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Draft Labour Code

MAY 2017
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 Draft Labour Code
DRAFT LABOUR CODE
There are various labour laws for
regulating employment and
conditions of service of workers.
These laws also provide for
maintaining registers and furnishing
returns to the concerned
enforcement authorities. The labour
laws of independent India derive
their origin, inspiration and strength
partly from the views expressed by
important nationalist leaders during
the days of national freedom struggle,
partly from the debates of the
Constituent Assembly and partly from
the provisions of the Constitution and
the International Conventions and
Recommendations. The relevance of
the dignity of human labour and the
need for protecting and safeguarding
the interest of labour as human beings
has been enshrined in Chapter-III
(Articles 16, 19, 23 & 24) and Chapter
IV (Articles 39, 41, 42, 43, 43A & 54)
of the Constitution of India keeping
in line with Fundamental Rights and
Directive Principles of State Policy.
But according to some analysts
labour laws has become a hinderace
in the growth of industries in the
country. Under the Constitution of
2 http://www.iasexamportal.com
India, Labour is a subject in the
concurrent list where both the Central
and State Governments are
competent to enact legislations.
There are 45 different national- and
state-level labour legislation in India.
Important among those are-
• The Industrial Disputes Act,
1947.
• The Child Labour (Prohibition
and Regulation) Act, 1986.
• The Factories Act, 1948
• TheTrade Unions Act, 1926
• The Apprentices Act, 1961
It was framed pursuant to the
recommendations of the 2nd
National Commission on Labour. It was
done with a view to simplify,
rationalize, consolidate, and amend
the laws relating to social security of
workforce. Currently there are total
fifteen Labour Laws including
Employees' Provident Fund Act,
Employees' State Insurance Act,
Maternity Benefit Act etc. Ministry
had proposed to replace these
Labour laws with the four codes.
Salient features
o Four codes to replace all the
existing laws are codeof wages,
code of Industrial relations,
Code on Social Security &
Welfare and Code on
Occupational Safety, Health &
Working Conditions
o Employer means the employer
of any entity that employs an
employee oremployees, either
directly or through contractors.
o It is applicable to any person
who is employed for wages by
the entity, International
workers and Indian workers
outside who wants to become
a member under this code.
o Draft Code is not applicable to
such class of workers that has
been specified in Part - II of the
First Schedule
o Draft code covers the workers
from Organised as well as
Unorganized Sectors of
Employment.
o It proposes to constitute a
National Social Security Council
of India for reviewing and
monitoring the implementation
of the Draft Code and also to
advise the govt.

o It proposes to invite claims and
objections for the unclaimed
amount of the preceding
financial year within a period
of minimum six months
o It proposes to provide a unique
Aadhar-based registration
service for registration of
workers to be named as
Vishwakarma Karmik Suraksha
Khata (VIKAS)
o The Draft Code proposes
allowing the benefits even
when the Employer fails or
neglects to pay any
contribution
o The total contribution to be
made by employers towards
Employees' Provident Fund
and Employees' State
Insurance Scheme is proposed
to be capped at 30% of the
http://www.iasexamportal.com
workers' income.
o For the first time, cover to
agricultural workers is being
provided along with self-
employed people. The target
is to provide social security
benefits to 45 crore workers.
o A National Social Security
Council, chaired by the PM, has
been proposed to streamline
and make policy on social
security schemes related to all
the Ministries.
Problems
Despite being a very well
intentioned and well thoughtout
plan, draft labour code still has some
problems which needs to be looked
upon for the better results. Some of
the problems of the draft code are
given below:
Draft Labour Code
o It does not recognise that social
security systems for old age are
structurally different from those
designed for poverty.
o It tries to consolidate existing
15 labour laws which will be
very difficult to do.
o It tries to combine elements of
Universal Basic Income, Direct
Benefits Transfer, Provident
Fund, Health Insurance,
Maternity Benefit, etc. which
will have huge financial
implications.
o A single account for voluntary
contribution, mandatory
contributions, mandatory
subsidised scheme, and social
assistance programme for poor
which is an accounting and
actuarial impossibility.
3
 Rail Development Authority
RAIL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
Indian Railways (reporting mark
IR) is a state-owned railway company,
responsible for rail transport in India.
It is owned and operated by the
Government of India through the
Ministry of Railways. It is fourth largest
railway network in the world
comprising 119,630 kilometres
(74,330 mi) of total track. Railways
first introduced to India in 1853 from
Bombay to Thane. In 1951 the
systems were nationalised as one unit,
the Indian Railways, becoming one
of the largest networks in the world.
The working of Indian Railways is
caught up between making it a self-
sufficient organisation and serving it
as a transport system for the poor.
Indian Railways spends heavily on
revenue expenditure - there is little
left for capital expenditure. As part
of the radical rethinking on improving
the transportation architecture, the
government did away with the
separate railway budget, merging it
in the Union budget. In order to
overcome some of these challenges
mentioned above government has
also come up with Rail development
Authority.
4 http://www.iasexamportal.com
The need of having a rail
regulator has been emphasised by
various committees for past many
years since 2001. Expert Group under
the Chairmanship of Rakesh Mohan
in 2001, the NTDPC in 2014 and
Bibek Debroy's Committee in 2015
said about coming up with rail
devlopment authority to look into
various issues of the railways. Budget
2015-16 announced it is important to
have a regulation mechanism
independent of the service provider
for overall development of railways.
Budget 2015-16 proposed to set up
a mechanism for making
regulations,setting performance
standards and determining tariff.
Composition of RDA
Rail development authority is
considered to be the biggest and
first-of-its-kind reform in the rail
sector. The Rail development
authority will be formed through an
executive order of the government.
Its composition is given below:
o The Authority will have a
Chairman and 3 members and
can engage experts from
relevant areas.
o The Chairman and the
members of RDA will have a
term of 5 yrs.
o An initial corpus of Rs 50 crores
will be provided for setting up
the organisation.
o The appointment of the
Chairman and members will be
done by the central
government from the panel of
names recommended by the
Search and Selection
Committee
Functions of RDA
The long-awaited regulator will
perform four primary functions-tariff
determination; ensuring fair play and
level playing field for stakeholder
investment; setting efficiency and
performance standards; and
dissemination of information. The
regulator, to be headed by a
chairman and comprising three
members, will have a five-year term
and be empowered to engage
experts.
o Recommendations of RDA are
not binding on the government

o Benchmark efficiency
parameter for Indian railways
o Recommend guidelines and
principles for tarrif settings
o Suggests measures of
technology Adoption and
implementation
o Deriving guidelines for
classifying commodities fare as
well as the class
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Rail Development Authority
o Proposing modifications and
suggesting advisory noteson
PPP investment
o Ensuring reasonable safeguard
to PPP investors
o Ensuring fair and level playing
field for stakeholder
investment in railways
o Dispute reduction in future
concessions agreements
o RDA will help the government
to take appropriate decisions
on pricing of services
commensurate with costs
o It will suggest measures for
enhancement of non-fare
revenue
5
 National Anthem
NATIONAL ANTHEM
The Indian National Anthem
represents the hopes and aspirations
of the people of India. It is the symbol
of our national pride. Jana Gana Mana
was first written in Bengali, the first of
five stanzas of the Brahmo hymn titled
Bharot Bhagyo Bidhata are attributed
to Rabindranath Tagore. The
underlying message of Jana Gana
Mana is pluralism. Its Hindi version
was adopted by the Constituent
Assembly as the National Anthem of
India on 1950. Though the Bengali
song had been written in 1911, it was
largely unknown except to the
readers of Tattwabodhini Patrika.
According to British press
National anthem was composed in
December 1911, coinciding with the
visit of King George V at the time of
the Coronation Durbar of George V,
and "Bharat Bhagya Bidhata" and
"Adhinayaka" was believed to be in
praise of King George V.The poem is
created in 'shankarabharana' rag.The
composition was first sung during a
convention of the then loyalist Indian
National Congress in Calcutta on 27
December 1911. It was sung on the
second day of the convention, and
6 http://www.iasexamportal.com
the agenda of that day devoted itself
to a loyal welcome of George V on
his visit to India.
A formal rendition of the
national anthem takes approximately
fifty-two seconds. A shortened
version consisting of the first and last
lines (and taking about 20 seconds
to play) is also staged occasionally.
India's Constitution speaks of respect
to the national flag and anthem as a
fundamental duty in Part 1V A. Article
51(A) says that "it shall be the duty of
every citizen of India - (a) to abide
by the Constitution and respect the
ideals of the national flag and the
national anthem".
Legal Provisions
Apart from the constitutional
provisions related to national anthem,
various acts also provides the
limitations and compulsions on
performing the national anthem.
Under prevention of Insults to
National Honour Act of 1971
whoever burns, mutilates, destroys,
disfigures or otherwise shows
disrespect to India's National Flag
shall be punished with max
imprisonment of 3 yrs. Also Under the
same Act whoever intentionally
prevents the singing of National
Anthem or causes any disturbance in
such singing can be punished with
imprisonment of 3 yrs. Disrespect to
national insignia has been linked to
Section 124(A) of IPC, which refers
to sedition. SC in recent judgment
said national anthem should be
played before the start of movie and
audience should stand in attention ,
however exception has been given
to specially abled persons. However
in Bijoe Emmanuel & Ors vs State Of
Kerala & Ors, granted protection to
three children of the Jehovah's
Witness sect, who didn't join in the
singing of the national anthem at their
school. The court held that forcing
the children to sing the anthem
violated their fundamental right to
religion. Also in In 1943, the US
Supreme Court delivered a 6-3
opinion, holding that the Free
Speech Clause of the First
Amendment to the US Constitution
protected students from being
forced to salute the American flag.

Way to perform
The National Anthem of India is
played or sung on various occasions.
Instructions have been issued from
time to time about the correct versions
of the Anthem, the occasions on
which these are to be played or sung,
and about the need for paying
respect to the anthem by observance
of proper decorum on such
occasions. The substance of these
http://www.iasexamportal.com
instructions has been embodied in
the information sheet issued by the
government of India for general
information and guidance. The
approximate duration of the National
Anthem of India is 52 seconds.
o There are two versions of the
National anthem fullversion
takes 52 sec to perform, while
the short version takes around
20 seconds.
National Anthem
o Full version shall be played at
Civil and Military investitures,
during parade, On arrival of the
President at formal State
functions etc
o The short version of the Anthem
shall be played when drinking
toasts in Messes.
o Whenever the Anthem is sung
or played, the audience shall
stand to attention.
7
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National Issues

NATIONAL ISSUES
Attorney-General to defend • In the run-up to the hearings • Turkey said the areas of
India in UNHRC at the UNHRC, held once in cooperation were aviation,
five years for every country, space and ammunition, etc.
• India will highlight its
reports from governmental • On Pakistan’s continued
“impartial” justice system
and non-governmental support to cross-border
when it sends its top law
agencies from other countries terrorism and Kashmir, he
officer, Attorney-General
in the 47-member council, said the issue was for the two
Mukul Rohatgi, to the
including from the U.S. countries to discuss.
Universal Periodic Review at
Congress and civil society
the UN Human Rights Council Strict law will increase tax
groups, and international
in Geneva. compliance says FM
agencies, have been sought.
• Mr. Rohatgi will defend
• Sweden and Spain have • Union Finance Minister said
India’s case against
asked for the government to the fear of consequences
allegations of violations in
explain its stand on owing to strict and
Jammu and Kashmir, torture,
homosexuality rights and the expeditious enforcement of
minority rights and recent
repeal of Article 377 that law would ensure that as
strictures against NGOs.
criminalises same-sex India evolved from a
• Mr. Rohatgi said he would
relationships. developing to a developed
convey that the treatment of
• The Attorney General, who economy, it would be a
26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab
will respond to the questions highly tax compliant society.
and 1993 Mumbai blasts
during a four-hour session in • Advocating use of
convict Yaqub Memon
Geneva, said he would technology for detecting
proves the Indian legal
speak about constitutionally- evasion, Mr. Jaitley said the
system’s “impartial”
mandated protections to Enforcement Directorate
standards.
minorities in India. should expeditiously use the
• “These are two people who
penalising powers to deal
committed crimes against the Turkey is keen on expanding
with any non-compliance,
state. They orchestrated, and defence industrial cooperation
particularly money
were directly involved in, the with India
laundering.
massacre of hundreds of
• Turkey is keen on expanding • “Full compliance in taxation
innocents, both Indian and
defence industrial and currency laws has
foreign, in the heart of our
cooperation with India and always been one of the
financial capital.
will offer its armed features of developed states.
• Yet, both were tried
unmanned aerial vehicles If you go to the developed
impartially by a court of law,
(UAVs) during the upcoming world, violations are rare.
provided legal aid, were
visit of President Recep • Those who violate are
given every opportunity to
Tayyip Erdogan. strictly called upon and are
appeal till the last stage even
• Turkey’s support to Pakistan answerable to the law and
as their petitions for
on Kashmir at the there are very strict penal
clemency were entertained at
Organisation of Islamic consequences,” Mr.
the highest level,” Mr. Rohatgi
Cooperation was likely to Jaitleysaid.
told.
continue. • Mr. Jaitley said over the

8 http://www.iasexamportal.com

years, in India, non-
compliance was never
considered a moral wrong, it
was rather considered smart.
• “Non-compliance has hit the
larger public and national
interest,” he said, adding that
compliance would help
generate funds for
development in various
sectors.
Japan has selected former
Union Law Minister Ashwani
Kumar for top honour
• The Japanese government has
selected former Union Law
Minister Ashwani Kumar for
the Grand Cordon of the
Order of the Rising Sun , in
recognition of his
achievements in bolstering
India-Japan ties.
• Indians who have in the past
received the Decoration —
conferred in recognition of
d i s t i n g u i s h e d
accomplishments— include
Supreme court offered to set the
industrialist Ratan N. Tata.
stage for J&K talks
• Dr. Kumar served as the
Special Envoy of former PM
Manmohan Singh to Japan
during the visit of the
Emperor and Empress of
Japan to India in December
2013, “and significantly
contributed to the success of
the visit.”
FICCI-India Sanitation Coalition
prize to Aga khan foundation
• The Aga Khan Foundation has
bagged an award for
implementing a development
model that aims at improving
access to water and
sanitation for marginalised
http://www.iasexamportal.com
communities across urban
and rural areas of the
country.
• The Aga Khan Development
Network (AKDN) of the
prestigious foundation
received the FICCI-India
Sanitation Coalition prize for
the initiative that seeks to
contribute towards building
an open-defecation free India
by 2019 under the ‘Swachh
Bharat’ mission.
• The initiative aims at
improving access to water
and sanitation for
marginalised communities
across urban and rural India,
including helping 1,00,000
families and 538 schools, as
well as building toilets in the
States of Bihar, Gujarat,
Madhya Pradesh, Telangana
Maharastra govt to set up panel
and Uttar Pradesh.
for welfare of transgenders
• The integrated block-level
sanitation model is being
piloted in rural Bihar.
• Even as the Supreme Court
offered to set the stage for
peace talks between
influential voices in Kashmir
and the Centre to facilitate
the return of normality to the
Valley.
• The government put its foot
down, saying it will not
Tiny particles in polluted air
break bread with
can lead to heart attack
secessionist forces and
cannot brook the risk of
withdrawing security forces
from the sensitive border
State.
• Appearing before a Bench led
by CJI J.S. Khehar, Attorney-
General Mukul said the
National Issues
government cannot negotiate
with separatists. The Centre
said it would “absolutely” not
entertain any talks of azadi
with these leaders.
• Mr. Rohatgi read portions of
submissions filed in court by
petitioners, suggesting the
route to peace in Kashmir
would be for talks between
India and Pakistan. He
pointed to how the
petitioners felt that even the
accession of Jammu and
Kashmir was “controversial.”
• The court asked the
stakeholders in Kashmir to
“take two steps back” as a
resolution can be initiated
only if there are no stones
and pellets fired on the
streets of Kashmir.
• The Maharashtra government
will soon set up an executive
committee under the ministry
of Women and Child Welfare
to activate functioning of
Transgender Welfare Board,
conceptualised in 2014.
• The government will
implement Central schemes
for welfare of the
transgenders through this
committee, Women and
Child Welfare Minister said.
• Tiny particles in polluted air
can travel from the lungs into
our bloodstream and
increase the risk of a heart
attack or stroke, a new study
warns.
• Nanoparticles in air pollution
9
National Issues
have been associated with
cardiovascular disease,
which can lead to premature
death. However, how
particles inhaled into the
lungs can affect blood
India Sri Lanka to dicuss
vessels and the heart has
various important issues
remained a mystery.
• Scientists have found that
inhaled nanoparticles can
travel from the lungs into the
bloodstream, potentially
explaining the link between
air pollution and
cardiovascular disease.
• The World Health
Organisation estimates that
in 2012, about 72% of
premature deaths related to
outdoor air pollution were
due to ischemic heart disease
and strokes.
• Pulmonary disease,
respiratory infections and
lung cancer were linked to
the other 28%.
NITI Aayog says industry not
doing enough to create jobs
• Industry should take
responsibility for the failure
to create adequate jobs in
India in recent years, NITI
Aayog vice-chairman Arvind
Panagariya said in a brusque
response to a query about the
Centre’s strategy for job
creation.
• Mr. Panagariya said: “I am
sorry you are asking the
wrong question. What is
industry doing on this?
Government makes policies.
Why is it that no industrialist
thinks of the 500 million
workers in our abundant
workforce at a relatively low
wage level.”
• “I understand you will
naturally go for profits. But
if jobs is a big issue, why
doesn’t the industry act?” he
said.
• Sri Lankan Prime Minister is
set to announce several MoUs
on developing energy and
infrastructure projects in
Trincomalee and fast-
tracking negotiations for an
upgraded free trade
agreement — the Economic
and Technical Cooperation
India assured Nepal of all
Agreement (ETCA).
possible help for elections
• Mr. Wickremesinghe, whose
visit is expected to confirm
a number of agreements to be
announced during Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s
visit to Sri Lanka from May
12 to 14, will meet Mr. Modi,
Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath
Singh and Nitin Gadkari.
• Indian Govt hoped to see the
agreement on the Trinco Oil
storage and the development
of infrastructure — Nepal’s democratic process,
highways, power plants, a
refinery and an SEZ —
around the key port town of
Trincomalee to be wrapped
up.
• Oil union workers in
Colombo went on a strike
against the planned MoU with
India for 84 tanks in the
Trincomalee upper oil tank
farm, of which Sri Lanka is
No change in policy do deal
keen to retain at least 10 for
with Naxals
use by the Ceylon Petroleum
Corporation.
• The unions called off the
strike that hit fuel supplies in
the country on Monday, but
claim they have an assurance
that their concerns over
leasing the tanks to India will
be taken into consideration
before any announcement is
made.
• Commerce Ministry said
India had sent a team to Sri
Lanka recently to make
presentations on the benefits
of widening the FTA and had
formally asked the
government for a list of
perceived “non-tariff
barriers” that businessmen
were complaining about.
• PM Modi assured his Nepali
counterpart of “all possible
help” in organising the three-
phase election — covering
covering local, provincial
and central levels — that will
begin in the Himalayan
country on May 14.
• The PM’s statement, which
indicates a softening of
official policy towards
came two days after Madhesi
agitators agreed to
participate in the elections.
• The breakthrough was
achieved after two days of
consultations between the
Madhesis and the
government. This comes after
Mr. Dahal received a financial
package from Beijing.
• The government has no plans
to deploy the Army to tackle
the Naxals, notwithstanding
reverses being faced by

10 http://www.iasexamportal.com

paramilitary and police
forces.
• It is an internal security issue.
There is no question of
deploying the Army in the
anti-Naxal operations said
the govt.
• Since the Naxal violence is
considered a law and order
problem, paramilitary and
police forces will continue to
deal with the Maoists, though
there have been casualties
among security forces.
India's longest bridge to come
up over Brahmaputra river
• Prime Minister Narendra
Modi will inaugurate the
country’s longest bridge over
the Brahmaputra river in
Assam on May 24.
• Mr. Modi will visit Assam to
inaugurate the Dhola-Sadiya
bridge.
All central universities to get
free wi-fi
• The Centre has set the ball
rolling to make Wi-Fi
available for free at all
Central universities by the
end of July so that students
can make better use of online
resources to pursue
academic work.
• While some institutions
already provide Wi-Fi, the
Ministry of Human Resource
Development has set
deadlines for the remaining
institutions to provide free
access to their students.
• Mahatma Gandhi
A n t a r r a s h t r i y a
Vishwavidyalaya, Wardha,
and E.F.L University,
Hyderabad, are supposed to
http://www.iasexamportal.com
provide the facility by April
30.
• By June 1, Hyderabad
University will get Wi-Fi,
while Tezpur University and
Assam University, Silchar,
will get it by June 2 and 7.
• Banaras Hindu University by
July 8; and Kashmir Central
University, Manipur
University, Nagaland
University, Central
Universities at Karnataka,
Kerala and Aligarh Muslim
University by July 30.
Govt examining the list of 51
names recommended by
Collegium
• The Union Law Ministry is
examining the list of 51 names
recommended by the
Supreme Court Collegium for
appointment as judges in
various High Courts, with
445 of the total 1,079 posts
currently vacant.
• As the draft Memorandum of
Despite the increase of temp
Procedure (MoP) for
cases of H1N1 influenza
appointments in the higher
increases
judiciary has not been
finalised, the Collegium has
sent more recommendations
for further appointments as
per the existing system.
• Govt also said deliberations
with the Supreme Court on
finalising the MoP were under
way despite indications that
certain issues were yet to be
worked out.
• The Supreme Court
Collegium is learnt to have
handed over the finalised
draft to the Law Ministry, as
per which it will have the
final say on any objection by
the government to any
National Issues
proposed appointment on the
ground of national security
and public interest.
• The government’s
recommendation for setting
up of secretariats in the
Supreme Court and the 24
High Courts to assist
collegiums in the Supreme
Court and the High Courts in
the selection of judges has
also been accepted.
• However, the suggestion for
committees of retired or
sitting judges to assist the
collegiums in finding suitable
candidates has not been
accepted.
• While the draft MoP is being
discussed since January last
year, the Allahabad HC tops
the list with 76 vacancies.
• The Punjab and Haryana High
Court has 39 posts vacant,
while 37 vacancies are there
in the Calcutta HC, according
to the latest government data.
• The spread of influenza virus
declines when the
temperature shoots up. But
this year, despite the summer
temperature crossing 40
degrees in some parts of the
country, the number of H1N1
cases and occasional deaths
have not stopped.
• Since its first appearance in
2009-2010, influenza A H1N1
has come to stay and has
become a part of the seasonal
flu virus; H3N2 and Influenza
B are the other two to
become the seasonal flu in
India.
11
National Issues
• According to the World
Health Organisation (WHO),
since December 2016, H1N1,
H3N2 and Influenza B have
been circulating in India.
• During September 2016-
February 2017, H3N2 has
been predominant in most
countries, with only “low
levels” of the H1N1 viruses
circulating in the northern
hemisphere, says the WHO.
• The highest number of deaths,
63, was reported from
Maharashtra, she said. Last
First underwater metro tunnel
year, between January and
in the country inside the bed of
December 31, 265 people
Hoogly river
died and 1,786 cases were
reported.
• With over 32,000 people
infected and nearly 2,000
killed in 2015, H1N1
highlighted how ill-prepared
the country was in preventing
the spread of an infectious
disease and managing it.
• Influenza infection causes
significant morbidity and
mortality, though the number
of people infected with H1N1
and the number of people
who die are fewer than
dengue. What India needs is
a national policy for
influenza immunisation.
• While pregnant mothers,
children aged below five and
young people with asthma,
cardiovascular disease,
diabetes and high blood
pressure are at a greater risk,
there is no hard qualitative
and quantitative data on the
vulnerable population.
• In the absence of information
on who is most susceptible
to H1N1 infection and very
likely to die, framing a
12
national policy will be harder
and take a long time.
• The Pune-based National
Institute of Virology has
sequenced the whole genome
of H1N1 and has not found
any critical mutation
responsible for the spread or
increased mortality.
• However, this year, the H1N1
surveillance revealed that the
Michigan strain was
circulating, with no sign of
the California type.
• Gigantic Tunnel Boring
Machine (TBM) began cutting
deep inside the bed of the
Hooghly river, commenced
the construction of the first
underwater metro tunnel in
the country.
• By the end of July, two
tunnels running parallel will
connect the twin cities of
Howrah and Kolkata located
on either side of the
Hooghly.
• The tunnels are being dug at
a depth of 30 metres below
the earth’s surface and 13
metres below the riverbed.
• The twin tunnels, about 520
metres long, are crucial to
the much-awaited Rs. 8,900
core East West Metro project
that will connect Salt Lake
Sector V in the eastern part
of Kolkata to the Howrah
Maidan across the river.
• Of the 16.6 km East West
Metro route, 5.8 km is on an
elevated corridor and 10.8
km will run underground.
The 520-metre tunnels under
the river are part of the 10.8
km underground stretch.
• TBM 2, which has gone deep
into the bed of the river, has
already progressed a
distance of 100 metres.
• The diameter of the two
tunnels running across the
river is 5.5 metres and the
distance between the two
tunnels will vary at different
places — 16.1 metres under
the river, 18 metres at the
Howrah station, and 13
metres at the Howrah Maidan
(from where tunnelling
started in May 2016).
• While tunnelling and
construction of East West
Metro Project are in full
swing, it has had to
overcome a number of
challenges.
• The protective measures
subsequently taken by the
engineers included widening
the foundation of the building
and grouting of the soil.
• However, the last hurdle
being faced by the East West
Metro Project is the threat the
tunnelling work may pose to
three heritage buildings in
Kolkata.
• The Currency Building, an
Italian structure that served
as one of first banks of the
country, and two 19th
century Jewish monuments
— the Maghen David
Synagogue and the Beth-El
Synagogue — stand close to
the Metro tunnels.
• After the issue was raised by
the Archaeological Survey of
India, an expert committee
from the Indian Institute of
Technology, Kharagpur, was
http://www.iasexamportal.com

constituted to look into the
matter.
PM says Civil servants should
change with changing times
• PM Modi said anonymity
was one of the greatest
strengths of civil services,
cautioning government
officials that the use of social
media should not lead to a
decline in this strength.
• Even as social media and
mobile governance were
leveraged for connecting
people to benefits and
government schemes.
• At the Civil Service Day
function, Mr. Modi also
assured the civil servants
that he would stand by them
if they took decisions with
an honest intention and in
public interest.
• He said the conditions
prevailing today were quite
different from about two
decades ago and would
evolve much further over the
next few years.
• While earlier the government
was almost the sole provider
of goods and services, which
left a lot of scope for ignoring
one’s shortcomings, people
now very often perceived that
the private sector offered
better services than the
government.
• The Prime Minister said with
alternatives now being
available in several areas,
responsibilities
government officials had
increased in terms of the
challenges, not the scope of
work.
• He said that the sooner the
http://www.iasexamportal.com
attitude of the government
would change from a
regulator to an enabler, the
faster the challenge of
competition would turn into
an opportunity.
• He said while the absence of
government in a sphere of
activity should be
perceptible, its presence in
a sphere of activity should
not become a burden.
• Noting that there was a
quantum jump in the
applications for Civil Service
Day awards, from less than
100 in 2016 to over 500 this
year, PM said that the focus
should now be on improving
quality, and making
excellence a habit.
• Mr. Modi said while “political
will” was needed for reform,
which he did not lack and
may be had a bit extra, the
“performance” part must
come from civil servants and
that “transformation” was
enabled by people’s
participation.
• Recalling that 2022 would
mark 75 years of
Independence, he urged the
officials to play the role of
catalytic agents in fulfilling
the dreams of the freedom
fighters.
SC refused to dwell on a petition
seeking a judicial declaration
on Kohinoor
• Supreme Court refused to
Land attack variant of BrahMos
of further dwell on a petition
supersonic cruise missile
seeking a judicial declaration
testfired
to bring the Kohinoor
diamond back from the
United Kingdom, leaving the
task to the wisdom and
National Issues
efforts of the government.
• A Bench led by Chief Justice
of India J.S. Khehar
questioned how petitions
seeking the return of
properties lying with a
foreign government find their
way into the Supreme Court,
which has no jurisdiction
whatsoever over such
matters.
• The court said it cannot
direct the United Kingdom on
what to do with the Kohinoor
diamond. The court was
hearing a petition filed by the
All India Human Rights and
Social Front against the High
Commissioner of the U.K.
• The affidavit said the
Antiquities and Art Treasures
Act of 1972, which prevents
the export of precious
articles and treasures from
the country.
• It was toothless as the British
East India Company
confiscated the Kohinoor
from the boy king Maharaja
Duleep Singh in 1849 — “it is
a known historical fact.”
• Though both India and the
U.K. were signatories to the
UNESCO Convention on
Means of Prohibiting and
Preventing Illicit Import,
Export of Ownership of
Cultural Property, the
restitution of Kohinoor would
require a “special agreement”
between both countries.
• The Indian Navy successfully
carried out the maiden test-
firing of the land attack
13
National Issues
variant of BrahMos
supersonic cruise missile
from a stealth frigate in the
Bay of Bengal.
• The test-firing is seen as a
major capability addition as,
so far, the Navy has inducted
only the anti-ship variant in
many of the frontline vessels.
• Explaining the significance of
the development, the
statement said the land attack
variant provides the naval
ships the capability “to
precisely neutralise selected
targets deep inland, far away
from coast, from stand-off
ranges at sea.”
• Majority of the frontline ships
of the Navy, like the Kolkata,
Ranvir and Teg classes of
ships, are capable of firing
this missile.
• BrahMos, derived from
Russian P-800 Oniks or
Yakhont missile, is a joint
product of India and Russia.
• The present range of the
BrahMos is 290 km, which is
now in the process of being
extended up to 450 km
following India’s entry into
the Missile Technology
Control Regime last year.
SC questioned the logic to make
Aadhaar mandatory for filing
income tax returns
• The Supreme Court
questioned the Centre’s logic
to make Aadhaar card
mandatory for filing income
tax returns.
• It asked whether this would
act as a remedy to end the
generation of fake Permanent
Account Number (PAN) and
The government is exploring
ration cards.
14
• Mr. Rohatgi replied that the possibility of allowing all
making Aadhaar mandatory petroleum products
for filing income tax returns
• Soon, tanking up the car or
under Section 139AA was a
buying diesel to run the
“legislative mandate.”
generator may no longer
• Petition challenging the
entail a trip to the nearest
constitutionality of Section
petrol pump.
139AA, inserted in the
• The government is exploring
Income Tax Act by the
the possibility of allowing all
Finance Act, 2017, was filed.
petroleum products — not
• The provision makes Aadhaar
just LPG cylinders — to be
mandatory for getting a PAN.
delivered at consumers’
Possession of Aadhaar card
doorstep.
is necessary for the
• Government was not in
continuing validity of an
favour of petrol pumps being
existing PAN and for filing
shut on Sundays. “The
returns under the income tax
Ministry does not approve of
law.
or endorse the move by a
• The Bench observed that the
section of petrol pump
Supreme Court had asked the
dealers to close down fuel
government to make Aadhaar
stations on Sundays,” he said.
optional until the very validity
• Consortium of dealers, with
of the Aadhaar scheme on the
a presence in eight States,
basis of right to privacy was
has said its plan to shut down
decided by the court.
pumps once a week was
• Mr. Rohatgi said the Supreme
inspired by Prime Minister
Court itself had agreed to
Narendra Modi’s call for
making Aadhaar mandatory
conserving fuel in a recent
in certain fields to protect
Mann Ki Baat radio
identity and national
broadcast.
security.
• The Petroleum Minister,
• He argued that fake PAN and
however, indicated that their
ration cards have flooded
enthusiasm was misplaced,
the market and jinxed
as a fuel conservation
financial transactions. The
programme is already in
government was referring to
place.
The Aadhaar (Targeted
Delivery of Financial and India has made a fresh request
Other Subsidies, Benefits and to the U.S. for the extradition of
Services) Act of 2016. David Coleman
• The enactment of this Act as
• India has made a fresh
a Money Bill is itself under
request to the U.S. for the
challenge in the Supreme
extradition of David Coleman
Court on a petition filed by
Headley and Tahawwur
former Union Minister Jairam
Rana, wanted for their roles
Ramesh.
in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
• The NIA, which is probing the
http://www.iasexamportal.com

conspiracy behind the 2008
attacks, raised with Mr.
McCabe the pending requests
for extradition of Headley
and Rana. The NIA told him
that its multiple requests for
the custody of Rana went
unanswered.
India has made a 15th request
• Revising its demand, the NIA
to Pakistan for consular access
told Mr. McCabe that though
Rana was convicted by a U.S.
court of the charge of
providing material support to
the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT),
which was behind the
attacks.
• The ‘double jeopardy’ clause
in the U.S. law prohibits
punishment for the same
crime twice.
• So, last year, India renewed
its attempt at Rana’s custody
on the ground that he was
involved in the planning of an
attack on the National
Defence College (NDC) in
Delhi and Chabad Houses
(Jewish religious centres) in
several cities.
• Headley has been sentenced
to 35 years in prison by a U.S
court, and the ‘double
jeopardy’ clause is one of the
biggest impediments for the
NIA to get him extradited.
• NIA officials said they were
hopeful of securing his
custody because the U.S
investigation mostly centred
on the death of six American
nationals in the attacks and
a large number of Indians
were also killed.
• Rana, a school friend of
Headley, is serving a 14-year
term in the U.S. for providing
India objects to Chinese
material support to the LeT,
but has not entered a plea
http://www.iasexamportal.com
National Issues
bargain as Headley did. Rana arunachal move
was arrested in 2009.
• India rejected China’s move
• Though a U.S. District Court
to rename six towns in
sentenced him in 2013, his
Arunachal Pradesh, giving
jail term would include the
them new Chinese names in
period he had already served
its official record.
in prison.
• “Assigning invented names to
the towns of your neighbour
does not make illegal
territorial claims legal,” said
• India has made a 15th request
MEA spokesperson Gopal
to Pakistan for consular
Baglay. “Arunachal Pradesh
access to the former Navy
is and will always be an
officer Kulbhushan Jadhav,
integral part of India,” he
who was sentenced to death
added.
for alleged espionage and
• Mr. Baglay was responding to
sabotage.
questions about an
• A External Affairs Ministry
announcement by the
spokesperson said the
Chinese Ministry of Civil
request for consular access
Affairs that said it would
and the process of appeal
“standardise” the names of
was made. He maintained
towns in Arunachal, which
that Pakistan had not
China refers to as ‘South
informed India about Mr.
Tibet’.
Jadhav’s physical condition
• Going further, the Chinese
and location.
Foreign Ministry
• As Pakistan has been
spokesperson Lu Kang even
claiming of legal
said that the names reflected,
proceedings against Mr.
“China’s territorial claim over
Jadhav, we would also like
South Tibet is supported by
to see what are the details of
clear evidence in terms of
the proceedings from the
history, culture and
Government of Pakistan.
administration.”
• This presentation happened a
• The government dismissed
day after Pakistan postponed
China’s claim clearly on
a meeting between Indian
Thursday, with Urban
High Commissioner Gautam
Development Minister
Bambawale and Foreign
Venkaiah Naidu accusing
Secretary of Pakistan
Beijing of trying to “get some
Tehmina Janjua.
sort of publicity” from the
• The Ministry downplayed
notice on renaming towns.
Pakistani allegations that its
• Beijing’s move is being seen
nationals in Indian custody
as an escalation of tensions
have been denied of consular
by China that has been
access.
angered by the government’s
decision to allow the Dalai
Lama to visit the Tawang
15
National Issues
monastery this month.
• In a series of statements,
China reacted sharply to the
Dalai Lama’s travels in
Arunachal Pradesh, all of
which is Indian territory that
China continues to dispute.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister
Ranil Wickremsinghe will visit
India
• Sri Lankan Prime Minister
Ranil Wickremsinghe will
visit India next week to set
the agenda for Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s trip to
Colombo in May.
• MoU to develop Trincomalee
The talks between India and the
port’s prospects through
EU that were stalled
operating a major oil-storage
facility, LNG plant and piped-
gas projects and developing
it as a key transit point with
major expressways and
industrial zones in the region
is in the final stages of
negotiations.
• The two sides will also hold
discussions on the Economic
and Technology Cooperation
Agreement (ETCA), a version
of the free trade agreement,
and will be taken forward
during Mr. Modi’s visit for
International Vesak Day.
• Mr. Wickremsinghe, who
frequently travels to India, is
understood to be in the
country on a private visit
from April 25 to 29, to attend
a wedding, but will spend
April 26 in Delhi for official
meetings.
• Mr. Wickremesinghe’s visit is
also significant as it comes a
few weeks before his trip to
Beijing to attend the Belt and
Road Summit, that Sri Lanka
16
has joined.
• While Chinese companies
have already clinched many
important infrastructure
projects in Sri Lanka,
including the Hambantota
and Colombo port
development projects, India
is hopeful of more projects
in the North and the East of
the island.
• Apart from the economic
agenda, Mr. Wickremsinghe
is expected to discuss the
ongoing dispute over fishing
rights in the Palk Strait with
Ms. Swaraj.
• The talks between India and
the EU that were stalled in the
backdrop of the Italian
marines crisis are likely to
kick-start during the April 21-
23 visit of a high official of
the European Union.
• The Ministry of External
States to be consulted on BC
Affairs announced that the
panel Bill
High Representative of EU,
Federica Mogherini, will hold
discussions with External
Affairs Minister Sushma
Swaraj.
• Announcing the visit, Ms.
Mogherini said in her blog
that she would hold talks
with Ms. Swaraj after arriving
from China where she has co-
chaired the EU-China
Strategic Dialogue.
• The visit of Ms. Mogherini, a
senior Italian politician now
with the EU, is significant as
she is known to have
adopted a hard position on
the Italian marines case
ISRO invited scientists to
which turned into a difficult
http://www.iasexamportal.com
legal and diplomatic issue
between India and Italy.
• Sources revealed that though
Ms. Mogherini is likely to
discuss the stalled trade pact
between India and EU, the
visit is also likely to open up
India-Italy ties.
• However, though bilateral
India-Italy ties are expected
to get a boost from her visit,
India-EU ties would still have
a long negotiation over the
free trade agreement
between both sides, reports
suggest.
• The main issues are over
duties and market access but
additional points of
disagreement have
reportedly emerged over new
clauses that would not allow
international companies to
rush to international
arbitration without
completing cases in Indian
legal system.
• A select committee of the
Rajya Sabha looking into a
Bill according constitutional
status to the Backward
Classes Commission, a cause
close to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s heart, will
be inviting all State
governments.
• In a meeting held, officials
from the Ministry of Social
Justice and Empowerment
briefed the members of the
select committee, headed by
BJP MP Bhupendra Yadav, on
the Bill.

suggest studies for a potential
orbiter mission to Venus
• The Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) has
invited scientists to suggest
studies for a potential orbiter
mission to Venus - somewhat
similar to the one that landed
in Mars in 2013.
• ISRO plans to send a
spacecraft that will initially
go around Venus in an
elliptical orbit before getting
closer to the ‘Yellow Planet’.
• It will carry instruments
weighing 175 kg and using
500W of power. The
scientific community has
been told to suggest space-
based studies by May 19.
• A mission must be approved
by ISRO's Advisory
Committee on Space
Sciences, then the Space
Commission and later by the
government.
• Venus, the second planet
from the Sun, comes closest
to Earth roughly every 583
days, or about 19 months.
• Venus, our closest planetary
neighbour, is similar to Earth
in many aspects. However, it
takes only 225 days to
revolve around the Sun.
Secondly, the surface is very
hot due to nearness to the
Sun.
• India's previous and second
planetary outing, the record-
setting Rs. 450-crore Mars
Orbiter Mission (MOM) of
2013, continues to impress.
The orbiter is going round the
Red Planet even as you read
this — well beyond its
planned life of six months.
http://www.iasexamportal.com
National Issues
• An orbiter sent to the Moon scrapped
in 2008 was delivering data
• The Centre said it was
until about three months
studying the implications of
before its estimated life span.
the Australian government’s
A second Moon landing
decision to scrap a visa
mission is planned in early
programme that benefited
2018.
Indians, and warned that the
India is likely to get ‘normal’ move could have an impact
monsoon rains according to Met on negotiations on the CECA.
Dept • Australian Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull announced
• India is likely to get ‘normal’
that he was scrapping the
monsoon rains, according to
Australian “457” visa
the first official forecast of the
programme that allowed
season by the India
Australian companies to hire
Meteorological Department
Indians in a number of
(IMD).
skilled jobs.
• Rains are likely to be 96% of
• He said he would in due
the 50-year average of 89cm
course replace the
for the monsoon season of
programme with a more
June to September. They are
stringent system, making it
expected to fan out
difficult for companies to hire
favourably and “help
non-Australian citizens.
agriculture.”
• There is, however, a Prime Minister Modi held talks
significant element of with U.S. NSA
uncertainty in this forecast.
• Prime Minister Narendra
For one, there’s the looming
Modi held talks on
threat of El Nino. Secondly,
Afghanistan, the West Asian
the IMD has adopted a new
region and the Korean
weather model this year, and
peninsula with the visiting
it is still a work-in-progress.
U.S. National Security
• The IMD’s estimate of 96%
Adviser, Lt. General H.R.
rains falls at the bottom edge
McMaster.
of what it considers ‘normal’
• Lt. Gen. McMaster, the first
monsoon rains.
high official of the
• Every number forecast by the
administration of U.S.
IMD has a built-in 5% error
President Donald Trump to
margin. India saw drought
visit India, met Mr. Modi
years in 2014 and 2015. As
after completing his trips to
for 2016, it received 3% less
Afghanistan and Pakistan.
than the 89 cm average,
• The meeting, however, did
despite an IMD forecast of
not yield an announcement of
‘above normal’ rains.
a date for Mr. Modi’s visit to
Australian 457 visa scheme Washington.
• The meeting held at the Prime
Minister’s official residence
17
National Issues
was attended by India’s
National Security Adviser
Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary
S. Jaishankar and a few other
officials.
• Earlier, the U.S. NSA and Mr.
Doval held detailed
discussions on India-U.S.
relations, especially the
security aspect of the ties,
sources said.
• During his stopover in Kabul,
Lt. Gen. McMastertold an
Afghan TV channel that
Pakistan should deal with
terror “less selectively” than
it had done in the past.
• A U.S. Embassy statement
issued after the departure of
Lt. Gen. McMaster that the
bilateral talks “emphasised
the importance of the U.S.-
India strategic relationship
and reaffirmed India’s
designation as a major
defence partner”.
Bharat Biotech to start the
Phase I clinical trial of Zika
virus vaccine
Task force framed on a road
• Bharat Biotech International
map for decriminalisation of
Ltd in Hyderabad will start
politics
the Phase I clinical trial of
Zika virus vaccine (MR 766)
in two centres in India next
month.
• It will be a randomised,
placebo-controlled, double-
blind trial involving 48
adults, both men and women
(who are not pregnant).
• Each volunteer will receive
two vaccine doses on days 0
[the starting day] and 30 and
will be followed-up for a
year for both safety and
immune response. Three
different dose ranges will be
18
tested.
• There will be three arms in
the trial, and each one will
recieve one of the three
different dose ranges.
• The Phase I is being initiated
based on the promising
results in animals trials. In the
animal trials, two doses of
the vaccine made using an
African Zika virus strain
conferred 100% protection
against mortality and disease
in mice.
• The protection was the same
when the mice were infected
with an Asian and an African
Zika strains.
• While the viral load was
“undetectable” in the case of
vaccinated mice, the amount
of virus in unvaccinated mice
shot up four days after being
infected.
• All the unvaccinated mice
died eight days after
infection by the African strain
and 12 days after infection by
the Asian strain.
U.S. National Security Adviser
Lt. General H.R. McMaster
arrived in Delhi
• The Union government told
the Supreme Court that it had
constituted a task force to
frame a road map for
implementation of the Law
C o m m i s s i o n ’ s
recommendations on
decriminalisation of politics.
• A Bench of Justices asked the
Centre to file an affidavit
during the day on a PIL
petition seeking debarring of
convicts for life from
contesting polls and stopping
them from entering the
http://www.iasexamportal.com
judiciary and the executive.
• The Union Law and Justice
Ministry, in its affidavit, told
the court that the government
was actively considering a
law panel report titled
“Electoral disqualifications”,
and had appointed a team of
senior officials to look into
the issue.
• The Law Ministry said that the
disqualification period
specified under the
Representation of the People
Act, 1951, is a policy
decision which has been
enacted by Parliament after
due deliberations for curbing
the entry of persons with
criminal antecedents into the
political arena.
• On the issue of setting up of
special courts for MPs or
MLAs for disposal of criminal
cases, the Ministry said such
a prayer was “unwarranted”
as long as cases are
disposed of within a year.
• U.S. National Security
Adviser Lt. General (retired)
H.R. McMaster arrived in
Delhi, the first such visit by a
senior official of the Trump
administration for talks that
are expected to set the
course of bilateral relations.
• He is expected to extend a
formal invitation for Prime
Minister Narendra Modi to
visit Washington in the next
few months.
• The visit will be watched
particularly closely for its
timing, as it comes close on

the heels of the Russian
conference on Afghanistan in
Moscow, which India
attended and where Russia
offered to mediate between
Taliban and government.
• Mr. McMaster, will discuss
the future of security
operations in Afghanistan,
India’s role in Afghanistan as
well as the India-Pakistan
impasse.
• In Kabul, Mr. McMaster said
he would impress on
Pakistan that it was important
to give up support to the
Haqqani group and the
Taliban.
• Pakistan has praised the U.S.
administration’s recent
remarks on mediating
between New Delhi and
Islamabad, something India
has been opposed to.
• Ms. Curtis, has advocated a
tougher line on Pakistan, and
Supreme Court wants
co-authored a paper in
appearance of secretaries on
February this year suggesting
issue of police vacancies
enforcing conditions on
military aid to Pakistan with
action against terror groups
in the region, including the
Lashkar-e-Taiba.
• However, the figures
released in April 2017 of
security-related aid that the
Trump administration has
requested from the U.S.
Congress for Pakistan
indicate the U.S. government
has not decreased its
allocations for the upcoming
year.
Union Home Ministry said it
would introduce less lethal
“plastic bullets”
• The Union Home Ministry
http://www.iasexamportal.com
said it would introduce less
lethal “plastic bullets” to be
used against protesters in
Jammu and Kashmir.
• The Centre said it was
exploring options to initiate
a dialogue in Kashmir,
including with the
separatists, but no one had
came forward in the past and
it had hit a dead end.
• The government also said it
was considering enhanced
China is set to launch its first
use of “bunkers” to protect
cargo spacecraft
security forces from stone
throwers after the annual shift
of the capital from Jammu to
Srinagar in the next few days.
• The government had managed
to control the spiral of
violence but the “atmosphere
was vitiated” because of the
April 9 byelections in the
Srinagar Lok Sabha
constituency.
U.S. National Security Adviser
Lt. General H.R. McMaster
arrived in Delhi
• The Supreme Court sought
the personal appearance of
Home Secretaries or
authorised joint secretaries
of six States together with a
definite roadmap to fill up
the long-pending vacancies in
the States’ police forces.
• The court found that Uttar
Pradesh has 1.51 lakh
vacancies, West Bengal with
37,325, Karnataka has
24,899, Jharkhand 26,303,
Bihar 34,500 and Tamil Nadu
has 19,803 posts vacant.
• Tamil Nadu informed the
apex court that
advertisements have been
put out for the vacancies.
National Issues
“Giving advertisements is the
first step. You [Tamil Nadu]
have taken the first step since
2013,” the Bench remarked.
• The apex court was hearing
the 2013 petition which
claimed that law and order
situation in the country was
deteriorating due to a large
number of vacancies in
police services at all levels
across States.
• China is set to launch its first
cargo spacecraft between
April 20 and 24.
• The Tianzhou-1 has been
transferred with a Long March
– 7 Y2 carrier rocket from the
testing centre to the launch
zone in Wenchang, Hainan
province.
• U.S. National Security
Adviser Lt. General (retired)
H.R. McMaster arrived in
Delhi, the first such visit by a
senior official of the Trump
administration for talks that
are expected to set the
course of bilateral relations.
• He is expected to extend a
formal invitation for Prime
Minister Narendra Modi to
visit Washington in the next
few months.
• The visit will be watched
particularly closely for its
timing, as it comes close on
the heels of the Russian
conference on Afghanistan in
Moscow, which India
attended and where Russia
19
National Issues
offered to mediate between
Taliban and government.
• Mr. McMaster, will discuss
the future of security
operations in Afghanistan,
India’s role in Afghanistan as
well as the India-Pakistan
impasse.
• In Kabul, Mr. McMaster said
he would impress on
Pakistan that it was important
to give up support to the
Haqqani group and the
Taliban.
• Pakistan has praised the U.S.
administration’s recent
remarks on mediating
between New Delhi and
Islamabad, something India
has been opposed to.
• Ms. Curtis, has advocated a
tougher line on Pakistan, and
co-authored a paper in
Supreme Court wants
February this year suggesting
appearance of secretaries on
enforcing conditions on
issue of police vacancies
military aid to Pakistan with
action against terror groups
in the region, including the
Lashkar-e-Taiba.
• However, the figures
released in April 2017 of
security-related aid that the
Trump administration has
requested from the U.S.
Congress for Pakistan
indicate the U.S. government
has not decreased its
allocations for the upcoming
year.
Union Home Ministry said it
would introduce less lethal
“plastic bullets”
• The Union Home Ministry
said it would introduce less
lethal “plastic bullets” to be
used against protesters in
20
Jammu and Kashmir.
• The Centre said it was
exploring options to initiate
a dialogue in Kashmir,
including with the
separatists, but no one had
came forward in the past and
it had hit a dead end.
• The government also said it
was considering enhanced
China is set to launch its first
use of “bunkers” to protect
cargo spacecraft
security forces from stone
throwers after the annual shift
of the capital from Jammu to
Srinagar in the next few days.
• The government had managed
to control the spiral of
violence but the “atmosphere
was vitiated” because of the
April 9 byelections in the
Srinagar Lok Sabha
constituency.
DST will be leading a Rs. 2,000-
crore initiative to encourage
more girls and women
• The Supreme Court sought
the personal appearance of
Home Secretaries or
authorised joint secretaries
of six States together with a
definite roadmap to fill up
the long-pending vacancies in
the States’ police forces.
• The court found that Uttar
Pradesh has 1.51 lakh
vacancies, West Bengal with
37,325, Karnataka has
24,899, Jharkhand 26,303,
Bihar 34,500 and Tamil Nadu
has 19,803 posts vacant.
• Tamil Nadu informed the
apex court that
advertisements have been
put out for the vacancies.
“Giving advertisements is the
first step. You [Tamil Nadu]
have taken the first step since
2013,” the Bench remarked.
• The apex court was hearing
the 2013 petition which
claimed that law and order
situation in the country was
deteriorating due to a large
number of vacancies in
police services at all levels
across States.
• China is set to launch its first
cargo spacecraft between
April 20 and 24.
• The Tianzhou-1 has been
transferred with a Long March
– 7 Y2 carrier rocket from the
testing centre to the launch
zone in Wenchang, Hainan
province.
• The Department of Science
and Technology will be
leading a Rs. 2,000-crore
initiative to encourage more
girls and women to take up
careers in the domain of
science and engineering,
where they are under-
represented.
• A pilot programme covering
100,000 girls and women,
from school-going children
to those interested in
research, will be launched
later this year.
• Studies have found that when
compared to the U.S.,
European Union, and several
Asian countries, India fared
reasonably well when it
comes to enrolment of
women in science and
engineering, which stood at
http://www.iasexamportal.com

around 35%.
• But the proportion of women
in the science and
engineering workforce was
an abysmal 12%.
• The current initiative, ‘Vigyan
Jyoti’, envisages 500
contractual faculty positions
for five years in universities
and research organisations,
and special scholarships for
school girls.
• Alongside mentoring, there
would be a concerted effort
to expose them to more
areas of science and
engineering, present role-
models to inspire them, and
conduct counselling sessions
for parents and teachers.
• The proposal is a key part of
a report, Vigyan 2030:
Science and Technology as
the Pivot for Jobs,
Opportunities and National
Transformation, submitted by
the secretaries of all Central
science departments.
Presented to PM.
GST to effect the citizens in
many ways
• GST will replace the myriad
local, State-level and Central
taxes that are built into the
price you pay for products,
and the service tax as well
as cesses that are dovetailed
to your outgoes when you
dine at a restaurant or pay
your mobile phone bills.
• India may be a $2-trillion-
plus economy with a large,
booming domestic market,
but is a nightmare for
compliant businesses, thanks
to multiple Central and State-
level indirect taxes, such as
http://www.iasexamportal.com
sales tax, excise duty,
Central VAT and State VAT.
• The alphabet soup of taxes,
differing regulations across
29 States, and difficulties in
inter-State trade which often
involve hours of highway
snarls at border checkpoints.
• This is to collect octroi and
check documents, are a
recipe for inefficiency and a
proven incentive for tax
evasion by sticking to the
informal sector.
• As a single tax that would
replace all such duties and
cesses, the GST will make
India a unified market with a
common tax structure,
instead of 29 fractured
markets.
• One last thing worth noting:
petroleum products and
alcohol are being kept out of
the GST net for now.
• Nine years after the Indian
economy was opened up in
1991, the Atal Bihari
Vajpayee government first
floated the idea of a simple,
transparent and efficient GST
Shia community wants AIMPLB
regime to substitute the
to keep in mind the Quran,
multiple Central and State
Shariyat and humanity
taxes and cesses.
• But, like several critical (and
often inevitable) reforms in
India, the GST took a
tortuously long route to reach
the cusp of reality — a route
marred by resistance, flip-
flops and political
expediency.
• Co-operative governance
body called the GST Council,
with representatives from the
States and the Centre, has
thrashed out the nitty-gritty of
the new regime, including
National Issues
five rate slabs (zero, 5%,
12%, 18% and 28%).
• Also an additional cess on
top of the highest GST rate on
sin goods, such as luxury cars
and tobacco.
• Unlike income tax, which just
a small segment of India’s
mammoth 1.3 billion-plus
population end up paying,
including the poorest of the
poor, pay indirect taxes on
products and services.
• Besides improving tax
compliance from traders, the
GST regime is expected to
boost economic growth by a
percentage point or two,
despite the risk of an initial
blip, the government and
industry bodies reckon.
• Investors, often put off by
India’s complex taxation
structure, should find it
easier and more attractive to
do business in the country
and create an important by-
product for India’s fast-
growing, young workforce —
jobs.
• The Shia community appealed
the All India Muslim Personal
Law Board (AIMPLB) to keep
in mind the Quran, Shariyat
and humanity before arriving
at any decision on the
contentious issue of triple
talaq.
• The Ayodhya dispute and
triple talaq are expected to
dominate the agenda of the
two-day meeting of the
Board, which will begin
shortly at Nadwatul Ulama
21
National Issues
here.
• “If triple talaq is a part of
Shariat law, it should have
been implemented then itself.
The need of the hour is to
implement the system which
was in place during the days
of the Prophet,” he said.
• “The information pertaining
to triple talaq is harming the
image of Islam. When the
Sunnis are of the view that
triple talaq is being misused,
the practice must cease to
exist,” he said.
Consular access for Kulbhushan
Jadhav sought
• India again sought consular
Second phase of operation clean
access to former Navy
money launched
official Kulbhushan Jadhav
now facing the gallows in
Pakistan, which has not
addressed 13 earlier
requests for the same.
• Islamabad accused Mr.
Jadhav of carrying out
attacks inside Pakistan since
2014-15 but said that he will
have the chance to appeal for
mercy.
• Indian High Commissioner to
Pakistan denied knowledge
of any plan to exchange Mr.
Jadhav for a Pakistani
intelligence official in Indian
custody and sought more
information from Pakistan
about the charges against
him.
• Pakistan had not shared any
information about the
physical conditions of the
former naval official and
India had therefore begun
planning a request for
consular access.
• The Ministry of External
22
Affairs stated that consular
access is necessary to find
out more about the case
against Mr. Jadhav.
• But in an elaborate defence
of Pakistan’s position, Sartaj
Aziz, Adviser to the Prime
Finance minister wants
Minister on Foreign Affairs,
personal laws should conform
has said that Mr. Jadhav has
to constitutional rights
the right to appeal for mercy.
• Pakistan also claimed that
contrary to India’s claims,
Mr. Jadhav is a serving
official of the Indian Navy
and conducted a series of
attacks against Pakistan since
2014-15, especially in
Balochistan.
• In the second phase of
‘Operation Clean Money’
(OCM), launched to unearth
black money, the Income Tax
department will probe over
60,000 individuals including
1,300 high risk persons for
alleged excessive cash sales
post demonetisation.
• Over 6,000 transactions of
high value property
purchases and 6,600 cases of
outward remittances shall be
subjected to detailed
investigations under OCM, an
official statement said.
• The second phase involves
identification of high risk
persons through advanced
data analytics, including
integration of data sources,
relationship clustering and
fund tracking.
• The high risk categories
identified include businesses
claiming cash sales as the
source of cash deposits
http://www.iasexamportal.com
which is found to be
excessive compared to their
past profile or industry
norms; large cash deposits
made by government or PSU
employees.
• Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
expressed hope that the
vintage judicial view that
personal laws need not
conform to Constitutional
rights would be reviewed in
the near future.
• “In fact, a very surprising
judicial opinion at that time
— and that’s a judicial
opinion that still holds up.
Hopefully, it is reviewed in
near future. When all laws
must confine to the
Constitutional rights
themselves, personal laws
need not.,” FM said.
• Mr. Jaitley expressed his
opinion at a time when a
Constitution Bench of the
Supreme Court is scheduled
to hear a batch of petitions
challenging whether personal
law practices like triple talaq
and polygamy.
• The Centre has in that case
sought the court to re-open
the debate as to whether
personal laws can be brought
under the ambit of Article 13
(laws inconsistent with or in
derogation of the
fundamental rights) of the
Constitution.
• If the Supreme Court agrees
that personal laws are to be
included in the definition of
laws under Article 13, the

door would be opened wide
for an aggrieved person to
challenge in court a
particular personal law of a
religion as violative of the
fundamental rights.
• In case the challenge
succeeds in court, the
personal law, to the extent of
its inconsistency, shall
become void.
• The Centre has argued in its
latest written submissions
that polygamy and triple
talaq are not religious
practices but social norms
and customs which can be
intervened on by the State if
they are found to be violative
of constitutional rights.
• The batch of petitions
includes a suomotu PIL
instituted by the Supreme
Court itself on whether
personal law practices like
triple talaq (talaq-e-bidat),
niqahhalala and polygamy
violate dignity of Muslim
women and promote gender
bias.
• The Bombay High Court in
State of Bombay versus
Narasu Appa Mali had held
that personal law is not ‘law’
under Article 13.
• However, in Ahmedabad
Women Action Group versus
Union of India, the Supreme
Court was asked to consider
if unilateral divorce by talaq
and polygamy were violative
of Articles 14 and 15.
SC puts Allahabad HC under
scrutiny for long delays
• The Supreme Court has asked
itself why numerous orders
over the decades suggesting
http://www.iasexamportal.com
“action plans” to combat
staggering backlog of cases
in High Courts and trial
courts have literally
produced no answers and
Islamic State tunnel complex in
hardly any results.
eastern Afghanistan had been
• Justice Jasti Chelameswar
hit by US
ruminated on how the
“phenomenon of mounting
pendency and discomfiting
delay in disposal of cases”
continue at the cost of gross
human rights violations to
undertrials, convicts.
• The Supreme Court’s third
seniormost judge had found
himself hearing a plea for
bail by a convict in a murder
case.
• How the judiciary has been,
in a sense, inadvertently
responsible for violation of
the fundamental right to
speedy trial and disposal of
criminal appeals under
Article 21 of the Constitution.
• So, in a novel move, the
Supreme Court decided to
put the Allahabad HC under
the microscope as a “pilot
project” to investigate how
High Courts deal with
pendency.
• The SC said this was a
“target-specific” exercise to
study how criminal appeals
face years of delay as
appellants face “inhuman
compulsions” inside jails.
• The Bench directed the HC
Registrar to hand over
particulars of the criminal
appeals, category-wise and
year-wise, for the study in
four weeks.
• The Supreme Court said the
selection of the Allahabad
High Court, one of the oldest
National Issues
High Courts in the country,
should not be construed as a
comment on its functioning
or any deficiency thereof.
• Army Gen. John W.
Nicholson, commander of
U.S. forces in Afghanistan,
said in a written statement
that an Islamic State tunnel
complex in eastern
Afghanistan had been hit with
“the mother of all bombs.”
• The U.S. dropped a massive
GBU-43 bomb, the largest
non-nuclear bomb it has ever
used in combat, in eastern
Afghanistan on a series of
caves used by Islamic State
militants, the military said.
• Also known as the “mother of
all bombs,” the GBU-43 is a
21,600 pound 9,797 kg GPS-
guided munition, and was
first tested in March 2003.
• He said the strike was
designed to minimize the risk
to Afghan and U.S. forces
conducting clearing
operations in the Achin area,
close to the Pakistan border
“while maximizing the
destruction” of IS fighters and
facilities.
• He said IS has been using
improvised explosive
devices, bunkers and tunnels
to strengthen its defences.
• White House spokesman
Sean Spicer opened his daily
news briefing with the use of
the bomb.
• “The U.S. takes the fight
against ISIS very seriously
and to defeat the group, we
23
National Issues
must deny them operational
space, which we did,” he
said.
Citizens have the right to access
the Internet to gain information
says SC
• Citizens have the right to
access the Internet to gain
information, wisdom and
knowledge and their right
cannot be curtailed unless it
encroaches into the
boundary of illegality, the
Supreme Court observed.
• Calling the Internet a “virtual
world” and a “world which
is invisible in a way,” the
Supreme Court observed that
India and France will step up
the fundamental right of
negotiations to expand the
expression includes “the right
Scorpene submarine
to be informed and the right
to know.
• The court clarified that a
general prohibition on all
online content about pre-
natal sex determination will
curtail the fundamental right
to know of a genuine
information-seeker.
• Prohibition should kick in
only if the content found
online is violative of Section
22 (prohibition of
advertisement relating to pre-
natal determination of sex)
under the PCPNDT Act of
1994.
• The Centre, represented by
Solicitor-General Ranjit
Kumar, said the prohibition
under Section 22 should be
only on paid ads for sex
determination or online
a d v e r t i s e m e n t s
masquerading as
information.
• The three Internet search
24
engines — Microsoft, Google
India and Yahoo! India —
gave their assurances to the
Supreme Court that they
would neither advertise nor
sponsor advertisements
violative of the PNPCDT Act.
• In case the nodal officers
detect illegal online content,
they would communicate
with the search engine’s
experts, which would take it
off within the next 36 hours
of receiving the information.
• These experts would then
Small entrepreneurs have
follow it up by providing the
raised some concerns over
nodal officers concerned
govt's proposal
with an action taken report.
• India and France will step up
negotiations to expand the
Scorpene submarine contract
after the presidential
elections in France in May.
• India will push for
incorporating several
upgrades in the proposed
three new submarines that
the two sides would be
discussing.
• Mazgaon Docks Ltd. (MDL),
Mumbai, is manufacturing six
Scorpene conventional
submarines with technology
transfer from DCNS under a
$3.75-billion deal signed in
October 2005.
• After a series of delays, the
first submarine Kalvari is now
in advanced stages of sea
trials and expected to be
commissioned in a few
months. The second
submarine Khanderi was
launched in January.
http://www.iasexamportal.com
• As per plan, all submarines
are expected to be launched
from MDL by 2020 and both
sides are on to firm up a deal
before that to keep the
production line running and
preserve the expertise.
• The upgrades will help
address concerns of any
compromise in the
submarine’s capability
following the leak of its
technical specifications in
Australia last year.
• Small entrepreneurs have
raised some concerns over
the government’s proposal to
provide social security
coverage to its entire
workforce.
• The Centre had last month
proposed a labour code on
social security which will
provide social security cover
to the entire workforce in the
country, including self-
employed and agricultural
workers.
• Factories employing even a
single worker will have to
contribute towards social
security benefits, as per the
proposed code. Small
factories are largely kept out
of social security schemes.
• For instance, the PF and
pension contribution,
administered by the
Employees’ Provident Fund
Organisation (EPFO), is
mandatory only for factories
employing at least 20
workers.
 National Issues
Veteran diplomats says India if Pakistan executed Mr. secrecy provided by the
had various options for Jadhav. AFSPA to security forces for
Kulbhushan Jadhav deaths caused during
PSLV received double customers
encounters in disturbed
• India should not rush into since Feb
areas.
negotiations with Pakistan to
• The PSLV (Polar Satellite • The Supreme Court had held
free the former naval officer
Launch Vehicle) space that “there is no concept of
Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has
vehicle has received more absolute immunity from trial
been awarded the death
than double the volume of by a criminal court” if an
sentence by Pakistan, veteran
inquiries from prospective Army man has committed an
diplomats said.
customers ever since it offence.
• They said India had several
launched a record 104 • Judgement held that every
bilateral and multilateral
satellites on a single flight in death caused by security
options to free Mr. Jadhav,
February. forces in a disturbed area,
who was accused of
• A world best, 101 small even if the victim was a
sabotage and tried in a
foreign commercial dreaded criminal or a
military court.
spacecraft were taken up at militant or a terrorist or an
• One option before India is to
once in the feat, catapulting insurgent, should be
ask [U.S.] President Trump to
the PSLV’s overall thoroughly inquired into to
prevail upon the Pakistan
commercial tally to 180. address any allegation of use
military to release Mr.
• The PSLV, with a near of excessive or retaliatory
Jadhav. It is highly unlikely
impeccable 37 successes in force.
that any request to shift Mr.
39 flights, he said, is a clear • Attorney-General appeared
Jadhav to a civil court would
leader in the category of before a Bench led by Chief
work.
rockets that lift small Justice of India J.S. Khehar
• Mr. Jadhav’s case was
satellites to low earth orbits during the mentioning hour,
unique in the history of India-
or LEOs. and apprised the court that
Pakistan hostility and was
• These satellites weigh up to the judgment had become a
reminiscent of a Cold War
500 kg and must be placed fetter on security forces
spy drama.
in polar orbits 500 km from involved in anti-militancy
• Some diplomats have
the earth. operations.
recommended that India
• Similar 100-plus satellite • The judgment came on a plea
should not hurry in
contracts on a single flight by hundreds of families in
responding to this move by
would be uncommon; Mr. Manipur for a probe by
Pakistan as the case is
Sasibhushan said the next Special Ivestigation Team.
peculiar.
PSLV, C-38, due in May,
• There were many instances National Lok Adalatsettled
would have 30 small
when individuals suspected nearly 6.6 lakh cases in one day
satellites (smallsats) riding
of being spies were given the
piggyback with the primary • National Legal Services
death sentence in the usual
Cartosat-2 series satellite. Authority (NALSA), led by
courts of law in Pakistan and
Supreme Court judge Justice
therefore the issue was why Curative petition filed by centre
Dipak Misra, has been
a normal legal process was in AFSPA case
quietly chipping away at the
avoided in this case.
• The government asked the backlog and has
• Diplomats also said that
Supreme Court to urgently accomplished its latest feat
India would have to
reconsider its July 2016 of settling over six lakh cases
deliberate upon what kind of
verdict which ripped open in just 24 hours.
response would be befitting
the cloak of immunity and • The Second National Lok

http://www.iasexamportal.com 25
National Issues
Adalat for 2017, conducted
on April 8, through out the
country from taluk level
courts to High Courts, has
settled nearly 6.6 lakh cases.
• Out of this, 3.68 lakh cases
have been reduced from
court pendency and about
2.92 lakh cases were settled
even before they could be
filed in courts.
• The cases ranged from
matrimonial disputes,
partition suits, civil matters,
cheque bounce cases, motor
accident claims, revenue
disputes pending in courts,
criminal compoundable
cases and service matters
pertaining to pension, retrial
benefits, etc.
• The award of a Lok Adalat is
final and cannot be
challenged by way of
appeals and revision, etc.
• Moreover, settlement of a
pending court case in a Lok
Adalat comes with an added
incentive of refund of court
fee to the party involved in
the litigation.
• The NALSA, under Justice
Misra, has decided to
organise bi-monthly National
Lok Adalats for both pending
and pre-litigative cases.
• Pendency in subordinate
courts is a whopping over 2.7
crore cases.A statement
issued by NALSA
emphasised the point made
by Justice Misra that it is
Telangana to check the
developing a “culture of
genuineness of the academic
settlement”.
certificates of its students
Budget session came to an end
• The Budget session of
Parliament came to an end
26
after the approval of four GST
bills and other legislations,
besides the Budget and the
demands for grants of
various Ministries.
• The two-part session,
advanced this time, began on
January 31 with the
President’s address to a joint
sitting of both Houses. Also,
for the first time, the Railway
Budget was merged with the
General Budget.
• The session also saw
government statements on
the death sentence awarded
to Indian national Kulbhushan
Jadhav by a Pakistani
military court on the charges
of spying.
• Altogether, there were 29
sittings, with the Lok Sabha
working for 176 hours and 39
minutes and the Rajya Sabha
for a little over 136 hours.
The Lok Sabha lost eight
hours and 12 minutes to
disruptions. The Upper
House lost 13 hours.
• The Lok Sabha passed The
Maternity Benefit
(Amendment) Bill, 2016, the
Enemy Property Bill, the
Mental healthcare Bill, Motor
Vehicles (Amendment) Bill
2016 and the 123rd
Constitution Amendment Bill
(to grant constitutional status
to the National Commission
for Backward Classes),
Centre has no plans to grant
among others.
Special Category Status to any
State
• Telangana has become the
first State in the country
integrating technology with
http://www.iasexamportal.com
the database of its
universities and potential
employers giving open
access to the latter to check
the genuineness of the
academic certificates of its
students.
• Any employer from any part
of the world can now access
the Online Verification
system launched by the
Telangana State Council of
Higher Education that
created the database of
students of the last five years
passing out from its State
universities.
• Potential employers and
those checking the veracity
of the claims can access the
information by entering the
hall-ticket number, year of
passing and the course
studied.
• However, only the basic
details on the genuineness of
information like candidate’s
name, parent’s name,
university, duration of the
course, marks scored and the
division obtained are shown
and not the total details so
as to protect the privacy of
the candidate.
• However, the process was
cumbersome, time-taking and
was only on payment. But the
new system offers it for free
and instantly.
• The Centre has no plans to
grant Special Category Status
to any State, Minister of State
for Planning,told the Rajya
Sabha.

• Govt said parties should
ensure fiscal discipline in
their respective States and
develop them utilising the
extra Rs. 1.78 lakh crore that
the Centre had given through
the Finance Commission.
• The last State to be accorded
the status was Uttarakhand
way back in 2001 and no State
had been given the status after
that, the Minister added.
• After taking over, the BJP
government gave 10% extra
grant, amounting to Rs. 1.78
lakh crore per year, to the
States through the Finance
Commission.
HIV and AIDS (Prevention and
Control) Bill passed by
Parliament
• With Parliament passing the
HIV and AIDS (Prevention
and Control) Bill, 2017,
people living with HIV and
AIDS are guaranteed equal
rights in medical treatment,
admission to educational
institutions and jobs.
KEK completed the much-
• Maintaining that the Bill was
awaited ‘rolling-in’ of the Belle-
“people-centric”, the Minister
II
said it strengthened the rights
of people infected with HIV.
• The Bill lists various grounds
on which discrimination
against HIV-positive persons
and those living with them is
prohibited.
• The law provides a broad
legislative framework for the
response to HIV in India and
is the first national HIV law
in South Asia.
• The legislation prohibits
discrimination against
people living with, and
affected by, HIV in a range
http://www.iasexamportal.com
of settings, including
employment, education,
housing and health care, as
well as with regard to the
holding of public or private
office, access to insurance
and freedom of movement.
• It also bans unfair treatment
of people living with and
affected by HIV with regard
to accessing public facilities,
such as shops, restaurants,
hotels, public entertainment
Govt will ask restaurants to
venues, public facilities and
specify the size of a meal
burial grounds.
• The Bill also prohibits any
individual from publishing
information or advocating
feelings of hatred against HIV
positive persons and those
living with them.
• India runs the second largest
Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART)
programme in the world, Mr.
Nadda said the rate of new
HIV infections had dropped
by 67% from 2.5 lakh to
85,000 and AIDS related
deaths have declined to 54%
• The High Energy Accelerator
Research Organisation (KEK)
completed the much-awaited
Govt to allow the armed forces
‘rolling-in’ of the Belle-II
to buy several non-core items in
experiment in Tsukuba,
the open market
Japan. This experiment is
designed to study violations
of the Standard Model of
particle physics.
• A grand collaboration of 700
scientists from 23 countries,
Belle-II has a significant
Indian participation both on
experimental and theoretical
sides.
National Issues
• The fourth layer of the six-
layer, highly sensitive
particle detector, which is at
the heart of Belle-II, has been
built by Indian scientists.
• Building the silicon vertex
detector has been a directing
force that brought us
together. It is a very young
team, with an average age of
30 years, apart from some
senior leaders.
• Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s pitch against wastage
of food has prompted the
government to consider
asking high-end restaurants
and hotels to specify the
portion size of a meal to
enable customers order the
right amount.
• Union Food Minister Ram
Vilas Paswan said the
hospitality industry would be
asked whether it can do it
“voluntarily” or or needed the
government to make legal
provisions for it.
• Mr. Paswan’s remarks came
nearly a fortnight after Modi
expressed concern over
large-scale wastage of food.
• To break the monopoly of the
Ordnance Factory Board
(OFB) in procurements and
improve its performance, the
Ministry of Defence will
allow the armed forces to
buy several non-core items in
the open market.
27
National Issues
• So far, it is mandatory for the
services to buy these items
from the OFB.
• The non-core items include
troop-comfort items and
ammunition boxes.
Australian PM says Australia
will supply Uranium to India
very soon
• Australia will start supplying
uranium to India “as soon as
possible”, the visiting Prime
Minister, Malcolm Turnbull,
said.
• Australia’s promise on
uranium was announced
even as both countries
signed six agreements,
including one on countering
terrorism.
• “Our know-how and
resources are already
partnering with India’s 24x7
Power For All, Smart Cities
and Make in India
programmes, but there is
room for further growth,” Mr.
Turnbull said.
SC questions those who use
• Mr. Modi welcomed the
children as cover
passage of the Civil Nuclear
Transfers to India Act in the
Australian Parliament,
opening up opportunities for
Australia to support Indian
energy generation.
• Australia has about 40 per
cent of the world’s uranium
reserves and exports nearly
7,000 tonnes of yellow cake
annually. Both sides agreed
to extend bilateral
engagement to the Asia-
Pacific region.
• In this context, a joint
statement issued at the end
of the meeting agreed to hold
a bilateral maritime exercise
28
named AUSINDEX in the Bay
of Bengal in 2018 and also
pledged to hold a joint
exercise of the Special Forces
later this year.
• Both sides welcomed the
decision for the first bilateral
Army-to-Army exercise later
this year.
• The bilateral discussion also
hinted at a growing
agreement to oppose China’s
territorial claims over the
South China Sea region.
Survey of India started a web
• As part of the emerging Asia-
portal named Nakshefor maps
Pacific focus of India-
Australia ties, the joint
statement took a firm
position against China’s
growing presence in the
South China Sea region.
• Both leaders recognised the
importance of freedom of
navigation and overflight,
unimpeded lawful
commerce, as well as
resolving maritime disputes
by peaceful means.
• Supreme Court retorted by
questioning the sense of
humanity of the very people
who form the mob and use
children as cover while
engaging security forces in
pitched street battles.
• The court was reacting to
arguments by the J&K High
Court Bar Association, which
has filed a public interest
litigation petition for a ban
on pellet guns.
• “The age-group of those
injured are from 13 to 20 and
20 to 24 years. Young
students are the ones most
http://www.iasexamportal.com
injured,” Justice
Chandrachud said.
• “About a 100 security
personnel within the distance
of two to three booths. Why
do they do it on polling day?
Election is a symbol of
democracy,” Attorney-
General Mukul Rohatgi
submitted for the Centre.
• The Supreme Court advised
the Bar Association against
taking sides.
• The Survey of India, the
country’s oldest scientific
organisation and official
maker of maps, has set up a
web portal called Nakshe
that allows 3,000 of its 7,000
maps to be downloaded for
free.
• The only caveat is that one
would require an Aadhaar
number for such access.
• The SoI maps —prepared for
defence and civilian
purposes — are considered
a standard reference for the
shape, extent and geographic
features of the country.
• In the last years, the
government has passed
orders to route a variety of
citizen services — from
scholarships to subsidies —
to possessing an Aadhaar or
Aadhaar enrolment number.
• The Aadhaar (Targeted
Delivery of Financial and
Other Subsidies, Benefits and
Services) Bill, 2016
specifically says that the
number can’t be used as
proof of citizenship or
domicile.

• The maps to be made
available through the portal
http://soinakshe.uk.gov.in/
will make it easier for
residents of villagers and
panchayats to readily access
information.
• Currently, organisations and
people who want specific
maps need to fill forms and
sometimes visit the SoI.
Several times, Ministries
themselves had to pay to get
certain maps.
Govt says polygamy is a social
custom and not religious
practice
• Polygamy is not a religious
practice, but rather a social
custom or usage which the
State can interfere with to
ensure that Muslim women’s
Lok Sabha cleared amendments
fundamental rights are not
to motor vehicles act
violated, the Centre told the
Supreme Court.
• Practices such as polygamy
cannot be described as being
sanctioned by religion,
inasmuch as historically,
polygamy prevailed across
communities for several
centuries including the
ancient Greeks and Romans,
Hindus, Jews and
Zoroastrians.
• It had less to do with religion
and more to do with social
norms at the time,” the Centre
said in its written
submissions filed late on
Monday in the Supreme
Court.
• The government said since
polygamy was a social
custom and not a religious
practice, it was not
http://www.iasexamportal.com
protected under Article 25 of
the Constitution, which bars
the State from interfering with
“someone’s religious belief.”
• Since a social practice
cannot be held to be an
integral part of a faith and
belief or an “essential
religious practice,” it has to
satisfy the overarching
constitutional goal of gender
equality, gender justice and
dignity, the government
submitted.
• The government argued that
reforms have not happened
in the practices followed by
the Muslim community
despite clear indications. It
Lok Sabha paved way for
said gender equality and the
constitutional status for
dignity of women were “non-
Backward classes commission
negotiable.”
• The Lok Sabha cleared
amendments to the motor
vehicles law that will
substantially increase the
penalty for traffic violations,
allow learner’s driving
licences to be issued online
and penalise contractors for
faulty road designs.
• Driving without a licence
may soon lead to a minimum
fine of Rs. 5,000 as against
Rs. 500 at present, according
to the Motor Vehicles
(Amendment) Bill 2016.
• Similarly, for over-speeding,
the penalty may go up to Rs.
1,000-2,000 from Rs. 400. Not
wearing seatbelts would
result in a minimum penalty
of Rs. 1,000 against Rs. 100
at present.
National Issues
• The traffic violation penalties
will also increase 10% each
year once the Bill becomes
a law.
• The proposed law will also
allow citizens to apply or
renew a driving licence from
any road transport office in
the State. At present, citizens
can only apply at the closest
RTO.
• The Centre also plans to
make submission of Aadhaar
number mandatory for
applying for a driving licence
and vehicle registration by
making an enabling provision
in the Bill.
• The Lok Sabha cleared The
Constitution 102nd
Amendment Bill, that grants
constitutional status to the
Backward Classes
Commission, now called the
National Commission for
Socially and Educationally
Backward Classes.
• The Bill also enjoins that any
addition to the Central list of
communities under the Other
Backward Classes will have
to be cleared through
Parliament.
• Govt said that the bill would
ensure the rights of the Other
Backward Classes, and give
the National Commission for
Backward Classes the
constitutional safeguards
enjoyed by the National
Commission for Scheduled
Castes and Tribes.
29
National Issues
Agreements in the fields of
energy and defence between
India and Bangladesh
• Stepping up cooperation in
the fields of connectivity,
energy and defence, India
extended lines of credit
worth $5 billion to
Bangladesh, as the two
countries exchanged 22
agreements.
• However, despite the
presence of West Bengal
Chief Minister, the two sides
were unable to make any
progress on the contentious
Teesta water sharing
agreement that Ms. Banerjee
has opposed.
• “This (Teesta) is important
for India, for Bangladesh and
for India-Bangladesh
relationship,” Mr. Modi said
after the meeting. He added,
“I firmly believe that it is only
my government and
Excellency Sheikh Hasina,
your government, that can
and will find an early solution
to Teesta Water Sharing.”
• Apart from the water issues,
both sides agreed to work
together on ways to advance
issues like trade,
connectivity, and regional
cooperation.
Govt is considering the
introduction of a ‘no fly list’
• Minister of State for Civil
Aviation Jayant Sinha said the
government was considering
the introduction of a ‘no fly
list’ to deal with unruly
passengers.
• “The Ministry of Civil
Aviation is strengthening
30
rules so that a national no-
fly list can be implemented,
such incidents can be
prevented, and safety
improved,” Mr. Sinha
tweeted.
• “Air travellers should note
Indo-Mongolian Joint Military
that safety and security of
Exercise Nomadic Elephant at
passengers and crew is our
vairengte
paramount priority."
• "Unruly or disruptive
behaviour will result in
severe consequences. This
includes police action for a
specific incident as well as
being placed on a no-fly list,”
the Minister said.
• Domestic airlines have
witnessed 53 cases of unruly
behaviour by passengers
between July 2016 and
March 2017.
• Air passenger representatives
welcomed the move on a
‘no-fly list’ – a practice
followed by airlines in
Europe and the United States.
• Airlines abroad have their
own rules for dealing with
unruly passengers and
maintain their own ‘no fly
list.’
CJI says parties should e kept
accountable for unfulfilled
promises
• Chief Justice of India Jagdish
Singh Khehar said political
parties should be held
accountable for the routinely
unfulfilled promises made in
their election manifestos.
• Manifestos had become a
mere piece of paper owing
to the short-term memory of
citizens, but the political
parties had to be made
accountable for the
http://www.iasexamportal.com
unfulfilled promises, said
Justice Khehar.
• The CJI said the parties gave
brazen excuses to justify
non-fulfilment of the
promises.
• A small elite contingent of
Indian and Mongolian troops
began a two-week joint
military exercise away from
media glare. Indian Army
made public the joint
exercise, named Nomadic
Elephant.
• The timing of the exercise
may be a mere coincidence,
but assumes significance
given last December China
mounted economic sanctions
on Mongolia after it refused
to cancel the visit of Dalai
Lama to the Buddhist
majority country.
• The Army said the 12th
“iteration of Indo-Mongolian
Joint Military Exercise
Nomadic Elephant is
presently under way at
Vairengte from 05 April 2017
till 18 April 2017.”
• Vairengte in Mizoram houses
the elite Counter-Insurgency
and Jungle Warfare School of
the Indian Army.
• It said the exercise was
aimed at training the troops
in counter insurgency &
counter terrorism operations
under the United Nations
mandate.
• India-Mongolia relations
have been on an upswing in
recent years, with the latter
turning to New Delhi in

December 2016 for help after
China hiked transit tariffs on
Mongolian trucks, as part of
its action to protest Dalai
Lama’s visit to Mongolia.
• Prime Minister Narendra
Modi during his visit to
Mongolia in May 2015 had
extended a credit line of $1
billion to Mongolia.
• The India-Mongolian bilateral
ties have been growing
against the backdrop of the
communist country’s growing
influence, and New Delhi’s
efforts to find a balance.
• The Indo-Mongolian military
exercise is taking place just
about 800 kilometers away
from Tawang—second
highest seat of Tibetan
Buddhism and home to a
historic monastery.
• On China’s insistence that the
next Dalai Lama be born in
China, he said his followers
will decide whether the
tradition continues or not, or
if his successor should be a
woman.
Forest Advisory Committee
imposed conditions on Ken-
Betwa interlinking
• India’s apex forest advisory
body has imposed tough
conditions on the Ken-Betwa
river interlinking project.
• Given the ecological and
environmental impact posed
by the project, it had to pass
multiple authorities for
clearance. A forest advisory
clearance was seen to be the
last step before the project
was to begin.
• The Forest Advisory
Committee, apex
http://www.iasexamportal.com
environment ministry
authority that clears requests
for diverting forest land for
projects, usually rejects or
recommends a proposal,
sometimes with conditions,
for the diversion of forest
land.
PM wants to provide quality and
• FAC has refrained from
affordable healthcare
explicitly giving its opinion
either way and only
seconded an earlier sub-
committee’s report that had
cleared the project subject
to strict caveats.
• Rs. 18,000 crore river
interlinking project requires
4,141 hectares of forest in the
heart of Panna Tiger reserve,
and some more besides, to
build a dam and a 230-km
canal to transfer water to
several drought-afflicted
villages in Bundelkhand.
• As compensation for the
pristine tiger habitat that
would be inundated by the
project, the Water Ministry
had agreed to acquire about
8,000 hectares of forest land
from the Madhya Pradesh
government and revive them
as forest.
• But the FAC said this land
was not good enough as it
was fragmented, and, to
meaningfully revive a forest
that is part of tiger habitat,
the land acquired ought to be
contiguous.
• This would require,
according to the FAC,
“revenue lands/non-forest
lands by way of purchase or
otherwise by the project
proponents and the
government”.
• While a State can relatively
National Issues
allocate forest land for
Central projects, transferring
private or revenue land is
harder, time-consuming and
costly. The FAC has also
asked for the project’s main
canal to be re-aligned.
• Prime Minister Narendra
Modi said his government
was leaving no stone
unturned in providing quality
healthcare that was
accessible and affordable.
• The Health Ministry had
launched free drugs and
diagnostics initiative to make
healthcare affordable while
undertaking a universal health
screening in 100 districts for
hypertension, diabetes and
breast, cervical and oral
cancers.
• The World Health
Organisation is focussing on
depression this year to raise
awareness on World Health
Day.
• According to WHO, suicide
is the leading cause of death
among young people
(between 20-40 age-group) in
India along with adolescents
(15-19 years).
• India recently passed the
long-awaited Mental
Healthcare Bill,
decriminalising suicide and
guaranteeing the rights to
better healthcare for people
with mental illness.
• The Bill also has the provision
of a special clause for
women and children related
to admission, treatment,
sanitation and personal
31
National Issues
hygiene; restriction on use of
Electro-Convulsive Therapy.
IVRI in Bareilly in the process
of collecting DNA samples of all
wild animals
• North India is all set to get
its first DNA bank for wildlife.
Scientists at the Indian
Veterinary Research Institute
(IVRI) in Bareilly are in the
process of collecting DNA
samples of all wild animals
to set up the bank.
• It is expected to help in
research and also in bringing
down poaching. At present,
the Laboratory for the
Conservation of Endangered
Species (LaCONES) in
Hyderabad is the only such
facility in the country.
• So far, the scientists have
collected 140 samples of 25
wild animals. The DNA bank
is expected to start this year-
end.
• It took one year for the IVRI
to collect the DNA samples
of animals such as tigers,
leopards, lions, elephants,
TRAI asked Reliance jio to
rhinos and deer, which are
withdraw summer surprise
on the radar of poachers.
offer
Fact checking tag by google to
fight fake news
• Google is adding a fact-
checking tag to search results
globally, its latest initiative
to help curb the spread of
misinformation and “fake
news,” the company said.
• The new tags, to be used in
all languages for users
worldwide, will use third-
party fact-checkers to
indicate whether news items
are true, false or somewhere
32
in-between.
• The information won’t be
available for every search
result, and there may be
conflicting conclusions in
some cases, Google said in
the blog post.
• Google has worked with 115
fact-checking groups
worldwide for the initiative,
which began last year.
• People who search for a
topic in Google’s main
search engine or the Google
News section will see a
conclusion such as “mostly
true” or “false” next to stories
that have been fact checked.
• The move came a day after
Facebook added a new tool
in news feeds to help users
determine whether shared
stories are real or bogus.
• Fake news became a serious
issue in last year’s U.S.
election campaign, when
clearly fraudulent stories
circulated on social media,
potentially swaying some
voters.
• Reliance Jio decided to
withdraw its ‘Jio Summer
Surprise’ offer after the
Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI)
advised the Mukesh Ambani-
led firm to withdraw the
three-month ‘complimentary’
offer.
• On March 31, Reliance Jio,
which was expected to
charge for its services from
April 1, 2017, extended the
deadline for buying Jio’s Rs.
303 plan until April 15, 2017.
• Subscribers who bought the
Rs. 99 Prime membership till
April 15, 2017, with a plan of
Rs. 303 or higher, were
eligible for the ‘Jio Summer
Surprise’ offer and its
subscribers were entitled to
get free services for three
months, starting April 15.
• Customers who have
subscribed to the offer prior
to its discontinuation will
remain eligible for the offer.
• Jio, through its free offers
since September 5, 2016, has
notched up more than 100
million subscribers, of which
72 million were willing to
pay for Jio services as of
March 31, as they become
‘Prime’ customers.
• After the extension, existing
players such as Bharti Airtel
and Idea Cellular moved the
telecom tribunal against TRAI
for letting Jio continue the
free promotional offer
beyond the stipulated 90
days.
• The arrival of Reliance Jio
was followed by a
consolidation in the industry,
even as it spurred a fall in
profits for incumbent
operators.
• In March, Idea Cellular
merged with the Indian unit
of Vodafone Plc, making the
entity India’s largest mobile
telephony and data service
provider.
• Earlier, in February, Bharti
Airtel bought the assets of
Telenor ASA’s India unit
while in September last year
Anil Ambani-led Reliance
Communications decided to
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merge with Aircel.
• The Cellular Operators
Association of India had said
the current tariff war in the
market may not be
“sustainable for long.”
West Bengal government is not
yet on board on sharing of
Teesta waters
• The West Bengal government
About 6.4 million deaths
is not yet fully on board on
worldwide was caused by
sharing of Teesta waters with
smoking in 2015
Bangladesh.
• India remained committed to
dialogue on Teesta with
Bangladesh, but indicated
that the high point of the visit
of Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina from April 7 to 10 is
likely to be defence and
security agreements.
• Sheikh Hasina was likely to
hold talks with West Bengal
CM during a special
reception to be hosted by
President Pranab Mukherjee
at which the Chief Ministers
of other States bordering
Bangladesh have also been
invited.
• The visit, which is expected
to see 20 government-level
agreements, is likely to be
dominated by the bilateral
defence pacts, which will
address Bangladesh’s needs.
• A second agreement for $500
million will also be
concluded to assist
Bangladesh to source some
of its military-grade
equipment from India. A
special MOU on training of
Bangladesh military
personnel is also included
on the agenda.
• India’s support for the
http://www.iasexamportal.com
Ruppur nuclear power
project of Bangladesh and
joint efforts to counter
radicalism in Bangladesh
would be other key areas
during the bilateral talks.
• India will also conclude a
framework agreement on
civil nuclear cooperation
with Bangladesh.
• A study has found that
smoking caused one in ten
deaths worldwide in 2015,
half of them in just four
countries: China, India, the
United States and Russia.
• About 6.4 million deaths
worldwide was caused by
smoking in 2015 and 52.2%
of them took place in China,
India, U.S. and Russia,
according to the latest
estimates in the Global
Burden of Disease (GBD)
report.
• China, India, and Indonesia,
the three leading countries
with male smokers,
accounted for 51•4% of the
world’s male smokers in
2015. India has 11•2% of the
world’s total smokers.
• Deaths attributable to
smoking increased by 4.7%
in 2015 from the figures in
1990 and smoking was rated
as a bigger burden on health
— moving from the third to
the second highest cause of
disability, the study said.
• The estimates are based on
smoking habits in 195
countries and territories
between 1990 and 2015.
National Issues
• While Indonesia, Bangladesh
and the Philippines did not
have significant reductions in
the numbers of men smoking
daily compared to 1990
figures, the Philippines,
Germany, and India had no
significant decreases in
smoking among women for
the same period.
• Worldwide, between 1990
and 2015, smoking
prevalence decreased by
almost a third — from 29.4%
to 15.3%. But one in four men
worldwide continue to
smoke, as do one in 20
women.
• Population growth has led to
an increase in the overall
number of smokers from
870.4 million in 1990 to 933.1
million in 2015, the study
said.
• The study said Pakistan,
Panama and India stand out
as three countries that have
implemented a large number
of tobacco control policies
over the past decade and
recorded marked declines in
the prevalence of daily
smoking.
• The study said the Framework
Convention on Tobacco
Control (FCTC), is necessary
and vital for creating policy
environment for more
effective tobacco control
worldwide but is not enough
to fully address each
country’s tobacco-control
needs.
• The nations will need to both
implement FCTC-stipulated
measures and supplement
such policies and
programmes.
33
National Issues
Department of Science and
Technology initiated Cyber
Physical Systems programme
• With autonomous vehicles
and robot-executed surgeries
becoming commonplace
around the world, the
Department of Science and
Technology (DST) has
initiated a Cyber Physical
Systems (CPS) programme.
• Still at a nascent stage, it has
been conceived as a Rs.
3,000-crore exercise that
would, at first, take root in
some of the Indian Institutes
of Technology (IITs),
according to officials
familiar with the project.
• An initial budget of Rs. 100
crore has been earmarked for
the project in the current
financial year.
• CPS is an interdisciplinary
field that deals with the
deployment of computer-
based systems that do things
in the physical world, such
as, for instance, the self-
driven cars produced by
Google and Tesla.
• However, even smart grids as
well as autonomous
unmanned vehicles and
aircraft navigation systems
qualify as ‘cyber physical
systems.’
• Prime Minister Narendra
Modi had referred to cyber
physical systems earlier this
year at the Indian Science
Congress in Tirupati.
• Pointing out that it was an
“important area that needed
to be addressed,” he had
noted that it had the
“potential to pose
unprecedented challenges
and stresses to our
demographic dividend.”
• Though India is only now
developing a programme on
CPS, the National Science
Foundation of the United
States had identified it as a
key area of inter-disciplinary
research back in 2003.
Four Bills essential for the
rollout of the Goods and
Services Tax paased
• The Rajya Sabha passed four
Bills essential for the rollout
Kirti Chakra posthumously
of the Goods and Services
conferred on Lance Havildar
Tax, the deadline for which
Prem Bahadur
is July 1. The Lok Sabha had
passed these Bills on March
29.
• One more piece of
legislation, the State GST
Bill, will have to be passed
by the legislative assemblies
of States and Union
Territories with legislature.
• The passage of the Central
GST Bill, Integrated GST Bill,
GST Compensation Bill, and
the Union Territory GST Bills
followed a two-day debate in
the Rajya Sabha.
• Opposition leaders raised
several objections to the
Bills, many of which were
China says visit of Dalai Lama
similar to those raised in the
severely damaged ties
Lok Sabha. These included
disempowerment of
Parliament in setting tax rates
and the reason behind
several tax rates.
• The Finance Minister,
however, pointed out the
importance of consensus
when it comes to the
suggestions of the GST
Council.
• Mr. Jaitley had said that the
consequences of not acting
on the GST Council’s
recommendations would
render the implementation of
GST very difficult if not
impossible.
• The Finance Minister, during
his speech in the Upper
House, also explained the
need for multiple rates in the
GST structure since luxury
items and items of public
good and necessities cannot
be taxed under the same rate.
• Kirti Chakra, the second
highest peacetime gallantry
award, was posthumously
conferred on Lance Havildar
Prem Bahadur Resmi Magar
of Gorkha Rifles by President
Pranab Mukherjee at the
defence investiture
ceremony.
• The late Lance Havildar
eliminated four terrorists
during an operation in
Jammu and Kashmir on June
16 last year.
• Mr. Mukherjee also presented
13 Shaurya Chakras.
• The row between India and
China on the visit of the Dalai
Lama to Arunachal Pradesh
spiralled, with the Chinese
Foreign Ministry asserting
that the Tibetan leader’s visit
to the State “will escalate the
dispute in border areas.”
• China also lodged a protest

34 http://www.iasexamportal.com

with India’s Ambassador in
Beijing Vijay Gokhale.
• China’s Foreign Ministry
spokesperson HuaChunying
stressed, in response to a
question at her regular
briefing, that the Dalai Lama’s
visit had “severely damaged”
Sino-Indian ties.
• “India is keenly aware of the
role of the 14th Dalai Lama.
Arranging this visit to the
9 out of every 10 children aged
disputed areas not only runs
6-23 do not get an adequate diet
counter to India’s
in Bihar and Jharkhand
commitments on Tibet but
will escalate the dispute in
border areas,” she observed.
• According to her, India had
acted “obstinately” by green-
lighting the visit, despite
repeated Chinese
protests.Arunachal Pradesh is
at the heart of the Sino-Indian
boundary dispute in the
eastern sector.
• The dispute in this zone is
over territory south of the
McMahon Line in Arunachal
Pradesh, which includes
Tawang — which is on the
Dalai Lama’s itinerary. The
McMahon Line was the result
of the 1914 Simla
Convention, between British
India and Tibet, and was
rejected by China.
Govt clarified on deposits and
withdrawal limits
• The Rs. 2 lakh cap on cash
transactions will not apply
to deposits in and
withdrawals from banks, the
government clarified, adding
that capital expenditure of
more than Rs. 10,000 will not
be eligible for depreciation
allowance.
http://www.iasexamportal.com
• “that no person… shall
receive two lakh rupees or
more, (a) in aggregate from
a person in a day; (b) in one
transaction; or (c) in
transactions relating to one
event or occasion from a
person, otherwise than by an
account payee cheque or
draft or through a bank
account,” a statement said.
• In Bihar and Jharkhand, nine
out of every 10 children aged
6-23 do not get an adequate
diet. The nutrition and health
status of children in these
two States has been found to
be “critically low” in
comparison to the national
standard.
• According to NFHS-4, 2015-
16 data, only 7.5% and 7.2%
of children in Bihar and
Jharkhand respectively in
this age group receive an
adequate diet, according to
a trend analysis of the NFHS-
4 data released by the NGO,
Child Rights and You (CRY).
• CRY’s findings indicate that
inadequate provision of
quality antenatal care, and
the States’ failure to address
the special nutritional
requirements of expecting
and lactating mothers are
Govt wants BC commission to
negatively affecting child
get constitutional status
health.
• The NFHS-4 data on child-
feeding practices and the
nutritional status of children
further suggest that almost
two-thirds of children under
the age of 3 years in these
National Issues
two States are not breastfed
within the first hour of birth.
• The analysis also observed
that almost two-thirds of
children (63.5% in Bihar and
69.9% in Jharkhand) aged 6-
59 months were suffering
from acute anaemia.
• The prevalence of anaemia
among a high percentage of
pregnant women in the age-
group of 15-49 years (62.6%
in Jharkhand and 58.3% in
Bihar) further indicates that
juvenile anaemia is merely a
manifestation of the
malnutrition-cycle
transmitted through
generations, thereby
extending the legacy of
under-nutrition.
• Further, the data on maternal
health also revealed that only
9% of pregnant women in
Bihar and 15% of pregnant
women in Jharkhand
consumed iron and folic acid
supplements for hundred
days or more during
pregnancy.
• On the positive side, both
Bihar and Jharkhand have
done well in several child
health and nutrition
indicators such as
institutional delivery,
immunisation, and treatment
of critical childhood
diseases.
• The Union government
introduced a new Bill in the
Lok Sabha that seeks to
accord constitutional status
to the Backward Classes
Commission, which now has
35
National Issues
only statutory powers.
• This will bring the body,
which looks after the
interests of Other Backward
Classes, on a par with that of
the Scheduled Castes and
Tribes Commission, and give
powers to Parliament to
designate castes as OBCs.
• The proposed commission
will have a chairperson, vice-
chairperson and three other
members and will hear the
grievances of socially and
educationally backward
classes, a function
discharged so far by the
Scheduled Castes
commission.
• At present, the functions of
the commission are limited to
examining the requests for
inclusion of any class of
citizens as a backward class
and hear complaints of over-
inclusion or under-inclusion
of any backward class in the
existing quota and advise the
Central government.
• The Bill will require the
support of two-thirds of the
members of the House for its
passage.The Cabinet gave its
nod to the formation of the
new commission in a meeting
headed by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.
India says it has sovereignty
over Gilgit-Baltistan region
New guidelines for accreditation
• Responding to reports of a
of 30 lakh NGOs handed over to
Pakistani move to declare
SC
Gilgit-Baltistan its new
province, India asserted its
territorial sovereignty over
the region.
• Responding to questions in
the Lok Sabha, External
36
Affairs Minister Sushma
Swaraj said India would not
part with any part of its
territory.
• Ms. Swaraj recalled that both
Houses of Parliament had
passed resolutions which
reiterated India’s claims over
Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir
and GilgitBaltistan and the
government was bound by it.
• Ms. Swaraj said India had
been opposed to such a
move and had communicated
its objection to Pakistan soon
after the news became
known.
• India had remarked on the
issue on March 16 after a
special committee of the
Pakistan government had
suggested turning Gilgit-
Baltistan into a province.
• The position of the
government regarding
Jammu and Kashmir is well
known. The entire State of
Jammu and Kashmir acceded
to India in 1947. It has been,
is and will always be an
integral part of India.
• A part of Jammu and Kashmir
has been under illegal
occupation of Pakistan. Any
Union govt says Dalai lama’s
unilateral step by Pakistan to
visit is only religious
alter the status of that part
will have no basis in law and
will be completely
unacceptable.
• The Centre handed over to
the Supreme Court the new
guidelines framed for
accreditation of nearly 30
lakh NGOs and voluntary
http://www.iasexamportal.com
organisations (VOs) in the
country.
• A Bench of Chief Justice J.S.
Khehar and Justice D.Y.
Chandrachud was informed
that the Ministry of Rural
Development framed the
accreditation guidelines to
regulate “manner in which the
VOs/NGOs, which are
recipient of grants, would
maintain their account.”
• According to the guidelines,
NITI Aayog has been
appointed as the nodal
agency for the purpose of
registration and
accreditation of VOs/NGOs
seeking funding from the
Government of India.
• The Aayog has been also
tasked with maintaining of
database systems to manage
and disseminate information
relating to NGOs/VOs.
• The existing portal at NITI
Aayog (NGO-Darpan) shall
be strengthened and aligned
with accreditation-like
functions which should also
provide a snapshot of the
NGO with regard to its
ongoing and past work.
• As China stepped up its
protest against the Dalai
Lama’s visit to Arunachal
Pradesh, the Union
government fielded Minister
of State for Home KirenRijiju
to make India’s stand clear.
• Mr. Rijiju saidthat the visit of
the Tibetan spiritual leader
was “purely religious” and
“China shouldn’t interfere in
India’s internal matters.”

• China has objected to the
Dalai Lama’s visit because
Beijing considers Arunachal
Pradesh its territory and has
referred to the Dalai Lama as
“separatist leader.”
• The Dalai Lama is on a week-
long tour of Arunachal
Pradesh, where he will hold
religious discourses in
Tawang, Bomdila and other
areas.
• He will also consecrate a
gompa (Buddhist place of
learning) at Nafra, Mr. Rijiju’s
native village.
• The Ministry of External
Affairs has said the Dalai
Lama has visited the State on
six earlier occasions, from
1983 to 2009, and “no
artificial controversy should
be created over his present
visit.”
• The government has said on
several occasions that the
Dalai Lama is respected as a
religious leader by the Indian
people.
• He said he had accompanied
the Dalai Lama during his
visit to the State in 2009, and
then too, China protested
vociferously.
Uttar Pradesh govt waived off
loan worth rupees 31 thousand
crores
• Taking a major step towards
fulfilling its poll promises,
the Yogi Adityanath
government in Uttar Pradesh
on Tuesday announced the
India rules out third party
waiver of farm loans worth
interference in Indo-Pak
Rs. 30, 729 crore. Loans up
relations
to Rs. 1 lakh will be waived.
• The government will also
write off loans of around Rs.
http://www.iasexamportal.com
6,000 crore given to seven
lakh small and marginalised
farmers which have turned
into non-performing assets.
• The double decision will
benefit over 86 lakh small
and marginalised farmers in
the State who took loans until
March 31, 2016. The total
cost to the State exchequer
would amount to Rs. 36,000
crore.
• The decisions were passed in
the first cabinet meeting
called by the Chief Minister
after he assumed office two
weeks ago.
• The decisions are expected
to be passed in the Budget
Session. Mr Singh described
the first cabinet meeting as
the “beginning of the Sankalp
Patr agenda implementation.”
• The government also said all
farmers having up to five
acres of land will be counted
as small farmers while those
with 2.5 acres will be
categorized as marginalised
farmers.
• The State will also set up
5,000 centres for wheat
procurement and will start
purchasing 40 lakh metric
tonnes of wheat at Rs. 10
more than the minimum
support price per quintal.
• The government will directly
purchase the wheat on the
basis of their Aadhaar cards
without the involvement of
middlemen.
• U.S. President Donald Trump
might take a proactive
National Issues
interest in de-escalating
tensions between India and
Pakistan, U.S. Ambassador to
the U.N. Nikki Haley has said.
• “It’s absolutely right that this
administration is concerned
about the relationship
between India and Pakistan
and very much wants to see
how we de-escalate any sort
of conflict going forward,”
she said in response to a
question.
• In response, External Affairs
Ministry said, “Government’s
position for bilateral
redressal of all India-
Pakistan issues in an
environment free of terror
and violence hasn’t changed.
• We, of course, expect
international community and
organisations to enforce
international mechanisms
and mandates concerning
terrorism emanating from
Pakistan.”
• India has always rejected
third party intervention in
India-Pakistan relations, but
U.S. has been a constant
factor between the countries.
• The U.S. pushes India to
continue peace talks with
Pakistan while it pushes
Pakistan to take more
effective measures against
terrorism.
• Concerns of nuclear
terrorism added a new
dimension to the American
interest in India-Pakistan
conflict in recent years.
• Mr. Trump has offered to
mediate between the two
countries if both wanted,
which is closer to the existing
U.S. position. Mike Pence
37
National Issues
was more upfront while he
was Vice President-elect in
December.
• Any reversal of the existing
U.S. policy of non-
interference will be
counterproductive, said
Aparna Pande, Director,
Initiative on the Future of
India and South Asia at
Hudson Institute in
Washington.
Indian youth is becoming
modern in appearance but less
modern in their thoughts
• Indian youth are certainly
becoming more modern in
their appearance and
consumption habits, “but
their thoughts and views
reflect a troubling inclination
towards intolerance and
conservatism”, says a
national survey.
• The survey, jointly conducted
by the Centre for the Study
of Developing Societies,
Konrad Adenauer Stiftung
and Lokniti, covered 6,122
respondents in the age group
of 15-34. It was carried out
in April-May 2016 in 19
States.
• Among the respondents, 49%
were in favour of the death
penalty, while only 33% felt
that it should be abolished.
• An overwhelming 60%,
cutting across religions,
believed that films which hurt
religious sentiments should
be banned, with only 23%
opposed to such bans.
• On the lately contentious
subject of beef consumption,
46% disagreed with the
liberal sentiment that
38
“consumption of beef is part
of personal eating habits and
nobody should have an
objection”, while only 36%
agreed with it.
• However, 40% of non-
vegetarian Hindu youth and
90% of Left supporters had
no problem with beef
consumption.
• At the same time, the survey
also found the majority of
Indian youth (58%) to be non-
vegetarian, while 30% and
9% described themselves as
pure vegetarians and
“eggitarians” respectively.
IISc has been rated as the top
• The illiberal orientation was
higher educational institution of
further underscored in the
India
domain of interpersonal
relations, with 67% of the
youth opposed to live-in
relationships.
• On the question of inter-
religious marriages, 45%
were opposed to them, while
only 28% were in support.
The majority of the
respondents (51%) agreed
with the proposition that
“wives should always listen
to their husbands”.
• While acceptance for the
idea of inter-caste marriage
had risen, from 31% in 2007
to 55% in 2016, the reported
incidence of inter-caste
marriages among
respondents was only 4%.
• Over 84% of the married
youth had had an arranged
marriage, compared to the
6% that reported a love
marriage.
• While one-third of those with
a love marriage had married
outside their caste, 97% of
arranged marriages were
http://www.iasexamportal.com
found to be within caste.
• Arranged marriage was also
the preference among the
unmarried, with 50% saying
they would like their parents
to take the decision
regarding their life partner.
Only 12% expressed a
preference for love marriage.
• The survey also found Indian
youth to be quite religious,
with 78% of the respondents
stating that they prayed
often, while 68% reported
going to a place of religious
worship frequently.
• The Indian Institute of
Science, Bengaluru, has been
rated as the top higher
educational institution of
India across disciplines, as
per the first-ever overall
ranking of institutions
released by the Centre.
• The seven top IITs,
Jawaharlal Nehru University
(JNU) and Benaras Hindu
University (BHU) figure in the
top 10 among the 2,995
institutions that participated
in the National Institutional
Ranking Framework (NIRF),
2017.
• IIT-Madras ranks second,
while JNU ranks sixth in the
all-India list. Releasing the
rankings, Human Resource
Development Minister
Prakash Javadekar said the
government would give more
grants to the institutions
ranked higher.
• However, the elite Indian
Institutes of Management

have not performed too well,
with IIM-Ahmedabad, the top
business school, standing
17th in the list. All other IIMs
rank below 20.
• There are separate lists
within disciplines for
engineering, management
and pharmacy, and for
universities and colleges.
Besides the loss of revenue
lakhs of people could loose job
due to SC order
• Besides loss of revenue to
the Haryana exchequer
running into several hundred
crores, more than 50,000
people could lose their jobs
in the face of the ban on bars
and pubs along national and
state highways.
• Hotel and Restaurant
Association of Haryana
president Manbeer
Choudhary expressed
apprehension that the
Haryana government could
lose around 20% of its Rs.
5,200 crore excise revenue in
the current financial year due
to the order.
• The State hospitality industry
hasn’t resorted to layoffs yet,
over 50,000 people could
lose their jobs with bars
losing business.
• Of the 478 bars in Haryana,
194 are expected to be
affected by the Supreme
Court order, according to
Haryana government
sources. Most of the affected
bars are located in Gurugram
(106), followed by
Faridabad(14) and Ambala
(8).
• On the dispute over
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measurement of distance
from highways, Mr. Kaushal
said aggrieved parties can
approach the committee
constituted at the district
level.
• If they aren’t satisfied with
the resolution, they can write
to the Excise and Taxation
Commissioner or give a
representation to the
government, he said.
Six DU colleges made it to the
list of top 10 educational
institutions
• Six Delhi University (DU)
colleges made it to the list
of top 10 educational
institutions released under
the National Institutional
Ranking Framework (NIRF).
• While Miranda House was
ranked the best college in the
country, SRCC, which has
consistently done well in
ranking surveys, came in
third best and Lady Shri Ram
College was adjudged the
sixth best in the country.
• While St. Stephen’s College
and Hindu College did not
even figure in the list, Atma
Ram Sanatan Dharma College
on South Campus was ranked
the fifth best college in the
country, finishing above Lady
Shri Ram College.
A global alliance of tech
industry to fight fake news
• A global alliance of tech
industry and academic
organisations unveiled plans
to work together to combat
the spread of “fake news” and
improve public
understanding of journalism.
National Issues
• The News Integrity Initiative
will launch with $14 million
from Facebook, the Ford
Foundation, Mozilla and
others, based at the City
University of New York’s
journalism school, which will
coordinate research,
projects and events.
• Fake news became a serious
issue in the U.S. election
campaign, when clearly
fraudulent stories circulated
on social media, potentially
swaying some voters.
• Concerns have been raised
since then about hoaxes and
misinformation affecting
elections in Europe, with
investigations showing how
“click farms” generate
revenue from online
advertising using made-up
news stories.
• Facebook and Google have
stepped up efforts to root out
misinformation, Mr. Jarvis
said, adding that helping the
public understand the
difference between
fraudulent news and serious
journalism will constitute an
important element of the
effort.
• The initiative’s mission is “to
advance news literacy, to
increase trust in journalism
around the world and to
better inform the public
conversation,” a statement
said.
• Facebook and Google have
already taken steps to cut off
advertising revenues to news
sites promoting
misinformation.
• Facebook has also ramped
up efforts to flag news stories
39
National Issues
that may be false, and has
launched a “journalism
Centre has sought public
project” that aims to support
opinion on proposed
the news ecosystem.
amendments to RTI Act
• In February, a group of 37
French and international
media outlets, supported by
Google, began “CrossCheck”
a fact-checking platform
aimed at detecting fake
information that could affect
the French presidential
election.
Defence Acquisition Council
approved the purchase of Barak
• The Defence Acquisition
Council (DAC) of the Defence
Ministry approved the
purchase of Barak surface-to-
air missiles (SAM) for the
Navy among other proposals
estimated at Rs. 860 crore.
• Israeli-built Barak short-range
SAMs are installed on most
of the front-line warships,
including the aircraft carrier
INS Vikramaditya .
• The new missiles are urgently
needed to replace the current
ones which have completed
their shelf life.
• Procurement of Barak
missiles was approved with
a categorisation of “Buy
Global” under the option
clause from Rafael Advanced
Defense Systems Ltd.
• The other deals include
procurement of expendable
Bathy thermograph systems
for the Navy to detect
temperature changes under
water through the foreign
military sales route from the
U.S. and procurement of
PM made appeal to Kashmiri
equipment to counter mines
youth to leave terrorism
in the sea, a repeat order,
40
worth Rs. 311 crore.
• The Centre has sought public
opinion on proposed
amendments to the Right to
Information Act, with respect
to the powers of the Central
Information Commission
(CIC), filing of applications,
complaints and appeals.
• The suggestions have to be
submitted to the Department
of Personnel and Training by
April 15.
• An amendment proposes that
an applicant can file
complaints within 135 days
of filing the application under
the Act, and in case of delay
a request for condonation
will also have to be filed.
• There is another provision
empowering the CIC to
convert a complaint into a
second appeal.
• Thus, as proposed, it can
order the disclosure of
information on a complaint.
The Commission can also
allow an amendment to the
complaint during the hearing,
if other remedies have been
exhausted.
• Also, as suggested, the CIC
has been given the power to
decide if an appeal or a
complaint can be withdrawn
on the applicant’s request.
However, once the issue has
been decided, the
withdrawal will not be
allowed.
• Inaugurating the country’s
longest tunnel of 9.28 km in
Jammu, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi asked
Kashmiri youth to make a
choice between tourism and
terrorism.
• “Kashmiri youths have two
options, tourism and
terrorism. For 40 years,
terrorism gave you nothing
but bloodshed, deaths and
destruction. Had you chosen
tourism, the world would
have been at Kashmir’s feet,”
said Mr. Modi.
• Built at a cost of Rs. 3.720
crore, the all-weather tunnel
is an engineering feat, and
will reduce the travel time
between Srinagar and Jammu
by two hours and bypass
several treacherous and
landslide prone areas.
• The Prime Minister said every
Indian dreams of visiting
Kashmir. “More the tourists,
the better it will be for the
economy. The entire country
is with Jammu and Kashmir
if tourism is the focus,” he
stressed.
• Mr. Modi said, “I want to tell
the Kashmiri youth what
actually is the power of
stones. On one side, youth in
Kashmir throw stone. On the
other, people are giving their
blood and sweat, cutting
rocks for Kashmir's
development.”
• Describing the tunnel as “a
big leap for J&K’s
development,” Mr. Modi said
it would be a boon for
Kashmir's farmers and fruit
growers, whose produce will
reach Delhi quickly without
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spoiling.
• He said the tunnel will be
discussed not only in India
but also by climate activists
in the world. “We have
worked to safeguard the
Himayalas and the
environment,” said Mr. Modi.
• J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba
Mufti described Mr. Modi a
“courageous leader” and
pushed for the initiation of a
dialogue.
Election commission says
EVM’s are temper proof
• Asking the Aam Aadmi Party
to introspect on why it did
not perform as expected in
the Punjab Assembly polls,
the Election Commission said
the only alternative for
verification of the results
was to file a petition before
the High Court.
• It reiterated that the
electronic voting machines
(EVMs) were tamper-proof.
• It cited Rule 93 of the Conduct
of Elections Rules, 1961, to
say: “You are informed that
after declaration of result,
only alternative available to
verify the data of votes cast
is to file an Election Petition
before the High Court
concerned.”
• The rule states that while in
the custody of the district
election officer or the
returning officer, all the vital
documents related to the
The government will soon
elections cannot be opened
launch the electoral bonds
by any person or authority,
scheme
except under the order of a
competent court.
• The Commission said the
Supreme Court had never
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expressed any doubt on use
of EVMs in the election
process, strongly objecting
to “wrong and imaginary
exploration” of the Court
order.
• Dismissing the allegations of
EVM tampering, the EC said
various High Courts had also
unequivocally reiterated that,
given the effective technical
and administrative
safeguards, the voting
machines could not be
tampered and integrity of the
electoral process was fully
preserved.
• On AAP’s contention that
some foreign countries had
stopped using EVMs, the EC
said such comparisons were
both misplaced and
misguided as those used by
EC were stand-alone
machines.
• The EC said nothing could be
written on the chip after
manufacturing and so, the
machines used in India were
fundamentally different from
those adopted in various
foreign countries.
• As regards the use of Voter
Verifiable Paper Audit Trail
(VVPAT) machines for further
transparency and
verifiability, the Commission
said they would be deployed
in a phased manner given the
financial constraints and
production capacity.
• The government will soon
launch the electoral bonds
scheme to fund political
National Issues
parties as proposed in this
year’s Budget, Union Finance,
Defence and Corporate
Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley
said.
• The Minister said the
government had sought
suggestions from all parties
on the contours of the
scheme, including whether
such bonds should be issued
only during elections.
• Mr. Jaitley defended the
decision to lift the cap on
corporate funds to political
parties and said it was an
improvement from the
current situation, where
companies siphon funds
from their business activities
to fund parties with ‘unclean
money.’
• Till the 1970s and the early
80s, the bulk of political
funding in India used to come
from political workers going
from home-to-home, shop-to-
shop, cutting out vouchers
for small donations of Rs. 10,
Rs. 50 and Rs. 100.
• That amount now, because of
inflation, can
increase.Stressing that a
system where large parties
would get thousands and
millions of supporters giving
donations online would be
the cleanest way.
• Amendments to the Foreign
Contribution (Regulation
Act) made last year to
change rules that labelled an
Indian company as a foreign
source of funds if it had some
NRI or foreign shareholders.
• Now when sectoral caps
have been lifted in almost
every sector to 74% and
41
National Issues
100%, you won’t find ten
donors in India who won’t
get covered by that
definition.
• So, for instance, a telecom or
tobacco company doing
Election commission to buy
business in India — Indian
next-generation EVMs
company doing 100%
business in India, but within
the meaning of FCRA would
be debarred.
Centre to bring law for proper
maintenance of parents
• The government is mulling
bringing legislative changes
to remove the monthly
ceiling of Rs. 10,000 on the
maintenance paid by
children to parents and
introduce a rating mechanism
for organisations providing
home care services to the
elderly.
• If the proposed amendments
to the Maintenance and
Welfare of Parents and Senior
Citizens (MWPSC) Act come
through, the maintenance
amount to be decided by
senior citizen tribunals for
the neglected parents will
depend on their need and the
economic condition of their
children.
• At present, the maintenance
for a parent or senior citizen
that can be ordered by the
tribunal as payable by the
children or relative cannot be
more than Rs. 10,000 a
month.
• The MWPSC Act makes it a
legal obligation for children
and heirs to provide
maintenance to senior
citizens and parents.
• The Ministry also intends to
42
put in place a uniform
regulation and a rating
mechanism for organisations
providing home care
services to senior citizens.
• The Election Commission is
set to buy next-generation
EVMs that will become
“inoperable” the moment
attempts are made to tamper
with it.
• This move comes amid
claims by some parties that
the machines were tampered
Grassoline — a biofuel derived
with during the recent
from grass that could one day
Assembly polls.
power aircraft
• The M3-type EVMs are also
equipped with a self-
diagnostic system for
authentication of their
genuineness. These will come
with a public key interface-
based mutual authentication
system.
• Only a “genuine” EVM —
manufactured either by
Electronics Corporation Of
India Ltd. or Bharat
Electronics Ltd. — grass is the perfect source of
“communicates” with other
EVMs in the field. Any EVM
manufactured by other
companies would not be
able to do so.
• Around Rs. 1,940 crore
(excluding freight and taxes)
will be required to procure
the new machines, which are
likely to be introduced by
2018, a year before when the
next Lok Sabha elections, the
Law Ministry has said.
• The EC has decided to
replace 9,30,430 EVMs
purchased before 2006 as the
http://www.iasexamportal.com
older machines are nearing
their 15-year life cycle, he
said.
• On December 7, 2016, the
Union Cabinet had approved
a fresh tranche of Rs. 1,009
crore for the EC to buy new
EVMs so that it can phase out
the ageing ones before the
2019 Lok Sabha elections.
• The Cabinet had also
authorised the EC to vary the
quantity to be ordered on
BEL and ECIL based on their
production capacity and
performance.
• In the quest of more
sustainable energy sources,
scientists have developed
‘grassoline’ — a biofuel
derived from grass that could
one day power aircraft.
• Researchers investigated
methods that can
disintegrate and treat grass
until it can be used as a fuel.
“Due to its vast abundance,
energy,” said Way Cern Khor
from Ghent University in
Belgium.
• “Right now the amount of
biofuel that can be made
from grass is still limited to
a few drops. The current
process is very expensive,
and engines should be
adapted to this new kind of
fuel,” researchers said.
• “If we can keep working on
optimising this process in
cooperation with the
business world, we can come
down on the price. And

maybe in a few years we can
all fly on grass!” Khor said.
In a major crackdown, ED
conducted searches on 300 shell
companies
• In a major crackdown, the
Enforcement Directorate
conducted searches on 300
shell companies across 16
States on suspicion of large-
Parity between military officers
scale money laundering and
and their civilian counterparts
foreign exchange violations.
to come
• The premises of some
professionals, the “brains”
behind the operation of such
companies, were also
searched.
• The searches were
conducted at 110 locations in
Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai,
Kolkata and Hyderabad,
among other places.
• Some of the companies
searched were allegedly
involved in major money-
laundering cases related to
the former Maharashtra
Deputy CM Chhagan Bhujbal,
the Andhra Pradesh
Opposition leader Y.S. Jagan
Mohan Reddy.
• Galaxy Impex, Snowcity &
Co, B.K. Electro Tool
products, Green
International, Metal Tradus
and Horizon Trading were
the six firms searched.
Financial assistance of 3,000
crore from NDRF to Tamil Nadu
and Karnataka
• The Central government will
provide financial assistance
of around Rs. 3,000 crore
from the National Disaster
Response Fund (NDRF) to
Tamil Nadu and Karnataka
http://www.iasexamportal.com
for drought and cyclone
relief.
• “Based on approval of the
High Level Committee (HLC),
the Central government has
sanctioned Rs. 1,793 crore to
Tamil Nadu and Rs. 1,782
crore to Karnataka for
drought relief from NDRF,”
the statement said.
• The report of a government-
appointed committee is
expected to put an end to the
contentious issue of parity
between military officers and
their civilian counterparts in
the service headquarters.
• The three-member committee
China asked India to exercise
was appointed to look into
“restraint”
an order issued by the
Defence Ministry “reiterating”
the rank equation between
civilian officers and serving
military officers based on
duties and functional
responsibilities.
• By the order, a Principal
Director is equivalent to a
Major-General, a Director is
equivalent to a Brigadier and
a Joint Director to a colonel.
• This led to severe displeasure
in the services, which see the
order as effectively lowering
the status of their officers.
• Serving and retired military
officers have questioned the
order, citing past orders,
court orders and other
reports.
• One of the communications
sent to the panel said, “No
equivalence can be
established between
National Issues
commissioned officers
(Group A equivalence
service) and AFHD CS
Officers (Group B Service) as
no such precedence exists.”
• The letter suggested an
“unambiguous” functional
equivalence between
Lieutenant-Colonels and
Directors in the Central
government based on various
observations, gazette
notifications, court
judgments.
• By this, a Lieutenant-Colonel
or one of equivalent rank in
the Army is equal to a
Director, while a Colonel has
no civilian equivalent. A
Brigadier is equivalent to a
Principal Director.
• China asked India to exercise
“restraint” on its plan to link
the strategic border district
of Tawang in Arunachal
Pradesh with a railway
network, saying any
“unilateral action” might
“complicate” the unresolved
border issue.
• “China’s position on the
eastern section of China —
India boundary is consistent
and clear. At present, the two
sides are working to resolve
the territorial dispute through
negotiation and
consultation,” China said.
• The Centre has asked Minister
of State for Railways Manoj
Sinha and Minister of State
for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju,
who represents the Arunachal
West Lok Sabha constituency,
to explore the feasibility of
43
National Issues
a rail network.
• The two Ministers will tour
the State to study the viability
of connecting Tawang with
Bhalukpong, the last station
of the Railways on Assam,
and to start the final location
survey of a new broad gauge
line.
• Tawang, where the sixth
Dalai Lama was born in 1683,
is at the centre of Tibetan
Buddhism and a friction point
between India and China.
• China has in recent days
upped its rhetoric on claims
to Arunachal Pradesh, which
it says is Southern Tibet, and
even warned India of
“serious damage” to ties if
New Delhi allows the Dalai
Lama to visit the State next
week.
SC clarified its verdict on
making National and State
Highways liquor-free zones
• Supreme Court clarified that
its prohibition on the sale of
liquor within a distance of
500 metres from the outer
edge of these main
thoroughfares is not
restricted to liquor shops
alone but also includes other
larger establishments.
• The court said exempting
establishments other than
shops involved in sale of
liquor, which include bar-
attached hotels and beer
parlours dotting highways,
would amount to dilution of
the objective of its December
15 judgment.
• “The pernicious nature of the
sale of liquor along the
National and State Highways
44
cannot be ignored. Drunken
driving is a potent source of
fatalities and injuries in road
accidents.
• The Constitution preserves
and protects the right to life
as an over-arching
constitutional value,” the 32-
page clarification order
observed.
• The court said its duty to
protect public health and
safety clearly overrides the
interests of liquor traders.
• The December verdict had
directed the States and Union
Territories to stop the grant
of licences to establishments
located within 500 metres of
National and State Highways.
April 1, 2017 was fixed as the
date for phasing out existing
liquor licences.
Anti-Romeo squad in UP asked
to use only lawfull means
• The Uttar Pradesh police
were directed by the State
SC ordered to declare children
government to ensure that its
affected by HIV as a
anti-Romeo squads do not
‘disadvantaged group’
resort to blackening of the
face or “murga” position type
punishments in the name of
protecting women.
• The move by the government
comes amid outrage over the
way the squads have
punished loitering men on the
streets and a day after the
Allahabad High Court
directed it to ensure that
guidelines were followed by
the police teams.
• There should be no shaving
of heads, blackening of faces
or “murga pose” (a stress
position used as a corporal
punishment where sit-ups are
http://www.iasexamportal.com
done holding the ears), said
a senior official while listing
out the dos and don’ts.
• The fresh guidelines were
issued after the intervention
of Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath amid reports of
alleged harassment by anti-
Romeo squads.
• The Chief Minister has also
directed administrative and
police officials in districts to
regularly review the steps
being taken for women
security and inform senior
officials on a regular basis,
the official said.
• Stressing that his government
was firm on upholding the
security and dignity of
women, the CM said a State-
wide drive has been
launched to free public
places of anti-social
elements and check incidents
of eve-teasing and indecent
behaviour.
• Supreme Court ordered State
governments to consider
issuing a notification under
the Right to Education law,
declaring children living
with/affected by HIV as a
‘disadvantaged group’
• It will allow them to get
additional rights to help them
gain free and compulsory
education, a fundamental
right under the Constitution.
• A Bench of Chief Justice of
India J.S. Khehar and D.Y.
Chandrachud gave States four
weeks to issue the
notification under Section 2

(d) of The Right of Children • The court however noted that
to Free and Compulsory at least 11 States have already
Education Act of 2009. issued the notification.
• Act mandates the State • According to NACO
governments concerned to estimates in 2012-2013,
issue a notification that a around 20.9 lakh people
child belongs to a were living with HIV in 2011.
disadvantaged group based Children less than 15 years of
on reasons ranging from age account for seven
caste, social, cultural, percent (1.45 lakh) of all
linguistic, geographical, infections.
gender, etc.
Scientists found an unusual
• The Act makes education
approach of removing
compulsory for children
antibodies from the blood
between six and 14 years of
age. • Scientists have found that an
• The Bench ordered that those unusual approach of
States which are “unwilling” removing antibodies from the
to issue a notification under blood stream could reduce
Section 2 (d) should file an chronic infections, an
affidavit “explaining why advance that may help
they consider it unnecessary” humans in the fight against
to inform that children living drug resistant superbugs.
with HIV do not belong to a • Researchers from the
disadvantaged group. University of Birmingham and
http://www.iasexamportal.com
National Issues
Newcastle University in the
U.K. identified two patients
with bronchiectasis who
suffered with chronic
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
infections that were resistant
to many antibiotics.
• Bronchiectasis is a disease
that leads to permanent
enlargement of the airways in
the lung.
• Symptoms are debilitating
for patients, and typically
include a chronic cough,
shortness of breath, coughing
up blood, and chest pain.
Bronchiectasis often affects
patients beyond the age at
which lung transplantation is
possible.
• Chronic Pseudomonas
aeruginosa lung infections
commonly occur in patients
suffering from
bronchiectasis.
45
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International Issues

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES
UAE hardened military into • The forces merged together has prohibited parents from
Africa and elsewhere in the into a national military force choosing names like
Middle East that took part in the 1991 “Muhammad,” “Arafat” and
U.S.-led Gulf War that “Jihad” for their children.
• The United Arab Emirates is
expelled Iraqi forces • The ban, introduced this
better known for its
occupying Kuwait. month, as part of an effort to
skyscrapers and pampered
• The UAE sent troops to “curb religious fervour” in the
luxuries, but its small size
Kosovo as part of the NATO- western region of Xinjiang,
belies a quiet expansion of
led peacekeeping mission home to more than 10
its battle—hardened military
there starting in 1999, giving million Uighurs.
into Africa and elsewhere in
its forces valuable • The government considers
the Middle East.
experience. Xinjiang a hotbed of Islamic
• The seven-state federation
• Following the September 11, extremism, violence and
ranks as one of Washington’s
2001, attacks, it deployed separatist thought. But many
most prominent Arab allies in
special forces troops in Uighurs say the government’s
the fight against the Islamic
Afghanistan to support the strict limits on worship and
State group, hosting some
U.S.-led war against the speech are responsible for
5,000 American military
Taliban. Today, the UAE hosts tensions in the region.
personnel, fighter jets and
Western forces at its military • The list of names, a copy of
drones.
bases, including American which was provided to The
• But the practice gunfire
and French troops. New York Times by Uighur
echoing through the deserts
activists, is titled, “List of
near bases outside of Dubai Japanese Prime Minister
Banned Ethnic Minority
and recent military Shinzo Abe is to visit Moscow
Names.” It bans more than
demonstrations in the capital
• Japanese Prime Minister two dozen names, including
of Abu Dhabi show a country
Shinzo Abe is to visit “Mujahid” and “Medina.”
increasingly willing to flex its
Moscow to meet with • Rights advocates said the ban
own muscle amid its
Russian President Vladimir showed the lengths to which
suspicions about Iran.
Putin and pursue talks on the government would go to
• Already, the UAE has landed
joint economic projects limit the civil liberties of
expeditionary forces in
aimed at a possible Uighurs in the name of
Afghanistan and Yemen. Its
breakthrough in their fighting terrorism.
new overseas bases on the
decades-old island dispute.
African continent show this French presidential election to
• He will visit Britain next for
country. decide country's future
talks with Prime Minister
• The UAE, a federation of
Theresa May. • A pregnant silence enveloped
seven sheikhdoms, only
Paris, a day of quiet before
became a country in 1971. It China bans some muslim
the French people vote on
had been a British names in western China
Sunday in the first round of
protectorate for decades and
• The Chinese government, the presidential election.
several of the emirates had
further tightening its grip on • The city appeared to be
their own security forces.
Muslims in western China, quietly recovering from gun

46 http://www.iasexamportal.com

battle on Champs Elysees
and preparing for the poll.
Two of the 11 candidates will
make it to the May 7 run-off.
• The mood of the country with
its 10% unemployment rate,
disillusionment with the
political class and multiple
terrorist attacks, coupled
with the number of viable
candidates, has kept the first
round vote significantly more
open than it has been in
recent history.
• Francois Hollande, the sitting
President, facing single digit
approval ratings, decided
late last year not to run for
another term. By then, it was
too late for any candidate
from Mr. Hollande’s Socialist
party to consolidate the left’s
support.
• There are four serious
contenders in the race — Mr.
Macron, Ms. Le Pen, Mr.
Fillon and Mr. Melenchon.
Tougher requirements to gain
Mr. Macron, who is
citizenship of Australia
perceived as a “bit of left,
and a bit of right”, is,
according to polls, set to win
the run-off.
Madhesis declared that they
would participate in the
upcoming elections
• Marking a major shift in
strategy, agitators from
Nepal’s plains declared that
they would participate in the
upcoming elections if
Kathmandu addresses “some”
of the concerns about
constitutional amendments.
• This was discussed in a
meeting between the
Madhesi leaders and the
government of Prime Minister
http://www.iasexamportal.com
Pushpa Kamal Dahal
‘Prachanda’, even as five
political parties from
Nepal’s plains united to form
a single platform.
• The new shift is a significant
development in view of the
earlier Madhesi position on
boycotting the three-tier
elections to be held in Nepal.
• The discussion between two
sides that began is likely to
continue. There are
unconfirmed reports that a
high-level special envoy from
New Delhi has also reached
Kathmandu to assist the
negotiations.
• The unification of the
political parties took place
a few days after Nepal’s
Foreign Minister Prakash
Sharan Mahat said that the
Madhesi parties are
China wants India’s
unprepared to face the
participation in the Belt and
electorate.
Road connectivity initiative
• Canberra unveiled plans to
put “Australian values” at the
heart of tougher requirements
to gain citizenship, days
after scrapping a visa
programme for temporary
foreign workers.
• The moves came against a
background of growing
populist pressure and a
resurgence of the anti-
immigration One Nation
party led by Pauline Hanson.
• These fundamental values are
what make us Australian. Our
citizenship process should
reflect that.
• The new requirements
include competent English,
International Issues
belief in gender equality and
a four-year qualification
period.
• Candidates for citizenship
will be required to be
permanent residents for four
years against the current one-
year period. They will also
need to demonstrate a job
record and how they have
integrated into the local
community.
• The current “civics” test for
would-be Australians would
be expanded to include
issues such as domestic
violence, Immigration
Minister Peter Dutton said.
• Some 1,14,109 people sat the
Australian citizenship test in
2014-15, with 1,12,474
passing it, according to the
latest immigration figures.
• China reinforced its call for
India’s participation in the
Belt and Road connectivity
initiative, telling that the
China-Pakistan Economic
Corridor (CPEC), on which
India has its reservations,
was not linked to the Kashmir
issue.
• India has objected to the
CPEC as it passes through
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
But Mr. Wang said that
China’s stance on CPEC
projects “had no relationship
with the [Kashmir] dispute”.
• Mr. Wang pointed out that
China had even earlier taken
up projects, like the
Karakoram highway, in the
area. They, however, did not
47
International Issues
have any bearing on China’s
position on Kashmir.
• “I want to mention that the
CPEC is economic, and for
the purpose of serving
economic cooperation and
development. It has no direct
link with political or border
disputes.”
• Referring to the Bangladesh-
China-India-Myanmar (BCIM)
economic corridor — one of
the major economic
corridors China is planning in
its neighbourhood — Mr.
Wang said that the four
countries are ready to
advance it within the
framework of Belt and Road.
Turkish referendum gave
sweeping powers to President
• The referendum was seen as
crucial not just for shaping
Mother of all bombs did huge
the political system of Turkey
damage to the IS
but also the future strategic
direction of a nation that has
been a NATO member since
1952 and an EU hopeful for
half a century.
• The ‘Yes’ camp won 51.41%
in referendum and ‘No’
48.59, according to near-
complete results released by
the election authorities.
• Mr. Erdogan’s victory was far
tighter than expected,
emerging only after several
nail-biting hours late Sunday
which saw the ‘No’ result
dramatically catch up in the
later count.
• The new system is due to
come into effect after
elections in November 2019.
Turkish referendum gave
sweeping powers to President
48
• The referendum was seen as
crucial not just for shaping
the political system of Turkey
but also the future strategic
direction of a nation that has
been a NATO member since
1952 and an EU hopeful for
half a century.
• The ‘Yes’ camp won 51.41%
in referendum and ‘No’
48.59, according to near-
complete results released by
the election authorities.
• Mr. Erdogan’s victory was far
tighter than expected,
emerging only after several
nail-biting hours late Sunday
which saw the ‘No’ result
Russia vetoed a U.N. resolution
dramatically catch up in the
condeming Syria
later count.
• The new system is due to
come into effect after
elections in November 2019.
• Afghan authorities reported a
jump in fatalities from the
American military’s largest
non-nuclear bomb, declaring
some 90 Islamic State
fighters dead, as U.S.-led
ground forces advanced on
their mountain hideouts.
• Dubbed the ‘Mother Of All
Bombs’, the GBU-43/B
Massive Ordnance Air Blast
was unleashed in combat for
the first time, hitting IS
positions in a remote area of
eastern Nangarhar province.
• The bomb smashed the
terrorist organisation’s
hideouts, a tunnel-and-cave
US President changes his stand
complex that had been
on NATO
mined against conventional
ground attacks, engulfing the
remote area in a huge
http://www.iasexamportal.com
mushroom cloud and
towering flames.
• Mr. Shinwari said American
and Afghan ground forces
were slowly advancing on
the mountainous area
blanketed with landmines,
but there were still some
pockets of resistance from
insurgents.
• Security experts say IS had
built their hideouts close to
civilian homes, but the
government said thousands
of local families had already
fled the area in recent months
of fighting.
• Russia vetoed a U.N.
resolution that would have
condemned the reported use
of chemical weapons in a
town in northern Syria and
demanded a speedy
investigation.
• The vote on the Security
Council resolution drafted by
Britain, France and the United
States was 10 in favour,
Russia and Bolivia against,
and China, Kazakhstan and
Ethiopia abstaining.
• It was the eighth veto by
Russia, a close ally of Syrian
President Bashar Assad, on a
Western-backed Syria
resolution and reflected the
division that has left the UN
body struggling to tackle the
use of banned chemical
weapons.
• The North Atlantic Treaty

Organization (NATO), the
military alliance of the U.S.,
Canada, 25 European
countries and Turkey, is the
“the bulwark of international
peace and security”,
President Donald Trump
said.
• “I said it’s obsolete. Now it’s
no longer obsolete,” Mr.
Trump said, overturning a
campaign position that drew
intense criticism from
Democrats and Republicans.
• Mr. Trump has also reversed
his positions on China, Syria
and Russia in recent days,
aligning his thinking closer to
U.S. orthodoxy.
• The President’s supporters
point out that because of his
tough stance, partner
countries have committed
more spending and the
alliance is reorienting itself
towards fighting the Islamic
State.
• NATO has been involved in
the war on terror for long,
however. The only time the
alliance has invoked its
principle that an attack on
one is an attack on all was
after the September 11, 2001
terror attack on the U.S.
NATO has recently started
training Iraqi troops to
combat the IS.
• Member countries have also
expressed willingness to
G7 spoke against chemical
increase defence spending.
attack in Syria
Only five of the 28 members
now meet the target of 2% of
GDP on defence expenditure.
Chinese President urged US
counterpart to peacefully
resolve North Korea issue
http://www.iasexamportal.com
• Chinese President Xi urged
Donald Trump to peacefully
resolve raging tensions over
North Korea’s nuclear
programme after the U.S.
President warned that
Washington would “solve the
problem” on its own if
Beijing did not rein in its
close ally.
• Mr. Xi spoke over phone to
Mr. Trump as a U.S. aircraft
carrier strike group led by
the USS Carl Vinson churned
towards the Korean
peninsula, raising regional
tensions.
• He said that China sticks to
the target of the
denuclearisation of the
Korean Peninsula and that
China is committed to peace
and stability of the peninsula.
Nepal Govt tabled a new
• China holds that the issue
Constitutional amendment bill
should be solved through
peaceful means, said Mr. Xi.
• Mr. Trump has repeatedly
called on China to do more
to rein in its reclusive
neighbour and close ally,
which has stepped up its
missile development and
nuclear programme since
2016.
• Mr. Xi’s phone call came after
Mr. Trump turned to Twitter
to vent his frustrations over
North Korea’s provocative
behaviour.
• Foreign Ministers of the
Group of Seven (G7)
countries and several other
West Asian countries spoke
with one voice at a meeting
in Lucca, Italy, condemning
International Issues
chemical attack in Syria that
left 89 people dead.
• The U.S. and its allies hold
Syrian President Bhashar al-
Assad responsible for the
attacks.
• The G7 also lent support to
the U.S. for its attack on the
Syrian government-
controlled Shayrat airfield in
Homs province.
• While the G7 united to
isolate Mr. Assad
diplomatically and urged
Russia to do the same, no
agreement was reached on
sanctions against Russia.
• Some experts believe that the
chemical attack and the U.S.
strike may not change the
situation in Syria
dramatically.
• The Nepal government tabled
a new Constitution
amendment Bill in Parliament
to address the demands of
the agitating Madhesi parties
which are demanding more
representation and re-
demarcation of state
boundaries.
• According to the new Bill,
the government may form a
federal commission to
recommend it on the issues
relating to the number of
provinces and their
boundaries.
• A Cabinet meeting endorsed
the new Bill with a view to
addressing the demands of
agitating Madhes-based
parties and bringing them on
board the local polls
scheduled for May 14.
49
International Issues
• The draft law aims to address
some of the key demands
raised by United Democratic
Madhesi Front.
China and Myanmar agreed a
deal on a crude oil pipeline
• China and Myanmar agreed
a deal on a crude oil pipeline
between the neighbouring
countries as part of a raft of
agreements signed when
their leaders met in Beijing.
• The countries signed an
agreement on a partially-
completed crude oil pipeline
between western Myanmar’s
Kyaukpyu port and southern
China’s Kunming city.
• The two leaders also
discussed the development
of the controversial Myitsone
dam, a $3.6 billion Beijing-
backed project on hold since
protests in 2011, Mr. Liu told
reporters after the summit.
• At the time Myitsone —
originally designed to supply
most of its electricity to
China — was seen as
emblematic of Beijing’s
economic dominance over its
southern neighbour.
• China has been pressing for
its resumption ever since,
despite speculation that the
project might be scrapped
altogether.
• The two countries signed
nine cooperative agreements
on areas spanning public
health, sports and
transportation.
• China also expressed its
support for Myanmar’s
efforts to maintain stability in
northern part of the country,
where deadly clashes have
50
broken out near the border
between Myanmar’s army
and ethnic insurgents.
Changed approach by US
towards Syria throws many
challenges
• President Donald Trump’s
decision to strike Syria has
upended assumptions about
U.S. military involvement in
the Middle East, angering
adversaries and raising
hopes among allies.
• The swift decision, by a
President who had
previously shown no interest
in entering conflicts like
Syria’s, set Mr. Trump apart
from his predecessor’s far
more cautious approach to
the war.
• The missile strikes on a
Syrian airfield inflicted only
minor damage and are
unlikely to change the
dynamics of a complex
conflict that rages on local,
regional and global levels.
• On the ground, it pits an
United states targeted a Syrian
array of rebel groups against
airbase
the Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad. Supporting the
rebels are nations such as
Saudi Arabia and Turkey,
who oppose Mr. Assad and
his ally, Iran.
• The war has also entangled
Russia and the United States,
and sent shock waves through
Europe, which streams of
Syrian refugees have fled to.
• Russia and Iran, who back
the Syrian government, have
responded angrily to the
strikes, while allies who
criticised President Barack
Obama’s cautious approach
http://www.iasexamportal.com
have welcomed the change.
• Some allies renewed their
calls for a leadership change
in Damascus, although
officials in the Trump
administration did not
portray the strikes as the
start of a broader campaign.
• In Turkey, which has long
backed Syrian rebels in their
effort to topple Assad,
President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan told a rally that he
supported the attack but
wanted further action.
• He called for the
establishment of “safe zones”
inside Syria, an idea
considered but ultimately
rejected by the Mr. Obama
administration.
• In Israel, which has kept its
distance from the war raging
across its northern border,
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu said the strikes
sent a clear message against
the spread of chemical
weapons.
• The U.S. targeted a Syrian
airbase controlled by the
country’s beleaguered
President Bashar al-Assad,
making a dramatic
turnaround in American
policy.
• Former President Barack
Obama had turned back from
military intervention against
the Assad regime in 2013 and
President Donald Trump has
been opposed to U.S.
involvement in the Syrian
civil war.
• A chemical attack on the

rebel town of Khan Sheikhoun
that killed 80 people earlier
in the week changed his
mind, Mr. Trump said.
• Damascus and its ally
Moscow furiously
condemned the American air
strike on a Syrian airbase that
marked the first direct U.S.
assault on President Bashar
al-Assad’s government.
• Mr. Assad’s office called the
strike “foolish and
irresponsible”. Moscow
announced a series of
retaliatory steps, including
plans to strengthen Syrian air
defences.
• At a Security Council
emergency session, Russia
First meeting between Trump
branded the air strikes a
and Xi
“flagrant violation of
international law and an act
of aggression” against Syria.
• UN envoy Staffan de Mistura
announced the UN-backed
ceasefire taskforce on Syria
that is co-chaired by Moscow
and Washington would meet
at Russia's request.
North Korea says it is ready to
fight with US
• North Korea is ready to
deliver the “most ruthless
blow” if provoked by the
United States, its ambassador
to Moscow said, after
President Donald Trump
pledged to keep building up
defences against Pyongyang.
• “Our Army has already said
that if there will be even the
smallest provocation from
the United States during
exercises, we are ready to
deliver the most ruthless
blow,” Interfax quoted
http://www.iasexamportal.com
ambassador Kim Hyong-Jun
as saying.
• Mr. Trumppledged to
Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe that the U.S.
would “continue to
strengthen its ability to deter
and defend itself and its
allies with the full range of
its military capabilities,” a
day after Pyongyang fired a
ballistic missile into the Sea
of Japan.
• North Korea’s Foreign
Ministry assailed Washington
for its tough talk and for an
ongoing joint military
exercise with South Korea
and Japan.
• President Donald Trump’s
first meeting with Chinese
President Xi Jinping could be
the beginning of a urgency he is showing about
reorientation of bilateral ties.
• North Korea test-fired a
Trump administration to
ballistic missile into the sea
enforce laws related to H-1B
off its east coast. The missile
programme
flew about 60 km from its
launch site at Sinpo, a port
city on the east coast, South
Korea said. Sinpo is home to
a North submarine base.
• The Secretary of State had
said last month that military
options to neutralise North
Korea’s nuclear capability
were on the table.
• Mr. Trump has repeatedly
blamed China for not taking
effective measures to rein in
Pyongyang. “North Korea is
behaving very badly. They
have been ‘playing’ the
United States for years. China
has done little to help,” the
International Issues
President tweeted last
month.
• China has tightened sanctions
on North Korea in recent
months but it has not touched
the oil supply to it. “China
has its own North Korea
policy, independent of what
the U.S. might want.”
• The One-China policy and
trade will be the other two
issues that could dominate
the talks between the two
leaders. Mr. Gupta said there
would be a number of
disquieting undercurrents in
America’s Taiwan policy
from China’s point of view”.
• Trade and economic issues
could also lead to what Mr.
Trump has described as
“difficult” talks with Mr. Xi.
• But on this, the U.S. President
will be more thoughtful and
planned, compared to the
the North Korean threat.
• U.S. administration will
enforce the laws related to
the H-1B visa programme that
went unenforced until now,
the White House said even as
the Justice Department
warned companies against
using the programme to
displace American workers.
• As this year’s application
process for H-1B visas
began, USCIS announced a
slew of measures to crack
down on companies that
might be misusing the
programme, including more
stringent checks at sites
51
International Issues
where H-1B workers are
employed.
• “The H-1B visa programme
should help U.S. companies
recruit highly-skilled foreign
nationals when there is a
shortage of qualified workers
in the country.
• Yet, too many American
workers who are as
qualified, willing, and
deserving to work in these
fields have been ignored or
unfairly disadvantaged.
• Protecting American workers
by combating fraud in our
employment-based
immigration programmes is a
priority for the USCIS,” the
agency said in a statement.
• The USCIS, the agency
responsible for selecting the
85,000 H-IB beneficiaries,
also clarified, purportedly
for administrative reasons,
that computer programmers
with two-year degrees do not
qualify for speciality
occupation as defined by the
programme.
• In a third statement from the
administration on Monday,
the Justice Department said
it would not tolerate
employers misusing the H-1B
visa process to discriminate
against U.S. workers.
Saint Petersburg metro station
probed as act of terror
• An unexploded device was
found at a second Saint
Petersburg metro station after
a blast in the underground
that killed 10 people and
injured dozens, local news
agencies cited Russia’s anti-
terrorism committee as
52
saying.
• The national anti-terrorism
committee (NAK) said in a
statement carried by Russian
agencies that such a device
was “found and neutralised in
a timely fashion” at the
Vosstaniya Square station.
• The St. Petersburg subway
immediately shut down all of
its stations and the national
anti-terrorism body said
security measures would be
tightened at all key transport
Pakistan resumed its mass
facilities across Russia.
repatriation of Afghan refugees
• Russian President Vladimir
Putin was in St. Petersburg
for talks with Belarusian
President Alexander
Lukashenko. He went ahead
with the talks after appearing
on Russian television to
speak about the attack.
• No group has immediately
claimed responsibility for
the attack. But Russia’s
Investigative Committee said
it was probing a suspected
“act of terror”.
• “Despite the fact that a
criminal case under article
205 of the Criminal Code (act
of terror) has been opened,
the investigation intends on
verifying all other possible
versions of this incident,” the
committee said in a
statement.
• Russia’s public transportation
systems have been targeted
in the past. In 2013, Russia
was hit by twin suicide
strikes that claimed 34 lives.
• Russia has intervened
militarily to bolster Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad’s
forces in September 2015,
turning the tables on the
http://www.iasexamportal.com
battlefield just as rebel
forces were strengthening
their hold on key areas.
• Russian bombardments
helped the regime retake
rebel areas in the east of the
northern city of Aleppo after
four years of fighting.
• More than 310,000 people
have been killed in Syria
since the conflict broke out
in March 2011 with protests
against Mr. Assad’s rule.
• Pakistan resumed its mass
repatriation of Afghan
refugees despite past
accusations of coercion in
the supposedly voluntary UN
programme to return
hundreds of thousands to a
war-torn nation.
• The operation, which saw
3,80,000 registered refugees
sent back from Pakistan in
2016, was halted in
December for a routine
winter break.
• The UN had cut its cash grant
for returnees from $400 to
$200, she confirmed, citing
“financial constraints facing
humanitarian operations
worldwide”.
• The grant was doubled in
2016 and became a factor in
the surge of returnees across
the border to Afghanistan
after July last year, the UN
has said.
• But fears of a crackdown by
Pakistan on refugees, many of
whom left Afghanistan
decades ago, also
contributed.
• Human Rights Watch in a

scathing report in February
accused Pakistan of
coercion, threats and abuse
in the mass repatriation, and
the UN of complicity.
• Some 4.2 million Afghan
refugees have returned to
Afghanistan voluntarily under
the UNHCR-funded Voluntary
Repatriation programme
since 2002.
• But UNHCR and Pakistani
officials have said some 1.34
million registered refugees
still live in Pakistan.
Decision on Myitsone dam to
come soon
• A government-appointed
commission is to soon make
a recommendation on the fate
of the $3.6 billion, China-
financed Myitsone Dam in
Myanmar.
• The decision is a daunting
test for Aung San Suu Kyi,
who risks angering China, the
region’s economic
powerhouse, if she cancels
the project, or the public if
she lets it go forward.
• Analysts say the
commission’s report would
provide her the political
cover to kill an unpopular
white elephant that she
inherited from Myanmar’s
former military government.
• But getting out of the deal
would be difficult. If her
government cancels the
project outright, it could
have to repay some $800
million that the state-owned
Chinese developer says it
has already spent on the
project.
• If Myanmar offers China
http://www.iasexamportal.com
International Issues
other dam projects in return, produces now, according to
a compromise her govt has some estimates, but would
floated, they are likely to still not cure the country’s
impinge on disputed ethnic chronic energy shortages.
areas where they could U.S. not pressing for Bashar
threaten the peace talks she Al-Assad of Syria to leave
has championed since her power
political party came to
• U.S. President Donald Trump
power last year.
has abandoned the goal of
• The Myitsone Dam is among
pressing President Bashar Al-
the largest of many Chinese-
Assad of Syria to leave
financed energy and mining
power, marking a sharp
projects approved by the
departure from the policy
military junta that ruled
that guided the Obama
Myanmar until 2011.
administration for more than
• It is especially contentious
five years.
because it would be the first
• “The United States has
dam to cross the Irrawaddy
profound priorities in Syria
River, the mythic cradle of
and Iraq, and we’ve made it
civilisation for Myanmar’s
clear that counterterrorism,
ethnic Burman majority.
particularly the defeat of ISIS,
• Dam would provide
is foremost among those
Myanmar much-needed cash
priorities,” the White House
and electricity, critics said it
press secretary said.
would cause irreparable
• In a sense, Mr. Spicer’s
harm to the river, destroy fish
comments — and similar
stocks downstream and
comments by Secretary of
displace thousands of
State Rex Tillerson and Nikki
villagers.
R. Haley, have merely made
• But perhaps the most
explicit an assumption that
incendiary objection was
has guided the Trump
that under the deal struck by
administration’s policy
the ruling generals, 90% of
toward the region in recent
the dam’s electricity could go
months.
to China.
• During the presidential
• In 2011, the military-backed
campaign, Mr. Trump had
transitional government
said that while he did not like
yielded to public pressure
Mr. Assad, he was glad the
and suspended the project,
Syrian leader was “killing
the decision coming as a
ISIS”.
shock to Chinese officials
• Since taking office, however,
and businessmen.
Mr. Trump has shied away
• The Myitsone was meant to
from forging a military
be the first and largest of
alliance in Syria with Russia,
seven dams planned by the
let alone with Mr. Assad.
Chinese developer.
• Instead, the administration’s
• It would generate more
single-minded focus has been
power than the entire country
53
International Issues
to help Syrian fighters oust
the IS from the northern city
of Raqqa.
India is among the 16 target
countries in a review of trade
ties by US
• India is among the 16 target
countries in a review of trade
ties that President Donald
Trump was scheduled to
order.
• The President would also sign
a second order to strictly
enforce anti-dumping and
countervailing duties, U.S.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur
Ross said.
• A “country-by-country,
product-by-product” report
will be prepared in 90 days
that would form the basis of
further measures that the
Trump administration would
take to reduce the country’s
trade deficit.
• The report will identify
“every form of trade abuse
and every non-reciprocal
practice that now contributes
to the U.S. trade deficit,” Mr.
Ross said.
Brexit will present opportunities
• India is the ninth biggest
as well as challenges for India
trading partner of the U.S.
and had a trade surplus of
around $26 billion with the
U.S in goods trade alone last
year. Of its top 20 trading
partners, the U.S. has a
54
surplus with only five.
• With China, the U.S. had a
deficit of $347 billion in
2016. The review will be to
assess whether deficit is
being caused by cheating,
specific trade agreements,
lax enforcement or World
Trade Organization rules.
• Mr. Navarro has been a long
time critic of China, but on
Thursday, he insisted the
presidential executive
orders were not exclusive to
China and was not linked to
the scheduled visit of Chinese
President Xi Jinping next
week.
• The 20-page long chapter on
India lists a range of trade
restrictions by India such as
an existing ban on animal-
tested cosmetics and
restrictions on dairy
products and alcohol.
• It also accuses India of being
opaque in its non-tariff
regulations, and lists export
subsidy programmes in
several sectors as a matter of
concern.
• Brexit will present
opportunities as well as
challenges for India, and its
bilateral relationship with
Britain, Indian High
Commissioner to the U.K.
Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha
said.
• While Britain is unable to
negotiate free trade deals
with other nations in the EU
until its exit is concluded in
March 2019.
• The country has made clear
its eagerness to forge
international trade accords,
and is hopeful that it would
be able to establish a free
trade agreement with India.
• Announcing the triggering of
Brexit earlier this week,
Prime Minister Theresa May
said Britain was not
protectionist and wanted to
be a truly global trading
nation.
• However, hopes of a deal
with India have encountered
a mixed reaction: while India
was the first non-EU country
that Ms. May visited as PM,
there are also concerns that
immigration policy could
stand in the way, among
other things.
• Among the specific issues
highlighted by Mr. Sinha and
others in the past is the
position of those in the
services sector, as well as
students, whose numbers
from India have been
declining dramatically in
recent years.
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INDIA & THE WORLD
India strongly condemned
attack in Afghanistan
• India strongly condemned
attack in Afghanistan and
blamed externally backed
terrorists for the incident that
killed at least 140 soldiers of the
Afghan National Defence
Forces.
• Indirectly pointing at Pakistan
for offering support to the
Afghan Taliban that carried out
the attack in Mazar-e-Sharif,
India called for dismantling of
safe havens of terrorism.
• Following the attack which
targeted soldiers praying in a
mosque, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi offered his
condolences on social media
even as the Ministry of External
Affairs (MEA) called for justice.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi
said on a social media platform,
“I strongly condemn the
cowardly terror attack in Mazar-
e-Sharif. Our prayers and
condolences to the families
who lost loved ones”.
• No Indian citizens and
diplomats were in the vicinity
of the targeted area at the time
when suicide attackers drove
into the base and shot down
dozens of soldiers who were
just concluding their Friday
prayers.
India strongly condemned
attack in Afghanistan
• India strongly condemned
attack in Afghanistan and
blamed externally backed
http://www.iasexamportal.com
terrorists for the incident that
killed at least 140 soldiers of the
Afghan National Defence
Forces.
• Indirectly pointing at Pakistan
for offering support to the
Afghan Taliban that carried out
the attack in Mazar-e-Sharif,
India called for dismantling of
safe havens of terrorism.
• Following the attack which
targeted soldiers praying in a
mosque, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi offered his
condolences on social media
even as the Ministry of External
Affairs (MEA) called for justice.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi
said on a social media platform,
“I strongly condemn the
cowardly terror attack in Mazar-
e-Sharif. Our prayers and
condolences to the families
who lost loved ones”.
• No Indian citizens and
diplomats were in the vicinity
of the targeted area at the time
when suicide attackers drove
into the base and shot down
dozens of soldiers who were
just concluding their Friday
prayers.
India and South Korea signed
two agreements to build
artillery guns
• India and South Korea on Friday
signed two agreements to build
artillery guns for the Indian
Army and for collaboration in
shipbuilding.
• One of them is an Inter-
Governmental Agreement
(IGA) between the
India & The World
governments while the other is
a manufacturing agreement
between two private
companies.
• India has already nominated
Hindustan Shipyard Limited
(HSL), Visakhapatnam while
South Korea will designate their
shipyard soon.
• The MoU was conceived under
the overall umbrella of the
‘Special Strategic Partnership’
between both sides, Defence
Ministry said in a statement.
• The MoU will come into effect
from the date of signature by
both sides and will be initially
valid for a period of five years
and would be automatically
extended for further successive
five year at a time.
• The two sides will identify
specific projects to work on and
this cooperation is expected to
enable HSL to upgrade and
modernise its facilities.
• Indian engineering
conglomerate Larsen & Toubro
(L&T) and Hanwa Techwin of
South Korea signed a contract
to manufacture the K9 Vajra-T
tracked, self-propelled artillery
guns for the Indian Army.
India and EU firmed up plans
for holding the 14th bilateral
summit
• India and the European Union
firmed up plans for holding the
14th bilateral summit to be held
in India later this year.
• EU’s High Representative met
External Affairs Minister Sushma
Swaraj and discussed common
55
India & The World
concerns like trade, counter-
terror cooperation, maritime
security and defence
cooperation.
• The two sides reaffirmed their
commitment to deepening their
Strategic Partnership. They
reviewed progress on the
commitments made during the
13th India-EU summit in
Brussels in March 2016.
• Ms. Swaraj condemned the
latest terror attack in Paris and
said terrorism was the gravest
threat to humanity.
Consular access denied to
Jadhav
• The Pakistan’s army ruled out
consular access to former Indian
Naval officer Kulbhushan
Jadhav, days after India had
made a strong case for access
to the Indian prisoner now on
death row.
• Mr. Jadhav was awarded death
sentence by the Field General
Court Martial , evoking a sharp
reaction in India which warned
Pakistan of consequences and
damage to bilateral ties if the
“pre-meditated murder” was
carried out.
• “Under the law we cannot give
consular access to Khulbhushan
who was involved in spying,”
Pakistan military spokesman
Major General Asif Ghafoor said.
• However, Indian officials in
New Delhi maintained that
there was no communication
from Pakistan on the denial of
consular access.
Consular access denied to
Jadhav
• The Pakistan’s army ruled out
consular access to former Indian
Naval officer Kulbhushan
Jadhav, days after India had
56
made a strong case for access
to the Indian prisoner now on
death row.
• Mr. Jadhav was awarded death
sentence by the Field General
Court Martial , evoking a sharp
reaction in India which warned
Pakistan of consequences and
damage to bilateral ties if the
“pre-meditated murder” was
carried out.
• “Under the law we cannot give
consular access to Khulbhushan
who was involved in spying,”
Pakistan military spokesman
Major General Asif Ghafoor said.
• However, Indian officials in
New Delhi maintained that
there was no communication
from Pakistan on the denial of
consular access.
Dalai Lama compared China’s
actions in Tibet to the regime of
Cambodian dictator
• In his sharpest comments yet,
the Dalai Lama compared
China’s actions in Tibet to the
regime of Cambodian dictator
Pol Pot, who was held
responsible for the death of
more than a million Cambodians
in the 1970s.
• Speaking at the Tawang
Monastery, the Tibetan leader
and spiritual guru said that
despite atrocities in Tibet he
had decided to “forgive China”
and was even willing to follow
the “One China” policy.
• In the run-up to his visit, the
Chinese government issued
several direct threats to India.
• The Dalai Lama also accused
China of spreading wrong
information about his trip to
Arunachal Pradesh, saying it is
normal for Beijing to give
“political colour” to his spiritual
visits.
India urged Myanmar to
contain violence against
Rohingya Muslims
• India urged Myanmar to contain
violence against Rohingya
Muslims in the western part of
the country bordering
Bangladesh.
• India had been in consultation
with Myanmar to restore
normalcy in the Rohingya
territory of the State of Rakhine
but pointed out that the issue
might not figure in the ongoing
visit of Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina to India.
• India had previously extended
a sum of money to the
Government of Myanmar to
restore communal harmony.
• India’s comments followed a
day after rights body Amnesty
International cautioned New
Delhi against forcibly relocating
Rohingyas to Myanmar where
the community faces
discrimination.
• Amnesty said media reports had
suggested that the Union
Ministry of Home Affairs was
planning to “identify, arrest and
deport” thousands of Rohingya
refugees from various States of
India.
• Government of Bangladesh had
been vocal in recent times, due
to the difficulties it faced over
movement of people across the
Myanmar-Bangladesh border.
• Amnesty International’s India
branch issued a fresh appeal for
protection of the Rohingyas,
soon after Prime Minister Hasina
reached India.
UAV deal with Israel may get
done during PM's visit
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi is
likely to get a display of the
http://www.iasexamportal.com

Heron TP armed Unmanned
Aerial Vehicles (UAV) during
his visit to Israel later this
summer.
• These would be India’s first
armed drones, significantly
expanding the aerial offensive
capabilities of the military.
• Armed UAVs for the Indian Air
Force (IAF) are already being
manufactured in Israel and did
not rule out the possibility of
them being handed over to the
IAF in the near future.
• The deal is expected to cost
around $400 million for 10
drones. The discussion for the
Heron TP drones has been going
on for several years but the
exact status of the deal is
unclear as the progress is strictly
under wraps.
• India currently operates a large
number of Israeli-built Heron
and Searcher UAVs, which
were inducted since the late
1990s, and the three services
have been quite pleased with
their performance.
• With the indigenous efforts to
build UAVs delayed, India has
expanded its arsenal of Israeli
drones.
• India also procured a small
number of Harpy loitering
drones in the past which can
destroy targets by direct hits.
However the Heron TP would
be the first true armed UAV in
the arsenal.
• UAVs have become routine
tools for surveillance and the
armed variants would give
decision makers a new and safe
option in planning short and
swift strikes on terrorist camps.
• The manufacturer stated on its
website that Heron TP is a
Medium Altitude Long
Endurance (MALE) drone
http://www.iasexamportal.com
which can fly upto an altitude
of 45,000 feet, has an
endurance of over 30 hours and
can carry a mission payload of
1,000 kgs.
• The other defence deal
expected during the visit is for
two additional Phalcon long
range Airborne Warning And
Control Systems (AWACS)
which would join the three
systems in service with the Air
Force.
• The radars are mounted on
Russian IL-76 transport aircraft
and Russian industry officials
have earlier stated that India has
already ordered aircraft for the
purpose.
India and Malaysia agreed to
cooperate to defeat Islamic State
• India and Malaysia agreed to
cooperate to defeat Islamic
State militants and the growing
threat of radicalisation and
extremism.
• Visiting Malaysian PM Najib
Razak held talks here with Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and
sealed six agreements, while
extending support to India for
a greater role in the maritime
security of the Asia-Pacific
region.
• Mr. Razak, expressed support
for greater synergy with India on
the security front, especially in
the maritime domain, and said,
“We appreciate the greater role
of India in the maritime security
of the Asia-Pacific region.”
• The visiting delegation’s
comments on the maritime issue
is significant as both the
countries have been
demanding freedom of
navigation in the South East
Asian region, where China has
been flexing muscles and has
India & The World
claimed most of the South China
Sea.
• Both sides signed agreements
on air services, sports, human
resources, palm oil production
and research, and technological
development. An agreement
that will allow India to build a
fertilizer plant in Malaysia was
also signed.
• A bilateral joint statement issued
by the India-Malaysia CEOs
Forum emphasised the need for
visa-free travel for Indians and
Malaysians as travel and tourism
in both countries contribute to
their economic growth.
• Both sides also highlighted that
Malaysia would allow Indian
Ayurveda and Siddha
practitioners to serve in that
country.
• As part of the move to
popularise courses in Ayurveda,
the government of Malaysia and
the Universiti Tunku Abdul
Rahman would provide courses
in Ayurveda.
China again warned India
against visit of Dalai Lama
• China again warned India that
the proposed visit of the Dalai
Lama to Arunachal Pradesh
would cause “deep damage” to
Sino-Indian ties, and stressed
that New Delhi would have to
make “a choice” in its dealings
with the Tibetan leader.
• “China and India are two major
developing countries and we
are close neighbours. It is very
important for the two peoples
to maintain sound and steady
China-India relations.
• But such relationship has to be
built on (a) certain foundation,”
Chinese foreign ministry
spokesperson Lu Kang said.
• The spokesperson’s remarks are
57
India & The World
part of a sustained effort by the
Chinese officialdom and
academia to discourage India
from green-lighting the Dalai
Lama’s visit to Arunachal
Pradesh in early April.
58
• China has been particularly
emphatic about its claims over
Tawang, which houses the
famous Tawang Monastery —
India’s largest monastery. It is
also the second largest
monastery in the world after the
Potala Palace in Lhasa.
• During his briefing Mr. Lu said
that China was “seriously
concerned about the news”
about the Dalai Lama’s visit.
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Turnaround of rupee is good
news for coutry
• Towards the beginning of this
year, no one expected the
rupee to break out of the tight
range between 66 and 68.85
that had shackled the currency
for most part of 2016.
• But the rupee not only
strengthened above the 66
level against the dollar but also
went on to mark a 20-month high
of 63.93 last week.
• This sudden spurt of strength
follows a stolid show in 2016,
when the Indian currency
remained unfazed by some of
the significant events that
spelled a sea change for global
markets.
• The first was the UK’s
referendum to decide whether
to stay in the European Union
or not. While everyone
expected the British to vote
against the move, results
favoured an exit.
• The British currency took a
beating immediately after the
referendum. The pound
declined 20 per cent against
the dollar, from 1.50 in June
2016 to 1.20 in October 2016.
• Another event that marked a
significant shift in the global
economic order was the victory
of Donald Trump in the US
presidential elections. This
made the dollar index break the
psychological level of 100.
• The initial trigger that helped
the rupee break the 66 level
came in the second week of
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ECONOMY
March this year after the BJP’s
resounding victory in the State
Assembly elections in Uttar
Pradesh.
• This triggered a strong surge in
Foreign Portfolio
Investors’(FPIs) interest
towards the Indian market. FPIs,
who had bought just $646
million in Indian debt until then,
went on a buying spree after the
election results.
• For the month of March, they
bought $3.92 billion in the
Indian debt segment. April has
also witnessed a strong foreign
money inflow of about $3 billion
in the debt segment.
• After selling $6.36 billion in
2016, FPIs have already poured
in $7.52 billion in the first four
months of this year. This inflow
is higher than the $7.4 billion for
the entire calendar year 2015.
• The inflows into the equity
segment are also showing signs
of a strong pick-up this year. FPIs
have pumped $6.38 billion into
the Indian equity segment,
which is double the $3.19
billion and $3.18 billion flows
seen in 2015 and 2016,
respectively.
• With the first rate hike by the
Federal Reserve already
absorbed by the financial
markets, there does not appear
to be a great threat to foreign
fund flows in the near future.
• FPI flows into debt will be
strong if the rupee continues to
strengthen as these are short-
term flows that are greatly
influenced by currency
Economy
strength.
• The second factor that has
helped the rupee break the key
66 level is the recent weakness
in the dollar.
• After raising the Fed fund rate
by 25 basis points in March, the
Fed reiterated that there will be
a total of three rate hikes in 2017.
• So, unless the Fed changes its
stance and turns more
aggressive over raising the rates,
a strong recovery in the dollar is
unlikely.
• Also, the recent developments
in Europe had been adding to
the pressure on the dollar. The
UK heading for early elections
in June and the ongoing French
elections have triggered a sharp
rally in the euro and the pound
in the last one month.
• After falling continuously on a
year-on-year basis from
December 2014, India’s
exports are showing signs of
recovery since September last
year. Exports have surged 35.85
per cent, from $21.52 billion in
August 2016 to $29.23 billion
in March 2017.
• But this has failed to narrow the
trade deficit as imports, on the
other hand, have also surged at
the same rate. India’s imports
have risen 39.89 per cent, from
$29.19 billion to $39.67 billion.
• So, if the imports continue to rise
at a faster pace than the exports,
there is a possibility of the
deficit widening further.
• Two major components that
can keep the import bills higher
are crude oil and gold. The
59
Economy
outlook for both these
commodities is bullish.
• Crude oil prices have been
hovering around $50 per barrel
over the last few months. The
prices have been volatile,
between $45 and $55 since
December. The bias is bullish
within this range.
• An eventual break above $55
will increase the likelihood of oil
prices surging to $60 levels.
Gold has been gaining sheen
from the geo-political
uncertainty between the US
and North Korea and from the
broader weakness in the US
dollar.
• India’s current account had
improved from a deficit of $7.08
billion to $0.3 billion in June
2016. But since then, the
Current Account Deficit (CAD)
has been widening and is back
to $7.92 billion as of December
2016.
• Given that there is low
possibility of the trade deficit
to improve in the coming
months, there is a danger of the
CAD widening further. This is
negative for the rupee.
• The RBI has been building up
its forex reserves consistently.
The reserves have risen 7 per
cent, from around $344 billion
in April 2015 to $369 billion
now.
• Also, as uncertainty continues
to remain on the back of geo-
political tensions between the
US and North Korea, these
reserves can be used to tackle
any unexpected volatility in the
market.
• The rupee appears overvalued
when the Real Effective
Exchange Rate (REER) is taken
into consideration. A currency
is considered overvalued if its
60
REER is greater than 100 and it
is undervalued if the REER is
below 100.
• REER is a measure of valuing a
currency against the currencies
of its trade partners, adjusted for
inflation.
Investment Trust (Inv-IT)
finally arrived
• The long wait for Investment
Trust (Inv-IT) is finally over. IRB
Infrastructure Developers (IRB)
is the first to raise Rs. 4,650 crore
through this route, which will be
available for investors with a
minimum subscription of Rs. 10
lakh.
• Put simply, Inv-IT are trusts into
which the sponsor, in this case
IRB, transfers certain revenue-
generating infrastructure assets
(at least 80 per cent).
• Units in these trusts can be
purchased by the public and
the revenue generated from the
assets is distributed to the unit-
holder. The trust can also invest
in equity or lend to other
infrastructure projects.
• In the upcoming Inv-IT initial
public offering, IRB will transfer
six of its projects to the trust.
The sponsor expects to raise Rs.
4,300 crore through fresh
offering and another Rs. 350
crore via offer for sale.
• According to data provided by
IRB, sponsor holding is well
above the minimum 15 per cent
threshold mandated by the
regulator for the initial three
years.
• Investors who don’t subscribe
to the primary offer can buy
units from the secondary market,
where the minimum trading lot
is Rs. 5 lakh. The issue will be
open from May 3-5 both on the
BSE and the NSE.
• The funds raised through this
issue will be used to repay the
entire debt of about Rs. 3,300
crore on the books of these six
projects. This is expected to
improve the cash flows and
soundness of the balance sheet,
since financial costs will come
down in the process.
• The risks for a project can arise
due to delays in construction,
revenue collection and other
political and project-related
issues.
• In case of road projects, the risks
arise during the pre-
construction and construction
stages.
• While pre-construction risks
pertain to identification of
economically-viable projects
and related clearances,
construction risks relate to
design changes and
unexpected escalation in raw
material prices.
• Moreover, post-construction,
the extent to which the
projected toll revenue
materialises and how tactfully
the initial years of low cash flow
and high interest payments are
managed, are crucial.
• Moreover, the open-ended
structure of this Inv-IT enables
it to capitalise on new projects
that suit its mandate.
• As per SEBI’s norms, Inv-IT
should invest at least 80 per
cent of the value of the assets in
revenue-generating
infrastructure assets, while the
rest can be invested in under
construction projects and
securities of infrastructure
companies.
• However, an Inv-IT is not
allowed to invest in another Inv-
IT. Though currently Inv-IT is not
exposed to construction risk,
http://www.iasexamportal.com

this can definitely change in Vladimir Putin at St. Petersburg.
case a new under-construction • The Eurasian Economic Union
project or securities of comprises Russia, Belarus,
infrastructure companies are Armenia, Kazakhstan and
added to the portfolio. Kyrgyzstan. The FTA is
expected to open up a huge
Indians are slowly moving from
market with a trade potential of
investing in gold $37 to 62 billion.
• Indians are slowly moving from • Trade between India and the
investing in gold to putting their five Eurasian countries stands at
money in bank products, about $11 billion.
according to Uday Kotak, • The FTA with the Eurasian
Executive Vice Chairman & countries was dictated by
Managing Director at Kotak India’s need to diversify into
Mahindra Private Limited. new markets. India has targeted
• And there is another layer of trade of $30 billion with the five
savers that is also venturing into countries by 2025 and $15
investing in mutual funds, he billion annual investment.
added. • Experts highlighted the need
• It is this greater risk appetite that for better understanding of the
would lead to higher domestic challenges in the new market
risk capital being invested in like non-tariff barriers and quality
Indian start-ups, he said, saying standards before the
that the overall process was a negotiations take place.
gradual one. • Eurasian market could open up
• “The mutual fund market is new export opportunities for
growing at more than 30% in Kerala in medical tourism, IT
terms of new assets under and IT-enabled services,
management,” Mr. Kotak said besides traditional sectors like
while speaking at the CII Annual spices, marine products, coir
Session on Saturday. and rubber.
• The Indian start-up market was
Poor Internet connectivity is
as yet inexperienced, not
turning out to be a challenge for
having the expertise to price
GST rollout
risk properly or attach a value to
ideas, Mr. Khanna said. • Poor Internet connectivity is
turning out to be a challenge for
India set to make FTA with
the rollout of the Goods and
Eurasian Economic union
Services Tax (GST), particularly
• India is set to formalise a free in the North East, as the Centre
trade agreement with the pushes for the July 1 deadline
Eurasian Economic Union, to implement the new indirect
clearing the decks for tax regime.
negotiations on deepening • The implementation of GST
trade relations with the five requires high-speed
former Soviet republics. connectivity between the GST
• The joint statement on the FTA server and the State VAT data
is likely to be issued during centre, and also between
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s District VAT office and State
meeting with Russian President VAT office since the processing
http://www.iasexamportal.com
Economy
of returns, among other
processes, is done online.
• Additionally, all dealers have to
upload invoice-wise details
online.
• There are multiple projects
going on in North East.
However, the progress is poor
and there is no coordination
among all the agencies doing
work.
• In Arunachal Pradesh the
optical fibre cable is available
only in 7 of the 20 districts.
There is a serious shortage of
optical fibre cables, leading to
delay in completion of work.
• In addition, the agencies doing
work are not following the norms
of depth at which the OFC
cable should be laid and as a
result there are many instances
of cutting OFCs in road repair
works. This creates problem for
connectivity.
• With little more than two months
to go for the proposed GST
rollout, the government is yet to
finalise the tax rates that will
apply for different products but
is confident of implementing
the new tax regime from July 1.
• Constitutional amendments to
enable the GST regime mean
that all existing indirect taxes
and levies will lapse from
September this year.
Deteriorating Health of PSBs
lead to drastic steps by RBI
• The deteriorating health of
public sector banks has
prompted RBI to suggest
radical steps to tackle the issue
including considering mergers
and possibly even the
privatisation of some of the
lenders which had been
previously nationalised.
• Commenting that the
61
Economy
government should not allocate
capital poorly, RBI deputy
governor Viral Acharya mooted
options for the troubled sector
including raising private capital
and selling non-core assets.
• According to the central
banker, divestment is also one
option that needs to be
considered.
• These steps would pare the
overall amount the Centre
needed to inject as bank capital
and help preserve its hard-
earned fiscal discipline.
• Fiscal discipline along with a
stable inflation outlook and the
diverse nature of the country’s
growth engine had made India
the darling of foreign investors,
Mr. Acharya said.
SC slams the tendency of
country to evade taxes
• Slamming a tendency in the
country to evade taxes, SC
referred to the mandatory
linking of Aadhaar to PAN and
Income Tax returns as an
instance of the government’s
efforts to bring “new and new
laws to stop leakages.”
• “When tax evasions are there,
the government will try to bring
new and new laws to stop
leakages. We as citizens are like
that... we don’t want to pay
SC wants government ought to
taxes, shame on us."
frame a statutory law to
• "This conduct and character is
regulate NGOs
seen for example at the time of
matrimonial alliance. Then the
groom has the best income. The
moment the estranged wife files
a maintenance application, the
same boy is a pauper,” Justice
A.K. Sikri.
• The provision makes Aadhaar
mandatory for getting a PAN.
Possession of an Aadhaar card
is necessary for the continuing
62
validity of an existing PAN and
for filing returns under the
income tax law.
• Attorney-General Mukul
Rohatgi said there were “five to
10 lakh fake PAN cards
generated every year.” “What
are you propagating here in the
name of public interest, fake
PANs,” he asked the petitioners.
• To prove that Aadhaar was not
foolproof, Mr. Datar responded
that 132% of the population of
Delhi is shown to have taken
Aadhaar cards and 104% all over
the country.
• At least 34,000 agencies which
dealt with collecting data for
Aadhaar were blacklisted.
• But the court said these
statistics did not necessarily
mean that bogus Aadhaars were
in circulation. Mr. Rohatgi said
the biometric technology used
in Aadhaar left no chance for
duplication.
• The Bench responded that
Section 139AA was a product
of the legislative mandate of
Parliament.
• The Bench observed that
Parliament cannot be held
accountable for any “solemn
undertakings” given by the
government to the Supreme
Court.
• SC suggested that the
government ought to frame a
statutory law to regulate the
flow of public money to the
NGOs even as the CAPART
recommended the registration
of 159 FIRs against various
NGOs for swindling government
funds.
• A three-judge Bench led by
Chief Justice of India J.S.
Khehar suggested introducing
a law after perusing guidelines
handed over by the
government to the court,
appointing NITI Aayog as the
nodal agency for NGO
registration.
• But the court said the
guidelines might not prove
sufficient for “systematising the
entire process of accreditation,
fund utilisation and audit of
NGOs”.
• The Centre on April 4 handed
over to the Supreme Court the
new guidelines framed for
accreditation of nearly 30 lakh
NGOs and voluntary
organisation in the country.
• The court, however, gave the
government the liberty to start
civil and criminal proceedings
against 703 NGOs, which
according to CAPART, have
defaulted.
• The agency, which works under
the Rural Development Ministry,
said 718 NGOs had been initially
blacklisted, but 15 had
responded satisfactorily to
notices issued on them.
• CBI records filed in 2016 in the
Supreme Court had shown
show that only 2,90,787 NGOs
file annual financial statements
of a total of 29,99,623 registered
ones under the Societies
Registration Act.
• In some States, the CBI said the
laws do not even provide for the
NGOs to be transparent about
their financial dealings. In the
Union Territories, of a total of
82,250 NGOs registered and
functioning, only 50 file their
returns.
• Uttar Pradesh, which has the
highest number of NGOs at 5.48
lakh among the States, has only
http://www.iasexamportal.com

1.19 lakh filing returns.
• Tamil Nadu has 1.55 lakh NGOs
registered; however, only
20,277 file returns. Andhra
Pradesh has 2.92 lakh NGOs,
but only 186 file financial
statements annually.
Trincomalee port would not be
sealed during PM Modi’s Sri
Lanka visit
• Sri Lanka declared that a crucial
agreement with India on the
Trincomalee port would not be
sealed during Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit
to Colombo.
• The declaration came from
senior Sri Lankan leaders in
Colombo even as Prime Minister
Ranil Wickremesinghe signed a
memorandum of understanding
for cooperation in economic
projects in Delhi.
• The Prime Minister is only
signing a broad MoU on
economic cooperation while in
Delhi. Later, the respective
Ministries from both countries
will hold discussions and then
sign agreements that are legally
binding.
• Oil union workers in Colombo
went on a strike against the
planned MoU with India for 84
tanks in the Trincomalee upper
oil tank farm.
• The strike, which hit oil supplies
in Sri Lanka, was called off on
an assurance from the
leadership that the workers’
concerns would be taken into
account before sealing the deal.
• In Delhi, Mr. Wickremesinghe
held extensive talks with Mr
Modi, External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj, Home Minister
Rajnath Singh and Shipping and
Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.
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Defence Minister says global
community should not
differentiate between terrorists
• Stating that the scourge of
terrorism remains the “primary
security challenge” for all
peaceful countries, Defence
Minister warned the global
community that distinctions are
still sought to be made between
“good and bad terrorists,”.
• Terrorism is being reinvented in
newer and even more
dangerous manifestations. The
manipulation of young minds by
fundamentalist groups using
new technologies and social
media has already caused long-
term damage to our societies.
• One manifestation of this is the
recent string of lone-wolf
attacks in many countries,” Mr.
Jaitley said addressing the 6th
Moscow Conference on
International Security in
Moscow.
• His comments come in the
backdrop of India’s objections
to including Taliban in the
peace talks in Afghanistan as
part of the reconciliatory
process as well as concerns at
Pakistan’s selective action
against terrorist networks.
• Observing that India had
addressed the threat for over
three decades, he said,
“Terrorism will recoil on those
who nurture it.”
• On the issue of North Korea, Mr.
Jailtley expressed concern at
the recent “escalation of
tensions” in the Korean
peninsula and took a dig at
Pakistan without naming it.
Govt does not have any plans to
bring agricultural income into
Income tax
• Govt dismissed any prospect of
Economy
the government bringing
agricultural income into the
income tax net in a statement
to quell confusion about a
review of the current tax
treatment of agricultural income
mooted by NITI Aayog.
• “As per the Constitutional
Allocation of Powers, the
Central government has no
jurisdiction to impose tax on
agricultural income,” he added.
• The Finance Minister’s swift
clarification is being seen as an
attempt to nip in the bud any
potential controversy on a
sensitive issue pertaining to
farmers and rural India.
SEBI decided to grant a unified
licence to brokers and clearing
members
• Market regulator SEBI decided
to grant a unified licence to
brokers and clearing members
to operate in commodity
derivative as well as equity
markets.
• SEBI’s board approved a
proposal for integration of stock
brokers in equity and
commodity derivative space.
• Following this, a broker or
clearing member dealing in the
securities markets will be
allowed to buy, sell or deal in
commodity derivatives without
setting up a separate entity and
vice-versa.
• To enable the integration, SEBI
will amend norms pertaining to
stock broker and securities
contract regulations, the
regulator said in a statement
after the first board meeting
under Ajay Tyagi as chairman.
• Besides, it will increase
economic efficiency in terms of
meeting operational and
compliance obligations at the
63
Economy
member level, potentially
resulting in ease of doing
business.
• Finance Minister in his budget
speech for 2017-18, had
announced that the
“commodities and securities
derivative markets will be
further integrated by integrating
the participants, brokers, and
operational frameworks”.
• Bolstering steps to curb any flow
of illicit funds in markets, SEBI
also decided to bar resident as
well as non-resident Indians
from making investments
through participatory notes.
• The decision is part of efforts to
strengthen the regulatory
framework for offshore
derivative instruments (ODIs),
commonly known as P-Notes,
which have been long seen as
being possibly misused for
routing of black money from
abroad.
• The notional value of these
instruments has declined over
the years from 55.7% of overall
FPI investments in June 2007 to
just 6.7% in December 2016.
• There was a surprise uptick in
March — presumably due to this
being the last month for availing
of certain tax benefits.
• There are also fears that the P-
Note investments may start
coming from other jurisdictions
like the U.S., France and the
Netherlands after tightening of
rules for inflows from Mauritius,
Singapore and Cyprus.
PM called for exploring new
technologies for road and coal
sector
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi
called for exploring new
technologies for boosting road
construction and coal
64
production, in a review meeting
on infrastructure held.
• The Prime Minister chaired the
review meeting of infrastructure
sectors including roads,
railways, airports, ports, digital,
and coal with PMO, NITI Aayog
and all infrastructure ministry
officials.
• Noting the decline in coal
imports last year, the Prime
Minister asked for “even more
vigorous efforts towards coal
import substitution, and
application of new coal
technologies including
gasification technology.”
• Coal import declined 27.5% in
April-December 2016
compared to the previous year.
• The PM emphasised on use of
space technology for “efficient
and stringent” monitoring of
rural roads construction and
their quality.
• In 2016-17, the highest ever
average daily construction rate
of 130 km rural roads was
achieved under the Pradhan
Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
India’s social sector subsidies
should be reoriented says NITI
Aayog
• India’s social sector subsidies
should be reoriented so that
beneficiaries don’t become
dependent on them, the NITI
Aayog said.
• In its three-year action plan for
the economy the government
think-tank mooted a reduction
in food subsidies as a proportion
of GDP by 2019-20 through
better targeting and
rationalisation measures.
• “Within revenue expenditures,
subsidies have tended to crowd
out the socially more
productive expenditures such
as those on education and
health,” the Aayog pointed out.
• “The social subsidies should be
reoriented so that beneficiaries
become economically
independent instead of
remaining perpetually
dependent on them,” it said.
• While in absolute terms, the
allocation towards food
subsidy, as per the Aayog, will
increase marginally to Rs. 1.57
lakh crore from Rs. 1.24 lakh
crore, as a proportion to GDP,
the expenditure will come
down to 0.73% from 0.90% in
2015-16.
• As the government has been
able to contain the expenditure
on fertiliser subsidies to Rs.
70,000 crore in the past few
years, the Aayog expects it to
remain at this level for the next
three years.
RBI Governor says
consolidation of banks will
reduce stressed assets
• RBI Governor Urjit Patel has said
the Indian banking system
could be better off if some
public sector banks are
consolidated to have fewer but
healthier entities, as it would
help in dealing with the problem
of stressed assets.
• He said since there were
cooperative banks and micro-
financial institutions to provide
community-level banking,
“some banks can be merged, as
a quid pro quo for timely
government technical
injection.”
• Dr. Patel said a challenge that
India’s central bank was
grappling with was the large
stressed banking sector
balance sheets.
• He noted that a series of
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measures have been taken in the
past year on resolving the
problem of the non-performing
assets, including completion of
a comprehensive asset quality
review of the banks.
• In the instance of the insolvency
and bankruptcy code, the RBI
has been preparing actively for
the next step in an orderly
resolution and this will be
undertaken concomitantly with
the resolution of the weakest
bank balance sheets under a
revised prompt corrective
action framework.
• Dr. Patel also said that
consolidation of banks could
also entail sale of real estate
where branches are redundant
as well as offering voluntary
retirement schemes to manage
headcount and adding
younger, digital-savvy
personnel.
• Improved market valuations
would create an opportune
time for the government to
divest some of the ownership
in the restructured banks and
this would reduce the overall
amount that the government
needs to inject into them to deal
with the problem of NPAs and
stressed assets, he said.
• Cautioning against
protectionism, Dr. Patel said “I
don’t think that we have heard
the last word on U.S. policy talk
about this because there is a
push back internationally that
the world has benefited from
an open trading system.
Fourteen state legislatures will
approve their respective SGST
laws by mid-May
• Fourteen state legislatures will
approve their respective State
Goods and Services Tax (SGST)
http://www.iasexamportal.com
laws by mid-May, according to
Revenue Secretary.
• He said all states were
expected to pass their SGST
laws by May-end to ensure that
the GST regime was rolled out
by July.
• Bihar and Telangana had
already passed the SGST laws
while Rajasthan was likely to
approve the bill.
• Mr. Adhia said the new regime
would not have any inflationary
impact on the economy since
the country would be shifting
away from the multiple-level
taxes that had a cascading
effect. The GST regime would
also aid in easing inflation.
• Allaying fears that consumers
would have to pay more for
goods and services under the
GST regime due to an increase
in tax rates, Mr. Adhia said the
prices of most items would
decrease while those of
services might stay at the same
level.
• Also, though a majority of the
services would see service tax
rising to 18% under the GST
regime from the current 15%,
most services would get the
benefit of input tax credit on
purchases and, therefore, the
overall tax incidence wouldstay
the same.
• All foodgrains and absolute
essential items for people were
likely to be exempted from
GST. Therefore, GST would not
have an inflationary impact.
• The GST Council’s next meeting
is scheduled for May 18-19 and
is expected to discuss fitment
of commodities in the four-tier
tax structure under GST.
• Under GST, every registered
person would be assigned a
compliance rating on the basis
Economy
of the record of compliance in
respect of specified
parameters. The ratings would
be made public.
NITI Aayog wants agriculture
income to come with in
personal income
• Government think-tank NITI
Aayog has suggested that
agriculture income be brought
under the purview of personal
Income Tax in a bid to curb tax
evasion.
• In its three-year action agenda,
discussed at the Governing
Council meeting, the Aayog
reasoned that non-agricultural
entities sometimes use the
blanket relief to evade taxes.
• All agricultural income is
currently exempted from
Income Tax regardless of its size.
While the provision is meant to
protect farmers, non-
agricultural entities sometimes
use it to evade taxes by
declaring agriculture as the
source of their income.
• A key limitation of personal
Income Tax regime is the small
tax base. In assessment year
2014-15, only 3.65 crore
individuals filed returns. Of this
group, only 1.91 crore
individuals or around 1.5% of
the population paid any
Income Tax at all.
• NITI Aayog Member Bibek
Debroy said this would widen
the tax base and more funds
could be made available for the
social sector schemes.
New three plan to be discussed
in NITI Aayog meeting
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi
will chair the meeting of the
governing council of NITI
65
Economy
Aayog, where a new three-year
policy action plan to replace
the old system of five-year plans
will be discussed.
• Besides the new planning
process, the council is likely to
take up for discussion issues
such as increasing farmer
incomes and urban
development. Three-year
action plan will also include a
strategy to spruce up the law
and order situation.
• The practice of five-year plans,
being followed for over six
decades, ended with the 12th
Plan that concluded on March
31 this year.
• NITI Aayog which was set up in
December 2014 after
abolishing the Planning
Commission, will now come out
with a 15-year vision document
that is to be supplemented by a
seven-year strategy and three-
year action plans.
• The Council, that includes all
chief ministers as members, will
be presented with “detailed
plans on doubling of farmers’
income.”
• The Prime Minister had in
February last year urged all state
governments to give priority to
boosting the agriculture sector
with a target of doubling
farmers’ income by 2022.
• The Aayog is also likely to place
before the council a report card
on its two years as an institution.
India and Indonesia have
agreed to explore cooperation in
areas like oil, coal
• India and Indonesia have
agreed to explore cooperation
in areas like oil, coal, electricity
and energy efficiency, Power
Minister Piyush Goyal said.
• The two sides have agreed to
66
explore cooperation in sharing
of experience in use of LEDs
and renewable energy in India,
sharing the expertise of
Indonesia in gasification of fuel
oil, exploration of oil, gas and
coal fields,” Mr. Goyal said.
• Mr. Goyal and Indonesian
Energy and Mineral Minister
Ignasius Jonan met on April 20
during the first ‘India Indonesia
Energy Forum’ in Jakarta.
• According to a statement, Mr.
Goyal requested Mr. Jonan to
consider joining International
Solar Alliance as Indonesia is a
solar-rich country.
IT Minister has instructed NPCI
to smoothen the refund
mechanism for BHIM
• IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad
has instructed National
Payments Corporation of India
(NPCI) to smoothen the refund
mechanism for BHIM (Bharat
Interface for Money)
application.
• This follows feedback
highlighting that the process of
getting a refund in BHIM
application is more
cumbersome compared to
other applications.
• Now 56 crore bank accounts
have been linked to Aadhaar,
of the total 97 crore back
accounts. The lag was due to
some issues in states such as
Assam and Meghalaya.
• According to government data,
as on December 2017, Assam
and Meghalaya have the lowest
Aadhaar penetration at 6% and
9%, respectively.
• This means that about 41% of
the bank accounts are still to be
linked to Aadhaar.
• Further, the banks have been
instructed to invest in and
strengthen their IT
infrastructure to deal with the
rising number of digital
payments and improve
transaction success rates.
• Additionally, every bank has
been instructed to have at least
30 Aadhaar biometric machines
at every branch, and that 50 lakh
such devices be installed in the
current year.
Medcine industry says drug
policy must be holistic
• A policy framework which seeks
to achieve the goal of making
medicines affordable and
accessible to the poor is
necessary for the
pharmaceutical industry.
• The framework must be holistic
in its approach, involve all the
stakeholders and focus on
serving the patients.
• There was a need to create a
vision where everybody was
aligned instead of decisions
being taken “arbitrarily.”
• Pointing to how issues
concerning the pharmaceutical
industry came under the
purview of different ministries,
it was time for action, given that
Indian exports were declining.
Crack down on the incidence of
overbooking on domestic flights
• The Civil Aviation Ministry has
swung into action to crack down
on the incidence of
overbooking on domestic
flights which rose by more than
60% in the last eight months
despite stiff compensation rules
for airlines.
• Such overbooking has resulted
in thousands of passengers
being denied boarding despite
holding a ticket.
• While an outright ban on the
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practice of airlines overbooking
flights is not being considered
yet, the Ministry may issue fresh
guidelines for domestic airlines
on overbooked flights.
• Many airlines in India as well as
abroad tend to issue confirmed
bookings to more passengers
than the number of seats
available on a flight in
anticipation of a few ticket
cancellations and to reduce the
possibility of departing with
empty seats.
• Airlines may deny boarding
even in cases when passengers
may be holding confirmed
bookings for travel on a flight.
• Passengers get compensation in
form of cash, hotel
accommodation or alternative
flight for being denied
boarding.
• The cases of overbooked flights
have risen sharply since last year
even after the government’s
steep increase in compensation
to passengers in August last
year.
• In the eight months between
August 2016 and March 2017,
14,270 passengers on domestic
Indian flights were not allowed
to board their flights — a 60%
increase from the year-earlier
period.
• Jet Airways accounted for the
highest proportion of cases
related to boarding denial at
84%, followed by Air India with
11.1% of such cases from
August 2016-March 2017 after
the higher compensation
regulation kicked in.
• At the same time, penalties
should not be so excessive that
airlines find it cheaper to fly
empty seats. Every empty seat
comes at a cost. That cost will
ultimately be recovered from
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passengers.
• Number of denied boarding
cases in 2016-17 stood at about
2 per 10,000 passengers in
India — far less than the
international trend which is
about 6-7 per 10,000
passengers.
• Global airline body International
Air Transport Association said
overbooking of seats helps in
keeping fares low as airlines
maximise their revenue by filling
more seats.
Status quo on rates by MPC
• While all the six members of the
monetary policy committee of
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI),
that sets interest rates, voted in
favour of a status quo.
• One member discussed the
possibility of increasing the rate
Private players will be able to
to achieve the 4% retail inflation
bid for mines with about 100
target over the medium-term,
million tonnes
according to the minutes of the
meeting.
• In the first bi-monthly monetary
policy review of 2017-18, the
RBI decided to keep the policy
interest rate unchanged at
6.25%.
• RBI governor Urjit Patel said that
vegetable prices, which
declined sharply during
November 2016 to January
2017, seems to have stabilised
but may rise in the coming
months due to a seasonal pick
up.
Coal imports into the country
are unlikely to rise
• Coal imports into the country are
unlikely to rise, thanks to a surge
in domestic coal production,
but the demand for coal from
new thermal power plants is
likely to taper off after five years
and leave some coal mining
Economy
assets stranded.
• Targets for boosting output
remain ambitious, but are likely
to be sufficiently successful to
further reduce the country’s
dependence on imported
coal,” the report on the impact
of the government’s ‘Make in
India’ programme.
• India is no longer the dynamic
coal import market of yesteryear.
Domestic production will
continue to expand, but India’s
energy trajectory is becoming
less coal-based, raising a real risk
of stranded assets.
• Overall, new projects
announced under the Make in
India programme are helping
bolster demand for resources
such as oil, coal, petrochemicals
and metals.
• Private players will be able to
bid for mines with about 100
million tonnes of coal reserves
in the initial phase of auctions
for commercial mining rights.
• The auction will follow a simple
and transparent process for
selecting eligible bidders, he
said.
• The commercial miners will
certainly find a way to service
their own customers. Getting
10% share of the market will
certainly make a huge impact
on the total (coal) market.
• Public sector major Coal India
Limited is gearing up to
compete with private
competition for the first time
since 1973 when coal blocks
were nationalised and will shut
down all unviable mines in the
coming years, the official
added.
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Economy
• Allowing competition in the
commercial mining space will
create a positive disruption in
the market, State Bank of India
and MTNL that once dominated
the market but now compete
with large new players in their
respective sectors.
• While an Indian consumer can
buy anything from petroleum to
aeroplanes, the regulated
commodity of coal has no retail
market.
• The eligibility criteria for
bidders will be kept simple and
the auction process would be
absolutely transparent, the
official said, promising there
would be no complicated
norms specifying net worth or
experience of the bidders and
assigning weightage to
different factors.
• Coal India is gearing up to meet
competition from private miners
and will shut down all unviable
mining operations over the next
couple of years, he said.
• If the efficiency of the private
sector is coming from
exploitation of labour, that is not
something to be proud of. If the
worker isn’t happy, somewhere
down the line, it will reflect on
the firm’s bottomline.
Banks may not invest more
than 10% of unit capital of
REITs
• Banks may not invest more than
10% of unit capital of Real
Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
and Infrastructure Investment
Trusts (InvITs), the RBI said.
• During the first bimonthly policy
review of 2017-18, the central
bank allowed banks to invest in
such funds, within the overall
ceiling of 20% permitted for
direct investments in capital
68
markets (including venture
capital funds).
SBI surpassed ONGC to become
the country’s most valued state-
owned firm
• State Bank of India (SBI)
surpassed ONGC to become
the country’s most valued state-
owned firm in terms of market
valuation. At end of trade, the
market cap of SBI was Rs.
2,35,307.51 crore.
• This was about Rs. 2,961.79
crore more than ONGC’s Rs.
2,32,345.72 crore. ONGC once
used to be the country’s most-
valued company in terms of
market valuation.
• Among the top-10 most valued
companies list, SBI is at fifth
position.
The pace of road construction
rose to 22.5 km per day in 2016-
17
• The pace of road construction
rose to 22.5 km per day in 2016-
17, up from 16.6 km per day in
2015-16, Road Transport and
Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari
said.
• In 2016-17, 16,271 km of road
projects were awarded as
against 10,000 km awarded in
2015-16. The pace of road
construction rose 36% to 8,231
km in 2016-17 compared to the
previous financial year.
• The Road Transport and
Highways Ministry had targeted
awarding 25,000 km road
length projects and completing
road length of 15,000 km in
2016-17.
• Mr. Gadkari told the National
Highways Authority India
(NHAI) to speed up the pace
of road construction in 2017-18,
in a review meeting. He
announced an award for the
best performing project
director and regional officer in
NHAI.
• The Ministry has targeted
constructing 15,000 km of
national highways during 2017-
18 that translates into 41 km of
road construction daily.
The IMF trimmed India’s
annual growth forecast by 0.4
percentage
• The IMF trimmed India’s annual
growth forecast by 0.4
percentage points to 7.2% for
2017, citing the impact of
demonetisation.
• “In India, the growth forecast for
2017 has been trimmed by 0.4
percentage point to 7.2 per
cent, primarily because of the
temporary negative
consumption shock induced by
cash shortages,” IMF said in its
World Economic Outlook
(WEO).
• The Indian government in
February had pegged GDP
growth at a higher-than-
expected 7.1% for the current
fiscal despite the note ban.
• However, analysts had raised
concerns over the figure, saying
it had not taken into account the
full impact of demonetisation.
A decline in the prices of fuel
and manufactured products
helped inflation
• A decline in the prices of fuel
and manufactured products
helped inflation, as measured
by the wholesale price index
(WPI), to moderate to 5.7%
(provisional) for March 2017
despite hardening of food
prices.
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• The WPI inflation had touched
a 39-month high of 6.55%
(provisional) in February while
it was -0.45% in March 2016.
• The decline was accentuated
by decline in fuel and power
inflation and manufactured
products. Fuel prices were
significantly cut on March 31
while rupee has been on an
appreciating trend since
February 2017.
• Primary food inflation trended
higher as vegetable inflation
emerged after six months of
deflation although food price
pressures are not yet a concern,
as prices of cereals, pulses and
spices have fallen sequentially.
• Food inflation has increased a
bit and this would require
greater monitoring in light of the
evolving weather conditions.
• The focus on drip irrigation and
micro-irrigation along with
improvement in the efficiency
of cropping patterns and water
use mechanisms will strengthen
agri-production and
productivity.
• Further, the recent
strengthening of rupee vis-a-vis
the U.S. dollar will also
contribute towards limiting
imported inflation.
FSDC discussed the setting up of
a Computer Emergency
Response Team
• The Sub-Committee of the
Financial Stability and
Development Council (FSDC),
discussed the setting up of a
Computer Emergency
Response Team for the Financial
Sector (CERT-Fin).
• The sub-committee reviewed
the major developments on the
global and domestic fronts that
impinge on the financial stability
http://www.iasexamportal.com
of the country.
• The move to set up an
emergency response team
comes in the backdrop of
growing cyberattacks in the
financial system.
• RBI had already created a
specialised cell (C-SITE) within
its supervision department to
conduct detailed IT
examination of banks’
cybersecurity preparedness, to
identify the gaps and to monitor
the progress of remedial
measures.
• More than 30 major banks were
to be covered by the detailed
IT examination in 2016-17 and
all banks are to be covered by
2017-18.
IRDAI sweetens the pill for
vehicle owners
• Insurance regulator IRDAI
notified revised third party
motor insurance premium rates
for 2017-18 that are higher
compared with those in the
previous fiscal for most
categories of vehicles but lower
than what it had proposed.
• The order on the revised rates,
to apply retrospectively with
effect from April 1, came after a
truckers strike earlier this month,
in south India and an apex
national body of transporters
threatening to follow suit.
• The revision, however, seems to
have not gone down well with
both the transporter community
and the insurers.
• On March 3, the Insurance
Regulatory and Development
Authority of India (IRDAI)
unveiled an exposure draft,
suggesting an about 50%
increase in the premium for
many vehicles.
• Compared with its draft, the
Economy
regulator had either stuck to the
existing rate or moderated its
proposed rates for various
categories of goods carrying
vehicles.
• As per Monday’s notification,
for private cars with engine
capacity between 1,000 cc and
1500 cc, the cover will cost Rs.
2,863. This is almost 28% more
compared with the previous
year’s Rs. 2,237.
• For private cars above 1500 cc,
the rate will be Rs. 7,890 against
Rs. 6,164 in 2016-17. However,
there will be no change in the
premium payable for cars below
1000 cc.
A decline in the prices of fuel
and manufactured products
helped inflation
• A decline in the prices of fuel
and manufactured products
helped inflation, as measured
by the wholesale price index
(WPI), to moderate to 5.7%
(provisional) for March 2017
despite hardening of food
prices.
• The WPI inflation had touched
a 39-month high of 6.55%
(provisional) in February while
it was -0.45% in March 2016.
• The decline was accentuated
by decline in fuel and power
inflation and manufactured
products. Fuel prices were
significantly cut on March 31
while rupee has been on an
appreciating trend since
February 2017.
• Primary food inflation trended
higher as vegetable inflation
emerged after six months of
deflation although food price
pressures are not yet a concern,
as prices of cereals, pulses and
spices have fallen sequentially.
• Food inflation has increased a
69
Economy
bit and this would require
greater monitoring in light of the
evolving weather conditions.
• The focus on drip irrigation and
micro-irrigation along with
improvement in the efficiency
of cropping patterns and water
use mechanisms will strengthen
agri-production and
productivity.
• Further, the recent
strengthening of rupee vis-a-vis
the U.S. dollar will also
contribute towards limiting
imported inflation.
FSDC discussed the setting up of
a Computer Emergency
Response Team
• The Sub-Committee of the
Financial Stability and
Development Council (FSDC),
discussed the setting up of a
Computer Emergency
Response Team for the Financial
Sector (CERT-Fin).
• The sub-committee reviewed
the major developments on the
global and domestic fronts that
impinge on the financial stability
of the country.
• The move to set up an
emergency response team
comes in the backdrop of
growing cyberattacks in the
financial system.
• RBI had already created a
specialised cell (C-SITE) within
its supervision department to
conduct detailed IT
examination of banks’
cybersecurity preparedness, to
identify the gaps and to monitor
the progress of remedial
measures.
• More than 30 major banks were
to be covered by the detailed
IT examination in 2016-17 and
all banks are to be covered by
2017-18.
70
IRDAI sweetens the pill for
vehicle owners
• Insurance regulator IRDAI
notified revised third party
motor insurance premium rates
for 2017-18 that are higher
compared with those in the
previous fiscal for most
categories of vehicles but lower
than what it had proposed.
• The order on the revised rates,
to apply retrospectively with
effect from April 1, came after a
truckers strike earlier this month,
in south India and an apex
national body of transporters
threatening to follow suit.
• The revision, however, seems to
have not gone down well with
both the transporter community
and the insurers.
• On March 3, the Insurance
Regulatory and Development
Authority of India (IRDAI)
unveiled an exposure draft,
suggesting an about 50%
increase in the premium for
many vehicles.
• As per Monday’s notification,
for private cars with engine
capacity between 1,000 cc and
1500 cc, the cover will cost Rs.
2,863. This is almost 28% more
compared with the previous
year’s Rs. 2,237.
• For private cars above 1500 cc,
the rate will be Rs. 7,890 against
Rs. 6,164 in 2016-17. However,
there will be no change in the
premium payable for cars below
1000 cc.
Strong rupee keeping checks on
gold prices
• The gold fever is back. The
yellow metal prices have been
climbing over the last few
weeks, spurred by the ongoing
tensions in North Korea.
• Trump’s concern over the strong
dollar, which took some steam
away from the currency have
also helped the metal. But if we
see the one year chart of gold,
it is pretty uninspiring.
• Even as equities put up a
stunning performance during
the last one year with returns
exceeding 30 per cent, gold’s
return stands at 3 per cent in
dollar terms and a little over 1
per cent in rupee terms.
• Gold prices, which hit a high of
$1,375 in July 2016, dropped
to $1,135 by December, mainly
due to positive set of economic
data from the US.
• Beginning March, as
expectations rose again about
a rate hike from the Fed, the
metal slipped, this time to as low
as $1,195/ounce (March 10).
• The central bank did a 25 basis
points hike on March 15. Since
then, the dollar has cooled off
and the yellow metal has been
inching up again.
• For Indian gold investors, the
strong rupee also played
spoilsport. The rupee
appreciated against the US
dollar — from 66.4 to 64.28 —
stunting returns from gold.
• The price of 10 gm gold as per
the MCX Spot Gold index is
currently at Rs. 28,845,
compared to Rs. 29,080 last
April; down about 1 per cent.
• While the overall interest for
gold was poor in 2016, there
was some attraction for the
Centre’s new gold instrument —
sovereign gold bonds.
• This included an additional
coupon on the face value of
investment (2.75 per cent and
2.5 per cent in the last two
tranches) and capital gains tax
exemption if held till maturity.
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• There have been seven issues
of the bond so far. Excluding
the latest issue — the numbers
for which are not available —
these bonds have collected Rs.
4,127 crore or 14 tonnes of gold.
• Investors who bought these
bonds in the first two tranches
did make money. But investors
who entered in later tranches
have been stuck.
• The third, fourth, fifth and sixth
tranches of the bond now trade
at a discount of 5-10 per cent
to the issue price, while the
previous ones are still at some
profit.
• Now, investors who have been
wanting to exit these bonds are
looking at the secondary market.
Data from NSE and BSE shows
that investors who hold 1,000
units or more may find it difficult
to sell their holding at one go.
• Sovereign gold bonds have
stolen the sheen from the gold
ETFs. Since last April to March
2017, there has been an outflow
of Rs. 775 crore from these
funds. All the 14-odd gold ETFs
in the country may be holding
less than 20 tonnes of gold now.
• Gold may continue to be volatile
in the current year as well, as
the Fed continues with
monetary tightening. Long-term
investors can still buy gold.
Technical textiles or functional
textiles, a sunrise sector in the
country
• Technical textiles or functional
textiles, considered a sunrise
sector in the country, is all set
for demand taking off for
products such as geo and agro
textiles.
• Geo textiles, for example, are
permeable fabrics that are used
in association with soil and
http://www.iasexamportal.com
which have the ability to
separate and filter, while agro-
textiles are used in shading and
in weed and insect control.
• The technical textiles sector
had a compounded annual
growth rate of 12% for the last
three years.
• It is expected to grow by 20 %
the next five years. The schemes
by the Government, better
awareness, interface initiatives
with other ministries are all
expected to create demand.
• The aim is to create awareness,
promote use of technical textile
products, then ensure the
usage is mandated in at least
some areas. Functional textiles
can be woven or non-woven.
Automobile, geo, medical,
industrial, and agro textiles are
among the range of products
that are made in the country.
Foreign Direct Investments are
also coming in, especially for
geo textiles.
• The Textiles Commissioner said
that the number of larger
industries involved in the
manufacture of technical textile
products is estimated to be
about 2,500. Close to 1,000 of
these have received
Technology Upgradation Fund
Scheme support.
• The main challenges for
technical textiles in the country
are awareness among
consumers, need for technology
and knowledge about it among
entrepreneurs, the investments
and time needed to be
innovative and develop
applications, and raw material
availability.
SBI aims to do 1 lakh crore
digital transactions in 2017-18
• The country’s largest lender SBI
Economy
on Friday said it aimed to reach
5.2 lakh acceptance touch
points and collectively do Rs. 1
lakh crore of transactions in
2017-18 to take forward the
government’s digital agenda.
• The State Bank of India (SBI)
said in a statement that it had
implemented various initiatives
as part of Digital India and
DigiDhan Mela campaigns
introduced by the government.
• These include adoption of 110
villages to develop their digital
ecosystem and targeting
deployment of 25,000 terminals
at 12,500 villages under a
NABARD scheme.
• “In FY 2017-18, the bank’s
ambition is to reach 5.2 lakh
acceptance touch points
which include 4 lakh Digital PoS
(Bharat QR and Aadhaar Pay)
and collectively receive Rs. 1
lakh crore of transaction value,”
the bank said.
• UPI and Aadhaar Pay were two
very innovative platforms that
would lead to efficiency and
lower costs and provide
convenience to digital
customers.
• SBI also said that it would
continue its digital drive to
bring in more innovative
products and services for
customer convenience.
• OnlineSBI, the lender’s web
banking platform, is the fifth
most-visited financial site
globally.
All India Gems and Jewellery
Trade Federation proposed GST
rate of 1.25 % for the sector
• All India Gems and Jewellery
Trade Federation (GJF) , the
national body of the gems and
jewellery industry, has
proposed a Goods and Service
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Economy
Tax (GST) rate of 1.25% for the
sector.
• In its representation to the
government, the federation has
said that a rate exceeding this
level would hurt the industry as
well as consumers and workers.
• Ashok Minawala, past chairman
and high-level committee
member, GJF, said, “Keeping in
mind the unique characteristics
of the gems & jewellery sector,
the karigars and small jewellers
were kept out of the purview of
excise duty.
• Mr. Minawala said the
government will not see any
negative impact on revenue
collection as most of the states
have been charging VAT at the
rate of 1% on jewellery.
Tea export declined in 2017
• Tea exports have declined in
the first eleven months of fiscal
2017 and are likely to close at a
lower level after showing a
healthy rise by volume and value
in 2015-16.
• A bumper crop in Kenya and
lower exports to some of the key
markets were the main reasons
behind this.
• As per the latest official statistics,
between April and February
2017, exports, at 206.9 million
kg were down by 4% over the
previous period.
• India exported 232.9 million kg
in 2015-16, breaching the 230-
million mark for the first time
since 1980-81.
• A bumper crop in Kenya (a
more than 50% rise according
to latest statistics) and
Bangladesh, which is emerging
as tea-growing nation,
aggravated the excess supply
in the international market.
• During the period under review,
72
India has increased tea exports
to three high-value markets —
Iran, Germany and USA.
• These are now evolving as a
stable market for speciality teas.
Exports increased to the UAE
too. The UAE often serves as a
re-export destination.
• All these markets purchased not
only higher volumes of Indian
tea between April and February
2016-17 , but also at a higher
price than the year’s average of
$ 3.04.
President granted his assent to
the four enabling laws to GST
• President Pranab Mukherjee
granted his assent to the four
enabling laws to operationalise
the upcoming Goods and
Services Tax regime.
• The indirect tax regime,
expected to be rolled out from
July 1, now awaits the passage
of the State GST laws by all state
assemblies.
• The legislations approved by
the President include the
Central GST Act, The Integrated
GST Act, The GST
(Compensation to States) Act,
and The Union Territory GST
Act, 2017.
• These bills were passed in Rajya
Sabha on April 6 and by Lok
Sabha on March 29.
RBI come out with a revised
prompt corrective action
framework for banks
• RBI has come out with a revised
prompt corrective action (PCA)
framework for banks, spelling
out certain thresholds, the
breach of which could invite
resolutions such as a merger
with another bank or even
shutting down of the bank.
• The revised norms have set out
three thresholds. The breach of
the third one on capital “would
identify a bank as a likely
candidate for resolution
through tools like amalgamation,
reconstruction, winding up
etc.,” the RBI said.
• The provisions of the revised
PCA framework will be
effective from April 1, 2017
based on the financials of the
banks for the year ended March
31, 2017. The framework
would be reviewed after three
years, the RBI said.
• The thresholds are based on
capital, net non-performing
assets, profitability and leverage
ratio.The breach of the first
threshold will invite restriction
on dividend distribution or
require parents of foreign banks
to bring in more capital.
• This will get triggered if capital
adequacy ratio (including
capital conservation buffer) falls
below 10.25% or common
equity tier-I (CET1) capital ratio
falls below 6.75%.
• Breach of either CAR or CET1
would trigger corrective action,
the RBI said. The trigger for net
NPA is 6% and 4% for leverage
ratio. Two consecutive years of
negative return on assets (RoA)
will also be classified in
threshold one.
• The breach of the second
threshold will occur when the
capital adequacy ratio falls
below 7.75% or CET1 goes
below 5.125%. The net NPA
threshold is breach of 12% and
leverage ratio below 3.5%.
• Three consecutive years of
negative ROA will also trigger
threshold two. Breach of
threshold two will result in
restrictions on expansion of
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branches and higher provisions.
• Corrective action that can be
imposed on banks includes
special audit, restructuring
operations and activation of
recovery plan.
• The RBI has said that promoters
of banks can be asked to bring
in new management, or even
can supersede the bank’s
board, as a part of corrective
action.
The country’s goods exports
rose for the seventh consecutive
month
• The country’s goods exports
rose for the seventh consecutive
month, recording a 27.6% year-
on-year growth in March to
$29.2 billion thanks to a low
base as well as a robust
performance by major sectors
including petroleum products.
• In March, petroleum products
grew 69.1% to $3.7 billion, while
engineering goods went up by
47% to $7.8 billion and gems &
jewellery shipments rose 12.5%
to $4.1 billion.
• Meanwhile, goods imports in
March also recorded 45.25%
growth to $39.6 billion resulting
in trade deficit widening to
$10.4 billion — the highest
since November 2016 when it
was $12.6 billion. Oil imports
also rose 101.4% to $9.7 billion
in the period.
• Goods exports during the entire
2016-17 were $274.64 billion
— recording a growth of 4.71%,
while imports shrank 0.17% to
$380.36 billion. This resulted in
a trade deficit of $105.7 billion
in FY17, wider than $118.7
billion in FY’16.
• The World Trade Organisation
said it was forecasting a 2.4%
growth in global trade in 2017.
http://www.iasexamportal.com
For 2018, the WTO is
forecasting global trade growth
between 2.1% and 4%.
• It added, however, that as deep
uncertainty about near-term
economic and policy
developments raise the forecast
risk, this figure is placed within
a range of 1.8% to 3.6%.
Industrial production shrank to
1.2%
• Industrial production in
February 2017 shrank 1.2%
year-on-year, the lowest in four
months, mainly due to a decline
in manufacturing output and
the persistent impact of
demonetisation, data released
by the Central Statistics Office.
• The Index of Industrial
Production (IIP) had recorded
1.99% growth in February 2016.
The previous low was a
contraction of 1.87% in
October 2016.
• Manufacturing sector,
accounting for more than 75%
of the index, shrank 2% in
February 2017. The sector had
marginal growth of 0.6% in
February, 2016.
• The main factor retarding
growth was a fall in consumer
goods output — both durable
and non-durables being in the
negative zone, according to an
analysis by CARE Ratings.
• CARE Ratings said 15 of the 22
industries witnessed negative
growth, which was not a good
sign, adding that capital goods
declined against an increase in
January which was expected as
such growth rates have been
volatile in the past.
• The Consumer Price Index
(CPI) based inflation inched up
in March 2017 to 3.81%
(provisional) as against 3.65%
Economy
recorded in February 2017,
according to government data.
Still, retail inflation was slower
than the 4.83% recorded in
March 2016.
• According to CARE Ratings, the
acceleration in inflation could
be ascribed to higher fuel
prices on account of rising
global crude oil prices and
increases in the costs of food
articles like fruits and milk
products.
• Slower gains in the prices of
pulses helped cap headline
retail inflation.
FRBM review committee says
centre can hold fiscal deficit at
3% till 2020
• The Centre can take a pause on
the fiscal consolidation front
over the next three years by
maintaining a fiscal deficit to
GDP ratio of 3% till 2019-20, the
FRBM Review Committee
chaired by former Revenue
Secretary N.K. Singh has
recommended.
• Set up to comprehensively
review and give
recommendations on the FRBM
roadmap for future, the panel
has advocated reaching a fiscal
deficit to GDP ratio of 2.8% in
2020-21, 2.6% the subsequent
year and 2.5% in 2022-23.
• To put that in context, the
government has set a fiscal
deficit target of 3.2% of GDP in
2017-18, marginally better than
the 3.5% clocked last year.
• The FRBM law enacted in 2003
had originally envisaged
attaining a fiscal deficit of 3% of
GDP by 2008-09, but
amendments over the years had
revised the year for achieving
the same target to 2017-18.
• The panel has introduced an
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Economy
escape clause that allows the
government to skip the fiscal
deficit target for a particular
year, in situations that include
national security concerns, acts
of war, national calamities, a
collapse of the agriculture
sector.
• It recommended that deviations
from the stipulated fiscal targets
should not be more than 0.5%.
The Reserve Bank of India
governor Urjit Patel was not in
favour of such a large deviation.
• The escape clause can also be
triggered if the economy’s real
output growth slips by three
percentage points from the
average of the previous four
quarters.
• A similar buoyancy clause has
been proposed, so that fiscal
deficit must fall at least 0.5%
below the target if real output
grows 3% faster than that
average.
• The panel has recommended
that the existing FRBM Act and
rules be scrapped and a new
Debt and Fiscal Responsibility
Act be adopted and proposed
the creation of a Fiscal Council
that the government must
consult before invoking escape
clauses.
Centre to close the gaps on
virtual currencies
• The Centre has decided to
close the regulatory gaps to
keep a check on virtual
currencies, including Bitcoin,
and has set up an inter-
disciplinary committee to
recommend an action plan for
dealing with such currencies
within three months.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
had also cautioned users,
holders and traders of virtual
74
currencies (VCs), including
Bitcoins, about the potential
financial, operational, legal,
customer protection and
security related risks that they
are exposing themselves to.
• To examine the existing
framework for virtual
currencies, govt has constituted
an inter-disciplinary committee
chaired by Special Secretary
with representatives from the
departments of revenue and
financial services and the
ministries of Home Affairs as
well as Electronics and
Information Technology.
• In its February advisory, the RBI
had said it has not given any
licence or authorisation to any
entity or company to operate
such schemes or deal with
Bitcoin or any virtual currency.
Passenger vehicles sales grew
at the fastest pace in six years
• Passenger vehicles sales grew
at the fastest pace in six years in
2016-17, crossing the 30 lakh-
mark for the first time in India,
according to data released by
the Society of Indian
Automobile Manufacturers
(SIAM).
• Sales of passenger vehicles in
the domestic market grew 9.2%
to 30.46 lakh units in 2016-17,
compared with 27.89 lakh units
sold in 2015-16.
• The sales of sports unity
vehicles (SUVs) grew at a four-
year high of 29.9% to 7.61 lakh
units in 2016-17. However,
growth in the passenger cars
segment slowed to a three-year
low of 3.8% at 21.02 lakh units.
• The two-wheeler sales
registered yearly growth of 6.9%
to 1.75 crore units in 2016-17
after showing a modest growth
of 3% in the previous financial
year.
• However, sales of three-
wheelers declined by 4.9% to
5.12 lakh units and the total
commercial vehicles sales grew
4.2% to 7.14 lakh units.
• The overall automobile exports
declined 4.5% in 2016-17 on
account of sharp decline in
export of three-wheelers and
two-wheelers. The growth in
export of passenger vehicles
and commercial vehicles stood
at 16.2% and 5% respectively
in 2016-17.
• For the current financial year,
SIAM expects overall passenger
vehicles sales to grow 7-9%,
two-wheelers 9-11%,
commercial vehicles 4-6% and
three-wheelers 4-6%.
• Passenger and commercial
vehicle manufacturers have an
inventory of 1.2 lakh vehicles,
compliant with old BS-III
emission norms, worth Rs. 5,000
crore piled up following the
Supreme Court’s order.
• Automobile dealers offered a
heavy discount to sell their
inventory after Supreme Court
on March 29 ordered a ban on
registration and sale of BS-III
vehicles from April 1.
PAN and TAN to come in one
day to improve ease of doing
business
• The Central Board of Direct
Taxes (CBDT) has tied up with
Ministry of Corporate Affairs
(MCA) to issue Permanent
Account Number (PAN) and
Tax Deduction Account
Number (TAN) in a day, to
improve the Ease of Doing
Business for newly incorporated
corporates.
• Applicant companies should
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submit a common application
form SPICe (INC 32) on MCA
portal, and once the data of
incorporation is sent to CBDT by
MCA, the PAN and TAN are
issued immediately without any
further intervention of the
applicant.
• The Certificate of Incorporation
(COI) of newly incorporated
companies includes the PAN in
addition to the Corporate
Identity Number (CIN). TAN is
also allotted simultaneously.
Conventional means of
providing healthcare must be
aided with innovative ways
• Conventional modes of
resource mobilisation must be
aided by an innovative funding
mechanism to improve
healthcare investments in India,
a Healthcare Federation of
India (NATHEALTH)-PwC
report has said.
• The report said funding should
be mobilised from pension
funds and that investments
should be routed through
public-private partnership and
long-term debt.
• It has also suggested funding
through business trust entities
such as Real Estate Investment
Trusts along with funds sourced
through bilateral investment
treaties.
• Underlining the need for huge
funding requirements, the
report said, “FDI in the sector
has significantly increased in the
last three years.
• However, healthcare
expenditure’s share in GDP
remained around 1.6% in FY16
and innovative funding modes
would support the target of
taking it to 2.5% by 2030.”
• It has also highlighted the fact
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that private equity deals were
supporting funding in the sector
and the value of transactions
had increased from $94 million
in 2011 to $1.28 billion in 2016,
a jump of 13.5 times.
• The New Health Policy 2017 too
had highlighted that innovative
modes of funding were needed
to meet the requirements of the
healthcare sector, the report
said.
Bangladesh wants India to
invest in countries
infrastructure
• Bangladesh PM invited Indian
companies to invest in the
country’s infrastructure that
requires investments of about
$20 billion a year till 2030,
promised to dedicate at least 3
of the 100 proposed SEZs in the
country for Indian investors.
• Ms. Hasina said she would
encourage Indian investors to
consider investments in
Bangladesh in infrastructure
projects especially in the
energy sector, as well as
manufacturing, transport and
food processing.
• With a per-capita income of
$1,446 and a growth rate of 6%
to 7% in the last eight years,
Bangladesh offers a fast-growing
domestic market of 160 million
consumers as well as special
duty-free access to various
global markets.
• As many as thirteen pacts were
signed between Indian and
Bangladeshi firms at the summit,
entailing investments of about
$9 billion.
• Apart from joint ventures
between public sector firms of
the two countries, these pacts
included a $2-billion deal
between Adani Power Limited
Economy
and Bangladesh Power
Development Board for
purchasing power from the
company’s 1,600 MW Power
Plant in Jharkhand.
• Bilateral trade between India
and Bangladesh had grown
17% in the past five years to
reach $6.5 billion, but
Bangladesh’s exports have
failed to cross the billion-dollar
mark.
• The biggest hurdle is the visa
system. Bangladesh gives Indian
people a visa so they can enter
from any airport or any land port.
• But when Bangladesh people
get a visa from India, they are
given either for Petrapole or
Agartala or some other place,
(entry is) limited to only one
point.
• Unless and until we can change
this, it will be very difficult for
the regional cooperation to
ultimately come in place.
Centre’s credit-linked interest
subsidy scheme for home loan
borrowers
• Home loan borrowers have had
a lot to cheer about lately. Banks
have cut lending rates by 1-1.2
percentage points over the past
year, reducing the monthly EMI
(equated monthly instalment)
for borrowers.
• For the middle-income
category, the Centre’s credit-
linked interest subsidy scheme
brings more good tidings.
• The scheme, effective from
January 1, 2017, offers an
upfront interest subsidy of up
to Rs. 2.3-2.35 lakh to eligible
borrowers availing themselves
of loans to buy ready-to-use or
under-construction property.
• The newly-launched credit-
linked subsidy scheme for the
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Economy
middle income group, referred
to as CLSS-MIG, covers two
income segments — Rs.
6,00,001 to Rs. 12 lakh (MIG-I)
and Rs. 12,00,001 to Rs. 18 lakh
(MIG-II) per annum.
• Those under the MIG-I category
will be offered interest subsidy
of 4 per cent for loans up to Rs.
9 lakh and under MIG-II an
interest subsidy of 3 per cent
for loans up toRs. 12 lakh.
• The subsidy will be calculated
at 9 per cent NPV (net present
value) of the interest savings
over 20 years or the actual
tenure, whichever is lower. The
subsidy could work out to a
maximum of Rs. 2.3-2.35 lakh
per beneficiary.
• After your loan is approved and
sanctioned, the lender submits
the claim to one of the Central
Nodal Agencies with whom it
has signed an MOU.
• Housing and Urban
Development Corporation
(HUDCO) and National Housing
Bank (NHB) have been
identified as the central nodal
agencies to channelise this
subsidy to the lending
institutions.
• The subsidy is approved by the
nodal agency after verification
of eligibility criteria under the
CLSS scheme. Once approved,
it releases the subsidy amount
directly to the lender, which is
then credited into the
borrower’s account.
• This will be deducted from the
principal loan amount of the
borrower, who will pay EMI on
the remainder of the principal
amount. The entire process of
credit of subsidy can take about
two to three months after the
account is fully disbursed.
• Also, if the loan amount exceeds
76
the specified limit — Rs. 9 lakh
for MIG-I and Rs. 12 lakh MIG-II
— the subsidy will be available
only up to the threshold limit,
beyond which the borrower
will have to pay rates applicable
under normal circumstances
(non-subsidised rates).
• For now, the scheme is opened
only until December 31, 2017.
This implies that the property (if
under construction) has to be
completed in a year.
• Else you will not be able to
receive the subsidy. To avoid
uncertainty, it may be better to
go for a ready-to-use property.
• Home loan borrowers under the
scheme can also get the usual
tax benefit. Under Section 80C
of the Income Tax Act,
maximum deduction of up to Rs.
1,50,000 is available on the
principal amount.
• Under Section 24, interest that
is paid towards the home loan
is exempt up to Rs. 2 lakh.
Remember though that you can
claim exemption only on the net
interest you pay and not on the
subsidy component.
U.S. investors are looking
overseas for stronger earnings
• America First may be a main
policy of the White House and
fuel to the stock market rally but
U.S. investors are looking
overseas for stronger earnings as
S&P 500 companies are set to
report their first quarter of
double-digit profit gains since
2014.
• A strong earnings season would
help justify pricey stock
valuations, with the S&P 500
rallying this month to its most
expensive since 2004 on a
forward price-to-earnings basis.
• While the U.S. economy has
gotten a lot of attention since
the Nov. 8 election and
President Donald Trump’s vows
to boost the domestic economy,
data during the quarter has
suggested the global economy
is strengthening.
• Shares of the biggest U.S.
companies, which tend to have
the most overseas exposure,
have been among the strongest
performers over the past several
weeks.
• For instance, the S&P 500 has
outperformed its average stock
this year since mid-February,
after performing mostly in line
at the beginning of the year.
• A weaker dollar boosts offshore
revenues when they are
translated into the U.S. currency.
The U.S. dollar index was down
1.8% in the first quarter, but it
was still cheaper during last
year’s first quarter.
• A recent survey showed euro
zone business activity at a six-
year high. Forecasts from the
IMF show a pickup in the global
economy in 2017 and 2018,
especially in developing
economies.
• However, some investors worry
multinationals may have already
priced in big gains in earnings.
• The U.S. earnings season gets
under way next week, with
results from banks JPMorgan
Chase, Wells Fargo and
Citigroup among others. The
financial sector is projected to
post a 15.4% profit gain, second
only to energy among S&P
sectors.
India’s Internet economy is
expected to reach to $250 billion
• India’s Internet economy is
expected to double to $250
billion, according to a report by
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BCG-TiE.
• E-commerce and financial
services are expected to
account for about $40-$50
billion, followed by e-
commerce products ($45-$50
billion), private and government
infrastructure spending ($50-
$60 billion).
• Connectivity ($45-$55 billion),
devices ($30-$40 billion) and
digital media and advertising
($5-$8 billion).
New H-1B guidelines could lead
to more litigations
• The U.S. government’s new
guidance for issuing H-1B visa,
which allows technology firms
to hire skilled overseas workers,
may lead to increased litigation.
• USCIS, which oversees
immigration into the U.S. and
processes the applications,
issued guidelines which said
computer programmers need to
prove that it is a specialised skill
to be eligible.
• In a separate note, the agency
said there would be increased
scrutiny to detect H-1B visa
fraud and abuse. The U.S.
Department of Justice also
cautioned employers seeking
H-1B visas not to discriminate
against U.S. workers, warning
strict action.
• Indian IT firms have been one
of the biggest users of the H-1B
visa programme.
RBI kept the key policy rate, the
repo rate, unchanged
• The Reserve Bank of India kept
the key policy rate, the repo
rate, unchanged in the first
bimonthly policy review of
2017-18 but narrowed the
policy corridor by 25 bps by
raising the reverse repo rate to
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6%, from 5.75%.
• All six members of the monetary
policy committee (MPC) —
which decides interest rates —
voted in favour of the decision.
• The central bank said the policy
decision was consistent with
the neutral policy stance with
the objective of achieving the
medium-term target for retail
inflation, which is 4%.
• The central bank said the future
course of monetary policy
would largely depend on
incoming data on how
macroeconomic conditions are
evolving.
• While the repo rate action was
in line with market
expectations, the Governor’s
‘hawkish’ tone disappointed
bond traders who were
expecting a softer tone.
• Yield on the 10-year benchmark
bond hardened to 6.77% as
compared with its previous
close of 6.65%.
• RBI said the path to achieving
4% inflation would be
challenging.
• The central bank has set its
inflation projection to an
average of 4.5% in the first half
of 2017-18 and 5% in the second
half, while keeping its GVA
growth projection unchanged
at 7.4% for FY18 as compared
with 6.7% in FY17.
• The central bank said surplus
liquidity in the banking system
had fallen from close to Rs. 8 lakh
crore in January to Rs. 4.8 lakh
crore in March.
• It also said it had proposed a
standing deposit facility to the
government in November 2015,
approval for which was still
awaited.
• SDF is a mechanism to drain
surplus cash at a rate lower than
Economy
the repo rate without the need
for any collateral.
• Analysts said there were upside
risks to the 4% target and there
was a possibility of an increase
in the cash reserve ratio, going
forward.
• Though RBI has not reduced the
repo rate, banks still have scope
to cut lending rates, the central
bank said.
• It added that the small savings
rates should also be lowered as
it noted that these rates are 61-
95 bps higher compared with
the ‘what-if’ formula.
Centre to secure legislative
backing for the Rail
Development Authority
• The Centre will likely attempt to
secure legislative backing for
the Rail Development Authority
(RDA) next year to give more
teeth to the country’s first rail
regulator that will initially be set
up through an executive order.
• The Union Cabinet approved
setting up the rail regulator
responsible for recommending
passenger fares, setting
performance standards for rail
operations and creating a level
playing policy for private sector
participation through an
executive order.
• The Ministry has targeted
issuing a gazette notification to
set up the Rail Development
Authority by April 15.
• After being formed, the
Authority will work within the
parameters of the Railways Act,
1989, an official statement had
said on Wednesday.
• This means it can only
recommend changes to
passenger and goods fares to
the Railway Ministry which will
take a final call on fixing the tariff.
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Economy
• However, a Railway Ministry
official said the proposal was
dropped later as no appropriate
mechanism for compensation
could be developed.
• All the six regulators in the
country have the sanction of
Parliament and have been
accorded a statutory status.
These include the TRAI, AERAI,
IRDA, CERC, TAMP and PFRDA.
• In fact, the PFRDA became
functional in 2003 through an
executive order and legislative
backing was secured through
the PFRDA Act which was
passed a decade later in 2013.
Centre survey shows more than
60% faces call drop
• The Centre said more than 62%
of the 2.2 lakh subscribers that
it surveyed complained of call
drops.
• The survey was conducted
using the Integrated Voice
Response System (IVRS) that
the Department of
Telecommunications (DoT) had
rolled out last December in
Delhi, Mumbai, U.P.,
Uttarakhand, Maharashtra and
Goa.
• About 2.21 lakh subscribers
participated in the survey, out
of which about 1.38
lakh(62.5%) subscribers have
reported call drops.
• As per feedback received, the
problem of call drops “is more
severe” indoors, according to
the statement. The subscribers
receive an IVRS call from short
code 1955 and are asked a few
questions on the call drop
problem.
• They can also send a toll-free
SMS to the same short code,
containing the name of city/
town/village, where they face
78
frequent call drops.
• The feedback is then shared
with the telecom service
providers on a weekly basis to
take action in a time-bound
manner.
• The operators have installed
about 2.13 lakh additional Base
Transceiver Stations across the
country between June 2016
and February 2017, the DoT
added.
• The telcos submit an action-
taken report to the DoT Task
Force every fortnight.
Additionally, the DoT Task
Force meets with the TSPs once
a month to discuss the issues
that come up via the IVRS.
• The DoT said for the period
February 15-28, 43,403
feedback cases had been taken
up for investigation by the
operators.
• Cumulatively, a total of 9,328
cases have been resolved
through the initiative. About
5,529 cases which were not
associated with call drops but
related to data, roaming and
billing were also identified by
the TSPs.
200 rupee note to come soon
• The Centre is examining a
proposal from the Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) to introduce Rs.
200 denomination currency
notes to improve the cash
situation.
• According to the sources, a
smaller denomination note will
improve liquidity. In November
last year, the Centre announced
the demonetisation of Rs. 1,000
and Rs. 500 notes.
• While a new Rs. 500 note was
introduced with added security
features, a new Rs. 1,000 note
was not reintroduced. Instead,
a new Rs. 2,000 denomination
currency note was introduced.
• There are two bank note
printing presses in the country
— Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note
Mudran Private Limited — a
subsidiary of the RBI, and the
government-owned Security
Printing and Minting
Corporation of India Limited.
• According to RBI, smaller
denomination notes constituted
only 13.6% of the total currency
in circulation, in value terms, as
at March 2016.
• The higher denomination notes
— Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 — that
were demonetised constituted
86.4% of the currency in
circulation.
• At end-March 2016, the value
of banknotes in circulation was
Rs. 16.415 lakh crore — a rise of
14.9% over the previous year.
According to RBI, the volume
of banknotes increased by 8%
against 8.1% in 2014- 15.
India and the U.K. announced a
joint Green Growth Equity Fund
• India and the U.K. announced
a joint Green Growth Equity
Fund in which they have
committed to anchor invest up
to £120 million each.
• “The purpose is to help India
enhance inclusive growth by
boosting investment into green
infrastructure on commercial
terms,” the draft agreement said.
• “The success of the Fund will
crowd in private investment
that will have a transformational
impact on India’s
development.” The fund aims to
raise about £500 million, and
may unlock more in future.
• The deal was announced at the
bilateral meeting between
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
http://www.iasexamportal.com

and the U.K. Chancellor of the
Exchequer Philip Hammond.
India says it will deepen ties
with U.K.
• Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
and U.K. Chancellor discussed
the post-Brexit scenario and
issued a statement reiterating
the two countries’ commitment
to strengthen economic
cooperation and collaborate on
cross-border tax evasion and
avoidance.
• The two Finance Ministers also
welcomed the National
Highways Authority of India’s
proposal to issue a masala bond
in London in the next few
months.
• They also welcomed IREDA’s
plans to issue a green bond in
London and list their masala
bonds on the London Stock
Exchange within six months.
• This follows the successful
issuances by HDFC (Rs. 3,000
crore or £366 million) and NTPC
(Rs. 2,000 crore or £244 million),
which were the first ever masala
bonds to be issued by Indian
entities.
• The two countries agreed to
work together swiftly to
encourage sustainable bilateral
investment that benefits both
countries, including through the
Joint Working Group.
• They also welcomed the recent
introduction of a fast-track
investment promotion
mechanism, which provides a
single window for U.K.
companies that are looking to
either establish or expand their
business in India.
• The two ministers said they
encourage the timely
implementation of the G20/
OECD Base Erosion and Profit
http://www.iasexamportal.com
Shifting Project outputs and
called on other nations to meet
their commitments.
• The exchange of information
between the U.K. and India
under the Common Reporting
Standards on Automatic
Exchange of Tax Information
will begin this calendar year.
Gross tax collections grew about
18% in 2016-17
• Gross tax collections grew
about 18% in 2016-17 to Rs.
17.1 lakh crore, surpassing the
Centre’s revised estimates of Rs.
16.97 lakh crore for the year, as
per provisional figures released.
• Net direct tax collections grew
by 14.2% in the year, bringing
in Rs. 8.47 lakh crore for the
exchequer, while net indirect
tax collections grew 22% at Rs.
8.63 lakh crore.
• While the direct tax kitty was in
line with the revised estimates
for 2016-17, net indirect tax
collections exceeded the
revised estimates.
• Within direct taxes, corporate
income tax collections grew
13.1% and personal income tax
increased 18.4%. However,
after taking into account
refunds, the growth rates were
6.7% and 21%, respectively.
• The provisional figures for
direct tax collections up to
March 2017 show that net
collections are at Rs. 8.47 lakh
crore which is 14.2% more than
the net collections for the
corresponding period last year.
• which is a major increase
compared to the growth rate of
the previous financial year.
• Net direct tax collections stand
at Rs. 8.47 lakh crore which
shows 100% achievement for
financial year 2016-17.
Economy
• Refunds amounting to Rs. 1.62
lakh crore have been issued
during April 2016-March 2017,
which is 32.6% higher than the
refunds issued during FY 2015-
16,” the statement added.
Nasscom believes changes in H-
1B visa will not have much
Impact on Indians
• The country’s premier software
lobby, Nasscom, on Tuesday
said the new policy memo on
H-1B visas by the U.S. “should
have little impact” on its
member companies.
• Nasscom said, “The H-1B visa
system exists specifically
because of the persistent
shortage of highly-skilled
domestic IT talent in the U.S.,”
and its members will continue
to provide skilled talent and
solutions to fill that gap and
keep U.S. companies
competitive globally.
• It added that the additional
evidence showing that the jobs
themselves are complex or
specialised and require
professional degrees
mentioned by the memo has
been the de-facto requirement
for years.
• According to December 2015
projections by the U.S. Labour
Department, employment of
computer and information
technology occupations will
grow 12% from 2014 to 2024
(faster than the average for all
other occupations).
• However, due to shortfalls in
college graduates in science,
technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM), entering
the STEM workforce, there
could be 2.4 million unfilled
STEM jobs in the U.S. by 2018.
• With more than half of these
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Economy
vacancies in computer and IT-
related skills. More than 60% of
the Indian IT industry’s $108-
billion export revenue comes
from the U.S.
• In the medium-term to longer-
term though the impact of this
will be significantly reduced
through higher recruitment in
the overseas subsidiaries of the
Indian IT companies.
• Most of them have already
initiated steps for overseas
recruitment drives with higher
prices being charged to their
Purchasing Managers’ Index
clients.
rose to 52.5 in March
Commercial vehicle
manufacturers hit hard by BS
III ban
• The Supreme Court’s (SC) ban
on the sale and registration of
BS-III vehicles from April 1,
2017 has hit commercial vehicle
(CV) manufacturers hard as the
order is estimated to have cost
them Rs. 2,500 crore.
• The discounts and incentives on
vehicles sold till March 31, 2017
are expected to have cost CV
manufacturers about Rs. 1,200
crore. Additionally Rs. 1,300
crore would be incurred to
dispose of the unsold inventory.
• While the two-wheeler
segment witnessed marginal
impact with most of the BS-III
bikes and scooters being sold
with up to 30% discounts, the
passenger car segment
remained largely unaffected as
this segment had mostly shifted
to BS-IV beginning last year.
• The CV makers had built up
large inventory and even
Export-Import Bank of India, is
continued to manufacture BS-
looking to raise about $3 billion
III vehicles till March in
anticipation of strong buying in
April given the price increases
of 8% to 10% expected on BS-
80
IV vehicles.
• The CV industry is believed to
have sold 55% of the inventory
by offering discounts of up to
40% on the sticker price thus
bearing a cost of Rs. 1,200 crore.
• As many as 40,000 to 45,000
units of unsold inventory lying
with dealers would be returned
in the coming months. These
units are likely to upgraded to
BS-IV or dismantled for spares
or would be exported in the
coming six months.
• Manufacturing activity
expanded at the fastest pace
in five months in March,
reflecting a sustained
improvement in operating
conditions, according to a
private sector survey.
• The Nikkei Manufacturing
Purchasing Managers’ Index
rose to 52.5 in March from 50.7
in February. A reading above 50
implies an expansion in activity
and one below 50 denotes
contraction. Rates of expansion
in factory orders and production
accelerated again, encouraging
some companies to scale up
their input buying and take on
additional workers.
• The report said the survey
showed evidence of
strengthening demand
conditions with the the level of
new orders received by
manufacturers rising strongly in
March and at the quickest pace
in five months.
• The Indian government-owned
export credit agency, Export-
Import Bank of India (Exim
Bank), is looking to raise about
$3 billion from international
capital markets in 2017-18.
• Of this $3 billion, Exim Bank
plans to mop up $1 billion by
introducing a 10-year bond
issue in the ‘144A / Regulation
S format’ (under the US
Securities Act) to raise funds
from Qualified Institutional
Buyers.
• The bond issue of $1 billion in
July 2016 was the largest
issuance ever for Exim Bank and
the largest single tranche
issuance out of India in 2016, it
had said.
• MTN is a debt note typically
maturing in five to ten years.
Further, Mr. Rasquinha said out
of the $10.5 billion GMTN
programme, Exim Bank has so
far drawn down around $6-6.5
billion.
• Huge funds such as pension
funds as well as wealth and
asset management funds, that
have promised a certain
minimum rate of return to their
investors in countries including
the U.S., are looking at emerging
markets to give them a better
weighted average rate of return.
• Mr. Rasquinha said of all the
emerging markets, India – being
the fastest growing economy,
and with best performing stock
market and currency – offers
such funds the greatest
opportunities.
India’s merchandise export is
expected to cross $300 billion
during the current fiscal
• India’s merchandise export is
expected to cross $300 billion
during the current fiscal, said a
top official of Federation of
India Export Organisations
(FIEO).
http://www.iasexamportal.com

• FIEO expects India’s shipments
for fiscal 2016-17 to close at
$272 billion against $262 billion
in the previous year – a growth
of 3-4%.
• This fiscal, the exporters’ body
expects manufacturing
shipments to be in the region of
$300-310 billion and services to
be between $175 billion and
$180 billion.
• India’s merchandise export is
expected to cross $300 billion
during the current fiscal, said a
top official of Federation of
India Export Organisations
(FIEO).
• FIEO expects India’s shipments
for fiscal 2016-17 to close at
$272 billion against $262 billion
in the previous year – a growth
of 3-4%.
• This fiscal, the exporters’ body
expects manufacturing
shipments to be in the region of
$300-310 billion and services to
be between $175 billion and
$180 billion
• Though last year’s export
growth was minimal, Mr. Sahai
said one must look at the
outcome in the context of
global scenario.
Industry concerned with anti
tax avoidance rules
• With the government
implementing its anti tax
avoidance rules from April 1,
industry is concerned about the
greater subjective authority
being given to the tax
department and how this could
render transactions
unprofitable.
• The General Anti-Avoidance
Rules (GAAR) are designed to
prevent the avoidance of tax by
taking advantage of
international tax laws.
http://www.iasexamportal.com
• The rules say that if the major
outcome of a transaction is a tax
benefit and there is no sound
business basis for the
transaction, then the
government can invoke GAAR
and reclassify the transaction or
the profits arising from it.
• Similarly there could be cases
where the tax benefit accrues
upfront whereas the business
advantages of a transaction
could accrue only with a delay.
In such a case, would the
transaction be treated as one
conducted purely to evade
tax?
• In any case, tax experts agree
that the government has
included several safeguards
against bullying by tax
authorities, such as several layers
of permissions required before
GAAR is invoked.
Government pins its hopes on
Smart cities
• By 2050, about 843 million
people are expected to reside
in the urban areas — accounting
for about 50 per cent of the
overall population.
• The Smart City Mission (SCM) of
the Centre is part of the overall
game plan to accommodate the
massive urbanisation that is
expected in the future — by
modernising the existing mid-
sized cities.
• ‘Smart city’ is a relatively new
concept. While there is no
specific way to define it, the
most popular is from Frost and
Sullivan.
• Smart cities are those which are
built on smart and intelligent
solutions and technology that
lead to at least five of the
following smart objectives —
smart energy, smart building,
Economy
smart mobility, smart healthcare,
smart infrastructure, smart
technology, smart governance,
smart education and smart
citizen.
• In 2011, there were no smart
cities in the world. However,
there will be 26 of them by
2026,. Beijing, Tokyo,
Singapore, Sydney and
Amsterdam will be among
them, while there will be none
from India. Yes, you read it right,
none.
• Indian cities have got a long way
to go before they qualify as
‘smart cities’; may be another 15-
20 years. The Indian
government’s SCM, which is
essentially a five-year game
plan, is actually just one baby
step towards forming smart
cities in the real sense.
• The Centre proposes to
develop 100 smart cities over
the next five years with overall
budgetary plan of about Rs.
1,00,000 crore. It will be
investing Rs. 100 crore every
year for the next five years in
each of the short-listed 100
cities.
• Most of the projects, about 85
per cent, are area-centred
projects. They focus on local
area issues instead of
implementing it throughout the
city.
• As per the Ministry of Urban
Development, Rs. 1,30,000
crore worth of projects have
been awarded and are in
various stages of
implementation.
• A cursory look at the project
plans of 60 cities shows that the
plan content varies drastically
with the needs of cities.
• Housing is the biggest
opportunity emanating from
81
Economy
SCM. For cities of Surat,
Ahmedabad, Thane, Indore,
Bhopal, Jabalpur and
Bhubaneshwar, it is the single
largest project. However, the
nature of projects differs.
• While in places like Surat, the
focus is on affordable housing,
in Indore, it is about slum
redevelopment.
• With 40 more cities expected
to get qualified for smart city
funding, the opportunity for
residential housing is huge.
Moreover, improved
urbanisation will result in more
people moving into the city,
triggering demand for more
houses.
• Moreover, the ‘satellite towns’
around these smart cities will be
a good opportunity to develop
affordable housing.
• With the recent Budget doling
out ‘infrastructure status’ to
affordable housing projects,
many real estate players are
jumping on the bandwagon.
• Many of the cities have taken up
energy-based projects in a big
way to address power
shortages.
• NDMC is looking at spending
about Rs. 1,500 crore in building
smart grid for efficient energy
management. It is also investing
into alternate energy by building
40-MW solar power plants at a
cost of Rs. 430 crore.
• Transport is another big focus
area for many cities, including
Pune, Raipur, Thane and Great
Warangal.
• SCM projects relating to
transport broadly address issues
of high travel demand, last-mile
connectivity, traffic
management and transit.
Investments into development
82
of back-bone infrastructure and
transport systems are also
common.
• Also, to reduce the carbon
footprint, many cities are
introducing electric rickshaws
(e-rickshaws). As against the
regular autorickshaws that run
on CNG or petrol, e-rickshaws
will be powered by batteries
charged from solar power.
• Smart waste management could
be classified as that relating to
waste handling, its sorting and
segregation, transportation and
its disposal.
• Sensor-based collection, for
instance, helps identify the
status of bins and optimise pick-
up routes and schedules.
Automated waste collection
systems, in turn, reduce the
need for manpower.
• NDMC is spending about Rs.
200 crore towards water and
waste-water management,
while Kanpur is investing Rs. 70
crore towards water metering
and strengthening of its existing
water supply network.
• ICT (information and
communications technology)
plays a critical role in the
building of Smart cities.
• For instance, in the case of
citizen services, technology
plays an integral role by
providing access to online
citizen engagement and
participatory process. Provision
of Wi-Fi services at public
places and online service
delivery are other ways.
• Moreover, ICT plays a key role
in improving city governance by
building city command and
operations centres. Many of the
cities have lined up huge
investments in this space.
India strongly goes against the
protectionism
• Despite a formal statement by
the world’s largest economies
being silent on concerns over
protectionist measures, India
said Friday that it strongly
supported ‘resistance’ to all
forms of protectionism.
• Head of G20 Presidency team,
German Federal Ministry of
Finance, said the failure to
incorporate the sentence —
“we will resist all forms of
protectionism” — in the
meeting communique was a
“major setback for Germany and
India.”
• A communique issued at an
earlier meeting in 2016 had
included that phrase. Reports
had said the phrase was
dropped from the March
communique as it did not
receive U.S. support.
• On expansion of the G20, he
said there were no such plans
currently, adding, however, that
the G20 had been conducting
a lot of outreach activities in
countries, especially in Africa.
• Issues of interest to India
included ensuring ease of
mobility of skilled professionals
across the world. India is also
keen on ensuring energy
access.
Growth of eight core sectors
slipped to a more than one-year
low
• The growth of eight core sectors
slipped to a more than one-year
low of 1% in February mainly
due to decline in output of
crude oil, natural gas, refinery
products, fertilisers and
cement.
http://www.iasexamportal.com

• The growth rate of eight
infrastructure sectors of coal,
crude oil, natural gas, refinery
products, fertilisers, steel,
cement and electricity was 9.4%
in February 2016.
• The previous low of 0.9% was
recorded in December 2015. In
January 2017, these sectors
grew by 3.4%.
• The core sectors, which
contribute 38% to the total
industrial production,
expanded 4.4% in April-
February this fiscal compared to
3.5% growth in the same period
previous financial year.
• However, coal and steel
recorded positive growth
during the month. The output
of crude oil, natural gas, refinery
products, fertilisers and cement
contracted by 3.4%, 1.7%, 2.3%,
5.3% and 15.8%, respectively
during the month under review.
• Coal output widened by 7.1 %,
while steel output increased by
8.7 % and electricity by 1.5 %.
http://www.iasexamportal.com
Fiscal deficit target exceeded to
113%
• India’s fiscal deficit at the end
of February worked out to Rs.
6.05 lakh crore, 113.4% of the
full year target for the 2016—
17 fiscal, mainly because of
lower realisation on non-tax
revenues, according to
government data released.
• The fiscal deficit, reflection of
government borrowing to meet
revenue—expenditure gap
was at 113.4% in the 11-month
period as compared to 107.4%
in the similar period previous
fiscal.
• Government had budgeted a
fiscal deficit of Rs. 5.34 lakh
crore for current fiscal ending
today (March 31).
• As per data released by the
Controller General of Accounts
(CGA), the revenue deficit
during April-February at Rs. 4.44
lakh crore works out to be
142.8% of budget estimate.
• It was 114.4% in the
Economy
corresponding period last
financial year. The total revenue
receipt till February was Rs.
10.94 lakh crore or 76.9% of the
budget estimate, lower than
78.5% recorded in the year-ago
period.
• The major decline was
witnessed in non-tax revenue as
government got only 62.4% at
Rs. 2.09 lakh crore of the budget
estimate.
• During April-February 2015-16,
the non-tax revenue collection
stood at 81.7% of that year’s
budget estimate.
• Tax revenue during April-
February 2016-17, however,
was higher at Rs. 8.85 lakh crore
or 81.3% of the budget
estimate, up from 77.7% last
year.
• The government data showed
Centre’s Plan Expenditure
during the period was Rs. 4.81
lakh crore and non-plan
expenditure stood at Rs. 12.71
lakh crore.
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Science & Technology
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
IISC developed molecules to
reduce survivability of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
• Scientists at the Indian Institute
of Science (IISc) Bengaluru
have developed two new,
potent molecules that can
severely impact the survival of
mycobacteria, including
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
that causes TB.
• The results were published in
the journal Antimicrobial
Agents and Chemotherapy.
• Unlike most antibiotics that
target the bacterial metabolism
by aiming at the cellular
components, the novel
molecules inhibit the stress
response pathway of
mycobacteria.
• The stress response pathway is
crucial for bacteria to survive
during hostile conditions such
as lack of nutrients and the
presence of antibiotics, to name
a few. So any inhibition of this
pathway will lead to its death.
• The master regulator of stress
pathway in the case of
mycobacteria is (p)ppGpp
(Guanosine pentaphospahte or
Guanosine tetraphosphate).
Though a molecule that inhibits
the (p)ppGpp formation has
already been synthesised, the
efficacy is not much.
• Earlier studies have shown that
when the rel gene is deleted,
the long-term survival ability
under stress was lost; the M.
tuberculosis bacteria was
unable to persist in mice and
unable to form tubercle lesions
84
in guinea pigs.
• The major reason for prolonged
treatment of TB is the
bacterium’s ability to persist in
dormant form, which is tolerant
to most antibiotics used in the
treatment regimen.
• So inhibition of (p)ppGpp-
mediated persistence could
help in shortening the treatment
regime, dealing with the
emergence of multiple drug
resistance and treatment of
chronic infections.
• Under hostile conditions,
bacteria tend to form biofilms,
which protect the bacteria from
stress and induce tolerance to
antibiotics. Both M. tuberculosis
and M. smegmatis that do have
the Rel gene cannot form a
biofilm.
• Since there are very few
antibiotics that target the stress
response pathway of the
bacteria, the two molecules
offer great promise.
Oxytocin hormone is involved
in a broader range of social
interactions
• Oxytocin, often referred to as
“the love hormone,” is involved
in a broader range of social
interactions than previously
understood, according to a
study on mice that appears in
the journal Nature.
• Scientists estimate that the
advent of social living
preceded the emergence of
pair living by 35 million years.
• The new study suggests that
oxytocin’s role in one-on-one
bonding probably evolved from
an existing, broader affinity for
group living.
• The new study pinpoints a
unique way in which oxytocin
alters activity in a part of the
brain called the nucleus
accumbens, which is crucial to
experiencing the pleasant
sensation neuroscientists call
“reward.”
• The findings not only provide
validity for ongoing trials of
oxytocin in autistic patients, but
also suggest possible new
treatments for neuropsychiatric
conditions in which social
activity is impaired.
• The group thinks their findings
in mice are likely to generalise
to humans because the brain’s
reward circuitry has been so
carefully conserved over the
course of hundreds of millions
of years of evolution.
• This extensive cross-species
similarity probably stems from
pleasure’s absolutely essential
role in reinforcing behaviour
likely to boost an individual’s
chance of survival and
procreation.
Geologists searching for an
efficient and cheap way to
remove carbon dioxide
• Deep in the jagged red
mountains of Oman, geologists
are searching for an efficient
and cheap way to remove
carbon dioxide from the air and
oceans and perhaps begin to
reverse climate change.
• They are coring samples from
http://www.iasexamportal.com

one of the world’s only exposed
sections of the Earth’s mantle to
uncover how a spontaneous
natural process millions of years
ago transformed carbon
dioxide into limestone and
marble.
• As the world mobilises to
confront climate change, the
main focus has been on
reducing emissions through fuel
efficient cars and cleaner
power plants.
• But some researchers are also
testing ways to remove or
recycle carbon already in the
seas and sky.
• The Hellisheidi geothermal
plant in Iceland injects carbon
into volcanic rock. At the
massive Sinopec fertiliser plant
in China, carbon is filtered and
reused as fuel.
• In all, 16 industrial projects
currently capture and store
around 27 million tons of
carbon, according to the
International Energy Agency.
• That’s less than 0.1% of global
emissions human activity is
estimated to pump about 40
billion tons a year into the
atmosphere but the technology
has shown promise.
• The sultanate boasts the largest
exposed sections of the Earth’s
mantle, thrust up by plate
tectonics millions of years ago.
The mantle contains peridotite,
a rock that reacts with the
carbon in air and water to form
marble and limestone.
• Rain and springs pull carbon
from the exposed mantle to
form stalactites and stalagmites
in mountain caves.
• Carbon dioxide is the primary
greenhouse gas driving climate
change, which threatens
political instability, severe
http://www.iasexamportal.com
weather and food insecurity
worldwide, according to the
United Nations climate body.
• Natural carbon levels have risen
from 280 to 405 parts per million
since the Industrial Revolution,
and current estimates hold that
the world will be 6°C hotter by
2100.
• In 2015, 196 nations signed the
Paris climate accords, agreeing
to curb greenhouse gas
emissions to levels that would
keep the rise in the Earth’s
temperature to under 2°C.
• Around 13 tons of core samples
from four different sites will be
sent to the Chikyu, a state-of-
the-art research vessel off the
coast of Japan, where Prof.
Keleman and other geologists
will analyse them in round-the-
clock shifts.
• Just like in Oman’s mountains,
the submerged rock would
chemically absorb carbon from
the water. The water could then
be cycled back to the surface
to absorb more carbon from the
atmosphere, in a sort of
conveyor belt.
IMD says the country is on an
average 0.6 degree Celsius
hotter than a century ago
• The India Meteorological
Department (IMD) says the
country is on an average 0.6
degree Celsius hotter than a
century ago. 2016 was the
warmest year since 1901.
• Until 2015, 13 of India’s 15
warmest years ever were after
2000. Heat waves are a sharply
defined concept, as per Indian
meteorology.
• Depending on whether a
place’s historical temperature is
40C or less, a 4.5C (or greater)
rise in temperature counts as a
Science & Technology
‘heat wave’ and 6.5C and more,
a ‘severe heat wave.’
• The IMD counted the number
of heat wave days in 110
weather stations nationwide
and, in a 2013 report, found that
between 1960 and 2010, there
were about 510 ‘heat wave days’
every year in the decades 1961-
70 and 1971-80.
• This decreased to 470 in (1981-
90) and jumped to about 580
days/year and 670 days/year
respectively in the decades
(1991-00 and 2001-10). The
same roughly holds for severe
heat waves.
• Studies have linked an increase
in heat waves to more increase
in El Nino events, or years
marked by an anomalous
heating in the Central Pacific
Ocean that’s linked to a
weakening of the Indian
monsoon.
• The Indian Ocean
temperatures are also rising
faster than the other oceans,
and this, too, may be reducing
moisture over the Indian
mainland, thus playing some
part in longer stretches of hot
days.
• Deforestation, the heat-island
effect, and industrial pollution
are also being blamed for
exacerbating heat waves.
• Typically, heat waves are
associated with the north and
northwest of India and over
coastal Andhra Pradesh, north
Odisha and parts of West
Bengal.
• However, there’s been a slight
increase in the number of
regions in recent years, with
more parts of the Himalayan
plains, regions north of Andhra
Pradesh and Central India also
registering more heat waves.
85
Science & Technology
• This year, the maximum spikes
in temperatures, in May, were
recorded in unconventional
places such as Shimla, Kullu and
tourist spots in Uttarakhand.
• Prolonged exposure can cause
dehydration and sometimes
death. Heat waves killed 1,422
in Andhra Pradesh and 541 in
Telangana in 2015 or about 90%
of all the heat wave mortality of
that year.
• The next year, deaths halved
because of several initiatives by
the government, including
early-warnings and improved
public access to drinking water.
Staying indoors during a heat
wave is the best way to be safe.
A relatively large near-Earth
asteroid will fly safely past
Earth
• A relatively large near-Earth
asteroid will fly safely past our
planet on April 19 at a distance
of about 1.8 million kilometres
— over four times the distance
from Earth to the Moon, NASA
said.
• Although there is no possibility
for the asteroid to collide with
Earth, this will be a very close
approach for an asteroid of this
size.
• The asteroid, known as 2014
JO25, was discovered in May
2014 by astronomers at the
Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona,
US.
• Contemporary measurements
Researchers found a novel way
by NASA’s NEOWISE mission
to recycle the mounting pile of
indicate that the asteroid is
electronic waste
roughly 650 meters in size, and
that its surface is about twice as
reflective as that of the Moon.
• At this time very little else is
known about the object’s
physical properties, even
though its trajectory is well
86
known.
• The asteroid will approach
Earth from the direction of the
Sun and will become visible in
the night sky after April 19.
• It is predicted to brighten to
about magnitude 11, when it
could be visible in small optical
telescopes for one or two nights
before it fades as the distance
from Earth rapidly increases,
NASA said.
• Small asteroids pass within this
distance of Earth several times
each week, but the upcoming
close approach is the closest by
any known asteroid of this size,
or larger, since asteroid Toutatis,
a five-kilometre asteroid, which
approached within about four
lunar distances in 2004.
• The next known encounter of
an asteroid of comparable size
will occur in 2027 when the
800-metre-wide asteroid 1999
AN10 will fly by at one lunar
distance, about 380,000
kilometres.
• The encounter on April 19 is the
closest this asteroid has come
to Earth for at least the last 400
years and will be its closest
approach for at least the next
500 years.
• Also on April 19, the comet
PanSTARRS (C/2015 ER61) will
make its closest approach to
Earth, at a very safe distance of
175 million kilometres, NASA
said.
• Indian Institute of Science
(IISc) researchers have found a
novel way to recycle the
mounting pile of electronic
waste more efficiently and in an
environmentally friendly
manner.
• According to the United
National Environmental
Programme, about 50 million
tonnes of e-waste is generated
annually across the world.
• The new approach is based on
the idea of crushing e-waste
into nanosize particles using a
ball mill at very low temperature
ranging from -50 to -150 degree
C.
• When crushed to nanosize
particles for about 30 minutes,
different classes of materials —
metals, oxides and polymer —
that go into the making of
electronic items get physically
reduced into their constituent
phases, which can then be
separated without using any
chemicals.
• There is also a lower limit to
which materials can be broken
into when e-waste is milled at
room temperature.
• The maximum size reduction
that can be achieved is about
of 200 nanometre. But in the
case of low temperature ball
milling the size can be reduced
to 20-150 nanometres.
• The polymer becomes brittle
when cooled to -120 degree C
and ball milling easily breaks it
into a fine power. Metals and
oxides too get broken but are a
bit bigger in size.
• The crushed powder was then
mixed with water to separate
the components into individual
classes of materials using gravity.
• The powder separated into two
layers — the polymer floats at
the top due to lower density,
while metals and oxides of
similar size and different density
settle at the bottom.
• The bottom layer when diluted
further separated into oxides at
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the top and metals at the
bottom. The oxides and metals
were present as individual
elements.
Coastal States of India may not
suffer from the massive
Arabian Sea algal bloom
• The coastal States of India may
not suffer from the massive algal
bloom that has been reported
from the Arabian Sea.
• Ocean-watchers had earlier
reported that a bloom of the size
of Mexico, which originated in
the Gulf of Oman, had reached
the Arabian Sea and feared that
it could reach Indian shores.
• Indian National Centre for
Ocean Information Services,
(INCOIS), confirmed that the
algal species green Noctiluca
scintillans had bloomed. The
presence of the green algae
gives deep green colour to the
ocean in the areas of spread.
• Researchers at INCOIS say that
the current bloom was unlikely
to impact the coastal States of
the country.
SpaceX successfully launched
• The researchers use remote
and then retrieved its first
sensing technique for the
recycled rocket
identification of the bloom
species. In-situ studies were
also carried out earlier by
deploying research vessels to
understand the various phases
of the algal bloom.
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• Analysis of the satellite
imageries of the bloom areas
indicated that it extended from
Oman to Gujarat.
• Though the extension of the
bloom towards Gujarat coast
varies annually, typically it
remains about 15 km away from
the shore.
• The decomposition reduces
dissolved oxygen from the
water column and causes
adverse effect on fish.
Secondly, degrading Noctiluca
cells release ammonia in the
water increasing toxic level and
it causes fish mortality.
• Earlier studies in the bloom area
had indicated that there was no
significant increase in ammonia
or decrease in dissolved oxygen
during degrading stage of the
bloom in the off shore waters of
Gujarat.
• Cool dry continental air from the
northeast causes an increase in
surface density of the sea water
due to evaporative cooling and
increased salinity.
• SpaceX successfully launched
and then retrieved its first
recycled rocket, a historic feat
and the biggest leap yet in its
bid to drive down costs and
Science & Technology
speed up flights.
• It was the first time SpaceX
founder Elon Musk tried to fly a
booster that soared before an
orbital mission.
• He was at a loss for words after
the Falcon 9 core landed on the
bull’s-eye of the ocean platform
following lift-off with a
broadcasting satellite.
• Mr. Musk foresees dozens, if not
hundreds of repeat flights, for a
booster and rocket turnarounds
of as little as 24 hours, perhaps
by next year.
• Land, refuel and then back up
again, with everything leading
to one day putting humanity
“out there among the stars.”
• This particular first stage landed
on an ocean platform almost
exactly a year ago after a space
station launch for NASA.
• SpaceX refurbished and tested
the 15-story booster, still
sporting its nine original
engines. It nailed another
vertical landing at sea once it
was finished boosting the
satellite for the SES company of
Luxembourg.
• SpaceX employees outside
jammed Mission Control at the
Hawthorne, California, company
headquarters cheered loudly
every step of the way and again
when the satellite reached its
proper orbit.
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
SELECTED ARTICLES FROM VARIOUS NEWSPAPERS & JOURNALS
A lost opportunity
On March 9, a day after
International Women's Day,
Parliament cleared the Maternity
Benefit (Amendment) Bill. Union
Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya
called it his "humble gift to women."
The Bill extends the period of
paid maternity leave for women
working in the organised sector to 26
weeks from the current 12. This is
applicable to all organisations that
employ 10 or more people. Although
on the face of it this is a Bill that will
benefit women employees, in its
implementation it is likely to adversely
impact women in the workplace. The
gender ratio in corporate India is
already highly lopsided. In 2015,
women accounted for only 21% of
the jobs at the entry level to
managerial position, according to a
report, From Intention to Impact,
published by Catalyst, a non-profit
organisation. Even as HR managers
strive to increase the gender diversity
in their organisations, they are wary
about the added costs of hiring
young, fertile women. This extension
of maternity leave to six months will
effectively double these costs and
this is likely to result in much fewer
women being employed in the
corporate sector.
In progressive countries, at least
a part of the maternity costs are borne
by the government. In India, this is
entirely passed on to companies.
There is both a direct as well as an
indirect cost to long maternity leaves.
Also, India's leaking pipeline - the
number of women who quit their jobs
between junior and middle levels - is
50%, compared to the average of
88
29% in Asia. This also implies that the
number of women who avail their
maternity benefits and yet do not
resume their jobs is rather high,
adding to the cost concerns of their
recruiters.
That said, some of the other
provisions in the Bill are encouraging
and if implemented well, will help
young mothers stay in the workplace.
For example, organisations which
employ more than 30 women (or 50
people, whichever is less) will now
have to provide a crèche. The mother
is allowed to visit the crèche four
times during the day. Also, mothers
who adopt babies are entitled to 12
weeks of paid maternity leave.
Where the Bill fails utterly
though, is in its complete negligence
of the roles of fathers. Not only is this
a lost opportunity to make some
provisions for gender parity, it also
works as a double whammy against
women, by heaping all parental
responsibilities exclusively on her. It
further pushes the arguments of both
comparative costs of hiring women
versus men, as well as ties women
down to the primary role of being
childcare providers and not
professionals in the workplace.
Comparing budgets
China announced its official
defence budget for 2017. With a rise
of 7%, the official spending on
defence would be 1.044 trillion yuan
($151.43 billion, or about Rs. 10 lakh
crore) in 2017, a spokeswoman for
the National People's Congress
announced in an effort to dispel
global concerns about lack of
transparency in Chinese defence
spending. The figure was omitted a
day earlier from the annual budget
report released by the Ministry of
Finance. The modest budget
increase was surprising, especially
since President Xi Jinping, who chairs
the Central Military Commission, is
undertaking a comprehensive
overhaul of the military to turn it into
a nimble, modern force.
The officially announced figure
may not fully reflect the Chinese
spending in beefing up its military
capabilities in both conventional and
unconventional arenas. Most China
observers believe that the total
spending by the country is
significantly more than the official
budget. It is well known that much of
the Chinese spending on dual-use
capabilities is not accounted as
military spending.
Observers were surprised by
the increase in defence spending,
especially given that American
President Donald Trump proposes a
10% increase in military spending,
though the U.S. has wound up most
of its major foreign operations, and
the growing tension between the
two countries. Pentagon's budget,
proposed in the last week of
February, is $603 billion. While China
inhabits a far more complex
neighbourhood, it is nowhere near
the U.S. in terms of military
capabilities, expeditionary
operations and strategic capabilities.
However, China would also be
drawing its lessons from the collapse
of Soviet Union, which stretched its
resources in an arms race with the U.S.
For 2017-18, Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley has allocated Rs. 3,59,854
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
crore (roughly $53.5 billion) to the
Ministry of Defence, which is a third
of the Chinese defence budget.
Some part of the Indian budget
would be spent in catching up with
the modern infrastructure and military
capabilities across the border.
However, much of New Delhi's plans
to counter China's growing military
strength is shelved already. India's
first Mountain Strike Corps, meant for
China operations, is now scaled down,
the IAF is struggling to meet the huge
shortage of fighters, and the Navy
does not even have enough capital
budget to pay for committed
liabilities.
Crimes of apartheid
Apartheid is a powerful word,
and the United Nations does not use
it loosely. But now, in a report
released on March 15 in Beirut,
Lebanon, the UN has proclaimed that
Israel 'is guilty of the crime of
apartheid'. This is a very significant
judgment, one with important
ramifications for the UN, for the
International Court of Justice and for
the international community.
In 2015, the UN Economic and
Social Commission for Western Asia
(ESCWA) was charged by its
member-states to study whether
Israel has established an apartheid
regime. ESCWA asked two American
academics - Richard Falk and Virginia
Tilley - to undertake the study. The
report that they have now produced
makes the 'grave charge' that Israel is
guilty of apartheid not only in the
West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem
- the Occupied Territory - but also
within its own boundaries and against
the Palestinian refugees.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu was in Washington, DC
recently to meet U.S. President
http://www.iasexamportal.com
Donald Trump. At that meeting, Mr.
Trump seemed to disregard the
international consensus towards the
creation of two states. In fact, as this
report and others show, the two-state
solution has been long vitiated. The
Israeli government's illegal Jewish
settlement project in the West Bank
and its virtual annexation of East
Jerusalem makes it impossible to
imagine the establishment of
Palestine in that region. What exists is
one state with an apartheid system,
with Israeli Jews in a dominant
position over the Palestinians. The
new UN report speaks to this
disturbing apartheid situation not only
in the Occupied Territory of the West
Bank and East Jerusalem, but in all of
Israel.
Palestinians who have Israeli
citizenship (ezrahut) do not have the
right to nationality (le'um), which
means that they can only access
inferior social services, face restrictive
zoning laws, and find themselves
unable to freely buy land. All
Palestinians - whether those who live
in Haifa (Israel) or in Ain al-Hilweh
(Lebanon) - suffer the consequences
of Israeli apartheid. This indignity is
punctuated with laws that humiliate
the Palestinians. The latest law - the
Muezzin Bill - imposes limits on the
Muslim call to prayer in Israel and East
Jerusalem.
When the UN Security Council
declared late last year that Israel's
settlements in the Occupied Territory
were illegal, there was worry in Israel
that Ms. Bensouda would accelerate
her work. Others in Israel said that
there was nothing new in the
resolution, which neither used the
word 'grave' to describe the situation
nor considered Israeli actions to be a
war crime. But the new report does
both. If it is acknowledged that Israel
is an apartheid state, then this is
tantamount to war crime (in the 1977
Protocol Additional to the Geneva
Conventions) and to a crime against
humanity (in the 1973 Apartheid
Convention and the 1998 Rome
Statute of the ICC).
An exit from Brexit?
British Prime Minister Theresa
May took to the stage in Glasgow to
address a gathering of Scottish
Conservatives as talk of a potential
second Scottish referendum
gathered pace. Mrs. May adopted a
strategy of attack: lambasting the
Scottish National Party (SNP) for
"tunnel vision nationalism", including
in its approach to the EU referendum.
The SNP had been highlighting
the significance of retaining single
market access to the EU, but this, she
said, clouded the fact that the U.K.
domestic market was worth "four
times more to Scottish firms" than
Europe. She then pointed to an
example of what she believed could
be achieved outside the EU. She
noted that Scottish whisky
represented just a 1% share of the
Indian market, thanks to a tariff of
150%. While Scotland voted
decisively in favour of remaining in
the EU (62% of Scots voted to
remain, against 55.8% of Northern
Ireland, 47.5% of Wales, and 46.6%
of England), Brexit was as divisive of
the "yes" and "no" camps of the 2014
Scottish referendum as it was of
communities across the U.K., says
John Curtice, professor of politics at
the University of Strathclyde and a
noted pollster.
Could that be about to change?
Recent polls have suggested a rise in
support for independence (to
around 50%), perhaps spurred by the
announcement of the U.K.
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
government earlier this year that it
would have no alternative but to leave
the single market and the customs
union - seen as a kick in the teeth by
the Scottish government which in
December published a White Paper
setting out the case why it was
essential for Scotland to retain
unfettered access to it. Dubbing the
Westminster government's
unwillingness to engage on this issue
as a "brick wall of intransigence", Ms.
Sturgeon this week set out the case
for a second referendum.
Exactly what question voters
could face in a second referendum
on independence remains to be
seen. Ms. Sturgeon believes a
referendum between autumn next
year and spring 2019 would be ideal:
by this stage the shape of the Brexit
negotiations is likely to be somewhat
clearer, enabling voters to make a
more informed choice. While the U.K.
government has the power to block
the referendum from happening
under current legislation, whether it
would take the highly controversial
step of doing so (particularly at a time
it has emphasised taking back control
and parliamentary sovereignty)
remains to be seen. It is thought more
likely that it could push to hold the
referendum after Britain leaves the
EU, though Ms. Sturgeon has warned
that this would be akin to puncturing
a lifeboat after sinking the ship.
The biggest question going
forward will be public appetite for
independence. Downing Street has
insisted that it does not exist, and
there are certainly factors that may
make Scots cautious about leaving the
union, such as the impact of the low
oil price environment on the Scottish
economy. Leaving the union and
joining the EU would also be a
logistical nightmare, calling the
90
current open border between
England and Scotland into question.
The Westminster government is likely
to play on those concerns as well as
highlight the potential for industries
such as the Scottish drinks industry
within a U.K. unshackled by EU
membership, with links to fast-
growing Commonwealth countries,
and beyond.
However, winning that
argument may prove tricky, given the
already existing concerns about the
future of sectors such as banking in a
Britain outside the EU. An
independence campaign is likely to
emphasise the opportunities that
remaining within the single market
could have to attract investment from
the financial services sector, among
others.
There are other factors at play
too: while all political parties in
Westminster threw themselves into
the "no" campaign in 2014, their
ability to do so is likely to be more
constrained this time round,
particularly if Brexit negotiations are
under way. Also given the electoral
impact in 2014 for Labour of sharing
a platform with the Conservatives
(essentially electoral oblivion in
Scotland), it is questionable whether
they would do so again, particularly
under the leadership of Jeremy
Corbyn.
An unedited mutation
Whenever there's progress in
the field of genetics, there's cause
for worry. For some years now, these
mixed feelings are being evoked by
a gene-altering technology called
CRISPR (clustered regularly
interspaced short palindromic
repeats), which refers to a suite of
gene-editing techniques. It can be
used to target specific stretches of
genetic code and to edit DNA at
precise locations, permanently
modify genes in living cells and
organisms, and possibly correct
disease-causing mutations. So far, all
of the CRISPR-related research is
focussed on plants, animals and
lifeforms far removed from the human
universe. Last week, a team from
China reported intriguing results from
CRISPR-modified human embryos.
Historians of genetic
engineering technology, most
recently Siddhartha Mukherjee, have
warned that societies, nations and
other human collectives have been
obsessed with improving the human
stock. While it might appear that
we've cured ourselves of our eugenic
baggage, science soldiers on to find
genes for disease, and the modern
personalised genetic test, now also
available to the Indian affluent,
hopes to warn Indians of possible
genetic disorders in their unborn.
Notions of 'disease' keep changing
and while a warning about the fatal
familial insomnia (that causes you to
die of sleeplessness) may make a
decision to abort easier, would a
genetic basis for autism or early
coronary heart disease make it morally
compelling for a couple to terminate
a foetus? Beyond ridding the body
of known disease, would CRISPR-led
tweaks to, say, increasing expression
of certain genes that improve athletic
endurance be acceptable, a kind of
womb-level doping?
Another complication is that
CRISPR-led attempts to correct
certain genes can sometimes lead to
nearby, off-target genes also getting
altered (mosaicism). In the quest to
correct aberrations, would it be
worth the risk to fix what isn't broken?
The Committee on Human Genome
Editing said in a report last month that
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
gene-editing techniques were too
risky to be made widely available.
While scientists and ethicists may
have so far made the right political
noises about restraining gene-editing
technology, bruising patent battles
are already under way over
intellectual property rights to the
CRISPR technology. That means
commercial interest in it is already so
high that there is enough incentive
for commercial interests to organise
lobbying efforts and bring in
legislation to offer gene-editing as a
product. CRISPR, yet, can't excise the
Orwellian.
A road map for health
The National Health Policy
2017, which the Centre announced
this week after a nudge from the
Supreme Court last year, faces the
challenging task of ensuring
affordable, quality medical care to
every citizen. With a fifth of the
world's disease burden, a growing
incidence of non-communicable
diseases such as diabetes, and poor
financial arrangements to pay for
care, India brings up the rear among
the BRICS countries in health sector
performance. Against such a
laggardly record, the policy now
offers an opportunity to systematically
rectify well-known deficiencies
through a stronger National Health
Mission. Among the most glaring
lacunae is the lack of capacity to use
higher levels of public funding for
health. Rectifying this in partnership
with the States is crucial if the Central
government is to make the best use
of the targeted government spending
of 2.5% of GDP by 2025, up from
1.15% now. Although a major
capacity expansion to produce
MBBS graduates took place between
2009 and 2015, and more initiatives
http://www.iasexamportal.com
were announced later, this is unlikely public institutions to offer essential
to meet policy goals since only 11.3% medicines and diagnostic tests free
of registered allopathic doctors were to everyone. This was estimated in
working in the public sector as of 2011 to require a spending increase
2014, and even among these, the of only 0.4% of GDP, which is within
number in rural areas was abysmally the 2.5% that the Centre is talking
low. More health professionals need about.
to be deployed for primary care in Last gasp tasks
rural areas. Availability of trained
doctors and nurses would help meet At its twelfth meeting, the
the new infant mortality and maternal Goods and Services Tax (GST)
mortality goals, and build on the gains Council cleared all the requisite State
from higher institutional deliveries, and Central-level legislative measures
which exceeded 80% in recent to implement the indirect tax regime.
years. The State and Union Territories' GST
bills were approved along with
Contracting of health services
necessary corrections to the three
from the private sector may be
other GST Bills the Council had
inevitable in the short term, given that
cleared previously - for Central GST,
about 70% of all outpatient care and
Integrated GST and compensation to
60% of inpatient treatments are
States through a cess. This paves the
provided by it. But this requires
way for State Assemblies and
accountability, both on the quality
Parliament to ratify these laws quickly
and cost of care. No more time should
in order to meet the proposed July 1
be lost in forming regulatory and
rollout date for the system. Finance
accreditation agencies for healthcare
Minister Arun Jaitley has said the
providers at the national and State
Union Cabinet will soon take up the
levels as suggested by the expert
four laws that the Centre has to steer
group on universal health coverage
through Parliament, while the
of the Planning Commission more
respective State governments will
than five years ago. Without such
take up the State GST law. Separately,
oversight, unethical commercial
officers from the States and the Centre
entities would have easy backdoor
are expected to finalise, by this
access to public funds in the form of
weekend, drafts for four pending
state-backed insurance. It should also
regulations out of a total of nine, that
be mandatory for all health
lay down the administrative
institutions to be accredited, and to
procedures and processes to be
publish the approved cost of
followed by taxpayers under the GST
treatments, in order to remove the
regime. The Council will meet again
prevailing asymmetry of information.
on March 31 to consider those drafts.
For the new policy to start on a firm
This will give the Centre enough
footing, the Centre has to get robust
buffer to make the transition to the
health data. Currently this is
new system.
fragmented because inputs from
Though industry has indicated
multiple sources and sample surveys
that it needs at least three months to
are not reconciled, and the private
prepare for the GST once it sees the
sector is often not in the picture. To
fine print, one major action will still
reduce high out-of-pocket spending,
be pending on April 1. That action -
early deadlines should be set for
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
the fitment of thousands of
commodities and services into the
five GST rate slabs (zero, 5%, 12%,
18% and 28%) - could prove to be
among the trickiest for the Council.
The rate fitment process, unlike
legislative nuances, is more
susceptible to lobbying not just from
different sections of industry, but also
States that would like a favourable tax
treatment for products and services
they excel in. For instance, the GST
Council has now approved a ceiling
on the cess that could be imposed
over and above the highest GST rate
of 28% on pan masala, chewing
tobacco and cigarettes, luxury cars
and aerated drinks. For all such 'sin
goods', the cess ceiling has been set
higher under the GST than the level
necessary to maintain the present
level of taxation. But beedis have
been kept out of the cess net
altogether in order to avoid friction
with States that could delay the
broader reform. Despite such pulls
and pressures, in a best-case scenario
the rate-setting process should take
at least a fortnight and the Council
could meet some time in April to
approve the rates. Giving lakhs of
enterprises just about two months to
switch to the GST regime, with all its
implications for supply chains,
pricing strategies and accounting
systems, could lead to a messy start.
The Centre must keep its mind open
on pushing forward the rollout by a
month or so, while industry should rise
above heckling over rates and invest
more lobbying energy on bigger
worries, such as the GST's penal anti-
profiteering clauses.
Framing the right prescription
India spends close to 5% of its
GDP on health. While this may appear
low when compared to 18% of the
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U.S., data show that Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) countries
spend 8-11%, middle-income
countries close to 6%, and India's
peers, the lower-middle-income
countries 4.5%. By these measures,
India's health-care spending, while
still somewhat low, is not unusually
so. However, on an index measuring
country performance on the health-
related Sustainable Development
Goal (SDG) indicators, India ranks
poorly at 143 out of 188 countries.
If we look in terms of Purchasing
Power Parity (PPP), a measure that
more accurately corresponds with
our actual standard of living, India is
the third largest economy in the
world, at almost PPP $8 trillion. Given
the large size of our population, our
5% allocation to health translates to a
mere $267 per individual, a number
far lower than the OECD average of
$4,698. Yet, countries with
comparable or even lower per capita
health expenditures, including
Indonesia, Thailand, and Ghana, are
ranked better on the SDG Index at
91, 112, and 141, respectively, out of
188, and offer us hope and a few
lessons.
First is the pooling of health
expenditure: India has among the
lowest pooled expenditure for
health care; between 2004-2014,
approximately 4-7% of households
fell below the poverty line as a result
of high out-of-pocket expense. Pre-
payment and pooling of resources are
critical to ensure financial protection
against catastrophic health shocks.
The extent of pooling is determined
by the government's tax allocation to
health and insurance coverage in the
country. India's low tax to GDP ratio
and allocations of around 5% of
general government expenditure to
health impact the total quantum of
funds available. Countries such as
Thailand which have a comparable
tax to GDP ratio have prioritised
health within their budgets and
allocate 13% of it to health care. To
increase pooled funds for health care,
India needs to both provide a
significantly higher level of allocation
to health care in its annual Budgets,
as in Thailand, as well as extend
schemes such as the Employees'
State Insurance Scheme (ESIS) -
currently a mandatory insurance
scheme only for low-wage earners in
the formal sector in India - to all
employees. Gradually the informal
sector, both in upper and lower
income, can be included by making
it mandatory for all residents to buy
into national or state health insurance
schemes as has been successfully
done in Kyrgyzstan, China, and South
Korea.
Second is the control exercised
by the government on the health
system: Successful health systems,
the world over, including in entirely
free market developed economies
such as Germany, Switzerland, South
Korea, and Japan, do not necessarily
have the government as a provider.
Nevertheless, they all have a high
degree of direct government control
on the services that are offered; the
pricing of health services, referral
pathways, and treatment protocols
that are followed. Governments such
as those of Japan and Switzerland
exercise direct price controls on
services like how much physicians
and hospitals may charge. Similar to
the control in some mandated drug
pricing, setting a price control on
what hospitals and physicians may
charge for their services, are critical
elements that India may consider.
The other area could be instituting
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licensing processes for hospitals,
similar to the Certificate of Need
process in the U.S., which can help a
regionally-equitable distribution of
hospitals by incentivising the setting
up of facilities in poorly served areas.
It is clear that significant,
strategic shifts in the level of control
that the government exerts on both
the financing and provision of health
are urgently required. India can build
on learning from core design
principles from global experiences,
including prioritising resources for
health within government budgets,
pooling existing resources, and
greater government control over the
health sector. It can also allow for a
customised approach based on its
context. Such a path will allow India
to deliver on quality health care and
equitable health outcomes to all of
its people.
The return of BCCI's prodigal
child
Everything relating to cricket in
India has been uncertain this past
year. It seems as if there is some
conflict at every corner. Lost in the
epic tussle between the Board of
Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and
the Supreme Court is the prodigal
child which caused all this conflict,
the Indian Premier League (IPL), set
to return for its tenth season on April
5. Just two weeks away, the IPL can
no longer be ignored nor superseded
by the greater good, namely
reforming cricket.
The most relevant commercial
decision and predictor that currently
hangs in the balance for the IPL is the
media rights tender for the broadcast
and digital verticals for the seasons
from 2018 to 2027. Expected to easily
surpass the previous media rights
agreement of $1.8 billion, the
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benchmark it may be looking to
achieve is the English Premier
League's gigantic £5.1 billion
arrangement with Sky and BT for the
three-year period commencing 2016-
2017. Professional sports leagues with
a captive audience have in recent
years signed comparable long-term
media rights arrangements. The
National Football League of the U.S.,
for instance, in 2014 entered into an
eight-year arrangement for $4.95
billion. The IPL, at least until October
2016, appeared to be well on track
for a similar arrangement, but the
recent wobbles would have made
many jittery.
There have been many
diversions leading up to season 10.
The Supreme Court ruling on the
BCCI and the subsequent
appointment of the Council of
Administrators (CoA) to lead the
board have understandably caused
a delay in major decisions impacting
the IPL. There has also been
significant pushback from the State
associations hosting IPL matches.
They have demanded,
unsuccessfully, payment for hosting
IPL matches upfront. At the same
time, the CoA, tasked with
implementing the Justice Lodha
Committee reforms, has finalised the
Memorandum of Association and the
Rules and Regulations of the BCCI,
with some significant changes, all of
which will be resisted by many of the
State associations. The Supreme
Court is tasked with hearing some of
the challenges by various State
associations, and what's clear is that
despite the official handover of
leadership to the CoA, the
implementation by and
acquiescence of the State
associations, including with respect
to the IPL-specific aspects, is again
uncertain.
The International Cricket
Council (ICC) too has witnessed its
own drama. With a roll-back of the
'Big Three' reforms, the CoA is
handling a pitched battle at that end
as well, as it fights to retain its revenue
stream over the coming years. From
the IPL's perspective, this is
encouraging because the CoA has
not shown any inclination to forego
revenues or profits for Indian cricket,
a concern that stakeholders may have
had given that the COA's mandate is
to reform cricket. There may,
however, continue to be concerns
over whether the IPL is given a
relevant window unobstructed by
important bilateral series scheduled
by the ICC.
A relatively uneventful player
auction has indicated the importance
of decisions taken next season, and
the return of the suspended
franchises of Chennai and Rajasthan
in 2018 will add some flair and
controversy. Add to this the game-
changing potential of the media rights
agreement, and ambivalence on how
the CoA will approach and prioritise
the IPL during the handover phase,
and this is the most unpredictable
season and post-season for the IPL in
its short life cycle. The on-field
achievements have, at least for the
time being, taken a back seat.
Growth by merger
The Vodafone Group's decision
to merge its India unit with the Aditya
Birla Group-controlled Idea Cellular
is a classic case of two companies
recognising truth in the adage that
'the whole is greater than the sum of
its parts'. Of the two mobile
operators, Idea functioned in its early
years as a three-way joint venture
involving the Tata Group, U.S.
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telecommunications behemoth
AT&T, and the Aditya Birla Group.
The proposed deal represents a
welcome chance to resurrect its
flagging fortunes. The last three
quarters proved a brutal testament to
the ravages that heightened
competition could wreak on a
middle-of-the-pack firm's operational
finances. In Vodafone's case, the
planned merger offers the global
telecom major an opportunity to
downsize its engagement with a
market in which promise has
outweighed performance, without
actually exiting it. To that extent, it is
a win-win for both parties. Set to vault
the combined entity to the top of the
heap in India's 1.13-billion
subscribers strong mobile phone
services market, the 'merger of
equals', as the two companies
described it, will enable Vodafone
to straight away net about Rs. 3,900
crore on consummation of the deal
by selling a 4.9% stake to the Aditya
Birla Group, leaving its holding in the
new company at 45.1%. Idea's
controlling shareholders will have an
opportunity to increase the 26% stake
they will have at the start of the
relationship by acquiring more shares
from Vodafone over the next four
years. The two firms expect to see
substantial cost savings as the
projected synergies from capital and
operational expenditure help focus
on meeting the challenges of a fast-
evolving market amid a tariff war with
the current leader Bharti Airtel and
the ambitious recent entrant Reliance
Jio.
Nevertheless, the merger,
however grand the scale, could well
end up being less than adequate to
help staunch the flow of red ink amid
an industrywide slide in average
revenue per user and the steadily
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escalating cost of bidding for fresh
wireless spectrum. With mobile
number portability having made it
easier for customers to switch
networks on account of service
quality levels or pricing, Vodafone
and Idea have their work cut out in
the lead-up to the merger, which they
expect to close in 2018. For
Vodafone, the prospect of having to
meet a huge bill of about Rs. 21,000
crore, were it to lose its arbitral
challenge to a tax claim dating back
to the transaction that paved its entry
to the Indian market, must surely have
been a significant consideration in
tipping its hand. As the company's
Chairman Gerard Kleisterlee wrote in
the 2016 annual report: "While India
represents an excellent long-term
investment opportunity, the present
regulatory challenges are hampering
economic development… and this is
exacerbated by other ongoing
regulatory and fiscal burdens." Time
alone can tell whether this will end
up as a truly successful marriage.
Remembering 1971
It has been a long-pending
demand in Bangladesh, by political
parties and civil society, to mark the
atrocities committed by the Pakistani
army on civilians in the then East
Pakistan during the Liberation War in
1971. On March 11, the Bangladesh
Parliament passed a resolution calling
on the government to observe March
25 as Genocide Day. The government
of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
approved the demand and said it
would send two senior officials to the
UN headquarters in New York and the
UN Human Rights Council office in
Geneva for international recognition
of the day.
On the night of March 25, 1971,
the Pakistani army, launched
Operation Searchlight in Dhaka
aimed at curbing elements of the
separatist Bengali nationalist
movement. East Pakistan was already
on the boil after the Pakistan
establishment refused to hand over
power to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
who had won the 1970 election. The
Pakistani army, along with local
activists from the Jamaat-e-Islami,
unleashed violence that night,
targeting students and teachers of
Dhaka University and
neighbourhoods of Old Dhaka.
According to some researchers,
around 7,000 people were killed and
3,000 were arrested. During the early
hours of March 26, Mujibur Rahman
declared the independence of
Bangladesh, which officially set off
the Liberation War.
Pakistan Prime Minister Zulfikar
Ali Bhutto set up a judicial
commission to find out the atrocities
committed by the army in East
Pakistan. Justice Hamoodur Rahman
submitted his report in 1974, which
was not released to the public for
three decades. It documented large-
scale atrocities committed by the
Pakistani troops and also
recommended that the government
establish a special court to further
investigate the army's actions. This
never happened. Even the
commission's estimate of the
casualties has been widely
challenged. It put the death toll
during the Liberation War at 26,000.
Bangladeshi authorities say up to
three million people were killed and
millions more displaced. The Pakistani
authorities haven't offered a formal
apology so far.
Bilateral ties have been strained
after Bangladesh started prosecuting
alleged war criminals who
collaborated with the Pakistani army
in 1971. With Pakistan still refusing to
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apologise, Bangladesh's move to get
international recognition for the
genocide will have repercussions for
bilateral relations.
Superpower dreams
India's rank of 131 among 188
countries on the UNDP's Human
Development Index for 2015 and its
'medium' performance pose the
uncomfortable question: would not
the score have been significantly
better if the higher economic growth
trajectory of two and a half decades
of liberalisation had been
accompanied by a parallel
investment in people? Few will argue
that the rise in incomes that came with
a more open economy has not
translated into a higher quality of life
for many Indians and raised overall
life expectancy at birth by more than
10 years from the 1990 level, to reach
68.3 years. Progress has also been
made in raising awareness about
issues affecting women's
empowerment, such as public safety,
acid attacks, discrimination in
inheritance rights and lack of equal
employment opportunity. Policy
reforms have been instituted in some
of these areas as a result. But as the
HDI data show, significant
inequalities persist, particularly
between States and regions, which
act as major barriers to improvement.
The percentage of women in the
workforce is the lowest in India
among the BRICS countries, and the
national record on the population that
lives in severe multidimensional
poverty is also the worst in the bloc.
These are clear pointers to the lost
decades for India, when
universalisation of education and
health care could have pulled
deprived sections out of the poverty
trap.
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A central focus on social
indicators is necessary for India to
break free from its position as an
underachiever. The fiscal space now
available has been strengthened by
steady economic growth, and more
should be done to eliminate subsidies
for the richest quintile - estimated by
the UNDP to be $16 billion in 2014 in
six consumption areas including gold
and aviation fuel.
The rise in revenues from all
sources should go towards making
public education of high standards
accessible to all and delivering on the
promised higher budgetary outlay for
health care. Bolstered by a conscious
effort to help traditionally backward
regions, such policies will help
eliminate the losses produced by
inequalities that lower national human
development indices. One crucial
metric that gets insufficient attention
in the measurement of development
is the state of democracy, reflected
among other things
in access to justice. It is relevant
to point out that India has not ratified
UN conventions on torture, rights of
migrant workers and their families,
and protection against enforced
disappearance. This is a serious
lacuna for a country that otherwise
has a commitment to democracy and
the rule of law.
With the growing realisation that
development is a multidimensional
achievement, the gains of economic
reforms must help build capabilities
and improve the health of all
sections. Sustaining and improving
the quality of life will depend on
policies crafted to handle major
emerging challenges such as
urbanisation, the housing deficit,
access to power, water, education
and health care.
Breathing life into health care
The new National Health Policy
(2017) released last week presents a
clear vision of how India's sluggish
health system can be galvanised to
deliver health and well-being to all
by 2030, to meet the Sustainable
Development Goal on health. The
real challenge lies in its operational
amplification and effective
implementation which call for
cementing consensus, catalysing
commitment and channelling close
coordination for steering Centre and
the States together to deliver on this
vision.
After a gestation period of over
two years, that saw extensive public
comment and sharp debate within
the government, the policy has finally
emerged as a well-crafted document
that lays the path for Universal Health
Coverage (UHC). Though the right to
health proposed in the earlier draft
has been disappointingly deleted,
effective implementation of the
various measures proposed in the
NHP should place us on the path
towards the realisation of that right.
While espousing a strong public
health approach and commitment to
strengthening the public sector, the
policy aims to draw upon the diverse
systems of medicine and the different
sectors of health-care providers that
characterise our mixed health
system, for providing much-needed
health services across India.
The policy acknowledges the
need for increasing the level of
public financing for health, stating
that the government must spend 2.5%
of GDP by 2025. While this is sub-
optimal and projects a farther date
than public health advocates had
hoped for, the promise to double
public financing over next eight years
is still welcome, given that
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government funding was virtually
stagnant for several decades.
However, Central budgets from now
on must reflect a steady rise annually,
to give credence to this promise. It
also remains to be seen how States
will conform to the recommendation
that spending on health must rise
above 8% of their budgets by 2020.
Primary health care is rightly
prioritised for two-thirds or more of
all public funding. Free drugs,
diagnostic and emergency services
would be provided to all in public
hospitals.
There is an assurance of primary
health services which are needed for
comprehensive care and promotion
of well-being. These are to be
available anywhere in the country on
the basis of a family card, which also
connects them to a 'health and
wellness centre' that provides basic
services, referral linkages and
performs a gatekeeper function for
advanced care. AYUSH systems
would be mainstreamed. The much-
delayed National Urban Health
Mission is to be imparted speed and
scale to address the unmet needs of
urban primary health care while
reaching out to the urban poor.
Secondary and tertiary health
care will be provided through
strengthened public services, with
gap filling through strategic
purchasing of services from private
providers. While a 'capitation' fee
model - of fixed annual payment for
full health care of a person - has been
proposed for primary health care, a
'fee for service' system has been
proposed for secondary and tertiary
care. It remains to be seen how these
will gel in an integrated model.
District hospitals are to be
strengthened, to provide several
elements of tertiary care alongside
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secondary care. Sub-district hospitals
too would be upgraded. A National
Healthcare Standards Organisation is
proposed to be established to
develop evidence-based standard
management guidelines. A National
Health Information Network also
would be established by 2025. A
National Digital Health Authority
would be set up to develop, deploy
and regulate digital health across the
continuum of care.
Expanded institutional capacity
as well as new courses and cadres
are proposed to overcome the
shortages of skilled human resources
in the health system. Public Health
Management cadres are to be created
in all States. BSc in Community Health
and MD in Family Medicine are
marked for scale-up and a variety of
specialised nursing and paramedical
courses are proposed, even as
Accredited Social Health Activists
(ASHAs) can career-track to become
auxiliary nurse midwives.
A variety of disease control
measures and targets have been
proposed to tackle challenges
ranging from HIV-TB co-infection to
trauma and screening for chronic
conditions such as hypertension,
diabetes and common cancers.
Control of indoor and outdoor air
pollution has been accorded high
priority with water, sanitation and
nutrition, while multi-sectoral action
will be aided by analytic capacity for
health impact assessment.
Way to get back on board
In February 2014, when the
Chinese government first brought up
with India its plans for the Belt and
Road (B&R) Initiative, four months
after President Xi Jinping had
unveiled the idea in Kazakhstan, it
seemed an unworkable, ambitious
pipe dream. China would need all the
friends and partners it could get to
make its plans for a 60-nation network
encompassing 4.4 billion people. In
the Chinese scheme, India could be
a major partner, and maps of the time
show the B&R travel east to west right
through India.
A few months later Russia was
enlisted through the $400-billion
"Power of Siberia" pipeline, and Mr.
Xi's friendship at a time when the West
had decided to isolate and cripple
Moscow over Crimea's annexation
brought President Vladimir Putin
firmly into the fold. With India, China's
plan was a grander one: the newly
elected Prime Minister, Narendra
Modi, would visit Xi'an, the original
starting point of the old Silk Route, in
May 2015, and both leaders would
announce their cooperation in the
B&R project (then called OBOR or
One Belt, One Road), along with
plans for the Bangladesh-China-
India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic
corridor and the Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank (AIIB) that was set
up in October 2014.
Somewhere along the way, the
script soured, and whether it was Mr.
Modi's announcement of a joint vision
with U.S. President Obama for Asia-
Pacific (read South China Sea), or Mr.
Xi's announcement of the $46-billion
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
(CPEC) that runs through Pakistan-
occupied Kashmir (PoK), the May
2015 plan never materialised,
although Mr. Modi did visit Xi'an.
China says it still hasn't given up
on Indian participation, and the
National People's Congress
spokesperson this week repeated the
hope that India will attend Mr. Xi's
mega B&R conference on May 14-15
this year. Mr. Putin, British Prime
Minister Theresa May, Philippines
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
President Rodrigo Duterte, Pakistani
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif are
among the invitees expected.
However, the government has made
it clear it is prepared to sit out the
event over the principle of
sovereignty.
There is every indication that
after 'annus horribilis' of 2016 for
India-China ties, overshadowed by
China's opposition to India's entry
into in the Nuclear Suppliers Group
and its vetoing of a proposal at the
United Nations to declare Masood
Azhar a terrorist, New Delhi is looking
for a reset. During Foreign Secretary
S. Jaishankar's recent visit to Beijing
for the restructured Strategic
Dialogue, he said as much, calling for
a more "stable, forward-looking"
relationship to deal with an
"international situation in flux", a clear
pointer that global uncertainties
triggered by the Donald Trump
administration in the U.S. must force
a geopolitical review.
Much has been written about
the impact of the new U.S. President's
actions on India. The most obvious
ones are cutbacks on immigrant visas,
restrictions on outsourcing, and
'SelectUSA' which will make a dent
in the 'Make in India' programme,
both for manufactured goods and
defence purchases. Those actions are
held responsible for creating an
atmosphere of xenophobia in the U.S.
where Indians could be targeted as
much as people from countries on the
travel ban, and the government has
already had to exert considerable
diplomatic leverage to exact words
of assurances from the U.S.
government on behalf of NRIs and
PIOs.
A rethink may also be required
on India's own neighbourhood
policy. In September last year, the
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government exerted considerable
heft with each of the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) countries to cancel a
summit in Pakistan after the Uri
attacks. The move was a part of India's
plan to "isolate" Pakistan until it takes
action on terror. The truth is that the
plan worked for the SAARC summit,
but not beyond that, in part because
of Pakistan's involvement with China
and the B&R initiative, which has
already been signed on to by
Afghanistan, Maldives, Sri Lanka and
Bangladesh (Nepal is expected to
join soon). Even Afghanistan and
Bangladesh, which suffer the most
from terrorism emanating from
Pakistan, will inevitably be drawn into
the B&R group of countries more and
more for connectivity and trade, more
so in the absence of SAARC.
Significantly, it is the Afghanistan
leadership that has come out most
strongly on the need for India to find
its way into the B&R. Both President
Ashraf Ghani and former President
Hamid Karzai, on visits to India in the
past few months, have stressed the
importance of connecting India to
Central Asia via Afghanistan, joining
a "strategic arc" of countries from Iran
to Russia and China. These countries,
including Iran, Afghanistan,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Pakistan,
are connecting to each other via B&R
through Iran's North-South corridor,
CPEC and other routes already in
place, while India's plans for
Chabahar port are still to get off the
ground.
The founder of the old Silk
Route, Zhang Qian, was not a Chinese
emperor or ruler, but a diplomat-
warrior. He set out to look for strategic
allies for Emperor Wu on a journey
that began in 138 BC from the Han
capital of Chang'an (now Xi'an). When
he returned he told the emperor he
had also learned during his stay in
Bactria (Afghanistan and Central Asia)
that a more important route for China
lay within Shendu (India), through
which China could trade over the
mountains of Sichuan province. Two
thousand years later, it may need both
diplomacy and a push from
Afghanistan and Central Asia to once
again align the lines between India
and China, if New Delhi and Beijing
wish to ensure that the success they
shared via the old Silk Route is given
another chance.
The compulsive patent hoarding
disorder
It takes money to make money.
CSIR-Tech, the commercialisation
arm of the Council of Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR), realised
this the hard way when it had to shut
down its operations for lack of funds.
CSIR has filed more than 13,000
patents - 4,500 in India and 8,800
abroad - at a cost of Rs. 50 crore over
the last three years. Across years,
that's a lot of taxpayers' money, which
in turn means that the closing of CSIR-
Tech is a tacit admission that its work
has been an expensive mistake - a
mistake that we tax-paying citizens
have paid for.
Recently, CSIR's Director-
General Girish Sahni claimed that
most of CSIR's patents were "bio-data
patents", filed solely to enhance the
value of a scientist's resume and that
the extensive expenditure of public
funds spent in filing and maintaining
patents was unviable. CSIR claims to
have licensed a percentage of its
patents, but has so far failed to show
any revenue earned from the
licences. This compulsive hoarding
of patents has come at a huge cost. If
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CSIR-Tech was privately run, it would
have been shut down long ago.
Acquiring Intellectual Property Rights
(IPR) comes out of our blind
adherence to the idea of patenting
as an index of innovation. The private
sector commercialises patents
through the licensing of technology
and the sale of patented products to
recover the money spent in R&D. But
when the funds for R&D come from
public sources, mimicking the private
sector may not be the best option.
The National IPR Policy
released last year does not offer any
guideline on distinguishing IPR
generated using public funds from
private ones - it views every IPR with
private objectives by insisting on
commercialisation. Dissemination of
technology to the masses,
participation in nation-building and
creating public goods are rarely
objectives that drive the private
sector. The IPR policy of some
publicly-funded research institutions
allows for 30-70% of the income
generated through the
commercialisation of the patent to be
shared with the creators of the
invention, i.e., scientists and
professors on the payroll of the
government. Such a policy could
promote private aggrandisement and
may work against public interest. In
contrast, the IPR policy of private
companies does not allow for a
payback on the share of royalties
earned by patents.
The fate of CSIR-Tech is proof
that the current model of
commercialisation does not work with
respect to publicly-funded research.
So, how do we ensure that public-
funded research reaches the masses
and check the excessive filing of
patents without due diligence? A
possible solution to preserve the
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objective of publicly funded
research is to devise an IPR policy
wherein patents are initially offered
on an open royalty-free licence to
start-ups. Once start-ups
commercialise the inventions
successfully, the royalty-free licence
could be converted into a revenue-
sharing model.
Putting granted patents on an
open licence can be testimony to the
commercial viability of the things we
are patenting using public money.
Not only would it bring a sense of
accountability to the managers who
run the system but it would also open
up publicly-funded research to a
whole lot of people, especially start-
ups, who can now test, verify, work
and put the patented technology
into the market.
Arc to West Asia
By hosting the leaders of Saudi
Arabia and Israel, the two
heavyweights in West Asia that do not
have formal diplomatic relations, in
consecutive weeks, Beijing has sent
yet another signal on its growing
appetite to deepen ties with the
region. During the visit of King Salman
last week, China and Saudi Arabia
announced an investment
cooperation deal worth $65 billion
that will boost partnerships in fields
such as energy, finance and
aerospace. Days later, Chinese
President Xi Jinping met Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in
Beijing, where both leaders vowed
to strengthen cooperation in the
technology and agriculture sectors.
Over the years China has built strong
economic ties with countries in West
Asia, while staying clear of the
region's several crises and hostilities.
It is one of the top buyers of oil from
Saudi Arabia and a key trading
partner of Israel. For Iran, Beijing
remained a trusted ally even during
the time of sanctions. China was one
of the few countries that continued
to buy oil from Iran when most others,
including India, either halted trade
or implemented massive cuts in
imports under American pressure.
China's economic ties with West Asia
assumed greater significance after Mr.
Xi unveiled the One Belt, One Road
initiative. West Asia plays a major role
in this Silk Road revival plan, which
the Chinese believe will fortify their
global standing.
Of late, China has shown a
greater interest in expanding its
engagement with the region beyond
the economic sphere. Its relationship
with Iran has already acquired
strategic dimensions. It is one of the
supporters of the Bashar al-Assad
regime in civil war-stricken Syria. In
the UN Security Council, China, along
with Russia, has consistently vetoed
U.S.-backed resolutions on Syria,
while at the same time offering to
broker peace between rival factions.
China has also recognised Palestine
as a state and offered support for the
Palestinians. During his meeting with
Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Xi said peaceful
coexistence between Israel and
Palestine would be good for both
parties and the region. The Chinese
have also urged Saudi Arabia and
Israel to work together to attain
peace. All this indicates that China is
ready to end its strategic reluctance
in dealing with West Asia and to
adopt a gradualist proactive policy
that suits its profile as a fast-rising
global power. But there are risks as
well. Unlike the U.S. and Russia, China
has traditionally played a risk-free
global role, staying focussed on
economic development. It lacks
experience in navigating the political,
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
religious, sectarian and tribal tensions
in West Asia, both among states and
within countries. The three major
pillars of China's West Asia policy -
Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel - are rival
powers. The challenge before
Beijing, if it wants to enter the
troubled political waters of West Asia,
is to maintain a perfect balancing act.
Cloak of invisibility
Well before financial year 2017-
18 begins, the Lok Sabha has signed
off on the Budget with the passage
of the Finance Bill of 2017. It includes
multiple amendments proposed by
the government that did not figure in
Arun Jaitley's speech of February 1,
either in letter or in spirit. For instance,
while the speech devoted 420 words
to proposed measures to improve
transparency in electoral funding,
amendments have been made to the
Companies Act of 2013 that actually
turn the clock back on existing
disclosure standards. Till now,
companies could only contribute up
to 7.5% of their average net profits in
the past three financial years to
political parties. They were required
to disclose in their profit and loss
accounts the amount of contributions
and the names of political parties to
which they were made. The ceiling
has now been dropped, paving the
way for a firm to deploy unlimited
capital into political coffers
irrespective of its own financial and
operational health. Companies would
still have to reveal the extent of their
financing of parties, but no longer
have to name their preferred parties.
For the sake of argument, one could
say the 7.5% limit was arbitrary and
restricted willing and able corporate
donors' ability to influence political
activity. But doing away with the limit
makes firms susceptible to funding
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'requests' from local, regional or
national political formations while
taking away excuses - such as it being
a loss-making unit, or breaching the
funding cap.
This would open up new
opportunities in crony capitalism.
Pressure could be exerted on a
company awaiting government
clearances, or a loan restructuring
from public or cooperative sector
financiers. Even a publicly listed
company can set up subsidiaries just
to fund parties. This removes any
pretence of transparency in the
process as the donor will not have to
disclose who he paid; the recipient
has no such obligation either. It is not
surprising that India Inc. has remained
stoically silent so far. This
abandonment of the 7.5% requisite
comes in tandem with the proposal
to float electoral bonds to give
anonymity to political donors. The
scheme for such 'bearer' bonds is still
being worked out with the central
bank, but how this will meet the
objective of transparency isn't clear
yet. The push for cashless modes for
political contributions sounds
worthy, but reducing the Rs. 20,000
limit on cash donations to Rs. 2,000
does nothing to guarantee that
monetary muscle power will dissipate
from electoral processes. Instead of,
say, a lakh of such donors, a party can
now share 10 lakh random names to
justify cash holdings. Transparency is
not synonymous with anonymous
transactions, unlimited corporate
donations, relaxed disclosure norms
and the persistence of cash. The
Budget's promise of "reform to bring
about greater transparency and
accountability in political funding,
while preventing future generation of
black money", truly rings hollow.
One India, two time zones
In a two paragraph order
delivered by Chief Justice Ajit Singh,
the Gauhati High Court has dismissed
a public interest litigation filed by Rita
Mozumder seeking a direction from
the Central government to notify a
separate time zone for the Northeast.
The court cites a high-level
committee study, constituted by the
Ministry of Science and Technology,
that recognised the difficulties faced
by a single time zone in eastern India
but concluded that Indian Standard
Time (IST) should nonetheless be
retained. The issues raised by the
petition demanded more than a
cursory order dismissing the petition
given the importance of the issue.
Legislators, activists, industrialists and
ordinary citizens from the Northeast
have often complained about the
effect of IST on their lives, and
pursued the issue of having a separate
time zone with the Central
government, without much success.
The petition arose after repeated
rejections by the government.
The idea of a standard time
zone has become so integral to our
lives that we often take it for granted
and assume it to be a part of natural
phenomena. We tend to forget the
complex contestations - including
legal ones - that go into its making.
The creation of a time zone signals
the victory of time over space with
geographical areas being brought
under a single time zone rather than
relying on local solar time. It entails a
denial of local time - or a separation
of time from space - a very significant
fact if you consider what it means to
the experience of social and
economic lives. In the case of India,
the time difference between the
westernmost part of India and the
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
easternmost point is approximately
two hours, the effect of which is that
the sun rises and sets much earlier
than it does in the rest of the country.
In the Northeast, the sun rises
as early as four in the morning and in
winter it sets by four in the evening.
By the time government offices or
educational institutions open, many
daylight hours are already lost. In
winter this problem gets even more
accentuated and the ecological costs
are a disaster with much more
electricity having to be consumed.
Profs. D.P. Sengupta, and Dilip Ahuja
of the National Institute of Advanced
Studies claim that advancing IST by
half an hour would result in saving 2.7
billion units of electricity every year.
None of the other proposals such as
the introduction of daylight saving
time in India has met with any approval
and it is felt that having two time
zones would be unsuitable. There is
of course a strong political dimension
to granting a separate time zone in
the Northeast given the region's long
history of self-determination
movements. The unstated
assumption is that the grant of a
different time zone is only the first
temporal step towards conceding
spatial autonomy. This appears to me
to be a short-sighted perspective. If
socioeconomic development is
indeed one of the formulae to combat
insurgency, might it not be
worthwhile to consider the disastrous
impact that IST has on productivity
and efficiency in the region?
Ambedkar's reference to
"Bombay time" and "Calcutta time"
reminds us of an interesting
aberration in the history of IST. It was
instituted in 1905 but after it had
been adopted, Bombay traders
found it difficult to convert to IST.
Because the conversion to IST was
100
sought to be effected at a time when
there was considerable public
resentment over the Tilak sedition
trial, the government found little
support for this shift among the
people in Bombay. Bombay Time was
maintained right up to 1955 with
Bombay following its own time zone
which was 38 minutes ahead of the
rest of the country.
While the court may have been
reticent to intervene in what it saw
primarily as an executive prerogative,
it also passed an opportunity to
examine a fascinating dimension of
temporal justice that Indian courts
have not had an opportunity to
address, but other jurisdictions have
had to contend with. In the U.S.,
battles over daylight-saving time
regularly went to court and it was not
until 1966 with the passing of the
Uniform Time Act that they had a
uniform national period of daylight-
saving time. Todd D. Rakoff in his work
on the invisibility of time in structuring
the law argues that there is a
normative dimension of time that
seems to underwrite a number of
legal arrangements, and the question
of how we, as a society, structure our
time is mirrored in the question how
we structure our laws.
Responding to the various
objections raised about a separate
time zone, journalist, writer and
academic Sanjoy Hazarika raises
critical questions and asks us to
consider why it is that the
development index leans
considerably in favour of western
India as opposed to the east, and
what impact differential time may
have on it.
The river as being
In a recent judgment, the
Uttarakhand High Court declared the
rivers Yamuna and Ganga as legal or
juridical persons, enjoying all the
rights, duties and liabilities of a living
person. Indian courts have granted
this status to temple deities, religious
books, corporations, etc., but it is for
the first time that an element of the
natural environment has been
declared a legal person. And it is not
just the two rivers - all their tributaries,
streams, every natural water body
flowing continuously or intermittently
of[f] these rivers will enjoy this status.
The two issues before the High
Court were: removal of illegal
constructions on the banks of a canal
in Dehradun, and the division of
water resources between Uttar
Pradesh and Uttarakhand (which had
not been resolved since the
formation of the new State). In
December 2016, the High Court
directed the removal of the
constructions. It also directed the
constitution of the Ganga
Management Board (a statutory body
under the U.P. Reorganisation Act
2000), and prohibited mining of the
Ganga riverbed and its highest flood
plain area. On the issue of resource
division, the court directed the
Central government to notify the
settlement reached by the two States
in a time-bound manner.
Three months later, when the
matter came up before the court
once again, the encroachments were
still there, the settlement between
the States was yet to take place, and
the board had not been constituted.
The court issued directions for time-
bound action. But separately, it took
three logical leaps.
First, for the court, an
'extraordinary situation' had been
created which required
extraordinary measures for the
protection of the Ganga and the
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
Yamuna. From what was a clear
breach of statutory duties under the
U.P. Reorganisation Act, and the
regrettable, though scarcely
unprecedented, inability of the State
to remove encroachments, the case
became one concerning the
protection of the health and well-
being of the two rivers. The issue may
have been elaborated upon in court,
but the judgment, unfortunately,
does not tell us more.
Second, the court recorded
how the rivers provide 'physical and
spiritual sustenance' to half the Indian
population. It found the constitution
of the board to be necessary for
various purposes including irrigation,
water supply, and power generation.
And then, curiously, found it
expedient to give legal status to the
rivers as living persons.
Third, the court decides to
exercise the parens patriae
jurisdiction to declare the rivers and
all their tributaries, etc. as living
persons. Parens patriae , literally
'parent of the country', is an inherent
power of the sovereign, and not the
courts, to provide protection to
persons unable to take care of
themselves. It was (in)famously
deployed by the Indian government
in the Bhopal Gas tragedy case to
represent the claims of the victims.
The Director, Namami Gange, the
Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand and
the Advocate General of
Uttarakhand have been appointed as
the persons in loco parentis - persons
who will act 'in the place of parents'
for the two rivers. These officers are
now expected to act on behalf of the
rivers for their protection and
conservation. They are 'bound to
uphold the status' of the rivers and
also to promote their health and well-
being.
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The judgment comes close on Revisiting India's nuclear
the heels of New Zealand granting doctrine
legal status to the Whanganui river.
Calls for reassessing India's
But unlike the comprehensive Bill
nuclear doctrine are a regular feature
passed by the New Zealand
of our strategic landscape.
Parliament recognising rights and
Depending on where the person
settling claims, the High Court's
asking for this reconsideration sits on
declaration is terse, and raises several
the strategic spectrum, the demand
questions. In the eyes of the law, living
for revision rests either on scepticism
persons such as companies,
about India's commitment to a No
associations, deities etc., have rights
First Use posture or the intention to
and duties - primary among these
retaliate massively to any nuclear first
being the right to sue and the
strike, no matter what the yield of the
capacity to be sued. Which implies
weapon used first. What seems to
that from now on, the rivers can sue
receive much less attention, however,
persons acting against their interests.
is the declaration that India reserves
But what for? Do they have a right
the right to nuclear retaliation "in the
not to be a receptacle for tons of
event of a major attack against India,
sewage? Can they demand minimum
or Indian forces anywhere, by
ecological flows? A right not to be
biological or chemical weapons". In
dammed, dredged, or diverted? If
doing so, we are clubbing together
yes, who will sue whom? Can the
nuclear first use - which has not
Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand now
occurred since 1945 - and biological
sue a Municipal Corporation in Uttar
and chemical first use which,
Pradesh or Bihar for the discharge of
especially chemical, continues to
effluents downstream? Or will the
occur sporadically, whether by state
Director, Namami Gange, sue the
or non-state actors. The further
Central government for approving
question of degree, as in "major
another hydro-power project on the
attack", only further muddies these
river? Do other riparian State
already murky waters.
governments now have less of a role
The dramatic assassination in
in the protection of the rivers as they
Malaysia last month of North Korean
are not the identified 'custodians'?
Kim Jong-nam by the chemical agent
And what are rivers' duties?
VX, which was almost certainly
The judgment does not take
orchestrated by elements within the
away existing statutory and
North Korean state, adds another layer
constitutional rights and duties of
to questions about making sponsors
citizens and government agencies to
of chemical attacks accountable. The
counter the pollution and
ease with which deadly chemicals
degradation of these rivers. What it
can be transported across state
does do is to identify three officers
borders, as demonstrated by the
who will be the first-line defenders
assault, gives further pause. This is not
for the rivers. Perhaps they will not
to try to equate a political
be able to pass the (institutional)
assassination with a military attack
buck any more. But is that game-
using chemical weapons. The fact
changing? Sadly, no.
remains, however, that the 1992
Chemical Weapons Convention has
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
succeeded in only partly making their
use utterly reprehensible; their use is
beyond the pale but will not alter the
course of history in the manner that
we expect will follow a nuclear
explosion. Quite simply, there is a
fairly strong norm governing the non-
use of nuclear weapons; the norm
against the use of chemical and
biological weapons is still coalescing.
Despite being banned,
chemical weapons have not gone
away. They have cropped up
frequently in Syria and Iraq, where
their recent use has been attributed
to the Islamic State. The murder of
Kim Jong-nam was the stuff of a spy
thriller: two young women
approached the estranged half-
brother of North Korean leader Kim
Jong-un and poisoned him with VX,
a nerve agent so deadly that a drop
on exposed skin is lethal. The
execution was breathtaking in its
simplicity: the women delivering the
VX were apparently duped into
believing they were taking part in a
reality TV prank.
This was, however, not out of
the pages of a spy thriller, but from
the playbook of a regime that appears
not to fear the consequences of using
an internationally banned chemical
substance for a political assassination
on foreign soil. Analogous methods
might be employed to use other
chemical and biological weapons by
other players. If a roughly similar
attack were carried out against
Indians, whether military personnel,
politicians or indeed civilians, how
would New Delhi define "major"?
This is, of course, assuming India
could definitely pin the blame on a
state. It might be worth recalling that
Bashar al-Assad used the nerve agent
sarin against civilians in the Damascus
suburb of Ghouta in August 2013,
102
killing over 1,400 people. And yet,
former President Barack Obama,
having famously invoked a 'red line'
about the movement of chemical
weapons in the region in unprepared
remarks a year earlier, eventually
stepped back from a military response
to that attack.
By most standards, the
surrendering and destruction of such
a massive stockpile would be
chalked up in the 'success' column
of international diplomacy. Yet, Mr.
Obama's handling of Syria's chemical
weapons will remain a question mark,
if not a blemish, on his foreign policy
record. But had he not drawn that
red line and still achieved the same
results, the analysis would probably
be quite different. For those inclined
to criticise him, Mr. Obama had
weakened American credibility by
appearing to threaten military action
and then walking away from it.
Credibility - that will-o'-the-wisp
of international dealings upon which
so much is said to rest - can be a
straitjacket that limits a government's
options for creative diplomacy in
times of crisis. Mr. Obama was able to
step back in part because it soon
became apparent that the American
public had no appetite for military
retribution for a chemical attack
against foreigners on foreign soil.
However, would New Delhi be able
to resist popular pressure for decisive
retaliation if Indians suffered a
chemical or biological attack,
especially when India appears to
have committed itself to considering
a nuclear response to such an attack?
Nuclear weapons deter other
nuclear weapons. To require them to
do more is to imbue these weapons
with even more political meaning than
they now carry. This ultimate weapon
is already a political force: from the
limited number of states who can
possess them, to the devastating
generational and environmental
consequences of their use, nukes are,
in the late K. Subrahmanyam's words,
"the million pound note" that is not to
be squandered lightly. That is why a
policy of No First Use works well: it
builds stability into deterrence by
credibly promising nuclear retaliation
in the face of extreme provocation
of a nuclear first strike by one's
adversary. It promises to take both you
and your adversary to the abyss and
raises the cost of the adversary's first
strike immeasurably. That is all we
need these weapons to do militarily.
Poor vote-getters blame the
tools
The losers are at it again, blaming
the electronic voting machine (EVM)
for their electoral defeat. Of course,
this is nothing new. Every time a party
has a rough time in an election, the
easiest way out for its representatives
to console themselves is to blame the
machine. This is a blame game
indulged in periodically,
notwithstanding the fact that the
Election Commission of India (ECI)
has time and again demonstrated,
through increased and transparent
measures, the reliability and fool-
proof nature of the EVM.
As usual, with EVMs being
blamed after the results of five State
elections were declared recently,
the ECI issued a detailed press note
reiterating that EVMs are standalone
machines and are not networked
either by wire or by wireless to any
other machine or system. Hence, they
cannot be influenced or
manipulated by signals from mobile
phones or any other source. The
software in the machine is burnt into
a one-time programmable chip or
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
masked chip and can never be
altered or tampered with. The source
code of the software is not handed
over to any outsider. The ECI also
cited judgments of different High
Courts and the Supreme Court of
India that upheld the reliability of
EVMs.
The ECI has prescribed a series
of steps in its standard operating
procedures to enhance transparency
and provide an opportunity for
political parties and candidates to
participate in testing the reliability of
the machines. During the first-level
of testing before the machines are
allotted to various constituencies
from storage points, party
representatives are invited. They can
select at random 5% of the machines
in which up to 1,000 votes will be
polled to demonstrate the reliability
and fidelity of the machines. A
computer programme allocates, at
random, machines to constituencies.
The second-level of testing is done
when, from the constituency
headquarters, machines are allocated
- again at random, using a computer
programme - to polling stations. At
this juncture, the candidates - who
by now come on the scene - are
allowed to test the machines at
random. The serial number of the
machine sent to each polling station
is shared with the candidates, who
can pass on this information to their
representatives in the respective
polling stations.
Finally, before the start of the
polling process on the day of the
election, each presiding officer
conducts a mock poll to demonstrate
the "correctness" the machine in
recording votes. When absurd
allegations were floated that the
machine has been programmed to
record votes to the same candidate
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who gets the first 50 votes, the ECI
mandated using 100 votes in the
mock poll on polling day.
An oft-fired standard, but blunt,
weapon employed in the losers'
armoury is the reference to names of
some countries where electronic
voting has been given up. The
Netherlands and Germany are cited
without either knowing or
deliberately concealing the vital fact
that in the former it was a networkable
PC-type of machine running on OS,
while in the latter, their Supreme
Court had disallowed electronic
voting because their law did not have
the enabling provision. Such a
situation arose in India too when in
1984, the Supreme Court barred the
use of EVMs as the law at that time
had provision for use of only ballot
paper. That in the U.S. such a
networkable DRS (Direct Recording
System) machine is still used
extensively across the length and
breadth of the country, with no
significant doubts expressed about
its fidelity, is conveniently glossed
over. It is worth recalling that the
Bush-Gore election spat, in 2000, was
over the "misreading" of votes
recorded on ballot papers, and not
about votes polled in DRS machines!
In the post-2009 general election
brouhaha here, some experts were
brought in to trash EVMs, but in a
meeting in Chennai, which this writer
attended, the presenter, an
academic from the U.S., conceded
that standalone, non-networked
machines such as Indian EVMs
cannot be interfered with and are not
vulnerable.
But despite the comprehensive
and transparent measures put into
operation, idle minds have not
stopped manufacturing wild stories.
One such red herring is that of the
Trojan horse or secret programme
built into the software that will
transfer all votes to a favourite party.
Those who make this allegation are
either ignorant or deliberately
indulging in creating a hype. The fact
is that the software, once fused into
the EVM chip is unalterable, and the
machine cannot be manipulated by
sending messages from external
sources. Therefore, for this allegation
to come true, the software should, ab
initio , have been suitably
programmed to enable such
preferential recording of votes. This
is impossible because machines of a
different vintage are used in an
election.
For instance, in the five State
elections, machines manufactured
between 2006 to 2012, were in use,
with those of 2007, 2008 and 2009
vintage accounting for over 75% of
the machines. Further, the position
of a party candidate in the EVM is
decided alphabetically going by the
name of the candidate in the
respective State's official (vernacular)
language, and not by the name of the
party. So, the position on the ballot
unit of a candidate with a name
starting with the letter 'A' would be
first and his own party's candidate
whose name starts with 'Z' would be
towards the end, even if his party's
name starts with the letter 'A'. The
machines of 2006 to 2009 vintage
would have seen service in at least
three elections held between 2006
and 2014, prior to being deployed in
2017. Taking U.P. as the case in point,
the Bahujan Samaj Party, in 2007, and
the Samajwadi Party (SP), in 2012,
did well in the Assembly elections.
In 2017, it was the BJP. In the Lok
Sabha elections, the Congress and
the SP did well in 2009, and the BJP
in 2014. This should convince any
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sceptic that the voters, and not the
machines, decide the outcome.
Even a super-intelligent programmer
cannot visualise in 2007 or 2008 or
2009, at the time of manufacture, of
where the machines will be used and
what the position of a particular
party's candidate will be in the
balloting units of different
constituencies and accordingly
'tweak' the programme to favour a
particular party. Such idle talk should
be dismissed with the contempt it
deserves.
The introduction of VVPAT or
Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail is
certainly a step in the right direction,
further strengthening transparency.
But will full coverage with VVPT,
expected by 2019, stop allegations
against EVMs as hoped by former
Chief Election Commissioners with
touching faith? Hardly, if one goes by
the answer given by a well-known
leader who, when questioned about
his outburst now against the EVM as
against his silence after his party's
runaway victory two years ago,
claimed that his over-confident
opponent may not have attempted
manipulation of EVMs then! Nobody
can underestimate our political class's
ability to come out with the most
imaginative of answers when it comes
to explaining their failure at the
hustings.
Theoretically, there are three
entities which or who can be blamed.
First, voters for having rejected them,
but then no party would dare blame
them for fear of annoying and
alienating them forever. One can
blame one's own poor leadership or
the incompetence of party
functionaries, but that level of
candour is unknown. That leaves only
one entity, the EVM, to be
demonised, VVPAT or no VVPAT.
104
Nobody has so far succeeded in
waking up a person who pretends to
sleep.
Giving short shrift to children's
rights
The recent notification of the
Ministry of Human Resource
Development, making Aadhaar
compulsory for midday meals in
government schools, has attracted
the criticism it deserves. This
notification serves no clear purpose
other than to force children to get
enrolled under Aadhaar. The
government, unfortunately, managed
to create the impression that the
notification had been retracted,
when nothing of the sort has
happened.
First, the Central government
has violated women's right to
maternity entitlements under the
National Food Security Act (NFSA),
2013 for more than three years. Under
the Act, every pregnant woman is
entitled to maternity benefits of Rs.
6,000, unless she is already covered
by maternity schemes in the formal
sector. The Economic Survey 2015-
16, in a welcome chapter on "Mother
and child", made a strong case for
maternal and early-life health
programmes, including maternity
benefits, noting that they "offer very
high returns on investment". Yet, the
Union Budget that followed, for 2016-
17, did not make any provision for
maternity entitlements beyond the
pilot scheme (for 53 districts only)
initiated by the previous government.
This was all the more startling as the
Central government had assured the
Supreme Court in writing, on
October 30, 2015, that this scheme -
Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana
- would be extended to all districts
in 2016-17.
On December 31, 2016, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi proudly
announced that pregnant women
nationwide would soon be getting
maternity benefits of Rs. 6,000. He
projected this as a "new scheme"
(sic), without any reference to the
NFSA, perhaps hoping that the
victims of demonetisation would
appreciate the gesture. With the
Prime Minister finally endorsing
maternity entitlements, things started
moving after that, but not much: the
allocation of Rs. 2,700 crore in the
2017-18 Union Budget is barely
enough to cover a fourth of all births,
even with the proposed 60:40 ratio
for Centre:State funding. Word has it
that the Central government may
restrict the benefits to one child per
woman, against the law. Further,
there is still no sign of the said
scheme. Quite likely, the government
will take its own time to roll it out, and
spend even less this year than the
measly allocation of Rs. 2,700 crore.
So much for maternity entitlements
under the NFSA being "a promising
opportunity to improve nutrition
during pregnancy", as the Economic
Survey 2015-16 aptly put it.
Second, the Central
government is giving short shrift to the
Integrated Child Development
Services (ICDS), a critical programme
that was making good progress until
it was hit by Budget cuts in 2015-16.
The initial Budget cut was about 50%.
This was so mind-boggling that the
government's own Minister for
Women and Child Development,
Maneka Gandhi, criticised the cuts in
public, mentioning inter alia that they
had made wage payments a "month-
to-month suspense". The cuts were
partly reversed later on, but,
meanwhile, they had done much
damage and sent a disastrous signal
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down the line. State governments
were not amused.
Third, the midday meal scheme
is also being starved. Like ICDS, the
midday meal scheme received shock
treatment in the 2015-16 Budget,
with an initial Budget cut of 36%. The
allocation for midday meals in this
year's Budget, Rs. 10,000 crore, is still
25% lower in money terms than the
corresponding allocation four years
ago (in real terms, the decline would
be even larger). The Budget cuts, of
course, must be seen in light of the
fact that the share of States in the
indivisible pool of taxes was raised
from 32% to 42% in 2015-16. The
question remains why the axe fell so
heavily on children - no other schemes
were hit so badly in 2015-16, with
the possible exception of drinking
water and sanitation.
Fourth, plans are afoot to scrap
the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), a
scheme of conditional cash transfers
aimed at promoting institutional
deliveries. Recent data clearly show
a surge in institutional deliveries in the
last 10 years or so (e.g. from 39% in
2005-6 to 79% in 2015-16 according
to National Family Health Surveys),
and it would be surprising if this had
little to do with JSY. Incidentally, the
decline of maternal mortality has also
accelerated in recent years. Yet the
Central government is now planning
to phase out JSY. In a presentation
made at Vigyan Bhavan on February
22, 2017, the Secretary, Women and
Child Development, explained that
JSY would be "subsumed" under the
maternity benefit scheme from next
year, as the latter provides a "higher
amount for institutional delivery". In
other words, maternity benefits will
be made conditional on institutional
delivery, in violation of the NFSA, and
further, this linkage will be taken as
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an excuse to discontinue JSY, even
though maternity entitlements and
JSY serve distinct purposes.
Last but not least, Aadhaar is
now being made compulsory for all
these schemes - midday meals, ICDS
(yes), maternity benefits, JSY, you
name it. This is being done in the
name of curbing corruption, but no
credible evidence has been given
that identity fraud is a serious problem
in these schemes, or that Aadhaar is
the best possible solution. Rather, this
seems to be part of the blind drive to
make Aadhaar ubiquitous and
universal, regardless of the possible
damage. The imposition of Aadhaar
on midday meals and related
schemes exposes, once again, the
claim that Aadhaar is a voluntary
facility. It also shows that the Centre
has no respect for Supreme Court
orders, and that the Supreme Court,
for some reason, does not mind.
Unique distinction
The Supreme Court's oral
observations regarding the use of
Aadhaar numbers by the government
are significant, for they alter the
narrative and potential scope of the
ambitious unique identification
programme. While reiterating its
position that no beneficiary of a
welfare scheme shall be denied
benefits due to her for want of an
Aadhaar number, a Bench led by
Chief Justice J.S. Khehar said the
government is free to "press" for
Aadhaar for 'non-welfare'
transactions or activities. These
include filing income tax returns,
opening bank accounts or getting a
mobile phone connection. This
assumes significance as the
government announced two such
changes over the past week itself.
First, it included amendments to the
Finance Bill of 2017, now approved
by the Lok Sabha, making Aadhaar
mandatory for all applications for PAN
(Permanent Account Number) cards
and filing of income tax returns.
Earlier, following the surge in bank
deposits after the demonetisation of
high-value currency notes, the
Income Tax Department had already
asked banks to ensure that all savings
bank accounts are seeded with PAN
details by the end of February. The
only exemptions to this norm are the
no-frills savings accounts such as
those opened under the Pradhan
Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. Effectively,
this means that all other new savings
bank accounts will require an
Aadhaar number. And last week the
Department of Telecommunications
directed all telecom service
providers to re-verify the credentials
of their nearly 100 crore subscribers
through an Aadhaar-based,
electronically authenticated Know
Your Customer process within a year.
While the Supreme Court's
observations do not amount to a
judicial order, they dispel some of the
ambiguity relating to the scope, even
future, of Aadhaar. In its interim order
in October 2015 the court made it
clear that the Aadhaar scheme
cannot be made mandatory till the
matter is finally decided "one way or
the other". But it has set the stage for
the 12-digit Unique Identification
(UID) numbers being used as the
basic identity proof for all residents.
As Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has
pointed out, biometrics captured
under the Aadhaar enrolment
process will ensure no individual can
hold more than one PAN card to
evade tax dues. Those concerned
about privacy may be right about the
need for an effective law to ensure
that private data aren't misused. But
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tagging this concern solely to the UID
programme is short-sighted. In an age
where data are stored in electronic
form, it is possible to collate vast
amounts of information from various
databases ranging from applications
for passports, driving licences, ration
cards, and more. The apex court is
yet to decide on whether Aadhaar
violates the right to privacy.
Meanwhile, savings from weeding out
ghost beneficiaries have begun to pay
off the investment on building the
now 111-crore strong Aadhaar
database. But the Centre must not
stretch the leeway granted by the
court.
Handling a mid-air meltdown
The Aircraft Rules, 1937, spell
out a course of actions to be taken
following disruptive behaviour. Here,
Rules 22 and 23 highlight the
parameters under which action can
be taken under the jurisdiction of
India, and the crucial role of the pilot-
in-command in initiating action with
the competent authorities. The
government is also said to be looking
at an institutional mechanism to deal
with the problem. Airlines in India are
beginning to take some steps to put
in place a "no-fly" list.
In the U.S., data by leading
aviation bodies such as the FAA and
those representing airline
professionals record up to an
estimated 10,000 such cases a year.
Airlines reported some 10,854 unruly
incidents to the International Air
Transport Association (IATA) last
year. Airlines in general have measures
to deal with disruptive passengers
which include cutting off alcohol
supply (identified as among the
primary causes of air rage), to
warnings, to even subduing
passengers with plastic handcuffs
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and belts. Various flight crew
associations are now calling for
measures such as "stiffer prosecution"
of disruptive passengers, better crew
training, and more detailed flight
safety briefings. In the U.S., the
maximum fine for assaulting a crew
member has seen an increase from
$1,100 and can even touch $25,000.
Disrupting a commercial flight
can carry a very stiff jail sentence (of
up to 20 years) and even a $250,000
fine. A paper by the International Civil
Aviation Organisation (ICAO)
highlights the importance of the
international treaty, the Tokyo
Convention, also known as The
Convention on Offences and Certain
Other Acts Committed on Board
Aircraft. Under this, Articles 1, 6-7, 8
and 12, and finally 9 and 13, focus on
dealing with offenders which
includes handing over a "serious
offender" to the competent
authorities. India ratified the
Convention in July 1975. There are
some grey areas as far as aligning it
with other key aviation conventions
are concerned.
IATA, which represents most
airlines across the world, is also urging
governments to ratify the Montreal
Protocol 2014, which was adopted
by ICAO. It amends the Tokyo
Convention, with a key change being
provision for recovery of costs as a
result of passenger behaviour. Nearly
100 governments participated in the
process. Adopting "no-fly lists" may
be the simplest meeting point for
most airlines, but as experience in the
U.S. shows, these can run into legal
hurdles.
Back to square one
For most of those who hit Cairo's
Tahrir Square in 2011 demanding
democracy and a freer society,
President Hosni Mubarak was a
symbol of repression. After his ouster,
the dictator was tried for corruption
and causing the death of hundreds
of protesters. Still, his release last
week, after six years of detention at
Cairo's military hospital, was received
by Egyptians as just a routine
development. There were no major
protests against his release, nor were
there any rallies in support - an
indication of what Egypt's state and
society have become six years after
the Arab Spring. The release was long
expected. Most of his associates and
family members, who also faced
serious charges, were already
released. His sons, Alaa and Gamal,
accused of embezzlement of public
funds, were released in October
2015. Corruption charges against Mr.
Mubarak were overturned in January
2015. Earlier this month, he was
acquitted by Egypt's highest appeals
court of conspiring to kill protesters,
paving the way for his release.
It may appear ironic that Mr.
Mubarak, who ruled the country with
an iron fist for almost 30 years and
was toppled by public protests in
which hundreds were killed, is now
a free man, while Mohamed Morsi,
Egypt's first democratically elected
President, is in prison. But this irony
also symbolises Egypt's complex
contemporary politics. Though the
government of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
claims the legacy of the 2011
revolution, it took a lenient view of
Mubarak-era crimes while cracking
down on Mr. Morsi's Muslim
Brotherhood. It is difficult to gauge
the political mood in Egypt. Despite
large-scale concentration of power
in the hands of the military, the Sisi
regime doesn't face any existential
threats. For ordinary Egyptians, who
went through the instability and
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
chaos of the post-Mubarak months
and the threats of Islamisation and
economic miseries during the Muslim
Brotherhood rule, General Sisi at least
provided stability and order. The
belief is that compared to other
countries that were hit by popular
protests in 2011 such as Libya, Yemen
and Syria, Egypt is doing better,
thanks to the army's intervention.
Tunisia is the only country that
internally transformed itself into a
democracy after protests. Gen. Sisi
projects himself as a guarantor of
order and enjoys support among the
minorities and secular sections. But
the question is if the status quo is
sustainable. Order was restored at a
brutal cost. Hundreds were killed
when security personnel forcibly
removed Islamist protesters from
Cairo. There is no substantive political
opposition. Personal freedoms are
being curbed again, while media
groups and journalists are targeted.
In effect, what hundreds of protesters
at Tahrir Square risked their lives for
was never achieved. Gen. Sisi has
taken the country back to square one.
The dragon at the NSG high
table
Only one panellist and 37% of
the audience responded positively.
Three panellists and 67% of the
audience were naysayers, and they
were proved right.
A similar question asked to some
800 delegates recently at a
subsequent chapter of the Carnegie
conference in Washington DC gave
way to a fragmented response. An
average of 25% were hopeful of a 50%
chance of New Delhi making it
through by 2019. As India continues
to push for a seat at the nuclear high
table, it seems an uphill task, and the
view from the Hill isn't rosy either.
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The former UN High
Representative for Disarmament
Affairs, Angela Kane, believes that
India stands a good 55% chance to
make it but is opposed to India's push.
"I do not believe India should be a
member of NSG because of criterion.
In a meeting that I attended, the
Chinese representative, a high-
ranking ambassador, was very vocal,
opposing the U.S. position on this."
Speculation is rife if over the
next two years, either India or India
and Pakistan or none could make it
through the NSG. In the NSG plenary
session in Seoul in June 2016, New
Delhi blamed Beijing for the
"Consensus Minus One" hurdle to its
bid even though close to a dozen
countries including Mexico, Brazil,
Norway, Ireland expressed serious
reservations over India not being
signatory to the Non Proliferation
Treaty.
It is now learnt from U.S.
diplomatic sources that calls were
generated from the White House as
well as the State Department to some
naysayers including New Zealand
and Italy. Italy had wanted a way out
on the diplomatic tangle around its
two marines charged with the murder
of Indian fishermen. They had sought
trial in a third country as a possible
option. New Delhi dismissed the
proposals and Italy stuck to its
opposition in the closed-door
sessions.
Since the Seoul summit, a
committee under Rafael Mariano
Grossi, Ambassador of the Argentine
Republic and Permanent
Representative to International
Organizations in Vienna and Chair of
the Nuclear Suppliers Group, was
tasked with backdoor consultations
for expansion of the elite club.
According to him, "several
formulations are on the table to deal
with the central issue of relationship
with the NPT".
Indian and Chinese
interlocutors too have held rounds of
discussions to resolve mutual issues.
But with a public opposition unlike a
quiet one in 2008, Beijing looks less
relenting. A view from Capitol Hill is
that China is positioned as a focal
point of resistance for those who
were persuaded or coerced earlier
in 2008 by the Bush regime but remain
resentful of a country-specific waiver
for India. But if China were to shed its
resistance, it would be easier to
achieve consensus.
Meanwhile, India would have to
find ways to woo the dragon. With
the Trump administration busy with
domestic agendas ranging from
health care to the economy and also
North Korea, Iran and the Islamic State
being the focus areas overseas, the
U.S.-China dialogue will hardly hinge
on Beijing's position on the NSG
tangle for now. The U.S. continues to
advocate support for India's
membership. Dr. Christopher Ford,
U.S. President Donald Trump's
adviser at the National Security
Council, says that while the NSG
stand-off requires a change in tactics
or circumstances for resolution, there
have been no indications of change
in the U.S. administration's approach
to India's membership so far.
With the NSG plenary set to
meet again in Bjern in June this year,
despite technical preparations, a
resolution will be difficult to reach
without political will. A top diplomat
privy to the negotiations stressed that
a green light to India's entry is a
political decision that China will have
to make. China may not shy away from
advocating keeping out all-weather
friend Pakistan in order to keep India
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
out. Meanwhile, American diplomats
advise patience as India already has
the functionality it needed with the
2008 waiver for nuclear commerce.
A seat at the high table will be
required to influence decisions and
nuclear export in future. So, any
proposal to woo baiters would have
to be window-dressed to look
considerate of future bids from other
non-NPT players including Israel,
instead of appearing to be tailor-
made only for India.
For now, NSG will be an uphill
task with China unwilling to play nice,
and contentious issues of the H-1B
visa, intellectual property rights and
trade dominating the India-U.S.
agenda when Prime Minister
Narendra Modi goes to Capitol Hill.
Next steps on GST
The Lok Sabha has duly given
its assent to necessary Central
legislation to operationalise the
Goods and Services Tax, nearly 17
years after the government began
discussions on the prospects for a
unified indirect tax regime across the
country. It is eyeing a July 1 rollout
for the GST, which will replace the
multiple Central and State-level taxes
and levies that make doing business
in India a compliance nightmare . The
long and winding road for this reform,
punctuated by political about-turns,
has had a fairly straight trajectory in
recent months, following the
constitutional amendments last
August. The GST Council has
managed to thrash out a consensus
on several issues relating to the
administration and the legislative
provisions for the new tax system
within six months. The fact that
apparently intractable positions held
by the States as well as the Centre on
the sharing of administrative powers,
108
for instance, have been reconciled
without the Council resorting to a
majority vote inspires confidence. So
does the alacrity with which the
Centre has moved to secure
Parliament's nod for four enabling
pieces of legislation within a fortnight
of the Council's approval. State
Assemblies should do the same to
pass the State GST law by holding
special sessions if need be.
For Indian businesses that have
been seeking the reform, it is now time
to come to terms with the fine print
and embrace the tax system. The GST
Council, meeting again on Friday to
clear four pending sets of regulations,
must sign off on which of the five GST
rates will apply to different products
and services. Clarity on the applicable
rates will help industry alter their
accounting systems, supply chains
and pricing strategies. But some
provisions in the GST laws have the
industry in a tizzy. While the highest
GST rate has been pegged at 28%,
the integrated GST law has set a
ceiling of 40%. Though an enabling
provision, it gives the government too
much leeway to alter the rate
structure in coming years without
seeking Parliament's nod. Compare
this to the cess ceiling of 15% on
luxury cars, for instance, which are
likely to see a 12% cess to start with.
On several other fronts, the final laws
haven't changed much from their
draft versions, despite industry red-
flagging several provisions. These
include the anti-profiteering clauses
to curb 'unjust enrichment' of firms,
the requirement for branch offices to
register separately in each State, and
treating all transactions between
related parties (including head office
and branch offices) as taxable. For
the services sector, in particular,
compliance requirements could go
up multi-fold. It is still not too late for
the GST Council to offer some
exemptions or resist operationalising
some of these provisions through the
subordinate rules and regulations in
order to address genuine industry
grievances.
It's time for Africa
After a teenage boy went
missing in Greater Noida on March 26,
locals accused five Nigerian students
of cannibalism. Residents of the
enclave barged into the home where
the Nigerian students were staying
and searched the fridge for the
remains of the youth, who died in a
hospital after being found in a nearby
park. Following unsubstantiated
complaints from the victim's family,
the police charged the students with
murder but did not detain them for
lack of evidence. It was later reported
that the boy died of drug overdose.
This incident, followed by further
violence against African students in
Noida, marks a new low in the racism
faced by Africans in India.
There have been several
atrocious cases of racism in the last
year towards Africans in India.
Masonda Ketada Olivier, a young
Congolese man who was a French
teacher in South Extension, was
murdered while returning home from
a party when he tried to get an
autorickshaw home and got into an
argument with three men who
wanted to hire the vehicle. He was
brutally pulled out of the auto,
assaulted, and struck on the head with
a stone. He was rushed to the AIIMS
trauma centre but was pronounced
dead on arrival.
Apparently the young
Tanzanian student was beaten to
avenge the death of a woman who
had allegedly been run over by a
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Sudanese man less than an hour
before the attack. The student
pleaded with the police for help
insisting she had nothing to do with
the fatal accident. In her filed
complaint, she alleged that a
policeman told her: "You all look alike
and you should get the black man
who ran over a woman in the area."
There were 42,420 foreign
students in India in 2016. The top
sending countries were Nepal
(21.3%), Afghanistan (10.3%),
Bhutan, (6.6%), Sudan (4.8%),
Nigeria (4.7%), indicating that after
the three SAARC partner countries,
Sudan and Nigeria send the most
students to study in India. Students
come from many African countries to
India as many universities offer quality
education in English that is much
more reasonably priced than in the
West. The University of Mysore, for
instance, has 2,000 foreign students,
many from African countries.
Thus Indian students have an
opportunity to meet African students
and learn about a part of the world of
which they know little. This is despite
the fact that India has had trading
connections with Africa over the
centuries and many people of Indian
descent live and have lived in Africa
for centuries.
Concerned by the racism faced
by many African students, Mr. Peasah
helped organise a peace march to
raise awareness about racism in India.
He also helped launch a campaign to
clean Rajkumar Park to show that
foreign students, including Africans,
were also part of the Swachh Bharat
effort and could contribute to the
country's mission to create a cleaner
India. While very few fellow students
from the University of Mysore joined
the peace march, Mr. Peasah
appreciated the fact that over 40
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students came in a bus from Vikram
Nursing School to join it and even
provided first aid back-up support for
the walkers.
Mr. Peasah thinks it is critical that
proper orientation be given to African
students coming to study in India. It
is perhaps as or more critical for Indian
students and members of
communities where African students
live to have a better understanding
of Africa. This would require
discussions and exposure to the many
cultures and diversity of Africa.
A much more concerted effort
must be made by the Indian
government, and Indian citizens,
intellectuals, and artists to make
Africans feel safe in India. The police
too, who are often implicated in these
racist incidents, must be trained, and
issues of racism within the force
seriously prosecuted. Students on
Indian campuses must be made
aware of racism towards foreign
students and shown that it is no
different from the racism faced by
Indian students abroad, which India
so vehemently denounces. In
addition, for a country of India's size
and given the increasing number of
Africans coming to India to study and
for medical tourism, a far wider
cultural engagement with the
continent is necessary not only to
combat the malevolent racism, but
also to expand the global horizons of
the Indian public.
Is Aadhaar a breach of privacy?
Since its inception, Aadhaar has
been criticised as a project which
violates privacy. India does not have
a law on privacy. In fact, then
chairman of UIDAI, Nandan Nilekani,
wrote to the Prime Minister as early as
in May 2010 suggesting that there was
a need to have a data protection and
privacy law. In a digital world, search
and aggregation of data have
become relatively easy. Aadhaar was
designed as a digital identity platform
which is inclusive, unique and can be
authenticated to participate in any
digital transaction. This has
transformed the service delivery in
our country, conveniencing residents
and reducing leakages. Direct
benefit transfer, subscription to
various services and authentication at
the point of service delivery are some
of the benefits which have accrued.
Aadhaar followed the principle
of incorporating privacy by design, a
concept which states that IT projects
should be designed with privacy in
mind. Collection of biometrics has
often been quoted as one of the
means of violating privacy. Biometrics
are essential to ensure uniqueness, a
key requirement for this project.
Additionally, these biometrics can be
used for authentication for financial
transactions, getting mobile SIMs and
various other services using
electronic KYC (e-KYC). Another
principle of privacy by design states
that you should collect only minimal
data. As UIDAI was creating identity
infrastructure, it was decided that
only a minimal set of data, just
sufficient to establish identity, should
be collected from residents. This
irreducible set contained only four
elements: name, gender, age and
communication address of the
resident.
Another design principle was to
issue random numbers with no
intelligence. This ensures that no
profiling can be done as the number
does not disclose anything about the
person. The Aadhaar Act has clear
restrictions on data sharing. No data
download is permitted, search is not
allowed and the only response which
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UIDAI gives to an authentication
request is 'yes' or 'no'. No personal
information is divulged.
When a biometric-based
authentication takes place, it is the
individual who must participate in the
process by submitting his or her
biometrics, typically at the service
delivery point to prove his identity.
Typical examples are at the time of
lifting ration from a PDS shop,
opening a bank account to provide
eKYC to the bank or submission of
Digital Life Certificates by pensioners.
The basic purpose of authentication
is to facilitate residents in getting
service in a digital, paperless and
convenient way. As no information is
divulged to any agency without the
consent of the concerned individual,
it cannot be construed to violate any
privacy.
Besides the minimal data which
UIDAI has about a person, it does not
keep any data except the logs of
authentication. It does not know the
purpose of authentication. The
transaction details remain with the
concerned agency and not with
UIDAI. This is the best model of
keeping data where each data-
owner has the responsibility of data
confidentiality and security.
Aadhaar authentication and e-
KYC ensures that documents cannot
be misused. Physical papers are
amenable to misuse. We know of
situations where multiple SIMs are
issued based on some document, and
the real owner is not even aware. On
the other hand, e-KYC ensures that
the document cannot be used for any
other transaction. UIDAI has also built
a facility wherein one can 'lock' the
Aadhaar number and disable it from
any type of authentication for a
period of one's choice, guarding
against any potential misuse.
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Connected by air profound. Provided this model is
sustainable and more regional flights
Six months from now, 43 cities
come up under the scheme, the
will be mainstreamed on India's flight
availability of slots at larger airports
connectivity grid, an outcome of the
that would emerge as hubs could
Udan scheme launched to spur
become an issue - particularly at
regional flights covering distances up
capacity-constrained airports such as
to 800 km. These include a dozen
Mumbai. The second airport at Navi
airports where limited but irregular
Mumbai may help ease congestion,
flights operate, and as many as 31
but that is still years away. In cities
destinations that are not connected
where new airports have been
at all despite the existence of airport
developed, such as Bengaluru,
facilities. The scale of India's
abandoned old facilities could be
untapped civil aviation opportunities
revived as dedicated terminals for
can be gauged by the fact that these
low-cost and regional flights.
constitute less than 10% of India's
Separately, new no-frills airports must
inactive airports/airstrips - 394 out of
be encouraged where traffic is
450 are dormant currently. The Udan
expected to hit saturation point in
scheme is a critical component of the
coming years. Recently, four new
national civil aviation policy unveiled
foreign investors and a few domestic
last June. It offers viability gap funding
players have expressed interest in
to operators to fly smaller aircraft to
managing operations at state-run
such airports with a commitment to
airports such as Jaipur and
price tickets for at least half of the
Ahmedabad. This marks a revival in
seats at Rs. 2,500 for an hour-long
investor interest after a long lull. It is
flight. In the first round of bids, 11
time to revisit provisions that offer
new or existing airline operators
existing private operators of large
pitched for more than 200 routes. The
airports (burdened by debt) the right
Centre has approved 27 proposals
of first refusal on any new airport
from five players, adding 128 routes
proposed within 150 km. Most
to India's aviation map. The estimate
interested bidders for the Navi
is that this will add 6.5 lakh new seats
Mumbai airport stayed away over this
with a subsidy of Rs. 200 crore.
clause. Last but not the least, this
The most heartening aspect is
development must start a rethink
that these include six proposals for
within the Indian Railways, as it could
11 routes that don't seek any subsidy
now lose traffic on some routes.
under the scheme, proving there is
an untapped economic potential. Digital push must be disability-
The benefits for tourist hotspots such inclusive
as Agra, Shimla, Diu, Pathankot, Around 8-10% of India's
Mysuru and Jaisalmer - that would population lives with disabilities, with
now be just a short flight away, an equal number constituting the
replacing cumbersome road or rail aged. Information and
journeys - are obvious. But the Communication Technologies (ICT)
significant multiplier effects of have the potential to significantly
aviation activity, including new impact the lives of these groups,
investments and employment facilitating access of services
creation for the local economies of available to them and allowing them
other destinations could be equally to handle a wide range of activities
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
independently, enhancing their
social, cultural, political and
economic participation. Making ICT
accessible no longer remains an
option but has become a necessity.
Poor accessibility due to lack of
focussed information and political will
has led to social exclusion of people
with disabilities, exacerbating the
negative impact of the existing digital
divide. The new call for action of
disability rights activists now is "Cause
No Harm", thus ensuring future
generations are not excluded from
mainstream activities due to a hostile
infrastructure.
This assumes a greater thrust
given the unprecedented
developmental activity in the country
under the various missions launched
by the present government, such as
the Smart Cities Mission and Digital
India. Accessibility for disabled
people is a cross-cutting theme
across all of these and care must be
taken to ensure disability-inclusive
development.
Incorporation of accessibility
principles across all new
developments will also complement
the Accessible India Campaign, the
flagship campaign launched by the
Prime Minister on World Disability Day
which aims at achieving universal
accessibility for all citizens and
creating an enabling and barrier-free
environment. India was one of the
first countries to ratify the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities. The recently
passed Rights of Persons with
Disabilities Act, 2016 mandates
adherence to standards of
accessibility for physical
environment, transportation,
information and communications,
including appropriate technologies
and systems, and other facilities and
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services provided to the public in
urban and rural areas. These include
government and private
developments. The Act also
mandates incorporation of Universal
Design principles while designing
new infrastructure, electronic and
digital media, consumer goods and
services. Most importantly, the Act
sets timelines to ensure
implementation of the above and
punitive action in the event of non-
compliance.
Accessibility therefore forms
the common thread weaving together
the Accessible India Campaign, the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act,
the Smart Cities Mission and the
Digital India campaign to achieve the
combined goal of creating an
inclusive society that will allow for a
better quality of life for all citizens,
including persons with disabilities.
Beyond the social implications,
accessibility makes for business and
economic sense too. If principles of
Universal Design are incorporated at
the design stage, cost implications are
negligible. Retrofitting, on the other
hand, has huge cost implications.
Exclusion of persons with
disabilities from education,
employment and participation on
account of a hostile infrastructure and
inaccessible technology has huge
economic implications. UN agencies
put this cost at around 7% of national
GDP. On the other hand, accessible
services and business premises can
broaden the customer base,
increasing turnover and positively
impacting the financial health and
social brand of the company. Recent
research pegged the market size of
different product categories needed
by persons with disabilities in India
at a whopping Rs. 4,500 crore.
Disability is not an isolated issue.
It is cross-cutting and can impact
everyone irrespective of caste,
gender, age and nationality. Thus
ensuring a disability-sensitive
development agenda across all
ministries, sectors and causes
becomes critical if growth has to be
truly inclusive. 'Nothing about us
without us' assumes even greater
significance in the current context.
As India catapults towards a
cashless and digital economy and as
human interface between service
providers and end users gives way to
digital, it becomes imperative to
ensure accessibility for inclusion. The
need is for representation of persons
with disabilities in all ministries and
key missions, commissions and
committees to advise and ensure
inclusion in all policies, programmes
and developments. The
government's procurement policy
too must mandate accessibility as a
key criterion. Adherence to the latest
Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines should be made
mandatory while developing
websites and mobile applications.
Also important is the synergy
between various arms of the
government. The Smart Cities Mission
focusses on comprehensive
development leading to the
convergence of other ongoing
government programmes such as
Make In India, Digital India, Atal
Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban
Transformation (AMRUT), Pradhan
Mantri Awas Yojana, National Heritage
City Development and Augmentation
Yojana (HRIDAY), etc. but the
Accessible India Campaign does not
even find a mention! This is so when
as many as 39 cities out of the 50 cities
of the Accessible India Campaign are
also among the shortlisted Smart
Cities.
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
Much after Independence,
there has been minimal change in the
fortunes of India's disabled
population. It becomes our collective
responsibility to ensure inclusive
development, one that engages all
stakeholders through a pragmatic and
judicious combination of
interventions while effectively
leveraging technology to ensure truly
inclusive and sustainable
development.
Sharpen the focus on growth
Now that the dust and din
around the State Assembly elections
have settled down, it is time for
policymakers to turn their attention
to the major task of accelerating
economic growth. As of now the
prospects are not encouraging. The
Central Statistics Office's second
advanced estimates indicate that the
growth rate of GDP for 2016-17 will
be 7.1% as against 7.9% in 2015-16.
The growth rate of gross value added
at basic prices in 2016-17 will be
6.7% as against 7.8% in 2015-16. The
growth rates projected for 2016-17
do not capture the impact of
demonetisation, which when taken
into account may bring down the
projected growth rate by around
0.5%.
The decline in the growth rate
is not a recent phenomenon. It started
in 2011-12. The persistence of
relatively low growth over a five-year
period calls for a critical examination.
Even though the new numbers on
national income give us some
comfort, they do not tell the whole
story.
Ultimately, the growth rate is
determined by two factors - the
investment rate and the efficiency in
the use of capital. As the Harrod-
Domar equation puts it, the growth
112
rate is equal to the investment rate
divided by the incremental capital-
output ratio. The incremental capital-
output ratio (ICOR) is the amount of
capital required to produce one unit
of output. The higher the ICOR, the
less efficient we are in the use of
capital. There are many caveats to this
bald proposition. As we look at the
Indian performance in the last five
years, two facts stand out. One is a
decline in the investment rate and the
second is a rise in ICOR; both of
which can only lead to a lower growth
rate.
As growth was coming down
sharply initially, the investment rate
was falling only slowly, implying a
rising ICOR. ICOR is a catch-all
expression which is determined by a
variety of factors including
technology, skill of manpower,
managerial competence and also
macroeconomic policies. Thus
delays in the completion of projects,
lack of complementary investments
in related sectors and the non-
availability of critical inputs can all
lead to a rise in ICOR.
The Economic Survey of 2014-
15 reported that there were in all 746
stalled projects, with 161 in the
public sector and 585 in the private
sector of a total value of Rs. 8.8 lakh
crore. As of 2015-16, there were still
404 stalled projects, 162 in the public
sector and 242 in the private sector
with a total value of Rs. 5.5 lakh crore.
In the short run, the biggest gain in
terms of growth will be by getting
"stalled projects" moving. Of course
some of them may be unviable
because of changed conditions. A
periodic reporting by the
government on the progress of stalled
projects will be of great help.
India's investment rate reached
a peak in 2007-08 at 38.0% of GDP.
With an ICOR of 4, it was not surprising
that a high growth rate of close to
9.4% was achieved. One sees a
steady decline in the investment rate
since then. The decline in the rate
was small initially but has been more
pronounced in the last two years.
According to the latest estimates, the
gross fixed capital formation rate fell
to as low as 26.9% in 2016-17. With
this investment rate, it is simply
impossible to achieve a growth rate
in the range of 8 to 9%.
The major issue confronting us
is: why did the investment rate fall?
Why are not new investments
forthcoming? In 2011 and 2012, in
discussions on the Indian economy,
the one phrase that used to be
bandied about was "policy paralysis",
pointing to the inability of the
government to take policy decisions
because of "coalition compulsions".
It is true that around this period, the
government was preoccupied with
answering many issues connected
with graft. But that does not explain
the steady fall in the investment rate
except for a sense of uncertainty
created in the minds of investors.
The external environment was
also not encouraging. The growth rate
of the advanced economies
remained low and the recovery from
the crisis of 2008 was tepid which
had an adverse impact on exports.
However, India benefited by large
capital inflows except in 2013. For
almost three years beginning 2010,
India had to cope with a high level of
inflation which also had an adverse
impact on investment sentiment.
Once the growth rate starts to decline,
it sets in motion a vicious cycle of
decline in investment and lower
growth. The acceleration principle
begins to operate. We need to break
this chain in order to move on to a
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
higher growth path.What are the
solutions, given the current situation?
The standard prescription, whenever
private investment is weak, is to raise
public investment which can take a
longer term view. This standard
suggestion is very much appropriate
in the present context as well. In the
best of times, public investment has
been 8% of GDP. The Central
government's capital expenditures
even after some increase in the last
two years, is only 1.8% of GDP. About
3 to 4% of GDP comes from public
sector undertakings and the balance
from State governments. What is
needed now is for public sector
undertakings to come out with an
explicit statement indicating the
extent of investment they intend to
make during the current fiscal. And
this intention must be monitored
every quarter. This will inspire
confidence among prospective
private investors.
However, it is also necessary to
enhance private investment, and that
too private corporate investment.
During the high growth phase,
corporate investment reached the
level of 14% of GDP. Since then it has
fallen. In fact, a recent study shows
that the total cost of projects initiated
by the corporate sector has come
down from Rs. 5,560 billion in 2009-
10 to Rs. 954 billion in 2015-16. This
continuing trend must be reversed.
Three things need attention.
First, reforms to simplify procedures,
speed up the delivery system and
enlarge competition must be pursued
vigorously. Some significant steps
have been taken in this regard in
recent years such as moving forward
on the GST Bill, passing of the
Bankruptcy Act, and enlarging the
scope of foreign direct investment.
Second, all viable "stalled"
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projects must be brought to Ethnic pressures and a fragile
completion. Third, financial peace
bottlenecks need to be cleared. The
Even before the news on the
banking system is under stress. The
fast-paced, controversial
non-performing loans of the system
developments on the Manipur
have risen and are rising. This has
Assembly election verdict and its
squeezed the profitability of banks
outcome - the Bharatiya Janata Party
with some showing loss. More
(BJP) forming the government after
distressing is the minimal flow of new
winning only 21 seats in a 60-member
credit. The problem is often referred
House - could sink in, the crippling
to as the twin balance sheet problem.
blockade of two highways leading to
If corporate balance sheets are weak,
the State, called by the United Naga
automatically the banks' balance
Council (UNC) last November,
sheets also become weak. Really
ended. The BJP's national leaders
speaking, it is two sides of the same
camping in Imphal had promised to
coin. The solution to clean up the
lift the blockade within 48 hours of
balance sheet of banks lies in taking
coming to power. As the
some "haircuts". At least some part of
development on the ground largely
the accumulation of bad debts has
followed the script, the new State
been due to the slowdown of the
government, run by an old Congress
economy. The old saying is "bad loans
hand, N. Biren Singh, brought some
are sown in good times". Even though
relief. But for how long? The wheels-
a haircut cannot be avoided, wilful
within-wheels nature of the
defaulters must not go unpunished.
government formation itself is an
Asset restructuring companies are
indication that administering the
part of the solution and we have some
State could be anything but easy for
experience of them.
Mr. Singh.
This is also the appropriate time
How is he going to resolve the
to revive an idea which had withered
Naga issue? Four MLAs of the Naga
away during the reform process and
People's Front have joined the BJP-
that is to have institutions focussed
led government, with the winner from
on long-term lending such as IDBI
Mao (Losii Dikho) made a minister, and
and ICICI as they were before 1998.
the rest given posts of parliamentary
The details can be worked out. But
secretaries with minister of state rank.
the idea needs a rethink.
A rollback of the creation of new
Investment, as they say, is an act districts will obviously appease the
of faith in the future. If there has to Nagas in the hills, but not the Kukis,
be investment resurgence, it is the other major tribal group living in
necessary to create the climate the hill districts, who have got a new
which promotes this faith. We have district, Kangpokpi (culled out from
already outlined the actions that can areas of Naga-dominated Senapati
be taken in the purely economic district, and a fact which hasn't gone
arena. But "animal spirits" are also down well with the Nagas). There's
influenced by what happens in the Kuki representation in the Cabinet.
polity and society. Avoidance of
The Nagas too are in wait-and-
divisive issues is paramount in this
watch mode. The UNC operates
context. Undiluted attention to
under the patronage of the National
development is the need of the hour.
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-
Muivah) with which the Centre
signed a "framework agreement" in
2015 to solve the decades-old Naga
insurgency. Though the "agreement"
is shrouded in secrecy, the Nagas
have never kept their demands
secret. They want all Naga-inhabited
territories in Manipur, Assam,
Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland to
come under "Greater Nagalim" which
all States barring Nagaland
vehemently oppose. On March 22,
addressing his cadres, NSCN(I-M)
general secretary T. Muivah said the
framework agreement "recognises
the unique history, the identity, the
sovereignty, the territories of the
Nagas. It also recognises the
legitimate right of the Nagas to
integration of all Naga territories." But
in the same breath, giving a breather
to the Centre, he talked about "co-
existence" of "two entities" and
shared sovereignty.
In Delhi, after the UNC signed a
tripartite agreement with the Union
and State governments to call off the
blockade, a Home Ministry official
admitted that "there are many
stakeholders," while saying, "at the
moment there is nothing like a
rollback". Even if the Naga issue is
resolved with the help of Delhi, the
"shared sovereignty" condition won't
please the Meiteis in the valley who
comprise roughly 60% of the
population but live in a tenth of the
area of Manipur. The hill tribes are
roughly 40% of the population and
they live in hill districts which are
spread over 90% of Manipur's total
area.
On the Inner Line permit issue
too, Mr. Singh has to walk the
tightrope. It's a Meitei demand, that
outsiders be allowed access to the
State only by using Inner Line permits,
114
and since they, despite being in a
majority, already feel constricted in
their own State, their voice has to be
heard. On the other hand, the Nagas
and Kukis, who have long complained
that the administration is leaning
towards Meiteis, are uneasy about it,
and there have been widespread
protests for and against it. Even if the
problem with the NSCN(I-M) is
sorted out, there's the NSCN
(Khaplang) faction, which broke the
ceasefire with the Centre, to contend
with - and a host of other insurgent
groups each fighting their own cause
including the valley-based People's
Liberation Army.
What worked for Manipur may
not necessarily work in the other
States of the region, each with their
sets of tribes, different cultures,
eating habits and social mores. The
BJP's homogenous social systems are
unlikely to work in this disparate
region. While both Assam and
Manipur have a sizeable Hindu/
Vaishnav population, Nagaland,
Mizoram and Meghalaya are
predominantly Christian States, and
will be wary of the BJP's brand of
politics. The people and the Church
must have taken note of two
developments with unease: the Modi
government's announcement that
December 25 will be observed as
Good Governance Day and the
Assam government's recent notice
planning to make Sanskrit
compulsory till Class VIII, even if that
means the State will have to hire
teachers from elsewhere.
Finally, action on bad loans?
After nearly three years of
dithering on the part of the National
Democratic Alliance government,
there is hope now that we will see
action in respect of Indian banks' bad
loans. The Finance Ministry and the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have
recently sent out signals to the effect
that they are determined to take the
bull by its horns. If they follow
through, it will brighten the
prospects of India's growth rate
moving to 8% in the medium term.
Bad loans - or non-performing
assets (NPAs) - were 9% of total loans
of all Indian banks in September
2016. At public sector banks (PSBs),
bad loans were 12% of all advances.
Another 3% of loans in the aggregate
(and 4% at PSBs) have been
restructured. The Economic Survey
(2016-17) quotes market analysts as
saying that 4-5% of loans are bad
loans that have not been recognised
as such. Thus, total stressed assets -
NPAs, restructured loans and
unrecognised bad loans - would
amount to a staggering 16% of all
loans and nearly 20% of loans at PSBs.
's bad loan problem has arisen
from the lending boom that India's
banks embarked on in the period
2004-08, a period that saw economic
growth reach the 9-10% range.
However, that by itself did not create
a problem of the current magnitude.
NPAs, which are 9% of all loans , were
only half that level a year before. It is
the failure to resolve the bad loan
problem over the past several years
that has exacerbated the problem.
The best solution to a bad loan
problem is to simply grow your way
out of it. This can happen in two ways.
One, banks keep financing projects
that are not making repayments in full
and would qualify as NPAs. They do
so in the hope that, once growth
revives, cash flows in the projects will
improve. Two, banks grow their loan
portfolio at a brisk rate. As the
denominator in the ratio of bad loans
to total loans grows, the bad loan
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
problem automatically diminishes in
significance.
That's how India's banking
sector came out of the bad loan
problem in the early 2000s. Rapid
growth in the world economy and the
Indian economy provided a painless
solution. This time around, however,
luck has not favoured the Indian
banking system. The global economy
has been in a prolonged slump
consequent to the financial crisis of
2007-08. The "financing" strategy of
continuing to make loans to unviable
projects has come unstuck.
Serious policy errors have
compounded the problem. The big
policy error was the belief among
policymakers that bad governance,
bad management and even
corruption at PSBs were primarily
responsible for the problem. A
committee appointed by the RBI and
headed by P.J. Nayak argued as much
in a report it submitted in late 2014.
The committee seemed to think that
majority government ownership of
PSBs was the root cause of the bad
loan problem as it meant political and
bureaucratic interference with
commercial decisions. Such an
inference, which has been duly
echoed by the media, is patently
incorrect. As the Economic Survey
of 2016-17 point outs, the bad loan
problem is "an economic problem,
not a morality play… the vast bulk of
the problem has been caused by
unexpected changes in the
economic environment: timetables,
exchange rates, and growth rate
assumptions going wrong." In other
words, factors extraneous to bank
management and governance are
primarily responsible for the
problem.
These proposals are all
politically difficult to handle, time-
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consuming or (as in the case of a "bad Managing Directors of various PSBs.
bank") make impossible demands on It must also revamp the boards of
financial and human resources. The PSBs by bringing in independent
NDA government seemed to have directors of high quality. The solutions
bought the faulty diagnosis but could should have been clear enough long
not act on most of the prescriptions back. It is the misplaced
that followed. It chose to muddle condemnation of PSBs that has held
along. The government appointed a up resolution of the bad loan
Bank Board Bureau (BBB) as problem. Doing away with majority
suggested by the Nayak committee ownership of government, mergers,
and tasked it with appointing creation of a bad bank - all these are
Chairmen and Managing Directors of non-starters. The way forward is to
PSBs. The BBB was also assigned the empower management and
role of advising banks on restructuring strengthen governance at PSBs.
and raising capital. The right to recall legislators
The BBB has made little
The ancient Athenians, under
headway. Very few top appointments
their unique democracy, came up
have happened. The bad loan
with a social custom. Each year, in
problem and recapitalisation of PSBs
the sixth or seventh month of their
remain unaddressed. This was only
10-month calendar, all the men were
to be expected. The government
asked in their assembly whether they
cannot distance itself from key
wished to hold an ostracism. If it was
decisions on PSBs while being
a yes, an ostracism was held two
accountable for their performance.
months later, in a reserved section of
Creating the BBB has only added
the local agora. Here, citizens wrote
another layer to decision-making and
down the names of those they wished
slowed it down.
to be ostracised on shards of pottery,
Realisation that the bad loan
which were then deposited in urns.
problem is not the result of some
Officials counted the shards.
special villainy at PSBs but a matter
Whoever had the largest pile of
of factors extraneous to management
ostraka - the pieces of broken pottery
has finally dawned, if somewhat late
that were used in voting - was banned
in the day. The initiative has moved
from the city for 10 years.
away from the BBB and back to the
The modern-day right to recall
Finance Ministry and the RBI where
is a direct successor of such methods.
it rightly belongs. There is clarity now
A recall election is typically a process
that banks must be empowered to
by which voters seek to remove
resolve the relatively small number of
elected officials through a direct vote
bad loans that account for a big
before their term is completed. It has
chunk of the total in terms of value. In
been in place in Canada's Legislative
many cases, this would mean that
Assembly of British Columbia since
banks write off a portion of the loans
1995. Voters can petition to have
owed to them.
their parliamentary representatives
The government must provide
removed from office, even if the MLA
adequate capital to the banks to
is the premier, with a by-election
cover write-offs and also facilitate
ensuing soon after. In the United
fresh loan growth. It must end the
States, the states of Alaska, Georgia,
delays in appointing Chairmen and
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Rhode
Island and Washington allow for recall
on specific grounds such as
misconduct or malfeasance.
This is not a new concept for
India. The concept of "Rajdharma",
wherein the lack of effective
governance was a cause for removal
of a king, has been spoken about since
the Vedic times. One of India's
leading humanists, M.N. Roy,
proposed, in 1944, a shift to a
decentralised and devolved form of
governance, allowing for
representatives to be elected and
recalled. Jayaprakash Narayan, in
1974, spoke extensively on the
subject. Section 47 of the
Chhattisgarh Nagar Palika Act, 1961,
provides for holding of elections to
recall elected officials due to non-
performance. The Right to Recall also
exists at local level bodies in Madhya
Pradesh, Bihar and Chhattisgarh.
Nearly a decade ago, Lok Sabha
Speaker Somnath Chatterjee sought
the introduction of a system of a
"Right to Recall" of a legislator to
ensure accountability. According to
a media report of 2011, in Gujarat,
the State Election Commission had
advised amendments to introduce a
right to recall of elected members in
municipalities, districts, talukas and
village panchayats.
In a first-past-the-post system in
a democracy, unfortunately, not every
elected representative truly enjoys
the mandate of the people. Logic and
justice necessitate that if the people
have the power to elect their
representatives, they should also
have the power to remove these
representatives when they engage in
misdeeds or fail to fulfil their duties.
There exists no recourse for the
electorate if they are unhappy with
their elected representative. The
116
Representation of the People Act, politicians. Having a process to recall
1951, only provides for "vacation of could also limit campaign spending,
office upon the commission of certain as morally skewed candidates weigh
offences and does not account for the risk of being recalled. This right
general incompetence of the would help engender direct
representatives or dissatisfaction of democracy in our country,
the electorate as a ground for broadening access and raising
vacation". However, due care must inclusiveness. To deepen democracy,
be taken in the introduction of the right to recall must be given hand
legislation associated with such laws. in hand with the right to vote.
California's gubernatorial recall In largesse we trust
elections are notorious for the
influence of special interests, with Chairing his first cabinet
Governor Davis' recall vote, in 2003, meeting after taking over the reins in
a classic example. Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath approved a write-off on
To encourage the process of the
outstanding farmer loans of up to Rs.
right to recall, legislative change is
1 lakh taken before March 31, 2016.
needed which seeks to introduce
The State cabinet also decided to
recall petitions, for elected
waive loans worth Rs. 6,000 crore
representatives in the Lok Sabha and
extended to small and marginal
in respective Legislative Assemblies.
farmers that had turned into non-
While it is necessary to ensure that a
performing assets. Together, this
recall process is not frivolous and
package, aimed at fulfilling the
does not became a source of
Bharatiya Janata Party's election
harassment to elected
promise, will cost the exchequer
representatives, the process should
about Rs. 36,000 crore. There was no
have several built-in safeguards such
mention of a bigger plan to ramp up
as an initial recall petition to kick-start
the farm sector, in which U.P.
the process and electronic-based
invested just 2.3% of total
voting to finally decide its outcome.
expenditure in 2016-17 - one of the
Furthermore, it should ensure that a
lowest rates across major States. A
representative cannot be recalled by
little earlier, the Madras High Court
a small margin of voters and that the
ordered the Tamil Nadu government
recall procedure truly represents the
to extend a similar farm loan waiver
mandate of the people. To ensure
scheme for small farmers (with land
transparency and independence,
holdings of up to 5 acres) and
chief petition officers from within the
marginal farmers (who own up to 2.5
Election Commission should be
acres) to all farmers. Officials have
designated to supervise and execute
even been forbidden from trying to
the process.
recover loans where repayments have
A free and fair election is a right
slipped. The State, which had already
of the citizens of the country. When
doled out Rs. 5,780 crore on this front,
their elected representatives no
would need nearly Rs. 2,000 crore
longer enjoy the confidence of the
more to comply with the court's
people, the people must have a right
order. This is a worrying trend for a
to remove them. The true idea of
country that wants to double
democracy can only be achieved on
agricultural incomes by 2022. Not
this edifice of accountability for
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
only could it trigger a countrywide
clamour for similar debt relief
packages, political parties would also
be more inclined to make such grand
promises ahead of future polls. This
is a slippery slope with multiple
unintended outcomes likely in the
years to come.
The Madras High Court has
clearly reached into the the domain
of the executive. The risk is that this
overreach could be cited in other
courts to seek omnibus loan waivers.
Opposition parties in U.P. have
already criticised the cap of Rs. 1 lakh
on farm loans that will attract relief.
The timing of these drastic
interventions is unusual as India had
a good monsoon in the 2016-17 crop
season, after two years of drought,
and a bumper output is expected for
all major crops barring sugarcane.
Forgiving loan burdens is a powerful
political gesture that glosses over the
fact that governments have had little
patience to make agriculture a
sustainable economic activity with
efficient linkages to formal markets,
be it for credit or for supply chains
from farm gate to fork. FDI of up to
100% was allowed in food retail
trading but investments are stuck
over the reluctance to allow a small
proportion of non-food sales. Writing
off loans as a blanket policy, without
scrutiny and restructuring attempts
creates a moral hazard for borrowers,
who will have no incentive to stick to
credit discipline. Frequent write-offs
will prod banks to invest in
alternatives such as the Rural
Infrastructure Development Fund
instead of reaching out to individual
farmers to meet their agricultural
lending targets. In which case,
usurious local moneylenders could
have a field day.
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For the love of Pluto
The immediate provocation
was a Johns Hopkins University
scientist, Kirby Runyon, and his poster
last month at a scientific conference.
His presentation argued that the
definition of what constitutes a planet
be changed. Dr. Runyon and poster
co-authors (including Alan Stern, a
senior astronomer who'd vigorously
opposed Pluto's demotion a decade
ago) were part of the science team
on the New Horizons mission to Pluto,
operated for NASA by the Johns
Hopkins University Applied Physics
Laboratory. In the summer of 2015,
the New Horizons spacecraft
became the first to fly by Pluto,
passing within 8,000 miles and
sending back the first close-up
images ever of Pluto. These factors
combined to whet interest in the
revivification of Pluto's planetary
status.
The International Astronomical
Union, in 2006, laid down three
criteria for a rocky body to be planet:
it must orbit the sun, it must be round,
the body and its satellites must "orbit
in a clear path around the sun". It's
the last bit that buried Pluto, as many
other asteroids and planets, some
bigger than Pluto, were found in its
orbital neighbourhood. Dr. Runyon
and co-authors proposed that the
offending third clause be deleted. To
be sure, there isn't a novel scientific
argument for Pluto's case that hasn't
already been made. Pluto being made
a planet again, according to him,
would mean that "the public would
again fall in love with planetary
exploration."
Along with Pluto being
upgraded from its current "dwarf
planet" status, nearly 100 other
celestial bodies in the solar system
could also become planets. The
celestial bodies include Europa, a
moon of Jupiter, and our very own
moon. It also means that there will be
nothing special about the existing
eight planets and that, according to
critics of Dr. Runyon, would offer a
distorted picture of the solar system.
The International Astronomical
Union arrived at their decision to
demote Pluto after two years of
debate and a proposal to a 'Planet
Definition' sub-committee. This was
then put to a vote, with 237
astronomers voting for and 157
against. There's no report yet of the
IAU moving to reconsider their
position. Dr. Stern has argued that
most of these astronomers were not
'planetary scientists.' Those who are
convinced, proceed with their
science as if Pluto is the planet from
pre-2006 textbooks.
AIDS-free by 2030, India
included
In July 2000, the United Nations
Security Council (UNSC) adopted
Resolution 1308, calling for "urgent
and exceptional actions" to mitigate
the threats posed by HIV/AIDS. As
the first disease to be the subject of a
UNSC resolution, the exceptional
status of HIV/AIDS has brought about
unprecedented levels of
international funding allocated
primarily in developing countries
where responses to the disease have
historically been scarce or non-
existent.
While the exceptional
approach to HIV/AIDS was warranted
in the earlier stages of responses at
the national level, it has become
increasingly ineffective over time.
This is visible through duplicated/
parallel health systems and
unsustainable funding. The
overdependence on international
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
assistance, coupled with the
overwhelming policy preference
towards HIV/AIDS, has resulted in the
marginalisation of other pressing
health threats such as malnutrition,
and maternal and child health care.
Most importantly, there has
been a stagnating and even declining
trend of HIV/AIDS international
financial assistance in recent years.
Data show that most European donor
governments have reduced their
financial commitments since 2012.
Moreover, in light of the continuous
economic boom in India and China,
international funding agencies now
argue that these countries should be
donors instead of recipients of
international HIV/AIDS-specific
grants and loans. Without renewed
and increased commitment from
international donors and recipient
governments, the sustainability of
future national HIV/AIDS
programmes is in doubt.
In response to the changing
global health agenda, most of these
countries are prioritising the
integration of HIV/AIDS programmes
into existing health-related systems.
This shift implies that international
funding organisations now exert a
tremendous influence on the priority
of health issues in the developing
world. In this, India is by no means
unique. An integration of HIV/AIDS
interventions and primary health-care
systems has taken place in India from
2010 onwards. For instance, six
components of the National AIDS
Control Programme (NACP)-III
merged with the National Rural Health
Mission (NRHM) in 2010. The
integration of HIV/AIDS responses
under the umbrella health system is
ongoing in the NACP-IV; where all the
service delivery units except the
targeted interventions (TIs) have
118
been set up within the health-care
system.
At the 2016 high-level meeting
at the UN General Assembly, India
pledged to follow targets towards
ending HIV/AIDS as a public health
threat in the next five years, and
ending the epidemic by 2030. India
is now playing a larger role in funding
its HIV/AIDS programmes - two-
thirds of the budget for the NACP-IV
is provided by the Government of
India and comes from the domestic
budget. Indian HIV/AIDS
programmes have progressively
become less dependent on foreign
assistance considering that over 85%
of the budgets in the first and second
phases of the NACPs and 75% in the
third phase were supported by
international and bilateral funding
mechanisms. But in order to ensure
the sustainability of the HIV/AIDS
interventions, continuous integration
of HIV/AIDS programmes into a larger
health system is required. However,
despite rapid economic
development over the past two
decades, public expenditure on
health care in India as a proportion of
GDP is among the world's lowest.
India's health-care expenditure is
also comparatively less than other
BRICS countries.
A UN report showed that "India
has the third largest number of
people living with HIV/AIDS in the
world and accounts for about 4 out
of 10 people living with HIV/AIDS in
the region". If the goal of ending HIV/
AIDS in India by 2030 is to become
reality, there not only has to be an
increase in budgetary allocation to
public health care but also a more
concentrated effort to increase AIDS
awareness. Evidence suggests that
many people suffering from HIV/
AIDS in Asia lack the awareness that
they test positive.
Despite the prevailing
advocacy of HIV/AIDS interventions
in an integrative manner, there has
been a consistent push to maintain
the exceptional status of HIV/AIDS
as a unique global health challenge.
It is argued that certain levels of AIDS
exceptionalism should be maintained
when we perceive ending HIV/AIDS
as a means to an end. If we can end
HIV/AIDS, we can end other
pressing developmental problems,
where the costs of the disease and
its care present a serious economic
burden.
A new Delhi chapter for Sheikh
Hasina
Bangladesh Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina's forthcoming visit to
India is being observed keenly here
in Dhaka. There is little question that
in the three years since Narendra
Modi took charge as Indian Prime
Minister, the degree of cooperation
which has generally characterised
Dhaka-Delhi ties has gone up by a
good number of notches, with the
two countries seeing eye to eye on a
number of issues affecting them as
well as the South Asian region. As an
instance, both India and Bangladesh
have adopted a common stance on
tackling terrorism through not only
cracking down on the purveyors of
terror but also keeping at arm's length,
and in fact condemning, nations
regarded as sponsors of terrorism in
the region.
In recent times, cooperation
between Dhaka and Delhi has been
enhanced in other areas, particularly
with respect to Bangladesh's
measures toward setting up a power
plant in the Sundarbans. At the same
time, Bangladesh has witnessed a
rather impressive degree of Indian
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
investment in other areas where its
economic development is
concerned. In terms of diplomacy in
the South Asian region, both
countries have had identical views on
how organisations such as the South
Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) should be
going forward in promoting
cooperation among its member
nations. It may be recalled that India
and Bangladesh, for different
reasons, pulled out of the SAARC
summit scheduled to be held in the
Pakistani capital of Islamabad last
year.
The upcoming visit of the
Bangladesh leader to Delhi, on the
face of it, would appear to be a
courtesy call on the Indian
leadership. Yet that would be a rather
naïve way of looking at the realities
which underscore India-Bangladesh
relations. Sheikh Hasina's great need
at this point of time is to convince her
people that with her in charge,
Bangladesh's foreign policy and its
operation are on track, and that
through such a process, Bangladesh
stands the best chance of being part
of a time of regional stability in the
region. At home, the opposition
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)
has already begun hurling the usual
epithets at the Awami League
government to highlight what it has
called genuflection before India
where preserving Bangladesh's
interests is the issue. Those charges
have of course been roundly
dismissed by observers. It has not
helped the BNP any bit that since its
formation and subsequent exercise
of political power in Dhaka, its
fundamentally anti-India card has
continued to power its attitude to
Dhaka-Delhi relations.
The extent to which ties
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between India and Bangladesh can
be re-energised is to be observed
from the fact that a slew of
agreements are expected to be
signed by the two countries during
the presence of the Bangladesh
leader in Delhi. A critical aspect of
the trip will certainly be a defence
deal that will likely be initialled by
the two Prime Ministers. This is an area
that is clearly sensitive for the
Bangladesh leader since questions
are already being raised in Dhaka
about the terms of, or even the need
for, such a deal. It may be recalled
that the 25-year treaty of friendship
and cooperation reached by Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi and Prime
Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in
1972, within months of Bangladesh's
emergence as an independent state,
continued to be the subject of
criticism in anti-Awami League circles
till the deal reached its natural end.
Sheikh Hasina will surely be
extremely cautious as her
government proceeds to a new deal
with the Modi government.
There is, with all this importance
attached to Sheikh Hasina's visit to
Delhi, the Indian government's worry
about the increasing levels of
cooperation between Bangladesh
and China, particularly in the spheres
of the economy and defence.
Dhaka's recent procurement of two
submarines from Beijing, coupled
with Sheikh Hasina's statement that
no country would now dare to attack
Bangladesh, can only have raised
eyebrows in the corridors of power
in Delhi. The Bangladesh Prime
Minister has therefore a particular
need now to convince the Indian
leadership that Dhaka's links with
Beijing are in no way an effort to turn
away from its traditional links with
Delhi, but are aimed at ensuring for
itself a basis of balanced, cooperative
relations with the major players in the
region. For good measure, the
Chinese will be keeping a hawk's eye
on the Hasina-Modi deliberations in
Delhi.
And then, of course, there is the
matter of the sharing of the Teesta
waters, a subject that has continued
to be the focus of discussions in
Dhaka ever since the possibility of a
deal was scuttled in 2011.
Bangladeshis by and large continue
to hope that Prime Minister Modi will
be able to live up to his promise of a
treaty being arrived at through his
influence. That could again depend
on how a meeting of three Bengalis -
President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina and West
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee - goes at Rashtrapati Bhavan
in Delhi.
Suicide isn't a criminal act
The Lok Sabha, late last month,
passed the Bill which decriminalises
a failed suicide. The Bill presumes that
the person wilted under severe stress
and attempted suicide. Instead of
punishing him/her under Section 309
of the Indian Penal Code (attempt to
suicide) with an open trial, a fine
(even though in most cases a token
amount) or imprisonment extending
to a year, the new Bill reinvents the
state in the role of a caregiver to the
survivor of the suicide attempt. The
goal is to prevent the person from
trying the act again. One clause in the
new Bill says the government "shall,
in particular, plan, design and
implement public health
programmes to reduce suicides and
attempted suicides."
In 1985, Justice R.A. Jahagirdar
of the Bombay High Court gave four
reasons why Section 309 was
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
unconstitutional: Nobody agrees on
what constitutes suicide, much less
attempted suicide; mens rea is not
clearly discernible; temporary
insanity, which drives suicide, is a
valid defence even in homicides;
individuals driven to suicide require
psychiatric care. The Law Commission
of India called Section 309
"monstrous". Criminalisation of suicide
was not in tune with the global
wavelength, the Supreme Court
once said.
Unlike the Supreme Court's
Constitution Bench which concluded
in the Gian Kaur case that the right to
life does not include the right to die,
international case laws tolerate even
euthanasia. In McKay v. Bergstedt
(1990), the Supreme Court of Nevada
took the view that the desire of a
patient for withdrawal of his
respirator did not tantamount to
suicide but was rather an exercise of
his constitutional and common law
right to "discontinue unwanted
medical treatment".
However, the new Bill does not
define suicide. Differences among
suicide researchers as to what
constitutes suicide remain.
Growth, with caveats
The central bank was not
expected to tinker with key policy
rates in its first monetary policy review
of 2017-18 unveiled, following its
decision to shift from an
accommodative to a neutral
monetary policy stance in February.
The Monetary Policy Committee
chaired by Reserve Bank of India
Governor Urjit Patel has, in fact,
decided to raise the rate at which the
central bank borrows funds from
banks (the reverse repo rate) by 25
basis points, from 5.75% to 6%, while
leaving other policy rates untouched.
120
This marginal change is aimed at
sucking out from the system excess
liquidity that remains a lingering
concern, despite coming off its peak
in the aftermath of the
demonetisation exercise. The RBI has
also proposed a new liquidity
management tool that awaits
government approval, making the
draining of surplus liquidity a critical
priority all through this year. The
efficacy of the RBI's liquidity
management toolkit will impinge on
another key concern: inflation, which
is expected to climb to 5% by the
second half of this fiscal. The RBI says
achieving the stated target of 4%
inflation even next year could be
challenging, with no "lucky
disinflationary forces" expected,
such as benign commodity and oil
prices. It has also pointed to a one-
time upside risk to inflation with the
implementation of the Goods and
Services Tax.
The RBI is quite optimistic about
an uptick in the economy this year,
projecting 7.4% growth in Gross
Value-Added, compared to 6.7% in
2016-17. Along with improved
prospects for the world economy a
rebound in discretionary consumer
spending at home is likely, in line with
the "pace of remonetisation" and
investment demand on account of
lowered interest rates. While the
government may take heart from the
higher growth projection, it must pay
equal heed to Mr. Patel's plainspeak
on four key issues. First, the need to
urgently resolve the surge of bad
loans on bank books, for which the
RBI will unveil a new Prompt
Corrective Action framework by the
middle of this month. Without this, a
virtuous cycle of healthy credit
growth necessary for investment and
job creation will remain elusive.
Second, the RBI has reminded the
government there will be "clearly
more demand for capital" in the
coming days. The government's
allocation of Rs. 10,000 crore to
recapitalise public sector banks is
obviously inadequate. Third, while
banks have reduced lending rates,
the RBI has pointed out there is room
for more cuts if rates on small savings
schemes are corrected. Though a
formula-based rate was adopted to
set these rates last April, small savings
schemes still deliver 61-95 basis
points higher returns than what they
should if the formula is followed, as
per the RBI. Most important, the
government must not ignore Mr.
Patel's categorical call to eschew loan
waivers of the kind just announced
in Uttar Pradesh. This, he warned,
would crowd out private investments
and dent the nation's balance sheet.
Track to efficiency
Creating a Rail Development
Authority for India is among the most
significant reforms to an infrastructure
system undertaken by the
government. The railways connect
the country's far corners and act as a
driver of the economy. High rates of
economic growth have raised the
demand for travel, but this remains
largely unmet. The popular aspiration
is for a modern system that offers high-
quality travel with low risk of
accidents, while industry wants
smooth freight transfer. An
independent, empowered regulator
could be the paradigm shift that is
needed. The proposed Authority
would have to ensure that the
resources of the system are optimally
utilised, overcoming existing
inefficiencies that arise from the fact
that policy, regulatory and
management functions of the railways
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
are intertwined. As the National
Transport Development Policy
Committee noted in 2014, the
centralisation of all functions in the
Railway Board has proved detrimental
to the organisation's growth,
particularly at a time when there is a
need for massive investment in
infrastructure for 7%-plus GDP
growth. Conversely, robust economic
expansion further raises the demand
for railway services. To reconcile this,
the regulator has to identify sectors
that can support higher tariffs and
also produce greater volumes of
traffic. Such accurate interventions
are critical if the trend of declining
rates of growth in railway freight
revenues and volumes, which set in
during 2011-12, is to be reversed.
One of the big challenges
before the Centre is to facilitate
higher non-budgetary investment in
the railways. The Bibek Debroy
Committee found the private sector
is discouraged from participating
more effectively due to a
monopolistic framework. Coming up
with a system that de-risks private
investment and creates a level playing
field are among the major challenges
before the Rail Development
Authority. In the area of passenger
services, this offers several
possibilities; the railways cater to
some 23 million passengers a day in a
network of about 8,000 stations. The
experience of consumers in cities
shows that use of information
technology to deliver traditional
services can lead to higher levels of
efficiency and lower costs, besides
adding jobs. While regulation of tariffs
matching the quality of travel can help
raise revenues, the system should be
able to move both people and freight
faster in order to grow. Inducting
faster, more comfortable trains on 500
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km-plus inter-city routes would
attract new traffic, and help operate
cheaper passenger trains to interior
areas, as part of the government's
social obligation. Technology
upgrades are essential to raise
carrying capacity, service frequency
and speeds. Rail reform is complex
and what was undertaken in Europe
during the 1990s, separating
infrastructure from operations, is an
interesting model: sequential
measures achieved sustainable
results, rather than a package of
changes introduced at once.
Real meaning of Brexit
Britain's apparent tone of
accommodation over its current
complex exit negotiations with the
European Union (EU) would have
seemed inconceivable only a couple
of months ago. Prime Minister Theresa
May's candid remarks in January that
a "no deal for Britain is better than a
bad deal" did not amuse European
diplomats. Again, her veiled threat of
a possible low-tax and tariff regime
for third countries in the event of
failure to secure a trade agreement
with the EU seemed intended to
appease hard-liners in her own party.
But recent developments suggest
that there might be prospects to
maintain continuity with the status
quo beyond 2019 in Britain's EU
membership. The 'remain' camp in
last year's referendum may sense a
small window of opportunity in this
evolving scenario.
The Conservative government,
long held hostage by eurosceptic
backbenchers, was a hapless witness
to the leave camp's rallying cry ahead
of the June 2016 plebiscite to "take
back control" from Brussels. But so
much for sloganeering. A demand for
legislative approval of the historic
verdict was resisted by the
government in charge of delivering
Brexit. Eventually, 'remain'
supporters won the argument in a
lower court. On appeal, the judges
ruled that Britain's withdrawal from a
four-decade EU membership, with
profound implications for citizens,
required Parliament's assent. Closure
of the country's borders to immigrants
from the continent, quitting the bloc's
single market, and calling time on the
jurisdiction of the European Court of
Justice constitute the core of the
eurosceptic stance. They were
equally the central pillars of the 'leave'
campaign. But ever since London
triggered the Article 50 exit clause
of the Lisbon Treaty on March 29, the
hard realities of a two-year deadline
have begun to bite.
In response to Article 50, the
European Parliament voted
overwhelmingly to insist on
compliance with the bloc's
budgetary obligations, the common
trade policy, and the court's
jurisdiction. The implication is that
Britain will continue to be governed
by EU policy on these and possibly
on immigration, even after Britain's
formal withdrawal.
The European Parliament's
resolution also offers the possibility
of an association agreement, paving
the path for closer cooperation
between the U.K. and the remaining
27 states. But none of this detracts
from the bloc's core concerns that
London's exit does not set a
precedent for countries with
eurosceptic and populist forces
eager to replicate the U.K.
referendum. A related aim is that
while the final deal may not be
punitive, it should be inferior to full
membership.
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Stepping up to a shared
potential
India is the world's most
populous democracy and will, by
2030, be the most populous country,
overtaking China. And it is young -
there are more Indian 10-year-olds
than there are Australians. With more
than a dozen distinct languages,
scripts and religions, India is
multiculturalism on the grandest
scale; unlike China, its only rival for
scale, it had never existed as a single
nation prior to its independence in
1947. And to sustain a vibrant modern
democracy, surely India is one of the
greatest political achievements of our
times.
That formal relationship began
for many Australians in 1950, when
Robert Menzies became the first
Australian leader to visit independent
India. Since then, both countries
have been transformed. Now we
must turn our attention to
transforming the relationship to one
that matches India's huge needs and
its enormous potential with our
people, Australia's best assets, as well
as our resources and our shared
democratic traditions.
During the visit we will focus on
three areas of our relationship that
show great potential: our economic,
knowledge and strategic
partnerships. India is inspiring the
world with its explosive economic
growth. Its economic take-off is lifting
millions out of poverty, transforming
the country into the world's fastest-
growing major economy, with
forecasted growth of 7.5% in 2017.
This is a stunning result for India, and
a rare opportunity for Australia. From
Mumbai to Melbourne, from
Bengaluru to Brisbane, India will be
in the market to buy some of the best
122
things Australia has to offer. strengthen our engagement. As
Two-way trade is growing, and liberal democracies, we can work
approaching $20 billion, but that's far together to encourage free trade and
too low and there's so much more we prosperity and to help safeguard
can do. This will be a key focus of my security and the rule of law in our
visit. I'll meet with executives from region.
some of India's biggest companies, Better control, more efficiency
and speak with Australian
How much does political
entrepreneurs in India who are
commitment matter in the success of
expanding their market reach into
a scheme such as the Mahatma
this extraordinary country.
Gandhi National Rural Employment
The Government will announce
Guarantee Scheme? Does the ability
the results of the tenth round of the
of local politicians to control
Australia-India Strategic Research
bureaucrats in charge of
Fund. Worth more than $100 million,
implementation help in the
this initiative has enabled our sharpest
effectiveness of the scheme in rural
minds to collaborate in areas such as
villages? If politicians have undivided
food security and health, and
influence over a bureaucratic area
advance the boundaries of human
(the block), they can better oversee
knowledge in quantum computing,
the scheme's implementation unlike
nanotechnology and astronomy. By
the case where the block is split
combining our talents, we can add
among multiple Assembly segments.
to the technological achievements
In order to prove this, the
already made in both our countries.
researchers map out political
For decades our citizens have
(constituency level) and
been criss-crossing the Indian Ocean
administrative (block/village level)
in search of knowledge. Last year,
boundaries and use GIS tools to
Australia was the second-most
identify different forms of overlaps.
popular study destination for Indian
They then compare MGNREGS
students - 60,000 came to Australia
implementation in unsplit and split
to learn. Through the Government's
blocks, i.e. blocks and villages that
New Colombo Plan, I want to see
fall under multiple political
more and more young Australians
constituencies and otherwise. The
choosing India as a place to study and
variables used to evaluate
boost their own qualifications and
implementation are the number of
experience. India's demand for our
workdays created in the block and
minerals and resources remains high.
the total number of people who
But education is a new pathway to
worked on the scheme's projects.
shared prosperity. Consider the
Using regression models they
numbers - the Indian Government is
find out that compared to unsplit
aiming to train 400 million people by
blocks, there are fewer people
2022. We can help them achieve this
employed in MGNREGS in split
goal.
blocks, and even among them, the
The security and stability of the
number of workdays is lower. Political
Indo-Pacific is fundamental to both
representatives, they hypothesise,
of us and my visit provides an
are better able to claim credit for the
opportunity to discuss key regional
success of the scheme if block
and geostrategic issues and
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
development officers directly report
only to them and not to other political
representatives. This effect is
mitigated if blocks are split between
constituencies held by politicians of
the same party. It also means that if
blocks are split between the same
party representatives, they are better
able to control bureaucrats.
The larger implication of this
paper relates to the multiple overlaps
of governance between political and
administrative boundaries. And that
politicians can actually exercise
positive influence on welfare
schemes if they get the incentive to
do so unlike the perception that
politicians merely use such schemes
for rent-seeking and patronage. In
the case of the MGNREGS, the falling
of its jurisdiction under political
boundaries allows for greater
accountability of the political
representative. Hence there is better
implementation.
A short history of a big deal
Bangladesh Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina's visit to India and the
signing of 36 agreements of
cooperation ranging from the
economic, defence and power
sectors to the peaceful use of nuclear
energy shows that significant
progress has been made in Indo-
Bangla relations in the last eight years.
However, the stalled Teesta treaty
continues to eclipse bilateral relations
as water affects the lives of ordinary
people across vast spaces of land. It
seems that in spite of the goodwill
prevailing in Delhi, West Bengal has
become a thorn in Indo-Bangla
relations.
Bangladesh shares 54 of its 57
transboundary rivers with India. After
the Ganges, Brahmaputra and the
Meghna (GBM) river system, Teesta
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is the fourth largest river shared
between the two countries. In 1983,
an ad hoc water-sharing agreement
allocated 39% of the water flow to
India and 36% to Bangladesh and
remaining 25% was left unallocated
for a later decision. The Teesta river's
floodplain covers an area of 2,750 sq
km in Bangladesh, supporting roughly
10 million people. An estimated one
lakh hectares of land across five
districts of Bangladesh are severely
impacted and face acute shortages
during dry seasons. Apart from
livelihood directly obtained from the
river, agriculture is also affected as
14% crop production is dependent
on the flow of the river. At stake are
the lives of millions of people of
Bangladesh who depend on the river
for their survival. Therefore, it is
imperative that the treaty provide
equal allocation of the Teesta, a fair
demand from the side of the lower
riparian Bangladesh.
In 2011, during the visit of
former Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh to Dhaka, plans had been
confirmed of an interim arrangement
of 15 years, with India getting 42.5%
and Bangladesh 37.5% of the river
during dry seasons. The arrangement
also included the setting of a joint
hydrological observation station to
gather accurate data for the future.
The plans fell through when West
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee opted out of the delegation
led by Dr. Singh to Dhaka, expressing
strong reservations against giving
Bangladesh a greater share of water.
When the Chief Minister herself
had appointed an expert committee
headed by Kalyan Rudra in 2011 to
study the Teesta issue, the report,
though unpublished, was in favour of
Bangladesh. Says Ainun Nishat, a
prominent hydrology expert from
Bangladesh, "India has completely
dried out the river on our end during
lean period by closing all the gates of
the Gazaldoba barrage. That is
unexpected from a friendly
neighbour. This treaty is a formality,
but India cannot ignore our rights to
the river water."
Ms. Banerjee has sat on the
issue and been changing goalposts
for six years, with Bangladesh hostage
to its neighbour's domestic politics
as a State government refuses to play
ball with the Centre. Speculation is
now rife that Ms. Banerjee is trying to
secure a financial package from Delhi
and the Teesta treaty has become the
bargaining tool for it. It is ordinary
Bangladeshis who are bearing the
brunt of this impasse.
With elections slated for early
2019, it is Ms. Hasina whose
credibility is at stake at home after all
that she has done for taking Indo-
Bangla relations to newer heights.
Unfortunately, the Bengal of India has
become the sore throat in an
otherwise evolving and matured
Indo-Bangla relations.
Mind the treatment gap
The Mental Healthcare Bill,
2016, which was passed in the Lok
Sabha on March 27, 2017, has been
hailed as a momentous reform.
According to the Bill, every person
will have the right to access mental
health care operated or funded by
the government; good quality and
affordable health care; equality of
treatment and protection from
inhuman practices; access to legal
services; and right to complain
against coercion and cruelty. The Bill
also empowers a mentally ill person
to choose a treatment and her/his
nominated representative,
decriminalises attempted suicide,
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
prohibits the use of electroconvulsive
therapy (ECT) to mentally ill adults
without the use of muscle relaxants
and anaesthesia, and contains
provisions for care, treatment and
rehabilitation for those who have
experienced severe stress and
attempted suicide. While these are
laudable and ambitious objectives as
they address major concerns of
mental health care, there have been
some critiques drawing attention to
the lack of funds, trained personnel,
and insufficient emphasis on
community care. The ground reality,
however, suggests that these
objectives are not just overambitious
but an overkill .
The Global Burden of Disease
Study shows that in 2013, 50% of all
disease burden in India was caused
by non-communicable diseases,
while mental disorders accounted for
about 6% of the total disease burden.
A third of this is due to depression,
which also significantly contributes
to suicide and ischaemic heart
disease. Worse, suicide is a leading
cause of death in people in India aged
15-29.
There are only 43 government-
run mental hospitals across all of India
to provide services to more than 70
million people living with mental
disorders. There are 0.30
psychiatrists, 0.17 nurses, and 0.05
psychologists per 1,00,000 mentally
ill patients in the country. The case of
the Bareilly mental hospital - one of
three major mental hospitals in Uttar
Pradesh - is stunning. In this hospital,
350 patients can be admitted and
around 200 patients can attend the
out-patient department every day.
But all these patients would be at the
mercy of only one psychiatrist!
At the macro level, the
proposed health expenditure of 1.2%
124
of GDP in the Budget for 2017-18 is
among the lowest in the world. In real
terms, public health expenditure has
consistently declined since 2013-14.
Of the total health budget, a mere 1-
2% is spent on mental health.
But this is a small part of the
explanation of the inadequacy and
abysmal quality of mental health
services in India. Underlying this
deplorable state of affairs is a
pervasive perception that those with
mental illnesses are pathological or
even criminal; hence they do not
deserve the type of rehabilitation
given to those with physical ailments.
Besides, the treatment gap (the
difference between those suffering
from mental illnesses and those
seeking medical/psychiatric care) is
widened because of the social
stigma attached to such illnesses. In
fact, many poor people hide their
illnesses and endanger their lives.
Others argue that it is not so much
stigma but ignorance and lack of
knowledge, myths, and supernatural
beliefs that impede treatment.
Women typically face larger
treatment gaps as they are vulnerable
to violence, sexual abuse and
inhuman treatment.
Some women were not even
informed that ECT was being
administered. Psychiatric nurses
admitted that ECT was administered
not just on violent and suicidal
patients but also on new admissions
who tend to be unmanageable.
Women and girls with psychosocial
or intellectual disabilities in
institutions are often subject to not
just physical and verbal abuse but also
sexual violence. Some women went
to a hospital for three months and
returned one month pregnant. Not a
single FIR was filed. Government
hospitals refuse to admit "mentally ill"
persons in the ICU on the grounds
that this facility could be put to better
use. A woman suffering from breast
cancer for two-three years was
denied treatment and subsequently
died.
An emphatic case could be
made for shifting from institutional
care to community-based care for
people suffering from mental
disorders. A study published in The
Lancet Psychiatry , 2017 offers
corroborative evidence from
VISHRAM (the Vidharbha Stress and
Health Programme), which is a
community-based mental health
initiative. The reduction in the
treatment gap was due to increased
supply of mental health services
through front-line workers and their
collaborative linkage with the
physicians and psychiatrists in the
facilities, as well as increased demand
for mental health services due to
improved mental health literacy. The
substantial reduction in the median
cost of care resulted from availability
of general as well as specialist services
in the village itself.
Whether legislation such as the
Mental Healthcare Bill help overcome
supply and demand barriers seems
highly unlikely, as the root causes lie
in pervasive negative attitudes,
massive neglect of mental health care,
rampant abuse and unchecked
inhuman practices, and weak
redressal and enforcement
mechanisms. The Bill seeks to address
major lacunae in mental health care
and is thus an important step forward.
However, its implementation will
require substantially larger public
resources and, more importantly,
restructuring of mental healthcare
services with a key role for the
community in their provision, rapid
expansion of mental health literacy,
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
effective monitoring and Bangladesh will not be bound to use fundamentalist forces such as the
enforcement of the objectives it to source its supplies only from Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami, the Jama'atul
envisioned in it. With limited Indian companies. This is India's way Mujahideen Bangladesh and Harkat-
awareness of these challenges, and to reposing confidence in the Hasina ul-Ansar.
with a slight risk of exaggeration, the government that it will not challenge The other way out for India is to
Bill is an overkill. New Delhi's vital interests. enhance its engagements in the larger
Pivot to the Indo-Pacific India is also ready to Indo-Pacific, thereby getting out of
demonstrate it keenness to share its the straitjacket of being a "mere"
At a time when India finds itself
economic growth with its regional South Asian power. New Delhi's
consumed once again by its
partners. It is also extending a $4.5 success in engaging countries such
obsession with Pakistan in light of the
billion line of credit to Bangladesh, as Japan, Australia, Vietnam, Malaysia
death sentence pronounced on
over and above the existing $2.8 and Indonesia in recent years is
Kulbhushan Jadhav by a Pakistani
billion line, to fund around 17 testament to the growing demand in
military court, two recent visits to
infrastructure projects which the region for a larger Indian role and
India by foreign dignitaries
includes port upgradation work at the presence. Mr. Turnbull's visit to Delhi
underscore the gradually evolving
Mongla, Chittagong and Payra ports. this week once again showed that
foreign policy priorities of Indian
Given the critical need for enhancing India is now widely perceived to be
diplomacy. The visits of Bangladesh
connectivity in South Asia, India is a strong and credible regional force.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and
pushing for early implementation of The two countries pledged to
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm
the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal enhance maritime cooperation as
Turnbull to India this week exemplify
(BBIN) Motor Vehicles Agreement, they underlined "the importance of
not only the country's rising global
aimed at facilitating seamless freedom of navigation and overflight,
profile but also its growing stakes in
transport of goods over land customs unimpeded lawful commerce, as
the larger Indo-Pacific.
stations. Bus and train services well as resolving maritime disputes by
There are now new demands between Kolkata and Khulna have peaceful means, in accordance with
being made on India. And New Delhi been started, and there are plans to international law, including UNCLOS
seems ready to play ball. Its role as a revive inland waterway channels. (United Nations Convention on the
security provider is visible in the Law of the Sea)".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Delhi-Dhaka joint statement which
and Ms. Hasina have both been Defence cooperation once
has stressed the need for greater
instrumental in shaping the positive again is at the centre of this
military-to-military training and
trajectory of this important bilateral relationship with the decision to hold
exchanges, and complimented the
relationship. Mr. Modi used his a bilateral maritime exercise named
armed forces for their professional
political capital to push through the AUSINDEX in 2018. A bilateral
conduct during joint search and
land boundary agreement (LBA), to exercise of the Special Forces will
rescue operations in the Bay of Bengal
swap enclaves India and Bangladesh be held later this year, while the first
leading to the rescue of a large
held in each other's territory, in 2015 bilateral army-to-army exercise will
number of fishermen from both sides.
and is working towards mitigating also take place in 2018. The two
The defence relationship was the
differences on the critical Teesta countries should now prioritise the
highlight of Ms. Hasina's visit to Delhi
water sharing pact. Ms. Hasina has conclusion of the Comprehensive
this time as it included a
been equally responsive to Indian Economic Cooperation Agreement
memorandum of understanding on a
concerns. Bangladesh is taking (CECA) at the earliest to give
defence framework, and a $500
serious steps to deal a decisive blow economic heft to their growing
million line of credit (LoC) for
to separatist Indian insurgent security interactions.
defence procurement by the
organisations such as ULFA and the Despite the hype about the
Bangladesh military forces, the largest
National Democratic Front of possibility of India emerging as the
such LoC India has extended to any
Bodoland. There is now greater guarantor of the liberal economic and
country so far. What makes this line of
convergence between India and security order in Asia, there are now
credit more significant is that
Bangladesh on dealing with new possibilities for reimagining New

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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
Delhi's regional and global role.
Greater cooperation with like-
minded countries in the region and
beyond will give it greater space to
emerge as a credible regional
interlocutor at a time when
Washington's policies remain far from
clear and Beijing is challenging the
foundations of the extant order.
Another crisis
With Madhesi parties deciding
to boycott local polls scheduled for
May 14, Nepal is heading for another
political crisis. The boycott decision
came after the Communist Party of
Nepal (Maoist-Centre)-led
government tabled fresh
amendments to the Constitution in
Parliament. Ever since the country
adopted the new post-monarchy
Constitution in September 2015,
Madhesi parties have been
demanding a redrawing of federal
boundaries to reflect the fact that the
community, residents of the Terai
area, and other minority groups are in
a majority in some new provinces. The
government led by CPN(M-C)
chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, with
the Nepali Congress part of the
coalition, came to power in 2016 on
the promise of accommodating these
demands to the extent possible and
forging a reasonable consensus
across the political spectrum. The
government had also initiated
amendments that went some way in
addressing Madhesi concerns, such
as the formation of a federal
commission to look into a redrawing
of federal boundaries, and the
recognition of local languages as
national ones. These amendments
were, however, rejected by Madhesi
parties, which stuck to a maximalist
position. The opposition Communist
Party of Nepal (Unified-Marxist-
126
Leninist) also rejected them, though All about bitcoins
for being too giving. Unable to forge
It is an electronic or digital
any consensus, the government
currency that works on a peer-to-peer
came up with the fresh amendments
basis. This means that it is
as a signal that it is willing to concede
decentralised and has no central
some of the Madhesi demands in
authority controlling it. Like currency
return for their participation in the
notes, it can be sent from one person
long-pending local polls. But the
to another, but without a central bank
absence of substantive efforts to
or the government attempting to track
address the federal question has
it. The system depends on
resulted in a Madhesi boycott.
cryptography to control the creation
Nine years have passed since of the currency. While no one
elections to the first Constituent authority controls the generation of
Assembly were held. Beyond Nepal's the coins or tracks them, the system
transition from a constitutional itself is designed in such a way that
monarchy to a republic, the lack of the network maintains a foolproof
consensus on other issues pushed system of the record of every
the finalisation of the Constitution far transaction as well as tracking
beyond the original remit of the issuance of the currency.
Constituent Assembly, which was to
You can send bitcoins digitally
have concluded the process in two
to anyone who has a bitcoin address
years. The new Constituent Assembly
anywhere in the globe. One person
elected in 2013 was less amenable
could have multiple addresses for
to changes, especially to the state
different purposes - personal,
structure, and the Madhesi parties
business and the like. Receivers can
refused to accept the finalised
get to spend them within minutes of
Constitution in 2015. The impasse on
receiving the coins. Once given
the state restructuring issue has given
away, like currency, there is no
rise to disturbing trends - jingoism,
getting them back, unless the
that sees Madhesi concerns as
receiver decides to give them to you.
reflecting the interests of external
A bitcoin is not printed currency but
actors such as India, and voices of
is a non-repudiable record of every
secessionism among Madhesi forces
transaction that it has been through.
who suggest that the Nepali polity is
All this is part of a huge ledger called
incapable of addressing the plain-
the blockchain.
dwellers' concerns. This political
Bitcoins are available in bitcoin
battle of wits has taken away much-
exchanges. You could also purchase
needed focus from the dire state of
bitcoins from other users. A bitcoin
the economy, which is yet to recover
exchange traded fund could be
from the shock of the devastating
another source in the near future. You
earthquake of 2015. Local elections
can become a bitcoin miner by
are seen as a way to allow for a much-
investing in software and hardware.
needed administrative presence
More the power of the hardware that
everywhere, but this cannot happen
helps with encryption technology,
without the participation of all
higher the probability of your earning
political forces, especially Madhesis.
bitcoins. Unocoin is a Bengaluru-
The government has its task cut out
based company that allows users to
to manage a compromise.
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 Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
buy, sell, store or use bitcoins. While
bitcoin usage is certainly not
mainstream, there are said to be more
than 500 merchants who accept
bitcoins for payment in India.
One bitcoin is worth roughly
about $1,200 now. An early investor
in Snapchat has been quoted on the
Web as saying that by 2030, the value
could be as high as $500,000. One of
the reasons that could prompt you to
buy a bitcoin is not so much to use it
for payment online but as an
investment. Urban legend has it that
someone who was doing a thesis on
cryptocurrency bought 5000
bitcoins for $27 in 2009.
And unlike traditional currency
that is inflationary in nature, the
bitcoin is a deflationary currency. In
other words, if there are only so many
bitcoins in use, and the demand for
those rises, the value of a bitcoin
would, logically, rise.
Powering India-Nepal ties
An important step in promoting
electricity trade between India and
Nepal took place on February 14
when Energy Secretary-level talks -
known as the joint steering committee
(JSC) meeting - concluded in
Kathmandu. Here, it was decided to
endorse the detailed project report
of the 400 kV Butwal-Gorakhpur
cross-border transmission line. It
follows the guidelines issued by
India's Ministry of Power for cross-
border electricity trade on December
5, 2016.
This is an opportune moment to
push for electricity trade with a long-
term perspective. Nepal is short of
power and will need to import power
for some years to accelerate its
economic growth. India has surplus
capacity at present. In the years to
come, it can fruitfully import flexible
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hydropower from Nepal to balance
its fast growing renewable
generation and also provide a market
for Nepal's electricity. With this
market, Nepal's hydro potential can
be developed faster.
India and Nepal have been
talking about electricity trade and
joint projects for many years now, but
somehow these talks did not
succeed. It was only in 2014 when
India and Nepal signed a Power
Trade Agreement that the doors
opened for Nepal developers/traders
to access the Indian power market.
At first, Nepal was apprehensive that
it would not get a fair deal trading
with a large neighbour, but power is
now traded in India on exchanges
transparently and the price is known
to all, thus assuaging some of Nepal's
apprehensions.
Due to political uncertainty, the
development of Nepal's hydro
potential has been delayed. Out of
an economically viable and
technically feasible potential of 43.5
GW, only 0.8 GW had been
developed by March 2016. Thus, a
great opportunity has been missed.
By selling power to India, Nepal
could have developed its economy
at a faster rate. Bhutan has reaped the
benefit of power export to India and
its per capita income in purchasing
power parity adjusted for
international dollars increased from
$475 in 1980 to $7,860 in 2015.
India's was $5,730 in 2015.
Electricity is required for
economic growth and well-being. In
2015, Nepal faced load-shedding of
up to 16 hours a day during the dry
season, when the available capacity
of Nepal's hydropower decreases to
a third of installed capacity. Peak load
outstripped domestic power
generation capacity, causing serious
power shortage, which was partly
met with by import from India.
Nepal's electricity supply in 2015-16
was around 5,100 GWh, of which
3,300 GWh was domestic generation
and remaining 1,758 GWh was import
from India. Import has increased
steadily from 746 GWh in 2011-12 to
1,758 GWh in 2015-16, an almost
threefold increase. Nepal also
exports electricity to India in some
periods, although in very small
quantity. Per capita electricity
consumption in Nepal is one of the
world's lowest, at 119 kWh in 2012. It
has an ambitious target of reaching
16,500 MW of hydro capacity by
2030, which includes the joint project
with India at Pancheshwar.
The prospect of electricity
trade with India makes it possible for
Nepal to develop its hydropower
potential and has important
consequences. Even though
significant exports to India will begin
only from 2025 because domestic
capacity development takes time,
Nepal could already benefit through
larger import of electricity from India.
Increased availability of electricity
accelerates its economic
development. The construction of
transmission lines to import electricity
become lines to export electricity by
2025. Nepal imports 0.7 billion kWh
(bkWh) in 2020 but by 2025 exports
18 bkWh, which increases to 65 bkWh
by 2030 and to 113 bkWh by 2040.
Its annual export revenue from the
electricity trade becomes NPR 310
billion in 2030, NPR 840 billion in
2040 and NPR 1,069 billion in 2045,
at 2011-12 prices. By 2045, Nepal's
GDP becomes 39% larger, its per
capita consumption 23% higher and
per capita electricity consumption
50% higher than if trade were to
continue at its modest current level.
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Therefore, the sooner Nepal
develops its hydropower potential,
the earlier the benefits. For electricity
trade to materialise, policy,
institutional and technical
infrastructure are necessary. Building
hydropower projects and
transmission infrastructure is highly
investment-intensive. Without a
stable, long-term conducive policy
and an institutional environment in
128
place, which ensures payment
security, it is unlikely that investors will
put their money in this risky business.
Recently, the Indian government
issued guidelines and draft
notification on cross-border
electricity trade (CBET) policy to
enable Indian/Nepal producers/
traders to seamlessly exchange
power with neighbouring nations.
A climate of confidence and
trust in the long-term trading
relationship between India and
Nepal can greatly help Nepal meet
its ambitious target and provide an
opportunity for Indian investors to
invest in Nepal. This could help us
smoothen our recently strained
relations with Nepal as well as
strengthen our historically friendly
ties.
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