Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
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PREFACE
With the present shift in examination pattern of UPSC Civil Services Examination, General
Studies II and General Studies III can safely be replaced with Current Affairs. Moreover,
following the recent trend of UPSC, almost all the questions are issue-based rather than newsbased. Therefore, the right approach to preparation is to prepare issues, rather than just
reading news.
Taking this into account, our website www.iasbaba.com will cover current affairs focusing more
on issues on a daily basis. This will help you pick up relevant news items of the day from
various national dailies such as The Hindu, Indian Express, Business Standard, LiveMint,
Business Line and other important Online sources. Over time, some of these news items will
become important issues.
UPSC has the knack of picking such issues and asking general opinion based questions.
Answering such questions will require general awareness and an overall understanding of the
issue. Therefore, we intend to create the right understanding among aspirants How to cover
these issues?
This is the 13th edition of IASbabas Monthly Magazine. This edition covers all important issues
that were in news in the month of June 2016
Value adds from IASbaba- Must Read and Connecting the dots.
Must Read section, will give you important links to be read from exam perspective. This will
make sure that, you dont miss out on any important news/editorials from various newspapers
on daily basis.
Under each news article, Connecting the dots facilitates your thinking to connect and ponder
over various aspects of an issue. Basically, it helps you in understanding an issue from multidimensional view-point. You will understand its importance while giving Mains or Interview.
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INDEX
NATIONAL
(Pages 5-66)
INTERNATIONAL
(Pages 67-111)
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ECONOMICS
(Pages 112-149)
(Pages 150-152)
ENVIRONMENT
(Pages 153-171)
DEFENCE/SECURITY
(Pages 172-175)
MUST READ
(Pages 176-230)
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NATIONAL
The executive is vested with the power to make policy decisions and implement laws.
The legislature is empowered to issue enactments.
The judiciary is responsible for adjudicating disputes.
Different agencies impose checks and balances upon each other but may not transgress upon
each others functions. Thus, the judiciary exercises judicial review over executive and
legislative action, and the legislature reviews the functioning of the executive.
In the course of action, Supreme Court has been activist in its interpretation of certain
provisions in the Constitution and its day-to-day judicial control and correction of the executive
branches of government set it apart from other common law countries.
Evolution and growth of Judicial Activism in India:
This judicial activism began when access to courts was opened up to the poor, indigent
and disadvantaged sections of the nation and their basic rights were enforced through
what has now become the Public Interest Litigation (PIL)
The judiciary, led by the Supreme Court, became an active participant in the dispensing
of social justice and increased its relevance to the nation in a manner not envisaged by
the makers of the Constitution.
Concern:
However, this activism, which was widely welcomed in India and acclaimed abroad, has
now metamorphosed (matured) into a correctional jurisdiction that the superior courts
exercise over governments and public authorities.
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As a result, over the years, the judiciary in India has acquired the supremacy over the
legislature and the executive, which is criticized as violating the doctrine of separation of
powers. It is remarked by many that courts are going beyond the ambit and it is no more
a judicial activism but a judicial 'adventurism'.
The PIL was originally conceived as a jurisdiction firmly grounded on the enforcement of
basic human rights of the disadvantaged unable to reach courts on their own.
The courts function was to supplement the other government departments in
improving the social and economic conditions of the marginalised sections.
Initially, it did not assume the functions of supervising and correcting the omissions and
actions of government or public bodies; it, rather, joined them in a cooperative effort to
achieve constitutional goals.
Over the years, however, the unexceptional social action dimension of the PIL has been
diluted, converted, and eclipsed by another type of public cause litigation.
In this type of legal process, the courts intervention is not sought for enforcing the
rights of the disadvantaged but to simply correct the actions or omissions of public
officials, government departments or other public bodies.
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history, a court of law was asked to pronounce judgment on the conduct of an ongoing
military operation. Its verdict materially affected the course of operation.
Even proceedings of legislatures have not been out of its ambit. In the Jharkhand
assembly case, the speaker was directed to conduct proceedings as per a prescribed
agenda and record them for the court.
These orders were made in spite of Article 212, which forbids courts from inquiring into
any proceedings of the legislature.
In several PILs concerning the environment and the welfare of those disadvantaged, the
court has directed policy changes in administration.
Conclusion:
There has been a strong critique against seeing Supreme Court correcting government
action in trifling matters which should not be its concern. The above instances of Courts
interference are seen as judicial adventurism rather than judicial activism by many
politicians and public.
Majority of politicians from different parties are supporting the case for curbing judicial
activism on the grounds that the executive and legislature must be allowed to function
freely.
Unless the parameters of PIL are strictly formulated by the Supreme Court and strictly
observed, PIL which is so necessary in India, is in danger of becoming diffuse,
unprincipled, encroaching into the functions of other branches of government and
ineffective by its indiscriminate use.
TOPIC:
General studies 1:
Role of women and womens organization, women related issues, Social empowerment
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General studies 2:
Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and
the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted
for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
Challenges economic analyses that treat women as invisible, or that serve to reinforce
situations oppressive to women, and develops innovative research designed to overcome
these failings
Points out how subjective biases concerning acceptable topics and methods have
compromised the reliability of economics research
Topics addressed include the economics of households, labor markets, care, development,
the macroeconomy, national budgets, and the history, philosophy, methodology, and
teaching of economics
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Viewpoint: Economics should offer an objective way of looking at world and its problems but
proponents believe that both in terms of methodology and focus, economics as a subject has
become too much of a mans world. The habit of ignoring women by referring to men even
while explaining and proposing definitions carry a mind-set with a strong affinity towards the
male counterparts. Economics has just become limited to be thought of just a world of money,
machines and men.
Blindness: The constructed social norms are not only not in favour of women but are ignorant
towards their plight as well. They are not only blind towards social norms that are unfair to
women but also misses out an element of inequality between the sexes, namely, unpaid work.
Unequal gender systems largely works to ensure that women are often slotted for the lowest
wage, least secure jobs, with men having preferential access to male breadwinner jobs
Paid Vs. Unpaid: The most fundamental question being GDP counts house work when it is paid
but excludes it when it is done free of charge a misleading and an ill-thought policy which
should be addressed as soon as possible. Leaving unpaid work is highly contributing towards
diminishing womens contribution and remains nullified even when women are contributing
immensely in raising the future generationthis exclusion from official measures of output
makes it less of a priority sector
Paul Samuelson humorously pointed out the truth when he said a countrys GDP falls, when
a man marries his maid.
Marilyn Waring, a feminist economist: The system of measuring GDP was designed by men
to keep women in their place; arguing that unpaid care should be included in GDP to
reflect that production of well cared-for children is just as important as that of cars or
crops
OECD: Women spend roughly 5 per cent more time working than men and simultaneously
spend roughly twice as much time on unpaid work
In India:
Constitution: Guarantees protection to women under articles 14, 15 and 16 as well as in the
Directive Principles of State Policy
Laws:
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Draft National Policy for Women 2016: Shifted from just welfare to welfare with heavy dose
of rights
Way Forward:
The Household is a locus of economic activity:
The household has traditionally been out of the purview of economics and is a serious
shortcoming which can be corrected within feminist economics, where the household is treated
as an important economic institution. Also, Feminist economists have demonstrated that
people are more than just rational entities who act individually through marginal analysis, and
have attempted to construct a more holistic vision of an economic actor, which includes group
interactions and actions motivated by factors other than greed.
Policymaking: The policies should take care of the following while being framed
Agenda 2030 The process of defining the new agendamore inclusive, and its scope
universal and grounded in human rights. To be consistent with the newly adopted 2030
Agenda, three key measures would be needed to stimulate economic and social recovery that
leaves no one behind:
Job creation along with the extension of social protection measures to all;
Public investments in infrastructure and social services to support the unpaid care
economy, build human capabilities and contribute to job creation; and
Effective regulation of global finance to avoid future crises, and to channel financial
resources into building more stable, equitable and caring economies
To reduce Inequality:
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TOPIC:
General studies 1:
General studies 2:
74th constitutional amendment added Part IX-A to the Constitution of India. It is entitled as
The Municipalities.
The constitutional amendment inserted provisions from Articles 243-P to 243-ZG.
In addition, it also added Twelfth Schedule to the Constitution. It contains 18 functional
items of municipalities listed under Article 243-W.
It gave constitutional status to the municipalities and brought them under the purview of
judicial review.
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In other words, the state governments are under a constitutional obligation to add this new
system of municipalities in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
The Act aims at revitalizing and strengthening the urban governments so that they may
function as effective units of local government.
Article 243ZE mandates the establishment of the Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC)
to prepare a draft development plan focusing on shared resources, investments,
infrastructure and environmental conservation for the region as a whole for approval by the
state government.
But the MPC has failed to take off for two reasons.
- One, state governments are reluctant to concede power.
- Two, the design of the MPC as a supra-municipal authority has limitations. Being a body
politic, the MPC does not have executive powers, staff and budgets. These shortcomings
render it toothless.
Some states have recommended reforms in Municipal Authority., where it wants to
establish a Metropolitan Development Authority, which will be chaired by the chief
minister and will have overriding powers on all matters ranging from economics to
planning.
It wants this body to be managed by an IAS officer who will be the de facto commissioner in
charge of day-to-day affairs and suggests for participation from different quarters such as
MLAs, the chief secretary and other concerned secretaries.
However well intentioned, such reforms will increasingly consolidate the powers of the state
government and, will in turn, stunt decentralization
The larger peril is that this could have a contagion effect across states, because there are
absolutely no reasons to substantiate why successive chief ministers would want to cede
control of such a mother of all agglomerations.
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Despite Article 243W in the 12th Schedule, city governments lack the span of control
required to administer cities effectively.
In other words, the 12th Schedule is incomplete in mandating the transfer of functions to
local bodies. It remains completely silent on three important functionshousing, transport
and police.
Consequently, state governments continue to hold these functions. This control provides
state governments with unrestrained power over capital-intensive sectors, indirectly
enabling them to control cities.
Therefore, it is important to add these functions to the 12 th schedule, so the Municipal
bodies can perform their functions independently without any subjugation by the state
governments.
Some state governments are recommending restructuring the Municipality, by splitting the
city into different municipalities, each to be governed by a elected mayor.
However, it would have been better off recommending a metropolitan mayor and
government for the city as whole rather than different mayors who, when elected, could
represent different political parties.
Result would be chaos. Because politically fragmented, contiguous areas sharing civic
amenities could be held hostage to political differences and potentially result in a stalemate
and deteriorate the quality of life across the metropolitan region.
Unfortunately, India is one of the few parliamentary democracies in the world yet to make
the shift to the system of a directly elected mayor. Over time, India must consider moving
to the system of a directly elected mayor similar to London.
This body (MPC) could act as an additional layer of government between the municipal
bodies and the state government, and eventually the municipal commissioners could report
to the metropolitan commissioner in addition to their elected governments to facilitate
coordinated governance.
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Further, the MPC could draw participation from members of Parliament. Such composition
would provide sufficient balance of power at the city level and ensure the central
government has some stake in metropolitan cities as defined in the Constitution.
Conclusion:
India is on course to have 69 metropolitan cities by 2025, and many of these cities are likely
to equal the size of some countries today. For example, by 2030, the Mumbai Metropolitan
Region will be more populous than Australia and, with its GDP at about $230 billion in 2030,
its economy will be bigger than that of Thailand or Hong Kong today.
Supplementing this process with a vibrant and inclusive process of dialogue across
stakeholders is vital to build consensus. Indias experiences show that the passage of pathbreaking reforms, for example, the goods and services tax, requires a decade or more, for
dialogue and passage. This makes acting with urgency a necessity.
IASbabas view:
India needs a 10 Point Urban Reform Programme that has the ability to transform urban India,
and visibly enhance the quality of life for its citizens.
1. Reform the 74th Constitutional Amendment to empower city governments, bolster the
metropolitan system of government, and move to a system of a directly elected mayor.
2. Fix governance at the Centre and in the states to reduce fragmentation and facilitate
alignment of functions.
3. Make the office of the mayor politically relevant to create a culture of meritocracy and
performance.
4. Build world-class institutions to catalyse capacity at scale.
5. Establish a National Urban Finance Corporation of India to fund urban infrastructure
projects.
6. Set up the regulatory architecture required to facilitate efficient and effective urban
services delivery.
7. Reform the civil service, and establish executive agencies to hollow out inefficiencies.
8. Revitalize the role of the State Finance Commissions to bolster municipal finances.
9. Introduce state-specific laws on land use and transport to override legislative vacuum.
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Critically analyze the working of City Governments in India. What immediate actions
should India take to embark its journey of transforming the growing metropolitan cities into
more sustainable and vibrant cities?
There is an urgent need to reform the 74th Constitutional Amendment to empower city
governments, bolster the metropolitan system of government, and move to a system of a
directly elected mayor. Do you agree? Elaborate on your opinion.
Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues
arising out of their design and implementation
Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector or Services relating to
Health, Education, Human Resources
Average rate of crime under NDPS Act in Punjab has been the highest in the country
between 2005 and 2014; about 44.5% of total convicts under the NDPS Act in India at the
end of 2014 were in Punjabmuch more than the next highest state at 10% (figures
consistently rising)
Crime rate under NDPS Act in Punjab has been consistently higher than all other states
Punjab ranks among the top five states that reported the biggest drug seizures in 2014
(Other four: Mizoram, Manipur, Assam and Uttar PradeshPunjab isnt aloneWedged
between the Golden Triangle (Thailand, Laos and Vietnam) in the east and the Golden
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Crescent (Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan) in the west, many regions in India, such as the
north-east, are particularly vulnerable)
The Punjab Opioid Dependence Survey found that 89% of opioid dependents in Punjab
were literate and educated, 83% were employed and they were mostly male
Reasons
Economically
Can be traced back from early 1960s with the advent of green revolution which bought
more labourers to the lucrative fields; leading to a huge surge in demand for the poppy husk
and opium (Studies suggests that landowners supply raw opium to farm labourers to
encourage them to work harder)
Case of the drivers of trucks or simply a driver for a long distance tend to believe that
these drugs help them stay wide awake, and so acts like a buffer between their sleep and
accidents.
Sociologically
Commercialisation of educationNot much efforts is being put in to improve the quality of
education in government schools. New colleges are being opened up without undertaking any
kind of quality check.
Clash between unemployment and the culture of aspiration-Joblessness has prevailed big time
despite the economic reforms brought in the country. Being in the vicinity of the disease called
terrorism, industrialization as well as the agriculture sector kept on suffering leading to the
lack of absorption capacity of their increasing population. (Also count Partition, Khalistan,
Operation Blue Star, communal riots, Black Thunder)
Shift in industries gradually took place due to heavy tax rebates and concessions on taxes in
neighbouring states like Himachal Pradesh and UttarakhandLedto the increase in
unemployment
Expanding Social Disconnect: is the root cause of every addiction like drugs, gambling, smoking,
pornography, and alcohol and thus, embracing them in our lives holds the key to bringing the
addicts back to the society
Politically
Narco-terrorismthere has been a steady supply of drugs from across the border
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Widespread political ties: There exists a vicious circle a part of what they earn through drugs
sales goes into election campaigns and part of it is used to buy more drugs. No mention of drug
abuse in any of the manifestos being distributed by most of the political parties
Governmental approachemphasizes criminality rather than a holistic approach integrating
demand reduction, harm reduction and supply reduction
Inadequate system in place the police station and the prisons; to deal with the addicts
challenging physiological and psychological symptoms and illnesses
Vacant psychiatrists post; no full-time doctor
No male nurse, ward attendant or other paramedical staff
Easy availability of drugs inside
A war on its addicts:
Misplaced definition of a drug addict Means a person suffering from mental or
psychological disease; the overriding stigma attached and the practice of sending them
to the jails robs one of his chance to rehabilitate oneself Should be sent to deaddiction centres and not to jails
The staggering human and social cost of Punjabs skewed crackdown on drugs
Scrutiny of FIRs in the most affected districts by The Indian Express reveals an average of
over 25 addicts being booked each day in effect, dragging 25 families into a broken
penal system. At least 174 individuals charged under the Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substance (NDPS) Act, have died in prisons 88 in 2014 and 86 in 2015.
People found with burnt matchsticks and silver foils were also arrested under the NDPS
Act
Crackdown has been majorly flawed with no foresight and planningThe big fish
continue to roam free owing to their political connections
Way Forward:
A change in approach of the government is of utmost importance
Harm reductionproviding clean needles, sterilization equipment and the like, to drug users
has proved to be effective in Manipur as well as in other countries in minimizing secondary
damage such as the spread of AIDS and Hepatitis C
Demand reduction strategy Involves
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Has the political nexus in India enabled and facilitated the increase in drug trafficking?
Discuss the magnitude of the issue and provide an action plan to counter the same.
There has been a widespread discussion over the upcoming Indian crime thriller film,
Udta Punjab. Does a creative piece deserve the kind of treatment that is being meted
out to it? Is it the case of flawed expectations out of the Indian audience or the
withdrawal symptom being witnessed owing to the pending changes in the standards
of film certification?
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TOPIC:
General Studies 1:
Women related issues
General Studies 2:
Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector or Services relating to
Health, Education, Human Resources
General Studies 3:
Science and Technology developments and their applications and effects in everyday life
Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and
developing new technology
Districts without UterusesThe malpractice named Hysterectomies
What is Hysterectomy
A hysterectomy is an operation to remove a woman's uterus for different reasons, including:
UK
After a hysterectomy
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Poor illiterate women are prescribed the procedure for white discharge, irregular menstrual
cycles, and even abdominal pain
Their willingness to undergo the procedure stems from the fear of cancer (which doctors
convince them of) to the belief that their uteruses are of no use once they have had
children.
Loss of daily wages during menstruation only makes the prospect more appealing
(Over 18,000 insurance-funded hysterectomies are conducted in Bihar and Chhattisgarh alone)
The practice a human rights violation not just as a clear violation of reproductive health
rights but also as a heinous crime and a form of violence on women
Comparison with the West: The total number of hysterectomies in India is lower than in the
West. But it is alarming that 30-32 is the average age group of women undergoing the
procedure here, while in the West post-menopausal hysterectomy is common
Fuelling SchemesRSBY
In 2010, the Andhra Pradesh government dropped hysterectomies from Aarogyasri, the
State insurance scheme
Self Employed Womens Association (SEWA) in Gujarat also noticed a high number of
hysterectomy claims under its community health insurance scheme in Ahmedabad district
In the water-starved Sangola taluka of Solapur in Maharashtra, for instance, women for
years have been made to believe that hysterectomy protects them from cancer.
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Hysterectomies done in Bihar involved women in the 30-40 age group and were covered
under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY)
ChhattisgarhTwo inquiry committees were formed and the second one let the doctors go
scot-free.
KarnatakaThree inquiry committees have been formed (reports are still awaited)
IASbabas Views:
Factors that must be addressed:
1. Extremely limited primary gynaecological care for women in most of rural (Time and cost
of travel, unskilled doctors)There is a need for regulation like in the case of the PNDT
(Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act) that doesnt allow an ultrasound
without proper documentation
2. Attitudes towards womens bodies and healthdrive unnecessary intervention; a uterus is
not necessary once reproductive functions are fulfilled and this same attitude fuels
menstrual taboos, violence against women and sex-selective abortion
3. Low investment in the public health sector over the years leaving India with a fractured
and weak health system
The gap left by the public health system combined with a government policy of
proactively promoting the private sector has led to the proliferation of private health
providers which are unregulated, unaccountable, and out of control
When the private sector provides health services on behalf of the state it can make it
more difficult for citizens to hold their governments to account and to seek justice
4. Absence of composite national data:
Makes regulation difficult
Difficulty in determining the population prevalence, if these procedures were
necessary, and drivers of hysterectomy amongst young women in India
Sol: For the first time, the National Family Health Survey-4 has included a question on
hysterectomies (first comprehensive data)
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Setting up guidelines for private hospitals (attitude of business mechanism and profit-making
needs to be dealt with) while tightening norms of insurance schemes
The doctors must be properly monitored and regulated to ensure they provide a decent
level of care Ethical medical practice needs to be re-affirmed
Women should be informed about its long-term consequences, and the alternative
medical treatments available; Complications post-hysterectomies need to be recorded
and followed up
Private health care providers need to be regulated and controlled and public health care
provision needs to be scaled up and improved must be properly standardised to
improve rationality of care, regulation of fees, and to uphold patients rights
Prioritise strengthening and scaling up of government health care which is available to
all citizens.
Medical Practices:
Ovaries should be preserved in every woman till the age of 65 to maintain hormonal
balance as the oestrogen hormone also helps protect women from heart attacks.
Even in extreme cases, preservation of at least one ovary should be done, so that
oestrogen hormone is released into the body.
In case of cervical cancer, it is possible to remove the cancerous tissue surgically and
prevent uterus removal.
Other available non-surgical methods like endometrial ablation; balloon therapy etc.
should be utilized.
'Save the Uterus and Ovaries' Campaign: Government should recognize and support the
campaignpromoting preservation of uterus as part of the FOGSI (Federation of Obstetrics and
Gynaecological Societies of India) initiative
Note:
Uterine Balloon Therapy:
A new development and technique, called Uterine Balloon Therapy (UBT), is invented solely
to prevent hysterectomies in women who suffer from unmanageable periods and who no
longer desire fertility
A simple procedure by which the inner lining of the uterus is compressed and thinned out
with a special balloon inserted inside the uterus for a period of eight minutes.
The balloon is connected to special equipment which helps to raise the pressure and
temperature of the water in the balloon. With this heat and pressure, the inner lining
(endometrium) is partially destroyed which leads to reduced bleeding later.
Advantages
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Blood is a scarce resource and is also an essential element of human life, with no
substitutes. In developing countries, blood transfusion services have traditionally been a
low priority in health service development.
Whatever the degree of development of the health care system, transfusion is the only
option for survival for many patients. Thus, blood transfusion services occupy a vital space
in any National Health Service delivery system. Safe transfusion requires not only the
application of science and technology to blood processing and testing, but also require
social mobilization to promote voluntary blood donation by people who have no infectious
diseases that can be transmitted to the recipients of their blood.
From about 54.5 per cent in 2006, the amount of blood collected from voluntary donors
rose to 84 per cent in 2013-2014 in National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO)-supported
blood banks.
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The total annual amount of units collected has also shown an absolute increase in over 10
years from 4.4 million blood units in 2007 to 10 million units on average in the last three
years
The 1,161 NACO-supported blood banks alone accounted for over 5.7 million blood units
collected during 2013-2014
Least Voluntary donation of only 57 per cent In Delhi; due to greater reliance on
replacement donors and the more number of private sector blood banks.
Reason for high collectionincluded family donors under the ambit of voluntary donation;
however, in 2014, the definition of voluntary blood donation was modified in accordance to
the WHO definition.
Percentage of voluntary donations (2015-2016) after excluding for family donors, was 79
per cent
Replacement donors are friends and relatives of a patient who donate blood as
replacement for the blood given to the patient. Paid blood donation was banned in January
1998 but professional donors going ahead as the replacement donors have become the
norm
Many times, the recipients are harmed due to hiding or overlooking the many donts of
donation
Lack of initiative in studying their elaborate medical history and carrying out behavioural
screening
Asian Journal of Transfusion Science (2012): Voluntary self-deferral to donate without
citing reasons is widely accepted, replacement donors rarely resort to it either to hide their
high-risk behaviour or due to pressure to meet the immediate demand for certain units of
blood. As a result, the prevalence of HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C is much higher among
family donors when compared to voluntary donors
Failure in detection: donated blood is screened for transfusion transmitted infections (TTI)
such as HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis and malaria; the tests fail to detect the diseases
in the window period of infection. In the case of HIV, the window period (time between
exposure to infection and the point when the test reflects accurate results) varies depending
on the sensitivity and specificity of the assay used. Further, the risk of replacement donors
having TTIs is 1.5-2.5 times higher than for voluntary donors.
National Blood Policy of 2007 was formulated to shift the onus on institutions that
prescribe blood for transfusions to procure blood for their patients from licensed banks. But
Indian Journal of Medical Research revealed that nearly 97 per cent of donations made
(2005-2013) at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Delhi, came from replacement donors.
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Solution
2015: National Blood Transfusion Council has decided to allow even hospital-based private
blood banks to conduct donation camps. But there is a need to amend and notify Drugs and
Cosmetics Act 1940 and Rules 1946.
Create awareness: Phasing out replacement donors & shifting of focus to increasing blood
collection through voluntary donations to meet over 95 per cent of blood requirement
Morbidity and mortality resulting from the non-availability of blood or the transfusion of
infected blooddirect impact on individuals and their families
Transfusion of infected bloodan ever-widening pool of infection in the general population
with far-reaching consequences for society as a whole
Increased requirements for medical and social care, Loss of productive labour and higher
levels of dependencyheavy burdens on overstretched health and social services and on
national economies
The Action Plan on blood safety is driven by the need to continually improve and upgrade the
availability and safety of blood and blood products, and to facilitate a self-sustaining national
blood transfusion programme.
IASbabas Views:
The incidence of transfusion-transmitted infection and its associated costs will increase in
countries that do not take stringent measures to ensure blood safety. Therefore, an investment
in a safe and adequate blood supply is not only a responsibility of government, but also a costeffective investment in the health and economic wealth of every nation. WHO recommends
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The collection of blood only from voluntary non-remunerated blood donors from low-risk
populations
Testing of all donated blood for transfusion-transmissible infections, blood grouping and
compatibility testing
The appropriate clinical use of blood, including the use of alternatives to transfusion
wherever possible, and the safe administration of blood and blood products
Quality system covering all stages of the transfusion process
Quality and safety: The quality and safety of blood provided for patients depends not only on a
national quality system for blood transfusion services, but quality in every activity. An effective
national quality system requires:
Regular, voluntary non-remunerated blood donors from low-risk populations are the
foundation of a safe blood supply
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Access: Provision should be made for a rapid response to emerging infections, emergency
situations and post-disaster reconstruction.
TOPIC:
General studies 2: Governance issues
General studies 3: Infrastructure, Transportation
The Road to Safety
Indias roads have acquired a reputation, quite deservedly, of being the most dangerous in the
world.
A report released recently by the Ministry of Road Transport says:
1,46,133 people were killed in road accidents in India in 2015, up from 1,39,671 in 2014;
400 road deaths take place every day on Indias roads;
one accident takes place in the country every minute and one person dies in an accident
every four minutes and
Nearly eight in 10 accidents were caused by drivers, with 62 per cent of those blamed on
speeding.
In absolute numbers, more people die in road accidents in India than in any other country.
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Road traffic accidents have the potential of being one of the largest challenges to orderly
human existence necessitating immediate and urgent intervention.
Apart from the human dimension of the tragedy, avoidable death and disability seriously affect
economic progress by some estimates, 3 per cent of GDP is lost in a year due to the carnage.
Problems:
A road in the developing world is more than just a road. It is a way of life. Road users have
to take into account hawkers, pedlars, beggars and even stray animals.
Unsafe transport, including services operated by government agencies, are a major part of
the problem.
Several ghastly accidents involving public transport vehicles have been reported, but the
State governments involved have shown little sense of accountability. They routinely
challenge even claims for compensation. Their response to the need for improved
infrastructure has been woefully weak.
Detailed investigations are a rarity, officials in-charge are almost never held accountable,
road design continues to be dangerous, and Indian laws remain poorly enforced.
Solutions:
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Regular maintenance of all highways and roads by both the Central and State governments,
in order to make the same traffic worthy, is the minimum that the citizens can expect and
are entitled to.
There is an urgent need to form committees and appoint professionals to address the issue
of safety. They must be empowered to upgrade driver-licensing practices, road systems,
public lighting and signage. Accident investigation, which remains a neglected area, requires
a thorough overhaul, and CCTVs can help determine the cause of mishaps.
Also, the neglect of the public district hospital network in most States, and the high cost of
treatment at private hospitals affect access to good trauma care for accident victims. The
right to life demands that the Central and State governments provide medical facilities at a
proximate institution free of cost to all.
Comprehensive road safety laws on five key risk factors: drinking and driving, speeding, and
failing to use motorcycle helmets, seat-belts, and child restraints.
The Supreme Court should set up a panel and must give road accidents the status of a
public health issue that has acquired alarming proportions. Reform to improve road safety
cannot be delayed any longer.
Conclusion:
The sad part in all this is that very few genuinely think of road deaths. They are often seen
as isolated events when they are actually a collusion between engineering, poor policing,
bad planning and poor civics. What is horrible is that our legislators also realise that a
human life is worthless in India, which is also reflected in the laws.
Unless we create the multipronged idea of what a road is, we cannot change the civics of
the city. A road is not just a physical entity, but is also a civic space; a way of life; a site for
livelihood, and a commons for participation. An accident demolishes all these notions.
In spite of fast-paced motorisation, India does not have a scientific accident investigation
agency. Nine years have passed since the Sundar Committee on Road Safety and Traffic
Management recommended the creation of a safety board through legislation.
Under the archaic Motor Vehicles Act and the Indian Penal Code, the police adopt simplistic
methods to determine driver fault, rather than look at composite factors including bad
road design and failure of civic agencies to maintain infrastructure while fixing responsibility
for accidents.
The proposed National Road Safety and Traffic Management Board should try to address all
this issues. Without empowered oversight, it is impossible to eliminate systemic corruption
in transport departments in vehicle certification and licensing of drivers, and poor
monitoring of roadworthiness of commercial vehicles.
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The Centre should also act on the virtual monopoly held by automotive companies on the
sale of spares and servicing of vehicles, which is raising cost of ownership and affecting
quality of maintenance.
Research suggests there will be an annual rise in fatalities until 2042, before a decline sets
in. That distressing prognosis can be changed only through determined action today.
In absolute numbers, more people die in road accidents in India than in any other country.
Discuss what measures can be taken to address these increasing fatalities and also critically
comment on the steps taken by the government in this regard.
TOPIC
General Studies 2:
Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues
arising out of their design and implementation
General Studies 3:
Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways, etc.
Towards better Trade RegimeRoad Infrastructure
An unfinished Job
Creation of a seamless internal market in India requires
Will connect 12 major ports and cities with populations of more than 45 million and 26 state
capitals
Linking of highways at every 250km
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Roads form vital links between markets that are not connected India has set itself the target
of awarding 25,000km of road projects in 2016-17 under the ministry of road transport and
highways and the National Highways Authority of India, compared to the 10,000km awarded in
2015-16.
High transaction costs Physical and legal infrastructure problems as well as in terms of
money and time
Slow growth rate of road development
Disproportionate burden of freight on roads
Negative WPI and traffic underperformance
Time costs on interstate road freight via interstate checkpoints: Incurs costs of $14.7 billion
and $6.6 billion annually due to additional fuel consumption costs and transportation delays
Leads to lower freight volumes moved
India: Lowest average speeds for trucks and about 60% of their time is taken up at these
checkpoints and tollgates
Producers become less competitive despite having competitive input prices
Rampant instances of Red tapism
Way Forward:
Expansion of roadways
Simultaneous deployment of resources on alternative means of transport such as rails,
inland waterways and airThe current road to rail ratio of 70:30 is inadequate and
inefficient for economic as well as environmental reasons
Need to initiate building up a physical foundation by reducing transaction costs
Facilitating interstate trade via GST
To address the cascading effect of the present tax regime
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Must Refer:
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In general, a person is considered to hold an office of profit if four conditions are met:
(a) he holds an office,
(b) the office is one of profit, that is, it carries some benefits,
(c) the office is under the control of the Central or the State government
(d) the office is not that of a Minister or exempted by an Act of Parliament or State
legislature.
The idea is that every legislator should be able to carry out legislative duties without any
obligation to the government of the day.
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As Ministers have to be members of the legislature, they are exempt from this
disqualification.
The Constitution also recognises that there may be other cases where exceptions may be
required and allows Parliament and State legislatures to make exemptions by passing a
law.
Issue:
Over the last three decades, there has been a practice of appointing more and more
MLAs as parliamentary secretaries (above the said limits of 15% and 10% for States and
UTs) in several States. Further, laws in these States expressly protect them from
disqualification.
Recent case is the Delhi governments appointment of 21 MLAs as parliamentary
secretaries.
The Delhi governments move to appoint 21 MLAs as parliamentary secretaries will
make 40 per cent (instead of 10%) of the membership have some type of an executive
role changes the nature of the Legislative Assembly.
A parliamentary secretary is similar to a Minister of State who assists a Minister in his or
her duties.
This part of trend is believed to be weakening the power of legislative bodies by
governments and a violation of doctrine of separation of powers.
Concept of separation of powers:
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The President took note of Section 15 of the government of NCT of Delhi Act, 1991 and also
according to Articles 102 and 191 of the Constitution, a person shall not remain an MLA if
he or she holds any office of profit under the Centre or government of a state or UT.
According to the president, parliamentary secretaries come under the purview of office of
profit.
Besides, the Lt Governor had also said the office of parliamentary secretary is defined as an
office of profit if one looks at the statutes of Delhi and that as per the GNCT Act, the city
can have only one parliamentary secretary attached to the office of the Chief Minister.
The primary and important duty of Parliament and State legislatures should be to monitor
the actions of the government and holding it to account.
An argument has been made that these parliamentary secretaries will be able to aid the
government in being more responsive to citizens needs. That argument, however, misses
the point of separation of powers.
The role of legislators is not to help the government do its job better, but to ensure that it
functions in a proper manner. That is, the legislator exercises the role of a watchdog over
the government on behalf of citizens and not as an agent of the government.
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The role of legislators is critical in a democracy. They are elected by citizens, and have the
task of ensuring that the government is acting in the best interests of the public.
In this, they are expected to exercise their independent judgements on what constitutes
public and national interest. They act as a bulwark against autocratic actions of the
executive.
Appointing MLAs as Parliamentary Secretaries are weakening the watchdog and violating
the doctrine of separation of powers. Substantiate.
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The disease is transmitted from person to person, mainly through the faecal-oral route,
affecting children under five years of age. In the absence of wild polio virus (WPV)
transmission,
India was declared a polio-free country in March 2014, after years of relentless vaccination.
For maintenance of polio eradication in polio-free countries, WHO conducts surveillance for
cases of AFP and collects samples of sewage water to find any traces of polio viruses.
In one such study in Hyderabad in April, out of 30 samples collected, one sample from
Amberpet nala (sewage) contained traces of type-2 VDPV.
Lab tests have revealed that the virus has passed through human body and has undergone
mutation or nucleotide change.
Similar virus strains were detected in Delhi, Bihar and Gujarat.
In a vaccine-derived polio virus (VDPV), the source of the virus is the vaccine itself.
The oral polio vaccine called polio drops, which India deployed extensively to fight against
polio, contain a live, attenuated or weakened polio virus.
When a child is vaccinated, the weakened vaccine-virus replicates in the intestine and
enters into the bloodstream, triggering a protective immune response in the child. Like wild
poliovirus, the child excretes the vaccine-virus for a period of six to eight weeks.
Importantly, as it is excreted, some of the vaccine-virus may no longer be the same as the
original vaccine-virus as it gets genetically altered during replication.
In areas of inadequate sanitation, this excreted vaccine-virus can quickly spread in the
community and infect children with low immunity.
The cases of paralysis due to VDPV are rare as the virus has to circulate for a long time in
the community of under-immunised population before it can infect and cause paralysis in
someone.
Vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis (VAPP) occurs in an estimated 1 in 2.7 million
children receiving their first dose of oral polio vaccine, according to the Global Polio
Eradication Initiative, a public-private partnership of national governments and WHO.
The aspect that is a matter of concern is that India reports high number of non-polioAFP
or paralyticcases in children who are less than 15 years of age, which the study links to
the VDPV.
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According to WHO, more than 50,000 AFP cases are investigated in India every year as a
part of its surveillance system.
OPV vs IPV
The detection of VDPV in Hyderabad and other places has intensified the discussion on
replacing oral polio vaccine (OPV) with inactivated polio vaccine (IPV).
IPV given through an injection contains inactivated virus, considered to be safer than OPV
that contains live virus.
WHO has been advocating IPV over OPV as part of its global endgame strategy on polio
eradication.
India introduced IPV in the mandatory immunization programme on 1 December in six
states. For the time being, IPV will be given in addition to the existing OPV.
OPV has its strong advocates who believe that the vaccine is best suited for countries such
as India due to its low cost, high efficacy and ease of administering, and argue that the
safety concerns are overstated compared to the benefits of the vaccine.
Still the fight against polio is not complete in India. Examine the above statement with
respect to recent incidents of vaccine derived polio virus cases reported in several states.
What is vaccine derived polio virus? Is VDPV a threat to our country? What strategies can
India adopt to fight these strains?
Also Read:
Is India actually free of polio?
http://iasbaba.com/2015/12/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-4th-december-2015/
TLP 2016
http://iasbaba.com/2016/04/1-campaign-eradication-polio-eventual-success-provides-idealtemplate-formulating-long-term-strategies-similar-objectives-comment-also-identify-areas-thi/
TOPIC:
General studies 2:
Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues
arising out of their design and implementation; Important aspects of governance,
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Digital transformation addresses disruptive changes occurring in the economic, social and
technological environments; and has become a top business priority enabling firms to
achieve business growth, efficiency and effectiveness closely driving profitability and
growth.
Right from determining the key political outcomes, it has increasingly influenced buying
behaviour every product purchase across every industry is preceded by a quick online
research which includes other customers reviews and comparisons.
Earlier, the investment decision largely depended upon an agent (a profiteer) who used to
sell products in order to drive profit home rather than selling products that were beneficial
to the customer. Core insurance products like term and health insurance were never
recommended upfront due to their small premium size and low recurring value to the
agent.
Insurance digitisation will pave way for information-on-demand (product charges, where
the premium goes, how much is actually invested and how much goes into expenses or
distributor commissions) thus leading to a calculated and an informed decision.
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Customers are today enabled to evaluate thoroughly with a finger-tip before making the final
purchase has led to an evolution in ones online ecosystems and an increased digital footprint
ensuring that they provide customers with the right kind of planning tools, easy-to-decipher
product content and simple selling.
In a nutshellEnhanced Customer Experience
Simplified & informed product buying
Post-purchase
NOTE:
Digital India
DI is an amalgam of three ongoing programmes: the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN),
the National Knowledge Network and the E-Governance initiative.
Its being implemented through a PSU, Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL),
supervised by the ministries of telecom, power and railways.
USOF (Universal Service Obligation fund) has the responsibility to finance the DI scheme.
A part of the Digital India initiative of the Government of India, NOFN is envisaged as a nondiscriminatory Telecom infrastructure which will bridge the gap in rural access.
NOFN is being funded by the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), Department of
Telecom, Ministry of Communications & IT, Govt. of Indiato provide non-discriminatory
access to bridge the digital divide across rural India.
IASbabas Views:
While government has given a push to the digital path via various initiatives like Unified
Payment Interface, e-KYC and digitising insurance policies as well as improvement in the
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digital literacy of the country by launching the Digital India programme that aims at
transform India into a digitally empowered society and a knowledgeable economymore
infrastructural efforts need to be made to increase the digital hold over people
countrywide:
Availability of the spectrum: Adequate access spectrum is the basic ingredient of
mobile communications.
Back haul spectrum: Essential to haul communication from the fringe of a network to
the main pipe.
Sufficient number of Towers and quality network & connectivity
Investor friendly and Customer prioritised policy
The insurance regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, through
the iTrex platform, has taken a positive step ahead by instructing insurers to upload KYC
information of their policyholders as well as to do away with multiple KYC formalities
ensuring consumers to have electronic insurance accounts; leading to an easier life of a
policyholder and transforming the work of insurers to becoming simpler, more cost
effective and efficient.
Will Digital India reduce the gap regarding access of information in rural and urban India?
Will this make service delivery system accountable and transparent?
What are the economic implications of consumer behaviour? Is the consumer behaviour
reshaping the insurance industry? Discuss.
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cities, AMRUT, Housing for all etc.,) has come at the expense of constitutional responsibility to
strengthen local governance.
The States priorities towards the implementation these schemes demands greater
revenue generation and sustained efforts for overall improvement from its urban local
bodies and Panchayat raj institutions.
In this endeavour state government has taken away the PRIs and ULBs key sources of
income (local body tax and Octroi) for business reasons.
Inefficient civic services of ULBs and PRIs have discouraged citizens from paying taxes on
time. And the government has done very little to improve the quality of basic services.
ULBs and PRIs heavily dependent on government for revenue receipts owing to the slow
growth in their own revenues and increased liabilities.
Instead of pushing the local bodies towards the road map of growth laid out by FFC, the
state has been rendered a mere guarantor to banks and central agencies on behalf of
them.
Hence, it is unfair to expect the ill-equipped local bodies to rise to the occasion and support
major urban schemes launched by union government.
Reasons for the current state of local bodies
The state government has failed to put safeguards against misuse of funds in PRIs.
A weak city and village level leadership (Political and bureaucratic) has led to little/no
accountability in the amount spending over the years.
Both Urban and rural development departments have failed to collect utilization
certificates. This indicates the funds are just lying in the bank accounts or have been
misused.
Ignored the horizontal devolution formula recommended by FFC
The state machinery is reluctant to pass on its powers to Purchase at the micro level,
while it continues to suffer from an obsession to procure goods and services at every
possible opportunity.
Finance commission (FC) recommends the measures needed to augment the Consolidated
Fund of a State to supplement the resources of the Panchayats and Municipalities in the state.
The FCs horizontal devolution formula takes into account the population, size and geography of
urban and rural areas while making budgetary provisions for local bodies.
14th FC recommendations
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FFC has recommended distribution of grants to States for local bodies using 2011
population data with weight of 90% and area with weight of 10%.
The grants to States will be divided into two, a grant to duly constituted Gram
Panchayats and a grant to duly constituted Municipal bodies, on the basis of rural and
urban population.
It recommends grants in two parts; a basic grant, and a performance grant, for duly
constituted Gram Panchayats and municipalities.
The ratio of basic to performance grant is 90:10 with respect to Panchayats and 80:20
with respect to Municipalities.
The top down approach to push schemes without laying foundation for them goes against the
spirit of 74th Constitutional Amendment.
Way ahead:
For greater and better participation of ULBs and PRIs in central schemes,
Finance commission:
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To maintain federal equilibrium by protecting the interests of the states against the
undue interference of the centre.
To facilitate giving representation to eminent professionals and experts who cannot face
direct elections.
To check the hasty, defective and ill-considered legislation made by Lok Sabha.
A house of reflective and evaluative reasoning, The genius of people may have full
play and it can be make place for who may not be able to win the popular mandate.
A sobering house, a reviewing house, a house standing for quality and members will be
exercising their right to be heard on the merits of what they say, for the sobriety and
the knowledge of special problems
To initiate proposals for public policy, to elicit responsiveness from public authority,
and to hold governments accountable.
The house is seen as an authoritative platform to accommodate diversity, which is an
essential ingredient.
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In several occasions Rajya Sabha proved its merits in Indian polity, where it has acted as an
important platform of resistance to the majority rule in Lok Sabha. But also the performance of
this institution has been criticized for many reasons which include
Prevention of Terrorism Bill in 2002 (Bill defeated in RS and passed in Joint sitting (JS)).
Two other cases where bills passed in JS are Dowry prohibition bill 1960 and Banking
service commission (Repeal) bill 1977
Corruption charges against the government during 2011-14, and
The proposed amendment to the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act
in 2015.
Such instances may lead to a perception that, the electoral victory to the lower House may
entitle a party to rule but not necessarily govern unless it reaches out and engages with the
central concerns and interests embedded in the polity.
What Powers Rajya Sabha have?
Following are some of the exclusive powers of RS
Power to transfer a subject from the State List to Union List for a specified period (A249)
Create additional All-India Services common to both the centre and states (A-312),
Endorse Emergency under Article 352 for a limited period when the Lok Sabha remains
dissolved.
Equal status with loksabha in matters of Ordinary bills, Constitutional amendment bills,
election and removal of various constitutional heads etc.
Unequal status with loksabha in matters of Money bill, Joint sitting, emergency provisions,
disproportionate share in various committees.
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In 2006, Supreme court upheld the removal of domicile requirement mandated by RPI Act
1951. This is seen as a great hit to the mark of diversity that was the hall mark of this house.
How Rajya Sabha should be?
Observing the sorry state of affairs in the recent elections in which saw the money game and
dirty politics, there are genuine worries about credibility of this institution. Hence it is felt that,
the nature and role of RS should be revisited, rather than merely think it as the parking lot for
those who cannot ensure their election from a popular constituency.
Way Ahead:
Rajya Sabha could be the House that represents difference in our polity, difference
marked not merely by its culture but its diversity but also in its inegalitarian social
relations.
The representation of constituencies like: Muslims women Linguistic, religious and
ethnic diversity regions such as the Northeast and Jammu & Kashmir Urban informal
labour the rural poor etc., who cannot go for direct elections must be ensured.
Rajya Sabha has turned out to be another chamber of the parliament akin to the
loksabha, except for the mode of selection of its members. Evaluate.
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2015: UGC wrote to 10 institutions asking them to shut down their off-campus centres for
violating rules (BITS Pilani was served a court stay order for the same)
New Rules:
Lifts the bar on the number of off-campus centres for the deemed universities
Stipulates that the UGC and human resource development ministry approve applications for
deemed universities within seven months (earlier6-7 years)
T.S.R. Subramanian Committee on UGC: UGC Act should be allowed to lapse and be replaced
by a new National Higher Education Act as it has been unable to effectively implement its
regulations aimed at ensuring the quality of higher education in the country over the years
Widespread irregularities in grant of approval of institutions and courses
Loopholes by UGC in monitoring standards of education in higher education institution
Credentials compromised owing to large scale approvals granted to a large number of substandard colleges and deemed universities
UGC does not have the adequate number of personnel with credentials that matches to the
required positions in question to be an effective regulatory force in the higher education
sector
Other committees echoing the same note:
Hari Gautam committee report
Yashpal Committee (subsuming of various authorities like UGC and AICTE the technical
education regulator within a bigger platform providing interaction between different
areas of knowledge)
Suggestions:
Specialised functions should be undertaken by specialised bodies
The UGC could be revamped, and could be made the nodal point for administration of the
proposed National Higher Education Fellowship Programme, without any other promotional
or regulatory function
NOTE:
Recommendations of Subramanian Committee on New Education Policy
1) An Indian Education Service (IES) should be established as an all India service with officers
being on permanent settlement to the state governments but with the cadre controlling
authority vesting with the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry.
2) The outlay on education should be raised to at least 6% of GDP without further loss of time.
3) There should be minimum eligibility condition with 50% marks at graduate level for entry to
existing B.Ed courses. Teacher Entrance Tests (TET) should be made compulsory for recruitment
of all teachers. The Centre and states should jointly lay down norms and standards for TET.
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4) Compulsory licensing or certification for teachers in government and private schools should
be made mandatory, with provision for renewal every 10 years based on independent external
testing.
5) Pre-school education for children in the age group of 4 to 5 years should be declared as a
right and a programme for it implemented immediately.
6) The no detention policy must be continued for young children until completion of class V
when the child will be 11 years old. At the upper primary stage, the system of detention shall be
restored subject to the provision of remedial coaching and at least two extra chances being
offered to prove his capability to move to a higher class
7) On-demand board exams should be introduced to offer flexibility and reduce year end stress
of students and parents. A National Level Test open to every student who has completed class
XII from any School Board should be designed.
8) The mid-day meal (MDM) program should now be extended to cover students of secondary
schools. This is necessary as levels of malnutrition and anemia continue to be high among
adolescents.
9) UGC Act must be allowed to lapse once a separate law is created for the management of
higher education. The University Grants Commission (UGC) needs to be made leaner and
thinner and given the role of disbursal of scholarships and fellowships.
10) Top 200 foreign universities should be allowed to open campuses in India and give the same
degree which is acceptable in the home country of the said university
Connecting the Dots:
Does the scrapping of UGC merit attention of it being a remedy needed for Indias higher
education system? Discuss.
TOPIC:
General studies 2: Governance
Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues
arising out of their design and implementation
Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governanceapplications, models, successes, limitations, and potential citizens charters,
transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.
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India, a country which has one of the highest numbers of laws on its statute books,
however, its implementation record is distressingly poor.
One of the reasons for the poor performance, aside from design issues, capacity constraints
and corruption, is the near-complete absence of post legislative scrutiny or review of the
laws.
Post-legislative reviews can assess whether the objectives and the anticipated effects of
legislation have actually taken place on the ground.
Various governments have taken small steps in the direction of designing better laws such
as making pre-legislative scrutiny of Bills mandatory through public feedback and identifying
laws that need to be repealed but there is little discussion yet regarding the need for postlegislative review of laws.
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The NDPS Act was amended thricein 1989, 2001 and 2014. Each time, the initiative was
taken by activists and lawyers. Their concerns were mostly based on anecdotal evidence
and independent studies done by researchers and scholars.
Furthermore, the legislators themselves were hampered in their understanding due to the
lack of information about the effectiveness of the law.
They tended to rely on harsh punishments to deter drug users and traffickers but produced
no evidence to make their case. They also never questioned the government on what
evidence the Act was being amended multiple times.
The UK requires its laws to be reviewed within three to five years of enactment. These
reviews are conducted by existing Departmental Select Committees on the basis of a
memoranda provided by a government department.
All Acts passed since 2005 are reviewed with a few exceptions such as budgets, very
technical acts and trivial acts.
In Germany, ex-post evaluation is systematic and based on a standardized methodology set
out in guidelines for public administrators.
France requires mandatory periodic evaluation of legislation, which is enshrined within the
law itself.
In the US, each standing committee, except Committee on Appropriation, is required to
review and study, on a continuing basis, the application, administration, execution, and
effectiveness of the laws dealing with the subject matter over which the committee has
jurisdiction.
In Australia, most laws have to be reviewed within two years and they expire after 10 years.
In Canada, a most laws have review and sunset clauses.
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TOPIC:
General Studies 2- Governance Issues
General Studies 3- Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation
Coastal Zone Management
Coastal zones are defined by the extent of territorial waters up to the high water mark.
Generally the worlds coastal zones are long narrow features of mainland, islands and seas,
generally forming the outer boundary of the coastal domain (from 200m above sea level to
200 m below sea level)
Coastal zones include the entire continental shelf and occupy about 18% of the surface of
the globe, supplying about 90% of global fish catch and accounts for some 25% of global
primary productivity while at the same time being some of the most endangered regions on
the planet.
Indias coastal zone is endowed with abundant coastal and marine ecosystems that include
a wide range of mangroves, coral reefs, sea grasses, salt marshes, mud flats, estuaries,
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lagoons, and unique marine and coastal flora and fauna (Eg: The Sundarbans shared
between India and Bangladesh are the largest contiguous mangroves in the world)
Integrated Coastal Zone Management
Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) is an interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral approach to
problem definition and solutions in the coastal zone and includes a range of initiatives that
promote environmentally sustainable development of coastal areas. It is a process of
governance that consists of the legal and institutional framework necessary to ensure that
development and management plans for coastal zones are integrated with environmental and
social goals, and are developed with the participation of those affected.
Purpose of Coastal Zone Management
Maximize the benefits provided by the coastal zone
Minimize conflicts and harmful effects of activities upon each other, resources and the
environment (oil spill contingency planning, and navigational risk assessment)
Promote linkages between sectoral activities (pollution and erosion control, aquaculture,
tourism and recreation)
Guide coastal area development in an ecologically sustainable fashion (community based
management of coastal resources)
Integrated planning ensures the following important outcomes in coastal zone management:
Help avoid any activity that can threaten
Ensures that adequate preventive measures are taken
Lessens the negative consequences of economic development
Supports initiatives that meet the chosen policy of coastal zone resource use
Challenges to ICZM
Failure to appreciate the interconnections within coastal systems
Inadequate legislation and lack of enforcement
Limited understanding and experience in ICZM
Limited understanding of coastal and marine processes
Lack of trained personnel, relevant technologies and equipment
ShaileshNayak Committee Review of the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2011
Need to demarcate precisely: There exists ambiguities in key baseline data, including the
demarcation of high and low tide lines and the coastal zone boundary, which has affected the
preparation of Coastal Zone Management Plans.
Shift in Governance:Transferring control of development in the CRZ-II zone, the existing builtup area close to the shoreline, from the Environment Department to State Town Planning
authorities, as proposed, would mark a radical shift in governance.
Construction Activities: Proposed lightly regulated tourism in no development zones.
Construction and other activities could be taken up in CRZ-III zones just 50 m from the high tide
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line in densely populated rural areas under State norms (with the responsibility to rescue and
rehabilitate during natural calamities left to local authorities) could be based on an overestimation of the capacity in such bodies.
Pollution Control: The plan should be to identify specific areas for such activity, assess its
environmental impact, demarcate the area under the States management plans, and fix
responsibility for enforcement, particularly for pollution control.
Make it participatory: Involving the local communities in the betterment of these areas have
yet not been achieved and incorporating a community-based approach should be made a
priority
IASbabas Views:
Despite the ecological richness and contribution to the national economy, Indias coastal
and marine areas have not received adequate protection and are under stress and are
reeling under rapid depletion and degradation, which unless arrested, will impact the
livelihood, health and well-being of the coastal population, affecting in turn prospects for
Indias sustained economic growth
India needs to make sure that the coastal communities are equipped to better address
continued economic development of the coastal zone while accounting for natural resource
management. This will ensure the health and stability of the coast, both environmentally
and economically, into the long-term future (marking the test of sustainability)
Connecting the Dots:
Write a note on structure, functioning and performance of Coastal Zone Management
Authorities (CZMAs).
The security ecosystem for the coastal waters requires for multi-pronged approach that
clubs preparedness to secure the coastline not only from tactical aggression by enemies but
also from natural disasters and marine pollution. Discuss.
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Indias public health care system is patchy, with underfunded and overcrowded hospitals
and clinics, inadequate rural coverage, and a shortage of qualified medical practitioners and
personnel.
The shortage of qualified medical professionals is one of the key challenges facing the
Indian health care industry.
Indias ratio of 0.7 doctors and 1.5 nurses per 1,000 people is dramatically lower than
the WHO average of 2.5 doctors and nurses per 1,000 people.
There is an acute shortage of paramedical and administrative professionals.
Excessive concentration of medical professionals in urban areas, which have only 30
percent of Indias population
Patients living in rural and semi urban areas receive services from unqualified
practitioners
The industry needs an additional 1.54 million doctors and 2.4 million nurses to match
the global average
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Measuring quality has to be an inclusive strategy that takes into account various paradigms
like A patient may receive poor-quality care but may recover fully, or a patient may
receive high-quality care for a complicated illness (such as cerebral malaria or tuberculosis)
and still not recover.
Laws: Hospitals and practitioners should have clear understanding on the prevailing laws on
medical practices, hospitals and clinics
Emotional Labour:Healthcare organizations can do the work more reliably and more effectively
by organizing to create social capital and by using social network science to spread empathy
as a core value
Ethical Treatment: The ethical code and the concept of ethical treatment should be kept on a
high pedestal by the medical practitioners.
Need to upgrade medical education infrastructure
There exists widening demandsupply gap of medical professionals in the country.
Medical education infrastructure in the country has witnessed rapid growth during the last
19 years. However, despite this rapid growth, this supply of medical professionals is
insufficient to meet the estimated requirement of doctors.
The quality of medical education is defined by the availability and quality of teachers. The
shortage of teachers is estimated at approximately 30-40 percent in medical colleges
There are limited formal teacher training programmes and the absence of a monitoring
mechanism for faculty learning; leading to a static medical learning system
Solution:
Continuous focuson upgrading thequality of existing infrastructureittherefore requires
concerted efforts ofthe public as well private sector.
Capacity Building and Training -Capacity building for formal, informaland continuing
education ofprofessional, para-professional andancillary staff engaged in the deliveryof
healthcare
Improvement in Skillsthe starting point
Nursing courses:
They can be blended with the flagship scheme Skill India training courses to counter the
shortage of nursing staffaccessible, affordable and quality training. It is expected that to
meetthe global average of 2.56 nurses per1000 population in the coming 15 yearsIndia needs
to add 1500 nursingcolleges.
Some steps taken:
Establishment of ANM/GNM schools,
Up-gradation of institutions from School of Nursing to College of Nursing,
Training of Nurses,
Development of 11 one year specialisation courses,
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TOPIC:
General studies 1:
Effects of Globalization on Indian Society; Urbanization and related issues
General studies 2:
Important aspects of governance and e-governance
Issues regarding services relating to Health, Education, Human Resource
Smart Cities & Local Governance
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According to Census 2011, 31 per cent of Indias total population lives in urban areas a
marginal increase of a little over three percentage points from the previous Census of 2001.
In absolute numbers, however, India added about nine million people to the urban areas,
bringing the number of urban residents in India to a total of 377 million.
Additionally, for the first time since Independence, the growth in total urban population is
higher than the absolute rural population growth
Smart cities:
A smart city concept is defined as the ability to integrate multiple technological solutions
in a secure fashion to manage the citys assets for example, the citys assets like local
departments information systems, schools, libraries, transportation systems, hospitals,
power plants, law enforcement, and other community services.
Smart and efficient usage of information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance
quality, performance and interactivity of urban services, to reduce costs and resource
consumption and to improve contact between citizens and government.
Basic infrastructure: Assured water and electricity supply, sanitation and solid waste
management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, robust IT connectivity, egovernance and citizen participation, safety and security of citizens
Smart solutions: Public information, grievance redressal, electronic service delivery,
citizens engagement, waste to energy & fuel, waste to compost, 100% treatment of waste
water, smart meters & management, monitoring water quality, renewable source of energy,
efficient energy and green building, smart parking, intelligent traffic management system.
the first in the country and even in the world [where] investments in urban sector are being
made based on competition-based selection of cities
Selection:
The 20 cities were selected on the basis of a Smart City Proposal which was submitted by
the city.
Idea behind the proposal
Development of an area
Development of the entire city
Proposals from a majority of cities have financially prioritized developing a small area rather
than the entire city.
An analysis states that 71 per cent of the funding from the mission will be spent on areabased development, the beneficiaries of which are about 4 per cent of the citys population
on average.
Area-based Development: Cities have proposed redevelopment of old and creation of new
central business districts, retrofitting infrastructure such as water supply, sewerage, and
creation of public spaces apart from reinventing landscape.
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Proposal for the entire city: Limited to IT-based services like CCTV-monitored central
command system, smart education portals and intelligent water and traffic
management systems.
The key driver of the smart city conceptIntegrating Local Governance with Smart Services
For success of urban development schemes, state governments & local bodies will have to take
the lead, all geared up and armed with the latest technology
Key Elements constituting the Governance of the Smart City:
Operations and maintenance:
City services such as water, energy, transportation are delivered by different entities
and there is minimal collaboration during planning and maintenance which leads to
duplication of efforts.
Providers are not held accountable for low-service performance and since different
departments have different set of staff there is little synergy and high cost
Need for an
Integrated command and operation centers that will not only enable better
management of services but will also lead to integration of operations across various
departments leading to optimization of cost and efficiency
Helps monitor city services on a real-time basis and therefore improve on
synchronizing maintenance activities.
Use of business process re-engineering and automation will help improve efficiency
and reduce turnaround time
Use of predictive analytics will help understand equipment performance and
maintenance requirements.
City performance dashboard that helps monitor the performance of city subsystems
through the use of digital technologies and big data analytics to manage city
governance, efficient performance and proactive crisis management.
Workforce and resource management solutions should also be used as they can help
improve workforce engagement and task management.
To optimize the workforce development of workforce management solutions like
planning, forecasting & scheduling, shift management etc.
Public infrastructure asset management:
While municipalities across the country have limited asset inventory, most of the time it
is not up-to-date.
Need for a comprehensive asset management strategy in place.
Integrated asset management solutions lower operation cost by improving asset
management practices.
They provide visibility of asset, asset usage, maintenance schedules, parts etc.
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IASbabas Views
Need to do away with the Land Monetization Outlook: Land has not yet been properly utilized
and coloring it with the colour of mere finances over city-based project will be inappropriate.
The government should rather opt for project-based development to shift from this worrying
trend.
Turn-around failed articulation of an institutional framework for urban development:
1. Convergence: Of various programs with various developmental plans
For example, there is still not a laid-out framework as to how will the water reservoir
and storage-related development be integrated with Housing for all
Government should take each step forward with simple yet detailed planning for a
stronger foundation.
2. Governance: The decision to make the city smart should be taken by the city, its citizens
and its municipalities but in practice, the role of the local governments and its missions has
been cut short with no alternative arrangement in place.
1992, the 74th constitutional amendment: Envisioned an elected local government
with neighborhood committees and mohalla sabhas as an institutional architecture vis-vis the functional, financial and legislative domain of city governments
Present: Responsibilities were limited just to delegating the decision-making powers to
a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), a body to be set up and which would implement the
mission
Connecting the Dots
1. The best model of financing smart cities in India is self-financing wherein cities generate
their own capital to create assets and public infrastructure. Discuss the viability of this
model for Indian cities.
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2. State the achievements of the smart-city project. Discuss if the local governance has been
integrated with the Smart City Project.
Refer:
Urbanization: Cities at crossroads- Why cities matter?
http://iasbaba.com/2016/02/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-17th-february-2016/
City infrastructure: With a multifaceted approach we can afford the Housing for All dream
http://iasbaba.com/2015/11/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-28th-november-2015/
Governance, Polity, Rural Development, Local Self Government and related issues
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Background:
It was during the Congress regime (over a decade ago), under the then Panchayati Raj
Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, the new Panchayati Raj Ministry was formed.
In the UPA-I and UPA-II regimes, since the Ministry was well-funded with BRGF and Rajiv
Gandhi PanchayatSashaktikaranAbhiyan schemes, it was able to address district-wise
inequality, pumping money into the panchayats of the backward ones, helping them build
panchayatghars (offices) and training the functionaries in drafting annual plans to increase
their upward mobility.
There were plans to hire junior-level engineers and data entry operators in panchayats to
turn all the panchayats e-governance friendly. But with the budget cuts, everything has
come to a standstill.
The Ministry has recently realigned its mandate from financing panchayats to capacitybuilding and training.
The centre also rolled back the BRGF scheme because it asked state government to
increase their own funding resources to empower Panchayats.
Congress leaders criticized the BJPs intention to turn the ministry into a department, and
alleged that by recent cuts and government unable to utilize huge funds for the promotion of
Panchayats, the NDA is killing the Panchayati Raj institution.
A de-democratising move
Panchayati Raj Ministrytook various initiativesfor strengthening panchayat empowerment.
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One among them was the Index of Devolution This index was prepared by independent
experts and was geared towards rewarding States that over the previous year had made the
most incremental progress towards more effective devolution in terms of the Constitution
and their own State legislation.
Many States that had been slow starters, including Bihar, Tripura, Chhattisgarh, Haryana,
and Rajasthan, found their scores rising and were appropriately recognised.
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Conclusion:
With such a wide constitutional remit, confining panchayati raj to just the Ministry of Rural
Development will be a conceptual infringement, an emasculation of the constitutional role
envisaged for panchayati raj institutions.
What the 73rd amendment sought to do was a radical reorganisation of last-mile delivery
of public goods and services to the panchayats by devolving such powers and authority as
may be necessary to enable them to function as institutions of self-government (Article
243G).
Note, self-government not self-governance: the fundamental mandate was to establish
the panchayati raj system as the third tier of government, not to make these institutions
implementing agencies for State departments or Union Ministries. This was to be achieved
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There have been recent efforts to close down the Panchayati Raj Ministry and turn it into a
department under the Ministry of Rural Development. Can this approach to grass-roots
democracy result in grass-roots development? Critically comment.
Off recently, there are allegations that Panchayati Raj Ministry is on verge of closure.
Discuss the reasons which have made it a bleak and weak Ministry. What efforts can be
taken to rescue the Ministry from dissolution?
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INTERNATIONAL
Bilateral, regional, global groupings and agreement involving India and affecting its
interest
Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on Indias interests,
Indian Diaspora
Countries develop a model BIT to use it as a template to negotiate investment treaties but it
also ends up imposing obligations under international law on host states to protect foreign
investment from the other state. On its own, they have very limited legal value.
U.S. uses it as a foundation for its agreements on
Investor protection
Promote two-way economic partnerships with different countries
Yield clear benefits for both sides be ensuring more certainty when entering others market
without unduly compromising the host states right to regulate
Create a predictable investment climate
Boost bilateral investment flows
Increased employment opportunities
Timeline:
2009 marked the beginning of the discussion of establishing a BIT relationship between India
and the U.S., later to be delayed citing updating of their respective BITs model.
2012: US adopted a BITs model
2015: India adopted its formulated BITs model owing to the various cases related to suing done
by the foreign companies by referring to their respective BITs. (Method of Immunization against
claims by foreign corporations)
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Does not require the exhaustion of local remedies before initiating international arbitration
Empowers private investors to directly bring claims against sovereign action of host states
as treaty breaches at international arbitral forums
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India: Requires foreign investors to litigate in domestic courts for five years before pursuing a
claim under international law (mandatorily)
ISDS provision in BITs: allows foreign investors to directly bring claims against the host state
under international law, without the approval of the investors home state.
The meeting ground
The BIT is definitely a promising next step, but both the countries need to understand that it is
not the ultimate goal and should work together on laying out a more comprehensive vision of
economic cooperation
Objectives:
a) Minimal barriers to trade and investment Maximum trade liberalization- more job
opportunities
b) Capitalization on areas with clear mutual interestBuilding towards a larger goal through a
series of smaller agreements
Way Ahead
Need to work together on negotiating and sorting out the issues in an expeditious
mannerNegotiations should be directed and purposeful
Insisting on higher standards but with increased flexibility Treat the BIT as something that
can be modified at each stage based on each countrys objectives
Utilize Indias expertise in service-delivery
Promote and conduct discussion and a coalition to minimize political opposition
Engage the Indian diaspora community on BIT deliberations
India should initiate domestic policy reforms
Fixing the domestic arbitration ecosystem,
Speeding up judicial proceedings
Easing issuance of business visas to attract and protect foreign investments
What is a BIT? Do you think that an increased investment follows a BIT for sure? Discuss.
Enumerate the factors converging to push a fresh BIT perspective between India and U.S.
Explain how would the U.S. benefit from a BIT with India.
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TOPIC:
Global oil prices have fallen sharply over the past seven months, leading to significant
revenue shortfalls in many energy exporting nations
Brent crude oil had dipped below $50 a barrel for the first time since May 2009 and US
crude was down to below $48 a barrel
The reasons for this change are twofold - weak demand in many countries due to insipid
(dull) economic growth, coupled with surging US (shale) production
A way out for OPEC countries to overcome the problems resulting from falling oil prices
was to have an effective agreement on limiting their oil production or production cap
(which they didnt)
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Oil market supply and demand havent fully stabilized and there are lot of factors than
can, and probably will, rock OPECs boat
The reason for recent rise in oil prices can be attributed to the falling global production
as the number of active-drilling rigs have been in a steady state of decline and oilcompany spending cuts, oil-and-gas sector bankruptcies, and recent outages in Africa
and North America
In other words, due to exogenous factors such as the wildfires in Canada, militant
activity in Nigeria and Venezuelas economic and political crisis
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OPEC member Iran was very clear, then and now, that it will continue to raise its output
to presanction levels before itll even consider such a move.
Other OPEC members too have failed to agree on a production cap as they dont want
to lose their market share.
Especially, Russia and Saudi Arabia could increase output in the next few months to
maintain market share as Iran ramps up its production.
Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting
Indias interests.
Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on Indias interests,
Indian diaspora
The $ 46 billion China-Pakistan economic corridora vision to link western China by road
and rail down to the Gwadar deep water port
Status of a dialogue partner Accorded to Colombo and Kathmandu in the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation by Beijing
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Through Silk Road belt and road vision, it can splurge extensive resources on initiatives
such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
Has emerged as a top exporter of goods to the region, breaking into South Asian markets
with its export-led growth strategy
Financially
Major donor to the AIIB (capital pool of $100 billion), and to the reserve fund of the
New Development Bank (the BRICS bank),
Has created its own Silk Road Fund of $40 billion in capital
Below potential intraregional trade due to high transport costs, protectionist policies, and
political tensions
Broader regional trade expansion also has been affected due to deep enmity between India
& Pakistan
Size:
Islamic identity,
Ever-emerging issues related to the critical geopolitical location,
Close association with the Western military alliances
Their possession of nuclear weapons
Rebuilding Afghanistan has exhausted India off considerable amount of energy and focus. In
fact, the underlying issues are mostly in continuance with issues related to PakistanIndias
strategy towards Pakistan and the battle against violent religious extremism.
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The misses
Bangladesh:
This eighth largest country is also one of the fastest growing economies of the world and is
open to massive investments in the infrastructure sector. Its position can be utilized
strategically as a bridge between South Asia, China and South East Asia.
China in Bangladesh:Around 2005, China overtook India as Bangladeshs top trading
partnerdisplaced many Indian goods in Bangladesh, offering cheaper Chinese products
(especially cotton and other fabrics central to the garment industry) without the visa,
transport, and customs challenges that had limited trade between India and Bangladesh
India has been a major economic partner to Bangladesh since its independence in 1971, and
Bangladesh enjoys duty-free access to Indian market for almost 98 percent of its products
since the end of 2011. India should thus, encash the current peaceful situation (the 2015
Land Boundary Agreement), to address border issues affecting trade in the near future as
well as widening and deepening thetraction for creative and sustainable initiatives.
A 1996 trade agreement between India and Nepal increased bilateral trade volume, which
now accounts for more than half of Nepals total trade
But in 2005, at the peak of Nepals Maoist insurgency, a low point in its relations with India,
Sino-Nepali relations shifted both economically and politically. Chinese goods flooded
Nepali markets as Nepal diversified its imports and lessened its dependence on India.
However, Indias recent announcement of an additional $1 billion to Nepal for postearthquake reconstruction can add a sweet spot in the age-old friendship
China & BhutanIncreased influence of China in Bhutancan lead to China moving further
South to occupy the Doklam plateau and attain strategic leverage and an advantage over
the Chumbi Valley. This, in the long term, could make the Siliguri corridorthe point that
connects mainland India to its North Eastvulnerable.
Sri Lanka:
India signed its first free trade agreement with Sri Lanka and the impact of Indian investments
in projects like housing and railways have continuously benefitted the local population over the
past decade.
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China in SL: Since 2005, Chinese exports to Sri Lanka have quadrupled to close to $4 billion,
coming closer to Indian levels(dramatic gap between Indian and Chinese contributions)
Maldives:is a highly coveted piece of maritime real estate and thus, there exists no doubts that
China is trying to make inroads into the Maldives to fulfil its strategic objectives.Indian
government has rightfully been worried of possible Chinese reclamation in the Maldives
keeping events in the South China Sea in mind. India should take efforts to urgently revitalise
and expand the Trilateral Maritime Security Cooperation as well,given the growing maritime
security challenges in the area and to safe-guard and further consolidate strategic influence in
the extended neighbourhood.
Way Ahead:
A future of cooperation and competition is definitely possible with an overlap in the efforts of
both India and China
India should sail over the challenges posed bythe new geopolitical dynamism by
Reducing the gap between its own perception of being superior and addressing the huge
gap that is being filled by China economically, politically and militarily
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The past mistakes and losses owing to the Partition, the inward economic orientation of
socialist India, and the neglect of connectivity and commerce at and across the frontiers
must be left behind and should be taken up with a fresh perspective (to not only perform
damage control but also rein in various other hidden possibilities)
The nature of intervention in other countries internal affairs need to be double-checked
before coming down to conclusions. Moreover, India should in its neighbourhood strategy
also adopt a balanced outlook towards these disturbances and only after a proper
calculation should take a step ahead with the consent of the major stakeholders.
TOPIC:
General studies 2
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India- Iran:
The joint statement with Iran, titled Civilisational Connect, Contemporary Context,
particularly focussed on sustaining historic cultural ties through interactions among
scholars, authors, artists, filmmakers, the media, and sportspersons.
India-UAE:
UAE has set aside a fund of $75 billion to invest in Indias infrastructure and developmental
needs.
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Joint statement with the UAE speaks of shared threats to peace, stability and security,
and agrees to a shared endeavour to address these concerns, which is founded on
common ideals and convergent interests.
Joint statement with Saudi Arabia talks of the two countries responsibility to promote
peace, security and stability in the region.
Iran joint statement speaks of the strategic importance of regional connectivity linked with
the development of Chabahar port.
India and UAE statement speaks of the need for the two countries to establish a close
strategic partnership for these uncertain times, and calls upon them to work
together to promote peace, reconciliation, stability in the wider South Asia, Gulf and
West Asia region.
India and Saudi joint statement notes the close interlinkage of the stability and
security of the Gulf region and the Indian subcontinent and the need for maintaining a
secure and peaceful environment for the development of the countries of the region.
The joint statement with Iran speaks at length about the threat from terrorism for the
peace, security, stability and development of the region.
It specifically refers to the peace and stability of the region being served by a strong,
united, and prosperous and independent Afghanistan and their agreement to
strengthen trilateral consultations and coordination.
Challenges:
West Asia today is in the throes (intense or violent pain and struggle) of the gravest crisis in its
modern history.
Besides two ongoing wars, there is the scourge of jihad, represented by the transnational
al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
The two Islamic giants, Saudi Arabia and Iran, are locked in a competition in which each
country sees the other as threatening its nationhood, regime, political order, and doctrinal
standing in Islam.
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Saudi Arabia believes that Iran supports terror, interferes in the domestic politics of the
neighbouring Arab states, and is a destabilising force that has regional hegemonic
aspirations.
Iran denies these allegations, arguing that the Saudi monarchy faces serious domestic
economic and political challenges, particularly from its restless youth who chaff against an
order that is on the wrong side of every issue in world affairs constitutionalism, political
participation, human rights, gender and minority sensitivity, and being unable to handle
these challenges, the Kingdom is unfairly made a scapegoat by the Islamic Republic that has
no regional territorial ambitions.
With the deep doctrinal and political divide between them (Iran and Saudi Arabia), the proxy
wars in Syria and Yemen, and the attendant proliferation of jihad, the stage is set for their
differences to escalate into direct conflict.
Responsibilities on India:
India has every reason to be concerned: its energy security and its economic interests
are linked with regional security, as is the welfare of its eight million-strong community.
Indias abiding interests require that it get off the fence and contribute actively to
regional stability by promoting engagement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and
India has to work with regional and extra-regional partners with a similar interest in
regional security, to structure platforms for dialogue and confidence-building measures.
This is a daunting challenge, but India is fully equipped to handle it. Indias growing capabilities
and stronger national branding, in fact, makes it a credible partner. The interplay among these
nations actually offers India new avenues of cooperation. The time has come to live up to this
commitment.
Connecting the dots:
Explain the ongoing conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran in West Asia. What will be
the impact of this conflict on India?
A peaceful West Asia is a necessity for India to maintain its energy security. Critically
examine the above statement with respect to the ongoing conflicts in West Asia.
Related Articles:
West Asia: Saudi Arabias deadly gamble
http://iasbaba.com/2016/01/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-7th-january-2016/
OPEC & the present Global Order
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http://iasbaba.com/2015/12/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-12th-december-2015/
Indias ties with West Asia : An analysis (Part I)
http://iasbaba.com/2015/08/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-18th-august-2015/
The sprouting of the look west policy (Part III)
http://iasbaba.com/2015/08/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-25th-august-2015/
TOPIC:General studies 2
Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons, fissionable material, and weaponsapplicable nuclear technology and information to nations not recognized as "Nuclear
Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as
the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty or NPT.
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The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the NonProliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the
spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the
peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament
and general and complete disarmament
The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) is an informal and voluntary partnership
among 34 countries to prevent the proliferation of missile and unmanned aerial vehicle
technology capable of carrying a 500 kg payload for at least 300 km.
Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a group of nuclear supplier countries that seek to prevent
nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that
can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons.
It is a 48-nation club that governs trade in commercial nuclear technology and was originally
set up in response to Indias first atomic weapons test in 1974.
Australia Group
The Australia Group is an informal group of countries (now joined by the European
Commission) established in 1985 (after the use of chemical weapons by Iraq in 1984) to
help member countries to identify those exports which need to be controlled so as not to
contribute to the spread of chemical and biological weapons.
Wassenaar Arrangement
The Wassenaar Arrangement (not to be confused with the Wassenaar Agreement), (full
name: The Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use
Goods and Technologies) is a multilateral export control regime (MECR) with 41
participating states.
The Wassenaar Arrangement was established to contribute to regional and international
security and stability by promoting transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of
conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, thus preventing destabilizing
accumulations.
Participating States seek, through their national policies, to ensure that transfers of these
items do not contribute to the development or enhancement of military capabilities which
undermine these goals, and are not diverted to support such capabilities.
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India to join first of the four nuclear regimes it is trying to gain entry into.
The members of the Missile Technology Control Regime, a key anti-proliferation grouping,
have agreed to admit India.
None of the 34-nation group objected to Indias admission.
Indias entry into the MTCR comes days after India announced that it is subscribing to the
Hague Code of Conduct against ballistic missile proliferation, which is considered to be
complementary to the MTCR.
The MTCR is one of four international non-proliferation regimes that India which in
recent decades has gone from being a non-aligned outsider to a rising nuclear-weapons
power has been excluded from.
In general, MTCR is a missile control group, which was set up in 1987 to limit the spread of
unmanned systems capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction.
Membership of the MTCR would require India to comply with rules such as a maximum
missile range of 300 km (186 miles) that seek to prevent arms races from developing.
Admission to the MTCR would open the way for India to buy high-end missile technology,
also making more realistic its aspiration to buy state-of-the-art surveillance drones such as
the US Predator, made by General Atomics.
It would allow India to become a significant arms exporter for the first time. (helps India to
export its supersonic cruise missile, the Brahmos, which is built through joint venture with
Russia)
India is also hopeful of building on the MTCR entry with membership to the Nuclear
Suppliers Group.
India wants to be part of the rule-making groups rather than being out of them and on the
sidelines.Indias entry into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) will open the
gateways for Indias membership in other nuclear regimes as well.
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Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a 48-nation club that governs trade in commercial nuclear
technology and was originally set up in response to Indias first atomic weapons test in
1974.
Joining the NSG will be much more difficult because China is a member and has backed the
membership aspirations of Pakistan, its ally and Indias arch-rival.
Beijing has cited Indias refusal to sign The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons (NPT) as a reason to oppose Indias membership of the NSG.
However, NPT is no prerequisite to apply for NSG membership.
India has taken a number of steps to align its export regulations with what these regimes
specify.
It has now cracked MTCR and already fulfils all the criteria for NSG.
India has also made significant progress in harmonising its Special Chemicals, Organisms,
Materials, Equipment and Technology (SCOMET) export list with the control lists of the
Australia Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement.
India has also committed to adhering to future NSG guidelines despite not being a member.
It is a proponent for finalizing a verifiable and non-discriminatory Fissile Material Cut-off
Treaty.
In addition, India has been a consistent votary of non-discriminatory disarmament efforts
one of the three pillars of non-proliferation regimes, along with civil nuclear cooperation
and non-proliferation itself.
However, India with the breakthrough on the MTCR, improved its chances of ending its nuclear
pariah status and joining the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
Now all eyes are on Indias pitch to join the NSG, preliminary discussions for which will begin
next week in Vienna.
Connecting the dots:
India wants to be part of the rule-making groups rather than being out of them and on the
sidelines. Examine the statement keeping in view the steps and efforts taken by India to
gain entry into the missile treaty club.
Indias entry into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) will open the gateways for
Indias membership in other nuclear regimes as well. Substantiate.
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TOPIC:General studies 2
NSG is a body of 48 nuclear supplier countries established to prevent the civilian nuclear
trade from being used for military purposes.
It seeks to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials,
equipment, technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons.
It was formed in reaction to Indias nuclear technology demonstration test in 1974. And
to prevent Indian advance towards nuclear weapons (to avoid diversion of nuke
material exported from US and Canada to build nuclear warheads)
India successfully tested the Nuclear bomb (Smiling Buddha) on 18 th May 1974. The bomb was
detonated on army base in Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan.
It was the first confirmed nuclear weapon test by a nation outside the five permanent members
of UNSC.
The plutonium used in the test was created in the CIRUS reactor supplied by Canada and using
Heavy water supplied by United States.
Why India wants to Join NSG?
It gives access to the state of art technology that the countries within NSG possess.
There is a pressing need to scale up nuclear power production in India. At present we
can buy power plants from global market (NSG wavier in 2008) but, there are several
technologies India can be denied as it is outside the NSG.
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With access to latest technology, India can commercialize the production of nuclear
power equipment. This, in turn will boost innovation and high tech manufacturing in
India and can be leveraged for economic and strategic benefits.
Should India get access to advanced nuclear technologies, it can start building updated
versions of its own fast breeder reactor and sell it to countries such as Sri Lanka or
Bangladesh. Bangladesh is currently looking at buying Russian reactors for power
generation.
Having the ability to offer its own nuclear power plants to the world means spawning of
an entire nuclear industry and related technology development. This could give the
Make in India programme a big boost.
We have an unstable and unpredictable neighbour. Signing NPT and CTBT to gain access
to all the technologies would put curbs on any further nuclear tests. Hence NSG
membership is significant here.
China and Pakistan factor China is the main roadblock towards Indian ambition to join NSG.
Should India get membership to the NSG, it can block Pakistan from its membership as
entry into the grouping is by consensus only.
This is one of the reasons why China is pushing to include Pakistan as well as pointing
out that India as a non-signatory to the NPT cannot be a member. It comes down to a
power gamekeep India out and deny it access to various technologies.
Indias contention is that its nuclear technologies are indigenously developed and it has
a clean non-proliferation record unlike Pakistan and China.
Arguments against the inclusion of India to NSG
There are standards on nuclear proliferation to which other nuclear weapons states
adhere and to which India doesnt.
United States has sought to bend the rules for Indias nuclear program to maintain
Indias cooperation on trade and to counter Chinas growing influence. In 2008,
President George W. Bush signed a civilian nuclear deal with India that allowed it to
trade in nuclear materials. This has encouraged Pakistan to keep expanding a nuclear
weapons program.
Membership would enhance Indias standing as a nuclear weapons state, but it is not
merited until the country meets the groups standards.
India would be in a position to keep Pakistan, which has also applied for membership,
from gaining membership because group decisions must be unanimous. That could give
Pakistan, which at one time provided nuclear technology to North Korea and Iran, new
incentives to misbehave.
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Counter Arguments
India, despite being outside the NPT, is strictly adhered to the guidelines of NPT. China
secretly sold nuclear weapons technology to Pakistan last year (violation of article 1 of
NPT). Even if the US and Russia have cut the size of their arsenals retaining enough to
destroy each other and the world China, France and Britain have shown no inclination
to pursue negotiations on disarmament (clear violation of Article 4 of NPT)
Pakistans nuclear weapons programme is expanding, but it has nothing to do with the
civilian nuclear deal India signed. A crucial part of that deal was a separation plan that
India implemented in which it agreed to place several of its indigenous power reactors
under international safeguards thus surrendering the ability to use those reactors to
produce fissile material for weapons.
India aligned its export regulations with those of the NSG, it has also committed itself to
implementing any new guidelines the group may adopt even if this means hurting
Indias commercial interests. The irony is that the NSG today has members, notably
China, that do not meet the groups standards.
Before Pakistan aspires to membership of the NSG, shouldnt it be encouraged to first
sign on to the responsibilities and practices
Challenges ahead
Despite the huge advantages India may gain by joining NSG, there are some other issues which
need to be look into otherwise it may likely put India in an uncomfortable position.
NSG membership will not immediately open up nuclear trade as India has already
pledged not to transfer nuclear know-how to other countries.
If we attempt to dilute the guidelines to liberalize the supply, it will be resisted by other
members.
Membership of NSG will only mean greater pressure on us to sign NPT and CTBT and
commit in advance to a fissile material cut off treaty, which would impose restrictions
on existing stockpiles of the fissile material.
Background
2008 Civil nuclear deal with US:
Paved way for Indias application as a member of NSG.
NSG issued an India specific waiver allowing it to engage in nuclear trade.
India has since signed civilian nuclear cooperation agreements with the U.S., U.K.,
France, Canada, Argentina, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Namibia, and South Korea.
The U.S., U.K., France and Russia are in favour of including India in the NSG
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Indias commitment to separate its civilian and military nuclear programmes and its
non-proliferation recordie ensuring that its indigenously developed technology is not
shared with other countriesis what works in its favour.
India has also ratified an Additional Protocol with the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) which means that its civilian reactors are under IAEA safeguards and open
for inspectionsie ensures increased transparency.
TOPIC:
General studies 2
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic, and military
organisation.
It was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia,
Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
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*On July 10, 2015, the SCO decided to admit India and Pakistan as full members, and they are
expected to join by 2016.
Since its formation in 2001, the SCO has slowly begun to establish itself as an important
forum for the Eurasian region.
With China and Russia and most Central Asian states as members, there is an obvious
strategic dimension to the SCO.
This organization has been evolving as an important forum to discuss and address the
common security challenges of terrorism and extremism faced by the region.
India has been an observer member of the group for a decade and it will become a full
member by 2016. (Along with India, Pakistan will also become a member of the forum.)
India and Pakistans entry will expand the membership of the SCO from the current six
China, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to eight.
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It will also draw South Asia into the SCO geography, which, till now, has been confined to
Central and East Asia.
will increase the countrys engagement and energy interests in the region
will improve connectivity, fight terrorism, increase energy cooperation and take measures
to check drug trafficking
SCO also brings big energy producers, like Russia and Kazakhstan, and big energy
consumers, like India and China, on one platform
SCO has the potential to play a strategically important role in Asia given its geographical
significance
India sees role of the SCO in the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan.
Indias inclusion in the SCO makes it more balanced regional organization as the Central
Asian republics perceive India as a soft balancer.
In other words, one of the key reasons behind the SCOs stunted growth in regional
economic and strategic matters is the complicated dynamics between China and Russia.
Neither has been willing to concede each other greater turf. Indias entry in the forum at
this point in time would be visualised as a balancing factor for both.
If SCO is able to draw in India and also some countries from the Middle East, particularly
those bordering Iran, it would cover a huge land mass in the world and would be among
regional associations with the largest populations and energy and mineral resources.
The presence of Pakistan and India in the SCO provide its members the much-desired
access to the Arabian Sea that leads to the Indian Ocean.
India and Central Asia security cooperation may increase with New Delhis full membership
to the SCO.
SCO being a forum of the worlds noted non-Anglo-Saxon Asian powers and a reservoir of
abundant energy resources, the SCO has not been able to develop a constructive economic
agenda.
This lack of an economic agenda has limited the scope of Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation.
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Energy cooperation, which Russian President Vladimir Putin had flagged in 2006 as one of
the key goals of the SCO, has remained dormant.
Rather, most energy cooperation between the SCO members has been happening
bilaterally.
Beyond energy, China had proposed a SCO development bank in 2010, which has also
remained a non-starter.
Meanwhile, Chinas interests have shifted to other regional initiatives like the New
Development Bank of the BRICS and the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank.
One of the key reasons behind the SCOs stunted growth in regional economic and strategic
matters is the complicated dynamics between China and Russia. Neither has been willing
to concede each other greater turf.
In 2013, the SCO members signed an MoU on the creation of SCO Energy Club. The idea of
forming an energy club was first proposed in 2004, although SCO members had different
views on it. It is still struggling to start this common energy space.
The long-term economic prospects of the SCO would, however, depend on its connection
to the One-Belt-One-Road (OBOR) infrastructure connectivity plan proposed by China for
connecting Asia and Europe through land and sea.
Indias concerns:
Case I: India-Pakistan Cold War
India has some concerns over how the forum might react to its delicate relations with
Pakistan. But this is unlikely to grow into a major concern as the rest of the members,
particularly the Central Asian countries, are likely to maintain considerable distance from
the Indo-Pak bilateral domain.
China would be aiming to utilise the SCO as an important organisation for drumming up
regional support for the OBOR. In this respect, India, which till now has refrained from
committing to the OBOR, might find itself on relatively weak ground.
China is already working on connecting its western region to Central Asia through projects
that are exclusive of the SCO. Its long-term objective would be to dovetail these projects
into the OBOR network. (similar to the plans it has for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
(CPEC) and the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) projects)
An important prerogative for India at the SCO would be to fix a strategy for the OBOR.
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Having a totally non-committal attitude to the OBOR is not the right way to approach an
initiative that is slowing spreading deep and wide across Asia and is becoming bigger than
all other ongoing regional connectivity plans.
Much of what India might gain from the SCO will depend on its own calculations of the
OBOR.
It is crucial, that New Delhi takes a constructive and long-sighted view of the opportunities
the SCO provides for integration of South and Central Asia.
Addition of India and Pakistan into SCO would not only change the political map, but would
change the balance of power. Substantiate.
What are the benefits that India accrues upon its full membership to SCO? Also discuss the
challenges faced by the country upon such membership.
SCO as an economic, political, and military organisation has remained dormant and stunted.
Do you agree? Discuss the challenges faced by it.
TOPIC
General studies 2:
Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting
Indias interests.
Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on Indias interests,
Indian diaspora.
Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate
Lets get to know the UNSC
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United
Nations; created following World War II to address the failings of another international
organization, the League of Nations, in maintaining world peace.
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Responsibilities:
Powers:
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Five permanent members: The U.K., the U.S., Russia, China, and Francecan veto any
substantive Security Council resolution, including those on the admission of new member
states or candidates for Secretary-General
10 non-permanent members: Elected on a regional basis to serve two-year terms
India:
One of the biggest diplomatic challenges is to secure a permanent seat on the UN Security
Council, even though
Historically
India then still under British rule was among the 51 original members of the UN when
the organisation was formed in 1945.
1948: First tryst with the UNSC occurred over Kashmir, following an invasion by tribal forces
backed by the Pakistani military. Pt. Nehru referred the matter to the UNSC, but was
disappointed, particularly by the western powers, which treated the matter more as a
dispute between two states rather than the invasion of ones territory by the other
Cold War Years: Following the war, India played an active role in the repatriation of
prisoners-of-war and refugees, consolidating its reputation as a champion of peaceful
conflict resolution in the UN, variously contributing troops, senior officials, military
observers and humanitarian assistance to a diverse set of UN operations in west Asia, Africa
and Asia.
Post 1991:
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1998: India shook the global stage with a series of nuclear tests. International reaction was
sharply negative but short-lived instead of opprobrium, India earned recognition from the
great powers for its emerging status as a rising power to be reckoned with
(Mohan 2003) but the recognition was buoyed by the rapid economic growth that post1991 economic reforms had generated
Responsible leadership witnessed (2011-12): India counselled restraint on the question of
military intervention, emphasising the importance of undertaking well-planned and
adequately resourced UN missions, it upheld its role as a guardian of the UN Charter and its
goals. Also, the Indian mission to the UN highlightedthe need for concerted UN action
on Global terrorism and piracy, two key threats to Indias security and commercial
interests.
Primary causes of Indias mixed record can be traced back to three factors
Unavailability of resources:
MEA needs to expand (India needs more and better-supported personnel to meet its
international aspirations)
The software of Indias foreign policy, that is, the intellectual and institutional
infrastructure required to engage productively in international affairs, is woefully
inadequate. (Not a single Indian think tank features among one ranking of the worlds
top 30 think tanks)
Insufficient engagement with varying normative perspectives on UNSC issues Inability to
come up with a clear and compelling narrative on why it was taking the stances that it did
and what were the underlying considerations behind its responses to various issues
(tendency to focus on the merits of each case without any heed to broader global patterns,
underlying normative contestation, or the intellectual currents in other capitals of the
world)
An over-reliance on entitlement as the foundation of Indias claims to a permanent seat
IASbabas Views:
The United Nations is often at odds with contemporary reality, because it has not, at its
core, shifted from the international power structure of 1945 and thus, it is imperative to
undertake further expansion of this body to reflect the current global dynamics and to give
equitable representation to different geographical regions in the world. Global peace and
security architecture cannot continue to remain based on the supremacy of those allied
powers. (http://iasbaba.com/2015/09/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-14th-september2015/)
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Indias Strategy
India should considerably contribute greater resources, to middle and smaller powers in
the UN (Middle East)
MEA needs to engage in a wider public dialogue on what Indias positions should be on
key aspects of international issues today, including sovereignty, intervention and the
use of force, both domestically and internationally (esp. when India is faced with major
internal and regional security challenges)
India should engage in coalition building with other rising powers as investing in
relationships could bolster its international profileincreasing its influence and
footprint within the international system
Recent visit of PM Modi to Washington D.C. resulted in signing of joint statement between
India and US.
However, as India consolidates the strategic partnership with the United States, there is a
huge claim that it tilts India towards the U.S.
Critics and doubters have questioned about the cost of becoming real friends with America.
Paradox situation: Critics argue that On one hand the joint statement may set out to
advance substantive engagement with the U.S. (which is good) but on the other hand this new
tilt may constrain Indias ability to conduct its diplomacy with other major powers like China
and Russia (which is a concern)
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All major actions in the world of foreign policy, as elsewhere, have consequences; some
intended and other unintended.
Some would use that fact to avoid any diplomatic action (adopting a do-nothing
strategy). Some tend to neglect the impact of ones actions and are surprised by the
responses of others (adopting a more decisively tilting strategy).
We have witnessed the do-nothing approach which the decade-long UPA rule adopted,
which had resulted in poor diplomatic action and paralysed the UPA government including
the potential loss of support from key political constituencies at home and the muchvaunted strategic autonomy abroad.
The costs of do-nothing strategy are significant, as there were no significant trade
agreements between India and USA nor India and Pakistan attained any good partnership.
At the same time, India has experienced the dangers of moving decisively without
anticipating the reactions or consequences. Delhi failed to anticipate the reactions of
Pakistan, China and the West to a series of moves that Prime Minister Indira Gandhi made
during 1971-75.
Those bold moves which included an alliance with the Soviet Union, breaking up Pakistan
by liberating Bangladesh, conducting the first nuclear test, and integrating Sikkim into the
Indian Union resulted in some merits but the consequences was more severe.
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similar effort will also be needed with our neighbours. In other words, India should broaden
relations with all the major powers and deepen its engagement with neighbours.
Delhi must now broaden its diplomatic activism to reduce the potential costs and maximise
benefits.
Connecting the dots:
Critics argue that the new symphony in India-U.S. ties will limit New Delhis engagement
with other world powers or emerging economies and acts as a threat to strategic
autonomy. Do you agree? Substantiate your view.
After India and the Soviet Union signed the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in August
1971, the then Indian foreign minister had to fly to US to sign an identical treaty with the US
government.
But, the US government complained about how the treaty made Indias policy of nonalignment look like a sham (sham - a thing that is not what it is purported to be)
Now, a remarkably similar incident can be seen in PM Modis own task in recent months,
however in reverse order.
I.e. PM Modis recent visit to US, finalized the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of
Agreement (LEMOA) on defence and India declared the U.S.s major defence partner.
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Next, Mr. Modi must fly to Tashkent to finalise documents for Indias accession to the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a political, economic and military alliance
spearheaded by Russia and China.
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The 2001 declaration on the establishment of the SCO clearly states that its aim is jointly
preserving and safeguarding regional peace, security and stability; and establishing a
democratic, fair and rational new international political and economic order.
Analysts have always believed that the reference to the new order juxtaposes the
Eurasian SCO as a counterpoint to the transatlantic North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. It
was further spelt out vividly at the Astana SCO summit declaration in 2005, a summit in
which India, Pakistan and Iran were admitted as observer countries.
At Astana the members formulated joint mechanisms for regional security, joint planning
and conduct of anti-terror activities, and jointly contributing to security issues on land, at
sea, in air space and in outer space.
The SCO also has a formulation on Asia Pacific, with members making a declaration
against fault lines appearing both in the Asia Pacific region and in its separate constituent
parts.
Indias clear adherence to the terms spelt out above (in both the western and eastern
alliances) would be absurd, as they could conceivably see the Indian Navy in joint patrol
with the U.S. and its allies, challenging China in the South China Sea, even as it cooperates
with China and Russia to counter U.S.-backed forces across the fault lines.
Equally strange is the possible vision of the future this brings: one of India discussing
nuclear safety and non-proliferation on an equal footing with known proliferator Pakistan at
the NSG, and also sharing counter-terror operations with it as part of the SCOs Regional
Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS).
Conclusion:
In this scenario, NAM, with its inherent confusion and often lip service-only commitment
to neutrality, is not desirable.
The next host of the NAM summit, Venezuela, has not been able to declare a date for the
summit. This gives the Modi government some time to consider their position. India boasts
itself of being the leader of NAM and non-alignment as Indias heritage.
Given the stormy waters and multiple criss-crossing alignments India now envisions, NAM
may be a safer shore for Indias future as well. It is vital that the Modi government clearly
defines the NAM policy and its position in the upcoming NAM summit.
Indias NAM policy is often criticized, by both of its western and eastern alliances, as
confusing and a mere lip service-only commitment to neutrality. Critically comment.
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Is Non-Alignment Policy still relevant for India in the present changing global context and
conditions? Elucidate on your view.
India and Bangladesh are not just neighbours. They are two nations bound by the
threads of history, religion, culture, language and kinship
Period between 2001 2006 is regarded as one of the worst periods in India-Bangladesh
relations
Only minor protocols or agreements were signed during that time
The period also saw a surge in insurgency activities in the Northeast with the United
Liberation Front of Asom and the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland, among other
outfits, crossing the border for training
However, from 2009 onwards, as cross-border issues were addressed, bilateral
relationship improved and progress was made in some key areas
Raised hopes for the settlement of old issues between the countries
Increased economic and strategic ties (22 agreements were signed, including the
historic ratification of the Land Boundary Agreement)
Cross-border trade increased to new levels
Bangladesh imported products worth $5.82 billion from India in the last fiscal year.
India also exports goods estimated more than $5 billion through informal channels,
making the volume of official and non-official trade approximately the same.
Informal trade is mostly due to corruption and inadequate border infrastructure.
Concern: However, Bangladeshs exports to India were only at $527 million with almost
20 per cent being ready-made garments. Other items include jute products, agro
processed and non-processed foods, and light engineering products.
India-Bangladesh Issues:
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India has surplus cows (three times more than what is needed to produce the volume of
milk consumed nationally), since eating beef is a religious stigma in many places
These surplus cows are mostly donated to temples where they are tied to fences, die
from dehydration and the remains sold to leather merchants.
However, exporting such cows to Bangladesh, which tantamount to making gains from
sunk capital, is still prohibited, leading to cattle smuggling.
3. Border killing
Border killing of Bangladeshis by the Indian Border Security Force is a continued concern.
From 2010-2015, at least 236 Bangladeshis have been killed by BSF personnel.
The above figure is very worse when compared to that, killings along the U.S.-Mexico
border by U.S. Border Patrol since 2010 been only 48 where drugs worth billions are
smuggled across the border
Cattle, even if smuggled, cant be worse than drugs, and shooting the offenders is not
the right solution when there are options for imprisonment, fines, and confiscation.
There have been incidents of BSF killing those who were allegedly smuggling illegal
goods.
Similarly, the latest decision by the Indian Home Minister to completely seal off border
with Assam by June 2017 is inconsistent with healthy neighbourly relations.
4. Power
Government-to-government power trade is 1,300 MW from India to Bangladesh.
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Indias state-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is building the Rampal coal-fired
power plant in Bangladesh despite environmental concerns that the Sundarbans is situated
only 14 km away from the proposed site.
In the private sector, Reliance Power has won approval to set up a 750 MW LNG-based
power plant and an LNG terminal in Bangladesh, paving the way for $1.3 billion investment,
and Adani Group is set to sell 3,000 MW power to Bangladesh.
5. Connectivity
On connectivity, the focus has been on road, rail, rivers, sea, transmission lines, petroleum
pipelines, and digital links that would give Delhi access to the Northeast and to Southeast Asia
through Bangladesh.
While progress has been made since Mr. Modis visit, greater issues are still at bay. The
time is ripe to build on the successes and resolve the remaining issues.
As the pragmatic new-generation Bangladeshis have shed the anti-India mindset of the
1970s, the challenge for India is to keep up the momentum and not to be perceived as
being tied to any particular party or ideology but only to the people of Bangladesh.
Both the Nations should work together to harness the rich potential of relationship.
Recent trends in India and Bangladesh relations have witnessed increased economic and
strategic ties. However, there are many unresolved issues between the two nations.
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Critically examine both the statement and suggest suitable strategies to resolve the issues
diplomatically.
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Immediate reactions can be seen in markets which swiftly reacted. British Pound lost 9% of
its value and reached its 30 Year low reflects market worries about more severe
consequences in the months ahead. And it is expected to fall by around 20% in future.
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UK could have a more rational immigration system outside the EU, since Immigration was
one of the most important issue (an emotional one too) Which affects foreign nationals
visiting UK (students, employees, tourists, visitors etc).
Effects on India
Some facts regarding India - UK
Currently about 800 Indian owned companies are operating in UK (more than all
combined together in EU) and generate 1 million jobs. (Jaguar, BhartiAirtel, HCL
technologies, TATA, Pharmaceutical industries etc).
UK has been an entry point for Indian business to the rest of the world.
In the 2016 financial year, India-UK bilateral trade was worth $ 14.02 billion.
India exported goods and services worth $ 8.83 billion while imports from the UK were
at $ 5.19 billion. IT, Health care, food and agriculture technologies are the key sectors.
UK is 3rd largest source of FDI to India.
One of the key concerns is the three million strong diaspora of Indian origin.
The other one being the interests of a large moving population of Indians who come to
Britain ever year as tourists, business people, professionals, students, spouses, parents
and relatives.
Positives form Brexit
Some argue that EU is the biggest obstacle to India-UK trade. Hence many believe that it
would boost trade.
Weakening of Pound will give some advantage for Indian imports. Weaker pound will also
benefit Indian tourists and students (however it is an advantage to other countries too,
once the new immigration policies are framed, Indians will have an edge over others owing
to intellectual traits talented and English speaking population of India).
At last India could escape from some of the rigorous regulations of EU which hampered
trade in the past (For ex: Mango ban).
But whatever the advantages accrue to other nations including India, it will be at the cost of
Britain Economy which the Brits wouldnt let it happen for long time.
Negatives from Brexit
If it change the rules of doing business, Visa norms or of access to higher education, it will
create new barriers for work visas or the visitation rights of relatives who have families
here.
Falling sterling value have chain effects (But nothing can be predicted exactly. And these are
likely to be short term effects).
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Since India has sufficient forex reserves, it is in a good position to withstand any short term
shocks.
However some of the negative effects may include, weakening of rupee, increased fuel
prices and gold prices etc which are already showing up.
It may also effect IT sector, Indian exporters in UK, Indian Companies listed in London stock
exchange etc.
Important functions like policing and land are under the control of central govt.
There are frequent clashes between CM and governor over the appointments.
Delhi is one of the prosperous and educated regions and it is a sign of mature democracy that it
allows its people to decide on contentious issues.
India's own history of supporting a referendum in Sikkim in 1975 on the question of its inclusion
in the Indian Union and abolishing the monarchy provides us with precedence and a model for
allowing a referendum in Delhi.
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However, even though SAARC is redundant, India should avoid opting out of it entirely. Staying
in is important to keep China out. But we should let SAARC wither on the vine. Sexit should
happen in spirit, not literally.
Connecting the dots
What are the possible consequences of BREXIT on India? Analyse.
Creation of supra national trade bodies cannot work when the political and economic
interests of member countries are in conflict. Comment.
India and its neighborhood relations India and Sri Lanka Concerns.
Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or
affecting Indias interests.
Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on Indias
interests, Indian diaspora.
The issue of poaching by Indian trawlers in Sri Lankan waters has over the years become
an increasingly contentious one, seriously threatening the livelihood of Sri Lankas
fishing community.
Other problems such as frequent arrests of fishermen of both countries and seizures of
their fishing vessels by the Sri Lankan and Indian authorities in the common sea area
between the two countries are not new.
The problem has been festering with political ramifications, particularly in Tamil Nadu
for a number of years.
The Background:
The situation with regard to fishing has gradually turned out to be adverse for Tamil fishermen
from Sri Lankas northern province after the end of the Fourth Eelam War in 2009.
During the Eelam War, active patrolling by the Sri Lankan Navy and by the Indian Navy and
Coast Guard to interdict the movement of LTTE cadres also prevented Indian fishermen from
Tamilnadu, and also to an extent from Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry, from undertaking
fishing across the median line international boundary in the Palk Bay which had been firmed up
by mutual agreement between India and Sri Lanka in 1974.
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But the fact of the matter is that post that conflict, Indian fishermen have extended their
fishing activities to Sri Lankan territorial waters. This is owing to the gradual depletion of
fishing resources in the Indian continental shelf, the relatively greater availability of fish on the
Sri Lankan side, and the Sri Lankan fishermen from the northern province not being in a
position to exploit the marine resources.
Moreover, Sri Lankan fishermen did not have the means, for example, advanced fishing
implements like gill nets, modern trawlers, etc.
Indian fishermen have also been resorting to bottom trawling (banned as per international
fishing regime), which is destructive of the layout of the sea-floor, and the natural habitat for
fish breeding. In other words, opportunities induced Indian fishermen to venture into the sea
domain of their Sri Lankan counterparts.
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The big contentious issue: Use of trawlers by Indians in Sri Lankan waters
Impacts:
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Sri Lankan fishermen are often forced to stay ashore for fear that these trawlers will
damage their nets, their primary asset for livelihood
There have even been incidents of fishermen suffering physical injuries while attempting to
save their nets from being damaged by Indian trawlers
adversely impacts marine ecosystem
At least 200,000 people in the Northern Province are dependent on the fisheries sector.
Most of them are still struggling to rebuild their lives after a brutal civil war.
Many of them were displaced, lost members of their family, and lost their homes during the
bitter conflict.
It is only now that they have a chance to get back to the sea. But their small boats cannot
take on the massive, mechanised Indian trawlers.
Why the issue of fishermen between India and Sri Lanka has not been resolved yet?
Sri Lanka has the sovereign right to take action against any act of trespass into territory that
comes under its jurisdiction. The problem with this approach, however, is that it is at best a
short-term one.
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The vessels are only detained temporarily. And despite the risk of arrest, fishermen are
willing to take the risk of returning in these vessels, particularly because they are desperate
for a reasonable catch which they do not find in Indian waters anymore consequent to
relentless bottom trawling. Also, fishermen who are apprehended are in several cases
released following political negotiations.
A more effective step would be to confiscate the vessels in which fishermen trespass into
Sri Lankan waters. (Authorities are in fact empowered to do so, and lately they have
resorted to this action. This provision must be regularly enforced)
Indian Navy or Coast Guard should join the Sri Lankan Navy in jointly patrolling the
international boundary to prevent trespassing.
According to the current law in terms of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act 2 of 1996,
bottom trawling can be carried out by both Sri Lankan nationals as well as non-nationals
who obtain a licence from the Department of Fisheries.
Instead, bottom trawling should be made an offence through an effective law. Therefore,
as far as poaching is concerned, banning the practice of bottom trawling will greatly reduce
the incentive to trespass into Sri Lankan waters.
Both Sri Lanka and India must also take effective steps for the conversion of fishing with
trawlers to deep sea fishing.
In order for a ban on bottom trawling to succeed, alternatives must be available to protect
the livelihoods of fishermen presently engaged in bottom trawling. Additionally, interim
steps must also be taken to minimise the serious damage being caused by trawling.
Such a ban will act as a confidence building measure and will encourage speedy resolution
of this issue.
It is time the governments of both India and Sri Lanka moved beyond political rhetoric and
tough talk and took effective and sustainable steps to resolve this issue.
Connecting the dots:
Why the issue of fishermen between India and Sri Lanka has not been resolved yet? What
steps should the Indian Government take to overcome the problems faced by the Indian
fishermen?
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ECONOMICS
TOPIC:
General studies 2:
General studies 3:
India's biggest challenge remains having a young population that is unemployable due
to lack of skills. As much as 50 per cent of the population is below 27 years and 700
million in this age group will constitute part of the national population in 2020.
Therefore, before India's huge youth population goes into a crisis, Skill development
should be a major focus area.
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Globally, young people are, therefore, more likely to be either unemployed or employed
on more precarious contracts and in the informal sector.
India is envisaged as the worlds human resource capital - the country should ready
itself to replace the diminishing workforce in other countries.
This means we must ready our human resources to cater to the global market and that
necessarily entails a greater stress on the quality of training imparted.
While India is experiencing a 'demographic dividend' due to the youth bulge, many
young people struggle to acquire the right skills demanded by employers to successfully
navigate the transition from school to work.
Moreover, with the dependency ratio expected to rise from 2025, India faces a pressing
challenge to increase education and skill levels amongst its population to take
advantage of this unique moment in its history.
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The government has estimated an incremental requirement of 110 million additional skilled
personnel across 24 sectors. That means that the task at hand cannot be taken lightly as a
routine work in progress.
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However, most of the programmes have been moving along at a slow pace and it requires a
substantial amount of tweaking to actively push towards the goals.
There have been growing allegations regarding the quality of skills provided by these
programmes. If we want our youth to compete with the best in the world then capacity
building needs to be taken to a higher and more effective plane.
The programmes and schemes have failed to effectively engage rural youth. Even in urban
slums, awareness about the programmes are limited and the youth still seem to be looking
around for skilling opportunities.
One of the major concerns has been the high drop-out rate among trained candidates
which is close to 70 per cent, as candidates from the hinterland tend to return home,
intimidated by urban culture and expectations.
Under the Common Norms, programme implementing agencies (PIAs) are now offered
an incentive up to Rs. 3,000 per candidate if he or she retains a job for over 12 months
and Rs. 5,000 per candidate for progression to a salary of Rs. 15,000 per month. Onethird of the incentive paid to the PIA goes to the candidate in addition to his or her
salary.
To help candidates retain jobs, the PIAs seem to have formulated their own methods.
They persuade companies to hire in batches from the same training centre to cut costs
and increase support and safety of candidates.
Skilled migrants are also helped with accommodation and encouraged to live together
to enhance the sense of camaraderie.
DeenDayalUpadhyayaGrameenKaushalyaYojana (DDU-GKY):
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However, there are still questions being asked about the quality of some of the training being
imparted. To make its mark, the programme needs to not only scale up but adhere to
international benchmarks and build a better skilling reputation.
Connecting the dots:
India is envisaged as worlds human resource capital. The country should ready itself
to replace the diminishing workforce in other countries. Critically examine.
Why Skill development should be the primary focus of the Indian Government? Discuss
some of the recent government programmes and initiatives to achieve the same?
Essay - Skills Development for Youth in India: Challenges and Opportunities
TOPIC:
General studies 2:
Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues
arising out of their design and implementation
General studies 3:
Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth,
development and employment
Public Sector Enterprises
The Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) have been a strategic lever for Indian
economic development in both pre-independence and post-independence era.
With the opening of the economy and changes in the market dynamics, with private sector
playing a greater role in shaping the industrial landscape it has been a key imperative for
the government to initiate structural changes in the CPSEs in terms of organization,
financials and operations in order to narrate a turnaround story.
However, even post certain reforms, many CPSEs are still facing several issues such as
financial autonomy, bureaucracy, corruption, risk aversion, ineffective governance, political
interference, inability to recruit the right talent, and corruption.
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In this article we would draw your attention towards the financial aspect of these CPSEs
Challenges Faced:
While CPSEs have started witnessing considerable rebound and are poised for growth, there are
still some roadblocks (w.r.t the financial aspect) which may restrict their full throttle growth,
some of these include:
1. Lack of proper governance structure often inhibits the transparency and free functioning of
these enterprises
2. Lack of financial autonomy leads to them not being able to enjoy financial independence
unlike their private counterparts which often lead to delays in decision making
3. Lack of a robust ecosystem as the PSUs face difficulties in attracting private investments
4. Political interference leads to a clash between agenda of political parties and objectives of
CPSEs which may impair their growth and autonomy
5. Lack of proper governance, transparency, etc. may translate into bureaucratic and corrupt
environment within some CPSEs, leading to a tarnished image of the entire set of CPSEs.
Comprehensive guidelines on crucial areas of capital restructuring to spur economic growth
by the Govt. (addressing resource management issues of PSUs)
Impose rigid financial formulae to ensure frequent dividend payouts, share buybacks, bonus
issues and stock splits
Profit-making PSUs: Required to part with at least 30 per cent of their net profits or 5 per
cent of net worth (whichever is higher) as annual dividends
Firms with a net worth of Rs. 2,000 crore and cash balances of Rs. 1,000 crore: Should
initiate share buybacks
Consider bonus issues if their reserves top ten times equity capital and stock splits, if their
market price/book value exceeds 50 times face value
Indian government has always been the promoter of PSUs and have looked out for them, but
with both global and perspective changes, they should adopt a proper manner for the
required corrections
The one-size-fits-all criteria:
Requiring minimum pay outs from PSUs irrespective of their own investment needs are
regressive
Private sector firms vary with their dividend/buyback, and their policies are based on
business conditions and ROI (return on investment) on new projects
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There is a need to grant the same treatment to PSUs as well. Also, return on equity benchmarks
for PSUs are better than mandated dividends and bonuses based on rigid formulae.
Over-confidence w.r.t. minor adjustments:
Stock markets take a favourable view of a bonus issue if a firm is able to sustain its per share
earnings on the expanded equity. Thus, putting ones stakes high on mandatory bonuses or
stock splits (mere book adjustments) to deliver the required sustainable boost to shareholder
returns, is a myth.
Tightened Screws:
The Centre has, without much deliberations, have always adopted the top-down approach with
respect to the PSUs, irrespective of their demands and commercial interests. This just exclaims
the lack of autonomy that the PSU faces. Moreover, the high focus on profit-making PSUs
should be balanced out by extending the focus towards those, who are easily written off
because of their loss making qualities. The approach should be based upon simply seeking
returns.
For a start
Set up overall ROE (return on equity) benchmarks for individual PSUs based on the metrics
for the sector and efficient private sector peers
Specify the minimum accountability
Focus on the strategy employed for achieving targets
Expansion needs need to be finalised and dividend pay outs to shareholders should be
stepped-up, bolstering the Centres efforts and allowing re-routing of capital to the sectors
that needs it.
Government needs to grant the Central PSUs with greater autonomy in managing their
treasury for optimal returnsshould have autonomy in day-to-day financial decision
making which may include low-cost purchases, cost allocations, evolving price structures,
etc.
Developing a sustained infrastructure to register rapid growth requires both public as well
as private sector participation. Thus, attracting private investments through appropriate
public private partnership models is of paramount importance for meeting investment
requirements and henceforth inclusive growth.
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A development path that is sustainable should take into consideration, institutions that
will be conducive for greater participation of stakeholders at various levels. This may
require continuous dialogue and action focusing on key sustainable development issues.
To solve the problem of accountability, the pay revision committee headed by Justice S.
Mohan recommended that employee salary should be linked to the performance of the
companyfunction of profitability of enterprise and emoluments at the level of the
individual employee.
Productivity is commonly defined as a ratio between the output volume and the volume of
inputsmeasuring how efficiently production inputs, such as labour and capital, are being
used in an economy to produce a given level of output
Productivity is considered a key source of economic growth and competitiveness and, as
such, is basic statistical information for many international comparisons and country
performance assessments
To investigate the impact of product and labour market regulations on economic
performance
To assess demand and inflationary pressures
Constitutes an important element for modelling the productive capacity of economies
Allows analysts to determine capacity utilisation, which in turn allows one to gauge the
position of economies in the business cycle and to forecast economic growth
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new innovationsthat these innovations would herald an increase in productivity growth and
improve the way we live and work.
Breakthrough Innovations:
ET (energy technologies, including new forms of fossil fuels such as shale gas and oil and
alternative energy sources such as solar and wind, storage technologies, clean tech, and
smart electric grids)
BT (biotechnologies, including genetic therapy, stem cell research, and the use of big data
to reduce health-care costs radically and allow individuals to live much longer and healthier
lives)
IT (information technologies, such as Web 2.0/3.0, social media, new apps, the Internet of
Things, big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality devices)
MT (manufacturing technologies, such as robotics, automation, 3D printing, and
personalized manufacturing)
FT (financial technologies that promise to revolutionize everything from payment systems
to lending, insurance services and asset allocation)
DT (defence technologies, including the development of drones and other advanced
weapon systems)
Productivity Puzzle Why have these innovations not yet led to a measured increase in
productivity growth?
History wins: Technological innovations of the First and Second Industrial Revolutions were
much better than the present day innovations. (The productivity-enhancing impacts of presentday inventions have been argued to have waned)
Measurement woes: It is difficult to measure the new information-intensive goods and services
as well as- the standard measuring materials might just have been lagging behind in the age of
globalised innovations and value system. For example, many experts argue that the free goods
associated with free internet arent able to find a way to be measured (Productivity being at our
fingertips and still not getting accounted Under-measurement of output)
Permanent lag: The technological and the behavioural tools take time to complement each
other and therefore, an innovation does not necessarily mean that it would reach the other end
at the same speed, as the other end needs to develop itself as well to nurture that technology.
Hence, a time lag is a permanent factor that has always existed.
Accompanying factors towards Stagnation: With the financial crisis leading to a meltdown in
productivity, there are other factors as well aging populations and lower investment in
physical capital leading to a lower trend growth
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If workers remain unemployed for too long, they lose their skills and human capital;
As technological innovation is embedded in new capital goods, low investment leads to
permanently lower productivity growth
Costly Affair impeding Innovation: Diversion of funds from productive R&D towards litigation
and discovery/licenses
Monopoly: Little choice and no incentive to work on the complaints as the market is captured,
damaging societys development
Restriction on Technological Progress& Legal Risks: More number of false claims, thereby
diverting energy of innovators towards defending and not producing/discovering which, in turn,
affects their creativity.
Low Inclusion of Indians: World Intellectual Property Organisation statistics states that only
about 22 per cent of all patents granted by the Indian Patent Office were granted to Indian
residents thus, questioning the strategic as well as economic sense behind the protection that
excludes Indians from benefiting from it.
Promotion of Innovation by the Government
President of India declared decade 2010-20 as the decade of innovation to develop an
innovation eco-system in the country to stimulate innovations and to produce solutions for the
societal needs in terms of healthcare, energy, urban infrastructure, water and transportation.
Science technology and innovation (STI) policy 2013:
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Atal Innovation Mission (AIM): AIM will be an Innovation Promotion Platform involving
academics, entrepreneurs, and researchers- to draw upon national and international
experiences to foster a culture of innovation, R&D in India. The platform will also promote a
network of world-class innovation hubs and grand challenges for India to solve.
Self-Employment & Talent Utilization (SETU): SETU will be a Techno-Financial, Incubation
and Facilitation Programme to support all aspects of start-up businesses, and other selfemployment activities, particularly in technology-driven areas.
Recommendations by NITI Aayog panel on Innovation headed by Prof. Tarun Khanna:
Private sector should help fund R&D (research labs at universities and start-ups)
Improved tax benefits for investments equivalent to a percentage of corporate profits
Increase in investment in business incubators with up to 200 crore rupees public
spending per year and roping in of the private sector for the same
Make in Universities program (Setting up of 500 tinkering labs; create products that
address local problems, with one 3D printer per institute)
Grand Prizes Approach to finding ultra-low-cost solutions (to Indias most difficult and
nagging problems)
All contracts with foreign defence companies above 5 billion dollars should include a
clause for five percent of contract value to be directed to establish research-centric
universities with strong emphasis on its core product areas
Establishing a fund-of-funds (FOF): To seed other early stage venture funds with a
corpus of 5000 crore rupees
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1. Can slow productivity growth be viewed just as a down payment on a much brighter
future? Discuss.
2. Critically analyse the measures taken by the government to promote an ecosystem of
innovation in India
TOPIC:
General studies 3:
Banking & related Issues; Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of
resources, growth, development and employment.
Inclusive growth and issues arising from it
The path named Financial Inclusion
Financial Inclusion (FI) is the process of ensuring access to appropriate financial products and
services needed by all sections of the society in general and vulnerable groups such as weaker
sections and low income groups in particular at an affordable cost in a fair and transparent
manner by mainstream institutional players.
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The primary reason for borrowing is ill-health: 38% of loans (48% of the loans from
moneylenders) are for health-related expenses
Banks have to realize that the bankability of the poor holds a major opportunity for the
banking sector in developing a stable retail deposit base and in curbing volatility in earnings
with the help of a diversified asset portfolio. Therefore, Financial Inclusion programmes
should be implemented on commercial lines as a sustainable and viable business model
Ensure that poor people who deserve credit are provided access to timely and adequate
credit in a non-exploitative manner
Higher non-performing loans in rural areas because rural households have irregular income
and expenditure patternscompounded by the dependence of the rural economy on
monsoons, and loan waivers driven by political agendas
Low Ticket Size: The average ticket size of both a deposit transaction and a credit
transaction in rural areas is small. This means that banks need more customers per branch
or channel to break even. Considering the small catchments area of a branch in rural areas,
generating a customer base with critical mass is challenging.
High Transaction Cost: due to small loan sizes, the high frequency of transactions and at a
higher frequency, the large geographical spread, the heterogeneity of borrowers, and
widespread illiteracy
Higher risk of credit: Rural households may have highly irregular and volatile income
streams. Irregular wage labour and the sale of agricultural products are the two main
sources of income for rural households.
Information Asymmetry: Since many rural people do not have bank accounts, there is a lack
of information on customer behaviour in rural India
Governments policies:
Duplicate accounts with zero balances represent a high percentage of the total accounts
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Scarcity of staff
Inadequate commissions
Accounts opened have remained non-operational
Though BCs have increased savings for poor households, this increase is not primarily held
in savings accounts
BCs should be selected on the basis of their residence as research has proven that BCs, who
reside in the vicinity of their clients and are often from the same community, can more easily
address such constraints
Reminders or nudges to save and contracts that commit households to save can be
utilized.
Peer pressure through social networks will lead to enhanced savings
Proven results
Increased total savings of both landowning and landless households
Savings of the landless increased more than those of landowning households
Tie-up between the financial system and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act access to a BC increased the wage income and hours of work of landless
households, particularly that of women
Infrastructure:
Technology issues: Non-availability of physical and digital connectivity as well as low rural
television-density
Solution: Technological improvements allowing financial transactions through point-ofservice instruments; enabling a model based on local bank agents significantly lowering
the costs of serving the poor
Lack of Bank branchesLimited delivery capability as ATM penetration is low and other
channels such as Phone and Internet Banking are non-existent in rural areas
Poor physical and social infrastructureunpaved roads and limited access to modern
transportation
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IASbabas Views:
Financial Inclusion and Financial Literacy are two sides of the same equation
Financial Inclusion acts from supply side by providing financial market/services that people
demand whereas Financial Literacy stimulates the demand side by making people aware of
what they can demand. Therefore, access to financial services and Financial Education must
happen simultaneously and must be a continuous, an ongoing process and must target all
sections of the population.
Need to
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TOPIC:General studies 3
Winding up FIPB
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) was set up as a government body that
offers a single window clearance for proposals on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India
that are not allowed access through the automatic route (Department of Economic Affairs,
Ministry of Finance)
Over a decade ago, former finance Minister Jaswant Singh had proposed the regulatory
reform, saying that the FIPB bureaucracy was losing its relevance with the liberalisation of
the investment regime (Automatic route accounting for almost 90 per cent of the foreign
investment proposals)the challenge really was not about deregulation but debureaucratisation, and moving in that direction purposefully would help greater flow of
foreign investment.
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More sectors are now under the automatic route where investors only need to inform the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that regulates capital flows through the Foreign Exchange
Management Act (FEMA). Therefore, just getting a stamp of approval, makes no sense
when all it does isincreases the ambiguity and elongates the process.
Long drawn out process increase time cost and cost overrun to delays
Bureaucratic inertia and scope for bureaucratic corruption by means of red tapism and
complex rules
To move towards more opening up and to have more process driven activities and methods
Putting more sectors under the automatic route which means investors only have to
inform RBI once they invest
To further ease rules on foreign investments and allow new instruments that go beyond the
traditional equity shares to boost the start-up eco-system (Ease of doing Investment
Aligning itself with the objective of "minimum government, maximum governance)
Facilitation of quick job creationFurther push to Start Up India, Stand Up India Scheme
and Make In India Scheme
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Oversight of sensitive sectors like defence and telecommunication owing to the "security
considerations" in the long run
Study of Indian economy vulnerability with respect to the external shocks:
Domestic sector investments getting reduced while facing stiff competition
Unplanned and unsustainable development
Monopoly of big players in the market
Way Forward
All FDI approvals must be made automatic to enable the government swiftly wind up the
FIPB along with the scrapping of the sectoral caps, except in areas such as media where
foreign control can skew public discourse, and freely allow foreign capital in all other
sectors.
An institutional arrangement should be in place to review any foreign investment proposal
that could be a threat to national security. For example in AustraliaThere exists a legal
framework, the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975Investment decisions are
made by the treasurer, based on the advice of the foreign investment review board. The
treasurer has the power to block investment proposals if they are a threat to national
security.
Enumerate the major reforms required w.r.t Foreign Investment in order to boost the ease
of doing business in India and to further promote 'Make in India' and 'Start-up India'
initiatives.
TOPIC
General studies 3:
Economic Development Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization
of resources, growth, development and employment.
Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
Investment models.
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General studies 2:
Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues
arising out of their design and implementation.
New civil aviation policy: An Analysis
The Union cabinet has cleared the new civil aviation policy that aims to propel growth and
allow new airlines to fly abroad
The new policy is seen as a development that will boost demand for the aviation sector in the
long run. But, on some counts, the policy falls short.
What the new aviation policy provides? : An Analysis
The cornerstones of the new civil aviation policy are competition, consumers, connectivity
(within India and with the rest of the world) and investmentboth from domestic and foreign
investors.
The government is convinced that this will be the key to realizing its target of growing domestic
passenger traffic nearly four-fold to 300 million by 2022.
5/20 rule diluted:
The 5/20 rule has been diluted, but not done away with entirely.
For domestic airlines to start international operations, the 5/20 rule required it to serve the
local market for five years and operate at least 20 aircraft
Now, airlines can start international operations if
they deploy 20 aircraft for domestic operations
(or)
20% of total capacity (average number of seats on all departures put together),
whichever is higher, for domestic operations.
(Only, the number of years is done away with.)
The new rule will hurt old airlines companies such as Jet Airways (India) Ltd, SpiceJet Ltd
and InterGlobe Aviation Ltd (IndiGo)
This move may increase competition in the global scenario.
New entrants such as Vistara and AirAsia, in both of which the Tata group has a majority
stake, may get benefitted.
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Small levy per departure on some domestic routes to fund the Viability Gap Fund (In other
words, the subsidized amount/funds will be generated by charging a small cess on other
domestic flights)
But, it would have been better if this fare was linked to some cost elements of airlines, for
example, the ATF (aviation turbine fuel) prices.
All airlines are currently also asked to place a certain percentage of their metro flights on
routes which are remote and, in some cases, not as profitable. (i.e. airlines will have to
rearrange their networks by the winter of 2017) very challenging and problematic task
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Up to 49% FDI is permitted in domestic scheduled passenger airlines under the automatic
route.
Silent on formation of an independent civil aviation authority and the fate of Air India:
The policy also remains silent on issues such as formation of an independent civil aviation
authority and the fate of Air India.
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TOPIC:
General studies 2
Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues
arising out of their design and implementation.
Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector or Services relating to
Health, Education, Human Resources
General studies 3
Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth,
development and employment
The India Labour and Employment Report 2016
Indian labour market
Organized Sector (only 17% of total employment):
Regular formal employment (9%):Contractual, with full protection of labour rights, high
wages and perks
Regular but informal employment: No full contractual protection of labour rights and lower
wages
Casual employment: Higher underemployment or fewer days of actual available work per
worker
(Can you identify the segregation both in the unorganised as well as across different sectors
in the economy?)
Statistically:
Self-employment, and casual wage employment, the bottom layers of the labour market,
still account for 78% of total employment
Low-productivity employment in agriculture still accounts for 43% of total employment
High incidence of underemployment
High incidence of povertyIndia still accounts for the largest number of the worlds poor in
absolute numbers.
Unemployment number:
13 million people in the workforce, available for work but presently unemployed30% of
them women
52 million people, 65% of them women disguised unemployment
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52 million, all women, who are not in the labour force but would be available for work if
there were adequate opportunities for productive employment
117 million people, 78% of them women need to be absorbed into new and more
productive jobs
6-8 million young people who will be entering the labour force each year for the next
decade
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Declining poverty is leading to less number of women and child labour to become a
part of the countrys labour
c) Decline in the womens labour force participation (lowest in the world)
Trend:
Declined the most among the poorest households & illiterate/least educated (decline in
povertyno need to take up jobs that are not paid properly and are least in quality)
Increased in the case of better-off households& with higher levels of education
d) Rise in the Dependency RatioNo demographic dividend
Increase in the share of the young in the working-age population
Decline in the share of the young who are actually in the workforce
(Henceforth, we are providing a list of initiatives to READ UP will be useful for preparation
from Prelims P.O.V)
Policy Suggestions
1. Indias growth has to be led by manufacturing, not services
Employment elasticity is higher in manufacturing
Lack of education in a large section of the labour force
Difficulty in skilling them lack of basic education
Easy absorption in low-skill jobs in the manufacturing sector
2. Urgency of education policy reform
An underlying foundation of basic education is important for any kind of job as well as
skilling people
Compromised quality of education at the primary level limits the access to basic
education
Read up: Digital Gender Atlas, National Scholarship Portal, BetiBachaoBetiPadhao, No
detention Policy, GeetaBhukkal Committee Report, Devnani Committee Report
3. Need for Vocational Education
Effective way of developing skills for improving the employability of the population
Shatter the perception of vocational education being a low-paying and not a respectable
job
Read up: NSDC, NSQF, NSDM, STAR Scheme, NAP for skill training, ITE concept of vocational
training, PMKVY, DDU-GKY
4. Reforms in the Labour Market
To catalyse job creation and ensuring ease of doing business in the country
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Read up: The Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Act 2015, National Career Services Portal,
ShramSuvidha Portal, Universal Account Number, Pradhan MantriRojgarProtsahanYojana,
Changes in the Minimum Wages to contract workers & Contract Labour Act, National Social
Security Authority, Release methodology of Employment Data, Industrial Relations Bill, Bonus
Act, Child Labour (Protection and Regulation) Amendment Bill, The Small Factories (Regulation
of Employment and Conditions of Services) Bill
Connecting the Dots:
1. Discuss the reasons behind low LFPR. What has the Indian government done to arrest the
same?
2. What are the serious impediments that bleak the possibility of a proper labour framework
to be developed for India? Suggest the way ahead
FDI inflows into India rose to $55.46 billion in 2015-16 from $36.04 billion two years ago
FDI into the country has been going up steadily
The top five sectors services, construction, computer software and hardware, telecom
and automobiles- accounts for a 45 per cent FDI share
FDI Liberalization
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Easing entry of FDI: Government has taken a bold step in liberalising the foreign direct
investment norms in nine key sectors (used to account 11 per cent of the total FDI received by
India)opens up the country to the global world
Ease of Doing Business staying true to its name:Boosting the economic growth
More investments have been brought under the automatic route will not entail prior
approval
Reduced bureaucratic discretionCreation of an enabling environment
Promises of Policy certaintyimprove investor sentiment
Creation of more jobs
Big mind-set shift:The move to prescribe a small negative list for FDI with most sectors under
the automatic route
(Coverage in point format)
Defence
Present:
Permitted foreign companies to own 49% in Indian units through the automatic approval
route
Previously foreign OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) were required to form joint
ventures with domestic firms if they wanted to establish a manufacturing base in India (an
OEM can now independently plan and implement operations in India)
Changes:
Allowed foreign companies to own as much as 100% equity in the local defence sector
through the government approval route
Applicable to manufacturing of small arms and ammunitions covered under Arms Act 1959
The condition of access to state-of-art technology in the country has been done away with
Implications:
Provides global OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) strong incentive to establish
substantial local manufacturing in India
With 60% of Indias defence requirements met through imports, local defence
production is at the heart of the Make in India programme
Increase in Joint ventures lack of expertise can be tackled with
More sense of ownership encourage foreign defence equipment makers to open
production centres leading to widening of the vendor base for local companies,
increasing competition among suppliers for business, and better compliance with offset
obligations
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Civil Aviation
Present:
Up to 49% FDI is allowed under the automatic route in domestic airlines (scheduled air
transport service/ domestic scheduled passenger airline and regional air transport service)
The extant FDI policy on airports permits 100% FDI under automatic route in green-field
projects and 74% FDI in brownfield projects under automatic route. FDI beyond 74% for
brownfield projects is under government route
Changes:
Allow overseas entitiesexcluding airlinesto own 100% in domestic airlines; with FDI up
to 49% permitted under automatic route and FDI beyond 49% through government
approval.
For NRIs (non-resident Indians), 100% FDI will continue to be allowed under automatic
route
Investment by foreign airlines in domestic airlines will, however, be limited to 49% of paidup capital
Allowed 100% FDI under the automatic route in the brownfield airport projects (existing
facilities requiring expansion and refurbishment)with the aim of modernize existing airports
As equity holding of foreign airlines is still limited to 49%, a foreign airline can join hands
with its sovereign fund or private investors and set up a 100% foreign-owned airline in India
Implications:
Incoming of more funds
Modernization of existing airportsmore upgradation of airport infrastructure is to make
operations viable
Expansion in their fleet
Increase in competition will bring down prices and enhance air penetration in Indiaboth
international and domestic
Enhanced valuations when raising funds or going for partial or complete divestment
Inclusion of best practices
Support initial public offerings without worrying about foreigner ownership limits
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Foreign airlines can now focus on the customers and competition rather than wasting time
on legal and regulatory issues
Value being given to market forces while the government keeping its concerns limited to
issues like aviation safety, security and consumer interests
Concerns:
The 49%FDI still remains under-utilized
Issue of Indian promoters giving up too much stake and when things go bad, foreign
investors not finding such investments attractive to be a part of
Government should additionally also take up measures for
Reducing cost of doing business like rationalisation of input costs
Providing relaxation to existing airlines in other rules (on directors, route dispersal
norms, minimum domestic flying, on grandfathered schedules and routes, crew flying
permits, among others) to attract foreign capital
Restructuring of AAI critical to allow long-term capital flows
Broadcast
Present:
Need for prior approval of foreign investment in the broadcasting sector
Investments were subject to approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB)
Changes:Allowed 100% FDI via automatic route for broadcasting carriage services direct-tohome (DTH) TV operators, cable network companies and mobile television firms to raise 100%
FDI under the automatic route
Single-brand retail
Present:companies opening wholly-owned stores in India were required to comply with the
local sourcing norms of 30% within five years of their first store opening
Changes:
Government has made it easier for single brand retailers to setup operations in the country
with an extended window of eight years before the application of the local sourcing norms
come into play (firms with state-of-the-art and cutting- edge technology)
Limited the exemption to three yearsfor entities undertaking single brand retail trading and
seeking exemption from local sourcing norms get a waiver only for three years along with
a relaxed sourcing regime for five more years (to encourage such manufacturers to source
from India)
Made it easier for retailers setting up under 100% single brand policy
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100% FDI under approval route for trading, including through e-commerce for food
products manufactured or produced in India (as announced in the Budget as well)
Implications:
Setback for the companies in the technology space were hoping for a complete waiver on
the grounds that the products proposed to be sold involved state of the art technology
Companies manufacturing food products in India will be allowed to set up retail stores and
even have e-commerce operations w.r.t. the items manufactured in India a progressive
step as companies like Wal-Mart Inc which have cash and carry wholesale operations and
are ruled by the multi-brand retail policy will readily consider food retail in India
Concerns:Tough regulatory environment
TOPIC:
General Studies 2
Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues
arising out of their design and implementation; Governance issues
Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections by the Centre and State and the Performance of
these schemes; Mechanisms, laws, institutions constituted for protection and betterment
of these vulnerable sections
General Studies 3
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Solution:
Could shorten lead times by using industrial parks to provide better
infrastructure
Port development and National Waterways development impetus to Make In
India and blue economy under the Union Governments ambitious Sagarmala
Project emphasizing on port-led development
Increase port capacity with the help of private companies
Sagarmala Project:
To develop port infrastructure in India that results in quick, efficient and costeffective transport to and from ports
It also includes establishment of rail / road linkages with the port terminals, thus
providing last mile connectivity to ports; development of linkages with new
regions, enhanced multi-modal connectivity including rail, inland water, coastal
and road services.
b) Labour costs:
Regulations on minimum overtime pay
Onerous contributions that become de facto taxes for low paid workers
Lack of flexibility in part-time work
High minimum wages
Smaller size of the Indian apparel firms compared to firms in China and Bangladesh
Solution: Ease labour norms
Take advantage of economies of scale with less complex labour policies
Promote foreign investment for apparel by adopting clear and transparent
policies on foreign ownership (already in place for textiles) and within Export
Promotion Zones
c) Shift in the world-demand towards clothing based on man-made fibres
Indian domestic tax policy favours cotton-based production
Man-made fibre sector is highly inefficient (financially as well as technologically)
Policy road-map by the Government:
1. Provision of relief to offset the impact of state taxes embedded in exports (could be as high
as about 5 per cent of the exports)
Not a subsidy but a drawback scheme
Should be WTO-consistent because it offsets taxes on exports
2. Provision of subsidy for increasing employment: Contribution of government towards the
employers 12 per cent contribution to the EPF
3. To provide an advantageous position for the Indian exporters in the foreign markets:
More emphasis on new free trade agreements while weighing the pros and cons of it
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IASbabas Views:
Government needs to not only focus on skill enhancement and flexible labour markets but
also conduct an assessment of
Proper enforcement of the laws
Situation of different categories of employers
Coverage of the social protection system
Labour-intensive industrialization carries the potential to break the cycle of distress and
therefore, more efforts needs to be taken for building up on a consensus-derived decision
by taking the trade unions as well as the State government into confidence.
Need to encourage industry-academia collaborations to understand innovation
requirements better Funds should be attracted from private sector to support research at
academic and research & development (R&D) institutions
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Will have an impact on the fiscal deficit for the current financial year the hike in
emoluments will be effective from January 2016 and all arrears will be paid out in the
current year itself.
To meet the fiscal deficit targets:Compromise on the capital expenditure (which is
important to promote growth)
There will be an increase in tax revenue from more income tax collection (due to higher
salaries) and excise duty collections or GST from increased consumption
Find out:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
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TOPIC
General studies 3:
Science and Technology developments and their applications and effects in everyday life
Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and
developing new technology.
Awareness in the fields of IT, Computers and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
General studies 2:
Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues
arising out of their design and implementation.
Activists have called the current law an ambiguous one with crucial loopholes that could
undermine the concept of a level playing field online.
Activists criticize that - the law is neither with the telecom companies nor with the activists.
It has been overcomplicated and could be interpreted either way.
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This ambiguous law of Europe has already spurred telecom companies to offer special services.
Some telecom companies have begun offering zero-rating with Facebook services.
But the heads of major media houses have issued an open letter condemning these kinds of
agreements.
Since, it benefits to those websites who can pay a couple of percent (of their revenue),
small start-ups are going to suffer and there will be no level playing field.
It is going to affect many media companies who might lose their right to publish
themselves, hence resulting in loss of diversity in media.
Statements such as these make the process of public consultation critical to ensure an
implementable and fair set of guidelines
Unlike the Indian consultations which focused only on zero-rated applications, the EU
law is comprehensive in tackling two other major challenges of Net neutrality:
specialised services, which enable faster access to certain applications which have tieups with Internet providers, and traffic management, which allows Internet providers to
peruse data and decide which Internet traffic is important and which is not, rather than
the current system of equal distribution.
In previous conferences on digital rights, Indian campaign had voiced a big no for zerorating which was marketed as giving the poor some Internet instead of no Internet.
Indias response has been a lesson for Western politicians who are worried about
stopping free zero-rated services.
The Indian response was remarkable, as it was learnt that zero-rating might affect their
start-ups and local voices.
However, India had used a ready-made template during consultation process, as it was
best suited for it, being a country of low awareness of digital rights.
But now, Europe doesnt want to adopt similar strategy of Indias in its consultation
process. Since Europe has good awareness of digital rights and data protection, it can
answer a few unanswered questions about net neutrality. Based on the responses, a
template will be generated and sent to BEREC, the EU, or member states.
Therefore, a better outcome resulting from the similar debate in EU can help resolve issues
related to Net traffic management and specialised services in India
India, which figures on top in the plans of Internet companies which are scrambling to connect
the last billion, may well have to learn from the European legislation.
Discussions on specialised services and Internet traffic management are yet to be resolved. For
which, India should keep an eye on Europe over the coming months.
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ENVIRONMENT
TOPIC:
General Studies 1:
Geography - Key natural resources across the world (including India), exploitation of
natural resources
General Studies 3:
Environment and Ecology, Bio diversity - Conservation, environmental degradation,
environmental impact assessment, Environment versus Development
New Draft Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2016
Wetlands:
Wetlands are areas where water controls or regulates the environment, and any animal
or plant life.
They occur where the water table is at or near the surface of the land, or where land is
covered by water.
Wetlands are cradles of biological diversity and are among the worlds most productive
environments.
They provide water upon which countless species of plants and animals depend for
survival. Wetlands support high concentrations of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibian,
fish and invertebrate species.
They are also important storehouses of plant genetic material. Rice, for example, which
is a common wetland plant, is the staple diet for more than half of humanity.
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Functions of wetland
Habitat to aquatic flora and fauna as well as numerous species of birds including
migratory species
Filtration of sediments and nutrients from surface water
Nutrients recycling
Water purification
Floods mitigation
Maintenance of steam flow
Ground water recharging
Provide drinking water, fish, fodder, fuel etc
Control rate of runoff in urban areas
Buffer shorelines against erosion
Compromise an important resource for sustainable tourism, recreation and culture
heritage
Stabilisation of local climate
Source of livelihood to local people
Genetic reservoir for various species of plants
Supporting specific diversity
Reasons for depletion
Conversion of lands for agriculture
Overgrazing
Removal of sand from beds
Aqua culture
Habitat destruction and deforestation
Pollution
Domestic waste
Agricultural runoff
Industrial effluents
Climate change
Mitigation
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Weed control
Soil conservation measures & afforestation
Wildlife conservation
Removal of encroachments
Eutrophication abatement
Environmental awareness
The new Draft Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2016 seek to give
power to the States to decide what they must do with their wetlands.
They can also decide on which wetlands should be protected and what activities should
be allowed or regulated
However, how states will identify and conserve the wetlands is not mentioned and
required a rethink
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capacities of ecological systems. There have been many recent attempts at this sort of
engineering
For instance,
Karnataka had dredged its rivers, now other States may follow suit.
The Ken and Betwa rivers in Madhya Pradesh are to be interlinked, and we have a
history of building dams and barrages to store water.
Parliament has already passed a Waterways Act, which will make navigation channels of
111 rivers, by straightening, dredging, and creating barrages.
All these above projects require serious ecological consideration and effective impact
assessment.
Environmental impacts due to these projects
River dredging may increase the capacity of a river channel, but can also interfere with
underground reservoirs. Over-dredging can destroy these reservoirs.
River interlinking changes hydrology and can benefit certain areas from a purely
anthropocentric perspective, but does nothing to augment water supply to other nontarget districts.
Constructions of barrages have impacts on ecosystems and economies: the
commercially important hilsa fish are no longer found in the Padma river after the
construction of the Farraka barrage across the Ganges.
In the case of wetlands like ponds, lakes and lagoons, the contestations are more fierce.
Who owns the wetland is a common quandary and what happens to the wetland also
depends on this.
Asias largest freshwater oxbow lake, the Kanwar lake in Bihar, has shrunk to one-third
of its size due to encroachment, much like Jammu and Kashmirs Dal lake.
Water sources like streams, which go into lakes, also get cut off, as is the case of lakes in
Bengaluru and streams in the Delhi Ridge.
The political pressure to usurp water and wetlands as land is high and for this reason, States
have failed to secure perimeters and catchment areas or notify wetlands.
Therefore, the new Draft Wetland Rules awarding full authority to the States will not be a
viable solution to protect wetlands.
The way ahead:
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Protecting wetlands is particularly a complex case and warrants more checks and balances.
In the present proposed scenario, where there is an absence of scientific criteria for
identifying wetlands, it is imperative to have a second independent functioning authority.
What comprises a wetland is an important question that the Rules should answer. (which
it has failed)
Identifying/recognizing a wetland
Historically, as wetlands did not earn revenue, they were marked as wastelands.
There are lakhs of wetlands which still needs to be identified by the government.
Significantly, the 2010 rules had outlined criteria for wetland identification including
genetic diversity, outstanding natural beauty, wildlife habitats, corals, coral reefs,
mangroves, heritage areas, and so on.
The Ramsar Convention rules are the loftiest form of wetland identification that the
world follows. Ramsar has specific criteria for choosing a wetland as a Ramsar site,
which distinguishes it as possessing international importance.
An important distinguishing marker is that Ramsar wetlands should support significant
populations of birds, fish, or other non-avian animals.
The new draft Rules 2016 has removed the ecological and other criteria for wetland
identification and protection and also the examples of activities that could hamper this
physical functioning.
Use and non-use
(The 2016 Draft Wetland Rules also call for wise use of wetlands. Wise use is a concept used
by the Ramsar Convention, and is open to interpretation)
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Finally, in a country which is both water-starved as well as seasonally water-rich, it is not just
politics and use that should dictate how wetlands are treated. Sustainability cannot be reached
without ecology.
Towards this end, our wetland rules need to reinforce wetlands as more than open sources of
water, and there is a need to revise how wetlands should be identified and conserved.
Connecting the dots:
Critically analyze the newly drafted Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2016.
Give your own suggestions what strategies can the Indian government adopt to protect the
wetlands.
TOPIC:
General studies 2:
Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues
arising out of their design and implementation
General studies 3:
Infrastructure: Energy; Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation
Mobilising Inputs for Renewable Energies
With the new set of environmental challenges and their perceived dangers, there is an
urgent need for India to develop a range of innovative environmental technologies to help
increase its energy security, reduce the adverse impacts on the local environment, lower its
carbon intensity, contribute to more balanced regional development, and realize its
aspirations for leadership in high-technology industries.
But for them to achieve their market potentialproper policy frameworks and financial
instruments are necessary that give financiers the necessary assurance and incentives to
shift investment away from carbon-emitting conventional technologies to large-scale
investment in clean energy systems
And to achieve these goals, India needs an order-of-magnitude increase in renewable
energy growth enhancing the creation of an enabling environment for renewable energy
development, while at the same time, not compromising on the environmental integrity
that should be maintained.
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Global trade in wind turbines, water filters and other environmental goods amounts to
nearly $1 trillion annually but are increasingly stifled by the high tariffs which put limitations
on many countries in terms of accessing these technologies.
Huge capital investment is required around $95-100 billion equivalent of investments (at
Rs 65/USD) to meet the 100 GW target of 2022 (current outstanding bank credit to the
entire Indian power sector (conventional and RE) is $85 billion equivalent)
Removing unnecessary taxes is the need of the hour for which forty-four countries under
the World Trade Organization are working towards an Environmental Goods Agreement
(EGA) that would eliminate tariffs on environmentally friendly goods
Affordable green technology solutions
Spur Innovation
Boost trade
Protect the environment
Studies on EGA
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In integrating intermittent power generation via solar and wind, with conventional grids
Grid-balancing needs to get smarter
Requirement of smart solutions for net metering i.e., adjusting power bills to reflect RE
generated and be put on the grid by the consumer
High-quality and accessible certification programmesreducing the need for and costs of
on-site training
Under Skill India, renewable energy training clusters could be located near ongoing solar
energy projects. At least one prominent solar training institute could be established in each
region projected to be a hub for major solar activity (e.g., Gujarat, Rajasthan, and
Karnataka).
Introduction of mobile training courses, where trainers move from one location to another,
would add value
The most challenging skills to findbasic construction and commissioning skills, including
electricians and PV installation technicians for which training programmes focused on
fundamental construction, commissioning and operations skills should be expanded across
the country.
The International Solar Alliance can establish certified training programmes and help to
build common curricula in close consultation with the private sector, and make the
workforce qualified for deployment within India and outside
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TOPIC:
General Studies 3
Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact
assessment
General Studies 2
Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting
Indias interests
Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on Indias interest
Anthropogenic Climate Change @ Bonn
Climate change refers to a change in average weather conditions, or in the time variation of
weather around longer-term average conditions and is caused by factors such as biotic
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processes, variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics, volcanic eruptions
and a range of human activities.
At present
Intense El Nio coupled with record high temperatures
Devastating effects on crops, livestock and humans (parts of southern and eastern
Africa, the Philippines & many areas in India)
Mitigation of global greenhouse gas emissions to meet the goal of staying well below 2C
Mechanisms that support adaptation on the ground
Means for support through finance, technology and capacity building
Development of specifics on the global stocktake agreed upon every five years
Ensuring that countries set up the frameworks for implementing their Nationally
Determined Contributions (NDCs)
Establishing processes for transparency across the board on a range of issues, and for
dealing with loss and damage as a result of climate change
Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs): Under the U.N. Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC), countries across the globe, committed to create a new
international climate agreement by the conclusion of the Paris Climate Summit in December
2015, by publicly outlining the actions they intend to take, to counter climate change from their
end
State ratification
With 177 signatories at the moment, the Paris Agreement will enter into force, or take
effect; 30 days after at least 55 countries accounting for 55 per cent of the global
greenhouse gas emissions have ratified the agreement
UNFCCC: 17 States have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval,
accounting for only 0.04 per cent of the total global greenhouse gas emissions
The Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) provision of timely
information and advice on scientific and technological matters
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Whether mitigation alone should be a part of the NDCs or whether adaptation and the
means of implementation should also be included
Interpretation of the Paris Agreement regarding differentiated transparency of action in
developed and developing countries
No clarity yet on what it means to deliver an overall mitigation in global emissions
determine of at least one benchmark of a legally binding global target will depend upon it
All of these concerns would require further discussion and have to be resolved before COP-22
in Marrakech, Morocco
India @ the Bonn:
Recognized the pivotal role of the Bonn meeting in shaping emerging rules and activities of
a post-Paris world order, reiterating the importance of the common but differentiated
responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC) of the parties in responding to climate
change (Developed countries need to fulfil the obligation to meet their pre-2020
commitments in the Kyoto Protocol and to take early action)
The Like Minded Developing Countries called for the need for clarity on the role of nonstate actors in the Paris Agreement and asked for a report on the topic at the next meeting
of the SBI. This is an important development as there could be a conflict of interest in their
participation, and the rules and guidelines on non-state actor engagement need to be clear
so that their roles are transparent and the integrity of the UNFCCC process is safeguarded.
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Target of generating 20,000 MW of solar power by 2020 out of which achieved almost
about 1200 mw
Introduction of PAT: Perform, Achieve and Trade
Voluntary commitment of reducing emission intensity of GDP by 20-25% by 2020
Adaptive Mechanism: Agriculture (Organic Farming & Watershed management)
Way Forward:
The efforts taken to ensure that the resolution will be discussed in a technical session
(November 2016 session) will being in a positive effect, recognizing at the same time the
importance of building a climate-change perspective on the business side of the global
order Discussion of the following to initiate a broader transformation involving just
transitions in forms and types of work and economic production, energizing the types of
transformational changes needed to reduce emissions and adapt to living in a warmer world
Economic diversification and transformation
Just transition of the workforce
Creation of decent work and quality jobs
There is a need for proper rules to be set in place, considering the historical wrongs and
rights and the global politics of climate change, and have greater clarity pertaining to the
core agreement and the portion of the text which is referred to as the decision.
The concept of Equity needs to be put to work in a true operational manner and not just in
speeches, talks and documents. Common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) on a
continuous scale of differentiation will provide a good benchmark for negotiations and will
provide scope to India as well as other developing countries to accept and engage with
further negotiations
Mitigation and adaptation can together go a long way in limiting the adverse impacts of the
climate change but it requires a more globally-coordinated response as well as series of
steps that needs to be taken at a regional level
Mitigation:
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For food: elephants, gorillas, deer, rodents and insects can have devastating impacts on
agricultural products and thus economies, both on the ground and in storage facilities
Threat to human lives and well-being: Lions, leopards killing and eating domestic livestock
as well as elephants killing people and snakes biting humans
Introduction of new species
Annoying habits of animals: Offensive smells coming from the accumulation of their prey or
turning over garbage cans and spreading their content around
Road Ecology: risky to cross or completely impenetrable for animalsdisrupt natural
migration and fragment habitats. Individual animals attempting to cross roads in order to
migrate, find food or mates, or return to their breeding grounds are not always successful
Reduced habitat alteration and fragmentation (rampant due to huge infrastructural needs)
Proper understanding of the conflict hotspots and the peripheral fields who are more
vulnerable than central ones
Proper dissemination of the site-specific scientific information
Well-designed targeted mitigation with peoples participation
Installation and sustainable maintenance of the bio-fencing and power fencing around
vulnerable areas
Integration of scientific evidence, ecology and behaviour of particular species, and landscape
and socio-economic context
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once and to cope with or respond to future interactions with wildlife (empowerment to
protect themselves as well as the animalsleading to mutually beneficial co-existence.)
Usage of modern technology such as mobile phones for SMS alerts, customised apps,
automated wildlife detection and warning systems (the livestock protection collar), and
participatory measures for wildlife tracking and rapid response to monitor and reduce
conflicts, save crops, property, and human lives
Enhanced investments in location and amenities, in alternative land uses and adequate law
enforcement
Accidental encounters should not be given a bad name and should be viewed in the correct light
(unjustified comparison; elimination of the burden of doubt on the animal-initiated attacks).
Steps to deal with problem areas than problem animals are
Fragmented habitats can be reconnected by using over- or under passes that allow the safe
movement of animals across roads
Fencing can also be used to direct animals to safer places to cross or prevent wildlife-vehicle
collisions in areas of highest risk
Planting native vegetation around roads and in the mediansprovides habitat for small
mammals, birds and insects, such as butterflies.
IASbabas Views:
The introduction of the LPG cylinders in the houses, awareness generation as well as
increasing the number of edibles miscellaneous species to provide more food for animals in
the forest are some good steps that have been initiated by the government.
Efforts also need to be taken to stop soil erosion and to increase water availability in the
forests via soil and moisture conservation measures (SMC) like vegetative checks dams,
loose boulder check-dams, cement plugs, nala bunding, and water-tanks to increase the
productivity of the forests as well as water availability in the habitat.
www.IASbaba.com
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Human and wild animals both are integral components of forest ecosystem; but they
cannot survive together. Do you agree? Give reasons.
www.IASbaba.com
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Poor should be subsidized with putting in place volumetric pricing (also recommended by
the 2012 Water Policy & the Vaidyanathan Committee in 1992) with a low price for the first
slab which covers what is regarded as a minimum need
Water rates should cover O&M costs in the first instance, with capital charges (interest and
depreciation) to be covered over a period of five years (Vaidyanathan Committee in 1992)
Progressive pricing: Those consuming more should pay a progressively higher price per litre
for the water they consume
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DEFENCE/SECURITY
Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
Challenges to internal security through communication networks
Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organized
crime with terrorism.
www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 173
INSURGENCY
1. For a separate independent Manipur
Manipur was declared as a separate state in 1972 (after a protracted agitation
interspersed with violence)
The emergence of insurgency in Manipur is formally traced to the emergence of the
United National Liberation Front (UNLF) on 24 November 1964.
The alleged forced merger of Manipur and the delay in the conferring of full-fledged
statehood to it was greatly resented by the people of Manipur.
Since then several other outfits, like the People's Liberation Army (PLA), founded on
September 25, 1978, People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) set up on
October 9, 1977 and the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) that came into being in
April, 1980 have emerged in the valley areas consisting of four districts of the State. All
these insurgent groups have been demanding a separate independent Manipur.
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Today, Manipur is one of the worst affected states in the Northeast where at least 12
insurgent outfits are active at present and the security force operations have made little
difference to their capabilities.
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Conclusion:
Situation can be attributed to snake and ladder game - Meitei people hold the dice (control
over administration) and pawns remain the citizenry, driven by a collective hysteria
accumulated by years of repression (snakes) by the Indian security establishment, a corrupt
local political establishment, an economy in shambles, and paranoia over the Naga peace
settlement territorially tearing Manipur apart.
Manipuris fires have just begun. It is important that both the Central government and State
government intervene in the issue and frame a peaceful solution among all the groups, before
the fire spreads throughout the state. If not country may witness one more incident such as the
Bodo insurgency (Kokrajahar incident) which ultimately might lead the Indias gateway to
South-East Asia to near stand-still.
Connecting the dots:
Discuss the insurgency problems faced by Manipur state. Can the much demanded
implementation of a permit system to regulate the entry and residency of outsiders solve
those insurgency issues? Critically examine.
www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 176
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