2018-Oct-4 News

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Source : www.thehindu.com Date : 2018-10-04
IN BLOW TO TRUMP, UN COURT TELLS U.S. TO EASE

IRAN SANCTIONS
Relevant for: International Relations | Topic: United Nations (UNO)
The UN’s top court ordered the U.S. on Wednesday to lift sanctions on humanitarian goods for
Iran in a stunning setback for U.S. President Donald Trump.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague handed Iran a major victory, saying the
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stinging economic sanctions put Iranian lives at risk.
Mr. Trump reimposed the sanctions in May after pulling out of Iran’s international nuclear deal to
the dismay of his allies.
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But it was unclear whether the judgment will be anything more than symbolic, because both
Washington and Tehran have ignored them in the past.
The ICJ judges ruled that the sanctions on some goods breached a 1955 “Treaty of Amity”
between Iran and the U.S. that predates Iran’s Islamic Revolution.
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“The court finds unanimously that... the United States of America... shall remove by means of its
choosing any impediments arising from the measures announced on 8 May to the free
exportation to Iran of medicines and medical devices, food and agricultural commodities” as well
as airplane parts, chief judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf said.
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The court said sanctions on goods “required for humanitarian needs... may have a serious
detrimental impact on the health and lives of individuals on the territory of Iran.”
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U.S. sanctions also had the “potential to endanger civil aviation safety in Iran and the lives of its
users.”
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‘In the right’
Iran's Foreign Ministry hailed the shock judgment as proof that Tehran was “in the right”.
Ahead of the decision, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the sanctions were
a form of “psychological warfare” aimed at regime change.
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Mr. Trump slapped a first round of sanctions on Iran in August after pulling out in May of the
international deal aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear ambitions, to the dismay of his European
allies. A second round of punitive measures is due in November.
Iran dragged the U.S. to the ICJ in July, and during four days of hearings in late August, its
lawyers accused Washington of “strangling” its economy.
The U.S. criticised the verdict, saying the case was “meritless” and the court had “no
jurisdiction”.
“This is a meritless case over which the court has no jurisdiction,” U.S. Ambassador to the
Netherlands Pete Hoekstra tweeted, shortly after a ruling at the International Court of Justice.
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TRIO GETS CHEMISTRY NOBEL

Relevant for: Prelims Specific News | Topic: null
Two Americans and a Briton won the 2018 Nobel Prize for Chemistry on Wednesday for
harnessing the power of evolution to produce novel proteins used in everything from
environmentally friendly detergents and biofuels to cancer drugs.
The fruits of this work include the world’s top-selling prescription medicine — the antibody
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injection Humira for treating rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.
Frances Arnold of the California Institute of Technology, George Smith from the University of
Missouri and Gregory Winter of Britain’s MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology were awarded
the prize for pioneering science in enzymes and antibodies.
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Ms. Arnold, only the fifth woman to win a chemistry Nobel, was awarded half of the $1 million
prize while Mr. Smith and Mr. Winter shared the other half.
Ms. Arnold is the second woman to win a Nobel prize this year after Canada’s Donna Strickland.
Her research on enzymes led to the development of better industrial chemicals and
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pharmaceuticals. Mr. Smith developed a method using a virus that infects bacteria to produce
new proteins while Ms. Winter used the same technique for the directed evolution of antibodies.

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FLOOR PRICE FOR RABI CROPS HIKED

Relevant for: Indian Economy | Topic: Issues related to direct & indirect Farm Subsidies and MSP
In what should come as a boost to farmers, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved raising
the minimum support prices of rabi crops such as wheat, barley, gram, masur, rapeseed and
mustard, and safflower for 2018-19.
“Giving a boost to farmers’ income, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved
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the increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for all rabi crops for 2018-19 to be marketed
in 2019-20 season,” the government said in a release.
“The farmer friendly initiative will give additional return of Rs. 62,635 crore to the farmers by way
of increasing MSP of notified crops to at least 50% return over cost of production and will aid in
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doubling farmers’ income.”
“With the new umbrella scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan’ (PM-
AASHA) announced by the government, there is a robust mechanism available to enable
farmers realise the MSP in fuller measure,” the government said. “The umbrella scheme
consists of three sub-schemes i.e. Price Support Scheme (PSS), Price Deficiency Payment
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Scheme (PDPS) and Private Procurement & Stockist Scheme (PPSS) on a pilot basis.”
RBI concerns
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The increase in MSP for rabi crops comes just ahead of the RBI monetary policy announcement.
The apex bank, in its August policy statement, had indicated MSP increase among possible
factors that could influence its outlook on inflation.
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The latest move on MSP could further escalate the concerns of the Reserve Bank over inflation.
“However, there is a considerable uncertainty and the exact impact would depend on the nature
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and scale of the government’s procurement operations,” the central bank had said its last policy
statement.

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FORGO S-400 SYSTEM, U.S. TELLS INDIA

Relevant for: International Relations | Topic: India - USA
“We urge all of our allies and partners to forgo transactions with Russia that would trigger
sanctions under CAATSA. The Administration has indicated that a focus area for the
implementation of CAATSA Section 231 is new or qualitative upgrades in capability – including
the S-400 air and missile defense system,” the official said.
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The waiver provisions may not apply to India in this deal, the spokesperson indicated. “There
are strict criteria for considering a waiver. The waiver is narrow, intended to wean countries off
Russian equipment and allow for things such as spare parts for previously-purchased
equipment,” said the official.
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Extensive consultations
Meanwhile, Indian sources said India and the U.S. have had extensive consultations on the deal
and the decision does not come as a surprise to the Trump administration. “The U.S has been
pressing India for scaling down its defence cooperation with Russia, while India has been clear
about its intentions regarding the S-400 deal,” an official said.
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The State Department said recently that India has ordered defence equipment worth $18 billion
from the U.S, and the administration is unlikely to stall it all under sanctions. There could be
strong statements from the U.S, in continuation with its line, but sanctions are extremely unlikely
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according to both official and unofficial sources.
Neil Bjorkman, Vice-President of Legislative Affairs at the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership

Forum (USISPF), who spearheads lobbying for waiver from CAATSA for India, said: “The U.S.
Government does not want India to buy the S-400 from Russia but we predict that the Trump
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Administration will ultimately allow the go-ahead with the purchase without sanctioning India.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Mattis spent a lot of political capital for India and the waiver authority
was approved by the lead Republicans and Democrats on the Armed Services Committees. Is it
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a blank cheque for India? No. But was the law designed to allow India to receive the waiver?
Absolutely.”
“It is difficult to predict what the President will do, but it is safe to assume that no interest group
in the U.S. wants to impose sanctions on India and reward Russia. The purpose of CAATSA is
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to punish, and not reward, Russia,” said Benjamin Schwartz, head of the U.S.-India Business
Council’s Defense and Aerospace programme.
The waiver option
“I believe the administration would like to use the waiver authority,” said Richard Rossow,
Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies at CSIS. Mr. Rossow, however, thinks that “if
Congress tightens sanctions against Russia, there is a chance that the S-400 agreement could
be reviewed further down the road.”
There is also no specific trigger points mentioned in CAATSA for sanctions, and the
administration can delay the decision without announcing any waiver.
The question of presidential waiver arises if and only when the State Department moves ahead
with a plan to impose sanctions on India. Sanctions against India are not something that the
State Department, Pentagon, White House or the U.S. Congress want.
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CENTRE’S NOD FOR MENTAL HEALTH INSTITUTE

Relevant for: Government Policies & Welfare Schemes | Topic: Welfare of Persons with Disability - Schemes &
their performance; Mechanisms, Laws, Institutions & Bodies
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the setting up of the National Institute of Mental
Health Rehabilitation in Madhya Pradesh’s Sehore. The latest approval revises a government
decision in May which chose Bhopal as the location.
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NO SWEEPING CHANGE — ON SWACHH BHARAT

MISSION
Relevant for: Health, Education & Human Resources | Topic: Health & Sanitation and related issues
India’s Swachh Bharat Mission is receiving global praise for attempting to close the sanitation
gap of nearly 60% of the rural population not having access to a toilet at home in 2014. The
NDA government invoked Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of a clean and healthy country when it
launched the ambitious programme. On the eve of Independence, Gandhi saw the lack of a
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“sense of national or social sanitation” as the root of all diseases among Indians. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi announced a Swachh movement in 2014 to change that, and four years later the
outcomes show that achieving social change is far from easy. For the BJP-led government at
the Centre, the SBM enjoys arguably the highest priority, and a 16,400-crore fund was raised for
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it during 2015-17 when a special cess was in force. On Gandhi Jayanti this year, the SBM’s
Gramin wing declared it has constructed 86.7 million Individual Household Latrines and raised
sanitation access to 94% in rural areas; 5,07,369 villages are now ‘open defecation free’. On the
face of it, this is big advance. But there is a need for a close audit of the outcomes. In some
States, such as Rajasthan, independent verification shows that the social change that the SBM
hopes to achieve remains elusive, and traditionally oppressed communities continue to manually
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remove filth from dry latrines used by the upper castes. There are reports of a similar situation
prevailing in some parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh too. What this shows is that the
very evil that Gandhi wanted to see changed — of some castes condemned to do such work by
others — persists.
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Besides making sanitation a movement through the provision of well-designed toilets and
behaviour change in rural India, the SBM should have a broader vision of what constitutes
cleanliness. The Centre asserts that urban toilet coverage is now 87% of the target, and nearly
three-fourths of the wards in the country have door-to-door collection of municipal waste, but the
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lived experience of the city-dweller, especially in the bigger metros, is different. Waste volumes
continue to grow as economic growth spurs consumption. The laws on municipal solid waste,
protection of water sources and pollution control are just not being enforced. The official
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machinery required to enforce legal provisions vigorously, and the infrastructure to manage
waste scientifically are inadequate, making it unlikely that there will be significant public health
outcomes flowing from high-profile cleaning campaigns. Without full commitment to these
aspects of development, there is little chance of meaningfully achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals on water and sanitation anytime soon. Besides ending manual scavenging,
the Swachh Bharat Mission must ensure that the manual cleaning of septic tanks, which is killing
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so many workers each year, is stopped and that funds for rehabilitation reach them.
As a regional party, the TRS sees the benefit in uncoupling Assembly and Lok Sabha elections
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THE SCOPE OF CONSTITUTIONAL MORALITY

Relevant for: Health, Education & Human Resources | Topic: Health & Sanitation and related issues
“The issue of the rights of sweepers and scavengers has never entered the mainstream legal
consciousness in the country,” wrote Upendra Baxi in Law and Poverty: Critical Essays. “Nor
have the Bar and the Bench, and the mushrooming legal aid and advice programmes shown any
awareness of the exploitative conditions of work imposed upon the scavengers and sweepers
under the employment of municipal corporations or related local bodies… [T]he exploitative
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conditions of work constitute governmental defiance of the law and the Constitution, which can
be best summed up as a crucial component of overall governmental lawlessness in the country
since Independence.”
Written in 1988, Prof. Baxi’s lines remain disconcertingly relevant today. We struggle against the
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caricaturing of this extremely stigmatising, violently exploitative and degrading form of forced
labour by a government and civil society that showcases empty rhetoric and ceremony around
“cleanliness”, while decimating an entire class of citizens through callous neglect with impunity.
There has been a steady rise in deaths of conservancy workers, and a steadier normalisation of
the risks to life they bear on a daily basis. Why don’t sewer deaths bring the country to a
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grinding halt, as they should? Will a general strike of all conservancy workers across the country
bring the country to its knees? Because then, it will not be a question of prime-time jingles on a
clean India; the focus will shift on each of us to take the moral and physical responsibility of
cleaning our own sewers and keeping ourselves free of the risk of toxic death.
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To return to Prof. Baxi’s concerns on the place of law: Article 17 of the Constitution of India
states: “Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of
any disability arising out of Untouchability shall be an offence punishable in accordance with
law.” This is a fundamental right and therefore justiciable and enforceable by courts, which shall
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call governments to account.
In 2009, the Delhi High Court, in Naz Foundation v. NCT of Delhi, invoked Babasaheb
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Ambedkar’s delineation of constitutional morality in asserting the urgency of decriminalising

consensual sexual relations proscribed by Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The court cited
a second provision as well: Article 15(2) which prohibits any form of horizontal discrimination
drawing again from the experience of untouchability that obstructed the universal use of public
places, restaurants, water sources, etc. We witnessed last month a triumphal return of
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constitutional morality as a guiding principle for constitutional interpretation. A five-judge bench

of the Supreme Court of India, in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India, deployed this framework
to reaffirm the rights of LGBTQ and all gender non-conforming people to their dignity, life, liberty,
and identity.
The genealogy of Ambedkar’s signposting of constitutional morality may be traced to the

strength of anti-caste resistance and the abolition of untouchability. It is from this context that
constitutional wisdom was applied to analogous situations of oppressions based on sexuality. It
is time to call the government to account through a recursive method that takes us to the original
constitutional proscription of untouchability, armed with the wisdom of the Navtej Singh Johar
case.
The first aspect is the importance of judicial empathy. In a violently exclusionary society, the
application of the Constitution to lives as lived is an extremely emotional moment. We have
people from India’s most oppressed castes dying painful deaths without dignity in the sewers of
the same city where the court sits. There is neither accountability nor due diligence on the part
of the state. The time for the expression of judicial empathy is now. Justice Indu Malhotra’s lines
in Johar are apposite: “History owes an apology to the members of this community and their
families, for the delay in providing redressal for the ignominy and ostracism that they have
suffered through the centuries.”
Given the urgency, with people dying daily despite constitutional and statutory protections, how
do we right these historical wrongs, or at least “set the course for the future”? We are all agreed
that the de minimis approach is bad law — rule by law rather than rule of law, as it should be, to
echo Justice D.Y. Chandrachud. The fact that it is still possible for people to be sent into sewers
without protection, and to be forced to perform degrading labour is enough for us to sit up and
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take note. Outgoing Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra set out four cardinal corners of the
Constitution: Individual autonomy and liberty; equality sans discrimination; recognition of identity
with dignity; right to privacy. He also underscored the centrality of fraternity to the constitutional
value system. These signposts require us to contemplate and act on the meanings and
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expressions of “intrinsic dignity” for conservancy workers and safai karamcharis.
If “self-determination and the realisation of one’s own abilities” lie at the core of personhood,
how would forced, unsafe and degrading labour, and persistent untouchability figure in this new
constitutional imaginary? In the case of safai karamcharis, we are today witness to the “violation
of fundamental rights that strikes at the root of their existence” (Justice Misra), and there are no
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visible pathways to freedom in this virulent caste society. Lest we forget, untouchability is a
crime under the Constitution.
Important for citizen consideration today is the fact that the Supreme Court, in deciding on the
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unconstitutionality of Section 377, recognised that the four corners of the Constitution rest on a
social reality steeped in prejudice, stereotypes, parochialism, bigotry, social exclusion, and
segregation. If decriminalising “unnatural” sex is one of the “necessary steps on the road to
democracy”, abolition of untouchability in all its forms remains an unrealised constitutional right.
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The lesson on the importance of intersections in constitutional reasoning today is brought home
to us in this case in yet another way. There is recognition by the court that majoritarian
governments/sections work hard to keep oppressive structures in place, and that it is the duty of
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the court to place questions of liberty, equality, and dignity out of the reach of majoritarian
impulses. The sanction for manual scavenging lies at the heart of majoritarian mindsets and
structures. It is part of an ideological framework that permeates the institutional apparatus of
government. If, as Justice Misra observes, “the sustenance of fundamental rights does not
require majoritarian sanction”, can we call for some constitutional-procedural deliberation on the
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“progressive realisation of rights” in this instance? The principle of non-retrogression in the

matter of fundamental rights has now been unequivocally stated. But on our streets, we only
observe it in the breach especially in the case of manual scavengers.
To end with Ambedkar: “We must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment or
else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of political democracy.”
Kalpana Kannabiran is Professor and Director, Council for Social Development, Hyderabad
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BOND LADDERING
Relevant for: Indian Economy | Topic: Issues relating to Mobilization of resources incl. Savings, Borrowings &
External Resources
This refers to an investment strategy where bonds with different maturity dates spread out into
the future are used to build an investment portfolio. This is done in order to contain risk while
reinvesting the money. When a certain bond investment matures, an investor looking for further
returns has to find an alternative investment that would yield returns at least equal to his
previous investment. If all bonds in his portfolio mature at the same time, it increases the amount
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of money that is exposed to reinvestment risk. This risk can be significantly minimised by
diversifying investments across time.
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Last week Ram Kadam, a BJP MLA from Maharashtra, told the men in an audience that if they
were interested in women who didn’t reciprocate the feeling,
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MORE LIQUIDITY FOR LENDING

Relevant for: Indian Economy | Topic: Issues relating to Growth & Development - Banking, NPAs and RBI
What are SLR, CRR, and LCR?
SLR, or statutory liquidity ratio, is a measure of the reserves that commercial banks are required
to hold in the form of government bonds, gold, and similar liquid assets. CRR, or cash reserve
ratio, is a measure of the reserves that banks need to hold in the form of cash. LCR, or liquidity
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coverage ratio, is a measure of highly liquid assets which can easily be converted into cash that
banks are required to hold. All three are policy tools used by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to
influence the total amount of reserves held by banks at any point in time. These reserve
requirements, in turn, influence the amount of loans that banks can extend to borrowers. So
when the RBI tightens reserve requirements, banks are forced to cut down lending and this
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causes money supply in the economy to shrink. Money supply rises when reserve requirements
are eased by the RBI.
Why are they in the news?
The RBI last week allowed banks to classify an additional 2% of the value of their SLR
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investments in government bonds as high-quality liquid assets (HQLAs). The move, which could
increase the overall amount of assets that can be classified as highly liquid reserves by banks,
can increase bank lending and ease the availability of funds in the economy. It is estimated that
the latest easing of SLR norms by the RBI can release 2.5 lakh crore into the economy. The
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decision to reclassify SLR assets is part of the RBI’s emergency measures to improve the
availability liquidity in the economy. Borrowers like non-banking financial companies (NBFCs)
have had to to borrow at higher rates after investors turned cautious after infrastructure lender
IL&FS’s default. The RBI hopes that increased bank lending can help ease the crisis.
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Can they solve the liquidity crisis?
The injection of fresh money through the banking system can help boost aggregate demand in
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the economy. It, however, remains to be seen whether banks are willing to risk lending money to
NBFCs and other financial companies in the current environment. The move to ease reserve
requirements is unlikely to have any effect until this happens. Money market rates, however, did
witness an immediate drop after the RBI’s emergency measures suggesting that the RBI may be
enjoying some success in calming the nerves of investors.
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IN HARMONY WITH MOTHER NATURE

Relevant for: Environment & Disaster Management | Topic: Environmental Conservation, Sustainable
Development & EIA
Eco green city.Save the world and environment concept.Urban landscape for green energy flat
design.Vector illustration.
Yesterday, the United Nations honoured me with the Champions of the Earth Award. While I
was extremely humbled at receiving this honour, I do feel that this award is not for an individual.
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Instead, it is recognition of the Indian culture and values, which have always placed emphasis
on living in harmony with Mother Nature.
It was a proud moment for every Indian to see India’s proactive role in mitigating climate change
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being acknowledged and appreciated by the United Nations Secretary General, António
Guterres, and Erik Solheim, the Executive Director of the UNEP (United Nations Environment
Programme).
Human beings and nature have a very special relationship. Mother Nature has nurtured and
nourished us. The first civilisations were established on the banks of rivers. Societies that live in
harmony with nature flourish and prosper.
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Today, human society stands at an important crossroads. The path that we take hereon will not
only determine our well-being but also that of the generations who will inhabit our planet after us.
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The imbalances between our greed and necessities have led to grave ecological imbalances.
We can either accept this, go ahead with things as if it is business as usual, or we can take
corrective actions.
Three things will determine how we as a society can bring a positive change.
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The first is internal consciousness. For that, there is no better place to look than our glorious
past. Respect for nature is at the core of India’s traditions. The Atharvaveda contains the Prithvi
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Sukta, which contains unparalleled knowledge about nature and the environment. It is beautifully
written in Atharvaveda: Salutations to Mother Earth. In Her is woven together Ocean and River
Waters; in Her is contained Food which She manifests when ploughed; In Her indeed is alive all
Lives; May She bestow us with that Life.
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The ancients write about the Panch Tatvas – Prithvi (Earth), Vayu (Air), Jal (Water), Agni (Fire),
Akash (Sky) – and how our life systems are based on the harmonious functioning of these
elements. The elements of nature are manifestations of divinity. Mahatma Gandhi wrote
extensively on the environment and even practised a lifestyle where compassion towards the
environment was essential. He propounded the Doctrine of Trusteeship, which places the onus
on us, the present generation, to ensure that our coming generations inherit a clean planet. He
called for sustainable consumption so that the world does not face a resource crunch.
Leading lifestyles that are harmonious and sustainable are a part of our ethos. Once we realise
how we are flag bearers of a rich tradition, it will automatically have a positive impact on our
actions.
The second aspect is public awareness. We need to talk, write, debate, discuss and deliberate
as much as possible on questions relating to the environment. At the same time, it is vital to
encourage research and innovation on subjects relating to the environment. This is when more
people will know about the pressing challenges of our times and ways to mitigate them.
When we as a society are aware of our strong links with environmental conservation and talk
about it regularly, we will automatically be proactive in working towards a sustainable
environment. That is why, I will put proactiveness as the third facet of bringing a positive change.
In this context, I am delighted to state that the 130 crore people of India are proactive and at the
forefront of working towards a cleaner and greener environment.
We see this proactiveness in the Swachh Bharat Mission, which is directly linked to a
sustainable future. With the blessings of the people of India, over 85 million households now
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have access to toilets for the first time. Over 400 million Indians no longer have to defecate in
the open. Sanitation coverage is up from 39% to 95%. These are landmark efforts in the quest of
reducing the strain on our natural surroundings.
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We see this proactiveness in the success of the Ujjwala Yojana, which has significantly reduced
indoor air pollution due to unhealthy cooking practices that were causing respiratory diseases.
Till date, over five crore Ujjwala connections have been distributed, thus ensuring a better and
cleaner life for the women and their families.
India is moving at a quick pace in cleaning its rivers. The Ganga, which is India’s lifeline, had
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become polluted in several parts. The Namami Gange Mission is changing this historical wrong.
Emphasis is being given to proper treatment of sewage.
At the core of our urban development initiatives such as AMRUT and the Smart Cities Mission is
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the need to balance urban growth with environmental care. The over 13 crore soil health cards
distributed to farmers are helping them make informed decisions that will boost their productivity
and improve the health of our land, which helps the coming generations.
We have integrated objectives of Skill India in the environment sector and launched the
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schemes, including Green Skill Development Programme for skilling about seven million youth in
environment, forestry, wildlife and climate change sectors by 2021. This will go a long way in
creating numerous opportunities for skilled jobs and entrepreneurships in the environment
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sector.
Our country is devoting unparalleled attention to new and renewable sources of energy. Over
the last four years, this sector has become more accessible and affordable.
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The Ujala Yojana has led to the distribution of nearly 31 crore LED bulbs. The costs of LED
bulbs have reduced and so have the electricity bills and the CO2 emissions.
India’s proactiveness is seen internationally. It makes me proud that India remained at the
forefront of the COP-21 negotiations in Paris in 2015. In March 2018, world leaders of several
countries converged in New Delhi to mark the start of the International Solar Alliance, an
endeavour to harness the rich potential of solar energy and bring together all nations that are
blessed with solar power.
While the world is talking about climate change, the call for climate justice has also reverberated
from India. Climate justice is about safeguarding the rights and interests of the poor and
marginalised sections of society, who are often the biggest sufferers from the menace of climate
change.
As I have written earlier, our actions today will have an impact on human civilisation much
beyond our time. It is up to us to take on the mantle of global responsibility towards a
sustainable future. The world needs to shift to a paradigm of environmental philosophy that is
anchored in environmental consciousness rather than merely in government regulations. I would
like to compliment all those individuals and organisations who are working assiduously in this
direction. They have become the harbingers of a monumental change in our society. I assure
them all possible support from the Government in their pursuits. Together, we will create a clean
environment that will be the cornerstone of human empowerment!
Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister of India
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THE CREAMY LAYER OF SOCIAL JUSTICE

Relevant for: Government Policies & Welfare Schemes | Topic: Welfare of SCs - Schemes & their performance;
Mechanisms, Laws, Institutions & Bodies
As citizens, we expect two certainties from any verdict on public policy by a constitution bench of
the Supreme Court. One, it must hold whether the underlying principle(s) is/are consistent with
the Constitution of India. Two, such a verdict must end governance paralysis. Unfortunately, the
court has accomplished neither objective in its recent verdict in Jarnail Singh v. Lachhmi Narain
Gupta, wherein it held that the government need not collect quantifiable data to demonstrate
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backwardness of public employees belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled
Tribes (SC/STs) to provide reservations for them in promotions.
The core issue here was whether the ‘creamy layer’ among SC/STs should be barred from
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obtaining promotions through reservations. The court set aside the requirement to collect
quantifiable data that was stipulated by its 2006 verdict in M. Nagaraj v. Union of India as it
ignored the reasoning of a nine-judge bench in Indra Sawhney (1992) that any discussion on
creamy layer “has no relevance” in the context of SC/STs.
The court has taken more than a decade to correct an anomaly in the Nagaraj case which
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brought in a creamy layer filter for promotions for SC/ST employees. This resulted in thousands
of employees being denied their due promotions.
Can one now treat the matter as settled, that the creamy layer is a non-issue with regard to job
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reservations for SC/STs? Not so. A two-judge bench of the top court is considering a public
interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Samta Andolan Samiti that seeks the removal of creamy layer
among the SC/STs in job reservations — a matter settled by a nine-judge Constitution Bench
long ago and also a matter that has just been settled by a five-judge Constitution Bench.
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In the verdict in Jarnail Singh, the court cites an ‘admonition’ to itself by a Constitution Bench in
the Keshav Mills case in 1965: “It must be the constant endeavour and concern of this court to
introduce and maintain an element of certainty and continuity in the interpretation of law in the
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country.” The court followed its own admonition more in breach insofar as it concerns litigation
related to reservation.
The court merely removed the government’s responsibility to collect quantifiable data on
backwardness but reasoned that the creamy layer test would be consistent with the equality
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principle. The challenge it faced is of a secular nature. It did not question reservations in
promotions for SC/ST employees, but grappled with a different question: Which section or class
among the SC/STs is more entitled?
Some of the confusion in the debates over reservations since 1990 emanates in the context of
reservations for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Sadly, the Supreme Court too relies on
using arguments pertinent only in the case of OBCs to decide litigation on SC/ST quotas.
But a close reading of relevant constitutional provisions and the verdict in Indra Sawhney make
it clear that the SC/STs are given job reservations not because they are poor but because they
are excluded. The first part of Article 335 stipulates job reservations for SC/STs as a right of
representation, not as a welfare measure. However, the creamy layer among SC/ST employees
helps fulfil the second part of Article 335 that requires maintaining the “efficiency of
administration”.
One can in fact argue for public employment having welfare objectives to plead the case of
those less privileged among SC/STs. But such logic would require the removal of the creamy
layer also while recruiting employees in the open category.
The court could have addressed an often ignored aspect of the matter — the right of the creamy
layer among the community to opt out of reservations. At present, an SC/ST candidate does not
have the right to reject reservations. She is merely required to state whether she belongs to the
SC or the ST category and a response in affirmation automatically puts her in the queue for
reservations. It is also a punishable offence to withhold one’s caste status while seeking
government employment. A simple administrative decision to allow SC/ST candidates to
compete in the general category would have helped thousands to leave the space for the less
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privileged among them.
What is also not appreciated while debating the matter is that the presence of the creamy layer
works as a safety valve. The rationale behind the demand to prohibit elite or privileged sections
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from accessing quota posts is that these sections are as well qualified as general candidates, if
not more, and numerous enough to warrant their removal.
Herein lies the catch. A well-qualified and large SC/ST group having to compete as non-
reserved candidates would corner a substantial number of open posts. At the same time, their
less privileged cousins would fill the quota. Theoretically, SC/STs would end up garnering more
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posts than their proportion in population. This begs the question on the rationale behind the
litigation.
The Indian state must be proud that its policies have created a creamy layer among the most
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disadvantaged that gel well with those in the general category. They also help projecting the
community as normal Indians, which is a revolutionary ideal. The whole enterprise of seeking to
introduce obstacles before them in employment and promotions will have pernicious
consequences. Will it do any good that the government recruits general candidates from the elite
sections and reserved candidates from the poorer strata?
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Given the uneven educational opportunities across the divides of rich-poor and urban-rural, the
poor or underprivileged access substandard education. We want our public servants to be well
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educated and smart. The point must not be treated as an affront to the less privileged. It is mere
recognition of the fact that socio-economic progress moves by generations. Today’s creamy
layer is yesterday’s underprivileged.
In a 1970 memorandum to U.S. President Richard Nixon, Daniel P. Moynihan suggested that
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“the time may have come when the issue of race could benefit from a period of ‘benign neglect’.”
India badly needs such a period of ‘benign neglect’ in matters related to caste as well as the
constitutional provisions aimed at getting rid of the rough edges of caste discrimination. The
least one expects of the highest level in the judiciary is to accord “an element of certainty and
continuity” on the subject.
D. Shyam Babu is Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. The views
expressed are personal
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Source : www.indianexpress.com Date : 2018-10-04
BEAR STRIDES
Relevant for: International Relations | Topic: Effect of policies and politics of developed countries on India's
interests
Planning to buy a mid-range smartphone? Honor 9N is the notched beauty you need
President Vladimir Putin embarks on his two-day visit to India tomorrow. Beyond stepping up the
strategic partnership through a possible signing of the $5.4 billion S-400 Triumf Air Defence
Missile Systems deal, the visit has larger geopolitical ramifications for Russia. In the regional
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context, Russia’s aims can be reflected in the fears recently expressed by the Afghan Deputy
Foreign Minister of the “US-Russia confrontation (in Ukraine) moving towards Afghanistan”. As
domestic issues raise their head, Putin could be looking towards India for more robust foreign
policy outcomes.
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Set to overtake Syria as the deadliest conflict this year, Afghanistan is pivotal to the evolving re-
alignments in its immediate neighbourhood. The escalating violence and the increasing
divergence of the US and Pakistan’s approaches to the Afghan endgame serve as immediate
catalysts, remodelling regional alliances within the framework of the Great Power conflict.
Afghanistan is fast emerging as the theatre for strategic balancing as various powers jockey for
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influence and equilibrium while a new Great Game gets underway.
The US’s 2014 drawdown left a power vacuum in the volatile region, increasingly filled by China
with the bait of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Aimed at expanding its strategic footprint
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alongside its economic clout, the initiative posed direct challenges to US interests. The US’s
plummeting relationship with Pakistan exacerbated the situation. The $60 billion China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor sealed the Chinese foothold. As a means to counter the expanding Chinese
influence, the US sought to leverage its growing proximity with India. This drew Russia, the other
major player in the region, into the fray. Fearing the spillover of Afghan instability to Central Asia,
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along with the closeness of its erstwhile strategic partner India to the US, Russia injected a new
dynamic to the shifting calculus.
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As a power seeking to reclaim its lost grandeur, the changing regional equations offered Russia
a unique opportunity to gain symbolic ground while securing its diplomatic, security and
economic interests. As a player in the Afghan conundrum, Russia could position itself as a
stabilising force. It has elevated its diplomatic stature by pursuing peace-building efforts through
multilateral conferences and reviving the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Contact Group on
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Afghanistan. It also tried to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table and sought to re-brand itself
as a “noble investor”, pouring millions into Afghanistan’s infrastructure, transport and mining
sectors. Its arms donation (2016) to the Afghan Military along with training imparted to its
officials and supply of military hardware aimed at enhancing Moscow’s standing in the region,
while dispelling notions of support to the Taliban.
From a security perspective, Afghanistan neatly braids both challenges and opportunities for
Russia. The expanding ISIS presence in Afghanistan has produced much anxiety. Russia’s
foreign ministry in 2016 claimed “unidentified helicopters” were resupplying ISIS fighters,
implying links with US forces. As a response, it opted to back the Taliban to undercut the ISIS.
This also fits with Russia’s larger geopolitical aim of pushing the US back. That’s also where
Pakistan comes in. Both Russia and Pakistan see US interests in Afghanistan as inimical to their
own. They also see the Taliban as a convenient panacea to their security fears. Iran, another
regional player having allied with Russia in Syria and Iraq, also joined the support for the
Taliban.
The firming of alliances in the backdrop of converging strategic interests in Afghanistan also
allows Russia the much-needed diversification of its markets, especially as exports to Europe
slump. Energy-starved Pakistan provides ample opportunity — such as the $2 billion agreement
on the North-South gas pipeline (Karachi to Lahore). While India, the largest procurer of Russian
arms, shifts to US and French deals, Russia has signed a defence cooperation agreement with
Pakistan (2014), lifting an arms embargo and finalising the sales of Mi-35 combat helicopters,
Russian engines for Pakistan’s indigenous JF-17 fighter jets. It is also in talks for the sale of SU-
35 fighter jets and T-90 tanks. The CPEC provides Russia a further opportunity to link its
Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) with South Asia, the Indian Ocean and beyond.
A meeting of the spy chiefs of Russia, China, Pakistan and Iran in Islamabad earlier this year
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reflected the shifting strategic compass in Afghanistan. As the Trump Administration continues
to antagonise allies and its 2017 Mission Expansion in Afghanistan fails to deliver, the alternate
grouping could find greater manoeuvrability. Both China and Russia are averse to air-tight
alliances, yet the convergence of strategic interests could shape a new regional architecture.
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New Delhi will need to perfect its tightrope-walking skills.
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Source : www.indianexpress.com Date : 2018-10-04
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Relevant for: Environment & Disaster Management | Topic: Environmental Degradation - Wildlife related issues
Planning to buy a mid-range smartphone? Honor 9N is the notched beauty you need
The death of 21 Asiatic lions in Gujarat’s Gir National Park in less than a month invites serious
questions about the conservation of the big cats in their only habitat. For one, the park
authorities must be called out for the way they have dealt with this episode. They initially blamed
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the deaths on infighting between lion prides. This explanation could have been a plausible one
had the casualties not included three female lions.
Male lions are known to maul each other to death but they never harm females. The park
managers have now found evidence of a “viral infection” in some blood and tissue samples of
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the dead animals. They have isolated 31 lions from the areas adjacent to the one in which the
deaths have occurred. These animals are reported to be doing fine. But it would be wrong to
conclude that the species is in good health.
More than 180 lions have died in Gir in the past two years. This is worrying given that lion
deaths averaged around 60 between 2010 and 2015. Conservation authorities might take solace
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from the fact that Gir added more than 120 lions between 2015 and 2018. But greater numbers
bring new vulnerabilities. Most scientific studies reckon that Gir can host about 300 lions, about
half the current population. According to a CAG report tabled in the Gujarat Assembly in March,
more than 50 per cent of the national park’s lions have spilled out of the protected area. This
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brings with it the threat of speeding trucks and trains, open wells and live wires. More than 30
lions have perished to accidents in the past two years, according to the park’s records.
In 2013, the Supreme Court directed the translocation of “some” lions from Gir to Kuno in
Madhya Pradesh. The Gujarat government has, however, refused to part with the animals,
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arguing that MP has not gone by the IUCN’s guidelines for translocation. MP’s forest officials
retort that Kuno satisfies all the conditions laid down by the Wildlife Institute of India — the
agency mandated to monitor the relocation of Gir lions. The recent deaths of the big cats should
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be reason enough to end such politicking. Gir has lived under the shadow of an epidemic since
2012, when scientists from the Indian Veterinary Research Institute identified the Goat Plague
(Peste Des Petits Ruminants) virus in a lion carcass. The wildlife authorities in Gujarat and
Madhya Pradesh should not forget that an epidemic caused by a virus wiped out more than a
third of the lion population in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park in the 1990s.
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JAPAN DROPS NEW ROBOT ON ASTEROID

Relevant for: Science & Technology | Topic: Space Technology & related matters
A computer graphic image shows the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout on the asteroid Ryugu. |
Photo Credit: JAXA/AP
A Japanese probe launched a new observation robot towards an asteroid on Wednesday as it

pursues a mission to shed light on the origins of the solar system.
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The Hayabusa2 probe launched the French-German Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout, or
MASCOT, towards the Ryugu asteroid’s surface, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
(JAXA) said.
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“We can confirm that the MASCOT separated from the spacecraft as planned,” the agency said
in a tweet on its official account.
“I’m doing it! I’m descending to Ryugu! Can’t stop me now!” the lander’s official Twitter account
@MASCOT2018 added. The robot has safely landed, officials later confirmed.
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“It is hugely significant to take data from the surface of an asteroid, we have high expectations
for the scientific data,” Hayabusa2 mission manager Makoto Yoshikawa said. The 10-kg box-
shaped MASCOT is loaded with sensors. It can take images at multiple wavelengths, investigate
minerals with a microscope, gauge surface temperatures and measure magnetic fields.
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MASCOT’s launch comes 10 days after the Hayabusa2 dropped a pair of MINERVA-II micro-
rovers on the Ryugu asteroid. It was the first time that moving, robotic observation device have
been successfully landed on an asteroid.
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The rovers will take advantage of Ryugu’s low gravity to jump around on the surface — travelling
as far as 15 metres while airborne and staying in the air for as long as 15 minutes — to survey
the asteroid’s physical features with cameras and sensors. Unlike those machines, MASCOT
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will be largely immobile — it will “jump” just once on its mission, and it can turn on its sides. And
while the rovers will spend several months on the asteroid, the MASCOT has a maximum
battery life of just 16 hours, and will transmit the data it collects to the Hayabusa2 before running
out of juice.
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The Hayabusa2 is scheduled later this month to deploy an “impactor” that will explode above the
asteroid, shooting a two-kilo copper object into it to blast a small crater on the surface.
The probe will then hover over the artificial crater and collect samples using an extended arm.
How well do you know the world around you? Take our quiz to find out!
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Source : www.livemint.com Date : 2018-10-04
OPINION
Development & EIA
Blended finance is in fashion in the development finance world. It refers to the merging of public
and private funds to maximize development impact and is most often called upon in reference to
meeting the sustainable development goals (SDGs) that countries valiantly agreed to in 2015.
Blended finance is talked about as a mechanism to reduce investment risks associated with
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things such as basic healthcare, energy access and livelihood for the poorest. The phrase is
being floated at all manner of international gatherings—from meetings of the World Bank to
those of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as a way to
make the limited pool of $140 billion international public funds go farther.
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Enthusiasts advocate three main hopes: One, that blended finance can reduce investment risk;
two, enhance returns; and three, increase financial flows. There are plenty of examples being
floated around advertising the clever use of such capital. For example, a €360 million hospital in
Turkey was made investible through the use of credit enhancements that allowed the issuance
of investment-grade bonds, whose ratings were higher than sovereign ratings. A $58 million
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local currency, multi-country debt fund for off-grid energy in rural African homes was made
possible through clever structuring of monies from the African Development Bank, Calvert
Impact Capital, Global Environment Facility and the Nordic Development Fund. And in true spirit
of blending, the government of Norway and Unilever have invested $125 million in a fund
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mandated to invest in agriculture companies to create inclusive, deforestation-free commodity
production ecosystems.
No doubt these examples have removed otherwise insurmountable barriers, but they are only
the tip of the iceberg for what can be achieved if blending were to truly catalyze private
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investment. For blended finance to change development finance, it has to scale. For this to
happen, five fundamental issues that are inherent to the way public and private capital is
managed, need to be addressed.
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The first is to do with the way money is managed. Most aid agencies need to spend their
commitments in a given calendar/fiscal year; internal accounting systems disallow payables over
time. This means that any contract that entails future payments is prohibited. For example,
making efficient cook stoves available to households suffering from indoor air pollution needs
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payments of at least $7 per stove per year. Assuming carbon credits accounted for 60% of that,
at least $3 of top-up would be needed in order to generate a decent rate of return for private
investors. Many agencies are unable to enter into such forward contracts.
Relatedly, many agencies still have an archaic “use it or lose it” approach—if you don’t spend
the money in that calendar year, chances are you will forfeit it in the following year. In reality,
projects get delayed and cost overruns happen—particularly in the typically challenging markets
that SDGs are relevant to. This approach not only creates perverse incentives where
organizations focus on spending; sometimes, it even translates into corporate performance
indicators where staff are monitored against money spent. When this becomes the primary
objective that defines the life of an organization or the tenure or the staff member, a focus on
impact and outcomes is naturally a dismal secondary.
The second relates to how money is monitored. Public agencies, aid in particular, focus on
monitoring every dollar spent, whereas private funds monitor outcomes over a pre-agreed period
of time and rely on audited financial reports as the benchmark for healthy financial management.
This perceived micromanagement distracts from focusing on the real outcomes of the
investment and redirects often significant human resources into the production of micro level
financial reporting. The underlying problem is how governments set the rules. Rather than
control the process, public agencies should set their ‘public benefits’ criteria upfront, and private
entities should make those integral to normal financial reporting.
The third is related to the pricing of risk. In commercial finance, the higher the risk, the higher the
cost of capital. In an ideally blended structure designed to cater to risky markets or make
investments economical, public capital should bear a higher share of the risk—but at lower costs
of capital. However, in reality, public capital tends to be risk-averse, and so the line between
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costs of public and private capital end up getting blurred with the result that the sources
sometimes compete with each other rather than be complementary.
The fourth relates to how failure is handled. While every private agency works to minimize
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failures, some degree of failure is inevitable when investing in new technologies, business
models or untested markets. After all, the average failure rate of venture capital funds is 25-
30%. Without venture money, new ideas would never be backed. Public monies, on the other
hand, are intrinsically risk-averse, to the point of zero tolerance when it comes to ‘failure’. While
this is understandable given that most public monies tend to be people’s tax dollars, unless
some level of failure is permitted, innovative business models of types needed to meet the
global goals are unlikely to emerge.
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And finally, the biggest hurdle to public and private monies coming together lies in an ideological
difference between governments and businesses. While the landscape is changing, many aid
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agencies I have dealt with, still cannot fathom the idea that public monies will be used to enable
private entities to make profits. The longer this ideological difference remains, the harder it will
be to develop large scale solutions where public monies will be needed to mitigate the risk that
private entities will not otherwise take.
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All this notwithstanding, the larger goal of blending is a noble one and it is time that a common
understanding were achieved among the blenders of capital so that both sides know what to
expect.
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The author thanks Michael Schlup, of Sail Ventures, an investment firm based in Amsterdam.
Mahua Acharya was until recently the assistant director-general of the Global Green Growth Institute.
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Source : www.livemint.com Date : 2018-10-04
OPINION
Relevant for: Indian Economy | Topic: Agriculture Issues and related constraints
The past few days have neatly summed up the scale and nature of the challenges facing India’s
agriculture sector. First, the provisional agriculture census 2015-16 showed that landholdings
have continued their decades-long trend of fragmentation, leading to a further rise in the
proportion of small and marginal farmers. Then, 30,000 farmers, who had started their march
from Uttarakhand last month, reached the national capital on Tuesday, demanding various relief
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measures. As a real world demonstration of the challenges posed by farm fragmentation, it
could not have been better timed.
When the census, carried out every five years, started in 1970-71, it had reported that India had
71 million landholdings. These have more than doubled now to 146 million. Over 86% of
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cultivated farmland is held by small and marginal farmers who own less than two hectares, while
only 0.57% farmers hold 10 hectares or more. Consequently, the average size of operational
holdings has more than halved since the first census—from 2.28 hectares to 1.08 hectares.
Farmers consigned to subsistence farming by this fragmentation—that is, the vast majority of
them—are unable to generate enough surplus for the investment needed to improve
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productivity. This is widely accepted. But the policy approach to the problem depends on how
the specifics are diagnosed.
In his famous 1962 The Economic Weekly (later renamed to the Economic and Political Weekly)
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article, “An aspect of Indian agriculture”, Amartya Sen had argued that small farms have higher
per-acre output. A number of economists in the 1960s and 1970s drew similar conclusions.
Ramesh Chand, P.A. Lakshmi Prasanna and Aruna Singh had presented an intriguing update of
this argument in 2011 in Farm size and productivity: Understanding the strengths of
smallholders and improving their livelihoods. Cobbling together data from the National Sample
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Survey Organisation, agriculture census and the Union ministry of agriculture’s input survey,
they found that the inverse relationship between farm size and per-hectare agricultural
productivity still holds.
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But this is misleading if taken at face value. The productivity argument is contingent on a
number of factors--from soil quality to the level of farming technology adopted. And as Sen, with
a sting in his article’s tail, had pointed out, “the factor that makes the crucial difference is not size
as such, which is incidental, but the system of farming, whether it is wage-based or family-
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based.”
Andrew D. Foster and Mark R. Rosensweig backed this up last year, studying village-level
survey data on farms to find that productivity actually follows a U-shaped distribution curve.
While intermediate sized farms, which have to spend resources on wage labour are less
productive than small farms, which get by on family labour, farms larger than a certain threshold
are more productive than even the most productive small farms. The landowners have the
necessary resources for economies of scale to kick in.
This has several policy implications. Promoting cooperative farming, for instance, will allow small
and marginal farmers to take the advantage of their family labour. Corporate farming,
meanwhile, could allow economies of scale to kick in at lower thresholds. The trickiest issue is
improving land-man ratio. Urban growth with economic opportunities that will attract rural
migrants is one way. But the evidence of the past few decades shows that India’s urban areas
are ill-equipped to deal with the inflow.
The rise of the proportion of non-farm income in small and marginal farmers’ earnings points to
the other possibility. Rural construction and industrialization are important supplementary
sources of income. In a NITI Aayog paper last year, Ramesh Chand, S.K. Srivastava and Jaspal
Singh pointed out that while these sectors have seen considerable growth, rural industrial
employment hasn’t budged in the past few decades. Solving this puzzle could help move rural
workers to more productive sectors full time, while simultaneously boosting per-capita farm
productivity. This could have useful secondary effects as well. Rising wages due to more
productive non-farm rural employment could make larger and more mechanized farms the
increasingly more efficient option.
The exact policy mix will vary from state to state. Crop and landholding patterns vary widely,
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after all. Nagaland, with an average operational land holding size of 5.06 hectares, will need a
very different approach from Kerala which averages 0.18 hectares. But they—and every other
state—have one thing in common. Loan waivers and electricity subsidies are band-aids at best.
A deeper transformation is needed.
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How can the policymakers solve the problem of scale in agriculture? Tell us at
views@livemint.com
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FARMS GETTING SMALLER, SHOWS AGRICULTURE

CENSUS
Relevant for: Indian Economy | Topic: Agriculture Issues and related constraints
Farm labourers at a paddy field in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir | PTI
The number of small and marginal agricultural land holdings in the country (known as
operational holdings) has registered a marginal increase in 2015-16 compared to 2010-11,
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according to the the tenth agricultural census. This means that there are more people who now
own smaller parcels of agricultural land.
In a positive development, the percentage of land holders who are women has increased from
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12.79% in 2010-11 to 13.87% in 2015-16, with a corresponding increase of 1.2 percentage
points in the operated area. “This shows that more and more females are participating in the
management and operation of agricultural lands,” according to a press release from the
Agriculture Ministry.
Small and marginal holdings (Below two hectares) constituted 86.21% of the total land holdings,
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an increase of 1.2 percentage points compared to 2010-11. However, the operated area (which
includes any agricultural land, provided a part of it used for production) has shown a decline of
1.5%.
It is noteworthy that marginal, small and medium land holdings constitute the lion’s share of
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operated area – large land holdings account for only 9% of the total operational area. The
average size of operational holdings is highest in Nagaland (5 hectares) and lowest in Kerala
(0.18 hectares).
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Here's a breakdown of operational land holdings and area:

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The above table shows that the number of small land holdings has registered an increase
compared to the previous census, while the number of large land holdings has decreased.
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The total number of land units used for agricultural production has shown a 5% increase in
2015-16 compared to 2010-11. The total number of operational holdings in the country has
increased from 138 million in 2010-11 to 146 million in 2015-16. Uttar Pradesh is home to the
largest number of land holders, constituting 16% of the total number.
Here's a State-wise breakdown of the number of land holdings:
First detected in Karnataka only in May this year, the fall armyworm, a native of the Americas,
has already spread as far as West Bengal and Gujarat, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
Priyanka Pulla reports on the deficiencies in India’s quarantine regime
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Source : www.hindustantimes.com Date : 2018-10-04
PAKISTAN CAN’T AFFORD ANY FURTHER DEBT WITH

CHINA
Relevant for: International Relations | Topic: Effect of policies and politics of developing countries on India's
interests
Pakistan’s railway minister, Sheikh Rasheed, says he will reduce a Chinese-funded $8.2 billion
rail investment plan by $2 billion. Upgrading Pakistan’s trains is a pillar of the massive $62 billion
China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He says he cannot afford the debt and has even
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talked of another cut of the same amount. Mr Rasheed reflects the Imran Khan government’s
sober view that Pakistan’s economic future is endangered by the intersection of two dangerous
practices. One is Beijing’s use of debt-funded infrastructure to extend its geopolitical reach. The
other is Pakistan’s long-standing addiction to overseas borrowing.
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China’s Belt Road Initiative, of which CPEC is the flagship project, today faces a backlash from
many of its supposed beneficiaries. Malaysia and Myanmar are among the other major partners
who have suspended or asked to renegotiate the terms of these infrastructure projects. The
hapless condition of Sri Lanka is already well-known. Mr Khan’s government has said it wants to
cure Pakistan of its chronic financial illnesses. Mr Rasheed’s statement is a small sign it
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recognises this will not be possible if CPEC is allowed to continue in its present form.
The other side of the coin is to change Pakistan’s macroeconomic path. Its political and military
elites have developed a fondness for expensive capital projects designed to wow voters,
generate bursts of growth and produce kickbacks. They have simply ignored the reforms needed
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to boost domestic productivity and ensure long-term growth. These showcase projects depend
on imported inputs and foreign capital and leave a financial hangover of debts and deficits. This
is why Pakistan goes to the International Monetary Fund for help after every election. This
election has been no different except that China has been added to the donor list.
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China’s CPEC and Pakistan’s borrowing have created a dependency syndrome. Mr Khan’s
government recognises this but has yet to go beyond words. Taking on both Islamabad’s elite
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and Beijing will not be easy. However, it is a fight that has to be won as the results of this bond
of debt are disastrous and will get worse.
First Published: Oct 03, 2018 19:19 IST

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Source : www.pib.nic.in Date : 2018-10-04
CABINET APPROVES REDEVELOPMENT OF RAILWAY

STATIONS BY IRSDC AS NODAL AGENCY, THROUGH
SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES AND LONGER LEASE
TENURE
Relevant for: Indian Economy | Topic: Infrastructure: Railways
Cabinet
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Cabinet approves Redevelopment of Railway Stations by
IRSDC as Nodal Agency, through simplified procedures
and longer lease tenure
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Redevelopment of railway stations will pave the way for
large scale modernisation and ensure world class
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infrastructure
Railways to provide state-of-the-art amenities for

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passengers by allowing commercial development of its
land and air space in and around stations
Improvised and simpler program design including longer

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lease period upto 99 years, multiple sub leasing, simplified

bid procedures
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Redevelopment will lead to creation of State-of-the-art

smart stations that will function as mini smart cities
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Redevelopment of railway stations will have a multiplier

effect in the economy with increased job creation and
improved economic growth
Posted On: 03 OCT 2018 7:08PM by PIB Delhi
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the
redevelopment of Railway Stations by Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Limited
(IRSDC) as Nodal Agency and main Project Development Agency, through simplified
procedures adapting various business model and for longer lease tenure of upto 99 years. Thus,
paving the way for large scale modernisation and ensure world class infrastructure.
Redevelopment of major stations across the country is planned by leveraging commercial
development of land and air space in and around the station. This program will help provide
state-of-the-art amenities for passengers, generate additional revenues and will be overall at
least cost neutral to Ministry of Railways (MoR) over a basket of stations. Furthermore,
redevelopment of railway stations across the country will have a multiplier effect in the economy
with increased job creation and improved economic growth.
IRSDC being the Nodal agency will prepare the overall strategic plan and business plans for
individual or a group of stations ensuring cost neutrality of this program. Upon approval of
business plans by MoR, IRSDC or other Project Development Agencies will take up the work of
station redevelopment. Railway/RLDA/IRSDC will be planning and development authority for
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Railway land in consultation with urban local bodies, DDA or other UTs, to transfer land on free
hold basis to Railways. This would enable Ministry of Railways to accelerate the redevelopment
of major stations across the country on an overall cost neutral basis. These redevelopment
efforts will lead to creation of State-of-the-art smart stations that will function as mini smart cities.
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Railway passengers and Industry shall be benefited at large. Passengers will now get amenities
at par with international railway terminals and a large number of local job creation is expected as
a positive external outcome of this program.
Background:
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A Cabinet approval was obtained on 24th June 2015 to redevelop ‘A1’ and ‘A’ category stations
by Zonal Railways through Cabinet approved procedures and for a lease period of 45 years.
However, insufficient interest was visible amongst the prospective bidders. During various
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interactions with developers, investors and other stakeholders, various issues including multiple
sub leasing, simplified bid procedures etc. were repeatedly raised. Therefore, an improvised and
simpler program design including these issues and under a specialized executing agency
(IRSDC), incorporating suitable structural, process and parameters changes, has been adopted
to revamp the station redevelopment program.
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CABINET APPROVES MOU BETWEEN INDIA AND

RUSSIA ON BILATERAL COOPERATION IN THE ROAD
TRANSPORT AND ROAD INDUSTRY
Relevant for: Indian Economy | Topic: Infrastructure: Roads
Cabinet
Cabinet approves MoU between India and Russia on
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Bilateral Cooperation in the Road Transport and Road
Industry
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The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Russia on Bilateral
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Cooperation in the Road Transport and Road Industry. The MoU will be signed during
the upcoming visit of Russian President to India.
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In order to develop and establish formal platform for cooperation in the Transport and
Highways sector, a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of Road Transport and
Road Industry has been jointly negotiated and finalized by both countries.
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Both the countries will benefit by mutual cooperation in the field of Road Transport
and Road Industry. Increased co-operation, exchange and collaboration with
Russiawill contribute to establish a long-term and effective bilateral relationship of
communication and cooperation in road transportation and road industry and
Intelligent Transport System (ITS). This will also help in planning and administration
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of road infrastructure and road network management, transport policy, technologies

and standards for the construction and operation of highways in the country and will
further go a long way in strengthening ties and bilateral relations between India and
Russia.
Background:
India and Russia enjoy long-standing relationship and have maintained strong
economic ties at a strategic partnership level. Russia has developed technological
solutions for satellite based tolling solutions. Similarly, they have also adopted
advanced intelligent traffic management systems including crash reporting/
monitoring systems. Considering Russia's proven experience in adoption of
technology in the road transport sector, it would be beneficial to learn from such best
practices through close interaction. India is implementing at a rapid pace its highway
infrastructure augmentation plans. To make full use of the road infrastructure it is
necessary to embrace technology to enhance transport productivity and safety. This
will also help in reducing overall logistic cost. India's own plans for massive highway
and expressway infrastructure development can be attractive opportunity to
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infrastructure development entitles in the Russia. A partnership between the two
countries will provide a platform for interaction at the operational level and
supplement initiatives associated with all International groupings and forums where
both countries are members.
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CABINET APPROVES MOU BETWEEN INDIA AND

RUSSIAON COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF MICRO,
SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
Relevant for: Indian Economy | Topic: Issues relating to Growth & Development - Industry & Services Sector
Cabinet
Cabinet approves MoU between India and Russiaon
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cooperation in the field of Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises
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The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved signingof
aMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) between National Small Industries Corporation Ltd.
(NSIC) - a Public Sector Undertaking of the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises
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(MSME) of the Republic of India and JSC-Russian Small & Medium Business Corporation
(RSMB Corporation), Russia.The MoU will be signed during the upcoming visit of Russian
President to India.
The objective of the MoU is to promote cooperation between the Small & Medium Enterprises
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(SMEs) of the two countries. It would provide a structured framework and enabling environment
to the MSME sector of the two countries to understand each other's strengths, markets,
technologies, policies etc. It aims to enhance enterprise to enterprise cooperation and help
initiate sustainable business alliances in terms of technology transfers, joint ventures and
business partnerships in MSME sector between the two countries. Cooperation in the field of
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capacity building, rapid incubation for entrepreneurship development, exposure to each other's
market by encouraging participation in exhibitions are also envisaged in this MoU.
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This cooperation is expected to open doors of new opportunities for Indian MSME sector by way
of new markets, joint ventures, sharing of best practices and technology collaborations etc.
NSIC, under the Ministry of MSME has a considerable experience in carrying out such
cooperation and is, therefore, appropriate organization to implement the activities of this MoU.
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CABINET APPROVES SECOND PROTOCOL AMENDING

THE COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION
AGREEMENT (CECA) BETWEEN INDIA AND
SINGAPORE
Relevant for: International Relations | Topic: ASEAN
Cabinet
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Cabinet approves Second Protocol amending the
Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA)
between India and Singapore
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The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto
approval to the Second Protocol amending the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation
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Agreement (CECA) between India and Singapore. The CECA was signed on 24th August 2018.
Benefits:
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Signing of the Second Protocol will enhance bilateral trade and will deepen the Economic
Cooperation between India and Singapore. It will also improve utilization of CECA.
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CABINET APPROVES ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL

INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH REHABILITATION IN
SEHORE DISTRICT INSTEAD OF BHOPAL
Relevant for: Government Policies & Welfare Schemes | Topic: Welfare of Persons with Disability - Schemes &
their performance; Mechanisms, Laws, Institutions & Bodies
Cabinet
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Cabinet approves establishment of National Institute of
Mental Health Rehabilitation in Sehore District instead of
Bhopal
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The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved,in partial
modification of the earlier decision taken on 16.05.2018, the establishment of National Institute
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of Mental Health Rehabilitation(NIMHR) in Sehore District (Bhopal-Sehore highway) instead of
Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.
Benefits:
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NIMHR will be the first of its kind in the country in the area of mental health rehabilitation. It will
serve as an institution of excellence for capacity building in human resource and research in the
area of mental health rehabilitation, and also recommending body suggesting models/protocols
for effective rehabilitation of persons with mental illness.
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CABINET APPROVES ENHANCED MINIMUM SUPPORT

PRICES (MSP) FOR RABI CROPS OF 2018-19 SEASON
TO BE MARKETED IN 2019-20 SEASON.
Relevant for: Indian Economy | Topic: Issues related to direct & indirect Farm Subsidies and MSP
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)
Cabinet approves enhanced Minimum Support Prices
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(MSP) for Rabi Crops of 2018-19 Season to be marketed in
2019-20 Season.
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Giving a boost to farmers’ income, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the increase in the Minimum Support Prices
(MSPs) for all Rabi crops for 2018-19 to be marketed in 2019-20 season. The farmer friendly
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initiative will give additional return to the farmers of Rs 62,635 crore by way of increasing MSP of
notified crops to at least 50 per cent return over cost of production and will aid in doubling
farmers’ income.
The increase in the MSPs of wheat has been raised by Rs.105 per quintal, safflower by Rs.845
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per quintal, barley by Rs.30 per quintal, masur (lentil) by Rs.225 per quintal, gram by Rs.220 per
quintal and rapeseed & mustard by Rs.200 per quintal is another major step in this regard.
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● The MSPs fixed by the government for wheat, barley, gram, masur, rapeseed & mustard
and safflower are much higher than the cost of production.
● For wheat the cost of production is Rs 866 per quintal and MSP is Rs 1840 per quintal
which gives a return of 112.5 per cent over cost of production;
● for barley the cost of production is Rs 860 per quintal and MSP is Rs 1440 per quintal giving
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a return of 67.4 per cent;

● for gram cost of production is Rs 2637 per quintal and MSP is Rs 4620 per quintal giving a
return of 75.2 per cent;
● for masur cost of production is Rs 2532 per quintal and MSP is Rs 4475 per quintal giving a
return of 76.7 per cent;
● for rapeseed & mustard the cost of production is Rs 2212 per quintal and MSP is Rs 4200
per quintal giving a return of 89.9 per cent and
● for safflower the cost of production is Rs 3294 per quintal and MSP is Rs 4945 per quintal
giving a return of 50.1 per cent.
The Minimum Support Prices for all rabi crops of 2018-19 season to be marketed in 2019-20 is
as follows:
MSP MSP
Increase in MSP
2017-18 2018-19 Cost of production Return over
Crop
2018-19 (Rs/quintal) Absolu (in per cent)
(Rs/ quintal) (Rs/ quintal) %
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Wheat 1735 1840 866 105 6.1 112.5
Barley 1410 1440 860 30 2.1 67.4
Gram 4400 4620 2637 220 5.0 75.2
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Masur (Lentil) 4250 4475 2532 225 5.3 76.7
Rapeseed & Mustard 4000 4200 2212 200 5.0 89.9
Safflower 4100 4945 3294 845 20.6 50.1
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*Includes all paid out costs such as those incurred on account of hired human labour, bullock
labour/machine labour, rent paid for leased in land, expenses incurred on use of material inputs
like seeds, fertilizers, manures, irrigation charges, depreciation on implements and farm
buildings, interest on working capital, diesel/electricity for operation of pump sets etc,
miscellaneous expenses and imputed value of family labour.
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Background:
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With the new Umbrella Scheme “Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan’ (PM-
AASHA) announced by the government there is a robust mechanism available to enable farmers
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realize the MSP in fuller measure. The Umbrella Scheme consists of three sub-schemes i.e.
Price Support Scheme (PSS), Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS) and Private
Procurement & Stockist Scheme (PPSS) on a pilot basis. Government has decided to give
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additional guarantee of Rs.16,550 crore making the total government guarantee Rs. 45,550
crore. In addition to this, budget provision for procurement operations has also been increased
and Rs. 15,053 crore is sanctioned for the implementation of PM-AASHA. Central and State
procurement agencies like Food Corporation of India, National Agricultural Cooperative
Marketing Federation of India Limited, Small Farmers Agri –Business Consortium would
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continue to provide price support to farmers for the Rabi crops.
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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA AND THE ASIAN

DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB) SIGN $ 150 MILLION
LOANAGREEMENTTO SUPPORT INDIA’S FIRST
GLOBAL SKILLS PARK IN STATE OF MADHYA
PRADESH
Relevant for: Health, Education & Human Resources | Topic: Human resources & Sports and related issues
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Ministry of Finance
Government of India and the Asian Development Bank
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(ADB) sign $ 150 Million LoanAgreementto support India’s
First Global Skills Park in State of Madhya Pradesh
Posted On: 03 OCT 2018 6:38PM by PIB DelhiS.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $150 million
LoanAgreement in New Delhi todayto establish a Global Skills Park (GSP) in Madhya
Pradesh, the First Multi-Skills Park in India, to enhance the quality of Technical and
Vocational Education And Training (TVET) System in the State and create a more
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skilled workforce.
The signatories to the Madhya Pradesh Skills Development Project were Mr. Sameer
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Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (Fund Bank and
ADB), Ministryof Finance, who signed on behalf of the Government of India, and Mr.
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Kenichi Yokoyama, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission, who signed for
ADB.
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Speaking on the occasion, Mr Khare said that the Project will help improve the quality
and relevance of the State’s TVET programs and will help impart advanced job-ready
skills training of international standards that can meet the employment needs of the
State’s emerging sectors.
Mr. Yokoyamasaid that the Project will engage international TVET partners to support
advanced training at the GSP who will bring global best practices in TVET
management, training infrastructure, industry cooperation, and quality assurance.
The new GSP campus, which will be established in Bhopal will consist of core
Advanced Training Institutes including the Center for Occupational Skills Acquisition
and the Center for Advanced Agricultural Training as well as other support services
focusing on entrepreneurship, training of trainers, and skill-related research. The
campus will have training facilities focusing on skills for manufacturing, service, and
advanced agricultural jobs, benefitting about 20,000 trainees and trainers. The
Project will also help in modernizing 10 industrial training institutes across the state
by renovating training infrastructure and upgrading skills courses to align with industry
and market needs.
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PRIME MINISTER CONFERRED CHAMPIONS OF EARTH

AWARD 2018 FOR POLICY LEADERSHIP
Development & EIA
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Prime Minister conferred Champions of Earth Award 2018
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for Policy Leadership
“Climate and Calamity have a direct relation with culture”,
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says Prime Minister
“Prime Minister has dedicated the award to Indian value

system”: Dr. Harsh Vardhan
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The Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, was today conferred the Champions of the
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Earth Award 2018 for Policy Leadership by UN Secretary General, Mr. Antonio
Guterres at a ceremony at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra, here today. Executive Director,
UN Environment, Mr Erik Solheim, Union Minister for External Affairs, Ms. Sushma
Swaraj and Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr.
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Mahesh Sharma, were present on the occasion.

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In his address, the Prime Minister said that the award is for all those unknown faces,
who work in far-flung settlements, mountainous regions, tribal areas for years. He
emphasized that the award is an honour for the India’s continual, new, eternal and
ancient tradition and is the reflection of our commitment for sustainable energy. He
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also congratulated the other laureates of the award in other categories. Mr. Modi
underlined that climate and calamity have a direct relationship with culture and till the
concerns over climate become a part of culture, it will be difficult to escape calamities.
Stating that India’s sensitivity towards environment is today being acknowledged the
world over, Mr. Modi underlined that in India, nature has been considered a living
entity as well as a being that co-exists. He referred to the Clean Air campaign to
sensitise ground-level functionaries and general public to enforce the habit of
environmental protection.
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The Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi receiving “Champions of The Earth”
award
Speaking on the occasion, Secretary General, United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres
said “today we recognise a statesman, who embodies the true meaning of
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leadership.” Mr. Guterres praised the sensitivity towards nature and environment
being a part of Indian tradition. “I must confess that the impact of Prime Minister
Modi’s decisions has already reached the executive office of United Nations. Prime
Minister Modi decided that India should restrict the use of single use plastic in less
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than five years. In the office of United Nations, I have decided that there is no single
use of plastic”, the UN Secretary General said. He said that climate action is the right
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approach from the point of view of environment, economy and development.
In his remarks, Executive Director, UN Environment, Mr Erik Solheim stressed that

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the Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, has been providing political leadership, vision
and dedication that is lacking in the world. Mr. Solheim praised India’s efforts for
increase in the number of tigers, increase in forest area and in the field of solar
energy. “It is ambitious leaders like him that will propel us forward in the fight to keep
our natural environment healthy, accessible and sustainable for all. For this, I am
immensely inspired and grateful”, Mr. Solheim said. “Prime Minister Modi has shown
the kind of leadership and ambition our planet needs right now. There is the bold
pledge to end single-use plastic in five years’ time, something that could well be the
start of a global wave of action that saves our oceans. India is leading the world into a
solar-powered future, proving that a clean, low-carbon economy is also great for
business. Our planet needs more champions like him”, he added.
In her address, Union Minister of External Affairs, Ms. Sushma Swaraj, emphasized
that in our country, Earth is not seen as a planet, but revered as Mother Earth. She
stated that the Government’s goal is to strive for environmental protection along with
development. Quoting Sanskrit ‘suktas’, Ms. Swaraj extolled the virtues of ancient
Indian philosophy and thought towards the protection of nature and environment.
She underlined that in the West, when buildings are constructed a ground-breaking
ceremony is conducted, whereas in India, ‘Bhoomi Pujan’ (worship of the earth) is
performed.
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Addressing the gathering, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate
Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, said that the Government has introduced several
policies and programmes under the visionary leadership of the Prime Minister, Mr.
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Narendra Modi. “Today, our villages are becoming cleaner and deaths due to
diarrhoea are history. That speaks volumes for Modi ji’s vision in nurturing
environmental health”, he added. The Minister pointed out that the Prime Minister, in
keeping with the Indian tradition of renunciation, has already announced that he is
dedicating the award to the Indian value system. “Yesterday was the 150th birth
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anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Decades ago, Bapu dreamt of a Swachh Bharat.
Today, his dream is being brought to reality by a man as humble, as committed and
as brave as him. Our beloved Prime Minister Modi ji is inspiring 130 crore Indians to
achieve the goal of Swachh Bharat and making remarkable strides in cleanliness and
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sanitation, in environmental protection and upliftment of the poor and downtrodden”,
Dr. Vardhan said.
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Outlining some of the programmes undertaken under the visionary leadership of the
Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi ji, Dr. Harsh Vardhan stated that rightly the UN
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has recognized our Prime Minister as a statesman with exemplary devotion and
commitment to uplift the poor, strengthen public health and protect the environment
through numerous initiatives launched in the last four years.
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Dr. Harsh Vardhan addressing the gathering
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Referring to the "Green Good Deeds" - a societal movement to protect environment
and promote good living in the country and bringing focus on involvement of citizens
through small actions like saving energy, conserving water, planting trees, the
Environment Minister urged the people to undertake one Green Good Deed every
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day. "The youth has also taken inspiration from Modi ji and are leading the change,
making responsible choices to ensure that they do all that they can to reverse climate
change", Dr. Vardhan stated.
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The Minister also highlighted Swachh Bharat Mission as one of the world's biggest
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people's movement and said that Prime Minister Modi ji has been inspiring 130 crore
Indians to achieve the goal of Swachh Bharat and making remarkable strides in
cleanliness and sanitation, in environmental protection and upliftment of the poor and
downtrodden. “As many as 25 States have become Open Defecation Free (ODF)
and so have 5 lakh villages.
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Dr. Vardhan said that the Government has pledged to eliminate single use plastic by
2022. He stressed the decision to leapfrog from BS-IV to BS-VI emission norms by
April 2020, which was to be earlier adopted by 2024 and push for e-vehicles,
stringent fuel emission norms, expansion of mass rapid transit systems and green
ports.
The Minister stated that internationally, the Prime Minister, Mr. Modi led the launch of
International Solar Alliance jointly with France, to make solar energy efficient,
affordable and bringing energy security in member countries. "68 nations are now
members of ISA, which is now a treaty-based international government organisation.
Several Cabinet Ministers, ambassadors, representatives of diplomatic missions and

senior officers as well as officials of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change and other Union Ministries were among those present in the gathering.
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Champions of the Earth Award
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Champions of the Earth is the highest UN honour in the field of environment. The
award recognizes outstanding figures from public and private sector as well as civil
society, whose actions have brought about a positive impact and a transformation on
environment. The Champions of the Earth award was launched in 2005. The award
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is presented in five categories – Lifetime Achievement, Policy Leadership, Action and
Inspiration, Entrepreneurial Vision and Science & Innovation. Since its inception
thirteen years ago, the awards have recognized 84 laureates.
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SIDBI LAUNCHES A NATIONAL LEVEL

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARENESS CAMPAIGN,
UDYAM ABHILASHA ( ) IN 115 ASPIRATIONAL
DISTRICTS IDENTIFIED BY NITI AAYOG IN 28 STATES
AND REACHING TO AROUND 15,000 YOUTH
Relevant for: Indian Economy | Topic: Issues relating to Growth & Development - Industry & Services Sector
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Ministry of Finance
SIDBI launches a National Level Entrepreneurship
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Awareness Campaign, Udyam Abhilasha ( ) in 115
Aspirational Districts identified by NITI Aayog in 28 States
and reaching to around 15,000 youth
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On the occasion of Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi yesterday i.e. October 02, 2018, Small
Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), had launched a National Level Entrepreneurship
Awareness Campaign, Udyam Abhilasha ( ) in 115 Aspirational Districts identified by NITI Aayog
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in 28 States and reaching to around 15,000 youth. SIDBI will join to contribute to “the
transformation mission” unleashed for these districts. The campaign would be running parallelly
from 3rd October to 8thOctober, 2018 across India. The campaign would create and strengthen
cadre of more than 800 trainers to provide entrepreneurship training to the aspiring youths
across these districts thus encouraging them to enter the admired segment of entrepreneurs.
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SIDBI has partnered with CSC e-Governance Services India Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle,
(CSC SPV) set up by the Ministry of Electronics & IT, Govt. of India for implementing the
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campaign through their CSCs. The objectives of the missionary campaign includes :- (i) to
inspire rural youth in aspirational districts to be entrepreneurs by assisting them to set up their
own enterprise, (ii) to imparttrainings through digital medium across the country, (iii) to create
business opportunities forCSC VLEs,(iv)to focus on women aspirants in these aspirational
districts to encourage women entrepreneurship and (v)to assist participants to become bankable
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and avail credit facility from banks to set up their own enterprise.
SIDBI is also taking-up with stakeholders including Banks, NABARD, NBFCs, SFBs, District
Industries Centres, State Govt. etc. to be a part of this campaign and ensure mutlifold impact.
Further, CSC Village Level entrepreneurs (VLEs) would play role of catalyst for these aspiring
entrepreneurs. Apart from training, VLEs would also provide handholding support to the
aspirants to establish new units by assisting them in availing loans for their enterprise and
making them aware about various initiatives of Government of India like Pradhan Mantri Mudra
Yojana, SUI etc. and educate the youths in these districts on business literacy.
Speaking about the campaign, Shri Mohammad Mustafa, IAS, CMD, SIDBI said “As the task of
transforming ‘Aspirational Districts’ is challenging, SIDBI has taken a bold step by entering into
these aspirational districts and working on ground level activities in these areas, to create
livelihood and promote sustainable development. This is part of our programmatic approach to
induce entrepreneurship as dream choice by turning job seekers as job creators. We are
connecting different dots through policy advocacy initiatives of MSE Pulse & Crisidex,
entrepreneurship series & campaigns, revamping digital aggregator portal, free access to project
profiles and so on. Idea is to remove information asymmetry and make the youths in these
‘resource challenged’ districts to be ‘access rich’.”
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), is the Principal Financial Institution for the
Promotion, Financing, Development and Coordination of the Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprise (MSME) sector. SIDBI meets the financial and developmental needs of the MSME
sector with a Credit+ approach to make it strong, vibrant and globally competitive. SIDBI, under
its revamped strategy SIDBI 2.0, has adopted the theme of ease of access to MSEs and being
Impact Multiplier & Digital Aggregator. Efforts have been initiated to strengthen the eco system
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both in setting up and stepping up stages of business cycle. To take the agenda forward, SIDBI
has had series of initiatives.
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PM INAUGURATES FIRST ASSEMBLY OF THE

INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE
Relevant for: Indian Economy | Topic: Infrastructure: Energy incl. Renewable & Non-renewable
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
PM inaugurates first assembly of the International Solar

Alliance
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The Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, today inaugurated the first Assembly of the International
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Solar Alliance at Vigyan Bhawan. The same event also marked the inauguration of the second
IORA Renewable Energy Ministerial Meeting, and the 2nd Global RE-Invest (Renewable Energy
Investors’ Meet and Expo). The Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres,
was present on the occasion. S.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said that in the last 150 to 200 years, mankind has
depended on fossil fuels for energy needs. He said nature is now indicating that options such as
solar, wind and water, offer more sustainable energy solutions. In this context, he expressed
confidence that in future, when people talk of organisations for the welfare of mankind
established in the 21st century, the International Solar Alliance will be at the top of the list. He
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said this is a great forum to work towards ensuring climate justice. He said the International
Solar Alliance could replace OPEC as the key global energy supplier in the future.
The Prime Minister said that the effect of increased use of renewable energy is now visible in
India. He added that India is working towards the goals of the Paris Agreement through an
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action plan. He said that the target is to generate 40 percent of India's total energy requirements
in 2030, by non fossil fuel based sources. He said India is developing with a new self-confidence
of "Poverty to Power."
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The Prime Minister said that besides solar and wind power, India is working on biomass, biofuel
and bio-energy. He said efforts are being made to make India's transport system clean fuel
based. He said that by converting bio-waste to biofuel, India is converting a challenge into an
opportunity. He emphasized that if the dream of “One World, One Sun and One Grid” is
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followed, uninterrupted power supply can be ensured.
Mr. Modi announced plans to launch a National Energy Storage Mission that will look at
manufacturing, deployment, technology development and policy framework.
Addressing the gathering, Secretary General of United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres said that
climate change is an existential threat for all. He emphasized that the International Solar
Alliance represents the future of energy scenario the world over. Pointing out that the world is
witnessing a global renewable energy revolution, the UN Secretary General hoped that the age
of fossil fuels will end with a replacement for them. Mr. Guterres said that he would convene a
Climate Summit next December to bring climate action to the top of international agenda.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister of External Affairs, Ms. Sushma Swaraj said that the
International Solar Alliance is an endearing reality. She pointed out that the goal of the three
events inaugurated today is to promote sustainable development for a better world.
A short film on the ‘Journey of Renewable Energy in India” was screened. Another film
on Student Initiative on Solar Lamp was also shown on the occasion. 100 students from various
schools lit the Solar Study Lamp at the inaugural function.
Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Renewable Energy and Power, Mr. R.K Singh
presented saplings to the dignitaries on the occasion. Mr. R.K Singh also delivered the vote of
thanks.
The Business and Technical Sessions of ISA Assembly, IORA Meet and RE-INVEST 2018 Expo
will be held at India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh from October 3-5, 2018.
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INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE
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International Solar Alliance (ISA), an alliance of 121 solar resource rich countries lying fully or
partially between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. ISA was jointly launched by the Prime
Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, and the then President of France, Mr. François Hollande, on
November 30, 2015 in Paris, France on the side-lines of the 21st Conference of Parties (CoP
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21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The ISA Framework
Agreement was opened for signature on 15 November 2016 in Marrakech, Morocco, on the
side-lines of CoP-22.
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The vision and mission of the International Solar Alliance is to provide a dedicated platform for
cooperation among solar resource rich countries that lie completely or partial between the
Tropics of Capricorn & Cancer, the global stakeholders, including bilateral and multilateral
organizations, corporates, and industry to make a positive contribution to assist and help
achieve the common goals of increasing the use of solar energy in meeting energy needs of
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prospective ISA member countries in a safe, convenient, affordable, equitable and sustainable
manner.
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In conformity with the ISA Framework Agreement, 30 days after ratification by the 15th country,
on December 6, 2017, ISA became the first full-fledged treaty based international
intergovernmental organization headquartered in India. Through this initiative, the countries,
inter alia, share the collective ambition: (i) to address obstacles that stand in the way of rapid
and massive scale-up of solar energy; (ii) to undertake innovative and concerted efforts for
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reducing the cost of finance and cost of technology for immediate deployment of competitive
solar generation; and (iii) to mobilise more than 1000 Billion US Dollars of investments by 2030.
The Government of India has committed Rs.175 crore for setting up of ISA and till date released
a sum of Rs 145 crore for creating a corpus fund, building infrastructure and meeting day to day
recurring expenditure.
On March 11, 2018, the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi and the President of
France, Mr. Emmanuel Macron co-hosted the founding conference of the International Solar
Alliance (ISA). 48 countries, including 25 Heads of States participated in this conference. In
addition, there were representations from the United Nations, multilateral development banks,
energy-related think tanks, corporate sector and civil society.
The Delhi Solar Agenda, adopted in the Founding Conference of the ISA, states that the ISA
member States inter-alia have agreed to pursue an increased share of solar energy in the final
energy consumption in respective national energy mix, as a means of tackling global challenges
of climate change and as a cost-effective solution by supporting and implementing policy
initiatives and participation of all relevant stakeholders, as applicable, in respective States.
Till date, out of 121 prospective member countries that lie either fully or partially between the
Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, 70 countries have signed the Framework Agreement of the
ISA. 44 of these countries have ratified the ISA treaty.
The first Assembly, in a way, will lay the foundation for global Solar Agenda. The Assembly, as
supreme decision making body of the ISA, will steer the process to significantly harness solar
energy for achieving universal energy access at affordable rates. The Assembly will adjudicate
upon various administrative, financial and programme related issues. Hon’ble Ministers from ISA
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countries have been invited for the Assembly. The countries that have ratified the ISA Treaty
Framework will attend the Assembly as Members. Countries that have signed but are yet to
ratify the ISA Treaty Framework will attend the Assembly as Observers. Till date, 75 country
delegations have confirmed participation. This includes 36 member countries, 24 observer
co
countries, 12 prospective member countries and 3 partner country. Ministerial level participation
has been confirmed from 22 member countries, 10 observer countries and 3 prospective
member countries.
THE INDIAN OCEAN RIM ASSOCIATION

S.
IA
The Indian Ocean Rim Association was set up with the objective of strengthening regional
cooperation and sustainable development within the Indian Ocean Region with 21 Member
States and 7 Dialogue Partners. India will be hosting 2nd IORA Renewable Energy Ministerial
meet. In this meeting, Ministers from 9 member countries and delegates from all 21 member
countries are expected to participate. India, Australia, Iran, Indonesia Thailand, Malaysia, South
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Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Singapore, Mauritius,

Madagascar, UAE, Yemen, Seychelles, Somalia, Comoros and Oman are members of IORA.
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2ND RE-INVESTMENT
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The 2nd RE-INVEST aims at accelerating the worldwide effort to scale up renewable energy
and connect the global investment community with Indian energy stakeholders. 2 nd RE-
INVEST will include a three-day Conference on renewables, cleantech and future energy
choices, and an Expo of renewables-related manufacturers, developers, investors and
innovators.
The 2nd RE-INVEST will provide a great opportunity to various countries, states, business
houses & organisations to showcase their business strategies, achievements and
expectations. It would facilitate collaboration and cooperation with key stakeholders in India,
which has today emerged as one of the world’s largest renewable energy markets.
The 2nd RE-INVEST is expected to be attended by Ministerial Delegations from across the world
including ISA and IORA Member Countries, over 600 global industry leaders, and 10,000
delegates. 15 Indian states will participate, there will be 7 focused country presentations, and
over 150 speakers including 55 international speakers from 15 countries will speak at the event.
RE-INVEST includes 50 plenary and technical sessions, a special Chief Ministerial plenary
session, exhibition with over 100 exhibiting companies, and focused sessions on Start-ups and
Human Resource Development.
Globally, India stands 5th in renewable power, 4th in wind power and 5th in solar power installed
capacity. India is one of the world’s largest green energy markets, with exponential increase in
demand and supply. Renewable energy development and deployment has received proactive
policy support, including 100% foreign investment. The Government of India is aiming to exceed
the set target of 175 GW renewable energy capacity by 2022.
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RE-Invest is a global platform to explore strategies for development and deployment of
renewables. It showcases India’s green energy market and the Government’s efforts to
scale up capacity to meet the national energy demand in socially, economically and
ecologically sustainable ways. The 2nd Global RE-Invest will build upon the success of
co
RE-Invest 2015 and provide an international forum to established players as well as new
segments of investors and entrepreneurs to engage, ideate and innovate.
***
RDS/RP/FH/HK
S.
k IA
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END
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IN BLOW TO TRUMP, UN COURT TELLS U.S. TO EASE

‘In the right’

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TRIO GETS CHEMISTRY NOBEL

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FLOOR PRICE FOR RABI CROPS HIKED

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FORGO S-400 SYSTEM, U.S. TELLS INDIA

Neil Bjorkman, Vice-President of Legislative Affairs at the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership

The waiver option

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CENTRE’S NOD FOR MENTAL HEALTH INSTITUTE

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NO SWEEPING CHANGE — ON SWACHH BHARAT

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THE SCOPE OF CONSTITUTIONAL MORALITY

call governments to account.

Ambedkar’s delineation of constitutional morality in asserting the urgency of decriminalising

constitutional morality as a guiding principle for constitutional interpretation. A five-judge bench

The genealogy of Ambedkar’s signposting of constitutional morality may be traced to the

“progressive realisation of rights” in this instance? The principle of non-retrogression in the

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MORE LIQUIDITY FOR LENDING

What are SLR, CRR, and LCR?

Why are they in the news?

Can they solve the liquidity crisis?

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IN HARMONY WITH MOTHER NATURE

Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister of India

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THE CREAMY LAYER OF SOCIAL JUSTICE

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PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

JAPAN DROPS NEW ROBOT ON ASTEROID

A Japanese probe launched a new observation robot towards an asteroid on Wednesday as it

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FARMS GETTING SMALLER, SHOWS AGRICULTURE

Here's a breakdown of operational land holdings and area:

Here's a State-wise breakdown of the number of land holdings:

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PAKISTAN CAN’T AFFORD ANY FURTHER DEBT WITH

First Published: Oct 03, 2018 19:19 IST

CABINET APPROVES REDEVELOPMENT OF RAILWAY

Railways to provide state-of-the-art amenities for

Improvised and simpler program design including longer

lease period upto 99 years, multiple sub leasing, simplified

Redevelopment will lead to creation of State-of-the-art

Redevelopment of railway stations will have a multiplier

(Release ID: 1548413) Visitor Counter : 465

Read this release in: Gujarati , Tamil

CABINET APPROVES MOU BETWEEN INDIA AND

Cabinet approves MoU between India and Russia on