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October 2018
Editorial Board Sub - Editor Sivarajavel. S Suresh Kumar. S Sadik. M.A Co-ordinator R. Senthilkumar D. Ramya
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© Smart Leaders IAS SMART NEWS – October 2018
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S.No. Index Pg.No. POLITY 1. No need for uniform civil code now 09 2. CJI Misra names Gogoi as successor 10 3. SC throws out plea to ban Malayalam novel Meesha 11 4. SC refuses to give NRC report copy to centre 11 5. SC decriminalises homosexuality 12 6. SC orders Rajasthan to file report on Alwar lynching 12 7. 12 special courts set up to try MPs, MLAs 13 8. Welfare panels can't evaluate dowry complaints 14 9. Can't curb liberty on conjecture 15 10. Female circumcision issue goes to constitution bench 15 11. SC to rule on barring accused in heinous crimes from polls 15 12. Aadhaar gets thumbs up from supreme court 16 13. Reduced to digits 17 14. Deleting biometric data is difficult 18 15. SC harks back to mumbai blasts to cite criminalisation 18 16. Legislators can practise law 19 17. SC forms prison Reforms Panel 19 18. SC proceedings can be live-streamed 20 19. Boost to SC/ST quota in promotions 20 20. IS Mosque essential part of islam? 21 21. Hearings on Ayodhya title suit to resume 22 22. Adultery is not a crime, rules SC 23 23. All women may pray at Sabarimala 23 24. With sabarimala verdict, „Ghost of Narasu' is finally exorcised 24 25. Not a crackdown on dissent 24 26. Centre for new bench in Manipur case 25 27. Protocol breached in Tamil Nadu organ transplant case 26 28. Audits to track construction workers' benefits 26 29. Supreme court refuses to stay amendments to SC/ST Act 27 30. CJI warns against „cooked-up' proof 27 31. Sex offenders' registry launched with 4.4 lakh entries 28 32. Ordinance allows panel to supersede scam-tainted MCI 28 33. Wrongful prosecution (miscarriage of justice): legal remedies 29 Health ministry issues a notification for bringing the HIV/AIDS Act, 2017 in 34. 30 force 35. Drinking water programme not effective in Odisha 30 36. CVC seeks CBI files on its special director's plaint 31 37. Maoists have a tight and flowing structure 31 38. Centre to issue warnings on lynchings 32 39. MHA merges police forces in six Union Territories 33 40. Google to help EC track political ads 33
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41. EC eases rule on use of speakers for campaigns 34 42. Youth more likely to choose protests over vote 34 43. KCR can't decide poll dates 35 44. PDP too will boycott J&K local polls 35 45. Despite boycott threat, J&K civic polls to be held in October 36 46. Publishing poll candidate's propaganda is paid news 36 47. Enact „strong law‟ to cleanse politics 37 48. Delhi launches doorstep delivery of government services 38 49. Ban on adoption by live-in partners lifted 39 50. Govt. Unveils centre for data analytics 39 51. PM launches cleanliness campaign 39 52. U.P. To launch first-ever dial-FIR 40 53. Rationalisation of CS schemes mooted 40 54. Krishna Kutir, a home for 1000 widows inaugurated 41 55. Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) 41 56. First Tribal Circuit project under Swadesh Darshan Scheme in Chhattisgarh 43 57. All India Pension Adalat 43 58. „e-Sahaj‟ portal for grant of security clearance 44 59. Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojna approved 45 60. Bamboo centre remains „rooted‟ to New Delhi 45 61. Rashtriya Poshan Maah celebrations get under way across India 46 62. “Rail Sahyog” web portal 47 63. National conference of district disability rehabilitation centres 47 64. CIC wants break-up of how MPLADS funds are utilised 48 65. B.C. Khanduri removed as Defence Panel Chairman 48 66. Triple Talaq is criminal offence 49 67. Cabinet clears rs. 3,466 crore dam improvement project 50 68. Centre appoints search committee for Lokpal 50 69. New wage agreement for port and dock workers 51 70. Census 2021 to collect OBC data, use maps 51 71. „Asia‟s Nobel‟ celebrates social heroes 52 72. MoU signed to give facelift to Ajmer Dargah 53 73. PMC is „distorting' facts on Ganesha Festivities 53 74. 2 irrigation facilities in Telangana get heritage tag 54 75. PM to unveil sardar patel's statue on October 31 55 76. „Gatka': Sikh Martial Arts 55 77. Casting capers: Maneka sees animals in wrong role 55 78. Return home or give up SOPs 56 79. Government links Pravasi Divas with Kumbh 56 80. Plea highlights plight of detainees 57 81. Renewed push for statehood in northeast 57 82. First review meeting of department of official language 57 83. Gandhijis Nai Talim 58
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84. National Board Of Examinations 59 85. National orientation workshop on national e-vidhan application (NEVA) 59 86. Centenary celebrations of Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha 60 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1. India invites Pakistan experts to hydel sites in J&K 62 2. China-Africa ties have benefited both 62 3. Xi offers $60 bn aid to Africa 63 4. New entrants in Xi's Belt and Road dreams 64 5. Chinese intrusions declined by 10% this year 64 6. CPEC won't lead to a debt trap 65 7. Pakistan invites Saudi Arabia to be third partner in CPEC 65 8. Nepal to skip BIMSTEC military drill in India 66 9. Nepal's no to drills is not a snub to India 66 10. India not involved in palaly airport project 66 11. India-Bangladesh jointly unveil e-plaques for two projects 67 12. Kim agrees to abolish missile facilities, allow inspections 68 13. South Korea wants to elevate ties with India 68 14. PSU refiners to use Iranian tankers for oil imports 69 15. Handover of Chabahar Port on track 69 16. Uzbek President to invite India to join Afghan rail project 69 17. Indo-Kazakhstan Joint Exercise Kazind 2018 70 18. Qatar offers Permanent Resident Status 70 19. Talks on for logistics deal with Russia 71 20. Russia blames Israel after plane shot down in Syria 72 21. Russia to supply s-300 Missile system to Syria 72 22. Pride and prejudices over foreign aid 73 23. Bullet train: Japan lends RS. 5,500 crore 73 24. Lehman weekend: the biggest bankruptcy in american history 74 25. U.S. Threatens sanctions on ICC, prosecution of officials 74 26. Trade talks stuck as U.S. Presses gas, aircraft sales to India 75 27. India signs landmark defence pact with U.S. 75 28. 2+2 to take full view of ties 76 29. Comcasa to help keep a watch over Indian Ocean 77 30. Lemoa already fully operational 78 31. Trump wants to stop subsidies to growing economies like India, China 78 32. U.S., China step up trade war, slap tit-for-tat tariffs 79 33. U.S. to cancel $300 mn aid to Pakistan 79 34. Trump warns Syria, Russia, Iran against Idlib „tragedy' 79 35. Leaders fail to agree on Idlib truce 80 36. India, Cyprus vow to curb money laundering 81 37. Root out terror: BIMSTEC 81 38. BIMSTEC embarrassment for India 82 39. SAARC meet to allow India-Pakistan interface 82
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40. UN begins talks on treaty to protect imperilled high seas 83 41. UN gets access to Rakhine for the first time since August 2017 83 42. India and the UN to sign a five-year sustainable development framework 83 43. UN human rights chief asks Egypt to overturn mass death sentences 84 44. Breakthrough achieved in RCEP talks, claims India 84 45. EU parliament backs copyright reform 85 46. No preferential deal for EU citizens 85 47. May hits back at EU, says government won't alter BREXIT offer 86 48. India ranks 158th in „Human Capital‟ score 86 49. G-4 for UN Security Council Reform, multilateralism 87 50. 3rd ASEM conference on „global ageing and human rights of older persons‟ 87 51. India focus country in Izmir international trade show 88 52. MoU on collaborative research on distributed ledger & block chain technology 88 ECONOMY 1. GDP grows 8.2% in April-June 89 2. RE hits 71 on oil price 89 3. Government moves to stabilise rupee 90 4. Financial savings are up, but cash is king again 91 5. Why is a public credit registry important? 91 6. CAD widens on higher trade deficit 92 7. Retail inflation eases to 3.69% in August 92 8. WPI Inflation falls to 4.53% on cheaper food 93 9. Centre to „strictly' maintain fiscal deficit at 3.3% 93 10. Finance ministry to engage with states to shore up GST Revenue 94 11. States' average gst revenue shortfall down to 13% in FY19 94 12. RBI draft warns of action for market abuse 94 13. Investor plaints to sebi at six-year high 95 14. SEBI's KYC circular could impact stocks, Rupee 95 15. FPI outflow concerns preposterous 96 16. FPIS start process of falling in line 97 17. SEBI revises KYC norms for foreign portfolio investors 97 18. Government shortlists 11 CPSES for buyback 97 19. Allow NRIs to manage foreign funds investing in India 98 20. Why SEBI norms spooked FPIS 99 21. 7 Indian groups top in investor returns 99 22. Why FPIS are swimming against the tide 100 23. SEBI cuts expense ratio for MF schemes 100 24. Plug tax gaps in consent route 101 25. Dual listing of masala bonds being explored 101 26. Closely monitoring financial markets 102 27. Apex court wants government to fill sat vacancies quickly 102 28. Reserve bank tightens ombudsman scheme 103 29. Numetal can bid for essar steel 103
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30. Deja vu? But things seem better than in 2013 104 31. RBI intervenes as rupee breaches 72.5 to dollar 105 32. Arcelormittal raises bid for essar steel 105 33. Small loans could turn bad 105 34. SC orders status quo on RBI's February 12 circular 106 35. Bankruptcy court should be the final option 106 36. Merger of bob, Vijaya & Dena banks proposed 107 37. Bank of Baroda, Vijaya shares end in red, Dena rises 20% 107 38. Merger to test large banks' absorptive capacity 108 39. Short-term rates rise as liquidity dries up 108 40. NPAs with PSU banks declining 109 41. Liquidity crisis hits NBFC stocks hard 109 42. Short-term rates fall as RBI eases SLR norms 109 43. RBI cracks down on bandhan bank for violating norm 110 44. Consolidation of banks in India 110 45. Financial Inclusion Index 111 A web portal for approval for MSME loans up to RS. 1 crore within 59 46. 112 minutes 47. EVs, CNG vehicles don't need permits 113 48. Tilonia's „solar mamas' are glowing 113 49. Fuel from air and water 113 50. Centre hikes ethanol prices 114 51. Germany rolls out world's first hydrogen-powered train 114 52. Short-term power volume at new high as demand surges 115 53. Mauritius tops India‟s FDI charts again 115 54. Centre finalising tariffs on non-essential imports 115 55. Centre hikes import duty on select goods 116 56. Successful inaugural run on new Ateli-New Phulera section of WDFC 116 57. Can India take SAHI road to urban mobility? 117 58. Aviation: save the goose that lays golden eggs 117 59. Aai shelves water aerodrome project in Chilika Lake 118 60. India's 100th airport opens in Sikkim 118 61. New telecom policy aims to provide broadband access to all citizens by 2022 119 62. Railways to roll out smart coaches 119 63. Painted rails set to counter corrosion 120 64. Various it initiatives by Indian railways 121 65. Cabinet approves continuation of capacity development scheme 122 66. Revised cost estimate of Dam Rehabilitation and improvement project 123 67. SATAT initiative 123 68. Bamboo, a promising crop for progressive farmers 123 69. Cabinet clears new procurement policy 124 70. The lowdown on kharif sowing 124 71. NITI Aayog for clear policy on „Jhum' cultivation 125
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72. India targets slight increase in 2018-19 foodgrain output 126 73. Rajasthan farmers benefited from Solar Water Pumps 126 74. Unemployment among educated youth at 16% 127 75. Technology initiatives for coffee stakeholders 128 76. India to participate in G-20, Trade And Investment Ministerial Meeting 128 77. New operational guidelines for Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) 129 Union HRD Ministry inaugurates 4th World Summit On Accreditation 78. 130 (WOSA-2018) SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 1. 3,600 with faulty implants untraceable 132 2. Drug target for Neurodegenerative diseases and Cancer discovered 132 3. Drug-Resistant Superbug spreading in hospitals 134 4. 34% Indians not active enough 134 5. IMA moots ethics code overhaul 135 6. India's health report reads worse 135 7. Curbs on 328 fixed dose combinations 136 8. Wiping out aids by 2030 will not be easy 137 9. SC questions „Leprosy-free' tag for India 137 10. Call for policy, action in Diabetes Prevention, Management 138 11. Can we repair damaged Retina like Zebrafish do? 139 12. States told to arm PHCs in fight against TB 139 13. Panel approves nutrition norms 140 14. Mosquito population made extinct with genetic tweak 140 15. Tiny device may be effective in treatment of heart failure 141 16. First human case of Rat virus found 141 17. UN Interagency Task Force (UNIATF) award 142 18. health Ministry launches sputum sample transportation through dept of post 142 19. UAE to send astronauts to space 143 20. Japan to test mini „space elevator' 143 21. Industry must lift PSLV output 144 22. Desi bites from defence food lab set for space 144 23. How about a toast to zero gravity? 145 24. PSLV to launch 2 U.K. satellites 145 25. NASA puts laser satellite in space to track ice loss 145 26. Odisha man, team builds private satellite 146 27. ISRO launches two U.K. satellites 146 28. ISRO to tap small cities for innovations 147 29. SPACEX names first passenger to moon 147 30. ISRO setting up launch pad for Gaganyaan mission 147 31. India looks to buy Israeli Missiles 148 32. MHA signs MoU with ISRO 149 33. Lockheed, TATA in JV to make f-16 jet wings 149 34. IAF prepares to induct Rafale Jets 149
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35. Tejas clears maiden mid-air refuelling trial 150 36. India's first missile tracking ship is readying for sea trials 150 37. Army mulling increasing retirement age of jawans 151 38. Submarine plan moves forward after delays 151 39. Indigenous anti-tank missile test-fired 152 40. New Akash missiles get green light 152 41. DAC approves procurement of equipment worth rs 9,100 crores 152 42. Successful flight test of Prahar 153 43. WI-FI on flights: dot to invite applications 153 44. Facial recognition tech to ease congestion at airports 154 45. India calling: 5g networks may be in place by 2020 154 46. Model International Center For Transformative AI (ICTAI) 155 47. C-DAC Information Media Server (CIMS) 155 48. Centre Of Excellence for Data Analytics (CEDA) 156 49. IISER Bhopal develops organic solar cell using Vitamin B12 derivative 157 50. Sap's ethics code for AI 157 51. Assam foreigners' tribunal detects use of fake documents 158 52. Medical Cyclotron facility Cyclone-30, Kolkata 158 ENVIRONMENT 1. Alipore zoo gets a baby Kangaroo 159 2. In search of a second home for Brow-Antlered Deer 159 3. Cabinet approves continuation of IDWH scheme 159 4. After the deluge, no home in hills 160 5. Heavy metal contamination in south indian banana fields 161 6. No construction sans solid waste management policy 161 7. U.P. Chief secretary summoned over disposal of e-waste 162 8. Shapoorji pallonji bags major project to Clean Ganga 162 9. Pollution cools monsoon days 163 10. More river stretches are now critically polluted 164 11. In managing water, surat takes the lead 164 12. Agencies to do eco-impact checks 165 13. SC gives U.P. Time till november 15 for vision document on Taj 165 14. Recyclers storing electronic waste hazardously 166 15. River pollution: NGT directs states to act 166 16. Global Sanitation Convention 167 India and France sign an implementation agreement on “Mobilise Your City” 17. 167 (MYC) 18. WAYU- Air Pollution Mitigation Device 168 19. GM Mustard trials may get nod soon 168 20. Green tribunal steps in to conserve ghats 169 21. Ant that explodes to kill its enemy 170 22. Endangered „pondicherry shark' spotted near Kakinada 170 23. Deadly disease stalks cattle in Karnataka 170
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24. Damage to Aravallis scary 171 25. Floods trigger influx of alien fish species in Kerala 171 26. The high cost of Man-Animal conflict 171 27. Researchers dive in to restore coral ecosystems 172 28. Translocated tigress accused of killing woman may be innocent 173 29. Zoological society of London honour for A.P. Scientist 173 30. Nearly one lakh winged visitors arrive at Bengal Sanctuary 174 31. „Fat' traces confirm dickinsonia to be world's earliest animals 174 32. Citizen science initiative helps save hornbills 175 33. „Biggest bird‟ dispute put to rest 175 34. Panel urges plan to save springs 176 35. Action on climate change could add $26 trillion to world economy 177 36. 25% of all accidental deaths in India are weather-related 177 37. U.S. Accused of blocking un climate talks amid protests 178 38. Ocean cleanup team heads to the Pacific 179 39. Environment Minister releases India‟s National REDD+ strategy 179 40. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Indian paddy fields very high 180 41. India first country in the world to develop cooling action plan 181 MAINS SPECIAL PAPER-II 1. An education that is in sync 183 2. The crackdown on civil society 184 3. The sedition debate 186 4. Still too many children out of school 186 5. What‟s in a name? On the use of the term „dalit‟ 188 6. India and the U.S. — it‟s complicated 189 7. Green shoots of revival: on BIMSTEC summit 190 8. 2+2 = ?: on India-US defence relationship 192 MAINS SPECIAL PAPER-III 1. Power games: on issues in the power sector 194 2. Addressing soil loss 194 3. Steps to stop the Rot: on dangers of storing foodgrains in the open 195 4. Post office solutions: the challenges facing India post payments bank 196 5. Ending TB 197 6. For a world free of chemical weapons 198 7. Cloudy forecast: on climate change 199
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POLITY
1. NO NEED FOR UNIFORM CIVIL CODE NOW The Law Commission of India said a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is “neither necessary nor desirable at this stage.” The commission said secularism cannot contradict the plurality prevalent in the country. The commission, led by former Supreme Court judge Justice B.S. Chauhan. He said “cultural diversity cannot be compromised to the extent that our urge for uniformity itself becomes a reason for threat to the territorial integrity of the nation.” A unified nation does not necessarily need to have “uniformity.” Efforts have to be made to reconcile our diversity with universal and indisputable arguments on human rights. Difference does not always imply discrimination in a robust democracy. The term „secularism‟ has meaning only if it assures the expression of any form of difference. This diversity, both religious and regional, should not get subsumed under the louder voice of the majority. At the same time, it said, discriminatory practices within a religion should not hide behind the cloak of that faith to gain legitimacy. Codify all personal laws It said the way forward may not be UCC, but the codification of all personal laws so that prejudices and stereotypes in every one of them would come to light and can be tested on the anvil of fundamental rights of the Constitution. By codification of different personal laws, one can arrive at certain universal principles that prioritise equity rather than imposition of a Uniform Code, which would discourage many from using the law altogether, given that matters of marriage and divorce can also be settled extra-judicially. It suggested certain measures in marriage and divorce which should be uniformly accepted in the personal laws of all religions. These amendments in personal laws include fixing the marriageable age for boys and girls at 18 years so that they marry as equals, making adultery a ground for divorce for men and women and to simplify divorce procedure. The commission said the filing of Section 498A IPC (dowry harassment) cases is actually done by women wanting a quick exit from a difficult marriage. A criminal offence It suggested that nikahnamas make it clear that polygamy is a criminal offence and this should apply to “all communities.” This is not recommended owing to merely a moral position on bigamy, or to glorify monogamy, but emanates from the fact that only a man is permitted multiple wives, which is unfair.
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2. CJI MISRA NAMES GOGOI AS SUCCESSOR Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra recommended Justice Ranjan Gogoi as his successor and the 46th Chief Justice of India. Law Ministry sources confirmed the receipt of the recommendation letter of the Chief Justice. If the government approves the recommendation, Justice Gogoi would have tenure as Chief Justice of India of about 13 months, from October 3, 2018 till his retirement on November 17, 2019. Chief Justice Misra has followed convention by recommending the next senior most Supreme Court judge, Justice Gogoi, as his successor. Justice Gogoi Justice Gogoi, born on November 18, 1954, is a native of Assam. He joined the Bar in 1978 and practised mainly in the Gauhati High Court. He was appointed as permanent judge of the High Court on February 28, 2001. He was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on September 9, 2010 and appointed its Chief Justice in February 2011. He was elevated to the Supreme Court on April 23, 2012. He would be the first CJI from the north-eastern region. He is the son of Keshab Chandra Gogoi, a former Assam Chief Minister during the Congress regime in 1982. Justice Gogoi was one of the four most senior Supreme Court judges who held the January 12 press conference bringing up the issue of selective assignment of sensitive cases by recent CJIs to certain judges in the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Misra subsequently published a subject-wise roster of cases assigned to judges. In various judgments, one of them by a Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice Misra himself, the Supreme Court went on to declare the CJI the „master of roster‟. Justice Gogoi to be Next CJI The President has appointed Justice Ranjan Gogoi as the 46th Chief Justice of India. Justice Gogoi will assume office on October 3. He is the first Chief Justice of India from Assam. The warrant of appointment comes less than 10 days after incumbent Chief Justice Dipak Misra recommended Justice Gogoi as his successor. As Chief Justice of India, Justice Gogoi will have tenure of about 13 months till his retirement on November 17, 2019. Chief Justice Misra followed convention by recommending the next senior-most Supreme Court judge as his successor. Justice Gogoi is the son of Keshab Chandra Gogoi, a former Assam Chief Minister during the Congress regime in 1982. Justice Gogoi was one of the four senior-most Supreme Court judges who held a press conference on January 12, 2018 bringing up the issue of selective assignment of sensitive cases by recent CJIs to certain judges in the Supreme Court.
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Chief Justice Misra subsequently published a subject-wise roster of cases assigned to judges in the Supreme Court.
3. SC THROWS OUT PLEA TO BAN MALAYALAM NOVEL MEESHA The Supreme Court threw out a petition seeking a ban on the Malayalam novel Meesha (Moustache), written by S. Hareesh, as it was perceived to be „derogatory' to temple-going Hindu women. The court said the creativity and imagination of an author cannot be held hostage to the vagaries of subjective perceptions, whims or fancies of individuals. The court said it would safeguard the free flow of ideas in a democracy by quoting Voltaire's "I may disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." The court said the judiciary should remain committed to keeping the flag of liberty flying high. "We live not in a totalitarian regime but in a democratic nation, which permits free exchange of ideas and liberty," Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, who authored the judgment, observed. The judgment said, "A writer should have free play with words, like a painter has it with colours. The passion of imagination cannot be directed." It is for the reader to read a creative work with a mature spirit, catholicity of approach, objective tolerance and a sense of acceptability founded on reality, it said. The Chief Justice, along with Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud, wrote that creative voices cannot be allowed to slip into "intellectual cowardice." The petitioner, N. Radhakrishnan, calling himself a "proud Hindu", alleged that the book contained "offending parts", which insult Brahmin priests and amounts to a "casteist/racist slur". He contended that dialogues between certain characters in the book demeaned womanhood and treated women as "sex objects". The court held that the language used in the dialogue cannot remotely be thought of as obscene. The concept of defamation does not arise. Nurturing the idea that it is derogatory and hurtful to the temple-going is baseless. The ultra-right-wing is infuriated with a conversation in the third chapter between two characters belonging to the subaltern community on the libidinous motives of upper caste women going to a temple.
4. SC REFUSES TO GIVE NRC REPORT COPY TO CENTRE The Supreme Court refused to provide a copy of the full report of Assam NRC Co- ordinator Prateek Hajela to the Centre on what excluded citizens could offer as proof of ancestry. Mr. Hajela in his report suggested that those left out of the draft NRC could submit any one of the 10, of a total of 15 documents in List-A of the Centre's draft Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for claims and objections.
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He said claimants could submit any of the 10 documents, provided they were authenticated by the relevant authority which issued them. The Bench gave the government two weeks to respond to Mr. Hajela's suggestion In the previous hearing on August 28, the apex court had noted how the ouster of 40 lakh people in the draft NRC raised "human problems of a huge magnitude."
5. SC DECRIMINALISES HOMOSEXUALITY In a landmark judgment, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court decriminalised homosexuality, with a prayer to the LGBTQ community (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) to forgive history for subjecting it to "brutal" suppression. The Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, unanimously held that criminalisation of private consensual sexual conduct between adults of the same sex under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was clearly unconstitutional. The prayer for forgiveness came from Justice Indu Malhotra, the lone woman judge on the Constitution Bench. "History owes an apology," she said, reaching out to the rainbow spectrum. Section 377 thus far punished homosexuality with 10 years of imprisonment. The court, however, held that the Section would apply to "unnatural" sexual acts like bestiality. Sexual act without consent continues to be a crime under Section 377. In four concurring opinions, the Constitution Bench declared the 156-year-old "tyranny" of Section 377 "irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary." Justice D.Y. Chandrachud called the law "Macaulay's legacy," which continued for 68 years despite a liberal Constitution because of the manifest lethargy of the lawmakers. Citizens cannot be pushed into obscurity by a colonial law. Section 377 discriminated against a minority based solely on their sexual orientation. It violated the right of the LGBTQ community to "equal citizenship and equal protection of laws." The court held that bodily autonomy was individualistic. Choice of a partner was part of the fundamental right to privacy. The court set aside its 2013 judgment in the Suresh Koushal case, which had overturned the 2009 Delhi High Court ruling.
6. SC ORDERS RAJASTHAN TO FILE REPORT ON ALWAR LYNCHING The Supreme Court asked the Rajasthan government to file an affidavit within one week on the status of the probe and action taken against errant police officers in the July 20 Alwar lynching case. The victim, Rakbar Khan, had died of injuries while police officers allegedly took time off to herd his cows to a gaushala before taking him to hospital.
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Twenty-eight-year-old Khan was attacked by cow vigilantes in Alwar district's Ramgarh area on July 20 when he was leading two cows from Ladpura village to his home to Haryana. The incident took place just days after the Supreme Court, on July 17, condemned the frequency of lynching, calling it "horrendous acts of mobocracy" by cow vigilantes. Senior advocate Indira Jaising, for activist Tehseen Poonawalla, submitted before a Bench, led by CJI Dipak Misra, that no chargesheet was filed, and departmental action had come to a stop with the transfer of three constables. Ms. Jaising also pointed to Rule 3 in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Establishment & Regulation of Societies for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) Rules, 2001, which empowered "civil society groups" to protect animals. Rule 3 provided State accreditation to cow vigilantism. These organised civil society groups engage in cow vigilantism. These groups are given police power to stop vehicles, search premises and seize animals. A shocked Chief Justice asked her why the Rule had never been challenged all these years. Ms. Jaising said the Bench should ask the States to provide a list of accredited civil society groups so that their members could be easily identified as perpetrators of lynchings. The Bench ordered the State government to file an affidavit, within one week, on the status of the Alwar probe and what action was taken against the errant police officers. The court further realised that only 11 States have filed their compliance reports on the framing of guidelines against lynching and mob violence. The Bench said all States have to file their compliance within one week or face the prospect of having their Home Secretaries personally summoned to the Supreme Court. Attorney-General K.K.Venugopal informed the court that an empowered Group of Ministers was looking into a prospective anti-lynching law.
7. 12 SPECIAL COURTS SET UP TO TRY MPS, MLAS The Centre informed the Supreme Court that 12 special courts have been set up across 11 States exclusively to try sitting MPs and MLAs. Delhi has two such courts, while Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have one each. Six are sessions courts and five are magisterial courts. The class of court in Tamil Nadu is not indicated. The special court in each State would have jurisdiction over the entire State, while the two in Delhi would cover cases within the precincts of Delhi or "partly Delhi". The Supreme Court had on December 14, 2017 ordered that special courts be set up across the country to fast-track the long-pending trials of lawmakers. These courts would devote themselves for the purpose.
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The Centre said 1,233 cases had been transferred, 136 disposed of and 1,097 cases were pending in these special courts.
8. WELFARE PANELS CAN'T EVALUATE DOWRY COMPLAINTS The Supreme Court modified its July 2017 order which roped in retirees, wives of "working officers" and social workers to sift genuine complaints of dowry harassment from the frivolous ones. In July 2017 last year, the court had ordered „family welfare committees' to be set up in the districts. These committees, composed of choice citizens, were supposed to act as a vanguard against "disgruntled wives" using the anti-dowry harassment provision of Section 498- A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as a "weapon" against their husbands and in- laws, young and old, rather than a "shield." Even the police could register an FIR only after the committee cleared the complaint as valid and not frivolous. Getting rid of these committees, a three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra held that such panels had no place under the established criminal procedural law. They are beyond the Code of Criminal Procedure. With this, the Bench, also comprising Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud, has restored to the police their power to immediately register an FIR and act on a dowry harassment complaint filed by a married woman. Chief Justice Misra observed that the Bench of Justices A.K. Goel (now retired) and U.U. Lalit, which passed the July 27 order, had merely wanted to craft a fair and reasonable procedure for complaints under Section 498-A. Section 498-A was introduced in 1983 by Parliament to protect hapless married women against the dowry menace. Section 498-A IPC is a cognisable and non-bailable offence. A guilty person faces up to three years in prison. Chief Justice Misra further agreed with the July 27 order to have a designated police officer to probe dowry complaints. It ordered the Director General of Police of every State to provide such officers rigorous training. The Chief Justice, however, differed with Justice Goel's direction to empower district judges to close dowry harassment cases if the parties reach an out-of-court settlement. Instead, the parties would now have to approach the High Court concerned for quashing the complaint filed by the woman. The judgment concurred with the July 27 order that recovery of dowry items by itself cannot be a ground for denial of bail to the accused. The judgment also saw eye-to-eye with the direction of Justice Goel that impounding of passport of accused persons or issuance of Red Notice should not be done on a routine basis.
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The three-judge Bench also held that accused persons should apply for exemption from personal appearance in dowry harassment hearings.
9. CAN'T CURB LIBERTY ON CONJECTURE Personal liberty cannot be sacrificed at the altar of conjecture, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud of the Supreme Court told the Maharashtra government, which kept insisting that there was nothing „hanky-panky' in the arrests of rights activists in the Bhima-Koregaon violence case. Justice Chandrachud, who is part of the Bench along with Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, replied that the State should first learn to distinguish between dissent against government policies and "subversion of law and order." The observations from Justice Chandrachud came while the Bench was going through the evidence against the activists. The court remained sceptical about the quality of evidence produced against the activists.
10. FEMALE CIRCUMCISION ISSUE GOES TO CONSTITUTION BENCH The Supreme Court referred to a five-judge Constitution Bench petitions seeking a declaration that the practice offemale circumcision or „khafz,' prevalent in the Dawoodi Bohra sect, amounts to "female genital mutilation (FGM)" and is a violation of women's right to life and dignity. A Bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud observed that the issue deserved to be examined by a Constitution Bench. The Chief Justice had orally observed that the Constitution does not allow a person to cause injury to another. The Bench had said the practice should be tested in the light of constitutional morality. However, senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for 70,000 Bohra Muslim women under the banner of the Dawoodi Bohra Women's Association for Religious Freedom (DBWRF) in favour of „khafz,' said the practice was essential to religion and had been continuing since the 10th century.
11. SC TO RULE ON BARRING ACCUSED IN HEINOUS CRIMES FROM POLLS A five-judge Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, is scheduled to pronounce its judgment on petitions to bar politicians facing charges of heinous crimes, such as murder, rape and kidnapping, from contesting elections. Under the Representation of the People Act, convicted lawmakers are disqualified, but not those facing charges. The Bench, including Justices A.M. Khanwilkar, Rohinton Nariman, D.Y. Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, had made it clear that the Supreme Court could not legislate for Parliament.
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"The court declares the law, the Parliament makes the law," Justice Nariman had observed. Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal had submitted that fast-track courts to try cases against politicians was "the only solution."
12. AADHAAR GETS THUMBS UP FROM SUPREME COURT The Supreme Court, in a majority opinion, upheld Aadhaar as a reasonable restriction on individual privacy that fulfils the government‟s “legitimate aim” to provide dignity to a large, marginalised population living in abject poverty. The Constitution does not exist for a few or minority of the people of India, but „We the People‟. Aadhaar a “document of empowerment.” An “unparalleled” identity proof. A document that cannot be duplicated unlike PAN, ration card, and passport. Aadhaar unconstitutional. Justice Ashok Bhushan, in a separate opinion, concurred with the majority view, saying Aadhaar has been widely accepted. Justice Sikri said technology had become a vital tool for ensuring good governance in a social welfare state. Schemes like PDS, scholarships, mid-day meals, LPG subsidies, involve a huge amount of money and “fool-proof” Aadhaar helped welfare reach the poor. Upholding the passage of the Aadhaar Act as a Money Bill, the Supreme Court said neither were individuals profiled nor their movements traced when Aadhaar was used to avail government benefits under Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act of 2016. The statute only sought “minimal” biometric information, and this did not amount to invasion of privacy. Bar on bank-mobile link The majority opinion upheld the PAN-Aadhaar linkage, but declared linking Aadhaar with bank accounts and mobile SIM cards unconstitutional. The court insulated children from the Aadhaar regime. The card was not necessary for children aged between six and 14 under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan as right to education was a fundamental right.
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Statutory bodies like CBSE and UGC cannot ask students to produce their Aadhaar cards for examinations like NEET and JEE. Permission of parents and guardians was a must before enrolling children into Aadhaar. Children once they attained the age of majority could opt out of Aadhaar. It said it was not trivialising the problem of exclusion faced by the elderly, the very young, the disabled and several others during the authentication process.
13. REDUCED TO DIGITS Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, who wrote the lone dissenting opinion declaring Aadhaar unconstitutional, held that the unique identity scheme reduces a person to a 12-digit number. Justice Chandrachud observed, “If the requirement of Aadhaar is made mandatory for every benefit or service which the government provides, it is impossible to live in contemporary India without Aadhaar.” The legitimate aim of the state to provide dignity to the poor could have been fulfilled by adopting less intrusive measures. Why has Aadhaar been made the sole repository of identification? The entire Aadhaar programme, since 2009, suffers from constitutional infirmities and violations of fundamental rights. The enactment of the Aadhaar Act does not save the Aadhaar project. The Aadhaar Act, the Rules and Regulations framed under it, and the framework prior to the enactment of the Act are unconstitutional. The absence of a legislative framework for the Aadhaar project between 2009 and 2016, before the Aadhaar Act came into existence, left the biometric data of millions of Indian citizens exposed to danger, Justice Chandrachud observed. He did not agree with Justice Sikri‟s majority view that since information was collected in silos in Aadhaar, potential surveillance or profiling by the state or private entities was impossible. He countered that when Aadhaar was seeded into every database, it became a bridge across discreet data silos, which allowed anyone with access to this information to re-construct a profile of an individual‟s life. The judge held the passage of the Aadhaar Act as a Money Bill unconstitutional. Passing of the Aadhaar Act as a Money Bill by superseding the Rajya Sabha was a “fraud on the Constitution.” The majority view justified that Aadhaar was vital to ensure that government aid reached the targeted beneficiaries, and hence, the Act was validly passed as a Money Bill. Justice Chandrachud countered majority view pointing out that the other sections of the Aadhaar Act which dealt with several aspects relating to the Aadhaar numbers were alien to the scope of Article 110 of the Constitution which defined a Money Bill.
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14. DELETING BIOMETRIC DATA IS DIFFICULT Though the majority opinion in the Aadhaar verdict is silent on deleting biometric data already collected by phone companies, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud‟s direction to do so will open a Pandora‟s box, if implemented. The Constitution Bench was unanimous in declaring that seeding of Aadhaar with SIM cards was unconstitutional. The Department of Telecommunications circular dated March 23, 2017 mandating linking of mobile number with Aadhaar is held to be illegal and unconstitutional as it is not backed by any law and is hereby quashed. However, Justice Chandrachud‟s direction may open a Pandora‟s box for future litigation, experts say.
15. SC HARKS BACK TO MUMBAI BLASTS TO CITE CRIMINALISATION The presence of criminalisation of politics was felt in its strongest form during the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts. The blasts, the court said, was “the result of a collaboration of a diffused network of criminal gangs, police and customs officials and their political patrons the tremors of the attacks shook the entire nation.” Vohra panel report The court referred to how the N.N. Vohra Committee, which was set up following a public outcry after the blasts, submitted its report in October 1993 after its study of the problem of criminalisation of politics and the nexus among criminals, politicians and bureaucrats in India. The committee had concluded that agencies, including the CBI, IB, RAW, had unanimously expressed their opinion that the criminal network was virtually running a parallel government. The committee report mentioned how money power was first acquired through real estate and then used for building up contacts with bureaucrats and politicians. The money power is used to develop a network of muscle power which is also used by the politicians during elections. The judgment also refers to the fact that voices within Parliament also felt the need to end the bane of criminal politics. The18th Report presented by a parliamentary committee to the Rajya Sabha in March 2007 expressed a strong “feeling that politics should be cleansed of persons with established criminal background”. It said “criminalisation of politics is the bane of society and negation of democracy”. The Law Commission of India, in its 244th report, succinctly put it that “instead of politicians having suspected links to criminal networks, as was the case earlier, it was persons with extensive criminal backgrounds who began entering politics.” The Law Commission said that in the 10 years since 2004, 18% of the candidates contesting either national or State elections had criminal cases against them (11,063 out of 62,847).
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The Goswami Committee on Electoral Reforms, as early as in 1990, highlighted the crippling effect of money and muscle power in elections.
16. LEGISLATORS CAN PRACTISE LAW The Supreme Court held that there was no bar on legislators doubling up as lawyers. The judgment by a Bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud comes as a great relief to many sitting MPs of both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, who are practising lawyers in the Supreme Court and in the High Courts. More importantly, the Supreme Court said there is no conflict of interest if the MPs are allowed to practise law in the Supreme Court and in the High Courts before the very judges they have power to impeach. The conferment of power on the legislators (MPs) to move an impeachment motion against the judge(s) of constitutional courts does not per se result in conflict of interest or a case of impacting constitutional morality or for that matter institutional integrity. The writ petition, filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, had argued that legislators donning the lawyers‟ robes is a “matter of serious concern to the judiciary.” It was only recently that Opposition MPs, for the first time in history, unsuccessfully moved an impeachment motion against Chief Justice Misra. The Bench dismissed the arguments made in the petition that such legal practice by lawmakers was in violation of Rule 49 of the Bar Council of India Act, which forbade an advocate to be full-time salaried employee of any person, government, firm, corporation or concern, so long as he continues to practise. Mr. Upadhyay had argued that lawmakers drew their salaries and pensions from the public exchequer and hence could be classified as “employees.” The judgment said lawmakers could not be described as “full-time salaried employees” of the State. They were elected representatives and occupied a “unique position” in our democracy.
17. SC FORMS PRISON REFORMS PANEL The Supreme Court formed a Committee on Prison Reforms chaired by former apex court judge, Justice Amitava Roy, to examine the various problems plaguing prisons in the country, from overcrowding to lack of legal advice to convicts to issues of remission and parole. The judgment came on a letter from former Chief Justice of India R.C. Lahoti highlighting the overcrowding in prisons, unnatural deaths of prisoners, gross inadequacy of staff and the lack of trained staff. Justice Lokur however said the Amitava Roy Committee need not confine itself to these four issues but can comprehensively examine and respond to the dire necessity of reforms in prisons.
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Issuing a slew of directions, the Bench has directed the committee to examine the extent of overcrowding in prisons and correctional homes and recommend remedial measures, including an examination of the functioning of Under Trial Review Committees, availability of legal aid and advice, grant of remission, parole and furlough. The panel would also probe the reasons for violence in prisons and correctional homes and recommend preventive measures.
18. SC PROCEEDINGS CAN BE LIVE-STREAMED The Supreme Court upheld the plea for live-streaming of its proceedings, observing that the use of technology is to “virtually” expand the court beyond the four walls of the courtroom. A Bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud said this would help those even in distant places to witness court proceedings. In a separate and concurring opinion, Justice Chandrachud wrote that the live- streaming would be the true realisation of the “open court system” in which courts are accessible to all. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. The court laid down several conditions, mostly in consonance with those handed over by Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal. It pointed out that in some cases the parties may have genuine reservations and may claim right of privacy and dignity. The final decision whether to live-stream a case or not lies with the court, especially in sensitive ones. The decision cannot be appealed. Justice Khanwilkar said live-streaming should start as a pilot project in the Supreme Court for cases of national importance. Specified category of cases or cases of constitutional and national importance being argued for final hearing before the Constitution Bench may be live-streamed first.
19. BOOST TO SC/ST QUOTA IN PROMOTIONS A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court modified a 2006 judgment requiring the State to show quantifiable data to prove the “backwardness” of a Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe community in order to provide quota in promotion in public employment. The 58-page judgment by a five-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra gives a huge fillip for the government‟s efforts to provide “accelerated promotion with consequential seniority” for Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) members in government services. Writing the verdict for the Bench, Justice Rohinton Nariman held that this portion of the M. Nagaraj judgment of another five-judge Constitution Bench in 2006 was directly contrary to the nine-judge Bench verdict in the Indira Sawhney case.
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In the Indira Sawhney case, the Supreme Court had held that the “test or requirement of social and educational backwardness cannot be applied to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, who indubitably fall within the expression „backward class of citizens‟. But the unanimous judgment differed with the Centre‟s argument that Nagaraj misread creamy layer concept to apply it to SC/ST. “The whole object of reservation is to see that backward classes of citizens move forward so that they may march hand in hand with other citizens of India on an equal basis. This will not be possible if only the creamy layer within that class bag all the coveted jobs in the public sector and perpetuate themselves, leaving the rest of the class as backward as they always were,” Justice Nariman said and upheld Nagaraj‟s direction that creamy layer applied to SC/ST in promotions. It said that when a court applies the creamy layer principle to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, it does not in any manner tinker with the Presidential List under Articles 341 or 342 of the Constitution of India. The caste or group or sub-group named in the said List continues exactly as before. “It is only those persons within that group or sub-group, who have come out of untouchability or backwardness by virtue of belonging to the creamy layer, who are excluded from the benefit of reservation,” Justice Nariman wrote.
20. IS MOSQUE ESSENTIAL PART OF ISLAM? The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce a judgment on whether to refer the question if a “mosque as a place of prayer is an essential part of Islam” in the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid appeals to a Constitution Bench. A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices Ashok Bhushan and S. Abdul Nazeer had taken up the long-pending Ayodhya land title appeals against the Allahabad High Court judgment of 2010, which ordered the three-way partition of the disputed land. Chief Justice Misra had in the beginning observed that the appeals would be decided like any other civil suit, shorn of any “religious sentiments” displayed by the parties. However, as the hearings progressed in the appeals, the Muslim appellants pressed that the place of a mosque in Islam and the importance of the practice of offering prayers inside a mosque should be first decided by a five-judge Bench. They said this question should be answered before the court goes into the main title dispute. The bone of contention here is an observation made in a 1994 judgment of the Supreme Court in Ismail Farooqui case that “a mosque is not an essential part of the practice of the religion of Islam and namaz (prayer) by Muslims can be offered anywhere, even in open.” Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, for the Muslim appellants, argued that the observation in the Ismail Farooqui judgment has affected the status of mosques in Islam.
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“If the congregation part of Islam is taken away, a large part of Islam goes worthless. Mosques are meant for congregation and prayer,” Mr. Dhavan had argued on why mosques are “essential.”
21. HEARINGS ON AYODHYA TITLE SUIT TO RESUME A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, in a majority opinion of 2:1, declined to refer the question if a “mosque as a place of prayer is an essential part of Islam” in the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute appeals to a seven-judge Bench. The majority view by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Ashok Bhushan ordered that the hearing in the main Ayodhya title suit appeals should resume in the week commencing from October 29. With Chief Justice Misra retiring on October 2, a new three-judge Bench would be constituted. Justice S. Abdul Nazeer, in a stinging dissent, observed that the question of what is essential or not in a religion cannot be hastily decided. He held that the question raised on the essentiality of offering prayers in mosques should indeed be examined by a seven-judge Bench before the Ayodhya suit appeals are heard. Justice Nazeer said the questions raised during the Ayodhya appeals‟ hearing about the comment made in the Ismail Faruqui judgment require a “comprehensive examination” by a seven-judge Bench. What is essential or not in a religion can be decided only after studying tenets, beliefs, and doctrines. Justice Nazeer held that the comment has to be examined in the background of the fundamental right against discrimination under Article 15 and the protection guaranteed to practice, profess and propagate religion in Articles 25 and 26 under the Constitution. Justice Ashok Bhushan said the statement made in the 1994 Ismail Faruqui verdict was in the context of whether the mosque, which was acquired by the Ayodhya Act of 1993, had immunity from acquisition. The statement meant that no place of worship, be it a temple, church or mosque, is immune from acquisition. It merely wanted to convey that mosques had “no special immunity from acquisition”. The context had nothing to do with the essentiality of the practice of offering prayers or namaz in a mosque, he said. Places of worship of all religions are liable to be acquired by the government under the Doctrine of Eminent Domain. Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, for the Muslims appellants, had argued that the observation in the Ismail Faruqui judgment has affected the status of mosques in Islam. The majority view also dismissed Mr. Dhavan‟s exception to theobservation made in the Faruqui judgment that Ayodhya, being the place of birth of Lord Rama, has “particular significance”.
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“We have observed above that phrase „particular significance‟ was used (in the Faruqui verdict) only in context of immunity from acquisition. What the court held was that if a religious place has a particular significance, the acquisition of it violates the right of religion under Articles 25 and 26. Hence the said place of worship has immunity from acquisition,” Justice Bhushan explained.
22. ADULTERY IS NOT A CRIME, RULES SC A five-judge Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, in four separate but concurring opinions held that adultery is not a crime and struck Section 497 (adultery) off the Indian Penal Code. Court also struck down Section 198(2) of the CrPC under which the husband alone could complain against adultery Two individuals may part if one cheats, but to attach criminality to infidelity is going too far, the Chief Justice observed. Besides, there is no data to back claims that abolition of adultery as a crime would result in “chaos in sexual morality” or an increase of divorce. Punishing each other or the wife‟s lover is unlikely to re-kindle commitment. Section 497 treats a married woman as the commodity of her husband. Adultery is not a crime if the cuckolded husband connives or consents to his wife‟s extra-marital affair.
23. ALL WOMEN MAY PRAY AT SABARIMALA Supreme Court, in a majority opinion of 4:1, lifted the centuries-old prohibition on women from the age of menarche to enter the famed Sabarimala temple in Kerala. The main opinion, shared by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, said the prohibition reduced the freedom of religion to a "dead letter," and the ban was a smear on the individual dignity of women. Relation with the Creator is a transcending one. Physiological and biological barriers created by rigid social dogma have no place in this. The Chief Justice, who authored the opinion, held that the prohibition was founded on the notion that menstruating women are polluted and impure; that women, in this "procreative stage," would be a deviation from the vow of celibacy taken by the male devotees of Lord Ayyappa for the pilgrimage. Besides, the deity in Sabarimala is himself a „naishtika brahmachari' or an „eternal celibate.' But Chief Justice Misra held that the ban was actually the result of hegemonic patriarchy in religion. "On the one side, we pray to goddesses and on the other, women of a certain age are considered impure. This ban exacts more purity from women than men. The ban is discriminatory." Justice D.Y. Chandrachud termed the social exclusion of women, based on menstrual status, a "form of untouchability."
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The court held that Ayyappans (devotees of Lord Ayyappa) do not form a separate religious denomination. Sabarimala temple is a public religious endowment. The prohibition violated Section 3 of the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Act, 1965, which stated that "places of public worship" like the Sabarimala temple should be open to "all sections and classes of Hindus." Justice Indu Malhotra, the lone woman judge on the Constitution Bench, dissented with the majority opinion. She held that the determination of what constituted an essential practice in a religion should not be based on the "personal views" of judges. She held that essentiality of a religious practice or custom had to be decided within the religion. It is a matter of personal faith. India is a land of diverse faiths. Constitutional morality in a pluralistic society gives freedom to practise even irrational or illogical customs and usages. She said the prohibition in vogue for time immemorial qualified to be an "essential practice". A religion can lay down a code of ethics, and also prescribe rituals, observances, ceremonies and modes of worship. Imposing the court's morality on a religion would negate the freedom to practise one's religion according to one's faith and beliefs. It would amount to rationalising religion, faith and beliefs, which is outside the ken of courts.
24. WITH SABARIMALA VERDICT, „GHOST OF NARASU' IS FINALLY EXORCISED The unchallenged 67-year reign of Bombay High Court judgment in the Narasu Appa Mali case of 1951 that personal law, religious customs, usages and beliefs are outside the ambit of fundamental rights of equality, life and dignity came to an end on 28 September 2018. The Bombay High Court in the State of Bombay versus Narasu Appa Mali had held that personal law is not „law' or „laws in force' under Article 13. This 1951 judgment was never challenged in the Supreme Court. Custom or usage cannot be excluded from „laws in force'. The decision in Narasu also opined that personal law is immune from constitutional scrutiny. This detracts from the notion that no body of practices can claim supremacy over the Constitution and its vision of ensuring the sanctity of dignity, liberty and equality. The judge wrote how the immunity given to personal law customs deviates from the "vision of social transformation" of the Constitution.
25. NOT A CRACKDOWN ON DISSENT The Supreme Court, in a majority opinion, held that the pan-India crackdown and arrests of five activists in the Bhima-Koregaon violence case on August 28 was not an attempt to silence dissent.
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Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justice A.M. Khanwilkar shared the majority view on a three-judge Bench that material evidence did not show that the "different political ideology" of the activists had triggered the police action against them. The majority opinion dismissed the writ petition filed by historian Romila Thapar and four others alleging that the arrest of poet Varavara Rao, lawyer Sudha Bhardwaj and activists Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves and Gautam Navlakha were made under questionable circumstances. The court rejected the plea for a SC-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the allegations against the activists. It extended their house arrest for another four weeks and asked them to seek relief from the lower courts. In a strong dissent, the third member of the Bench, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud lashed out at the Maharashtra police for prejudicing the investigation and besmirching the reputations of the accused persons. Justice Chandrachud said the conduct of the Maharashtra police does not encourage the thought that they will conduct a fair and impartial probe. He referred to the press meet held by Maharashtra ADGP during investigation; how the police officer distributed letters, alleging that they reveal the accused's links with the Communist Party of India (Maoist), a banned organisation; how these letters were telecast on TV. Justice Chandrachud highlighted the case of former space scientist S. Nambi Narayanan, who was framed by the Kerala Police in a fake espionage case. It took Mr. Narayanan over two decades to prove his innocence. It was only recently the Supreme Court cleared his name and awarded him Rs. 50 lakh as compensation for wrongful prosecution.
26. CENTRE FOR NEW BENCH IN MANIPUR CASE Some Army officers, supported fully by the Centre, urged a Supreme Court Bench of Justices Madan Lokur and U.U. Lalit to recuse itself from monitoring the CBI probe into alleged fake encounters in Manipur. They said certain oral remarks made by the Bench at an earlier hearing questioning the non-arrest of accused persons had spooked Army personnel operating in Manipur. Appearing for the officers, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said there was a "genuine apprehension in the minds of the soldiers." Their morale was affected by the reported comments of the court. They were afraid the comments would affect their trial later. But amicus curiae Menaka Guruswamy and senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for some of the victim groups, assured the Bench that the plea was merely an attempt to "overawe" the court.
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The controversy is about a July 30 hearing in which the court had questioned the CBI for filing two chargesheets against 14 persons, charging them of murder of innocent civilians, criminal conspiracy and tampering of evidence in the Manipur „fake' encounter deaths, without bothering to arrest them.
27. PROTOCOL BREACHED IN TAMIL NADU ORGAN TRANSPLANT CASE An investigation ordered by the Tamil Nadu government into the retrieval of organs from a brain dead patient at a private hospital in Salem district in May 2018 has found that the harvested heart and lung were allocated to two foreign nationals in two corporate hospitals in Chennai without adopting the stipulated protocol for allocation. In one case, the organ was allotted to a foreigner although it was requested for an Indian patient in the waitlist of organ recipients. Recipients of the heart and lung died shortly after the transplant surgeries were performed. The inquiry officer has concluded that two outsourced staff of the Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu (TRANSTAN) had violated norms, by allocating the kidney to a different patient, and shifting allocation to benefit recipients admitted to the Chennai hospitals. Engaging of the outsourced staff at TRANSTAN was done in 2014. Both members resigned after the controversy over allocation of organs to foreign nationals was raised. The report said the offences made out in the Salem case attracted the provisions under Section 18 (Punishment for removal of human organ or tissues or both without authority) of The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, and Section 465 (forgery), 420 (cheating) read with 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC.
28. AUDITS TO TRACK CONSTRUCTION WORKERS' BENEFITS Social audit pilot projects to check if construction worker welfare boards are registering workers and giving them benefits, and also to weed out non-workers registered illegally, are scheduled to begin in Rajasthan and Delhi. The Labour Ministry has also issued the draft framework for the social audit on implementation of the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 (BOCW). The construction industry is India's second largest employer, with estimates suggesting that there are between five and seven crore workers in the sector, of whom less than half are registered. While the BOCW social audits aim to cover all districts every two years, the pilot projects will be done in Delhi's Bhawana ward and a yet-to-be-finalised block in Udaipur district. The format for the audit has been laid out in detail in a draft framework issued by the Labour Ministry.
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In its March 19 judgement on a petition by the NCC-CL, the Supreme Court noted that the Centre and States had "flouted with impunity" previous directions to implement the BOCW and directed that social audits be conducted to hold the government accountable. The apex court noted that the BOCW would be useless without accountability in registration efforts. All that we have been told is that there are more than 4.5 crore building and construction workers in the country and earlier about 2.15 crore had been registered and as of now about 2.8 crore have been registered. How these figures have been arrived at is anybody's guess. In any event, the registration of building and construction workers is well below the required number and is also a guesstimate.
29. SUPREME COURT REFUSES TO STAY AMENDMENTS TO SC/ST ACT The Supreme Court refused to stay the recent amendments to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2018, restored the legislative intent of the original Act, which barred anticipatory bail to a person accused of insulting or hurting a Dalit. The amendments were meant to nullify the effect of the March 20 judgment of the court that removed the bar on accused persons seeking anticipatory bail. The ruling led to widespread protests and loss of lives. Admitting the petitions challenging the amendments, a Bench led by Justice A.K. Sikri directed the government to reply to the allegations that the amendments were meant to appease the Dalits ahead of the 2019 general election.
30. CJI WARNS AGAINST „COOKED-UP' PROOF Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said that the Supreme Court will set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) if the material relied on by the Maharashtra government to raid and arrest five activists on 28 August 2018, in the Bhima-Koregaon violence case is found to be "cooked up". A three-judge Bench, led by Justice Misra, said the court could not be expected to make up its mind without seeing the material evidence in the case. The Chief Justice said the court had primarily entertained the petition to protect the liberty of the five activists. The five persons under house arrest are poet Varavara Rao, lawyer Sudha Bhardwaj, and activists Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves and Gautam Navlakha. The hearing saw the Centre step in and voice its apprehensions about the problem of "naxalism" which has gripped the country Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for Maharashtra government, said the case and arrests are not about the "quelling of dissent as asserted by third party-petitioners here".
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31. SEX OFFENDERS' REGISTRY LAUNCHED WITH 4.4 LAKH ENTRIES The first-of-its-kind national sex offenders' registry launched on 20 September 2018 has names and details of some 4.4 lakh people convicted for various sexual offences across the country. The database is for those convicted for sexual offences 2005 onwards. The database will include offenders convicted under charges of rape, gang rape, Protection of Children from Sexual Offenders Act (POCSO) and eve teasing. It includes name, address, photograph and fingerprint details of the convict. A Home Ministry statement said the database would not compromise any individual's privacy. India became the ninth country in the world to have a National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO), accessible only to law enforcement agencies for the purpose of "investigation and monitoring". The proposal to set up a registry was mooted by the UPA government after the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape case in New Delhi. The database will be maintained by the National Crime Records Bureau that will also track whether the State police were updating the records on time. While launching the database, Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi raised the issue of States not responding to a letter sent by her ministry for procurement specially-designed forensic kits that would help in tamper-proof collection of evidence leading to better conviction in such crimes.
32. ORDINANCE ALLOWS PANEL TO SUPERSEDE SCAM-TAINTED MCI In a move to enhance governance and quality of medical education, an ordinance was issued, dissolving the Medical Council of India (MCI) and replacing it with a seven- member Board of Governors led by NITI Aayog Member Dr. V.K. Paul. A Bill to replace the MCI with a National Medical Commission is pending in Parliament. The government introduced the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, 2017, in the Lok Sabha, on December 29, 2017. The Bill provides for simplification of procedures and is aimed at spurring rapid growth in the number of undergraduate and postgraduate medical seats in the country. The NMC Bill provides for distribution of functions among four autonomous Boards, whose members would be persons of proven ability selected through a transparent process. The Bill was taken up for consideration in January this year and was referred to the Department-related PSC on Health and Family Welfare for examination. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court, in its judgment in May 2016, issued directions to the Centre to constitute an oversight committee with the authority to oversee all statutory functions of the MCI till a new legislation comes in.
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33. WRONGFUL PROSECUTION (MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE): LEGAL REMEDIES The Law Commission of India submitted its report titled „Wrongful Prosecution (Miscarriage of Justice): Legal Remedies‟ to the Government of India. The Delhi HC in its Order in the case of Babloo Chauhan expressed grave concern about the state of innocent persons being wrongfully prosecuted, incarcerated for crimes that they did not commit. The Court highlighted the urgent need for a legislative framework for provided relief and rehabilitation to victims of wrongful prosecution, incarceration. Internationally, the issue is identified as „miscarriage of justice‟ that takes place after a person has been wrongfully convicted but is later found to be factually innocent basis a new fact / proof coming to light. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights („ICCPR‟, ratified by India) also creates an obligation on the State parties to enact a law to compensate the victims of such miscarriage of justice. The panel recommended „wrongful prosecution‟ to be the standards of miscarriage of justice, as against „wrongful conviction‟ and „wrongful incarceration‟. „Wrongful prosecution‟ would include cases where the accused and not guilty of the offence, and the police and / or the prosecution engaged in some form of misconduct in investigating and / or prosecuting the person. It would include both the cases where the person spent time in prison as well as where he did not; and cases where the accused was found not guilty by the trial court or where the accused was convicted by one or more courts but was ultimately found to be not guilty by the Higher Court. The Report gives an overview of the remedies available under the existing laws and discusses their inadequacies. The panel recommends provision of relief to the victims of wrongful prosecution in terms of monetary and non-monetary compensation This may include counseling, mental health services, vocational / employment skills development etc. within a statutory framework. The Report enumerates the core principles of the recommended framework- defining „wrongful prosecution‟ i.e., cases in which claim for compensation can be filed, designation of a Special Court to decide these claims of compensation, nature of proceedings – timeline for deciding the claim, etc., financial and other factors to be considered while determining the compensation, provisions for interim compensation in certain cases, removal of disqualification on account of wrongful prosecution / conviction etc. A draft Bill, articulating the aforesaid, is annexed with the Report as the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2018.
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34. HEALTH MINISTRY ISSUES A NOTIFICATION FOR BRINGING THE HIV/AIDS ACT, 2017 IN FORCE The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued a notification for bringing the HIV/AIDS (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017 in force from 10th September, 2018. The Act safeguards the rights of people living with HIV and affected by HIV. The provisions of the Act address HIV-related discrimination, strengthen the existing programme by bringing in legal accountability, and establish formal mechanisms for inquiring into complaints and redressing grievances. The Act lists various grounds on which discrimination against HIV positive persons and those living with them is prohibited. These include the denial, termination, discontinuation or unfair treatment with regard to: employment educational establishments health care services residing or renting property standing for public or private office provision of insurance The requirement for HIV testing as a pre-requisite for obtaining employment or accessing health care or education is also prohibited. Every HIV infected or affected person below the age of 18 years has the right to reside in a shared household and enjoy the facilities of the household. The Act also prohibits any individual from publishing information or advocating feelings of hatred against HIV positive persons and those living with them. A person between the age of 12 to 18 years who has sufficient maturity in understanding and managing the affairs of his HIV or AIDS affected family shall be competent to act as a guardian of another sibling below 18 years of age. Every person in the care and custody of the state shall have right to HIV prevention, testing, treatment and counseling services.
35. DRINKING WATER PROGRAMME NOT EFFECTIVE IN ODISHA The implementation of the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) has not been effective in Odisha as it has reached only 3.70% households against its target of covering 35% households by March 2017, a Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report stated. The aim of the NRDWP is to provide every rural person with adequate safe water for drinking, cooking and other basic needs with a minimum water quality standard, which should be conveniently accessible at all times and in all situations. The Centre had launched the NRDWP on April 1, 2009, and the Odisha State Water and Sanitation Mission, under the Rural Development Department, implement the programme in the State.
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Digging of tube wells without conducting scientific survey had led to dry wells which deprived the habitations of drinking water and expenditure incurred on them became wasteful. Therefore, the vision of providing safe drinking water to the people living in rural areas at all times could not be achieved in the State, it further read. Inefficient fund management, instances of delay in the release of funds by the State government and low utilisation due to the slow pace of execution of works were also noticed. The target fixed under strategic plan was largely not achieved and water quality monitoring and surveillance was inadequate, the report added.
36. CVC SEEKS CBI FILES ON ITS SPECIAL DIRECTOR'S PLAINT The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has sought certain case files from the Central Bureau of Investigation on a complaint filed by the agency's Special Director, Rakesh Asthana. In its response to the CVC letter, the CBI's Chief Vigilance Officer has pointed out that the complaint is an attempt to intimidate CBI officers who are investigating his role in at least half-a-dozen cases. The CBI said the CVC should opine on the maintainability of the complaint and consider it malicious and frivolous in order to protect the integrity of the organisation. The CBI has pointed out in its letter to the CVC that the issue relating to the IRCTC case was raked up earlier too and brought before the Supreme Court on two occasions. The matter was dismissed by the court. The petitioners were also in possession of information from highly confidential internal documents, which is a serious offence. The agency said: "Irrespective of the maintainability of the complaint, the CBI has provided most of the files, as requested by the CVC, and the remaining will be submitted soon. There is no substance in the media reports that the CBI is not cooperating in the inquiry." The charge of prevention of raids against the accused in the IRCTC case - in which former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and his family members are being probed - was false. The investigation of the case resulted in a chargesheet having been filed before the designated court. This could not have been possible without the explicit approval of the CBI Director.
37. MAOISTS HAVE A TIGHT AND FLOWING STRUCTURE Though the Naxalite movement was started by Charu Majumdar, Kanu Sanyal and Jangal Santhal in West Bengal in 1967 under the banner of Communist Party of India (Marxist), the movement has changed many banners over the past four decades and is now called the CPI (Maoist), which is a banned organisation in the country.
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The CPI (Maoist) was formed in 2004 with the merger of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People's War, commonly known as the People's War Group, and the Maoist Communist Centre of India. And it has been functioning under this banner since then. The Maoists have a very tight and flowing organisational structure and follow the „need to know' principle for the flow of information. Each unit within the structure has its role and area of operation cut out. The core body is the central committee (CC), which is headed by Muppala Lakshmana Rao, alias Ganapathy, who is also the general secretary of the organisation. The CC is supported by the polit bureau (PB) and the central military commission (CMC). The think tank The polit bureau is the think tank of the organisation. The PB earlier had about 14 members, but the strength is now down to nine. It is the political brain of the Maoists, as the membership once comprised intellectuals such as Kobad Ghandy (now in jail) and Cherukuri Rajkumar, alias Azad (killed in an alleged encounter with the police in 2010). The PB's role is basically to keep in touch with the over-ground frontal organisations, operators and sympathisers and formulate long-term policy and strategy. The PB keeps in touch with like-minded political parties and sympathisers and plays a major role in developing logistical support, which includes getting legal help for cadres, funding, spreading the ideology and finding safe houses for cadres. The military structure has divisions, which comprise the PLGA (People's Liberation Guerrilla Army), the main armed platoons and the militia members. The central committee is divided into regional committees which are further divided into divisional committees, area committees and finally the local area committees, which focus on one or two tribal villages each. Every year the CC and the PB members try to meet at least on two occasions: the Martyrs' Week, which begins on July 28, and the PLGA Week, usually the first week of December. It is during these two meetings that the year-long policy is drafted.
38. CENTRE TO ISSUE WARNINGS ON LYNCHINGS The Centre assured the Supreme Court that it and the State governments would, within a week, start broadcasting on radio and TV a stern message that mob lynchings and violence would invite the "wrath of law". The Centre's promise came in response to a query by a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on whether the court's directions on the matter had been complied with.
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On July 17, the Supreme Court directed the Union and the State governments to disseminate through radio, television and other media platforms, including the official websites of the Home Department and the State police forces, the message that "lynching and mob violence of any kind shall invite serious consequences under the law". Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for activist Tehseen Poonawala, drew the court's attention to its more than two-month-old direction. The Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal informed the Bench that an empowered Group of Ministers was considering a specific law against lynchings.
39. MHA MERGES POLICE FORCES IN SIX UNION TERRITORIES The Ministry of Home Affairs has notified new rules amalgamating police forces in six Union Territories. The rules effectively mean that officers, who are not direct IPS recruits, could be posted in any of the six UTs and will be at the disposal of the MHA. The National Capital Territory of Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Chandigarh (Police Service) Rules, 2018, was notified on September 25. The initiative which, according to the MHA, has been in the works for over a year and a half, is being viewed as the first step towards the creation of a central police cadre allowing for the posting of police personnel across the country irrespective of the force they are initially inducted into. A central pool allowing inter-transferability would also ensure that local police personnel do not fall prey to serving vested interests in their home services and ensure that they don‟t become complacent. There are around 533 posts that will be covered under the new rules including Assistant Commissioners of Police and Deputy Superintendents of Police. Earlier these postings were decided by the respective UT administrators.
40. GOOGLE TO HELP EC TRACK POLITICAL ADS With poll season round the corner, Google, which controls the lion's share of the digital advertising market, will soon be helping the Election Commission (EC) keep tabs on online political advertising. The tech giant will develop a mechanism that will not only ensure pre-certification of political advertisements but also enable it to share with the authority details of the expenditure incurred on its platforms. Chief Election Commissioner O.P. Rawat said a Google representative met a committee set up to explore possible modifications in Section 126 (election silence) and other provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, in view of the expansion and diversity of media platforms.
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At the meeting, the representative told the Commission that the company would keep track of political advertisements and ensure that they were pre-certified by the Election Commision's Media Certification and Monitoring Committees. Google has also assured the committee that it would set up a mechanism for sharing information on the cost of the political advertisements. This would be of use to Returning Officers when it comes to calculating the election expenditure of individual candidates. As soon as someone is declared a candidate for any election, all the money spent by the person for campaigning gets added as election expenditure. The Commission also asks the candidates to declare their official social media accounts. The EC's committee had earlier held meetings with Facebook, which has also agreed to develop tools for removing any content pertaining to election matters during the 48-hour period when the „prohibition protocol' is in place. It is working on ways to check fake news and share details of expenditure on poll- related advertisements.
41. EC EASES RULE ON USE OF SPEAKERS FOR CAMPAIGNS Accepting the recommendation made at a recent all-party meeting, the Election Commission issued instructions relaxing the rule on use of loudspeakers for campaigning purposes, allowing it from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Commission had earlier made changes in the order, restricting the use of loudspeakers between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Political parties and candidates are required to get prior written permission from the authorities concerned and share the specifications and other particulars for using the public address system during the campaigning and public meetings.
42. YOUTH MORE LIKELY TO CHOOSE PROTESTS OVER VOTE A growing number of younger adults, who say they are interested in politics, are nevertheless rejecting formal political engagement in favour of street protest, an Orb Media analysis of data from 9,79,000 people in 128 countries found. Adults under 40 are between 9% and 17% more likely to take part in demonstrations than those older than 40 - a marked increase from the early 2000s, when under-40s were only 3% more likely to protest. Youth have always voted in lower numbers. But while surveys show that democracy remains the most desired form of government, fewer young people take part as volunteers or party members. Other modes of influence, from street demonstrations to digital campaigns, are increasingly prominent. The gap is widening. As more youth choose informal politics, older adults avoid protest. There are different reasons for this ambivalence.
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Many activists prefer networked, horizontal movements to top-down legacy organisations. Another factor is the exclusion of new voices. (Just 2% of the world's parliamentarians are younger than 30). Many see mainstream politics as morally compromised. Youth-led street movements have toppled leaders in Slovakia, Guatemala, Tunisia and Egypt. In each, the establishment reasserted itself. Two-thirds of non-voters in the 2016 U.S. election were younger than 50. Only one-third of youth approve of Donald Trump as president. The gap is obvious. Orb Media's analysis found that, worldwide, under-40s who think their government is corrupt were 7% to 15% less likely to vote than peers who don't perceive corruption. Over-40s who saw corruption were only 4% to 7% less likely to vote.
43. KCR CAN'T DECIDE POLL DATES Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) O.P. Rawat termed caretaker Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao's remarks about the schedule of fresh polls preposterous. He said an EC team would visit the State on September 11 to assess the poll preparedness before deciding the timing. The Commission strongly condemns the way the Chief Minister of Telangana announced the supposed schedule.It is uncalled for. Mr. Rao had said: "The election notification is expected in the first week of October, polls in November and results in December." Whenever a House is dissolved prematurely, as per the Supreme Court guidelines laid down in 2002, the ECI is required to initiate immediate steps for holding elections for constituting Legislative Assembly on the first occasion and in any case, within six months from date of premature dissolution of the Assembly. Given that circumstances, the Commission is faced with two options. If it receives a report confirming full preparedness, the election may be conducted with those in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram by December 15. However, if more arrangements are to be made, polls may be held in January 2019, ensuring that the results do not influence the coming Lok Sabha polls.
44. PDP TOO WILL BOYCOTT J&K LOCAL POLLS Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti said her party will stay away from the upcoming urban local bodies and panchayat elections, even as the J&K government said the poll process will go on as per schedule. Linking the panchayat polls with the Article 35A case before the SC has created apprehension among people. We urge the government to review its decision to hold elections at this juncture. Looking at the situation, the PDP has decided to stay away from the poll process.
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The PDP move comes just five days after National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah announced that his party "will not participate in the elections unless and until the government clears its position on Article 35A in and outside the court." The Congress is also holding its meeting to take a call on the elections. The previous elections for the grassroots bodies were held in 2011 after a gap of four decades with over 80% turnout and the fresh elections were scheduled to be held in 2015. However, they were deferred three times in the past one year due to the hostile situation.
45. DESPITE BOYCOTT THREAT, J&K CIVIC POLLS TO BE HELD IN OCTOBER Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer Shaleen Kabra announced the dates of elections to the urban local bodies in the State despite a boycott threat by the regional parties. The National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party described the decision as "unfortunate". The municipal polls will be conducted in four phases on October 8, 10, 13, 16. The urban local bodies have remained without members due to repeated deferment of [elections], owing to growing militancy and rising civilian casualties in the past few years. These polls will be followed by the panchayat polls that will begin in November. The last elections to the municipal bodies were held in 2005 and their five-year term expired in 2010. He said the EVMs would be used for the elections. "Of the 1,145 wards, 90 wards have been reserved The decision to hold these polls comes despite the NC and the PDP announcing to stay away from the urban local bodies and panchayat polls in J&K, asking the Centre to clear its stand on Article 35A, which defines State Subject laws, before the Supreme Court.
46. PUBLISHING POLL CANDIDATE'S PROPAGANDA IS PAID NEWS Repeated publication of propaganda lauding the achievements of a candidate in an election is nothing but "paid news", the Election Commission of India has told the Supreme Court. Politicians cannot say that it is part of their fundamental right to free speech to spew out "motivated propaganda". The EC has asked the court to declare whether it amounts to "paid news" if widely circulated daily newspapers cover statements issued by, and in the name of, a candidate that are not only laudatory of his or her record and achievements but also are a direct appeal to voters by the candidate.
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If such motivated propaganda is allowed in the garb of free speech during the election period, candidates with a strong network of connections and undefined relationships will exploit their sphere of influence in society and will have the unequal advantage of encashing such silent services. The commission has moved the court in appeal against a decision of the Delhi High Court on May 18 to set aside the disqualification of Madhya Pradesh BJP leader Narottam Mishra. The commission's National Level Committee on Paid News found that five newspapers, with a wide circulation, had published 42 news items that were "biased and one-sided and aimed at furthering the prospects of Mr. Mishra". Some of the reports were advertisements in favour of him. The committee concluded that the items fitted the definition of "paid news". The EC in June 2017 disqualified Mr. Mishra for not filing the accounts for money spent as election expenses on news items. Though a single judge of the High Court upheld the commission's decision to disqualify Mr. Mishra, a Division Bench concluded that the BJP leader was merely exercising his fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. Mr. Mishra's witnesses also denied receiving any money from him for favourable coverage. The conduct of the eager supporters, whose extensive coverage, as in this case, being dubbed as freedom of expression cannot be termed news because „news' is expected to be unbiased and characterised by dispassionate coverage and proportionate space to other contenders. Calling such relationships between candidates and publications an "unholy alliance," the EC said the appeal was significant because if the court shut its eye to this case, "the assertion of freedom of speech would become a stock pretence or plea by the service provider and the beneficiary candidate". The commission said its powers to investigate the contents of such news coverage should not be thwarted.
47. ENACT „STRONG LAW‟ TO CLEANSE POLITICS The Supreme Court directed political parties to publish online the pending criminal cases of their candidates and urged Parliament to bring a “strong law” to cleanse political parties of leaders facing trial for serious crimes. Rapid criminalisation of politics cannot be arrested by merely disqualifying tainted legislators but should begin by “cleansing” political parties. The court said Parliament should frame a law that makes it obligatory for political parties to remove leaders charged with “heinous and grievous” crimes, such as rape, murder and kidnapping, to name only a few, and refuse ticket to offenders in both parliamentary and Assembly polls. The nation eagerly awaits such legislation.
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The Bench, also comprising Justices A.M. Khanwilkar, Rohinton Nariman, D.Y. Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, however, made it clear that the court cannot legislate for Parliament by introducing disqualification to ban candidates facing trial for heinous crimes from contesting elections. The court directed that candidates divulge their criminal past to the Election Commission in “block letters.” Candidates should make a full disclosure of the criminal cases pending against them to the political parties under whose banner they intend to contest the polls. The parties, in turn, should put up the complete details of their candidates on their websites for public consumption. Further, both the candidate and the political party should declare the criminal antecedents of the former in widely-circulated newspapers. Finally, both the candidate and the political party should give “wide publicity” to the criminal record of the former by airing it on TV channels, not once, but thrice after the filing of nomination papers. It ensures that ordinary voters can have an “informed choice” about who he or she has to vote for in a country which already “feels agonised when money and muscle power become the supreme power”. Criminalisation of politics and corruption, especially at the entry level of elections, has become a national and economic terror. It is a disease which is self-destructive and becoming immune to antibiotics.
48. DELHI LAUNCHES DOORSTEP DELIVERY OF GOVERNMENT SERVICES After months of planning, the Delhi government launched its ambitious project to deliver public services at the doorstep of residents. From driving licences to marriage certificates, Delhiites can now apply for 40 government documents to be delivered at their homes for a fee of Rs. 50 per service. The applicant would have to call 1076 and fix an appointment with a mobile sahayak, who will go to their home and help with filling forms, payment of fees and collection of documents. The mobile sahayak would then submit the documents at the government office concerned, which would post the certificate or licence once issued. The project, which has been outsourced by the Administrative Reforms Department to VFS Global, had received the Cabinet's in-principle approval in November 2017. Though Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal had raised certain concerns, including about potential security threat from sahayaks, the Cabinet approved the contract with VFS on July 3. Mr. Kejriwal said the project faced many obstructions, including that from the Centre and the L-G. He added that the AAP government was fighting against deep-rooted vested interests.
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Terming it a historic day, Mr. Kejriwal said the move would end the long waiting time at government offices, the scope for touts to operate and increase productivity.
49. BAN ON ADOPTION BY LIVE-IN PARTNERS LIFTED Individuals in a live-in relationship will once again be able to adopt children from and within India after Child Adoption Regulatory Authority (CARA), the country's nodal adoption agency decided to withdraw a circular issued earlier in May 2018 disallowing them from doing so. CARA had barred applicants in a live-in relationship from adopting a child on the ground that "the Authority would like the children to be placed only with a stable family and individuals in a live-in relationship cannot be considered as stable family." The decision will benefit both domestic and international applicants. The eligibility criteria under Adoption Regulations, 2017, permit single women to adopt a child of any gender, while single men can adopt only boys. When a married couple seeks to adopt a child, it needs to give its consent for adoption and should be stable marriage for at least two years. Applicants have to be physically, mentally and financially stable to raise a child.
50. GOVT. UNVEILS CENTRE FOR DATA ANALYTICS With a view to fast-tracking the adoption of data analytics in the government to improve delivery of services to citizens, Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad unveiled a Centre of Excellence for Data Analytics (CEDA). The centre would help build analytic solutions that are specific to a particular problem which may relate to a single or a combination of departments, an official statement said. It added that the centre would also provide data profiling tools and techniques along with necessary expertise to analyse the data for quality issues. "While data cleaning shall be done for making the data ready for analytical use, recommendations shall also be given in order to help the department take necessary actions to further improve their data collection process," it said. Besides creating the analytics solutions for the government departments, CEDA would also focus on training and enabling the departments to do self-service analytics.
51. PM LAUNCHES CLEANLINESS CAMPAIGN Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the "Swachhata Hi Seva" ("cleanliness is service") campaign, and took up a broom to clean a school. Union Ministers and BJP leaders and workers participated in similar exercises across the country. Mr. Modi said the sanitation coverage in India had increased from 40% to over 90% in the four years of the "Swachh Bharat" (Clean India) project launched on October 2, 2015. It will continue till Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary on October 2, 2018.
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He said few would have thought that nine crore toilets would be built and 4.5 lakh villages declared free of open defecation in four years. Had anybody imagined that more than 450 districts would be open-defecation-free (ODF) in four years or that 20 States and Union Territories would be open-defecation- free in four years.
52. U.P. TO LAUNCH FIRST-EVER DIAL-FIR The Uttar Pradesh Police are set to launch a first of its kind dial-FIR scheme in the country where a common man can register regular crimes without going to a police station even as it is preparing an online photographic dossier of criminals that will be provided to policemen on 22,000 new i-pads. Everything that is reported to U.P. 100 (police emergency number) relates to certain categories of crime that includes cases like those of vehicle theft. Now, for such crimes, one can dial the emergency number and file an FIR, a call-based FIR. This will be like a regular FIR, under similar sections of IPC, and people need not come to the police station to get a case registered. We are the pioneer state to do this. All the small paper application-based things like getting domestic help verification, lost and found complaint, obtaining permission for taking out a procession, getting character certificate from police a total of 22 domains of police permissions can be obtained from home online, without the citizen coming to the police station. Talking about special police units like the anti-terror squad (ATS) and special weapons and tactics (SWAT) teams, the DGP said their strength will be bolstered with the induction of 118 commandos including a dozen women personnel.
53. RATIONALISATION OF CS SCHEMES MOOTED Several Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) are just boutique in nature with „dubious' outcomes, the 15th Finance Commission of the Union Government has noted while calling for urgent rationalisation of the CSSs. The pruning of such schemes would give the State governments greater measure of flexibility in financing, Commission Chairman N.K. Singh said. There are far too many of these boutique schemes with dubious outcomes in the States. Even the ones which are operational do not justify the high establishment cost being incurred on them. The commission noted the general status of public financing in States remains „stressed' owing to payments made towards the Seventh Pay Commission, loan waivers given to farmers and debt restructuring under the UDAY scheme. The proliferation of the CSSs was debatable until the Ninth Five-Year Plan, when the total number of schemes shot up to 360, accounting for about 60% of Central assistance.
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In 2013, the Planning Commission announced the merger of several CSSs, reducing the count to 66. These were further pruned to 27 following the report of a committee of CMs led by Shivrajsingh Chauhan recently. State governments have already demanded an increased flow of untied fiscal resources in place of tied resources that come with CSS. The states demand a larger devolution even though the 14th Finance Commission had recommended devolution of a significantly higher share of 42% of the divisble pool to States compared with the 32% recommended by the Thirteenth Finance Commission.
54. KRISHNA KUTIR, A HOME FOR 1000 WIDOWS INAUGURATED The Minister for Women & Child Development, along with CM of Uttar Pradesh, inaugurated the widows‟ home „Krishna Kutir‟ at a function at Vrindavan, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. Krishna Kutir is a special home for 1000 widows set up by the Ministry of WCD under Swadhar Greh scheme of the Ministry and is the largest ever facility of its kind created by a government organization. The Ministry took cognizance of this shocking condition of widows living in Vrindavan who refused to go back to their native place or their home. In order to provide dignified and humane living conditions to them, the Ministry, as a special case, constructed this Krishna Kutir at the temple town of Vrindavan with all the required facilities Widows will be a part of various committees which will be formed to manage the widows‟ home. Krishna Kutir has been constructed on 1.4 hectare of land through National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) with a capacity of 1000 inmates. It has beautifully made 100 rooms/dormitories. The design of the Home has been prepared in consultation with Helpage India and is old age friendly. The facility is also equipped with a large modern kitchen and a skill cum training centre. The widows‟ home has been constructed by the WCD Ministry to mitigate the plight of widows living in pathetic condition in Vrindavan. UP Government has become the first State to link the women‟s helpline 181 to the One Stop Centres. UP has also provided rescue vans for women in distress in every district.
55. PRADHAN MANTRI ANNADATA AAY SANRAKSHAN ABHIYAN (PM-AASHA) Giving a major boost to the pro-farmer initiatives of the Government and in keeping with its commitment and dedication for the Annadata, the Union Cabinet has approved a
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new Umbrella Scheme “Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan‟ (PM- AASHA). Increasing MSP is not adequate and it is more important that farmers should get full benefit of the announced MSP. For this, government realizes that it is essential that if price of the agriculture produce market is less than MSP, then govt. should purchase either at MSP or work in a manner to provide MSP for the farmers through some other mechanism. The Scheme is aimed at ensuring remunerative prices to the farmers for their produce as announced in the Union Budget for 2018. Government has already increased the MSP of kharif crops by following the principle of 1.5 times the cost of production. It is expected that the increase in MSP will be translated to farmer‟s income by way of robust procurement mechanism in coordination with the State Governments. Components of PM-AASHA The new Umbrella Scheme includes the mechanism of ensuring remunerative prices to the farmers and is comprised of- Price Support Scheme (PSS), Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS) Pilot of Private Procurement & Stockist Scheme (PPPS). The other existing schemes of Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) for procurement of paddy, wheat and nutri-cereals/coarse grains and of Ministry of Textile for cotton and jute will be continued for providing MSP to farmers for these crops. Cabinet has decided that for oilseeds, states have the option to roll out Private Procurement Stockist Scheme (PPSS) on pilot basis in selected district/APMC(s) of district involving the participation of private stockiest. The pilots district/selected APMC(s) of district will cover one or more crop of oilseeds for which MSP is notified. Since this is akin to PSS, in that in involves physical procurement of the notified commodity, it shall substitute PSS/PDPS in the pilot districts. The selected private agency shall procure the commodity at MSP in the notified markets during the notified period from the registered farmers in consonance with the PPSS Guidelines. But whenever the prices in the market fall below the notified MSP maximum service charges up to 15% of the notified MSP will be payable. In Price Support Scheme (PSS), physical procurement of pulses, oilseeds and Copra will be done by Central Nodal Agencies with proactive role of State governments. It is also decided that in addition to NAFED, Food Cooperation of India (FCI) will take up PSS operations in states /districts. The procurement expenditure and losses due to procurement will be borne by Central Government as per norms.
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Under PDPS it is proposed to cover all oilseeds for which MSP is notified. In this direct payment of the difference between the MSP and the selling/modal price will be made to pre-registered farmers selling his produce in the notified market yard through a transparent auction process. All payment will be done directly into registered bank account of the farmer. This scheme does not involve any physical procurement of crops as farmers are paid the difference between the MSP price and Sale/modal price on disposal in notified market.
56. FIRST TRIBAL CIRCUIT PROJECT UNDER SWADESH DARSHAN SCHEME IN CHHATTISGARH The Minister of State for Tourism will inaugurate the project for Development of Tribal Circuit in Chhattisgarh under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme. This is the second project under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme being inaugurated in the country. The project covers thirteen sites in Chhattisgarh i.e. Jashpur, Kunkuri, Mainpat, Kamleshpur, Maheshpur, Kurdar, Sarodadadar, Gangrel, Kondagaon, Nathiya Nawagaon, Jagdalpur, Chitrakoot, Tirthgarh. Chhattisgarh is known for its exceptional scenic beauty and uniquely rich cultural heritage and has always been synonymous with tribes and tribal culture. The project aims to acknowledge the sovereignty of tribes, promote the rich and diverse primitive assets in the state. Major components sanctioned include eco log huts, craft haats, souvenir shops/ kiosk, tourist reception & facilitation centres, open amphitheatre, tribal interpretation centres, workshop centres, tourist amenities centres etc. These components are perceived to improve existing tourist facilities and enhance the overall tourist experience thereby help in getting more visitors which in return will increase job opportunities in the area.
57. ALL INDIA PENSION ADALAT Nodal Agency for this scheme is Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, GoI. The Grievance Portal for the Central Government pensioners is also called CPENGRAMS. The Pension Adalats are being set up with the objective of bringing on a common table the aggrieved pensioner, the concerned department, the bank or CGHS representative so that such cases can be settled across the table within the framework of extant rules. Besides the Pension Adalat, a Pre-Retirement Counselling (PRC) was also conducted for the Central Government employees who are about to retire in the next six months. The objective of the PRC Workshop is to create awareness about post-retirement entitlements as well as to educate them on advance planning for retirement including medical facilities and participation in voluntary activities after retirement.
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Under Anubhav, the retiring employees give an account of their experiences during service. These experiences are an important account for research and resource for administrative reference and thus will help in improving our working. The Anubhav scheme was instituted at the call of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in the year 2015. Till date, more than 5,000 contributions have been made for Anubhavs by Government employees from 91 Departments. A number of reforms have been undertaken by the Government to facilitate the pensioners. One of the main initiatives taken was to fix the minimum pension at Rs 1,000. Other initiatives such as Bhavishya, Sankalp, Jeevan Praman-digital life certificates, doing away with the obsolete laws and self-attestation, among others have also been taken. A mechanism has been put in place where pensioner will get PPO on the day of his retirement.
58. „E-SAHAJ‟ PORTAL FOR GRANT OF SECURITY CLEARANCE The Union Home Secretary has launched an online „e-Sahaj‟ portal here today for grant of Security Clearance. MHA is the nodal Ministry for security clearances in certain sensitive sectors before issue of licence/permit, permission, contract etc, to companies/ bidders/individuals by the administrative Ministry. The objective of national security clearance is to evaluate potential security threats, including economic threats, and provide risk assessment before clearing investment and project proposals in key sectors. The aim is to strike a healthy balance between meeting the imperatives of national security and facilitating ease of doing business and promoting investment in the country. The portal will facilitate an applicant to submit application online and also to view the status of his application from time to time. The clearance has become standardized, resulting in a process which will be faster, transparent and easy to monitor. Various functionaries can access the application and documents online and take timely decisions. MHA has cleared about 1,100 cases of security clearance in the past one year. Although the given timeline is 90 days, MHA strives to decide Security Clearance cases in 60 days (average time per case in 2018 is 53 days), which is being reduced further.
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59. ATAL BIMIT VYAKTI KALYAN YOJNA APPROVED The Employee‟s State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) during its 175th Meeting has taken important decisions towards improvements in its services and benefits being provided to Insured Persons and their dependants. The change in employment pattern and the current scenario in India which has transformed from a long term to fixed short term engagement in the form of contract is considerable. Taking this into account ESI has approved ABVKY for Insured Persons (IP) covered under the Employees‟ State Insurance Act, 1948. This scheme is a relief payable in cash directly to their Bank Account in case of unemployment and while they search for new engagement. ESI has approved the proposal for reimbursement of Rs. 10/- per person to the employers to encourage the seeding of Aadhar (UID) in ESIC database of their workers and their family members. It will curtail the multiple registrations of same Insured Persons and thus enable them to avail the benefits requiring longer contributory conditions. ESIC has approved the proposal for relaxing the eligibility conditions for availing Super Specialty treatment from earlier insurable employment of 2 years to 06 months with contribution requirement of only 78 days. Besides, the eligibility for availing Super Specialty treatment for dependents of Insured Person has now been relaxed to insurable employment of one year with 156 days of contributions. This relaxation will immensely help the Insured Persons and their beneficiaries to avail Super Specialty treatment free of cost as per revised eligibility. ESI Corporation has approved the proposal for increasing the Funeral Expenses from existing Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 15,000/- being paid on the death of Insured Person.
60. BAMBOO CENTRE REMAINS „ROOTED‟ TO NEW DELHI A centre for taking India‟s bamboo mission forward has failed to shift from New Delhi to its „headquarters‟ in Meghalaya capital Shillong to cater to the largest bamboo-growing region in the country. The Central government had in 2013 approved the creation of an autonomous society registered and headquartered in Shillong with a fund allocation of Rs. 292 crore. The society was called North East Centre for Technology Application and Reach. Though NECTAR acquired two spaces in Shillong – one a seven-room guesthouse and the other a small office near the landmark Bethany Hospital – it has continued to function from the office of the Department of Science and Technology. In May, NECTAR‟s Director General Baldev Singh Rawat had said the Shillong unit of Central Public Works Department was expected to ready the society‟s office in the space provided by the Survey of India within three months.
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The Bamboo Industries Association of India said this could be an excuse for NECTAR officials to remain rooted to New Delhi, having already completed six years there without serving the purpose – to facilitate bamboo growers and entrepreneurs. Operating a guesthouse with seven big rooms is not very important. It can easily be converted to an office if there is intent. Without coming close to the resources and people it was created for, NECTAR seems to be going the way of its predecessor, the NBMA (National Mission on Bamboo Application). The DST had in 2004 launched the NBMA with an outlay of Rs. 200 crore. In almost a decade since, the NMBA spent Rs. 100 crore on building demo bamboo houses that hardly impacted lives across India‟s bamboo belts, particularly the Northeast that grows 67% of India‟s bamboos. Bamboo entrepreneurs said the NBMA, contrary to its name, neither developed any technology nor facilitated technology transfer for 385 units it assisted.
61. RASHTRIYA POSHAN MAAH CELEBRATIONS GET UNDER WAY ACROSS INDIA The Government is celebrating the month of September, 2018 as the National Nutrition Month under the Poshan Abhiyan. The key feature of this programme is mobilization of communities across the country and gets their participation in addressing various aspects of the nutritional challenges. The primary aim is to enable awareness on the importance of nutrition and how individual families can easily access government services to supplement nutrition for their children and pregnant/lactating mothers. National Nutrition Month has eight key themes- Antenatal Care, Optimal Breastfeeding, Complementary Feeding, Anemia, Growth Monitoring, Education; Diet and right age of marriage for girls, Hygiene and Sanitation and Food fortification. POSHAN Abhiyaan seeks to synergise efforts of key stakeholders by leveraging technology and intends to take Nutrition Awareness to the level of Jan Andolan or People‟s Movement. This People‟s Movement intends to reach 11 crore beneficiaries during the Rashtriya Poshan Maah itself. Since the launch, Government has organised many Awareness Workshops with an aim to reduce stunting, under-nutrition, anemia and low birth weight. Stakeholders across India will be encouraged to undertake activities ranging from State Level Workshops to Nomination of Brand Ambassadors to Multi-Media Campaigns.
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62. “RAIL SAHYOG” WEB PORTAL The Minister of Railways and Coal has launched a web portal Rail Sahyog to provide a platform for the Corporates and PSUs to contribute to creation of amenities at/near Railway Stations through CSR funds. The portal has been envisaged as a platform for all including individuals as also private & public organisation to contribute towards CSR activities in association with Indian Railways. The companies desirous of contributing can show willingness on the portal by registering their requests which will be processed by Railway officials. This portal will provide an opportunity for Industry/ Companies/ Associations to collaborate with Railways. Individuals, Private companies have the freedom to execute projects in Railways. The main focus is on ensuring creation of good quality assets through this collaboration. Construction of toilets in circulating areas of all stations with provision of low cost sanitary pad vending machine & incinerator in female toilets and contraceptives vending machine in male toilets and initial one year maintenance. Providing free Wi-Fi at stations through setting up Hotspots. Provision of Benches at station Platforms as facility for senior citizens/disabled. Bottle crushing machines at 2175 major stations for ensuring environmental sustainability. Dustbins at all stations for Swachh Bharat will help in preventing littering around. Separate dustbins for wet/dry waste need to be provided at circulating area of Station and Platforms.
63. NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF DISTRICT DISABILITY REHABILITATION CENTRES The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment is organizing a „National Conference of District Disability Rehabilitation Centres‟. The participants in this one day conference include District Magistrates of 263 districts where DDRCs have been set up, Principal Secretaries Social Welfare, reputed NGOs, District Social Welfare officers, eminent Doctors etc. DDRC provide comprehensive services to persons with disabilities and facilitate creation of infrastructure and capacity building at the district level for awareness generation, rehabilitation and training of rehabilitation professionals. The salient features of the District Disability Rehabilitation Centres are as under:- 310 districts have been identified and 263 DDRCs have been set up. Awareness generation, early intervention and assessment of the need of assistive devices to divyangjans.
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Therapeutic services such as Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy etc. to divyangjans through rehabilitation professionals. Equipment for rehabilitation services. Cost norms of the Scheme has been revised and enhanced to 2.5 times.
64. CIC WANTS BREAK-UP OF HOW MPLADS FUNDS ARE UTILISED Noting that Rs. 12,000 crore of the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds remains unspent, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has asked the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman to come out with a legal framework to ensure its transparency and hold parliamentarians and political parties accountable for their obligations under the scheme. The MPLADS allots Rs. 5 crore per year to each Member of Parliament (MP) to be spent on projects of their choice in their constituency. The scheme is funded and administered through the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). Projects are to be recommended to and implemented by the district-level administration. Central Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu issued interim orders in two cases where petitioners had requested details on MPLADS, but were told by the MoSPI that the Centre does not maintain constituency-wise, and work-wise details. Prof. Acharyulu noted that a recent MoSPI report showed that in February 2018, funds allotted to MPLADS but unspent stood at Rs. 4,773.13 crore, while 2,920 instalments of Rs. 2.5 crore were yet to be released. That resulted in a total backlog of Rs. 12,073.13 crore, it said. The CIC's orders asked the leaders of the two Houses of Parliament to consider providing the "necessary legal frame" for the scheme, which would "make all Parliamentary parties and MPs answerable and accountable for MPLADS funds as public authorities under the RTI Act to prevent MPLADS irregularities." The framework should make transparency a legal obligation, with all MPs and parties required to present the public and Parliament with a comprehensive report on the number of applications received for their constituency, works recommended, works rejected with reasons, progress of works and details of beneficiaries. Liabilities for any breach of duties should also be imposed, said the order. Further, the framework should prohibit and prevent MPs using the funds for their private works, or diverting them to private trusts or to their own relatives. District administrations must provide regular information - work-wise, MP-wise, and year-wise details on progress- which are to be compiled by the MoSPI and made available to the public, said the order.
65. B.C. KHANDURI REMOVED AS DEFENCE PANEL CHAIRMAN In the latest round of reshuffle of Parliamentary panels, BJP MP and former Minister Major General B.C. Khanduriwas removed as Chairman of the standing committee on Defence.
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He has been delivering a series of critical reports on the defence preparedness and the latest among them, tabled in March 2018, slammed the government for critical low stock of armaments. The March report said that 68% of equipment with the armed forces was in the vintage category. Mr. Khanduri has been replaced by former Union Minister Kalraj Mishra who resigned from the post in September 2017 as he had crossed the 75 years age-limit set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for public office. The other change is replacing Madhya Pradesh MP Rakesh Singh as Chairman of Coal and Steel panel with another BJP MP from the same State, Chintamani Malviya. There are no changes in Finance Committee and External Affairs Committee, both headed by Congress leaders. Finance Committee is headed by Veerappa Moily. The External Affairs Committee is headed by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and has Congress president Rahul Gandhi among its members.
66. TRIPLE TALAQ IS CRIMINAL OFFENCE The Union Cabinet cleared an ordinance that makes talaq-e-biddat, or instant triple talaq, a criminal offence that will attract a maximum jail term of three years. The new law, however, incorporates safeguards, including a provision for bail to an accused before the start of the trial. While instant triple talaq will continue to be a "non-bailable" offence - the police cannot grant bail at the police station - the accused can approach a magistrate for bail even before trial. The magistrate would also have power to decide the quantum of compensation and subsistence allowance for the victim and her minor children. There was an overpowering urgency and a compelling necessity to bring the ordinance as the practice continued unabated despite the Supreme Court's order in August 2017. The Lok Sabha has passed a Bill on the same that is pending in the Rajya Sabha. While punishing the husband, all the women's groups have asked an obvious question: „Once the husband is in jail, who will pay maintenance and/or subsistence allowance to the woman and children? As raised by the Congress party as also various groups, why should the woman and children not have a right to proceed against the estate i.e. movable and immovable property of the husband? The Modi government has deliberately not made any such provision. Another safeguard that had been added is that the police can lodge an FIR (first information report) only if the complaint is filed by the wife (victim), her blood relations or her relatives by virtue of her marriage. Non-relatives or neighbours cannot lodge a complaint under the proposed law.
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The offence of instant triple talaq has also been "compoundable" with a provision that allows the wife to withdraw a complaint or approach the magistrate for a dispute settlement.
67. CABINET CLEARS RS. 3,466 CRORE DAM IMPROVEMENT PROJECT The government has approved a 65% hike, and extended by two years, a project to improve the stability and working of dams in 11 States. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the Dam Rehabilitation Improvement Project (DRIP). Out of the Rs. 3,466 crore cleared, Rs. 2,628 crore would be funded by the World Bank and Rs. 747 crore by the States and Implementing Agencies (IAs), and the balance Rs. 91 crore by the Central Water Commission (CWC). Originally, the total cost of DRIP was Rs. 2,100 crore with the States expected to fund Rs. 1,968 crore and the Centre Rs. 132 crore. Initially, the six-year project commenced on April 18, 2012, with a scheduled closing on June 30, 2018. This has now been extended to June 2020. The (DRIP) project will improve the safety and operational performance of selected existing dams and mitigate risks to ensure safety of downstream population and property. The primary beneficiaries are both urban and rural communities dependent on reservoir and downstream communities, who are prone to risk associated with dam failure or operational failure. There are 198 existing dams in Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand (Damodar Valley Corporation) and Uttarakhand (Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited) that would benefit from the project. In lieu of the funds, dam managers would have to adhere to recommendations by the CWC as well as subject themselves to six monthly reviews by the World Bank and an audit by an independent French agency, said an official in the Union Water Ministry. Kerala, which saw devastating floods and questions raised on the management of its dams, will see 16 of the reservoirs managed by its Water Resources Department and 12 by that State's Electricity Department, get funded under the DRIP programme to the tune of Rs. 514 crore. The Mullaperiyar dam - located in Kerala and owned by Tamil Nadu - isn't one of those to be rehabilitated. A dam safety Bill that sets directives on how the States and the Centre ought to have an institutional mechanism to better manage dams is still to be discussed in Parliament.
68. CENTRE APPOINTS SEARCH COMMITTEE FOR LOKPAL After a long delay, the Centre constituted an eight-member search committee, to be headed by former Supreme Court judge, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, to recommend the chairperson and members of the anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal.
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The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 envisages establishment of anti-graft body Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in States to look into cases of corruption against certain categories of public servants. Former State Bank of India chief Arundhati Bhattacharya, Prasar Bharati chairperson A. Surya Prakash and former Indian Space Research Organisation head A.S. Kiran Kumar are the members of the search committee. Former judge of the Allahabad High Court, Justice Sakha Ram Singh Yadav; former Gujarat Police head, Shabbirhusein S Khandwawala; retired IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre, Lalit K Panwar; and Ranjit Kumar are the other members of the panel. The step comes after the Supreme Court‟s order to appoint Lokpal at the earliest. The search committee was appointed by the selection committee, which comprises Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, leader of the largest Opposition party, which in this case was Congress‟s Mallikarjun Kharge, and eminent jurist Mukul Rohatgi. Mr. Kharge, however, is not a full-fledged member of the panel and he boycotted the selection committee meeting five times this year.
69. NEW WAGE AGREEMENT FOR PORT AND DOCK WORKERS A new wage agreement for Port and Dock workers, employed in the 11 major ports in the country, has been reached between port and dock workers federations, Port managements and the Regional Labour Commissioner (Central) in Mumbai. The new wage agreement, effective from January 1, 2017, would be in force for five years. Salient features The other salient features of the new wage agreement include: a 10.6% fitment benefit would be given based on the basic salary as on December 31, 2016 and DA as on January 1, 2017, the minimum basic as on January 1, 2017 would be Rs. 20,900, annual increment would be 3% of the basic, the HRA would be paid at 20% of the new basic (for Visakhapatnam Port workers), the transport allowance of Rs. 1,100 per month would be linked to the DA, washing allowance has been increased from Rs. 155 to Rs. 194.
70. CENSUS 2021 TO COLLECT OBC DATA, USE MAPS Census 2021 will for the first time collect data on Other Backward Classes (OBC). The decennial exercise will involve 25 lakh trained enumerators and the use of “maps/geo-referencing at the time of house listing is also under consideration. The decision to count the OBCs in the next Census was to get a correct perspective on the social status in the country.
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The 2011 caste data collected as part of the Socio- economic Caste Census (SECC) is yet to be released by the Centre. The National Commission for Backward Classes says there are 2,479 entries on the Central list of the OBCs. The 2011 Census collected information in 29 categories that included a separate column for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes. A senior Home Ministry official said the OBCs would be an option in the column in 2021. It was emphasised that improvements in design and technological interventions be made so as to ensure that the Census data is finalised within three years after conducting of Census. At present it takes seven or eight years to release the complete data. The enumerators will start “house listing” in 2020 and the headcount will begin from February 2021. It was also informed that nearly 25 lakh enumerators are trained and engaged for the gigantic exercise and accurate collection of data will be ensured in Census 2021. The Home Minister also emphasised the need for improvement in the Civil Registration System, especially on registration of birth and death in remote areas, and strengthening sample registration system for estimating the data namely, infant mortality rate, maternal mortality ratio and fertility rates. Ad-hoc basis The Census Organisation was set up on an ad-hoc basis for each Census till the 1951 Census when the Census Act was enacted in 1948 to provide for the scheme of conducting population census with duties and responsibilities of census officers. As per the 2011 Census, the country‟s population stood at 1.21 billion, almost equal to the combined population of the U.S., Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Japan put together [1214.3 million]. The data collected during 2021 Census would be stored electronically, also a first. Presently, the “schedules” (a tabular form containing details of individuals), carried by enumerators to households was being stored in a physical form at government‟s storehouse in Delhi. It is based on these schedules that the relevant statistical information on population, language, occupation, etc, are sorted from and published.
71. „ASIA‟S NOBEL‟ CELEBRATES SOCIAL HEROES Two Indians, Bharat Vatwani and Sonam Wangchuk, received the Ramon Magsaysay award, popularly known as Asia‟s Nobel Prize.
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Cambodian activist Youk Chhang, Filipino Howard Dee, Vietnam‟s Vo Thi Hoang Yen and East Timor‟s Maria de Lourdes Martins Cruz were also honoured for their work at a ceremony in Manila. All of them have worked for the poor or those who have suffered violence. Bharat Vatwani Mr. Vatwani has dedicated his life to rescuing mentally ill people from the streets and providing them with shelter and treatment through his Shraddha Rehabilitaion Foundation. Since 1988, Mr. Vatwani has helped around 7,000 mental patients, reuniting many of them with their families. Sonam Wangchuk Mr. Wangchuk has been recognised for “his uniquely systematic, collaborative and community-driven reform of learning systems in remote northern India, thus improving the life opportunities of Ladakhi youth, and his constructive engagement of all sectors in local society to harness science and culture creatively for economic progress.
72. MOU SIGNED TO GIVE FACELIFT TO AJMER DARGAH The historical dargah of Sufi mystic Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer is all set to get a facelift as a memorandum of understanding has been signed by the Dargah Committee, the Ajmer Municipal Corporation and Hindustan Zinc for spending Rs. 5.68 crore to clean and manage the shrine. The 13th-century dargah has been included among the Swachh Iconic Places, a clean- up initiative focused on iconic heritage, spiritual and cultural places through a multi- stakeholder approach model. The campaign was initiated under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2016. In Ajmer, the Collector will act as the project's nodal agency with the Dargah Committee and „khadims' (workers) being the primary stakeholders. An amount of Rs. 5.68 crore will be invested in the project's first phase for establishment of two flower compost making machines, cleaning and basic repair of the Jhalra pond, re-flooring in select areas, procurement of machines for cleaning the floors, risk management system plan, conservation of Shahjahani Gate and initial plans for Nizam Gate.
73. PMC IS „DISTORTING' FACTS ON GANESHA FESTIVITIES With Ganpati festival round the corner, the hair-splitting over who organised the first public festivities - the 19th century physician Bhau Laxman Javale or freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar „Lokmanya' Tilak - threatens to mar the upcoming festive occasion. The Bhaurangari Ganpati trust, which has been fighting to reclaim the memory of Bhausaheb Javale , lodged a complaint against Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) with the cyber cell of the Pune police, accusing it of "attempting to distort history" and "suppress the truth" about the first „Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav'.
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The PMC, on its website, had credited Bhau Rangari with starting the first celebration of Ganeshotsav in Pune in 1892. On August 24, at a meeting of major Ganesha pandals in the city at the PMC, we duly thanked the Mayor, Mukta Tilak for this. However, to our dismay, we discovered that the lines crediting Bhau Rangari with having begun the first public Ganesha festivities were soon deleted from the PMC website before midnight that same day. The screenshots of the PMC website (under its panel titled „rich legacy'), before it allegedly altered the entry about Bhau Rangari states: "Bhau Rangari (popular name for Bhausaheb Javale) started the first celebration of Ganeshotsav in Pune in 1892. Bhau Rangari, who was an ayurvedic medical practitioner, kept his Ganesh idol open to public because religious gatherings were allowed for exchange of ideas and information." However, hours after the trustees thanked the Mayor, the first line was removed from the website. The aggrieved trustees failed to gain any response from the Mayor, Ms. Mukta Tilak, herself a scion of Lokmanya Tilak's family. In 2017, the trust was locked in bitter wrangling with the PMC over its plans to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Ganesha festival, which was popularised by Bal Gangadhar „Lokmanya' Tilak.
74. 2 IRRIGATION FACILITIES IN TELANGANA GET HERITAGE TAG A meeting of the International Executive Council, the highest decision making body of International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), at Saskatoon in Canada has accepted Telangana government's nomination of Sadarmatt anicut across river Godavari in Nirmal district and Pedda Cheruvu in Kamareddy district in the ICID Register of Heritage Irrigation Structures. The plaques presented by the council for the two over-century-old irrigation facilities were received. This award is a deserving recognition to Sadarmatt anicut which has provided precious water for paddy crops in its designed ayacut of 13,100 acres in present day Khanapur and Kadem mandals since its construction in 1891-92. The anicut, which is English word for Telugu's ana-katta, meaning a rainfall bund, was built by Nawab Ikbal-ud-Dowla who bore the tile of Vicar-ul-Umrah Bahadur in 1891-92 about 50 km downstream of the Sri Ram Sagar Project (SRSP) and is chiefly fed by Sawrnavagu stream after the construction of SRSP. The Pedda Cheruvu (big tank in Telugu) located on the outskirts of this district headquarters town is spread over an area of 618 acres and was built in 1897 during the rule of Mir Mahaboob Ali Khan, the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad State. Womenfolk play Bathukamma during the Navaratrotsavalu on its bund and immerse them in its waters. Bathukammais a floral festival celebrated predominantly by the Hindu women of Telangana.
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75. PM TO UNVEIL SARDAR PATEL'S STATUE ON OCTOBER 31 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a statue of Sardar Patel, described by the Gujarat government as "the world's tallest", on the birth anniversary of India's first Home Minister on October 31, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said. The statue with a height of 182 m will be a symbol of the country's unity and integrity, he said. The decision to build the statue was announced by Mr. Modi in 2013 when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Sardar Patel, a Congress leader, has become a revered figure for the BJP, which has sought to project an ideological connect between its espousal of nationalism and his efforts at national integration.
76. „GATKA': SIKH MARTIAL ARTS Gatka is a Sikh martial art. It is a style of stick fighting, with wooden sticks intended to simulate swords. The Punjabi name gatka refers to the wooden stick used. The style originated in later 19th century, through the sword practice in the British Indian Army. Gatka is now being popularized as a sport of sikh martial art and is often shown during Sikh festivals. Chakari is also used for demonstration during Sikh festivals.
77. CASTING CAPERS: MANEKA SEES ANIMALS IN WRONG ROLE Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi has locked horns with the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), accusing it of being lax in enforcement of rules that specify how wild animals can be depicted in films and television programmes. The board is India's apex body for ensuring that animals are not mistreated. In a July 23 letter to Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan, Ms. Gandhi, who is also known for her activism for animal rights, listed "blatant errors" by the AWBI subcommittee that screens applications from film-makers. She alleged that the committee did not seek details of the species being used, which were required to determine whether they were protected. It had even allowed their depiction in scenes that could promote cruelty to animals. The letter cites an instance of approval given for a scene showing animal sacrifice, which is against the Supreme Court's orders. S.P. Gupta, AWBI Chairman, said the allegations were "baseless" and part of a campaign to "defame" the board. All Indian snakes and birds except the crow are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act and any certification for performance or exhibition is only possible after permission from the Chief Wildlife Warden of the relevant State.
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78. RETURN HOME OR GIVE UP SOPS New Delhi has told the Bru (or Reang) refugees in Tripura to either accept a rehabilitation package and return to their villages in adjoining Mizoram or give up the free rations and other facilities being provided to them on humanitarian grounds. Appealing to the refugees to return to Mizoram, he said the names of those who wished to be repatriated would be submitted to the Centre and the Mizoram government, while reminding that the ration and other facilities extended to the refugees would be withdrawn from October 1. The option has not gone down well with a section of the refugees who have threatened to launch an agitation to choke the roads leading to Mizoram. There are at least three groups representing the refugees. The Centre had in July signed an agreement with one of them - Mizoram Bru Displaced People's Forum - for repatriation of some 32,000 Brus to Mizoram by September 30. But a number of refugees have refused to budge unless some new demands are met. These include creation of an area development council for the Brus in Mizoram and payment of one-time Central assistance of Rs. 4 lakh per family before going back. There are 32,876 people belonging to the Bru community who are in relief camps in Tripura. The Brus had fled Mizoram in 1997 following an unrestand multiple efforts have been made since then to repatriate them. Around 8,000 Bru refugees have gone back to Mizoram since 1997 in six batchesand they have been living peacefully in the State.
79. GOVERNMENT LINKS PRAVASI DIVAS WITH KUMBH Fifteen years after then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee launched the „Pravasi Bharatiya Divas' (PBD, or Non-resident Indian Day) conference to mark the day Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa, the government has decided to move the date to facilitate NRI Kumbh Mela visitors, and "maximise their experience" during their visit to India. The 15th edition of the event will be held in January 2019 in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency, and close to the site of the „Ardh Maha Kumbh' in Allahabad. The participants will be taken by bus from Varanasi to Allahabad, after which they will travel by train to Delhi to witness the Republic Day parade. The PBD conference has been scheduled for January 7-9 since its inception in 2003. According to the MEA's website, "January 9 was chosen to celebrate this occasion since it was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest Pravasi, returned to India from South Africa, led India's freedom struggle and changed the lives of Indians forever."
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Explaining the shift after 14 years, MEA sources said the Ministry had received feedback that the event, which drew about 1,800 delegates from 72 countries in 2017, was increasingly being seen as a "talk-shop, without concrete results". Some members of the diaspora had reportedly asked Ms. Swaraj to consider shifting the date closer to the Kumbh Mela, to begin on January 14, 2019.
80. PLEA HIGHLIGHTS PLIGHT OF DETAINEES The Supreme Court sought responses from the Centre and the Assam government on the plight of families, who languish in the State's six detention centres as "declared foreigners", separated from each other and their children. A Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta admitted the petition filed by Harsh Mander, who speaking through his lawyer Prashant Bhushan, compared the situation of these families with the family separation policy imposed on illegal immigrants in the U.S. by the Trump administration. The petition, whose content was inspired from a report submitted by Mr. Mander as Minorities Monitor for the National Human Rights Commission, conveyed the helplessness of children who are just over six years' old, separated from their parents who are held inside these detention centres. Mr. Mander said the Indian juvenile justice laws should be made applicable to these children and to children of foreigners and those deemed to be foreigners.
81. RENEWED PUSH FOR STATEHOOD IN NORTHEAST Statehood movements have gathered momentum across the Northeast, with a renewed push for Bodoland, a proposed State comprising areas beyond the four districts under the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC). It is one of the oldest movements, since the 1960s. The Eastern Nagaland People's Organisation, a tribal body with sway in four of Nagaland's most backward districts, has stepped up its demand for the creation of the Frontier Nagaland State. The Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura, the BJP's ally in Tripura, raised pro-Statehood slogans while observing the 10thTwipraland Demand Day on August 23. The demand for carving out this separate State has been intermittent since 1997.
82. FIRST REVIEW MEETING OF DEPARTMENT OF OFFICIAL LANGUAGE The Union Home Minister chaired first review meeting of the Department of Official Language of MHA to discuss the functioning and issues related to implementation of Hindi language in official work. The Minster was informed that the department has developed a computer software called “Kanthasth”.
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It will be used for translating the all kinds of official files from English to Hindi and vice versa to make the translation work simpler and quicker. The Official language department has uploaded a dictionary of more than 15000 scientific and technical words on their website for technical usage. The Dept. has developed the Lila Mobile App for making the learning of Hindi language easier, which was launched on the occasion of Hindi Diwas last year. The Department has also started a virtual video conferencing for teaching Hindi in all the Indian language. An E-learning platform called the “Pravah” also being developed by the department for use in 16 Indian languages including English. It will be launched on Hindi Diwas on 14th September, 2018. Anybody can learn Hindi through his mother tongue with the help of this E-learning platform.
83. GANDHIJIS NAI TALIM Union HRD Ministry released the curriculum on Experiential Learning – Gandhijis Nai Talim. This curriculum was brought out simultaneously in 13 languages i.e., Assamese, Tamil, Bengali, Odiya, Kannada, Malyalam, Punjabi, Marathi, Telugu, Gujarati, Urdu, Hindi and English. It is in consultation with the state councils of educational research and training along with the universities in the country. The curriculum was a holistic approach of developing body, mind and soul (hand, head and heart), by making a productive art, craft or community engagement activity as the centre of learning. On the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi‟s upcoming 150th birth anniversary celebrations, a movement is on across the educational institutions in the country to promote Nai Talim, Work Education and Experiential Learning. A special effort is on school and teacher education in the areas of work education and experiential learning through the education departments of Universities as well as Central and State Governments and the SCERTs. Marking the occasion of Teacher‟s Day, the book titled “Experiential Learning – Gandhiji‟s Nai Talim is launched. The book contains basic principles of Gandhiji‟s Nai Talim (our notes and interpretations), along with the Work and Education curriculum for Schools, D.Ed, B.Ed and Faculty Development Programmes for teachers. This book and this project is a joint effort of the Universities in the state, state SCERT and Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education (MGNCRE), formerly known as National Council of Rural Institutes (NCRI).
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84. NATIONAL BOARD OF EXAMINATIONS National Board of Examinations (NBE) is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (India). It was established in 1975 at New Delhi as a Society under Delhi Society registration act, to standardizing postgraduate medical education and examination in India. The postgraduate degree awarded by the National Board of Examinations is called the Diplomate of National Board (DNB). The list of recognised qualifications awarded by the Board in various specialties and super-specialties are approved by the Government of India and are included in the First Schedule of Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. The National Board of Examinations conducts the largest portfolio of examinations in the field of medicine in India and perhaps at a Global level It provides trained manpower in the form of medical specialists to the country. NBE is credited with conducting maximum and largest number of examinations for Graduate and Post Graduate Doctors. NBE has been entrusted with task of conducting National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test – Post Graduate (NEET-PG) and NEET-SS which are the only examinations for admission to Broad and Super Specialty Medical courses respectively. NBE is also a nodal agency for conducting the licensing examination for Indian Citizens who have obtained their MBBS equivalent outside India. NBE has been providing more than 8000 specialists in modern medicine every year utilizing the existing infrastructure of Private and Government Hospitals. NBE has pioneered starting of Post Graduate courses in district hospitals of the country.
85. NATIONAL ORIENTATION WORKSHOP ON NATIONAL E-VIDHAN APPLICATION (NEVA) Inaugural Session of the two-day National Orientation workshop on National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) and new website and app of NeVA was organized by Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. The focus of the workshop would be to encourage all State Legislatures to move towards e-Vidhan platform. This will help bringing in transparency, accountability and responsiveness in their conduct of business, through the use of technology. NeVA is a member-centric, decentralized digital application that makes information available on digital platform about day to day functioning of Legislative Houses covering various businesses of the Houses. The application would host a secure page for each Member of the House for submitting Questions & other Notices. The mNeVA (NeVA-mobile app) is a device neutral and user friendly app that has made information on conduct of business in Legislatures accessible anytime, anywhere to everyone.
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It is a work-flow based app deployed in Cloud (Meghraj) which helps the Chair of the House to conduct the proceedings of the House smoothly and the members to carry out their duties in the House efficiently. NeVA has made live for Rajya Sabha in respect of Monsoon Session 2018 and information in respect of Lok Sabha is being updated. e-Vidhan is a Mission Mode Project to digitize and make the functioning of State Legislatures paperless. This is part of Digital India programme and Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, being the Nodal Ministry for this project. It desires to roll out e-Vidhan as NeVA covering all 40 Houses including two Houses of Parliament and thereby putting all them on a single platform and proving the theory of „One Nation One Application‟. It is to be used by the Legislatures as well as all the Government Departments. This journey began with a pilot project executed in Himachal Pradesh with the central assistance of Rs.8.12 crores which made the Shimla Legislative Assembly the first Assembly in India to go paperless in 2014. This project resulted into overall savings of about Rs.5.08 crores annually on account of expenditure on papers, printing, manpower costs and conservation of forests/ trees as ancillary benefits.
86. CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS OF DAKSHIN BHARAT HINDI PRACHAR SABHA Institutions like the Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha have played a very important role in strengthening the emotional unity of our country. The Sabha has developed a network of about 20,000 Hindi campaigners. Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha is an organisation whose main goal is to improve Hindi literacy among the non-Hindi speaking people of South Indi and is headquartered in Chennai. The organisation was established by Annie Besant with support from Mahatma Gandhi, who became the founder president of the Sabha, who held the post till his death. The first Hindi class here was taken by M. Gandhi‟s son Devdas Gandhi. In 1964, the institution was recognised by the Indian Government as one of the Institutes of National Importance. The Hindi movement in South India was started in the year 1918 by Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi saw the need to unite the northern and southern states of the country in the greatest interest of integration of the nation, as Hindi was spoken by the largest section of the people of India. Therefore, he founded this Sabha at Madras to propagate the study of Hindi in the then Madras Presidency and other princely states. Under this, Hindi training schools were started in Andhra and Tamil Nadu.
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By 1927, the Hindi Prachar Sabha emerged as an independent organization, and Mahatma Gandhi remained its president until his death in 1948. Gandhiji desired that the „Hindi Prachar„in the south should be carried on by involving the local people of the respective area.
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INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
INDIA AND PAKISTAN 1. INDIA INVITES PAKISTAN EXPERTS TO HYDEL SITES IN J&K India has invited Pakistan to visit sites of the Pakal Dul and Lower Kalnal hydro-electric projects on the Chenab. India and Pakistan concluded the 115th meeting of the India-Pakistan Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) in Lahore from August 29-30. The Indian delegation was led by P.K. Saxena, the Indian Commissioner for Indus Waters. He wasn‟t immediately available for comment. As per the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty 1960, technical discussions were held on implementation of various hydroelectric projects including Pakal Dul (1000 MW) and Lower Kalnai (48 MW) in Jammu and Kashmir. Both the countries agreed to undertake the Treaty-mandated tours of both the Indus Commissioners in the Indus basin on both sides. Deliberations were also held on further strengthening the role of the Permanent Indus Commission for matters under the Treaty. Though a routine affair, the talks in Lahore were the first bilateral engagement between India and Pakistan since Prime Minister Imran Khan took office. The last meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission was held in New Delhi in March.
CHINA 2. CHINA-AFRICA TIES HAVE BENEFITED BOTH As foreign guests begin their visit to Beijing for an Africa-China mega conference Chinese officials and state-media have gone into overdrive to showcase that ties between Africa and Beijing have benefited both. McKinsey report Titled, “Dance of the lions and dragons: How are Africa and China engaging, and how will the partnership evolve?” It demolishes the fable about China‟s resource driven “neocolonial” practices. Chinese officials cited McKinsey‟s findings ahead of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), during which 54 leaders and high-level representatives from Africa will conduct a three-day dialogue with their Chinese counterparts from September 3.
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Last year‟s McKinsey report, said that 89% of the workforce employed by Chinese companies was African. Nearly two-thirds of Chinese companies have provided skills training, while half offered apprenticeships, and a third had introduced a new technology for the local community.
3. XI OFFERS $60 BN AID TO AFRICA China has pledged a $60 billion fund to bolster industry, counter hunger, and enhance security in Africa, a continent that has been chronically plagued by piracy and terrorism. President Xi listed eight focal areas of funding that would premise the emergence of the “China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era”. Ahead of the presidential address, Chinese officials had cited a 2017 study by McKinsey, a U.S. consulting firm, which had spotlighted that China has become Africa‟s most important and unrivalled economic partner. Across trade, investment, infrastructure financing, and aid, no other country has such depth and breadth of engagement in Africa. President Xi highlighted China‟s intent to set up additional economic and trade cooperation zones to promote industrialisation in Africa. Local currency settlements, instead of hard currency usage such as the U.S. dollar, would be encouraged to settle transactions. ‘Debt trap’ diplomacy For financing, China will nudge African countries to tap new multilateral lenders such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the New Development Bank (NDB) of the emerging economies, as well as the Silk Road Fund marshalled by China. The Chinese have taken umbrage against allegations of involvement in “debt trap” diplomacy by saddling smaller countries with unplayable loans and using them as levers for political gain. President Xi stressed that out of the $60 billion that were on offer, $15 billion would be disbursed as aid, interest-free loans and concessional loans. A $20 billion credit line would be established, while another $10 billion would be channelled into a special fund for China-Africa development. A $5 billion special fund will also be set up only for African imports. China would also support Africa to achieve “general food security by 2030. Peace and security fund China would set up a peace and security fund in partnership with Africa. Apart from military aid to the African Union, Beijing will support countries in the Sahel region and others bordering the piracy-ridden Gulf of Aden and Gulf of Guinea. China has already established a naval base in Djibouti on the edge of the strategic Gulf of Aden, which links the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
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Mr. Xi said 50 China-Africa security assistance programmes will be launched under the flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). He also flagged a China-Africa “green envoys programme” that would muscle Africa‟s capacity for environmental management, pollution prevention and control, as well as green development. A China-Africa environmental cooperation centre will be set up where research on environmental issues will be conducted. Amid loud applause, President Xi also announced that China will train 1,000 high-calibre Africans, provide 50,000 government scholarships, sponsor seminars and workshops that would benefit 50,000 Africans, and invite 2,000 African youths to visit China for exchanges.
4. NEW ENTRANTS IN XI'S BELT AND ROAD DREAMS Later in September 2018, Hong Kong's first high-speed train will head for Guangzhou, a port city and industrial power house. Its 200-km-an-hour sprint will finally end in nearby Shenzhen, the crucible of China's reforms. The high-speed train will cover a short span of 141 km between Hong Kong's West Kowloon station and Guangzhou South station in 47 minutes flat. By linking up with Guangzhou, Hong Kong will be physically connected, and integrated, with China's vast web of high-speed rails. The world's biggest and still expanding, steel network of high-speed tracks already covers 25,000 km. Once Hong Kong is connected to the mainland through bullet train, Beijing will be just eight hours and 56 minutes away. Symbolically, the rail link represents Hong Kong's firmer economic and people-to-people integration into the mainland. However, Chinese planners have made it plain that closer Hong Kong-mainland ties will not infringe the "one-country-two systems" political formula, which guarantees the island's distinct identity, autonomous business-friendly rules and unique laws of governance. Hong Kong, a former British colony - a global financial centre as well as a world class port - can also pitch-in with badly needed funds to develop infrastructure in the Belt and Road space.
INDIA AND CHINA 5. CHINESE INTRUSIONS DECLINED BY 10% THIS YEAR There has been a 10% decline in the number of Chinese transgressions this year. The official said the presence of Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has also reduced by around 30%. The manpower has been substituted with powerful surveillance equipment.
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The official claimed that the transgressions dropped after the 73-day standoff between the Indian Army and the Chinese People's Liberation Army at Doklam on the China- Sikkim-Bhutan tri-junction near Nathu La in 2017. There are many incidents of border transgressions that are not being recorded by both sides. If it's reported, then it becomes part of the official record. The troops on both sides are communicating more and sorting out the differences.
CHINA AND PAKISTAN 6. CPEC WON'T LEAD TO A DEBT TRAP China has rejected accusations that its financial backing for the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was a "debt trap" that could compromise Islamabad's sovereignty. It has billed the Gwadar to Kashgar corridor as the flagship of China-led Belt and Road Initiative. Mounting a robust defence of its „no-strings-attached' backing for CPEC, China's visiting Foreign Minister Wang Yi asserted in Islamabad that among the 22 projects within the framework of CPEC, 18 involved investment and aid and only four of them used concessional loan. He stressed that 9 of these projects have already been completed and 13 are under construction. He also clarified that only $19 billion had been invested in the CPEC, which had generated 70,000 new jobs. Pakistan's Gen. Bajwa also reassured Mr. Wang that Pakistan was committed to firmly fight the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) as part of its counterterrorism effort. The ETIM was founded by Uighur separatists whose stated goal is to establish East Turkestan as a separate state in Xinjiang. In talks on Afghanistan, Mr. Wang spotlighted the undiminished relevance of the trilateral China-Pakistan-Afghanistan dialogue as a platform to align perceptions between Islamabad and Kabul. In 2017, at the inaugural meeting of the trilateral mechanism in Beijing, Mr. Wang had offered Afghanistan participation in CPEC. China has also apparently agreed to train an Afghan mountain brigade without putting any boots on the ground in Afghanistan.
7. PAKISTAN INVITES SAUDI ARABIA TO BE THIRD PARTNER IN CPEC Saudi Arabia will be the third "strategic partner" of the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a senior Pakistani Minister announced, soon after Prime Minister Imran Khan returned from his first foreign trip to the cash-rich kingdom. The CPEC is the flagship project of the multi-billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a pet project of Chinese President Xi Jinping, aimed at enhancing Beijing's influence around the world through China-funded infrastructure projects.
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The CPEC aims to construct and upgrade the transportation network, energy projects, a deep-water port at Gwadar and special economic zones to eventually support Pakistan's industrial development as a manufacturing hub by 2030.
NEPAL 8. NEPAL TO SKIP BIMSTEC MILITARY DRILL IN INDIA The Nepal Army has withdrawn from the first BIMSTEC military exercise to be held in Pune, India following a political row in the country over the participation in the event. The move came after strong criticism from different quarters, including influential leaders of the ruling Nepal Communist Party, on the decision to take part in the first-ever military exercise of the regional grouping initiated by India. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) comprises Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.
9. NEPAL'S NO TO DRILLS IS NOT A SNUB TO INDIA Nepal's decision not to participate in the India-proposed military exercise of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries is not a snub to New Delhi, but rather it signals that a new set of rules need to be evolved that will meld the collective interests of India, Nepal and China. China and Nepal are conducting the bilateral military exercise, „Sagarmatha Friendship- 2' in September 2018. India and Nepal also hold regular military exercises called Surya Kiran. Before we participate in such an exercise, it would be prudent if such proposals were channelled through the two-plus-one mechanism that China backs, after the Wuhan informal summit in April 2018 between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Analysts said that under this mechanism China and India can achieve consensus on thorny issues and through consultations with the third country involved, arrive at a mutually acceptable trilateral decision.
INDIA AND SRILANKA 10. INDIA NOT INVOLVED IN PALALY AIRPORT PROJECT India is not involved in developing Sri Lanka's northern Palaly airport, a senior Sri Lankan Minister has said, contradicting a statement by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
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Palaly is located some 20 km north of Jaffna. The Minister said, "We have no intention to hand over the airport to India or any other country." It also contradicted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's recent remarks that Sri Lanka would develop the northern airport into a regional hub with Indian assistance. In early 2014, the Northern Provincial Council passed a resolution calling for direct flights from Palaly and Trincomalee to India. Such a service is seen as an easier option for tourists, pilgrims and refugees. The last time flights operated between India and northern Sri Lanka was in the 1987- 1990 period, when the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was in the island on a controversial war-time operation.
INDIA AND BANGLADESH 11. INDIA-BANGLADESH JOINTLY UNVEIL E-PLAQUES FOR TWO PROJECTS PM Modi, and the Bangladeshi counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, jointly unveiled e-plaques for two projects, via video conference. The projects include: (a) India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (b) Dhaka-Tongi-Joydebpur Railway Project. The 129 km pipeline will connect Siliguri in West Bengal in India and Parbatipur in Dinajpur district of Bangladesh. The Rs 346 crore project will be completed in 30 months and the capacity of the pipeline will be one million metric tonnes per annum. The oil pipeline will supply high speed diesel to Bangladesh which is currently transported through cross-border train from Numaligarh refinery. Of the total length, 124 km will be constructed in Bangladesh and 5 km in India. The cross-border connectivity projects through Bangladesh complement India‟s Act East Policy and aim to smoothen connectivity with landlocked NE India. 80 km of the two new dual gauge rail lines would be constructed on the Dhaka-Tongi route while a 12.28 km new dual gauge railway double line on the Tongi-Joydevpur route. The railway project will bring relief to road traffic in Bangladesh. With these ports the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram will have another mode of transport, making the region more accessible. These accesses are granted as per GATT rules. The agreement, effective for five years initially, will be renewed automatically for another five years. While the pact will be signed between Bangladesh and India, later Nepal and Bhutan can join.
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NORTH KOREA 12. KIM AGREES TO ABOLISH MISSILE FACILITIES, ALLOW INSPECTIONS North Korea said that it would permanently abolish its key missile facilities in the presence of foreign experts, the latest gesture by leader Kim Jong-un to revive faltering talks with Washington. Speaking at a joint news conference in Pyongyang, Mr. Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said they agreed to turn the Korean Peninsula into a "land of peace without nuclear weapons and nuclear threats". They said the North was also willing to close its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon if the U.S. took unspecified "reciprocal action". U.S. President Donald Trump called the latest pledges "very exciting". Mr. Kim said he would visit Seoul in the near future, in what would be the first-ever visit to the South's capital by a North Korean leader. Mr. Moon said the visit was expected to take place by the end of the year. The leaders of the two Koreas also announced a series of steps to deepen bilateral exchanges in the economy, culture and sport. Though North Korea has unilaterally stopped nuclear and missile tests, it did not allow international inspections of the dismantling its only known nuclear test site in May 2018, drawing criticism. As a next step, North Korea will allow experts from "concerned countries" to watch the closure of its missile engine testing site and launch pad in the northwestern town of Dongchang-ri, according to a joint statement signed by Mr. Moon and Mr. Kim. The two Koreas agreed to begin construction to reconnect railways and roads linking the countries within this year. They also agreed to pursue a bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympic Games, and actively work together in other international competitions including the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
INDIA AND SOUTH KOREA 13. SOUTH KOREA WANTS TO ELEVATE TIES WITH INDIA One of the major foreign policy initiatives of President Moon Jae-in of South Korea is the government's „New Southern Policy', with a goal of deepening ties with South East Asian nations as well as India, and building an inclusive regional architecture in Asia. South Korea wants to build stronger ties with ASEAN and India on multiple fronts - economic, bilateral and strategic. India and South Korea have agreed to boost bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030 from $20 billion now.
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INDIA AND IRAN 14. PSU REFINERS TO USE IRANIAN TANKERS FOR OIL IMPORTS India will allow public sector refiners to import Iranian oil with Tehran arranging tankers and insurance after firms, including the country's top shipper Shipping Corp of India (SCI), halted voyages due to U.S. sanctions. New Delhi's attempt to keep Iranian oil flowing mirrors a step by China, where buyers are shifting nearly all their Iranian oil imports to vessels owned by National Iranian Tanker Co (NITC). The moves by the two top buyers of Iranian crude indicate that the Islamic Republic may not be fully cut off from global oil markets from November 2018, when U.S. sanctions against Tehran's petroleum sector are due to kick in. U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the re-imposition of economic curbs after withdrawing the U.S. from a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers. No one trading with Iran will do business with America. India wants to continue buying oil from Iran as Tehran is offering almost free shipping and an extended credit period.
15. HANDOVER OF CHABAHAR PORT ON TRACK India said Iran has stuck to the agreed time frame in its plans to hand over the operational responsibility of a part of the Chabahar port to an Indian entity in October 2018. The development came a day after official sources indicated that the U.S. would give a „carve-out' to India's investment in the project as it is strategically important to India. This was an important exception that India hoped to receive even as the United States indicated that it would expect India to reduce dependence on Iranian crude and „zero out' energy ties with Tehran.
INDIA AND UZBEKISTAN 16. UZBEK PRESIDENT TO INVITE INDIA TO JOIN AFGHAN RAIL PROJECT India will be invited to help with a key rail link in Afghanistan, during the visit of Uzbekistan‟s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The rail link of approximately 650 km, connecting the Afghan cities of Mazaar-e-Sharif and Herat, which may later be extended to
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Kabul, is a major project agreed to by President Ashraf Ghani and President Mirziyoyev in 2017, and many of the preliminary surveys for the project have already been completed. The project, for which Uzbekistan has already committed $500 million, could become another major regional connectivity project for India, after its construction of the Zaranj-Delaram Highway in Afghanistan and the Shahid Beheshti port in Chabahar, Iran. India is also committed to building another rail route, from Chabahar to Zahedan on the Iran-Afghan border, and President Mirziyoyev is keen to join the transit trade agreement signed by India, Afghanistan and Iran. The rail route to Herat, if extended to Kabul, would also link India‟s “air corridor”, allowing trade, especially dry fruits and agricultural produce to travel along the routes from India to Central Asia and back in much shorter time. Uzbekistan has held talks with Iran, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and China, which is already running a rail route into Uzbekistan under the Belt and Road Initiative, for the same project in the past few months.
INDIA AND KAZAKHSTAN 17. INDO-KAZAKHSTAN JOINT EXERCISE KAZIND 2018 The Joint Army Exercise will be conducted between the Indian and Kazakhstan Army in Otar region, Kazakhstan. This is the third joint military exercise between the two countries which have a history of extensive cooperation in the defence arena. The second edition of the exercise was held in India last year. The aim of the exercise is to build and promote bilateral Army to Army relations and exchange skills and experiences between Kazakhstan Army and the Indian Army. The vast experience and expertise of Indian troops in counter insurgency operations holds special importance to the Kazakhstan Army. The fourteen days exercise with the Kazakhstan Army will follow a graduated continuum from orientation to a full scale mock exercise. Another aim is to achieve optimum integration among the two contingents through enhanced mutual comprehension of each other‟s tactics, techniques and procedures. The conduct of the joint exercise will set the stage for greater defence cooperation and consequently will manifest in stronger ties between the two great nations.
QATAR 18. QATAR OFFERS PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS The tiny State of Qatar, where foreigners make up close to 90% of the population, has decided to grant permanent resident status to a select band of expatriates.
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This is a landmark decision for the natural gas-rich Gulf State, which has the highest per capita income in the world. The government has identified certain categories of people for eligibility to obtain the proposed permanent resident card. The card will allow the permanent residents to buy houses and properties as well and entitle them to several privileges. The preferred groups to obtain the card include: Qataris married to non-Qataris; those who provided great services to the country; and, those whose special competencies are necessary for the progress of Qatar. Those who were born abroad should have lived in Qatar for at least 20 years while those born in Qatar to expatriates should have lived in the country for at least 10 years. Of the 26 lakh population in Qatar, 23 lakhs are expatriates. In the recent times, following Qatar's feud with Saudi Arabia and its isolation from the Gulf Cooperation Council, Qatar relaxed its visa norms allowing easy entry to thousands of people every week. Qatar is racing ahead to hold the 2022 World Cup Football.
INDIA AND RUSSIA 19. TALKS ON FOR LOGISTICS DEAL WITH RUSSIA India and Russia are in the process of concluding a logistics agreement, with both sides targeting to conclude consultations before the annual summit in October between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The proposed agreement follows a series of such agreements India has signed since the first logistics agreement with the U.S. Draft from Moscow A draft logistics agreement has come from Russia. At the end of July, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had sent it to the Integrated Defence Staff and the three services for their comments. The Army and Navy have since sent back their observations on the draft. Another official said the agreement with Russia will be on the lines of those signed with the U.S. and France. The idea is to increase our operational flexibility and we thought we should do one with our long term partner Russia. Short timeline While the consultation process is on, officials are working against time to have the agreement ready by October. Drafts are being readied. It is work in progress. Timelines are tight but we will try and aim for the October summit.
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India signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Understanding (LEMOA), with the U.S. in August 2016 after a decade of negotiations. Since then it has concluded several such agreements with France, Oman, Philippines, Singapore and for access to the Sabang port in Indonesia. Australia too has sent a draft agreement. Logistics agreements are administrative arrangements facilitating access to military facilities for exchange of fuel and provisions on mutual agreement simplifying logistical support and increasing operational turnaround of the military when operating away from India.
RUSSIA AND ISRAEL 20. RUSSIA BLAMES ISRAEL AFTER PLANE SHOT DOWN IN SYRIA Syria accidentally shot down a Russian military aircraft, killing all 15 crew members, when its air defences swung into action against an Israeli missile strike, Russian and Israeli forces said. The Russian Ilyushin dropped off the radar over the Mediterranean moments after Turkey and Russia announced a deal that offered millions of people reprieve from a threatened military assault in northern Syria. There was no immediate word from Damascus, but the deadly air war sequence started when Israeli missiles struck the coastal region of Latakia. Israel confirmed that it had targeted a Syrian military facility where weapons manufacturing systems were "about to be transferred on behalf of Iran" to Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah. It expressed "sorrow" for the Russian deaths, but insisted the Russian plane had been felled by "extensive and inaccurate Syrian anti-aircraft (surface-to-air missile) fire". The plane downed by Syria's Russian-made S-200 air defence had a crew of 15, who were all killed, Moscow said. The Russian military claimed that Israeli pilots had attacked Syrian targets by using "the Russian plane as a cover, exposing it to fire from Syrian air defences". The Syrian blunder came hot on the heels of a major deal announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan after talks in Sochi. They agreed to create a 15-20 km-wide demilitarised zone in Idlib, along the line of conduct between rebels and regime troops.
RUSSIA AND SYRIA 21. RUSSIA TO SUPPLY S-300 MISSILE SYSTEM TO SYRIA Russia announced that it will supply an S-300 surface-to-air missile system to Syria in two weeks against strong Israeli objections, a week after it blamed Israel for indirectly causing the downing of a Russian military plane in Syria.
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The September 2018 crash, which killed 15 Russian service members, had forced Moscow to take adequate retaliatory measures to increase the safety of Russian military fighting international terrorism in Syria. Russia, which fights in Syria to support the government, has said Syria shot the IL-20 surveillance plane down by mistake shortly after Israeli jets hit a nearby target. Russia blamed Israel for creating dangerous conditions that caused the crash. Israel has struck Syria scores of times during the seven-year war.
INDIA AND U.K. 22. PRIDE AND PREJUDICES OVER FOREIGN AID Early in September 2018, British tabloid The Daily Express ran a headline lambasting British aid to India. The article pointed to the £98 million that Britain was set to spend on India between 2018 and 2020, which it insisted was roughly equivalent to the spend on the Chandrayaan-2 space probe. Despite millions suffering from disease and limited access to proper health care and education, India is a net donor of foreign aid, providing more assistance than it receives, in a "desperate" attempt to make itself a "serious player on the world stage". Britain's aid programme has come under increasing attack from the right in recent years, which has sought to contrast it with the austerity regime in the U.K. Among the focal points of criticism has been the passing of legislation in 2015, under former Prime Minister David Cameron, that committed Britain to spending 0.7% of its Gross National Income on aid every year. The debate around aid from Britain has been equally sensitive in India - even before the latest debate around foreign offers to assist the Kerala relief effort. Pranab Mukherjee told the Rajya Sabha in 2012 that India didn't need Britain's aid, while at the time The Daily Telegraph cited a leaked memo from former Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao suggesting that British development aid generated "negative publicity of Indian poverty".
INDIA AND JAPAN 23. BULLET TRAIN: JAPAN LENDS RS. 5,500 CRORE Japan has granted a loan of Rs. 5,500 crore for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project. The amount was part of the tranche 1 of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project (MAHSR). The Japan international Cooperation Agency (JICA), the funding body in charge of the bullet train project,
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simultaneously issued Rs. 1,600 crore for the metro rail system between Howrah Maidan to Salt Lake Sector V. The total amount of loan in tranche 1 for the project is 25,903 million Japanese Yen, about Rs. 5,500 crore.
U.S.A 24. LEHMAN WEEKEND: THE BIGGEST BANKRUPTCY IN AMERICAN HISTORY It was "Lehman Weekend." The moment in September 2008 when the 150-year-old investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed, precipitating the worst global economic crisis since the 1930s. After failing to find buyers for the troubled financial giant that was weighed down by risky debt holdings made up of atsub-prime mortgages U.S. authorities declined to offer a bailout and allowed the institution to fail. Monday, September 15, 2008, at 1:45 a.m., Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, taking the world by surprise leaving well over $600 billion in debt, as well as 25,000 employees in shock. It was the biggest bankruptcy in American history. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones plunged 500 points, the largest drop since the attacks of September 11, 2001. From 2005 to 2007, at the height of the real estate bubble, when mortgages were given to many homebuyers who could not afford them, and then packaged into securities and sold off, Lehman Brothers bought several mortgage brokerages and posted record profits. But in mid-2007, the losses began to build.
25. U.S. THREATENS SANCTIONS ON ICC, PROSECUTION OF OFFICIALS The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) said that its work would continue "undeterred" after Washington threatened to prosecute its officials if Americans are charged with war crimes committed in Afghanistan. White House National Security Adviser John Bolton called the Hague-based rights body "unaccountable" and "outright dangerous" to the United States, Israel and other allies, and said any probe of U.S. service members would be "an utterly unfounded, unjustifiable investigation". If the court comes after us, Israel or other U.S. allies, we will not sit quietly. The U.S. is prepared to slap financial sanctions and criminal charges on officials of the court if they proceed against any Americans. But in response, the ICC declared itself an "independent and impartial judicial institution". It also stressed that it would only investigate and prosecute crimes when the states will not or cannot do so. The Hague-based ICC was set up in 2002 with a jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute the world's worst crimes, including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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The court, however, does not have the capacity to arrest suspects and depends on member states for their cooperation. The United States has not signed up to the court and in 2002, its Congress passed a law enabling Washington to invade the Netherlands to liberate any U.S. citizen held by the court.
INDIA AND U.S.A. 26. TRADE TALKS STUCK AS U.S. PRESSES GAS, AIRCRAFT SALES TO INDIA India and the United States are in a deadlock over contentious trade issues after the Donald Trump administration sought a formal commitment of additional purchases of $10 billion annually for the next three years, as part of a trade agreement under negotiation. As both countries seek to reiterate their strategic partnership at the first 2+2 dialogue in New Delhi on 6 September, India is in the cross-hairs of economic nationalists in the Trump administration. India has a surplus of $23 billion in trade with America, and the U.S. wants to wipe that off by forcing more imports by New Delhi. Our concerns are steel and aluminium tariffs, and a number of agricultural tariffs. So is the India's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) status review. The U.S. has concerns... at this stage the discussions are going on. Postponed twice, India's retaliatory tariffs are now set to come into force on September 18. The USTR had launched a review of India's GSP status, that allows preferential treatment to certain number of specified goods from beneficiary countries, following complaints from AdvaDed, or Advanced Medical Technology Association, a group of companies that exports medical devices to India and a dairy association. American interlocutors took Indian officials by surprise with a draft agreement that committed additional imports by India, in civilian aircraft and natural gas. Meanwhile, there is a shadow of uncertainty over the Trade Policy Forum (TPF) that was announced for October 2018. India was expecting to negotiate general market access issues at the TPF, but the USTR wanted all of them resolved beforehand.
27. INDIA SIGNS LANDMARK DEFENCE PACT WITH U.S. India and the United States sealed the landmark Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) that will lead to a new generation of bilateral military partnership. Apart from the agreement that was signed at the end of the inaugural India-U.S. „2+2' Ministerial Dialogue, both sides called on Pakistan to stop terrorist strikes on "other countries" and urged for maritime freedom in the Indo-Pacific region.
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The COMCASA will allow the U.S. to transfer specialised equipment for encrypted communications for U.S.-origin platforms like C-17, C-130 and P-8I aircraft. It comes into force immediately and is valid for 10 years. While the text of COMCASA is confidential, officials said the government had negotiated an India-specific agreement and "specific additional provisions" had been incorporated in the text to safeguard security and national interests. India has now concluded three of the four foundational agreements with the U.S. that had been planned for years. India has already signed two of them - General Security Of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) in 2002 and the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016. The GSOMIA allows sharing of classified information from the U.S. government and American companies with the Indian government and defence Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) but not with Indian private companies. India and the U.S. will also hold a first-ever tri-service joint exercise on the east coast of India in 2019, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced. Ms. Sitharaman and Secretary of Defence James N. Mattis also announced their readiness to begin negotiations on an Industrial Security Annex (ISA) that would allow Indian private sector to collaborate with the U.S. defence industry. To further defence innovation, a Memorandum of Intent was signed between the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Indian Defence Innovation Organization - Innovation for Defence Excellence (DIO-iDEX), which will look into joint projects for co- production and co-development projects through the Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI). Ahead of the 10th anniversary of the 26/11 terror strikes in Mumbai, India and the U.S. resolved to combat international terrorism and asked Pakistan to bring those responsible for recent acts of terrorism against India to justice.
28. 2+2 TO TAKE FULL VIEW OF TIES U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and U.S. Secretary of Defence General James Mattis, arrived in New Delhi for the inaugural "2 plus 2" dialogue with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. India's defence ties with Russia and energy links with Iran not be the primary focus of the dialogue. The dialogue is the highest-level discussion of the year between the two countries. The discussion is expected to take a comprehensive look at strategic ties between India and the U.S. On top of the discussion is the likely US plans to have a landmark agreement on communication and coordination on security issues - COMCASA and sale of high tech military items.
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The COMCASA agreement will allow exchange of secure communication between the two militaries and facilitate the sale of high tech encryption systems to India. Some experts have cautioned that signing the deal might expose India's critical security communication to the United States. The U.S. has been demanding that India "zero out" energy supply from Iran, even as Delhi has avoided spelling out how exactly it would comply with the American demand. The other major U.S. concern is the S400 missile defence shield worth $6 billion that India plans to acquire from Russia.
29. COMCASA TO HELP KEEP A WATCH OVER INDIAN OCEAN The foundational agreement Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) which India concluded with the U.S. at the 2+2 dialogue will enable Indian military to get a better picture of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) which is seeing increasing Chinese movements. With CISMOA [COMCASA is an India-specific version of CISMOA], Indian armed forces will get to fully exploit the capability of the military platforms procured from the US. For instance, the P-8I reconnaissance aircraft of the Navy which have emerged as a major force multiplier are currently operating at limited capacity. As a consequence of CISMOA, India will get access to Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System, or CENTRIXS, which is the secure communication system network of the US. Navy ships with CENTRIXS on board can communicate securely with the U.S. Navy when needed and can benefit from the wider situational picture of the region as they have a large number of ships and aircraft deployed. This will reduce the stress on our assets and allow us prioritise our deployments more efficiently. Even within the system there are also specific codes/keys which have to be verified by both sides to enable communication or access information. According to information on the U.S. Navy website, "CENTRIXS consists of a collection of coalition wide area networks (WAN) known as enclaves" and is a "great enabler, allowing ship-to-ship operational dialogue between the two nations in text and web- based formats." So far in joint exercises, Indian Navy used to temporarily plug in portable CENTRIXS systems to communicate with U.S. assets. However, there are persistent concerns that this would allow U.S. Navy access to India's own secure communication network and also that the information shared with the U.S. will be accessible by Pakistan. Officials brushed aside these fears as specific measures have been incorporated in the agreement to "have full access to the relevant equipment and there will be no disruptions".
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30. LEMOA ALREADY FULLY OPERATIONAL The India-U.S. foundational agreement for mutual logistics support, the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), has been fully operationalised over the past few months. Earlier in September 2018, India concluded the third foundational agreement, Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), which is meant for secure encrypted communications. COMCASA, which was signed at the 2+2 dialogue, is an India-specific version of the Communication and Information on Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA). India had concluded the LEMOA in August 2016 in a culmination of a decade of negotiations between the two countries. The pact gives both countries access to designated military facilities on either side for the purpose of refuelling and replenishment in primarily four areas - port calls, joint exercises, training and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. The SOPs include designating the points of contact for the U.S. military to work with, and set up, a common account for payments. So far, the three services had individual accounts from which payments were being made during military exercises. The SOPs are applicable to all three services. Each service has a designated LEMOA officer. The biggest beneficiary of the LEMOA is the Indian Navy, which interacts and exercises the most with foreign Navies. The Navy has a fuel exchange agreement with the U.S. for fuel transfer on the high seas, which is set to expire in November 2018. Now fuel exchange gets subsumed into the LEMOA and does away with the need for a separate agreement. With COMCASA, India has signed three of the four foundational or enabling agreements with the U.S. meant to improve interoperability between the militaries and allow transfer of high-end military platforms. The first one, the General Security Of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), which is for information safety, was signed in 2002. The last one remaining is the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo- spatial Cooperation (BECA).
U.S.A. AND INDIA AND CHINA 31. TRUMP WANTS TO STOP SUBSIDIES TO GROWING ECONOMIES LIKE INDIA, CHINA President Donald Trump said he wants to stop the subsidies that growing economies like India and China have been receiving as he wants the U.S., which he considers as a "developing nation," to grow faster than anybody.
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He also accused the World Trade Organization (WTO) of allowing China to become a "great economic power". Mr. Trump also warned he was ready to slap tariffs on virtually all Chinese imports into the United States, threatening duties on another $267 billion of goods on top of $200 billion in imports primed for levies in coming days. China has threatened retaliation, which could include action against U.S. companies operating there. Mr. Trump has already imposed 25% tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, mostly industrial machinery and intermediate electronics parts, including semiconductors.
U.S.A AND CHINA 32. U.S., CHINA STEP UP TRADE WAR, SLAP TIT-FOR-TAT TARIFFS The trade rivalry between the U.S. and China escalated to an unprecedented level, with both countries announcing new tariffs on imports from each other. The U.S. has announced 10% tariff on $200 billion of imports from China, whose retaliatory tariffs between 5% and 10% will apply to $60 billion of imports from the U.S. The new tariffs on both sides will go into effect on September 24. With the new announcements, U.S. tariffs will apply to $250 billion of Chinese goods and Chinese tariffs will apply to $110 billion of U.S. goods. The rate of the new tariffs will be raised to 25% by the end of 2018. Around 5,000 American items are expected to face the new measures, including aircraft, soya bean oil, smoked beef, coffee and flour, according to a provisional list released in August 2018.
U.S.A AND PAKISTAN 33. U.S. TO CANCEL $300 MN AID TO PAKISTAN The U.S. military plans to cancel $300 million in aid to Pakistan due to Islamabad's lack of "decisive actions" in support of American, South Asia Strategy in the region. The U.S. has been pushing Pakistan to crack down on militant safe havens in the country, and announced a freeze on aid at the beginning of the year that an official said could be worth almost $2 billion.
U.S.A AND SYRIA 34. TRUMP WARNS SYRIA, RUSSIA, IRAN AGAINST IDLIB ‘TRAGEDY' U.S. President Donald Trump warned Syria against launching an attack on the country's last rebel stronghold with the help of Russia and Iran, saying the offensive could trigger a "human tragedy". The warning came as Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javed Zarif met with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in a surprise visit to Damascus ahead of the looming offensive.
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Syrian forces are amassing around the northwestern province of Idlib, in preparation for the assault. The UN and aid groups have warned that a full assault on Idlib could spark a humanitarian catastrophe on a scale not yet seen in Syria's seven-year-old conflict. Russian warplanes resumed bombing Idlib province after a 22-day pause. The air raids "came a day after rebel units in Idlib hit regime positions in neighbouring Latakia province.
35. LEADERS FAIL TO AGREE ON IDLIB TRUCE The Presidents of Turkey, Iran and Russia failed to agree on a ceasefire that would forestall a Syrian government offensive in rebel-held Idlib province which the UN fears could cause a humanitarian catastrophe involving tens of thousands of civilians. Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russia's Vladimir Putin and Iran's Hassan Rouhani, meeting in Tehran for a summit of key foreign players in Syria's war, agreed in a final statement that there could be no military solution to the conflict and it could only end through a negotiated political process. But as Syrian government and Russian warplanes mounted air strikes in Idlib in a possible prelude to a full-scale offensive, Mr. Putin and Mr. Rouhani pushed back against Mr. Erdogan's call for a truce. The Turkish leader said he feared a massacre and Turkey could not accommodate any more refugees flooding over its border. Mr. Putin said a ceasefire would be pointless as it would not involve Islamist militant groups it deems terrorists. Mr. Rouhani said Syria must regain control over all its territory. Idlib is the insurgents' only remaining major stronghold and a government offensive could be the war's last decisive battle. Tehran and Moscow have helped Syrian President Bashar al-Assad turn the course of the war against an array of opponents ranging from Western-backed rebels to the Islamist militants, while Turkey is a leading opposition supporter and has troops in the country. The seven-year-old war which has killed more than half a million people and forced 11 million to flee their homes. The Assad government was not directly represented at the summit, nor were the United States and other Western powers. Mr. Rouhani said the United States should end its presence in Syria, while Mr. Erdogan said Turkey was "extremely annoyed" by Washington's support for the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, whom Ankara considers as terrorists linked to Kurdish separatists in Turkey.
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INDIA AND CYPRUS 36. INDIA, CYPRUS VOW TO CURB MONEY LAUNDERING India and Cyprus signed two agreements on combating money laundering and cooperation in the field of environment as President Ram Nath Kovind met his Cypriot counterpart Nicos Anastasiades and held wide-ranging talks here. Economic cooperation Mr. Kovind and Mr. Anastasiades exchanged views on economic cooperation. India was the fastest growing major economy in the world today with a growth rate of 8.2% last quarter. In this context and given Cyprus‟ niche expertise in financial services and investment banking, both of us agreed that there was much scope to deepen our investment partnership. This agreement would further strengthen the institutional framework to facilitate investment cross-flows. President also emphasised that the revision in the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement made in 2016 provided greater opportunities for our investment partnership to grow.
37. ROOT OUT TERROR: BIMSTEC Describing terrorism as a “great threat” to international peace and security, India and six other BIMSTEC nations called for identifying and holding accountable states and non-state entities that encourage, support or finance terrorism, provide sanctuaries to terrorists and falsely extol their virtues. The BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) is a regional grouping comprising India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. The Kathmandu Declaration issued at the end of the two-day fourth BIMSTEC summit, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, deplored terror attacks in all parts of the world, including in BIMSTEC countries, and stressed that there could be no justification for any act of terrorism. Great threat Terrorism and transnational organised crimes continue to pose a great threat to international peace and security including in the BIMSTEC countries. The unanimously adopted declaration said the “fight against terrorism should target not only terrorists, terror organisations and networks but also identify and hold accountable states and non-state entities that encourage, support or finance terrorism, provide sanctuaries to terrorists and terror groups and falsely extol their virtues.”
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The declaration did not name any specific country, but Pakistan is often accused by its neighbours, including India, of providing safe havens to terrorists. The declaration underlined the importance of multidimensional connectivity, which promotes synergy among connectivity frameworks in the region, as a key enabler to economic integration for shared prosperity. A MoU was signed on establishment of the BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection. The MoU provides for optimisation of using energy resources in the region & promotion of efficient & secure operation of power system.
38. BIMSTEC EMBARRASSMENT FOR INDIA India is facing an embarrassing situation at the first-ever military exercise of the regional grouping BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) with Nepal and Thailand backing out from sending full contingents. Nepal also conveyed that its Army Chief would not be able to attend the Chiefs' conclave at the exercise. The official communication from the Nepal Army was that "it was a political decision." The MILEX 18 exercise, being held from September 10 to 16 at the Aundh Military Station in Pune, is aimed at helping BIMSTEC nations practise "planning and conduct of counter terrorist operations". The exercises were proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his speech at the 4th BIMSTEC summit in Kathmandu in August 2018 that brought together leaders of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka from South Asia and Myanmar, and Thailand. Interestingly, Nepal is scheduled to hold its second military exercise with China in September 2018. Each country was asked to send a contingent of 30 personnel including five officers and 25 soldiers in addition to three observers.
39. SAARC MEET TO ALLOW INDIA-PAKISTAN INTERFACE The first face-to-face engagement between the new Pakistani government and India could come later in September 2018 when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan‟s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi attend the SAARC (South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation) Council of Ministers‟ meeting in New York, officials in Delhi and Islamabad confirmed. However, they said there were no plans “so far” for a one-on-one meeting between the two Ministers on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), which begins on September 25. There has been little movement in scheduling the SAARC summit due to be held in Pakistan, after it was called off in 2016 following the Uri attack.
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Nepal, which hosted the last SAARC summit in Kathmandu in November 2014, has been keen to pass on its chairmanship of the regional grouping, which it can do only when India and other members agree to attend the summit in Islamabad.
40. UN BEGINS TALKS ON TREATY TO PROTECT IMPERILLED HIGH SEAS United Nations kicked-off talks on a 2020 treaty that would regulate the high seas, which cover half the planet yet lack adequate environmental protection. Four sessions of talks, each lasting two weeks, are planned to take place over two years, with the goal of protecting marine biodiversity and avoiding further pillaging of the oceans. The negotiations will relate to spaces beyond national jurisdictions, or areas that belong to no country in particular. Talk will focus on the high seas and the international zone of marine waters, or about 46% of the planet's surface. In 1982, the UN adopted the Convention on the Law of the Sea, but left the high seas free from restrictions. All States enjoy the traditional freedoms of navigation, overflight, scientific research and fishing on the high seas. The convention took effect in 1994, without the participation of the U.S. Since then, shipping routes have expanded considerably, and the resources of the ocean deep have aroused significant interest, whether by fishing or mineral extraction. Some whale-hunting nations, like Japan, Iceland and Norway, are expected to be more cautious than others because they fear overly strict fishing restrictions. The U.S. is also reticent because it is opposed to all regulation of marine genetic resources and it did not ratify the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
41. UN GETS ACCESS TO RAKHINE FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE AUGUST 2017 The UN began work inside Myanmar's violence-torn northern Rakhine State, the first time its agencies have been granted permission to operate there since more than 7,00,000 Rohingya Muslims fled the area in 2017. The UN has been waiting for access to the epicentre of the military's "clearance operations" against the Rohingya minority since June 2018 when its refugee and development agencies signed a deal with the government. Specialists from the UNHCR and the UNDP were finally given permission to enter northern Rakhine.
42. INDIA AND THE UN TO SIGN A FIVE-YEAR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK NITI Aayog and United Nations are set to sign the Government of India-United Nations Sustainable Development Framework (UNSDF) for 2018-2022.
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The Framework outlines the work of UN agencies in India, to support the achievement of key development outcomes that are aligned to the national priorities. The NITI Aayog is the national counterpart for the UN in India for the operationalization of the UNSDF. Nineteen (19) UN agencies have signed on the UNSDF 2018-2022. The UNSDF 2018-22 comprises of seven priority areas that outline the work that UN agencies will undertake jointly or individually, fully aligned with the priorities of the GoI. The seven priority areas outlined in the UNSDF are: Poverty and Urbanization; Health, Water, and Sanitation; Education and Employability; Nutrition and Food Security; Climate Change, Clean Energy, and Disaster Resilience; Skilling, Entrepreneurship, and Job Creation; Gender Equality and Youth Development.
43. UN HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF ASKS EGYPT TO OVERTURN MASS DEATH SENTENCES UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet urged Egypt's appeals court to overturn mass death sentences handed down by a lower court after what she said was an "unfair trial". An Egyptian court delivered death sentences to 75 people, including prominent Islamist leaders Essam al-Erian and Mohamed Beltagi, over a 2013 sit-in that ended with security forces killing hundreds of protesters. Defendants were denied the right to individual lawyers and to present evidence, while the prosecution did not provide sufficient evidence to prove individual guilt. The sentencing, which included jail terms for more than 600 others, concluded a mass trial of people accused of murder and inciting violence during the pro-Muslim Brotherhood protest at Rabaa Adawiya square in Cairo. The decision can be appealed within 60 days.
44. BREAKTHROUGH ACHIEVED IN RCEP TALKS, CLAIMS INDIA Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said that the negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) would not end in 2018, but would spill over to 2019, even as officials said there was a breakthrough in understanding India's concerns at the meeting in Singapore on August 30-31. According to Mr. Prabhu, the 16-nation group accepted some key demands from India: on differential tariff regimes for different country groups like China, and in allowing a 20-year implementation period of the agreement. The preferential trade agreement is been negotiated for more than six years now. Earlier reports had indicated that India would face a stark choice between agreeing to end RCEP negotiations by a deadline at the end of 2018, or to step back from the
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negotiations, while other countries including the 10 ASEAN nations, China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, went on. Another key area where India scored, according to officials, was in establishing a linkage between services and goods negotiations, given that some countries were not as welcoming of allowing movement of labour. Of the 16 countries that have been negotiating for the RCEP, India does not have Free Trade Agreements with three countries - Australia, New Zealand and China, for which negotiations will now be separately held, in a "bilateral pairing mechanism".
45. EU PARLIAMENT BACKS COPYRIGHT REFORM The European Parliament approved a controversial EU copyright law that hands more power to news and record companies against Internet giants like Google and Facebook. Backing the copyright draft were traditional media. European lawmakers were sharply divided on the copyright issue, with both sides engaging in some of the most intense lobbying the EU has ever seen. Despite uncertainty ahead of the vote, MEPs meeting in Strasbourg ended up passing the draft law with 438 votes in favour, 226 against, and 39 abstentions. The text MEPs settled on compromised on ways news organisations will charge companies for links to content, with platforms free to use "a few words" of text, according to a key amendment. It also spared small companies from so-called upload filters that will make platforms - such as YouTube or Facebook - liable for copyright breaches and force them to automatically delete content by violators. The bitter lobbying battle, which will continue behind the scenes, was over two parts of the planned law. The first and most contentious was provision Article 13, which would make platforms like Google-owned YouTube legally liable if their users share copyrighted material, to prevent content producers being ripped off. The second key disputed provision was Article 11. This would create a so-called "neighbouring right", meaning that newspapers, magazines, and news agencies would receive a fee when web services provided a link to their stories.
46. NO PREFERENTIAL DEAL FOR EU CITIZENS EU and non-EU citizens, including those from India and Australia, could have the same immigration rights after Brexit, British Prime Minister Theresa May indicated. The issue of preferential rights for EU citizens has been a controversial issue throughout the referendum campaign and afterwards. During the referendum campaign, some politicians courted voters from the South Asian diaspora with promises that Brexit - by enabling Britain to restrict the rights of EU
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citizens to travel to the U.K. - could provide the government with the capacity to ease rules for those from non-EU countries. The Prime Minister has faced growing pressure over her Brexit plan - which has come to be dubbed as the "Chequers Plan" (after the location at which it was forged) that would result in Britain maintaining a common rulebook for goods, including agricultural products, with the EU after Brexit. However, the plan faced criticism from within her own party, and triggered the resignation of Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who recently referred to her plans as a "suicide vest".
47. MAY HITS BACK AT EU, SAYS GOVERNMENT WON'T ALTER BREXIT OFFER British Prime Minister Theresa May said her government would not alter its Brexit offer, as she hit back at the rejection of her so-called Chequers Plan by EU leaders. She insisted that the EU's demand that Britain remain in the European Economic Area and customs union would "make a mockery" of Britain's 2016 referendum. The other option being presented by Europe, which would involve a basic free trade agreement, would maintain a hard border in Ireland and was unworkable, unacceptable and could never be agreed to by any British Prime Minister. Following the two-day summit in the Austrian city of Salzburg, European Commission President Donald Tusk said Ms. May's proposals - dubbed the Chequers Plan after the Prime Ministerial retreat at which they were forged over the summer - which would keep Britain closely aligned to the EU's single market on agriculture and goods (but not services) via a common rule book "will not work" because it risked undermining the single market. The People's Vote campaign set out six scenarios in which a second public vote could be called, including through the rejection in Parliament of the deal negotiated with the EU, or if no deal had been reached by January 21.
48. INDIA RANKS 158TH IN ‘HUMAN CAPITAL’ SCORE India ranks 158th out of 195 countries for its investments in education and health care, according to the first-ever scientific study ranking countries for their levels of investment in human capital. The study is based on analysis of data from government agencies, schools, and health care systems. The nation is placed behind Sudan (ranked 157th) and ahead of Namibia (ranked 159th) in the list. The U.S. is ranked 27th, while China is at 44th and Pakistan at 164th. South Asian countries ranking below India in this report include Pakistan (164), Bangladesh (161) and Afghanistan (188).
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Countries in the region that have fared better than India in terms of human capital include Sri Lanka (102), Nepal (156), Bhutan (133) and Maldives (116). India is falling behind in terms of health and education of its workforce, which could potentially have long-term negative effects on the economy.
49. G-4 FOR UN SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM, MULTILATERALISM India and other Group-4 (G-4) countries reaffirmed their commitment to multilateralism and called for the early reform of the UN Security Council (UNSC). Foreign Ministers of G4 India, Brazil, Japan and Germany stressed that adapting the UN to the contemporary needs of the 21st century necessarily required reforming the Security Council. G-4 Ministers noted that despite an overwhelming majority of UN member states supporting Security Council reform, the negotiations launched in 2009 have not produced substantive progress over the 10 years. Germany and Japan contribute one-fifth of the UN budget while the four countries together have one-fifth of the world population. Given the American disinterest in the UN and other multilateral bodies, China, one of the five permanent members of the UNSC, has slowed down the move to expand the body, according to diplomats tracking the process. The U.S. has no active opposition to the demand of these four countries to be included as permanent members of the UNSC, but the Trump administration has taken a benign approach to the proposed reform. In his U.N. speech, Mr. Trump attacked the UN Human Rights Council and the International Criminal Court. “America is governed by Americans. We reject the ideology of globalism, and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism,” Mr. Trump said in the speech that made sweeping accusations against multilateral institutions.
50. 3RD ASEM CONFERENCE ON ‘GLOBAL AGEING AND HUMAN RIGHTS OF OLDER PERSONS’ Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment left for Seoul (Korea) for the 3rdASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Conference on „Global Ageing and Human Rights of Older Persons‟. The experience gained from the Conference will be beneficial for Policy formulation and implementation for welfare of senior citizens. The 3-day Conference will reaffirm the universal value of the human rights of older persons. It aims to share information on discrimination against the elderly and exemplary cases of long-term and palliative care in Asia and Europe.
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It will also discuss operation and tasks of the ASEM Global Ageing Centre as an implementing institution for mutual cooperation among ASEM members for the protection and promotion of the human rights of older persons.
51. INDIA FOCUS COUNTRY IN IZMIR INTERNATIONAL TRADE SHOW The Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) led a75-member Indian delegation for the ongoing 87th Izmir International Trade Show in Turkey. The delegation had several B2B meetings and business tie-ups with members of the Turkish business community. India is the Focus Country in the trade show with a standalone pavilion named „Source India‟. The India Pavilion is a multi-product pavilion, including companies displaying products like ceramics, cereals and mechanical appliances. These events serve the purpose of opening new areas for co-operation in trade and investment between India and the rest of the world. Bilateral trade between the two countries was $7 billion in 2017, an increase of 8% over the previous year. There is a huge potential for tie-ups between Indian and Turkish agriculture and food processing sectors. The collaborations may range from farming technology, high yielding varieties, farm machinery, food processing and cold storage.
52. MOU ON COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH ON DISTRIBUTED LEDGER & BLOCK CHAIN TECHNOLOGY The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Collaborative Research on Distributed Ledger and Blockchain Technology. This is in the context of Development of digital economy by Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) with the participating member banks, under the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism. A distributed ledger is a database that is consensually shared and synchronized across network spread across multiple sites, institutions or geographies. It allows transactions to have public “witnesses,” thereby making a cyberattack more difficult. The MoU intends to enhance understanding of Distributed Ledger/Block Chain technology, through the joint research efforts to identify areas within respective business operations where it may have the potential for applications aimed at enhancing the operational efficiencies. Distributed Ledger/Blockchain technology holds potential for solutions to various challenges being faced in the financial sector space of the BRICS nations.
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The Xiamen Declaration signed in China on digital economy by the BRICS leaders had highlighted the importance of the digital economy and how the BRICS nations could leverage the thriving and dynamic digital economy that will foster global economic development and benefit everyone.
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ECONOMY
1. GDP GROWS 8.2% IN APRIL-JUNE The Indian economy grew 8.2% the highest in two years in the April-June quarter, driven by robust growth in the manufacturing, construction and farm sectors. The figures raised hopes of a higher than estimated annual growth of 7.5%. The pace of growth was the highest since the 9.3% rise reported for the January- March quarter of 2016. The latest figures, however, come on a lower base of 5.6% growth in the first quarter of 2017-18. The manufacturing sector grew 13.5% in the first quarter of 2018-19, as against a contraction of 1.8% a year earlier, while the construction sector grew 8.7% as compared to a growth of 1.8% in the first quarter of last year. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at constant (2011-12) prices in the first quarter of 2018-19 is estimated at Rs. 33.74 lakh crore as against Rs. 31.18 lakh crore in Q1 of 2017-18. Despite an uncertain international environment and volatile crude oil prices, India‘s sustained growth reflects its strong resilience to adverse global conditions, because of strong economic fundamentals.
2. RE HITS 71 ON OIL PRICE The rupee hit the psychological mark of 71 against the U.S. dollar for the first time as month-end dollar demand from importers continued amid inching up of crude prices. Emerging market currencies are under pressure and this has weighed on the rupee too. The dollar index continues to remain higher on expectations of aggressive interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve. The Indonesian rupiah slid to a two-decade low, its lowest since the Asian financial crisis of 1998. Experts said the RBI had not been intervening aggressively to defend the rupee, which has depreciated more than 9% against the dollar in 2018. On the domestic front, the intensity of RBI‘s intervention has dissipated. While there is complete lack of communication from the RBI, comments from officials from the government and quasi-government agencies give the impression that they support this fall in the rupee‘s value in the interests of competitiveness.
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Worst performer The rupee is the worst performer among emerging market Asian currencies. The depreciation bias and momentum would continue in the near term which has implications for exporters, importers and borrowers in foreign exchange. This momentum could dissipate if not reverse suddenly and the way to ‗play‘ the rupee market in the near term is through continuous monitoring of this momentum bias. The fall also weighed on the equity markets as the Sensex lost 45.03 points to close at 38,645.07 with 14 of its constituents ending in the red. Index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, Maruti, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank lost ground. The Nifty of the NSE settled the day at 11,680.50, down by a marginal 3.7 points.
3. GOVERNMENT MOVES TO STABILISE RUPEE The government announced a set of five measures aimed at supporting the rupee, which has been under pressure, and ensuring that the current account deficit stays in control. The government will also take necessary steps to cut down non-essential imports and increase exports. To attract more foreign portfolio investors (FPI) into the corporate debt market, the government has said it will review a couple of restrictions on their investments. The condition that FPIs' investment in a single corporate entity cannot exceed 20% of its corporate bond portfolio will be reviewed. The condition that FPIs cannot invest more than 50% of an issue of corporate bonds will also be reviewed. In a bid to push Indian corporates to take the masala bond route, the government has exempted all such bond issues until March 31, 2019, from withholding tax. It has also said it will remove restrictions on Indian banks on market-making for such bonds and on underwriting them. Masala bonds Masala bonds are rupee-denominated instruments issued abroad by Indian borrowers. The advantage of these bonds is that any depreciation in the rupee will not affect the borrower. The government has also said it will review the mandatory hedging condition for infrastructure loans borrowed under the external commercial borrowing (ECB) route. Presently there is no compulsion on borrowers to hedge these loans. The fifth measure is that manufacturing companies borrowing up to $50 million through ECBs will be able to do so only for a one-year term as against the three-year term allowed earlier. The decisions were taken at a meeting where the RBI Governor Urjit Patel made a presentation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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4. FINANCIAL SAVINGS ARE UP, BUT CASH IS KING AGAIN FY18 deposits fell below pre-demonetisation levels savers halved deposits to Rs. 4.7 lakh cr. but added the same sum in currency. Indian households are traditionally known to spirit away their surpluses in land, property and gold, depriving the economy of capital for more productive uses. Therefore, data presented in RBI's latest Annual Report showing that households sharply raised their financial savings in FY18 is cause for celebration. Gross financial savings recorded a jump from 9.1% of gross national disposable income in FY17, to 11.1% in FY18, the highest reading in the last seven years. But the data hides some disquieting trends too. In FY17, bank deposits absorbed 70% of the incremental financial savings of households, or 6.3% of their disposable income. Savings in hard currency were negative as demonetisation forced householders to ferret out their cash holdings and park it with banks. This trend continued, that have would meant more resources for lending to government and industry but RBI data shows that, in FY18, households went right back to hoarding cash in their mattresses. The proportion of disposable income that went into bank deposits plummeted from 6.3% to 2.9% in FY18. Savings in hard currency shot up from a negative 2% to a positive 2.8% in FY18. One can only speculate as to why they did this. Expectations of higher inflation and dismal interest rates on deposits may have prompted savers to sit on cash while they re- evaluated their options. Or, faith in the banking system may have been shaken by scary news on bad loans, bail-ins and mega fraud. While banks were losers, marked-linked products reaped a bonanza. ‗Shares and debentures', a category of financial savings, saw a significant jump in FY18. This includes investments in shares and bonds issued by both the private and public sectors and units of mutual funds. Recent studies have flagged the millennials' aversion to savings, and affinity for debt but the jump in loans could also be a sign of small businesses borrowing more to tide over tough times. After all, the official definition of ‗household sector' in national income accounting also covers family-owned businesses which make up the bulk of India's informal sector.
5. WHY IS A PUBLIC CREDIT REGISTRY IMPORTANT? Recently, RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya made a case for setting up a Public Credit Registry (PCR), incorporating unique identifiers: Aadhaar for individual borrowers and Corporate Identification Number for firms. A public credit registry is an information repository that collates all loan information of individuals and corporate borrowers.
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A credit repository helps banks distinguish between a bad and a good borrower and accordingly offer attractive interest rates to good borrowers. PCR will address issues such as information asymmetry, improve access to credit and strengthen the credit culture among consumers. A PCR may also help raise India's rank in the global ease of doing business index. The committee has suggested the registry should capture all loan information and borrowers be able to access their own history. Data is to be made available to stakeholders such as banks, on a need-to-know basis. Data privacy will be protected. Credit information is now available across multiple systems in bits and pieces and not in one window. Data on borrowings from banks, non-banking financial companies, corporate bonds or debentures and external commercial borrowings, among others, are not available in one data repository. PCR will help capture all relevant information about a borrower, across different borrowing products. It can flag early warnings on asset quality by tracking performance on other credits. PCR in other countries now include other transactional data such as payments to utilities like power and telecom for retail consumers and trade credit data for businesses. Regularity in making payments to utilities and trade creditors provides an indication of the credit quality of such customers.
6. CAD WIDENS ON HIGHER TRADE DEFICIT The current account deficit (CAD) in the first quarter of 2018-19 increased by $0.8 billion. The CAD stood at $15.8 billion (2.4% of GDP) in Q1 of 2018-19 as compared with $15 billion (2.5% of GDP) in Q1 of 2017-18, The widening of the CAD on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis was primarily on account of a higher trade deficit at $45.7 billion as compared with $41.9 billion a year ago. This is not a surprise and is in line with our expectation. Our forecast is that the average CAD for fiscal 2018-19 will be 2.6% of the GDP as compared to the average of 1.9% of the GDP in fiscal 2017-18. Which means CAD is going to go up in the second quarter. You know oil prices are on a rise.
7. RETAIL INFLATION EASES TO 3.69% IN AUGUST Retail inflation in the country fell below the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) medium- term target of 4% in August 2018. The inflation as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) eased to a 10-month low of 3.69% in August 2018, on the back of a decline in the prices of food products such as vegetables, pulses and sugar even as fuel prices increased.
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As per data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, retail inflation stood at 4.17% in July 2018 and 3.28% in August 2017. Inflation numbers were lower for clothing and footwear category at 4.88% (as against 5.28% in July) and housing category at 7.59% (compared to 8.30% in July). There was slowdown in prices in the pan and tobacco category as well at 5.34%, down from 6.34% in July. However, fuel and light inflation stood at 8.47% in August, up from 7.96% in July. Meanwhile, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) expanded at 6.6% in the month of July 2018 driven by the manufacturing sector.
8. WPI INFLATION FALLS TO 4.53% ON CHEAPER FOOD Inflation-based on wholesale price index (WPI) eased to 4.53% in August 2018 on account of decline in the prices of food commodities such as vegetables and pulses. WPI inflation stood at 5.09% in July 2018 and 3.24% in August 2017. As per data released, food articles registered deflation at 4.04% during the month under review while deflation in vegetables, pulses and fruits was 20.18%, 14.26% and 16.40%, respectively. Inflation in the ‗fuel and power' basket was 17.73%. While inflation in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was 46.08%, in diesel and petrol it was 19.90% and 16.30%, respectively. When taken together with the fall in CPI inflation number which has also surprised on the downside during the month, the data is expected to help boost sentiments. He added that the decline in the inflation reading should induce the RBI to resume its accommodative policy stance.
9. CENTRE TO ‘STRICTLY' MAINTAIN FISCAL DEFICIT AT 3.3% Finance Minister said the government is "confident and will strictly maintain" the 3.3% fiscal deficit target. The government had projected a GDP growth rate of 7.2-7.5% in the Budget 2018-19. As far as capital expenditure is concerned, which is quite necessary for the purposes of maintaining high trajectory growth already we have spent about 44% of the budgeted expenditure till August 31 and we'll end the year without any cuts and will maintain 100% capital expenditure. He added that CBDT was "very clear" that this year the government would be able to collect taxes in excess of the budgeted target. He also said that GST was settling down, and the pick-up in consumption was bound to have an impact on the collections.
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10. FINANCE MINISTRY TO ENGAGE WITH STATES TO SHORE UP GST REVENUE Alarmed by a nearly fourfold rise in GST compensation to States for June-July, the Finance Ministry is crafting a strategy to shore up tax revenues and engaging with States to identify issues hindering their collections. Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia has started meeting GST officers, both from Central and State tax departments, in the State capitals to understand issues plaguing GST collections. There has been a spike in the bi-monthly GST compensation paid to the States by the Centre. The Centre paid Rs. 14,930 crore to compensate States for revenue loss incurred in June and July, a nearly four-fold jump compared to the Rs. 3,899 crore paid for the months of April and May. A strategy is to be devised to shore up GST revenues. The amount of compensation to be paid to each State varies every month and there is no set pattern. The reason for increased compensation also varied from State to State. For instance, in one of the cases, a State saw a huge outgo on account of VAT refund following a court verdict.
11. STATES' AVERAGE GST REVENUE SHORTFALL DOWN TO 13% IN FY19 The average revenue shortfall of States due to the Goods and Services Tax has fallen to 13% in the ongoing financial year up to August 2018, from 16% in 2017-18, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said after the 30th GST Council meeting. The Finance Minister said that, while most of the meeting was around procedural aspects, there were two main items on the agenda: a review of the revenue position, and the Kerala government's request for an additional GST rate to finance the relief and recovery efforts in the State following the recent devastating floods. Mr. Jaitley said that the GST Council had agreed to set up a seven-member Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into the various aspects of such an additional rate, including whether it should be levied only on Kerala's taxpayers, or on the entire country. Another issue is whether it would be applied on all goods or only on the sin and luxury goods. The GoM has to submit its report by October 31, 2018. Article 279(A) (4) (f) of the GST Act has a provision that, with the permission of the GST Council, a special rate can be imposed to raise additional resources during any natural disaster.
12. RBI DRAFT WARNS OF ACTION FOR MARKET ABUSE The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued the draft guidelines on prohibiting market abuse, which propose to debar errant participants from accessing the market. Participants found guilty of market abuse may be subject to regulatory action, including temporary or permanent stoppage of access to the markets in one or more instruments.
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The directions, called the Reserve Bank of India (Prohibition of Market Abuse) Directions 2018, define what is market manipulation, benchmark manipulation and misuse of information as well. Market participants shall not obtain, or attempt to obtain, or share any unpublished price-sensitive information, the central bank said, adding they shall also not use price- sensitive customer information for trading on own account or on account of any other entity. They should not intentionally create or transmit false or inaccurate information that influences price.
13. INVESTOR PLAINTS TO SEBI AT SIX-YEAR HIGH Investor complaints against listed firms and market intermediaries have touched a six- year high even as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has raised its pace of disposing such complaints to bring down the overall pendency. According to SEBI's latest annual report, it received 43,131 investor complaints against market intermediaries in 2017-18. This was the highest since 2011-12, when more than 46,500 complaints were received. Investors can use SEBI's online Scores platform to register complaints against intermediaries such as stock brokers, listed firms, mutual funds, depositories, registrars, credit rating agencies, and stock exchanges. An investor can lodge a complaint within three years from the date of the cause of the complaint. While over 30 lakh complaints have been cumulatively registered with SEBI so far, it has managed to consistently reduce pendency with only 3,771 complaints pending as on March 31.
14. SEBI'S KYC CIRCULAR COULD IMPACT STOCKS, RUPEE The Indian stock markets could tumble and the rupee may fall further ahead of the general elections if a contentious KYC circular issued by the stock market regulator is not scrapped soon, a body of influential foreign funds, managed by persons and institutions of Indian origin, has warned. Seeking an intervention from the highest level of the government, the Asset Managers' Roundtable of India (AMRI) has said that the circular issued by the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in April 2018 on enhancing the KYC norms for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), has ended up placing a blanket ban on investments through funds managed by overseas citizens of India (OCI cardholders), Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), NRIs and even regulated domestic institutions. Such funds oversee about $75 billion of investments in the Indian market out of the total estimated foreign portfolio investments of $450 billion.
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SEBI has extended the August 31 deadline, for compliance with its directive, to December 31. The government may be keen to fix money laundering and nobody questions the need for KYC norms, but this circular also ends up treating all NRI fund managers as possible conduits for money laundering.
15. FPI OUTFLOW CONCERNS PREPOSTEROUS A day after an association of foreign funds warned of a potential outflow of $75 billion from the Indian equity markets over a circular issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in April 2018, policymakers brushed aside the concerns with the capital market watchdog terming the claims "preposterous and highly irresponsible." It is preposterous and highly irresponsible to claim that $75 billion of Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) will move out of the country because of SEBI's circular issued in April 2018. NRIs are permitted to invest in Indian securities. There is a limit of 5% up to which NRIs can invest in a single security. When NRIs try to manage funds from others through fund management and register as an FPI that is where this issue comes up. So, if some NRI is a beneficial owner, then that has been defined. If you have an economic interest as well as you manage, that is not permissible. On April 10, SEBI issued a circular stating that entities such as NRIs, Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cannot be beneficial owners (BOs) of any FPI. It further stated that FPIs that do not comply with the framework would be given six months to either change their structure or wind up their positions in India. In August 2018, SEBI extended the deadline to December 31 to comply with the new norms. According to Nandita Parker, president of Asset Managers Roundtable of India, which is spearheading the ongoing move to make policymakers review the framework, the circular is creating an impression that all NRIs and resident fund managers managing funds are facilitating tainted monies without any empirical study or evidence. The core issue is the definition of Beneficial Ownership and its use on placing investment restrictions. If that issue is not resolved in a time bound manner, the affected FPIs will have to take requisite actions that may include liquidation and naturally it will have impact on the market and on FPI flows into India. It is also to be recognised that the circular is causing an existential crisis for NRI (including foreign nationals who are OCI/PIO) fund managers and resident fund managers who have invested huge time and resources in attracting foreign investment into India.
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16. FPIS START PROCESS OF FALLING IN LINE Almost a dozen foreign funds across geographies such as Singapore, Mauritius and the U.S., which invest in the Indian equity markets, have started restructuring their ownership and management structure to comply with the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (SEBI) diktat that bars Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), Person of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI), from acting as fund managers of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). According to people directly involved in the matter, some of the funds have initiated the process to change the key management personnel (KMP) managing the fund if such person falls in the category barred by the Indian capital market regulator. A large number of FPIs investing in India were facing problems as the senior managing official - an NRI, PIO, or an OCI, in many cases - was identified as the beneficial owner. NRIs, along with Person of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI), cannot manage FPI investments, and have time till December 31 to comply with the new framework.
17. SEBI REVISES KYC NORMS FOR FOREIGN PORTFOLIO INVESTORS The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has announced the revised guidelines for know your client (KYC) requirement for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) allowing non-resident Indians (NRIs), resident Indians (RIs) and overseas citizens of India (OCIs) to be part of such FPIs investing in India. Such NRIs, OCIs and RIs can be part of a FPI if their aggregate holding in such an overseas fund is less than 50% of the corpus of the fund. Further, the individual share of such entities cannot exceed 25% in an FPI. More importantly, the regulator has also laid down that FPIs can be controlled by investment managers that are owned or controlled by NRIs, OCIs or RIs. Such, investment managers, however, need to be properly regulated in their home jurisdiction and also registered with the SEBI. Existing FPIs will be given two years' time - from the date the new regulations come into force - to fulfill the new eligibility criteria. Also, in case of a temporary breach of the norms, the entity will get 90 days to comply with the regulations. Meanwhile, FPIs will be subject to periodic review and any change in material information or disclosure would warrant such a review. For category II and III FPIs from high risk jurisdictions, KYC review would be done annually.
18. GOVERNMENT SHORTLISTS 11 CPSES FOR BUYBACK The Finance Ministry has shortlisted about a dozen companies, including Coal India, NTPC, Nalco and NMDC, for a possible buyback of shares in the ongoing financial year.
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The other companies which are in the list include NLC, BHEL, NHPC, NBCC, SJVN, KIOCL and Hindustan Aeronautics. Earlier, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) discussed the buyback option with these companies, following which the list has been drafted. These CPSEs have been asked to buy back the shares following the capital restructuring guidelines set out by DIPAM in 2016. As per the guidelines, CPSEs having net worth of at least Rs. 2,000 crore and cash and bank balance of above Rs. 1,000 crore have to mandatorily go in for share buyback. Share buybacks offer a route for companies to return some wealth to their shareholders.
19. ALLOW NRIS TO MANAGE FOREIGN FUNDS INVESTING IN INDIA Facing widespread opposition from various sections of the market, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed amending most of the clauses of the contentious circular issued in April 2018 that barred Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) from managing overseas funds that invest in India. A SEBI panel headed by H. R. Khan, Former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, has suggested that NRIs, along with Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) and Resident Indians (RIs), be allowed to manage foreign funds that invest in India subject to certain holding limits. The panel report, which was made public, states that a single NRI, OCI or RI cannot hold more than 25% of the assets under management (AUM) of the foreign portfolio investor (FPI) and the aggregate holding of such entities has to be below 50% in the foreign fund. Further, while an NRI, OCI or an RI cannot be in control of the foreign funds, there would be no restriction on such entities to act as investment managers provided such managers are properly regulated in their home jurisdiction. Interestingly, as per the panel report, the Department of Revenue has communicated to SEBI that the principle laid down in Rule (9)3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules 2005 related to beneficial owner (BO) is for the purpose of customer due diligence and it need not be applied to determine FPIs eligibility. In April, SEBI announced that NRIs/PIOs and RIs cannot manage FPIs. While the regulator gave six months time to FPIs to comply with the new framework, the deadline was extended to December 31. The recent past had seen industry bodies peg the potential outflows at $75 billion due to the SEBI diktat. SEBI has given time till September 17 for public comments on the panel recommendations.
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20. WHY SEBI NORMS SPOOKED FPIS In April 2018, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had issued a circular barring Resident Indians (RIs), Non Resident Indians (NRIs), Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) from managing foreign funds. It said RIs, NRIs, PIOs and OICs cannot be the beneficial owner (BO) of a fund investing in India. A BO is one who directly or indirectly derives the benefits of ownership. The Asset Managers' Roundtable of India (AMRI) said the circular had ended up placing a blanket ban on investments through funds managed by overseas citizens of India (OCIs), PIOs, NRIs and warned of a potential outflow of $75 billion from the Indian equity markets over the issue. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) are currently allowed to invest up to 10% in a single listed Indian company. According to SEBI's circular, their total investment in all the investee companies put together cannot exceed this limit. The SEBI-appointed panel, headed by former RBI Deputy Governor H.R. Khan suggested NRIs, OCIs and RIs be allowed to manage foreign funds that invest in India subject to certain holding limits. A single NRI, OCI or RI cannot hold more than 25% of the assets under management of the foreign fund and the aggregate holding of such entities has to be below 50%. The Centre had told SEBI that it need not use the BO definition laid down under Prevention of Money Laundering Act. SEBI has been asked to consult the Centre to evolve more objective criteria for defining high-risk jurisdictions.
21. 7 INDIAN GROUPS TOP IN INVESTOR RETURNS Seven Indian conglomerates - Bajaj, Lalbhai, Wadia, Murugappa, Emami, Godrej and Torrent - have delivered superior returns of between 22% and 32% to their shareholders in the last 15 years compared with their pure-play (companies that focus on a single business) counterparts in Asia. This assumes significance when conglomerates in India and Southeast Asia, for the first time in 15 years, have underperformed their pure- play counterparts in their markets on core financial performance, according to a report by global consulting firm Bain & Company. However, from 2007 to 2016, the total average annual shareholder return (TSR) dropped to 11% for conglomerates in Asia - slightly less than the 12% for pure-plays but enough to signal changes ahead and raise questions about whether Asian conglomerates have reached the end of the road.
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22. WHY FPIS ARE SWIMMING AGAINST THE TIDE To take home reasonable returns from their India investments, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) need not just rising stock prices but also favourable exchange rates. This hasn't proved easy in recent years. The BSE Dollex 30, an index which translates the Rupee returns on the BSE Sensex basket into dollars based on prevailing exchange rates, is a commonly used gauge of foreign investors' returns. The Sensex 30 has beaten the Dollex 30 hands down on trailing returns over the last one-, five-, 10- and even 15-year period. FPI is an umbrella term that refers to a wide gamut of investors using different strategies. It includes individuals and family offices on one hand, but also savvy institutions like sovereign wealth funds, exchange traded funds, pension funds and hedge funds, on the other. Not all of these investors rely on long-only strategies to make their returns. All this does not mean that the steadily depreciating rupee doesn't make a difference to foreign investors. It does but India's ability to attract strong FPI flows despite this, suggests that many foreign investors have become adept at swimming against the tide.
23. SEBI CUTS EXPENSE RATIO FOR MF SCHEMES The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has broadly accepted the recommendations of the H.R. Khan Committee on Know-Your-Client requirements for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), while lowering the total expense ratio (TER) for open- ended equity schemes, thereby making it less expensive for investors to invest in mutual funds. The board of the capital markets regulator decided to amend the contentious circular issued in April 2018 and issue a separate circular to address the concerns raised by overseas investors. In another major decision, the regulator has capped the maximum expense ratio at 1.05% for open-ended equity schemes with assets under management (AUM) in excess of Rs. 50,000 crore. Currently, schemes with AUM in excess of Rs. 300 crore charge 1.75% as total expense ratio. Further, SEBI has laid down a range of 1.05% to 2.25% to be charged as expense ratio depending on the AUM of the scheme. Earlier the range was 1.75% to 2.5%. The regulator is of the view that the lower expense ratio would lead to investors saving Rs. 1,300 crore to Rs. 1,500 crore in commissions. The regulator has framed the SEBI (Settlement Proceedings) Regulations 2018 which bar offences that cause a market wide impact, loss to investors or affects the integrity of the market, to be settled through the consent route.
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While serious offences like insider trading or front running can be settled through consent, the regulator has said that it would use a principle-based approach while deciding on such matters. Meanwhile, the regulator will also not settle any proceedings wherein the applicant is a willful defaulter or if an earlier application for the same offence has been rejected. The board of the capital markets has also approved a framework for permitting foreign entities having an exposure in physical commodity market to hedge in the commodity derivatives segment.
24. PLUG TAX GAPS IN CONSENT ROUTE The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) wants the government to amend the Income Tax Act to plug loopholes wherein individuals and companies managed to avail tax benefits on the money paid to the regulator to settle matters under the consent mechanism. The regulator had already taken up the matter with the government highlighting cases where entities showed the settlement amount paid to the SEBI as a deductible business expense to lower their taxable income and thereby the tax liability. In February 2016, the Income Tax department allowed Anil Ambani to treat Rs. 50 crore paid as settlement charges to the SEBI as expenditure. Later on, the I-T Appellate Tribunal upheld the observation of the tax department. In other two instances, Pranav Securities and Reliance Share & Stock Brokers claimed such similar tax benefits. The premise put forth by the tax authorities was that the settlement amount was not a penalty and the money had been paid without admission of guilt. A section of experts, meanwhile, believe that companies should be allowed to treat the settlement amount as an expense since such payouts are part of the compliance cost. A company should be allowed to treat the settlement amount as an expense. From a company perspective, it should be allowed as an expense since there are hundreds of compliance requirements for a company. And errors should be allowed as a business expense, much like business errors which have a cost. But if the matter relates to fraud or misrepresentation or there is a personal liability then the company should anyway not be asked to pay and the individual should be liable. Interestingly, such settlement amounts are non-deductible under U.S. laws where the Securities Exchange Commission has clearly laid down that applicants cannot seek any kind of tax credit on such amount paid to the regulator.
25. DUAL LISTING OF MASALA BONDS BEING EXPLORED Masala bonds could also be dual-listed in India under options being explored by the London Stock Exchange Group and the National Stock Exchange of India.
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The idea being explored is a potential precursor of further joint listings in the future that could see foreign currency bonds in India also being able to list in London. As many as 46 Masala bonds have raised over $5 billion in London since they were first listed (including through dual listings elsewhere), but it is hoped the dual listing would extend access to a wider base of global investors as well as domestic and regional investors registered on the NSE's International Exchange, and NSE IFSC Limited in Gujarat International Finance Tech City. An MoU on the plans was signed by LSE Plc. CEO Nikhil Rathi and NSE CEO Vikram Limaye. Dual listing of masala bonds would enhance visibility, increase liquidity in secondary markets, and enhance efficiency of price discovery for masala bond issuers. This would also reduce the cost of raising capital for all issuers and encourage the participation of a wider variety of issuers in the masala bond market.
26. CLOSELY MONITORING FINANCIAL MARKETS Following volatility in the equities market on 21 September 2018, the central bank and the capital markets regulator have said the developments are being closely monitored and they are ready to take action, if necessary. The stock markets saw wild swings on Friday with some of the non-banking finance company stocks being hammered down. State Bank of India - the country's largest lender- also stepped in to allay fears of concerned investors. SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar said SBI would continue to lend to the NBFCs.
27. APEX COURT WANTS GOVERNMENT TO FILL SAT VACANCIES QUICKLY The Supreme Court wants the government to quickly fill the vacancies at the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), which is an important appellate body for filing appeals against orders passed by the capital market, insurance and pension regulators. While hearing an appeal filed by Quantum Securities, the apex court highlighted the fact that the tribunal is currently being managed by a sole member even as the regulations clearly state that the Bench should comprise a judicial and technical member. Section 15L of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 specifically states, in the proviso to sub-section 2(b), that every Bench constituted shall include at least one Judicial Member and one Technical Member‖. The SAT has remained headless since July 2018 when the five-year term of the then presiding officer Justice J.P. Devadhar came to an end. Earlier in the year, Jog Singh‘s term as a member came to an end in February 2018. Currently, C. K. G. Nair is the only member at SAT and due to the lack of quorum, the functioning of the appellate has been severely hit.
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It is important that this critical issue gathers steam and gets the attention of the Central Government so that the requisite appointments are made in the interest of securities market. Such delays definitely impact the reputation of capital markets of India and investment climate, as effective dispute redressal is one of the important criterion for choosing an outbound investment.
28. RESERVE BANK TIGHTENS OMBUDSMAN SCHEME The Reserve Bank of India has tightened the banking ombudsman scheme with the objective to strengthen the grievance redressal mechanism for customers. The banking regulator has asked all commercial banks having 10 or more banking outlets to have an independent internal ombudsman (IO) to review customer complaints that are either partly or fully rejected by the banks. The instructions are not applicable for Regional Rural Banks sponsored by commercial banks. As banks should internally escalate complaints that are not fully redressed to their respective IOs before conveying the final decision to the complainant, customers need not approach the IO directly. According to bankers, the Internal Ombudsman Scheme of 2018 mandates banks to grant a fixed term of three to five years, which cannot be renewed, to the IO. The IO can be removed only with prior approval from RBI. The remuneration would have to be decided by the customer sub-committee of the board.
29. NUMETAL CAN BID FOR ESSAR STEEL The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) ruled as eligible the second bid of Russian VTB Bank-promoted consortium NuMetal for debt-ridden Essar Steel. And, rival bidder Arcelor Mittal would have to first clear all the dues of Uttam Galva and KSS Petron, in which it holds stakes, to become eligible to bid for the steelmaker. NCLAT gave Arcelor Mittal time till September 11 to clear all the dues of the two firms saying that the "stigma will continue" till the payment of all arrears. Both NuMetal and ArcelorMittal had moved the NCLAT over bidding eligibility. They had filed individual petitions challenging their disqualification in the first round of bids by the Committee of Creditors (CoC). Even as the bidding for Essar Steel went into a second round, both bidders moved the Ahmedabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) challenging their disqualification. NCLT, in April 2018, quashed the first round of bidding for Essar Steel on grounds that the CoC and the resolution professional did not follow the procedure prescribed under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
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NCLT, however, gave both the bidders time to cure any defects in their bids. Subsequent to the NCLT verdict, NuMetal and ArcelorMittal moved the NCLAT challenging each other's eligibility. Earlier, ArcelorMittal had claimed that it addressed the concerns raised by the Committee of Creditors as it deposited Rs. 7,000 crore in an escrow account of State Bank of India to clear the defaulted dues of Uttam Galva and KSS Petron. NuMetal also removed Rewant Ruia, son of Essar Group co-founder Ravi Ruia, from the company's shareholding to become eligible to bid.
30. DEJA VU? BUT THINGS SEEM BETTER THAN IN 2013 Those with a long memory must be consumed by a sense of deja vu over developments in the past few weeks. In many ways, the present turbulent times are reminiscent of what happened in 2013. The rupee was in a tailspin. Oil prices were booming at over $110 a barrel, exerting upward pressure on domestic retail prices of petroleum products. The current account deficit was in dangerous territory at 4.8% and the country was headed for general elections in a just a few months. It is almost a repeat now even if some of the macro numbers are not as dramatically negative as they were then. These are without doubt challenging times but the picture is not as dismal as it was in 2013 and that's because of three major factors. First and most important, growth is on the ascendant. The economy seems to have shrugged off the twin shocks from the note ban and introduction of the GST. Admittedly, the 8.1% GDP growth in the first quarter of this fiscal was amplified by the lower base in the same period last year when manufacturers slowed down ahead of the introduction of GST. But there is no mistaking the strong underlying growth impulse supported by a return of consumer spending. Second, attribute it to deft fiscal management by the Centre or to the dividends from the soft oil price regime of the last four years, the fiscal deficit is at a very respectable level of 3.3-3.5%. In comparison, the deficit in fiscal 2013 was 4.9% and in 2014 was 4.5%. Finally, the political leadership does seem conscious of its fiscal responsibility; at least, it has been so until now. Despite calls from several quarters to loosen purse strings and cast aside the fiscal deficit marker, the Centre has refused to do so. At most, it has allowed itself the luxury of postponing the date of meeting that magic level of 3% to 2021. Centre has remained unmoved and allowed the higher oil prices to pass through. With almost a quarter of the Centre's total revenue coming from fuel taxes, any cut will have an impact on the fiscal deficit.
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31. RBI INTERVENES AS RUPEE BREACHES 72.5 TO DOLLAR The rupee breached 72.5 a dollar and touched all-time low of 72.67 intraday as the current account deficit widened to five-year high in the first quarter of the current financial year, to $15.8 billion or 2.4%, of the GDP. Currency dealers said the central bank is not intervening aggressively as before. In June 2018, the RBI had sold more than $6 billion in the spot market. The data for July and August are yet to be released by the central bank. Rupee was the worst performer among emerging market currencies in Asia, depreciating about 13% this financial year amid limited intervention by the central bank. Morgan Stanley expects inflation to accelerate prompting the central bank to hike interest rates by 50 basis points (bps), including 25 bps in the next policy review due in early October 2018. RBI had hiked interest rates by 50 bps since June 2018 over inflation concerns.
32. ARCELORMITTAL RAISES BID FOR ESSAR STEEL ArcelorMittal is understood to have revised its offer to Essar Steel India Limited's (ESIL) Committee of Creditors (CoC) for the bankrupt Essar Steel to Rs. 42,000 crore, against Russia's VTB Group-backed NuMetal's offer of Rs. 37,000 crore and Vedanta's Rs. 34,000 crore. The National Company Appellate Law Tribunal (NCALT) had ordered ArcelorMittal to pay Rs. 7,000 crore to the lenders of Uttam Galva and KSS Petron (in which ArcelorMittal holds stakes) by September 11 to become eligible to bid for Essar Steel. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal had also ruled as eligible the second bid of NuMetal for the debt-ridden Essar Steel.
33. SMALL LOANS COULD TURN BAD Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has cautioned that the next crisis in India's banking sector could come from loans given to the unorganised micro and small businesses, called MUDRA loans, and credit extended through the Kisan credit card. MUDRA loans are offered under the Prime Minister Mudra Yojana or PMMY, launched in 2015 by the NDA government. A total of Rs. 6.37 lakh crore has been disbursed under the scheme by public and private sector banks, regional rural banks and micro-finance institutions till date, as per the data from the Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) website. In a note on bank non-performing assets (NPAs), prepared at the request of Murli Manohar Joshi, Chairman of the Parliament Estimates Committee, Dr. Rajan said the government should refrain from setting ambitious credit targets or waiving loans. Both MUDRA loans as well as the Kisan Credit Card, while popular, have to be examined more closely for potential credit risk.
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He also flagged the Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs, run by the Small Industries Development Bank of India, calling it "a growing contingent liability" that needs to be examined with urgency. He pointed out that most of the bad loans were created during 2006-08, a period that coincides with the first term of the UPA. A large number of bad loans originated in the period 2006-2008, when economic growth was strong... it is at such times that banks make mistakes.
34. SC ORDERS STATUS QUO ON RBI'S FEBRUARY 12 CIRCULAR The Supreme Court ordered status quo on the implementation of a February 12 circular of the Reserve Bank of India which mandates insolvency proceedings for a debt servicing default beyond 180 days. If a resolution was not found by August 27, NPA accounts were to be sent to bankruptcy courts. A Bench of Justices Rohinton F. Nariman and Indu Malhotra transferred the cases against the RBI circular pending in various High Courts and agreed to hear them together in November 2018. Meanwhile, the apex court ordered that insolvency proceedings should not commence against the defaulting power companies. Power firms have argued that the provision was unfair as their debt repayment capacity was directly linked to revenue from power distribution companies and availability of coal, a natural resource closely regulated by the State. Banks have exposure of about Rs. 1.74 lakh crore to stressed power assets.
35. BANKRUPTCY COURT SHOULD BE THE FINAL OPTION Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan is of the view that bankruptcy court should be the final option and loan renegotiation should be done under its shadow, not in it. Banks and promoters have to strike deals outside of bankruptcy, or if promoters prove uncooperative, bankers should have the ability to proceed without them. Dr. Rajan's statement assumes significance in the backdrop of the ongoing resolution of 20 power sector NPA accounts where there's a tussle on between the RBI and banks. In a different context, the former RBI governor blasted those who were saying that the RBI was responsible for the slowdown in credit and the economy because of its push to recognise NPAs, calling such claims "ludicrous". Cleanup was part of the solution, not the problem, pointing out how public sector banks had started soft-pedalling on loans to industry, agriculture and MSMEs since April 2014, well before the cleanup process began in the second half of fiscal 2015. This was even as they pushed hard on personal and housing loans, where the NPAs were low. He defended the much-criticised asset quality review initiated by him during his tenure, saying that it was necessary because banks were simply not recognising bad loans, not
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following uniform procedures for recognition, and not making adequate provision for loans that had stayed as NPAs for a long time. The slowdown is best attributed to over-burdened public sector bank balance sheets and growing risk aversion in public sector bankers, pointing out that private bank had not slowed down on their lending to industry. Their aversion was also visible in the way they slowed down on accepting deposits relative to their private sector peers. Conceding that the RBI "should probably have raised more flags about the quality of lending in the early days of banking exuberance," Dr. Rajan said that with the benefit of hindsight, the RBI should not have agreed to forbearance. Looking ahead, Dr. Rajan said that governance of public sector banks had to be improved by professionalising boards and depoliticising appointments by handing it over to the Banks Board Bureau. He suggested introduction of outside talent into top management of PSBs given the talent deficit they faced.
36. MERGER OF BOB, VIJAYA & DENA BANKS PROPOSED The Centre proposed the amalgamation of state-owned Bank of Baroda, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank to create India's third-largest bank. The decision was taken at the meeting of a ministerial panel (called Alternative Mechanism), headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, which oversees merger proposals of state-owned banks. The other members of the panel include Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The two well-performing banks are proposed to absorb a weak one, hoping to create a mega bank which will be sustainable, whose lending ability will be far higher. Dena Bank had been placed under the prompt corrective action framework. Earlier, five associate banks of State Bank of India were merged with itself. The government had also moved to offload its majority stake in IDBI Bank to Life Insurance Corporation of India. The government would now await the response of the banks to the proposal.
37. BANK OF BARODA, VIJAYA SHARES END IN RED, DENA RISES 20% The government's proposal to merge three public sector banks evoked mixed response from investors, with Bank of Baroda and Vijaya Bank stocks ending in the red, while Dena Bank shares, which hit the upper circuit, ended with a 19.75% gain. Bank of Baroda is the largest lender among the three. Dena Bank is the weakest of the three and under prompt corrective action with its gross NPA at 22%. The merged entity, which will be the third largest bank in the country after State Bank of India and HDFC Bank, will have a market share of about 6.8% by loans.
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Ratings agency Moody's said the merger would be credit positive as it would increase efficiency. Nevertheless, we expect the merged entity will require capital support from the government; otherwise such a merger would not improve their capitalisation profile.
38. MERGER TO TEST LARGE BANKS' ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY With the Centre having set the ball rolling for the long awaited consolidation among public sector banks through its announcement of the intention to merge Bank of Baroda, Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank, all eyes will be on the proposed amalgamation. Investors and bankers will be keen to see if this becomes a template for further mergers among state-run lenders, especially given the asset quality issues plaguing several of these banks. The Bengaluru-based Vijaya Bank, with business of Rs. 2.8 lakh crore, is one of only two public sector banks to have reported a profit in the last fiscal year, the other being Chennai-based Indian Bank. Bank of Baroda's net NPA ratio is 5.4%, Vijaya's is 4.1% and Dena's is 11.04%. The combined entity will have a net NPA ratio of 5.7%. Improvement in operational efficiency could also emerge from the merger that is set to create the country's third-largest lender. This is because a significant number of branches can be rationalised particularly in States like Gujarat, where both Baroda and Dena have a significant presence; Maharashtra, where all three have significant presence; and Karnataka, where Vijaya enjoys dominance. In addition, cost of funds for the merged entity is expected to come down as Vijaya Bank has a high dependence on short-term bulk deposits, which are typically high cost in nature. There are a few challenges too including, particularly, the handling of human resources. A silver lining though could be the reduced likelihood of employee retrenchment as an ageing workforce at public sector banks leads to significantly higher numbers of retirements. The other challenge is customer retention. SBI's recent merger with its associate banks saw customers of associate banks opting to move their business to rival lenders as result of a lack of comfort in banking with the larger parent. The new merged entity will likely face a challenge in retaining Vijaya Bank's customers in its southern base.
39. SHORT-TERM RATES RISE AS LIQUIDITY DRIES UP The liquidity crisis at IL&FS, the quarter-end rush to dress up balance sheets by banks and redemption pressure on mutual funds (MFs) have all combined to trigger a liquidity deficit in the system which has led to short-term rates on commercial papers (CPs) rising up to 50 basis points (bps) within a week, according to bankers.
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This prompted the Reserve Bank of India to announce that it will conduct an open market operation (OMO) to purchase government bonds to infuse liquidity worth Rs. 10,000 crore into the system. The IL&FS crisis had also impacted other non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) which are also facing increase in borrowing cost. Banks and mutual funds are the main sources of funding for housing finance companies and other NBFCs contributing about 40% and 30%, respectively, of their funding needs.
40. NPAS WITH PSU BANKS DECLINING Non-performing assets with public sector banks are on the decline, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, adding that public sector banks are expecting recoveries of loans to the tune of Rs. 1.8 lakh crore this financial year. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and NCLT proceedings were having a positive effect on recoveries and prompting promoters to pay their dues before the legal process began. The banks also said they expected credit growth to pick up over the year.
41. LIQUIDITY CRISIS HITS NBFC STOCKS HARD The recent sell-off in the shares of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and housing finance companies (HFCs) has been so severe that some of the sector constituents are currently trading at a discount of over 50% when compared to their 52- week highs. While companies such as Reliance Home Finance, Dewan Housing Finance Corporation, Can Fin Homes and GIC Housing Finance have seen their share price halve compared to their highs, many such as Manapurram Finance, LIC Housing Finance, Indiabulls Housing Finance, IIFL Holdings, Edelweiss Financial Services and Shriram City Union Finance have suffered 30% to 40% erosion. The recent past has seen concerns related to liquidity primarily at IL&FS, which has led to investors turn wary of the whole sector. The market has been abuzz with talks of defaults at some other listed NBFCs as well. However, some have clarified that they have not defaulted on any payment obligations.
42. SHORT-TERM RATES FALL AS RBI EASES SLR NORMS Rates on short-term paper eased after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to free up funds for the commercial banks to tide over the present liquidity crunch. Following the fund crunch triggered by the crisis at infrastructure financier IL&FS at the beginning of the month, rates on short-term papers rose by more than 100 bps (basis points) with mutual funds becoming reluctant to lend to the non-banking finance companies.
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To ease the situation, the central bank had been infusing liquidity through open market operations. RBI has now decided to allow banks to dip into their statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) reserves by another two percentage points to meet liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) norms. The central bank said that banks could ‗carve out‘ up to 15% of holdings under SLR to meet their LCR requirements compared with 13% earlier. SLR is the proportion of funds that banks have to maintain as cash or government securities out of the total deposits that they hold. Currently, SLR is 19.5%.
43. RBI CRACKS DOWN ON BANDHAN BANK FOR VIOLATING NORM The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cracked the whip on Bandhan Bank freezing the remuneration of its MD and CEO Chandra Shekhar Ghosh for not bringing down promoters' shareholding in the bank to 40% within three years of operations as mandated by it while granting the bank licence. RBI had also barred the Kolkata-based lender from opening new branches. The bank has to take RBI's prior approval for opening branches. There is a three-layered structure for the group. Bandhan Financial Services holds 100% stake in Bandhan Financial Holdings which is the non-operative financial holding company and also the promoter of Bandhan Bank with a 82.28% stake. The bank started operations on August 23, 2015. In 2017-18, Mr. Ghosh received a remuneration of Rs. 2.39 crore. Bandhan Bank was listed at the end of March 2018 following an Initial Public Offering. While Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) norms ban promoters' stake sale for one year after listing, banking industry sources said since the lender was aware of the RBI's licensing conditions, it should have timed its IPO accordingly. Bandhan Bank has 937 branches with a loan portfolio of Rs. 32,590 crore and a deposit base of Rs. 30,703 crore as at June-end. It has a customer base of 13.65 million. Another private sector lender, Kotak Mahindra Bank also has to reduce its promoters' stake to 20% by the end of December and to 15% by March 2020.
44. CONSOLIDATION OF BANKS IN INDIA The Alternative Mechanism comprising of its Chairperson, the Union Finance Minister decided that Bank of Baroda, Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank may consider their consolidation. It will be the First-ever three-way consolidation of banks in India, with a combined business of Rs. 14.82 lakh crore, making it India‘s Third Largest Bank. It will help create a strong globally competitive bank with economies of scale and enable realization of wide-ranging synergies.
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Leveraging of networks, low-cost deposits and subsidiaries of the three banks has the potential for substantial rise in customer base, market reach, operational efficiency, wider products and services, and improved access for customers. Some of the strengths of the envisaged amalgamated entity are— Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR) at 67.5% is well above Public Sector Banks (PSBs) average (63.7%), and steadily increasing. Net NPA ratio at 5.71% significantly better than PSB average (12.13%), and declining further. Gross NPAs for the combined entity have started declining (decline of Rs. 1,048 crore in Q1). Cost to income ratio of the combined entity at 48.94% better than the PSB average of 53.92%. Capital Adequacy Ratio (CRAR) at 12.25% is significantly above the regulatory norm of 10.875%, and stronger amalgamated bank will be better positioned to tap capital markets. Dena Bank‘s strength in MSME will further augment the strength of the other two to position the amalgamated bank for being an MSME Udyamimitra. Larger distribution network will reduce operating and distribution costs with benefits for the amalgamated bank, its customers and their subsidiaries. Global network strength of Bank of Baroda will be leveraged to enable customers of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank to have global access.
45. FINANCIAL INCLUSION INDEX The Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs has launched the Financial Inclusion Index. Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance will release an Annual Financial Inclusion Index (FII). The index will be a measure of access and usage of a basket of formal financial products and services that includes savings, remittances, credit, insurance and pension products. The index will have three measurement dimensions: Access to financial services Usage of financial services Quality The single composite index gives a snap shot of level of financial inclusion that would guide Macro Policy perspective. The various components of the index will help to measure financial services for use of internal policy making. Financial Inclusion Index can be used directly as a composite measure in development indicators.
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It enables fulfillment of G20 Financial Inclusion Indicators requirements. It will also facilitate researchers to study the impact of financial inclusion and other macro-economic variables.
46. A WEB PORTAL FOR APPROVAL FOR MSME LOANS UP TO RS. 1 CRORE WITHIN 59 MINUTES The Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs has launched a transformative initiative in MSME credit space. The web portal psbloansin59minutes.com will enable in principle approval for MSME loans up to Rs. 1 crore within 59 minutes from SIDBI and 5 Public Sector Banks (PSBs). The Portal sets a new benchmark in loan processing and reduces the turnaround time from 20-25 days to 59 minutes. Subsequent to this in principle approval, the loan will be disbursed in 7-8 working days. It is one of its kind platforms in MSME segment which integrates advanced fintech to ensure seamless loan approval and management. The loans are undertaken without human intervention till sanction and or disbursement stage. A User Friendly Platform has been built where MSME borrower is not required to submit any physical document for in-principle approval. The solution uses sophisticated algorithms to read and analyse data points from various sources such as IT returns, GST data, bank statements, MCA21 etc. in less than an hour while capturing the applicant‘s basic details. The system simplifies the decision making process for a loan officer as the final output provides a summary of credit, valuation and verification on a user-friendly dashboard in real time. The key features of the contactless platform include: Majority stake of SIDBI & big 5 PSBs- SBI, Bank of Baroda, PNB, Vijaya and Indian Bank. A first for MSME borrowers-Connect with multiple banks without visiting the branch. Only Platform in the market with a Banker Interface which covers the Branch Level integrations (with maker-checker-approver) in tune with current systems of PSBs. Only Platform that enables Bankers to create Loan Products in line with the Scoring models & assessment methods within their approved credit policy. Only Platform that has an integrated GST, ITR, Bank Statement Analyzer, Fraud Check and Bureau Check. Only Platform that has been integrated with CGTMSE for checking the eligibility of Borrowers.
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47. EVS, CNG VEHICLES DON'T NEED PERMITS Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said that no permits would be required for vehicles running on alternative fuel, including CNG, ethanol and EVs, a move that is expected to boost the demand for such vehicles in the country. They have decided to exempt electric vehicles as well as vehicles, including auto- rickshaws, buses, taxis, that run on alternative fuel like ethanol, bio-diesel, CNG, methanol and bio-fuel, from permit requirements. Mr. Gadkari, however, added that this would not extend to mild hybrids or hybrid vehicles. The Minister added that with the GST on EVs at 12%, there wasn't any further need for subsidy The government, he said, was also mulling converting two-wheelers into taxis in non- metros, while encouraging the auto industry to use waterways for logistics to trim costs and lower pollution. Mr. Gadkari also said the government would soon "abolish" the requirement of speed governors.
48. TILONIA'S ‘SOLAR MAMAS' ARE GLOWING A group of 45 women from 10 countries, ‗solar mamas' who learnt the skills needed for the fabrication of solar panels, lights and photovoltaic circuits in a six-month-long training programme, were felicitated at a ‗graduation ceremony' at the Barefoot College in the Tilonia village of Rajasthan's Ajmer district, which has helped turn rural wisdom into a fountainhead for development. Diplomats from five countries attended the event. Having developed the potential to become agents of change in their respective countries, the ‗solar mamas' successfully completed an in-house solar engineering programme. The Barefoot College, established four decades ago, empowers marginalised women by training them to become solar engineers, artisans, dentists, broadcasters and doctors for their own villages. Training in solar energy applications is the Barefoot College's latest initiative. It was launched in 2005 and is now supported by the Ministry of External Affairs.
49. FUEL FROM AIR AND WATER As we have kept on burning more and more of organic fuel, such as coal and crude oil, over the last century across the world, the amount of the oxidation product, carbon dioxide (CO2), in the atmosphere has reached alarming levels, causing global warming and climate change. Given this scenario, why not capture the CO2 from the atmosphere and convert it into something inescapable, such as solid carbonate rocks? Such direct air capture (abbreviated as DAC) of the gas and converting it from the biosphere (obtained from biological sources such as burning fuel by us) to the
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geosphere (as rocks and minerals) has been done by a company in Switzerland, called Climeworks. They have put up a plant in Iceland, where they bury CO2 (or sequester it) into solid calcium carbonate (CaCO3) rocks, just as basalt; they also sell the CO2 to greenhouses and beverage makers. An even better method would be to convert it back into hydrocarbon fuel through a reverse reaction, a process termed as air to fuel or A2F and a group of scientists led by Dr David Keith of Harvard have put together a company called "Carbon Engineering", with such a conversion of DAC into A2F. What is being done is to capture the undesirable product CO2, run it through a reactor in an efficient manner and use it to combine with hydrogen (obtained through electrolysis of water) and generate the hydrocarbon fuel. The whole process is what is termed as ‗carbon-neutral-fuel production' by them.
50. CENTRE HIKES ETHANOL PRICES The Centre has hiked ethanol prices, with a special incentive for ethanol directly produced from 100% sugarcane juice, in a dual bid to reduce both surplus sugar production and the fuel import bill. The ethanol produced from sugar is blended with petrol. The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. The price of ethanol derived from 100% sugarcane juice is raised from Rs. 47.13 to Rs. 59.13. The rate for ethanol produced from B-heavy - or intermediary - molasses has been raised to Rs. 52.43. The rate of ethanol produced from C-heavy molasses (which has no sugar left), however, has been marginally reduced to Rs. 43.46.
51. GERMANY ROLLS OUT WORLD'S FIRST HYDROGEN-POWERED TRAIN Germany rolled out the world's first hydrogen-powered train, signalling the start of a push to challenge the might of polluting diesel trains with costlier but eco-friendly technology. Two bright blue Coradia iLint trains, built by French TGV-maker Alstom, began running a 100 km (62-mile) route. The Coradia iLint trains can run for around 1,000 km on a single tank of hydrogen, similar to the range of diesel trains. The zero emission trains will be refuelled with hydrogen. Hydrogen trains are equipped with fuel cells that produce electricity through a combination of hydrogen and oxygen, a process that leaves steam and water as the only emissions. Excess energy is stored in ion lithium batteries on board the train.
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In France, the government has already said it wants the first hydrogen train to be on the rails by 2022.
52. SHORT-TERM POWER VOLUME AT NEW HIGH AS DEMAND SURGES Short-term power trading volumes for delivery, hit an all-time high of 268.3 million units (MU) at the Indian Energy Exchange, in the wake of a surge in demand for electricity in the eastern, southern and western States mainly due to inadequate supply of coal and decrease in wind power generation. State power distribution companies buy short-term power from the exchange to meet demand requirements. In recent weeks, the short-term demand has increased across the country due to shortage of coal and higher demand on account of the retreating monsoon.
53. MAURITIUS TOPS INDIA’S FDI CHARTS AGAIN Mauritius remained the top source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into India in 2017- 18 followed by Singapore, whereas total FDI stood at $37.36 billion in the financial year, a marginal rise over the $36.31 billion recorded in the previous fiscal. While FDI from Mauritius totalled $13.41 billion as against $13.38 billion in the previous year, inflows from Singapore rose to $9.27 billion from $6.52 billion. FDI from the Netherlands declined marginally to $2.67 billion as against $3.23 billion a year earlier. Provisional data for the fiscal ended March revealed that FDI into the manufacturing sector witnessed a substantial decline to $7.06 billion, as against $11.97 billion a year earlier. However, FDI into communication services rose to $8.8 billion in FY18 from $5.8 billion. The inflows into retail and wholesale trade also shot up to $4.47 billion as against $2.77 billion, while financial services too saw a rise to $4.07 billion from $3.73 billion in the previous year. The fact that these sectors accounted for more than 50% of total FDI of $37.36 billion in 2017-18 reflects the global interest in new areas, including online marketplaces and financial technologies.
54. CENTRE FINALISING TARIFFS ON NON-ESSENTIAL IMPORTS The government has finalised the list of non-essential items on which it will be imposing import tariffs. The official said the list, to be notified soon, would include electronics, gems, select items of steel that are also manufactured in India, imported apples, and almonds, among others. Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg had said the list would help in shoring up the rupee.
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The government had earlier in September 2018, announced the easing of overseas borrowing norms for manufacturing companies, removal of restrictions on foreign portfolio investment in corporate bonds and tax benefits on masala bonds. The imposition of tariffs on the import of non-essential items is expected to bolster these efforts in stabilising the rupee's levels.
55. CENTRE HIKES IMPORT DUTY ON SELECT GOODS The government released a list of 19 categories of items on which it would be hiking import duties, which include white goods such as air-conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines as well as non-essential items such as gems, travel bags and aviation turbine fuel. The new rates will be applicable from September 27. The Central Government has taken tariff measures, by way of increase in the basic customs duty to curb import of certain imported items. These changes aim at narrowing the current account deficit. The total value of imports of these items in the year 2017-18 was about Rs. 86,000 crore. However, this hike in duty may not impact importers who procure from countries with which India currently has beneficial free trade agreements.
56. SUCCESSFUL INAUGURAL RUN ON NEW ATELI-NEW PHULERA SECTION OF WDFC The inaugural run of a freight train on the newly-constructed New Ateli (Haryana)-New Phulera (Rajasthan) section of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) was successfully conducted. The190 km-stretch of Ateli-Phulera is located in Mahendergarh district in Haryana and Jaipur district of Rajasthan. The Western Freight Corridor comprises of 1,504 km of a double link track from Jawahar Lal Nehru Port near Mumbai in Mahrashtra to Dadri in Uttar Pradesh via Makarpura-Sanand-Palanpur-Phulera-Rewari (Haryana). Alignment has been generally kept parallel to existing Indian Railway lines except provision of detours and entirely on a new alignment from Rewari to Dadri and also from Sanand to Vadodra. Ateli-Phulera route is provided with six newly-built freight stations, 10 major bridges and 127 minor bridges. Also, it has one Railway flyover and 118 road under-bridges. The Ateli and Jaipur junctions will connect the 1,839 km-Eastern Freight Corridor (constructions on it are underway) which spans from Ludhiana in Punjab to Dankuni (near Kolkata) in West Bengal. The route is laced with modern technological devices, including automated signal system.
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The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL) is a Special Vehicle Purpose (SVP) of the Indian Railways to undertake planning and development, mobilisation of financial resources and construction, maintenance and operation of the proposed corridors. Indian Railways is now actively considering setting up Eastern Coast Corridor having 1,100 km stretch from Kharakpur (West Bengal) to Vijayawada ( Andhra Pradesh) with an estimated cost of Rs 40,000 crore.
57. CAN INDIA TAKE SAHI ROAD TO URBAN MOBILITY? The future of mobility for India should be "Safe, Adequate, Holistic Infrastructure or SAHI" as per the recommendation of a NITI Aayog report presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Global Mobility Summit, Move, in New Delhi. Transforming India's Mobility: A Perspective' prepared by the NITI Aayog and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) calls for efficient and convenient public transport to answer the twin problems of pollution and congestion. The report quickly attracted attention amid the rise in fuel prices. Mr. Modi elaborated on his ‗7Cs' for the future of mobility - common, connected, convenient, congestion-free, charged, clean and cutting-edge. The Prime Minister touched upon the familiar travails that cities face: personal vehicles requiring more roads, parking, and traffic. While mobility is critical to preserving our planet, road transport accounts for one-fifth of global CO2 emissions. This threatens to choke cities and raise global temperatures. The number of motor vehicles in India has grown 40-fold in 44 years, from 1981 to 2015. The reason: absence of a public transport system, leading to a rapid rise in private vehicle ownership. The four big metros in the country lose over $22 billion every year on congestion.
58. AVIATION: SAVE THE GOOSE THAT LAYS GOLDEN EGGS The number of Indians flying may be growing at about 20% a year but, in contrast, most domestic carriers are bleeding. The Indian airline industry is facing turbulence. This time around, legacy issues and over capacity seem to have aggravated the situation. Like in the past, high oil prices, currency fluctuations and lower yields have pushed airlines into a cyclical trap with at least two full-service airlines, Air India and Jet Airways, gasping for breath. Staff salary payments have been delayed and frantic efforts are on to raise fresh capital. The three full-service airlines, including Vistara, have been posting losses. Low-cost airlines are better placed but except for IndiGo, none has the balance sheet to withstand further deterioration in environment.
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External factors such as oil prices and the exchange rate have contributed to headwinds. But a number of long-term structural challenges are bogging the sector down. Slot constraints, insufficient parking bays and congestion at key airports, and high taxes on fuel are the main challenges. He said airports expansion needs a massive push as congestion is restricting airline profitability. Mr. Dubey added the Centre must lower taxes. The stupendous growth in aviation has given a lot of taxes to the government. The Centre should now consider [ways] to avoid the untimely demise of the golden goose. Fifty months of double-digit growth came on the back of huge investments by airlines and low fares. When crude prices fell to below $40 per barrel, the Centre increased the tax rates. Now that crude oil prices are hovering around $80 per barrel, it is a fit time for government intervention." Indian domestic ATF is almost 50-60% costlier than in the U.S., the EU, West Asia and Asia-Pacific. [But] airfares in India are one of the lowest in the world on a rupee per seat-km basis. This contradiction has to end."
59. AAI SHELVES WATER AERODROME PROJECT IN CHILIKA LAKE The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has dropped the proposed water aerodrome project at Chilika Lake in Odisha. AAI has cancelled the seaplane project in the lake which, if implemented, would have negatively impacted the ecosystem and the surrounding human population at the world's second largest brackish water lake. The AAI has decided to shelve the project following stiff opposition from environmentalists and the Chilika Development Authority (CDA). Earlier, the CDA in its report to the State government had said the water aerodrome project would seriously jeopardise the habitat of Chilika's nearly one million avian visitors which come from the Arctic and Eurasian regions. Operation of seaplane and water aerodrome at Chilika is likely to cause irrevocable damage to the ecosystem and livelihood of people dependent on it.
60. INDIA'S 100TH AIRPORT OPENS IN SIKKIM Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first airport in Sikkim. With this, the number of functional airports in the country went up to 100. The airport at Pakyong, about 30 km from Gangtok and surrounded by mountains, is a major boost to connectivity in the mountainous State. Mr. Modi said the airport would be linked to the Union government's UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) regional connectivity scheme and the airfare for about an hour would come to Rs. 2,500. The airport has been constructed at an estimated cost of Rs. 605 crore.
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61. NEW TELECOM POLICY AIMS TO PROVIDE BROADBAND ACCESS TO ALL CITIZENS BY 2022 The Union Cabinet approved a new telecom policy, the National Digital Communications Policy 2018 that aims to provide broadband access to every citizen at 50 Mbps speed by the year 2022. It envisions attracting $100 billion investments into the country‘s digital communications sector, aims at creating at least 40 lakh new jobs in the sector in the next four years. The last telecom policy was announced in 2012. The communication sector has been evolving at a rapid pace globally, especially with technologies such as 5G and Internet of Things (IoT). There was a need for a new consumer-centric and application-centric policy. The policy aims at expanding the IoT ecosystem to five billion connected devices, create globally recognised IPRs in India and create a fund for R&D in new technologies. It also pitches for leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Big Data to enhance the quality of services offered, spectrum management and network security while also establishing India as a global hub for cloud computing. Welcoming the much-awaited policy, the industry called for a close monitoring of its timely implementation ―so that the industry can recuperate from the deepening financial stress.‖ The policy document envisages the reduction in levies and ease of doing business. The policy has called for a review of levies and fees including licence fee, universal service obligation fund levy and spectrum usage charges, on the sector. This is expected to help the debt-laden telecom sector. However, the government may take up to a year to decide on these issues the Minister said in response to a query.
62. RAILWAYS TO ROLL OUT SMART COACHES The Indian Railways are set to launch their ‗Make in India‘ smart coaches with new features like black box and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered CCTVs, matching international standards. Named ‗Smart Trains‘, the coaches have been equipped with sensors that can detect defects on bearings, wheels, and the railway track, giving constant inputs to those in the control room to avoid accidents, carry out maintenance, and to improve efficiency of operations. The maiden smart coach was unveiled at the Modern Coach Factory in Rae Bareli as part of launching 100 such trains in a pilot project to improve the safety and security of commuters, and to boost efficiency. The black box, being introduced for the first time by Indian Railways, has a powerful multi-dimensional communication interface to provide information on passengers and coach condition on real-time basis.
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The black box will act as a coach control unit with communication interfaces for passenger announcements, GPS-based announcement triggers, emergency intercom for commuters, digital destination boards, train reservation display modules, and CCTVs with remote monitoring. The modern infotainment system has been installed to locate the train in real time. AI-powered CCTVs will help those in the control room to keep a tab on untoward incidents and on the behaviour of on-board staff. An emergency talk-back system will enable communication between passengers and the guard during a crisis. A Wi-Fi hotspot information system is another innovative feature. For wheel, coach and track monitoring, Railways have come up with Internet of things- based system. The vibrating-energy-based sensors will monitor the wheels, bearing and hard spots on the track, and will provide data through GPS/GPRS to the remote server for diagnosis and remedial measures. The Passenger Information and Coach Computing Unit (PICCU), an industrial grade computer, will monitor the coach maintenance and passenger interface. Smart coaches are also laden with water-level indicator technology to know whether the water in the coach is sufficient and when it needs to be filled. An SMS will be sent to the next watering station when the water level falls below half the coach capacity.
63. PAINTED RAILS SET TO COUNTER CORROSION The Railways is looking into the feasibility of introducing painted rails to overcome corrosion, which has been a perennial problem in maintaining the health of rails at desired standards. Painted rails will come in handy for the Railways in corrosion-prone locations, and in States like Kerala, where rails typically have a life of only about 15 years. The lower longevity of rails in Kerala, compared with 40 years in the railway networks of other States, is mainly due to the two monsoons in the State, fluctuations in temperature, and water-logging. The Steel Authority of India (SAIL), which is the main supplier of rails to the Indian Railways, does not produce painted rails. But the doors are open for introducing painted rails as Jindal Steel and Power Limited, the first private company to supply long rails to the Railways, having recently bagged 20% of the Rs. 2,500 crore global tender, has the necessary technology for it. Anti-corrosive painting of rails is carried out in corrosion-prone locations such as coastal, industrial and station areas, and tunnels and cuttings in the approaches to major towns. In these areas, anti-corrosive treatment is given before the rails are laid.
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64. VARIOUS IT INITIATIVES BY INDIAN RAILWAYS Indian Railways has always focused on adoption of new technologies to improve train operations and provide better passenger experience to its customers. In this series, IR has introduced various IT initiatives. Railways have experimented with tracking of trains using GPS devices with these GPS devices located in the locomotive. For a sustainable solution, a Real Time Train Information System (RTIS) is being implemented, whereby GPS tracking devices would communicate using satellite communications. The trials have been successful. Apart from this, data logger systems already available in track circuited stations are being used at major interchange points to capture arrival/departure information on trains. In an effort to computerise the transactions of the station master, a Computerised Train Signal Register is going live at 650 stations. This enables arrival/departure information to be transmitted to the Control Office Application (COA) and the National train Enquiry System (NTES) directly from the station master‘s desk. Handheld Terminals (HHTs) are being provided to the Train Ticket Examiners (TTEs) to be able to check the reserved coaches, allot the vacant berths and transmit information on available berths to the subsequent stations. The HHT can also access the ticketing application and collect excess fares as per rules. The terminal can potentially connect to a Point of Sale (POS) machine and charges can be collected digitally. Over the last four years, the capacity of the website has increased to 20,000 tickets per minute starting from 2000 tickets per minute in 2014, a ten-fold increase. Apart from the capacity, the entire user experience has been improved substantially with the launch a new interface with easier navigation and standard views that enable the passengers to transact smoothly. New features have been added that enable better planning of journeys aiding the passenger to obtain confirmed tickets. Paperless Unreserved ticketing on mobile phones was launched on 25.12.2014 at Mumbai. This has eliminated the need for passengers to stand in queue for getting tickets for journey in unreserved compartments of trains. The ticket is delivered on the Mobile Phone and is embedded with QR Code. This service has added to passenger convenience. About 4 lakh passengers per day are booking tickets on Mobile phones. Complete tendering activity of Indian Railways for procurement of goods, services & works and e-auction of scrap sale is on IREPS. IREPS system is largest such G to B portal in India.
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It has helped in achieving objectives of transparency, efficiency and improving of ease of doing business. 90,000 vendors have registered themselves on IREPS website. Central Vigilance Commission has recognized and awarded the system under ―Vigilance Excellence Award – 2017‖ for outstanding contribution in the category of ―IT initiatives for transparency in the organization‖.
65. CABINET APPROVES CONTINUATION OF CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT SCHEME The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved continuation of the Capacity Development Scheme for the period 2017-18 to 2019-20. The CDS is an Central Sector Scheme of MoSPI. The overall objective of the scheme is to augment infrastructural, technical as well as manpower resources for making available credible and timely Official Statistics for policy makers and public at large. The major ongoing activities under the CDS include augmenting resources for bringing out important statistical products, such as GDP, CPI , IIP etc. It includes other statistical classifications such as conducting various Socio-Economic surveys, capacity building and strengthening statistical coordination, and improving IT infrastructure. Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), a continuous survey to assess quarterly labour data in urban areas and annual labour data for the whole country (urban and rural areas), was launched in April, 2017 under the scheme. The CDS has two Sub-schemes, Economic Census and Support for Statistical Strengthening (SSS). Under Economic Census, listing of all non-agricultural establishments is undertaken periodically, which forms the basis for conducting detailed socio-economic surveys. The last (6l) Economic Census was conducted during January, 2013 to April, 2014 and the Government now aims to conduct the Census once every three years in future. The SSS Sub-scheme is to strengthen State/ Sub-State level statistical systems/ infrastructure to facilitate development of a robust national system. Funds are released to States/ UTs for this purpose after detailed examination of their proposals. In view of the requirement for better statistical coverage of sectors/areas, in addition to the regular ongoing activities, the Ministry proposes to also take up three new surveys under the CDS. These include Time Use Survey (TUS), Annual Survey of Service Sector Enterprises (ASSSE), and Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE).
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66. REVISED COST ESTIMATE OF DAM REHABILITATION AND IMPROVEMENT PROJECT The CCEA has approved the Revised Cost Estimate of Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) at the revised cost of Rs 3466 crore with the financial assistance of the World Bank. The project will improve the safety and operational performance of selected existing dams and mitigate risks to ensure safety of downstream population and property. The primary beneficiaries are both urban and rural communities dependent on reservoir and downstream communities, who are prone to risk associated with dam failure or operational failure. Further effectiveness of Dam Safety Organisations will be increased to take the lead to make dams safe from structural and operational point of view through capacity building of staff and officials.
67. SATAT INITIATIVE Union Petroleum Minister has launched an innovative initiative to set up Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) production plants and make available CBG in the market for use in automotive fuels. This move has the potential to boost availability of more affordable transport fuels, better use of agricultural residue, cattle dung and municipal solid waste, as well as to provide an additional revenue source to farmers. The initiative holds great promise for efficient municipal solid waste management and in tackling the problem of polluted urban air due to farm stubble-burning and carbon emissions. Use of CBG will also help bring down dependency on crude oil imports. There are multiple benefits from converting agricultural residue, cattle dung and municipal solid waste into CBG on a commercial scale: Responsible waste management, reduction in carbon emissions and pollution. Additional revenue source for farmers. Boost to entrepreneurship, rural economy and employment. Support to national commitments in achieving climate change goals. Reduction in import of natural gas and crude oil. Buffer against crude oil/gas price fluctuations.
68. BAMBOO, A PROMISING CROP FOR PROGRESSIVE FARMERS A young farmer in Kodagu district of Karnataka has reaped a bountiful harvest of bamboo even as fellow-farmers kept their lands fallow owing to low returns from paddy. Bamboo is the fastest-growing plant and there is no recurring expense incurred on irrigation, fertilizers, weedicides and pesticides. Harvesting can start from the fifth year and an average income of Rs. 1 lakh can be expected from an acre from the sixth year onwards for a period of 30 to 40 years.
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Many progressive farmers in Kerala and Karnataka try their luck in bamboo cultivation with the hope of securing sustainable income. Better returns in a short span of time, no recurring expenses and huge demand for bamboo poles in the market are some of the major attractions of cultivating bamboo. There is a huge demand for bamboo poles in the construction and farming sectors.
69. CABINET CLEARS NEW PROCUREMENT POLICY The Centre has announced a Rs. 15,053 crore scheme to ensure that farmers growing oilseeds, pulses and copra actually get the minimum support price (MSP) they are promised for their crops every year. The umbrella policy - Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) - was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in September 2018. According to an official statement, it clubs together an existing procurement scheme with newly introduced options - meant for oilseeds only - of additional procurement by private traders or a cash payment scheme. The government is working with a holistic approach. Increasing MSP is not adequate and it is more important that farmers get the full benefit of the announced MSP. The government announces minimum support prices for 23 crops every year. This year, these rates were set at 50% higher than the farmers' production costs, including that for labour. The rates are meant to give remunerative prices to the farmers and assure them of some profits. About one-third of the harvest of the two major foodgrains, rice and wheat, are procured by the Centre at the MSP for sale in ration shops. However, most of the 21 other crops are sold at market prices, often below the MSP, as the government's procurement operations are temporary.
70. THE LOWDOWN ON KHARIF SOWING With the summer (kharif) sowing picking up across the country on account of improved distribution of monsoon rain during the last fortnight of August 2018, another bumper harvest is expected this season, if weather conditions continue to be conducive. While the increase in crop acreage has eased the fear of a fall in grain production, the bright harvest outlook also throws a challenge to the government to deal with a situation of abundance of produce. A good kharif harvest means an increase in supply, which could result in a drop in crop prices, hitting farm income. Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Secretary S.K. Pattanayak, anticipating a good harvest, recently pointed out that the challenge with a "situation of abundance" before the government is that of maintaining food prices at levels that ensure farmers get their due profits, while not depriving consumers of the gains of a bumper harvest.
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This year, summer crops have been sown on nearly 1,053 lakh hectares against 1,046 lakh hectares during the corresponding period in 2017-18, as per data released by the Agriculture Ministry on September 14. Though the cumulative monsoon rain across the country has been 8% lower than the normal as of September 14, the higher acreage is being attributed to better distribution of rainfall. A bumper harvest will help the government fill its granaries for the Public Distribution System and reduce hunger and malnutrition. However, with the increased supply of crops (cereals and pulses) other than the foodgrain, which are procured by the government, the fall in prices can never be ruled out, which is associated with the economics of demand and supply. A bumper crop is expected to benefit the consumer. For farmers, it is a different story. The key issue is that a very small proportion of the produce is procured by government agencies. The bulk of the output is purchased by private players. The system of selling the produce is such that the intermediary gains more and the producer and the consumer both suffer. While the primary producer (farmer) gets low prices, consumers often have to pay high rates. Large number of small and marginal farmers is becoming highly distressed owing to the system of market institutions squeezing them both on the input and output side. The interlinked transactions, such as the informal credit market, further make them victims of a debt trap. Largescale suicides of farmers across India are testimony to this. To make farming a healthy business, the government needs to invest in the agriculture sector to improve input and output chains, where the value addition should be reaped by the primary producer [farmer].
71. NITI AAYOG FOR CLEAR POLICY ON ‘JHUM' CULTIVATION A recent NITI Aayog publication on shifting cultivation which is particularly practised in the northeastern States, has recommended that the Ministry of Agriculture should take up a "mission on shifting cultivation" to ensure inter-ministerial convergence between ministries. Central as well as State government departments of forests and environment, agriculture and allied departments often have divergent approaches towards shifting cultivation. This creates confusion among grass-roots level workers and jhum farmer said the report titled, "Mission on Shifting Cultivation: Towards a Transformational Approach". The document that calls for policy coherence, said land for shifting cultivation should be recognised as "agricultural land" where farmers practise agro-forestry for the production of food rather than as forestland.
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The publication notes that between 2000 and 2010, the land under shifting cultivation dropped by 70 %. The publication also addresses the issue of food and nutritional security of communities involved in jhum cultivation during transition and transformation by broadening the public distribution system (PDS) to ensure widespread access to cereals and other basic food items. The publication also suggested that shifting cultivation fallows must be legally perceived and categorised as ‗regenerating fallows' and that credit facilities be extended to those who practise shifting cultivation.
72. INDIA TARGETS SLIGHT INCREASE IN 2018-19 FOODGRAIN OUTPUT Despite patchy rainfall in some parts, the Agriculture Ministry has set a foodgrain production target of 285.2 million tonnes for 2018-19, a marginal increase from the previous year's harvest of 284.8 million tonnes. Rainfall deficit during the current monsoon season is now at 10%, according to the Indian Meteorological Department. The 2018-19 targets for rice, at 113 million tonnes, and wheat, at 100 million tonnes, are marginally higher than last year's harvest. However, the targets for pulses, coarse cereals and maize are slightly lower. Targets should be balanced, not too high," Agriculture Commissioner S.K. Malhotra said "We must produce enough to address food and nutrition security needs, but we must also address the income security of farmers. If targets are too high, and there is excess production, farmers will suffer, adding that there was a need to improve access to export markets in the case of high production. Over the last two years of normal monsoons and record harvests, prices of several commodities have crashed, hurting many farmers. The government has ramped up procurement of pulses and oilseeds in an effort to ensure that more farmers receive the minimum support price (MSP) for these crops even as the market rates fall, but that has led to a shortage of storage capacity.
73. RAJASTHAN FARMERS BENEFITED FROM SOLAR WATER PUMPS A scientific study conducted by Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, has found mismatch between investment in solar energy sources and employment generation in the sector, but has stated that the farmers in Rajasthan have immensely benefited from the solar photovoltaic (SPV) water pumping systems. The study has also found a significant decline in the consumption of fuel in the agriculture sector. Farmers used to operate diesel generators for 6 to 7 hours a day, consuming two litres of diesel per hour. The use of SPV pumps has resulted in a drastic reduction of fuel consumption, which was also a cause of greenhouse effect.
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74. UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG EDUCATED YOUTH AT 16% With higher growth rates not having translated into more jobs and increases in productivity failing to spur a commensurate rise in wages, the government ought to formulate a National Employment Policy that takes these trends into account according to the study of State of Working India 2018. Confirming the spectre of jobless growth, the study contends that this divergence between growth and jobs had increased over time. If you look back at the 1970s and 80s, when GDP growth was around 3-4%, employment growth was about 2%. Currently, the ratio of GDP growth to employment growth is less than 0.1. That means that a 10% increase in GDP results in a less than 1% increase in employment. The study uses government data to show that total employment actually shrank by seven million between 2013 and 2015, and cites private data to posit that an absolute decline has continued in the years since. Unemployment has risen to more than 5% overall, and the study slices the data to show that in geographic terms, north Indian States are the most severely affected, while in demographic terms, young people with higher education levels suffer an unemployment rate as high as 16%. While wages are rising in almost all sectors, hidden within the positive data is the worrying fact that rural wage growth collapsed in 2014, and has not risen since. In the organised manufacturing sector, though the number of jobs has grown, there has also been an increase in the share of contract work, which offers lower wages and less job security. Also, of concern is the divergence of productivity and wages in the organised manufacturing sector. Labour productivity in the sector is six times higher than it was 30 years ago; however, managerial and supervisory salaries have only tripled in the same period, while production workers‘ wages have grown a measly 1.5 times. Women‘s participation in the paid workforce is still low, but the situation is unequal across States. In Uttar Pradesh, only 20 women are in paid employment for every 100 men, while that figure jumps to 50 in Tamil Nadu and 70 in Mizoram and Nagaland. With regard to earnings, the caste gap is actually larger than the gender gap.
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Dalits and Adivasis are over-represented in low-paying occupations, and severely under- represented in higher-paying ones, the study reveals. They earn only 55-56% of upper caste workers‘ earnings.
75. TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES FOR COFFEE STAKEHOLDERS Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu has launched Coffee Connect – India coffee field force app and Coffee Krishi Tharanga – digital mobile extension services for coffee stakeholders. The mobile app Coffee Connect has been developed to ease the work of field functionaries and to improve the work efficiency. This application provides solution by harnessing the power of mobility comprising the latest technology in easing the whole process of the field. This includes activities like digitization of Coffee Growers & Estates with Geo Tagging, collecting the Plantation details. It will also help in transparency in the activities of the extension officers and officials, transparency in subsidy disbursement and real time report generation. The Coffee KrishiTharanga services are aimed at providing customized information and services to increase productivity, profitability, and environmental sustainability. The service is pilot tested in the Chikmagalur and Hassan districts of Karnataka State covering 30,000 farmers during the first year and will be extended to remaining growers in a phased manner. NABARD has partly funded the Pilot project. The solution will help in to reach maximum growers in limited period, efficient, timely, customised advisory, improve the efficiency through digitization and leverage existing mobile reach for wider delivery of improved technology. Coffee is cultivated in India in about 4.54 lakh hectares by 3.66 lakh coffee farmers and 98% of them are small farmers. Its cultivation is mainly confined to Karnataka (54%), Kerala (19%) and Tamil Nadu (8%) which form traditional coffee tracts. New fields are also developed in NE states. Indian coffee, grown mostly in southern states under monsoon rainfall conditions, is also termed as ―Indian monsooned coffee‖. The two well known species of coffee grown are the Arabica and Robusta. The first variety that was introduced in the Baba Budan Giri hill ranges of Karnataka in the 17th century was marketed over the years under the brand names of Kent and S.795.
76. INDIA TO PARTICIPATE IN G-20, TRADE AND INVESTMENT MINISTERIAL MEETING Union Minister of Commerce & Industry will participate in the G-20, Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting, being held in Mar del Plata in Argentina.
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The meeting will provide an opportunity for a dialogue on current developments in international trade and its implications for the global economy. Trade and investment must benefit all and countries must jointly address both the opportunities and challenges of globalization, innovation and technological advancements. India looks forward to work along with other countries to reform WTO and ensure that it continues to be an engine for global trade. Further, the key issues that will be discussed include global value chains, the new industrial revolution and the international trade outlook. The multilateral trading system is facing unprecedented challenges in the wake of protectionist measures by some countries, which is not compatible with the WTO.
77. NEW OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES FOR PRADHAN MANTRI FASAL BIMA YOJANA (PMFBY) The Government has decided to incorporate the provision of penalties for States and Insurance Companies for the delay in settlement of insurance claims under the PMFBY. The farmers will be paid 12% interest by insurance companies for the delay in settlement claims beyond two months of prescribed cut-off date. State Governments will have to pay 12% interest for the delay in release of State share of subsidy beyond three months of prescribed cut-off date submission of requisition by insurance companies. The guidelines also detail a Standard Operating Procedure for evaluation of insurance companies and remove them from the scheme if found ineffective in providing services. The Government has also decided to include perennial horticultural crops under the ambit of PMFBY on a pilot basis. The scheme as per the new guidelines provides add on coverage for crop loss due to attack of wild animals, which will be implemented on a pilot basis. Aadhaar number will be mandatorily captured to avoid duplication of beneficiaries. The insurance companies are given a target of enrolling 10% more non-loanee farmers than the previous corresponding season. They will have to mandatorily spend 0.5% of gross premium per company per season for publicity and awareness of the scheme. The much demanded rationalization of premium release process has been incorporated in the new guidelines. As per this, the insurance companies need not provide any projections for the advance subsidy. Release of upfront premium subsidy will be made at the beginning of the season based on 50% of 80% of total share of subsidy of corresponding season of previous year as GOI/State subsidy.
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Balance premium will be paid as a second installment based on the specific approved business statistics on the portal for settlement of claims. Final installment will be paid after reconciliation of entire coverage data on portal based on final business statistics. This will reduce the delay in settling the claims of farmers.
78. UNION HRD MINISTRY INAUGURATES 4TH WORLD SUMMIT ON ACCREDITATION (WOSA-2018) Union Minister for HRD has inaugurated 4th World Summit on Accreditation (WOSA- 2018) at New Delhi. Ministry highlighted that we need to cover each and every institution under accreditation but right now the number of accredited institutions is very less. Only 15% institutions come under accreditation and 85% institutions are still not coming for accreditation. It is a biennial Summit organised by NBA, which provides platform to stakeholders to share their knowledge and information on accreditation. NBA has already organised three Summits in 2012, 2014 and 2016. All these Summits were well attended (WOSA 2012 was attended by 800 participants, WOSA 2014 was attended by 850 participants and WOSA 2016 was attended by 800 participants). Continuing this tradition, NBA is organizing WOSA 2018 with focus on ―CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN OUTCOME BASED ACCREDITATION‖. The Summit will facilitate exchange of information on various challenges being faced during the transition between input-output based accreditation to outcome based accreditation. The discussion and global participation in WOSA 2018 will bring about new ideas and help in establishing new trends of identifying opportunities and challenges in professional and technical education world-wide. WOSA 2018 is an opportunity for academia and the industry to explore avenues for future partnerships and to create an environment for open dialogue to facilitate mobility of students and professionals world-wide to gain international experience. The educational institutions will have an opportunity to interact with industry, policy makers and accreditation agencies from the globe and learn about their perspectives. It will also be a unique chance for the educational institutions to develop and fortify ties with the industry. Industry would be able to interact with educational institutions and accrediting agencies for exchanging views on their requirements of quality manpower and accreditation parameters. Why less accredited institutions in India? It may be for two reasons first some institutions do not want to come under accreditation.
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And the second we have some restriction in our own accreditation mechanism. Hence government wants to increase the strength of NBA and NAAC so that more number of institutions can be accredited. Ranking and rating increase competitiveness among institutions for better performance. Under NIRF every institute has constituted an internal committee to improve the ranking. Students also see institutions ranking before taking admission. The government wants to boost quality education in the country therefore every year it is closing some non-performing institutions. The Ministry is promoting expansion and autonomy of the institutions and benchmark for the same is quality. It has declared such Institutes of Eminence which are completely autonomous.
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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. 3,600 WITH FAULTY IMPLANTS UNTRACEABLE After a group of patients affected by Johnson & Johnson‟s faulty ASR (articular surface replacement) hip implants which were globally recalled in 2010 approached the Union Health Ministry seeking copy of the Ministry‟s expert committee probe report, it has been made public. With it comes the government‟s disclosure that “the firm has neither provided the exact number of the patients who had undergone surgeries/re-surgeries with ASR nor had they stated categorically that they have approached each patient and informed them about the risk associated with the faulty ASR.‟‟ The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, the national pharmaceutical and medical devices regulator, has uploaded the „Report of the Expert Committee to address the issue of faulty ASR hip implants.‟ The report notes clearly that over 3,600 patients with the faulty implants remain untraceable, and that at least four patients with the implants have died. The company told the regulator that worldwide 93,000 ASR implants were done, with approximately 4,700 in India. Until March 2017, only 1,032 patients were registered with the ASR helpline; 254 patients underwent revision surgery; 774 patients were monitored by surgeons. The committee, chaired by Dr. Arun Agarwal, ex-Dean and Professor of ENT, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, has recommended that the company be made to pay at least Rs. 20 lakh to each affected patient and that the reimbursement programme for revision surgeries continue until August 2025. The ASR hip implants were found to be faulty, resulting in higher revision surgeries. The accelerated wear of metal in the implant leads to higher levels of cobalt and chromium in the blood which lead to toxicity. The metal ions damage tissue and further damage body organs and may also cause localised health problems, said the report. The end result was increased pain and decreased mobility, affecting the patients‟ family and social life and negatively impacting their self-esteem and mental health. To ensure that patients using high-risk medical devices stay on the radar to check for adverse reaction and other follow-up, the committee recommended establishment of an independent registry. It also recommended that provisions be introduced in law for issuing alerts and warning manufacturers.
2. DRUG TARGET FOR NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES AND CANCER DISCOVERED Bhubaneswar-based researchers have discovered that activation of a particular protein (TRIM16) can turn out to be a potential therapeutic intervention strategy for
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neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer‟s, Parkinson‟s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). At the same time, inhibiting this protein in cancer cells can bring about a reduction in tumour proliferation. Studies carried out in test tubes and in mice models have shown that the protein has the ability to protect cancer cells from oxidative stress and inhibiting this protein can therefore lead to reduced tumour growth. Neurodegenerative diseases Normally, about 30% of newly synthesised proteins in a cell can end up being misfolded, which are then degraded and removed from the cell. Genetic mutations and stress (both cellular and environmental) can increase the rate of misfolding. When the amount of misfolded proteins far exceeds the capacity of cells to degrade and clear them, the cells tend to aggregate the misfolded proteins to reduce toxicity. Though protein aggregates are less toxic to cells, they too can turn toxic if the aggregates increase in number and size, which is what is seen in the case of Alzheimer‟s, Parkinson‟s and ALS. A team of researchers has identified a novel mechanism by which misfolded proteins form aggregates and get degraded in the cell. They found the TRIM16 protein playing a role both in the formation of protein aggregates and in their degradation. Protein aggregates are formed when the TRIM16 protein activates a particular pathway (P62-NRF2), while protein aggregates get degraded when TRIM16 enhances a different pathway (autophagy). Autophagy is a process of degrading the unwanted material to clean the cells and keep them healthy. The current strategy is to use small molecules to enhance the autophagy process to destroy protein aggregates. But small molecules are non-specific and can target other pathways too. Pharmacological activation of TRIM16 protein, on the other hand, will be more specific for therapeutic targeting of neurodegenerative diseases. When more TRIM16 protein is produced by activation, autophagy gets enhanced leading to higher rate of protein aggregate degradation. Cancer cell growth Since cancer cells proliferate rapidly unlike normal cells, plenty of metabolic waste gets generated and accumulated inside cancer cells. In this study, the researchers have shown that cancer cells via TRIM16 can hijack both the autophagy and P62-NRF2 pathways to keep the cells clean and survive in harsh conditions. The P62-NRF2 pathway detoxifies the reactive oxygen species-related metabolic waste.
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When the TRIM16 activity was reduced in cancer cells in vitro, the capacity to proliferate was reduced. The cancer cells were able to grow normally when the researchers added (complemented) TRIM16 protein, thus validating the crucial role of TRIM16 in cancer cell growth. In the case of animal studies, the researchers first removed (knockout) the TRIM16 protein from cancer cells and then introduced the cancer cells into mice models. Compared with controls, tumour growth was drastically reduced in mice when cancer cells did not have the TRIM16 protein. If we pharmacologically decrease the activity of TRIM16 in cancer cells then tumour growth can be inhibited.
3. DRUG-RESISTANT SUPERBUG SPREADING IN HOSPITALS A superbug resistant to all known antibiotics that can cause "severe" infections or even death is spreading undetected through hospital wards across the world. Researchers at the University of Melbourne discovered three variants of the multidrug- resistant bug in samples from 10 countries, including strains in Europe that cannot be reliably tamed by any drug currently on the market. The bacteria, known as Staphylococcus epidermidis, are related to the better-known and more deadly MRSA superbug. It's found naturally on human skin and most commonly infects the elderly or patients who have had prosthetic materials implanted, such as catheters and joint replacements. They found that some strains of the bug made a small change in its DNA that led to resistance to two of the most common antibiotics. Another Australian study suggested some hospital superbugs are growing increasingly tolerant to alcohol-based disinfectants found in handwashes and sanitisers used on hospital wards.
4. 34% INDIANS NOT ACTIVE ENOUGH 34% of Indians - 24.7% male and 43.9% females - are not active enough to stay healthy, according to the latest study released by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which noted that globally more than 1.4 billion adults are at risk of diseases from not doing enough physical activity. Published in Lancet Global Health, the study notes that there is no improvement in global levels of physical activity since 2001. The data shows that if current trends continue, the 2025 global activity target of a 10% relative reduction in insufficient physical activity will not be met. Insufficient activity puts people at greater risk of cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, dementia, and some cancers, according to the first study to estimate global physical activity trends over time.
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Levels of insufficient physical activity are more than twice as high in high income countries compared with low income countries, and increased by 5% in high income countries between 2001 and 2016. The highest rates of insufficient activity in 2016 were found in adults in Kuwait, American Samoa, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, where more than half of all adults were insufficiently active. Comparatively, around 40% of adults in the U.S., 36% in the U.K. and 14% in China were insufficiently active. The recommended levels of physical activity to stay healthy are - at least 150 minutes of physical activity of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of physical activity of vigorous intensity per week.
5. IMA MOOTS ETHICS CODE OVERHAUL Marking a bold departure from the existing code of ethics that covers the medical profession, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) - an umbrella voluntary body that counts more than 2.5 lakh, or about a third, of the country's doctors as its members - is in the process of redefining the code in order to ensure a more contemporary outlook. The current code of medical ethics by the Medical Council of India dates back to 2002. Much has changed in the medical field since then and many relevant topics do not find a mention in the present code. Therefore, we felt it was necessary to brainstorm on this aspect. It suggests: i. an individual doctor can advertise, have a website to promote her practice to compete with aggressively marketed corporate hospitals. Any publicity material should be ethical and approved after scrutiny by the respective State medical councils. ii. the donation of cadaver organs should be made mandatory for all unless an individual specifically states that he or she does not want to become an organ donor. iii. it is important for medical students to study ethics throughout the duration of the MBBS course iv. doctors cannot give consent for physician-assisted suicide. This decision can only be taken by relatives v. With respect to Assisted Reproductive Technology and surrogacy, doctors should ethically ensure that surrogates and egg donors are not exploited. This code would subsequently be submitted to all the relevant Central Ministries - health, medical education, law and justice and the MCI - for consideration.
6. INDIA'S HEALTH REPORT READS WORSE Indians have registered a 50% increase in the prevalence of ischemic heart disease and stroke over the period from 1990 to 2016, with the number of diabetes cases climbing from 26 million to 65 million.
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In the same period, the number of people ailing from chronic obstructive lung disease went up from 28 million to 55 million, according to the „India State-level Disease Burden Initiative' report released. The proportional contribution of cancers to the total loss of health in India has doubled from 1990 to 2016, but the incidence of different types of cancers varies widely between the States. The report is a joint initiative of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, along with experts and stakeholders associated with over 100 Indian institutions. The State-wise disease burden showed that Punjab has been ranked at the top for the burden of ischemic heart disease, followed by Tamil Nadu, and vice-versa for diabetes. West Bengal topped with the largest number of stroke cases followed by Odisha, according to the comprehensive analysis of several major non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Kerala was ranked at the top for the burden of cancer, followed by Assam. Being overweight was found to be a major risk factor for diabetes doubled in every State of India from 1990 to 2016. These papers, through detailed analysis, have elucidated disease and risk factor trends for major NCDs, and suicides, in every State, over 26 years. He added that while it is known that NCDs have been increasing in India, a major finding of concern is that the highest rate of increase in ischemic heart disease and diabetes is in the less developed States of India. Suicide is the leading cause of death in the 15-39 years age group in India. Thirty-seven per cent of such deaths among women globally occur in India, and the suicide rate among the elderly has increased over the past quarter century. If the trends observed up to 2016 continued, the probability of India achieving Sustainable Development Goals for SDR reduction in 2030 was zero.
7. CURBS ON 328 FIXED DOSE COMBINATIONS The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has prohibited the manufacture for sale, sale or distribution for human use of 328 fixed dose combinations (FDCs) with immediate effect. It also restricted the manufacture, sale or distribution of six FDCs subject to certain conditions. Earlier, the Central government had, through its notifications published on the 10th March, 2016, in the Gazette of India, prohibited the manufacture for sale, sale and distribution for human use of 344 FDCs under Section 26 A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
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Subsequently, the government had prohibited five more FDCs in addition to the 344 under the same provisions. However, the matter was contested by manufacturers in various High Courts and the Supreme Court. In compliance with the Supreme Court judgment dated December 15, 2017, the matter was examined by the Drugs Technical Advisory Board which gave its report to the Central government.
8. WIPING OUT AIDS BY 2030 WILL NOT BE EASY India's long battle against AIDS is not likely to end any time soon, if the latest figures released by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) are any indication. The data revealed that, as of 2017, there were 21.40 lakh people living with HIV in India. There were around 87,000 new HIV infections and over 69,000 AIDS-related deaths (ARDs) in 2017. Around 22,675 mothers needed Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) for prevention of mother- to-child transmission of HIV. India's 2017 figures do not show a significant positive shift from 2015, the previous year for which when such a survey had been carried out. In 2015, India had reported 86,000 new HIV infections. The country aims to achieve the ambitious goal of ending AIDS in India by 2030. HIV Estimations 2017 corroborates the previous rounds in terms of the characteristic of the HIV epidemic in India national prevalence and incidence remains low, but the epidemic is high in some geographical regions and population groups. The report has noted that the rate of decline in annual new HIV infections has been relatively slower in recent years. However, that the impact of the HIV/AIDS control programme has been significant, with more than an 80 per cent decline in estimated new infections from the epidemic's peak in 1995. Similarly, estimated AIDS-related deaths declined by 71 per cent since its peak in 2005.
9. SC QUESTIONS ‘LEPROSY-FREE' TAG FOR INDIA India "underestimated" leprosy and diverted funds meant to eliminate the curable disease for 18 long years. In its 22-page judgment, a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra pointed out that though the country was declared leprosy-free on December 31, 2005, the reality is "entirely different". The Supreme Court referred to progress reports of the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) to show that only 543 districts of the total 642 districts in the country had achieved the World Health Organisation-required prevalence rate of less than one case of leprosy for 10,000 persons.
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The underestimation of cases of leprosy and the declaration of elimination of leprosy has resulted in the integration of leprosy in general health services thereby leading to diversion of funds which would have otherwise been dedicated to eliminating leprosy. Meanwhile, patients and their families continue to suffer from leprosy and its stigma. They are even denied their fundamental right to food. They are not issued BPL (Below Poverty Line) cards to claim the benefit of various welfare schemes such as the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY). They are deprived of housing, basic civic amenities, adequate sanitary facilities and rehabilitation programmes. At present, majority of the populace afflicted with leprosy live as a marginalised section in society, deprived of even basic human rights. This manifestly results in violation of the fundamental right to equality and right to live with dignity.
10. CALL FOR POLICY, ACTION IN DIABETES PREVENTION, MANAGEMENT The recently-released Global Burden of Disease Study 2016 has shown that the prevalence of diabetes has increased more rapidly in the less-developed States of the country. The report has also highlighted the need for policy and health system action commensurate with the disease burden in each State to ensure more effective prevention and management of diabetes. The total number of people with diabetes grew from 26 million in 1990 to 65 million in 2016. The prevalence of diabetes in India was 5.5 % in 1990, but it has increased to 7.7 % in 2016. The highest prevalence is in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, followed by Delhi, Punjab, Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Tripura. Among the risk factors contributing to diabetes in India in 2016, high BMI had the highest impact, while the other factors were dietary risks, tobacco use, and occupational exposure to secondhand smoke, low physical activity, and alcohol use. The prevalence of being overweight in persons aged 20 years or older had increased from 9% in 1990 to 20.4% in 2016. Interventions to prevent obesity, providing public facilities to increase physical activity, and taxing „sin foods‟, would go a long way in reducing the numbers, epidemiologists say.
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11. CAN WE REPAIR DAMAGED RETINA LIKE ZEBRAFISH DO? In stark contrast to mammals, the zebrafish has the ability to completely regenerate its retina and restore vision after an injury. Researchers from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali, have decoded the signals and genes behind this tremendous feat and hope to uncover valuable clues as to why we humans fail at such regeneration. A particular signalling system - sonic hedgehog (Shh) - in zebrafish has been previously reported to aid in developmental and tissue regeneration activities. To decipher the influence of Shh signalling on retina regeneration, the researchers first inhibited its function. They found that impairing this signal made 90% of the zebrafish embryo exhibit a birth defect called cyclopia. Cyclopia is also seen in humans, where there is a single median eye or a partially divided eye. Detailed understanding of this signalling may provide insights into the rare defect. Since this signalling is also responsible for retina regeneration in zebrafish, the researchers are trying to understand why the signalling does not bring about retina regeneration in humans.
12. STATES TOLD TO ARM PHCS IN FIGHT AGAINST TB In an effort to meet its ambitious target to eradicate tuberculosis (TB) by 2025 - five years ahead of the target fixed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) - the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has directed all States to expand TB diagnostics services to all primary health centres (PHCs). The Ministry wrote to all State Mission Directors to expand the sputum smear microscopy services at the PHC level by December 2018. The national TB programme also envisages expansion of the service at that level. As of now, TB diagnosis under RNTCP is done primarily using sputum smear microscopy in more than 14,000 Designated Microscopy Centres (DMCs) spread across the country. While at least 25,650 PHCs have been established in the country (as on March 31, 2017), most don't offer this service. The samples from such PHCs are sent to the nearest facility that has a DMC. Because of this, there might be a significant loss of presumptive TB cases, the letter states. The directive is expected to lead to improved case detection. According to the Global TB Report of 2017, the estimated incidence of TB in India is 28 lakh - about a quarter of the world's TB cases. India has an estimated 27 lakh TB patients, of which only 13 lakh have been captured in government data, according to a top official in the Central TB division. In 2015, the incidence was 217 per lakh population. It has come down to 211 per lakh in 2017, going by the data collected. To bring that down to 44 per lakh by 2025 is a challenge, but we are working towards it.
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In 2017, India re-estimated its national figures, incorporating information from a wide range of sources and making it more accurate than previous estimates.
13. PANEL APPROVES NUTRITION NORMS India's top nutrition panel, the National Technical Board on Nutrition (NTBN) has recommended that severely malnourished children must be fed freshly cooked food prepared from locally available cereals, pulses and vegetables, and distributed by anganwadi centres, as part of the country's first-ever guidelines for nutritional management of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM). The government had, till now, only put in place guidelines for the hospitalisation of severely wasted children who develop medical complications. Those norms were made public in 2011. The guidelines outline the role of anganwadi workers and auxillary nurse midwives (ANMs) in identifying severely wasted children, segregating those with oedema or medical complications and sending them to the nearest health facility or nutrition rehabilitation centres. The remaining children are enrolled into "community based management", which includes provision of nutrition, continuous monitoring of growth, administration of antibiotics and micro-nutrients as well as counselling sessions and imparting of nutrition and health education. According to the recommendations, anganwadi workers have to provide modified morning snacks, hot cooked meals and take home ration for SAM children. The morning snacks and hot-cooked meals, which are served at anganwadis to children between the age of three to six years, should be "prepared freshly and served at the centralised kitchen/ anganwadi centres. Locally available cereals, pulses, green leafy vegetables and tubers, vitamin C rich fruits, as well as fresh milk and 3-4 eggs every week" have also been prescribed. Importantly, the government has also revised the method to be used to measure wasting and advised calculating weight based on the height of children instead of the mid-upper arm circumference.
14. MOSQUITO POPULATION MADE EXTINCT WITH GENETIC TWEAK Scientists said they had succeeded for the first time in wiping out an entire population of malaria-carrying mosquitoes in the lab using a gene editing tool to programme their extinction. So-called gene drive technology works by forcing evolution's hand, ensuring that an engineered trait is passed down to a higher proportion of offspring - across many generations - than would have occurred naturally. In experiments with the species Anopheles gambiae, scientists at Imperial College London tweaked a gene known as double sex so that more females in each generation could no longer bite or reproduce.
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After only eight generations, there were no females left and the population collapsed due to lack of offspring. Malaria affected more than 200 million people worldwide in 2016 and killed nearly 4,50,000. It remains one of the most deadly of infectious diseases. Previous attempts by the same team and others to induce the genetically programmed extinction of mosquitoes in the laboratory ran into "resistance" in the form of mutations that fought back against the high-tech engineering.
15. TINY DEVICE MAY BE EFFECTIVE IN TREATMENT OF HEART FAILURE For people with severe heart failure, even mundane tasks can be extraordinarily difficult. With blood flow impeded throughout their bodies, patients may become breathless simply walking across a room or up stairs. Some must sleep sitting up to avoid gasping for air. Drugs may help to control the symptoms, but the disease takes a relentless course, and most people with severe heart failure do not have long to live. Now, researchers have reported that a tiny clip called the MitraClip inserted into the heart sharply reduced death rates in patients with severe heart failure. In a large clinical trial, doctors found that these patients also avoided additional hospitalisation and described adrastically improved quality of life with fewer symptoms. If the device is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of severe heart failure, as expected, then insurers, including Medicare, likely will cover it. In heart failure, the organ itself is damaged and flaccid, often as a consequence of a heart attack. The muscle pumps inefficiently, and in an attempt to compensate, the heart enlarges and becomes misshapen. The enlarged organ tugs apart the mitral valve, which controls blood flow from the left atrium into the left ventricle. The distorted valve functions poorly, its flaps swinging apart. Blood that is supposed to be pumped into the body backs up into the heart and lungs. A vicious cycle ensues: the heart enlarges, so the mitral valve leaks. The leaky mitral valve makes the heart enlarge even more, as it tries to compensate, and heart failure worsens. When MitraClip is used to repair the mitral valve by clipping its two flaps together in the middle, the valve is able to regulate blood flow in and out of the heart.
16. FIRST HUMAN CASE OF RAT VIRUS FOUND A man has developed the world's first ever human case of the rat version of the hepatitis E virus, according to new research from University of Hong Kong.
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There had previously been no evidence the disease could jump from rats to humans, It warned that the discovery had "major public health significance". Rat hepatitis E virus is very distantly related to human hepatitis E virus variants, researchers said. The disease was found in a 56-year-old man who persistently produced abnormal liver function tests following a liver transplant. He could have contracted the illness through food infected by rat droppings, researchers said.
17. UN INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE (UNIATF) AWARD Shri Manoj Jhalani, Additional Secretary & Mission Director (NHM), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has been conferred with the prestigious UNIATF Award for his outstanding contribution towards prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and related SDGs. It is in recognition of Government of India‟s efforts made in the field of prevention and control of Non-Communicable Diseases. National Programme to control NCDs has been scaled up by more than eight times in the past four years and covers all the 36 States/Union Territories now. The govt. has also initiated population level prevention, control, screening and management initiative in almost 200 districts under NHM which will cover people above 30 years of age. When fully rolled out, the population-based screening will reach over 500 million adults with health promotion, risk reduction, screening, early detection and management of common NCDs. Free diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, referral and back referral have been integrated into the program with an IT platform developed through a multi-stakeholder partnership. The intervention also forms the core of Ayushman Bharat, comprehensive primary health care program. The risk factors of NCDs are multi-sectoral and many of the interventions to control these lies outside the health sector. A National Multi-sectoral Action Plan has been developed which outlines the interventions for different sectors of the Government and other stakeholders.
18. HEALTH MINISTRY LAUNCHES SPUTUM SAMPLE TRANSPORTATION THROUGH DEPT OF POST A pilot project for utilising services of Department of Post for transport of sputum specimen for TB Diagnosis was launched by the Health Ministry. The sputum test is often the first TB test to be used in countries with a high rate of TB infection. Sputum is a thick fluid that is produced in the lungs and the airways leading to the lungs.
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A sample of sputum is usually collected by the person coughing. Sputum microscopy is inexpensive and simple, and people can be trained to do it relatively quickly and easily. In addition the results are available within hours. Most of the patients are not diagnosed because the specimen does not reach the laboratory due to non-availability of specimen transport mechanisms. Transport of collected specimen also spares the patient‟s from travelling to the reference laboratory. Prompt transport of specimen followed by efficacious testing will enable appropriate management of the TB patients and reduced disease transmission. The web-based application of Revised National Tuberculosis Programme, Nikshay Version 2.0 with better user interface and data structures, was also launched. The web-application is also designed to be mobile friendly, enabling data entry also from the mobile browser.
19. UAE TO SEND ASTRONAUTS TO SPACE The United Arab Emirates has selected its first two astronauts to go on a mission to the International Space Station. The UAE has its sights set on space with a programme worth 20 billion dirhams ($5.4 billion). The oil-rich Gulf nation has already announced plans to become the first Arab country to send an unmanned probe to orbit Mars by 2021, naming it "Hope".
20. JAPAN TO TEST MINI ‘SPACE ELEVATOR' A Japanese team has developed a "space elevator" and will conduct a first trial in September 2018, blasting off a miniature version on satellites to test the technology. The test equipment, produced by researchers at Shizuoka University, will hitch a ride on an H-2B rocket being launched by Japan's space agency from southern island of Tanegashima. The test involves a miniature elevator stand-in - a box just 6 cm long, 3 cm wide, and 3 cm high. If all goes well, it will provide proof of concept by moving along a 10-metre cable suspended in space between two mini satellites that will keep it taut. The mini-elevator will travel along the cable from a container in one of the satellites. It's going to be the world's first experiment to test elevator movement in space. The movement of the motorised "elevator" box will be monitored with cameras in the satellites.
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It is still a far cry from the ultimate beam-me-up goals of the project, which builds on a long history of "space elevator" dreams. The idea was first proposed in 1895 by Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky after he saw the Eiffel Tower in Paris. But technical barriers have always kept plans stuck at the conceptual stage. Japanese construction firm Obayashi, which is collaborating with the Shizuoka university project, is also exploring other ways to build its own space elevator to put tourists in space in 2050.
21. INDUSTRY MUST LIFT PSLV OUTPUT The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) wants industry to raise its engagement with the country's space programme by helping drive production of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLVs) that ISRO needs to meet its fast expanding launch schedule in the coming years. Our missions are growing at a fast pace, to 59 satellites in three years. It means that instead of doing six or seven launches a year we must do almost two launches a month. Observing that partner companies stood to gain substantially from the projects. This would free ISRO up to focus on pursuing new technologies and the challenge of the manned space misson, which is about 40 months away. With 85% of the launch vehicle cost and 50% of the spacecraft cost going to industries that supply components and systems to ISRO, Dr. Sivan said domestic companies stood to gain substantially.
22. DESI BITES FROM DEFENCE FOOD LAB SET FOR SPACE We may not yet know who will eventually ride to space on the first Indian human mission in 2022, but some of the desi bites they may eat during those five days are already here, courtesy the Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL). Roti or flat wheat rolls, two-minute idli-sambar, ready-to-eat courses made of rice, lentils and millets, khichdi, beaten rice delicacies, energy-filled nuggets, munches, bars, beet, mango and pineapple sips that don't spill in the space capsule, even specially toasted potato chips await the government's green signal to travel 400 km above the ground. Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL), Mysuru, the food research centre of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), says it is geared to feed Indian astronauts with tasty ready-to-eats and easy-to-makes. Its officials said they have also developed starch-based edible plates, cups and spoons that don't add to the trash in space travel, or leave tell-tale traces of moving troops. Space will be the lab's new big challenge after helping soldiers of the Army, Navy and Air Force nutritionally conquer harsh, sub-zero, hot, hilly, undersea or flying conditions.
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23. HOW ABOUT A TOAST TO ZERO GRAVITY? Future space tourists may be able to toast the view from orbit with fine champagne, after designers came up with a high-tech bottle made for knocking back bubbly in zero gravity. The Mumm champagne house teamed up with designer Octave de Gaulle, who has specialised in conceiving of everyday objects for the final frontier, to develop the space- age bottles. The target audience is not astronauts, who are not allowed to drink alcohol on the International Space Station. But the coming wave of space tourism promoted by private operators such as Virgin Galactic and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin could prove an ebullient audience for cosmic connoisseurs.
24. PSLV TO LAUNCH 2 U.K. SATELLITES There is no Indian satellite on this flight PSLV-C42 will be the first fully commercial trip of ISRO for 2018. ISRO did not make any launch post-April 2018, after it put replacement navigation satellite, IRNSS-1I to space on thePSLV-C41 rocket. The PSLV is being flown in its core-alone format, minus the external boosters. The two satellites, NovaSAR and S1-4, together weigh nearly 889 kg; this is the optimum payload that a core-alone PSLV can launch. PSLV-C42 will lift NovaSAR and S1-4 to a sun-synchronous ('pole-to-pole') orbit 583 km from Earth. The satellites are owned by Surrey Satellite Technologies Ltd., which signed a commercial launch contract with Antrix Corporation.
25. NASA PUTS LASER SATELLITE IN SPACE TO TRACK ICE LOSS NASA's most advanced space laser satellite blasted off on ICESat-2 mission to track ice loss around the world and improve forecasts of sea level rise as the climate warms. The $1 billion ICESat-2 mission was launched aboard a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force base in California. The launch marks the first time in nearly a decade that NASA has had a tool in orbit to measure ice sheet surface elevation across the globe. The preceding mission, ICESat, launched in 2003 and ended in 2009. The first ICESat revealed that sea ice was thinning, and ice cover was disappearing from coastal areas in Greenland and Antarctica.
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The new laser will fire 10,000 times in one second, compared to the original ICESat which fired 40 times a second. The mission will gather enough data to estimate the annual elevation change in the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets even if it's as slight as four mm - the width of a No. 2 pencil. Importantly, the laser will measure the slope and height of the ice, not just the area it covers.
26. ODISHA MAN, TEAM BUILDS PRIVATE SATELLITE Gurudatta Panda, a 28-year-old from Odisha's Berhampur, is part of a small team of technocrats that built a satellite for a private satellite design, manufacturing and management company. The eight-member team, including Mr. Panda, from Hyderabad-based Exseed Space Private Limited has constructed 10 cm cube-sized communication satellite, which will be launched into space by the United States-based SpaceX in November 2018. The small satellite will carry a linear transponder on FM for voice communication. This satellite will serve the ham or the amateur radio community. As a result, it will be of great help during natural calamities, when conventional communication services get disrupted. After the launch, this artificial satellite will be on a polar orbit with two passes over India everyday. The public will be able to receive this artificial satellite's beacon on 145.90 Mhz using a TV tuner and USB dongles. Mr. Panda, a ham radio enthusiast, helped in communication through his ham set-up when cyclone Phailin hit Ganjam district in 2013.
27. ISRO LAUNCHES TWO U.K. SATELLITES PSLV-C42 carried two satellites from the United Kingdom - NovaSAR and S1-4 from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, Sriharikota. The lightest version of the PSLV, flying in its core-alone version without the six strap-on motors, was used. This was the 12th such launch of a core-alone version of the PSLV by ISRO. The two satellites, owned by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) were placed in a circular orbit around the poles, 583 km from Earth. The commercial arm of ISRO, Antrix Corporation earned more than Rs. 220 crore on this launch. The NovaSAR is a technology demonstration mission designed to test the capabilities of a new low cost S-band SAR platform. It will be used for ship detection and maritime monitoring and also flood monitoring, besides agricultural and forestry applications. The S1-4 will be used for environment monitoring, urban management, and tackling disasters.
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The much-awaited and delayed, India's second lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2 finally has a launch window. Chandrayaan-2 is planned for a window from January 3 to February 16, 2019.
28. ISRO TO TAP SMALL CITIES FOR INNOVATIONS The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched a space technology incubation centre in Tripura capital Agartala. It is the first of six such centres planned nationally to build capacity in new locations. The incubation centre will be located in the National Institute of Technology, Agartala. The space agency's new Capacity Building Programme directorate will invest Rs. 2 crore in incubation facilities in Jalandhar, Bhubaneswar, Tiruchi, Nagpur and Indore. The centres will bring out prototypes and innovations for ISRO in electronics, propulsion and others. We will buy the innovations back if we can use them in our programmes. Domestic industry should increase the production of critical electronics items needed in space and other programmes, as 75% of it is now imported.
29. SPACEX NAMES FIRST PASSENGER TO MOON A Japanese billionaire and online fashion tycoon, Yusaku Maezawa, will be the first man to fly on a monster SpaceX rocket around the moon as early as 2023, and he plans to bring six to eight artists along. Mr. Maezawa, 42, will be the first lunar traveller since the last U.S. Apollo mission in 1972. He paid an unspecified amount of money for the privilege. Until now, Americans are the only ones who have left the earth's orbit. A total of 24 NASA astronauts - all white men - voyaged to the moon during the Apollo era of the 1960s and „70s. Twelve walked on the lunar surface. The first space tourist was Dennis Tito, an American businessman who in 2001 paid some $20 million to fly on a Russian spaceship to the International Space Station. The ride will take place aboard a Big Falcon Rocket (BFR), which may not be ready for human flight for five years at least, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said.
30. ISRO SETTING UP LAUNCH PAD FOR GAGANYAAN MISSION The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is setting up a third launch pad at Sriharikota to undertake the Gaganyaan manned space flight programme. ISRO has announced an ambitious roadmap to put a three-man Indian crew in a low earth orbit for 5-7 days by the 75th Independence Day.
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ISRO will use its GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle, which can carry the heavier payload of the Gaganyaan, and this will take off from the new launch pad. In addition, ISRO is scouting for a location on the western sea coast near Gujarat to set up another launch pad for Small Satellite Launch Vehicles (SSLV). ISRO is developing the SSLV to offer affordable launch options for smaller satellites through Antrix, the space agency's commercial arm. ISRO currently piggybacks smaller satellites on the PSLV and GSLV along with bigger satellites. The SSLV is expected to reduce the launch time as well as cost less to launch small satellites, which are much in demand.
31. INDIA LOOKS TO BUY ISRAELI MISSILES A deal to procure the Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Israel through the government-to-government route has been brought before the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) for approval. The deal is for 170 launchers, 4,500 missiles and 15 simulators. However, some validation trials have to be held before the deal is signed. Validation trials of the infrared seeker (IR) are to be held. A defence source said the missile did not perform as desired in the previous trials during peak summer temperatures in the desert, and hence the need to validate its performance. The earlier deal was cancelled in January 2018 after protracted negotiations, just ahead of the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to India. It was decided that the requirement could be met through the indigenous man-portable missile being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation. However, as the Army is faced with a huge shortage of anti-tank guided missiles and the indigenous system missed development deadlines, it was decided that a smaller number will be procured off the shelf through the government-to-government route. The earlier $500-million deal for Spike missiles was accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) by the DAC in 2009 and was approved in October 2014, but contract negotiations dragged on over cost and technology transfer. The deal was for 8,000-plus missiles and 300-plus launchers, along with technology transfer to build them in India. Spike is a third-generation, fire-and-forget, man-portable missile manufactured by Israel's Rafael. In all, nearly 40,000 missiles are required to equip the Army's 382 infantry battalions and 44 mechanised regiments. The indigenous low-weight missile was successfully flight-tested twice by the DRDO from the Ahmednagar test range in September 2018.
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32. MHA SIGNS MOU WITH ISRO The MHA and ISRO signed a MoU for setting up of an state-of-the-art Integrated Control Room for Emergency Response (ICR-ER) in Ministry of Home Affairs. ISRO will render its technical expertise for setting up of proposed ICR-ER whereas the project will be executed under overall supervision of MHA. The ICR-ER will cater to the requirement of Disaster Management as well as Internal Security. ICR-ER will address the requirement of receipt of information on near real-time basis, strategic level monitoring, situation awareness, command and control. This will improve preparedness and response in the diverse internal security situation and disaster related emergencies. Resultantly, it will increase the operational effectiveness and will be helpful in rendering timely response and assistance during various emergency situations.
33. LOCKHEED, TATA IN JV TO MAKE F-16 JET WINGS In a major boost to the „Make in India' initiative, American security and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin announced that the wings of its F-16 fighter jets will be produced in India. Maryland-based Lockheed Martin has entered into an agreement with Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) for the project. Lockheed officials insisted that the planned F-16 wing production to India was not contingent on India selecting the F-16 for the Indian Air Force. Lockheed has offered to move its entire F-16 manufacturing base to India. India is yet to make a decision on it. Lockheed martin has already partnered with Tata on the C-130J [Super Hercules airlifter] and S-92 [helicopter].
34. IAF PREPARES TO INDUCT RAFALE JETS Though the Rafale jet deal has been caught in a political firestorm, the Indian Air Force is quietly readying infrastructure for the new fleet and training its fighter pilots to fly the aircraft. Official sources said the IAF was sending a batch of pilots to France by the year-end. A team has already undergone training and it will go for another round. A number of IAF teams have visited France to help Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of Rafale, incorporate India-specific enhancements on board the aircraft. India had inked an inter-governmental agreement with France in September 2016 for procurement of 36 of these jets at a cost of around Rs. 58,000 crore.
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The delivery of the jets - capable of carrying a range of potent weapons and missiles - is scheduled to begin from September 2019. According to sources, Dassault Aviation has started test flight of the jets to be supplied to India, and the company has been told to strictly adhere to the timeline for delivery. The Rafale jets will come with various India-specific modifications, including Israeli helmet-mounted displays, radar warning receivers, low-band jammers, 10-hour flight data recording, infrared search and tracking systems and so on. Sources said the first squadron of the aircraft will be deployed at the Air Force Station in Ambala, considered one of the most strategically located bases of the IAF. The India- Pakistan border is around 220 km from there. The second squadron will be stationed at the Hasimara base in West Bengal.
35. TEJAS CLEARS MAIDEN MID-AIR REFUELLING TRIAL The first ever mid-air refuelling of the indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas was successfully carried out, placing India in an elite group of countries which have developed the air-to-air refuelling system for military aircraft. With this first trial, the aircraft gets much closer to the important battle-ready tag, called the FOC or the final operational clearance. Production partner Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. and LCA's designer and developer Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) gave the thumbs- up as an Air Force transport plane IL-78 refuelled the light fighter as it flew at a height of 20,000 feet over Gwalior, an HAL statement said.
36. INDIA'S FIRST MISSILE TRACKING SHIP IS READYING FOR SEA TRIALS Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) is gearing up to undertake sea trials of India's first missile tracking ship by the first week of October. The keel of the ship, which was laid on June 30, 2014, is being built for the National Technical Research Organisation, the technical intelligence agency working directly under the supervision of the Prime Minister's Office and the National Security Adviser. Considered a "topmost secret project", a lot of confidentiality is being maintained in executing the project costing about Rs. 750 crore. It will be named after its induction into the Navy. For now, it is simply referred as VC 11184.
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It would put India in the elite of club of a few countries that have such a sophisticated ocean surveillance ship. The ship was built inside the covered dry dock. It has the capacity to carry 300-strong crew with hi-tech gadgets and communication equipment, powered by two diesel engines, and a large deck capable of helicopter landing. HSL, set up in 1941, achieved a total income of Rs. 651.67 crore and a value of production of Rs. 644.78 crore during 2017-18, the highest since inception. It is poised to get orders for construction of five fleet support ships costing Rs. 9,000 crore and finalise request for proposal for design collaborator for construction of two Special Operation Vessels called mini submarines. It is also banking on the order for medium refit of Russia-made third Sindhughosh class submarine INS Sindhuratna for which it has submitted technical bids. Visakhapatnam is considered a strategic location on the East Coast for the Indian defence forces as it is home for Ship Building Centre to build nuclear powered submarine INS Arihant class, Naval Alternate Operational Base at Rambilli, the second naval base after Eastern Naval Command headquarters, training centre for Marine Commandos and headquarters of the submarine arm.
37. ARMY MULLING INCREASING RETIREMENT AGE OF JAWANS The Army is considering a proposal to increase the retirement and pensionable age of jawans in service from the current 15 years to 20 years in a phased manner. This will have a major impact as Other Ranks (OR) constitute most of the rank and file of the 1.3 million army. As of now Jawans and Lance Naiks retire after 15 years of service, which is also the pensionable service limit with the option of a two year extension. The idea is to increase the pensionable service limit in phases to 20 years as the life expectancy has gone up in general since independence and soldiers retire relatively young, a defence official said. This will serve the dual benefit of giving longer tenure in service for soldiers while reducing the pension burden for the Army. The Army is facing an increasing burden of revenue expenditure and pensions, leaving very little funds for new purchases and modernisation. The current revenue to capital ratio is around 83:17, while the ideal ratio is 60:40.
38. SUBMARINE PLAN MOVES FORWARD AFTER DELAYS The Navy's mega-deal for procuring six advanced conventional submarines under Project-75I and processed through the Strategic Partnership (SP) model is moving forward after being held up due to policy clarity. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has initiated the process to finalise specific guidelines for the project, estimated to cost over Rs. 60,000 crore.
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Four foreign OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) have responded to the Navy's Request for Information issued in 2017. The contenders are Naval Group of France, Rosoboron export Rubin Design Bureau of Russia, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems of Germany and Saab group of Sweden. However, further progress got held up as clarity was required on some aspects of the SP model. From the Indian private sector only two companies, Larsen and Toubro and Reliance Defence, have shipyards and hence eligible to participate in the tender. Mazagon Dock Ltd, a defence public sector undertaking and the only Indian shipyard with experience of manufacturing submarines, is also expected to be considered.
39. INDIGENOUS ANTI-TANK MISSILE TEST-FIRED An indigenously developed Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) was successfully flight tested for the second time from Ahmednagar test range. It has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). This low-weight MPATGM will complement the Spike Anti-Tank Guided Missile to be procured from Israel.
40. NEW AKASH MISSILES GET GREEN LIGHT The Army, which is inducting the indigenously developed Akash short-range surface-to- air missile (SRSAM) system, will get an upgraded variant. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) gave its procedural approval to the variant. The Army has already inducted two Akash regiments, and ordered two more in 2017 after a global tender for the SRSAM was cancelled. Each regiment consists of six launchers, each having three missiles. Akash has a range of 25 km and can engage multiple targets at a time in all-weather conditions. It has a large operational envelope, from 30 metre to a maximum of 20 km. The upgraded version will include the seeker technology and possess a 360-degree coverage, and will be of compact configuration. It is an operationally critical equipment, which will provide protection to vital assets. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) developed Akash as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme initiated in 1984. It is made by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).
41. DAC APPROVES PROCUREMENT OF EQUIPMENT WORTH RS 9,100 CRORES The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Raksha Mantri accorded approval for the procurement of equipment for the Defence Forces valued at over Rs 9,100 crores. Pursuing the goal of indigenization and self-reliance, the DAC approved procurement of two Regiments of Akash Missile Systems under „Buy (Indian)‟
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The Missile to be procured is an upgraded version of the previously inducted Akash missiles. The DRDO developed Akash as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme initiated in 1984. It is made by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL). Akash has a range of 25 km and can engage multiple targets at a time in all-weather conditions. It has a large operational envelope, from 30 metre to a maximum of 20 km. The DAC also accorded approval for progressing Design and Development of Individual Under Water Breathing Apparatus (IUWBA) for T 90 Tanks. Developed by DRDO Lab DEBEL, the IUWBA is used by the crew of Tanks as a safety gear and is required by the Tank crew for emergency escape when negotiating water obstacles while deep fording. The DAC also accorded approval for Design and Development of Test Equipment for Guided Weapons System of T 90 Tank. The equipment is being developed by DRDO and will give an indigenous solution to the Test Equipment used for checking the Guided Weapon System of Tank T 90.
42. SUCCESSFUL FLIGHT TEST OF PRAHAR DRDO successfully flight tested the indigenously developed surface-to-surface tactical missile „Prahar‟, from Launch Complex-III, ITR, Balasore. Prahar (“Strike”) is an Indian solid-fuel road-mobile tactical ballistic missile developed by DRDO. Prahar is expected to replace the Prithvi-I short-range ballistic missile in Indian service. The missile is equipped with state-of-the-art navigation, guidance and electromechanical actuation systems with advanced on board computer. It is a quick-reaction, all-weather, all-terrain, highly accurate battlefield support tactical weapon system. The missile fills the short-range tactical battlefield missile role as required by the Indian Army to take out strategic and tactical targets. „Prahar‟ is a contemporary weapon system capable of carrying multiple types of warheads and neutralizing a wide variety of targets.
43. WI-FI ON FLIGHTS: DOT TO INVITE APPLICATIONS The Department of Telecom (DoT) will invite applications for Wi-Fi onboard flights in October 2018. In May 2018, the DoT approved a proposal from telecom regulatory body TRAI to allow passengers to make phone calls and access Wi-Fi provided on-board data was routed through a satellite gateway on Indian soil to enable lawful interception. The DoT has identified in-flight connectivity as a separate service requiring a licence.
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A roadmap for in-flight connectivity has been finalised and the matter would be taken up by Committee of Secretaries headed by the Cabinet Secretary.
44. FACIAL RECOGNITION TECH TO EASE CONGESTION AT AIRPORTS As facial recognition technology use generates intense scrutiny, a new system unveiled at Washington's airport is being touted as a "user friendly" way to help ease congestion for air travellers. Two new face recognition systems have been installed at the airport - one to meet legal requirements for biometric entry-exit records, and a second to help speed processing of travellers arriving on international flights by matching their real-time images with stored photos. The growing use of facial recognition has ignited debate over surveillance and privacy around the world, but officials told media this system was a way to help reducing annoying lines and wait times without compromising security. Over time, officials say the biometric recognition system will allow a traveller's face to eliminate the need for a boarding pass.
45. INDIA CALLING: 5G NETWORKS MAY BE IN PLACE BY 2020 Having missed the bus for early adoption of latest technologies in the past, India - one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world - is pushing for a timely roll-out of 5G technology in the country. The Indian government is aiming to commercially introduce 5G services in the country by the end of 2020, almost in line with rest of the world. 5G is the next generation of mobile Internet connectivity that would offer much faster and more reliable networks, which would form the backbone for the emerging era of Internet of Things (IoT). The 5G standards, currently being developed by the third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) - an industry-driven standardisation body - envisages high speed links with peak rates of 2 to 20 Gbps for various services. Previous generations of mobile networks addressed consumers predominantly for voice and SMS in 2G, web browsing in 3G and higher speed data and video streaming in 4G. The 4G networks now serve more than 240 million subscribers in urban areas across India; however, LTE coverage in rural areas remains a challenge. Once commercialised, 5G is expected to disrupt not only telecom but other industries as well as. 5G is expected to see use beyond delivery of services just on "personal phone platforms." It will also connect new devices including machines, sensors, actuators, vehicles, robots and drones, to support a much larger range of applications and services. The reserve price for proposed spectrum band for 5G services in 3300-3600 MHz frequency had been fixed at Rs. 492 crore per MHz for a pan-India minimum block of 20 MHz, meaning operators would have to shell out about Rs. 10,000 crore.
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This comes at a time when the industry continues to reel under financial stress, weighed down by high debt. Going by global standards, the price of Rs. 492 crore per MHz for 5G spectrum is on the higher side as the South Korean auctions that happened recently had the price at Rs. 130 crore per MHz, COAI pointed out, adding that a new way of pricing needs to be looked at. The steering committee has recommended that the 5G spectrum allocation policy should be announced by the end of this year.
46. MODEL INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR TRANSFORMATIVE AI (ICTAI) NITI Aayog, Intel, and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) has the collaboration to set up a Model International Center for Transformative Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI) towards developing and deploying AI-led application-based research projects. This initiative is part of NITI Aayog‟s „National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence‟ Discussion Paper that focuses on establishing ICTAI in the country through private sector collaboration. ICTAI based in Bengaluru, the Model ICTAI aims to conduct advanced research to incubate AI-led solutions in three important areas – healthcare, agriculture and smart mobility – by bringing together the expertise of Intel and TIFR. It aims to experiment, discover and establish best practices in the domains of ICTAI governance, fundamental research, physical infrastructure, compute and service infrastructure needs, and talent acquisition. The model ICTAI is chartered to develop AI foundational frameworks, tools and assets, including curated datasets and unique AI algorithms. The intent is to develop standards and support policy development related to information technology such as data-storage, information security, privacy, and ethics for data capture and use. Another key area of its focus will be collaboration with industry leaders, startups, and AI services and product companies to productize technologies and IP that are developed at the model ICTAI. And finally, the goal is to support skilling and talent development for world-class AI talent. The learning and best practices developed through this model ICTAI will be used by NITI Aayog to set up the future ICTAIs across country.
47. C-DAC INFORMATION MEDIA SERVER (CIMS) MEITY launches C-DAC Information Media Server (CIMS) for enhancing Good Governance. It is a dedicated computer appliance having specialized application software to provide audio and video on demand.
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This low-cost affordable system is built with single board computer having powerful and energy efficient multi-core processor. It does not require any special purpose internet service provider or data connectivity. The common feature includes displaying text, images for viewing, video streaming, e- brochure; for viewing or downloading for offline reference. CIMS is very easy to setup and configure for deployments at locations such as- Parliament (Today in Rajya Sabha, Members details), Education Institutes (eBooks, Timetable, news of the day, notices), Railways (Train running information, station layout maps), Hospitals (Doctors on duty, patient records). A user can connect via any smart device with WiFi capability and freely access the available information. Web pages are retrieved and deliver it across the Internet. In the simplest case, the video file is embedded in a web page and stored on the same host as the other components of the page.
48. CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR DATA ANALYTICS (CEDA) National Informatics Centre (NIC) and NIC Services Incorporated (NICSI) have jointly set up a Centre of Excellence for data analytics. This is aimed to support Government departments to unlock the hidden potential of the data that they are generating as part of the governance processes and use it to improve the overall governance. CEDA is envisaged to kick-start and fast track the adoption of advanced analytics and machine learning capabilities. It shall provide quality data analytic services to government departments at all levels by identifying appropriate tools and technologies and deploying people with right expertise. As part of its service offerings, it will help the departments Understand their business requirements and define their analytic needs. Identify the data sets that are required to meet the analytic needs. Determine access to the relevant data sources (both within as well as outside the government). Build the required data analytic solutions. In integrating departmental data silos and deliver an integrated whole-of government analytics for an integrated policy formulation. What is NIC? NIC as a premier technology advisor and ICT solution provider to Government at all levels. It has always taken the first step to introduce the latest technologies and services in government like establishment of NICNET or National Knowledge Network (NKN), development of critical e-Governance solutions and a host of other services required by the Government.
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NICSI is a trusted partner of NIC and has been instrumental in supporting all NIC‟s initiatives. NISCI provides resources and is responsible establishing & managing ICT infrastructure such as National Data Center, Development Center, Cloud infrastructure etc.
49. IISER BHOPAL DEVELOPS ORGANIC SOLAR CELL USING VITAMIN B12 DERIVATIVE Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal have developed cheaper and more flexible organic solar cells using a synthetic derivative of vitamin B12. An organic solar cell is made up of acceptor and donor materials. The donor absorbs light from solar radiation and the harvested energy is passed to the electrodes with the help of the acceptor. In the present study, published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, the researchers synthesised the donor using an artificial aromatic chemical (corrole) which has a similar structure to the corrin ring in vitamin B12. The artificially synthesised corrole (Cor-BODIPY) absorbs light much like porphyrin in natural chlorophyll. Corroles have very good photophysical properties. They show excellent absorption in the visible light range and are highly stable. They are very flexible unlike the silicon solar cells and so could be used in flexible electronics. Corroles are currently used as sensors, catalysts and in biomedical imaging. This is the first study wherein a corrole has been utilised for a bulk heterojunction solar cell as a donor material. The authors hope that this study shall open up a new window and may pave way for its development as a low-cost, efficient photovoltaic material with a wide range of absorption and increased flexibility.
50. SAP'S ETHICS CODE FOR AI German business software giant SAP published an ethics code to govern its research into artificial intelligence (AI), aiming to prevent the technology infringing on people's rights, displacing workers or inheriting biases from its human designers. Following in the footsteps of Google and Microsoft, SAP is wrestling with how to impose values on AI's systems of algorithms designed to ape certain aspects of human intelligence. Public figures like entrepreneur Elon Musk or late physicist Stephen Hawking have warned of the dangers of an out-of-control AI. Their seven points hit on contemporary concerns like transparency, safety and privacy. And one item on the list specifically warns of "a risk of causing discrimination or of unjustly impacting underrepresented groups" if AI inherits biases from human programmers - a danger SAP hope to avert with more diverse development teams as well as "technical methods".
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Meanwhile, it is the potential effect on jobs that is driving many warnings about the technology.
51. ASSAM FOREIGNERS' TRIBUNAL DETECTS USE OF FAKE DOCUMENTS A Foreigners' Tribunal in central Assam's Morigaon district observed that the process of identifying foreigners and doubtful voters had become "an industry" for "minting money." The "unfair practices" involved, it noted, turned Indians into foreigners and foreigners into Indians on the basis of fake or duplicate documents. Rejecting the citizenship plea by one Haren Mandal, alias Haren Biswas, of the district's No. 2 Gunamara village, the Foreigners' Tribunal 3, or FT3, in Morigaon town found it "alarming" that almost all citizenship certificates of registration exhibited before the tribunal turned out to be fake, forged or tampered with.
52. MEDICAL CYCLOTRON FACILITY CYCLONE-30, KOLKATA Cyclone-30 equipment used for generating radio-isotopes became operational at a VECC, Kolkata, a Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) unit. Cyclone-30 commissioning re-emphasises the capability of Indian scientists and engineers to deliver at the highest level of science and technology. Cyclotrons are used to produce radioisotopes for diagnostic and therapeutic use for cancer care. Radiations from these isotopes are used to destroy cancer cells. Cyclone-30, the biggest cyclotron in India for medical application became operational this month when 30 MeV beam reached the Faraday Cup for the first time. Subsequently, beam from this facility was used to produce 18F (Fluorine-18 isotope) for the preparation of [18 Fl Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), a radio-pharmaceutical. Presently it produces liquid target (for FDG production) and solid targets (production of Germanium-68, Palladium-103 and other isotopes). Later on installation of Iodine isotope [1-123] production target, material study target and Accelerator Driven System target will also be taken up. This facility will provide for affordable radio isotopes and related radiopharmaceuticals for the entire country especially, for Eastern India. It will also have export potential for Germanium-68/Gallium-68 generator for in-situ production of Gallium-68 and Palladium-103 isotopes, used for breast cancer diagnosis and prostate cancer treatment, respectively.
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ENVIRONMENT
1. ALIPORE ZOO GETS A BABY KANGAROO LIn October 2017, when four kangaroos arrived at the Alipore Zoological Gardens from the Kanazawa Zoo of Japan, officials at the Alipore facility had not thought that the marsupials would start breeding in less than a year. A baby kangaroo emerged from its mother‘s pouch taking the number of eastern grey kangaroos in the zoo had now increased to five. Over the past few years, the zoo has had births of zebras, giraffes and marsh crocodiles. An Asiatic lion was born a few days ago but authorities are keeping a watch and have not brought it into public view.
2. IN SEARCH OF A SECOND HOME FOR BROW-ANTLERED DEER From near extinction in 1951, the population of Sangai, the brow-antlered deer, aka dancing deer - found only in Manipur's Loktak Lake in Keibul Lamjao National Park in Bishnupur district - is just 260, according to a joint census conducted by the Forest Department and wildlife enthusiasts in March 2016. In a bid to save and help them multiply, the government plans for a second home for the deer at Phumlenpat Lakein Thoubal district. However, villagers in Thoubal district have been launching sit-in protests and taking out torch light processions almost every night, saying that they should not be deprived of their livelihood by opening a second home for this deer. The Phumlenpat in Thoubal district is quite different from the Loktak Lake in Bishnupur district. There is no plant or grass or floating bio mass in the Phumlenpat Lake which means the deer will starve to death. At the same time, the villagers who will be denied entry in the lake will starve. Both deer and people will die and this government plan should be dropped.
3. CABINET APPROVES CONTINUATION OF IDWH SCHEME The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved continuation of the Centrally Sponsored Umbrella Scheme of Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (CSS-IDWH) beyond the 12thPlan period from 2017-18 to 2019-20. The Scheme consists of Centrally Sponsored Scheme of
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Project Tiger (CSS-PT), Development of Wildlife Habitats (CSS-DWH) and Project Elephant (CSS-PE). A total of 18 tiger range States, distributed in five landscapes of the country would be benefitted under the Project Tiger scheme. Similarly, for other two schemes, the coverage is entire country in case of Development of Wildlife Habitats (DWH) and 23 elephant range States for Project Elephant. The schemes would result in overall strengthening/ consolidation of tiger, elephant and wildlife conservation in the country. The schemes would address the human wildlife conflict effectively. These schemes would generate employment opportunities resulting in economic upliftment of people in and around tiger reserves/ Protected Areas. It will generate direct employment of about 30 lakh mandays annually which shall include many local tribes besides non-tribal local workforce. Local populace would get opportunities to serve as guides, driver, hospitality personnel and in other ancillary jobs. These schemes would foster imparting various skills towards making people self- dependent through various eco-development projects, thereby enabling them to go for self-employment. These schemes would result in resource generation through tourist visits, thereby fostering in securing tiger source areas.
4. AFTER THE DELUGE, NO HOME IN HILLS For the reclusive Chola Naikar, 42-member tribe, the Parappanpara region of the Meppadi forest range under the South Wayanad forest division, was their home for generations. They seldom ventured into the plains, except when there was a medical emergency or other dire need but for a second time in less than a decade, the rains have shaken the tranquility of their lives. The deluge of the past fortnight might well be the last rains they will experience as true forest dwellers as most the 42-member tribe has decided to leave their forest home. The tribal settlement falls under the Mupainadu gram panchayat and comprises of 12 men, 17 women and 13 children. Cheriya Velutha, 71, is the chieftain of the settlement. They have traditionally collected minor forest produce, such as honey, which they brought into town to sell. In turn, they bought essentials and returned, happy in their green abode but not anymore. The community has been living in make-shift tenements since 2009 when heavy rains forced them to move from the caves they traditionally lived in but landslips following torrential rains, tore away parts of the hills that housed the settlement. As many as 12
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families of the settlement were shifted to a relief camp at Kadassery near Vaduvanchal on August 17. When the rains ceased, the younger members of the tribe decided that enough was enough. They reached out to the district authorities with a request to be relocated outside the forest.
5. HEAVY METAL CONTAMINATION IN SOUTH INDIAN BANANA FIELDS Decades after the pronounced use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, its negative impacts are reaching new heights with heavy metal contamination now reported in banana fields of South India. An extensive study of over 250 soil samples from three south Indian States Kerala, Karnataka and Tamilnadu has shown that most of the banana fields have amounts of copper, magnesium, chromium and cobalt higher than the threshold levels for normal soils. Magnesium content Researchers found an unusually high level of magnesium in the fields. While the magnesium content of soil in South Indian soil is known to be between 30 and 220 mg/Kg, the average of the samples tested was above 900 mg/Kg. This is a result of farmers using chemical fertilizers without proper soil testing and applying above the recommended level. As banana is highly prone to insect and nematode attack, they also more pesticides, which get accumulated in the soil. Calcium level Calcium levels almost reaching the threshold were seen in many fields. Calcium is used to maintain the soil pH and over the years has accumulated in the soil. Another heavy metal recorded was manganese, which is a major component of pesticide used against fungal diseases like Fusarium wilt. Though the concentration of iron was high, the authors write it may be due to the laterite-based soil of the Deccan Plateau. Chromium, which rarely occurs naturally in soil, was detected in all the samples studied, and many samples were at levels near the threshold.
6. NO CONSTRUCTION SANS SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICY The Supreme Court said it was "pathetic" that some States and Union Territories had not bothered to frame a solid waste management policy. The court ordered that further construction activities be stopped in some States and Union Territories that remained unmindful of the interests of their people to live in a clean environment. A Bench headed by Justice Madan B. Lokur imposed fines on some States and the Union Territory of Chandigarh for not placing on record their respective policies under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
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While Andhra Pradesh was ordered to pay Rs. 5 lakh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chandigarh were imposed costs of Rs. 3 lakh each. The amount would have to be deposited with the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee within two weeks and would be used for juvenile justice issues. The SC noted that other States, including, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Arunachal Pradesh had deposited the costs imposed on them on July 10. Further constructions in the States/Union Territories are stayed until the policy is framed. It is hearing the case suo motu since the death of a seven-year-old boy due to dengue in Delhi in 2015. The attitude of the States/Union Territories is not yet framing a Policy even after two years is pathetic.
7. U.P. CHIEF SECRETARY SUMMONED OVER DISPOSAL OF E-WASTE The National Green Tribunal directed Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary to appear before the green panel over disposal of e-waste on the banks of Ramganga river in Moradabad. The directions came following submissions made by the Central Pollution Control Board regarding the sealing of e-waste units that were operating illegally in the area. The apex pollution control board further informed the tribunal that the electricity department had failed to disconnect connection of 27 illegal units and that a joint inspection team found "heaps of black powder stacked in the open" on the banks of the river. Earlier, the green panel had imposed an environmental compensation of Rs. 10 lakh on the State government over inaction towards the disposal of e-waste lying on the banks of the Ramganga in Moradabad.
8. SHAPOORJI PALLONJI BAGS MAJOR PROJECT TO CLEAN GANGA To address pollution in the Ganga in Kanpur, the Uttar Pradesh government has awarded a Rs. 893-crore tender to the Shapoorji Pallonji conglomerate. The funds, to be made available from the Rs. 20,000 crore National Mission for Clean Ganga, will be largely spent on constructing new sewage treatment plants (STPs), repairing old ones and ensuring that these plants operate at their rated capacity for a minimum of 15 years. In Uttar Pradesh, Kanpur is the biggest contributor to pollution in the Ganga. In 2016, 450 MLD (million litres per day) of sewage was generated in Kanpur of which only 140 was treated. This, despite there already being STPs with a capacity of 425 MLD. A poor sewerage network has contributed to this capacity being underutilised and ensuring a cleaner Ganga requires better sewage treatment in the city, according to experts.
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As part of this arrangement, the government will fund 40% of the capital costs in the first two years and the rest over 15 years along with operation and maintenance charges. The SP group would also be required to build a network of drain interceptors, sewage pumping stations (systems that ensure sewage which doesn't make it to sewer lines is mechanically shunted to STPs) and maintain them for 15 years. This is one of the major projects in the mission and part of the one city-one operator approach that we have adopted." Unlike previous efforts to clean the Ganga, the NMCG has opted to farm out building of STPs to private contractors instead of the traditional approach of having State bodies run them.
9. POLLUTION COOLS MONSOON DAYS Increased emissions of aerosols into the atmosphere due to pollution are beginning to have a definite cooling effect of 1 degree C during the Indian summer monsoon period. The increased cooling is seen during the day, while the night time temperature is increasing, thus shrinking the diurnal temperature difference. The diurnal temperature difference is what drives the convection process (where water evaporates and reaches the atmosphere as water vapour), and development of clouds. As diurnal temperature difference decreases, the lower layer of the atmosphere will reduce in height and come closer to the earth's surface. This will cause more aerosols to get into the atmosphere, thus impacting the lower atmospheric turbulence, which may eventually affect the distribution of moisture and rainfall. The increased concentration of aerosols in the atmosphere also tends to change the shape and characteristics of rain-bearing clouds, leading to extreme rainfall events but weakened monsoon rainfall. The study by a team of researchers led by Professor Tripathi, and Dr. Vijay Kanawade from the University of Hyderabad, found striking similarity between satellite data (2002- 2016) and a global reanalysis modelled data that showed cloud structure being modified with increased aerosol emission. Rain-bearing clouds were found to increase in number and height when aerosol emission is higher. The clouds also tend to have a far higher number of ice particles that are smaller in size when aerosol loading is higher, thus reducing the efficiency of water droplet growth. They found that when there is high aerosol loading, there will be more water droplets in the atmosphere. Once the droplets reach above the freezing level, ice formation begins. Heat is given off when ice formation processes begin. This acts as a fuel to make the cloud grow taller and thicker. When aerosol loading is higher, the anvil (cloud top) contains more number of smaller ice particles, which tend to reflect the shortwave radiation from the top of the cloud,
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leading to increased cooling of the earth's surface. Cooling by shortwave radiation surpasses warming by long wave radiation, leading to net reduction in daytime temperature during the summer monsoon.
10. MORE RIVER STRETCHES ARE NOW CRITICALLY POLLUTED The number of polluted stretches in India's rivers has increased to 351 from 302 two years ago, and the number of critically polluted stretches - where water quality indicators are the poorest - has gone up to 45 from 34, according to an assessment by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). In its 2015 report, the CPCB had identified 302 polluted stretches on 275 rivers, spanning 28 States and six Union Territories. While the Rs. 20,000 crore clean-up of the Ganga may be the most visible of the government's efforts to tackle pollution, the CPCB says several of the Ganga river's stretches - in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh - are actually far less polluted than many rivers in Maharashtra, Assam and Gujarat. These three States account for 117 of the 351 polluted river stretches. Based on the recommendations of the National Green Tribunal, the CPCB apprised the States of the extent of pollution in their rivers. The most significant stretches of pollution highlighted by the CPCB assessment (which is yet to be published) include the Mithi river - from Powai to Dharavi - with a BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) of 250 mg/l, the Godavari - from Someshwar to Rahed - with a BOD of 5.0-80 mg/l; the Sabarmati - Kheroj to Vautha - with a BOD from 4.0- 147 mg/l; and the Hindon - Saharanpur to Ghaziabad - with a BOD of 48-120 mg/l. In its compilation of polluted stretches in Uttar Pradesh, the Ganga with a BOD range of 3.5-8.8 mg/l is indicated as a ‗priority 4' river. The CPCB, since the 1990s, has a programme to monitor the quality of rivers primarily by measuring BOD, which is a proxy for organic pollution - the higher it is, the worse the river. The health of a river and the efficacy of water treatment measures by the States and municipal bodies are classified depending on BOD, with a BOD greater than or equal to 30 mg/l termed ‗priority 1,' while that between 3.1-6 mg/l is ‗priority 5.' The CPCB considers a BOD less than 3 mg/l an indicator of a healthy river.
11. IN MANAGING WATER, SURAT TAKES THE LEAD India's ‗Diamond City', Surat, offers a lesson for the country's ever-expanding cities on water management and the optimal use of water, which is rapidly becoming a scarce resource. Surat's civic body is setting up state-of-the-art sewage treatment plants (STPs) to ensure every drop of waste water is treated and reused for purposes other than drinking. From March 2019, the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) will be supplying 115 MLD (million litres per day) treated water to industries located within the city, in order to meet the entire industrial requirement of water through treated or recycled water.
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Surat was the first city in the country to start selling recycled water to industries in 2014. The SMC charges industrial units Rs. 23 per 1,000 litres of water. India is facing its worst water shortage in history, according to a report by the Niti Aayog. Nearly 600 million Indians faced water stress and about 2,00,000 people die every year because of lack of access to safe water.
12. AGENCIES TO DO ECO-IMPACT CHECKS The Union Environment Ministry proposes to allow research organisations and accredited agencies to monitor if companies are complying with environmental conditions. The Central Government proposes to introduce the concept of randomised third-party compliance monitoring of the environment clearance conditions through national-level reputed and competent government institutions to be empanelled by the Ministry. India's environmental laws require project developers to submit themselves to the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA), under which an independent agency, commissioned by the project developer, ascertains the likely environmental impact of a proposed project. The preparation of an environment impact assessment report and an environment management plan ensures that the adverse environmental impact of projects and activities are assessed and studied and mitigation measures are taken in the implementation of the project to avoid or minimise the adverse environmental impact. Currently, depending on the size of projects, they are cleared or rejected - with accompanying caveats that must be adhered to - by the expert appraisal committees of the Central government and the States and the district environment impact assessment authorities. The process obligates the project proponent to file a six-monthly compliance report, and regional offices of the Ministry are supposed to check whether industries are complying with these norms.
13. SC GIVES U.P. TIME TILL NOVEMBER 15 FOR VISION DOCUMENT ON TAJ The Supreme Court extended till November 15 the time for Uttar Pradesh government to come out with a vision document on protecting the Taj Mahal, and asked it to consider declaring a portion of the area surrounding the monument as ‗heritage‘. A Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur, S. Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta was informed by the State government that Delhi-based School of Planning and Architecture, which is preparing the vision document, had sought an extension of time till November 15 to finalise it.
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Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the State government, told the court that it would be difficult to declare the entire city of Agra a heritage city but some portion of it could be brought within its ambit, covering sites like Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri and Agra Fort.
14. RECYCLERS STORING ELECTRONIC WASTE HAZARDOUSLY Many of India‘s electronic-waste (e-waste) recyclers aren‘t recycling waste at all. While some are storing it in hazardous conditions, others don‘t even have the capacity to handle such waste, says a new report prepared by the Union Environment Ministry. India now has 178 registered e-waste recyclers, accredited by the State governments to process e-waste. India generates more than two million tonnes of e-waste annually, and the bulk of it is processed in the informal sector. E-waste includes air-conditioner compressors, television sets, computers and circuit boards. The Centre brought into effect the E-waste Rules, 2017, which require companies that make or sell electronic equipment to collect a certain percentage of e-waste generated from their goods once they have reached their ―end-of-life.‖ In 2017-2018, the companies were supposed to have collected 10%. This would rise to 70% by 2023 but doing this would require these firms to work with licensed e-waste recyclers and ensure that all e-waste is properly disposed of. The Environment Ministry conducted checks at 11 registered recyclers and one unregistered recycler in May this year. The recyclers were located in Kanpur, Thane (Mumbai), Vapi (Gujarat), Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Alwar (Rajasthan).
15. RIVER POLLUTION: NGT DIRECTS STATES TO ACT Taking suo motu cognisance of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report on the increase in polluted river stretches in the country, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed all States and Union Territories to prepare action plans within two months. The action plans should aim at improving the polluted stretches for "at least bathing purposes". The data from the Central Pollution Control Board, shows that the number of polluted river stretches in the country had increased to 351 from 302 over the last two years. The tribunal specified that Chief Secretaries of each State and administrators of UTs will be "personally accountable for failure to formulate action plan." The bench directed that four-member committees, comprising representatives of State pollution control boards and the State governments, be constituted for preparing and executing the action plans. The action plan will include components like identification of polluting sources including functioning or status of sewage treatment plants, common effluent treatment
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plants, solid waste management and processing facilities, quantification and characterisation of sewage generated in the catchment area of the polluted river stretch. Stating that the pollution control boards had failed to check pollution, they have not been able to stop dumping of waste, discharge of effluents in rivers and water bodies.
16. GLOBAL SANITATION CONVENTION Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation will organize a global sanitation convention to mark the beginning of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi. It will be a 4-day international conference that will bring together Sanitation Minsters and other leaders in WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) from around the world. The Convention will culminate on 2nd October, Gandhi Jayanti, which is also celebrated as the Swachh Bharat Diwas. Several mass mobilization events and campaigns are being planned across the States in the run up to this Day. The global Convention will be aimed at sharing sanitation success stories and lessons across all participating countries. The success of the Swachh Bharat Mission will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the global achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 6.2), i.e. to achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all.
17. INDIA AND FRANCE SIGN AN IMPLEMENTATION AGREEMENT ON “MOBILISE YOUR CITY” (MYC) India and France have signed an implementation agreement on ―MOBILISE YOUR CITY‖ (MYC). It is part of an international initiative which is supported by the French and the German Governments and was launched at 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) in December, 2015. Based on a proposal made by AFD in 2015, the EU has agreed to provide funds of Euro 3.5 million through the AFD (Agence Française de Développement) to contribute to specific investments and technical assistance components within the programme in India. The MYC aims at supporting three pilot cities viz. Nagpur, Kochi and Ahmedabad in their efforts to reduce their Green House Gas (GHG) emissions related to urban transport. This will be done by implementing urban mobility plans at local level and to help India at national level to improve their sustainable transport policy. The three pilot cities selected under the programme as well as MoHUA will benefit from the Technical Assistance activities. The main components of the proposed assistance are:
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to support planning and implementation of sustainable urban transport projects, support to strengthening institutional capacity for regulating, steering and planning urban mobility, and learning and exchange formats with other cities across India for exchanges on best practices. The details of the project activities will be worked out by AFD in consultation with MoHUA and the three partner cities including institutions such as the respective Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) for Smart Cities, the Municipal Corporations and any transport authority or transport related SPV.
18. WAYU- AIR POLLUTION MITIGATION DEVICE Recently a air pollution control device WAYU (Wind Augmentation Purifying Unit) for traffic junctions was inaugurated in Delhi. WAYU is developed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) as a part of Technology Development Project funded by Department of Science and Technology. The device that has been indigenously developed has the capacity to purify air in an area of 500 meter square. The device consumes only half a unit of electricity for 10 hours of running and has a maintenance cost of only Rs. 1500 per month. The device works on two principles mainly Wind generation for dilution of air pollutants and Active Pollutants removal. The device has filters for Particulate Matter removal and activated carbon (charcoal) and UV lamps for poisonous gases removal such as VOCs and Carbon Monoxide. The device has one fan and filter for sucking and removing Particulate Matter. There are two UV lamps and half kg of activated carbon charcoal coated with special chemical Titanium Dioxide.
19. GM MUSTARD TRIALS MAY GET NOD SOON The Environment Ministry is set to convene this month a "special meeting" of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) to decide on field-trial approvals for the controversial transgenic mustard developed by the University of Delhi's Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP). In March 2018, the GEAC had sought more tests for GM mustard in the wake of a chorus of objections to the transgenic crop and following Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan's intervention in the matter. The CGMCP had applied to grow transgenic mustard (DMH-11) in plots in Delhi and Punjab to test the plant's effects on honeybees after the GEAC, which had initially cleared the GM crop for "commercial cultivation", backtracked and demanded more tests and additional data on honeybees and other pollinators and on soil microbial diversity.
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The GEAC, the apex regulator of transgenic products, had in July 2018 put a decision on proposed field trials on hold after some members objected to the use of "unapproved pesticides/herbicides" in the project proposal. The CGMCP team had proposed to use endosulfan - a banned pesticide - as part of their experiment. The trial protocols had also been submitted just three days before the GEAC meeting and some members had voiced objections over the lack of time to examine the field safety protocol. The field safety protocol specifies what measures can be undertaken in case of a pest attack. Mustard is usually sown in October and typically takes three months to mature. Environmentalists, farmer groups and some scientists argue that transgenic mustard poses several environmental and health risks. Among these is a contention that : (i) it contains a foreign gene from another species, (ii) tests so far have failed to show any appreciable gains in yield over traditional varieties, (iii) it could, if commercially approved, make farmers growing the GM crop dependent on glyphosate - a weedicide that has been linked to cancer.
20. GREEN TRIBUNAL STEPS IN TO CONSERVE GHATS The six Western Ghats States, including Kerala, have been restrained by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) from giving environmental clearance to activities that may adversely impact the eco-sensitive areas of the mountain ranges. The panel directed that the extent of Eco-Sensitive Zones of Western Ghats, which was notified by the Central government earlier, should not be reduced in view of the recent floods in Kerala. The Madhav Gadgil-led Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) report had created a political furore in the State with most of the political parties and a section of the church opposing it. The WGEEP had proposed "much larger areas for being included in the eco-sensitive zone" though the Kasturirangan-led High Level Working Group, also appointed by the MoEF and CC to look into the WGEEP report, had reduced it. The Ministry had accepted the Kasthurirangan report and issued the draft notifications on ecologically sensitive zones. The draft notification on Eco-Sensitive Zones expired in August 2018. NGT ordered that the draft of the republished notification be placed on the record of the tribunal. Pulling up the Ghats States for the delay in filing objections regarding the notification, the tribunal observed that the "delay on account of objections of States may not be conducive to the protection of the eco-sensitive areas" and the matter must be finalised at the earliest.
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21. ANT THAT EXPLODES TO KILL ITS ENEMY A newly discovered species of ant may look harmless on the outside, but inside these insects are ticking time bombs. When attacked, Colobopsis explodens ants live up to their name - they explode! The blast releases poisonous yellow goo that stops their enemies in their tracks. C. explodens are found in the tropical jungles of Borneo. They live in colonies of thousands, high up in the treetops. She and other scientists recently identified 15 species of exploding ants, including the previously unknown C. explodens. Ant colonies can contain several queens that lay eggs, along with workers who care for the queens and their young. Colonies also have soldiers with large, plug-shaped heads and strong legs. Such features allow them to act like living doors, barricading the nest entrances from the inside. It latches onto an enemy and squeezes its own abdominal muscles hard enough that its backside bursts open, releasing the goo. It sacrifices itself to kill its rival. You need to be very careful. Just a touch with the finger can make them explode.
22. ENDANGERED „PONDICHERRY SHARK' SPOTTED NEAR KAKINADA Field biologists from the East Godavari Riverine Estuarine Ecosystem (EGREE) Foundation have spotted ‗Pondicherry shark', an endangered species protected under the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, near the Kumbhabhishekam landing point in the Kakinada city. This is for the third time that it was spotted in the East Godavari River Estuarine Ecosystem region after 2007 and 2016. Zoologists have been trying to trace the species in the other parts of the country since 1979. Known as ‗Pala Sora' in the local parlance, the ‗Pondicherry Shark' is on the verge of extinction even according to the conventional fishermen. They, however, are unaware of its conservation status which is on a par with the tiger. It is identified by its black tips of dorsal, pectoral and Tai fins. The front teeth are distinctly serrated at the base and smooth at the tip.
23. DEADLY DISEASE STALKS CATTLE IN KARNATAKA A rare and deadly livestock disease has resurfaced in M. Hosuru, a village in Kunigal taluk, Tumakuru district in Karnataka. Dairy farmers are facing an uncertain future with six head of cattle having died in the last one month. Malignant Catarrhal Fever (MCF), an infectious viral disease originally from South Africa that affects cattle, was first spotted in Karnataka 10 years ago. It has neither a cure nor a vaccination that can prevent its spread.
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24. DAMAGE TO ARAVALLIS SCARY The Supreme Court ordered the demolition of structures built illegally by a prominent builder in the protected forests of the Aravallis, noting that ecological damage done by colonisers to the ancient hills was irreversible and "quite frightening." A Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta ordered that all structures built after August 18, 1992 in the area known as ‗Kant Enclave' at Anangpur in Faridabad district of Haryana should be demolished. They have to be razed down by December 31, 2018. It held that these illegal structures defy a Haryana government notification of August 18, 1992, issued under the Punjab Land Preservation Act, declaring the area as forest land and fragile. The court, however, ordered not to disturb constructions made between April 17, 1984 and August 18, 1992. These structures were built on the basis of an exemption given to Kant & Co. by the State's town planning department under the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act of 1975 for setting up a "film studio and allied complex" in the area. The exemption was removed when the August 18, 1992 notification kicked in. Kant & Co., the court ordered, should pay a full refund to investors to whom they had already transferred the land. The builder has to pay interest at 18% per annum from the date of the investment. The court pulled up the State town and country planning department for supporting the illegalities. It is not only the future generations that have to pay a heavy price for this environmental degradation, but even the present generation is paying a heavy price for the environmental and ecological degradation inasmuch as there is an acute water shortage in the area as prophesied by the Central Ground Water Board.
25. FLOODS TRIGGER INFLUX OF ALIEN FISH SPECIES IN KERALA The catastrophic floods that caused widespread havoc throughout Kerala in August 2018 have released several alien species of fish into water bodies, raising a threat to the endemic aquatic ecosystem and biodiversity. A joint research team, which carried out a rapid assessment of the impact of the floods on water bodies, has documented the presence of 11 alien species and four alien invasive species. The researchers have established that alien species had escaped in large numbers from flooded commercial and ornamental fish farms. According to researchers, the proliferation of alien species poses a serious threat to the freshwater ecosystems of Kerala, considered a global hotspot for fish diversity.
26. THE HIGH COST OF MAN-ANIMAL CONFLICT If a wild elephant tramples your rice fields, the government will provide compensation for the loss.
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Though it sounds simple, there are several inconsistencies in compensation awarded for human-wildlife conflict - ranging from crop loss to human death - across the country, finds a study. Scientists at Bengaluru's Centre for Wildlife Studies, who analysed cases of compensation for crop raiding, livestock loss and human injury and death reported to the government between 2010 to 2015, find that wildlife that caused losses in 29 States included elephants that raid crop fields, tigers and leopards that preyed on cows and goats, and other species ranging from crocodiles to monkeys that cause injury and property damage. Twenty-two States compensated people for crop loss. While a majority of the States awarded compensation for loss of livestock, human injury and death, only 18 (62%) did so for property damage. While many people do not report their losses, some States lack compensation policies, and the team did not have access to the five-year compensation details of 11 other States. When the team compared the compensation patterns in detail, they found that despite a significant mandate to address human-wildlife conflict, there exist numerous inconsistencies in eligibility, application, assessment, implementation and payment procedures across States. For instance, although the majority of claims countrywide were related to crop loss, seven States - including Gujarat and Rajasthan - still do not provide crop compensation. Policies must be standardised across State lines in a manner equitable to both citizens and wildlife.
27. RESEARCHERS DIVE IN TO RESTORE CORAL ECOSYSTEMS Coral reefs are among the most diverse ecosystems on earth, and their role in maintaining marine biodiversity is of no small measure. However, it is well documented that coral systems around the world are bleaching and dying due to climate and chemical changes in the sea water. Corals have a symbiotic relationship with the unicellular algae dinoflagellates. An increase in sea surface temperatures leads to coral bleaching and the breaking of this relationship. Coral reefs in India are only seen in some localities around the Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Kutch, Lakshadweep islands and Andaman and Nicobar islands. In many of these places, bleaching of corals and related cnideria species such as giant clam and tentacle sea anemone have been observed.
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Not all corals are equally sensitive. The most susceptible are the branching corals, for example, Acropora species, and the least susceptible are the massive ones, for example Favia species. A team from National Centre for Coastal Research, Chennai, plans to work on coral monitoring and restoration in the Gulf of Mannar region. They have successfully transplanted and nurtured corals in the Lakshadweep region. Now they are set to work in the Gulf of Mannar.
28. TRANSLOCATED TIGRESS ACCUSED OF KILLING WOMAN MAY BE INNOCENT Many of the villagers living on the fringes of Odisha's Satkosia Tiger Reserve (STR) were against having a tiger in their neighbourhood. But they had no say in the matter when two big cats were transferred from Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh to Satkosia Tiger Reserve (STR), Odisha in July 2018. And when a woman was found dead inside the STR on September 13, they were quick to conclude that it was the newly transferred tigress that had killed her. Large-scale protests and violence erupted, with locals torching Forest Department offices in the Hatibari and Tikarpara areas bordering the STR. Forest Department boats on the Mahanadi river were also set ablaze. But the post-mortem report of the deceased has failed to establish that the death was caused by a tiger attack. It only said that the death had been caused by "asphyxia" and that one injury was "consistent with destruction by carnivorous animal." The Odisha Forest Department has said that the final call on shifting the tigress will be taken by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Wildlife Institute of India, which had helped in the initial translocation.
29. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON HONOUR FOR A.P. SCIENTIST For millions of years, these tiny creatures have thrived in the darkest of places. But they give us insights into life before the Continental Drift, says biospeleologist (cave biologist) Shabuddin Shaik. Biospeleology is still in its infancy in the country. He has to his credit the discovery of 40 new cave fauna species, including five new genera. One micro-crustacean discovered by him even has his name - Andhracoides shabuddin. Dr. Shaik has worked extensively in the caves of the undivided Andhra Pradesh, including the Belum and Borra caves, which are major tourist attractions. The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) has nominated Dr. Shaik for its fellowship. Unlike the Belum cave, Borra cave is not in the ground but inside a hill. It goes three to four storeys down and opens to the Gostani River, which flows at the foot of the hill. Dr. Shaik says that 3,169 species have been identified in the caves of the world, but more than 94% of cave fauna was waiting to be discovered.
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30. NEARLY ONE LAKH WINGED VISITORS ARRIVE AT BENGAL SANCTUARY The number of winged visitors at the Raiganj Wildlife Sanctuary in West Bengal's Uttar Dinjapur district has crossed all previous records. As per a census carried out by the State Forest Department, the wildlife sanctuary spread over 130 hectares, recorded 98,532 birds this year. The sanctuary has one of the highest numbers of Openbill stork population not only in India but in Asia and this makes the sanctuary unique. Of the 98,000 birds about 67,000 are Openbill storks. Then there are cormorants, night herons, little egrets, flycatchers, owls and other species. Of the new bird species visiting the sanctuary for the first time in 2018 are the Asian Paradise Flycatcher and Indian Pitta. Birds visit the Raiganj Wildlife Sanctuary in June and stay till November, when the temperature drops. The sanctuary, which is also known as the Kulik Bird Sanctuary, drawing its name from the river Kulik, attracts a large number of tourists every year, including birdwatchers and wildlife enthusiasts.
31. „FAT' TRACES CONFIRM DICKINSONIA TO BE WORLD'S EARLIEST ANIMALS A strange fossil that looks a bit like a giant leaf, or a fingerprint the size of a coffee table, has intrigued scientists for decades. Thousands of the fossils have been found over the past seven decades, of the creature, known as Dickinsonia, revealing that it lived at the bottom of the ocean, without a mouth, intestines or anus, half a billion years ago. Was it a mossy plant? A giant single-celled amoeba? A failed experiment of evolution? Or the earliest animal on the earth? After digging one of these fossils off a cliff in Russia and analysing its contents, researchers discovered molecules of cholesterol, a type of fat. This confirms that it is the earth's earliest known animal. Dickinsonia contained rib-like segments the length of its oval-shaped body, which came in a variety of sizes and could grow as large as 4.6 feet. The analysis showed the animals were abundant 558 million years ago, millions of years earlier than previously thought. The creature was part of the Ediacara Biota that lived on the earth during a time when bacteria reigned, 542-635 million years ago.
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The Edicarian Period was about 20 million years prior to emergence of modern animal life - a period known as the Cambrian explosion. Scientists had a difficult time finding Dickinsonia fossils with organic matter still attached. Many of the known fossils were in Australia, and had been exposed to too many elements over many millions of years. The recent report represents the first time that biomarkers have been used to determine that a fossil from the Edicarian Period is an animal instead of something else.
32. CITIZEN SCIENCE INITIATIVE HELPS SAVE HORNBILLS A citizen science initiative of documenting Indian hornbills is providing valuable inputs for the conservation of the unique bird. The data on hornbill presence outside protected areas would be crucial in identifying and protecting their habitats from possible threats and development projects. The Hornbill Watch initiative (www.hornbills.in) is an interactive web interface that allows a person to report on hornbills anywhere in India. People can record the observation of a live hornbill, note its call or report a dead, hunted or captive bird. There are nine hornbill species in India, but experts say that information on its distribution in the country is not very clear. Launched by scientists Aparajita Datta and Rohit Naniwadekar from Nature Conservation Foundation and Ramki Sreenivasan and Vikram Hiresavi from Conservation India, Hornbill Watch was aimed at bridging this gap. Between June 2014 and February 2017, the website, Hornbill Watch, had received 938 records from 430 contributors across 26 States including the national capital and two Union Territories. States from where the most sightings were recorded are Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Hornbills were reported from across 70 protected areas in the country. While 41% of the observations were made within protected areas, 59% were made outside. According to the scientist, sighting records of the oriental pied hornbill and the Indian grey hornbill in green spaces within cities like New Delhi and Chandigarh highlighted the important role of urban tree cover in maintaining its habitat.
33. „BIGGEST BIRD‟ DISPUTE PUT TO REST Scientists said that they have finally solved the riddle of the world‘s largest bird.
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A study by British scientists suggested that one species of elephant bird was even larger than previously thought, with a specimen weighing an estimated 860 kg about the same as a fully grown giraffe. They would have towered over people,‖ said James Hansford, lead author at the Zoological Society of London. ―They definitely couldn‘t fly as they couldn‘t have supported anywhere near their weight.‖ Named Vorombe titan — Malagasy for ―big bird‖ — the creature would have stood at least three metres (10 feet) tall, and had an average weight of 650 kg.
34. PANEL URGES PLAN TO SAVE SPRINGS A NITI Aayog constituted group of experts has urged the government to set up a dedicated mission to salvage and revive spring water systems in the country's Himalayan States, given their vital importance as a source of water for both drinking and irrigation for the region's inhabitants. Spanning States across the country's north and northeast and home to about 50 million people, the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) has been heavily reliant on these natural groundwater sources that are under increasing threat from the urbanisation caused by a constant push for development and climate change. Almost half of the perennial springs have already dried up or have become seasonal and tens of thousands of villages are currently facing acute water shortage for drinking and other domestic purposes. Almost 60% of low-discharge springs that provided water to small habitations in the Himalayan region have reported clear decline during the last couple of decades. The extent of the crisis plaguing the mountainous region was recently evident when more than half a dozen districts of Himachal Pradesh and the State capital Shimla faced a severe drinking water crisis in May 2018 after major water sources either went fully or partially dry. While poor water management was said to be the key cause, according to State authorities, they also attributed reduced snowmelt and depressed flow from springs as contributors to the crisis. While Meghalaya with 3,810 villages with springs had the highest number of these water sources in the Eastern Himalayan States, Sikkim had the greatest density with 94% of its villages having a spring. In the Western Himalayas, Jammu & Kashmir had both the highest number of villages with springs at 3,313 and the greatest density of 50.6%.
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The task force moots an 8-year programme to overhaul spring water management. This includes: preparing a digital atlas of the country's springsheds, training ‗para- hydrogeologists' who could lead grassroots conservation and introducing a ‗Spring Health Card.'
35. ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE COULD ADD $26 TRILLION TO WORLD ECONOMY Ambitious action on climate change could contribute an extra $26 trillion to the world economy by 2030, international experts said, urging nations and businesses to step up their engagement. The economic benefits offered by a shift to a low- carbon economy have been "grossly" underestimated, according to the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, a think tank grouping former heads of government and top economic and business leaders. Bold action could yield a direct economic gain of $26 trillion through to 2030 compared with business-as-usual. And this is likely to be a conservative estimate. Dynamic action on climate could also generate "over 65 million new low-carbon jobs" by 2030 and avoid over 7,00,000 premature deaths due to air pollution. But policymakers were "not taking sufficiently bold action to escape the legacy economic systems," the study found. The shift would involve change in five key areas: i. the development of clean energy systems, ii. improved urban planning, iii. a shift towards more sustainable agriculture, iv. smart water management and v. decarbonising industry. It called on governments to put a price on carbon of at least $40-80 by 2020, and to move towards mandatory climate risk disclosure for major investors and companies.
36. 25% OF ALL ACCIDENTAL DEATHS IN INDIA ARE WEATHER-RELATED Weather-related deaths are on the rise globally and figures in India stand at a staggering 25%, noted a study conducted across the country from 2001-2014 by research-based organisation Population Council. From 2001-2014, 25% of all accidental deaths in India due to unnatural causes happened as a result of extreme weather events, it said, adding that men and the elderly were at maximum risk. Titled ‗Extreme Weather Event-Induced Deaths in India 2001-2014: Trends and Differentials by Region, Sex and Age Group', the study was published in August 2018.
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Deaths due to extreme precipitation and tropical cyclones declined over time, whereas an increasing trend was observed in case of lightning and extreme temperature conditions. Most extreme weather event-induced deaths were due to lightning, followed by extreme precipitation and temperature extremes. Most deaths reported were due to lightning (40%), followed by extreme precipitation (24%), heat wave (20%) and cold wave (15%). The burden of deaths was the highest in central India, and Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal were affected the most by extreme weather events. The study also found that a higher number of males died due to extreme weather events than females across all years and regions in the country. A higher proportion of individuals who were 60 years or older died due to cold (47%) and heat (42%) waves than those in the younger age groups.
37. U.S. ACCUSED OF BLOCKING UN CLIMATE TALKS AMID PROTESTS The United States, despite withdrawing from a landmark accord aimed at curbing climate change, is stonewalling vital UN talks over how to fund poorer nations as they battle against global warming. Protests were staged in cities across the world to call on leaders to accelerate efforts to tackle climate change. In Bangkok, dozens of labourers and fishermen from the Gulf of Thailand, whose livelihoods are threatened by rising sea levels, joined demonstrators outside the UN. U.S. President Donald Trump caused global outrage by withdrawing from the Paris Accord in 2017 but his country is still committed to the deal's roadmap, giving Washington leverage over the Bangkok conference. The issue of how funds are made available to developing nations has emerged as a key sticking point at the talks. The Paris deal - hailed as a game-changer when struck in 2015 - promised $100 billion annually from 2020 to poor nations already coping with floods, heat waves and rising sea levels exacerbated by climate change. But it left room for debate over how that money should be provided, as well as how donor nations would source and report their contributions. Washington has tabled a proposal with support from Japan and Australia that seeks to remove rules on how countries account for their climate action funding, sources close to the negotiations said. This would mean that developed economies - responsible for the lion's share of carbon emissions - could still count commercial loans and pre-existing state funding as part of their finance obligations.
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Observers in Bangkok said the U.S. and some other developed economies were also refusing point blank to discuss the contentious issue of how rich nations inform other states of their future funding plans.
38. OCEAN CLEANUP TEAM HEADS TO THE PACIFIC The ambitious project by The Ocean Cleanup, a Dutch non-profit group, hopes to clean up half of the infamous Great Pacific Garbage Patch within five years once all systems are deployed. After five years of preparation and scale model tests, a supply ship towing a 600 meter- long floating boom device dubbed System 001, designed to corral ocean plastic has set sail from for a test run. The system includes a tapered three-meter skirt to catch plastic floating just below the surface. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a floating trash pile twice the size of France that swirls in the ocean halfway between California and Hawaii. Scientists first learned about the plastic concentrating in the Pacific garbage patch in the 1970s.
39. ENVIRONMENT MINISTER RELEASES INDIA‟S NATIONAL REDD+ STRATEGY In simple terms, REDD+ means ―Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation‖, conservation of forest carbon stocks, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries. REDD+ aims to achieve climate change mitigation by incentivizing forest conservation. The strategy seeks to address drivers of deforestation and forest degradation and also developing a roadmap for enhancement of forest carbon stocks and achieving sustainable management of forests through REDD+ actions. The National REDD+ Strategy will soon be communicated to the UNFCCC. MoEFCC has emphasized that the cooperation and involvement of the tribals, other forest dwelling people and the society as a whole, is crucial for the implementation of the REDD+ strategy. India‘s National REDD+ strategy is one of the tools to achieve India‘s commitment to Paris Agreement. The REDD+ strategy will help the country to fulfill its NDC commitments and will also contribute to the livelihood of the forest dependent population. A National Governing Council of REDD+ chaired by the Union Environment Minister at the national level and two technical committees are being established for supporting the REDD+ implementation in the country. The REDD+ actions at the State level will be coordinated by the committee headed by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) & Head of Forest Force (HOFF) of the States.
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Paris agreement on climate change also recognizes role of forests in climate change mitigation and calls upon country Parties to take action to implement and support REDD+. India has communicated in its Nationally Determined Contribution under Paris Agreement, that it will capture 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of Carbon dioxide through additional forest and tree cover by 2030. India‘s first biennial update report to UNFCCC has revealed that forests in India capture about 12% of India‘s total GHG emissions. Thus, forestry sector in India is making a positive cost effective contribution for climate change mitigation. Complying with the UNFCCC decisions on REDD+, India has prepared its National REDD+ Strategy. The strategy includes India‘s National Action Plan on Climate Change, Green India Mission and India‘s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to UNFCCC.
40. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM INDIAN PADDY FIELDS VERY HIGH Rice farming across the world could be responsible for up to twice the level of climate impact relative to what was previously estimated, according to a study conducted in India. The study, published in PNAS, found that intermittently flooded rice farms can emit 45 times more nitrous oxide as compared to the maximum from continuously flooded farms that predominantly emit methane. According to a global analysis by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in the US, methane and nitrous oxide emissions from rice farms could have the same long-term warming impact as about 600 coal plants. The full climate impact of rice farming has been underestimated because nitrous dioxide emissions from intermittently flooded farms have not been included. The researchers investigated GHGs emission from rice farms across southern India. They found that nitrous oxide emissions from rice can contribute up to 99 % of the total climate impact of rice cultivation at a variety of intermittently flooded farms. These contribute to global warming far more than the estimate of 10% previously suggested by multiple global rice research organizations. The researchers found an inverse correlation between methane and nitrous oxide emissions from rice farming. Water and organic matter management techniques that reduce methane emissions can increase nitrous oxide emissions. This is crucial because nitrous oxide is a long-lived greenhouse gas that traps several times more heat in the atmosphere than methane over both 20 and 100-year time frames.
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Rice is a critical source of nutrition for the world‘s rapidly growing population, providing more calories to humans than any other food. However, growing rice is also resource-intensive: rice cultivation covers 11 % of the Earth‘s arable land, consumes one-third of irrigation water. The researchers found that carefully chosen farming techniques can reduce net GHG emissions by as much as 90% by integrating shallow (mild-intermittent) flooding with co-management of nitrogen and organic matter. If all irrigated rice farmers only used the proposed shallow flooding instead of intense forms of intermittent flooding, estimates shows that the rice farms with irrigation have the potential to reduce their global climate impact by 60%.
41. INDIA FIRST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD TO DEVELOP COOLING ACTION PLAN On the eve of the World Ozone Day (17th Sept.), MoEFCC underlined the need to work consistently under the aegis of the Montreal Protocol to phase out Ozone Depleting Substances. MoEFCC released the draft India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) and a booklet on ‗Montreal Protocol – India‘s Success Story‘. India is the first country in world to develop such a document (ICAP), which addresses cooling requirement across sectors and lists out actions which can help reduce the cooling demand. The overarching goal is to provide sustainable cooling and thermal comfort for all while securing environmental and socio-economic benefits for the society. The goals emerging from the suggested interventions stated in ICAP are: Reduction of cooling demand across sectors by 20% to 25 % by year 2037-38, Reduction of refrigerant demand by 25% to 30% by year 2037-38, Reduction of cooling energy requirements by 25% to 40% by year 2037-38, and Training and certification of 100,000 servicing sector technicians by the year 2022- 23, in synergy with Skill India Mission. The broad objectives of the India Cooling Action Plan include – Assessment of cooling requirements across sectors in next 20 years and the associated refrigerant demand and energy use, Map the technologies available to cater the cooling requirement including passive interventions, refrigerant-based technologies and alternative technologies such as not-in-kind technologies, Suggest interventions in each sector to provide for sustainable cooling and thermal comfort for all, Focus on skilling of RAC service technicians, and Develop an R&D innovation ecosystem for indigenous development of alternative technologies.
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Montreal Protocol It is the only environmental treaty which enjoys universal ratification of 197 UN numbers countries. The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer has been recognized as the most successful international environment treaty in history. Its implementation has not only led to the phase-out of around 98% of ozone depleting chemicals, but also averted more than 135 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. Nearly 2 million cases of skin cancer per year have been averted globally.
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MAINS SPECIAL PAPER-II
1. AN EDUCATION THAT IS IN SYNC A survey by the All India Survey on Higher Education published in July this year shows that the gross enrolment ratio (GER) was 25.8% in 2017-18, up from 10% in 2004-05. GER is the ratio (expressed as a percentage), of the total enrolment within a country in a specific level of education, regardless of age, to the population in the official age group corresponding to this level of education. For higher education, the survey calculates the ratio for the age group 18 to 23 years. For India, the Survey gives the corresponding figure as 30%. Though the GER for higher education in India is still less than what it is in developed countries, the growth rate is still quite impressive. Just after Independence, a commission comprising educationists from India, the U.K. and the U.S., and chaired by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, was formed. It had to report on Indian University Education and suggest improvements and extensions that may be desirable to suit present and future requirements of the country. Its report filed after its deliberations came to be known as the Radhakrishnan Commission Report (RCR). Philosophical deliberations in the report that are related to the content of higher education are still relevant today. A Template The RCR recommended a well-balanced education with „general‟, „liberal‟ and „occupational‟ components. Without all-round general (including liberal) education, one could not be expected to play roles expected of a citizen outside one‟s immediate professional sphere. The report advocated that general education and specialised/professional education should proceed together. The study of languages should be given equal importance as one communicated to the outside world only through the medium of language. The American parallel Recently this year, the National Academies Press (NAP) of the U.S. which represents the national academies of sciences, engineering and medicine published the report, “The Integration of the Humanities and Arts with Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Higher Education: Branches from the Same Tree”. The report advocates integrating the teaching of humanities in STEM. As in the NAP‟s report, the purpose of higher education is to prepare graduates for work and life, as well as active and engaged citizenship.
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This can be achieved only through the acquisition of knowledge, skills and competencies related to the profession they chose to specialise in and also written and oral communication skills, ability to work as a team, ethical decision making, critical thinking, and ability to apply knowledge in real world settings. Problems in a real-life setting are interdisciplinary and require an appreciation of related fields There are technical advances every day, influencing everyday life in diverse ways. This is also leading to concerns about privacy, technology-driven social and workforce changes, and the evolving need for individuals to retrain themselves to remain in employment. In such a scenario, it is important that professionals study the impact of innovations on society in a holistic manner. Evidence shows that certain educational experiences that integrate the arts and humanities with STEM at the undergraduate level are associated with increased critical thinking abilities, higher order thinking and deeper learning, content mastery, creative problem solving, teamwork and communication skills. The reality As far as the inclusion of elements of general education in the curriculum for undergraduates is concerned, the situation is mixed. Several engineering, and science education and research institutes have embedded general education programmes at the undergraduate level. Such programmes are missing in most university-affiliated science colleges. There are institutions that cater to a single stream which precludes the possibility of even an informal interaction between students and faculty with different specialisations. The focus of undergraduate education should be on classical disciplines, with enough credits for general education. It is time to bridge the divide between the two cultures in the education system and evolve a third culture where the two sides understand and appreciate each other.
2. THE CRACKDOWN ON CIVIL SOCIETY It is a truth universally acknowledged that the modern democratic state, armed with technologies of surveillance and control, possesses the kind of power that has never ever been exercised by any other state in history. There is no one more vulnerable and more helpless than our rights-bearing citizen if the, otherwise, the democratic state decides to terrorise, kill and drill fear and trepidation in the mind of the body politic. A vital sphere The only sphere that stands between the individual and the omnipresent and omnipotent state is civil society.
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Civil society is a plural sphere, and all manners of associations find space for themselves here, from football clubs to reading groups to film fan societies. Associations have the capacity to challenge the brute power of the state through petitions, protests, dharnas and ultimately judicial activism. Given unresponsive political parties, citizens can access centres of power and privilege only through a vibrant civil society. Civil liberty and human rights groups are an essential precondition for human well- being. Every political revolution in the world has begun with the rights to life and liberty. Some Indian citizens were randomly and arbitrarily imprisoned during the Emergency (1975-77) and the fundamental rights of others were truncated. In the aftermath of the Emergency, the civil liberties movement made a dramatic appearance on to the scene of Indian politics. The movement which developed into, or acted in concert with, the human rights movement took on an extremely significant task, that of protecting the fundamental right to life and liberty granted by the Indian Constitution. Human rights groups have become the custodian of the Fundamental Rights chapter of the Indian Constitution. They have investigated cases of arbitrary imprisonment, custodial deaths, deadly encounters and coercion of any citizen who dares to speak up against the state or dominant groups. These organisations have carefully documented the causes and the triggers of communal and caste violence and established an excellent archive on the abuse of power by governments. They have protected the rights of vulnerable sections of society i.e. Adivasis, the Dalits and Muslims. Not all civil society groups are involved in good work. Some are in the sole business of getting funds from the state or others. Boomerang effect? There are few organisations that articulate the right not to be lynched, or who struggle for the right to life and liberty. The well-known Italian theorist Antonio Gramsci, jailed by the Mussolini government in the 1920s, set out to answer a crucial question that „Why had a revolution occurred in semi-feudal Tsarist Russia, and not in the Western capitalist world as predicted by Marx?‟ He concluded that revolutions only happen when the government directly and unashamedly exercises brute power, as in Russia. They do not happen in countries which possess civil societies, for here projects of domination and resistance can be played out.
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Mains Special Paper-II
3. THE SEDITION DEBATE Rulers everywhere tend to treat trenchant criticism as attempts to excite disaffection and disloyalty. That is perhaps the only reason that Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code, enacted under colonial rule, remains on the statute book. There have been repeated instances of its misuse. Regimes at the Centre and the States have invoked the section against activists, detractors, writers and even cartoonists. The Law Commission, for the third time in five decades, is now in the process of revisiting the section. Its consultation paper calls for a thorough reconsideration and presents the various issues related to it before the public for a national debate. In particular, it has raised the pertinent question: how far is it justified for India to retain an offence introduced by the British to suppress the freedom struggle when Britain itself abolished it 10 years ago? The foremost objection to the provision on sedition is that its definition remains too wide. Under the present law, strong criticism against government policies and personalities, slogans voicing disapprobation of leaders and stinging depictions of an unresponsive or insensitive regime are all likely to be treated as „seditious‟, and not merely those that overtly threaten public order or constitute actual incitement to violence. The core principle enunciated by the Supreme Court — that the incitement to violence or tendency to create public disorder are the essential ingredients of the offence — has been forgotten while using this clause multiple times. As long as sedition is seen as a reasonable restriction on free speech on the ground of preserving public order, it will be difficult to contain its mischief. There can only be two ways of undoing the harm it does to citizens‟ fundamental rights: It can be amended so that there is a much narrower definition of what constitutes sedition. The far better course is to do away with it altogether.
4. STILL TOO MANY CHILDREN OUT OF SCHOOL The official numbers of out-of-school children in India are either out of date or contradictory. According to the 2011 Census, the number of out-of-school children in the 5-17 age group was 8.4 crore. However, according to a survey commissioned in 2014 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the number of out-of-school children in the 6-13 age group was only 60.64 lakh.
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On the basis of the 71st round of the National Sample Survey (NSS) carried out in 2014 and taking into account the 6-18 age group, out-of-school children in this age group were more than 4.5 crores in the country. The proportion of out-of-school children was higher in rural India (17.2%) than in urban India (13.1%). The proportion of children from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) was the highest, followed by Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Among religious groups, the proportion of Muslims was as high as 24.1% in rural areas and 24.7% in urban areas. Out-of-school children came mostly from low-income, landless and marginal families. The most important reason for boys to drop out of school was to take up jobs to supplement the family earning. For girls, it was the compulsion to participate in household work. There is also a prejudice against educating girls that is prevalent in India. An important reason for drop-out is the socio-economic conditions of the parents of the children. The most important social reason for drop-out is a lack of awareness of the importance of school education and of the fact that education is now a legal right. According to the RTE Act and the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, these out-of-school children fall under the category of child labour. It is, therefore, not surprising that the largest number of child labourers in the world is in India. We would not have been confronted with this high proportion of drop-outs if all the provisions of the RTE Act had been implemented within the time limit prescribed in the Act (latest by April 2015). The Act provided for the availability of a school at a distance of 1 km from the residence of the child at the primary level and 3 km at the upper primary level. If these provisions had been implemented, a major reason for drop-out (the distance of school) would have been eliminated. Until an adequate number of schools at the prescribed distances from the children‟s homes becomes available, it would be necessary to provide secure modes of subsidised travel to schools, particularly for girls. Another important provision which ought to hzave been included in the RTE is financial support to poor parents, adequate to enable them to send their children to school. It is a matter of serious concern that nearly 10 years after the enactment of the RTE Act, and 16 years after the right to education was elevated to a fundamental right, such a large number of children are out of school. Education is a quintessential example of being vested with intrinsic as well as instrumental value — being both the means and the end. Steps need to be taken to provide education to India‟s potential demographic dividend.
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5. WHAT’S IN A NAME? ON THE USE OF THE TERM ‘DALIT’ Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry has issued an advisory to the media saying they “may” refrain from using the term „Dalit‟ while referring to members of Scheduled Castes. This is unnecessary, intrusive and issued with little application of the mind. This has been done in compliance with a direction from the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court. A reading of the court‟s order shows that it only wanted the Centre “to consider the question of issuing such direction to the media and take a suitable decision upon it”. The court gave such suggestion after it was brought to its notice that the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had issued a directive to use only the term „Scheduled Castes‟ in all official matters. The court noted that since media institutions were not a party before it, the I&B Ministry could consider the question of issuing a similar direction to the media. A decade ago, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes disfavoured the use of „Dalit‟, which it felt was unconstitutional. This is because belonging to a „Scheduled Caste‟ is a legal status conferred on members of castes named in a list notified by the President under Article 341 of the Constitution. Therefore, „Scheduled Caste‟ is the appropriate way to refer to this class of people in official communications and documents. The term has evolved over a period of time and has come to symbolise different things in different contexts — self-respect, assertion, solidarity and opposition to caste oppression. In the past, Dalits were referred to as „untouchables‟, but the official term during British rule was „depressed classes‟. Mahatma Gandhi sought to remove the stigma of „pollution‟ by using the term „Harijans‟, or „children of God‟. The community rejected this appellation as patronising and sanctimonious. The evolution of the word Dalit or Pad-Dalit was strongly emphasised by B R Ambedkar in his Marathi writings during his years of active journalism and public speaking from 1920 onwards He fashioned the term for the Depressed Classes to unionise the political categories that are subsumed under it. Dalit is a political identity that emerged in the 1970s in connection with the rise of Dalit literature in Marathi and the Dalit Panthers, a militant movement based out of Maharashtra‟s urban centres. “Dalit” is primarily an anti-caste, anti-Brahminical, anti-capitalistic, anti-oppression, anti-superstition rebellion moulded into the totemic traditions of Dalit emancipation drawn from the experiences of their ancestors‟ quest to life.
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„Dalit‟ literally means „downtrodden‟ or „broken‟ reflecting the struggle of a community to reassert its identity and lay claim to the rights that were denied to them for centuries. The idea of “humanism, freedom, rebellion, and equality” is strongly reinforced in the popularisation of the term. It is inexplicable to oppose the use of the term „Dalit‟ in the media and in non-official contexts a nomenclature chosen and used by the community itself. We must recognise that „Dalit‟ is an expression of self-empowerment. The advisory must be withdrawn as there is no reason to tell the media how to do their job, even if it is couched in the form of gratuitous advice.
6. INDIA AND THE U.S. — IT’S COMPLICATED The first round of the India-U.S. 2+2 talks at the level of External Affairs Minister and Defence Minister of India and their counterparts Secretary of State and Defence Secretary of the US is scheduled for September 6 in Delhi. It appears perfectly logical when seen against the two-decade-old trend line of India-U.S. relations. The trend line has not been smooth but the trajectory definitively reflects a growing strategic engagement. Strategic convergence The end of the Cold War provided an opportunity to both countries to review their relationship in the light of changing global and regional realities. With the opening of the Indian economy, the American private sector began to look at India with greater interest. Another factor is the political coming of age of the three-million-strong Indian diaspora. The defence dialogue began in 1995 with the setting up of the Defence Policy Group at the level of the Defence Secretary and his Pentagon counterpart and three Steering Groups to develop exchanges between the Services. Growing defence cooperation The strategic dialogue covering nuclear issues shifted gears following the nuclear tests of 1998 and imposition of sanctions by the U.S. A decade later, this was formalised and enlarged into the India-U.S. Defence Framework Agreement which was renewed for 10 years in 2015. Today, the U.S. is the country with which India undertakes the largest number of military exercises which have gradually evolved in scale and complexity. In 2016, India was designated as a „Major Defence Partner‟ country. Another step forward in the middle of this year was the inclusion of India in the Strategic Trade Authorisation-1 (STA-1) category, putting it on a par with allies in terms of technology access. Obligations and challenges Acquiring U.S. high technology comes with its own set of obligations in terms of ensuring its security.
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These take the form of various undertakings often described as foundational agreements. The first of these was GSOMIA (General Security of Military Information Agreement) which India signed in 2002. The other three related to logistics support, communications compatibility and security, and exchanges of geospatial information. Now the India-specific Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) is likely to be signed. It makes it possible to install high-end secure communication equipment on U.S. platforms that we have been acquiring. The first is the Countering America‟s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) enacted last year which enables the U.S. government to sanction countries that engage in „significant transactions‟ with Russian military and intelligence entities. The proposed purchase of the S-400 missile defence system would attract CAATSA sanctions. A waiver provision has now been introduced to cover India, Indonesia and VietnamIt requires certification by the U.S. that the country concerned is gradually reducing its dependency on Russian equipment and cooperating with the U.S. on critical security issues. Indian concerns on this need to be addressed. About Chabahar The second relates to U.S. sanctions on Iran after its unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear deal Iranian crude imports have grown significantly in recent years and India also stepped up its involvement in developing Chabahar port. The port provides connectivity to Afghanistan and Central Asia. The Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act (2012) contains a waiver provision in case of activities for reconstruction assistance and economic development for Afghanistan, which is a U.S. priority too. Creative thinking will be needed in the 2+2 dialogue to overcome these challenges. In order to realise the Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region (2015), both countries will have to nurture the habit of talking and working together to diminish some of the prickliness in the partnership.
7. GREEN SHOOTS OF REVIVAL: ON BIMSTEC SUMMIT The road to the fourth summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in Kathmandu, Nepal was marked by scepticism and hope. Grouping‟s past performance has been modest in the previous 19 years and promising in the past two years.
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The positives On the positive side, the fact that the summit could be held was a success in itself as it had been delayed. Work begins now on drafting a charter for BIMSTEC, which has functioned so far on the basis of the Bangkok Declaration of 1997, and outcomes of the past three summits and the Leaders‟ Retreat in 2016. A Permanent Working Committee will be set up to provide direction during the period between two summits and also to prepare the Rules of Procedure. The Secretariat has been promised additional financial and human resources and enhancement of its role to coordinate, monitor and facilitate the grouping‟s activities. As the institution has been handicapped due to lack of financial muscle, the leaders took the bold decision to establish the BIMSTEC Development Fund A push to increase its visibility and stature in the international fora will also be made by BIMSTEC Recognising that 16 areas of cooperation represent too wide a spectrum, the BIMSTEC governments will make a serious endeavour to review, restructure and rationalise various sectors, identifying a few core areas. Concerns Of at least six legal instruments awaiting finalisation, only one, the Memorandum of Understanding on Grid Interconnection, could be inked in Kathmandu. Fourteen years after signing the framework agreement on the Free Trade Area (FTA), the leaders could only renew their “commitment to an early conclusion” of FTA negotiations. The grouping had established its Energy Centre in 2009, but it was still struggling for the “early operationalisation” of the Centre. Other facets There are plans to revitalise the Business Forum and the Economic Forum. Cooperation in the security domain has been widened with a new instrument added to the arsenal: a meeting of home ministers. This will be in addition to annual meetings of national security advisers and the first meeting of army chiefs to be held this year in India. There is a sound plan to establish forums for parliamentarians, universities, cultural organisations and the media community. India emphasised that the biggest opportunity is connectivity trade connectivity, economic connectivity, transport connectivity, digital connectivity, and people-to-people connectivity. The Kathmandu Declaration has spelt out a number of measures, old and new, to secure this objective. But the Motor Vehicle Agreement and the Coastal Shipping Agreement would still need more time for finalization.
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The summit articulated a vision for the Bay of Bengal Region heading towards a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable future. The region is now widely viewed as a common space for security, connectivity and development. BIMSTEC can become a dynamic, effective and result-oriented organisation if it focuses on not just to deliberate, but also to deliver.
8. 2+2 = ?: ON INDIA-US DEFENCE RELATIONSHIP The India-U.S. defence relationship has been given a significant boost with the three agreements signed after the inaugural 2+2 Dialogue in Delhi. These are: the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA). “hotlines” between the Defence and Foreign Ministers of both countries. the first tri-services military exercises between the two countries. COMCASA is the third of four “foundational”, or enabling, agreements signed by India after more than a decade of negotiations. It is perceived as an inevitable consequence of a large amount of U.S. defence hardware it has been purchasing. This will increase, going forward, given the U.S. decision to include India in the top tier of countries entitled to Strategic Trade Authorisation (STA-1). Both sides agreed to cooperate on fighting terrorism, advancing “a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region” and promoting sustainable “debt-financing” in the region. The last two points are clearly aimed at Beijing‟s role in the South China Sea and the Belt and Road Initiative projects, respectively. While trade was addressed, India did not receive a clear-cut assurance of its GSP (Generalised System of Preferences) status being restored, or of waivers on steel and aluminium tariffs imposed by Washington. U.S. officials said clearly that they expect India to increase imports of American oil and gas as well as aircraft in order to wipe out the trade surplus India enjoys. The U.S.‟s other demand, to “zero out” oil imports from Iran by November, is simply unreasonable. It would hurt India dearly not only because of costs at a time when the dollar is strengthening and fuel prices are going up but also in terms of its substantial engagement with Iran. No public statement was made on what the U.S. will do on India‟s investment in the Chabahar port once its full sanctions kick in on November 4. American officials also gave no firm commitment in their statements that India will receive a waiver to purchase Russian hardware, beginning with the S-400 missile system.
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The 2+2 discussions, held after two previous cancellations this year, brought much- needed focus on the India-U.S. relationship after months of drift and occasional discord. India appears to have taken a leap of faith on its own concerns, expecting that the Trump administration will come through on waiving sanctions and being more flexible on trade issues. Delhi must work with Washington in the next few months to ensure that the benefits from the 2+2 dialogue don‟t add up only on the other side.
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1. POWER GAMES: ON ISSUES IN THE POWER SECTOR The Supreme Court has ordered a stay on the Reserve Bank of India’s February 12 circular asking banks to recognise loans as non-performing even if repayment was delayed by just one day, and resolve them within 180 days. This comes just weeks after the Allahabad High Court refused to grant relief to troubled power companies facing action from the RBI. The apex court’s decision to overturn RBI rules and transfer all pleas seeking exception from them to itself is clearly the biggest challenge against the IBC yet. It is likely to cause significant uncertainty in the resolution of stressed assets and undermine investor confidence in the bankruptcy process. The postponement of the Supreme Court’s next hearing of the case to mid-November will send the signal that there are likely to be considerable delays in the resolution of stressed assets. This is in contrast to hopes that asset resolution under the new bankruptcy regime would be done within a strict time frame. According to the Association of Power Producers, the Supreme Court’s order will save stressed companies producing 13GW worth of power from being pushed to the doors of bankruptcy courts. Banks, too, will be happy as the reprieve will help them delay the recognition of bad loan losses But, Supreme Court’s decision to intervene, however, will do very little good in the long run to either stressed power companies or their lenders. The power sector facing such troubles because, The absence of meaningful price reforms. Unreliable fuel supply. The unsustainable finances of public sector power distribution companies. According to a report released by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India earlier this month, lenders could realistically expect to recover less than a tenth of their dues if stressed assets are to be liquidated. This could be attributed to the IBC’s overemphasis on the speedy resolution of bad loans over the recovery of maximum value from stressed assets.
2. ADDRESSING SOIL LOSS As the rains abate in Kerala, the loss of lives and the devastation of infrastructure and crops is apparent. As rebuilding is planned, what is often ignored is the soil that has been washed away. The gradual loss of soil productivity can have a lasting impact on the local economy.
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In the case of Kerala and Kodagu, the undulation and force of the water would have led to severe soil and land erosion A 2014 review of soil degradation in India by multiple institutions shows that an estimated 14 million hectares suffer soil degradation due to flooding annually Researchers from the National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS&LUP) and other institutes estimate that 13 flood-hit districts lost 287 million tonnes of topsoil and soil nutrients across 10.75 million hectares of farmland in 2009 floods in Kerela Under market prices, the replacement of nutrients such as nitrates, phosphates and iron would have cost Rs. 1,625 crore, while another Rs. 853 crore would have been spent on replenishing organic material lost To recover and replace would take a “considerable” amount of time, and a steadfast programme of recovery Not all floods are bad for the soil, as seen in the oft-occurring floods along the banks of the Ganga, Kosi, Brahmaputra and other rivers taking birth in the Himalayas. There, the gushing river emanating from the mountains carries with it loosened alluvial soil, and not only washes over farmlands but also replenishes floodplains with fertile soil. But in the south and central India, floods wash away rich, weathered soil, which is deposited in reservoirs or as sandbars along the river bed or in the sea.
3. STEPS TO STOP THE ROT: ON DANGERS OF STORING FOODGRAINS IN THE OPEN Most grain in India, which is procured from farmers by the government, is stored using the CAP, or cover and plinth method. The agencies build a cement plinth and pile up foodgrains in bags and then cover all this with a tarpaulin. India stores about 30.52 million tonnes of rice, wheat, maize, gram and sorghum in such structures at the Food Corporation of India godowns and hired spaces. It is estimated that there is a 10% loss of harvested grain, of which 6% (around 1,800,000 tonnes) is lost in storage. This means that the grain is so damp and fungus-ridden that it cannot be ground and passed on to the public for consumption. Eating mouldy grain causes a variety of illnesses. According to a World Health Organisation paper, mycotoxins, which are found in mouldy grain/foods, are associated with human disease and produce aflatoxins (cancer- causing), trichothecenes, ochratoxins, citrinin and other toxins. Aflatoxicosis causes abdominal pain, vomiting, hepatitis and (sometimes) death after acute exposure to high concentrations in food. Chronic low dose exposure to aflatoxin can result in impaired growth in children.
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In world In other parts of the world, grain is stored in silos. Here, stored grain is kept dry and aired so as to prevent fungal and insect attacks. The U.S. has a permanent storage capacity nearly equivalent to its annual grain production. In India In India, the government has considered only four silos to be sufficient for the nation’s needs one each in Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai and Hapur-Ghaziabad. The remainder of government-procured grain is stored in shoddy conditions. In order to export basmati rice, Punjab has, in a public-private partnership, built modern, temperature-controlled grain silos with a storage capacity of 50,000 tonnes but this is not for the Indian market. Even though foodgrain production has been encouraged and increased, there need to be efforts to ensure that grain being procured annually is stored properly. There is now an abundance of steel, cement and other building materials, money and the technological know-how. The government should move on a war footing to store food grains in the proper manner.
4. POST OFFICE SOLUTIONS: THE CHALLENGES FACING INDIA POST PAYMENTS BANK Amidst some fanfare, PM Modi launched the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), a financial service provider that will operate under the country’s age-old postal department. The primary rationale behind the public payments bank idea is to help in the government’s goal of achieving financial inclusion by providing savings, remittance, and payments services to the rural and unorganised sectors of the economy. It is also hoped that the payments bank idea will help reinvigorate the postal system, which has a wide network of branches across India. All the 155,000 post offices in the country are expected to be linked to the IPPB system as early as in December this year. The government-owned payments bank will be able to accept deposits of up to ₹1 lakh from customers but without the rights to use these funds to advance risky loans at higher interest rates. It plans to offer a variety of other financial services to people. The payments bank will also have a digital platform that is expected to make financial services more accessible even from remote locations. A big challenge facing the new public payments bank is whether it can manage to earn the profits required to survive as a standalone business entity. Given the severe restrictions imposed by the Reserve Bank of India on how payments banks, in general, can employ their funds, the odds seem to be stacked against the IPPB at the moment
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The IPPB promises to pay an interest rate of 4% to its savings account customers. To generate revenues, it plans to charge fees on money transfers and other financial services while investing idle customer deposits in safe government securities in order to earn interest. The IPPB is also likely to face stiff competition from private companies, which are generally more nimble in adapting to business realities and far more customer-friendly compared to the government-owned behemoths. With increasing competition, the IPPB’s revenues and margins are also likely to come under pressure. Banks have traditionally stayed away from the business of pure deposit banking unless customers have been willing to pay for these services. The payments bank model is still untested even though prominent private companies such as Airtel and Paytm have shown interest in the space. The new payments bank could usher in a new era of rapid financial inclusion across rural India.
5. ENDING TB On September 26, the UN General Assembly will, for the first time, address TB in a High-Level Meeting and likely release a Political Declaration, endorsed by all member nations. This is being done to galvanise investment and action to meet the global target of eliminating TB worldwide by 2035. Elimination, which means reducing the number to one case per million people per year, will be impossible without universal, equitable access to affordable, quality TB diagnostics and treatment for anyone who needs it Issues around access to diagnostics and drugs have been considerably diluted in the most recent draft of the Political Declaration The latest draft is a watered-down version of the original that actively committed to upholding access to affordable generics for all Various important provisions have been omitted from the draft: A critical omission is that countries may avail of the various flexibilities under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. Second, countries may invoke the Doha Declaration to compulsorily license drugs for use in public health emergencies is absent from draft text. The option to de-link the pricing of new TB drugs from the costs incurred in their research and development is also not mentioned. TB is, by and large, easily diagnosable and curable. Each day, thousands of people with TB die, often because of inequitable access to quality diagnosis and treatment.
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India not only accounts for a fifth of the world’s TB burden, it also has the largest number of people living with multidrug-resistant TB. The rapid emergence of drug-resistant forms of TB (DR-TB) in many countries brings a fresh set of needs including new and comprehensive diagnostic tests and second-line TB drugs, and health systems trained anew to manage DR-TB. India has set a target to eliminate TB by 2025, ahead of the global targets. These targets cannot be achieved without access to affordable, quality diagnostics/ drugs. Conclusion India has fought to retain its status as a maker and distributor of generic medicines, thereby protecting the right to health of people in developing countries. Unless India assumes a leadership role to restore every possible option to protect universal access to TB drugs in the Political Declaration, 2018 may end up being just another brick in the wall.
6. FOR A WORLD FREE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS The Chemical Weapons Convention Act was enacted in 2000 to give effect to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction. In 2010, the Act was amended to widen the scope of Section 9 to give the Centre power to appoint any of its own officers, other than those of the National Authority, as enforcement officers. The convention was signed by the government on January 14, 1993. What is a chemical weapon? The Act defines chemical weapons as toxic chemicals, including munitions and devices, specifically designed to cause death or other harm. The definition includes in its ambit “any equipment” specifically designed for employing chemical weapons. Salient features of the Act The Act defines chemical weapons and empowers the Centre to set up a National Authority to act as the “national focal point” for effective liaison with organisations and other state parties on matters relating to the Convention and for fulfilling the obligations of the country. The Authority’s functions include regulation and monitoring the development, production, processing, consumption, transfer or use of toxic chemicals or precursors as specified in the Convention, among others. The Authority is also empowered to issue directions and even close down facilities which violate the Convention. It can liaise with other countries to seek or give assistance and protection against the use of chemical weapons.
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Section 19 of the Act gives full power of inspection of any person who is engaged in the production, processing, acquisition, consumption, transfer, import, export or use of any toxic chemical or discrete organic chemical. Inspections extend to any place where any chemical weapon, old chemical weapon, or abandoned chemical weapon is located, or where a chemical weapon production facility exists. The Act allows inspections teams to conduct “challenge inspections” of chemical facilities in the company of an Observe. An enforcement officer under the Act shall also accompany the team. Section 16 of the original Act contains provisions for restriction on transfer of any toxic chemical or precursor. This has been amended to provide that no person shall transfer to, or receive from, a state which is not a party to the Convention any toxic chemicals.
7. CLOUDY FORECAST: ON CLIMATE CHANGE The conference of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bangkok ran into predictable difficulties over the issue of raising funds to help poorer nations. This conference was aimed at drafting a rulebook for the Paris Agreement ahead of a crucial international conference in Poland in December. Some developed countries led by the U.S. which, under the Trump administration, has rejected the agreement are unwilling to commit to sound rules on raising climate finance. Under the pact concluded in Paris, rich countries pledged to raise $100 billion a year by 2020. This was to help developing countries reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and aid populations to cope with extreme events such as floods, droughts and storms. By trying to stall climate justice to millions of poor people in vulnerable countries, the developed nations are refusing to accept their responsibility for historical emissions of GHGs. Those emissions raised living standards for their citizens but contributed heavily to the accumulated carbon dioxide burden, now measured at about 410 parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere, up from 280 ppm before the industrial revolution. Impact of climate change If scientific estimates are correct, the damage already done to the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is set to raise sea levels. A 2° Celsius rise will also destabilise the Greenland Ice Sheet. Failed agriculture in populous countries will drive more mass migrations of people, creating conflict. China and India have committed themselves to a cleaner growth path. India, which reported annual CO2 equivalent emissions of 2.136 billion tonnes in 2010 to the UNFCCC two years ago, estimates that the GHG emissions intensity of its GDP has declined by 12% for the 2005-2010 period.
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China and India have the responsibility for climate leadership in the developing world and have to green their growth. Way Forward Obstructing the transition to a carbon-neutral pathway and preserving the status quo is short-sighted, simply because the losses caused by weather events are proving severely detrimental to all economies. Developing countries need a supportive framework in the form of a rulebook that binds the developed countries to their funding pledges, provides support for capacity building and transfer of green technologies on liberal terms. This is the time for the world’s leaders to demonstrate that they are ready to go beyond expediency and take the actions needed to avert long-term catastrophe.
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