CAO Editorial Nov 2017 PDF

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November 2017
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CAO Editorial Analysis Vol. 4 November 2017
Choking on air {Environment} ............................ 34

CONTENTS 09 November, 2017................................................ 36
Capital crisis {Environment} ............................... 36
01 November, 2017 Growth minus development {Social issue} ........ 38
/
Judicial safe zones {Social Justice} ....................... 3 Rising temperatures and the
m
workplace {Environment}................................... 38
Collegium and transparency {Judicial System} .... 4
10 November, 2017................................................ 40
co
02 November, 2017 ................................................. 6
The pecking order {Health Issue} ....................... 40
A list to move on with {Social issue} .................... 6
The risk of rising crude oil prices {Economic
] ly.
Complex regulations limiting progress in ease of
Policies} .............................................................. 41
doing business ranking {Economic Policy} ........... 7
11 November, 2017................................................ 41
03 November, 2017 ................................................. 9
es on
Slippery oil rally {Indian Economy}..................... 42
Acting against torture {Social Justice} .................. 9
Hindutva and its naysayers {Indian Politics} ..... 43
Gathering the tribe {Art & Culture} .................. 11
ss rs
12 November, 2017................................................ 44
The Swachh marathon {Social issue} ................. 12
The virtue and practice of toleration {Ethics} .... 44
la ai
Can Bharatmala revive India’s capex cycle and
boost growth?{Infrastructure} ........................... 14
Seeing the light {Science and Technology}......... 45
C aff
13 November, 2017................................................ 46
04 November, 2017 ............................................... 15
Why do ministers ask for RBI rate cuts? What
The rise and rise of Xi Jinping {International
does Banks Board Bureau do? {Economic Policies}
G nt
Relation} ............................................................. 15
............................................................................ 46
The missing women {Social issue}...................... 17
[E re
The AI battlefield {Science & Tech} .................... 47

A welfare test for Aadhaar {Public Policy} ......... 19
05 November, 2017 ............................................... 21
ur
14 November, 2017................................................ 48
Time to rethink public housing? {Economic
Development} .................................................... 21
//c
Eastern promise {International Relation} .......... 48

Fixing Accountability {Economic Policies} .......... 23 The forgotten people {International Relation} .. 49
06 November, 2017 ............................................... 23
s:
What ails India’s household economy? {Indian

Beyond big game hunting {International}.......... 23 Economy} ........................................................... 51
tp
15 November, 2017................................................ 52
The new oil game {International Relation} ........ 25
Human Rights And Wrongs {Rights Issue}.......... 52
ht
07 November, 2017 ............................................... 26

The rich know how to sidestep
Teaching ethics to aspiring civil servants {ethics}
responsibilities{Environment} ............................ 53
........................................................................... 27
6 November, 2017.................................................. 54
Aiming high, looking far {Economic Policy}........ 28
The rise of the bots {Science & Technology}...... 54
Lessons of October {Governance}...................... 30
Parenting The iPad Generation {Science and
08 November, 2017 ............................................... 31
Technology} ........................................................ 56
Spirit of Paris: on the climate change meet in
17 November, 2017................................................ 57
Bonn {Environment}........................................... 31
1
Narrow banking is an idea whose time has

Page
Remonetise {Economic Policy}........................... 33

come {Banking & Economy} ............................... 57
www.currentaffairsonly.com EG Classes (Mukherjee Nagar)

CAO Editorial Analysis Vol. 4, November 2017
Sweet somethings {Art & Culture} ..................... 59 Locked out, without a GI tag {Economic Policy} 87
18 November, 2017 ............................................... 60 28 November, 2017................................................ 88
The superbugs of Hyderabad {Environment}..... 60 Cleaning up oil spills {Health Issue} .................... 88
A step up {Economics} ....................................... 62 15th Finance Commission to examine
/
19 November, 2017 ............................................... 63 performance incentives for states {Economic
m
Policy} ................................................................. 89
A victim of federalism {Governance} ................. 63
29 November, 2017................................................ 90
co
Healing with a laser touch {Science & Tech} ...... 64
Hunting for solutions {Environment} {Ecology} . 90
Pacific Ocean’s 11{International Relations} ....... 65
Rethink school education {Education Policy} ..... 92
] ly.
20 November, 2017 ............................................... 65
Cities at Crossroads: Perils of
Govt may exempt crowdfunding from Companies plastics waste {Environment} ............................. 93
Act {Economic Policies} ...................................... 65
es on
30 November, 2017................................................ 95
21 November, 2017 ............................................... 67
Against gender rights {Rights Issues} ................. 95
Farm policies for India {Agricultural sector} ...... 67
ss rs
The worst may be over for the Indian
The danger of electoral bonds {Corruption} ...... 67 economy {Economy} .......................................... 97
la ai
22 November, 2017 ............................................... 69
The case for flexible fiscal targeting {Policies} ... 69
C aff
23 November, 2017 ............................................... 71
Inclusive lessons {Educational Policy} ................ 71
G nt
Far from keeping the world safe {Climate Change}

........................................................................... 72
[E re
24 November, 2017 ............................................... 73

Delhi’s air pollution is both a challenge and an
ur
opportunity ........................................................ 73
25 November, 2017 ............................................... 76
//c
The agony of Stuartpuram {Indian history}

{Governance} ..................................................... 76
s:
The mandates of natural justice {Constitutional

issues}................................................................. 78
tp
The Chabahar Checkmate {International

Relations} ........................................................... 79
ht
26 November, 2017 ............................................... 81

To add or not {Health Issue} .............................. 81
Gained in Translation: The
unseen neighbour {International Relations} ...... 83
27 November, 2017 ............................................... 84
Smart-balancing China {International Relations}
........................................................................... 84
2
Page
A toolkit to think local {Health Policy} ............... 85

01 November, 2017 • Under this law, the officer recording a

child’s statement should not be in
Judicial safe zones {Social uniform.
Justice} • During court proceedings steps must be
taken to ensure that the child is not
/
m
(The Hindu) exposed to the accused.
The court is allowed to record a child’s
co
•
Context statement through video conferencing, or
using one-way mirrors or curtains.
] ly.
This article gives details regarding new • At present, Delhi has four such
regulation of court hearing in case of deposition centers, backed by guidelines
es on
children framed by the Delhi High Court.
From where the court was inspired
ss rs
In news
la ai
The Supreme Court’s direction that within
The Delhi High Court’s guidelines are
inspired by the UN Model Law on Justice
C aff
three months there should be at least
in Matters involving Child Victims and
two special deposition centers under every
Witnesses of Crime
high court’s jurisdiction
G nt
It is a positive step towards ensuring a

Objective
[E re
conducive and protective atmosphere for

vulnerable witnesses.
ur
• Eliciting complete,
Why special deposition center is • Accurate and reliable testimony from

//c
required? child witnesses,
• Minimising harm,
s:
Children testifying as witnesses find the

• Preventing ‘secondary victimisation’.
courtroom experience intimidating. In many
tp
cases, they are victims themselves, and

may be deterred from deposing fully and Benefits
ht
confidently in the formal atmosphere.

• Multiple depositions and hearings at
Protection of Children from Sexual which they have to be present are
Offences Act provides for child- avoided. In particular, they should not
friendly procedures during a trial. have to needlessly wait for their turn or
be subjected to procedural delays.
3
Page

• For now, the term ‘vulnerable witnesses’ child abuse is alleged, court procedures
is limited to children, but the principle and protocol should be modified as
may have to be expanded to include necessary to accommodate the needs of
adults who may be equally vulnerable to child witnesses including
threats and an atmosphere of fear and a) If the competency of a child witness is
/
m
intimidation. in question, the court should evaluate
Victims of sexual violence and whistle- competency on an individual basis without
co
•
blowers whose testimony against resort to mandatory or arbitrary age
powerful adversaries may endanger their limitations.
] ly.
lives require a conducive atmosphere to b) Leading questions may be utilized on
depose. direct and cross-examination of a child
es on
witness subject to the court’s direction and
control.
Few more suggestion for hearing in
ss rs
c) To avoid intimidation or confusion of a
case of children
child witness, examination and cross-
A Team Approach la ai
A multidisciplinary team involving the
examination should be carefully monitored
by the presiding judge.
C aff
prosecutor, police and social services
resource personnel should be utilized in Media Responsibility
G nt
the investigation and prosecution of cases The public has a right to know and
where a child is alleged to be a victim or the news media have a right to report
[E re
witness to abuse in order to reduce the about crimes where children are victims
ur
number of times that a child is called upon and witnesses; however, the media should
to recite the events involved in the case as use restraint and prudent judgment in
//c
well as to create a feeling of trust and reporting such cases and should not
confidence in the child. reveal the identity of a child victim.
s:
A Speedy Trial
tp
In all proceedings involving an alleged child Collegium and

victim, the court should take appropriate transparency {Judicial System}
ht
action to ensure a speedy trial in order to

(The Hindu)
minimize the length of time a child must
endure the stress of his or her involvement
in the proceeding Context
Procedural Reform This article talks about collegium system in

In criminal cases and juvenile delinquency Indian judiciary system
4
and child protection proceedings where

Page

Why in news? 3) Completely opaque process of selection.

4) Delayed procedure with most of young
On October 3, the Supreme Court’s talents missing the boat.
collegium published a resolution promising 5) It goes against constitution which
provided only consultation role to CJI while
/
to hereafter make public, on the court’s
m
website, its various decisions, including its President appointing the judge.
verdicts
co
Merits
What is the collegium system?
] ly.
1) Keeps away politicization of judiciary.
The collegium system of appointment of 2) Supreme court retains autonomy.
es on
•
judges is popularly referred to as judges- 3) Senior judges know better about the
selecting-judges. talents in judiciary than executive and
ss rs
legislative.
• The collegium system was created by
4) With increasing awareness and
la ai
two judgements of the Supreme Court in
1990s in which a body of senior apex
modernization, corruption in judiciary
C aff
system in form of either favoritism/morality
court judges headed by the Chief Justice
or monetary can be curbed ex- recent case
of India selected persons and
of sexual assault on a high court judge
G nt
recommended their names for

was well dealt.
appointment as judges.
[E re
How can changes in this system help

ur
Demerits us?
//c
The collegium system for judicial People the following can ask
appointment, consisting of a closed group
questions to the collegium
1. Why was the judge X selected ?
s:
of four senior most supreme court judge

and the CJI himself, evolved after three 2. Why not Y judge?
tp
judge case in 90s. It evolved on 3. What is the criteria for selections ?

fundamental of judicial independence but
ht
4. What were the discussions of the

free judiciary from any political collegium during selection process ?
interventions.
The collegium system has been despised

by many because The closer the bite is to your brain, the
1) It completely circumvents other two pillar quicker the effects are likely to appear.4
of democracy.
5
Page
2) Favoritism shown by certain judges.

If you are bitten by a wild animal, it is work, school, it may amount to

essential that you
seek medical
advice as soon as
possible.
/
m
co
02
November,
] ly.
2017
es on
A list to move
on with {Social
ss rs
issue}
la ai
(The Hindu)
sex discrimination.
C aff
Context
When does sexual harassment
G nt
This article explains issues regarding become sexual assault?

If someone is sexually harassing you in a
[E re
sexual harassment its boundaries and

way that causes you to feel humiliation,
resolution
pain, fear or intimidation, then this can be
ur
considered sexual assault. If you believe

The definition of harassment needs to be
//c
you’ve been sexually assaulted, you may

constantly updated, and the process for
want to find out more about what this
justice made more robust
means as well as the support
s:
options available to you.

tp
Sexual harassment
Trending cases
ht
Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual

behavior that’s offensive, humiliating or
Two Oscar-winning actors, a Hollywood
intimidating. It can be written, verbal or
filmmaker and a senior US news editor
physical, and can happen in person or
are the latest high-profile figures has
online.
been accused of sexual harassment.
The actors Kevin Spacey and Dustin
Both men and women can be the victims
Hoffman have been accused of sexual
6
of sexual harassment. When it happens at

Page
misconduct.

In Pakistan this week, the Oscar-winning Complex regulations limiting

film-maker, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, progress in ease of doing business
complained online about a doctor sending ranking {Economic Policy}
her sister a Facebook friend request after
(LiveMint)
she consulted him for a treatment. Her
/
m
tweet went viral and the doctor was
suspended from duty. Context
co
Fixing the process India’s surge in ease of business rankings
] ly.
is commendable. But the real test will be
• Get together with human resources, revival of private investment, and other
es on
union leaders, and write a firm policy reforms.
banning sexual harassment. Make it clear
ss rs
that management holds itself responsible In news
for preventing sexual harassment within
the company.
la ai Complex regulations at the municipal level
C aff
• Define sexual harassment broadly. in Delhi and Mumbai on parameters such
Prohibit illegal sexual discrimination; as starting a business, dealing with
G nt
unwelcome advances; requests for sexual construction permits and registering

favors; and any verbal, visual, or physical property continue to dog India’s ease of
[E re
conduct of a sexual nature in the doing business rankings.

workplace.
ur
• Ban the requirement of submission to India saw its steepest fall in ranking in
any sexual conduct as a term or “registering property”, to 154 from 138 last
//c
condition of employment, or used as a year as the number of procedures, time

basis for any employment decisions. and cost increased.
s:
• Ban all behavior that has the purpose or

tp
effect of interfering with an individual’s The cost of registering a property as a

work performance, or creating an percentage of property value in Delhi
ht
intimidating, hostile, or offensive work (9.1%) is higher than Mumbai (7.6%) as

environment. against 4.2% in developed countries
• Include examples of sexual harassment,

but state that the list of examples is not With a weightage of 53% and 47%
intended to be all-inclusive. respectively, the bank takes these two
cities to be representative samples for
India.
7
Page

How can ease of business doing be (a) companies incorporated under this Act
boosted? or under any previous company law;
(b) insurance companies, except in so far
• The bank notes that though India has as the said provisions are inconsistent
reduced the time needed to register a with the provisions of the Insurance Act,
/
m
new business to 30 days now, from 127 1938 or the Insurance Regulatory and
days 15 years ago, the number of
co
procedures is still cumbersome for local Development Authority Act, 1999;
entrepreneurs who need to go through
] ly.
12 to start a business in Mumbai against
(c) banking companies, except in so far as
11 in New Delhi.
the said provisions are inconsistent
es on
• This is considerably higher than high-
with the provisions of the Banking
income countries where it takes five
Regulation Act, 1949;
ss rs
procedures on average.
• Though central regulations such as the
(d) companies engaged in the generation
la ai
Companies Act, 2013, play a major role
in starting a business, state and local
or supply of electricity, except in so far
C aff
as the said provisions are inconsistent with
level regulations have played a role in
the provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003;
India’s dip in rankings in this parameter
G nt
to 156.
(e) any other company governed by any
[E re
The Companies Act

special Act for the time being in force,
ur
The Companies Act, 2013 passed by the

//c
Parliament has received the assent of the

President of India on 29th August, 2013.
s:
The Act consolidates and amends the law

relating to companies. The Companies Act,
tp
2013 has been notified in the Official

Gazette on 30th August, 2013. Some of
ht
the provisions of the Act have been

implemented by a notification published on
12th September, 2013. The provisions of
Companies Act, 1956 is still in force
The provisions of this Act shall apply

to—
8
Page

except in so far as the said provisions are forms of cruel, inhuman and/or degrading
inconsistent with the provisions of such treatment inflicted by public servants or
any person acting under the consent of
special Act; and a public servant.
/
• It provides a wide definition to torture not
m
(f) such body corporate, incorporated by confined to physical pain but also
any Act for the time being in force, as includes “inflicting
co
the Central Government may, by injury, either intentionally or
notification, specify in this behalf, subject to involuntarily, or even an attempt to
] ly.
such cause such an injury, which will include
physical, mental or psychological”.
es on
exceptions, modifications or adaptation, as • As per the draft, which is now in the
may be specified in the notification. public domain, the punishment for such
ss rs
offences could extend up to life
imprisonment in addition to a fine.
03 November, 2017
la ai
C aff
Why was this new anti-torture law is
proposed?
Acting against torture {Social
G nt
Justice}
The commission, headed by a former
[E re
(The Hindu) Supreme Court Judge, has recognised

that neither the Indian Penal Code nor
ur
Context the Code of Criminal Procedure has a

separate provision for torture and hence
//c
This article talks about Prevention of the legislation submitted would act as a
Torture Bill, 2017. yardstick to recognise the same as a penal
s:
offence.
tp
In news The government had referred this matter to

the law commission after the apex court
ht
The Law Commission of India in its 273rd came down heavily on the government
report has proposed a new anti-torture following a plea filed by lawyer Ashwini
law, the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2017. Upadhyay
Highlights Other updates in 275th report
• The proposed bill specifically looks to • The report also said that the Criminal
9
Procedure Code, 1973, and the Indian

Page
provide punishment for torture or other

Evidence Act, 1872, require Cognizable offences are those offences for
amendments to accommodate provisions which a police officer may arrest without
regarding compensation and burden of court mandated warrant in accordance
proof. with the first schedule of the code.
A new section 114B should be For non-cognizable cases the police officer
/
•
m
inserted to the Indian Evidence Act, may arrest only after being duly authorized
1872, added the report. by a warrant. Non-cognizable offences are,
co
• Section 114B would ensure that in case generally, relatively less serious offences
a person in police custody sustains than cognizable ones.
] ly.
injuries, it will be presumed that those
injuries have been inflicted by the 1. Summons-Case and Warrant-Case
es on
police, and the burden of proof shall lie Under Section 204 of the code, a
on the authority concerned to explain Magistrate taking cognizance of an offence
ss rs
such injury. is to issue summons for the attendance of
• the accused if the case is a summons
la ai
Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 case. If the case appears to be a warrant
C aff
case, he may issue a warrant or summons,
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, in its as he sees fit.
basic form, is the main legislation on
G nt
procedure for administration of criminal Evidence Act, 1872

[E re
law in India. It describes the procedure for

the machinery for the investigation he Indian Evidence Act, originally passed
ur
of crime, apprehension of in India by the Imperial Legislative

suspected criminals, collection of evidence, Council in 1872, during the British Raj,
//c
determination of guilt or innocence of the contains a set of rules and allied issues
accused person and the determination governing admissibility of evidence in
s:
of punishment of the guilty. the Indian courts of law.

Code of Criminal Law – Amendments may
tp
be a generic name either for legislation Importance

ht
bearing that short title or for all legislation

which amends
• The enactment and adoption of the
Indian Evidence Act was a path-breaking
Classification of offenses under the judicial measure introduced in India,
Code
which changed the entire system of
concepts pertaining to admissibility of
1. Cognizable and Non-cognizable
evidences in the Indian courts of law.
10
Offences
Page

• Until then, the rules of evidences were The difficult path

based on the traditional legal systems of
different social groups and communities The Naga people are a proud race and
of India and were different for different have held fast to their cultures, traditions
people depending on caste, community,
/
and language. Yet it cannot be denied that
m
faith and social position. tribal loyalty often comes in the way of a
The Indian Evidence Act introduced a collective discourse for the future of
co
•
standard set of law applicable to all Nagaland.
Indians.
] ly.
Perhaps one organisation that has brought
together people from all tribes is
es on
Gathering the tribe {Art & the ACAUT (Against Corruption and
Culture} Unabated Taxation), which is seemingly
ss rs
inclusive of all tribes and a mass
(The Hindu) movement of sorts to protest against
la ai taxation by different armed groups and
C aff
Context factions.
G nt
• One of the most talked about issues as The way forward

far as the Northeast is concerned is the
[E re
Naga struggle for sovereignty which • For the Naga people at this juncture, the
started a day before India’s most pragmatic step is to take a
ur
Independence. balanced view of the past.
In the Naga mind, this issue oscillates With 16 major tribes, each with a sense
//c
• •
between nostalgia for its unique history of nationality of its own and every tribe
and the promise of a better future having its village republics which is a
s:
without disturbing this irreplaceable past. crucial part of their culture, there will be
tp
The problem with reality is that it does divergent ‘national’ narratives.
not allow us to romance the past. • Ethnic boundaries of yore which went
ht
beyond geopolitical borders of the

present nation can be both problematic
Why in news?
and defy pragmatism.
The chairman of the National Socialist

Council of Nagaland (I-M), Isak Chisi Swu, Naga people
has passed away and Thuingaleng Muivah
11
too is getting on in years. • The Naga people are an ethnic group

Page
conglomerating of several tribes native to

the North Eastern part of India and Progress report

north-western Myanmar (Burma).
• The tribes have similar cultures and • 525.10 | Toilet Built (in Lakh) | since
traditions, and form the majority ethnic 2nd Oct 2014
group in the Indian state of Nagaland,
/
• 32.19 % | increase in HHs with Toilet
m
with significant population | since 2nd Oct 2014
in Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and 1,27,17,673 | Toilet Built | in 2017-18
co
•
in Assam • 227 | No. of ODF Districts | Self
• As of 2012, the state of Nagaland Declared
] ly.
officially recognises 16 Naga tribes. • 1,18,577 |No. of ODF Gram Panchayats |
Self Declared
The State of Nagaland was formally
es on
•
recognised 1 December 1963, as the • 2,69,775 | No. of ODF Villages | Self
Declared
16th State of the Indian Union. The
ss rs
State consists of eleven Administrative Current Issues
Districts, inhabited by 16 major tribes
la ai
along with other sub-tribes. Each tribe is Three burning issues stood out
C aff
distinct in character in terms of customs, • Technical realities and what people
language and dress. know.
G nt
• Their beliefs and behaviour
• Unfinished business, especially

[E re
The Swachh marathon {Social concerning those who are poorer,

issue} marginalised and left behind.
ur
(Indian Express) The preference for septic tanks remains

//c
deeply rooted and widespread. People

believe they are better than the
Context
s:
recommended more sustainable and

economic twin pits because they are big
tp
This article deals with the progress report and will take longer to fill, and, used
of Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G) sparingly, may even never have to be
ht
The momentum and scale of the Swachh emptied.

Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G) is Due to widespread ignorance of technical
unprecedented. details, many septic tanks are not built
according to the guidelines, and end up
The scale and complexity facing the SBM- contaminating the environment and
G make it, we believe, more challenging damaging public health.
12
than any other rural development

programme in the world.
Page

Solution of India launched the Swachh Bharat

Mission on 2nd October, 2014.
Twin leach pits have much in their favour. • The Mission Coordinator for SBM is
For a few years, human waste flows to the Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and
Sanitation (MDWS) with two Sub-
/
first pit. Once full, it is left to become
m
manure while new waste is diverted into a Missions, the Swachh Bharat Mission
second pit. The first pit is emptied and the (Gramin) and the Swachh Bharat Mission
co
cycle starts again. This technology allows (Urban). Together, they aim to achieve
time for the waste to compost and Swachh Bharat by 2019, as a fitting
] ly.
become harmless, odourless and valuable tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th
fertiliser. Birth Anniversary.
es on
Issue with this • In Rural India, this would mean
However, rapid investigations found many improving the levels of cleanliness
ss rs
people who had had twin pits constructed through Solid and Liquid Waste
for them without any explanation of how Management activities and making
la ai
they work. They lacked a sense of villages
C aff
ownership and believed the pits would fill Open
up fast
G nt
How can this be

[E re
tackled?
ur
• Empower people
through knowledge. Few
//c
rural people are aware

of technical details or
s:
convinced by the
advantages of twin pits.
tp
• Partial usage of toilets, when some

ht
household members continue to defecate

in the open, was confirmed to be Defecation Free (ODF), clean and
widespread. sanitised.
About SBM Vision
• To accelerate the efforts to achieve The aim of Swachh Bharat Mission

universal sanitation coverage and to put (Gramin) is to achieve a clean and Open
13
focus on sanitation, the Prime Minister

Page

Defecation Free (ODF) India by 2nd The outlays under the Bharatmala project
October, 2019 are not enough to provide a big boost to
infrastructure construction.
Objectives Why in news?
/
m
• To bring about an improvement in the Last week, the government relaunched the
general quality of life in the rural areas, Bharatmala Pariyojana (BMP)—an initiative
co
by promoting cleanliness, hygiene and to add 35,000km of new highways
eliminating open defecation. (subsuming existing plans to add 10,000km
] ly.
• To accelerate sanitation coverage in rural of national highways) with an outlay of
areas to achieve the vision of Swachh Rs5.35 trillion over the next five years—to
es on
Bharat by 2nd October 2019. raise investments in infrastructure, and
• To motivate communities to adopt boost economic growth.
ss rs
sustainable sanitation practices and The road-building initiative was sorely
facilities through awareness creation and needed but it does not represent
la ai
health education. acceleration in road-building, and is unlikely
C aff
to provide a big boost to the capital
• To encourage cost effective and
expenditure cycle
appropriate technologies for ecologically
G nt
Data from the Centre for Monitoring

safe and sustainable sanitation.
Indian Economy (CMIE)
• To develop, wherever required,
[E re
community managed sanitation systems

• Newly started road projects in the last
focusing on scientific Solid & Liquid
ur
five years (i.e., between 2012-13 and

Waste Management systems for overall
2016-17) amounted to Rs6.55 trillion. Of
//c
cleanliness in the rural areas.

this, Rs4.35 trillion was spent by the
• To create significant positive impact on centre, which tends to focus mainly on
s:
gender and promote social inclusion by national highways, with other roads being
improving sanitation especially in under the jurisdiction of states.
tp
marginalized communities
• Hence, the outlay on highways
ht
envisaged over the next five years, i.e.

Rs6.92 trillion, does not appear to be a
Can Bharatmala revive India’s big jump
capex cycle and boost
• Even when viewed in terms of road
growth?{Infrastructure}
length, the proposals do not amount to
(LiveMint) a significant increase. The central
government aims to build around
14
35,000km of new highways over the next

Page

five years; 24,800km under Bharatmala, (The Hindu)

and the rest under the existing NHDP
program.
Context
Centre for Monitoring Indian
Economy (CMIE)
/
China’s road map to achieving its great
m
power ambitions has significant implications
CMIE, or Centre for Monitoring Indian
co
for India.
Economy, is a leading business information
company. It was established in 1976,
] ly.
Why in news?
primarily as an independent think tank.
es on
The recently-concluded 19th National
Today, CMIE has a presence over the
Congress of the Communist Party of China
entire information food-chain – from large
was an intricately choreographed political
ss rs
scale primary data collection and
theatre which showcased President Xi
information product development through
la ai
analytics and forecasting.
Jinping’s primacy, his vision and his status
as the helmsman of the party and the
C aff
nation.
Function
G nt
Highlights
• It provides services to the entire
[E re
spectrum of business information

The Congress has confirmed Mr. Xi’s
consumers including governments,
ur
standing as the most powerful Chinese

academia, financial markets, business
leader in the post-Deng era.
enterprises, professionals and media.
//c
“Xi Jinping’s thought will be China’s

• CMIE produces economic and business
signature ideology and the new
databases and develops specialised
s:
communism”.
analytical tools to deliver these to its
tp
customers for decision making and for

Mr. Xi has become the only leader after
research. It analyses the data to
Mao (with his “Mao Zedong Thought”) to
ht
decipher trends in the economy

have his eponymous ideological
contribution written into the party charter
while in office. “Deng Xiaoping Theory”
04 November, 2017 was adopted after Deng’s death, and
contributions of two of Mr. Xi’s
The rise and rise of Xi predecessors, Hu Jintao (“Scientific
15
Jinping {International Relation} Outlook”) and Jiang Zemin (“Three

Page
Represents”), are not named after them.

• The third pillar was the primacy of the

Deng Xiaoping Communist Party System. Reform of the
political system along the lines of
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 Western countries could be envisioned

but in practice would be deferred.
/
February 1997) was a Chinese
m
revolutionary and politician. He was
the paramount leader of the People’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
co
Republic of China from 1978 until his
retirement in 1989. After Chairman Mao
] ly.
Zedong’s death, Deng led his country The Silk Road Economic Belt and the
through far-reaching market-economy 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, better
es on
reforms. known as the One Belt and One Road
Deng era Initiative (OBOR), The Belt and
ss rs
Road (B&R) and The Belt and Road
During the last three decades, Deng Initiative (BRI) is a development strategy
•
la ai
Xiaoping’s thoughts have been the guide proposed by China’s paramount leader Xi
C aff
Jinping that focuses on connectivity and
for China’s foreign and domestic policies.
cooperation between Eurasian countries,
• Much of the world may have forgotten
primarily the People’s Republic of
G nt
that it was Deng who took over from the

China (PRC), the land-based Silk Road
Maoist rule and launched the economic
[E re
Economic Belt (SREB) and the

reforms that has made China the world’s
oceangoing Maritime Silk Road (MSR). The
second largest economy today.
ur
strategy underlines China’s push to take a

Deng’s model
larger role in global affairs with a China-
//c
centered trading network.

According to geopolitical experts, the Deng Vision
s:
model rested on three pillars

• The first was economic pragmatism,
New Eurasian Land Bridge, running from
tp
•
allowing for capitalist style incentives
Western China to Western Russia
domestically and channels for
ht
through Kazakhstan.
international trade.
• China–Mongolia–Russia Corridor, running
• The second pillar was a foreign policy
from Northern China to Eastern Russia
of cooperation. The lack of emphasis on
political ideology opened space for • China–Central Asia–West Asia Corridor,
international maneuver with economic running from Western China to Turkey
cooperation as the basis for new • China–Indochina Peninsula Corridor,
16
relationships. China would maintain a low running from Southern China to

Page
profile and avoid taking the lead. Singapore

• China–Myanmar–Bangladesh–India Corridor, Third, sea routes were yet to be

running from Southern China to Myanmar discovered, and trade flowed mostly
through land and caravans.
/
India’s Concern
m
India has stayed away from the Belt and
co
•
Road Initiative (BRI) summits
• As many as 120 countries, including 29
] ly.
at the top leadership level, attended the
inaugural, underlining President Xi
es on
Jinping’s description of this being the
“project of the century.”
ss rs
• India has cited the China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor (CPEC), which passes
•
la ai
China–Pakistan Corridor, running from through Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir as
C aff
South-Western China to Pakistan the main reason for refusing to
• Maritime Silk Road, running from the participate in the summit.
G nt
Chinese Coast through Singapore to the • India has also expressed concern on the
Mediterranean evolution of the BRI. The foreign ministry
[E re
History spokesperson pointed out that mutual

agreements on infrastructure projects
ur
According to historical analysis and Silk should be transparent and debt

repayments be made easier for recipient
//c
Roadology, the success of the

legendary trade route was dependent on countries.
three factors. The context of this rising tension is
s:
•
First, the greater security situation in the important. Chinese troops have allegedly
tp
region due to the presence of strong crossed the Line of Actual Control that
empires – the Han Empire, the Kushanite separates India in April 2013, in
ht
Empire, the Persian and Greek Empires. September 2014 during Xi Jinping’s visit
to India, as well as in October 2015 and
Second, there were great cultural and mid-2016.
religious exchanges along the old Silk
Road, which further eased the ways for
travellers and traders. The missing women {Social issue}
17
Page

(Indian Express) • occupations and sectors: women account

for 78% of the work force in health and
social work and 70% in education
Context
• earnings: among full-time employees,
/
This article recommends various steps for women earn 16% less than men in the
m
gender equity. OECD
co
• career progression: women account for
Why in news? less than a third of senior managers in
the OECD and only one women for
] ly.
every 10 men gets to the boardroom
The World Economic Forum’s just-released
es on
report — the Global Gender Gap Index, • entrepreneurs: only 2% of working
2017 — shows that India’s poor showing on women are entrepreneurs, 6% of men.
gender equity has hit rock-bottom.
ss rs
• According to a World Bank report, about
19.6 million women have dropped out of
la ai
It has been ranked 108 out of 144
countries, a fall of 21 places from last
the workforce between 2004-05 and
2011-12.
C aff
year’s 87 — and its lowest since the index Possible solutions
was developed in 2006. • Governments can do a lot to increase
G nt
It would take centuries to close the wide financial support to working families, as
gap between Indian men and women at shown by the experience of Nordic
[E re
this pace. countries and France.

ur
Indicators for the ratio • A key factor promoting employment

among parents is making parental leave
//c
“Health and survival”, where India is in entitlements more gender balanced. Many
the bottom four, largely as a result of its countries extend parental leave
s:
losing battle against a falling sex ratio at entitlements to fathers and often reserve
birth and the lack of access to healthcare. parts of the parental leave for them.
tp
“economic participation and opportunities

• Providing more access to good and
for women”. Despite gains in education,
ht
affordable formal childcare for children of

women’s work participation rate stands at
pre-school age is particularly important.
an abysmal 27 per cent.
Childcare support is associated with
Facts
higher full-time female employment. The
• the number of working hours: 24.5% of
greatest female employment and
women vs. 8.2% of men are part-time
childcare enrolment rates are observed in
workers
the Nordic countries, the biggest
18
investors in public formal childcare

Page

services. They need to be affordable, The relentless push of Aadhaar without

good quality and flexible in terms of adequate justification or calibration, with
hours. complete disregard of the distress it may
• Encouraging firms to offer more family- be causing to the poor and the under-
privileged, is symptomatic of high-handed
/
friendly workplace benefits and flexible
m
working arrangements helps mothers and decision-making and technological muscle-
fathers combine work and care flexing.
co
commitments more effectively. Measures It is rapidly setting an example of how not
include part-time work, flexible starting to do public policy interventions. Both the
] ly.
and finishing hours and teleworking. last UPA and the current NDA
governments must share the blame for
countries should address cultural barriers
es on
•
these faults of Aadhaar
and the stereotyping of women’s roles in
society, business and the public sector.
ss rs
UPA for its careless introduction, and
NDA for pushing it so thoughtlessly.
la ai Disruption in welfare schemes
C aff
A welfare test
for Aadhaar {Public Policy} It has primarily been based on denial, on
dubious savings claims, and on the lame
G nt
(Indian Express) quoting of the Aadhaar Act to say that

[E re
nobody should be denied their entitlements
Context because of Aadhaar.

ur
Various questions that arises

//c
Exclusion and denial of benefits to the

• Whose responsibility is it to ensure that
poor needs urgent attention
no deserving person is denied their due
s:
benefit?
In news
tp
• Shouldn’t the Central and the state

government functionaries be at the
the starvation death of an 11-year-old girl
ht
forefront to ensure fair and efficient

in the Simdega district in Jharkhand,
disbursement of PDS ration?
allegedly because of denial of PDS ration
due to Aadhaar linking problems, is • Where are the ground reports from the
appalling. district administrations about the PDS

denials because of Aadhaar? Who has
What was the fault? designed and deployed the Aadhaar-

19
based PDS?
Page

• Is there any standardisation across the poor families in the State were provided
country and are the designs available for food grains at subsidized rate w. e. f. 1 st
public scrutiny? June, 1997. BPL Yellow rationcard holders
• What is the biometric failure rate across are provided with 35 Kgs foodgrains
(Wheat + Rice) and APL Saffron rationcard
/
the population, sorted according to age,
m
gender, occupation and region? holders are provided with 15 Kgs
foodgrains (Wheat + Rice )
co
• Are the failures inherent to the
technology or are they avoidable process
errors?
Tricolour Ration Cards Scheme
] ly.
• What exactly are the problems with the
The affluent families do not purchase
es on
Aadhaar linking processes and can they
be rectified? food grains under PDS and therefore with
a view to curb diversion of food grains and
ss rs
• To what extent is the problem due to
provide more food grains to the needy
connectivity failures?
la ai
An effective design of using digital
identity in PDS is not possible without a
families, the State Govt. introduced Tricolor
ration card scheme w. e. f. 1st May, 1999.
C aff
Accordingly, as per following criterias 3
thorough understanding of the ground
realities. different colored ration cards are issued in
G nt
How can these situations be tackled? the State

[E re
Yellow Ration Cards

The offline identity verification may simply
ur
be based on digital reading of an Under Targeted Public Distribution System

encrypted and digitally signed photograph the following criteria are applied
//c
of the beneficiary encoded on the ration

card, followed by physical comparison and
1. Families having annual income up to Rs.
s:
storing for records along with a time-

15,000/- having been included in IRDP
stamped photograph acquired on the spot
tp
List of 1997-98.
with a tamper-proof device.
2. None of the members in the family
ht
should be a doctor or a lawyer or an

We have to ensure, with or without
architect or a chartered accountant.
Aadhaar, that people do not go hungry in
3. None of the members in the family
this country.
should be a professional tax payer, a
Public Distribution System
sales tax payer or an income tax payer
or eligible to pay such tax.
Under the Minimum Common Need
20
Programme of Government of India, the

Page

4. The family should not possess residential Criteria For White Ration Cards
telephone.
5. The family should not possess four The families having annual income of Rs.
wheeler vehicle. 1 Lakh or above, any member of the
/
6. None of the family members should hold family possessing a four-wheeler or the
m
total two-hectare rain fed or one hectare family aggregately holding more than 4
co
semi-irrigated or 1/2 hectare irrigated hectare irrigated land are issued white
(double in drought prone talukas) land. ration cards.
] ly.
• The Govt. has taken decision to issue
BPL Ration Card, on temporary basis to
es on
all the Vidi workers, all members of
05 November, 2017
Pardhi & Kolhati community vide GR
dated 9.9.2008.
ss rs
• The Govt. has taken decision to issue Time to rethink public
la ai
BPL Ration Card, on temporary basis to
the Abandoned women vide G.R. dated
housing? {Economic
C aff
Development}
29.9.2008 & 21.2.2009 and amendment
has been made to the same vide G.R. (The Hindu)
G nt
dated 17.1.2011
The Govt. has taken decision to issue

[E re
• Context
BPL Ration Card on temporary basis to
ur
all the non-working cloth mills,cotton mills This article deals with the issue of housing
& sugar factories workers vide GR dated problem of India
//c
17.3.2003.
Why in news?
s:
Criteria For Saffron Ration Cards

According to a recent report in The Hindu
tp
• Families having total annual income of Business Line , new project launches in
ht
more than Rs. 15,000 and less than 1 urban India — or at least in the major
lakh. markets of the National Capital Region,
Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru,
• None of the members in the family
Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad — have
should have four wheeler mechanical
fallen to a seven-year low, with just one
vehicle (excluding taxi- driver).
lakh units being started this year compared
• The family in all should not posses four
to the average of over five lakh units
21
hectare or more irrigated land.

between 2010 and 2013.
Page

Issues faced in selling build houses avoids profiteering. This will also dampen
inflation in the private sector.
Introduction of the Real Estate (Regulation
and Development) Act, 2016 (RERDA) — Real Estate (Regulation and
Development) Act, 2016
/
albeit by just a handful of States so most
m
of the under-construction projects in
RERDA States are stuck because the • It is an Act of the Parliament of
co
developers cannot meet the new, stricter India which seeks to protect home-buyers
provisions of the Act, and cannot sell them as well as help boost investments in the
] ly.
without RERDA approval. real estate industry. The bill was passed
The problem is, its definition of affordable by the Rajya Sabha on 10 March 2016
es on
is limited to price. But just because the and by the Lok Sabha on 15 March
price is lower doesn’t mean those needing 2016.
ss rs
houses buy them, because most of these • One of the most important clauses of the
houses are unlivable from a practical point Act stipulates compulsory registration of
la ai
of view — too far away from economic or all the residential real estate projects
with plot size more than 500 sq. meters
C aff
employment hubs, poorly connected, and
lacking social and soft infrastructure like • For this, the developer will need to
education and entertainment. disclose names of promoters, project
G nt
layout, plan of development works, land

[E re
Solution status, status of statutory approvals, draft

of builder buyer agreements, and names
ur
State as developer and addresses of real estate agents,

Most of the State Housing Boards have contractors, architects and structural
//c
built very little. The Gujarat Housing Board engineers, to the authority.
has built around 1.76 lakh units so far in • Te builder-buyer agreement has to be
s:
over half a century. The Odisha State offered for signing to the home buyer
Housing Board, set up in 1968, has built before accepting more than 10% of the
tp
around 28,500 houses. The Madhya property value as advance.

ht
Pradesh Housing Board manages around

• Most importantly, the Act makes it
6,000 houses a year.
mandatory for the developer to open an
escrow account for each project. As
Government is also the largest land much as 70% of the money collected
owner in the country, it can manage this against a particular project has to be
and control prices, both in the sale and
deposited in this account.
rental markets, if it abjures from riding on
22
the coat-tails of the private sector and

Page

Fixing Accountability {Economic Instructions

Policies}
• Banks shall formulate transparent, non-
(Indian Express)
discriminatory customer relations policy
/
for customer protection and customer
m
Context liability of unauthorised electronic banking
transactions, fraud risk management.
co
Despite instructions from RBI, a laxity in • The chief vigilance commissioner has
implementation leads to frauds, NPAs in also emphasised that there must be
] ly.
PSUs effective monitoring of frauds at the
highest level.
es on
In news • The committee is required to identify the
systemic lacunae that caused
ss rs
India’s banking regulator, the Reserve perpetration of the fraud and review the
Bank of India has from time to time
la ai
issued guidelines to strengthen
efficacy of the remedial action taken to
prevent recurrence of frauds.
C aff
systems and procedures for electronic • Bank auditors may notice fraudulent
banking transactions, internet banking and transactions and must bring them to the
G nt
mobile banking. notice of the top management and to the

The RBI has recently instructed through a audit committee of the board of directors
[E re
circular all banks to put in place effective (ACB) for appropriate action.
systems to ensure secure electronic
ur
• As in the case of NPAs, banks must

banking transactions.
initiate and complete a staff
//c
accountability exercise. Banks should

Objective
complete the exercise within six months
s:
and lodge the complaint with the law

Customers must feel safe about carrying enforcement agencies immediately.
tp
out electronic banking transactions. Banks

must put in place robust and dynamic
ht
fraud detection and prevention 06 November, 2017

mechanisms plugging gaps in the existing
systems and reporting of unauthorised
transactions by customers to banks with Beyond big game
24×7 access through multiple channels hunting {International}
ensuring that complaints are resolved within
23
90 days.
Page

Friday provided a broad framework of

(The Hindu) Washington working with Tokyo, New
Delhi, and Canberra to arrive at what
could in the near-term be a quadrilateral
Context
architecture that could later grow beyond
/
m
that.
This article deals with attracting
• Growing economy with ambitious
co
superpowers in South Asia
domestic targets, India’s own needs often
clash with those of its neighbours.
] ly.
Quad Meeting
• More connectivity will eventually mean
more competition, whether it is for trade,
es on
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads water resources, or energy.
to the East Asia summit in the
• Take, for example, the case of Bhutan,
ss rs
Philippines next week, where the first
which is working, with India’s assistance,
‘Quad’ meeting is likely to be held, it is
on its own goal of producing 10,000 MW
la ai
necessary that India analyse the impact of
this admission on all our relations.
of hydropower by 2020.
C aff
It would also serve as a useful exercise
to understand why India has conceded it Facts
G nt
requires “other parties” in the

neighbourhood, even as it seeks to counter In April, the International Monetary Fund’s
[E re
the influence of China and its Belt and world economic outlook had already
ur
Road Initiative. put Bhutan at the top of South Asia in

terms of the highest debt per capita,
//c
Reason behind the quad meeting second only to Japan in all of Asia for
indebtedness.
s:
• There is a developmental model – and

money – beyond the example of Bhutan’s debt
tp
China and its financing for Asian

countries such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan’s external hydropower debt
ht
and Bangladesh, and perhaps beyond financed by India at 9-10% rates was
that in Africa. The United States, Japan, piling up, with the first interest and
India and Australia could provide the principal payments expected in 2018, and
alternative option. construction delays, mainly due to Indian
In the first articulation of its strategy to construction issues, were taking the debt
counter China’s growing influence in the up higher.
24
region and across the world, a The Cross Border Trade of Electricity
Page
senior Trump administration official on (CBTE) guidelines issued by India had not

been revised, which put severe restrictions Chinese naval presence in the Indian
on Bhutanese companies selling power. Ocean, it will not be able to object to an
increase in U.S. naval warships and
History of forgetting Japanese presence there.
/
m
Over the past decade, since the defeat of
the LTTE, India passed up offers to build
The new oil game {International
co
the port in Hambantota, Colombo, and
Relation}
Kankesanthurai, despite Sri Lanka’s
] ly.
(The Hindu)
pressing need for infrastructure. At the
time, given India’s crucial support in
es on
defeating the LTTE, Sri Lanka was
Context
considered “in the bag”.
ss rs
With the U.S. and other Western countries This article explains dependency of china
also taking strident positions over human for oil from Middle East and consequences
la ai
rights issues and the reconciliation process, to India
C aff
Chinese companies stepped in and won
these projects, for which Sri Lanka Background
recklessly took loans from China’s Exim
G nt
bank. Imperial Britain, manipulated the boundaries

[E re
of politics of tribal Middle East in the early

New Strategies part of the 20th century to secure its
ur
requirements of oil
It is important to note that while the
//c
government’s new plan to involve the U.S. America, the dominant power in the second
and Japan in development projects in half of the century, sidestepped its liberal
s:
South Asia will yield the necessary principles and cosied up to monarchs and
finances, it will come at the cost of India’s unabashed despots, also to ensure it never
tp
leverage in its own backyard. ran out of oil.

ht
India’s counter to China’s persistent

demand for a diplomatic mission in
Thimphu, for example, could be to help
the U.S. set up a parallel mission there.
In Sri Lanka, the U.S. and Japan will now
partner in India’s efforts to counter China’s
25
influence, but whereas India objected to

Page

Britain’s switch from oil to coal time” — this was with reference to former
president Deng Xiaoping’s advice that the
country not display its strength
prematurely
/
• China consumes approximately 13
m
million barrels of oil a day (mbd). Of
that, 60 per cent is imported of which 50
co
per cent (approximately 4 mbd) is
sourced from the Middle East — mainly
] ly.
Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia — through
the Straits of Hormuz, the Straits of
es on
Malacca and the conflictual South China
seas.
ss rs
In 1911 Winston Churchill, persuaded his • They have, for instance, committed
cabinet colleagues to support the $340 billion over the next four years to
la ai
recommendation to substitute oil for coal solar and wind. This is more than any
C aff
as the fuel for the British Navy. other country in the world. They are
But this proposal had some loop holes as operating 34 nuclear reactors and
coal would require more space in ship. another 20 are under construction.
G nt
Finally it was decided they would go for

[E re
oil, now the issue was there was no

India’s concern
domestic oil in the country
ur
India has major strategic interests in the

Britain would secure oil supplies from the
//c
Middle East. Aside from its dependence on

Middle East through a combination of
the region for oil, it has eight million
hard power and political guile. This, he
citizens who remit approximately $70 billion
s:
managed through the vehicle of an Anglo-

annually.
Persian company which in 1935 was
tp
A convulsion in the region would give India

renamed Anglo-Iranian Oil company and in
a massive logistic and financial headache.
ht
1954 British Petroleum Company.

This could, however, sharpen into a severe
migraine if China were in pole strategic
How will China the emergent power
position at that time. China plays a long
of the 21st century protect its energy
interests? game. We must track its moves.
• The Chinese leadership declared at the

07 November, 2017
26
Congress that China will no longer hide

Page
its “light under a bushel” and “bide its

Teaching ethics to aspiring civil The field of ethics (or moral philosophy)
servants {ethics} involves systematizing, defending, and
recommending concepts of right and wrong
(The Hindu)
behavior. Philosophers today usually divide
ethical theories into three general subject
/
m
Context areas: meta ethics, normative ethics, and
applied ethics.
co
This article deals with importance of ethics
in a civil servant. Meta ethics investigates where our ethical
] ly.
principles come from, and what they
Why in news? mean. Are they merely social inventions?
es on
Do they involve more than expressions of
our individual emotions? Metaethical
The arrest in Chennai of an Indian Police
ss rs
answers to these questions focus on the
Service (IPS) officer on probation, for
issues of universal truths, the will of God,
cheating during the civil services
la ai
examination, raises questions on future
the role of reason in ethical judgments,
C aff
and the meaning of ethical terms
recruitments to the All India Services and
themselves.
the training of officers.
Normative ethics takes on a more
G nt
practical task, which is to arrive at moral

Crucial time period of this incidence
[E re
standards that regulate right and wrong

conduct. This may involve articulating the
• The nation was commemorating the
ur
good habits that we should acquire, the

birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai
duties that we should follow, or the
Patel, who stood for integrity in
//c
consequences of our behavior on others.

government and was considered the
Applied ethics involves examining specific
chief architect of post-Independence civil
s:
controversial issues, such as abortion,

services.
infanticide, animal rights, environmental
tp
• The incident also took place some

concerns, homosexuality, capital
months after the government approved
punishment, or nuclear war.
ht
all the recommendations of the Seventh

Pay Commission, which was done in the
Why is Ethics important?
hope that more pay would mean greater
levels of honesty and dedication on the
• Ethics is a requirement for human life. It
part of public servants.
is our means of deciding a course of
action. Without it, our actions would be
27
What is ethics?
random and aimless.
Page

• There would be no way to work towards Aiming high,

a goal because there would be no way looking far {Economic Policy}
to pick between a limitless number of
(Indian Express)
goals. Even with an ethical standard, we
may be unable to pursue our goals with
/
m
the possibility of success. Context
To the degree which a rational ethical
co
•
standard is taken, we are able to Five ways in which demonetisation made
correctly organize our goals and actions India a better habitat for formal job
] ly.
to accomplish our most important values. creation.
Any flaw in our ethics will reduce our
es on
ability to be successful in our endeavors. India doesn’t have a jobs problem — our
unemployment rate of 4.9 per cent is not a
ss rs
What are the key elements of a fudge — but a wages problem.
If our problem is wages then India needs
proper Ethics?
la ai the higher productivity that comes from
C aff
• A proper foundation of ethics requires a structural change: Formalisation,
standard of value to which all goals industrialisation, urbanisation, skilling and
deep financial
G nt
and actions can be compared to. This

standard is our own lives, and the markets.
[E re
happiness which makes them livable. How?

• This is our ultimate standard of value,
ur
the goal in which an ethical man must Demonetisation made India a better habitat
always aim. It is arrived at by an for formal job creation for five reasons
//c
examination of man’s nature, and

recognizing his peculiar needs. Rs 18 lakh crore new lending
s:
• A system of ethics must further consist capacity

tp
of not only emergency situations, but the

day to day choices we make constantly. • Demonetisation has reduced cash with
ht
It must include our relations to others, citizens; bank deposits have increased
and recognize their importance not only by somewhere between Rs 2.8-4.3 lakh
to our physical survival, but to our well- crore.
being and happiness. • Assuming Rs 3 lakh crore and applying
• It must recognize that our lives are an an accepted 6 multiplier, demonetisation
end in themselves, and that sacrifice is has created new lending capacity of Rs
18 lakh crore (36 times India’s Central
28
not only not necessary, but destructive.

Page

government allocation to primary yields and borrowing rates is finally

education). narrowing).
• Today banks are lazily lending this • The eight months after demonetisation
liquidity to the RBI but when they start saw mutual fund inflows of Rs 1.69
doing their jobs well, this dry powder will lakh crore (up 1700 per cent
/
m
boost investment and formal job creation. • Greater financialisation of
savings creates a virtuous cycle for
co
formal job creation because they
7.6 crore new monthly digital
transactions deepen and broaden domestic capital
] ly.
markets whose institutions are more
likely to fund entrepreneurs who create
• Demonetisation exploded the number of
es on
babies (companies that are small but will
digital payments on UPI/Bhim from 1
grow) rather than dwarfs .
lakh in October 2016 to 7.7 crore in
ss rs
October 2017.
Prohibiting salary payments by cash 2 per cent lower interest rates
•
la ai
and 50 lakh new bank accounts for
C aff
labourers will fuel further adoption; • Lowering interest rates is a policy
digitisation is important for formalisation priority and banks had been only
because it makes regulatory arbitrage passing on 50 per cent of lower policy
G nt
and tax evasion difficult. rates to customers; in the year after

[E re
• But the bigger upside of payment demonetisation this has risen to 100 per
digitisation lies in its creation of the cent.
ur
information infrastructure for cash-flow • India’s economic trajectory suggests

based lending; economist interest rates could reduce another 3 per
//c
• Ridham Desai estimates that over 10 cent over time; sustained formal job
years digitisation could grow lending by creation needs the lower interest rates
s:
Rs 243 lakh crore (largely to consumers that come from macroeconomic stability,
fiscal discipline, muted inflation
tp
and MSMEs) and e-commerce sales

expectations and an Independent
from $15 billion to $200 billion.
ht
Monetary Policy Committee.

Third, 3 lakh crore new financial
savings
Fifth, permanent damage to our
• Demonetisation has catalysed a savings sense of humour about the rule of
law
shift away from gold (imports are down
20 per cent over the last year) and real
estate (the toxic gap between rental
29
Page

• Demonetisation targeted a less-cash broken. Governmental corruption and

society because cash is the primary tool inefficiency were rampant. The tsar’s
of corruption. reactionary policies, including the
• Corruption enables transmission losses occasional dissolution of the Duma, or

Russian parliament, the chief fruit of the
/
between how the law is written,
m
interpreted, practised and enforced while 1905 revolution, had spread dissatisfaction
India’s move to high productivity even to moderate elements. The Russian
co
enterprises needs moving from deals to Empire’s many ethnic minorities grew
rules. increasingly restive under Russian
] ly.
domination.
es on
But it was the government’s inefficient
Lessons of October {Governance} prosecution of World War I that finally
ss rs
provided the challenge the old regime
(Indian Express) could not meet. Ill-equipped and poorly led,
la ai Russian armies suffered catastrophic losses
C aff
Context in campaign after campaign against
German armies. The war made revolution
inevitable in two ways: it
G nt
This article deals with October revolution

showed Russia was no longer a military
and its consequences
[E re
match for the nations of central and

western Europe, and it hopelessly disrupted
October Revolution
ur
the economy.
//c
This is also called Bolshevik Revolution,

Riots over the scarcity of food broke out in
(Oct. 24–25 [Nov. 6–7, New Style], 1917),
the capital, Petrograd (formerly St.
the second and last major phase of the
s:
Petersburg), on February 24 (March 8),

Russian Revolution of 1917, in which the
and, when most of the Petrograd garrison
tp
Bolshevik Party seized power in Russia,

joined the revolt, Tsar Nicholas II was
inaugurating the Soviet regime.
ht
forced to abdicate March 2 (March 15).

Russian Revolution of 1917, two
When his brother, Grand Duke Michael,
revolutions, the first of which, in February
refused the throne, more than 300 years of
(March, New Style), overthrew the imperial
rule by the Romanov dynasty came to an
government and the second of which,
end.
in October (November), placed
the Bolsheviks in power.
What we learn from it?
30
By 1917 the bond between the tsar and

most of the Russian people had been
Page

• The proletariat and the peasantry foodgrains, milk and vegetables, the
captured political power for the first time widespread expansion of killer diseases,
in human history with a revolutionary road and construction site accidents India
historic optimism: They had “nothing to is witnessing is a fallout of the country
lose but their chains. They have a world pursuing the capitalist way of development.
/
m
to win”
The history of the 20th century cannot
co
•
be written without a central role for the
October Revolution.
] ly.
• It can be the history of the Russian 08 November, 2017
people and their heroism, sacrifices and
es on
suffering of a magnitude unknown in
history. Spirit of Paris: on the climate
ss rs
change meet in
• The idea of the Revolution is one of the
Bonn {Environment}
liberation of humanity from all kinds of
la ai
exploitation and enslavement. (The Hindu)
C aff
• It negates the capitalist system and
constructs a new social order of
Context
G nt
socialism, which ends the exploitation of

one human being by another
This article deals with the Paris Climate
[E re
The October Revolution changed the

accord
historical and ideological map of the world.
ur
It not only changed the fate of the Tsarist

Why in news?
empire but also the world at large.
//c
Lenin’s idea of imperialism also The 23rd conference of the UN Framework

s:
immensely contributed to the original Convention on Climate Change under way

in Bonn faces the challenge of raising the
tp
studies of eastern societies.

ambition of the world’s leaders, and giving
ht
The Indian people are already confronting practical form to the provisions of the Paris
the crude implications of capitalist type of Agreement.
development.
Objective of the meeting
Pollution of air, water and soil,

The meeting will primarily concentrate on
pauperisation of peasants leading to
various aspects associated with the
31
suicides, excessive use of chemical

implementation of the Paris Agreement
fertilisers leading to the pollution of
Page

(PA), which was negotiated at COP-21 and Paris Climatic accord

entered into force, or became legally
binding. • The deal unites all the world’s nations in
a single agreement on tackling climate
/
Accord’s current status change for the first time in history.
m
• In November and December 2015, the
Although 169 countries have ratified the
co
21st Conference of the Parties to the
accord, and there is tremendous support United Nations Framework Convention on
for greener, low-risk pathways to growth Climate Change (UNFCC COP21) took
] ly.
worldwide, the Trump administration in the place in Paris
U.S., one of the top emitters of Coming to a consensus among nearly
es on
•
greenhouse gases (GHGs), has announced 200 countries on the need to cut
it will withdraw from the pact. greenhouse gas emissions is regarded
ss rs
There is steady progress in the growth of by many observers as an achievement in
renewable energy sources as they become itself and has been hailed as “historic”.
la ai
cheaper and the efficiency of solar, wind
C aff
and energy storage technologies improves.
Key elements
G nt
Risk of climatic changes

• To keep global temperatures “well below”
2.0C (3.6F) above pre-industrial times
[E re
Major risks from climate change, such as

and “endeavour to limit” them even more,
extreme weather phenomena, loss of
to 1.5C
ur
agriculture, water stress and harm to

• To limit the amount of greenhouse gases
human health, pose a threat to millions
//c
emitted by human activity to the same

around the world.
levels that trees, soil and oceans can
s:
absorb naturally, beginning at some point

Warming target
between 2050 and 2100
tp
• To review each country’s contribution to

At the Paris COP, countries agreed to try
ht
cutting emissions every five years so

and limit global warming to 1.5°C but since
they scale up to the challenge
previous discussions had centred on
the Lakshman rekha of 2°C, this required • For rich countries to help poorer nations
renewed understanding of the policies and by providing “climate finance” to adapt to
actions required to stay within a lower climate change and switch to renewable
target. energy.
32
Page

Remonetise {Economic Policy} • Any amount spent by the government

has a greater impact on the economy
(Indian Express)
(as per the multiplier theory). Thus, this
1.4 Lakh Crores earned by the
government, if used well, can have a far
/
Context
m
greater impact on the economy as a
The National Democratic Alliance whole than it would had if it was spent
co
government is celebrating November 8, the by ordinary people. The fruits of this
anniversary of demonetisation, as Anti- deferred impact will be directly
] ly.
Black Money Day. proportional to the excellence with which
the amount is used.
es on
Objectives • Hundreds of Naxalites surrendered post
demonetization as they were left with no
ss rs
• Curbing Black Money – about 5 Lakh money to buy weapons, food and other
Crore of Money out of 15.4 Lakh Crore necessities. A record highest number of
la ai
Demonetized was expected to be curbed naxalites surrendered in November post
C aff
through this move. demonetization.
• Terrorist activities in Jammu & Kashmir
• A check on terrorist. The idea was to
reduced by over 60% and hawala
G nt
leave the terrorists cashless and try to

operations have taken a huge hit.
curb the terror attacks.
[E re
In the days after more than 80% of the

• A check on Naxalites.
cash in circulation was removed via
ur
• To get make the stacked money rotate demonetisation a year ago, chiefly in the
in the market. quest to stifle the black economy, the
//c
• Achieve lower rates of interest and thus, discourse turned so extreme and divisive
higher growth rate.
s:
• Few other ancillary and incidental Some contradictions

tp
objectives.
• The agenda itself is fraught with
ht
contradictions. For weeks now, the rules

Gains from demonetization
requiring purchase of gold and diamonds
(for Rs. 2 lakh or less) to be linked to
• Less cash in the economy,
PAN (Permanent Account Number) are in
• Higher tax compliance — 1.26 crore new
suspension.
taxpayers were added to the tax base
• Conversion of black money into gold
• Initial spurt in digital payments which
and diamonds has gone on
33
after the early momentum has seen a

unencumbered.
Page
dip

• Most of the money has been deposited this effect is unknown. Even 1 month
back into the banks which is a failure of post demonetization, businesses are still
the policy on it’ own. Even though the not stable.
Income Tax can still crack down on the
black money deposited, as of now, we
/
Conclusion
m
can say that the primary objective has
not been achieved upto satisfactory
co
• Demonetization’s immediate effect was
levels.
the severe cash crunch and the after
• Only black money stored in cash in
] ly.
effect is – a sharp fall in the growth rate.
India was targeted. Swiss bank
• Demonetization had a severe impact on
accounts still remain untouched.
es on
private
ss rs
la ai
C aff
G nt
[E re
ur
Properties held in India and abroad

//c
consumption.
purchased with the help of black money
remained untouched. • As the cash crunch eases, consumption
s:
• The foreign as well as Indian Investors will probably revive. But the risk to the
lacked faith in the Indian Market after recovery is from the credit crunch that
tp
demonetization. The Indian Stock demonetization worsened.
Overall, if the dependency on monsoon

ht
markets saw a free fall after the historic •
decision. However, the markets have now does not get dismantled and privates
started climbing again, indicating the sector revives, then the economy will
increase in inflow of funds post definitely witness green spots.
demonetization.
• Demonetization has largely affected the
small scale industries which work on Choking on air {Environment}
34
cash basis. The loss cannot be

Page
measured in numbers as the duration of

(Indian Express) What steps Delhi government has

taken to reduce Air pollution?
Context
• SC banned sale of firecracker in Delhi
during Diwali
/
Smog over Delhi is yet another reminder of
m
• The Delhi government implemented the
government failure to act before an
odd-even policy last year only after the
co
emergency.
Delhi High Court asked it to submit a
time-bound plan.
] ly.
In news
Basics
Air quality index (AQI)
es on
Three weeks ago, with a ban against • The AQI is an index for reporting daily
firecrackers and a graded response action air quality. It tells you how clean or
plan (GRAP) in place, Delhi’s authorities
ss rs
polluted your air is, and what associated
seemed better equipped than in the past health effects might be a concern for
la ai
two years to combat the unhealthy haze you.
C aff
• The AQI focuses
on health effects you
may experience within
G nt
a few hours or days

[E re
after breathing polluted

air. EPA calculates the
ur
AQI for five major air

pollutants regulated by
//c
the Clean Air Act:

ground-level ozone,
s:
particle pollution (also

known as particulate
tp
that engulfs the city after Diwali.

matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide,
and nitrogen dioxide.
ht
Pollution levels did surge after the

• For each of these pollutants, EPA has
festivities but the fact that they were lower
established national air quality standards
compared to the past two years
to protect public health .Ground-level
ozone and airborne particles are the two
Diwali smog never receded and on
pollutants that pose the greatest threat to
Tuesday, the city registered “severe” on
human health in this country.
35
the Air Quality Index (AQI).

Page

How Does the AQI Work? From 300……………………hazardous
Think of the AQI as a yardstick that runs

from 0 to 500. The higher the AQI value, 09 November, 2017
/
the greater the level of air pollution and
m
the greater the health concern. For
example, an AQI value of 50 represents
co
Capital crisis {Environment}
good air quality with little potential to affect
public health, while an AQI value over 300 (The Hindu)
] ly.
represents hazardous air quality.
An AQI value of 100 generally corresponds Context
es on
to the national air quality standard for the
pollutant, which is the level EPA has set to
This article deals with air pollution caused
ss rs
protect public health. AQI values below 100
by farm residue in Northern part of India
are generally thought of as satisfactory.
la ai
When AQI values are above 100, air
In news
C aff
quality is considered to be unhealthy-at first
The Centre and States must urgently
for certain sensitive groups of people, then
address farm residue burning in north India
for everyone as AQI values get higher.
G nt
Issue
[E re
Understanding the AQI
Delhi’s air quality deteriorates with

ur
The purpose of the AQI is to help you

unfailing regularity at this time of the
understand what local air quality means to
//c
year, with large swathes of north India in

your health. To make it easier to
the grip of a suffocating smog, but the
understand, the AQI is divided into six
State governments that can make it easier
s:
categories:
for millions to breathe do not act with any
tp
sense of urgency.
The intervals and the terms describing Consequences
ht
the AQI air quality levels are as follows That it has turned into a public health
From 0 to 50………………..good emergency in the capital, with the air
From 51 to 100………………moderate quality index touching extremely hazardous
From 101 to 150……………..unhealthy for levels in some parts, necessitating the
sensitive groups closure of primary schools, has further
From 151 to 200……………..unhealthy lowered its standing.
From 201 to 300……………..very unhealthy
36
Page

Cause of Increase in pollution Basics
• The smog that envelops the region is What is PM2.5 Pollution?

exacerbated by the burning of biomass in PM stands for particulate matter, while the
/
Punjab and Haryana, and the winter number refers to the size of the particles.
m
atmosphere is marked by weak So, PM2.5 is like extremely fine dust
ventilation. whose particles are just 2.5 microns wide
co
• Construction dust, vehicular pollution, and — that’s thirty times smaller than the width
domestic and of a human
] ly.
industrial hair.
emissions as The tiny size
es on
other major makes it harder
factors. to prevent
ss rs
PM2.5 from
• The post-
getting into the
monsoon —
as opposed
la ai body, making it
C aff
deadlier.
to pre-
What exactly is
monsoon —
PM2.5 made
G nt
burning of
up of?
rice and
[E re
According to
wheat
the United
residue
ur
States’ Environment Protection Agency, a

releases maximum aerosols that
PM2.5 particle, depending on where it’s
contribute to the volume of
//c
emitted from, could contain compounds of

PM2.5, which gets embedded in the
any of these four materials:
lungs.
s:
Carbon – from cars, trucks, waste burning

tp
What can government do reduce air

pollution? Nitrate – from cars, trucks, thermal power
ht
generation
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should Sulphate – from thermal power generation
be commended for his initiative to discuss Crustal – suspended soil and metals
the modalities of joint action with the

Punjab and Haryana governments. The Why it is harmful?
national capital needs a major greening • Being tiny, these particles easily reach
effort. the lungs. From there, they can travel

37
Page

through the bloodstream and reach the Second was bad news
heart. • The gender disparity gap has gone up in
• Long exposure to PM2.5 can worsen India and its already poor ranking
asthma and heart conditions. They also worsened.
/
cause runny nose, sneezing and • Women are half the country: Somewhat
m
coughing. less in India because of the shameful
sex ratio, but still a large number. If
co
• 5 coming from diesel vehicles contains
carbon and is a carcinogenic. growth is not just corporate GDP but
human welfare, then this is worrisome.
] ly.
• It can also cause other heart and lung
diseases, or make them worse. Third issue
The malnutrition and hunger index. The
es on
•
absolute numbers are frightening. Forty
per cent of the world’s hungry and
ss rs
Growth minus
malnourished children are in India.
development {Social issue}
la ai (Indian Express)
• Having defined a poverty line in the
seventies of the last century
C aff
Context Connection between the worsening
G nt
gender disparity and the hunger

numbers
Widening gender gap, rising malnutrition
[E re
and hunger call for policy intervention.

• Weak mothers will give birth to weak
ur
children. The baby will not get enough

Why in news?
nourishment in the womb. Again, in the
//c
early years of childhood, the limits to

India was recently hit by three global
which he or she will grow are being set.
s:
rankings.
The first was the ease of doing business • It is not that life is a matter of precise
tp
and India improved its global rank, paths. But the boundaries in which
According to economists theturnaround to outcomes will work out are set in early
ht
•
the higher growth path will come if we years.
do a bit of pump priming and then

private investment will be sucked in.
• While some sarkari economists agree

Rising temperatures and the
with me, this is still not the dominant
workplace {Environment}
view. So improving the ease of doing
38
(LiveMint)
business is obviously good news
Page

Context • Manual labour is not only physically

demanding but also often involves close
Regardless of geographic region, manual proximity to heat.
labour is not only physically
/
demanding but also often involves
m
close proximity to heat.
co
Elon Musk detailed his plans over the
summer to colonize Mars, many
] ly.
flights out of Phoenix airport were
cancelled. It was too hot for the
es on
planes to safely take off. Higher
temperatures cause thinner air,
ss rs
making it harder for the aircraft to
take off and stay aloft.
la ai • Even simple jobs like driving a bus or
C aff
Question that arises for humans in an auto rickshaw involve continuous
this context exposure to a machine generating high
temperatures. Industrial processes such
G nt
• Could a similar situation apply to human as glass melting or working in brick kilns
[E re
beings in the workplace? intensify the exposure to high heat.
• How long can people continue working

ur
safely as temperatures rise? Consequences of high temperature
And what about those who have little

//c
•
choice regarding the job they hold? • The estimated losses imply adverse
s:
Where workers are exposed to heat?

tp
• If current trends hold, it will become so

hot that parts of West Asia will become
ht
inhospitable to human life by the end of

the century.
• Agriculture alone represents one in three

of the world’s workers, most of them in
the tropics. And it’s not just West Asia
that’s heating up. consequences of a similar scale to
39
economic output, or GDP, for a wide

Page

range of developing countries, including 10 November, 2017

India, Indonesia and Nigeria, as
highlighted by the report.
• The negative health effects could in The pecking order {Health Issue}
/
some cases prove fatal
m
(The Hindu)
• A variety of adverse economic and
co
medical conditions that may arise due to
the changing climate In news
] ly.
• Efficiency of worker reduces
Lack of hygiene and cruelty towards birds
• Heat also can cause chronic health
(poultry), such as confining them in battery
es on
problems and affect mental health.
cages, has impacted those who consume
• Among outdoor workers, chronic kidney
meat or eggs. The health hazards include
ss rs
disease is an emerging public health
a rise in diseases such as cancer.
heat crisis that has been called the
The Law Commission of India, in its
la ai
“silent massacre”.
269th report, drafted two new laws to end
C aff
• Another indirect effect of working in the cruelty to birds and pave the way for
extreme heat is an increase in industrial more compassionate processes in the
accidents.
G nt
poultry industry.
Solution • The rules are the Prevention of Cruelty
[E re
to Animals (Egg Laying Hens)

• Better insulating workers from the heat • Rules of 2017 and the Prevention of
ur
or scheduling hours for cooler times of Cruelty to Animals (Broiler Chicken)

the day. Rules of 2017.
//c
• For instance, those who labour on farms The rules mandate that a more natural
could start working the fields in the early environment of housing that allows hens
s:
morning to avoid the afternoon heat. to perch and move about freely is a
tp
• Given rapid advances in robotics and better alternative to the existing practice of
Artificial Intelligence, machines could also battery cages.
ht
be increasingly be used for physically The report condemns practices such as the
arduous jobs. breaking of beaks and the killing of young
But such changes may be slow to come male chicks in the poultry industry.
to developing countries, and bring with
them the corresponding challenge of what On certification
to do with the displaced workers.
40
Certification of poultry farms by State

Page
animal husbandry departments.

• The certification should make a • The expectation in the market is that

distinction between produce obtained prices could remain elevated
from cage free egg farming and • India witnessed a significant positive
that obtained from battery cage farming. terms of trade shock when oil prices
Egg Laying Hens Rules, the onus is on
/
• fell by over 50% between 2014 and
m
a farmer to immediately report the 2015.
“outbreak or suspected outbreak of any
co
zoonotic or contagious disease or Effect of higher oil prices
infection to the local authority, the State
] ly.
Board and the State government.
• They could have implications for growth,
• Every farm shall have at least one room inflation, currency, current account deficit
es on
or enclosure for quarantining sick hens, and fiscal deficit.
or hens suspected to be sick”.
A similar rise worsens India’s current
ss rs
•
account balance by 0.4% of the
la ai
The risk of rising crude oil
GDP. Reduction in excise duty on
petrol and diesel by Re1 per litre
C aff
prices {Economic Policies} lowers collection to the tune of 0.08%
(LiveMint) of the GDP. Since the government

G nt
raised excise duty when prices were

falling,
[E re
Context • Revenue and economic activity due to

teething problems with the goods and
ur
• The situation is not alarming for India at services tax, could worsen the outlook
the moment, but policymakers would do for India.
//c
well to remain watchful

• The central bank has assumed the price
• Large importer of crude oil, India of the Indian crude basket to average
s:
benefited significantly from lower prices. around $55 per barrel in the second half
tp
• It helped contain inflation and had a of the current fiscal.

favourable impact on both the fiscal and If oil prices move up to $65 per barrel,
ht
•
current account deficits. But a sharp inflation could go up by 30 basis points
reversal in prices can roll back some of
those gains.
Why in news?
11 November, 2017
• Oil prices touched a two-year high earlier
41
this week and have gone up by about

Page
14% over the last one month.

Slippery oil rally {Indian What can be done to improve the

Economy} condition?
(The Hindu) • Shale producers have continued to pump

more oil into the market as crude prices
/
m
In news have crossed the $50 mark.
According to the Energy Information
co
•
• The price of oil has risen sharply in Administration, a body under the U.S.
recent weeks leading to renewed Department of Energy, U.S. shale
] ly.
forecasts of a sustained bull market in production is likely to increase by about
the price of the commodity. 81,000 barrels per day in the current
es on
month.
• The price of Brent crude, which
• In addition, in its World Oil Outlook
breached the $60 mark late last month,
ss rs
report released this week, OPEC said it
is currently trading at about $64 per
expects shale output to grow much faster
barrel, a two-year high. In fact, in the
la ai
last one month alone, oil has gained well
than it had previously estimated.
C aff
over 12%.
• The ongoing rally could portend even India gained a lot from oil since 2014
G nt
higher prices in the coming months.

• India has derived huge benefits from
[E re
Reason behind rise in price

ur
• The upsurge this week has been driven

//c
primarily by political uncertainty in Saudi

Arabia, the world’s second largest
s:
producer of oil, and the tightening of

supply by the Organisation of the
tp
Petroleum Exporting Countries

ht
• In the past, North American producers

of shale brought a multi-year bull market lower oil prices since 2014, with the
in oil to an abrupt end. Since government’s fiscal management and
then, OPEC has struggled to maintain inflation-targeting being rendered a lot
control over oil prices except for brief easier.
spells. • There is bound to be some economic
unease now as the price of oil fluctuates
42
Page

in what looks likely to be a range-bound • Left-wing libertarianism) names several

market. related but distinct approaches
• A repeat of the huge damage caused by to political and social theory, which
the last oil bull market, however, seems stresses both individual freedom and
social equality.
/
unlikely.
m
• Left-libertarians, while maintaining full
respect for personal property, are
co
skeptical of or fully against private
Hindutva and
its naysayers {Indian Politics} property, arguing that neither claiming
] ly.
nor mixing one’s labor with natural
(Indian Express) resources is enough to generate
es on
full private property rights and maintain
that natural resources (land, oil, gold,
Context
ss rs
vegetation) should be held in
an egalitarian manner, either unowned
la ai
Rise of ‘left-liberals’, and their blind
antipathy to the RSS, shines the light on
or owned collectively.
C aff
• Those left-libertarians who support private
the crisis in the communist and socialist
property do so under the condition that
parties
recompense is offered to the local
G nt
community. Many left-libertarian schools

In news
[E re
of thought are communist, advocating the

There has been an interesting development
eventual replacement of money
in Indian politics since the 2014 general
ur
with labor vouchers or decentralized

election. The Narendra Modi government
planning.
and Hindutva have been increasingly
//c
opposed more by a non-party formulation, Three elements which are used to

evaluate the political effectiveness
known as left-liberals, than Opposition
s:
parties.
sociological,
tp
Ground of opposition • ideological and

ht
• organizational
On issues like cow vigilantism, Sociologically, left-liberals are an alliance of
demonetisation or even the Gujarat intellectuals, academics and a section of
elections, one can see their eagerness to the media who have never camouflaged
polarise people on an anti-RSS and anti- their anti-RSS worldview. Therefore, they
Modi agenda. are natural allies of the communist parties
43
and co-opt any individual or group that

Page
Left-libertarianism shows antipathy for Hindutva.

Ideologically, left-liberals are undefined, of religious belief and worship that are not
like modern art. Those who are extremely officially established.
pro-public sector and statist European
economic models cohabit with people Four conceptions of toleration
welcoming privatisation.
/
m
• Tolerate is to refrain from interference in
the activities of others, even though one
co
finds them morally reprehensible, and
despite the fact that one has the power
] ly.
12 November, 2017 to do so.
A person with more power eventually puts
es on
The virtue and practice of
up with what he intensely dislikes in the
toleration {Ethics}
less powerful.
ss rs
(The Hindu)
Context
la ai • A second conception of toleration also
exists: two groups may find each other’s
C aff
activities morally abhorrent and have
equal power to interfere but both refrain
This article explains tolerance, toleration
G nt
from doing so because the cost of the

It is increasingly felt by many that we are
ensuing conflict is far too high
moving towards a fiercely conflict-ridden
[E re
• In the third, considerations of power are

world in which toleration is needed badly.
less relevant; instead, people refrain
ur
from interfering in each other’s activities

The words “toleration” and “tolerance” are
largely out of indifference. Disapproval
//c
quite similar in meaning. Both can be

exists but is mild and not acted upon. In
used to refer to an act of enduring,
large, complex societies, the business
s:
allowing, or putting up with something, as

of living one’s own life is so time-
in a firefighter’s toleration of high
tp
consuming that a concern with others is

temperatures or a teacher’s tolerance of
simply too onerous.
certain behavior.
ht
• Finally, a fourth, mildly patronising

Both words, however, also have specific
conception, distinct from the other
applications. “Tolerance” tends to be the
three, has been around for centuries. It
preferred choice in scientific contexts, as
is best understood in contrast with
when referring to the capacity of the body
negative toleration in which others are
to resist the effects of something (such as
reluctantly accepted against a
a virus, drug, or environmental factor).
background of prior hatred.
44
“Toleration” is the preferred term to refer

Page
to a government policy of permitting forms

Seeing the light {Science and mutations known to cause blindness. It

Technology} could be applied to retinitis pigmentosa,
another inherited retinal disease caused
(The Hindu)
by a defective gene.
In the future, gene therapy could possibly
/
•
m
In news provide key proteins needed to restore
vision in more common diseases such as
co
A new gene therapy has helped restore age-related macular degeneration.
vision in people who had lost their sight to What it entails?
] ly.
an inherited retinal disease.
LCA is rare, affecting about one in 80,000
es on
What is the disease? individuals. It can be caused by one or
more of 19 different genes.
ss rs
Patients in the study had a condition The tested gene therapy, voretigene
called Leber congenital amaurosis neparvovec (Luxturna) from Spark
la ai
(LCA), which begins in infancy and Therapeutics, is currently under FDA
C aff
progresses slowly, eventually causing review. An injection therapy, it uses a
complete blindness. genetically-modified version of a harmless
G nt
This new, first-of-its-kind gene

therapy is currently under review by
[E re
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

(FDA) for potential approval this year.
ur
There are currently no treatments

//c
available for inherited retinal diseases

s:
Researchers from University of Iowa,

U.S., showed that 27 of 29 treated
tp
patients or 93% experienced meaningful

ht
improvements in their vision, enough to virus that’s been modified to carry a

navigate a maze in low to moderate light. healthy version of the gene to patients’
retinas.
Possible Applications in future

Doctors inject billions of modified viruses
• Approval could open the door for other into both of a patient’s eyes.
45
gene therapies that could eventually

treat the more than at least 225 genetic Effect of the medicine
Page

• Treatment does not restore normal This report aims to identify core priorities
vision. for working more politically smart in rule
• It does, however, allow patients to see of law reform.
shapes and light, allowing them to get Best scheme introduced to solve NPAs
/
around without a cane or a guide dog. (non-performing assets)?
m
• It is unclear how long the treatment will
co
last, but so far, most patients have
Sustainable structuring of stressed
maintained their vision for two years. assets (S4A)
] ly.
13 November, 2017 The S4A is RBI’s latest attempt to try
es on
and chip away at the mountain of
Why do ministers ask for RBI stressed loans smothering Indian

banks. The scheme tries to strike a
ss rs
rate cuts? What does Banks
Board Bureau do? {Economic compromise between banks with problem
la ai
Policies} accounts and corporate defaulters of the
non-wilful variety, by converting a portion of
C aff
(LiveMint) large loan accounts into equity shares.
Why it is important?
G nt
Context
The borrowing binge by Indian companies
[E re
during the boom times from 2003 to 2008

In this article many questions has been
ur
has left Indian banks saddled with a

raised in form of satire related to Indian
large pile of bad loans. At last count, they
banking
//c
amounted to 11.5 per cent of their total

book. This pile of unpaid debt has led to
Responsive and Responsible Banking
s:
workshop big write-offs that have dented bank profits,

gobbled up bank capital and made them
tp
wary of giving out new loans that can keep

• Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in
the wheels of the economy turning.
ht
the wake of the investments made

towards strengthening the banking
system
The idea behind instituting
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code,
• Challenges that came before became 2016
those that came before the economy.
Some part of lending within banks • The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code,
created a problem, and the whole system
46
2016 (IBC) has consolidated and

struggled to deal with this. amended the laws relating to
Page

reorganization and insolvency of We need global norms to address the rise

corporate persons, partnership firms and of machine autonomy in armed conflict
individual firms.
• The sole intention of this legislation is to In the Mahabharata, Krishna wielded what
facilitate resolution of corporate
/
would today be called a lethal autonomous
m
bankruptcy in a time bound manner. weapon: the Sudarshana Chakra would
The IBC has introduced new and track its target to the ends of the earth,
co
•
distinct concepts eliminate it and return to its owner.
of ‘Financial Creditor’ and ‘Operational
] ly.
Creditor‘ as opposed to the Companies War
Act, 2013 which merely introduced the
es on
term ‘creditor’, without any classification Throughout history, the capacity to wield
thereof. new technologies — from gunpowder to
ss rs
nuclear weapons to long-range missiles —
Why are the banks not proactively has changed how wars are fought, and the
la ai
pursuing NCLT (National Company
Law Tribunal) as a process to resolve
strategic balance between attack and
C aff
the stress? defence maintained.
G nt
Shaped by technology
The top management in banks are more
worried of their next postings.
[E re
The norms around what is considered

acceptable in warfare have also evolved in
ur
What is the future of public sector

banks and their employees? response to new technologies. Since the
19th century, those norms have been
//c
Some weak banks will continue to shrink in codified in international humanitarian law,
size but they will keep on getting capital till which is more or less universally accepted
s:
such time India remains a democratic as regulating armed conflict among civilised
tp
country. nations.
ht
AI Advancement
The AI battlefield {Science &

Tech} Recent advances in artificial intelligence
(AI) are throwing up a new challenge to
(The Hindu) these norms
47
Context AI applications are already a growing

Page
reality in areas such as health, finance

and retail. Civilian applications of AI stage in the Asian region now referred to
technologies will undoubtedly continue as “Indo-Pacific”.
apace. Meeting of the India-U.S.-Japan-Australia
quadrilateral, a grouping first mooted in
2006 by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
/
A new approach
m
Abe.
The discussions in Geneva are an Outcome
co
opportunity to test a new approach, one
we might call ‘distributed technology • It ended with statements on cooperation
] ly.
governance’. This means the multilateral for a “free, open, prosperous and
system’s search for durable international inclusive Indo-Pacific region”, a direct
es on
norms needs to integrate national signal that it will counter China’s actions
regulatory approaches and industry self- in the South China Sea if necessary.
ss rs
regulation. • Meeting with U.S. President Donald
Each level in this chain of subsidiarity — Trump saw a similar emphasis on
la ai
international humanitarian law, national cooperating in the Indo-Pacific.
C aff
regulations, and industry self-regulation — • The ‘Quad’ doesn’t just pertain to
needs to move in full cognition of the other maritime surveillance, it also aims
two.
G nt
at enhancing connectivity in accordance

with “the rule of law” and “prudent
[E re
financing” in the Indo-Pacific together.

14 November, 2017 • The 10 ASEAN countries account for
ur
about 11% of India’s global trade. For

the past few years India has joined the
//c
Eastern promise {International ASEAN “plus six”, including China,

Relation} Japan, South Korea, Australia and New
s:
Zealand, to discuss the RCEP free trade

(The Hindu) agreement.
tp
ht
In news ASEAN Summit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to The Association of Southeast Asian

the Philippines to attend the ASEAN-India Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8
summit, the East Asia Summit and the August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the
Regional Comprehensive Economic signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok
48
Partnership summit has put India centre- Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of
Page

ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, • To collaborate more effectively for the

Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. greater utilisation of their agriculture and
industries, the expansion of their trade,
Brunei Darussalam then joined on 7 including the study of the problems of
international commodity trade, the
/
January 1984, Viet Nam on 28 July 1995,
m
Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, improvement of their transportation and
and Cambodia on 30 April 1999, making communications facilities and the raising
co
up what is today the ten Member States of of the living standards of their peoples;
ASEAN. • To promote Southeast Asian studies; and
] ly.
• To maintain close and beneficial
AIMS AND PURPOSES cooperation with existing international and
es on
regional organisations with similar aims
As set out in the ASEAN Declaration, the and purposes, and explore all avenues
ss rs
aims and purposes of ASEAN are for even closer cooperation among
To accelerate the economic growth, themselves.
•
la ai
social progress and cultural development
C aff
in the region through joint endeavours in
the spirit of equality and partnership in
G nt
order to strengthen the foundation for a The forgotten

prosperous and peaceful community of people {International Relation}
[E re
Southeast Asian Nations;

(The Hindu)
• To promote regional peace and stability
ur
through abiding respect for justice and

the rule of law in the relationship among
//c
Context
countries of the region and adherence to
the principles of the United Nations This article talks about condition of Sri-
s:
Charter; Lankan refugees in India

tp
• To promote active collaboration and

mutual assistance on matters of common The focus of the media has been on the
ht
interest in the economic, social, cultural, Rohingya refugees in India. But the plight
technical, scientific and administrative of Sri Lankan refugees, who have been
fields; here for nearly 35 years, appears to have
• To provide assistance to each other in gone out of the public consciousness.
the form of training and research
facilities in the educational, professional, Sri Lankan Tamil refugees
49
technical and administrative spheres;

Page

After the emergence of war-like situation • No camp has proper toilet facilities. Even
between Shri Lankan government and the in the few toilets that are provided water
LTTE, the arrival of Eelam Tamil refugees facilities are not there. Men and women
to India has increased. From January 12, have to go to the nearby forests to
2006 to July 7, 2006, 4343 people relieve themselves. Since such a practice
/
m
belonging to 1363 families have landed in is non-existent in Shri Lankan culture,
the coasts along Rameshwaram. women suffer the greatly.
co
According to the data provided by the • In all camps, electricity facility is provided
Tamil Nadu government, as on 31.1.2005, only through single-bulb system. Only in
] ly.
52,332 refugees belonging to 14,031 some camps, separate meters have been
families live here in 103 camps. allowed. For the single bulb, electricity is
es on
More than 100,000 Sri Lankan refugees provided from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. For the
continue to live in Tamil Nadu 30 years kitchens and verandahs, which they have
ss rs
after the outbreak of civil war caused them constructed themselves, there is no
to flee across the Palk Strait. electricity facility.
la ai • Many camps have no medical facilities.
C aff
Today they live on in the knowledge that In some camps, voluntary organizations
their sheltering camps can never be home, provide medicines through trained people.
G nt
Recommendations for improving the

Refugee’s concern situation
[E re
The refugees suffer from social and • All people in the camps should be
ur
psychological problems as reports of registered and be issued cards. The

suicides, school dropouts and child children born in the camp should be
//c
marriage show. Many middle-aged refugees accorded Indian citizenship if the parents
worry about their children’s future, given desire so, or else, they should also be
s:
the fact that 40% of camp refugees are registered as refugees.

below 18 years.
tp
• Those who are registered as refugees for

more than 10 years and those who are
ht
Condition of the camps married to Indian citizens should be

accorded Indian citizenship if they desire
• All the refugees who land so.
in Rameswaram area are brought to the
• Dresses should be issued twice in a
Mandapam camp. This is said to be a
year instead of once and vessels should
transit camp.
be issued once in a year instead of
The accommodation provided to the
50
•
once in two years.
refugees is not worth living in.
Page

• The level of quantity of sugar and gross value added (GVA) in the
kerosene should be raised. Each family economy
should be given 10 litres of kerosene • The health of the household sector,
every month. All essential commodities therefore, is the key to the health of the
being issued to BPL families should be economy.
/
m
issued in similar quantity to Eelam • In recent years, the share of the
refugees as well. household sector in GVA has been
co
• The government should offer assistance falling—from 45.8% of GVA in 2013-14 to
to the girls of the age of marriage and 43.6% in 2015-16.
] ly.
should also extend medical facilities to
Reason behind declining GVA
the pregnant women.
es on
• The government should offer assistance
• Households are saving less—savings as
and encourage them to engage in small
a percentage of gross household
ss rs
business activities while the banks should
disposable income fell from 29.4% in
offer loan facilities.
•
la ai
The government should take appropriate •
2011-12 to 24.4% by 2015-16.
Lower subsidies to households could be
C aff
action to liberate the people in camps a reason for lower savings.
from the harassment of money-lenders.
• Households are also utilizing less of their
G nt
At present, for both India and Sri Lanka, savings for capital formation. In fact,
the repatriation of refugees does not seem capital formation as a percentage of
[E re
to be a priority. household gross savings has come down

from 67.3% in 2011-12 to 57% in 2015-
ur
16.
What ails India’s household
//c
economy? {Indian Economy}

Way forward
s:
(LiveMint)
The disruptions to economic activity seen
tp
Context in 2016-17 and in the current fiscal year

ht
are widely believed to have affected the

informal sector the hardest. The shift of
• Households are consuming more out of
household savings from physical to
their disposable income and saving less,
financial assets continues.
a trend which, in turn, has impacted
household capex
• The household sector is the largest

51
segment of the Indian economy. In

2015-16, it accounted for 43.6% of
Page

15 November, 2017 NHRC to intervene in the case through an

independent investigation.
Human Rights Result
/
And Wrongs {Rights Issue}
m
• Ignoring the recent order of the Delhi
(Indian Express)
High Court in Priya Pillai’s case, the
co
NHRC called for reports within four
Context weeks from the Director General of
] ly.
Police of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and
National Human Rights Commission must the Foreigners’ Regional Registration
es on
live up to its mandate in letter and spirit Office in New Delhi.
• It did not issue a notice to the Bureau of
ss rs
In news Immigration, Ministry of Home Affairs
(MHA), which is also its parent ministry.
la ai
In a recent case in the Supreme Court, • The NHRC received the response only
C aff
the National Human Rights Commisson after 12 weeks on December 13, 2016.
(NHRC) referred to itself as “a toothless However, the response was not
G nt
tiger”. NHRC may plead before the submitted by the main respondents but
Supreme Court about its limitations, the by the joint director of the Intelligence
[E re
public perception about it has deteriorated Bureau (IB).
The question here is about the nature of

ur
Issue the failure of the NHRC: Was it a

//c
deliberate failure or an inability to

A case in point is that of Khurram Parvez, understand basic human rights laws and
a human rights defender from Kashmir who standards?
s:
was barred at the Delhi airport from

tp
travelling to Geneva on September 14, National Human Rights Commission

2016, where he was to attend the United of India
ht
Nation Human Rights Council (UNHRC)

and meet representatives of UN bodies • The Rights Commission(NHRC)
concerning the situation in Kashmir. On of India is an autonomous public body
September 15, 2016, on his return to constituted on 12 October 1993 under
Srinagar, Khurram was arrested under the the Protection of Human Rights
Public Safety Act (PSA). Ordinance of 28 September 1993.
52
On September 16, 2016, Human Rights

Defenders Alert (HRDA) approached the
Page

• It was given a statutory basis by the do it legitimately, others for re-routing

Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 illegal wealth—to avoid or evade tax
(TPHRA). liabilities
• The NHRC is the National Human
/
Rights Commission of India, responsible Behaviour of rich nations
m
for the protection and promotion of
human rights, defined by the Act as The rich countries have been trying every
co
“rights relating to life, liberty, equality and trick to avoid Paris meeting commitments
dignity of the individual guaranteed by on reducing greenhouse gas emissions,
] ly.
the Constitution or embodied in the arresting climate change and funding
International Covenants”. developing and poor countries to help
es on
• “Human Rights” means the rights relating counter the effects of climate change.
to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the The US, European Union and some other
ss rs
individual guaranteed by the constitution rich countries—including Australia, Canada
or embodied in the International and Japan—have blocked efforts by
la ai
covenants and enforceable by courts in developing nations to review the developed
C aff
India. world’s performance vis-à-vis commitments.
• “Commission” means the National Human
G nt
Rights Commission constituted under Developing nations

section of All human beings are born
[E re
free and equal in dignity and rights These have been blaming the rich for
known as Human rights, as commonly sidestepping commitments made under the
ur
understood, are the rights that every Kyoto Protocol, which placed mandatory
human being is entitled to enjoy freely emission reduction targets to be achieved
//c
irrespective of his religion, race, caste, during 2012-15.

sex and nationality, etc.
s:
Later, through what is known as the Doha

tp
Amendments, the target date was extended

The rich know how to sidestep to 2020. Developing countries have been
ht
responsibilities{Environment} arguing that to finalize the rule-book for

the Paris Agreement, as the successor to
(LiveMint)
the Kyoto Protocol, it is necessary to
understand the achievements so far.
Context
Financial Assistance to developing
The Paradise Papers show how the nations
53
wealthy and powerful use tax havens—some

Page

For instance, as part of the Copenhagen commits State Parties to

Accord of 2009, the developed countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based
pledged to provide developing nations on the scientific consensusthat (a) global
with $30 billion during 2010-12 and $100 warming is occurring and (b) it is extremely
billion every year till 2020 to help mitigate likely that human-
/
m
climate change effects. made CO2 emissions have predominantly
But, as data shows, the rich are not only caused it.
co
in breach but have been dissembling: Apart The Kyoto Protocol was adopted
from reneging on their promise, they have in Kyoto, Japan, on December 11,
] ly.
also been padding funding data. 1997 and entered into force on February
16, 2005. There are currently 192 parties
es on
World Bank and International (Canada withdrew effective December
Monetary Fund 2012) to the Protocol.
ss rs
The Kyoto Protocol implemented
• The Bank released a document in the objective of the UNFCCC to fight
la ai
September titled “Maximising Finance For
Development: Leveraging The Private
global warming by reducing greenhouse
gas concentrations in the atmosphere to
C aff
Sector For Growth And Sustainable “a level that would prevent dangerous
Development”. This builds on a preceding anthropogenic interference with the climate
G nt
March 2017 document called “Forward system” (Art. 2)

Look—A Vision For The World Bank
[E re
Group In 2030, Progress And

ur
Challenges”.
• Only where market solutions are not 6 November, 2017

//c
possible through sector reform and risk

mitigation would official and public The rise of the bots {Science &
s:
resources be applied.” Currently focused Technology}

on infrastructure, the approach will be
tp
later extended to financial services, (The Hindu)

ht
healthcare, education and agribusiness.

What are bots?
Kyoto Protocol
A bot is a computer programme designed
The Kyoto Protocol is an to work automatically. It is mainly used to
international treaty which extends the gather information on the Internet or

perform repetitive jobs.
54
1992 United Nations Framework Convention

on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that
Page

Imagine texting a number to order pizza Merits

and having it delivered without ever talking Used as web crawlers, as cyber security
to a real human — that’s what bots are all solution major Norton has explained in its
about. Specifically, a bot is an application blog, adding that another good use is
that performs an automated task, such as automatic interaction using instant
/
m
setting an alarm, telling you the weather or messaging, instant relay chat or other web
searching online. interfaces.
co
Where did the idea for bots come Dynamic interaction with websites is yet
] ly.
from? another way bots are used for positive
purposes.
es on
Bots have been around for more than 50
years. With the recent global boom in Demerits
ss rs
mobile messaging apps, such as WeChat,
Facebook Messenger and Slack, they’re A malicious bot as self-propagating
la ai
seen as increasingly relevant. They’ve
likely been right under your nose. The
malware that infects its host and connects
C aff
back to a central server(s). Malicious bots
first bots on Twitter starting rolling out in can gather passwords, log keystrokes,
2006. obtain financial information, relay spam,
G nt
and exploit back doors opened by viruses

[E re
What can bots do? and worms, among other things.

ur
Today’s bots can help us order food, How do you know your computer is
shop for clothes, save money and find infected?
//c
restaurants. For example, Digit helps you

manage your money by showing your bank According to Norton, symptoms such as a
s:
balance, upcoming bills and helping you slow Internet or crashing of computer for
save money through text messages. The Hi no apparent reason, pop-up windows and
tp
Poncho chatbot available in Facebook advertisements appearing even when a

web browser is not being used, friends and
ht
Messenger tells you the weather around

you. family receiving mails you did not send, or
Many bots are programmed to act like a fan going into “overdrive” when the
humans when you talk to them so it feels device is idle may mean that your system
like asking a person for help instead of is infected.
just typing in a search engine.
What are the precautions and
55
Are they good or bad? remedies?

Page

It is important to have a good anti-malware • They lack the cognitive sophistication

software. All softwares should be updated and experience to think critically about
and system updates should not be ignored. what they’re seeing and evaluate its
veracity.
/
• And they are keenly observing and
m
rapidly absorbing the social and moral
Parenting The messages they are seeing on those
co
iPad Generation {Science and screens, leaving them vulnerable to
Technology} picking up and perpetuating stereotypes
] ly.
and biases.
(Indian Express)
Global expert consensus is that screen-
es on
time’s impact — and whether it will
Context
ultimately harm a child or help her — is
ss rs
determined by content and context.
Technology can be a great learning tool Content is about what, specifically, kids
la ai
for kids, but only if parents use it right. are watching. Context is about how
C aff
This article explains the impact on children they’re engaging with what they’re
by using smart phones or laptop for long watching.
duration
G nt
When it can be helpful?

[E re
What is the news?

Kids’ content is most beneficial when it’s
ur
Unchecked and unfiltered, screen-time accompanied by an active discussion or

can be dangerous for kids. It has clear when it is supporting an activity offline. In
//c
health implications, in that it can affect other words, when there is a level of
sleep, or prevent kids from engaging in parental explanation and mentorship around
s:
physical activity, thereby contributing to what kids are seeing and hearing.
India’s rising childhood obesity rates.
tp
• A child is more capable of: handling

ht
How children get trapped in wrong rapid cybersearches, making quick

content over Internet?
decisions, developing visual acuity, and
multitasking.
• Young children don’t have the ability to
• Games help develop peripheral vision.
spot the differences between
• Visual motor tasks like tracking objects
advertisements, or sponsored content,
or visually searching for items is
and “real” content.
56
improved.
Page

• Internet users tend to use decision- • Look for quality apps that promote
making and problem-solving brain regions building vocabulary, mathematical,
more often. literacy, and science concepts.
• Keep smartphones out of the bedrooms.
/
How Do Smartphones Affect
m
Childhood Psychology?
co
Smartphones and tablets have now
replaced basketballs and baby dolls on a 17 November, 2017
] ly.
child’s wish list.
es on
In a recent publication, it was noted Narrow banking is an idea whose
that 56 percent of children between the time has come {Banking &
ss rs
ages of 10 to 13 own a
Economy}
smartphone. While that fact alone may
la ai
come as a shock, it is estimated that 25
(LiveMint)
C aff
percent of children between the ages of 2
and 5 have a smartphone. Context
G nt
Narrow banks should be considered

Few recommendations to make the
[E re
most of time spent on a smartphone seriously as they will ring-fence a good

part of India’s banking system from
ur
• Children under two should not be using repeated failure that necessitate grand
screens or electronic devices. bailouts.
//c
• Play alongside your children and interact

In news
with them face-to-face.
s:
• Make sure smartphones don’t interfere

The Think Shop (earlier editions were
tp
with opportunities for play and socializing.

called Gyan Sangams) suggested that
Limit screen use to one or two hours a
ht
•
large banks focus on corporate lending,
day. This includes smartphones, TV,
while smaller lenders focus on retail loans
computers, etc.
or specific geographies. It is a good start.
• It is all right to use a smartphone as an
occasional treat. Three credit crisis in India
• Model positive smartphone use.
Encourage family meals and

57
•
communication.
Page

These have taught us is how little progress only after the depositors themselves
has been made to improve the impaired choose to transfer their money to
credit culture of state-owned banks. designated “lending” accounts that will be
regarded as “risky” accounts (similar to
mutual funds).
/
Narrow banks
m
• Otherwise, depositors’ money will be kept
Narrow banks are safe banks. By not as liquid cash or deposited with the
co
lending, and using their deposits to buy central bank.
government bonds, they carry virtually no
] ly.
credit risk. There is no danger of non- Objectives of narrow banking
performing loans and frequent injections of
es on
equity capital that has to be funded by • To free taxpayers from the repeated
taxpayers. For the Reserve Bank of India burden of having to bailout failing banks
ss rs
(RBI) too, supervision gets easier. There is using taxpayer money.
la ai
no need for deposit insurance. • To prevent banks from creating money.
Bank money creation has been shown to
C aff
amplify business cycles.
• To prevent banks from bundling risk with

G nt
What is “narrow banking?”

deposits.
[E re
• Letting depositors (not banks) make the

The narrow (full-reserve)
decision whether to risk a depositor’s
banking proposal calls for a total
ur
money. Depositors should know better

separation of bank deposit accounts from
what degrees of risk are appropriate for
//c
all other bank activities to address the

them (if any).
following issues:
• Reducing banks’ incentives to take
s:
excessive risks with depositors’ money,

• During the years leading to financial
tp
thereby
crises, banks lend around 90% of the
money deposited in transaction • Reducing the implicit subsidies (rescue
ht
accounts (such as checking) and over guarantees) provided to commercial

95% of total deposits (savings accounts banks by the taxpayer and central banks.
included).
• Banks are not required to obtain Few banks lending policy
permission from depositors to lend and
take risks.
IDBI Bank and Indian Overseas Bank. For
58
• Under this proposal, banks would be both banks, close to one in every Rs4 they
Page
able to lend using depositors’ money

have lent has turned bad. They are both Mukhopadhyay compiled what was then
under the so-called prompt corrective action regarded as the definitive list of Bengali
(PCA) framework of RBI sweetmeat recipes. Mishtanna Pak
(cooking of sweets),Mukhopadhyay’s two-
volume magnum opus, goes into copious
/
Narrow Banking and Tarapore
m
Committee details while giving instructions on
preparing sweetmeats, many of which are
co
The Tarapore Committee had obscure today. It lists more than 25
recommended that to bring down the varieties of the sandesh.
] ly.
NPAs, the incremental sources of the The West Bengal government cited this
banks (called narrow banks) should be discussion in the 19th century cookbook
es on
restricted only to investments in as evidence for rosogalla’s origin in the
Government Securities. state when it applied to the Registrar of
ss rs
Intellectual Properties for the
Thus Tarapore Committee is best known Geographical Index (GI) tag for the
la ai
for giving the Concept of Narrow Banking sweetmeat.
C aff
as a solution to the problem of Non
Performing Assets. What could be origin of sweet
making with Chana?
G nt
Food writer Chitrita Banerjee believes that

[E re
Sweet somethings {Art & confectioners in the state may have been
ur
Culture} trained by Portuguese colonists in the use

of cottage cheese. “But even into the mid-
//c
(Indian Express) 19th century there is no mention of the

sandesh or rosogolla,” Banerji writes in her
s:
Context classic, Life and Food in Bengal.

tp
Whether in Bengal or Odisha, the Ban on chana sweet

ht
rosogolla is a product of artisanal

inventiveness. An authenticity debate, a In about a century, the two sweets had
GI tag, spoil the taste become emblematic of gastronomy, so
much so that a ban on chhana sweets in
Books on sweet recipe 1965 by West Bengal’s then chief minister,
Prafulla Chandra Sen — to deal with a milk
shortage — evoked strong protests from
In the last decade of the 19th
59
Calcutta’s confectioners.
century, the food aficionado Bipradas
Page

Current Issue • Under Articles 1 (2) and 10 of the Paris

Convention for the Protection of
In West Bengal, confectioner Nobin Industrial Property, geographical
Chandra Das is widely known as the one, indications are covered as an element
of IPR
/
who created Rasgulla in the 1860s.
m
• They are also covered under Articles 22
Odisha had claimed that the sweetmeat to 24 of the Trade Related Aspects of
co
originated from the Jagannath Temple in Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
Puri, where it is a part of the religious Agreement, which was part of the
] ly.
rituals since the 12th century. Odisha calls Agreements concluding the Uruguay
it ‘Pahala Rasgulla’. Round of GATT negotiations.
es on
• India, as a member of the World Trade
Both state had debate on registering Organization (WTO), enacted
ss rs
GI for the dish the Geographical Indications of Goods
(Registration & Protection) Act, 1999has
Result
la ai come into force with effect from 15th
September 2003.
C aff
sweet victory for West Bengal after a bitter
feud over one of India’s most celebrated
desserts. On Tuesday, the Geographical
G nt
Indications (GI) registry announced that the

18 November, 2017
[E re
rosogolla (also known as rasgulla)

originated in the state, and not in Odisha. The superbugs of
ur
Hyderabad {Environment}
GI Tag: Intellectual Property Rights
//c
(The Hindu)
• Geographical Indications of Goods are

s:
Context
defined as that aspect of industrial
tp
property which refer to the geographical

Effluent from pharmaceutical companies
indication referring to a country or to a
contain high concentrations of antibiotics
ht
place situated therein as being the

that are turning the city’s lakes and sewers
country or place of origin of that product.
into breeding grounds of drug-resistant
• Typically, such a name conveys an superbugs. Priyanka Pull reports on a
assurance of quality and distinctiveness terrifying threat that could hasten the end
which is essentially attributable to the of the antibiotic era
fact of its origin in that defined
60
geographical locality, region or country.

Page

Kazipally industrial area of • When these antibiotics come in contact

Hyderabad with pathogenic bacteria (which cause
disease in humans), the latter learn to
• The capital of Telangana, is an open resist the former, making human
well, about 20 feet across. infections by these pathogens extremely
/
m
• A thin stream of murky fluid, changing hard to treat.
colour from black to brown to a dull • Antibiotic resistance is arguably the
co
green as it flows. biggest threat to global health in the 21st
century. In 2014, around 700,000 people
Its vapours are mildly pungent at first,
] ly.
•
across the world died due to infections
but get nauseating within 15 minutes.
that evaded antibiotics, a number that is
es on
• These effluents are transported to
estimated to touch 10 million by 2050.
Patancheru Enviro Tech Limited (PETL),
an effluent treatment plant around20 km
ss rs
away, where it will be treated and Shocking findings
Issue
la ai
released into Hyderabad’s Musi river.
In 2005, Cecilia de Pedro, a student of
C aff
environmental sciences at Sweden’s
University of Gothenburg, began testing the
A temporary containment facility for toxic
G nt
effects of industrial waste water on a tiny

effluents from a dozen pharmaceutical
transparent crustacean, the water flea.
companies, is not leak-proof. A natural
[E re
rivulet takes the fluid in the well to the

nearby Gandigudem lake, where She decided to use samples from PETL’s
ur
Kazipally’s residents — mostly farmers and plant, which was already in the eye of a
storm for being a big polluter.
//c
some pharma industry workers — raise fish

to sell.
When heavy rains lashed Hyderabad, it
s:
Government steps to tackle this issue

flooded, poisoning around 2.3 lakh fish in
tp
the lake. • Even as evidence of antibiotic pollution

builds up, government regulations are
ht
A new species of danger taking time to catch up with it. As of

today, India does not limit antibiotics in
• The Kazipally well, along with ditches, pharma waste water.
lakes and rivers around the • India’s first concrete move to tackle the
pharmaceutical cluster, receives large problem was the 2017 National Action
doses of antibiotics, along with the Plan for Antimicrobial Resistance, which
61
traditionally monitored pollutants. talks about imposing limits on antibiotics

Page
in industrial waste.

• The cost of antibiotic resistance will be mechanisms for resolving bad loans and
enormous for both the country and the re-capitalise ailing public sector banks
world.
• One estimate puts the expense of Difference between Baa2 and Baa3
/
treating a resistant bloodstream infection
m
at Rs. 42,000 more than a susceptible • Baa2 are subject to moderate credit risk
infection.
co
• They are considered medium grade and
as such may possess certain speculative
characteristics
] ly.
A step up {Economics} • Baa3, by contrast, was the lowest
es on
(Indian Express) investment grade rating
ss rs
Comments by the rating agency
In news
Moody’s Investors Service, on Thursday,
la ai
raised India’s sovereign credit rating by a • The rating agency agreed that a lot
C aff
notch, from “Baa3” to “Baa2”, and also remains to be done such as fixing the
revised upwards its outlook for the country GST’s implementation challenges, weak
from “positive” to “stable”. private sector investment and the slow
G nt
resolution of banking bad loans

[E re
Moody’s expects India’s debt-to-GDP ratio • Moody’s said it expects at least some of
to rise by about one percentage point these issues to be addressed over time
ur
this fiscal year to 69% of GDP and will help further improve the Indian
The upgrading by the influential American government’s effectiveness and overall
//c
credit rating agency comes after nearly 13 institutional framework

years, during which time India has
s:
attracted cumulative foreign direct

Moody’s Investors Service
investment flows of about $ 250 billion and
tp
net portfolio investments of over $ 225

• Moody’s Investors Service, often referred
ht
billion into its stock and debt markets.

to as Moody’s, is the bond credit rating
business of Moody’s Corporation,
Possible reason behind this
representing the company’s traditional
line of business and its historical name
Due to central government ongoing
• Moody’s Investors Service provides
reforms such as the new Goods and
international financial research on bonds
Services Tax (GST) regime and the
62
issued by commercial and government

Page
entities

• Moody’s, along with Standard & Poor’s The polluters

and Fitch Group, is considered one of
There are three main human contributors to
the Big Three credit rating agencies
the smog.
• The company ranks the creditworthiness
/
of borrowers using a standardized ratings Atmospheric pollution, primarily vehicular
m
scale which measures expected investor pollution, but also coal-fired thermal power
loss in the event of default. Moody’s
co
plants and industry.
Investors Service rates debt securities in
several bond market segments Construction dust.
] ly.
• These include government, municipal and
The burning of paddy stubble by farmers —
corporate bonds; managed investments
es on
principally in Punjab, but also in Haryana
such as money market funds and fixed-
and Uttar Pradesh.
income funds; financial institutions
ss rs
including banks and non-bank finance Steps taken by Government to
companies; and asset classes in
la ai
structured finance
control the pollution
C aff
Supreme Court banned diesel-powered
• In Moody’s Investors Service’s ratings
public vehicles — buses, taxis and autos —
system, securities are assigned a rating
in Delhi and forced a shift to relatively
G nt
from Aaa to C, with Aaa being the

cleaner compressed natural gas. That
highest quality and C the lowest quality
[E re
cleaned up things for a while, but nothing

was done to alter mass transport facilities
ur
A couple of years ago, when things got

19 November, 2017
//c
really bad, the National Green Tribunal

banned construction activity and the
s:
A victim of federalism burning of rubbish, and ordered Punjab

{Governance} farmers to stop burning stubble. It even
tp
imposed a ‘green tax’ on heavy trucks

(The Hindu)
passing through Delhi.
ht
Later, the court banned large diesel-run

Context SUVs — demonising both diesel and engine
cubic capacity at one stroke, without
This article explains the major reasons for addressing the bigger polluters: heavy
degradation in quality of air and the diesel vehicles and two-wheelers.
changes needed in policy making for
63
controlling air pollution

Page

The Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi (The Hindu)

government introduced the odd-even Context
scheme. This helped ease traffic, but did
not really impact particulate matter levels. Burn injuries are a major public health issue and
/
their management is a key concern. Regular
m
Punjab has tried to do its bit, by offering a assessment of healing tissues is necessary but
subsidy of Rs. 50,000 to farmers to fit a biopsies are painful and may hinder the healing
co
process.
super straw management system to
combine harvesters, which cuts the stubble
] ly.
and spreads it. But that is only half the In news
cost.
es on
A group of Indian scientists have come up
Where was government unsuccessful?
with a solution for easier assessment of
ss rs
• is unable to enforce even the limited healing progression, using laser light.
set of regulations currently in place
la ai
to lessen Delhi’s problems.
The Process
C aff
• Punjab could not stop its farmers Scientists at Manipal University in
from burning stubble. Karnataka have demonstrated the ability of
is unable to come up with a
G nt
• the laser-induced fluorescence (LIF)

sustainable waste management technique to quantify the amount of
[E re
solution. collagen in healing tissues and thus

analyse the recovery process: the more
ur
Concerted effort needed

the collagen content, the healthier the
Federal structure, a lasting solution — tissue.
//c
which will require sacrifices by everybody,

Researchers hit injured areas with a laser
including Delhi’s citizens — can only be
s:
light of a particular wavelength and

worked out, and more importantly, sold to
captured the emitted light in the range,
tp
the public, at the political level.

generating a spectrum.
ht
For that to happen, Delhi needs to be

For each region, multiple spectra are
politically represented by an entity which
generated and averaged.
has equal bargaining powers with its
neighbours as well as the Centre, as the
This yields an image that correlates with
other States.
the collagen content reflective of healthy
repair.
Healing with a laser touch
64
{Science & Tech}

Page

Based on this knowledge, scientists have The TPP in its current form has significant
proposed a simple technique to evaluate protections for labour and environment and
the progression of healing using a non- is in this regard an advance over other
invasive, fast and an easy-to-use tool. The free trade agreements. Second, the U.S.’s
results have published in the self-exclusion reflects a failure on the part
/
m
journal, Lasers in Medical Science. of the Trump administration; studies have
shown significant benefits in comparison to
co
minor costs — in terms of jobs — to the
U.S. on account of the pact.
] ly.
Pacific Ocean’s 11{International
Relations} Alternatives to the TPP
es on
(The Hindu)
China is also pushing for a multilateral
Context Pacific Rim trade deal, called the
ss rs
Regional Comprehensive Economic
la ai
The revival of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership minus the U.S. opens
Partnership. The deal would link China to
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
C aff
opportunities for India
Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia,
G nt
termed the TPP without the United States India, Japan, South Korea and New
— which contributed 60% of the combined Zealand. While in office, Obama repeatedly
[E re
Gross Domestic Product of the 12 stressed the need to finalize TPP, arguing,
members — as “meaningless” "we can't let countries like China write the
ur
rules of the global economy. We should

write those rules."
//c
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, one of the

s:
world's biggest multinational trade deals,

was signed by 12 member nations 20 November, 2017
tp
The TPP, a deal which will cover 40

ht
Govt may exempt crowdfunding

percent of the world economy.
from Companies Act {Economic
The 12 nations include Australia, Brunei,
Policies}
Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, (LiveMint)
New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United In news
States and Vietnam.
65
The government to exempt crowdfunding

from Companies Act and bring it under the
Page

regulatory ambit of SEBI, a move that can thousands or millions of dollars from
potentially benefit start-up funding anyone with money to invest. Crowdfunding
websites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo
Crowdfunding attract thousands of people hoping to
invest in the next big thing. In 2015, nearly
/
m
It is defined as the use of money 80,000 people put up more than $20
collected from a large number of million on Kickstarter for a company that
co
individuals, typically through internet or developed a smartwatch alternative to the
social media, to finance a new business Apple Watch.
] ly.
venture.
Crowdfunding provides a forum to anyone
es on
The government may invoke Section 462 of with an idea to pitch it in front of waiting
the Companies Act (which gives the central investors. One of the more amusing
projects to receive funding was from an
ss rs
government powers to exempt any
company or business from the provisions individual who wanted to create a new
la ai
of the Act) to ease the way for start-ups to
raise funds through this route, these
potato salad recipe. His fundraising goal
was $10, but he raised more $55,000 from
C aff
persons said. Invoking this section of the 6,911 backers. Investors can select from a
Companies Act requires Parliament’s hundreds of projects and invest as little as
G nt
approval. $10. Crowdfunding sites generate revenue

from a percentage of the funds raised.
[E re
Hurdle
What's in It for Investors?
ur
For crowdfunding is Section 42 of the

Companies Act, which says that the Many crowdfunding projects are rewards-
//c
number of investors in any private based; investors may get to participate in

placement cannot be more than 50 at one the launch of a new product or receive a
s:
go and 200 in a year. gift for their investment. For instance, the
maker of a new soap made out of bacon
tp
The law also requires a private company to

fat sent a free bar to each of its investors.
compulsorily make a public offer and list
ht
New video games are a popular

the securities on a recognized stock
crowdfunding investment for gamers, who
exchange if the number of investors is 200
are rewarded with advance copies of the
or more in a year.
game.
How Crowdfunding Works Equity-based crowdfunding is growing in

popularity because it allows startup
66
Crowdfunding has created the opportunity

companies to raise money without giving
for entrepreneurs to raise hundreds of
Page
up control to venture capital investors, and

it offers investors the opportunity to earn crop insurance and the Central
an equity position in the venture. government shares part of the premium
Investments in equity-based crowdfunding
subject to conditions.
ventures are regulated by the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC).
/
Issue
m
The reason that every time food prices
co
rise, the Centre intervenes to rein in
inflation by facilitating the unhindered
] ly.
21 November, 2017 import of agricultural commodities. This
es on
constantly drives down farm-gate prices.
Farm policies for India
{Agricultural sector} Solution
ss rs
(Indian Express) To offset these annual losses, states
Why in news? la ai should demand that the Centre set a
C aff
floor price for all such farm produce,
Farmers from across the country are where only the Central government
G nt
out on Delhi’s streets agitating just as shells out the shortfall between the
the deliberations for the 2018 budget market price and floor price via a
[E re
are beginning and it’s time to seek “Price Deficiency Payment”.

ur
solutions to the structural issues that

plague the system.
//c
One-size-fits-all The danger of electoral bonds

s:
{Corruption}
Policy created for the farm sector is
tp
(The Hindu)
self-destructive in design and
Context
ht
programmes meant to double farmer

incomes are collapsing.
India being ranked a far more impressive
The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna 19th out of 180 countries in the Paradise
(PMFBY) is a classic case where the Papers leaks? Though more than 700
Indians figure in the documents cache,
best intentions of the prime minister
celebrations have been muted, to say the
were muddled in the policy’s fine-print.
67
least.
The PMFBY is designed to provide
Page

Reason for Indians in the list misguided donors. What this means is that
once the scheme for electoral bonds is
Association with shell companies set up to
notified, the Opposition parties may
siphon vast sums of money out of India
struggle to raise adequate funds to put up
and into a tax haven under the cloak of
a fight. The implications for democratic
/
m
secrecy. The best part is that it’s all legal,
politics are obvious.
more or less.
co
Going forward, there is little doubt that
According to the NGO, Association of
democracy will be the biggest casualty if
Democratic Reforms, 69% of the income of
] ly.
electoral bonds see the light of day.
political parties is from unknown sources.
But even the 31% from known sources
es on
Shell Companies
pertains only to the income that the parties
declare to the Income Tax (IT) department. There is no clear definition of what shell
ss rs
company is in the Companies Act, or any
What electoral bonds do? other Act. But typically shell companies
la ai
Electoral bonds are essentially bearer
include multiple layers of companies that
C aff
have been created for the purpose of
bonds that ensure donor anonymity. They
diverting money or for money laundering.
are like cash, but with an expiry date. Let’s
G nt
say company ‘X’ wishes to contribute Rs. Most shell companies do not manufacture
100 crore to political party ‘Y’. It could buy any product or deal in any product or
[E re
ten electoral bonds of Rs. 10 crore each render any service. They are mostly used
from bank ‘A’. These bonds would carry
ur
to make financial transactions. Generally,

only a serial number and not the identity of these companies hold assets only on paper
//c
the buyer. and not in reality.
X would have these bonds deposited in Y’s These companies conduct almost no
s:
designated account with bank ‘B’. B would economic activity

tp
know that this money belongs to Y but it

doesn’t record the fact that it has come What is a 'Shell Corporation'
ht
from X.
A shell corporation is a corporation without
Why is it dangerous to democracy? active business operations or significant
assets. These types of corporations are not
only the ruling party — and no one else —
all necessarily illegal, but they are
can ascertain which companies donated to
sometimes used illegitimately, such as to
the Opposition parties. It is then free to
disguise business ownership from law
68
use the organs of the state to gently

enforcement or the public. Legitimate
Page
dissuade (or retaliate against) these

reasons for a shell corporation include Ways That People Abuse Shell
such things as a startup using the Companies
business entity as a vehicle to raise, funds,
conduct a hostile takeover or to go public. Even though there are legitimate reasons
to set up a shell company, many wealthy
/
m
Reasons to Legitimately Set Up a Shell individuals abuse shell companies for
Corporation personal gain. Progressive taxation within
co
the United States, that is, tax brackets,
The number one reason for a domestic slowly caused people to seek personal tax
] ly.
company to set up a shell company is to havens. Significantly high earners set
realize a tax haven abroad. Large themselves up as shell companies in one
es on
corporations, like in the Apple example, or many locations, like the Cayman
have decided to move jobs and Islands. This is a gray area of tax evasion
profits offshore, taking advantage of looser
ss rs
where people funnel earnings through shell
tax codes. This is the process of companies in such a way that it isn't
la ai
"offshoring" or "outsourcing" work that was
once conducted domestically.
counted toward personal income.
C aff
To remain within legal bounds
G nt
internationally, American corporations will 22 November, 2017

set up shell companies in the foreign
[E re
countries in which they are offshoring work. The case for flexible fiscal
This is legally allowed by the United
ur
targeting {Policies}
States, and some say that it's the U.S. tax
code itself that's forcing domestic (LiveMint)
//c
companies to create shell corporations Context

abroad.
s:
Growing concern regarding fiscal deficit

Another way that shell companies help with target breach
tp
taxes surrounds the need for financial

There is growing concern that India
ht
institutions to conduct financial activity in •
foreign markets. This allows them to invest will miss the fiscal deficit target of
in capital markets outside of domestic 3.2% of the gross domestic product
borders and realize potential tax savings. (GDP) set in the Union budget for
the year to 31 March
• The Centre has been on a path
of fiscal consolidation, narrowing its
69
deficit from a high of 5.9% in FY12

Page
to 3.5% of GDP in FY17

• The government’s revenue collection What does higher interest payment

in the current year is falling short of lead to?
target, leading to concerns on the
• Higher interest payment burden
fiscal front
implies less headroom for
With GDP growth slipping, there is
/
•
developmental expenditure by the
m
increasing clamor for fiscal
government
stimulus to revive the economy
co
• Capital expenditure accounts for only
What does missing the fiscal deficit 12-14% of India’s total expenditure,
whereas a high of 24% of
] ly.
target really mean for the Indian
economy? government’s total expenditure goes
into interest payment obligation
es on
• Higher fiscal deficit for an economy
• The other disadvantage of a high
means increased government
debt-to-GDP ratio is that it has an
ss rs
borrowing, which in turn implies
impact on the country’s credit ratings
higher interest burden
and investor sentiments
• la ai
India has a debt-to-GDP ratio of
68%, which is the highest among its
C aff
Fiscal management should be
emerging market peers counter-cyclical?
• Many of the developed economies
G nt
• This means that when economic

like the US and Japan have much
growth is above potential,
higher debt-to-GDP ratio (108% and
[E re
policymakers should reduce fiscal

240%, respectively)
deficit
ur
• However, their interest burden is

• Similarly, when economic growth is
much less as their governments are
poor, fiscal deficit should be allowed
//c
borrowing at much lower interest

to expand (within a ceiling) in order
rates
to support economic growth
s:
• Most of India’s government debt is

internal (from domestic market),
tp
Is fiscal slippage permissible?

implying less external vulnerability
In India, the government’s interest There should be some flexibility to
ht
• •
payment to total expenditure is increase fiscal deficit if the economic
around 24%, while for Japan and scenario warrants
the US it is much lower at 9.5% • At the same time, it is very critical
and 11.2%, respectively to ensure that the fiscal slippage, if
any, is not due to unproductive
expenditure on populist measures
70
• The Fiscal Responsibility and

Page
Budget Management (FRBM)

Act enacted in 2003 led to an • Banks have been investing more

improvement in the fiscal deficit of than the mandatory requirement in
Centre from 5.7% of GDP in FY03 government securities, reflecting the
to 2.5% of GDP in FY08 lack of better avenue for banks
However, there was a pause button Hence a higher government
/
• •
m
on the FRBM Act post the global borrowing will not in anyway crowd
financial crisis out private investment
co
• Fiscal deficit shot up to 6% in FY09 • Higher government capital
and it was only in FY12 that a path expenditure (capex) is badly required
] ly.
to fiscal consolidation was at this point to propel growth
recalibrated
es on
The N.K. Singh Committee on FRBM
ss rs
• It has recommended reducing the
23 November, 2017
fiscal deficit-to-GDP ratio to 2.5%
la ai
of GDP by 2022-23
Inclusive lessons {Educational
C aff
• Even though the committee has said
Policy}
that using cyclically adjusted deficits
(The Hindu)
G nt
may not be practical for India at this

point of time, they have suggested
[E re
flexibility in fiscal deficit targets in Context

case of exogenous shocks Private Islamic schools are a great help,
ur
• These shocks include sharp drop in but mainstreaming Muslim girls will require
economic growth or structural their political participation

//c
reforms with fiscal implications

• The committee has emphasized the Educational disparity
s:
need for increased focus on debt

sustainability and recommended Muslim women, particularly those
tp
•
reducing India’s debt-to-GDP to belonging to the lower castes are
ht
60% by 2022-23 from the current deprived from proper education.

level of 68% • As per the 2011 Census, 48.1% of
Muslim women were illiterate; only
What is needed right now?
2.07% were graduates.Deliverance from
• Currently, the private investment ignorance and backwardness for Muslim
scenario in the economy is women lies in their educational and

economic advancement.
71
languishing
Page

Point of consideration
Keeping pace with modernising India, many Far from keeping the world
parents now consider it important to send safe {Climate Change}
/
their daughters to mainstream schools.
m
(The Hindu)
co
Issue
Context
This is largely limited to privileged, Ashraf
] ly.
Muslims. As highlighted by the Sachar This article deals with the issue regarding
Committee Report, lack of resources, climatic changes
es on
discriminatory attitudes in schools, and the
declining faith in the public schooling Why in news?
ss rs
system have left Ajlaf women excluded
from the mainstream. The 23rd meeting of the Conference of the
la ai
Private Islamic schools Parties (COP-23) of the United Nations
C aff
Framework Convention on Climate Change
These schools not only offer training in concluded on November 17 in Bonn,

Germany.
G nt
Islamic subjects, such as value-

oriented adab (discipline) literature, but also
[E re
follow the CBSE curriculum. Lying at the Key topics of discussion

intersection of modern and religious
ur
curriculum, these hybrid schools offer new • Financial support.

educational opportunities for many
//c
• Mitigation action.
marginalised adolescent Muslim girls.
• Loss and damage.
s:
• The same knots of disagreements.

The entry of girls into these schools is a
tp
bold step towards mainstreaming.

Questions raised in Bonn
ht
Place in politics
• Are developed countries going to do their
There has been an appreciable decline in fair share to support poor and emerging
active civil society engagement of Muslims countries, having occupied the bulk of
post-Independence. the planet’s available carbon space?
• What actions have thus far been taken

72
The representation of Muslim women has to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by

rich countries?
Page
been abysmal across political institutions.

• Shouldn’t there be greater emphasis to change and to help them move along a
phase out coal? low-carbon pathway.
Fulfilling obligations Progress and actions needed
/
m
• Actions related to the Paris Agreement • The science on climate change has been
co
are intended for 2020-2030. However, the grim this year. Greenhouse gas
pre-2020 period is part of the second emissions which appeared to have
] ly.
phase of the Kyoto Protocol. stabilised for a few years, probably for
• Both the first phase of the Kyoto economic reasons, rose by 2 %in 2017,
es on
Protocol (2005-2012)and the perhaps due to additional electricity
second (2013-2020)principally laid out the drawn from coal power plants in China.
responsibilities for reducing emissions by When coal will be phased out globally
ss rs
•
rich countries. There has been little was a major question. In fact, there were
la ai
progress and the 2012 Doha
Amendment, the agreement concerning

protests organised by activists at
Europe’s largest open pit coal mine near
C aff
•
the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol, the Hambach Forest in Germany, not far
has not been ratified by a sufficient from the COP-23.

G nt
number of countries to enter into force. • Clearly, greater ambition on clamping

down on fossil fuels is needed for the
[E re
• Under pressure from poor and emerging

economies, actions on the pre-2020 Paris Agreement to be successful.
ur
Kyoto period were added to the agenda • The Bonn meeting saw the launch of the
in the first week of the Bonn meeting. Powering Past Coal Alliance, which was
//c
As a result, in 2018 and 2019 there will led by Canada and the U.K., and joined
be additional stocktaking on progress by numerous countries and substate
s:
made on the Kyoto Protocol. actors.
Another aspect of the obligations

tp
•
that needto be fulfilled by big emitters is
24 November, 2017
ht
related to economic and non-economic

losses under the work programme on
loss and damage.
Delhi’s air pollution is both a
challenge and an opportunity
• A third aspect of the support from rich
countries is about providing finance,
technology, and building capacity for
poorer countries, both to protect
73
themselves from the effects of climate

Page

(LiveMint) established in Delhi and they

Why in news? confirm that the problem is indeed
serious
Air pollution in Delhi has dominated the
headlines over the past few weeks and CPCB data on pollution
/
m
rightly so. The problem is especially urgent
The figure given below reports the
because Delhi is not the only polluted city
co
level of air pollution by PM 2.5
in the country. Eleven of the 20 most
particles at the Siri Fort station in
polluted cities in the world are in India.
New Delhi for the 12 months from
] ly.
How can success in Delhi(on mid-November 2016 to mid-
pollution front) be fruitful for November 2017
es on
future?
Medical warning by experts
ss rs
• Given the massive expansion we
expect in the urban population over • Medical experts in India have
la ai
the next 20 years, and the need to
attract investment to create quality
warned that children exposed to this
level of pollution will develop
C aff
jobs, we need to make our cities asthmatic problems much earlier
liveable and attractive to tourists than normal
G nt
• Success in Delhi could provide a • Pregnant women exposed to high

much-needed template for the other levels of air pollution are more likely
[E re
cities to deliver low birth weight babies,

with all the permanent health
ur
The first step of recognizing the issue problems that it causes

//c
• Recognizing the problem is the first

• Senior citizens are also at risk
step towards corrective action and
s:
there is progress in this area Limit upto which judiciary can act
• A few years ago, an American
tp
journalist stationed in Delhi wrote a • Many activists have been working

hard at raising consciousness and
ht
farewell piece saying that he was

leaving Delhi because of air pollution even pushing the judiciary to act
• There was an outburst of • But judicial pushing can only go so
nationalistic outrage that the far.
embassy was probably exaggerating • It cannot devise a carefully crafted
the problem strategy operating on many fronts
• Since then, a number of government

74
monitoring stations have been

Page

Is it possible to control pollution? • It has prepared a comprehensive

multi-dimensional action plan for
• Until a few years ago, Beijing was
control of pollution in Delhi
more polluted than Delhi
• The Chinese government took firm It includes proposals for
/
m
action to control local industrial (1) shifting to cleaner vehicles and
pollution, reduce the use of coal in fuels,
co
power plants, and also restrain the (2) restraining the growth in cars and
sale of cars in Beijing expanding public transport as an
] ly.
• NASA’s satellite data show a 17% alternative,
decline in the concentration of fine (3) stopping pollution from coal-based
es on
particulate matter over China power plants,
between 2010 and 2015. The same (4) controlling pollution from industry,
data show an increase of 13% over (5) putting a stop to burning garbage,
ss rs
India in the same period (6) preventing pollution from
la ai
Comprehensive action plan for Delhi
construction activities and controlling
burning of crop residues in neighbouring
C aff
What should be done?
states
• If we want to bring pollution down
G nt
How to control Road Dust?

from the average of 142 to the
national standard of 40, we need to
[E re
1. It contributes about 38% of the

(a)reduce pollution by as much as
pollution
72% and
ur
2. This component is particularly

(b) ensure that it stays at that level
difficult to control since it reflects
//c
notwithstanding growth of population

both poor road conditions with
and economic activity
unpaved footpaths, and the use of
This will require action on a massive
s:
•
traditional technology
scale by many central ministries and
3. Vacuum cleaning devices attached
tp
Delhi state government bodies acting

to mechanical sweepers will help,
on different areas
but that would require massive
ht
investment in equipment, which may

Plan by the Environmental
(Prevention and Control of) be beyond the funding budget of the
Pollution Authority (EPCA) municipality
• It was established by the Supreme How to control Vehicle emission?

Court
1. Vehicle emissions account for 20%
75
of the pollution and this component

Page

is likely to increase as the number 2. The present cess on coal needs to

of cars multiplies be increased steadily over time
2. There is much that could be done in 3. And we should encourage the use
this area of gas-based power plants
3. The decision to advance BS VI fuel
/
m
to 2018 for Delhi, and 2020 for the The way forward
whole country, is a welcome move
co
1. Something along these lines would
4. It needs to be accompanied by
put us on a credible path to
action to ensure that new cars are
reducing pollution over time
] ly.
all equipped with engines designed
2. It will take time, but at least we will
for BS VI fuel
know when we can start breathing
es on
5. The two together will reduce
easy
particulate pollution by 70% to 80%
ss rs
Discouraging car ownership will
help
la ai 25 November, 2017
C aff
1. Despite BS VI implementation, the
large stock of older cars will remain The agony of
for many years, and the total
G nt
Stuartpuram {Indian history}

number of cars is also expected to {Governance}
[E re
expand
2. Therefore, the total pollution load (The Hindu)
ur
from automobiles may not come

down sufficiently over the near
//c
Context
future.
3. There is no alternative to actively
This article highlights details about
s:
discouraging car ownership and plan

stuartpuram and its people.
a massive shift to public transport in
tp
the capital
Stuartpuram
ht
4. Discouragement of cars needs to be

accompanied by a parallel effort to
expand bus and Metro services Located 15 kilometres from Bapatla on
the Old Grand Trunk Road, Stuartpuram
Coal power plants near Delhi straddles the districts of Guntur and
Prakasam in Andhra Pradesh.
1. We should definitely consider ending
the use of coal in power plants
76
Yerukalas tribal origin

located close to Delhi
Page

The origin of this Yerukalas tribal

community has got a rich history
behind it. As per the records of the
anthropologists, the references of the
Yerukalas tribal community can also be
/
m
found in the great epic of Indian ,
popularly known as Mahabharata. It
co
has been said that the mythological
figure of Mahabharata epic
] ly.
calledYekalavya, who developed expertise Republic of India
in archery , had a belonging to the
es on
Yerukalas tribal community. • Today, most of the Yerukalas are
settled in the villages/towns and trying
ss rs
Modern history to make their way out of the poverty by
British rule getting education to obtain financial
la ai
Yerukalas tribal community have always
freedom which has been evading them
C aff
since ages.
been the target of the threats and distrusts
• Yerukalas are using reservations and
of some other tribal communities. Instances
other benefits from the government to a
G nt
are also been cited by the experts. In the

greater extent to obtain the freedom they
beginning of twentieth century, the British
[E re
used to have long long time age. Even

rulers have branded these Yerukalas tribal
though they live in a free democratic
community as the ‘ criminal tribes’ as per
ur
country like India, they are still living

the rules of “Criminal Tribes Act
under harsh social conditions because of
1871”, the famous act promulgated by
//c
the Indian caste system and face social

these Britons only.
discriminations time and again.
During the British Imperial rule in India,
s:
Yerukalas settled in agriculture or petty • In several parts of the southern Indian

tp
trades, such as making ropes, mats, and states, the people of this community are
baskets. Unfortunately, the introduction of called with diverse names. For instance,
ht
railroads brought a setback to their the Yerukalas tribal community is better

businesses.Due to their desperate situation, known as Kuruvan or Kuruvar in
subsequent police oppression, harsh pun Tamilnadu, Korama or Koracha in
ishments, and torture, the Yerukala ha Karnataka, Kaikadi in Maharashtra,
ve been driven to a sub-human Siddanar in Kerala and Kattu Naicker in
standard of living. Pondicherry. According to some of the
anthropological records, this Yerukulas
77
tribal community speak a dialect which is

Page

quite different from the famous language A recent accomplishment that has brought
of Telegu in order to carry on joy to the people of Stuartpuram came
conversation with each other and also from the world of sport. Ragala Venkat
with others Rahul and Varun, aged 20 and 19, won
gold at the recent Australian Weightlifting
/
m
Championship. Representing the new hopes
Rise of reformatory settlements
of a new generation, the champions from
co
Stuartpuram are determined to make it big
• In the early 20th century, the British
in life.
] ly.
began setting up small experimental
colonies in the coastal areas of the
es on
Madras Presidency, where suspects
were detained. But despite these
The mandates of natural
experiments, the crime rate did not
ss rs
justice {Constitutional issues}
abate.
•
la ai
Feeling weighed down by the burden of
restraining the ‘criminal tribes in South
{The Hindu}
C aff
India’, around 1913, Harold Stuart, the
Context
then Home Member of the Madras
G nt
Government, approached the Salvation

Questions for the judiciary on the
Army to help settle these wandering
[E re
anniversary of India’s adoption of its

tribesmen in industrial and agricultural
Constitution
colonies, and wean them away from
ur
crime. And thus was born Stuartpuram,

named after Stuart. It was on November 26, 68 years ago, that
//c
the chairperson of the Constitution drafting

committee, B.R. Ambedkar, put to vote
s:
Turning Corner
the following motion at the Constituent
Assembly: “That the Constitution as settled
tp
The Andhra Pradesh government in 1976

by the Assembly be passed.” The motion,
issued orders declaring that Stuartpuram
ht
as the minutes of the day’s meeting

was no longer a reformatory for criminals
recorded, was adopted amidst “prolonged
but a free colony. It was merged with
cheers.”
Bethapudi village. Land ownership rights
In 1969, the Supreme Court Bar
were provided to the inhabitants.
Association declared November 26 as Law
Day, “a red-letter day,” in the words of the
The next generation association’s then president, L.M. Singhvi,
78
Page

which the government has now designated • Appointment of Judges and Judicial
as Constitution Day. Accountability
• Access to the Judicial System and Delay

A necessary appraisal in Justice
/
Values and Attitude of the Judiciary
m
•
The court’s collective actions, in towards the Poor
undermining every notion of good ethical
co
The following Campaign Statement was
conduct, has struck a potentially
released at the First People’s Convention
irredeemable blow at the principles
] ly.
on Judicial Accountability & Reforms.
highlighted by Singhvi in his speech, each
of which goes to the root of the
es on
constitutional morality that Ambedkar held
so dear.
ss rs
The Chabahar
Checkmate {International
Campaign for Judicial
la ai
Accountability and Reforms (CJAR)
Relations}
C aff
(Indian Express)
The Committee on Judicial
Accountability (CJA) is a group of lawyers
G nt
Context
in India who work to improve the
[E re
accountability of judges.
This article talks about Chabahar Port used
In 1998 the committee prepared a charge
for international trade.
ur
sheet to impeach Justice Madan Mohan

Punchhi, and obtained the signatures of
//c
Why in news?
25 Rajya Sabha MPs. However, Punchhi
was appointed Chief Justice of India before
s:
the required 50 signatures had been • Last month, India sent its first
obtained, at which point it became consignment of wheat to Afghanistan

tp
impossible to gain further support for the through the Iranian port of Chabahar; in
the following six months it will send six
ht
motion.
more. This will also take almost all the
Afghan trade out of the Afghan Transit
Objective
Route through Pakistan and give it to
Iran, changing the nature of
CJAR works so that grassroots pressure
Afghanistan’s relations both with Pakistan
comes to bear on the authorities for
and Iran.
implementing the needed reforms that will
79
• When the Chabahar deal was made

impact:
Page
between Tehran and India in 2003,

Pakistan didn’t feel compelled to revisit Afghanistan and Iran, three countries where
the country’s strategic location between China has also invested in a big way
India and Central Asia. It had turned
away from the idea of Pak-India free As far as “neighbour” Iran is concerned,
trade and did not respond to India’s
/
Pakistan makes promises to itself about
m
award of Most Favoured Nation status in patching up a bad bilateral equation.
1996 The “Dawn leak” message last year by the
co
• Chabahar as a transit port for government of Nawaz Sharif had
Afghanistan, it got a little upset despite complained that the handling of foreign
] ly.
the fact that it was doing the same sort policy had isolated Pakistan in the region.
es on
Chabahar Port
ss rs
Chabahar located in southeastern Iran, on
the Gulf of Oman. It serves as Iran’s only
la ai oceanic port, and consists of two separate
C aff
ports
named Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Behe
shti, each of which have five berths
G nt
[E re
Location
ur
The port of Chabahar is located on the

Makran coast of Sistan and Baluchistan
//c
of thing by getting into the China-

Province, next to the Gulf of Oman and at
Pakistan Economic Corridor
the mouth of Strait of Hormuz. It is the
s:
(CPEC) which India doesn’t like.

only Iranian port with direct access to
tp
the Indian Ocean. Being close

China’s Concern to Afghanistan and the Central Asian
ht
countries of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan etc.,

Pakistan’s friend China thinks differently it has been termed the “Golden Gate” to
and this doesn’t rub off on Pakistan these land-locked countries.
despite much admiration for the way China Chabahar is 700 km (430 mi) away
has advanced as an economic power. As from Zahedan, the capital of the Sistan
far as China is concerned, the CPEC and Baluchistan province, 950 km (590 mi)
would benefit by joining up with India, away from Milak, the closest city to the
80
Page

Afghan border, and 1,827 km (1,135 mi) from Iran since the West imposed ban
away from Sarakhs on the Turkmen border. on Iran was lifted.
• Chabahar port will ensure in the

Reasons why Iran’s Chabahar port is establishment of a politically sustainable
/
crucial to India connectivity between India and
m
Afghanistan. This is will, in turn, lead to
• The first and foremost significance of the better economic ties between the two
co
Chabahar port is the fact that India can countries.
bypass Pakistan in transporting goods to
From a diplomatic perspective, Chabahar
] ly.
•
Afghanistan. Chabahar port will boost
port could be used as a point from
India’s access to Iran, the key gateway
where humanitarian operations could be
es on
to the International North-South Transport
coordinated.
Corridor that has sea, rail and road
The Zaranj-Delaram road constructed by
ss rs
•
routes between India, Russia, Iran,
India in 2009 can give access to
Europe and Central Asia.
•
la ai
Chabahar port will be beneficial to India
Afghanistan’s Garland Highway, setting
up road access to four major cities in
C aff
in countering Chinese presence in the
Afghanistan – Herat, Kandahar, Kabul
Arabian Sea which China is trying to
and Mazar-e-Sharif.
ensure by helping Pakistan develop the
G nt
Gwadar port. Gwadar port is less than

[E re
400 km from Chabahar by road and 100

26 November, 2017
km by sea.
ur
• With Chabahar port being developed and To add or not {Health Issue}
operated by India, Iran also becomes a
//c
military ally to India. Chabahar could be (The Hindu)

used in case China decides to flex its
s:
navy muscles by stationing ships in Context

Gwadar port to reckon its upper hand in
tp
the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf and

This article deals with health issue related
ht
Middle East.
to consumption of salts
• With Chabahar port becoming functional,
there will be a significant boost in the In news
import of iron ore, sugar and rice to
India. The import cost of oil to India will
Some studies have concluded that only
also see a considerable decline. India
people with hypertension on high-salt diets
has already increased its crude purchase
81
need to reduce salt intake.

Page

Why? disease and vascular dementia and water

retention. Salt can also exacerbate the
Excess sodium is responsible for most symptoms of asthma and diabetes.
cases of hypertension in Western societies,
/
and hypertension is a
m
leading risk factor for
heart attacks, strokes and
co
kidney failure. Because
salt added to our foods by
] ly.
processors and
restaurants, not that from
es on
our saltshakers, is the
main source of sodium in
ss rs
our diets, protecting the
health of the most
la ai
vulnerable requires a
C aff
societywide reduction in
sodium.
Long-Term Effects
G nt
Health effects of salt

[E re
The relationship between too much salt

The health effects of salt are the intake and cardiovascular disease was
ur
conditions associated with the consumption confirmed in a large review study published
of either too much or too little salt. Salt is in the “British Medical Journal” in 2009, in
//c
a mineral composed primarily of sodium which more than 177,000 human subjects
chloride (NaCl) and is used in food for were evaluated for their salt intake and
s:
both preservation and flavor. Sodium ions incidence of heart disease and stroke.
are needed in small quantities by most Those who consumed the most salt had a
tp
living things, as are chloride ions. significantly higher incidence of these

ht
Salt puts up our blood pressure. Raised disorders than those who consumed less.
blood pressure (hypertension) is the major According to the Harvard School of Public
factor which causes strokes, heart failure Health, high salt intake may also be linked
and heart attacks, the leading causes of to osteoporosis, or thinning of the bones,
death and disability in the UK. There is because sodium retention can lead to loss
also increasing evidence of a link between of calcium from bones. Too much sodium
high salt intake and stomach cancer, may increase your risk for stomach cancer,
82
osteoporosis, obesity, kidney stones, kidney as well.

Page

(Indian Express)
Who’s at high risk of developing Context

health problems related to salt
consumption?
/
This article explains India’s relation with
m
Myanmar
• People over age 50
co
• People who have high or slightly
Burma
elevated blood pressure
] ly.
• People who have diabetes
Burma is now called Myanmar. We live so
es on
close by, with just the Patkai mountain in
Amount of salt are essential for our between. Yet, it remains a place shrouded
health in mystery, not only for us alone, but for
ss rs
the whole world.
la ai
Adults need less than 1 gram per day and
children need even less. As a nation we Why it is shrouded in mystery?
C aff
are all eating approximately 8.1g of salt
per day, far more than we need and more
India shares 1,643 km of boundary with it,
G nt
than the recommended maximum of 6g

yet it is inaccessible. Areas along
per day, putting us at risk of all of these
the boundary are remote, unreachable,
[E re
health problems.
covered with thick vegetation, steep
ur
mountains, or difficult water-bodies, and

Different groups of people can also have infested with mosquitoes and all kinds of
different reasons to keep an eye on their
//c
poisonous insects and reptiles.

salt intake.
s:
Past of Myanmar
The good news is that reducing your salt
tp
intake can lower your blood pressure and

• In the past are hidden heart-rending
the risk of disease. In fact, right down to
agonies of thousands of its inhabitants,
ht
3g per day, the lower the salt intake, the

rivers of tears, deafening sound of
lower the blood pressure.
bombs and bullets, and fire and smoke.
There are endless stories of ethnic
cleansing too, which are still going on
Gained in Translation: The today.
unseen neighbour {International
• Millions of people have been victims of
83
Relations}
exploitation, displacement and many a
Page

times of mass slaughter too. Bullets,

explosions, bombardments, fire and
smoke have often turned the sky there 27 November, 2017
black. Children and adolescents have
been often compelled to take up arms
/
Smart-balancing
m
instead of textbooks, consuming drugs China {International Relations}
instead of nutritious food.
co
(The Hindu)
• Bamar, comprising about 60 per cent of
the total population, is the largest
] ly.
ethnic group there, followed by Chin, Context
Kachin, Kayin, Kayah, Mon, Rakhine
es on
and Shan communities — these groups India must have a clear vision for a
have a chequered history of inter-ethnic regional order, and nudge China towards it.
ss rs
struggles for dominance.
• Although the Europeans began arriving How to ‘balance’ China will occupy a
la ai
from the 16th century, it was only after a
series of expeditions till 1886, that
great deal of India’s strategic attention in
C aff
the years ahead as China charts its course
followed Assam’s annexation to British towards superpower status.
India in 1826, that the whole of Myanmar
G nt
passed into the hands of the British.

China’s outlook
Yangon was a backward place and in
[E re
turmoil way back in 1889 too when

• For President Xi Jinping’s new China,
ur
Rudyard Kipling spent just three days

the days of “hiding capabilities and
there on his way from Kolkata to San
biding time” of the Deng era are finally
//c
Francisco.
over — it’s time to become “a global
leader in terms of composite national
s:
Culture strength and international influence”.

If it utilises the power vacuum left by
tp
•
India and Myanmar share close cultural Donald Trump’s ‘reluctant superpower’,
ht
ties and a sense of deep kinship given China’s superpower ambitions are bound
India’s Buddhist heritage. Building on this to have a system-shaping impact on the
shared heritage India is undertaking some Asian region.
key initiatives: Restoration of the Ananda • There will be China-led alliances,
Temple in Bagan and GOI donation of a Chinese client states and the
16 foot replica of the Sarnath Buddha establishment of Chinese spheres of
Statue which has been installed at the influence.
84
premises of Shwedagon pagoda in Yangon.

Page

• Denying India entry into the Nuclear

Suppliers Group, repeatedly blocking UN A possible road map
sanctions against Pakistan-based
terrorists, and ignoring India’s sensitivity
• It would involve co-binding China in a
over the China-Pakistan Economic
/
bilateral/regional security complex
m
Corridor are outcomes of this vision.
• Some efforts in this direction are
Chinese revisionist claims in the land
co
•
already under way such as India-China
and oceanic space have been a major
joint anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of
source of concern.
] ly.
Aden.
• A mutual ‘complex interdependence’ in
es on
Dilemmas of checkmating economic, security and other domains
should be strengthened and front-loaded
The current Indian strategies to ‘checkmate’ over zero-sum competition.
ss rs
China seem more zero-sum and less • India should cooperate with and trust
la ai
efficient. To be sure, New Delhi has
chosen to adopt an unequivocal U.S.-
China while at the same time keeping its
(gun) power dry, for after all, in the
C aff
centric strategy to deal with Beijing, most anarchic international system that we
recently the Quad. inhabit, the role of military strength in
G nt
guaranteeing national security cannot be

Problems with approach underestimated.
[E re
• New Delhi’s response to Beijing’s refusal

ur
• The U.S. is a quickly-receding extra- to act against Pakistan-based terrorists

regional power whose long-term needn’t be strait-laced
//c
commitment to the region is increasingly

indeterminate and unsure;
s:
• U.S.-China relations are far more A toolkit to think local {Health

complex than we generally assume; Policy}
tp
• and Australia is caught between the U.S.

(The Hindu)
ht
and China.
• The second broad policy direction seems

Context
to be to compete with China for regional
influence in South Asia
The findings of the India State-Level
• Some have suggested that India should
Disease Burden Initiative will aid in
use its $70 billion-strong trading
decentralised health planning
85
relationship with China as a bargaining

chip to check Chinese behaviour.
Page

Policymakers in India need reliable disease • The estimates were produced as part of
burden data at subnational levels. Planning the Global Burden of Disease Study
based on local trends can improve the 2016, which uses standardised methods
health of populations more effectively. in a unified framework.
/
m
Current Status Inequalities among States
co
• A comprehensive assessment of the • The per person disease
diseases causing the most premature burden, measured as DALY rate, has
] ly.
deaths and ill health in each State, the dropped in India by 36% from 1990 to
risk factors responsible for this burden 2016, but there are major inequalities
es on
and their time trends have not been among States with the per person DALY
available. rate varying almost twofold between
ss rs
• To address this crucial knowledge gap, a them.
team of over 250 scientists and others • The burden of most infectious and
la ai
from around 100 institutions who are part childhood diseases has fallen, but the
C aff
of the India State-Level Disease Burden extent of this varies substantially across
Initiative has analysed and described India.

G nt
these trends for every State from 1990 • Diarrhoeal diseases, lower respiratory
to 2016. infections, iron-deficiency anaemia,
[E re
neonatal disorders, and tuberculosis still

continue to be major public health
ur
The findings of the study are based

on problems in many poorer northern States.
The continuing high burden of infectious

//c
• Analysis of data from all available and childhood diseases in poorer States
sources. along with the rising tide of non-
s:
communicable diseases and injuries

• This includes vital registration,
tp
poses a particularly ominous challenge

• The sample registration system,
for these States.
ht
• Large-scale national household surveys,
• Other population-level surveys and cohort

The leading risk factors
studies,
• Disease surveillance data,

• Disease burden can be reduced by
• Disease programme data,
addressing the risk factors for major
• Administrative records of health services, diseases
86
• Disease registries, among others.

Page

• It is remarkable that even though there Context

is a declining trend in child and maternal
undernutrition, this is still the single The existing law for Geographical
largest risk factor in India, responsible for Indications leans too heavily on
15% of the total disease burden in 2016.
/
documentary proof
m
• Air pollution levels in India are among
the highest in the world, making it the
co
GI
second leading risk factor in 2016,
responsible for 10% of the total disease The law of Geographical Indications (GIs)
] ly.
•
burden in the country. is linked to the terroir, that is the quality
A group of risks that include unhealthy of a product is essentially attributable to
es on
•
diet, high blood pressure, high blood the territory where the product originates
sugar, high cholesterol and overweight, from.
ss rs
which increase the risk of ischaemic • GIs support local production and are an
heart disease, stroke and diabetes,
la ai
contributed a tenth of the total disease
important economic tool for the uplift of
rural and tribal communities.
C aff
burden in India in 1990, but increased to
• Unlike other Intellectual Property Rights
a quarter of the total burden in 2016.
(IPRs) which guarantee the protection of
G nt
individual interest, GI is a collective right.

Solution If their products qualify, producers can
[E re
•
use the collective GI mark while
ur
This new knowledge base and the annual commercially exploiting their products.
updates planned by the India State-Level
//c
Disease Burden Initiative will provide

Path to introduction
important inputs for the data-driven and
s:
decentralised health planning and

• The politics behind the incorporation
monitoring recommended by the National
tp
of GI in TRIPS is revealing. The United

Health Policy 2017 and the NITI Aayog
States was not a supporter of GI, and it
Action Agenda 2017-2020.
ht
was lobbying by the European Union

(EU) that ensured its inclusion in TRIPS.
• The EU already had its domestic
mechanisms in place to protect GIs and
Locked out, without a GI
was keen to protect its products in
tag {Economic Policy}
international markets.
As India has failed over the years to

87
(The Hindu) •
introspect on its own domestic legislation,
Page

it is important to highlight the • The compound repels water by nature.

shortcomings of the Indian GI Act. It is • A polystyrene sponge that absorbs water
important to note that TRIPS only became a water-repelling material when
provide a minimum standard of coated with the compound and was able
protection.
/
to absorb a wide variety of oils and
m
• Against this backdrop, proof of origin is a organic solvents from water.
mandatory criterion for registering GIs in
co
• The compound has negative and positive
India. This provision is borrowed from the charged parts and this helps it absorb
EU’s regulations on GI protection. metal ion pollutants and fluoride from
] ly.
water
es on
• One gram of the compound was able to
remove a large amount of lead (817 mg)
28 November, 2017 and mercury (830 mg) from water and
ss rs
nearly half its weight of copper (451 mg)
la ai
Cleaning up oil spills {Health
Issue}
•
and iron (511 mg),
In the case of fluoride, water with a high

C aff
(The Hindu) concentration of fluoride (10 ppm) was
treated with the compound. After 10
G nt
minutes of treatment, the fluoride

Context
concentration dropped to 10 ppb.
[E re
Research on a chemical compound that

ur
How Minerals Affect Water Supplies

repels water
//c
In news High concentrations of total dissolved solids

can cause water to taste bad, forcing
s:
consumers to use other water

A chemical compound (Meisenheimer
sources. Highly mineralized water also
tp
complex) synthesised through a simple,

deteriorates plumbing and appliances.
single-step process of mixing two chemicals
ht
at room temperature has been found to be

Waters containing more than 500
highly effective in removing fluoride and
milligrams per liter (mg/l) of dissolved
metal ions such as lead, mercury,
solids should not be used if other less
cadmium, copper, and iron from drinking
mineralized supplies are available. This
water.
does not mean that any water in excess of
500 mg/l is unusable.
88
Key Points
Page

Arsenic and fluoride: Two major ground In news

water pollutants
Fluoride can affect teeth during the period Seeking to strike a balance between the
when permanent teeth are being rights and responsibilities of states in a
formed. When the concentration is best,
/
federal structure, the centre has asked
m
1.2 mg/l, no ill effects will result. The the 15th Finance Commission to offer
tooth decay rate will be 60-65 percent fiscal incentives to states that perform well
co
below the rate in areas where water on parameters such as improvements in
supplies have little or no fluoride. High ease of doing business and sanitation, and
] ly.
fluoride (more than 4.0 mg/l) in water can rein in populist measures.
cause a brown color on teeth.
es on
Commission recommendations
Thousands of people are suffering from the
ss rs
toxic effects of arsenicals and fluorides in • Apart from performing its constitutionally
many countries all over the world. These mandated job of deciding on the
la ai
two elements are recognized worldwide as distribution of shareable central tax
C aff
the most serious inorganic contaminants in proceeds among centre, states and local
drinking water. bodies for the first time in the post
goods and services tax (GST) era, the
G nt
15th Finance Commission has been

[E re
asked to recommend appropriate levels

15th Finance Commission to of general and consolidated government
ur
examine performance incentives debt and deficit levels for the centre and
for states {Economic Policy} states.
//c
(LiveMint) • The commission has also been asked to

propose measurable performance-based
s:
incentives in areas such as efforts made

Context
tp
by the states in expansion and

deepening of the tax net under GST
ht
The government has asked the 15th

• Other parameters include progress made
Finance Commission to offer fiscal
in increasing tax/non-tax revenues,
incentives to state that perform well on
promoting savings through adoption of
parameters such as improvements in ease
direct benefit transfers, promoting a
of doing business and GST
digital economy and removing layers
implementation, and rein in populist
between the government and
measures.
89
beneficiaries of welfare programmes.

Page

• The 15th Finance Commission will also resources of the panchayats and
consider achievements made by states in municipalities in the state on the basis of
implementation of flagship central the recommendations made by the
schemes and disaster resilient Finance Commission of the state.
infrastructure, reaching sustainable
/
• any other matter related to it by the
m
development goals, and quality of president in the interest of sound finance
expenditure.
co
• finance commission is antonomous body
which is governed by the government of
india
] ly.
Finance Commission
es on
It was established by the President of
India in 1951 under Article 280 of 29 November, 2017
the Indian Constitution. It was formed to
ss rs
define the financial relations between Hunting for
la ai
the central government of India and
the individual state governments. The
solutions {Environment}
{Ecology}
C aff
Finance Commission (Miscellaneous
(The Hindu)
Provisions) Act of 1951 additionally defines
G nt
the terms of qualification, appointment and

disqualification, the term, eligibility and Context
[E re
powers of the Finance Commission. As per

the Constitution, the Commission is Local African voices need to be heard in
ur
appointed every five years and consists of the debate on trophy hunting
a chairman and four other members.
//c
In news
Function
s:
According to a new study, hunting the

tp
• Distribution of net proceeds of taxes most impressive animals weakens a

between Center and the States, to be species’ ability to survive in the face of
ht
divided as per their respective environmental changes

contributions to the taxes.
• Determine factors governing Grants-in Aid What is trophy hunting?

to the states and the magnitude of the
same. Trophy hunting is the shooting of carefully
• To make recommendations to president selected animals – frequently big game
90
as to the measures needed to augment such as rhinos, elephants, lions, pumas

Page
the Fund of a State to supplement the and bears – under official government

licence, for pleasure. The trophy is the • Trapping involves setting traps or
animal (or its head, skin or any other snares that hold trophy animals until
body part) that the hunter keeps as a shot. Targeted trophy animals as well as
souvenir. It is a booming industry and is family pets and other nontarget animals
legal, albeit with restrictions on the languish in these devices for hours and
/
m
species that can be hunted, where and even days, sometimes suffering broken
when the hunting can take place, and the limbs or other painful injuries,
co
weapons that can be used. dehydration, starvation and exposure until
they are killed.
] ly.
Killing method
How can it be good?
es on
• Trophy hunting relies heavily on the
most unfair, cruel methods including • While there are many examples of it
ss rs
baiting, hounding, trapping, and captive being bad – the steepest declines in lion
hunts. These methods violate the populations occur in countries with the
la ai
tradition of fair-chase hunting and give highest hunting intensity, for instance –
C aff
human hunters, who already have the one apparently good example is quoted
edge over their quarry, additional time and again.
advantages to increase the hunters’
G nt
• It is claimed that trophy hunting has

changes of collecting their trophies. played a role in the recovery of the
[E re
• Baiting involves intensive feeding of southern white rhino population in South

wild animals to make them easy targets Africa.
ur
for trophy hunters waiting in a nearby

• The argument goes that by allowing
blind. Bait is often placed by professional
private landowners to conduct limited
//c
guides so they can assure their paying

trophy hunting they have been given an
customers a guaranteed kill.
incentive to keep and protect rhinos
s:
• Hounding involves hunters and guides

(albeit in large fenced enclosures). There
using packs of radio-collared hounds to
tp
is also an argument that trophy hunting

pursue targeted trophy animals until the
revenues help conservation by filtering
ht
exhausted, frightened animals seek

back into desperately poor communities.
refuge in a tree, where they are shot,
or turn to fight the hounds. Hounding
results in injuries or death to both Is it really legal to kill endangered
species?
targeted trophy animals (particularly to
bear cubs, cougar kittens and yearling
wolf pups) and dogs and leaves It can be. Some countries do allow a small
91
vulnerable orphan young. number of endangered species to be killed

Page
in the wild by sports hunters and, with

approval from the Convention on discussion of the regulation of wildlife trade

International Trade in Endangered for conservation purposes was something
Species (CITES), it is still possible to take relatively new.
the trophies home.
/
m
Impact on conservation
Rethink school
co
Given these data, it would seem that much education {Education Policy}
of the opposition to trophy hunting derives
] ly.
(The Hindu)
from an animal rights perspective rather
than an objective evaluation of conservation
es on
impact. Context
ss rs
Hunting is carried out in about 1.4 million The shift to private education is not good.
sq km in Africa, more than 22% of area Government schools ought to be the
la ai
covered by national parks in Africa. To drivers of change
C aff
increase the scope of ecotourism (the most
frequently proposed revenue generation In news
G nt
alternative) to this level seems unviable

given that many of these landscapes are While India highlights its ever-improving
[E re
not conducive to tourism. literacy levels, educationally it is a terrible

under-performer, too embarrassed to
ur
CITES (the Convention on participate in the OECD’s Programme for

International Trade in Endangered International Student Assessment tests
//c
Species)
covering reading and computational skills
for 15-year-olds.
s:
It is an international agreement between

governments. Its aim is to ensure that
tp
Highlights
international trade in specimens of wild
ht
animals and plants does not threaten their

Successive studies have repeatedly
survival.
established that a majority of those in each
Widespread information nowadays about
class in India have educational attainments
the endangered status of many prominent
much lower than the one they are in.
species, such as the tiger and elephants,
might make the need for such a
We have around a million primary schools
convention seem obvious. But at the time
92
and only half that number at the upper

when the ideas for CITES were first
primary level. The number of secondary
Page
formed, in the 1960s, international

schools is less than 150,000 for a country (Indian Express)

of 1.3 billion, and even this comes down to
just 100,000 at the higher secondary level.
Context
/
Issue
m
A sustainable way forward is to minimise
consumption of single use plastic items,
The inexorable shift to private school
co
create awareness about the use of
education along with the Right to Education
appropriate grade of plastic, and emphasise
Act represents a failure of the public-school
] ly.
the importance of recycling and reuse.
system.
es on
Plastic
It is government schools that should be
the drivers of change by becoming the
ss rs
• Plastic is a synthetic polymer, deriving
first, not the last, choice of parents to
its name from the Greek word plastikos,
send their children to.
la ai which means “fit for moulding”.
It was invented in 1869 by John W.
C aff
•
Solution
G nt
Public-school system must be swiftly and

radically revamped, while our teacher
[E re
training institutions, of which the District

Institutes of Education and Training
ur
constitute an important part, speedily re-

jigged to turn out world-class teachers, of
//c
the kind that will encourage children to

stay on in, not drop out of, school.
s:
If only India had begun revamping school

tp
education at the start of economic

Hyatt, responding to a New York firm’s
liberalisation, it would by now have had the
offer of $10,000 for anyone who could
ht
world’s largest pool of well-educated and

provide a substitute for ivory.
highly trained workers.
• The subsequent 150 years have seen
chemical companies develop many new
polymers and many different types and
grades of plastic.
Cities at Crossroads: Perils of
Issue
93
plastics waste {Environment}

Page

• This inexpensive, light, and versatile eaten by numerous marine and land
product enters our everyday lives in animals, to fatal consequences.
numerous forms ranging from bread Synthetic plastic does not biodegrade. It
wrapping, magazine and invitation covers, just sits and accumulates in landfills or
and packages of many ordinary pollutes the environment. Plastics have
/
m
consumption items at one end and also become a municipal waste nightmare,
as part of television sets, refrigerators, prompting local governments all over the
co
cars and aircraft at the other. world to implement plastic bag, and
• The problem is that plastic does not increasingly polystyrene (styrofoam), bans.
] ly.
decay. It sticks around in the
environment as deadweight. Health Problems
es on
• Recycling of plastic is, therefore,
extremely important, and waste • In terms of health risks, the evidence is
ss rs
management systems and product design growing that chemicals leached from
explicitly need to facilitate plastic plastics used in cooking and food/drink
recycling.
la ai storage are harmful to human health.
C aff
Some of the most disturbing of these
Worldwide, only 14 per cent of plastic is
are hormone-mimicking, endocrine
collected for recycling, while the rest
disruptors, such as bisphenol A
G nt
stays in the environment causing pollution

(BPA) and phthalates.
both on land and in the ocean.
[E re
• The plastic polycarbonate – used for

water bottles and various other items
How plastics affect the environment
ur
requiring a hard, clear plastic – is

composed primarily of BPA.
//c
Environmentally, plastic is a growing

• Peer-reviewed scientific studies have
disaster. Most plastics are made from
linked BPA to health problems that
petroleum or natural gas, non-renewable
s:
include chromosomal and reproductive

resources extracted and processed using
system abnormalities, impaired brain
tp
energy-intensive techniques that destroy

and neurological functions, cancer,
fragile ecosystems.
ht
cardiovascular system damage, adult-

The manufacture of plastic, as well as its
onset diabetes, early puberty, obesity
destruction by incineration, pollutes air, land
and resistance to
and water and exposes workers to toxic
chemotherapy. Exposure to BPA at a
chemicals, including carcinogens.
young age can cause genetic damage,
and BPA has been linked to recurrent
Plastic packaging – especially the miscarriage in women.
94
ubiquitous plastic bag – is a significant

Page
source of landfill waste and is regularly

• The health risks of plastic are Transgender Persons (Protection of

significantly amplified in children, whose Rights) Bill, 2016
immune and organ systems are
developing and are more • The Bill defines a transgender person
vulnerable. The evidence of health risks as one who is partly female or male; or
/
m
from certain plastics is increasingly a combination of female and male; or
appearing in established, peer-reviewed neither female nor male. In addition, the
co
scientific journals. person’s gender must not match the
gender assigned at birth, and includes
] ly.
trans-men, trans-women, persons with
intersex variations and gender-queers.
es on
• A transgender person must obtain a
30 November, 2017 certificate of identity as proof of
ss rs
recognition of identity as a transgender
person and to invoke rights under the
la ai
Against gender rights {Rights
Issues}
Bill.
C aff
• The Bill prohibits discrimination against
a transgender person in areas such as
(The Hindu)
education, employment, and
G nt
healthcare. It directs the central and

[E re
Context state governments to provide welfare

schemes in these areas.Such a
ur
The decision to re-introduce the 2016 Bill certificate would be granted by the
on transgender rights makes a mockery of District Magistrate on the
//c
democratic norms recommendation of a Screening

Committee. The Committee would
s:
In news comprise a medical officer, a

psychologist or psychiatrist, a district
tp
welfare officer, a government official, and

The transgender community and its allies
a transgender person.
ht
have erupted in anger over the decision of

• Offences like compelling a transgender
the Ministry of Social Justice and
person to beg, denial of access to a
Empowerment to re-introduce the original
public place, physical and sexual abuse,
Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights)
etc. would attract up to two years’
Bill, 2016 in the winter session of
imprisonment and a fine.
Parliament.
95
Key Issues and Analysis

Page

• The Supreme Court has held that the victory, as it recognised that transgender
right to self-identification of gender is persons have fundamental rights.
part of the right to dignity and • The judgment was followed by a private
autonomy under Article 21 of the member’s Bill, the Rights of Transgender
Constitution. However, objective criteria Persons Bill, 2014, which was
/
m
may be required to determine one’s unanimously passed in the Rajya Sabha.
gender in order to be eligible for Instead of introducing it in the Lok
co
•
entitlements. Sabha, the Ministry uploaded its own Bill,
• The Bill states that a person recognised the Rights of Transgender Persons Bill,
] ly.
as ‘transgender’ would have the right to 2015, on its website in December for
‘self-perceived’ gender identity. However, public comments.
es on
it does not provide for the enforcement
• The 2015 Bill, which was largely based
of such a right. A District Screening
on the 2014 Bill, did away with the
ss rs
Committee would issue a certificate of
national and State commissions for
identity to recognise transgender persons.
transgender persons and transgender
•
la ai
The definition of ‘transgender persons’ in rights courts.
C aff
the Bill is at variance with the definitions
• The Bill was fairly progressive since it
recognised by international bodies and
granted a transgender person the right to
experts in India.
G nt
be identified as a ‘man’, ’woman’ or

• The Bill includes terms like ‘trans-men’,
‘transgender’. However, the 2016 Bill,
[E re
‘trans-women’, persons with ‘intersex

that was finally introduced in the Lok
variations’ and ‘gender-queers’ in its
Sabha, came as a shock.
ur
definition of transgender
persons. However, these terms have not
//c
been defined. The committee report

• Certain criminal and personal laws that
s:
are currently in force only recognise the The standing committee invited public
genders of ‘man’ and ‘woman’. It is comments and thereafter held multiple
tp
unclear how such laws would apply to rounds of consultations.

ht
transgender persons who may not

identify with either of the two genders. Its report, released on July 22, 2017,
criticised the 2016 Bill for its stark
deficiencies and recommended re-drafting
Time Line of the bill
the definition of a ‘transgender person’ to
make it inclusive and accurate; providing
• The transgender community saw the
for the definition of discrimination and
96
Supreme Court’s landmark decision in

setting up a grievance redress mechanism
NALSA v. Union of India as a
Page

to address cases of discrimination; and balance sheets in both the corporate and
granting reservations to transgender banking sectors.
persons.
/
m
The worst may be over
co
for the Indian
economy {Economy}
] ly.
(LiveMint)
es on
Context
ss rs
India’s GDP growth rate is seen The most pessimistic forecasts are for
la ai
rebounding to 6.4% in the September growth to rebound. Rabobank, which had
C aff
quarter, as the disruptive effects of correctly predicted the June quarter’s 5.7%
demonetisation and GST rollout fade.. number, has forecast GDP will expand
5.9% for the three months ended
G nt
In news September. Wells Fargo has predicted an

[E re
optimistic 7.1%. The reasons for the

foreseen growth recovery are many: a rise
India’s economic growth is set to rebound
ur
in industrial production and exports,

after decelerating to 5.7% in the quarter
restocking by businesses after the transition
ended June, the slowest pace in three
//c
to GST and some major festivals that

years, as the disruptive effects of the
would have boosted consumer demand.
withdrawal of high-value banknotes in
s:
November 2016 and the 1 July switch to

the goods and services tax (GST) fade
tp
ht
GDP numbers
A pick-up in consumer demand is

necessary to boost growth at a time when
government spending is slowing and
investment demand is not showing any
signs of a pick-up, owing to impaired
97
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EDITORIAL Simplified

(UPSC CSE Mains Oriented)

Current Affairs Only

For instant updates

▪ Editor-in-Chief Sandeep Sajwan

Choking on air {Environment} ............................ 34

The AI battlefield {Science & Tech} .................... 47

Eastern promise {International Relation} .......... 48

What ails India’s household economy? {Indian

07 November, 2017 ............................................... 26

Narrow banking is an idea whose time has

Remonetise {Economic Policy}........................... 33

www.currentaffairsonly.com EG Classes (Mukherjee Nagar)

Far from keeping the world safe {Climate Change}

24 November, 2017 ............................................... 73

The agony of Stuartpuram {Indian history}

The mandates of natural justice {Constitutional

The Chabahar Checkmate {International

26 November, 2017 ............................................... 81

A toolkit to think local {Health Policy} ............... 85

www.currentaffairsonly.com EG Classes (Mukherjee Nagar)

01 November, 2017 • Under this law, the officer recording a

The court is allowed to record a child’s

It is a positive step towards ensuring a

conducive and protective atmosphere for

Why special deposition center is • Accurate and reliable testimony from

required? child witnesses,

Children testifying as witnesses find the

cases, they are victims themselves, and

confidently in the formal atmosphere.

www.currentaffairsonly.com EG Classes (Mukherjee Nagar)

Victims of sexual violence and whistle- competency on an individual basis without

powerful adversaries may endanger their limitations.

depose. direct and cross-examination of a child

In all proceedings involving an alleged child Collegium and

action to ensure a speedy trial in order to

Procedural Reform This article talks about collegium system in

and child protection proceedings where

www.currentaffairsonly.com EG Classes (Mukherjee Nagar)

Why in news? 3) Completely opaque process of selection.

recommended their names for

How can changes in this system help

of four senior most supreme court judge

judge case in 90s. It evolved on 3. What is the criteria for selections ?

4. What were the discussions of the

The collegium system has been despised

2) Favoritism shown by certain judges.

www.currentaffairsonly.com EG Classes (Mukherjee Nagar)

If you are bitten by a wild animal, it is work, school, it may amount to

This article explains issues regarding become sexual assault?

sexual harassment its boundaries and

considered sexual assault. If you believe

you’ve been sexually assaulted, you may

options available to you.

Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual

of sexual harassment. When it happens at

www.currentaffairsonly.com EG Classes (Mukherjee Nagar)

In Pakistan this week, the Oscar-winning Complex regulations limiting

unwelcome advances; requests for sexual construction permits and registering

conduct of a sexual nature in the doing business rankings.

condition of employment, or used as a year as the number of procedures, time

• Ban all behavior that has the purpose or

effect of interfering with an individual’s The cost of registering a property as a