companies.

In addition, Energy Efficiency Services Limited could explore issuance of Green Masala Bond subject to credit rating.

Indo-Thai Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT)

22nd Indo-Thai Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) is scheduled from 19-27 in the Andaman Sea.

Maritime interaction between India and Thailand has been growing steadily with frequent port visits, participation in multilateral exercises and training exchanges.

Under the broad ambit of this strong maritime relationship, the two navies have been carrying out CORPATs along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) twice a year since 2005

Significance India and Thailand have traditionally enjoyed a close and friendly relationship

covering a wide spectrum of activities and interactions, which have strengthened over the years.

CORPAT is conducterd with the aim of keeping this vital part of the Indian Ocean Region safe and secure for commercial shipping and international trade.

The CORPAT has also strengthened understanding and interoperability between the navies and facilitated institution of measures to prevent unlawful activities at sea as well as conduct Search and Rescue (SAR) operations.

RCEP draft moots tough curbs on cheap medicines

A draft of the RCEP agreement reveals that the trade pact in its current form could reduce access to affordable medicines in many developing countries.

Some member countries like Japan and Korea who are part of both the TPP [the U.S.-led Trans Pacific Partnership] and the RCEP, are trying to push for the TPP standards in RCEP.

Some of the ideas from the ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement), the TPP and other trade agreements are trying to be added in the RCEP chapter on Intellectual Property.

What are the proposals patent extensions — from the current 20 years by an additional five years — in ASEAN

countries that are not party to the TPP.



RCEP

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement is being negotiated by 16 countries — 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and 6 other countries that have Free Trade Agreements with the ASEAN.

It aims to integrate Asian markets.

The RCEP is one of three mega FTAs proposed so far — the other two being the TPP and the TTIP (Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the U.S. and the EU)

The next round of RCEP discussions will take place in Perth, Australia, between April 23-29.

restrictive rules on exceptions to copyright dozens of other anti-consumer measures Under TRIPS it was previously agreed to exempt

LDCs like Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos from implementing the IP laws till 2033, Article 5.7 of the draft of the RCEP text withdraws the exemption

What is their significance It illustrates the power of rights-holder groups to

use secret trade negotiations to influence democratic decisions that impact access to knowledge, the freedom to innovate and the right to health in negative ways.

The draft proposals will compel governments to commit to newer Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights provisions like TRIPS plus — including the Patent Law Treaty (Geneva, 2000), which involve harmonisation in the examination of patent applications and requirements of patentability.

Countries like India have, in the past, resisted pressure to sign the patents treaty as it can curtail the flexibility under the Indian system to address key public policy issues such as ever greening. If these terms are accepted, it would limit access to affordable medicines for people in Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos who depend on Indian generics

Opposition India has opposed some damaging proposals involving patent extensions,

restrictive rules on copyright exceptions, and other anti-consumer measures. The humanitarian aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières’(MSF) is particularly

concerned about a proposal by Japan and Korea demanding patent term extension The Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are concerned that the move will withdraw

the exemption granted under the TRIPS to implement intellectual property laws until 2033.

Expansion of India - Chile Preferential Trade Agreement

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for expansion of India - Chile Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between India and Chile.

Under the expanded PTA, Chile has offered concessions to India on 1798 tariff lines with Margin of Preference (MoP) ranging from 30%-100% and India has offered concessions to Chile on 1031 tariff lines with MoP ranging from 10%-100%.



Significance India-Chile PTA

India's export basket with Chile is diversified and keeping in view the wide variety of tariff lines offered by Chile, the expanded PTA would immensely benefit India.

Under the proposed expanded PTA, 86% of India's exports to Chile will get covered with concessions, which is likely to result in doubling of our exports in the near future.

India has friendly relations with Chile. Chile has been cooperating with India at the International fora and expansion of India Chile PTA will enhance the trade and economic relations between the two countries.

The expansion would be an important landmark in India-Chile relations and consolidate the traditional fraternal relations that have existed between India and LAC countries.

India Chile PTA A Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between

India and Chile was signed in March, 2006. The said PTA came into force with effect from

August, 2007. During 2006-07, Chile was ranked 51st export

destination for India. Bilateral Trade during the year 2006-07 was US$ 2.3 billion.

Trade dynamics changed after the PTA came into force from September 2007. Bilateral trade registered a growth of 58.49% from 2006-07 to 2014-15. Bilateral trade during 2014-15 stood at US $ 3.65 billion with exports at US $ 0.57 billion and imports at US$ 3.08 billion respectively.

International Solar Alliance - Ministerial meet held

Union Minister of State Renewable Energy and Ms. Ségolène Royal, French Minister of Environment, Energy and the Sea, in charge of International Relations on Climate and President of COP21 co-chaired a Ministerial Side Event on International Solar Alliance (ISA) at Headquarters of the United Nations in New York

The Two Programmes of the ISA “Affordable finance at scale”; and Programme “Scaling solar applications for agricultural use”, were launched during the event.

In order to accelerate massive deployment of solar energy at various scales in their countries, Ministers agreed to take concerted action through targeted Programmes launched on a voluntary basis, to better harmonize and aggregate the demand for:

1. Solar finance- so as to lower the cost of finance and facilitate the flow of more than US $ 1000 billion investment in solar assets in member countries;

2. Mature solar technologies - that are currently deployed only at small scale and need to be scaled up;

3. Future solar technologies and capacity building, through strategic and collaborative solar R&D, to improve the efficiency and integration of solar power as well as increase the number of solar applications available.

A common buyers market for solar finance, technology, innovation, capacity building etc., will lead to higher quality, lower costs, products better tailored to needs, collaborative innovation, technology ownership, and a more balanced dialogue with all stakeholders.

This will empower solar-rich countries, lying fully or partially between the tropic of Cancer and the tropic of Capricorn, which share common challenges and opportunities.



The “core module” for the space station would be called the “Tianhe-1”, the Chinese word for galaxy or Milky Way. The construction of the space station is expected to finish in 2022.”

As an initial step, Ministers agreed to start analysing and sharing the needs, objectives, and obstacles to deployment at scale along the value chain, for those applications for which they seek the benefits of collective action under the Alliance. On this basis, they will design innovative Programmes leveraging initiatives from the ground.

China to launch ‘core module’ for space station China will launch a “core module” for its first

space station some time around 2018 Its a part of a plan to have a permanent manned

space station in service around 2022. Advancing Chinas space programme is a priority

for Beijingas its trying to establish itself as a space power

Apart from its civilian ambitions Beijing has tested anti-satellite missiles.

China insists its space programme is for peaceful purposes, but the U.S. Defence Department has highlighted its increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed to prevent adversaries from using space-based assets in a crisis.

If the International Space Station, which has extended its service, is retired by 2024, China's new space station will be the only operational one in outer space

India, U.S. to conclude pact on aircraft carrier cooperation India and the U.S. are close to finalising an Information Exchange Agreement

(IEA) on aircraft carrier technologies, as well as cooperation on air wing operations for carrier Vikrant under construction at Kochi.

The IEA will formalise the exact technology that the U.S. will share and at what classification level, design side, operations among other things. Both sides had already signed the Terms of Reference on June 17, 2015 during the first meeting of the India-U.S. Joint Working Group (JWG) on carrier technology cooperation.

Once the IEA is in place a case will be put under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme of the U.S. government under which the Electro Magnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) technology will be sold to India, if the Navy decides to buy it.

Background India and the U.S. agreed to cooperate on aircraft carrier technologies as part of six

“path-finder” projects under the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative Consequently the JWG was set up to explore possibility of installing the Electro

Magnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) under development by General Atomics on India’s second Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-II) which is currently on the drawing board.

On the future roadmap of the JWG the US is currently engaged in a formal process of reviews required as per their law covering high technology sales to other countries

Meanwhile the Indian Navy too is carrying out a feasibility study to determine the characteristics of the carrier like propulsion, kind of aircraft and type of launch mechanism for which EMALS is under consideration. The Navy intends the carrier to be of 65,000 tons.

In addition to EMALS, the IEA has an agreement for cooperation on air wing operations for the first IAC - Vikrant which is currently in an advanced stage of



The agreement on sharing data on commercial shipping traffic will be the subject of another round of talks. Why?

New Delhi must take a considered view of the repercussions that such a strategic alliance may have for India’s relations with other countries. Moreover, the U.S. administration will change in the year ahead, and it would be wise to wait for the next.

Significantly, India’s concerns about continued American military funding and defence transfers to Pakistan still remain unaddressed.

construction and is on course to begin sea trials by September 2017 and aviation trials after December 2018.

The US Navy has also offered courses related to carrier operations to Indian navy personnel at their Defence Acquisition University. The Indian side is currently reviewing the course catalogue and a decision is expected shortly.

‘Hidden’ vetoes must go, India tells U.N. India has sought changes in the U.N. procedures to designate a group or an individual

terrorist. The demand for more transparency comes days after China blocked India’s bid to

designate Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar a terrorist. The existing rules allow Security Council members to oppose any move in the

sanctions committees in a clandestine manner and without offering any explanation. The sanctions committees can take decisions only unanimously, and this means any of

the 15 members can veto a move. This amounts to allowing a “hidden veto” for every member of the council.

The general membership of the UN is never ever formally informed of how and why requests for listing terrorists are not acceded to.

The Security Council has Al-Qaeda, Taliban and Islamic State Sanctions Committees that can mandate international sanctions, which will require countries to freeze the targeted group’s or individual’s assets, ban designated individuals from travelling and prevent the supply of weapons, technology and other aid

US Defence Secretary visit to India The three-day visit of U.S. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter

Outcomes 1. Agreeing to sign the Logistics Exchange

Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) 2. Agreed to expand collaboration under the

Defence Technology and Trade Initiative, 3. Agreed to infuse greater complexity in their

military engagements and maritime exercises, 4. Agreed to commence discussions on submarine

safety and anti-submarine warfare, and 5. Agreed to initiate a bilateral maritime security

dialogue that would include diplomats and the defence establishments.

Significance LEMOA

Once concluded, the agreement would give American aircraft and warships access to Indian military bases for logistical purposes, including refuelling and repair. In turn, India’s military will enjoy similar access to U.S. bases

It appears to fit into a new security paradigm that is unfurling under the Narendra Modi government. India has sent out a clear signal that it has no inhibitions about being bound in strategic engagements with the U.S. . This



would qualitatively transform India’s relations with the U.S. The logistics agreement had been first proposed officially in June 2004, but

government was concerned that it was too intrusive and could also be perceived as a signal that India was jettisoning its policy of non-alignment.

Significantly, the logistics agreement, one of three ‘foundational agreements’ the U.S. has been insisting on, was not signed in the course of Mr. Carter’s visit, as the Americans had expected. This gives New Delhi time to tackle the ongoing domestic debate over a possible loss of sovereignty.

China responds cautiously to Indo-U.S. logistics pact

China has taken in its stride India’s decision to sign a logistics support agreement with the U.S., saying New Delhi “will make up its diplomatic policies based on its own interests”.

“India is also an influential country in the world, and India has been upholding independent diplomatic policy,” Mr. Lu observed.

Earlier, China criticised Mr. Carter’s decision to drop Beijing from the itinerary of his Asia visit, which took him to India and the Philippines

Govt. imposes anti-dumping duty on N-Butyl Alcohol

The government imposed an anti-dumping duty of up to $149 on imports of a chemical used in fermentation of sugar from five countries, including the European Union, Malaysia, Singapore and the U.S.

The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), in a notification, said Normal Butanol, or N-Butyl Alcohol, exported from these countries was found to be below normal value, thus establishing dumping of the same.

The Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) conducted its investigation into the import of N-Butyl Alcohol from the five nations

It was found that the domestic industry continues to suffer material injury on account of dumped imports

The anti-dumping duty imposed under this notification shall be effective for five years

Global Financial Stability Report by International Monetary Fund (IMF)

The financial stability report assesses the risks faced by the global financial system and the current edition surveys the issues that surfaced since October 2015.

The decline in oil prices has helped countries such as India improve their external positions, but low commodity prices have kept risks elevated in emerging market economies

The spill-over effects of the growing uncertainty about China’s economy and setbacks to growth and confidence in advanced economies are other factors undermining global financial stability

These developments tightened financial conditions, reduced risk appetite, raised credit risks and stymied balance sheet repair,” the IMF said in the report.



The report warns that global output could decline 3.9 per cent by 2021 if action isn’t taken to address the risks faced by the financial system.

The main message of this report is that additional measures are needed to deliver a more balanced and potent policy mix for improving the growth and inflation outlook and securing financial stability. In the absence of such measures, market turmoil may recur

However, if timely measures are taken, world output could expand by 1.7 percent, relative to the baseline, by 2018, the report said.

The report identifies a window of opportunity in the current economic recovery to deal with what it calls a “triad of global challenges,” namely, the legacy issues in advanced economies, vulnerabilities in emerging markets and greater systemic market liquidity risks.

IMF suggests that in advanced economies, banks must deal with bad assets and other legacy issues. The report observed that in the U.S. mortgage markets continue to benefit from significant government support and the measures must be taken to reduce the dominance of institutions such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Given the increasing role of China in the global financial system, “clear and timely communication of its policy decisions and transparency about its policy goals and strategies consistent with their achievement will be ever more important,” the IMF said.

India hands over remains of WW-II soldiers to U.S.

In a moving ceremony at the end of U.S. Defence Secretary visit, India handed over the remains of U.S. soldiers killed in plane crashes during World War II in India’s Northeast.

The U.S. has flown several air missions over the Himalayas called the ‘hump’ from 1942 onwards to counter the Japanese. The U.S. had approached India with coordinates of the air crashes about 12 years ago and after initial search by the Army the eventual recovery was undertaken by a specialist team from the U.S. Defence Prisoners of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency (DPAA).

One set of remains was recovered in Arunachal Pradesh between September 12 and November 17, 2015, while a second set was unilaterally turned over to DPAA by a third party from the same region. The remains that were turned over to the DPAA are possibly related to a C-109 that crashed on July 17, 1945, travelling from Jorhat, India, to Hsinching, China

India Maldives

President of Maldives, Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, visited New Delhi on a 2 day trip

Yameen's agenda in the India tour President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom signed a counter-terror pact with

India. Maldives recently arrested 40 of its nationals, who were reportedly fighting alongside the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.



Maldives growing "closeness" with China

India is uneasy with Maldives's relationship with China. There were media reports that China was looking to establish a base in Maldives after leasing out one of the islands under the liberalised leasing scheme brought in by the Yameen Government, which was denied by both Male and Beijing.

China is assisting Maldives in some infrastructure and developmental projects, including a bridge between the island in which the airport is located, Hulhumale, and the Capital island, Male, which is about 10 minutes by a passenger ferry.

Maldives is also part of China's Silk Road project, a move that has not gone down well in New Delhi.

The President's Office, has however, repeatedly clarified that China policy does not interfere with or diminish the country’s “special relationship” with India

Mr. Yameen and the Indian government also signed a double-tax avoidance agreement. India is in the process of signing DTAA with various countries, which are perceived to be tax havens in order to check the flow of blackmoney.

India's change in policy towards the Maldives a little after Prime Minister Narendra Modi skipped Maldives in his Indian Ocean region tour has helped to thaw relations.

India has been largely silent on the major assault on democratic institutions and the Opposition in the archipelego nation, while most countries which have a stake in the region, including the US, UK, and the European Union, have condemned the Yameen Government's transgressions.

Evolution of India Maldives relationship Indian Army's 'Operation Cactus' foiled a coup in

Maldives that was attempted by a pro-Eelam group in 1988.

Indian Coast Guard's Dornier was the first to land at the Ibrahim Nasir Airport with relief and supplies after the tsunami of December 26, 2004.

India maintains a naval presence in Maldives, at the request of the Maldives, since 2009 .

Maldives has pledged its support to India as a permanent member of an expanded UN Security Council.

On December 5, 2014, India dispatched “water aid” to the Maldivian capital of Male, after a fire destroyed the generator of its biggest water treatment plant.

Ever since Nasheed, the first democratically-elected President of Maldives, was made to step down after a series of events that has been described in some quarters as a coup, the Indian Ocean archipelago is witnessing political tussles. Nasheed had taken refuge at Indian High Commission once, fearing arrest under the regime of his successor and former Vice President, Mohamed Waheed.

India had assisted Maldives' election process by sending its observers, and had also withdrawn observers at one point because the electoral process was neither free nor fair.

Maldivian government took several steps to bolster Mr. Yameen's authority such as removal of Chief Justice, police chiefs and arrest of Vice President and former Defence Minister. These incidents earned widespread condemnations from various countries, including India. Prime Minister Narendra Modiskipped Maldives in his Indian Ocean tour.



Colistin

Colistin has been available since 1959 in order to treat infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria — a category including the food-poisoning germs E-coli and Salmonella, as well as Acinetobacter which can cause pneumonia or serious blood and wound infections. It was abandoned for human use in the 1980s due to high kidney toxicity, but is widely used in livestock farming, especially in China. As bacteria have started to develop resistance to other, more modern drugs, colistin had to be brought back as a treatment of last resort in hospitals and clinics.

Relations between India and Maldives came under a strain after Male had terminated the agreement it entered into with GMR in 2010 for the modernisation of the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport. The airport was taken over by the Maldives Airports Company Limited after a high-voltage legal tussle in which GMR.Maldives government maintains the reason for cancellation of the project was because "the contract was illegally awarded" by the then President Nasheed. The country's anti-graft watchdog has ruled out any corruption in the leasing of the international airport to GMR. The airport expansion project was subsequently given to the Chinese company, which will plough in US $ 800 million. GMR, meanwhile, has won an arbitration against the Maldives. The quantum of damages to be paid by the Maldives is yet to announced by the arbitration tribunal in Singapore.

New front opens in war on superbugs

A newly-discovered antibiotic-resistant gene is threatening to open a new front in the war against superbugs by rendering a last-resort drug impotent

The gene’s resistance to colistin, a life-saving medication which has been around for 60 years, is the latest frustration for physicians battling disease with a shrinking arsenal of antibiotics to treat a wide variety of ailments, many once easily curable.

Dubbed mcr-1, the resistance-conferring gene easily transfers between bacteria, benign or otherwise, found in humans, animals or the environment.

First identified in China last November, the gene has since been discovered in livestock, water, meat and vegetables for human consumption in several countries, and in humans infected with E.coli -– one of the disease-causing bacteria it targets.

For the first time, mcr-1 has now also been found living in the gut of healthy humans

Why is it scary? Because water treatment can't eliminate these bacteria or these genes perfectly

After treatment, this water directly goes to the environmental water. And then people, use this water for fishing, for many things, which means there is a circulation.



CITES

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as theWashington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals.

It was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The convention was opened for signature in 1973. and CITES entered into force on 1 July 1975.

Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species in the wild, and it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 35,000 species of animals and plants. In order to ensure that the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was not violated, the Secretariat of GATT was consulted during the drafting process

India offers to invest $20 billion in Iran

India has offered to invest $20 billion in Iran’s petrochemical, fertilizer and liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and in return sought cheap natural gas and land to set up the units.

Also wanted supply of gas at a competitive price and on a long-term basis for the life of the joint venture projects that Indian companies were interested in setting up.

India was also keen to set up a gas cracker unit and a liquefied petroleum gas extraction unit in Chabahar and ways of transporting gas to India from Iran including through a planned Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline were discussed.

The two sides also discussed the award of rights to Indian firms to develop Farzad-B gas fields and the pending payments by Indian refiners towards Iran’s oil purchases.

Pearly nautilus may get extra protection

Pearly nautilus Nautilus pompilinus is a pelagic marine

mollusc with one of the oldest animal lineages on the planet, may get an extra global legal protection soon. The species is commonly known as pearly nautilus considering the pearly nacre on its external shell.The animal has a chambered shell with limited mobility. It’s commonly found in ocean depths of 700 metres

The palm-sized adult animal, which could live up to 20 years in ocean depths, may soon be included in the Appendix 2 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild flora and fauna (CITES).

The CITES authorities have sought the views of their Indian counterparts for determining the qualification of the species.

Reasons for vulnerability Marine fisheries experts have

recommended that the species shall be listed considering the rarity of the animal and its poor regeneration capacity.

Earlier researches have pointed out that the low egg number, late maturity, long gestation and long life span of the Nautilus make the species vulnerable.

The shell of the animal is traded widely across the world though there is no targeted fishery in India. However, there



are reports of some targeted catch from Indonesia and Philippines. At times, marine researchers have reported the accidental catch of the bright orange banded species during mid-water trawling, pointed out a researcher.

Some animals, which die a natural death may float in water and land in shores, which are picked up by collectors. The fancy look and the shiny lustre make it a collector’s item. The shells are believed to be fetch high price in trade. There are reports of the shells, which are washed ashore, collected and clandestinely traded.

Protection in India The species has been accorded legal protection by including it in the Schedule 1 of the

Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The hunting or possession of the animals included in the Schedule is a punishable offence in the country.

The species has relatively small population and are vulnerable to fisheries and also anthropogenic activities. Yet, no scientific data is available on its population in India.

The species has not been currently assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature

The inclusion of the animal in the CITES list would ensure a global regulation in its trade. It would also extend the legal cover globally for the species, which is considered as rare link to the evolutionary history of animals

‘World Autism Awareness Day’- April 2

UN high-level event on Autism happened on April 2 India has called for enhancing quality of life of differently-abled children. The underlying message for attaining sustainable development is that no one must be

left behind. Stressed on empowering autistic people through appropriate education and

employment opportunities, Notwithstanding the disorder, people with Autism have a wide range of diverse and

unique abilities and often exceptional skills, that can immensely benefit society. The challenge is to identify it early and make all differently-abled children not only count but also capable.

Autism is not well-understood in many countries, and too many societies shun people with autism.This is a violation of human rights and a waste of human potential

Societies to invest more funds in enabling young persons with autism to be part of their generation’s historic push for progress.

What is the world doing ? The transformative 2030 Agenda provides an opportunity for the full realization of

the potential of people with Autism and other developmental disabilities and ensure for them ‘a life of dignity and meaning’

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

National measures A dedicated National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism is implementing

several schemes for creation of an enabling environment for independent living for people with Autism and disabilities, as much as possible. The focus is on training, awareness and capacity building, shelter, care giving and empowerment



United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty, is the international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), which took place between 1973 and 1982.

The Law of the Sea Convention defines the rights and responsibilities of nations with respect to their use of the world's oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources.

The Convention, concluded in 1982, replaced four 1958 treaties.

UNCLOS came into force in 1994 As of January 2015, 166 countries

and the European Union have joined in the Convention. However, it is uncertain as to what extent the Convention codifies customary international law.

The International Clinical Epidemiology Network (INCLEN) in India has developed screening and diagnostic tools and research studies on Autism are also being encouraged

India supports UN instrument on conservation of biodiversity

India welcomes the process to develop an international legally binding instrument under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction..

What India wants The new instrument should

encompass all marine resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction, including the marine genetic resources currently known or which may be discovered at any time in the future

It should address issues relating to the access, exploration, exploitation, conservation and sustainable use of these resources

On the marine protected areas (MPAs), while there is an obligation under UNCLOS for nations to cooperate with each other in the conservation and management of living resources in the areas of the high seas, rights of other States, including freedoms of the high seas, are equally important and the challenge would be to arrive at an effective balance so that these rights are not restricted.

The new instrument should also take into account the ecosystem approaches, precautionary principle and the emerging best practices.

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Global economy losing momentum, governments must act: IMF’s Lagarde

Global economy is losing momentum and governments should take action to preserve the recovery, Christine Lagarde, the chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has cautioned.

Advanced economies still face a hangover from the global financial crisis of 2007—2009 in terms of too much debt, low investment, and, for some, high unemployment.

A stronger dollar has weighed on growth in the United States, while China’s economy has slowed.

The global outlook for the next six months had weakened, suggesting that IMF may be revising its forecasts. The speech sets the stage for the IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington later this month.

In January, the IMF forecast global growth of 3.4 percent this year. Lagarde urged governments to take pro-growth reforms and to increase spending on public infrastructure.

Mediocre growth that doesn’t help ordinary people much risks political backlash that has consequences for the social and political fabric in many countries

She also warned against turning to protectionism favouring domestic producers in competition with foreign firms as a response.

India - Saudi Arabia

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia Saudi is the the leader of the Sunni Muslim countries in West Asia

West Asia policy historically Historically, India’s West Asia policy has been multi-directional. Cold War years- India maintained close economic cooperation with both Saudi Arabia

and Iran, the rival poles in regional geopolitics. 1990s- New Delhi warmed up to Israel in the as part of the country’s efforts to

diversify its diplomatic engagement in the post-Soviet world. But it was careful not to jeopardise the traditional relations with Muslim countries.

The bi-directional approach has been expanded to a tri-directional foreign policy to accommodate the three key pillars of West Asia — Saudi Arabia, Iran and Israel.

During years sanctions on Iran- Ties with Iran took a beating when New Delhi cut its energy cooperation significantly despite its vitality and huge energy potential. It was during the same time that India deepened cooperation with the Saudis.

For decades, India was a passive player

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in West Asia — a beneficiary of good relationships with multiple actors. Despite the growing economic ties, political contacts between Saudi Arabia and India were at minimum till the Manmohan Singh government took office in 2004. West Asia acquired great significance in Dr. Singh’s world view; he even appointed a special envoy for the whole region.

The January 2006 visit of the late King, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, to Delhi set a new tone for bilateral ties.Dr. Singh reciprocated the visit in 2010 — the first Indian Prime Minister visiting Saudi Arabia in nearly 30 years — and signed the Riyadh Declaration

The broader framework for reactivating India’s Saudi ties was set in the post-9/11 world where counter-terror cooperation became a new diplomatic norm between terror-affected countries. Dr. Singh found it an opportunity to deepen security ties with Sunni Muslim countries, and Mr. Modi appears to be taking this policy a step forward.

Current significance of Saudi visit Mr. Modi’s visit to Riyadh should be seen against this background. His government

appears to be following the regional policy set by its immediate predecessor. This approach, while not entirely giving up the tri-directional framework, is tilted

more towards the Saudi camp and Israel. Mr. Modi is expected to travel to Israel this year, the first visit by an Indian Prime

Minister to the Jewish nation. Many see the trip to Riyadh as part of New Delhi’s balancing act between the Saudis and the Israelis.

On the other side, there appears to be a complete lack of interest on India’s part to reboot ties with Iran even after international sanctions on the country were removed following the nuclear deal.

Why Saudi is significant to India There’s a consensus in India’s foreign policy establishment that maintaining vibrant

ties with Saudi Arabia is imperative to its national interest. Economic angle

Today, Saudi Arabia is India’s largest supplier of crude oil. India is dependent on imports to meet around 70 per cent of the country’s energy demand

Besides, India is the largest recipient of foreign remittances from the kingdom. Of the 11 million Indians working in West Asia, nearly three million are in Saudi Arabia.

Therefore, stability in the region, and particularly in Saudi Arabia, is high on India’s core agenda.

Strategic angle But bilateral relations have gone beyond the economic realm in recent years, acquiring

a strategic sense and pushing both countries to beef up their security partnership. Riyadh Declaration set the framework for enhanced cooperation in the security,

defence and economic spheres. Since then, there has been marked improvement in security cooperation and intelligence sharing between India and Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh also extradited several terror suspects to India in a clear departure from its established policy towards New Delhi.

The main focus of his trips to both the UAE and Saudi Arabia was counter-terrorism. Both Abu Dhabi and Riyadh are Pakistan’s historical allies. And both have indirect references to Pakistan’s dual policy towards terrorism. It is clear that Mr. Modi is giving a Pakistan spin to the ‘Act West Asia’ policy of his predecessor. India’s objective



appears to be to build a “counter-terror narrative” in diplomatic engagements with Pakistan’s close allies which could complicate the latter’s foreign policy.

India would also not prefer to sit on the margins at a time when China is raising its profile in West Asia. Chinese President Xi Jinping recently visited Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran. The relationship between Beijing and Tehran is particularly going strong.

Why India is significant to Saudi Enhanced ties with India are important for Saudi Arabia as well. India is a vital market for Saudi Arabia. The kingdom is facing economic strain in

the wake of persistently weak oil prices. The U.S. is no longer as dependent on the region for energy as it used to be, thanks to the shale boom. Demand from China is also receding in the wake of a slowdown. Besides, competition in the oil market is expected to tighten with a sanctions-free Iran entering the global economic mainstream without any bars.

There is believed to be friction between Islamabad and Riyadh over the former warming up to Tehran and their growing energy cooperation.

Pakistan also refused to join Saudi Arabia’s war coalition that has been bombing Yemen for the past one year in the name of fighting the Iran-backed Shia rebels.

Obstacles in the relationship But the question is how far both sides will go. Will Saudi Arabia abandon

Pakistan and support India’s positions in multinational forums? The Saudis may like to use their growing relations with India to put pressure on Pakistan, but a structural overhaul of Riyadh’s South Asia policy is not on the cards. Pakistan, after all, is the country with an “Islamic bomb”, a “historic ally” of the Saudis.

So if India, while reactivating its West Asia policy, looks only through the Pakistan prism, it might end up making strategic mistakes.

Another sore point is the growing Saudi-Iran rivalry, which has always influenced West Asian geopolitics. By skewing its West Asia policy towards the Saudis, even though it might help meet its short-term goals, New Delhi also runs the risk of antagonising Iran at a time when the country is emerging a stronger player in West Asia post the removal of sanctions.

Then there’s the ideological problem. While Saudi Arabia denounces all forms of terrorism, Saudi money is funding Wahhabi Islamic groups around the world. Many extremist outfits are inspired by the Wahhabi branch of Islam.

Saudi Arabia’s aggressive foreign policy in West Asia under King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud is doing great damage to regional stability, which is India’s most important goal in the region.

In Syria, the Saudi support for the rebels has played a key role in destabilising the regime, leading to the rise of the Islamic State. In Yemen, the war has unleashed chaos and a humanitarian catastrophe, creating conditions for radicalism to flourish.

So Saudi Arabia is not always a source of stability in West Asia, it is a disruptor too. India will have to factor these developments in its overall West Asia approach. The best way to do it is to restore the balance in its West Asia policy



Defining trafficking

Given by the 2003 UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, to which India is a signatory, defines trafficking in persons. It includes sex trafficking and forced labour.

West Bengal- a transit point for cross country human trafficking

West Bengal is the hub of internal and cross-border human trafficking in India. It shares approximately 2,220 km of land border and 259 km of riverine border with Bangladesh, most of which is unfenced, making cross-border trafficking in persons, drugs, and fake currency seamless.

The districts in the State which are most vulnerable to cross-border human trafficking include North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Murshidabad, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, Nadia, Malda, and Cooch Behar.

The State serves as a source, transit point (girls are sent to Hyderabad and Bengaluru, according to a local activist), and destination for trafficking in persons.

Laws to prevent trafficking in India Although Article 23 of the Indian Constitution

prohibits human trafficking, it does not define the term.

The country’s first definition of human trafficking based on the UN trafficking protocol was first seen in the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2013, which substituted Section 370 of the Indian Penal Code with 370 and 370A which deals with trafficking of persons for exploitation. However, this does not include forced labour.

Nor does the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act of 1956 (as amended in 1986). Other laws pertaining to forced labour in the country do not adequately address the

complex issue of human trafficking for the purpose of labour. A special case- Cross-national victim

The critical issue concerning the is that while the perpetrator or trafficker (Indian or foreign national) may receive modest punishment, trafficked persons are victimised twice.

Once the cross-national victim and the trafficker are arrested in India, they are both charged under the Foreigners Act of 1946.

According to the Act, if an offender is a foreigner, he/she should be punished under this Act and deported.

As a result, the trafficked person is treated as a criminal for his/her unlawful presence in India. While the perpetrator, if a foreigner, is deported to his/her home country following the completion of the sentence, the victim is transferred to a shelter home in India and is required, as per court orders, to remain there till the court hearing, since he/she is the witness in the case.

Further, Indian laws do not target traffickers and their associates or penalise them adequately. The trafficker can be charged under Section 366B of the IPC which states that importation of a female below the age of 21 years is a punishable offence. However, this provision is rarely implemented, as police officers are mostly unaware of its existence. Moreover, the penal clauses are not used adequately to bring the clients to justice.



Need of the hour....

To effectively address it, transit homes run by NGOs in collaboration with the Border Security Force (BSF) along the Indo-Bangladesh border can be set up.

Once the trafficker and the victim are apprehended by the BSF along the border, the victim can be sent to a transit home rather than to a police station till her antecedents are verified by the Bangladesh government.

Further the BSF should develop a good rapport with child care and protection agencies.

There is a need for community mobilisation, sensitisation of the BSF on the issue of cross-border trafficking, and good networking between community-based organisations and BSF border outposts.

Finally, there should be better coordination between the governments and NGOs on either side of the border

Another critical issue relating to the cross-national victim is that the verification of the addresses of individuals lodged in shelter homes in West Bengal may take as long as two or three years. The reasons for this include delay in confirmation by the Bangladesh government, or incorrect, incomplete, or vague addresses given by the trafficked persons at the shelter home.

There are a number of NGOs in West Bengal working on internal human trafficking, but few deal with cross-border trafficking.

There is also a lack of adequate human resources to deal with this issue.

China to export electricity along the New Silk Road

In tune with its One Belt, One Road initiative, China is positioning itself as a formidable energy exporter, targeting markets that span from Germany to India along the New Silk Road.

Two factors are driving Beijing’s ambitions of emerging as a regional electric supply hub.

First, China is already a surplus power producer following a decade of continuous investments at home in all forms of energy.

Since 2004, when it suffered chronic outages that threatened to restrain its manufacturing, the Chinese went into overdrive, investing heavily in hydro and coal-fired plants, apart from escalating development of nuclear and renewable energy.

Second, China has mastered ultra–high voltage (UHV) technology, which has allowed State Grid, China’s state-owned power behemoth, to transmit electricity from production centres in West — in places such as Xinjiang — to coastal industrial centres in the faraway east.

China has the technical capacity to increase the voltage to 1500 kilovolts, so that it can transport power 8,000 km away. And it is financially viable to expand

Now, with Xinjiang in western China as the hub, China has the proven technological heft to transmit electricity as far as Germany.

China was eyeing other potential markets such as Pakistan, India and Myanmar. Last week, State Grid also tied up with South Korea’s utility Korea Electric Power,

SoftBank of Japan and Russia’s Rosetti PJSC to study the feasibility of establishing an “Asian Supergrid.”

The study would culminate the 2012 proposal of Masayoshi Son, chairman of Softbank, who had visualised the Supergrid that would source power from Mongolia’s huge wind farms and supply renewable power to South Korea, Japan, China and possibly Russia.



Background

More than a million migrants arrived on European shores last year, and there has been no sign of the pace letting up. Almost 155,000 people have arrived in Europe already this year, the vast majority of them in Greece, according to the International Organization for Migration, and the numbers could rise as the weather turns warmer..

The debate over how to deal with the migrant wave has divided Europe, and the search for an agreement gained new urgency this month after four countries — Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia and Macedonia — effectively shut down the route used by many migrants as they move on from Greece.

Most of the migrants hoped to reach Germany, but the closing of the so-called Western Balkan route left increasing numbers trapped because they could not leave Greece, had no desire to stay and could not or would not return home.

Passage into Macedonia was being limited to a small number of Syrians and Iraqis each day, while people from other countries, including Afghanistan, were being treated as economic migrants and therefore ineligible to apply for asylum.

While focusing on the One Belt One Road for now, Mr. Liu has even more ambitious plans. Bloomberg News is reporting that State Grid is “actively in bidding” for power assets in Australia, hoping to add them to a portfolio of Italian, Brazilian and Filipino companies. The idea is to connect these and other power grids to a global grid that will draw electricity from windmills at the North Pole and vast solar arrays in Africa’s deserts, and then distribute the power to all parts of the world.

Syrian refugees arrive in Germany The first Syrians arrived in Germany from

Istanbul under a controversial European Union-Turkey migrant pact

The 32 asylum seekers flew into the northern city of Hanover on two separate flights and were to be taken to a shelter about 140 km away.

The representative from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees asked the press to respect the privacy of the asylum seekers, who were members of six families

European Union-Turkey migrant pact On 18 March, following on from the EU-

Turkey Joint Action Plan activated on 29 November 2015 and the 7 March EU-Turkey statement, the European Union and Turkey decided to end the irregular migration from Turkey to the EU. Yesterday's agreement targets the people smugglers' business model and removes the incentive to seek irregular routes to the EU, in full accordance with EU and international law.

The EU and Turkey agreed that: 1. All new irregular migrants crossing from

Turkey to the Greek islands as of 20 March 2016 will be returned to Turkey;

2. For every Syrian being returned to Turkey from the Greek islands, another Syrian will be resettled to the EU;

3. Turkey will take any necessary measures to prevent new sea or land routes for irregular migration opening from Turkey to the EU;

4. Once irregular crossings between Turkey and the EU are ending or have been substantially reduced, a Voluntary Humanitarian Admission Scheme will be activated;



5. The fulfilment of the visa liberalisation roadmap will be accelerated with a view to lifting the visa requirements for Turkish citizens at the latest by the end of June 2016. Turkey will take all the necessary steps to fulfil the remaining requirements;

6. The EU will, in close cooperation with Turkey, further speed up the disbursement of the initially allocated €3 billion under the Facility for Refugees in Turkey. Once these resources are about to be used in full, the EU will mobilise additional funding for the Facility up to an additional €3 billion to the end of 2018;

7. The EU and Turkey welcomed the ongoing work on the upgrading of the Customs Union.

8. The accession process will be re-energised, with Chapter 33 to be opened during the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the European Union and preparatory work on the opening of other chapters to continue at an accelerated pace;

9. The EU and Turkey will work to improve humanitarian conditions inside Syria. Challenges with the deal

Humanitarian groups, who warned that the deal violated international law on the treatment of refugees.

There are many alternative routes into Europe, and it is unclear how effective the Turkish and Greek authorities will be at rounding up migrants who use boats to cross the Aegean and sending them back to Turkey.

Turkey is also in the midst of its own security crisis, raising questions about the country’s ability to implement the deal and cope with the huge numbers of migrants on its soil.

European officials have struggled to develop a coherent response to the migrant crisis, and the new agreement is complicated by the fact that Greece currently lacks the infrastructure to ensure fair hearings for asylum seekers before they are sent back to Turkey, according to European officials.

The weakest link in this agreement is Greece It “does not have the financial or administrative bandwidth to implement this agreement, so it will need substantial support from Europe — far more than is currently being talked about

The United Nations refugee agency is among the organizations to have issued stern warnings about the plans to return migrants to Turkey, and it took a cautious line on the deal. “We now need to see how this will be worked out in practice, in keeping with the safeguards set out in the agreement — many of which at present are not in place,” the agency said in a statement.

Although the deal represents a meaningful step in the effort to bring the migrant crisis under control, it is unclear if migrants might look for other options, turning the agreement into a temporary fix.

The bigger headache will be when the smugglers start rerouting migrants to Italy through Libya because you’ve got a failed state there so no real government to make a deal with

Importance of the deal The deal is the latest effort by the European Union to come up with a joint solution to

the mass migration that has been straining its resources and roiling its politics. The idea is that it will deter migrants from trying to make dangerous journeys into

Europe and encourage a legal path to Europe by offering to resettle at least some Syrians among the nearly three million migrants already in Turkey.



The new policy underlines frustration at a decision last year by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany to accept large numbers of people from war-torn countries like Syria and disperse them around Europe.

The deal reached Friday on returning migrants to Turkey applies only to new migrants who have arrived in Greece and excludes those already there. The migrants currently in Greece could eventually be moved to other parts of the European Union if they qualify for asylum.

The accord with Turkey represents a moment of painful compromise for Europe. Turkey has taken an authoritarian turn under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Europe was forced to accept some Turkish demands to gain its cooperation in stopping the large numbers of people using the Aegean to reach Greece.

The agreement was welcomed by Ms. Merkel, who helped develop the plan at a time when much of the Continent and a substantial portion of her own country have turned against her policy of taking in almost unlimited numbers of migrants. But even she was cautious about its prospects.

One of the main goals of the deal was to dissuade migrants from attempting the Aegean crossing

‘Indian drug firms will face challenges in U.S.’ Indian pharma companies will face a number of challenges in the U.S. market,

according to ICRA. This will include reduced number of big products going off patent, increased

competition, generic adoption reaching saturation levels in U.S. market along with base effect catching up and rise in regulatory scrutiny.

Indian drug firms have registered strong growth over the last decade, driven mainly by the U.S. market, on account of large brands going off patent and sizeable organic and inorganic expansion.

The growth from U.S. market has come down from high double digits to 8-10 per cent given the lack of major new launches, regulatory overhang and increased pricing pressures

Highlights of the 4th NSS The fourth NSS, ended with leaders from more than 50 countries and four

international organisations stating in a joint communiqué that “more work remains to be done to prevent non-state actors from obtaining nuclear and other radioactive materials, which could be used for malicious purposes.”

The two-day summit was aimed at getting political leaderships directly involved in dealing with the threat of nuclear terrorism.

What’s expected ahead? India and Pakistan need to make progress in reducing their nuclear arsenal and ensure

they do not continually move in the wrong direction while developing military doctrines.

To reduce the global nuclear arsenal it is necessary for the U.S. and Russia, the two largest possessors of nuclear weapons, to lead the way.

The Islamic State (IS) terror group obtaining a nuclear weapon was one of the greatest threats to global security. World leaders should work together to prevent such spread.



What has India done in this regard? India has taken multiple measures to prevent terrorists acquiring nuclear weapons. India has set up a permanent team of technical and security experts from multiple

ministries and agencies that conducts tabletop exercises simulating nuclear smuggling, phased out the use of highly enriched uranium (HEU) built a database of all radioactive sources in the country. started real-time tracking of radioactive sources when they are transported set up a network of 23 emergency response centres across the country for detecting

and responding to any nuclear or radiological emergency. India is also in the process of equipping all major seaports and airports of the country

with radiation detection machines. While nuclear security is a serious domestic concern, India also used the platform to

push its desire for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the exclusive club that controls global nuclear trade.

India’s export controls list and guidelines have been harmonised with those of the NSG, and India looks forward to strengthening its contribution to shared non-proliferation objectives through membership of the export controls regimes.

Azerbaijan announces ceasefire What happened

Outbreak of violence over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region Clashes between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces sparked international pressure to stop fighting. Baku announcing a ceasefire

Background Ethnic Armenian separatists backed by Yerevan seized control of the mountainous

Nagorno-Karabakh region in an early 1990s war that claimed some 30,000 lives. The foes have never signed a peace deal despite the 1994 ceasefire.

Both sides accused each other of continuing to fire across the volatile frontline that has divided them since a war that saw Armenian separatists seize the region from Azerbaijan ended with an inconclusive truce in 1994.

These are the “largest-scale hostilities” since a 1994 truce ended a war in which Armenian-backed fighters seized the territory from Azerbaijan.

Moscow has supplied weaponry to both sides in the conflict, but has much closer military and economic ties to Armenia and Yerevan is reliant on Russia’s backing.

Azerbaijan said it had decided to “unilaterally cease hostilities” and pledged to “reinforce” several strategic positions it claimed to have captured inside the Armenian-controlled territory.

The Armenia-backed authorities in Karabakh — which claims independence but is heavily backed by Yerevan — said they were willing to discuss a ceasefire but only if it saw them regain their territory.

Both Russia and the West appealed to all sides to show restraint, with key regional power broker President Vladimir Putin calling for an “immediate ceasefire”.

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US-India Business Council (USIBC)

USIBC is a premier business advocacy organisation for strengthening India-US economic and commercial ties.

USIBC team to push for ‘stronger’ IPRs The US-India Business Council (USIBC) will lead an executive delegation to India in

New Delhi from April 6 to 8 to discuss trade-led growth as a strategy for India's economic rise.

Issues that would be discussed include Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)

Recently a study recommended “stronger” Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection in India to boost Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows. The study was released in September 2015 by Washington DC-based think tank Peterson Institute for International Economics. It was partly funded by USIBC.

USIBC will deliberate with the stakeholders and Indian government on that study This comes amid controversy over media reports that the government had privately

assured USIBC that it will not issue patent-disabling Compulsory Licenses (CL). CL is the grant of permission by the government to entities to use, manufacture, import or sell a patented invention without the patent-owner’s consent.

Terming IPRs the ‘most contentious issue in India’s trade policy’, the Peterson Institute study said India had sought to exploit the flexibility in the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) agreement in the WTO by using CL, occasionally denying patent protection and adopting regulatory obstacles to dilute the protection.

“Because of India’s strong consumer groups and its generic drug industry, Indian law, though strengthened considerably to implement the TRIPs agreement, tends to favour weaker rather than stronger protection of IPRs,” the study said.

It said India was transitioning from being a net user of technology (which favours weak IPRs) to being a producer as well (which favours stronger IPRs). The Indian drug industry itself is evolving toward companies with greater focus on R&D.

Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) USIBC will also push for India and the U.S. to

expeditiously ink a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) with specific clauses on Investor-State Dispute Settlement and provisions limiting governments from expropriating (or the act of government forcibly taking private property citing public interest) the investments made by foreign investors when there is a dispute.

Many US-based multinationals and pension funds were mulling mega investments in India in sectors such as infrastructure, but were concerned over “inadequate” protection of their investments under the current laws. They, therefore, wanted India and the US to soon sign a BIT.

An effective BIT would also enable more direct investments from the U.S. into India, instead of their being routed through Mauritius and Singapore (for tax and other benefits).

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation membership It will also hold talks on the importance of India’s membership in the Asia-Pacific Economic

Cooperation (APEC), which also includes the US and 20 other Pacific Rim countries. APEC advocates free trade in the region.

Recently, a Bill was introduced by the U.S. Congress to help India gain APEC membership.



Chinese infrastructure bank eyes loans to India India hopes to receive one of the first loans issued by the China-led Asian

Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) later this year India looks to raise $500 million for solar power projects from the newly created

lender Funding for clean energy projects would allay fears of environmental lobbyists that the

bank’s relaxed lending criteria could promote dirty fuels like coal in developing economies, like India, that are in a hurry to ramp up energy output.

The multilateral investment bank plans to join global clean-energy initiatives, and could fund eco-friendly investment projects to avoid allegations of promoting pollution.

Interest on the loan is likely to be 2-2.5 per cent and would be linked to LIBOR — a floating benchmark based on the rate at which commercial banks lend to each other — for a term of over 15 years.

India is in talks with the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, Germany’s KfW and the New Development Bank, set up by big emerging economies that form the BRICS bloc, to raise more than $3 billion in the financial year that starts April 1.

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