useful articles for civil services examination-2012-13 by an-institute-for-ias-examination

New Initiative for Rural Area: PURA 2 (Provision of Urban Amenities for Rural Areas) A concept given by the former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, PURA was initially aimed at providing urban amenities to the villagers. Now in recently launched PURA - 2 scheme the government is focusing on certain census towns in order to provide urban infrastructure to these areas.

A census town is an area having a population of more than 5000, population density of more than 400/km2 and 3/4 of its male workforce involved in non-farming activities. And as per the 2011 census, the number of census towns in India have been identified as almost closer to 4000.

Therefore, the growing urbanization in these areas have brought about the need for certain government initiatives to provide them with basic urban amenities. Looking into the matter the Planning Commission has granted Rs.1500 cr in the 12th Five Year Plan to provide these areas with basic amenities like adequate water supply, drainage, sewerage, solid waste management & street light in six states initially.

These states are:

• Uttar Pradesh • Tamil Nadu • West Bengal • Andhra Pradesh • Maharashtra • Kerala

It would be based on Public-Private Partnership Model wherein Gram Panchayat will sign agreements with private partners to construct and maintain the infrastructure initially for a period of 10 Years.

Importance from examination point of view:

i) Short Note - PURA ii) Census Town? iii) Growing Urbanisation & Government Initiative for Infrastructure Development. iv) 2009 - Paper I (Q. 3-e): Status of Urbanisation among Indian states & bring out Spatial inequalities.

Natural Disaster Management: Indian Scenario As per the Ministry of Home Affairs, a disaster is defined as a situation in which the normal life or ecosystem gets disrupted and some emergency actions are required to save and preserve the life and the environment.

By: www.vvrias.comAn Institute For IAS Examination.

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Indian Scenario Being highly vulnerable to natural disaster, 25 states out of a total of 35 states/UTs in India are considered disaster prone. 68% of Indian land is draught prone, 12% to flood and 8% to cyclone. Some of the natural disasters occurring in India are floods, droughts, cyclone, earthquake, landslides and avalanches etc.

Impacts: Disaster results not only in the loss of life & shelter but also creates lack of food, increase in diseases, and disturb socio-economic activities. Therefore it is one if the major area of concern for developing countries like India.

Disaster Management System in India The Disaster Management Division of Ministry of Home Affairs is the nodal agency for all issues related to disaster management except the drought. This is looked after by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Also the NGOs and local communities play on important role in the case of natural disaster in a particular area. Therefore their awareness and adequate training is very important in the areas which are prone to frequent disaster.

Natural Disaster Management Act - 2005 This act is aimed at preparedness, prevention and early planning towards disaster. By this Act three authorities namely, National Disaster Management Authority, State Disaster Management Authority and District Disaster Management Authority have been established.

This Act states that there shall be no discrimination on the ground of gender, caste and community in providing compensation and relief. It provides penalties for obstruction, false claims etc. It ensures establishment of Disaster Response fund and Disaster Mitigation fund at central, state and district level.


i) 2005 - paper I: (Q. - 10 - B): What is Disaster Management? Discuss the steps required to tackle natural disasters. ii) Short Notes - Disaster Management Act - 2005 iii) Impact & Importance of Local bodies & NGOs in participation with the government.

End of weekly food inflation data


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Released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the government has finally decided to stop releasing the weekly food inflation data and instead of this now it would release monthly headline inflation data.

Till now the weekly food inflation data used to contain primary food articles, fuel and power. Now the monthly data is in line with the standard global practice having its base year as 2004005. Now the total numbers of articles included are 676 as compared to 435 earlier.

Important Definitions: Headline Inflation: It is a measurement of price inflation that takes into account all type of inflation experienced by an economy. It counts changes of the price of food and energy. It is more useful for typical household because it reflects changes in the cost of living.

WPI (Wholesale Price Index): It measures the change in price of a selection of goods at wholesale, prior to retail sales thus excluding sales taxes.

Base Year: A base year is a specific year from which the economic growth is measured. It has to be a normal year without large fluctuation in the production, trade and price of commodities in general.

Reason for Switching over to Monthly Data Release It was found that the weekly reporting were prone to more statistical 'noise' and sometimes provided a misleading picture.


i) Short Note - Headline Inflation, WPI ii) Reason for switching over monthly data release iii) Base year, why a particular year is taken as base year.

National Commission for Women: 20 Tireless Years of Women Empowerment

• Constituted on 31st January 1992, the apex national organisation NCW was formed with the purpose of safeguarding the interests of women in India.

Structure and function The NCW comprises of one chairperson, one member secretary and five non official members in the commission. The function is divided into four cells, which are


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Complaint & Investigation Cell, Legal Cell, NRI Cell, and Research & Study Cell. Among these, the Complaints & Investigation Cell is the core unit of the commission. It taken into account oral / written / newspaper reports and initiates suo-moto cognizance of cases.

The Chairperson, Members and other officials visit various places such as jails, hospitals etc to know the plight of women prisoners and patients and then recommend to the concerned authority for the redressal of the same.

The commission was given the status of national level Agency in 2009 to receive and process all complaints from India and abroad. Its NRI cell was established on September 24, 2009 because of the increase in cases related to Indian women deserted by NRI husbands.

20 Years - Landmark Achievements In the past 20 years, NCW has been continuously working towards empowering women and assisting them to achieve equality in all spheres of life. It is helping women in securing her due rights and entitlements through various policy formations and suggesting various amendments in the law.

Some of them can be listed as follows: a) Implementation of the Domestic Violence Act 2005. b) Indecent Representation c) Workplace Bill 2010, for prohibition of harassment at workplaces. d) Domestic Workers Welfare and Social Security Act 2010. e) Amendments Proposed on 125 Cr PC regarding Maintenance. f) Introduction of "Save Home, Save Family" project with Delhi Police to provide counseling to women in distress. g) MoU has been signed with UNIFEM in January 2010 for prevention of human trafficking. h) Prevention of Crimes in the Name of Honor and Traditional Bill, 2010. i) Scheme for Relief and Rehabilitation to Victims of Acid Attack. j) Proposal Central Sponsored Scheme for providing matching assistance to State Governments to appoint independent Protection Officers with supporting staff for effective implementation of "Protection of Women from Domestic Violence, 2005.

Importance from Examination point of view:

i) Essay ii) Short Notes - NCW iii) Functions of NCW in Women Empowerment iv) 2009 Paper - I (Q. 6 - a): What are your views on the features & implementation of the Domestic Violence Act 2005.


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Economy: New Committee for Poverty Estimation Recently a new Committee headed by C. Rangarajan has been constituted to re-examine the methodology for fixing the poverty line and estimating the increase of poverty in the country. Initially last such review of the methodology was done by Lakdawala Committee (1993) which recommended poverty estimation on a minimum calorific intake. Which was later undertaken by Suresh Tendulkar Committee (2005), which submitted its report in 2009 and its recommendations were accepted in 2011. It included consumption expenditure on health & education in the estimation methodology. As per the Tendulkar Committee report, the national poverty line at 2004-05 prices was a monthly per capita consumption expenditure of Rs. 446.68 in rural area and Rs. 578.80 in urban areas. Though the above poverty line which refers to the national average, vary from state to state because of price differential.

Reason for Estimating the Methodology Again 1. The first reason is the absolute value of the poverty line, because only Rs. 32/day in rural area and Rs. 26/day in urban area is a found to be inadequate to lift a person out of poverty.

2. The poverty estimation on the calorific value by the Lakdawala Committee also failed to serve the purpose because the calorific intake of the poor was found to be much shorter than that estimated.

3. Also the incidence of poverty at the national and the state level found to vary and unacceptable. So, in order to estimate the poverty line properly, the newly formed Committee should go for a set of standards rather than going for a single benchmark (such as only calorific value or daily income basis only).

Definition: Poverty Line: It is defined as the level of income below which one cannot afford to purchase the basic resources required to live. While comparing poverty across countries, the purchase power parity exchange rate is used.

Importance from Examination point of view:

i) Short note - Poverty Line ii) Key points of the Committee and Recommendations iii) 2004: Paper - II (Q. 4-b):- How is poverty level measured? Evaluate poverty eradication programmes in India.

65th World Health Assembly: India's Resolution Adopted


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In a major breakthrough in the recently concluded 65th World Health Assembly, an action plan was moved by India acknowledging the need for a comprehensive and coordinated response to addressing mental disorder from health and social sector at the country level.

The main theme of the resolution adopted is to develop policies and making strategy to attend the problem of mental health properly, their prevention, treatment and recovery at the national level depending upon the priorities of each country. It would include risk factors involved along with social determinants of health, prevention, support and treatment for the same by allocating appropriate resources in collaboration with the WHO to develop a Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan.

Indian Context: Having special attention towards health in the upcoming 12th five year plan. India has been working extensively and separately for the care of people with mental illness, which includes emphasis on family & community care, training of health and community workers. Also in order to protect the rights of person with mental illness India is planning to replace the Mental Health Act 1987.

India played a vital role in the inclusion of mental disorders in the non-communicable disorders list at the first Ministerial Conference of Healthy Lifestyle and non-communicable Disease Control in Moscow last year.

World Health Assembly: It is the supreme decision-making body of WHO. The Assembly generally meets in May each year and it supervises the financial policies of the organization, and reviews and approves the proposed budget for any particular programme.

The Assembly elects 34 members who are technically qualified in the field of health for three year term to an executive board. It has six regional offices worldwide.

Importance from examination point of view: 1) About World Health Assembly and its role. 2) About India's role in global and national context.

International Relation: India – Myanmar: - (Rebuilding old Links) Recent visit of Myanmar by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is being described as an important step towards rebuilding and strengthening older relations with the neighborhood Country. One of the major issue which was discussed was “connectivity” towards not only trade and commerce but also as a tool to increase people’s participation in order to streamline the insurgency – wracked regions in India’s north – eastern states as well as on the Myanmar side.


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Some of the Agreements and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the two countries are as follows:-

• MoU regarding $500Million line of credit to Myanmar. • Air Service Agreement, Proposed bus & rail Service also. • MoU on Indo – Myanmar Border Area Development. • Establishment of joint trade & Investment forum. • Establishment of Rice Bio Park in Nay Pyi Taw. • MoU towards Setting up of Myanmar Institute of Information Technology. • Cultural exchange Programme (2012 – 2015) • Agreement regarding establishment of Strategic and International studies and

Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis.

Also a representative office of the Union Bank of India will be opened in Yangon towards the agreed goal of doubling the $ 1.2bn bilateral trade. Also Indo-Myanmar relation is very important for India’s look east Policy and development of relations with the Asian Nations.

Chinese in influence in Myanmar. Vs Indo – Myanmar ties An Overview:-

Dr. Singh visit is being seen by some Chinese analyst as “a clear cut sign of India speeding up to boost bilateral ties, by virtue of which India would be able to monitor whether the China – Myanmar relation is going to take on a military dimension as previously rumours about China planning to establish naval and intelligence bases in Myanmar were in news, It is totally in India’s interest to encourage Myanmar to conduct free and fair elections in 2015. But at the same time, it is also in Myanmar’s interest to consider India as a major ally .That would prove beneficial for Myanmar in the fields of economy, strategic development, trade & commerce, education & IT & culture etc.

Importance from Examination Point of view

i) Account for the renewal of Indo-Myanmar relations after a gap of two decades. List the benefits arising for both the countries. ii) Account for the important MOU and agreements signed recently between India & Myanmar. How the same is going to boost the relation / benefit Myanmar? iii) How far do you agree with the fact that by strenthening Indo-Myanmar relation, India would be able to cheek Chinese intervention & supremacy in the region?

Campaign – WANTED ALIVE (Ecology & Environment) It is a Campaign by TRAFFIC (The wild life trade monitoring network. It is a joint initiative by WWF and International Union for the Conservation of Nature.


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Wanted Alive is TRAFFIC India’s message to the masses for conservation of four Asian big cats, i.e., the Tiger, Snow Leopard and clouded leopard and the Leopard. Illegal wildlife trade is continuously threatening the Survival of these rare species. Also the emerging markets such as Myanmar are a matter of grave concern.

IUCN: The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources is the World’s oldest and largest global environrnmental network. Having its headquarter in Gland, Switzerland its mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies all over the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature resources. The group issues a “Red List “indicating the species which are endangered.

WWF: Having its headquarter in Gland, Switzerland, the Worldwide fund for Nature is world’s largest non – government organization working in the conservation, restoration and research on the environmental issues. At present most of its work is focused on forests, freshwater ecosystem, pollution and climate change. Earlier its name was world wildlife federation which was changed in 1986.

Importance from examination point of view.

i. 2011 Paper II -7(a) – Phase – IV of the tiger monitoring programme in India. ii. Short Notes – Wanted Alive campaign.

iii. IUCN - 2011 – Prelims. iv. Short not about IUCN, WWF v. Function of IUCN, WWF and India’s Participation.

Special Economic Zone A special economic zone is a geographical region where economic laws are more liberal than the country's general economic laws. The purpose of SEZ is to attract foreign and domestic investment both.

SEZ Act The SEZ act 2005 was passed by the Parliament in May 2005 which received President's assent on 23rd June 2005. And finally it came into effect on 10th February 2006.

The objectives of this act are as follows:

• Generation of additional economic activity. • Promotion of export of goods and services.


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• Promotion of investment from domestic and foreign sources. • Providing employment opportunities. • Advancement and development of infrastructural facilities.

As per the recent available data, formal approvals have been granted for setting up of 584 SEZs, Out of which 381 have been notified. And a total of 133 SEZs are making exports. Out of which 76 are IT related, 17 multi products and 40 are from other sector.

Impact/Benefits of SEZ • SEZs have played an important role in the creation of direct as well as indirect

employment. • Overwhelming response is seen among the investors, both in India and abroad. • Increase in earning of foreign exchange and infrastructure development. • Contribution in human development facilities such as education, healthcare, social

life etc.

Criticism • The farming community is criticizing the government of acquiring fertile land

from them at heavily discounted price. • Critics say that the policy is being misused mainly by real estate developers rather

than exporters. • Companies are shifting to SEZs just to seek advantage of the tax concession and

not creating jobs as desired.

Government's Initiatives in response to the criticism • Acquisition of fertile land is being restricted. • The size of SEZs being limited. • Space allowed within SEZ for construction of shopping malls, housing is also

being restricted.

Importance from Examination Point of View

• 2 Marker (2007 - SEZ) • 2005 (Main - Paper - I) • Q.3 - (c) Bring out the pros & cons of Special Economic Zone.

• 2010 (Pre) - Q. The SEZ act 2005, which came into effect in Feb 2006 has certain

objectives. In this context consider the following:- 1. Development of infrastructure facilities 2. Promotion of investment from foreign sources 3. Promotion of exports of Services only.


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• Which of the following is/are true Answer: 1 & 2

Housing Price Index A joint initiative of RBI and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) ministry is set to come up every quarter with Housing Price Index and it will be based on newly built residential units in urban area from 2007 onwards. It is supposed to measure the shift in the tendency of growth /recession in the related sectors.

Global Context: As of now only five countries namely US, UK, Australia, Canada and Brazil have a housing start up index of their own. Indian Context: Till May 2011,HSUI cells have been established in 16 cities namely Jaipur, Bhopal, Guwahati, Gwalior, Indore, Udaipur, Mysore, Kochi, Vishakhapatnam, Sangli, Jodhpur, Itanagar, Coimbatore, Surat, Faridabad and Pune.

Importance: HSUI is computed and published as a major economic indicator in most developed countries and it captures the upward and downward movement of the economy.


1. 2 marker 2. Importance from economic point for the country.

Agriculture:- System of Rice Intensification (SRI) Method It is a method of rice cultivation used by 40 drought prone countries including India. In this method , 12 day old seedlings are transplanted at a precise spacing of 2S sq. cm. Each plant is grown to its full potential, thus sends out about 60 - 150 shoots. While in the traditional method of paddy cultivation, seedlings are grown up to a month in the nursery and no space between the plant clumps is allowed.

Benefits: a) In this method, providing gap between the plant clumps helps in the maximisation of the grain bearing capacity of the plant because healthier plants develop more grain bearing stems, which is not possible in the traditional method. (b) In this method ,lesser amount of water is required as compared to the traditional method because in this method only the roots are kept moist. (c) Also, it takes lesser amount of fertiliser because in this method, fertiliser is applied only to the roots, ,while in the traditional method, fertiliser is spread to the whole cultivated area. Thus is more economical than the traditional method.


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Indian context: As per a report from the Directorate of Rice Development, at all India level ,246 districts have adopted this method. It has been included in National food Security Mission in 2009.

Importance from examination point of view: 1) 2 Marker - What is SRI technology? 2) Benefits, compare with traditional method. 3) Importance for a country like India whose agriculture depends mainly upon the nature of monsoon.

Drinking water related problem in Indian slums • As per a recent World Bank study ,it is estimated that improper sanitation and

water related diseases cost India 6.4% of its GDP annually. • Reason for the contamination of drinking / stored water in Indian slums. • According to a recent Survey of the Indian slums, most of the residents were

found to store water in wide mouthed container from which water was taken out either by hands or cups. which contaminates the water very easily.

• As this type of self - contamination happens after the storage, so boiling or filtering water at the time of storage goes in-vain.

• Lack of toilets in this area plays a major role in contaminating the environment very easily.

Remedy: Safety Water System:- A suitable method. Developed by U.S. Scientists, it is a very simple method in which wide mouthed container is replaced by narrow - mouthed container & hence it does not allow people to put their hands in water. Frequent chlorination of water is also advised. This method is much cheaper than boiling water which involves use of either fuel or electricity for the purpose.

Importance from examination point of view: i) 2 marker - Safe Water System ii) 2007 - 4 -c Paper I : Explain the nature and causes of growing slum problems in the metropolitan cities of India. iii) 2005 - 4 - b - Paper-I: Elucidate the factors contributing to the growing need for water harvesting in India, both rural and Urban.

India signs TAPI gas pipeline pact In a move to strengthen relation , boost peace and harmony and moving a step further in regional energy cooperation , India on 23/05/2012 signed the long awaited and historic Gas Sale Purchase Agreement (GSPA) with Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Features: Also termed as the Peace Pipeline, the 1680km long pipeline will start from the Dauletabad gas fields and run into Afghanistan alongside the highway running from


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Heart to Kandhar and via Quetta and Multan in Pakistan. Fazilka near the India Pakistan border will be the final destination of the pipeline likely to be operational by 2018,the $7.6 - billion TAPI pipeline will have a capacity to carry 90 million metric standard cubic meters a day for a period of 30 years.Both India and Pakistan would receive 38 mmscmd and the remaining 14 mmscmd would go to Afghanistan.

Benefits: a) Economic Benefits: It would be of great help for a developing country like India by bringing about economic and industrial development. which is already facing energy crisis for the past few years. b) Relationship Building: By this pipeline, trust, and relationship with neighbouring countries like Pakistan is likely to strengthen and it would give a new shape to regional energy cooperation.

Importance from examination point of view: i) 2 marker Question ii) Topic of International Relation:- (Q) Account for the increasing harmony and regional energy cooperation between India & Iran /etc. iii) 2010 - Paper II - Q -1 (b) Evaluate India’s approach towards meeting the country’s growing energy demands. Compare the success of this approach with that of another Asian giant which has perhaps the fastest growing energy demands.

Kudumbasree Mission -Kerala • Inspiring National Rural Livelihood Mission • Playing important role in women empowerment.

Introduction: An initiative for poverty alleviation, this model was Launched on May 17th 1998. It is now one of the largest women empowerment related movement in Asia, having a total participation of about 37.8 Lakhs.

This mission is a joint initiative of the Government of Kerala and NABARD. It defines poverty as the deprivation of basic rights and money. By its attempt to bring poor women in the state within its range, Kudumbasree is now present in each & every Gram Panchayat,every welfare and development activity is related and dependent on kudumbasree to provide the community interface. This mission is mainly centred on providing enterpreneurial,marketing and management opportunities to poor women and thus making them self dependent in financial terms through vegetable farming and selling/marketing of farm products.

Proving inspirational for National Rural Livelihood Mission: A recent visit by the officials of NRLM to Kerala , the role of Kudumbasree was found to be very important in women empowerment and successful running of Panchayati Raj Institution. Also,they found the various possibilities of diversification in the functioning of this mission to


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some other sectors such as service sector,handicraft etc It was decided after the visit that the role of this mission ,would be studied in detail as the increasing and effective female participation has made the Panchayati Raj more transparent and democratic. This observation /will be done because the synergy generated through this mission is being considered as a replicable model for the NRLM at the country level.

Importance from examination point of view: a) Useful for essay. b) 2 Marker - Kudumbsree Mission. c) Question related to socio - economic development.


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useful articles for civil services examination-2012-13 by an-institute-for-ias-examination

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