Civil Services Mentor October 2015

Page No.
Index
Tribal Rights
Page No.
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and India
OCTOBER, 2015
Page No.
Designed by:
Chandan Kumar Raja
6
Skill Development
For Advertisement Contact at :

9958790414
Join us at Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/iasexamportal
Follow us at Twitter:
https://twitter.com/iasexamportal
Disclaimer:
Editor and Publisher are not responsible
for any view, data, figure etc. expressed
in the articles by the author(s). Maps are
notational .
All Disputes are subject to the exclusive
jurisdiction of competent courts and
fourms in Delhi/New Delhi only.
CURRENT AFFAIRS
National Issues
International Issues
India & the World
Economy
Science and Technology
Sports
Selected Articles from

Various Newspapers & Journals
Page No.
9
26
38
43
58
63
76
105
Space Missions
Page No.
107
Negotiable Instruments
(Amendment) Bill
MOCK PAPER For GS Paper-II Preliminary Examination 2016109
Current Affairs Objective Question 123
Join Online Coaching For IAS Pre & Mains Exams

http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/courses
Tribal Rights
TRIBAL RIGHTS
According to D N Majumdar A
tribe is a collection of families, bearing
a common name, members to which
occupy the same territory, speak the
same language and observe certain
taboos regarding marriage profession
or occupation and have developed
a well assessed system of reciprocity
and mutuality of obligation. In India
tribes are recognised by the
Constitution of India. There are
various provisions related to
scheduled tribes in the Constitution
of India. The Census of 1971
recorded 36,408,514 Scheduled
Tribes population in India which
increased to 104,545,716 in 2011
Census. Majority of Scheduled Tribes
population are residing in rural areas
of the country. Scheduled tribes
being primitive in nature also face
lots of problems. Human
development indices are often poor
in tribal populations. Tribal
population also face various
exploitations like bonded labour,
indebtedness etc. Problem of
inadequate infrastructure is also
present among the tribal population.
Tribals have been displaced in large
2
numbers on account of various large

development projects like irrigation
dams, hydro-electric and thermal
power plants, coal mines and mineralbased industries.Tribal population
has been provided safeguards within
the various articles of the
constitution. Government also in
order to take care of the tribal
population has enacted various
legislations. Schedule tribes live
across India important among them
are Bhil, Goudu, koya of Andhra
Pradesh; Abhor, Dafla, Mishmi of
Arunanchal pradesh; Chakma,
Dimasa (Kachari), Garo, Hajong of
Mizoram etc.
The term Scheduled Tribes
apperas in the Constitution of India
under Article 366 (25), which
defines scheduled tribes as such
tribes or tribal communities or parts
of or groups within such tribes or tribal
communities as are deemed under
Article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes
for the purposes of this constitution.
Article 342 says, The President may,
with respect to any State or Union
territory, and where it is a state, after
consultation with the Governor there
of by public notification, specify the

tribes or tribal communities or parts
of or groups within tribes or tribal
communities which shall, for the
purposes of this constitution, is
deemed to be scheduled tribes in
relation to that state or Union
Territory, as the case may be.
Parliament may by law include in or
exclude from the list of Scheduled
tribes specified in a notification
issued under clause(1) any tribe or
tribal community or part of or group
within any tribe or tribal community,
but save as aforesaid, a notification
issued under the said clause shall not
be varied by any subsequent
notification.
Constitution through various
Articles safeguard the interest of the
scheduled
tribes.
Under
fundamental rights Article 15 and 16
protect against discrimination. Article
46 of the Directictive principles of
the state policy says: The State shall
promote with special care the
educational and economic interests
of the weaker sections of the people,
and, in particular, of the Scheduled
Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and
http://www.iasexamportal.com
Click Here to Subscribe PRINT COPY of Civil Services Mentor Magazine
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/magazine

Tribal Rights
shall protect them from social
injustice and all forms of exploitation.
Artilce 330 provides for the
reservation of seats for the scheduled
tribes. Article 330 states: Seats shall
be reserved in the House of the
People for a. the Scheduled Castes;
b. the Scheduled Tribes except
the Scheduled Tribes in the
autonomous districts of Assam;
and
c. the Scheduled Tribes in the
autonomous districts of Assam.
Except this seats shall be
reserved for the scheduled tribes in
the legislative assembly of states.
Seats for Scheduled tribes are also
reserved in panchayati raj institutions
as well as the municipalities. Along
with that governor has been provided
with the specials powers in
administration of areas under
schedule 5 and 6. The National
Commission for Scheduled Tribes
(NCST) was established by amending
Article 338 and inserting a new
Article 338A in the Constitution
through the Constitution (89th
Amendment) Act, 2003. National
commission for ST look after the issues
and attrocities faced by the ST
population.
In order to fullfill the objectives
provided in the various provisions of
the constitution parliament has
legislated various legislations.
Important among them includes:
Forest Rights Act 2006;
PESA 1996;
SC/ST
(Prevention
of
Atrocities) Act, 1989;
Protection of Civil Rights Act,
1955;
Vanbandhu kalyan yojana
Still working of these acts does
not bring confidence amongst the
tribal population. Second ARC report
says for crimes committed against
members of the Scheduled Tribes
under the P.C.R. Act, of a total
pendency of 217 cases, trials were
completed in only 70 cases and only

2 cases ended in conviction in the
year 2006 and as many as 145 cases
were pending trial, at the end of 2006.
For crimes committed against the
members of the Scheduled Tribes
under the provisions of the SC/ST
Prevention of Atrocities Act, out of
5621 cases pending trial, 40 cases
were compounded by the
government, only 255 ended in
conviction and as many as 4565 cases
were still pending trial in the courts
at the end of the year 2006.
The Panchayats (Extension to
the Scheduled Area) Act, 1996
(PESA) is a landmark legislation that
ensures involvement of tribals in their
empowerment process not only as
active participants but also as
effective
decision-makers,
implementors, monitors and
evaluators. Section 4 of the Act
provides for the establishment of a
Gram Sabha for every village. The
Gram Sabha is empowered to
safeguard and preserve the traditions
and customs of the people, their
cultural identity, community
resources and the customary mode
of dispute resolution. The Gram Sabha
as articulated in PESA, has within
itself an inbuilt capacity for conflict
resolution. For working of PESA,
Sercond ARC states A comparative
analysis of PESA and the legislations
enacted by the States on this subject
reveals that the provisions of PESA
have been highly diluted in the
process of ratification by the States
and most of the powers of the Gram

Sabha have been given to the district
administration or to the Zilla Parishad.
The main objective in enacting PESA
was to enable the tribal society to
assume control over livelihoods, have
a say in management of natural
resources and to protect the
traditional culture and rights of the
tribals. The information available
indicates that the main objective of
PESA has been diluted to the
detriment of the tribal population.
Critical issues such as access to
natural resources, especially the
definition and rights over minor forest
products remain unresolved and, in
general, the objectives of PESA have
not been realized in any serious
manner in any of the states with a
large tribal population.
Recently in Mines and Minerals
development and regulation Act was
passed. District mineral foundation
body was created under the act. It is
mentioned that objective and
functioning of the DMF should be
guided by Constitutional provisions
as it relates to Fifth and Sixth
Schedules for governing tribal areas.
It should also be guided by the
provisions of Panchayats (Extension
to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 and
the Forest Rights Act, 2006 the
recommendation states. The Right to
Fair Compensation and Transparency
in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation
and Resettlement Act also looks after
the rights of local population. These
are welcome steps which will help
the scheduled tribes of the India.

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGS) AND INDIA
Millenium
Development
Goals(MDGs) are the product of the
Millennium Summit of September
2000. At this summit world leaders
adopted the UN Millennium
Declaration, committing their nations
to a new global partnership by
adoption of Millennium Declaration
by the General Assembly of the
United Nations. This summit
committed to reduce extreme
poverty and setting out a series of
time-bound targets, with a deadline
of 2015. These time bound targets
are now known as the Millenium
Development Goals (MDGs).
According to United Nations MDG
are quantified targets for addressing
extreme poverty in its many
dimensions-income poverty, hunger,
disease, lack of adequate shelter, and
exclusion-while promoting gender
equality,
education,
and
environmental sustainability. They are
also basic human rights-the rights of
each person on the planet to health,
education, shelter, and security.The
Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) have helped in bringing out
a much needed focus and pressure
4
on basic development issues, which

in turn led the governments at national
and sub national levels to do better
planning and implement more
intensive policies and programmes.
MDGs have played a big role in
improving the social indicators in
India. India has achieved the target
of reducing countries poverty levels
by fifty percent by Dec, 2015.
The MDGs consists of eight
goals, all these goals target various
developmental and human rights
issues. The eight (8) Goals are as
under:
Goal 1: eradicate extreme
poverty and hunger;
Goal 2: achieve universal
primary education;
Goal 3: promote gender
equality and empower
women;
Goal 4: reduce child mortality;
Goal 5: improve maternal
health;
Goal 6: combat HIV/AIDS,
malaria, and other diseases;
Goal 7: ensure environmental
sustainability;
Goal 8: develop a global
partnership for development.

Goals of MDGs are inter-linked
with each other, like improving the
sanitation levels will reduce child
mortality as well as improve the
maternal health; it will also help in
combating the malaria etc. Similarly
improvement in education levels as
well as it will also improve gender
equality as well as help in
empowerment of women. Special
emphasis has been given to the
effectiveness of Statistics in
monitoring development process at
national and international levels, by
specifying measurable indicators for
the targets in the Millennium
Development Goals. In India, the
national statistical system does not
have independent statistical
machinery exclusively focused on
quantitative monitoring of the MDGs.
The Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation (MOSPI)
which is entrusted with the statistical
tracking of the MDGs in India, is
monitoring the progress under MDGs
on the basis of data-sets available at
national level, generated by the
subject
matter
Ministries/


Departments. Currently the
monitoring is limited to the national
and State/ UT levels.
Although more than 200
countries has committed to MDGs
but success of MDGs is highly
dependent upon how India will
perform. Since 2000 India has made
progress in all the MDGs. However
the progress among the goals has
been mixed. In some indicators India
has performed exceptionally well,
while in other indicators lot more
needs to be done. The nation has
already achieved the target of halving
the poverty head count ratio,
eliminated gender inequality in
primary and secondary education,
achieved the required trend reversal
in the fight against HIV/ AIDS,
ensuring the achievement of target
of drinking water facility and
improving drastically the telephone
and internet penetration. The
Country is moderately on track, while
considering the targets of achieving
universal education, reducing child
mortality as the sharp decline in the
recent years in Infant Mortality and
Under Five Mortality are likely to take
us very near to the target, trend
reversal has achieved in the fight
against Malaria and TB, though there
was some fluctuations in between,
measures have taken to reverse the
loss of environmental resources,
progress has been achieved in
improving the environment by
improving the coverage of forest area,
protected areas, reducing CFC
emissions. In spite of all these
successes, hunger and sanitation
remains a tough challenge for India.
Maternal mortality rates have also not
dropped to the desired level.
MDG 1: Eradicate extreme
poverty and hunger
Target: Halve, between
1990 and 2015, the proportion
of people whose income is less
than one dollar a day
The all India Poverty Head
Count Ratio (PHCR) estimate was

47.8% in 1990. In order to meet the
target the PHCR level has to be 23.9%
by 2015. In 2011-12, the PHCR at all
India level is 21.9%, which shows that,
India has already achieved the target
well ahead of time.
Target: Halve, between
1990 and 2015, the proportion
of people who suffer from
hunger
It is estimated that in 1990, the
proportion of underwe ight
children below 3 years 52%. In
order to meet the target, the
proportion of under-weight children
should decrease to 26% by 2015. The
National Family Health Survey shows
that, the proportion of under-weight
children below 3 year declined from
43% in 1998-99 to 40% in 2005-06.
At this rate of decline the proportion
of underweight children below 3
years is expected to reduce to only
33% by 2015,.
Goal 2: Achieve Universal
Primary Education
TARGET: Ensure that by
2015, children everywhere,
boys and girls alike, will be able
to complete a full course of
primary education.
The Net Enrolment Rate
(NER) in primary education (age
6-10 years) was estimated at 84.5 per
cent in 2005-06 (U-DISE) and the
NER has increased to 88.08 per cent
in 2013-14 (U-DISE), and is unlikely
to meet the target of universal
achievement.
Goal 3: Promote Gender
Equality and Empower Women
Target: Eliminate gender
disparity in primary, secondary
education, preferably by 2005,
and in all levels of education,
no later than 2015
At present, in primary education
the enrolment is favorable to females
as Gender Parity Index (GPI) of
Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) is
1.03 in 2013-14. In Secondary
education also gender parity has

achieved GPI of GER is 1 in 2013-14
and in tertiary level of education; the
GPI of GER is 0.89 in 2012-13. As per
Census 2011, the ratio of female
youth literacy rate to male youth
literacy rate is 0.91 at all India level
and is likely to reach the level of 1 by
2015.
As in January 2015, India, the
worlds largest democracy, has only
65 women representatives out of 542
members in LokSabha, while there are
31 female representatives in the 242
member RajyaSabha and hence
presently the proportion of seats
in National Parliament held by
women is only 12.24% against the
target of 50%.
Goal 4: REDUCE CHILD
MORTALITY
TARGET: Reduce by twothirds, between 1990 and 2015,
the under-five Mortality Rate
Under Five Mortality Ratio
In India, Infant Mortality Rate
(IMR) was estimated at 80 per 1,000
live births in 1990. As per SRS 2013,
the IMR is at 40 and as per the
historical trend; it is likely to reach 39
by 2015, against the target of 27 infant
deaths per 1000 live births by 2015.
However, with the sharp decline in
the recent years, the gap between
the likely achievement and the target
is expected to be narrowed.
Goal 5: Improve Maternal
Health
Target: Reduce by three
quarters between 1990 and
2015, the Maternal Morality
Ratio
In 1990, the estimated MMR was
437 per 1,00,000 live births. In order
to meet the MDG target, the MMR
should be reduced to 109 per
1,00,000 live births by 2015. As per
the latest estimates, the MMR status
at all India level is at 167 in 2011-13.
As per the historical trend, MMR is
likely to reach the level of 140
maternal deaths by 2015, however,


assuming the recent sharper decline
is sustained, India is likely to be
slightly nearer to the MDG target.
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS,
Malaria and other Diseases
TARGET: Have halted by
2015 and begun to reverse the
spread of HIV/AIDS
The prevalence of HIV
among Pregnant women aged
15-24 years is showing a declining
trend from 0.89 % in 2005 to 0.32%
in 2012-13. According to NFHS III
in 2005-06 , Condom use rate of
the contraceptive prevalence
rate (Condom use to overall
contraceptive
use
among
currently married women, 1549 years,%) was only 5.2 % at all
India level.
Annual
Parasite
The
Incidence (API) rate Malaria has
consistently come down from 2.12
per thousand in 2001 to 0.72 per
thousand in 2013, but slightly
increased to 0.88 in 2014 (P) but
confirmed deaths due to malaria
in 2013 was 440 and in 2014 (P), 578
malaria deaths have been registered.
Tuberculosis
In
India,
prevalence per lakh population

has reduced from 465 in year 1990
to 211 in 2013.
Goal
7:
Ensure
Environmental Sustainability
TARGET: Integrate the
principle
of
sustainable
development
into
country
policies and programmes and
reverse
the
loss
of
environmental resources.
As per assessment in 2013, the
total forest cover of the country
is 697898 sq.km which is 21.23% of
the geographic area of the country.
During 2011-2013, there is an
increase of 5871 sq. km in forest
Per-capita
Energy
cover.
Consumption (PEC) (the ratio of
the estimate of total energy
consumption during the year to the
estimated mid-year population of
that year) increased from 6205.25
KWh in 2011-12 to 6748.61 KWh in
2012-13, thus, the percentage annual
increase of 8.76%. In 2013, the
estimated CO2 emission (Million
Tonnes) for India is 1954.02. The
Carbon dioxide emission showed a
percentage increase of 235.57% in
2014 over 1990 for India.

Goal 8: Develop a global
partnership for development
Target: In co-operation
with the private sector, make
available the benefits of new
technologies,
especially
information
and
communication.
The overall tele-density in the
country has shown tremendous
progress and is at 76% as on 31st July
2014. The internet subscribers
per 100 population accessing
internet through wireline and
wireless connections has increased
from 16.15 in June 2013 to 20.83 in
June 2014.
There are various initiative by
Indian government during this period
which has led to the success in
achieving the targets set by MDGs.
Initiatives like MGNREGA, ICDS,
Initiatives for HIV, making primary
education a right etc. have helped
Indian government in achieving the
above targets, still a lot more is
needed to be done to remove the
problem of hunger as well as still a lot
is desired in reducing the MMR.

SKILL DEVELOPMENT
India is one of the youngest
nations in the world with more than
62% of its population in the working
age group (15-59 years), and more
than 54% of its total population below
25 years of age. Skill building is
absolutely necessary for such
population to the increase in
productivity of any nation, skill
development also helps in improving
the quality of products. Skill
development will also lead to
increase in growth rate of economy.
At the individual level skill
development helps in economic as
well as social empowerment of the
citizens. Focus on skill development
in India is necessary from the very
reason that it has greater proportion
of working population vis--vis China,
Western Europe, and North America.
Based on data from the 68th Round
of NSSO, it is estimated that only 4.69
percent of Indias total workforce has
undergone formal skill training,
compared with 52 percent in the
USA, 68 percent in the UK, 75
percent in Germany, 80 percent in
Japan and 96 percent in South
Korea. This demographic profile
provides unique opportunity to India

for 20 to 25 years to reap the benefits
which arre called as demographic
dividend. The demographic
dividend is essentially due to two
factors
(a) declining birth rates and
(b) improvement
in
life
expectancy.
The declining birth rate
changes the age distribution and
makes for a smaller proportion of
population in the dependent ages
and for relatively larger share in the
productive labor force. The result is
low dependency ratio which can
provide comparative cost advantage
and competitiveness to the
economy. The demographic
dividend accounts for India having
worlds youngest work force with a
median age way below that of China
and OECD Countries.
Demographic dividend can
only be made if the economy or state
has place to ansorb them. As per
estimates global economy is
expected to see a shortage of
manpower to the extent of around
56 million by 2020, this will nicely
compliment the skill development

initiatives of India. Thus, the
demographic dividend in India
needs to be exploited not only to
expand the production possibility
frontier but also to meet the skilled
manpower requirements of in India
and abroad. Skill development is also
necessary to bring the connection
between the education institutes and
the working atmoshphere. In order
to develop the skills of the people
governments have taken various
initiatives like opening ITIs, Creating
a seperate ministry for skill
development etc. Recently
government has launched a skill
development mission to make the
initiatives time bound.
Various plans have taken
initiatives to To reap the benefits of
demographic dividend, the
Eleventh Five Year Plan had favored
the creation of a comprehensive
National Skill Development Mission.
Government has taken following steps
as a result of the eleventh five year
plan
recommendation.
A
Coordinated Action on Skill
Development with three-tier

Skill Development
institutional structure consisting of
(i) PMs National Council
(ii) National Skill Development
Coordination Board (NSDCB),
(iii) National Skill Development
Corporation (NSDC) was
created in early 2008.
Whereas, Prime Ministers
National Council on Skill
Development has spelt out
policy advice, and direction in
the form of Core Principles
and has given a Vision to create
500 million skilled people by
2022 through skill systems.
Similarly twelth five year plan
recommended the following:
Involvement of industries in the
skill development of people;
Improve the management of
vocational institutes as well as
training institutes;
Amendment of the labor laws
to make it easier to hire the
apprentices;
Vocational training institutes
should be given greater
freedom in terms of resource

generation.
Despite all these efforts along
with other efforts like the creation of
the National Skill Development Fund
(NSDF) in 2009, the launch of the
NSDC in the same year, and creation
of the NSDA in 2013, progress to date
has been sporadic. India continues
to face a skilling challenge of vast
proportions. Based on the Census
2011 and NSSO (68th Round) data,
it is estimated that 104 million fresh
entrants to the workforce will require
skill training by 2022, and 298 million
of the existing workforce will require
additional skill training over the same
time period.
Recently government has
launched an ambitious program
named as Skill development
mission. The National Skill
Development Mission will provide a
strong institutional framework at the
Centre and States for implementation
of skilling activities in the country. The
Mission will have a three-tiered, high

powered decision making structure.
At its apex, the Missions Governing
Council, chaired by the Prime
Minister, will provide overall
guidance and policy direction. The
Steering Committee, chaired by
Minister in Charge of Skill
Development, will review the
Missions activities in line with the
direction set by the Governing
Council. Government has also
recently transferred the Training and
Apprenticeship verticals, comprising
of the entire network of Industrial
Training Institutes (ITIs) and
Apprenticeship Training schemes,
from the Ministry of Labour and
Employment to Ministry of Skill
Development and Entrepreneurship
(MSDE). All these recent initiatives
will help in bringing down the gap
between the requirement of skilling
and the present level of skilling in
India.
Online Coaching for IAS PRE General Studies

What candidate will get:
1. All the relevant and required materials of subjects mention in the GS syllabus like:
100% IAS Exam Syllabus Covered with MCQs.

History of India and Indian National Movement.
Indian and World Geography - Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
Indian Polity and Governance - Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights
Issues, etc.
Economic and Social Development -Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics,
Social Sector initiatives, etc.
General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require
subject specialisation
General Science.
Current Affairs.
2. Home assignment: where Multiple Choice Questions of the learned chapters will be
given for selfevaluation.
3. Important current affairs materials for civil services preliminary examination will be
provided
4. Online Tests will be conducted after the end of each subject.
5. At the end of your course, five comprehensive test will be conducted to evaluate your
performance.
Click Here to Join IAS (Pre.) Online Coaching:

http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/courses/ias-pre/csat-paper-1

National Issues
NATIONAL ISSUES
Arvind Panagariya to head
panel on caste data
Amid the delay in release of

caste data collected by the
states under the SocioEconomic and Caste Census
(SECC), 2011, the Cabinet on
Thursday approved setting up
of an expert group headed by
Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind
Panagariya to classify the data
and publicise it.
However, no time line has been
set for release of the data on
caste/tribe as most of the states
are yet to submit their report to
the Centre on clubbing of
various sub-groups of castes.
States have yet to complete the
consolidation of 46 lakh
castes,sub- castes,sub-caste
names, synonyms, surnames,
clan and gothra names
enumerated by the census.
Other members of the
Panagariya committee would be
nominated by the ministries of
social justice & empowerment
and tribal affairs.
The Centres move comes after
opposition parties demanded
release of the caste data
immediately.
The government has already
released the socio-economic
data generated by SECC on rural

areas on July 3. It showed that
almost 75% of households earn
less than R5,000 per month;
nearly 60% of them are deprived
in some way or the other; 56%
are landless and close to 36%
of the rural people are illiterate
even
68
years
after
independence.
India Working With 27
Countries on Earthquake EarlyWarning System
observe, study and analyse

these changes, the quakes can
be predicted.
India has been conducting
experiments in the Koyna river
valley in the Western Ghats in
Maharashtra.
In India, 22 states are prone to
earthquakes of various
intensities like severe, high,
moderate and low, and urban
explosion and densely
populated cities with high-rise
buildings makes the quake
scenario worse.
Indias interest in Paris climate
conference
Taking a lead, India is working

on an ambitious project with
scientists, geophysicists, and
seismologists of 27 countries to
develop an early-warning
system for prediction of
earthquake.
The warning could be the
issued some seconds before the
earthquake strikes. India is also
planning to launch a satellite to
track the changes that take
place on earths surface before
the tremors, a top official has
said.
Before earthquakes, some
chemical changes under the
earths surface and some
physical displacements on the
surface occur and hoped if
parameters are developed to
India iiiiIhas reiterated its

demand and cautioned
developed nations to not to
make any changes or introduce
new agenda at last moments
and stick to the plan if the big
players want to make the crucial
climate change conference in
Paris to be held later this year a
success.
Environment Minister Prakash
Javedkar appealed to the
developed nations that the
meeting should not be
rewritten.
We should not forget that what
will lapse is the Kyoto Protocol
and not he United Nations
Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC). We
should not try to rewrite the
convention. Annexes are part of
the conventions basic
structure stemming from
historical responsibility of
countries, said Javedkar at the

National Issues
Major Economies Forum on
Energy and Climate Change at
Luxembourg.
He wants Paris event to be a
huge success where every
country would take their own
actions but in accordance with
the universal benefit.
Let Paris be an event for
celebration of a universal, yet
differentiated new agreement,
where every country takes
action which it determines on
its own. Such collective action
will address the challenge of
climate change
His entire speech was focused

on the developed nations
introducing new agenda at last
hour. India wants all the
developed nations to adhere to
pre-2020 action plan that
enables developing countries
to contribute on their will along
with their plan for INDCs.
On contribution of developing
countries, Javedkar said that
earlier the developing nations
werent authorized to take any
action, but the new climate
meet will allow all countries to
commit to some action.
Now its turn to Venus for ISRO
Following the success of Mars

Orbiter Mission (MOM) and the
recent launch of five British
satellites, India plans next
possible
deep
space
exploration missions to Venus,
Mars and even an asteroid.
Besides the second Mars
mission, we are looking at Venus
and even an asteroid for
exploration. A project has to be
formulated for this before we
chart out a proper roadmap for
the explorations, ISRO
Chairman Kiran Kumar was
quoted as saying.
10
Venus is our neighbor and has

many scientific challenges and
aspects that need to be studied.
Exploring an asteroid is also
challenging task, he added.
The Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) is now
embarking on a new planethunting endeavour. There are
indications that the United
States of America will be
working with India in this deep
space exploration.
IAS topper got 53 per cent
examination has got about 53

per cent, thus showing the strict
pattern of civil services
examination conducted by the
Union
Public
Service
Commission for selecting
countrys top bureaucrats.
The Commission has made

public the marks obtained by
the successful candidates. The
mark sheets of the candidates
who qualified the civil services
(main) examination and those
who could not, have also been
put in public domain.
The civil services examination
is conducted annually in three
stagespreliminary, main and
interviewto select candidates
for
the
elite
Indian
Administrative Service (IAS),
Indian Foreign Service (IFS)
and Indian Police Service (IPS),
among others.
Ira Singhal, a physically
handicapped Indian Revenue
Service (Customs and Central
Excise) officer from Delhi who
topped the 2014 exam, got a
total of 1,082 marks (53.43 per
cent) out of a total of 2,025
comprising 1,750 of main and
275 of interview.
Second rank achiever Renu Raj,
a doctor from Kerala, got 1,056
marks (52.14 per cent) and
third-rank holder Nidhi Gupta
got 1,025 marks (50.61 per
cent), according to their marks
sheet.
The topper of civil services

National Issues
ISRO tests indigenous cryogenic
engine
An indigenous cryogenic
rocket engine being developed
to power Indias most powerful
rocket system, the GSLV Mk III,
underwent a successful
endurance test for a duration of
800 seconds on July 16 at
ISROs propulsion complex at
Mahendragiri, ISRO reported
Monday.
The cryogenic engine which
will power the upper stage of
the GSLV Mk III was fired for a
period that is 25 per cent longer
than required in a space flight
with a nominal thrust of 19
tonnes and its performance
matched prediction made
through computer simulation,
ISRO reported.
The cryogenic C25 stage
engine operates on Gas
Generator Cycle using
extremely low temperature
propellants Liquid Hydrogen at
20 Kelvin (-253 degree C) and
Liquid Oxygen at 80 Kelvin (193 degree C), ISRO stated.
The successful endurance hot
test of the first high thrust
cryogenic engine is the tenth
test in a series planned as part
of the development of the
engine employing complex
cryogenic technology, ISRO
said in an official release
announcing the successful tests.
Mastering this complex, highperformance
cryogenic
propulsion technology will go a
long way in building self

reliance for the Indian space
programme, ISRO said.
The cryogenic engine is being
developed as part of plans to
enhance Indias capabilities in
space
programmes
by
providing more power to
launch heavier four tonne
category spacecraft. Indian
capabilites are currently in the
two tonne-plus range.
PM Modi to Release Vision 2050 for
Indian Agriculture on July 25
for some new announcements.

Speaking to reporters in Patna,
Mr Kumar said, There is not
much hope of PM announcing
anything new in the package he
is expected to announce.
His announcement would be a
packaging of the existing ones
initiated by me and approved
by the UPA.
The countrys first agriculture
research and education
institute - Indian Agricultural
Research Institute, then known
as Imperial Institute of
Agricultural Research, was
established at Pusa in
Samastipur district here in 1905.
RS panel backs majority of GST
Bill proposals
Prime Minister Narendra Modi

will release Vision 2050 for
Indian agriculture prepared by
the
countrys
premier
agriculture research institute in
Patna on July 25, said Union
Agriculture Minister Radha
Mohan Singh today.
This is also the first time that
celebrations of the Indian
Council for Agricultural
Research (ICAR) foundation
day will be organised outside
Delhi.
PM Modi will also inaugurate
three new projects - Farmers
First, Arya and Mera Gaon Mera
Gaurav (My village my pride),
and ask agriculture scientists
from all over the country to
speed up the process to
provide new technologies to
farmers, which will lead to a
quantum jump in agriculture
productivity.
Assembly elections are due
Bihar in a few months. Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar is hoping
Though the Opposition forced

adjournments in both Houses of
Parliament on Wednesday, the
chances of the Constitution
(122nd Amendment) Bill,
meant to introduce the Goods
and Services Tax (GST),
clearing Parliament in the
current session brightened,
with the Rajya Sabha Select
Committee endorsing almost all
its provisions.
In its report submitted to the
House, the committee, headed
by Bhupender Yadav of the BJP,
said that to start with, the GST
rate should not go beyond 20
per cent as standard rate and
14 per cent as reduced rate.
It agreed with the demand of
parties such as the Trinamool
11

National Issues
Congress for full compensation

from the Centre for any revenue
loss to the States during the
transition.
It suggested that the provision
in the Bill that the Centre may
compensate the States for up
to five years for any revenue loss
be
replaced
with
a
commitment of compensation
for five years.
The committees report also
contained dissent notes from
the Congress, the AIADMK and
the Left parties.
The Bill, which the Lok Sabha
has already approved, will now
have to be taken up for passage
in the Rajya Sabha. As it is a
Constitution amendment Bill, it
will have to be approved by
two-thirds of the members in the
Upper House, where the ruling
BJP does not enjoy a majority.
The government will have to
depend upon the support of
regional parties and allies.
RBI Governor might lose veto

Power
In what looks like another sign

of increasing differences
between the government and
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
governor, the revised draft of
Indian Financial Code (IFC),
released by the finance ministry
on Thursday, proposed taking
away the chiefs authority to
veto the interest rate decision
of the Central banks monetary
policy committee.
12
Besides, the draft proposed that

the all-powerful committee
would have four representatives
of the government and only
three from the Central bank,
including the RBI chairperson.
The draft talks of RBI
Chairperson and not RBI
Governor.
Currently, the governor consults
a technical advisory committee,
but does not necessarily go by
the majority opinion while
deciding on the monetary
policy stance.
The first draft, submitted in
March 2013, too had talked
about the committee and
majority vote, but gave powers
to the RBI chairperson to
supersede the decision of the
panel.
The IFC, which is conceived as
an overarching legislation for the
financial sector, proposes a
monetary policy committee
which will be entrusted with the
task of deciding the key policy
rate and chasing the annual
retail inflation target to be
decided by the government in
consultation with the RBI.
Inflation target for each
financial year will be
determined in terms of the
consumer price index by the
Central government in
consultation with the Reserve
Bank every three years, said the
draft, on which the ministry has
invited comments till August 8.
Further, the RBI must
constitute a monetary policy
committee to determine by
majority vote on the policy rate
required to achieve the inflation
target.
As per revised draft, there will
be three members from the RBI
side and four from the Central
government thus giving full
control to the government on

policy rate.
The government and the RBI
had always disagreed over size
of the committee, its
composition and whether the
governor would have the final
say in the form of a veto.
Pachauri
Remove from TERI chief
RK Pachauri, accused of sexual

harassment by a woman
employee, was on Thursday
sacked as the chief of The
Energy and Resources Institute
(TERI).
R K Pachauri, facing sexual
harassment charges, was today
asked to step down from the
position of director general of
the The Energy and Resources
Institute (TERI), bringing an
end to his uninterrupted reign
at the Delhi-based organisation
he has been associated with for
over three decades.
TERIs governing council,
comprising
prominent
corporate names like Deepak
Parekh, Naina Lal Kidwai, Kiran
Mazumdar Shaw and Hemendra
Kothari, met in Bangalore today
and decided to replace
Pachauri with Ajay Mathur, who
is currently director general of
the Bureau of Energy Efficiency
(BEE) that functions under the
power ministry.
A press release issued on behalf
of TERI sought to give the
impression that the decision had

National Issues
nothing to do with the sexual

harassment case.
It said the search for a successor
began in September last year,
almost six months before
Pachauri was accused of sexual
harassment by a junior
colleague.
The governing council is certain
that the 1,200 persons working
for TERI in different parts of the
world would welcome this
development and extend all
their support towards a smooth
transition, said the press
release.
Pachauri went on leave from
TERI after the sexual harassment
charge became public in
February. Last week, a Delhi
court that had restrained him
from attending office allowed
him to visit TERI premises other
than the headquarters and the
office in Gurgaon where the
alleged victim is currently
posted..
Todays decision comes five
months after the alleged victim
filed a police complaint against
Pachauri. Following that,
Pachauri had to resign from the
chairmanship
of
the
Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC), a global
body of scientists, months
before his second six-year
tenure was to come to an end.
Pachauri also had to resign from
the membership of the Prime
Ministers Council on Climate
Change. But he continued to
hang on to his position as
director-general of TERI and
only proceeded on leave when
the allegations became public.
Decision on net neutrality yet to

be take
The recent report submitted by
the government on net

neutrality was not the final one,
and the final view is still
awaited, parliament was
informed on Wednesday.
The committee of officers

constituted by the Department
of Telecommunications on net
neutrality has submitted its
report. However, it is not the
final report nor the government
has taken any final view,
communications and IT minister
Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a
written reply to the Lok Sabha.
The report, submitted by the
panel headed by technocrat
AK Bhargava, was made public
on JulRavi Shankar Prasad y 16,
and said it favoured an end to
the free call regime over the
internet.
Prasad also mentioned that the
Telecom Regulatory Authority
of India (TRAI) was engaged in
a consultation process covering
issues related to net neutrality,
whose recommendations were
awaited.
Javadekar non-committal on air

pollution-induced deaths
Air quality monitoring stations

will be installed in every state
and by every concerned

organisation, the Union
Javdekar said. Photo: Sushil
Kumar Verma
Union Environment Minister
Prakash Javadekar on Friday
refused to take a stand on
whether air pollution in Delhi
was indeed causing 80 deaths
every day as per his earlier
submission to the Lok Sabha on
Tuesday.
In a press conference outside
Parliament here, at the
conclusion of a review meeting
with National Capital Region
States Uttar Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana,
he said the Union Environment
Ministry had set itself yet
another three-month deadline
to tackle air pollution in the
capital.
Mr. Javadekar said action plans
will be formulated to tackle the
four main focus areas
agriculture, construction waste,
demolition waste and vehicular
pollution.
Air
quality
monitoring stations will be
installed in every state and by
every concerned organisation,
he said. The earlier three-month
deadline, set by the Ministry in
April, to take proactive
measures to tackle Delhis air
pollution ended on July 22,
prompting Fridays review
meeting.
Earlier this week, Mr. Javadekar
had
cited
a
study
Epidemiological Study on
Effects of Air Pollution on
Human Health in Delhi
published in 2008, to state that
80 deaths take place in Delhi
every day due to air pollutioninduced illnesses. He also cited
another study Study on
13

National Issues
14
Ambient Air Quality, Respiratory

Symptoms and Lung Function
of Children in Delhi to support
the claim in Parliament.
However, on Friday, the
Minister appeared noncommittal on the matter and in
a written submission to Lok
Sabha said no conclusive
evidence exists that air pollution
led to loss of lives of patients
suffering from respiratory
diseases.
Environmental groups are
unhappy with the Ministrys
measures to tackle the problem.
In February this year,
Greenpeace India conducted
an air-quality monitoring survey
inside five prominent schools
across Delhi and found the
PM2.5 levels (particulate
matter) to be four times the
Indian safety limits and 10 times
that of the air quality safety
standards set by the World
Health Organisation.
Mr. Javadekar said that the
detailed action plan on tackling
air pollution will only be
revealed on Monday.
Public sector agencies in the
strategic areas of aerospace and
defence on Friday said it may
be a tall order in the near term
to reverse the 70 per cent import
of military hardware. However,
they have started changing
production strategies to meet
the challenge.
To meet the governments Make
in India mandate, public
defence manufacturing majors
are ready to source more from
small and medium industries
but suppliers are falling short on
facilities, quality and time lines,
was the refrain at the Aerospace
& Defence Manufacturing
Summit
organised
by
Bengaluru-based Society of
Indian
Aerospace
Technologies and Industries
(SIATI).
V. Udaya Bhaskar, Chairman &
Managing Director of Bharat
Dynamics Ltd, Hyderabad, said
a paradigm shift would be
needed to get quality
components on time. Public and
private sectors must work in
tandem. In recent years, BDL
had outsourced up to 80 per
cent of the work for Akash and
other missiles. Now we have to
outsource high-end subassemblies. The private sector
must also gear up, he said.
K. Tamilmani, DRDO Director
General (R&D Aero Systems),
stressed that its labs developing
aircraft and combat products
for the military badly need highend testing and other facilities.
Future military requirements
would be high but existing
facilities are grossly inadequate.
For example, we must be the
only country doing intensive
aeronautical research and trying
to succeed without a proper
wind tunnel [to test aircraft
systems]. How long can we
continue to take our products
to [Moscows testing facility]
TsAGI or Calspan in the U.S.?
We cannot take some of our
development products outside
the country such as the
Advanced Medium Combat
Aircraft, Unmanned Combat Air
Vehicles and the UAVs for
reasons of security and
secrecy, he said.
Highest farmer suicides
HP,NCRB
Even as union agriculture
minister Radha Mohan Singh has
blamed love affairs and then
impotency for farmer suicides,

figures recorded by the
National Crime Records Bureau
(NCRB) completely contradict
him.
According to the NCRB report,

released recently, 87.5% of
farmer suicides in Himachal
Pradesh were due to crop
failure in 2014 and the state also
tops the northern region in
absolute number of suicides by
farmers with 32 such cases. The
cause of 28 of these has been
listed as crop failure.
In number of farmers suicides,
Punjab recorded 24, Haryana
had 14, Jammu and Kashmir had
12 while Delhi, Uttrakhand and
Chandigarh recorded nil, as per
the report.
In Himachal, the only 4.7 %
farmers have committed suicide
due to suspected/illicit
relations and 2.3% due to
cancellation/non settlement of
marriage.
In Punjab, Haryana and Jammu
and Kashmir there was no
suicide due to crop failure.
Punjab recorded 3 suicides due
to indebtedness which was due
to non-agriculture loan, while
there was no suicide in Haryana
and Jammu and Kashmir for
indebtedness.
Most of the suicides in these
states are due to illness, drug
abuse/alcohol addiction and
property dispute.
There were a total of 644
suicides ( any cause) in HP in

National Issues
2014, where as in 2013 there
were 554. So, there is a jump of
16.2 %, which is the 4th highest
increase rate in the country.
Arun jaitely about P-notes & IFC
Seeking to calm panic-stricken

investors,Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley today said they need not
fear any knee-jerk reaction
from the government on the SIT
report,
which
had
recommended tough measures
to check investment flows
through P-Notes.
He also assured investors that
the government will not take
any action that may jeopardise
investment climate even as the
benchmark BSE Sensex tanked
close to 500 points on fears of
action on the suggestions of the
Supreme Court appointed
Special Investigation Team
(SIT).
Participatory Notes
(P-Notes) are used by large
number of foreign investors to
invest in equity markets without
disclosing their identity to the
market regulator Sebi.
The SIT had suggested Sebi to
put in place regulations to help
identify individuals holding
participatory notes or offshore
derivative instruments (ODIs),
and take other steps required
to curb black money and tax
evasion through the stock
market route.
The BSE tanked 494.52 points
or 1.76% to 27,617.79 in
afternoon trade, while rupee
fell to 64.03 against the US dollar
in late morning deals.
A similar recommendation in
2007 had triggered a major
collapse in the stock market,
prompting the then Finance
Minister P Chidambaram to
announce that no such
measures would be taken by the
government.
Investments through P-Notes
into Indias capital market had
touched a seven-year high of Rs
2.85 lakh crore in May. It was Rs
2.75 lakh crore at the end of
June.
P-Notes make up mostly 15-20%
of the total FII investment in
India since 2009. However, it
used to be much higher 25
to 40% in 2008.
Till a few years ago, P-Notes
used to account for more than
50% of total FII investment, but
their share has fallen over the
years after Sebi tightened
disclosure norms and other
related regulations. The reading
was as high as over 50% at the
peak of stock market bull run in
2007.
P-Notes, mostly used by
overseas HNIs (High Net Worth
Individuals), hedge funds and
other foreign institutions, allow
such investors to invest in Indian
markets through registered
Foreign Institutional Investors
(FIIs).
This saves time and cost for
them, but on the flip side is the
route can also be used for
round-tripping of black money..
He said India has recently
signed FATCA with the US,
besides entered into multilateral agreements on automatic
exchange of information and
double taxation avoidance

agreements.
Demise of APJ Abdul Kalam,
irreparable loss for nation
Former President APJ Abdul

Kalam, the renowned missile
scientist who played a stellar
role in advancing Indias nuclear
programme, died on Monday
after collapsing at an event in
Meghalaya.
His body was flown to Guwahati
in Assam this morning and will
be brought to Delhi by a special
aircraft.
and all three service chiefs will
receive his body at the airport.
Dr Kalam, 83, collapsed after a
massive cardiac arrest while
delivering a lecture at the Indian
Institute of Management in
Shillong last evening.
The government has declared
a seven-day national mourning
as a mark of respect for the man
known and loved across the
country as the Peoples
President. The Union Cabinet
will hold a special meeting in
New Delhi today to condole Dr
Kalams death. His funeral is
likely to be held in Rameswaram
in Tamil Nadu, where he was
born. Paying tribute to Dr Kalam
last night, PM Modi had said,
My mind is filled with so many
memories, so many interactions
with him. Always marvelled at
his intellect, learnt so much from
him.
15

National Issues
Indian Financial Code revised
draft
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
today said that the government
will take a view on the draft
Indian Financial Code, which
proposes to dilute powers of
the RBI chief, after receiving
comments from stakeholders.
The draft had proposed taking
away Reserve Bank chiefs
authority to veto the interest rate
decision of the central banks
monetary policy committee.
The revised draft of Indian
Financial Code (IFC) also
proposed that the committee
would have four representatives
of the government and only
three from the central bank,
including the RBI Chairperson.
The draft talks of RBI
Chairperson and not RBI
Governor. RBI is headed by a
Governor, at present.
The revised draft of IFC,
released by the Finance
Ministry last week, is based on
the recommendations of the
Financial Sector Legislative
Reforms Commission (FSLRC),
headed by Justice B N
Srikrishna.
The IFC, which is conceived as
an overarching legislation for the
financial sector, proposes a
monetary policy committee
which will be entrusted with the
task of deciding the key policy
rate and chasing the annual
retail inflation target to be
decided by the government in
consultation with RBI.
New adoption guidelines;
centralised database of children
A centralised databank of
adoptive children, allowing
single parents looking to adopt,
16
and, treating non-resident

Indians (NRIs) on par with
Indian citizens are some of the
revamped guidelines of the
Central Adoption Resource
Authority (CARA) introduced
by the union ministry of women
and child development, on
Monday.
The guidelines will be effective

from next month.
Under the new guidelines, an
e-governance measure that will
hasten the adoption process,
and make it transparent by
putting up the data of the
adoptive children online, has
been brought up.
The Central Adoption Resource
Information Guidance System
(CARINGS), a centralised
system that collates the data, will
be connected to the district
child protection units.
NRIs will be treated on par with
domestic adoptive parents, and
a child of below five years, will
be given up for adoption 60
days after being cleared for
adoption.
A child of above five years will
be given up for adoption 30
days after clearance.
The new guidelines have also
made it possible for single
parents to adopt. While single
mothers can adopt children of
either gender, single men can
only adopt male children.
The minimum age difference
between child and parent
cannot exceed 25 years under
the new guidelines.

The revamped guidelines were
originally mooted in the Juvenile
Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Bill, 2014.
But the Bill, introduced in the
Rajya Sabha, has been pending
for a year and a half. And WCD
minister Maneka Gandhi
wanted to a hassle-free
adoption process, said a ministry
official.
In 2013-14, 3924 children were
given up for adoption within the
country, while 3988 children
were given up in 2014-15. There
were 422 inter-country
adoptions in 2013-14, and 374
in 2014-15.
Gujarat becomes first state to
ink mandatory voting rule
It is official now. After dithering

for long, the Gujarat
government issued a notification
making voting in local body
elections compulsory under the
controversial Gujarat Local
Authorities
Laws
(Amendment), Act 2009
(2014).
The notification dated July 17,
2015 will apply to over three
crore voters who are expected
to cast their franchise in the
upcoming civic elections in six
municipal corprations, around
60 municipalities, 33 district
panchayats and more than 150
taluka panchayats.
State has recorded 45-50 per
cent voting in local bodies

National Issues
elections in the past. In 2010,
six municipals corporations had
recorded average voting of 44
per cent.
Following this notification, any
citizen abstaining from voting in
civic elections will be
penalized the punishment
could be monetary fine or noneligibility for certain civic
incentives which will be
specified once the rules are
framed, officials said.
Along with the compulsory
voting notification, state
government has also issued an
ordinance for the addition of a
clause the act for declaring the
elected
representatives
disqualified if they do not vote.
In case of failure in voting the
registered voter will be
declared as the defaulter and
against whom the designated
authorities will take legal action
as prescribed in the rules which
will be declared shortly.
Centre returns
controversial Gujarat Bill
The controversial Gujarat
Control of Terrorism and
Organised Crime (GCTOC) Bill,
2015, has been sent back to the
State following an objection by
the Information Technology
(IT) Ministry.
The Home Affairs Ministry,
which sent the Bill for an interministerial consultation,
returned it with the objections
raised by the IT Ministry. This
means the Bill will not be sent
for Presidential assent and
cannot become law yet.
Any Bill passed by an Assembly
on issues contravening Central
laws needs Presidential assent.
The Gujarat House passed the
Bill again on March 31 this year,
after it was rejected thrice by

two former Presidents the
late A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in 2004
and Pratibha Patil in 2008 and
2009.
The Bill was first introduced as
the GUJCOC Bill in 2003
when Narendra Modi was Chief
Minister with provisions like
increasing the period to file
charge sheet from 90 to 180
days and strict conditions for
granting bail to an accused.
Last adieu to Kalam
Thousands of people bid an an

emotional farewell to former
president APJ Abdul Kalam
who was laid to rest on
Thursday with full state honours
in his home town Rameswaram.
The body of Kalam was buried
in the middle of a 1.5 acre piece
of land earmarked for the
purpose at Peikarumbu after
being brought from his family
mosque where special prayers
were offered.
The Peoples President was
accorded full military honours,
including gun salute and
playing of the Last Post as the
members of his family and local
Jamath lowered his mortal
remains into a trench as slogans
of Bharat Mata Ki Jai rent the
air.
The funeral of the Missile Man
was attended by several
leaders including Prime Minister
Narendra Modi who placed a
wreath, offered his final salute
and stood in silence in front of

Kalams body that was draped
in national flag. He also went
around the casket with folded
hands.
The Prime Minister later went
up to Kalams eldest brother 99year-old Mohammed Muthu
Meeran Lebbai Maraicker, who
was seated nearby, and offered
his condolences.
Around 30,000 jewellery shops
would also remain closed, while
petrol bunks would stop selling
for an hour between 10-11 a.m.
as a mark of respect for Kalam.
Movie theatre owners too have
decided to shut down while
fishermen have decided not to
venture into the sea.
Political parties like the DMK
and the AIADMK have
cancelled their functions.
Kalam, 83, passed away on
Monday in Shillong after
suffering a massive cardiac
arrest while delivering a lecture
to students at the Indian
Institute of Management.
Sanjeev Chaturvedi and human

rights activist Anshu Gupta win
Magsaysay Award
Whistleblower officer Sanjeev

Chaturvedi and human rights
activist Anshu Gupta are among
the five winners of the Ramon
Magsaysay Award this year.
Sanjeev Chaturvedi is a 2002batch Indian Forest Service
officer who is fighting a
protracted battle with the
17

National Issues
Centre over alleged harassment
for his tough stance on
corruption during his tenure as
Chief Vigilance Officer of the All
India Institute of Medical
Sciences here.
He has been technically
without an official assignment
for a year.
The statement said Anshu
Gupta, founder of the nongovernmental organisation
Goonj, was being recognised
for his creative vision in
transforming the culture of
giving in India, his enterprising
leadership in treating cloth as a
sustainable development
resource for the poor, and in
reminding the world that true
giving always respects and
preserves human dignity.
Mr. Gupta left his corporate job
to start the non-profit
organisation in 1999.
Other winners
Kommaly Chanthavong from
Laos has been recognised for
her efforts to develop the
ancient Laotian art of silk
weaving, Ligaya FernandoAmilbangsa from the Philippines
for her single-minded crusade
in preserving the endangered
artistic heritage of southern
Philippines.
Kyaw Thu from Myanmar, the
statement said, is being
recognised for his generous
compassion in addressing the
fundamental needs of both the
living and the dead in Myanmar.
Day every year beginning from

year 2015 throughout the
country.
The first National Handloom

Day will be launched by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi in
Chennai on 7 August 2015.
On this occasion, Sant Kabir
Awards and National Awards for
the years 2012, 2013 and 2014
will be awarded and a new India
Handloom brand for better
market positioning of quality
handloom products would be
launched.
The day will be observed to
generate awareness about the
importance of handloom
industry as a part of our rich
heritage and culture, promote
handloom products and lead to
increase in income of weavers
as well as enhance their
confidence and pride.
As per Handloom Census of
2009-10, over 43 lakh persons
are engaged in handloom
weaving and allied activities in
India.
Parliamentary panel for singlewindow redressal to all investor
problems
18
Beware! NIA may snoop on you

personal chat for terror links
First National Handloom

Day To be observed on 7 August
2015
Union Government on 31 July
2015 decided declared 7th
August as National Handloom
clearancesystem for resolving

all investor problems, a
Parliamentary panel has
suggested bringing the
grievance redressal mechanism
under the proposed IEPF
Authority.
The suggestion comes against
backdrop of rising instances of
investors getting duped by
fraudulent investment schemes
and dubious companies.
The panel has also said that
setting up of the Investor
Education and Protection Fund
(IEPF) Authority, under the new
companies law, has taken an
unduly long time.
Under the Companies Act,
2013, the Corporate Affairs
Ministry is to set up the IEPF
Authority but it would not cover
redressal of investor grievances
in the proposed form.
These observations are part of
the Standing Committee on
Finances report on action
taken by the government on the
recommendations made by the
panel on Demands for Grants
(2014-15).
According to the panel,
excluding investor grievances
from the mandate of IEPF
Authority will do no justice to
the investors fraternity.
Regarding the Indian Institute
of Corporate Affairs (IICA), the
panel said the organisation
should redefine itself rather
than just being a training
institution.
To ensure a single-window
In order to keep a tab on the

increasing
menace
of
radicalisation of youth by
terrorist organisations through
social media and other online

National Issues
platforms, National Investigation
Agency (NIA) has formed a
special cell.
According to a report
published in a leading daily, the
special cell is equipped with
state of the art software tools to
single out conversations in
online chatter, which may be
specially significant from
terrorism or radicalisation point
of view.
Until now, only intelligence
agencies like the Research and
Analysis Wing (RA&W) and
Intelligence Bureau (IB) were
in possession of such tool.
But now NIA is also armed with
similar surveillance software. It
has been a long standing
demand of the agency to
cultivate its own intelligence
capabilities so that it can
generate information regarding
its ongoing investigations.
A group of Indians left to fight
for ISIS after getting radicalised
through social media. One of
the most vocal proponents of
ISIS in the digital space, Shami
Witness was found out to be a
guy working in a software
company in Bengaluru. Earlier
too there have been several
instances where Indian
Mujahideen and Lashkar-eTaiba have used the internet to
attract youth cadres in their
ranks. Thus, NIA is looking to
keep a tab on such
conversations but in the process
personal
privacy
will
unfortunately be a cruel martyr.
According to NIA officials,
terrorists have long changed
their modus operandi. They no
longer operate using phones
and are often taking recourse in
online mediums to pass on their
information. Hence, NIA is
looking to up the ante so that
they can beat terrorists at their
own game.
However, terrorists are also no
longer merely using plain
messages. Often highly
encrypted messages are
passed, cryptic codes
exchanged.
So analysing the data to reach
to the proper conclusion is the
most key element. It is like
obtaining a needle from a
haystack and NIA is hoping that
it will be able to get lucky on
occasions to aid their
investigations.
India to host meeting of 14
Pacific island nations
After trying to keep pace with

China in relations with Africa
and Central Asia, India is now
trying to match it neighbours
growing footprint in the South
Pacific.
On August 21, India will host
the heads of 14 island nations
at the Forum for India-Pacific
Islands Cooperation (FIPIC), in
what is seen as a first step
towards greater engagement
with the region, which is
important from an economic

and geostrategic standpoint.
The upcoming summit in Jaipur
is expected to pave the way for
agreements in agriculture, food
processing, fisheries, solar
energy, e-networks for
coordination in telemedicine
and tele-education, space
cooperation and climate
change, all of which were
mentioned as areas of potential
cooperation by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi during his visit
to Fiji in 2014.
Chinas strong foothold
Even as New Delhi has begun

charting out a plan for forging
bilateral and regional ties with
these island nations, China has
significantly expanded its
foothold in the region, from
increasing business and trade
ties to setting up diplomatic
missions in each of these
countries.
In its report The geopolitics of
Chinese aid: mapping Beijings
funding in the Pacific, the Lowy
Institute of International Policy
says China is now the largest
bilateral donor in Fiji and the
second largest in the Cook
Islands, Papua New Guinea,
Samoa, and Tonga.
The report also says that
between 2006 and 2013, China
provided $333 million in
bilateral aid to Fiji, even more
than Australia ($252 million)
and almost three times that of
19

National Issues
Japan ($117 million), while in
Samoa and Tonga, the sum of
Chinese aid is second only to
Australias.
Chinas foray into the South
Pacific, which began as a move
to offset Taiwans interests in
the region, is becoming a cause
for concern for India, which
now wants to have economic
and strategic engagements with
the 14 island nations.
Govt on backfoot over land
acquisition bill
A joint parliamentary committee
has favoured restoring most of
the provisions of the UPAs 2013
land law into the land acquisition
bill the Centre wants to pass,
signalling a climb-down by the
government.
Sources said that even the BJP
members on the 30-member
panel had favoured scrapping
the exemptions that the NDAs
current bill provided from the
social impact assessment (SIA)
and consent provisions.
They said the panel, headed by
BJP member S.S. Ahulwalia, had
discussed the amendments
suggested by each party and
made
the
following
recommendations
Switch back to private
company in the clause
stipulating the consent of 80
per cent landowners for
acquisition for private projects.
The bill, which mirrors the
currently enforced ordinance,
had
replaced
private
company with private entity
to make room for NGOs,
corporations, proprietorships,
etc.
Make the SIA mandatory for all
projects except for acquisition
under the urgency clause
20
(mainly national security

projects), as provided under the
2013 law. The current bill
exempts national security
projects, rural electrification
and housing, industrial
corridors and public-privatepartnership (PPP) infrastructure
projects.
Revoke the exemption given to
industrial corridor and PPP
projects from the (70 per cent)
consent provision.
The panel will discuss the bills
provision to extend the
deadline for return of unutilised
land to any length of time
specified in the project
proposal. The 2013 law limits
the period to five years.
The committee is expected to
hand in its report on August 7.
Its new bill will be placed
before Parliament.
The Centre had been saying that
the 2013 law was stalling
development projects by
making land acquisition
extremely tough, and that
several states had sought
amendments to it.
Only 8.15% of Indians are

graduates, Census data
show
Despite a big increase in

college attendance, especially
among women, fewer than one
out of every 10 Indians is a
graduate, new Census data
show.
Over the weekend, the office

of the Census Commissioner and
Registrar-General of India
released new numbers on the
level of education achieved by
Indians as of 2011.
They show that with 6.8 crore
graduates and above, India still
has more than six times as many
illiterates.
While rural India accounts for
only a third of all graduates, the
rate of increase in graduates
was faster in rural than in urban
India over the last decade, and
fastest of all among rural women.
From 26 lakh graduates 10 years
ago, nearly 67 lakh rural women
are now graduates. Rural Indians
are more likely to have nontechnical graduate degrees
than urban Indians, while urban
India accounts for 80 per cent
of all Indian technology and
medicine graduates.
Among those with a graduate
degree or above, the majority
(over 60 per cent) are those
who have a non-technical
graduate degree.
Countrys largest solar
telescope
The Udaipur Solar Observatory

(USO), one of the six GONG
(Global Oscillations Network
Group) sites in the world, has
now the countrys largest
telescope to observe the sun.
After China, Udaipur is second
in the world to have the unique
multi-application
solar

National Issues
telescope (MAST) for the

detailed study of the solar
activities.
Unlike other telescopes, the
MAST is capable of capturing
three dimensional aspects of the
solar magnetic fields, further
enabling the scientists to get a
better understanding of the
solar flares and eruptions taking
place in such twisted magnetic
fields.
ISRO chairman AS Kiran Kumar,
who couldnt make it to the
event, sent his message to
fellow scientists, congratulating
them for the major achievement.
The observatory, situated on an
island in the middle of
Fatehsagar lake, is a part of the
PRL, an autonomous unit of the
department of space.
The observatorys strategic
location, with a large water
body
surrounding
the
telescope, decreases the
amount of heating of the surface
layers.
This reduces the turbulence in
the air mass and thereby
improves the image quality.
The scientists here had got
many important results earlier
using data from other sources.
But those were looking at only
one layer of the solar
atmosphere.
Using the MAST, they plan to
extend the studies to other
layers using multiple spectral
line diagnostics. In this way, they
would get 3D pictures of the
phenomena.
What is MAST
The MAST is an off-axis
Gregorian-Coude telescope
with a 50 cm aperture and its
dome is a collapsible one made
of tensile fabric
The scientists had proposed for

MAST in 2004 and preparations
had been going on since for its
installation.
Built by the Advanced
Mechanical and Optical
Systems (AMOS) of Belgium,
the MAST was tested by
Udaipur Solar Observatory for
onsite acceptance
The back-end instruments of
MAST, developed in-house at
USO, include an adaptive optics
system and a narrow band
imaging polarimeter
The test results accumulated
over a year were examined by a
committee of experts and the
telescope has now been made
operational after 11 years
Strategic location of USO
In most places, lakes are
associated with abundant
rainfall. However in Udaipur,
the wisdom of the administrative
bodies 500 years ago resulted
in a system of lakes which were
used to store water collected
during the monsoon.
This water supply could last for
several years during lean
monsoons. Because the rains
were scanty in general, Udaipur
site can boast of more than 250
days of continuous sunshine
which allows to observe the sun
properly during the day
A milestone was added in the
Udaipur Satellite Observatorys
history in October 1995 when
it appeared on the world map
after being included in the
GONG project.
The other sites selected under
GONG are the Canary Islands in
Spain, CTIO in Chile, Hawaii and
Big Bear in USA and Learmonth
in Australia.
A sophisticated 1.5 million
dollar,
state-of-the-art
instrument was installed in
Udaipur under the project
which monitors the sun
automatically and takes digital
velocity images of it every
minute
PM launch National Handloom
Day in Chennai

will on Friday inaugurate the first
National Handloom Day at a
function in Chennai.
Prime Minister Modi will confer
the Sant Kabir awards and
National awards for the years
2012, 2013 and 2014 to
distinguished
handloom
personalities.
The program is being held in the
prestigious Centenary hall of
Madras University.
The Prime Minister will also
launch India Handloom Brand.
An exhibition showcasing
master creations of the
awardees is also being
inaugurated on the occasion in
the adjacent senate building of
Madras University.
The Handloom Day will be
celebrated all over the country
in cooperation with state
governments.
The date August 7 has been
chosen due to its special
significance in Indias history; it
was on this day that the
Swadeshi Movement was
launched in 1905.
21

National Issues
Uncertainty over Naga peace
accord
The peace agreement with

Naga
insurgent
group
Nationalist Socialist Council of
Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) or
NSCN (IM)seems to have
created some confusion with
stakeholders knowing little
about the historic peace
accord announced by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on
August 3.
The state governments, the
Army and the Ministry of Home
Affairs (MHA) are still not privy
to the terms of agreement
leading to uncertainty.
Top government sources told
Mail Today that the Army has
written to MHA asking for
instructions on what is the status
and how they need to act on
ground.
MHA is expected to write back
saying since there is no change
in the ground situation, status
quo should be maintained and
the protocol that is followed
during a ceasefire with an
insurgent group should be
followed,.
Sources say that it is only a
framework agreement that has
been signed and the real accord
might take some time.
Other than Nagaland, NSCN
(IM) has also been active in
neighbouring Assam, Arunachal
Pradesh and Manipur.
The groups objective was to
22
establish Nagalim or Greater

Nagaland comprising Nagainhabited areas of states
neighbouring Nagaland.
Sources said following the
announcement made by the
prime minister of a peace
accord with NSCN (IM) there
has been simmering tension in
the states among those
opposed to the idea of an
accord without their demands
being met.
One-third of coal blocks up for
auction in wildlife habitats
States for 46 coal blocks spread

over 10 coal fields.
Data for the remaining 55 blocks
of 101 was not available. In
addition, many village
boundaries overlap with the
areas of the listed blocks, which
call for approvals from grama
sabhas under the Forests Rights
Act, 2006, and prior to forest
diversion under the Forest
Conservation Act 1980.
Several blocks are already
facing legal challenges in
various courts, the study notes.
As a result bidders are likely to
face
challenges
in
operationalising these blocks.
India follows global trends
in taking on cyber attacks
The latest survey conducted

using Global Information System
(GIS) by Greenpeace India
shows that of the 101 coal
blocks that are up for auction
this year, 35 are in the habitats
of tigers, leopards or elephants.
Twenty of these blocks are
within 10 km of a protected
forest area or within 15 km of an
identified wildlife corridor.
An order issued by the Ministry
of Coal on December 18, 2014,
had identified these 101 coal
blocks for auction/allotment.
The blocks are spread across
eight States - Madhya Pradesh,
Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh,
Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,
Arunachal Pradesh and West
Bengal.
Of the blocks up for auction, 39
critical blocks cover a total
forest area of more than 10,500
hectares. Greenpeace India
collected GIS data from five
The number of cyber attacks in

the country stood at nearly
50,000 during the first five
months of 2015, with most of
these attacks on computer
networks of Indian organisations
originating from countries such
as the U.S., Pakistan, China and
Bangladesh, Parliament was
informed on Friday.
The trend in increase in cyber
attacks is similar to that
worldwide. A total number of
22,060, 71,780, 1,30,338, and
49,504 cyber security incidents,
including phishing, scanning,
spam, malicious code and
website intrusion, were
reported to Indian Computer
Emergency Response Team
(CERT-In) during the years
2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 (up
to May), respectively, Telecom
Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad
said in a written reply in the
Rajya Sabha.
The Minister said a total of
27,605 and 28,481 websites
were hacked during the year

National Issues
2012 and 2013, respectively. In
the year 2014 and 2015 (up to
May), the number was 32,323
and 9,057, respectively.
Centre plans to adopt new sand

mining policy for forest areas
Union Minister for Environment
and Forests Prakash Javadekar
said today the Centre plans to
adopt a new policy to allow
sand mining in forest areas to
stop flood waters from flowing
into forests.
Javadekar
made
the
announcement here while
referring to recent deaths of 10
Asiatic lions and other wild
animals due to floods in Amreli
district in June.
He said that sand mining in rivers
passing through protected
forest land has been banned by
the Supreme Court.
The minister also claimed that
his ministry cleared at least 35
projects in Gujarat, which had
not been given clearance.
Some of these projects which
received
environmental
clearances include the 800 MW
extension at Vanakbori thermal
power station, drilling of 103
wells in Vadodara by the ONGC,
development of Dholera SIR
and a limestone mining project
in Rangpur village of Junagadh,
Javadekar said.
Environment Ministry
pushes for contentious
hydel projects
With the appointment of the
third committee of experts by
the Union Environment Ministry
to review a few contentious
hydroelectric power projects in
Uttarakhand, activists see an
attempt to shift the debate away
from the danger they pose to
changing their design in tune

with the disaster-prone State.
The Ravi Chopra Committee
and the Vinod Tare Committee
had warned against the
projects, including the six on
which the Supreme Court is yet
to give a decision.
The Hindu reviewed the
minutes of the two meetings of
the newly formed committee
held in June and July. Lata
Tapovan (171 MW), Alaknanda
Badrinath (300 MW), Kotlibhel
1A (195 MW), Jhelum Tamak
(128 MW), Bhyundar Ganga
(24.8 MW), and Khirao Ganga
(4.5 MW) are the projects that
will be reviewed again by the
new committee.
At a meeting held in July, the
developers of the six projects
presented
design
modifications to the new
committee, so that they could
be implemented once the
issues of muck disposal, impact
on biodiversity and disaster
mitigation plan were addressed.
The modifications were
discussed last year too, but the
first committee rejected them.
Since the developers again
failed to present acceptable
modifications, the committee
has said they should come up
with the required modifications.
In the latest affidavit filed in the
Supreme Court, the Ministry has
also
underscored
the
importance
of
design
modifications, almost ruling out
the possibility of cancellation of
the projects even if they dont
meet the criteria.
Environmentalists have been
objecting to the formation of
the new committee, suspecting
that the Ministry is forming
committee after committee to
get the green signal for the

contentious projects.
On the formation of the third
committee, senior Supreme
Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan,
Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator
of the South Asia Network on
Dams, E. Theophilus of the
Uttarakhand-based Himal
Prakriti,
and
Bharat
Jhunjhunwala, a former
professor of the IIM-Bangalore,
had written to Union
Javadekar.
A violation
Not only is this a violation but
also a clear indication of your
ministrys malafide intentions to
overwrite and compromise the
findings
of
previous
committeesIt is hence clear
that till the time you [Mr.
Javadekar] do not get a report
that gives a green signal to these
hydropower projects you will
continue to form one
committee after another,
regardless of the reality on the
ground, they said.
Aadhaar not
mandatory,govt cant share
any personal
information,SC
Aadhar card will be optional for

availing various welfare
schemes of the government, the
Supreme Court on Tuesday said
and ordered that no personal
23

National Issues
information of the holders of

such cards shall be shared by
any authority.
A three-judge bench, which in
the forenoon referred to a larger
Constitution Bench a batch of
petitions challenging the
Aadhar scheme and the issue
whether right to privacy is a
fundamental right, recorded the
statement of Attorney General
Mukul Rohatgi that no personal
information of Aadhar card shall
be shared by any authority.
The bench, headed by Justice
J Chelameswar, which issued a
slew of directions, said the
Centre shall give wide publicity
through electronic and print
media that the card is not
mandatory to avail the
government schemes.
The bench, also comprising
Justices S A Bobde and C
Nagappan, said, UIDAI/
Aadhar will not be used for any
other purposes except PDS,
kerosene and LPG distribution
system. However, the court
made it clear that even for PDS,
kerosene and LPG distribution
system, the card will not be
mandatory.
It directed that the information
received by UIDAI shall not be
used for any other purposes,
except in criminal investigation
with the permission of the court.
The court did not allow the
interim plea of petitioners,
challenging Aadhar scheme,
that the ongoing enrolment
process for the Aadhar card be
stayed.
India is biggest market for FB

after US
Facebook
on
Tuesday
launched FB Start, a new
programme designed to help
24
early stage mobile startups in

India. FB Start provides startups
with exclusive community
access, worldwide events,
mentorship and up to $80,000
worth of free tools and services.
Ime Archibong, director of

strategic partnerships at
Facebook, said, Outside the
US, India continues to be a
highly important region for
Facebook. Of the $50 million in
benefits distributed to Asia
Pacific startups through FB Start
since 2014, more than $21
million went to startups in India.
Facebook has more than 1,000
members as part of the FB Start
programme and it has held
events in London, New York,
Mexico City, Hong Kong, Seoul
and Taipei. In India, it is hosting
these events in Bangalore and
Gurgaon.
India,s voluntary emission

reduction targets soon
India will announce its voluntary

emission reduction targets well
ahead of the deadline of
October 1, the Union Minister
for Environment, Forests and
Climate Change, Prakash
Javdekar, told Parliament on

Tuesday.
It was agreed in the Lima
climate conference last year
that all countries would submit
their intended nationally
determined contributions
(INDCs) by October 1, 2015,
two months ahead of this years
climate conference, which will
be held in Paris from November
30.
India has undertaken an
elaborate, multi-stakeholder
consultation process for
finalising its INDC, says a
government press release,
quoting the Minister.
Climate
conferences
(negotiations) are held each
year under the auspices of the
United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC).
This years conference is
expected to be epochal, given
the urgency of hammering out
an agreement to do something
before it is too late to halt and
reverse mankind-caused
climate change.
A major global deal is expected
to be negotiated which might
say what each country would
do and how the efforts will be
funded.
India has been advocating a
strong and ambitious outcome
in Paris in accordance with the
principle and provisions of the
United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change
CVC appointment under

Supreme Court scanner
The Supreme Court on
Thursday sought the Centres
response to a PIL challenging
the appointment of former
Central Board of Direct Taxes

National Issues
head KV Chaudhary as chief
vigilance commissioner and exCMD of Indian Bank TM Bhasin
as vigilance commissioner in the
Central Vigilance Commission
(CVC).
A bench of Chief Justice HL
Dattu and justices Arun Mishra
and Amitava Roy also sought
response from Chaudhary and
Bhasin on the petition which
cast doubts over their integrity
and reputation and alleged
that clouds over their integrity

made them ineligible for the top
posts in the CVC.
The petition, filed by NGO
Common Cause and members
of civil society including former
Navy chief Admiral L Ramdas,
said Chaudharys actions as
CBDT chief and adviser to the
SC-appointed SIT on black
money was under a cloud.
The NGO also said Chaudharys
name had cropped up in the
Stockguru scam and also in the

controversy relating to visitors to
ex-CBI director Ranjit Sinhas
official residence.
Although government agencies
had given a clean chit to
Chaudhary in both cases, the
petitioners alleged that he did
not meet the impeccable
integrity requirement for the
CVC post and termed the
procedure to select him as
arbitrary and illegal.
25
What you will Get (?)
General Studies (Paper I, II, III & IV) Online 100 % Reading Material of the
Syllabus (Which can be saved easily)
Slides (For Giving Summary of Each Topics)
Categorized Unit and Sub-Unit Wise Question Papers of General Studies
Current General Studies Magazine (Indispensable Magazine for General Studies)
Daily Answer Writing Challenge for IAS Mains Contemporary Issues
It is full of tips on areas of emphasis, caution while reading and writing , how to
write the answer (?) .
Model Test Question Paper for General Studies - I, II, III and IV for Mains Exam
2015
Online and Telephonic interaction with the course director, and continuous
evaluation through a regular online writing session in every chapter and topic.
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/courses/ias-mains-gs-combo

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES
Facebook in
defensive mode on Internet.org
Facebook has defended its
Internet.org initiative as a
gateway to provide low cost
access to the internet after a
government panel on net
neutrality opposed it saying that
the social networking giant was
playing the role of a gatekeeper.
Internet.org acts as a gateway,
as opposed to a gatekeeper, to
internet access by breaking
down the cost, infrastructure
and social barriers that exist
today, Facebook vice
president for Mobile and Global
Access Policy Kevin Martin said
in a statement.
The government panel
discussed
Facebooks
Internet.org while preparing the
report and found that it
provided free access for only a
few websites until April 2015.
Net neutrality implies that equal
treatment be accorded to all
internet traffic and no priority
be given to an entity or company
based on payment to content
or service providers such as
telecom companies, which is
seen as discriminatory.
The neutrality debate gained
momentum in India after
telecom operator Airtel
launched a platform, Airtel Zero,
that would allow free access of
some websites on it network.
The companies were asked to
pay Airtel for joining the
platform.
26
Internet.org, on the other hand,

is a Facebook-led initiative
which aims to bring 5 billion
people online in partnership
with tech giants like Samsung
and Qualcomm as well as
mobile operators.
Taiwan to elect first woman

President
Taiwans top two political

parties have each nominated a
woman for President in 2016, a
historic first signalling
acceptance
of
female
leadership.
The ruling Nationalist Party on
Sunday picked as its candidate
Hung Hsiu-chu (in picture), a
former teacher and the current
deputy legislative speaker.
Ms. Hung, who supports
friendly relations with China, will
run against Tsai Ing-wen, the
opposition
Democratic
Progressive
Party
chairwoman.Tsai leads in
opinion polls.
British monarchys comes
under attack
When the famously ill-spoken
Prince Phillip, the present
British monarchs husband,
recently visited a community

centre, he reportedly asked the
women So whom are you
sponging on? His hosts politely
ignored his comment.
The public response to the
latest royal family controversy
however suggests that the
culture of monarchical
exceptionalism in this country
is changing.
With the British media carrying
reports of a livid Queen
Elizabeth ordering an inquiry
into the source of the leak of
video footage dating back to
1933, showing her throwing the
Nazi salute as a child, the furore
over the publication of socalled private royal family
material is roiling public opinion
in Britain.
The issue has thrown up issues
of media freedom vis--vis the
monarchy an institution that
most Britons of a earlier
generation instinctively feel
must be shielded from the
darker aspects of its past, of
which its well-documented
links with fascism, and more
notably the Third Reich, are a
part.
The Sun , owned by the
Murdoch empire, is a defiantly
sensationalist newspaper, who
critics say had an eye on the
circulation spurt that the
publication of such a report
would generate. It claims it
obtained the footage from a
legitimate source and
discussed its publication

editorially for weeks, and also
got it cleared from its lawyers.
Greek Banks Reopen after a
long gap
Greeks queued outside banks

on Monday as they reopened
three weeks after closing to stop
the system collapsing under a
flood of withdrawals, the first
cautious sign of a return to
normal after a deal to start talks
on a new package of bailout
reforms.
However capital controls will
remain and payments and wire
transfers abroad will still not be
possible - a situation which
German Chancellor Angela
Merkel said on Sunday was not
a normal life and warranted
swift negotiations on a new
bailout.
The stock market will also
remain closed until further
notice.
Queues formed outside bank
branches in central Athens as
people waited to take care of
business frozen during the three
week-long bank holiday.
Limits on cash withdrawals have
been made slightly more
flexible, with a weekly limit of
420 euros in place of the daily
60 euro limit previously.
Greeks will be able to deposit
cheques but not cash, pay bills
as well as have access to safety
deposit boxes and withdraw
money without an ATM card.
Bankers said there may be minor
disruptions after the three-week

interruption to services but they
expected services to resume
largely as normal.
The bank closures were the
most visible sign of the crisis that
took Greece to the brink of
falling out of the euro earlier this
month. But Tsipras is eyeing a
fresh start and swift talks on the
bailout that will keep Greece
afloat.
Greece braces for next vote
Greek government said on

Tuesday that it wants to see a
final deal on its international
bailout hammered out by
August 20, as it presented
Parliament with more draft
legislation on the cash-forreforms agreement.
Lawmakers are due to vote on a
second batch of reforms
Wednesday in a fresh test of
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras
authority, after he suffered a
major rebellion in his radical-left
party Syriza during a vote on a
first tranche of bailout measures
last week.
After Parliament has voted on
the second bill which must
pass if Greece is to receive the
bailout worth up to 86 billion
($93 billion) over three years
the
government
will
immediately
resume
negotiations with the (lender)
institutions, EU, ECB and IMF,
which should take until August
20 at the latest, said

government spokeswoman
Olga Gerovassili.
Tsipras managed to push the
first series of unpopular reforms
through Parliament last
Wednesday including
sweeping changes to Greeces
taxes, pensions and labour rules
but only with the help of proEuropean opposition parties.
Within Syriza, 32 of the partys
149 MPs voted against the
measures, including former
finance minister Yanis
Varoufakis. A further six
abstained.
The second bill includes an EU
directive, adopted after the
financial crisis in Cyprus in
2013, that guarantees bank
deposits up to 100,000 euros
($108,000), as well as civil
justice reforms designed to
speed up legal proceedings
and reduce their costs.
BRICS bank opens in Shanghai
The Brazil-Russia-India-ChinaSouth Africa (BRICS) grouping
has formally opened the New
Development Bank (NDB) as a
dedicated channel of alternate
finance, which will focus on
emerging economies and the
Global South.
Top officials of the new bank,
which opened on Tuesday in
Shanghai, stressed that the NDB
would not rival but complement
the
western
backed
International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and the World Bank, born
out of the Bretton Woods
Conference of the forties.
However, the emergence of the
NDB
and
the
Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank
(AIIB) a China-led initiative
to fund infrastructure in Asia
was hastened by the reluctance
27

by the West, especially the United States, since 2010, to grant emerging
economies a greater say within the IMF.
Hotline for closer ties
Rejecting the possibility of a

rivalry between the two newly
established banks, NDBs first
President Kundapur Vaman
Kamath stressed that after a
meeting in Beijing with the AIIB,
the NDB had decided to
establish a hotline with the
AIIB to forge closer ties
between new institutions
coming together with a
completely
different
approach.
The
AIIB
and
the
complementary $ 40 billion Silk
Road Fund are expected to
fund some of projects along
Beijing-proposed Belt and
Road initiative, aimed at the
integration of Eurasian
economies.
Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz,
who along with economist
Nicholas Stern conceptualised
the formation of a BRICS-led
bank, has said the NDB is going
to try to be a 21st century
institution. In an interview with
the website Democracy Now,
Mr Stiglitz observed: The other
institutions have been trying to
28
adapt from the 20th century

1944 was when they were
founded but, you know, its
difficult to move these big
institutions,
particularly
difficult.
The NDB will have an initial
capital of US$50 billion, which
will be raised to US$100 billion
within two years.
The NDB planned to issue its
first loans in April next year, Mr.
Kamath, a former head of ICICI
Bank had announced earlier this
month. China will pitch in $41
billion to the NDB the highest
within the BRICS group.
Consequently, it will have a 39.5
per cent share of voting rights.
Brazil, India and Russia will each
pump in $18 billion, while South
Africas contribution would
stand at $ 5 billion. The bank is
expected to start operations at
the end of this year or early in
2016.
China begins assembling
worlds largest radio telescope
China today started assembling
the worlds largest radio
telescope, whose dish has the

size of 30 football grounds, in
the mountains of southwest
Guizhou Province to enhance
its ability to observe outer
space.
China today started assembling

the worlds largest radio
telescope, whose dish has the
size of 30 football grounds, in
the mountains of southwest
Guizhou Province to enhance
its ability to observe outer
space.
The Chinese technicians began
to assemble the telescopes
reflector, which is 500 meters
in diameter and made up of
4,450 panels. Each panel is an
equilateral triangle with a side
length of 11 meters.
Once completed, the singleaperture spherical telescope
called FAST will be the worlds
largest, overtaking Puerto Ricos
Arecibo Observatory, which is
300 meters in diameter, staterun Xinhua news agency
reported..
Wu Xiangping, director-general
of Chinese Astronomical
Society, said that for years
Chinese scientists have worked
on second hand data
collected by others and failed
to achieve breakthrough.
With a perimeter of about 1.6
km, it will take about 40 minutes
to walk around the telescope.
The giant dish is built upon a
naturally-formed bowl-like
valley in the southern part of

Guizhou.
The Karst formation in the local
landscape is good for draining
rainwater underground and
protecting the reflector, Sun
said.
The construction of the
telescope began in March 2011
and is set to finish next year.
of the telescope.
The valley in Guizhou has radio
silence, with no habitation in
the radius of five kilometers and
only one county in the radius of
25 kilometers
WTO strikes $1.3tn deal to wipe
out IT trade tariffs
China;s Ambitious Search For

aliens
China is currently in the process

of building the worlds largest
single-aperture telescope,
FAST, according to reports
emerging in its state media.
Its reflector the size of more than
30 football fields, the telescope
is an attempt by China (under
the project Breakthrough Listen,
envisioned by American
physicist Stephen Hawking and
Russian billionaire Yuri Milner)
to find signs of alien life after
NASAs
groundbreaking
announcement that an Earth
2.02 was discovered by its
planet-hunting
Kepler
telescope.
According to Xinhua, built in
the deep mountains of Chinas
Guizhou province, the diameter
of the telescopes reflector will
be 500 meters and will be made
up of 4,450 panels, easily
surpassing Puerto Ricos Arecibo
Observatory, only 305 meters
in diameter.
With a perimeter of more than
1.5 km, it will take about 40
minutes to complete one round
The World Trade Organisation

(WTO) has agreed to eliminate
trade tariffs on more than 200
technology products, paving
the way for price cuts across a
range of IT offerings from 2016.
These products include semiconductors,
magnetic
resonance imaging machines,
manufacturing tools for printed
circuits, telecommunications
satellites, touchscreens and
more.
Furthermore, the agreement
also sets out a commitment to
addressing other barriers to
trade in the IT sector, while
maintaining a roll-call of
products that could be
included on the list at a later
date.
The move marks an expansion
of a similar deal waved through
by the WTO in 1996, which
benefited
81
of
the
organisations members and saw
prices fall across a range of
products.
However, many of the
technology products that
consumers and businesses rely
on today werent covered by
the 1996 deal, so in 2012
members began work on

expanding it.
As a result, the updated
arrangement will benefit all 161
members of the WTO, allowing
them to take advantage of dutyfree market access on the 201
listed
products
when
participating in trades with one
another.
This latest deal was voted for by
54 of the WTOs 161 members,
who now have until October to
draft guidelines that outline
how the terms of the proposals
will be met, in the hope of
having them officiated by
December 2015.
This, the WTO claimed, should
lead to tariffs being cut on some
of the listed products by 2016,
and all of them within the next
three years.
Roberto Azevdo, directorgeneral of the WTO, said the
landmark deal should open
up
new
economic
opportunities across the globe.
China and India top list of

nations whose millionaires
move abroad
We may be in the midst of the

Asian century, but a new report
shows that many of the
wealthiest citizens of the
continents two fastest-growing
economies China and India
have chosen to leave their
countries and settle down
abroad.
A total of 91,000 Chinese
29

millionaires left the country and

settled overseas in the past 14
years, while the exodus of
Indian millionaires ranked
second at 61,000, according to
a report by consultancies New
World Wealth and LIO Global.
France, Italy, Russia, Indonesia,
South Africa and Egypt round
out the top eight.
The study, released this month,
looked at immigration data from
2000 and 2014 indicating
applications for a second
citizenship or change of
domicile
(permanent
residence).
The U.K.its capital city
London, in particularappears
to be the most popular
destination for the worlds rich
to settle down in, followed by
the U.S., Singapore, Australia
and Hong Kong.
The report says Indians tend to
move to countries like Australia
and the United Arab Emirates,
while Singapore and Hong
Kong are popular destinations
for Chinas wealthy.
Despite the large-scale
departure of millionaires, both
China and India still have plenty
of wealthy citizens who chose
to stay back reflected by their
respective positions at fifth and
10th on the list of countries with
the most millionaires overall.
They also remain the worlds
most populous nations, sharing
a third of the global population.
Those who leave generally cite
reasons like turmoil in home
country, security concerns and
optimizing education of
children, the report said.
Winds of
change in West Asia
There has been no dearth of
30
hyperbole on the nuclear

agreement signed last week in
Vienna between Iran and the
P5+1 (the United States, the
United Kingdom, France, China,
Russia and Germany along
with the European Union). U.S.
President Barack Obama was
the most restrained when he
said that the deal offers an
opportunity to move in a new
direction; Iranian President
Hassan Rouhani called it a good
agreement
when
he
announce(d) to our people
that our prayers have come
true.
On July 20, the Agreement was

submitted to the U.S. Congress
for a mandatory 60-day review.
U.S. Speaker John Boehner
slammed it as a bad deal that
paves the way for a nuclear
Iran and vowed to do
everything possible to scuttle it
even as Mr. Obama warned that
he would veto a negative
decision by Congress.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a
Republican
presidential
candidate, described it as a
most dangerous irresponsible
step, while a group of 60
former secretaries, national
security advisers, military
generals and ambassadors, led
by former secretary of state
Madeleine Albright and former
secretary of defence William
Perry issued a statement
welcoming it as a landmark
agreement unprecedented in
its importance... Russian

President Vladimir Putin said
that the world heaved a sigh of
relief while German Chancellor
Angela Merkel called it a
hugely important success.
Secularism will be vanish
from the new Nepal
Constitution
The key term of secularism may

be dropped in Nepals new
Constitution as it is not
considered appropriate by
many people, according to top
Nepali leaders.
UCPN (Maoist) Chairman
Prachanda said on Monday that
the term secularism is not an
appropriate one and it would
be replaced by a suitable term
in the new Constitution.
Earlier on Friday, CPN-UML
Chairman K.P. Sharma Oli had
also hinted that the term
secularism would be removed
from the new Constitution.
Over the past few days, a
campaign to remove the word
secularism
from
the
Constitution has been gaining
momentum.
Animal sacrifice banned
indefinitely at Nepals 300 year
old Gadhimai Festival
In a break from tradition,
Nepalese temple authorities on
Tuesday announced an
indefinite ban on a centuriesold Hindu tradition of mass
animal slaughter that attracts

hundreds of thousands of worshippers.
The 300 year old Gadhimai festival will go bloodless in its next edition
in 2019. More than five lakh animals get slaughtered during the festival.
Israels dismay at Russias

decision to supply the S-300s
to Iran, and the United States
also has expressed concern.
UN urges concerted action to
combat human trafficking
The festival, held once every

five years, sees hordes of
devotees from Nepal and India
flock to a temple in the
Himalayan nations southern
plains to sacrifice thousands of
animals in the hope of
appeasing the Hindu goddess
of power, Gadhimai.
In the last Gadhimai festival in
2014, despite a police
presence and a SC order to
check the illegal smuggling of
animals from Indian borders,
people continued to cross the
Bihar border with live cattle.
70% animals are technically
smuggled from India.
Russia Is supporting Iran with

Missiles
Russia is modernizing its S-300

missile system to supply to Iran,
an adviser to Russian President
Vladimir Putin said on July 30,

RIA news agency reported.
Vladimir Kozhin, a presidential
adviser on military matters, said
the S-300 air defense missile
systems will be upgraded
before being delivered to Iran,
since the original contract was
signed a long time ago.
He wouldnt offer specifics or
say when the delivery would
take place.
Russia cancelled a contract to
deliver the advanced missile
system to Iran in 2010 under
pressure from the West.
But Putin lifted that selfimposed ban in April following
an interim nuclear deal
between Iran and world
powers.
Moscow is hoping to reap
economic and trade benefits
now that a more comprehensive
nuclear deal between Iran and
world powers has been
reached, allowing for an easing
of sanctions on the Islamic
republic.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu has expressed
UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon on Thursday urged every

country to join the fight against
human trafficking as the world
bodys agencies and their
partners vowed to work
together to support and protect
victims of this transnational
crime, while pursuing and
prosecuting criminals and their
networks.
In his message on the World Day
against Trafficking in Persons,
the secretary-general flagged
the need to crack down on
criminal trafficking networks
that thrive in countries where the
rule of law is weak and
international cooperation is
difficult.
The secretary-general also
applauded the donors who
have enabled the UN Voluntary
Trust Fund for Victims of
Trafficking in Persons to assist
thousands of people and called
for greater contributions to help
the many million other victims
of this crime move forward with
their lives.
In 2013, the UN General
Assembly designated July 30 as
the World Day to raise
awareness of the situation of
victims of human trafficking and
31

for the promotion and
protection of their rights.
In 2010, the UN General
Assembly adopted the Global
Plan of Action to Combat
Trafficking in Persons, urging
governments worldwide to take
coordinated and consistent
measures to defeat this scourge.
Worlds Population Is Set To
Surpass 11 Billion
The worlds population

reached 7.3 billion in the
middle of 2015, according to a
recent report released by the
United Nations.
The annual pace of growth was
1.24 percent a decade ago and
this has now started to slow,
falling to 1.18 percent, or 83
million people each year.
Over the course of the past 12
years, one billion people have
been added to the planets
population.
Over the next 15 years, the
worlds population is projected
to increase by a further billion,
reaching 8.5 billion in 2030.
In 2050, it will pass the 9.7
billion mark before topping 11.2
billion in 2100. Interestingly,
even though the planets
population is projected to grow,
fertility rates are down across
the world. Much of the coming
growth will be attributed to
reducing child mortality and
raising life expectancy.
32
Britain, France Make New Push

to Block Migrants
guards, more fencing and infrared detectors and floodlighting.

Obama to unveil biggest step
ever in climate change fight
Britain and France said Sunday

it was a top priority for them
to block the onslaught of
thousands of migrants seeking
passage to England via the
Eurotunnel.
In a joint statement published
in British and French
newspapers, British Home
Secretary Theresa May and her
French counterpart, Bernard
Cazeneuve, called on other
European Union countries and
the international community to
help curb the flow of refugees
from Africa to Europe.
The two officials said the
thousands of migrants who have
sought passage from Calais,
France on trains or trucks into
Britain in recent weeks have
often made their way there after
first landing in Italy and Greece
via Mediterranean boat trips
from Africa.
May and Cazeneuve said the
crisis should not be addressed
by easing immigration policies,
but rather by reducing the
number of migrants who are
crossing into Europe from
Africa.
At least 10 migrants have died
attempting the France-to-Britain
passage.
Britain and France say they are
bolstering security at the French
entry to the Eurotunnel, adding
more police and private security
US PRESIDENT Barack Obama

will on Monday local time unveil
what he called the biggest,
most important step weve ever
taken to fight climate change,
a sensitive issue, central to his
legacy.
The White House will release
the final version of Americas
Clean Power Plan, a set of
environmental rules and
regulations that will home in on
the pollution from the nations
existing power plants, setting
limits on power-plant carbon
emissions for the first time.
Plants will have to reduce
carbon dioxide emissions by 32
per cent from 2005 levels by
2030.
Laying out how climate change
is a threat to the economy,
health, wellbeing and security
of America, and adding that
time was of the essence, Obama
said in a video released early
Sunday: Climate change is not
a problem for another
generation. Not anymore.
Power plants account for some
40 per cent of US emissions of
carbon dioxide, the most
common greenhouse gas that
contributes to climate change.
In the coming months, Obama
is expected to visit Alaska to
highlight the impact of climate

change and will host Pope
Francis at the White House
when they are expected to
make a collective call for action.
Politically sensitive
In its initial proposal a year ago,
the Obama administration had
set the target at 30 per cent of
power plant reductions
The stronger 32 per cent
collective reduction drew
fierce opposition from the
Republican Party, which
described the measures as
overreach, heavy-handed
and said they would have
devastating consequences for
our economy.
Climate change is a hot-button
issue in American politics, and
cuts are politically sensitive
because coal, among the
dirtiest energy sources, remains
a major US industry.
Even as natural gas gains in
popularity, hundreds of coalfired power plants dotted
across the country provide
about 39 per cent of the US
electricity supply, ahead of
natural gas and nuclear
Eurozone PMI Survey Shows
Collapse in Greek
Manufacturing Output
Uncertainty over the countrys
future relationship with the
eurozone
sent
Greek
manufacturing into a tailspin in
July, but that had little impact
on other parts of the currency
areas economy, as Italian
factories had their best month
in more than four years.
The final results of a survey of
purchasing managers at
eurozone factories released
Monday showed activity grew
slightly more rapidly than first
estimated, and roughly in line

with June.
But the national survey for
Greece revealed a collapse in
output, with the headline
Purchasing Managers Index
plummeting to 30.2, the lowest
level recorded in the 16-year
history of the series.
A Level of 50.0 separates a
contraction from an expansion,
and the eurozone measure
stood at 52.4.
The survey attests to a degree
of paralysis not often seen in a
developed economy, as
businesses lost their access to
credit, needed raw materials
and other supplies.
But there were few signs of
Greeces troubles in the survey
results coming in from other
parts of the currency area. Italys
manufacturing sector began to
revive at the start of the year,
and in June recorded a surprise
surge in activity. It was even
more surprising that it managed
to build on that momentum in
July, as the PMI rose to 55.3 from
54.1, its highest level in 51
months.
Activity slowed somewhat in
Spain, Germany and the
Netherlands, but only in France
was there an outright decline,
and that had little to do with
Greece.
World glaciers melting faster

than ever
two decades has resulted in a

strong imbalance of glaciers in
many regions of the world, says
an alarming study, indicating
that glaciers will suffer further
ice loss even if the climate
remains stable.
The observed glaciers
currently lose between half a
metre and one metre of its ice
thickness every year. This is two
to three times more than the
corresponding average of the
20th
century,
Exact
measurements of this ice loss are
reported from a few hundred
glaciers only.
According to the team, the
current rate of glacier melt is
without precedence at global
scale, at least for the time
period observed and probably
also for recorded history.
In addition, the study shows
that the long-term retreat of
glacier tongues is a global
phenomenon.
Glacier tongues in Norway have
retreated by some kms from its
maximum extents in the 19th
century.
The World Glacier Monitoring
Service
has
compiled
worldwide data on glacier
changes for more than 120
years.
In this study, observations of the
first decade of the 21st century
(2001-2010) were compared
to all available earlier data as
well as to reconstructions from
pictorial and written sources.
UN sets 2030 as goal to end

poverty and hunger
The intense ice loss of the past
The 193 member states of the

United Nations have reached an
agreement on a new
development agenda for the
next 15 years that calls for
33

eradicating povertyand hunger,
achieving gender equality,
improving living standards and
taking urgent action to combat
climate change.
The draft agreement reached

on Sunday evening outlines 17
goals with 169 specific targets
on issues ranging from ending
poverty in all its forms
everywhere to ensuring quality
education and affordable and
reliable energy, and protecting
the environment. We can be
the first generation that ends
global poverty, and the last
generation to prevent the worst
impacts of global warming
before it is too late, SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon said on
Monday.
The
document
called
Transforming our World: The
2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development will be adopted
at a UN summit just before the
annual meeting of world leaders
at the General Assembly in late
September.
The 17 new, non-binding goals
will succeed the eight
Millennium Development Goals
adopted by world leaders 15
years ago. In his final report last
month on the Millennium
Development Goals, Ban said
the effort has helped lift more
than one billion people out of
extreme poverty over the last 15
years, enabled more girls to go
to school than ever before, and
brought unprecedented results
34
in fighting diseases such as HIV/

AIDS.
Despite significant progress on
all the MDGs, the only original
goal that was achieved ahead
of time was cutting in half the
number of people living in
extreme poverty, and that was
due primarily to economic
growth in China.
Ban stressed inequality remains,
with 80% of the people living
on less than $1.25 a day located
in southern Asia and subSaharan Africa, and 60% in just
five countries, India, Nigeria,
China, Bangladesh and Congo.
Agreement on the new goals is
the culmination of more than
three years of intense and
complex negotiations.
Icann Posts Proposal to End US
Oversight of Internet
The overseers of the Internet on

Monday published a keenly
anticipated proposal to step out
from under US oversight.
Under the plan, nonprofit
Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers
(Icann) would create a separate
legal entity that would be
contracted to handle key
technical functions of the
online address system.
Icann would remain based in
Southern California, and any
major structural or operational
changes to the foundation of the
Internets addressing system
would require approval of the
nonprofit organizations board

of directors.
The 199 page proposal was
posted online at icann.org,
where a note said that a public
comment period would end on
September 8.
Icann president Fadi Chehade
said last month that the end of
the US role is now set for mid2016, with the transition pushed
back by a year to allow time for
input from the Internet
community and review by the
US government and Congress.
Icann will become an
independent entity without US
government oversight for the
Internets domain and address
system, Chehade said, noting
that the transition is likely to take
place between July and
September 2016.
The US government in March
2014 outlined its plan to step
away from its oversight role and
fully privatize the functions of
Icann.
Chehade noted that the
transition away from US
government oversight has been
in planning since Icann a
nonprofit corporation under
contract to the US government
was created in 1998.
Russia developed suits for safer

spacewalks
A gen-next lightweight
spacesuit equipped with
climate control and unique
safety systems for astronauts

onboard the ISS has been

developed by a Russian
company.
The unique new spacesuits for
Russian cosmonauts on ISS use
materials that substantially
extend the useful life of
spacesuits.
The spacesuits will ensure that
astronauts, even when affected
by such aggressive environment
as open space, feel absolutely
comfortable and safe.
They spacesuits have been fully
tested and are being sent to the
ISS this year.
In case of depressurisation, due
to damage or otherwise the
spacesuit has a system that can
maintain the required pressure
within a spacesuit for as long as
30-50 minutes, which is
sufficient for safe return to the
space station.
The spacesuit was displayed at
the
annual
Innoprom
international
industrial
exhibition held in Ekaterinburg,
Russia.
It is the outcome of several years
of research and development
by the engineering team at
Zvezda NPP.
enough food.
Even those lucky enough to
have enough to eat have to
suffer the indignity of living
under a hereditary despotism of
men with ridiculous haircuts.
But its not all bad news for the
folks living in this nation-sized
penitentiary.
After all, on August 15th, North
Koreans will get to sleep in a half
an hour later.
Thats right, according to a
report in the BBC, the North
Korean government announced
on Friday that it would be
setting up its own time zone,
which will be 30 minutes earlier
than that which it currently uses.
According to the report, the
government made the decision
to return to the time used in the
Korean peninsula before Japan
colonized it in 1910.
Before that time, all of Korea was
8.5 hours ahead of GMT,
instead of the nine hours used
in Korea and Japan today.
China remains worlds largest

robot market
China has retained its rank as the

worlds largest robot market for
the second successive year,
media reported on Friday.
Facebook campaigns for
Internet.Org in India
New Suez Canal &Egyptian

President Still in Deep
Water
North Korea will have Its Own

Time Zone
North Korea, a country of

roughly 25 million people, is in
the midst of a severe drought,
which is contributing to food
shortages that are leaving more
than 10 million people without
A balloon that read Long live

Egypt cruised aloft, huge
national flags fluttered and the
main streets were lit up. A
special video produced by the
army, which was screened on
television, depicted
Completed two years ahead of

schedule, the new canals true
worth is as a national symbol.
Even so, it cant wash over
bigger troubles.
Only a new opera was missing
from the dedication of the Suez
Canals younger and shorter
sister on Thursday.
Facebook campaigns for

Internet.Org in India Facebook
completely
disagrees with a DoT panels
report in India which says that
Internet.Org does not follow the
net neutrality principle
In justification, the company
explains that though the app
provides the users with access
to only some websites it does
not obstruct the other sites.
Facebook is working hard to
gather maximum support of its
users for Internet.Org as now
there is very little time left in DoT
35

panel to present the public

opinion on its report.
Once Facebook is able to gather
enough public support it would
move to the courts for keeping
Internet.Org functional in India.
The DoT panel report on net
neutrality
which
says
Internet.Org is unsuccessful in
establishing is made available on
My Gov website for the people
to comment on.
As of now, the report has got
very insignificant comments as
compared to the messages sent
as part of the campaign to
establish net neutrality in India.
Facebook submits that
Internet.Org is introduced to
provide internet access even to
those who cannot pay for it; the
company has no intent to violate
the net neutrality principle.
The Facebook users in India
have received messages from
Facebook in which they are
asked if they support free
internet in India for all the
people to use.
The message further guides
them to comment to assert their
support for the free basic
internet cause so that their
opinion could be presented at
the government level.
UN report,World population set

to cross 11 billion in 2100
increase from 7.3 billion people

to 9.7 billion in 2050 and 11.2
billion at the centurys end.
Asia, with a current population
of 4.4 billion, is likely to remain
the most populous continent,
with its population expected to
peak around the middle of the
century at 5.3 billion and then
to decline to around 4.9 billion
people by the end of the
century.
Developing countries with
young populations but lower
fertility like India face the
prospect of substantial
population ageing before the
end of the century.
The world population growth
will not stop in this century
unless
there
are
unprecedented
fertility
declines in those parts of subSaharan Africa that are still
experiencing rapid population
growth.
According to models of
demographic change derived
from historical experience, it is
estimated the global population
will be between 9.5 and 13.3
billion people in 2100.
The primary driver of global
population growth is a
projected increase in the
population of Africa.
The continents current
population of 1.2 billion people
is expected to rise to between
3.4 billion and 5.6 billion
people by the end of this
century.
Nepals first transgender

passport issued to rights activist
There will be no end to world

population growth in this
century, says the UN, adding
that the worlds population will
36
In what signals a long-overdue

respect for the countrys
transgender community, activist
Monica Shahi has made history
as Nepals first citizen to carry a
passport bearing a third gender.
Nepal moved towards

recognizing a third gender
when the Supreme Court in
2007 ruled that individuals
should have their gender legally
recognized based on selffeeling and that they should
not have to limit themselves to
female or male.
Since then, activists have fought
successfully to have a third
category added to citizenship
documents, public bathrooms,
and even the federal census.
For Shahi, this means her
passport is marked O for
other rather than the
traditional F for female or
M for male.
Only a limited number of
countries recognize more than
male and female on travel
documents, which could pose
challenges for people like Shahi
as they travel.
The United Nations special
rapporteur on the promotion
and protection of human rights
and fundamental freedoms
while countering terrorism
argued that measures that
involve increased travel
document security, such as
stricter procedures for issuing,
changing and verifying identity
documents, risk unduly
penalizing transgender persons
whose personal appearance
and data are subject to
change.

Googles Alphabet logic
Most would have heard of
Googles self-driving cars, and
the Google Glass. Some would
have heard about its efforts to
build drones that can deliver
stuff.
But these are just three of the
many things that the company
is today working on, including
an ambitious biotech effort to
conquer death.
So, one way to look at its new
moniker, Alphabet, would be to
think of it as working on
everything from A to Z. One
unofficial, user-generated web
tile actually puts together a
Google initiative for each letter
of the alphabet, from Analytics
and Books to YouTube and
Zeitgeist; J was the only letter
for which it could not find
something.
The new corporate structure
where Google is just one
venture among several under
the Alphabet holding company
is designed to give the
emerging spaces, and their top
executives, more breathing
space to build their businesses.
It will also give investors better
visibility into the core business
of search, something that
investors love, and which was
reflected in a 6% surge in
Googles share price soon after
the announcement was made.
Search is what today brings in
most of the money for Alphabet.
But Alphabet is, as noted
earlier, already much more, and
it probably wants to be a lot
more, given the way its
fundamental internet, analytics
and
machine-learning
technologies are reshaping
literally every aspect of the
world.
Early last year it bought the

smart-thermostat maker Nest
Labs for $3.2 billion and that
initiative is becoming the base
of Alphabets work in the area
of internet-connected devices
for the home.
Calico is an anti-aging biotech
company that it launched in
2013 with Arthur Levinson,
former CEO of biotech pioneer
Genentech, leading it. It is
Googles ambitious effort to
conquer death, as some have
put it.
140-character
limit in Twitter is past
Starting Wednesday, the microblogging site Twitter lifted the

140-character limit for its 300
million-plus users to send direct
messages, an Indian-origin
Twitter official has announced.
In a post on the official Twitter
blog, Twitter product manager
Sachin Agarwal wrote: If
youve checked your Direct
Messages today, you may have
noticed that somethings
missing: the limitation of 140
characters.
You can now chat on (and on)
in a single Direct Message, and
likely still have some characters
left over.
While Twitter is largely a public
experience, Direct Messages let
you have private conversations
about the memes, news,
movements, and events that
unfold on Twitter.
Google,s Alphabet name

predicted
Googles
huge
new
restructuring into a company
called Alphabet seems to have
been predicted on Reddit a year
ago.
The search giant has launched
a surprise new name, and will
now be folded into a parent
company called Alphabet.
But the news might not have
surprised one person, who put
together a remarkably prescient
image that appears to predict
the change.
The post shows the huge array
of Google products that now
exist, in addition to its famous
search.
Thats exactly what Googles
looking to emphasize with the
new name that it is now a
phone network, a mapping
company, a library and a video
giant, as well as a search engine.
Google has been considering
the move for the last four years,
according to Business Insider,
and it has certainly been setting
up and acquiring companies
that will now live under the
Alphabet rather than Google
banner.
But the alphabet prediction is
presumably the result of good
luck and coincidence, rather
than prediction or insider
knowledge.
37
What you will get:
100% G.S. Syllabus Covered
8+ Booklets
More Than 2500+ Pages
Guidance & Support from Our Experts
Our Objectives:
Firstly to cover 100% civil service Mains examination (IAS) syllabus.
Secondly to compile all the required study materials in a single place, So to save the precious time of
the aspirants.
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/gs-mains

India & The World
INDIA & THE WORLD

India, Japan and U.S. can
shape Chinas peaceful rise
Africa sees opportunities in

Make-in-India
Coordination among India,

Japan and the U.S. on security
cooperation and economic ties
are essential because they can
fundamentally talk about how
they can shape Chinas rise in a
peaceful way, said Nicholas
Szechenyi, Deputy Director and
Senior Fellow Japan Chair at
the Centre for Strategic &
International Studies (CSIS).
India has unique interests with
China, as does Japan and as
does the U.S. They may not
always align completely, but
fundamentally if we are going
to encourage Chinas rise in a
way that favours regional
stability, I think this element of
regional coordination among
likeminded states is critical.
Therefore India, Japan and U.S.
have an important role to play,
The Japanese Cabinet on
Tuesday approved a defence
white paper for 2015 which
sounded alarm over Chinas
one sided maritime activities
in the South China Sea.
Chinas land reclamation in
South China Sea has increased
tensions in the resource rich
region which is contested by
several nations.
38
Making a strong pitch for

attracting investment to their
continent, African diplomats on
Thursday said that the Make-inIndia initiative could very well
be utilised to boost trade
between the two countries.
Keeping on a low key their
individual country interests, the
three diplomats representing
Ghana, South Africa and
Tanzania made a strong pitch
for the African continent saying
that the economy was now
warning up and the 54 countries
together could offer vast
opportunities in raw material
sourcing
and
product
marketing.
Stefanus Botes, Economic
Counsellor, South Africa High
Commission said that Africa was
now a huge market, which is
projected to expand to $1.4
trillion by 2020 from $860
billion in 2008. There were 52
cities with a population of over
one million.
India, Bangladesh enclave
residents get freedom after 68
years
Ending a border dispute, the
much-awaited exchange of
enclaves
(Chhitmahals)
between India and Bangladesh
came into effect at the stroke of
midnight on Friday-Saturday.
Crackers were burst and people
rejoiced as India and
Bangladesh
exchanged
enclaves, ending the 68 years
of stateless existence for over
51,000 enclave dwellers.
Around 14,000 people living for
so long in 51 Bangladeshi
enclaves in the Indian territory,
and another 37,000 residing in
111 Indian enclaves in
Bangladesh, now have a country
of their own.
The Bangladeshi enclaves are
now a part of India, while the
Indian
enclaves
join
Bangladesh.
History was written as India gave
away to Bangladesh a total area
of 17,160 acres, covering the
111 enclaves and in return
received
7,110
acres
comprising 51 enclaves.
As the clock struck 12, the
Bharat Bangladesh Enclave
Exchange
Co-ordination
Committee (BBEECC) - an
organisation that fought for the
rights of the enclave dwellers
celebrated the occasion in
Mosaldanga enclave of West
Bengals Cooch Behar district.
The 111 Indian enclaves are
located in the Bangladesh
districts of Lalmonirhat (59),
Panchagarh (36), Kurigram 12
and Nilphamari (4) while all the
51 Bangladeshi enclaves are
situated in Cooch Behar district
of West Bengal.

India & The World

The swapping is in pursuance
of the inking and exchange of
documents of the Land
Boundary Agreement (LBA) on
June 6 in Dhaka, in the
presence of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and his
Bangladeshi counterpart
Sheikh Hasina.
The LBA was first inked in 1974
by then Bangladesh prime
minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
and former Indian prime
minister Indira Gandhi.
July 31, 2015 will thus be a
historic day for both India and
Bangladesh. The day marks the
resolution of a complex issue
that has lingered since
independence.
It also marks the day from which
enclave residents on both sides
of the border will enjoy the
benefits of nationality of India
or Bangladesh, as the case may
be, and thus access to civic
services, education, healthcare
and other facilities provided by
the two governments to their
respective nationals, said an
official statement released by
the central government.
Other steps with regard to
implementation of the 1974
Land Boundary Agreement and
2011 Protocol are underway in
accordance with agreed
modalities between the Indian
and Bangladeshi governments,
it said.
Nine U.S. satellites to be flown
from Sriharikota
In a small but significant
progress in the chequered
Indo-U.S. space equations,
Indian satellite launchers will for
the first time put a few U.S.made satellites into space from
Indian soil.
ISROs commercial venture

Antrix Corporation recently
signed contracts to launch nine
micro and nano spacecraft
separately as small copassengers on the PSLV lightlifter during this year and next,
according to information from
ISRO officials.
A micro satellite weighs in the
band of 10-100 kg and a nano
satellite in the range of one to
10 kg.
The U.S. contracts are seen as
the first fruit of the Technology
Safeguards Agreement (TSA)
that the Department of Space
signed with the U.S. in July
2009.
The TSA leaves the door open
for ISRO to launch small noncommercial or experimental
spacecraft that are made in the
US or even those of other
countries which contain U.S.
components.
Until the TSA was signed, even
that leeway was not available for
ISRO which aspires to take baby
bites in the big global launch
service business.
Most satellites made around the
world use some or other U.S.
components.
ISRO and the U.S. have been
working at a bigger accord, the
CSLA (Commercial Satellite
Launch Agreement) which,
when sealed, will bring in the
business of launching bigger
commercial Earth observation
or other satellites.
ISROs PSLV launcher, which

has done 30 flights with just one
failure since 1993, has a good
record and is considered lowpriced and reliable for small
satellites.
To date, it has put into orbit 45
small and mid-sized foreign
satellites of 19 nations for a fee.
Radar satellite
Another positive outcome with

the U.S. is the NASA-ISRO
Synthetic Aperture Radar
(NISAR), signed about two
years ago, to co-develop a radar
imaging satellite and launch it
from India around 2019-20.
It will be the first synthetic
aperture radar satellite in dual
frequency.
Foxconn may set up a factory in
every Indian state in 10 years:
Terry Gou
Terry Gou, founder and

chairman of the worlds largest
contract
manufacturer
Foxconn, the trade name for
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.
Ltd, made headlines this month
when he announced the
companys intention to set up
39

India & The World

10-12 factories in India over the
next 10 years.
So when Gou cancelled his
scheduled press conference in
Mumbai where he was to launch
the Foxconn Media Lab in
association with Whistling
Woods Internationalan
institute for film, fashion and
communication founded by
filmmaker Subhash Ghaion
Friday,
many
were
disappointed.
The reason became apparent
on Saturday when Gou
announced a $5 billion
investment in Maharashtra in
addition to the agreement with
Ghai for media content creation.
India received $24 billion in FDI

from EU in last 3 years
Despite the Free Trade

Agreement talks with the
European Union being in limbo,
India has received an
impressive $24 billion in foreign
direct investment from the 28nation bloc over the last three
years.
As per official figures, India
received $6.23 billion in FDI
equity inflows from EU in 201213 which increased to $9.06
billion the next year.
The FDI inflow was $8.20 billion
in 2014-15, which was a decline
of $862 million compared to the
year ago period. In 2015-16, the
amount in first two months of
current fiscal was $1.39 billion.
In total, India received $24.91
40
billion in FDI equity inflows from

EU between April 2012 and
May 2015.
The EU has been Indias largest
trading partner and the twoway trade is likely to swell
significantly if the countries
could firm up the long-pending
Free Trade Agreement, officially
called the Broadbased
Investment
and
Trade
Agreement (BTIA).
India had on Wednesday
deferred scheduled talks on the
proposed pact later this month
which was to resume after a gap
of two years after the EU
imposed a ban on around 700
generic drugs which were
clinically tested by Indias GVK
Biosciences on the ground of
inaccuracy in data.
In March, the EU had not
responded to Indias proposal
for a brief visit by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to Brussels, the
headquarters of the bloc, during
his trip to France, Germany and
Canada in April.
However, it recently invited him
for the India-EU summit just
before or after the G-20 summit
scheduled to be held in
November in Turkey. The last
India-EU Summit had taken
place in 2012.
The two-way commerce
between EU and India stood at
about USD 99 billion in 201415 while it was USD 101.5
billion in 2013-14.
UN Kalam GlobalSat: Satellite

named in memory of APJ Adbul
Kalam
Aproposal has been made to
name a global satellite after the
late former President Dr. APJ
Abdul Kalam who died on 27
July 2015.
The step is being taken to pay

tribute to the Missile Man of
India. According to reports, a
global satellite called as
GlobalSat for DRR (a satellite for
observation of Earth and
Disaster Risk Reduction) will be
renamed as UN Kalam GlobalSat
in the memory of the worldrenowned rocket scientist.
The decision to rename the
satellite after the late Missile
Mans of India was made by
Milind Pimprikar, Chairman of
CANEUS (CANada-Europe-USAsia) headquartered in
Montreal, Canada.
According to Pimprikar, this
step of renaming the satellite the
will be a tribute to the great man
who had contributed a lot in the
field science and space
explorations.
He further added that this will
also symbolize his World Space
Vision-2050 in which nations
will join their hands in order to
find solution to major problems
of mankind including natural
disasters, energy, health-care,
education, water and weather
related problems.
While explaining about the
satellite, Pimprikar said that the
GlobalSat for DRR is a United
Nation-driven initiative for
sharing of technology and ideas
to prepare and control the risk
of natural disasters.
The project was proposed at
the third UN World Conference
on Disaster Risk Reduction held

India & The World

at Sendai in Japan in March
2015. More than 150 nations at
the UN session will adopt the
GlobalSat in New York in
September this year.
Disaster Risk Reduction DRR
is a systematic process of
identifying, analyzing and
reducing the associated with a
disaster.UN agencies explain
DRR as The conceptual
framework of elements
considered
with
the
possibilities to minimize
vulnerabilities and disaster risks
throughout a society, to avoid
(prevention) or to limit
(mitigation and preparedness)
the adverse impacts of hazards,
within the broad context of
sustainable development.
Chartered, a statement by the

firm said that as Standard
Chartered has noted, the delays
experienced by Adani in
receipt of its project approvals
informed the decision.
The project to build one of
worlds largest coal mines and
expanding a port on the Great
Barrier Reef- the largest coral
reef system - is opposed by
green groups and residents.
US,China,Russia,oppose India,s
bid for permanent seat at UN
Australia mine project: Adani,

StanC ties
The Indian mining giant Adani

and the Standard Chartered
bank have severed their ties
after the federal court revoked
the environmental approval for
Adanis controversial $16bn
coal mine project in Australia.
The development puts the
Carmichael coal mine project in
Queensland into further doubt.
This is the second big bank after
Australias largest lender,
Commonnwealth Bank walked
away from Adani after the
approval was revoked barely a
week ago.
Noting that the company valued
the partnership with Standard
In a setback to Indias bid for a

permanent seat in an expanded
UN Security Council, the US,
along with Russia and China, has
opposed negotiations to reform
the powerful UN body, refusing
to contribute to a text that will
form the basis for the longdrawn reform process.
UN General Assembly President
Sam Kutesa achieved a
breakthrough of sorts by
circulating a text to UN
members that will form the basis
for the negotiations on the
reform of the Security Council.
Mr Kutesa had appointed
Jamaicas
Permanent
Representative Courtenay
Rattray to chair on his behalf the
Intergovernmental Negotiations
on Security Council Reform.
American Ambassador to the
UN Samantha Power said in her
letter to Mr Kutesa that the US is
open in principle to a
modest expansion of both

permanent and non-permanent
members but the condition that
any consideration of an
expansion of permanent
members must take into account
the ability and willingness of
countries to contribute to the
maintenance of international
peace and security and to the
other purposes of the United
Nations.
Sources told the Press Trust of
India that the US opposition to
aspects of the reform process
can be perceived as a
duplicity since President
Barack Obama has reaffirmed
his support for a reformed UN
Security Council with India as a
permanent member.
Russia, which has also
supported Indias candidacy as
permanent member, said in its
letter to Mr Kutesa that the
prerogatives of the current
Permanent Members of the
Security Council, including the
use of the veto, should remain
intact under any variant of the
Council reform.
India has maintained that the
process to expand the powerful
UN body cannot be seen to be
an exercise ad infinitum and a
results-based timeline is crucial
to achieve a concrete outcome.
Sources said that India feels that
the 70th anniversary of the UN,
being commemorated this year,
is an appropriate milestone to
propel the reform process,
which should be completed
within the next one year.
Russia said that in the situation
when positions of the main
groups of states - those who
support the idea of the UN
Security Councils expansion in
both categories and those who
41

India & The World

do not - remain polar, one can
advance in the negotiating
process only by searching for a
compromise..
Yuan devaluation & Indian
economy
cent cut on Wednesday, India

increased the import duty on
certain steel products by 2.5
per cent.
The steel industry is facing

profit pressure as prices of
imported steel are up to 20 per
cent lower than those of
domestic products.
With Chinas central bank

following up on Tuesdays
devaluation of its tightly
controlled currency, yuan, by
1.9 per cent with another 1 per
42

Economy
ECONOMY
Centre eases foreign investment
rules, banks likely to gain most
In a move that will attract more
overseas inflows and improve
the ease of doing business in
India, the government on
Thursday simplified foreign
investment rules by bringing
together different categories.
The Cabinet Committee of
Economic Affairs (CCEA),
chaired by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, introduced a
composite cap for all kinds of
overseas inflows, including
foreign direct investment (FDI),
foreign portfolio investment
(FPI) and investments by nonresident Indians (NRIs).
The decision, which was first
announced by finance minister
Arun Jaitley in the Budget,
boosted stocks of banks, which
will now find it easier to attract
foreign capital up to 74%. Banks
are already reeling under the
pressure of rising bad loans and
need billions of dollars to meet
capital requirements.
Besides
banks,
credit
information firms, commodity
and power exchanges, and
defence and other retail
companies among others, will
also benefit from the policy.
Bullet train project: costly affair
for india
Indias maiden bullet train
corridor between Mumbai and
Ahmedabad will cost nearly Rs
one lakh crore and the first train
can run in 2024 if work begins
in 2017, according to a final
feasibility report on the project

prepared by the Japanese
governmental agency.
The Japan International

Cooperation Agency(JICA) in
its report submitted to the
Railway Ministy today envisages
a reduction in the travel time on
the 505-km long corridor
between the two western cities
to two hours from the existing
over seven hours.
The report estimates that the
project where the bullet train
will run at a speed of over 300
km per hour will cost Rs 98,805
crore. It also suggested that the
train fare could be higher than
that charged for First AC of
Rajdhani Express, a senior rail
ministry official involved with
the project said.
Railways will examine the report
and decide the future course
of action, the official said.
As a follow-up action, a Cabinet
note seeking approval for the
project with an outline of the
project feasibility and timelines
is likely to be prepared next
month.
If work begins in 2017, the line
can be completed in 2023 and
made operational in 2024, it is
projected.
After the study of the financial

feasibility of the line, the final
report suggests the fare of the
bullet train between Mumbai
and Ahmedabad may be
somewhere around one and
half times more than the fare of
the first AC of Rajdhani Express
and it would be around Rs
2,800.
It is estimated that by 2023
around 40,000 passengers are
expected to avail this service
everyday and accordingly it
would be a financially viable
service.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad
corridor is expected to enable
trains to run at a top speed of
350kmph.
From the initial estimated cost
of Rs 65,000 crore, it has gone
up after taking into account
various factors like price
escalation and interest.
Apple grows faster in India than
China
India is proving to be quite a

strong growth engine for Apple,
the worlds most valuable
company that sells the iPhone
smartphones, iPad devices and
Mac line of computers.
Growth rate in India has
surpassed that witnessed in
China.
43

Economy
Sales in India were up 93% in
April-June against 87% growth
in China, according to numbers
released by the company, while
announcing quarterly results on
Tuesday.
However, it must be noted that
China is many times bigger for
Apple in terms of absolute
volume
and
revenue,
contributing almost 25% to the
$49.6 billion revenue that the
company clocked in April-June
quarter.
India, on the other hand, is still
a billion-dollar market for
Apple, and that too on an annual
basis. But, India is moving up
fast, say distributors and sellers
of Apples devices.
TRAI disclose firms faulting on
call drop service norms
The Telecom Regulatory

Authority of India (TRAI) has
named Vodafone, Idea,
Reliance and Airtel among the
cell phone service providers
failing to meet the quality of
service norms in Delhi or
Mumbai, especially on mobile
call drops.
The audit, done by an
independent agency in the two
metros, on behalf of the
regulator, found that Tata
(CDMA) in Delhi and Bharti
Airtel in Mumbai are the only
service providers meeting the
benchmark of less than 2 per
cent call drops.
In Delhi, the highest call drop
44
rate was that of Reliance (17.29

per cent), followed by Airtel
(8.04 per cent), Aircel (5.18
per cent), Vodafone (4.28 per
cent) and Idea (2.84 per cent).
The call drop rate for Tata
(CDMA) stood at 0.84 per cent.
The situation is no better in
Mumbai with Idea registering
the highest call drop rate of
5.56 per cent, followed by Tata
(GSM) (5.51 per cent),
Vodafone (4.83 per cent),
Aircel (3.19 per cent) and
Reliance (2.29 per cent). For
Airtel, this was 0.97 per cent.
The TRAI said the drive was
conducted in view of
complaints on call drops and
other network issues on June 23
and June 24 in Mumbai and July
9 to 11 in Delhi.
As per the audit report, barring
Tata (CDMA) in Delhi, none of
the service providers in Delhi
and Mumbai, meets the
benchmark for Rx Quality,
which measures voice quality
during calls.
The number of call drop
complaints by mobile phone
subscribers has been on the
rise, especially in metros.
However, operators, on their
part, have cited lack of
spectrum and delay in its
allocation as one of the reasons
for network-related issues along
with hurdles in installing mobile
towers due to radiation issues.
The TRAI report points out that
during the last six months
around 801 sites in Mumbai and
523 sites in Delhi were shut
down due to reasons such as
sealing of sites by municipal
authorities and radiation-related
issues. The closure of each site
impacts three to four
neighbouring sites and this may
lead to increased call drops.
Oil prices slip further on

concerns over supply glut
Oil prices slipped, on

Wednesday, after the American
Petroleum Institute (API), the
largest U.S trade association for
gas and oil, published that oil
inventories increased by 2.3
million barrels in Cushing,
Oklahoma.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI),
the most prominent U.S
benchmark for crude oil, fell by
58 cents to $50.28 a barrel for
September deliveries. Brent
North Crude for September, the
benchmark for European,
African and Middle Eastern
crude oil prices, fell 35 cents
and was trading in London at
$56.69 a barrel at mid-day.
Oil spot prices in July last year
were close to $105 per barrel,
and prices have fallen more than
10 per cent this month alone.
Crude oil prices have fallen in
the last year because of
protracted over-supply and
weak demand, which is being
exacerbated by the Greek crisis
and the Chinese stock market
fall as well as an expectation that
the U. S will raise interest rates
this year.
Excess supply is expected to
persist with the Iran nuclear
deal, which will bring Irans oil
onto the market in a few months.
The Oil Producing and
Exporting Countries (OPEC),
the cartel of oil producing
nations that includes Iran but is
led by rival Saudi Arabia,

Economy
announced that it would not cut
back on output. The group said
that the oil price dip was likely
to be temporary and that
demand was likely to pick up.
OPECs oil output faces
challenges and competition
from other energy sources,
including U.S shale, as well as
internal differences in opinion,
with Iran and other smaller oil
producing members requesting
a cut back in supply in light of
falling prices.
Cabinet to take up gold
monetisation scheme in few
weeks
The Government is likely to

consider and approve gold
monetisation scheme in the
next few weeks, which
proposes to offer tax-free
interest to individual on
depositing the yellow metal
with banks.
Cabinet note on this (gold
monetisation scheme) has been
circulated. It will take couple of
weeks before approval comes,
sources said.
Various proposals including
interest rate are at the discussion
stage, sources said. Sources said
that nod on issuance of
Sovereign Gold Bond could
take a while.
IDFC gets banking licence from
RBI, to launch services by yearend
The
Infrastructure
Development
Finance
Company (IDFC Ltd) on Friday

declared on its website that
theReserve Bank of India (RBI)
had granted banking licence to
the financial company making
it the second lender after
Bandhan Bank to enter the
banking sector after more than
a decade.
IDFC and Bandhan Financial

Services Pvt Ltd emerged
successful out of 25 contenders
for new bank licences issued by
the RBI in April last year.
Bandhan Financial got RBIs
approval last month.
IDFCs executive chairman,
Rajiv Lall after receiving the final
nof for the banking licence had
said that the company plans to
start operation from October 1
with an initial loan book of
around Rs 55,000 crore with an
estimated 20 branches. Of
these 15 are expected to be in
tier-VI cities with rest of the
branches in New Delhi and
Mumbai.
YES Bank was the last bank to
be set up in 2004. Bandhan said
in June it would launch banking
operations in August.
Millions of people in India do
not have access to formal
banking services. The move to
grant new permits marked the
start of a cautious experiment
to create more competition in a
sector dominated by state
lenders many of which are
reluctant to expand into rural
areas or towns where banking
penetration is low.
Now RBIs independence, is in

govts hand
If indeed the second draft of

the Indian Financial Code,
released on Thursday for public
comments, is implemented in its
entirety, Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) governor will have no veto
power in the proposed sevenmember Monetary Policy
Committee (MPC) that will have
a dominant say in setting interest
rates and that is not good news
for the economy.
The matter of veto power is
highly critical given the
proposal is that four out of the
seven members in the MPC
should
be
from
the
governments side.
This means the full control to
chart the course of monetary
policy will be with the
government and not the RBI.
The monetary policy, as we
know it today, will cease to exist.
This will effectively undermine
the independence of the
central bank an institution
that has guarded the economy
well from the pre-independent
days, through multiple crisisphases.
The RBI is probably among the
few public institutions India
can be proud of with
impeccable integrity and
proven track record. The
government shouldnt do the
blunder of killing the RBIs
power to have a final say on the
monetary policy.Reuters
45

Economy
This was clear when the finance
ministry tried to cut the central
bank down to size by mooting
the idea to shift the power of
debt management from the
institution.
The decision was, however,
reversed later when RBI put up
a stiff opposition. Compared
with the separation of debt
management, denying the RBI
the veto in MPC is a much more
serious issue. If the government
sticks to the plan, it can run into
a serious, direct face-off with the
central bank this time around.
At present, the monetary policy
is framed by the central bank
after factoring in the
recommendations of an expert
advisory committee, assessing
multiple economic indicators in
domestic and global markets
and, finally, consulting with the
finance minister on the broader
policy direction. The final
decision, however, rests with
the governor.
But, under the proposed
framework, RBI governor will be
one of the several members of
the committee and the
government will dictate the
policy.
In effect, the power to decide
the countrys monetary policy
will be shifted from an
independent,
credible
institution to the political
interests of the government, for
whom monetary policy will then
be among the many tools under
disposal to work operate in line
with its political agenda.
The difference is that the RBI
undertakes the complex
process of monetary policy
formulation keeping in mind the
long-term good of the economy,
regardless of the immediate
46
consequences, sometimes
unpleasant to the ruling
government.
Previous RBI governors D
Subbarao and Y V Reddy, who
have preferred to describe the
tensions with the governments
on policy issues as constructive
tensions, has batted for
sufficient autonomy in its
functions in the larger interest
of the country.
To safeguard the economy, it is
highly critical that central bank
enjoys dominance in policy
decisions.
What is the Indian Financial
Code?.
The revised draft of Indian
Financial Code, released on 23
July 2015, has already made to
the headlines, as it proposes to
dilute the RBI Governors
power; he may no longer have
the power to veto policy rates.
The major change as of now is
that there will be four members
appointed by the central
government and three from RBI,
earlier the ratio was other way
around.
The IFC bill is expected to table
in the Winter session of the
parliament. The Parliament will
finalise the code, which will
eventually find its way to the
Union Cabinet for approval.
What is the Indian Financial
Code? How does it work?
The Financial Sector Legislative
Reforms Commission (FSLRC)
was set up on March 24, 2011,
for re-writing the Code to
regulate the financial sector and
introduce principles for
financial regulation and the
constitution, objectives, powers
and interaction of financial
agencies.
Its aim was also to bring about

coherence and efficacy in the
financial regulatory framework.
In 2013, the commission,
headed by Justice BN
Srikrishna, submitted its report
in two volumes, which included
Analysis and Recommedation
and Draft Law.
The revised draft in twenty parts
will strive to regulate financial
agencies.
Under this Act, the Financial
Sector Appellate Tribunal was
established to exercise the
jurisdiction, powers and
authority conferred upon it.
According to the Act, the
general
direction
and
management of the financial
agencies will be vested in the
respective boards the
Financial Authority Board for
the Financial Authority, the
Reserve Bank Board for the
Reserve Bank, the Redress
Agency Board, with respect to
the Redress Agency, the
Corporation Board for the
Corporation; the Council Board
for the Council and the Debt
Agency Board, with respect to
the Debt Agency.
The Code deals with the
establishment of financial
agencies, establishment and
structure of the tribunal,
allocation and regulation of
financial services.
A part of it discusses the
functioning of financial
agencies, such as boards of
financial agencies, strength and
composition of boards; decision
making, advisory councils,
accountability mechanisms and
funding for financial agencies.
It also mentions the disposal of
applications, information and
inspections, investigations and

Economy
offences as executive functions
of financial agencies. These
financial agencies also have
quasi-judicial functions
administrative law, show cause
notices
and
orders,
enforcement
actions,
procedure for enforcement
actions and penalties.
Moreover, the Code also
clarifies financial consumer
protection,
prudential
regulation, contracts, trading
and market abuse, capital
controls, resolution of financial
service providers, financial
stability and development
council,
development
(provisions for review), public
debt management agency,
offences, functions, powers
and duties of tribunal,
miscellaneous, and schedules.
U.S. calls Burundi election
deeply flawed
U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry on Friday called Burundis
election deeply flawed and
urged President Pierre
Nkurunziza to hold a
meaningful, serious dialogue
with the central African
countrys opposition, the State
Department said in a statement.
Nkurunziza won a third term in
office on Friday after the
opposition boycotted the vote,
accusing him of violating the
constitution by running for reelection.
Nkurunzizas decision to seek a
third term plunged Burundi into
its biggest crisis since an
ethnically charged civil war
ended in 2005.
Yellow Signals from gold prices
The yellow metal dominated
the world market scene all of
last week. Gold slumped to a

five-year low, slipping to an
intra-day low-point of
$1,072.30 by Friday.
A late rally that day, however,

pushed prices back to around
$1,100 an ounce. At best, it
helped pare losses from last
Monday when the price slid to
its lowest since March 2009, to
$1,088.05 an ounce.
The Comex gold futures for
August still ended their fifth
consecutive week in negative
territory. Though the rally
suggests that there could be an
improvement in market
sentiment, the bearish
undertone persists among retail
investors.
At the moment, everyone in the
international marketplace is
wary of gold. Indeed, price
movement is set for an uncertain
phase, at least in the near-term.
The reasons behind the slipping
interest in gold is not difficult to
fathom.
A looming rise in the U.S.
interest rate, for the first time in
nearly a decade, is playing the
villain. At the moment, a
stronger dollar remains the
topic
that
dominates
discussions in the marketplace.
An inadvertent release on a rate
forecast on the website of the
Federal Reserve, though it was
subsequently withdrawn, only
helped to confound the
confusion. Understandably, all
eyes are now on the Federal
Reserve.
Will it pull the trigger on rate
hikes? Nevertheless, the
dipping global oil prices hold
hope for investors in gold.
A protracted oversupply
situation, weak demand, the
Greek crisis and the Chinese
market fall have all come
together to pull oil prices down.
The fall of oil could yet prove a
rescuer for gold. If there is a
serious consequential fallout on
U.S. domestic inflation, the oil
price fall could slow the Feds
tightening policy.
A sustained recovery in gold
prices, it appears, is inversely
related to the growth prospects
of the U.S. economy.
Rajesh Exports buys worlds
largest gold refining company
Jewellery company Rajesh

Exports Ltd on Monday said that
it has bought Valcambi, the
worlds largest gold refining
company, in an all-cash deal
worth $400 million ( Rs 2560
crore).Reuters
The company was selected
after a global search by
Valcambis existing owners led
by Newmont Mining Corp, the
worlds largest gold jewellery
maker said.
The deal will help it secure raw
material supplies and will add
to earnings per share, the
company said.
India is the worlds biggest
consumer of gold, with annual
47

Economy
demand hovering around 900
tonnes per year.
The company said that with
Valcambi acquisition, REL will
become an integrated player
covering precious metal
refining and gold jewellery
making.
Rajesh Exports said for the last
three years on an average per
year Valcambi generated
revenues in excess of $38
billion (Rs 2,36,500 crore) by
refining and selling 945 tons of
gold and 325 tons of silver per
year, which is more than Indias
average annual gold demand.
Centre appoints R S
Sharma,new Trai chairman
Ram Sewak Sharma is set to be

the new chief of the Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India
(Trai), taking charge at a time
when the regulator is deciding
on crucial matters such as net
neutrality and the way to deal
with the fast-growing ecosystem of over-the-top (OTT)
operators,
who
are
mushrooming over the mobile
and internet world. He replaces
Rahul Khullar, who retired from
the job in the second week of
May.
Sharma, a 1978-batch IAS
officer of Jharkhand cadre, is
currently the secretary in the
department of electronics and
information technology(Deity),
a job that makes him thorough
with matters related to the IT
48
sector and well-versed with

crucial telecom issues.
A formal notification is
expected over the next few
days, sources said. He is seen
as most experienced for the
job.
There were a number of
applicants for the high-profile
job that regulates the issues
related to the telecom sector
and the broadcasting industry.
There were over 75 applicants
for the position and apart from
Sharma, others vying for the post
included former defence
secretary R K Mathur,
information & broadcasting
secretary Bimal Julka, former
commerce secretary Rajeev
Kher and steel secretary Rakesh
Singh. Former RBI deputy
governor Subir Gokarn was also
in the fray.
Sharma holds a Masters Degree
in Mathematics from IIT, Kanpur,
and a Masters in Computer
Science from the University of
California.
Mixed views on move to dilute

powers of RBI Governor
The Reserve Bank of Indias

(RBI) Governors always had the
privilege of independent
decision-making on issues
related to monetary policies,
which helped the Indian
economy for a long time.
Even at times of major financial
crisis crippling the global
economy, the RBI Governors

decisions - sometimes in coordination with the Government
and sometimes not in
consonance
with
the
governments views - had
helped the Nation.
As per the new draft of the
revised proposal for Indian
Financial Code (IFC), which
would replace the multiple laws
some of them framed even
before the independent India governing the Indian financial
sector, the central bank
Governor will not have the veto
power over the interest rates.
Moreover, the Government will
have the power to appoint a
majority of the members of the
proposed monetary policy
committee of the central bank.
Though the government is trying
to clarify that the RBIs
independent decisions on
monetary policies would not be
diluted, in short, the
Government is proposing a bill
to have greater say in RBIs rate
decision-making.The new
financial code also proposes a
frame-work for inflationtargeting under which the
Government and the central
bank together will set the target.
However, another school of
thought on markets believes
differently. While foreign
investors are nervous about
politicians preferring loose
monetary policies instead of
tight policies of independent
RBI, I dont see much problem
with a good balance between
Government and RBI, says
Samir Lodha, Managing
Director, QuantArt, a foreign
exchange advisory firm.
According to him, the economy
needs a good booster of rate

Economy
cut to kick-start manufacturing,
capex cycle, infrastructure
investments, job creation etc
and also to compete in an
environment of slowing global
demand.
He believes that the
Government is answerable for
employment and inflation and
hence I do not see much
problem if there is a balance
between RBI and government
in monetary policy decision
making.
Sebi cancels Sahara Mutual
Fund licence
In a fresh crackdown on Sahara,

capital market regulator Sebi
today
cancelled
the
registration of Sahara Mutual
Fund saying it was no longer fit
and proper to carry out this
business and ordered transfer
of its operations to another fund
house.
The Sahara group has been
engaged in a long-running
regulatory and legal battle with
Sebi ever since the regulator
ordered refund of a massive
amount of over Rs 24,000 crore
by two Sahara entities.
Recently, Sebi had also
cancelled the portfolio
management licence of a
Sahara firm.
In the latest order, Sebi
directed cancellation of Sahara
Mutual Funds certificate of
registration on expiry of a sixmonth period from today.
Sebi also directed Sahara Mutual

Fund and Sahara Asset
Management Company to stop
accepting subscription from its
existing or new investors with
immediate effect.
Besides, Sahara MF has been
asked to make efforts to transfer
the activities of Sahara India
Financial Corporation Limited
(Sahara Sponsor) and Sahara
Asset Management Company
Private Limited (Sahara AMC) to
a new Sponsor and a Sebiapproved Asset Management
Company at the earliest.
If Sahara MF fails to complete
the process of transition within
five months, it would have to
compulsorily redeem the units
allotted to its investors and
credit the respective funds to
its investors, without any
additional cost, within a period
of 30 days thereafter and wind
up the operations of the Mutual
Fund.
Further, Sebi said that it was the
responsibility of the Board of
Trustees to recognise that
Sahara AMC did not fulfil the
criteria of fit and proper person
and shift the responsibility of
managing the assets of the
Mutual Fund to another entity.
Besides, non-reporting of the
material change in the
information and particulars
furnished have also has resulted
in violation of the MF
Regulations.
FinMin working for a
reasonable GST rate:Revenue
Sec
A day after Cabinet approved
incorporation of changes in the
landmark Goods and Services
Tax (GST) Bill as suggested
aRajya Sabha Select panel,
Finance Ministry today said it is

working closely on a
reasonable GST rate.
The Union Cabinet last night
approved amendments to the
GST bill to compensate states
for revenue loss for five years on
introduction of the uniform
nationwide indirect tax regime,
as has been suggested by Rajya
Sabha Select Committee.
The
GST
Constitution
Amendment Bill would now be
taken up for discussion in the
Rajya Sabha, where the ruling
NDAdoes not enjoy a majority,
for passage in the ongoing
session of Parliament.
The Government proposes to
roll out the new indirect tax
regime on April 1, 2016.
After the bill is passed, the
Centre will prepare GST laws
and a GST Council would be set
up to decide on the rates as well
as to decide on exemptions and
thresholds.
The Rajya Sabha Select
Committee has suggested that
the Goods and Services Tax
(GST) rate should not go beyond
20 per cent as higher rates
could fuel inflation and erode
the confidence of consumers.
Internationally, the GST rate
ranges from 16-20 per cent.
However, there are some
exceptions like Japan, Australia
and Germany, where the rates
are 8 per cent, 10 per cent and
23 per cent, respectively.
A
sub-committee
of
Empowered Committee of
State Finance Ministers on GST
had earlier suggested 27 per
cent RNR.
But the rate is being reworked
by the sub-committee in view
of taxation of petroleum
products as also the 1 per cent
49

Economy
additional tax which states can
levy as part of the GST roll out.
While liquor has been
completely kept out of the GST,
petroleum products like petrol
and diesel will be part of the
new regime from a date to be
decided by the GST Council,
which will have two-thirds of its
members from states.
Nokia surprise market analyst
with profit
Nokia on Thursday posted a

surprise rise in second-quarter
profits, helped by high-margin
software sales and fewer lowpriced contracts.
The Finnish network gear maker
is set to buy the FrancoAmerican telecom equipment
maker Alcatel-Lucent which
posted second-quarter sales
slightly
lower
than
expectations.
Nokia will buy Alcatel-Lucent
for 15.6bn in a deal set to close
by mid-2016. The latter
improved its margins to deliver
better-than-expected
operating profit, thanks to cost
cuts, and generated more cash
than it consumed in the quarter
for the first time in a second
quarter since 2006.
Getting to free cash flow
positive remains the key goal of
Alcatel-Lucent
in
the
turnaround plan launched by
chief executive Michel Combes
in April 2013.
He will step aside on
50
September 1 to be replaced by
chairman Philippe Camus until
the Nokia deal closes.
Alcatels second-quarter
revenue rose 5% to 3.45bn
euros helped by double-digit
growth in so-called IP products
that help telecom operators
handle heavy video data traffic
and direct Internet.
Adjusted operating profit rose
28% to 175mn for a betterthan-expected margin of 5.1%.
The company posted a net loss
of 54mn, narrower than the
298mn loss of a year earlier.
Analysts had been expecting
second-quarter sales of
3.47bn and net income of
52.4mn, according to
Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data.
The gross margin was 34.8%,
compared with expectations of
33.1%.
Announced in mid-April,
Nokias acquisition of AlcatelLucent aims to position the
company to better compete
with market leader Ericsson of
Sweden and low-cost Chinese
powerhouse Huawei by forging
a strong number two in mobile
with a more complete product
line.
The companies have secured
antitrust approvals in Europe
Union, Brazil, Russia and the
United States, but are still
waiting on a decision from the
Chinese authorities.
RBI plans to issue 10 rupee coin

The Reserve Bank on Thursday
announced plans to put into
circulation 10 rupee coins to
commemorate the International
Day of Yoga.
The coin bears the logo of the
International Day of Yoga, with
the inscription Saamanjasya
evam shanthi ke liye yog in

Devnagri script and yoga for
harmony and peace around
the logo.
At the bottom of the logo the

date June 21 is inscribed,
according to an official
statement.
The inscription Anthar rashtriya
yoga divas in Devnagri script is
on the left periphery and
international day of yoga in
English on the right periphery
is written on this side of the coin.
The obverse of the coin bears
the Lion Capitol of Ashoka Pillar
in the centre with the legend
Sathyamev Jayate inscribed
below, the statement said.
This is flanked on the left
periphery with the word Bharat
in Devnagri script and on the
right periphery flanked with the
word INDIA in English.
The coins have been minted by
the Central government and are
legal tender as provided in The
Coinage Act 2011. They will be
put into circulation shortly,
according to the statement.
Govt names Addl Secretary to
RBI board in place of Fin Secy
In an unusual move, the finance
ministry has nominated Ajay
Taygi, additional secretary in the
Department of Economic Affairs
to the RBI board in place of
economic affairs secretary Rajiv
Mehrishi.
As per the convention, eonomic
affairs secretary besides the

Economy
financial services secretary is
part of Central Board Directors
of RBI.
In exercise of the power

conferred by clause (d) of subsection (1) of Section 8 of the
RBI ACT 1934, the central
government hereby nominates
Ajay Tyagi, additional secretary
(Investment) Department of
Economic Affairs Ministry of
Finance, to be director on the
Central Board of Directors of
RBI with immediate effect until
further order vice Rajiv
Mehrishi, a finance ministry
notification said.
Mehrishi also holds finance
secretary position in the
ministry.
Following this notification in
June 22, RBI had a board
meeting which would not have
been attended by the
incumbent finance secretary.
As per the RBI website, there
are 17 board members
including RBI Governor and
four Deputy Governors. Rajiv
Mehrishi name is still part of the
central board of directors as
reflected on the website.
Even Hallmarked is not pure
Even the Hallmarked gold
jewellery varies in purity in
India, the World Gold Council
(WGC) said on Thursday adding
that urgent measures were
required for quality control in
the country, which is the largest
gold consuming nation in the
world.
The improvements to the

hallmarking system in the
country are not only essential to
a successful gold monetisation
scheme but also help to boost
its gold jewellery exports from
the existing $8 billion to $40
billion in the next five years, it
said.
The hallmarking of gold, which
is voluntary in nature at present,
is a purity certification of the
precious metal. The Bureau of
Indian Standards (BIS), under
the Consumer Affairs Ministry, is
the administrative authority of
hallmarking.
Even though, 30 per cent of
jewellery is now hallmarked,
there are concerns about the
quality and credibility of some
hallmarking centres. This means
the percentage of jewellery
hallmarked accurately is
expected to be even lower than
30 per cent, WGC said in a
report.
Even hallmarked items vary
widely in purity because of
weak quality control and lack of
resources on the part of BIS to
enforce its policies, it said.
Though under-caratage in gold
has reduced to 10-15 per cent
from 40 per cent since the
introduction of BIS hallmarking
in 2000, but challenges still
remain, it added.
According to the WGC report,
the BIS does not have
dedicated laboratories for gold
hallmarking so there is little
capacity for testing jewellery.

There are relatively few BIS
branches too, so activity varies
widely across India.
India has approximately 220
BIS recognised assaying and
hallmarking centres and
maximum of them are located
in Tamil Nadu (57), followed by
Kerala (39). The distribution of
these centres is uneven as
South has 153 centres, the
North has 111 and the West has
65, the report said.
Ubers $1 bn India investment
If your competitors are

spending, you must spend tooThis seems to be the driving
mantra in the start-up space
these days.
Just days after news of taxihaling app Ola raising another
$500 million made headlines,
US-based rival Uber has
announced plans of pumping in
$1 billion (Rs 6,400 crore) into
India, thus signalling an
escalation of the war between
the two companies in a cutthroat market.
This basically implies more cash
burning and chasing of market
share rather than profitability by
both companies.
While Ola is rumored to soon be
valued at $4.5 billion, Ubers
worth is $40 billion. But such
cash-intensive startups are at
risk of flopping as they maybe
unable to survive in an adverse
environment. Will these
51

Economy
companies ever make enough
money to justify the sky-high
valuations?
But it appears Ubers massive
expansion in over 300 cities
globally is at the cost of heavy
losses. Investors have given a lot
of money to Uber, and Uber is
burning this cash to buy market
share all over the world. An
Uber driver, on condition of
anonymity told Firstpost that
each Uber driver in India gets
an additional Rs 150 per ride as
well as more incentive for
ferrying passengers during the
day and in the evening. Ola too
pays extra cash to drivers for
doing more rides, but doesnt
pay drivers to keep its app open
and nor do they get paid
additional money on every ride
they undertake.
LIC chief Roy elected chairman
of apex body of insurers
Sandeep Ghosh (Bharti AXA).

Other contestants in the fray for
EC posts were Rajesh Sud (Max
NY), Arijit Basu (SBI Life) and
Deepak Mittal (Edelweiss
Tokio).
Talking to PTI after his election,
Rau of Reliance Life said EC is
now a well represented body.
It has got representation from
both bancassurance and nonbancassurance partners. The
Council is now ready to take a
call on behalf of its various
stakeholders.
Life Insurance Council is a forum
that connects the various
stakeholders of the sector. It
develops and coordinates all
discussions between the
Government, regulatory body
and the public.
It has representatives from the
24 insurance companies
currently operating in India.
Sebi warns to Investors
Life Insurance Corporation (LIC)

chief S K Roy was today elected
Chairman of the Life Insurance
Council, the apex industry body
of insurers in the country.
Roy was elected in a poll
conducted among the 24
members of the Council here.
He will head the three-member
Executive Committee (EC), a
key body of the Council, for a
period of three years.
The three members of the EC
elected today were Tarun
Chugh (PNB Met Life), Anup
Rau (Reliance Life) and
52
Ready to regulate commodity

trading, Sebi has cautioned
small investors against coming
for quick gains through
speculation in this market,
which is risky and requires a
lot of technical expertise.
People will come and tell you
that with a small margin, you can
make a lot of money. Do not fall
into the trap, Sebi Chairman U
K Sinha said, even as he asserted
that the capital markets
watchdog was fully prepared to
begin regulating commodities
trading and all necessary
safeguards would be put in
place to keep the scamsters and
manipulators at bay.
Sebi, which expects the merger
of commodities market
regulator FMC with it to be
completed by next month, will
soon put in place a new set of

regulations for this segment and
the restrictions, including for
trading lot sizes, would also be
implemented to ensure safety
of the small investors.
Announced by Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley in his
Budget for 2015-16, FMCs
merger with Sebi will help
streamline regulations and curb
wild
speculations
in
commodities market, while
facilitating participation of
domestic
and
foreign
institutional investors and
launch of new products.
Besides, the high-profile NSEL
scam has rocked this market in
the recent past and the
subsequent regulatory and
government interventions in this
case eventually led to the
government announcing FMCs
merger with Sebi.
At present, there are three
national and six regional
bourses for commodity futures
in the country. Together, all the
exchanges clocked a turnover
of nearly Rs 60 lakh crore in
2014-15, from over Rs 101 lakh
crore in the previous fiscal.
Indias should worried about
CAD
Indias current account deficit
(CAD) is likely to widen in the
June quarter to 1.8-2.0% of GDP
while for the current financial
year, it is likely to remain under
control, says a DBS report.
According to the global
financial services major, though
the widening of CAD is likely to
raise concerns briefly over
wider trade imbalances, the
full-year CAD is likely to remain
within control. Indias current
account deficit is likely to widen

Economy
anew in the June 2015 quarter,
but will not emerge as a flashpoint for the full-year FY15/16
(April 2015 to March 2016),
DBS said in a research note.
As per official figures, the CAD,
which is the difference
between the inflow and outflow
of foreign exchange shrank to
1.3% of GDP ($27.5 billion) in
2014-15 from 1.7% ($32.4
billion) in 2013-14.
The Reserve Bank of India and
the government have been
maintaining that the CAD level
is comfortable.
The DBS report said that on
quarter-on-quarter basis imports
rose 2.8% in the June quarter
while exports fell 5%.
E-commerce boosting Chinese
farmers incomes
Internet aided by e-commerce

is boosting income ofChinese
farmers and helping in turning
the backwardagricultural sector
into a lucrative modern industry.
For Zhang Guoqin, growing
crops sometimes simply needs
a few clicks of the mouse.
In
northeast
Chinas
Heilongjiang Province, he
monitors his rice fields on
computer screens.
He uses a system of sensors and
automatisation which takes a lot
of the toil and inefficiency out
of his business.
Such innovation is a new trend
in Chinese farming, a welcome
change of direction for a rural
economy that has long been

seeking modernisation.
Along with manufacturing,
agriculture was on the top of the
list.
Farming in China has been
booming for over three
decades.
The summer grain output
reached a record high of 141.07
million tonnes in 2015 after 11
consecutive years of increases.
Though harvests were good,
inefficient sales channels, a
shrinking labour population and
lack of access to loans have
been squeezing farmers
earnings and dragging down
the rural economy, the report
said.
In 2014, the per capita
disposable income of rural
residents rose 9.2 per cent year
on year to USD 1,720 less than
half of that of urbanites, and
70.17 million rural Chinese
earned an annual sum less than
USD 385, the official poverty
line.
By the end of 2014, nearly 30
per cent of Chinas rural
population were online.
Taobao.com, Chinas largest
online shopping platform, has
launched an agricultural
channel.
Its internet conglomerate,
Alibaba, also ambitiously plans
to invest 10 billion yuan (USD 1
billion) into 100,000 new
service centres in Chinese
villages in the next three to five
years to help train farmers in
internet use.
India to produce at least dozen

billionaires among start-ups by
2020, says Assocham
India is expected to produce
at least a score of billionaires
and many times millionaires

among the start-ups in the next
five years with e-commerce,
financial services and other
technology driven fields
generating the maximum
interest, an Assocham study on
start-ups has pointed out.
It said the maximum of value

creation is expected in the
fledgling e-commerce, musicentertainment, payment gateways and city transport
aggregators such as radio taxis.
The travel arena, especially in
the ticketing and booking has
already gained some level of
maturity.
The untapped areas for online
business include e-coaching,
medical consultations (with
fool-proof safety features) and
social networking in the cities,
while in the rural landscape, the
initiative is going to be led by
the State sector.
According to the study, even
though the Securities and
Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
is putting a friendly regime for
the start-ups to raise finance
from the bourses, it would take
some time before funds are
raised through this channel.
NBFCs prefer raising funds
through debt route
Credit off take by non-banking
finance companies from the
banking system registered a rise
of only 1.6 per cent on a yearon-year basis in June 2015, as
53

Economy
compared to a rise of as much

as 16.7 per cent in the same
period in the previous year,
according to a statement from
the Reserve Bank of India.
The outstanding credit as on
June 26, 2015, stood at Rs.
3,11,800 crore against Rs,
3,06,900 crore as on June 27,
2014.
Sequentially also, the growth
was less compared to 5.6 per
cent in the previous month.
Analysts say NBFCs prefer to
raise money through debt route
rather than relying on banks as
the cost of raising funds through
debt route is cheaper.
There was, of course, a modest
rise in personal loans by 16.5 per
cent in June 2015 as compared
to 15.2 per cent a year ago.
Non-food credit growth of
scheduled commercial banks
registered a year-on-year
growth of 7.7 per cent in June
2015, against 13 per cent in
June 2014.
Finance ministry moves cabinet

note on gold monetisation
scheme
The finance ministry has moved

a cabinet note on the proposed
gold monetisation scheme that
will enable depositors to earn
interest on their on their gold
accounts.
The gold monetisation scheme,
which is proposed to be initially
introduced only in selected
cities, was announced in the
54
Budget this year by Finance

Minister Arun Jaitley.
Under the proposed scheme, a
person or entity would be
allowed to deposit a minimum
quantity of 30 grams of gold in
any form, bullion or jewellery,
for one year in a gold saving
account. The banks will decide
the interest rate.
To make the scheme attractive
to households, the interest
earned on it will likely be
exempt from income tax,
wealth tax and capital gains tax.
Before depositing gold into a
metal account, customers will
have to get its purity checked
from the testing and collection
centres certified by the Bureau
of Indian Standards (BIS).
They will be given a certificate
by the collection centre
certifying the amount and purity
of the deposited gold.
When the customer produces
the certificate of gold
deposited at the Purity Testing
Centre, the bank will open a
Gold Savings Account for the
customer.
Under the scheme, both
principal and interest to be paid
to the depositors of gold, will
be valued in gold.
For example if a customer
deposits 100 gm of gold and
gets 1 percent interest, then, on
maturity he has a credit of 101
gm.
Customer will have the choice
to take cash or gold on
redemption, but the preference
has to be stated at the time of
deposit.
The proposed scheme also
seeks to benefit jewellers who
can obtain loans in their metal
account. Banks and other
dealers would also be able to
benefit from the scheme.
The scheme aims at reducing

dependence on import of gold
to meet the domestic demand
and provide a fillip to the gems
and jewellery sector in the
country by making gold
available as raw material on loan
from the banks.
India is one of the largest
consumers of gold in the world
and imports as much as 8001,000 tonnes of the metal each
year.
The stock of gold in India that is
neither traded nor monetised is
estimated to be over 20,000
tonnes.
Commerce Ministry Moves
Cabinet Note on Interest
Subvention Scheme
To give a fillip to exports, the

Commerce Ministry has moved
a Cabinet note on a proposal to
provide cheaper credit access
to exporters from various sectors
under the interest subvention
scheme.
Under the interest subvention
scheme, exporters are provided
credit at subsidised rates by
banks which are later
compensated
by
the
government.
Loans at subsidised rates will
help exporters boost shipments
as the countrys exports stayed
in the negative zone in the past
seven months.
Last week, Commerce Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman had told
Parliament that the interest

Economy
subvention scheme for various
sectors was under consideration
of the government.
The
previous
interest
subvention scheme was
available up to March 31, 2014.
For the seventh month in a row,
Indias exports fell 15.82 per
cent in June to $22.28 billion.
India on top in exporting beef
India retains its top spot as the

worlds largest exporter of beef,
according to data released by
the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, and has extended
its lead over the next highest
exporter, Brazil. It must be
noted, however, that the U.S.
government classifies even
buffalo meat as beef.
According to the data, India
exported 2.4 million tonnes of
beef and veal in FY2015,
compared to 2 million tonnes by
Brazil and 1.5 million by
Australia. These three countries
account for 58.7 per cent of all
the beef exports in the world.
India itself accounts for 23.5 per
cent of global beef exports. This
is up from a 20.8 per cent share
last year.
Data from the Centre for
Monitoring Indian Economy
(CMIE) shows that most of
Indias buffalo meat exports go
to Asian countries Asia
receives more than 80 per cent,
while Africa takes around 15 per
cent. Within Asia, Vietnam is the
largest recipient, at 45 per cent.
Indias buffalo meat exports

have been growing at an
average of nearly 14 per cent
each year since 2011, and
fetching India as much as $4.8
billion in 2014. Last year, India
for the first time earned more
from the export of buffalo meat
than it did from Basmati rice.
Several databases, including
the United Nations Food and
Agricultural Outlook, show that
meat consumption in India is
increasing. However, the data
also shows that beef
consumption has been falling
over the years, down -44.5 per
cent in 2014 from the level it
was in 2000. This fall in
consumption has been taking
place regardless of the political
party in power. Chicken
consumption, however, was up
31 per cent in that period.
Cabinet cleared spectrum

sharing by telcos
The Cabinet cleared a proposal

on Wednesday that had
suggested allowing telcos to
share spectrum in the same
band in order to reduce call
drops.
Telcos will now be able to share
their unused spectrum thereby
enhancing network quality and
reducing operational costs.
There was no decision on
spectrum trading norms, which
is expected to lead to greater
consolidation in the sector.
Spectrum sharing would be
allowed only where both the

licensees have spectrum in the
same band and leasing of
spectrum will not be permitted,
the statement added.
Besides, sharing may be
permitted where both entities
possess spectrum for which
market price has been paid.
Spectrum usage charge (SUC)
will be levied on the entire
spectrum holding in a particular
band and all access spectrum,
including traded spectrum, will
be sharable.
According to the release, SUC
rate of each of the licensees
post-sharing shall increase by
0.5 per cent of aggregate gross
revenue.
However, in respect of
spectrum in 800 MHz (CDMA)
acquired in the auction held in
March 2013, sharing of
spectrum shall be permitted
only if differential of latest
auction price and March 2013
auction price on prorata basis
on the balance period of right
to use the spectrum is paid.
The shortfall of natural gas in the
country is set to widen over the
next couple of years and then
stabilise by 2017-18, according
to data presented by the
Minister of Petroleum and
Natural Gas Dharmendra

Pradhan to Parliament during
the ongoing session
According to the Minister,
Indias natural gas production
would touch 46.3 billion cubic
metres (BCM) in 2017-18, up
from the 33.6 BCM achieved in
2014-15.
However, the improvement
over this year is to be minimal,
with the Ministry projecting only
33.86 BCM to be produced in
55

Economy
2015-16, a 0.6 per cent
improvement over the previous
year.
The data presented in
Parliament shows that the
supply of natural gas in India was
projected to grow far faster than
demand, although the shortfall
would still remain significant for
some time to come.
Supply Data
The supply data shows that
natural gas production in the
country was to grow 37.5 per
cent by 2017-18 over the levels
achieved in 2014-15.
The demand data, presented in
a separate answer, shows a
growth of a much slower 22 per
cent in that period.
CCEA approves proposal to
tighten drug regulatory system
To
facilitate
domestic
manufacture of quality medical
products,
the
Cabinet
Committee on Economic Affairs
(CCEA) has approved a
proposal for strengthening and
upgrading the drug regulatory
system both at the Central and
state level.
The
upgradation
and
strengthening of the system will
also include setting up of new
laboratories and training
academy for regulatory and
drug testing officials.
The CCEA chaired by Prime
MinisterNarendra
Modi
56
approved the proposal for

strengthening the drug
regulatory system at a total cost
of Rs 1750 crore which will be
spread over a period of three
years.
The upgradation will include
provision of additional
equipment and manpower in
existing
drug
testing
laboratories, setting up of new
laboratories for testing drugs,
medical devices and cosmetics
and making mobile drug testing
laboratories available amongst
others.
India is one of the largest
manufacturers of drugs and
exports
pharmaceutical
products to over 200 countries
and economies.
RBI paid Rs 66,000 crore in
dividend
The Reserve Bank of India on
Thursday paid a dividend of
nearly Rs 66,000 crore to the
government, the highest ever
from the central bank in its 80year history, and 22% more than
it paid last year.
On a point to point basis, RBIs
dividend payment to the
government is up more than four
times in as many years.
This payment can help ease the
governments finances, help
meet its fiscal deficit targets,
provide liquidity to the system
so that the rate of interest
remains low and also make
available funds for the
governments
capital
expenditure, economists and
bond dealers said.
The central governments move
is also seen as another proof of
its active support to the
governments initiatives to kick
start the slowing economy, they
said.
As banker to the central and

state governments and the
banks in the country, the RBI has
several sources of income.
The three main sources of
income are the coupon
payments it gets on its holding
of government securities, the
interest it receives from banks
which borrow money from it
(repo operations) and also
interest incomes on its holdings
of sovereign bonds like US
treasury bills etc.
Every year, after meeting its
expenses and keeping aside
part of its total profits, the central
bank transfer a substantial
amount to the central
government exchequer.
This years dividend payment by
RBI is also more than the Rs
64,500 crore that the finance
Minister had budgeted under
Dividend/Surplus of RBI,
nationalized banks & financial
institutions, Budget papers
showed. Since the nationalized
banks are in the process of
paying dividend to the
government, the central
exchequers receipts under this
head is sure to exceed the
Budget estimates by a
substantial margin, economists
said.
Rajiv Gandhi International
Airport in Hyderabad became
the first in the country to
receive approval to implement
end-to-end e-boarding for
domestic passengers in what
will make air travel easier and
paperless.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation
Security, an agency of the
ministry of civil aviation, gave its
approval after assessing a pilot
project conducted at the airport
during April-June.

Economy
GMR Hyderabad International
Airport Ltd, the operator of
Hyderabads
airport,
successfully implemented a
three-month e-boarding project
in collaboration with Jet
Airways.
About 7,000 fliers travelling via
Hyderabad airport availed the
e-boarding facility during the
pilot.
Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru
airports are also implementing
pilot projects using scanners
and e-gates.
Implementation of full scale eboarding will be initiated
soon for domestic passengers,

GHIAL said in a statement.
It would come at no additional
cost.
A passenger needs a mobile eboarding card and an Aadhaar
number to complete the eboarding process.
Passengers can check-in online
and use the QR code received
on their registered mobile
phones to access common use
self service (CUSS) machine at
the departure area of the
airport. They validate their
credentials by keying in their
Aadhaar number and doing a
fingerprint scan.
Coachin airport to be first airport operating on solar power
Cochin International airport

limited (CIAL) is all set to
become the first airport in the
country which would be
operating on solar power, CIAL
official said today.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen
Chandy will inaugurate CIALs
green initiativea 12MWp solar
power project set up on the
premises of the airport on
August 18, Airport Managing
Director V J Kurien told
reporters here.
When the photovoltaics (PV)

panels laid across 45 acres near
cargo complex become
functional, Cochin airport will
have 50,000 to 60,000 units of
electricity per day to be
consumed for all its operational
functions, which will technically
make the airport absolutely
power neutral.
CIAL, which has adorned many
firsts in its cap, like being the
pioneer in PPP model in
building an airport to
introducing a path-breaking
rehabilitation package for
evictees, has ventured into the
Solar PV sector during March
2013, by installing a 100 kWp
solar PV Plant on the roof top of
the Arrival Terminal Block.
Ex-BJP official named to Sebi
board
The government has appointed

Arun P Sathe, a senior advocate
dealing in tax matters and a
former BJP national executive
member, as a part-time member
on the board of the Securities
and Exchange Board of India,
raising fresh concerns over
political interference on the
boards of regulatory and
financial institutions.
Sathes appointment was made
late last month although hes yet
to attend a Sebi board meeting.
Under the law the government
can appoint two part-time
members on the Sebi board
with the second slot lying vacant
currently.
The lawyer, who is Lok Sabha
speaker Sumitra Mahajans
brother, had contested against
Sunil Dutt from the MumbaiNorth constituency in the 1989
general elections and was the
party in-charge for Madhya
Pradesh and Assam. The Atal
Bihari Vajpayee government
had appointed him a member
of the JNPT board.
57
Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations:

IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/ias-pre/csat-paper-1
IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2

http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/ias-pre/csat-paper-2
. .
. (
2014
-1
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/ias-pre/csat-paper-1-hindi
. .
. (
2014
-2
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/ias-pre/csat-paper-2-hindi
Study Kit for Mains Examinations:

Contemporary Issues
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/contemporary-issues-ias-mains
Public Administration
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/ias-mains-public-adminstration
Essay Writing
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/essay-mains
English Grammar & Comprehension

http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/ias-mains-english-compulsory
History
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/ias-mains-history
Philosophy
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/ias-mains-philosophy
Sociology
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/ias-mains-sociology
General Studies
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/gs-mains
Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations:

Armed Police Forces (CAPF)
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/capf
Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations:

SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I)
http://sscportal.in/community/study-kit/cgl
(
-1)
http://sscportal.in/community/study-kit/cgl/tier-1-hindi
SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II)

http://sscportal.in/community/study-kit/cgl-tier-2
SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination

http://sscportal.in/community/study-kit/chsle
IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit

http://bankpoclerk.com/community/study-kit/ibps-specialist-officer
IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit

http://bankpoclerk.com/community/study-kit/ibps-po
IBPS Clerk Study Kit

http://bankpoclerk.com/community/study-kit/ibps-clerk
For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link:

http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/study-kit

Science & Technology
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Genes help fish cope with
warming oceans
In a first, the genetic mystery of

why some fish are able to adjust
to warming oceans has been
unlocked.
Higher levels of certain stress
and immune genes help fish
cope
with
warming
temperature in water over the
years, the findings showed.
Researchers examined how the
fishs genes responded after
several generations living at
higher temperatures predicted
under climate change.
Using cutting-edge molecular
methods the research team
identified 53 key genes that are
involved in long-term, multigenerational acclimation to
higher temperatures.
The findings appeared in the
journal Nature Climate Change.
The project involved rearing
coral reef fish at different
temperatures for more than four
years, and then testing their
metabolic performance
New Technique Can Reveal Age
of Moon Rocks
Researchers are developing
instruments and methods for
measuring the age of rocks
58
encountered during space

missions to the Moon and
planets.
Many of the techniques used to

date rocks on Earth are not
practical in spaceflight, but a
technique called laser ablation
resonance ionisation mass
spectrometry can avoid the
need for sophisticated sample
preparation.
A team led by Dr F Scott
Anderson from Southwest
Research Institute, Boulder,
Colorado, US, has now
demonstrated that this
technique can successfully
date an Earth rock - the Duluth
Gabbro - that is analogous to the
rocks that cover one-third of the
lunar nearside.
Their results imply that events
from Solar System history that are
recorded on much of the visible
face of the Moon can one day
be dated directly by
instruments aboard a lunar
lander.
Dating the Duluth Gabbro was
approximately 30 times more
analytically challenging than our
previous experiment, dating the
Martian meteorite Zagami, noted
co-author Dr Jonathan Levine
from the Department of Physics
and Astronomy, Colgate
University, Hamilton, New York.
Archaeologists discovered two

human bones about 100,000
years old in China
Archaeologists announced that

they have discovered two
human bones about 100,000
years old in Central Chinas
Henan province.
The limb bones were
unearthed in May at the Lingjing
historical site in Xuchang, said
Li Zhanyang, a researcher at the
Henan Provincial Institute of
Cultural
Relics
and
Archaeology, who led the
excavation.
Li said the two fossils were
discovered not far from each
other. Both belong to a young
person, maybe even the same
person, Li said.
There are several bite marks on
the fossils.
So far, bone fossils from at least
nine people have been
discovered at the Lingjing
historical site, including old and
young, making it the largest site
of discovered human fossils
since the founding of the
Peoples Republic of China.
Fossils from Xuchang Man
were unearthed at the site, and
two almost complete human
skulls were dated back 100,000
years.


The Xuchang Man fossil
consisted of 16 pieces of skull
with protruding eyebrows and
a small forehead. More
astonishing
than
the
completeness of the skull was
that it still had a fossilized
membrane on the inner side, so
that scientists could track the
nerves of the Paleolithic
ancestor.
In addition to the bone fossils,
more than 1,000 fossilized
animals and stone implements
have been found at the site.
Humans can be able to live on

moon in next decade: NASA
According to a NASA-funded
study, humans may be able to
live on the moon in a little more
than a decade from now. The
study outlines a plan to again
take human missions to the
moon, media reported.
The announcement was made
on July 20 the 46th
anniversary of the Apollo 11
crews first steps on the lunar
surface The Verge (an
American news and technology
media network) reported.
The, study, undertaken by
NexGen Space LLC, lays out a
detailed roadmap for when and
how to take the next step for a
landing.
A robotic return to the moon
could happen as soon as 2017,
if NASA were to adopt the plan
right away. Rovers would scout
the lunar poles for hydrogen in
2018 and prospecting could

begin by 2019 or 2020.
Robotic construction of a
permanent base would begin in
2021 in anticipation of landing
humans on the moon later that
year, it said.
The study said the space
agency can do it all within the
existing budget for human
spaceflights. The way for NASA
to do this is to adopt the same
method that it is using for resupplying the International
Space Station - a public-private
partnership with companies like
SpaceX, Orbital ATK or the
United Launch Alliance.
SpaceX currently charges
NASA about $4,750 for every
kilogram of supplies sent to orbit
aboard its Falcon 9 rocket, far
less than the cost by the Apolloera Saturn V ($46,000 per
kilogram) or even the space
shuttle ($60,000 per kilogram).
While the study does use
SpaceXs next generation
rocket, the Falcon Heavy, as an
example in its plans to get to
the moon, SpaceX claims the
Falcon Heavy will be as cheap
or cheaper per kilogram than
the Falcon 9.
NASA is already planning to go
back to the moon with its next
generation rocket, the Space
Launch System (SLS), but there
are no plans to land.
By using commercial partners,
NASA could reduce the number
of planned SLS launches from
12 to around three, reducing
the cost of the programme
while still developing the
technologies necessary to
support it, the study said.
The study was vetted by a 21person independent review
team made up of former
members
of
NASAs
administration, members of the
commercial
spaceflight
community and four former
NASA astronauts.
Sleepless night can cost your
body
Scientists have shown that not
sleeping for a night can alter the
genes that control the biological
clocks in cells throughout our
body.
Jonathan Cedernaes, lead
author on the study and a
researcher
at
Uppsala
University, said that previous
research had shown that our
metabolism was negatively
affected by sleep loss, and
sleep loss has been linked to an
increased risk of obesity and
type 2 diabetes.
Since ablation of clock genes
in animals can cause the disease
states, their current results
indicate that changes of clock
genes may be linked to such
negative effects caused by
sleep loss, he added.
Molecular analyses of the
collected tissue samples
showed that the regulation and
activity of clock genes was
altered after one night of sleep
loss. The activity of genes is
regulated by a mechanism
called epigenetics.
This involves chemical
alterations to the DNA molecule
such as methyl groups - a
process called methylation which regulates how the genes
are switched on or off.
The researchers found that
clock genes had increased
numbers of such DNA marks
after sleep loss.
They also found that the
expression of the genes, which
59


is indicative of how much of the
genes product is made, was
altered.
Cedernaes claimed that their
research was the first to directly
show that epigenetic changes
could occur after sleep loss in
humans, but also in the
important tissues.
It was interesting that the
methylation of these genes
could be altered so quickly, and
that it could occur for these
metabolically important clock
genes, he continued.
NASA missions discovery
makes Kepler-452b 12th
possible Earth twin
A planet believed to be
remarkably similar to Earth has
been discovered orbiting a
distant sun-like star, bolstering
hopes of finding life elsewhere
in the universe, US scientists
said on Thursday.
The planet, which is about 60%
percent bigger than Earth, is
located 1,400 light years away
in the constellation Cygnus. It
was discovered by astronomers
using NASAs Kepler space
telescope and circles a star that
is similar in size and temperature
to the sun, but older.
The planet, dubbed Kepler452b, orbits a star that is about
6 billion years old, compared to
the 4.6 billion year age of
thesun. Its simply aweinspiring to consider that this
planet has spent 6 billion years
60
in the habitable zone of its

star,Jenkins said. Thats
considerable time and
opportunity for life to arise
somewhere on its surface or in
its oceans should all the
necessary ingredients and
conditions for life exist on this
planet, he said.
Kepler-452b is positioned
about as far from its parent star
as Earth is from the sun,
completing an orbit in 385 days,
compared to Earths 365-day
orbit. At that distance, surface
temperatures would be suitable
for liquid water, a condition
believed to be critical for life.
NASA launched the Kepler
telescope in 2009 to survey a
sampling of nearby stars in an
attempt to learn if planets like
Earth were common in the
galaxy. This is great progress in
finding a planet like Earth that
is similar in size and temperature
around a sun-like star, said
Kepler scientist Jeff Coughlin,
with the SETI Institute in
Mountain View, California.
Based on its size, scientists
believe Kepler-452b should be
rocky, like the Earth, though that
theory is based on statistical
analysis and computer
modeling, not direct evidence.
With a radius 60% larger than the

Earth, this planet has a
somewhat better than even
chance of being rocky, Jenkins
said.
If so, Kepler-452b could be
about five times as massive as
Earth and have gravity that is
twice as strong as what exists
on Earths surface. The planet
also could have a thick
atmosphere, cloudy skies and
active volcanoes, Jenkins said.
With the discovery of Kepler452b, the telescope has found

1,030 confirmed planets and
identified about 4,700
candidate planets. The list of
potential planets includes 11
other near-Earth twins, nine of
which circle sun-like stars.
New findings about Stem cell
transplantation
A group of medical researchers
have recently claimed that using
stem celltransplantation to treat
patients with a serious but a
very rare form of chronicblood
cancer
Juvenile
MyelomonocyticLeukemia
(JMML) has shown improved
results.
Researchers at the Childrens
Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA),
led by Dr Hisham Abdel-Azim,
looked at the children with
Juvenile Myelomonocytic
Leukemia (JMML) who
underwent cell transplantation
at the hospital and noticed that
all of them were alive and in
clinical remission.
Abdel-Azim said that the lack
of transplant-related mortality in
the group of children we
studied at the Childrens Centre
for Cancer and Blood Diseases
at the hospital suggested that
BUMEL (Intravenous Busulfan
and Melphalan) may represent
a successful cell transplantation
high-dose chemotherapy
regimen.
CNG-run vehicles emit
dangerous nanocarbon, can
cause cancer: CSIR study
The compressed natural gas
(CNG)-run buses are harmful for
humans as they emit
nanocarbon particles which
can cause cancer, according to


a study conducted by Council
of Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR).
Department has established

state meteorological sentres at
Srinagar, Shimla, Dehradun,
Gangtok, Guwahati and Agartala
for forecast of natural calamities
like very heavy rainfall,
The World Wide Web turns 24
Though the study was

conducted on a very limited
sample size in Delhi, CSIR took
the findings seriously owing to
the health hazard it poses to
humans and alerted the central
government for further follow
up,
No Study Supports Global
Warming Affecting Himalayas
No study has so far supported

the theory that global warming
was causing natural calamities
in the Himalayan region,
parliament was told on
Thursday.
There is no study reported so
far, which supports the fact that
many type of instances similar
to natural calamities are
occurring in the Himalayan
region due to global warming,
Environment, Forests and
Climate Change Minister
Prakash Javadekar told the Rajya
Sabha in a written reply.
However, for monitoring and
prediction of extreme weather
events over the Himalayan
region, India Meteorological
The genesis of the Internet

On March 12, 1989, Tim
Berners-Lee submitted a
proposal for a distributed
information system at CERN. He
created the following concept.
It was a means to exchange
information across computers
spread geographically, and was
aimed to solved the vital
problem that needed to be
solved at CERN.
The worlds first website
There is a fine line between the

Internet and World Wide Web.
Today, in 1991, the World Wide
Web was born! And to
understand it more closely, we
need to take a closer look at the
origin of a project at the
European Organisation for
Nuclear Research (CERN).
In the 1980s, CERN was
undertaking research that
involved scientists and
researchers distributed across
geographies.
There was a need to share files,
and collaborate over very
critical data. But there was a
problem.
They didnt have common
systems, or presentation
software. Computing was
nascent and evolving.
Despite the challenges, a
contractor at CERN named Tim
Berners-Lee saw opportunity.
The solution was supposed to
be text.
That was 1980. And he was just
a contract employee. Four years
later in 1984, Lee returned to
the CERN as a permanent
employee and decided to take
a look at the problem faced by
CERN
information
management.
On December 20, 1990, the

worlds first website went live
at CERN. It was Christmas of
1990, and Lee had defined most
of the common terminologies as
we know them today, including
URL, http and HTML.
Donald trumps rivals in
presidential debate line-up
Property mogul Donald Trump,

a wildcard entrant into the race
for the presidential nomination
for 2016, has seen a surge in
popularity at the polls and this
has given him the pole position
in Thursday nights Republican
Party primary debate in
Cleveland, Ohio.
On the eve of the Republican
debate, CNN news channel
announced that it would host
the
first
Democratic
presidential debate in Nevada
on October 13.
The main debate, which will be
hosted by right-leaning
61


television channel Fox News
and will begin at 9 p.m. (EDT),
saw the prime slot given to the
top 10 Republican candidates
as ranked by five polls including
Bloomberg, CBS News, Fox
News, Monmouth University
and Quinnipiac University.
A lower-tier debate, likely
organised to accommodate the
raft of eclectic candidates who
have thus far entered the race,
will include Indian-American
Governor of Louisiana Bobby
Jindal and former Texas
Governor Rick Perry. Mr. Trump,
who topped the polls and is
seen by some as a controversial
candidate for, among other
things, his strong views on
immigration control and his offthe-cuff remarks on the
Hispanic community, will
literally be positioned front and
62
centre for the evenings main

event.
The competitors
He will be flanked by former
Florida Governor Jeb Bush,
Wisconsin Governor Scott
Walker, former Arkansas
Governor Mike Huckabee,
neurosurgeon Ben Carson,
Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Florida
Senator Marco Rubio, Kentucky
Senator Rand Paul, New Jersey
Governor Chris Christie and
Ohio Governor John Kasich.
In the polls, Mr. Trumps closest
competitor was Mr. Bush, who
trailed him by more than 10
points, making Mr. Trump the
default king the other
Republicans will have to
uncrown.
In addition to Mr. Jindal and Mr.
Perry, those who did not make
the cut and had to be satisfied

with the undercard debate at
5 p.m. (EDT) were former
Pennsylvania Senator Rick
Santorum, sole woman
candidate and former Hewlett
Packard head Carly Fiorina,
South Carolina Senator Lindsey
Graham, former New York
Governor George Pataki, and
former Virginia Governor Jim
Gilmore.
Similar to previous years
debates, the candidates will be
given one minute to answer
questions posed to them,
following which the moderators
will select other candidates for
30 seconds for rebuttals.
As the co-host of the debate,
Facebook will be given the
opportunity to introduce a
question at 15-minute intervals,
possibly based on user inputs.
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/test-series/online-ias-pre

Sports
SPORTS
Carelessness cost India the
second T20 against Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe had never won a T20

International at Harare before
19 July. They had lost nine out
of nine. They had also never
beaten India in a T20I.
Both streaks came to a
screeching halt at the end of 40
overs on Sunday as Zimbabwe
celebrated a famous win. They
had learned from their mistakes,
while India hadnt.
It was poor running,
irresponsible batting and
undisciplined bowling that
undid India.
It started off with the pace
bowlers bowling too short and
then too wide. The Zimbabwe
batsmen were ready to take on
the short stuff but bowlers
refused to adjust. Nearly 43
percent of the balls India
bowled were short of a good
length.
It took some brilliant death
bowling from Bhuvneshwar
Kumar to restrict Zimbabwe to
145 for 7 as India conceded just
33 runs from the last five overs,
while taking four wickets.
Sangram Singh wins WWP
Commonwealth Championship
Indian wrestler Sangram Singh
made the country proud by
defeating Canadas Joe Legend

to win the WWP Commonwealth
Championship at Nelson
Mandela Bay Stadium in South
Africa.
Haryana, scripted a scintillating

one-stroke win at the Junior
World Golf Championships at
the Welk Resort Fountain Course
in San Diego on Friday.
This was sangram singhs first

professional fight after a hiatus
of three years and he signed a
death contract for this fight
His three-day total of sevenunder par 179 was better than

rest of the field to become the
Junior World Champion in his
age category.
Shubham blitzed the golf
course over the course of three
days of the tournament with as
many as thirteen birdies during
his three rounds.
Five of them came during
Fridays final round, which
proved to be the difference as
he was in the joint lead at the
end of round 2.
Shubham, who had missed out
last year with a runner-up finish
but
through
sheer
determination, he made sure he
got the top billing this year.
Shubham was taken under the
wings of the Golf Foundation
pioneered by Arjuna Awardee
and Asian Games gold
medallist, Amit Luthra.
The foundation saw the
potential and have given him
their unconditional support to
make the game accessible to
him and he is repaying their faith
with his outstanding results.
Australia level Ashes series 1-1

at Lords0
England descended to an
embarrassing 405-run defeat
inside four days at Lords as
Mitchell Johnson hastened their
collapse and Australia levelled
the Ashes at 1-1.
The hosts, set a notional 509 to
win after Australia declared on
254 for two shortly before lunch
in this second Investec Test,
were all out for a hapless 103 in
37 overs by late Sunday
afternoon.
Englands costly habit of losing
their top order cheaply was
revisited, and then Johnsons
double-wicket
maiden
immediately after tea cast aside
any remaining doubts.
Haryana boy wins Junior World
Golf title at age 10
Shubham Jaglan, a 10-year-old
son of a milkman from rural
63

Sports
Indian hockey coach sacked
Current Manchester United

manager Louis van Gaal would
sit on a chair when Ajax
manager Ronald Koeman would
put his team through the paces.
Not once or twice, but for a
whole week. Van Gaal was
technical director of Ajax then.
In one instance, he also asked
Zlatan Ibrahimovic to position
himself in a particular area
and the striker scored. All this
was a complete disrespect of
the managers authority.
Koeman may have won that
battle with Van Gaal [he used
the media to force the latter
out] but another Dutch coach
in another sport, hockey, has
lost his job.
Paul Van Ass claimed today that
he was sacked by Hockey India
(SAI and Batra have claimed
otherwise so this is still a
subject of some debate). This
is after Hockey India chief
Narinder Batra gave a postmatch team talk to the side after
the 3-2 win over Malaysia in the
Hockey
World
League
semifinals in Belgium. Van Ass,
rightly, asked Batra to leave the
field team talks were his
department and while the HI
chief left the pitch, he made
sure Van Ass knew that his
behaviour
was
not
acceptable.ckey India
Eden garden will host World
Twenty20 final
The iconic Eden Gardens in
Kolkata will host the World
64
Twenty20 final in April next

year, the Indian board said on
Tuesday as it announced the
venues for the tournament.
The BCCI named eight venues

for the biennial event, which
has been staged across three
cities in each of its previous five
editions.
The
16-nation
mens
tournament will be played
alongside the womens event
across various venues in India
from March 11 to April 3.
Bangalore,
Chennai,
Dharamsala, Mohali, Mumbai,
Nagpur and New Delhi will be
the other venues for the
competition, the board said in
a statement.
India co-hosted the 50-over
World Cup in 2011 with Sri
Lanka and Bangladesh and
went on to win the tournament.
BCCI president Jagmohan
Dalmiya will head a managing
committee for the 16-team
tournament featuring 10-Test
playing nations and six
associate teams.
The final schedule will be
announced in consultation with
the International Cricket
Council (ICC).
The 2016 event will be the sixth
edition of the popular
tournament that began in 2007.
The last event was won by Sri
Lanka in Bangladesh in 2014.
Duleep Trophy vanish from
BCCI calendar
The Indian cricket board on
Tuesday clarified that the
prestigious Duleep Trophy has

been shelved, and that the
tournament remains an integral
part of the domestic calendar
and will be the curtain-raiser of
the 2016-17 domestic season.
Several reports on Monday

suggested the Board of Control
for Cricket in India (BCCI) has
scrapped the traditional
tournament for good from the
upcoming 2015-16 domestic
season.
BCCI wishes to clarify that this
is incorrect and reiterate that
the Duleep Trophy remains an
integral part of the domestic
calendar, the board said in a
release on Tuesday.
India will play 12 Test matches
at home in the next season
(2016-17) between OctoberMarch. Duleep trophy will be
the curtain-raiser for the
forthcoming domestic season
and provide a platform for the
players to stake a claim.
The BCCI on Monday revealed
its plans to conduct 900
matches in six months during its
2015-16 domestic season,
which will start from October
this year and end in March 2016.
The 2015-16 domestic fixtures
list, released on Monday, did not
have a place for the Duleep
Trophy.
The BCCI decided not to hold
the Duleep Trophy in the 201516 season in order to
accommodate the 2016 World
Twenty20 championship,

Sports
which will be played in India
after the completion of the
domestic season in March 2016
winning the IJGA World Stars of

Junior Golf event in Las Vegas
on Thursday.
Hockey magician Major Dhyan

Chand to be honoured in British
Parliament
Indian hockey legend Major

Dhyan Chand will be confered
with the Bharat Gaurav Lifetime
Achivement Award by NRI
orgainsation Sanskriti Yuva
Sangstha at the House of
Commons inside the British
Parliament of July 25.
On behalf of Dhyan Chand, his
son and former Indian hockey
player Ashok Kumar will receive
the award.
Dhyan Chand had helped India
win three successive gold
medals in Olympics. To his
credit, he had scored over 400
goals in his international career.
Dhyan Chand was one of the
nominees in 2014 for the
prestigious Bharat Ratna, an
award which cricketer Sachin
Tendulkar and scientist C N Rao
eventually received.
In 1936, when India won the
gold medal in Berlin Olympics,
Hitler offered Dhyan Chand to
join the German team but he
denied the offer.
Shubham Jaglan wins second
junior world golf title in two
weeks
Ten-year-old Shubham Jaglan
added another feather to his
cap when he created history by
The son of a milkman from rural

Haryana shot a three round
score of 106 winning by a fivestroke margin, ahead of two
Americans Justin Dang and
Sihan Sandhu and Thailands
Pongsapak Laopakdee for the
Boys 9-10 years category title at
the Angel Park.
Last Sunday, Jaglan had
clinched a one-stroke win at the
Junior
World
Golf
Championships at the Welk
Resort Fountain Course in
California.
Finally, BCCI takes interest in
conflicts of interest
Call it the Justice Lodha

Committeeeffect. The Board of
Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI) has finally decided to
tackle the menace of conflict of
interest. Board secretary
Anurag Thakur has shot off a
letter to state associations,
instructing them to to sign a
declaration stating they have no
conflicts of interest.
Thakur wants associations to
ensure that every official

declare the absence of any
personal or family allegiance,
bias, inclination, obligation or
any interest of whatsoever
nature, directly or indirectly
which may in any way affect or
provide any financial or any
other benefit to me, my family
or close relations or which may
tend to interfere with or affect
my objectivity, independence,
impartiality and neutrality in any
decision making process, acts
and conduct relating to or
arising out of discharge of my
office of president or honorary
secretary of (the respective
association)...
The declaration also states that,
In the event of any act,
function of the association or
any decision making process or
related to any tournament or
otherwise, any conflict of
interest do arise, I shall forthwith
disclose the same and refrain
myself from being associated
with the same in any manner
whatsoever or by whatever
name described.
Every state association receives
a generous annual grant from the
BCCI. According to sources, the
payout is about Rs 35 crore. The
associations use this money to
run the show.
Often, officials belonging to
these associations award
contracts for generators, water
tanks, food, refreshments,
clothing, kits, etc to companies
owned by them or to people
known to them. There have
been allegations that some
officials, who work in an
honorary capacity, receive
cuts from such deals. This is
one of the main reasons why
officials cling onto their chairs
for decades.
65

Sports
The BCCI is now trying to
address this issue.
Thakur writes that the issue of
conflict of interest has caused
enough consternation in our
organisation and that the BCCI
needs to collectively address
and avoid for the future to
come.
Thakurs concerns are valid. The
BCCI finds itself in this mess
largely because of N Srinivasan,
the former president whose
India Cements Ltd owns the
Chennai Super Kings. Both
Srinivasan and the board have
been pulled up by the Supreme
Court for failing to address this
issue. Now, CSK stands
suspended from the IPL for its
role in the betting and spotfixing scandal.
Given that the Supreme Courtappointed Justice Lodha
Committee has sought an
additional five months to
suggest ways and means to
improve the functioning of the
BCCI, Thakurs letter assumes
extra significance. After all, the
BCCI wants to show the world
that it is keen on setting its house
in order.
Thakur acknowledges that the
BCCI needs to protect the
reputation and institutional
integrity so as to earn broad
trust, faith and confidence in all
our activities.
Shubham Jaglan: Indian Tiger
Woods in the making
NEW DELHI: An Indian tiger
cub is prowling the golf courses
in the USA. And he is hunting
trophies by the week.
Prodigy Shubham Jaglan, the
10-year-old son of a milkman
from hinterland Haryana, swung
his way to the IJGA World Stars
66
of Junior Golf crown in Las

Vegas, winning by a handsome
five-stroke margin. Last week, he
had clinched the IMG
Academy junior world
championship for the 9-10 age
category in San Diego.
Its a dream come true. My
years hard work has given me
all these titles, he told a TV
channel.
The young master already has
the next tournament at
Pinehurst in his sights. Winning
at Pinehurst would make it a
junior grand slam of sorts for him.
That will be a huge
achievement for me, said
Shubham.
Coached since the age of seven
by Indias former top golfer
Nonita Lall Qureshi, Shubham
comes from Israna, a village in
Haryanas Panipat district.
Supported by the Golf
Foundation, a charitable society
formed by golfers such as Amit
Luthra to help talented,
underprivileged golfers, he now
lives with his family in Ashram, a
south Delhi colony.
Before being spotted by
Nonita, the young golfer trained
at an abandoned agriculture
field and practised his bunker
shots from a concrete mixer
filled with sand. He learnt most
of his early golf watching pros
on YouTube.
Shubham, who featured in
Aamir Khans Satyamev Jayate
last year, has won over 100
tournaments so far. And this is
just the beginning.
Oman qualify for World

Twenty20 for first time
LONDON: Oman qualified for
next years Twenty20 World
Cup in India with a five-wicket
victory over Namibia in Ireland.
It will be the first time the Gulf

country, coached by former Sri
Lanka captain Duleep Mendis,
have reached a major
international tournament.
Afghanistan beat Papua New
Guinea by six wickets to claim
the other qualifying place and
book a spot in the tournament
for the fourth time in a row.
Scotland, Ireland, Hong Kong
and the Netherlands will also
join the 10 test-playing nations
in the 16-team tournament.
Dhoni still most marketable
sportsperson
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Indias

One Day International cricket
captain, has been ranked ninth
in a list of the most marketable
sportspersons in the world,
prepared by the London School
of Marketing (LSM).
He ranks ahead of the likes of
Argentinas football star Lionel
Messi and Jamaican sprint king
Usain Bolt.
Dhoni, 34, considered one of
the finest finishers in the game,
was also placed ahead of
football superstars Cristiano
Ronaldo and Neymar, as well as

Sports
tennis players Andy Murray and

Serena Williams.
While compiling the list, LSM
researchers looked at the brand
value of the individuals, along
with their current income from
sponsorships
and
the
percentage of their total
earnings these accounted for.
It also considered their
presence on social media.
Swiss tennis star Roger Federer
was named the most
marketable sportsperson in the
world, followed by golfers Tiger
Woods and Phil Mickelson at the
second and third positions,
respectively.
Despite his loss in this years
Wimbledon final to Novak
Djokovic, Federer is considered
one of the most influential
sportspersons in the world. He
has 17 Grand Slam singles titles
to his credit.
Tennis stars dominate the list,
with Djokovic seventh, followed
by Rafael Nadal. Maria
Sharapova and Serena Williams,
the only two women to make it
to the top 20, have been ranked
12th and 20th, respectively.
India finish fourth in U-21

hockey meet
India finished fourth after being

thrashed 0-3 by England in the
mens Volvo International
Under-21 hockey tournament
here on Saturday.
Edward Horler (seventh and
47th minutes) and Samuel
Hatherley (68th minute) scored

for England as India struggled
throughout the match.
India conceded the first goal
just seven minutes into the game
as Horler scored a field goal.
Rio Games while the mens trio

failed to advance after
squandering a handsome lead
at the archery World
Championships, in Copenhagen
on Tuesday.
New professional league all set

to give wrestlers a leg-up
The Wrestling Federation of

India joined the league
bandwagon as it launched the
Pro Wrestling League (PWL) on
Monday.
The PWL, scheduled from
November 8-29, will witness
worlds top 66 wrestlers
including eight current world
champions. Around 20 Olympic
medallists will represent six citybased franchises.
Wrestling icons of the country
like two-time Olympic medallist
Sushil
Kumar,
World
Championship bronze medallist
Bajrang, the famous Phogat
sisters Geeta and Babita and
Commonwealth Games and
Asian Games medallist Geetika
Jakhar walked the ramp in
Spartan-like warrior outfits at
the launch of the league.
Sushil later said that the league
would help countrys grapplers
by giving them international
exposure at home.
Womens archery team makes
2016 Olympic cut
India womens recurve team
earned Olympic quota for 2016
Pitted against seventh seed

Germany, Indian trio of Deepika
Kumari, Laxmi Rani Majhi and
Rimil Buriuly showed nerves of
steel to bounce back from 1-3
to coast to a 5-3 win and make
the last eight, the yardstick for
making the Olympics cut.
The experienced mens team of
Rahul Banerjee, Mangal Singh
Champia and Jayanta Talukdar
however had heartbreak as they
squandered a 4-2 lead before
losing 26-29 to second seed
Italy in a thrilling tiebreaker.
Banerjee, Talukdar and
Champia can still earn individual
berths by finishing among 32
when the individual section that
gets underway on Wednesday.
Coached by Poornima Mahto,
the womens team on the other
hand showed tremendous
character after Karina Winter,
Elena Richter and Lisa Unruh
took away the first set 46-59.
The Indian womens trio
levelled the second 5-5 to make
it 3-1, while the Germans won
the third by a narrow 51-50
margin to make it 3-3.
Sports Ministry forms panel to
redraft NSDCI
The Union Sports Ministry has
decided to redraft the
67

Sports
68
contentious National Sports

Development Code of India
(NSDCI) 2011, forming a
working group for the same.
The NSDCI, which includes all
the orders and instructions
issued by the sports ministry
including restrictions on age
and tenure of sports
administrators in the country,
came into force from January 31,
2011 even though the code has
triggered several controversies
over the years in terms of its
implementation by the Indian
Olympic Association (IOA) and
various National Sports
Federations (NSFs).
Since (2011) a lot of
developments have taken place
in the sports sector,
necessitating
more
accountability
and
transparency in the functioning
of the sports bodies.
Hence, further amendments to
the various provisions of NSDCI
need to be re-examined and to
bring
about
suitable
amendments to relevant
provisions of the NSDCI.
To facilitate holding of
consultations and prepare a
revised draft of the NSDCI, it has
been decided to constitute a
working group, the Sports
Ministry said in a release.
The working group would be
headed by retired Delhi High
Court judge C.K. Mahajan and
examine the existing NSDCI
from every aspect of
governance.
Besides sports administration,
the group would also look into
the legal angle and finetune/
revise the same. It would also
look into the process of
streamlining state bodies and
preparation of NSFs electoral
college. The group has to

submit the revised draft within
three months.
Dale Steyn joins 400 Test wicket
club
Dale Steyn became the second

South African bowler to take
400 Test wickets after he
dismissed Bangladesh opener
Tamim Iqbal on the opening day
of the second Test in Dhaka on
Thursday.
The 32-year-old fast bowler
reached his landmark when
South African skipper Hashim
Amla took a chest-high catch at
first slip in Steyns third over of
the match.
Shaun Pollock is the only other
South African to pass the 400mark, taking 421 wickets before
retiring in 2008.
Steyn, who is playing his 80th
Test, became the 13th cricketer
to take 400 or more wickets in
Test matches.
Steyn joined Richard Hadlee as
the second fastest bowler ever
to take 400 Test wickets.
He is one of only three currently
active cricketers to achieve the
feat, joining India spinner
Harbhajan Singh and England
pacer James Anderson.
Steyn is the 13th cricketer to
take 400 or more wickets in Test
matches.
Sahara gone Paytm on
One97 Communications,
owners of Paytm, today
acquired the title sponsorship

rights for Indias domestic and
international cricket matches at
home for a period of four years
with a bid price of Rs 203.28
crore.
The decision to award the rights

to One97 Communications till
2019 was taken at the BCCIs
marketing
committee
meeting.website
The base price per match was
Rupees 1.68 crore and the final
price comes to Rs 2.42 crore per
match. The amount per match
is 40 lakh more than what
Micromax, who were the only
bidders in the 2014-15 season,
gave the Board last year.
From now on, the domestic
Ranji competition will be known
as the Paytm Ranji Trophy.
There were only two bidders for
the scheduled 84 matches
(Tests, ODIs and T20Is) in India
during the upcoming seasons as
the rights have been awarded
till 2019.
The bids were opened at the
BCCI marketing committee
meeting that lasted for around
five hours.
Unmukt named India A captain
for tri-series
Delhi batsman Unmukt Chand
was on Saturday appointed
India A captain for the
upcoming ODI cricket tri-series
involving Australia A and South
Africa A starting in Chennai on
August 5.

Sports
However, Ashwin was not
comfortable about a question
relating to the future of his
Indian Premier League (IPL)
franchise, the Chennai Super
Kings. You tell me the road
map and Ill use it. I dont know
what to say, he said.
Karnataka batsman Karun Nair
has been appointed Unmukts
deputy as the All-India Senior
Selection Committee picked a
15-member squad.
All the matches will be played
at the MA Chidambaram
Stadium with the final
scheduled on August 14.
Meanwhile, Ambati Rayudu has
been picked to lead the India
A side in the two-Test series
against South Africa A starting
August 18 in Wayanad.
Ashwin gets Arjuna Award
India off-spinner R Ashwin is not

too worried about the presence
of senior prosHarbhajan Singh
and Amit Mishra in the 15-man
squad for the three-Test tour
ofSri Lanka later this month.
Ashwin, who registered a fivewicket haul in the one-off Test
against Bangladesh in June, said
he is confident about playing a
key role on the spin-friendly
Lankan pitches.
Ashwins record in the subcontinent is impressive. He has
taken 100 wickets in 16 Tests in
Asia, but his performance in
overseas Tests has been dismal
(24 wickets in nine Tests).
Rajat Chauhan wins Indias first

individual medal in World
Archery
Rajat Chauhan created history

by winning a silver medal in the
World Archery Championships
in Copenhagen on Saturday.
This is Indias first individual
medal in the World event. The
20-year-old marksman, who
won the team gold medal in the
Asian Games last year, went
down fighting to local favourite
Stephan Hansen of Denmark
147-143 in the compound
individual final event.
The womens recurve team of
Deepika Kumari, Chekrovolu
Swuro and Laishram Bombayla
Devi had won India a silver
medal
in
the
World
Championship in 2011.
Chauhan started well against
Hansen, matching his local rival
arrow for arrow to tie the first
two sets, both scoring 29 points
each.
In the third set, Hansen opened
up a handy three-point lead with
three perfect 10s to net 30
points. Chauhan could manage
only 27 in that third set.
Federer- Nadal duel to spice up

IPTL-2
A Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal

clash is always a treat for tennis
fans. What began in 2004,
during the third round of the
ATP Miami Masters event in
which an 18-year-old Spaniard
defeated the Swiss, the then
world No. 1, has become part
of tennis folklore.
Now, in a little over four months,
tennis fans in the country will
witness two of the best players
slug it out in New Delhi during
the second edition of the
International Premier Tennis
League (IPTL).
Theirs is the marquee match-up
slated for December 12
that will add spice to the Indian
edition of IPTL.
Nadal, who had withdrawn from
the inaugural edition last year,
will represent the Indian Aces,
while Federer, who was part of
the Indian team last year, will be
a part of the UAE Royals.
Meanwhile, reigning world No.
1 Novak Djokovic will be turning
out for the Singapore Slammers
after appearing for the UAE
team last year.
The switch took place during
the Player Draft that was held in
April this year, where Japan
Warriors was unveiled as the fifth
franchise in the tournament
which already has defending
champions Indian Aces, the
UAE Royals, the Singapore
Slammers and the Manila
Mavericks.
69

Sports
Giving Nadal company at Aces
will be Gael Monfils, Agnieszka
Radwanska and Fabrice
Santoro. This years French
Open doubles champion Ivan
Dodig and Indias doubles stars
Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna
complete the line-up.
Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly,
Laxman likely to be named in
BCCI conflict of interest list
The Board of Control for Cricket

in India (BCCI) that recently
asked all the state cricket
associations to sign the
agreement of conflict of interest
has planned to take the process
underway very soon and the
consequences might see names
of the legends Sachin
Tendulakar, Rahul Dravid and
Anil Kumble among the
members who would be
dragged in the issue.
If BCCIs this undertaking is put
into effect, the international
retired cricketers will face
difficulty in continuing their
respective posts in the cricket
board.
According to a report from The
Indian Express, the members of
cricket associations will be
denied from having any
commercial interests associated
with the game, comes at a time
when the Justice Lodha
committee is looking into
organisational reforms in the
body.
Here is the list of the BCCI
70
members who may run foul of

the undertaking:
Sachin Tendulkar: Member,
BCCIs cricket advisory
committee, he is Mentor,
Mumbai Indians.
Rahul Dravid: Coach, India
U-19 and India A, he is Mentor,
Rajasthan Royals.
V V S Laxman: Member,
committee, he is Mentor,
Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Sourav Ganguly: Member,
committee, and a broadcaster.
Last commentary assignment
was the 2015 ICC World Cup.
Anil Kumble: Chairman,
BCCIs technical committee, he
is Mentor, Mumbai Indians, and
co-founder of Tenvic, a
company in the business of
sports training and consulting.
Brijesh Patel: Chairman,
BCCIs new area development
committee, and secretary,
Karnataka State Cricket
Association. He is Head (Cricket
Operations)
for
Royal
Challengers Bangalore.
Ravi Shastri: Director, Indian
cricket team, and contracted to
the BCCI as commentator. Last
commentary assignment was
the ongoing Ashes. He is
Member, IPL governing council.
Sunil Gavaskar: Contracted
to the BCCI as commentator. He
runs Professional Management
Group, a sports marketing
agency that has signed on a
number of cricketers, including
Mumbai batsman Sarfaraz Khan.
Sanjay
Bangar: Coach,
Indian cricket team, he also
coaches Kings XI Punjab.
Lodha panel seeks five-month
extension
The Justice R.M. Lodha
Committee, investigating the
2013 IPL betting controversy,

has urged the Supreme Court
for a five-month extension to
recommend reforms in the
Board of Control for Cricket in
India (BCCI) and complete its
investigation into the alleged
involvement of IPL chief
operating officer Sundar Raman.
The Supreme Court-appointed

committee, in a judgment on
punish first and debate later,
has been given six months to
complete its mandate.
On July 14, the committee
ordered a life ban on Gurunath
Meiyappan, a team official of
Chennai Super Kings and sonin-law of former BCCI president
N. Srinivasan, and Raj Kundra,
former part-owner of Rajasthan
Royals.
It further issued a two-year ban
on India Cements Ltd. and
Jaipur IPL Cricket Pvt Ltd.,
franchisees of CSK and
Rajasthan Royals, respectively,
for two years.
Ashes 2015: best performance of
Stuart Broad
Broad became the fifth England

bowler to take 300 Test wickets
after Anderson, Botham, Willis
and Trueman.

Sports
Stuart Broad described the day
as a dream after taking careerbest figures of 8-15 to help
England bowl out Australia for
60 on the first morning of the
fourth Ashes Test on Thursday.
Broad struck five times in his first
four overs, claiming his 300th
Test victim with the third ball of
the match when he had opener
Chris Rogers caught at first slip
by captain Alastair Cook for a
duck.
BCCI forms ad-hoc committees
for Bihar and Uttarakhand

in India (BCCI) on Friday
formed an ad-hoc committee
for cricket administration in
Bihar and Uttarakhand.
The decision will pave the way
for budding cricketers, who will
now get a chance to play for
their respective state teams.
The five-member committee for
Uttarakhand will be chaired by
MP Pandove and will also have
Vishal Marwaha (secretary,
Himachal Pradesh Cricket
Association), Subir Ganguly
(joint secretary, Cricket
Association of Bengal), Vinod
Shah
(vice-president,
Maharashtra
Cricket
Association), KVP Rao (manager
- game development, BCCI).
Similarly, another panel formed
to look after cricket affairs in
Bihar will be spearheaded by
its chairman Niranjan Shah and
will also include Vinod Phadke
(secretary, Goa Cricket

Association), Sourav Dasgupta
(secretary, Tripura Cricket
Association), Bharat Zaveri
(executive member, Gujarat
Cricket Association) and
Ratnakar Shetty (general
manager - game development,
BCCI).
The BCCI is currently embroiled
in a legal tangle with the Bihar
Cricket Association (BCA) over
a Rs10 lakh payment as
remuneration to justice Dharam
Pal Sinha, who has agreed to
conduct the BCA elections after
a gap of seven years.
Cricket in Bihar has been in
shambles due to the absence
of a representative body with
no first-class matches staged in
the state for several years.
The cricket politics in
Uttarakhand reached its new
heights in the last 15 years after
the state was bifurcated from
Uttar Pradesh in November
2009. Five cricket associations
in the state have been fighting
over affiliation from the central
board. In fact, three of the
associations had joined hands
in January this year to claim the
affiliation, but they fail to
impress BCCI officials.
Ten-year-old girl competes at
World Swimming
Championships
A Bahrain swimmer born in 2005

became the youngest athlete to
compete at the World
Swimming Championships,
according to reports from
Kazan, Russia.
Alzain Tareq, 10, clocked 41.13
seconds to place 64th out of 64
swimmers in Friday mornings
50-meter butterfly heats, 15.70
seconds behind Swedens
Sarah Sjostrom, the fastest
qualifier into the 16-swimmer
semifinals
Tareq, who is also entered in the
50m freestyle that starts
Saturday, said her goal is to
eventually qualify for the Tokyo
2020 Olympics, according to
the AP.
India eyes third spot in ICC Test
rankings.
The Indian cricket team can rise

to as high as third in the ICC Test
rankings if Virat Kohlis men
whitewash Sri Lanka in the
three-match series starting on
Wednesday.
Fifth-ranked India know that a
3-0 victory can propel them up
the rankings table, and
depending on the final
outcome in the ongoing Ashes
series, they could even climb to
as high as third place, provided
Australia defeats England at The
Oval. A 2-1 victory would see
India gain three points, the ICC
said in a statement.
If seventh-placed Sri Lanka
whitewash India 3-0 then they
will gain eight rankings points
and could climb to fifth and
India would drop to 89 points.
A 2-1 win for the hosts,
71

Sports
72
meanwhile, would see them

gain four rankings points and,
thus, overtake Kohlis side.
The last time India toured Sri
Lanka in 2010, the series ended
in a 1-1 draw, and in that
scenario Sri Lanka would gain a
point, while India would remain
on 97 points.
Meanwhile, in the ICC Player
Rankings for Test Batsmen, fifthplaced Sri Lanka batsman Kumar
Sangakarra goes into his final
Test series as the highest ranked
batsman on either side on 874
points, seven adrift of South
Africas Hashim Amla.
His skipper Angelo Mathews,
who will make his 50th
appearance next time out, lies
a single place and 14 rankings
points further behind, with his
opposite number Kohli in 10th
position, eight points behind
Australias Chris Rogers. Kohli is
now 180 runs short of the 5,000run mark in Test cricket.
Other batsmen from either side
aiming for upward movements
include India trio Murali Vijay
(21st), Ajinkya Rahane (22nd)
and Cheteshwar Pujara (25th),
as will Sri Lanka trio Kaushal Silva
(30th), Dimuth Karunaratne
(32nd) and Dinesh Chandimal
(45th).
In the ICC Player Rankings for
Test Bowlers, Sri Lankas left-arm
spinner Rangana Herath is the
highest ranked bowler heading
into the series in eighth place
on 752 points, 13 points behind
Australias Mitchell Johnson.
Twelfth-placed Ravichandran
Ashwin, with 124 wickets in 25
Tests to date, is his sides leading
bowler with Ishant Sharma
(21st) looking to break back into
the top 20. Other bowlers likely
to feature in the series are;
Dilruwan Perera (27th), D.

Prasad (29th) and Harbhajan
Singh (32nd). Umesh Yadav
(47th) holds an 18-point
advantage over his team-mate
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (48th).
Ashwin is also the highestranked all-rounder on either
side heading into the series,
sitting a point behind South
Africas Vernon Philander in
third position, while Mathews is
Sri Lankas best all-rounder in
15th spot.
participated in the event were

South Korea, China, India,
Thailand, East Timor, Mongolia,
Palestine, Nepal, Cambodia,
Afghanistan, Uzbekistan,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Laos and
Tajikistan.
Japans Sendai reactor first to
restart under new safety rules
Indian under-12 team finishes

2nd in Asian Youth Football
An Indian under-12 team,
represented by Nagalands
Green wood School, finished
second in the Asian Youth
Football Festa 2015 held at
Anseong, South Korea.
The side got the second
position in their group by
winning 3 out 4 matches. The
school was selected to
represent India in the festival
since it was the winner of the
last under-14 Subroto Cup held
in 2014, the Sports Ministry said
in a statement.
Financial assistance for
participation of the team was
provided from the National
Sports Development Fund of
the Ministry of Youth Affairs and
Sports.
A total of 47 teams from 15
countries participated in the
event. India was in Group B-2
along with three teams of South
Korea and a team from China
and Thailand each.
The Indian team was adjudged
the second best team in their
Group after Thailand. The team
was awarded the trophy for
being runners up in its group.
The 15 countries whose teams
The Nuclear Regulation

Authority affirmed the safety of
the reactor at the Sendai plant
in September under stricter
safety rules imposed after the
2011 meltdowns at the
Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear
power plant. (Reuters File
Photo)
A reactor in southern Japan is
set to restart from Tuesday, for
the first time under new safety
requirements following the
Fukushima disaster and a
milestone for the nations return
to nuclear power.
Kyushu Electric Power Co on
Monday said it will restart the
No 1 reactor at its Sendai
nuclear plant on Tuesday
morning. The restart marks
Japans return to nuclear energy,
breaking a four-and-half-year
nuclear power impasse since
the 2011 meltdowns at the
Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear
power plant in northeastern
Japan following the earthquake
and tsunami.
The Nuclear Regulation
Authority affirmed the safety of
the reactor and another one at

Sports
the Sendai plant in September

under stricter safety rules
imposed after the accident, the
worst since the 1986 Chernobyl
explosion. The plans call for the
second reactor to be restarted
in October.
The Sendai No 1 reactor is
scheduled to start generating
power from Friday and reach full
capacity next month.
All of Japans nearly 50
workable reactors have been
offline for repairs or safety
checks. Abes government
wants as many of them as
possible to be put online to
sustain the nations economy,
which now relies on imported
energy.
We believe it is important for
our energy policy to push
forward restarts of reactors that
are deemed safe, Chief
Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide
Suga told reporters.
Under the basic energy plan
adopted by the Cabinet last year
to sustain nuclear power as a key
energy supply for resource-poor
Japan, the government earlier
this year set a goal to have
nuclear power meet more than
20 percent of the countrys
energy needs by 2030.
With its nuclear fuel recycling
program still stalled and
plutonium stockpiles triggering
international concerns, Japan is
under pressure to use as much
of the stockpiles as possible in
its reactors.
Despite the push by the
government and utilities for
nuclear restarts, a majority of
Japanese are opposed to a
return to nuclear energy.
Residents near the Sendai plant
are also wary of the restarts,
citing potential dangers from
active volcanos in the region.
Sania Mirza to be conferred

India,s highest sports award
Sania has also won the mixed

doubles titles at Australia Open
(2009), French Open (2012)
and US Open (2014) and is
currently the worlds No. 1
ranked doubles player.
Hockey: India lose to Spain
Sania Mirza is all set to become

the first woman tennis player to
be conferred Indias highest
sports award Rajiv Gandhi Khel
Ratna, Times Now reported on
Tuesday.
Sania is only the second tennis
player to get the coveted award
after Leander Paes in 1996-97.
Earlier this month, the Sports
Ministry had recommended the
Wimbledon doubles champion
for the award but had also made
it clear that the final decision
rests with only the Awards
Committee.
Sania won her careers first ever
womens doubles Grand Slam
title with Swiss partner Martina
Hingis in July. She also became
world number one before
winning the Grass Court major.
Sania, who has won three mixed
doubles Grand Slams in her
career, was reportedly
competing with squash player
Deepika Pallikal and discus
thrower Vikas Gowda for the
prestigious award.
Sania also won the gold medal
and the bronze medal in the
mixed and womens doubles
categories in the 2014 Asian
Games.
Sania had received the Arjuna
award in 2004 while two years
later she was awarded Indias
fourth highest civilian honour
Padma Shri.
The Indian mens hockey teams

winning streak in its ongoing
tour of Europe came to an end
on Monday, with hosts Spain
beating the visitors 4-1 in the first
game of the three-match
series.\The score was tied 1-1
at half time, but in the second
half the home side gave a
sparkling performance by
scoring three more goals.
Meanwhile, Veteran player
Gurbaj Singh was suspended
for nine months by Hockey
India after being charged with
creating disharmony within the
team. Coach Jude Felix had
levelled the charges against
Gurbaj in his report following
the conclusion of last months
Hockey
World
League
Semifinals in Antwerp, Belgium.
Rohit Sharma selected for
Arjuna award
Sania Mirza today became only
the second tennis player to be
recommended
for
the
prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel
Ratna, while star cricketer Rohit
Sharma and ace shooter Jitu Rai
were
among
the
17
sportspersons picked for this
years Arjuna awards.
73

Sports
awards come with a cash prize
of Rs 5 lakh and a citation.
Rohit has been Indias batting
mainstay in the ODIs and
became the highest individual
scorer with a knock of 264
against Sri Lanka last year.
Sania, currently ranked world
number one in womens
doubles, scripted history by
becoming the first Indian to
clinch a womens doubles
Grand Slam when she partnered
Swiss great Martina Hingis for
the Wimbledon trophy earlier
this year.
Sania is only the second tennis
player after Leander Paes to be
named for the top award. Paes
had been bestowed the honour
way back in 1996 after his
bronze medal in the Atlanta
Olympics.
The 28-year-old, who has won
three mixed doubles Grand
Slams in her career, beat
competition from squash player
Deepika Pallikal, discus thrower
Vikas Gowda, track and field star
Tintu Luka, rising shuttler P V
Sindhu, and hockey captain
Sardar Singh for the coveted
honour.
It is learnt that the committee
recommended 17 names for the
Arjuna awards, including those
of Jitu, Rohit, gymnast Dipa
Karmakar, hockey player P R
Sreejesh, wrestling duo of
Bajrang and Babita, athlete M R
Poovamma, shuttler K Srikanth
and boxer Mandeep Jangra.
The recommendations will now
be sent to the Sports Minister
Sarbananda Sonowal, who will
take a final decision.
The Khel Ratna carries a prize
money of Rs 7.5 lakh along with
a citation, while the Arjuna
74
Pankaj Advani,s 13th title in

Snooker Championship
Indias poster boy of cue sports

Pankaj Advani on Tuesday
clinched his 13th world title
after winning the World 6-Red
Snooker Championship in a
convincing manner.
Defending champion Advani
outplayed Chinese Yan Bingtao
6-2, stamping his authority on the

green baize in the final.
The final started off with a bang
with the Bangalore cueist racing
to a rapid 3-0 lead in the bestof-11 final. But the Chinese
found his form and ran away
with the next two frames with
the aid of a 66 break.
In no mood to give anything
away, Advani did not allow his
opponent to score a single point
in the next two. He fired in a
massive 71 break in the seventh
frame to be one frame away
from defending his title which
he won in Egypt last year.
In the final frame, Bingtao took
a healthy 28-5 lead before
missing what was going to be
his final shot of the tournament
as Advani cleared the table with
finesse. A 35 break saw the
Indian ace adding another
feather in his ever-glowing
crown.
India beat Spain by 4-2,win 3-match hockey series 2-1
Riding on forward Ramandeep

Singhs two spectacular goals,
that too within a minute, India
outplayed Spain 4-2 in the third
and last match of the European
Tour to win the three-game
series 2-1.
The first quarter started with a

brisk pace as both the teams
competed to dominate in the
early stage of the game. After a
barrage of attacks in the
opening minutes, Spain
managed to earn a penalty

Sports
corner but an alerted PR
Sreejesh kept the ball away from
the net.
National Cricket Academy may
be moved to Dharamshala or
Mohali
in India (BCCI)-run National
Cricket Academy (NCA) is
going north. Literally.
A meeting of the NCA
committee in New Delhi
yesterday
decided
to
recommend to the BCCI to

move the facility to one of the
centres in Punjab or Himachal
Pradesh.
Meanwhile, the NCA Committee

has decided to appoint
specialist bowling and batting

coaches for academy.
The BCCI website has put out
an advertisement and the
applications will be scanned
after August 15, the last date.
The Sandeep Patilled national
selection committee, with
assistance from NCA director
Brijesh Patel, will shortlist the
names for the posts. It is learnt
that each post has attracted 10
applications.
75
Online Course for Civil Services Preliminary Examination

Online Coaching for CSAT Paper - 1 (GS)
Online Coaching for CSAT Paper - 2 (CSAT)
(
1)
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/courses/ias-pre/csat-paper-1-hindi
(CSAT)
(
- 2)
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/courses/ias-pre/csat-paper-2-hindi
Online Course for Civil Services Mains Examination

General Studies Mains (NEW PATTERN - Paper 2,3,4,5)
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/courses/ias-mains-gs
Public Administration for Mains
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/courses/ias-mains-pub-ad
Online Course for One Day Examination

Online Coaching for SSC CGL (Tier-1) Exam
http://sscportal.in/community/courses/ssc-cgl-tier-1
SSC
Online Coaching
http://sscportal.in/community/courses/ssc-cgl-tier-1-hindi
For Full Information about Online Coaching Click below Link:


Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
SELECTED ARTICLES FROM VARIOUS NEWSPAPERS & JOURNALS
A pernicious law
The Union governments
contention in the Supreme Court that
the provisions in the Indian Penal
Code on criminal defamation do not
have a chilling effect on free speech
will disappoint proponents of
fundamental freedoms. The zeal to
retain a law that the state can use to
stifle criticism is at the heart of the
governments position. It also goes
against democratic opinion in many
jurisdictions that treats defamation
essentially as a civil wrong, and not
something to be remedied by the
use of the states coercive police
powers. The United Nations Special
Rapporteur on freedom of
expression, the Human Rights
Committee of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and other international bodies have
called upon states to abolish criminal
defamation, recognising that it
intimidates citizens and dissuades
them from exposing wrongdoing.
The grounds cited by the Centre
now to justify the continuance of
Sections 499 and 500 of the IPC,
which deal with defamation and
prescribe a maximum jail term of
two years, are specious: that in India,
citizens are unlikely to have enough
liquidity to pay damages for civil
defamation; that online defamation
in the Internet age can be
effectively countered only by
making it a criminal offence, and that
the law is part of the states
compelling interest to protect the
dignity and reputation of citizens.
What it fails to see is that the main
feature of criminal defamation is its
potential for harassment. It is a tool
that can be easily invoked and that
76
enables allegedly defamed persons

to drag anyone to courts across the
country.
Criminal defamation has a
pernicious effect on society: for
instance, the state uses it as a means
to coerce the media and political
opponents into adopting selfcensorship and unwarranted selfrestraint; groups or sections claiming
to have been hurt or insulted, abuse
the process by initiating multiple
proceedings in different places; and,
more importantly, the protracted
process itself is a punishment.
Further, magistrates tend to
mechanically summon defendants
without first assessing whether the
allegedly offending content comes
within one of the many exceptions to
defamation found in the statute.
Criminal defamation should not be
allowed to be an instrument in the
hands of the state, especially when
the Code of Criminal Procedure
gives public servants an unfair
advantage by allowing the states
prosecutors to stand in for them
when they claim to have been
defamed by the media or political
opponents. Thanks to past verdicts of
the Supreme Court, the government
and its organs can no more file civil
suits seeking damages for
defamation, yet the pernicious law of
criminal defamation is invoked to
stifle free speech. Even as the court
deliberates the matter, the
government ought to reconsider its
stand and come out against the
criminal defamation law.
Manipurs dilemma
The fear of every state with a
predominant indigenous population
was summed up thus by the Naga
leader A.Z. Phizo: Nagaland cannot

accept the Indian excess population
[as] our country is too small. Many of
the recent exclusivist outbursts in the
northeastern States, including in
Manipur, can be attributed to such a
fear of losing ancestral land to
outsiders. Manipurs crisis
intensified four months ago when its
Congress-majority Legislative
Assembly passed the Manipur
Regulation of Visitors, Tenant and
Migrant Workers Bill, 2015. It was
opposed widely, including by
womens and students groups, and
even by a section of the ruling party.
Eventually the Opposition became
more united in demanding the
withdrawal of the Bill, which failed
to address their key concern of
protecting the land rights of the
original inhabitants. On July 14, the
Bill was withdrawn by the Manipur
government in a nod to the protesters
demands. The united Opposition
rather underscored the long-standing
demand for the imposition of an Inner
Line Permit system, as in a few other
northeastern States. The ILP regime,
introduced by the British to protect
tribal
populations
from
encroachment into their areas, but
later used to advance commercial
interests, involves a system akin to the
issue of visas to Indian citizens to
enter a State of the Union.
The dilemma of the Indian state
over the ILP is understandable. Can
the Union afford to introduce a quasivisa to its citizens to enter one State
from another State? The question
could be complex for a central party
that advocates the removal of all
speed-breakers when it comes to
citizens access to travel and work in
her own country. The dilemma of
Manipur is perhaps even more severe.
The 2001 Census indicated the size


of the migrant community was nearly
as much as that of the dominant ethnic
Meiteis, thus bolstering the demand
from Manipurs erudite civil society
to impose curbs on inward
movement. But there has also been
out-migration of the indigenous
people. The demand is sought to be
substantiated by citing many
examples that indicate how
Manipuris are losing land to
extractive non-Manipuri industries.
The leasing out of one-sixth
of the total area of Manipur for oil
exploration and drilling to
international oil majors, unthinkable
in the other States, is one of many
such examples. In this backdrop, a
half-baked Bill was passed, that
exacerbated the insecurity. The
demand, though, is more
legitimately a consequence of the
hill-valley divide in the State and the
congestion in the valley rather than
any huge influx of outsiders. The
situation is thus complex but not
out-of-control. But the State should
ensure that alien-investor-driven
development does not disrobe its
people. After all, they are supposed
to benefit from the growth
generated out of its own domestic
resources.
India, and the
Talibans changing dynamics
The
first
officially
acknowledged dialogue between
the Taliban and the Afghan
government took place in Murree,
Pakistan, on July 7. Among those
attending were representatives of
Pakistan, China and the U.S. This
comes eight months after Afghan
President Ashraf Ghanis meeting
with Gen. Raheel Sharif and the
subsequent assurance that Pakistan
would help convince the Taliban to
negotiate. The major outcome,
according to Pakistani media sources,
is that the next round of talks is
provisionally planned for August 15

and 16 in Doha, Qatar. Another
projected win was the reported
endorsement by Taliban leader
Mullah Omar on the Taliban website.
Since Omar hasnt been seen in public
for years now, the authenticity of this
approval is suspect. The Murree talks
were significant in that they
highlighted a shift in the stance of
Talibans Qatar office, which has now
emerged as its official voice. While
not formally repudiating the talks, the
Qatar office made a convoluted
pronouncement indicating that
future negotiations needed its
imprimatur for any chance of success.
This suggests that Murree was a
preliminary round of talks about talks,
and is borne out by the
announcement of the Doha round.
The Taliban is no longer the
monolith that it was and many streams
have emerged in the movement.
None of them are watertight
compartments, allowing individuals
and factions to flow from one to
another. Each has several factions that
may or may not have problems with
each other. There are problems
between the Talibans political
leader, Akhtar Mohammad Mansour,
considered close to the ISI, who
favours negotiation, and Abdul
Qayum Zakir, Talibans military
commander and former Guantanamo
Bay detainee, who is opposed to any
talks. Zakir insists that the Afghan
government lacks legitimacy and it
was the U.S., the occupying power,
which was in control. Zakirs position
has been reinforced after the Afghan
government signed the Bilateral
Security Agreement with the U.S.,
and he will oppose talks over the
presence of foreign troops.
Yet another line of thought is
the one that is open to talks,
provided it is held on their terms.
This means two things: one, they are
not comfortable with Pakistan
leading the talks and two, they see
escalation in violence as a means to

get to a vantage point before
discussions begin. It is averse to a
ceasefire, as that would allow the
beleaguered unity government to
consolidate its control. This led to
the rejection of the Afghan Ulemas
call for a Ramzan ceasefire. A third
group is not openly supportive of
talks, as this could drive some
extreme elements into joining
movements like the Daesh, but it
also wants some form of normalcy
and will not oppose talks.
With pressure mounting on
Pakistan, it had thrown its weight
behind the latest round of talks in
Murree. Given the mounting
international criticism that it had
misled the Ashraf Ghani government,
it had to display its earnestness and
influence over the Taliban by
mediating talks on its soil.
India has been on the
sidelines because of its limited
relationship with the Taliban. Though
India has never recognised the
Taliban, what often goes unnoticed
is that there was limited interaction
even during the Kandahar hijacking.
An Indian delegation was allowed in
without visas and the External Affairs
Minister entered into talks with
representatives of a government it
did not recognise. The point person
for all of this was Taliban foreign
minister Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil.
However, times are changing. The
perception that talks with at least
some of the Talibani elements might
bring an end to the imbroglio is
gaining ground in Afghanistan. This,
coupled with the existence of
several lines of thought in Taliban,
allows India to reconsider its position
on Afghanistan. Considering the
social capital that India has built in
Afghanistan, India might, at an
appropriate moment and in
consultation with the Afghan
77


government and other stakeholders,
consider opening a channel to
factions associated with Talibans
Qatar office. Diplomacy is often
about picking the lesser evil to serve
the national interest.
Breaking the ice and
avoiding a refreeze
As Prime Minister Narendra
Modi is discovering, somewhat to his
discomfiture, managing relations with
Pakistan is one thing but managing
expectations about India-Pakistan
relations is a different cup of tea,
because the two often adopt
divergent trajectories. Every Indian
Prime Minister, from Jawaharlal Nehru
onwards, has had to deal with this
challenge. However, it has only
become infinitely more difficult today
with the Indian media (and its
Pakistani counterpart) seeking to
convert every summit encounter into
a limited-overs cricket match. A
diplomatic negotiation only succeeds
if the outcome is perceived by both
sides as a win-win situation but this
requires long-term planning and
careful management. If either side
makes it a zero sum game by firing up
expectations for a quick victory, the
dialogue quickly flounders.
The five follow-on steps
identified in the Joint Statement are
precise and modest the National
Security Advisers (NSA) are to
discuss all issues connected to
terrorism; meetings between the
chiefs of the Border Security Force
and Pakistan Rangers and DirectorsGeneral of Military Operations;
releasing fishermen in each others
custody; facilitating religious tourism;
and an agreement to discuss ways
and means to expedite the Mumbai
26/11 attack trial, including
additional information like providing
[Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-urRehman Lakhvis] voice samples.
Finally, Mr. Modi also accepted Mr.
Sharifs invitation to visit Pakistan in
78
2016 for the South Asian Association

for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
summit. From all accounts, the
meeting between the two Prime
Ministers developed positively. Mr.
Modi had realised that not engaging
Pakistan was proving unhelpful.
Having abruptly called off the Foreign
Secretary-level talks last August
meant that he had to find a way to
get a dialogue going. The SAARC
summit in Kathmandu last November
came too soon after the cancellation
of talks and the tit-for-tat shelling
across the Line of Control (LoC). After
Indian Foreign Secretary S.
Jaishankars exploratory visit to
Pakistan early this year and a couple
of phone exchanges, the decks were
cleared. However, the old format
could not be restored because it
would signal business as usual. The
media and the Opposition would
describe Mr. Modis policy as flipflop or even worse, a climbdown
under (god forbid) U.S. pressure! So,
the resumed dialogue had to have its
focus on tackling the menace of
terrorism and for this, Indias NSA Ajit
Doval would be the most suitable
person. Other issues such as religious
tourism and the release of fishermen
were humanitarian issues and would
resonate well. Mr. Modi had
emphasised the importance of
regional diplomacy and even as he
notched up successful visits to
Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and
Bangladesh, he realised that
resuming a dialogue with Pakistan,
and where he could set the agenda,
was necessary for ensuring Indias
leadership in the region and image
as a responsible major power.
The Pakistani response was
predictable. It pointed out that
diplomatic phrases like all
outstanding issues and terrorism in
all its forms included Kashmir and
state sponsored terrorism. India had
sought the meeting (a victory for
Pakistan), Mr. Modi had committed
to visit Pakistan for the SAARC

summit (a victory for Pakistan), and
additional information was to be
provided by India regarding the
2008 Mumbai attacks (a victory for
Pakistan). However, the genie
refused to go back into the bottle
and the Pakistan Army was unhappy.
Eventually, three days later,
Pakistans Foreign Policy and
Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz took the
stage to make it clear that the
outcome at Ufa did not mark the
beginning of a new dialogue
process, and that Kashmir tops the
list of outstanding issues. For good
measure, he added that Pakistan
would continue to provide moral,
diplomatic and political support to its
Kashmiri brethren, the NSAs would
discuss Indian interference in
Pakistan particularly in Balochistan,
additional information would also
cover progress on the investigations
into the Samjhauta Express
bombings in 2007, and there was no
commitment on providing Lakhvis
voice samples. The Pakistani High
Commissioners Iftar with Hurriyat
leaders that had been postponed
was resurrected as an Eid Milan
event and recent LoC firings have
again raised tensions. The chestthumping protagonists on either side
examined in terms of protocol how
many steps Mr. Modi and Mr. Sharif
each walked to greet the other. The
Ufa moment had become an ouch
moment for both sides. Instead of a
win-win, both sides retired hurt and
sulking.
Neighbourhood diplomacy for
a large country like India needs a
lighter touch, and far more attention
to managing expectations than has
been in evidence during the last 12
months. We also need to understand
that as the larger power, the Indian
media resonates loudly in the region,
often reflecting an insensitivity which


generates a backlash. Mr. Modis
media team has yet to understand this.
There will be more engagements with
Pakistan, and at different levels, but
New Delhi will have to change its
tone to ensure that well-crafted
diplomatic initiatives do not get
reduced to a farce. From Mr.
Narasimha Rao onwards, I have
personally witnessed how he and his
successors and their senior
colleagues, used to keep key political
leaders, including the Opposition,
fully briefed; in parallel, senior officials
used to provide background
briefings to retired officials and
foreign policy commentators so that
expectations could be managed in
terms of media projection. This
ensured that both the pace and the
outcome of the dialogue was kept
under control, with an eye to the
domestic political environment while
taking into account the larger games
being played on the geopolitical
canvas. After last August, Mr. Modi
understood the need for a dialogue
with Pakistan. Hopefully, after Ufa, he
will also understand the need to
manage it in a more productive
manner.
Stimulated economy,
sluggish investments
While there are signs that
economic growth is reviving, the
concern is that investments are not as
forthcoming as expected. During the
last year or so, the government has
put in place a comprehensive set of
measures to restore investor
sentiments, ranging across the tax
regime, ease of doing business,
Foreign Direct Investment limits, and
administrative and environmental
clearances. A number of large-scale
initiatives have been introduced to
act as magnets for investments,
including Make in India, the Smart
City mission, and Clean Energy.
Interest rates, too, are on the
downtrend with strong expectations

of further rate cuts, and the
macroeconomic environment has
turned benign, despite moderation
in global growth and trade.
According to CIIs Investment
Tracker for May 2015, business
confidence stands at the highest
levels in the last three years, buoyed
by proactive reforms and positive
macroeconomic scenario. There has
been visibly strong improvement in
the project pipeline new project
announcements almost doubled in
2014-15 as compared to the
previous year and the value of
projects completed went up from Rs
3.28 lakh crore to Rs 3.56 lakh crore.
At the same time, the value of stalled
projects came down from Rs 3.63
lakh crore to Rs 2.44 lakh crore. As a
measure of global confidence in
India, FDI inflows went up from
$25.3 billion to $31.9 billion in 201415 and Foreign Institutional Investors
(FIIs) put in $40.9 billion into Indian
companies as compared to $5 billion
in 2013-14. The investment data is
further substantiated by definitive
signs of improvement in capital
goods production.
There are several reasons for
slow investment pick-up. Before the
global financial crisis, companies had
built up high production capacities
in anticipation of continued
demand. However, demand remains
muted in the country following three
years of high inflation. Additionally,
delays in land acquisition and
environmental clearances have led
to a bloated pipeline of stranded and
delayed projects. In turn, this has
resulted in stressed bank assets so
that banks are inhibited from
undertaking additional loan burden
for new projects. Further, the high
interest rates have been a big
deterrent to new investments as
projects are rendered unviable. Low

profitability of corporates also
reduces available resources. The
elevated level of stalled projects has
meant subdued demand down the
value chain. A still-vulnerable global
economic environment has not
contributed to the overall investment
scenario in India, especially as
exports are contracting. Policy action
for reviving investments, growth and
employment must be continued at
an accelerated pace. To begin with,
there is need to drastically reduce
interest rates at one go by 1.5
percentage points. This would both
incentivise consumers to purchase
durables and make project
investments more attractive.
Infrastructure projects require
continued attention and Prime
Minister Narendra Modis monthly
interaction under Pragati would help
speed up infrastructure construction.
Budget funds allocated for
infrastructure need to be speedily
implemented, including for
programmes such as Smart Cities and
Digital India. A National Asset
Management Company may be
considered to take non-performing
assets off banks balance sheets,
which would unlock lending for
investments. The financial sector
should shift from a bank-dominated
system to a diversified regime with
multiple financing options,
particularly for long-term funding.
The 4 Rs Regulation, Risk
Allocation, Renegotiation and
Resourcing need to be addressed
to revive projects. Given that 101
projects worth Rs. 25,399 crore are
stuck in disputes with the National
Highways Authority of India, a
stronger dispute resolution
mechanism in the infrastructure
sector would help unblock funds.
On ease of doing business,
there is need to shift from a sequential
to a simultaneous approval system.
79


Low-risk industries may be exempted
from certain clearances, while
provision of utilities to new factories
should be streamlined. Certain rules
and sections of the new Companies
Act impose additional burdens and
need to be reviewed carefully. The
NITI Aayog could be designated as
the coordination centre for central
ministries and States on administrative
procedures. Special attention is
required for credit access for small
and medium enterprises (SMEs), and
we recommend that 15 per cent of
priority sector lending should be
earmarked for SMEs. Ease of doing
business needs to be tackled for
SMEs through single windows, selfcertifications and e-governance.
Regarding manufacturing, certain
focus industries in labour-intensive
and advanced sectors should be
championed, including automotives,
defence, and textiles. In particular,
incentives for Research and
Development and Information,
Communication Technology and
Electronics manufacturing would
help reduce imports. A Make in India
Technology Venture can be set up
as a special purpose vehicle under
public-private partnership to invest
Rs 1 lakh crore in building a
knowledge economy. The Digital
India vision requires simplification of
procurement process and a joint
government-industry task force to
address challenges. Start-ups should
be supported through a suitable
scheme.The government has taken
many positive steps for a progressive
tax policy. Dispute resolution
mechanisms, arbitration and
conciliation can further help in
efficient and time-bound clearance
of funds in dispute.
An unsound
recommendation
A big let-down amid an
otherwise progressive narrative in the
Department of Telecommunications
80
recent report on net neutrality is its

recommendation to bring voice over
internet protocol-based (VoIP)
domestic calling services, including
applications such as WhatsApp,
under licensing. The suggestion is
that such services be regulated
through exercise of licensing powers
available under section 4 of the
Indian Telegraph Act to ensure a
level playing field. This does not
straightaway mean such calls will be
chargeable. The more obvious
implication is that such applications
cant operate without the
governments permission, which
might be granted only on the
fulfilment of certain conditions or the
payment of a fee, or both. The DoTs
report is by no means final and
binding. Still, the stated logic behind
such a suggestion is open to question.
The report says telecom companies
may become reluctant to invest in
expansion
of
broadband
infrastructure in an environment
where apps that provide similar
calling services eat into their
revenues. Dont telecom companies
benefit from the apps that ride on
whatever services they provide?
Doesnt more app usage mean more
data consumed, which in turn mean
more revenues for telecom
companies?
The recommendation could
be flawed on multiple grounds. One,
there is a good chance that if the
suggestion is implemented the
consumer might be worse off for it.
But before that, there is a big
question mark over whether
differentiating a domestic VoIP call
from an international one is possible
at all. Bar this recommendation, the
report does seem to largely reflect a
nuanced understanding of the
complexities of todays internet
world.
This is true even of its references
to zero-rating schemes, under which
the user is offered data or access to

some sites free of cost. True, critics
have taken the report to task for not
recommending a ban on them. But
there are novel zero-rating schemes
where the user is given free data and
not a pre-selected bouquet of sites,
as Facebooks internet.org does (the
report doesnt seem to be in favour
of this).Its heartening that the report
repeatedly pitches for net neutrality,
the principle of data equality that is
important to ensure the internet
remains a level-playing field. At the
same time, it shows pragmatism in
saying that enforcing net neutrality
principle is a new idea and may throw
up many questions and problems as
we go along, and that this may
require a process of oversight. The
report is laced with quotes, including
this one from Archibald Putt:
Technology is dominated by two
types of people: those who
understand what they do not
manage, and those who manage what
they do not understand. It is to be
hoped India doesnt live up to this.
Yes to multi-stakeholderism
India declared its support for
multi-stakeholder governance of the
Internet at the ICANN 53 meeting in
Buenos Aires and at the first
Preparatory Meeting for the U.N.
General Assemblys overall review of
the implementation of the World
Summit on Information Society
outcomes earlier this month. This, in
combination with the governments
efforts at consultative policy-making
in the context of net neutrality, may
signal the beginning of a more
discursive
approach
to
communication policy. Indias
statements at both meetings have
drawn attention thanks to the
countrys place in the decade-old
furious debate still raging over global
Internet governance. Countries such
as the U.S. and Germany have
advocated a multi-stakeholder


model that consults governments,
industry, civil society and technical
community while making decisions
that affect the Internet. This is
consistent with these countries
domestic
approach
to
communication policy, which
includes independent regulators that
conduct wide consultations and
frame policy after accounting for the
concerns of various stakeholders.
India has opposed this point of view
in the past, favouring the multilateral
model in which national
governments make decisions through
an equal vote, arguing that this is the
most equitable model. This has been
consistent with Indias domestic
command-control communication
policy, which has tended to confine
citizen participation in governance to
the casting of the vote. The change
in Indias stand globally signals
potential openness to consultative
policy-making. Since multistakeholder governance is an
ambiguous term , the governments
approach
to
domestic
communication policy may be a good
indicator of its intentions for the
Internet. In this context, it is worth
taking a close look at how the net
neutrality policy is being made. A
clear effort has been made at
consultation and responsiveness. It is
a promising start and may be the
beginning of consultative decisionmaking that gives citizens more
avenues to discuss the best way for
them to access information.
Consultative governance of
Internet policy will mean significant
changes both in the process followed
and in our deep-seated attitudes
towards governance. If the
government has to develop the
uncomfortable habit of being more
immediately responsive and
accountable for decisions, we the
stakeholders also need to take
responsibility for our own
communication policy. For
consultations to work, we will need

to provide well-researched inputs
and a continued willingness to
engage and see other points of view,
which is a habit that will also take time
to develop. The net neutrality
consultation was a promising debut
in which the government took the
time to listen and respond, and a
range of citizens made the effort to
contribute and engage. This is not the
first time that India has flirted with
the idea of multi-stakeholder
governance. At the IGF 2012, the
then Minister of Communications and
Information Technology, Kapil Sibal,
spoke of the Indias support for the
multi stakeholder model. Following
this, the government set up an
advisory group for the India Internet
Governance forum, and frequently
invites inputs including in the net
neutrality consultation.
The recent net neutrality
consultations are a step in the right
direction. The departments decision
to call for public comment and
response to the report is
commendable, especially since the
department is under no legal
obligation to do this. If India is serious
about consultative decision-making,
it will be worthwhile to build the more
ad hoc processes followed for the
net neutrality report into a constantlyimproving system. The TRAI has
experience with inputs from public
consultations, and we have a lot to
learn from other democracies that do
this on a regular basis. Indias fears
about multi-stakeholder governance
have always had their roots in its
concerns about decision-making
being dominated by corporations,
especially U.S.-based corporations.
This is why our government has
consistently supported the traditional
Westphalian governance model
based on reasoning that a multilateral
conversation between governments
is likely to be more equitable than one
in which international companies that
are larger than most countries can

dominate. It is good to see that the
Indian government is interrogating
this standpoint. This is in keeping with
this governments overhaul of systems
to modern decision-making and
accountability systems. India will still
need to work out details and build
on existing efforts like the net
neutrality consultation and the multi
stakeholder advisory group. We will
need to carefully craft our policies to
ensure that the process goes beyond
giving industry a voice, and
encourages independent inputs that
effectively safeguard citizens rights.
Japans security dilemma
The security legislation
proposed by Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abes administration moved
a step closer to becoming law when
Parliaments lower house approved
it. The bills, which seek to rewrite the
countrys post-War pacifist security
policy, are now before the upper
house. Over a period of seven
decades, Japans security policy,
shaped under a war-renouncing
Constitution
following
the
misadventures of the imperial regime,
has been focussed on self-defence.
But the present bills seek to replace
the self-defence doctrine with
collective self-defence, that would
allow Japan to send troops abroad to
rescue allies under attack. This big
shift in approach makes the legislation
controversial and unpopular.
According to recent polls, only a
quarter of the Japanese population
supports the legislation. But Mr. Abe
seems determined to take it forward.
This is mainly because of two
inter-connected factors. First, Japan
has come under huge pressure from
the U.S. to revise its security doctrine.
During Mr. Abes visit to the U.S. in
April 2015, both Japan and the U.S.
announced new security guidelines
which urged Tokyo to take more
responsibility in their bilateral
81


security arrangement. Mr. Abe
promised U.S. lawmakers to approve
a new defence bill package by this
summer. This explains why the Prime
Minister is in a hurry to get the bills
passed despite opposition. Second,
the nationalist politician that Mr. Abe
is, sees it as a necessity to have an
outward-looking security policy to
contain Chinas rise. He had earlier
proposed to have a strategic
diamond of four maritime
democracies Japan, the U.S.,
Australia and India to counter
Chinese influence in the Pacific. Mr.
Abe has criticised Chinas territorial
ambitions in the South China Sea, and
Tokyo and Beijing have a dispute over
islands in the East China Sea held by
Japan.
But the question is whether the
move to reorient the pacifist security
posturing, which ensured peace over
the last seven decades when Japan
rose as an economic powerhouse
from the ruins of the Second World
War, would help Tokyo address its
security challenges, or lead to a flareup of tensions in an already volatile
East Asia. If the latter happens, that
would create wrinkles in East Asian
stability as the rivalry between China
and Japan, that has historical
dimensions, would worsen. That will
not be in the interest of either Japan
or Asia. Japan should also be wary of
joining the great game between the
U.S. and China in the Pacific one
an existing super power and the other
a rising super power. Instead, it
should focus on solving its problems
with China bilaterally, and work
towards essential regional stability.
For that to happen, the best way will
be to continue its acclaimed policy
of renunciation of war.
Historic fly-by
History was made on July 14
when NASAs New Horizons became
the first spacecraft to successfully fly
by the dwarf planet Pluto, the last
82
unexplored world in the Solar

System. This it did after travelling a
distance of nearly 5 billion kilometres
since its launch in January 2006. The
scientific treasure that has been
returned since then by the baby
grand piano-size spacecraft has
already dramatically surpassed
expectations. A satellite carrying the
ashes of Clyde Tombaugh, the
astronomer who discovered Pluto in
1930, confirmed Plutos pride of
place as the largest object in the
Kuiper belt: Pluto was demoted to
dwarf planet status in August 2006
after the discovery of Eris, of similar
size, in the Kuiper belt. Contrary to
expectations, the first close-up image
revealed that the surface of Pluto was
not riddled with any impact craters
formed by objects bombarding it.
Without doubt, the surface is very
young, probably less than 100 million
years old, and the only way to explain
this is by rejecting the grand old theory
of an inert Pluto made up of ice and
rock. Instead, the dwarf planet is
geologically active with an internal
heat source that drives the engine,
and it has some yet-to-be deciphered
mechanism that refreshes the surface
from time to time; tidal heating can
be ruled out as Pluto does not orbit
any giant planet. Similarly, the
existence of high mountains, possible
volcanoes, fault lines, rift valleys and
other features underlines the
presence of active tectonics. Similar
to the crater-free surface, a mountain
range jutting out 3,500 metres above
it is also less than 100 million years
old, and is one of the youngest
surfaces seen in the Solar System.
Much like Pluto, its largest moon
Charon too has a young surface with
geologically diverse features. More
images are expected to be sent on
by the spacecraft until August next
year, and these could contain
invaluable information about both
Pluto and its moon, and other objects
in the Kuiper belt.
Getting as close as 12,500 km

of the dwarf planet after travelling for
nearly a decade and covering a
distance of nearly 5 billion km is an
extraordinary achievement; scientist
Neil deGrasse Tyson likened it to a
hole-in-one on a two-mile golf shot.
With exploration being second
nature to humans, it is expeditions
such as these that awaken curiosity
and fire our interest in science. Unlike
other mega-science projects of equal
importance, space exploration has
always had the power to hold
ordinary people under a spell. Indias
m`oon mission Chandrayaan-1 and
the recent Mars Orbiter Mission
Mangalyaan, certainly rekindled
interest in science among students.
At a time when basic science appears
to have become less attractive,
expeditions such as these could help
reverse the trend.
A atonement gone too far?
It has often been heard during
discussions surrounding the 40th
anniversary of the Emergency in the
last month, that the Supreme Court
had its darkest hour in this period. For
those not familiar with the history of
the Court, it might be instructive to
understand why. In ADM Jabalpur,
the four judges in the majority, Chief
Justice A.N. Ray and his successor
Chief Justices M.H. Beg, Y.V.
Chandrachud and P.N. Bhagwati
handed down a judgment that was
fatally flawed in law. Given that the
consequences of their error were
entirely to the governments
advantage, it was widely viewed as
the death of an independent
judiciary. The excessively deferential,
almost apologetic language used by
the judges confirmed this impression.
The legal question before the Court
was whether as a consequence of a
presidential order suspending the
fundamental right to life and personal
liberty (Article 21) during the
operation of the Emergency under


Article 359 of the Constitution,
detenus who had been put behind
bars under the provisions of MISA
without any reasons being provided,
could challenge their detentions as
unlawful in a court of law. The majority
held that Article 21 of the
Constitution that had been
suspended was the sole repository
of life, personal liberty and judicial
review in the Constitution. Further,
that the rule of law in an Emergency
would be entirely what the
government said it should.
On both counts, the judges
were entirely mistaken. While it is an
arguable proposition whether there
is a right to life and personal liberty
in natural law, outside the
Constitution, there can be no
debate on the proposition that the
power of judicial review, i.e. the
power of the Supreme Court to
examine the legality of executive
action does not depend on Article
21. Thus, whether a detention order
under MISA was validly issued in
terms of the statute itself is a question
that the Court must remain
competent to adjudicate on
notwithstanding the emergency at
hand. Otherwise, under the pretext
of the Emergency, a government can
and in the case of Indira Gandhis
government did round up its
opponents in the name of national
security. In legal terms, the rule of
ultra vires, that the act of government
cannot go beyond the power
vested in it by the legislature, is
hardly a creature of Article 21; it is a
principle of common law that
predates the Constitution. Second,
as a court of law, the Supreme Court
was called upon in this case to
balance the interest of public order
in an Emergency with the right to life
and personal liberty guaranteed to
every person. Nine High Courts
called upon to perform the same
function had found a nuanced

answer by which they had held that
the right to life cannot be absolutely
subservient to public order merely
because the government declared
so the legality of detentions could
be judicially reviewed, though the
intention of the government would
not be second-guessed by the
Court. This was a delicate balance.
The Supreme Court however
reversed this view and made the
right to life and personal liberty
literally a bounty of the government.
If this genuflection did not look
perverse per se, in hindsight as the
real rationale of the Emergency
became apparent, it was
devastating for the image of the
Court as an independent institution.
It was only the dissenting
judgment of Khanna J. that spoke
truth to power. On the one hand it
did not enquire into the subjective
satisfaction of the government as to
whether an emergency proclamation
was required or whether detention
of particular persons was expedient.
At the same time, it did not provide a
carte blanche to the government,
preserving a minimal but significant
remit for judicial review to assess
whether the legal requirements for
detaining a person had been met. As
a price for his honesty, Justice Khanna
was superseded when by
convention he ought to have been
appointed the next Chief Justice of
India. With Justice Beg accepting the
governments offer in defiance of
convention, the Supreme Court
looked all too human; yet another
institution in India whose
independence lay shattered by the
government, its reputation in shreds.
Today, however, while public
interest litigation has restored the
independent image of the Supreme
Court, it has achieved this at the cost
of quality, discipline and the
constitutional role judges are
expected to perform. The Court

monitors criminal trials, protects the
environment, regulates political
advertising, lays down norms for
sexual harassment in the workplace,
sets guidelines for adoption,
supervises police reform among a
range of other tasks of government.
That all these tasks are crucial but
tardily undertaken by government
can scarcely be questioned. But for
an unelected and largely
unaccountable institution such as the
Supreme Court to be at the forefront
of matters relating to governance is
equally dangerous the choice of
issues it takes up is arbitrary, their
remit is not legal, their results often
counterproductive, requiring a
degree of technical competence and
institutional capacity in ensuring
compliance that the Court simply
does not possess. This sets an
unhealthy precedent for other courts
and tribunals in the country,
particularly the latter whose
chairpersons are usually retired
Supreme Court Justices. To take a
particularly egregious example, the
National Green Tribunal has banned
diesel vehicles more than 10 years old
in Delhi and if reports are to be
believed, is considering imposing a
congestion charge for cars as well.
That neither of these are judicial
functions and are being unjustly
being usurped by a tribunal that has
far exceeded its mandate, is
evidence of the chain reaction that
the Supreme Courts activist avatar
has set off across the judicial
spectrum.
As we mark 40 years of the
Emergency and the darkest period
in the Supreme Courts history, it
might be time to not single-mindedly
harp on the significance of an
independent judiciary. Judicial
independence, is and must remain a
cherished virtue. However, it would
be blinkered to not confront newer
challenges that damage the
83


credibility of our independent
judiciary today unpardonable
delays and overweening judges
taking on the mantle of national
government by proxy. The Supreme
Court 40 years on is a different
institution it must be cognisant of
its history but not at the cost of being
blind to its present.
India and the IS
The meteoric rise of Islamic
State into a state-like apparatus from
the detritus of the civil war and
insurgency-riven Iraq and Syria has
been well-documented. How the
terror group has managed to retain
control over territory it holds,
through a mixture of brutality, fear
and immense money power, has also
been noted widely. What is perhaps
less understood is how it has
managed to draw recruits from all
over the world. A tentative reason
being offered is the radicalisation of
some alienated Muslims even in
countries
that
promote
multiculturalism and the ease of
assimilation of minority identities
within the nation-state. Another is the
spread and reach of exclusivist
ideologies such as Wahhabism and
Salafism that are being promoted by
West Asian state actors. IS practises
with virulence even more extreme
versions of these.
It is in this context that the Union
Home Ministrys decision to formulate
a coherent national strategy to take
on IS and prevent Indians being
recruited by it must be seen. Reports
have indicated that less than a dozen
Indians have joined IS in the past
year, even as IS symbols have been
seen in places such as Kashmir at
rallies led by separatist groups. The
NDA government and the Prime
Minister have gone on record saying
that IS has negligible support among
Muslims in India. This is accurate. ISs
millenarian and medieval notions of
84
Islam treats Muslims who do not

adhere to its ideology, especially
members of other non-Sunni sects of
Islam, as apostates. Islam in India, on
the other hand, has a broad syncretic
reach; despite the presence of a
fundamentalist streak among certain
pockets, Islam in India has generally
been spared from the overweening
influence of West Asian Wahhabism
or the Saudi version of Salafism. In
other words, the possibility of the
ideological influence of groups such
as IS coming to play in India is limited.
Yet, there is the distinct possibility of
IS targeting or influencing
disaffected youth among the
community. Radical groups have
spread their influence in the last
decade owing to grievances and
disaffection, following incidents such
as the Babri Masjid demolition and
the Gujarat riots, and some of them
have linked up with terrorist groups.
The Indian states ability to hold true
to its secular fabric and to its
Constitution will determine how far it
can stem such disaffection. The
threat of IS in India has to be tackled
not just by means of a securityoriented response through
coordination among police and
intelligence agencies as has been
proposed by the Home Ministry
but also by ensuring that the grounds
of this disaffection among Indias
largest minority community are
addressed in a just way.
The Iran deal,
a triumph for diplomacy
U.S. President Barack Obama
and his Iranian counterpart Hassan
Rouhani deserve credit. From the
very early days of his presidency, and
when compared with the hostility
towards Iran advocated by his
predecessor, Mr. Obama had taken a
pragmatic view of the nuclear standoff. The Obama administration
continued with the sanctions, while
at the same time signalling his
readiness to engage with the Islamic

Republic. Tehran responded
positively to this outreach, leading
both sides to hold secret negotiations
in early 2013, in Oman, an
understated American Gulf ally that
has good ties with Iran. The election
of the moderate Rouhani as Irans
President in August 2013 breathed
new life into the diplomatic process.
But historical enmities do not always
get resolved only by the commitment
of leaders. While leaders vision and
resolve are an imperative, their efforts
should be pushed by other factors,
notably political, economic and
geopolitical, for comprehensive
solutions to deep-rooted crises. In the
case of Iran, there was a confluence
of such factors that were in favour of
a peaceful solution.
Mr. Rouhani is not the first
Iranian President who expressed a
willingness to engage with the West.
In 1995, former President Hashemi
Rafsanjani had offered a $1-billion oil
deal to an American company, in an
apparent readiness to engage with
the U.S. economically, but U.S.
President Bill Clinton scuttled the
deal. Reformist Mohammed Khatami,
who was President during 19972005, had called for dialogue
between the peoples of the U.S.
and Iran. The Clinton administration
welcomed this, and U.S. State
Secretary Madeleine Albright even
reiterated our [the U.S.s]
willingness to engage in officially
authorized discussions with Iran. In
the early years of the Bush
presidency, both Iran and the U.S.
seemed to be on a new path of
cooperation. And, after the
September 11, 2001 terror attacks in
the U.S., Iran had even assisted the
U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and
participated in international efforts
to establish a new Afghan
government.


Mr. Obama became President
at a particular juncture of American
history. The country was in the midst
of an economic crisis; its people were
tired of the wars the previous
administration fought, and from a
strategic point of view, American
power was in steady decline. Its socalled leadership of the world was in
a state of disarray. There was also a
vibrant anti-war movement in the U.S.
These factors forced the Obama
administration to recalibrate the
countrys foreign policy. There was
also a realisation in the administration
that one more full-scale war in West
Asia would be even more disastrous
for the region. The administration
faced daunting challenges in Asia:
stabilising Iraq and Afghanistan;
neutralising terror groups operating
from within the region and dealing
with Iran, all without risking one more
major war. The way ahead was to
open the door of diplomacy for Iran.
This is because Iran is a spoiler
regional power, as the University of
South Floridas Mohsen M. Milani puts
it; one that is insufficiently powerful
to shape West Asia to its own liking,
but sufficiently powerful to make it
costly for the U.S. to achieve its own
goals. So, the Obama administration
chose to engage with Iran, hoping to
bring the spoiler power to the table
of stability.
But the decision in Iran to get
into direct talks with the U.S. was
taken much later, and it was triggered
by a silent reformist movement that
gradually gained prominence in
Tehran. Reformists were very active
in Tehrans power corridors when
Khatami was the President, but they
couldnt bring in any meaningful
measures those years because of
resistance from the conservatives. The
mass protests that broke out after the
controversial re-election of Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad in 2009 were a moment
of reckoning for the elite in Tehran.
Though Khamenei endorsed Mr.
Ahmadinejads victory over Green

movement leader Mir Hossein
Mousavi, the unprecedented
protests had already turned the
tables. In two years, streets in the
Arab world witnessed scenes of
protests against dictatorships,
sending alarm bells ringing across the
region. Iran was particularly
vulnerable as the countrys economy
was in a bad shape following the
sanctions. Public resentment against
Mr. Ahmadinejad was overflowing.
On the regional front as well, Irans
sphere of influence was on the wane
after the rise of the Islamic State (IS)
and the civil war in Syria. Khamenei
had to make a choice: either continue
the same conservative (foreign and
domestic) policies and risk public
anger (which in Egypt and Tunisia
proved fatal for even wellentrenched regimes), or adapt to
new realities, engage with the outside
world and explore ways to unfreeze
the countrys real potential. He chose
the latter, displaying a degree of
statesmanship on the issue.
Besides the internal dynamics,
the new geopolitical realities in Asia
also played a crucial role in bringing
the U.S. and Iran together. For
example, the U.S. shares more
strategic interests with Iran in Iraq
and Afghanistan than any other Asian
country. Take the case of Iraq, a
country that the Americans helped
destroy. Several key cities in the
northwest are in the hands of IS. If
Baghdad falls, it would be a setback
for both American and Iranian
interests in West Asia. America
doesnt want to send ground troops
to Iraq and its aerial campaign alone
cant defeat IS. It needs allies on the
ground, and the battle for Tikrit in
Iraq has shown that American
warplanes and Iranian-trained Shia
militias can coordinate in attacking
IS. In Afghanistan, both sides have
coordinated once in taking on the
Taliban. The Revolutionary Guards

had worked with U.S. special forces
in the 2001 war. Iran would not like
to see the Taliban returning to power
in its neighbouring country, which
would not only be a strategic blow,
but also be a direct threat to millions
of Afghan Shias. The U.S., which has
withdrawn most troops from
Afghanistan, now wants Irans help
in stabilising the country.
So the stage is set for greater
cooperation. And the deal on the
nuclear issue has removed one of the
major
obstacles
in
real
rapprochement. What next? The U.S.
would like Iran to no longer be a
spoiler power and instead play a
stabilising role in West Asia, suited to
its interests. On the other hand,
before effecting any structural
change in its foreign policy
orientation, Iran would seek strategic
assurance from Washington that it
would not return to anti-Iranism. But
the road ahead is not easy. There are
conservative opponents on both
sides to such a rapprochement.
Besides, two of the U.S.s key allies in
the region Israel and Saudi Arabia
would resist any attempt to bring
Iran into the diplomatic mainstream.
Will the U.S. be able to withstand their
pressure and build a new arena for
partnership with Iran? Or will the
Iranians, with the sanctions removed
and economically empowered, ditch
the U.S. and go to the Russians? Only
time will tell.
Constitutional conversations
on Adivasi rights
Even 67 years after
Independence, the problems of
Adivasi communities are about
access to basic needs. These
include, but are not restricted to,
elementary education, community
healthcare, sustainable livelihood
support, the public distribution
system, food security, drinking water
85


and sanitation, debt, and
infrastructure. For them, equality of
opportunity remains largely
unfulfilled. In this context, it is
important to stress that the values of
tribal culture are transmitted in a
manner that protects the right of the
bearers of knowledge to determine
the terms of the transmission
without
exploitation
or
commodification. Nor can the
Adivasis unhindered access to land
and forests, including full access to
the commons, especially in
scheduled areas, be understated.
Tribal communities have, over the
decades,
witnessed
the
fragmentation of their habitats and
homelands and the disruption of
their cultures through predatory
tourism. All this has left them
shattered and impoverished. Entire
communities across States have
been dispossessed systematically
through state action, and have been
reduced from owners of resources
and well-knit, largely self-sufficient
communities to wage earners in
agriculture and urban agglomerates
with uncertain futures. Yet, we can
scarcely forget that the rights of tribal
communities in India are protected
by the Constitution and special
legislations.
While most of these
protections are available to groups
named in The Constitution
(Schedule Tribes) Order 1950,
there are some tribal communities
that fall within the categories of
Scheduled Castes (SC) and Other
Backward Classes (OBC) and some
that dont fall into any of these
categories. Within the category of
Scheduled Tribes (ST), there are
over 500 groups listed of whom
roughly 70 are part of the subclassification Particularly Vulnerable
Tribal Groups, a small cluster of
86
groups that include the Jarawas of

the Andaman Islands, the Chenchus
of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana,
and the Baigas of Chhattisgarh.
These groups face an acute crisis of
survival, evident in their rapidly
dwindling numbers. Therefore, they
are in need of special protection
even within the larger ST category,
protections in relation to non-tribal
communities as well as in relation to
other
tribal
communities.
Notwithstanding these complex
intersections and overlaps (and
exclusions in some instances), tribal
communities, especially the STs, are
the subject of special constitutional
attention.
The right of tribal peoples to
development through pathways that
affirm their autonomy and dignity, as
set out in Article 21 and under
Schedules V and VI of the Indian
Constitution, is often seen as the core
of Adivasi rights. And indeed, they
are. The oft-quoted Samata judgment
of 1997, rich in its defence of the
rights of Adivasi communities to their
homelands, posits an inter-reading of
Articles 14 (equality), 15 (nondiscrimination), 16 (equality of
opportunity), 17 (abolition of
untouchability), 21 (life and liberty),
23 (right against exploitation) from
the Fundamental Rights chapter of
the Constitution and Articles 38
(securing a just social order), 39
(guiding principles of policy) and 46
(promotion of educational and
economic interests of SCs, STs, and
other weaker sections) from the
Directive Principles of State Policy.
Article 19 of the Constitution is
commonly understood, through text
and case law, as a provision that
protects freedom of speech,
expression, assembly, association,
movement, residence and calling.
The first clause of Article 19 reads as
follows: 19(1) All citizens shall have
the right (a) To freedom of speech
and expression; (b) To assemble

peaceably and without arms; (c) To
form associations or unions; (d) To
move freely throughout the territory
of India; (e) To reside and settle in
any part of the territory of India; and
(f) omitted (g) To practise any
profession, or to carry on any
occupation, trade or business. Clauses
19 (2) to (4) set out the reasonable
restrictions to speech, assembly and
association in the interests of public
morality, decency and integrity and
sovereignty of the state these
aspects and their restrictions are what
figure most often in animated fashion
in debates around Article 19. Clause
5 of Article 19 reads as follows: 19
(5) Nothing in sub clauses (d) and
(e) of the said clause shall affect the
operation of any existing law in so far
as it imposes, or prevent the State
from making any law imposing,
reasonable restrictions on the
exercise of any of the rights
conferred by the said sub clauses
either in the interests of the general
public or for the protection of the
interests of any Scheduled Tribe
(emphasis added).
In other words, an important
part of Article 19 protections have to
do specifically with protection of
interests of STs (Clause 5) as distinct
from other marginalised groups
through limitations on right to
freedom of movement [sub-cause
1(d)] and right to freedom of
residence [sub-clause 1(d)]. This, I
would argue, when read with existing
protections (for instance as set out in
Samata or similar cases) offers a core
and express fundamental right
protection to Adivasis (as distinct
from legal/ statutory protection) from
a range of state and non-state
intrusions in scheduled areas as well
as from the perennial threat of
eviction of Adivasis from their
homelands.
It is the interests of STs that are
paramount in this fundamental right


provision, which is presented
importantly as a restriction on an
enumerated right that is clear and
specific not a restriction of a
general nature, namely, the
sovereignty and integrity of India
or public order, decency or
morality, as is the case with the other
constituent freedoms in Article 19.
Understanding the situation of tribal
communities is key to understanding
the Constitution, its framework and
its possibilities in the fullest sense.
Perhaps it is time to reinvigorate our
reading of the Constitution in the
troubled times we live in. We may find
answers to other questions as well
around an idea of justice that we
grapple with every day.
Give the RBI its
independence
A new era in monetary policy
formulation is set to start with the
Union Finance Ministry releasing the
revised draft of the Indian Financial
Code (IFC). It provides for the
setting up of a Monetary Policy
Committee (MPC) to debate on
monetary affairs and decide the
policy rate. This move is in line with
practices in many of the developing
countries where the central banks
have pursued the committee
approach to address monetary
policy issues. Currently, the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI), the monetary
policy regulator, goes by the views
of a Technical Advisory Committee
(TAC) on such issues. The TAC
comprises officials from the RBI
besides a few external experts. It
advises the central banker on the
monetary policy stance based on
macro-economic and monetary
developments. However, the RBI
Governor has the last word, and the
right to veto any decision of the TAC.
The draft IFC, submitted by the
Financial Sector Legislative Reforms
Commission (FSLRC) headed by
former Supreme Court judge B.N.

Srikrishna, has suggested that the
MPC members be appointed after
due consultations between the
government and the RBI. It has also
recommended that the government
have three nominees in the sevenmember MPC. The FSLRC, however,
has recommended veto power for
the RBI Governor. The revised draft
circulated for public discussion by
the Finance Ministry, however, seeks
to vest in the government the power
to nominate four members to the
MPC. It proposes that no veto power
be given to the Governor, and that at
best he be allowed a casting vote to
use in the event of a tie.
In the context of the continuing
uneasy relationship between the
fiscal and monetary bosses and in light
of the changing dynamics of the
domestic economy owing to assorted
factors falling outside policy controls,
the importance of a cohesive action
plan should not be underestimated.
Given this, it is not incorrect to allow
the government a say in matters of
monetary policy. The revised draft,
however, seems to be trying to push
too much of government into
monetary matters. Seen in tandem
with its earlier bid to remove from the
RBI the public debt management
function, this move only appears
intended to undermine the RBIs
autonomy, which had actually
succeeded in insuring the Indian
economy against the profligate
policies of successive governments,
and the financial shenanigans in other
economies. If the government is to
have majority control in the MPC, what
is the point of giving the RBI Governor
the right to a casting vote? Fiscal
bosses have fixed tenures, unlike
institutions such as the RBI that are
not subject to electoral cycles.
Prudence suggests that RBI and like
institutions must be allowed to
function independently.
A subsidy and some

questions
The Central governments
decision this week to extend the
interest subvention scheme on bank
loans given to land-owning farmers
at 7 per cent is essentially a welcome
move. This is especially so in a context
where there is no real clarity on how
the current monsoon will turn out to
be, running at a deficit of 7 per cent
as it does currently. With an additional
subvention component of 3 per cent
to encourage timely repayment,
farmers can effectively avail
themselves of up to Rs. 3 lakh at just 4
per cent interest. This scheme,
basically offering a sort of agricultural
subsidy, has been in place since
2006-07, with the subvention
component fluctuating between 1.5
and 3 per cent. With agricultural yield
levels and incomes per acre falling or
languishing, the need to extend such
loans to farmers at low interest levels
admittedly exists.
However, what is less clear is the
purpose for which many of these
loans are being put to. The Reserve
Bank of India recently initiated an
investigation into the apparent
diversion of agricultural loans for
unintended purposes. It would
appear that farmers existing debts
to money-lenders, weak supervision
of credit utilisation and the
categorisation of gold loans as
agricultural loans are creating
significant grey areas and avenues for
loan amounts to be used for purposes
other than farming. At certain points
of the cropping cycle farmers need
large amounts of money and they turn
to money-lenders, who charge high
rates of interest and often insist on
their loans being re-paid first which
forces farmers to divert a part of the
subsidised bank loans to repay them.
Some farmers put the amounts in
fixed deposit accounts to earn higher
interest than what they pay. Most
farmers do not earn enough to meet
87


their needs, including consumption
expenditure, and so these loans serve
as an auxiliary source of income. The
government needs to recognise the
fact that the system of interest
subvention will increasingly finance
consumption rather than farming, and
take one of two steps. It could instruct
banks to step up scrutiny on the use
the loan is being put to. Or it could
rethink the manner in which it wants
to subsidise farmers. Implementing
direct transfers to bank accounts and
investing in research and
development to bolster crop yields
should serve the same purpose that
the low-interest loans currently serve.
This step will have the added
advantage of potentially improving
the plight of farmers. The soft loans
are a good idea that needs to be
managed and supervised well in
order to ensure that the intended
outcomes are ensured, and that they
help address actual distress in the
field.
Left stranded
on strange shores
According to the latest World
Bank figures, India continues to be
the leading country in remittances,
drawing in $70 billion to the countrys
economy from its global migrant
workforce in 2014. China doesnt lag
far behind, pulling in $64 billion. The
Philippines, ranked third, gets less
than half of what India does ($28
billion) from its migrant population.
This gives an idea of how much
remittances contribute to Indias
foreign exchange reserve, to society,
and to families in India. And this
figure is only expected to grow, with
the International Organization of
Migration predicting that India will
also soon emerge as one of the largest
migrant-sending countries of the
world. Ironically, however, although
we have data on the number of shoes
or cars exported from India, we have
no clear idea of the number of Indian
88
migrants. The first holistic attempt to

estimate the number of migrants was
made during the tenure of the
National Democratic Alliance-I
government. Its High-Level
Committee on the Indian Diaspora
reported that there were 16 million
Indian diaspora. The number
increased in the foreword of the
report to 20 million. Later, the United
Progressive Alliance government-I,
which set up the Ministry of Overseas
Indian Affairs (MOIA), estimated the
number to be 25 million.
As members of the Committee
set up by the MOIA to draft a
migration policy, we submitted a draft
about five years ago. But the
Emigration Management Bill is still
waiting to be placed in the public
domain for debate. There are three
stages in a migrants life cycle: the
time before departure, the time spent
in the new country, and the
rehabilitation process after return. A
look at the governing structure at each
stage shows that India is probably the
only country in the world where
migration is managed by three
different Ministries: the passport is
issued by the Ministry of External
Affairs (MEA), emigration clearance
for Emigration Check Required (ECR)
passports comes under the MOIA,
and departures are managed by the
Bureau of Migration of the Ministry of
Home Affairs (MHA). So, how do we
coordinate migration? A major
drawback of the existing system is the
application of the Emigration Act of
1983. Till 1983, emigration flows took
place without a proper administrative
or legal framework, though certain
provisions of the Emigration Act of
1922, which did not cover the
emigration of people with technical
qualifications and professional
expertise, were invoked at times, as
a matter of convenience.
Unfortunately, the 1983 Act also
brought into force a new system of
emigration clearance under which
no citizen of India was permitted

to emigrate without PGE
authorisation.
Subsequently,
subscribing to the logic of protection
by exception, two kinds of passports
were created: Emigration Check
Required (ECR) and Emigration
Check Not Required (ECNR). Though
the Passports Act 1967 talks of only
three types of passports, ordinary,
official and diplomatic, in practice
there are two classes of ordinary
passports: ECR and ECNR. This system
needs to be abolished at the earliest
because ECR passports can be
imaginatively interpreted as
Exploitation
Compulsorily
Recommended. These passport
holders are exploited at every stage
of migration: at passport offices, by
the protector of emigrants officers,
recruitment agencies, travel agents,
airports, and emigration and customs
officials. An inclusive approach that
recognises just one category
irrespective of their educational
qualifications who might emigrate
safely and through legal channels, is
urgently required.
Emigration clearance is
managed from just nine locations
across India, with an approved 1,439
recruitment agencies as of 2012. Of
these, about 58 per cent exist only
on paper. The administrative
apparatus itself has accentuated
corruption as a result of the nexus
formed between erring government
officials and recruiting agencies, said
the MOIA in Parliament in September
2007. The governance structure
needs a complete revamp to make
migration easy. Equally bad is the cost
of migration. According to the Kerala
Migration Survey 2008, a person
migrating from Kerala to Saudi Arabia
spent Rs.74,606 almost four times
more than the PGE-approved service
charges of Rs. 20,000 for unskilled
workers. Nurses report that they pay
about Rs. 3 lakh at the time of
recruitment. As Indian workers, both


skilled and unskilled, are in demand
everywhere, the costs of migration
should be brought down to a
minimum or to zero cost of
migration. Another problem is at the
destination where workers depend
on the Indian Embassies. For instance,
in both Saudi Arabia and the United
Arab Emirates, which host about 20
lakh Indian migrants each, the direct
contact for most workers on any issue
is the labour attaches affiliated to the
Indian Embassy. In both countries,
only two labour attaches are available
in both the embassies and the
consulates. Assuming that each
attache has 20 workers to help them
handle labour issues, 40 aides per 20
lakh people is not only meagre, but
unacceptable to take care of the
workers problems. The third
problem is the lack of a rehabilitation
policy when migrants return. An
effective rehabilitation policy will
help migrants use their enhanced
skills when they return home. Take
for instance, migrants who have
worked in the construction sector for
about 10 years in Dubai where they
would have acquired skills that will
be in demand in fast-growing cities
such as Kochi. Do we encourage and
offer them re-employment? Do we
even know the exact numbers of
those who return to India?
It is high time India gave its
migrants their share of rights in return
for the amount we receive in
remittances. A strong migration policy
is the only way forward.
Winds of change in West
Asia
There has been no dearth of
hyperbole on the nuclear agreement
signed last week in Vienna between
Iran and the P5+1 (the United States,
the United Kingdom, France, China,
Russia and Germany along with the
European Union). U.S. President
Barack Obama was the most
restrained when he said that the deal
offers an opportunity to move in a

new direction; Iranian President
Hassan Rouhani called it a good
agreement when he announce(d) to
our people that our prayers have
come true. On July 20, the
Agreement was submitted to the U.S.
Congress for a mandatory 60-day
review. U.S. Speaker John Boehner
slammed it as a bad deal that paves
the way for a nuclear Iran and
vowed to do everything possible to
scuttle it even as Mr. Obama warned
that he would veto a negative
decision by Congress. Senator
Lindsey Graham, a Republican
presidential candidate, described it
as a most dangerous irresponsible
step, while a group of 60 former
secretaries, national security advisers,
military generals and ambassadors,
led by former secretary of state
Madeleine Albright and former
secretary of defence William Perry
issued a statement welcoming it as a
landmark agreement unprecedented
in its importance... Russian President
Vladimir Putin said that the world
heaved a sigh of relief while German
Chancellor Angela Merkel called it a
hugely important success.
The nuclear dimension of the
agreement
is
relatively
straightforward. Two years ago, Iran
was perceived to be just a few
months away from acquiring enough
highly enriched uranium to produce
a bomb. A covert cyber operation,
widely believed to be a joint U.S.Israeli effort, using the worm,
Stuxnet, damaged a number of
centrifuges in 2009-10 but the
programme has rebounded since
then. There was no certainty that a
U.S.-backed military strike would
succeed in taking out Irans entire
nuclear capability. Collective
economic sanctions had worked up
to a point because these were
intended to give diplomacy a
chance. The U.S. was convinced
that under the circumstances,

negotiations were the only way
forward. Iran had to step back from
the nuclear threshold, from a lead
time of months to a year plus. Further,
it had to accept intrusive
inspections to give out the
reassurance that it was not cheating.
The U.S. needed to be certain that
sanctions could snap back into
place in case Iran tried a breakout. It
was not an ideal solution but the
best under the circumstances.
While Iran could still sustain
the sanctions and survive, sanctions
relief was necessary for higher
growth. Equally important for Iran
was the narrative that it was within
its rights as a member of the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty to build an
enrichment capability for peaceful
purposes. Iran could accept more
intrusive verification provided this
right was conceded. That meant
retaining the capability while
accepting constraints on exercising
it for a period of time, which could
be negotiated. A deal would also
bolster Irans standing regionally.
Under the JCPOA, the number of
centrifuges has been reduced by
more than two thirds and enrichment
will be restricted to a single facility at
Natanz. The remaining centrifuges
will be mothballed and the Fordow
enrichment facility will be converted
into a nuclear, physics, technology,
research centre where no fissile
material can be introduced. From its
existing stockpile of nearly 10 MT of
partially enriched uranium, Iran will
retain only 300 kg of uranium
enriched to a level of 3.6 per cent;
the rest will be shipped out. The
Arak heavy water reactor will be
redesigned and Iran will not
undertake any reprocessing activity.
While the duration of the agreement
is 10 years, the International Atomic
89


Energy Agency verification
provisions will remain in effect for an
additional five years. Restrictions on
designing and the production of
new centrifuges will remain in force
for 20 years while monitoring of
uranium mining and milling will
continue for 25 years and verification
covers the supply chain of nuclear
related components. While defence
related sites like Parchin have been
kept out of the nuclear related
facilities, there is a provision for
seeking inspections if treaty violating
activity is suspected. In case of a
dispute, a 24-day time frame is
provided for adjudication by a joint
commission to be set up under the
JCPOA. Nuclear-related imports are
permitted but will be channelled
through a designated procurement
channel.
In return, all nuclear related
sanctions will be lifted. This will
gradually permit nearly $100 billion
of blocked funds to be released and,
more significantly, permit Iranian
banks and financial institutions to
resume
their
international
engagement. A number of
institutions and individuals will be
taken off the sanctions list.
Signals from gold prices
The yellow metal dominated
the world market scene all of last
week. Gold slumped to a five-year
low, slipping to an intra-day low-point
of $1,072.30 by Friday. A late rally
that day, however, pushed prices
back to around $1,100 an ounce. At
best, it helped pare losses from last
Monday when the price slid to its
lowest since March 2009, to
$1,088.05 an ounce. The Comex
gold futures for August still ended
their fifth consecutive week in
negative territory. Though the rally
suggests that there could be an
improvement in market sentiment,
the bearish undertone persists among
90
retail investors. At the moment,

everyone in the international
marketplace is wary of gold. Indeed,
price movement is set for an uncertain
phase, at least in the near-term. The
reasons behind the slipping interest
in gold is not difficult to fathom. A
looming rise in the U.S. interest rate,
for the first time in nearly a decade, is
playing the villain. At the moment, a
stronger dollar remains the topic that
dominates discussions in the
marketplace. An inadvertent release
on a rate forecast on the website of
the Federal Reserve, though it was
subsequently withdrawn, only
helped to confound the confusion.
Understandably, all eyes are now on
the Federal Reserve. Will it pull the
trigger on rate hikes? Nevertheless,
the dipping global oil prices hold
hope for investors in gold. A
protracted oversupply situation, weak
demand, the Greek crisis and the
Chinese market fall have all come
together to pull oil prices down. The
fall of oil could yet prove a rescuer
for gold. If there is a serious
consequential fallout on U.S.
domestic inflation, the oil price fall
could slow the Feds tightening
policy. A sustained recovery in gold
prices, it appears, is inversely related
to the growth prospects of the U.S.
economy.
What does the fall in gold
prices portend for India? The
country consumes 800 to 900
tonnes of the metal annually, and
depends on imports to meet its
entire demand. Gold and oil
comprise a large part of Indias
imports in terms of value, and
consequently they are major
contributors to the countrys trade
deficit. To an extent, the fall in gold
prices could moderate the import
bill in the near-term. There is a flipside to this, though. A strengthening
dollar could nullify the impact of the
fall in gold prices. Indians have
traditionally attached a sentimental

value to gold. Given this, the
government has to go the extra mile
to coax them to park idle gold in
banks and earn interest. The situation
is tailor-made for the Central
government to exploit this to its
advantage. The proposed gold
monetisation scheme, for example,
must be made a lot more simpler and
common man-friendly to aid this
process.
All eyes on Pluto
The enhanced images of Pluto
that were recently released by Nasas
New Horizons team were truly
dazzling, showing red and orange
shades of the dwarf planet, flowing
ice in its heart-shaped feature, some
smooth plains and some mountains
and craters. Pluto was observed with
ground and space-based telescopes,
and its best images showing an
immense dark band called the Whale,
a bright heart-shaped feature, evenly
spaced dark spots stretching for
approximately 1,600 kilometres
across the equator, and a recently
found polygonal feature were
taken using the Hubble Space
telescope. Before Plutos fly-by on
July 14, interest in existence of life
beyond Earth was rekindled by the
findings from the Mars rover Curiosity
and Asteroid Mission Rosetta. Indias
Chandrayaan-1 and the Mars Orbiter
Mission, both demonstrating
technological prowess and
generating scientific interest, also
inspired the younger generation in
the country to choose a career in
science. But why is there such
increased interest among scientists in
Pluto, located 5.8 billion kilometers
from the Sun and at the edge of the
solar system? Part of the excitement
stems from the fact that space is an
ideal laboratory for scientists. Its
vastness enables fundamental
experiments, orders of magnitude
more accurate than on Earth,


eliminating the influence of gravity,
atmosphere, seismic noise and other
interactions. These astronomical
observations help us learn about the
microscopic and macroscopic
structure of the universe. Lunar and
planetary missions, over the years,
have provided extremely valuable
scientific data on the formation and
evolution of planets and their moons.
That Pluto was discovered in
1930 as the ninth planet of the Solar
system is well-known. Twenty years
after its discovery, astronomers
postulated the presence of the
Kuiper Belt, comprising a vast
collection of icy objects beyond the
orbit of Neptune, in which Pluto
itself was a member. The first Kuiper
Belt Object (KBO) was discovered
in 1992 throwing doubt over
Plutos status as planet and since
then observers have found more than
1,000 KBOs, with diameters ranging
from 50 kms to almost 2,400 kms. The
International Astronomical Union in
2006 chose to classify Pluto and the
recently discovered large Kuiper
Belt Objects as dwarf planets. The
Kuiper Belt contains a sizable supply
of ancient, icy and organic material
that are held in deep freeze, and
that were left over from the birth
pangs of the planets, containing
evidences of the distant past.
Because of this, planetary scientists
are keen to learn more about Pluto
and its moons, Charon (the largest),
Styx, Nix, Kerberos and Hydra, and
other objects in the Kuiper Belt.
The size of the Kuiper Belt and
its shape and general nature appear
to be much like belts seen around
other stars. Additionally, when
scientists used computer modelling
to simulate the formation of KBO, as
the solar system was coalescing from
a whirling disk of gas and dust, they
found that the ancient Kuiper Belt
may have contained at least 10 times
more mass than what it is today to give

rise to Pluto and Charon and the other
KBOs. It is estimated that there may
have once been enough material to
form another planet the size of Uranus
or Neptune in the Kuiper Belt.
Astronomers are keen to study the
formation of Pluto and its moons. The
prevailing theory of the formation of
Pluto system is that Pluto collided
with another large body, and much
of the debris from this impact went
into orbit around Pluto and eventually
coalesced to form Charon. Pluto has
a reflective surface with distinct
markings that indicate polar caps.
Charons surface is far less reflective,
with indistinct markings. And while
Pluto has an atmosphere, Charon is
not known to have an atmosphere.
There is a sharp contrast in the surface
characteristics of Pluto and Charon,
which is intriguing if they had a
common birth. Interestingly, Plutos
density, size, and surface
composition are strikingly similar to
Triton, Neptunes largest satellite,
considered to be a captured planet
from the Kuiper Belt. A similar
collision theory is also in place to
explain the creation of Earths moon,
and hence the study of Pluto and
Charon could help scientists
understand the history of our own
planet.
Pluto is about 40 times farther
away from the Sun than Earth, has a
diameter of about 2,380 kms, and
orbits the Sun once every 248 Earth
years. It is a rocky icy planet with 35
per cent by mass being ice. Its
atmosphere comprises mainly
nitrogen, methane and carbon
monoxide that regularly transition
between solid and gas state and
is extremely rarefied. Plutos surface
gravity is about 6 per cent of Earths
gravity and its estimated surface
temperature is about (-) 233C. Its
atmosphere is also over 50,000 times
less dense than Earths atmosphere.
Pluto has a thin, tenuous atmosphere

that expands when it comes closer
to the Sun and collapses as it moves
farther away similar to a comet.
Furthermore, Plutos surface
temperature varies greatly because
of the planets eccentric orbit and
polar tilt. As the planet moves farther
away and cools, the average surface
temperature is expected to drop
and most of the atmosphere will
freeze out on the surface. As a result
of this and also because the planet
rotational axis is tilted by 28, Pluto
may have the most complex seasonal
patterns in the solar system.
Scientists believe that Plutos
atmosphere loses a lot of mass into
space. The thermal energy of typical
molecules in the upper atmosphere
is sufficient to escape Plutos
gravitational hold, a process called
hydrodynamic escape. The same
may have been responsible for the
rapid loss of hydrogen from Earths
atmosphere early in our planets
history, making Earth suitable for life.
Pluto is the only place in the solar
system where we can study
hydrodynamic escape on a planetary
scale today.
The first dedicated spacecraft
platform to explore Pluto at close
quarters was NASAs New Horizons,
launched in 2006 from Florida. Its
closest approach to Pluto was on
July 14, 2015, the closest point being
12,500 km from Plutos surface at a
velocity of 14 km/s. It has seven
scientific instruments comprising an
ultraviolet imaging spectrometer to
probe atmospheric composition and
surface structure, a visible and
infrared camera/spectrometer to
obtain high-resolution colour maps
and surface composition maps, a
long-range telescopic camera for
high-resolution surface images,
particle spectrometers to measure
91


solar wind charged particles in and
around Plutos atmosphere, a
detector to measure masses of
space-dust particles and two copies
of a radio science experiment to
examine atmospheric structure,
surface thermal properties and the
planets mass. The one-way time for
communication is 4 hours 25
minutes. NASA plans to turn around
the spacecraft once it passes Pluto
and try to map the planets night
side, which will be softly illuminated
by the moonlight from Charon. At
this time, a powerful radio beam will
be sent from Earth. This will aim to
pass through Plutos atmosphere and
reach the spacecrafts. By measuring
the effects of atmospheric refraction
on the radio beam as it travels to the
spacecraft, the temperature, density
and composition profile of the
atmosphere all the way to the
surface can be estimated.
Valuable insights into the origin
of the outer solar system and that of
planet and satellite systems are
expected to be discovered from the
data sent by NASAs New Horizons.
This will raise scientific fervour all
around.
Benchmarks for banks
Public sector banks (PSBs) have
been critically evaluated in the last
few months because of stressed
assets including rising nonperforming assets (NPAs). There is a
need to critically review the
performance of PSBs and the factors
that are responsible for such high
stressed assets, especially when tax
payers have to provide resources for
recapitalisation. The sectoral analysis
based on latest available data for
December 2014 from the Reserve
Bank of India reveals that industry
continued to record high stressed
assets at 17.9 per cent of advances
followed by services at 7.5 per cent.
The retail sector, in which private
92
banks (PRBs) have a dominant share,

recorded the lowest stressed assets
at 2 per cent. The sub-sectoral
analysis reveals that mining, textiles,
iron and steel, infrastructure and
aviation are the major contributors to
stressed assets, followed by food
processing, engineering, vehicles,
wood, paper, glass and glassware,
and construction. Thus, the
economic slowdown is clearly
transmitting through waves and
ripples across different sectors of the
economy.
If carefully analysed, PSBs
account for a substantially large
share of stressed assets in mining,
iron and steel, textiles, infrastructure
and aviation as compared to PRBs
because of substantially larger
exposure to these sub sectors.
Illustratively, PSBs account for 17.6
per cent of advances to
infrastructure as compared to 8.4 per
cent of the PRBs, while stressed
assets were 30.9 per cent compared
to 18.2 per cent, respectively. Similar
are the results when comparison is
extended to other stressed sectors.
Thus, when granularly analysed,
relatively, the performance of PSBs is
not inferior to that of PRBs. Also, the
sub sectors referred to previously
generally require a large amount of
resources, which only PSBs have the
wherewithal to provide. In general,
the areas of major stressed assets are
precisely those where policy
paralysis and episodes of stalled
projects were most dominant,
namely mining and infrastructure.
The airlines industry, globally, is very
quickly impacted by the slowdown,
and in addition, specifically in India,
the demise of a prominent domestic
luxury airline was understandably a
major factor for the stressed assets in
aviation. The sluggish demand in
slowing Western economies and
deteriorating competitiveness
against China and Bangladesh has

led to restructuring of loans by the
textile industry. The dumping of
steel in India by China is now clearly
emerging as an issue and the survival
of domestic manufacturers with
implications for employment is the
most critical factor for continuation of
financing of the steel industry. Most
importantly, it deserves recognition
that PSBs responsibly supported and
significantly partnered with the
government in containing the impact
of the global meltdown since 2008.
Though India has weathered a
significantly higher ratio of stressed
assets during the initial period of
reforms in 1993-94 and a similar ratio
of about 13 per cent in 2001, the
current critical situation should be
used for introspection and
undertaking structurally corrective
measures. In addition to the issues
raised in the Nayak Committee
Report (RBI, 2015) such as tenure of
the chairman, bank boards and an
overarching banking investment
company, there is the need to ensure
that top positions of PSBs are not left
vacant for prolonged periods. In fact,
a waiting list should be readily
maintained, and an overlap period for
an understudy for a month should be
provided to the incoming official to
ensure continuity. Further, following
the Gopalakrishna Committee Report
(RBI, 2014), nearly 8 lakh serving
officials in PSBs, filtered through a
rigorous procedure, should be skilled
through high-quality training to
ensure enhanced efficiency in
operations. This would be more
useful than recruiting a few
management graduates from elite
institutions at high salaries every year,
like a drop in an ocean, to transform
the working environment in PSBs.
The governments proposal to
try senior officials from PRBs to chair
PSBs can be expected to yield
positive results and should be


experimented in a few banks initially
before scaling up to many more.
Interestingly, efficient and
experienced officials from PSBs are
regularly poached by PRBs. To
ensure that every employee is made
aware of the responsibility of their
collective action, regular wage-hike
fixation and incentives should not be
industry-wide but only restricted to
the performance of the respective
banks. Finally, the proposed
capitalisation of PSBs should not be
offered as a matter of routine but
made conditional on strict
performance criteria and a specific
roadmap for recovery, placed in
public domain to ensure
accountability. Since the first
nationalisation of State Bank of India
in 1955, followed by more in 1969
and 1980, PSBs were created to
pursue social objectives and focus
on banking the unbanked.
Consequently, PSBs have been at
the forefront in rural areas and have
been relentlessly pursuing
implementation of government
welfare schemes o in terms of
priority sector lending, and pension
and insurance, including those
recently announced.
PSBs, admirably, despite
pursuing social objectives, are
competing well on various financial
parameters with PRBs. But the
authorities need to consider that in
the absence of a level playing field,
should PSBs and PRBs be evaluated
on similar norms? Illustratively, to be
fair to the PSBs, the owner and
regulator should take cognisance of
the fact that in opening 16.5 crore
Jan Dhan accounts within six months,
without seeking additional manpower, these PSBs would have
deployed all their resources at the
cost of other activities. In contrast,
PRBs only opened 68 lakh Jan Dhan
accounts. Therefore, the norms and
benchmark for these unique financial

creatures typical to India have to be
designed, especially for PSBs, and
comparison and contrasts of
performance evaluated among
themselves. The incomplete growth
and welfare-based agenda of the
new government, especially the
Make in India campaign, will again
need
active
support
of
geographically widespread PSBs.
Therefore, comparison of socially
oriented PSBs with profit-oriented,
citycentric PRBs needs to be
revisited. Further, given the
acceptability of transparency in
operations, globally, should India not
offer an alternative set of benchmarks
for its time-tested and faithful PSBs?
After all, the world does accept
different standards, and the nonimplementation of the Basel banking
norms by the U.S. has not impacted
financial markets, either.
Borders vulnerable
beyond J&K
The terror attack, on Monday,
July 27, by a three-member crossborder fidayeen unit on the
Dinanagar police station in Gurdaspur
district, Punjab, has reignited
concerns about the revival of
terrorism in the Punjab region, after
the Khalistan movement had been
effectively put down in the 1990s.
There are heightened concerns, as
Jammu and Kashmir is again
witnessing a spike in militancy, after
years of declining levels of violence.
This has raised the spectre of a
possible linkage between Khalistani
terrorists and jihadi outfits, previously
attempted but without success.
Instead, as militancy in Jammu and
Kashmir intensified in the 1990s,
levels of violence in Punjab began to
decline. The concerns are genuine
as both militant groups pay
obeisance to a common master viz.,
Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence
(ISI). The latter, notwithstanding the
occasional shifts and changes seen

when a civilian government is in
power in Islamabad, remains
undeterred in its policy of weakening
India through a thousand cuts.
Hence, this attack outside
Jammu and Kashmir is a wake-up call
for India. Several months of relative
peace from terrorist attacks appear
to have lulled both the government
and the security apparatus into a
sense of complacency, subsumed in
the belief that the rhetoric and
aggressive mien of the new
government would act as a
deterrent to provocations from
Pakistan. Nothing could be further
from the truth. The ISI construct is
essentially that of deviating from the
theory of compellence of
economist Thomas Schelling, and
involves
initiating
actions,
irrespective of the consequences of
such actions. Therefore, peace
moves and dialogues will not
constrain the ISI. Rather, it would
encourage further provocations.
Hence, calling off National Security
Advisor (NSA)-level talks would
hardly matter in so far as the ISI is
concerned. The ISI holds the key to
any change in Pakistans attitude
towards the conduct of relations
with India. However, there is no
evidence whatsoever of a change in
the ISIs thought process. Rather, the
organisation seems to be further
hardening its approach, encouraged
by the statements of Pakistans Army
Chief of Staff, General Raheel Sharif,
that Kashmir is the unfinished
business of Partition, and the
Lashkar-e-Taiba chief, Hafiz Sayeeds
call for an all out war against India.
Consequently, speculation that
the ISI is working behind the scenes
to actively foster close links and
cooperation between jihadi militants
and Khalistani elements cannot be
disregarded. As it is, there is
93


confirmed intelligence of increasing
cooperation and coordination among
Sikh radical groups abroad, specially
in Europe and the United States.
There is also intelligence about their
growing tilt towards joining hands
with other anti-India elements,
especially Kashmiri militants. The
Babbar Khalsa, the Khalistan
Liberation Front and the Khalistan
Tiger Force already have links with
Pakistans Lashkar-e-Taiba. The ISI is
also known to have undertaken the
training of some of the Khalistani foot
soldiers, in addition to training and
equipping Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaishe-Mohammad cadres and those
belonging to other pro-Pakistani
terrorist outfits. This apart, the ISI
seems intent on exploiting what it
perceives as an element of strategic
confusion that prevails in India on
what is the right approach to be taken
towards Pakistan.
Punjab is the camphor needed
to reignite the jihad in Jammu and
Kashmir, as also to enlarge the arc of
terrorist violence within the country.
The modus operandi terrorists
dressed in military fatigues, exploiting
chinks in the international border (as
distinct from the Cease Fire Line/
Line of Control) in Jammu and
Kashmir and now in the Punjab, the
use of the Global Positioning System
and modern gadgets to attack
preselected targets including police
stations, security installations and
high profile targets, all carry the
hallmark of planned and properly
calibrated actions drawn up by
counter intelligence specialists
belonging to the ISI. Hence, dealing
with this will need a great deal of
heart-searching, on what can and
needs to be done. It would entail a
drastic overhaul of the existing
security system. In addition, it would
call for a major change in approach
on the part of the political leadership
and those in-charge of the
intelligence
and
security
94
establishment. The main imperative

should be to significantly upgrade
the ability of intelligence agencies
and security forces to detect, disrupt
and destroy sources of threat ahead
of any such action on their part. In
short, we need a system with multilevel indication and warning
windows, accompanied by
considerable support from members
of the community in short a citizen
intelligence network.
Better
knowledge
of
technology is important to enable
counter-terrorist agencies to deal
with the growing complexity of
communication methodologies
being exploited by terrorist groups.
The digital world has been both a
positive and a negative factor and it
is important that counter-terrorist
agencies remain ahead of the curve,
to deal with the current crop of
terrorists. This will include
interception and monitoring of
communications and analysis of
metadata. Border security has
become critically important. The
system that exists on the Jammu and
Kashmir border including the
concept of an intelligence grid
needs to be extended to the other
border States like Punjab and
Rajasthan. Jammu and Kashmir has a
three-tier system in place, and while
it is not foolproof and may need
further strengthening, Jammu and
Kashmir is far better protected than
other border States. Instead of being
relegated to merely dealing with
infiltration, border guarding forces
also need to be involved to a greater
degree in the effort to garner ground
level intelligence. This will provide
greater defence in depth. Police
stations, not only in the border areas
but also in the hinterland, should be
suitably mobilised and their
capacities enlarged, since they, in a
sense, provide intelligence and vigil
at the bottom of the pyramid.

Freedom after many
midnights
Even the sternest of critics of
Indian foreign policy will find it a
tough task to question some of the
diplomatic feats that New Delhi has
managed to notch up of late. The
settlement of the dispute related to
the maritime boundary with
Bangladesh in July 2014, albeit after
an intervention by an international
tribunal, was one of these. And as if
to mark its anniversary, the longrunning land boundary dispute was
buried in July. The enclaves on both
sides were exchanged quickly after
the required formalities by the
midnight of July 31. Settlement of
inter-country disputes especially
those that involve sacrifice of territory
are always the most remarkable of
achievements, howsoever cordial
their relationships might be. So
settling a dispute that involved issues
that ran counter to the very opening
lines of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights of the United Nations,
that recognises equal and inalienable
rights of the human family to
freedom, justice and peace, is a
creditable achievement. Indeed, the
enclave issue involved the denial of
the right to freedom and justice to
many. It had its roots in Partition. Now,
as the national flags of the respective
countries fly in the 162 former
enclaves, it is time for the state to set
up the infrastructure as quickly as
possible to mitigate the trauma of
citizens who lived without a country
for decades. From now on, the
diplomats responsibilities are less
than those of the local administrative
authorities.
The enclave question was
tossed around for too long and was
never seriously acted upon. The
obfuscation of justice helped none.
Now the questions of citizenship and
legality can be redefined. The illegal


Bangladeshis of the enclaves
predominantly those from the
minority community have become
legal because the states felt the time
was conducive to award the
inalienable right to the poorest of
the poor. Perhaps if there were
different sets of political parties,
leaders or diplomats in both the
national capitals, the enclavedwellers would still have been
considered a security threat and
arrested across the line, as was being
done until just last week. There are
more people now crossing continents
and concertina wires for survival
more often than not without statestamped papers and thus it may
well be the time to recollect and
record the memories of our nationals
who suffered just for being born in
the enclaves. Maybe what we need
now is not a powerful state or a
diplomat, but a historian to document
the plethora of personal narratives on
both sides, which are otherwise
bound to be forgotten. For in the
words of Tolstoy, Historians are like
deaf people who go on answering
questions that no one has asked
them.
Challenges of conflict
diplomacy
The abduction of four teachers
in Libya by militants is another
reminder of the dangers facing
Indians working in crisis zones
abroad. India was one of the worstaffected by the chaos and instability
in the Arab world in recent times.
Thousands of Indians who were in
countries such as Syria, Libya, Iraq and
Yemen were brought home following
civil strife or wars. But a substantial
number of them are still there,
including in extremely dangerous
places such as Sirte, where those
abducted last week were working,
driven by their need for financial
sustenance. India clearly needs to be
more proactive in its conflict
diplomacy to ensure its citizens

safety. To be sure, it is not easy to
sustain diplomatic and other security
channels up and running in such
contexts. Libya is a case in point.
After Muammar Qadhafi, who was in
many ways a unifying force, it is under
the hold of different militias. The antiQadhafi rebellion in 2011 involved a
wide range of them, from secularists
to moderate Islamists to hardline
Salafists. Once the regime fell, they
turned against one another, and no
central authority could exercise
control. This fractured political
landscape makes Libya a dangerous
place for both work and diplomacy.
But such chaos should not hold
India back from opening and
sustaining diplomatic and security
channels. In the recent past, India
has done a commendable job in
evacuating its citizens from conflicthit countries. But its track record in
rescuing its citizens from kidnappers
has been a mixed one. While it
managed to bring back some 100
nurses who were held by Islamic
State in Iraq a year ago, the fate of 39
other Indians abducted by militants
in June 2014 from Mosul is still
unclear. Two of those taken from the
outskirts of Sirte last week are still in
captivity. India cannot afford to leave
such cases unresolved as many of its
citizens will continue to work in
conflict zones abroad. It needs to
have a contingency plan to deal with
such situations. It should frequently
and systematically update its citizens
working overseas, particularly in West
Asia and North Africa (WANA), on
the security situation there through
advisories. Even while being mindful
of the livelihood concerns involved,
people living in extremely dangerous
areas such as Sirte and Mosul should
be persuaded to return, much the
same way those who were in Yemen
or Syria were brought back. The
national security establishment
should actively cultivate ties with
influential actors in the region, to help

solve issues such as kidnappings.
More important, New Delhi should
prudently stay out of the conflicts in
the Arab world. Its stakes are high as
millions of Indians are working in the
WANA region.
Revampi g Indias
scientific ecosystem
A newspaper headline, The
Lament and the Lash, made waves
recently. Interestingly, it was a report
on how Chairman Emeritus, Infosys
Ltd., N.R. Narayana Murthy had
lamented, while delivering the
convocation address at the Indian
Institute of Science, on July 15, 2015,
that India has not produced a single
invention that became a global
household name. let us pause and
ask what the contributions of Indian
institutions of higher learning
particularly IISc and IITs [Indian
Institutes of Technology], have been
over the last 60-plus years to make
our society and the world a better
place. Is there one invention from
India that has become a household
name in the globe? Is there one
technology that has transformed the
productivity of global corporations?
Is there one idea that has led to an
earth-shaking invention to delight
global citizens? Folks, the reality is
that there is no such contribution from
India in the last 60 years., were his
words.
However, Mr. Murthys focus on
the value that could be created for
society by the outgoing class of 2015
is not misplaced. IIScs founders, J.N.
Tata and the Mysore Maharaja,
Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, had hoped
that the institute would contribute to
the material benefit of society. In
turn, Mr. Murthy asked the students
to realise the ideals of the founders.
However, these ideals have evolved
based on interpretations by the then
leadership; therefore, today, some
realignments may be needed. For
95


example, there is a massive wave of
entrepreneurial energy coursing
through the nations arteries. If we
could connect this enthusiasm with
excellence in basic and applied
research in our higher educational
institutions, the possibility of a new
growth engine that has more
enduring value seems within reach.
This synergy needs a new alignment
around the theme of translational
research a concept easy to
describe but hard to execute as it
disturbs the order. At SelectUSA
2015, Google executive chairman
Eric Schmidt reasoned why the
United States continues to hold the
innovation advantage its
outstanding centres of higher
education and the clusters of
enterprises around them. He talked
about Vannevar Bush, the engineer,
inventor, founder of Raytheon and
science administrator par excellence,
who had enabled this in the postWorld War II era. President Roosevelt
had challenged Bush, as Director of
the Office of Scientific Research and
Development, to make a plan for the
post-war period. Bush then penned
the now classical declaration,
Science the endless frontier in July
1945. He was not advocating
applied over basic research. It
must be noted that basic research
leads to new knowledge and
provides scientific capital. New
products and processes do not
appear in final form as if by magic,
but are painstakingly developed by
scientific enquiry.
In post-Independent India too,
we have seen similar tasks being
presented to Homi Bhabha, Vikram
Sarabhai, Meghnad Saha and C.V.
Raman by Jawaharlal Nehru. For
example, in 1947, C.V. Raman
proclaimed that vast powers are
placed in the hands of man by
successful research which opens up
a vista of possibilities for its
beneficient application in the relief
96
of the fundamental ills of humanity,

namely hunger, poverty and disease.
For perhaps the first three decades
after 1947, India did experience a
great period of development driven
by the passion to create and innovate
for the material advancement of the
nation. This was manifested in the
public sector undertakings as there
was no real capital available from the
private sector for this kind of
institution building. Committed
leadership was present through those
years. The image of IISc created by
scientist-engineer Satish Dhawan to
drive important initiatives in space,
electronics, machine tools, aviation
and rural technologies remains its
legacy. Incidentally, the Indian IT
industry owes a great deal to
visionaries in the government in the
1960s and 1970s. The Department of
Electronics identified software led
exports as a segu for Indian export
promotion in 1972 and provided
resources to buy computers and get
the private sector up to speed.
Software technology parks in the
1980s and 1990s enabled industry to
import equipment at competitive
prices, avail tax holidays and access
free connectivity to the Internet. The
leg up that industry received in these
two decades is often overlooked in
the facetious praise of benign
neglect by the government as the
reason for the IT sectors success. The
truth is that the government provided
the right help at the right time and
did not over-regulate the sector a
fine example of directed public
policy in technology.
In the late 1970s and 1980s,
science and higher education in the
U.S. was going through a major
realignment. The bets were on
translation and commercialisation of
federally funded research output.
The Bayh-Dole Act (1980) allowed
individual researchers and
universities to leverage funded
research output as intellectual
property that could be taken forward,

licensed or commercially exploited
to create new products, solutions
and private companies. Overnight,
professors transformed themselves
from geeks into suits, learned to hire
lawyers, negotiate with universities,
attract investors, build companies and
hand off to professionals to scale and
build value. For example, Boston and
the Bay Area in the U.S. began to
bustle with high technology
companies that sprouted at regular
intervals. Clusters formed around the
hotspots of scientific research and
regional advantage in Saxenian
terms took root. In contrast, India
chose a new alignment which might
be considered a conservative and
almost retrograde pivot. There was a
culture of singular focus on
excellence in research. Institutes of
higher education were bound tightly
to purist academic metrics
publish in high quality journals, place
your postgraduate students in centres
of excellence and ensure that the
most tutored young scientists entered
the campus. We were promoted,
feted and given awards based on
these metrics. Some correction in the
quality of research may have been
warranted. The National Centre for
Biological Sciences and the
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for
Advanced Scientific Research in
Bangalore were exemplary new
additions to the Science City and
within proximity to IISc and the
Raman Research Institute. Over the
last three decades, many new IITs,
Indian Institutes of Science
Education and Research and Indian
Institutes of Management have come
up. Publications seem to be showing
a hockey stick growth in numbers and
many young and senior doctoral
students in the diaspora are returning
home as universities improve.
The drumbeat on innovation
and entrepreneurship has been
rolling for over a decade in India. The


virtues of innovation are being written
and spoken about, with grass roots
and business innovators, incubators,
accelerators and entrepreneurs
coming up in every corner. There is a
rapid conversion of demographic
dividend into a hungama of
entrepreneurship. India now has the
worlds second largest number of
entrepreneurs, as a Google search will
show. With incubators and seed
capital becoming accessible, a
handful of start-ups attempting to
translate research are visible.
Localised versions of the Bayh-Dole
legislation have been doing the
rounds of Parliament and institutes of
higher education. While the trends
are right, the volume and velocity of
impact is still quite disappointing.
Developing on this, we need to blend
the emerging entrepreneurial
ecosystem with centres of
excellence in higher education, and
soon we would be a nation
transformed. This would require great
focus on translation of research while
extending support for excellence in
research in the basic and applied
sciences.
Nagaland: a long
road to peace
The ethnic Naga movement
began its journey in 1918 with the
formation of the Naga Club by 20
Naga members of the French Labour
Corps, who had served in World WarI in Europe. The wartime knowledge
motivated the few who came in
contact with the European
battlefield to politically organise
themselves as a distinct ethnic entity.
It also aroused in them a feeling of
Naga nationalism, which shaped the
idea of a Naga nation. The Club
submitted a memorandum to the
Simon Commission in 1929, in which
it stated that the people of Naga areas
and those of mainland India had
nothing in common between them
and hence the Nagas should be left
alone. In 1946, Naga National Council

(NNC), a successor to the Naga Club,
was formed under the leadership of
A.Z. Phizo. Phizo, with the
collaboration of eight other Nagas,
declared Naga independence on
August 14, 1947. In a 1951 speech,
Phizo argued, In the name of the
Naga National Council and on behalf
of the people and citizens of
Nagaland, I wish to make our stand
and our national position clear. We
are a democratic people, and as such,
we have been struggling for a
Separate Sovereign State of Nagaland
in a democratic way through
constitutional means as it is so called.
We shall continue to do so.
It is important to note that
several efforts were made to resolve
the Naga issue. On June 27-28, 1947,
the Akbar Hydari Agreement was
signed between the then Governor
of Assam, Sir Akbar Hydari and the
NNC, in which the Nagas right to
freely develop themselves was
respected. However, Clause 9 of the
Hydari Agreement created divisions
as it stated, The Governor of Assam
as the Agent of the Government of
the Indian Union will have a special
responsibility for a period of 10 years
to ensure the observance of the
agreement, at the end of this period
the Naga Council will be asked
whether they require the above
agreement to be extended for a
further period or a new agreement
regarding the future of Naga people
arrived at. This was interpreted by
the NNC as terminating in sovereignty.
The NNC took to arms in 1955. Indian
security forces responded with
counter-insurgency operations,
which resulted in the imposition of
the Assam Disturbed Areas Act on
the Naga Hills on August 27, 1955.
This later became the Armed Forces
(Special Powers) Act, 1958, further
amended in 1972.
In 1963, as a mechanism for
conflict resolution, the Nagaland
State was established. Yet, the

insurgency continued, as most Naga
inhabited areas were left outside the
purview of the new State. In 1964, a
Nagaland Peace Mission was created
and a ceasefire agreement was
signed that lasted till 1968. After
years of violence, another effort at
peace was attempted with the
signing of the Shillong Accord in
1975, where the NNC members
agreed to give up violence and
accept the Indian Constitution.
However, Thuingaleng Muivah and
Isak Chishi Swu, then members of the
NNC, interpreted the Shillong
Accord as a complete sellout and
revolted, going on to form the
National Socialist Council of
Nagaland (NSCN) in 1980. S.S.
Khaplang, who now heads NSCN (K),
was a member of the unified NSCN
that split in 1988 to form the two
divisions: NSCN (I-M) and the NSCN
(K).
This history of the struggle is
important as a backdrop to
understand the significance of the
Naga peace accord signed on August
03. NSCN (I-M) under Muivah and
Swu have held to the ceasefire since
its signing in 1997. The ceasefire by
NSCN (I-M) attained greater
significance after NSCN (K)
abrogated its ceasefire on March 27,
2015. Also, unlike NSCN (K), whose
leader Khaplang has failed to
maintain unity within the group, the
NSCN (I-M)s leaders and cadres have
stayed with it since 1988. Where the
NSCN (I-M) has succeeded while
groups like NSCN (K) have failed is in
establishing a presence across all
Naga-inhabited areas. It has achieved
this by holding regular Peoples
Consultative Meetings (PCMs) with
groups such as the Naga Hoho; Naga
Students Federation; Forum for Naga
Reconciliation; and the larger Naga
civil society across States. The PCMs
have reinforced the much-needed
local social networks that are the
97


mainstay of any insurgent group. This
largely representative structure has
also kept violence in check and
created an accountability mechanism
where aspirations for Naga dignity
and pride have taken centre stage.
It is notable that the NSCN (IM) has shown flexibility in relegating
the sovereignty clause to the
background and bringing to the fore
the issue of Naga identity a more
negotiable factor with the Central
government. Consequently, as I read
through the Prime Ministers speech
at the signing ceremony that set the
framework for a peaceful resolution
to the Naga insurgency, his emphasis
on restoring a sense of dignity, pride
and respect to the Naga people
stood out. This, as the 97-year-old
Naga struggle will tell you, is the core
issuefor the Nagas a recognition
of their history, dignity and culture.
The details of the Accord are yet to
be made public, especially on how
the NSCN (I-M)s complicated
political demand for a Greater
Nagalim, comprising areas in Assam,
Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur will
be negotiated. However, the
biggest breakthrough is that the
group has agreed to give up
violence and resolve all issues
peacefully. For now, this Accord has
ushered in hope, bringing joy mixed
with poignant memories to my friend
from Zunheboto and that matters
the most.
Deficient on the
safety front
The deadly derailment of two
trains in Madhya Pradesh presents
the sorry dichotomy that marks
Indias rail ambitions: the inability to
run a safe, dependable and
comfortable railway system on the
one hand, and aspirations to move
to flashy bullet trains on the other. It
may be argued that, prima facie,
98
negligence on the part of the

railways was not responsible for the
horror that visited the Janta Express
bound for Mumbai and the
Kamayani Express proceeding to
Varanasi. Railway Minister Suresh
Prabhu has said preliminary
information pointed to floodwaters
from a dam washing tracks away. If
that is true, what becomes evident is
the absence of a safety protocol to
handle operations during extreme
weather, particularly at vulnerable
points such as bridges of which
there are over 35,000 that are over a
hundred years old in the railway
system. It is imperative that the
government pays sufficient attention
to the question, and institute a
specialist safety agency of the kind
suggested by the Kakodkar
Committee, tasked with the
preparation of a time-bound action
plan to avert derailments and
collisions. In the current year, up to
June 2015, there have been 15
derailments, and the numbers have
shown a rising trend over the last
couple of years.
As the national mobility lifeline
used heavily by the
uncomplaining millions as Mahatma
Gandhi called less affluent
passengers it is vital for the
railways to make safety the top
operational priority. The Kakodkar
Committee concluded that with
constant pressure on finances,
maintenance of infrastructure has
been hit. To serve the objective
better, the mechanism to review
safety should be made statutorily
independent. Design of coaches
plays an important part in reducing
death and disability due to
accidents; Indias train coaches,
however, are far from modern, leave
alone being world-class; they require
a paradigm shift in terms of
ergonomics, use of materials and

build quality. In a fast-developing
country with an enormous reserve of
manpower, modernising on a short
time-scale should not be difficult. On
the question of safety, it needs to be
emphasised that the railways cannot
exist in a vacuum. State governments
must bear responsibility for the safety
and monitoring of the physical terrain
through which trains run, and be
prepared to handle disasters. The
decision to release water from a dam,
for instance, cannot be taken
without heed to the downstream
consequences. Again, accident
victims must have access to medical
facilities. But, prolonged neglect of
the public health system in most
States offers little hope that things
can be turned around quickly.
These derailments once again turn
the spotlight on many things that are
wrong and need urgent attention.
Between prurience
and pragmatism
The governments flip-flop on
the issue of banning websites that
carry pornographic content
highlights both policy confusion and
the difficulty involved in having a
policy on it. In its zeal to address the
concerns of the Supreme Court over
the menace of child pornography the
government asked Internet service
providers to block 857 websites. The
order was withdrawn no sooner than
it was sought to be enforced.
However, sites that show child
pornography will remain blocked.
The onus may now be on
intermediaries to ensure that
elements of child pornography are
not mixed in general pornographic
content. But this process will involve
determining the age of those
featured. The immediate reaction of
some sections of civil society appears
to be that any ban on watching
pornography encroaches on citizens


right to privacy, and that what they
should or should not watch inside
their home ought not to be anyones
concern. Also, a cyber ban may be
counter-productive as technological
means to bypass such restrictions are
available. However, is a hands-off
policy on online pornography in
consonance with the legal position?
While there is no single law that
criminalises the gamut of making,
distributing, publishing and watching
pornographic material, there are
enough legal provisions to bring
pornographic content under the
ambit of criminal law.
Section 292 of the Indian Penal
Code makes distribution of obscene
material a crime; Section 67 of the
Information Technology Act makes it
an offence to publish or transmit
obscene material in electronic form;
and the Protection of Children from
Sexual Offences Act makes using
children in pornographic acts and
storing such material for commercial
purposes punishable. There is a law
that
prohibits
indecent
representation of women. Therefore,
making pornographic films involving
children or in a manner that
represents women indecently is
illegal. Uploading such content on
the Internet is an offence too. Yet, it
may be argued that it is no crime if
adults consent to be videographed
during sexual acts and the footage is
uploaded from outside the country.
In any case, watching such content
in the privacy of ones home can be
no crime. Enforcing such a body of
law is not easy. Even the question of
what constitutes pornography may
be open to misinterpretation, unless
one falls back on known definitions
drawn from various legal provisions
something that appeals to the
prurient interest, or tends to corrupt
or deprave. In the circumstances, the
most pragmatic way for a government
to deal with it will be to be vigilant
against child pornography while
moving against other alleged violators

only in specific cases. Otherwise, it
may be difficult to stem the tide of
intrusive enforcement.
The meaning of cheaper oil
World oil prices, already lower
than they have been in six months,
are not likely to recover anytime soon,
going by market conditions. A further
increase in supply, compounding the
current glut, and a parallel contraction
in demand in the major consuming
nations, are likely to keep prices low.
The ongoing fall in prices stems
largely from simple demand-supply
mechanics. The shale revolution in the
United States has drastically
increased the supply of oil. And
several international events are likely
to further boost supply to levels far
exceeding demand. Notably, the
nuclear deal between Iran and the
West has further depressed prices
owing to the expectation that
sanctions on Iran would soon be
lifted, allowing it to again supply oil
to the world. In addition, Saudi
Arabia is moving strongly to increase
refinery capacity, which will further
add to global supplies. This comes
on top of OPEC output in July hitting
its highest levels in recent history. On
the demand side, the increased
supply has been met by recessionary
or slow-growth conditions in most
industrialised countries, which have
greatly moderated their consumption
since the economic crisis. Now,
however, this contracting demand
has been compounded by slowing
economic growth in China, one of the
biggest consumers of oil.
Falling oil prices serve as good
news for some, but pretty bad news
for others. Russia, for example, has 70
per cent of its export income coming
from oil and gas. Falling oil prices,
thus, have hit the Russian economy
hard the country, it is reported,
loses about $2 billion in revenues for
the fall of every dollar in oil prices.
The World Bank has warned that the

Russian economy would shrink by at
least 0.7 per cent this year if oil prices
do not rebound. On the flip side,
European economies are likely to
welcome falling oil prices, beset by
poor growth and low inflation as they
currently are. Some estimates predict
that a 10 per cent fall in oil prices
could lead to a 0.1 per cent increase
in output for them. India is one of
those countries that stand to benefit
significantly from falling prices. The
country imports about 75 per cent of
its oil needs, so cheaper oil benefits
it directly by easing the current
account deficit while simultaneously
lowering the governments
petroleum subsidy burden. However,
the latter point is now somewhat
mitigated by the fact that petrol and
diesel
prices
have
been
decontrolled. The month of July saw
two separate cuts in the prices of
petrol and diesel although the
question that really needs to be asked
is why petrol and diesel prices are
not being cut commensurate to the
fall in global prices. Will that question
be addressed anytime soon?
Turkeys complicated war
Turkey has finally joined the
war against Islamic State. It has
started bombing the terror groups
locations in the Syrian border region.
It has also allowed access for U.S.
aircraft to two of its airbases,
departing from its long-held
position. Despite pressure from the
U.S. and other countries to do more
against IS, Turkey hardly did
anything when it was steadily on the
march in Syria, for Ankaras main goal
was to see the fall of the Bashar al
Assad government in Syria. But Mr.
Assad still controls Damascus, while
IS has grown in strength in eastern
Syria. IS attacks on Kurdish towns on
the Syria-Turkey border have
brought the Kurdistan Workers Party
99


(PKK) and its Syrian affiliate, the
Peoples Protection Units, known as
YPG, into direct conflict with the
terror group. Surprisingly, Kurdish
militias pushed IS back from several
border towns. Their increasingly
effective resistance against IS even
forced U.S. Air Force cover being
offered to Kurdish militants. Turkey
was alarmed. Its decision to join the
war against IS should be seen
against this background.
It can be argued that there is a
realisation among the elites in Ankara
that IS poses a threat to Turkeys
interests and that triggered its
participation in the war. After all, the
bombing of the Turkish city of Suruc
by IS last month killed at least 33
people. But Turkey did not just
decide to attack IS. It has started
bombing PKK centres, claiming that
both the Kurdish rebels and IS are
two sides of the same coin. This
makes the Turkish strategy a
dangerously complicated one.
Ankara might assume that by
launching a two-phase attack it
could weaken both enemies. Also,
the promised joint operations with
the U.S. would help it make sure no
future air cover is provided to Kurds.
But this strategy overlooks the fact
that the Kurdish rebels were the
most effective forces against IS on
the ground. Even the U.S. air strikes
were successful only when they
were supplemented by ground
attacks. By targeting Kurds, Turkey
runs the risk of weakening the battle
against IS. Any resumption of the
war against the PKK could take
Turkey back to violence. It ought to
have focussed on its military
operation against IS while taking
forward the ceasefire with Kurds in
order to build a sustainable peace
plan. That would have strengthened
the anti-IS war, while addressing
100
internal problems. The decision

instead to give up the peace process
and bomb the Kurds raises questions
about Turkeys real intentions in the
war against IS.
A blueprint for
higher education
The National Policy on
Education (NPE) that was adopted
by Parliament in May 1986 and
Programme of Action (POA), 1986,
as updated in 1992, are perhaps the
last government policy statements on
higher education and which have
guided actions since the mid-1980s.
Now that there are new moves on the
policy front, it is necessary to identify
the key issues, build on the earlier
efforts (especially initiated after
studies by the University Grants
Commission) and then take a step
ahead. The last major initiative on the
development of higher education
was during the 11th Plan (2007-12).
The problems that confront
education today are low rates of
enrolment, unequal access, poor
quality of infrastructure and lack of
relevance. The goals remain the same
expansion with inclusion and
ensuring quality and relevant
education. In this article, I discuss
some of these issues and offer
suggestions. The first challenge to be
overcome is to increase the present
rate of enrolment of 20 per cent.
During the 11th Plan, a two-fold
strategy that was in place helped
ensure this to an extent there was
an increase in the number of new
institutions, and in the intake capacity
of existing institutions. But despite
this, our institutional capacity is still
low. We have only 722 universities,
as against the National Knowledge
Commission recommendation of
1,500. The aim should be to arrive at
a proper estimate of universities and
undergraduate institutions in order to
plan a strategy for the next 20 years
or so.
There are also related issues to

grapple with. Given the low rate of
enrolment, we need more quality
teaching institutions at the
undergraduate level. The influence
of academicians on policies and the
obsession with a flawed notion of
excellence in terms of it being only
about research have undermined the
focus of having good teaching
institutions. Nobody denies the utility
of research in teaching, but it should
not be forgotten that imparting
knowledge is equally important.
Another challenge that confronts
India is in the disparities in access to
education, especially in terms of
economic class, gender, caste and
ethnic and religious belonging. In
2008, as against an all-India
enrolment rate of 17 per cent, the
break-up for these categories was 7
per cent for Scheduled Tribes (ST),
11 per cent for Scheduled Castes
(SC), 28 per cent for Other Backward
Classes (OBC) and 47 per cent for
higher castes. In addition, it was 9 per
cent for Muslims, 18 per cent for
Hindus and 30 per cent for Christians.
In a comparison of disparities
between the poor and the affluent
and in terms of income levels, it was
6 per cent for the bottom 20 per cent
of society as against 37 per cent for
the top 20 per cent. The expansion
of the private, self-financing
education sector, with its aim of
commercial intent, has been another
reason for the propagation of
disparities.
Between 1996 and 2008,
private institutions expanded every
year at the rate of 10 per cent. The
corresponding
decline
in
government and private-aided
institutions, by 1.65 per cent yearly,
resulted in the share of students in
the private, self-financing sector
increasing from about 7 per cent in
1996 to about 25 per cent in 2008.
For 2013, data from the Ministry of
Human Resource Development


(MHRD) put the share of private
undergraduate colleges and students
at 59 per cent and 37 per cent
respectively. In the case of
universities, out of the 712
universities, about 360 are of private,
state and of deemed status. The high
cost of private education has affected
access by the poor to education. In
2012, of the total share of students in
private institutions, the top 20 per
cent (in terms of consumption
expenditure) cornered more than
half the number of seats. The bottom
20 per cent got only 4 per cent. The
share of ST and SC students
accounted only 4 and 10 per cent
respectively as against 45 per cent
by OBCs and 41 by Others. In contrast
to the situation in India, education
has been a great leveller in Europe.
Unfortunately, here in India, unequal
opportunities have developed
unequal human capabilities and
converted education into an
instrument to further economic
inequalities. This is a new and the
next challenge. There are two ways
to deal with it. First, public and
private aided institutions must be
strengthened and expanded and the
expansion of self-financing private
institutions restricted to a reasonable
level. However, given the political
economy of private institutions, the
chances of this happening are slim.
The alternative would be to extend
poor-friendly financial assistance by
setting up a government finance
organisation, based on the models in
Australia and Canada. The present
method, of extending educational
loans from banks with interest subsidy
by the MHRD, does not help the poor.
The quality of higher education
is an equally serious problem. In this
area, the 11th Plan recognised three
areas for interventions physical
infrastructure, academic reform and
ensuring adequate faculty.
Infrastructure can be improved with
an increase in financial allocation.
Academic reform which includes

semester and credit systems, courses
by choice, and examination reform
is a process which should be
advanced only after the prerequisites are met. In the case of
faculty, which is an issue that has
assumed serious proportions, several
steps were effected in the 11th Plan.
However, it still persists. A solution
demands joint efforts being put in by
the Centre and States. One way, and
as a one-time effort, is to enforce the
University Grant Commissions (UGC)
teacher-student ratio for each State,
and ensure that the financial
requirement of additional faculty is
shared by the Centre and States.
Apart from these, there is the issue of
ensuring the access of Indian
education to global frontiers. In this,
a popular view is to allow global
universities to set up campuses in
India. However, this is countered by
some who argue that the presence
of a few quality institutions is hardly
the solution as far as the majority of
rural and poor students are
concerned. The alternative is to allow
foreign educational institutions to
enter into collaborations with Indian
institutions on a large scale. In turn,
this will help in enhancing capabilities
as far as curricular and pedagogical
practices, and student-faculty
exchanges go.
Enabling an education that is
relevant to the economy and society
is another challenge. The
development of human resources for
the economy has been translated into
action through vocational and
professional education. The last
government took the initiative by
setting up a National Skill
Development Corporation (it
brought the government and
corporate sector together to frame a
demand based curriculum), which
the present government has taken to
greater heights by creating a Ministry
of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship. But similar efforts

are lacking in social education. The
1986 policy required that: In our
culturally plural society, education
should foster universal and eternal
values, oriented towards the unity
and integration of our people. Such
value education should eliminate
obscurantism, religious fanaticism,
violence, superstition and fatalism.
This requires youth and children to
be sensitised about the problem of
inequities, poverty, undemocratic
practices
and
reiterating
commitment to upholding equality,
justice, freedom and fraternity. The
American educationist, Professor,
James A. Banks, said: the role of
education in the 21st Century is to
prepare students to know, to care
and to act in ways that will develop
and foster knowledge and skill
needed to participate in effective
action.
Another issue relates to reform
in the UGC. While attempts have
been made in the past, I feel the
UGC should have a dual structure
a governing body and a general
body. As more than 65 per cent of
our universities and about 90 per
cent of colleges are in the States,
their involvement in policy making at
the Centre is a must. The framing of
successful policies requires reliable
data, and on multiple aspects. We
are faced with a situation where we
not only do not have reliable data,
but also have had no review of
higher education for the last 50
years, the last one having been the
D.S. Kothari Commission in 1965. Farreaching changes have taken place
in higher education in the last 50
years. We desperately need a
review. We need to emulate the
model in the United Kingdom which
has an institute for education
statistics, as policy making with
reliable data has a high propensity
towards success.
101



Accountability
with autonomy
Discussions have shifted from
objectives of monetary policy to the
appropriate mechanism for
formulating monetary policy. In
February 2015, the Reserve Bank of
India and the Government of India
entered into an agreement on a new
monetary policy framework. Under
this framework, the inflation target is
set at 4 per cent with a band of +/- 2
per cent beginning 2016-17. The
Reserve Bank of India under the
agreement shall be seen to have
failed to meet the target if inflation is
more than 6 per cent for three
consecutive quarters for the financial
year 2015-16 and all subsequent
years and less than 2 per cent for
three consecutive quarters in 201617 and all subsequent years. If the
Reserve Bank fails to meet the target,
it will have to send a report to the
central government giving the
reasons for its failure to achieve the
target and the remedial measures that
would be taken by the Reserve Bank.
Thus control of inflation has emerged
as the dominant objective of
monetary policy. This is a welcome
step. The clarity with respect to the
objective
establishes
the
accountability of the central bank.
This also implies that the government
will not interfere with any action that
Reserve Bank of India may take to
keep inflation within the limits.
What is the process of policy
making currently in the Reserve Bank
of India? The Reserve Bank of India is
not an insular institution. It keeps its
ears open. Before any major policy
decision is taken, it holds extensive
consultations with banks, industry
associations, economists and various
market participants. It discusses the
various alternatives with the
Government. The Board of the
Reserve Bank of India is not involved
in the specific policy decisions.
However, the broad contours of
102
monetary policy are discussed at the

meetings of the Central Board. Since
2005, a technical advisory committee
comprising of experts, has been set
up to advise the Reserve Bank of India
on policy matters, particularly with
respect to changes in the policy rate.
The Committee remains advisory in
character and the majority view is not
binding. Ultimately, the responsibility
for the decision rests with the
Governor. The question that arises is
whether, in the context of the new
policy framework, a change is called
for in the process of policy
formulation. Even among central
banks across nations that have
adopted inflation targeting, there is
no uniform organisational structure
regarding policy making. While many
central banks have set up monetary
policy committees, there are
important exceptions. New Zealand,
a pioneer in the adoption of inflation
targeting, which became the model
for others to follow, has no committee
with external members. In fact, the
tenure of the Governor is at stake if
the inflation target is violated.
On the composition and
strength of monetary policy
committees also, there are
differences among countries that
have taken the route of instituting
such a committee. These committees
do have external members i.e.
chosen from outside central banks.
The U.S. has not formally announced
an inflation target, even though the
Federal Open Markets Committee
plays a critical role. It is however, an
old institution and its membership
reflects the federal character of the
central banking system. The
membership comprises of either
representatives of the Fed Board or
the heads of the regional Feds. The
Financial Sector Legislative Reforms
Commission in its report in 2013
recommended the setting up of a
Monetary Policy Committee. The Urjit
Patel Committee endorsed the idea
but had a different view on its

composition. If we were to set up a
Monetary Policy Committee in India,
what should be its composition? The
key issue is the proportion of external
members to Reserve Bank of India
representatives in the Committee.
There are three possible alternatives.
First, the Committee could have a
majority of members nominated by
the Reserve Bank of India. This will
help to fix the responsibility squarely
on the shoulders of the Reserve Bank
of India for keeping inflation within
the agreed limits. The second
alternative is to have parity between
the members nominated by RBI and
the external members. If there is a
tie, the Chairperson who is the
Governor, can have a casting vote.
Even in this set up, the accountability
of Reserve Bank of India holds good.
The third alternative is one in which
the majority of the committee
comprises of external members. In
this case, the accountability of RBI
can be established only if the
Governor is given the power of veto.
If the veto power is not given,
accountability gets diffused. It can
be argued that even such a
committee can be held accountable
and responsible for fulfilling the
inflation mandate. But this would be
really difficult. The best option is
either alternative 1 or 2. The crux of
the issue is accountability. The
members can be either full time or
part time. If they are full time, the
external character gets diminished.
If they are part time, care has to be
taken in choosing members so that
they are not connected even distantly
with any institution which can benefit
from policy decisions. The Monetary
Policy Committee (MPC) is identified
with its suggestions on the policy rate.
However, this does not really exhaust
the functions of the MPC. Changes in
policy rate do play an important role.
They act as signals from the central
bank. They also affect the borrowings


of banks from the central bank, which,
in turn, lead to changes in other rates.
Central banks cannot act as King
Canute. They cannot simply order the
interest rate. They must adjust the
liquidity in the system such that
changes announced are effective.
Without corresponding action on the
liquidity in the system, the rate
changes can at best have only an
announcement effect. That is why in
U.S., the Federal Open Markets
Committee (FOMC) became
important. In the earlier days any
announcement in the change in the
bank rate by the Fed was
accompanied
by
suitable
instructions to the FOMC. Thus the
MPC must focus not only on policy
rate but also other important
ingredients of monetary policy. After
all, with policy interest rates hovering
near zero level in the developed
countries, central banks are more
focused on quantitative easing. Even
though money supply does not figure
much in recent policy statements in
India, overall liquidity is a relevant
variable. Ultimately, quantity and
price are interrelated.
The recent monetary policy
framework, entered into between the
Reserve Bank of India and the
Government, is an important land
mark in the evolution of monetary
policy in our country. By clarifying the
objective of the Reserve Bank of
India, it has enhanced its autonomy.
Nothing should be done to dilute the
authority that goes with this
responsibility. There is some concern
whether the pursuit of the objective
of price stability compromises its
ability to take care of other
objectives, most notably growth. This
is not necessarily so. So long as
inflation stays within the agreed zone,
it becomes easy for the central bank
to take care of other objectives. It is
only when inflation goes beyond the
limits, control of inflation becomes
the exclusive concern of the Reserve
Bank of India. In fact the agreed

inflation target of 4 per cent with a
band of 2 per cent is really liberal.
If inflation is allowed to be at the
upper band of 6 per cent for 12 years,
prices will double. We should
actually work towards a much lower
level of inflation. Imperceptibly, we
have moved away from price stability
to inflation stability as the objective.
However even this task is going to be
difficult because of many structural
features. Adopting inflation targeting
does not make the task of formulating
monetary policy any easier. It is true
that when inflation stays outside the
comfort zone, the direction of policy
is clear. However, when inflation
stays within the comfort zone, the
direction and extent of change in
policy rate depends on the
assessment of inflation trajectory and
the overall economic environment.
On this, there can be differences of
opinion as we are witnessing today.
Any mechanism that we create such
as a Monetary Policy Committee
should not weaken but, on the other
hand, strengthen the hands of
Reserve Bank of India to deal
effectively with inflation.
Choice, identity and privacy
The Supreme Court has once
again made it clear that the
government cannot insist on the
possession of an Aadhaar card or
number as a precondition for citizens
to avail of specified benefits and
services. The court has been forced
to reiterate its earlier order to this
effect as more and more entities are
trying to link their services with
Aadhaar. From the beginning it was
clear that making Aadhaar a
mandatory requirement would evoke
resentment and cause hardship to
various sections. Some authorities
caused alarm by indicating that
people would stand to lose benefits
or be denied routine services unless
they enrolled themselves. There were
even reports that some police stations

asked for Aadhaar numbers before
registering first information reports,
and that certain educational
institutions tried to make it a prior
requirement to apply for some
courses. By making it clear that no
person should be in a position of
disadvantage on account of not
possessing an Aadhaar number, the
court has protected the right of the
people to make their own choice in
the matter. It, however, has not
brushed aside the relevance of the
Unique Identification Number
programme. It has allowed the
authorities to link the supply of goods
under the Public Distribution System
and cooking gas cylinders with
Aadhaar numbers. For all its exertions,
the government must be relieved that
to this extent its identification
programme has obtained the courts
approval.
However, the question arising
out of the scheme is not limited to
whether it should be voluntary or
mandatory. In its pursuit of better
management of and greater
efficiency in the delivery of services,
it is natural that the government
would want an identification
mechanism to authenticate
beneficiaries and consumers of its
services and welfare measures.
Previously, such a mechanism would
have posed a technological
challenge. It has now become a
political and moral question. Can a
government force citizens to enrol in
an identification programme that
involves submitting personal
information and biometric data? The
question, which involves determining
the very validity of the scheme, has
now been referred to a Constitution
Bench. The reference will also cover
the issue of the citizens right to
privacy. One of the key points in the
legal challenge is that collecting
biometric data without enabling legal
provisions and without clear norms
103



to protect the data from misuse and
theft may violate constitutional rights.
Recently, the Attorney General
caused considerable disquiet by
arguing in the same matter that
privacy is not a fundamental right.
What the country needs is not only a
safe means of digitising citizens
identity particulars but also a
comprehensive law to protect their
privacy and personal data from
unauthorised surveillance and
misuse. Anything short of that will
leave the citizen short-changed.
That familiar pattern
The ink had hardly dried on the
joint statement issued in Ufa after the
meeting between Prime Ministers
Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif
when accusations, recriminations, and
even shooting across the Line of
Control began. Not that such an
upshot was entirely unexpected,
given patterns seen in the past. The
routine has included, following any
statement of intent, phases of
commentary and political wordplay
from the respective establishments
that would go around chest-thumping
about short-sighted victories for
either side. On the other hand,
detractors would tend to nitpick
about the absence of issues that
matter, of course those that are dear
104
to them, or cavil over the controversial

clauses by overemphasising them.
This pattern has just played out again.
Added to this has been the
recrudescence of cross-border
incidents, resulting in casualties. This
time, India has accused Pakistan of
infiltration attempts in the Jammu
sector, while Pakistan has complained
that India sent in a drone and also
started firing across the border.
Attempts to follow the standard
protocol for such situations, setting
up conversations between the
respective border security forces, for
example, have also not been
possible, according to India.
The cross-border incidents in
themselves represent a major issue
bilaterally. Hundreds of such
incidents have occurred since both
countries signed a ceasefire
agreement in 2003, which are clearly
violative of it. These then beg the
question whether the agreement as
it stands is a dead letter. While many
of the violations have been a
consequence of infiltration bids by
insurgents aided by Pakistan
Rangers, the present set of incidents
clearly represent the political fallout
of recriminations following the Ufa
agreement, indeed conforming to
the pattern of the recent past.

Ideally, India and Pakistan should
strengthen the 2003 agreement by
negotiating a new and more robust
ceasefire agreement. But even that
would not do. The two governments
must work toward a robust media
and political strategy to explain any
agreements such as in Ufa to
its domestic political opposition and
even the noisy media in order to
cushion themselves from the
theatrics that inevitably follow a
thaw. It is more so in the case of
Pakistan, where the civilian
government has hardly any leeway in
working out its relations with India
given the overhang of the security
establishment. It is unfortunate that
within days of the Ufa statement,
Sartaj Aziz, adviser on foreign affairs
to Mr. Sharif, backtracked from the
terms of the joint statement by
reiterating the centrality of issues
such as Kashmir, and came out with
a litany of new complaints about
Indian interference. Clearly,
maturity and better management of
the domestic constituencies and
core establishments are sorely
needed, especially on the Pakistani
side.
General Studies (Paper - 1) & CSAT (Paper - 2) Comprehensive Manual:

IAS Preliminary Examination 2015, (Set of 2 Books)
BOOK DETAILS
Medium: English
Price: Rs. 2200 Rs. 2090/Publisher: Kalinjar Publications
ISBN NO: 9789351720485
TOPICS OF THE BOOK
CSAT General Studies Manual (Paper - 1)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Indian History
Indian Polity
Indian Economy
Geography
General Science
Environment
General Knowledge
MCQ For Practice
CSAT Comprehensive Manual (Paper - 2)

1.
2.
3.
SOLVED PAPER - 2014

SOLVED PAPER - 2013
SOLVED PAPER - 2012
COMPREHENSION & ENGLISH LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION

INTERPERSONAL & COMMUNICATION SKILLS & DECISION MAKING & PROBLEM SOLVING
GENERAL MENTAL ABILITY, LOGICAL REASONING & ANALYTICAL ABILITY
BASIC NUMERACY
DATA INTERPRETATION & DATA SUFFICIENCY
MCQ For Practice
For Full Information about Books Click below Link:

http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/books/combo-csat-paper-1-2

Space Missions
SPACE MISSIONS
Regularly missions from one or
the other institute of the world try to
uncover mystery associated with the
planets. There are various benefits
which are associated with these
missions. Major benefits include the
uncovering the mystery of life and
solving the big question how it all
started. There are various other
benefits which include economic
benefits, security benefits as well as
various other technological benefits
as well. Various missions have been
sent by NASA in the past and recently
ISRO also joined this list with the
sending of Mars orbiter mission.
Important among these missions are:
Rosetta Mission
Rosetta mission which will orbit
comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
made a landmark by becoming the
first man-made object to land on a
comet to trace the origins of life on
earth. It was launched on 2 March
2004 from the Guiana Space Centre
in French Guiana on an Ariane 5
rocket and reached the comet on 6
August 2014 becoming the first
spacecraft to orbit a comet. The
spacecraft consists of the Rosetta
orbiter, which features 12

instruments, and the Philae lander,
with nine additional instruments. The
Philae lander landed on the comets
surface on 12 November 2014.
Advantages
It is considered that the comets
delivered enormous quantities of
additional water to inner planets and
it was only earth which could retain
large amounts of water. So studying
the composition of comets
significantly
increases
our
understanding of the origins of our
planet and our solar system.
Second, comets are known to
include organic molecules, and
meteorites have been known to
contain amino acids, the building
blocks of life. More detailed analysis
of comets will help answer questions
about the origins of life on Earth.
Another reassuring aspect of
this mission that has succeeded in
finding a needle in an interplanetary
haystack is that it increases our
confidence in being able to meet and
divert any asteroid or comet that
might collide with Earth and wipe us
all out.
JUNO
NASA launched Juno in 2011
as part of its New Frontiers program.
Junos mission is look at the material
of the jupiter as well as how the planet
was formed. Juno will also look for
the relation between Jupiter and the
solar system. Jupiter is key to
understanding how this happened
because it was likely the first planet
to form. It is thus made of the same
material as that nebula.
New Horizons
New Horizons launched in
2006, this mission was designed to
reach Pluto. Pluto was one of the
planets when the mission was
launched. In 2007, the spacecraft
used Jupiters gravity to sling it into
space with a bit more speed, during
this time New Horizons captured four
months worth of Jupiter imagery and
atmospheric data. New horizon has
also taken the images of asteroid
132524 APL.
CASSINI
Cassini arrived in the Saturn
system in May 2004 and started
collecting data on the planet and its
105


Space Missions
moons. Cassini also launched a probe
into the Titan, satellite of the Saturn.
This probe to Titan is known as
Huygens; Huygens holds the record
for the farthest distance weve safely
landed a spacecraft. Cassini
continued collecting data and
stunning imagery of Saturn and its
moons. In 2005, the spacecraft made
a daring run at Enceladus and
discovered that the Saturnian moon
is venting geysers of water and ice
into space. In 2008, Cassinis mission
was extended, and it collected
samples from Enceladuss geysers.
VOYAGER 1
Voyager 1 was among the first
to reach the outer planets. Voyager 1
was designed, and sent, to study the
outer planets. It was launched in 1977
to study the Jupiter and saturn. Some
of the most famous and recognizable
106
photographs of Jupiter and Saturn

came from Voyager 1s cameras.
There are numerous discoveries
which Voyager1 has made:
Discovery of the volcanoes on
Io, Jupiters moon;
the atmospheric composition
of Saturn;
And the surface diameter of
Titan;
Voyager 1 took the first family
portrait of the Solar System,
including the famed pale blue
dot photograph of Earth.
Thirty-three years after its
launch, in 2011, scientists decided
to test Voyager 1s maneuverability.
On August 25, 2012, Voyager 1
entered interstellar space, placing it
outside of our star system (indeed,
any star system)the first manmade
object to do so. It will still be
registering and returning data on life

in the interstellar medium untill 2030.
Mars Orbiter Mission
In 2013, the Indian Space
Research Organization (ISRO)
launched the Mars Orbiter Mission (or
MOM) and became the fourth space
agency to reach the Red Planet. In
many ways, this mission precisely
shows the level of technology and
sophistication which ISRO has
developed in low budget. One of the
major goals of ISRO is to test
everything from deep space
communication to contingency
systems. So far, the mission has been
an astonishing success, and a lowcost one at that. At $73 million, MOM
is the least expensive Mars mission
ever mounted. MOM is expected to
remain in orbit until at least March
2015.

Space Missions
NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS (AMENDMENT) BILL

Investopedia says A negotiable
instrument is a written order or
unconditional promise to pay a fixed
sum of money on demand or at a
certain time. A negotiable instrument
can be transferred from one person
to another. Once the instrument is
transferred, the holder obtains full
legal title to the instrument. While
the section 13 of the Negotiable
Instruments Act 1881 defines
negotiable instruments as, A
negotiable instrument means a
promissory note, bill of exchange or
cheque payable either to order or to
bearer. This act of 1881 defines the
cheque, promisory notes and other
instruments in various sections of the
act. Act defines cheque as a bill of
exchange drawn on a specified
banker and not expressed to be
payable otherwise than on demand
and it includes the electronic image
of a truncated cheque and a cheque
in the electronic form. Act also
defines the bill of exchange as an
instrument in writing containing an
unconditional order, signed by the
maker, directing a certain person to
pay a certain sum of money only to,
or to the order of, a certain person or
to the bearer of the instrument.

Negotiable Instruments act was
passed in colonial era. In order to
make it competent to the time,
government
has
made
variouschanges to the act. Like before
1988 there being no provision to
restrain the person issuing the
Cheque without having sufficient
funds in his account. Although for the
Dishonoured cheque there was and
still is a civil liability present. In order
to ensure promptitude and remedy
against the defaulters of the
Negotiable Instrument a criminal
remedy of penalty was inserted in
Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 by
amending it. Further changes were
bought in 2003 Cheque truncation
through digitally were also included
and the amendment Act. In order to
remove the still persitant problems
government has bought the
ordinance to the Negotiable
Instruments Act, 1881.
The Bill seeks to modify the
definition of a cheque in electronic
form, and clarify the appropriate area
of jurisdiction of courts, where cases
of cheque bouncing can be filed.
The Bill also amends the definition of
cheque in the electronic form.

Under the Act, this was defined as a
cheque containing the exact mirror
image of a paper cheque and
generated in a secure system using a
digital signature. The definition has
been amended to mean a cheque
drawn in electronic medium using
any computer resource, which is
signed in a secure system with a
digital signature and asymmetric
crypto system (pair of a public key
and private key to create a digital
signature), or electronic system.
There are various other
important amendments which are
sought through a bill to the
Negotiable Instruments act, 1881.
Important among them are given
below, these changes are also
notified through the Presidential
ordinance.
Filing of cases only in a court
within whose local jurisdiction
the bank branch of the payee,
where the payee delivers the
cheque for payment through his
account, is situated, except in
case of bearer cheques;
Providing that where a
complaint has been filed
107


Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill

against the drawer of a cheque
in the court having jurisdiction
under the new scheme of
jurisdiction, all subsequent
complaints arising out of
section 138 of the NI Act
against the same drawer shall
be filed before the same court,
irrespective of whether those
108
cheques were presented for

payment within the territorial
jurisdiction of that court;
if more than one prosecution
is filed under section 138 of
the NI Act against the same
drawer of cheques before
different courts, upon the said
fact having been brought to the
notice of the court, the court

shall transfer the case to the
court having jurisdiction as per
the new scheme of jurisdiction.
All cases regarding cheque
bouncing which are pending
in any court, before this Bill
comes into force, will be
transferred to a court with
appropriate jurisdiction.

Mock Paper For GS Paper-II Preliminary Examination 2016
MOCK PAPER
For GS Paper-II
Preliminary Examination 2016
Directions for the following 7

(Seven) items: Read each of the
following two passages carefully
and answer the items that follow
each passage. Your answers to these
Items should be based on the
passages only.
PASSAGE -1
In modern India, it was
Vivekananda who first emphasized
that our everyday lives would become
more meaningful only when
spiritualized. It was in this spirituality
that he re-discovered, as it were,
Indias message to herself and to the
world. For Vivekananda, this
spiritual self-realization led to people
more fully realizing their own
potentialities. Especially in the
context of a colonized society like
that of 19th century India, this was
tantamount to men and women
locating greater self-belief in
themselves. The human soul being
free, suggested Vivekananda, more
than compensated for the loss of
political freedom. Then, there is the
love that Vivekananda consistently
exhibited for the socially
marginalized and oppressed. It is he,
who even before Gandhi, reinvented

and effectively used the older
religious idiom of God especially
residing in the lowly and the poor.
Vivekananda anticipates
Gandhi in yet another aspect and that
lies in his prioritizing social
amelioration to political work. In
this sense, his critique of the Indian
National Congress representing only
a handful of privileged men
anticipates later day criticism. Like
the Gandhi again, he insisted on first
closely acquainting himself with the
people of India before launching any
schemes of social or political work.
It was the Vivekanands consistent
desire to bring back Indias pride of
place in the assembly of nations.
Vivekananda fully believed in
universality, cosmopolitanism and
compassion. As he saw it, mutual
kindness and compassion between
man and man was more important
than that coming from a distant God.
1. What can be inferred by the
statement- Human soul
being free, more than
compensated for the loss of
political freedom?
(i) There are several

dimensions of freedom,
(ii) Spiritual freedom is
superior to political
freedom,
(iii) Human soul cannot be put
in bondage.
Select the correct answer from
the codes given below:
(a) Only (i) and (ii)
(b) Only (ii) and (iii)
(c) Only(i)
(d) (i), (ii) and (iii)
2. With reference to the passage,
consider the following
statements:
(i) Vivekananda was the first
to state the role of
spiritualization in our
lives,
(ii) Vivekananda considered
Indian
National
Congress as an elite
organization.
(a) Only (i) (b) Only (ii)
(c) Both (i) and (ii)
(d) Neither (i) nor (ii)
3. Which of the following traits
about Vivekananda are true
109


with reference to the passage?
(i) He was a humanist,
(ii) He was a nationalist,
(iii) He was an intern
ationalist
Select the correct answers
from the codes given below:
(b) (i), (ii) and (iii)
(c) Only (i)
(d) None of the combinations
is correct
4. According to the passage how
is Vivekananda akin to
Gandhi?
(i) Belief that compassion
between men is more
important than that
coming from God.
(ii) Like
Gandhi,
Vivekananda believed in
the utility of mass
participation in political,.
activities than that of elite
politics.
Select the correct answers
from the codes given below:
(a) (i), (ii) and (iii)
(b) Only (iii)
(c) Only (ii) and (iii)
(d) None of these
PASSAGE-2
The economy of India had
undergone significant policy shifts
in the beginning of the 1990s. This
new model of economic reforms is
commonly known as the LPG or
Liberalization, Privatization and
Globalization model. The primary
objective of this model was to make
the economy of the seventh largest
country in the world the fastest
developing economy in the globe
with capabilities that help it match
up with the biggest economies of the
world. The chain of reforms that took
place with regards to business,
110
manufacturing, and financial

industries targeted at lifting the
economy of the country to a more
proficient level. These economic
reforms had influenced the overall
economic growth of the country in a
significant manner. Liberalization
refers to the slackening of
government regulations. The
economic liberalization in India
denotes the continuing financial
reforms which began since July
24,1991. Privatization refers to the
participation of private entities in
businesses and services and transfer
of ownership from the public sector
(or government) to the private sector
as well. Globalization stands for the
consolidation of the various
economies of the world.
Following its freedom on
August 15, 1947, the Republic of
India stuck to socialistic economic
strategies. Government in the 1980s,
started a number of economic
restructuring measures. In 1991, the
country experienced a balance of
payments dilemma following the
Gulf War and the downfall of the
erstwhile Soviet Union. The country
had to make a deposit of 47 tons of
gold to the Bank of England and 20
tons to the Union Bank of
Switzerland. This was necessary
under a recovery pact with the IMF
or International Monetary Fund.
Furthermore, the International
Monetary Fund necessitated India to
assume a sequence of systematic
economic
reorganizations.
Consequently, the then government
initiated ground breaking economic
reforms. However, the Committee
formed by the prime minister did not
put into operation a number of
reforms which the International
Monetary Fund looked for.

statements:
(i) India accepted the
conditionalities of the
IMF in lieu of bailing out
its economy from
balance of payment crisis.
(ii) Until 24 th July 1991,
India stuck to socialistic
economic strategies.
(a) Only (i)
(b) Only (ii)
6. What have been the
components of economic
reforms since 1991?
(i) Integrating the Indian
economy with the world
economy.
(ii) Making the Indian
economy
more
competitive,
(iii) Reducing
the
governments stake in the
industries.
(a) Only (iii)
(b) Only (i) and (ii)
(c) (i), (ii) and (ii)
(d) Only (i)
7. What were the immediate
factors behind the balance of
payments crisis in 1991?
(i) Socialist Economy
(ii) Gulf War
(iii) Downfall of erstwhile
Soviet Union,
(iv) The
economic
restructuring measures of
the 1980s were not
sufficient.


(a) Only (i), (ii) and (iii)
(c) Only (ii), (iii) and (iv)
(d) (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv)
8. Students will receive Ph.d
only after passing all their tests
and submitting all their
papers. Out of 300 students,
250 passed all their tests and
215 submitted all their papers.
How many students received
Ph.d?
(a) at least 215(b) no more
than 185
(c) Exactly 215(d) at least
165
9. The distance between points
x and y is 400 meters. The
distance between points y
and z is 300 meters. Now, the
distance between points x
and z is necessarily.
(a) 100 meters
(b) 50 meters
(c) 700 meters
(d) It is impossible to
determine from the
information given.
10. A box contains 9 balls,
numbered 1 through 9. Three
balls are removed at random
from the box, one after
another, and are not replaced.
The balls that were removed
are placed on a table. How
many different possible
combinations are there of the
balls on a Table?
(a) 504
(b) 243
(c) 84
(d) 729
11. If Tribhuvan buys a red Chess
board, then Aryaman buys
green Chess board. Which
statement below is logically
consistent?
(a) If Aryaman does not buy

green Chess board, then
Tribhuvan does not buy a
red Chess board.
(b) If Tribhuvan does not buy
a red Chess board, then
Aryaman does not buy
green Chess board.
(c) If Aryaman buys green
Chess board, then
Tribhuvan buys a red
Chess board.
(d) If Tribhuvan buys a red
Chess board, then
Aryaman does not buy
green Chess board.
12. A, M and C went bird
watching. Each of them saw
one bird that none of the other
did. Each pair saw one bird
that the third did not. And one
bird was seen by all three. Of
the birds A saw, two were
yellow. Of the birds M saw,
three were yellow. Of the birds
C saw, four were yellow. How
many yellowbirds were seen
in all?
(a) 4
(b) 3
(c) 5
(d) 6
13. Five competitors A, B, C, D
and E enter a swimming race
that awards Gold, Silver and
Bronze medals to the first
three to complete it. Each of
the following compound
statement about the race is
False, although one of the
clauses in each may be True(i) A didnt win the gold, and
B didnt win the Silver,
(ii) D didnt win the Silver,
and E didnt win the
bronze,
(iii) C Won a medal, and D
didnt,
(iv) A won a medal, and C
didnt,
(v) D and E both won

medals.
Based on the above
conditions, which of the
following winning pair is
correct?
(a) A = Gold, B = Silver, D =
Bronze.
(b) A = Gold, D = Silver, C =
Bronze.
(c) B = Gold, D = Silver, C =
Bronze.
(d) D = Gold, C = Silver, B =
Bronze.
Directions (14-17): Professor Tthan
Tthan Gopal works only on
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays,
Friday, and Saturdays. He perforins
four different activities. Lecturing,
conducting workshops, evaluating
workshops and working on Business
consultancy. Each working day he
performs exactly one activity in the
morning and exactly one activity in
the afternoon. During each week his
work schedule must satisfy the
following conditions.
(i) He conducts workshops on
exactly three mornings.
(ii) If he conducts workshops on
Monday, then he does not
conduct a workshop on
Tuesday.
(iii) He lectures in the afternoon
on exactly two consecutive
calendar days.
(iv) He evaluate workshops on
exactly one morning and
three afternoons.
(v) He works on business
consultancy on exactly one
morning.
(vi) On Saturday, he neither
lectures nor conduct
workshops.
111


14. One Wednesdays, the
professor could be scheduled
to?
(a) Work on a business
consultancy in the
morning and conduct a
workshop
in
the
afternoon.
(b) Lecture in the morning
and evaluate workshops
in the afternoon.
(c) Conduct a workshop in
the morning and lecture
in the afternoon.
(d) Conduct a workshop in
the morning and work
on business consultancy
in the afternoon.
15. Which of the following
statements must be true?
(a) There is one day on
which he evaluates
workshop both in the
morning and in the
afternoon.
(b) He works on the business
consultancy on one of the
days on which he lectures.
(c) He works on Business
consultancy on one of the
days on which he
evaluates workshops.
(d) He lectures on one of the
days on which he
conducts workshops.
16. If the Professor conducts a
workshop on Tuesday, then
his schedule for evaluating
workshops could be:
(a) Monday
morning,
Monday afternoon,
Friday morning, Friday
afternoon.
(b) Monday morning, Friday
afternoon, Saturday
morning.
Saturday
afternoon.
112
(c) Wednesday morning,

Wednesday afternoon,
Friday
afternoon,
Saturday afternoon.
(d) Wednesday afternoon,
Friday
afternoon,
Saturday
morning,
Saturday afternoon.
17. Which one of the following
must be a day on which
professor lectures?
(a) Monday (b) Tuesday
(c) Wednesday(d) Friday
Directions (18-19): In the given
grid, if we replace numbers 1 to 8
instead of Alphabets in such a way
that no consecutive numbers may
appear next to each other either
vertically, horizontally or
diagonally. Also, each number
should only be used once.
18. What can be the possible value

of (A + B) after we replaced
these Alphabets with
numbers from 1 to 8?
(a) 6
(b) 9
(c) 10
(d) 7
19. What all numbers can be
their in place of alphabet D?
(a) l or 8
(b) 3 or 5
(c) 3 or 7 (d) 2 or 7
20. 3 men were travelling in a
railway compartment. One of
them was a very wealthy
businessman. The other two
had food with them and
invited the businessman to
join them in their meal. One

man had brought 5 chapati
and other had 3. Three of
them ate together and the food
was shared equally. On
parting, the businessman gave
8 gold coins to them, and told
them to share the coins in
proportion
to
their
contribution of food. The
man who brought 5 chapatis
should get how many gold
coins?
(a) 8
(b) 7
(c) 6
(d) 5
21. A farmer went to his banker
to borrow money to buy
livestock. The banker made a
deal with the farmer. He told
the farmer that he would give
him Rs. 100, and that the
farmer would not have to pay
back the money if he could buy
exactly 100 head of livestock
for exactly Rs. 100.
The only rule was that at least
one of each kind of livestock
cows, goats and sheep has to
be purchased. Each cow cost
Rs. 10. Each goat cost Rs. 3.
And each sheep cost Rs. 0.50.
How many of each kind of
livestock did the farmer buy?
(a) 5 Cows, 1 Goat and 94
Sheep.
(b) 4 Cows, 4 Goat and 92
Sheep.
(c) 6 Cows, 2 Goat and 92
Sheep.
(d) Cannot be determined.
22. A poor man died and leaves
Rs. 10,000 in his will. There
are 6 beneficiaries; his 3 sons
and their wives. The 3 wives
receives Rs. 3,960 of which
Priyanka gets Rs. 100 more
than Tanu and Neha gets Rs.


100 more than Priyanka. Of
the sons, Pramod gets twice
as much as wife, Tushar gets
the same as his wife, and
Prashant gets 50% more than
his wife. Who is married to
whom?
(i) Priyanka is married to
Prashant.
(ii) Tanu is married to Tushar.
(iv) Priyanka is married to
Pramod.
(iv) Pramod is married to
Neha.
(v) Tushar is married to
Neha.
(b) Only (ii) and (iv)
(c) (i) and either (ii) or (v)
(d) (i), (u) and (iv)
23. Green, Bolt and Lewis race
each other in a 100 meters
race. All of them run at a
constant speed throughout
the race. Green beats Bolt by
20 meters. Bolt beats Lewis by
20 meters. How many meters
does Green beat Lewis by?
(a) 64 meters
(b) 30 meters
(c) 36 meters
(d) 20 meters
24. Four people need to cross a
dark river at night. They have
only one Torch and the river
is too risky to cross without
the torch. If all people cross
simultaneously then torch
light wont be sufficient. Speed
of each person of crossing the
river is different. Cross time
for each person is 1 min, 2
mins, 7 mins and 10 mins.
What is the shortest time
needed for all four of them to
cross the river?
(a) 13 Minutes
(b) 17 Minutes
(c) 19 Minutes
(d) 21 Minutes
25. At the recent sports festival,
the 100 meters heats were
closely monitored. Each
contestant had to run in two
races so that the average place
be determined. Only one
runner finished in the same
place in both races. A was
never last and C always beat
D. B had at least one first place.
A finished third in at least one
of the races. Both D and C had
a second place.
What were the results of two
race?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
26. Read the events and mark your
answer as(a) If A is the effect and B is
its immediate and
principal cause.
(b) If A is the immediate and
principal cause and B is
its effect.
(c) If A is an effect but B is
not its immediate and
principal cause.
(d) If B is an effect but A is
not its immediate and
principal cause.
Event A: The PM has

announced
that
the
Government will take
measures to remove subsidies
on fertilizers in a phased
manner.
Event B: Subsidies on
fertilizers result in loss of
revenue to the government.
27. Each question is followed by
two arguments numbered (I)
and (II). You have to decide
which of the arguments is a
strong argument and which is
weak argument. Then decide
which of the options (a), (b),
(c) and (d) is the correct
answer.
Give Your Answer as:
(a) If only argument (I)
strong.
(b) If only argument (II)
strong.
(c) If either (I) or (II)
strong.
(d) If neither (I) nor (II)
strong.
Statement:
is
is
is
is
For proper utilization of

National resource and to
increase administrative
efficiency shall more
autonomy be given to the
states in India?
Arguments:
(I) Yes: By giving more
autonomy, states will
have more freedom in
utilising their resources
for the benefit of theirstate.
(II) No: By giving more
autonomy, the central
government is likely to
113


lose its control over the
states, thereby weakening
the Union.
Directions: There are exactly three
recycling centers in Rivertown:
Center 1, Center 2 and Center 3.
Exactly five kinds of material are
recycled at these recycling centers:
glass, newsprint, plastic, tin, and
wood. Each recycling center recycles
at least two but no more than three
of these kinds of material. The
following conditions must hold:
(i) Any recycling center that
recycles wood also recycles
newsprint,
(ii) Every kind of material that
Center 2 recycles is also
recycled at Center 1.
(iii) Only one of the recycling
centers recycles plastic, and
that recycling center does not
recycle glass.
could be an accurate account
of all the kinds of material
recycled at each recycling
center in Rivertown?
(a) Center 1: newsprint,
plastic, wood; Center 2;
newsprint, wood; Center
3: glass, tin, wood
(b) Center
1:
glass,
newsprint, tin; Center 2:
glass, newsprint, tin;
Center 3: newsprint,
plastic, wood
(c) Center
1:
glass,
newsprint, wood; Center
2: glass, newsprint, tin;
Center 3: plastic, tin
(d) Center 1: glass, plastic,
tin; Center 2: glass, tin;
Center 3: newsprint,
wood
29. If Center 2 recycles three
114
kinds of material, then which

one of the following kinds of
material must Center 3
recycle?
(a) glass
(b) newsprint
(c) plastic (d) tin
(b) Only Center 3 recycles

newsprint.
(c) Only Center 1 recycles
plastic.
(d) Only Center 3 recycles
tin.
30. If each recycling center in

31. If Center 3 recycles glass, then
Rivertown recycles exactly
which one of the following
three kinds of material, then
kinds of material must Center
which one of the following
2 recycle?
could be true?
(a) glass
(b) newsprint
(a) Only Center 2 recycles
(c) plastic (d) tin
glass.
Directions: Read the information given below and answer the questions
that follow.
A race consists of three stretches X, Y and Z of 2 km length each. The
modes of coverage and maximum and minimum speed possible in each
stretch are:
Stretch
Mode
Minimum
speed
(Kmph)
Maximum
speed
(Kmph)
Car
40
60
Motorcycle
30
50
Bicycle
10
20
Speed in any given stretch

remains constant. The previous
record was ten minutes to complete
the race.
32. Seth Banwari lal travelled at
the minimum speed by Car
and at the maximum speed
over the stretch Y What
should be his maximum speed
over stretch Z to beat the
previous record?
(a) 15 Kmph
(b) He cannot beat the
previous record.
(c) 20 Kmph
(d) None of these.
33. Raja Kanjoos Singh travelled
at the slowest speed on stretch
X and took the same amount
of time to travel on stretch Y
as he took on stretch X. If he
took fifty percent more time

than the previous record to
complete the race, what was
his speed on the stretch Z?
(a) 10 Kmph
(b) 15 Kmph
(c) 20 Kmph
(d) None of these.
Directions for the following 9 (Nine)
items: Read each of the following
two passages carefully and answer
the items that follow each passage.
Your answers to these Items should
be based on the passages only.
PASSAGE -1
Setting up an environment-friendly
house is not expensive. In fact, it
yields better returns in the long term
by saving on power bills While
building a house or doing it up, we


spend all our time and energy
worrying about how it looks. But
most of us ignore questions like is it
energy efficient, will it cause
pollution, or what will be its carbon
footprint. We prefer to leave these
things for policymakers, big
corporates or hotel chains. Also, we
tend to think that being eco-friendly
is expensive. That is not necessarily
the case. If .you design a house that is
energy efficient and uses rainwater
harvesting, it will actually provide
better returns in the long run.
If you are building your own
house, use materials that are available
in the surroundings. Use mud from
the construction site itself. Bricks
made of fly-ash - the residue from
coal-based power plants - are as
durable as regular bricks. Similarly,
fly-ash cement can be used for most
houses. While designing your home,
make sure there are large windows
that let in natural light and breeze
and reduce your dependence on
electric lights, fans and airconditioners. Also, check out
whether a flat roof or a sloping roof
works best for your region. In our
tropical climate, large verandas and
balconies are extremely useful. Also,
invest in a rainwater harvesting
system, which can cost as little as
110,000 for 1,000 litre.
Normal paints have volatile
organic compounds (VOC) that are
toxic. Use low-VOC paints that use
water instead of petroleum solvents
and, therefore, more environment
friendly. While choosing fittings for
your home, take some time to pick
efficient models. Low-flow
showerheads and dual-flush toilets
use less water. Invest in energysaving lighting like CFL. Install solar
panels that can stand in for electric
geysers at least when the sun is

shining.
There are many more simple
ways to make your home ecofriendly.
Grow a garden, especially with local
varieties, even if you have just a tiny
balcony or a window box. House
sparrows are fast disappearing from
urban centres. You can do your bit to
help these little birds. Build a box from
wood slabs or plywood with a sloping
roof and a small hole into which only
a sparrow can squeeze in. Turn your
vegetable waste into compost that
can be used in the garden. Use
retractable khas-khas curtains in your
balconies and verandas to keep you
cool in summers, and save on your
power bills as well! If you are buying
a ready-to-move-in flat, it will be very
difficult to make eco-friendly
alterations to the structure. But you
can still do your bit by picking up
furniture that are certified
environment-friendly. If that is not
possible, buy furniture made of
recyclable material like rubber or
bamboo. Go for furnishings made of
natural fibre like cotton or jute. For
curtains, bedsheets and other
furnishings, opt for fabric with
natural dyes.
statements:
(i) Being eco-friendly is
expensive,
(ii) Being eco-friendly is not
expensive.
Select the correct option from
(a) Only(i)
(b) Only(il)
(c) Neither (i) nor (ii)
(d) Cant be Generalized
35. Which of the following is/are
eco-friendly?.
(i) Sloping roof.

(ii) Low-volatile organic
compounds,
(iii) House sparrows,
(iv) Large verandas and
balconies.
(a) Only (i),(ii) and (iv)
(b) Only (ii), (iii) and (iv)
(c) Only(iv)
(d) Only (ii)
statement(s) is/are correct?
(a) It is the duty of pol icy
makers, to take care of the
environmental impacts of
the
building
constructions.
(b) A 100-litre rain water
harvesting system will
costRs. 1000.
(c) Both are correct.
(d) None is correct.
37. How one can achieve cooling
in his house while being ecofriendly?
(i) Having Large verandas
and balconies,
(ii) Use of low-VOC paints
(iii) Opt for fabric with
natural dyes for curtains.
(a) Only (i)
(b) Only (ii)
(c) (i), (ii) and (iii)
(d) Only (hi)
statements:
(i) Low-VOC paints are
non-toxic
(ii) Solar Panels can provide
water heating when there
is no electricity
115


(a) Only (i)
(b) Only (ii)
(d) Neither (I) Nor (ii)
PASSAGE-2
There are usually four basic reasons
given to study and as to why we might
want to understand ecology: first,
since all of us-live to some degree in
a natural or at least partly natural
ecosystem, then considerable
pleasure can be derived by studying
the environment around us. Just as
one might learn to appreciate art
better through an art history course
so too might one appreciate more the
nature around us with a better
understanding of ecology. Second,
human economies are in large part
based on the exploitation and
management of nature. Applied
ecology is used every day in forestry,
fisheries, range management,
agriculture, and so on to provide us
with the food and fiber we need. For
example, in Argentina in many
circles there is no difference between
ecology and agriculture, which is
essentially the ecology of crops and
pastures.
Third, human societies can
often be understood very clearly from
an ecological perspectives as we
study, for example, the population
dynamics (demography) of our own
species, the food and fossil energy
flowing through our society. Fourth,
humans appear to be changing
aspects of the global environment in
many ways. Ecology can be very
useful to help us understand what
these changes are, what the
implications might be for various
ecosystems, and how we might
intervene in either human
116
economies or in nature to try to

mitigate or otherwise alter these
changes. There are many
professional ecologists, who believe
that these apparent changes from
human activities have the potential
to generate enormous harm to both
natural ecosystems and human
economies.
Understanding,
predicting and adapting to these
issues could be the most important
of all possible issue for humans to
deal with. In this case ecology and
environmentalism can be the same.
statements:
(i) In Argentina there is no
difference
between
ecology and agriculture,
(ii) Human activities have
done enormous harm to
natural ecosystems.
(a) Only(i)
(b) Only (ii)
(d) Neither (I) nor (ii)
40. Which of the following is/are
the components of applied
ecology.
(i) Human economies
(ii) Forestry
(iii) Environmentalism
(a) Only (ii) and (iii)
(b) Only (ii)
(c) (l), (ii) and (iii)
(d) None
statements is incorrect?
(a) An expert of history may
better appreciate art.
(b) Economy is closely
related to ecology.
(c) Studying Ecology can

help us to mitigate
changes
in
the
environmental system.
(d) All are correct.
42. What are the benefits of
understanding ecology?
(i) To appreciate better the
aesthetics of nature,
(ii) To understand global
climate change,
(iii) In the management of
nature.
(a) Only (i) and (iii)
(b) Only (ii)
(c) Only (iii)
Directions (43-45): There are four
bungalows in a row. They are made
from these materials; straw, wood,
brick and glass. Mrs. Sharmas
bungalow is somewhere to the left
of the wooden one and the third one
along is brick. Mrs. Upadhyay owns
a straw bungalow and Mr. Tiwari
does not live at either end, but lives
somewhere to the right of the glass
bungalow. Mr. Wilson lives in the
fourth bungalow, while the first
bungalow is not made from straw.
43. Who lives second to the right
of Mr. Tiwari?
(a) Mrs. Sharma
(b) Mrs. Upadhyay
(c) Mr. Wilson
(d) Not possible
44. Who lives in the house made
of straw?
(a) Mr. Tiwari
(b) Mr. Wilson
(c) Mrs. Upadhyay
(d) Mrs. Sharma
45. Who live/lives adjacent to
Mrs. Sharma?


(a) Mr. Tiwari and Mr.
Wilson
(b) Mrs. Upadhyay
(c) Mrs. Upadhyay and Mr.
Wilson
(d) None of these.
46.
Four athletes exercise around

separate circular paths; each
path is one third of a mile in
length.
They
start
simultaneously at the black
spots, with speeds of six, nine,
twelve, and fifteen miles per
hour. By the end of the 20
minute workout, how many
times will they have
simultaneously returned to
the spots where they started?
(a) 6
(b) 9
(c) 3
(d) 15
Directions (47-48): A 3 3 grid is
given in which R1, R2, R3 depicts 3
rows and C1, C2, and C3 depicts 3
column.
Now, you have to arrange 9 cards of

4 colours, (Red, Yellow, Blue and
Green) in a way such that.
(i) One red card must be in
first row or second row.
(ii) Two green cards should
be in third column,
(iii) Yellow cards must be in
the 3 corners only
(iv) Two blue cards must be

in the second row.
(v) At least one green card
should be their in each
row.
47. How many yellow cards are
available for arrangements?
(a) 3
(b) 4
(c) 3 or 4
(d) Cannot be determined
48. Which colour card should be
there in first row, second
column?
(a) Blue
(b) Green
(c) Blue or green
(d) Red
Directions for the following 9 (Nine)
items: Read each of the following
two passages carefully and answer
the items that follow each passage.
Your answers to these Items should
be based on the passages only.
PASSAGE -1
There is a bi-directional relationship
between economic development and
womens empowerment defined as
improving the ability of women to
access the constituents of
development in particular health,
education, earning opportunities,
rights, and political participation. In
one direction, development alone
can play a major role in driving down
inequality between men and women;
in the other direction, continuing
discrimination against women can,
as Amartya Sen has forcefully argued,
hinder development. Empowerment
can, in other words, accelerate
development.
Policy makers and social
scientists have tended to focus on one
or the other of these two
relationships. Those focusing on the
first have argued that gender equality

improves when poverty declines.
They argue that policymakers should
therefore focus on creating the
conditions for economic growth and
prosperity, while seeking, of course,
to maintain a level playing field for
both genders, but without adopting
specific strategies targeted at
improving the condition of women.
In contrast, many emphasize
the second relationship, from
empowerment to development. The
Secretary General of the United
Nations, Kofi Annan, for example,
has argued that achieving gender
equality is a prerequisite to
achieving the other Millennium
Development Goals (MDG),
including eliminating poverty,
reducing infant mortality, achieving
universal education, and eliminating
the gender gap in education by 2015
(United Nations, 2005). In its report,
Engendering Development, the
World Bank (2001) calls for policies
to address gender imbalance in
rights, resources, and voice, and
recommends that institutional
structures be overhauled to promote
equality, and that specific measures,
such as girls scholarships and quotas
for Women in parliament, be
adopted. These measures are
justified, according to the report, not
only because they promote equity, but
also because they are necessary to
accelerate
development.
Interestingly, the 2012 World
Development Report (World Bank,
2011) adopts a much more nuanced
message. While it emphasizes the
business case for women
empowerment, it mainly takes it as
given that the equality between
women and men is a desirable goal
in itself, and policies should aim to
achieve that goal.
117


statements:
(i) Womens empowerment
is a multidimensional
concept.
(ii) UN and World Bank
emphasize on empowerment to development relationship.
(a) Only (i) (b) Only (ii)
(d)Neither (i) nor (ii)
50. What does the business case
for women empowerment
imply?
(a) Equality between women
and men is a desirable
goal in itself.
(b) Empowerment of women
would lead to economic
development.
(c) Economic development
would lead to empowerment of women.
(d) The meaning is not clear
from the passage.
51. What
are
the
recommendations of UN and
World Bank regarding
empowerment of women?
(i) Achieving millennium
development Goals.
(ii) Emphasizing
on
participation of women
in political process.
(iii) Maintaining a level
playing field between
men and women.
(c) Only (i) and (iii)
118
52. What is the essence of the

passage?
(a) The concept of Women
empowerment
is
multidimensional.
(b) Relationship between
economic development
and .womens empowerment.
(c) Empowerment
of
women.
(d) None of the above.
PASSAGE - 2
Deconstruction is a philosophy
applied to literary criticism, as well
as to criticism of the other arts, which
began to gain popularity in the 1980s.
The field of deconstruction arose
partially in reaction to the literary
theories
of
structuralism.
Structuralism posited that when
words could be understood within
the context of a society of readers,
then one could point to the specific
meaning of a text.
Deconstruction eschewed the
concept of one possible meaning for
a text, and instead suggested that
meanings of a text are multiple and
contradictory. Underlying a text is
the subtext, a set of values that must
be evaluated to see if the text is really
contrary in nature and hence
somewhat without meaning.
Deconstruction also evaluates the
way in which texts in the traditional
literary canon are taught to students,
suggesting that traditional
readings of a text often ignore
underlying value structures in direct
opposition to what is taught. Many
literary critics abhor deconstruction,
stating that deconstructing a text
deprives the text of meaning and
ultimately dismisses the value of
anything it touches. To those who use
deconstruction, the answer to this
criticism might be: How does one

define value? What is meaning?
Though this answer may frustrate
critics of deconstruction, it points to
the way in which deconstructionists
see the text as a source of multiple
meanings, determined very much by
each readers own subtexts and
definitions. To reduce and reduce the
meaning of a work may ultimately
make it purposeless, say some critics.
At its best, though, deconstruction
can be helpful in unmasking huge
contradictions present in a text.
It is true that reading a
deconstruction of a text can be
similar to attempting to decode a
secret message. Deconstructionists
like Jack Derrida deliberately choose
confusing and lengthy words to
derive a multiplicity of meanings
from their interpretation. In some
ways, this makes deconstruction
elitist and inaccessible to many
readers. The deconstructionist cares
not, however, for those who are
confused. They believe that
confusion should be the result of
reading a deconstruction of a text.
statements:
(i) Deconstruction is against
any specific meaning of a
word,
(ii) Structuralism supports
one specific meaning of
a word.
(a) Only (i)
(b) Only(ii)
54. Deconstruction is elitist, it
means that:
(i) Only a few can


understand
its
implications,
(ii) It leads to the culture of a
private language where
each construes his own
meaning of a given text.
(iii) It is confusing .
(a) Only (i) and (iii)
(c) Only(i)
55. Which of the following is
correct?
(a) Deconstruction is valueneutral
(b) Readers background may
affect their meaning of a
text.
(c) Critics of deconstruction
cannot present any
logical criticism of
deconstruction.
(d) All are incorrect.
56. What are the functions of
deconstruction?
(i) Bringing
out the
contradictions present in
a text,
(ii) Making the language of a
text clear so that it can be
understood in the right
perspective,
(iii) Proving that a text is
contradictory and hence
meaningless.
(a) Only (i)
(b) Only (ii)
(c) Only (i) and (iii)
57. What is/are the feature(s) of
deconstruction.
(i) Seeking the underlying
philosophy of a text.
(ii) Unmasking
the
underlying
value
structure of a text.
(a) Only(i)
(b) Only(ii)
Directions: During a recent school
reunion, four men were discussing
their starting salaries. The salaries
in question were 8,10,12 and 14
thousands dollars per year. Of
course the member of parliament
earned the most. Ajay earned more
than Beeru and the doctor earned
more than Deepak, who is a chef.
Chetan could not remember what
salary he started on. Beeru, the
lawyer, did not start on 10,000
dollars nor did Deepak.
58. Who is member of
Parliament?
(a) Ajay
(b) Beeru
(c) Either Ajay or Beeru
(d) Cannot be determined
59. Following graph shows,
learning a mathematics
lesson by two students in a
particular time.
Which of these conclusion

can be drawn according to
given learning curves?
(a) A started slowly but
finished the learning
process before B.
(b) B started slowly and

process after A.
(c) B started slowly but
process before A.
(d) None of these.
60. How many letters are in
English Alphabet whose
water image are identical to
the letter itself ?
(a) 18
(b) 14
(c) 11
(d) 9
61. If
a b b
= = ,
3 4 4
then
a+b+c
is equal to?
c
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
7
2
1
Cannot be determined
62. Four balls are choosen at

random from a group of 3 red
balls, 2 white balls and 4 black
balls. The chance that exactly
2 of them are black is,
(a)
10
11
5
21
1
(d)
9
(b)
(c) 11
21
63. Percentage of sex (Male Female) and education level
(Graduate
and PostGraduate) data of a college.
[G - Graduate / PG - Post-Graduate]
Considering the above

diagram which of these
statements are true?
(a) Number of students in
119


graduate level in male
category is approximately
3.2 times of number of
students in post-graduate
in female category.
(b) Number of PostGraduate students in male
category is 37.5% of total
number of female
students.
(c) The ratio of male and
female graduate is 1.3:1.
(d) All of the above.
64. The maximum number of
colours required to paint all
the sides of a cuboid given
below such that no two
adjacent faces may have the
same colours is
(a) 1
(b) 2
(c) 3
(d) 4
Direction for the following 7

(Seven) items: Given below are
seven items. Each item describes a
situation and is followed by four
possible responses. Indicate the
response you find most appropriate.
Choose Only one response for each
item. The responses will be
evaluated based on the level of
appropriateness for the given
situation. Please attempt all the
items. There is no penalty for wrong
answers for these seven items.
65. You are Police Commissioner
and one of your subordinate
(Sub-inspector) named
Rakesh was very good officer
over past few months but now
you notice that his appearance
120
has changed. His shirts are

always wrinkled, his hair is
messy and other officers have
privately complained you
about his errant behaviour.
You feel you need to approach
him, both because you fear
something might be wrong
and you worry about the effect
his untidy appearance would
have on his relationship with
his colleagues. How would
you deal with it?
(a) You will call him to your
chamber and admonish
him on his untidy
appearance.
(b) You will give some days
to recover.
(c) You will meet him
separately and talk at
length and try to know the
root of his problem.
(d) At a personal level you
may empathize but ask
him to take a tranfer as
soon as possible.
66. Entering into an Income Tax
office you find a statement on
the noticeboard Do not
open the computer without
the Administrative Officer
Mr. Kulkarnis permission.
Reading this what will you
predict?
(a) Employees of the office
are disciplined.
(b) Employees of the office
are not decision maker.
(c) It is a well controlled
office.
(d) It is an office that is
micro-managed by Mr.
Kulkarni.
67. Mr. Sharma while interacting
with Mr. Verma and standing
at an angle, was glancing and

nodding as he continued
listening to what Mr. Verma
had to say. In the above
interaction, we notice that;
(i) Mr. Sharma was not
completely hearing
during interaction,
(ii) Mr. Verma is unable to
sustain Mr. Sharmas
attention,
(iii) The topic during
interaction might be
unofficial or personal.
Which of the above
possibility/posibilities is/are
correct?
(a) Only(i)
(b) Only (i) and (iii)
(c) Only (iii)
(d) All of the above
68. You and your peer Mr. Gupta
is posted as an IAS officer
(allied) in the ministry of
finance. One day your peer is
suspended by the finance
secretary. You know that he
was not wrong. What will you
do in this situation?
(a) Try to make your senior
(finance
secretary)
understand that your
colleague was right.
(b) Ask your colleague to be
sorry in front of the senior
(finance secretary).
(c) Advise your peer to go to
the court against the
decision of the senior
(finance secretary).
(d) Criticize your senior
infront of your peer and
console him.
69. There is a drought in a district,
due to which most citizens are
not able to pay the property
tax. Being a District collector


what will you do in this
situation?
(a) You will try to collect the
property tax any how.
(b) You
will
provide
leverage.
(c) Asked the citizen to
deposit the property tax as
much as possible.
(d) The final or last date to
deposit property tax will
be extended.
70. You are a senior police officer
and visited a police station.
After some time a lady came
into police station and
shouting because of being
molested by some local boys.
You find that the lady was
drunk and wore an indecent
dress. What will you do in this
case?
(a) You will order your
junior officer to solve the
problem immediately
and lodge a complaint.
(b) You will say to lady
madam first be in your
limit then blame other
people.
(c) You will avoid the
situation because you
think that lady is not
descent.
(d) You will directly go to the
spot where lady has been
molested and investigate
the situation.
71. You are a district magistrate
in a city. You find that any
further increase in the
pollution level in the city by
way of industrial effluents and
automobile exhaustions
would pose a severe threat to
the inhabitants. In this case
what will you do?
(a) You will immediately

close down all the
factories in the city.
(b) You will ask the
government to restrict the
issue of fresh licences to
factories
and
automobiles.
(c) You will try to impose
Only
environment
friendly vehicles.
(d) You will not be worried
about it because it is a
universal problem.
Direction: The following nine items
are based on three passages in
English to test the comprehesion of
English language and therefore
these items do not have Hindi
version. Read each passage and
answer the items that follow.
PASSAGE -1
One Sunday morning, my family and
I went to a popular restaurant for
breakfast. As soon as we walked into
Restaurant Happy Meal, a young
waitress showed us to a table. We
ordered our food and soon after, our
food came. Just as we were about to
begin our meal, we heard someone
shouting for the proprietor. What is
this ? A dead fly in my food! a man
with a deep scar across his face roared
angrily. He banged his fist on the
table and swept the plates and cups
off it. These came crashing to the
floor, breaking into pieces. His
companion, a huge man with a tattoo
on his arm, stared angrily at the
proprietor who stood nervously in
front of the two gangsters. The
proprietor apologized repeatedly to
the angry customers and tried to
pacify them by offering to replace
their food. He even told them that
they could have their meal for free.
The commotion affected the

business of the restaurant. Fearing
that a brawl would ensue, many
customers quickly paid for their
meals and left the estaurant hurriedly.
Some of them had not even finished
heir breakfast. My father told us to
eat our food quickly and not to look
at the two angry men. We obeyed him
and Finished our food within
minutes.
That was probably the quietest
and fastest breakfast my family ever
had. Although my father warned us
not to look at the two unruly
customers, I could not help stealing
a glance at hem. I saw that the
proprietor had managed to pacify the
wo angry customers. Fresh food and
drinks were brought to their table.
They sat down again and continued
their breakfast. Meanwhile, the
waitress who had shown us to our
table earlier swept up the broken
china.
72. The word These refers to the
(a) tables
(b) cups and plates
(c) two angry customers
(d) dead fly and the food
73. The first paragraph tells us
that the owner of the
restaurant was
(a) sorry for what had
happened
(b) angry with the two
customers
(c) unsure of what to do to
calm the two customers
(d) disappointed that the men
created problems in the
restaurant
74. The word ensue can best be
replaced by
(a) occur (b) debut
(c) initiate (d) take off
121


75. The line That was probably
the quietest and fastest
breakfast my family ever had
tells us that the writer and his
family
(a) often talked while they
ate
(b) ordered a lot of food each
time they ate out
(c) often ate silently and that
day was no exception
(d) usually did not like to be
disturbed while they ate
76. The following statements are
true except
(a) the two customers did not
have to pay for their food
(b) the writer and his family
ate then food without a
word
(c) one of the waitresses
cleared up the mess on the
floor
(d) many customers ran out
of the restaurant without
paying
77. Which word describes the
atmosphere at the restaurant
when the angry customer

found a dead fly in his food?
(a) Sad
(b) Tense
(c) Happy (d) Distracted
PASSAGE-2
In this lawsuit, the lawyer who
represents three different insurance
companies against one plaintiff is
seeking a settlement agreement,
wherein the plaintiff agrees to drop
the lawsuit in exchange for a certain
amount of money. The plaintiff has
agreed to accept Rs. 10,000. Now the
lawyer must convince the the
companies, none of which wants to
pay more than Rs. 3,000 that it is in
their interest to pay enough so that
the total reaches Rs. 10,000. The
lawyer claims that this lawsuit is like
a giant jigsaw puzzle.
78. The lawyer claims that this
lawsuit is like a giant jigsaw
puzzle mostly because it
(a) cannot be solved
(b) is a source of frustration
and anxiety for the lawyer
(c) has pieces that must fit
together in a certain way
(d) is too difficult for the

lawyer to handle
79. Based on information in the
passage, it can be inferred that
the settlement agreement can
be reached if
(i) each of the three
companies agrees to pay
a little more money
(ii) one of the companies is
willing to pay an extra Rs.
1,000.
(iii) the plaintiff reduces the
amount of money he or
she is willing to accept.
(a) Only (i)
(c) Only (ii) and (iii)
(d) (i),(ii), and (iii)
80. What do we mean by the word
Plaintiff ?
(a) A person who brings a
case against someone in
a court of law.
(b) A party or someone
involved in litigation.
(c) a petitioner.
(d) All of the above.
Answers
1. (b)
2. (c)
3. (b)
4. (d)
5. (d)
6. (c)
7. (b)
8. (d)
9. (d)
10. (c)
11. (a)
12. (c)
13. (b)
14. (c)
15. (d)
16. (d)
17. (b)
18. (b)
19. (d)
20. (b)
21. (a)
22. (d)
23. (c)
24. (a)
25. (a)
26. (a)
27. (a)
28. (b)
29. (c)
30. (d)
31. (b)
32. (b)
33. (d)
34. (d)
35. (d)
36. (d)
37. (a)
38. (a)
39. (d)
40. (d)
41. (a)
42. (a)
43. (d)
44. (c)
45. (b)
46. (c)
47. (a)
48. (d)
49. (c)
50. (b)
51. (b)
52. (b)
53. (d)
54. (c)
55. (d)
56. (c)
57. (b)
58. (a)
59. (c)
60. (d)
61. (b)
62. (a)
63. (c)
64. (d)
65. (c)
66. (d)
67. (d)
68. (a)
69. (d)
70. (a)
71. (b)
72. (c)
73. (a)
74. (a)
75. (a)
76. (d)
77. (b)
78. (*)
79. (*)
80. (*)
122

Current Affair Objective Questions
CURRENT AFFAIR
OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS
1. The President can make a
proclamation of emergency
in the state of J & K
(a) with prior consent of the
parliament
(b) with the concurrence of
the CJ of India
(c) with the concurrence of
the state legislature
(d) with the concurrence of
the state governor.
2. The Parliament can make
laws with respect to J&K
(a) only in subjects in the
union list
(b) only on subjects in the
concurrent list
(c) only regard to subjects in
the union as well as
concurrent list
(d) on subjects included in
all three lists.
3. The special status of the State
of Jammu and Kashmir
(a) does not prevent the
Union Government from
making changes in the
name and boundaries of
the State
(b) does not prevent the
President
from
exercising his right to
suspend
the
constitutional machinery
of the State on the ground
that the State Government
has failed to carry out
directions of the Union
Government
(c) does not prevent the
Union Government from
making any international
agreement affecting the
State without taking the

consent of the State
Legislature
(d) prevents the Union
Government
from
making any alteration in
the name and boundaries
of the state
(c) reserving seats for them

in the Indian Army
(d) authorising the President
to
nominate
two
members
of
the
community in the Lok
Sahha
4. The Lt. Governor of a Union

Territory
(a) can issue an ordinance
only after obtaining
instruction from the
President
(b) can issue ordinances on
the recommendation of
Legislative Assembly, if
any
(c) can issue ordinances of
his own discretion
(d) cannot issue
any
ordiance
7. The Supreme Court of India

does not have original
jurisdiction in the settling of
disputes
(a) between the Government
of India and any State of
the Union
(b) between two or more
States
(c) between the Government
of India and one State on
one hand and other States
on the other hand
(d) arising out of any trreaty
or agreement
5. For the protection and

promotion of the interests of
the backward classes
(scheduled castes and
scheduled tribes-seats have
been reserved for them:
(a) in public services
(b) in the defence services
(c) in none of the above
(d) in public services as well
as Legislatures
8. When can a President refer a

matter to the Supreme Court
for its opinion?
(a) When the Cabinet is not
functioning properly
(b) When emergency has to
be promulgated
(c) When a matter is of
public importance
(d) Whenever the President
feels like it
6. The Constitution seeks to

protect the interests of the
AngloIndian community by
(a) reserving seats for them
in the defence forces
(b) reserving seats for them
in the services as well as
legislatures
9. What is meant by Judicial

Review?
(a) Parliaments right to ask
the Judiciary to review
judgements
(b) Judiciarys as power to
pronounce upon the
constitutionality of laws
passed by the Legislature
123


orders issued by the
Executive.
(c) The Presidents right to
seek the opinion of the
Supreme Court on the
constitution of a law
passed by the Parliament.
(d) Judiciarys right to review
judgements passed by
lower courts
10. While interpreting the
Constitution the courts are
expect
(a) resolve the conflict
between the Directive
Principles
and
Fundamental Rights
(b) ignore the Directive
Principles,
while
i n t e r p r e t i n g
Fundamental Rights
(c) give precedence to the
Fundamental Rights over
Directive Principles
(d) Interpret the provisions
of Fundamental Right
and Directive principles
as harmoniously as
possible
11. Who can be appointed as an
ad hoc judge of the Supreme
Court?
(a) A retired judge of the
Supreme Court
(b) A sitting judge of a Hight
Court duly qualified for
appointment as a
Supreme Court Judge
(c) An acting judge of the
Supreme Court
(d) A person fully qualified
for appointment as a
judge to the Supreme
Court
12. When the President refers a
question of law or fact
Supreme Court for its
124
opinion.
(a) The Court should do as
directed by the President
(b) the Court may decline to
consider the matter
(c) the Court has to express
its opinion
(d) the Court may report its
opinion to the President
13. The privileges of the judges
of Supreme Court:
(a) cannot he modified to
their disadvantage during
their tenure of office
(b) can be modified to their
advantage
or
disadvantage during their
term of office
(c) can be modified by the
Parliament only by twothirds majority
(d) can be modified only
with the approval of the
Chief Justice of India
14. The phrase procedure
established by the law means
(a) the judges in India
cannot question the
fairness or validity of a
law, provided it is within
the limits of the
Constitution
(b) judges in India can
question the fairness or
validity of an undue law
even if it is within the
limits of the Constitution
(c) judges in India can
declare a law invalid
simply because in their
opinion the law is not due
or is unjust
(d) None of the above
15. Which of the following is not
correct?
(a) The Supreme Court
cannot interfere with the
delimitation of the
constituencies
(b) The Supreme Court
cannot question the
decision of the Speaker as
to whether a Bill is a
Money Bill or not
(c) The Supreme Court
cannot question the
detention or arrest of a
person or an Act, if it has
been made in accordance
with the procedure
established by law
(d) The Supreme Court
cannot
declare
unconstitutional a law
passed by the Parliament
16. Mark the true statement
(a) The High Court is the
highest Court of Law and
Appeal in the State
(b) Appeals from all the
lower courts need not be
taken to the High Court
but directly to the
Supreme Court
(c) High Courts are not
established in all the
States
(d) All the above are true
17. The High Court enjoys the
power
I. To issue writs for the
enforcement of rights
conferred on the citizens
of India
II. To
exercise
superintendence over the
working of Courts and
Tribunals under its
jurisdiction
III. To make general rules
and prescribe forms
regulating the practices
and proceedings of
Courts
under
its
jurisdiction


(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
I
I and Ill
II and III
All of them
18. The ordinary Judges of the

State High Court are
appointed by the President
on consultation with
I. The Chief Justice of the
High Court
II. The Chief Justice of India
III. The Governor of the State
(a) I
(b) I and II
(c) II and III
(d) I, II and III
19. The Judges of the High Court
can be removed from their
office during their tenure:
(a) by the President on the
basis of a resolution
passed by the Parliament
by two-thirds majority
(b) by the Governor, if the
State Legislature passes a
resolution to this effect, by
two-thirds majority
(c) by the Chief Justice on the
recomme-ndation of the
Parliament
(d) by the Chief Justice on the
advice of the President
20. The salary and other
allowances of the Judges of the
High Courts are charged to
(a) the Consolidated Fund of
India
(b) the Consolidated Fund of
the State
(c) the Consolidated Fund of
India and the State on
fifty-fifty basis
(d) the Contingency Fund of
India
21. In case of conflict between the
central and state law on a
subject in the concurrent list
(a) the law which was passed

first
(b) the law of the state
prevails
(c) the law of the centre
prevails
(d) both laws stand nullified
22. The Parliament can make a
law on a subject in the State
List when
I. A Proclamation of
Emergency is in force
II. Two or more States make
a request to the
Parliament to make a law
on a subject
III. Rajya Sabha passes are
solution that such
subjects have acquired
national importance
(a) Only I (b) I and II
(c) II and III
(d) All of these
23. The jurisdiction of the
Finance Commission does
not extend to
(a) recommendation of the
allocation of funds
among the various heads
of expenditure in the
Union and State budgets
(b) recommendation of the
distribution between the
Union and the States of the
net proceeds of taxes
(c) recommendation of the
allocation to the States of
the respective shares of
such tax proceeds
(d) recommendation of the
principles which govern
the Grants-in-Aid of the
revenue of the States out
of the Consolidated Fund
of India.
24. In case of a clash between the
laws made by the Centre and
a State on a subject in the

Concurrent List
(a) the State Law prevails
(b) the Central Law prevails
(c) both the Laws prevail
within their respective
jurisdictions
(d) the Supreme Court has to
intervene to decide
25. The provisions regarding
division of taxes between
Union and the States :
(a) can be suspended during
financial emergency
(b) can be suspended during
national emergency
(c) cannot be suspended
under any circumstances
(d) can be suspended only
with the consent of
majority of the State
Legislatures
26. What can the President do if
the States fail to comply with
the Directives of the Central
Government?
(a) The President can send
reserve police to the State
to secure compliance
(b) The President can declare
the breakdown of
Constitutional
machinery in the State
and assume responsibility
for the governance of the
State
(c) The President can
dissolve the State
Legislature and order
fresh election
(d) The President cannot do
any of the things
mentioned in (a), (b) and
(c)
27. When does the State law have
precedence over Central law
on the Concurrent subject?
125


(a) if the State law was passed
earlier
(b) if the law passed by the
State was approved by the
President
before
enactment of law on the
same subject by the
Parliament
(c) if the Supreme Court so
advises
(d) In no case
28. The Zonal Councils which
aim at ensuring cooperation
amongst various States are:
(a) provided
in
the
Constitution
(b) created by the States
Reorganisation Act 1956
(c) (a) and (b)
(d) None of the above
29. Which of the following are
the members of Zonal
Council?
(a) The Chief Ministers of
the States included in that
Zonal Council
(b) All the ministers of those
States
(c) The Governors of those
States
(d) All the above mentioned
30. In India the superintendent,
direction and control of the
conduct of elections is vested
in
(a) Parliament
(b) District Administration
(c) State
Government
working through the
District-Magistrates
(d) Election Commission
31. Which of the following is not
one of the qualifications
prescribed in Article 326?
(a) He should not be less an
twenty-one years of age
126
(b) He should be citizen of

India
(c) He should not hold any
office of profit under the
Government of India
(d) He should not be
otherwise disqualified on
the
ground
of
unsoundness of mind,
crime, or corrupt or
illegal practice.
32. When and by which Act, the
Central Administrative
Tribunal was set up?
(a) 42nd Constitutional
Amendment Act, 1976
(b) Administrative Tribunal
Act, 1985
(c) F o r t y - f o u r t
Constitutional
Amendment Act, 1978
(d) 52nd Constitutional
Amendment Act, 1985
33. The independence of the
Election Commission has
(a) by making the removal of
the Chief Election
Commissioner difficult
(b) by not permitting any
change in the salary and
other service conditions
of
the
Election
Commissioner during his
term
(c) both the above provisions
(d) by none of the above
provisions
34. The power to set up a
Administrative Tribunal for
the adjudication of disputes
relating to elections vested in:
(a) p r e s i d e n t i a l
proclamation
(b) the
appropriate
legislature
(c) special ordinances made

for the purpose
(d) any law made by the
Election Commission
feature
regarding
organisation of Parties in
India has been wrongly
listed?
(a) The Political Parties in
India are not wellorganised
(b) Most of the Political
Parties in India are
organised around certain
leaders.
(c) The Organizational
elections of Political
Parties in India are held
at regular intervals
(d) Most of the Political
Parties in India do not
hold organisational
elections at regular
intervals.
36. Consider the following
statements:
1. The national Political
Parties in India are truly
speaking not national in
character because most of
the national parties are
not spread over the entire
country.
2. On account of multi-party
system in India we find a
close resemblance in the
policies and programmes
of various Political
Parties.
3. Of late the regional
Political Parties are
planning
more
important role in the
India polity than the
national Political Parties.
4. The Political Parties in
India have tended of


suborging their narrow
interests to national
interests
due
to
development
of
nationalists sprit.
Code :
(a) 1, 2, and 3 are correct
(b) 2, 3 and 4 are correct
(c) 1, 2 and 4 are correct
(d) 1, 3 and 4 are correct
37. A Political Party in India can
acquire the status of a
registered Party if it secures
(a) at least 2 per cent of votes
in state
(b) at least one per cent of
votes in state
(c) at least three per cent of
votes in state
(d) None of the above.
statement about the Political
Parties in India is correct?
(a) It is obligatory for
Political Parties to get
registered under the
representation of the
Peoples Act
(b) A Political Party which
applies for registration
has to include a specific
provision
in
its
constitution professing
allegiance
to
the
constitution
and
principle of secularism
and democracy
(c) the Political Parities in
India register themselves
with the Election
Commission
(d) All the Above.
39. Recognition of a political
party can be withdrawn by the
Election Commission
(a) on account of failure of
the party to observe the
model code of conduct
(b) on account of failure of

the party to follow lawful
directions
aid
instructions of the
Election Commission
(c) with the prior consent of
the SC of India.
(d) Both (a) and (b)
40. Match the following:
List-I
List-II
Articles
Provisions
for Minorities
A. Article 26 1. Provides for
freedom to
manage
religions affairs
to all majority as
well as
monitory
communities
B. Article 29 2. Protects the
interests or
minorities
C. Article 30 (1)3. Provides that all
minorities,
whether based
on religion or
language shall
have to right to
establish and
administer
educati-onal
institution of
their choice
D. Article 15 4. Provision
discrimi-nation
on grounds of
religion, race,
caste, sex, or
place of birth.
Codes :
A
B
C
D
(a)
2
1
3
4
(b)
1
2
3
4
(c)
3
2
4
1
(d)
1
2
4
3
42. Though originally the use of

English for official purpose
was permitted for a period of
15
years
from
the
commencement of the
constitution, its use beyond
this period was permitted
through
(a) an amendment in the
constitution
(b) an act to Parliament
(c) all ordinance of the
President
(d) a Judgement of the SC.

functions are correct about
National Commission for
45. When was the Panchayati Raj

introduced in India?
minorities
(a) evaluate the progress of
the development of
minorities under the
union and states
(b) monitor the working of
the safe guards provided
in the constitution
(c) conduct studies, research
and analysis on the issues
relating to socioeconomic and education
development
to
minorities
(d) All of the these.
43. The members of Panchayat

Samiti are
(a) directly elected by the
people
(b) elected by the members of
the panchayat
(c) nominated by the district
officers
(d) recruited through an
open competition.
44. One of the following is not a
part of Panchayati Raj?
(a) District Board
(b) Town Area Committees
(c) Village Block
(d) Panchayat Boards
127


(a) 1950
(c) 1952
(b) 1959
(d) 1962
Panchayati
Raj
administration is:
(a) to work for rural
development
(b) to ensure the upliftment
of Harijans
(c) to arouse in the people
continuous interest in the
community development
programmes
(d) to increase agricultural
production through the
involvement of the people
in
extension
programmes
46. The Committee on whose

recommendation Panchayati
Raj was introduced in the
country was headed by
(a) Jivraj Mehta(b)
Ashok Mehta
(c) Balwant Rai Mehta
(d)None of these
47. The lowest unit in the
Panchayati Raj institutions is
(a) a village panchayat
(b) the Panchayat Samiti
(c) Zilla Parishad
(d) the Gram Sabha
48. The primary aim of the
49. The original scheme of

Panchayati Raj introduced in
1959, operates at (in
descending order of tiers)

(a) Zilla Parishad, Samiti,
Gram Sahha
(b) Panchayat Samiti, Gram
Panchayat, Zilla Parishad
(c) Gram Sabha, Zilla
Parishad,
Village
Panchayat
(d) Zilla Parishad, Panchayat
Samiti, Village Panchayat
50. Who is known as the Father
of Local Government in
India?
(a) Lord Curzon
(b) Lord Wellesly
(c) Lord Mayo
(d) Lord Ripon
ANSWERS
1. (c)
11. (b)
21. (c)
31. (c)
41. (d)
128
2. (a)
12. (d)
22. (d)
32. (d)
42. (b)
3. (d)
13. (a)
23. (a)
33. (c)
43. (b)
4. (a)
14. (a)
24. (b)
34. (d)
44. (b)
5. (d)
15. (d)
25. (d)
35. (c)
45. (b)
6. (d)
16. (a)
26. (b)
36. (d)
46. (c)
7. (d)
17. (d)
27. (b)
37. (b)
47. (a)
8. (c)
18. (d)
28. (b)
38. (d)
48. (c)
9. (b)
19. (a)
29. (a)
39. (d)
49. (d)
10. (d)
20. (b)
30. (d)
40. (b)
50. (d)
WHY IS IT A WIN-WIN SITUATION FOR THE STUDENTS?
You will be provided current affairs on various important topics on a weekly basis.
Important national and international news from various sources at a single platform for your
convenience.
Each and every topic will be given point wise , making it easier to grasp.
Very handy when it comes to various competitive exams..
VARIOUS CATEGORIES:
Planning Commission
Ministry of External Affairs
National Portal of India
National
International
Economy
India And The World
Sports
In The News
Science and Technology
Burning Issues (Editorials From Different Newspapers)
WHAT YOU WILL GET:
You will get (52 Issues) PDF Only no Hard Copy
For Full Information Click Here:

http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/current-affairs/weekly-update
THE GIST DETAILS:
Medium: English
Price: Rs. 840 Rs. 559
No. of Booklets: 12 (1 Year)
Publisher: IASEXAMPORTAL.COM
File Type: PDF File Only (No Hard Copy)
TOPICS OF THE GIST
Gist of The Hindu
Gist of Yojana
Gist of Kurukshetra
Gist of Press Information Bureau
Gist of Science Reporter
For Full Information Click Here:

http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/order-form/the-gist-subscription

Civil Services Mentor October 2015

Diunggah oleh

Informasi Dokumen

Judul Asli

Hak Cipta

Format Tersedia

Bagikan dokumen Ini

Bagikan atau Tanam Dokumen

Opsi Berbagi

Apakah menurut Anda dokumen ini bermanfaat?

Apakah konten ini tidak pantas?

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

Civil Services Mentor October 2015

Diunggah oleh

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

Page No.

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and India

For Advertisement Contact at :

Selected Articles from

Join Online Coaching For IAS Pre & Mains Exams

numbers on account of various large

of by public notification, specify the

Join Online Coaching For IAS Pre & Mains Exams

completed in only 70 cases and only

and most of the powers of the Gram

Join Online Coaching For IAS Pre & Mains Exams

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and India

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGS) AND INDIA

on basic development issues, which

partnership for development.

Join Online Coaching For IAS Pre & Mains Exams

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and India

Count Ratio (PHCR) estimate was

education also gender parity has

Join Online Coaching For IAS Pre & Mains Exams

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and India

prevalence per lakh population

2014 over 1990 for India.

Join Online Coaching For IAS Pre & Mains Exams

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and India

provides unique opportunity to India

compliment the skill development

Join Online Coaching For IAS Pre & Mains Exams

freedom in terms of resource

Mission will have a three-tiered, high

Online Coaching for IAS PRE General Studies

100% IAS Exam Syllabus Covered with MCQs.

Click Here to Join IAS (Pre.) Online Coaching:

Join Online Coaching For IAS Pre & Mains Exams

Amid the delay in release of

data generated by SECC on rural

observe, study and analyse

Taking a lead, India is working

India iiiiIhas reiterated its

Join Online Coaching For IAS Pre & Mains Exams

His entire speech was focused

Now its turn to Venus for ISRO

Following the success of Mars

Venus is our neighbor and has

examination has got about 53

The Commission has made

The topper of civil services

Join Online Coaching For IAS Pre & Mains Exams

long way in building self

for some new announcements.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Though the Opposition forced

Join Online Coaching For IAS Pre & Mains Exams

Congress for full compensation

RBI Governor might lose veto

In what looks like another sign

Besides, the draft proposed that

control to the government on

RK Pachauri, accused of sexual

Join Online Coaching For IAS Pre & Mains Exams

nothing to do with the sexual

Decision on net neutrality yet to

the government on net