SRIRAMs IAS Q&A

From the Notice Board

Que. Write on the recent history of Sinai Peninsula and thereasons why it is in
news.
Ans. The Sinai Peninsula is a triangular peninsulain Egypt.It is situated betweenthe
Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Seato the south, andis theonlypart of
Egyptian territory located in Asia, as opposed to Africa, serving as a land bridge
between two continents. Israel invaded and occupied Sinai during the Suez Crisis of
1956, and during the SixDay Warof 1967. By1982,asaresultof IsraelEgypt Peace
Treaty of 1979( Camp David Agreement), Israel had withdrawn from all of the Sinai
Peninsula.
Today,Sinai has become a touristdestination duetoitsnaturalsetting,richcoralreefs,
and biblical history. Mount Sinai is one of the most religiously significant places in
Abrahamicfaiths.
ISISlaunchedterrorattacksinSinaiinJuly2015thatkilledabout70people.

Que.Whatisdisruptivetechnology?Giveampleexamples.
Ans.
A disruptive technology is one that displaces an established technology and
shakes up the industry or a groundbreaking product that creates a completely new
industry.Hereareafewexamplesofdisruptivetechnologies:
The personal computer(PC)displaced the typewriterand forever changedtheway we
workandcommunicate.
The Windows operating system's combination of affordability and a userfriendly
interface wasinstrumental in therapid developmentof the personalcomputingindustry
inthe1990s.
Personal computing disruptedthetelevisionindustry,aswellasagreatnumberofother
activities.
Email transformed the way we communicating, largely displacing letterwriting and
disruptingthepostalandgreetingcardindustries.
Cellphones made it possiblefor people tocallusanywhere anddisruptedthetelecom
industry.
The laptop computer and mobile computing made a mobile workforce possible and
made it possible for people to connect to corporate networks and collaborate from
anywhere.Inmanyorganizations,laptopsreplaceddesktops.

Smartphones largely replaced cell phones and PDAs and, because of the available
apps, also disrupted: pocket cameras, MP3 players, calculators and GPS devices,
among many other possibilities. For some mobile users, smartphones often replace
laptops.Otherspreferatablet.
Cloud computing has been a hugely disruptive technology in the business world,
displacing many resources that would conventionally have been located inhouse or
providedasatraditionallyhostedservice.
Socialnetworkinghashadamajorimpactonthe waywecommunicateandespecially
forpersonalusedisruptingtelephone,email,instantmessagingandeventplanning.
Ecommerceisdisruptingphysicaldepartmentalstoresandmalls.
Thus, it is a technology that significantly alters the way that businesses operate. A
disruptive technology may force companies to alter the way that they approach their
business, risk losing market share or risk becoming irrelevant. Recent examples of
disruptive technologies include smart phones and the ecommerce retailing. Clayton
Christensen popularized theideaofdisruptivetechnologiesinthebookTheInnovator's
Dilemmain1997.

Que.Whatis"shocktherapy"ineconomics?Criticallycomment.
Ans. it is a sudden and dramatic change in national economic policy that turns a
statecontrolled economy into a freemarket one. Characteristics of shock therapy

includetheendingofpricecontrols,theprivatizationofpubliclyownedentitiesandtrade
liberalization. Shock therapy is intended to cure economic maladies such as
hyperinflation, shortages and other effects of market controls in order to jumpstart
economicproduction,reduceunemploymentandimprovelivingstandards.
Shock therapy cantrigger aroughtransitionwhile pricesincrease from their controlled
levels and people in formerly stateowned companies lose their jobs, creating citizen
unrestthatmayleadtoforcedchangesinacountry'spoliticalleadership.
Theopposite of shock therapy, gradualism,indicatesaslowand steadytransitionfrom
acontrolledtoanopeneconomy.
It was implemented in Russia and its erstwhile communist partners in eastern and
centraleuropein1990'sandearlylastdecade.

Que. Differentiate between Bank Run, Bank Panic and Systemic Bank Crisis.
WhatcanbetheCausesandRemedies?
Ans.Bank runisasituationthatoccurswhenalargenumberofbanksorotherfinancial
institution'scustomerswithdrawtheirdepositssimultaneouslyduetoconcernsaboutthe
bank'ssolvency. ItmaybebeginningtohappeninGreeceasrthereisuncertaintyabout
Greece'sfuture inthe Eurozone.Asmore people withdraw their funds,theprobabilityof
default increases, therebypromptingmorepeopletowithdrawtheirdeposits.Inextreme
cases, the bank's reservesmaynotbesufficienttocoverthewithdrawals.Abankrunis

typically the result of panic, rather than a true insolvency on the part of the bank
however, the bank does risk default as more and more individuals withdraw funds
whatbeganaspaniccanturnintoatruedefaultsituation.
Because banks typically keep only a small percentage of deposits as cash on hand,
they mustincrease cash tomeet depositors' withdrawaldemands.One method a bank
usesto quickly increasecash on handistoselloffitsassets,sometimesatsignificantly
lower pricesthan if it did nothave tosellquickly. Lossesonsellingthe assets atlower
pricescancauseabanktobecomeinsolvent.
A"bankpanic"occurswhenmultiplebanksendurerunsatthesametime.
A systemic banking crisis is one where all or almost all of the banking capital in a
country is wiped out. Something like what happened in 2008 in the USA after the
Lehman bankrupcy was filed. The resulting chain of bankruptcies can cause a long
economic recession as domestic businesses and consumers are starved ofcapital as
thedomesticbankingsystemshutsdown.
Several techniques have been used to try to prevent or mitigate the effects of bank
runs. They have included government bailouts of banks,supervision and regulation of
commercial banks, central banks acting as a lender of last resort, the protection of
deposit insurance systems and after a run has started, a temporary suspension of
withdrawals.

Que.WhydoesRaghuramRajanthinkthat1929typeofCrashcouldrecursoon?
Ans. In order to comprehend Raghuram Rajan's warning, the causes of 1930's
DepressionastheywerelinkedtotheStockCrashof1929needtobeunderstood.
The 1929 crash broughttheRoaringTwentiesto a shuddering halt. The crash marked
the beginning of widespread and longlasting consequences for the United States.
Businesses found it difficult securing capital markets investmentsfor newprojectsand
expansions. Business uncertainty affected job security for employees, and as the
American worker (the consumer) faced uncertainty with regards to income, the
propensity to consume declined. The decline in stock pricescaused bankruptcies and
severe macroeconomic difficulties including contraction of credit, business closures,
firingofworkers,bankfailuresandothereconomicdepressingevents.
The resultant rise of mass unemployment is seen as a result of the crash. The Wall
Street Crash isusuallyseen as having thegreatestimpacton theeventsthat followed
andthereforeiswidelyregardedassignalingthedownwardeconomic slidethatinitiated
the Great Depression.The consequences were direfor almosteverybody.Itwiped out
billions of dollars of wealth in one day, and this immediately depressed consumer
buying.
About4,000banksandotherlendersultimatelyfailed.
Exuberance on stock markets drove the crisis. According to Raghuram Rajan, same
could be happening now also with stock markets going higher by the day with real

economynot supportingitandthusfinancialbubblesbuildingthatcouldeventuallytake
downtherealandfinancialeconomywithit.

Que.Whatistherationaleforgendersensitizationtrainingforpolice?
Ans.
In order to make police officers behave and act in a gendersensitive manner in
casesof violenceagainst womenandinthedischargeoftheirdutiesingeneral,thereis
an urgent need to conduct gender sensitization training courses for police. Atpresent,
the concept of gender is grossly misunderstood by a large majority of police officers.
There is also a lack of proper awareness of the prevailing gender inequalities among
policeofficers.Even if thereisawareness,thecultofmasculinityprevailinginthepolice
organizations does not easily permit a change in the attitude and behaviour of male
police personnel toward women. The stereotypes held by the police about sexual
violence/harassmentanddomesticviolence(blamingthevictimetc)indicatethegeneral
attitude of police towardswomen.The following findingsof aresearch study about the
opinionofmalepolicepersonnelregardingtheroleofwomencolleaguesalsoreflectthe
attitude ofamajorityof policeofficers towards womenandthelackofawarenessabout
theconceptofgender:
1.Thereisnoneedtointegratewomenintothemainstreamofpolice.
2. Women police personnel should be given specific tasks related to women and
children.

3.Womenarenotenthusiasticabouttheirjobs.
4.Womenmayworkascooksinthepolicemess.
5.Womenshouldescortonlyfemaleprisonersandnotmaleprisoners.
6. Women should not be engaged in operations against militants, extremists and
insurgents.
7. Women police officers are very gentle and are not capable of handling hardened
criminals.
In order to remove the prejudices and biases of police officers towards women in
general and womenvictimsas wellaswomencolleaguesinparticularandtodevelopin
them the required professionalism (in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes) for
dealing with cases of violence against women more effectively, it isimperative that all
State police organizations undertake suitableinitiatives,including organizingof training
programmes to sensitize the police personnel at all levels. Such biases have serious
consequences for morale of women, justice meted out to them, entry of women into
policeforceetc.

Que.DiscussIndiasDefenseOffsetpolicy,rationaleanditsadvantages.
Ans.The global arms trade isincreasingly becomingatwowayprocess.Insteadofthe
traditional offtheshelf procurement involving goods/ services being exchanged for

money, moreandmorearmsbuyersarenowdemandingthatsomeformofworkshould
also directly flow from the contracts they sign with foreign entities. The flow back
arrangementin the contract,widely known as offsets, is usuallydemandedasacertain
percentage of the contract value. Offsets are also demanded in various other forms
ranging from traditional counter trade practices (barter, buying goods from the
purchasing country of defence equipment) to practices such as coproduction,
investment, and technology transfer. The purpose for demanding offsets also varies
from country to country, depending upon their priorities. While some countries seek
offsets intheformofforeigninvestmentandthelikeforgeneraleconomicdevelopment,
others demand technology transfer and a definite work share in the items being
procured.
India, predominantly an arms importer country, has evolved its offset policy over the
years. Defence Offset Policy will enable creation of local employment, upgradation of
technology levels while ensuring substantial increase in bothdomesticproduction and
export capability.Offset alsoprovides leverage tothe domestic industry specificallythe
SMEs [Small and Medium Enterprises] to enter the sophisticated markets of defence
products.
Offsetobligations wereintroducedin 2005to developthedefenceindustrialbaseinthe
country. It stipulates that for deals worth over Rs. 300 crore, the Original Equipment
Manufacturer(OEM)hastoreinvest30percentofthecontractvalueinthecountry.

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Que.CommentontheroleofmajorpowersoftheworldinCentralAsia
Ans. Central Asia is the core region of the Asian continent and stretches from the
Caspian Sea in the west to China in the east and from Afghanistan in the south to
Russia in the north. Central Asia includes five republics of the former Soviet Union:
Kazakhstan (pop. 17 million), Kyrgyzstan (5.7 million), Tajikistan (8.0 million),
Turkmenistan (5.2 million), and Uzbekistan (30 million), for a total population ofabout
66millionasof20132014.Afghanistan(pop.31.1million)isalsosometimesincluded.
Central Asia is rapidly changing after the world started taking more notice of this
energyrich region. Already the flow of capital and expansion of trade is triggering
largescaleinfrastructure,shipmentofgoodsandflowofpeopleacrosstheregion.
Owing to its energy resources and economic potential coupled with radicalism, great
powers rivalry in the region has also increased. The major powershave respondedin
many ways to benefit from regions strategic and energy resources. Russia is the
traditional player and wishes toexert politicalinfluence. Moscow hasstrengthened the
Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and now it isaggressivelypushingthe
EurasianEconomicUnion(EEU)tokeepCentralAsiaunderitsstiffeconomiccontrol.
Themain contestant intheregion isChina, which hasbeen waiting inthewings,since
the Soviet collapse, for fully entering into the region with multiple motives. China
considers this region as a source of energy and a critical partner for stabilizing its
restive Xinjiang province. China has fully used itsgeographical proximity tothe region
and while pursuing an ingenioussoftpowerpolicy,ithassuccessfullyconverted every

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challenge in CentralAsiainto an opportunity.Chinahaspursueditsinterestwhileusing

the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as a multilateral vehicle for promoting
multiple interlocking of economic, security and even cultural ties. In fact, China has
rapidly challenged Russian monopoly over Central Asias energy exports. Massive
infrastructure development including building of pipelines, roads, and railways
completed in the recent years are facilitating transport of oil, gas, uranium and other
minerals to the Chinese towns. Beijings latest Silk Road Economic Belt scheme
envisages $40 billion fund for promoting infrastructure, industrial and financial
cooperation from Asia to Europe through Central Asia. The countries have quickly
pledged support totheSilk Route BeltideafordeepeningtheirancienttieswithChina.
Chineseled multilateral development institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Shanghaibased BRICS New Development Bank can
alsobehelpfultoChina.
During an October 2013 visit to Kazakhstan, Chinese PresidentXiJinpingoutlinedhis
vision of a Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB).SREB will encourage economic
development in Chinas restive Xinjiang region, and will boost Chinese exports to
Central Asia. In addition, expanded landtransit allowsChina todiversify its importand
export channels, diffusing risk from maritime lanes still controlled by the U.S. The
investment in new infrastructure also cements Chinese economic and, some fear,
political influence. Part of the SREB vision is the creation of new institutions with a
strong Chinese voice, like the AIIB, thatcouldchallenge existingU.S.led alternatives.
Chinahasdeployedmassive diplomatic,military,academic,and businessresourcesto
support the realization of the SREB and this synergy of resources gives its vision the

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best likelihood of success.Whiletheinitial focus is economic, over the longtermthese

developments could even pave the way for increased Chineseled Asian security
cooperation.
TheUSand its allies remaineddeeplyengaged intheregion and useditasavaluable
supply hub fortheAfghanistan wareffort.However,againstthebackdropofthecrisisin
Ukraine, the United States is likely to review its Central Asia strategy. Washington, it
seems, is getting concerned about the situationin CentralAsia. Russiasstandoffwith
the West, declining oil prices and overall Western sanctions is already having ripple
effects on Central Asian economies, especially on the remittances from millions of
migrantsfromtheregionworkinginRussia
The West isalsoworried about uncertaintyloomingin CentralAsiastemming from the
successionissueofregionalleaders.
Europe is also taking a renewed interest in Central Asia following thecrisis in Ukraine.
The European Union is now trying to import energy directly from the source to offset
fears of disruption by Russia. The EU is considering for the 3,300kilometer Nabucco
pipeline project toimport gasdirectly from Azerbaijan andCentral Asian nations to the
heart of Europe. The EU has unveiled recently a new Southern CorridorNew Silk
Route strategy fora multipleroad,railandpipelinelinksbetweentheCaspianareaand
Europe.

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CentralAsiaandregionalandglobalsecurity
The region is the northern frontier of the Islamic world hitherto unaffected by
fundamentalist wave.Thereis a major shift to, religiouspatternof society, underwayin
the region. CentralAsiais nowemerging as thenextradical Islamicregion.Aseriesof
seriousexplosions andterrorist acts by IslamistshavebeentakingplaceinKazakhstan
since 2011. The area extending from Chechnya,Ferghana toXinjiang, comprising 100
million people could form new arc of instability. The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
(IMU) ismore entrenched not onlyinAfPakregionbutinCentralAsiaaswell.TheIMU
hasstrong links withal Qaeda andis nowexpectedtogetstrongerinAfghanistanafter
the NATOs withdrawal.IslamicStateinIraqandSyria(ISIS)hasheavilyrecruitedmore
and more Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Tajiks, and Kyrgyz. Chinas concerns in Xinjiang
underscorethegravityofextremistthreatincludingfromISIS.
Indias interests also center around energy, uranium, trade, investment, national
security. India Connect central asia policy 2012 sumps up all these. Our entry into
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in July at Ufa will enable us to some extent to
realizethesegoals.

Que.DiscusstheBattleofWaterlooandtheimpactofit.
Ans. The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday, 18 June 1815, near Waterloo in
presentday Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. A French
army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by the armies of the Seventh

14

Coalition, comprising an Angloallied army under the command of the Duke of

WellingtoncombinedwithaPrussianarmy.
Upon Napoleon's return to power in March 1815, many states that had opposed him
formed the Seventh Coalition and began to mobilize armies. Two large forces
assembled closeto the northeasternborderofFrance.Napoleonchose toattackinthe
hopeof destroyingthem beforethey could join inacoordinatedinvasionofFrancewith
other members of the coalition. The defeat at Waterloo ended Napoleon's rule as
EmperoroftheFrench.
The bicentenary of Waterloo has prompted renewed attention to the geopolitical and
economic legacy of the battle and the century of relative transatlantic peace which
followed.
The Battle ended the First French Empire and the political and military career of
NapoleonBonaparte,oneofthegreatestcommandersandstatesmeninhistory.
It was followed by almost four decades of international peace in Europe. No further
major conflict occurred until the Crimean War. Changes to the configuration of
European states, as refashioned after Waterloo, included the formation of the Holy
Alliance of reactionary governments intent on repressingrevolutionary and democratic
ideas. Every generation in Europe up to the outbreak of the First World War looked
back at Waterloo as the turning point that dictated the course of subsequent world
history.Inretrospect, it wasseenastheeventthatusheredintheConcertof Europe,an
eracharacterisedbyrelativepeace,materialprosperityandtechnologicalprogress.

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Why do we attach "gate" at the end of each scam? It all began with Watergate.
Herewego:
TheWatergate scandalwas amajorpolitical scandal thatoccurredintheUnitedStates
in the 1970s as a result of the 1972 breakin at the Democratic National Committee
(DNC) headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the
Nixonadministration'sattemptedcoverup of its involvement.Whentheconspiracywas
scooped up and investigated by the U.S. Congress, the Nixon administration's
resistance to its probes led to a constitutional crisis. ThetermWatergate has come to
encompass an array of clandestine and oftenillegalactivitiesundertaken bymembers
of the Nixon administration.Those activities included such"dirtytricks"asbugging the
offices ofpolitical opponentsand peopleofwhomNixonorhisofficialsweresuspicious.
Nixon and his close aides ordered harassment of activist groups and political figures,
using the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA). The scandal led to the discovery of multiple abuses of power by the Nixon
administration.
In India we have so many "gates" like Coalgate, Lalitgate and now Chikkigate.
Needlesstosay,eachoneofthese"gates"threwupitsownBillGates!

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Que. What do you understand by the term Youth? Can we treat it as a social
group?
Ans. Youth is best understood as a period of transition from the dependence of
childhood to adulthoods independence and awareness of our interdependence as
members of a community. Youth is a more fluid category than a fixed agegroup.
However,age istheeasiestwaytodefinethisgroup,particularlyinrelationtoeducation
andemployment.
The UN, for statistical consistency across regions, defines youth, as those persons
betweentheagesof15and24years.
Youthisthetimeoflifewhenoneisyoung,butoftenmeansthetimebetweenchildhood
and adulthood (maturity). Its definitions of a specific age range varies, as youth isnot
definedchronologicallyasastagethatcanbetiedtospecificageranges
Young workers are notahomogenous group. There are certain social groups thatface
distinct disadvantages which, intersecting with the social exclusion experienced by
youth,broadenthechallengeoftheirfindingopportunitiesfordecentwork.
In general, young women have more difficulty in securing decent work opportunities.
Unemployment rates for young women in the Middle EastandNorthAfricaarenearly
twiceashighasthoseofyoungmen.

17

The very young in most countries also face difficulty in securing decent work
opportunities.Unemploymentratesamongethnicminoritiestendtobehigher.

Que.Whatis"middleincometrap"andhowcanitbeavoided?
Ans. The middle income trap is an economic development situation, where a country
which attains a certain income (due to given advantages) will find further growth
difficult.The concept was coined in2007.Acountry inthemiddleincome trap may lose
competitive edge in the export of manufactured goods because wages are on a rising
trend. An emerging market brimming with potential really starts growing rapidly,
generatinggrowthandprosperity,butasitmovesintothemiddleoftheglobaleconomic
table,growthslowsdown.Hopesforfuturewealthdiminish.Itstrapped.
For examples of this trend, you might look to Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, or Thailand,
countries that saw per capita income stagnate after achieving middleincome status.
There are counterexamples, though: consider South Korea and Taiwan, which went
from the range of 10% to 20% of US income up to the 60%70% range with nary a
pause.
Avoiding the middle income trap entails identifying strategies to introduce new
processes and find new markets to maintain export growth. Ramping up domestic
demand is also importantan expanding middle class can use its increasing
purchasingpowertobuyhighquality,innovativeproductsandhelpdrivegrowth.

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The biggest challenge is moving from resourcedriven growth that is dependent on

cheap labor and capital to growth based on high productivity and innovation. This
requires investments in infrastructure and educationbuilding a highquality education
system which encourages creativity and supports breakthroughs in science and
technology.

Que.JustifytheDraftNationalMedicalDevicePolicy2015.
Ans. The objective of the National Medical Device Policy 2015 is "strengthening the
Make inIndiadrivebyreducingdependenceonimportsandsettingupastrongbasefor
medical devices, especially those with critical implications in terms of affordability and
availability of patients". The draft policy, which has been put up on thedepartmentof
pharmaceuticals (DoP) website and communicated to industry bodies and chambers,
seeks commentswithin six weeks,afterwhichafinal note will be prepared forCabinet
approval. Medical devices, which are classified as equipment, implants and
disposables, are mainly import driven, with nearly 7080% highend devices and
equipment brought into the country, while the domestic industry manufactures
disposablesandmedicalsupplies.
The Indian medical devices industry is estimated to be worth around $3 billion a year
andis largely importdriven. Theindustryhasbeendemandingapolicythatwillreverse
their present status oftraders intomanufacturers.Theemphasisofthedraftpolicyis
on the Make in India andthethrustis toreduceIndias dependence onimports.The

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draft policy has been formulated so as to work towards making India a global hub of
production and innovation in medical devices. Towards this, it details the various
measures and concessions that the union government is keen to put in place to help
indigenous businesses to face competition, access foreign markets and find new
business partnersabroad. In thefourthlargestmarketfor medical devicesintheworld,
thedomesticproducershaveonlya25%share.
Over the last many months, there have been complaints about overcharging, with
regulators investigating cases where patients have coughed up almost three to four
times the landed cost(priceatwhichtheseareimported)forcertaindeviceslikecardiac
stentsand,hence,soldwithhugemarkupsof250400%.
In apatientfriendlymeasure,thedraftmentionsadoptingpoliciesonefficacyandsafety
testing, and quality control through a 'Made in India' marking(BIS) specificto medical
devicesinlinewithglobalstandard.
It proposes creating an autonomous body the National Medical Devices Authority
(NDMA) pricing control for medical devices by including them under the Essential
Commodities Act and, most importantly, floatinga separatepricingdivision inthe drug
pricingregulator,NPPA.
Significantly, the draft says the government may announce a separate policy for
regulating prices of identified medical devices and implement it through a separate
medical devices control order. Currently, prices of medicines are notified through the
DrugPricesControlOrder,bythedepartmentofpharmaceuticals.

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Que.ElaborateonMERS.DifferentiatebetweenMERSandSARS.
Ans. An outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) has claimed lives in
SouthKorea. TheWorld HealthOrganization(WHO)saysthenewcoronavirusappears
to be passing betweenpeopleinclosecontact.ItisthebiggestoutbreakofMers,which
issimilartotheSarsvirus,outsidetheMiddleEast.
It is a type of coronavirus. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruseswhichincludes
the commoncold andSevere AcuteRespiratorySyndrome(Sars).ThefirstMersfatality
was recordedinJune2012inSaudiArabia.AccordingtotheWorldHealthOrganization
(WHO),atleast449peoplehavenowdiedfromthevirus.
Mersis a virusthat is transmitted from animals tohumans. TheWHOsaysthatcamels
are likelyto beasourceof Mersinfection but theexact route oftransmissionisnotyet
known. There have been cases where the virus has spread between two people but
closecontactseemstobeneeded.
Cases have been confirmed in 25 countries in theMiddleEast, Europe andAsia. The
majority of the cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia. In May 2015, two new
countriesjoinedthelist:ChinaandSouthKorea.
Coronaviruses cause respiratory infections in humans and animals. Symptoms are a
fever, cough and breathing difficulties. It causes pneumonia and, sometimes, kidney
failure.

21

It is possible the virus is spread in droplets when an infected person coughsor

sneezes. The fact that close contacts appear to have been infected suggeststhat the
virusdoeshavealimitedabilitytopassfrompersontoperson.

Mers is not thought to be very contagious. Up tonow,most human caseshave

beentheresultofhumantohumantransmissioninahealthcaresetting,theWHOsays.
Howthatinfectionoccursisstillnotfullyunderstood.

Experts believe the virus is notvery contagious.Ifitwere,we would haveseen

more cases.Coronavirusesare fairlyfragile.Outsideof the body they can onlysurvive

foradayandareeasilydestroyedbycommondetergentsandcleaningagents.
Thegreatest global concern, however,isaboutthepotentialforthisnewvirustospread
farand wide.So far, persontopersontransmissionhasremainedlimitedtosomesmall
clusters.Thereisnoevidenceyetthatthevirushasthecapacitytobecomepandemic.
Doctors do not yet knowwhatthebest treatmentis,but people with severe symptoms
will need intensive medical care to help them breath. There isno vaccine. Asof June
2015,theWHOsaidabout36%ofreportedpatientswithMershaddied.
Experts do not yet know where the virus originated. It may have been the result of a
new mutationof anexisting virus. Or it may be an infectionthat has beencirculatingin
animalsandhasnowmadethejumptohumans.
Coronaviruses are common viruses that most people get some time intheirlife.Their
name comes from the crownlike spikesthat covertheirsurface.Human coronaviruses

22

were first identified in the mid1960s.Other variants infect many different animals,
producingsymptomssimilartothoseinhumans.
Sars is thought to have infected more than 8,000 people, mainly in China and
SouthEast Asia.Most coronaviruses usuallyinfectonlyoneanimalspeciesor,atmost,
a small number of closely related species. Sars was different: being able to infect
peopleandanimals,includingmonkeys,cats,dogs,androdents.
Sars is thought to have infected more than 8,000 people, mainly in China and
SouthEast Asia, in an outbreak that started in early 2003. Theillness spread to more
thantwodozencountriesinNorthAmerica,SouthAmerica,Europe,andAsiabeforethe
global outbreak was contained. Experts established that Sars could spread by close
persontoperson contact. According to the WHO, 774 people died from the infection.
Since 2004, there have not been any known cases of Sars reported anywhere in the
world.
It's not known exactly how people catch this virus. However, some general measures
may help prevent its spread avoid close contact, when possible, with anyone who
showssymptomsofillness(coughingandsneezing)andmaintaingoodhandhygiene.

In the basketof currencies that determinethevalueoftheInternationalMonetary

Funds reserve asset, the Special Drawing Right (SDR), the following currency
doesnotfindaplace

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a.Euro
b.Japaneseyen
c.Britishpound
d.USdollar
Chooseyouranswerfrombelow:
1.bonly
2.conly
3.aonly
4.Noneoftheabove

Que. What was the background against which the imposition of national
emergency should beunderstoodinIndia?Whatwasthecriticism?Howjustified
isit?
Ans.
In India, " Emergency" refers to a 21month period in 197577 when Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi unilaterally had a state of emergency declared across the
country.Officially issuedby President Fakhruddin AliAhmedunderArticle352(1)ofthe

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Constitution for "internal disturbance", the Emergency wasin effect from 25 June1975
untilitswithdrawalon21March1977.
Itwas preceded by turbulencein Indiafor someyears. During197375,politicalunrest
against the Indira Gandhi government increased across the country. The most
significant of the initial such movement was the Nav Nirman movement in Gujarat,
between December 1973andMarch 1974.Studentunrestagainstthestate'seducation
minister ultimately forced the central government to dissolve the state legislature,
leadingto the resignation ofthe chiefminister, ChimanbhaiPatel,andtheimpositionof
President'srule.Afterthereelections inJune1975,Gandhi'spartywasdefeatedbythe
Janataalliance,formedbypartiesopposedtotherulingCongressparty.
Raj Narain, who hadbeen defeated in parliamentaryelection by Indira Gandhi, lodged
casesof election fraudand use ofstate machinery forelectionpurposesagainst herin
the Allahabad High Court.Shanti Bhushan foughtthecaseforNarain.Gandhiwasalso
crossexamined in theHighCourtwhichwas the first suchinstance foranIndianprime
minister.
In June 1975, Allahabad High Court found the prime minister guilty on the charge of
misuse of government machinery for her election campaign. The court declared her
election null andvoid andunseatedherfromherseat intheLokSabha.Thecourtalso
bannedherfromcontestinganyelectionforanadditionalsixyears.

25

Strikes in trade, student and government unions swept across the country. LedbyJP
and Morarji Desai, protestors flooded the streets of Delhi close to the Parliament
buildingandthePrimeMinister'sresidence.
Indira Gandhichallenged the High Court's decision in theSupremeCourt.JusticeV.R.
KrishnaIyerupheldtheHighCourtjudgementbutshewasallowedtocontinueasPrime
Minister. The next day, JP organised a large rally inDelhi,where he said that a police
officermust reject theorders ofgovernmentiftheorderisimmoralandunethicalasthis
was Mahatma Gandhi'smottoduringthefreedomstruggle.Suchastatementwastaken
asasign of inciting rebellionin the country. Indira Gandhi askedPresident Fakhruddin
Ali Ahmed to issue a proclamation of a state of emergency. The proposal was sent
without discussion with the Union Cabinet, who only learnt ofitand ratified it thenext
morning.
CriticismoftheEmergencyeramaybegroupedas:
1.

Detentionofpeoplebypolicewithoutchargeornotificationoffamilies

2.

Abuseandtortureofdetaineesandpoliticalprisoners

3.

Use of public and private media institutions, like the national television network

Doordarshan,forgovernmentpropagandaForcedsterilisation.
4.

Destructionof the slum and lowincomehousing in theTurkmenGateandJama

MasjidareaofoldDelhi.

26

5.

Largescale and illegal enactment of laws (including modifications to the

Constitution).
On 18 January 1977, Gandhicalled fresh elections forMarch and released all political
prisoners.TheEmergencyofficiallyendedon23March1977.
Shah Commission was a commission of inquiry appointed by Government of India in
1977toinquireintoalltheexcessescommittedintheIndianEmergency.
Somesaythat Mrs.Gandhi imposedEmergency for her ownsurvival. Others saythatit
was called for as the protests did not allow normal functioning of government. The
question was: Should the democraticallyelected governmentbeallowedto function for
fiveyearsorcivilandpoliticalagitationbepermittedtoderailit?

Que.Describethe"Totalrevolution"ofJayaprakashNarayan.
Ans.Bihar MovementwasamovementinitiatedbystudentsinBiharin1974andledby
the veteran Gandhian socialist Jayaprakash Narayan, popularly known as JP,against
misrule of and corruption in the government of Bihar. It later turned against Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi's government at the centre. It was also called TotalRevolution
MovementandJPMovement
Total Revolution of JP is a combination of seven revolu
tions, viz., political, social,
economic, cultural, ideological or intellectual, educational and spiritual and the main
motive being tobring inachange in theexistingsocietythatisintunewiththeidealsof

27

the Sarvodaya. JP had a very idealistic notion of soci

etyand it is in this endeavor,he
shiftedfromMarxismtoSocialismandlatertowardsSarvodaya.
By the early 1970s, JP completely withdrew from party and power politics, and
con
centrated more on social regeneration through peaceful means. In order to better
the situation, despitehis oldage,heembarkedonthetask ofworkingtowardsbringing
inacompletechangeinthepoliticalandeconomiclifeofIndia.
JP began to organize youth to save the democracy fromdegeneration andcalledthis
revolution as TotalRevolution.Themomentumtothemovementcamewhentherewere
agitationsinGujaratandfollowedinBiharaswell.
In 1974, theBiharagitationsspiralledintomassiveprotestsbythepeopletobringabout
a change in the political, social and educational system. Explaining the term peoples
government, JP stated that it would be a small unit of democracy at the village,
panchayat,ortheblocklevel,atallthethreelevels,ifpossible.
These units were regarded asthesourcesof thepowerofthepeopleintimesofpeace,
aswell injustice or tyranny, and mainlyforthereconstructionofthesocietyonthebasis
of equality and the elimina
tionof poverty, oppression and exploitation.JPfurthercalled
upon the people of Bihar as well as the entire India to unite by cutting across their
individualandpartyinterests.

28

HismotivebehindcharginguptheBiharstudentswastobringaboutacompletechange
in theentiregovernmentalstructureandthesystem ofIndian polity. It isforthisreason
hecalleditaTotalRevolution.
He was aiming at uprooting of corruptionfrompolitical andsociallife in India.Besides
this, JP wanted to create conditions wherein the people living below the poverty line
could get the minimum necessities of life. Thus, total revolution was a device for
bringingaboutaGandhianhumanistversionofanidealsociety.

Que. Trace the origins of the term "Sarvodaya" and state its postIndependence
impact.
Ans. Sarvodaya is a term meaning 'universal uplift' or 'progress of all'. The term was
firstcoinedbyMahatma Gandhiasthetitleofhis1908translationofJohnRuskin'stract
onpolitical economy,Unto ThisLast, and Gandhicameto usethe term fortheidealof
his own political philosophy. Later Gandhians, like the Indian nonviolence activist
Vinoba Bhave, embraced the term as a name for the social movement in
postindependence India which strove to ensure that selfdetermination and equality
reachedallstrataofIndiansociety.
Gandhi's ideals have lasted well beyond the achievement of one of hischief projects,
Indianindependence (swaraj). Hisfollowersin India(notably, Vinoba Bhave)continued
workingtopromotethekindofsocietythatheenvisioned,andtheireffortshavecometo
be known as the Sarvodaya Movement. Sarvodaya workers associated with Vinoba,

29

Jaya Prakash Narayan and others undertook various projects aimed at encouraging
popular selforganisationduring the1950sand1960s,includingBhoodanandGramdan
movements. Many groups descended from these networkscontinue to function locally
inIndiatoday.

Que. Partially hydrogenated oils (PHO): Why do we hydrogenate edibleoils and

whatiswrongwithit?
Ans. Fatty acids are characterized as either saturated or unsaturated based on the
presenceof double bondsinitsstructure.Ifthemoleculecontainsno doublebonds,itis
saidtobesaturatedotherwise,itisunsaturatedtosomedegree.
To convert soybean, cottonseed, or other liquid oil into a solid shortening, the oil is
heated in the presence of hydrogen and a catalyst. That hydrogenation process
converts some polyunsaturated fatty acids to monounsaturated and saturated fatty
acids.Italso converts somemonounsaturated fattyacidstosaturatedfattyacids.Thus,
ahealthy oil is convertedintoaharmfulone. Theproblemariseswhensomeofthefatty
acids are converted to the trans form. The termtranscomesfromthe fact thattwo
partsoffattyacidmoleculesareonoppositesides
of double bonds. Inthe usual cis fattyacids, thetwopartsareonthesame sideofthe
double bonds. Thedegree ofhydrogenation determines howsolidthefinal productwill
be

30

Hydrogenated oilstreating withhydrogenaremorestablethancorrespondingnatural

oils with unsaturated fats. Saturated fats are mostly found in animal sources (Butter,
Ghee etc) which are scarce and hence expensive. Oils from vegetable sources are
mostly unsaturated, abundant and less expensive. So, partial hydrogenation of less
expensive unsaturated fats from vegetable sources is an attractive commercial
proposition. They are not only stable and make the fried food product last longer but
also adds to the taste. That is why we find widespread use in commercial cooking in
Breads,Cookies,CreamBiscuits,Sweets,friedsnacks,chocolatesandicecreams.
The primary health risk identified for trans fat consumption is an elevated risk of
coronary heart disease. The reason is trans fat increases the level of LDL or bad
cholesterol and decreases HDL or good cholesterol. Other illeffects are Alzheimers
disease,Cancer,Diabetes,Obesity,Liverdysfunctionandinfertilityinwomen.
Artificial trans fat will be phased out in theUSAasFood andDrug Administrationhas
determined that its main source, partially hydrogenated oils, are not safe for human
consumption. The FDA wants that food manufacturers must stop using partially
hydrogenatedoilswithinthreeyears.

RedandBlueNoticesofInterpol
An Interpol notice is an international alert used by police to communicate information
about crimes, criminals and threats to their counterparts around the world. They are
circulated by Interpolto all memberstates atthe request ofamemberoranauthorised

31

international entity. The information disseminated via notices concerns individuals

wantedforseriouscrimes,missingpersons,unidentifiedbodies,possiblethreats, prison
escapesetc.
There are eight types, seven of which are colourcoded by their function: Red, Blue,
Green, Yellow, Black, Orange, and Purple. The most wellknown notice is the Red
Noticewhichisthe"closestinstrumenttoaninternationalarrestwarrantinusetoday."
Red Notice: Toseekthelocationandarrestofapersonwantedbyajudicialjurisdiction
oraninternationaltribunalwithaviewtohis/herextradition.
Blue Notice: To locate, identify or obtain information on a person of interest in a
criminalinvestigation.
Green Notice: To warnaboutapersons criminal activitiesifthat person isconsidered
tobeapossiblethreattopublicsafety.

MCQ
AP Shah committee was recently set up by the Union Government for the following
purpose
1.tolookintotheminimumalternatetax(MAT)
2.GeneralAntiAvoidanceRule(GAAR)

32

3.mobilisationofresourcesformajorrailwayprojects
4.Euthanasia

Que.Howrevolutionaryisthe"organonachip"technology?
Ans. The paradigm used by pharmaceutical companies to discover and develop new
drugs isbroken. Clinical studies take yearstocompleteandtestingasinglecompound
can cost more than $2 million. Meanwhile, innumerable animal lives are lost, and the
process often fails to predict human responses because traditional animal models do
not accurately mimichumanphysiology.Forthesereasons,thepharmaceuticalindustry
needs alternative ways to screen drug candidates in the laboratory. Therefore, organ
chipsarebeingtried.
An organonachip (OC) is a multichannel 3D microfluidic cell culture chip that
simulates the activities, mechanics and physiological response of entire organs and
organ systems. It constitutes the subject matter of significant biomedical engineering
research, more precisely in bioMEMS. The convergence of labsonchips(LOCs) and
cell biology has permitted the study of human physiologyin anorganspecific context,
introducing a novel model of in vitro multicellular human organisms. Soon, they will
perhapsabolishtheneedforanimalsindrugdevelopmentandtoxintesting.
Research Institutes are engineering microchips that recapitulate the microarchitecture
andfunctionsof livingorgans,suchasthelung,heart,andintestine.Thesemicrochips,

33

called organsonchips, could soon form an accurate alternative to traditional animal

testing.Each individualorganonchip is composedofaclearflexiblepolymer aboutthe
size of a computer memory stick that contains hollow microfluidic channels lined by
living human cells. Because the microdevices are translucent, they provide a window
intotheinnerworkingsofhumanorgans.
However,buildingvalidartificialorgansrequiresnotonlyaprecisecellularmanipulation,
but a detailedunderstandingofthehumanbodysfundamentalintricateresponsetoany
event.

Que. As far as bad loans of banks are concerned, who is a wilful defaulter and
whatcanbedone?
Ans.
Wilfuldefaultbroadlycoversthefollowing:
a.Deliberatenonpaymentoftheduesdespiteadequatecashflowandgoodnetworth
b.Siphoningoffoffundstothedetrimentofthedefaultingunit
c. Assets financed either not been purchased or been sold and proceeds have been
misutilised
d.Misrepresentation/falsificationofrecords
e.Disposal/removalofsecuritieswithoutbank'sknowledge

34

f.Fraudulenttransactionsbytheborrower.
Stepstobetaken
1. While dealing with wilful defaultofasingleborrowingcompanyinaGroup, thebanks
/ FIs should consider the track record of the individual company, with reference to its
repaymentperformance toitslenders.However,incases wherealetterofcomfortand/
or the guaranteesfurnished by the companieswithinthe Group on behalfofthewilfully
defaulting units are not honoured when invoked by the banks / FIs, such Group
companiesshouldalsobereckonedaswilfuldefaulters.
2. Role ofauditors: In case anyfalsification of accounts on the part of theborrowersis
observed by the banks / FIs, and if it is observed that the auditors were negligent or
deficient in conducting the audit, they should lodge a formal complaint against the
auditors of the borrowers with the Institute ofCharteredAccountantsof India (ICAI)to
enabletheICAItoexamineandfixaccountabilityoftheauditors.
3.GrievancesRedressalMechanismshouldbesetup
4. Banks/FIs shouldtakequick measures inidentifying andreportinginstancesofwilful
default:like : decisionsto classify theborroweraswilfuldefaultershouldbeentrustedto
aCommittee ofhigher functionariesheaded bytheExecutiveDirectorandconsistingof
twoGMs/DGMs as decided by theBoard oftheconcernedbank/FIThedecisiontaken
on classification of wilful defaulters should be well documented and supported by

35

requisite evidence. The decision should clearly spell out the reasons for which the
borrowerhasbeendeclaredaswilfuldefaultervisvisRBIguidelines.
5.MonitoringofEndUse
6. Criminal Action by Banks / FIs: It is essentialtorecognise that there is scopeeven
under the existing legislations to initiate criminal action against wilful defaulters
dependingupon thefacts and circumstances ofthecaseundertheprovisionsofIndian
PenalCode(IPC)1860.

Que.Whatisextraditionandhowfarisextraditionajudicialprocess?
Ans.Extradition isthe legalprocessbywhichaperson istransferredfromoneplaceto
another without the persons consent. This is a legal method to prevent people from
evading justice.Whenaperson commits acrime in a state andthengoestoadifferent
one, the person can be sent back to face charges in the state where the crime was
committed. Generally, a countrys power to arrest a fugitive only extends within its
borders.Ifthere isnoprovisionforextradition,peoplecanevadejusticebymovingfrom
oneplace to another. Extraditiontreaties are signed betweennations withthe intention
to transfer criminals from a requested country to a requesting country. International
extraditionis allowedbynationsonlyafterimposingconditionstotheprocess.Whenan
extradition treaty is signed, the parties to the treaty provide the offenses forwhichan

36

individual can be extradited. International extradition matters are negotiated by the

executivebranchoffederalgovernment.
Roleofjudiciary
However, even if the executive branch is in favor of the foreign nations request,
extradition requests can be turned down by the judicial branch. The judiciary can
dismiss an extradition request ifthechargestheforeigngovernmentleveledagainstthe
captive are not crimes in the country where the criminal has escaped to. The judicial
branch can also dismiss an extradition request if the captive has a reasonable fearof
facing cruel and unusual punishment if s/he was extradited, or if the captive had a
reasonablefearthats/hewouldnotfaceafairtrial.
A nation cannot surrenderafugitive toanother nationordemandreturn ofanoffender
fromthenationifitisagainsttheconstitutionofthenation.
In IndiatheprovisionsofIndianExtraditionAct,1962,governtheextraditionofafugitive
from India to a foreigncountry orviceversa.The basisof extradition could be a treaty
betweenIndiaandaforeigncountry.
Underworld don and prime accused in the Mumbai blasts Abu Salem was extradited
fromPortugalalongwithwifeMonicaBedi.
When India requested Portugal government for the extradition of Abu Salem,
Portuguese court ordered their extradition after the Indian government, through its
lawyer,gave an assurance thatifconvicted they would notbe sentencedtodeath.The

37

assurancewas givensinceEuropean lawprohibitsextraditionofanyaccusedtosucha

country where capital punishment is in vogue. As perthe Portuguese Constitution,no
onecan be extraditedin respect ofoffences punishablebydeathpenaltyunderthelaw
ofthestaterequestingextradition.
*LalitModiepisodefallout

Que.WhatisMagnaCarta?Whyisitimportant?Howisitrelevanttoday?
Ans. Magna Carta, which means The Great Charter, is one of the most important
documents in history asitestablishedthe principle that everyone issubject tothelaw,
eventhe king,and guarantees therightsof individuals, therightto justice andtheright
to a fair trial.In 1215 King John agreed to the terms of the Magna Carta followingthe
uprising of a group of rebel barons in England.Magna Carta was created as a peace
treaty between the king and the rebels.Magna Carta, among other things, gives all
English subjects the righttojustice and afair trial.Itsays: Nofreemanshallbeseized
or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or
deprived ofhis standingin anyotherway,norwillweproceedwithforceagainst him,or
sendothers to do so,exceptbythe lawfuljudgementofhis equals orbythelawofthe
land.
Whyisitsignificanttoday?

38

The Magna Carta is considered one of the first steps taken in England towards
establishingparliamentarydemocracy.

Whatwiderrolehasitplayed?
Therearestrong influences fromtheMagnaCartaintheAmericanBillofRights,written
in 1791. IndianConstitutionhasFundamentalRightsthatwereinspired byAmericanBill
ofRights.
Even morerecently, thebasicprinciplesoftheMagnaCartaareseenveryclearlyinthe
UniversalDeclarationofHumanRightsin1948.

EthicsandIntegrity
ProprietyandPublicLife
Propriety means conformityto established standards ofmoralsandappropriatenessfor
thepurposeorcircumstancessuitability
rightnessorjustness.Itisanessentialattributeofthoseinpublicservice.
The meaning of the term propriety encompasses appropriateness, rightness,
correctness in behaviour or morals, conformity with convention in conduct, the

39

standards of behaviour considered correct by society. The core principles of the

conceptofproprietycouldbesummarisedasunder:

vIntegrity
vOpenness
vObjectivity
vHonesty
vSelflessness
Theconceptofproprietycanberelatedtovariousotherconcepts.Tolistafew:

vAccountability
vLegality
vProbity
vValueformoney
vFraud&Corruption
vGovernance

40

Though the conceptofpropriety isgenerallyassociatedwithpublicsectoractivities,the

time has now come toapply this concept evenin the private sector. With thechanging
environment, there is a greater emphasis on conformance with prescribed values,
customs,proceduresandpractices,keepinginmindthepublicinterest.
In India there is a Statement of Judicial Values that sets high benchmarks forjudicial
behaviourinlinewithpropriety.
The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of all civil
servants, for example, participation of government servants in political activities and
attendancebygovernmentservantsatpoliticalmeetings.
No member of theCivil Serviceshallusehispositionorinfluencedirectlyorindirectlyto
secure employment for any member ofhis familywith any private undertakingor Non
GovernmentOrganisation.
Civilservantsshouldnotabuseofficeandofficialpower.
Auditorsandcompaniesalsohavedemandsofpropriety.Forexample,recentexamples
of Nestle's Maggi being contaminated and the auditors of Satyam Computer Services
Ltdoverlookingbestpractices.
*FalloutofSushmaSwarajepisode

41

Que. How does one resolve the Calorie Consumption Puzzle in the case of
India?
Ans.India's Calorie ConsumptionPuzzle hasattracted theattentionofmanyscholars
in recent years. The relevant question is: why hasthe countrys nutritional intake been
declining over the past few decades while peoples purchasing power is increasing.
When it is generally true that richer people consume more calories, why istheIndian
trend the opposite? Why do China and Vietnam show normal trend of rising food
consumptionwithgrowthwhileonlyIndiaisgoingtheotherway?
Several explanations forthe puzzle have beenoffered by researchers. One theorythat
hasbecomepopular isdecliningcalorieneedspeoplearechoosingtoconsumefewer
calories since they need less energy as s the workforce shifts from physically
demanding agricultural work to while collar occupations in cities and as agriculture
becomes mechanised, calorie requirements of the population areexpectedto decline.
Another explanationcentres ondiseasessuchasdiarrhoeathatresultinlossofenergy.
Greater availability of safedrinkingwaterand better sanitationin Indiahasledtobetter
epidemiological conditions, resulting in fewer cases of diarrhoea and other diseases,
andultimatelyleadingtofallingcalorierequirements.
Other explanations include increase in foodinflation, supplies not matching demandin
protein food, vegetarianism that shifts from cereals but cant have protein as it costs
more nor meat, voluntary choice of luxuries like TVs over food, and underreporting of
calorieintakeduetoeatingoutsidethehome.

42

Que.WriteonSufisminIndias:Itsorigins,MainSilsilasandImpact
Ans. The early Sufi mystics stressed on the virtues of repentance, abstinence,
renunci
ation, poverty and trust in God. The early Sufis were wanderers but in due
course of time theSufi groups had become orders and we notice the formation of Sufi
orders orSalsilas.AftertheestablishmentoftheDelhiSultanate,manySufiorderswere
established in different parts of India and Sufism became very influential by the 14th
century. They believed in the equality of all human beings and brotherhood of man.
Their concept of universal brotherhood and the humanitarian ideas of the Sufi saints
attracted the Indian mind. A movement similar to Sufism, called the Bhakti cult, was
already afoot in India on the eve of the Muslim conquest of the country. The
liberalminded Sufis were, therefore, welcomed in India. The Sufi movement proved
very helpful in bridging the gap between the followers of the two religions and in
bringingtheHindusandtheMuslimstogether.
ThreeofthemostimportantSilsilasduringtheperiodoftheSultanateareasfollows:
1.
TheSuhrawardiSilsilawhichwasfoundedinIndiabyShaikBahauddinZakaria(AD
11821262).After hisdeathin 1236A.D., hisdevoteescontinuedtocelebrateanannual
UrsfestivalatAjmer.

43

2.

Nizamuddin Auliya. He led a simple austere life and lived in Delhi. By his vast

learning, religiousknowledge,andtolerantattitudetoallreligions,heearneddevotionof
boththeHinduandMuslimmasses.
3.

TheChistiSilsilaintroduced inIndiaby Khwaja MoinuddinChisti, whodiedin AD

1236. Even today he is venerated by Muslimsand histomb is locatedat Ajmer, which

becameasacredpilgrimage. Besides the abovetwoorders,thereexistedtheordersof
theFirdausi,theQadiri,theShatauri,Qalandari,etc.
While Sufism reached India in the 12th century A.D, ts influence grew considerably
during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. In India, Chisti and Suhrawardi Silsila
weremostprominent.
A critical study of the tenets of Sufism indicates that it was acquainted withHinduism
and Hindu thought and had imbibed certain elements of Indian idealism and adopted
manyYogicpracticesandalsowasinfluencedbyUpanishadicidealismandVedanta.
Theearly Sufiswere notonlyasceticsbutalsolivedalifeofvoluntarypovertyshunning
all types of worldly pleasures. Khwaja Fariduddin, popularly known asBaba declared,
Themainpurpose ofthispathistheconcentrationofheartwhichcanbeachievedonly
bytheabstinationfromprohibitedmeansoflivelihoodandassociationwithkings.Thus,
most of the Sufis in India conceived and preached divine unity in terms of idealistic
monoism while many Hindus found the Sufi ideas very similar to those of Vedantic
philosophy.

44

The lower strata of Hindu community appear to be greatly attracted by the ideas of
socialequality andfraternity of Islam.Thusthesimplicity,tolerationandliberationofthe
SufisinIndiareleasedsyncreticforcesandledtoasortofculturalsynthesis.
The Sufi movement gained impetus during the reign of Akbar who adopted a liberal
religiouspolicyundertheinfluenceoftheSufisaints.
Abul Fazal hadmentionedtheexistenceof14SilsilahsinIndia.Acloselinkthatexisted
between the leader or Pir and his murids or disciples was a vital element of the Sufi
system.
The Sufi Movementin India helped in establishing peaceand amity among theHindus
andMuslims.
ImpactofSufism
The liberal ideas and unorthodox principles of Sufism had a profound influence on
Indian society. The liberal principlesof Sufisects restrained orthodox.Muslims intheir
attitude and encouraged many Muslim rulers to pursue tolerant attitude to their
nonMuslim subjects. Most Sufi saints preached their teachings in the language of
common man that contributed greatly to the evolution of variousIndian languages like
Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi,KashmiriandHindi.TheimpactofSufiMovementwasdeeplyfelt
onsomerenowned poets oftheperiod,likeAmirKhusrauandMalikMuhammadJayasi
whocomposedpoemsinPersianandHindiinpraiseofSufiprinciples.

45

Que.Whatisasocialdilemma?Howisitrelatedtosocialcapital?
Ans. A social dilemma occurs when an individual faces the choice of incurring a
personal cost for a greater benefit for others. When social capital (trust, cooperation,
understanding and sharing among members of society) is high, individuals are more
prepared to incur such individual costs forthegreatergoodand when most people in
society behave in that manner, society as a whole benefits in higher economic
productivity, stronger social insurance,greater social resilience to natural hazards,and
greatermutualcare(suchasGoodSamaritanscomingtotheemergencyaidofothers).
Many social dilemmas occur in countless face toface encounters in daily life and
business dealings. When twoindividualsengage inabusinessencounter,therearethe
possibilities that they may engage in deceitful behavior such as theft, fraud, or even
violence. Some of these threats can be controlled by legal contracts, but writing and
enforcingcontractscanbecostlyorevenimpossibleinsomecircumstances.Thus,trust
is critical: the confidence that the counterparty will behave honestly or morally and
transparently.
Without social trust, a wide range of mutually beneficial economic and social
arrangementsmaybeimpossibletonegotiate,muchlesstosustain.
Other socialdilemmas occur atthesocietalscale.Whensocialcapitalishigh,individual
citizens are more prepared to pay their taxes honestly, more prepared to support
investment in public goods, and more likely to support social insurance policies. The
Scandinavian countries, with perhaps the highestsocial capitalin the world, also have

46

the most extensive social welfare systems (broadly classified as social democracy).
High social capital is conducive to electoral support for a strong social safety netand
extensivesocialservices.
Social capital is best built by exemplary laws, execution, systems and behaviour of
leadersinallwalksoflife.

Que. Differences between preemptive strike, preventive strike, covert and

clandestine operations, under cover operations andhot pursuit. Where does the
recentArmyoperationinMyanmarfitin?
Ans.
A preemptive war is a war that is commencedin an attempt torepel ordefeat a
perceived imminent offensive or invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in an
impending(allegedly unavoidable) warshortlybeforethatattackmaterializes.Theterm:
'preemptive war' is sometimes confusedwith theterm: 'preventivewar'. Thedifference
isthat a preventive waris launched todestroy the potentialthreatofthetargetedparty,
when an attack by that party is not imminent or known to be planned, while a
preemptivewarislaunchedinanticipationofimmediateaggressionbyanotherparty.
A covert operation is "an operation that is soplannedand executed as toconcealthe
identityof or permitdenial by thesponsor."Covertoperations aim tofulfilltheirmission
objectiveswithoutanypartiesknowingwhosponsoredorcarriedouttheoperation.

47

Togo"undercover"istoavoiddetectionbytheentityoneisobserving,andespeciallyto
disguise one's own identity orusean assumed identity forthepurposesof gainingthe
trust of an individual or organization to learn or confirm confidential information or to
gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gather information or evidence.
Traditionally, it is a technique employed by law enforcement agencies or private
investigators, and a person who works in such a role is commonly referred to as an
undercoveragent.Itisapartofcovert/clandestineoperations.
Covert operations and clandestine operations are distinct. A covert operation differs
from a clandestine operation in that emphasis is placed on concealment of identity of
sponsorratherthanonconcealmentoftheoperationitself."
Anovertoperationisoneconductedopenly,withoutconcealment.
In a covert operation, the identity of the sponsor is concealed, while in a clandestine
operation the operationitselfis concealed.Putdifferently, clandestine means "hidden,"
whilecovertmeans"deniable."
What then is stealth? The term stealth refers to tactics aimed at providing and
preserving the element of surprise and reducing enemy resistance and to a set of
technologies (stealth technology) to aid in those tactics. Secrecy and stealthiness are
oftendesiredinclandestineandcovertoperations.
Covert operations are employed in situations where openly operating against a target
would be disadvantageous. Covert operations may include sabotage, assassinations,

48

supportforcoupsd'tat,orsupportforsubversion.Tacticsincludetheuseofafalseflag
orfrontgroup.
Hot pursuit implies pursuit without unreasonable delay and generally is immediate
pursuit. It can also refer to chasing a suspect into a neighboring jurisdiction in an
emergency,withouttimetoalertlawenforcementpeopleinthatarea.
Now, howdowe characterise the Indian army'skillingof the insurgentsinMyanmar?It
was clandestine andcoverttillitlasted.Ithasbecomeovertwhendeclared.Undercover
agents musthave been active. Stealth, there was.Hotpursuit, it wasnot aswedidnot
chase them after they ambushed. We took time to plan and execute. Preemptive, it
wasforfuturemilitantactions.Thequestionofitbeing"preventive"doesnotarise.

Que. What is the controversyaroundMonosodium glutamate (MSG) in Indiaand

elsewhere?
Ans.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancer commonlyadded toChinese
food,canned vegetables,soupsand processed meats. AuthoritiesclassifiedMSG asa
food ingredient that's "generallyrecognized as safe," butitsuse remains controversial.
Forthisreason,whenMSGisaddedtofood,itisrequiredthatitbelistedonthelabel.
MSG has been usedas a food additivefor decades. Overthe years,manycomplaints
havebeen receivedof adverse reactions to foods containing MSG. Thesereactions
knownasMSGsymptomcomplexinclude:

49

Headache
Sweating
Numbness
Heartpalpitations
Chestpain
Nausea
Weakness
However, researchers have found no definitive evidence of a link between MSG and
these symptoms. Researchers acknowledge, though, that asmallpercentageofpeople
may have shortterm reactions to MSG. Symptoms are usually mild and don't require
treatment.TheonlywaytopreventareactionistoavoidfoodscontainingMSG.
In May 2015 FoodSafety Regulators from theUttar Pradesh, India found thatMaggi 2
Minute Noodleshad up to17 timesbeyond permissible safe limitsofleadinadditionto
monosodiumglutamatein it.On 3 June2015,NewDelhi Government bannedthesale
of Maggi in New Delhi stores for 15 days because it found lead and monosodium
glutamate in the eatable beyond permissible limit. The Gujarat FDA on June 4, 2015
banned the noodles for 30 days after 27 out of 39 samples were detected with
objectionable levels of metallic lead, among other things. Some of India's biggest
retailers like Future Group, Big Bazaar, Easy day and Nilgiris have imposed a

50

nationwide ban on Maggi. Thereafter multiple state authorities in India found

unacceptableamountofleadandithasbeenbannedinmanystatesinIndia.OnJune4
2015 Govt. Of Tamil Nadu also bans maggi and other four brand noodles due to
unacceptableamountofleadandothercomponents.
On June 5, 2015, FoodSafety and StandardsAuthority of India (FSSAI) ordered recall
of all nineapproved variants ofMaggi instant noodles fromIndia,termingthem "unsafe
and hazardous" for human consumption. On the same day, Food Safety Agency of
United Kingdom launched aninvestigationtofindlevelsofleadinMagginoodles.Nepal
alsoindefinitelybannedMaggioverconcernsaboutleadlevelsintheproduct.
Que.Whatisleadpoisoningandhowisitharmfultohumans?
Ans.Lead poisoning(alsoknownasplumbism, colicapictorum,saturnism,Devoncolic,
or painter's colic) is a type of metal poisoning andamedical condition in humans and
other vertebrates caused by increased levels oftheheavymetalleadinthebody.Lead
interferes with a variety of body processes and is toxic to many organs and tissues
including the heart, bones, intestines, kidneys, andreproductiveandnervous systems.
It interferes with the development of the nervous system and is therefore particularly
toxic to children, causing potentially permanent learning and behavior disorders.
Symptoms include abdominal pain, headache, anemia, irritability, andin severe cases
seizures,coma,anddeath.
Routes of exposure to lead include contaminated air, water, soil, food, andconsumer
products.One of thelargestthreatstochildren is leadpaint thatexistsinmanyhomes.

51

Prevention of lead exposure can range from individual efforts (e.g., removing
leadcontaining items such as piping or blinds from the home) to nationwide policies
(e.g., laws that banlead inproducts, reduce allowable levelsinwaterorsoil,orprovide
forcleanupandmitigationofcontaminatedsoil,etc.)
Elevated lead in the body can be detected by the presence of changes in blood cells
visible with a microscope and dense lines in the bones of children seen on Xray.No
safe threshold for lead exposure has been discoveredthat is, there is no known
sufficientlysmallamountofleadthatwillnotcauseharmtothebody.

Que. Comment on the causes for the increasing incidence of womanheaded

householdsinIndia.
Ans. According to census 2011, a little over 13% of households in the country are
headed by women. With about four in every ten houses headed by a women,
Lakshadweep has the highest proportion of such households. Itis followed byKerala,
Goa, Meghalaya and Himachal Pradesh. Apart from thematrilinealtradition, thereare
other social and economicreasons behind thepresenceoffemaleheadedhouseholds.
These include widowhood, divorce, separation, migration of male members for long
periodsandlossofeconomicabilityofmalesbecauseofdisability.

52

Que Differentiate between "essential amino acids" and others and also define
"completeprotein".
Ans. Proteins are composed of 21 biological amino acids. 9 of these are essential
aminoacids,whichmeansourbodiescannot producethem,andtheymustbederived
fromfoodsources.Theessentialaminoacidsarephenylalanine(25milligramsperkgof
body weight), leucine (39), lysine (30), valine (26), threonine (15), methionine (15),
isoleucine (20), histidine(10),and tryptophan(4).Whenwedigestafoodwithprotein,it
breaks down into its amino acids, and each is used by the body for slightly different
purposes.
Acompleteprotein isonethatincludesall9essentialaminoacids.Mostanimalsources
are complete proteins, and some plantproteinsareaswell.Bycombiningseveraltypes
of plant proteins (beans and rice for example), even nonmeat eaters get complete
protein.

Que.Whatisbiologicalvalueanditsimportancetodiet?
Ans. Biological value (BV) is a measure of the proportion of absorbed protein from a
food which becomes incorporated into the proteinsof the organism's body. It captures
how readily the digested protein can be used in protein synthesis in the cells of the
organism. Proteins are the major source of nitrogen in food. BV measures the
proportion of this nitrogen absorbedbythe bodywhichisthenexcreted.Theremainder
must have been incorporated into the proteins of the organisms body. The higher the

53

Biological Value of the protein you use, the morenitrogen yourbody can absorb, use,
andretain. Whey protein hasthe highestBV value,ratingasa 104.Eggproteinisonly
second to whey rating as a 100with milkproteinsbeingaclose third rating as 91Beef
ratesasan80with soyproteinsadistant74.Highbiologicalvalueproteinsareprovided
byanimal sources ofprotein,suchasmeat,poultry,fish,eggs,milk,cheeseandyogurt.
Low biological value proteins are found in plants, legumes, grains, nuts, seeds and
vegetables.The topic assumes relevancein the contextof the recent decisionofsome
state governments in India like Madhya Pradesh where egg is being replaced with
vegetableandfruit.

Que.WriteashortnoteonGoldilockseconomy.*
Ans.In economics, aGoldilockseconomysustainsmoderateeconomicgrowthandlow
inflation, which allows a marketfriendly monetary policy. Goldilocks economy is
characterized by alowunemploymentrate,increasingasset prices(stocks,realestate,
etc.),lowinterestrates,steadyGDPgrowthandlowinflation.
A bullish economy, withsteep growth in market valuesand low lossesdue toinflation,
denotes strong economic growth, though it may lead to rising inflation. In contrast, a
bearish economy is the opposite, with stagnant economic performance and inflation
ratessoakingup any gains. In either extreme,theRBIactsto either coolofforheatup
the economy,primarily by raising or loweringthe official interest rates. Whenthere isa
balance, i.e. not rapid or stagnant growth, but sustained growth and a reasonably low

54

inflation rate, it is a comfortable zone for investors to find long term growth and
attractivevalues invarious asset classes. Therefore, experts have labeledthisbalance
betweenabulleconomyandabeareconomy,theGoldilocksEconomy.
The name Goldilocks economy comes from children's story, The Three Bears, when
Goldilocks proclaims that the porridge is "not toohotandnottoo coldit is justright."
Indeed, with sustained growth and a low inflation rate, the economic is usually
considered"justright."
* RBIGovernorused thetermwhile delivering thebimonthlycreditandmonetarypolicy
yesterday.

Que. Is altruism a core value for civil servants? Answer with an introduction of
altruism.
Ans.
Altruism or selflessness is the principle or practice of concern for the welfare of
others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures and a core aspect ofvarious religious
traditions and secular worldviews. Altruism or selflessness is the opposite of
selfishness. The word was coined by the French philosopher Auguste Comte as the
oppositeofegoism.

55

Altruism is when we act to promote someone elses welfare, even at a risk or costto
ourselves. Studies have found that peoples first impulse is to cooperate rather than
compete.
Altruismhasdeep rootsin humannaturebecausehelpingandcooperationpromotethe
survival ofourspecies. Darwinhimselfarguedthataltruism,whichhecalledsympathy
orbenevolence,isanessentialpartofthesocialinstincts.
This does not mean that humans are more altruistic than selfish instead, evidence
suggests we have deeply ingrained tendenciestoact ineitherdirection.Our challenge
liesinfindingwaystoevokethebetterangelsofournature.
Individuals come to exhibit charitable, philanthropic, and other prosocial, altruistic
actionsfor thecommon goodbothbynatureandbytraining.Moraleducation,law,civic
leadership also establish ethos todevelopaltruism. Building social capital is crucial for
goodgovernance,economic developmentand social harmony. At its heartliesaltruism
andcooperation.
In a welfare state like oursthat has the responsibilityto eradicate poverty bring about
social equality and deliver goods and services to the deprived and vulnerable, civil
service has to be altruistic. It is written inthe Code as well. Thewelfare schemes that
we have require our Civil Serviceto besensitive , compassionate andgenerous which
isthecruxofaltruism.

56

Que.Commenton"currencymanipulation"anditseffects.
Ans. Currency manipulation occurs when countries sell their own currencies in the
foreign exchange markets, usually against dollars, to keep their exchange ratesweak
and the dollar strong. These countries thereby subsidize their exports and raise the
price of their imports, sometimes by as much as 3040%. They strengthen their
international competitive positions, increase their trade surpluses and generate
domestic productionand employmentat the expenseof others.Itbecomescompetitive
devaluation whcih is a form of " Beggar , thy neighbour policy" in which those
economiesthatcanaffordtodevaluelose.
Currency manipulation extends throughout the Pacific Rim: in Japan, where Tokyos
central bank has printed more yen to help its slumbering economy grow in China,
where therenminbi has long beenfixedto the dollar rather than allowedtofluctuate in
response to market forces and in Malaysia, where the government has intervenedto
protecttheringgitagainstcurrencytraders.TheSwissNationalBank(SNB)undervalued
swiss francssayingthehighvalueofthefrancisathreattotheeconomy.TheSNBsaid
itwouldenforcetheminimumratebybuyingforeigncurrencyinunlimitedquantities.
India is running a huge trade deficit with China and is becoming deindustrialised
becauseoftheundervaluationofChineserenminbithroughmanipulation.
TheU.S.trade deficit hasbeen severalhundredbilliondollarsayearhigherasaresult
andlostseveral million additional jobs duringtheGreatRecession.Asaresult,itjoined
the currency wars through QE. Currency manipulation is, by far, the worlds most

57

protectionist international economic policy in the 21st century, but e International

MonetaryFundandtheWorldTradeOrganizationfailedtocheckit.

Que.Whatis"bigdata"?Howisitusefulincommerceandgovernance?
Ans.
The basic idea behind the phrase Big Data is that everything we do is
increasingly leaving a digital trace (or data), which we (and others) can use and
analyse. Big Data therefore refers to that data being collectedandourabilityto make
useof it.Data collection itself isntnew.Weashumanshavebeencollectingandstoring
data since as far back as 18,000 BCE. Whats new are the recent technological
advances in chip and sensor technology,the Internet,cloud computing, and our ability
to storeandanalyzedatathathave changedthequantity ofdatawecancollect.Things
that have been a part of everyday life for decades shopping, listening to music,
takingpictures, talking on the phone now happenmoreandmorewhollyorinpartin
thedigitalrealm,andthereforeleaveatrailofdata.
Theother big changeis inthe kind ofdata we can analyze.Nowdataanalystscanalso
look atunstructureddatalikephotos,tweets,emails,voicerecordingsandsensordata
tofindpatterns.
As with any leap forward in innovation, the tool can be used for good or nefarious
purposes. Some people are concerned about privacy, as more and moredetailsof our

58

lives are being recorded and analyzed by businesses, agencies, and governments
everyday.
Companies are using big data to better understand and target customers. Using big
data,retailers can predict what products willsell, telecom companiescan predict ifand
whenacustomermightswitchcarriersetc.
Its alsoused tooptimize businessprocesses. Retailers are able tooptimizetheirstock
levels based on whatstrending on social media, what people are searchingfor on the
web,or evenweatherforecasts.Supplychainscanbeoptimizedsothatdeliverydrivers
uselessgasandreachcustomersfaster.
Big data analytics enable us to find new cures and better understand and predict the
spreadof diseases.Police forces usebig data toolstocatchcriminalsandevenpredict
criminal activity and credit card companies use big data analytics to detectfraudulent
transactions.
Asthetoolsto collect and analyze the databecomeless andlessexpensiveandmore
and more accessible, we will develop more and more uses for it everything from
smartyogamatstobetterhealthcaretoolsandamoreeffectivepoliceforce.

Que.Isorganicfarmingtheanswertoclimatechange?

59

Ans. Organic farming, as an adaptation strategy to climate change is a concrete and

sustainable option and has additional potential as a mitigation strategy. The careful
managementofnutrientsandcarbonsequestrationinsoilsaresignificant contributorsin
adaptationandmitigationtoclimatechange.
Organic agricultureis a holistic productionmanagement system. It emphasizestheuse
of managementpracticesin preferencetotheuseofofffarminputs,takingintoaccount
that regional conditions. This is accomplished by using, where possible, cultural,
biological, and mechanical methods, as opposed to using synthetic materials. An
organic production system is designed to a) enhance biological diversity within the
whole system b) increase soil biological activity c) maintain longterm soil fertility d)
recycle wastes of plant and animal origin in order to return nutrients to the land, thus
minimizing the use of nonrenewable resources e) rely on renewable resources in
locally organizedagricultural systems f)promotethehealthyuseofsoil,water,andair,
as well as minimize all forms of pollution thereto that may result from agricultural
practices
Organic farming increasesresilience torespondto the risk of climate variability.Where
a region relies predominantly onrainfedagriculture, organic farmingcanrespond well
to droughts. In India, 60% of agriculture depends on rains. They are prone to
drought.Climate change maymakedrought conditionsevenmorecommoninthefuture
therebyincreasingfoodinsecurityandmigrationrates.
From field trials conducted in arid, semiarid, subhumidand humid regionsofIndia, it
was found that organic farming techniques can improve soil carbon levels by five per

60

cent to 25 per cent and increase the water holding capacity of soils between two per
cent to 17 per cent. Organic agriculture provides environmental benefits through the
sequestrationofatmosphericcarboninsoilorganicmatter.
Soils with higher concentration of carbon content are better able to absorb andretain
water because the organic matter acts like `sponge` absorbing excess water and
retaining it in the soil. More moisture in the soil is particularly valuable for farmers in
droughtprone,dryregions.
Organic farming systems also increase biodiversity by cultivating different genetically
diversecropvarieties.
Together with using adaptation strategies such as water efficient irrigation techniques
and drought tolerant seed varieties, organic farming can help farmers cope with the
impactsofthechangingclimate.

Que. With examples from National Action Plan on Climate Change(NAPCC),

differentiatebetweenadaptationandmitigation.
Ans. In 2008, GOI released Indias first National Action Plan on Climate Change
(NAPCC)policies andprograms addressingclimatemitigationandadaptation.Theplan
identifies eight core national missions running through 2017. Most of them address
mitigationneedswhileadaptationissuesarealsocovered.

61

1.NationalSolarMission
2.NationalMissionforEnhancedEnergyEfficiency
3. National Mission on Sustainable Habitat( To promote energy efficiency as a core
componentofurbanplanning,theplancallsfor:
ExtendingtheexistingEnergyConservationBuildingCode
A greater emphasis on urban waste management and recycling, including power
productionfromwaste
Strengthening the enforcement of automotive fuel economy standards and using
pricingmeasurestoencouragethepurchaseofefficientvehiclesand
Incentivesfortheuseofpublictransportation)
4. National WaterMission:Withwaterscarcityprojectedtoworsenasaresultofclimate
change, the plan sets a goal of a 20% improvement in water use efficiency through
pricingandothermeasures.
5.NationalMissionforSustainingtheHimalayan Ecosystem:Theplanaimstoconserve
biodiversity, forest cover, and other ecological values in the Himalayan region, where
glaciers that are a major source of Indias water supply are projected to recede as a
resultofglobalwarming.

62

6. National Mission for a Green India: Goals include the afforestation of 6 million
hectares of degraded forest lands and expanding forest cover from 23% to 33% of
Indiasterritory.
7. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture: The plan aims to support climate
adaptation in agriculture through the development of climateresilient crops, expansion
ofweatherinsurancemechanisms,andagriculturalpractices.
8. National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change: To gain a better
understanding of climate science, impacts and challenges, the plan envisions a new
Climate Science Research Fund, improved climate modeling, and increased
international collaboration. It also encourage private sector initiatives to develop
adaptationandmitigationtechnologiesthroughventurecapitalfunds.
While the last Mission addresses both, the last but one Mission is essentially
adaptationcentered.Othersareprimarilymitigationfocused.

Que.Inclimatetalks,thetermsadaptationandmitigationareusedoften.Whatdo
theymean?Aretheycomplementary?Giveexamples.
Ans.The challengeof dealingwith the impacts ofclimatechange isframedintermsof
adaptationand mitigation. Mitigationinvolvescuttingdownemissionsandthusreducing
the magnitude of climate change itself. Mitigation of climate change means reducing

63

greenhouse gas emissions and taking care of greenhouse gas sinks. Renewable
energy,afforestationetcaremitigatingagencies.
Adaptation, by contrast, involves efforts to limit our vulnerability to climate change
impacts through various measures, while not necessarily dealing with the underlying
causeof those impacts.Adaptive measures typically onlydealwithimpactsonhumans
and not on ecosystems and our environment. Coral reefs,for example, are unlikelyto
adapttothetwinimpactsofglobalwarmingandoceanacidification.
Restricting emissions is intended to slow and eventually reverse the growth ofcarbon
dioxide(CO2) levels particularlyin theatmosphere.ReducingemissionswillaffectCO2
levelsslowly though becausethisgashas a longlifetime intheatmosphere.Therefore
the effect ofreductionsin emissionsontheaverageglobaltemperaturewillnotbeseen
fordecades.Thus,mitigationhastocoexistwithadaptation.
Adaptation means to try to reduce the effects of climate change on vulnerable
communities. It isthus preparingfor a time whentheclimate, i.e. theaverageweather,
is markedly different from what we experience today. As a word, preparedness
describes better the active nature of adaptation we try to forecast future weather
conditions and create structures and operating models which will work in these new
conditions.
In agriculture, drought resistant varieties, conservation of water structures etc are
adaptationmeasures.GreenClimateFund

64

As explained above, Measures to mitigate climate change and to adapt to it

complement eachother.Without takingmeasures tomitigateclimatechange,thereisa
threatthattheaveragetemperature could risetosuchlevelsthatpeople'slivesinmany
regions of the world would be significantly affected or be made impossible. In such a
caseeven adaptation measures would notbe abletoguarantee everyoneswellbeing.
Even if emissions were successfully restricted, the slow elimination of carbon dioxide
from the atmospherewouldaffecttheclimatefor decadesandcenturies.Thatiswhyat
the local level it is necessary to prepare for the future in any case and attempt to
forecast the nature ofthe changeand its effects.Thus somedegree ofpreparationfor
thefutureisessential.
Measures to mitigate climate change and to adapt to it generally complement each
other. Unless greenhouse gas emissions are mitigated, people's living conditions will
become significantly more difficult and adaptation may become impossible in many
parts of the globe. Take organic farming , for example, it adapts toclimate changeby
keepingsoilmoist.Atthesametime,byavoidingagrochemicals,italsomitigates.
GreenClimateFund(GCF)thatissetupinternationallyisanexampleforboth.

Que. What is a heat wave and its effects? How can we minimise its negative
effectsonhumans?
Ans.
A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessively hot weather, which may be
accompanied by high humidity,especiallyinoceanicclimatecountries.Whiledefinitions

65

vary,a heat wave is measured relative tothe usual weather intheareaand relative to
normal temperatures for the season. Temperatures that people from a hotter climate
consider normal can be termed a heat wave in a cooler area if they are outside the
normalclimatepatternforthatarea.[2]
Thetermisappliedbothtoroutineweathervariationsandtoextraordinaryspellsofheat
which may occur only once a century. Severe heat waves have caused catastrophic
crop failures, thousands of deaths from hyperthermia, and widespreadpower outages
due to increased use of air conditioning. A heat wave isconsidered extreme weather,
andadangerbecauseheatandsunlightmayoverheatthehumanbody.
TheOdishamodelofminimizingdamage
Afterthe heavycasualtiesin 1998, theOdishagovernmenttreatsitasadisasteronthe
scale of cyclone or flood.By Februaryend, the government starts the preparation for
fighting heat wave with a single objective in mind: no human casualty. Schools and
colleges shift to early morning sessions. They open at 6.30am and end by 12
noon.Government offices also follow the same timings. Examinations are held by
March. Public transport does not operate between 12 noon and 3.30pm. Publicwage
programmeslike,MGNREGAishaltedfrom11.30amto3.30pm.
A look at the heat wave deaths in Andhra Pradesh and Telengana would reveal that
most of the people killed in the two states were labourers at construction sites who
continuedwiththeirworkevenwhenthetemperatureswereatthepeak.

66

There are other measures in place in Odisha to minimise heat wave impacts. Public
healthcentreskeepiceslabsreadytotreatstroke patients.Panchayatsacrossthestate
openwaterbooths.
The state government also puts outcontinuous advertisements which guidepeopleon
how to combat heat wave. Hospitalsin citieslikeCuttack andSambalpur deploy extra
resources to attend to heat stroke patients. The ambulance network is activated and
directed to be ready along the state andnationalhighways. Thegovernment takes the
helpofthecivilsocietyinspreadingawareness.
During AprilJune, the governments statelevel and districtlevel calamity centres
continuously monitor the India Meteorological Department (IMD) temperature forecast
anddevisetheirstrategiesatlocallevels.
In Odisha, not all districts report high temperatures. But districts with high industrial
activity report the maximum temperature rise. So, the district authorities devise their
ownactionplans.
Heat wave is predictable andone can easily pointout time bandandplaces. We cant
stopit,butwecanpreparewelltoreducehumancasualties.

Que.DifferentiatebetweenGovernorandLt.GovernorundertheIndianlaw.
Ans.
InIndiaeachstatehasaceremonialGovernorappointedbythePresidentofIndia.
Governoristheheadofthestate.Generally,aGovernorisappointedforeachstate,but

67

after the 7th Constitutional Amendment, 1956, a Governor can be appointedfor more
thanonestate.
LieutenantGovernoris thehead of a Union Territory. However therankispresentonly
in the Union Territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Delhi and Pondicherry (the
otherterritorieshaveanadministratorappointed).
Thus, Governors head theStateGovernment in thestates whileLieutenantGovernors
existinsomeunionterritoriesandintheNationalCapitalTerritoryofDelhi.
TheGovernorsandLieutenantGovernorsareappointedbythePresidentforatermof5
years.

Que.DescribetheroleandimportanceofChiefSecretaryinStateGovernment.
Ans. In India each state and some Union Territories have Chief Secretaries. Chief
Secretary servesas head of all governmentstaffinthestateandistheSecretary ofthe
State Cabinet of Ministers. The post of Chief Secretary is encadred within the Indian
Administrative Service (IAS), meaning that only an IAS officer may hold this position.
TheChiefSecretaryholdsthesamerankasaSecretarytotheGovernmentofIndiaand
the post falls withinthe "Apex Scale". Other positionsin thispayscale are Additional or
Special ChiefSecretary and Special Secretary to theGovernmentofIndia. Bytradition
the seniormost IAS officer of the state cadre is chosen as the Chief Secretary but in

68

many cases this is not so. The Chief Secretary heads the Department of General
Administrationaswell.
Chief Secretaryis appointedbytheChief Minister andthe Ministers.Importanceof the
CS can be seen in these landmark Supreme Court judgments. E.P. Royappa (1974)
statesthat The post ofChiefSecretaryisahighlysensitivepost[ChiefSecretaryisa]
lynchpinin the administration andsmoothfunctioningoftheadministrationrequiresthat
there should be complete rapport andunderstanding betweentheChief Secretaryand
the Chief Minister. Similarly, Salil Sabhlok (2013) says: it may be necessary for
[the] Chief Minister ofaState to appoint asuitable person asaChief Secretaryorthe
Director General of Policebecause both the State Government or theChief Minister
andthe appointee share asimilarvisionoftheadministrativegoalsand requirementsof
the State. The underlying premise also is that the State Government or the Chief
Minister has confidence that the appointee will deliverthe goods, as it were, andboth
are administratively quite compatible witheachother. If thereis a lossof confidence or
thecompatibilitycomestoanend

Que. How can we prevent destruction of public property? Base your answer on
theJusticeKTThomascommitteereport.
Ans.The Union HomeMinistryhasproposedasetofamendmentstothePrevention of
Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 (PDPP) that seek todeter prospectiveviolators

69

from damaging public propertyduringagitationsandalsomaketheofficebearersofthe

organizations calling for such agitations responsible for any damage. These
amendments follow therecommendationsmadebythe JusticeK T Thomas committee
setupbytheSupremeCourtwhiledealingwithawritpetitiononthisissue.
Damage toPublic Propertyduring violentprotests iscommonplaceacrossthecountry.
Public Transport Buses and other Public Property are the first victims during such
protests. The government ofIndianowproposestotheamendPDPPActtoputinplace
properdeterrentssoastopreventdamagetopublicproperty.
Background
Taking a serious note of various instances where there waslarge scaledestructionof
publicand privatepropertiesinthenameofagitations,bandhs,hartalsandthelike,suo
motu proceedings were initiated by a Bench of the Supreme Court in2007.The court
appointed twodifferentcommittees,oneheadedbyformersupremecourtjudge,Justice
K T Thomas and the other headed by Mr. Fali S Nariman. The Justice K T Thomas
committeerecommended:
1. The PDPP Act to contain provision to make the leaders of the organization, which
callsthedirectaction,guiltyofabetmentoftheoffence.
2. Enable the police officers to arrange videography of the activities damaging public
property

70

The court accepted these recommendations. The court also issued certain guidelines
foreffectingpreventiveaction.Itsaid,assoonasademonstrationisorganized:
1. Theorganizershallmeet the police to reviewand revisetheroutetobetakenandto
laydownconditionsforapeacefulmarchorprotest
2.Allweapons,includingknives,lathisandthelikeshallbeprohibited
3. An undertaking is to be providedby theorganizers toensureapeaceful marchwith
marshalsateachrelevantjunction
4. The police and State Government shall ensure videography of such proteststo the
maximumextentpossible
5.In the event that demonstrations turn violent, the officerincharge shall ensure that
the events are videographed through private operators and also request such further
informationfromthemediaandothersontheincidentsinquestion.

Que. Does Project Mausam have strategic connotations? Answer with an

introductionastowhatistheprojectanditscontents.
Ans. Project Mausam is a multidisciplinaryprojectthat rekindles longlosttiesacross
nations of the Indian Ocean world and forges new avenues of cooperation and
exchange. The project, launched by India inpartnershipwith Indian oceranstatesis a

71

significant step in recording and celebrating this important phaseof world history from
theAfrican,ArabandAsianworldperspectives.
TheprojectlinkshistoriccoastalsitesofcountriesinEastAfrica,alongthePersianGulf,
UAE, Qatar,Iran,Myanmar, andVietnam sincethe earlier Harappancivilizationdays
morethan5,000yearsago,tothepresent.
The Project tries to see how the monsoon winds helped maritime tradewhich, inturn,
encouraged interaction between these Indian Oceanconnected countries. The winds
also influenced local economies, scientific quests, modern statecraft, religion, politics
andculturalidentity.
The project will also record how religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and
Christianity helped definethe boundariesofthisIndianOcean'world',creatingnetworks
ofreligioustravelandpilgrimagethroughcenturies.
This is said to be Indian counterstrategy to Chinas Maritime Silk Road in the Indian
Ocean Region (IOR). Project Mausam is essentially a Ministry of Culture project
concerning the creation of cultural links with Indias maritime neighbours. Pursued in
concert withthe Archaeological Surveyof India(ASI),theprojectsobjectiveistwofold:
at themacro level to reconnectwith thecountries oftheIORwiththeaimofenhancing
the understanding of cultural values and concerns and, at a more localised level, to
enableanunderstandingofnationalculturesinaregionalmaritimemilieu.

72

Thecentralthemes thathold ProjectMausamtogetherarethoseofculturalroutesthat

not onlylinked differentpartsoftheIndianOceanlittoral,butalsoconnectedthecoastal
centrestotheirhinterlands.
India'sintention tocarryouttheMausamprojectwasannouncedonJune20atthe 38th
sessionoftheWorldHeritageCommitteeatDoha,Qatar.
ProjectMausamisastrategicprojectaimedatreestablishingIndia'stradeandshipping
linkswithvariousIndianOceanstates.
Indiaregards IndianOceanasthekeytrade routeas90percentofitstradebyvolume
and90percentofitsoilimportstakeplacethroughsea.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to three Indian Ocean countries, Seychelles,
MauritiusandSriLankainMarchshowsIndiaisfollowingthroguhonProjectmausam.
TheSpiceRoute refers torevivalof old links between 31countriesin Asia andEurope
withIndia,particularlyspicerichKerala.

Que.CommentonKargilwarandglobalresponsetoit.
Ans.The Kargil War was anarmed conflictbetween IndiaandPakistanthattookplace
between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir and elsewhere along the

73

Line ofControl (LOC). Theconflictis also referred toasOperation Vijaywhichwasthe

nameoftheIndianoperationtocleartheKargilsector.
Thecause ofthewarwastheinfiltrationofPakistanisoldiersandKashmirimilitantsinto
positions on the Indian side of theLOC, which serves as the de factoborder between
the two states. During theinitial stages ofthewar,Pakistanblamedthefightingentirely
on independent Kashmiri insurgents, but evidence showed involvement of Pakistani
paramilitary forces. The Indian Army, later on supported by the Indian Air Force,
recaptured a majority of the positions. With international diplomatic opposition, the
PakistaniforceswithdrewfromtheremainingIndianpositionsalongtheLOC.
Thewar,to date,itis theonlyinstance ofdirect, conventionalwarfarebetweennuclear
weaponstates.
Pakistan was criticised by other countries for instigating the war, as its paramilitary
forcesand insurgents crossed the LineofControl.Pakistanwantedtheworldtobelieve
that it was an act of ' "Kashmiri freedom fighters". Veteran analysts argued that the
battle was fought at heights where only seasoned troops could survive, so poorly
equipped "freedom fighters" would neither havethe ability nor the wherewithalto seize
land and defendit. Moreover, whilethe armydeniedtheinvolvementofitstroopsinthe
intrusion,former militarydictator General PervezMusharrafsaidPakistanarmyentered
Kargilfromfourpointsof whichIndiawasnotaware(2015May).Pakistanalsoattempted
to internationalize the Kashmirissue,bylinking the crisisinKargiltothelargerKashmir
conflictbut,suchadiplomaticstancefoundfewbackersontheworldstage.

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As the Indian counterattacks picked up momentum, Pakistani prime minister Nawaz

Sharifflew tomeet U.S. PresidentBill Clinton to obtain support from theUnitedStates.
Clinton rebuked Sharif, however, and asked him to use his contacts to rein in the
militantsand withdraw Pakistani soldiersfromIndian territory.ClintonapplaudedIndian
restraintfornotcrossingtheLoCandescalatingtheconflictintoanalloutwar.
G8 nations supported India and condemned the Pakistani violation of the LOC at the
Cologne summit. The European Union also opposed Pakistan's violation of the LOC.
China, a longtime ally of Pakistan, insisted on a pullout of forces to the preconflict
positions along the LoC and settling borderissuespeacefully. Other organizationslike
theASEANRegionalForumtoosupportedIndia'sstandontheinviolabilityoftheLOC.
Que. How can we prevent destruction of public property? Base your answer on
theJusticeKTThomascommitteereport.
Ans.The Union HomeMinistryhasproposedasetofamendmentstothePrevention of
Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 (PDPP) that seek todeter prospectiveviolators
from damaging public propertyduringagitationsandalsomaketheofficebearersofthe
organizations calling for such agitations responsible for any damage. These
amendments follow therecommendationsmadebythe JusticeK T Thomas committee
setupbytheSupremeCourtwhiledealingwithawritpetitiononthisissue.
Damage toPublic Propertyduring violentprotests iscommonplaceacrossthecountry.
Public Transport Buses and other Public Property are the first victims during such

75

protests. The government ofIndianowproposestotheamendPDPPActtoputinplace

properdeterrentssoastopreventdamagetopublicproperty.
Background
Taking a serious note of various instances where there waslarge scaledestructionof
publicand privatepropertiesinthenameofagitations,bandhs,hartalsandthelike,suo
motu proceedings were initiated by a Bench of the Supreme Court in2007.The court
appointed twodifferentcommittees,oneheadedbyformersupremecourtjudge,Justice
K T Thomas and the other headed by Mr. Fali S Nariman. The Justice K T Thomas
committeerecommended:
1. The PDPP Act to contain provision to make the leaders of the organization, which
callsthedirectaction,guiltyofabetmentoftheoffence.
2. Enable the police officers to arrange videography of the activities damaging public
property
The court accepted these recommendations. The court also issued certain guidelines
foreffectingpreventiveaction.Itsaid,assoonasademonstrationisorganized:
1. Theorganizershallmeet the police to reviewand revisetheroutetobetakenandto
laydownconditionsforapeacefulmarchorprotest
2.Allweapons,includingknives,lathisandthelikeshallbeprohibited

76

3. An undertaking is to be providedby theorganizers toensureapeaceful marchwith

marshalsateachrelevantjunction
4. The police and State Government shall ensure videography of such proteststo the
maximumextentpossible
5. In the event that demonstrations turn violent, the officerincharge shall ensure that
the events are videographed through private operators and also request such further
informationfromthemediaandothersontheincidentsinquestion.

Que.DescribetheroleandimportanceofChiefSecretaryinStateGovernment.
Ans. In India each state and some Union Territories have Chief Secretaries. Chief
Secretary servesas head of all governmentstaffinthestateandistheSecretary ofthe
State Cabinet of Ministers. The post of Chief Secretary is encadred within the Indian
Administrative Service (IAS), meaning that only an IAS officer may hold this position.
TheChiefSecretaryholdsthesamerankasaSecretarytotheGovernmentofIndiaand
the post falls withinthe "Apex Scale". Other positionsin thispayscale are Additional or
Special ChiefSecretary and Special Secretary to theGovernmentofIndia. Bytradition
the senior most IAS officer of the state cadre is chosen as the ChiefSecretary but in
many cases this is not so. The Chief Secretary heads the Department of General
Administrationaswell.

77

Chief Secretaryis appointedbytheChief Minister andthe Ministers.Importanceof the

CS can be seen in these landmark Supreme Court judgments. E.P. Royappa (1974)
statesthat The post ofChiefSecretaryisahighlysensitivepost[ChiefSecretaryisa]
lynchpinin the administration andsmoothfunctioningoftheadministrationrequiresthat
there should be complete rapport andunderstanding betweentheChief Secretaryand
the Chief Minister. Similarly, Salil Sabhlok (2013) says: it may be necessary for
[the] Chief Minister ofaState to appoint asuitable person asaChief Secretaryorthe
Director General of Policebecause both the State Government or theChief Minister
andthe appointee share asimilarvisionoftheadministrativegoalsand requirementsof
the State. The underlying premise also is that the State Government or the Chief
Minister has confidence that the appointee will deliverthe goods, as it were, andboth
are administratively quite compatible witheachother. If thereis a lossof confidence or
thecompatibilitycomestoanend

Que.DifferentiatebetweenGovernorandLt.GovernorundertheIndianlaw.
Ans.InIndiaeachstatehasaceremonialGovernorappointedbythePresidentofIndia.
Governoristheheadofthestate.Generally,aGovernorisappointedforeachstate,but
after the 7th Constitutional Amendment, 1956, a Governor can be appointedfor more
thanonestate.

78

LieutenantGovernoris thehead of a Union Territory. However therankispresentonly

in the Union Territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Delhi and Pondicherry (the
otherterritorieshaveanadministratorappointed).
Thus, Governors head theStateGovernment in thestates whileLieutenantGovernors
existinsomeunionterritoriesandintheNationalCapitalTerritoryofDelhi.
TheGovernorsandLieutenantGovernorsareappointedbythePresidentforatermof5
years.

Que.WhatisCodexAlimentarius?Describeitswork.
Ans.The Codex Alimentarius(Latinfor "Book ofFood")isacollectionofinternationally
recognized standards, codes of practice, guidelines and other recommendations
relatingtofoods,foodproductionandfoodsafety.
Itstextsaredevelopedand maintainedby theCodexAlimentariusCommission, abody
that was established in 1961 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO). World Health Organization (WHO) is associated with it. The
Commission's main goals are to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair
practices in the international food trade. The Codex Alimentarius is recognizedbythe
World Trade Organization as an international reference point for the resolution of
disputes concerning food safety and consumer protection. As of 2012, therewerethe
186members.

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TheCodexAlimentariuscoversallfoods,whetherprocessed,semiprocessedorraw.In
addition to standards for specific foods, the Codex Alimentarius contains general
standards covering matters such as food labeling, food hygiene, food additives and
pesticide residues, and procedures for assessing the safety of foods derived from
modern biotechnology. It also contains guidelines for the management of official i.e.
governmentalimportandexportinspectionandcertificationsystemsforfoods.
* Remember,Maggie NoodlesofNestleisinnewsforviolatingfoodsafetyrulesinUttar
Pradesh.

WhatisBitcoin?
Bitcoin isa newtype ofmoneythatisalmostentirelyvirtual. It'slikeanonlineversionof
cash. We can use it to buy products and services, but notmanyshops acceptBitcoin
yet.

Isitacurrency?
Bitcoin is commonly referred to with terms like: digital currency, digital cash, virtual
currency, electronic currency, or crypto currency Its inventor, SatoshiNakamoto, used
the term electroniccash. Bitcoins have3usefulqualitiesinacurrency,according tothe
Economist(2015):theyare"hardtoearn,limitedinsupplyandeasytoverify".

80

HowdoesBitcoinwork?
Each Bitcoin is basically a computer file which is stored in a 'digital wallet' app on a
smartphone or computer. People can send Bitcoins to our digital wallet, and we can
sendBitcoinsto otherpeople. Everysingletransaction isrecordedinapubliclistcalled
the blockchain. This makes it possible to trace the history of Bitcoins so people can't
spendcoinstheydonotownormakecopies.

HowdopeoplegetBitcoins?
TherearethreemainwayspeoplegetBitcoins.
YoucanbuyBitcoinsusing'real'money.AtthemomentoneBitcoincostsabout500.
YoucansellthingsandletpeoplepayyouwithBitcoins.
Ortheycanbecreatedusingacomputer.

HowarenewBitcoinscreated?
In order for the Bitcoin system to work, people can make their computer process
transactions for everybody. The computers are made to work out incredibly difficult
sums.Occasionally theyarerewarded withaBitcoinfor theowner tokeep.Peopleset

81

up powerful computers just to try andgetBitcoins. Thisis called mining.Butthesums

are becoming more andmore difficultto stoptoomanyBitcoinsbeinggenerated.Ifone
startedmining now it couldbe yearsbefore shegot asingleBitcoin. One couldendup
spendingmoremoneyonelectricityforyourcomputerthantheBitcoinwouldbeworth.

WhyareBitcoinsvaluable?
Therearemany financialassets otherthanmoneywhichweconsidervaluablelikegold
anddiamonds. The Aztecs usedcocoabeansasmoney!Bitcoinsarevaluablebecause
peoplearewillingtoexchangethemforrealgoodsandservices,andevencash.

WhydopeoplewantBitcoins?
SomepeoplelikethefactthatBitcoinisnotcontrolledbythegovernmentorbanks.That
means there areno taxesorbankfeesto pay, atleastfor now.Peoplecanalsospend
their Bitcoins fairly anonymously.Althoughalltransactions are recorded,nobodywould
knowwhich'accountnumber'wasyoursunlessyoutoldthem.

Isitsecure?
Every transaction is recorded publicly so it's very difficult to copy Bitcoins, make fake
onesorspend ones you don't own. Itis possible to loseourBitcoinwalletordeleteour

82

Bitcoins and lose them forever. There have also been thefts from websitesthat let us
store our Bitcoins remotely. The value of Bitcoins goes up and down a lot, so it's
impossibletosaywhetherit'ssafetoturnour'real'moneyintoBitcoins.

Whataretheadvantages?
Portfoliodiversification
Anothervehicleforsavings
Safeinthefaceofbanksgoingbankrupt
Riskreturnratioishigh

Whataretheissues?
1.

RBI should know how much such virtual currency is in circulation as a part of

moneysupplyestimates
2.

Moneyshouldbeaccountedfor(IncomeTax)

3.

Itshouldnotbedrugorterrormoney

4.

Theuse ofbitcoin bycriminals hasattracted the attentionoffinancialregulators,

legislativebodies,lawenforcement,andmedia.

83

Que.Mentionfewwomenwhowereinstrumentalincausingchangesinlaweither
byjudicialverdictsorparliamentaryenactments.
Ans. Nirbhaya case led to tougher provisions and penalties under the Criminal
Amendment Act of2013.The victim died ofthebrutalinjuriesinflictedonher.Thecase
also led to amendments in the Juvenile JusticeActasone ofthe accusedin the case
was a juvenile. On 7 May2015,theLokSabhapassed theJuvenile Justice (Care and
Protection of Children) Bill, 2014, which seeksto allowchildrenin the 1618 agegroup
tobetriedasadultsforheinouscrimes.ItisyettobepassedbytheRajyaSabha.
Bhanwari Devi case: Bhanwari Devi is an Indian dalit socialworker from Bhateri,
Rajasthan, whowas allegedly gang raped in 1992 byhighercastemenangeredbyher
efforts to prevent a child marriage in their family. Her subsequent treatment by the
police, and court acquittal of the accused, attracted widespread national and
international mediaattention,and becamealandmarkepisodeinIndia'swomen'srights
movement The apex courts judgment in 1997, issued the Vishakaguidelinesthatput
theonusonemployerstoprovideasafeworkenvironmentforwomen.
SatyaRaniChadhacase:ChadhalaunchedtheantidowrymovementacrossIndiaafter
her daughter diedofburnsinadowryharassmentcasein1979.Heragitationledtothe
government passing tighter laws against dowry deaths, shifting the burdenof proof to
the husbandandhisfamily,andmakingnotjustthehusbandbutalsohiscloserelatives
culpable.

84

Shah Bano case: On 23 April 1985, the Supreme Court grantedmaintenance toShah
Bano Begum, a 62yearold Muslim mother of five who had been divorced by her
husband,underSection 125of the Criminal ProcedureCode.Under pressure from the
Islamic orthodoxy, the then Congress government, which had an absolute majority in
Parliament,diluted this judgmentbyenacting TheMuslim Women(ProtectionofRights
on Divorce) Act,1986entitlingadivorced Muslimwoman tomaintenance onlyduring
theperiodofiddat,oraperiodof90daysafterdivorce,accordingtoIslamicLaw.
ArunaShanbaugcase:Passiveeuthanasia granted by apex courtconditionallyin2011
though the judgement has been suspended and the issue has been refered to a
Constitutionbench.

Que.Explainseismicgapanddecollement.
Ans.
A seismic gap is a segment of an active fault known to produce significant
earthquakes, that has not slipped in an unusuallylong time when comparedwith other
segments along the same structure. Seismic gap hypothesis/theory states that, over
long periods of time, the displacement on any segment must be equal to that
experienced by all the other parts of the fault.Any large and longstanding gap is
thereforeconsideredtobethefaultsegmentmostlikelytosufferfutureearthquakes.
One such is the central seismic gap, which runs northeast of Delhi along a region
woven with unstable faults and including over 10 million people. Until April 25,
observers had been concerned by the paucity of earthquakes in the gap: the longer

85

there were no quakes, the morethepent upstresses,andthestronger a future quake

will be. A researchteams conclusiondescribesanactivethrustfaultbelowUttarakhand
pregnant with enough tension to unleash a quake measuring atleast 8 on the Richter
scale.This, inastate already proneto cripplinglandslides andfloods,andwith70%of
its population(of about10million)residingin rural areas.Theyattributethetremendous
tension to a geometry of rock that has partially separated from a layer beneath and
caused folds and deformations. The technical term for this geometry is a
dcollement:the landscape and erosion rate patterns suggest that the dcollement
beneath the state of Uttarakhand provides a sufficiently large and coherent fault
segmentcapableofhostingagreatearthquake.
Dcollement (detachment) folds develop during folding, secondary to separation of a
(more competent) layer from an underlying (less competent) layer as deformation
proceeds.

Que. Differentiate among Client State, Satelite State, Buffer State, Buffer Zone,
ProtectorateandNeocolonywithexamples.
Ans.

ClientState
A client state is a state that is economically, politically, or militarily subordinate to
anothermorepowerfulstateininternationalaffairs.
SatelliteState

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The political term satellite statestands foracountry thatis formally independent inthe
world,butunderheavypolitical, economicand militaryinfluenceorcontrolfromanother
country. The term was coined by analogy to planetary objectsorbiting a larger object,
such as smaller moons revolving around larger planets, andis used mainly torefer to
Centraland Eastern EuropeancountriesoftheWarsawPactduringtheColdWarunder
thehegemonyoftheSovietUnion.
In timesofwarorpolitical tension, satellitestates sometimesserveasbuffersbetween
an enemy country and the nation exerting control over the satellites. Alleged
subordination of one state to another is meant by it. Othersuchtermsinclude puppet
state and neocolony. In general, the term "satellite state"impliesdeep ideologicaland
militaryallegianceto the hegemonicpower,whereas"puppetstate"impliespoliticaland
military dependence, and "neocolony" implies economic dependence. Depending on
which aspect of dependence is being emphasised,astate mayfall into more thanone
category.Allthreearesovereignstates.ScrolldownthePage.
BufferState
A bufferstate isacountry lying betweentwo rivalor potentially hostile greater powers.
Its existence can sometimes be thought to prevent conflict between them. It is
demilitarized in the sense of not hosting the military of either power (though it has its
own military forces). The invasionof abufferstate by one of thepowers surroundingit
willoftenresultinwarbetweenthepowers.

87

Buffer states, when authentically independent, typically pursue a neutralist foreign

policy.
TheHimalayan nationsof NepalandBhutan are sometimesreferedtoasbufferstates
betweenChinaandIndia,
Abufferzoneisgenerallyazonalareathatliesbetweentwoormoreotherareas(often,
but not necessarily, countries).In international relations, common typesofbufferzones
aredemilitarizedzonesandborderzones
Protectorate
A protectorate, in its inception adoptedbymodern international law,is an autonomous
territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger
state or entity. In exchange for this, the protectorate usually accepts specified
obligations, which may vary greatly, depending on thereal natureof their relationship.
However, it retains formal sovereignty and remains a state under international law. A
territory subject to this type of arrangement is also known as a protected state. A
Protectorate isquite similarto satellite statethoughthe former hasatreatybackingthe
status.
Neocolonialstate
Neocolonialism is the geopolitical practice of using capitalism, business globalization,
and cultural imperialism to influence a country, in the place of either direct military
controlorindirectpoliticalcontrol,i.e.imperialismandhegemony.

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In postcolonial studies, the term neocolonialism describes the influence of countries

from the developed world inthe internal affairs ofthecountriesofthedevelopingworld
that, despitethe decolonisation that occurred intheaftermathoftheSecondWorldWar
(193945), theformercolonial powerscontinue toapplyexisting andpast international
economic arrangements with their former colony countries, and so maintain colonial
control. Earlier critique of neocolonialism included multinationalcorporations exploiting
the natural resources of the former colony. Presently, the MNCsarein demand inthe
developingworldastheybringcertainbenefits

Que.HowdoestheConstitutionprotectlabourinthecountry?
Ans.Preamble pronouncesthat India iscommitttedtoasocialistgoalandshouldstrive
forsocial,economicandpoliticaljustice.
Constitution ofIndia, Articles 14,16,19(1)(c),2324,38,39and4143Adirectlyconcern
labour rights. Article 14 states everyone should be equal before the law, Article 16
extends a right of "equality of opportunity" for employment or appointment under the
State. Article 19(1)(c) gives everyone a specific right "to formassociationsor unions".
Article 23 prohibitsalltraffickingandforcedlabour,whileArticle24prohibitschildlabour
under14yearsoldinafactory,mineor"anyotherhazardousemployment".
Articles 3839, and 4143A, DPSPs (obligations of the State) in Part IV of the
Constitution and thus are notenforceable by courtsbut aimat creating an aspirational
"duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws". Article 38(1) says that in

89

general the state should "strive to promote the welfare of the people" with a "social
order in which justice, social, economic and political, shall inform all the institutions of
national life. In article 38(2) it goes onto saythestateshould"minimisetheinequalities
in income" and based on all other statuses. Art.39 talks of equal pay for equal work.
Article41createsa"righttowork",whichtheNationalRuralEmploymentGuaranteeAct
2005 attempts to put into practice. Article 42 requires the state to "make provision for
securing just and human conditions of work and for maternity relief". Article 43 says
workers should have the right to a living wage and "conditions of work ensuring a
decent standard of life". Article 43A, inserted by the Fortysecond Amendment of the
Constitution ofIndiain 1976creates a constitutional right to"secure theparticipationof
workersinthemanagementofundertakings".

Que. How can poor people produce enough food to escape hunger and
destitution in a manner that protects soils, mitigates climate change, and
preservesbiodiversity?
Ans. The United Nations has declared 2015 tobetheInternational Yearof Soils, and
April1923marksthisyearsGlobalSoilWeek.
Healthy soils are crucial to human nutrition and the fight against hunger. We rely on
them not only for food production, but also to createnewdrinking water. They help to
regulate Earths climate, storing more carbon than all of the worlds forests combined
(onlytheoceans arealargercarbonsink),andareessentialtomaintainingbiodiversity:

90

a handful of fertile soil contains more microorganisms than there are humans on the
planet.TwothirdsofEarthsspecieslivebeneathitssurface.
But erosion and contamination are placing soils under severe stress. Worldwide, 24
billion tons of fertile soil is lost annually, partly owing to the growth of cities and
infrastructure. In Germany alone, construction projects claim an averageof morethan
75 hectares per day. Inappropriate agricultural practices are also to blame: the liberal
use of synthetic fertilizer, for example, decimates organisms inhabiting the soil and
changes its structure. It takes millennia for fertile topsoil to form in many places, a
cloudburstisnowallittakestowashitaway.
At the same time, globaldemandfor food, fodder,and biomass forfuels is growing,in
turn driving up the value of land a fact that has notescaped internationalinvestors
attention.According to a World Bank estimate, 1030%ofarable landworldwideland
that would be used by millions of smallholders, pastoralists, and indigenous people
hasbeenaffectedbylargescaleinvestment.
Protecting soils need not undermine prosperity. On the contrary, sustainable
soilprotection practices can actually boost agricultural yields especially those of
smallholders. Crop diversification, recycling, and soil cover can all contribute to living,
fertile,andactivesoilcapableofoptimalwatermanagement.
One approach, agroecology, is based on small farmers traditional knowledge and
experience, making it readily adaptable to local conditions. A study ofagroecological

91

farming practices in2006examined286sustainableagriculturalprojectsin57countries

andconcludedthatyieldshadincreasedanaverageof79%.
Despite the proven success of such methods, the use of synthetic fertilizers has
increased by a factor of more than five over the past 50 years. Particularly intropical
environments, such productsleadto the destructionof the topsoiland biodiversity loss
(andtherunoffistransportedtotheoceans,whereitdamagesmarineecosystems).

Que. What is Islamic Finance? Is it an answer to the volatile global financial

system?
Ans. Since the global financial crisis, policymakers have sought to address the fault
linesthathelpedtrigger oneof themostdevastatingfinancialcrisesinacentury,andto
enable a more inclusive, stable financial system that promotes stability as well as
economicdevelopmentandgrowth.
Islamicfinance offers several featuresthat areconsistentwith theseobjectives.Islamic
financerefers tofinancialservices thatconformwith Islamic jurisprudence, orShariah.
Instead oftradingin money andearning profitfromthe interest, Islamicbankingtrades
in goods and services and earns profit from real economic transactions. It also has
restraintsonhighly speculative transactions, andrefrainsfromfinancingorparticipating
in businesses and activitiesdealing inalcohol,gambling,tobacco,andpornography,as
these are not permissible under Islam. Allotheractivitiesremainverymuchaswithany
other banking andfinancialinstitution.Itrequiresfairtreatmentandinstitutessanctityof

92

contracts. Andthese principlesholdthepromiseofsupportingfinancialstability, sincea

keytenet ofIslamicfinanceisthatlendersshouldshareinboththerisksand rewardsof
theprojectsandloanstheyfinance.
Islamicfinance has an importantpotential to actasanengineof stabilityandinclusion.
Since investors are requiredto bear lossesthat may arise on loans.There is therefore
less leverage, and greater incentive to exercise strong risk management. These
risksharing features also serve to help ensure the soundness of individual financial
institutionsand helpdiscouragethetypesoflendingboomsandrealestatebubblesthat
weretheprecursorsoftheglobalfinancialcrisis.
Thefocusonassetbackedand risksharing financing alsohas thepotentialtoimprove
access to finance by small and mediumsized enterprises, and to support inclusive
growth by having more money for lending to stable businesses.. It is wellsuited to
financing largescale infrastructure projects, wherebysimilar to publicprivate
partnershipsinvestors financetheconstruction of roads, bridges,andsimilarprojects,
and receive the returns on these investments. Finally, Islamic financial services also
promise to improve financial inclusion for the large number of Muslims that are
discouragedfromusingbanksforreligiousreasons.
Many secular countries such as the UnitedKingdom (UK), France,and Singapore are
promoting Islamic financetoimprovefinancialinclusionoftheirdomesticpopulationand
also toattract funds and investments from othercountries. UK alonehas morethan25
Islamic financial institutions including five fullfledged Islamic banks. In June 2014, it
became the first nonMuslim country to issue asovereign sukuk(Islamic bond). Other

93

countries which followed suit were SouthAfricaand Thailand. Thelatter already hasa
staterun Islamic Bank since 2002. At present, more than 75 countries offer Islamic
bankingproductsandtheglobalmarketfortheseassetsisaround$2trillion.
However, India recently saw the deferment of the launch of State Bank of India's
ShariahEquityFundinDecember2014.

Que. What is microzonation? Whyis it necessary? State efforts madein India in

thisfield.
Ans.Manyearthquakesinthepasthaveleftmanylessonstobelearnedwhicharevery
essential to plan infrastructure and even to mitigate such calamities in future. The
hazards associated with earthquakes are referred to as seismichazards. Thepractice
of earthquake engineering involvesthe identification andmitigation ofseismichazards.
Microzonation has generally been recognized as the most accepted tool in seismic
hazardassessment and riskevaluationand it is definedas thezonationwithrespectto
ground motion characteristics taking into account source and site conditions. Making
improvements on the conventional macrozonation maps and regional hazard maps,
microzonation of a region generates detailed maps that predict the hazard at much
smallerscales. Seismic microzonation isthegeneric name for subdividingaregioninto
individual areashavingdifferentpotentials hazardousearthquake effects,definingtheir
specificseismicbehaviorforengineeringdesignandlanduseplanning.

94

The basis of microzonation is to model the rupture mechanism at the source of an

earthquake, evaluate the propagationof wavesthroughtheearthtothetopofbedrock,
determine the effect of local soil profile and thus develop a hazard map indicatingthe
vulnerabilityoftheareatopotentialseismichazard.Seismicmicrozonationwillalsohelp
in designing buried lifelinessuchas tunnels,waterand sewage lines,gasandoillines,
andpowerandcommunicationlines.
Seismic microzonation is defined as the process of subdividing a potential seismic or
earthquake prone area into zones with respect to some geological and geophysical
characteristics ofthesitessuchas ground shaking,liquefactionsusceptibility,landslide
and rock fall hazard, earthquakerelated flooding, so that seismic hazards at different
locations withintheareacancorrectlybeidentified.Microzonationprovidesthebasisfor
sitespecific risk analysis, which can assist in the mitigation ofearthquakedamage. In
mostgeneral terms, seismicmicrozonation is the processofestimating theresponseof
soil layers under earthquake excitations and thus the variation of earthquake
characteristicsonthegroundsurface.
Regional geology can have alarge effect on the characteristicsof groundmotion. The
siteresponseof the ground motion may varyin differentlocations of thecityaccording
to the local geology. A seismic zonation map for a whole country may, therefore, be
inadequate for detailed seismic hazard assessmentofthe cities. This necessitates the
development of microzonation maps for bigcities fordetailedseismic hazard analysis.
Microzonationmapscanserveasabasisforevaluatingsitespecificriskanalysis,which
is essential for criticalstructures like nuclear power plants, subways,bridges,elevated

95

highways, sky trains and dam sites. Seismic microzonation can be considered as the
preliminary phase of earthquake risk mitigation studies. It requires multidisciplinary
contributions as well as comprehensive understanding of the effects of earthquake
generated groundmotionsonmanmadestructures.Manylargecitiesaround theworld
have put effort into developing microzonation maps for the better understanding of
earthquakehazardwithinthecities
As part of the national level microzonation programme, Department of Science and
Technology, Govt. of India has initiated microzonation of 63 cities in India. Some of
them are finished and some of them are ongoing. As an initial experiment, seismic
hazardanalysisand microzonation was takenupforJabalpurcityinMadhayaPradesh.
Further, for many other cities such as Sikkim, Mumbai, Delhi, North East India,
Gauwhati, Ahmedabad, Bhuj, Dehradun and Chennai an attempt has been made to
carryout microzonation considering geomorphological features and detailed
geotechnicalstudies.

Que. Write on the importance of Salkhan Fossil Park. Which fossils is it known
for?Describethesame.
Ans. Salkhan Fossil Park is a geological heritage of Sonbhadra district. The age of
these tree fossils as estimated by geologists is around 1400 million years and dates
backto Proterozoic Period.The fossilswhicharebasicallypetrifiedtreestumpsappear
as rings on the boulders scattered around the area. These fossils are of Algae

96

Stromotolites type. ThefossiltypesfoundinSalkhanFossilParkarealgalstromatolites.

The stromatolites are sedimentary structures consisting of laminated carbonate or
silicate rocks produced over geologic time by the trapping, binding or precipitating of
sediment by groups of microorganisms primarily cyano bacteria (blue green algae).
Stromatolites are the oldest fossilsfoundonthe Earth.They are fossilevidenceof the
prokaryotic life.The fossil park is spread over an area of about 25 hectare inside
KaimoorWildlifeSanctuaryandislargerthantheYellowStoneNationalParkofUSA.
Thefossils found in Salkhan Fossil Park are lyingneglectedduetoapatheticattitudeof
state government and local administration. The ignoranceof the local people isalso a
reason for the deplorable state of this invaluable fossil park. Neither the state
government nor the concerned officials are makingany arrangements forthe safetyof
thefossilpark.
Cyanobacteria formerly known as blue green algae are Gram negative prokaryotic
single celled or filamentous photoautotrophic microorganisms. The cells of
cyanobacteria are surrounded by mucilaginous sheath which provides protection
againstdesiccation. Thesoilsurfaceoftenbecomesslipperyinrainyseason becauseof
the luxuriantgrowthofcyanobacteriaandtheslipperynatureisduetothemucilaginous
sheath surrounding the cyanobacterial cells. Filamentous cyanobacteria are often
characterizedbytheformationofheterocystsandakinetes.

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Que.The Regimentindeed wasaby productoftheTreatyofSegauli.What was

itandhowhasitevolvedsincethen?
Ans. The Gurkha War was fought between the Gorkha kingsofNepaland theBritish
East India Company as a result of border tensions and ambitious expansionism
especially into Kumaon, Garwhal and Kangra hills. Although the British East India
Company's army defeated the Gorkha army led by General Amar Singh Thapa, they
were nevertheless impressed by the skill and courage the Gorkhas had shown during
the siege ofMalaun fort inBilaspur.Asaresult, duringthepostwarsettlementaclause
was inserted into the Treaty of Segauli enabling the British to recruit Gorkhas. On24
April 1815at Subathu, the East India Company formed a regimentwiththesurvivorsof
Thapa's army calling ittheFirstNussereeBattalion.Theformationofthisunitmarksthe
beginningofthehistoryofthefirstGorkharegiment.
TheRegiment soonsaw its firstbattlewhen,in1826,ittookpartintheJatWarwhereit
helped in the conquest of Bharatpur, gaining it as a Battle Honour, the first Battle
Honour awarded to the Gurkha units. In 1846 the First AngloSikhWar beganand the
Regiment was heavily involved in the conflict. The Battleof Aliwal was fought in 1846
between the British and the Sikhs. Sikhs were led by Ranjodh Singh Majithia. The
Britishwon.Gorkharegimentfoughtinit.
From 1857 until 1947, the Gurkhas were an important and dependable part of the
British Indian military. TheBritish ruledmost oftheirAsianandMiddleEasterncolonies
from India, not England, so the Gurkhas played an important role in Britains colonial
wars, fighting in Burma, Afghanistan, China, and elsewhere. During World War I,

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200,000 Gurkhas served, especially in the Middle East theater. Around 250,000
Gurkhas served in WorldWar II, and helped protect Indiaand fightJapanese forcesin
BurmaandSingapore.
In 1947, with the independence of India, sixGorkha regiments joined the IndianArmy
while four continued to serve in the British Army, thoughthesewereamalgamated as
the Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) in 1994. The six Indian units became seven, and the
Indian Gorkha Rifles have fought for India against Pakistan and China. In1950 when
India became a Republic, it was redesignated as the 1 Gorkha Rifles (The Malaun
Regiment).ItwasapartofpeacekeepingdutiesaspartoftheUnitedNations.
Therearecurrently 30,000 GorkhasservingintheIndianArmy,servingunderthemotto
bettertodiethanbeacoward.

Que. Describe Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and its impact on monsoon in
India.DoesIODhaveanyrelationtoElNino?
Ans. The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is defined by the difference in sea surface
temperature between two areas (or poles, hence a dipole) a western pole in the
Arabian Sea (western Indian Ocean) andaneasternpole intheeastern IndianOcean
south of Indonesia. The IOD affects the climate of Australia and other countries that
surround the Indian Ocean Basin,and isasignificantcontributor torainfall variabilityin
thisregion.

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The IOD involves an aperiodic oscillation of seasurface temperatures, between

"positive", "neutral" and "negative"phases.Apositivephaseseesgreaterthanaverage
seasurfacetemperaturesandgreater precipitationin the westernIndianOceanregion,
with a corresponding cooling of waters in the eastern Indian Oceanwhich tends to
cause droughts in adjacentland areas ofIndonesiaandAustralia. Thenegative phase
of the IOD brings about the opposite conditions, with warmer water and greater
precipitationintheeasternIndianOcean,andcooleranddrierconditionsinthewest.
The IOD also affects the strength of monsoonsoverthe Indiansubcontinent.Positive
IOD has been found to bebeneficial forthe monsoon. Onthe other hand, a negative
IOD, when temperatures at either end of the Indian Ocean swing in the opposite
direction,hampersthemonsoon.
AnIOD cancounterorworsenanElNinosimpactonthemonsoon,accordingtorecent
research. A positive IOD had facilitated normal or excess rainfall over India in 1983,
1994 and 1997 despite an El Nino in those years. But during years such as 1992, a
negativeIODandElNinohadcooperativelyproduceddeficitrainfall.

Que. What is Kaal Baisakhi? Exemplify with current examples from

KosiSeemanchalregion.
Ans. During the hot weather period i.e from March to May the eastern and
Northeasternstates ofthe subcontinentlikeWestBengal,Bihar,Assam,Orissa(parts)
and Bangladesh experience dramatic appearance of a special type of violent

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thunderstorm know as Norwester.The dramatic appearance of norwester in the

afternoonoreveningof premonsoon months over Bengal, Bihar, Assam andadjoining
areas has been a matter of great interest not only to the meteorologists but to all
sections of people and has a place in literature. Norwester not only gives relief after
middayheatbuthelpscrops.
It is known as Kaal Baisakhi or calamity of the month of Baisakh (April,15May,15).
Apart from its destructiveeffectslikesudden rise in wind speed, lightning, thunderand
hailthe rainfall associatedwith the storm althoughsmallinamount,isextremelyhelpful
for the preKharif crops like jute, Aus paddy, summer till and a large number of
vegetables and fruits and thesudden drop intemperature gives relief after unbearable
middayheat.
ItstruckBiharyesterday and thirtytwopeoplewerekilled andover80seriouslyinjured
asthe nor'wester ravaged severaldistricts last night, destroying thousandsof huts and
standingcrops.
Maximum numberof25deathswerereportedfromPurniadistrict,whilesixhavediedin
MadhepuraandoneinMadhubani.

Que.WhatarethetrendsinMaternalMortalityRateinIndia?Giveexplanation.
Ans. About 56,000 women in India die every year due to pregnancy related
complications. Similarly, every year more than 13 lacs infants die within 1year of the

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birth and out of these approximately 9 lacs i.e. 2/3rd of the infant deaths take place
within the first four weeks of life. Out of these, approximately 7 lacs i.e. 75% of the
deaths take placewithin a weekofthebirthandamajorityoftheseoccurinthefirsttwo
daysafterbirth.
In order to reduce the maternal and infant mortality, Reproductive and Child Health
Programme under the National Rural health Mission (NHM) is being implemented to
promote institutional deliveries so that skilled attendance at birth is available and
womenandnewborncanbesavedfrompregnancyrelateddeaths.
Several initiatives have been launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
(MoHFW) including JananiSuraksha Yojana (JSY) a keyinterventionthat has resulted
in phenomenal growth in institutional deliveries. More than one crore women are
benefittingfromtheschemeannually.
Schemes like Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram,
access to skilled birth attendants, transportation access, sharpening the equity focus
have enabled a higher rate of decline of Maternal Mortality Rates in India.India has
registered an overall decline in MMR of70%during 19902012ascomparedto global
decline of 45%.MMR in India declined from 178/100000 live births in 201012 to
167/100000livebirthsduring201113.
StepsTakentoAcceleratePaceofReductioninMMR

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Thestepstaken to accelerate the pace of reduction forMaternalMortalityRatio(MMR)

undertheNationalHealthMission(NHM)are:

PromotionofinstitutionaldeliveriesthroughJananiSurakshaYojana.

Capacity building of health care providers inbasic andcomprehensive obstetric

care.

Operationalization of subcentres, Primary Health Centres, Community Health

Centres and District Hospitals for providing 24x7 basic and comprehensive
obstetriccareservices.

Name Based Web enabled Tracking of Pregnant Women to ensure antenatal,

intranatalandpostnatalcare.

Mother and Child Protection Card in collaboration with the Ministry of Women
andChildDevelopmenttomonitorservicedeliveryformothersandchildren.

Antenatal, Intranatal and Postnatal care including Iron and Folic Acid
supplementation to pregnant & lactating womenfor prevention andtreatment of
anaemia.

Engagementof morethan8.9lakhAccreditedSocialHealthActivists(ASHAs)to
generate demand and facilitate accessing of health care services by the
community.

Village Health and Nutrition Days in rural areas as an outreach activity, for
provisionofmaternalandchildhealthservices.

Health and nutritioneducation topromote dietary diversification,inclusionofiron

andfolaterichfoodaswellasfooditemsthatpromoteironabsorption.

Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK) has been launched on 1st June,
2011, which entitlesallpregnantwomen deliveringin public healthinstitutionsto
absolutely free and no expense delivery including Caesarean section. The
initiativestipulates free drugs, diagnostics, blood anddiet,besidesfreetransport
from home to institution, between facilities in case of a referral and drop back
home. Similar entitlements have been put in placeforallsick infants accessing
publichealthinstitutionsfortreatment.

To sharpen the focus on the low performing districts, 184HighPriorityDistricts

(HPDs) have been prioritized forReproductive Maternal Newborn ChildHealth+

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Adolescent (RMNCH+A) interventions forachieving improved maternalandchild

healthoutcomes.

Que. Indian Constitution promises alivingwage. What isit? Differentiate it from

minimumwage.
Ans. Art. 43 (DPSP) promises a living wage. In public policy, a living wage is the
minimumincome necessary for a worker to meettheir needsthat are consideredtobe
basic. This is not necessarily the same as subsistence, which refers to a biological
minimum, though the two terms overlap a lot. These needs include shelter (housing)
and others such as clothing and nutrition. This wage generally means that a person
working forty hours a week, with no additional income, should be able to afford the
basics for quality of life, food, utilities, transport, health care, and minimal recreation.
However,in manycaseseducation,savingforretirement,andlesscommonlylegalfees
andinsurance, ortaking careofasickorelderlyfamily memberarenotincluded.Italso
doesnotallowfordebtrepaymentofanykind.
The living wage differs fromthe minimum wage inthat thelatter isset by law andcan
fail tomeet therequirementstohaveabasicqualityoflife.MinimumWagesAct1948is
an Act of Parliament concerning Indian labour law that sets the minimum wages that
mustbe paidto skilledandunskilledworkers.Stateshavetheirownlaws.Thesewages
areperiodicallyrevised.

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Employee, employer, and the community win with a living wage.Employeeswouldbe

more willingtowork,helpingtheemployerreduceworkerturnover,anditwouldhelpthe
communitywhenthecitizenshaveenoughtohaveadecentlife.
A related concept is that of a familywage onesufficientto not onlysupport oneself,
butalsotoraiseafamily.

Que.Critically examine BibekDebroycommitteerecommendationsonrevamping

railways.
Ans.
The railways operate more than 12,000 trains, carrying some 23 million
passengers daily.This vast public enterprise is virtually a state within a state. It runs
schools, hospitals, police forces and building companies and employs a total of 1.3
million people, making it the seventh biggest employer in the world. It is in need of
modernization.
The highlevel railway restructuring committee, chaired by noted economist Bibek
Debroy, has recommended drastic reforms in the cashstrapped Indian Railways by
suggesting to allow privatisation of railways to run passengeraswell as freighttrains,
producing coaches, wagons and locomotives and switching over to commercial
accounting of railway functions.Following are the main recommendations in its interim
report.

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1. Streamlinerecruitment& HRprocesses: "There is amultiplicityof differentchannels

through which people enterthe railwayservices.Thecommitteerecommendedunifying
andstreamlining the process.AtpresentthereareeightorganizedGroup'A'servicesin
IndianRailways. DeploymenttotheseservicesisbydirectrecruitmentfromUPSC(Civil
Service and the Engineeringexaminations) and also by promotion ofGroup 'B' officers
of the department. There is also a small but significant element of recruitment of
Mechanical Engineers through the Special Class Railway Apprentices examination,
followed by training. The eight services can be broadly categorized in two bigger
groupingsviz.technicalandnontechnicalservices.
IR should consolidate and merge the existing eight organized Group 'A' services into
two services i.e. the Indian Railway Technical Service (IRTechS) comprising the
existing five technical services (IRSE, IRSSE,IRSEE,IRSMEandIRSS)andtheIndian
Railway Logistics Service(IRLogS), comprising thethreenontechnicalservices(IRAS,
IRPSandIRTS).
2. Focus on noncore areas: Many taskscarriedout bythe IndianRailwaysarenot at
the core of the prime business of rail transportation. These activities include running
hospitals and schools, catering, real estate development, including housing,
construction and maintenance of infrastructure, manufacturing locomotives, coaches,
wagons andtheir parts, etc.To thislistmustbeaddedtheRailwayProtectionForceand
Railway Protection Special Force, which carry out functions which shouldnormally be
performed by State Police forces, or conveniently outsourced. To maintain and run
these diverse sets of peripheral activities, Indian Railways has created a monolith

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organizational structure. There is a strong case for revisiting these activities.Indian

Railways should focus on core activitiesto efficientlycompete withtheprivatesector.It
will distance itself from noncore activities, such as running a police force, schools,
hospitalsandproductionandconstructionunits.
Immediate integration of the existing Railway schools into the Kendriya Vidyalaya
Sangathana setup. Needs ofthe children of Railway employeescould bemetthrough
subsidizingtheireducationinalternativeschools,includingprivateschools.
3. Indian Railway Manufacturing Company: Wagons are already produced by the
private sector. Coaches and locomotives could follow. Unless they are freed from
constraints,theexistingproductionunitswillbeunabletofacethiscompetition.
All the production units, all the production workshops whether it is coaches or
locomotives must be under Indian railway manufacturing company. This is an
institutionalreform,notprivaisation.
TheCommitteeproposesthatalltheseexistingproductionunitsshouldbeplacedunder
a government SPV known as the Indian Railway Manufacturing Company (IRMC).
IRMC remains a government SPV, at least initially, under the administrative control of
theMinistryofRailways.
4. Encouraging private entry: Private entry into running both freight and passenger
trains in competition withIndian railways should be allowed and private participation in

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various Railway infrastructure services and noncore activities like production and
construction,shouldbeencouragedbytheMinistryofRailways.
"The reason private players find it unviable to operate is because they do not have
accessto the tracks. They donot haveaccesstotracksbecauseIndianRailwaysgives
preference to the Indian Railway trains. Therefore, Debroy committee recommended
having a separate track holding company, which remains public, from that part of
Railways which runs trains. Thistrack holding company will be neutral between Indian
Railwaysandtheprivateplayers.
5. RRAI, an independent regulator: Shift regulatoryresponsibility from the government
to an independent regulator as the private sector will only come in if there is fair and
open access to infrastructure. The independent regulator shall ensure fair and open
access and set access charges establish tariffs and adjudicate disputes between
competitors. This willmakefair andopen access arealityandopenupbothfreightand
passenger trains, in competition with IR.The report recommends setting up a Railway
Regulatory Authority ofIndia(RRAI) statutorily,withanindependentbudget,sothatitis
trulyindependentoftheMinistryofRailways.
The RRAI will have the powers and objectives of economic regulation, including,
wherevernecessary, tariff regulation safetyregulation fairaccessregulation,including
access to railway infrastructure for private operators service standard regulation
licensing and enhancingcompetition andsettingtechnicalstandards.Itshouldpossess

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quasijudicial powers, with appointment and removal of Members distanced from the
MinistryofRailways.
TheRailwayBoardshouldcontinueonlyasanentityfortheIndianRailways(PSU).
6. Social costs & JVs to bear them: Constructing new suburban lines should be
undertaken as joint ventures with state governments. There are too many Zones and
Divisions and thus a rationalization exercise is required. Suburban railways should
ideally be hived off toStategovernments,via thejointventure route. Until this isdone,
the costof low suburbanfares,ifthesefaresare notincreased,mustbebornebyState
governments on a 50/50 basis, with MOUs signed with State governments for this
purpose.
While competition makes efficient service delivery better and helps railways raise
resources for reinvestment for modernization, criticismis that social commitments may
take a hit and privatization that hurts workers may be under contemplation.PM Modi
ruledoutprivatization.
*Specially,forourfriendscurrentlyintheRailwayServices

Que. What is PM2.5 and what are itssources?Whois most at risk?Whatcan be

donetoneutralizethepollution?
Ans.Particulate matter, or PM,is thetermfor particlesfoundin the air,includingdust,
dirt, soot, smoke, and liquid droplets. Particles can be suspended in the air for long

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periods oftime. Some particlesare largeordarkenough tobe seen as sootor smoke.

Others are so small that individually they can only be detected with an electron
microscope.Many manmade and natural sources emit PM directly or emit other
pollutants that react in the atmosphere to form PM. These solid and liquid particles
come in a wide range of sizes.Particles less than 10 micrometers indiameter (PM10)
pose a health concern because they can be inhaled into and accumulate in the
respiratorysystem.Particlesless than2.5micrometersindiameter(PM2.5)arereferred
to as "fine" particles andarebelievedtoposethegreatesthealthrisks.Becauseoftheir
small size(approximately1/30th the average widthof ahumanhair), fine particlescan
lodgedeeplyintothelungs.
Sources of fine particles include all types of combustion activities (motor vehicles,
power plants, wood burning, etc.) and certain industrial processes. Particles with
diameters between 2.5 and 10 micrometers are referred to as "coarse." Sources of
coarse particles include crushing or grinding operations, and dust from paved or
unpaved roads. Other particles may be formed in the airfromthe chemical changeof
gases. Theyareindirectlyformedwhengasesfromburningfuelsreactwithsunlightand
water vapor.These canresult from fuelcombustionin motor vehicles, atpower plants,
andinotherindustrialprocesses.
One group at highriskis active children because theyoften spend alotoftimeplaying
outdoors and their bodies are still developing. In addition, oftentimes the elderly
population are at risk.People ofallages whoare activeoutdoors are at increasedrisk

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because, during physical activity, PM2.5 penetrates deeper into the partsof the lungs
thataremorevulnerabletoinjury.
Government should take into account existing emission reduction programs (e.g.
national emission standards for cars and trucks and the pollution rules to reduce
powerplant emissionsor local efforts such asdieselengineretrofitprograms),plusany
newprogramsorregulationsthatcanbeimplementedwithinthestateorlocalarea.
Making people aware of thelevelsof pollutionthroughcolorcoded AQIannounced by
PM.Modiisthebeginningoftheonslaughtontheproblem.

Que.Howwillclimatechangeaffectthespreadoftropicaldiseases?
Ans
.Manytropical diseasessuchasmalaria,Chikungunyaanddenguearetransmitted
to humans via mosquitoes and other carriers known as vectors. These vectorborne
diseases continue to have a major impact on human health in the developing world:
eachyear, morethanabillionpeoplebecomeinfectedandaroundamillionpeopledie.
In addition,aroundone insix cases of illness anddisability worldwide arisefromthese
diseases.
Malaria continues to attractthe mostattention of allthevectorbornediseasesby virtue
of causing thegreatestglobaldiseaseburden.However,otherssuch asdenguearenot
onlyresurgentinsomeregions,butthreatenavastproportionoftheworldspopulation.

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Climate change remains a substantial threat to future human health and since the
behaviour of disease carriers like mosquitoes is known to be extremely sensitive to
temperature and rainfall,itseemsunquestionable thatclimatechange will affect many,
if not all,of these diseases.What isless clear, however, isthe extenttowhichclimate
increases the risk of becoming infected in certain regions compared to other factors
suchaspovertyorfragilehealthsystems.
In addition,although the numberof new cases ofdiseasessuch as malariaappearsto
bedeclining worldwide,itis still increasing inmanyregionsforavarietyofreasonsthe
continued spread of insecticide resistance, changes in land use etc. Which of these
factors will be mostinfluential over thecoming decadesremainsamoot questionas of
now.

Que. What do you understand by Constitutional morality in general and with

referencetoConstitutionofIndia?
Ans.
Constitutionalmoralitymeansadherencetothecoreprinciplesoftheconstitutional
democracy. The scope of constitutional morality is not limited only to following the
constitutional provisions literally but it is so broad that it includes commitment to
inclusive and democratic political process in which both individual and collective
interests are satisfied. It encompasses ensuring the Constitutional values like rule of
law social justice democratic ethos popular participation in governanceindividual
freedom judicial independence egalitarianism sovereignty andsoon.Whileitis clear

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as to what Constitutional morality means, practical percolation of these values in

governance and citizen entitlements requires a sensitive State apparatus Parliament
that is representative in a true sense Executive that is responsiveand empathicand
judiciarythatisvigilantandempowering.
Therearemany laws made by Parliament that showgreatmoralcommitmentlikeFood
Security Law CrPC amendments made in 2013 infavour ofwomen.Similarly, judicial
verdicts too. For example therecent verdict inShreya Singhalcase(2015)and various
electoralreformsenforcedbytheapexcourtsince2013.
Preamble to our Constitution contains the most impeccable goals whose realization
requiresgreatestcommitmentto morality.Corruptionfree,transparentandaccountable
governancewillgoalongway inmaking one andallin Indiarealize their potential:the
sumandsubstanceofConstitutionalmorality.
Que. Reserve Bank of India came into force in 1935. It is older than the central
bankofthefollowingcountry
a.England
b.Scotland
c.France
d.Noneoftheabove
Ans.:d

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Que.Canstemcelltherapyrestorehumansight?Whatcanbetherisks?
Ans.
Transplant of stem cells helped restore the sight of patients suffering from
incurable forms of blindness.18 patients withagerelatedmacular degeneration(AMD)
or Stargardt's macular dystrophy have been taking part in a threeyear trial to see
whetherhumanembryonicstem cells couldcorrecttheirvision loss.ScientistsintheUS
announced thatthe transplants had beensuccessful and disclosedthat morethan half
of patients had seen significant improvement in their sight.The breakthrough, which
could offer new hope to the millions people who suffer from AMD, was hailed as a
majoraccomplishmentbyexperts.Resultssuggestthesafetyandpromiseofstemcells
to alter progressive vision loss in people with degenerative diseases and mark an
exciting step towards using embryonic stem cells as a safe source of cells for the
treatmentofvariousmedicaldisorders.
No effective treatments exist for either (AMD) or Stargardt's macular dystrophy.
Stargardt'smaculardystrophyisaninheriteddiseasethatleadstoprematureblindness.
In both diseases, people graduallyloseretinalpigmentepithelial(RPE)cells.Theseare
essential for vision as they recycle protein and lipid debris that accumulates on the
retina, and supply nutrients and energy tophotoreceptors thecellsthat capturelight
andtransmitsignalstothebrain.
Thenewtreatment uses stem cells to recreate atype of cell in the retina thatsupports
those photoreceptors.Stem cells derived from embryos that are only a few days old
havethe abilityto develop into anykind oftissue inthe body.Bybathing thestemcells
in a speciallyformulatedmixofchemicalsthescientistswereabletostimulatetheminto

114

turning into fully mature retinal pigment epithelium cells. They were then transplanted
directly into the eyes of patients suffering from blindness.Tests showed substantial
improvement in 10 of 18 treated eyes. Eight patients were able to readmore than 15
additionallettersonasightchartintheirfirstyearaftertreatment.
Embryonic stem cells have the potential to become any cell type in the body, but
transplantationhasbeencomplicatedbyproblemsincludingtheriskoftumourformation
andimmunerejection.As a result,sitesthat do notproduceastrongimmuneresponse,
such as the eye, have become the first parts of the human body to benefit from this
technology.
Que. What are western disturbances and what explains their unusualbehaviour
lately?
Ans.
Western disturbances are lowpressure areas embedded in the Westerlies, the
planetarywindsthat flowfromwesttoeastbetween3060latitude.Theyusuallybring
mild rain during JanuaryFebruary, which is beneficial to the rabicrop. But inthepast
fewyears western disturbanceshavebeenlinkedtodisasters.Thecloudburstin Lehin
2010, the floods andlandslidein Uttarakhand in2013andtheexcessiveraininJammu
and Kashmir in 2014 were all linkedto these disturbances.Thisyear, as per theIndia
Meteorological Department (IMD), the average rain received between March 1 and
March 18 was 49.2 mm197 per cent above normal. This caused severe damage to
crops in several states of the country. crops in over 5 million hectares have been
damaged.

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Scientists agree that western disturbances are formed naturally. They originate in the
Mediterranean regionand travel overIran,Iraq,AfghanistanandPakistantoenterIndia
loaded with moisture, where the Himalayas obstruct them, causing rain and snow in
western Himalayas. Thesnow addsto the glaciers whichprovidewatertoIndiasmajor
perennial rivers. But we need to understand why this beneficialweatherphenomenon
increasinglydisastrous.
Followingviewsaresignificant
1. According toIMD,thesevererainthis yearis the result oftheconfluenceofwestern
disturbance and easterly wave from the Bay of Bengal. Easterly wave, or Easterlies,
blow throughout the year fromeast to west.The confluenceof the two winds happens
throughout theyear, buttheresults vary.They generally bringrain onlyto thenorthern
part of the country but this year states in central and south India also received rain.
Western parts of Madhya Pradesh, for instance, received over 2,025times more than
usual rainfall during March 118, while the rainfall in central Maharashtra was 3,671
timesabovenormal(IMDdata).
2.AphenomenoncalledPacificDecadalOscillation(PDO)issaidtohavecontributedto
the severity ofthisyearsrainfall.PDOisthenamegiventolongtermfluctuationsinthe
surfacetemperatureofthePacificOcean.
3. Widely used weather models, suchasthe Global Forecast System, are consistently
showing the movement of new upper air troughs into India. Such troughs in the jet
streams (narrow bands of strong winds flowing in the upper troposphere) could be

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affecting thewesterndisturbanceswhich,IMDsays,arepresentinthelowerandmiddle
troposphere. One such trough started forming in the upper troposphere over Iran,
Afghanistan and Pakistan on February 26 and intensified and moved towards
northwesternparts ofIndia on February 28. Thisledtotheformationofalowpressure
region in the lower troposphereovernorthwest India, causingan incursion ofmoisture
from Arabian Sea, and produced heavy rains. This shows how problematic the
combinationofwesterndisturbancesandupperairtroughscanbeforIndia.
4. Climate change induced: A study by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology
(IITM), Pune, has directly linked western disturbances to global warming.Researchers
say global warming is impacting air currents and causing freak weather events.
Pronounced warming over the Tibetan plateau in recent decades has increased the
instability of the Westerlies and this has increased the variability of the western
disturbances. According to the study, the western Himalayan region has seen a
significant rise in surface temperatures since the 1950s. Observations from the area
showasignificantincreaseinprecipitationinrecentdecades.
Que.EuropeanUnionisamemberofthefollowingworldbodies/groups
a.WorldTradeOrganisation
b.G20
c.InternationalMonetaryFund
d.InternationalBankforReconstructionandDevelopment(IBRD)

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Chooseyouranswerfrombelow
1.aandbonly
2.a,bandconly
3.a,canddonly
4.a,b,candd
Que.CommentontheimportanceofBabelMandebandthegeopoliticalfalloutof
thedisturbancesintheregioncurrently.
Ans.BabelMandeb (Arabicfor"GateofTears")isastraitlocatedbetweenYemenon
the Arabian Peninsula, and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa. It connects the
RedSeatotheGulfofAden.
Conflict in Yemen risks spilling and potentially disrupt the narrow Bab elMandeb
passage through which nearly 4 million barrels of oil are shipped daily to Europe, the
UnitedStatesandAsia.
Oil prices rose as much as 6 percent after neighbouring Saudi Arabia and its allies
launched air strikes on Yemen that targetedIranbacked Houthirebels fightingto oust
Yemen'spresident.
Thedevelopment isanattemptbytheworld'stopoilexportertocheckIranianinfluence
initsbackyard.

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ThecollapseofYemenasapoliticalrealityandthepoweroftheHouthis willenableIran
to expanditspresenceon bothsides of theBab elMandeb, in theGulf of Adenandin
theRedSea.
AsSaudissee it,ifthe Iranians wereto gain access to a de factobaseinsomeportor
another controlledbytheHouthiswhomtheyhaveaidedinthelattersfight,thebalance
ofpowerinthesubregionwouldshiftsignificantly.
TheUnitedStates anditsallies regularlystagenavalexercisesintheGulf.Theheadof
U.S. forcesin the regionsaid thatthe U.S. militarywouldwork with GulfandEuropean
partnerstoensuretheBabelMandebremainedopened.
Yemenhas a 1,900km (1,181 mile) coastline thatalsoopensintotheGulfofAdenand
RedSea.
Egypthassaiditcouldnotstandbyifitsinterestswerethreatened.
Theareahas alsowitnessedmultiple hijackingsonmerchantshipsbySomalipiratesin
recent years, which has abated due to the presence of international naval forces
includingtheUnitedStatesandIran.
Shipping and insurance sources say disruptionsto shippingwould raise costs.Yemen
shutitsmajorseaportsduetothefighting.

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AnyclosureofBabelMandebduetoitsprecariousnavigation,would closeofftheSuez
Canal and the SUMED pipeline that connects tothe Mediterranean andsuppliesoilto
southernEurope.
IfSUMEDPipelineis closed,navigationwill haveto diverted aroundthesoutherntipof
Africa,ajourneyofatleast40days.
YemenwasalreadyconsideredahigherriskareathanSyriaandIraq.
ItistheextendedneighbourhoodofIndiaandIndiahasmultipleinterestsintheregion.

Que. What are zoonoses how do they transmit and what are the challenges in
controllingthem?*
Ans. Zoonoses are infectious diseases of animals (usually vertebrates), that can
naturallybetransmittedtohumans.MajormoderndiseasessuchasEbolavirusdisease
andinfluenzaarezoonoses.Zoonosescanbecausedbyarangeofdiseasepathogens
such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. Most human diseases originated in
animals, however, only diseases that routinely involve animal to human transmission,
likerabies,areconsideredaszoonoses.
Ebolais suspected ofbeingbatborne,thoughthat has yetto beprovedbeyonddoubt.
Bats alsolookliketheoriginofMERS,aviralillnessthat appearedin2012intheMiddle
East, and SARS, another virus,whichburst uponthe world from southern China atthe
endof 2002. HIV, meanwhile, came from otherprimates. The pandemic version, HIV1,

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was once a chimpanzee virus. HIV2, largely restricted to west Africa, came from a
monkey
Zoonoses have different modes of transmission. In direct zoonosis the disease is
directly transmitted from animals to humans through media such as air (influenza) or
through bites and saliva (Rabies). In contrast, transmission can also occur via an
intermediate species (referredtoasavector),whichcarrythediseasepathogenwithout
getting infected. When humans infect other animals it is called reverse zoonosis or
anthroponosis.
Zoonoses are particularly likely to develop when people and animals live in close
proximity to each other. One reasonsouthernChinaoftenspawnsthem(SARS wasnot
unique a lot of influenza begins there, too) is that the region has a plethora of small
farms, in which many species ofanimallivein close quarters witheach otherand with
human beings. The constant crossing of pathogens between the species involved
makes it morelikely thatonewillemergethatcanthriveinpeople.Agricultureisnotthe
only sort of proximity that can foster zoonotic disease. HIV1 is suspected to have
startedwithahunterwhokilledachimpanzeeintheforest.Inthiscontext,theextensive
clearance of forests, at present aserious environmentalissue inmanypoorcountries,
brings people into habitats they might previously not have visited. That, in turn, is
suspectedbysometobeincreasingtheamountofzoonoticdisease.
All this suggests that diseasesurveillance, which currently concentrates on people,
needsto beexpandedtolookatanimalsaswell.Itisnecessarytodevelopanetworkof

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investigatorsin tropicalcountrieswho arewatchingforsignsofcrossoverbymonitoring

bothanimalsandpeople.
*InspirationfromTheEconomist,latestcopy.
Que. Differentiate between cognizable and noncognizable crimes. What kind of
offencesdoesthediscardedSection.66AoftheITActdealwith?
Ans.CrimecanbecognizableornonCognizable.Differencebetweenacognizableand
anoncognizable offenceis that ina noncognizable offence thePolice cannot arresta
personwithoutordersofthecourt,i.e.withoutaCourtwarrant.
In a cognizable offense the police can take cognizance oftheoffence on its own i.e.it
neednotwait forthecourtordersasthelawenvisagesthatinsuchoffencespermission
ofthecourttothepolicetoinvestigatethecrimeisimplicit.
In India, crimeslikerape, murder, theft etc. are considered cognizable, and crimes like
publicnuisance,simplehurt,mischiefetc.areconsiderednoncognizable.
Theoffences under 66A arecognizable: policeauthoritieswereempoweredtoarrestor
investigate withoutwarrants,basedonchargesbroughtundertheSection.Thisresulted
in a string of highly publicized arrests of citizens for posting objectionable content
online, wherethe objectionable contentsweremore oftenthannot, dissentingpolitical
orinnocuouspersonalopinions.

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Que.CriticallyexaminethenotionofSpecialCategoryStatestatus.
Ans. 11 States in India were considered SCSs and enjoy benign terms in financial
transfers from Union Government. The decision to grant special category status lies
with theNational DevelopmentCouncil.*The concept isdiscardednow.45yearsofthe
status has not worked effectively to developthese states. Morestates want the status
asitmakesthemrecievecentralfundsasgrantsorcheaply.
History of the concept: The concept of a special categorystatewas firstintroduced in
1969whenthe 5thFinanceCommissionsoughttoprovidecertaindisadvantagedstates
withpreferential treatmentintheformofcentralassistanceandtaxbreaks.Initiallythree
states Assam, Nagaland and Jammu& Kashmir weregranted specialstatus butsince
then eight more have beenincluded (ArunachalPradesh,Himachal Pradesh, Manipur,
Meghalaya,Mizoram, Sikkim, Tripuraand Uttarakhand).Therationaleforspecialstatus
is that certain states, because of inherent features, have a low resource base and
cannot mobilize resources for development. Some of the features required for special
status are: (i) hilly and difficult terrain (ii) low population density or sizeable share of
tribal population (iii) strategic location along borders with neighbouring countries (iv)
economicandinfrastructuralbackwardnessand(v)nonviablenatureofstatefinances.
*The status ofNDC todayseemsunclear.Itmaybeinterpreted thatNDC has become
theGoverningCouncilinNitiAayog.

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Que. What is hemagglutinin? Howis it related toH1N1? Describethechallenges

indevelopingavaccineforitinIndiatoday.
Ans.H1N1standsfor Hemoagglutinine1andNeuroaminidase1.Hemoagglutinineand
neuroaminidase are two virus proteins found in Orthomyxoviridae, and aredifferentin
differentvirustypes,sotheycanbeusedtoidentifythevirus.
Influenza hemagglutininis a glycoprotein found on the surfaceof the influenza viruses.
Itis responsible for bindingthevirustocellswithsialicacidonthemembranes,suchas
cells in the upper respiratory tract or erythrocytes. The name "hemagglutinin" comes
from the protein's ability to cause red blood cells (erythrocytes) to clump together
("agglutinate")invitro.
Flu is a moving target,so scientists say they cant predict howthings willdevelopwith
the H1N1 flu outbreak thatskilled more than1200 peopleinIndia.Theyagreethatthis
virus is a descendant of the H1N1 swine flu that killed more than 18,000 people
worldwide in 2009. But some researchers have found mutations that might make this
virus more even virulent or more contagious, and might also allow it to elude the
existingvaccinationthatweremadetocoverthe2009strain.
Scientists examinedgenetic material from two strains intheIndianoutbreak,andfound
several mutations in the hemagglutinin gene, which is the H in H1N1(Read ahead).
Mutations in this gene influence the way the virus can enter human cells, and can
potentiallymakethediseaseeasiertocatchandmorelikelytokill.

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Que.How doesAstramake Indiaattain aerial supremacy?Answer withadequate

descriptionofthemissile.
Ans. Earlier this week, India successfully tested its indigenously developed Astra
supersonic airtoair missile. The Astra, developed by Indias Defense Research and
DevelopmentOrganization(DRDO),isaBeyondVisual Range(BVR)missilecapableof
being launched from Indias Sukhoi30 MKItwinjet airsuperiorityfighter.TheIndianAir
Forcecurrently operates roughly 200total Su30MKIs, butplans to eventually operate
around 270. The Astra is 149 inches in length, making it the most compact missile
developed indigenously in India.The allweather, stateoftheart missile developed by
DRDOcanengageanddestroyenemyaircraftatsupersonicspeed.
Astra missile was successfully tested to prove the maneuvering capability against a
simulated target and also tovalidatevarious subsystems.Whenfiredfromanaltitudeof
at least 15,000 meters, the Astra can travel as far as 110 km. At lower altitudes, this
rangeisreduced.
AlongerrangeMark2versionoftheAstraisplannedwhichwillincreaseitstotalrange.
TheSukhoi30MKI, theintendedbeareroftheAstra,isacrucialassetfortheIndianAir
Force, particularlyfor a potentialtwofront warscenario.Witharangeof1,800km and
high maneuverability,the Su30MKI isIndiasprimaryaerialsuperiorityanddominance
fighter. The Astra, if it performs up to expectations, will give Indias MKI fleet
considerableoffensivepower.

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Que.Pragatiisanimportantgovernancereform.Criticallyexplain.
Ans.
Prime Minister NarendraModiwillbestartingamonthlyconferencecallwithstate
chief secretaries and secretaries of the Union government starting March 25 for the
speedyredressalofgrievancesandmonitoringandimplementationofprojects.
ThenewgovernanceprogrammehasbeencalledPragatiProactiveGovernanceand
Timely Implementation. Pragatiis expected to beacrediblemechanismforredressalof
publicgrievances.
ThePragatisessionswilltakeplaceeveryfourthWednesday.
During the interaction,PMwilldiscuss andunderstand the problem areas andwill give
suitable directions. These directions will remain inthesystem for further followup and
reviewtillfinalityofthematter."
Criticism isthat: "greaterrespect for the federal structure ofthe countryisnecessary.
It would be much better if the Prime Minister discusses the issues with the Chief
Minister."
Thus, the PMO's monitoring of projects is helpful, but the initiative could give rise to
concernsabouttheCentrestateframework.

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The Pragati programme will attempt to find solutions for issues selected from the
available data base regarding public grievances, ongoing programmes and pending
projects.

Que. "Supreme Courts social justice bench hasn't come a day too soon."
Examinetheobservation.
Ans. The Supreme Court inDecember2014 set up a two judge special 'SocialJustice
Bench' to exclusively hear cases concerning social issues particularlythose relatedto
women, children and underprivileged saying that specialized approach is needed for
dealingwiththesematters.
Emphasizingthat judiciary needstobeproactivetoensureearlydisposalofsuchcases
andto bringfruits oftherightsprovidedundertheConstitutiontopeople,theapexcourt
setupthebenchwhichwillfunctioneveryFriday.
"In Supreme Court severalcases relatingtothe domainofsocialjusticearependingfor
several years. Chief Justice of India is of the view that these cases shall be given a
specialized approachfortheirearly disposal so thatthemasses will realize thefruitsof
therightsprovidedtothembytheconstitutionaltext.
The bench will deal exclusively with social matters, including the right to food and
medical assistance. Themoveisdesignedtoensurethatthesecasescanmovequickly
throughtheapexcourt

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The range of issues identified includes access to food for droughthit people and
prevention of premature deaths caused by lack of nutrition.The right tohealth figures
onthe agendawiththemandatetomakeaccesstomedicalcarearealityirrespectiveof
peoples financial capacity. The bench will also determine availability of night shelters
forthehomelessandthedestitute.
The forest bench, later renamed the green bench, has been dealing with
environmental cases for nearly two decades. Similarly, the lower judiciary has courts
dedicated to crimes against children and offences like sexual assault. Having a
dedicatedbenchformattersofconstitutionalrightsandsocietalconcernswillreducethe
pendency of cases arising from such matters. The new bench will take up not only
pending matters butalsonewonesinordertosecuresocialjustice,oneoftheidealsof
theIndianConstitution
The 'Social Justice Bench' of the Supreme Court took up matters of Narmada dam
project, shelters for homelesspersons, welfareof constructionworkersandexploitation
ofchildrenincircuses,amongothers.
The problem is that the concept of rule of law promises equal treatment of all cases
Constituting aspecialbenchforaclassofcasesis antitheticaltothisconcept.However,
the rejoinder is that rule oflawallows different sectionsto betreateddifferently andin
factthisseubsetisthebasisofsomuchsocialprogressinIndiaandelsewhere.
ItenhancesspaceforPILs.

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Que. "Aapravasi Ghat are among the earliest explicit manifestations of what
wouldbecomeaglobaleconomicsystem."Elaborate
Ans. Located on the bay of Trou Fanfaron, in the capital of PortLouis,the Aapravasi
Ghat is the remains of an immigration depot, the site from where modern indentured
labour Diaspora emerged. TheDepot wasbuilt in1849 toreceive indenturedlabourers
from India, Eastern Africa, Madagascar, China and Southeast Asia to work on the
islands sugar estates as part of the 'Great Experiment. This experiment wasinitiated
bythe BritishGovernment, after the abolition ofslaveryintheBritishEmpirein1834,to
demonstrate the superiority of free over slave labour in its plantation colonies. The
success of the 'Great Experiment' in Mauritius led to its adoption by other colonial
powers from the 1840s, resulting in a worldwide migration of more than two million
indenturedlabourers,ofwhichMauritiusreceivedalmosthalfamillion.
The buildings of Aapravasi Ghatare among the earliestexplicitmanifestationsof what
would become a global economic system. The Aapravasi Ghat site stands as a major
historic testimony of indenture inthe19th century and isthe sole surviving example of
this unique modern diaspora. It represents not only the development of the modern
system of contractual labour, but also the memories, traditions and values that these
men, women and children carried with them when they left their countries of origin to
workin foreign lands and subsequently bequeathedto their millionsof descendantsfor
whomthesiteholdsgreatsymbolicmeaning.

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Aapravasi Ghat was the first site chosen by the British Government in 1834 for the
greatexperimentintheuseofindentured,ratherthanslavelabour.
TheImmigration Depot'srolein social history was recognizedbyUNESCOwhenitwas
declaredaWorldHeritageSitein2006.

Que. The Girmitiyas have an important place in modern Indian memory.

Explain.
Ans. Girmityas are descendents of indentured Indian labourers brought to many
countries like Mauritius, Fiji etc. to work on sugarcane plantationsfor the prosperityof
the European settlers. Agreement" is the term that has been coined into "Girmit",
referring to the "Agreement" of the British Government with theIndian labourersasto
thelengthofstayinFijiandwhentheywouldbeallowedtogobacktoIndia.
In the years that immediately followed the abolition of slavery in most of the British
Empirein 1834, nearlyhalfa millionIndians were forcedtomigratetoMauritius,asthe
colonial system struggled to keep up the flow of captive agricultural workers for the
sugarplantationsthere.
These girmitiyas, people from modernday UP, Bihar, West Bengal and parts of
southern India, who had signed the agreement or contract with employers, mostly
thought they were going to a better life just a little way off north India but were
insteadsentonalongandarduousseajourneythattookmanyoftheirlives.

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These indentured labourerswere nevertoreturntoIndia,buttheywentontoshapethe

futureofMauritius,andmanyotherdistantlands,inmultipleways.
Aapravasi Ghat was where the indentured labour force landed, in Marich Desh, or
Mauritius.

Que."Even thoughSelfrespect Movement startedwithlimited aims, itembraced

wider social reform agenda in due course." Comment emphasising on its
prowomenliberationcontent.
Ans. The SelfRespect Movement is a movement with the aim of achieving a society
where backward castes have equal human rights the context of a castebased society
thatconsidered themtobealowerend ofthehierarchy.Itwasfounded in1925byE.V.
Ramasamy(Periyar) inTamilNadu, India.The movementwas extremelyinfluentialnot
justin Tamil Nadu, but alsooverseasin countrieswith largeTamilpopulations,suchas
Malaysia and Singapore. Among Singapore Indians, groups like the Tamil Reform
Association were prominent in promoting the principles of theSelfRespect Movement
amongthelocalTamilpopulationthroughschoolsandpublications.
Started as a movement to promote rational behavior, the SelfRespect Movement
acquired much wider connotation within a short period oftime. Themaintenets of the
SelfRespectMovement insocietywere tobe:abolition ofalltypesofinequalityamong
people no difference as rich and poor in the economic life men and women to be
treated as equals in every respect without differences attachments to caste, religion,

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varna, and country to be eradicated from society withaprevalent friendshipandunity

aroundtheworld.
Equality with stress on economic and social equality formed the central theme of the
SelfRespect Movement was due to Periyar's determination to fight the inequalities
ingrainedinthecastesystemandreligiouspractices.
One of the major sociological changes introduced through the selfrespect movement
was the selfrespect marriage system, whereby marriages were conducted without
being officiated by a Brahmin priest. Periyar had regarded the then conventional
marriages were mere financial arrangements and often caused great debt through
dowry. SelfRespect movement encouraged intercaste marriages, replacing arranged
marriagesbylovemarriagesthatarenotconstrainedbycaste.
It was argued by the proponents of selfrespect marriage that the then conventional
marriages were officiated by Brahmins, who has to be paid for and also the marriage
ceremony was in Sanskrit which most people did not understand, and hence were
ritualsandpracticesbasedonblindadherence.
Selfrespect movement promoters argue that there was no reference to Thaali
(Mangalsutra) in the Sangam literature which talk about the Tamils' lifestyleduring the
Sangamtimeperiod.Theselfrespectmovementencouragedwidowremarriageaswell.

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Que. An eightyearold boy in Bengaluru has been diagnosed with Coats plus
syndrome, making him the first Indian diagnosed with the rare disease.What do
youknowofthedisease?
Ans. Coats plus syndrome is an inherited condition characterized by an eye disorder
called Coats disease plus abnormalities of the brain, bones, gastrointestinal system,
andotherpartsofthebody.
Coatsdisease affects the retina,whichis the tissue atthebackof the eye thatdetects
light and color. The disorder causes blood vessels in the retina to be abnormally
enlarged(dilated)andtwisted.Theseeyeabnormalitiesoftenresultinvisionloss.
People with Coats plus syndrome also have brain abnormalities including abnormal
deposits of calcium (calcification), the development of fluidfilled pockets called cysts,
andloss of a typeof braintissue knownas whitematter (leukodystrophy).These brain
abnormalities worsen over time.Other features of Coats plus syndrome include low
bonedensity(osteopenia).
CoatsplussyndromeresultsfrommutationsintheCTC1gene.
Inherited from parents, the syndromeis present in oneoutofonemillionpeopleacross
theglobe.

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Que. Explain how DISHA (Digital Saksharta Abhiyaan) is crucial for bridging
digitaldivideinIndia.
Ans. GOI launched a programme to invest Rs.450500 crore on providing basic
computer education to about 50 lakhpeopleoverthe next threeyearswith thehelpof
privatecompanies.
The investment will be made under a project called Disha in certain identified
districts.The computer literacyprogramme is critical for PrimeMinisterNarendraModi's
petproject,DigitalIndia,whichhopestobridgethedigitaldivideinthecountry.
Thegovernment will choosethe districts wherethisprogrammewillberun.Oneperson
wouldbechosenfromeveryeligiblehouseholdfortraining.
Themain objective ofthe programmeistodeclaretheselectedblocksanddistricts100
percentdigitallyliterate.
Computer literacy will be key to the success of the project through which the
government hopes to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchayats throughout the country at a
costofRs1.13lakhcrore.
Government hopes to deliver a string of services such as eeducation, ehealth and
egovernancethroughanationalbroadbandnetworkwhich isexpectedtobeinplaceby
2017.

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DISHA was launched by PM in Jharkhand in 2014. The programme offers twohour,

10hourand20hourcoursesinlocallanguages.Thiswillhelpintrainingthepeople.

Que.Critically examine the first river linkingprojectlaunchedinMadhyaPradesh

lastyear.
Ans. Madhya Pradesh government built NarmadaMalwa riverlink project, the first
riverlinkingprojectof the country. Underthe project,thegovernmentplanstotransport
Narmada water to the arid Malwa region. Thiswillbedone by linking five rivers ofthe
Malwa regionthe Kshipra, Gambhir, Parvati, Kali Sindh and Khanto various dams
ontheNarmadathroughcanalsandpipelines.
The government says that together, these links would provide drinking water to3,000
villagesand70citiesandirrigateabout680,000hectares(ha)inthearidMalwa.
However,according to critics a closeexaminationofthefirstphaseoftheproject,linking
the Narmada with theKshipra, showsthe Rs26,000crore NarmadaMalwa linkproject
is not only expensive, but environmentally damaging. It was completed in February
2014. According to critics, while there is no evidence to show that the project would
alleviateMalwaswatercrisis, it isalreadydeprivingpeople alongtheNarmadaofwater.
Besides, the project is highly impractical as it requires transportingriverwateragainst
gravity.

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Que.WhatisMonroedoctrine?Isitapplicabletotheworldtoday?
Ans. The Monroe Doctrine was a US foreign policy regarding European countries in
1823. It stated that further effortsbyEuropean nationsto colonizelandorinterferewith
statesin North or South America wouldbeviewedasactsofaggression,requiringU.S.
intervention. PresidentJamesMonroefirststatedthedoctrineduringhisannualStateof
theUnionAddresstoCongress.
Itisapplicable tointernationalrelationstoday.Forexample,theUkrainecrisis.Russiais
applying the USs Monroe Doctrine to their own nearabroad. The US would not
tolerate Mexico or Canada making a military alliance with China or Russia. Russias
resistanceto Ukraine joiningtheNorth Atlantic TreatyOrganization(NATO)followsthe
samelogic.
China is asserting sovereignty in the South China Sea, angering the Philippines and
Vietnam.ItisChina'sownversionoftheMonroeDoctrine.
Indianstrategic expertsbelievethattheMonroeDoctrinehasbecomeanarticleoffaith
withinthe Indianstrategic community. In policy terms,thismeansbuildingabluewater
navy capable of highseas combat. It also means discouraging fellow South Asian
governmentsfromgrantingmilitarybasesandfacilitiestogreatpowers.
Experts believe that the need of the hour forIndia is to think big and basedonIndias
geostrategic centrality, India should declare an Indian Monroe Doctrine sphere

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encompassing the South Asia and Indian Ocean. This grand vision of great power
shouldbethelodestarguidingallpolicies.

Que.Howdounseasonalrainsdamagecrops?Whatisgovernment'sresponse?
Ans. The unseasonal heavyrains inMarch 2015 causedheavy damage to Rabi crops
in north India, particularly in Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya
Pradesh, Vidarbha regionofMaharastra, Saurashtraregion of GujaratandPunjab and
Haryana.
Theunseasonalrainsdamagedcropslikewheat,mustard,peaandbarley.
Theunseasonalrainsbroughtalong withitchillandgustywinds,causingthemercuryto
dip several notches andin some placed accompaniedby hailstorm,severely damaged
crops.Standingcropsgetflattenedandthusdamaged.
Rabi crops are grownmidNovemberto April. The mainRabicropis wheat. According
to a senior government official up to 20 per cent of total production could have been
damaged.
Mostly, it is the wheat and mustard crops that have been damaged. The total cost of
damagecouldbearoundRs10,000crore.
Government compensates the farmers who suffered damageon thebasis of a certain
minimumamountofdamage.However,victimscomplainoflackoftransparency.

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Que.WriteinadetailedmanneronInnerLinePermit.
Ans.Inner Line Permit(ILP) isanofficial traveldocumentissuedbytheGovernmentof
India to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected/restricted area for a
limited period. It is obligatory for Indian citizens from outside those states to obtain
permit for entering into the protected state. The document is an effort by the
government toregulatemovement tocertainareaslocatedneartheinternationalborder
of India. This is an offshoot of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulations, 1873, which
protected Crown's interest in the tea, oil and elephant trade by prohibiting "British
subjects" from entering into these "Protected Areas"(to preventthem fromestablishing
any commercial venture that could rival the Crown's agents) . The word "British
subjects" was replaced by Citizen of India in 1950. Despite the fact that the ILP was
originally created by the British to safeguardtheircommercialinterests, it continues to
be used in India, officially to protect tribal cultures in northeastern India. There are
different kinds of ILP's, one for tourists and others for people who intend to stay for
longtermperiods, often foremploymentpurposes. ILP's valid fortourism purposesare
grantedasamatterofroutine.
The states which require the permit are: Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland.
An ILP was previously required for certain parts of the Leh district in Jammu and
Kashmir. This requirement was abolished in 2014, although foreign nationals are
requiredtogetProtectedAreaPermitforthisregion.

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ILPrequiredbyoutsiderstoenterNagalandandsomeothernortheasternstateshasnot
been successful in tackling the influx of migrants or illegal Bangladeshi immigrants,
accordingtosome.

Que. What is "phage therapy"? Comment on its advantages. Why is the world
showingrenewedinterestinit?
Ans. Phage therapy is the therapeutic use of bacteriophages to treat pathogenic
bacterial infections. Bacteriophages are viruses that kill bacteria. Although extensively
usedand developed mainly informer SovietUnion countries,itis beingexploredinthe
western world of late (2015). Phage therapyhasmanypotential applicationsin human
medicineaswellasdentistry,veterinaryscience,andagriculture.
Bacteriophages are much more specific than antibiotics, so they canbechosen tobe
harmless not only to the host organism (human, animal, or plant), but also to other
beneficial bacteria reducing the chances of opportunistic infections. (An opportunistic
infection is an infection caused by pathogens, particularly opportunistic
pathogensthose that take advantage of certain situationssuch as bacterial, viral,
fungal or protozoan infectionsthat usually donot causedisease in a healthyhost,one
with a healthy immunesystem. Acompromisedimmunesystem,however,presents an
"opportunity"forthepathogentoinfect.Forexample,thosewithHIV)
Theywould have a high therapeutic index, thatis,phage therapywouldbeexpectedto
give rise to few sideeffects. Becausephages replicatein vivo,asmallereffectivedose

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canbeused.Ontheotherhand,thisspecificityisalsoadisadvantage: aphagewillonly
kill a bacterium if it is a matchto the specificstrain. Consequently phagemixtures are
oftenappliedtoimprovethechancesofsuccess
Now, faced with the looming spectreof antibiotic resistance,Western researchersand
governmentsaregivingphagesaseriouslook.

Que.WhatreasonsdidISISofferforitsculturalvandalism?Examinethem.
Ans.Early March, bulldozing of theancient Assyriancityof Nimrud by Islamic StateIS
was reported. Nimrud was founded inthe 13th Century BC.ISsaysancientshrinesand
statues are "false idols" that have to be smashed. Nimrud lies about 30km (18miles)
southeastofMosul.Manyoftheartefactsfoundtherehavebeenmovedtomuseumsin
Baghdadandoverseas,butmanyremainonsite.
As an act of cultural vandalism, the attempt to destroy Nimrud is already being
compared with the Taliban's demolition of the Bamiyan Buddha rock sculptures in
Afghanistanin2001.
Aswell as destroying artefacts,IslamicStatealso tradesin them andthetradeisone
ofitskeysourcesofrevenue.
Local tribal sourcesaid:"IslamicStatememberscametotheNimrudarchaeologicalcity
andlootedthevaluablesinitandthentheyproceededtolevelthesitetotheground.

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Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant occupied that area in 2014. ISIL had destroyed
other holy sites, including the Mosque of the Prophet Jonah in Mosul. In early 2015,
they announced their intention to destroy preIslamic artifacts as they offend their
religiousviewsandlaterISILdestroyedAkkadianmonumentsintheMosulMuseum.

Que. Which part of the world do peacock spiders belong to? Name the two new
speciesofpeacockspidersdiscoveredrecently.
Ans.
Peacock spiders are a group of spiders found in Australia that possess bright
peacocklike colors, andelaborate (and bizarre)matingrituals andbehaviors.Twonew
species of peacock spiders which have been named Skeletorus and
SparklemuffinhavebeendiscoveredinAustralia,accordingtorecentreports.

Que. What is the "plug andplay" modelofinfrastructural investmentintroduced

intheUnionBudget201516?Commentonthechallenges.
Ans. The Union Budget has proposed a `plugandplay' model for bigticket
infrastructure projects such as power plants, airports and roads, where all regulatory
clearances willbe putin place beforethey areawardedtoprivatedevelopersthrougha
transparent auction. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, during his Budget speech,
announced plans to set upfiveultra mega powerprojects(UMPPs) of4,000mweach
under the `plugand play' model. This means winners of the contract can start

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implementing the project immediately, without worrying about all the regulatory
clearances and coal orgas linkages thebiggest causes forsomanystalledprojectsin
the country. This shouldunlockinvestments to theextent ofRs.1lakhcrore.Itisinline
with longterm industry demand and will help the government attract foreign and
domestic investments into muchneeded infrastructure projectsasitwillsignificantlycut
down project implementationtimeandcostandtimeoverruns.Theplugandplaymodel
isone ofthemost important announcements made by the government. That settingup
an infrastructure project at present requires a minimum 70 statutory clearances from
central andstate authorities.The governmenthastospend a fairamount of timetodo
feasibilitystudies and the preparation required toincubatebeforeitputsoutthebidsfor
privatesector.

Que. What is JAM Trinity, according to the Economic Survey 2015 andwhyis it
emphasized?
Ans. Government subsidises many commodities like rice, wheat, pulses, sugar,
kerosene, LPG,naphtha, water,electricity,fertilizeretc. Theestimateddirectfiscalcost
of subsidies isaboutRs 3.78 lakhcrore or about 4.24percentof GDP. PrimeMinister
Narendra Modi recently stated that leakages in subsidies must be eliminated without
reducing the subsidies themselves. Price subsidies are often regressive, meaning "a
rich household benefits more from the subsidy than a poor household". It gives the
example of good, electricity and kerosene, to name a few, and explains how price

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subsidies distort and lead toleakages(leakages means thatthe intended beneficiaries

donotreceivethebenefit).
Economic Survey says 'JAM Trinity'of JanDhanYojana,AadhaarandMobilenumbers
should be linkedeffectivelyforbetter transferofsubsidiestotheintendedbeneficiaries.
JAMhaspotentialto"wipeeverytearfromeveryeye"withdirecttransferofbenefits.
It says the JAM allows the state to offerthissupport to poor households inatargeted
andless distorting way. Therearemanyotherbenefitsaswediscussedintheclasslike
fiscalsavingsetc.
The survey also made a case that Post Offices can fit into the Aadhaar linked
benefitstransferarchitecture.
India has the largest postal network in the world with over 1,55,015 Post Offices of
which(89.76percent)areintheruralareas.
"Similartothe mobile money framework, thePostOffice (eitheraspaymenttransmitter
or a regular Bank) can seamlessly fit into the Aadhaar linked benefitstransfer
architecture by applying foranIFSC codewhichwillallow postofficesto start seeding
Aadhaarlinkedaccounts,"itsaid.

Que.WhatistheEconomicSurveyofIndia?

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Ans. The Finance Ministry of India presents the Economic Survey in the parliament
every year, just before the Union Budget. It is the ministry's view on the annual
economic development of the country. A flagship annual document of the Ministry of
Finance, Government of India, Economic Survey reviews the developments in the
Indian economy over the previous 12 months, summarizes the performance on major
development programs, and highlights the policy initiatives of the government andthe
prospects of the economy in theshort to medium term.This document ispresented to
both houses of Parliament during the Budget Session. It containscertainprescriptions
that may find a place in the Union Budget which is presented a day or two later. It is
authored by the Chief Economic Advisor inthe FinanceMinistry. There isnostatutory
obligationtopresentthedocument.

Que.Whyweshouldlegaliseprostitution?
Ans.
Some social workers and policy makersinIndiarecentlysaid:"Unlesswelegalise
prostitution, rapes and sexual harassment of women cannot be stopped. Legalising
prostitution is the best deterrent to rapes. The comment has drawn support from the
National Commission of Women andprominent womenactivists. Chairperson of NCW
said it would lead to better working conditions for sex workers as wellasprotecttheir
health.
Sex workersarethe mostmarginalized members of society.They needprotection and
help.Legalisingtheprofessionhasmultiplebenefits.

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Anyone who has worked with sex workers knows that they are normal people, with
normalneeds.Theywantbankaccountsandschoolsfortheirchildren.
Theyareexploitedbypimps,abusiveclientsandthepolice.Theyhavenowheretoturn
to because what they do is illegal, and consideredmorally reprehensible by the same
society which uses them. Legalising prostitution would meanthat abusedsexworkers
wouldhavetheoptionofturningtothelawforprotection.

Regulation
The stepwill protect minors. Around ten millionchildrenworldwideareestimated tobe
in the profession. Legalising and regulating the profession will ensure thatonly willing,
consentingadultsareemployed,nottraffickedchildren.
There are enormous health benefits. Legalisation will reduce the transmission of
sexuallytransmitted diseases.Inthe brothels of Singapore,everycustomerisprovided
with condoms as well as the facility to shower before and after the session. The
prostitutesarealsorequiredtomaintainhealthcards.

Taxation

Legalisation would also translate intobetterwork conditions and better wages

forworkers. Pimpsandmiddlemenwillgraduallybeeliminated.Thejobofthepolicewill

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be to protect rather than extract protection money from sex workers. The police can
also then spend its timeandresourcestackling moreseriousissuesthanpeoplehaving
paidsex.
In countries like the Netherlands, prostituteshavebeenbroughtunderthetaxnet.They
paytheirtaxeslikeanyotherworkingcitizen.
*Wewilldiscusswhyweshouldnotlater.
In India, prostitutionis estimatedto bean8.4billiondollarindustry. Taxingitwouldalso
enable the government to channel money back into the profession, thusenabling it to
protecttherightsofsexworkersbetter.

Prostitution has been legalized in the Netherlands, New Zealand, Germany, Iceland,
Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Greece, Turkey, Senegal, Venezuela, the state of
Nevada in the U.S., and several Australian states (Victoria, Queensland, ACT and
NorthernTerritory).
It is something we too should give serious thought to. Sex workers need toempower
themselvesandfightfortheirrights.
The Sonagachi project, run by Dr Smarjit Jana, designatedabest practice project by
theWHO,isonewayofdoingit.

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He organizedthe workers like alabourcollective.Helobbiedwithpimps,thepoliceand

government. Now the sex workers haveaccesstoliteracyclasses,technicaltrainingfor
jobs,schools andloanfacilitiesanddaycare centres.Inotherwords,theyfinally havea
life.

Que.WhatisthelegalstatusofprostitutioninIndia?
Ans.A person abovethe ageof18years, sellinghis/herbodyforsexagainstmoneyor
kind to another person of the opposite sex (the uncertainty on IPC Section377 is
temporarily over, with the Supreme court upholding it.) in his/her private premises (a
privatelyowned premise is not necessarily private), 200 meters away from a place of
religious worship, a hospital, an educational institution or any place notified by the
government (Sec7) is not a crime under any Indian laws including The Indian Penal
Code1860 or The ImmoralTraffic PreventionAct 1956. TheIndian law bans the acts
of trafficking, procuring, detaining, pimping, lending a premise for carrying on
prostitution for running a brothel.Solicitingin publicplacesforprostitutionispunishable
(Sec8) but a woman arrested under Sec7 or Sec8 is not to be punished but to be
givenachanceofrehabilitationatthestatescost(Sec10).Inshort,theIndianlawaims
to punish theexploiters like madams, pimps, traffickers, customers, andother partners
aidingtheexploitativesextradebutnottheprostitutewoman.

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Que.Elaborate on the treatment of populationasa criterion fordistributingtax

resourcestoastateasadoptedbytheFourteenthFinanceCommission.
Ans. The Presidential order setting up the FFC has terms of reference (ToR)which
specifies that "inmakingitsrecommendationsonvariousmatters,theCommissionshall
generallytakethebaseofpopulationfiguresason1971inallcaseswherepopulationis
a factorfordeterminationofdevolutionof taxes and dutiesand grantsinaidhowever,
the Commission may alsotake intoaccountthe demographicchanges thathavetaken
place subsequent to 1971". In other words, the ToR recognised the changing
demographic realitiesandprovidedaspaceforthedemographicchangesacrossStates
in the last forty years to be taken into consideration while deciding on the devolution.
The Commission deliberated on the possible demographic changes that have taken
place since 1971, the obvious onesbeingthe changein the compositionof population
and also migration. While some Stateshave achievedreplacementlevel fertility, some
othersstillhaveaveryhightotalfertilityrate.
Migrationis an importantfactoraffecting thepopulation ofthe State,apart fromnatural
factors like fertility and mortality.A largenumberofinmigrantsinaStateposesseveral
challenges resulting in additional administrative and other costs. There is no denying
the fact that migrants contribute to the income of the destination States and help the
State oforiginthrough remittances. However,the pressure ofmigration tobigger cities
does impose fiscal challenges on the destination. For example, Telangana state
government's contention is that the growth of the migrant population surged in the
eighties.It appealed totheFFC thatthe changes inpopulationof thestatesubsequent

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to 1971 may be taken into account fully for the purpose of tax devolution as well as
grantsinaid.By the argument of the state, nearly 18% of the state's population
comprisesmigrants,especially those who settledinHyderabadandsurrounding Ranga
Reddydistrict.
TheFFCsaysthat it isof the view that the useofdated populationdata isunfair,butis
neverthelessbound byToR.Thus,ithasperformed abalancingact:assigneda17.5per
cent weight tothe 1971population. Aweightof10%isassignedtothe2011population
to capture the demographic changes since 1971, both in terms of migration and age
structure.
Is theFFCjustified? Has it notrolledbackthemeaningoffreezingthepopulationfigure
at 1971 census for distribution of resources as otherwise it would promote reckless
demographic expansion? Answeris partly yes becausethe 2011population figure is a
resultofnaturalfactorsaswellasmigration.
*NoneoftheNewspapersnorChannelsnorblogshavecovereditsofar.Thatmakesus
THEFIRST.

Que.Kurdsarespreadacrossallbutoneofthefollowingcountries
i.

Syriaii.

Jordan

Turkeyiii.

Armeniaiv.

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a)iiandiiionlyb)iiiandivonly
c)iiionlyd)ivonly

Que.Whatissocialimpactassessment(SIA)?
Ans.SIA is aprocess of analyzingthe impact ofpublic/government intervention onthe
socialaspectsofthehumanenvironment.Theseaspectsinclude:
i.

The ways people cope with life through their economy, social systems, and
culturalvalues.

ii.

The ways people use the natural environment, for subsistence, recreation,
spiritualactivities,culturalactivities,andsoforth.

iii.

The ways people use environment for shelter, making livelihoods, industry,
worship,recreation,gatheringtogether,etc.

iv.

Organizationofthecommunity,socialandculturalinstitutionsandbeliefs

v.

Preservationofthecommunityidentity.

vi.

Art,music,dance,languagearts,crafts,andotherexpressiveaspectsofculture.

vii.

A group's values and beliefs about appropriate ways to live, family and
extrafamily relationships, status relationships, means of expression, and other
expressionsofcommunity.

viii.

The esthetic and cultural character of a community or neighborhoodits

ambience
.

Que. How do you explain the spike of 10% over 32% to make the devolution of
42%ofnetdivisibletaxresourcesfromtheCentretotheStates?

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Ans.Simple. The14thFinanceCommissionisoftheviewthat taxdevolutionshouldbe

the primaryroute fortransfer of resourcestothe States. According to theCommission,
the increased devolution of the divisible pool of taxes is a compositional shift in
transfers from grantsto taxdevolution.ThePlanningCommissiondoesnotexistany
more.The Plan fundgrantsaremergedwiththetax devolutionandthusthereisahuge
increase. Otherwise, it would have been aboutsay 34% orsothroughthe FC and the
restthroughthePC.ItmeansthatincapturingtheStatesneeds,ithasignoredthePlan
andnonPlandistinctions.

Que.Whathappenstocentrallysponsoredschemes?
Ans.Drastic reduction oftheirnumber.SomelikeNaregacontinue.Forotherschemes,
moneyistransferredtothestateswithenormousautonomy.

Que. What is the basis the criteria for distributing among the states their
respective shares from the total amount meant for them called horizontal
distribution?
Ans. In recommendinganhorizontal distribution,ithasused followingparameters with
theirrespectiveweightsinbrackets:

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o Population (total weight of 27.5% with the breakuplike: 17.5% for populationand
10% for Demographic Change). Demographic change is to compensate states for
migration.
oIncomeDistance(50%)
oArea(15%)
oForestCover(7.5%)
Surely,these criteria andweightsareverydifferentfromtheearlierFC13.Forestcover
isnew.Fiscalefforthasbeencompletelydropped.Performingstatesmightprotest.

Que.Whatdolocalbodiesget?
Ans.
It has recommended distribution of grants to States for local bodies using 2011
population data with weight of 90 per cent and areawith weightof 10percent.Using
2011populationdoesnothurtasstateisstilltheunitforgrants.

Que.DoesitfollowtheFC13itthismatter?
Ans.Yes.ithas divided grantsinto two partsliketheearliercommission:abasicgrant,
andaperformance one forgram panchayats andmunicipal bodies. The rationofbasic
to performance grant is 90:10 for panchayats and 80:20 for municipalities. Basic is
what all get. Performance grant is given on the basis of budgetary data being made
availablebythepanchayatbodiesandalsoonhowfartheyhaveraisedmore.

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Que. What are "smart syringes"? Why does the World Health Organisation want
allcountriestoswitchovertothem?Commentonthechallenge.
Ans. Use of the same syringe or needle to give injections to more than one person
causes the spread of a number of deadly infectious diseases worldwide. Reusing
syringesleadsto morethantwomillion people being infected withdiseaseseachyear,
includingHIVandhepatitis.
The smart ones prevent the plunger from being pulled backafteraninjection,sothey
cannot be used again. The new needles are more expensive, but the WHO says the
changeover would be cheaper than treating the diseases. World Health Organization
(WHO)islaunchinganewpolicyoninjectionsafety.
A2014 study sponsored by WHO estimatedthat in2010,upto1.7million peoplewere
infected with hepatitis Bvirus, upto 315000 with hepatitisC virusandas manyas 33
800withHIVthroughanunsafeinjection.
WHO isurging countries to transition,by2020,to the exclusive useof the newsmart
syringes.
*Doctors,pleasepickuptheentiregamutofissuesrelatedsafetyofinjection.

(The biggest biotech discovery of the century. Dealt withit inan earlier Q&A as
well)

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Q. "Metagenics has very useful applicationsforus."Introduce and elaborate the

statement.
A. The genetic and biological diversity of microorganisms is an important area of
scientific research. Unfortunately, scientists are able to grow less than 1% of all
microorganismsobservable innature under standard laboratory conditions.Thisleaves
scientistsunableto study morethan 99% of thebiological diversity in theenvironment.
Metagenomics isa newfield combining molecularbiologyandgeneticsinanattemptto
identify and characterize the genetic material from environmental samples and apply
thatknowledge.The geneticdiversityisassessedbyisolationofDNAfollowedbydirect
cloningoffunctionalgenesfromtheenvironmentalsample.
Scientists can study thesmallest componentof anenvironmental systembyextracting
DNA from organisms in the system and inserting it intoamodel organism.The model
organism then expresses this DNA where it can be studied using standardlaboratory
techniques.
Metagenomics is a four step process: (i) the isolation of genetic material, (ii)
manipulationof the geneticmaterial, (iii)libraryconstruction,andthe(iv)theanalysisof
geneticmaterialinthemetagenomiclibrary.
Applications :Many microorganisms have the ability to degrade waste products, make
new drugs for medicine,makeenvironmentallyfriendly plastics, or even make some of
the ingredients of food we eat. Byisolating theDNAfromtheseorganisms, it provides

154

us with the opportunity to optimize these processes and adapt them for use in our
society.

Q. What do you know of Swyer syndrome and why was it in news in India
recently?
A. Swyersyndromeis a condition inwhichindividualswithoneXchromosomeandone
Y chromosome in each cell, the pattern normally found in males, have a female
appearance. People with this disorder have female external genitalia and a normal
uterus and Fallopian tubes. However, they do not have functional gonads (ovaries or
testes). Instead, they have undeveloped clumpsof tissuecalledstreak gonads. These
abnormalgonadsoftenbecomecancerous,sotheyareusuallyremovedsurgicallyearly
inlife.
Peoplewith Swyersyndrome are typically raisedas females andhaveafemalegender
identity.
Thus, the Swyer's syndrome, also caled XY gonadal dysgenesis, is a type of
hypogonadisminapersonwhosekaryotypeis46,XY.
Hypogonadismis a medical term which describesadiminishedfunctionalactivityofthe
gonadsthetestesandovariesinmalesandfemales,respectively
Affectedindividuals usually begin hormone replacementtherapy during adolescence to
induce menstruationand development of female secondary sex characteristicssuchas
breastenlargementandbodyhair.

155

Last week,a woman in Meerut who is said be 'genetically male' has delivered twins
helped by the doctors in the city. She has an XY gonadal dysgenesis with infantile
uterus case and underwent a series of medical procedures for about three years to
become a mother. Special hormonal and endocrinal treatment led the person to bear
children by developing her uterus to a stage to conceive. The person had external
female organs but had never menstruated and was almost a miracle to make her
conceiveandproducetwins.

Q.CommentonMunshiAyyangarFormulaanditssignificance.
A.MunshiAyyangar Formula was a constitutional compromise reached during the
framing ofthe IndianConstitution. It shapedtheOfficiallanguagepolicyoftheRepublic
of India. Named after K. M. Munshi and Gopalsamy Ayyangar both members of the
Indian Constituent Assembly this formula ensured that the Indianconstitutiondid not
specify any "National language" and only mentioned "Official languages". It aims at
comfortingthenonHindispeakingpeople.
An official language is used by the govt for administrative purposes and a national
language is one which is spoken by a large no. of people in that country is a major
language and can be developed as a language of national integration. That is, link
language. Lingua franca (a bridge language):a language that is used among people
whospeakvariousdifferentlanguages.

Q.WhatarethelimitationsonthepoliticalrightsofcivilservantsundertheIndian
laws?Whyaresuchlimitationsimposed?

156

A. Constitution makers in India andlater the law makersadptedthemodern Weberian

modelofefficientandneutralcivilservice.Inour
country, the Civil Service Conduct Rules prohibit the government employees from
activeparticipation inpoliticalactivities.Exceptfor the limitedrightof votingin secret, a
government employee cannot participate in any way in any political movement or
activityincluding
election campaigns. He cannot join a political party even as an inactive member or
contribute financiallytoitsfunds hecannotexpressanyopinionon politicalissuesand
hecannot
standforelectiontoanylegislature.
An impersonal, strictly rulebound, neutral bureaucracy was expected not only to
provide the necessary administrative objectivity but also enhance the democratic
principleofequalityandprovideprotectionfromarbitraryrule.
However, such neutrality is becoming increasingly only a formal fact andin reality the
pressuresandtemptationshavebeenotherwise.

Q.Writeon the needforaNewGDPSeriesthatwasintroducedinJanuary2015

andtheimpactitmakesonthreetofourmacroeconomicfigures.
A. TheCentral Statistics Office (CSO) cameoutwith a new series ofnationalaccounts
with 201112 as base year for computing size of the economy and economic growth
rate. It has the effect of broadening the coverage across segments including farm,

157

corporate and unorganised sectors a move that will likely expand the size the
economyssize.
The new series with a base year of 201112was releasedon January 30.Atpresent,
GDPthebroadest measure ofthe total value ofgoods and servicesproducedinthe
countryiscomputedon200405baseyear.
The base year of the national accounts is changed periodically to factor in structural
changes in the economy and present a more realistic picture of the macroeconomic
aggregates.
The new series will include data on unorganised manufacturing and services and
incomefrompublicprivatepartnership(PPP)projectsamongothers.
The data for corporate income will be collated from the corporate affairs ministrys
MCA21 records, a comprehensive compendium that allows collecting granular
informationevenfromthelevelofthesmallfirms.
In the earlier series such data was taken primarily from the Reserve Bank of Indias
studyoncompanyandfinances.
Theseries will alsoincorporateresults ofrecentnationalsamplesurveyssuchasthose
on enterprises, unemployment, debt and investment, situation assessment of farmers
andsurveyoflandlivestockholdings.
Thenewserieswillbereleasedforthreeconsecutiveyearsfrom201112.
The National Statistical Commission suggested that the base year for computing
nationalaccountshouldberevisedeveryfiveyears.

158

Indias GDPat current market prices(201314)isvaluedatRs11,355,073crore.Under

thenewseriesthiscouldbeatahighervalue.
The first official estimates of national income were prepared by the Central Statistical
Organisation(CSO)withbaseyear194849fortheestimatesatconstantprices.
GOI revisedFY14 growth up to 6.9%from4.7% after improvingcorporatecoverageon
rebasing GDP to 201112 from 200405. Similarly, the economic growth rate for
201213 has been revised upwards to 5.1 per cent, compared with 4.5 per cent
estimatedearlier.
The200405GDPdatawasunderestimatingindustrialgrowthasthecoveragewaslow
andtheweightswerewrong.
New GDPseries hascapturedthechangingstructureoftheIndianeconomy.Theshare
ofmanufacturinghasincreasedto15.8%from11.9%inthe200405series.
Shareof trade services isdownto10.9%from15.2%inthe200405series.Exceptreal
estateand construction, the shareofallotherserviceshasalsofalleninthenewseries.
The share of agriculture has increased marginally in the new series to 17.2% from
16.8%.
ThebaseyearwaslastrevisedinJanuary2010.

Que.DescribetheInternationalCriminalCourt.WhydidIndianotjoinICC?
Ans.
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunaltoprosecute individuals
forgenocide, crimes againsthumanity, warcrimes etc.Itcameintobeingin 2002.The

159

Court's official seat is in The Hague, Netherlands, but itsproceedings may takeplace
anywhere.
123statesarestatespartiestotheStatuteoftheCourt.
The Court can generally exercise jurisdictiononly when a caseis referred tothe Court
by the United Nations Security Council. It isdesignedto complement existing national
judicialsystems: it canexerciseitsjurisdictiononlywhennationalcourtsareunwillingor
unable to investigate or prosecute such crimes.. Primary responsibility to investigate
andpunishcrimesisthereforelefttoindividualstates.
TheCourtdoes nothave universal jurisdiction.TheCourtmayonlyexercisejurisdiction
if:
The accused is a national of a State Party or a State otherwise accepting the
jurisdictionoftheCourt
The crime took place on the territory of a StateParty or a State otherwise accepting
thejurisdictionoftheCourtor
The United Nations Security Council has referred the situation to the Prosecutor,
irrespectiveofthenationalityoftheaccusedorthelocationofthecrime.
Que.WhyIndiadidnotjointheICC?
1. Made the ICC subordinate to the UN Security Council, and thus in effect to its
permanent members, and their political interference, by providing it thepower torefer
casestotheICCandthepowertoblockICCproceedings.

160

2. Refused to designate of the use of nuclear weapons and terrorism among crimes
withinthepurviewoftheICC,asproposedbyIndia.
Critics say that ICCcan be abusedbycountries like PakistanforIndiasactionsinJ&K
orunderAFSPA.
Que. Write on the need for a New GDP Series that wasintroducedinJanuary
2015andtheimpactitmakesonthreetofourmacroeconomicfigures.
Ans. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) came out with a new series of national
accounts with 201112 as baseyear forcomputing sizeof the economy and economic
growth rate. It has the effect of broadening the coverage across segments including
farm, corporate and unorganisedsectors a move that will likelyexpand thesize the
economyssize.
The new series with a base year of 201112was releasedon January 30.Atpresent,
GDPthebroadest measure ofthe total value ofgoods and servicesproducedinthe
countryiscomputedon200405baseyear.
The base year of the national accounts is changed periodically to factor in structural
changes in the economy and present a more realistic picture of the macroeconomic
aggregates.
The new series will include data on unorganised manufacturing and services and
incomefrompublicprivatepartnership(PPP)projectsamongothers.
The data for corporate income will be collated from the corporate affairs ministrys
MCA21 records, a comprehensive compendium that allows collecting granular
informationevenfromthelevelofthesmallfirms.

161

In the earlier series such data was taken primarily from the Reserve Bank of Indias
studyoncompanyandfinances.
Theseries will alsoincorporateresults ofrecentnationalsamplesurveyssuchasthose
on enterprises, unemployment, debt and investment, situation assessment of farmers
andsurveyoflandlivestockholdings.
Thenewserieswillbereleasedforthreeconsecutiveyearsfrom201112.
The National Statistical Commission suggested that the base year for computing
nationalaccountshouldberevisedeveryfiveyears.
Indias GDPat current market prices(201314)isvaluedatRs11,355,073crore.Under
thenewseriesthiscouldbeatahighervalue.
The first official estimates of national income were prepared by the Central Statistical
Organisation(CSO)withbaseyear194849fortheestimatesatconstantprices.
GOI revisedFY14 growth up to 6.9%from4.7% after improvingcorporatecoverageon
rebasing GDP to 201112 from 200405. Similarly, the economic growth rate for
201213 has been revised upwards to 5.1 per cent, compared with 4.5 per cent
estimatedearlier.
The200405GDPdatawasunderestimatingindustrialgrowthasthecoveragewaslow
andtheweightswerewrong.
New GDPseries hascapturedthechangingstructureoftheIndianeconomy.Theshare
ofmanufacturinghasincreasedto15.8%from11.9%inthe200405series.
Shareof trade services isdownto10.9%from15.2%inthe200405series.Exceptreal
estateand construction, the shareofallotherserviceshasalsofalleninthenewseries.

162

The share of agriculture has increased marginally in the new series to 17.2% from
16.8%.
ThebaseyearwaslastrevisedinJanuary2010.
Que. What are mitochondrial diseases. How does mitochondrial replacement
therapyhelp?Mentionthecontroversy.
Ans. Mitochondrial diseases result from failures of the mitochondria, specialized
compartments presentin every cell ofthebodyexceptredbloodcells.Mitochondriaare
responsiblefor creating morethan90%oftheenergyneededbythebodytosustainlife
and support growth. When they fail, less and less energy isgeneratedwithin thecell.
Cell injury and even cell death follow. If this process is repeated throughoutthebody,
whole systems begin to fail, and the life of the person in whom this is happening is
severely compromised. The disease primarily affects children, but adult onset is
becomingmoreandmorecommon.
Diseases of the mitochondria appear to cause the most damage to cells of thebrain,
heart,liver,skeletalmuscles,kidneyandtheendocrineandrespiratorysystems.
It can cause catastrophic organ failure in their children, as well as severe epilepsy or
conditions such as muscular dystrophy. Children often die in an agony that can't be
alleviated.
Scientists developed a technique that lets mothers with this genetic fault bear healthy
children. Sometimes called "threeparent embryos", the method replaces the faulty
mitochondria in the mother's egg with healthy mitochondria from a donor egg, to
combine with the father's sperm. Mitochondrial DNA consists of just 37 genes, which
perform a quite separate function from the 23,000 genes that determine our

163

characteristics: the baby's nature will be drawn from its parents, the donor providing
only"battery"support.
But tampering withany humanDNAisillegalandrequiresnewregulationstobeagreed
. Inevitably it has led to warnings of "genetically modified humans" and "GM babies",
with questions raisedaboutwhether children shouldknow they havea"thirdparent"so
theycancontactthemitochondrialdonormother.
Que.WriteashortnoteonUS2aircraft.
Ans.The Shin Maywa US2 isanamphibiousshorttakeoff andlanding(STOL)aircraft
manufactured by Japanbased Shin Maywa Industries. Designed for airsea rescue
missions, Shin Maywa US2 can quickly reach remote islands and sites of maritime
accidentsduring searchandrescue(SAR)operations.TheUS2amphibianaircraftwas
displayed at Defexpo India 2012. Theaircrafthasbeen offered to India in response to
the IndianNavy's global request for information (RFI)for nineamphibiousSARaircraft.
The Indian Navy is prepared tobuy between15and 18 US2Amphibious Searchand
Rescue (SAR) aircraft at cost of $1.65 billion. It is expected that these amphibious
aircraftwillbestationedintheAndamanandNicobarislands.

Que. A patient diagnosed with HIV smuggled unapproved

pharmaceutical drugs into India despite the regulations of the
Government prohibiting it. He used the smuggled drugs to treat
himself and others with AIDS by establishing the Live well Club.
These clubs sprang up during the HIV epidemic when patients
and/or their friends pooled resources to smuggle in drugs as the
drugs needed to treat AIDS were either not available or too
expensive. You are the policeman on duty who saw m0bers of the

164

club bringinseveralsuitcases full ofantiretroviralmedicines.What

would you consider as the appropriate action and why?Chooseone
ofthefollowingcoursesofactionoranyotherandexplain.
a)Arrestthemandseizethedrugs
b)Seizethedrugsandleavethemalone
c) Since they are doing it purely for humanitarian reasons and not for profit,
ignoreit.
Ans.
a)
It is the legal option to enforce law but ignores the human suffering. At the same
time,thejobofthecivilservant,firstandforemost,istoupholdlaw.
b)
Itisnottheoptionas:ifdrugsareseizedforillegality,arrestismandatory.
c)
Onthefaceofit,inthehumanitarianspirit,thisoptionisvalid.Buttherearesomany
aspects thatdisallowit: drugsareunapprovedandprohibited.Theymaybespurious.In
course of time, bribery may set in. Further, it is difficult to differentiate between
smuggling andsuppliesthatarebroughtinforgenuinereasons.Thusthereisaslippery
slopepotentially.
Therefore,OptionAistherightone.

165

Que. What are the "pathfinder projects" under the Defence Trade
and Technology Initiative (DTTI) that were agreed upon during
BarakObama'svisittoIndiain2015January?
Ans. India and the US renewed an enhanced Defence FrameworkAgreementforthe
next ten years and identified four key "pathfinder projects" for joint development and
production
The four are the nextgeneration Raven unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), rollon,
rolloff intelligencegatheringand reconnaissance modulesforC130JSuperHercules
aircraft, mobile electric hybrid power sources and uniform integrated protection
ensembleincrement2(chemical,biologicalwarfareprotectiongearforsoldiers).
The Raven is not an advancedspyor combat drone.Itis a handlaunched mini drone
which is used by soldiers in the battlefield to keep tabs on enemy formations within a
range of 10km.The two sides, however, plan to extend its range to 18km and flying
endurancetosixhoursfromtheexistingfourhours.

Que. What is the Convention on Supplementary Compensation and

whydidIndiajoinit?
Ans. The international convention provides for compensation in caseof transnational
implications of a nuclear accident. Upon entry into force, the Convention on
Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage would establish a uniform global
legalregimeforcompensationtovictimsintheunlikelyeventofanuclearaccident.
The CSC provides for establishment of an international fund, contributed by each
member, to increase the amount available to compensate victims and allows for

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compensating civil damage occurring within a State's exclusive economic zone,

includinglossoftourismorfisheriesrelatedincome.
It also sets parameters on a nuclear operator's financial liability, time limits governing
possible legal action, requires that nuclear operators maintain insurance or other
financialsecuritymeasuresandprovidesforasinglecompetentcourttohearclaims.
India signed the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC) which sets
parametersonanuclearoperator'sfinancialliability,attheIAEAinViennain2010.
TheIndian move isseenasanefforttowardsallayingconcernsofAmericancompanies
onaccountofthenewlyenactedNuclearLiabilitylawbyParliament.

Que.Canweendgeneticdiseases?
Ans. In October 2014, two scientists shared the $3 million Breakthrough Prize in Life
SciencesforinventingtheCRISPR/Cas9 genomeediting technologythat mighthelpus
end genetic diseases, like Huntingtons by taking cells out of a patient, fixing the
damagedgene,andthenputtingthecellbackinagain.
Overthelastdecade,there has beenanexplosioningenomicswevehadthehuman
genome sequenced, and genome sequences of many other animals and plants. And
this has meant that it is possible to read the code of life. We now have all the
sequencesofgenes,includingmanythathavemutationsthatleadtogeneticdisease.
Thechallenge hasbeen that until nowithasbeeneitherdifficultorimpossibletoacton
this information. There have been no good technologies to manipulate genomes, to
correct the genetic mutations that lead to disease. And thats what theCRISPR/Cas9

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technology does it allows specific changes to be made in the DNA of cells and
organismstoenablethecorrectionofmutationsthatcouldotherwiseleadtodisease.
You can think about it like a computer code. The DNA of the cell is analogous tothe
codethat programmes a computer. Imagine thatyoutrytorunthecode,andtheresan
error in it then the computer doesnt run very well. Its the same in the cell of an
organism. If theres a mutation in the DNA, it affects the cells ability to grow and
function normally. This results in genetic diseases like Cystic Fibrosis, Huntingtons
DiseaseandMuscularDystrophy.
CRISPR/Cas9 will have a profound impact on the development of therapeutic drugsto
treat genetic diseases because it is a precisiontoolthat allowsustostudy how drugs
affectcells.

Que.Whatis"Manav"inthefieldofrobotics?
Ans. At IIT in Mumbai, India, thecountrysfirst 3Dprintedplastic robotMANAV, was
featured in the countrys annual Tech Fest 2015. MANAV, which means human or
man in Hindi, a 2foot tall robot, withanentirely 3Dprintedbody,weighs around 2kg
andis poweredby21 servos.Two cameras arefixed inhis eye andhis ears carrytwo
microphones to detect and respond to the direction of sound stimuli. It can executea
variety of animationsandactions,suchasplayingfootball,exercising,anddancing.Itis
fullydesigned,printedandmanufacturedinIndia

Que. How significant is the synthesis of "Peptide M5" by Indian scientists

recently?

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Ans. A team of Indian scientists has developed a synthetic molecule that prevents
malaria and tuberculosis microbes from invading human cells, raising hopes for a
twoinone drug to treat both infections, including drugresistant versions of these
microbes.
The molecule, codenamed M5,works against both infectionsbytargeting akeyset of
proteins in the human body that both the malaria parasite and the tuberculosis bacilli
exploittoenterhumanbloodcellsandtriggerthediseaseprocess.
The scientists at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
(ICGEB),NewDelhi,are hopingtousetheirstrategyto targethumanproteinmachinery
to tailor anew generationofsingledrugstofightmultiplemicrobesbacteria,parasites,
andviruses.
The synthetic molecule developed M5 doesn't target the microbes themselves, it
interferes with key human protein machinery the bugs hijack togain entryinto human
bloodcells.
Most drugsused totreatinfections,including malaria and tuberculosis,are intended to
disrupt some biological process in microbes. Some antibiotics break down bacilli cell
walls, other drugs block critical biochemical processes within bacteria, parasites or
viruses.
The scientists focused on a set of proteins called intercellular adhesion molecules
(ICAM), demonstrating throughlaboratorystudiesthat tuberculosisgerms cannot enter
theirtargetcellsinthebodymacrophageswithouttheaidofaproteincalledICAM1.
Their studies have also shown that the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum
similarly uses another protein called ICAM4 to enter red blood cells, its primary

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destination in the body, where the parasite multiplies and proliferates and causes
disease.
Ourscientists designed asyntheticpeptidethey'venamedM5a moleculecraftedfrom
a chain of 84 aminoacids that has beenshownin laboratory studies to interfere with
theinteractionsofboththeTBgermswithICAM1andPlasmodiumwithICAM4.
The scientists observed that M5 could block 80 per cent of parasite invasion into red
bloodcellsandover70percentofTBgermstryingtoentermacrophages.
This work raises the possibility of a novel strategy to fight multiple infections, The
scientistsbelievetheirstrategycouldalsobeusedtodesignmoleculesagainstviruses.
Several viruses, including the human immunodeficiency virus and the West Nile fever
virus,alsorelyonvariantsofICAMproteinstoenterhumancells.
Thepeptide M5 has also been showntosuccessfullyblockinvasionbyresistantstrains
of the malaria parasite as: microbes evade drugs by developing resistance to specific
drugsbuthere,M5targetsahumanproteinnotthebugs.

Que.DescribetheSalafisandWahabis.
Ans. The Salafist movement is a movement within Islamthat takesitsnamefromthe
term salaf ("predecessors", "ancestors") used to identify the earliest Muslims,who, its
adherents believe, provide the purest of Islamic practice. Salafism has become
associated with strict and puritanical approaches to Islam and, particularly in the
West,withtheSalafiJihadiswhoespouseoffensivejihadagainstthosetheydeemtobe
liberalsenemiesofIslam.Theyarethefundamentalists.Theyaresunnis.

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Wahhabism is a religious movement/sect of Sunni Islam described as "orthodox"and

"fundamentalist". It is an Islamic "reform movement" to restore "pure monotheistic
worship".AdherentsoftenobjecttothetermWahhabiorWahhabismasderogatory,and
prefertobecalledSalafi.
Wahhabism isnamedafteraneighteenth centurypreacherandscholar,Muhammadibn
Abd alWahhab(17031792). He started arevivalistmovementrejectingpracticessuch
as the popular cult of saints, and shrine and tombvisits,widespread among Muslims,
butwhichheconsideredidolatry,impuritiesandinnovationsinIslam.
Thus,botharepuristbutcameupatdifferentpointsoftime.

Que. What are the criteria for declaring a language as a Classicial Language in
India?Mentionthelanguagessodeclared.
Ans. Marathi may soon be included in the list of classical languages to become the
seventh one. Odia was the sixth one declared in 2014, the first language from the
IndoAryan linguistic group. They join the same league as Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu,
KannadaandMalayalam.
Odiais billedasthefirstlanguage fromtheIndoAryanlinguisticgroupandthecasefor
makingita classicallanguagewasalsopremisedonthefactthatithasno resemblance
toHindi,Sanskrit,BengaliandTelugu.
Once alanguageisdeclaredclassical,itgetsfinancialassistanceforsettingupacentre
of excellence for the study of that language and also opens up an avenue for major
awards for scholars of eminence. Besides, the University Grants Commission can be

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requested to create to begin withatleastinCentralUniversitiesacertain numberof

professionalchairsforclassicallanguagesforscholarsofeminenceinthelanguage.
The criteria for declaring a language as classical mandates high antiquity of its early
texts/recorded history over a period of 1,5002,000 years, a body of ancient
literature/texts which is considered a valuableheritageby generations of speakers and
a literary tradition that is original and not borrowed from another speech community.
Also since the classical language and literature is distinct from themodern, therecan
also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its
offshoots.

Que.Onwhat basis is acasemadethatMarathiisaclassicallanguageaccording

tothecriterialaiddownbytheGovernmentofIndia?
Ans.
In order to probe the claim of Marathi as a classical language, the state
government had set up a committee headed by author Ranganath Pathare, with
historiansociologistHariNarkeasthecoordinator.
The committee had 10 other experts, including linguists, historians and language
experts. It strongly recommended that Marathi be given the status of a classical
language.
About the proof of Marathi's eligibility as a classical language, it says the earliest
example of the existence of Marathi as an independent language dates backto more
than 2,000 years."A shilalekh (stonecarving)discoveredinJunnartalukaofPunetalks
about Maharathi language, which is the same as Marathi. In fact, various references

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have been gathered that equate the MaharashtrianParkit, Maharathi,Desiwith thatof

presentdayMarathi".
Citing the independent witness of Sri Lankan seminal work of Deepavamsam, a Pali
workdating back 2,000 years,itsaysthebookmentionstheexistenceofMarathiasan
independent language during the time of emperor Ashoka. "The book states that
Maharathispeaking Bhikkhus (Buddhist monks) were sent to present day Konkan,
Kundal and Kolhapur to spread Dhamma there." The Vinayapithaka (one of the
canonicalworks ofBuddhism)talksaboutanabbotnamedMahadhammarakshakbeing
sent to various parts of Maharashtra as he was wellversedin Maharathi.This, Narke
says, showsthat Marathiexisted as an independent language wellbefore the common
era.

Que. "The Dreyfus affair marked the birth of republican France as we know it
today."Contextualisethestatementandcriticallycomment.
Ans.
The Dreyfus affair was a politicalscandalthat divided France fromitsbeginningin
1894 until it was finally resolved in 1906. The affair is often seen as a miscarriageof
justice,whereamajorrolewasplayedbythepressandpublicopinion.
The scandal began in 1894, with the treason conviction of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a
young French artillery officer of Jewish descent. Sentenced to life imprisonment for
allegedly communicating French military secrets to the German Embassy in Paris,
Dreyfus was imprisoned on Devil's Island in French Guiana, where he would spend
nearlyfiveyears.
Evidence came to light in 1896 identifying a French Army major named Esterhazyas
the real culprit. After highranking military officials suppressed the new evidence, a

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military court unanimously acquitted Esterhazy after a trial lasting only two days. The
Army then accused Dreyfus of additional charges basedon falsifieddocuments. Word
of themilitary court'sframingofDreyfusandofanattemptedcoverupbegantospread.
Activistsputpressureonthegovernmenttoreopenthecase.
In 1899, Dreyfus was returned to France for another trial. The intense political and
judicial scandal that ensued divided French society between those who supported
Dreyfus (now called "Dreyfusards") and those who condemned him (the
antiDreyfusards).
Eventually all the accusations against Alfred Dreyfus were demonstrated to be
baseless. In 1906 Dreyfus was exonerated and reinstated as a major in the French
Army.
The Affair from 1894 to 1906 divided France deeply and lastingly into two opposing
camps: Catholic "antiDreyfusards" and the Dreyfusards. It embittered French politics
andencouragedradicalization.
The conviction was a miscarriage of justice based upon faulty espionage and
antisemitism.
Thelastingimpact oftheaffairisduenotonlytoitsdirectconsequences,butalsotothe
broader principlesitcontinuestorepresentthedominanceoffreedomoverrepression,
the confidence of France to stand up to those who challenge its values of liberty,
equalityandfraternity.
"TheaffairmarkedthebirthofrepublicanFranceasweknowittoday."

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In accepting Dreyfus's innocence, France enshrined her most fundamental values:

respectofthelaw,nonsubmissiontoclericalauthority,therightsofthecitizen.
But while thecountry proudlyrecallshowaJewishcitizentriumphedoverantiSemitism
thebirth,itseemed, ofracialequalitytoday'sFranceremainstormented byracistand
antiSemiticcrime.TheKoshersupermarkethostagetakingeventonearlyJanuary2015
andothersimilareventsareindicativeofit.

Que.WhataretheconditionsofdomestichelpinIndia?Criticallycommentonthe
newlawsthatareextendedtoormadeforthem.
Ans. Over the past few years, there have been innumerable cases of domestic
workersnearlyallof them female, some of themminorsbeingabusedandexploited
by their employers. The abuses range from withholding of wages to starvation, not
allowing time for sleep or rest. There hasbeen muchoutcry andcallsforlegislationto
regulatethe employment ofdomesticworkersand protect their rights.Laws have been
unfavourable tothem.Paiddomesticworkcontinuestobeexcludedfromthecentrallist
of scheduled employments under the Minimum Wages Act of 1948. It is not covered
under either the Payment of Wages Act (1936) or the Workmens Compensation Act
(1923) or the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act (1970) or the Maternity
BenefitAct(1961).
In 2011 India became a signatory to the International Labour Organisations (ILO)
Convention 189, which mandatesdecentworkingconditionsfordomesticworkers,butit
hasnotratifiedit.
Good news is thatof inclusionofdomesticworkersundertheRashtriyaSwasthyaBima
Yojana (RSBY). But a domestic worker cannot register for this scheme unless her

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employment isverified by two out offour authorized agenciesthepolice,theemployer,

theemployersresidentwelfareassociations,andunions.
The other two central government interventions in recent times, bringing domestic
workers under the Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008 and the Sexual
Harassment ofWomenat Workplace(Prevention,Prohibition andRedressal)Act,2013
look good onpaperbutinspire little hope of making adifference intherealworldinthe
absenceofmechanismsforinspectionandenforcement.
There hasbeen some progressatthe statelevel, withseven statesAndhraPradesh,
Bihar,Karnataka, Kerala,Rajasthan,JharkhandandOdishanotifyingminimumwages
for domesticworkers. But the wagerates havebeen setsolow, andsoarbitrarily, that
they are irrelevant in the places where the largest proportion of domestic workers are
employedthe metros, where due torisingdemandthemarketrates are muchhigher
thantheminimumwages.
New laws alone are not the answer. They will not make an adequate impact unless
efforts are made to understand, and then address, the broader social, cultural and
economicfactorsthatfostertheexploitativedynamicsatwork.

Que. We cannot any longer delay the introduction of Choice Based Credit
SystemandCreditFrameworkforSkills.Clarifyandjustify.
Ans. The Ministry of Human ResourceDevelopment, Department of HigherEducation
convened a meeting of all State Education Ministers looking after Higher/Technical
Education,on 6thJanuary2015,to discuss adoptionof the Credit FrameworkforSkills
andtheChoiceBasedCreditSysteminCollegesandStatePublicUniversities.

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The Conference was unanimous that adoption of the Credit Framework for Skills and
theChoiceBasedCreditSystemisoneofthebest waystobringaboutchangestomeet
student aspirations and employment needs. The 'choicebased credit transfer' system
will enable studentsto opt for courses of their choice, learnat their ownpace,undergo
additional courses and acquire more than the required credits and adopt an
interdisciplinary approach to learning. Adoption of the grading system will facilitate
seamless mobility of students across the institutions of learning in the country. The
system offers flexibility as studentsgetfreedom tochoose subjects.The systemtakes
careofslowlearnersaswellasfastlearners.
The 'credit framework for skills', on the other hand, allows multiple pathways between
vocationaleducation,skills,educationandjobmarkets.
The Credit Framework for Skills signals respect for skills and vocational courses in
mainstream higher education, an initiative that will help change the mind set about
vocational education being an inferior option. TheChoiceBased CreditSystem opens
uppossibilitiesfor studentspursuing skillsand coursesoftheir choice toenhancetheir
employability.
Thus, having an education system amalgamating knowledge and expertise is not a
farawaydream.

Que.Whatisanalgorithm?Howisitrelevanttooureverydayvirtuallife?
Ans. An "algorithm" is nothing more than a set of instructions, just like a recipe or
howtobook.AndtheInternetreliesonmanyalgorithmsinordertofunctionproperly.

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When we type search terms into Google, it follows a very complex algorithm to
determine which results to show. When we buy something on Amazon with a credit
card, it uses an algorithm to safely transmit our credit information.And just the simple
actofnavigatingtheInternetandloadingawebpagerequirestheuseofanalgorithm.
We needto havesafetransactionsontheinternet.Publickeyencryptionsarebasedon
algorithms. Public key cryptography is the name for a broad collection of algorithms
whichlieat the heart ofnearlyeveryformofsecurityonline.Usingwhatisperhapsbest
described as 'magic maths', publickeycryptographyletspeopleencodedatawithakey
whichcannotthendecodeit.
Lets exemplify: If Vandana has a piece of information which she needs to get to
Bhupesh withoutanyone elseseeingitmaybeacreditcardnumberwhichshe'susing
to buy a computer with she has to encrypt it.Public key cryptography means that
Bhupesh can telltheworldhispublickey,andletthemknowthatanythingencodedwith
that will be readable by him and only him. Vandana seesthe publickey, locksup her
credit card data usingit, andthensendsthat packet ontheway.OnlyBhupesh,usinga
second,private,keycandecryptthedataandreadthenumber.

Que.whatissatire?
Ans.
Herearethreeoverlappingdefinitions:
A literary workin which human foolishness orviceisattackedthroughirony,derision,
orwit

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Satire is a genre of literature, and sometimes graphic andperforming arts, inwhich

vices,follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up toridicule,ideallywiththeintentof
shamingindividuals,corporations,governmentorsocietyitself,intoimprovement.
satire. the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or
deriding vice, folly, etc. a literary composition, in verse or prose, in whichhumanfolly
andvicearehelduptoscorn,derision,orridicule.

Que.CommentontheOverseasIndianFacilitationCentre.
Ans. The OverseasIndian FacilitationCentre(OIFC)was established in2007 withthe
objective of supporting the IndianDiasporaconnectbetterwithIndiaandassistingthem
in deepening their economic and intellectual engagement with India. Ministry of
Overseas Indian Affairs, Government of India, set up OIFC, a Public Private
Partnership, in association with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Indias apex
industrychamber.
OIFC has been uniquely constituted and positioned to serve as a singlepoint contact
for the overseas Indians through its facilitation whether in areas of information,
economic engagement, knowledge partnering, mentoring or building any other
association with Indian states that helps the Indian diaspora, professionalsand small/
midsized entrepreneurs build strong inter linkages withIndia,thus effectively enabling
themtobuilduponorexpandtheirengagementwithIndia.
ThemandateofOIFCisto

Promote Overseas Indian investments into India and facilitate business

partnerships

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EstablishandmaintainaDiasporaKnowledgeNetwork

Functionasaclearinghouseforallinvestmentrelatedinformation

AssistIndianStatestoprojectinvestmentopportunities

ProvideadvisoryservicestoPIOsandNRIs

Que. Briefly state the advances in UAV(Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) technologyin

thedefencesectorinIndia.
Ans.Nextgeneration unmannedaerial vehicleRustum2, which iscapableofoperating
at an altitude of 30,000 feet and 24hour endurance with a payload of350kg, will be
made available within a year in India.The UAV would beused for defence operations,
includingreconnaissanceandtargetidentification.
The UAV is capable of carrying sensors like aperture radar, maritime patrol radar,
communication and electronic intelligence, optical and infrared imagery sensors,
includingthosedevelopedindigenously.
While the Nishant UAV is already in use by security forces, the RUSTOM1, with a
capabilityof 78 hours ofendurance isalsoready.Whileaerostats,whichoperateatan
altitude of 1 km for surveillance activities, have already been developed, a team of
young scientists is working onlighter aerialplatforms withacapability toflyat 60,000
70,000feet.

Que.Whatis"partculatematter"andhowareweimpactedbyit?

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Ans. Atmospheric particulate matter also known as particulate matter (PM) or

particulatesismicroscopicsolidorliquidmattersuspendedintheEarth'satmosphere.
Sources of particulate matter can be manmade or natural. They have impacts on
climate and precipitation that adversely affect human health.Subtypesof atmospheric
particle matter include suspended particulate matter (SPM), respirable suspended
particle(RSPparticleswithdiameterof10micrometresorless),fineparticles (diameter
of2.5micrometresorless),ultrafineparticles,andsoot.
Wedivideparticlesintotwomajorgroups.Thesegroupsdifferinmanyways.Oneofthe
differences is size, we call the bigger particles PM10 and we call thesmaller particles
PM2.5.
The big particles are between 2.5 and 10 micrometers (from about 25 to 100 times
thinner than a humanhair). Theseparticles are called PM10 (wesay"P M ten",which
stands for Particulate Matterupto10micrometersin size). Theseparticles cause less
severehealtheffects.
The WHO designates airborne particulates a Group 1carcinogen.Particulates are the
deadliest form of air pollution due to their ability to penetrate deep into the lungsand
blood streams unfiltered, causing permanent DNA mutations, heart attacks, and
prematuredeath.The smallerPM2.5areparticularlydeadly,witha36%increaseinlung
cancerper10g/m3asitcanpenetratedeeperintothelungs.

Que. What are Persistent organic pollutants(POP)? Why are there international
effortstoeliminatethem?
Ans.
Persistent organic pollutants(POPs) are organiccompoundsthat are resistantto
environmental degradation through chemical, biological,and other processes. They

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chemical substances that persist in the environment, bioaccumulate throughthe food

web,and pose a risk of causing adverse effects tohumanhealth andtheenvironment.
POPsarepresent inthe atmosphere inthe form of aerosols, theymaybeclassified as
airborneparticles.
Many POPsare usedaspesticides. Others are used in industrialprocesses and inthe
production of a range of goods such as pharmaceuticals. Most POPs are created by
humansinindustrialprocesses.Theyare
*Highlytoxictohumansandtheenvironment
*Persistentintheenvironment,resistingbiodegradation
*Takenupandbioaccumulatedinterrestrialandaquaticecosystems
*Capableoflongrange,transboundaryatmospherictransportanddeposition
These substances affect plant and animal development and growth. They can cause
reduced reproductive success, birth defects, behavioral changes and death. They are
suspected

human carcinogens and disrupt the immune and endocrine

systems.Cardiovasculardisease,cancer,obesity,anddiabeteshavealsobeenlinkedto
POPs. Exposure to POPs during pregnancy has beenlinked todevelopmentaldefects
in theresulting offspring. Therearemanyrisksandeffectsofhavingthesechemicals in
our environment andnone ofthem are a benefit tothe Earth.After thesepollutantsare
put into the environment, they are able to stay in the system for decades causing
problems
With the evidence of longrange transport of these substances to regions where they
have never been used or produced and the consequent threats they pose to the
environment of the whole globe, the international community has now, at several

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occasions, called for urgent global actions to reduce and eliminate releases of these
chemicals.The effect ofPOPs on human andenvironmentalhealthwasdiscussed,with
intention toeliminateorseverelyrestricttheirproduction,bytheinternationalcommunity
attheStockholmConventiononPersistentOrganicPollutantsin2001.

Que.Whatisbiomagnification?Explainwithexamples.
Ans. Biomagnification is bioaccumulation of a pesticide through an ecological food
chain by transfer of residues from the diet into bodytissues. Thetissue concentration
increases at each trophic level in the food web generally through a series of
preypredatorrelationships
Biological magnificationoften refers totheprocesswherebycertainsubstancessuchas
pesticides or heavy metals move up the food chain, work their wayinto rivers orlakes,
andareeatenbyaquaticorganismssuchasfish,whichinturnareeatenbylargebirds,
animals or humans.The substances become concentratedin tissuesorinternalorgans
as they move up the chain. Bioaccumulants are substances that increase in
concentration in living organisms as they take in contaminated air, water, or food
becausethesubstancesareveryslowlymetabolizedorexcreted.
The following is an example showing how biomagnification takes place in nature: An
anchovyeatszooplankton that havetinyamountsofmercurythatthezooplanktonhas
picked up from the water throughoutthe anchovies lifespan.A tunaeatsmanyofthese
anchovies over its life, accumulating the mercury in each of those anchovies into its
body. If the mercury stunts the growth of the anchovies, that tuna is required to eat
more littlefishto stay alive.Because therearemore littlefish beingeaten,themercury
contentismagnified.

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Mercury, a very toxic and dangerous substance, has severely contaminated the
environment andthe food chain throughoutIndia. Vembanadu Lake oneoftheRamsar
site in Kerala is polluted severely by heavy metals and mercury.The fishery sector in
Vembanadu lakeis under threat dueto pollution. Vembanadu Lake oncefamousforits
its richsourceoffishesis inperil.Severalspeciesoffishesandotheraquaticorganisms
were endangered.People whoconsumefishes and fishery productsaresusceptibleto
mercury and heavy metal pollution. If necessary steps were not taken wehaveto face
bitterconsequences.

Que. Write on what according to you is "Resilience". How is it

importantforanadministrator?
Ans.Resilience is definedby mostastheabilitytorecoverfromsetbacks,adaptwellto
change,andkeepgoinginthefaceofadversity.
Theneed to keep upwiththeinexorablyacceleratingpaceofchange,orthechallenges
of relating to peers are some ofthe stressesthat can weighdown an officer for which
resilienceis necessary torestorenormalcy.Managingdifficultpeopleorofficepoliticsat
work can also strain one. For women, balancing work and life is one such. Stress
brought on by overwork and by having to withstand personal criticism can also
precipitatesituations.
Experts have suggestedthat resilientpeoplepossess thee characteristicsastaunch
acceptanceof reality a deepbelief, often buttressedbystronglyheldvalues,thatlifeis
meaningfuland an uncannyabilityto improvise.One may bequiteresilientwithoneor
two of these qualities as wellhavingallthree will make thecomebackquite a learning
experience.

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Que.Whatdoyouknowoftheoverthetopoperators(OTT)?
Ans.In broadcasting, overthetop content(OTT) refers todeliveryofaudio,video,and
other media over the Internet without the involvement of a multiplesystem operator in
the control or distribution of the content. The Internet provider may be aware of the
contents of the Internet Protocol packets but is not responsible for, nor abletocontrol,
the viewing abilities, copyrights, and/or other redistribution of the content. OTT in
particularrefersto contentthat arrives from athirdparty,suchasWhatsApp,Facebook
and Skype and is delivered to an enduser device, leaving the ISP only the role of
transportingIPpackets.
Consumers can access OTT content through internetconnected devices such as
desktopandlaptopcomputers,gamingconsoles(suchasthePlayStation4,XboxOne),
smartphones,tabletsetc.

Que.WhoaretheRazakars?Howdidtheiratrocitiesend?
Ans.The Razakarswere a private militia tosupport theruleofNizamOsmanAliKhan,
Asaf Jah VII and resist the integration of Hyderabad State into India. They also
attemptedtomaketheNizamaccedehisprincelystatetoPakistaninsteadofIndia.
The Razakar militia brutally put down the armed revolts by Communists and the
peasantry and committed horrendous atrocities on the Hindu population and even
eliminatedpatrioticHyderabadiMuslimswhoadvocatedmergerwithIndia.

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To counter the Razakars, people of Telangana under the leadership of Swami

Ramanand Tirtha formed the AndhraHinduMahasabha whichsoughtintegrationofthe
statewithrestofIndia.
TheNizamsent a delegationtotheUnitedNationstorefertheHyderabadStatecaseto
theUNSecurityCouncil.
Finally, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Indian Minister for Home Affairs, decided to
undertake "policeaction"inHyderabadStatetoforcetheKingNizam'shand.Operation
Polo was launched under the Indian Army. The Razakars fought briefly against the
overwhelmingattackbyIndianforcesbeforesurrenderinginSeptember1948.
NizamwasforcedtowithdrawhiscomplaintfromtheUNSecurityCouncil.

Que.StatetherelationbetweenpersonallawsandFundamentalRights.
Ans.

Art.13 states that if a law is inconsistent with FRs, it is invalid to that extent.

Personallawswhethercodifiedoruncodifiedarerecognisedas"laws"underArticle13.
Thus, personal laws will be void to the extent thattheyare in contravention with FRs:
Articles 14,15 and 21 of theConstitution. Article14guaranteesequalitybeforelawand
equal protection of laws. Article15 prescribes that nolawcandiscriminateonly on the
groundsofsex,caste,etc.Article21isthefundamentalrightoflifeandpersonalliberty.
Any personal law which discriminates against women would by its very nature be
unequalanddiscriminatoryandbeinviolationofArticles14and15.

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Article 25 which guarantees freedom to practice religion itself provides that the
fundamentalrightofreligionissubjecttootherprovisionsofPartIII.
It may be assumed that Art.29 should be equally dependent on respectfor otherFRs
likeArt.14,15and21.
However, courts did not rule consistently on the relation between FRs and personal
laws.

Que.IsthecadrebasedcivilservicethereasonforslowchangeinIndia?
Ans.
At present all the civil services in India are cadrebased. i.e. a person joins the
serviceand moves up theladder. The natural corollary ofthisisthatthereareveryfew
lateralentriesand thecivil servicesenjoyavirtualmonopolyovertheallthepositionsin
thegovernment.
CBCS is premised on the belief that only careerbased civil servants are always best
suitedtooccupytopgovernmentpositions.
With rapid expansion of knowledge, increasing complexities in certain fields, rapid
expansion of private sector, a large amount of expertise has developed outside
government. The question that is raisedis whether thesenior positions ingovernment
can continue to be the exclusive monopolyof the civil services?Forthereasonscited
above,cadrebasecivilservices(CBCS)dilutedthenecessaryspecialisation.
Experts believe thatlateral entrycould bringin more professionalismandknowledgein
thecivilservices.

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Details however need to be worked as to at what levels lateral entries be should be

allowed.Thereshouldalsobeamechanismforsuchlateralrecruitment.