Mains Expected Q - Topics.docx

Mains Topics Critically analyse the geo-political relations between Russia, India and China and its impact in Asia with RIC trilateral meeting of foreign ministers as the backdrop The proposed recent change in Prevention of Corruption Act is a retrograde step. Comment Critically analyse the Goods & Services Tax and its implications in India (250 words) "China is a closed society with an open mind. Indian is an open society with a closed mind". Analyse this statement in the light of contemporary geopolitics. (12.5 marks, 200 words). The current geopolitical developments in West Asia are not conducive to India's interests. Critically analyse (12.5 marks, 200 words) Critically analyse the implementation of RTI Act over the last ten years. (12.5 marks, 200 words) Critically analyse India's new foreign policy initiatives with Central Asian Republics. (12.5 marks, 200 words) FDI in e-commerce (200 words) In today's age the news media can ignore the social media at its own peril. Critically analyse this statement keeping in mind the recent collaboration nine big news media houses with Facebook. (12.5 marks, 200 words) Critically analyse the India-Sweden relationship. (250 words). The contemporary geopolitical order has negated the significance of the Non-Aligned Movement. Critically analyse this statement with respect to India. (12.5 marks, 200 words). Re-promulgating an ordinance is a 'fraud on the constitution'. Critically analyse (12.5 marks, 300 words) Tagore and Gandhi: Do they have contemporary relevance for Global Peace? (Essay topic). Our Prez spoke on this topic in Sweden. Hence it becomes an imp essay topic. Plz prepare Briefly discuss the recent initiatives by the government of India towards gold monetisation scheme. (12.5 marks, 200 words). Probable question for Mains. Big data is changing all the sectors of the economy in profound ways. Comment (12.5 marks, 200 words) Imp topic for essay and descriptive questions. Critically anazlyse the National Food Security Act. (250 words) Critically analyse the Goods & Services Tax (GST). (250 words)

Critically analyse the Finance Commission with a speacial reference of the 14th Finance Commission's recent recommendation that centre share 42% of the divisible pool with the states. (250 words) Briefly discuss the steps taken by the Indian government in last one month to combat climate change and promote sustainable development. (12.5 marks, 200 words) (ref: Economic Survey)

Every nation needs a mission bigger than its people, and beyond its national boundaries'. Justify (12.5 marks, 200 words Kalam was applauding the nation’s MARS mission!! This needs values in society “Evolution of a great nation with prosperity and value system” World Knowledge Platform” to bring multiple nations together and work for sustainable earth with clean energy; sustainable earth would also need great citizens, great human beings with righteousness in the heart Where there is righteousness in the heart, there is a beauty in the character, where there is a beauty in the character, there is harmony in the home, where there is harmony in the home, there is order in the nation, where there is order in the nation there is peace in the world.” Confucius. “Leader must have a vision, leader must have a passion to accomplish the mission, leader must be able to travel into an unexplored path, leader must know how to manage success and failure, leader must have courage to take decision, leader should have nobility in management, every action of the leader should be transparent, and leader should work with integrity and success with integrity.” Always promote profit with integrity because we need to have national ethics for sustained growth and peace. If nation has to have ethics and value system, families should adhere to ethics and value system; for families to have value system, parents should have in-built ethics, and parental ethics come from value-based education and creation of clean environment

Critically analyse the changing dynamics of the geo-political situtaions in Asia, with special mention of China, Sri Lanka, Pakistan & India (250 words)

How is Facebook's recent internet.org initiative related to the concept of net neutrality. Critically analyse how it encourages or discourages net neutrality. Internet.org is a global partnership between technology leaders, nonprofits, local communities and experts who are working together to bring the internet to the two thirds of the world’s population that doesn’t have it. (ii) The Internet.org app provides free basic services in markets where internet access

may be less affordable and allows it allows people to browse selected health, employment and local information websites without data charges. India now becomes the sixth destination for Internet.org, a Facebook-led initiative envisaged about a year-and-a-half back with six other founding partners, including Samsung and Qualcomm. The service has already been launched in Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Colombia and Ghana

Report of Bankruptcy Law Reform Committee (BLRC): sure shot Mains question The state of bankruptcy law in India continues to leave much to be desired, and adds to the difficulties in doing business in the country. Several previous efforts have been undertaken towards reforms, but they have either been introduced on a piecemeal basis or have not entirely been successful. With this in mind, the Government had last year appointed the Bankruptcy Law Reform Committee (BLRC) to review the framework for corporate bankruptcy in India. The BLRC, headed by former law secretary T K Vishwanathan has issued its Interim Report, which is now available on the Ministry of Finance website. The report adopts a two-stage approach. The first stage involves an examination of the present legal framework and suggestion of immediate reforms. The BLRC has sought to accomplish this through the Interim Report just issued. The second stage (to be undertaken next) would be to develop an “Insolvency Code” that would encompass all aspects of personal and business insolvency. The Interim Report recommended a number of suggestions to alter various sections of the Companies Act, 2013 for a faster liquidation process and to ensure that creditors have a say in determining the

viability of a company. (ii) an administrative mechanism (for resolving financial distress of viable MSMEs) which can be operationalized through bodies called `Committees for Distressed Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises' to be established by the banks. (iii) that liquidation should not be seen as a measure of last resort for unviable businesses that have become insolvent and be acted upon to minimize the losses for all parties, adding that there is a case for reforming the corporate insolvency regime in India through a combination of substantive and institutional changes. (iv)in relation to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which continues to be mired in litigation.

Convention on Supplementary Compensation

Critically analyse the Urban Child Labour Problem in India (12.5 marks, 250 words) Migration, human trafficking; agriculture, industries in rural areas; CRY – Child Rights and You-Child labour in urban areas increased by about 50% in a decade from 2001-2011 while child labour is decreasing only at 2.2% annually over the past decade. Bihar, UP, Mah, MP, Raj account for >50% child labour. Urban areas have the institutional structures for implementation. Effect on Demographic Dividend, Skill India, loss of productivity and more than any of the above violation of human rights, provisions of Constitution (24). child labour Act amendments

Critically analyse the Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh. (250 words, 12.5 marks) Power flows from a bowl of rice rather than a barrel of a gun. Comment "The world is facing the worst refugee crisis situation since the Second World War". Explain (12.5 marks, 200 words) War, conflicts and persecution; Syria, Libya, Myanmar, Ertirea; UNHCR; coordinated approach with developed countries more responsibility for equity; dveloping countries do not have much resources; Humanitarian crisis Briefly list out recent initiatives by the government to boost forensic science research in India. (12.5 marks, 200 words) Give your critical views on Ministry of External Affairs recent decision on lateral entry of foreign policy experts. (12.5 marks, 200 words). Plz use relative service strength of all developed countries. Imp The recent full membership of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation accorded to India and Pakistan may lead to betterment of relations between the two countries. Comment (12.5 marks, 200 words). Bring out clearly India's evolving stand over the years on the Palestine issue.(12.5 marks, 200 words) Crowdfunding has the potential to change the enterpreneurship landscape of the country. Critically analyse (12.5 marks, 200 words). Very probable GS or Essay question. India's policy towards Central Asian countries has lacked focus and attention. Critically analyse. (12.5 marks, 200 words) Critically analyse BRICS. (250 words) Critically analyse the Digital India Mission of the Government of India. (250 words). Critically analyse the Greek crisis. (250 Words) A stable Iran is a prerequisite for a stable west Asia. The Peace of Westphalia (1648), which ended the Thirty Years' War in Europe, is called by many historians the "peace of exhaustion." The Westphalia treaty resulted from the fact that, despite decades of war, none of the competing forces succeeded in achieving its maximalist goals, while leaving them all depleted and exhausted. It also led to the realization that, to avoid a repetition of such ruinous wars, a new structure for inter-state relations needed to be put in place. This led to the development of principles which laid the foundation of the modern international system which, in its essential elements, still exists. The experience of the last three decades, and especially the last ten years, shows that no single regional country or creed can dominate the entire region. Iran's revolutionary ideology has lost whatever

broader appeal it ever had in the region and has even begun to play itself out at home. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has failed to roll back the Shia revival in Iraq or to establish its over-lordship with other Sunni Arab countries. Turkey's dreams of a new version of the Ottoman Empire have also proved highly unrealistic. And despite efforts to use Iran as the sacrificial lamb in an Israeli-Sunni Arab bargain, ArabIsraeli peace remains as elusive as ever. But Iran has also been thwarted in its effort to "liberate" Palestine. The fundamental changes within the international system are revealed by the unfolding of the Syrian crisis and the stalemate in this conflict at both regional and international levels, especially Russian and Chinese resistance to US policies there. DNA Profiling Bill: (i) It provides for a national database of DNA profiles for crime detection and evidence in judicial proceedings. (ii) It aims to set up DNA Profiling Board at National and State levels; and a National DNA Data Bank. (iii) As per the bill DNA profile of an individual will be deleted if that person were to be acquitted after the trial; moreover DNA profiles can be shared with other countries for cases related to terrorism, narcotics etc. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/dna-profiling-bill/article7470970.ece

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RBI gov on Competitive monetary easing: (i) Attempts to spur growth by holding interest rates near zero for years (ii) Massive asset purchases aimed at holding down longer-term borrowing costs. Basically it is the artificial attempts to maintain the economy competitive. Public distribution system (PDS) in India comes under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution and is managed jointly with state governments. (ii) The PDS distributes subsidized food and non-food items to India's poor. (iii) The Food Corporation of India, a Government-owned corporation, procures and maintains the PDS. Plz note that PDS also gives non- food items The TFA aims to fast track any movement of goods among countries by cutting down bureaucratic obligations. (ii) As per a clause under the TFA farm subsidies cannot be more than 10 percent of the value of agricultural production, and if this cap is breached, other members can challenge it and also go on to impose trade sanctions on the country. India has never shown any willingness to sign the TFA until and unless its concerns were addressed.

Reason behind stagnant and low yield in pulses over the last three decades: (i) Pulses are technologyproof crops and despite years of trying, no amount of R&D has increased the yield of pulses significantly. (ii) Farmers are increasingly growing pulses on inferior land, as better lands are used fir growing cereals. Prices of pulses have remained very high since last many seasons. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or SCO is a Eurasian political, economic and military organisation which was founded in Shanghai. (ii)It was founded by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. (iii) The SCO is primarily centered on its member nations' Central Asian security-related concerns, often describing the main threats it confronts as being terrorism, separatism and extremism. The Silk Road Economic Belt initiative includes countries situated on the original Silk Road through Central Asia, West Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. (ii) The initiative calls for the integration of the region into a cohesive economic area through building infrastructure, increasing cultural exchanges, and broadening trade. China's Belt Road Policy is overlooked by the Asian Infrasturcture Investment Bank Prime Minister of India recently launched a multi-purpose and multi-modal platform PRAGATI (ProActive Governance And Timely Implementation). (ii) PRAGATI is a unique integrating and interactive platform & is aimed at addressing common man’s grievances, and simultaneously monitoring and reviewing important programmes and projects of the Government of India as well as projects flagged by State Governments. (iii) The PRAGATI platform uniquely bundles three latest technologies i.e. the digital data management, video-conferencing and geo-spatial technology. The vision of the National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015 is to create an ecosystem of empowerment by skilling on a large scale at speed with high standards and to promote a culture of innovation-based entrepreneurship which can generate wealth and employment so as to ensure sustainable livelihoods for all citizens. (ii) The National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015 aims to align supply with demand, bridging existing skill gaps, promoting industry engagement, operationalise a quality assurance framework, leveraging technology and promoting apprenticeship to tackle the identified issues. (iii) It also seeks to connect entrepreneurs to mentors, incubators and credit markets, foster innovation and entrepreneurial culture, improve ease of doing business and promote a focus on social entrepreneurship. The e-kisan mandi, an initiative of the agriculture ministry , will be a platform to trade fresh vegetables and fruits. (ii) The Small Farmers Agri-business Consortium (SFAC), a body under the ministry, will facilitate transactions. (iii) The platform will allow farmers to showcase their farm produce on the Internet for wholesalers to bid remotely before the crop is harvested and sent to the buyer. Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC): (i) About 30 per cent of rural households are landless and derive a major part of their income from manual, casual labour. (ii) Close to a quarter of rural households having no literate adults above the age of 25. SECC is deprivation based. The last poverty calculation program had income based calculation. Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC): (i) SECC data is the "revealed data" by the household members to the enumerator. The SECC Census data addresses the

multi dimensionality of poverty and provides a unique opportunity for a convergent, evidence based planning with a Gram Panchayat as a unit. It is being done after almost 80 years for the first time. Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL) collects and maintains records of an individual’s payments pertaining to loans and credit cards. (ii) User data is submitted to CIBIL by member banks and credit institutions, on a monthly basis. (iii) The information collected by CIBIL is then used to create Credit Information Reports (CIR) and credit scores which are provided to credit institutions in order to help evaluate and approve loan applications. Factor responsible for holding back Public Private Partnership models currently: (i) Mounting debts of infrastructure companies. (ii) Big banks desisting from giving loans to infrastructure projects. (iii) Lack of flexibility in contractual agreements. Severe underweight - below minus three standard deviations from median weight for age of reference population. (iii) Moderate Stunting - below minus two standard deviations from median height for age of reference population. Low birthweight - Less than 2500 grams. In India Public Sector banks have higher percentage of Non Performing Assets (NPAs) compared to private banks. (ii) Non performing assets of banks in India are presently concentrated majorly in infra, coal and gas sector. Increasing governance and accountability has a favourable effect on non performing assets of public sector banks. The TFA aims to fast track any movement of goods among countries by cutting down bureaucratic obligations. (ii) As per a clause under the TFA farm subsidies cannot be more than 10 percent of the value of agricultural production, and if this cap is breached, other members can challenge it and also go on to impose trade sanctions on the country. India has not signed TFA as signing it will hurt poor farmers. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (often referred to as the International Criminal Court Statute or the Rome Statute) is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Rome Statute established four core international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. The CRA is a framework for the provision of support through liquidity and precautionary instruments in response to actual or potential short-term balance of payments pressures. Trade blocs like the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) etc show that trade is becoming regional. (ii) The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) is an economic union of states located primarily in northern Eurasia. (iii) EEU is composed of supranational institutions like the Eurasian Commission (the executive body), the Court of the EEU (the judicial body) and the Eurasian Development Bank. At present the urea subsidy is paid to urea producers and importers, not farmers. (ii) At present the Fertiliser Ministry determines separately, for every single manufacturing plant, the difference between

the market price and cost of production for urea for the purpose of calculating the subsidy. (iii) Urea is the only fertilizer which is yet to be decontrolled. The Meiji period/era – Japan: This period also saw the use of large number of South Korean slaves by Japan for making large building and structures. Many Meiji sites have been recently given world heritage site status. Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Report 2015: (i) India has halved its incidence of extreme poverty, ahead of the deadline of 2015 set by the United Nations. (ii) As per the report India is one of the few countries that have reduced its carbon dioxide emissions in relation to its GDP. (iii) One of the Millenium Development Goals is to achieve universal primary education. Since MDG deadline is 2015, it is a probable question regarding achievements, failures by India. A breeder reactor is one which breeds more fuel than it consumes. (ii) India has the capability to use thorium cycle based processes to extract nuclear fuel which is of special significance to the Indian nuclear power generation strategy as India has one of the world's largest reserves of thorium. (iii) India's three-stage nuclear power programme was formulated by Dr. Homi Bhabha to secure the country’s long term energy independence, through the use of uranium and thorium reserves found in the monazite sands of coastal regions of South India. Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh(JSK), or National Population Stabilisation Fund, is an autonomous society of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. (ii) It strives to provide or undertake activities aimed to achieve population stabilization, at a level consistent with the needs of sustainable economic growth, social development and environment protection, by 2045. (iii) It aims to facilitate the development of a vigorous people's movement in favour of the national effort for population stabilization. India's population is 17.25 percent of world's population. India's population is growing at a faster rate than China. (iii) Age at marriage has a significant influence on Total Fertility Rate (TFR). Thanjavur Veena is the first musical instrument in the country to be awarded the geographical indication (GI) tag. (ii) GI tag is used for agricultural, natural and manufactured goods. (iii) Veena is India's national musical instrument. Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY): (i) It aims to develop a model village through the implementation or convergence process of existing schemes and use of MPLAD funds. (ii) It aims to create model villages that can be replicated. (iii) A member of Parliament can select any gram panchayat, other than her own native village, which can be developed as an `adarsh gram' (model village). Public authorities under the Right to Information are liable to publicly disclose financial assets. CIC has been attempting to bring Political parties under the ambit of RTI. Private companies are exempted. Right to information has been held to be a part of the freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a). “Public Authorities” under the Right to Information Act 2005, have to disclose their financial assets to the public. (ii) The Central Information Commission (CIC) has declared all national and regional political parties to be public authorities under the RTI. (iii) Under the Representation of the People Act, 1951 all political parties must affirm their allegiance to the Constitution of India.

LARR Act 2013 requires prior consent of 80 per cent of the owners for land acquisition for private projects; in the case of public private partnerships (PPP), the figure is 70 per cent. (ii) It mandates SIA to assess the costs and benefits of the project, and, therefore, whether land acquisition is in public interest or not. (iii) The Act restricts the acquisition of irrigated and multi-crop land. Major issues related to the petition against National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) in the Supreme Court: (i) There is no attempt to define who the two eminent persons on the NJAC will be. (ii) The politicians could collude to nominate a person who, in the opinion of the Chief Justice, lacks the credentials to be part of the NJAC. (iii) Neither the constitutional amendment nor the statute specifies the procedures that the NJAC is expected to follow while making decisions on appointments. The Maldives has amended its constitution to allow foreign nationals and entities the right to own freehold land, including entire islands. (ii) It is a founding member of SAARC. (iii) India played a major role in solving Maldive's recent drinking water crisis. The ‘Grid Connected Rooftop and Small Solar Power Plants Programme’ encourages the installation of solar rooftop systems across the country including in buildings of State Government agencies. (ii) There are provisions of custom duty concessions, 10 years tax holiday, provision for loans and also loans upto Rs.10 lakh for individual loans under priority sector lending. (iii) It is being promoted by Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). Now individuals will be get subsidies and benefits for switching to solar power The aim of Foreign Educational Institutions Bill is to make India an educational hub . To allow foreign universities to set up campuses in India Regulatory Reforms Bill: (i) It aims at an institutional framework for regulatory commissions, their role and functions, accountability to the legislature and interface with the markets and the people. (ii) The bill is extremely essential to formulate a common set of guidelines for all regulators to minimise the complexities arising out of multiplicity of regulatory bodies and the lack of common approach and philosophy in the regulatory arrangement. (iii) The regulatory reforms bill will be applicable to key sectors such as electricity, oil and gas, coal, telecommunication and internet, broadcasting and cable television, posts, airports, ports, waterways, railways, mass rapid transit system, highways and water supply and sanitation etc. Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) was established to protect the interests of consumers and entities engaged in specified activities relating to petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas and to promote competitive markets and for other related matters. (ii) PNGRB does not regulate the production of crude oil and natural gas (iii) The PNGRB aims to create a vibrant energy market with rapid and orderly growth through facilitation of flow of investments into the basic infrastructure for efficient transportation and distribution of petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas at minimum cost and high level of protection.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks to issue only chip-based and PIN-enabled debit and credit cards. (ii) EMV Chip Card and PIN protect against both counterfeit (skimming) and lost and stolen card fraud. (iii) Most bank use magnetic stripe based credit / debit cards. Biofencing are lines of trees or shrubs planted on farm or field boundaries that provide protection against cattle and wildlife, act as windbreaks, enrich the soil, provide bee forage, provide shade, and control dust. (ii) They are less expensive and more useful than fences made of wood, barbed wire, or stone masonry. (iii) Some examples include cactus and bamboo. National eHealth Authority(NeHA): (i) NeHA will be a nodal authority that will be responsible for development of an Integrated Health Information System (including Telemedicine and mHealth) in India. (ii) collaborating with all the stakeholders, viz., healthcare providers, consumers, healthcare technology industries, and policymakers. (iii) It will also be responsible for enforcing the laws and regulations relating to the privacy and security of the patients health information and records. Avalanches are typically triggered in a starting zone from a mechanical failure in the snowpack (slab avalanche) when the forces on the snow exceed its strength but sometimes only with gradually widening (loose snow avalanche). (iii) Most avalanches occur spontaneously during storms under increased load due to snowfall & the second largest cause of natural avalanches is metamorphic changes in the snowpack such as melting due to solar radiation. http://www.iom.int/m http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-its-a-secret/ The National Food Security Act converts into legal entitlements for existing food security programmes of the Government of India. (ii) It includes the Midday Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Services scheme and the Public Distribution System. (iii) The Act requires that pregnant and lactating women be paid a cash benefit of a minimum of Rs. 6,000 through the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY). Prasar Bharati is the Public Service Broadcaster of the country. (ii) The Prasar Bharti Act grants autonomy to All India Radio and Doordarshan. President appoints the Chairperson USTTAD - Education and skill development for minorities (ii) Mission Indradhanush - Vaccination against seven diseases (iii) e-Saadhya - Children with autism George Yeo will succeed Amartya Sen as the new VC of Nalanda University Doordarshan (often abbreviated DD) is autonomous India's Central Government founded public service broadcaster a division of Prasar Bharati. (ii) It is one of India's largest broadcasting organisations in terms of studio and transmitter infrastructure. (iii) The DD provides television, radio, online and mobile services throughout metropolitan and regional India, as well as overseas through the Indian Network and Radio India.

The Treaty of Lisbon is an international agreement which amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). (ii) The stated aim of the treaty was to complete the process started by the Treaty of Amsterdam and by the Treaty of Nice with a view to enhancing the efficiency and democratic legitimacy of the Union and to improving the coherence of its action. (iii) The Treaty also made the Union's bill of rights, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, legally binding & it for the first time gave member states the explicit legal right to leave the EU, and a procedure to do so. Non-Aligned Movement (NAM): (i) It was created at the height of the Cold War. (ii) The Founders of NAM have preferred to declare it as a movement but not an organization. (iii) The principles of nonalignment, as articulated by Nehru and his successors, were preservation of India's freedom of action internationally through refusal to align India with any bloc or alliance. Digital India – A programme to transform India into digital empowered society and knowledge economy. (ii) It would also bring in public accountability through mandated delivery of government’s services electronically, a Unique ID and e-Pramaan based on authentic and standard based interoperable and integrated government applications and data basis. (iii) As a part of the Digital India initiative, the government will also be launching a portal to exchange information on missing and found children. State of the Forest Report 2013: (i) India’s National Forest Policy 1988 aims at maintaining 33 per cent of the geographical area under forest and tree cover. (ii) The North-eastern States account for onefourth of the country’s forest cover. (iii) The maximum increase in forest cover is in West Bengal, followed by Odisha and Kerala. Build–operate–transfer (BOT) type financing: (i) It is a type of arrangement in which the private sector builds an infrastructure project, operates it and eventually transfers ownership of the project to government. It is used in large projects with long gestation periods. A BOOT (build–own–operate– transfer) structure differs from BOT in that the private entity owns the works. During the concession period the private company owns and operates the facility with the prime goal to recover the costs of investment and maintenance while trying to achieve higher margin on project. Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the ten member states of the ASEAN countries i.e Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the six states with which ASEAN has existing FTAs i.e Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. (ii) RCEP covers trade in goods, trade in services, investment, economic and technical co-operation, intellectual property, competition, dispute settlement and other issues. (iii) The RCEP will be comprehensive, of high-quality and consistent with WTO rules and all service sectors will be subject to negotiations. Government of India Act 1935: (i) It ended the system of dyarchy in the provinces. (ii) It led to the introduction of direct elections. (iii) The act had the provision for the establishment of a "Federation of India", to be made up of both British India and some or all of the "princely states".

Global Apollo Programme is related to Green energy led by experts from UK to plan a way for lowering the cost of green energy generation In Parthenogenesis a female's eggs can develop into a baby without being fertilized by a male's sperm cell. (ii) One of the divided precursor cells act as a sperm cell and fuses with the egg. (iii) Precursor cells are stem cells that have developed to the stage where they are committed to forming a particular type of new blood cell. Amravathi has been chosen to be the capital city of Andhra Pradesh. (ii) Amaravathi has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India. (iii) HRIDAY was launched with the aim of bringing together urban planning, economic growth and heritage conservation in an inclusive manner to preserve the heritage character of each Heritage City.

The southwestern summer monsoons occur from July through September. The Thar Desert and adjoining areas of the northern and central Indian subcontinent heat up considerably during the hot summers which cause a low pressure area over the northern and central Indian subcontinent which attracts moisture-laden winds from the Indian Ocean. (iii) The Himalayas act like a high wall, blocking the winds from passing into Central Asia, and forcing them to rise and as the clouds rise their temperature drops and precipitation occurs. Naresh Chandra task force to review and suggest measures to strengthen the national security apparatus: (ii) It suggested that army should be given management of Sino-Indian borders and that India should become more assertive in dealing with China. (ii) It suggested secret talks with Naxalite groups. (iii) It suggested setting up of an Advanced Projects Agency (APA) which would undertake high-risk futuristic military research. Gives a road map for India's defence preparedness. The Common Reporting Standard (CRS), formally referred to as the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information, is an information standard for the automatic exchange of information. (ii) India recently joined the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information. (iii) Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) sets up a system wherein bulk taxpayer information will periodically be sent by the source country of income to the country of residence of the taxpayer. National Knowledge Network (NKN) is a multi-gigabit network, whose purpose is to provide a unified high speed network backbone for educational institutions in India. (ii) Advanced applications in areas such as Health, Education, Science & Technology, Grid Computing, Bioinformatics, Agriculture, and Governance will be an integral part of NKN. (iii) India has decided to extend the National Knowledge Network to all members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to allow students unimpeded access to digital libraries and network resources. Definition of drought year by Meteorological department: (i) When area affected by moderate or severe drought is 20-40 percent of the total area of the country. (ii) Overall rainfall deficiency during the south west monsoon season is at least 10 percent or more.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is used in the food industry as a flavor enhancer. Lead is deadly for humans. Arsenic contamination is found in many states in India. Lead can get into the body by touch (hence children are at risk as most toys have lead paints) and inhaling. Once it reaches the body, flushing out is difficult. (iii) Excessive level of lead can lead to stunted growth in children. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been established under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006; and it has been created for laying down science based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. (ii) Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India is the Administrative Ministry for the implementation of FSSAI. (iii) FSSAI has been mandated to collect and collate data regarding food consumption, incidence and prevalence of biological risk, contaminants in food, residues of various, contaminants in foods products, identification of emerging risks and introduction of rapid alert system. Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) – Urban development: It will replace JNNURM The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is the premier body that investigates abuses and violations of human rights in India. (ii) NHRC has wide-ranging powers to investigate, recommend prosecutions, and award compensations for human rights violations. (iii) One of the eligibility criteria is that only a former Chief Justice of India (CJI) should head the NHRC “Namami Gange” Program: The program aims to involve population living on the banks to cooperate actively. The program also focuses on involving the States and grassroots level institutions such as Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions in implementation. (iii) The Centre plans to provide for operation & maintenance of the assets for a minimum 10 year period, and adopt a PPP/SPV approach for pollution hotspots. Rubella, also known as German measles or three-day measles, is an infection caused by the rubella virus. (ii) Rubella is usually spread through the air via coughs of people who are infected. (iii) India and Netherlands have decided to make Rubella Vaccine in India with transfer of technology. India and Netherlands signed agreement on Rubella vaccine. The South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Program, set up in 2001, brings together Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka in a project-based partnership to promote regional prosperity by improving cross-border connectivity, boosting trade among member countries, and strengthening regional economic cooperation. (ii) Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal (BBIN), a subset of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), formed the South Asian Growth Quadrangle (SAGQ) aimed at boosting cooperation in environment, energy and power, trade and investment, transport, and tourism; Maldives and Sri Lanka joined this initiative later. (iii) The BBIN Motor vehicle pact is being planned. BBIN and SASEC are the initiatives through which India wants to get rid of Pak intereferences (which has led to slow development through SAARC).

Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) was set by the Government of India as the central national agency responsible for receiving, processing, analyzing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions. (ii) FIU-IND is also responsible for coordinating and strengthening efforts of national and international intelligence, investigation and enforcement agencies in pursuing the global efforts against money laundering and related crimes. (iii) FIU-IND is an independent body reporting directly to the Economic Intelligence Council (EIC) headed by the Finance Minister. GDP at factor cost excludes indirect taxes but includes subsidies. (ii) GDP at market prices includes indirect taxes but excludes subsidies. (iii) If the Government tries to raise the subsidies then the difference between the GDP at Factor Cost and GDP at Market Prices will increase. RuPay is India's own card payment scheme. (ii) The transaction and customer data of RuPay users will stay in India. (iii) RuPay card is also being used for financial inclusion. A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin e.g. a town, region, or country. (ii) The use of a GI may act as a certification that the product possesses certain qualities, is made according to traditional methods, or enjoys a certain reputation, due to its geographical origin. Thanjvur Veena is a musical instrument. The Rohingya Crisis is ongoing incident of migration of thousands of Rohingya people from Myanmar and Bangladesh. The National Security Adviser (NSA) is the chief executive of the National Security Council (NSC), and the primary adviser to the Prime Minister of India on national and international security. (ii) It is the National Security Adviser to whom intelligence agencies such as the Research and Analysis Wing and Intelligence Bureau report. (iii) The National Security Adviser (NSA) is tasked with regularly advising the Prime Minister on all matters relating to internal and external threats to the country, Debt restructuring is a process that allows a public, private as well as sovereign entities facing cash flow problems and financial distress to reduce and renegotiate its delinquent debts in order to improve or restore liquidity so that it can continue its operations. (ii) A debt restructuring, which involves a reduction of debt and an extension of payment terms, is usually a less expensive alternative to bankruptcy. (iii) The main costs associated with debt restructuring are the time and effort negotiating with bankers, creditors, vendors, and tax authorities. Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is an apex Indian governmental body created to address governmental corruption. (ii) It has the status of an autonomous body, free of control from any executive authority, charged with monitoring all vigilance activity under the Central Government of India, advising various authorities in central Government organizations in planning, executing, reviewing and reforming their vigilance work. Corruption investigation of government officials can only be done after taking the government's permission. Forest genetic resources or tree genetic resources are genetic material of shrub and tree species of actual or future value. (ii) Forest genetic resources are essential for forest-depending communities who

rely for a substantial part of their livelihoods on timber and non-timber forest products for food security, domestic use and income generation. (iii) Genetic resources of several important timber, fruit and other non-timber tree species are conserved ex situ in genebanks or maintained in field collections. El Nino is the warm phase of the El Nino Southern Oscillation (commonly called ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific. (ii) El Nino Southern Oscillation refers to the cycle of warm and cold temperatures, as measured by sea surface temperature, SST, of the tropical central and eastern Pacific Ocean. El Nino is accompanied by high air pressure in the western Pacific and low air pressure in the eastern Pacific & the cool phase of ENSO is called La Nina. Jamini Roy can be associated to the field of Painting The National Capital Region (NCR) in India is the designation for the conurbation or metropolitan area which encompasses the entire National Capital Territory of Delhi, which includes New Delhi, as well as urban areas surrounding it in neighboring states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. (ii) The aim of the concept was to develop a metropolitan area around Delhi, so as to divert increasing pressure of population from the region & the concept was essential in order to protect Delhi's infrastructure from excessive pressure and a planned development of the region. (iii) Recently Jind, Karnal & Muzaffarnagar was included as a part of the NCR. The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial branch of the United Nations. (ii) Its main functions are to settle legal disputes submitted to it by states and to provide advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by duly authorized international branches, agencies, and the UN General Assembly. (iii) The ICJ is composed of fifteen judges elected to nine-year terms by the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council from a list of persons nominated by the national groups in the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Quantitative easing (QE) is a type of monetary policy used by central banks to stimulate the economy when standard monetary policy has become ineffective. (ii) A central bank implements quantitative easing by buying specified amounts of financial assets from commercial banks and other private institutions, thus raising the prices of those financial assets and lowering their yield, while simultaneously increasing the monetary base. (iii) Quantitative easing can help ensure that inflation does not fall below a target. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), India is a quasi-judicial commission in India which was set up under the Consumer Protection Act. (ii)The commission is headed by a sitting or retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. Any person aggrieved by an order of NCDRC, may prefer an Appeal against such order to Supreme Court of India within a period of 30 days. The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) was established with the objectives of exploring the plant resources of the country and identifying plant species with economic virtue. (ii) The Government reorganised the BSI with the objectives of undertaking intensive floristic surveys and collecting accurate and detailed information on the occurrence, distribution, ecology and economic utility of plants in the country. (iii) It

also mandated the BSI in collecting, identifying and distributing materials that may be of use to educational and research institutions. The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), is a national centre for faunistic survey and exploration of the resources leading to the advancement of knowledge on the exceptionally rich faunal diversity of the country. It is very much under govt control. ZSI in engaged in the study of the fauna of states, fauna of conservation areas, fauna of important ecosystems, status survey of endangered species, fauna of India and ecological studies & environmental impact assessments 'Layering', in black money parlance, means hiding a person's identity by using shell companies in tax heavens Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) provide for the exchange of information on request relating to a specific criminal or civil tax investigation or civil tax matters under investigation. (ii) It was developed by the OECD Global Forum Working Group on Effective Exchange of Information. (iii) The Working Group consisted of representatives from OECD Member countries as well as delegates from Aruba, Bermuda, Bahrain, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Isle of Man, Malta, Mauritius, the Netherlands Antilles, the Seychelles and San Marino. The Chief Information Commission is not a constitutional body. (ii) The Central Bureau of Investigation is the main investigating agency of the Central Government. (iii) The Central Vigilance Commission is the main agency for preventing corruption in the Central government. The African leaders signed a historic 26-nation free trade pact to create a common market spanning half the continent from Cairo to Cape Town. (ii) The deal on the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) caps five years of negotiations to set up a framework for preferential tariffs easing the movement of goods. (iii) The deal will integrate three existing trade blocs — the East African Community, the Southern African Development Community and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). Basic conditions for Indian Meteorology Department (IMD) to define a heat wave: (i) where there is either an excess of 5 to 6 degree C over a normal daily historical maximum temperature (over a 30-year period) of less than 40 degree C. (ii) an excess of 4 to 5 degree C over a normal historical maximum temperature of more than 40 degree C. (iii) immaterial of the normal historical maximum temperature, IMD declares heat wave when the actual maximum temperature is above 45 degree C. Strategic Debt Restructuring Scheme' was launched by the Reserve Bank of India The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) is an informal and voluntary partnership between 34 countries to prevent the proliferation of missile and unmanned aerial vehicle technology. (ii) The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) was established by Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Great Britain, and the United States. India is not yet a member. The Cabinet approved the signing of a motor vehicles pact between India and three other nations of the SAARC grouping — Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal which will enable seamless transit of passenger and cargo vehicles among these nations. (ii) Signing of the BBIN pact will promote safe, economical efficient

and environmentally sound road transport in the sub-region and will help each country in creating an institutional mechanism for regional integration. (iii) BBIN countries will be benefited by mutual cross border movement of passenger and goods for overall economic development of the region. The Central Information Commission (CIC) set up under the Right to Information Act is the authorized body, established under the Government of India to act upon complaints from those individuals who have not been able to submit information requests to a Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer. (ii) CIC has the powers of Civil Court. (iii) The Commission includes Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and not more than 10 Information Commissioners (IC) The Right to Clearance policy, for industrial projects, has been launched by Telengana to encourage manufacturing Nek Chand, was related to Architecture. He is the one who designed Rock Gardens of Chandigarh. This garden is made up of waste materials. G8 became G7 due to the exit of Russia. Russia was thrown out by other countries on the issue of Crimea. Recent amendments in the Child Labour Act: (i) It has banned all kinds of child labour under the age of 14 years. (ii) Children below the age of 14 can work in family enterprises, farm lands but only after school hours and on holidays. (iii) The new norm would also apply to the entertainment industry and sports except the circus. Bibek Debroy committee report on the restructuring of Indian Railways: (i) It lays down a five-year roadmap to evolve a statutory rail regulator. (ii) The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation Limited (DFCCL), the report recommends, should be made autonomous and separated from Indian Railways so that it gives non-discriminatory access to both Indian Railways and private operators. It has suggested to do away with the rail budget altogether. The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, is an honour for the performing arts in India. (ii) It is the highest honour in the performing arts conferred by the Government of India. (iii) The fellowship of the Sangeet Natak Akademi is restricted at any point of time. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is an index for India which details out the growth of various sectors in an economy such as mining, electricity and manufacturing. (ii) It is a composite indicator that measures the short-term changes in the volume of production of a basket of industrial products during a given period with respect to that in a chosen base period. It is compiled and published monthly by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) Clauses in India's Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act gives the operator the right to legal recourse and allows it to sue the suppliers in case of any accident. (ii) The Union government has launched an insurance pool of Rs. 1,500 crore which is mandatory under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act to offset the financial burden on foreign nuclear suppliers in case of an accident. (iii) The insurance pool has been set up by General Insurance Corporation of India and 11 other non-life insurers.

The Blue Economy conceptualises oceans as Development Spaces where spatial planning integrates conservation, sustainable use, oil and mineral wealth extraction, bioprospecting, sustainable energy production and marine transport. (ii) The Blue Economy incorporates ocean values and services into economic modelling and decision-making processes. (iii) The Blue Economy paradigm constitutes a sustainable development framework for developing countries addressing equity in access to, development of and the sharing of benefits from marine resources; offering scope for re-investment in human development and the alleviation of crippling national debt burdens. Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is an apex Indian governmental body created to address governmental corruption. (ii) It has the status of an autonomous body, free of control from any executive authority, charged with monitoring all vigilance activity under the Central Government of India, advising various authorities in central Government organizations in planning, executing, reviewing and reforming their vigilance work..Corruption investigation of government officials can only be done after taking the government's permission. Recommendations of the Debroy Committee on Railways: (i) It has suggested to move to commercial accounting. (ii) It has proposed to do away with the Railway Budget. (iii) It has proposed to do away with the Railway Protection Force. The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) provides a network that enables financial institutions worldwide to send and receive information about financial transactions in a secure, standardized and reliable environment. (ii) SWIFT is a cooperative society under Belgian law owned by its member financial institutions with offices around the world. (iii) SWIFT does not facilitate funds transfer; rather, it sends payment orders, which must be settled by correspondent accounts that the institutions have with each other - related to curbing black money. The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC),is a regional intergovernmental political and economic union consisting of all Arab states of the Persian Gulf. The Gulf Cooperation Council launched common economic projects to promote and facilitate integration. (iii) Its member states are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Iraq is not a part of GCC. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is the independent regulator of the telecommunications business in India. (ii) TRAI's mission is to create and nurture conditions for growth of telecommunications in India to enable the country to have a leading role in the emerging global information society. (iii) TRAI regularly issues orders and directions on various subjects such as tariffs, interconnections, Direct To Home (DTH) services and mobile number portability The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) is an Indian government agency responsible for collecting and analysing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code (IPC). (ii) NCRB functions directly under the Ministry of Home Affairs. (iii) NCRB is implementing Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), which is a mission mode project under the National e-governance plan of Government of India.

A Non-performing asset (NPA) is defined as a credit facility in respect of which the interest and/or installment of principal has remained past due for a specified period of time. (ii) NPA is used by financial institutions that refer to loans that are in jeopardy of default. (iii) Once the borrower has failed to make interest or principle payments for 90 days the loan is considered to be a non-performing asset & nonperforming assets are problematic for financial institutions since they depend on interest payments for income. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical objects or things embedded with electronics, software, sensors and connectivity to enable it to achieve greater value and service by exchanging data with the manufacturer, operator and/or other connected devices. (ii) Each thing is uniquely identifiable through its embedded computing system but is able to interoperate within the existing Internet infrastructure. (iii) Things, in the IoT, can refer to a wide variety of devices such as heart monitoring implants, biochip transponders on farm animals, electric clams in coastal waters, automobiles with builtin sensors, or field operation devices that assist fire-fighters in search and rescue. Employment Exchange for Industries functions under Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises

The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided in part by the Central Government of India. (ii) It has been accorded the status of Institute of National Importance by the government of India. (iii) FTII is a member of the International Liaison Centre of Schools of Cinema and Television (CILECT), an organisation of the world's leading schools of film and television.

Bibek Debroy Committee on restructuring the Indian Railways has suggested introduction of commercial accounting practices. (iii) It has suggested for greater decentralisation of powers, has suggested slow, gradual reforms, simply because Indian Railways is a huge organization where change cannot be expected to be fast. India recently signed Motor Vehicles Agreement with Bhutan, Bangladesh & Nepal The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is an autonomous regional satellite navigation system being developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) which would be under complete control of the Indian government. (ii) The IRNSS would provide two services, with the Standard Positioning Service open for civilian use, and the Restricted Service (an encrypted one) for authorised users including the military. (iii) IRNSS would have seven satellites, out of which four are already placed in orbit. Sakaar is Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Augmented Reality (AR) application designed for Andriod devices. (ii) It is an “augmented reality application” intended to give a real world environment

to visualise ISRO projects. (iii) It provides in real time, three-dimensional models of Mars Missions, various satellites, launch vehicles and other projects of ISRO. A consumer price index (CPI) measures changes in the price level of a market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households. (ii) The CPI is a statistical estimate constructed using the prices of a sample of representative items whose prices are collected periodically. (iii) A CPI can be used to index (i.e., adjust for the effect of inflation) the real value of wages, salaries, pensions, for regulating prices and for deflating monetary magnitudes to show changes in real values. S.H Raza's name can be associated to the field of Painting The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises , a branch of the Government of India, is the apex body for the formulation and administration of rules, regulations and laws relating to micro, small and medium enterprises in India. (ii) The Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries and the Ministry of Small Scale Industries were merged into a single ministry, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. (iii) A micro enterprise is an enterprise where investment in plant and machinery does not exceed Rs. 25 lakh, a small enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in plant and machinery is more than Rs. 25 lakh but does not exceed Rs. 5 crore and a medium enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in plant and machinery is more than Rs.5 crore but does not exceed Rs.10 crore. Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) is related to Climate change. Countries have been asked to publicly declare what actions they intend to take under a new global climate agreement, by March 2015. The country commitments, known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions or INDCs, will not only contain steps taken towards emission reductions, but also aim to address steps taken to adapt to climate change impacts, and what support the country needs-or will provide to address climate change. India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) is a proposed particle physics research project to primarily study atmospheric neutrinos in a deep cave under Ino Peak in Tamil Nadu. (ii) This project is notable in that it is anticipated to provide a precise measurement of neutrino mixing parameters. (iii) When completed, the INO will house the world's most massive magnet, four times larger than the Compact Muon Solenoid detector at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines, to facilitate economic development in Asia. (ii) The bank admits the members of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and non-regional developed countries. The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) is the apex body of the gems & jewellery industry. (ii) It was set up by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India (GoI). (iii) It also makes representations to the GoI from time to time for policy intervention and to shape the EXIM policy of the country & it plays an advisory role when the Government calls upon it for information or advice on matters related to the gems and jewellery industry internationally.

Prime Minister of India recently launched the multi-purpose and multi-modal platform PRAGATI (ProActive Governance And Timely Implementation). (ii) PRAGATI is a unique integrating and interactive platform aimed at addressing common man’s grievances, and simultaneously monitoring and reviewing important programmes and projects of the Government of India as well as projects flagged by State Governments. (iii) The PRAGATI platform uniquely bundles three latest technologies: Digital data management, video-conferencing and geo-spatial technology. “Housing for All by 2022” scheme: (i) The scheme will cover the entire urban area consisting of 4041 statutory towns with initial focus on 500 Class I cities. (ii) One of its components is affordable housing in partnership with Public & Private sectors. (iii) Central grant of Rs. one lakh per house, on an average, will be available under the slum rehabilitation component of the scheme. Ministry of AYUSH deals with Yoga and traditional medicine Charles Correa, who died recently, was related to the field of Sustainable architecture. He was an Indian architect, urban planner and activist noted for his sensitivity to the needs of the urban poor and for his use of traditional methods and materials. Vacation Benches' of the Supreme Court of India are nominated benches which take up specific matters when the court is closed for summer vacation Dollar purchase by the Reserve Bank of India: It insulates the economy from any adverse fallout of a possible pullout of foreign funds from the Indian market. (iii) The depreciation in rupee leads to higher inward remittances. Buying dollar strengthens the economy against crude oil price rise. A consumer price index (CPI) measures changes in the price level of a market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households. (ii) The annual percentage change in a CPI is used as a measure of inflation. (iii) The CPI is a statistical estimate constructed using the prices of a sample of representative items whose prices are collected periodically. The warming Indian Ocean also plays a role in weakening the monsoon circulation. (ii) The monsoon occurs because the land heats up much more than the ocean and the warm air over the land rises and results in low pressure. (iii) The strong thermal contrast between land and ocean leads to a strong monsoon. Air pollution leads to higher premature deaths. (ii) Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) particles can enter deep into the lungs and breathing PM2.5 is associated with increased risk of heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular disease; respiratory illnesses such as emphysema; and cancer. (iii) Worldwide, most people live in areas with PM concentrations far above WHO’s air quality guideline of 10 microgrammes per cubic metre. The Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) is a governmental body purposed with developing education and research in ayurveda, yoga, naturopathy, unani, siddha, and homoeopathy, and other alternative medicine systems. (ii) It operates under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. (iii) The International Yoga Day is being conducted by the AYUSH.

The master plan of building the city of Chandigarh was laid by Le Corbusier The India Meteorological Department (IMD), also referred to as the Met Department, is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES). It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology. (iii) It has the responsibility for forecasting, naming and distribution of warnings for tropical cyclones in the Northern Indian Ocean region, including the Malacca Straits, the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf. Sangeet Natak Akademi is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. (ii) The academy functions as the apex body of the performing arts in the country to preserve and promote the vast cultural heritage of India expressed in music, dance and drama & it also works with governments and art academies in states and territories of the country. (iii) Navtej Johar has been recently named as the recipient of Sangeet Akademi Award for contemporary dance. SAARC Satellite is a proposed communication-cum-meteorology satellite by Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) for the SAARC region. The SAARC Satellite would be launched using the ISRO's GSLV at Sriharikota. SAARC Satellite is being developed by ISRO. The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). (ii) It is seen as an alternative to the existing US-dominated World Bank and International Monetary Fund. (iii) New Development Bank has each participant country assigned one vote, and none of the countries have veto power. The National Land Records Modernization Programme (NLRMP) was launched by Government of India with an aim to modernize management of land records, minimize scope of land/property disputes, enhance transparency in the land records maintenance system, and facilitate moving eventually towards guaranteed conclusive titles to immovable properties in the country. (ii) The major components of the programme are computerization of all land records including mutations, digitization of maps and integration of textual and spatial data, survey/re-survey, updation of all survey and settlement records etc. (iii) The main objective of the NLRMP is to develop a modern, comprehensive and transparent land records management system in the country with the aim to implement the conclusive land-titling system with title guarantee. The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) is an Act of the Parliament of India to consolidate and amend the law relating to foreign exchange with the objective of facilitating external trade and payments and for promoting the orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange market in India. (ii) It replaced Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) & this act makes offences related to foreign exchange civil offenses which extend to the whole of India. (iii) FEMA is a regulatory mechanism that enables the Reserve Bank of India and the Central Government to pass regulations and rules relating to foreign exchange in tune with the Foreign Trade policy of India. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) is a government-owned corporation of India. (ii) It is wholly owned by the Central Government and is responsible for the generation of nuclear power

for electricity & is administered by the Department of Atomic Energy, Govt. of India (DAE). (iii) NPCIL was created with the objective of undertaking the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the atomic power stations for generation of electricity in pursuance of the schemes and programmes of the Government of India under the provision of the Atomic Energy Act. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), under the Ministry of Culture, is the premier organization for the archaeological researches and protection of the cultural heritage of the nation. (ii) Maintenance of ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of national importance is the prime concern of the ASI. (iii) The ASI was eventually formed by a statute passed into law by Lord Canning with Cunningham as the first Archaeological Surveyor. Sovereign Gold Bonds would decrease gold imports, and this is the reason why GoI is planning to introduce them soon. Charles Correa was very well known Indian architect - related question on sustainable/ecofriendly housing can be asked in Mains. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), is an autonomous organisation under GOI. It is involved in India’s external cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their peoples & was founded by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. (iii) The Council addresses its mandate of cultural diplomacy through a broad range of activities, organises cultural festivals in India and overseas & also financially supports a number of cultural institutions across India. India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) is a proposed particle physics research project to primarily study atmospheric neutrinos in a 1,300 meters cave under Ino peak in Tamil Nadu. (ii) This project is notable in that it is anticipated to provide a precise measurement of neutrino mixing parameters. (iii) The project is a multi-institute collaboration and one of the biggest experimental particle physics projects undertaken in India. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is an index for India which details out the growth of various sectors in an economy such as mining, electricity and manufacturing. (ii) The all India IIP is a composite indicator that measures the short-term changes in the volume of production of a basket of industrial products during a given period with respect to that in a chosen base period. (iii) It is compiled and published monthly by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO). The Minimum Support Price (MSP) Scheme is a scheme of the Government of India (GOI) to safeguard the interests of the farmers. (ii) Under this Scheme the GOI declares the minimum support Prices of various agricultural produces and assures the farmers that their agricultural produce will be purchased at the MSP, thereby preventing its distress sale. (iii) The Minimum Support Prices were announced by the Government of India for the first time for Wheat in the wake of the Green Revolution & the Food Corporation of India (FCI) acts as the Nodal Agency of the GOI. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset management services to encourage private sector development in

developing countries. IFC is a member of the world bank. The IFC is owned and governed by its member countries, but has its own executive leadership and staff that conduct its normal business operations.

The Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) is a body set up by the Ministry of Finance, GOI to review and rewrite the legal-institutional architecture of the Indian financial sector. (ii) The setting up of the FSLRC was the result of a felt need that the legal and institutional structures of the financial sector in India need to be reviewed and recast in tune with the contemporary requirements of the sector. (iii) The Commission is chaired by the Law Commission of India. The Forward Markets Commission (FMC) is the chief regulator of commodity futures markets in India. The Commission is overseen by the Ministry of Finance. The Commission allows commodity trading in 22 exchanges in India, of which 6 are national & recently it was announced that the FMC would be merged with SEBI. The Essential Services Maintenance (ESMA) is an act of Parliament of India which was established to ensure the delivery of certain services, which if obstructed would affect the normal life of the people. (ii) This include services like public transport (bus services), health services (doctors and hospitals). (iii) The ESMA is a central law, that is, a law made by the Parliament of India and the discretion on the execution of it mostly lies with the state governments. The International North–South Transport Corridor is the ship, rail, and road route for moving freight between India, Russia, Iran, Europe and Central Asia. (ii) The route primarily involves moving freight from India, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia via ship, rail and road. (iii) The objective of the corridor is to increase trade connectivity between major cities such as Mumbai, Moscow, Tehran, Baku, Bandar Abbas, Astrakhan, Bandar Anzali and etc. The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is an international agreement administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property (IP) regulation as applied to nationals of other WTO Members. (ii) The TRIPS agreement introduced intellectual property law into the international trading system for the first time and remains the most comprehensive international agreement on intellectual property to date. (iii) TRIPS requires WTO members to provide copyright rights, covering content producers including performers, producers of sound recordings and broadcasting organizations; geographical indications, including appellations of origins etc. The first programmer, the inventor of scientific computing was Ada Lovelace Western Dedicated Freight Corridor or Western DFC will connect two most important cities in India viz. Delhi and Mumbai. (iii) Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) is a Special Purpose Vehicle set up under the administrative control of Ministry of Railways to undertake planning & development, mobilization of financial resources and construction, maintenance and operation of the Dedicated Freight Corridors. It is a project of the Indian Railways (both Eastern DFC and Western DFC). Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor of Eastern DFC is a proposed freight corridor in India

Housing for All (Urban) aims to ensure that every poor urban household should be enabled to own a house. (iii) The Smart Cities Mission aims to promote clean and sustainable environment. AMRUT deals with basic infra and sanitation in urban areas. Lok Sabha TV is an Indian cable television network channel from Government of India that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming. (ii) Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) is an Indian cable television network channel owned and operated by Rajya Sabha that covers the proceedings of Rajya Sabha. Lok Sbha TV and Rajya Sabha TV are part of the respective secretariats of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. They are not controlled by Prasar Bharti. The `e-DRT project' will allow banks and financial institutions to efficiently manage case records, track cases online and access accurate reports for debt recovery. (ii) The new system will help financial institutions generate reports and help recovery officers enforce proceedings and orders. (iii) The system will prevent borrowers from stalling the recovery process by approaching the appellate tribunal as it will define a time frame within which the debt tribunal will have to decide the appeal - electronic-Debt Recovery Tribunal. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) is a financial instrument where the underlying asset is real estate and the rental income from the property assets are distributed by the trust as dividends to the investors or unit holders of the trust. (ii) REIT is beneficial to both the investors and the industry because it provides the investors with an investment avenue, which is comparatively less risky than investing in under construction properties and provides regular income. (iii) REITs are allowed only to invest in commercial properties in India. The eastern dedicated freight corridor will connect Ludhiana in Punjab with Dankuni in West Bengal. (ii) The eastern corridor will cater to traffic streams including coal, finished steel, cement and fertilizer. (iii) The western dedicated freight corridor will connect the Jawaharlal Nehru Port near Mumbai with Dadri, and pass through States such as Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The DFCs have the potential to change the landscape and face of logistic and railways in India. All forest lands within revenue village boundaries are eligible for recognition as community forest resources (CFR) under the FRA. (iii) The Forest Rights Act grants legal recognition to the rights of traditional forest dwelling communities, partially correcting the injustice caused by the forest laws. Gram Sabha has a major role to play under FRA. Under the Smart Cities Mission of developing 100 smart cities, only the capable cities will be chosen through a two-stage competition. (ii) In the Stage-1 of City Challenge Competition, each State and Union Territory will score all their cities based on a set of criteria and nominate the top scorers as per the indicated number of potential smart cities for participation in the Stage-2 of competition. (iii) The 100 potential smart cities nominated by all the States and UTs based on Stage-1 criteria will prepare Smart City Plans which will be rigorously evaluated in the Stage-2 of the competition for prioritizing cities for financing

74th Amendment of the Constitution deals with roles and functions of urban local bodies. (ii) As per the Twelfth Schedule of the Constitution works like public health, sanitation, conservancy and solid waste management are to be done by Urban local bodies. (iii) As per the 74th Amendment of the Constitution each State shall also constitute a Finance Commission which shall review the financial position of the urban local bodies and recommend the principles which should govern the devolution of resources, including grant-in-aid from the Consolidated Fund of the State of these bodies. The United Nations Public Service Awards Programme rewards the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide. (ii) Nadia, which was declared as the first “open defecation free” district in country, has won the United Nations Public Service Award 2015 in the category of improving delivery of public services. (iii) 'Sabar Shouchagar (Toilets for All)' is the name of the anitation campaign under which Nadia district achieved the success of eliminating open defecation. Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor: (i) The multi-modal corridor will be the first expressway between India and China and will pass through Myanmar and Bangladesh. The proposed economic corridor will originate from Kunming in China’s Yunan province and pass through Yangon and Mandalay in Myanmar, Chittagong-Dhaka-Sylhet in Bangladesh before entering North Eastern states, Bengal and ending in Kolkata. The Minimum Support Price (MSP) Scheme is a scheme of the Government of India (GOI) to safeguard the interests of the farmers. (ii) Under this Scheme the GOI declares the minimum support Prices of various agricultural produces and assures the farmers that their agricultural produce will be purchased at the MSP, thereby preventing its distress sale. (iii) The Minimum Support Prices were announced by the Government of India for the first time for Wheat in the wake of the Green Revolution & the Food Corporation of India (FCI) acts as the Nodal Agency of the GOI. The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is an international agreement administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property (IP) regulation as applied to nationals of other WTO Members. (ii) The TRIPS agreement introduced intellectual property law into the international trading system for the first time and remains the most comprehensive international agreement on intellectual property to date. (iii) TRIPS requires WTO members to provide copyright rights, covering content producers including performers, producers of sound recordings and broadcasting organizations; geographical indications, including appellations of origins etc. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is an important management tool for ensuring optimal use of natural resources for sustainable development, the beginning in this direction was made in our country with the impact assessment of river valley projects and the scope and has subsequently been enhanced to cover other developmental sectors such as industries, thermal power projects, mining schemes etc. (ii) To facilitate collection of environmental data and preparation of management plans, guidelines have been evolved and circulated to the concerned Central and State Government Departments. EIA has

been made mandatory for 29 categories of developmental activities involving investments of Rs. 50 crores and above. The Indian Army led operation in earthquake affected areas of Nepal is known as Operation Maitri Bharat Mala is name given to a new road project initiative that would connect land border from Gujarat to Mizoram El Niño is the warm phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (commonly called ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific including off the Pacific coast of South America. (ii) El Niño Southern Oscillation refers to the cycle of warm and cold temperatures, as measured by sea surface temperature, SST, of the tropical central and eastern Pacific Ocean. El Niño is accompanied by high air pressure in the western Pacific and low air pressure in the eastern Pacific. Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) adopts a project approach to ensure basic infrastructure services relating to water supply, sewerage, septage management, storm water drains, transport and development of green spaces and parks with special provision for meeting the needs of children. (ii) Implementation of this Mission will be linked to promotion of urban reforms such as e-governance, constitution of professional municipal cadre, devolving funds and functions to urban local bodies, review of Building bye-laws, improvement in assessment and collection of municipal taxes, credit rating of urban local bodies, energy and water audit and citizen-centric urban planning. (iii) 10 percent of budget allocation will be given to States/UTs as incentive based on achievement of reforms during the previous year. Under the Smart Cities Mission, each selected city would get central assistance of Rs.100 crore per year for five years. (ii) Smart City aspirants will be selected through a ‘City Challenge Competition’ intended to link financing with the ability of the cities to perform to achieve the mission objectives. (iii) This Mission of building 100 smart cities intends to promote adoption of smart solutions for efficient use of available assets, resources and infrastructure with the objective of enhancing the quality of urban life and providing a clean and sustainable environment. The Nepal quake resulted from a collision between the Indian crustal block and the Eurasian continent. (ii) The entire Indian subcontinent is being driven slowly beneath Nepal. (iii) An earthquake occurs when stress accumulation reaches critical point. A thrust fault is a type of fault, or break in the Earth's crust across which there has been relative movement, in which rocks of lower stratigraphic position are pushed up and over higher strata. (ii) They are often recognized because they place older rocks above younger. (iii) Thrust faults are the result of compressional forces.

MiniION is related to Ebola An organisation desirous of operating a Community Radio Station (CRS) should be explicitly constituted as a ‘non-profit’ organisation. (ii) The CRS to be operated by it should be designed to serve a specific welldefined local community. (iii) Programmes for broadcast should be relevant to the educational, developmental, social and cultural needs of the community. National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF): (i) NIIF can raise debt, and in turn, invest as equity, in infrastructure finance companies. (ii) The infrastructure finance companies can then leverage this extra equity, manifold. Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT): (i) MAT is a way of making companies pay minimum amount of tax. (ii) It aims to bring 'zero tax' companies under income tax net. (iii) As per the latest government ruling minimum alternate tax (MAT) will not apply to capital gains of foreign investors on the sale of securities, royalty , technical service fees and interest income. Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI): (i) It is a nonprofit organization in the United States. (ii) It aims to strengthen global security by reducing the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, and also to reduce the risk that they will actually be used. (iii) NTI has been rating the security implementations at the Indian nuclear installations as “poor and not up to the mark“. Amateur radio or ham radio is practised by more than 16,000 licensed users in India. (ii) The Wireless and Planning and Coordination Wing (WPC)—a division of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology—regulates amateur radio in India. (iii) Public figures in India who are licensed ham operators include Indian National Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan. Yi qi was a tiny dinosaur fossil discoveed in China The land deal between Bangladesh includes land enclaves from Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya. Changes in land boundary of India require amendment in the constitution. (iii) The First Schedule of the Constitution deals with area of each state and union territory. NASA's messenger spacecraft crashed into Mercury Virtual Network Operators (like retail): (i) These are companies that provide telecom services without owning spectrum or network infrastructure. (ii) VNOs rely on the network of other telecom companies

to provide services to consumers. (iii) Typically, a VNO buys bulk talktime and bandwidth from an operator and then sells it to the users; it can provide any or all the services that are being provided by the network operator. Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) was established with public contributions to assist displaced persons from Pakistan by the former Prime Minister, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. (ii) The resources of the PMNRF are now utilized primarily to render immediate relief to families of those killed in natural calamities like floods, cyclones and earthquakes, etc. and to the victims of the major accidents and riots and also assistance is rendered, to partially defray the expenses for medical treatment like heart surgeries, kidney transplantation, cancer treatment, etc. (iii) The fund consists entirely of public contributions and does not get any budgetary support, corpus of the fund is invested with banks in fixed deposits & the disbursements are made with the approval of the Prime Minister. Austism is a neurodevelopmental disorder. (ii) It is characterized by impaired social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, and restricted and repetitive behavior. (iii) Autism is highly heritable, but the cause includes both environmental factors and genetic susceptibility - even environmental factors are responsible for autis National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF): (i) NIIF can raise debt, and in turn, invest as equity, in infrastructure finance companies. (ii) The infrastructure finance companies can then leverage this extra equity, manifold. (iii) NIIF has been set up primarily to ensure availability of fund. An exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is a sea zone prescribed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. (ii) According to the convention, a state has special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind. (iii) The difference between the territorial sea and the exclusive economic zone is that the first confers full sovereignty over the waters, whereas the second is merely a sovereign right which refers to the coastal state's rights below the surface of the sea. The Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy, abbreviated as AYUSH, is a governmental body in India purposed with developing education and research in ayurveda, yoga, naturopathy, unani, siddha, and homoeopathy, and other alternative medicine systems. National AYUSH Mission was started with an objective of providing cost effective AYUSH Services, with a universal access through upgrading AYUSH Hospitals and Dispensaries, co-location of AYUSH facilities at Primary Health Centres (PHCs), Community Health Centres (CHCs) and District Hospitals (DHs). AYUSH functions Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. The Indian Human Development Survey (IHDS) is a collaboration between NCAER and the Univeristy of Maryland, was designed to complement existing Indian surveys by bringing together a wide range of indicators in a single survey. (ii) The IHDS collects data on different dimensions of human development like education, caste, gender relations and infrastructure. (iii) It also analyses associations across a range of social and economic conditions. like studying indicators for children development, poverty, family structure, gender relations, community context, and the availability of facilities.

The National Mission for Green India (GIM) is one of the Missions outlined under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). (ii) It aims at protecting; restoring and enhancing India’s diminishing forest cover and responding to climate change by a combination of adaptation and mitigation measures. (iii) Green India Mission hinges upon convergence with related Missions of the National Action Plan on Climate Change, other complementary National Mission Programmes and schemes for better coordination in developing forests and their fringe areas in a holistic and sustainable manner. The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) is an apex industry body which has been formed by the scheduled carriers in India. (ii) The airline industry has come together to form a single representative body, which will address a collaborative growth-agenda for the industry and focus on Inter-airline cooperation across different issues. The focus for FIA and its activities is safety, passenger amenities, ground services, aviation protocols among others with an overall objective of safety & growth in the Indian aviation sector & it also intends to build a repository of data and its analyses, in order to meaningfully contribute to debates focusing on key issues in the aviation sector. FIA is an autonomous body Salwa Judum was a militia mobilised and deployed as part of anti-insurgency operations in Chhattisgarh, India, aimed at countering Naxalite violence in the region. (ii) The militia, consisting of local tribal youth, received support and training from the Chhattisgarh state government. Salwa Judum was only active in Chattisgarh. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a worldwide study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (ii) The study is done in member and non-member nations of 15-year-old school pupils' scholastic performance on mathematics, science, and reading. (iii) It is done with a view to improving education policies and outcomes. It measures problem solving and cognition in daily life. The Lalit Kala Akademi or National Academy of Art is India's National Academy of Fine Arts. It was an autonomous organization to promote and propagate understanding of Indian art, both within and outside the country. (iii) It provides scholarships, a fellow program, and sponsoring and organizing numerous exhibitions in India and overseas, publishes bilingual journal & it is funded by the Union Ministry of Culture. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana is a State Plan Scheme of Additional Central Assistance launched as a part of the 11th Five Year Plan by the Government of India. (ii) The scheme is essentially a State Plan Scheme that seeks to provide the States and Territories of India with the autonomy to draw up plans for increased public investment in Agriculture by incorporating information on local requirements, geographical/climatic conditions, available natural resources/ technology and cropping patterns in their districts so as to significantly increase the productivity of Agriculture and its allied sectors. (iii) It was launched under the aegis of the National Development Council. SEZs are located within a country's national borders with the aim being increased trade, increased investment, job creation and effective administration and too encourage businesses to set up in the zone, financially libertarian policies are introduced. (ii) The policies typically regard investing, taxation,

trading, quotas, customs and labour regulations & additionally, companies may be offered tax holidays. (iii) The creation of special economic zones by the host country may be motivated by the desire to attract foreign direct investment & the benefits a company gains by being in a Special Economic Zone may mean it can produce and trade goods at a globally competitive price. Foreign portfolio investment is the entry of funds into a country where foreigners make purchases in the country’s stock and bond markets, sometimes for speculation. A portfolio investment is an investment made by an investor who is not involved in the management of a company which is in contrast to direct investment, which allows an investor to exercise a certain degree of managerial control over a company. FPI's involve transactions in securities that are highly liquid. Foreign Investment Implementation Authority (FIIA) looks after quick facilitation of FDI's e-SamikSha is an online platform to monitor government projects. (ii) It has been developed by the Cabinet Secretariat with technical support from the National Informatics Centre. (iii) The PM himself navigates through e-SamikSha via a digital dashboard that has customised drop-down windows, with each allowing him to see progress in different areas such infrastructure, administrative reforms, pending court cases and special campaigns like Swachh Bharat and Ganga Rejuvenation. Special economic zones are allowed duty-free imports and 100% tax-free export income for the first five years, 50% for the next five years and 50% of the ploughed back export profit for the subsequent five years. (ii) National Investment & Manufacturing Zones provide tax incentives to small and medium enterprises. DMIC is being funded by Japan. CSIR Fourth Paradigm Institute (CSIR-4PI) is involved in developing modelling approaches for illuminating the structure and evolution of complex systems. (ii) Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India has launched 'National Monsoon Mission' (NMM) with a vision to develop a stateof-the-art dynamical prediction system for monsoon rainfall on different time scales. (iii) Climate Forecast System (USA) and Unified Model (UK) are the two base models being used by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) to predict monsoon. The national strategic plan (NSP) for TB control for 2012-17 developed by the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare aims to provide universal access to early diagnosis and treatment and improve case detection. (ii) Leprosy is caused by Mycobacterium laprae. (iii) Timely diagnosis and treatment of leprosy before nerve damage occurs is the most effective way of preventing disability. Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill 2014 permits juveniles between the ages of 16-18 years to be tried as adults for heinous offences. Juvenile Justice Boards (JJB) and Child Welfare Committees (CWC) will be constituted in each district; JJB will conduct a preliminary inquiry to determine whether a juvenile offender is to be sent for rehabilitation or be tried as an adult and the CWC will determine institutional care for children in need of care and protection. The provision to consider juveniles who committed crime before 18 years but held after 21 years as adults was dropped from the Bill.

Vehicular pollution, Tourism, Black and organic carbon particles are responsible for loss of sheen of the Taj Mahal Brain plasticity, also known as neuroplasticity or cortical remapping, is a term that refers to the brain's ability to change and adapt as a result of experience. (ii) Brain continues to create new neural pathways and alter existing ones in order to adapt to new experiences, learn new information and create new memories. (iii) It includes brain's ability to move functions from a damaged area of the brain to other undamaged areas. Hemispherectomy is a very rare surgical procedure where one cerebral hemisphere (half of the brain) is removed or disabled. This procedure is used to treat a variety of seizure disorders where the source of the epilepsy is localized to a broad area of a single hemisphere of the brain, among other disorders. Foreign Direct Investment refers to international investment in which the investor obtains a lasting interest in an enterprise in another country. (ii) Foreign Portfolio Investment represents passive holdings of securities such as foreign stocks, bonds, or other financial assets, none of which entails active management or control of the securities' issuer by the investor. Since FDI leads to long term investment into the country, it is less volatile. Asia's first Google Campus has come up in Seoul, South Korea. A good initiative to provide enabling services to budding entrepreneurs. Plz read further. It can be quoted as successful initiatives to promote IT and entereprenurship in Mains answers. Dual freight policy of the Indian Railways was an attempt to charges lower cost for transporting coal meant for domestic use. Railways charged higher costs for transporting coal meant for exports. CAG has said that this dual freight policy was not implemented properly, which led to undue losses. Russia's Victory Day is commemorated for its victory against Hitler. Government of India has set up the Foreign Investment Implementation Authority (FIIA) to facilitate quick translation of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) approvals into implementation, to provide a proactive one stop after care service to foreign investors by helping them obtain necessary approvals, sort out operational problems and meet with various Government agencies to find solution to their problems The Constitution of India provides for reservation of seats for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes (dalits) in the Lower House of Parliament and in the state legislatures. (ii) Article 17 deals with abolition of untouchability. (iii) Reservation in jobs and education institutes is a form of affirmative action by the government. 'Indo-Bangla Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL)' extends from Siliguri (India) to Parbatipur (Bangladesh) It will carry oil. Imp initiative for Indi-Bangla foreign policy. Plz read further. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India’s external cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and

their peoples. (ii) It aims to establish and develop relations with national and inter-national organisations in the field of culture. (iii) 'Indian Horizons' is one of the journals published by ICCR. The Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica), also known as the Indian lion or Persian lion, is a lion subspecies that exists as a single population in India's Gujarat state. (ii) Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is the sole home of the Asiatic lions. In India 100 percent foreign ownership is allowed in wholesale trade and single brand retail. (ii) For multiband retail only 51 percent foreign ownership is allowed in India. The Last Harvest was an exhibition of Rabindranath Tagore's paintings to mark the 150th anniversary of Tagore's birth. (ii) It was commissioned by the Ministry of Culture, India and organised with the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA). (iii) Within the 150th birth anniversary year it was conceived as three separate but similar exhibitions,and travelled simultaneously in three circuits across the various cities of the world. The Bengal School of Art, commonly referred as Bengal School, was an influential art movement and a style of Indian painting that originated in Bengal, primarily Kolkata and Shantiniketan, and flourished throughout India during the British Raj in the early 20th century. (ii) It was associated with Indian nationalism (swadeshi) and was led by Abanindranath Tagore. (iii) The Bengal School of Art was influenced by Mughal art, and led to the development of the modern Indian painting. Jogen Chowdhary and Ganesh Payne are related to the field of painting. They have carried forward from where Tagore left. Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Bill, 2015: (i)The Bill includes a limited-offer voluntary disclosure scheme for those with undisclosed assets abroad by which they can legalise what they hold by paying a 30 per cent tax and an equal percentage as penalty. (ii) Once the compliance period closes, the tax component remains at 30 per cent but the penal provision triples to 90 per cent, apart from the criminal prosecution. (iii) those who conceal income and assets and indulge in tax evasion in relation to foreign assets can face rigorous imprisonment of up to 10 years.

The main aim of Banking Ombudsman is to strengthen quality of customer service by the banks. (ii) Recently Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has advised all public sector banks and some private and foreign banks to appoint an internal ombudsman. (iii) The bank’s internal ombudsman will now be a forum available to bank customers for grievance redressal before they can even approach the Banking Ombudsman. The first head of BRICS bank will be K.V.Kamath, the well known ex-head of ICICI Bank. Most large earthquakes are now commonly reported using the moment magnitude scale. (ii) A magnitude 5 earthquake would result in ten times the level of ground shaking as a magnitude 4 earthquake. (iii) The Richter scale and the Mercalli scale are other ways to measure earthquakes.

http://www.geo.mtu.edu/UPSeis/intensity.html The cultural parks agreed between India & China to be set up will be established in Beijing, China and in the India city of Bengaluru, India

Millennium of Exceptional Energy or MILES is a term given to relations between India & China The Bangladesh–China–India–Myanmar Forum for Regional Cooperation (BCIM) is a sub-regional organisation of Asian nations aimed at greater integration of trade and investment between the four countries. (ii) The multi-modal corridor will be the first expressway between India and China and will pass through Myanmar and Bangladesh. (iii) The economic advantages of the BCIM trade corridor are considerable, most notably: access to numerous markets in Southeast Asia, improvement of transportation infrastructure and creation of industrial zones. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is an agency of the United Nations that coordinates its environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. (ii) Its activities cover a wide range of issues regarding the atmosphere, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, environmental governance and green economy. (iii) It has played a significant role in developing international environmental conventions, promoting environmental science and information and illustrating the way those can be implemented in conjunction with policy, working on the development and implementation of policy with national governments, regional institutions in conjunction with environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs). National Innovation Foundation, India (NIF) is an autonomous body under Dept. of Science & Technology NIF conducts a biennial national competition for grassroots green technologies developed by farmers, mechanics, artisans and others through their own genius without any recourse to professional help. (iii) NIF recently joined hands with Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to verify, validate and promote innovations from the agricultural sector. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organization to promote adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. (ii) IRENA provides advice and support to governments on renewable energy policy, capacity building, and technology transfer & also co-ordinates with existing renewable energy organizations. (iii) IRENA also cooperates with the UN and associated organisations like the United Nations University, UNESCO, the World Bank, GEF, UNIDO, UNDP, UNEP, and WTO in the areas of education and training, financing, access to energy, potential studies and trade. Union Cabinet’s recent approval of a set of amendments to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986: (i) It proposes to ban the employment of children below 14 years in all occupations except family enterprises and the audio-visual entertainment industry. It has proposed to prohibit the employment of persons below 14-18 years of age in hazardous occupations. It has the provision to punish the parents for second and subsequent violation of the act. RBI-appointed P.J. Nayak committee dealt with governance in banks. The recommendations of P.J.Nayak Committee: (i) Government should transfer its shares to Bank investment Company (BIC), with functional autonomy. (ii) A separate category of authorized bank investors (ABIs) will be allowed to own

up to 20 per cent of a private bank without regulatory approval. It has suggested to SEPARATE the roles of the Chairman and the Managing Director to ensure there is no conflict of interest, and that MD works in an independent manner National Emergency Response System (NERS): (i) The Union home ministry has decided to launch a nationwide unique and single emergency response number which can be used in case of any emergency, especially by women in distress. (ii) The NERS is designed to have at least one Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) in each State. (iii) A PSAP is a call centre where all calls originating in that State will land and be answered and the call receiver will evaluate the emergency situation and forward the case to a call dispatcher who will alert the nearest available police personnel. Digital India is an initiative of Government of India to integrate the government departments and the people of India. (ii) The initiative also includes plan to connect rural areas with high-speed internet networks. (iii) Digital India has three core components which include the creation of digital infrastructure, delivering services digitally and digital literacy. The Sinai Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in Egypt. (ii) It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south. (iii) It is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia serving as a land bridge between two continents of Asia and Africa. Gir in the southern Saurashtra peninsula of Gujarat is the lone abode of the Asiatic lion in the wild. (ii) Maldharis are a group of people of African origin known as the Siddis who were reportedly brought by the Nawab of Junagarh from the African shores. (iii) The Gir lion is now out of the “extinct“ category and listed as “endangered“ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). FDI In India 100 percent foreign ownership is allowed in wholesale trade and single brand retail. (ii) For multibrand retail only 51 percent foreign ownership is allowed in India. India does not allow foreign investment in online retail companies that own inventory and sell directly to consumers, a policy that forced firms such as Flipkart to abandon their earlier inventory-based model to become electronic marketplaces. Amazon, too, follows the marketplace model in India. Kazakhstan and Mongolia are the world's largest and second largest landlocked country respectively. (ii) Under the 'Act East Policy' the government of India shall focus on implementation of the various projects and cooperation agreements. (iii) India and Mongolia have upgraded their ties to 'strategic partnership'. Double taxation is the levying of tax by two or more jurisdictions on the same declared income (in the case of income taxes), asset (in the case of capital taxes), or financial transaction (in the case of sales taxes). (ii) Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), also referred as Tax Treaty, is a bilateral economic agreement between two nations that aims to avoid or eliminate double taxation of the same income in two countries. (iii) DTAA aims to promote and foster economic trade and investment between the two countries.

Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) involves only “tariff reduction/elimination in a phased manner on listed / all items except the negative list and tariff rate quota (TRQ) items”. (ii) Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) covers the trade in services and investment, and other areas of economic partnership. (iii) CEPA is a wider term that CECA and has the widest coverage. Tectonic convergence between the Indo-Australian and Asian tectonic plates have built the Himalayas. SHALLOW source of earthquake leads to more devastation compared to deeper source earthquake. Kathmandu is on a primitive lake basin that amplifies seismic wave energy. Broad-based Trade & Investment Agreement (BTIA) is an agreement between India & European Union Astrosat is India's first dedicated astronomy satellite and is scheduled to launch on board the PSLV. (ii) Astrosat is currently proposed as a multi-wavelength astronomy mission on an IRS-class satellite into a near-Earth, equatorial orbit by the PSLV. (iii) Astrosat will carry out multi-wavelength observations covering spectral bands from radio, optical, IR, UV, X-ray and Gamma ray regions both for study of specific sources of interest and in survey mode. Advance pricing agreements (APAs): (i) An APA determines the transferpricing methodology and taxation rate on an international transaction. (ii) Transfer pricing relates to transactions among units of a company. (iii) Governments can reset these prices in case they feel these aren't realistic or are aimed at tax avoidance. The great Indian bustard is a large ground bird with a height of about a metre. (iii) In its Red List by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) has been placed in the category of critically endangered species. It is found in deserts and grasslands. Pramod Patil won the Whitley award for his work to save the Great Indian Bustard. The Information Technology Agreement (ITA) comes under the purview of World Trade Organization. The ITA provides for participants to completely eliminate duties on IT products covered by the Agreement. (ii) As per India's opinion the ITA discourages local R&D manufacturing. (iii) The Information Technology Agreement (ITA) is an agreement enforced by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and concluded in the Ministerial Declaration on Trade in Information Technology Products. Article 239 grants Lieutinent Governor more powers than Governors of other states. The 5/25 scheme makes it easier for companies to repay loans. (ii) It allows banks to extend long-term loans of 20-25 years to match the cash flow of projects, while refinancing them every five or seven years. (iii) It is a flexible refinancing and repayment option for long-term infrastructure projects. A combination drug is a fixed-dose combination (FDC) that includes two or more active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) combined in a single dosage form, which is manufactured and distributed in fixed doses. (ii) FDC drug products may be developed by a pharmaceutical company as a way to in effect extend proprietary rights and marketability of a drug product. (iii) If an adverse drug reaction occurs

from using an FDC, it may be difficult to identify the active ingredient responsible for causing the reaction. Green tide is an algal bloom in the Arabian Sea which imparts colours to the waters. Algal bloom can lead to depletion of dissolved oxygen Justice A.P.Shah is the Chairman of the 20th Law Commission of India. (ii) The 20th Law Commission of India, in its 257th report has proposed the concept of awarding custody of children in divorce cases to both parents. The legal position in Hindu law considers the father the natural guardian, and as per other secular laws mother is the natural guardian of a child. National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is a proposed quasi-judicial body in India that will govern the companies in India. (ii) The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) will replace the Company Law Board and the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction, and be an overarching body for resolving insolvencies. SC has upheld the constitutional validity of NCLT. Skill India' is Vocational education initiative of the Government of India Chief Secretary serves as Chief of all government staff in the state. (ii) The post of Chief Secretary is encadred within the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) meaning that only an IAS officer may hold this position. (iii) The Chief Secretary is the ex officio advisior to the councils of ministers. SWAYAM initiative of the government is related to open online course platform of the HRD Ministry. Full form - Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds. The Road Safety Committee was formed by the Supreme Court to check lax enforcement of road laws. (ii) Its suggestions include removal of roadside advertisements and posters that obstruct the view of drivers or distract them and a ban on sale of liquor on National and State highways. (iii) The panel has asked the Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry to introduce uniform crash tests for all category of vehicles so that manufacturers do not discriminate between the base and higher models in the provision of safety features. Written Constitution, independent Judiciary displays the federal characteristics of the Indian Constitution. Single Constitution is a unitary feature. Article 263 of the Constitution of India provides for the establishment of an Inter-State Council. (ii) The Inter-State Council charged with the duty of investigating and discussing subjects in which some or all of the States, or the Union and one or more of the States, have a common interest. The Inter-state Council displays the federal characteristic of the Indian constitution. High-G maneuver is a maneuver, in which the aircraft accelerates sharply in a particular direction, and it creates heavy load pressure on the pilot and hence these maneuvers are highly physically demanding. Astra is beyond visual range air to air missile

An oasis in the Syrian desert, north-east of Damascus, Palmyra contains the monumental ruins of a great city that was one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world. (ii) Palmyra's culture showed Graeco-Roman techniques with local traditions and Persian influences, as it was located on the cross-roads of several civilizations. It was on a trade route. India had strong relations with Palmyra. National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRiP), the largest and one of the most significant initiatives in Automotive sector so far, represents a unique joining of hands between the Government of India, a number of State Governments and Indian Automotive Industry to create a state of the art Testing, Validation and R&D infrastructure in the country. (ii) The Project aims at creating core global competencies in Automotive sector in India and facilitate seamless integration of Indian Automotive industry with the world as also to position the country prominently on the global automotive map. It is headed by a government servant (normally an IAS). Under the ‘whereabouts’ clause of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), an athlete has to inform NADA his/her whereabouts on a quarterly basis (as per the International Standard for Testing and Investigations laid out by the World Anti-Doping Agency). (ii) The athlete has to provide a 60-minute time slot (between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m.) every day when he/she will be available for testing. (iii) As per the Code, if an athlete is not available at such a location during the 60-minute slot specified for a day in his/her ‘whereabouts’ filing, it would be considered a missed test; and any combinations of three missed tests by an athlete within a 12-month period may attract sanction. PM 2.5 gets embedded in the lungs because of their small size which the body is not able to throw out. (ii) These micro particles get into the blood and then it is known to get filtered and stuck to the blood vessels narrowing their circumference, which in turn can lead to cardiac arrest. PM 2.5 is deadlier than PM 10 as PM2.5 is finer. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has been implementing a capital subsidy scheme to popularize solar water heating and lighting equipment in homes by extending incentives. (ii) National Housing Bank is the nodal agency for administering and monitoring this initiative. (iii) The bank receives subsidy extended by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy and passes it on financial institutions so that beneficiaries can purchase and install equipment in their homes. National Housing Bank (NHB) was set up by the Government of India as an autonomous society under the Societies Registration Act. (ii) The institution, owned by the Reserve Bank of India, was established to promote private real estate acquisition. (iii) The NHB regulates and re-finances social housing programs and other activities like research and IT-initiatives, too. Nasscom Cyber Security Task Force was recently launched in India Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a business and investing specific term for the geometric progression ratio that provides a constant rate of return over the time period. (ii) CAGR is not an accounting term, but it is often used to describe some element of the business, for example revenue, units delivered, registered users, etc. (iii) CAGR dampens the effect of volatility of periodic returns that

can render arithmetic means irrelevant & it is particularly useful to compare growth rates from different data sets such as revenue growth of companies in the same industry. The World Gold Council (WGC) is the market development organisation for the gold industry. (ii) Working within the investment, jewellery and technology sectors, as well as engaging in government affairs, its purpose is to provide industry leadership, whilst stimulating and sustaining demand for gold. (iii) WGC is based in the UK, with operations in India, the Far East and the USA, the World Gold Council is an association whose 19 members comprise the world’s leading gold mining companies. The International North–South Transport Corridor is the ship, rail, and road route for moving freight between India, Russia, Iran, Europe and Central Asia. (ii) The objective of the corridor is to increase trade connectivity between major cities such as Mumbai, Moscow, Tehran, Baku, Bandar Abbas, Astrakhan, Bandar Anzali and etc. (iii) The route primarily involves moving freight from India, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia via ship, rail and road. The Commonwealth of Independent States, also called Russian Commonwealth is a regional organisation whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union. CIS nominally possessess coordinating powers in the realm of trade, finance, lawmaking, and security. (iii) It has also promoted cooperation on cross-border crime prevention. Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. (ii) The flash point of a volatile material is the lowest temperature at which it can vaporize to form an ignitable mixture in air. The air transport industry is responsible for 2 percent of man-made carbon dioxide emitted.

The 5/20 rule related to aviation sector says that to fly international, a domestic airline should have experience of 05 years and minimum 20 aircrafts. The Sarkaraia Commission recommendations were related to Center-state relations The McMahon line separates India and China. China refuses to accept this line. Lower interest rates can lead to which of the following: (i) Cheaper borrowing costs (ii) Rising asset prices (iii) Depreciation in the exchange rate. It will lead to (ii) as more demand will be there for assets due to presence of more liquid money. Exchange rate will get depreciated as outside money will no longer be invested in the economy. The real effective exchange rate measures the value of a currency against a basket of other currencies. (ii) it takes into account changes in relative prices and shows what can actually be bought. (iii) The effective exchange rate is good for looking at the overall performance of a currency. Big Data refers to large volumes of structured and unstructured data. (ii) Big data is a broad term for data sets so large or complex that traditional data processing applications are inadequate. (iii) Big data is being used by various institutions to take strategic decisions. Kailsah Satyarthi is related to Child rights, Nobel Prize winner.

The Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) is the economic advisor to the Government of India. (ii) The CEA is the ex-officio cadre controlling authority of the Indian Economic Service. The CEA is under the direct charge of the Ministry of Finance Educate in India' is proposed plan of GOI to make India as an educational hub. The new Defence Procurement Policy (DPP) with the twin objective of infusing greater efficiency in the procurement process and strengthening the defence manufacturing base in the country. (ii) Indigenous procurement in the Defence Production Policy-2011 has now been made a part of DPP through an amendment that provides for a preferred order of categorisation,with global cases being a choice of last resort. (iii) It also stipulates that Indian defence companies will get access to the military, long-term equipment road map, providing them with the time needed for developing the equipment that the military needs in the future. Regulatory Reforms Bill, currently being prepared by the NITI Aayog will be applicable to key sector/sectors like electricity, oil and gas, coal, telecommunication and internet, broadcasting and cable television, posts, airports, ports, waterways, railways, mass rapid transit system, highways and water supply and sanitation. Double taxation is the levying of tax by two or more jurisdictions on the same declared income, asset, or financial transaction. (ii) This double liability is often mitigated by tax treaties between countries. (iii) India has comprehensive Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAA ) with 88(signed 88 DTAAs out of which 85 have entered into force)[6] countries. The Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS) is an Government controlled research center to promote and establish scientific and technological research and development studies in the earth sciences. (ii) CESS pursues multidisciplinary approach in problems related to land, sea and atmosphere. It was instituted by the government of Kerala. (iii) CESS was the earliest institute in the country to embrace the concept of Earth System Science (ESS) and carry out extensive R & D work in major components of ESS namely geosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere. The Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) is the nodal agency of the Government of India for advertising by various Ministries and organizations of Government of India, including public sector undertakings and autonomous bodies. (ii) The Directorate includes an advertising wing for print, audio-video wing, exhibition wing, mass mailing wing, outdoor publicity wing, research wing, distribution wing and language wing in addition to an audio visual publicity cell. (iii) The origin of DAVP can be traced to the times of World War-II, and immediately after the out-break of Second World War, the erstwhile government of India appointed a Chief Press Advisor. India, along with Bangladesh will shortly open a 'border haat' to boost its relations in Tripura Big data is a term used to describe the exponential growth and availability of data, both structured and unstructured. (ii) Big data is a broad term for data sets so large or complex that traditional data processing applications are inadequate to compute them. (iii) The use and adoption of Big Data within

governmental processes is beneficial and allows efficiencies in terms of cost, productivity, and innovation. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed to introduce a separate category of semi-closed Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) for Mass Transit System (PPI-MTS). (ii) PPI for mass transit systems, which handle a large number of small value cash payments, will facilitate the migration to electronic payments in line with the country’s vision of moving to a less-cash society. (iii) The PPI-MTS can be used within the mass transit systems and will have a minimum validity of six months from date of issue. Sangeet Natak Akademi is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. (ii) The academy functions as the apex body of the performing arts in the country to preserve and promote the vast cultural heritage of India expressed in music, dance and drama. It was set up by the Indian education ministry in 1952 & it also works with governments and art academies in states and territories of the country. Digital India is an initiative of Government of India to integrate the government departments and the people of India. (ii) It aims at ensuring the government services are made available to citizens electronically by reducing paperwork. (iii) The initiative also includes plan to connect rural areas with high-speed internet networks & it has three core components, which includes the creation of digital infrastructure, delivering services

Lee Kuan Yew, commonly known by his initials LKY, was the first Prime Minister of Singapore, governing for three decades. (ii) Lee is recognised as the founding father of modern Singapore, and the only leader known to bring an entire country from Third World to First World status in a single generation. Who took over after him? A rotavirus vaccine protects children from rotaviruses, which are the leading cause of severe diarrhea among infants and young children. (ii) Rotavirus is highly contagious and resistant and, regardless of water quality and available sanitation, nearly every child in the world is at risk of infection. (iii) The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that rotavirus vaccine be included in all national immunization programs. All India Radio (AIR), officially known as Akashvani is the national public radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. (ii) It is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national public television broadcaster & AIR is one of the largest radio networks in the world. (iii) Vividh Bharati is one of the best-known services of AIR and it is also known as the Commercial Broadcasting Service (CBS). INS Viraat is a Centaur-class aircraft carrier in service with the Indian Navy. (ii) INS VIRAAT is the last British-built ship serving with the Indian Navy and also is the oldest carrier in service in the world and is one of three aircraft carriers based in the Indian Ocean Region. (iii) Recently it has been announced that INS VIRAT will be de-comissioned from the Indian Navy in the year 2016. Act East Policy

The National Green Tribunal has been established under the National Green Tribunal Act for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources. (ii) NGT is a specialized body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental disputes involving multi-disciplinary issues & it shall not be bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, but shall be guided by principles of natural justice. (iii) Recently, the Ministry of Environment & Forest said that the NGT cannot settle the issue or any application on climate change s it is a subject of international conventions & protocols. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been established under Food Safety and Standards Act which consolidates various acts & orders that have hitherto handled food related issues in various Ministries and Departments. (ii) FSSAI has been created for laying down science based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. The FSSAI is led by a non-executive Chairperson, appointed by the Central Government from amongst the persons of eminence in the field of food science or from amongst the persons from the administration who have been associated with the subject and is either holding or has held the position of not below the rank of Secretary to the Government of India India is involved in developing Project Maitri, a short range surface to air missile in collaboration with France. The Maitri missile project is a next-generation quick-reaction surface-to-air missile (QRSAM) with a lethal near-hundred per cent kill probability under development by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation in collaboration with France.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of the Government of the People's Republic of China is a macroeconomic management agency under the Chinese State Council. (ii) The NDRC's functions are to study and formulate policies for economic and social development, maintain the balance of economic development, and to guide restructuring of China's economic system. (iii) The NDRC along with the Ministry of Commerce & Foreign Affairs is working on the China's "One belt One road" initiative. The National Museum in New Delhi is one of the largest museums in India. Established in 1949, it holds variety of articles ranging from pre-historic era to modern works of art. It functions under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.The blue–print of the National Museum had been prepared by the Gwyer Committee set up by the Government of India in 1946. It also houses the National Museum Institute of History of Arts,Conservation and Museology on the first floor which was established in 1983 and now is a Deemed University since 1989, and runs Masters and Doctoral level courses in History of Art, Conservation and MuseologyNational Museum deals with arts of all ages. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Superseries is a 12-tournament series where top badminton players compete throughout the year for a place in the season finale, the BWF Destination Dubai World Superseries Finals. (ii) From Sydney to New Delhi to Paris, players earn valuable World Ranking Points towards their BWF World Ranking used in the qualifications for the BWF World Championships and Olympic Games. (iii) BWF's main focus is regulating, promoting, managing and developing the sport worldwide.

The Bangladesh–China–India–Myanmar Forum for Regional Cooperation (BCIM) is a subregional organisation of Asian nations aimed at greater integration of trade and investment between the four countries. (ii) The multi-modal corridor will be the first expressway between India and China and will pass through Myanmar and Bangladesh. The connectivity of the region will be via land, air, sea etc....hence called multimodel. The Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on nuclear power plants and projects within India: (i) India has a comprehensive and well-established national educational and training system that supports competence-building for its nuclear programme. (ii) The Government should promulgate a national policy and strategy for safety, and a radioactive waste management strategy as a statement of the Government’s intent. (iii) The Government should embed the AERB's regulatory independence in law, separated from other entities having responsibilities or interests that could unduly influence its decision making. Plz also focus on why AERB and DEA should be legally separated. Imp Cabinet's recent approval of gas pooling for fertilizer sector aims primarily at ensuring supply of fuel to all urea plants at a uniform delivery cost. The Disaster Management Act (DM Act) has made the statutory provisions for constitution of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for the purpose of specialized response to natural and man-made disasters. (ii) The DM Act, 2005 envisages a paradigm shift from the erstwhile response centric syndrome to a proactive, holistic and integrated management of disasters with emphasis on prevention, mitigation and preparedness. (iii) These NDRF battalions are located at ten different locations in the country based on the vulnerability profile of country and to cut down the response time for their deployment at disaster site. NDRF is under Home Ministry National Food Security Mission (NFSM): (i) In the 12th Plan, NFSM aims at raising the food grain production by 25 million tones. (ii) Besides rice, wheat and pulses, NFSM proposes to cover coarse cereals and fodder crops during the 12th plan period. (iii) The focus is on dissemination of improved technologies and farm management practices. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana 4% annual growth in agriculture through development of Agriculture and its allied sectors Interest subvention is offered on several lending schemes by the government to promote a particular industry. (ii) Interest subvention is the subsidy offered on interest rates. (iii) Government of India has come up with an array of interest subvention schemes for different sectors spanning from agriculture, education, handlooms, export-oriented sectors to housing sectors. India's new Foreign Trade Policy: (i) it aims to raise India’s share in global trade over the five-year period of 2015-2020 to 3.5 per cent from the 2 per cent at present. (ii) It has set the yearly exports target at $900 billion by 2020, which is nearly twice the country’s current export performance. (iii) All the export promotion schemes have been revamped and clubbed under two schemes, one for goods (Merchandise Exports from India Scheme) and one for services (Services

Exports from India Scheme). Very imp. Probable question from new FTP can be surely asked...hence please read further on FTP The National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) has been renamed as BharatNet National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs. (ii) Crop losses are not covered under the National Disaster Response Fund. (iii) Currently, financial assistance is given to affected farmers under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) in the wake of 12 notified natural disasters - hailstorm, flood, cyclone, cloud burst, drought, earthquake, tsunami, landslides, avalanche, fire, pest attack and cold waves/frost. An antigen is any substance that causes immune system to produce antibodies against it. (ii) An antigen may be a foreign substance from the environment, such as chemicals, bacteria, viruses, or pollen. An antigen may also be formed inside the body, as with bacterial toxins or tissue cells. (iii) Neoantigens are mutated protein cells formed by metabolic pathways.

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear programme: (i) Iran will ramp down its uranium enrichment capabilities and stockpiles of enriched uranium (ii) It will reduce the number of nuclear centrifuges (iii) Iran will allow for thorough inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Close to 60 per cent of rural households are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Input costs in agriculture have been going up over the years. National Crop Insurance Programme covers prevented/ failed sowing, post-harvest losses, and losses from natural calamities on an individual basis. Offset obligations are introduced to develop the defence industrial base in the country. (ii) Offset obligations in the defence procurements in India stipulates that for deals worth over Rs. 300 crore, the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) has to reinvest 30 per cent of the contract value in the country. Offests obligations lead to low imports, not high. National Food Security Act (NFSA): (i) The law aims at providing a legal entitlement to 5 kg of subsidised foodgrains a person per month at Rs 1-3 a kg to two-thirds of the country’s population. (ii) It includes the Midday Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Services scheme and the Public Distribution System. (iii) The National Food Security Act 2013 also recognizes maternity entitlements.

The Constitution of India directs the State to provide public assistance to its citizens in case of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement and in other cases of undeserved want within the limit of its economic capacity and development. (ii) The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) is a welfare programme being administered by the Ministry of Rural Development; and this programme is

being implemented in rural areas as well as urban areas. (iii) NSAP at present, comprises of Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS), Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS), Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS), National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) and Annapurna. The focus on 'Strategic Autonomy' has been a hallmark of India's foreign policy. Plz read further on this. Instant money orders, or iMO, provides instant money order service for amounts ranging from Rs.1,000 to Rs.50,000. (ii) Electronic money orders, or eMO, money is paid at the door-step of a payee - from Re.1 to Rs.5,000 - within a day. (iii) Project Arrow envisages upgradation of Post Offices in urban and rural areas both in terms of upgrading and enhancing the quality of service in ‘core areas’ and improving the ‘look and feel’. Toulouse Model' in developing the smart cities in India is a model borrowed from France. Important for PT & Mains. Read more on smart cities. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India is an autonomous public body constituted under the Protection of Human Rights Ordinance & was given a statutory basis by the Protection of Human Rights Act. (ii) The NHRC is the national human rights institution, responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights, defined by the Act as rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants. (iii) The NHRC has been accredited with A status by the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (the ICC), indicating that it is in conformity with the Paris Principles The European Organization for Nuclear Research known as "Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire" or CERN derived from the name is a European research organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. (ii) CERN's main function is to provide the particle accelerators and other infrastructure needed for high-energy physics research as a result, numerous experiments have been constructed at CERN as a result of international collaborations. (iii) Most of the activities at CERN currently involve operating the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), and the experiments for it & the LHC represents a large-scale, worldwide scientific cooperation project. Judiciary does not come under the ambit of the Lokpal. Legislature, Executive, NGT etc all come under it A Qualified Institutional Buyer (QIB) is one that owns and invests, on a discretionary basis in securities, etc. QIB's can be both domestic as well as international institutions. Individuals are not permitted to be QIBs, regardless of their level of wealth or financial sophistication. (iii) QIBs encompass a wide range of entities, including banks, savings and loans associations, insurance companies, investment companies, employee benefit plans or entities owned entirely by accredited investors. A green bond is a bond that publicly states that capital is being raised to fund ‘green’ projects, which typically include those relating to renewable energy, emission reductions etc. (ii) Green bonds are issued by multilateral agencies such as the World Bank, corporations, government agencies and municipalities. (iii) Recently EXIM Bank and the Yes bank launched the Green Bonds in India.

An air quality index (AQI) is a number used by government agencies to communicate to the public how polluted the air currently is or how polluted it is forecast to become. (ii) The Minister for Environment, Forests & Climate Change launched theAQI under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. (iii) It is outlined as ‘One Number- One Colour-One Description’ for the common man to judge the air quality within his vicinity & the index constitutes part of the Government’s mission to introduce the culture of cleanliness. The Scorpène-class submarines are a class of diesel-electric attack submarines jointly developed by the French DCN and the Spanish company Navantia and now by DCNS & it features diesel propulsion and an additional air-independent propulsion (AIP). (ii) Kalvari-class submarines were the first submarines inducted into the Indian Navy. They were variants of the early Soviet Foxtrot-class submarines. (iii) India plans to incorporate the DRDO-developed air independent propulsion (AIP) system onto the last two submarines being built and also to equip the P75I submarines. The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS states. (ii) The bank is set up to foster greater financial and development cooperation among the five emerging markets & the Bank would also provide assistance to other countries suffering from the economic volatility in the wake of the United States' exit from its expansionary monetary policy. NDB is independent of AIIB Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India is a statutory organization under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) & was established under Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act. (ii) It serves as a field formation and also provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act. (iii) It Co-ordinates the activities of the State Boards by providing technical assistance and guidance and resolve disputes among them and an apex organization in country in the field of pollution control, as technical wing of MoEF. NPCIL is a Public Sector Enterprise under the administrative control of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE),Government of India. NPCIL is responsible for design, construction, commissioning and operation of nuclear power reactors. (iii) The nuclear deal for the Jaitapur plant has been negotiated between the France's Areva & the NPCIL. Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC) is a leading public Infrastructure Finance Company in India’s power sector & the company finances and promotes rural electrification projects across India. The company is primarily engaged in providing finance for rural electrification projects across India and provides loans to Central/ State Sector Power Utilities, State Electricity Boards, Rural Electric Cooperatives, NGOs and Private Power Developers. REC is a Navratna Company functioning under the purview of the Ministry of Power – Government of India. The company is listed on both National Stock Exchange of India and Bombay Stock Exchange. The “internet of things”, which involves adding sensors to everyday items. This enables “smart” devices, such as alarms, heating systems and coffee machines, to store data and communicate with one another.

TRAI is an independent regulator. TRAI's mission is to create and nurture conditions for the growth of telecommunications in India in a manner and pace that would enable the country to be able to play a leading role in the emerging global information society. (iii) One of the major objectives of TRAI is to provide a transparent policy environment. TRAI has regularly issued orders and directions on various subjects like tariff, interconnections, Direct To Home (DTH) services and mobile number portability. Critically analyze the National Green Tribunal (250 words). The Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), is an autonomous foundation located created as a public-private initiative with the aim of enhancing the capacity of public health professionals. (ii) The PHFIwas conceptualised as a response to growing concern over the emerging public health challenges in India & it recognizes the fact that meeting the shortfall of health professionals is imperative for a sustained and holistic response to the public health concerns in the country. (iii) It also aims to focus on and influence the multiple determinants of health (economic, social, behavioural and biological) and to undertake and evaluate multisectoral interventions to positively influence those determinants. 'Countering Violent Extremism' was recently addded to USA glossary on military terminology The Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) was made between the representatives from 16 ethnic armed organizations (EAO), the army and the government in Myanmar. The Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Bill seeks to protect the interests of consumers and establish regulatory bodies at the Centre and States for ethical and transparent business practices in the real estate sector. (ii) The Bill provides for mandatory registration of all projects and real estate agents who intend to sell any plot, apartment or building with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority. (iii) The Bill also seeks to enforce the contract between the developer and buyer and a fast track mechanism to settle disputes. National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) is a proposed body responsible for the appointment and transfer of judges to the higher judiciary in India. (ii) The NJAC will replace the collegium system for the appointment of judges as mandated in the existing pre-amended constitution by a new system. (iii) The NJAC Bill and the Constitutional Amendment Bill, was ratified by only 16 states and subsequently assented by the President of India. An external commercial borrowing (ECB) is an instrument used in India to facilitate the access to foreign money by Indian corporations and PSUs. (ii) ECBs include commercial bank loans, buyers' credit, suppliers' credit, securitised instruments such as floating rate notes and fixed rate bonds etc., credit from official export credit agencies and commercial borrowings from the private sector window of multilateral financial Institutions such as International Finance Corporation (Washington), ADB, AFIC, CDC, etc. The DEA (Department of Economic Affairs), Ministry of Finance, Government of India along with Reserve Bank of India, monitors and regulates ECB guidelines and policies.

The Social Progress Index measures the extent to which countries provide for the social and environmental needs of their citizens. The index is published by the Social Progress Imperative a not for profit organisation and is based on the writings of Amartya Sen, Douglass North, and Joseph Stiglitz. The SPI measures the well-being of a society by observing social and environmental outcomes directly rather than the economic factors. The social and environmental factors include personal safety, ecosystem sustainability, health and wellness, shelter, sanitation, equity and inclusion and personal freedom and choice Teen Bigha Corridor is a strip of land belonging to India on the WB-BL border. Read more on land boundary agreement. Important for PT & mains. Fodder for IR related questions in mains. Dr. Nasim Zaidi will take over the charge from Mr. H.S. Brahma as the Chief Election Commissioner. Read more on CEC. Important for PT The Anganwadi started by the Indian government as part of the Integrated Child Development Services program to combat child hunger and malnutrition. (ii) The Anganwadis provide care for newborn babies as well as ensure that all children below the age of 6 are immunized or in other words have received vaccinations & functions under the Ministry of Women & Child Development. Recently it was announced that the 3056 Anaganwadis will be adopted jointly by the Rajasthan Government & Vedanta Foundation & a group company Hindustan Zinc. At present, the banks calculate their base rate using a combination of marginal costs (pegged on the incremental cost of deposits), average costs and blended cost of funds. Under the average cost of funds based calculation, banks take an average of the rates on various tenures of deposits (referring to a formula by the RBI) and add to it their profit margin and overheads to arrive at their base rate. A Non-performing asset (NPA) is defined as a credit facility in respect of which the interest and/or installment of principal has remained past due for a specified period of time. (ii) NPA is used by financial institutions that refer to loans that are in jeopardy of default. & that once the borrower has failed to make interest or principle payments for 3 Months the loan is considered to be a non-performing asset. (iii) Non-performing assets are problematic for financial institutions since they depend on interest payments for income & troublesome pressure from the economy can lead to a sharp increase in non-performing loans and often results in massive write-downs. The Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court deals in matters related to forests. Read more on the functions. Recently the GOI launched Pradhan Mantri Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Ltd (MUDRA) Yojana which will be responsible for refinancing micro-finance institutions in the business of lending to small entities. (ii) MUDRA will be set up through a statutory enactment & will be responsible for developing and refinancing all micro-finance institutions (MFIs) which are in the business of lending to micro and small business entities engaged in manufacturing, trading and service activities. (iii) It will also partner with State and regionallevel coordinators to provide finance to last-mile financiers of small and micro business enterprises.

Simon Kuznet was Belarusian-American economist, statistician, demographer, and economic historian who won the 1971Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences; the grandfather of gross domestic product. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth. (ii) The ICAO Council adopts standards and recommended practices concerning air navigation, its infrastructure, flight inspection, prevention of unlawful interference, and facilitation of bordercrossing procedures for international civil aviation. ICAO is independent of International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade association representing 240 of the world’s airlines. The National Skill Development Corporation India, (NSDC) is a one of its kind, publicprivate partnership entity which aims to promote skill development by catalyzing creation of large, quality, for-profit vocational institutions. (ii) NSDC provides funding to build scalable, for-profit vocational training initiatives & also enables support systems such as quality assurance, information systems and train the trainer academies either directly or through partnerships. (iii) NSDC acts as a catalyst in skill development by providing funding to enterprises, companies and organisations that provide skill training. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) which was recently approved by the PM will be the flagship scheme for skill training of youth to be implemented by the new Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship through the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). (ii) Focus under the PMKVY would be on improved curricula, better pedagogy and better trained instructors. Training would include soft skills, personal grooming, behavioral change for cleanliness, good work ethics. The monitoring will be done by the sector skills council & the State Goverments. Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is a treaty adopted by the World Health Assembly & became the first World Health Organization treaty adopted under article 19 of the WHO constitution. (ii) The FCTC, one of the most quickly ratified treaties in United Nations history is a supranational agreement that seeks to protect, present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke. (iii) The treaty's provisions include rules that govern the production, sale, distribution, advertisement, and taxation of tobacco & FCTC standards are, however, minimum requirements, and signatories are encouraged to be even more stringent in regulating tobacco. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s exhorted that the paper and ink used to print currency be made in India

Moody's is the only agency which has raised the outlook from stable to positive. Moody's is an essential component of the global capital markets, providing credit ratings, research, tools and analysis that contribute to transparent and integrated financial markets. (ii) Recently Moody's raised India's rating outlook to positive from stable.

Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, the Netherlands & it states that its goal is to ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity. (ii) It focuses its campaigning on worldwide issues such as climate change, deforestation, overfishing, commercial whaling, genetic engineering, and anti-nuclear issues & uses direct action, lobbying, and research to achieve its goals. (iii) Recently the Indian government froze the accounts of Greenpeace, prohibiting any foreign donation. The Central Information Commission (CIC) set up under the Right to Information Act is the authorized body, established under the Government of India. (ii) It was set up to act upon complaints from those individuals who have not been able to submit information requests to a Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer. CIC does not function under any ministry. The International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is the ship, rail, and road route for moving freight from India to Europe through Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Russia. The route primarily involves moving freight from India to Iran by ship; from Iran to Armenia and Georgia by rail and road; and from Georgia to Russia and Europe. The Inter-governmental Agreement on International North-South Transport Corridor was signed in Saint Petersburg between India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Sultanate of Oman, and the Russian Federation Critically analyze the changing dynamics of the India-Iran relation. (250 words) The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is an active, regional peacekeeping mission operated by the African Union with the approval of the United Nations in Somalia. (ii) It is mandated to support transitional governmental structures, implement a national security plan, train the Somali security forces, and to assist in creating a secure environment for the delivery of humanitarian aid. (iii) AMISOM also supports the Federal Government of Somalia's forces in their battle against Al-Shabaab militants. Dakar Framework for Action is related to the field of education. Important for PT & mains.Read more on Daka framework The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the national Standards Body of India working under the aegis of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India. (ii) It was established by the Bureau of Indian Standards Act which & the Minister in charge of the Ministry or Department having administrative control of the BIS is the ex-officio President of the BIS. (iii) BIS is a founder member of International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) & represents India in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the World Standards Service Network (WSSN). Foreign portfolio investment is the entry of funds into a country where foreigners make purchases in the country’s stock and bond markets, sometimes for speculation. (ii) Portfolio investments typically involve transactions in securities that are highly liquid, i.e. they can be bought and sold very quickly & it is an investment made by an investor who is not involved in the management of a company. (iii) Foreign portfolio investment is positively influenced by high

rates of return and reduction of risk through geographic diversification & return on foreign portfolio investment is normally in the form of interest payments or non-voting dividends. A multirole combat aircraft is a jet powered combat aircraft intended to perform different roles in combat. (ii) Multi roles include a primary air-to-air combat role, and a secondary role like airto-surface attack. (iii) India's HAL Tejas Mark 2 is also a Multi role Combat Aircraft. Imp as MRCA is in news (Rafale deal with France). Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, makes it an offence to beat, torture, overload, chain or tether animals with a heavy or short chain. (ii) Environment and Forest Ministry’s guidelines bans captive elephants from being made to walk for more than 30 km a day and not more than three hours at a stretch. (iii) The current provisions of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, levies maximum penalties of Rs. 50 for animal abuse. Yakshis are popular folk goddesses of pre-Aryan days who metamorphosed into protective deities during the time of the brahminical religion and later as female attendants of Jaina tirthankaras. (ii) Yakshis are also celebrated deities in the Buddhist pantheon.(iii) Yakshi sculptures have been found in Mathura in Uttar Pradesh; Didarganj and Basarh in Bihar; Bhopal, Sanchi and Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh; Ellora in Maharashtra, as well as at many other places in India. The nadaswaram is a double reed wind instrument; a classical instrument which originated in Tamil Nadu and is also used in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala. (ii) This instrument is the world's loudest non-brass acoustic instrument. (iii) It is a wind instrument similar to the North Indian shehnai but much longer, with a hardwood body and a large flaring bell made of wood or metal. SaaS (Software as a Service) delivers software vial web. It is the latest development in the software sector. In environmental law, the polluter pays principle is enacted to make the party responsible for producing pollution responsible for paying for the damage done to the natural environment. (ii) The National Green Tribunal Act of India includes the Polluter Pays principle. (iii) As per the recent NGT order, any plan for commercial or residential construction, howsoever small, will now be sanctioned only after an undertaking by the builder or owner that he/she will comply with all the norms to not cause pollution and also provide masks to labourers working at the construction site. Hansen's disease is more commonly known as Leprosy Capital good is any tangible assets that an organization uses to produce goods or services such as office buildings, equipment and machinery. (ii) A capital good is a durable good. (iii) Capital goods represent a major expense for businesses Capital account convertibility: (i) It is a feature of a nation's financial regime that centers on the ability to conduct transactions of local financial assets into foreign financial assets freely and

at country determined exchange rates. (ii) Full capital account convertibility allows local currency to be exchanged for foreign currency without any restriction on the amount. (iii) It helps local merchants to easily conduct transnational business without needing foreign currency exchanges to handle small transactions. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) which was recently approved by the PM will be the flagship scheme for skill training of youth to be implemented by the new Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship through the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). (ii) Focus under the PMKVY would be on improved curricula, better pedagogy and better trained instructors. Training would include soft skills, personal grooming, behavioral change for cleanliness, good work ethics. (iii) Sector Skill Councils and the State Governments would closely monitor skill training that will happen under PMKVY. The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has proposed to set up long-term permanent monitoring plots in Sunderbans, a world heritage site, having maximum mangrove cover in the world to study the impacts of climate change on its flora and fauna. The ZSI has set up a similar long-term permanent monitoring system in Andaman Nicobar islands along with Malvan coast in Maharashtra to study the impacts of climate change of coral reefs. This is in tune with the policies of the Government of India. Recently the Ministry of Environment of Forest has changed its name to Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change with a mandate to study the climate change and mitigate its effects. Phenology (periodic life cycle events of plants influenced by variations of climate) Outright purchase of 36 Rafale aircraft was a crucial military necessity; 42 squandron is the sanctioned strength for IAF and currently it has 34. With the induction of 36 rafale fighters in 2 years, the strength would go to 36. The supplementary deal involving Areva and L&T producing heavy forging metal casing for nuclear reactors is an important step in localising some of the expensive parts. Madhubani painting Centenary of the Ottoman killings of Armenians - ‘the first genocide of the 20th century’ Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart, and have long sought to win international recognition of the massacres as genocide. When Armenians rose up against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops during WWI INS Tarkash (F50) is a Talwar-class frigate constructed for the Indian Navy & a part of the second batch of Talwar-class frigates ordered by the Indian Navy. (ii) Tarkash belongs to the Talwar class of guided missile frigates, are modified Krivak III class frigates built by Russia & these ships use stealth technologies and a special hull design to ensure a reduced radar cross section. (iii) INS Tarkash was deployed with INS Mumbai and INS Sumitra as part of Operation Raahat to provide protection and

support to Indian ships and aircraft involved in the evacuation of Indian citizens from Yemen during the military intervention. The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) is a premier Indian organisation in zoological research and studies & was established to promote the survey, exploration and research of the fauna in the region. ZSI's activities are coordinated by the Min. of Env. & Forest. ZSI has proposed to set up a long term permanent monitoring plots in Sunderbans to come up with strategic action plans for Sunderban mangroves. The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) was established with the objectives of exploring the plant resources of the country and identifying plant species with economic virtue. (ii) The Government reorganised the BSI with the objectives of undertaking intensive floristic surveys, collecting, identifying and distributing materials that may be of use to educational and research institutions and acting as the custodian of authentic collections in well planned herbaria and documenting plant resources in the form of local, district, state and national flora. (iii) The BSI works under Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) was established as an autonomous society under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. The major aim of NIOT is to develop reliable indigenous technology to solve the various engineering problems associated with harvesting of nonliving and living resources in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). (iii) The group functions with a mandate to develop application-oriented technology in ocean (Coastal & Environmental) related areas & the group's expertise and specialized facilities in scientific and technological fields cater to specific sponsored research and industrial sector projects by providing technical support and time-bound resultoriented research. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan, established by the United Nations Security Council as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement. (ii) Its main purpose was to train the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and assist Afghanistan in rebuilding key government institutions. India is not a memberof ISAF The 13'th UN Congress on Crime Prevention & Criminal Justice was held in Doha Important for PT. Read the outcomes of the meet. Batista Former Cuban President & dictator As per the supporters of net neutrality which of the following could be the negative effects of controlled internet: (i) Stifle innovation (ii) Inhibit development of smaller companies (iii) Selective promotion of Over the Top (OTT) internet sites. Poona Pact (1932) - Ambedkar 125th birth anniversary – essay/ethics/200 words question on him It has been proved recently that Mars has transient Brine under its soil.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world. (ii) The IMF works to foster global growth and economic stability by providing policy, advice and financing to members, by working with developing nations to help them achieve macroeconomic stability, and by reducing poverty. (iii) The IMF is mandated to oversee the international monetary and financial system and monitor the economic and financial policies of its member countries & this activity is known as surveillance and facilitates international cooperation. Net neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers and governments should treat all data on the Internet equally, not discriminating or charging differentially by user, content, site, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or mode of communication. The concept of net neutrality first coined in Columbia University by media law professor Tim Wu in 2003, as an extension of the longstanding concept of a common carrier. TRAI is the governing body of the Internet in India. The Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. (ii) It hears the appeals filed as per provisions of Cinematograph Act. Any applicant can file an appeal before the tribunal for a certificate in respect of a film who is aggrieved by an order of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). FCAT is an independent statutory body. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a proposed set of targets relating to future international development. (ii) The SDG's formulated by the United Nations are the part of the Millennium Development Goals, which are laid down for the developing countries. The SDG's will replace the MDG's in the end of 2015. The components of SDG's are that of ending poverty and hunger, improving health and education, making cities more sustainable, combating climate change, and protecting oceans and forests. An arms embargo is an embargo (partial or complete prohibition) that applies to weaponry & it may also include dual use items. (ii) An arms embargo may serve one or more purposes which can be to signal disapproval of behavior by a certain actor, to maintain neutral standing in an ongoing conflict, to limit the resources an actor has to inflict violence on others. (iii) The UN recently imposed rms embargo on the Huthi tribes in Yemen. The Crime and Criminal Tracking Networks and Systems, abbreviated to CCTNS, is a project under Indian government for creating a comprehensive and integrated system for effective policing through eGovernance. (ii) The system includes nationwide online tracking system by integrating more than 14,000 police stations across the country & it also aims to integrate all the data and records of crime into a Core Application Software (CAS). (iii) The National Crime Records Bureau implements and monitors the CCTNS. A Baha'i House of Worship is the designation of a place of worship, or temple, of the Baha'i Faith. (ii) The Baha'i House of Worship was first mentioned in Baha'u'llah's book of laws, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and the

details of the institution were then elaborated by both Baha'u'llah and his successor, `Abdu'l-Baha. (iii) The Lotus Temple in New Delhi, India is a Baha'i House of Worship. The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) was set up under the National Commission for Minorities Act where six religious communities, viz; Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains have been notified as minority communities by the Union Government. (ii) The NCM adheres to the UN Declaration which states that States shall protect the existence of the National or Ethnic, Cultural, Religious and Linguistic identity of minorities within their respective territories and encourage conditions for the promotion of that identity. Aggrieved persons can go to both SCMs and NCMs. Capital account convertibility is a feature of a nation's financial regime that centers on the ability to conduct transactions of local financial assets into foreign financial assets freely and at country determined exchange rates & is sometimes referred to as capital asset liberation or CAC. (ii) CAC was first coined as a theory by the Reserve Bank of India by the Tarapore Committee, in an effort to find fiscal and economic policies that would enable developing Third World countries transition to globalized market economies. (iii) Full capital convertibility means a foreign investor can repatriate his money into his own currency at will. The two states which are at the forefront of solar power development in the country & account for 50% of the India's grid connected solar energy capacity are Gujarat & Rajasthan. Clouds usually move according to the wind pattern & wind is caused due to difference in temperatures and pressures which may be affected by various factors. (iii) In our subcontinent, the southern regions are surrounded by sea water which causes the wind to move from sea to the land mass i.e. from south to north & the direction changes as the seasons change. The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central bank for the euro and administers monetary policy of the Eurozone, which consists of 19 EU member states and is one of the largest currency areas in the world. (ii) The primary objective of the European Central Bank is to maintain price stability within the Eurozone. (iii) The basic tasks are to define and implement the monetary policy for the Eurozone, to conduct foreign exchange operations, etc. Read more on Eurozone & ECB. Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) is a specialized independent agency that manages the internal and external liabilities of the Central Government in a holistic manner. (ii) PDMA is the Investment Banker or Merchant Banker to the Government & it manages the issue, reissue and trading of Government securities, manages and advises the Central Government on its contingent liabilities etc. (iii) The Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) will bring both India’s external borrowings and domestic debt under one roof and would usher in better debt management practices such as creating a medium term debt strategy framework just as the case for fiscal deficit. All India Radio (AIR), officially known as Akashva?i is the national public radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. (ii) It is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national public television broadcaster & is one of the largest radio networks in the world. (iii) The External Services

Division of the AIR which was started by the British to counter the German & Japanese propaganda during the World War II still does not have German & Japanese language on its list. The University Grants Commission (UGC) of India is a statutory organisation set up by the Union government charged with coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of university education. (ii) It provides recognition to universities in India, and disburses funds to such recognized universities and colleges. UGC is an independent body. It has its affiliations with the MHRD. Critically analyse the changing dynamics in the India-Canada Relationship with special reference to PM's recent visit to Canada (250 words). The Indian Strategic Forces Command (SFC) also called Strategic Nuclear Command forms part of India's Nuclear Command Authority (NCA). (ii) It is responsible for the management and administration of the country's tactical and strategic nuclear weapons stockpile. (iii) The SFC manages and administers all strategic forces by exercising complete command and control over nuclear assets, and producing all contingency plans as needed to fulfill the required tasks. India has launched e-tourist Visa Scheme (eTV) aimed at making visa facility easier for India-bound Sri Lankans. (ii) Those Sri Lankans holding ordinary passports can avail themselves of the facility. (iii) Visas to be issued under the new scheme will be for single-entry and valid for only 30 days’ stay from the date of arrival in India & entry into India must be through any of the nine designated airports. CIRUS, a nuclear reactor in India was supplied by Canada. CIRUS was supplied to India way back in the mid 1950's. A pressurized heavy-water reactor (PHWR) is a nuclear power reactor, commonly using unenriched natural uranium as its fuel that uses heavy water as its coolant and moderator. (ii) The use of heavywater moderator is the key to the PHWR system, enabling the use of natural uranium as fuel which means that it can be operated without expensive uranium enrichment facilities. (iii) Recently India & Canada collaborated to use of PHWR as part if the nucler deal. Cotton Route' is a diplomatic term used to India to counte China's maritime ambitions. Critically analyze China's Maritime Silk Route/Road (250 Words) NHRC is an autonomous public body constituted under the Protection of Human Rights Ordinance & was given a statutory basis by the Protection of Human Rights Act. The NHRC is the national human rights institution, responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights, defined as rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants. (iii) The NHRC has been accredited with A status by the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (the ICC), indicating that it is in conformity with the Paris Principles. The Central Board of Direct Taxes is a statutory authority functioning under the Central Board of Revenue Act, dealing with matters relating to levy and collection of direct taxes. (ii) The Central Board of

Revenue as the apex body of the Department, charged with the administration of taxes & initially the Board was in charge of both direct and indirect taxes but later a separate board for indirect taxes was formed named Central Board of Excise and Customs. (iii) Recently the CBDT notified new income tax forms whee the Indian taxpayes will have to disclose details of all the bank accounts held by them in the country 7 also about the foreign trips. The Wireless Planning & Coordination (WPC) Wing of the Ministry of Communications is the National Radio Regulatory Authority responsible for Frequency Spectrum Management, including licensing and caters for the needs of all wireless users (Government and Private) in the country. (ii) It exercises the statutory functions of the Central Government and issues licenses to establish, maintain and operate wireless stations. (iii) WPC is divided into major sections like Licensing and Regulation (LR), New Technology Group (NTG) and Standing Advisory Committee on Radio Frequency Allocation (SACFA). The National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) is a project funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund to provide broadband connectivity to over two lakh Gram panchayats of India. (ii) The project provides internet access using existing optical fiber and extending it to the Gram panchayats & the project was intended to enable the government of India to provide e-services and e-applications nationally. Monitored by chairman, adviser to PM and member, UIDAI chairman The Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy, abbreviated as AYUSH, is a governmental body in India purposed with developing education and research in ayurveda, yoga, naturopathy, unani, siddha, and homoeopathy, and other alternative medicine systems. (ii) Created as the Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy (ISM&H), AYUSH roperates under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and recently it has been elevated to an independent ministry, called Ministry of AYUSH. (iii) National AYUSH Mission was started with an objective of providing cost effective AYUSH Services, with a universal access through upgrading AYUSH Hospitals and Dispensaries, co-location of AYUSH facilities at Primary Health Centres (PHCs), Community Health Centres (CHCs) and District Hospitals (DHs). Digital India is an initiative of Government of India to integrate the government departments and the people of India & it aims at ensuring the government services are made available to citizens electronically by reducing paperwork. (ii) The initiative also includes plan to connect rural areas with high-speed internet networks & it has three core components which includes the creation of digital infrastructure, delivering services digitally and digital literacy. (iii) A two-way platform will be created where both the service providers and the consumers stand to benefit & the scheme will be monitored and controlled by the Digital India Advisory group which will be chaired by the Ministry of Communications and IT The Income Tax Return Forms are notified by Central Board of Direct Taxes The Sadhu Bet island is nearest to Narmada river. It is in news as Sardar Patel's 'Statue of Unity' will be located on this island. Very imp.

Hampi was the seat of the Vijaynagar empire. (ii) An aspect of Vijayanagara architecture that shows the cosmopolitanism of the great city is the presence of many secular structures bearing Islamic features. (iii) Krishnadevaraya, one of the famous kings of the Vijayanagara Empire was a major patron of Virupaksha Temple. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is the wireless use of electromagnetic fields to transfer data, for the purposes of automatically identifying and tracking tags attached to objects. (ii) The tags contain electronically stored information. (iii) One of the problems of RFID is that they are very difficult to conceal or miniaturize. Extremely imp S&T question for PT and Mains. Presently child labour is banned only in industries which are considered hazardous. (ii) Under the Juvenile Justice Act child beggers can be rescued and protected. (iii) In India the Child is defined as a person in the 0 to 18 years. Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) makes explicit efforts to support local decision-making by granting legal authority to farmers for specific management functions of irrigation. (ii) PIM functions include the tasks of cleaning and maintaining the canals or pipes that convey the water, and the responsiblity for allocating water among the users, settling the inevitable disputes that will arise, and representing the collective interest of the irrigation users to the higher government authority. Anything which has participatory concept will always protect and promote local culture and traditional knowledge and values. The Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. (ii) It hears the appeals filed as per provisions of Cinematograph Act. Any applicant can file an appeal before the tribunal for a certificate in respect of a film who is aggrieved by an order of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a proposed set of targets relating to future international development. The components of SDG's are that of ending poverty and hunger, improving health and education, making cities more sustainable, combating climate change, and protecting oceans and forests http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-29914208 The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) is plainly a Fund-disbursing Agency that disburses funds for carrying out research to Indian and Foreign Scholars on their specific applications for Fellowships, Grants, symposia etcetra & no historical Research is carried out by the non academic employees of ICHR. (ii) ICHR is fully funded by Grants-in-Aid received from the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development & it also receives funds from the various State governments of India, also from other Ministries of the Government of India. (iii) The ICHR was formed as a Literary and Charitable Society, a fully funded Autonomous Body of the Ministry of Education. Banam, Tamak & Madal are musical instruments of Santhalis. V. imp. for PT & mains S.H. Raza is a painter

Pattachitra, a general term for traditional, cloth-based scroll painting is based in the state of Odisha. Read more on this and other related at forms. Imp for both & mains The Official Secrets Act is India's anti espionage act held over from British colonisation & it states clearly that any action which involves helping an enemy state against India. (ii) It also states that one cannot approach, inspect, or even pass over a prohibited government site or area. (iii) According to this Act, helping the enemy state can be in the form of communicating a sketch, plan, model of an official secret, or of official codes or passwords, to the enemy & the disclosure of any information that is likely to affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, or friendly relations with foreign States, is punishable by this act. Indo-Islamic Architecture: the main elements in the Islamic architecture is the introduction of arches and beams, and it is the arcuate style of construction while the traditional Indian building style is trabeate, using pillars and beams and lintels. (ii) One of the distinguishing features of Indo-Islamic architecture are the utilisation of kiosks (chhatris), tall towers (minars) and half-domed double portals. (iii) The Mughals also built large gardens in various levels and terraces on the char-bagh pattern whose evolution is traced to the original land of the Mughals, the Kabul Valley. The double dome system of dome architecture was introduced in India by the Mughals. The National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) is the leading stock exchange of India & was established as the first demutualized electronic exchange in the country. (ii) NSE was the first exchange in the country to provide a modern, fully automated screen-based electronic trading system which offered easy trading facility to the investors spread across the length and breadth of the country. (iii) The CNX Nifty, also called the Nifty 50 or simply the Nifty, is National Stock Exchange of India's benchmark stock market index for Indian equity market. The National Food Security Act (NFSA Act, also Right to Food Act) is an Act of the Parliament of India which aims to provide subsidized food grains to nearly 2/3'rd of the total population of India. (ii) The NFSA converts into legal entitlements for existing food security programmes of the Government of India & it includes the Midday Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Services scheme and the Public Distribution System. (iii) The NFSA is monitored by the Ministry of Agriculture National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is an institute under the Indian Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. (ii) It was established in July 1963 for research in epidemiology and control of communicable diseases & it advises the respective state governments on public health. (iii) NCDC was established to function as a national centre of excellence for control of communicable diseases & the function of the institute also included various areas of training and research using multi-disciplinary integrated approach. Kyasanur forest disease (KFD) is a tick-borne viral hemorrhagic fever endemic to South Asia & the disease is caused by a virus belonging to the family Flaviviridae, which also includes yellow fever and dengue fever. (ii) The disease was first reported from Kyasanur Forest of Karnataka and the disease first manifested as an epizootic outbreak among monkeys killing several of them and hence the disease is

also locally known as Monkey Disease or Monkey Fever. (iii) The symptoms of the disease include a high fever with frontal headaches, followed by haemorrhagic symptoms, such as bleeding from the nasal cavity, throat, and gums, as well as gastrointestinal bleeding. Non-Proliferation 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 NPT is commonly described as having three main pillars, they are, non-proliferation, disarmament, and peaceful use. (iii) The impetus behind the NPT was concern for the safety of a world with many nuclear weapon states & it was recognized that the cold war deterrent relationship between just the United States and Soviet Union was fragile. The China-Pakistan Economic corridor is a development megaproject to connect Gwadar Port in southern Pakistan to China’s northwestern autonomous region of Xinjiang via highways, railways and pipelines to transport oil and gas. (ii) The plan also includes provision of material for tackling Climate Change, Pro Bono Projects in the Port of Gwadar Region, establishment of China-Pakistan Joint Cotton Bio-Tech Laboratory, establishment of China-Pakistan Joint Marine Research Center, etc. (iii) CPEC is considered economically vital to Pakistan in helping it drive economic growth & Moody's Investors Service has described the project as a ‘credit positive’ for Pakistan. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is an intergovernmental organization stablished as the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (ICEM) to help resettle people displaced by World War II. (ii) It is the principal intergovernmental organization in the field of migration, dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all & it does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants. (iii) IOM works in the four broad areas of migration management: migration and development, facilitating migration, regulating migration, and addressing forced migration. Participatory Notes commonly known as P-Notes or PNs are instruments issued by registered foreign institutional investors (FII) to overseas investors, who wish to invest in the Indian stock markets without registering themselves with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). P-notes are used outside India for making investments in shares listed in the Indian stock market. That is why they are also called offshore derivative instruments. In the Indian context, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and their subaccounts mostly use these instruments for facilitating the participation of their overseas clients, who are not interested in participating directly in the Indian stock market. India's first stealth destroyer ship of Project 15B class in known as INS Visakhapatnam The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. (ii) It is involved in data gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, lobbying and education & it's mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable. It has an observer-consultive status at the United Nations, and plays a role in the implementation of several international conventions

on nature conservation and biodiversity & was involved in establishing the World Wide Fund for Nature and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Prasar Bharati is a statutory autonomous body. (ii) It is the Public Service Broadcaster of the country. It comprises of Doordarshan television network and All India Radio Business correspondents are bank representatives who help villagers and unbanked persons in rural areas to open bank accounts. (ii) Self Help Groups and Microfinance Institutions can also become Business Correspondents. Digital terrestrial television (DTTV or DTT): (i) DTTV is a technological evolution of broadcast television and an advancement over analog television. (ii) A terrestrial implementation of digital television (DTV) technology uses an aerial to broadcast to a conventional television antenna (or aerial) instead of a satellite dish or cable television connection. (iii) DTTV broadcasts land-based (terrestrial) signals. National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) is a body responsible for the appointment and transfer of judges to the higher judiciary in India. (ii) The NJAC replaced the collegium system for the appointment of judges as mandated in the existing pre-amended constitution by a new system. (iii) The NJAC shall not recommend a person for appointment if any two of its members do not agree to such recommendation. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NCTA) was established following a recommendation of the Tiger Task Force, constituted by the Prime Minister of India for reorganized management of Project Tiger and the many Tiger Reserves in India. (ii) The Authority, interalia, would lay down normative standards, guidelines for tiger conservation in the Tiger Reserves, apart from National Parks and Sanctuaries. (iii) Recently NCTA gave the approval for creation of tiger reserves in Ratapani in Madhya Pradesh, Sunabeda in Odisha and Guru Ghasidas in Chhattisgarh. Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) functions under the aegis of Ministry of Rural Development hedge funds: (i)A fund, usually used by wealthy individuals and institutions, which is allowed to use aggressive strategies that are unavailable to mutual funds, including selling short, leverage, program trading, swaps, arbitrage, and derivatives. (ii) Hedge funds are exempt from many of the rules and regulations governing other mutual funds, which allows them to accomplish aggressive investing goals. (iii) The name "hedge fund" refers to the hedging techniques traditionally used by hedge funds, but hedge funds today do not necessarily hedge. NPCI would function as a hub in all electronic retail payment systems which is ever growing in terms of varieties of products, delivery channels, number of service providers and diverse Technology solutions. (ii) NPCI has successfully completed the major project of developing a domestic card payment network called- RuPay. (iii) The other objective was to facilitate an affordable payment mechanism to benefit the common man across the country and help financial inclusion.

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act is the primary legal framework for juvenile justice in India. (ii) The Act provides for a special approach towards the prevention and treatment of juvenile delinquency and provides a framework for the protection, treatment and rehabilitation of children in the purview of the juvenile justice system. (iii) Recently the union cabinet cleared amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act that would allow juveniles aged between 16-18 to be tried as adults for henious crimes such as murder & rape. IMD is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India. It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology & has its headquarters in New Delhi and operates hundreds of observation stations across India and Antarctica. (iii) IMD undertakes observations, communications, forecasting and weather services and in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation, the IMD also uses the IRS series and the Indian National Satellite System (INSAT) for weather monitoring of the Indian subcontinent. The China-Pakistan Economic corridor is a development megaproject to connect Gwadar Port in southern Pakistan to China’s northwestern autonomous region of Xinjiang via highways, railways and pipelines to transport oil and gas. (ii) The plan also includes provision of material for tackling Climate Change, Pro Bono Projects in the Port of Gwadar Region, establishment of China-Pakistan Joint Cotton Bio-Tech Laboratory, establishment of China-Pakistan Joint Marine Research Center, etc. (iii) CPEC is considered economically vital to Pakistan in helping it drive economic growth & Moody's Investors Service has described the project as a ‘credit positive’ for Pakistan. NITI Aayog or National Institution for Transforming India Aayog is a policy think-tank of Government of India that replaces Planning Commission and aims to involve the states in economic policy-making in India. It provides strategic and technical advice to the central and the state governments i.e by adopting bottom-up approach rather than traditional top-down approach as in planning commission Prime Minister heads the Aayog as its chairperson. The NITI Aayog also seeks to put an end to slow and tardy implementation of policy, by fostering better Inter-Ministry coordination and better Centre-State coordination & also helps evolve a shared vision of national development priorities, and foster cooperative federalism, recognizing that strong states make a strong nation. Pakistan—Afghanistan Transit Trade Agreement (also known as TTA) is a bilateral trade agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan which has been renegotiated several times. (ii) This treaty allows Afghanistan access to the dry port of Lahore, and also access to a land route to export goods to India. The treaty does not allow India to use land route to export goods to Afghanistan. Gold exchange-traded products are exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds (CEFs) and exchange-traded notes (ETNs) that aim to track the price of gold. (ii) Gold exchange-traded products are traded on the major stock exchanges including Zurich, Mumbai, London, Paris and New York. (iii) Each gold ETF, ETN, and CEF has a different structure outlined in its prospectus & some such instruments do not necessarily hold physical gold. The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) operated by NASA, is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit. (ii) Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared

spectra & isnamed after the astronomer Edwin Hubble. (iii) Hubble's orbit outside the distortion of Earth's atmosphere allows it to take extremely high-resolution images with negligible background light. Bonds are a kind of debt instrument and by investing in this type of asset, the investor gives a loan to the issuing entity. (ii) investors do not have to pay any tax on the interest earned through tax-free bonds. (iii) Tax-free bonds have a lower risk of default, as these companies are usually Governmentbacked entities. The GST is expected to the GDP by creating a national market for goods and removing distortions caused by multiple indirect taxes levied by the Centre, states and local bodies. (ii) The Centre has also committed to states that they will be compensated for revenue loss for five years. (iii) Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill is a constitutional amendment bill and hence requires the support of two-third members of each House present and voting; subsequently, half of the states assemblies will have to also ratify it as it affects the articles dealing with states. National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT): (i) NCLT is a proposed quasi-judicial body in India that will govern the companies in India. (ii) It will be established under the Companies Act, 2013 and is a successor body of the Company Law Board. (iii) The NCLT is meant to be an overarching body for resolving insolvencies, which will act as the main component of the proposed bankruptcy code. Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA): (i) The CRA is a framework for the provision of support through liquidity and precautionary instruments in response to actual or potential short-term balance of payments pressures. (ii) The objective of this reserve is to provide protection against global liquidity pressures. CRAis an initiative of the The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank. The term Smart City encompasses a vision of an urban space that is ecologically friendly, technologically integrated and meticulously planned, with a particular reliance on the use of information technology to improve efficiency. (ii) The key features of a Smart City is in the intersect between competitiveness, Capital and Sustainability. The smart cities would be able to provide good infrastructure such as water, sanitation, reliable utility services, health care; attract investments; transparent processes that make it easy to run a commercial activities; simple and on line processes for obtaining approvals etc. (iii) The Smart City will incorporate Smart Maps which will be a detailed one that will directly benefit the people. V. Imp. for PT & mains. Read more on the topic. The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), a subordinate office of the Min. of Earth Sciences is the National Apex Agency entrusted with the responsibilities of providing scientific inputs for management, exploration, monitoring, assessment, augmentation and regulation of ground water resources of the country. (ii) CGWB is a multi-disciplinary scientific organization consisting of Hydro geologists, Geophysicists, Chemists, Hydrologists, Hydro meteorologists and Engineers. (iii) Major activities being taken up by Central Ground Water Board include macro/micro-level ground water management studies, exploratory drilling programme, monitoring of ground water levels and water quality.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has come out with new guidelines to create ecosensitive zones (ESZs) around Protected Areas to prevent ecological damage caused due to developmental activities around National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries. (ii) The basic aim is to regulate certain activities around National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries so as to minimise the negative impacts of such activities on the fragile ecosystem encompassing the protected areas. Activities such as ongoing agriculture and horticulture practices by local communities, rainwater harvesting, organic farming, adoption of green technology and use of renewable energy sources are permitted in ESZs. Pronab Sen Committee Report is related to Ecologically Sensitive Zones Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKY) aims to impart skill training to youth with focus on first time entrants to the labour market and class 10 and class 12 drop outs. It will be implemented by the Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship through the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). The target for skilling under the scheme will be associated with Union Government’s flagship programmes such as Make in India, Digital India, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and National Solar Mission. The Bandung Conference was a meeting of Asian and African states, most of which were newly independent, took place onin Bandung, Indonesia. (ii) The conference's stated aims were to promote Afro-Asian economic and cultural cooperation and to oppose colonialism or neocolonialism by any nation. (iii) The conference was organised by Indonesia, Burma, Pakistan, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and India & was an important step toward the Non-Aligned Movement. An Army Regiment which was recruited by the East India Company and which later continued to serve the Indian Army is Gorkha Rifles. Recently Gorkha Rifles completed 200 years of service. Priority Sector Lending is an important role given by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to the banks for providing a specified portion of the bank lending to few specific sectors like agriculture or small scale industries. (ii) Priority Sector Lending is essentially meant for an all round development of the economy as opposed to focusing only on the financial sector. (iii) As per a recent move by RBI, all banks will have to lend 40% of their net credit to the priority sector and those foreign banks with less than 20 branches will have to reach the target by 2020. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection Bill) proposes to introduce a ‘judicial waiver’ system in India whereby juvenile offenders aged between 16 and 18 years would be tried and punished as adults for a certain class of crimes. (ii) Neuroscientists have found that the prefrontal lobe in the human brain, which is responsible for important functions such as planning, reasoning, judgment, and impulse control, is fully developed only by the age of 25 years. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is the supreme authority of the worldwide modern Olympic movement. (ii) The IOC is an international non-profit, non-governmental organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. (iii) The host city election for Olympic games takes place seven years before the Games, but the actual bid process is launched 10 years before and lasts for a period of three years.

The IUCN Red List is the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species and their links to livelihoods. (ii) it is a powerful tool to inform and catalyse action for biodiversity conservation and policy change - critical to protecting the natural resources we need to survive. (iii) The IUCN Red List is set upon precise criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of species and subspecies. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India’s external cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their peoples. (ii) In addition to organising cultural festivals in India and overseas, the ICCR financially supports a number of cultural institutions across India, and sponsors individual performers in dance, music, photography, theatre, and the visual arts. (iii) To showcase the best of Indian performing and visual arts, the Council empanels performing artists who are proficient in their field. Various cities have been identified by the Union Ministry of Tourism for development under the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spirituality Augmentation Drive (PRASAD). (ii) The development of the cities under PRASAD scheme will be dovetailed with the Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) scheme, aimed at revitalising the unique character of the heritage cities in India. PRASAD comes under Min. of Tourism while HRIDAY comes under Min. of Urban Development. Project Mausam: (i) Focusing on monsoon patterns, cultural routes and maritime landscapes, Project ‘Mausam’ is examining key processes and phenomena that link different parts of the Indian Ocean littoral as well as those that connect the coastal centres to their hinterlands. (ii) Broadly, Project ‘Mausam’ aims to understand how the knowledge and manipulation of the monsoon winds has shaped interactions across the Indian Ocean and led to the spread of shared knowledge systems, traditions, technologies and ideas along maritime routes. (iii) At the macro level, it aims to re-connect and reestablish communications between countries of the Indian Ocean world, which would lead to an enhanced understanding of cultural values and concerns; and at the micro level, the focus is on understanding national cultures in their regional maritime milieu. Gross value added at factor cost (formerly GDP at factor cost) is derived as the sum of the value added in the agriculture, industry and services sectors. If the value added of these sectors is calculated at purchaser values, gross value added at factor cost is derived by subtracting net product taxes from GDP. Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank would be responsible for regulating and refinancing all Micro-finance Institutions (MFI) which are in the business of lending to micro/small business entities engaged in manufacturing, trading and services activities. (ii) The Bank would partner with state level/regional level co-ordinators to provide finance to Last Mile Financer of small/micro business enterprises. (iii) A sum of Rs 20,000 crores would be allocated to the MUDRA Bank from the money available from shortfalls of Priority Sector Lending for creating a Refinance Fund to provide refinance to the Last Mile Financers and another Rs 3,000 crore would be provided to the MUDRA Bank from the budget to create a Credit Guarantee corpus for guaranteeing loans being provided to the micro enterprises.

According to the NSSO survey of 2013, there are 5.77 crore small business units, mostly individual proprietorships, which run small manufacturing, trading or services activities. Most of these ‘own account enterprises’ are owned by people belonging to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or Other Backward Classes. Only 4% of such units get institutional finance. Providing access to institutional finance to such micro/small business units would turn them into strong instrument of GDP growth and also employment. Micro Finance is an economic development tool whose objective is to assist the poor to work their way out of poverty. It covers a range of services which include, in addition to the provision of credit, many other services such as savings, insurance, money transfers, counseling etc. The players in the Micro Finance sector can be qualified as falling into 3 main groups:- the SHG-Bank linkage model started by NABARD, the Non Banking Finance companies and the others including Trusts, Societies etc. The government proposes to set up a Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank through a statutory enactment. This Bank would be responsible for regulating and refinancing all Microfinance Institutions (MFI) which are in the business of lending to micro/small business entities engaged in manufacturing, trading and services activities. The Bank would partner with state level/regional level co-ordinators to provide finance to Last Mile Financer of small/micro business enterprises MUDRA Bank: (i) increase access of finance (ii) bring down the cost of finance from the last Mile Financers to the micro/small enterprises The MUDRA Bank would primarily be responsible for –

1) Laying down policy guidelines for micro/small enterprise financing business

2) Registration of MFI entities

3) Regulation of MFI entities

4) Accreditation /rating of MFI entities

5) Laying down responsible financing practices to ward off indebtedness and ensure proper client protection principles and methods of recovery

6) Development of standardised set of covenants governing last mile lending to micro/small enterprises

7) Promoting right technology solutions for the last mile

8) Formulating and running a Credit Guarantee scheme for providing guarantees to the loans which are being extended to micro enterprises

9) Creating a good architecture of Last Mile Credit Delivery to micro businesses under the scheme of Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana The above measures would not only help in increasing access of finance to the unbanked but also bring down the cost of finance from the last Mile Financers to the micro/small enterprises, most of which are in the informal sector. Highlights of The Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana Available to people in the age group of 18 to 50 and having a bank account. People who join the scheme before completing 50 years can, however, continue to have the risk of life cover up to the age of 55 years subject to payment of premium. The payment of premium Rs.330 per annum will be directly auto-debited by the bank from the subscribers account. Rs.2 Lakh in case of death for any reason. A person has to opt for the scheme every year. He can also prefer to give a long-term option of continuing, in which case his account will be autodebited every year by the bank. The scheme will be offered by Life Insurance Corporation and all other life insurers who are willing to join the scheme and tie-up with banks for this purpose. Various other Ministries can co-contribute premium for various categories of their beneficiaries out of their budget or out of Public Welfare Fund created in this budget out of unclaimed money. This will be decided separately during the year. Common Publicity Expenditure will be borne by Government. The Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana deals with life insurance cover. (ii) The Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana deals with accidental death insurance cover. (iii) The unclaimed deposits in the PPF/EPF funds will be used for Senior Citizen Welfare Fund. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana or Accidental Death Insurance Available to people in age group 18 to 70 years with bank account. The premium Rs.12 per annum will be directly auto-debited by the bank from the subscribers account. This is the only mode available. For accidental death and full disability - Rs.2 Lakh and for partial disability – Rs.1 Lakh. Any person having a bank account and Aadhaar number linked to the bank account can give a simple form to the bank every

year before 1st of June in order to join the scheme. Name of nominee to be given in the form. A person has to opt for the scheme every year. He can also prefer to give a long-term option of continuing in which case his account will be auto-debited every year by the bank. The scheme will be offered by all Public Sector General Insurance Companies and all other insurers who are willing to join the scheme and tie-up with banks for this purpose. Plz try to remember the difference between the two insurance schemes. The 'Amrut Mahotsav', as mentioned in the budget, deals with 75 years of independence Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) will structure the debt requirement, monitor the utilisation and the cost of the debt. (ii) PDMA is expected to lead the development of the bond market in the country, as well as prevent leakages of public funds. (iii) The setting up of an independent PDMA in line with the recommendation of the financial sector legislative reforms commission (FSLRC). A Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) will be set-up which will bring both India’s external borrowings and domestic debt under one roof. Currently, RBI manages the debt of Central and State govt while the central Govt manages the external debt. PDMA will subsume RBI and centre functions. The 'Nai Manzil' Scheme, integrated education and livelihood scheme called ‘Nai Manzil’ will be launched this year to enable Minority Youth who do not have a formal school-leaving certificate to obtain one and find better employment. The Everlasting Flame’ is an exhibition to showcase Parsi culture Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) deals with facilitating the discounting of both invoices as well as bills of exchange for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). a significant part of the working capital requirement of a MSME arises due to long receivables realization cycles and we are in the process of establishing an electronic Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) financing of trade receivables of MSMEs, from corporate and other buyers, through multiple financiers. This should improve the liquidity in the MSME sector significantly. Plz read further - http://rbi.org.in/scripts/bs_viewcontent.aspx?Id=2860 Self- Employment and Talent Utilisation (SETU) mechanism of the government: (i) It will be a TechnoFinancial, Incubation and Facilitation Programme to support all aspects of start up businesses, and other self-employment activities, particularly in technology-driven areas. (ii) An amount of Rs.1000 crore is being set up initially in NITI Aayog for SETU. (iii) SETU has been set up to ensure more liberal system of raising global capital, incubation facilities, funding for seed capital and growth, and ease of doing business. gross capital formation The only temple dedicated to Radha in India is at Barsana

Participatory notes also called P-Notes are offshore derivative instruments with Indian shares as underlying assets. They are used outside India for making investments in shares listed in the Indian stock market. That is why they are also called offshore derivative instruments. Participatory notes are issued by brokers and FIIs registered with SEBI. The investment is made on behalf of these foreign investors by the already registered brokers in India. Participatory notes are issued by brokers and FIIs registered with SEBI. The investment is made on behalf of these foreign investors by the already registered brokers in India. For example, Indian-based brokerages buy India-based securities and then issue participatory notes to foreign investors. Any dividends or capital gains collected from the underlying securities go back to the investors The brokers that issue these notes or trades in Indian securities have to mandatorily report their PN issuance status to SEBI for each quarter. These notes allow foreign high networth individuals, hedge funds and other investors to put money in Indian markets without being registered with SEBI, thus making their participation easy and smooth. P-Notes also aid in saving time and costs associated with direct registrations. Foreign investment in India can broadly be classified into two categories—Foreign direct investment (FDI) and investment made by foreign institutional investors (FIIs. There are strict guidelines laid down by market regulator SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) for seeking approvals and documentation for FDI. Also, there are several restrictions laid down on the exit of this money. On the other hand, FII is mainly characterised as portfolio investment i.e. quick money entering the Indian capital market for short-term. Due to its short-term nature, the regulators have laid down fewer guidelines on FII than on FDI. But, the fact remains that foreign money cannot enter Indian markets without regulatory approvals. All those overseas investors, who want to invest in the Indian stock markets without getting into the regulatory approval process and other hassles participatory notes. The end beneficiary of these notes is not disclosed, many investors who want to remain anonymous use it. These instruments aid investors who do not want to register with SEBI and reveal their identities to take positions in the Indian market. It enables large hedge funds to carry out their operations without disclosing their identity. Indian regulators are not very happy about participatory notes because they have no way to know who owns the underlying securities. It is alleged that a lot of unaccounted money made its way to the country through the participatory note route. Participatory Notes (PNs): (i) PNs are used by investors or hedge funds that are not registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, to invest in Indian securities. (ii) The investors in PNs derive the economic benefits of investing in the security without actually holding it. PNs are considered to be the major source of black money and hence there are demands to do away with the PNs. In India the deficit in revenue budget is normally covered by taking more loans from public sector banks and creating a surplus in the capital account by trimming investment allocation. Revenue expeditures are not used to create assets or investments. They take care of day to day expenses which do not create assets. In a healthy economy non-plan expenditure should be minimised.

MUDRA will cater to the needs of the informal sector, will fund the millions of entrepreneurs by an innovative financial architecture that will integrate the existing private financiers of small businesses as last-mile lenders. (iii) It will have a corpus of Rs.20,000 crore and budgetary support of Rs.3,000 crore for credit guarantee. The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India has decided to celebrate 2lst February as Matribhasha Divas all over India with the objective of sensitising people on the need to impart communication skills and proficiency in mother tongue. (ii) UNESCO has been observing February 21st every year as International Mother Language Day to promote mother tongues and increase awareness of the linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world. (iii) The Eighth Schedule to the Indian Constitution contains a list of 22 scheduled languages. Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPP) are a series of coal based super critical power projects planned by the Government of India. (ii) Each UMPP has a capacity of approximately 4000 MW. (iii) The recent budget has assured 'plug and play' feature for projects like UMPPs. Monetary Policy Framework Agreement which was recently signed between RBI and the Finance Ministry: (i) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will first aim to have consumer inflation fall below 6 per cent by January 2016. (ii) The central bank will be deemed to have missed its target if consumer inflation is at more than 6 percent or at less than 2 percent for three consecutive quarters starting in the 2015/16 fiscal year. (iii) Consumer inflation target for 2016/2017 and subsequent years will be 4 percent +/-2 percentage points. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) is 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. (ii) The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion is responsible for formulation and implementation of promotional and developmental measures for growth of the industrial sector. (iii) DIPP comes under Ministry of Commerce and Industry while FIPB comes under Ministry of Finance. The Laffer curve is the graphical representation of the relationship between tax rates and absolute revenue these rates generate for the government. (ii) The principle thought behind the Laffer curve is that a zero tax rate would produce zero revenue and a 100% tax rate would also generate zero revenue, as there would be no incentive to work. The assumption is that low tax rate would lead to higher tax collection. Priority sector refers to those sectors of the economy which may not get timely and adequate credit in the absence of needed enabling provisions. (ii) The target for lending to the priority sector is 40 per cent of adjusted net bank credit (ANBC) or credit equivalent of off-balance sheet exposure (CEOBE), whichever is higher, for all scheduled commercial banks. (iii) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recommended that loans to sanitation, health care and drinking water facilities and renewable energy would come under the priority sector ambit, as would incremental loans made to exports, with certain ceilings. Plz clarify about ANBC and CEOBE.

The National Clean Energy Fund was constituted to invest in entrepreneurial ventures and research in the field of clean energy technologies. (ii) The principal of a “polluter pays” remains the basic guiding criteria for pollution management in the country. (iii) The fund is controlled by the Ministry of Finance. Inflation targeting is an economic policy in which a central bank estimates or decides for a mediumterm target inflation rate and makes public this "inflation target". Inflation and interest rates tend to move in opposite directions. Inflation targeting re-emphasises the primacy of price stability as the objective of monetary policy. At present, foreign investment is managed by three entities -the finance ministry , RBI and the department of industrial policy and promotion. (iii) The government has proposed to move debt management from RBI to a Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) and establish a Monetary Policy Committee to decide on this as part of the new framework that will also set an inflation target. Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) are basically funds established or incorporated in India for the purpose of pooling in capital from Indian and foreign investors for investing as per a pre-decided policy. (ii) Minimum Alternate Tax is a way of making companies pay a minimum amount of tax. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international economic organisation of 34 countries to stimulate economic progress and world trade. (ii) It is a forum of countries committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seeking answers to common problems, identify good practices and coordinate domestic and international policies of its members. India neither was an observer nor a member The Bankruptcy Law Reform Committee (BLRC) was set up by the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance to study the corporate bankruptcy legal framework in India. (ii) During the course of its deliberations, the BLRC also realised that since most MSMEs are established as sole proprietorships whose legal status is inseparable from that of the individuals who own them, issues relating to their insolvency resolution cannot be addressed completely by introducing changes to the corporate insolvency regime alone. (iii) The Committee sees the early recognition of financial distress and timely intervention as key features of efficient rescue regimes and believes that the degree of viability of a company must be the central consideration for allowing it to be rescued, and that an unviable company should be liquidated as soon as possible to minimise losses for stakeholders. Comprehensive Peace Accord was signed between the Government of Nepal and the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA) is an autonomous apex statutory body which regulates and develops the insurance industry in India. (ii) It was constituted by a Parliament of India act called Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act and duly passed by the Government of India. Critically analyze the recently present Union Budget. (250 words).

National Cyber Coordination Centre is a proposed cyber security and e-surveillance agency in India which is intended to screen communication metadata and co-ordinate the intelligence gathering activities of other agencies. (ii) Some of the components of NCCC include a cyber crime prevention strategy, cyber crime investigation training, review of outdated laws, etc. (iii) NCCC is an e-surveillance and cyber security project of Indian government. Foreign Institutional Investment (FII) is an investor or investment fund that is from or registered in a country outside of the one in which it is currently investing. Institutional investors include hedge funds, insurance companies, pension funds and mutual funds. (ii) An institutional investor can have some influence in the management of corporations because it will be entitled to exercise the voting rights in a company & thus, it can actively engage in corporate governance. (iii) Institutional investors have the freedom to buy and sell shares, they can play a large part in which companies stay solvent, and which go under. Influencing the conduct of listed companies, and providing them with capital are all part of the job of investment management. Important for prelims & mains. Read more & carefully on FDI, FPI, FII etc. A consumer price index (CPI) measures changes in the price level of a market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households. (ii) The CPI is a statistical estimate constructed using the prices of a sample of representative items whose prices are collected periodically. (iii) A CPI can be used to index the real value of wages, salaries, pensions, for regulating prices and for deflating monetary magnitudes to show changes in real values. The recent campaign titled 'Lives Bachao size badhao' (save lives by increasing size) is related to public awareness campaign to support the move for a larger graphic health warning on tobacco products sold across India. The proposed amendment bill to the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act of 2013 (LARR Act): (i) It removes a previous bar on acquisitions by the state for the purposes of establishing private hospitals and educational institutions. (ii) It removes a requirement established under the LARR Act that necessitated the prior consent of at least 80 per cent of affected families when acquiring land for private companies. (iii) It removes a necessity for a detailed social impact assessment (SIA) mandated by the LARR Act for land acquired for a special category of purposes, such as projects vital to national security and the defence of India, industrial corridors, and infrastructure projects. Outer Space Treaty: (i) It bars states party to the treaty from placing weapons of mass destruction in orbit of Earth, installing them on the Moon or any other celestial body, or to otherwise station them in outer space. (ii) It exclusively limits the use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes and expressly prohibits their use for testing weapons of any kind, conducting military maneuvers, or establishing military bases, installations, and fortifications. (iii) The Treaty does not prohibit the placement of conventional weapons in orbit. National Health Policy, 2015: (i) It has proposed a target of raising public health expenditure to 2.5 % from the present 1.2% of GDP. (ii) It suggests making health a fundamental right similar to education

and denial of the same could be punishable. (iii) As per the draft document, Government plans to rely mostly on general taxation for financing health care expenditure. National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems (NPCA) aims at holistic conservation and restoration of lakes and wetlands for achieving desired water quality enhancement besides improvement in biodiversity and ecosystem through an integrated and multidisciplinary approach with a common regulatory framework. (ii) The NPCS has conservation and management of lakes and wetlands in the country within its scope, to include inventory and information system on lakes and wetlands national level directive on criteria for lakes and wetlands, regulatory framework, capacity building at state government and local body levels, evaluation etc. (iii) Wetlands are shallow water-bodies with high biodiversity and productivity. They play an important role in bio-geochemical cycles and have potential for wastewater treatment. Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC): (i) It has suggested putting in place an Indian Financial Code that will replace the bulk of existing laws. (ii) It proposes creating a single regulator for pension, equity, insurance and commodities markets. (iii) FSLRC has recommended setting up a unified Financial Sector Appellate Tribunal (FSAT) that would hear all appeals against financial sector regulators. Coinage Act of 2011: (i) The Government of India also has the sole right to mint coins of all denominations. (ii) Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has the authority to issue bank notes of denominational values of Rs. 2, Rs. 5, Rs. 10, Rs. 20, Rs. 50, Rs. 100, Rs. 500, Rs. 1,000, Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 10,000; the one rupee note is printed and issued by the central government. (iii) As per the latest opinion of the law ministry, the Government of India can print currency notes of Rs. 1 denomination. Plz read more on it. Imp eBiz initiative: (i) It is being piloted by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, and seeks to provide comprehensive Government-to-Business (G2B) services to business entities with transparency, speed, and certainty. (ii) It aims at reducing the points of contact between business entities and Government agencies. (iii) It aims at standardizing "requirement information", establishing singlewindow services, and reducing the burden of compliance, thereby benefitting stakeholders such as entrepreneurs, industries and businesses, industry associations, regulatory agencies, industrial promotional agencies, banks and financial institutions, and taxation authorities. The government’s move to transfer its debt management to an independent Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA): (i) Creation of a debt management office will take away RBI’s role of managing the cash and borrowings of the government and will remove the conflict of interest inherent in the RBI acting as investment banker to the government, monetary policy manager and the banking regulator. (ii) The conflict of interest between monetary policy and public debt management arises as RBI as a debt manager is bound to try to minimise borrowing costs, which could, however, interfere with its monetary policy management. (iii) An independent debt office will provide the central bank the autonomy it needs in conducting monetary policy independent of the government's fiscal policy.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority is set up under the Chairmanship of the Minister for Environment and Forests. The Mudumalai National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary lies in the Nilgiri Hills. Satyamangalam Tiger Reserve is located in the Wstern Ghats (Tamil Nadu). As per the Twentieth Law Commission recommendations, the government has decided to bring in the Commercial Divisions Act which introduces a commercial division in every high court having original jurisdiction (i.e. Madras, Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta and Himachal Pradesh) and commercial courts in such districts, as the Central government, in consultation with the concerned State government and Chief Justice of the concerned High Court, may establish. (ii) These Commercial Division Courts will resolve all “commercial” disputes of value of over Rs. 1 crore. (iii) The Twentieth Law Commission is headed by Justice A.P.Shah. Plz know more about proposed Commercial Courts. Very imp The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is an umbrella institution for all the retail payment systems in the country. (ii) NPCI has successfully completed the major project of developing a domestic card payment network called- RuPay, which symbolizes the capabilities of banking industry in India to build a card payment network so that dependency on international card schemes is minimized. (iii) NPCI is making great contribution in the field of financial inclusion The National Clean Energy Fund was constituted to invest in entrepreneurial ventures and research in the field of clean energy technologies. (ii) The principal of a “polluter pays” remains the basic guiding criteria for pollution management in the country. (iii) The fund is controlled by the Ministry of Finance. At present, foreign investment is managed by three entities -the finance ministry , RBI and the department of industrial policy and promotion. (iii) The government has proposed to move debt management from RBI to a Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) and establish a Monetary Policy Committee to decide on this as part of the new framework that will also set an inflation target. RBI is the debt manager as of now GSM and CDMA are wireless technologies with GSM enjoying maximum market share globally. (ii) GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) is a specification of an entire wireless network infrastructure, while CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) relates only to the air interface — the radio portion of the technology. (iii) Network service of CDMA is handset specific while network service of GSM is SIM specific. Mangroves are woody plants and shrub that inhabit the upper intertidal zones of saltwater areas, primarily in tropical and subtropical coastal regions within 30° of the equator and form low diversity forests with complex food webs and unique ecosystem dynamics. (ii) The Sundarban is the largest mangrove forest in the world, located in India and Bangladesh; while the Pichavaram Mangrove Forest near Chidambaram, South India, by the Bay of Bengal is the world's second largest mangrove forest. (iii) Mangroves are found in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Gulf of Kutch, Bhitarkanika and Godavari – Krishna deltas. Mangroves protect coastal areas from erosion, storm surge (especially during hurricanes) and tsunamis. (ii) The mangrove's massive root system is efficient at dissipating wave energy. Likewise, they slow down tidal water so that its sediment is deposited as the tide comes in, leaving all except fine particles when the tide ebbs. Mangroves support many kinds of fish species.

Terms like 'Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT)' and 'Build Operate Transfer (BOT)' are various models of Public Pvt Parnership Projects. Similar question asked in Mains earlier. Plz read and clarify. The Ultra Mega Power Projects are very large sized projects, approximately 4000 MW each involving an estimated investment of about Rs. 16,000 crore, and are being developed on a Build, Own, and Operate (BOO) basis. (ii) The Ultra Mega Power Projects would use Super Critical Technology with a view to achieve higher levels of fuel efficiency, which results in saving of fuel and lower green-house gas emissions. (iii) Some of the UMPPs planned/working are Mundra (Gujarat), Sasan (Madhya Pradesh), Krishnapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and Tilaiya Dam (Jharkhand). Potential Growth Rate is an estimate of the maximum potential growth at the existing capacity and in line with RBI's inflation projection. (ii) If the actual GDP growth is a few percentage points below the potential rate, it reflects some clack in the economy. (iii) The Central Statistical Organisation has changed the base year to 2011-12 and has included a significantly higher number of products and services in estimating GDP at `market prices' instead of `factor cost'. Green India Mission aims to enhance carbon sinks through large scale afforestation across the country. (ii) The mission aims to fight climate change by increasing the forest cover by 10 million hectares in the next 10 years. (iii) The government has decided to converge the Green India Mission and MGNREGA schemes with a combined mission to increase the forest cover in the country by five million hectares while improving the quality of another five million hectares of forest land and increasing the forestbased livelihood income of about three million households. A Government security is a tradable instrument issued by the Central Government or the State Governments which acknowledges the Government’s debt obligation. (ii) Government securities are short term (usually called treasury bills, with original maturities of less than one year) or long term (usually called Government bonds or dated securities with original maturity of one year or more). In India, the Central Government issues both treasury bills and bonds or dated securities while the State Governments issues only bonds or dated securities Quantitative Easing - Central bank purchases government securities or other securities from the market in order to lower interest rates and increase the money supply. When a Bill comes up before a House for general discussion, it is open to that House to refer it to a Select Committee of the House or a Joint Committee of the two Houses. (ii) The Select or Joint Committee considers the Bill clause by clause and amendments can be moved to various clauses by members of the Committee. (iii)The Select or Joint Committee can also take evidence of associations, public bodies or experts who are interested in the Bill. The Integrated Child Development Sevices (ICDS) Programme aims at providing services to pre-school children in an integrated manner. Pre-school non-formal education is one of the services provided under the ICDS Programme.

price stability agreement between RBI and Ministry of Finance: (i) The target rate for the RBI is 4 per cent CPI-combined inflation with a range of plus or minus 2 per cent. (ii) If inflation is above 6 per cent or below 2 per cent for three consecutive quarters, RBI will be deemed to have failed, and it will be required to state the reasons for its failure and the remedial actions it proposes. (iii) The price stability agreement between RBI and Ministry of Finance is as per the recommendations of the Urjit Patel committee on Monetary Policy Reforms. Focus should be understanding the implications Palk Strait: (i) It connects the Bay of Bengal in the northeast with the Palk Bay and thence with the Gulf of Mannar in the southwest. (ii) It is studded at its southern end with a chain of low islands and reef shoals that are collectively called Adam's Bridge. The 99th Constitution Amendment Bill deals with National Judicial Appointments Commission The cities will be developed as satellite towns of larger cities and by modernising existing mid-sized cities. (ii) The basic premise of any smart city is making infrastructure network and delivery of services more efficient. (iii) Smart cities have an intergrated transit corridor where Bus Rapid Transit Corridors as well as suburban train networks are linked with pedestrians and cycle lanes. Baul music of Bengal: (i) The music of the Bauls, Baul Sangeet, is a particular type of folk song whose lyrics carry influences of the Hindu bhakti movements and the suphi, a form of Sufi song exemplified by the songs of Kabir. (ii) Bauls use a number of musical instruments: the most common is the ektara, a one-stringed “plucked drum” drone instrument. ROTAVAC Vaccine is aimed at Diarrhoea CPI tracks inflation at the consumer level and has become the key measure of inflation used by the Reserve Bank of India for monetary policy action. (ii) The number of items in the CPI has increased to 448 from 437 in rural areas and to 460 from 450 in urban areas. (iii) Internet usage is one of the items in the new CPI. Standing committee is a committee consisting of Members of Parliament & it is a permanent and regular committee which is constituted from time to time according to the provisions of an Act of Parliament or Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business. (ii) Both Houses of Parliament have similar Committee structures with a few exceptions where the appointment, terms of office, functions and procedures of conducting business are broadly similar & these standing committees are elected or appointed every year, or periodically by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha or the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, or as a result of consultation between them. (iii) Recently, the GOI agreed in the Rajya Sabha to refer the Mines & Minerals Amendment Bill & the Coal Mines Bill to the Select Committee. MCGS Barracuda, is an Offshore Patrol Vessel of National Coast Guard of Mauritius. Read more on the recent developments & implications of PM Modi's visit to Mauritius Critically analyse the changing dynamics in the India-Sri Lanka relationship. (250 words).

The Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was an accord signed between Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayewardene. (ii) Under the terms of the agreement, Colombo agreed to a devolution of power to the provinces, the Sri Lankan troops were to be withdrawn to their barracks in the north and the Tamil rebels were to surrender their arms. (iii) As per the agreement, Sri Lankan Government made a number of concessions to Tamil demands, which included Colombo devolution of power to the provinces, merger (subject to later referendum) of the northern and eastern provinces, and official status for the Tamil language Direct Benefit Transfer or DBT is an attempt to change the mechanism of transferring subsidies launched by Government of India. (ii) This program aims to transfer subsidies directly to the people through their bank accounts & it is hoped that crediting subsidies into bank accounts will reduce leakages, delays, etc. (iii) Central Plan Scheme Monitoring System (CPSMS), being implemented by the Office of Controller General of Accounts, will act as the common platform for routing DBT & CPSMS can be used for the preparation of beneficiary list, digitally signing the same and processing of payments in the bank accounts of the beneficiary. Important for prelims & esp for mains Ministry of Panchayati Raj is responsible for the work of advocacy for and monitoring of the implementation of Constitution 73rd Amendment Act the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act. (ii) The Backward Regions Grants Fund & The Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan, the two flagship schemes under the Ministry of Panchayati Raj have been transferred to the states. (iii) E-panchayat, one of the project aims to automate the functioning of the panchayats & this project addresses all aspects of Panchayats' functioning including Planning, Monitoring, Implementation, Budgeting, Accounting, Social Audit and delivery of citizen services like issue of certificates, licenses etc. Read more on the recent changes in the plan of action of GOI towards PR. The Great Andamanese languages are an extinct language family once spoken by the Great Andamanese peoples of the Andaman Islands (India), in the Indian Ocean. These are not part of Schedule VIII. In India there are more unscripted languages than scripted ones. Mutation is a permanent change of the nucleotide sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA or other genetic elements. (ii) Mutations result from damage to DNA which is not repaired or to RNA genomes (typically caused by radiation or chemical mutagens), errors in the process of replication, or from the insertion or deletion of segments of DNA by mobile genetic elements. Mutations DO NOT necessarily produce discernible changes Particulates are the deadliest form of air pollution due to their ability to penetrate deep into the lungs and blood streams unfiltered. (ii) Particulates can lead to permanent DNA mutations, heart attacks, and premature death. (iii) In general, the smaller and lighter a particle is, the longer it will stay in the air. Particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter (PM10) pose a health concern because they can be inhaled into and accumulate in the respiratory system. (ii) Particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5) are referred to as "fine" particles and are believed to pose the greatest health risks.

(iii) People of all ages who are active outdoors are at increased risk because, during physical activity, PM2.5 penetrates deeper into the parts of the lungs that are more vulnerable to injury. The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), formerly known as the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative and Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), is an international organisation consisting of coastal states bordering the Indian Ocean. IORA aims to solve social issues like poverty, and related social ills. Oman and Yemen are also its members. The IORA is a regional forum, tripartite in nature, bringing together representatives of Government, Business and Academia, for promoting co-operation and closer interaction among them. It is based on the principles of Open Regionalism for strengthening Economic Cooperation particularly on Trade Facilitation and Investment, Promotion as well as Social Development of the region.[3] The Coordinating Secretariat of IORA is located at Ebene, Mauritius. The apex body of the IOR-ARC is the Council of (Foreign) Ministers (COM).   

To promote sustainable growth and balanced development of the region and member states To focus on those areas of economic cooperation which provide maximum opportunities for development, shared interest and mutual benefits To promote liberalisation, remove impediments and lower barriers towards a freer and enhanced flow of goods, services, investment, and technology within the Indian Ocean rim.

Recommendations of the Twentieth Law Commission: (i) It has recommended that newspaper advertisements on the eve of elections be banned. (ii) It has suggested that Independent candidates to be barred from contesting elections. (iii) It has suggested that paid news should be made an electoral offence leading to disqualification. The Natya Shastra is an ancient Indian treatise on the performing arts, encompassing theatre, dance and music written in the classical India by Sage Bharata. (ii) Natya Shastra is also referred to as the fifth Veda. Recommendations of the Kelkar committee on reducing import dependency for hydrocarbons    

National databank on still unexplored sedimentary basins. Overhaul bidding norms for exploration and licensing of oil and gas blocks, such as flexibility in completion of the Minimum Work Programme. On natural gas pricing, the panel says the market must find the price transparently . On oil, the panel wants the production-sharing cost-recovery contract regime to continue, and does not favour a shift to a biddable revenue-share mode

GDP growth prospects are expected to improve due to four factors declining oil prices, cumulative effect of reforms, lower interest rates and better monsoon forecast. India's compulsion to reduce the fiscal deficit has somewhat lessened The Bahá'í Faith owes its origin to Iran. Many Indian intellectuals have written to Iran to stop persecution of Bahaii faith people.

A flagship species is a species selected to act as an ambassador, icon or symbol for a defined habitat, issue, campaign or environmental cause. (ii) A keystone species is a species that plays an essential role in the structure, functioning or productivity of a habitat or ecosystem at a defined level (habitat, soil, seed dispersal, etc). (iii) An indicator species is a species or group of species chosen as an indicator of, or proxy for, the state of an ecosystem or of a certain process within that ecosystem. A dagoba is a dome enshrining sacred relics or the bodily remains of the Buddha, or articles used by Him like the alms bowl and other objects of veneration. Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) are meant to promote afforestation and regeneration activities as a way of compensating for forest land diverted to non-forest uses. (ii) Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) has National Advisory Council under the Chairmanship of the Union Minister of Environment & Forests for monitoring, technical assistance and evaluation of compensatory afforestation activities. (iii) The State CAMPA would presently receive funds collected from user agencies towards compensatory afforestation, additional compensatory afforestation, penal compensatory afforestation, Net Present Value (NPV) and all other amounts recovered from such agencies under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and presently lying with the Adhoc CAMPA. Section 17 enables the operator of the nuclear installation (under Indian system, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. or NPCIL), after paying compensation to the victims of nuclear damage, to have the right of recourse against the supplier, subject to certain conditions. (ii) Section 17(b) gives the operator a right of recourse against the supplier if the incident had been due to ‘supply of equipment or material with patent or latent defects or substandard services’. (iii) Indian Nuclear Insurance Pool has been provided under the nuclear agreement to take care of the risk managment. The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008: (i) This Bill raise the limit to 49% and permit the entry of foreign re-insurers (companies that insure insurance companies). An insurer cannot challenge a life insurance policy for any reason, after a period of five years. (iii) The Bill provides for appeals against decisions by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority to lie with the Securities Appellate Tribunal. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is the first global public health treaty and is an evidence-based treaty that reaffirms the right of all people to the highest standard of health. (ii) The Convention encourages price and tax measures as effective means to reduce the demand for tobacco - these include tax increases that result in an increase of the sales price of tobacco products; and prohibiting or restricting sales of tax- and duty-free tobacco products. (iii) WHO FCTC requires each Parties to adopt and implement effective measures to prohibit misleading tobacco packaging and labelling; ensure that tobacco product packages carry large health warnings and messages describing the harmful effects of tobacco use; ensure that such warnings cover 50% or more, but not less than 30%, of principal display areas and that they are in the Parties’ principal language(s); and ensure that packages contain prescribed information on the tobacco products’ constituents and emissions.

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) is an organization for the deaf in India with the goal to educate India's deaf population & promote the use of Indian Sign Language. Recently the NAD has demanded autonomy for Indian Sign Language Research & Training Centre. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world. (ii) The IMF is mandated to oversee the international monetary and financial system and monitor the economic and financial policies of its member countries & this activity is known as surveillance and facilitates international cooperation. Chief of IMF is Christine Lagarde CREDAI links private real estate developers to the government and customers through numerous initiatives and activities. (iii) The CREDAI, along with other institutions such as the Council of Architecture, Indian Institute of Architects etc will play a major role in building the 'Smart Cities'. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an international financial institution proposed by China & the purpose of the multilateral development bank is to provide finance to infrastructure projects in the Asia-Pacific region. The Western countries such as France, Germany, Italy & UK are its Non-Asian members. W An advance pricing agreement (APA) is an ahead of time agreement between a taxpayer and a taxing authority on an appropriate transfer pricing methodology (TPM) for some set of transactions at issue over a fixed period of time. (ii) APAs are generally bi- or multilateral, i.e., they also include agreements between the taxpayer and one or more foreign tax administrations under the authority of the mutual agreement procedure (MAP) specified in income tax treaties. (iii) Seeking to reduce litigations related to transfer pricing, the ‘roll back’ provision under the APA has been notified that will enable companies to enter into APA with tax authorities for the previous four years. Critically analyse India's relations with the OPEC countries. (250 words The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. (ii) IAEA was established independently of the United Nations through its own international treaty, the IAEA Statute but the IAEA reports to both the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council. (iii) The IAEA serves as an intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear technology and nuclear power worldwide and promote nuclear safety (including radiation protection) and nuclear security standards and their implementation. Japan in IndoUS civil nuclear agreement. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an international financial institution proposed by China & the purpose of the multilateral development bank is to provide finance to infrastructure projects in the Asia-Pacific region. The Western countries such as France, Germany, Italy & UK are its Non-Asian members. It is a separate & sovereign entity. Read more on AIIB as it is gaining prominence among the Western countries.

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA) is an autonomous apex statutory body. The 'Kaya Kalp' Council or the innovation council is related to Indian Railways The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) has notified three sub-groups as decided during the first meeting chaired by Modi. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will chair the sub-group on centrally sponsored schemes (CSS), Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar on skill development and Siddaramaiah on Swachh Bharat. Each sub-group has about 10-11 chief ministers. Udaan, the corporate job scheme is related to the state of Jammu & Kashmir Methane (CH4) is an organic molecule present in gaseous form in the Earth's atmosphere. (ii) More than 90% of methane on our home planet is produced by living organisms. (iii) The presence of methane is an indicator of life on a planet. Methane emmissions on planets like Mars hint at the presence of life. The Laadli Media Awards is primarily related to Gender sensitivity. Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Bill, 2015: (i) Tax on all foreign income will have to be paid at the flat rate of 30 per cent without any exemption, deduction, set off or carry forward losses that the Income Tax Act permits. (ii) It provides for criminal liability with enhanced punishment of jail for 3-10 years for wilful evasion of tax on foreign income along with a penalty equal to three times the amount of tax evaded or 90 per cent of the undisclosed income or the value of the asset. (iii) In prosecution proceedings, the wilful nature of the default shall be presumed with the onus on the accused to prove that he/she is not guilty. "Law is not a panacea for poll ills". Critically analyse. (Brahma, CEC) Paid news Paid news is one area that is not only a challenge to the Election Commission, but to the country as a whole. More than the EC or the Press Council of India, some discipline has to be followed by the press. Today if you look globally, most of the media is controlled by big corporates and support one party or the other, and this is happening in India too. Paid news can be not necessarily paid by A or B, but driven by the media’s management too. How do you tackle that? So paid news is not easy task any more to identify. In the last five years, we have seen that it has become very blurred; the difference between paid and non-paid news has become very blurred. It is going to be a major challenge. What do you do about digital technology? People canvas on Facebook and Twitter even when the elections are going on. And the law takes a year to catch up. Voter turnout – de-duplication All states are now at 65-70 per cent voter turnout. Once the rolls are corrected, once spurious names are removed, then the percentage will go up. To ensure that the structure is free from duplicate and spurious names, ECI started to seed the Aadhaar information with the voters’ roll; for people who move

to another city to be able to change their address online, authenticate with Aadhaar, and be instantly added to the new rolls. Money power It is a fact that money power plays a role in elections, but the use of money has always been there since the beginning of civilisation, and in every country. Around the world, the rich and the powerful only contest elections. Earlier politicians used to fight the battle. Today even business is involved by proxy; big industrialists and multinational corporations try to manipulate the elections by supporting a party who is going to be favourable. Today elections are fought not only on political ideals or isms, but business and money is also involved. The citizen of this country should be told clearly that voting is not only a mere right, but more and more people if they want to improve their life and future, then they must elect the right person. We cannot make any law – law is not going to solve anything. People of the country should be told that for their own interest they must vote for the right person. One of the measures the ECI has talked of in the past to curb money power has been to impose spending limits on political parties. But the Law Commission has recommended against it. The Election Commission’s mandate is mainly around candidates but not parties; to be stopping the abuse of money power by them. A political party is not a government body, they cannot maintain bureaucrats and they also have problems – maintaining an account of every rupee spent is quite difficult for them. Digilocker: (i) It is a dedicated personal storage space, linked to each resident’s Aadhaar number which can be used to securely store e-documents as well as store Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) link of edocuments issued by various issuer departments. (ii) The e-Sign facility provided as part of DigiLocker system can be used to digitally sign e-documents. (iii) It is a cloud service from Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DietY) Ministry of Communications & IT, Government of India. The Medical Council of India (MCI) is the statutory body for establishing uniform and high standards of medical education in India; it grants recognition of medical qualifications, gives accreditation to medical colleges, grants registration to medical practitioners, and monitors medical practice in India. (ii) As per Medical Council of India Code of Medical Ethics no physician can run an open shop for sale of medicine for dispensing prescriptions prescribed by other doctors or for sale of medical or surgical appliances.(iii) Drugs prescribed by a physician or brought from the market for a patient should explicitly state the proprietary formulae as well as generic name of the drug. Which of the following is/are responsible for persistent Tuberculosis? (i) Air pollution (ii) Malnutrition (iii) Overcrowding The Constitution of India has vested in the Election Commission of India the superintendence, direction and control of the entire process for conduct of elections to Parliament and Legislature of every State. (ii) Election to the offices of President and Vice-President of India is managed by the Election Commission. The Prez appoints the CEC. The decisions of the Election Commission can be challenged in the High Court and the Supreme Court of the India by appropriate petitions. (ii) Once the polls are completed and result declared, the Election Commission cannot review any result on its own; this can

only be reviewed through the process of an election petition, which can be filed before the High Court, in respect of elections to the Parliament and State Legislatures. (iii) In respect of elections for the offices of the President and Vice President, such petitions can only be filed before the Supreme Court. Vote on Account: (i) By this Government obtains the Vote of Parliament for a sum sufficient to incur expenditure on various items for a part of the year. (ii) Normally, the Vote on Account is taken for two months only but during election year or when it is anticipated that the main Demands and Appropriation Bill will take longer time than two months, the Vote on Account may be for a period exceeding two months. Vote-on-account deals only with the expenditure side of the government's budget, an interim Budget is a complete set of accounts, including both expenditure and receipts. What ails Indian jails? Target Olympic Podium (TOP) Scheme: (i) To identify and support potential medal prospects for 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games. (ii) TOP Scheme will focus on seven sports – Athletics, Archery, Badminton, Boxing, Wrestling, Weightlifting and Shooting. (iii) Athletes to be selected after rigorous screening and scientific analysis by a High Level Committee, and the selected athletes will be provided customized training at best centres in India and abroad and their performance will be continuously monitored. Compare and contrast the reports on western ghats by Madhav Gadgil and K.Kasturirangan The MN Venkatachaliah committee dealt with the review of the working of the constitution. (ii) The Venkatachaliah committee had suggested a five-member body , including the chief justice of India, two of the top court's senior-most judges, the law minister and an eminent person to be appointed in consultation with the chief justice. Some experts have opined that the proposed six-member National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) would give the EXECUTIVE the final say on judicial appointments. Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) is a scheme under which, all resident individuals, including minors, are allowed to freely remit up to USD 125,000 per financial year for any permissible current or capital account transaction or a combination of both. (ii) The Reserve Bank of India had announced LRS as a step towards further simplification and liberalization of the foreign exchange facilities available to resident individuals. Individuals can open, maintain and hold foreign currency accounts with banks outside India for carrying out transactions permitted under the Scheme Debt Management in India: Article 292 of the Indian Constitution states that the Government of India can borrow amounts specified by the Parliament from time to time upon the security of the Consolidated Fund of India. Article 293 of the Indian Constitution mandates that the State Governments in India can borrow only from internal sources. Thus the Government of India incurs both external and internal debt, while State Governments incur only internal debt. The Reserve Bank draws the necessary statutory powers for debt management from Section 21 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. While the management of Union Government's public debt is an obligation for the Reserve Bank, the Reserve Bank undertakes the management of the public debts of the various State Governments by agreement.

The procedural aspects in debt management operations are governed by the Government Securities Act, 2006 and rules framed under the Act. Public Debt in India includes only Internal and External Debt incurred by the Central Government. Internal Debt includes liabilities incurred by resident units in the Indian economy to other resident units, while External Debt includes liabilities incurred by residents to non-residents. The overall objective of the Central Government’s debt management policy, as laid out by the Central Government's status paper is to meet Central Government’s financing needs at the lowest possible long term borrowing costs, and not short term. Further, the debt structure must be sustainable to ensure financial stability across time periods External debt (bilateral and multilateral loans) is managed by the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance (MoF). All debt management functions for marketable internal debt are undertaken in the Reserve Bank. While the internal debt management activities are reported in the Annual Report of the Reserve Bank, which is a statutory report and is placed before the Parliament (through MoF), the external debt management functions are reported in the Annual Status Report on External Debt presented to the Parliament by the Finance Minister. The operations of the debt management functions in Reserve Bank are subject to the statutory audit, internal audit and concurrent audit The National Skill Development Corporation India, (NSDC) is a one of its kind, not for profit Public Private Partnership in India which aims to promote skill development by catalyzing creation of large, quality, for-profit vocational institutions. NSDC is set up by Ministry of Finance. NSDC acts as a catalyst in skill development by providing funding to enterprises, companies and organisations that provide skill training & it also helps to develop appropriate models to enhance, support and coordinate private sector initiatives. Labour Market Information System (LMIS) is a set of institutional arrangements, procedures and mechanisms that are designed to produce labour market information to improve the flow of data and information to employers and jobseekers, and to improve planning for the supply of skills. (ii) A clear rationale for the information and data available within an LMIS is key to ensuring that the right information is collected at the right time, and is made accessible to the right users in the form that best suits their needs. (iii) The users of LMI are able to access key labour market data and qualitative information in a summary format, through a user-friendly portal & the qualitative information is also available in the form of reports and visual display as maps. The National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) is a geoscientific research organization established under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). (ii) Research areas covered by this institute include hydrocarbon and coal exploration, mineral exploration, deep seismic sounding studies, exploration and management of groundwater resources, earthquake hazard assessment, structure of earth's interior and its evolution (theoretical studies), and geophysical instrument development. (iii) The CSIR & NGRI recently partnered and are developing a massive network of seismic stations, accelerometers and GPS instruments to assess areas more prone to severe earthquakes.

The objective of 'Mission Indradhanush' is to fully immunize all children against seven vaccine preventable diseases (diphtheria, polio, tetanus, tuberculosis, hepatitis B, measles, and whooping cough). It aims to cover all those children who are partially vaccinated or unvaccinated. In addition, vaccination against Japanese Encephalitis and Haemophilus influenza type B will be provided in selected districts of the country. Vaccination against tetanus will be provided to the pregnant women. The Mission focuses on interventions to rapidly increase full immunization coverage of children by approximately 5% annually and to expand full immunization coverage to at least 90% children in the next five years. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous body responsible for coordinating agricultural education and research in India. (ii) The ICAR reports to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture & the Union Minister of Agriculture serves as its president. (iii) The Council is the apex body for co-ordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country & has played a pioneering role in ushering Green Revolution and subsequent developments in agriculture. A change in the name of a state requires approval of Union Cabinet and Parliament under Article 3 and 4 of the Constitution, and the President has to refer the same o the relevant state legislature for its views. (ii) Amravathi will be named as the new capital city of Andha Pradesh. (iii) Amravathi is named after Amareswara Swamy Temple, one of the Pancharamas in the southern region were once the seat of power during the rule of Satavahana. The Gujarat International Finane Tec-City (GIFT) is planned as a financial Central Business District (CBD) between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar as a greenfield development & it shall be a part of the future urban complex of Ahmedabad & Gandhinagar. (ii) GIFT is designed as a hub for the global financial services sector, state-of-the-art connectivity, infrastructure and transportation access have been integrated into the design of the city. (iii) The development of GIFT offers a significant opportunity to be a test-bed to drive reforms and innovation in various fields including in delivery systems, local government, physical planning, infrastructure development, environmental protection, etc. Read more on GIFT and Finance SEZ The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The Sports Ministry of India has created a high priority category while classifying sports disiplines, where sports in which India has won medals in the past or has chances of winning have been put in high priority category A mega food park provides various facilities to food processors, farmers, retailers and exporters, helping achieve faster growth of food processing industries. (ii) The Mega Food Park Scheme, based on cluster approach, is modelled on hub and spoke architecture. It aims at facilitating the establishment of a strong food processing industry backed by an efficient supply chain, which includes collection centres, central processing centre (CPC) and cold chain infrastructure. The first Mega Food Park was opened at Chitoor in AP.

The LBA concerns swapping of land from Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and West Bengal with land in Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Sylhet and Chittagong in Bangladesh. (ii) The LBA envisages a notional transfer of 111 Indian enclaves to Bangladesh whereas Dhaka will transfer 51 enclaves to India. (iii) Residents of the enclaves, who have so far remained effectively stateless, will receive all citizenship rights from their respective countries. As per FAO reports globally irrigated agriculture contributes less food than rainfed agriculture. (ii) The causes of soil destruction include chemical-heavy farming techniques, deforestation and global warming. (iii) Soil destruction creates a vicious cycle, in which less carbon is stored, the world gets hotter, and the land is further degraded Permaculture is a branch of ecological design, ecological engineering, environmental design, construction and integrated water resources management that develops sustainable architecture, regenerative and self-maintained habitat and agricultural systems modelled from natural ecosystems. It is a philosophy of working WITH nature. Care for earth, care for humans and reinvesting surpluses back into the system are the tenets of permaculture. Zero tillage is one of a set of techniques used in conservation agriculture (CA), which aims to enhance and sustain farm production by conserving and improving soil, water and biological resources. Essentially, it maintains a permanent or semi-permanent organic soil cover (e.g. a growing crop or dead mulch) that protects the soil from sun, rain and wind and allows soil micro-organisms and fauna to take on the task of "tilling" and soil nutrient balancing - natural processes disturbed by mechanical tillage. Apart from zero tillage, important elements in CA include direct seeding, and a varied crop rotation to avoid disease and pest problems. No-till farming (also called zero tillage or direct drilling) is a way of growing crops or pasture from year to year without disturbing the soil through tillage. No-till is an agricultural technique which increases the amount of water that infiltrates into the soil and increases organic matter retention and cycling of nutrients in the soil. In many agricultural regions it can reduce or eliminate soil erosion. "zero tillage", the simple technique of drilling seed into the soil with little or no prior land preparation. More tillage causes more erosion and soil degradation, especially in warmer areas where the topsoil layer is thin. In fact, soils in tropical countries generally do not need to be tilled. The most desirable form of tillage is to leave a protective blanket of leaves, stems and stalks from the previous crop on the surface. Zero tillage systems provide higher yields at less cost and also save on fuel use and tractor wear and tear The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India’s external cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their peoples. It was founded on 9 April 1950 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first Education Minister of independent India. ICCR was envisaged by its founder..., as an organization that would foster and strengthen cultural relations and mutual understanding between India and other nations & people, to promote a communion of cultures and a creative dialogue among nations, a pre-eminent sponsor of cultural & intellectual exchanges between India and partner countries. The Council addresses its mandate of cultural diplomacy through a broad range of activities. In addition to organising cultural festivals in India and overseas, the ICCR financially supports a number of cultural institutions across

India, and sponsors individual performers in dance, music, photography, theatre, and the visual arts. It also administers the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding established by the Government of India, in 1965 Famous vocal gharanas of India: (i) Kirana (ii) Bhendi Bazaar (iii) Gwalior Functions of Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs: (i) To consider proposals to summon or prorogue the Houses of Parliament. (ii) To watch the progress of Government Business in Parliament and to give such directions as may be necessary from time to time, in order to secure smooth and efficient conduct of such business. (iii) To maintain a review from an all-India point of view of legislations undertaken by State legislatures; to scrutinise, and to consider the attitude of the Government on nonofficial bills and resolutions to be presented to Parliament; The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs is a standing committee which serves as an important link between the two Houses of Parliament and the Government in respect of Government Business in Parliament. Recommendations for the Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the President, with a maximum of three nominees being awarded per year. (ii) There is no monetary grant associated with the award. (iii) There is no formal provision that recipients of the Bharat Ratna should be Indian citizens. Guruvayur Satyagraha was led by K. Kelappan to allow entry for untouchables into the Guruvayur Temple. (ii) Vaikom Satyagraha was a satyagraha (movement) in Travancore, India against untouchability in Hindu society (iii) Sree Narayana Guru stressed the need for the spiritual and social uplifting of the downtrodden by their own efforts through the establishment of temples and educational institutions. The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is expected to focus on energy, transport and telecommunications infrastructure (ii) urban and rural development (iii) environment. Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) scheme: (i) The IGMSY provides partial wage compensation to pregnant and lactating women in order to promote rest and healthy feeding practices, as well as increase utilisation of healthcare services. (ii) Under the scheme, all pregnant women of 19 years and above, except those employed by the government (Central or State) or Public Sector Undertakings, for the first two live births were entitled to Rs. 6,000 per live birth. (iii) The scheme is conditional on timely registration, complete vaccination, attending counselling sessions and exclusive breastfeeding of the child. The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is a department directly under the PM. The Atomic Energy Commission aims to undertake prospecting of atomic minerals in India and to extract such minerals for use on industrial scale. (iii) The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board aims to ensure that the use of ionizing radiation and nuclear energy in India does not cause undue risk to health and the environment. Yemen: (i) The main fight is between forces loyal to the beleaguered President, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, and those allied to Zaidi Shia rebels known as Houthis. (ii) Yemen's security forces have split loyalties, with some units backing Mr Hadi, and others the Houthis and Mr Hadi's predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has remained politically influential. (iii) After rebel forces closed in on the

president's southern stronghold of Aden in late March, a coalition led by Saudi Arabia responded to a request by Mr Hadi to intervene and launched air strikes on Houthi targets. Over the Top internet services: (i) The term over-the-top (OTT) refers to applications and services which are accessible over the internet and ride on operators’ networks offering internet access services. OTT providers make use of the TSPs’ infrastructure to reach their customers and offer products/services that not only make money for them but also compete with the traditional services offered by Telecom service providers (TSPs). E-Commerce sites (like Flipkart, Amazon) are very much considered OTT by TRAI. Very imp as lots of deliberations going on like net neutrality and charging from OTTs. Please read further and clarify...sure shot PT and Mains question The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is an autonomous regional satellite navigation system being developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which would be under complete control of the Indian government. (ii) The IRNSS would provide two services, with the Standard Positioning Service open for civilian use and the Restricted Service, an encrypted one, for authorised users (military). (iii) Recently ISRO's PSLV C-27 successfully launched the IRNSS 1D satellite into the extended orbit. The Union Ministry for Agriculture has recently announced the setting up of a price stabilisation fund (PSF). (ii) The fund will be used to support market interventions for managing prices of perishable agrihorticultural commodities & the PSF will also be used to advance interest-free loans to State governments and Central agencies to support their working capital. (iii) The States will set up a revolving fund to which the Centre and State will contribute equally & the ratio of Centre-State contribution to the State-level corpus in respect of northeast States will be 75:25. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed to lower the ceiling on how much a bank can lend to a single corporate group. (ii) Under the proposal, banks can lend up to 25 per cent of their core capital to a single corporate group. (iii) The RBI also intends to align its lending caps to companies with the 25 per cent norm set by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

India-China Relations: China has invited India to join the Maritime Silk Road MSR, but New Delhi has so far, refrained from making a firm commitment. Starting from Kolkata, Kunming(one of the starting points of the 21 st century (MSR), the capital of Yunnan province, is also the point of termination of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor — a part of the MSR which the Indian side is negotiating with the Chinese. India’s reservations on the MSR stem from China’s forays in the Indian Ocean, including Sri Lanka, which was visited by a Chinese submarine, and Maldives. The Chinese, on their part have resented the joint oil exploration bid by India and Vietnam in the South China Sea. India has become a staunch supporter of the China-initiated, Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is also likely to be used for funding MSR projects. Kailash Mansoravar: now connected by a new route through Nathu La in Sikkim.

Russia-Indian-China (RIC) grouping India’s multi-vectored diplomacy

Moscow and New Delhi are considering using their national currencies in bilateral trade to reduce their dependency on the dollar.

Smart City Initiative: Cities that have a vision and development strategy, have made progress under the Swachh Bharat Mission, make timely salary payment to municipal staff and have a mechanism to redress grievances and an e-newsletter will be eligible to take part in the Smart City Challenge, which will allow them to compete for funds under the ‘Smart City’ scheme. The Ministry has clarified that cities will have to compete for the funds allocated under the scheme.

Cash transfers can plug PDS leakages: study 46.7 per cent or 25.9 million metric tonnes (MMTs) of the grains (rice and wheat), released through the PDS, did not reach the intended beneficiaries in 2011-12. study, based on the latest NSSO data, Chhattisgarh was the best performing State with 0 per cent diversion. Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were among the better performers The worst-performing State was Manipur shifting the support to the poor from the highly subsidised price policy to Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) of cash transfers through the Jan Dhan Yojana dovetailed with Aadhaar. result in savings of up to Rs.33,087 crore annually in food subsidy bills. plug leakages, reach the vulnerable segments of population, not interfere with markets of food, result in savings to the Centre, while still giving a better deal to consumers, the paper says. the major beneficiaries of the PDS are people from States that have a smaller number of poor. questions the need for the PDS not only on account of its inefficiency owing to high leakages but also on equity grounds the better-than-normal efficiency of some States, reflected in the findings, could be the result of staterun, food-based welfare schemes supplementing the central PDS. Chhattisgarh covers 90 per cent of its population, while Tamil Nadu covers close to 100 per cent of its population and both have greater per card entitlement relative to the centre-run scheme Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) The PDS operates through a network of roughly 5.00,000 fair price shops (FPS) across the country and is likely the largest public network of its type in the world, currently distributing roughly 50-55 MMT of grains annually.

The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 also relies on this vehicle to deliver food security to 67 per cent of population (75 per cent rural and 50 per cent urban)

Tea Industry Problems: (https://www.opendemocracy.net/openindia/medha-uniyal/deathin-tea-gardens-of-dooars-india) 

Falling rouble; Russia is largest export market of India; a rupee payment mechanism for trade with Russia

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1953 Tea Act : The Centre has proposed major amendments to the 1953 Tea Act to give more teeth to the regulator — Tea Board of India. enable takeover of the management or control of tea gardens, which have been closed for over 90 days. New additions in the Act, like including in its ambit terms like small tea growers while defining tea estates. protection of IPR of teas and monitoring of tea gardens. reinforce the powers and functions of the Tea Board so as to enable the body to regulate, develop and promote tea industry and trade while helping production and exports besides improving quality. the existing Act does not clearly define the powers of the Tea Board The amendments plan to lay out clear definitions in this respect while setting out the powers of the Tea Board chairman. Section 16 of the Tea Act, which provides for handing over management of sick gardens, has many limitation The National Green Tribunal: National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 is an Act of the Parliament of India which enables creation of a special tribunal to handle the expeditious disposal of the cases pertaining to environmental issues.; enacted under India's constitutional provision of Article 21, which assures the citizens of India the right to a healthy environment; the first body of its kind that is required by its parent statute to apply the "polluter pays" principle and the principle of sustainable development. This court can rightly be called ‘special’ because India is the third country following Australia and New Zealand to have such a system. During the Rio De Janeiro summit of United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992, India vowed the participating states to provide judicial and administrative remedies for the victims of the pollutants and other environmental damage. After India's move with Carbon credits, such tribunal may play a vital role in ensuring the control of emissions and maintaining the desired levels. The sanctioned strength of the tribunal is currently 10 expert members and 10 judicial members although the act allows for up to 20 of each. The Chairman of the tribunal who is the administrative head of the tribunal also serves as a judicial member. Every bench of the tribunal must consist of at least one expert member and one judicial member. The Chairman of the tribunal is required to be a serving or retired Chief Justice of a High Court or a judge of the Supreme Court of India The Tribunal has Original Jurisdiction on matters of “substantial question relating to environment” - no specific method is defined in Law for determining “substantial” damage to environment, property or public health.

Tribunal is competent to hear cases for several acts such as Forest (Conservation) Act, Biological Diversity Act, Environment (Protection) Act, Water & Air (Prevention & control of Pollution) Acts etc One may appeal to the Supreme Court within 90 days of commencement of award but Supreme Court can entertain appeal even after 90 days if appellant satisfied SC by giving sufficient reasons.

. Sukanya Samriddh new deposit scheme for the girl child below 10 years of age; Parents or guardians can deposit up to Rs. 1.5 lakh a year in this scheme; Department of Posts starts the scheme exclusively for girls below 10 years of age IFC - an offshore centre with different tax, currency and securities regulations; India's first international finance centre to take off in Gujarat by April. Trading of India's leading stock index and currency futures (including non-deliverable forwards) -where the underliers are rupee and rupee securities -have flourished in Singapore and Dubai, thanks to lower cost, easier rules and differences between past governments and regulators over the pace of financial sector reforms. will pave the way for dealings and settlement in foreign currency within the international finance centre (IFC) will be housed at the special economic zone of the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City -or Gift City global financial services hub to win back some of the financial businesses that have migrated to Dubai and Singapore. Indian financial market regulators - RBI, Sebi and insurance regulator IRDA rules and regulations different from those applicable outside these IFSCs, Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) offshore financial centre a small, low-tax jurisdiction specialising in providing corporate and commercial services to non-residents in the form of offshore companies and the investment of offshore funds many leading offshore finance centres are regarded as "tax havens", A financial centre is a global city that is home to a large number of internationally significant banks, businesses, and stock exchanges. international financial centre

an important participant in international financial market trading, usually having at least one major stock market. The `collegium' system of selection, presided over by the Supreme Court to be replaced by NJAC. NJAC: Of the six members, one will be the chief justice of India, while two will be Supreme Court judges following in seniority. The law minister will be another member while the remaining two will be `eminent persons'. These two members are chosen by the Prime Minister, the chief justice of India and the leader of the opposition picked from among representatives of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, other backward classes, minorities and women for a tenure of three years. They will not be eligible for re-nomination. The government is yet to formally notify the date on which the NJAC Act comes into force. Lawyers with an active practice should not be nominated to the proposed National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) that will select judges to avoid conflict of interest

Monetary Policy (Nachiket Mor) Objectives:   

Macroeconomic stability Market development Interest rates

Inflation glide path Urjit Patel cut in the repo rate mid-January driven by current inflation momentum, inflationary expectations and fiscal developments; a low and steady rate of inflation is the best antidote to poverty, the best recipe for sustained economic growth; a low fiscal deficit ensures there is no crowding-out of private investment. The mid-year economic review had suggested that public spending was required to boost investment as the private sector wasn't in a position to pump in the funds needed. So, should targets, whether in respect of inflation(8% by 2015 and 6% by 2016) or FD (3.6% FD target for FY 2016; 3% of GDP by FY17), be indicative, not definitive? Complex macro-economic problems have strong political economy under-pinnings. Rating agencies will not take it kindly if we miss the FD target. But, Sovereign ratings and underlying macro fundamentals across a broad spectrum of countries show that geo-politics, rather than hard numbers, determines sovereign ratings. Sluggish credit-offtake, falling inflation and failing RBI's inflation models favour the argument for cutting interest rates 14th Finance Commission's recommendations

Domestically produced gas to be included in the price pooling scheme 1215 Magna Carta: (i) One of the most important documents in history, Magna Carta is considered one of the first steps towards parliamentary democracy and includes the principle that no one is above the law, including the king. (ii) It was agreed to by King John of England. (iii) In June 2015 the Magna Carta will complete 800 years. Important, especially for essay 42nd Amendment: Roots of the directive principles could be traced to the 1931 Karachi Congress resolution. (iii) In the S.R. Bommai case, the Supreme Court held that secularism is an integral part of the Constitution’s basic structure. Please reaf further on each in Laxmikanth. One Rank, One Pension is an old demand of Indian military personnel. The term means armed forces personnel holding the same rank will get the same pension, regardless of (i) last drawn pay (ii) years of service (iii) years served in a particular rank. The 20th Law Commission is headed by Justice A.P.Shah. (ii) The terms of reference of the 20th Law Commission include review/repeal obsolete law,examine the existing laws,Revise Central acts of general importance etc. (iii) The 20th Law Commission has recommended that the government should set up special commercial courts for the speedy disposal of high value commercial suits. Mitochondrial Replacement Therapy (MRT): (i) It treats women with mitochondrial disease (a range of inherited diseases caused by defective mitochondria, the elements in the cell that generate energy), by replacing the dysfunctional mitochondria carried by a woman who wishes to conceive with the healthy mitochondria of a donor. (ii) The Church in England has opposed the technique on the grounds that the manipulation of the nuclear DNA of two women and a man would create three-parent babies, leading to what they warn is a “Frankenstein future”. (iii) Human mitochondrial disorders are among the most common genetic diseases.

http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31816&articlexml=OILMINS-PROPOSAL-TOPOWER-MINISTRY-Bring-All-Gas-02022015007006# The impact of the amended Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 posts going vacant fake marks sheets and Transfer Certificates no educationally qualified candidates to contest. candidates were elected unopposed The number of contestants as compared to the previous elections has certainly come down Sanitation in schools

In October 2012, the Court had issued orders for the building of toilets in all schools within six months a two-judge Bench has been constrained to spell out to the governments of the two neighbouring States as to what type of structures were acceptable as safe and clean toilets. The detrimental long-term effects, especially upon girls, of prolonged lack of access to toilets have been well-documented. rendered dysfunctional because of the most unhygienic conditions in which they are invariably found. the ratio of toilet facility to user of 1:40 for girls and 1:80 for boys, as per norms laid down by the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. Conversely, the UNICEF standard provides one toilet for 25 girls and a toilet and urinal for 80 boys. an ambitious agenda to elevate its ties with China, a six-point proposal to jointly realise with Beijing, the dream of an “Asian Century.” action-oriented approach broad-based bilateral engagement convergence on common regional and global interests develop new areas of cooperation Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st century Maritime Silk Road to achieve Eurasian economic integration, based on a land and sea transportation network, complemented by a grid of energy pipelines, fibre-optic highways, industrial parks and smart cities. to achieve Eurasian economic integration, based on a land and sea transportation network, complemented by a grid of energy pipelines, fibre-optic highways, industrial parks and smart cities. Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) Treatment for HIV/AIDS infection will now be linked to Aadhaar. those coming for HIV infection testing will have to produce their Aadhaar cards. The National Aids Control Organisation (NACO)

Today’s goals:  

The SC had on September 24 last year cancelled allocations of 204 coal blocks, including 42 operational mines that were asked to be re-allocated by March 31 this year. Croatia is a relatively small Mediterranean country; Croatia Wipes Out Debts of Poorest Citizens; Economic long-term benefits that will outweigh the short-term investment

Alternatives to Nuclear Power? Indian laws have held suppliers, designers and builders of nuclear plants liable in case of an accident and this made American companies fearful of doing business here. India's government to create an insurance pool to compensate victims of a potential disaster and to cap the liabilities of companies supplying the technology. The United States has not installed any new nuclear plant for more than 30 years. Germany is working towards phasing out all of its nuclear plants by 2022 Chernobyl or Fukushima Alternative technologies are cleaner and safer: Critics are arguing that solar is inefficient, too expensive to install and unreliable, and will fail without government subsidies. But Solar power has been doubling every two years for the past thirty years--as costs have been dropping. Residential-scale solar production has already reached “grid parity“ with average residential electricity prices. It costs no more

in the long term to install solar panels than to buy electricity from utility companies--without government subsidies.But, batteries are expensive and their capacity is limited Wind, biomass, thermal, tidal, and waste-breakdown energy , and a host of newer energy technologies are becoming increasingly practical to install worldwide. Wind power, for example, is already competitive with the cost of new coal-burning power plants in the US. Bhopal disaster of 1984, a chemical catastrophe due to a leakage of cyanide gas at the Union Carbide plant

Quantitative easing to revive their economies; is currencies depreciation by another name US can't raise rates for fear of a stronger US dollar. The rupee, which is already the best-performing currency, could dampen the economic recovery if it appreciates relative to peers. One way to prevent a stronger currency is to impose capital controls The 10-year US treasury yields about 1.68% (down from 3% before tapering began) and similar notes in India yield 7.68%. The possibility of an upgrade of Indian rating, and better economy make it good enough for long-term investors to funnel funds into India. Change in crude oil scenario, CPI inflation could be well below the 6% RBI target.

Financial inclusion Initiatives Special Bank Licences small and payments banks Payments banks, with a focus on payments and remittance services, can't lend and have to deploy deposits in government bonds while small banks have to confine themselves to small-ticket loans to farmers and small businessmen. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana last year -getting banks to reach out and enroll those who don't have accounts. full-fledged commercial banking licences – IDFC and Bandhan

Jaffna, Sri Lanka in the Tamil-majority Northern Province. PM visit, the first bilateral visit by an Indian Premier in over 25 years, will coincide with the 28th Human Rights Council session in Geneva, where progress on a U.S.-sponsored investigation into Sri Lanka’s rights record will be reviewed. In the North, India has infrastructure initiatives, including a project to build 50,000 houses for wardisplaced people; Sampur power plant coming up in Trincomalee with Indian assistance  

Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Sri Lanka The Palk Bay conflict

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Devolution and implementation of the 13th Amendment — born out of the Indo-Lanka Accord — are likely themes for discussion.

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) , Union Rural Development Ministry lists budgetary allocation for the scheme at Rs. 34,000 crore for 2014-15 but has cut budget by 45 per cent . The outlay for the scheme has remained nearly constant for the past three years, which, adjusting for inflation, amounts to a decrease. delayed release of funds MGNREGA has successfully      

a 16 per cent decline in employment from the 2013-14 figure curbed distress migration effected consumption and poverty of Dalit and Adivasi households increased nutritional standards of households provided risk resilience to small and marginal farmers expanded the financial inclusion net in the country

India granted Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan long back; focus on soft issues like trade and culture wouldn’t yield results beyond a point. Kashmir remains the core issue

India, China and Russia have recommended India’s membership to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) India endorsed the launch of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) to counter the less inclusive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), another free trade agreement championed by Washington, but which pointedly excludes Beijing. Chinese got India and Russia to sign on a proposal to have a new U.N.-driven collective security arrangement in the Asia–Pacific that seemed to counter the U.S. “Pivot to Asia” policy, which provides the doctrinal basis for the amassment of forces by Washington and its allies in the Asia-Pacific, seemingly to contain China’s rise. China and Russia have already signed a $400 billion long term energy deal that would ensure supply of gas for 30 years to the Beijing-Tianjin –Hibei industrial belt through the “Power of Siberia” pipeline. The two countries have also signed, in principle, a similar agreement that would bring gas from Russia’s Yamal Plateau to China along the western Altai route. India’s oil giant ONGC Videsh has also been involved in negotiation for a foothold in the Arctic shelf 2010 IMF Quota and Governance Reform the launch of ‘Visit India’ year, partnering China to ensure the rise of “an Asian Century

NHRC panel reviews health policy draft The rights perspective is missing in the draft of the National Health Policy-2015

the public health system in the country needs to be made accountable and participatory. not paid enough attention to community action in the health sector. national action plan on health prepared by the NHRC in collaboration with Jan Swasthya Abhiyaan and the Ministry. reflect the budget that the government would invest in the health secto no mention of the public-centred universal health care.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/the-invisible-face-of-terror/article6850198.ece

Chaos in Libya, Yemen, Syria, IS Libya: since 2011, two governments claim to run the country — each backed by militias, each with foreign powers behind them. Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani’s government is in the eastern city of Tobruk, exiled from the capital (Tripoli) and the main cities (Benghazi and Misrata). It sits in the shadow of Egypt and Saudi Arabia. In Benghazi, the tide remains with a radical Islamist outfit, Ansar al-Sharia, which was formed after the fall of Colonel Qadhafi. In the western part of Libya, the movement known as Fajr Libya (Libyan Dawn) holds the cards. Qatar and Turkey, the outside backers of Libyan Dawn, call the shots. The U.N. mission — abandoned by the West after its war in 2011 — flounders to create a peace process. The UN mission held a Libya Dialogue in Geneva.The internationally backed government of Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani sent a delegation to Geneva to join the U.N.-backed peace process. Libyan Dawn refused to go to the Geneva talks- illustrates the irrelevance of the West in contemporary Libya IS, Libya: The city of Derna is a radical Islamist recruitment centre. Echoes of IS resound between Derna and Benghazi, where Ansar al-Sharia fighters take comfort in the audacity of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s pronouncements. In June, an offshoot of Ansar al-Sharia, joined IS Yemen: Old tribal fissures in Yemen that isolated the Zaydi Shia community led by the al-Houthi family have asserted themselves. During War on Terror, autocrat of Yemen, Abdullah Saleh betrayed and killed the Zaydi leader in 2004. Fully backed by the West, he used drone strikes and disbursements to destroy his enemies. Saleh treated the Zaydis as the main enemy, rather than al-Qaeda. The terrorist group had been wiped out of Yemen, but then reappeared by 2004 through recruitment in prisons, experience in the Iraqi insurgency and anger at the U.S. drone war. Operation Scorched Earth in 2009 led to a Saudi invasion of Yemen to put down the Zaydi insurgency. The Arab Spring in Yemen allowed the Houthi rebels to join in the protests against the Saleh regime. Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s government succeeded in getting the West to believe that the Houthis were an Iranian proxy. Houthis have now seized control of Sana’a. IS has suffered two military defeats:  

In Kobane the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) finally ejected IS fighters. Air strikes from the U.S. coalition helped weaken the supply lines for IS In Iraq, the Badr Brigade, a Shia militia, struck IS in the province of Diyala, which they liberated. Neither the Iraqi nor the Syrian armies had any role in these two defeats of IS.

Intercontinental ballistic missile, Agni V The ability to move ballistic missiles around makes it difficult for an enemy to locate and destroy them. Placed in canisters, the missiles can be easily transported and launched with great rapidity in all sorts of

weather conditions. They make decoys possible. So, attempt at a first strike to take out India’s nucleararmed missiles becomes far more uncertain. But launching a missile from a canister is more difficult. DRDO had previously carried out canister launches with the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile and the 700-km-range Shourya missile An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a minimum range of more than 5,500 kilometres (3,400 mi) primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more nuclear warheads). (ii) ICBMs are differentiated by having greater range and speed than other ballistic missiles: intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs), medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs), short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs). (iii) India receltly launched Agni V, which is the most powerfull ICBM in the list of nucler missiles

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim member economies that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region. (ii) It was established in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of regional trade blocs in other parts of the world; to fears that highly industrialized Japan (a member of G8) would come to dominate economic activity in the Asia-Pacific region; and to establish new markets for agricultural products and raw materials beyond Europe. (iii)APEC works to raise living standards and education levels through sustainable economic growth and to foster a sense of community and an appreciation of shared interests among Asia-Pacific countries.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or SCO or Shanghai Pact is a Eurasian political, economic and military organisation which was in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The Shanghai Five grouping was created with the signing of the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions in Shanghai by the heads of states of Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan and also the same countries signed the Treaty on Reduction of Military Forces in Border Regions in a meeting in Moscow. (iii) The SCO is primarily centred on its member nations' Central Asian security-related concerns, often describing the main threats it confronts as being terrorism, separatism and extremism and also that its activities in the area of social development of its member states is increasing fast

The Jan Swasthya Abhiyan is the Indian circle of the People's Health Movement, a worldwide movement to establish health and equitable development as top priorities through comprehensive primary health care and action on the social determinants of health. (ii) The Jan Swasthya Abhiyan coalition consists of over 20 networks and 1000 organisations as well as a large number of individuals that endorse the Indian People's Health Charter a consensus document that arose out of the Jan Swasthya Sabha held when concerned networks, organisations and individuals met to discuss the Health for All Challenge.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a proposed regional regulatory and investment treaty which includes twelve countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region that have participated in negotiations on the TPP. (ii) The nine Trans-Pacific Partnership countries announced that the TPP intended to enhance trade and investment among the TPP partner countries, to promote innovation, economic growth and development, and to support the creation and retention of jobs.

In international economic relations and international politics most favoured nation (MFN) is a status or level of treatment accorded by one state to another in international trade. (ii) The members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agree to accord MFN status to each other, exceptions allow for preferential treatment of developing countries, regional free trade areas and customs unions and together with the principle of national treatment, MFN is one of the cornerstones of WTO trade law. (iii) The term means the country which is the recipient of this treatment must, nominally, receive equal trade advantages as the most favoured nation by the country granting such treatment.

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is a free trade agreement between India and South Korea. (ii) It is equivalent to a free trade agreement and the agreement , will provide better access for the Indian service industry in South Korea and the services include Information technology, engineering, finance, and the legal field. (iii) India will soon include Sri Lanka in the CEPA.

Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) was set by the Government of India as the central national agency responsible for receiving, processing, analyzing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions. (ii) FIU-IND is also responsible for coordinating and strengthening efforts of national and international intelligence, investigation and enforcement agencies in pursuing the global efforts against money laundering and related crimes. FIU-IND is an independent body reporting directly to the Economic Intelligence Council (EIC) headed by the Finance Minister. (iii) The GOI recently announced tht it would help Sri Lanka in setting up the FIU. The Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID) is an Indian state-owned electric utilities company. (ii) POWERGRID transmits about 50% of the total power generated in India on its transmission network. Its subsidiary company, Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO) handles power management for Power Grid. (iii) The World Bank recently announced that it would lend $ 500 million for solar infrastructure in India.

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is a United States federal law that requires United States persons, including individuals who live outside the United States, to report their financial accounts held outside of the United States, and requires foreign financial institutions to report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about their U.S. clients. (ii) FATCA is designed to increase compliance by U.S. taxpayers rather than to enforce collection from foreigners and it requires foreign financial institutions to report information related to the ownership by U.S. persons of assets held overseas. (iii) India will soon sign the FATCA agreement papers with the United States

Food Corporation of India (FCI) is reponsible for mantaining fffective price support operations for safeguarding the interests of the farmers, distribution of foodgrains throughout the country for Public Distribution System, maintaining satisfactory level of operational and buffer stocks of foodgrains to ensure National Food Security and regulate market price to provide foodgrains to consumers at a reliable price (ii) FCI is one of the largest corporations in India and probably the largest supply chain management in Asia (Second in world ). (iii) The stocks are transported throughout India and issued to the State Government nominees at the rates declared by the Central Government itself for further distribution under the Public Distribution System (PDS) for the consumption of the ration card holders.

Bioinvasion is the rapid expansion of a species into regions where it had not previously existed, often as a result of human agency. (ii) The "invasive" or "exotic" species, which lead to bioinvasion, can be a destabilizing influence in ecosystems that lack the natural enemies needed to check the spread of exotics. (iii) An invasive species is a plant or animal that is not native to a specific location (an Introduced species); and has a tendency to spread, which is believed to cause damage to the environment, human economy and/or human health. 'Ulva paschima Bast' and 'Cladophora goensis Bast' are two new bloom-forming algal species discovered recently off the west coast of India. Digital India Plan: (i) broadband highways (ii) 100% mobile density (iii) eKranti or electronic delivery of services by 2018. Plz read thoroughly about Digital India Plan, and similar initive across the world as well as in various Indian states, expect a question in Mains. Liberalised Remittance Scheme: (i) It is a scheme by RBI to simplify overseas investment avenues available to Indians. (ii) Under the Scheme, resident individuals can acquire and hold shares or debt instruments or any other assets including property outside India, without prior approval of the Reserve Bank. (iii) Individuals can also open, maintain and hold foreign currency accounts with banks outside India for carrying out transactions permitted under the Scheme. Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) Treatment for HIV/AIDS infection will now be linked to Aadhaar. Quotas do not hurt efficiency, says study - impact of reservation on productivity in Railways; The Indian Railways is the world’s largest employer where affirmative action applies Slowdown and its causes - supply side bottlenecks, price shocks and weak investment demand Investment rate decline during the last three years was due to the decline in the investment rate of households rather than the corporate sector. Under the impact of the financial crisis, the Indian economy registered a growth of 6.7 per cent in 200809, after having posted a growth rate exceeding 9 per cent for three consecutive years. In 2012-13, the growth rate came down to 4.5 per cent according to the old estimate and 4.9 per cent as per the new estimate. In 2013-14 the growth rate was 4.7 per cent and 6.6 per cent according to old and new estimates respectively. Agricultural output, Coal output, output of iron ore also fell; International commodity prices, particularly that of oil remained high, despite the poor performance of the advanced economies. The investment sentiment was affected by various factors including non-economic tax laws with retrospective effect; the decline in the output growth was much stronger than the decline in investment. The investment rate in 2007-08 was 38.1 per cent of GDP. By 2013-14, it had come down to 32.3 per cent. With the incremental capital output ratio of 4, which has been normal for almost a decade even, this lower investment rate should have given us a growth rate of 8 per cent. But the actual growth rate

turned out to be less because projects were not completed in time or because complementary investments were not forthcoming - due to non-availability of critical inputs such as coal and power In the short run, speedy completion of projects by itself can raise the growth rate. In the medium term, investment rate goes up and the productivity of capital remains high. Sustained high growth requires macroeconomic stability which has three dimensions — low inflation, low current account deficit and modest fiscal deficit. The moderation in inflation has occurred, the Current Account Deficit has again come under control. The fiscal deficit continues to remain above the level mandated in the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRMB) Act. The subsidy regime needs reform in three directions. First, there has to be a fix on the total quantum of subsidies as a proportion of GDP, second, they need to be targeted and only directed towards vulnerable groups and, third, there has to be a rethink on the appropriate delivery system. Government’s expenditures need to be reoriented more towards investments and less towards subsidies. Speedy completion of projects requires attention at the micro and at the policy levels-remove administrative bottlenecks, environment and land acquisition. Making only for India will convert it into a form of import substitution. Making for the world makes the system more efficient. India’s exports as a percentage of GDP is still modest at 25 per cent. India’s exports of goods do not constitute more than 2 per cent of the world’s exports. Make country much stronger in terms of infrastructure and the availability of good human capital. Productivity of capital must increase which implies a more efficient system of production. Reforms must be part of a continuing agenda. The 12th Plan included, for the first time, vision documents for each sector which were prepared with the help of civil society organisations. 12th Plan document was a clear shift to more inclusive and rightbased development. Plan may be one of the first causalities of the dissolution of the commission.

Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 , states that politicians and electoral candidates convicted for a crime shall be disqualified from the date of conviction till six years after their release. (ii) Section 8 also says that if the convicted person is already an MP or MLA, he or she will not be disqualified until three months from the date of conviction. (iii) A recent SC judgement has declared that election of a returned candidate will be held as null and void if he fails to disclose complete and full details of his criminal antecedents at the time of his nomination. As per SC, misinformation violates voter’s fundamental right to know and take an informed choice. The court held that disclosure of criminal antecedents by a candidate is a “categorical imperative.”

RPA, 1951: All public meetings should end 48 hours before polling starts. No person should display to the public any election matter through cinematograph, television or other similar apparatus. But RP Act makes no reference to print media.

Sarnath is located near the confluence of the Ganges and the Gomati rivers. (ii) The deer park in Sarnath is where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightenment of Kondanna (who was the first to become an arahant). (iii) Sarnath is also the birthplace of Shreyansanath, the eleventh Tirthankara of Jainism.

World Bank to fund Sarnath redevelopment to develop the important tourist destination into a world-class tourist spot, explore tourism-linked opportunities to help local craftsmen and villagers increase their income. Sarnath is also known for its deer park and a bird sanctuary, which would be upgraded. The EPR is a third generation pressurized water reactor (PWR) design. (ii) The main design objectives of the generation III EPR design are increased safety while providing enhanced economic competitiveness through improvements to previous PWR designs. (iii) Areva will set up two EPR 1650 MWe reactors at Jaitapur in Maharashtra. India has achieved the first Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set for 2015 of reducing poverty by half. India also achieved MDGs related to increased forest cover, halved the proportion of population without access to drinking water, gender parity in primary school enrolment, hunger by half, maternal mortality reduction by 3/4th and control, spread of TB, HIV, malaria. (iii) The MDGs that India has missed are universal primary school enrolment and completion and universal youth literacy by 2015, empowering women through wage employment and political participation, reducing child and infant mortality and improving access to adequate sanitation to eliminate open defecation.

India is likely to reach parity in secondary and tertiary education by 2015. A new set of transformative and universal sustainable development goals will be adopted by world leaders in September 2015. Ref: India and the MDGs – Report of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia A high-level panel under Shanta Kumar was set up to improve Food Corporation of India's (FCI) operational efficiency and financial management, as well as overall improvement in management of food grain. (ii) The panel has made path-breaking recommendations such as direct cash transfer for fertilizers and grains that will help eliminate huge leakage of subsidy and allow market forces to operate; and it also wants FCI to withdraw from major north Indian states and focus on eastern and northeastern states, boost operational efficiency and stop open-air storage of grains. (iii) The panel has also recommended the phasing out of open-air storage of grains.

India-US Ties Obama Visit Summary 1. The Joint Statement areas of mutual cooperation: defence technology and related aspects as well as defence and homeland security cooperation developing new areas of technology cooperation. commits India and the U.S. to achieving a defining counter-terrorism relationship for the 21st Century. closer cooperation in dealing with matters such as transnational crime, terrorism, narcotics, cyber and other threats, and maritime security renewal of the 10-year Defence Framework Agreement, codevelopment and coproduction projects announced under the Defense Trade and Technology Initiative it is weak on specifics, and does not specify the need for strong action against the LeT and the Haqqani network in Pakistan. 2.

civil nuclear cooperation welcomes the understanding reached on civil nuclear liability issues and administrative arrangements for civil nuclear cooperation No assurances have been given that the U.S. would effectively press India’s case for entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Australian Group The administrative arrangement clause relating to the intrusive tracking of material for India’s nuclear reactors, has been waived following a tacit agreement on sharing data with the U.S. India’s reliance on Rule 24 of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Rules – 2011 to mitigate suppliers’ liability aspects contained in India’s Civil Nuclear Liability Law of 2010 is likely to inhibit U.S. suppliers from entering the Indian market. The risk management insurance pool of Rs.1,500 crore again is unlikely to enthuse foreign suppliers of nuclear equipment.

Limits itself to an affirmation that India meets MTCR requirements and is ready for NSG Membership. 3. The Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region Calls to ensure freedom of navigation and overflight throughout the region, especially in the South China Sea.

It calls on all parties to avoid the threat of use of force, and to pursue resolution of territorial and maritime disputes through peaceful means in keeping with principles of International Law and United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Redefining the relationship is also seen as a step towards reviving the Quad (a security collaboration arrangement between Australia, Japan, India and the U.S., first mooted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe). In May last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping mooted a “code of conduct” for Asian countries to resolve security issues among themselves — which, incidentally, included a veiled warning against forging alliances to counter China. The Vision Statement is likely to be viewed by China as a negation of this concept 4. The Delhi Declaration of Friendship calls for a tangible and enduring commitment by the two countries to harness the inherent potential of the two democracies 5. Economic engagement U.S. has promised finance facilities worth $4 billion. India has committed itself to a transparent taxation regime. The “smart cities” programme has been given a fillip. China has avoided taking sides in the dispute over Kashmir between India and Pakistan, on the professed principle that regional issues should be resolved by the parties concerned

Dealing firmly with transgressions The latest action of sacking Home secretary is aimed at insulating the CBI from interference. The CBI is part of the Department of Personnel and Training which works under the Prime Minister. The Home Ministry is mainly a facilitator which lends support to the CBI in the form of manpower, especially by providing Indian Police Service officers borrowed from various States. Otherwise it has no authority over the CBI, especially in matters of anti-corruption work. (With respect to conventional crimes, the Ministry transfers cases received at the instance of States to the CBI or the National Investigation Agency for investigation.). The CBI Director’s administrative head is the Prime Minister The image of the CBI had taken a beating only recently when its Director, Ranjit Sinha, was ordered by the Supreme Court to keep away from the probe into 2G spectrum allocation cases after it was found that he had entertained some of the accused at his residence. This action sent out a strong signal to the bureaucracy that it will not tolerate such transgressions, that the government will not brook any attempt to use power or influence to protect themselves from legal action.

E-Commerce: Japan wants India to open up its ecomm sector to FDI. India does not allow foreign direct investment in the business to consumer (B2C) segment but 100% FDI is allowed at the business to business (B2B) level. Most overseas companies including Amazon and eBay operate in India through the marketplace model, where sellers use the firm's platform to reach out to buyers, rather than being involved in retailing goods themselves. Amazon has been lobbying India to allow 49% FDI in B2B and B2C ecommerce. Government regards opening up ecommerce as giving a backdoor entry to foreign multibrand retailers

For a newly imagined ‘historical temper’: The need is for respecting alternative versions of the past, rooted in evidence and material life, rather than a singular historical truth that ‘disciplines’ unruly and difficult memories. “Negative commemoration” of the past recognises the dangers of forgetting, rationalising, or explaining away historical wounds. Both kinds of commemoration, negative and positive, require the work of professional historians, and more important, an openness to the sense of the past. To one history, you lift your head up, to the other kind of commemoration you bow your head in shame. The demand for a glorious past is deeply unsettling because it comes from those who have nothing to learn from history or its method, since the answers are already known, sturdily built around the question of Hindu pride. All they require is the endorsement of the professional historian, who must provide “evidence” to fit pre-given conclusions. Madhava school of mathematics, founded in the late 14th and early 15th centuries- discoveries of trigonometry, sine and cosine (power) series preceded Newtons’ — compiled in 1669. The discoveries of the Madhava school confined to a small quadrilateral area between Calicut and Cochin; work not known to a larger world until it was described in 1823 by Sankara Varman and by C.M. Whish in 1830. “Madhava’s achievements loom even larger when one considers that he was operating with a tradition that neither encouraged not valued his work.” The call for a glorious past also comes at a time when “the peoples without history” — notably Dalits, women, autochthonous groups — make a robust political claim to practices which may tell us about the past and all its ambiguous glories. Mahadeva Shankanapura calls for the building of “imaginative truths” out of the Manteswamy and Malemadeshwara performance traditions which are practices in contemporary Karnataka, as a way of dealing with the paucity of sources. From making sense of such sources, we address some of the historical wounds which have been inflicted by those very elites who produced the texts and inscriptions of which we may be arguably proud, and not brush aside the conditions under which such achievements were made possible.

Collegium system to continue until NJAC is in place The two-decade old Supreme Court Collegium system for appointing judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts will continue until the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) is put in place. The Constitution 99th Amendment Act, 2014, provides Constitutional status to the NJAC. The NJAC restores the political class’s role in the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and the High

Courts. Both the Constitution Amendment Bill and the NJAC Bill were passed by Parliament in August 2014.

Sports ministry seeks to monopolise and market elite athletes ‘Target Olympic Podium Scheme’ (TOPS) - the Olympic scheme of the government is focused in athletics, archery, badminton, boxing, shooting, weightlifting and wrestling. National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) The new ‘terms and conditions’ seek to block the external support of the athletes. Any additional support, technical, training or monetary support has to be brought to the attention of the government authorities who would have “the right of first refusal” regarding such additional support. The athlete would be allowed to get the external support in case the government decides not to offer similar support. The contract does not allow any arrangement of medical treatment, “except in the case of an emergency”, without prior intimation to the medical committee, with the promise that it “would not be unreasonably withheld”. The government has also sought to promote the athletes, asking them to be available for seven days in a year to be part of “publicity campaigns, photo shoots, media presentations, fund raisings, meet and greet sessions” etc., without offering any additional incentive for the exercise. The athletes would also be required to prominently wear ‘TOPS’ clothing and accessories during training and public relation events, apart from acknowledging the support of the NSDF in ‘interviews, on social media, at press conferences. The government would have the power to suspend or terminate the grant with immediate effect without any prior notice, for a variety of reasons. Iif the athlete fails to qualify for the Rio Olympics, the support will cease after the last chance. On termination of the grant, the athlete may have to refund the unutilised funds promptly. If the athlete wants to get out of the contract with the government, he or she has to give a 30-day notice and refund “the entire grant amount that has been received.”

BRICS to set up green fund a green fund under the New Development Bank to undertake green projects and develop green technologies for sustainable development.

India, China and an opportunity: three-day visit to China with several deliverables 

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a new Chinese openness in seeing India take up permanent membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Previously, the Chinese had linked SCO membership with a greater role for Beijing in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Clearance for the early operationalization of a new route to Kailash Mansarovar Decision to hold a session of talks between the Special Representatives tasked by the two sides to resolve the boundary dispute. In 2005, the Agreement on the Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the Settlement of the Boundary Question signed by the two countries. So

far, the coalition nature of Indian governments has been seen as a major obstacle to the giveand-take, compromise approach on the border question. With a slowing economy and sluggish European recovery, China may be focussing on the Indian market. It also appears willing to invest, following Prime Minister Modi’s “Make in India” call.

India’s tango with the great powers the drivers of change in the trilateral relationship between India, Russia and China : 

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Geopolitical and economic factors: The civil war in Ukraine, Russia’s involvement in the conflict, economic sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU) and the U.S, the free-fall in oil prices, projected slowdown in growth, the depleting foreign exchange reserves, the rising inflation, the downgrading of Russia’s credit rating to junk status. Economic sanctions have already led Russia to tilt closer towards China - talk of providing weapons to Ukraine or imposing further sanctions will accentuate this shift re-energised relationship between the U.S. and India: The U.S.-India Joint Strategic Vision singles out the South China Sea dispute; commits India and the U.S. to work together with other democracies in the Indian Ocean and Asia-Pacific region

Impact of these two trends: Russia-China ties might become the strongest side of the triangle. Our growing proximity to the U.S., Russia’s increasing tilt towards China reduces our leverage over Russia. India-Russia relationship New Delhi’s strategic ties with Moscow first took shape in the late 1950s – due to India’s deteriorating relationship with China owing to the disputed boundary, ideological and strategic ties between Moscow and Beijing were coming apart. Though the Russians played an ambivalent role during the war of 1962, Indo-Soviet ties, especially in defence, continued to tighten. The clashes between Soviet and Chinese forces in 1969 led Moscow to propose a treaty of friendship with India, consummated at the height of the Bangladesh crisis of 1971. Bangladesh crisis also saw the American opening towards Maoist China, which subsequently led to a strategic nexus aimed at the Soviet Union New Delhi and Moscow were pulled together by their shared concerns about Beijing. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, India publicly supported the Russians, while the Americans and the Chinese covertly assisted Pakistan and the Mujahideen against the Red Army By the time the Cold War drew to an end, there was a rapprochement between Russia and China. Collapse of the Soviet Union also led India to look more towards the West. However, the developing relationship between Moscow and Beijing did not impact on New Delhi’s immediate interests.

But, in June 2014, Russia announced the lifting of its long-standing embargo on arms sales to Pakistan. In November, Russia and Pakistan signed their first ever military cooperation agreement. The Russians argue that if India can buy defence equipment from the U.S., why couldn’t they sell to Pakistan? Discussions in the recent trilateral meeting, Beijing 

The joint statement calls for a security architecture in Asia that must be “open, inclusive, indivisible and transparent”- “indivisible” refers to the American “pivot” and attempts at rallying its allies.

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On climate change, hope that in 2015, a legally-binding instrument would be arrived at on the basis of “equity, common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.” But, the U.S. and China have already agreed upon a plan that effectively carves out an exceptional space for them and leaves little for countries like India to work with. The joint statement affirms that the World Trade Organization (WTO) must remain the “preeminent global forum trade” - reflects concern about U.S. efforts to create new regional trading blocs in Europe and Asia. As in climate change, a U.S.-China convergence on this issue will hurt Indian interests. As the TPP negotiations near completion, the Chinese have informally conveyed to the U.S. their desire to get on board. the three countries agreed to support a U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) resolution prohibiting intervention and “forced regime change” against the idea of Responsibility to Protect (R2P), which was introduced by the western powers through the UNGA

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FII inflows push forex reserves to new high India’s foreign exchange reserves zoomed to a new high of $327.88 billion, up by a whopping $5.845 billion, in the week to January 30, mainly on account of robust FII (foreign institutional investor) inflows and lower dollar outgo. . The rise in the reserves is also due to the buying of dollars by the RBI in the past few months. The increase in reserves in the reporting week was on account of higher foreign currency assets (FCAs), which forms a major constituent of overall reserves. FIIs exhausted the cap of $30 billion in government securities. The cap in corporate bonds is $51 billion. If crude oil price persists at $50 per barrel levels, the RBI should be able to take import cover to 10 months by March 2016, above the critical 8-month import cover needed for the rupee stability. The RBI Governor had said the country’s foreign reserve position had improved substantially to sustain any spill over effect arising out of the policies from advanced economies.

ED notice to Sahara on FEMA violation: The Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) sets rules in making “overseas direct investment.” The direct investment outside India is allowed either through the Automatic Route, where the investor does not require prior approval from the Reserve Bank of India but has to adhere to certain conditions; or the Approval Route, which requires permission from the RBI.

The case relates to an overseas direct investment of about Rs.3,662 crore. According to the ED, Sahara India took the Automatic Route. However, it allegedly did not meet the conditions. It apparently did not reveal that two of its companies were then facing an enquiry by the Securities and Exchange Board of India and that an adjudication matter was pending with the Enforcement Directorate.

Greenpeace violated FCRA norms, says official Ministry of Home Affairs administers FCRA- Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act. As per FCRA, only 50 per cent of the funds can be spent on administrative costs. “Greenpeace India Society spent more than 60 per cent of the funds on recruitment, consultancy and office maintenance,” Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and India: (i) It can be safely assumed that India will get greater access to hydrocarbons in Central Asia if it gets full membership of the Shanghai Corporation Organisation,comprising all major energy producing nations of the region and dominated by China and Russia. (ii) India had formally applied for membership of SCO. (iii) Sri Lanka is not a member of SCO. (i) Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim member economies that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region. (ii) India is not a member of APEC. (iii) Mexico, Peru, Chile and Russia are some of the members of APEC. Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): (i) It is a giant free trade deal between the U.S., Canada, and 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific region that's been under negotiation for nearly a decade now. (ii) Many of the TPP's current provisions are designed to exclude China, like those requiring yarn in clothing to come from countries party to the agreement. (iii) There is a clause which directs members to disclose the TPP related info to only selected few officials, which is being criticized by many. Madhava school of mathematics: (i) It was founded in the late 14th and early 15th centuries in Kerala. (ii) The famous mathematician Sankara was part of the Madhava school. (iii) Historians have showed that the Madhava School of Mathematics discovered the sine and cosine (power) series, and it preceded Newtons’ by at least two centuries. Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA): (i) Any organisation of a political nature and any association or company engaged in the production and broadcast of audio or audio visual news or current affairs programme have been placed in the category prohibited to accept foreign contribution. (ii) Foreign contribution shall be utilized for the purpose for which it has been received. (iii) Recently Greenpeace, an international NGO working in India, has been charged with flouting the norms of FCRA. Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOP) has been initiated by the Ministry of Sports to increase India's medal tally at the Olympics. (ii) It is promoted by National Sports Development fund to identify sports personnel and train them for Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics and other major sporting events up to 2020 games. (iii) India has won only nine golds in its Olympic history out of which eight have been won by the Indian hockey team. 26 medals so far: 9 gold, 6 silver, 11 bronze The 'Explore Rural India' campaign has been promoted by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with UNDP. (ii) The idea of the campaign was to give tourists a chance to experience life in rural India. (iii)

According to the Union Ministry of Tourism, ‘counter-urbanisation’ and growing interest in heritage, culture and environmental consciousness have helped in the growth of rural tourism. The H1N1 Swine flu virus is incredibly infectious. (ii) Swine flu disproportionately affected young children and younger people, leading to a larger loss in human years than seasonal influenza. (iii) Since this is a relatively new virus, we are likely to see outbreaks for several years before it settles down into a seasonal pattern. India is unlikely to achieve the fifth Millennium Development Goals (MDG-5) of reducing maternal mortality to 109 per 1,00,000 live births by 2015. (ii) India is expected to meet the target for lowering the total fertility rate (TFR) by the end of the 12th Plan. India hopes to bring down the TFR to 2.1 by the end of 2017 Section 126 of RPA, 1950: prohibits parties from taking out tv ads, musical concerts, theatrical performance, any other entertainment, amusement, procession, public meeting 48 hrs before an election. It does not explicitly mention print media. Section 126(A) that deals with broadcast of exit polls explicitly mentions that this applies to the print media too. Central Sector Schemes are 100% funded by the Union government and implemented by the Central Government machinery. (ii) Central Sector Schemes are mainly formulated on subjects from the Union List. (iii) Central Ministries also implement some schemes directly in States/UTs which are called Central Sector Schemes but resources under these Schemes are not generally transferred to States. Under Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) a certain percentage of the funding is borne by the States in the ratio of 50:50, 70:30, 75:25 or 90:10 and the implementation is by the State Governments. (ii) Centrally Sponsored Schemes are formulated in subjects from the State List to encourage States to prioritise in areas that require more attention; and the funds are routed either through consolidated fund of States and/or are transferred directly to State/ District Level Autonomous Bodies/Implementing Agencies. (iii) Centrally Sponsored Schemes are those which are funded directly by Central Ministries/Departments and implemented by States or their agencies, irrespective of their pattern of financing, unless they fall under the Centre's sphere of responsibility i.e., the Union List. In case of an accident the liability of the U.S. suppliers of nuclear reactors and parts would be paid out of an “insurance pool” of approximately $250 million (Rs.1,500 crore), to be funded equally by the government and the government-owned insurance companies. Australia has world's largest uranium reserves. (ii) Australia has no nuclear power plant of its own. (iii) India has signed the civil nuclear agreement with Australia for the supplier of uranium. The Constitution of India has nowhere used the term 'federal'. (ii) The essence of co-operative federalism is that the Centre and the State Governments should be guided by the broader national concerns of using the available resources for the benefit of the people. (iii) Co-operative federalism is intended to ensure a minimum bundle of basic services and a nationally acceptable level of living for all the people of the country.

India Energy Security Scenarios 2047 explores a range of potential future energy scenarios for India, for diverse energy demand and supply sectors leading upto 2047. (ii) The IESS 2047 explores India’s possible energy futures across energy supply sectors such as solar, wind, biofuels, oil, gas, coal, and nuclear, and energy demand sectors such as transport, industry, agriculture, cooking, and lighting and appliances. (iii) The tool has been developed by the Planning Commission. Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed comprehensive free-trade pact among 10 Asean countries--Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam--and the six partners with which they have free-trade agreements (FTAs)--Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. (ii) The pact seeks to cover goods, services, investments, competition and intellectual property, and is targeted for conclusion by the end of 2015. (iii) After the completion of the negotiations, countries other than the 16 states may join. Law Commission of India (LCI) recommendations towards encouraging trade and commerce: (i) The LCI has recommended the establishment of a commercial division in the High Courts to ensure speedy disposal of high-value commercial suits. (ii) The Commission defined a “commercial dispute” to mean disputes arising out of ordinary transactions of merchants, bankers, financiers and traders such as those relating to mercantile documents, joint venture and partnership agreements, intellectual property rights, insurance and other such areas. (iii) The minimum pecuniary jurisdiction of such Commercial Courts shall be Rs one crore or more. India's fiscal deficit is one of the HIGHEST in emerging markets. High fiscal deficit leads to LOWER national savings. To achieve fiscal deficit targets it is important to increase the country's tax revenue base. Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) of the government is related to Textile sector

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Panel Seeks Changes in Corp Bankruptcy Laws High-level committee to study the corporate bankruptcy legal framework in India       

companies should not be allowed to remain alive for the only purpose of preventing unemployment various sections in the Companies Act 2013, should be amended for a faster liquidation process and to ensure that creditors have a say in determining the viability of a company. World's Bank's Doing Business report ranks India 137 out of the 189 economies for resolving insolvencies. delays both at level of the insolvency officials or at the courts or tribunals. corporate failure can also have a ripple effect on the economy, affecting the solvency of many other businesses an ideal insolvency regime needs to strike the right balance between the interests of all the stakeholders by a reasonable allocation of risks among them. Arun Jaitley in his maiden budget speech - an entrepreneur friendly, legal bankruptcy framework would be developed for small medium enterprises (SMEs) to enable easy exit.

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liquidation should not be seen as a measure of last resort for unviable businesses that have become insolvent and be acted upon to minimize the losses for all parties, any secured creditor may initiate rescue proceedings if the debtor company fails to pay a single undisputed debt exceeding a prescribed value within thirty days of the service of the notice of demand. Committees for Distressed Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises' to be established by the banks

Criteria to Induct PSU Directors May Change for the selection of non-official directors of state-run banks  

to strengthen the boards of banks and make them more professional encourage the appointment of experts from agriculture, risk management, financial inclusion and other such segments on bank boards. Such specialists must have experience of at least 10 years.

The government has recently decided to separate the posts of chairman and managing director. The plan is to have a non-executive chairman and a combined position of managing director and chief executive. To stem the further generation of black money the goods and services tax that cre tes multiple audit trails on income across the production chain Reform the tax reg ime to end arbitrariness make campaign finance transparent make it easy to do business, to reduce the incentive to generate black money Sound regulation in real estate, a rampant store of black money , brooks no delay. ink confidentiality pacts with foreign governments. ask companies to identify their real owners and make the registry public. British government Centre pushes for easing urban building norms reducing the number of approvals and no-objections required for taking up new projects approvals should be given within 30 days from the date of application. an average approval time of 90-600 days for construction projects on the parameters of procedures, cost and time taken for approvals, India is ranked 182 among 185 countries, adversely impacting investments

Coastal Zone Regulations National Building Code-2015 with the objective of enabling single window clearance for construction projects most of the forest and environment-related regulations can be included in the building by-laws delineation of exact boundaries of 639 ecologically sensitive zones would be expedited to remove ambiguities and enable quick approvals Problems of hill areas in finding land for housing for the poor with most of the land categorised as forest land would also be looked into maps and information regarding height restrictions for construction in the funnel zone of all airports to the urban local bodies concerned for necessary action restrictions for construction near monuments were being revisited and maps for each site would soon be published for the benefit of urban bodies for according quick approvals International Court of Justice (ICJ) the break-up of Yugoslavia 1990s Balkan wars 1948 UN Convention on genocide. intent to destroy an entire population could not be proved International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Srebrenica massacre opacity in electoral and party financing; financial accountability measures for party funding. ceiling and prescriptions to limit how much can be spent during elections encouraged under-reporting of expenses. Central Information Commission (CIC) issued an order to six major national parties to open up to Right to Information (RTI) queries. RTI Act does provide protection to concerned parties from having to reveal information that would compromise their competitive. political parties have resisted implementing the CIC’s order citing the possibility of interference in their internal decision-making processes. only during the validity period of the EC notification is spending by candidates on election expenditure demanded for reporting, whereas parties actually start spending money on campaigns much before that. state funding of elections as a panacea for current ills. The crimes committed during an ethnic cleansing are similar to those of genocide, but while genocide includes intent at complete or partial destruction of the target group, ethnic cleansing may involve murder only to the point of mobilizing the target group out of the territory.

one of the foremost thinkers in the field of famine, poverty, social choice and welfare economics; had a profound impact on the formation of development policy worldwide ‘Pockets’ initiative of ICICI Bank: (i) It is the first digital bank in the country on a mobile phone. (ii) This wallet uses a virtual Visa card, which enables the users to transact on any website or mobile application in India. (iii) The wallet allows users to instantly send money to any e-mail id, mobile number, friends on Facebook and bank account and the users can pay bills, recharge mobiles, book movie tickets, order food, send physical and e-gifts, split and share expenses with friends by using this e-wallet. Gas pooling, or averaging, would mean that plants currently getting cheaper domestic gas will have to pay a slightly more. On the other hand, stations with no domestic gas supplies that are necessarily to rely on imported fuel will pay a lot less, thereby making electricity produced affordable. Power plants, which currently cannot buy high priced LNG, will be able to buy gas at pooled rate. As per the proposal, gas will be imported and supplied along with domestic gas at an average `pooled' price to run the stranded plants at 40% capacity to help them recover fixed costs. The scheme is being proposed for three financial years beginning April 2015 as the oil ministry has indicated that no incremental domestic gas is available till then. The web based tool, Atrocity Tracking and Monitoring (ATM) System To monitor atrocities perpetrated against Dalits and Adivasis and to ensure speedy justice, a unique web-based tool — Atrocity Tracking and Monitoring (ATM) System — has been launched. Plz note that this initiative is not by the government, but an NGO The CSC provides for compensation in case of trans-national implications of a nuclear accident and has been signed by 14 countries, including India. (ii) The CSC provides for establishment of an international fund to increase the amount available to compensate victims and allows for compensating civil damage occurring within a State's exclusive economic zone, including loss of tourism or fisheries related income. (iii) According to IAEA, all states are free to participate in the convention regardless of their involvement in existing nuclear liability conventions or the presence of nuclear installations on their territories. The NITI Aayog will create a knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support system through a collaborative community of national and international experts, practitioners and partners. (ii) NITI Aayog will monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes, and focus on technology upgradation and capacity building. (iii) The Aayog will also provide policy support to more than 50 million small businesses, which are a major source of employment creation. Urea is the only fertilizer under statutory price control for which the maximum retail price is fixed by the Centre. (ii) The difference between production cost incurred by a manufacturer and the administered concessional price is reimbursed as subsidy. (iii) For the purpose of the calculation of the subsidy element, the Fertilizer Ministry, in consultation with manufacturers, determines the production cost for every urea plant separately. Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) is related most closely with Tax avoidance. Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) is a technical term referring to the negative effect of multinational companies' tax

avoidance strategies on national tax bases. Corporates use Transfer Pricing as one of the ways to save tax inappropriately. India has supported OECDs initiative towards this. Dutee Chand Athletics won 100m at the recent National Games. She is under watch for hyperandrogenism SWAYAM is Indian governments on MOOC platform for online courses. Plz read further. The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD) was an informal strategic dialogue between the United States, Japan, Australia and India that was maintained by talks between member countries. (ii) The dialogue was paralleled by joint military exercises of an unprecedented scale, titled Exercise Malabar. It basically was meant to counter China in Asia. The QSD ceased following the withdrawal of Australia during Kevin Rudd’s tenure as prime minister, reflecting ambivalence in Australian policy over the growing tension between the United States and China in the Asia-Pacific. Following Rudd's replacement by Julia Gillard in 2010, enhanced military cooperation between the United States and Australia was resumed, leading to the placement of U.S. Marines near Darwin, Australia, overlooking the Timor Sea and Lombok Strait. Efforts are on to revive the Quad (HLC) on a review of environmental laws: (i) The HLC wants to confine the ‘No go’ classification of forests to areas with 70 per cent canopy (apart from Protected Areas). (ii) The Committee has enhanced the extent of compensatory afforestation needed for diversion of forest land and also raised the Net Present Value (NPV) payment required for permitting diversion. (iii) The HLC has suggested dispensing with consultation with the gram sabha in the case of ‘linear projects’. ADR or “Alternative Dispute Resolution” is an attempt to devise machinery which should be capable of providing an alternative to the conventional methods of resolving disputes. (ii) In ADR the parties are free to discuss their difference of opinion without any fear of disclosure of this fact before any law Courts. (iii) The various methods of ADR mechanism are mediation, conciliation, arbitration, Lok Adalats etc. Imp for Mains as well as PT. Reasons for the decline in import of gold: (i) restrictions on imports (ii) a high base year in 2013. (iii) low crude oil prices has no direct link with low gold imports The principle of Net neutrality says that all data must be treated equally and there must be no discrimination. (ii) Internet.org offers a preselected bouquet of websites free to subscribers of Facebook’s telecom partner. The internet.org initiative is being criticised for being against the principal of net neutrality. Imp. Plz read further on this. According to the Flag Code of India only those in uniform may ‘render the appropriate salute’ to the national flag. (ii) During the ceremony of hoisting or lowering the flag or when the flag is passing in a parade or in a review, all persons present should face the flag and stand at attention.

stages of clinical trials: (i) Phase I clinical trials are typically about testing safety among healthy people. (ii) Phase II consists of small trials of efficacy among patients. (iii) Phase III involves large, double-blind tests to determine both safety and efficacy among large groups of people. The International Monitoring System (IMS) monitors the Earth’s crust, listens in the atmosphere and in the oceans and sniffs the air for traces of radioactivity. (ii) Jawaharlal Nehru played an important role in building international momentum for the 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty, which India joined. (iii) India, Pakistan and North Korea are the only non-signatories of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. RBI does not have the powers to issue rupees one notes. (ii) Rupees one has the signature of the finance secretary. (iii) The Central Bank has been gradually withdrawing lower currency notes. Government has decided to print Rs. one note again. International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi - M5 Peptide: M5 - a synthetic molecule that prevents malaria and tuberculosis microbes from invading human cells, raising hopes for a two-in-one drug to treat both infections, including drug-resistant versions of these microbes; doesn't target the microbes themselves, it interferes with key human protein machinery the bugs hijack to gain entry into human blood cells. Tuberculosis germs cannot enter their target cells in the body - macrophages - without the aid of a protein called ICAM-1. The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum similarly uses another protein called ICAM-4 to enter red blood cells. The Colombo Plan is a regional organization that embodies the concept of collective inter-governmental effort to strengthen economic and social development of member countries in the Asia-Pacific region. (ii) The primary focus of all Colombo Plan activities is on HR. Defence is not one of the areas under Colombo Plan. Minimum alternate tax (MAT): (i) It is a tax levied on firms/ companies or limited liability partnership (LLPs) making abundant profits as well as distributing dividend to its shareholders who, leveraging on the features of the Indian taxation system, do not contribute towards the government's taxation kitty. (ii) The levy of MAT is an attempt by the different governments to cut back on deficits in tax collection and hence prevent any likely upward trend in inflation. (iii) MAT is a form of corporate tax National Adaptation Fund Climate Change. Plz know that there are to funds by the same name, one under Indian government, and the other under UNFCC. Plz read further...very imp. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA): (i) It is one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan for Climate Change which is aimed at transforming Indian agriculture into a climateresilient production system through suitable adaptation and mitigation measures. (ii) It focusses on crops. (iii) It also focusses on animal husbandry. States from northeast like Nagaland, Arunanchal Pradesh, Tripura and Manipur have shown a decrease in forest cover. (iii) Satellite based remote sensing data has been used for estimating the change in forest cover. latest report of Forest Survey of India

National Tribal Festival, ‘Vanaj 2015’: to showcase the culture of tribal people from across the country by Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs. It features dance, music and other cultural performances, tribal cuisine, a tribal market The virus is the same H1N1 strain since 2009. There has been no mutation. Tamiflu is not a precautionary drug. If a person hasn’t tested positive for swine flu, taking the medicine is actually counter productive National Institute of Communicable Diseases centre in Delhi RTI Act: an informed citizenry is vital to hold governments and their instrumentalities accountable. CBI has been included in the list of exempted organisations . Section 24 says that nothing in the Act will apply to exempted organisations provided the “information” sought by an application pertaining to allegations of corruption is not excluded under it. The sea coast near Mariupol and the city of Debaltseve, which are in Ukrainian control, are said to be critical for the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. September 2014 ceasefire fell apart almost as soon as it was agreed upon, After the Baazee.com case, the Information Technology Act was amended to add what is known as a ‘safe harbor’ clause for platforms like YouTube and Baazee.com. The ‘safe harbor’ in the amended IT Act ensures that law criminalising content like obscenity cannot be used to punish a platform like YouTube if it is unaware that it is hosting illegal content. Without this protection, YouTube would have to monitor all its videos before hosting them online. This is because criminal law in India penalises circulation of obscene content, even when the person circulating it does so unknowingly. The reason that the ‘safe harbor’ clause is necessary is that social networks, online auction platforms and video hosting services handle a very large volume of content. Requiring them to monitor all of it would reduce the vibrant, generative Internet to less than a shadow of itself. YouTube would become as limited as television. Keyword filtering as a way to automate the screening of online content. However, automated scanning means that legitimate content is often misidentified as illegal and this leads to over filtering. In Chandrakant Kalyandas Kakodar v. State of Maharasthra in which the Supreme Court said, “whether the book or article or story considered as a whole panders to the prurient and is obscene must be judged by the courts and ultimately by this Court.” Either the government or private parties making these critical decisions about speech would undermine the right to freedom of expression. The real question we should be asking is whether our sensibilities are so delicate that we would sacrifice our rich public discourse and the new media that carry our Rajiv Rinn Yojana, the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) and the Rajiv Awas Yojana Reverse patent licences India has millions of people untouched by the Internet but nonetheless potentially accessible. Facebook got together with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications to launch in India internet.org, a service that offers subscribers free access to a pre-selected bouquet of Websites. The country’s Internet penetration is less than 20 per cent, whereas the likes of China, Russia and Brazil have got close to half their populations connected to the Net. The comparative percentage for developed countries such as the US,

the UK and Japan is over 80 per cent. FB rival Microsoft announced a ‘white spaces’ project — a plan to use unused TV spectrum to provide connectivity. More Internet is good for the Internet companies, good for a country’s GDP. Google’s revenues are positively correlated with the world’s Internet population. Geographically, it makes sense to look for virgin territory. China has more people than India but its user base is already nearing 650 million, twice the US population. Also, internet is more restrictive in China to outside players than many other parts of the world, and there are lots of technical and social filters. In this context, India fits the bill perfectly. Google’s plan, is to use “a network of balloons travelling on the edge of space, designed to connect people in rural and remote areas, help fill coverage gaps, and bring people back online after disasters (tribes-dance): (i) Durua-Birli (ii) Oraon - Sarhul (iii) Kutia Kondh - Dhangada Dhangidi. Purchasing power parity (PPP) is a technique used to determine the relative value of different currencies. (iii) The concept of purchasing power parity allows one to estimate what the exchange rate between two currencies would have to be in order for the exchange to be at par with the purchasing power of the two countries' currencies. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. (ii) The spread of NATO's reach to Russia's eastern borders is one of the main reasons for the Ukraine crisis. (iii) Individual Partnership Action Plans (IPAP) are plans developed between NATO and different countries which outline the objectives and the communication framework for dialogue and cooperation between both parties. Grandfather clause is a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new rule will apply to all future cases. The ‘safe harbor’ clause in India's Information Technology Act ensures that the law which criminalises content like obscenity cannot be used to punish an intermediary platform like YouTube. Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) was established as a body to look after the industries in India, works under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. (ii) The department is responsible for formulation and implementation of promotional and developmental measures for growth of the industrial sector, keeping in view the national priorities and socio-economic objectives. (iii) DIPP is also responsible for intellectual property rights relating to patents, designs, trademarks, and Geographical indication of goods and oversees the initiative relating to their promotion and protection. Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion is also responsible for facilitating and increasing the FDI flows to the country. The growing importance of the G20 and the way forward G20 is world's premium trade forums, established in 1999 to bring together industrialized and developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy. The inaugural G20 summit took place in Berlin, December 1999, hosted by German and Canadian finance ministers

The G20 is made up of the finance ministers and central bank governors of 19 countries. The remaining seat is held by the European Union, which is represented by the rotating Council presidency and the European Central Bank. It came into being to respond to the East Asian crisis in 1997-98, played a key role in responding to the global financial crisis of 2008-09. Its decisive and coordinated actions boosted consumer and business confidence and supported the first stages of economic recovery. G20 continues to focus on measures to support global economic growth, with a strong emphasis on promoting job creation and open trade. It is focused mainly on building consensus on measures required for stemming the Global Financial and Economic crisis of 2008, framework for a strong, sustainable and balanced growth, clean energy, food security and climate change, employment creation and trade facilitation and many more. During and after the global financial crisis of 2008, while advanced economies experienced dwindling growth, India was one of the countries that continued to grow. Also, India has not been a contributor to the global imbalances. By virtue of these, India has emerged as an important member of G20 to be able to influence and contribute towards reshaping of the world economic and financial order. G20 accounts for more than 80 per cent of world trade and two-thirds of the world population. Therefore, it is the main forum for global development. The post-crisis debate on global imbalances and the role of the G20 in mitigating its effects has three facets.   

Role of exchange rates in global rebalancing. Capital flows into emerging markets. Framework for readjustment

Global rebalancing will require deficit economies to save more and consume less, whereas surplus economies will need to mirror these efforts - save less and spend. The problem though is that while the adjustment by deficit and surplus economies has to be symmetric, the incentives they face are asymmetric. India, along with other emerging economies, is agitated by two points - first, that in as much as volatile capital flows are a spill over from the quantitative easing of advanced economies, the burden of adjustment has to be shared. Second, the capital controls should be understood as legitimate and acceptable defence against speculative capital flows. (Observer Research Foundation)

RE-Invest 2015 : (i) RE-Invest 2015 is the first Renewable Energy Global Investors Meet & Expo to be organised by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). (ii) Its objective is to showcase the Government of India's commitment to the development and scaling up of renewable energy in India to meet the national energy requirement in a socially, economically and ecologically sustainable manner. (iii) India has set a target of achieving 100 GW of solar capacity and 60 GW of wind capacity by 2022,

with significant small-hydro and biogas additions. Plz read in detail about India's recent initiatives in renewable energy. Very imp for Mains Section 3 of the Sports Act deals with mandatory Sharing of sports telecast with Prasar Bharati. The issue came into prominence when private channels objected to Prasar Bharati sharing the telecast with Doordarshan. Plz read in details. Important The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is the apex body for co-ordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country. (ii) ICAR scientists were the first in the world to sequence the pigeon pea genome. (iii) INFOCROP-Wheat is the decision support system developed by ICAR to identify location specific suitable variety, optimum sowing time and schedule of wheat crop to farmers. Plz read recent achievements by ICAR, as well as ICAR's structure and how it operates across the country. Climate engineering, also referred to as geoengineering, is the deliberate and large-scale intervention in the Earth’s climatic system with the aim of reducing global warming. (ii) Geoengineering seeks to combat climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or by increasing the reflectivity of the earth — with clouds or even space dust — to reduce the sun’s warmth. (iii) Geoengineering has been proposed as a potential third option for tackling global warming, alongside mitigation and adaptation. Very imp concept...ideal PT/Mains science and tech question Article 280 mandates setting up of finance commission. The 14th Finance Commission has suggested reducing funds of the Central Sector Scheme. Wage and salary payments to government employees are part of the Non-plan expenditure. India will supply nuclear reactors to Sri Lanka. (ii) Sri Lanka will participate in the Nalanda University Project. (iii) Facilitation of ties in agro-processing has also been agreed upon between the two countries. High Level Committee (HLC) to restructure, reorient and reform the Food Corporation of India (FCI): (i) The committee has recommended that the coverage of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013 be brought down to 40 per cent. (ii) The committee has recommended that the current public distribution system (PDS) be replaced by a cash transfer system. (iii) HLC has opined that the PDS is a failure because of massive leakage. Silk Road Economic Belt is an initiative led by China to integrate the economies of Asia and Europe along the Eurasian corridor. (ii) The initiative will include development of roads, rail tracks, fibre optic highways, and much more, that would connect South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Europe along an integrated land corridor. (iii) The Maritime Silk Road (MSR), which envisions development of ports and facilities mainly in the Indian Ocean; and these ports will be connected to the hinterland by a string of land arteries, which will eventually hook up with the main Silk Road Economic Belt at specific junctions. A negative Wholesale Price Index (WPI) indicates falling cost of production.

Commodities transaction tax (CTT) is a tax similar to Securities Transaction Tax (STT), levied in India, on transactions done on the domestic commodity derivatives exchanges. (ii) transactions in commodity derivatives have been declared to be made non-speculative;and hence for traders in the commodity derivative segment, any losses arising from such transactions can be set off against income from any other source. (iii) National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) is an online commodity exchange based in India which provides a commodity exchange platform for market participants to trade in commodity derivatives. Shanta Kumar panel: (i) It has suggested to reduce the number of public distribution system beneficiaries for subsidised foodgrains from 67 per cent (75 per cent population in rural areas and 50 per cent in urban areas) to 40 per cent under the National Food Security Act. (ii) It has suggested raising monthly quantum of rationed grains from 5kg to 7 kg per person. (iii) The panel has suggested to deregulate fertilizer sector. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan aims to make India open defecation-free by 2019. (ii) Diarrhoea is one of the leading cause of death of children under five. (iii) There are many reasons people don’t use bank accounts: lack of trust in financial institutions, distance to the bank, illiteracy and reliance on informal and traditional banking sources. Under the current law, divorce is granted if a couple jointly files an application by mutual consent. (ii) In case the divorce is contested, then the husband or the wife has to prove certain grounds under which a marriage can be dissolved which include adultery, cruelty, insanity, desertion or medical reasons such as communicable disease. (iii) The wife has the right to contest a divorce if she can prove she will be in grave financial hardship. some changes are being proposed...so please be vigilant...imp essay topics The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries. (ii) IFAD seeks to ensure that poor rural people have better access to natural resources, improved agricultural technologies, a broad range of financial services etc. (iii) Through loans and grants, IFAD works with governments to develop and finance programmes and projects that enable rural poor people to overcome poverty themselves. Diarrhoea and pneumonia are the biggest killer diseases in children aged under five years in India. (ii) With 55 per 1,000 live births, Bihar has the highest infant mortality rate in the country. (iii) WHO says that cheap, life-saving, widely available oral rehydartion salts (ORS) with zinc supplementation is the correct treatment for diarrhoea. Very imp question GOI launched a scheme to provide every farmer a Soil Health Card in a Mission mode & this card will carry crop wise recommendations of nutrients/fertilizers required for farms, making it possible for farmers to improve productivity by using appropriate inputs. (ii) A Soil Health Card is used to assess the current status of soil health and, when used over time, to determine changes in soil health that are affected by land management & it also displays soil health indicators and associated descriptive terms. (iii) The PM recetly launched the scheme at Suratgarh in Rajasthan.

The Country Policy & Institutional Assessment (CPIA) is a diagnostic tool that is intended to capture the quality of a country’s policies and institutional arrangements—i.e., its focus is on the key elements that are within the country’s control, rather than on outcomes (such as growth rates) that are influenced by elements outside the country’s control. (ii) The CPIA measures the extent to which a country’s policy and institutional framework supports sustainable growth and poverty reduction, and consequently the effective use of development assistance & the outcome of the exercise yields both an overall score and scores for all of the sixteen criteria that compose the CPIA. The ratings are product of staff judgement, and not necessarily that of the World Bank. Prithvi II is an indigenously developed nuclear capable surface to surface missile. Prithvi II, the first missile to be developed by DRDO under India's prestigious IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Program) a program initiated by Ministry of Defence primarily for carrying out comprehensive research and making nuclear capable missiles.. It has a full strike range of 350 kms and can carry the load of nuclear warhead up to 1000 kilogram mass (exact range being 500-1000 kilograms. Prithvi II is a series of Short range ballistic missiles launched to combat opponents in war like situations. It also assists in surface to surface fighting and precisely hitting their intended target. This missile has been developed mainly to be used by the Indian Air Force (IAF). E-biz is a single window portal that would integrate 11 central government services to facilitate faster clerances for business the guidelines under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, for providing forestry clearance: (i) At the first stage proposal is agreed to in-principle and conditions related to transfer and mutation of equivalent non-forest land for compensatory afforestation and realisation of funds are stipulated. (ii) The second stage is when after receipt of compliance report from the state government, formal approval is issued. (iii) Recently the National Green Tribunal has imposed a stay on felling of trees for all linear projects in the country right after stage one clearance. Plz note the concept of 'inprincipal approval' and how it has been abused in clearing large projects...plz read about it. The Nalanda Mahavihara was founded by the Gupta emperor Kumargupta. It was primarily associated with Budhism. Nalanda University (also known as Nalanda International University) is a newly established university located in Rajgir, near Nalanda, Bihar, India which was created as a revival of an ancient center of learning at Nalanda, with funding from Japan and Singapore Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram: (i) It aims to provide comprehensive healthcare and improve the quality of life of children through early detection of birth defects, diseases, deficiencies, development delays including disability. (ii) The 0-6 years age group will be specifically managed at District Early Intervention Center (DEIC) level while for 6-18 years age group, management of conditions will be done through existing public health facilities. (iii) Once the child is screened and referred from any of the points of identification, it would be ensured that the necessary treatment/intervention is delivered at zero cost to the family.

The Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) was asked to comprehensively reviewe and redraw the legislations governing India’s financial system. (ii) The draft Code establishes certain basic rights for all financial consumers and creates a single unified Financial Redressal Agency (FRA) to serve any aggrieved consumer across sectors. (iii) The draft Code seeks to move away from the current sector-wise regulation to a system where the RBI regulates the banking and payments system and a Unified Financial Agency subsumes existing regulators like SEBI, IRDA, PFRDA and FMC, to regulate the rest of the financial markets. Imp for Mains. Plz note Raghu Rajan's view on FSLRC. You need to know views of both sides to make your Mains answers richer. 'Apellate Raj is too many unnecessary checks against the functioning of the government. Recently RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said that the country should not end up in ‘Appellate Raj’ after escaping the ‘License Permit Raj.’ Very Imp for Mains The Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign Investment) Rules, 2015 allow up to 26% foreign investment through the automatic route, while foreign partners can increase their stake beyond that limit up to 49% with the approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). (ii) The foreign equity investment cap of 49% will include foreign portfolio investments and clearly specify that ownership and control has to remain at all times in the hands of resident Indian entities. (iii) The government is expected to bring Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill 2015, in the upcoming Parliament session to replace The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2014, as promulgated by the President of India, in December 2014.

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Ordinance, 2014 was promulgated with an aim to amend the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (LARR Act 2013). (ii) The Ordinance creates five special categories of land use: defence, rural infrastructure, affordable housing, industrial corridors, and infrastructure projects including Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects where the central government owns the land. (iii) The LARR Act 2013 excluded the acquisition of land for private hospitals and private educational institutions from its purview; however the Ordinance removes this restriction. National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS): (i) These ambient air quality standards/limits provide a legal framework for the control of air pollution and the protection of public health. (ii) Industrial areas have to conform to the same standards as residential areas. PM2.5 are more minute than SPM. PM2.5 has been included instead of SPM in the NAAQS India is developing Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) Project with Russia. Make in India project: (i) It aims to give impetus to the manufacturing sector and attract investments. (ii) It aims to improve India's ranking from 142 to 50 in the World Bank's ease of doing business index in three years. (iii) Five new smart cities to be built around high employment generating industrial clusters.

National Heritage Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) is an initiative towards “reviving the soul of cities” that have a rich heritage. (ii) HRIDAY can support either restoration of heritage monuments or provision of basic services or development of heritage walks/religious trails or GIS-based mapping of cultural and natural heritage assets or promotion of local heritage industry, including cottage industries managed by women. (iii) Most of the projects under the HRIDAY funding would be taken up in the vicinity of heritage monuments. Till a regular Speaker is elected, a pro tem Speaker administers oath to a new House and conducts proceedings. Hence it is a temporary post. The powers of the pro tem Speaker are not defined. Generally in such a condition when the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies have been elected, but the vote for the speaker and deputy speaker has not taken place, the pro-tem speaker is chosen. Cross subsidization is the practice of charging higher prices to one group of consumers in order to subsidize lower prices for another group. Indian Railways is well known for subsidising passenger fares by increasing freight rates (goods train). Pangolins: (i) It is the most trafficked mammal in the world. It is found naturally in tropical regions throughout Africa and Asia. All the eight species of Pangolins are now threatened with extinction. The Government of India has two budgets, namely, the Railway Budget and the General Budget. While the Railway Budget consists of the estimates of receipts and expenditure of only the Ministry of Railways, the latter consists of the estimates of receipts and expenditure of all the ministries of the Government of of India (EXCLUDING the railways). The term 'budget' has nowhere been mentioned in the Constitution. The National Commission on Farmers (NCF) was constituted under the chairmanship of Professor M.S. Swaminathan. (ii) It has suggested to prevent diversion of prime agricultural land and forest to corporate sector for non-agricultural purposes. (iii) NCF has suggested to eliminate micronutrient deficiency induced hidden hunger through an integrated food cum fortification approach. http://www.prsindia.org/parliamenttrack/report-summaries/swaminathan-report-national-commissionon-farmers--662/ CBDR is the main negotiation tool for developing countries which says that though all have to take steps to tackle climate change, developed countries need to do more as they are historically more responsible. Plz read further to clarify this concept. Developed countries are trying their best to dilute this component. The P5+1 is a group of six world powers which joined the diplomatic efforts with Iran with regard to its nuclear program. The term refers to the P5 or five permanent members of the UN Security Council, namely United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom, and France, plus Germany. The India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project observatory would be located underground so as to provide adequate shielding to the neutrino detector from cosmic background radiation. (ii) According to standard model of particle physics, neutrinos are mass-less; however recent experiments indicate

that these charge-neutral fundamental particles have finite but small mass which is unknown. (iii) The project is located in Theni district of Tamil Nadu. National Crop Insurance Programme (NCIP) has been introduced to provide financial support to the farmers for losses in their crop yield and to help in maintaining flow of agricultural credit. (ii) Unit area of insurance has been reduced to the village/village panchayat level. (iii) It ensures coverage of indemnity for prevented sowing/planting risk and post harvest losses (due to cyclone in coastal areas). Social sector spending — expenditure on health, education, water supply, sanitation and housing among others — has doubled over the past 10 years as a proportion of the Union government’s total expenditure. But the big expansion came between 2004 and 2007, and more or less flattened at around 12 per cent of the total expenditure since then, show data from the Economic Census for various years. Social sector spending — expenditure on health, education, water supply, sanitation and housing among others — has doubled over the past 10 years as a proportion of the Union government’s total expenditure. But the big expansion came between 2004 and 2007, and more or less flattened at around 12 per cent of the total expenditure since then, show data from the Economic Census for various years. The release of funds has slowed down sharply for some schemes such as the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (earlier known as Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan), while delays have grown on the ground for others such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Social sector spending has flatlined over the past few years, and massive spending expansions are required Geneticist Eric S. Lander, one of the principal leaders of the Human Genome Project that mapped the entire human genome in 2003; while mapping a single human genome (as part of the Human Genome Project 1990-2003) costs $3 billion, today it costs less than $ 3,000. This breakthrough opens up enormous opportunities to understand diseases. For eg: over 108 genes can be associated with schizophrenia, and particular genetic mutations can be linked to heart attacks early in life. Discoveries require studying huge samples for every major disease. The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health comprising 246 organisations in 28 countries -- including India -- is one such endeavour to create a critical mass of data. India, with the “extraordinary size of its population” is, from the genetic point of view, “the single most interesting population in the world” corporate espionage systematic “pilfering” from the Petroleum Ministry’s office in the heart of New Delhi of documents which were then handed over to “consultants” and interested corporate entities for a price; pilferage from Shastri Bhavan show that government departments can easily be subverted by vested interests for corporate gains National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in October 2014 spoke of the need for firm action to prevent the media from publishing secret documents that impinged on the country’s national security. Public interest journalism and corporate theft of government information cannot be weighed on the same scale; distinction must be made between this kind of pilferage and documents being leaked to the media in the public interest by whistleblowers

Security classification is a double-edged weapon: It no doubt vests sanctity to a record/note in circulation which it would not otherwise gain. At the same time it brings about a ludicrous situation in which everything that a department possesses is converted into a treasure that has to be protected every working day, without the means required for doing so. Official Secrets Act (OSA). Incidentally, the OSA is of 1923 vintage and a complicated piece of legislation. There is one strong school of thought which says that the OSA has no reason to remain on our statute books after the Right to Information Act of 2005. A person in charge of and responsible for the conduct of business of a company is not liable to punishment under the OS Act “if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence” There is a case for extending the high standards which have successfully protected information stored both in the Prime Minister’s Office and the Cabinet Secretariat, and possibly at the headquarters of all three defence forces. Though the new government at the Centre has done a lot to block unauthorised access to government offices, the recent incident of the loss of data from a key Ministry shows that loopholes are still being exploited and much ground needs to be covered in terms of enhancing security Shakespeare — “striving to better, oft we mar what’s well.” The new “smart” syringes recommended by the organisation WHO include features that prevent them from being used a second time. Dangerous injection practices led to the accidental infection worldwide of 1.7 million people with hepatitis B, 3,15,000 with hepatitis C and as many as 33,800 with HIV in 2010, according to a 2014 WHO-sponsored study. Maldives Political Crisis India “urges all concerned to calm the situation and resolve their differences within the constitutional and legal framework of the Maldives.” The case against Mr. Nasheed dates back to when he was the President in 2011 and he was accused of illegally ordering the detention of a judge. Several other members of his party have been charged as well. India’s low income levels and weak fiscal and debt indicators constrain the country’s credit profile,” S&P higher growth in real per capita GDP, stronger fiscal/debt metrics and an improved external position as well as monetary policy setting are essential to enhance the current ‘BBB’ rating with a stable outlook. Factors such as high savings and investment rates, together with favourable demographics, where 87 per cent of the population is aged 54 or below, put the country in good stead to achieve fast growth. Government’s fiscal consolidation plan entails a gradual lowering of the fiscal deficit over the next three years, will ease the debt and interest burden. The government has promised to keep the deficit at 4.1 per cent for 2014-15, and is targeting to bring it down to 3.6 per cent in 2015-16 and push it further to 3 per cent by 2016-17.

The agency last year upgraded its outlook on the country to stable from negative. It had earlier voiced concerns on the lack of growth, a sense of “policy paralysis” and the high fiscal deficit, and also threatened to downgrade the rating to junk. Bullet bonds have a long tenure and can’t be redeemed prematurely; also called vanilla bonds, have been popular globally for raising long-term funds. They are known as bullet bonds as they involve a large, one-shot payment at maturity. Banks have been the primary source of funds for the infrastructure sector in the country, but the government is keen to reduce their role because of serious asset-liability mismatches involved in such lending. Banks have access to deposit funds with a three-five year maturity period while infrastructure lending is for a much longer term. Stressed balance sheets due to de lays in project implementation make it all the more difficult to lend to the infrastructure sector The minimum support price for minor forest produce (MFP), an initiative conceived as the next MNREGA and a welfare plan to cover about 100 million tribals, is floundering in the first year of its implementation. The scheme envisages fixation of MSP for 12 minor forest produce-tendu, bamboo, mahuwa seed, sal leaf, sal seed, lac, chironjee (seed), wild honey , myrobalan (harad), tamarind, gums and karanj. The core sentiment of the scheme is to obliterate the intermediaries and reach tribals directly The states have been given funds to modernise village haats and storage facilities. Normally, the states to acquire only about 20-25% of the forest produce. This way they do not incur losses. In case the market price falls under the MSP in case of a bumper crop, the state agencies move in and acquire the entire produce. The loss incurred is shared by the Centre and state in 75:25 ratio India Internet of Things is the latest trend of connecting everything from door locks and wearable devices to traffic signals and waste control systems to a vast network. The Indian government, which is working on its first Internet of Things policy, expects the country's Internet of Things industry to touch $15 billion (. `94,500 crore) by 2020. Evidence against inflation targeting Central banks should stop setting their monetary policy stance based on inflation alone. In the interconnected world, asset bubbles and capital flows could create financial instability that could result in macroeconomic instability . The central bank has to guard against such disruption as well. Inflation matters and has to be a primary determinant of monetary policy. But poor growth, quantitative easing in an economy that serves as the source of large capital outflows, a crisis of confidence in emerging markets as an investment class such things also warrant policy action. The Economist magazine suggests a level of nominal GDP as an ideal new target for central banks. This would combine both real GDP growth and inflation.

National sports awards scheme revamped - selection process for the annual National sports awards; suggestions given by last year’s Arjuna Award selection committee headed by Kapil Dev;         

Panel to be chaired by Retired SC/HC judge not more than one sportsperson/coach from each sport discipline to prevent bias towards a particular discipline persons with experience in sports administration/sports person of eminence/ sports expert belong to para sport to be member of selection panel Nomination agencies to send nominations of deserving sportspersons and coaches, irrespective of whether they have applied to these agencies for this purpose. more marks will be given for medals won in individual events. “For team events, marks will be computed taking into consideration the strength of the team. reduced marks for weightage of performances from 90 to 80 per cent in case of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna and Dronacharya awards the proceedings of the selection committees will be video-graphed detailed internal Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will be followed to deal with nominations received from National Sports Federations views of experts of various disciplines will be obtained for shortlisted nominations in team games.

The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (Global Alliance) was formed to help accelerate the potential of genomic medicine to advance human health. (ii) The partners in the Global Alliance are working together to create a common framework of harmonized approaches to enable the responsible, voluntary, and secure sharing of genomic and clinical data. (iii) The work of the Global Alliance is critical to realizing the potential of recent technological advances that make possible the large-scale collection of data on genome sequencing and clinical outcomes. Carvaka school rejects supernaturalism, emphasizes materialism and philosophical scepticism, holding empiricism, perception and conditional inference as the proper source of knowledge. Carvaka is classified as a heterodox (Nastika) system of Indian philosophy. (iii) One of the widely studied principle of Carvaka philosophy was its rejection of inference as a means to establish valid, universal knowledge,and metaphysical truths. ratings by Standard & Poor's: (i) An obligor rated 'AAA' has extremely strong capacity to meet its financial commitments; 'AAA' is the highest issuer credit rating assigned by Standard & Poor's. (ii) An obligor rated 'A' has strong capacity to meet its financial commitments but is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligors in higher-rated categories. (iii) An obligor rated 'BBB' has adequate capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitments. Internet of Things is the latest trend of connecting everything from door locks and wearable devices to traffic signals and waste control systems to a vast network. (ii) The pane to implement IoTl will have six

working groups on Internet of Things applications which will concentrate on IoT approaches that are being applied across market segments and various businesses. (iii) The IoT will solving problems in areas such as healthcare, education and agriculture. Topline – Bottomline The bottom line is a company's income after all expenses have been deducted from revenues. These expenses include interest charges paid on loans, general and administrative costs and income taxes. A company's bottom line can also be referred to as net earnings or net profits. The top line refers to a company's gross sales or revenues. Therefore, when people comment on a company's "top-line growth", they are making reference to an increase in gross sales or revenues. Bottom line describes how efficient a company is with its spending and operating costs and how effectively it has been controlling total costs, and top line only indicates how effective a company is at generating sales and does not take into consideration operating efficiencies which could have a dramatic impact on the bottom line. Micro-plastic is defined as particles smaller than half a centimetre. (ii) If micro-plastic pollution increases on the Great Barrier Reef, corals could be negatively affected as their tiny stomach cavities become full of indigestible plastic. (iii) The Coral reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence company. (ii) BEL, a Navratna company, primarily manufactures advanced electronic products for the Indian Armed Forces and is one of the eight PSUs under Ministry of Defence, Government of India. (iii) BEL has designed, developed and manufactured products like Electronic Voting machine and Akash missile. General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR): (i) GAAR is set of rules framed to minimise tax avoidance; under which tax authorities in a country deny tax benefits for transactions or arrangements that do not have any commercial substance. (ii) The Centre had introduced GAAR to deal with aggressive tax planning involving use of sophisticated structures. GAAR has not been implemented till date. The Finance Commission of India was established under Article 280 by the President of India with an aim to define the financial relations between the centre and the state. (ii) The functions of the Finance Commission includes distribution of net proceeds of taxes between Centre and the States, to be divided as per their respective contributions to the taxes, determine factors governing Grants-in Aid to the states and the magnitude of the same etc. (iii) The 14'th Finance Commission recently recommended the Union Cabinet for a 42 % share to states in the divisible pool of Centre's net taxes. Please read about MSME Cluster development programme: The Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) is a sector critical to nations economic growth which employes about 10 crore people. (ii) The MSME's accounts for over a 95 % of the total number of industrial enterprises' and accounts for a 40% of the total exports from India. (iii) The MSME Cluster Development Programme scheme addresses

common issues such as improvement of technology, skills and quality, market access, access to capital, etc of the MSME sector. Gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) is government planning, programming and budgeting that contributes to the advancement of gender equality and the fulfillment of women's rights & it entails identifying and reflecting needed interventions to address gender gaps in sector and local government policies, plans and budgets. (ii) GRB also aims to analyze the gender-differentiated impact of revenueraising policies and the allocation of domestic resources and Official Development Assistance. The Indin Railways would soon shift to accrual based accounting from the current from the current cash-flow mechanism.. (ii) The accrual-based accounting, which also counts assets and liabilities, revenue is recorded when earned, and expenses are recognised when incurred. (iii) The cash accounting system captures collective income and expenditure but not assets and liabilities. The current GOI has accepted the recommendation of the 14'th Finance Commissionfor the devolution of 42% of Central taxes to states. (ii) This recommendation might not go well with the economically weaker states which depend heavily of centre to implement socil sector schemes, for which allocations may be cut. (iii) The devloution will mean a lower fiscal space foe center and the states will get more funds through other means. The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act prescribes that the central government deficit should not exceed 3% of GDP. (ii) After the recommendation of the 12th Finance Commission, states also adopted legislations prescribing a deficit limit of 3% of state domestic product. (iii) The overall limit of deficit, taking states and Centre together, is 6% of GDP. Plz understand the Act and try to remember the important figures The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), is an Indian government agency responsible for collecting and analysing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code (IPC). (ii) The NCRB is a part of Ministry of Home affairs, GOI. (iii) NCRB empowers Indian Police with Information Technology and Criminal Intelligence to enable them to effectively enforce the law and improve public service delivery. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is the regulating body of the telecommunications business in India. It is an independent body. TRAI's mission is to create and nurture conditions for growth of telecommunications in India in a manner and pace that would enable the country to be able to play a leading role in the emerging global information society. (iii) The TRAI recently amended the Mobile Number Portability regulations to allow users to change their service provider in any part of the country while retaining the numeber. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India is a statutory organization under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) which was established under Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act. (ii) CPCB is also entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act & it serves as a field formation and also provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act. (iii) It coordinates the activities of the State Boards by providing technical assistance and guidance and resolve

disputes among them, conducting environmental assessment and research &is responsible for maintaining national standards under a variety of environmental laws, in consultation with zonal offices, tribal, and local governments. Just know about the structure and functions of CPCBs and hiw they work. Imp The Central Board of Film Certification (often referred to as the Censor Board) is a statutory censorship and classification body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. (ii) It's task is that of regulating the public exhibition of films under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act. (iii) It assigns certifications to films, television shows, television ads, and publications for exhibition, sale or hire in India & the films can be publicly exhibited in India only after they are certified by the Board. The New Development Bank (NDB), is a multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS states as an alternative to the existing US-dominated World Bank and International Monetary Fund. (ii) The Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) is a framework for the provision of support through liquidity and precautionary instruments in response to actual or potential short-term balance of payments pressures & the objective of this reserve is to provide protection against global liquidity pressures. (iii) The Union Cabinet recently chaired by PM Modi approved for the establishment of New Development Bank (NDB) & the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA). Operating Ratio' of Indian Railways Percentage of the money spent on the money earned Golden Quadrilateral - Road (ii) Diamond Quadrilateral - Rail (iii) Dedicated Freight Corridor-railways. The recently planned 'Kayakalp' for railways will deal with Business innvotion and rengineering. Dividend distribution tax is the tax levied by the Indian Government on companies according to the dividend paid to a company's investors. (ii) As per existing tax provisions, income from dividends is tax free in the hands of the investor. (iii) As per the current provisions there is a levy of 15.00% of the dividend declared as distribution tax(Under Income tax Act,1961) which is paid out of the profits/reserves of the company declaring the dividend. Carnatic music is mainly sung through compositions, especially the kriti (or kirtanam). (ii) Carnatic music is usually performed by a small ensemble of musicians, consisting of a principal performer (usually a vocalist), a melodic accompaniment (usually a violin), a rhythm accompaniment (usually a mridangam), and a tambura. (iii) Carnatic music is one of two main subgenres of Indian classical music that evolved from ancient Hindu traditions; the other subgenre being Hindustani music, which emerged as a distinct form because of Persian and Islamic influences in North India. "The DigiGov'' framework aims at increasing the intra-office efficiencies across the administration. (ii) The project envisages all departments of the statesecretariat converting paper files into e-files, createprocesses and track the file till decision making iscompleted on a real time basis. (iii) DigiGov'' also helps keep a tab on theefficiency in decision making and monitoring the pace ofprocessing through the use of inbuilt alert systems andreports.

The percentage of the investment made each year out of the total GDP is called Gross Capital Formation. Social Impact Analysis: (i) It is the first pre-conditional phase before any rehabilitation. (ii) It is an analysis of the impact of the project on displaced peoples’ livelihoods. (iii) Under the Constitution, gram sabhas and panchayats have the right to planning and management of land, water, electrification, etc. The most common criticism behind acts like FRA and LARR is that SIA is not done properly. The CASA-1000 Project is related to Power transmission. The development objective of the 1000 Electricity Transmission and Trade Project for Central Asia and South Asia (CASA) is to create the conditions for sustainable electricity trade between the Central Asian countries of Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic and the South Asian countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. India might also try to join, but nothing clear as of now. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee meets once a year, and consists of representatives from 21 of the States Parties to the Convention elected by their General Assembly. (ii) The Committee is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties; the Committee has the final say on whether a property is inscribed on the World Heritage List. The commitee might put Great Barrier Reef in 'danger' list, but it has not been done yet, and Australia is trying its best to ensure that the reef is not put in the danger list. Please read why (because then it might get difficult to carry out harmful activities near the reef...) The main concern of the the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is Security-related concerns Reasons for lower growth of banking sector in India in recent months: (i) high inflation led to lower real rates of return on deposits (ii) High inflation led to sharp reduction in households’ financial savings. (ii) Statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) and priority sector lending (PSL) requirements had depressed returns to bank assets. tax devolution (ii) more fiscal autonomy to the states (iii) increased share of states in central taxes are example of fiscal federalism Gross Value-Added measurement (GVA): (i) The Central Statistics Office will has decided to start measuring the country’s economic growth by gross value-added (GVA) at basic prices, replacing the practice of measuring it by GDP at factor cost. (ii) The new GVA measurement will be done under the new base year of 2011-12, replacing 2004-05. (iii) GVA at basic prices will add the net of production taxes and subsidies to GDP at factor cost; the change in base year is likely to lead to a higher GDP. Gross value added at factor cost (formerly GDP at factor cost) is derived as the sum of the value added in the agriculture, industry and services sectors. If the value added of these sectors is calculated at purchaser values, gross value added at factor cost is derived by subtracting net product taxes from GDP. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and it is named after Homi J. Bhabha, an Indian nuclear Physicist, is India's premier nuclear research facility. (ii) BARC is a multi-disciplinary research centre with

extensive infrastructure for advanced research and development covering the entire spectrum of nuclear science, engineering and related areas. (iii) BARC will also play its role in making Sewage Treatement Plants, as a part of Ganga cleaning initiative by the GOI. Digital India Advisory group will be chaired by the Ministry of Communications and IT. The Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) intends for Indian defence companies to collaborate with US partners in five co-production ventures. (ii) Under the DTTI it is expected that US would provide technology and guidance for building weapon systems. (iii) Frank Kendall, Under Secretary of Defence for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics represents the USA and Secretary (Defence Production) G Mohan Kumar represents India in the DTII. Mali is the third country after Nigeria and Senegal to become free of the deadly disease Ebola. (ii) A country should have had no new cases of Ebola for a continuous period of 42 days for it to be declared free of the virus by the WHO. (iii) Ebola was first detected in Guinea. Raven unmanned aerial vehicle is an advanced hand-launched drone. (ii) It is exected that USA will end Raven UAV manufacturing in USA and will shift the manufacturing to a site in Bangalore, India. (iii) The Raven can be either remotely controlled from the ground station or fly completely autonomous missions using GPS waypoint navigation. Dr.B. Meenakumari expert Committee: (i) It was set up to review India’s existing guidelines for deepsea fishing in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). (ii) The committee has recommended creation of offshore buffer zones to protect fish resources. (iii) The committee has also suggested allowing permits for foreign trawlers Regulation of sports bodies. Hence reco of Lodha Committee will be very important. The Supreme Court asked the Lodha Committee to evolve a mechanism to define and deal with conflict of interest situations and recommend measures to streamline BCCI elections, eligibility of candidates and criteria for disqualification. (ii) Any decision taken by this committee will be final and binding on the BCCI. (iii) The Lodha Commitee is being headed by the former Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha. (Mains Q) A six-member committee formed under Telecom Commission member AK Bhargava has been asked to examine pursuit of net neutrality from public policy objective, its advantages and limitations. (ii) The committee has been asked to examine economic impact on the telecom sector that arises from the existence of a regulated telecom services sector and unregulated content and applications sector, including over-the-top services like skype, whatsapp. (iii) Net-neutrality principle says that access to Internet or any Internet-based service should be without any barrier or discrimination The National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (NCEUS) is a national body commissioned by the Indian government to address the issues faced by enterprises in relation to the unorganised sector. (ii) The NCEUS functions under the MSME Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. (iii) The GOI recently announced that every worker in the unorgnised sector would be issued a smart card with a unique identification number for accessing social schemes and benefits. The card would be issued under the Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008.

As per the draft Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (Amendment) Bill, 2014, District Mineral Foundation (DMF) will be set up in every district affected by mining. (ii) The DMF will be funded by an additional levy related to royalty of the mines. (iii) The funds of DMF will be used for the benefit of persons affected by mining as also for the rebuilding of infrastructure in mining affected areas. Under Section 17(b), a liable operator can recover compensation from suppliers of nuclear material in the event of a nuclear accident if the damage is caused by the provision of substandard services or patent or latent defects in equipment or material. (ii) Article 17 (b)is contrary to the practice of recourse in international civil nuclear liability conventions, which channel liability exclusively to the operator. (iii) Provisions for the creation of a domestic insurance pool for operators exist in Act. Japan Trench is the region where the Pacific plate dives beneath the North American plate on which the Japanese archipelago lies. (ii) The subduction zone is the place where two lithospheric plates come together, one riding over the other. (iii) Subduction faults are extremely difficult to monitor as It works very slowly Neutrinos interact very weakly with the surroundings. (ii) Neutrino oscillation is a phenomenon by which one type of neutrino transforms into another. (iii) Government has approved setting up of Indiabased Neutrino Observatory (INO) in Bodi West Hills, Tamil Nadu. They interact very weakly with the surroundings. So detecting them is tough. Teixobactin is an antibiotic under development, which has been shown to be active against Grampositive bacterial pathogens that have developed resistance to available approved antibiotics. (ii) Grampositive bacteria are a class of bacteria that take up the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. The latest draft twelve Income Tax Computation and Disclosure Standards (ITCD) deal with business income tax At present, captive coal blocks are allotted with restrictions on end use. (ii) Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill will allow private firms to obtain coal blocks without end use restrictions, thus allowing commercial mining. End use restrictions means private companies have to use the coal for their own needs (as mentioned in the contract), they cannot sell it to others. Now government is planning to remove this clause. Imp issue M.P.Bezbaruah Committee is related to Concerns of the persons hailing from the North East - Better laws and protection for people from the North East in places like Delh In India, as per the directions of the Supreme Court, NOTA (none of the above) option is provided to the voters. (ii) As per the apex court, right to vote and the right to say NOTA are both part of basic right of voters. (iii) Right to reject candidates in elections is part of fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression given by the Constitution to Indian citizens Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is a National Mission on Financial Inclusion encompassing an integrated approach to bring about comprehensive financial inclusion of all the households in the country. (ii) Objective of "Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)" is ensuring access to various financial services like availability of basic savings bank account, access to need based credit, remittances

facility, insurance and pension to the excluded sections i.e. weaker sections & low income groups. (iii) The plan envisages at least one basic banking account for every household The Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) was launched to provide Panchayats with adequate technical and administrative support, strengthen their infrastructure and e-enablement, promote devolution and to improve their overall functioning. (ii) A Central Steering Committee headed by the Union Minister, Panchayati Raj provides policy level guidance, while a Central Executive Committee headed by Union Secretary, Panchayati Raj oversees the implementation of the scheme. Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) is the National Apex Agency entrusted with the responsibilities of providing scientific inputs for management, exploration, monitoring, assessment, augmentation and regulation of ground water resources of the country. (ii) Major activities being taken up by Central Ground Water Board include macro/micro-level ground water management studies, exploratory drilling programme, monitoring of ground water levels and water quality through a network of ground water observation wells comprising both large diameter open wells and purpose-built bore/tube wells (piezometers), implementation of demonstrative schemes for artificial recharge and rainwater harvesting for recharge augmentation. (iii) CGWB is under Ministry of Water Resources Dryland Agriculture refers to growing of crops entirely under rainfed conditions. (ii) Multiple cropping is not done in dryland farming. However, inter-cropping is donw(iii) Out of 143 million hectares of net cropped area in India, about 72% is Rainfed agricultural production. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international economic organisation of 34 countries to stimulate economic progress and world trade. (ii) The mission of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. (iii) Neither India nor China are members of OECD. Reverse innovation refers broadly to the process whereby goods developed as inexpensive models to meet the needs of developing nations, such as battery-operated medical instruments in countries with limited infrastructure, are then repackaged as low-cost innovative goods for Western buyers. The term was popularized by Dartmouth professors Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble and GE's Jeffrey R. Immelt. TRIPS-plus provisions is expected to lead to addition of tougher intellectual property standards that will narrow the flexibilities offered under the existing pact for a country like India. (ii) TRIPS-plus provisions will adversely affect access to medicine in India as well as other developing countries. (iii) TRIPS-plus provision will affect the affordability of drugs by encouraging the evergreening of patents and by making provisions of compulsory licensing difficult to implement. Section 124 A of the Indian Penal Code – sedition offence Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to impoverished borrowers who typically lack collateral, steady employment and a verifiable credit history. (ii) Modern microcredit is generally considered to have originated with the Grameen Bank founded in Bangladesh. (iii) SKS, Spandana, BASIX

etc are some of the microfinance organizations in India. UPSC tends to ask about microfinance and livelihoods very frequently. So please read and understand about microfinance. Global Initiative of Academic network (GIAN) is a short-term teaching programme under which scholars abroad will be invited to teach in India. (ii) Fields medalist Manjul Bhargava will be the face and facilitator of GIAN which aims to rope in eminent scholars and scientists abroad to teach students at IITs and central universities The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan, established by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement. (ii) Its main purpose was to train the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and assist Afghanistan in rebuilding key government institutions, but is also engaged (in the 2001–present) in war with insurgent groups. (iii) Troop contributors include the United States, United Kingdom, NATO member states and a number of other countries. India has not contributed Provision of joint sitting of Parliament is applicable to only to Ordinary bills , not money, con amendment bills. Once the Prez has notified his intention to summon joint session, then the joint session can be called even if Lok Sabha dissolves.Lok Sabha Speaker presides over the joint sitting. First state in India to give a Universal Health Coverage Karnataka Minister of Urban Development, HRIDAY seeks to promote an integrated, inclusive and sustainable development of heritage sites, focusing not just on maintenance of monuments but on advancement of the entire ecosystem including its citizens, tourists and local businesses.’ The Sagarmala Project aims to Better utilisation of inland waterways and coastal shipping Greenpeace's goal is to ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity and focuses its campaigning on world wide issues such as climate change, deforestation, overfishing, commercial whaling, genetic engineering, and anti-nuclear issues. (iii) Greenpeace was one of the first parties to formulate a sustainable development scenario for climate change mitigation and it also played a significant role in raising public awareness of global warming.

Carbon offsetting: 

use of carbon credits to enable businesses to compensate for their emissions, meet their carbon reduction goals and support the move to a low carbon economy under the Kyoto Protocol.



Buyers and sellers of credits are industrialised countries with targets. Some save and sell( carbon credits) and some fall short and so buy. Thus, the offset takes place.

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) 

a project-based flexible offset mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol that allows the crediting of emission reductions from greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement projects in developing countries.



The CDM has two purposes: o

assist DCs to achieve sustainable development

o

help ICs to reduce the costs of greenhouse gas abatement.

o

Companies and governments in Annex 1 countries can buy emission reduction credits, called Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs), from CDM projects instead of reducing their own emissions.

Carbon offsetting delivers finance to essential renewable energy, forestry and resource conservation projects which generate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. One carbon offset represents the reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases.

India-US Ties and Nuclear Deal (“centrepiece” of India-U.S. understanding): India and US are diverse, multi-religious, tolerant democracies that respect human rights genuine concerns about strategic autonomy and the future of the nuclear programme i.e bartering away India’s strategic autonomy and its “independent foreign policy.” MoU between national defence universities Ties should not come at the cost of other relationships. Eg: The vision statement on the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean region is likely to have a more lasting impact on relations with China, as it seeks to portray an India-U.S. front against diplomatic, economic and security challenges in the region. The subject of liability in the nuclear deal is of utmost importance as Indian taxpayer will be the consumer, the underwriter and the potential victim of any untoward nuclear accident,. Half of the investment committed by Mr. Obama will go into the renewable energy sector where the U.S. and India are locked in a trade dispute at the WTO. Imposition of local content requirements on solar cells and modules as part of the projects awarded under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. The Purna Swaraj resolution moved by Nehru at the Lahore session of the Indian National Congress in 1929 which unambiguously defined the objective of our struggle for independence as the establishment of a sovereign democratic republic and led to the observance of January 26 as Purna Swaraj Day every year. It was also the reason why January 26 was designated Republic Day when the Constitution was finalised in 1950. It was mainly Nehru’s idea to have an impressive parade on Republic Day every year to strengthen the nation’s unity in diversity, and demonstrate its military might, economic and social progress as well as its vast cultural heritage.

Digital India – WG-ICT WG-ICT set up in 2005, future work will be dominated by the requirements of the ‘Digital India’ programme Some of the key components of the Digital India programme 

digital infrastructure (to support the National Optic Fibre Network)

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an ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) regime (essential to building smart cities) foreign ICT investment (in line with the ‘Make in India’ policy).

Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) negotiations — comprising a bloc of 28 countries and led by the U.S. — began three years ago under a veil of secrecy would deal a blow to policies like ‘Make in India,’ which can only be sustained through some preferential treatment to India’s underdeveloped electronic sector. U.S. views as foreign policy deliverables on the digital front:     

not to impose obligations on online service providers to maintain a “commercial presence” prohibits asking Internet companies to maintain servers within their border

Governments can neither ask online services to prefer locally produced hardware over foreign manufacturers nor promote domestic content at the cost of other applications discourages domestic laws mandating technology or intellectual property transfer to local companies furthers the case for uninterrupted flow of information across networks.

Ministry of Home Affairs has been holding consultations on national information security guidelines, to deal with measures like encryption and digital authorisation. But, TISA provisions undermine the government’s role in fostering consumer confidence India is also building its own certification labs that test electronic equipment. Indigenous testing IoT refers to a digital ecosystem where the needs of consumers are seamlessly recognised by Internetconnected devices around them, enabling the fast and automated delivery of services. Such a system, relies on extensive data collected from citizens privacy and information security. An IoT system needs sustained collaboration between the domestic private and public sectors. In October 2014, the Department of Electronics and IT put out a draft IoT policy

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the interconnection of uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices within the existing Internet infrastructure. (ii) IoT is offers advanced connectivity of devices, systems, and services that goes beyond machine-to-machine communications (M2M) and covers a variety of protocols, domains, and applications. (iii) The interconnection of these embedded devices (including smart objects), is expected to usher in automation in nearly all fields, while also enabling advanced applications like a Smart Grid. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is a non-profit private corp of America, which oversees global IP address allocation, autonomous system number allocation, root zone management in the Domain Name System (DNS), media types, and other Internet Protocol-related symbols and numbers. (ii) IANA is broadly responsible for the allocation of globally unique names and numbers that are used in Internet protocols that are published as Request for Comments documents. (iii) These documents describe methods, behaviors, research, or innovations applicable to the working of the Internet and Internet-connected systems. IANA also maintains a close liaison with the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and RFC Editorial team in fulfilling this function.

TiSA is a proposed international trade treaty between 23 Parties, including the European Union and the United States, and aims at liberalizing the worldwide trade of services such as banking and transport. (ii) Draft TISA provisions require state parties not to impose obligations on online service providers to maintain a “commercial presence” locally. (iii) TiSA negotiations have been shrouded in secrecy Vizag, Ajmer, Allahabad to be smart cities developed by India-US  

Visakhapatnam- a coastal city, potential to develop into a tourist destination Ajmer and Allahabad - centres of religious significance, drew tourists

Wage Code to replace all laws   

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Subsumes the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 Covers both the organised and the unorganised sectors. A statutory National Floor Level Minimum Wage (NFLMW) based on National Commission on rural labour to make it binding for all State governments to pay the minimum wages specified for various economic activities The National Minimum Wages Act, 1948, lays down minimum wages for 45 listed economic activities. Labour is a subject in the concurrent list, States can decide minimum wages for more than 1,600 economic activities The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 provides for equal wages for women and men workers for the same work

Natgrid Fiscal deficit target of 4.1% of GDP . Despite a subdued spending, revenues are low due to muted growth in indirect taxes. Quick decision-making and stability in policy matters, and reforms in tax structure and administration will help solve our fiscal deficit problems.

The Centre is considering an increase in the validity of environmental clearance to seven years from five years Environment clearance is a prerequisite for any industrial project and companies have to reapply for extension if there is a delay in project commissioning before the expiry of validity.

Four major dual-use technology control regimes. technology that can be used for both peaceful and military aims. 

The Nuclear Suppliers' Group - founded in response to the Indian nuclear test in May 1974; multinational body concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that may be applicable to nuclear weapon development and by improving safeguards and protection on existing materials.

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The Wassenaar arrangement- watches over nine categories of goods and technologies, ranging from computing and materials to avionics and lasers, which have sensitive military uses, apart from civilian ones The Missile Technology Control Regime - is an informal and voluntary partnership between 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. The Australia Group - with non-proliferation of stuff that goes into chemical and biological weapons. established in 1985 (after the use of chemical weapons by Iraq in 1984

micro finance company Bandhan Financial Services - the first microfinance company in the country to obtain the honour of banking licence The Wassenaar Arrangement is a multilateral export control regime which was established in order 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. India is not a member of NSG, Wassenaar,Australi or MCTR

Rakhigarhi, Haryana - The largest Harappan site in the world Nuclear power got stymied by India enacting a liability law in 2010 that brought in unlimited liability on suppliers of equipment in case of a nuclear accident. The law, in its current form, is incompatible with the Convention on Supplementary Compensation. Under Section 17(b), a liable operator can

recover compensation from suppliers of nuclear material in the event of a nuclear accident if the damage is caused by the provision of substandard services or patent or latent defects in equipment or material. (ii) Section 17(b) is contrary to the practice of recourse in international civil nuclear liability conventions, which channel liability exclusively to the operator. (iii) Section 46 allows civil liability claims to be brought against the operator and suppliers through other civil law such as the law of tort. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (also known as the National Solar Mission is a major initiative to promote ecologically sustainable growth while addressing India’s energy security challenges. (ii) The objective of the National Solar Mission is to establish India as a global leader in solar energy, by creating the policy conditions for its diffusion across the country as quickly as possible & the immediate aim of the Mission is to focus on setting up an enabling environment for solar technology penetration in the country both at a centralized and decentralized level. (iii) Recently US Trade Representative has filed a complaint at WTO challenging India’s domestic content requirements in Phase II of this Mission, citing discrimination against US exports and that industry in US which has invested hugely will be at loss.

Critically analyse India's foreign policy in relation to the middle east and how it has changed during the last decade. (12.5 marks, 200 words) Our courts must hold not only the BCCI accountable, but also other such private associations, which in exercise of monopolistic powers, impinge upon the citizenry’s most basic civil liberties. Comment. (12.5 marks, 200 words)

Follow On Public Offer (FPO) is an issuing of shares to investors by a public company that is already listed on an exchange. (ii) FPOs are popular methods for companies to raise additional equity capital in the capital markets through a stock issue. (iii) FPOs should not be confused with IPOs, as IPOs are the initial public offering of equity to the public while FPOs are supplemantary issues made after a company has been established on an exchange Quantitative easing (QE) is monetary policy used by a central bank to stimulate an economy when standard monetary policy has become ineffective. (ii) A central bank implements QE by buying specified amounts of financial assets from commercial banks and other private institutions, thus raising the prices of those financial assets and lowering their yield, while simultaneously increasing the monetary base. (iii) QE may cause higher inflation than desired if the amount of easing required is overestimated and too much money is created by the purchase of liquid assets and also QE can fail to spur demand if banks remain reluctant to lend money to businesses and households. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is a pension regulatory authority which was established by Government of India and PFRDA is authorized by Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial Services. (ii) PFRDA promotes old age income security by establishing, developing and regulating pension funds and protects the interests of subscribers to schemes of pension funds and related matters. (iii) PFRDA is responsible for appointment of various intermediate agencies such as Central Record Keeping Agency (CRA), Pension Fund Managers, Custodian, NPS Trustee Bank, etc. Transfer pricing agreements mandate transactions between group companies to be priced at market rates. (ii) Advance Pricing Arrangements (APAs) is an agreement between a taxpayer and the tax authority to compute transfer prices in advance. (iii) Advance Pricing Arrangements between India and USA will help draw investements into India. Ease of doing business An index created by WB, measures 189 economies on 10 parameters - starting business, obtaining construction permits, electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, taxation, resolving insolvency, enforcing contracts, trading across borders. India ranks 142/189 in 2015. For the first time, WB measured ease of business in 2 cities of 11 economies with more than 100 million population - Mumbai and Delhi in India. National e-Governance Plan, 2006

Employment Data Collection – NSSO – Time-use Surveys (approach to measure employment) vs GDP ILO – International Labor Organization in 2014 suggested countries to explore time-use surveys. These surveys carry out a detailed breakdown of work time hour-by-hour and day-by-day. An individual or a representative of a household maintains a diary or is interviewed about the time he/she spent on various activities (list provided by the survey) over a given period of time. Time-use surveys are expected to help answer the low work participation rate of women. Criticism against the official employment statistics of NSSO is that it does not capture the different types of work Indians do eg: women may do economically productive activities in the household but may not report it. Family Planning – 2020 goals 

13 women from Bilaspur, Chattisgarh died following sterilization procedure of tubectomy, Nov 2014

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Govt raised the compensation to women/men for a permanent limiting method (tubectomy/vasectomy) after upto 2 children, incentives to motivators and doctors to achieve the annual targets for population stabilization. This may mean that counselling on various options available may not become a reality

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Sterilization is the most prevalent form of contraception in the country – 75% of total cases; tubectomies comprise 95% of these since 2005

Oil Crisis – Reasons-Impact on India and World Indicated by Brent crude, extracted from North Sea, Atlantic basin –trading classification of sweet(low sulphur) light (low density) crude oil, serves as benchmark price for purchase of oil worldwide (BFOE quotation) Indicative of slow down/ recession? No Reasons:   

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Slowdown of global economy, especially the slowdown of manufacturing in Chinese economy Supply surge due to re-entry of US as a global supplier following shale oil exploitation (US oil output at a 3 decade high) OPEC countries, accounting for 40% of global oil output, traditionally that swing the oil price, refuse to cut production: to retain market share/crowd out shale producers/ prevent revenue loss – High price will make Shale economically unviable to produce International Dimension: Pivot to Asia, to hurt Russia (US rival) and Iran (Saudi rival)

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Financial Market Equation: Fed QE policy led to cheap dollars funding the commodity markets, oil market that drove the prices up. With the Fed winding down its stimulus program, funds are now flowing out of commodity markets, thus driving the prices down ($ - 1/oil)

Impact Positive Negative  IMF: for every 10$ fall in oil, 0.2 % point growth adds to global GDP  Cheaper prices will put more money in the hands of consumers, spurring investment/spending and hence growth  Costs across the economy will drop

Impact on India   

Use the low oil price to clean up subsidy regime – cooking gas, fertilizer Ensure market prices for Public Sector OMCs so they invest in exploration and production Govt raised Excise duty and proposes to use this money for highway infrastructure

BIMARU states An acronym that comprises the first letters of four States, Bihar, MP, Raj, UP – coined by economic analyst Ashish Bose to describe the poor economic conditions in the 4 backward States. Later Odisha was included to form BIMAROU News: Nepal chooses its first Integrity Idol Transparency International – Global Corruption Index:

e-cart or e-rickshaw A special purpose battery powered vehicle of power not exceeding 4000 watts having three wheels for carrying goods or passengers. Bharat Ratna: Criteria. National/ International candidates. Purpose Good Governance Family planning – various methods – female sterilization, 13 women dead in Chattisgarh (Nov 2014) Disinvestment - Smart Multi media Communication strategy – why low dis? Govt trying to employ a PR agency to market on all forms of media including the social media. Govt to meet disinvestment target of about 43,000 crore by March 2015 (only 1800 crore collected so far)

SC makes the procedure to deal with complaints of misconduct or impropriety against higher judiciary public as a mechanism to retain faith of the public in the accountability, impartiality of the judiciary Full bank licenses to IDFC (infra company) and MF lender Bandhan Financial Services Bio-metric/Digital Passport – embedded micro-processor chip; India Security Press, Nashik

News: LWE-Armed Insurgency (Naxal Challenge to Electoral Process) PM Singh in 2009 described naxal threat as the great internal security problem of India. Naxal-related violence is spread across 9 States of India – AP, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Odisha, WB, Maharashtra, Bihar, MP, Karnataka (deeply forested Central India – Red Corridor). It deeply affects India’s governance, security, economy and rule of law. Maoist philosophy has been its opposition to the very concept of a democratic State. Thus, it is a People’s war against unjust Govt. So, they oppose elections by all means and this justifies their use of violence.   

Maoists plant explosive devices under road surfaces to prevent vehicular movement. This necessitates walking to carry out poll duties Voter insecurity Movement of candidates for electioneering – Bastar, 2013 witnessed the most deadly attacks on political establishment in recent years

To tackle naxal violence, Govt initiated Integrated Action Plan which involves coordinated operations alongside grass-root development projects

Coal Sector Strike/reforms  

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Govt assures striking trade Unions of lack of denationalization plan for CIL as they were sceptical of Govt disinvestment plans Set up a committee to study the contentious provisions of the ordinance to auction coal blocks o Broad-base industry by opening it for private commercial mining as it is unhealthy for a critical infrastructure industry to be the sole preserve of a single, monolithic enterprise Coal output in India has not kept pace with power-generation capacity, making India the 3rd largest coal importer despite having 4th largest reserves. This is a loss of foreign exchange. Private investment in commercial mining will help bridge the gap, reduce imports. There is space for both CIL and private sector as with GDP, power sector demand also grows and the terms of work and wages will improve with entry of private sector

Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Ordinance, 2014 – Petition challenging it with HC 

Introduces educational qualifications for contesting Panchayat elections – 8th for Sarpanch and 10th for ZP posts to encourage education and literacy; it is not difficult for influential people to get false certificates

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Javed (2003) SC: upheld the constitutionality of the ruling that no person who has more than 2 children to be elected as sarpanch or panch of a panchayat reasoning given?????. This led to men giving up their daughters for adoption to qualify for elections Constitution on Voting: Right to vote is a statutory right and act of voting is constitutionally protected as exercising the rights under freedom of expression of FR 19; PUCL, 2013. Freedom to vote cannot be separated from the freedom to contest and hence the policy of encouraging education cannot prevail over FR Set back to constitutional mandate to ensure gender equality in panchayati governance as it excludes majority of potential women contestants; Women have traditionally low literacy rates than men and thus the ordinance reduces women’s participation in politics Aruna Roy: PR governance need ethical values and understanding of local issues gained from experience than certificates

Overseas Voters – NRI allowed to vote via postal ballots – Right of NRI to vote from abroad Govt agreed to implement EC recommendation to enable overseas Indians to vote through e-postal ballots. EC recommended on options for voters overseas – Proxy, online and postal. Earlier, the law required the physical presence in the constituencies for voting. RPA, 1950 and 1951  

Section 20(8) allows Govt servants and certain other class of persons to vote via postal ballot following EC consent Petition to allow the provision to be extended to inter-State migrants to vote from their current place of residence

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture –SRI UN Peace Keeping Mission India, one of the largest contributors (8000 Indians in 10 of 16 UN missions)

UN Security Council Reforms To reflect the realities of Modern World

President’s Rule – Terms, when to withdraw and impose? Stunting in tribal Kids 

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Stunting is an irreversible and chronic manifestation of under-nutrition; adversely affects the child’s survival, health, learning ability, development, school performance and productivity in adulthood; contributes to 1/3 of under-5 child deaths among tribal children Influenced by factors like household food insecurity, maternal nutrition in the first 2 years of life, poor access to water, sanitation, health services

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Sahariya tribe of Rajasthan, a PVTG, live in isolation and report high infant mortality, high fertility and low education levels, report very high malnutrition among its children. Malnutrition deaths occur especially during the Monsoon; though the official cause of death may be a disease, the underlying cause is malnutrition.

River-linking    

Sarda-Yamuna Ken-Betwa Damanganga-Pinjal Par Tapi-Narmada

5600 MW Pancheswar multipurpose project agreement between India and Nepal offshoot is the interlinking of Sarda/Mahakali and Yamuna. Sarda forms the international border between India and Nepal. The inter-link will ensure continuous flow in Yamuna Yamuna Action Plan

National Youth Day 

Commemorates Vivekananda’s birth anniversary

Satire – limits Art of Satire is a force of liberty against tyranny – Salman Rushdie; Understanding humor needs a shared lifeworld; Satire distances one from the local, the familiar and transforms it to the unfamiliar to enable us to see the social conditions better. The cartoon itself may not be speaking resistance to power, but may be embodied in power and ridiculing the powerless (minority). The notion of power is ignored in the debates of free speech in liberal democracy. Power relations may obscure the neatness of liberalism, as we express our thoughts liberally not in abstract, ideal society but in a shared, coexistent world.

Religion is a force for unity and we cannot make it a cause of conflict – Mr. Gandhi

Tiger Census – Project Tiger-Status of Tigers in India report, 2014 (MOEF) Measures such as extension of Protected Area boundaries, setting up of Tiger Protection force, community participation had led to the increase of tigers by 30% between 2010 and 2014; 1706-2226. For further increase, need to promote voluntary relocation of the forest dwellers, crack down on hunting, patrols for .poaching activities eg: Kerala Periyar Tiger Reserve made forest dwellers partners in management and supplemented tourism with pepper-growing, honey processing among adivasi SHGs Conservation efforts increasingly focus on source populations – sites where >25 breeding females can be hosted in a landscape with > 50 female tigers which enjoy protection. Conservation of the source population holds the key for increasing numbers in the future

Concerns include increased man-animal conflict, poaching, encroachment into protected and ecosensitive areas

Swine Flu – H1N1 Virus (National Centre for Disease Control) – Tamiflu tablets Govt took the following initiatives to mitigate the crisis    

Maintaining sufficient medicines is the hospitals Free diagnosis and treatment in all Govt and Private hospitals Swine Flu included in Arogyasree Toll free 104 for information

World Bank report on Inequality: Urbanisation reducing Inequality! Odds of escaping poverty in India, U.S same   

Between 2004-05 and 2009-10, 40% of poor went above the poverty line and about 11% of poor, vulnerable moved into the middle class But 14% of non-poor group also slipped back into poverty in the same period In India, urbanising is reducing inequality and not increasing it as is commonly understood; Urbanization, non-farm jobs are offering mobility

World Economic Outlook Report: India to beat China in growth in 2016, IMF 

Global growth will receive boost from fall in oil prices but it will be offset by factors like investment weakness; India (China) will grow at 6.5% in 2016 (6.3%), 5.8% (7.4%) in 2014

Coal India Limited Disinvestment – Volatility in the share price and strike threat from PSU staff led to scaling down of disinvestment plans; Govt gave the assurance to unions to end their strike that it will not privatize coal India Ordinance on Coal Govt promulgated ordinance for re-allocation of 204 coal blocks cancelled by the SC in August 2014

e-IPO: Primary revival market will confer all round benefits   

IPO (primary market) – Initial Public Offer for raising capital FPO (Secondary market/share market) – Follow on public offer for raising additional capital; key for Govt disinvestment; promoters who want to reduce shareholding take this route Offer for sale (secondary market)– a portion of promoters shares are sold

Procedure for IPO/FPO such filing prospectus or offer documents with SEBI along with consents from bankers, merchant bankers, registrars is cumbersome and costly

Retail investors do not have many options for financial investments that meet their needs. Govt initiated measures for issuing financial instruments that move in tandem with retail inflation rates but these measures have not yielded desired results Impact of technology on finance sector  

Made it easy for regulation of large volumes of trades e-IPO to shorten the issue process

e-Commerce  

Expansion benefits real estate (25% of warehousing space in 2014) and logistics sectors (logistic space rose by 7 times compared to 2013) e-commerce in India saw expansion due to local market specific initiatives like the Cash on Delivery, EMI option, multiple payment options

Foreign Direct Investment – Railways, Defence, Insurance, Retail Centre to take steps to push Public investment – Jaitley – to drive economic growth within the constraints of fiscal deficit; Given the unwillingness of banks for lending as they are already under the weight of NPA and the fact that private enterprise has over-leveraged their balance sheets. Excise duty hiked for petrol and diesel to go into infrastructure funding and not Consolidated Fund of India to give impetus to Highway expansion programme and compensate for lack of private investment. 

Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser: “ Public investment may have to play a greater role to complement and crowd-in private investment within the constraints of fiscal deficit”, Govt mid-year review of the economy

News: US worried at Make in India rule India’s installed solar power capacity in 2014 - ~2600 MW; to get to 100 GW/100000 MW, India needs $100 billion for production and $50 billion for transmission and distribution costs per year for 5 years.  

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Jan 2010: policy launched with a mission of 20000 MW of solar power by 2022 October 2013: Domestic Content Requirement approved by Cabinet. This makes it mandatory for solar power producers to use solar(PV) cells and modules made in India for the projects that the JNNSM awards; this is to push indigenous use of technology and also because US subsidized solar products threaten Indian manufacturers and accusation is dumping of cheap outdated technology on India by the US. Feb 2014: US challenged India’s solar policy at WTO where the rules prohibit discrimination against imported goods; Sep 2014: WTO set up a panel to decide

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Dec 2014: Cabinet approves a series of 1000 MW grid connected solar Photo Voltaic power projects

Panel for fewer TPDS beneficiaries – Shanta Kumar Committee Objectives:    

To restructure FCI to make it improve its operational efficiency and financial management To improve management of food grains by FCI To suggest measures to reorient the role of FCI in MSP operations, storage and distribution of food grains and food security systems of the country Measures for integrating supply chains of food grains, cost-effective ways of storage and transportation of food grains

Objectives with which FCI was created Set up in 1965 under the Food Corporation Act of 1964 in the background of major short supply of grain, esp wheat; GOI was importing wheat under PL-480 and country did not have that much forex to pay for the imports; Self-sufficiency in grains was the most pressing objective, and so HYV seeds of wheat were imported from Mexico. Agricultural Prices Commission (APC) was created in 1965 to recommend remunerative prices to farmers, and FCI was mandated with three basic objectives: Objective 

to provide effective price support to only 6% of total farmers in the country have gained from selling wheat and paddy directly to farmers any procurement agency (NSSO, 70th round, 20122013); Thus, the benefits of procurement have not gone to larger number of farmers beyond a few states

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to procure and supply grains to PDS for diversions of grains from PDS amounted to 46.7% distributing subsidized staples to in 2011-12 (based on calculations of offtake from economically vulnerable sections of central pool and NSSO's (68th round) consumption data from PDS; leakages in TPDS remain society unacceptably high

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keep a strategic reserve to stabilize country had hugely surplus grain stocks, much above the buffer stock norms; India has moved far markets for basic food grains away from the shortages of 1960s

Recommendations

1. To ensure the benefits of procurement go to a large number of farmers: hand over all procurement operations of wheat, paddy and rice to states that have gained sufficient experience in this regard and have created reasonable infrastructure for procurement eg: Chattisgarh, MP, AP 2. Reorient PDS for a better deal to economically vulnerable groups at low-cost but in financially efficient way 3. Make stocking and moving operations efficient, cost-effective in feeding PDS and also to stabilise markets

India’s excess grain stocks worth 50,000 crore: expert Stock holding above the stipulated norms. What are the norms? Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs headed by PM revised the norms and decided to offload excess stocks through open market sale or export. Such an exercise reduces inflation, storage costs and fiscal deficit. Buffer stocks include strategic reserves for calamities and so on and buffer norms for govt welfare schemes – NFSA, Antyodaya Anna Yojana etc Purpose of buffer stocks   

feed TPDS and other welfare schemes ensure food security during the periods when production is short of normal demand during bad agricultural years stabilize prices during period of production shortfall through open market sales

Natural allies are normally 'birds of the same feather', while strategic partners are often ‘strange bedfellows’. Natural allies (think of America and Britain during the Second World War) share common political and cultural values—they may believe in democracy or authoritarianism; they may uphold liberal capitalism or socialism or state corporatism; they may share common historical and cultural traditions; their societal values may be more or less similar; they may practice the same religion; and so on. Strategic partners (think of America and the Soviet Union during the Second World War) may share none of these similarities. Notwithstanding this difference, what makes two countries either natural allies or strategic partners is the common security challenge that they both face at a particular juncture in history and more importantly their decision to come together and pool their resources to deal with this challenge (think of America, Britain and the Soviet Union coming together to deal with the Fascist challenge during the Second World War).

Afghanistan Undergoing two types of transition: The fragility of the transitions raises the likelihood of instability.

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Political to a post-Karzai period (National Unity Govt formed in Sep 2014 after setting aside election results and following a power-sharing agreement with President Dr. Ashraf Ghani and a newly created post CEO for Dr.Abdullah; Position of CEO is co-equal but the distribution of powers is yet to be defined and to be settled in 2 years Security – ISAF International Security Assistance Force wound down its 13-year-long operation enduring freedom and transferred primary responsibility of security to Afghan army, police o Objective in 2002 of building a stable, strong, effectively governed Afghanistan that will not degenerate into chaos was scaled down to preventing Afghanistan from becoming a safe-haven for global terrorism India’s role in rebuilding Afghanistan (restricted to economic sphere): committed upwards of $2 billion for humanitarian assistance, HR development and building infrastructure. India has a vision of independent, sovereign, moderate, plural and stable country focussed on development and determined to turn its back away from decades of conflict for Afghanistan (similar to the original objective of US); 2011 agreement on India-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership positioned India for a post-2014 security role Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan: Uncomfortable with India’s role; ideally want Afghan to be in isolation so that it is dep on Pak ala the Taliban era Idea of reconciliation with Taliban: Peace talks, Doha office initiative

Taliban, Haqqani, Quetta Shura, Islamic Emirate Sri Lanka: will implement 13th Amendment within a Unitary State 

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Tamil National Question – 13th Amendment o The 13th amendment was introduced to create provincial councils as a follow up action on Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement of 1987 to devolve powers to the Tamil majority north and east. o The amendment envisages devolution of political, land and police powers to the province; merger of northern and eastern provinces; official recognition of Tamil language; withdrawal of Sri Lankan troops, disarmament of LTTE, IPKF induction o Coalition Govt replaced military governor with a seasoned diplomat; promised to abolish executive presidency in its 100-day plan ahead of elections War Crimes China o SL to review the construction of Chinese backed port in Colombo (Hambantota port deal) citing transparency in contract and environmental reasons

Dr.B.Meena Kumari Expert Committee

China

21st Century Maritime Silk Road Trans-continental initiative of Beijing from Yunnan province (shares borders with Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam); 

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Rail corridors between Kunming, Yunnan capital and Myanmar (Kyaukphyu port city – also the starting point of China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline), Thailand through Laos to avoid Malacca strait China steps up drive to include Africa as one of the pillars of MSR  Plans to construct modern standard gauge rail link between Mombasa port and Nairobi, capital of Kenya to connect hinterland of East Africa with Indian Ocean  Plans to eventually connect Mombasa to Malaba, West Kenya and then Kampala (Uganda), Kigali (Rwanda), Juba (S. Sudan)  12 deep ports with 7 along the African Coast line  Will benefit Thai rice exporters

South China Sea Dispute – 9 dash line Senkaku Islands Silk Road Economic Belt

Geo-politics behind the emergence of terror 

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Taliban: raised by the CIA to fight Soviet invasion in Afghanistan, 1979; captured power in Afghanistan after its western handlers left and the Cold War ended. Civil war and deal brokering ensued among the several Taliban leaders Al-Qaeda: floated by Osama bin Laden, initially a Taliban recruit; forced to forge partnership with Taliban post 9/11 to resist American invasion of Afghanistan The war with US fragmented both Taliban and Al Qaeda and each splinter practises deadlier violence to distinguish itself from the competitors ISIS: Known as Al-Qaeda in Iraq(AQI), began fighting US occupation of Iraq, merged with other resistance groups to form MSC – Mujahedeen Shura Council and emerged as ISIS under the leader ship of Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi. Thus, ISIS was born in protest against American intervention in Iraq and broadened its scope to Syria during the protests against President Assad Boko Haram (Western Education is Forbidden), a moderate Islamic Group came about in 1990s in Nigeria in the aftermath of Biafran War where Govt of Nigeria supported by the West and oil companies brutally suppressed Biafra people. Boko Haram started as a movement to criticize corruption in the oil-wealthy Govt and became a provider for the poor in the NE Nigeria. It eventually became radical and militant

Thus, these groups started as resistance movements to resist foreign invasion, bad governance, despotic regimes, inequalities made persistent by the global economic regime and create more ideal states. In the ideal of creating a new State, these groups have scant regard for human rights and to them religious

extremism is the only readily available response (communism has been discredited already and does not find resonance in societies with strong religious and ethnic sentiments and thus the fallback ideology of rebellion is mostly religion based. Thus, the need of the hour is to challenge the current economic system that breeds inequality and encourages neo-mercantilism where West has encouraged despots to preserve economic interests and undertaken military invasions to cement control over economic and natural resources.

Musharraf Four Point Formula, 2006:    

Self-Governance Demilitarization Free movement of people and trade across the irrelevant border between India and Pakistan Joint management of Kashmir – India, Pak, two Kashmirs

Nepal – Constitution US-Cuba Ties (1959-Present) Following Fidel Castro’s ascent to power, U.S.-Cuba ties have endured a nuclear crisis (Cuban Missile Crisis,1961 following Bay of Pigs invasion-a botched CIA attempt to overthrow the regime), a long-lasting U.S. economic embargo (export-import restrictions), and on-going political hostilities (prisoners and arrest of USAID sub-contractor post-2009). Well beyond the end of the Cold War, the diplomatic relationship between Washington and Havana remains frozen. http://www.cfr.org/cuba/us-cuba-relations/p11113 Cuban missile crisis, 1961: brought US-USSR close to nuclear war. It refers to the events that unfolded due to the Cuban secret arrangements with USSR to build a missile basis following the botched attempt of CIA to topple Cuban Govt in Bay of Pigs invasion. Discovery of US of the missile in 1962 led to a stand-off for 14 days where US imposed a naval quarantine around the island. US President JFK demanded the destruction of the missile sites. The crisis ended with an agreement to dismantle the sites in return for US promise not to invade Cuba. Also, US agreed to remove nuclear missiles from Turkey (secretly)

Post-Crisis: US followed a policy of diplomatic isolation and economic embargo that continued even after the Soviet Union collapsed

China Nine-dash line Oil diplomacy with Russia paves way for reinforcement of military ties, China-Russia axis to counter US pivot

India –US bilateral Relation, 2015

India-US relations went from being “estranged democracies” to being “natural allies” in the last years of 20th century and in the 21st century, the relation is described as natural global partners. In between, India saw sanctions after the May 1998 nuclear tests and were only lifted by 2000.

Nuclear Deal is done 

Reg Section 17(b), Indian side explained its plans to set up an insurance pool with a limit of rs. 1500 crore (as per the Liability Act), half of which is to be contributed by the suppliers, operator (NPCIL) and the remaining half from the GIC of India and four other insurance companies (Section 17b

says the plant operators — in India’s case, the public sector NPCIL —can claim compensation from their equipment suppliers if the accident resulted as a result of “equipment or material with patent or latent defects”) liability extended to suppliers in contravention of the International  

Convention on Supplementary Compensation This would take up the premium costs which can be factored in the overall costs

On Sec 46, India will provide a memorandum that suppliers will not be liable to tort claims. So, multiple liability claims will not be applicable. Thus, recourse for liability will only be under the Liability Act which is now limited in amount.

Section 46 makes both suppliers and operators liable to be sued by accident victims, over and above the Rs-1,5000-crore cap Allows nuclear contracts to be signed between US firms and India Four nuclear regimes: NSG, MTCR, Wassenaar Arrangement, Australian Group

Joint Strategic Vision for engagement in Indian Ocean Region and Asia-Pacific Defence Framework Pact signed – defence partnership renewed for 10 years DTTI - Defence Trade Technological Initiative, 2012 (helps upgrade domestic defence and expand manufacturing sector in India - Modi) US is the largest weapons supplier of India (replacing Russia) and India is the world’s largest weapons importer. India increased its FDI from 26 to 49% in defence.

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Co-produce 4 pathfinder projects – Raven mini-UAV; roll-on, roll-off surveillance intelligence of C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft, mobile electric hybrid power source, uniform integrated protection ensemble increment-2 (chemical, biological warfare protection gear for soldiers).

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Study cooperation on aircraft carriers, jet engine technology Upgrade joint military and naval exercises

Economy

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No agreements Restart discussions on Bilateral Investment Treaty Mechanisms to work through differences on IPR, Social Security Agreement (Bilateral Totalization Agreement)

India-US Strategic Issues 

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Rise of China: US and India should not try to confront or contain China but shape the environment within which China pursues legitimate ambitions so that China’s quest for status does not threaten its neighbourhood and the US.  AfPak: Future of Afghanistan and the deteriorating condition of Pakistan Counter-terror cooperation: Common threat from Terrorism but differing views Defence cooperation: modern warfare is increasingly about intelligence, communications and electronic and India needs to strengthen capabilities in these fields in its defence modernization; Indo-US Defence Framework Agreement; Defence coproduction under DTTI – Defence Trade and Technological Initiative Climate Change – renewable energy under PACE – Partnership to Advance Clean Energy, commitment to cut India’s carbon emissions by 25% from 2005 levels; India committed to reducing carbon emission intensity by 20-25% of 2007 levels by 2020 Economic cooperation and Investment o Impediments include inadequate infrastructure, tax, land, labour, IPR o Nuclear agreement, 2005 o High-tech immigration to the US and social security totalization o Early passage of GSP to facilitate exports to US o Bilateral Investment Treaty

Obama in his state of Union address referred to TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership), TATIP(Tran Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) in which India is not a part and tax code reforms that reward investments in America. This may result in US investors pulling back funds destined for India. India – Sri Lanka    

India voted against SL twice at the UNHRC and abstained once on the post-war political and human rights issues relating to the Tamil minority Concern about the Chinese submarine that docked in Colombo twice in a span of two months in 2014 SL and India need to maximize the advantages of their geographic proximity and age-old bonds to further common economic and strategic interests India expects early settlement of the Tamil question, upgrade the FTA to CEPA – Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and revise the draft defence cooperation pact finalised in 2003 especially in the context of maritime security cooperation in the Indian Ocean region

Terrorism – Islam – Multiculturalism; Ideology and Terror Islam is not the driving force behind the violent organizations and is a merely a fabric in which inequality, alienation, marginalization are embedded. The thesis that tries to establish a link between Islamist terrorism and the prevalence of medieval laws in some Muslim societies is thus not correct. Irrespective of violent extremism, reformation of Muslim laws will go on. Dealing with terror requires full box of tools available to the Govt – political, intelligence, religious messaging, police cooperation as terror has no single point of origin and stems from deep political and cultural causes. Use of military force can be counter-productive Extremists thrive on polarising Muslims and non-Muslims. They seek opportunities to corroborate the Clash of Civilizations thesis of Samuel Huntington (that Western and Islamic civilizations are incompatible; that West is liberal, rule-oriented and law abiding while Islamic Civilization is aggressive, expansionist global force with a proclivity to violence and warfare). A/c to Huntington, multiculturalism is a failed and doomed ideal and he warned against Muslim immigration to the West. Thus, the emphasis on race that prevailed among the British, French National Fronts and Neo-Nazists who were against non-White immigrants changed to religion over time. The belief was that Muslims will enter Europe taking advantage of the liberal immigration laws and set in motion the Islamicisation of Western Europe. To corroborate such conspiracy theories, events such as the demand for Sharia laws, a separate Muslim Parliament in Great Britain brought the underlying cultural tensions, disagreements to the surface. For eg: The French National Front has been calling the repatriation of Muslims to their home countries; ban on hijab, burqa/niqab in France after a public debate to keep religion out of educational institutions. Thus, relations between the immigrants and the host societies are rid with tensions especially as immigrants do carry many ties and loyalties in their cultural and emotional baggage. Anti-Westernism developed in the background of Arab-Israel war, funding of radical Islam constituency due to the Iranian-Saudi competition, exacerbated due to the fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie (The Satanic Verses, 1988). The trigger for terror was the reaction to 9/11 (US/NATO reprisals against Afghanistan, invasion of Iraq in 2003). Given the cultural tensions and the feeling of anti-westernism, subversion of secularism, multiculturalism and pluralism in the West enjoys top priority of extremists. Israel-Palestine – ICC to examine alleged war crimes committed during June 2014 Israel’s military offensive of Gaza. Palestine accepted ICC jurisdiction in occupied Palestinian territory including East Jerusalem following its accession to the Rome statute. Israel has signed but has not ratified the Statute. Criticism against ICC 

Will derail the peace process – ICC is a judicial body meant to end impunity and hold accountable those who committed the gravest of crimes and is not a political entity; also the politics of peace cannot prevail over justice

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Slow and inefficient in investigating crimes – even if it so, holding those responsible for HR violations is necessary Israel considers Hamas a terrorist org and so it considers the move of ICC absurd – ICC would investigate both Israel and Hamas as it is meant to investigate any person who may have committed war crimes during the conflict

Role of ICC

What is soft power? Is India a soft power? Track II talks ECB to make a last ditch effort to revive Euro economy (Bond-buying worth 60 billion Euro/$69 billion) to adjust inflation QE is Govt bond-buying program that pumps in money into the market; Interest rates will come down; cheap credit to stimulate more loans, consumer spending, investment, revive growth. European Central Bank announced bond-buying program from financial institutions to the tune 1.1 trillion euros over 18 months till Sep 2016 or until there is a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation (inflation level rise to near 2%). Deflationary trends in the Eurozone exacerbated by the falling oil prices is the rationale. QE is an unconventional monetary policy to ward off recession and deflation. EU is India’s largest trading partner and depreciation of euro will affect the country’s exporters. Impact on India/EME  

Capital inflows will drive up asset prices, inflation Volatility in currency, economy

India-Saudi Arabia (Sunni dominated) King Abdullah’s visit to India in 2006 as a chief guest on Republic day followed by Dr. Singh visit to the Kingdom in 2010 led to catapulting the ties from “correct and cordial” to “substantive and strategic” and Saudi de-hyphenated India with Pakistan. India maintains significant economic ties with Saudi   

Biggest supplier of oil India accounts for 11% of Saudi exports and 7% of its imports Remittances from Indians in Saudi is substantial

Wahhabis and Salafist

Sunni vs Shia UN WHO reforms Following criticism over its delayed response to Ebola outbreak ( a disease that’s occurrence is greater than expected at a time and place). Ebola estimated to have killed >8,600 people mainly in Guinea, Nigeria, Sierra Leone. WHO declared Ebola a global emergency in August 2014

Eurozone Crisis The deadlock in Nepal The transition from a monarchy in Nepal to a republic started in 1990. This saw first a constitutional monarchy followed by a decade long insurgency by the Maoists that ended only in 2006. Insurgency ended only with a peace agreement that overthrew the Monarchy in 2008. Interim Constitution that came in to being in 2007, that also acted as Parliament saw the Maoists get the majority in elections. However, this CA failed to meet the 2012 for drafting the Constitution. The CA was dissolved and fresh elections held again. This time the Maoist Party performed dismally and the majority was a coalition. Convened in Jan 2014, the second CA assembly also failed. Contentious Issues Federalism – dividing the country in to the number of states; basis for the division – ethnic, regional groups or administrative convenience?. Thus, it is linked to the issue of equality and identity in a diverse nation

Pension reforms-PFRDA, Act 2013 – Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority – NPS National Pension Scheme Mandated to develop, promote and regulate the pension industry. NPS is the scheme envisioned to take care of the retirement needs of the people. It is the lowest cost pension providers in the World but NPS, unlike EPF, PPF does not enjoy EEE status (Exempt from income tax on the money deposited in the scheme under section 80C, exempt from the income tax on return/interest, exempt from income tax on money from withdrawal/maturity). NPS has four variants:    

Central Govt employees (except armed forces) State Unorganised sector – Swavalamban, introduced in 2010 Private industry

Swavalamban scheme will be part of PM Jan Dhan Yojana in phase-II. In this scheme, Central Govt makes a contribution of 1000 for every account holder if a minimum of rs.1000 is deposited till 2016-17.

BCCI functioning SC rules cricket administration a public function; BCCI does not come under State under Article 12 which means a public body (a private body discharging public functions but is not a State; how to balance accountability and right to privacy?). This judgement advances accountability in all the sports bodies of the country Accountability of BCCI (Cricket Association of Bihar Case): In India, public bodies are accountable under the Judicial review as per Constitutional Articles 32 and 226 under which the SC and the HC can issue writs. Under Article 32, any aggrieved party can directly approach the SC for grievance only against the State while under 226, a person can approach HC for a writ against any person or organization. SC ruled that State under Article 12, is those bodies created by statute, enjoy law-making powers and are dominated by the Govt financially, administratively and functionally. Thus, BCCI is ruled out to be a State. In a Zee Telefilms limited Case, 2005 5-Judge bench of SC held that the BCCI was not an instrumentality of the State and thus not subject to most of the FR guaranteed by the Constitution. Thus, the petitioners aggrieved by any decision of the BCCI cannot directly approach the SC. Thus, accountability under Judicial Review against BCCI can be brought about through Article 226. Here, only those authorities that perform overwhelming public functions are brought under the writ jurisdiction of HC. But they will not be bound by the FR such as the right to equality but by statutory and other constitutional rights, reasonableness and fairness in administration

Delhi HC: all NGOs are entitled to their opinion and it could not be taken that they are acting against national interest just because they are not in agreement with Govt’s views

National Solar Policy Timeline/Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission/New Renewable Energy Policy (Min of new and renewable energy) COTPA – Cigarettes and Other Tobacco products Act, 2003 amendment (Prohibition of advertisement, regulation of trade and commerce, production, supply and distribution) 

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Prohibits the use of name or brand of tobacco products for marketing other goods, services, events (indirect advertising is a case of brand-sharing which the WHO framework convention on tobacco control prohibits – easy to implement Bans the point-of-sale display of tobacco products at the entrance or inside a shop to keep them out of public view ; display normally bypasses ban on tobacco advertising and fuels impulse buying – difficult to implement as products are sold at innumerable small shops Bans the sale of products to anyone under 21 yrs – hard to enforce for reason above

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Bans sale of products in the loose to ensure that users are forced to see the pictorial warnings on the package – expected to have impact especially on bidi users who constitute 85% of all tobacco consumed in India

President does plain speaking again 

The most powerful example of India’s soft power lies in our definition of the relationship between faith and polity, especially in an international environment where so many countries are sinking into the morass of theocratic violence

President on Parliament and Policy making 

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President reminded the Govt of the constitutional restrictions/limitations on the resort to the ordinance route: Ordinances can be promulgated only to meet exigencies and under compelling circumstances Also, the President spoke against the tendency to use disruption as a means of parliamentary intervention. Opposition parties obstruct proceedings to extract assurance or concessions. Such an obstructionist tactics along with obstinacy of the Govt lead to legislative impasse and promulgation of ordinance. The availability of Presidential power and the belief in Joint session of both Houses to compensate the lack of majority in the Upper House leads the Govt to try to avoid constructive engagement with the opposition.

Joint Session no solution to end RS logjam – President (pib: parliament and policy-making) 4 laws passed by joint session since 1952; A noisy minority cannot be allowed to gag a patient majority Article 108 does not stipulate any limit on the number or frequency of joint sittings; Number of sittings has shrunk from 677 during the first LS session to 357 in the 15th session.

History of Ordinance Making – rationale for keeping – Constitutional Debates News: RS Chaos may stymie joint session on Ordinances Ordinance promulgated by the President u/a 123 on the advice of Union Cabinet Ordinances and Article 108 Grounds for the President to notify a joint session  

One House passes the Bill but other rejects it One House passes a Bill but 6 months lapse without the other House passing it

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One Houses passes a Bill, other passes it with amendments that the other House disagrees with and there is a deadlock

5-judge bench of SC on re-promulgating Ordinance (D.C. Wadhwa vs State of Bihar, 1986) It is the constitutional duty of the public to approach the courts against re-promulgation of ordinances on a massive scale as a routine measure as Citizens interested in the preservation and promotion of constitutional functioning of the administration of the country. There must not be an Ordinance Raj in the country. P.N. Bhagwati, CJI Ordinance cannot be re-promulgated in the middle of a session SC can adjudicate if re-promulgation subverted the democratic processes and subject people to laws made by the executive and not the parliament. It will be a colourable exercise of power for the Government to ignore the Legislature and to repromulgate the Ordinance and thus to continue to regulate the life and liberty of the citizens through Ordinance made by the Executive. Such a stratagem would be repugnant to the constitutional scheme, as it would enable the Executive to transgress its constitutional limitation in the matter of law making in an emergent situation and to covertly and indirectly arrogate to itself the law making function of the Legislation.

News: Fewer Constitutional Matters in SC 

7% of judgements passed by SC in 2014 dealt with substantial constitutional matters (need 5 or more-judge benches to decide these). This points to growing proportion of routine appeals in SC workload as against core constitutional matters

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Special Leave Petitions – the Constitution of India, under article 136, gives the Supreme Court the power to grant special permission or leave to an aggrieved party to appeal against an order passed in any of the lower courts or tribunals in India. This leave is granted when the case involves a question of law relevant to the general public as well. If the court grants leave, the case is then converted into a civil appeal and will be argued afresh in the Supreme Court. The court can rescind or revoke the earlier judgement, modify it or stick by it. The court can also send the case back to the relevant lower court for fresh adjudication in light of principles laid down by it or on account of any issues missed out by the lower court. According to article 141 of the Indian Constitution, the Supreme Court’s judgement is declared as law of the land and is binding on all courts in India. The petitioner usually gets 90 days from the date of receiving the final copy of the judgement of the court or relevant tribunal to file an SLP. But the court may be flexible on this deadline.

The new name of Planning – PIB/The Hindu (in support of NITI) For institutional reforms in governance (in the context of increased corruption, technology to reduce misadventures and improve transparency), dynamic policy shifts

Mission Through its commitment to a cooperative federalism, promotion of citizen engagement, egalitarian access to opportunity, participative and adaptive governance and increasing use of technology, the NITI Aayog will seek to provide a critical directional and strategic input into the development process. This, along with being the incubator of ideas for development, will be the core mission of NITI Aayog. NITI aayog, a think to provide directional and strategic inputs to development process, key elements of policy; helps foster shared vision of national development, cooperative federalism (strong States make a strong naton)     

develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans to the village level and aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government special attention to the sections of society that may be at risk of not benefitting adequately from economic progress create a knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support system through a collaborative community of national and international experts, practitioners and partners Will monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes Focus on technology upgradation and capacity building

Objectives 

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Seeks to establish an administrative paradigm in which Govt is an enabler and not the provider of first and last resort (in the context of developed industry and services sector, role of Govt as a player has to be reduced and it should shift to policy making, regulation) Move away from food security to a mix of agricultural production and ensuring returns for the farmer Ensure India is a player in the global debates on global commons (in the context of global village that we reside in) Ensure economically vibrant middle-class remains engaged and its potential is used Use urbanization as an opportunity to provide wholesome and secure habitat thro the use of technology Incorporate the geopolitical and geoeconomical strength of NRI community to broaden their participation beyond financial support eg: technology and management expertise Promote transparency - Use technology to reduce opacity and scope for misadventure in governance Leverage India’s scientific, entrepreneurial, intellectual human capital thro appropriate policy initiatives

To ensure, on areas that are specifically referred to it, that the interests of national security are incorporated in economic strategy and policy.

 Challenges of India

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Elimination poverty Redress inequalities (gender, economic, caste) - to give every element of society – especially weaker segments like the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes - the ability to influence the choices the country and government make in setting the national agenda Integrates villages into development process Support small businesses that generate employment - Policy making must focus on providing necessary support to this sector in terms of skill and knowledge upgrades and access to financial capital and relevant technology Safeguard envt and ecological assets - ensure that development does not sully the quality of life of the present and future generations Leverage demographic dividend

Composition Cabinet Resolution on NITI Aayog (Need; Mahatma Gandhi had said: “Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false position”; NITI aayog to reflect the current socio-political context, to adapt to new challenges From being preoccupied with survival, our aspirations have soared and today we seek elimination, rather than alleviation, of poverty In the context of strengthening of Indian nationhood, emergence of political pluralism, presence of diversity, one-size-fits-all approach, often inherent in central planning has the potential of creating needless tensions and undermining the harmony needed for national effort (Dr. Ambedkar had said with foresight that it is “unreasonable to centralise powers where central control and uniformity is not clearly essential or is impracticable”) Technology revolution, increased access to information, partly a consequence of market forces and larger global shifts, entails a diminished role for central planning In the context of good governance and not just public governance– citizen participation, private entities that deliver public service Government will continue to set policies; 7 pillars of effective governance 

Proactive, pro-people, participative, inclusive, empowerment, transparency and equal opportunity

planning Commission – History, shortcomings, achievements, composition  

Centre-State one way flow of policy and so replace it with continuing partnership of States Slow and tardy implementation – replace with better inter-ministry and centre-state coordination

Enforcement Directorate Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Scheme  

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To address gender imbalance and discrimination against girl child Sukanya Samruddhi account scheme – accounts for girl child from birth till they attain age 10 with a min of 1000; max 1.5l for an year; interest income and withdrawals from the scheme exempt from tax Released postage stamp

Capitalism and Inequality Escalating inequality is also a factor in the economic crisis due to lack of demand and fuelling credit boom and slow growth – IMF, OECD

School System fails students – Annual Status of Education Report, 2014 (NGO Pratham)     

ASER is India’s largest NGO-run annual survey; UNICEF set up Bombay Education Initiative in Mumbai eventually led to the formation of Pratham, an indep charity in 1994 Overemphasis on curriculum geared to outcomes – exam results at the expense of a process of learning oriented to mastery of concepts 3 rd graders unable to read texts from lower grade. Pupils from higher classes unable to perform simple division/substraction Lack of healthy pupil/teacher ration; RTE Act stipulates 30:1 ratio India is consistently close to universal enrolment in 6-14 years for 6 consecutive years

Khap Panchayats on Honor Killings  

Oppose honour killings and suggest they can be ended through discussions; strict punishment for those involved in honour killings and help to those against the practice Oppose dowry system in the State (Haryana) – social boycott and strict punishment for those who accept it

Central Board of Film Certification A statutory body under Min of Information and Broadcasting regulates the public exhibition of films under the Cinematograph Act, 1952 (governs the restrictions to the freedom of expression in films). Films can be publicly exhibited in India only after they receive CBFC certification. The Board consists of non-official members and a Chairman (all of whom are appointed by Central Government) and functions with headquarters at Mumbai. At present films are certified under 4 categories   

U – Unrestricted Public exhibition UA- Unrestricted Public exhibition with a word of caution that parental discretion in required for children under 12 A – Restricted to adults

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S – restricted to any special class of persons

Justice Mudgal Committee set up in 2013 to update the Cinematograph Act, 1952  

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New categories of under 12 and under 15 in censor certification Allow any member of public who has grievance to approach the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT). Currently, only film makers can approach FCAT. So, the number of appeals in courts pile up wasting the resources of the judicial system Digital platforms for certification to improve transparency and reduce corrupt practices Appoint more officers at CBFC for faster clearances

Censorship in India The purpose of any certification is to ensure balance between freedom of speech and what is appropriate for the society. SC, 2011: Responsibility of the State Govt when there is an apprehension of violence due to a film cleared for filming.

Secularism in Indian Context – Constitution on religion Balancing free speech, secular tradition and the demands of a multi-cultural society; terrorism has power struggle as the underlying motive

The love for Sons and appropriate attire Social bias in India is pervasive across caste, class, region, religion and gender. Gender discrimination is one of the country’s shameful realities. The persistence of female foeticide, growing sex ratio problem, gender-based violence points to the scourge of gender bias in Indian society. In a survey conducted by Lok foundation and Univ of Pennsylvania, the results showed the prevalence of son preference across Indian society with little variance across income class, education levels, rural/urban areas. Son preference is manifest evidence of gender bias in the early years of childhood. Other forms of bias include social control that women face through their lives eg: suitable occupations, suitable marriage partners, on what women wear. Attitude on what women wear were however dependent on income, urbanization, education. Economic growth does not appear to remove the incentives for having fewer daughters. The need of the hour is to delegitimise gender bias and address the norms and structures such as patriarchy.

Women Empowerment – Theme of Republic Day Permanent Commission for Women hanging fire (Discrimination against Army officers)

Govt filed appeal against a HC judgement of 2010 giving Permanent Commission to women in the army; Women are inducted into army under Short Service Commission for a max of 14 years while their male counterparts are eligible for permanent commission after 5 years. Women officers are not eligible for pension that requires a minimum of 20 years service

Women officers might not live up to the role models that the Jawans mostly from rustic backgrounds want their officers to be in combat situations. There are no runner-ups in war Possibility of prisoners of war, frontline trauma, combat trauma

Ghadar Movement – Kartar Singh Sarabha role French Revolution (Charlie Hebdo)

Geological Time Scale – Anthropocene – Journals Quarternary International and Anthropocene Review 

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The Anthropocene is an informal geologic chronological term for the proposed epoch that began when human activities had a significant global impact on the Earth’s ecosystems The idea behind Anthropocene regards the influence of human behavior on the Earth’s atmosphere in recent centuries as so significant as to constitute a new geological epoch for its lithosphere The Anthropocene has no precise start date, but based on atmospheric evidence may be considered to start with the Industrial Revolution (late eighteenth century); though a recent research says that the starting point could be the Hiroshima nuclear explosion Humanity has become a planetary-scale geological force and caused the Earth to cross 4/9 planetary boundaries – climate change, loss of biosphere integrity, land-system change, altered biogeo-chemical cycles (phosphorous and nitrogen) highlighting the need to de-link economic growth from environmental impact Anthropocene is pinned down to July 16 1945, the day first nuclear bomb exploded in Alamogordo, New Mexico which along with Hiroshima, Nagasaki bombs and other bombs detonated till 1988 led to markers across the globe in the form of radio nuclides with the release of radioactive isotopes, spread worldwide (found in all continents and in polar ice on both poles) and entered the sedimentary record (Meteorite impact of Yucatan peninsula marked the boundary of Cretaceous- Paleocene epochs) Physical and Chemical markers – esp in deposits of rock strata and their fossil contents- are vital tools in defining epochal boundaries as they signal substantial changes in the Earth system

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Atomic bomb signalled the “Great Acceleration” – the phase of massive economic growth and environmental changes post WW 2; GA spurred global average surface temperature increase of 0.9 C, atmospheric concentration of the GHG – CO2, N2O, CH4 - well above the maximum observed in Holocene, biodiversity loss approaching mass extinction rates

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Vodafone Case/ Retrospective tax amendment: Rs.3,200-crore tax case due to

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“adversarial” taxation policies where Income Tax Department’s assessment of the case was erroneous. The Vodafone case was about wrong classification of a capital receipt as taxable income at the hands of the company Transfer-pricing guidelines: I.T. Department held that Vodafone had underpriced its shares issued to the parent. So it revalued the shares and deemed the difference to be a loan given to the parent. Unreasonable as it relies on aggressive and faulty interpretations of rules and sections. IT alleged that Vodafone group had subscribed to shares of Vodafone India at a rate lower than a normative value determined by the tax department. Using transfer pricing norms, it then sought to tax the transaction -a chain of logic rejected by the Bombay High Court, which said capital receipts cannot be taxed

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Need a stable policy -signal to both assessing officers and taxpayers -government will crack down on evasion but within the framework of the law; The decision could benefit Shell India, IBM, Nokia, Cairn India, Leighton India and many others that have faced similar tax demands

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The case concerns a tax dispute between the Vodafone group and the Indian income tax (IT) authorities over the acquisition by Vodafone International Holdings BV (VIH) (part of the Vodafone group and a company resident for tax purposes in the Netherlands) of the entire share capital of CGP Investments (Holdings) Ltd (a company incorporated in Hong Kong but resident for tax purposes in the Cayman Islands) on February 11, 2007 for about $11 billion (Rs 55,000 crore) from Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd (HTIL). CGP, through various intermediate companies/contractual arrangements, controlled 67% of Hutchison Essar Limited (HEL), an Indian company. The acquisition resulted in Vodafone acquiring control over Hutch-Essar, a joint venture between the Hutchison group and the Essar group, which had obtained telecom licences to provide cellular telephony in different circles in India in November 1994. Because the sale was supposed to have been made overseas, no taxes were paid in India.

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The IT authorities in India contended that the primary aim of this transaction was to acquire 67% controlling interest in Hutchison Essar Limited, a company resident in India. They therefore sought to tax capital gains under Section 9(1)(i) of the Indian Income Tax Act 1961 (2) arising from the sale of the share capital of CGP on the basis that CGP, while not a tax resident in India, holds the underlying Indian asset. According to the tax authorities the profit made by Hutchison Hong Kong, while it sold its shares of Hutch-Essar to Vodafone, was generated in India. Therefore, Vodafone, the buyer of the shares, had an obligation to withhold and pay the tax in India, before making the payment to Hutchison. The tax demand was $2.5 billion (Rs 11,000 crore, as much as the entire MNREGA budget in 2007). Vodafone contested, stating that neither Vodafone nor Hutch was liable to pay the tax as both the companies were located outside India and the deal happened outside India.

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Vodafone is a British multinational telecommunications company headquartered in London. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues ($73.5 billion in 2011) and the world's second-largest in terms of subscribers, with over 439 million subscribers as of December 2011. In 2011 it earned profits of $12.6 billion, while it owned assets worth $242 billion and had an employee base of 83,862 (3). Vodafone India currently is the third largest mobile network operator in India. Vodafone filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court challenging the jurisdiction of the tax authorities. In September 2008 the Bombay High Court held that the transaction was one of transfer of capital assets situated in India, and accordingly, the Indian income-tax authorities had jurisdiction over the matter. It concluded that it would be simplistic to assume that the entire transaction between HTIL and VIH was fulfilled merely upon the transfer of a single share of CGP in the Cayman Islands. The two-judge bench noted that "The commercial and business understanding between the parties postulated that what was being transferred from HTIL to VIH BV was the controlling interest in HEL…. HEL was at all times intended to be the target company and a transfer of the controlling interest in HEL was the purpose which was achieved by the transaction" (4). [B]The Supreme Court verdict[/B] The case went up to the Supreme Court and, based on two key but independent arguments, the highest court concluded that there was no merit in the High Court's verdict. The first line of reasoning was that the transaction between Vodafone and Hutch was a share transfer (sale) rather than a transfer of capital assets and that the ownership of the capital assets remained vested in the Indian company. The judgment took recourse to the legal distinction between a company and its shareholders and thus the judgment does not make a distinction between shareholding that constituted a controlling interest and that which was a pure financial investment. Consequently it becomes completely immaterial in this specific case that the share(s) actually transferred were not of the company located in India but of offshore companies that ultimately controlled the shares that constituted the controlling interest in the Indian company. Even if the shares were of a company located in India, in the court's view it would not have constituted a transfer of capital assets. Once it is accepted that the shareholders of a company have a legal identity distinct from the company, no matter what the proportion of shares they hold, it follows that the two companies would have distinct identities even if one held a controlling share in the other. The Supreme Court judgment makes it a point to emphasise that even a subsidiary has an identity that is distinct from its parent holding company (5). The second interesting aspect of the Supreme Court judgment is that it argues for a "look at" test in which tax authorities consider the entire Hutchison structure as it existed, "holistically",

at its face value, and not adopt a "dissecting approach". In other words, authorities should not ask whether the transaction is a tax avoidance method, but apply the "look at" test to ascertain its legal nature. The Supreme Court was not in favour of the High Court's "look through" test because, it claimed, this was inconsistent with the need for certainty and consistency of tax policies that are crucial for taxpayers' confidence (especially foreign investors). The judgment argues that such a going behind the "corporate veil" (6) or looking through would be legitimate only in cases where it can be established that there is a deliberate intention of evading taxes. In the Supreme Court's view no such inference can be made in this case if the steps that led to the creation of the complex holding structure of Vodafone and the eventual Vodafone-Hutch transaction were seen in the proper context. According to the court the structuring of the transfer of control from Hutch to Vodafone was not done with the specific intention of avoiding taxes. Hence the corporate veil need not be pierced and the fact that there was a transfer of control from Hutch to Vodafone must be ignored. And thus the tax authorities should concern themselves only with the corporate structure or "form" of a merger deal, and not the "substance" of what assets are changing hands.  

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An additional implication of the judgment is that as long as it can be established that a mechanism was not originally created with the intention of avoiding taxes, it does not matter if it eventually led to such a consequence. The court has directed that when assessing whether an entity is evading the tax law, the authorities have to examine whether the means of evasion (which here is the creation of CGP, Hutchison's Cayman Islands unit) was originally intended for this purpose. Since Hutchison made its investments and engaged in activities in India (in collaboration with Essar) for several years before the deal and during that period CGP existed, the latter is not to be seen as primarily created to avoid capital gains (7). [B]The underlying issues involved[/B] For a layperson who is not concerned with the technicalities of tax law and jurisprudence, the case is significant for three important issues. [B][I]Why 'look at' and not 'look through'?[/I][/B] The first interesting issue that arises is why authorities should [I]look at[/I] and not [I]look through[/I] the transactions, especially if what is being examined are complex transactions of mammoth corporations like Vodafone? After all, even simple cases of wrongdoing may not be caught out without looking at the substance of the act beyond the mere form of what is being claimed by the parties. According to Girish Dave, retired chief commissioner of income tax, Mumbai, who was closely involved in scrutinising the Vodafone-Hutch deal: "This entire investment was not in purchase of one share of one US dollar of CGP's only capital. The investment was in the Indian mobile telecommunication business. CGP had no balance

sheet as it had no accounts, no profit and loss account, so a question arises how this value of US $11.2 billion was arrived at when no accounts of CGP were available even in the due diligence report of E(rnst)&Y(oung). If this investment was in the telecom business in India, a natural corollary would be that it was this investment in entirety which was in fact sold. Investment was not in one share of CGP, for which in the year 1998 Hutchison may have paid one US dollar to Ms Nicole Melia from whom it acquired that one share." (8)  

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Ostensibly this needs to be done to attract foreign investment, but as Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan points out, in this deal no foreign investment as such is involved, as the Indian telecom company has merely been transferred from one company to another without any additional foreign investment. (9) [B][I]Why Cayman Islands?[/I][/B] The second interesting aspect is that the court chooses to ignore the fact that the merger deal was structured through a corporate vehicle stationed in the tax haven (10) of Cayman Islands. In the Supreme Court's view, since Hutch-Essar existed for several years before the 2007 deal and was an active corporate and taxpaying subject, the deal was perfectly legal and it cannot be said that the Cayman Islands were brought into the loop with the express purpose of tax avoidance. But the point is that what else could be the possible purpose of bringing Cayman Islands and vehicle stationed there into the deal if not tax avoidance? It is hard to imagine any other strategic advantage that Cayman Islands can bring in for a corporation like Vodafone. The Cayman Islands (11) is a British Overseas Territory located in the western Caribbean Sea, which is just 264 km2 in area with a population of 55,000. Considered a refuge of pirates and deserters in the 17th century, the island has evolved into a tax haven which is now the fifth-largest banking centre in the world, with $1.5 trillion in banking liabilities. But this is not the first time that corporations in India have undermined the law and its underlying intent of public good for the sake of private profits. After all, the tax havens have been legitimised way back in 1982 when India signed the double tax avoidance agreement (DTAA) with Mauritius in order to attract foreign investments at the time of the launch of the first wave of 'economic liberalisation'. According to the IT Act if India has signed a DTAA, the taxpayer can pay tax in either of the two countries. But the catch here is that Mauritius has no capital gains tax, so a company doing a Vodafone-like deal in Mauritius will escape without paying any tax whatsoever. This has resulted in large amounts of investments being routed through Mauritius to avoid taxes and regulatory regimes in more established nation-states. Hence, due to the absence of capital gains tax and low tax rates on corporate profits, over 15,000 international companies have set up affiliate or associate firms in Mauritius. Not surprisingly, an economy which is all of $11 billion (same as the merger deal being discussed here!) is the single largest source of foreign investment for India. In recent years, Mauritius has accounted for approximately half of the annual inflows of FDI to India and around 40% of FII

money that has come into the country's stock exchanges. Prof Arun Kumar of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) claims that a lot of this 'foreign investment' is the money that was laundered out of country and which is now being routed back through tax havens like Mauritius (12).    

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[B][I]Compartmentalisation of the corporate form[/I][/B] Perhaps the most interesting and the least commented aspect of the Supreme Court judgment is that which takes us to the very heart of the contemporary debate regarding the nature of gigantic corporations like Vodafone. The judgment has upheld the principle of maintaining a clear-cut separation between companies and between companies and their shareholders (13). But the point is that if the holding companies, the subsidiaries and their respective shareholders are all different entities then how do we make sense of the complex and mammoth corporate structures like Vodafone that influence the lives of such large numbers of people and control enormous natural and public resources like spectrum globally? A bit of history here may help us put things in perspective. To begin with it was [I]not[/I] usual for early corporations even in the US (where they first came to the fore) to be able to hold interests in another corporation -- in fact it was illegal. The earliest forms of corporations were those that had the clearest public purpose – churches, schools, universities (Harvard was chartered in 1688) and cities. Over time, the institutional form was used for public needs with clear economic benefits – canals, banks, bridges, and turnpikes. In the 18th century, corporations could come up only in the public domain through special parliamentary charters – they were provided with privileges like eminent domain (14), tax breaks, or monopoly rights only because they were supposed to deliver public goods, like waterways, roads, canals, banking, and other tasks which governments felt could not or should not be conducted privately as they were too risky, too expensive, too unprofitable, or too public, that is, perform tasks that would not have got done if left to the 'efficient' operations of the markets. Thus corporation arose as quasi-government agencies -- some of its particular features, such as limited liability, perpetual life, and parcellised ownership were established in order to compensate for the 'inefficient' tasks that they were assigned, where market would not support them (15). The debate whether a company could own shares in other companies was intense, and continued for decades in the US, as holding companies appeared, and were outlawed, followed by trusts, which were then outlawed, and finally by conglomerates, which successfully completed the redefinition of the nature of corporate property. US states varied considerably in their laws permitting stock ownership -- at one extreme Virginia prohibited stock ownership by corporations in other companies in the 1880s, while Pennsylvania allowed manufacturing companies to own railroad stocks to create spur lines to link their factories. When New Jersey allowed any corporation that incorporated in the state to own interests in other companies in 1888, corporations flocked for registration. By 1901, 66% of US firms with $10 million in capital or more, and 71% of those with $25 million or more were incorporated in New Jersey (16).

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Thus while we are debating the tax and welfare implications of the Vodafone case (and obviously they are far-reaching), the most basic question that ought to be asked is why such mergers should be allowed in the first place? Because the stark fact is that in the name of market forces and the law, what is driving such mergers is basically the intent to kill the possibilities of market competition, in the name of which, ironically, such mergers and consolidations are mostly sanctified. Thus it is interesting that while such mergers are done in the name of market, efficiency and public welfare, their tax liabilities are also discounted in the name of public welfare, this time for investments and economic growth! And all this can always be justified by asserting that corporations are a legal fiction and cannot be said to have any purposive intent, as in the present judgment. And yet when it is convenient corporations can take the form of a natural person and acquire basic human rights like free speech and due process (17) too! Historically, various arms of a democratic state have been complicit in this evolving form of corporations. Thus mammoth corporations can apparently keep acquiring new forms, new faces, and even new logic depending upon the issues at hand, even while there is a fundamental conflict between the private profits of global elites, whose handmaiden modern corporations have become, and the public interest of common people across the globe. Witness for instance the never-ending ordeal of the lakhs of victims of the world's worst industrial disaster in Bhopal in 1984, which happened at a site of one of the largest chemical corporations in the world at the time, Union Carbide. Within 10 years the plant was sold off to a so-called 'Indian' company which in 2001 in turn passed it off to one of the largest chemical companies in the world, Dow Chemical of the US. Of course now Dow claims that it has nothing to do with the never-settled liabilities of the accident towards the people of Bhopal, while it has acquired all its assets (18)! So tomorrow if it is found that spectrum was allocated illegally to Hutch-Essar in earlier years, we should be prepared to hear that Vodafone has nothing to do with it (of course Hutch and Essar will also wash their hands of this!), while it profits from the same spectrum (19). Framed in narrow legal terms and the limiting framework of the so-called welfare nation-states in the times of globalisation, it has become a continuously losing battle for the people at large. This tide can be turned only by a clear realisation that public good and modern corporations are inversely proportional to each other and this debate needs to be taken much beyond immediate tax and legal issues.

Oil Crisis and Ukraine: Ukraine’s reform movement for create a democratic model. The two biggest actors who can shape that price today are Saudi Arabia’s new king, Salman bin AbdulAziz Al Saud (but cutting down production), and Russia’s czar, Mr. Putin (by creating trouble in Ukraine, Baltic and testing NATO). The U.S. and Germany organised the sanctions on Russia. Parthasarathi Shome Committee: retrospective application of tax law should happen in the rarest of rare cases. Advocated postponement of the controversial tax provision by three years till 2016–17 along with abolition of capital gains tax on transfer of securities. Suggested that the GAAR provisions

should not be invoked to examine the genuineness of the foreign investor entities’ residency in the island nation. REIT is a security that sells like a stock on the major exchanges and invests in real estate directly, either through properties or mortgages. The basic intent of creating the REITS framework is to be able to tap foreign investment, including NRI investment. REITs pool capital from investors to purchase and manage income-yielding real estate assets or mortgage loans and can be traded on major stock exchanges like normal stocks.

Gorkhaland : within India to be carved out of the hills of Darjeeling and areas of Dooars and Siliguri terai contiguous to Darjeeling; The Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) was due to an agreement between the Central Government of India, the West Bengal Government and the Gorkha National Liberation Front in Kolkata in 1988. In 2005, it was set as a Sixth Schedule tribal council, Gorkha Hill Council in place of the DGHC. Subsequently in 2011, GHC replaced by GTA- Gorkhaland Territorial Administration

Urban Heat Island/Heat Wave: Prolonged periods of high temperature. Heat wave due to climate change and Urban heat island effect where built-up places trap the heat more than surrounding rural areas. In India, increase in heat waves or the number of hot nights is not significant. This is due to the aerosols in air that reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the ground.

Capital Account Convertibility: India not yet ready RBI Dy.Governor Aviation Turbine Fuel: not a declared good; The value-added tax (VAT) on ATF ranges from 4 - 30 %, depending on the sales tax levied by a state(State VAT). Demands on for uniform VAT of 4%.

http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31816&articlexml=CVC-Tightens-Grip-Over-CBI30012015003044#

Coal India Ltd. (CIL) disinvestment (what is disinvestment? Why does the Govt does it? What kind of PSE can it disinvest? Money goes to? Methods of disinvestment (auction to QII directly, retail investors through shares, offer for sale); Government offered the shares at an auction on the stock exchanges Offer for sale; Disinvestment may or may not result in Privatisation. Complete privatisation is a form of majority disinvestment wherein 100% control of the company is passed on to a buyer. When the Government retains 26% of the shares carrying voting powers while selling the remaining to a strategic buyer, it would have disinvested, but would not have ‘privatised’, because with 26%, it can still stall vital decisions for which generally a special resolution (three-fourths majority) is required http://www.bsepsu.com/approaches-disinvestment.asp

Choosing Satyagraha over Spectacle Terror

Satyagraha

Indifferent to the suffering of the victim

Uses the body as the vehicle of truth and suffering to create compassion

Terror paralyses through anonymity. It is always

Satyagraha is always a face which seeks to

masked.

communicate.

Terror paralyses discourse

satyagraha opens up conversation

Terror owns the act of violence but disowns the responsibility for it

Satyagraha seeks the ethics of responsibility.

Terror emphasises invulnerability

Satayagraha begins from vulnerability

Terror creates shock but no surprise

The satyagrahi is constantly inventing

Terror destroys normalcy

seeks to restore normalcy and in pondering over its delights

terror seeks to challenge power through violence

speaks truth to power

can speak the language of revenge; has no real sense of dialogue, drama or spectatorship

seeks justice, the politics of theatre

FCI/Food Security/Shanta Kumar Committee’s recommendations To unbundle the Food Corporation of India - Committee recommended allowing the free play of market forces in procurement and storage of food grains, and restricting the FSA in tune with the demands raised by the western world led by the U.S. in the World Trade Organisation against India’s systems of procurement, storage and distribution Committee

Govt action

Only six per cent of all farmers have benefited from Minimum Support Price (MSP) through sale of food grains to an official procurement agency, according to data of the National Sample Survey Organisation’s 70th round

Result why have the Food Corporation of India (FCI) at all? But large numbers of farmers are deprived of the benefits of MSP -lack access to official procurement centre, which are set up only in selective States and regions. So, reforming the system-increase in the number of procurement centres and easier access

Govt to bring down the rate of increase of MSP to just about three per cent over the previous year; The rate of increase of MSP is delinked from the increases in the cost of production and adequate profit margins

Swaminathan Commission’s recommended for MSP to be calculated at the cost of production plus 50 per cent profit, to keep agriculture viable.

Committee advocating limited procurement as the officially declared policy (against universalised PDS)

Govt would not procure any food grains over and above the requirement for the Public Distribution System (PDS) from such States which gave the farmers a bonus.

Open-ended procurement which ensured India’s food security and farmer security is now in the process of being whittled down

Committee wants to reduce the coverage from 67 per cent to 40 per cent of the population. Double the prices that these food grains are to be sold at under the present Act by linking the price to the MSP

The Central government has excluded 25 States and Union Territories from the ambit of the Act as they have not completed the preparatory measures required for the implementation of the Act.”

UN agencies monitoring MDG of countries credited “Integrated Child Development Services as well as the PDS for the fall in malnutrition (most alarmingseriously affected category); the country is still home to the largest malnourished population in the world with a rank in the Global with Hunger Index at 55 out of 76

Govt is preparing to shift to direct cash transfers for a more restricted number of families.

Nuclear Deal – no cause for celebration Under Japanese law, the supplier is indemnified from liability for an accident. Legal indemnity for suppliers creates a “moral hazard”— encouraging suppliers to take excessive risks since they don’t have to pay for the consequences. CLNDA, 2010 channels primary liability for an accident to the operator — the public sector Nuclear Power Corporation of India — and caps it at Rs. 1,500 crore; overrides the absolute liability judgment (a person could be guilty even if there was no intention to commit a crime) of the Supreme Court, passed after the Bhopal gas leak disaster, which had no such limit. Clause 17(b) allows the operator to recoup this compensation from suppliers. If imposing liability on suppliers leads to cost increases, it can only mean that they are using the law as an excuse to escalate prices; the Indian law could set a precedent that could undermine the iniquitous international system of impunity Economic dimension: “Cost of Electricity from the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant” could translate into electricity tariffs that are as high as Rs. 15 per unit. Democracy: the residents of Mithi Virdi, gram panchayats of four most-affected villages passed a resolution declaring the entire … region as [a] nuclear free zone.

Trade

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, as the Asia trade deal, an Aisa-Pacific trade agreement will boost U.S. exports, add jobs. China dismissed it as a scheme to encircle and contain the fast-growing Chinese economy; US negotiating the deal with 11 other countries ((Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam) represent 40% global GDP) Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP trade and investment agreement between US and EU; helps export-led growth as the euro sinks against the dollar and European exports become cheaper in world markets; NSA surveillance held back talks but Europeans and Americans contemplate the reckless behaviour of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Bilateral investment treaty an agreement establishing the terms and conditions for private investment by nationals and companies of one state in another state (FDI); grants guarantees to investors like fair and equitable treatment, protection from expropriation, free transfer of means, full protection, security, allow for an alternative dispute resolution mechanism, recourse to international arbitration rather than suing the host State in its own courts. . The world's first BIT was signed on November 25, 1959 between Pakistan and Germany. SC: night ban on vehicles plying through Bandipur Tiger Reserve to stay, which links Mysuru to parts of Kerala. A national park in South Karnataka with dry-deciduous forests, under Project Tiger made a Tiger Reserve, is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (largest protected area in southern India); on route Mysore-Ooty, tourism, wildlife fatalities due to speeding vehicles. Venugopala Wildlife Park of the Maharaja of Mysore; where the Deccan Plateau meets the Western Ghats

regulation of ecommerce industry: the ecommerce sector is still just 0.5% of the overall retail industry, indicating the large headroom it has to grow. Most complaints - unfair business practices employed by the online lot: predatory pricing - sell goods below cost- about the ecommerce sector are referred to the department of consumer affairs. The consumer affairs department's note:    

lack of access to data –hurdle to investigate online fraud lack of mechanism for registration of online retailers due to which monitoring and supervision of the industry was very difficult. advertising laws and mechanisms that apply to print and electronic media platforms do not work well when it came to the ecommerce sector issues linked to ecommerce do not come under the purview of a single legislation or department/ministry; operations were too complex to be under the purview of any single ministry and therefore “a clear demarcation of the activities of ecommerce should be handled by different departments“.

In this context, high powered committee of secretaries (CoS), the most important decision making body after the Union Cabinet mulling over bringing e-commerce under the purview of up to nine government agencies and regulatory bodies including RBI, home ministry , the department of revenue in the finance ministry, and ministry of corporate affairs.