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Index
Universal Immunization Programme
Page No.
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Reinterpretation of Japanese Constitution
NOVEMBER,2012
2014
AUGUST,
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BRICS Summit
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UNIVERSAL IMMUNIZATION PROGRAMME
Indian public health has seen a
massive improvement since
independence. At the time of
independence Life expectancy was
only 32 years and we had a very high
child and infant mortality rate. Various
programs and initiatives from the
government and non-government
organizations have led to this
development.
Universal
immunization program is one such
program which has helped in
reduction of spread of disease
covered under it. India started with
the expanded Program of
Immunization (EPI) in 1978 to
reduce child mortality. Under this
program six vaccines were covered
(Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), TT,
DPT, DT, polio, and typhoid).
Subsequently, in 1985 the Indian
government included Measles
vaccination and launched the
Universal Immunization Programme
(UIP) and a mission to achieve
immunization coverage of all infants
and pregnant women by 1990’s. It is
one of the largest immunization
program in the world in terms of
quantities of vaccine used, the
number of beneficiaries, the
geographical spread. It was
launched in 1985 in a phased
manner. Under this program
government gives vaccine to children
for seven diseases. Diseases covered
under this program are;
1. Polio;
2. Hepatitis B;
3. Childhood TB;
4. Tetanus;
5. Measles;
6. Diphtheria;
2
7. Pertussis;
It was also announced in 2014
that four vaccines will be added to
the program namely rotavirus, rubella
and Japanese encephalitis, as well as
the injectable polio vaccine.
Poliomyelitis (polio) is one of the
disease covered under universal
immunization program. It is a highly
infectious viral disease, which mainly
affects young children. The virus is
transmitted by person-to-person
spread mainly through the faecal-oral
route.
It multiplies in the intestine,
from where it invade the nervous
system and causes paralysis. Initial
symptoms of polio include fever,
fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness
in the neck, and pain in the limbs. In
a small proportion of cases, the
disease causes paralysis, which is
often permanent. There is no cure for
polio, it can only be prevented by
immunization. In 2010 government
started a drive against polio and in
2012 programme achieved big
success when India was removed
from active polio list of WHO. Similar
to polio, Japanese encephalitis(JE)
is also a viral disease. It is transmitted
by mosquitoes in humans causing
inflammation of the membranes
around the brain. Japanese
encephalitis is a leading cause of viral
encephalitis in Asia generally spread
from western pacific region in east to
Pakistan in west and from Korea in
north to Papua New Guinea in south.
Japanese encephalitis is a
disease caused by a flavi virus that
affects the membranes around the
brain. Generally infections caused by
Japanese encephalitis virus are mild
(fever and headache) or without
apparent symptoms, but sometimes
1 in 200 infections can result in severe
disease characterized by rapid onset
of high grade fever, headache, neck
stiffness, disorientation, coma,
seizures, spastic paralysis and death.
Routine Immunization targets to
vaccinate 26 million new born every
year and 100 million children in
between age 1-5 years for UIP. To
achieve this task millions of sessions
are conducted. Around 90 percent
immunization is done by public
sector and rest by private sector.
Union Government of India procures
the vaccine and supplies it to the state
governments. In order to keep the
vaccines safe large number of cold
chains are involved. It is necessary to
correctly forecast and predict the
requirement of state so that cold
chains are not overburdened.
Success of this programme depends
upon the ASHA and Anganwadi
workers, they mobilize eligible
children to site and ensure that no
one is left out. Due to all these efforts
India has drastically improved its
health indicators, despite being a
poor country. IMR and MMR has been
reduced to 44 per 1000 live births
and 212 per 100,00 live births
respectively. Although India has
improved its health indicators but
there is still a big scope for
improvement. Targets set up by
Millennium development goals are
still far off. In order to improve the
health conditions in India private
sector should have to contribute
more for it.
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REINTERPRETATION OF JAPANESE CONSTITUTION
With narrow land space and
poor natural resources, Japan heavily
depends on the international
environment for its survival. It has no
other choice than to make persistent
endeavors toward international
harmony in order to ensure its
existence. Moreover, against the
background
of
growing
interdependence among nations
today, Japan is strengthening its ties
with the international community in
every aspect of human life. As Japan’s
economic strength grows, its position
in the international community has
been strengthened accordingly. This
owes much to the wisdom and efforts
of the Japanese people.
Since the end of World War II,
country of Japan chose external
peace as a medium for their
development. National security has
been maintained through by
equipping itself with latest of
technology and maintaining a close
relationship with USA, but all with in
the constitution of Japan. Japan also
has a poor land space and natural
resources, it has to depend on
peaceful international conditions. As
economic capacity of Japan has
increased a lot , it’s political strength
has also been strengthened. In
proportion to Japan’s strengthened
political power internationally, other
countries want that Japan should play
an active role in the international
sphere. Every big nation has a
responsibility towards world peace
and order, Japan particularly has in
south east asia. In the 1970s relation
between two of the present super
powers of the world, U.S. and China,
normalised, this led to normalisation
of ties between Japan and China.
Various factors come together in
International arena to make this
happen, factors include, the
termination of the Vietnam War and
the events on the Indochinese
Peninsula, and disturbances in the
Middle East and Africa. In economic
sphere oil crisis led to spike in the
price of oil which has its bearing on
all economies.
Consequently, countries
developed a tendency of becoming
protectionist. This lead to increase of
inward looking tendency of many
countries including Japan.
But today’s world is starkly
different from the world of 1980’s, in
today’s world economic, political and
international issues all are
intermingled and they all encroach
in each other’s area. It has become
extremely difficult to develop in
economic sphere without infringing
into other countries interest. At this
juncture, Japan must, of its own
accord, make positive contributions
to the peace and prosperity of the
world through its economic strength
and political influence. It is only by
pursuing an active diplomacy in a
global perspective that Japan can
find the way to ensure veritable
peace and prosperity in the rigorous
international environment in the
coming years.
ARTICLE 9 OF
CONSTITUTION OF JAPAN
Article 9, The
Constitution of Japan (1947)
says that Japan
“Aspiring sincerely to an
international peace based on order,
the Japanese people forever
renounce war as a sovereign right of
the nation and the threat or use of
force as means of settling international
disputes. In order to accomplish the
aim of the preceding paragraph, land,
sea and air forces, as well as other
war potential, will never be
maintained. The right of belligerency
of the state will not be recognized.”
Japan was defeated by USA in
the world war II. United states asked
Japan to not to go to war again, and
Article 9 was written to guarantee
this. Japan however maintains army
for self defence, because Article 9
has been interpreted to mean that it
is acceptable to maintain purely
defensive military forces, with no
offensive capability. Presently it
maintains around 2,70,000 armed
men, which is relatively small
compared to its size and army
maintained by its neighbours.
But due to new challenges and
developments in present world and
China’s dispute in south china sea,
Japan has reinterpreted its
constitution. Japanese Cabinet
approved a reinterpretation of the
post-war
imposed
Pacifist
Constitution and changed right to self
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Reinterpretation of Japanese Constitution
defence to right to collective self
defence. The reinterpretation now
allows for “collective self-defence”
that would permit Japan to come to
the aid of its allies overseas. Japan’s
decision will shape the way the Self
defence forces cooperates not only
with the U.S. military but with other
militaries in Asia. Japan has already
expanded its security consultations
with a variety of regional powers,
including Australia, South Korea, the
4
Philippines, and India, and has
relaxed restrictions on the transfer of
military technology.
This would be a great
development not only for Japan but
also for world sphere, it will have
effects throughout the world. The
first consequence for Japan’s policy
change is a greater role for Japan in
the alliance with the United States.
The United States and Japan are
planning to revise the defense
cooperation guidelines at the basis
of their alliance and specify the
respective role of their military
establishments before the end of the
year. Bilateral security cooperation
between Japan and the United States
is thus likely to strengthen in the near
future. The possibility for Japan of
exercising the right to collective selfdefense will also help it engage in
security and defense cooperation
with countries sharing similar security
concerns.
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Reinterpretation of Japanese Constitution
BRICS SUMMIT
The acronym “BRICs” was
initially quoted by Goldman Sachs. It
was first coined in a report on growth
prospects of Brazil, Russia, India and
China. According to the report these
four countries have a great growth
prospects and they can become a
major stakeholders in the world
economy in the 21st century.
Successful interaction at the margins
of the General Debate of the UN
General Assembly (UNGA)in 2006 by
four BRIC countries led the decision
that the dialogue was to be carried
out at the level of Heads of State and
Government in annual Summits. First
Summit was held in Yekaterinburg in
2009, in 2011 BRIC formally became
BRICS with the induction of South
Africa. Now BRICS has surpassed the
reason for which it was initiated.
Initially it was only in economic
sphere now has BRICS has become a
promising political-diplomatic entity.
Till now total of six annual
summits have been held by BRICS.
After the Yekaterinburg Summit,
other Summits were held at, Brasilia;
Sanya; New Delhi; Durban; and
Fortaleza respectively. Durban
summit in 2013 lead to the conclusion
of first cycle of summits. First cycle
has seen BRICS has come a long way,
now it has become a forum for geopolitical, economic, scientific and
cultural exchange. Initiatives towards
reforming the international
institutions for better representation
of BRICS has long been an agenda.
Along with that trade ministers also
meet annually to expand
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cooperation on economic and trade
issues within the BRICS. Along with
that BRICS also has health and science
and technology forum. In these
forums ministers of health and
science and technology of BRICS
nations meet and discuss the existing
challenges.
SIXTH BRICS SUMMIT
Sixth brics summit was hosted
by Brazil, in the city Fortaleza. This
completes one cycle of full BRICS
countries. Although Brazil hosted a
BRIC conference in 2010 but that was
without South Africa. Argentine
President Cristina Kirchner was a
special guest of the summit. Various
issues and developments were
discussed in the summit and four
important agreements were signed,
they are given below;
1. Treaty for The Establishment of
a BRICS Contingent Reserve
Arrangement
2. Agreement on the New
Development Bank
3. Memorandum
of
Understanding
on
Cooperation among BRICS
Export Credit Insurance
Agencies
4. Cooperation Agreement on
Innovation
BRICS Contingent Reserve
Arrangement (“CRA”) is between the
BRICS nations. The Parties agree to
establish a self-managed contingent
reserve arrangement to look into any
actual or potential balan ce of
payment issue; this will also provide
a mutual support and increase the
financial stability of the countries. This
Contingent reserve arrangement will
also help in stablise global financial
situation and it will complement the
existing institutions like IMF.
The initial total committed
resources of the CRA will be USD 100
billion, with individual countries
contribution given below;
i. China – USD 41 billion
ii. Brazil – USD 18 billion
iii. Russia – USD 18 billion
iv. India – USD 18 billion
v. South Africa – USD 5 billion
Fortaleza summit also came up
with New Development Bank, this
decision is in continuation with the
decisions taken on 2012 New Delhi
summit and 2013 Durban summit. The
bank will mobilize resources for
infrastructure and sustainable
development projects in BRICS
nations and other emerging and
developing economies. Bank will
support public and private projects
through loans, guarantee and other
instruments. Founding members of
the bank are BRICS nations and
membership of the bank will be open
to any UN member. The New
Development Bank shall have an
initial subscribed capital of US$ 50
billion and an initial authorized capital
of US$ 100 billion. The initial
subscribed capital will be equally
distributed amongst the founding
members. The voting power of each
member will be equal to its shares in
the capital stock of the Bank.
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National Issues
NATIONAL ISSUES
Govt. to consider UPSC
exam in all 8th Schedule
Languages
♣ The Centre on Thursday said
there was “force” in the
argument that the Civil Services
Examination should be
conducted in all languages in
the Eighth Schedule of the
Constitution and assured the
Lok Sabha that this demand
would be considered.
♣ At present, while question
papers are set in English and
Hindi
and
the
main
examination can be attempted
in any language in the Eighth
Schedule, the preliminary
examination are available only
in English and Hindi.
♣ As protests continued within
and outside Parliament over the
Civil Services Aptitude Test
(CSAT), the government
reiterated that the preliminary
examination would be held as
scheduled on August 24.
♣ The Union Public Service
Commission is yet to clear the
air on whether it has accepted
the government’s view that the
English comprehension skill
component of CSAT — paper
II of the prelims — should not
be counted for merit or
gradation, and how this will be
implemented.
E-rickshaws Finally get
the Legal Stamp
♣ The Delhi High Court on Friday
advised the Delhi Government
to organise camps for
registration of e-rickshaws to
protect the operators from
further loss of earnings.
♣ However, it refused to lift the
ban on them plying on the
Capital’s roads till the drivers
have licences, registration
certificates and insurance
papers in their possession.
♣ Filing the draft guidelines to
regulate the battery-operated
rickshaws, the Centre sought
two months to finalise and
notify them and urged the
Court to let the vehicles ply
during the this period. But the
Court declined.
Don t disturb country s
secular fabric, says SC
♣ The Supreme Court on Friday
cautioned non governmental
organisations from making
allegations which would
disturb the country’s secular
fabric.
♣ A three-judge bench of Chief
Justice R.M. Lodha and Justices
Kurian Joseph and Rohinton
Nariman, was hearing a writ
petition filed by NGO Jayati
Bharatam, seeking a SIT probe
into incidents of conversion of
Hindu girls into Muslims.
♣ The Chief Justice of India (CJI)
told counsel Vishnu Shankar
Jain, appearing for the NGO
“this is a secular state. Don’t try
to bring religion into the court.
We are also concerned with the
matter and you are also saying
it is serious. But the colour
which you are giving is also
concerning us. We are
concerned with the law point.
Committee set up to
Review Parliament
Security
♣ Security of Parliament, which
was targeted by terrorists 13
years back, is set to be
strengthened further with a
special committee being set up
to suggest measures for it within
a month.
♣ The committee will be headed
by former Union Home
Secretary R.K. Singh and will
include former Rajasthan DGP
Harish Chandra Meena and
former Mumbai Police
Commissioner Satyapal Singh.
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National Issues
♣ The committee would give
suggestions on training,
adequacy of manpower and
other relevant issues. It would
also review all security
equipments installed and future
projections for further
strengthening security.
♣ In the previous Lok Sabha, a
committee on security in
Parliament complex, headed
by then Deputy Speaker Karia
Munda, was set up in the
aftermath of the pepper spray
attack inside Lok Sabha by a
Congress MP that sparked
massive outrage.
♣ This committee had examined
security-related matters, which
also included ways to prevent
bringing of dangerous and lifethreatening material into the
chamber of the House by the
Members of Parliament
themselves..
SC Restrains Haryana
SGMC from taking control
of Gurdwaras
♣ The Supreme Court restrained
the Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras
Management Committee
(HSGMC) from taking control of
51 of the 52 Gurdwaras in the
State.
♣ The bench, hearing a writ
petition questioning the
constitutional validity of the law
enacted
by
Haryana
government directed that status
quo be maintained in respect
of other Gurdwaras.
♣ The Bench also directed the
8
SGPC and HSGMC to open
separate bank accounts with
regard to the Gurdwaras under
their management and
possession and deposit all the
offerings in that account.
Three-language formula
not implemented
effectively: MHA
♣ According to union govt.,
Implementation of the Centre’s
Three-Language Formula for
schools all over the country has
been uneven owing to various
interpretations of the formula
by different States.
♣ In many States, it has been
adopted as 3+/-1 formula, and
for the speaker of (linguistic)
minority languages it has
become a four-language
formula as they have to learn
their mother tongue, the
dominant regional language,
English and Hindi.
♣ The Union Minister said some
boards/institutions permit even
foreign languages such as
Spanish, French and German in
place of Hindi or Sanskrit.
♣ Listing the reasons for
ineffective implementation,
Govt. said southern States like
Puducherry and Tamil Nadu
besides Tripura were not ready
to teach Hindi and Hindispeaking States did not include
any South Indian language in
their school curriculum. Among
the other causes are the fear of
heavy language load in the
school curriculum; all the
languages are not being taught
compulsorily at the secondary
stage; duration for compulsory
study of three languages varies;
and the States, most often, do
not have adequate resources
for provision of additional
language teachers and
teaching-learning materials.
♣ The Three-Language Formula
was devised in the Chief
Ministers’ conferences in 1961.
It was recommended by the
1968 policy under which the
first language to be studied
must be the mother tongue or
the regional language; the
second one in Hindi-speaking
States would be some other
modern Indian language or
English, and in non-Hindi
speaking States it would be
Hindi or English.
Government issues alert
for early detection of
Ebola Virus
♣ Union Govt. told Parliament
that advisories were issued to
the State Disease Surveillance
Units to be on alert for early
detection and management of
travel related Ebola virus cases
reported from the community.
♣ In view of the reports of
outbreak of the disease in
Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone
and Nigeria in West Africa,
Govt. recommended that nonessential travel to these
countries be deferred till such
time that the situation is
brought under control.
♣ Though there is no vaccine or
curative therapy for this
disease, outbreaks can be
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National Issues
contained through early
detection and isolation of
cases, contact tracing and
monitoring, and following
rigorous procedures for
infection control.
Government to auction
coal mines after
Obtaining Necessary
Approvals
♣ The government will auction
captive coal mines to
companies engaged in
production of steel, cement
and sponge iron after obtaining
necessary clearances and
detailed exploration of the
blocks.
♣ Notice Inviting application was
issued on February 26, 2014,
offering three coal blocks for
mining to companies engaged
in production of steel, cement
and sponge iron.
♣ The Ministry of Coal had offered
three blocks for auction for
captive use for steel, cement
and sponge iron companies —
two in Jharkhand and one in
West Bengal. The mines have
total reserves of 500 million
tonnes.
♣ Official auditor CAG had earlier
said allotment of 57 mines to
private firms without auction
had resulted in a notional loss
of Rs. 1.8 lakh crore to the
exchequer.
♣ Last year, the government had
allocated 17 coal mines to
Central and State public sector
units, including four to NTPC.
It had planned to auction 54
coal blocks with total estimated
reserves of about 18 billion
tonnes.
SC agrees to hear plea on
Extending Legal Limition
Abortion
♣ The Supreme Court on Tuesday
to hear detailed arguments on
a petition seeking to extend the
legal limit on abortion under
the Medical Termination of
Pregnancy Act (1971).
♣ The petition was filed by the
NGO, Human Rights Law
Network, on behalf of two
women identified as only Mrs.
X and Mrs. Y, who suffered pain
and indignity caused by the
20-week limit on medical
termination of pregnancy.
♣ The petition said this limit
extends to even cases of severe
fetal abnormalities, forcing
women to carry pregnancies to
term even where the foetus
may not survive delivery.
♣ However, all States will be
advised to develop syllabi and
Text Books keeping in view the
New Education Policy, taking
into consideration State
specific concerns.
♣ The National Policy on
Education (NPE) 1986, as
amended in 1992, has been the
guiding document for the
policies of the Central
Government in the education
sector.
♣ In the last twenty years, the
education scenario has been a
monumental change with the
emergence of several new
paradigms like rights based
approach to elementary
education, the endeavour to
extend universalization to
secondary education, reshape
the higher education scenario
and its impact on the innovation
environment and providing an
impetus to skill development
through vocational education.
India s first moored
observatory deployed in
Arctic
New Education Policy on
the anvil: Smriti
♣ Government is formulating a
new Education Policy aimed at
meeting the challenges posed
by lack of quality, research and
innovation in educational
institutions.
♣ Education being a subject in
the Concurrent List of 7th
Schedule of the Constitution,
the responsibility of education
lies primarily with the State
Governments.
♣ Country’s first multi-sensor
moored observatory IndARC
was successfully deployed in
Kongsfjorden Fjord of the
Arctic roughly halfway
between North Pole and
Norway.
♣ This observatory, designed and
developed by ESSO-NIOT and
ESSO-NCAOR with ESSOIndian National Centre for
Ocean Information Services
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National Issues
(INCOIS), Hyderabad, was
deployed from the Norwegian
Polar Institute’s research vessel
R.V. Lance.
♣ A team of scientists from the
Earth System Science
Organisation-National Institute
of Ocean Technology (ESSONIOT) Chennai and ESSONational Centre for Antartic and
Ocean Research (NCAOR)
termed the same as a milestone
in India’s scientific endeavours
in the Arctic region.
Kosi floods: Centre
rushes relief teams to
Bihar
♣ The Centre rushed in essential
supplies, relief teams and other
assistance to Bihar to deal with
Kosi flood situation and put on
standby several aircraft to deal
with any emergency.
♣ An
assessment
team
comprising experts from
different fields is in Nepal to
oversee the situation as an
artificial dam created there on
a Kosi tributary following a
massive landslide has sparked
fears of floods in Bihar.
♣ Government also said eight
National Disaster Response
Force teams have already been
deployed and seven will soon
be sent.
♣ 44,000 persons had been
evacuated by the Bihar
government and the state
administration was urged to
speed up the process, adding
10
that 107 relief camps had been
set up. One composite column
(100 personnel) of army and air
force had reached Supaul and
one Saharsa in the state and
three more columns mobilised
from Sukna have gone to
Katihar.
wants to open a new chapter
in India-Nepal relations , while
hoping to connect lives across
our open borders seamlessly.
Centre constitutes
committee to look into
changes in Lokpal rules
♣ A committee under the
chairmanship of the Attorney
General (AG) has been formed
by the Centre to look into the
amendments in Lokpal search
panel rules, which were
notified by the last United
Progressive Alliance (UPA)
government.
♣ The search panel is mandated
to recommend names for
appointment of chairperson
and members of the Lokpal.
This panel has faced some
objection in the past, the
search panel has to choose
these persons from among the
panel provided by the
Department of Personnel and
Training (DoPT).
♣ As per the existing rules, an
eight-member search panel is
tasked to draw up a panel of
persons for consideration by
the selection committee led by
the Prime Minister for
appointment of chairperson
and members of the Lokpal.
♣ The government is likely to
empower
the
search
committee to also include
people from outside the list to
be provided by the DoPT for
consideration by the selection
committee.
PM hopes to
across open
link lives
borders
♣ Prime Minister Narendra Modi
♣ Mr. Modi is the first Indian Prime
Minister to pay a bilateral visit
to Kathmandu in 17 years. The
visit is significant, given he will
return to Kathmandu later this
year for the SAARC Summit.
♣ In his statement, Mr. Modi
outlined the areas he hoped to
forge agreements on: “trade
and investment, hydropower,
agriculture, environment,
tourism, education, culture and
sports.”
♣ The two sides are expected to
announce a power trading
agreement, which will lead to
the signing of a 900-MW
hydropower agreement during
the visit
Modi offers $1-bn
package to Nepal
♣ Prime Minister Narendra Modi
on Sunday expressed India’s
commitment and assistance to
Nepal’s development and
promising to take the two
countries’ relations to a new
height.
♣ Mr. Modi referred to the NepalIndia relationship as “older than
the Himalayas and the Ganga,”
even as he announced a $1
billion Line of Credit for Nepal’s
infrastructure development.
Mr. Modi also promised to help
Nepal in the field of
hydropower, infrastructure,
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space technology and
agriculture.
♣ He assured that the work on
Pancheshwar Multipurpose
Project would begin in a year.
After years of negotiations,
work on this joint venture
project has not begun. Nepal
could prosper by selling
electricity to India.
♣ The Indian Prime Minister
assured Mr. Koirala that the
ongoing peace process in
Nepal was entirely a Nepali
matter and should be
concluded as per Nepal’s
requirements.
♣ In the presence of the two
Prime Ministers, the officials
signed three memorandum of
understanding (MoU) – tourism
development in Nepal, Goitre
Control Programme in Nepal,
and co-operation between the
state-controlled television
channels – Doordarshan and
Nepal Television (NTV). They
also exchanged terms of
reference
(ToR)
on
Pancheshwar Development
Authority.
♣ Mr. Modi would offer prayers
at the Pahuspati Temple on
Monday before heading to the
President’s Office to meet
President Dr Ram Baran Yadav.
reservoirs is reported to be 57
per cent of the total storage
capacity of these reservoirs.
Average water levels on August
7 were 82 per cent of the
storage of the corresponding
period last year.
SC to examine whether
two life sentences can be
imposed for Repeated
Murders
Monsoon picks up, so does kharif sowing
♣ With improvement in the
southwest monsoon, kharif
sowing has picked up and is
now only 8.89 per cent lower
than last year.
♣ Although there are still
concerns about the lower
sowing of oilseeds, pulses and
coarse cereals, the paddy
plantation is less by only 5.18
per cent over last year and
cotton sowing is higher by 1.9
per cent over last year.
♣ According to the India
Meteorological Department, till
August 8, monsoon was 18 per
cent below the long period
average with the highest
departure of 32 per cent in
northwest India.
♣ The shortfall in the sowing of
coarse cereals, however, is still
high at 20.89 per cent over last
year. Sugarcane cultivation this
year has been in 47.17 lakh
hectares compared to 50.32
lakh hectares in the
corresponding period last year.
♣ The average storage in 85
♣ The Supreme Court decided to
examine an important question
of law whether the trial court
or the High Court can impose
two life sentences on an
accused for repeated murders.
♣ In this case the accused was
initially
awarded
life
imprisonment for murder
committed in 1994. Even as he
was undergoing the sentence,
he committed another murder
when on parole for a brief
period. He was again
sentenced to undergo life term
consecutively after the
completion of first life
sentence.
♣ Although under Section 427
(2) of Criminal Procedure Code
“When a person already
undergoing a sentence of
imprisonment for life is
sentenced on a subsequent
conviction to imprisonment for
a term or imprisonment for life,
the subsequent sentence shall
run concurrently with such
previous sentence”.
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Move to scrap Planning
Commission raises
Constitutional Questions
♣ Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
decision to scrap the Planning
Commission has raised
administrative
and
Constitutional questions that
the Centre will have to address
in the coming days.
♣ The first of these is what
happens to the ongoing 12th
Five Year Plan? “The 12th Plan
is an ideologically-neutral,
NDC-approved, growth policy
document with inclusion and
sustainability as its pillars and
technically the Centre cannot
on its own decide to junk it,” a
high-level source said.
♣ Second, since indications are
that the role of making plan
allocations to States for
development spending will be
transferred to the Finance
Ministry, there are likely to be
implications of this for India’s
federal system. Will the States,
especially those governed by
the Opposition parties, readily
accept allocations from the
Union Finance Ministry is the
question, says Y.K. Alagh, who
was Planning Minister in the
Deve Gowda government.
Crowd-sourced ad for I&B
Ministry
♣ The idea behind this exercise
is to involve people in
governance and bridge the
divide between the rulers and
the ruled.
12
♣ With this same end in view, the
Human Resource Development
Ministry has recently launched
an internship programme
where college and research
students can work in various
education departments and
help in policy formulation.
♣ According to the Ministry, it
got 1,000 entries of which 10
were shortlisted by a panel of
field experts, artists and
academics.
♣ This is the second time that a
Ministry has crowd-sourced an
advertisement for an occasion,
the first instance was on World
Day to Combat Desertification
on the request of Environment
and Forests Ministry
Google polluted Internet
with classified material:
Survey of India
♣ Surveyor General of India
Swarna Subba Rao has alleged
that the Internet giant did not
refrain from mentioning
classified sites even after
having been asked not to do
so.
♣ The Survey of India, India’s
national survey and mapping
organisation under the
Department of Science and
Technology, is the complainant
in the case. After initial probe
by the Delhi Police, the case
was handed over to the CBI as
the investigation involved a
company which is based in the
US.
♣ Google had not taken
permission from SoI before
organising
a
mapping
competition in February-March
2013 in which they asked
citizens to map their
neighbourhoods, especially
details related to hospitals and
restaurants.
♣ As per the National Map Policy
2005, “the responsibility for
producing, maintaining and
disseminating the topographic
map database of the whole
country, which is the
foundation of all spatial data,
vests with the Survey of India”.
♣ It was alleged that Google India
had launched a nationwide
contest and people might have
passed on maps and other key
details of strategic installations
located in other cities and
states to the U.S. company, the
sources added.
♣ For SoI, it was clarified that the
company never took any
permission before undertaking
the mapping exercise, and
from national security point of
view, civil and military Vital
Areas, Vital Points (VPs) cannot
be shown in the map/data
published in public domain
Women s quota Bill lapses
due to Lack of Consensus
♣ Dashing the hopes of women
and all other sections who
espoused the cause, the
Women’s Reservation Bill has
lapsed. After being passed in
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the Rajya Sabha in 2010, the
Bill, which provides for 33 per
cent reservation for women in
Parliament and Legislative
Assemblies, was sent to the Lok
Sabha for approval, but did not
see the light of the day for lack
of political consensus and will.
♣ Article 107 (5) of the
Constitution states: A Bill which
is pending in the House of
People or which having being
passed by the House of the
People is pending in the
Council of States shall, subject
to provisions of Article 108
(joint sitting of both the
Houses), lapse on a dissolution
of the House of People.
♣ The Bill was approved in the
Rajya
Sabha
after
unprecedented pandemonium leaving the Chairman with
no option but to suspend seven
members of the RJD and the
Samajwadi Party who were
adamant on stalling it at any
cost.
♣ It would now be an uphill task
for the NDA to take up the
initiative particularly as it is
woefully short of majority in the
Rajya Sabha for passage of a
controversial constitutional
amendment Bill.
♣
♣
♣
♣
DGCA issues Ebola
advisory for Airlines
♣
♣ DGCA will monitor whether
airlines are keeping a record of
all passengers who are
returning to India after staying
or transiting through four West
African countries.
With airlines forming the first
line of defence against the
Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in
India, the Directorate General
of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has
become active in enforcing
Government guidelines in this
respect.
In particular, the DGCA will
monitor whether airlines are
keeping a record of all
passengers who are returning
to India after staying or
transiting through four West
African countries and are
passing on the information to
Airport Health Officers. This
will be tallied against Indian
missions in these countries
sending in advance details of
passengers boarding from the
affected countries.
The DGCA has also supplied
airlines with an announcement
format that has to be included
in in-flight announcements. The
accent is on self reporting by
passengers whose symptoms
match with the onset of EVD.
Passengers are also being
provided with a form in which
they have to fill their health
details in case they have visited
any of the four EVD hit
countries over the past three
weeks.
For people heading out to West
Africa, the advice is to avoid
travel to the EVD affected
countries if they are suffering
from flue or taking medicines
to combat an infectious
disease. This is because in both
cases there is a weakening of
immunity making the person
more susceptible to EVD. They
will also be asked to avoid
visiting hospitals treating EVD
affected patients
Six-member National
Judicial Commission to
Select Judges for Higher
Courts
♣ The Judicial Appointments
Commission Bill, 2014 passed
in the Lok Sabha provides for
setting up of a six-member
National Judicial Commission to
select and recommend judges
to the High Courts and
Supreme Court.
♣ The Constitution (121st
Amendment) Bill, 2014 and the
‘National
Judicial
Appointments Commission Bill’
seek to give constitutional
status to the NJC, comprising
the Chief Justice of India
(Chairperson); two other
senior-most judges of the
Supreme Court; the Union Law
Minister and two eminent
persons to be nominated by the
Prime Minister, the CJI and the
Leader of Opposition of the
Lok Sabha. One of the eminent
persons shall be nominated
from amongst the Scheduled
Castes, the Scheduled Tribes,
Other Backward Classes,
Minorities or women.
♣ The object of constituting the
Commission is to enable
participation of judiciary,
executive and eminent
persons and will ensure greater
transparency, accountability
and objectivity in the
appointment of judges to
higher judiciary.
♣ On the recommendations of
the Commission, the President
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will appoint the High Court and
Supreme Court judges.
However, if for some reason,
the President requests the
Commission to reconsider
certain recommendations and
the recommendation is
reiterated the President is
bound
to
make
the
appointment.
♣ The Bill mandates the
Commission to make regulations
specifying the criteria of
suitability with respect to the
appointment of Judges of High
Courts and Supreme Court, the
procedure and conditions for
selection and procedure for
transfer of judges from one
High Court to another.
BJP may extend
Parliament Session to
enable passage of bills
♣ The current Session of
Parliament may be extended to
enable the passage of bills,
Parliamentary Affairs Minister
Venkaiah Naidu told BJP MPs .
♣ Government is keen to get
important bills passed like the
National Judicial Appointments
Commission Bill, the Juvenile
Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Bill, Apprentices
(Amendment) Bill, Constitution
(121st Amendment) Bill,
Repealing and Amending Bill,
Factories (Amendment) Bill,
the Insurance Bill, the
Securities Laws (Amendment)
Bill and the Labour Laws
(Exemption from Furnishing
Returns and Maintaining
Registers
by
Certain
Establishments) Amendment
Bill.
♣ DoPT launches e-service
record system for govt.
employees
14
♣ With the objective to promote
a paperless regime and better
human resource management,
the Department of Personnel
and Training (DoPT) has
launched an e-service record
book portal for government
employees.
♣ Earlier documented in paper
files, the service record
provides information on various
portfolios and posts held by a
particular
government
employee.
♣ In future, it would also prove to
be of great assistance in an
efficient management of
human resource. The system
can facilitate work allocation
based on the skills and
experiences of the employees
under consideration for a
particular post or department.
♣ The DoPT has also launched a
Basic Leadership Skills Module
for Central Secretariat Services
officers at the Institute of
Secretariat Training and
Management. The module is
expected to equip civil
servants with the skills that help
them function efficiently in a
complex and challenging
environment.
♣ A Learning Resource Centre has
also been set up with a
mandate to identify and adopt
the leading national and
international practices in the
field of training techniques and
technologies to strengthen the
Trainers
Development
Programme, to develop a cadre
of high quality trainers.
Panel suggests separate
law to protect northeast
people
♣ A separate law with specific
rovisions to protect people
from the northeast living in
different parts of the country
along with amendment of
sections of IPC has been
suggested by M P Bezbaruah
committee that was set up after
increased attacks on citizens
from the region.
♣ Committee had recommended
a new law based on an
observation by Delhi High
Court which said one person
from a State must not be
discriminated in another State.
♣ The Bezbaruah Committee was
set up after the death of Nido
Tania, 20, following an
altercation with shopkeepers
and others at the Lajpat Nagar
in south Delhi in January. Last
week, another youth from
Manipur, Akha Salouni (29),
was killed after he was
allegedly beaten by a group of
five men in a suspected case
of road rage in Kotla
Mubarakpur in South Delhi.
Government mulls
Amendments to antiDowry Law
♣ Keeping in view the rising
number of complaints
regarding the misuse of antidowry law, the Centre is mulling
to introduce penal provisions
in the Act that will ensure
punishment or penalty to those
who make false charges.
♣ Earlier this month, the Supreme
Court had directed the State
governments to instruct police
“not to automatically arrest
when a case under Section
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498A of IPC (dowry
harassment) is registered but to
satisfy themselves about the
necessity for arrest under the
parameters laid down flowing
from Section 41 of Criminal
Procedure Code.”
♣ The Apex court had expressed
concern over the misuse of the
anti-dowry law by “disgruntled”
wives against her husband and
in-laws and noted that the Act
was being increasingly used to
harass in-laws.
♣ The amendments may include
widening the definition of
‘dowry’ by changing the words
‘in connection with marriage’
to ‘given before the marriage,
at the time of marriage and at
any time after the marriage’.
♣ Notifying the list of gifts
exchanged during the
wedding may also be made
mandatory and failure to do so
could invite heavy penalties
including a three-year jail term
not only to the bride and the
groom but also to their parents.
Increase Compensation
for Acid Attack victims:
SC
♣ The Supreme Court on Friday
issued notices to State
governments on steps taken to
enhance the rehabilitation and
monetary compensation
awarded to acid attack victims
struggling to survive and get
medical treatment.
♣ In February 6, 2013, the
Supreme Court in another case
had directed the government
to draft appropriate regulations
for sale of acid and
rehabilitation of victims.
♣ “There is laxity on your part.
Everyday, we have one or two
such incidents of acid attack,”
CJI Lodha observed.
Indian among the prefinalists to receive
Humanitarian Award
♣ An Indian humanist is among
the pre-finalists of a
humanitarian award worth $1
million to be handed over by
Gonzaga University of
northwestern United States in
October.
♣ The award is given on behalf of
The Opus Prize Foundation
that recognises faith-based
humanitarian work.
♣ Gollapalli Israel, the Indian preinalist is a Baptist priest who
leads the Janodayam Social
Education Centre in Tamil
Nadu and provides education
and human rights services to
members of the Dalits.
♣ The other pre-finalists are U.S.
based Joe Maier and Sister
Teresa Fitzgerald.
Collegium
System under Review
♣ Eminent
jurists,
the
Chairperson and members of
the Law Commission will
review the working of the
collegium
system
of
appointments to higher
judiciary.
♣ According to the government,
the present process adopted
by the collegium of judges is
beset with its own problem of
opacity
and
nonaccountability,
besides
excluding the executive
entirely in the consultative
exercise for appointment of
judges.
♣ Due to the inherent
deficiencies in the collegium,
275
judges’
posts
(approximately) in various High
Courts are lying vacant, which
has a direct bearing on the
justice delivery system.
♣ The meeting will consider
bestowing constitutional status
on the National Judicial
Appointments Commission as
recommended
by
the
Parliamentary
Standing
Committee.
♣ The Judicial Appointments
Commission Bill, 2013 seeks to
set up a six-member body,
which includes Judges,
executive, Leader of opposition
in lok Sabha, for recommending
to the President names of
individuals having outstanding
legal acumen and impeccable
integrity and credibility to the
post of Supreme Court and
High Courts judges.
HSGPC: Centre may seek
Presidential reference
♣ The Centre is exploring the
option of making a Presidential
reference to the Supreme
Court for its opinion on the
validity of the controversial law
enacted by the Haryana
government to create a new
board to manage Sikh shrines
in Haryana.
♣ Attorney-General Mukul
Rohatgi gave an opinion that
the Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras
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(Management) Bill, 2014,
which got the assent of the
then Governor on June 14, was
unconstitutional.
♣ Mr. Rohatgi told the Centre that
the Haryana Assembly did not
have
the
legislative
competence to pass the Bill as
the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925,
came under the Union List.
♣ The gurdwaras in Haryana are
managed by the Shiromani
Gurdwara
Parbandhak
Committee (SGPC). But, under
the new law passed by the
Assembly, 72 of them will be
managed by the Haryana Sikh
Gurdwara
Prabhandhak
Committee, with the SGPC
losing control over them.
♣ According to the Punjab
government, the SGPC is an
“inter-State body” as defined
under Section 72 of the Punjab
Reorganisation Act, 1966,
indicating that its jurisdiction
extends beyond Punjab and its
members are elected from
places beyond the State’s
boundaries. And The move to
set up a separate committee in
Haryana was in contravention
with the provisions of the
Reorganisation Act, as it
affected the SGPC’s ‘interState’ status.
Farmers deserve a standing ovation: Narendra Modi
Collegium system should
g o - Law Ministry
♣ At a high-level meeting
between the Law Ministry and
eminent jurists , absolute
consensus was reached that
the collegium system should
go.
♣ The
meeting
saw
parliamentarians and retired
Chief Justices of India
participating along with Union
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
and Law Minister Ravi Shankar
Prasad, Law Commission
Chairperson Justice A.P. Shah,
Attorney-General Mukul
Rohatgi and Solicitor-General
Ranjit Kumar attended.
♣ The government was very clear
in its assurance that it did not
want to go back to the precollegium system days when
the Executive had veto power
over judges’ appointments.
Members to 18 panels
appointed unanimously
♣ Prime Minister Narendra Modi
on Tuesday asked the scientific
community to set specific goals
for themselves to ensure that
lab research reaches farmers
and helps raise their incomes.
♣ Mr. Modi said that Indian
farmers deserve a standing
ovation for providing for the
nation and changing the face
of the country in the food and
farm sector. Yet, there is
potential for more not only in
crops but in fisheries and
16
animal husbandry.
♣ Bemoaning the supplydemand gap in pulses and
edible oilseeds, Mr. Modi asked
scientists to dedicate
themselves in the research of
suitable variety so that the
country is not dependent on
import of these commodities.
♣ PM also highlighted the need
to conserve the water, he
sighted the example form the
history of Mahatama Gandhi.
♣ NDA government managed the
appointments of members to
the various parliamentary
committees “unanimously.”
♣ All the parties agreed to
choose members through
consensus rather than insist on
an election, the last time such
an initiative was pulled off was
in 1984.
♣ Appointments have been
made to 18 parliamentary
committees and government
bodies, which include the
crucial committees – Public
Accounts Committee, Public
Estimates Committee, Public
Undertaking Committee – and
to the Committee on the
Welfare of Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes, Other
Backward Classes and the
Official Languages.
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Law Commission
recommends fixed
Tenure for CJI
representative from the
government side “to ensure that
the executive has a meaningful
voice”.
Kisan TV:
Ideas Sought on Twitter
♣ A.P. Shah has recommended,
Same retirement age of 65 for
Supreme Court and High Court
judges; a “cooling-off period”
for judges after retirement; and
a fixed tenure for Chief Justice
of India.
♣ Justice Shah reasons that the
retirement age of Supreme
Court judges was increased to
65 as an “incentive” for High
Court judges to leave the
comfort of their hometowns
and come to New Delhi. This
consideration is no longer
relevant, the note says. The
retirement age of High Court
judges is 62. Elevation to the
Supreme Court guarantees
them an additional three-year
tenure.
♣ It recommends that the Chief
Justice of India should get a
fixed tenure of two years in
case their tenure as CJI is less
than two years. This step should
be implemented from August
26, 2022 after the junior-most
judge currently serving in the
Supreme Court, and who is
slated to be CJI, retires.
♣ The note says the JAC should
be a seven-member body with
the CJI as chairperson, and
three Supreme Court judges.
Incidentally, the note has the
Law Minister as the sole
♣ Prasar Bharati Chief Executive
Officer Jawahar Sircar took to
the social media to seek ideas
on the contours and content of
Kisan TV proposed in the
Budget.
♣ This was following a need felt
for a “reach out” strategy to debureaucratise schemes for the
Doordarshan’s channel. The
Union Finance Minister had set
aside Rs. 100 crore for the
channel.
♣ Kisan TV will be dedicated to
the interests of agriculture and
allied sectors. The idea is to
disseminate
real-time
information to farmers on varied
issues, including new farming
techniques, conservation and
organic farming.
level meeting to take stock of
the situation. Ms. Swaraj
directed transfer of funds from
the Indian Community Welfare
Fund (set up by the Ministry of
Overseas Indian Affairs) for use
by Indians in difficult
circumstances in Libya.
♣ Libyan companies employing
about 450 Indian nationals had
agreed to allow them to return
to India, the MEA informed.
♣ Unknown kidnappers on
Wednesday
seized
a
Philippine nurse in the Libyan
capital, held her for several
hours and raped her.
Sushma confronts
Kerry with Snooping
First batch of Indians
from Libya to return
♣ The first batch of Indian
nationals stuck in conflictridden Libya is expected to
return before the weekend.
♣ North African country is
witnessing the fiercest violence
since the fall of Muammar
Qadhafi, several countries are
evacuating their citizens from
Libya.
♣ External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj chaired a high-
♣ In India’s strongest statement
on the issue yet, External Affairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj called
the U.S. surveillance of Indian
entities “unacceptable”, and
said she had taken up the issue
of “snooping” by the National
Security Agency (NSA) with
Secretary of State John Kerry
during the fifth India-U.S.
strategic dialogue.
♣ The U.S. Secretary of State’s
visit is first high-level interaction
at the political level after the
new government came to
power.
♣ No breakthroughs marked the
strategic dialogue between
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National Issues
India and the U.S. on the trade
facilitation talks at the WTO.
While talks were still in progress
in Geneva, the deadline for
India to sign the Trade
Facilitation Agreement expired
on Friday.
♣ Ms. Swaraj said, “There is
growing global partnership to
the relationship.” While Mr.
Kerry said “India and the U.S.
are indispensable partners in
21st century. There are
incredible possibilities in our
relationship.”
♣ Given the lack of breakthrough
in talks over WTO, pharma
concerns, patent rights and
U.S. restrictions on visas for
skilled Indians, Mr. Kerry
conceded, “We know we have
a lot of homework to do. We
need to break down barriers in
trade.”
Batra s Panel to
Indianise Education
♣ In a move parallel to the new
government’s
reported
decision to set up a commission
on educational reforms, the
controversial teacher-turnedactivist Dinanath Batra decided
to form a “non-governmental”
commission to “Indianise”
education.
♣ The
Non-Governmental
Education
Commission
(NGEC) will have 31 members,
including Mr. Batra.
♣ Some of the courses
recommended under these
models have already been
introduced in a few universities,
he said. The Jalandhar-based
Punjab Technical University,
Mr. Batra said, had included
Vedic Mathematics, Value
Education and Integral
Humanism.
18
First push to inland
waterways on cards
♣ Government will give a decisive
push to make the GangaHooghly waterway navigable
for freight movement by tying
up for a World Bank loan that
could be as much as $1 billion.
♣ Developing inland waterways
is a key agenda for the National
Democratic
Alliance
Government as it pushes for
decongesting communication
bottlenecks and opening up
options for high volume freight.
♣ These barrages will be part of
the Government’s recent
announcement of a series of
barrages on the Ganga from
Allahabad to Haldia which will
facilitate movement of larger
vessels. The plan has drawn
criticism
from
environmentalists who have
highlighted the dangers of
sedimentation and the decline
of fisheries.
♣ Government believes that river
transportation is the cheapest
available option and should be
maximised to boost economic
growth. Already barges have
begun supplying imported coal
to Farakka super thermal power
plant in the absence of land
based
transportation
alternatives.
♣ The plan for the Ganga-
Bhagirathi-Hooghly stretch,
which the Government is
prioritising, envisages a large
number of additions such as
navigation aids along the entire
1,600-km-stretch and night
navigation between Tribeni
and Farakka, a GPS system and
repair facilities along the route.
All Indian nationals told
to return from Libya
♣ India has made arrangements
to fly out 58 nurses from Libya
and has asked all its nationals
to consider returning home
since the condition in the
country has “deteriorated.”
♣ Ministry of External Affairs said
the nurses would travel by road
to Tunis and then be flown back
to India.
♣ Government have arranged for,
if it is required, a special flight
to come to Djerba which is two
hours from the border of Libya.
But the flight will be used if
there is enough planeload.
However, if smaller numbers
continue, Govt. will then have
to take them to Tunis and then
fly them out.
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National Issues
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES
WHO declares Ebola an
International Health
Emergency
♣ The World Health Organization
(WHO) declared the Ebola
outbreak in West Africa to be
an international public health
emergency that requires an
extraordinary response to stop
its spread.
♣ The WHO announced the
Ebola outbreak the largest and
longest in history is worrying
enough to merit being
declared an international
health emergency. WHO
declared similar emergencies
for the swine flu pandemic in
2009 and for polio in May.
♣ Countries affected to date
simply do not have the capacity
to manage an outbreak of this
size and complexity on their
own, The current outbreak of
Ebola began in Guinea in March
and has since spread to Sierra
Leone and Liberia
U.S. is coming to Help:
Obama
♣ U.S. authorised a two-pronged
military intervention in Iraq,
aimed both at protecting
American personnel and assets
located in the conflict zones,
and also at staving off “a
potential act of genocide,” in
the Sinjar area where nearly
50,000 members of the Yazidi
minority community were
trapped atop a mountain
besieged by IS fighters.
♣ Mr. Obama said Washington
had begun conducting
humanitarian airdrops at the
request of the Iraqi government.
♣ Ahead of the airstrikes, the first
direct military action by the
U.S. in Iraq since troops pulled
out in 2011, which were
authorised by the U.S. Central
Command commander, the
U.S. also used one C-17 and
two C-130 aircrafts to airdrop
5,300 gallons of fresh drinking
water and 8,000 ready-to-eat
meals near Mount Sinjar.
♣ Iraqis welcomed the U.S. airlift
of emergency aid to thousands
of people who fled to the
mountains to escape Islamic
extremists and called for
greater intervention. In contrast
to Washington’s decision to
invade Iraq more than a
decade ago, both the airdrop
and the authorisation of military
action against the Islamic State
group were widely welcomed
by Iraqi and Kurdish officials
fearful of the militants’ lightning
advance across the country.
♣ British Prime Minister David
Cameron has welcomed the
decision taken by the United
States to authorise “targeted
strikes” against the Islamic
militant forces in Iraq. The U.K.
chaired a meeting in the United
Nations Security Council on
Thursday seeking a strong
international response to the
crisis in Iraq.
Israel-Hamas truce ends;
talks on Gaza Deadlocked
♣ A three-day truce between
Israel and Hamas has expired
after indirect talks in Cairo on
new border arrangements for
the blockaded Gaza Strip hit a
deadlock.
♣ There was no apparent sign of
a possible extension of the
calm as the truce expired at
0500 GMT on Friday. Just
before the end of the truce,
Gaza militants fired two rockets
at Israel.
♣ Israel has said it is willing to
consider easing border
restrictions but demands that
Hamas disarm.
WTO imbroglio: India not
for 1986-87 as base year
♣ India has offered fixing of the
base year for food subsidies on
the basis of average of last
three years, as opposed to
1986-87 as proposed by WTO,
as a way forward for an
agreement at the WTO.
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International Issues
♣ India did a ‘course correction’
on the position taken at the Bali
ministerial
conference.
Explaining the changed stance,
the Govt. said India insisted on
a ‘single undertaking principle’
to ensure simultaneous
implementation of nine plus
one issues which the Ministers
had agreed at Bali.
♣ Govt said it is not alone in this
matter, it said that India and
other LDCs were willing to wait
till September 2014, for every
one to convince each other.
Israel agrees to extend
Gaza ceasefire
♣ Israel has agreed to extend
beyond Friday a 72-hour
ceasefire that has halted a
month of fighting in the Hamasruled Gaza Strip.
♣ The 72-hour ceasefire, which
came into effect on Tuesday,
has brought relief to millions on
both sides after one month of
fighting killed nearly 1,900
Palestinians and 67 people in
Israel, mostly soldiers.
♣ United Nations chief Ban Kimoon urged a permanent end
to the cycle of Israeli and
Palestinian violence. Indirect
talks between Palestinian
factions and Israel have been
taking place, mediated by
Egypt, to broker a long-term
ceasefire.
♣ Israel and Palestine, both sides
are digging in their positions as
negotiations continue in Cairo
20
on a lasting truce and
reconstruction for the warbattered coastal territory.
Iraqi militants seize
country s largest Dam
♣ Sunni militants from the Islamic
State group seized Iraq’s largest
dam, placing them in control of
enormous power and water
resources and access to the
river that runs through the heart
of Baghdad.
♣ After a week of attempts, the
radical Islamist gunmen
successfully stormed the Mosul
Dam and forced Kurdish forces
to withdraw from the area.
♣ The Mosul Dam or Saddam
Dam as it was once known is
located north of Iraq’s
second—largest city Mosul,
which fell to the militants on
June 10. Fighting intensified in
the region after the nearby
towns of Zumar and Sinjar fell
to the militants.
♣ The al—Qaeda—breakaway
group has established its idea
of an Islamic state in the
territory it controls in Iraq and
Syria, imposing its harsh
interpretation of Islamic law.
Iraqi government forces, Kurds
and allied Sunni tribal
militiamen have been struggling
to dislodge the Islamic State
militants and its Sunni allies with
little apparent success.
♣ The seizing of dams and
reservoirs gives the militants
control over water and
electricity that they could use
to help build support in the
territory they now rule by
providing the scarce resources
to residents. Or they could sell
the resources as a lucrative
source of revenue.
Nepal landslide raises fears of floods in East India
♣ Rescue workers in eastern India
urgently evacuated tens of
thousands of people after a
deadly
landslide
in
neighbouring Nepal blocked a
river that could burst its banks
and submerge scores of Indian
villages.
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International Issues
♣ Nepal’s army triggered three
controlled explosions on
Saturday to allow some water
to flow out of the lake, but much
of it remains trapped. Bihar
Government has asked all
government doctors and civil
officials in threatened areas to
cancel vacation plans. Soldiers,
as well as air force helicopters
and jets, were on standby for
relief and rescue operations.
♣ The local government also
invoked a law allowing
authorities to forcibly evacuate
villagers who refuse to leave
their homes and property and
move to higher ground or
government-run relief camps.
The government has so far
evacuated 60,000 people and
set up 120 such camps.
♣ The annual monsoon season,
which runs from June through
September, is vital for the
largely agrarian economies of
South Asia but every year also
brings in floods and landslides
that kill thousands and
submerge hundreds of villages.
Israel, Hamas accept
Egyptian ceasefire plan
♣ Israel and Hamas accepted an
Egyptian ceasefire proposal
meant to halt a bruising monthlong war that has claimed nearly
2,000 lives, raising hopes that
the bloodiest round of fighting
between the bitter enemies
could finally be coming to an
end.
♣ The war broke out on July 8,
2014 when Israel launched an
air offensive in response to
weeks of heavy rocket fire out
of Hamas-controlled Gaza. It
expanded the operation on
July 17 by sending in ground
forces in what it described as a
mission to destroy a network of
tunnels used to stage attacks.
Israel says the last of the tunnels
has nearly been destroyed.
♣ Israel has demanded that Gaza
become “demilitarised,”
requiring
the
unlikely
cooperation of Hamas in giving
up its significant arsenal.
Lights to go out across
UK to Mark World War One Centenary
♣ On August 4, the whole of
Britain will be plunged in
darkness for an hour in a Lights
Out initiative to mark the
centenary of the country’s
entry into World War 1.
♣ Several official and unofficial
events that have been planned
over the last year will mark the
day. They reflect and reinforce
a war memorial sentiment that
appears as diverse as the forms
that memorialisation are taking
in this country.
♣ All these will in different ways
examine the legacy and lessons
emerging from World War 1
(1914-1918), which claimed
the lives of 10 million soldiers
and impacted the lives of
countless others.
♣ Commonwealth British citizens
have marshalled their own
memories and histories of the
war experience. The largest
non-British component of the
British fighting forces, and on
which the imperial war
machine heavily relied was
from India. Nearly 1.5 million
soldiers were drafted into the
war effort. Of them 74,000
died.
Close to 100 killed in
recent Xinjiang violence,
China says
♣ July 28 clashes in a remote town
of the western Xinjiang region
had left close to 100 people
killed, marking the worst
violence to hit the Muslimmajority region in more than
five years.
♣ A large mob armed with knives
and axes attacked government
offices, police stations and
majority Han Chinese residents
in two townships in Yarkand
(Shache in Chinese), a county
in the Kashgar Prefecture in
Xinjiang’s west.
♣ Officials said the group had “set
roadblocks” on highways to
stop vehicles, and attacked
passengers with knives. Some
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International Issues
were seen carrying banners
declaring “holy war”.
♣ The violence in Yarkand is the
biggest since July 2009, when
large scale riots between
Uighurs and Han Chinese left
at least 197 people killed. The
government has blamed the
East Turkestan Islamic
Movement (ETIM) and other
groups for organising the
attacks.
UNSC Resolution adopted
to combat ISIS fighters
linked groups including Jabhat
al-Nusra in Syria.
♣ The six men now subject to a
global travel ban and asset
freeze include four who either
recruited or helped finance alNusra — Abdelrahman
Mouhamad Zafir al Dabidi al
Jahani, Hajjaj Bin Fahd Al Ajmi,
Said Arif and Abdul Mohsen
Abdallah Ibrahim al Charekh.
♣ Another man, Hamid Hamad
Hamid al-Ali, was blacklisted
for helping finance both alNusra and the Islamic State
group. Abou Mohamed al
Adnani was blacklisted for
financing and perpetrating acts
supporting the Islamic State
group.
U.S. fighting Alongside
Terror Groups in Iraq?
♣ Responding to the growing
terrorist threat in Iraq and Syria,
the U.N. Security Council
imposed sanctions on six men
for recruiting or financing
foreign fighters and threatened
additional sanctions against
those supporting terrorist
groups.
♣ The U.N.’s most powerful body,
in a resolution adopted
unanimously, also demanded
that the Islamic State extremist
group and all al-Qaeda-linked
groups end violence and
disarm
and
disband
immediately.
♣ The British-drafted resolution
follows the recent offensive by
the Islamic State group, which
has taken control of a large
swath of eastern Syria and
northern and western Iraq,
brutalising civilians and forcing
hundreds of thousands to flee,
as well as increasing terrorist
activity by other al-Qaeda22
♣ In its intensifying battle in Iraq
against militant group Islamic
State, the U.S. appeared to be
edging closer towards fighting
alongside factions of Turkish
origin that the State
Department has designated as
“terrorist” groups.
♣ In recent days PKK fighters
were said to be manning the
front line near Kirkuk and
“Aided by U.S. airstrikes on
Islamic State positions, they
also helped take back the key
town of Makhmour from the
Islamic State.”
♣ While lobbying efforts are
concurrently underway in the
U.S. to have the PKK de-listed
from its terror designation, “that
act would require a political
will that at present is lacking
and risks irking Turkey,” the
Post said, leaving open-ended
the question about which
groups on the Kurdish list the
U.S. ought to be covertly
arming.
Outcry over police
crackdown in Ferguson
♣ A violent crackdown by law
enforcement authorities in
Ferguson, Missouri, after
protests over the shooting of an
unarmed teenager by a police
officer on August 9, has raised
a national furore here,
particularly after two journalists
of major media outlets were
arrested and another television
camera crew was hit with tear
gas.
♣ After Michael Brown (18), an
African-American, was shot
multiple times by an unnamed
police officer following a
scuffle near a squad car,
residents of Ferguson took to
the streets to protest what they
believed to be police brutality,
prompting a fierce crackdown
by SWAT teams armed with
military-style
weapons
including assault rifles and
armoured cars.
♣ Although the President called
for Ferguson police to be
“open and transparent” about
“heart-breaking” death of Mr.
Brown, the American Civil
Liberties Union of Missouri has
already initiated a lawsuit
against the police demanding
that they release all public
records on the case, to which
they are entitled under state
law.
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International Issues
UN Human Rights
Council appoints Panel for
Palestine Inquiry
♣ The UN Human Rights Council
President Baudelaire Ndong
Ella announced a threemember panel to investigate
the human rights violations in
the occupied Palestinian
territory, particularly in the
conflict-torn Gaza Strip.
♣ Ms. Ella appointed Canadian
William Schabas to serve as
chair of the independent
international commission of
inquiry, Xinhua reported.
♣ The commission also comprises
British lawyer Amal Alamuddin
and Doudou Diene from
Senegal.
♣ The Council decided to
establish the commission of
inquiry at its 21st special session
July 23, 2014, to investigate all
violations of international
humanitarian law and
international human rights law
in the occupied Palestinian
territory, including East
Jerusalem, particularly in the
occupied Gaza Strip, in the
context of the military
operations conducted since
June 13.
♣ The same session asked the
commission to present its
findings in March 2015.
♣ The present Israeli offensive in
Gaza that began on July 8 has
killed over 1,900 Palestinians
and left over 9,500 wounded,
including
children.
around
2,800
Hamas Agrees to 24-hour
Truce in Gaza
♣ Israel
extended
the
humanitarian truce in Gaza for
another 24 hours at the request
of the United Nations, but
Hamas resumed rocket fire and
rejected the move saying no
ceasefire is valid without Israeli
tanks withdrawing from Gaza as
conflict
killed
1,050
Palestinians.
♣ Hamas later agreed to observe
a 24-hour humanitarian truce as
fighting resumed and the two
sides wrangled over the terms
of a lull the international
community hopes can be
expanded into a more
sustainable truce.
Construction of bridge
with world s tallest Pillar
begins
♣ Construction of the world’s
tallest railway bridge with the
tallest pillar — it’ll be 141
metres-high — has begun near
Noney in Manipur.
♣ The bridge, which spans over
a gorge with an overall length
of about 700 meters, is part of
the 111-km long Jiribam-TupulImphal broad gauge railway
line under construction that will
connect Manipur’s capital
Imphal with the country’s
railway network.
♣ This bridge is slated to become
the tallest in the world from the
point of view of pillar height
surpassing the existing tallest of
Mala-Rijeka viaduct on
Belgrade-Bar railway line in
Europe where the height of
pillars is 139 m.
Indians in Libya told to
Leave Country
♣ Amid spiralling violence in
Libya, India’s mission in Tripoli
advised its nationals to leave the
strife-torn country using all
available means and not to
travel to that country.
♣ Andhra Pradesh government
wrote to External Affairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj seeking
the Centre’s intervention to
evacuate people from the State
who were working in the north
African country.
♣ Prior to the uprising in Libya, the
number of Indians engaged
there was estimated to be more
than 18,000.
EU sanctions on Russia
could self-harm
♣ The impact of the new and most
comprehensive sanctions
against Russia, which the
European Union announced
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International Issues
♣
♣
♣
♣
♣
24
will do some self-damage, but
the burden of that should be
equally shared amongst
European economies, said U.K.
The raft of sanctions was
announced by the EU. In their
statement, the 28 membernations said, “It is meant as a
strong warning: illegal
annexation of territory and
deliberate destabilisation of a
neighbouring
sovereign
country cannot be accepted in
21st
century
Europe.
Furthermore, when the
violence created spirals out of
control and leads to the killing
of almost 300 innocent civilians
in their flight from the
Netherlands to Malaysia, the
situation requires urgent and
determined response.”
The sanctions will “limit access
to EU capital markets for
Russian state-owned financial
institutions, impose an
embargo on trade in arms,
establish an export ban for dual
use goods for military endusers, and curtail Russian access
to sensitive technologies
particularly in the field of the
oil sector.”
The EU had only last week put
another 15 Russian individuals
and 18 entities to asset freezes
and visa bans on their list for
“undermining
Ukrainian
territorial integrity and
sovereignty.”
Germany’s endorsement tilted
the balance in favour of going
for the higher level of
sanctions. As the strongest EU
economy, and the country with
the biggest trade ties with
Russia, its backing was crucial.
The sanctions will not apply
retroactively, but will take
effect only for future
transactions. Thus, the
concerns of at least one nation,
France, will be addressed as
the curbs on arms sale will not
stop its sale of two Mistral
helicopter carrier warships to
Russia under a contract signed
in 2011.
U.S. court rules in favour
of Union Carbide
♣ A New York court struck what
appeared to be a deathblow
to the case brought by victims
of the 1984 poison gas disaster
in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh,
when it ruled in favour of the
defendant, the Union Carbide
Corporation (UCC), finding that
the company could not be
sued
for
ongoing
contamination from the
chemical plant.
♣ The Bhopal gas tragedy,
considered India’s worst
industrial disaster, occurred on
December 2 1984 at the UCIL
pesticide plant and in its wake
many thousands of people were
injured from exposure to
methyl isocyanate gas and other
chemicals and several
thousands were killed.
♣ While EarthRights International
said that they were “confident
[that evidence surrounding
Couvaras’ role] will lead to a
reversal of the erroneous
decision on appeal,” Judge
Keenan further ruled that the
Government of Madhya
Pradesh would also not be held
liable for a clean-up of
contamination at the site of the
disaster.
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India & The World
INDIA & THE WORLD
Great expectations from
Modi s Japan trip
♣ India has “great expectations”
from
Prime
Minister
NarendraModi’s five-day visit
to Japa, his first bilateral trip
outside the subcontinent.
♣ Underlining the importance of
the East Asian region, Mr.
Modi’s visit to Japan will be followed by a Vietnam trip by
President Pranab Mukherjee in
September.
♣ External Affairs Minister
SushmaSwaraj just concluded
a visit to Vietnam.
♣ Top business leaders, including
Mukesh
Ambani,
GautamAdani and Kumar
Mangalam Birla, will travel separately to Japan in visits timed to
coincide with high-level business interactions Mr. Modi will
initiate with his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe.
India, Pakistan hold third flag meeting
Officers of the Border Security
Force and the Desert Rangers
of Pakistan held their third flag
meeting along the international
border that has witnessed
relentless ceasefire violations in
the past month and a half.
♣ While the BSF complained
about regular ceasefire
violations, the Pakistani Rangers
denied the charge and drew
attention to the loss of life and
property in BSF shelling.
♣ Committed to working with
Modi government, says
Singapore PM
♣ Singapore Prime Minister Lee
HsienLoong re-affirmed his
commitment to working with
newly elected leaders in India
and Indonesia.
♣ “There are new leaders in
Indonesia and India. How their
countries fare will affect the
entire region. I look forward to
working with them,” said Mr.
Lee referring to Indian Prime
Minister NarendraModi and
Indonesian
President
JokoWidodo in his annual
National Rally speech.
♣ Highlighting Singapore’s
concern
about
global
uncertainties, Mr. Lee said: “The
world is in flux. Conflicts far
away could affect us.”
Japanese investment in
smart cities high on Modi
agenda
♣ During his visit to Japan, from
August 31 to September 3,
Prime Minister NarendraModi is
hoping to seal several bilateral
agreements.
♣ According to diplomatic
sources, these will include
infrastructural investment for
the government’s “smart cities”
initiative, with Japan proposing
project development agreements on high-speed railways,
more industrial corridors, and
road-links and rail-links through
the north-eastern States to
ASEAN countries as well.
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♣ The one aspect of the new
government’s foreign policy
that has moved from the past is
the tougher language of
discourse with leaders.
BASIC Ministerial meet on
August 7, 8
♣ The twoday 18th BASIC
countries (Brazil, South Africa,
India and China) Ministerial
Meeting will get underway to
discuss important issues relating
to the current UNFCCC Climate
Change negotiations specially
on matters pertaining to the
Adhoc Working Group on the
Durban Platform.
♣ The 17th BASIC Ministerial
Meeting on Climate Change
was held in Hanzghou, China
last October.
♣ The BASIC Ministerial meeting
provides an opportunity to Environment Ministers to enhance
coordination on important issues in climate change negotiations and to arrive at a common position on such issues.
The BASIC Ministers have been
meeting regularly since the
Conference of Parties in
Copenhagen.
Developed Nations must
walk the talk on Climate
Goals
♣ The BASIC (Brazil, South
Africa, India and China) group
reiterated that developed
countries should walk the talk
on climate change goals, accept
their historical responsibilities
26
of polluting the planet and
finance technology transfer to
the developing world.
♣ BASIC proposed joint action on
various issues including
emission targets and other
plans to be set out by next year.
♣ A joint statement issued here
after the two-day 18th
ministerial meeting said
progress after the Warsaw
climate talks was reviewed and
the 2015 outcome to be
adopted at the meeting in Paris
should be comprehensive,
balanced, equitable and fair in
order to enhance the effective
implementation of the United
Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change.
♣ India said all countries should
ratify the second commitment
period of the Kyoto Protocol
quickly and there should be full
operationalisation of the Green
Climate Fund. Under the
Durban Platform, the countries
were expected to increase
their ambitions on emission cuts
but that is not happening, with
some like Japan reducing their
targets.
India, Pakistan must
Negotiate FTAs
’
♣ Co-chair of the India-Pakistan
Joint Business Forum (IPJBF)
said that the two neighbours
should consider negotiating
free trade agreements (FTAs).
He also expressed the hope
that Islamabad would soon
grant the Most Favoured Nation
(MFN) status to India as the
formalities on the matter had
already been completed.
Pakistan is yet to reciprocate
India’s grant of MFN status to it
in 1996.
♣ The PIJBF has constituted 10
task forces including for
agriculture, banking and
finance,
energy,
visa
facilitation,
textiles,
automobiles, engineering and
IT that will recommend steps
and policies that the two
neighbours could take for
increasing bilateral trade and
investments.
India to draft 5-year plan
of action to deepen ties
with ASEAN
♣ In her address at the 12th IndiaASEAN meeting in Nay Pyi
Taw, External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj said India would
soon draft a five-year plan of
action starting 2016 to take the
trajectories of common
interests with ASEAN to a new
level
and
particularly
emphasised on improving
connectivity in the region to
further boost trade and
people-to-people contact.
♣ Strongly
pitching
for
improvement in connectivity,
Indian said India wanted
connectivity in all its
dimensions - geographic,
institutional and people-topeople. She also referred to
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5Ts of government of India —
Tradition, Talent, Tourism,
Trade and Technology —
reflecting priority areas and
noted that in foreign policy
connectivity precedes them all.
♣ The ASEAN-India strategic
partnership owes its strength to
the fact that India’s ‘Look East’
policy meets ASEAN’S ‘Look
West’ towards India.
♣ The members of ASEAN include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore,
Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam. India and the ASEAN have
already implemented a free
trade agreement in goods and
are set to widen its base and
include services and investments. The India-ASEAN Trade
in Goods Agreement was
signed in August 2009 and it
came into force on January 1,
2010.
♣ There has been significant
progress in ties between India
and the ASEAN grouping in
the last few years in diverse
sectors, particularly in trade and
commerce. The bilateral trade
grew by 4.6 per cent from $68.4
billion in 2011 to $71.6 billion
in 2012. ASEAN’s exports were
valued at $43.84 billion and
imports from India amounted to
$27.72 billion in 2012. The target has been set at $100 billion
by 2015 for ASEAN-India
trade.
Singaporean counterpart K.
Shanmugam held extensive
talks on entire gamut of bilateral
relations and discussed ways to
speed up air and maritime
connectivity and coastal
development.
♣ During their talks spread over a
working lunch hosted by Mr.
Shanmugam, the two leaders
agreed to work towards a
bilateral meeting between
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and
his
Singaporean
counterpart Lee Hsien Loong at
the
earliest
possible
opportunity.
♣ Singapore being the largest
foreign investor last year, the
visit by Ms. Swaraj, who arrived
on Friday night, is aimed at
further enhancing investment
to India in various infrastructure
projects including the new
government’s ambitious 100
smart cities venture. In the
budget, the new Indian
government had proposed to
develop 100 ‘smart cities’ as
satellite towns of larger cities
and allocated Rs 7,060 crore
for the ambitious project.
India, U.S. to discuss
problems in nuclear
Trade
♣ Mr. Kerry will be meeting
External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj along with a full
delegation for the fifth IndoU.S. Strategic Dialogue.
♣ Mr. Kerry will also meet Mr.
Jaitley, and sources said
discussions on defence
purchases that the U.S. is
pushing, including helicopters,
missiles, and ultra-light
howitzer guns, are expected to
be positive.
♣ During the strategic dialogue,
India and the U.S. will try and
iron out the issues in conducting civil nuclear trade. Despite
interest from companies such
as Westinghouse and GE, trade
has been blocked over U.S.
concerns on India’s suppliers’
liability clause. India has already been able to cross similar hurdles with France and
Russia.
India, Singapore decide to
scale up trade ties
♣ India and Singapore decided
to scale up ties in key areas of
investment and trade which has
witnessed a huge surge from
$4.2 billion to about $19.4
billion in the last one decade.
♣ External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj and her
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Economy
ECONOMY
Tata Value ties up with
Snapdeal
♣ Online marketplace Snapdeal
and Tata Value Homes, a
subsidiary of Tata Housing with
focus on affordable housing ,
announced partnership to
enable users to buy houses
online.
♣ As part of the partnership,
about 1,000 homes across
projects in cities such as
Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad,
Bangalore and Chennai will be
put up for sale on Snapdeal.
These houses are priced
between Rs.18 lakh and Rs.70
lakh and range from 1 BHK to 3
BHK.
♣ Tata Value Homes will continue
to sell through its own portal as
well.
♣ Upon possession of the house,
customers buying the house
through Snapdeal will get
Rs.10,000 a month for a year as
an assured rent (whether they
stay on premise or lease it out)
as part of the deal.
Centre to unveil home
loan Scheme for
Transgenders
♣ The Union Ministry of Housing
and Urban Poverty Alleviation
28
(HUPA) has proposed rolling
out a loan assistance scheme
that will for the first time help
transgenders
and
economically weaker sections
to secure home loans in urban
areas.
♣ The Ministry has tweaked the
existing Rajiv RinnYojna (RRY),
which was launched as an
instrument to aid the EWS
(economically
weaker
sections) and LIG (lower
income group) segments in
urban areas, through enhanced
credit flow and replaced it with
a new scheme that will make it
easier for the economically
weaker sections and minority
groups to own homes.
♣ The RRY launched by the UPA
government with much fanfare
failed to take off and funds
earmarked for it lapsed.
♣ The Ministry has now not only
given it a new name — HOMES
(Home Owners Mortgage
Equity Subvention Scheme)
but has also made it more
attractive by enhancing the
loan amount and increasing the
interest subsidy from 5 per
cent to 5.5 per cent on loans
granted to construct houses or
extend the existing ones.
Insurance Bill may be
cleared by year-end
♣ Union Finance Minister
ArunJaitley has expressed
hope that Parliament will pass
the Insurance Bill for raising the
foreign direct investment (FDI)
limit to 49 per cent by the end
of this year, the first major
economic reform proposed by
the
NarendraModi
Government.
♣ The UPA Government had
originally proposed raising the
FDI cap back in 2008 when it
introduced the Insurance Laws
(Amendment) Bill. However,
opposition from political
parties, including the BJP, did
not allow the Bill to be taken
up in the RajyaSabha.
♣ The Modi Government
introduced a fresh Insurance
Laws (Amendment) Bill in
Parliament earlier this month. It
proposes a rider that
management control rests in the
hands of an Indian promoter
alongside the eased FDI cap.
♣ After the introduction of the
Bill, the government moved 97
amendments because of which
it could not be passed.
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Economy
Monthly cap on LPG
cylinders Goes
♣ The Union Cabinet lifted the
restriction of one LPG cylinder
per month to a domestic
consumer. While households
will still get only 12 cylinders in
a year at subsidised rates.
♣ The monthly cap has been
lifted in view of complaints
from consumers regarding the
limited access to LPG imposed
by the earlier restriction.
♣ Now consumers can avail
themselves of their quota of 12
cylinders at any time of the
year.
Smart cards to buy Milk
♣ Angry customers haggling with
milk-booth operators for
change is a common sight.
♣ Keeping this in mind and to
promote cashless transactions,
Delhi-NCR’s largest milk supplier, Mother Dairy, has teamed
up with the State Bank of India
to make everyone’s life easier
with the help of a smart card.
Higher minimum PF
pension from Sept. 1
♣ The minimum monthly pension
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of Rs. 1,000 and a higher wage
ceiling of Rs. 15,000 for social
security schemes run by the
Employees’ Provident Fund
Organisation
will
be
implemented from September
1. It will benefit 28 lakh
pensioners.
♣ The government has raised the
maximum sum assured under
the Employees’ Deposit Linked
Insurance Scheme to Rs. 3 lakh.
♣ This means in case an EPFO
subscriber dies, his family will
be entitled to sum assured of
Rs 3.6 lakh instead of existing
Rs 1.56 lakh.
Govt to increase
dearness allowance to
107 p.c
♣ The Government is likely to
approve a hike in dearness
allowance (DA) to 107 per cent
from the existing 100 per cent,
benefiting around 30 lakh
Centre’s employees and its 50
lakh pensioners including
dependents.
♣ “The average rate of retail inflation for industrial workers from
July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014
works out to be 7.25 per cent.
Thus the Central government
will hike dearness allowance for
it employees by 7 per cent,” an
official said.
♣ He said the Finance Ministry
will now put a Cabinet proposal
for approval of 7 per cent DA
hike from July 1 this year as the
revised Consumer Price IndexIndustrial Workers data for June
was released by Labour Ministry on Saturday.
♣ With increase in DA, the
pensioners will also gain as the
benefit provided to them as
dearness relief will be hiked to
107 per cent of basic pay.
♣ The previous UPA government
had increased DA to 100 per
cent from 90 per cent with
effect from January 1, 2014, on
February 28 on the basis of
agreed formula for revision of
the allowance.
Competition Commission
of India puts SunRanbaxy deal under
public Scrutiny
♣ The Competition Commission,
which has put the multi-billion
dollar Sun-Ranbaxy deal for
public scrutiny, said the major
issue is whether the
combination would result in
high market concentration of
certain molecules.
Labour issues can t be
solved using police: HC
♣ “A labour problem cannot be
solved using police force,” said
Justice P. Devadass of the
Madras High Court, while
releasing on conditional bail
167 workers arrested on the
Independence Day for staging
a demonstration at the
Kancheepuram Collectorate.
♣ The judge said the arrested
could not be treated as
hardened criminals as they did
not possess any lethal weapon.
♣ The police or public or public
officials were not their enemies.
They were airing their
grievance
against
the
management of a company.
29
Economy
L&T to bid for
Bullet Train Project
♣ Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is gearing up to bid for the
government’s ambitious bullet
train project, its Executive
Chairman A. M. Naik, said.
♣ He said that L&T had emerged
as the lowest price bidder for
the SardarVallabhbhai Patel’s
Statue of Unity project in
Gujarat though the contract
was yet to be awarded.
♣ The company is also expecting
bigger opportunities from infrastructure projects, including
metro rail.
5 Indian firms among
Forbes most innovative
companies
♣ Five Indian companies,
including Hindustan Unilever
and Tata Consultancy Services,
are among Forbes’ list of the
world’s 100 most innovative
companies that investors think
are most likely to “generate big,
new growth ideas”.
♣ The annual ‘World’s Most
Innovative Companies’ list,
released, has been topped by
California-based global cloud
computing
company
Salesforce for the fourth year
in a row.
♣ The five Indian companies on
the list are consumer goods
company Hindustan Unilever,
which is ranked 14th, followed
by IT major Tata Consultancy
Services (57), construction
services firm Larsen & Toubro
(58), pharma major Sun Pharma
Industries (65) and Bajaj Auto
(96).
RBI panel to study tax
structure on financial
instruments
♣ The Reserve Bank of India, set
30
up a working group to study
various issues relating to
taxation
of
financial
instruments.
♣ The working group is expected
to suggest appropriate
rationalisation measures to
boost private financial savings.
It will review the current tax
structure as applicable to
various financial instruments
issued in theIndian financial
system. It will also identify
possible ‘tax arbitrage’ among
financial instruments under the
extant tax structure. Also, it will
suggest rationalisation of tax
treatment across financial
instruments to promote
financial savings and for
minimising distortions, taking
into
account
the
recommendations of earlier
committees in this regard and
the draft Direct Taxes Code.
♣ BalbirKaur,
Adviser,
Department of Economic and
Policy Research, Reserve Bank
of India, will be the convenor
of the group.
♣ It is expected to submit its
report within three months of
its first meeting.
Black Economy now
amounts to 75% of GDP
♣ Driven substantially by the
higher education sector, real
estate deals and mining
income, India’s black economy
could now be nearly threequarters the size of its reported
Gross Domestic Product
(GDP).
♣ There were no “reliable”
estimates of black money
generated in India and held
within and outside the country,
the government commissioned
the National Institute of Public
Finance and Policy (NIPFP) to
estimate the black money in
India and held overseas by
Indians.
♣ The capitation fees collected
by private colleges, on
management quota seats in
professional courses, last year
was around Rs 5,953 crore.
Plan afoot to make
Telcos Tighten
Verification Norms
♣ The Government is planning to
finalise and notify an upgraded
penalty structure after its
strategy of imposing fines on
companies with unverified
mobile phone subscribers paid
marginal dividends.
♣ The Department of Telecom
(DoT) has been invoking
licence conditions to impose
penalties on companies slow in
verifying whether subscribers
have complied with the
formalities of providing their
residential address and other
details.
♣ The Department of Telecom
has always drawn short when
penalising private companies.
Every year about two dozen
telecom operators attract
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Economy
penalties for various offences
but the actual money flowing
to the Government Exchequer
has hovered around the 15 to
20 per cent mark.
♣ According to DoT, these
phone companies have been
unable to account for the
identity and residence proofs
of over 4.5 crore SIM cards.
Companies should have paid
heed to the country’s national
security interests while
competing with each other to
enrol more customers.
PM announces Rs. 8,000Crore Package
♣ Prime Minister Narendra Modi
waived off Jammu and
Kashmir’s Rs. 60-crore liability
towards the Food Corporation
of India and announced a
special Central assistance of Rs.
8,000 crore for four major road
projects.
♣ Listing ‘Prakash’ (energy),
‘Paryavaran’ (ecology) and
‘Paryatan’ (tourism) as
development boosters the
State needs, Mr. Modi said the
development of J&K was a top
priority for his government.
♣ Mr. Modi also inaugurated two
power projects — at Nemo
Bazgo in Leh and at Chutak in
Kargil — besides laying the
foundation stone of a Rs 1,788cr transmission line that would
connect entire Ladakh region
to the northern grid via Srinagar
and Drass.
D oT working on
Modalities of
BSNL-MTNL Merger
♣ In a bid to revive BSNL and
MTNL, Department of Telecom
is working on modalities to
merge the two state-run
telecom companies and also
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undertake organisational
restructuring.
♣ Asked if there is a timeline for
the merger, the source said
there is no set timeframe but it
might take one to two years.
♣ Minister of Communications
and IT Ravishankar Prasad had
also met the senior management of BSNL and MTNL recently to discuss the blueprint
for reviving the loss-making
PSU telecom companies.
India s largest solar
Power plant Planned in
Madhya Pradesh
♣ Plans are afoot to set up the
country’s largest ultra mega
solar plant in Madhya Pradesh’s
Rewa district. The plant, to
produce 700 MW of electricity,
would require an investment of
Rs 4,000 crore.
♣ Thirteen hectares of land
spread over four villages of
Barseta, Ramnagar, Latar and
Badwaar has been chosen for
locating the plant in Gurh tehsil
of Rewa. The State government
would set up the plant as a joint
venture with the Ministry of
New and Renewable Energy,
Power Grip Corporation and the
Solar Energy Corporation of
India .
♣ The government is promoting
generation of renewable
energy by providing various
fiscal and financial incentives
such as capital and interest
subsidy, concessional excise
and customs duties to
encourage Indian and foreign
investors to invest in new
renewable energy sector.
Govt seeks ways to
increase use of
broadband capacity
♣ Concerned over underutilisation of broadband
capacity, the government
sought suggestions from the
industry to enhance its usage
that is at around 50 per cent
level.
♣ The government and other
stakeholders have to find the
reason for under-utilisation of
broadband by the private
sector “whether it is cost,
speeds of connectivity or is it
devices that are very costly”.
♣ The government is working to
connect all the 2.5 lakh
panchayats with high speed
broadband network but
stakeholders need to ensure
that the new infrastructure
being laid is utilised by people
in the rural areas.
♣ The government has plans to
set-up National E-governance
Academy, knowledge portal
on e-governance and enhance
usage of social media platform.
31
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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
DGCA Surprise Checks
Reveal Leading Airlines
Violating Safety
Procedures
♣ The Directorate General of Civil
Aviation (DGCA) put up a
presentation on safety
standards
for
airline
representatives that revealed
some glaring lack of safety
procedures by leading carriers.
library of Florida’s newest
university. Welcoming its first
students this week, Florida
Polytechnic University’s new
library houses not a single
physical book.
♣ The ‘bookless’ library is not the
first in America: Library Journal
also cites a bookless public library in Bexar County, Texas, a
school library in Minnesota and
two NASA libraries.
India to get decadal
climate Prediction Model
♣ Along with this, the Geological
Survey of India has been working on area-specific forecasting
of landslides.
♣ India is on the verge of
developing a new climate
prediction model exhibiting
climatic fluctuations on
decadal timescales that have
large societal implications,
ShaileshNaik, Secretary to the
Ministry of Earth Sciences, has
said.
♣ Addressing the media, Mr. Naik
said scientists of various
agencies led by the India
Meteorological Department
were on the final stage of
establishing a model that could
forecast the subtleties of
climate with a fair degree of
accuracy.
First indigenously built stealth corvette inducted
BMW launches updated
version of X3
♣ German luxury carmaker BMW,
launched the updated version
of its sports utility vehicle X3.
♣ The new X3 is available only in
diesel option, and is being
locally produced at the
company’s Chennai plant.
Florida s newest
university opens bookless
library
♣ There are no dusty bookshelves
or piles of textbooks in the
32
♣ Indigenously built stealth antisubmarine warfare corvette INS
Kamorta was commissioned
into the Eastern Fleet of the
Indian Navy at a grand
ceremony.
♣ Commander ManojJha read the
commissioning warrant in the
presence of Defence Minister
ArunJaitley, Chief of Naval Staff
Admiral R K Dhowan, Flag
Officer Commanding-in-Chief
of Eastern Naval Command
Vice Admiral SatishSoni,
Controller of Warship
Production and Acquisition
Vice Admiral A Subedar and
Chairman and Managing
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Science & Technology
Director Garden Reach
Shipbuilders and Engineers
Rear Admiral (retd) AK Verma.
♣ Following the breaking of
Commissioning
Penant,
National Flag and Navy Ensign
were hoisted for the first time
on the ship.
Drones to guard India s
forests and wildlife
were
recently
tested
successfully in Panna Tiger
Reserve and Kaziranga forest.
♣ Drones can also be used for
night surveillance and tracking
of many elusive and shy animals
like the red panda and snow
leopard, which are very rarely
seen by the human eye in their
natural wild habitat. Travelling
at a speed of 40 km per hour,
the drones can be used for
around 40-50 minutes
WHO says it s ethical to
try untested Ebola
medicines
♣ Unmanned aerial vehicles or
drones will soon fly over India’s
forests to monitor poaching,
track wildlife and even count
the population of tigers.
♣ Scientists at the Wildlife
Institute of India (WII) are
coming up with a series of such
drones which are being
customised indigenously to suit
different types of forest
landscape.
♣ Under a joint collaboration with
the National Tiger Conservation
Authority (NTCA) and
international environment body
WWF, they are preparing a
detailed project report for
introducing drone monitoring
in 10 wildlife-rich areas across
the country.
♣ A drone can be put on
autopilot mode and sent as far
as 40-50 km deep into the
forest where it can record
images and videos and transmit
them on a real-time basis. Its
movement can also be
controlled through a GPSbased system. Such drones
♣ The World Health Organization
(WHO) said it’s ethical to use
unproven Ebola drugs and
vaccines in the outbreak in
West Africa provided the right
conditions are met.
♣ The U.N. agency issued the
statement after holding a
teleconference with experts to
discuss the issue.
♣ The WHO said that people can
ethically receive such
treatments but sidestepped the
questions of who should get
the limited drugs and how that
should be decided.
♣ In the biggest-ever outbreak of
Ebola, two Americans have
gotten an experimental Ebola
treatment never tested in
humans and two more
treatments were reportedly on
their way to treat two Liberia
doctors. The developments
have raised ethical questions
about whether it’s right to use
untested treatments in people
sickened by a disease that has
no licensed treatment.
Sierra Leone
Declares Emergency
♣ Sierra Leone leader Ernest Bai
Koroma declared a state of
emergency as the country
struggled to contain the deadly
ebola epidemic.
♣ The impoverished country,
along with neighbouring
Guinea and Liberia, is struggling
to contain an epidemic that has
infected 1,200 people and left
672 dead across the region
since the start of the year.
♣ Mr. Koroma announced a raft
of measures as part of the state
of emergency, including
quarantining ebola-hit areas
and deploying security forces
to protect medical workers. He
banned all public meetings not
related to ebola and cancelled
foreign trips by ministers and
other government officials,
exempting only “absolutely
essential engagements.”
♣ The largest recorded Ebola
outbreak in history has led the
US Peace Corps to evacuate
hundreds of volunteers from
three affected West African
countries.
♣ Ebola has no vaccine and no
specific treatment, with a
fatality rate of at least 60 per
cent.
♣ Fears that the outbreak could
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Science & Technology
spread to other continents
have been growing with
European and Asian countries
on alert.
Russia Violated
Missile Treaty: U.S.
♣ U.S. President Barack Obama
34
said in a letter to his Russian
counterpart Vladimir Putin in a
letter on Monday that Russia
had violated a 1987 arms
control treaty when it allegedly
ground-launched a cruise
missile.
♣ The Obama administration’s
charge against Russia,
described as the “most serious
allegation of an arms control
treaty violation,” made to date,
follows reports by U.S. officials
that Russia began testing cruise
missiles as far back as 2008.
♣ The INF Treaty was signed on
December 8, 1987 by
erstwhile U.S. President Ronald
Reagan and Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev, and was
considered to be an agreement
that would limit the risk of
strikes against Europe.
♣ This risk increased after the
Soviet Union achieved “rough
strategic parity” with the U.S.
in the mid-1970s and then
began replacing older
intermediate-range SS-4 and
SS-5 missiles with a new
intermediate-range missile, the
SS-20.
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Science & Technology
SPORTS
India finish fifth with 64 Medals
♣ The CWG incidents took some
of the sheen off the impressive
64 medal haul — 15 gold, 30
silver and 19 bronze — that
ensured a fifth place finish in
the leaderboard for India after
England, Australia, Canada and
hosts Scotland.
♣ It was India’s third best
showing in the Commonwealth
Games after the 100 plus
bounty at home in Delhi four
years back and the 69 medals
they picked up at Manchester
in 2002.
Kapil Dev will head the Arjuna
Awards selection committee
for choosing this year’s
outstanding sportspersons of
the country while former
hockey skipper Ajitpal Singh is
likely to be in charge of
selecting the Dronacharya
awardees.
♣ While Kapil, who bagged 434
wickets in 131 Tests in his 16year-long career, got the Arjuna
award in 1980, former
Olympian Ajitpal was
conferred the award in 1970,
and awarded it in 1972.
♣ A source in the sports ministry
said the government had issued
a notification in writing to all
persons concerned. The
awards will be conferred on
National Sports Day which is
August 29.
Kabaddi goes
International with World Kabaddi League
Kapil to head Arjuna
Awards Selection
Committee
♣ Former India cricket captain
♣ It’s quintessentially Indian but
Kabaddi is all set to make waves
across three continents with
the first-of-its-kind World
Kabaddi League kickstarting in
London .
♣ Featuring eight teams,
including one from Pakistan,
the tournament will be played
for four months in USA,
England, Canada, UAE and
India.
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35
Sports
♣ The venues for the league
include eight international
(London, Birmingham, Dubai,
New York, Los Angeles,
Sacramento, Vancouver,
Toronto) and six Indian (New
Delhi, Jalandhar, Ludhiana,
Bhatinda, Amritsar, Mohali)
cities.
♣ The tournament will follow the
double round robin format with
a total of 94 matches — 90
league games and four playoffs
— and has 144 international
players on its roster.
♣ Every team will play the other
seven thrice before the top
four qualify for the play-offs.
The final will be played in
Mohali on December 14.
National
Sports Awards 2014
♣ National Sports Awards a r e
given every year to recognize
and reward excellence in
sports.
♣ Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna
Award is given for the
spectacular
and
most
outstanding performance in
the field of sports by
a sportsperson over a period
of four years immediately
preceding the year during
which award is to be given.
♣ Arjuna Award is given
for consistently outstanding
performance for four years
preceding the year of award.
♣ Dronacharya Award f o r
coaches for producing medal
winners at prestigious
international sports events.
Chand
♣ Dhyan
A w a r d f o r l i f e
time contribution to sports
development.
♣ Arjuna, Dronacharya and
Dhyan Chand Awardees
will receive statuettes,
36
citations andcash prize of
Rs.5 lakh each.
♣ Rashtriya Khel Protsahan
Puruskar is given to the
corporate entities (both in
private and public sector) and
individuals who have played a
visible role in the area of sports
promotion
and
development. Recipients of
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan
Puruskar will be given Trophies.
♣ The awardees will receive their
awards from the President of
India at a specially organized
function at the Rashtrapati
Bhawan on August 29, 2014.
♣ Selection Committee for Rajiv
Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and
Arjuna Awards was headed by
Shri Kapil Dev.
♣ Selection Committee for
Dronacharya Awards was
headed by Shri Ajitpal Singh.
♣ Selection Committee for
Dhyan Chand Awards was
headed by Shri Ajit Mohan
Saran , Secretary (Sports).
♣ Selection Committee for
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan
Puruskar was headed by Shri
Ajit Mohan Sharan, Secretary
(Sports).
♣ Based
on
the
recommendations of the
Committee and after due
scrutiny, the Government has
approved to confer awards
upon
the
following sportspersons/
coaches/organizations:
(i) Arjuna Awards 2014
S. No.
1
2
NAME OF THE
SPORTSPERSON
Mr. Abhishek Verma
Ms. Tintu Luka
DISCIPLINE
Archer y
Athletics
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Mr. H.N. Girisha
Mr. V. Diju
Ms. Geetu Anna Jose
Mr. Jai Bhagwan
Mr. R. Ashwin
Mr. Anirban Lahiri
Ms. Mamta Pujari
Mr. Saji Thomas
Ms. Heena Sidhu
Ms. Anaka Alankamony
Mr. Tom Joseph
Ms. Renu Bala Chanu
Mr. Sunil Kumar Rana
Para-Athletics
Badminton
Basketball
Boxing
Cricket
Golf
Kabaddi
Rowing
Shooting
Squash
Volleyball
Weightlifting
Wrestling
(ii) Dronacharya Awards 2014
Sl. No.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Name
Shri Mahabir Prasad
Shri N. Lingappa
Shri G. Manoharan
Shri Gurcharan Singh Gogi
Shri Jose Jacob
Discipline
Wrestling
Athletics – Lifetime
Boxing – Lifetime
Judo – Lifetime
Rowing – Lifetime
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Sports
(iii) Dhyan Chand Awards 2014
Sl. No.
1.
2.
3.
Name
Shri Gurmail Singh
Shri K.P. Thakkar
Shri Zeeshan Ali
Discipline
Hockey
Swimming (Diving)
Tennis
(iv) Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2014
Sl.
No.
Category
1.
Employment of sports persons and sports welfare
measures
2.
Community Sport s - i dentificati on and nurturi ng of
budding /young talent
Establi shment and Management of sport s academies
of excellence
Ot her forms of sport s acti vi ties not covered in t he
four categories ment ioned in t he schemes
3.
4.
Entity recommended for
Rashtriya Khel
Protsahana Purushkar,
2014
Oil and Natural Gas
Corporat ion
Limited
(ONGC)
J indal Steel Works (JSW)
Guru Hanum an Akhara,
Delhi
Child Li nk Foundation of
India (M agic Bus)
( v ) For Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna 2014, no sportsperson has been
recommended.
country its first medal of day 10
Indian Boxers in CWGs
of the 2014 Commonwealth
Games on Saturday.
♣ Sakina lifted a total weight of
88.2 kg to finish third.
♣ Led by Olympic bronze
medallist Vijender Singh,
Indian pugilists stole the
limelight on the ninth day of
the competitions with four of
them assuring silver medals for
India while paddlers Achanta
Sharath Kamal and Anthony
Amalraj bagged a silver in the
men’s doubles event of the
20th Commonwealth Games in
Glasgow.
Indian Powerlifter
Sakina Wins Bronzed
♣ Indian powerlifter Sakina
Khatun won the bronze in the
women’s lightweight (up to
61kg) category to give the
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♣ Esther Oyema (136kg) of
Nigeria took home the gold
while England’s Natalie Blake
took home the silver with a
100.2kg lift.
♣ India with the latest addidtion
of medal take their tally to 52,
including 13 golds, 23 silvers
and 16 bronzes.
Seema Punia takes
Discus Silver
♣ Seema Punia gave India a
second track and field medal
by clinching the silver in
women’s discus throw of the
athletic events of the
Commonwealth Games.
♣ The Indian had a season’s best
throw of 61.61m off her fifth
effort as she finished second
best behind Australian gold
medallist Dani Samuels.
♣ Samuels had a best of 64.88m
through her fourth trial, to save
the top place of the podium,
after towering over the field all
along.
♣ Krishna Poonia, the gold medal
winner at the New Delhi Games
in 2010, finished fifth with a
best effort of 57.84m against
her name.
Sait Nagjee
Trophy to be Revived
♣ The SaitNagjee Trophy all-India
football tournament, once one
of the most important events in
India’s football calendar and a
huge hit in this football-crazy
city, is being revived after a gap
of 20 years.
♣ World varsity meet from Sept.
1
♣ The eighth edition of the
World University squash
championship will be hosted
by Squash Rackets Federation
of India at the ISA courts,
Chennai from September 1 to
7, in association with the
Association
of
Indian
Universities.
37
Sports
National Sports
Awards Presented
♣
♣
The awardees:
♣ Arjuna award: Abhishek
Verma (archery), Tintu Luka
(athletics), H.N. Girisha (paraathletics), V. Diju (badminton),
Geethu Anna Jose (basketball),
Jai Bhagwan (boxing), R.
Ashwin (cricket), AnirbanLahiri
(golf), MamtaPujari (kabaddi),
Saji Thomas (rowing),
HeenaSidhu
(shooting),
AnakaAlankamony (squash),
Tom Joseph (volleyball),
RenubalaChanu (weightlifting),
Sunil Kumar Rana (wrestling).
award:Mahabir
♣ Dronacharya award:
Prasad (wrestling); Lifetime
achievement: N. Lingappa
(athletics), G. Manoharan
(boxing), Gurcharan Singh
38
♣
♣
♣
Gogi (judo), Jose Jacob
(rowing).
Dhyan
Chand
award:
Gurmail Singh (hockey), K.P.
Thakkar (swimming-diving),
Zeeshan Ali (tennis).
Tenzing Norgay Awards:
Land
adventure:
SubedarJagat Singh, Passang
Air
Tenzing
Sherpa;
adventure: MWO Surender
Singh;
Lifetime achievement: Wg.
Cdr. (retd) AmitChowdhury.
MaulanaAbulKalam Azad
Trophy: Punjabi University,
Patiala.
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan
Puraskar: Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation (employment of
sports persons and sports
welfare measures); Jindal Steel
Works (community sports–
identification and nurturing of
budding/young talent); Guru
Hanuman
akhara
(establishment
and
management of sports
academies of excellence);
Child Link Foundation of India–
Magic Bus (other forms of
sports activities not covered in
the categories mentioned in
the schemes).
Mudgal Committee
Files Report
♣ The Justice MukulMudgal
Committee filed a report in the
Supreme Court on its
investigation into the roles of
ICC president N. Srinivasan and
12 prominent players in the
Indian Premier League (IPL)
betting and spot-fixing
scandal.
♣ However, the census data for
2011 show that only 144 million
households, which means
about 300 million individuals,
have access to banking
services, indicating that many
have multiple accounts.
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Awards and Prizes
AWARDS & PRIZES
Ashok Chakra
• IC-72861M MAJ MUKUND
VARADARAJAN, RAJPUT, 44
RR (POSTHUMOUS)
Shaurya Chakra
• IC-64002M MAJ ABHISHEK
KUMAR, PUNJAB, 22 RR
• IC-65352L MAJ MANOHAR
SINGH BHATI, SM, PARA, 31
RR
• IC-72726Y MAJ SATNAM
SINGH, ENGRS, 15 ASSAM
RIFLES
• IC-73277F MAJ VISHAL
SINGH RAGHAV, RAJ RIF, 18
RR
• JC-539962H SUB PRAKASH
CHAND,
8
KUMAON
(POSTHUMOUS)
• 4368146K NK ANSAIGRA
BASUMATARY, 5 ASSAM
• 5048243X L/NK BHARAT
KUMAR CHHETRI, 3/1 GR
• 3005411L SEP VIKRAM,
RAJPUT,
44
RR
(POSTHUMOUS)
• 5352474K
RFN
PREM
BAHADUR ROKA MAGAR, 2/4
GR
Sena Medal (Gallantry)
• IC-56366K LT COL PAONAM
ROMESH SINGH, KUMAON, 50
RR
• IC-63075M MAJ MANI INDER
PAL, GRENADIERS, 29 RR
• IC-63384P MAJ GAURAV
SOLANKI, 4 PARA (SF)
• IC-63960N
MAJ
SUBHRAPRATIM BOSE, JAK
RIF, 3 RR
• IC-64204N MAJ DUSHYANT
POONIA, ASC, 55 RR
• IC-65062N MAJ KASHISH
WADHWA, SIKH, 6 RR
• IC-65667P MAJ SANJAYA
KUMAR, GUARDS, 21 RR
• IC-67047X MAJ RAHUL
SINGH, SIKH LI, 19 RR
(POSTHUMOUS)
• IC-68833H MAJ SREEKANT R,
RAJPUT, 44 RR
• IC-69885L MAJ PARAG
GOMBER, RAJ RIF, 9 RR
• IC-70439W MAJ VIKAS
KUMAR, ARTY, 1 AR
• IC-73196F MAJ HIMANSHU
PAREEK, ARMD, 53 RR
• IC-73754X MAJ VIRENDRA
SINGH
CHANDEL,
GRENADIERS, 29 RR
• SS-42879N CAPT RINTOMON
THACHIL, 21 PARA (SF)
• IC-75916W LT PANKAJ
KUMAR, 18 MAHAR
• IC-76425M
LT
ABHAY
SHARMA, 1 PARA (SF)
• JC-540555M SUB DHYAN
SINGH ADHIKARI, KUMAON,
50 RR
• JC-612640N
SUB
TEK
BAHADUR RANA, 2/4 GR
• 3192105Y HAV DULI CHAND,
2 PARA (SF)
• 13622406L HAV WARKADE
ASHOK SHANKAR, 2 PARA
(SF)
• 13622568W HAV SUNIL
KUMAR SINGH, PARA, 18 RR
• 2895600Y NK KARTAR SINGH,
RAJ RIF, 18 RR
• 2998440K NK SAMIR KUMAR
MIDYA, 2 RAJPUT
• 4571766P NK GOURAB SEN,
18 MAHAR
• 13623908A NK MANILAL DEB
BARMA, 9 PARA (SF)
• 2608053X L/NK MOHD FEROZ
KHAN, MADRAS, 38 RR
(POSTHUMOUS)
• 2897845N L/NK HAMMA RAM,
RAJ RIF, 18 RR
• 13623989L L/NK DHARMA
NAND PANDEY, PARA, 18 RR
• 14439779F L/NK SANJAY
KUMAR, ARTY, 62 RR
• 15157908W L/NK V ANTHONY
NIRMAL VIJI, ARTY, 111
ROCKET
REGT
(POSTHUMOUS)
• 15572631N L/NK WAGH
KAILASH LAHU, 107 ENGRS
REGT (POSTHUMOUS)
• 18003189H L/NK DEEPAK
KUMAR VERMA, 70 ENGRS,
703 FD COY (POSTHUMOUS)
• 2501110W SEP JAGDEEP
KUMAR, PUNJAB, 22 RR
• 2502628W
SEP
AJIT
KAPOOR, PUNJAB, 22 RR
• 4367466M SEP SENTIREMBA,
5 ASSAM
• G/5002293K RFN CHAMAN
LAL, 1 ASSAM RIFLES
• G/5010541K RFN PRASANAJIT
BAL, 1 ASSAM RIFLES
• 15164971N
GUNNER
MOHAMMED
EJRAEL
SHAIKH, ARTY, 111 ROCKET
REGT
• 15621991W GDSM SUNIL
KUMAR, GUARDS, 21 RR
Operation Rakshak
• IC-62911Y MAJ VIVEK
YADUBANSHI, 3/1 GR
• IC-63475Y MAJ ANIL KUMAR
YADAV, ARMY AVN, 37 (I) R &
O FLT
• IC-67051A MAJ AMANDEEP
SINGH, ASC, 30 RR
• IC-70723M MAJ SUSHIL
CHAND, ENGRS, 6 RR
• IC-72403W MAJ SIDDHARTHA
SINHA, 7 GARH RIF
• 4078449N NK TRILOK SINGH,
3 GARH RIF
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Awards and Prizes
• 4078472F NK CHATUR SINGH,
3 GARH RIF
• 9104594A NK TILAK RAJ, 17
JAK LI
• 4283389X L/NK MANGRA
ORAON, 15 BIHAR
• 4286978Y SEP DHARMENDRA
KUMAR YADAV, 15 BIHAR
• 4581457A SEP MAGRE RAHUL
BHIMRAO, MAHAR, 30 RR
• 3009746A SEP PRASHANT
KUMAR, RAJPUT, 44 RR
• 4201803F SEP AJAY VEER,
KUMAON, 50 RR
• 2502449W SEP JOGINDER
SINGH MANHAS, PUNJAB, 53
RR
• 4088524A RFN RAJESH
SINGH, 3 GARH RIF
• 13771971F RFN ARVIND
PARIHAR, JAK RIF, 3 RR
• 2703346N GDR UMRAV
GURJAR, 5 GRENADIERS
• 15619678M GDSM RAM LAL
MEENA, GUARDS, 21 RR
• 13627254Y PTR GOVIND
SINGH, PARA, 18 RR (POSTHUMOUS)
• 15176479P GNR ANIL SINGH
BHADWAL, ARTY, 18 RR
• 15498789Y SWR SIDHESWAR
PRADHAN, ARMD, 22 RR
Operation Meghdoot
• 15427804Y NK GURSEWAK
SINGH, AMC, 328 FD HOSP
(POSTHUMOUS)
Operation Hifazat
• 3407567P SEP RAJVINDER
SINGH, 18 SIKH
Mirzakhani Won
Mathematics Field Medal
40
• An Iranian-born mathematician
has become the first woman to
win a prestigious global prize
known as the Field Medal, the
International Congress of
Mathematicians
has
announced.
• Maryam Mirzakhani, a Harvard
educated mathematician and
professor at Stanford University
in California, was one of four
winners announced at the
group’s conference in Seoul.
• An expert in the geometry of
unusual forms, she has come up
with novel ways to calculate the
volumes of oddly-shaped
hyperbolic surfaces, which can
be curved like a saddle or curly
like a piece of crochet.
• Fluent in a remarkably diverse
range of mathematical
techniques and disparate
mathematical cultures, she
embodies a rare combination
of superb technical ability,
bold ambition, far-reaching
vision, and deep curiosity.
• Mirzakhani was born in Tehran
in 1977 and earned her PhD in
2004 from Harvard University.
• She has previously won the
2009 Blumenthal Award for the
Advancement of Research in
Pure Mathematics and the 2013
Satter Prize of the American
Mathematical Society.
• The Fields Medal is given out
every four years, to four
separate winners.
• The other three winners this
year were:
1. Artur Avila of France,
2. Manjul Bhargava of
Princeton University in
New Jersey, and
3. Martin Hairer of the University of Warwick in Britain.
• The Fields Medal, officially
known as International Medal
for Outstanding Discoveries in
Mathematics, is a prize
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
awarded to two, three, or four
mathematicians not over 40
years of age at each
International Congress of the
International Mathematical
Union (IMU), a meeting that
takes place every four years.
The Fields Medal is often
viewed as the greatest honour
a mathematician can receive.
The Fields Medal and the Abel
Prize have often been described as the “mathematician’s
Nobel Prize” (but different at
least for the age restriction).
The prize comes with a monetary award, which since 2006
has been CS$15,000 (in Canadian dollars).
The colloquial name is in
honour of Canadian mathematician John Charles Fields.
Fields was instrumental in establishing the award, designing
the medal itself, and funding
the monetary component.
The medal was first awarded in
1936 to Finnish mathematician
Lars Ahlfors and American
mathematician Jesse Douglas,
and it has been awarded every
four years since 1950.
Its purpose is to give recognition and support to younger
mathematical researchers who
have made major contributions.
In 2014 Maryam Mirzakhani
became the first woman as well
as the first Iranian, and Artur
Avila became the first mathematician from Latin America to
be awarded a Fields Medal.
Outstanding
Parliamentarian Awards
’
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
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Awards and Prizes
(for 2010), Congress leader Karan Singh (2011) and JD(U) President Sharad
Yadav (2012) are conferred with ‘Outstanding Parliamentarian Awards’ by
the President Pranab Mukherjee on 12 August in New Delhi. The awards
were given for their invaluable contribution in discharge of their parliamentary
duties.
Pakistani Journalist
Asma Shirazi Won 2014
Peter Mackler Award
Operation Rhino
• IC-63148N MAJ KUSHVIR NANDA, 2 RAJPUT
• 4374618L SEP DIPAK DEKA, 2 ASSAM
• G/5005610L RFN M THANGBOY HAOKIP, 33 AR
Asma Shirazi, Pakistan’s first
female war correspondent and host
of popular TV talk shows, was named
2014 Winner of Peter Mackler Award
for Courageous and Ethical
Journalism on 22 August. Shirazi is the
second woman to win the award
since its creation in 2008, after
Honduran radio news editor Karla
Rivas won in 2011.
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Awards and Prizes
IN THE NEWS
R.N. Ravi
New
Governors for 4 States
Singh is almost identical to the
findings of a Committee set up
Chief Minister AkhileshYadav
and headed by senior Minister
Shivpal Singh Yadav that had
come down heavily on the local
MP and BJP workers for their
role in the riots that left three
dead and gutted hundreds of
shops.
D.M. Spolia
♣ Prime Minister NarendraModiled Appointments Committee
of the Cabinet (ACC) has
approved the appointment of
former Intelligence Bureau
Special Director R.N. Ravi as
chairman of the Joint
Intelligence Committee for a
period of three years.
♣ The Joint Intelligence
Committee functions under the
National Security Council
Secretariat.
♣ Mr. Ravi, a 1976-batch Indian
Police Service officer from
Kerala, has been appointed in
the pay and rank of Secretary
to the Government of India. He
retired as IB Special Director
in 2012.
♣ President Pranab Mukherjee
appointed Kalyan Singh,
VajubhaiRudabhaiVala, Ch.
VidyasagarRao
and
MridulaSinha Governors of
Rajasthan,
Karnataka,
Maharashtra and Goa,
respectively.
♣ Manipur Governor Vinod
Kumar Duggal will continue to
hold charge of Mizoram.
Raghav Lakhanpal
Ramesh Chand Tayal
♣ The ACC has also cleared the
proposal for appointment of
senior IPS officer Ramesh
Chand Tayal as Central Reserve
Police Force Special DirectorGeneral.
♣ The 1980-batch AssamMeghalaya cadre officer is
presently posted as Additional
Director-General of the
SashatraSeema Bal.
42
♣ The Meerut Commissioner in his
report on last month’s riots in
Saharanpur has reportedly
blamed the local BJP MP,
RaghavLakhanpal, for fanning
tensions, besides accusing
district authorities of not
controlling the rioting mob.
♣ The report of Meerut
Commissioner Bhupendra
♣ The Ministry of Home Affairs
re-appointed D.M. Spolia as
the Chief Secretary of Delhi to
replace S.K. Srivastava who is
currently holding the post.
♣ Mr. Spolia, a 1979 batch IAS
officer, who was removed from
the post by the AamAadmi
Party government in January,
will take over with immediate
effect.
♣ He was working as Financial
Commissioner of the Delhi
Government since January.
Rona Fairhead
♣ The British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC) Trust, the
body overseeing the world
famous news corporation, is set
to get its first female head.
♣ Rona Fairhead, 53, a high-flying
executive who sits on the
boards of a number of bluechip companies, announced as
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the
prospective
new
chairperson of the BBC Trust.
♣ SajidJavid, UK secretary of state
for culture, is expected to
officially announce Fairhead as
government’s
preferred
candidate to fill the slot,
replacing Lord Patten, who
stepped down in May on health
grounds.
BalrajPuri
Government Medical College
here .
♣ Mr. Puri was conferred the
Padma Bhushan for his contribution in the fields of Literature
and Education in 2005 and also
the Indira Gandhi award for
national integration on October
31, 2009.
♣ He was an author and co-author of about 40 books and approximately 1,000 articles for
various dailies in India and
abroad.
U.R. Anantha Murthy
(1932-2014)
♣ Veteran journalist Padma
BhushanBalrajPuri passed away
after prolonged illness at a
♣ U.R.Anantha Murthy, the doyen
of Kannada Literature and one
of the pioneers of Navya movement in Kannada language is no
more.
♣ A steadfast thinker who withstood many an assault, physical,
verbal and virtual, gave a new
thrust to Kannada literature and
cinema, to move towards the
21st Century.
♣ Mr. Iyengar, who was admitted
to the Prayag Hospital last
week, breathed his last at 3.15
a.m., doctors attending on him
said. He has been on dialysis
since Sunday after renal failure.
Mr. Iyengar, who abhorred
hospitals and clinics, failed to
respond to the treatment owing
to heart problems brought on
by advanced age.
♣ Despite two massive heartattacks in 1996 and 1998, Mr.
Iyengar, with his nearlegendary regimen and
discipline, kept up a punishing
teaching schedule, touring
Russia and China in recent
years.
Arvind Subramanian
Atul Verma
♣ The Modi Government is likely
to name Arvind Subramanian,
the Dennis Weatherstone
Senior Fellow at the Peterson
Institute for International
Economics and senior fellow at
the Centre for Global
Development as its Chief
Economic Advisor (CEA).
Ravi Shastri
♣ Atul Verma won India its first
Olympic archery medal — a
bronze — at the Youth Olympic
Games at Nanjing.
♣ The gold went to Korean Lee
Woo Seok, who got the better
of D’Almeida 7-3 in the final.
B.K.S. Iyengar
♣ Legendary yoga exponent
B.K.S. Iyengar passed away at
a private hospital . He was 95.
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♣ In a damage-control move, the
BCCI has appointed former Test
all-rounder Ravi Shastri Director
of Cricket in the Indian team for
the five-match ODI series
against England, beginning
August 25.
♣ The Board’s dramatic action
was a response to India’s
disastrous 3-1 Test series defeat
against England.
former Mumbai Police
Commissioner Satyapal Singh.
Natwar Singh
IromSharmila
♣ A local court ordered the
release of rights activist
IromChanuSharmila, under
detention for attempting to
commit suicide by fasting for
nearly 14 years demanding
withdrawal of the Armed
Forces (Special Powers) Act,
1958.
Arvind Gupta
♣ Former Indian Foreign Service
officer Arvind Gupta was
appointed as deputy National
Security Adviser, a post which
fell vacant following the
resignation of Nehchal Sandhu.
♣ Mr. Gupta, a 1979 batch officer,
will also be Secretary, National
Security Council Secretariat
(NSCS), an apex advisory body
tasked with suggesting to the
government on political,
economic and strategic
security concerns.
R K Singh
♣ Security of Parliament, which
was targeted by terrorists 13
years back, is set to be
strengthened further with a
special committee being set up
to suggest measures for it within
a month.
♣ The committee will be headed
by former Union Home
Secretary R.K. Singh and will
include former Rajasthan DGP
Harish Chandra Meena and
44
Arvind Apte
♣ Unfazed by the attacks on him
by the Congress leadership for
his book which was sharply
critical of Sonia Gandhi, Natwar
Singh has decided to write a
sequel “which will have many
more disclosures”
♣ To be called ‘My irregular
diary’, the sequel is expected
to hit the market by next March,
the former External Affairs
Minister said in New Delhi .
Hari Gautam
♣ Finding the University Grants
Commission (UGC) illequipped to address the
challenges posed by the
manifold increase in the
number of universities —
particularly private universities
and
deemed-to-beuniversities — the Human
Resource Development (HRD)
Ministry has set up a committee
to restructure the apex
regulatory body for higher
education in the country.
♣ The four-member committee
will be headed by former UGC
chairman Hari Gautam and will
have as its members C.M.
Jariwala (former head and dean
of law at Banaras Hindu
University), Kapil Kapoor
(former pro vice-chancellor of
Jawaharlal Nehru University)
and the Joint Secretary in the
Higher Education in the
ministry as its members.
♣ The BCCI condoled the death
of former Test player Arvind
Apte, who passed away after
fighting a prolonged battle with
prostrate cancer.
♣ Arvind passed away in Pune.
He was 79 and is survived by a
daughter.
♣ Arvind, born in Mumbai in 1934
and younger brother of another
former India cricketer Madhav
Apte, was a reserve opener
during India’s tour of England
in 1959.
♣ An attacking opening batsman
with a wide range of strokes,
he played only one Test match
for India when he was selected
for the third Test against
England at Leeds following an
injury to Nari Contractor.
♣ He scored just eight and seven
in both the innings of the
match, his first and last for the
national team.
♣ Arvind continued to play firstclass cricket till the early 70s
and finished with an aggregate
of 2782 runs (33.51, including
six centuries.)
Rajni Razdan
♣ Rajni Razdan has been
appointed the next Union
Public Service Commission
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chairman. She will take the oath
of office, replacing Professor
D.P. Agrawal.
♣ Ms. Razdan, a 64-year-old
former Indian Administrative
Service officer from the
Haryana cadre, has been a
UPSC member since April 19,
2010.
Smriti Irani
Justice Markandey Katju
industrialists in court.
♣ Also
honoured
were
Indonesian anthropologist Saur
Marlina Manurung, National
Museum of Afghanistan
director Omara Khan Masoudi,
Filipino teacher Randy Halasan,
and the Pakistani nongovernment group The
Citizen’s Foundation.
K V Chowdary
♣ In a fresh controversy, Press
Council of India Chairman
Justice Markandey Katju
blamed the former Chief Justice
of India, K.G. Balakrishnan, for
pushing the elevation of a
former Karnataka High Court
Chief Justice as a Supreme
Court judge.
♣ Justice Katju, who did not name
the judge, in an apparent
reference to the collegium’s
recommendation to elevate the
former Karnataka High Court
Chief Justice, P.D. Dinakaran,
also found fault with another
former CJI, S.H. Kapadia, for
failing to prevent this despite
being a member of the
collegium.
B. S. Sidhu
♣ Uttarakhand Director General
of Police (DGP) B. S. Sidhu is
involved in a legal battle over
an alleged illegal purchase of
forest land and the felling of 25
Sal trees on the land.
♣ The case against Mr. Sidhu lies
with the National Green
Tribunal (NGT), where a
hearing shall be held .
♣ The controversy over Human
Resource
Development
Minister Smriti Irani’s
educational qualifications has
taken a new turn with her
assertion that she also has a
degree from the prestigious
Yale University in the United
States.
♣ Ms. Irani (38) made the remark
at the India Today Woman
Summit 2014 here when asked
to clear the “mystery” over her
educational qualification.
Hu Shuli
♣ An influential Chinese journalist
and a crusading environmental
lawyer from China are among
this year’s winners of Asia’s
Magsaysay awards.
♣ Among this year’s six awardees
is Hu Shuli (61), founder and
editor of Caijing, a business
magazine famed for its
groundbreaking investigative
reporting that has had a
profound impact on China.
♣ Another winner was Chinese
lawyer Wang Canfa (55),
founder of the Centre for Legal
Assistance to Pollution Victims,
which has handled thousands
of environmental complaints
and
beaten
powerful
♣ K V Chowdary has been
appointed as the new
Chairman of the Central Board
of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the
top policy making body of the
Income Tax department.
♣ The officer was till now working
as the Member (Investigations)
of the direct taxes revenue
collection board. He has earlier
served as the Director General
of I-T (Investigations) in the
national capital where he
headed a number of highprofile tax probes, including
the 2G spectrum allocation
case and the HSBC Geneva
taxpayers list along with a
number of cases dealing with
black money and tax evasion.
♣ CBDT has six members apart
from the Chairman and is the
apex body for framing policy
and administrative issues
related to direct taxes and the
Income Tax department.
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Selected Articles
from Various
Newspapers &
JournalsVARIOUS
SELECTED
ARTICLES
FROM
NEWSPAPERS & JOURNALS
Of fact, Procedure, and
Principle
The practice followed by the
collegium of the higher courts,
before a candidate is recommended
for elevation and a panel of names is
sent to the government for
appointment, is as follows. The Chief
Justice initiates a consultation with the
legal fraternity. Speaking in
confidence to senior advocates and
fellow judges, to both the bar and
the bench, a long list of possible
candidates for elevation is prepared.
Based on these recommendations the
Chief Justice then invites the
candidates to determine their
willingness to be considered. If the
candidates are willing then they are
required to furnish details about
themselves, such as their
contributions to the law especially
with respect to important cases, the
extent of their legal practice, their
annual income, their legal history, etc.
These details are then processed by
the court administration, during
which time, I suppose, the court gets
inputs from relevant investigating
agencies about whether they have
any legal proceedings against the
candidate, etc. other inputs that may
make them ineligible for
consideration.
Based
on
(i)
the
recommendations of the legal
fraternity, (ii) the willingness of the
candidate, and (iii) the hard data
relating to the legal practice and
public standing of the individual, the
file is placed before the collegium.
The collegium then scrutinises the
information on record and, based on
the highest standards of judicial
scrutiny, arrives at a decision on
whom to recommend and whom to
ignore, from the names before it. Not
every name that comes up through
this process gets the approval of the
collegium. The shortlist prepared by
46
the collegium is then sent up to the
government for its approval. This I am
told is the standard process that is
followed. Gopal Subramanium’s
case, I suppose, went through the
same process.
The principle for such
empanelment was enunciated by the
Supreme Court in the case of P.J.
Thomas, nominee for the Central
Vigilance Commission (CVC), whose
candidature was rejected in 2011
when it described in detail the
process to be followed in the
appointment to a position of
authority. Appointments to the
Supreme Court, I expect, fall into this
category. Here is what the judgment
said — (vi) The empanelling authority,
while forwarding the names of the
empanelled officers/persons, shall
enclose complete information,
material and data of the concerned
officer/person, whether favourable or
adverse. Nothing relevant or material
should be withheld from the
Selection Committee. It will not only
be useful but would also serve larger
public interest and enhance public
confidence if the contemporaneous
service record and acts of
outstanding performance of the
officer under consideration, even
with adverse remarks is specifically
brought to the notice of the Selection
Committee. (vii) The Selection
Committee may adopt a fair and
transparent process of consideration
of the empanelled officers.
Assuming complete information
was available to the collegium, we
now have to consider the contrasting
positions of the collegium and the
government. Based on the same facts
considered by the collegium, the
government is at liberty to give an
alternative reading and argue for the
unsuitability of a particular
candidate. This is legitimate since the
political lens of the government may
be at variance with that of the
collegium. The disagreement, at this
stage, has to be on political grounds
and not on facts. The procedure then
requires the government to place its
disagreement before the collegium
which can either restate its earlier
recommendation or revise it in the
light of the arguments made.
This second stage is
constitutionally sacrosanct since
contained in it is the core principle
of the separation of powers. The
collegium has to deliberate on this
contrary opinion of the government
and decide whether, by accepting
or rejecting it, the independence of
the judiciary is eroded or enhanced.
Both parties must give clear reasons
for their positions so that the final
decision taken can educate the
public on the core issue of separation
of powers. The government’s reasons
and the collegium’s views, as well as
the facts of the matter, should be
made public to serve, as the Supreme
Court in the P.J. Thomas case said,
the larger public interest.
Three basic issues for our
democracy emerge from this
controversy. The first is the issue of
public attitude. Are we prepared to
let it lie, to blow over because another
headline has grabbed its place or are
we prepared to interrogate it further?
This is not a partisan issue, of UPA
versus NDA, since it perhaps points
to a growing disregard for our
constitutional culture. When the
confidentiality of the collegium’s
recommendation is treated lightly,
when the intelligence reports are
leaked, when the President’s
confidential actions are public
knowledge, we have reason to be
concerned about the disregard for
constitutional propriety. Will those
who leaked information be punished
to restore the sanctity of the process?
Or are we moving toward what Paulo
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Friere calls the “culture of silence”?
The second issue concerns the
doctrine of separation of powers. By
segregating the names, did the
President give primacy to the
executive over the judiciary? Was this
a question of political expediency
trumping constitutional principles?
With whom should the final decision,
on who should be elevated, lie? The
executive or the judicial fraternity?
Since the Emergency, when it had
touched its nadir, our democracy has
been struggling to restore the balance
between the executive and judiciary.
We hope that the moment has
not passed for the collegium to
enunciate on the principle of finality.
Mr. Subramanium’s withdrawal also
highlights one of the knottiest
problems of political philosophy.
Should he have been pragmatic, and
withdrawn to fight another battle, or
principled, since a foundational
principle was at stake? Is the cost of
standing up for the principle too high,
undermining other values that are also
important, or is it necessary to stand
up for them regardless of the cost
since it would take society to new
and higher morality?
Laying out Space Goals
The Polar Satellite Launch
Vehicle (PSLV), in its twenty-sixth
consecutive successful flight and the
fourth wholly commercial launch, put
the French earth observation satellite,
SPOT-7, as well as four tiny satellites
from Germany, Canada and
Singapore, into orbit with
characteristic élan. On hand at
Sriharikota to witness the launch was
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a
forceful speech immediately
afterwards, the Prime Minister lauded
the space programme and held it up
as an example of what the country
could achieve, observing that “our
space scientists have made us global
leaders in one of the most complex
areas of modern technology.” India
must, he said, share “the fruits of our
technological advancement with
those who do not enjoy the same.”
He called for the development of a
“SAARC [South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation] satellite” that
would provide useful applications
and services to neighbouring
countries. China, it should be noted,
already uses its space capabilities for
soft-power diplomacy, one example
being an agreement with Brazil to
jointly build earth observation
satellites. Mr. Modi clearly intends to
deploy India’s space technology as
part of the country’s diplomatic
outreach. However, before turning
the prime ministerial suggestion into
hardware, ISRO would do well to get
inputs from the other South Asian
nations about their pressing needs
that could be effectively addressed
with space technology.
The Indian space agency is
well-placed to provide the sort of
assistance that the Prime Minister
envisages. From its inception, the
raison d’être of the Indian space
programme has been the harnessing
of space technology to meet the dayto-day necessities of a developing
nation. Today, India is able to build
and launch satellites for meteorology,
earth
observation
and
communications. Mr. Modi paid a
tribute to the vision with which the
space programme was established,
pointing out how modern
communications, space imaging and
disaster management capabilities
provided by Indian satellites had
benefited the common man and
transformed policy planning and
implementation. The Prime Minister
was emphatic about enhancing these
capabilities, as well as maximising
their utilisation for governance and
development.
Apart
from
developing more advanced satellites,
he wanted to see India become “the
launch service provider of the world.”
Turning these goals into reality will
not be easy; at present, the country is
able to cater to only a small segment
of the international launch market and
must launch its own heavy
communications satellites abroad.
But ISRO has risen to challenges
before, and can do so again.
Minimum Deterrent and
Large Arsenal
It is well-known that the BJP lays
great importance on national security,
of which nuclear policy forms an
important component. Sooner or later
the new government will undertake,
perhaps quietly, a review of our
nuclear doctrine. The current official
nuclear doctrine, released by the
Cabinet Committee on Security on
January 4, 2003, summarises our
nuclear policy in eight succinct
points. Of these, only a few of them
really call for significant modification,
because in recent years things have
been relatively stable on the South
Asian nuclear front.
This is despite the fact that both
India and Pakistan continue to
produce weapons-usable Plutonium
at the Dhruva reactor and the
Khushab reactors respectively.
Pakistan may also be continuing to
produce some weapons-grade
Uranium at its centrifuge plants,
despite its overall Uranium ore
constraints. All this fissile material is
presumably being assembled into
warheads. So both arsenals have
been growing, as have all the
attendant dangers of maintaining a
nuclear force. Nevertheless the
situation has, by and large, just been
“more of the same.” Therefore there
is no call for any radical change of
our nuclear doctrine. But a few
features do need to be clarified and
others underlined.
No First Use
Maintaining a doctrine of NFU,
apart from being generally in tune
with India’s non-aggressive ethos, has
considerable diplomatic value. After
our 1998 nuclear tests elicited the
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anticipated
international
opprobrium, the inclusion of NFU
thereafter in the 1999 Draft Nuclear
Doctrine helped soften the criticism,
especially in comparison to Pakistan,
which till today retains the option of
a first strike.
However, although NFU has
moral and diplomatic value, there
should be no illusions about its
impact on hard strategic decision
makers on the other side. What
matters to them is not any statement
of intentions (like NFU) but the actual
capabilities of the adversary. Pakistani
colleagues one meets in Track II
invariably say they set little store in
our NFU. It makes no operational
difference in their nuclear plans.
What matters more for nuclear
confidence building is the actual
state of alert. India has been sensibly
following a system of keeping its
warheads de-mated from their
missiles and delivery aircraft. This
introduces a minimum built-in delay
in launching an attack after the
decision to do so has been made. It
greatly reduces the risk of an
accidental or hastily decided launch.
The new government should
continue our policy of a de-mated dealerted posture. One clause currently
in the Doctrine merits some revision.
It states that “ ....[our] nuclear
weapons will only be used in
retaliation against a nuclear attack on
Indian territory or on Indian forces
anywhere...retaliation to a first strike
will be massive.” Now, threatening
retaliation “against a nuclear attack on
Indian territory” is one matter. It is the
basic component of nuclear
deterrence and should apply
whether the attack on our territory is
small or big, as long as it is nuclear.
However, a battlefield nuclear
attack will place India in a dilemma.
Having threatened in our Doctrine to
inflict a “massive” nuclear retaliation,
can we really go ahead and kill lakhs
of their civilians in response to a much
48
smaller attack, that too on their own
soil? It would be a disproportionate
response, which would go against our
national sensibilities and attract
widespread criticism from around the
world. Surely, there are more
proportionate non-nuclear ways of
inflicting punitive retaliation. Yet, if
we do not counter attack after having
threatened to do so, that would invite
derision that we are “a soft state”
incapable of hard nuclear decisions
and would erode the credibility of
our future deterrence, not only
against Pakistan, but also against
China.
It may therefore be better to
limit massive nuclear retaliation only
against nuclear attacks on our country
and say nothing in the Doctrine, one
way or the other, about attacks “on
Indian forces anywhere.” Should the
latter take place, we always have the
option of some appropriate,
measured retaliation.
Next,
consider
the
characterisation in our Doctrine of
our nuclear force as a “credible
minimum deterrent (CMD)”, where
the requirement of “minimum” has
been spelt out as what is needed to
“inflict unacceptable damage” to the
adversary. These represent a very
judicious choice of words selected,
in fact, by the last BJP administration.
It is designed in part to temper overzealous weapon enthusiasts from
going on an endless spree of building
nuclear bombs. It recognises the
dangers of possessing an
unnecessarily large arsenal of nuclear
weapons, beyond what is essential
for deterrence. The new government
must ensure that the agencies
concerned respect CMD in spirit and
substance.
Unfortunately, our arsenal of
nuclear bombs has already gone way
over the minimum required to “inflict
unacceptable damage” on any
rational government, be it Pakistan or
China. (Should Pakistan someday be
taken over by irrational extremists to
whom death of lakhs of civilians is
“acceptable”, then no arsenal,
however large, will deter them
anyway. With respect to China, what
deterrence needs is not more bombs
than what we already have, but longer
range missiles capable of reaching
major Chinese cities.)
As to credibility, large arsenals,
beyond a point, do not enhance it.
What does is a show of determination
and toughness on other non-nuclear
fronts, such as terrorism or border
incidents.
The Geopolitics of the
Islamic State
Abu
Bakr
al-Baghdadi
welcomed this Ramadan by declaring
the formation of the Caliphate, with
him as the Caliph — namely the
successor of the Prophet
Mohammed. It is the first return of a
Caliphate since Kemal Atatürk’s
Turkish National Assembly abolished
it in 1924. Al-Baghdadi, the nom de
guerre for the leader of the Islamic
State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), has
now announced that borders inside
the dar al-Islam , the world of Islam,
are no longer applicable. He has
been able to make this
announcement because his fighters
have now taken large swathes of
territory in northern Syria and in northcentral Iraq, breathing down on
Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid
Caliphate (750-1258).
Al-Baghdadi’s declaration
comes after ISIS threatened to make
its presence felt outside the territory
it now controls. Bomb blasts in Beirut,
Lebanon, hinted at ISIS’ reach.
Jordanian authorities hastened to
crack down on “sleeper cells” for ISIS
as soon as chatter on social media
suggested that there would be a
push into Zarqa and Ma’an. Private
Kuwaiti funding had helped ISIS in
its early stages, but now Kuwait
hinted that it too is worried that ISIS
cells might strike the oil-rich emirate.
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When ISIS took the Jordan-Syria
border posts, Saudi Arabia went into
high alert. There is no substantive
evidence that ISIS is in touch with alQaeda in Yemen, but if such
coordination exists (now that alBaghdadi has fashioned himself as the
Caliph) it would mean Saudi Arabia
has at least two fronts of concern. “All
necessary measures,” says the
Kingdom, are being taken to thwart
the ISIS advance.
While it is true that Assad’s
government released a number of
jihadis in 2011, there is no evidence
to suggest that he created ISIS. ISIS
is a product of the U.S. war on Iraq,
having been formed first as al-Qaeda
in Iraq by the Jordanian militant Abu
Musab al-Zarqawi. Deeply sectarian
politics, namely an anti-Shia agenda,
characterised al-Qaeda in this region.
Funded by private Gulf Arab money,
ISIS entered the Syrian war in 2012
as Jabhat al-Nusra (the Support
Front). It certainly turned a civic
rebellion into a terrorist war. Political
support from the West and logistical
support from Turkey and the Gulf
Arab states allowed it to thrive in Syria.
The West has been consistently
naive in its public assessment of
events in West Asia. U.S. policy over
Syria was befuddled by the belief
that the Arab Spring could be
understood simply as a fight between
freedom and tyranny — concepts
adopted from the Cold War. There
was a refusal to accept that the civic
rebellion of 2011 had morphed quite
decisively by late 2012 into a much
more dangerous conflict, with the
radical jihadis in the ascendancy. It is
of course true, as I saw first-hand, that
the actual fighters in the jihad groups
are a ragtag bunch with no special
commitment to this or that ideology.
They are anti-Assad, and they joined
Jabhat al-Nusra or Ahra¯r ash-Sha¯m
because that was the group at hand
with arms and logistical means.
The West’s backing of the
rebellion provided cover for Turkey’s
more enthusiastic approach to it.
Intoxicated by the possibility of what
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet
DavutogØlu favoured as “neoOttomanism,”
the
Turkish
government called for the removal of
Assad and the emergence of a proIstanbul government in Damascus.
Turkey opened its borders to the “ratline” of international jihad , with
planeloads of fighters from Libya and
Chechnya flying into Turkey to cross
into Syria to fight for ISIS and its
offshoots. ISIS spat in Turkey’s salt.
ISIS struck Turkey in 2013 with car
bombs and abductions, suggesting
to Ankara that its policy has
endangered its citizens. In March, the
Governor of Hatay province, Mehmet
Celalettin Lekesiz, called upon the
government to create a new policy
to “prevent the illegal crossing of
militants to Syria.” His report was met
with silence.
Saudi policy vis-à-vis Syria and
Iraq repeats the Afghan story. Funds
and political support for jihadis in the
region came from the Kingdom and
its Gulf allies. Saudi Arabia tried to
stop its youth from going to the jihad
— a perilous mistake that it had made
with Afghanistan. On February 3, the
King issued a decree forbidding such
transit. But there is no pressure on
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies to stop
their tacit support of ISIS and its
cohort. Nor is there pressure on it to
stop its financing of the harsh
repression in Egypt, sure to fuel more
conflict in the near future. The Arab
world, flush with hope in 2011, is now
drowning in a counter-revolution
financed by petrodollars.
Meanwhile, sectarian lines are
being hardened in the region. The
battle now does not revisit the ancient
fight at Karbala. This is not an age-old
conflict. It is a modern one, over ideas
of republicanism and monarchy,
Iranian influence and Saudi influence.
Shadows of sectarianism do shroud
the battle of ordinary people who are
frustrated by the lack of opportunities
for them and by the lack of a future
for their children. What motivates
these fights is less the petty
prejudices of sect and more the
grander ambitions of regional control.
Al-Baghdadi has announced that his
vision is much greater than that of the
Saudi King or the government in
Tehran. He wants to command a
religion, not just a region. Of such
delusions are great societies and
cultures destroyed.
A significant visit
French Foreign Minister Laurent
Fabius has concluded a substantial
India visit which can help lift some of
the barriers that may be blocking the
emergence of a full-blown strategic
partnership between the two
countries. Free from verbiage, Mr.
Fabius’ visit had a hard-nosed
businesslike feel to it. Cash-strapped
France seemed focussed on trading
some of the blue-chip kernels of its
hi-tech industry. India, on its part,
looking to bolster its military
preparedness, energy security and
international profile, was prepared to
calibrate a hard bargain. The
recognition by New Delhi and Paris
that a win-win outcome was indeed
possible seemed to have yielded
significant progress during the visit
towards clinching the multibillion
dollar Rafale aircraft deal, and the
stalled contract for two French
nuclear reactors. With a capacity to
generate 1,650 megawatts of power
each, a breakthrough in the deal for
the two reactors could clear the path
for the establishment of four
additional reactors of similar capacity
at the Jaitapur site in Maharashtra. An
installed capacity of nearly 10,000
megawatts would not only boost
French nuclear commerce, but also
make a vital contribution to satisfying
India’s energy hunger.
In dealing with the French, the
Indian side has made it clear that it is
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not interested in a pure buyer-seller
relationship with France in the hi-tech
domain. As a result, complex
negotiations are under way — both
on the Rafale and the European
Pressurised Reactors (EPR) — that
would not only give India the final
product, but also implant frontier
technology within the country
through transfers of state-of-the-art
know-how. The induction of the 126
Rafale fighter jets would also help
cement the air-dominance doctrine
of the Indian Air Force (IAF), which
has already benefited from the
inductions of the Russian Su-30 MKI
multi-role planes and other advanced
platforms. Mr. Fabius’ arrival in New
Delhi has provided an opportunity to
quickly finalise the Indo-French
nuclear deal, which is possible if the
two parties arrive at a formula that
would lower the costs of atomic
power generation at Jaitapur. During
talks, India has demanded greater
“localisation,” which would expand
involvement of domestic industry in
the project, as well as provide greater
scientific and technical exposure to
Indian personnel to Light Water
Reactor (LWR) technology that the
French have mastered. At a political
level, the Minister’s visit has provided
New Delhi an opportunity to advance
its ties with continental Europe,
which revolves around a FrancoGerman core. This is significant, as
Europe, despite undergoing a rapid
political and economic transition,
would continue to remain a major
player in a multipolar world, which
India needs to engage vigorously.
Controlling rising Prices
Onion prices more than
doubled in the last two weeks and
retail food inflation rose to 9.5 per
cent in May as against 8.64 per cent
in April, giving the new government
more reason to worry. As the urban
working class bears the brunt of the
rising and fluctuating food prices,
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley quickly
50
announced measures to stem the
price rise of onions. These included
fixing a minimum export price (MEP)
of U.S. $500 per MT, distributing
onions through the Public
Distribution System, and advising
State governments to delist fruits and
vegetable from the Agricultural
Produce Market Committee (APMC)
Act.As much as these short-run
measures are necessary, the problem
is more deep-rooted. Several
interrelated determinants such as low
agricultural productivity and yield,
global price changes, scarcity of
resources such as land and water,
domestic price policies such as
Minimum Support Prices, and
stocking and trade policies (both
international and domestic) have
played a role in the increase of prices.
Food price inflation in India
clearly underscores the need for
understanding the heterogeneities
across food commodities. This
knowledge could be important to
inform macroeconomic policy. For
example, the assumption in standard
macroeconomic models — that
changes in relative prices of food and
fuel represent supply shocks — may
not hold for many commodities as we
see them right now. Further, with a
persistent upward trend in inflation,
taking a long-term view rather than
focusing only on recent inflation
episodes seems imperative. In all this,
one thing that is reasonably clear is
that it may not be sufficient to identify
the sources for high prices at a broad
level. Both macro policies like
monetary tightening by the RBI as well
as commodity-specific measures
implemented by different branches
of the government (trade policies and
domestic interventions in food
markets) have to be used to deal with
inflation.
Faced with the current scenario,
what are the remedial options? For
one there seems to be little reason to
not liquidate excessive wheat and
rice stocks. In distributing released
stocks, the government should think
about an incentive overhaul along the
lines of what was done in
Chhattisgarh. The small State is a
leading example of a wellfunctioning PDS system where
leakages have been checked
because of measures like colour
coding of transport vehicles and
raising the commission of PDS
shopkeepers. Over time, there must
be a gradual movement toward a cash
transfer system. This depends on
development of backend facilities
such as bank outlets.
In food items with a high value,
a case- by-case approach is needed.
While onions could be facing a
problem of excessive hoarding due
to expectations of inflation, in
commodities like milk the cost push
might be playing a role. Dairy
products such as oil cake and
molasses are increasingly being
diverted to alternative uses or
markets. Milk has been the prime
driver of inflation for many years and
though its demand has been rising
substantially (different estimates
show that it is the food item with the
highest income elasticity), there are
supply side issues that need to
explored for finding the right policy
mix.
Given the current government’s
paradigm of accepting short-term
pains to incur long-term gains, it
should seize this opportunity of high
food prices. Investing in the private
sector in cold chain or processing
units needs to be encouraged. This
will create rural jobs that are not farmrelated, and create more efficient
value chains, giving a better deal to
farmers and consumers alike. Over the
long run, streamlining wholesale
markets under Agricultural Produce
Market Committees, reducing
limitations on private-sector
procurement and storage, and
checking on double taxation in
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interstate movement, need to be
considered.
Finally, as a weak monsoon is
being predicted, we must think of the
long run. It is about time we gear up
toward climate-smart agriculture
(drought-resistant
crops,
conservation agriculture, etc.) to
increase yields and income of
farmers. This will increase farmers’
productivity while providing the
much-needed price stability to
consumers. The promise of acche din
for consumers and the agricultural
industry need not be a far cry.
Governors in the firing
line
The controversy over the
removal of Governors has receded
into the background only because the
issue which has hogged the limelight
recently is the government’s rejection
of the name of Mr. Gopal
Subramanium, recommended by the
Supreme Court collegium for
appointment as a judge of the
Supreme Court, on account of
adverse reports by the Intelligence
Bureau.
The Governor is appointed by
the President of India on the advice
of the Council of Ministers for the
period of five years. Unlike the
President of India, there is no
procedure for the impeachment of a
Governor, but he/she could be
removed by the President on the
advice of the Prime Minister on
grounds of gross delinquency,
namely corruption, bribery and
violation of the Constitution. But the
practice has been different from what
is laid down in the Constitution;
Governors have been removed only
due to a change of government
without citing any substantial reason.
There is precedent. Even in the past,
Governors appointed by previous
governments have been removed by
the new government on assuming
office after elections. The new
governments have expended energy
on removing Governors and
appointing their own men as new
Governors.
The practice of dismissing
Governors with the change of guard
at the Centre began in 1977 when
the Janata Party came to power after
routing the Congress and took a
decision to replace Governors
appointed by the previous regime.
Incidentally, in 1977, the decision/
recommendation of the then Prime
Minister, Morarji Desai, and his
Cabinet to dismiss Governors was sent
back by then acting President B.D.
Jatti without signing it. Though the
government managed to remove the
Governors, as the acting President Jatti
was constitutionally bound to sign
the order when it was again sent back
to him, it came as an embarrassment
for the Janata Party government
which had just assumed office.
After coming to power in 2004,
the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) government initiated the
process of removal of four Governors,
Vishu Kant Shastri (Uttar Pradesh),
Babu Parmanand (Haryana), Kidar
Nath Sahani (Goa) and Kailashpati
Mishra (Gujarat), which BJP leaders
Mr. Lal Krishna Advani and Mr. Atal
Bihari Vajpayee opposed and forced
a discussion in the House under Rule
193. The UPA’s move was described
by Mr. Vajpayee as a “big blow to
democracy” while Mr. Advani called
it “dangerous.” Now, Union Home
Minister Rajnath Singh is keen on the
removal of Governors appointed by
the previous UPA government. Is this
not a blow to democracy? Is this not
unethical? We know that there is a
change in generation, from Mr.
Advani to Mr. Rajnath Singh, but does
such a generational change also mean
a change in the party’s ideology? If
this is the case, why is the removal of
Governors being done using the
backdoor approach rather than the
government being actively involved
in this effort?
Five-judge bench of the
Supreme Court, headed by Chief
Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, in May 2010
on the issue of the removal of the
Governor of a State. The judgment
emphasised that “The Governor
cannot be removed on the ground
that he is out of sync with the policies
and ideologies of the Union
government or the party in power at
the Centre. Nor can he be removed
on the ground that the Union
government has lost confidence in
him.” It is true that the same judgment
also provided an exception that the
government can initiate the process
of removal of the Governor by first
building a case file citing reasons for
the removal of the Governor.
Does the new BJP government
want to use that clause of exception
to remove a Governor? If the
government wants to exercise this
exception clause, the least it would
have to do is to write to the President
spelling out the reasons for wanting
his/her (Governor’s) removal. But it
seems the government is trying to
bypass all these steps, remove the
Governor by an indirect method and
initiate moves to come out clean in
case there are issues over the move,
as no letters have been exchanged
or notices sent. But I am sure there is
still potential for the government to
face embarrassment as such a file/
request for the removal of the
Governor can be sent back by the
President to the government in the
first instance though, the President is
bound to sign it if the file is re-sent to
him — as it happened in 1977.
Though most previous
governments have indulged in such
practice, the new BJP government
could have easily refrained from such
a move and set an example of good
governance. It has certainly missed a
golden opportunity to present itself
before the people as being a
government with a difference.
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On the
Mythology of Social Policy
One reason why important facts
tend to be forgotten is that they are
at odds with the mythology of social
policy cultivated by some sections of
the media. This mythology involves a
number of fallacies. First, India is in
danger of becoming a nanny state,
with lavish and unsustainable levels
of social spending. Second, social
spending is largely a waste —
unproductive “handouts” that don’t
even reach the poor due to
corruption and inefficiency. Third,
this wasteful extravaganza is the work
of a bunch of old-fashioned
Nehruvian socialists and assorted
jholawalas who led the country down
the garden path during the United
Progressive Alliance (UPA) years.
Fourth, the electorate has rejected
this entire approach — people want
growth, not entitlements. Fifth, the
BJP-led government is all set to
reverse these follies and rollback the
welfare state.
These five claims have acquired
an aura of plausibility by sheer
repetition, yet they have no factual
basis. Let us examine them one by
one.
The idea that social spending
in India is too high would be amusing
if it were not so harmful. According
to the latest World Development
Indicators (WDI) data, public
spending on health and education is
just 4.7 per cent of GDP in India,
compared with 7 per cent in subSaharan Africa, 7.2 per cent in East
Asia, 8.5 per cent in Latin America
and 13.3 per cent in OECD countries.
Even the corresponding figure for
“least developed countries,” 6.4 per
cent, is much higher than India’s. The
WDI database does not include
social security spending, but the
recent Asia Development Bank
report on social protection in Asia
suggests that India is also an outlier in
that respect, with only 1.7 per cent
52
of GDP being spent on social support
compared with an average of 3.4 per
cent for Asia’s lower-middle income
countries, 5.4 per cent in China, 10.2
per cent in Asia’s high-income
countries and a cool 19.2 per cent in
Japan. If anything, India is among the
world champions of social
underspending. The view that social
spending is a waste has no factual
basis either. The critical importance
of mass education for economic
development and the quality of life is
one of the most robust findings of
economic research. From Kerala to
Bangladesh, simple public health
interventions have brought down
mortality and fertility rates. India’s
midday meal programme has welldocumented effects on school
attendance, child nutrition and even
pupil achievements. Social security
pensions, meagre as they are, bring
some relief in the harsh lives of millions
of widowed, elderly or disabled
persons. The Public Distribution
System has become an invaluable
source of economic security for poor
households, not just in showcase
States like Tamil Nadu but even in
States like Bihar and Jharkhand where
it used to be non-functional. Of
course, there is some waste in the
social sector, just as there is much
waste in (say) universities. In both
cases, the lesson is not to dismantle
the system but to improve it — there
is plenty of evidence that this can be
done.
The expansion of public
services and social support in India,
such as it is, has little to do with any
nostalgia of Nehruvian socialism. It is
a natural development in a country
with a modicum of democracy. A
similar expansion, on a much larger
scale, happened during the 20th
century in all industrialised
democracies (with the partial
exception of the United States). It
also happened in communist
countries, for different reasons. Many
developing countries, especially in
Latin America and East Asia, have
gone through a similar transition in
recent decades. So have Indian
States where the underprivileged
have some sort of political voice, such
as Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Many other
States, including Gujarat, are now
learning from these experiences at
varying speed.
Coming to the fifth claim, there
is little evidence that a rollback of
social programmes is part of the BJP’s
core agenda. As mentioned earlier,
many BJP leaders (including Mr. Modi
as well as the new Finance Minister,
Mr. Arun Jaitley) have vociferously
demanded a more ambitious National
Food Security Act. Some of this is
posturing of course, but the BJP’s
willingness to support food security
initiatives is already well
demonstrated in Chhattisgarh.
Nothing prevents it from doing the
same at the national level. Similar
remarks apply to the National
Employment Guarantee Act: some
BJP-led State governments did a
relatively good job of implementing
it, and the late Gopinath Munde
clearly expressed his support for the
Act as soon as he was appointed
Minister for Rural Development.
Having said this, there are also
ominous signs of a possible backlash
against these and other social
programmes. Some overenthusiastic
advisers of the new government have
already put forward explicit
proposals to wind up the
Employment Guarantee Act and the
Food Security Act within 10 years,
along with accelerated privatisation
of health and education services. As
if on cue, Rajasthan Chief Minister
Vasundhara Raje recently sent a letter
to the Prime Minister questioning the
need for an Employment Guarantee
Act. The corporate sector also tends
to be hostile to social spending, if
only because it means higher taxes,
or higher interest rates, or fewer
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handouts (“incentives” as they are
called) for business. Corporate
lobbies, already influential under the
UPA government (remember the
person who said that the Congress
was his dukaan ?) are all the more
gung-ho now that their man, Mr. Modi,
is at the helm. Even a casual reading
of recent editorials in the business
media suggests that they have high
expectations of devastating “reforms”
in the social sector. That is what the
mythology of social policy is really
about.
This is not to deny the need for
constructive reform in health,
education and social security. If one
thing has been learnt in the last 10
years, it is the possibility of improving
public services, whether by
expanding the right to information,
or introducing eggs in school meals,
or computerising the Public
Distribution System, or ensuring a
reliable supply of free drugs at
primary health centres. But these
small steps always begin with an
appreciation of the fundamental
importance of social support in poor
people’s lives.
The forthcoming budget is an
opportunity for the new government
to clarify its stand on these issues.
Without enlightened social policies,
growth mania is unlikely to deliver
more under the new government than
it did under the previous one.
End to illegal fatwas
Personal laws ought to be
administered by the regular law
courts and cannot be enforced in
derogation of fundamental rights by
religious courts that lack legal
sanctity. This is the broad import of
the Supreme Court’s thoughtful ruling
on the legality of Dar-ul-Qazas, or
Sharia-based courts, established in
different parts of the country to
adjudicate disputes among Muslims.
Fatwas issued by Sharia courts are not
legally binding on individuals averse
to submitting to their authority, the
Court has ruled. However, it has
declined to ban these adjudicatory
bodies, holding that Muslims desirous
of obtaining the expert opinion of
Islamic scholars in Dar-ul-Qazas can
continue to invoke their jurisdiction
voluntarily. The ruling has thus
clarified the correct status of these
Sharia courts. They can exist and
issue opinions, but are limited in their
scope and applicability to individuals
who approach them voluntarily, and
not at the instance of third parties to
a dispute. These rules will hopefully
protect individual Muslims, especially
women, from possible persecution
through controversial adverse orders,
often issued without regard to their
fundamental rights. Fatwas on
religious issues are acceptable, but
no fatwa that violates fundamental
rights may be issued; they may not
be issued at the instance of third
parties on issues that concern
individuals, and more importantly,
they must not be issued to punish the
innocent.
The Supreme Court has
preserved the religious character of
these Sharia courts, noting that they
do not constitute a parallel judiciary,
but an “informal justice delivery
system with the objective of bringing
about amicable settlement between
parties.” It is important that the
Supreme Court’s intervention, at the
instance of a petitioner who wanted
Sharia courts to be banned, is
understood in the correct
perspective. The All India Muslim
Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), which
has set up most of these Dar-ul-Qazas,
has a duty to regulate their
functioning and restrain them from
issuing edicts that violate
fundamental rights. It is true that in
the Imrana case, one of the three
instances the Supreme Court has
referred to, the controversial fatwa
dissolving a marriage and ordering a
woman to leave her husband after she
was raped by her father-in-law was
not issued by a Sharia court but by a
Muslim panchayat. However, an
Islamic seminary endorsed the fatwa
initially, and the AIMPLB claimed that
the incident of rape did not occur at
all. In some parts of the country,
Muslim women have formed women’s
Sharia courts for themselves,
contending that orders of Sharia
courts are invariably adverse to
women. It is up to bodies like the
AIMPLB to reform the functioning of
the Sharia bodies.
⇒ Key issues identified
The Economic Survey 2013-14,
the flagship annual document of the
Ministry of Finance which reviews the
performance of the economy over
the previous 12 months, released a
day before the Union Budget,
facilitates a better appreciation of the
mobilisation of resources and their
allocation in the Budget. Experience
suggests that the Survey, while
flagging the key economic issues of
the day, can offer advice and
suggestions, which the Finance
Minister may or may not incorporate
in the Budget. The point has also been
made that it is for the first time that
the Survey has been prepared
without the guidance of a Chief
Economic Adviser. For all its
limitations, however, the Economic
Survey 2013-14 has done a
commendable job in delineating the
contours of an economy that has
been struggling for more than two
years to grow at more than 5 per cent.
A change in government has certainly
brought about a sharp variation in
sentiment, but it is too early to assess
the impact on the real economy.
Joining the Reserve Bank of India and
many professional forecasters, the
Survey expects GDP growth during
the current year (2014-15) to be
above 5 per cent. However, poor
monsoons, a deteriorating external
environment, persistent inflation and
a poor investment climate pose major
risks to growth and macroeconomic
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stability. In the event, GDP growth is
likely to be at the lower end of a 5.4
to 5.9 per cent band.
Economic growth during 201314 was dragged down by industry,
which grew at just 0.4 per cent. A
deceleration in manufacturing
output and contraction in mining
activities have been primarily
responsible for the sluggishness.
Reversing the serious downward
trend in industry has been a top
priority for the government. The
budget is sure to take note of ongoing
initiatives and also bring in new ones
in this vital area. Inflation has come
down but is still above the RBI’s
comfort zone. Food prices have shot
up very recently. The balance of
payments position has improved
considerably on top of a vastly
improved current account. However,
much of the improvement in the
matter of the trade deficit is due to
lower imports of non-petroleum
products, a sure sign of the
slowdown. A bigger challenge lies in
the area of fiscal consolidation. The
Survey has suggested a new FRBM
legislation as well as rationalisation of
subsidies, among other measures.
The previous UPA government’s
claims of pegging the deficit at 4.5
per cent in 2013-14 and targeting an
ambitious 4.1 per cent for the current
year have become controversial, and
at the very least cast doubts on the
quality of fiscal estimates. These are
pitfalls which the new Finance
Minister will do well to avoid.
⇒ A blueprint for
the Defence Industry
There are reports that the
Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion (DIPP) is pushing to allow
49 per cent FDI without transfer of
technology, 74 per cent with transfer
of technology, and even 100 per cent
in cases involving the transfer of stateof-the-art technology and equipment,
while the Defence Ministry would like
it to be restricted to 49 per cent. This
54
debate is sterile because merely
liberalising FDI will not help. What is
needed is an appreciation of the
characteristics of the defence
industry and coordination among the
multiple stakeholders who drive, and
have often distorted the decisionmaking process.
The twin objectives of selfsufficiency and self-reliance have
been articulated, sometimes
interchangeably and at times
separately, since the early 1950s. In
1947, India inherited the Ordnance
Factories (OF) Organisation, which
today consists of 41 OFs, nine
Defence Public Sector Undertakings
(DPSU) and 50 or so defence R&D
laboratories under the Defence
Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO). The model
followed was “production of
technologies conceptualised by the
DRDO; projects nominated by MoD
[Ministry of Defence] after consulting
the Services; and assembly and
production of platforms under
licence from foreign OEMs (Original
Equipment Manufacturers).” A task
force set up in 1998 concluded that
the public sector alone could not
deliver; licensed production had
fostered neither indigenisation nor
innovation; and frequent blame
games between the Services, the
DRDO and the DPSUs were leading
to delays in acquisition.
The first instance of opening up
of the defence sector came in 2001,
with the domestic private sector
being allowed to produce defence
items with FDI up to 26 per cent,
subject to industrial licensing and
security clearances. This was
followed by the announcement of a
Defence Procurement Procedure in
2002, a Defence Offsets Policy in
2006, a Long Term Integrated
Perspective Plan (LTIPP) in 2009, a
Defence Production Policy in 2011,
and eight committees/task forces set
up to look into various aspects of
national defence, including defence
production and self-reliance, since
2000. Clearly, the issue remained a
priority for various governments, but
the outcome has been meagre.
Certainly, some responsibility rests
with former Defence Minister A.K.
Antony’s tendency to avoid decisionmaking if it could be postponed, but
there are underlying structural
reasons too. Consequently, forward
movement during the last decade has
lacked purpose.
Since 2001, the total FDI
received in the defence sector is
below $5 million. Meanwhile, India’s
defence expenditure has been
growing every year; today, India has
the eighth largest defence budget in
the world, accounting for 3 per cent
of global defence expenditures and,
in recent years, has also emerged as
the largest defence importer, with
nearly 10 per cent of global defence
imports. With growing obsolescence
and a 10 per cent annual rise in the
capital budget for equipment
procurement, a conservative estimate
indicates that India will spend nearly
$100 billion over the next eight years
to modernise and equip its armed
forces. During the 12th Five Year Plan,
the defence capital account budget
is expected to go up from $15.9
billion to $25.6 billion. By the end of
the 14th Five Year Plan, the
cumulative capital expenditures over
2012–27 are projected to exceed
$235 billion. Assuming that 80 per
cent is meant for platform acquisitions,
of which 60-70 per cent is earmarked
for committed liabilities, this still
leaves 30-40 per cent for new
schemes. To meet the target of 70
per cent self-reliance by 2020
requires an indigenous defence
industry worth $80-$100 billion, with
a direct employment potential of 1.25
lakh skilled workers and indirect
support to a workforce of another five
lakh.
In addition are investments via
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the Defence Offsets Policy. This
policy, announced in 2005, requires
the foreign company to invest 30 per
cent of the indicative cost in the
request for proposals when the
indicative cost is Rs.300 crore or more.
Initially, the offsets were for the
defence sector, but in 2009, the
policy was diluted to permit offsets
to civil aviation and internal and
coastal security sectors too. Its
objectives are to improve the
domestic defence R&D base;
develop
an
internationally
competitive defence industry, and
an industrial base covering dual use
technologies (i.e. having both civilian
and defence applications). Offsets
are implemented by raising domestic
procurement, generating exports,
bringing FDI into related services and
building local supply chains,
transferring technology/equipment
to Indian entities, etc.
In the Defence Procurement
Policy, special incentives to
encourage the domestic private
sector, including government R&D
funding for product development,
were announced. Some of the larger
enterprises (including TCS, Tata
Power, Godrej, HCL, L&T, Mahindra,
Kirloskar) are to be classified as Raksha
Udyog Ratnas to enable them to be
treated on a par with DPSUs. In
addition there are about 6,000 Small
and Medium Enterprises (SME),
many of whom feel that they are
nimbler and better suited to innovate
in niche areas. In fact, they oppose
limiting FDI to 49 per cent, the
position supported by domestic
majors and the MoD.
To make a new beginning, the
Modi government needs to take
charge by setting up a national
defence industry committee which
should resolve turf battles between
various government agencies,
reconcile competing interests of
SMEs and industry majors, set targets
(including for SRI, intellectual
property rights (IPR) generation,
integration of SMEs, technology
acquisition through offsets), monitor
implementation, and coordinate
policy approaches by: a) creating
uniform lists of defence products and
related technologies; b) enabling the
harmonisation of Indian lists with the
Munitions List and Dual Use
Technology List of the Wassenaar
Arrangement, with the eventual aim
of securing India’s membership. An
enabling framework already exists
with India’s Special Chemicals,
Organisms, Materials, Equipment and
Technologies (SCOMET) export
control lists; c) amending the
Industries (Development and
Regulation) Act to bring defence and
dual-use
technology-related
Industrial Licensing into sync with the
above; d) amending the terms of the
production licence for defence items
to ensure that control of the entity
cannot be transferred without
Government of India (GoI) approval,
that all exportable items and services
will be available domestically, and
that exploitation of IP generated will
not be denied in India. These
conditions would render the debate
of FDI levels irrelevant; e) promoting
the clustering of SMEs with industry
majors through targeted policies; f)
changing the role of the Department
of Defence Production, whose
structure limits it to a mere
administrative unit for OFs and
DPSUs; g) integrating the working of
the LTIPP with defence R&D,
production, procurement and offsets
policies; h) providing a degree of
continuity and predictability in the
policy framework for the next 10
years instead of the annual revisions
that have afflicted the sector in recent
years.
Go for it now
The target year of 2015 that was
fixed to achieve universal primary
education will not be met, the United
Nations said at the recently held
second Global Partnership for
Education Replenishment Pledging
Conference in Brussels. An estimated
58 million children, a large proportion
of them from sub-Saharan Africa, are
still out of school. The announcement
merely confirms Unesco’s own
admission last year on the odds ahead
in the task of realising this Millennium
Development Goal. That admission
was based on its finding that the top
six donors had substantially cut back
on their aid commitments since 2011.
Two of the donor countries slashed
their allocations in this sector by 30
per cent; reductions made by the
European Union were to a similar
extent. Unesco observed that the
momentum with respect to achieving
this target was lost since 2007,
implying that as in the case of several
other basic human development
indicators, the global economic
meltdown may have contributed to
the situation. But the movement to
improve rates of retention in schools
and to enhance quality of teaching
seems to be gathering steam again,
as most of the donor states promised
at the Brussels conference to step up
spending. But more significant, as
many as 60 developing countries that
were present in Brussels — India was
not among them — agreed to boost
allocations in their domestic budgets
for primary education.
Abolition of tuition fees, cash
transfers, teaching in the local
language, increased financial outlays
and appropriate curriculum are
among measures that have helped
developing countries reduce the outof-school population among
children, according to the Education
For All report. Clearly, then, there are
diverse ways and means to realise the
goal of universal education.
Governments found wanting in the
requisite will to invest in the future of
their youngsters may be complicit in
allowing children to be weaned away
by armed militias that have already
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wreaked much economic havoc and
caused political instability in many
regions. A welcome new dimension
to the Replenishment Pledging
Conference is the focus on the needs
of disabled children. Addressing this
segment is both a moral and practical
imperative, considering that 15 per
cent of the world’s population has
some form of disability, as per figures
from a 2011 report on disability
brought out jointly by the World
Health Organization and the World
Bank. Around the world, about a
third of those that are not in school
have a disability, says the Global
Campaign for Education UK. Given
such a large proportion of such
children, the relevant goal cannot be
accomplished without special
provision being made to achieve it.
Thus, there is a case to set separate
targets factoring in disability in the
post-2015 development agenda.
A smart
Idea for urban ills?
The government has provided
Rs.7,060 crore to build 100 smart
cities as satellite towns on the
outskirts of large cities to
accommodate the burgeoning urban
population. Foreign direct
investment norms have been relaxed
to attract investors to build them.
Indian cities are in need of investment
and
innovation,
and
the
government’s attention to these
issues is welcome. The question is
whether smart satellite cities would
offer a panacea for urban ills and
whether the money allocated is
adequate.
There is no firm definition of
what constitutes smart cities. The
broad agreement is that places that
mobilise
information
and
communication technologies to
deliver better services, reduce
carbon footprint, create sustainable
environments and improve living
conditions are considered intelligent.
Many cities abroad, realising that
56
existing urban systems cannot cope
with new challenges, have already
taken this route. As a result, they are
far ahead in terms of innovation.
Rio de Janeiro has invested
about U.S. $14 million to monitor the
city in real time. Data from 30
agencies stream into an operation
centre from where responses to
emergencies and accidents are
efficiently coordinated. Madrid plans
to invest about U.S. $20 million in a
technology platform to manage a
range of public services such as street
maintenance, lighting and waste
management. Using a sophisticated
supplier management model, it pays
each service provider according to
the level of services provided. Many
cities have focussed on reducing
energy consumption and offering
convenient transport service. Some
like Tokyo are experimenting with
technology to help the visually
challenged to move safely. Special
white canes with embedded sensors,
which pick up signals from electronic
tags and markers placed at strategic
places in the city, help the disabled
navigate.
Such smart city programmes
require large investments and a
thorough integration of various
systems. Industry and cities have to
come together and introduce
innovative products. Against these
complex demands, how will the
proposal to set up smart cities fare?
First, the sum allocated in the
budget for the programme — about
Rs.70 crore a city — is grossly
inadequate. Unless the amount
provided is only seed money to kickstart the programme, and more funds
are to be sanctioned later, the smart
city project would be a non-starter.
Second, without the promise of good
central funds, the State governments,
too, may not take this initiative
seriously. Since land development is
a State subject, enthusiastic
participation of the States is crucial.
If the plan is to enable the private
sector to participate in a big way, then
the State has to put in place a
detailed framework to guide
investment and demarcate
responsibilities. Funds are only one
part of the problem. The key
challenge would be to overhaul
urban governance and infrastructure,
both physical and digital.
If the state overlooks the
existing city and privileges new
enclaves, the cities will be split into
two unequal halves, and the smart
city project would turn out to be an
expensive real estate meant to serve
a few. Smart cities cannot only be
about displaying technology and
delivering services; fundamentally,
they have to be inclusive and
equitable places to live in.
The urban future depends on
making cities intelligent, and that
applies equally to both new and old
parts of the city. Given the fact that
the existing cities, which
accommodate a bulk of the
population, waste a lot of resources
and are energy-inefficient, they
urgently require smart solutions. It
would be better to treat the smart city
proposal by the government as a kind
of urban experiment or a prototype,
whose lessons and experience could
be used to develop cities in general.
Mean and
petty labour reforms
The National Democratic
Alliance government, on June 5 and
June 17, notified the proposed
amendments to the Factories Act,
1948 and the Minimum Wages Act,
1948. Given that the process of
amendments began in 2008 and went
through a number of expert
committees, one would have
expected the amendments to be
carefully thought-out. On the
contrary, they are petty, anti-labour
and poorly conceived. Given also that
these are the Narendra Modi-led
government’s first pronouncements
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on labour, one can only lament the
absence of a vision that a global
power ought to have: that increased
productivity comes from having
satisfied workers, who produce
quality products.
The Commonwealth Games
case decided by the Delhi High Court
found workers living in conditions
akin to bondage — without safety
equipment, sleeping in sheds without
mattresses and fans, and using toilets
without doors and water. This is the
reality of labour in India.
So what do the amendments to
the Factory Act suggest? Instead of
suggesting that in globalised India,
where workers ought to work for eight
hours as per the international norm,
they suggest that Section 56 be
amended to increase the working day
to spreadover 10{+1}/{-2}hours to 12
hours; that under Section 65(2),
compulsory overtime be increased
from 50 hours per quarter to 100
hours, and that under Section 66,
women not be allowed to work after
7 p.m., unless a specific notification
is issued qua a particular factory that
is capable of demonstrating that it has
facilities in place to guarantee the
safety of women workers.
Thus, instead of statutorily
making it the norm that men and
women work equal hours, women
have been penalised. Though the
Supreme Court has laid down that
storage in factories of hazardous
substances attracts strict liability or
no excuse standard for liability,
Section 7(b) lays down that the
employer must ensure — “as far as
practicable” — that the substance is
safe. Section 99 enables an employer
to employ children.
The Minimum Wages Act, 1948,
was enacted to progressively
introduce minimum wages in a
situation where industries were
gradually being established. Thus, it
did not cover all workers, but only
workers in notified industries — only
a part of the workforce. Domestic
workers, for example, are not
covered. In a globalised economy
one needs to shift to universal
coverage. What was needed was a
simple amendment saying that those
not covered by the existing
notifications would be covered by a
residual notification. This seems to be
coming in by amendment. However,
this residual minimum wage will be
the lowest of all the minimum wages
notified.
There is also nothing to indicate
that the widespread nonimplementation of this Act will be
corrected, or that the endless
litigation in courts, at the end of which
a petty fine is levied for non-payment
of minimum wages, will be replaced
by a different procedure. The
exclusion of contract workers, who
now cover 75 per cent of the
workforce, from the minimum wages
enforcement seems destined to
continue. The failure of the Act to
effectively cover home-based and
other forms of unorganised labour will
also continue.
The labour movement also has
its agenda for reform. Labourers
demand the introduction of a ‘secret
ballot’ for determination of trade
union recognition. It is unfortunate
that
even
decades
after
independence, this simple
democratic right remains elusive.
They also demand that their right to
go to court should not be restricted
by the requirement that they take
permission from the government
under Section 10 of the Industrial
Disputes Act. Seeking such
permission delays litigation by years.
They also demand that, by
amendment, the two anti-labour
judgments of the Supreme Court in
the Umadevi case and the SAIL case
be reversed, so that non-permanent
workers who have put in long years
in government services are entitled
to regularisation, and that when the
contract labour system is abolished
by the Board, the contract workers
will be regularised. The Supreme
Court had condemned these
categories of workers to permanent
servitude. They demand that child
labour be abolished. These are some
of the long-standing democratic
reforms pending consideration of the
government.
Boost for infrastructure
The maiden budget of the
Narendra Modi Government has
allowed banks to raise long-term
funds from the market to finance
infrastructure projects. For funds thus
raised, banks are freed from
requirements with respect to
Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR), Cash
Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Priority
Sector Lending. The move is in tune
with the recommendations of the
Nachiket Mor Committee on
Comprehensive Financial Services
for Small Businesses and Low-Income
Households. The panel had
suggested the gradual phase-out of
SLR, and recommended CRR
application only on demand
deposits. The budget proposal has a
two-fold objective. For one, it seeks
to address concerns over the assetliability mismatch in banks’ lending
to infrastructure projects, which have
long gestation periods. By freeing
banks of statutory obligations on those
funds, on the other hand, the budget
aims to bring down the financing cost
for them. With projects facing
overruns on cost and time fronts due
to assorted reasons in the wake of
economic slowdown, the banking
system as a whole has come under
heavy stress. So much so that banks
have been forced to restructure a
substantial portion of their lending to
infrastructure projects. The failure of
infrastructure projects on a large
scale has seen non-performing assets
(NPA) piling up in this sector. A
funds-starved government needs
private enterprises to give a big push
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to infra growth. Private enterprises
will move into the infra space only if
long-term funds are available at
affordable rates and near-term
worries on repayment do not weigh
on them. Viewed against this
backdrop, the budget proposal is a
twice-blessed move. For, it benefits
banks as well as private enterprises.
There is, however, a huge risk in
looking at the proposal from a micro
prism alone. Is non-availability of longterm funds the sole reason for the
present predicament in the
infrastructure space? A host of factors
— ranging from land acquisition to
green clearance and poor credit
appraisal — have combined to derail
the infrastructure sector. Is the
monetary regulator — the Reserve
Bank of India – on the same page with
fiscal bosses on the issue of letting
banks go free on statutory obligations
for money raised to fund
infrastructure projects? Even if it is in
sync with the fiscal bosses, the RBI
may yet be keen to ensure that its
ability to exercise control over the
monetary aspects of the economy is
not compromised. The RBI may do
well to ensure that such selective
exemptions from statutory obligations
do not compromise the viability of the
banking system. The budget proposal
must be taken forward in a composite
way by all the stakeholders so that
infrastructure development is
facilitated.
Dams without
Responsibility
The devastation in Uttarakhand
had already happened much before
the cataclysmic events of June 2013.
The unprecedented rainfall and
floods and loss of life drew attention
to the alarming situation in a State
known for its pristine forests and
rivers. It also drew attention belatedly
to the “bumper to bumper” dams in
the mountains.
Construction on all dams in
Uttarakhand was halted by the
58
Supreme Court in August 2013 and
on its instructions, the Ministry of
Environment and Forests (MoEF)
appointed an expert body which said
that 23 hydropower projects out of
the 24 it was asked to examine would
have an irreversible impact on the
biodiversity of the Alaknanda and
Bhagirathi basins and should not be
constructed.
In May, the Supreme Court
reiterated its orders stopping work on
the 24 hydropower projects
examined by the body. While all this
amounts to shutting the stable door
after the horse has bolted, it is a
measure of recognition of the manmade destruction wrought by
unplanned hydel power projects in
a sensitive and fragile ecosystem.
The State of Uttarakhand is a
part of the Ganga basin and rivers
suffer from several depradations apart
from dams in high places, including
extensive pollution from untreated
sewage. Despite huge amounts of
money being spent, plans to clean
up the river have failed miserably. An
IIT-led consortium has been set up
to prepare a master plan for the
National Ganga River Basin Authority
(NGRBA),
to
restore
its
“wholesomeness,” as the extended
summary of a draft Ganga River Basin
Management plan says. Citing
anthropogenic activities, it says dams
and barrages have snapped her
“longitudinal connectivity.”
In its report of March 2013, the
Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) on
Issues Relating to River Ganga says that
the development of new hydro
power projects has an impact on the
environment, the ecology, the
biodiversity, both terrestrial and
aquatic, and economic and social life.
Crucially, it says that in the upper
reaches of the river — where the
oxygenating abilities of the river are
the highest — there are growing signs
of contamination. This suggests that
even here, water withdrawal for
hydroelectricity is endangering the
health of the Ganga. Implementation
of the 69 hydro power projects will
lead to 81 per cent of the Bhagirathi
and 65 per cent of the Alaknanda
getting affected. The IMG had
considered the need to have portions
of the river free of hydro projects and
recommended that six rivers should
be kept in pristine form.
In the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi
basins, the report said that 17 dams
have been commissioned with a total
installed capacity of 1,851 MW.
Fourteen projects of 2,538 MW
capacity are in different stages of
construction and 39 projects with an
installed capacity of 4,644 MW are in
different stages of planning. The
expert body report said that if all the
450 dams in the State are completed,
about 252 projects will each have an
installed capacity of 5MW or more.
The vast majority of them will divert
rivers through tunnels to power
houses downstream. Their combined
impact will affect the landscape of
Uttarakhand. The environment
management plans of individual
projects do not address the
cumulative impacts of multiple
projects in a river valley.
With dams proposed on major
rivers for every 20 to 25 kilometre
stretch, large fragments of these rivers
could be left with minimal flow as
almost all the river water is extracted
for producing hydroelectricity, the
body’s report has said. Prof. Ravi
Chopra, chairperson of the body said
that tunnelling is also controversial
and leads to damage with natural
springs being diverted and homes
developing cracks. The government
has only looked at the need to
generate power and not the impact
on the environment. On field visits,
the body noticed scarred
landscapes, dry river beds and a
complete disappearance of riverine
ecosystems due to submergence at
existing and under construction large
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hydropower projects such as Tehri
Stage I and Koteshwar on the
Bhagirathi basin and the Srinagar dam
in the Alaknanda basin.
Extensive deforestation and
diversion of forest land too has posed
problems. The body found that
80,826.91 hectares of forests have
been diverted for non-forest use in
Uttarakhand since 1980. The
diversion for hydropower production
is 5,312.11 ha. Most of the diversion
for roads and hydropower has been
in Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli
and Pithoragarh districts, the areas
most affected in the June 2013
disaster.
People have been agitating
against dams for years in the region,
notably Tehri. In 2010-11, and for the
first time for any project, there were
three public hearings on the Devsari
hydel project on the Pinder. After
two hearings, the third one was
accepted by the government,
according to Vimalbhai of the Matu
Jansangthan which led protests along
with the Bhu-Swami Sangharsh
Samiti. He says this was the first major
protest after the ones against Tehri.
A public hearing was also organised
where many voiced their opposition
to the dams and on the need to keep
the undammed tributary of the
Ganga that way. He referred to the
pathetic status of the catchment area,
and the lack of studies on water flows
and climate change impacts. The
people displaced by the Tehri dam
are still to get land rights or basic
amenities in their relocated homes,
he added.
Local people who have borne
the brunt of the devastation due to
dams and floods and environmental
groups have questioned the
feasibility of dams. By all accounts
there is cause for concern as
reflected in many reports. Even as the
Uttarakhand government proposes to
approach the Supreme Court in a bid
to get a green signal for dam
construction, it must remember this.
It has to ensure that the quest for
hydropower cannot come without a
responsibility to preserve a region that
is limping back to life after a calamity
aggravated by unplanned human
interventions neither scientifically
assessed nor endorsed by the people
of the region.
Breakthrough for the
blind
India under the Narendra Modi
government has become the first
country in the world to ratify the
Marrakesh Convention that codifies
exemptions to copyrights to benefit
blind and vision-impaired readers.
The government should now build on
this momentum and enact the
comprehensive and path-breaking
law, now before a Parliamentary
Standing Committee, that could
transform the lives of millions of
people with various disabilities. This
is imperative also because seven long
years have elapsed since New Delhi
ratified (it was one of the earliest to
do so) the United Nations Convention
for the Disabled. The current treaty
of the World Intellectual Property
Organization removes legal
restrictions on the conversion of
published works into any one among
a range of alternative formats which
the blind and vision-impaired may
access. Ratifying countries are
required to enact domestic laws to
overcome their own copyright
limitations to further this objective.
The treaty also eases hurdles for
cross-country exchange of books in
different formats so as to overcome
the cost of duplication. This is a
genuine concern, as nongovernmental organisations are by
and large the principal serviceproviders for the disabled. India
amended its copyright law in 2012
broadly on the lines of the Marrakesh
Treaty. Hence, the most direct
benefit from its ratification of the
latter would be the access to
literature that is converted overseas.
WIPO has just launched the
Accessible Books Consortium to
provide technical support for the
production of suitable formats and to
create a global database of such
transcriptions and to encourage
publishers to participate in this
initiative.
All of the above potentially add
up to vast improvements on the
present situation where published
works are out of the reach of an
overwhelming majority of the blind.
The exception to this rule is the
extremely limited availability of
educational material. The worstaffected are people in developing
countries, which are home to 90 per
cent of the world’s blind population,
according to the World Health
Organization. Moreover, barely 15
countries world-wide have copyright
exemptions as per a WIPO finding,
and these are mostly in the advanced
economies. The full potential of this
convention will be realised ultimately
when large numbers of blind people
have full access to quality education,
which is still a distant dream. The
treaty will not enter into force
internationally unless it is ratified by
at least 20 countries. The lack of
backing from the United States from
the beginning of the negotiations
could prove to be a handicap in
canvassing wider support. The world
has indeed come a long way since
WIPO began to contemplate
copyright exemptions some three
decades ago.
BRICS for a New Bank
What might have been
dismissed as an impossibility just five
years ago is now a reality. Defying
sceptics and critics, five countries
that between them account for 40
per cent of the world’s population
and 20 per cent of its GDP have
signed an agreement to create a
development bank to provide
financial assistance to developing
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countries and emerging market
economies, mainly for infrastructure
projects. As its name implies, the
agreement for the New Development
Bank, signed by Brazil, Russia, India,
China and South Africa at their sixth
BRICS summit in Brazil, signals the
start of a new global financial order
that aims to be more inclusive than
the Western-focussed International
Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
The $100 billion bank will have an
initial subscribed capital of $50
billion. The five members managed
to iron out their differences to agree
on an equal share for each in the bank,
so no one member dominates the
institution. India and South Africa
both wanted to host the
headquarters. The eventual decision
to locate it in Shanghai was an
acknowledgement that China’s is the
biggest economy in the grouping.
The Bank will also have an African
Regional Centre in South Africa and
India will assume the first presidency
of the bank. First mooted at the fourth
BRICS summit in New Delhi in 2012,
the Bank will certainly have an impact
on the existing arrangements put in
place by the Bretton Woods
institutions, and will give more say to
smaller countries. But BRICS also
appears to recognise that the NDB
cannot replace the IMF, the World
Bank or the regional development
banks. Thus, the Fortaleza
Declaration describes the NDB as a
“supplement to the efforts of
multilateral and regional financial
institutions for global development.”
A second financial instrument,
the
Contingency
Reserve
Arrangement of $100 billion, has
been set up to help developing
economies tide over “short-term
liquidity pressures, promote further
BRICS cooperation, strengthen the
global financial safety net and
complement existing international
arrangements.” In its sixth year, BRICS
has a new confidence, and it was
60
more than apparent at the summit.
The only world grouping that is not
region, security or trade-based, its
members have come together with
the determination to create a more
multilateral global order. China and
Russia have backed the other three
BRICS members on the issue of UN
reform and Security Council
expansion. But the grouping needs
to find a stronger political voice. The
Declaration came in the midst of the
bombardment, even if under grave
provocation, of Gaza by Israel, but it
is silent on this while calling for Israel
and Palestine to resume negotiations
towards a two-state solution.
Revamping the
PPP Framework
In both the railway budget and
the general budget, the BJP-led NDA
government has made it clear that
Public Private Partnership (PPP) is the
preferred mode for driving major
infrastructure development projects.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley even
announced the decision to set up an
institution named 3P India with a
corpus of Rs.500 crore, to provide
support to mainstreaming PPPs. This
‘Triple-P’ mode was a common thread
in Mr. Jaitley’s speech as he went
through several proposed initiatives
of the Modi government in sectors
such as urban renewal, urban
transportation, real estate, and even
gas pipelines. Railway Minister D.V.
Sadananda Gowda too held out the
hope that major passenger and
consumer initiatives such as
development of railway stations,
terminals, or even connectivity to
ports could be taken up through the
PPP route. To achieve the projected
8 per cent growth in GDP,
infrastructure development is of
critical importance, and this calls for
huge doses of investment across
sectors. Successive governments
have tried to parcel major projects
through this route. The greenfield
airports, private ports and real estate
projects have been some of the
noteworthy instances on this front.
But there has also been a chain of
problems and allegations in the
implementation of such projects, or
in terms of the concessions offered
to promoters in the private sector or
to foreign investors.
No doubt, PPPs represent a
valuable device to leverage scarce
public funds with private funding to
finance critical infrastructure
projects. Prime Minister Narendra
Modi has been a votary of the PPP
model, and prides himself on
including a fourth ‘P’ — ‘people’. This
puts the focus on a major problem. If
only the people of the area are taken
on board in its planning, much of the
opposition and hurdles will
disappear. More often than not, land
acquisition and compensation
payable for it emerge as the biggest
problems, invariably leading to
public agitations or protest. Mr. Jaitley
spoke of “the weaknesses of [the] PPP
framework, the rigidities in
contractual arrangements, the need
to develop [a] more nuanced and
sophisticated model of contracting
and develop quick dispute redressal
mechanisms.” The other side of the
issue relates to user charges. These
projects, notably those related to
national highway development, are
based on certain user projections.
When the numbers do not add up on
the ground, the investor becomes
frustrated because the projected
return on investment may not
materialise. The government and its
agencies must work on a new
framework for PPPs to make them
attractive to investors, and at the same
time affordable to the users or
consumers.
Towards a
comprehensive Juvenile
Justice law
The Juvenile Justice (Care and
Protection of Children) Act, 2000 (JJ
Act) has been amended twice: in
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2006 and in 2011. More demands to
amend the Act have been in the
reckoning. There was, for instance, a
public outcry demanding more
stringent punishment for the prime
accused, a juvenile, in the Delhi gang
rape case of 2012. Besides crimes
committed by juveniles, violence
against them is also emerging as an
important issue which needs to be
redressed by strengthening the
existing provisions. Protracted intercountry adoption procedures in the
existing JJ Act need urgent legislative
resolution. While personal laws allow
specific communities to adopt, other
persons can become guardians only
under an archaic Guardians and
Wards Act, 1890. A secular genderneutral adoption law for all people is
required.
The apex court in a public
interest litigation decided on March
28, 2014, in Dr. Subramanian Swamy
and others v. Raju and others , refused
to read down the provisions of the JJ
Act, 2000, in order to account for the
mental and intellectual competence
of a juvenile offender and refused to
interfere with the age of a juvenile
accused, in cases where juveniles
were found guilty of heinous crimes.
It was held by the Court that the
provisions of the Act are in
compliance with Constitutional
directives and international
conventions. The Court further stated
that the classification of juveniles as a
special class stood the test of Article
14 of the Constitution, and that the
Court should restrict itself to the
legitimacy and not certainty of the
law.
In this backdrop, the
Government of India is now
contemplating re-enacting a new JJ
Act, 2014, for which a review
committee has been constituted
under the Ministry of Women and
Child Development. The baton has
been passed on to Parliament to enact
a new law.
The JJ Bill, 2014, seeks to enact
a law by consolidating and amending
the law relating to children who are
in need of care and protection. It
seeks to cater to their developmental
needs through proper care,
protection and treatment by adopting
a child-friendly approach in the
adjudication and disposal of matters,
and for rehabilitation through
processes provided and institutions
established under the proposed new
enactment.
The Women and Child
Development Ministry has posted on
its website a proposed draft of The
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection
of Children) Bill, 2014, suggesting
broad amendments. The draft states
that the increase in reported
incidents of abuse of children needs
urgent legislative action; that there are
inadequate facilities, quality of care
and rehabilitation measures in private
and government-run children homes;
delays in various processes under the
JJ Act; delays in inter-country
adoption process under CARA; and
inadequate provisions to deal with
offences against children, among
others.
The draft incorporates the
principles of the Hague Convention
on Protection of Children and
Cooperation in Respect of InterCountry Adoption (1993) which was
absent in the original JJ Act, 2000.
The new JJ Bill, 2014, provides for
application of the proposed Act in:
cases
involving
detention,
prosecution or penalty of
imprisonment; matters relating to
apprehension, production before
court, disposal orders and restoration,
procedures and decisions related to
adoption of children, and
rehabilitation and reintegration of
children who are in conflict with law
or, as the case may be, in need of
care and protection under other such
law.
The word ‘juvenile’ has been
replaced with the word ‘child’ and
the expression ‘juvenile in conflict
with the law’ has been changed to
‘child in conflict with law.’ While in
the JJ Act, 2000, juveniles in conflict
with the law are defined as the
‘accused’, the draft Bill identifies a
‘child in conflict with law’ to be one
who has been found by the Juvenile
Justice Board to have actually
committed an offence. It also defines
an ‘abandoned child’ as well as
‘aftercare’. Chapter two is the most
noteworthy characteristic of the
proposed Bill, providing for
‘Fundamental Principles for Care,
Protection, Rehabilitation and Justice
for Children’. It incorporates
internationally accepted principles of
presumption of innocence, dignity
and worth, family responsibility, nonstigmatising semantics, privacy and
confidentiality, repatriation and
restoration, equality and nondiscrimination, and diversion and
natural justice, among others.
Institutionalisation is suggested as a
measure of last resort — juveniles are
to institutionalised only if no other
family-based care option is possible
or available.
CARA has been made a statutory
body vested with functions of incountry and inter-country adoptions.
Section 58 of the draft Bill lays down
special emphasis on inter-country
adoptions, stating that all applications
for adoption shall be filed before a
Principal Magistrate of the
concerned jurisdiction where the
registered adoption agency is
located.
However, the proposed
provision for adoption orders to be
passed by the Principal Magistrate on
the first date of hearing itself, or
within a period of two weeks, failing
which it will be construed by the
higher authority of the Principal
Magistrate, “as dereliction of duty”,
does not seem to be practical for
actual implementation. Judicial
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proceedings have to be regulated by
the Code of Civil Procedure and no
fast-track procedure that bypasses
rules of evidence can be proposed
in contravention of law. Likewise,
transgenders need adoption rights.
The JJ Bill must encompass these
issues.
The proposed Bill also prohibits
the media from disclosing the
identity of children or propagating
any such information which would
lead to identifying them. All reports
relating to children are to be treated
as confidential. Corporal punishment
and ragging, cruelty to children,
employment of children for begging,
adoption without proper procedure,
and sale or procurement of children
for any purpose are all acts that are
punishable under the draft Bill.
The draft Bill therefore provides
a comprehensive mechanism to deal
with children in conflict with law as
well as children who are in need of
care and protection. However, only
a stringent implementation can
provide a meaningful disposition to
make it a true letter of law.
A new index to
measure social progress
Is Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) an adequate measure of a
country’s development across many
dimensions? This has been debated
vigorously in recent years. The
discontent with GDP stems from the
fact that it focusses exclusively on
economic growth. Even there, it does
not capture the level of inequity
which can exist in a society despite
overall economic growth. The
inequity can in fact even be
exacerbated by it. More importantly,
it pays no attention to the social and
environmental measures of
development which are as important
as economic development. Indeed,
the United Nations has identified
three pillars on which the post- 2015
Sustainable Development Goals
62
(SDGs) must rest: economic, social
and environmental.
Several alternative measures
have been proposed to capture the
social dimension of development,
combined with or independent of
economic indices. Bhutan has
embraced and espoused the
concept of Gross National Happiness.
A World Happiness Report is now
periodically published from the
Columbia University which compares
self-reported levels of happiness of
people from different countries. A
composite Wellness Index was
proposed by noted economists
Stiglitz, Sen and Fitoussi in response
to a request from the then President
of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, for a
measure of development that looks
beyond
GDP.
A
Global
Multidimensional Poverty Index was
developed at Oxford to gauge
inequity within and across societies.
However, none of these has
really caught on because economists,
industrialists and politicians alike are
conditioned to place a high premium
on economic development as the
measure of progress and do not like
to see the clarity of a single measure
like GDP cluttered by a host of other
indicators they view as imprecise or
even irrelevant. So, an index of social
progress is needed which does not
try to displace GDP (not yet anyway)
but has additive value. Such an index
can be used to remind political
leaders that their bifocal vision must
accommodate both economic and
social progress as being important for
a country, recognising, of course, that
these two tracks are closely
interlinked and sometimes
inseparable.
Such an index of social progress
has recently been created by a group
of academics and institutions
constituting the Social Progress
I m p e r a t i v e
(www.socialprogressimperative.org).
This index has three major domains:
Basic Human Needs, Foundations of
Wellbeing and Opportunity. Each of
these has several clusters of specific
indicators (as shown in the table).
The environmental dimension is
partly incorporated into the Social
Progress Index (SPI) as a cluster of
indicators related to ecosystem
sustainability. While there can be
debates on which other indicators
could have been included in any of
the clusters, the SPI does provide a
list of key areas which need to be
tracked and acted upon to ensure a
higher level of social progress. The
index is still evolving, with validation
studies being conducted on data
from different countries. The authors
have extended an open invitation to
groups from anywhere in the world
to use their data sets for validation
and suggest refinements.
The designers of this index
draw our attention to three
overarching findings of their study so
far: social progress is distinct from
economic development, though
correlated with it; some aspects of
social progress are more closely
related to the level of economic
development than others; countries
have relative strengths and
weaknesses in social progress, both
across the major dimensions and
across components within the
dimensions.
Of the three domains, Basic
Human Needs is best correlated with
per capita GDP, Foundations of
Wellbeing being intermediate and
Opportunity the least so. However,
in each domain there is variability in
the degree of correlation between
the individual components and per
capita GDP. As the developers of SPI
affirm, the index offers a new tool to
explore the complex two-way
relationship between economic and
social progress. At the same time, it
provides a metric for comparison of
countries, and States within a country.
Even as the country commits
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itself to move on the fast track of
economic growth, it must be mindful
of the need to invest in improving the
social indicators as well. We may
continue to measure GDP if that is still
considered the talisman of economic
progress by the worlds of politics and
finance, but we must also
simultaneously measure social
progress lest we end up as a soulless
society characterised by gaping
inequality and glaring social
backwardness despite gaining
wealth. Let GDP and SPI be the
inseparable Gemini twins that herald
our ascent to higher levels of
balanced development.
Trials and Regulations
The promise and performance
of genetically modified crops in
agriculture is once again under the
spotlight, with the sanction given by
the Genetic Engineering Approval
Committee for confined field trials of
several food crops. In its last days, the
UPA government decided to end the
moratorium on trial cultivation of these
engineered varieties, and to allow
experiments aimed at generating
biosafety data. The GEAC has now
taken further steps to allow field trials
of rice, brinjal, mustard, chickpea and
cotton, and import of GM soyabean
oil. Clearly, there can be no credible
argument against scientific
experiments in agriculture that
advance the goal of developing plant
varieties that can withstand drought,
resist pests and raise yields to feed
the growing world population. But
this should be done through a
transparent regulatory process that is
free of ethical conflicts. Proponents
of GM crops funding research in
agricultural universities represents
one such conflict. To aid
transparency, research findings
should be made available in the
public domain for independent
study. But India has taken only halting
steps towards establishing a strong
regulatory system; the Biotechnology
Regulatory Authority of India Bill,
2013, which provided for multi-level
scientific assessments and an
appellate tribunal, has lapsed.
While the Central government
has not permitted the commercial
cultivation of Bt brinjal in India, the
recent case of neighbouring
Bangladesh shows that regulatory
mechanisms must be put in place
before such crops are grown,
whether for research or for the market
— and they must be functional.
Although the licence to produce the
crop in Bangladesh required that the
GM variety be isolated from
indigenous ones to prevent genetic
contamination, the condition was not
followed. Field trials in India, in which
the State governments have a say,
must ensure that there are sufficient
safeguards against such violations. If
GM food is allowed to be sold to
consumers, they must have the right
to know what they are buying, and
labelling should be made mandatory.
Here again, the Bangladesh
experience shows that such a
condition may be difficult to enforce.
There is no consensus on the
performance of GM crops and the
results have been mixed. They have
had some beneficial impact on tillage
practices and in terms of curbing the
use of insecticides, but as the Union
of Concerned Scientists in the U.S.
points out, they have created
monocultures and may be affecting
birds and bees. All this underscores
the need for a cautious approach —
one that fosters scientific inquiry,
allows for scrutiny and is
underpinned by regulation. Enacting
a comprehensive law that covers all
aspects of GM crops should be a
priority.
The budgets
ecological bankruptcy
“While 2015 will be a landmark
year for sustainable development and
climate change policy, 2014 is the last
chance for all stakeholders to
introspect to be able to wisely choose
the world they want post 2015.”
The survey contains (for the
third year running) an independent
chapter
on
‘Sustainable
Development and Climate Change’,
which contains a few more pearls of
wisdom like the one quoted earlier.
It recounts in detail several goals set
by the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) government (without
mentioning it of course), especially
as part of the National Action Plan on
Climate Change (NAPCC). Of
significance is the goal to reduce
“emissions intensity of GDP” quite
substantially, meaning moving
towards a lower carbon emissions
economy.
The budget too has a few
provisions to gladden the hearts of
“sustainable development” and
“green economy” advocates, such as
cleaner energy technologies, a big
fund for cleaning the Ganga, a boost
to watershed development and
provisions for water purification in
areas badly affected by toxic wastes.
Solar energy gets Rs.1,000 crore,
including for agriculture pump sets
and water pumping stations. A
doubling of the Clean Energy Cess
(from Rs.50 per tonne to Rs.100 per
tonne of coal) is aimed at financing
“clean environment” initiatives.
Unfortunately, as in the case of
previous budgets and economic
surveys, the few concessions given
to securing our environmental future
are overwhelmingly submerged by
what is missing and, worse, what is
contradictory. The survey’s chapter
on ‘Sustainable Development and
Climate Change’ appears to exist in
isolation of the other chapters;
indeed, if the government was serious
about “sustainable development,”
sustainability would run like a thread
through all the sectoral chapters. A
few examples will suffice to show that
it does not.
The survey’s chapter on
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industry acknowledges that it is a
cause of “natural resource depletion
(fossil fuel, minerals, timber), water,
air, coastal and marine, and land
contamination, health hazards,
degradation of natural ecosystems,
and loss of biodiversity.” Yet, neither
in this chapter nor anywhere else is
there an indication of how this is to
be tackled. The chapter on
agriculture and food has no mention
of the enormous health implications
of the use of chemical fertilizers and
pesticides, nor does the ‘Sustainable
Development and Climate Change’
chapter say anything about the need
to reduce emissions from fertilizer
use. Indeed, the Union budget
makes an increased allocation for the
fertilizer subsidy, ignoring the
repeated advice from both within
and outside government to begin
moving towards organic, ecological
fertilization measures (it does have a
token provision of Rs.100 crore for
organic farming in northeast India,
peanuts when compared to the
Rs.70,000 crore plus subsidy for
chemical fertilizers). Nowhere in the
survey are the issues of dryland
farming or the importance of reviving
millets for the health of soils and
people mentioned.
A lot more could be said about
the ecological bankruptcy of the
Economic Survey; for instance, how
can anyone gauge whether we are
moving any closer to sustainability in
the complete absence of any
indicators to measure this? Tribal
welfare does get a substantial
allocation, but there is no indication
whether it will be allocated to
continuing the intricate natureculture relationship of such peoples;
thus far it has not, and the NDA is
unlikely to be any different. And what
appears to be good news on the solar
energy front pales into insignificance
when one realises that the allocation
is only 0.6 per cent of the total energy
budget, with the lion’s share still
64
going to dirty sources like coal and
big hydro and nuclear.
The “Key Features of Budget
2014-2015” document has no section
on the environment. Mr. Jaitley’s
speech mentions the environment
only in respect of coal, clean energy
cess and mining. The promise of
sustainability in the mining sector has
been made for many years, but no
government has taken serious
measures to implement it. We need
to see whether the NDA does any
better. It will be surprising given the
other measures it is already taking or
proposing, such as faster
environmental clearances and even
self-monitoring by companies which
have shown scant regard for even
mandatory provisions.
The budget lays great stress on
industrial corridors. If Gujarat’s model
is anything to go by, this will mean
massive amounts of forcible or
induced land acquisition and
pollution. This is a recipe for conflicts
and social disruption. Early July has
seen massive farmer protests in Raigad
district of Maharashtra, against the
proposed acquisition of 67,500 acres
for a part of the Mumbai-Delhi
Industrial Corridor.
The budget also initiates the
River Linking project (Rs.100 crore for
Detailed Project Reports), which has
been under discussion for many years.
Mr. Jaitley’s speech lamented that
India was “not uniformly blessed with
perennial rivers.” Both the UPA and
the NDA are ignoring expert opinion
that warns of the enormous ecological
disruption and social displacement
that such a massive engineering
project would cause; equally
important, they are turning a blind eye
to the hundreds of initiatives that have
shown how water security can be
achieved through decentralised
solutions even in the driest of regions.
The focus is on growth through
making it easier for industry and
commerce, with the assumption that
a larger economic pie will help the
poor rise above the poverty line. The
fact that despite a blistering pace of
growth through much of the 1990s
and 2000s, the employment situation
worsened (latest figures show nearly
15 per cent unemployment), and 70
per cent of Indians remained
deprived of one or more basic needs,
appears lost on the proponents of
such an agenda. And the fact that
such growth actually trashes the
ecological pie on which all of us
depend for our very lives, appears to
be of little consequence. Not even
the World Bank’s 2013 study
showing that environmental damage
annually knocks off 5.7 per cent of
GDP growth, seems to have made a
dent in such thinking.
The NDA’s first budget has
thrown a few sops in the direction of
the environment and the millions
dependent on it. But much like its
predecessors, in painting the big
picture it remains embarrassingly
devoid of innovative ideas on how to
move India towards ecological
sustainability and justice.
The fallacy of autonomy
There can be good arguments
for and against a four-year
undergraduate degree. In any case,
for the time being the debate is
settled, in our very own messy style.
The new National Democratic
Alliance government has used the
same steamrolling tactics to reverse
the decision that the earlier United
Progressive Alliance government had
used to push FYUP. Now we have a
controversy about the Chairman of the
Indian Council of Historical Research
(ICHR). Tomorrow we can expect
something else. The real issue is how
we take big decisions on higher
education that affect the future of
millions of students. Governments
change but the ways of power do not.
Two years of a ringside view of
big decisions on higher education
taught me something: governance is
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not about procedures, committees,
rules and regulations; it’s all about
winks and nods of the powers that
be. This applies as much to
‘autonomous bodies’ like the UGC as
it does to public sector undertakings
or departments of the government.
This was as true of the UPA
government as it is of the current NDA
government, or the various State
governments.
The story of how FYUP was
introduced and then withdrawn
serves to illustrate how power
operates. The move to shift from the
conventional three-year graduate
course to FYUP began in late 2012.
Usually the university takes a couple
of years to deliberate and decide
about any major change in syllabi. Last
time the DU overhauled the syllabi of
the existing three-year course, it took
about three years to do so. But this
time, the vice-chancellor wanted the
entire process — from brainstorming
to the announcement of the new
course — to be completed within six
months or less. Everyone in the
academic community was aghast.
Even teachers who were willing to
look at the idea of a four-year degree
favourably thought it was crazy to
push the idea at this pace.
However, the vice-chancellor
was determined to go ahead. It was
said that he was the blue-eyed boy
of the then Minister of Human
Resource Development. It was also
said that the FYUP has the Minister’s
nod. And everything fell in place. All
the formalities of consultation within
the university were completed with
lightning speed. Protests by teachers
and departments were set aside.
Ministry officials were keen to assist
in any which way and were unwilling
to lend an ear to anyone who
protested. The President of India, the
Visitor to DU, refused to intervene.
The funny thing was the alibi used:
everyone from Minister downwards
said they were respecting the
autonomy of the university.
Now the new government has
nodded the other way. The tide has
turned, so has the Ministry and the
UGC. Interestingly, the same persons
continue to occupy key positions
such as Chairman of the UGC and
Secretary (Higher Education). But
they have suddenly discovered all
the arguments against FYUP that they
had dismissed last year. Those who
could not bear the thought of
interfering with the autonomy of the
university are now issuing diktats and
ultimatums with 24-hour deadlines.
The rolling back of FYUP was as
whimsical and arbitrary as its rollout.
The world of higher education is
divided into those who applaud one
or the other.
This story is worth remembering
in the days to come, as the BJP would
extend its control over one institution
after another: UGC, then ICHR, then
Indian Council of Social Science
Research, and of course the National
Council of Educational Research and
Training. Scores of well meaning,
secular academics will cry foul and
protest against violation of
institutional autonomy by the BJP or
the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Such protests will be justified and
necessary. But they would also beg a
series of questions: do we have
legacy of safeguarding institutional
autonomy? Has the academic
community shown the courage to
defend its autonomy? What is our
record of using academic autonomy
as and when we get it? Can academic
autonomy be equated with selfindulgence of the ivory tower, secular
or otherwise? How do we look firmly
into the future, unperturbed by nods
and winks?
A minimum Wage Debate
Echoes of the statutory
universal minimum wage legislation
adopted by Germany’s governing
grand coalition seem to reverberate
beyond Berlin, in the European Union
and across the Atlantic. Europe’s
largest economy is to enforce a
national minimum pay of •8.5 an hour
from January. Such a guarantee would
extend cover to the millions of
workers — mainly in the eastern
region — who remain outside the
negotiated wage settlement that
defined post-War Germany’s
industrial model. Britain has had a
national minimum wage law since
1998. But ahead of the 2015 general
election, the opposition Labour Party,
which was the architect of the
legislation, wants changes so that
those at the bottom of the workforce
may share the fruits of the economic
recovery. Neighbouring France
codified a legal guarantee in 1950,
amended since in 1970. But Paris has
recently floated the idea of a
minimum wage across the European
Union, although a pan-European
measure may not materialise any time
soon given the legal prohibition in this
area. The idea may well influence the
remaining six EU states — foundermember Italy, Austria, Cyprus, and the
three Nordic countries — to stipulate
their respective basic floor. Although
the Swiss rejected a proposal that
would have given the country the
world’s highest minimum pay, the
plebiscite in May occasioned a lively
debate. U.S. President Barack
Obama’s bid to raise the federal
minimum wage was blocked by
Congress. But there is evidence of
growing support among the
Republicans, who are anxious not to
antagonise voters.
The implications of a minimumwage floor on employment generation
and growth continue to divide
opinion. This is true equally of
Germany which is set to introduce
the new law in January, or Britain and
the U.S. which have put forth
proposals to effect an increase in the
existing amount. But growing
support on this contentious issue
cutting across traditional party lines
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perhaps means there is greater
recognition that minimum wages
ought to keep pace with inflation,
average wages and productivity
growth. The imperative need to
mitigate the impact of the 2007-08
economic meltdown on large
sections of the population in the
advanced economies has also
strengthened support. A legal
minimum pay remains a vital tool for
the workforce in mature
democracies, even though these are
already underpinned by vibrant trade
unions and high levels of social
protection measures. However, for
the bulk of the wage-earners in the
developing world that is outside the
organised sector of the economy, a
legal guarantee of a minimum
subsistence pay seems morally nonnegotiable. This is true even from the
standpoint of the physical and mental
capacities that are paramount to
enhance overall productivity.
⇒ For the BRICS bank,
a tough road ahead
The announcement of a new
BRICS Bank displays the desire of
emerging economies to move away
from Washington D.C.-style lending
institutions. But between India’s
bureaucratic efficiency and China’s
indifference to humanitarian,
environmental and regional concerns,
they resemble John F. Kennedy’s tart
characterisation of the very place
they hope to leave behind. Much
work lies ahead for the creators of
these new multilateral financial
institutions before the first loan can
be made.
Simply reaching sufficient
agreement to announce the new
BRICS Bank represents a significant
achievement for the six-year-old
BRICS group. While it may seem silly
to organise a serious international
grouping based on a clever acronym,
the BRIC countries are the four largest
economies in the developing world.
They have economic heft, but do they
66
have much in common?
What they most need to
succeed is trust. Russia and India have
long histories of conflict with China.
Brazil and Russia are not famous for
being creditworthy. South Africa is a
solid neutral party, but also, frankly, a
lot less significant than the other
members. So apparently their joint
desire to plant a flag on the global
economy sufficiently overcame
mutual differences.
The preponderance of the
friction on lending policy at the
International Financial Institutions
(IFIs) reflects typical lenderborrower conflict. Developed
countries, most often net lenders,
want high standards to make sure
money is used responsibly and
repaid. The developing countries,
most often net borrowers, resent
outsiders imposing conditions on the
use of money inside their own
country.
Any lender must pay attention
to prudential concerns to survive. But
given business practices in the BRICS
— especially where government is
involved — this cannot be taken for
granted. The BRICS governments
have not always been enthusiastic
about World Bank scrutiny and
transparency in the past. They must
be vigilant to ensure that BRICS Bank
money is used wisely and gets repaid.
Developed countries have also
imposed high-minded lending
values, the benefit of which can be
more reasonably debated. High
environmental standards, for instance,
may feel like a luxury that poor
borrowing countries cannot afford.
Some Western-imposed mandates
feel more like development fads.
Most are legitimate values that the
BRICS should aspire to follow.
If the BRICS are comfortable
with lowering their lending standards
I do not doubt they will find plenty
of projects to fund. But if they are, it
is best that the existing IFIs are not
affiliated with it.From what has been
announced, the BRICS Bank will take
a very democratic approach to
governance by giving each member
equal voting rights. Undoubtedly
there is value in such an equal
arrangement for symbolic solidarity,
as well as to avoid concerns about
Chinese domination.
Despite its shortcomings, this
arrangement may be the only way to
overcome their mutual trust deficit.
Mihir Sharma has already pinned the
BRICS Bank as a vehicle for the
Chinese to commandeer the
friendlier public image of the three
southern BRICS as a front for China’s
foreign economic policy. On the
other hand, can an institution survive
being funded primarily by China and
Russia, the only two BRICS with
excess reserves, when their influence
is no greater than any other member?
If adequate checks are put in place
to prevent Chinese dominance, will
China remain interested in this
project?
This works as long as they see
long-term value in the institution. U.S.
taxpayers would not accept such a
bargain, but China and Russia have
less need to answer to their own
taxpayers. The BRICS clearly want
something tangible to demonstrate
their global prominence and the
power of non-Western values. Yet the
new BRICS Bank faces two critical
tensions. The first pits the desire to
be free of Western-imposed
constraints on lending, versus the
need for prudential lending. The
second sets the high-minded desire
for equality of governance against the
reality that lack of Chinese dominance
may result in institutional neglect by
its primary benefactor.
While the BRICS Bank project
was put together in an impressively
short two years, most of the difficult
questions remain unanswered. These
tensions — critical to the bank’s
viability — will not be easily resolved.
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I expect it will be several years before
the details are sufficiently ironed out
for the BRICS Bank to open its doors.
Keep talking Peace
The four-month extension of
talks to halt Tehran’s bid to make an
atomic bomb is an indication of the
positive if limited fallout from the
historic late-2013 interim agreement.
Beneath that was well-founded and
deep scepticism — in the United
States, Europe and even among the
Israeli intelligence — of any resort to
brute force as a means to restrain
Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. The
five permanent members on the
United Nations Security Council
(UNSC) and Germany accordingly
decided to ease sanctions worth $7
billion for six months. The readiness
of the latter to relent on Iran’s
continuation of uranium enrichment
up to the level necessary for power
generation was in sharp contrast to
past UNSC resolutions requiring
Tehran to freeze all enrichment. In
return, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear
programme and permit vigorous
multilateral inspections of its facilities.
Whereas U.S. President Barack
Obama insisted that such relief was
conditional and reversible, the
Republican hard-liners and Israel
decried the November agreement as
a huge mistake.
There is evidently no guarantee
that the November deadline would
yield the outcome that all parties
envisage. Tehran has offered to
freeze the country’s operations at
current levels over the next three to
seven years and thereafter resume
uranium production as per its own
requirements. A foremost factor is the
election last year of Iran’s moderate
President Hassan Rouhani, which
almost coincided with the interim
nuclear agreement. A thaw in Britain’s
relations with Tehran could prove to
be a vital channel for the European
powers and the U.S. to exert pressure
on the radical Sunni Islamic groups
in Iraq and Syria. These are factors
with a strong potential to influence
the course of nuclear talks. The road
to long-term peace lies in eschewing
hard positions; one that goes to the
root of the global Nuclear nonProliferation Treaty (NPT). Nuclear
weapon-states
championing
disarmament ought to tread a delicate
line vis-à-vis potential aspirants in
order to strengthen world peace.
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Delhi University FYUP Row
MARRAKESH TREATY
Literary work requires lot of
effort and creativity, writers spend lot
of energy and resources to reach
desired product. Copyrights are
issued in order to encourage this
creative work and they provide the
mechanism to pass the benefits to the
owner.
However, intellectual property
rights are also generally seen as an
infringement on the basic human
rights of the people. Debate has been
long present on how to build a correct
balance between the economic
benefits of owner and rights of
customer. Some consider IPR as an
mechanism which is discriminatory
and it does not encourage the full
participation of population.
Marrakesh treaty was signed in this
regard to allow the persons with
visual impairments or with print
disability to get the benefits of
development in technology.
This treaty proclaims the
“principles of non-discrimination,
equal opportunity, accessibility and
full and effective participation and
inclusion in society, proclaimed in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and the United Nations Convention
on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities”.
Marrakesh treaty is an initiative
of World intellectual property
organization. Treaty will come into
force once 20 countries ratify it. The
main goal of Marrakesh Treaty is to
create a set of mandatory limitations
and exceptions for the benefit of the
blind, visually impaired and otherwise
print disabled. Basic condition of the
68
treaty is that it’s signatories should
adopt a national law that will make
available the published work in form
that is accessible for the persons with
visual inability. Treaty also allows that
publication should be made available
across border to the governmental or
non-governmental organizations
working in this field. The majority of
persons with visual impairments or
with other print disabilities are
residing in counties which are in not
economically developed.
This treaty will be source of
development of people residing in
poor and least developed nations.
There are differences in national
copyright laws, the positive impact
of ICT on the lives of persons with
visual impairments can only be felt
through a treaty which is
internationally binding. Although
many member countries have already
enacted such national laws but there
is a continuing shortage of available
works in accessible format copies for
such persons. International treaty will
also provide the benefit of cross
border accessibility in prescribed
format.
India has become the first
country to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty.
The Treaty was initially adopted by
79 member countries and India
ratified the treaty on june 2014. This
treaty will benefite the educational
institutions,
libraries
and
organisations which are working for
the benefit of persons with visual
impairment.
Translation of material in
accessible format along with import
of material from member countries
will be the medium through which
benefits will be transfered. Once the
Marrakesh Treaty comes into force, it
will help the millions of blind, visually
impaired and otherwise print
disabled persons in India, who wants
to read but can not because material
is not present in accessible format.
India has amended its copyright act
in 2012, which is in line with the treaty
signed in Marrakesh. Amendment
enabled the persons with disability
to convert the work published in
India in a format that they can access,
which includes, braill, audio etc. But
with Marrakesh treaty it will open
enormous amount of international
book resources.
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Delhi University FYUP Row
ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES ACT
The Essential Commodities Act
was enacted by the Central Government in 1955. Main purpose of the
act was to control the price and trade
for commodities which are essential
for public at large. This act gives the
power to governments at the center
and state to control the price, supply, production, trade etc. when the
chance of price rise is present. Various measures are provided to the
governments in order to effectively
discharge the functioned assigned in
the act. Government can impose
stock limit, can issue license and distribute the commodity. Government
can also impose penalties in case of
stock keeping of essential commodity.
Commodities which are covered under the act are provided in
the essential commodities act, 1955
and new commodities are added to
it through various amendments. Original text of the Act says; “essential
commodity” means any of the following Classes of commodities:
(i) cattle fodder, including oilcakes and other concentrates;.
(ii) coal, including coke and other
derivatives;
(iii) component parts and accessories of automobiles;
(iv) cotton and woollen textiles;
(v) foodstuffs, including edible oilseeds and oils;
(vi) iron and steel, including manufactured products of iron and
steel;
(vii) paper, including newsprint,
paperboard -and straw board;
(viii)petroleum and petroleum
products;
ix) raw cotton;
(x) raw jute:,
(xi) any other class of commodity
which the Central Government
may, by notified order, declare
to be an essential commodity
for the purposes of this Act,
being a commodity with respect to which Parliament has
power to make laws by virtue
of Entry 33, in List III in the Seventh Schedule;. to the Constitution;
Government has made various
amendments in the past either to remove or add some commodities with
in the purview of the act. Herbicides,
fungicides and exercise books have
been removed from the purview of
the act while new commodities like
steel etc were added in order to
keep in tap with the changing time.
The Act is again in the news, as
the Centre government is trying to
bring onions and potatoes under
its purview.
Inflation in both these commodities has been a headache for the
government and public at large for
last few years. So by bringing these
commodities with the purview of the
act government is hoping that prices
of these commodities will be controlled.
Various agencies are involved in
the execution of the act, but act
authorises Food and civil supply authorities to execute the Act. They
have been given the power to raid a
premises of anyone in case of
suspision of hoarding of any of the
essential commodity. In case of price
rise in any of the essential commodity, central government can prescribe
the stock limit. Generally the Centre
specifies upper limits in the case of
stock holding and states prescribe
specific limits.Sometimes we see the
difference between centre and state
government emerge, in those situations the order of centre government
has overriding power.
At present, minor offences related to violations of provisions of this
act attract a punishment of jail term
between three months and a year.
While major offences attract the punishment up to seven years in jail. Major offences under the Act are nonbailable as Criminal Procedure Code
says offences attracting a jail term
beyond three years are non-bailable.
The Central Government is of the
opinion that violation of the act
should be made Non-bailable.
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Mock Paper
CSAT PAPER-II
MODEL PAPER
For
IAS Preliminary Examination–2015
Passage: Instruction for questionread the following passage and
answer the questions that follow.
Your answers to the questions
should be based on the passage
only.
In a sense, 2012 has the
potential to be call important
milestone; As of January, it has
been more than 12 months since
India recorded its last case of
poliomyelitis. If 2012 passes
without this record being
disturbed, India and the rest of the
world would have made
significant progress toward
eradicating only the second
human disease ever. As with small
pox, the primary tool that is being
employed is a highly effective
Vaccine. It is because of their
tremendous public value that the
famous economist Jeffrey sachs
once called vaccines and other
similar health interventions
‘weapons of mass salvation’.
This potentially defining
advancement in the battle against
polio comes, coincidentally, at a
moment of reckoning for vaccines
and immunization. In May 2011,
‘the decade of vaccines
collaboration’ was lunched at the
World Health Assembly. With a
Variety of stakeholders- ranging
from United Nations agency to
multilateral bodies, national
governments to philanthropic
institutions- this efforts hopes to
maximize the power and potential
of vaccines over the next decade,
and expect full benefits of
immunization to everyone.
70
1. According to passage.
1. As of January 2011, it has
been more than 12
months since India
recorded its last case of
poliomyelitis.
2. India can dramatically
impact
global
immunization efforts this
year.
Choose the correct option
using codes
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1, nor 2
2. According to passage.
1. The success in the battle
against polio coincides
with a moment of
reckoning of vaccines
and immunization
2. India has the largest
number of immunized
children in the world
Choose the correct option
using codes
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1, nor 2
3. The author considers 2012 to
‘ have the potential to be an
important
milestone’
because.
1. The year has been labeled
as
the
‘year
of
intensification of routine
immunization.
2. If
no
cases
of
poliomyelitis
are
recorded this year then
significant progress will
be
achieved
in
eradicating the diseases.
Choose the correct option
using codes
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1, nor 2
4. The year ‘2011’ was declared
as
(a) Decade of polio vaccines
(b) Decade of vaccines
(c) Decade of small pox
vaccines
(d) Decade of TB vaccines
5. India recorded its last polio
case in
(a) 2012
(b) 2010
(c) 2011
(d) 2009
Passage: Instruction for questionread the following passage and
answer the questions that follow.
Your answers to the questions
should be based on the passage
only.
Western sanctions once
‘targeted’ and now blanket, are
turning into a form of collective
punishment. They are designed,
we are told, to force the Islamic
government to return to the
nuclear negotiating table. Western
policies also seen to believe the
punishing the Iranian people might
lead them to blame their own
government for their misery and
take it upon themselves to force a
change in the regime’s behavior,
or even a change in the regime
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Mock Paper
itself. But as the old British maxim
recognized, deprivation in Iran is
a receipe for the status quo Iran’s
government and its people have
never been isolationists. But a
sanctions take their toll on the
livelihoods of Iranians who want
to continue to do business and
communicate with the outside
world, their energy to question
their government’s policies and to
agitate for change is waning. That
means for fewer opportunities to
promote American values and win
minds, if not hearts (which we
Americans have won in the past
but are now in danger of losing)
6. the passage mentions the “
deprivation in Iran is a
recipe for the status quo”.
What does it imply?
1. Deprivation in Iran has
been a consequence of
the government’s rule
there.
2. Deprivation in Iran does
not have the effect that
western sanctions aim to
achieve.
Choose the correct option
using codes
(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1, nor 2
7. With reference to the
passage, consider the
following statements.
1. Western sanctions need
to be targeted to be
effective.
2. Western sanctions have
been aimed to promoting
American values.
Choose the correct option
using codes
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1, nor 2
8. According to author.
1. A change in regime would
make Iran resume nuclear
negotiations.
2. Sanctions have made the
Iranians less supportive of
America
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1, nor 2
9. The passage mentions which
country
(a) Iran
(b) Syria
(c) Iraq
(d) None of these
10. According to the passage.
1. The Iranians have started
blaming their own
government for misery.
2. Iran’s government and its
people have been
isolationists.
Choose the correct option
using codes
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1, nor 2
Passage
Passage: Instruction for questionread the following passage and
answer the questions that follow.
Your answers to the questions
should be based on the passage
only.
We have welcomed the
market and the radical change into
economy, even if half the
population continues to be below
poverty line or generally
impoverished. The important
lacuna is that we have avoided
discussion on the ensuring change
in social and individual ethics,
brought about by globalization; a
change which is only too evident
in daily life. If money is to be the
major criterion of human worth,
then will the social ethic of earlier
times and situations have to be
replaced by social ethic and mean
the totality of the ethics of a
society. To treat globalization as
entirely a matter of changing the
economy is to hoodwink
ourselves.
11. Which is main part of the
passage?
(a) Globalization has not
removed the need for
social ethics.
(b) Globalization
has
contributed to poverty in
the country
(c) Social ethics needs to
change with globalization
(d) Globalization and ethics
do not go together.
12. What does the author means
by ‘social ethics”
(a) How an ethical society
evolves
(b) Importance of ethics in a
society
(c) Totality of ethics of a
society
(d) Integration of a society
with its ethics
13. Consider the following
statements:
1. We welcome radical
change even if the way
population continues to
be below poverty line
2. Globalization brought out
social and political
ethics.
Choose the correct option
using codes
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(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Only 1
Only 2
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1, nor 2
14. What is major criterion of
human?
(a) Money
(b) Development
(c) Social ethics
(d) None of these
15. Consider the following
statements:
1. To treat globalization in
entirely a matter of
changing the economy
2. Social ethics implies that
totality of the ethics of a
society
Choose the correct option
using codes
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1, nor 2
Passage: Instruction for questionread the following passage and
answer the questions that follow.
Your answers to the questions
should be based on the passage
only.
President Pranab Mukherjee’s
decision to reject the mercy
petition submitted by the lone
convict in the 26/11 Mumbai terror
attack, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab,
is an instance of how public
perceptions about a convict’s guilt
can camouflage the government’s
duty to explain the decision. The
President’s decision is shrouded
in secrecy, throwing little light on
the principles which guided it.
Under Section 4(1) (d) of the
Right to Information Act, every
public authority shall provide
reasons for its administrative or
72
quasi-judicial decisions to
affected persons. This provision
has no exemptions. The
government erroneously denies
information to RTI applicants
seeking reasons for its mercy
decisions, taking shelter under
Article 74(2) which Only bars
inquiries by courts into Ministers’
advice to the President.
The last hanging in India was
that of Dhananjoy Chatterjee in
2004. One of the journalists has
found from MHA files under the
RTI-Act that the briefs prepared for
President Kalam provided an
inaccurate and incomplete view
of the 10-year delay in his
execution, ignoring official
negligence. He suggests that a
reasoned and transparent decision
could have made it easy for the
Supreme Court to intervene on the
ground that relevant material was
not placed before the President,
before executing Chatterjee.
President Pranab Mukherjee
missed an excellent opportunity
to contribute to the rule of law,
by not publicly disclosing the
reasons for his decision on Kasab.
Every death row convict has an
inherent right under Article 21even
if so far untested by the Courts to be apprised of the reasons for
the rejection of his mercy petition,
which would deprive him of his
life. Others are entitled to know
the reasons as well under the RTI
Act.
16. According to the passage1. The government is trying
to neglect its duty of
disclosing the reason
behind the rejection of
mercy petition of Ajmal
Kasab by hiding under the
2.
3.
4.
(a)
(c)
(d)
public perception of his
guilt.
Ajmal Kasab, the lone
convict of 26/11 Mumbai
terror attack should not
have been hanged
secretly.
The President’s decision
to reject Kasab’s mercy
petition doesn’t throw any
light behind the reason of
his doing so.
Now a days prosecutions
are guided by media and
public perceptions.
Only 1 and 2 (b)
Only 1 and 3
Only 1, 2, 3
1, 2, 3 and 4
17. According to the passage the
government is shying away
from its duty to reveal the
reason behind its mercy
decisions under the ambit of1. Public perception, as in
the case of Ajmal Kasab’s
guilt.
2. Article 74(2), which falls
under public domain.
Select the correct answer
from the codes given:
(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
18. Information from MHA files
under RTI Act reveals a
lacuna behind the execution
of Dhananjoy Chatterjee in
2004. This lacuna pertains to(a) Non intervention of
Supreme Court in the
matter.
(b) Hanging of Dhananjoy
Chatterjee could have
been commuted to life
imprisonment on timely
intervention of SupremeCourt.
(c) An inaccurate and
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incomplete view of the
10-year delay in his
execution was presented
before the President to
decide upon his mercy
petition.
(d) A
reasoned
and
transparent decision was
made by the President in
reviewing his mercy
petition.
19. Consider the following
statement1. As per Article 21 a death
row convict and general
public are entitled to
know the reason behind
the rejection of his mercy
petition.
2. Article 74(2) undermines
the RTI Act.
Which of the statements given
above is/are correct.?
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Passage: Instruction for questionread the following passage and
answer the questions that follow.
Your answers to the questions
should be based on the passage
only.
Despite India’s rapid
economic development and
growing technological prowess, it
continues to suffer from
widespread poverty and bears a
burden of infectious diseases,
including tuberculosis, malaria
and many other neglected
diseases. The country will have to
strengthen its health system to
reduce this burden and make
medicines accessible, especially
for the poor, a latest report on
India’s research and development
has said.
New health technologiessuch as affordable and locally
adapted drugs, vaccines and
diagnostics can also make a big
contribution to combating disease
in India. For some serious
diseases, there are currently no
effective drugs or vaccines,
whereas for others, existing
technologies are too expensive
and require infrastructure that is
not broadly available, or are ill
suited in other ways to local
needs. For instance there are no
vaccines against malaria or
dengue fever and no affordable
and accurate point-of care tests
for tuberculosis ‘India’s Role in
Global Health R&D - a report by
the Results for Development
Institute under its Centre for
Global Health Research and
Development Policy Assessment
programme - suggests that the
capacity of Indian firms and of the
Indian biomedical system as a
whole to create and bring new
health technologies to market is
still limited. Indian firms require
subsidy of some kind to work on
products with very small markets,
such as leishmaniasis or typhoid
fever. Also, there is a class of
neglected but useful disease
products that these firms see as
commercially viable.
Indian firms are most able to
contribute in three ways: by
developing more affordable or
locally adapted versions of
existing products; by bringing to
market some new products for
which technological barriers are
not too high; and by participating
in specific aspects of international
product development initiatives in
areas where they have a cost or
other advantage.
20. Consider the following
statement with reference to
the passage1. New health technologiessuch as affordable and
locally available drugs,
vaccines and diagnostics
are helping India in
combating diseases like
malaria and tuberculosis.
2. There is a need for
subsidy of some sort for
Indian firms to develop
products that can combat
less prevalent diseases.
Which of the statements given
above is/are correct?
(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
21. The contribution of Indian
firms is inadequate as it does
not address the problem of
(a) developing
more
affordable or locally
adapted versions of
existing products.
(b) development of new
products for which
technology is easily
available.
(c) development of new
products with a small
market.
(d) development
of
international products
which have a cost or
other advantage.
22. Which one of the following
statements conveys the
inference of the passage?
(a) India still, suffers from
widespread poverty and
bears a burden of
infectious diseases.
(b) No affordable and
accurate point-of care
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tests of tuberculosis is
available in India.
(c) Indian firms need some
kind of subsidy to
develop new health care
products which are
technologically more
sound and effective.
(d) The capacity of Indian
firms and of the Indian
biomedical system as a
whole to create and bring
new health technologies
to market is still
constrained.
23. Consider the following
statement1. For some serious diseases
like malaria, dengue and
chikungunya fever, there
are currently no drugs or
vaccines available in
India.
2. There is no affordable and
accurate point of care
tests available for
diseases like tuberculosis
and typhoid fever.
Which of the statements given
above is/are true as per the
passage?
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Passage: Instruction for questionread the following passage and
answer the questions that follow.
Your answers to the questions
should be based on the passage
only.
The goal of keeping planet
warming in check has moved
further out of reach, the U.N. said
in the latest of a flurry of reports
pointing to looming disaster ahead
of talks in Qatar. Country pledges
74
for cutting climate-altering
greenhouse gas emissions could
see global average temperatures
rise by three to five degrees
Celsius this century, said a U.N.
Environment Programme (UNEP)
report. The targeted limit is an
increase of two degrees Celsius
on pre-industrial levels. The
World
Meteorological
Organisation (WMO) reported a
record increase of earth-warming
gases in the atmosphere, while the
World Bank warned of the planetwide devastation a rise of four
degrees Celsius wound cause.
UNEP said swift action could
still see the world get back on
track, but it would mean
increasing pledges and slashing
emissions by 14 per cent to about
44 billion tonnes in 2020 from an
estimated 50.1 billion tonnes per
year now. Scientists say global
temperatures have already risen
by about 0.8 degrees Celsius on
average. More than 190 countries
will meet for two weeks in Qatar
seeking to draft a work
programme leading to a new,
global climate deal to be signed
by 2015 and enter into force by
2020.
They will also seek to put in
place a follow-up phase for the
Kyoto Protocol which binds rich
nations to greenhouse gas
emission cuts but runs out on
December 31, 2012. UNEP said the
concentration of warming gases
like carbon dioxide has increase
by about 20 per cent since 2000,
picking up after a slump during the
economic downturn of 2008-9.
Barring swift action, emissions
were likely to reach 58 gigatonnes
in 2020.
24. According to the passage1. Country pledges for
cutting climate-altering
greenhouse gas emissions
is not adequate at current
levels.
2. Even if swift action is
taken current estimated
rate of emission of 50.1
billion tonnes per year is
unlikely to be reduced by
2020.
3. Qatar is going to hold
world meet on climate
change, to be attended by
over 190 countries to
renew the Kyoto Protocol.
4. If swift action is not taken
the emissions may reach
to 58 gigatones by 2020.
Which of the statements given
above is/are correct?
(a) Only 1 and 2
(b) Only 1 and 3
(c) Only 1 and 4
(d) Only 2, 3 and 4
25. The key message conveyed
in the passage is(a) The goal of keeping planet
warming in check is
unlikely to be achieved
out of the upcoming Qatar
meet, due to lack of
consensus
among
participating countries.
(b) An alarming increase in
the earth-warming gases
may worsen the situation
by 2020.
(c) A flurry of reports by the
UN and its organs may
endanger the upcoming
global meet in Qatar even
before it commences.
(d) World Bank estimates are
worrisome.
26. With reference to the
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passage consider the
following statements1. The rise in average
temperature this century
could be one to three
degrees celsius more than
the targeted limit at the
current rate of climate
altering greenhouse gas
emissions.
2. Concentration of warming
gases
like
Carbon
dioxide needs to be
checked if the targeted
limit
of
average
temperature rise is to be
achieved on pre-industrial
levels.
Which of the statements given
above is/are correct?
(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2(d) Neither 1
nor 2
27. A slump in CO2 emissions
during the economic
downturn of
2008-09
resulted in
1. 20% increase in carbon
dioxide concentration as
compared to 2000
estimates.
2. an increase in global
temperatures by about
0.8 degrees celcius on
average.
Pick your answer from the
following codes:
(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2(d) None of
these
Passage: Instruction for questionread the following passage and
answer the questions that follow.
Your answers to the questions
should be based on the passage
only.
Although genetic mutations in
bacteria and viruses can lead to
epidemics, some epidemics are
caused by bacteria and viruses
that have undergone no significant
genetic change. In analyzing the
latter, scientists have discovered
the importance of social and
ecological factors to epidemics.
Poliomyelitis, for example,
emerged as an epidemic in the
United States in the twentieth
century; by then, modern
sanitation was able to delay
exposure to polio until
adolescence or adulthood, at
which time polio infection
produced paralysis. Previously,
infection had occurred during
infancy, when it typically provided
lifelong immunity without
paralysis. Thus, the hygiene that
helped
prevent
typhoid
epidemics indirectly fostered a
paralytic polio epidemic.
Another example is Lyme
disease, which is caused by
bacteria that are transmitted by
deer ticks. It occurred only
sporadically during the late
nineteenth century but has recently
become prevalent in parts of the
United States, largely due to an
increase in the deer population
that occurred simultaneously with
the growth of the suburbs and
increased outdoor recreational
activities in the deer’s habitat.
Similarly, an outbreak of dengue
hemorrhagic fever became an
epidemic in Asia in the 1950’s
because of ecological changes
that caused Aides -aegypti, the
mosquito that transmits the dengue
virus, to proliferate. The stage is
now set in the United States for a
dengue epidemic because of the
inadvertent introduction and wide
dissemination of another
mosquito, Aedes albopictus.
28. The passage suggests that a
lack of modern sanitation
would make which of the
following most likely to
occur?
(a) An outbreak of Lyme
disease
(b) An outbreak of dengue
hemorrhagic fever
(c) An epidemic of typhoid
(d) An epidemic of paralytic
polio among infants
29. According to the passage,
the outbreak of dengue
hemorrhagic fever in the
1950’s occurred for which of
the following reasons?
(a) The mosquito Aedes
aegypti was newly
introduced into Asia.
(b) The mosquito Aedes
aegypti became more
numerous.
(c) The mosquito Aedes
albopictus
became
infected with the dengue
virus.
(d) Individuals who would
normally
acquire
immunity to the dengue
virus as infants ever not
infected until later in life.
30. It can be inferred from the
passage that Lyme disease
has become prevalent in
parts of the United States
because of which of the
following?
(a) The
inadvertent
introduction of Lyme
disease bacteria to the
United States.
(b) The inability of modern
sanitation methods to
eradicate Lyme disease
bacteria.
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(c) A genetic mutation in
Lyme disease bacteria
that makes them more
virulent.
(d) An increase in the number
of humans who encounter
deer ticks.
31. Which of the following can
most
reasonably
be
concluded about the
mosquito Aedes albopictus
on the basis of information
given in the passage?
(a) It is native to the United
States.
(b) It can proliferate only in
Asia.
(c) It transmits the dengue
virus.
(d) It caused an epidemic of
dengue hemorrhagic fever
in the 1950’s.
32. Which of the following best
describes the organization of
the passage?
(a) A paradox is stated,
discussed and left
unresolved.
(b) Two
opposing
explanations
are
presented, argued, and
reconciled.
(c) A theory is proposed and
is then followed by
descriptions of three
experiments that support
the theory.
(d) A generalization is stated
and is then followed by
three instances that
support
the
generalization.
33. Which of the following, if
true, would most strengthen
the author’s assertion about
the cause of the Lyme
disease outbreak in the
76
United States?
(a) The deer population was
smaller in the late
nineteenth century than in
the mid-twentieth century.
(b) Interest in outdoor
recreation began to grow
in the late nineteenth
century.
(c) In recent years the
suburbs have stopped
growing.
(d) Outdoor
recreation
enthusiasts routinely take
measures to protect
themselves against Lyme
disease.
Passage: Instruction for questionread the following passage and
answer the questions that follow.
Your answers to the questions
should be based on the passage
only.
In 1959, the government of
Egypt was working on a plan to
build a dam on the River Nile. It
was called the Aswan Dam, and
it was intended to generate
electricity and allow the river
water to be used for agriculture.
There was one big problem with
the plan, though. The dam would
flood a nearby valley that
contained ancient Egyptian
treasures, including two enormous
stone temples. It can be difficult
for governments to choose culture
and history over economics.
However, if countries always
made decisions like this, the
majority of the world’s ancient
sites would end up being
destroyed. Luckily, UNESCO
stepped in. They formed a
committee, that tried to convince
Egypt to protect its ancient
treasures. With support from many
countries, they were finally
successful. The huge temples were
carefully removed from their
original site and moved to a safe
location so that the dam could be
built. UNESCO is an agency of the
United Nations. The United
Nations is a partnership between
countries from all over the world.
They are joined to help promote
world peace, enforce human
rights, and help countries
develop. UNESCO is a part of the
United Nations that is concerned
with science and culture.
After their success in saving
the temples in Egypt, UNESCO
went on to save more sites around
the world. They protected lagoons
in Venice, ruins in Pakistan, and
temples in Indonesia. With
industrialization changing the
world rapidly, there were many
sites that needed to be saved.
Eventually, UNESCO formed the
World Heritage Organization to
protect important natural and
historic sites wherever it was
necessary. By now, the World
Heritage Organization has
protected hundreds of sites
ranging from beautiful natural
islands to buildings in large cities
to ancient ruins. If you’re able to
visit any of the many protected
sites, you’ll agree it was worth it.
34. Why did UNESCO get
involved in Egypt
(a) Egypt was planning to
build a dam that would
harm ancient temples.
(b) Egypt was planning to
build a valley for
agriculture
and
electricity.
(c) Egypt was planning to
create a dam right on top
of an ancient temple.
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(d) When the dam flooded a
valley, several treasures
were discovered.
35. What is meant by the line ‘It
can be difficult for
governments to choose
Culture and History over
Economics’?
(a) Most governments prefer
to sell their treasures.
(b) Money sometimes seems
more important than all
other things.
(c) Governments are never
able to consider two
things at once.
(d) Governments usually
don’t know anything
about their culture.
36. You have decided to
introduce computerization in
every department in your
office. But some staff is
opposing it. The main reason
for resistance is
(a) Lethargy (b) Habit
(c) Fear
(d) Stubborn
37. You are the CEO of a big firm
and you want to form a team
to assign an important
project How will you
choose the team leader?
(a) A person who has the
potential to keep the
member united
(b) A Responsible person
(c) An aggressive person
(d)An honest person
38. The
best
mode
of
communication with your
subordinates and coworkers
at the workplace is
(a) To communicate in a
formal way and only that
much, which is required
(b) To communicate in an
attentive and clear way
(c) To listen and interact in an
informal way.
(d) To be focused with
everyone.
39. You presented an idea in
front of the board of
directors. Your boss praises
you by saying that you have
a ‘good style’ here?
(a) Clean clear thinking
(b) Good and unique idea
(c) Impressive
way of
speaking
(d) Fearless attitude
40. You are the district
magistrate of a remote
district and you have to
deliver a speech is one of the
remote villages ‘you will’
(a) Use cheesy words and
fancy language.
(b) Use formal words,
without much interactive
lines
(c) Use familiar, native and
simple words with a
touch of interactive lines.
(d) Use circumlocution and
abstract words.
Direction: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
and H are eight employees
working in there departmentsmarketing finance and production,
in an organization with at least
two of them in any department
Each of them different choice of
TV channels from star, ZEE, ESPN,
DD, SONY, NDTV, Aaj Tak and
BBC not necessarily in the same
order D likes ESPN and he works
in production department with
only G. B and F do not work in
the same Department. H likes DD
and does not work in marketing
department. E works with C in the
same department and likes star.
B likes Aaj Tak and none of his *
in the department likes either Sony
or NDTV G likes Zee. F does not
like Sony.
41. Which channel does A like?
(a) DD
(b) NDTV
(c) BBC
(d) Zee
42. In which department does F
work?
(a) Marketing(b)
Production
(c) finance (d) Marketing
or Finance
43. Which channel does F like?
(a) Zee
(b) NDTV
(c) BBC
(d) Data Inadequate
44. Which of the following
groups work in marketing
department?
(a) B, A, C (b) B, G, E
(c) H, B, E
(d) None of these
45. In which Department does B
work?
(a) Marketing(b)
Production
(c) finance
(d) Data Inadequate
Direction: Eight member A, B,
C, D, E, F, G and H belonging to
three families X, Y, Z go for
weekend outing in three different
cars I, II, III four out of the eight
members are females members of
any one family travels in different
cars. Each car has at least one
male and one female member.
Each family has at least two
members. A belongs to family Y
and he travels in car III. D is wife
of E and they travel in cars I and
II respectively. H is son of B who
is wife of G and they belong to
family Z, C is daughter of F, who
is wife of A. C travels in car II, G
does not travel with F.
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46. Which of the following
groups of persons travels in
car me?
(a) D, F, G (b) D, E, G
(c) D, G, H (d) D, F, H
47. Which car has only two
members traveling in it?
(a) I
(b) II
(c) III
(d) II or III
48. Which of the following
members of families Y and
Z travel in different cars?
(a) F, G
(b) C, G
(c) F, H
(d) C, F
49. Which of the following
groups of persons in a group
of all females?
(a) B, D, G
(b) A, B, C
(c) B, E, F
(d) None of these
50. Which of the following
members of families X and
Y Travel in the same car?
(a) C, F
(b) D, F
(c) C, D
(d) F, E
Direction: 6 Boys – Rajeev,
Mohan, Vijay, Suresh, Babu & Ajay
are sitting in a circle and facing
towards the centre of the circle.
Rajeev is sitting to the right of
Mohan but he is not just to the left
of Vijay, Suresh is between Babu
& Vijay, Ajay is sitting to the left
of Vijay.
51. Who is sitting to the left of
Mohan?
(a) Rajeev (b) Vijay
(c) Ajay
(d) Babu
52. Who is sitting between Ajay
& Mohan?
(a) Rajeev (b) Vijay
(c) Babu
(d) Suresh
53. There are how many boys
between Vijay to Mohan
from left to right?
78
(a) 2
(c) 0
(b) 3
(d) 1
54. Ajay is opposite to Mohan?
(a) Vijay
(b) Babu
(c) Suresh (d) Mohan
55. There are four candidates for
group leader in a team. One
is to he selected by votes of
5 team members. The
number of ways in which the
votes can be given is
(a) 1048
(b) 1072
(c) 1024
(d) None
56. In what proportion should
water and juice at Rs 20.00
a litre he mixed to reduce
the price to Rs 5 a litre?
(a) 3 : 1
(b) 1 : 3
(c) 2 : 3
(d) 4 : 7
57. Find the least number of
boxes of pens required to fill
a rectangular floor of 15.17
m length and 9.02m breadth?
(a) 841
(b) 714
(c) 814
(d) None of these
58. The age of Rahul is 60% more
than Ravi’s age and the age
3
of Roshan is times the age
2
of Ravi. If the sum of ages of
Rahul, Ravi and Roshan is
125 years, than what is ratio
of the ages of Ravi to that of
Roshan?
(a) 1 : 2
(b) 2 : 3
(c) 3 : 4
(d) 4 : 5
59. The ratio of the angles of a
quadrilateral is 3 : 6 : 4 : 7.
Half the second largest angle
of the quadrilateral is equal
to the smaller angle of the
parallelogram. What is the
value of the adjacent angle
of the parallelogram?
(a) 126°
(b) 136°
(c) 94°
(d) 96°
60. In a two digit number the
digit in unit’s place is one
more than twice the digit in
Ten’s place. If the difference
between half of these two
digit is 2, than what is half
of the numbers?
(a) 16.5
(b) 24.5
(c) 18.5
(d) 12.5
61. In a party each person
shakes their hands with all
other person. If the total
number of handshakes were
66, than how many persons
were present in the party?
(a) 16
(b) 15
(c) 13
(d) 12
62. A man crosses a stationary
car in 35 seconds. The same
car crosses a pole in 21
seconds. What is the ratio of
the speed of the car to the
speed of the man?
(a) 3 : 5
(b) 5 : 3
(c) 3 : 7
(d) 7 : 3
63. Ramashanker
owned
950gold coins, all of which
he distributed amongst his
three daughter Kavita, Rita
and Sunita. Kavita gave 25
coins to her husband, rita
donates 15 gold coins and
sunita made jewellery out of
30 gold coins. The new ratio
of the coins left with them
was 20:73:83. How many
gold coins did Rita receive
from her father?
(a) 380
(b) 415
(c) 400
(d) 350
64. The ratio of the present age
of Tanu and Rakhi is 5 : 4.
Six years later, the ratio of
their ages will be 7 : 6. What
is the difference between
their ages?
(a) 2 Years (b) 3 Years
(c) 4 Years (d) 5 Years
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Mock Paper
Diection: The pie chart denotes
the distribution of students
studying different disciplines iin
a university. Answer to the
questions that follows:
(a) 800
(c) 1000
(b) 1800
(d) 900
Direction : Study the following
graph carefully and answers to the
questions – Graph shows the
distribution of monthly income
into seven requirements of 2
familiar.
G
22%
A
18%
F
7%
E
8%
Ration of
Medicine
Science
Commerce
Engg.
Management
7
8
%
%
51
33
e rce
C omm%
16
3
2
Medicine
10%
A rts
18%
MGMT.
15%
Male
8
3
2
4
1
Female
7
5
1
5
2
65. What is the total no of female
students studying medicine?
(a) 545
(b) 55
(c) 420
(d) 485
66.
The difference between the
Engg.
30% no of students studying
science and Arts is:
S cienc e(a) 900
(b) 9245
18%
(c) 935
(d) 945
Total numb er of Studen
= 9000
67. tsHow
many
female students
study commerce?
(a) 550
(b) 650
(c) 900
(d) 480
68. The number of female
students
studying
engineering is what percent
of the total number of
students studying in the
University?
(a) 14%
(b) 18.5%
(c) 14.6%
(d) 16.6%
69. Total number of female
students studying commerce
and management is-
B
30%
D
10%
C
5%
(A)
Monthly income of A 25,000
A
5%
G
30%
F
8%
B
22%
C
18%
E
10%
D
7%
(B)
Monthly income of B 30,000
70. Which family spends more
on A and C together
(a) A
(b) B
(c) Same
(d) Can’t be determined
71. How much is spend on E by
family A and B?
(a) 6500
(b) 5000
(c) 5500
(d) 7000
72. By what percentagw is B/s
expense on N is more than
A’s expencse on A ?
(a) 4%
(b) 15%
(c)
(d)
73. What is the difference
between amount spend on C
by A and that of C by B?
(a) 4150
(b) 4510
(c) 5140
(d) 4051
74. What is the ratio of
investment of G and B of A
to that of G and B of B?
(a) 63:17
(b) 78:65
(c) 55:31
(d) 65:78
Direction: In each question
below is given a statement
followed by two assumptions
numbered I and II. You have to
consider the statement and the
following assumption and decide
which of the following assumption
is implicit in the statement. Given
answer.
(a) If only assumption I is
implicit
(b) If only assumption II is
implicit
(c) If neither I nor II is
implicit
(d) If both I and II are implicit
75. Statement: The government
has instructed all the private
schools in the city to
maintain the current fees for
at least two more years.
Assumption:
(I) The authorities of private
schools may not follow
the govt. instruction as
they are not dependent on
govt. funds.
(II) The parents of the students
of private schools of the
city may still be egger to
pay higher fees.
76. Statement: The municipal
authority has decided to
demolish the old bridge on
a bus road for construction
of new flyover.
Assumption:
(I) The traffic department
may be able to divest
movement of vehicles
through alternate roads.
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Mock Paper
(II) The people travelling in
the nearby areas may
demonstrate to protest
against the authority’s
decision.
percent reduction on all
food items during the
weekend.
77. Statement: The captain of
the school football team
selected only fourteen
players to play all eight
matches of the interschool
football.
Assumption:
(I) People may still prefer
buying food terms from
other stores.
(II) A large number of
customers may visit the
retail store and buy food
items.
Assumption:
(I) There may be adequate
number of football
players for all the
matches.
(II) The captain may be able
to play in all the matches.
79. Statement:
The civic
administration has asked the
residents of the dilapidated
buildings to move out as
these building will be
demolished within the next
thirty days.
78. Statement: A major retail
store announced thirty
Assumption:
(I) The civic administration
may be able to demolish
there building as per
schedule.
(II) The residents of these
buildings may vacate and
stay elsewhere.
80. Statement: The railway
authority has rescheduled
the departure of many long
distance trains and put up the
revised fining on its website.
Assumption:
(I) The passengers may note
the change in departure
time from the website.
(II) The passengers may be
able to notice the change
and
board
their
respective trains before
departure.
ANSWERS WITH EXPLANATIONS
1. (b)
11. (b)
21. (B)
31. (d)
2. (c)
12. (b)
22. (b)
32. (c)
3. (a)
13. (b)
23. (b)
33. (a)
4. (a)
14. (a)
24. (d)
34. (a)
5. (a)
15. (c)
25. (d)
35. (b)
6. (a)
16. (b)
26. (d)
36. (b)
7. (b)
17. (a)
27. (d)
8. (c)
18. (c)
28. (C)
9. (b)
19. (d)
29. (b)
10. (c)
20. (a)
30. (d)
37. (a) [The success of the project will depend on the unity with which the team ill perform]
38. (b) 39. (a)
40. (c) [As a DM, you should deliver your speech in such a language that it should be understandable by
everyone]
41. (c)
42. (b)
43. (d)
44. (a)
45. (d)
46. (c)
47. (a)
48. (d)
49. (b)
50. (d)
51. (a)
52. (a)
53. (b)
54. (d)
55. (a)
56. (c)
57. (b)
58. (a)
59. (d)
60. (d)
61. (b)
62. (a)
63. (b)
64. (c)
65. (a)
66. (d)
67. (s)
68. (b)
69. (c)
70. (b)
71. (d)
72. (a)
73. (d)
74. (d)[(I) is implicit the cause of blocking the traffic is the gathering of a large number of devotees]
75. (c)
76. (a)
77. (a) (I) is implicit, otherwise more players would have been selected.
78. (b)
79. (d). (I) is implicit in the deadline given to the residents (II) is implicit in the notice given to the
residents to move out
80. (d) Both are the assumption made by the railway authority while putting the revised timing on the
website.
80
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GENERAL STUDIES PAPER-I
MODEL PAPER
Mock Paper
For
IAS Preliminary Examination–2015
1 . Why did the trade and
industries of Bengal suffer
heavily after the battle of
Plassey?
(a) Indian merchants faced
stiff competitio n from
the English.
(b) Indian merchants were
at a disadvantageous
situation on account of
payment of duties by
them while the English
trade was dutyfree.
(c) Producers were forced
th rough the u se of
violent methods to sell
thei r, co mmodities at
lower prices.
(d) All of the above
2 . The market in Britain was
completely closed for the
goods produced in India.
The device which was used
by the English for achieving
the arrangement was:
(a) Orders were issued that
th e
shi ps carrying
Indian goods would not
be allowed to to uch
ports in Britain.
(b) The British Indian
Governmenti t s e l f
purchased Indian goods
and sold them in the
markets in Africa at
fabulous profits.
(c) The British Indian
Government imposed
restrictions on the
export of Indian goods.
(d) A heavy import duty was
imposed on I ndian
goods i mpo rted into
Britain with a view to
make the export and sale
of Indian goods in Brit ain
an
uneconomic
proposition
3 . Which of the follo wing is
incorrect?
(a) I n 1859, the separ ate
armies
of
the
presidencies
were
unified.
(b) The entire army o f the
British Government in
India -was brought under
the control of the
Commander-in Chief
(c) For every three Indian.
soldiers, there was one
(d) None of the above.
4 . By passing the Regulating
Act o f 1773, th e British
Parliament tried:
(a) To exerc ise its o wn
authority on the affairs of
the company
(b) To remove the evils
found under the rule of
the company
(c) To protect the Indian
rul ers from the high
handedness o f the
officers of the company.
(d) To
regulate
the
company’s trade wi th
India.
5 . Which of the following was
NOT one of the effects of
Nadir Shah’s invasion?
(a) It caused an irreparable
loss to the prestige of the
empire.
(b) It exposed the hidden
weakness of the empire
to the Maratha Sardars
and the foreign trading
companies.
(c) I t
ruined
im perial
finances and adversely
affected the economic life
of the country.
(d) It destroyed all the
init iative
of
–th e
impoveri shed nobles,
most of whom retired
from active court life.
6 . Match the following List-I
with List-II and answer as
per the code given below:
List-I
List-II
A. Eka Movement 1 . N.G. Ranga
B All India Kisan
and Sabha
2 . Khoodi
Mullah
Shambhu Pal
C . Pabna Revolt
3 . Madari Pasi
D. Andhra Ryots4.Swami
Sahajanand
Cod
e:
de
A
B
C
D
(a) 3
4
1
2
(b) 4
3
1
2
(c) 4
3
2
1
(d) 3
4
2
1
7 . Consider the followin g
statements: .
1. The revolt o f Chhatar
Singh, the governor of
Multan, precipitated the
second Anglo-Sikh
2. The ‘I ndian War’ of
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Mock Paper
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
I ndependence’
was
written by V.D. Savarkar.
C o de:
Only 1 is correct
Only 2 is correct
Both are correct
Neither 1 nor 2 is correct
8 . Match the following List-I
with List-Il and answer as
per the codes given below:
List-I
List-II
A. Delhi.
1 . Colin Campbell
B. Jhansi
2 . John Nicholson
C . Lucknow
3 . Hugh Rose
D. Arra
4 . Winset Taylor
Code:
A
(A) 2
(B) 1
(C) 4
(D) 2
B
3
3
1
3
C
1
4
2
4
D
4
2
3
1
9 . Which of the following
movements can be said to
have initiated the process of
associating the workers with
the wider nationalist struggle
against British?
(a) Swadeshi Movement
(b) Home Rule Movement
(c) N o n - C o o p e r a t i o n
Movement.
(d) Anti-Simon Agitation
1 0 . Which of the following
was NOT one of the
administrative
and
economic causes of the
Rebellion of 1857?
(a) The Indian aristocracy
was deprived.of power
and position since all
high posts, civil and
military, were reserved
for the Europeans.
(b) The administration of
Awadh
after
its
annexat ion, received
popular acclaim and
82
aroused the jealousy of
other ruling princes.
(c) The land revenue policy
was most popular.
(d) None of these
11. T he m ain m otive of th e
British Indian Government in
devel oping modern road
and r ail co mmunicati on
was:
improve
the
(a) To
general communication
facilities available to the
people
(b) To
improve
th e
prospects
of
th e
Bri tishcompany’s trade
and commerce in India
(c) To improve trade. and
commerce inside India
(d) None of these
1 2 . Which of the followi ng is
incorrect?
1. I n 1877 the Prarthana
Samaj of Bombay was
founded.
2. Two of
its chief
archi tects
were
Mahadev Govind Ranade
and
Ramkri shna
Bhandarkar.
3. The leaders of th e
Prarthana Samaj were
no t influenced by th e
“Brahmo Samaj.
4. The Prarthana Samaj
leaders condemned the
caste system and th e
practice of untochability.
Code:
(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 2, 3 and 4
(c) 1 and 3
(d) 3 and 4
1 3 . Which of the followin g
statement is wrong?
(a) The Hindu College of
Calcutta founded in
1817,
pla yed
an
impo rtant
rol e
in
modernising the ongoing
movements in Bengal.
(B) David Hare, an associate
of Rammohan Roy, took
keen interest. in starting
the Hindu College.
(c) Henry Vivian Derozio’s
students, co llectively
called the Young Bengal
ridiculed all old social
traditions and customs.
(d) The
you ng Bengal
movement came to an
end after Der ozio ’s
dismissal from the Hindu
College and his sudden
death in 1831.
1 4 . Which of the followi ng is
wrong?
(a) Dayan anda,
who se
original name was Mula
Shankara, was bo rn in
Kathiawad in 1824.
(b) I n
1863 Dayanand
started preaching his
doctrine - there was only
one god who was to be
worshipped not in the
form of images but as a
spirit.
(c) In 1875 he founded the
Arya Samaj in Lahore.
(d) The Satyarth-Prakash was
his most important book
1 5 . Asserti on (a): The ear ly
n at ionalists in the ini tial
phases paid relatively little
attention to the question of
workers.
R eason (R): Th e ear ly
nationalist did not wish to,
in any way; weake n th e
co mmon stru ggle against
British rule, by creating any
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divisions within the ranks of
the Indian people.
1 6 . Consider the followin g
statements:
1. The period after 1858
witnessed a gradual
widenin g o f th e gulf
between th e educated
Indians and-the British
Indian administration.
2. I n
1876, Dadabhai
Naoroji organized The
East India Association in
Lo ndon to discuss the
Indian question and to
influence British public
men to promote Indian
Welfare.
C o de:
(a) Only 1 is correct
(b) Only 2 is correct
(c) Both are correct
(d) Neither 1 nor 2 is correct
1 7 . Consider the followin g
statements:
1. The system of Dual
Government established
by the company in
Bengal remained in
operation for five years.
2. The establishment of
this masked system was
a sign of the company’s
unwillin gness
to
recognize that it had
ceased to be a mere
trading body and became
a ‘ruling power.
C o de:
(a) Only 1 is correct
(b) Only 2 is correct
(c) Both are correct
(d) Neither 1 nor 2 is correct
1 8 . Which of the followin g
machine based industries
were established in India, in
the second half of the 19th
century?
1. Cotton-Textile
2. Jute
3. Coal-Mining
4. Cement
Select.the answer from the
codes given below:
(a) Only 1 and 2
(b) Only 1 and 3
(c) Only l, 2 and 4
(d) All the above
1 9 . Consider the followin g
statements:
1. The All India Trade
Union Congress was
formed in 1920.
2. Lokamanya Tilak, played
an important role in the
formation of the AITUC
3. L ala Lajpat Rai, was
appointed as its first
president.
C o de:
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2 and 3
(c) Only 1 and 2
(d) All the above
2 0 . Consider the followin g
statements regarding the
Pitt’s India Act 1784:
1. The Board of control was
established to control all
civil,
military
and
revenue affairs o f the
company.
2. I n India, th e chief
government was placed
in the hands o f a
Governor General and a
council of four.
C o de:
(a) Only 1 is correct
(b) Only 2 is correct
(c) Both are correct
(d) Neither 1 nor 2 is correct
2 1 . Consider the followin g
statements:
1. One
significant
devel opment in the
second half o f the 19th
century
was
establishment o f large
scale machine based
industries in India.
2. The first textile mill was
started in Bombay by
Cowasjee Nanabhoy in
1863 and the first jute mill
in Rishra (Bengal) in
1865.
C o de:
(a) Only 1 is correct
(b) Only 2 is correct
(c) Both are correct
(d) Neither 1 nor 2 is correct
2 2 . Which of the following
Acts author ized
fo r
Governor-General to
appoint Indian L a w
Co mmission to study and
co dify various rules and
regulat ions prevalent in
India?
(a) Charter Act of 1813
(b) Charter Act of 1833
(c) Charter Act of 1853
(d) The Act for the better
Government o f India,
1858
2 3 . As s e r t i o n
(a):
Th e
Comm unist
Party
dissociated itself from the
Qui t India Moveme nt
launc hed by Gandhi ji in
August 1942.
Reas on (R): With the Nazi
attack on the Soviet Union
in 1941,: the communist
argued that character of
the war had changed
from an imperialist war to
peoples war.
2 4 . Consider the followin g
statements:
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1. The decision to boycott
Simon Commission was
taken by the Congress in
its 1927 Bombay Session.
2. Muslim League also
decided to Boycott
Simon Commission.
Which o f the above
statements are correct?
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
2 5 . Which of the followin g
statements is wrong in the
context of Karachi Congress
1931?
(a) It was presided over by
Vithalbhai Patel
(b) The congress decided to
parti cipate
in
th e
Second Ro und Tabl e
Conference.
(c) The r esoluti on
on
Fundamental Rights was
passed
(d) The fut ure economic
policy o f the Congress
was also spelt out
2 6 . Arr ange th e followin g
events chronologically:
1. Cripp’s Mission
2. Cabinet Mission
3. Quit India Movement
4. Individual Satyagraha
5. R.I.N Mutiny
Sel ect the
co rrect
answer from the codes
given below:
Code:
(a) 1-4-2-3-5 (b) 4-1-3-5-2
(c) 4- 1-3-2-5 (d) 4-1-2-3-5
27. Which of the followi ng is
not correct?
(a) The decision to launch
Individual Satyagraha
Movement was taken in
84
Ramgarh session o f the
Congress
(b) The session presided by
MaulanaAbul
Kalam
Azad in 1940 launched
the Individual Satyagraha
Movement
(c) The first Satyagrahi o f
Individual S atyagrahi
Movement
was
Rajagopalachari
(d) Srikri shna Sinha, th e
premier of Bihar during
Congress
rul e
parti cipated
in
I ndividual Satyagraha
Movement
2 8 . Which of the following was
not included in the Nehru
Report?
(a) India must be give n
Dominion Status.
(b) The Gover nor General
must be o nly th e
constitutional head.
(c) There was to be no
separate electorate
(d) Dyarchy s ho uld
be
introduced both at the.
centre as well as in the
provinces
2 9 . I n the elections held in
Janu ar y-February 1937,
Congress failed to emerge as
a party with absolute
m ajo rity in which of the
following province?
(a) Bengal
(b) Madras
(c) United Provinces
(d) Central Provinces
3 0 . C onsider the followin g
statements:
1. Sisir Kumar Bose formed
the Indian Independence
League.
2. A women’s regiment of
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Azad Hind Fauz was
form ed
under
th e
com mand of Kalpana
Dutta.
C o d es:
Only 1 is correct
Only 2 is correct
Both are correct
Neither 1 nor 2
3 1 . Match the List-I (Grasslands)
and List-II (Regions) and
choose the correct answer
from the code given below.
below:
List I
List II
(Grasslands)
(Regions)
(a) Steppes
1. Australia
(b) Pustaz
2. North
America
(c) Prairies
3. Hungary
(d) Downs
Code
A
(a) 4
(b) 3
(c) 4
(d) 3
4. Eurasia
B
3
4
3
4
C
2
2
1
1
D
1
1
2
2
3 2 . C onsider the followin g
statements:
1. Polar climate exist
poleward beyond 70°
latitude.
2. The icecap climate
occurs over interior
Greenland and Antartica.
3. The main areas of marine
west coast climate are
Northwestern Europe,
Southern Chile, Southern
Australia and New
Zealand.
Which o f th e abo ve
statements is/are correct?
(a) only 1 and 2
(b) only 1 and 3
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(c) only 2 and 3
(d) All the above
3 3 . Consider the follo wi ng
statements abo ut global
warming:
1. Theprimary Greenhouse
gasesar e
Chlorofluorocarbons, Methane,
nitrous oxide and ozone.
2. The largest concentration
of green houses in the
atmosphere is carbon
dioxide
3. The processes that warm
the atmosphere are
co llectively referred to
as the green hou se
effect.
Which o f the above
statements is/are correct?
(a) only 1 and 2
(b) only 1 and 3
(c) only 2 and 3
(d) All the above
3 4 . Consider the followin g
statements:
1. The time taken for
atmospheri c CO2 to
adjust to changes in
sources to sinks is 40-60
years.
2. It is estimated that the
global temperature will
rise by between 1°C and
3.5°C by the year 2100.
3. The mean sea level may
rise upto 100 cm by the
year 2100.
Which o f the above
statements is/are correct?
(a) only 1 and 2
(b) only 1 and 3
(c) only 2 and 3
(d) All the above
3 5 . Consider the followin g
statements:
1. Nearly 70 percent of the
2.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
water that falls on land
returus
to
the
atmospheret h r o u g h
evapo ratio n from over
the oceans as well as
from other places.
The percentage of lake’s
water is onl y 0.01
percent of the total
water.
Which o f the above
statements is/are correct?
only 1
only 2
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2
3 6 . Consider the followin g
statements:
1. The temper ature
of
surface water decreases
from the equator towards
the poles because the
amoun t of inso lat ion
decreases poleward.
2. Cold ocean current raise
the temperature in cold
areas.
3. Warm ocean cur rents
decrease the temperature
in warm ocean areas.
Which of the following
statements is/are correct?
(a) only 1 and 2
(b) only1
(c) only 2 and 3
(d) All the above
3 7 . Consider the followin g
statements:
1. The average temperature
of surface water o f the
oceans is about 21°C
2. The rate of decrease of
temperatur e
wi th
incr easin g lati tude is
generally 0.5°C per
latitude.
Which o f the above
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
statements is/are correct?
only 1
only 2
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2
3 8 . Consider the followin g
statements:
1. The oceans in the northen
hemisphe re
reco rd
relatively
higher
temperature than in the
southern hemisphere.
2. The a verage ann ual
temperatures for the
northern and southern
hemisphere are around
12°C
and
19°C
respectively.
Which o f the above
statements is/are correct?
(a) only 1
(b) only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
3 9 . Consider the followin g
statements:
1. The salinity of water in
the s urface l a yer o f
oceans depend mainly on
evapor atio n
and
percipitation.
2. Salinity of 20.7 percent
has been considered as
the upper limit to
demarcate
brackish
water.
Which o f the above
statements is/are correct?
(a) only 1
(b) only2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
4 0 . Consider the followin g
statements:
1. The average salinity of
the Atlanti c ocean is
around 36 percent.
2. The average salinity of
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the Indian ocean is 37
percent.
Which o f the above
statements is/are correct?
(a) only 1
(b) only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
4 1 . C onsider the followin g
statements:
1. Humbolt is a war m
current of the pacific
ocean.
2. Benguela is a cold ocean
current of the Atlantic
ocean.
3. Agulhas is a war m
current o f the Indian
ocean. Which o f th e
above statements is/are
correct?
(a) only 1 and 2
(b) only 3
(c) only1
(d) All the above
4 2 . C onsider the followin g
statements:
1. O ut of the total so lar
insolatio n that reaches
the earth’s surface only
0.1 percent is fixed in
photosynthesis.
2. The producers include
green
pl ants
and
decompo ser s in an
ecosystem.
Which o f the above
statements is/are correct?
(a) only 1
(b) only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
4 3 . C onsider the followin g
statements:
1. Tropical regions which
occupy only about onefourth of the total area of
the world, contain about
three-fourth of the world
86
human population.
2. The tropical rain forests
contain 65 percent of the
species on the earth.
Which o f the above
statements is/are correct?
(a) only 1
(b) only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
4 4 . C onsider the followin g
statements:
1. When the sun, the moon
and the earth are in
straight line the height of
the tide will be lower.
2. Twice in a month, when
the moo n’s orbi t is
closet to the earth
unusually high and low
tides occur.
Which o f the above
statements is/are correct?
(a) only 1
(b) only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
4 5 . C onsider the followin g
statements:
1. An ocean current is
usually strongest at the
surface and decreases in
strength with depth.
2. Most current have speeds
less than or equal to 5 kw.
Which o f the above
statements is/are correct?
(a) only 1
(b) only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
4 6 . Prohib iti on
of
discrimination on groups of
religion etc (Article 15 of the
constitution of India) is a
fundamental
ri gh t
classifiable under
(a) The right to freedom of
religion
(b) The
righ t
again st
exploitation
(c) The
cul tural
educational rights
(d) The right to equality.
&
4 7 . Accord ing
to
th e
constitution of India the
term ‘district judge’ shall not
include.
(a) Chief
presidency
magistrate
(b) Sessions Judge
(c) Tribunal Judge
(d) Chief justice of a small
cause court.
4 8 . Which one of the following
statements is incorrect?
(a) Goa attainted full state
hood in 1987
(b) Di u is an island in the
Gulf of Khambhat
(c) Daman & Diu were
separated from Goa by
the56th Amendment o f
the constitution of India
(d) Dadra & Nagar Haveli
were under
French
colonial rule till 1954
4 9 . If a new state of the Indian
unio n is to be created,
which one of the following
schedules of the constitution
must be amended?
(a) First
(b) Second
(c) Third
(d) Fifth
5 0 . Which
constitut ional
authority recommends the
principles governing the
gr ants –in- aid o f th e
revenues to the sates out of
the consolidated fund o f
India?
(a) Inter- State Council
(b) Finance Commission
(c) Union Ministry of Finance
(d) Public
Accoun ts
Committee
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5 1 . The tenu re o f Jammu &
Kashmir’s Chief Minister is
(a) 4 years
(b) 5 years
(c) 6 years (d) 7 years
5 2 . By which Act was the public
service
co mmission
established for first time in
India?
(a) Indian Council Act 1892
(b) Council Act 1909
(c) Government of India Act
1919
(d) Government of India Act
1935
5 3 . When was the Anti- defection
Act passed?
(a) 1985.
(b) 1986
(c) 1987.
(d) 1988
5 4 . According to Article 1 of the
constitution, India is a:
(a) Group of states
(b) Federation of states
(c) Confederation of states
(d) Union of states
5 5 . Nat ional
Development
Council was constituted on
(a) 6 August 1950
(b) 1 April 1951
(c) 6 August 1952
(d) 16 August 1952
5 6 . Consider the followin g
statement about National
Anthem
(1) I t
was
o riginally
composed in English.
(2) It was first sung on 27
December 1911 at the
Kolkata session o f the
Indian
Nat io nal
Congress.
(3) I t was adopted by
constituent assembly on
24 January 1950.
Which o f the above
statement is/are true?
(a) All of the above
(b) 1 & 3
(c) 2 & 3
(d) 1 & 2
5 7 . Consider the followin g
statement about National
Song
(1) It has an equal status with
Janagana- mana.
(2) First it was sung in 1896
sessio n of th e I.N.C
Which of the above
statement is/are true?
(a) Both 1 & 2
(b) Only 1
(c) Only 2
(d) neither 1 nor 2
5 8 . Match the following:
Article
Subject
1 . 14.
a.
2 . 15.
b. Abolition of
untouchables.
3 . 16.
c . No discrimination on
groundsof religion,
race, ease race.
4 . 17.
d. Equality before law.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Equal opportunity in
publicemployment.
1- a,2- b, 3- c, 4- d
1- d,2- c, 3- a,4- b
1- b,2- a, 3- d, 4- c
1- c,2- d, 3- b, 4- c
5 9 . Consider the followin g
statement about Council Of
Ministers
(1) Its function is determined
by the cabinet.
(2) I t
is
co llectively
responsible to the
Prime Minister.
Which o f the above
statement is/are true?
(a) Only 1. (b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 & 2
(d) neither 1 nor 2
6 0 . Consider the followin g
statements about Attorney
General of India:
1. He is entitled to the
2.
3.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
privileges of a member
of parliament.
He is prohibited to take
appo intment
as a
director in any company.
He is not allowed to take
up private practice
Which o f the above
statement is/are?
All of the above
2&3
1&3
1&2
6 1 . Consider the followin g
statements about CAG:
1. The CAG has control over
the issue of money from
the consolidated fund of
India.
2. He is appointed by the
president for a full term
of 6 years or 65 years of
age whichever is earlier.
Which o f the above
statement is/are?
(a) Both 1 & 2
(b) Only 1
(c) Only 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
6 2 . Match the following.
No. of Seats
in Lok Saba
States
1. 18
a. Bihar
2. 16
b. Andhra
Pradesh
3. 19
c . Maharashtra
4. 11
d. Gujarat
(a) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c, 4-d
(b) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c, 4-d
(c) 1-c, 2-d, 3-a, 4-d
(d) 1-d, 2-c, 3-a, 4-d
6 3 . Consider the followin g
statements
1. Article 250 mentions that
the parliamen t can
legislate for the whole or
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2.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
any part of India or any
matter mentioned in the
state list durin g th e
period of emergency.
Art icl e 338 men tions
National Commission for
scheduled tribes.
Which o f the above
statement is/are true?
Both 1 & 2
Only 1
Only 2
neither 1 nor 2
6 4 . C onsider the followin g
statements
1. High court judges retire
at the age of 65.
2. Out of 21 high court three
having jurisdiction over
more than one state.
3. Art icle 32 of th e
constitution grants an
extensive
original
jur isdict io n o f th e
Supreme Court.
Which o f the above
statement is/are true?
(a) All of the above
(b) Only 2
(c) 2 & 3
(d) 1 & 3
6 5 . C onsider the followin g
statements
1. The
appellate
jurisdiction o f the high
cou rt is bo th civil &
criminal.
2. According to article 227,
every high court has the
power
of
superintendence over all
court.
Which o f the above
statement is/are true?
(a) 1 Only (b) Only 2
(c) Neither 1 nor 2
(d) both 1 & 2
6 6 . RBI u ses
88
its
“ Li quidity
Adjustment Facility” to bring
about changes in
(1) CRR and SLR
(2) Repo and Reverse Repo
Rates
(3) Bank Rate.
Sel ect the
co rrect
answer from the codes
given below:
(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 1 only
(d) 2 only
6 7 . Consider the following with
reference to India:
(1) Nat ionalisati on
of
commercial banks.
(2) Adherence to the Basel
norms by the banks.
(3) Adopti on o f village by
banks branches.
Which of the above can
be considered as steps
taken to achieve financial
inclusion?
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 3 only.
6 8 . T he obj ective of labour
Alleviation scheme, which
was started in 1994, is best
identified by the following:
(a) proper employment for
tho se employ ed in
hazardous work
(b) proper employment for
tho se employ ed in
manual scavenging
(c) proper employment for
families of labourers in
factories and other
establishment.
(d) properemployment
for laboures of unorganized sector.
6 9 . T he RBI has taken th e
following policy initiatives
in i ts mo n etary policy
review in December, 2011
(1) It has deregulated interest
rates on saving &
deposits with banks.
(2) Ithas permitted banks to
maintain one percent
lower SLR in their books.
(3) I t has deregulated in
interest rates on saving
Deposits above Rupees
one lakh.
Sel ect the
co rrect
answer from the codes
given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1 only
(c) 2 only
(d) 2 and 3 only
7 0 . Kasturba Gandhi Shiksha
Y o jana was launc hed in
1997-98 in a few district
which of the following was
the criteria used to define
district as a unit for scheme
implementation?
(a) District should have low
female literacy rate
(b) District should have low
female literacy rate and
at least 50% females
belong to SC/ST or OBC.
(c) Districts havin g lo w
females not more than
50%
of
general
population
(d) None of the above.
7 1 . Which of the followi ng is
Not correct with regard to
the proposed Goods and
services tax (GST) in India?
(a) Tax revenues would be
s hared between th e
centre and states.
(b) Expo rt will be zero
rated.
(c) Impo rts will be zero
rated.
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(d) It will be on the basis of
tax on value addition
7 2 . Which of the following are
co rrect wi th respect to
National Maternity Benefit
scheme?
(1) It was envisaged in1995
(2) Financial assistance o f
Rs.250 per pregnancy is
given
(3) It is a universal scheme
with no distinction
between BPLI APL o r
Rural/urban
(4) It covers only Rural BPL
women
(5) I t covers on ly BPL
households.
(6) It covers Rural and urban
BPL households.
Sel ect the co rrect
answer from the code
given below:
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 5 only
(c) 1, 2 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2 and 6 only.
7 3 . Consider the followin g
statement:
(1) R ajrajesh wari Mahila
Kalyan Yo jana provides
insurance projectio n to
women
(2) Hou se loan Accou nt
Scheme was started in
1989 for providing
housing facility.
Which of the statements
given above is/are
correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
7 4 . The lowering of Bank Rate
by the RBI many generally
result in
(1) More
lending
by
commercial banks.
(2) Mobi lizat ion o f more
deposits by commercial
banks.
(3) More liquidity in the
market
(4) Less liquidity I the market
Sel ect the
co rrect
answer from the codes
given below:
(a) 3 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1 and 4 only
7 5 . Which of the following can
h elp in furth ering th e
obj ective of inc lu sive
growth in India?
(1) Expansion
and
strengthening
of
infrastructure.
(2) Implementing the Right to
Education Act.
(3) Promoti ng
financial
inclusion.
Sel ect the
co rrect
answer from the codes
given below:
(a) 2 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, and 3 only
7 6 . How many ‘Bio Geographic
Zones’ in India?
(a) 8
(b) 6
(c) 12
(d) 10
7 7 . Ocean Bi omes are very
saturated Biomes and also
th ey are i deal type of
Biomes. Find from following
which are is pr imary
consumer in ocean Biomes?
(a) Phytoplanktons
(b) Zooplankton
(c) Necton
(d) Benthos
7 8 . Which one of the following
is pair o f endangered
species?
(a) Garden lizard and
mexican poppy
(b) Hor nbill and Indian
aconite
(c) R hesus mo nkey and
saltree
(d) Indian peacock and
carrot grass
7 9 . Genetic
divers ity
in
agri c ul tural
crops are
threatened by:
(a) Indro duction with high
yielding varieties.
(b) Intensive
u se
of
Fertilizers
(c) Extensive intercropping
(d) Intensive
u se
of
biopesticises
8 0 . The presence of diversity
of th e junct io n
of
territories of two different
habitats in known as:
(a) Bottle neck effect
(b) Edge effect
(c) Junction effect
(d) Pasture effect
8 1 . Species very near
to
extinction, if conservation
measures are not promptly
taken is:
(a) Rare species
(b) Endangered species
(c) Vulnerable species
(d) Mreatend species
8 2 . The main reas on for
extinction of species is:
(a) Pollution
(b) Destruction of habitat
(c) Hunting
(d) Climate change
8 3 . Animals and plants are best
protected in
(a) Zoos
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(b) National Park
(c) Botanical Garden
(d) Sanctuaries
8 4 . C ons ervat io n
and
m aintenance of wild life
within the natural ecosystem
is
(a) Ex Situ Conservation
(b) In Situ Conservation
(c) Botanical Garden
(d) All of the above
8 5 . Which of the followi ng is
not a characteristic of the
tropical rain forest Biome?
(a) About 200 cm of
precipitation
(b) Canopy of full evergreen
trees
(c) Climbing linans
(d) Permafrost
8 6 . i) The cyclone ‘Lehar’ is
about to hit the states of
Tamil Nadu and Kerela and
its impact is likely is to be
very severe.
ii) Recently a case of sexual
harassment and intimidation
was fi led by a form er
female employee of MY FM,
run by the Dainik Bhaskar
group (DB corps), against
CEO Harish Bhatia .
(a) Only i
(b) Only ii
(c) Both i and ii
(d) Neither i nor ii
8 7 . i) Pakistan has announced
th e setti ng up o f an Air
Defence Identification Zone
(ADIZ) to bolster its claims
over parts o f the disputed
territories.
ii) France’s ban o n th e
Islamic face veil ( datin g
back to 2011) was
challenged in an European
court recently.
90
Which o f the above
statement/statements is/
are true?
(a) Only i
(b) Only ii
(c) Both i and ii
(d) Neither i nor ii
Which o f the above
statement/statements is/
are NOT true?
(a) Only i
(b) Only ii
(c) Both i and ii
(d) Neither i nor ii
88. The Sentinel Project aims
to
i mprove
our
understanding of how many
children at each location of
India have TB disease in its
different forms.
9 0 . i) The New Pakistan Army
Chief is Maj or Sh abbir
Sharif.
ii) The Insurance Regulatory
and Development Authority
(IRDA) has been asked by
T he Union Health and
Family Welfare Ministry, to
r emove, from its draft
c irc ul ar, provisions that
exclude people living with
HIV
(PLHIV)
fro m
purchasing health insurance
products.
Which o f th e abo ve
statement/statements is/are
true?
(a) Only i
(b) Only ii
(c) Both i and ii
(d) Neither i nor ii
8 9 . i) To curb dominance of a
single player in the cable
sector,
broadcastin g
r egulator
TRAI
has
reco mmended restrictions
on the market share that a
singl e
M ulti
System
Operator can hold.
ii) T he Department o f
Industrial Policy and
Promotion (DIPP) is taking
to the Cabinet o n a
proposal to ban complete
takeo vers by foreign
companies of critical
lifesaving drugs production
facilities.
ii) The Italian Senate has
expelled th ree-time exPremier
Si lvio
Berlusconifrom Parliament
o ver his
tax
fraud
conviction, ending, for now,
his two-decade legislative
r un but not his po litical
career.
Which o f th e abo ve
statement/statements is/are
true?
(a) Only i
(b) Only ii
(c) Both i and ii
(d) Neither i nor ii
9 1 . i) A husband’s refusal to
allow his wife to share the
household and stay with him
will amount to ‘domestic
vio lence’
under
th e
Protection of Women from
Do mestic Vi olence Act
(PWD), as per a judgment of
Supreme Court .
ii) In 2005, India amended the
Hindu Succession Act to
give sons and daughter s
equal rights in inheriting
agricultural land barring
five southern States — Tamil
Nadu, Kerala, Andhra
P radesh, Kar nataka and
Maharashtra which chose
not to go forward with the
law.
Which o f th e abo ve
statement/statements is/are
true?
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(a) Only i
(b) Only ii
(c) Both i and ii
(d) Neither i nor ii
9 2 . i) South Korea’s and
Japan ha ve gracefully
accepted China’s new air
defence zone.
ii) Iran has i nvited U.N.
inspectors to visit its Arak
heavy-water plant, in tune
with the spirit of the Geneva
agreement to be held in the
beginning of the next year.
Which of th e abo ve
statement/statements is/are
true?
(a) Only i
(b) Only ii
(c) Both i and ii
(d) Neither i nor ii
9 3 . i) Odisha PCB has recently
ordered the closure of TATA
Steel’s new blast furnace at
Dhenkanal district .
ii) Wind turbine majo r
Suzlon Group has signed a
contract with Mitsui & Co
for setti ng up 106.6 MW
windfarm in Australia.
Which of th e abo ve
statement/statements is/are
true?
(a) Only i
(b) Only ii
(c) Both i and ii
(d) Neither i nor ii
9 4 . i) To curb the growin g
menace of insider trading
activities in th e stock
market, regulator SEBI are
go ing to co me up with a
new set of norms.
ii) Th e Nat ional G reen
Tribunal said that the state
law can’t prevail over
cen tral r ules o n sand
mining as it dismissed
Madhya
P radesh
government’s plea that its
district level environmental
committees be treated as
competent authori ty for
grant of clearance for such
activity.
Which of th e abo ve
statement/statements is/are
true?
(a) Only i
(b) Only ii
(c) Both i and ii
(d) Neither i nor ii
Which of th e abo ve
statement/statements is/are
true?
(a) Only i
(b) Only ii
(c) Both i and ii
(d) Neither i nor ii
9 7 . i) China has been named
the country that accounts
for the l argest number of
worldwide
hackin g
incidents.
9 5 . i) Maharash tra batsman
Vijay Zol has been named
captain of the India Under19 squad for the ACC Asia
Cup in the UAE.
ii) Malala Yousafzai has
topped the list of Britain’s
most influential Asian .
Which of th e abo ve
statement/statements is/are
false?
(a) Only i
(b) Only ii
(c) Both i and ii
(d) Neither i nor ii
9 6 . i) Emphasising that a livein relationship is “neither a
cr ime n or a sin though
socially unacceptable in
this country”, the Supreme
Cour t
has
urged
Parliament to consider
fr aming comprehen sive
legislation to protect the
interests of women and
childre n
in
s uch
relationships.
ii) Th e Pun jab and
Haryana High Court has
accepted a peti t io n to
debar the Sehajdhari Sikhs
from voting in Shiromani
Gurudwara P rabandhak
Committee (SGP ) elections.
ii) The legislation, known
as the Ley Habili tante, o r
Enabling Act, would grant
the Venezuelan President
Mr. Maduro special powers
which allow him to rule the
country by decree.
Which o f the
abo ve
statement/statements is/are
true?
(a) Only i
(b) Only ii
(c) Both i and ii
(d) Neither i nor ii
9 8 . i) Th e
Cabinet
has
unanimously rejected a
propo sal
from
th e
Department of Industrial
Policy and Promotion (DIPP)
to ban complete takeovers
by foreign companies o f
cr itical lifesavin g drugs
production facilities.
ii) The CAD, which is the
difference between inflow
and outflow o f foreign
exchange is likely to come
down below 3 per cent of
GDP in the current fiscal.
Which of th e abo ve
statement/statements is/are
true?
(a) Only i
(b) Only ii
(c) Both i and ii
(d) Neither i nor ii
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Mock Paper
9 9 . i) HIV/AIDS Bill aims to
protect the rights ofpeople
infected and affected by HIV
and was finalised by the
unio n h eal th ministry in
2006.
Which o f th e abo ve
statement/statements is/are
true?
(a) Only i
(b) Only ii
(c) Both i and ii
(d) Neither i nor ii
i nspi ring female po litical
leader who has been able to
strike a perfect balance
between her career and
family life, according to a
survey.
ii) CCAMLR stands for
C ommissio n
for
th e
Conservation
of
Arctic
Marine L i v i n g
Resources and it’s meeting
was held at Perth, Australia
this year.
1 0 0 ..i) Pro-monarchy Rastriya
Prajatantra Party is all set to
become the fourth largest
party in the new Constituent
Assembly (CA) Nepal .
Which o f th e abo ve
statement/statements is/are
true?
(a) Only i
(b) Only ii
(c) Both i and ii
(d) Neither i nor ii
ii) Mamata banerjee has
been voted as India’s most
ANSWERS WITH EXPLANTIONS
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
1. (d)
2. (d)
3. (C)
4. (b)
5. (d)
6. (d)
7. (c)
8. (a)
9. (a)
10. (b) 11. (c)
12. (c)
13. (d)
14. (c)
15. (a)
16. (a)
17. (d)
18. (c)
19. (d) 20. (a)
21. (a)
22. (b)
23. (a)
24. (b)
25. (a)
26. (d)
27. (c)
28. (d) 29. (a)
30. (d)
31. (a)
32. (d)
33. (d)
(c) The time taken for atmospheric CO2 to adjust to changes in sources to sinks is 20-50 years.
(b) Nearly 59 percent of the water that falls on land returns to the atmosphere through evaporation
from over the oceans as well as from other places.
(b) Warm ocean currents raise the temperature in cold areas. Cold ocean currents decrease the
temperature in warm ocean areas.
(b) The average temperature of surface water of the oceans is
(a) The average annual temperatures for the northern and Southern hemisphere are around 19°C and
16° respectively
(a) Salinity of 24.7 percent has been considered as the upper limit to demarcate brackish water.
(a) The average salinity of the Indian Ocean is 35 percent.
(b) Humbolt is a cold ocean current of the Pacific Ocean. Benguela is a cold current of the Atlantic
Ocean.
42. (a) The producers include all green plants, manufacture their own food through photosynthesis.
43. (a) The tropical rain forests contain 50 percent of the species on the earth.
44. (d) ) When the sun, the moon and the earth are in a straight line, the height of the tide will be higher,
these are called Spring tides.
45. (c)
46. (d)
47. (c)
48. (d)
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
92
(a)
(b) Under the Article of 280 F.C Recommends the grants distribution.
(c) Under the provision of Article 370 of Indian constitution.
(c) Public Service commission is in Article 312.
(a) During the Prime Minister ship of Rajiv Gandhi.
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Mock Paper
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
77.
78.
79.
80.
81.
82.
83.
84.
(d)
(c) N.D.C. headed by Prime Minister of India is not a
(c) originally composed in Bengali.
(a)
(b)
(a) It is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.
(d) He is allowed to take up private practice provided the other party is not the state.
(c) CAG has no control over the consolidated fund.
(b)
(b) 338-Schedule castes.
(c) H.C. Judges retire at the age of 62
(d)
(d)
(d)
(a) [The aim was to provide employment for those employed in hazardous work].
(d)
(a) [Districts having lowest literacy rates, amongst females
(c)
(b) The scheme was launched with to desease maternal mortality Rate and improve the health of
women specially those falling below poverty line.
(c)
(c) [Lowering of Bank Rate by RBI desease the Deposited by commercial & increase in the Liquidity
in the Market].
(d)
(d)
(b) Zooplanktons are primary consumers in ocean Biomes.
(a)
(a) High yielding crops variety decrease the diversity of old crops.
(b) Diversity at the junction of territories called edge effect.
(b)
(b) Due to destruction of habitats species dont survive they gonna extinct.
(b) Best protection for animals and plants are in National Park.
(b) In Situ Conservation
85. (d) 86. (b)
87. (a)
88. (c)
89. (d)
90. (b)
91. (a)
92. (b)
93. (b)
94. (c) 95. (d)
96. (a)
97. (b)
98. (c)
99. (a)
100. (a)
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Sangam Age
SANGAM AGE
The Sangam Age in India
witnessed the rapid development
of literary works in the southern
regions. The literature that was
created during this time came to
be known as Sangam literature.
The great poets, writers, etc. of
this age have left behind invaluable
accounts of brilliant literature that
continue to enthrall historians and
scholars. The earliest literary
work dates back to 200 B.C. Read
more about the history of
Sangham Age in India.
The word Sangam has most
likely been derived from the IndoAryan word Sangha, which means
an assembly. This word was
usually used for Buddhist and Jain
monks.
Roughly around 470 C.E an
academy called Dravida Sangha
was established by a Jain called
Vajranandi. The members of this
academy had much interest in
literature and Tamil language. In
early Sangam age poems, one
finds the mention of Jain
cosmology and mythology.
During the Sangam Age, the
three empires that ruled the South
of India were that of Pandyas,
Cholas and Cheras. Though there
were constant wars among the
different kings for dominion of
states and territory, they were all
promoters of literature and other
classical literary works. Under
their rule, Indian art and culture
flourished like anything. The early
Sangam literature mentions the
kingdom of the Pandyas. It is said
that the kingdom became
94
insignificant before emerging
again during the 6th Century.
With the rise of the Chola
dynasty, the dynasty of Pandyas
again declined. They were in
constant conflict with the Cholas
and fought for their part of
territory. However, the Pandyas
found reliable allies in the form
of the Cheras and the Sinhalese
and left no opportunity to disturb
the Cholas with them. By the late
13th Century, the Pandyas were
able to revive their position and
gain back heir lost territories and
riches.
One of the earliest written
scriptures in Tamil grammar is
known as Tolkappiyam. Another
work known as Ettutogai or Eight
Anthologies is considered to be a
fantastic product of the Sangam
Age. Many poems were
composed during this age and
some of the famous ones are
Manimekhalai, Shilpathikaram,
Akananuru, Purananuru, etc. These
poems speak about the political,
social, cultural and traditional
aspects of life during the Sangam
age. Some poems also mention the
fact that the Cheras formed a vital
trading center with Rome. Some
of the great poets who deserve a
mention are Avvaiyar, Kapilar,
Mamulanar,
Paramer,
Gautamanar, etc.
Important sangam works:
Ettuttogai (the eight anthologies)
and patttupattu (the ten idylls) are
the two major groups of texts
included in the corpus of sangam
literature.
The group of ettuttogai
consists of:
1. narrinai
2. karuntogai
3. aingurunuru
4. padirrupattu
5. paripadal
6. kalittogai
7. ahanamuru
8. puraanuru
The group pattupattu
includes:
1. Tirumurugarruppadai
2. Porunararruppadai
3. Sirupanarruppadai
4. Perumbanarruppadai
5. Mullaipattu
6. Maduraikanchi
7. Nedunalvadai
8. Kurinjipattu
9. Pattinappalai
10. malaipadukanchi
Some scholars have included
tolkapium, the tamil grammatical
treatise by tolkappiyar (supposed
to be the disciple of agastya, the
famous saint who is said to have
crossed the vindhyas first and
propagated the brahmanical
culture
in
the
south),
patinenkilkanakku, the eighteen
didactical texts (comprising:
1. nladiyar
2. nammanikkadigai
3. inna narpadu
4. iniya narpadu
5. kar narpadu
6. kalavali narpadu
7. aintinai aimpadu
8. aintinai elupadu
9. tinaimoli aimpadu
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Sangam Age
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
tinaimalai nurraimpadu
kainnilai (or innilai)
kural
tirikadugam
acharakkovai
palamoli
sirupanchachamulam
mudumo likkanchi
eladi),
Silappadikaram
and
manimegalai, the twin epics,
remnants of poems like togadur
yattirai and bharatam of
perundevanar in the sangam
corpus.
The ettutogai and pattupattu
are together grouped as
melkanakku (the longer serials)
for they consist stanzas composed
of metre which permits of a larger
numbers of lines.
Foreign Accounts
Megasthenes gives a quaint
account of the pandyan kingdom
“ruled over by the pandaiya, a
daughter of herakles, to whom he
assigned that portion of India
which lies southwards and
extends to the sea”.
He is the earliest non-indian
to make any mention of a southern
kingdom.
Strabo makes references to
the pandyan embassies to the
court of augustus.
He also refers to the change
of pandyan capital from korkai to
madurai.
Pliny the elder mentions
many tamil ports on the west
coast.
The periplus of the
erythraean sea by an anonymous
author (80-96 AD) gives the most
elaborate information about the
tamil country which the author
calls damirike.
Ptolemy wrote half a century
later (150 AD) and his work marks
a decided advance in the
regularity and volume of trade
between the roman empire and
India. The peutingerian tables,
composed in 222 AD, speak of a
temple of augustus on the west
coast of tamilaham.
Ptolemy’s accounts also show
that the roman trade with east,
which began sometime in the reign
of augustus had by the first quarter
of the second century AD reached
beyond India to indo-china and
Sumatra.The recent discovery of
a ‘roman factory’ of the first
century AD in the proximity of
pondicherry deserves particular
metion. Musiri or muziris and
tondi on the west coast of south
India, korkai and kaveripattinam
on the east were among the chief
ports of the tamil land where
foreigners crowded. The Chinese
writer pan kou (1st cen AD)
mentions the kingdom of
houangtche (kanchi) in his ‘Ts’ien
han chou’. The sri lankan
chronicle, mahavastu, read with
the uraiperu katturai of
silappadikaram, gives us the clue
to a crucial datum in sangam
history, i.e. the senguttuvangajabahu synchronism. It was
gajabahu I of sri lanka who was
present on the occasion of the
installation of a temple to kannagi
the goddess of chastity, by the
chera king senguttuvan.
Gajabahu I is known to have
ruled in the second half of the 2nd
century AD.
The kings power was
restricted by five councils which
were known as the ‘five great
councils’, also known as
aimperunkulu.
The ‘group of five’ was a
recognized body of people,
composed of five divisions and
constituting a council.
These five consisted of:
1. ministers (armaichchar)
2. priests (purohitar)
3. army chiefs (senapatiyar)
4. envoys or ambassadors
(dutar)
5. spies (orrar).
There was another institution
called
enperayam
which
consisted of:
1. karanattiyalavar (accountants)
2. karumakarar (executive officials)
3. kanakasurram (treasury officials)
4. kadaikappalar
(palace
guards)
5. nagaramandar (elderly persons in the city)
6. padaittalaivar (chiefs of the
infantry)
7. yanai virar (chiefs of the
elephantry)
8. ivuli maravar (chiefs of the
cavalry)
Sangam Society
The stratification in tamil
sangam society was primarily
confined to the binary between the
vyarntor (the high born) and
ilipirappalar (the low born).
Tolkappiyam list of four
categories (castes):
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Sangam Age
Andanar (brahmanas), arasar
(kings), vaisiyar (traders) and
velalar (farmers).
Tamilham consisted of five
tinais or physiographical divisions
viz., kurinji (hilly backwoods),
palai (parched zones), mullai
(pastrol tract), marutam (wet
land), and neital (littoral).
The kanavar, kuravar and
vetar or kadar were the inhabitants
of the kurinji-tinai and hunting and
gathering their form of
subsistence.
Palai-tinai, the inhabitants
were kalavar, eyinar and maravar
living by plunder and cattle lifting.
In the mullai-tinai the
inhabitants were ayar and idaiyar
subsisting on shifting agriculture
and animal husbandary.
Marutam-tinai were inhabited
by ulavar and toluvar subsisting
on plough agriculture.
Neital-tinai was inhabited by
paratavar, valavar and minavar
dependent on fishing and salt
extraction.
We get a total of eight social
groups, viz.,
1. k uravar (shifting agriculturists)
2. vetar (hunters and food gatherers)
3. idaiyar (cattle-keepers)
4. kallar (plundering cattle lifting-people)
5. ulavar (plough agriculturists)
6. paratavar (fisherman)
7. umnar (salt manufacturers)
8. panar (wandering bards associated with all the tinails)
On the basis of nature of
production the agriculture zone
96
(marutum) was called menpulam
and the rest, excluding neital, were
collectively called vanpulam.
Menpulam produced paddy
and sugarcane and vanpulam grew
pulses and dryland grains.
Full-time craft specialists in
the poems:
• Pon-kolavan (goldsmith)
• Kolavan(blacksmith)
• Kuyavam or kalace-kovan
(potter).
The basis of production
relations was kinship, signified by
ilaiyarum mutiyarum kilaiyutan
tuvunri, which is a stock
expression in the poems referring
to the labour processes in any
tinai. Illiyar means youngsters,
mutiyar means elders and kilai
means agnatic kin. The term kilai
stands as the tamil counterpart of
jati. Grain was husked in hollows
made in the ground (nila-ural), and
converted into flakes (aval).
Appam (apupa) or rice-cake
soaked in milk was a luxary.
Mural paintings – ovaikkalai.
Traveling troops of dances
carried their yal (lute); padalai
(one-sided drum).
The dances of viralis
(professional dancing-girls) took
place at night.
Different kinds of lutes like
periyal, palai-yal and sengottiyal
are described in detail in different
contexts. There is a full length
description of a padini, a singing
women of the panar community
(viraliyar)
in
the
perunanuruppadai in which
karikal himself is described as a
master of the seven notes of music.
Woman enjoyed much
freedom of movement in society
and the number of women poets
of the age is sufficient indication
that they were not excluded from
the best education then available.
Sati (tippaidal – falling into
flames) was common.
The worship of kannagi or
pattini (‘the chaste lady’) was
perhaps a very early institution
and was but an extension of the
worship of the goddess of
chastity’. This become popular
with senaguttuvana’s worship of
kannagi and spread to distant
places like sri lanka in the south
and malva in the north.
The images of the pattini devi
were preserved in tamil temples
till recently. The courtesans are
mentioned at many places in the
places in the texts, especially in
aham literature. They were called
parattaiyar or kanigaiyar.
Later works like the
tolkappiyam and the kalaviyal say
that the Aryans introduced the
rituals and ceremonies of
marriage (karanam).
These works also mention the
spontaneous coming together of
the sexes (kamakkuttam), they
distinguish secret marriage
(kalavu) from the open alliance
contracted with the consent of
parents (karpu); last they refer to
the eight forms of marriage known
to the Sanskrit dharmasashtra and
show great ingenuity in fitting them
into framework of the tamil
scheme.
Though the gandharva form
of marriage is easily equated to
ualavu (later known as yalor
system), the other Aryan forms do
not fall in line so easily.
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Sangam Age
The Pandayas
(Emblem - Fish)
• The Pandyas were first mentioned by Megasthanese.
who said that then kingdom
was famous for pearls. The
Pandyan territory included
modern
districts
of
Tirnelvelli. Ramanad and
Madurai in Tami Nadu it had
its capital at Madurai. Situated on the banks of Vaigai
river.
• The Pandyan kingdom occupied roughly the region of
the modern districts of
Tirunelveli, Ramnad and
Madurai in Tamil Nadu. The
capital of the kingdom was
Madurai.
• Nedunjeliyan is mentioned
as a great Pandya king. The
Chera. Chola and five other
minor states combined
against him and advanced
against him at Madurai. But
he defeated the combined
forces.
• This great victory was remembered for long and has
even been mentioned in the
tenth century A. D. inscription.
• He is also said to have performed several Vedic sacrifices. He may be taker to
have ruled around A. D. 210.
• Under the Pandyas the capital Madurai and port city
Korkai were great centres of
trade and commerce. The
Pandyan kingdom was very
wealthy and prosperous.
• The traders profited from
trade with the Roman em-
pire. Pandyan kings even
sent embassies to the Roman
emperor Augustus and Trojan.
Cholas
(Emblem - Tiger)
• The Chola kingdom called as
Cholamandulam was situated to the north-east of
Pandya kingdom between
Pennar and Vellar rivers. The
Chola kingdom corresponded to modern Tanjore
and Tiruchirapalli districts.
• Its inland capital was
Uraiyaur a place famous for
cotton trade. Puhar identical
with Kaveripattanam was the
main port of Cholas and
served as alternative capital
of Cholas.
• The earliest know Chola king
was Elara who in 2nd century
B C conquered Sri Lanka and
ruled over it for nearly 53
years.
• The most distinguished of the
early Chola king was
Karikala. His two great
achievements seem to be the
crushing defeat he inflicted
upon the join forces of Chera
and Pandya kings and successful invasion of Sri Lanka.
• It appears that Karikala defeated, in a great battle at
Venni, near Tanjore, confederacy of about a dozen rulers headed by Chera and
Pandya kings and established his . supremacy over
the whole of Tamil land.
• Karikala maintained a powerful navy and conquered Sri
Lanka.
• He is credited to have built
big irrigation channels by
means of building 160 km.
long embankment along the
river Kaveri.
• He fortified the town the famous sea port of Puhar at the
mouth of the Kaveri.
• These two great works were
chiefly done by 12,000
people brought as prisoners
of war from Sri Lanka. All
this led to the growth of agriculture, trade, commerce,
art and craft etc.
• He was a great patron of literature and education. He
was a follower of Vedic religion and performed many
Vedic sacrifices.
• The only other king after
Karikala who is known as
great king is Illanjetcenni
who captured two fortresses
from the Cheras.
• But the fact remains, that after Karikala the Chola empire declined and the Cheras
and Pandyas extended their
territories at the cost of the
Chola kingdom.
• After the defeat at the hands
of the Pallavas, the Cholas
were reduced to u small ruling family from about the
fourth to the ninth century A.
D.
Cheras (Emblem - Bow)
• The cheras also known as
Keralaputras were situated
to the west and north of the
Pandyan kingdom. The
Chera country occupied the
portion of both Kerala and
Tamil Nadu
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Sangam Age
• The capital of Cheras was
Vanjji. It’s main ports were
Muzris and Tondi. The Romans set up two regiment at
Muzris (identical with
Cranganore) in Chera country. The also built a temple
of Augustus at Muzris.
• One of the earliest and better known among Chera rulers was Udiyangeral It is
said that he led both the
armies of Kurukshetra war
and so earned the title
Udiyangeral.
• The greatest of Chera king
however was Senguttuvan of
Red Chera. It is said that he
invaded north and even
crossed the Ganga. He also
founded the famous Pattini
cull related to worship of
goddess of chastity Kannagi.
• The Chera ruler Nedunjeral
Adan conquered the
Kadambas with their capital
at Vanavasi (near Goa). He
also fought a battle with the
father of the Chola king
Karikala. In this battle both
the kings were killed.
• According to the Chera tradition the greatest king of the
Chera
dynasty
was
Sengutturan. He is said to
have subjugated the Chola
and the Pandya Kings.
OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS
1. The megalithic culture is
mostly known for its burials.
These burials are marked by
.
and abundance of
(a) Iron tools
(b) Bronze tools
(c) Black and red pottery
(d) Both (a) and (c)
2. The earliest references that
we find about the people
and kingdoms of the area
(South India) are preserved
in three forms, which are
(1) Ashokan inscriptions
(2) Arthashastra
(3) M e g a s t h e n e s e ’ s
accounts
(4) Sangam literature
Select the correct answer:
(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 1, 2 and 4
(c) 2, 3 and 4
(d) 1, 3 and 4
3. In which of the Rock Edicts
does Ashoka mentions the
Southern kingdoms of Chola,
Pandya,
Satyaputra,
Keralaputra
and
Tambapanni?
(a) Rock Edict II and IV
(b) Rock Edict VIII and IX
(c) Rock Edict II and XII
(d) None of these
98
4. Which of the following languages is the oldest among
the spoken and literary languages of South India?
(a) Kannada
(b) Telugu
(c) Tamil
(d) Malayalam
5. Earlier its (Cholas) capital
was Uraiyar but subsequently it was shifted to
Puhar which came to be
known as
(a) Tiruchirapalli
(b) Kaveripattanam
(c) Tanjavur
(d) G a n g a i k o n d a c h olapuram
6. Which of the following
Chola kings built big irrigation channels by means of
building a 160 km. long embankment along the river
Kaveri?
(a) Elara
(b) Karikala
(c) Rajendra I
(d) Illanjetcenni
7. Nendujeliyan is mentioned
as a great Pandya king who
defeated the combined
(Chera, Chola and others)
forces. He ruled about
(a) A. D. 310
(b) B. C. 300
(c) A. D. 210
(d) B. C. 200
8. Who of the following Chera
kings conquered the
Kadambas with their capital
at Vanavasi. He fought a
battle with Karikala?
(a) Eroumporai
(b) Nedunjliyan Adan
(c) Sengutturan
(d) None of the above
9. According to the Chera tradition the greatest king of the
Chera dynasty was
(a) Erounporai
(b) Senguttaran
(c) Nendunjliyan Adam
(d) None of these
10. Who of the following Chera
kings
is
called
Imayavaramban?
(a) Nendunjeral Adan
(b) Sengutturan
(c) Eroumporai
(d) All of the above
ANSWERS
1. (d)
4. (c)
7. (c)
10. (a)
2. (d)
5. (b)
8. (b)
3. (c)
6. (b)
9. (b)
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Solved
Paper General
Studies UPSC MAIN 2012 Paper – I
SOLVED
PAPER
GENERAL STUDIES
UPSC MAIN 2012
Paper I
1. Answer any five of the
following in about 250
words each: 25×5 = 125
(a) What do you understand by
the term “Innovation”? Discuss
the need for launching a national innovation policy in
India.
Ans:
Innovation is a discipline, a
body of knowledge you can
study, master and apply to various
challenges. Innovation is the
discipline and process of
applying frameworks and
techniques for analysis, practices
that stimulate ideation, and
methods of prototyping in order
to conceive and develop original
solutions to problems. So,
innovation is a process that uses
formal techniques and methods to
come up with new ways of
meeting needs.
To prepare a roadmap for
innovation in the country, the
Prime Minister constituted the
National Innovation Council
(NInC) in September 2010. Today,
India has unique challenges and
large unmet needs across diverse
areas such as health, education,
skills, agriculture, urban and rural
development, energy and so on.
All of which require innovative
approaches and solutions, and
looking beyond the conventional
way of doing things. Innovative
enterprises can fulfil unmet social
needs by profitably, scalably, and
competitively engaging citizens at
the bottom of the economic
pyramid; through the creation of
goods, services, employment,
livelihoods, income and wealth.
Successfully achieving this vision
will unlock & unleash a class of
capital other than philanthropy &
government grants for solving the
problems of the poor and create
a model for countries around the
world to emulate. Innovations are
required in the country for creating
a favourable ecosystem.
Whereas most global
innovation systems are focused on
the process, nations like India
need to lay equally emphasis on
purpose as well as process of
innovations;
affordable
innovations for ensuring that the
benefits of innovations reach as
many as people as possible have
become necessary. There are
whole lot of issues that we need
to think through in a different way.
Mahatma Gandhi, the father of our
nation, understood the meaning of
innovation in a very different way
and that is why he used the tools
of Satyagraha and Non-violence
during the freedom struggle.
Therefore, we really need to
look at the Indian model of
innovation and make use of
concepts, ideas and solutions that
are embedded in our history,
culture and traditional knowledge.
Thus it creates a need for National
Innovation Policy in India.
(b) Keeping in view the informal
sector’s share in the total
workforce of the country,
critically examine the relevant
inclusive measures initiated
by the Government of India
and their effectiveness.
Ans:
The Census projection report
shows that the proportion of
working age population between
15 and 59 years is likely to
increase from approximately 58
per cent in 2001 to more than 64
per cent by 2021. In absolute
numbers, there will be
approximately 63.5 million new
entrants to the working age group
between 2011 and 2016. Further,
it is important to note that the bulk
of this increase is likely to take
place in the relatively younger age
group of 20-35 years. From the
domestic angle, the chapter
focuses on trends in social-sector
spending both at central and state
levels. It looks at social-sector
policies implemented by the
government, particularly poverty
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alleviation and employment
generation, health, education,
rural infrastructure, development
of the weaker sections of society,
women and child development,
and social security.
This section and the one that
follows examine the major
dimensions
of
inclusive
development like poverty
alleviation,
employment
generation, health, education, and
social welfare besides reviewing
the progress of important
government programmes in these
sectors. Inclusive development
can be viewed in terms of
progress in social and financial
inclusion. A large part of the
population, particularly segments
like
landless
agricultural
labourers, marginal farmers
continue to suffer social and
financial exclusion. Accordingly,
the government’s policies are
directed towards economic and
social upliftment of these
segments so as to enable everyone
to reap the benefits of growth and
bring marginalized sections of the
society into the mainstream. This
is also reflected in social-sector
expenditure by the government.
The Unorganized Workers
Social Security Act 2008 came into
force from 16 May 2009 with the
objective of providing social
security to unorganized workers.
The Unorganized Workers’ Social
Security Rules 2009 have also been
framed. Constitution of the
National Social Security Board in
2009 was another significant step.
The Board recommended that
social security schemes, namely
100
the RSBY providing health
insurance, JBY providing death
and disability cover and Indira
Gandhi National Old Age Pension
Scheme (IGNOAPS) providing old
age pension be extended to
building and other construction
workers, MGNREGA workers,
Asha workers, Anganwadi
workers and helpers, porters/
coolies/gangmen, and casual and
daily wagers.
Central
government
expenditure on social services
and rural development (Plan and
non-Plan) has consistently gone up
over the years. It has increased
from 13.38 per cent in 2006-7 to
18.47 per cent in 2011-12. Central
support for social programmes
has continued to expand in various
forms although most social-sector
subjects fall within the purview of
the states. Major programmespecific funding is available to
states through centrally sponsored
schemes. Some of the important
schemes are as follows:
The
MGNREGA,
Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar
Yojana, Swarna Jayanti Shahari
Rozgar Yojana, Aam Admi Bima
Yojana (AABY), Janashree Bima
Yojana (JBY), Rashtriya Swasthya
Bima Yojana (RSBY), The
Unorganized Workers Social
Security Act 2008, National Social
Security Fund, Bilateral Social
Security Agreements, Bharat
Nirman, Jawahar Lal Nehru
National Urban Renewal Mission
(JNNURM), Rajiv Awas Yojana
(RAY), Affordable Housing in
Partnership (AHIP), Interest
Subsidy Scheme for Housing the
Urban Poor (ISHUP), Integrated
Low Cost Sanitation Scheme
(ILCS), etc.
(c) Examine the causes and the
extent of ‘desertification’ in
India and suggest remedial
measures.
Ans:
Desertification was defined
at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 as
degradation of drylands,the point
at which that land no longer can
be returned to a productive state.
It results from complex
interactions
between
unpredictable climate variations
but primarily human activities. The
term desertification was first
coined by French scientists and
explorer Louis Lavauden in 1927.
One of the major cause of
desertification is overgrazing due
to the use of fences which has
prevented the livestock from
moving in response to availability
of food. However, when used
correctly, fencing is a good tool
of veld management. But the core
contention among all the
environmental issues faced by
planet Earth is Global Warming
and consequent Climatic Change.
In its report the Intergovernmental Panel for Climatic
Change (IPCC), formed out of the
Kyoto convention decades before,
also said that
Rise of average global
temperature melts polar ice and
mountain glaciers, raises sea-level
and
endangers
coastal
submersion. A decrease or nil in
the total amount of rainfall in
drylands result in the destruction
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of topsoil and vital soil nutrients
needed for food production also
leading to desertification.
Deforestation and incorrect
irrigation practices in arid areas
causing salinisation can prevent
plant growth which in turn triggers
desertification when coinciding
with drought.
It also reduces the ability of
land to support life, affecting wild
species, domestic animals,
agricultural crops and people. The
reduction in plant cover that
accompanies desertification leads
to accelerated soil erosion by
wind and water. Water is lost off
the land instead of soaking into
the soil to provide moisture for
plants. Even plants that would
normally survive droughts die. A
reduction in plant cover also
results in a reduction in the
quantity of humus and plant
nutrients in the soil, and plant
production drops further. As
protective
plant
cover
disappears, floods become more
frequent and more severe.
Desertification is self-reinforcing,
i.e. once the process has started,
conditions are set for continual
deterioration.
Desertification can be
stopped, but unfortunately is
usually brought to public attention
when the process is well
underway. Both individuals and
governments can help to reclaim
and protect their lands. Covering
the dunes with large boulders or
petroleum will interrupt the wind
regime near the face of the dunes
and prevent the sand from moving
in areas of sand dunes. Shrubs and
trees planted on the dune will also
decrease the wind velocity and
prevents much of the sand from
moving. More efficient use of
existing water resources and
control of salinization are other
effective tools for improving arid
lands. On a much larger scale, a
“Green Wall,” which will
eventually stretch more than 5,700
kilometers in length, much longer
than the famous Great Wall, is
being planted in northeastern
China to protect “sandy lands”—
deserts believed to have been
created by human activity. The
World Day to Combat
Desertification is celebrated
every year on June 17 all over the
world to highlight the urgent need
to curb the process of
desertification and to strengthen
the visibility of this drylands issue
on the international environmental
agenda. The United Nations
Convention
to
Combat
Desertification (UNCCD) is the
only internationally recognized,
legally binding body that
addresses the problem of land
degradation in the drylands and
which enjoys a truly universal
membership of 191 countries. It
plays a key role in global efforts
to eradicate poverty, achieve
sustainable development and
reach
the
Millennium
Development Goals, in particular
with regard to the eradication of
extreme poverty.The need of the
hour is to treat desertification as
a wake-up call and to try and take
it through strengthened community
participation and cooperation at
all levels.
(d) In the context of the growing
demands for the ban of Endosulfan in the country, critically examine the issues involved. What, in your view,
should be done in the matter?
Endosulfan has been used in
agriculture around the world to
control insect pests including
whiteflies’, aphids, leafhoppers,
Colorado potato beetles and
cabbage worms. Due to its unique
mode of action, it is useful in
resistance management; however,
as it is not specific, it can
negatively impact populations of
beneficial insects. It is, however,
considered to be moderately toxic
to honey bees, and it is less toxic
to
bees
than
organophosphate insecticides.
In its response to a petition
filed by the Democratic Youth
Federation of India, the central
government has told the apex
court that endosulfan is unlikely
to cause any public concern or
hazard and therefore, it is not the
reason behind health problems in
Kasaragod, Kerala. In this regard,
the central government told that
there is an overall weight of
evidence from in-vitro and in-vivo
screening tests that Endosulfan is
not an endocrine disruptor. It is
reported that Endosulfan is either
carcinogenic or mutagenic.
Endosulfan is a highly toxic
chemical and poisonous to most
living organisms. The United
States Environmental Protection
Agency classifies it as ‘highly
hazardous. It has been
responsible for hundreds of
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deaths worldwide, and significant
short and long-term human health
impacts. Endosulfan kills
indiscriminately and is devastating
to the environment, contaminating
soils, air and water, and damaging
mammals and other animals.
Endosulfan’s ability for long-range
environmental transport, together
with its adverse effects supports
the need for concerted
international action. To date, 62
countries have already voluntarily
banned the use of endosulfan.
Because of its threats to human
health and the environment, a
global ban on the manufacture and
use of endosulfan was negotiated
under
the Stockholm
Convention in April 2011. The ban
will take effect in mid-2012, with
certain uses exempted for five
additional years.
and the pesticide was banned in
Kerala as early as 2001 following
a report by the National Institute
of Occupational Health. In the
Stockholm Convention on
Persistent Organic Pollutants of
2011, when an international
consensus arose for the global ban
of the pesticide, ironically India
stood against this move owing to
pressure from the endosulfan
manufacturing companies. This
flared up the protest, and while
India still maintained its stance,
the global conference decided on
a global ban, for which India
asked a remission for 10 years.
Later, on a petition filed in the
Supreme Court of India, the
production, storage, sale and use
of the pesticide was temporarily
banned on 13 May 2011, and later
permanently by the end of 2011.
Although classified as a
yellow label (highly toxic)
pesticide by the Central
Insecticides Board, India is one of
the largest producers and the
largest consumer of endosulfan in
the world. Of the total volume
manufactured in India, three
companies — Excel Crop Care,
Hindustan Insecticides Ltd, and
Coromandal Fertilizers —
produce 4,500 tonnes annually for
domestic use and another 4,000
tonnes for export. Endosulfan is
widely used in most of the
plantation crops in India. Toxicity
of endosulfan and health issues
due to its bioaccumulation came
under media attention when health
issues precipitated in the
Kasargod District (of Kerala) was
publicised. This inspired protests,
Endosulfan has killed, and
will continue to kill and maim if it
continues to be legal. National
prohibitions on use, together with
inclusion under the Stockholm
Convention
will
ensure
endosulfan’s eradication from
global use and an opportunity to
protect people and their shared
environment from this deadly
chemical.
102
(e) “The Indian independence
movement was a mass—
based movement that encompassed various sections of
society. It also underwent the
process of constant ideological evolution? Critically examine.
Ans:
The tribals participated due
to the their disruption of
communal mode of production
was perturbed with introduction
of British legal concept of private
property; The new land tenures
originated new types of land
ownership and new social classes
emerged in rural India. Land
became a marketable commodity.
The circumstances drove the
peasant into the clutches of the
moneylenders and the trader.
Thus, the peasant was pushed
deeper into the depth of poverty.
India witnessed a number of
peasant revolts.
The first half of 20th century
saw workers and middle class
along with middle class got an
organizational character and
pressurized the colonial regime to
change its policy.
(i) The emergence of new
trends in the national
movement – particularly, the shift to mass
politics and mass mobilization.
(ii) The economic and social consequences of
the First World War
which adversely impacted different sections of the Indian
people.
(iii) The impact of Bolshevik
Russia and the growth
of socialistic ideas in
India.
The
extremists
had
developed systematic critique of
moderates and rightly emphasized
the role of the masses and the need
to go beyond prayer, petition and
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procession. What they said, what
they believed, what they
conceived was very much different
from moderates but what they did
was what moderates had already
done. Therefore, they were
ideologically different but almost
same
in
practice.
The
revolutionary terrorists have
consciously or unconsciously sent
a message of failure to both
Moderates and Extremists and
proved that a vacuum had been
created and thereby a new
reorientation was needed. Thus
they contributed to some extent
to the emergence of Gandhism.
They also gave the message to the
younger generation that role of
patience is more powerful than
role of impatience in Indian
context and for a long drawn
movement this helped Gandhiji.
Gandhism was the most
pragmatic solution to the existing
problems. It was a blend of
moderatism, extremism and
revolutionary terrorism. The
revolutionary terrorism was the
last trend before the Gandhism. Its
limited success proved that it
requires a different orientation in
the national movement. The new
trend must be a conglomeration
and combination of the past trend
and for this Gandhism was
created.
(f) The issue of tourism in core
areas of tiger reserve forests
in the country is a subject
matter of debate. Critically
examine various aspects of
this issue, keeping in view relevant recent judicial pronouncements.
Ans:
In an important judgement,
the Supreme Court has banned all
tourism in the “core areas” of the
country’s 41 tiger parks. On its
face value the decision of the
Court is worth welcome but we
cannot deny the fact that the
judgement will ultimately harm the
tiger population in the country.
The presence of tourist and their
support staff is a deterrent for
poachers involved in the trading
of tiger teeth, skin, and bones,
which is a business worth millions
of dollars. Along with forest
officials, tourists provide the
additional eyes and ears to keep
poachers away.
the Planning Commission to
revise the chapter on health
in the 12th Plan document.”
Comment.
Ans:
Definitely, considering the
poor health condition and
malnutrition, the 12th Plan must
take following measures like:
i. Improvement In the governance structures, political
will food security enhancement and bringing women
into the development process with decision making
powers.
ii. Separate strategies for rural
and urban areas must be
chalked out. It is pertinent to
involve the local government agencies viz. PRIs and
other stakeholders with expertise and interest in nutrition and health; this will decentralize the operations of
our hunger and poverty elevation programmes.
A complete lack of human
presence in the core zones would
mean no surveillance and would
give poachers easy access to tigers
by co- opting forest officials.
Finally,
the
economic
disadvantage that comes with this
ban is that many local people
depend on tourism for their
livelihood and hence stoppage of
tourism in core areas of tiger
reserves would result in loss of
such income leading to discontent
which may pose a threat to
wildlife and forest. Thus, we need
to strictly regulate and control the
wildlife tourism in the country,
and placing a complete ban on any
kind of tourism activities in the
core areas will certainly not help
the wildlife of the tiger reserves.
iii. Coordination, convergence
and monitoring of all government programs on poverty
and malnourishment related
issues.
2. Answer any seven of the
following in about 150
words each: 15X7=105
v. Community participation
and grass root level approaches must be promoted.
(a) “There is an urgent need for
iv. Care needs to be given right
from the pregnancy levels,
by addressing all the critical
stages of the birth and development of the baby. This is
at present taken by integrated child development
centres across the country.
vi. Iron fortification and iodine
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supplements in the stage of
pregnancy and early childhood.
vii. Improvement in the infant
feeding, sanitation, clean
water, affordable and accessible health services.
viii. We need to think on lines of
national nutrition strategy
ix. Use of neo-natology and prenatal care technologies.
(b) The Union Cabinet recently
cleared the proposal to rename and amend the Child
Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986. What are
the salient features of the proposed amendments?
Ans:
A proposal to put a complete
ban on employment of children up
to the age of 14 both in hazardous
and non-hazardous work by
amending an anti-child labour Act
has been approved by the Union
Cabinet. In an important decision
the Union cabinet has given its
nod to amend the Child Labour
Act and put a complete ban on
employment of children up to the
age of 14 in any industry. As per
the existing Act, children below
14 years of age are allowed to
work in industries not considered
to be hazardous. Any violation
will be a cognizable offence,
punishable with a maximum three
years imprisonment or fine up to
a maximum of Rs. 50,000. It
should here be noted that Census
2001 says that there were 12.6
million economically active
children in the age-group of 5-14
years while the National Sample
104
Survey data said the child
workforce during 2004-05 was
estimated at 9.07 million.
Banning any employment of
children below 14 years will go a
long way in enforcing the Right to
Education Act, 2009 which
mandates free and compulsory
education of all children in the age
group of 6-14 years. Cabinet’s
decision to ban child labour
below age of 14 will also enable
India to ratify ILO Convention 138
(minimum age for entry to
employment) and Convention 182
(prohibition of employment of
persons below 18 years in
hazardous occupations)
(c) “Domestic resource mobilization, though central tothe process of Indian economic
growth, is characterized by
several constraints? Explain.
Ans:
Fiscal management in the
Indian economy has been a
challenge for the government since
the beginning of economic reforms
in 1991. Retirement of public debt,
managing the extent of fiscal
deficit and presenting excessive
crowding out of investment has
been the main target. Amongst the
structural weaknesses that mar the
efficient management of fiscal
situation in India, underdeveloped
capital markets are important.
Improper channelisation of
savings has led to widening gap
between savings and investment.
This gap needs to be financed by
pooling in of the resources in the
form of debt. RBI raises debt on
behalf of GOI from its captive
markets. Funds those should have
tended to move into retiring
government debt. This crowding
out of investment has made the
process of Gross Domestic
Capital Formation (GDCF) even
more difficult.
Taxes which could be used
to retire a part of debt have not
yielded enough. The general
tendency in a developing nation
like India with respect to indirect
taxes has been on the regressive
side. Even direct taxes are not
sufficient to pool in resources.
Resources could be pooled in
from the underdeveloped exports
market have rendered exports less
competitive.
Quality-wise the exports
can’t compete. Moreover, frequent
fluctuations in the value of
currency also create weaknesses
in the management of fiscal
programme. Targeting public
expenditure in programmes with
long gestation lags causes the
resources to be blocked for a long
time. These tendencies again add
to the fiscal crunch. Inflationary
tendencies owing to supply side
bottlenecks or demand-crunch
have led to variations in rates of
interest and liquidity. Again the
Government has to intervene into
the market. Deficit financing, if
done, further adds to the
disadvantages involved under
inefficient fiscal management.
(d) The ‘flute-playing Krishna’
theme is very popular in Indian art. Discuss.
Ans:
In Indian culture, Lord
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Krishna is portrayed as the eighth
avatar of Vishnu. Krishna’s
favourite musical instrument was
a flute and in all his forms he is
mainly represented as a flute
player. His flute is considered the
most important epitome of our art,
culture and also has many social
manifestations attached to it. His
flute teaches us three important
lessons i.e.
(i) A flute speaks only when
we want it to speak. (ii) Whenever
it speaks, it speaks sweetly, (iii)
It always remains empty inside.
Since the times of Lord Krishna,
the flute has been envisaged as an
embodiment of Indian culture. All
major ragas of Indian music have
some connection with Krishna’s
flute. In Indian art forms, Krishna’s
flute symbolizes the sound of
serenity and love. The flute playing
Krishna is also an important
embodiment in Indian dance
forms and it had shown its impact
on Indian painting since the Bhakti
Vedanta period. It can be
concluded that flute-playing
Krishna
symbolizes
his
involvement in human affairs,
feelings, and Indian art forms. Thus
a beautiful melody that Krishna
plays can span all the emotions
of a human lifetime in mere
minutes
(e) What are the salient features
of the Consumer Protection
(Amendment) Bill, 2011 introduced in the Lok Sabha in
December 2011?
Ans:
The Consumer Protection
(Amendment) Bill, 2011 was
introduced in the Lok Sabha on
December 16, 2011 by Mr. K.V.
Thomas. The amendment is
aimed at speedier redressal of
consumer
grievances
by
overcoming several shortcomings
in implementing the existing
Consumer Protection Act.
• It seeks to amend Consumer
protection Act, 1986
• The Bill defines unfair contract to include a contract
which has one or more of the
following clauses (i) excessive security deposit; (ii)
imposition of disproportionate penalty; (iii) refusal to
accept early repayment of
debt and; (iv) termination of
contract without reasonable
cause.
• Under the Bill unfair trade
practice includes a (i) a failure to take back the goods
or withdraw the services
within a period of 30 days
after the receipt of the goods
by the consumer; and (ii) disclosure of confidential personal information.
• Under the Act, a maximum
of two members are to be
appointed to the District Forum.
from where the District Forum may perform its functions.
• The Bill permits online filing
of complaints.
• The Bill increases the minimum age of members from
35 years to 45 years in the
case of State Commission
and from 35 years to 55 years
in the case of National Commission.
• Under the Act, a maximum
of 50 per cent of the members of the National Commission are required to be
persons having a ‘judicial
background.’ The Bill defines the term ‘judicial background’ to include present
and former judges of a High
Court or the Supreme Court
of India.
• The State Commission
or the National Commission have been empowered to seek assistance from any individual or organisation
if it believes that it involves the larger interest of consumers.
• Under the Act, the state government appoints the members of the District Forum on
the recommendation of the
Selection Committee.
• The Bill provides that
the orders of the District
Forum, State Commission or National Commission shall be enforceable as a court
decree
• The Bill empowers the state
government (in consultation
with the State Commission)
to notify places other than
the district headquarters
• The penalty imposed
shall not be less than
Rs 500 or 50 percent of
the value of the order
whichever is higher.
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• Under the Bill the National Commission
shall periodically furnish to the Central Government information
regarding the cases
pending before it.
(f) What do you understand by
the term “Multi-Drug Resistant
Tuberculosis” {MDR-TB)?
What measures would you
advocate for its containment
and what are the implications
of its spread in the community?
Ans:
As per recent World Health
Organization estimates, India has
recorded about 63,000 cases of
notified multi-drug resistant
tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in 2010, the
highest in the South East Asia
region. As per data released by
WHO, the percentage of MDR in
newly recorded TB cases in India,
estimated to about 2.1 (1.7- 2.5)
per cent, while the percentage of
MDR among previously treated
cases was 15 (13 -17) per cent.
(a) political and administrative
commitments; (b) good quality
diagnosis; (c) good quality drugs;
(d) the right treatment, given in the
right way; and (e) systematic
monitoring and accountability.
Controlling TB in India is a
tremendous challenge. The TB
burden in India is still staggering.
Every year, 1.8 million persons
develop the disease, of which
about 800,000 are infectious; and,
until recently, 400,000 died of it1,000 every day. The disease is a
major barrier to social and
106
economic development. An
estimated 100 million workdays
are lost due to illness. Society and
the country also incurred a huge
cost due to TB.
(g) Given the accelerated pace of
development and demand for
energy, would you consider
renewable energy as a viable
option for India’s future?
Ans:
Energy in India: India faces
an acute energy scarcity which
hampers its industrial growth and
economic progress. Setting up of
new power plants is inevitably
dependent on import of highly
volatile fossil fuels. Thus, it is
essential to tackle the energy
crisis through judicious utilization
of abundant the renewable energy
resources, such as biomass
energy, solar energy, wind energy
and geothermal energy. Apart
from augmenting the energy
supply, renewable resources will
help India in mitigating climate
change. India is heavily dependent
on fossil fuels for its energy needs.
Most of thepower generation is
carried out by coal and mineral
oil-based power plants which
contribute heavily to greenhouse
gases emission. Energy is a
necessity and sustainable
renewable energy is a vital link in
industrialization and development
of India. A transition from
conventional energy systems to
those based on renewable
resources is thus necessary to
meet the ever-increasing demand
for energy and to address our
environmental concerns.
The available renewable
energy sources in India: (i) Solar
Energy- It is a clean renewable
resource with zero emission, has
got tremendous potential of
energy which can be harnessed
using a variety of devices. With
recent developments, solar energy
systems are easily available for
industrial and domestic use with
the added advantage of minimum
maintenance. Solar energy could
be made financially viable with
government tax incentives and
rebates. (ii) Wind Energy: Wind
power is one of the most efficient
alternative energy sources. There
has been good deal of
development in wind turbine
technology over the last decade
with many new companies joining
the fray. Wind turbines have
become larger, efficiencies and
availabilities have improved and
wind farm concept has become
popular. It could be combined
with solar, especially for a total
self-sustainability project. (iii) Biomass Energy: Biomass energy can
play a major role in reducing
India’s reliance on fossil fuels by
making use of thermochemical
conversion technologies. In
addition, the increased utilization
of biomass-based fuels will be
instrumental in safeguarding the
environment, creating new job
opportunities,
sustainable
development
and
health
improvements in rural areas.
Biomass energy could also aid in
modernizing the agricultural
economy. (iv) Waste-To-Energy:
Waste-to-energy plants offer two
important
benefits
of
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environmentally sound waste
management and disposal, as
well as the generation of clean
electric power. Waste-to-energy
facilities
produce
clean,
renewable energy through thermochemical, biochemical and
physicochemical
methods.
Moreover, waste-to-energy plants
are highly efficient in harnessing
the untapped sources of energy
from a variety of wastes.
There is an urgent need for
transition from petroleum-based
energy systems to one based on
renewable resources to decrease
reliance on depleting reserves of
fossil fuels and to mitigate climate
change. In addition, renewable
energy has the potential to create
many employment opportunities
at all levels, especially in rural
areas. An emphasis on presenting
the real picture of massive
renewable energy potential, it
would be possible to attract
foreign investments to herald a
Green Energy Revolution in India.
(h) Many food items contain
“trans fats”. What do you
understand by this term?
Which Indian food items contain trans fats? What are the
implications of trans fats on
human health?
Ans:
Unsaturated fats may be
converted to saturated fats by
adding hydrogen atoms in a
process known as hydrogenation.
This process creates saturated fats
called trans-fatty acids.
Trans fats are by-products of
hydrogenation, a chemical
process used to change liquid
unsaturated fat to a more solid fat.
Structurally similar to saturated
fat, trans fatty acids may have a
great impact on raising total and
LDL cholesterol levels. The
examples include stick margarine
and fats found in commercially
prepared cakes, cookies, and
snack foods. Total fat intake
should be no more than 30
percent of your daily calorie
intake.
The research, funded by the
British Heart Foundation (BHF),
found that ‘ultra-bad’ cholesterol,
called
MGmin-low-density
lipoprotein (LDL), which is more
common in people with type 2
diabetes and the elderly, appears
to be ‘stickier’ than normal LDL.
This makes it more likely to attach
to the walls of arteries. When LDL
attaches to artery walls it helps
form the dangerous ‘fatty’ plaques’
that cause coronary heart disease
(CHD).
3. Answer the following in
about 50 words each:
5×11=55
(a) What is the ‘Parivarik Mahila
Lok Adalat’?
Ans:
The National Commission for
Women (NCW) has evolved the
concept of Parivarik Mahila Lok
Adalat, which in turn supplements
the efforts of the District Legal
Service Authority (DLSA) for
redressal and speedy disposal of
the matters pending in various
courts related to marriage and
family affairs.
Objectives of PMLA are as
follows:
• To provide speedy and cost
free dispensation of justice
to women.
• To generate awareness
among the public regarding
conciliatory mode of dispute settlement.
• To gear up the process of organizing the Lok Adalats and
to encourage the public to
settle their disputes outside
the formal set-up.
• To empower public especially women to participate
in justice -delivery mechanism.
The Parivarik Mahila Lok
Adalat functions on the model of
the Lok Adalat. The Commission
provides financial assistance to
NGOs
or
State
Women
Commissions or State Legal
Service Authority to organize the
Parivarik Mahila Lok Adalat.
(b) List the main objectives of the
National Manufacturing Policy
(NMP), 2011.
Ans:
(i) The policy aims to create industrial enclaves that will
offer lower taxes, faster permits, and easier labour laws
to boost the share of manufacturing.
(ii) The policy aims to increase
the sectoral share of manufacturing in GDP to 25 per
cent by 2025 from exisitng
16 per cent.
(iii) The policy seeks to empower rural youth by impart-
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ing necessary skill sets to
make them employable.
(iv) Sustainable development
and technological value addition in manufacturing have
received special focus in the
NMP.
(v) The policy envisages specific
interventions broadly in the
areas of industrial infrastructure development and improvement of the business
environment through rationalization and simplification
of business regulations.
(vi) A defining feature of the
policy has been the endeavour to improve the business
regulatory environment by
providing single window
clearances.
(vii)The new policy proposes developing National Investment and Manufacturing
Zones,or mega-industrial
parks that will reduce the
compliance burden on industry.
(c) Comment on the significance
of Rasarnava in studying the
history of Indian Chemistry.
Ans:
Rasarnava by an unknown
author, 11th-12th century AD text,
basically described a large
number of equipment or
apparatus, crucibles, furnaces
etc., for processing of minerals
and metals. Procedures were
described for making metal from
maksika vimala, sasyaka etc., the
first two being pyrites bearing
copper, and the third copper
sulphate, and the wonderful
108
observation was made that all the
three red, products seemed to be
identical: Cantra or copper. In
fact, Rasarnava had arranged six
metals: gold, silver, copper, iron,
tin and lead in the order of
increasing rate of corrosion and
poetically described high
reactivity of sulphur with most of
the metals.
(d) What are the Rights within the
ambit of Article 21 of the
Indian Constitution?
Ans:
(1) Right to live with human dignity: In the Maneka Gandhi’s
case SC added another dimension to Article 21. It held
that the right to ‘live’ is not
merely confined to physical
existence but it includes
within the ambit the right to
live with human dignity.
(2) Right to livelihood: In 1993
in the case of DK Yadav v.
JMA Industries the SC held
that the right to life enshrined
under Article 21 includes the
right to livelihood. The procedure prescribed for depriving a person of livelihood must meet the challenge of Article 14 and so it
must be right, just and fair
and not arbitrary and illegal.
(3) Right to privacy: In 1997 in
a historic judgement in
People’s Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India
(Phone tapping case) the SC
held that telephone tapping
should not be restored to by
the State unless there is public emergency or interest of
public safety requires.
(4) Right to die: In P.Rathinam v.
Union of India (1994): SC
held that the right to live in
Article 21 of the constitution
includes the right not to live
therefore the Section 309 of
the IPC was violative of Article 21 and hence it is void.
But in 1996 in the case of
Gian Kaur v. State of Punjab
SC
overruled
the
P.Rathinam’s case and held
that right of life under Article
21 of the constitution does
not include right to die or
right to be killed. “The right
to die, inherently inconsistent with the right of life as
is death with life. The apex
court made it clear that the
right to life including the right
to live with human dignity
would mean the existence of
such a right up to the end of
natural life.
(5) Right to get pollution free
water and air: In 1991 in the
case of Subhas Kumar v.
State of Bihar, it has been
held that public interest litigation is maintainable for
ensuring enjoyment of pollution free and air which included the right to live under Article 21 of the constitution.
(6) Protection of Ecology and
Environmental Pollution.
(7) Right of Education:
(8) Prisoner’s Right and Article
21: Even a convict is entitled
to the precious right guaranteed by Article 21 and he
shall not be deprived of his
life or personal liberty ex-
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cept according to procedure
established by law.
(9) Right to free legal aid: The
right to free legal aid and
speedy trial are guaranteed
FRs under Article 21. Article
39 A provides ‘equal justice’
and free legal aid’. It means
justice according to law.
(10) Right against solitary confinement: SC in the case of
Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration (1978) held that
whether solitary confinement imposed upon prisoners who were under sentence
of death was violative of Articles 14, 19, 20 and 21 of the
Constitution.
(11) Right to Speedy trial: Speedy
trial is the essence of criminal justice. In the case of AR
Antuley v. RS Nayak in 1992
the SC held that the accused
couldn’t be denied the right
of speedy trial merely on the
ground that he had failed to
demand a speedy trial.
(e) Comment on the significance
of the Preamble contained in
the Right to Information Act.
Ans:
The basic object of this Act
is to empower the citizens,
promote transparency and
accountability in the working of
the Government and make our
democracy work for the people
in real sense. It goes without
saying that an informed citizen is
better equipped to keep necessary
vigil on the instruments of
governance and make the
government more accountable to
the governed. The Act is a big step
towards making the citizens
informed about the activities of the
Government allowing to the share
power with the humblest and
poorest of the society.
(f) To implement one key recommendation of the Mohini Giri
Committee, the Government
has recently announced the
constitution of a National
Council. Highlight the composition and the mandate of
this National Council.
Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha,
representatives of five state
governments (one each from the
North, South, East, West and
North-Eastern regions) and one
union territory by rotation, five
representatives each from senior
citizens’ associations. The Council
will be anchored in the Social
Justice and Empowerment
Ministry.
(g) Comment on the recent
launching of the National Mission on Libraries (NML).
Ans:
Ans:
In order to improve the social
sector reforms, the Union
government has given its approval
to constitute the National Council
for Senior Citizens to advise the
Central and State governments on
issues relating to the welfare of
senior citizens. In order to
improve the quality of life of
senior citizens, the council will
form
suitable
policies,
programmes, and legislative
measures. The major aim of the
council will be to promote the
physical and financial stability of
our senior citizens so that they are
able to live a dignified life. It is
here mentioned that setting up of
such a council was one of the
recommendations made by an
experts committee headed by
Mohini Giri in the draft National
Policy on Senior Citizens. The
Council will be chaired by the
Social Justice and Empowerment
Minister and will include the
Minister of State in the Social
Justice and Empowerment
Ministry, oldest members of the
The government of India has
launched the National Mission on
Libraries (NML) with the aim and
intention to modernise and
digitally link almost 9000 libraries
across the country in a bid to
provide readers access to books
and information. The launch of
NML is very important for India
because it will assist in preparing
long term plans and strategies for
development of the library sector,
including conceptualization and
approval of projects and
preparation of a “National policy
on Library and Information
Systems for India”. The NML will
focus on improvement of the
public library system of the
country particularly concentrating
on the states where library
development is lagging behind.
For the successful execution of
NML it is quite important that the
state
governments,
and
municipalities and panchayats pay
special attention towards setting
up and maintenance of public
libraries, including community,
locality, and village libraries.
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(h) What are the groups into
which musical instruments in
India have traditionally been
classified?
Ans:
‘Instruments must speak’ was
the axion and if any instrument
failed to produce what the human
voice
could,
it
was
contemptuously referred to as
Suska
Vadyam-dry
instrumentalism. Govind Dikshit
fixed the frets of the southern vina,
so that all the ragas could be
played. Prior to this, the frets
were movable and their numbers
varied. A large number of
instruments particularly of the
stringed variety were evolved out
of the old forms. Tradition links
names of certain musicians with
some of these instruments like
vicitra vina with Abdul Aziz Khan
and Surabahar with Omrao Khan.
There is also some evidence to the
effect that dilruba, esraj and sarod
were evolved during this period
and sarangi was lifted from its
place in the folk music and
established as a respectable court
instrument. Vina has always been
the
foremost
traditional
instrument. The nom-tom in ragaalap of Hindustani music, the
tanam in Karnataka music, the bols
of tarana, the various gamaks or
graces and other musical accents
in both Hindustani and Karnataka
music are obviously based on
nuances which appeared in the
perfecting of the accompanying
instruments.
(i) Comment on the significance
of fire in Zoroastrianism.
110
Ans:
For
Zoroastrians
(Zarathushth-rians), fire is the
symbol of their religion. Almost
all religious ceremonies are
performed in the presence of fire,
which may be a permanently
consecrated fire of an Atash
Behram or Atash Aderan or that
which is consecrated for the
occasion. Fire holds the central
place in a Zoroastrian temple and
the worship of God is performed
in front of it. The permanently
consecrated fires are objects of
great reverence and the physical
fire is treated as a living being and
is referred to as Atash Padshah
(king) by the priests in present
practice. When a physical object
becomes such a powerful and
respected symbol, it becomes
necessary to know exactly the
meaning of the symbol. For
example, does the consecrated
fire represent God? Does it
represent a particular aspect of
God? Does it represent a
connection between the spiritual
and physical world?
Fire as a physical object
gives out heat and light. If hot
enough, it can consume all
organic matter, converting it into
invisible gasses, and is able to
transform most inorganic matter.
Because of these properties fire
can be a symbol of illumination
with all the meanings of the word.
For example, that which drives
away darkness — evil, that which
enlightens with knowledge, et
cetera. Or it can be a symbol of
that which provides comfort
(warmth) or that which makes life
possible by providing energy
(heat).
It can also be a symbol of a
power that can destroy by
consuming or changing, by
selectively destroying evil it can
be a symbol of a purifying agency.
Long before Zarathushtra
preached his message, fire was
part of the religious observances
of the Indo-Aryan society into
which he was born. It was used
during various rituals and
sacrifices and was an ancient
religious symbol. It is still used
as part of rituals in many religions
not only those arising from IndoAryan origins but also others. Yet
only in Zoroastrianism is it such a
powerful and respected symbolic
object.
(j) Why is Laurie Baker called
‘the conscience keeper of Indian architecture’?
Ans:
Laurie Baker, an Indian
architect of British origin is aptly
called the conscience keeper of
Indian architecture because he
added modernity to Indian sense
of architecture. India will always
remain in debt to him as he
focused on converting or
replacing asylum into cost
effective architecture style.
He gave the concept of
building affordable homes for the
poor; he was also a unique
creative artist, who always had in
mind the concept to create unique
sense of space for building low
cost yield high architectural
quality homes for everyone.
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(k) You are stationed in a small
district town in the plains of
Northern India, The summer
has been severe. Suddenly, a
colleague, who had been out
since morning, returns to the
office complaining of headache, restlessness and confusion. Shortly, he becomes
unconscious. His body temperature is 40°C. What first
aid steps would you take to
revive him?
Ans:
My first task will be to
identify what precisely has
happened to my colleague.
Judging by his conditions I will
not waste a single minute to
identify that he is suffering from
heat stroke because when the
body temperature reaches 104
degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees
Celsius), a person is believed to
be suffering from a serious
condition called heat stroke.
(i) First aid must be immediate and consist of
measures to bring the
temperature below at
least 102° F.
(ii) I will move my colleague out of the sun
and into a shady or air
conditioned space.
(iii) This will be accompanied by rubbing the
victim’s skin with cold
water or alcohol.
(iv) I will give him plenty of
cold water or other
non-alcoholic beverage
to drink, if he is able to.
(v) Meanwhile, I will also
call an ambulance to
rush him to hospital for
proper medication.
4. Comment on each of the
following in about 20
words each:
2×5=10
(a) The
significance
of
Patharughat in the Indian freedom struggle
Ans:
Patharughat is a place in
Assam, where the peasant took
British bullets while protesting
exorbitant taxes slapped on them
at Patharughat in Darrang district
in 1894. It is also known as
Jallianwala Bagh of Assam. 140
unarmed peasants who fell to the
bullets of British military police.
It was J R Berington, officiating
commandant of the military
police, who ordered the firing
against hundreds at Patharughat in
Darrang district when they
protested against the British
government policy of imposing
exorbitant taxes.
(b) Bagurumba folk dance
Ans:
Bagurumba is the most
attractive dance of the Bodo
community of Assam. Girls
dressed in colourful attires
perform this dance in tune of Bodo
traditional musical instruments. It
is also called “butterfly dance”
because the combination of
costume colors and movements
resemble the movement of
butterflies.
(c) Determining the ‘value’ assigned to the vote of a Mem-
ber of a State Legislative Assembly and of a Member of
Parliament in the Indian
Presidential elections.
Ans:
Determining the ‘value’
assigned to the vote of a Member
of a State Legislative Assembly
and of a Member of Parliament
in the Indian Presidential
elections. Value of each MP’s vote
= Total value of all MLAs / Elected
MPs or 5,49,474 / 776 = 708
(Lok Sabha + Rajya Sabha)
Total value of votes for
Parliament = 776 × 708 = 5,49,408
Total value of votes for MLAs
= MLAs (4120) + M.Ps (776) =
4896
Total value of 4896 electors
for the Presidential election 2012
= 549474 + 549408 = 1098882
Value of vote of each Member
of Legislative Assembly (rejecting
the remainder less than 500 but in
creasing the number by one if the
remainder is five hundred and
more).
(d) Significance of the SPOT-6
rocket launch for ISRO
Ans:
SPOT 6 is a French Earth
Observation Satellite capable of
imaging the earth with a
resolution of 1.5 metre. This latest
generation optical remote sensing
satellite is built by Astrium SAS, a
leading
European
space
technology company. On
September 9, 2012, the Polar
Satellite Launch Vehicle-C21
(PSLV-C21) blasted off carrying
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SPOT 6 from Satish Dhawan Space
Centre of Sriharikota. ISRO has
sent 29 foreign satellites
successfully to the orbit, including
SPOT 6. The launch of SPOT 6 on
board an Indian launch vehicle is
testimony to the commercial
competitiveness of the Indian
space industry and is a tribute to
Indian innovation and ingenuity.
The successful launch of SPOT 6
would make ISRO’s PSLV rocket
a strong contender to carry SPOT
7 planned by Astrium SAS soon.
(e) Issues highlighted through the
work of Palagumrni Sainath
Ans:
An Indian journalist and
photojournalist has mainly
focused on social problems, rural
affairs, poverty and the aftermaths
of globalization in India and
supoose to be a great experts on
famine and hunger.
5. Why have the following
been in the news recently?.
(Answer to be in one
sentence only).
1×5=5
Junior Rankings. The 17-year-old
took a giant leap towards
confirming that status with an
incredible victory over newlycrowned Olympic champion Li
Xuerui, 21-19, 9-21, 21-16, in the
quarterfinals of the China Masters
Super Series in Changzhou.
(b) Aditya Kumar Mandi
Ans:
Winner of the Sahitya
Akademi Award, 2011 for
Banchao Larhai in Santali.
(c) Cyrus Mistry
Ans:
Cyrus Mistry, the Managing
Director of Shapoorji Pallonji
Group has been announced by
Tata Sons to succeed Ratan Tata,
when Ratan Tata retires. Cyrus
Mistry, the son of Pallonji Mistry,
Chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji
Group that holds 18 per cent stake
in Tata Sons, will take over the
reins when Tata retires in
December, 2012.
(d) Ashoke Sen
Ans: Ashoke Sen, a
theoretical physicist and string
theorist at Allahabad’s Harish
Chandra Research Institute, has
been awarded with one of the
world’s most prestigious and
richest academic awards of $3
million, which is almost three
times higher than that of Noble
Prize.
(e) Mario de Miranda
Ans:
Legendary cartoonist of India
Mario Miranda, who left an
indelible stamp of the Goan ethos
on the national consciousness, has
died. He was conferred India’s
highest civilian awards - the
Padma Shri in 1988 and the Padma
Bhushan in 2002.
(a) P.V. Sindhu
Ans:
Pusarla Venkata Sindhu
(born 5 July 1995) is a badminton
player from India. She trains at the
Hyderabad’s
Gopichand
Badminton Academy and is
supported by Olympic Gold
Quest, a not-for-profit foundation
that identifies and supports Indian
athletes. She broke into the top 20
(20th) in the Badminton World
Federation ranking which were
released on 21 September 2012.
She is also ranked 3 in the BWF
112
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