2/17/2020
Civil Services Examination (General Studies) 360
Week 2, Feb 2020, From 09-Feb-20 To 15-Feb-20
1/17 2/17/2020 CULTURE OF INDIA
Hampi
Culture of India (Current Affairs) Architecture 14-FEB-20
Context-The Supreme Court confirmed the Karnataka government authorities’ decision to demolish the commercial buildings around the Hampi, a World Heritage site.
Key points
Previously, the Karnataka High Court had held that the Hampi World Heritage Area Management Authority (HWMHMA) was empowered to order the demolition of the illegal buildings.
The apex court confirmed such order as such constructions were in violation of the Mysore Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1961.
The apex court has directed the authorities to proceed with their demolition work within a month of the judgment.
The entire village of Virupapura Gaddi – where the Heritage site is located, as a protected zone in a verdict of 1988.
Concerns raised:
The appellants were raised their concerns that the HWMHMA cannot direct the demolition of buildings which were created much before the enactment of the Hampi World Heritage Management Authority Act passed in 2002.
The appellants claimed that the constructions were made as per licenses and permits issued by local authorities in 1999-2000.
About Hampi:
Hampi is referred as the “Group of Monuments at Hampi” – is the 14th century capital of one of the greatest empires of medieval India called the Vijayanagar Empire
It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Vitthala temple in Hampi is an excellent example of Vijayanagar style.
It was a part of the Mauryan Empire back in the third century BC.
The Vijayanagara Empire reached unfathomable heights under the guidance of King Krishnadeva Raya of the Tuluva Dynasty.
‘Kishkindha Kaand’ in Ramayana has special significance concerning Hampi.
It is located near the Tungabhadra river.
By 1500 CE, Hampi-Vijayanagara was the world’s second-largest medieval-era city after Beijing, and probably India’s richest at that time, attracting traders from Persia and Portugal.
It has been described by UNESCO as an “austere, grandiose site” of more than 1,600 surviving remains of the last great Hindu kingdom in South India.
Chindu Yakshaganam
Culture of India (Pre-punch) Dance and Music 12-FEB-20
Context-The Chindu Yakshaganam is an age-old art form popular in Telangana.
The art form dates back to second century BC. It is similar to Yakshaganam, a traditional theatre form particular to Karnataka.
It is a theatre art form that combines dance, music, dialogue, costume, make-up, and stage techniques with a unique style and form.
The word ‘Chindu’ in Telugu means ‘jump’. As their presentation is interspersed with leaps and jumps, it gained the name of Chindu Yakshaganam.Chindu is also derived from the artistes’ caste Chindu Madiga, a sub-caste of Madiga among SCs.
The Chindu Yakshaganam is also called Chindu Bhagavatam as most of the stories narrated are from ‘Bhagavatam’.Bhagavatam refers to the Bhagavata Purana which can be translated as 'the history of the devotees of Vishnu'.
ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
2/17 2/17/2020 Recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission
Economic Affairs (Current Affairs) Financial Institutions 11-FEB-20
Context: The report of the Fifteenth Finance Commission, along with an Action Taken Report, was recently tabled in Parliament.
How revenue has been divided?
FC has considered the 2011 population along with forest cover, tax effort, area of the state, and “demographic performance” to arrive at the states’ share in the divisible pool of taxes.
In order to reward population control efforts by states, the Commission developed a criterion for demographic effort — which is essentially the ratio of the state’s population in 1971 to its fertility rate in 2011 — with a weight of 12.5%.
The total area of states, area under forest cover, and “income distance” were also used by the FC to arrive at the tax-sharing formula.
Key recommendations:
The Commission has reduced the vertical devolution — the share of tax revenues that the Centre shares with the states — from 42% to 41%.
The Commission has said that it intends to set up an expert group to initiate a non-lapsable fund for defence expenditure.
State- wise distribution:
Shares of the southern states, except Tamil Nadu, have fallen — with Karnataka losing the most.
Shares of states like Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, along with Tamil Nadu, all of which have fertility rates below the replacement level, have increased slightly.
On the other hand, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, and West Bengal’s shares have fallen, even though their fertility rates are also low.
Incidentally, Karnataka, the biggest loser in this exercise, also had the highest tax-GSDP ratio in 2017-18, as per an RBI report on state finances.
Criticisms:
The population parameter used by the Commission has been criticised by the governments of the southern states.
The previous FC used both the 1971 and the 2011 populations to calculate the states’ shares, giving greater weight to the 1971 population (17.5%) as compared to the 2011 population (10%).
The use of 2011 population figures has resulted in states with larger populations like UP and Bihar getting larger shares, while smaller states with lower fertility rates have lost out.
The combined population of the Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand is 47.8 crore.
This is over 39.48% of India’s total population, and is spread over 32.4% of the country’s area, as per the 2011 Census.
On the other hand, the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and undivided Andhra Pradesh are home to only 20.75% of the population living in 19.34% of the area, with a 13.89% share of the taxes.
This means that the terms decided by the Commission are loaded against the more progressive (and prosperous) southern states.
Finance Commission of India
Economic Affairs (Current Affairs) Financial Institutions 09-FEB-20
Context: The report of the Fifteenth Finance Commission, along with an Action Taken Report, has been tabled in Parliament. The Commission, headed by N K Singh, had submitted its Report to the President in December 2019.
What is the Finance Commission?
The Finance Commission is constituted by the President under article 280 of the Constitution, mainly to give its recommendations on distribution of tax revenues between the Union and the States and amongst the States themselves.
Two distinctive features of the Commission’s work involve redressing the vertical imbalances between the taxation powers and expenditure responsibilities of the centre and the States respectively and equalization of all public services across the States.
What are the functions of the Finance Commission?
It is the duty of the Commission to make recommendations to the President as to:
1. the distribution between the Union and the States of the net proceeds of taxes which are to be, or may be, divided between them and the allocation between the States of the respective shares of such proceeds;
2. the principles which should govern the grants-in-aid of the revenues of the States out of the Consolidated Fund of India;
3/17 2/17/2020 3. the measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a State to supplement the resources of the Panchayats and Municipalities in the State on the basis of the recommendations made by the Finance Commission of the State;
4. any other matter referred to the Commission by the President in the interests of sound finance.
The Commission determines its procedure and have such powers in the performance of their functions as Parliament may by law confer on them.
Who appoints the Finance Commission and what are the qualifications for Members?
The Finance Commission is appointed by the President under Article 280 of the Constitution.
As per the provisions contained in the Finance Commission [Miscellaneous Provisions] Act, 1951 and The Finance Commission (Salaries & Allowances) Rules, 1951, the Chairman of the Commission is selected from among persons who have had experience in public affairs, and the four other members are selected from among persons who:
1. are, or have been, or are qualified to be appointed as Judges of a High Court; or
2. have special knowledge of the finances and accounts of Government; or
3. have had wide experience in financial matters and in administration; or
4. have special knowledge of economics.
When was the first Commission Constituted and how many Commissions have been Constituted so far?
The First Finance Commission was constituted vide Presidential Order dated 22.11.1951 under the chairmanship of Shri K.C. Neogy on 6th April, 1952. Fifteenth Finance Commissions have been Constituted so far at intervals of every five years.
Why is there a need for a Finance Commission?
The Indian federal system allows for the division of power and responsibilities between the centre and states. Correspondingly, the taxation powers are also broadly divided between the centre and states. State legislatures may devolve some of their taxation powers to local bodies.
Need for permanent status:
Finance commissions have over the past several decades adopted different approaches with regard to principles of tax devolution, grants to be given to states and fiscal consolidation issues. In other words, there has to be continuity and change between finance commissions.
There is a need to ensure broad consistency between Finance Commissions so that there is some degree of certainty in the flow of funds, especially to the states. This has become even more critical in the post GST scenario.
If it is given permanent status, the Commission can function as a leaner entity in the intervening period till the next Finance Commission is set up in a full-fledged manner. During the intervening period, it can also address issues arising from implementation of the recommendations of the finance commission.
Commonwealth
Economic Affairs (Current Affairs) Financial Institutions 09-FEB-20
Context: The Maldives re-joined the Commonwealth, more than three years after the Indian Ocean island nation quit amid mounting criticism of its human rights.
In 2016, the Maldives pulled out of the Commonwealth.
Maldives has been formally reinstated into the Commonwealth as its 54th member state.
About Commonwealth of Nations:
1. The Commonwealth of Nations, at one time known as British Commonwealth, is an organisation of fifty three states that were principally below the colonial rule of British Government. They came into existence with the proclamation of sovereignty of the state from the colonial rule of British Empire and were later given self-governance.
2. It proclaims that the Commonwealth nations are “free and equal.” The insignia of this Commonwealth Association is Queen Elizabeth II who is considered the Supreme of the Commonwealth nations.
3. The member states of the commonwealth are not legally liable or bound to each other. They are rather united by language, history, culture, likeness of the democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
4. Their values are listed down within the Commonwealth Charter and the hands of harmony towards the member states are extended by the Commonwealth Games held every four years.
5. Former British mandates that did not become members of the Commonwealth are Egypt, Transjordan, Iraq, British Palestine, Sudan, British Somaliland, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
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Key facts:
Former name — British Commonwealth.
Composition: intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states that are mostly former territories of the British Empire.
It operates by intergovernmental consensus of the member states.
Established in 1949 by the London Declaration.
Structure: Head of the Commonwealth — Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of the Commonwealth. The position is symbolic.
Bimal Jalan committee to review the economic capital framework of the Reserve Bank of India
Economic Affairs (Current Affairs) Financial Institutions 13-FEB-20
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the transfer of record Rs 1.76 lakh crore dividend and surplus reserves to the government. The excess reserve transfer is in line with the recommendation of former RBI governor Bimal Jalan-led panel constituted to decide size of capital reserves that the central bank should hold.
Body:
The Bimal Jalan panel, which was set up to examine the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) economic capital framework (ECF), would recommend the transfer of the central bank’s excess reserves to the government over a period of three-five years
RBI economic capital framework:
Economic capital framework refers to the risk capital required by the central bank while taking into account different risks.
The economic capital framework reflects the capital that an institution requires or needs to hold as a counter against unforeseen risks or events or losses in the future.
The framework the government is talking about is basically about how much capital RBI needs for its operations and how much of the surplus it should pass on to the government.
Suggestions of Bimal Jalan committee:
The panel recommended a clear distinction between the two components of the economic capital of RBI i.e. Realized equity and Revaluation balances.
Revaluation reserves comprise of periodic marked-to-market unrealized/notional gains/losses in values of foreign currencies and gold, foreign securities and rupee securities, and a contingency fund.
Realized equity, which is a form of a contingency fund for meeting all risks/losses primarily built up from retained earnings. It is also called the Contingent Risk Buffer (CBR).
The Jalan committee has given a range of 5.5-6.5% of RBI’s balance sheet for Contingent Risk Buffer.
5/17 2/17/2020 Adhering to the recommendations, the RBI has decided to set the CBR level at 5.5% of the balance sheet, while transferring the remaining excess reserves worth ?52,637 crore to the government.
If CBR is below the lower bound of requirement, risk provisioning will be made to the extent necessary and only the residual net income (if any) transferred to the Government.
However keeping CBR at a lower range of 5.5% will reduce RBI’s space to manoeuvre monetary policy.
Conclusion:
The committee’s recommendations were based on the consideration of the role of central banks’ financial resilience, cross-country practices, statutory provisions and the impact of the RBI’s public policy mandate and operating environment on its balance sheet and the risks involved.
REIT and InvIT
Economic Affairs (Current Affairs) Financial Institutions 11-FEB-20
Context: The proposal in the Union Budget to tax dividend in the hands of unit holders/ investors would hurt future InvITs and REITs, say real estate and infrastructure industry officials and analysts.
Why and how?
Such a decision is contrary to the government’s move to encourage InvITs and REITs to provide tax stability to long-term infrastructure investors.
Uncertainty in the tax regime would hurt the sentiment of foreign investors who are already wary of the stability of tax regime in India, they added.
The resultant tax burden on the part of investors will put at risk plans for raising about $100 billion with regard to INVITs and REITs.
What are Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvIT)?
It is like a mutual fund, which enables direct investment of small amounts of money from possible individual/institutional investors in infrastructure to earn a small portion of the income as return.
1. InvITs can be treated as the modified version of REITs designed to suit the specific circumstances of the infrastructure sector.
2. They are similar to REIT but invest in infrastructure projects such as roads or highways which take some time to generate steady cash flows.
What are Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT)?
A REIT is roughly like a mutual fund that invests in real estate although the similarity doesn’t go much further.
1. The basic deal on REITs is that you own a share of property, and so an appropriate share of the income from it will come to you, after deducting an appropriate share of expenses.
2. Essentially, it’s like a group of people pooling their money together and buying real estate except that it’s on a large scale and is regulated.
Why need InvITs and REITs?
1. Infrastructure and real estate are the two most critical sectors in any developing economy.
2. A well-developed infrastructural set-up propels the overall development of a country.
3. It also facilitates a steady inflow of private and foreign investments, and thereby augments the capital base available for the growth of key sectors in an economy, as well as its own growth, in a sustained manner.
4. Given the importance of these two sectors in the country, and the paucity of public funds available to stimulate their growth, it is imperative that additional channels of financing are put in place.
Santusht portal
Economic Affairs (Pre-punch) Labour 10-FEB-20
Context-The Ministry of Labour and Employment has launched ‘Santusht portal’ to monitor the implementation of labour laws at the grassroots level.
About
The objective of ‘Santusht’ is to promote transparency, accountability, effective delivery of public services and implementation of policies, schemes of Ministry of Labour and Employment at the grassroots level through constant monitoring.
6/17 2/17/2020 Entering 2020, the government aims to implement all four codes on wages, industrial relations, social security and occupational safety, health and working conditions. These are expected to improve ease of doing business and safeguard the interest of workers.
For public grievances, Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) portal is already functional.
GEOGRAPHY
Green India Mission
Geography (Current Affairs) Sustainable Development 12-FEB-20
Context: A sum of Rs 343.08 crore has been released under the Green India Mission (GIM) for undertaking afforestation activities over an area of 126,916.32 hectare (ha) in 13 states, according to the Economic Survey 2019-20.
About Green India Mission:
GIM is one of the eight missions launched under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).
GIM, launched in February 2014, is aimed at protecting, restoring and enhancing India’s diminishing forest cover and responding to climate change by a combination of adaptation and mitigation measures.
Objectives of the Mission:
1. To protect, restore and enhance India’s falling forest cover.
2. To respond to climate change through a combination of adaptation as well as mitigation measures.
3. To increased forest-based livelihood incomes.
4. To enhance annual Carbon sequestration by 50 to 60 million tonnes in the year 2020.
Goals:
1. Improvement in quality of forest cover and ecosystem services of forests /non-forests, including moderately dense, open forests, degraded grassland and wetlands (5 m ha).
2. Eco-restoration/afforestation of scrub, shifting cultivation areas, cold deserts, mangroves, ravines and abandoned mining areas (1.8 m ha).
3. Improvement in forest and tree cover in urban/peri-urban lands (0.20 m ha)
4. Improvement in forest and tree cover on marginal agricultural lands/fallows and other non-forest lands under agroforestry /social forestry (3 m ha)
5. Management of public forest/ non-forests areas (taken up under the Mission) by the community institutions
6. Adoption of improved fuelwood-use efficiency and alternative energy devices by project-area households.
7. Diversification of forest-based livelihoods of about 3 million households living in and around forests.
Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)
Geography (Current Affairs) Sustainable Development 14-FEB-20
Context-Rajasthan has demanded higher central assistance for Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) to achieve the targets of the mission.
Jal Jeevan Mission
Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) envisages supply of 55 litres of water per person per day to every rural household through Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) by 2024.
JJM focuses on integrated demand and supply-side management of water at the local level.Creation of local infrastructure for source sustainability measures as mandatory elements, like rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and management of household wastewater for reuse, would be undertaken in convergence with other government programmes/schemes.
The Mission is based on a community approach to water and includes extensive Information, Education and Communication as a key component of the mission.
JJM looks to create a jan andolan for water, thereby making it everyone’s priority.
Funding Pattern: The fund sharing pattern between the Centre and states is 90:10 for Himalayan and North-Eastern States, 50:50 for other states, and 100% for Union Territories.
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The Central government has recently released the operational guidelines for JJM.
For the implementation of JJM, following institutional arrangement has been proposed:
National Jal Jeevan Mission (NJJM) at the Central level
State Water and Sanitation Mission (SWSM) at the State level
District Water and Sanitation Mission (DWSM) at the District level
Village Water Sanitation Committee (VWSC) at Village level.
Every village will prepare a Village Action Plan (VAP) which will have three components:
Water source & its maintenance.
Water supply and.
Greywater (domestic wastewater) management.
With Respect to Women and the Community:
Women who have borne the brunt and drudgery of fetching water from long distances will now be able to take a lead in the programme.
Paani samiti will be a statutory subcommittee of the gram panchayat. The paani samithis will have at least 50% representations by women and can go much more even upto 100%.
Concept of user fee gives a signal that water is a precious commodity.
Involvement of the community makes the mission a Jan Andolan.
Mt. Aconcagua
Geography (Pre-punch) Earth Geology 11-FEB-20
Why in News Kaamya Karthikeyan, a twelve year old Indian student, has become the youngest girl in the world to summit Mt. Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America.
At 6962 metres, Mt. Aconcagua is the highest peak outside Asia. It lies in the Southern Andes (the world’s longest mountain range that is located along the entire western coast of South America). At 8,850 metres, Mount Everest is the highest mountain in Asia and the world.
Aconcagua is of volcanic origin, but it is not itself an active volcano.
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Agartala and Akhaura rail link
Geography (Pre-punch) Transport 11-FEB-20
9/17 2/17/2020 Context-Recently, the central government has announced that rail line to connect the northeastern region with Bangladesh will be ready by the end of 2021.
Key Points
The rail line between Agartala in Tripura and Akhaura in Bangladesh would pave the way for the first train to run from the northeastern region to Bangladesh.
The railway link will connect Gangasagar in Bangladesh to Nischintapur in India and from Nischintapur to Agartala railway station.
Ministry for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) will bear the cost of laying 5.46 km track on the Indian side while the cost of laying 10.6 km track on the Bangladesh side is being borne by the Ministry of External Affairs.
GOVERNANCE ISSUES
Ujala scheme
Governance Issues (Current Affairs) Programme Implementation issues 15-FEB-20
Context: Fifth anniversary of the Centre`s zero subsidy `Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All` (UJALA) scheme and `LED Street Lighting National Programme` (SLNP).
Performance of the schemes:
Under the SLNP initiative, in five years around 1.03 crore smart LED street lights were installed. This helped in reducing Green House Gas emission by 4.8 million tonnes annually. Also, the initiative has created 13,000 jobs.
Under UJALA programme, 36.13 crore LED bubs have been distributed so far. This helped in reducing the green house gas emission by 38 million tonnes annually.
About UJALA scheme:
The main objective of the scheme is to promote efficient lighting, enhance awareness on using efficient equipment which reduce electricity bills and help preserve environment.
The scheme is being implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Union Ministry of Power.
UJALA is a flagship project of the Govt. of India where it wants every home in India to use LED bulbs so that the net power or energy consumption rate comes down and the carbon emission rates can also be checked.
About SLNP:
Launched in 2015, EESL’s Street Light National Programme (SNLP) has been instrumental in replacing over 50 lakh street lights in over 500 cities in India, leading to 135 crore kWh of energy savings and cost saving of INR 742 crore every year.
10/17 2/17/2020 Under the programme, EESL replaces the conventional street lights with LEDs at its own costs, with no upfront investment by the municipalities, thereby making their adoption even more attractive.
INDIAN POLITY
Electoral reform in India
Indian Polity (Current Affairs) Elections 09-FEB-20
Context-Campaign for the Delhi Assembly election in which the development debate was overshadowed by hate-mongering and outpouring of communal vitriol underscores need to do more.
Understanding the Model Code of Conduct (MCC)
Behavioural guidelines: It is a set of behavioural guidelines for political parties and candidates for- The peaceful conduct of elections.
To prevent hate speech.
Malpractices.
Corruption and
Misuse of government machinery by the ruling party.
Not judicially enforceable: Since it is not an Act passed by Parliament, the Code is not judicially enforceable. The action against a violator usually takes the form of an advice, warning or censure.
No punitive action can be taken.
No wonder, many consider the Code as toothless.
Moral authority: It is not toothless though. Its moral authority far outweighs its legal sanctity. Political leaders worth their salt are scared of inviting a notice for a violation, as it creates negative public opinion.
Besides, unlike the legal processes, its impact is instant.
The legality of the MCC
Test of legality in the courts: The legality of the code has been judicially tested. First legal acceptance: Its first judicial acceptance came in 1997 when the Punjab and Haryana High Court gave the EC the power to enforce the code.
“Such a code of conduct when it is seen that it does not violate any of the statutory provisions can certainly be adopted by the Election Commission for the conduct of free and fair election, which should be pure as well,” the Court said.
The SC has repeatedly held that this must be enforced strictly.
Parallels between the MCC and other legal provision
The first section of the MCC lays down that-Part 1 (1) “ No party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic.”
“…Criticism of other parties or their workers based on unverified allegations or distortion shall be avoided.”
Parallels with RPA: The Representation of the People Act (1951) categorically defines the above two as corrupt practices in Section 123 (3A) and Section 123 (4) respectively. Section 125 of RPA provides for punishment for similar violations.
Parallels with IPC: It is important to note that Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code has a similar provision: Promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.
Refreshing change
Prompt action: It must be appreciated that the EC was prompt in its action against the leaders accused of hate speech in Delhi election campaign. While it instantly, suo moto, deprived the two leaders of their star campaigner status, it also punished them with a gag order, using the ultimate weapon provided by Article 324.
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The EC flexing its muscle outside the so-called “toothless” MCC and invoking Article 324 is indeed a refreshing change.
In earlier instances, it often had to let the culprits go with a mere “warning, caution or censure”.
In its notice to a leader, the EC cited Sections 123 and 125 of the RP Act.
Conclusion
Historically, the EC has always taken simultaneous action under the Model Code of Conduct and the other two provisions. While the MCC produces instant results, the penal provisions involve endless judicial processes. Not taking action under the IPC encouraged violators to commit repeat offences
Reservation in promotion is not a Fundamental right: SC
Indian Polity (Current Affairs) Elections 11-FEB-20
Context-Reservation in promotion in public posts cannot be claimed as a fundamental right, the Supreme Court reiterated in a judgment.
Background:
A Bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and Hemant Gupta observed that State governments are not bound to make reservations. Even the courts could not issue a mandamus directing States to provide reservations.
The judgment was based in a batch of appeals pertaining to the reservations to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in promotions in the posts of Assistant Engineer (Civil) in Public Works Department of Uttarakhand.
Key highlights:
There is no doubt that the State government is not bound to make reservations. There is no fundamental right which inheres in an individual to claim reservation in promotions. No mandamus can be issued by the court directing the State government to provide reservations.
Citing Constitution Bench precedents that had settled the law, the court said Articles 16 (4) and 16 (4-A) of the Constitution did not confer individuals with a fundamental right to claim reservations in promotion.
The Articles empower the State to make reservation in matters of appointment and promotion in favour of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes only “if in the opinion of the State they are not adequately represented in the services of the State”.
The inadequacy of representation is a matter within the subjective satisfaction of the State.
Thus, the State government has discretion “to consider providing reservations, if the circumstances so warrant”
Subject to Judicial Review
If the decision of the state government to provide SC/ST reservation in promotion to a particular public post is challenged, it would have to place the data and prove before the court that reservation was necessary and does not affect the efficiency of administration
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Global Go To Think Tank Index
International Affairs (Current Affairs) International Institutions 09-FEB-20
Context: Global Go To Think Tank Index has been released.
About the index:
The Index is released by University of Pennsylvania each year since 2008.
It evaluates public-policy research analysis and engagement organisations that generate policy-oriented research, analysis, and advice on domestic and international issues.
It claims to enable policy makers and the public to make informed decisions on public policy.
Definition of think- tanks:
The report defined ”think tanks” as public-policy research analysis and engagement organisations that generate policy-oriented research, analysis, and advice on domestic and international issues, thereby enabling policymakers and the public to make informed decisions about public policy.
How are they ranked?
12/17 2/17/2020 Nomination and Ranking Criteria included think tank”s leadership, staff reputation, quality and reputation of the research and analysis produced, ability to recruit and retain elite scholars, analysts, academic performance, reputation, the impact of a think-tank”s research and programs on policymakers and reputation with policymakers.
Top players:
The list was topped by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace of US, followed by Belgium”s Bruegel and French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).
UK”s Chatham House was ranked 6th on the list.
Performance of institutions in India:
1. Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has been placed at No. 16. CSE climbed up two notches in the 14th version of the report.
2. The organisation also moved up three places among ‘best independent think tanks’ to be at No.123 in the world and sixth among Indian think tanks.
3. Globally, it was ranked 41 of 60 organisations committed to energy and resource policy.
4. India’s Observer Research Foundation (ORF) has jumped more than 90 places to 27th position among 176 global think tanks.
5. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation was the highest-ranked Indian think tank with a political party affiliation in the world, getting a rank of 31st, among 38 such institutions.
6. India Foundation and Vivekananda International Foundation were ranked 36th and 37th on that list.
Way ahead:
The 2020 report raised some critical threats and opportunities that think tanks across the globe face.
It called upon such organisations to develop national, regional, and global partnerships and create new, innovative platforms to deliver for an ever- expanding audience of citizens, policy makers and businesses.
Background:
India has the second-largest number of think tanks at 509. The US has the highest number at 1,871.
Two Billion Kilometres to safety campaign
International Affairs (Pre-punch) United Nations 12-FEB-20
Context-United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has launched a global campaign calling on people all over the world to cover the distance travelled by refugees each year.
UNHCR traced the journeys of refugees around the world and calculated that collectively, people forced to flee travel approximately two billion kilometres every year to reach the first point of safety.
In 2016, Syrian refugees travelled more than 240 kilometres to reach Turkey.
South Sudanese refugees travelled more than 640 kilometres to reach Kenya and Rohingya refugees in Myanmar travelled approximately 80 kilometres to reach Bangladesh.
The 2 Billion Kilometres to Safety campaign invites people to act in solidarity and run, walk or cycle to achieve a cumulative total of two billion kilometres.
The campaign will also encourage people to support refugees by championing individual acts of solidarity. These acts, when taken together, acknowledge the resilience and strength of refugees.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a UN Refugee Agency and a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting the rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.
It was created in 1950 to help millions of Europeans who had fled or lost their homes.
It is headquartered at Geneva, Switzerland.
SCIENCE AFFAIRS
13/17 2/17/2020 Medical equipment notified as 'Drugs'
Science Affairs (Current Affairs) Health 13-FEB-20
Context-The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has notified that medical equipment would qualify as ‘drugs’ under Section 3 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act (D & CA), 1940 from 1st April, 2020.
The Medical Devices Amendment Rules, 2020 were also released. The rules will also come into force from 1st April, 2020.The Rules state that the medical devices shall be registered with the Central Licensing Authority through an identified online portal established by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).
Such registration is voluntary for a period of 18 months, after which it will be mandatory.
The move comes in the wake of years of controversy about faulty hip implants of Johnson & Johnson (J&J).DePuy, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, engineered a hip replacement device that used metal in prosthetic components, commonly called “Articular Surface Replacement or ASR hip implant”.
Key Points
At present, only 23 medical devices have been classified as drugs. The latest notification gives a wide definition of the term medical devices.
The devices used for diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, assistance for any injury or disability, investigation, replacement or modification or support of the anatomy or of a physiological process will come within the scope of the definition of ‘Drugs’.
Medical equipment under this definition include implantable medical devices such as knee implants, CT scan, MRI equipment, defibrillators, dialysis machine, PET equipment, X-ray machine etc.Primary intended action of the device in or on human body or animals should not be pharmacological or immunological or metabolic.
The aim is to regulate all medical devices so that they meet certain standards of quality. Besides it will also make medical device companies accountable for quality and safety of their products.The manufacture, import and sale of all medical devices will now need to be certified by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation.
Section 3 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940
The Central Government, after consultation with the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB), specifies the devices intended for use in human beings or animals as drugs.
Drugs Technical Advisory Board
Drugs Technical Advisory Board is a statutory body constituted under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
The function of DTAB is to advise the Central government and State government on technical matters related to drugs and cosmetics.
Impact
The decision is going to have a major impact on the small and marginal players, largely unorganised, in the low-value high volume segment of the medical devices industry.The hi-tech diagnostic imaging sector is dominated by large players and will be the least impacted.
Concerns are being raised that the rules are very rigid and any non-conformity can be treated as a criminal offence by any drug inspector under the Act at his discretion.
Way Forward
Merely expanding the scope of regulation to all devices is not enough in a moment of growing number of safety disasters involving devices. Hence,there is a pressing need for framing of a new medical devices act.
Vigilance wing for health in kerala
Science Affairs (Current Affairs) Health 11-FEB-20
Context-Kerala government has proposed to set up a Vigilance Wing in the Health Department to monitor private practice by doctors and crackdown on quackery. Vigilance Wing A police officer is likely to head the Vigilance Wing.
The Vigilance Wing will detect private practice by medical education service doctors, the crackdown on quackery and unearth ethically dubious financial relationships between State doctors and diagnostic clinics, pharmacies and health care firms in the private sector.
Need:
14/17 2/17/2020 It will also monitor healthcare advertising and flag false claims aired by healthcare companies to mass-market pharmaceutical and Ayurveda drugs without doctor’s prescription as off-the-shelf cures for a wide range of ailments.
The wing will also prosecute self-styled healers who exploit their influence in the social media to fuel unhealthy scepticism about government’s vaccination programmes and offer resistance against the State’s efforts to prevent the spread of global viral outbreaks such as the Corona pandemic.
There were complaints against doctors regarding the violation of private practice ban and matters involving medico-legal issues.
There were complaints against doctors regarding the violation of private practice ban and matters involving medico-legal issues.
Concerns:
Many in the medical community have objected to intrusive vigilance inspections.
Yaravirus
Science Affairs (Pre-punch) Health 14-FEB-20
Context-Researchers have discovered an unusually small virus in a lake in Brazil.
The virus has been named Yaravirus after ‘Yara’, a water-queen figure in Brazilian mythology.
The virus was discovered from Lake Pampulha, an artificial lake in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte.
The Yaravirus infects amoeba and has genes that have not been described before, something that could challenge how Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) viruses are classified.
DNA viruses are classified based on the protein that makes up their shell, or capsid.
The Yaravirus' capsid doesn't resemble any previously known protein.The Yaravirus does not infect human cells.
Inference
The amount of unknown proteins composing the Yaravirus particles reflects the variability existing in the viral world and how much potential of new viral genomes are still to be discovered
Supercam over Mars rover 2020
Science Affairs (Pre-punch) Space 12-FEB-20
NASA is sending a robot called SuperCam aboard the Mars 2020 rover to study rocks and look for signs of past life on Mars.
The robot uses a camera, laser and spectrometers for studying mineralogy and chemistry from up to about 7 metres away. Key Points SuperCam's laser is uniquely capable of remotely clearing away surface dust, giving all of its instruments a clear view of the targets.
It can fire a laser to study rock targets smaller than a pencil point.
It will look at rock textures and chemicals to find those that formed or changed in the water on Mars' long ago.
It will measure the air so that the scientists can learn about how atmospheric molecules, water ice, and dust absorb or reflect solar radiation. This data improves our ability to predict Martian weather.
Mars 2020 rover
Mars 2020 rover will be launched by NASA in July-August 2020.
It has been designed to better understand the geology of Mars and seek signs of ancient life. The mission will collect and store a set of rock and soil samples that could be returned to Earth in the future.
It will also test new technology to benefit future robotic and human exploration of Mars.
Voyager mission
Science Affairs (Pre-punch) Space 09-FEB-20
Context: NASA has managed to fix its Voyager-2 probe remotely, almost 11.5 billion miles away from its location.
15/17 2/17/2020 The probe has reportedly been acting in an unexpected manner as it failed to carry out a maneuver as planned on January 25
Voyager 2 is the only probe ever to study Neptune and Uranus during planetary flybys.
It is the second man-made object to leave our planet.
Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited all four gas giant planets — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — and discovered 16 moons, as well as phenomena like Neptune’s mysteriously transient Great Dark Spot, the cracks in Europa’s ice shell, and ring features at every planet.
About Voyager mission:
Launched in the 1970’s, and the probes sent by NASA were only meant to explore the outer planets – but they just kept on going.
Voyager 1 departed Earth on 5 September 1977, a few days after Voyager 2 and left our solar system in 2013.
The mission objective of the Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM) is to extend the NASA exploration of the solar system beyond the neighborhood of the outer planets to the outer limits of the Sun’s sphere of influence, and possibly beyond.
The Voyager spacecraft are the third and fourth human spacecraft to fly beyond all the planets in our solar system. Pioneers 10 and 11 preceded Voyager in outstripping the gravitational attraction of the Sun but on February 17, 1998, Voyager 1 passed Pioneer 10 to become the most distant human-made object in space.
Dinosaur fossil, found in Alberta
Science Affairs (Pre-punch) Zoology 13-FEB-20
Context-The scientists have revealed that a dinosaur fossil, found in Alberta in Canada (2010), belongs to a new species of tyrannosaur.
The new species has been named ‘Thanatotheristes degrootorum’ (means “reaper of death”).
The species is the oldest tyrannosaur known from northern North America.
Key Points
Tyrannosaurs were one of the largest meat-eating dinosaurs to have ever lived, with very large and high skulls.
They did not have one general body type; rather different tyrannosaur species evolved distinct body sizes, skull forms and other such physical features
The found fossils are important to understand the Late Cretaceous period, which is the period when tyrannosaurs roamed the Earth.Cretaceous Period, in geologic time, is the last of the three periods of the Mesozoic Era. The Cretaceous began 145.0 million years ago and ended 66 million years ago; it followed the Jurassic Period and was succeeded by the Paleogene Period .
SOCIAL ISSUES
Parivara and Taliwara community in ST category
Social Issues (Current Affairs) Tribes 13-FEB-20
Context-The Lok Sabha passed The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2019 which seeks to include the Parivara and the Talawara communities in the ST category to ensure they get a reservation and other benefits provided by the government.
The Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha in 2019 and it will amend Part VI of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, that specifies the tribal and tribal communities which are deemed to be Scheduled Tribes.
Part VI of the order contains the list of Scheduled Tribes in Karnataka.
Parivara and Taliwara:
It is estimated that the population of the Parivara community at roughly 2.58 lakh and that of the Taliwara community at 8.6 lakh.
People of Parivara and Taliwara live in Mysore, Chamrajanagara, Mandya and Tumkur districts and a “thin population” resides in Udupi, South Canara, and North Canara districts of Karnataka.
The Siddi tribes of Belagavi and Dharwad would also be included in the category apart from those living in the Uttar Kannada districts. The amendments had been made in the list of the STs in Karnataka.
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The Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha in 2019 and it will amend Part VI of the Constitution Order, 1950, that specifies the tribal and tribal communities which are deemed to be Scheduled Tribes.
Siddi Tribe
The Siddi community is also known by different synonyms such as Habshi and Badsha.
It is believed that they are of African origin because they clearly show the Negroid racial strain in their physical features.
Descendants of Bantu people of East Africa, Siddi ancestors were largely brought to India as slaves by Arabs as early as the 7th Century, followed by the Portuguese and the British later on.When slavery was abolished in the 18th and 19th centuries, Siddis fled into the country’s thick jungles, fearing recapture and torture.
At present, the Siddis are living on the western coast of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka states. In Karnataka, they mainly live in Dharwad, Belagavi and Uttar Kannada districts.
In India, the Union government in 2003, classified Siddis under the list of Scheduled Tribes.
They are included in the Centre’s list of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups
Previously they depended on hunting and gathering but at present, their main source of livelihood is labour and agriculture.
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