IASBUZZ JANUARY 2018 EDITION BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Preface Even after all this time the Sun never tells the earth, “You owe me”. Look what happens with a love like that. It lights the whole sky. ~Hafiz We humans are rational beings. We need logics to understand the phenomena happening around us. This inquisitive nature of humans has led to various discoveries, inventions and other scientific advances. Despite all this, there are still some questions which remain unanswered and have remained so since the beginning of the time. The questions like- How and why time came into being? How and why the universe came into being? What is the purpose of human life on this earth? And the biggest puzzle that boggles our minds is on death and after-death phenomena. Ajit Singh, DIG (Retd) Similarly, we need answers to the social phenomena happening around us. The most disturbing question is that despite possessing a rational mind, why many amongst us wish to be the slaves of illegitimate fantasies? The purpose might be to satisfy the queries that I have mentioned above. I am talking about the blind faith that millions of Indians have invested in various religious institutions, sects, deras et al. I call faith an “investment”, because faith is something which is expected to yield manifolds. As a rational being, I would like to invest my time, my intellect, my energy and my trust somewhere I can get a return from. That return may be in the form of answers to the above mentioned questions or simply a feeling of peace and solace and ultimately make me more humane. But does and should faith lead to a path of inhumanity, wealth amassment, violence, hate and lies? This question is more important than any other question mentioned in this article. There is a fine line difference between “faith” and “blind faith”. Faith leads you to truth, light and love. Blind faith leads to darkness, violence, irrationality, hopelessness, shattered expectations, broken trust and ultimately lower self-confidence. Faith helps you reach insurmountable heights. Indian society has laid emphasis on religion since ages. We have tied to discover things with closed eyes and folded hands. And through our scriptures, we find that our Vedic ancestors already knew the things that were discovered during renaissance in the western world. We should take pride in our ancestral knowledge. But I think presently, we are falling in to the dark valleys of hopelessness and despair. There are stark differences of intellects and lifestyles in our society. And then there are penumbral regions, wherein even the educated masses are following the illegitimate religious institutions. Where are these phenomena leading our society to? Swami Vivekananda once said, “Faith, faith, faith in ourselves, faith, faith in God---this is the secret of greatness. If you have faith in the three hundred and thirty millions of your mythological gods, and in all the Gods which foreigners have now and again introduced into your midst, and still have no faith in yourselves, there is no salvation for you. Have faith in yourselves, and stand up on that faith and be strong; that is what we need. “ And, I believe that the answers to the questions should be sought within and not without. Have faith in yourself, in your faculties, in your capabilities and the God inside you. Team BrainyIAS has tried its best to present you the best monthly current affairs in the best format. Have faith and learn from the best team. I wish you all the success!! www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Contents Preface ........................................................................................................................................................................... 2 GEOGRAPHY, ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY ............................................................................................................... 6 WETLAND RULES, 2017 .............................................................................................................................................. 6 Sendai Framework and NDMA .................................................................................................................................. 8 Recurving Of Cyclones ............................................................................................................................................... 9 New Amendments To Indian Forest Act .................................................................................................................. 10 IUCN Updates Red List ............................................................................................................................................. 12 IUCN updates red list- Indian species ...................................................................................................................... 13 Coral Gardening ....................................................................................................................................................... 13 Case Study- Hemis National Park, Ladakh ............................................................................................................... 14 2017 May Be One Of The Top 3 Hottest Years ........................................................................................................ 15 POLITY AND GOVERNANCE .......................................................................................................................................... 16 Triple Talaq Bill ........................................................................................................................................................ 16 The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017 ................................... 16 State of Private Healthcare ...................................................................................................................................... 17 Special Status To Sikkim ........................................................................................................................................... 18 Round-up of Bills to be tabled in the winter session of Parliament ........................................................................ 20 Pros and Cons of “One Nation, One Election” ......................................................................................................... 22 National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005 ........................................................................................................... 24 Law Commission Report On Convention Against Torture ....................................................................................... 25 Intimate Partner Violence........................................................................................................................................ 25 Defamation In India – IPC Section 499/500 Vs Freedom Of Speech........................................................................ 26 Creation Of New States In India............................................................................................................................... 29 SCHEMES AND POLICIES OF GOVERNMENT ................................................................................................................ 32 Section 3(D) Of Indian Patent Act ............................................................................................................................ 32 Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendra (PMMSK) .................................................................................................... 32 North East: NLCPR and NESIDS schemes ................................................................................................................. 33 New Policy Initiatives By Railways ........................................................................................................................... 34 National Electric Mobility Plan Mission 2020 ......................................................................................................... 35 India State Level Disease Burden Report, 2017 ....................................................................................................... 36 ECONOMY .................................................................................................................................................................... 38 Understanding MDR- Merchant Discount Rate ....................................................................................................... 38 Understanding Bail-In provisions of FRDI Bill .......................................................................................................... 38 www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) National Anti Profiteering Authority ....................................................................................................................... 39 Inflation Targeting ................................................................................................................................................... 41 India’s Mid-Term FTP review ................................................................................................................................... 42 GST and the road ahead .......................................................................................................................................... 43 Fertilisers Consumption In India .............................................................................................................................