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INDEX

1. National news

1.1 Padmaavat order will not be recalled, declares SC

1.2 A scheme that draws scientists but leaves them in the lurch

1.3 What’s wrong with Aadhaar use: SC Bench

1.4 Awaiting SC nod on Aadhaar link: CEC

2. International News

2.1 New US tariffs anger Beijing, Seoul

3. Polity and Governance

3.1 CPI(M) plans impeachment motion against CJI

4. Economy

4.1 Rooftop Solar Panels in India

4.2 India set to be in top 3: Jaitley

4.3 Sensex scales 36k on growth view

4.4 Japan for greater ties with India in food processing

4.5 Govt. unveils details of recapitalization plan for public sector banks

4.6 Norms for Atal Pension relaxed by Govt

5. Science and Tech

5.1 Contest is off but TeamIndus to still go to moon

6. India and World

6.1 PM Modi calls protectionism as dangerous as terrorism at DAVOS

6.2 India, ASEAN cultural ties a living link: Sushma Swaraj

7. Short News

7.1 Constitute Mahanadi tribunal: SC

7.2 Infrastructure is an issue for ASEAN, India


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Current Affairs (21-Jan to 31-Jan, 2018)

1. National News

1.1 Padmaavat order will not be recalled, declares SC

The Supreme Court declined a plea by Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh governments to

modify its decision to allow film 'Padmaavat' to be screened in theatres.

The State governments approached the apex court to convey the apprehensions that

the screening of the movie would trigger large-scale violence by caste groups, beyond

the control of the law enforcement apparatus.

But the court stood firm by the right to creative speech and expression, putting the

onus squarely on the State governments to take measures to protect the movie, its

artistes and the public who come to watch it in the theatres.

“There is no way the court would back down". "Otherwise, these people will make a

virtue of creating trouble. They will first create trouble and then make a virtue of

creating trouble," Justice Chandrachud observed.

"There is a disclaimer in the film. It says the movie is not a portrayal of history. You

please educate your members about what a disclaimer is," Justice A.M. Khanwilkar

replied drily in response to the claim that the film distorts the history.

The States had invoked Section 6 of the Cinematograph Act of 1952 to argue that the

law provided the State to finally decide whether exhibition of a movie may trigger public

unrest.

The film “Padmaavat” is based on the saga of historic battle of 13th century between

Maharaja Ratan Singh and his army of Mewar and Sultan Alauddin Khilji of Delhi.

1.2 A scheme that draws scientists but leaves them in the lurch

A scholarship scheme managed by the Centre’s Department of Science and Technology

(DST) to help young, talented scientists embark on independent research careers at

Indian labs is drawing flak with complaints of harassment, tardy fund disbursal and

concerns that the scheme hasn’t catalysed enough jobs.

Brief Note about INSPIRE Scheme


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INSPIRE- Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research

The INSPIRE scheme selects promising research scholars under 32 and offers them a

salary of ₹80,000 a month as well as an annual research grant worth ₹7 lakh to work at a

university of their choice for five years.

It was conceived in 2008 amid concerns that not enough talented students were opting

for research careers in basic sciences and were being lured away by higher salaries in

banking, information technology and management.

It was positioned as an “Assured Opportunity for Research Career” scheme.

It envisioned that given 5 years of financial security and academic freedom these

researchers would prove their mettle at these universities and would be eventually

recruited as full-time faculty at their discretion.

The candidates are selected via a three-stage interview by the Indian National Science

Academy.

Denied opportunities

Of the 10,919 applications since the scheme’s inception in 2011, only 1,234 or about

11%, have been offered the fellowship, as per INSPIRE’s latest figures.


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Of these 951 joined and as of December only 394 or about 40% have landed permanent

faculty positions.

Many candidates are miffed and alleged unequal treatment, denied opportunities to

compete for faculty positions.

Apart from that there is difficulties in recruiting a Ph.D. student, project student,

accessing lab space and common research facilities which are most important for

congenial environment to work.

The salary and research funds are released late every year.

It becomes impossible to spend the money before the close of the financial year. It’s like

being given a year’s quota of rice all at once and being asked to consume it in 3 months.

DST Defence

The DST claimed the programme is a success.

Of the 238 fellows selected in 2011 and 2012 or those who’ve reached the end of the

fellowship, 143 or about 60% have got full-time jobs.

“Globally, 5%-10% of the doctoral researchers get permanent positions… this is by

comparison an excellent turnout,” said Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST.

“However we cannot force universities to recruit students.” A “combination of

circumstances” — the Fellow’s ability to gel with the institute’s functioning, their

performance and luck played a role in a candidate’s success.

It has always been explicitly made clear from the DST that the fellowship isn’t a

guarantee of employment.

A. Mukopadhyay, a senior DST administrator held meetings with administrators at

several universities and called them to be more sensitive to the concerns of these

researchers.

Also changes had been made to ensure that all pending financial dues were cleared by

January.

According to the latest available statistics from the government, the number of science

Ph.Ds is on the rise.

In 2010-2011 5,271 doctoral degrees in science were awarded and this rose to 7,617 in

2014-2015.

Systematic Problems

Gautam Desiraju, a professor of chemistry, at the Indian Institute of Science, said there

was a “systemic problem” in how the scheme had unfolded over the years.


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Universities frequently had opaque hiring procedures and “corruption” was rife at

several State universities.

Moreover, many leading institutions — including the IITs — didn’t recruit entry-level

professors over 35, further queering the pitch for a new INSPIRE faculty member.

1.3 What’s wrong with Aadhaar use: SC Bench

In an “extremely networked” modern society, what difference does the insertion of an

Aadhaar number make, the Supreme Court asked petitioners challenging the Aadhaar

scheme.

“All our data is anyway with private entities. So does the interpolation of Aadhaar

number make any difference?” asked Justice D.Y. Chandrachud.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal responded that the apex court has to decide the extent to

which the state can seek personal information.

Justice Chandrachud asked whether the “danger” of personal data leak apprehended by

the petitioners would be averted if there is an express declaration that “personal

information collected would only be used for the purpose for which they are collected.”

Senior advocate Shyam Divan and advocate Vipin Nair argued that the state has the

duty to protect the citizens from both non-state and state actors.

Mr. Divan painted a picture of a “scary dystopia” where the state aggregates different

sets of personal information to profile a citizen and track his movements.

“Let us say Aadhaar is per se constitutionally valid. Then we have to decide how far

Aadhaar can be used. Should Aadhaar be used only to access subsidies? Is there a

constitutional line that should not be infringed. A line when crossed would become

violation of privacy,” Justice A.K. Sikri, on the Bench, observed.

Mr. Divan submitted that the current legislative framework does not give the citizen any

locus to file a complaint. He hypothesised a situation when there is some emergency

and data stored is wiped out, leaving citizens in no position to complain.

1.4 Awaiting SC nod on Aadhaar link: CEC

The newly-appointed Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), O.P. Rawat, on Tuesday said

the electoral body would resume the exercise of linking voter identity cards to Aadhaar

database when the Supreme Court gives its nod.

About 38 crore Voter IDs are already linked to Aadhaar. The process will be resumed

once the Supreme Court gives its nod.


http://www.thehindu.com/tag/Supreme_Court/supreme-court/?utm=bodytag

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The EC had initiated the exercise in February 2015, but it was suspended later that year

after the Court held that Aadhaar could be used for only PDS and LPG distribution

schemes.


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2. International News

2.1 New US tariffs anger Beijing, Seoul

U.S. President Donald Trump has approved steep tariffs on imports of solar panels and

washing machines to protect U.S. producers, triggering an outcry in China and South

Korea and even protests at home.

Seoul said on Tuesday that it planned to take the issue to the World Trade Organization

while Beijing expressed “strong dissatisfaction”.

“Together with other WTO members, China will resolutely defend its legitimate

interests,” its Commerce Ministry warned, without indicating any specific

counteraction.

At home in the U.S., the move was decried by the solar industry, which said the tariffs

would create a “crisis” and cost thousands of U.S. jobs and billions in investment

without helping domestic suppliers meet rising demand.


http://www.thehindu.com/tag/1058-1055-993/solar/?utm=bodytag

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3. Polity and Governance

3.1 CPI(M) plans impeachment motion against CJI

CPI(M) is trying to build a consensus on moving an impeachment motion against Chief

Justice of India Dipak Misra in the budget session of Parliament.

Procedure of impeachment of CJI

Article 124(4) of Constitution of India lays down the procedure for removal of a Judge of

Supreme Court, which is applicable to Chief Justice as well.

A Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be removed from his office except by an order of

the President.

The order must be passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a

majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-

thirds of the members of that House present and voting.

It has to be presented to the President in the same session for such removal on the

ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.


http://www.thehindu.com/tag/1390-1385-1349/impeachment/?utm=bodytag

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4. Economy

4.1 Rooftop Solar Panels in India Current Status

Against a target of 10,000 MW for March 31, 2018, the achievement as of the last day of

2017 was 923 MW.

While India’s track record in large-scale solar installations is respectable — the country

had 16,070 MW by December-end, 2017 and is set to add another 6,500 MW by March

— the rooftop part of the solar story has not been good.

Reasons for Poor Performance in Rooftop Solar

For individual house owners, rooftop solar is still not an attractive alternative to the

subsidised power supplied by the electricity distribution companies (discoms) — such

as Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd. in Delhi, MSEDCL in Mumbai and BESCOM in

Bengaluru.

As for others, such as shopping malls and factory buildings, they are the customers that

the discoms — which are monopolies in the areas allotted to them — derive their

sustenance from.

So, the discoms find ways of preventing them from putting up rooftop solar plants and

generating their own power.

One of the effective ways has been to refuse to buy surplus power from the rooftop

plants. As such, a factory that has roof space for 2 MW but can self-use only 1 MW, will

restrict itself to its needs.

Even the 1 MW may not be viable if any unutilised power or power generated on

holidays is not sold. Since the rooftop plant owner cannot find a customer for off-and-

on surplus power, he has to sell it only to the discoms — and the discoms are not

buying.

Many states, like Tamil Nadu, disallow ‘net metering’, which measures the power put

into the grid by the rooftop plants. Others impose a cap on the capacity allowed for net

metering.

If the cap is, say, 1 MW, and if the shopping mall installs a 1.5 MW solar plant on its

roof, only the 1 MW will be connected to a net-meter, which means all additional power

would either need to be either self-consumed or unconsumed.


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The most common challenge according to rooftop installers is the restriction of net-

metering policies that put an upper ceiling of 1 MW on rooftop solar projects.

This is restricting the growth of rooftop according to many in the industry.

The government of India wants the country to have 100,000 MW of solar capacity by

March 2022 — 60,000 MW from large plants and 40,000 MW from rooftops.

Required measures to achieve the target

The government wants a new deal for rooftop solar. Last month, it put out a ‘concept

note’ in this regard for public comments.

The essence of the new proposals is to put the discoms in the driver’s seat, giving them

incentives for rooftop solar capacity created by them in their operating areas.

The government-owned SECI , a renewable energy facilitating company, would come

out with tenders on behalf of interested discoms; the bidders who quote the least tariff

will put up the rooftop plants and sell power to the discom.

The government would give the discom incentives, worth Rs. 23,450 crore, for rooftop

capacities created. This, the Centre hopes, would propel the discoms to create an

‘enabling ecosystem’ for rooftop plants in their areas

4.2 India set to be in top 3: Jaitley

India will likely be among the top three economies in the world in the next 25 years,

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday, adding that India has shown an ability to

grow during adversity.

“India has moved from the seventh largest to the fifth largest economy,” Mr. Jaitley

said, while delivering the valedictory speech at the ASEAN-India Business and

Investment Meet.

Mr. Jaitley added. “The confidence of the new India is that it is getting more globally

integrated and this opening out in terms of trade and investment has certainly brought

not only additional resources but significantly improved upon India’s competitive

strengths.”

The Finance Minister said countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, and

Indonesia, were now significantly picking up and opening up to investment.


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4.3 Sensex scales 36k on growth view

Benchmark equity indices scaled new highs on Tuesday as investor sentiment was

buoyed after the International Monetary Fund raised its projections for global growth

and forecast that India would be the world’s fastest-growing major economy in 2018

and 2019.

The 30-share Sensex gained 341.97 points or 0.96% to close above the 36,000-mark for

the first time at 36,139.98. The index has gained 2,000 points in less than a month’s

time. It touched 34,000 on December 26 and then moved above 35,000 on January 17.

The IMF, in its latest World Economic Outlook Update on Monday, had estimated that

the Indian economy would grow by 7.8% in fiscal 2019-2020, making it the world’s

fastest-growing economy for that year.


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“The turnaround in the industrial/economic growth in October 2017 along with big

policy announcements related to bank recapitalisation and Bharatmala led to a good

upmove in October 2017,” said Deepak Jasani, Head - Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

4.4 Japan for greater ties with India in food processing

Japanese Ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu on Tuesday said there was plenty of

room to expand India-Japan ties, especially in food processing, urban development,

environment and sanitation as well as medicine.

However, he wanted the Indian government to address the concerns of Japanese firms

including on taxation, financial regulation and infrastructure.

The Ambassador said in the area of urban development, Japan was helping India in

developing Chennai, Ahmedabad and Varanasi as smart cities.

He said the other priority areas for cooperation included water supply, sewage

treatment, natural disaster management techniques, internet of things, artificial

intelligence, robotics, start-ups and industrial corridors.

Japanese firms have been pitching, among other things, for improved infrastructure in

India, uninterrupted power supply, reduction of Goods and Services Tax on hybrid and

electric cars, easing foreign currency norms, including on external commercial

borrowings.

4.5 Govt. unveils details of recapitalization plan for public sector banks

The government has announced details of how Rs 80,000 crore of funds raised through

recapitalization bonds would be allocated to 20 PSBs by March-end.

A total of around Rs 1 lakh crore will be infused in the PSBs by March-end.

Twenty PSBs will be getting the amount from government. These include 11 weak and 9

strong banks.

The eleven weak banks are currently under the RBI’s Prompt Corrective Action (PCA).

PCA kicks in when banks breach regulatory norms on issues such as minimum capital,

amount of non-performing assets and return on assets.

The central bank enforces these guidelines to ensure that banks do not go bust and

follow prompt measures to make them organized.

The government announced a set of measures to keep a close watch on the asset

quality of the banks.

These include “specialized monitoring” by agencies for corporate loans of more than Rs

250 crore.


http://www.thehindu.com/tag/783-778-684/food/?utm=bodytag

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Banks have been asked to ring-fence cash flows of corporate borrowers, to ensure that

their earnings are not diverted for other purposes.

The government has also mandated each of the PSBs to have a stressed assets.

management vertical and monetize their non-core assets such as real estate to boost

their capital adequacy.

An independent agency will conduct an Annual EASE (Enhanced Access & Service

Excellence) Index Survey of banks

This will be to ensure that banks comply with the reforms parameters

As per the EASE plan, the government wants to ensure that there is a banking facility

within 5 km of every village in the country

4.6 Norms for Atal Pension relaxed by Govt

The Centre would now allow small finance banks and payment banks to offer the Atal

Pension Yojana (APY), which is expected to significantly increase the coverage of the

scheme.

The new payments banks and small finance banks will provide a boost to the outreach

of subscribers under APY.

Participation in APY not only builds a pensioned society but also adds sustainable fee

income to banks by way of attractive incentive for mobilizing APY at the rate of ₹120-

150 for each account.

So far, 11 payment banks and 10 small finance banks have received licenses from the

Reserve Bank of India to start banking operations in India.

As of January 23, 2018, there were more than 84 lakh subscribers registered under the

APY with an asset base of more than ₹3,194 crore.


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5. Science and Tech

5.1 Contest is off but TeamIndus to still go to moon

Google Lunar XPRIZE (GLXP) organizer has called off its 10-year-old challenge

Space startup TeamIndus had planned to send a lander-rover to the moon on an ISRO

launcher

Space startup TeamIndus and Antrix Corporation had come together to send private

Indian mission to moon along with Japanese partner Hakuto

They were to develop an unmanned lunar rover


http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/isro-successfully-launches-its-42nd-pslv/article22427172.ece

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/isro-successfully-launches-its-42nd-pslv/article22427172.ece

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6. India and World

6.1 PM Modi calls protectionism as dangerous as terrorism at DAVOS

Sending out a strong message against protectionism and inward-focused economic

policies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said such tendencies can be as

dangerous as terrorism and climate change as he pitched for creating a “heaven of

freedom.”

In an almost hour-long speech, the Prime Minister sought to hard sell India as an

investment destination, saying those wanting wealth with wellness and peace with

prosperity should come to the country.

Asserting that India is proud of its democracy and diversity, he said the country has

always contributed to global peace as well as promoted values of integration and unity.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said terrorism is dangerous.

Addressing the World Economic Forum’s annual summit here, he remarked that what is

worse is when people say there is a difference between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ terror.

He emphasised that a predictable, stable, transparent and progressive India is good

news in an otherwise uncertain global environment.

6.2 India, ASEAN cultural ties a living link: Sushma Swaraj

India’s cultural relation with Southeast Asia is centuries old and serves as a living link

between the two sides, said the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday.

Ms. Swaraj made the reference as she launched the final phase of events leading to the

ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit on 25 January, 2018.

“We are in South Asia and they are in Southeast Asia. So we cannot become part of

their region geographically. But we have common cultural link that is not just a mere

connection, but a living link. Buddhism and Ramayana connects us with the region.,”

said Ms. Swaraj.


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7. Short News

7.1 Constitute Mahanadi tribunal: SC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Centre to set up a tribunal within a month

to resolve the long-standing dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh over the sharing

of Mahanadi water.

The court, however, refused to grant any stay as sought by Odisha government on the

seven pick up weirs across the Mahanadi river, which flows through Chhattisgarh,

Jharkhand and Odisha, before pouring into the Bay of Bengal.

7.2 Infrastructure is an issue for ASEAN, India

Infrastructure and connectivity are among the major challenges facing India and Asean-

member countries that are looking to further boost trade ties, Minister of State for

Commerce and Industry C.R. Chaudhary said on Tuesday.

He was speaking at the Asean-India Business and Investment Meet and Expo.

Besides, there is also the proposed rail link Vietnam and India.

Projects in the work

Construction of a trilateral highway — India-Myanmar-Thailand — and extending that

project to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

The Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project will improve links between India’s

eastern ports and Myanmar’s Sittwe port.

The Asean-India maritime transport cooperation pact to eliminate barriers that trouble

maritime trade.


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