January Magazine - Compressed

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PREFACE
With the present shift in examination pattern of UPSC Civil Services Examination, General
Studies II and General Studies III can safely be replaced with Current Affairs. Moreover,
following the recent trend of UPSC, almost all the questions are issue-based rather than
news-based. Therefore, the right approach to preparation is to prepare issues, rather than
just reading news.
Taking this into account, our website www.iasbaba.com will cover current affairs focusing
more on issues on a daily basis. This will help you pick up relevant news items of the day
from various national dailies such as The Hindu, Indian Express, Business Standard, LiveMint,
Business Line and other important Online sources. Over time, some of these news items will
become important issues.
UPSC has the knack of picking such issues and asking general opinion based questions.
Answering such questions will require general awareness and an overall understanding of
the issue. Therefore, we intend to create the right understanding among aspirants How to
cover these issues?
This is the Eighth edition of IASbabas Monthly Magazine. This edition covers all important
issues that were in news in the month of January 2016
Value adds from IASbaba- Must Read and Connecting the dots.
Must Read section, will give you important links to be read from exam perspective. This
will make sure that, you dont miss out on any important news/editorials from various
newspapers on daily basis.
Under each news article, Connecting the dots facilitates your thinking to connect and
ponder over various aspects of an issue. Basically, it helps you in understanding an issue
from multi-dimensional view-point. You will understand its importance while giving Mains
or Interview.
On this New Year 2016, lets promise ourselves that to think interms of Days resolution
and not the years
If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things. Albert Einstein
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INDEX
NATIONAL
(Pages 5-71)
Taming bulls, wounding rights

Keralas Liquor Policy: All in the spirit of equality
Lodha panel lays out a new pitch for BCCI
The promise of Dalit capitalism
Time for expansion of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)
Tribal Ministry relents over Forest Rights Act (FRA)
Making Commercial Courts work
What needs to be done to upgrade to BS-VI?
National Fibre Optic Network
Women at Work
Gender Justice in Religious institutions: Case against Customary Exclusion
Start Up India Stand Up India Scheme
Discords emanating from the Principles of Natural Justice
Death of a Dalit scholar: Ancient Prejudice, Modern Inequality
The case for Maternity Entitlements going Universal
From Child Slavery to Freedom
Is Road to Election-Literacy?
Anarchy through kritarchy: Judicial Activism or Judicial Adventurism?
Article 356Arunachal Pradesh: Is Presidents rule being misused?

Ensuring privacy in a digital age
Impersonal government is good: A case of RTI act, 2005
Censor and sensibility : Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC)
INTERNATIONAL (Pages 72-102)
Turkeys war on the Kurds

West Asia: Saudi Arabias deadly gamble
Devaluation of Yuan
Storm on the South China Sea
BRICS Performance Report
Building the International Solar Alliance
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Taking India Israel relationship to the next level

Fulfilling the potential of India-France ties
ECONOMICS
(Pages 103-138)
Kelkar panel to revive PPP in infra projects

WTO: GATS & Indian Education
Illicit Financial Flows
Improve the Investment Climate
Gear up for changes in tax laws, treaties
Insuring a risky venture called agriculture
Indias investment anaemia
Navigating the fourth industrial revolution
Public investment: for a new normal
A solution, with its own problems- Strategic Debt Restructuring Scheme
Budget and Infrastructure investment
Fashioning a Banking Turn- Public Sector Banks
ENVIRONMENT
(Pages 139-143)
Shifting India to Clean Energy

Putting wind into renewable sails
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Internet-The Public Good

Superbug and quantum dot
DEFENCE/SECURITY
(Pages 144-149)
(Pages 150-153)
Save security from the establishment
MUST READ
(Pages 154-193)
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NATIONAL
TOPIC:
General Studies 1: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms,
Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times
General studies 3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation,
environmental impact assessment.
Taming bulls, wounding rights
As the harvest festival of Pongal approaches in Tamil Nadu, the clamour for
legitimising the brutal sport, jallikattu, has grown louder yet again.
The pressure this time includes the added weight of the political context, with Tamil
tradition and culture being invoked to stir up a high fever ahead of the 2016
Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu
What is the issue?
Supreme court in 2014 banned the sport jallikattu as it violates provisions of

Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCA) and militates the constitutional duty of
treating animals with compassion, Article 51A (g).
It also reiterated the expansive reading it had given in the past, to Article 21 (Right
to Life), which prohibits any disturbance to the environment, including animals,
considered essential for human life.
What is Jallikattu?
Jallikattu is derived from the words calli (coins) and kattu (tie), which means a
bundle of coins is tied to the bulls horns.
In older times, the tamer sought to remove this bundle from the animals head to
win gold or silver.
He would be called brave and valourous and would also sometimes be
rewarded with a bride.
The southern parts of Tamil Nadu witness bull-taming the most, with Alanganallur
near Madurai hosting the largest and most famous of these events.
A start of cruelty towards animals:
But what started as a simple act of bravado has become an act of cruelty towards
animals.
The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI)s report submitted before the court in
this case lists unimaginable forms of torture inflicted on the beast meant to help in
farming tails twisted and fractured, chemicals poured into the eyes, ears
mutilated, sharp-edged weapons used to poke the animal, and intoxicants forced
into its mouth.
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All these and more take place right under the watch of officials.
The enclosures in the arena deny the bull food, water, or even space to stand.
Wider interpretation by Supreme Court:
Taking into consideration all these aspects, the Supreme Court ruled that not only
did jallikattu inflict unnecessary pain and suffering on the animal and thereby
violate the PCA Act, but the whole sport in the form in which it exists today has
nothing to do with the traditional bull-taming of yore.
The court exhaustively cites international rights jurisprudence to stress the need to
correct anthropocentric views and the fact that animals too have the right to live
dignified lives.
The court then banned the use of bulls as performing animals, reiterating that any custom,
even if in existence since the pre-constitutional days, should be in consonance with the
values of the Constitution.
International experience:
The tradition of bullfighting in Spain is cited to legitimise the conduct of Jallikattu

and present it as a viable tourist attraction.
It is significant that the Spanish state of Catalonia banned the sport in 2012 after a
prolonged culture versus rights debate.
In 2002, Germany took animal rights to a new level by giving animals constitutional
protection.
Way ahead:
Those who want the sport to be legalised have called for an amendment to the PCA
Act and measures to revoke the 2011 notification of the Ministry of Environment and
Forests (MoEF) which barred the use of bulls as performing animals.
Trying to allow an event that legitimises cruelty to animals would be a direct insult to
the carefully reasoned writ of the Supreme Court, a complete negation of the PCA
Act and its objectives, and would take the country back by a few steps in the crucial
area of Right to Life.
Connecting the dots:
Critically analyse the extent to which environment legislations in India have been
successful in safeguarding environment.
Analyse the role played by culture in socio economic development of a region.
The expression life and personal liberty under Article 21 of Indian constitution are
of widest amplitude and cover infinite volume of rights. Elucidate
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TOPIC: General Studies 2
Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States; Government policies and
interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their
design and implementation; Governance Issues
Keralas Liquor Policy: All in the spirit of equality
Supreme Court of India has recently, delivered its judgment on the validity of
Keralas newest liquor policy, which seeks to prohibit the sale and service of alcohol
in all public places, save bars and restaurants in five-star hotels.
The verdict while employing a case of patent discrimination places the five-star
hotels at stake and undermines the fundamental promise of equal concern and
treatment under the Constitution.
Thus, in The Kerala Bar Hotels Association v. State of Kerala , the most basic
doctrines of constitutionalism have been thrown open to the politics of hypocrisy.
Excise Policy
2007: Kerala government has strived to tighten its excise policy to making liquor less freely
available in the State (and more so in the interest of public health)
1st stepAmended the policy by permitting new bar licences to be granted only to those
hotels which were accorded a rating of three stars or more by the Central governments
Ministry of Tourism
2011:
Hotels having a rating below four stars were disentitled from having a licence issued
to serve alcoholic beverages on their premises
Amnesty provided- For hotels hotels with existing licences, to have their licences
renewed even if they did not possess a four-star mark
2014 (March):
SC held that the deletion of three-star hotels from the category of hotels eligible for
a liquor licence as constitutionally valid
Even hotels without a bar licence were entitled to three-star statuses under the
Ministry of Tourisms Rules and Regulations
August 2014: Intensification of Excise Policy by Government:
Tried enforcing complete prohibition

Hotels classed as five star and above, by the Union governments Ministry of
Tourism- Only ones entitled to maintain a bar licence
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A pre-constitutional enactment was duly amended, and the States excise

commissioners issued notices to all hotels of four stars and below, which served
liquor, intimating them of the annulment of their respective bar licences
New Policy Challenged:

Grounds of challenge- Fundamental rights guaranteed under Part III of Indias Constitution
Article 19(1)(g)
Right to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business

Liberty to freely carry on any trade or business is subject to reasonable restrictions
that may be imposed by the state in the interest of the general public
Article 47 of the Constitution: Requires States to make an endeavour towards
improving public health (including by bringing about prohibition of the consumption
of liquor)
These can lead to a proof behind the action to be termed as legitimate
1994: Khoday Distilleries Ltd. v. State of Karnataka
The constitution bench of the Supreme Court had questioned the existence of any
right to trade in alcoholic beverages
Justice P.B. Sawant: The State can
Prohibit completely the trade or business in potable liquor since liquor as

beverage is res extra commercium
Create a monopoly in itself for trade or business in such liquor
Place restrictions and limitations on such trade or business which may be in
nature different from those on trade or business in articles res commercium
Reflection- In the Kerala Bar Hotels Association case, SC thus, held

the Abkari (excise) policy of the Kerala government to being in conformity with the
right under Article 19(1)(g)
Article 14
Categorisation has led to an unnecessary classification by treating persons on an

equal standing unequally
Courts have time and again employed basic two-prong test to determine what
constitutes such a classification:
There must be
An intelligible differentia, which distinguishes persons or things that are grouped

together from others left out of the group
The differentia must have a rational relation to the object sought to be achieved by
the law in question
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But, even the rationale being practiced in granting license as well as the purpose of a
better human health seems to be disguised under truck-load of policies which does not
seem in tandem with each other
Courts Excuse:
Price being a prohibitive factor: Five Star hotels can act as a deterrent to individuals
going in for binge or even casual drinking and thus, an inadequate justification was
forwarded with an economic way out
Tourism as used by the State government
IASbabas Views:
If a commodity is res extra commercium a thing outside commerce this particular

point does not give the state absolute power to make laws on the subject in violation of
the guarantee of equal treatment.
While a law might represent a valid constraint on the freedom to trade, it must confirm
to other constitutional commands, including Article 14, which assures us that the state
shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws
within the territory of India.
Employing paternalism and classism will only have a polarising effect on the policy issues
of the country and thus, there is a need to revisit the policy to keep ones faith in Art 14
intact.
Connecting the Dots:
Has the State of Kerala made a reasonable classification in consonance with Article 14
by permitting only five-star hotels and above to serve liquor? Critically examine
Discuss how will the special treatment being granted to the five-star hotels possibly
help the Kerala government in achieving the highlighted objectives
TOPIC: General studies 2
Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and

issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Lodha panel lays out a new pitch for BCCI
The Supreme Court appointed Justice R M Lodha-led committee has suggested a

paradigm shift in the functioning of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI),
with a slew of changes that would dismantle the existing ecosystem of the Indian
cricket board.
The proposals include separate governing bodies for the Board of Control for Cricket
in India (BCCI) and the Indian Premier League (IPL), in a bid to partially segregate
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their functioning, limiting age and tenures for officials, legalising betting, uniformity
in structure of state associations, and a one-state, one-member (vote) pattern for
the BCCI governing body.
Why was the committee appointed?
The committee was appointed by Supreme court at the backdrop of IPL spot fixing
issue in 2014 as a result of which few IPL players and two IPL teams have been
debarred from contesting in this years IPL tournament.
In order to restructure BCCI and to streamline it towards cleansing cricket
atmosphere in India, the committee took its form.
Key recommendations of the panel:

1. Proposes a new governing structure for BCCI
The panel suggested limiting the autonomy of IPL, adding that its governing council
should be reduced to nine members with the secretary and the treasurer of BCCI as
ex-officio members and two other members to be nominated or elected by the full
members.
Of the remaining five, two would be the nominees of franchises, one would be a
representative of the players association (that is to be formed) and one would a
nominee of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
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2. One Zone One Member One Vote:
This will clean out the undemocratic irregularities that have been used to
manipulate voting patterns and election process within the BCCI.
As things stand today the BCCI has 30 full members, some of which dont
field teams, while others represent any territory.
Only 20 states and one union territory, Delhi, are included and ten states
and six union territories are excluded.
However, Maharashtra and Gujarat have three full members, with voting
rights.
The committee has proposed that states will be restricted to just one
member, though they can continue to field different teams as in the past.
For example, BCCI can nominate one association from Maharashtra
(Mumbai, Vidarbha and Maharashtra are its three different associations,
currently) and Gujarat (Baroda, Gujarat and Saurashtra).
3. The inclusive approach to spreading cricket across India
Bihar, one of the most populous states, doesnt have a Ranji team.
To spread cricket to the far reaching corners of the country in a more
inclusive and democratic manner, the committee has sought to re-address
the constitution of the board.
More states and union territories will get representation.
For example, Bihar, which is not affiliated to the board, will be included
and get a Ranji team, and the right to vote.
Currently, only Delhi is a full member from the union territories (UT) but
the committee has proposed that Puducherry, the only other UT with a
chief minister, should be treated as Associate member and be allowed to
field a domestic team.
4. No geographical base, No Votes
Services, Railways and All India Universities three national service groups
have been treated as Full Members with voting rights thus far.
Apart from these, the National Cricket Club at Kolkata also enjoy full
membership of the BCCI just like the Cricket Club of India at Mumbai.
They have no geographical base for representation as they dont represent

any territories and their relatively small statures have allowed them to be
used as pawns in the voting game.
They have been the disembodied voices that have been easily bought. No
more, though. The panel has recommended that Services, Railways can
continue to field Ranji teams but cannot be deemed as Full Members and
cannot have voting rights.
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5. Say no to Affiliates and Future Members
The BCCI has four categories: Full Member, Associate Member, Affiliates, and
Future Member.
The titled Future Member consists of Uttarakhand, Mizoram, Telangana,
Chandigarh, Puducherry and Andaman & Nicobar and have been given, to
quote the report, an illusion that it will be promoted at some vague point
in the future.
The committee have been recommended that categories of Affiliates and
Future Member be removed, and re-juggling of the Full Member and
Associate Member lists be done. And that only the Full Member will get a
vote.
6. Restrictions on the BCCI office-bearers

They should not be aged more than 70, should not be ministers or
government servants, and cannot hold office for more than three terms,
with a cooling-off period between terms.
Regardless of post president, secretary, joint secretary, vice-president
and treasurer no official can hold on to any seat for more than nine years
in all.
Each term will be reduced to three years and every elected apex council
member will have to undergo a cooling-off period of three years after each
term.
They also cannot be ministers or hold government positions, and will also
have to divorce themselves from the state association that they represent.
7. Legalising betting
Lodha panel has recommended legislature for legalising betting and an inbuilt mechanism to ensure that players and administrators dont bet on
matches.
According to experts, cricket satta (illegal betting) in India could be as much as Rs 3

lakh crore a year.
On an average, daily turnover of Rs 100 crore is seen by cricket satta in

Mumbai alone.
Rest of the country sees average daily turnover of Rs 900 crore.
Cricket matches are played for 300 days in a year across the world.
To ensure they dont involve in betting, they have to disclose their assets
to the BCCI. It can only be done through betting houses which will have to
take licences. Any misconduct by them will result in cancellation of those
licences, says the report.
If betting is legalised, Ladbrokes, a British company through which people across the world
place bets on EPL matches, Ashes and Fifa World Cup, could enter India.
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What did BBCI say?
The BCCI has said that these are just recommendations, and it would now form its
own committee to look into the proposals before deciding on a future course of
action.
Former president N Srinivasan and some other senior administrators also questioned
the feasibility of the proposals.
Way ahead:
The committee recommendations is a good move towards revamping the corruption

struck cricket body in India.
What next?
Supreme Court should make the report binding on BCCI and try to implement it or BCCI
should appoint an internal committee to look into the feasibility of implementing the
recommendations of the committee.
Off late commercialisation of sports is making news in India. Analyse the pros and
cons of it. Clearly indicate your opinion wrt commercialisation of sports in India.
Critically examine the recommendations of Lodha panel report on BCCI restructuring
with special reference to legalising cricket betting in India.
TOPIC:
General studies 1:
The Freedom Struggle - its various stages and important contributors or

contributions from different parts of the country.
Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.
Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism.
General studies 2:
Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States
and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies
constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
The promise of Dalit capitalism

The present Prime Minister made two significant observations in the course of his speech to
the new generation of Dalit entrepreneurs during the National Conference of Dalit
Entrepreneurs held on 29th December, 2015.
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First, he cited B.R. Ambedkar to argue that a community that has little access to land
should see rapid industrialization as its best bet for advancement.
Second, he said it is more difficult to escape the shadow of social discrimination
than it is to break the shackles of economic backwardness.
Low Dalit entrepreneurship:

Successive census reports on enterprises outside agriculture show that Dalits own far fewer
businesses than we should expect from their share of the total Indian population.
The case of Dalit capitalism:
The concept can be traced back to a conference of Dalit intellectuals held in Bhopal in 2002,
which argued that the retreat of the state in the era of globalization means that
dependence on reservations will bring diminishing returns (the returns keep on decreasing
with time).
The representatives of Dalit capitalism want to correct this imbalance because they
believe that capital is the best way to break caste in the modern economy.
Few existing Dalit entrepreneurs can be role models for upcoming ones.
Hurdles in realising Dalit entrepreneurship:
One of the main problems is the lack of access to existing business networks.
India is one of the many countries where weak contract enforcement means that
entrepreneurs depend on trust-based community networks to transact business.
There is no shortage of examples of specific businesses being dominated by
members of one community.
It is very difficult for a Dalit entrepreneur to break into these networks, a challenge
that is perhaps even more difficult than getting bank loans.
Case study:
In a 2011 paper on how caste matters in entrepreneurship, Lakshmi Iyer and Tarun
Khanna argued that the growth of enterprises depends strongly on network effects
to find the right workers as well as to forge links with suppliers and customers.
And World Bank chief economist Kaushik Basu has tried to show in a new paper that
discrimination exists because it acts as a coordination device.
How to break the existing business networks?
One possibility is through voluntary action by large companies that have expansive
supply chains.
The Tata group has been at the forefront of such experiments.
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Large government departments have also tried to bring Dalit enterprises into their
networks.
How such initiatives can be expanded while maintaining commercial goals remains
to be seen?
Way ahead:
The past few decades have seen the political empowerment of Dalits.
But all sorts of data show that the community has still not got its rightful place in the
economic landscape.
What a new generation of Dalits intellectuals has been arguing is that the market
rather than the state is the best antidote to social inequality.
Start up India, stand up India:
The government has announced a new campaign "Start-up India, Stand up India"
to promote bank financing for start-ups and offer incentives to boost
entrepreneurship and job creation.
Let us hope this initiative will provide adequate opportunities for the Dalit
community to find their economic landscape in India.
Critically examine the various measures taken by the government to promote

economic empowerment of Dalit community in India.
Analyse the contribution of Dalits to Indias freedom struggle.
Critically analyse the role of start up stand up India, in promoting India as a
manufacturing hub in future.
TOPC: General Studies 2

constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections;
Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States; Governance issues
Indias welfare state has always been on the side of committing significant resources
to provide subsidies and services especially to certain identified segments of the
population who could not afford the resources themselves.
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Over the years, as fiscal resources have grown rapidly the amount of money spent
on welfare programs has also gone high but carrying with it the two major issues
with subsidies in India:
Targeting: Benefits higher income groups who do not deserve the subsidies and
thus, increases the governments expenditure
Leakages: Subsidy does not reach the recipient due to corruption, pilferage or
other causes
Governments DBT plan therefore, simply involves transferring the subsidy amount
directly to the beneficiaries bank accounts instead of having to fiddle around with
differential pricing for the underprivileged
Linkage with Aadhaar

Efficient targeting: Via Aadhaar-linked data ensures that:
The intended beneficiary receives the money in his account

Reduction in the governments subsidy burden
Effective solution to leakages and mis-targeting problems
Eg: Case of MGNREGA wages
Beginning: Reports across the country of MGNREGA wages, at the time given in cash
being misappropriated by middlemen
2013: Government initiated the DBT scheme in MGNREGA eliminated these
middlemen to a large extent
Current financial year: Under this scheme, Rs.20,500 crore has been credited to the
accounts of almost 5 crore people
Linking Postal Account with Aadhaar
Post Banks should become a game-changer in Indian banking sector by becoming a

local agency for the recently announced MUDRA Bank
Also, the Post Bank accounts should be Aadhaar seeded so that various Government
schemes for Direct Benefit Transfer could be rolled out through the Post Bank.
Department should step up its efforts to ramp up its capabilities to book, process,
transmit & deliver e-Commerce articles.
DBT-RuPay Meaningful Financial Inclusion
With the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) now accepting eKYC and making Aadhaar the
centrepiece of strategy, an endemic issue of identity verification has been dealt with.
As one of the biggest constraints to enhancing financial inclusion was addressed, it
also lowered the costs of opening new bank accounts.
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The success would now depend upon employment of attention to detail, monitoring
and mid-course correction to make inclusion more meaningful for beneficiaries,
encouraging more transactions and ensuring that the DBT programme takes off.
Tried & Tested

PAHAL (Pratyaksh Hanstantrit Labh)
Launched in June 2013 for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) subsidies

To make consumers link their Aadhaar number to a bank account and receive the
subsidy amount for 12 cylinders in a year
If without an Aadhaar number- could furnish any other bank account to receive the
subsidy
Issue:
A large proportion of the subsidies were going to people who could afford LPG
cylinders at the un-subsidised rate
Solution: People earning more than Rs.10 lakh a year would not be eligible for the
LPG subsidy
Success Story:
Addressed the leakages issue

Income cap addressed the mis-targeting problem
BUT
DBT in the Kerosene Scheme
States will be given a cash incentive of 75 per cent of subsidy savings during the first two
years, 50 per cent in the third year and 25 per cent in the fourth year.
Around half the kerosene sold in the country is being misused

Not being used as lighting fuel, it is being used to adulterate diesel among other
things
Again: Subsidization going to unwanted beneficiaries, involved in illegal activities
Corruption in the kerosene sector thus, deprives the needy families of a basic
commodity while enriching corrupt kerosene dealers, fuel distributors and public
officials
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Workings of the scheme:
Consumer buys kerosene at full price and then receives the subsidy amount in his bank
account if eligible
Therefore, mis-targeting and leakages are addressed
But this could lead to unintended outcomes unless the scheme is managed carefully
What can happen: Overestimation of the actual household-level usage

If the subsidy amount each household is due is calculated on the basis of the total amount
of kerosene sold divided by the number of eligible households, then this will result in each
household receiving about double the subsidy amount it should be getting because total
usage also takes into account pilferage
How: Taking of usage-by-theft into account
IASbabas View
DBT can help directly improve the efficiency of the delivery systems, as well as
empower the beneficiaries to demand their rightful benefits under various schemes,
and hold the managers accountable for the same but a thorough case needs to be
built up to measure if benefits outweigh the costs or not (economic terms)
There has to be a proper Centre-State coordination mechanism in place, efficient
network of banking system as well as automation of schemes should be taken up
immediately; backed up with careful consideration and coordination between policy
and implementation.
International obligations can also be cited to bring about an atmosphere of urgency,
for quick mindful reforms to be executed.
A strict monitoring system to identify the black market and a strict law against
accumulation of black money should also be put in place to effectively curb the
menace
Discuss the types of reforms under Direct Benefit Transfer. Explain the most
suitable amongst them keeping in view the working mechanism of India
The scrapping of the supply of subsidized kerosene via Public Distribution system is
long overdue. Do you support the statement? Substantiate.
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TOPIC:
General Studies 1 : Social empowerment

General studies 2: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the
Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws,
institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these
vulnerable sections.
Tribal Ministry relents over Forest Rights Act (FRA)
Union tribal affairs ministry has revised its views to re-interpret the Forest Rights Act
(FRA) and allow the Maharashtra forest department to get control back over forest
management and a grip on the lucrative trade worth crores in Minor forest produce
such as tendu leaves and bamboo.
In contrast tribal ministry had previously concluded that only tribals and other
forest dwellers had rights to manage their forests under FRA.
Even in 2014 state government had passed regulations that ensured its forest
department retained control over forest management, which includes the largescale trade and sale of forest produce. The tribal affairs ministry found this in
violation of FRA, which empowers tribals and other forest-dwellers to hold sole
rights to manage the forests, including sale of forest produce in areas where they
have traditional claims.
What is Forest Rights Act (FRA) all about?
The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest
Rights) Act, 2006, is a key piece of forest legislation passed in India on December
2006.
The law concerns the rights of forest-dwelling communities to land and other
resources, denied to them over decades as a result of the continuance of colonial
forest laws in India.
The Act basically does two things:
Grants legal recognition to the rights of traditional forest dwelling communities,

partially correcting the injustice caused by the forest laws.
Makes a beginning towards giving communities and the public a voice in forest and
wildlife conservation.
Why is it required?
India's forests are home to crores of people, including many Scheduled Tribes, who
live in or near the forest areas of the country.
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Since times immemorial, the tribal communities of India have had an integral and
close knit relationship with the forests and have been dependent on the forests for
livelihoods and existence in the form of minor forest produce, water, grazing
grounds and habitat for shifting cultivation.
For the first time Forest Rights Act recognises and secures community Rights or
rights over common property resources of the communities in addition to their
individual rights.
Supporters of the Act claim that it will redress the "historical injustice" committed
against forest dwellers, while including provisions for making conservation more
effective and more transparent.
What are the rights granted under the Act?
Title rights - i.e. ownership - to land that is being fared by tribals or forest dwellers as
on 13 December 2005, subject to a maximum of 4 hectares; ownership is only for
land that is actually being cultivated by the concerned family as on that date,
meaning that no new lands are granted.
Use rights - to minor forest produce (also including ownership), to grazing areas, to
pastoralist routes.
Relief and development rights - to rehabilitation in case of illegal eviction or forced
displacement and to basic amenities, subject to restrictions for forest protection
Forest management rights - to protect forests and wildlife
Right to intellectual property and traditional knowledge related to biodiversity and
cultural diversity
Rights of displaced communities
Rights over developmental activities
What is Minor Forest Produce (MFP)?
The forest products can be generally divided into two parts viz. Major Forest Produce
and Minor Forest Products.
The Major Forest Products comprise Pulpwood, Sandalwood, Social Forestry that
includes Fuel and Timber.
The Minor Forest Products include the items such as tamarind, curry leaf, Tendu
Patta, gallnut, Cane, Soapnut, tree moss and now Bamboo also.
MFP have significant social and economic value for tribal communities as they not
only provide essential food, medicines and other consumption items but also cash
income.
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Government of India has assigned the ownership of minor forest produce to the
people living in and around forests for the purpose of collection, processing, trade
and marketing through national level legislation named as the Scheduled tribes and
Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest rights) Act, 2006.
Minor Forest Produce and PESA:

Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) authorizes the States give the Gram
Sabahs power to regulate and restrict
sale/consumption of liquor
ownership of minor forest produce
power to prevent alienation of land and restore alienated land
power to manage village markets, control money lending to STs
power to manage village markets, control money lending to STs and Mandatory
executive functions to approve plans of the Village Panchayats, identify beneficiaries for
schemes, issue certificates of utilization of funds.
Bamboo as a Minor Forest Produce
Bamboo was recognized as a Minor Forest Produce way back in 2006, now its selling
rights have been given to villages Bamboo was given the status of a minor forest
produce (MFP) in the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
The Act, which seeks to redress a historical injustice to tribals, apart from entitling
them to land ownership, also gives communities rights to collect, use and sell
bamboo as an MFP.
A.K.Sharma Committee on Minor Forest Produce:

The committee was set up to look in to the issues related with the ownership of the Gram
Sabha, fair prices, institutional mechanism, value addition, etc. and suggest remedial
measures including Ownership, Price fixation, Value addition and Marketing of Minor Forest
Produce (MFP)
T Haque Committee:
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj had constituted a Committee under the chairmanship
of Dr. T. Haque to look into different aspects of Minor Forest Produce (MFP)
management in fifth schedule areas which has recommended for fixation of
Minimum Support Price (MSP) for 14 MFPs in its final report.
These are Tamarind, Mahuwa flower, Mahuwa seed, Tendu leaf, Bamboo, Sal Seed,
Myrobalan, Chironji, Lac, Gum karaya, Honey, Seeds of Karanja, Neem and Puwad.
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To operationalizing the MSP for selected MFPs, the earlier Planning Commission had
suggested for Central Price Fixation Commission for MFP as an autonomous body
under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
All primary collectors including tribal and people living in and around the forests
involved in the MFP collection will be benefitted.
Minor Forest Produce Commission:
MFP Commission will be an autonomous body under the MoTA. Experts have said
MSP plan for Minor Forest Produce as next MGNREGA as it has the potential to
transform the lives of 100 million forest dwellers, a majority of them are tribals and
whose livelihoods depend on the collection and marketing of MFPs.
The proposal comes after recommendations of two committees, one headed by
agricultural economist T. Haque and another by Planning Commission member
secretary Sudha Pillai.
Implications:
The T Haque committee estimated that the value of the 13 major MFPs at the first
purchase point is worth about Rs. 3,600 crore annually, of which tendu and bamboo alone
account for Rs. 2000 crore.
The MFPs that will be covered by the scheme will be tendu, bamboo, mahua flower,
mahua seeds, sal leaves, sal seeds, lac, chironji, wild honey, myrobalan, tamarind, gums and
karanj.
The scheme will help provide better prices to the MFP gatherers, who now receive a
pittance, exploited as they are by local traders and other vested interests; it will also ensure
sustainable harvesting of MFPs.
Way ahead:
Recent move by Union tribal affairs ministry to re-interpret the Forest Rights Act
(FRA) and allow the Maharashtra forest department to get control back over forest
management and a grip on the lucrative trade worth crores in Minor forest produce
such as tendu leaves and bamboo would affect the economy of the tribals and
respective Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Goal 1: Eradicate extreme
poverty and hunger may not be achieved. Such a move should accompany alternate
source of income to tribals to secure their livelihood and to head towards realisation
of sustainable development.
What are Minor Forest produce (MFP)? Who owns MFP? What are the committees
set up to address the issues centring MFP?
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Can MFP secure livelihood of tribals and act as hand in the gloves to achieve
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and
hunger. ?
Recently Union tribal affairs ministry re-interpreted the Forest Rights Act (FRA) to
allow Maharashtra forest department to get control back over forest management.
How do tribals get affected by such move? Is it a move which is considered light at
the end of the tunnel or is it just incoming train? ;-)
TOPIC: General studies 2:
Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges
pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local
levels and challenges therein; Separation of powers between various organs
dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions.
Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
Making Commercial Courts work
Recently the parliament in 2015 winter session passed Commercial Courts,

Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Act, 2015.
The law creates commercial courts at the district level to deal with commercial
disputes.
The success of the new commercial courts system that seeks to expedite settlement
of commercial disputes and improve ease of doing business is critically dependent
on how well the states respond to the need for setting up new courts and
divisions.
The financial threshold, which some litigants feel is too low for such cases, and a
wide range of issues that are brought under their ambit could also pose challenges.
What the new law tries to do?
The law creates commercial courts at the district level to deal with commercial
disputes.
These courts would be equivalent to the district courts and serve as the courts of
original jurisdiction for all commercial disputes.
For the high courts of Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta, Himachal and Madras, which are
vested with original jurisdiction for commercial disputes over a certain value
(rupees 50,000 before and now rupees 1 crore), the new law contemplates the
setting up of a special commercial division to exercise such jurisdiction.
This has the effect of streamlining the dispute resolution process as well as cutting
down the time for which a dispute may be pending in the system.
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Magnitude of the problem:
The 253rd report of the Law Commission submitted in January last year lays down
the magnitude of the task before the courts.
"Of the total of 32,656 civil suits pending in the five High Courts with original
jurisdiction in India, we find that a little more than half (16,884) or 51.7 per cent of
them are commercial disputes," the report said, adding that this figure would have
been far higher if not for the 35,072 suits that were transferred out of the Bombay
High Court in 2012 when the pecuniary jurisdiction of the high court was raised to Rs 1
crore and above.
Multitude of cases in the High Courts:
The commission observed that "the above data makes it evident that most high
courts are still grappling with the issue of high pendency of cases on the original
side, including writ petitions, arbitration cases etc, and have not been able to
reduce the pendency in the last decade.
Rather than increasing the burden of the courts, the focus should be on reducing
the number of cases by increasing the pecuniary jurisdictional threshold of civil
suits in such high courts."
What the new law can do?
The commercial courts Act has fixed a pecuniary threshold of Rs 1 crore.

According to the Law Commission report, this limit, which was as low as Rs 50,000
earlier, alone would reduce the pendency in the five high courts of original
jurisdiction namely Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta, Madras and Himachal Pradesh from
around 17,000 cases to about 4,200 cases.
Implementation challenges:
Implementation will remain a challenge, as right amount of infrastructure will be

required to back up the intent and to ensure that the timelines as provided for are
adhered to.
This is paramount in making the law effective, and not letting it follow the patterns
of other such failed attempts.
Where will the money come from?
Though the statute itself does not provide for any specific financial allocation for
setting up of these courts, it puts the onus on the state governments.
The state government shall provide necessary infrastructure to facilitate the working
of a commercial court or a commercial division of a high court.
The state government may, in consultation with the high court, establish necessary
facilities providing for training of Judges who may be appointed to the commercial
court, commercial division or the commercial appellate division in a high court.
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Improvements that has happened over the years:
The Delhi High Court was the first off the blocks designating four of its benches as
commercial division in March, based on the Law Commission recommendations in
January 2015.
It added two more benches to the division in November, soon after the Centre
passed the commercial courts Ordinance in October.
Lawyers feel that considering that 11 states have the same political party in power
as the Centre, the passage of the law would be an opportunity for states to
demonstrate their willingness to add to ease of doing business in the region.
These states are likely to soon constitute such commercial courts in the region.
The High Court of Bombay has also designated judges for the divisions.
The other high courts with original jurisdiction such as, Madras-Chennai, CalcuttaKolkata are also expected to follow soon.
For other states, given the recent competition to attract business, constitution of
commercial courts should be of high priority.
Other practical issues:

1. One of the biggest problems could be the threshold Rs 1 crore. This is too small
This limit could mean that there would still be too many cases for the
commercial courts to handle.
The number of cases could drop to around 1,600 if the threshold was raised to
Rs 5 crore.
Even this might take years to clear.
If not Rs 50 crore, it should be at least Rs 20-25 crore so that the bigger cases get
quicker decisions.
2. The huge coverage area could be an issue
The law lists some 20 areas ranging from carriage of goods to intellectual
property rights that could produce 'commercial disputes' that come under the
ambit of commercial courts besides adding a residual clause, which says "any
other disputes so notified by the Central government."
Way ahead:
A key challenge is acceptance and adoption of the new regime and global practices
introduced by all the stakeholders including the judiciary and lawyers.
As there are new processes and cost regime being introduced, it is crucial that all
stakeholders quickly understand and implement the law, in letter and spirit.
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Critically examine the judicial reforms that is expected in India with special reference
to the recently passed Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial
Appellate Division of High Courts Act, 2015.
TOPIC:
General studies 2: Government policies and interventions for development in

various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
General studies 3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation,
environmental impact assessment.
Four years from now, the government wants to leap directly to BS-VI auto emission
norms from the existing BS-IV, skipping BS-V.
But the challenges, before both oil companies and automakers, are enormous.
What is the issue?
Recently the government took a decision after a meeting of the Ministers for Road
Transport, Petroleum, Heavy Industries, and Environment to bring forward the
nationwide rollout of BS-VI vehicular emission norms.
The decision is in line with promises made by India at the Climate Change
Conference in Paris last month, and indicates a step against the dangerously high
levels of air pollution in major Indian cities like Delhi etc.
Bharat Stage (BS) Emission Norms:
The Bharat Stage emission standards are norms instituted by the government to
regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment,
including motor vehicles.
India has been following the European (Euro) emission norms, though with a time lag
of five years.
BS-IV norms are currently applicable in 33 cities in which the required grade of fuel
is available; the rest of India still conforms to BS-III standards.
An historical outlook into emission norms:
India introduced emission norms first in 1991, and tightened them in 1996, when
most vehicle manufacturers had to incorporate technology upgrades like catalytic
converters to cut exhaust emissions.
Fuel specifications based on environmental considerations were notified first in April
1996, to be implemented by 2000, and incorporated in BIS 2000 standards.
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Following the landmark Supreme Court order of April 1999, the Centre notified
Bharat Stage-I (BIS 2000) and Bharat Stage-II norms, broadly equivalent to Euro I and
Euro II respectively.
BS-II was for the NCR and other metros; BS-I for the rest of India.
From April 2005, in line with the Auto Fuel Policy of 2003, BS-III and BS-II fuel quality
norms came into existence for 13 major cities, and for the rest of the country
respectively.
Subsequently, BS-IV and BS-III fuel quality norms were introduced from April 2010 in
13 major cities and the rest of India respectively.
Emission norms for future:
As per the roadmap in the auto fuel policy, BSV and BS-VI norms were to be
implemented from April 1, 2022, and April 1, 2024, respectively.
But in November 2015, the Ministry of Road Transport issued a draft notification,
advancing the implementation of BSV norms for new four-wheel vehicle models to
April 1, 2019, and for existing models to April 1, 2020.
The corresponding dates for BS-VI norms were brought forward to April 1, 2021, and
April 1, 2022, respectively.
But the governments unanimous decision to leap-frog to BS-VI directly from 01/04/2020,
has skipped the BS-V stage all together.
The challenges:
The government could face two key challenges in implementing the decision
1. There are questions about the ability of oil marketing companies to quickly upgrade
fuel quality from BS-III and BS-IV standards to BS-VI, which is likely to cost upwards
of Rs 40,000 crore.
2. More challenging is the task of getting auto firms to make the leap.
Automakers have clearly said that going to BS-VI directly would leave them with
not enough time to design changes in their vehicles, considering that two critical
components diesel particulate filter and selective catalytic reduction module
would have to be adapted to Indias peculiar conditions, where running
speeds are much lower than in Europe or the US.
Fuel Quality Costs:
The government has been unable to move completely to BS-IV because refiners have been
unable to produce the superior fuel in the required quantities.
BS-IV petrol and diesel essentially contains less sulphur, a major air pollutant. Sulphur also
lowers the efficiency of catalytic converters, which control emissions.
Broadly, BS-IV petrol and diesel have 50 parts per million (ppm) of sulphur, as
compared to 150 ppm for petrol and 350 ppm for diesel under BS-III standards.
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Oil companies are learnt to have put in Rs 30,000 crore between 2005 and 2010
to upgrade; the auto industry has made investments of a similar size.
Oil firms will have to invest another about Rs 40,000 crore to upgrade fuel quality
to BS-VI; additional investments by automakers to upgrade will inevitably raise
the prices of vehicles.
Practical industry arguments:
The auto industry argues that the huge improvements in vehicular technology since
2000 have had little impact in India due to Indian driving, road and ambient
conditions.
BS-V diesel vehicles were to have engine upgrades, particulate filters, lots of sensors,
and electronic control.
Petrols were to have catalyst and electronic control upgrades.
Industry estimates of required investment to upgrade from BS-IV to BS-V are to the
tune of Rs 50,000 crore.
Case of DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter):
Vehicles must be fitted with DPF (diesel particulate filter).

DPF is a cylindrical object mounted vertically inside the engine compartment.
In India, where small cars are preferred, fitting DPF in the limited bonnet space
would involve major design and re-engineering work.
Bonnet length may have to be increased, which would make vehicles longer than 4
metres, and attract more excise duty under existing norms.
Case of SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction):
BS-VI vehicles also have to be equipped with an SCR (selective catalytic reduction)
module to reduce oxides of nitrogen, which would be cumbersome and needs extra
work by the auto engineers.
Way ahead:
At every stage, the technology is getting more complex.

To attain the specified super low emissions, all reactions have to be precise, and
controlled by microprocessors.
If BS-V were to be skipped entirely, then both DPF and SCR would need to be fitted
together for testing, which, auto firms say, would make it extremely difficult to
detect which of the technologies is at fault in case of errors in the system.
Ideally, the technologies must be introduced in series, and then synergised.
So, even if oil companies manage to leap, auto firms claim they need 6-7 years to
switch to BS-VI.
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Overall this is a good move by government considering the amount of air pollution in
Indian cities.
Write a note on Bharat stage emission norms in India.

Recently the governments decision tries to introduce Bharat stage VI emission
norms by 2020 skipping stage V norms from present stage IV norms. Critically
examine the impact of above decision on air pollutions levels in India.
TOPIC:

various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation;
Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governanceapplications, models, successes, limitations, and potential;
General studies 3: Science and Technology - developments and their applications

and effects in everyday life Achievements of Indians in science & technology;
indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
National Fibre Optic Network
Information and communication technology (ICT) is a powerful facilitator for

meeting the Millennium Development Goals by facilitating a roll-out of Internet
access as an enabler of development
But some services are dependent upon the availability of other complementary
services and provisioning of basic services using ICT is also dependent on the
availability of other complementary inputs.
National Optical Fibre Network?
This is part of the Digital India initiative of the Government of India. NOFN is envisaged
as a non- discriminatory Telecom infrastructure which will bridge the gap in rural access.
NOFN, which is being funded by the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF),
Department of Telecom, Ministry of Communications & IT, Govt. of India, is envisaged to
provide non- discriminatory access to bridge the digital divide across rural India
Universal Service Obligation in the Age of Broadband

Establishes two criteria that could be used to support the build-out of networks in advance
of the ability of target populations to use them
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Time to build
If ICT infrastructure takes a long time to deploy- then the project needs to be
initiated in anticipation of future absorptive capability
Prove to be a durable solution- Once deployed, it would take care of rural
connectivity needs for many years to come
Technological Discontinuity
The capabilities of the technologies used for providing access develop in a

discontinuous, step-wise manner with each step representing discontinuous jumps
in access speed per dollar of investment.
Therefore, rural areas must switch from lower to higher technologies due to the
constraint of download speeds (Earlier- Lower the total capital costs of connectivity)
And, thus the expenses
Fundamental driving force for government intervention- Stems from the role of
connectivity as an enabler of development. Hence, the governments financial
obligation needs to be limited to the level of connectivity required to enable the
provision of the requisite amount of developmental goods
The degree of production and demand externalities that accrue after threshold
penetration levels are reached; as well as the liabilities in question may also not
justify the expenses
Therefore, the cost should be shared between the public and private sector with the
public sector paying for the basic level of connectivity required to provide
development inputs and to internalize the positive impact arising from demand and
supply externalities (Liability of the government needs to be limited)
But the lack of a purely commercial venture may lack the conviction to deploy and
bear the initial high investment and thus, the government should intervene and pay
for the upfront costs of building the network and collect a revenue share for a
specified number of years
Basic necessities
Need to be provided and a wireless network closely aligned with complementary

inputs and the absorptive capacity of the target population should be rolled out
to provide basic necessities immediately and prepare the population for the
coming of the fibre optic network
The operating competence of the private sector should be leveraged by
tendering projects for building and maintenance through a reverse auction
process.
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A rural set-up & NOFN

Build-Own-Operate-Transfer model for building the national optical fibre network is not
recommended on account of
Operating challenges of rural networks
Being designed as a top-down model with no specific designing implemented for it to

be successful on the ground
Citing the difference between laying and installing optical fibre cable being just one
part of the task; breathing life into the cables by having free flow of data is another
matter altogether
Serious lack of planning and strategy to make sure that these are fully functional and
available to the people, organisations and government offices
Panchayat as a base Has not been able to spread connectivity beyond the Panchayat building in many
villages when there is a need for each panchayat point of broadband to be fired
up, functional, used and distributed
Only 67% of the panchayats were connected to the fibre-optic backbone in the
pilot phase of the NOFN project
Connected Villages-Average broadband speed was found to be 50Mbps, half of
what the government has promised
Low ability to pay
Uncertainty regarding the availability of complementary inputs
Infrastructural Challenges of National Optical Fibre Network
Inadequate Spectrum
High Price of Spectrum
Non availability of contagious spectrum
Non allocation of back haul spectrum
Government auctioning spectrum in small chunks
IASbabas Views:
There is a need to develop

Digital Bharat programme-We usually relate Bharat with our rural folk and since the
majority of the population live in rural areas often called Bharat, we actually need a
Digital Bharat programme to ensure that Bharat is as connected and digital as India,
which lives in its metros and cities.
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Digital India Year- As to realize Digital India, we need a Digital India decade, or even
to create and keep the momentum sustainable and action oriented, we need at least
a Digital India Year
There exists a direct correlation between broadband connectivity and GDP growth
where broadband would result in bringing best in class of healthcare, education and
banking reaching rural masses which would help in elevating poverty and improving
standard of livings in the rural India. Therefore, it is imperative that focused; persistent
attention is given to each of its pillars so that the big programme does not end up in as a
failure.
To build infrastructure is a small part of its sustained functionality for which the
approach has to be well-planned, executed and monitored and following steps can be
taken for the same The national optical fibre network should be divided into a number of state-level
projects in order to secure the buy-in of state governments, crucial for obtaining
right-of-way permissions.
Vertical integration of the private infrastructure operator and the service provider
should be permitted in order to strengthen the business case and trigger operational
efficiencies
A phase-wise roll-out should be planned and the economically well-off subset of the
specified set of gram panchayats should be targeted and after demonstrating
success in these clusters and incorporating lessons learnt, further roll-out should
take place.
Discuss how the NOFN Model be implemented in a manner that keeps the
absorptive capacity of target regions in mind
Discuss the potential NOFN captures within it to transform the e-commerce sector of
India.
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TOPIC:
General studies 1: Role of women and womens organization, Effects of
globalization on Indian society, Social empowerment
General studies 2: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by

the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws,
institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these
vulnerable sections; Issues relating to development and management of Social
Sector or Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Women at Work
The Central governments move to ensure adequate maternity protection has

welcomed a happy response especially when India stands out in the world owing to
its shocking low rates of recognised work participation (24%) that has gone on to
only decline.
This is not only a huge economic loss but is a sign of low status being continuously
accorded to women as well as the lack of agency to correct it in the country
Observations by MCKINSEY
The world can add $12 trillion to GDP in 2025, doubling the contribution of women
to global growth in business-as-usual scenario in the coming decade. India could
boost its GDP by $0.7 trillion in 2025 or 16 percent of the business-as-usual level
(largest relative boost). This translates into 1.4 percent per year of incremental GDP
growth for India.
Where gender parity is set at 1.00, Indias GPS is just 0.48, lower than warranted by
its stage of economic development
Unsung & Unrewarded:
Most women in India are involved in unpaid work (home and communities)
Official data has pointed out an increased movement of women from paid and
recognised employment to doing unpaid work in their household
Factors contributing to this tendency
Inadequacy of Job Creation

Gender gaps in Education
Combination of less skilled but physically arduous job-set with low payment
Double burden of pain and unpaid work
Difficulty in managing domestic responsibilities (unequal division of household work)
Patriarchal attitude within family
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Social restriction on mobility

Concerns regarding commuting time owing to the ever-increasing atmosphere of
sexual violence and rapes
Recognition & Measures

Increase in maternity Leave- From the current 12 weeks to 26 weeks
Establishments with 30 women workers or 50 total workers: Provide crche facilities either
in their premises or within half a kilometre
But there have been concerns regarding employers backing off from employing women and
if they do, they would push women to adhere to informal contracts where their rights are
not recognised
IASbabas Views:
There definitely is good news if Indian government is trying to understand and

address the issues faced by women at large as well as increase the economic
participation rate of women but much need to be ensured via timely implementation
and constant enforcement.
Public intervention can bring about a real difference and therefore, it has to be wider
and much ambitious.
India has to address the issue of unpaid work
Recognize it- Via systematic and regular time-use surveys that captures peoples
activities
Reduce it- By providing more goods and services that will mitigate the need for such
work
Provisioning basic amenities- piped fuel and water
Better quality and affordable healthcare
Proper education- Reduce the number of female drop-outs
Huge Gender Gap in wages& granting leadership positions
Redistribute- Between households and society and within households across males
and females
Need to be Gender-Responsive
Substitute non-market work with market-base work (lead to increase in GDP- will
provide value to market-based production)
More equitable sharing of unpaid work among men and women
Productivity-enhancing measures for unpaid work (greater financial
independence for women, and intergenerational benefits)
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Can these newly declared measures live up to its utility and not remain a mere
tokenism of the issue? Critically examine
Indias position on gender equality is somewhat lower than its stage of economic
development would warrant. Do you agree? Substantiate
Gender equality in society with gender equality in work Is latter possible without
the former? Discuss
TOPIC:
General studies 1: Role of women and womens organization, women related

issues, Social empowerment
General studies 2: Mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for
the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
Gender Justice in Religious institutions: Case against Customary Exclusion

Unless you [i.e. the governing board of the shrine] have a constitutional right to prohibit
women entry, you cannot prevent them from worshipping at the shrine
Shrine: Sabarimala shrine in Kerala
Case: Whether women can be barred entry to the Sabarimala shrine in Kerala
In Question: Relationship between freedom of religion, equality, individual rights, and the
extent to which the court can interfere in the management of religious institutions
Let us examine them one by one:
Religious freedom clauses: Articles 25 and 26
Article 25(1) guarantees to all persons the right to freely profess, practise, and
propagate their religion
Right to worship does not extend to worshipping in any and every place
Access to places having a particular significance for [a particular] religion is

constitutionally protected
Enforceable against the state, and not against other individuals, or corporate
bodies
Article 26(b) grants to religious denominations the right to manage their own affairs
in the matter of religion
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Entry of State: Article 25(2) allows state intervention in religious practice, if it is for
the purpose of social welfare or reform or the throwing open of Hindu religious
institutions of a public character to all classes and sections of Hindus
A scene in the Constituent Assembly

B.R. Ambedkar- supported, among others, by Rajkumari Amrit Kaur: Expressed specific
concerns about the plight of women under religious law and endorsed giving wide,
interventionist powers to the state on the ground of the deep and pervasive role that
religion played in the lives of Indians
Supreme Court:
Has attempted to restrict the scope of the religious protection clause to essential
practices of a religion
Holds the view that the state cannot use the reform clause to reform a religion out
of existence, it has nonetheless held that aspects beyond essential practices have no
protection from state intervention
Sabarimala governing boards Argument

Prohibition of women is justified by custom and cites Kerala Hindu Places of Public
Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Rules, 1965, which permit prohibiting women from
accessing places of worship where custom or usage requires it
And the Court replies
Burden upon the board will not merely be to establish the existence of a custom, but
also that the custom is essential to the practice of the religion
The State and the Shrine
Since the right to freedom of religion under Article 25(1) is enforceable against the state,
and not against other individuals, or corporate bodies the question that the court must
answer therefore is whether the Travancore Devaswom Board, which controls access to
the shrine, can be equated to the state
Earlier, the Kerala High Court already appears to have held that it can and previously,
the Supreme Court has held that corporate bodies that are functionally, financially and
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administratively under the control of the state can be equated to the state for the
purposes of fundamental rights
Case against Travancore Devaswom Board
It is an autonomous body and while its members are appointed by the State legislature,
it derives its main income from the administration of the temple
Therefore, it might be difficult to argue that the board is functionally or financially under
the control of the state
And if the board cannot be equated with the state, then the constitutional right under
Article 25(1) is not enforceable against it
Probable Consequences
Failure of the Board: If it cannot show that prohibiting women from entry is an essential
religious practice, then it can no longer claim absolute immunity under Article 26(b)
And if the Board wins:
The women worshippers can argue that prohibiting them from access violates their
constitutional right to freedom of religion and right to worship under Article 25(1)
Can attempt to demonstrate that the Sabarimala shrine has special and unique religious
significance and thus, their Article 25(1) right to worship would stand established
Supreme Court: If one private party obstructs another private party from exercising her
constitutional right, then it is the duty of the state to effectuate her right by restraining
the former from continuing with its obstruction
Therefore, the women worshippers may ask the court to direct the state to take all
necessary steps to guarantee that they are allowed to access and worship at the
Sabarimala shrine.
Re-course by the SC
Kerala Hindu Places of Worship Rules speaks about customs and usages
The Supreme Court has held that while personal law is exempt from the application of
the Constitution, mere custom is not
It might therefore simply strike down the offending rule on the ground that it
discriminates on grounds of gender, and therefore violates the Constitution
Thus, there is a need for the courts to craft a solution that advances the constitutional
guarantee of equality, non-discrimination and freedom of religion, while remaining
cognisant of the fact that the Constitution also guarantees the right of religious sects and
denominations to self-governance.
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Is there a need to limit the definition of religion? Substantiate your opinion

Will the knock of gender justice on the doors of religious institutions and judicial
landscape be heard and responded to? Discuss
Related Articles:
THE POWER OF PARITY: ADVANCING WOMENS EQUALITY IN INDIA
http://iasbaba.com/2015/11/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-5th-november-2015/
TOPIC:
General studies 2:
Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector or Services
relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
General studies 3:
Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth,
development and employment.
Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
Recently the government came up with the much awaited Start Up India, Stand Up India
scheme to promote entrepreneurship and encourage start ups among the Indian masses.
Why need this scheme?
The economy of any country depends on its countrymen.

Larger the number of employed or working people, better be the economy.
The Indian government realized that Indian people have the potential to work
hardly, all they need is, a promising start up.
Many people dream of starting up their own business, but due to financial or other
similar issues are unable to do so.
So, Indian government decided to offer a gift as a nation wise program Start Up
India.
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Start Up India Scheme From Job Seekers to Job Creators:
Start Up India is a revolutionary scheme that has been started to help the people
who wish to start their own business.
These people have ideas and capability, so the government will give them support to
make sure they can implement their ideas and grow.
Success of this scheme will eventually make India, a better economy and a strong
nation.
Start Up India Stand Up India Scheme Action Plan in Detail
E-registration will be done

A self certification system will be launched
A dedicated web portal and mobile app will be developed
Arrangement of self certificate based complaints
No inspection during the first 3 years
80 percent reduction in the application fee of start up patent
Easy exit policy
Inclusion of Credit Guarantee Fund
Relaxation in Income Tax for first three year
Special Arrangement for Female applicants
Introduction of Atal Innovation Mission. Innovation courses will be started for the
students.
Criteria for start ups to get government incentives under start up India action plan
The firm incorporated should be less than five years old

Annual Revenue of less than Rs 25 crore
Needs to get approval from inter-ministerial board to be eligible for tax benefits
Get recommendation from an Incubator recognised by government, domestic
venture fund or have an Indian patent
Some criticisms the scheme faces:

1. Government's restrictive definition of a start-up - "driven by technology or
intellectual property"
Only those companies which satisfy the above definition will be termed as
start up and access to enabling environment is made possible.
In addition, to be eligible for schemes, start-ups will have to show that their
innovation has "significantly improved" existing processes.
Oddly, there is no self-certification as to whether the "improvement" is "significant" allowing the bureaucrat to once again insert himself into the process.
It is thus possible that discretion to a start-up ecosystem - may have been built into the
scheme from the outset.
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It is unexplainable why benefits from any such scheme should not be extended to all
start-ups depending on criteria that are transparently laid down and objective.
The government cannot target or identify innovation; only the market can.
The government should focus on creating conditions for innovation.
2. Innovation and investments go hand in hand, but not enough was done by the
government for the latter. However not much was done for the latter as there was
no encouragement for investors.
3. Some probing questions have also been asked about the use of tax incentives for
start-ups. Exemption from income tax, of course, will only be available to those
vetted by an inter-ministerial panel. This clause has been targeted by certain
economists who argue that tax to GDP ratio will further reduce in India.
Way ahead:
Overall, while the intent is praiseworthy and there are many laudable ideas in the
policy, much in the fine print needs attention if its goal is to be realised.
Hopefully, the government will be quick in making any needed changes and in
overseeing Start-up India's implementation.
Critically examine the need for innovation in India along with the measures taken by
government to promote innovation.
Innovation and investments go hand in hand, but not enough has been done by the
government for the latter. Critically examine the above statement wrt the recently
launched start up India scheme.
TOPIC:
General studies 2:
Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and
institutions.
Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
Discords emanating from the Principles of Natural Justice
Between the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the Competition Appellate
Tribunal (Compat)
Background Story:
CCI- Imposed an aggregate penalty of around Rs 6,300 crore on 11 cement companies for
cartelisation
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Cement companies
Challenged this decision before Compat

Argued that their oral arguments havent been heard and is thus, wrong to sign the
penalty order without hearing their side of the story
Compat- Post three years of deliberations and arguments has upheld the challenge on the
ground of breach of "natural justice" and has thus, remanded the matter back to CCI
CCI
Needs to re-hear the cartelisation complaint (originally filed in 2011)

Hints towards Compats wide interpretation of "natural justice" may not be under
the prerogative of the regulator i.e., strict application of judicial rules to a regulatory
setting may not always be suitable
Competition Act, 2002
Devises a scheme where the decision-makers of CCI, its "members" meet in

"meetings" rather than in "benches" while exercising their quasi-judicial function of
enforcing the Act.
Section 22 of the Act: Provides that the business of CCI shall be conducted at
"meetings", with a quorum of three members, where a decision shall be taken by a
majority vote of the members present and voting
When the chairperson is unable to attend such a meeting, the senior-most
"member" shall preside over it
Consensus Model of decision-making at work "technically" blessed by the Supreme Court

of India when it declined a constitutional challenge to the Act in Brahm Dutt vs Union of
India (2005)
The absurdity of presumptionsPresumptions like that of common law concepts like
"natural justice" being self-explanatory to bureaucratic enforcement agencies and
regulators
(Qn Is bureaucracy master of the trade or any one subject per se?)
Therefore, India's routinely ill-drafted regulatory statutes (under which the economic
regulators function) are to be blamed and concerns raised by the ex-chairman should be
taken as a call for a larger review of the Competition Act from a regulatory governance
perspective.
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Why do we need better legislative drafting?

Let us explain with the help of an example from the Competition Act
Section 36(1) of the Act merely states In the discharge of its functions, CCI shall be guided
by the "principles of natural justice"
Forgotten/Ignored defining the term "natural justice"- Left for the CCI to interpret
Section 36(2)- Gives CCI powers of a civil court while trying a suit in matters like:
Summoning and enforcing attendance of any person,

Requiring discovery and production of documents,
Receiving evidence on affidavit etc.
However, no clear detailed procedure for imposition of penalty by CCI has been laid down
in the Act or in its schedules.
Let us draw a comparison with the UK laws
Section 112 of the UK Enterprise Act, 2002: Deals with the procedure to be followed by the
UK's Competition and Market Authority (CMA) while imposing penalties
Zero-usage of vague phrases like "natural justice" and concentrates instead upon laying
down the exact procedure of imposing penalties in plain English
For example: CMA has to
Give notice as soon as possible; (ASAP)

The contents of the notice are clearly laid down in the legislation itself;
The procedure of serving the notice is also stated
Section 90 and Schedule 10 of the Enterprise Act provides the procedure for passing
certain enforcement orders
Paragraph 2 of Schedule 10 requires CMA to give notice to a person and hear his
representations before a ruling is made (with content of the notice and the process
for serving such notice- remember!)
Take-aways:
UK legislative drafting style is primarily principles-based drafting with their statutes

often requiring enforcement agencies to comply with detailed procedures rather
than vague common law notions like "natural justice"
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The very concept of "natural justice" is hardwired into the procedures in the
schedules with great clarity and simplicity implying that the bureaucratic agencies
need to just follow the procedures and automatically adhere to the principles of
natural justice, without having to know or interpret what "natural justice" may
mean
IASbabas Views
India needs to adopt comprehensive content-oriented and properly drafted lists of

laws and regulations containing within it the principles of natural justice as a
foundation
The need adopts an urgent intervention within a liberal market economy as
economic laws are meant to and should facilitate smoother transactions without
having to always resort to courts and judges
Drafting Laws for the non-lawyers
Simplicity and clarity should be maintained while drafting laws for the nonlawyers (bureaucrats, regulators and entrepreneurs)
Jargons; Latin maxims and legal phrases should be avoided completely
Best practices need to be studied and carefully implemented in statutory drafting
for all future laws
Existing laws be reviewed to improve clarity to avoid unnecessary problems as
the CCI-Compat discord has revealed
Some advances made which should be followed henceforth
Indian Financial Code, 2015: Drafted by the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms
Commission
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Bill, 2015: Drafted by the Bankruptcy Law Reforms
Committee
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TOPIC:
General studies 2:
Mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and
betterment of these vulnerable sections
Development processes and the development industry- the role of NGOs, SHGs,
various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other
stakeholders..
relating to Health, Education, Human Resources; Governance Issues
Death of a Dalit scholar: Ancient Prejudice, Modern Inequality

Following the death of Rohith Vemula (25), a doctoral student at University of Hyderabad, a
new debate has sprung from all quarters and at the heart of the debate the alleged
dominance exercised by the right-wing prevails, too strongly.
Let us decode the background story
Rohiths Campus Activism
Ambedkarite Politics
Protests against beef bans
Persistence of the death penalty in the Indian Criminal Justice System
Communal violence in Muzaffarnagar
His weapons:
Fundamental Right as a citizen

Reservations policy owing to his socioeconomic background
Empowering discourses of the Ambedkarite student group
Characterised as: Casteist, Extremist and Anti-national

Consequences:
Evicted from hostel accommodation

Monthly research stipend suspended
Failures of
System: Could not provide a safe and a nurturing home
Vice-Chancellor: Allowing himself to succumb to the pressures of the Ministry and take
actions against him
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Society: Letting universities become a staging ground for unexpected cruelty and breeding a
situation of unequal life and relentless inequality
Constitution: Abandonment and a failure to keep up the promises of dignity & prosperity
guaranteed by the Constitution
A historical Deep fracture

An old theme, revisited: The ostracising of the Sudra and the Dalit student from the
institution of education and employment as well as knowledge and power is a very old
theme in Indian thought based on social structure and moral order
Older texts that are considered sacred have also reflected much upon the relationship
between
Self-Society-Sovereignty
Mahabharata
Eklavaya (an archer prince of Nishadas) was rejected to be taught the art of wielding
weapons by the great Dronacharya on the account of his tribal status that projects
him as an outsider
To learn the art, he secretly watches the teacher giving lessons to Arjuna and ends
up becoming a better bowman than Arjuna
As a tuition fee when Ekalavya complies to give away his right thumb, he is again
discriminated against and is robbed off is hard-learned skill
Therefore, as an outcaste he is denied, both:
Cannot become a pupil
Neither was allowed to become a great archer with his own efforts
Satyakama and the fundamental question over ones identity leads on to believe that a
Brahmin isnt born, but becomes
SukhadeoThorat Report:
The three-member panel had worked on the report on caste discrimination in the
classrooms and laboratories as well as hostels of the premier AIIMS in New Delhi.
Findings:
84%: Expressed the need for, and absence of, remedial coaching in English language and
basic courses
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69%: Did not get adequate support and mentoring from teachers
One-third: Gave caste background as reason
72%: Discrimination faced in teaching sessions
Report also spoke of
Forms of avoidance, contempt, non-cooperation, discouragement and differential

treatment by teachers towards SC/ST students
Segregation in the allocation of rooms in hostels, in sharing dining facilities, and
participation in cultural events and games
IASbabas Views:
The portrayal of government as the only node of action to influence thought, that
too when the topic in question is education that has always been the seat of
discontent marks a deeply politically crisis that has stayed with India through centuries
and to support it, wuld just be like leading India backwards.
There is also an urgent need to look at the university to reflect on the urgent need to
remake it into a more open, free and equal space
Please go through our detailed article Bleeding Fault-lines: Bahishkrut Bharat to
understand the efforts in the past and the recent initiatives that have been taken to
bring forth an inclusive society that opposes discrimination of any kind.
Despite all the fusion and fission that the caste system has undergone through the
ages, it is bound to maintain the permanency of its form. Discuss
Dalit Movements for empowerment in independent India have essentially been for
carving out political space through electoral politics. Discuss.
TOPIC:
General studies 2:

Issues relating to poverty and hunger.
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General studies 3:

Government Budgeting.
The case for Maternity Entitlements going Universal
Since the National Food Security Act (NFSA) was passed in 2013, policy circles have
been buzzing with talk of reforms in the public distribution system (PDS).
However much less is debated on the state of maternal health condition in India,
which forms an important aspect of health sector in India.
State of women health in India:
Indian women are unhealthily thin when they begin pregnancy.

The 2013-2014 Rapid Survey on Children finds that a little less than half of the
women aged 15-18 are underweight.
Further, women gain too little weight during pregnancy to nurture healthy babies.
Maternal nutrition is so poor that Indian women actually weigh less at the end of
pregnancy than sub-Saharan African women do at the beginning.
As a result, Indias neonatal mortality rate is high, birth weight is low, and far too
many children suffer the consequences of being undernourished in the womb.
Failed policies and poor implementation:
According to the NFSA, Every pregnant and lactating mother is entitled to a free
meal at the local Anganwadi (during pregnancy and six months after child birth) as
well as maternity benefits of Rs. 6,000, in instalments.
Unfortunately, except for laudable efforts in Odisha and Tamil Nadu, and a small
pilot programme called Indira Gandhi MatritvaSahyogYojana (IGMSY) which is
active in only 53 of Indias 676 districts, maternity entitlements have not been
implemented.
Supreme Court direction:
Last September (2015), the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Centre about nonimplementation of maternity entitlements.
A representative of the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD)
responded in late October.
The response suggests that if the Finance Ministry allocates funds for maternity
entitlements (the Finance Ministry has, at present, allocated funding only for the 53
IGMSY districts), the MWCD would expand IGSMY in its current form.
Indira Gandhi MatritvaSahyog Yojana (IGMSY)
IGMSY is a conditional cash transfer, which means that mothers only receive benefits
if they meet certain requirements.
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Recipients must register pregnancies with a village health worker, receive ante-natal
check-ups, take iron-folic acid supplements, receive immunisation, attend infantfeeding counselling sessions, breastfeed for six months, and begin complementary
foods at six months.
Universalise entitlements
Although the NFSA clearly legislates a universal entitlement, IGSMY, which MWCD
proposes to expand, restricts benefits to the first two births.
This position appears to be based on the ill-conceived notion that universal transfers
increase fertility.
Certainly, people respond to incentives. But a Rs. 6,000 transfer is not large enough to
persuade parents to raise a child they dont want.
Children are expensive:
The 2011 India Human Development Survey found that parents spend an average of Rs.
4,207 per year educating each 5-18-year-old child, not to mention what they spend on food,
clothing, and medicines.
Way ahead:
Maternity entitlements are an important policy tool for encouraging better maternal
health.
But a well-designed programme would not merely scale up the IGMSY.
It would be, as the law already requires, a universal programme, and it would do
away with conditionality in favour of educating families about the importance of
investing in healthy pregnancies.
Critically analyse the state of women health in India along with measures taken by
government to improve maternal health conditions.
Critically examine the various issues associated with conditional cash transfers in
India. Should such conditional cash transfers be promoted? Substantiate.
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TOPIC:
General studies 2:
Indian Constitution- significant provisions (FRs, DPSP)

From Child Slavery to Freedom

(At a glance format)
We work from seven in the morning until 10 at night. I sleep on that mat over there. I miss
my family. I want to go home but the owner will not let us leave.
MALE CARPET WEAVER, AGE 14, BIHAR
Walk Free Foundations 2014 Global Slavery Index: Defines modern slavery as any practice
that traps people in modern servitude, including human trafficking and forced labour
Indias total of 14.3 million modern slaves is nearly
Five times larger than Chinas (3.2 million) (second-largest number)

Seven times larger than Pakistans (2.1 million)
2001 National Census
More than 12 million children in the age group 5-14 are engaged in exploitative
occupations that are detrimental to their rights and to the full development of their
potentials
168 million child labourers, 59 million out-of-school children and 15 million girls
under 15 are forced to marry every year
Shows very little progress with evidence of the gravity thus, portraying the endemic
nature of the problem in the
What has happened

The Constitution of India
Through various articles enshrined in the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of
State Policy, lays down that:
No child below the age of 14 years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine
or engaged in any other hazardous employment (Article 24);
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The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age six
to 14 years. (Article 21 (A));
The State shall direct its policy towards securing that the health and strength of
workers, men and women and the tender age of children are not abused and that
they are not forced by economic necessity to enter vocations unsuited to their age
and strength (Article 39-e);
Children shall be given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner

and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth shall be
protected against moral and material abandonment (Article 39-f);
The State shall endeavour to provide within a period of 10 years from the
commencement of the Constitution for free and compulsory education for all
children until they complete the age of 14 years (Article 45).
Government child labour policy is suitably rehabilitating the children withdrawn from
employment thereby, reducing the incidence of child labour in areas of known
concentration
India is a signatory to the:
ILO Forced Labour Convention (No. 29)
ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention (No. 105)
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Global March against Child Labour: Spearheaded a global movement to bring child labour
and child slavery to the attention of global leaders leading to the adoption of the
International Labour Organizations Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
SDG targets: Aims to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking,
and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour.
Childrens right to be heard
Validated by the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (India has ratified)
Bhima Sangha, a union of, by and for working children was formed to draw attention to
working childrens concerns; strongly upheld that no policy or decision regarding
childrens present or future should be taken without their consent
1996:Bhima Sangha, with the support of the International Working Group on Child
Labour (of which The Concerned for Working Children was a member), held the first
International Meeting of Working Children in Kundapura, Karnataka.
Do they want to eradicate us like pests using pesticide? Are we not human beings with
rights that deserve respect?
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Gurupadswamy Committee:
In 1979; this committee was formed to study the issue of child labour and
recommend measures to tackle the same
Pointed out that poverty remains the core issue behind the issue
Need to ban children from working in hazardous areas and a regulation needs to be
well placed for the working conditions
Actions undertaken:
1986- Enactment of Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act (prohibits

employment of children in certain specified hazardous occupations and
processes and regulates the working conditions in others)
1987: Formulation of National Policy on Child Labour
1988:Launch of National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme (districts of high

child labour existence)
To tackle the problem of child labour in India

Ministry of Labour and Employment took a three prong approach
1. Set up a legal framework for prohibition and regulation of child labour
2. Use various development programmes to address the needs of working children
3. Set up the National Child Labour Project (NCLP)
Under the aegis of the 10th plan the following activities were taken up under the purview
of NCLP:
Ensuring enforcement of child labour laws
Child labour withdrawn from work and sent to special schools run by NGOs
Provision of:
Formal/non-formal education
Vocational training
Stipend of Rs.100 per month
Supplementary nutrition
Regular health check ups
Creating awareness of the harmful effects of child labour on the development of a child
Income and employment generation activities for families
Direct rehabilitation of child labour

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Raising of public awareness
Survey and evaluation
UNICEF is supporting the Central Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of

India, in the development of a child tracking system to monitor the progress of children
involved in the National Child Labour Projects
Objectives
Provide regular information on the enrolment and retention in schools of released

children
Verify the impact of the Governments child labour interventions throughout the
country by measuring the sustainability and quality of impacts
Monitor child labour trends through the identification of variables and parameters
affecting child vulnerability to economic exploitation and
Strengthen the link between child labour prevention and education strategies
Time to back that promise

Recent proposed amendments to the Child Labour Act of 1986:
Offers least resistance and relaxed the ban on children working in family-owned
occupations (informal sector and very difficult to monitor)
Will encourage caste-based occupations; use families for production
Relaxing the ban in the entertainment industry (one among the most exploitative
industries) appears like a concession to the advertising sector, which is using children as
a selling gimmick for all kinds of product
Extends criminalisation- Extend the ban from children below 14 years to include
children below 18
Impending revisionsthe National Education Policy and the Child Labour (Prohibition and
Regulation) Act
On the one hand, a new education policy has the potential to address child labour as a
barrier to education and, more broadly, to improve the life prospects of millions of
marginalized and deprived children and on the other hand, the proposed amendments to
the Child Labour Act would erect new barriers to further progress on education.
Analysis of Bachpan Bachao Andolan
One-fifth of the children under 14 rescued were working in family enterprises

More than 40% of the rescued children were performing hazardous jobsfor example,
working in roadside restaurants (dhabas) or manufacturing garments, leather goods,
cosmetics or electronicsthat would be allowed under the amended Act
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IASbabas Views:
Safe and strongly protected occupations in the formal sector, which are part-time and
can be easily monitored should be exempted and relaxed as well as much exploration
needs to be done with respect to the Apprenticeship Act as provision of earn as you
learn avenues for children in this age group can be made an exception
There needs to be a worldwide movement for the protection of the fundamental human
rights of every person, especially the most vulnerable and that is why governments must
deepen their commitment to pursuing child-friendly policies and investing in the
protection and education of their young people.
TOPIC:
General studies 2:
Indian Constitution- significant provisions (FRs, DPSP)

Issues and challenges pertaining to Local Government
issues arising out of their design and implementation; Governance Issues
Is Road to Election-Literacy?
Candidates keen on contesting the forthcoming Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti

and Zila Parishad elections in Haryana will now have to produce their Class X
certificate while women and SCs will need a Class VIII certificate to be eligible to
contest
Popular viewpoint behind the decision exists the same to improve quality of
leadership and governance at the grassroots level, and this amendment would
make elected representatives of Panchayat Raj Institutions more accountable
Rajbala vs. State of Haryana case (2015)

Supreme Court upheld the validity of the Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment)
Act,requiring that a matriculate alone can hold the post of Panchayat president or ward
member
Section 175 of the Act: Disqualifications from contesting a Panchayat election
Faces a criminal case for which 10-year imprisonment is prescribed and a charge has
been framed
Has to pay arrears to a co-operative society or has not cleared electricity bills
Does not have a functional toilet
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Supreme Court: A proclaimed object of such classification is to ensure that those who seek
election to panchayats have some basic education which enables them to more effectively
discharge various duties which befall the elected representatives of the panchayats. The
object sought to be achieved cannot be said to be irrational or illegal or unconnected with
the scheme and purpose of the Act or provisions of Part IX of the Constitution
Revised Statistics therefore:
Out of 96 lakh eligible voters, 42 lakh will be disqualified from contesting the
elections
Scheduled Castes: 68 per cent women and 41 per cent men will be disqualified from
contesting
Logic deemed misaligned

Education:
It is only recently that the 2002 constitutional amendment made imparting education
compulsory for all children up to the age of 14 years.
Many people who are eligible to be elected never were benefitted with such a provision
Arrears to electricity boards and cooperative societies:
Non-payment of electricity charges normally should result in disconnection of supply

or an issue regarding disputes over service deficiency but this particular issue
becoming a reason to be disqualified has defied the logic of many
Case of refusing to factor in rural indebtedness properly as the main argument
indicates the leaning towards the notion that all elections are expensive affairs and
therefore, it is a sound presumption that one who is contesting for office should pay
back her loans first or should not even think of public office
Functional Toilet:
There are many people who do not have their own shelter, town or village alike and thus,
insisting upon a functional toilet is a clear case of excluding the poor from the management
of Panchayats
Fundamental flaw:
Courts holding the right to get elected as a statutory right and not a constitutional
empowerment exhibits a derailment- after having established electoral rights as
constitutional rights and then treating them as statutory rights without giving weight to
their constitutional status
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Historical & Constitutional Perspective:
First President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, was strongly in favour of providing
some minimum qualification for legislators
Prime Minister Nehru, had described the move as totally undemocratic
Thus, the framers of the Constitution did not think it fit to include educational
qualification as a basic requirement for the Members of Legislative Assemblies and
Parliament, and in the light of this argument the recent Act is being considered as
anti-poor, anti-Dalit and pro-rich.
Article 171:
Provides for the composition of Legislative Councils in a State
Makes separate constituencies of graduates to elect members to the Legislative
Council making it obligatory to be a graduate to elect a certain proportion of
members of the Legislative Council, but it is immaterial if the person elected is a
graduate.
Examples of Qualifications prescribed in the Constitution:
Governor: Person must have completed 35 years of age

Added disqualification for the post of the President of India: He/She should not be
of unsound mind and an insolvent
All constitutional posts except those pertaining to the higher judiciary do not have
any educational qualification to hold the post
Supreme Courts Wisdom(Quoted)
S. Narayanaswami vs. G. Panneerselvam case in 1972: The concept of such

representation does not carry with it, as a necessary consequence, the further notion
that the representative must also possess the very qualifications of those he
represents it would be for the members of such a constituency themselves to decide
whether a person who stands for election from their constituency possesses the right
type of knowledge, experience, and wisdom which satisfy certain standards
2002:True democracy cannot exist unless all citizens have a right to participate in the
affairs of the polity of the country
2003:To think of illiterate candidates is based on a factually incorrect assumption. To say

that well-educated persons such as those having graduated and postgraduate
qualifications will be able to serve the people better and conduct themselves in a better
way inside and outside the House is nothing but overlooking the stark realities. The
experience and events in public life and the legislatures have demonstrated that the
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dividing line between the well-educated and less educated from the point of view of
his/her calibre and culture is rather thin. Much depends on the character of the
individual, the sense of devotion to duty and the sense of concern for the welfare of the
people. These characteristics are not the monopoly of well-educated persons
IASbabas Views:
To have the best educated represent us is maybe the most ideal thought but at the same
time, we should contemplate also upon the very nature of democracy and of it not being
a pre-defined state of perfection but an endless fight for it
Governance cannot and should not be in the hands of elitist castes, rather it should be
with the masses, the real masters in a democracy. There is thus a heightened need to
achieve social justice as well as ensuring effective implementation of welfare schemes
and interventions by the government (PURA + SSA + MDS + RTE)
Does the recent move by the Haryana government keeps with itself the power to
change the landscape of the functioning of the Panchayati Raj institution in the
country? Discuss
Is informal socialization more important than formal education? Critically comment
TOPIC:
General Studies 2:
Separation of powers between various organs , dispute redressal mechanisms and
institution
Structure, organization and functioning of Executive and Judiciary.
Anarchy through kritarchy: Judicial Activism or Judicial Adventurism?
Background:
Arundhati Roy had got contempt notice from Bombay High Court for her views on
arrest of Delhi University professor Saibaba.
Bombay High Court had cancelled the bail of GN Saibaba, the former Delhi University
professor accused of having links with the banned CPI (Maoist) outfit.
He had been arrested in May 2014 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The court also charged author Arundhati Roy for criminal contempt for writing about
Saibaba's imprisonment and the court's denial of bail.
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Court's Point of view:
The court said Roy appeared to believe that she was above the law. Prima facie
with a mala fide motive to interfere in the administration of justice
Instead of challenging the order, Roy chose to bash the Centre, the state
government, the police machinery and the judiciary
Is such criminal contempt proceedings against activist(s) due to occasional criticism on

judicial orders justified?
In times when both mainstream and social media are full of observers, critics,
commentators and detractors, courts ought not to be unduly sensitive to outspoken
critics, Constructive criticism is fair and must not affect judicial functioning.
Earlier too Supreme Court had sentenced Arundhati Roy to one day in prison for
criminal contempt for scandalising the judiciary through some remarks in 2002.
Judicial review v/s Judicial Overreach:

Judicial review:
Judicial review is the doctrine under which legislative and executive actions are
subject to review by the judiciary.
A court with judicial review power may invalidate laws and decisions that are
incompatible with a higher authority, such as the terms of a written constitution.
For instance, Golaknath case(1967) - There was a conflict between article 368 and
article 13(2) of the constitution which said that the parliament can amend any law(
even the fundamental laws) but Supreme court made it clear that fundamental laws
cannot be changed . Although they can be curtailed during emergencies.
Minerva Mills case(1980) - which ruled out that parliament had unlimited power to
amend the constitution.
Few of the other famous cases are Kesavanandha Bharthi case, The Privy Purses
Abolition Case.
Judicial Overreach:
Courts have been exceeding their authority in interpreting the law, and they have
become an extra constitutional lawmaking body. This has been called Judicial
Overreach.
Examples: Ruling of Supreme Court over cancellation of 2G licences; Banning of Iron
ore mining in Karnataka and Goa.
Does too much judicial activism and overreach amount to Kritarchy?
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What does Kritarchy mean?

Kritarchy refers to rule of the state by judges.
Recent Instances showing currents of Kritarchy by Courts :
Judges have doubled the tax on diesel vehicles entering Delhi

Banned the traditional bullfight in Tamil Nadu
Struck down an amendment (NJAC) that would change the way judges were
appointed to the courts.
Supreme Court has admitted a petition that would decide on whether menstruating
women should be allowed to enter the Sabarimala Ayyappa shrine
The highest court of the land had also advised the Delhi Metro to reserve premium
seats at five times the normal price for car users who would be affected by the oddeven plans of the Delhi government for road users.
Way ahead :- Special Leave Petition(SLP)
Article 136 of the Constitution empowers the Supreme Court to grant special leave
to appeal from any judgment, decree, determination, sentence or order in any cause
or matter passed or made by any court or tribunal in the territory of India.
Special Leave Petition (SLP) meant it had to be exercised in cases involving a
substantial question of law or a gross miscarriage of justice.
As per recent data this extraordinary jurisdiction appeared to have been reduced to
a regular appellate one. As many as 34,500 SLPs were filed in 2014, of which 43%
were admitted, in a Supreme Court with a case load of more than 60,000.
The Supreme Court has refused to issue norms and guidelines for the acceptance of
SLP, leaving the system vulnerable to arbitrary decisions on the admission and
rejection of SLP.
The people of India and their representatives should explore ways of addressing
judicial hyper-activism in the country. Otherwise, kritarchy will over time pave the
way for anarchy
Courts dignity is better served if the judiciary takes routine criticism in its stride and
moves only against vicious and tendentious remarks or actions that bring the
judiciary into disrepute or ridicule.
The power of contempt should be used sparingly and that too, only against those
wilfully subverting justice, and not against critics of the state.
Does judicial overreach like issuing criminal contempt against activist(s) suppress
Freedom of speech and expression? Comment.
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Differentiate between Judicial review and judicial overreach? Are judicial overreach
and Judicial overreaction acting in accordance to make judiciary an extra
constitutional lawmaking body? Comment.
Too much of judicial activism amounts to Kritarchy? Comment. Substantiate your
stand with recent examples.

Indian Constitution, significant provisions and basic structure.
Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and
institutions.
Structure, organization and functioning of the Judiciary
Article 356Arunachal Pradesh: Is Presidents rule being misused?
Article in part XVIII (Articles 352-360); among the Emergency provisions of the Indian
Constitution
Sections 93 of the Government of India Act, 1935:
Provided that if a Governor of a province was satisfied that a situation had arisen in
which the government of the province cannot be carried on in accordance with the
provisions of the said Act, he could assume to himself all or any of the powers of the
government and discharge those functions in his discretion.
The Governor, however, could not encroach upon the powers of the high court.
British dominated viewpoint is thus, prevalent here and it is this element that has led
the authorities to question its suitability to the Indian climate of cooperative
federalism
Sarkaria Commission Report (1988):
While in the first few years after the Constitution, it was invoked only thrice;
between 1975 and 79, it was invoked 21 times; and between 1980 and 87, 18
times.
SR Bommai Govt dismissal: In 1989, SC had upheld the validity of a proclamation for
Presidents rule can be subjected to judicial review
Stories of dismissal of State Government
By Jawaharlal Nehru-EMS Namboodiripad government in Kerala in 1959

By Indira Gandhi- imposition of Presidents Rule in Punjab; Punjab Chief Minister
Darbara Singh was battling militancy in 1983
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Delhi, 2014-15: Presidents Rule was in force in Delhi with the Assembly in
suspended animation from February 14, 2014, to February 11, 2015
Maharashtra: Imposed from September 28, 2014, to October 31, 2014, after
Prithviraj Chavan resigned following the break-up of the 15-year-old CongressNCP alliance in the state.
Andhra Pradesh: From February 28, 2014, to June 8, 2014, due to a political crisis
caused by the resignation of CM N Kiran Kumar Reddy and other Congress
legislators on February 19, protesting against the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation
Bill that bifurcated the state and created a separate state of Telangana
Jharkhand: From January 18, 2013, to July 12, 2013, as the Arjun Munda-led BJP
government was reduced to a minority after the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha
withdrew support (Munda resigned and sought dissolution of the state
Assembly)
Arunachal Pradesh: Rebellion spinning out of control

What happened
December 9: A group of rebel Congress MLAs approached Governor J P Rajkhowa,

seeking to impeach Assembly Speaker NabamRebia
So, the Assembly is not is session (slated to convene on January 14) but Governor
Rajkhowa agreed it was an urgent matter and called for an emergency session of the
Assembly on December 16, 2015, to take up the impeachment motion.
As the Congress approached the High Court and later the Constitution bench of the
Supreme Court against the Governors convening of the special session, the Centre
called for Presidents rule in the state under Article 356 of the Constitution.
The foul cry- First instance of Article 356 being imposed while the case was being heard in
court
During the special Assembly session
Special session also moved a no-confidence motion against CM Tuki and at the end of the
session;Tuki was defeated in a floor test and the House elected KalikhoPul as the new
Leader of the House
Also,
Speaker issued an order disqualifying 14 rebel Congress MLAs

Speaker Rebia moved the High Court
Justice B K Sarma of the Gauhati High Court stayed the disqualification of the 14
Congress MLAs
The Speakers plea for his case to be heard in another court was turned down,
prompting him to approach the Supreme Court.
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The discretionary power of the Governor was being examined when the Centre
moving to impose Article 356
Approval of the imposition of Central rule
The proclamation will have to be approved by both Houses of Parliament

Plus, the validity of Presidents Rule may be considered by the Supreme Court
An established pattern: A political pattern behind the crisis that led to the current situation
The pattern involves dissidence within the ruling party, the opposition joining hands with
the rebels, confusion over the likelihood of a floor test, and the Governor intervening in a
partisan manner
Supreme Court declared in 1994, that the only place for determining whether a Chief
Minister has lost or retained majority is the floor of the House
Sad spectacle of partisan politics overshadowing constitutional propriety
BJP: Instead of finding ways to facilitate a floor test it has imposed Presidents Rule in the
midst of an ongoing hearing before a five-member Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court
Congress in the State Failed to address the dissidence in its camp against Chief Minister
NabamTuki and now, avoiding a floor test as it has not sought interim orders to that effect
from the court.
BUT- Six months have elapsed since the last time the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly met and
this itself is a valid ground for Central rule
Also, the past crisis has led us to seek a constitutional question of whether the Governor can
summon the legislature on his own and whether he can send a message to the Assembly on
what motion it should take up is now before the Supreme Court.
Facts- Presidents Rule
President administers the state through the governor and the Parliament makes laws for the
state
Maximum period: Three years
44th Amendment Act, 1978: Beyond one year, the Presidents rule can be extended by six
months at a time only when
A proclamation of National Emergency should be in operation in the whole of India,

or in the whole or any part of the State
Election Commission must certify that the general elections to the legislative
assembly of the State cannot be held on account of some difficulties
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Resolution: Should be passed by simple majority

IASbabas Views:
The centres move is a hasty one when a Constitution bench of the SC is set to hear a
petition related to the political crisis in the state and thus look like a throwback to
the Indira-Gandhian era.
Arunachal Pradesh has a history of politicians switching sides or splitting parties for
office and this lack of political fidelity among legislators can undermine the
democratic practice in the state and lead to a crisis of faith among the electorate.
Here, we witness the focus upon short-term gains dictating priorities when the
procedures are clearly laid out for settling disputes over House Majority. Therefore,
this growing instability and intolerance should be acknowledged and worked upon to
uphold constitutional morality and democratic traditions.
Has the dead-letter become a deadly-weapon? Critically examine

Explain the valid situations under which Presidents Rule in a state would be proper
TOPIC:
General studies 3:
Indian Constitution- significant provisions and basic structure; Functions and
responsibilities of the Union and the States.
Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governanceapplications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters,
transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.
Ensuring privacy in a digital age
Convention 108, 1981: The European Council signed the Convention for the Protection of
Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data
What about it
The first legally binding international treaty dealing with privacy and data protection
28 January-The day has since been celebrated as Data Protection Day in Europe and as
International Data Privacy Day around the world
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Data Privacy
Internet and Mobile Association of India Report-India has around 400 million Internet users
treating Internet essentially as a data ecosystem where every node is engaged in
generation, transmission, consumption and storage of data
Real Issue- Absence of measures that
Safeguard the privacy of this data

Regulates data retention by platforms collecting it
Resulting in
Zero awareness regarding how their personally identifiable information is collected,

stored, used and shared
Large scale sensitive data collection and storage due to governance-driven
digitization (Aadhaar, digital lockers, and direct account transfers) but with a
toothless Information Technology Act which has limited scope to penalize
government agencies for breach of data privacy (only legal instrument available to
citizens against contravention of their privacy in the data ecosystem)
2013- Maharashtra government simply lost the personal data of 300,000 Aadhaar card
applicants
Need of the hour
A comprehensive legislation that provides for a right to privacy as a fundamental

entitlement to citizens for which the groundwork has already been laid in 2012 by a
Justice A.P. Shah-headed group of experts constituted by the Planning Commission.
The commission had proposed a set of national privacy principles that would place
an obligation on data controllers to put in place safeguards and procedures that
would enable and ensure protection of privacy rights
Notice (to be given to users while collecting data);
Choice and consent (of users while collecting data from them);
Collection limitation (to keep user data collected at the minimum necessary);
Purpose limitation (to keep the purpose as adequately defined and narrow as
possible);
Access and correction (for end users to correct or delete their personal data as
may be necessary);
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Disclosure of information (private data should not be disclosed without explicit

consent of end user);
Security (defining responsibility to ensure technical, administrative and physical

safeguards for data collected);
Openness (informing end users of possible collection and utilization of personal

data);
Accountability (institutionalize accountability for adherence to these principles)
The proposed framework
Technology neutral
Compliant with international standards already in place to protect user privacy
Should recognize the multiple dimensions of privacy
Establish a national ethos for privacy protection
Flexible to address emerging concerns
Should contain horizontal applicability with both the public and private sectors bought
under the purview of privacy legislation
In the time being

It is necessary to adopt mechanisms ensure compliance towards use of Privacy Enhancing
Technologies (PET)
Processes and tools that allow end users to safeguard the privacy of their personally
identifiable information that they willingly provide to government agencies and other
service providers
PETs put the end user in control over what information to share, with whom to share
and a clear knowledge of the recipients of this information
Usage of data encryption and mandating multi-factor authentication for access to end
user data can be examples of other PETs that can be implemented by service providers
and government agencies alike
-Aligning our technology laws with the evolving Internet landscape

-User privacy concerns and secure designing should be integrated in the charters of
respective standard-setting organizations
-Government should seek active user education that makes them aware of their choices
-Lengthy and complex privacy policies that practically hand over control of user data to the
platforms collecting it need to be replaced with ones that are user friendly in draft and
execution.
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-Policy documents that address these concerns need to be widely discussed and debated in
the public domain
Steps taken by the GovernmentDraft Internet of Things Policy- Devotes only one line to the need to have security and
privacy standards
Policy document on Smart Cities- Indifferent to the issues related to privacy
Introduction of legislation in Parliament, 2011- Failed as there could not be a consensus on
which government agencies could seek exclusion from such provisions and collect citizen
data without any oversight
2015- Supreme Court referred to a constitutional bench the petition seeking inclusion of the
Right to Privacy under Article 21 (Right to Life);
-
Verdict- awaited
Breach of privacy is a breach of Right to Life. Critically examine
TOPIC:
General studies 2:
Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governanceapplications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters,
transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures; Role of civil
services in a democracy.
Impersonal government is good: A case of RTI act, 2005
Indias RTI Act, which completed its first decade of implementation this year, is
arguably one of the worlds most widely used freedom of information acts.
In one year alone (2011-12), over two million requests were submitted to the
Central government and in 10 of Indias 29 states.
Attacks on RTI activists:
Choosing to file an RTI is not always a safe act.

RTI activists are vulnerable human rights defenders (HRDs) in India.
Unlike other HRDs, a majority of the RTI activists are not part of an organisation;
they often act alone, moved by anger at corruption and other illegal activities.
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RTI activists are vulnerable because they live in the same areas as public authorities
and political leaders who do not want information about their activities to be
disclosed.
Exposing corruption can make you enemies, and accounts of RTI users and activists
being threatened, harassed, even assaulted or killed as a result of their requests.
A lot of such cases has been witnessed in India in the past and is still continuing.
How can it be checked?

The Asian Centre for Human Rights recommends that a separate chapter, Protection of
those seeking information under the (RTI) Act, be inserted into the RTI Act.
Protection measures should include
(a)mandatory, immediate registration of complaints of threats or attacks against RTI
activists on the First Information Report and placing such FIRs before the magistrate or
judge of the area within 24 hours for issuance of directions for protection of those under
threats and their family members, and periodic review of such protection measures;
(b)conducting inquiry into threats or attacks by a police officer not below the rank of Deputy
Superintendent of Police/Assistant Commissioner of Police, to be concluded within 90 days;
and
(c)trial of the accused within six months.
(d)Further, concerned Public Information Officers, First Appellate Authorities and those
directly related with the information sought under the RTI Act should be presumed to have
abetted the offenses against the RTI activists unless evidence proves otherwise.
RTI starts its second decade: What is the need?
The RTI and other freedom of information laws around the world are examples of
how governments offer transparency, but passively.
The citizens are the active agents, filling out request forms and, in the process, often
dealing with resistance and delays.
As the RTI starts its second decade, we need Indias government to ensure that
information provision has a more impersonal face.
This requires the government to invest in a data infrastructure that will allow it to
go from passive to active transparency.
Open administrative datasets of government or active transparency:

In recent years, many countries have opened their administrative datasets to the public,
with several goals in mind, like
1. To make government more transparent and accountable,
2. Track progress toward performance targets, and
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3. Help policymakers and administrators do their jobs effectively.

Difference between active and passive transparency:
In passive transparency government by itself does not provide any data to citizens unless
until asked by them.
In case of active transparency government through suo moto initiative tries to provide
administrative information to citizens without it being asked.
How does active transparency help?
Active transparency brings huge benefits to citizens who can directly access data
without filing requests.
Citizens also benefit indirectly as researchers begin to use this data for a range of
purposes, including to evaluate policy.
Measures to foster active transparency across ministries:

1. Invest in technical inputs.
The government can improve its digital services, especially website speed, by
increasing the use of open-source technologies, which avoid costly licensing
fees that can create procurement bottlenecks, and by taking advantage of
efficient cloud web-hosting services.
2. Encourage collaboration between policymakers, researchers and technicians from
the word go.
Researchers should not just provide answers, they should sit down with
policymakers to help formulate the question.
Technicians should help designing the model that developed by researchers
and policy makers.
3. Employ agile(able to remove quickly) methodologies.
Software developers should use agile methodology to keep fast-moving
projects from going astray(deviated) and creating waste.
Using a clearly defined set of user needs, the developers should try to create
prototypes and proceeds through short rounds of cooperative iteration.
This method can benefit a wide range of government initiatives by keeping
all sides informed and involved, and the project on track.
Way ahead:
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include Goal 17 on revitalising the global
partnership for development.
This includes efforts to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely
and reliable data.
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Although it is the last goal on the list, it would enable us to track progress on all the
others.
The more real-time data we have, the earlier we can correct ourselves and set a
path toward goals that will improve the lives of individuals.
Critically examine the functioning of RTI act in the past decade.

RTI act even though termed as successful, have severe lacuna. Examine the various
lacunas present in the RTI act 2005. Suggest measures to reform the same.
Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies; Government policies and

design and implementation; Important aspects of governance, transparency and
accountability

Let us understand the issue firstRevamping Censor Board (Information)
Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry has constituted a committee
To be headed by: Shyam Benegal
Objective:
Suggest measures to help Board members understand the nuances of film

certification
Recommend broad guidelines and procedures under the Cinematograph Act
Look into the CBFCs Staffing pattern to recommend a framework for efficient,
transparent and user-friendly services
Central Board of Film Certification

Also known as Censor Board, its a statutory censorship and classification body under the
I&B Ministry
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Functions:
Regulates the public exhibition of films under the provisions of the Cinematograph
Act, 1952
Assigns certifications to films, television shows, ads, publications for exhibition,
sales, etc
So
There has come up again, a need for the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B) to set
up a panel to examine the rules of certification Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC);
and the question thus remains- What can possibly be the reason behind setting up a
committee under the chair of eminent filmmaker Shyam Benegal when the ground rules of
certification can be better decided by the fraternity themselves.
Ministry Monopoly
Certification or Censorship
The moral policing rests on the shoulders of every member of the examining committee,
taking his or her job of protecting viewers from anything obscene, or anything likely to
offend any community, very seriously and this drives the members to order cuts in films
certified even for adult viewing
Politics takes precedence: Most of them are political appointees (sitting on the positions as
a favour) by political masters and thus, the room devoted for artistic expression stifles and
dies in the chaos of a political set-up.
Committees examining problems and issues confronting certification of films:
1969: The Khosla Committee report had written about the necessity of doing away with the
hegemony of the Centre over the Censor Board
Background Story
The Advisory Panel
A film's first screening is seen by a group of six people out of a 250-member team
called the Advisory Panel
One of the officers of the CBFCeither the CEO or the regional officerpresides
over the meeting
Advisory Panel is comprised of 250 people from various professions lawyers,
teachers, doctors, among others who watch the film and suggest changes and out
of those 250, six people, selected in turns, decide the initial fate of the film
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66% of the people from the Advisory Panel should be based on the recommendation
of the CBFC's chairperson and board members; which is most of the time not
followed considering the whims of the government
If the filmmaker isn't satisfied with their decision he can apply to the Revising
Committee, which comprises of nine members, eight from the Advisory Panel, and
chaired by the CBFC board member
Case Study- UGLY

Anurag Kashyap's last film, Ugly, ran into trouble with the censor board when he refused to
run an anti-smoking disclaimer
But what about the following:
Clearance- Cleared the film without asking for cuts but
But: They just wanted to put the anti-smoking disclaimer, which was not accepted by
Kashyap as there was a very crucial scene in the film, where a character is not even smoking
but is just holding a cigarette, killing the whole purpose of the film
Step taken by Kashyap:
Filed a petition in the Bombay High Court, stating these objections violate his fundamental
rights under:
Article 19 (right to speech and expression) and
Article 21 (right to life)
Challenged the decision of the Advisory Committee and it went to the Revising Committee
but dissatisfied by the Revision Committee's decision, Kashyap challenged it in High Court,
but lost the case, which now lies before the Supreme Court
Kashyaps Take:
The Revising Committee is still reasonable; you can argue, discuss, present your point of
view, and they will listen. But among the advisory committee, there's not a single person
who's ready to take a stand. They are just so scared of losing their jobs. The purpose of the
censor committee should be to stand up and say, 'This is fine, and people must watch this.' If
by chance you get the most scared lot in the principal committee, who are only there so that
they can get their money per screening, then you have had it. Because they just follow the
book. They don't argue; they don't even understand. Their only argument is 'But this is what
they say',"
Creativity gets hampered- The significance of an artistic expression meeting a web of
unsettling questions oscillates between rejection and acceptance, turning ones voice mute;
often affecting the psyche of the film-maker
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IASbabas Views:
There is a need for a shared understanding between the government and the
committee, paving way for the autonomous working of the CBFC so that they can
take decisions on their own.
The composition of the committee should comprise of people who understand the
true power and implications of cinema and of those who do not have biases,
prejudices or bring their own moralities.
The triangular relationship between the audience, filmmaker, and the censor board
needs to be nurtured and the CBFC should stand up and make itself heard or at least
have a say in creating the Advisory Panel
Discuss the political dampening of the artistic democracy in India. Can it be curbed?
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INTERNATIONAL
Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on Indias

interests.
Turkeys war on the Kurds

There has been a spate of differences between the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
and Selahattin Demirtas
Kurds in Turkey
Bonded by ethnicity, the Kurds are a sizeable minority within Turkey, as well as
within the neighbouring states of Syria, Iraq and Iran (14.5 million Kurds in Turkey)
Turkey accounts for 50 per cent of Kurds in the region, with Iran and Iraq accounting
for six million each and Syria for two million
Leader of the left-wing Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) is Mr. Demirtas and leads a
party that unites the Kurdish nationalist forces and Turkeys left-wing groups
Under his leadership more rights for the Kurdish population within Turkey has been
achieved without any demand for the creation of a Kurdish state out of Turkey
Istanbul has the largest concentration (one million Kurds). Also, the majority of the
Kurdish population lives in the countrys south-east, which has been the epicentre of
demands for self-determination
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Treason
A resolution was passed by the Kurdish Democratic Society Congress (DTK),

which reiterated an old demand for the creation of Kurdish autonomous
regions and self-governance bodies and thus, this action was termed as
treason by Mr.Erdogan
Turkey is worried that an independent or autonomous Kurdistan in Syria will
embolden the Kurds in Turkey and that eventually an autonomous or
independent Kurdistan would be formed within its territory as well
Violent War against Kurds

Various instances of the region resembling a war zone or a fight against separatist terror
organisations:
Policies of military curfews and severe crackdowns on the Kurdish towns and cities of
south-eastern Turkey
Turkish tanks shelling Cizre, near the Syrian border; Hit PKK and YPG combatants
inside Syria
Military operations in Diyarbakir and Silopi escalate each day
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Tanks and heavy weaponry used in conventional warfare are being used by the
Turkish armed forces where civilians live
Assassinations and arrests of pro-HDP politicians and journalists
Human rights attorney Tahir Elci was killed, and Mr. Demirtas said in a statement,
What killed Tahir was not the state, but statelessness.
This has led to loss of faith in Turkeys commitment to its minority and to multi-party
democracy leading people like Mr. Demirtas to reconsider autonomy and self-government
of the Kurdish areas.
Also, Turkey had been serving as a highway for foreign fighters eager to join the jihad in
Syria as well as weapons and funds.
Peace Talks
Imrali Process
Since 2013, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK; main military wing of the Kurdish
resistance) has been in talks with the Turkish state for a full peace agreement and
this dialogue between the state and the PKK was called the Imrali process
Imrali: Name of the island where Mr. Ocalans prison is based
Dolmabahce Agreement
The negotiations are based on a 10-point Dolmabahce Agreement
But Mr. Erdogan
Rejected the terms as implausible negotiations between the PKK (terrorist

organisation) and the government
Tied the HDP to the PKK (an inorganic tie) wherein the HDP responded that it has
no organic ties to the PKK; paving way for wars both against PKK and the HDP
War on Mr. Erdogans mind

1. Political Frustration: HDPs political successes have prevented his political ambitions
Failure of the idea of shifting the Turkish political process from parliamentary
to presidential rule
Cited Hitlers Germany as an example of a successful presidential system
Victory of HDP in both the Parliamentary elections prevented his party to

achieve an absolute majority to turn his idea into a reality
2. PKKs assistance to the Syrian Kurds had raised the spectre once more of Kurdish
statehood or autonomy
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Creation of Peoples Protection Units

Turkeys failed policy in Syria:
Battle-hardened PKK fighters turned to help the Syrian Kurdish fighters in 2011, after
the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad withdrew from Syrias Kurdish regions in
the north and this led to the creation of the Peoples Protection Units (YPG)
YPG and the PKK

They have been fighters against the Islamic State (IS) since 2012 and the
battlefield advances of the Syrian Kurds with the PKK have lifted their morale,
gained them international attention, and won them adherents amongst
Turkeys non-Kurdish population.
Their fighting and their progressive social policy that helped HDP win in the
recent elections
Declaration of Syrian Kurdish autonomy alongside Iraqi Kurdish autonomy
(since 1991) put pressure on Turkeys Kurds to follow suit and this was
resented by Mr. Erdogan
YPG has also taken the lead in the fight against IS in Syria; backed by US air strikes, the YPG
defended the border town of Kobane against IS last year and has driven the militants from
more Syrian border towns
Turkeys leaning towards IS:
The border with Syria is porous for entry of IS jihadis and for IS oil and Mr. Erdogans
son Bilal (director in the BMZ group) has played a major role in the trans-shipment of
IS oil to Malta and to Israel
Turkeys ambivalence towards IS also irks the U.S:
U.S. uses the Turkish base at Incirlik to bomb IS, and watches Turkish craft
attack the Kurdish forces who are the main ground troops against the IS
Reluctance to take a leading role in the US-led campaign against IS
However,
Turkey has proposed an establishment of a safe zone about 60 km long and 40 km wide in
Syria near the border with Turkey where it could transfer the 1.7 million Syrian refugees in its
territory to this zone. The bone of contention lies in the fact that this proposed zone is now
controlled mainly by the IS and the YPG. Also, Turkeys new policy will make it difficult for IS
to get new recruits.
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US F-16 fighter jets have arrived at Turkey's southern Incirlik airbase to join the fight against
IS and US drones have already launched raids on IS from there
Future of YPG (Yekineyen Parastina Gel)
If the buffer zone is created, the YPG may withdraw from some areas.
YPG may be reassured by the "de facto US security guarantee" that it has enjoyed
since the bombing of Kobane.
Turkey may also try to drive a wedge between the YPG and PKK by adopting a softer
approach to the Syrian Kurdish group
IASbabas Views
It is still unclear as to how IS or the Syrian government will respond to an uptick in US

air strikes or if the rebel groups that are meant to stabilise the buffer zone will play
to the rules of the game. A calculative step should be first considered.
Currently, the Turkish and Kurdish forces are on one side fighting the IS and on the
other hand they themselves are fighting with each other, opting for a very hard
stance. Thus, there is a need to take care of domestic peace to avoid further
complications.
Turkeys strategy needs to undergo a major change as these problems are shortsighted and can backfire anytime and therefore, the tactic of destroying the PKK
should be kept at bay. Also, it needs to clear its stance towards or against the IS.
We Will Degrade and Ultimately Destroy IS Do you think that there exists a
stalemate in the war between US and IS? Discuss
Can life-expectancy of the IS be calculated? What is the reason for Turkeys change
of policy towards the Islamic State (IS)?
How important is it for the Kurds and the population of Turkey in the light of the
recent policy shift of the Turkey towards the IS? Explain
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Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or
affecting India's interests.
Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India's
interests, Indian diaspora.
West Asia: Saudi Arabias deadly gamble
The execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, an influential Shia cleric, by Saudi Arabia has
expectedly led to a flare-up of sectarian passions in West Asia.
What is the issue?
Saudi Arabia recently executed 47 people for terrorism offences in one day, including
the prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
Sheikh Nimr was the most prominent religious leader of the Kingdoms Shia minority,
which has long been subjected to institutionalised segregation by the Sunni
monarchy of the al-Saud family which is ruling Saudi Arabia.
He was the driving force behind the 2011 protests in the countrys east, inspired by
Arab Spring protests elsewhere. Moreover, Sheikh Nimr was a respected cleric
among the Shia community in general.
Iran had repeatedly asked Saudi Arabia to pardon him.
A provocative move by Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabias execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, perhaps the most influential leader
among the Kingdoms Shia minority, was clearly a provocative move.
Riyadh knew that its action would deteriorate relations with Iran and inflame
sectarian tensions in West Asia at a time when the Islamic State is systematically
persecuting Shias and other minorities within Islam.
Iran, a Shia-majority country and a regional rival of Saudi Arabia, had repeatedly
requested the Sunni monarchy to pardon Nimr, who was the driving force behind
the Arab Spring model protests in the kingdoms east in 2011.
By executing him, along with 46 others on Saturday, Riyadh has plunged the region,
already reeling under terrorism, insurgency and sectarianism, into more chaos.
Why did Suadi Arabia do this?

Why did Riyadh do this if they knew the consequences would be deadly?
A logical explanation is that its part of a well-thought-out strategy to whip up tensions so
that the Al-Saud ruling family could tighten its grip on power at home and its position in
the region by amassing the support of the Sunni regimes.
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Whether the royals agree or not, Saudi Arabia is facing a major crisis.
Oil prices are decreasing and endangering the kingdoms economy.
In 2015, it ran a deficit of $97.9 billion, and has announced plans to shrink its
budget for the current year by $86 billion.
This is likely to impact the governments public spending, and could trigger
resentment.
The entire kingdom relies heavily on the governments welfare policies, besides its
religious appeal, to drum up public support.
The late King Abdullahs response to Arab Spring protests is an example of this.
When people elsewhere rose up against dictatorships, he announced a special
economic package of $70 billion (much of this money was allocated to build
5,00,000 houses to address housing shortage) to check discontent at home.
Additionally, the state injected $4 billion into healthcare.
King Salman does not enjoy the luxury of using oil revenues to save his crown due to
the economic crisis.
Another option the royals have to buttress their position is to resort to extreme
majoritarianism.
At least four, including Sheikh Nimr, among the 47 executed on January 2 were political
prisoners.
By putting them to death, the royal family has sent a clear message to political dissidents
at home.
This is a tactic dictators have often used in history.

They go back to extremism or sectarianism to bolster their hard-line constituency
to tide over the economic and social difficulties.
The real aim of the monarchy is to close down every window of dissidence; if that
cant be done through economic development and welfarism, do it by other
means.
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Sectarian conflicts in West Asia:

West Asia is already witnessing sectarian conflicts
1. Iraq:
Iraq, which is torn apart on sectarian lines, is taking baby steps under the new
Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, to rebuild national unity.
The country witnessed a bloody phase of sectarian strife in the aftermath of the
U.S. invasion.
Parts of the country, including the second largest city, Mosul, are still under
the control of Islamic State, which is carrying out a systematic campaign
against non-Sunni religious groups.
2. Yemen:
In Yemen, the Shia Houthi rebels are fighting forces loyal to a Saudi-protected
government led by Sunnis.
3. Bahrain:
In Bahrain, the wounds of a Shia rebellion which was crushed by a Sunni
monarch with the help of the Saudis are still not healed.
By executing Sheikh Nimr, Riyadh has poured oil into this sectarian fire, for which the region
will have to pay a huge price.
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Cold war between Saudi Arabia and Iran:

For decades, one of the main sources of instability in West Asia has been the cold war
between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Though the ultimate goal of both nations has been regional supremacy, they use
sectarianism as a vehicle to maximise their interests.
While Riyadh has the support of Sunni monarchs and dictators in the Arab world, Iran
is aligned with Iraq and Syria, besides its proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the
Houthis in Yemen.
This sets the stage for a dangerous Shia-Sunni conflict across the region.
Unless tensions are dialled down between these two heavyweights, there will not be
peace in West Asia.
Both the U.S. and Russia, allies of Saudi Arabia and Iran respectively, have called for
calm but have failed to promote peace in the region.
Unchecked, the Saudi-Iran rivalry could plunge the region, already torn apart by
invasions, civil wars and terrorism, into further chaos.
What next?
One natural victim of these rising tensions will be the Syria peace plan.
President Bashar al-Assads regime and a coalition of rebels are supposed to begin
peace talks this month, according to a road map agreed in the UN Security Council
a few weeks ago.
Iranian and Saudi cooperation is a must for peace in Syria, where the ongoing civil
war has killed more than 2,50,000 people. The Saudis back anti-regime rebels and
extremists in Syria, while the Iranians support the Assad government.
Worse, its not just Syria.
Unless Saudi-Iran tensions are contained, there wont be an effective strategy to

fight the Islamic State, which is a Sunni-Wahhabi extremist group; the war in Yemen
will go on, endangering many more lives; and Iraqs efforts to stabilise itself could be
challenged.
The Saudis look determined to play a long-term game of sectarian geopolitics to
maximise its interests. If the Iranians continue to respond in the same token, West
Asia would remain turbulent for many more years.
Explain the ongoing conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran in West Asia. What will
be the impact of this conflict on India? Substantiate
A peaceful West Asia is a necessity for India to maintain its energy security. Critically
examine the above statement wrt the ongoing conflicts in West Asia.
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TOPIC:
General studies 2:
affecting Indias interests
interests
Devaluation of Yuan
Chinas has surprisingly moved to peg the yuan at its lowest value against the U.S.
dollar since 2011 and this move has, as a result triggered a selloff in global markets,
bringing alive the fears of competitive devaluation among emerging economies
Since 2005, Chinas currency has appreciated 33% against the US dollar and the first
devaluation on August 11 marked the largest single drop in 20 years
The depreciation of the yuan is par for the course as it becomes increasingly marketlinked (to move towards a more market-oriented economy-allowing the market to
have a more instrumental role in determining the yuans value) following its
induction as a reserve currency by the IMF
Implies
Attempt to stimulate China's sluggish economyHow?
Keep exports from falling further
Shifting it away from a model of debt-fuelled infrastructure
Low-cost exports towards lower but more sustainable growth,
Being driven by domestic consumption and services
Beginning of a currency war that could lead to increasing trade tensions
Global Impact
Indices:
Trading in the Chinese equity market was suspended as soon as the benchmark
index breached the 7 per cent circuit limits, leading to the leading Asian indices
losing ground
Hong Kongs Hang Seng Index declined more than 3 per cent
Japans Nikkei and Singapores Straits Times lost in the range of 1-2 per cent
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U.S. stock markets, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), S&P 500 and
Nasdaq, as well as European and Latin American markets fell
Prices:
Brent crude oil also fell to its lowest level since April 2004 at $33 a barrel in intra-day
trading
Adverse impact on Commodity prices, China being the biggest consumer of many
commodities (including base metals)
U.S: Mortgage rates can stay lower for longer
Commodity:
China will start trading with cheaper yuan and this might lead to lower demand
for commodities
Eg: Oil dropped 4 percent and copper dropped 8; but less-valuable Chinese
currency is not good for exporters who want to sell manufactured goods that
include copper, for example, as impact on their costs will cut into any benefit
they get from selling their goods more cheaply to dollar-using buyers
Note: Drop in Oil Proved to be a silver lining for India as it is a net importer
Lead other countries to devalue their currencies Competitive Devaluation
Currencies of Australia, Malaysia and South Korea fell in tandem after China's move
What is it: An abrupt national currency devaluation by one nation is matched by a

currency devaluation of another
Why: To not let its exports lose the competitive value in international markets (as
High prices may pave way for fewer sales)
More likely: Countries that have managed exchange-rate regime
Major threat to the stability of the global economy
Theory of Devaluation
Devaluation is a deliberate downward adjustment to the value of a country's currency,
relative to another currency, group of currencies or standard
Causes
Country's exports to become less expensive

As price of the country's product in international market falls
And products become more competitive in the global market.
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Imports become more expensive, making domestic consumers less likely to purchase
them
Negative consequences of Devaluation
By making imports more expensive, it protects domestic industries who may then
become less efficient without the pressure of competition
Higher exports relative to imports can also increase aggregate demand, which can
lead to inflation
Devaluation & Yuan
Reserve Currency by IMF- following its induction in the SDR Portfolio
Flexibility in settling all its international obligations with its own currency
Other countries can diversify their forex reserve portfolios to include yuan
IMF wants China to be willing to progress towards a freely floating exchange rate
2010- Rejected yuan to be a part of the official reserves by IMF on the basis that it
was not freely usable
Special Drawing Rights (SDR)
International Reserve Asset
Created by- IMF in 1969
Why: To supplement its member countries official reserves (restricted to members)
IMF re-evaluates the currency composition of its SDR basket every five years (last
time being-2010)
Basis of Value: Basket of 4 key international currencies (Euro, Japanese Yen, Pound
Sterling, U.S. Dollar)
SDRs can be exchanged for freely usable currencies
India& Yuan Devaluation

Indian stock indices:
Fell sharply and the rupee hit a three-week intraday low of 66.93 a dollar as foreign
funds continued their exodus from emerging markets.
The 30-share Sensex flirted with a 19-month nadir during the day, before closing
554.50 points lower at 24,851.83.
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Indias inherent resilience put to test

India is firmly on the path of economic revival and has emerged as one of the fastest
growing economies in the world but it could face the following issues
Currency Volatility can be aggravated due to the fact that the volume of exports has
remained the same in many sectors
Sharp increase in cheap imports (reasons below) hurting Indian Industries
Cheaper goods of China
Excess capacity of China might lead it to dump its goods in other countries
Could affect Indias exports making it expensive
Expansion in the country's deficit with China
Hurt Make in India plan - Indian manufacturers already suffer significant cost
disadvantages and their competitiveness will now diminish further against imports
from China
IASbabas Views:
India should take the following broad steps to contain the differences that suddenly
arises out of this arrangement
Consider proposals to protect steel manufacturers from cheap steel imports from
China(India had increased the import duty on certain steel products by 2.5 per
cent in August, 2015)
Decision should be taken on a case-to-case basis based on ground facts for a case
of anti-dumping duty or any other policy to be put into effect
Focus on global trade and policy related efforts in boosting competitiveness
There is also an urgent need to develop global safety nets to protect nations from
negative spill-overs of the devaluation and competitive devaluation.
With Yuan Devaluation effectively spooking the world financial markets, make a
case for the importance of strong domestic institutions in the country
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TOPIC:
General studies 2:
India and its neighborhood- relations.

Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.
Storm on the South China Sea

The Asia-Pacific region witnessed intense diplomatic upheavals over the South China Sea
issue last year and it continues this year as well.
South China Sea Geography:
Geographically, the South China Sea plays a significant role in the geopolitics of the
Indo-Pacific.
The South China Sea is bordered by China, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Vietnam, the
Philippines and Taiwan.
Their significant economic growth over the last 20 years, as well as activity in other
Asian economies including Japan and South Korea, has contributed to a large portion
of the worlds commercial merchant shipping passing through these waters, from
which it continues on through the Malacca, Sunda and Lombak Straits.
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The major island and reef formations in the South China Sea are the Spratly
Islands, Paracel Islands, Pratas Islands, Natuna Islands and the Scarborough Reef.
Territorial disputes:
The defining characteristic of the South China Sea and a significant source of
tensions in the region are the competing legal claims of territorial sovereignty over
its islands.
Legal and territorial disputes persist, primarily over the Spratly and Paracel Islands as
well as the Scarborough Shoal.
Spratlys, have been reportedly occupied by claimants, which consist of Taiwan,
Vietnam, the Philippines, China and Malaysia.
The Paracel Islands are the subject of overlapping claims from China, Vietnam and
Taiwan.
Another major dispute is over the Scarborough Shoal, which is claimed by China, the
Philippines and Taiwan.
Chinas claim in the region:
China makes the largest claim in the South China Sea, and bases it on the nine-dash
line map that was published by the Chinese Ministry of the Interior in 1947.
The map served as the basis for the Declaration on Chinas Territorial Sea, which was
made by the Chinese Government in 1958 and laid territorial claim to a majority of
the islands in the South China Sea.
Additionally, in 2009 China submitted a diplomatic note to the United Nations
Secretary-General, asserting its sovereignty over islands in the South China Sea
which was presented with a map of the nine-dash line.
The legality of the nine-dash line map, which China charges is based on historical
evidence, is disputed by other South China Sea territorial claimants and under the
UNCLOS Treaty.
A case of UNCLOS treaty:
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), is an international
agreement which defines the rights and responsibilities of nations with respect to
their use of the world's oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the
environment, and the management of marine natural resources.
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If china claims rights over islands in South China Sea based on historic reasons, other
countries claim rights as per UNCLOS.
The disputed islands fall in the exclusive economic zone of the claimants.
Why does China want to control the South China Sea?
Control of the South China Sea would allow China to dominate a major trade route
through which most of its imported oil flows.
It would also allow China to disrupt, or threaten to disrupt, trade shipments to all
countries in East and Southeast Asia as well as deny access to foreign military
forces, particularly the United States.
The floor of the South China Sea may contain massive oil and natural gas reserves.
Sovereignty over the region could give China a level of energy security and
independence far beyond what it currently possesses.
What is the issue now?
Island building in the South China Sea, and construction on existing islands, has been
going on for decades, primarily by Vietnam and the Philippines, which have
claimed 21 and eight islands, respectively.
Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines have all stationed military forces on at least
some of their islands, but Vietnam, in accordance with UNCLOS regulation, has not
put troops on what it calls floating islands those constructed on submerged
sandbars, reefs and other land masses.
China has reportedly constructed more new island surface than all other nations
have constructed throughout history.
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It might use some of these artificial islands for military purposes by building
airstrips and long-range radar systems.
What is the U.S. response to the dispute?
The United States had virtually no response to previous building by Southeast Asian
countries in the South China Sea, but has vigorously opposed Chinas efforts.
The U.S. Navy has operated continuously in the region since World War Two.
The United States has used its aircraft and naval vessels to assert freedom of
navigation in the region.
Beyond freedom of navigation missions, the United States is focused on
strengthening regional allies.
To do so, it has helped boost its allies intelligence gathering and surveillance
capabilities, and provide them with updated military hardware to counter Chinas
technical advantages in both quantity and quality.
Japan, in close coordination with the United States, is to supply military hardware to
the Philippines and Vietnam.
Way ahead:
Increasing presence of USA in South China Sea is escalating the dispute.

International organisations should pressurise china for a dialogue on the issue and
try to find peace in South China Sea.
Critically examine the impact of South China Sea dispute on Indias aspirations of
being a regional super power in South Asia.
Explain the South China Sea dispute and its impact on maintaining world peace and
order.
TOPIC:
General studies 2:
India and its neighborhood- relations.

affecting Indias interests.
BRICS Performance Report

In 2003Goldman Sachs Report:
Forecasted that the four Brics economies; namely
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Brazil,
Russia,
India and
China
- would drive global growth for the next half century and that their combined GDP would
exceed that of the G6 (the six largest economies of the time, led by the US) in less than 40
years
Though these four BRICS economies were very different in key respects (like
resource endowment and per capita income); all of them were relatively large
(among top 12 in GDP) and populous (top nine) countries with large geographies
(top seven)
A key forecast had been that Brics taken together would equal half the GDP of the
G6 by 2025 and it reached the desired number in double-quick time
By 2014: The combined Brics GDP, at $16.6 trillion, was 49.1 per cent of the G6 total
of $33.8 trillion The comparison holding much importance as in 2003 the ratio had
been just 15 per cent
And India
Forecast: Indias GDP would become bigger than Italys (the smallest of the G6) in 2015
Reality: The International Monetary Fund's forecast for 2015 put Indias GDP at $2.18
trillion, ahead of Italys $1.82 trillion
Lets talk about China
Brics Report: Had forecasted that Chinese GDP would match that of the US by 2040, helped
along by currency appreciation
Yuan Devaluation:
Economy is slowing down and there are serious structural issues confronting its
economy
To match up to USAChina needs to sustains 5 per cent annual growth sustainably
Relative Performance
With China being strongboth Brazil and Russia who were, until now, ahead of India
have seemed to lose a bit of ground with the commodity cycle swinging sharply
down
Russias GDP (according to IMF) will shrink to $1.24 trillion in 2015, down sharply
from $2.08 trillion in 2013, while Brazils GDP will have shrunk to $1.8 trillion from
$2.39 trillion in 2013
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Currently, despite all the odds India is still walking on the GDP rope and is very much
likely to do so in future if a robust economic roadmap be drawn and priorities in
hindsight set right.
With two of the four Brics members- not likely to be among the largest contributors
to world growth in the foreseeable future, and with China and India being the largest
and third largest contributors to global economic growth, there is a need to evaluate
if both, India and China, can sail through the troubled BRICS-Water with each
other.
Facts
Headquarter: Shanghai, China
Members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa
Voting Power: Equal Voting Power
Broad Purpose:
To extend loans for infrastructure and sustainable development projects

To help other countries during Balance of Payment (BoP) Crisis
Keep ready patient money to BRICS nations (RaghuramRajan-RBI Governor)
TOPIC:
General studies 2:
India Iran relations:
India-Iran relations span centuries marked by meaningful interactions.

The two countries shared a border till 1947 and share several common features in
their language, culture and traditions.
Both South Asia and the Persian Gulf have strong commercial, energy, cultural and
people-to-people link.
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Why in news now?

The economic sanctions imposed by US,EU and the UN on Iran due to its nuclear
programme against the international norms has been lifted now following an IAEAs
compliance report with the terms of last years historic nuclear deal.
It will be more an extended tightrope walk for Iran:
Irans long march forward now will be more an extended tightrope walk proved
by US imposition of fresh sanctions over Irans missile programme, pertaining to the
test-fire of a precision-guided ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear
warhead in October 2015.
Moreover, the US has only suspended its nuclear-related sanctions; it hasnt
terminated them.
Non-nuclear economic sanctions imposed by the US remain in place, forbidding
American citizens and firms from trading with Iran.
As a result, foreign companies may still not feel confident about dealing with Tehran.
What Iran expects to be doing now?

Despite so many qualifiers, Iran is now back in the global market, ready to raise its
production and export of oil, gain access to capital and investment, and utilise its own $100
billion of assets that are being unlocked.
India Iran relations: An outlook
1. Economic:
India-Iran enjoys economic and commercial ties covering many sectors.
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However, the trade relations have traditionally been buoyed by Indian

import of Iranian crude oil resulting in overall trade balance in favour of Iran.
The India-Iran bilateral trade during the fiscal 2012-13 was USD 14.95 billion.
India imported US$ 11.6 billion worth of goods manly crude oil and exported
commodities worth US$ 3.35 billion.
Indias export to Iran during the period April November 2013 stood at USD
3.21 billion.
The unilateral economic sanctions imposed on Iran have had an adverse
effect on the bilateral trade as the international banking channels have
gradually become non-existent.
Indias exports to Iran include petroleum products, rice, machinery &
instruments, manufactures of metals, primary and semi finished iron & steel,
drugs/pharmaceuticals & fine chemicals, processed minerals, manmade yarn
& fabrics, tea, organic/inorganic/agro chemicals, rubber manufactured
products, etc.
2. Other developmental initiatives:

India and Iran are in discussions for the setting up of a number of projects
such as the IPI (Iran Pakistan India) gas pipeline project, a long term annual
supply of 5 million tons of LNG, development of the Farsi oil and gas blocks,
South Pars gas field and LNG project, Chahbahar container terminal project
and Chahbahar-Zaranj railway project, etc.
Both countries have set up joint ventures such as the Madras Fertilizer
Company and the Chennai Refinery.
Indian companies such as ESSAR, OVL, etc have a presence in Iran.
The State Bank of India (SBI) has a representative office in Tehran.
India is also a member of the International North-South Corridor project.
The two countries are in the process of finalizing a Bilateral Investment
Promotion & Protection Agreement (BIPPA) and a Double Taxation
Avoidance Agreement (DTAA).
Sanctions free Iran: How will it help India?
1. India will have easy access to Irans crude oil again.
India, the world's fourth largest oil importer, can look forward to the
prospect of cheaper crude oil with the world's fifth largest producer returning
to the world market.
A decline in crude oil price is positive for the current account deficit as India
imports about 80 per cent of its crude oil requirement.
According to rating agency ICRA, every one dollar decline in international
crude oil price reduces the import bill by about Rs 6,500 crore and the gross
under-recoveries by Rs 800-900 crore.
2. There lie the prospects of an overseas market that could well help Indian businesses
counter sluggish domestic demand - from auto-components, machine tools,
fertilisers, pharmaceuticals and capital goods equipment to commodities such as rice
and tea, for both of which India was once a monopoly supplier.
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Way ahead:
India should take the signal from the lifting of sanctions.

A peaceful, stable Iran is vital for its interests, particularly for energy security and
connectivity.
India should get Iran on board, again.
Critically examine the importance of Iran in order to promote energy security in

India.
Critically evaluate the role played by Iran in the geo politics of Middle East.
TOPIC:
General studies 2:
General studies 2:
Science and Technology - developments and their applications and effects in
everyday life Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of
technology and developing new technology.
Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact
assessment.
Building the International Solar Alliance
The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is an exciting initiative marked by Indias proactiveness and forward-looking leadership on climate change; launched on the first
day of the COP21 climate negotiations in Paris, jointly with France with its domestic
principles serving as a strong foundation.
India has been on the forefront of working for the development of sustainable
solutions as well as understanding the need for transition to a less carbon-intensive
growth trajectory.
With the resolutions undertaken and a consistent leap towards mainstreaming the
technology, India is slated to be one of the largest markets for developing and
deploying solar energy, with its domestic policy (to build 100 gigawatts) sending out
clear signals to developers and financiers
Big to Bigger
ISAAn inter-governmental institution
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Aims of ISA
Reducing financial risk across a larger global market,

Encouraging cooperation on technology,
Building capacity,
Increasing energy access
Lets chart a roadmap for ISA

Selection of a Director General (DG) with a secretariat: A dynamic DG can
Draw attention to the alliance

Build relationships with member states and other international institutions
Interact with the media regularly
Develop a strategic plan to grasp the potential that ISA holds
Creation of a core ISA Coordination Group: A dedicated inter-ministerial group needs to be

deployed to
Distribute the workload

Allocate funds
Maintain contact with member states
Prepare related documents.
Issuing a White Paper on ISA Governance: ISA is an inclusive multilateral institution and
therefore, it demands clarity on
Governance structure
Decision making ways
Role of contributions in Voting Rights
Outlining alternative governance models
Advancements of the needs of advanced and emerging economies and those of
smaller member states as well as ways to balance them out
Launching an ISA website: The website should feature
The ISA declaration,

List of members and observers,
Minutes of meetings,
Proposed activities,
A meeting calendar,
Governance structure,
Details of the studies being undertaken
Briefs and Reports of the studies being carried out
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Outcomes of ISA activities
Issuing monthly ISA briefings:
A regular open channel for press briefings and monthly updates to all ISA member
countries would build support and invite genuine deliberations over important
matters.
The social marketing to spread awareness needs to be undertaken periodically as
the more ISA is in the news, the more its activities and potential will get attention.
Assessing all proposals through a "value-add" lens: There will come forth a plethora of
ideas, for example
On what other institutions (private, public and inter-governmental) could do to shape ISA's
agenda, such as
mobilising investments
deploying projects in member countries
ISA thus, needs to adopt an approach that would not just leverage its position in the world
but also save its own time by avoiding any overlaps of activities and thus, a measured
approach needs to be undertaken with a "value-add" perspective
Time is ripe to kick-start bold initiatives: ISA will do well to launch one or two bold
initiatives capturing the imagination of ISA members and triggers interest in pitching high by
the innovators, project developers, bankers and other investors
"Energy Storage Prize"- To promote cross-country research and development

collaborations
"Solar Rooftop Financing Initiative"- A financing challenge common to many
countries
Establishing Formal links with Private Sector platforms: ISA can distinguish itself by
establishing strong links with the private stakeholders
By giving private sector consortia observer or associate member status,

Encouraging them to design and implement ISA programmes,
Building long-term relationships for targeted investments
Announcing an ISA Summit and Expo: An annual or biennial summit and expo would draw
further interest; wherein it can serve as a connector of dots between all the stakeholders
and countries leading the initiative
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Building an ISA headquarters in New Delhi: For the need of a
Recognisable location,
Strong branding and
True identity
25 January: Prime Minister Modi and President Hollande of France will jointly lay the
foundation stone of the ISA building
Headquarters' design should convey ISAs
Vision,
Open and inclusive governance,
Emphasis on practical solutions and scale, and
Purpose of delivering clean energy access to millions
TOPIC:
General studies 2:
Taking India Israel relationship to the next level
India and Israel established full diplomatic relations in 1992 and since then the
bilateral relationship between the two countries has blossomed, with defence and
agriculture forming two main pillars of the bilateral agreement.
However, in recent years, relations have seen rapid growth across a broad spectrum
of areas and the future vision of the cooperation is of a strong hi-tech partnership as
befits two knowledge economies.
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Why in news now?
The reports referred to the successful testing of the Barak-8 long-range surfaceto-air missile somewhere in the Indian Ocean, from the Indian navys stealth
destroyer, INS Kolkata is making news at the international arena.
Important thing to note is the Barak-8 (Lightening in Hebrew), brimming with
cutting-edge technology, is the product of a joint Indo-Israeli development
endeavour.
Why did India try to limit its relationship with Israel?

Even though India had enough chances to enhance its ties with Israel, it did not enhance,
due to
1. The wish to avoid angering Indias large Muslim minority against India supporting
Israel in the Israel Palestine conflict.
2. Concern for the considerable expatriate Indian community working in the Arab Gulf
states.
However now India is trying to enhance its relation with Israel and take it to the next
strategic level.
The potential for mutually beneficial collaboration between India and Israel spans
virtually the entire spectrum of human endeavour from national security on land,
sea and air, through cutting-edge civilian technology in medicine, food production
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and communications, to cultural exchanges, enhancement of water management

and rural development.
But beyond that, there appears to be a special affinity between the two peoples that
transcends cordial government-to-government relations.
Why Israel matters a lot to India ?

DEFENCE:
India is the largest buyer of Israeli military equipment and Israel is the second-largest
defence supplier to India after Russia.
From 1999 to 2009, the military business between the two nations was worth
around $9 billion.
India and Israel also closely cooperate on anti-terror activities and
have signed agreements, among other matters, on homeland and public security and
protection of classified materials and information.
Israel has also pledged support to the Make in India mission in the defence sector.
AGRICULTURE:
This has been an important facet in the Indo-Israel relationship. India has benefited
from Israels expertise in the sector, evident from the number of bilateral
agreements signed between the two nations.
While Indian agriculture is largely dependent on rain and an erratic monsoon, Israel,
a global leader in drip irrigation, has pioneered desert agriculture with sparse
supplies of water.
India has benefited from Israeli technologies in horticulture mechanisation,
protected cultivation, orchard and canopy management, nursery management,
micro- irrigation and post-harvest management, particularly in Haryana and
Maharashtra.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently visited Israel, seeking
agro-technology to address the farming crisis in the Vidarbha and Marathwada
regions.
WATER MANAGEMENT:
Technologically adept Israel has developed water-management

technologies, located as it is in a semi-arid region with limited sources of
fresh drinking water.
Israels expertise includes recycling waste water and desalination. Indian
companies and official delegations regularly visit the biannual Water
Technology & Environment Control Exhibition & Conference, which
showcases Israels water and energy technologies.
IDE, an Israeli company, has built several desalination plants in India,
including a 100-million-litre per day desalination plant at Nemelli in Tamil
Nadu, commissioned in 2013, the second such plant in Chennai.
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TRADE:
Indias total trade with Israel is $6.06 billion in 2013-14, up 57% over 200910. The trade balance stood in Indias favour at $ 1.44 billion in 2013-14.
Mineral fuels and oils are Indias leading export to Israel worth $1.45 billion in
2013-14.
Indias major imports from Israel in 2013-14 included natural or cultured
pearls and precious stones, worth $1.20 billion. Stones and pearls are the
second-largest commodity, in terms of value, exported to Israel from India
after mineral fuels.
Israel ranks 44th in terms of foreign direct investment in
India, investing $82 million between April 2000 and February 2015.
Since 2010, the two countries have been negotiating a free-trade
agreement for goods and services, which should boost investments and
trade ties.
Way ahead:
Notwithstanding cooperation in agriculture, defence etc, both countries see

themselves as isolated democracies threatened by neighbours that train, finance
and encourage terrorism, therefore both countries also view their cooperative
relationship as a strategic imperative.
Do you agree with the view that Israel is a natural ally of India?
Agriculture and Defence are the two pillars which determined the relationship of
India with Israel. Comment.
India needs to develop a strategic relationship with Israel? Analyse the statement
with reference to cross border terrorism in India.
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TOPIC:
General studies 2:
Relations between India and France

are multi-faceted, close and special.
In 1998, a Strategic Partnership was
announced and since then, relations
have developed in a manner fully
justifying
the
term
Strategic
Partnership.
The relationship is based on shared
values and real convergence on a
whole range of regional and global
issues.
France : A natural ally of India
France was the first country with which India entered into an agreement on Civil
Nuclear Cooperation.
France has been a steadfast proponent and supporter of Indias candidature for
permanent membership of a reformed UN Security Council.
Why is France important to India?

France is important to India for three important reasons
1. Indias relations with America, Britain and China will always retain different degrees
of difficulty given their dalliance with the Pakistan army.
Russia, which unambiguously backed India against China and Pakistan in the
Cold War, has drawn closer to the former and is wooing the latter.
France, in contrast, has made a clear choice in favour of India.
2. As China rises, Russia asserts, Britain retrenches, Europe dithers, and America is torn
by self-doubt, France becomes critical for India in promoting a measure of balance
on the Eurasian landmass.
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As the only credible military power with undiminished political will and a
historic presence in the Indo-Pacific, France can be a privileged partner for
India in strengthening peace and security in the maritime domain.
3. While Indias quest for multi-polarity has often drawn it closer to China and Russia,
Delhi is painfully aware of the dangers of jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
Exchanging American global primacy for Chinese domination makes little
sense for Delhi.
As a leading Western power with shared political values, France is a more
credible partner for India in constructing a more equitable world order
through a new concert of major powers.
Bilateral Trade & Investment cooperation

1. Trade:
In 2014, the total trade in goods between France and India was 7.87 billion,
registering an increase of 11.16% from 2013.
Indias exports to France were valued 5.18 billion whereas French exports
to India totalled 2.69 billion.
2. Investments:
France has emerged as a major source of FDI for India with about 750 big
French companies already present in India.
France is the 9th largest foreign investor in India with a cumulative
investment of USD 4.65 billion from April 2000 to June 2015 which represent
1.80% of the total FDI inflows into India for the period.
French companies continue to look at India as an attractive investment
destination in order to expand their profits and diversify risks.
Indian companies have also invested in France.
3. Civil Nuclear Energy Cooperation:
A landmark Agreement on Civil Nuclear Cooperation was signed between
India and France on 30 September, 2008 during the visit of the then Prime
Minister to France.
4. Space Cooperation:
France and India view each other as important partners in space technology
and applications.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and its French counterpart,
the Centre National de Etudes Spatiales (CNES) have a rich history of
cooperation and collaboration spanning five decades.
5. Defence Cooperation:
The defence relations between the two countries are strong and have been
growing within the framework of structured talks under the Indo-French
Defence Cooperation Agreement.
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The government recently signed Rafeal deal to purchase around 36 aircrafts

from France.
6. Cultural Cooperation:
Indian culture enjoys a wide and discerning audience among the French
population, as is evident in the numerous and frequent cultural events
organized all over France, spanning the entire spectrum of Indian art, music,
dance, cinema and literature.
The Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) for 2013-15 was signed during the
visit of President Hollande to India on 14 February 2013.
The Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) regularly sponsors visits of
Indian artists to France and also assists in exchange of students in the field of
culture and arts.
7. Cooperation in the field of sports:
In the field of sports, the Indian and French cooperation is enhanced by
various initiatives developing the ties of friendship and solidarity between
both nations.
8. Educational and Technical Cooperation:
The bilateral educational and S&T cooperation between India and France has
grown over the last few years.
During the present Prime Ministers visit to France in April 2015, School of
Planning and Architecture, Delhi and National Architecture Institute in Paris
signed a MoU and Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India and University of
Strasbourg signed a Letter of Intent on Ayurveda.
9. Cooperation in the field of Railways:
There has been longstanding cooperation in the field of railway between
India and France.
During the visit of President Hollande to India in February, 2013, a joint
statement to strengthen the cooperation in the Railways sector between the
two countries, and a Memorandum of Understanding for Technical
Cooperation in the field of Railways between Indian Railways and Socit
Nationale des Chemins de Fer Franais (SNCF), the French National Railways
were signed.
Critically examine Indo France relationship since Indian independence.

Critically analyse the role of France in promoting nuclear energy in India.
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ECONOMICS
TOPIC:
General studies 3:
Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways, etc.

Investment models.
General studies 2:


Kelkar committee has proposed a series of recommendations with respect to revamping PPP
in infrastructure projects.
The recommendations:
1. Clear-cut norms on resolving issues and clarifying norms on re-negotiation of
contracts.
Infrastructure investments worth around Rs 12 lakh crore remained stuck at
different stages as of end-December 2014 due to a variety of issues such as
land acquisition, lack of clearances, unfavourable market conditions, and
costly finances, according to a Assocham study.
This puts stress on banks and the developers balance sheet.
The Kelkar report has drawn up extensive guidelines regarding the re-negotiation of the
terms of concession agreement, stipulating the reasons that form the basis for renegotiation and those that should not be entertained as valid reasons.
For example, if the distress in the project is not caused by the private party and is
likely to adversely affect the government or users, then that forms the basis for renegotiation.
Similarly, if the project distress is due to material reasons and may result in default
under the existing concession agreement, then the pact itself can be re-negotiated.
However, if the distress is due to reasons that were foreseeable at the time of
signing the agreement, then no re-negotiation will take place.
1. Creation of multi-disciplinary expert institutions to address the problem of stalled

PPP projects
The report talks about setting up an Infrastructure PPP Project Review
Committee (IPRC) comprising at least one expert in finance and economics,
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law, and one or more sectoral experts, preferably engineers with a minimum
of 15 years of experience in the industry in question.
It also recommends the creation of an Infrastructure PPP Adjudication
Tribunal (IPAT) which is to be chaired by a former Supreme Court Judge or
former High Court Chief Justice, with at least one technical and financial
member.
2. Amend prevention of corruption act 1988

The government should take early action to amend the Prevention of
Corruption Act, 1988 which does not distinguish between genuine errors in
decision-making and acts of corruption.
Measures may be taken immediately to make only malafide action by public
servants punishable, and not errors, and to guard against witch hunt against
government officers and bureaucrats for decisions taken with bonafide
intention.
3. Moving away from the one-size-fits-all approach to PPP model concession
agreements (MCAs).
The committee recommends that MCAs for each sector be reviewed

independently to capture the interests of all participating stakeholders users,
project proponents, concessionaires, lenders and markets.
4. Creation of dedicated institutions for PPP projects
Every stakeholder, without exception, has strongly emphasised the urgent

need for a dedicated institute for PPPs, as was announced in the previous
budget.
The committee strongly endorses the 3P India (3PI), which can function as a
centre of excellence, enable research, and review and roll out activities to build
capacity.
5. Promote zero coupon bonds

The finance ministry should allow banks and financial institutions to issue
zero-coupon bonds, which will also help to achieve soft landing for user
charges in the infrastructure sector and its financing in longer term.
Sector specific recommendations:
1. Roads: Increase concession period for BOT projects
Introduce hybrid models, viable gap funding, part annuity, operation and
maintenance grants, etc for non-BOT projects.
Relax exit norms.
Dispose pending cases between developers and NHAI.
Shift to electronic tolling in time-bound manner.
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2. Ports: Move from pre-TAMP (tariff authority for major ports) to current-TAMP
Strengthen and accelerate environmental clearance.
Provide support infrastructure (including land, reliable access to utilities,
dredging, rail, roads) to developer.
3. Railways: Take up simpler projects first to build credibility
Such projects can be brownfield monetisation of existing stations or,
greenfield development of new stations.
Set up regulatory authority to settle technical issues such as track-access
charges.
4. Power: Not many power projects are under PPP. But the sector has a farreaching impact on infrastructure PPPs
Immediately address power sector finances as they are hurting bank
loans.
5. Airports: Prepare a policy that addresses the expected growth parameters of
the sector and promotes PPPs
Concession agreement should stipulate important commercial
parameters like return on equity, treatment of land for non-commercial
purposes.
Develop brownfield and greenfield airports with defined structure,
revenue sharing mechanisms.
Some points of criticism by CAG in its various PPP reports and the possible solutions by
Kelkar committee
PORTS
CAG
Delays in majority of projects due to time taken in finalization of tenders, security

clearances, concession agreement and tender process.
Delays in obtaining environmental clearance.
Delays in handing over of project sites and back up area.
KELKAR COMMITTEE
Urgent need to focus on strengthening the systems to speed up the overall

environmental clearance process.
More institutions are required to be given authorization for conducting Coastal

Regulation Zone demarcation.
Need to provide support infrastructure facilities including land, utilities, dredging,

rail and road evacuation infrastructure through enforceable obligations.
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ROAD
CAG
Inconsistency in adopting carrying capacity/tollable traffic as yardstick for

determining the Concession Period by NHAI resulted in fixing higher concession
period and higher toll burden on road users.
Projects were approved despite the known late realization of minimum threshold
traffic.
The Total Project Cost (TPC) worked out by the concessionaires was higher as
compared to TPC worked out by the NHAI. In 25 projects, TPC worked out by
concessionaire was higher by 50%.
KELKAR COMMITTEE
In the case of BOT toll projects, focus on projects with longer concession
period. NHAI, concessionaire can opt for revenue share on a case to case basis.
In case of projects that are not viable on BOT toll basis, options to fund through
hybrid models, grant of VGF, part annuity, O&M grants, and debt instruments,
maybe explored.
The concessioning authority may undertake detailed project development activities
including demand assessment, soliciting stakeholder views on project structure and
financial viability analysis to estimate a shadow bid, which could be used to compare
actual bids received.
Way ahead:
PPPs in infrastructure represent a valuable instrument to speed up infrastructure

development in India.
This speeding up is urgently required for India to grow rapidly and generate a
demographic dividend for itself and also to tap into the large pool of pension and
institutional funds from aging populations in the developed countries.
Critically examine the measures taken by government to revamp PPP in

infrastructure development with special reference to Kelkar committee
recommendations.
Economic survey 2014-15 pointed out to structural problems which have resulted in
low economic growth over the past. What do you understand by structural
problems? Explain the measures taken by government to overcome it.
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General Studies 2:
affecting Indias interests; Effect of policies and politics of developed and
developing countries on Indias interests
Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate;
Issues relating to poverty and hunger.
WTO: GATS & Indian Education
Lack of dialogue and social concern witnessed during the negotiations in the GATS
Agenda- General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
GATS deals with global trade, as commodities, services such as higher education;
health; life insurance; research and development in the physical sciences, social
sciences, humanities; and so on.
The Waiver
According to the waiver by WTO, the non-least developed country (LDC) members
can give preference to services and service providers from LDCs for duration of
another 15 years
Presently there are 35 countries which have been classified as LDCs by the United
Nations and have become members of the WTO, with Afghanistan being the latest to
join as a member during the Nairobi conference
India
Developing country, a non-LDC

India has negotiated hard to ensure that the interests of the LDCs and the
developing countries are kept at the centre of the WTO agenda
India has the youngest population in the world and with half its people below the
age of 25, it faces the challenge of educating its youth and preparing them for
taking up employment both within the country and outside
Facilitated entry of foreign education providers ensuring proper regulation as well as
proper framework to be followed
Can it be possible for India?

1st generation learners- There exists a crisis in elementary education coverage in India and
therefore, ensuring a level field might just remain a pipe-dream
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Trade or Justice- Equitable development can be ensured only when social justice is ensured
first. India is still reeling under issues of subsidies and lack of support needed by students
wherein unfair trade practices creep in.
Refer the link for Education & Technology: The perils of e-fixation: Students, Computers
and Learning (http://iasbaba.com/2015/10/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-16th-october2015/)
Positive move Students can have greater access to a wide range of education
opportunities at home or abroad (Worlds top universities, including ones such as Harvard
and Stanford, can establish their off-campus institute anywhere in India)
Issues with GATS in India
No means of ensuring that only high-quality universities enter

No means of controlling the cost of education they provide
In India, students increasingly face the issue of education loan, which more often
than not builds up a psychological pressure leading to some drastic steps like suicide.
Where people are ageing in developed countries, brain drain might become an even
more common phenomenon to be witnessed in developing countries like India.
Moreover, it can lead to loss of the right to demand from the government
scholarships and subsidies or reservation in educational institutions. It has also been
argued that itll lead to education becoming a commercial activity instead of a
service.
Indian Governments MoveWorking on introducing education reforms indicating its own willingness to adopt the GATS
agenda in education; namely:
Four-year undergraduate programme,

Choice-based credit system,
Cutting down on the non-National Eligibility Test fellowships, and
Research funding
Principle of progressive liberalisation
If an offer is made it is difficult to withdraw the offer in the next round of

negotiations as any withdrawal (sector or sub-sector) needs to be compensated by
making a comparable offer involving another sector
In simple terms, during the offer stage a country can withdraw its approval, but
when the country signs an agreement it cannot withdraw from its commitment. If a
country wants to withdraw its commitment, it will have to pay heavily as
compensation
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Background
GATS
Created during the Uruguay Round
Objectives:
Creating a credible and reliable system of international trade rules;

Ensuring fair and equitable treatment of all participants (principle of nondiscrimination);
Stimulating economic activity through guaranteed policy bindings; and
Promoting trade and development through progressive liberalization
Modes of entry
Mode 1 refers to cross-border trade. Here services flow from the territory of one WTO
member into that of another, thus crossing national frontiers. For instance, banking or
engineering or even medical services may be transmitted electronically or by regular mail.
Mode 2 refers to consumption abroad, where the consumer physically goes abroad and
purchases a service as in the case of a tourist or one who goes for a medical treatment or
for education.
Mode 3- A commercial presence, a service supplier of one member establishes, for instance,
a branch office or agency to deliver, say, banking, legal or communications services.
Mode 4- Movement of natural persons, the service demanding country allows a foreign
national to enter and provide the service. This is merely to facilitate temporary migration
and not to seek a job or stay permanently.
Discuss the evolution of education as a commodity rather than a necessity
Related Articles:
Post-Nairobi : WTO- Doha Development Agenda
http://iasbaba.com/2015/12/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-29th-december-2015/
Message from Nairobi- WTO Negotiations
http://iasbaba.com/2015/12/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-23rd-december-2015/
WTO and its relevance
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TOPIC:
General studies 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of

resources, growth, development and employment; Effects of liberalization on the
economy
General studies 2: Important aspects of governance, transparency and
accountability; Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their
structure, mandate; Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements
involving India and/or affecting Indias interests; Government policies and
design and implementation.
Illicit Financial Flows

Report by Global Financial Integrity (GFI) on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs):
$510 billion of black money flowed out of India from 2004 to 2013; that means an
average annual outflow of $51 billion, or Rs. 3.3 lakh crore.
But the estimate did not include or cover mis-invoicing of:
Trade in services
Trade of Goods- Accounted for 83.4 per cent of the $510 billion of IFFs from India
Cash transactions
Hawala transactions
Huge Mis-interpretations
Of the mainstream discourse on
Tax evasion (which is illegal)

Tax avoidance (which is legal but could be equally abusive)
Ignorance towards entities accounting for the lions share of illicit capital flight:
Multinational Enterprises (MNEs)
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates that
more than 60 per cent of global trade occurs within MNEs that is, between the
subsidiaries of an MNE
Therefore, the numbers indicate a massive shifting of profits from jurisdictions with higher
tax rates to those with zero or very low tax rates
Case of MNE:
An integrated entity that coordinates the businesses of hundreds of subsidiaries spread

across jurisdictions
For tax purposes- These businesses are assumed to be separate economic activities
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Leads to a single group of companies with 500 subsidiaries assumed to consist of 500
independent taxable entities in diverse locations, thus, leaving plenty of scope for profit
shifting and tax games
Added to this, an evasion-friendly tax regime leads MNEs to enjoy an effective tax rate in
the low single-digits
Finance Ministrys Data:

Received: $392.2 billion in FDI in the 15 years from 2000 to 2015
Loss in illicit outflows: $512 billion in just the 10 years from 2004 to 2013
TJN Report: The problem is that the assets of these countries are held by a small number of
wealthy individuals while the debts are shouldered by the ordinary people of these
countries through their governments
So what should be the best way to make ordinary people shoulder the states debt
burden?
Ans: Tax consumption more heavily than wealth
(Goods & Services Tax comes into the picture as one would argue that it is the only way to
make up the direct tax revenue that the state is either unable or unwilling to collect from
treaty-shopping MNEs)
Transfer Pricing
Most popular mechanism for shifting profits
Mechanism of Transfer PricingFor IT giants such as Google or Microsoft (engaged in services), transfer pricing takes the
form of:
a licensing fee or
a royalty payment or
interest paid
..by a subsidiary to a parent company located offshore

Payments are then treated as a cost in the jurisdiction where revenues are being generated,
thereby slashing profits (arbitrary and dictated, with no relation to cost and added value,
diverge from the market forces)
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Transfer Pricing Regulations (TPR)
Applicable to the all enterprises that enter into an 'International Transaction' with an
'Associated Enterprise' (all cross border transactions entered into between
associated enterprises)
Aim: To arrive at the comparable price as available to any unrelated party in open
market conditions and this price is thus, known as the Arm's Length Price (ALP)
Arms Length Price: Price that would be charged in the transaction if it had been
entered into by unrelated parties in similar conditions
Basically, transfer pricing channels a subsidiarys profits through a cascade of companies

incorporated in different jurisdictions, to eventual safety in a tax haven
Drawbacks:
Loss of taxation revenue to Govt.

Loss of foreign exchange
Unethical corporate governance
Examples (illegal):
Google has used Bermuda

Amazon uses Luxembourg
Microsoft uses Bermuda
This equals to a lethal combination of transfer pricing and tax havens thus, making it
impossible to curb illicit capital flows
European Union: Estimated to be losing 1.1 trillion of income to tax-dodging every year
Bigger losers: Developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America
Consequences (India)
Country would be seen as possessing a combative tax administration

Discourages overseas investors portraying the country as a troublesome investment
destination
Increase in tax litigation causing valuable expenditure in (tareekh e tareekh)
Development of a Tax Regime:
With global trade being dominated by MNEs, it was found necessary to put in place a tax
regime that ensured revenue for every country while avoiding double taxation
Two model tax treaties were developed:
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One by the United Nations
Favoured taxing income at the source country that is, wherever the incomegenerating economic activity took place, regardless of the residence of the
enterprises owners
In favour: Of developing countries which, for years, had allowed their natural
resources to be extracted by foreign capital, only to see the profits flow to
offshore entities without doing much to enrich the local population
Another by the OECD
Residents: Would be taxed on their worldwide income

Predominant in tax treaties- Suits the MNEs
Asked to pay little tax in their own residence jurisdiction, since the bulk of
their revenue is generated overseas
Non-residents: Would be taxed only on their domestic income

MNEs make money here- and they end up avoiding paying the taxes
owing to them being Non-residents and therefore, not eligible to pay
taxes
Occurrence of discrepancy of double tax avoidance
IndiasDouble Taxation Avoidance Agreements have opted for a predominantly OECD

model:
FDI we seek will pay very little or no tax in India on the income it generates from India
Place of Effective Management: Essentially a residence taxation concept
Is there any Alternative Arrangement that could have been opted for?
Yes; Linking taxation to sales and assets in India rather than the (putative) residence of
effective management
IASbabas Views
We need to understand that curbing illicit capital flight is to be given a higher priority
than courting foreign capital as what is rightfully ours should be brought back first
(not a minimal amount- Which can be easily diverted towards creation of more social
capital)
India also needs to consider reducing the transfer pricing related litigations and
enhance MNCs confidence to invest in India. Shome Panels retrospective cases
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formulation (recovery of dues only without additional penalty demand) seems to be

a good way ahead for the same.
Write a short note on the following:
1. GAAR
2. Parthsarthi Shome Panel Recommendations
3. UNCITRAL
TOPIC:
General Studies 2:
Inclusive growth and issues arising from it. Investment models.
General Studies3:
Improve the Investment Climate
When we talk about the growth rate that has been projected by the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) being 3.1 per cent, we understand that the end of 2015 has not only ended at an
all-time-low but has also exhibited the crying need to be corrected as early as possible.
What does the figure say
Advanced economies are growing at around 2 per cent

Developing economies are growing at 4 per cent
Stumbling Blocks
Economic crisis of Greece (Europe)

Sharp decline in oil prices (Oil-exporting countries)
Countries which had gained as a consequence of a fall in crude oil prices have not
been able to exhibit faster growth as well
Concerns regarding China and Yuan Devaluation (Competitive Devaluation)
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Lets talk about 2016

IMF: Projected the global growth rate for 2016 to be 3.6 per cent with
Advanced economies growing at 2.2 per cent

Developing economies growing at 4.5 per cent
World Bank Report: Shows lower numbers for both 2015 and 2016
United States:
Recent decision to hike the policy rate by the Fed is some indication that monetary
policymakers believe that the U.S. economy is on a recovery path
But the Fed has not yet relaxed its accommodative posture, which indicates that the
recovery is fragile
Since oil prices are not expected to rise (oil-producing countries will continue to deal
with losses), concerns regarding China will continue (though Shale might come to
the rescue)
Hiking the Policy Rate might spell out its own effects on capital flows to developing
economies and lead to financial markets witnessing greater volatility
Can India show a better performance

BRICS Block- India is the only country that has shown a good performance
Mid-year economic analysis estimates Indias growth rate in 2015-16 to be between 7 and
7.5 per cent
Concerns
Supply Side Indicators like agriculture maynot contribute much in enhancing the growth
rate and with the erratic weather playing spoil-sport in 2015; this scenario is quite likely to
repeat itself in 2016.
Services sector:
There will not be much difference in the growth rate but concentration and efforts
in the industrial sector carries the possibility of carrying the growth rate forward
Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for April-October 2015 shows a distinct
improvement but external demand, as reflected in the performance of exports, has
been weak and overall, exports during the period of April-October declined by 17.6
per cent
The decline is mostly due to the decline in the export of petroleum products, by
more than 50 per cent
Also, non-oil exports have declined by 8.7 per cent during this period and this does
not auger well for many industries
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Good Signs:
Private Consumption could pick up partly because of the benefit accruing to
consumers due to the fall in petroleum prices
Consumption goods sector of IIP has done well and Public sector investment has
shown a rise
Capital expenditure of the Central government during the period April-October
2015 rose by 31 per cent
Public Sector Enterprises

Bulk of the public investment came from the public sector enterprises but public investment
alone will not be able to reverse the current trend falling in the negative end of the scale
In 2015-16:
Revenue Growth: Close to budgetary expectations (despite a lower-than-expected growth
in nominal GDP)
Expenditure Side: Subsidy burden came down because of a fall in crude prices
Government expenditures:
Stayed at budgeted levels

Could stick to the fiscal consolidation path
Witnessed the rise in Capital expenditures substantially
Burden of the Pay Commissions Promises:

The additional burden imposed by the Seventh Pay Commission is substantial and can pose
to be a real hurdle
Expenditure on pay and pension: Will increase by 20 per cent and will amount to a burden
of 0.4 per cent of GDP, after taking into account the additional tax revenue on the increased
emoluments.
Ability of the government to raise money for capital expenditures is limited and relaxing
the fiscal consolidation path is not a solution-Why: Larger fiscal deficit will not only take up
a greater share of the available pool of savings but also cause an increase in the interest
rates. (Not conductive to a growth in private sector investment)
Rise in Private consumption: Because of the additional income in the hands of government
employees, thus the behaviour of private corporate investment or private investment in
general will be witnessing an increase from their end.
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Private Corporate Investment:

While there has been some improvement in relation to stalled projects, there is no strong
pick up in the new projects
Issues:
Slow growth in nominal sales revenue

High levels of debt
IASbabas Views:
A strong recovery is possible in 2016 with growth rate exceeding 7.5 per cent but
that is contingent on private investment, particularly private corporate investment,
showing substantial improvement.
Government needs to adopt a pro-active approach in creating a proper investment
climate:
Enhance investors confidence in the system
Removal of cumbersome rules and procedures
Toning up the delivery system
TOPIC:
General studies 2: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements

involving India and/or affecting India's interests; Effect of policies and politics of
developed and developing countries on India's interests, Indian diaspora.
resources, growth, development and employment.
Gear up for changes in tax laws, treaties
The international community led by the G20 had initiated the Base Erosion and Profit
Shifting (BEPS) project a few years ago with the aim of ensuring that profits are
taxed where economic activities are performed and where value is created.
Governments, tax authorities and social groups have been voicing their concern over
the past decade that multinational enterprises are shifting profits to low tax
jurisdictions where there is no or little value-creation, and consequently not paying
their fair share of taxes.
As a member of the G20, India is an active participant in the BEPS project.
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What is BEPS?
Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) refers to tax planning strategies that exploit
these gaps and mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low or no-tax
locations where there is little or no economic activity, resulting in little or no overall
corporate tax being paid.
BEPS is of major significance for developing countries due to their heavy reliance
on corporate income tax, particularly from multinational enterprises (MNEs).
Research undertaken since 2013 confirms the potential magnitude of the BEPS problem.
Estimates conservatively indicate annual losses of anywhere from 4 - 10% of global
corporate income tax (CIT) revenues, i.e. USD 100 to 240 billion annually.
The most common practices and structures identified by India from a BEPS perspective
are:
Excessive payments to foreign-affiliated companies in respect of interest, service

charges and royalties;
Aggressive transfer pricing, including supply chain restructuring that contractually
allocates risks and profits to affiliated companies in low tax jurisdictions;
Digital enterprises facing zero or no taxation in view of the principle of residencebased taxation;
Treaty shopping;
Incentives in the tax laws for attracting investment; and
Assets situated in India but owned by companies located in low tax jurisdictions with
no substance.
What should India do?
To implement BEPS actions around these issues, India is likely to amend its domestic
tax law as well as tax treaties (either through the multilateral instrument being
developed as part of the BEPS project, or bilaterally).
It is important that taxpayers take note of these developments and prepare
accordingly.
Way ahead:
The new BEPS guidance will have a significant impact on Indian taxpayers.
Taxpayers need to be aware of and constantly monitor the ongoing BEPS Action
Plans as well as the changes that India is bringing about in its domestic law and tax
treaties.
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Background:
1. Transfer pricing:
Transfer pricing is the practice of setting up prices for trading valuables

between two entities across different tax jurisdictions.
The valuables can be tangibles, intangibles, services and financial
transactions and the entities can be company divisions and departments, or
parent companies and its subsidiaries.
For Example: When a US-based subsidiary of Coca-Cola, buys something from a Frenchbased subsidiary of Coca-Cola. When the parties establish a price for the transaction, this
is transfer pricing.
Transfer pricing is not, in itself, illegal or necessarily abusive.
The Arms Length principle:
If two unrelated companies trade with each other, a market price for the transaction
will generally result.
This is known as arms-length trading, because it is the product of genuine
negotiation in a market.
This arms length price is usually considered to be acceptable for tax purposes.
But when two related companies trade with each other, they may wish to
artificially distort the price at which the trade is recorded, to minimise the overall
tax bill.
This might, for example, help it record as much of its profit as possible in a tax
haven with low or zero taxes.
This is when transfer pricing becomes illegal or abusive.
2. Treaty shopping:
The practice of structuring a multinational business to take advantage of

more favourable tax treaties available in certain jurisdictions.
A business that resides in a home country that doesn't have a tax treaty with
the source country from which it receives income can establish an operation in
a second source country that does have a favorable tax treaty in order to
minimize its tax liability with the home country.
Most countries have established anti-treaty shopping laws to circumvent the
practice.
India has now initiated the process of renegotiating some of its existing bilateral tax treaties
to combat treaty shopping by inserting anti-abuse rules.
Some of the BEPS suggestions on this aspect are similar and need to be evaluated by
taxpayers closely in light of their current structure.
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What do you understand by Base Erosion and Profit Sharing? Explain its impact on
global economy with special focus on India.
Explain the terms transfer pricing and treaty shopping along with measures taken by
Indian government to prevent their abuse.
TOPIC:
General studies 2:
General studies 3:
Major crops cropping patterns in various parts of the country, different types of
irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural
produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers.
In a bid to provide a social security net to millions of farmers across the

country, reeling under the impact of consecutive droughts, the Union Cabinet has
approved a new crop insurance scheme called Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana
(Prime Ministers Crop Insurance Scheme).
What is the scheme all about?
The scheme provides agricultural insurance for crops against crop loss and failure.
It will charge a uniform premium of two per cent of the sum insured from farmers
for all kharif crops and 1.5 per cent for rabi crops.
For horticulture crops, the annual premium will be five per cent of the sum insured.
The balance premium would be paid by the government to the insurance companies.
This would be shared equally by the Centre and state governments.
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Comparing with earlier agriculture insurance schemes:
Advantages of the new scheme:

1. The scheme has the lowest premium, it entails easy usage of technology like mobile
phone, quick assessment of damage and disbursement within a time-frame.
2. For the Centre, there would be no upper limit on the subsidy and even if the balance
premium is 90 per cent, it would provide for the same.
This also means if a state government does not fulfil its commitment of 50 per cent
subsidy sharing, the Centre would step in but not allow the scheme to fail.
Low premium rates: uniqueness of the scheme
Till now, the average premium for all food grain crops was as high as 15 per cent,
while for horticulture crops, it was even higher.
However the premium rates in the new scheme would as low as 2% for kharif crops,
1.5% for rabi crops and 5% for horticultural crops.
Practical problem associated with earlier agriculture insurance schemes:

There have been many crop insurance schemes in the past, but all of them have some
problem or the other.
Which is why the total crop insurance cover till now in agriculture is 23 per cent.
Under the earlier schemes, according to rules, farmers insurance claims have to be settled
within 45 days of the risk assessment. However, often, claims are not attended to even
after six months, which is a major reason why farmers dont for crop insurance.
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Fundamental problem of Indian agriculture:
The fundamental problem with Indian agriculture is that farmers face yield risks as
much as they face price risks.
No other sector can claim this level of uncertainty at almost every level of
operation
1. The risk of monsoon failure and infestations during crop growth,
2. The risk of lower prices after harvest,
3. Compromise in quantity and quality during storage and distribution etc.
These risks assume higher proportions given productivity and technology lacunae and
affects the economy as a whole through the agriculture sectors extensive linkages.
How much will the scheme cost the government?
The new insurance scheme would cost the government Rs 8,800 crore over the next
three years, assuming that 50 per cent of farmers are covered.
At present, with 23 per cent insurance cover, the Centre spends Rs 3,100 crore a
year on crop insurance.
The insurance amount covered will also not be capped and so also the premium
rates.
Way ahead:
The new crop insurance scheme is a well-timed policy.

However attempts were made in the past to insure the Indian crop market, and
almost all of them have failed.
Critical implementation gaps that led to failure of previous schemes should be
studied and reworked upon in order to make the new scheme successful.
Critically examine the factors that impact agricultural productivity in India, explain
with special reference to impact of agriculture insurance.
Even though more than 60% of total arable area in India is dependent on monsoons
for crop production, the agriculture crop insurance coverage is less than 25%.
Explain the reasons for low crop insurance penetration among farming community
in India along with measures taken by government to promote agricultural
insurance.
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TOPIC:
General studies 3:

Indias investment anaemia
12th five year plan (2012-17) envisaged a target of around one trillion dollars to
enable a growth rate of around 8%.
The new government which was formed in 2014, focussed much more on
investment led growth.
Sadly, investment has not grown.
More disturbing, several obstacles blocking the investment revival remain in place.
Domestic resource mobilization:
Private-sector fixed-capital investment, as a share of gross domestic product, peaked

at 33.6% in 2011-12 and has since trended down to the current low of 28.7% in
2014-15.
Performance at state level:
The above weakness in capital formation is a nationwide phenomenon, with all

major states registering a decline in ongoing projects over the period between 201112 to 2014-15.
Maharashtra and Karnataka, for example, both experienced a cumulative decline of
about 15% in projects; the declines in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu were sharper, at more
than 20%.
Underperformance of manufacturing sector:
As for Make in India, the reality is that capacity creation in manufacturing has
suffered a cumulative decline of 35% from its peak in 2011.
The cumulative decline in services, at 13%, looks moderate in comparison.
Factors that are holding back investments:

1. Failure of major reforms like land acquisition etc:
Given parliamentary gridlock, the prospect of pushing through tough reforms
appears bleak.
As a result, the central government has preferred simply to delegate some of
the task to states.
As a part of 14th finance commission recommendations, centre devolved
around 42% of net tax proceeds to state governments.
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But while there are several benefits to be derived from strengthening Indias
fiscal federalism, an important downside is that it signals a dilution of the
central governments ambition at the state level.
2. Continuing financial problems of Indian banks and of many large corporations.
Despite significant action by the present governmentfor example, in
auctioning coal licencescorporations and banks exposed to the mining and
infrastructure sectors still have stressed balance sheets.
In fact, the problem is broader.
According to a recent report by Credit Suisse, 17% of Indian bank loans are
stressed, a significant share of which may not be repaid.
Just as the process of land acquisition needs major reform, bankruptcy
reform will be essential to place the corporate and financial sectors on a
sound footing.
3. Real cost of borrowing is high in India
Despite the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)s success in taming inflationwith
help from falling commodity pricesnominal interest rates have not fallen in
line.
In terms of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the real cost of borrowing (cash
credit) from public sector banks rose from 0.75% in the first quarter of
2012 to 5.24% in the third quarter of 2015.
This increase is larger when measured using wholesale manufacturing
inflation.
As a consequence of stressed balanced sheets, and anxious to rebuild their
strength, banks are reluctant to pass through to their customers the RBIs
recent rate cuts.
4. External factors
External conditions will also hold down investment in 2016.
The US economy has recovered, but the Chinese motor has slowed
markedly, and growth in Japan and much of Europe remains sluggish.
That inevitably means fewer incentives in India to invest in export-oriented
sectors.
Way ahead:
However, whatever the state of the global economy, the bottom line is that India
cannot attain its potential without a strong revival in investment.
If the economy is to achieve the double-digit growth rates that China once boasted,
India will need to build much more production capacity and infrastructure.
Critically examine the various mechanisms available in India for domestic resource
mobilization.
Critically analyse the importance foreign investment in promoting GDP and
economic growth in India.
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TOPIC:
General studies 2:

General studies 3:
Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their

effects on industrial growth.
Science and Technology - developments and their applications and effects in
everyday life Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of
technology and developing new technology.
Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, biotechnology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Navigating the fourth industrial revolution

The big buzz at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos this year is about the Fourth
Industrial Revolution, described by the founder and executive chairman of WEF, Klaus
Schwab, as a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work
and relate to one another.
The Industrial Revolutions:
1. The first Industrial Revolution began in Britain in the last quarter of the 18th century
with the mechanisation of the textile industry, harnessing of steam power, and birth
of the modern factory.
2. The second revolution began roughly a century after the first and peaked at the
beginning of the 20th century, embodied in Henry Fords creation of the moving
assembly line that ushered in mass production.
Factories could produce countless numbers of identical products quickly and
cheaply Fords famous line was about being able to sell customers cars of
any colour they liked, so long as it was black.
3. The third industrial revolution, beginning c. 1970, was digital and applied electronics
and information technology to processes of production.
Mass customisation and additive manufacturing the so-called 3D printing
are its key concepts, and its applications, yet to be imagined fully, are quite
mind-boggling.
4. The fourth industrial revolution is conceptualised as an upgrade on the third
revolution and is marked by a fusion of technologies straddling the physical, digital
and biological worlds.
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How effective and efficient can fourth industrial revolution be?

A case study:
The crane used for loading ships can be fitted with sensors that measure the
weight of the containers and plug it into a software model.
Using the design of the ship, the software sends instructions on where
exactly to place the container in order to optimize the weight-balance of the
ship.
This process can enhance the fuel efficiency of the ship by 5-8%, according to
Markus Lorenz of the Boston Consulting Group.
A key note on fourth industrial revolution:
The fourth industrial revolution combines digital and physical systems to completely
transform the interaction between humans and machines.
The tools that it has at its disposal include big data, robotics, augmented reality and
the Internet of Things.
The fourth industrial revolution builds upon the first three industrial revolutions
(steam power and mechanical production; assembly lines and electrification; and
electronics and computing) and the rapid pace of technological progress since then
to achieve almost surreal results by fusing the boundaries between all of them.
How important is the fourth industrial revolution for India?

Extremely important
In 1600, India contributed more than 22% of the worlds gross domestic product,
which reduced to about 4% in 1990 before economic reforms revved it up to 6.8%.
This was a major reason for India failing to climb the bandwagon of the first
industrial revolution.
India remained behind the curve on the next two as well. If India fails to reap the
benefits of the fourth, it will not have imperial Britain to blame this time.
Challenges India may face in reaping benefits:
Indias path is strewn with challenges.

Its comparative advantage of cheap labour, most of which is very poorly skilled, will
be blunted by the fourth industrial revolution.
While India needs to invest heavily in up skilling initiatives, the probability of some
dislocations cannot be discounted.
This will require it to make provisions for elaborate safety nets without letting it
degenerate into an entitlement culture.
Building the right institutions of governance, particularly regulatory institutions, is
another challenge.
Regulators have to do a lot better for India to realize the fourth industrial
revolutions benefits.
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Explain the concept of fourth industrial revolution and its importance to Indian
economy and people.
TOPIC:
General studies 2:

issues arising out of their design and implementation; Governance issues
General studies 3:

Effects of liberalization on the economy Infrastructure; Investment models.
Public investment: for a new normal
The Indian economy is today the worlds fastest-growing large economy but here the
twist occursIndia also has a far lower per capita income compared to other
countries in the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) grouping.
When we talk about the growth rate that has been projected by the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) being 3.1 per cent, we understand that the end of 2015 has
not only ended at an all-time-low but has also exhibited the crying need to be
corrected as early as possible.
What does the figure say
Advanced economies are growing at around 2 per cent

Developing economies are growing at 4 per cent
Stumbling Blocks
Economic crisis of Greece (Europe)

Sharp decline in oil prices (Oil-exporting countries)
Countries which had gained as a consequence of a fall in crude oil prices have not
been able to exhibit faster growth as well
Concerns regarding China and Yuan Devaluation (Competitive Devaluation)
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Internal factors
Poor agricultural performance since the boom of the 2003-08

Slowed pace of infrastructure growth driven by public investment eclipsing the
private investment in infrastructure (due to over-leveraged balance sheets and
excess capacities that will take time to get absorbed)
Groaning banking System- Under the collective weight of the overdue of private
borrowers
Slowdown in demand and Income dependant private consumption
Stagnated exports
Public Investment mattersPublicly-created infrastructure needs to be a component of any

high-growth plan not only as a source of aggregate demand but also as catalyst
As Adeus ex machina when the private investor is skittish on spending and thus
public investment serves to accumulate assets and strengthens the governments
balance sheet
Need to rely on our own resources and create an effective demand cycle for
indigenous products Offers a higher rate of return (Make in India- Start-ups)
Where private investment is based on expectations of profit, called the internal rate
of return for a project, there exists a lot of subjectivity attached with the
anticipation of the future state of the economy. Public Investment can thus; anchor
profit expectations in the atmosphere of chasing contagious pessimism of the
private investors by letting State Government play the role of private investors and
providing guidance to the economy
Fall in the crude prices and the upcoming spectrum can provide impetus to the
expansion programs planned by the government
Has the potential to boost jobs in the short run and pay enormous dividends (welfare
approach-enhancing the economys productivity)
Walk the tight ropeNeed to have a flexible fiscal consolidation in place
Fiscal Deficit: Need not expand substantially to enable a programme of increased

public spending on infrastructure but the reluctance to raise public revenues need to
be dealt with
Funds-If public bodies are starved of funds, they cannot expand and this acts as an
in-built depressor. It is possible that some of the subsidies need to be deleted they
constrain expanding public investment.
Subsidy Regime: The reluctance to review the subsidy regime and divest must be
shown the door and a measured approach towards rationalisation of subsides as
well as sale of public assets should be considered as only then would they be able to
acquire others. It can be beneficial for growth and employment, and therefore for
welfare- (Maintenance of Fiscal Health)
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Pension and insurance funds should be used increasingly for financing projects
Ineffective policy interventions, tax risks, regulatory risks and judicial risks- make it
difficult for local enterprises to grow and must be simplified as early as possible
Success Story
Ethiopia in Africa-its economy is growing at an average annual rate exceeding 10% since
2004 due to a massive increase in public investment, translating into:
Poverty reduction
Improved health outcomes
Bolivia, Latin America- One of the rare mineral exporters with annual GDP growth to remain
above 4% has employed public investment as their engine of growth
Critically examine the much-emphasized role of public investment in Indias

economy
TOPIC:

resources, growth, development ; Banking & related issues
A solution, with its own problems- Strategic Debt Restructuring Scheme

(The opinion is lucid and in a narrative style- Covered under proper headlines)
Strategic Debt Restructuring (SDR) Scheme
Enables a consortium of lenders to convert a part of their loan in an ailing company

into equity, with the consortium owning at least 51 per cent stake
Provides banks significant relaxation from the RBI rules for 18 months
Loans restructured under the scheme are not treated as non-performing assets
(NPAs) and banks have to make low provisions of 5 per cent in most cases
Allows banks to recognise interest accrued, but not due/paid as income enabling
banks to report lower NPAs and higher profits for 18 months
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For Lenders
Power to turnaround the ailing company, make it financially viable and recover their
dues by selling the firm to a new promoter
If banks are unable to sell to a new promoter within 18 months, then all regulatory
relaxations cease to exist and lenders have to treat these assets as NPAs and make
100 per cent provisioning for these assets in majority of the cases
Effectiveness of the Scheme

Case of postponing banks NPAs to later years: Increased risks, therefore!
As the lenders may find it tough, in most cases, to sell their stake in these
companies, or be able to sell at steep losses within the 18-month window
Marks more deterioration for Indian banks deteriorating asset health, exacerbating
the risk by deferring an estimated (Rs 1.5 lakh crore) of NPA formation from (201516/2016-17) to later years(Religare Analysis)
No clarity on the seriousness of the buyers and the valuation that they seek as
attempts to restructure the SDR cases under the Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR)
mechanism, from the past two years, have been unable to yield positive results.
Gammon India, Mumbai based infrastructure company:

March, 2013: Approached CDR Cell as the company was stressed due to rising costs and
mounting debt
June, 2013: Its debt restructuring package was approved, which provided a 10-year
repayment plan and lowering of interest rate by 1 per cent for 15 months. Unable to
revive the company via a CDR package, the lenders consortium evoked SDR in
November 2015.
IVRCL, a Hyderabad-based infrastructure company:
January,2014: Approached the CDR Cell as there were losses emerging from debtfunded expansion projects
June, 2014: The package was approved, comprising of restructuring of term loans,
working capital loans and fresh financial assistance by the banks. Failing to revive IVRCL
through CDR, the banks invoked SDR in November 2015 with lenders owning 78 per cent
equity in the company.
Increasing Failure Rate
Of CDR restructured cases has increased to 36 per cent in September 2015 from 24
per cent in September 2013 (Religare)
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CDR Cell data: Received 530 cases till March 2015 from banks seeking to restructure
debt totalling Rs 4.03 lakh crore without classifying these accounts as NPAs
Debt burden of these companies have been mounting since 2013 when they went
for restructuring to the CDR Cell
Upon conclusion of the SDR, debt level of these companies are expected to rise by
70 per cent since the date of first restructuring
Need to solve the debt issue
To encourage banks to look for good enterprise value for these assets
Slowdown in the economy coupled with the crash in commodity prices and weak
private investment paves way for rocky path in selling their SDR stakes
If we have a look at the sectors, metals is the most difficult to find buyers and
power poses questions of viability
Key issues with the SDR mechanism:

Lenders Consortium
Having to find a new promoter within 18 months of having acquired the company
and in these 18 months, banks have to wrap up the entire process of initiating the
SDR process, running the business and finding a new buyer.
Formulating a plan right from invoking the SDR, valuing the company to the
conversion of debt to equity, etc., as well as taking approval by all members of the
lenders consortium is not an easy task to be performed within the given stipulated
time
Plus working on identifying a new promoter, who has to complete his due diligence,
valuation and acquisition documentation of the company would be a very tiring
never-ending circle
A toll on Banks profitability can occur if, at the end of 18 months, banks are not able
to find a new buyer- Will have to provide for the loan outstanding from the date of
the first restructuring (over the past 3-4 years in one quarter)
SDR rules do not explicitly provide for a partial stake sale and banks have to sell their
entire stake in the company to the new buyer
RBI- Banks stressed advances ratio increased to 11.3 per cent in September 2015 from 11.1
per cent in March 2015
Management post becoming majority owners- Banks are currently using the existing
managements to run the company, but with greater external monitoring and oversight
thereby, over-stretching their own limitations.
The new promoter may have to delist the company upon acquiring 51 per cent shares from
the banks;
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SDR rules: Upon finding a new promoter, lenders must exit the firm
The new buyer will take a 51 per cent stake and, in line with the Securities and
Exchange Board of India rules, make an open offer for a further 25 per cent stake
If the open offer is fully subscribed, the buyer will own 76 per cent. Sebi rules
mandate that any holding above 75 per cent must trigger a delisting.
Not a long-term solution for resolving asset quality issues: Norms addresses only a small
section of the borrowers as well as many of the borrowers are genuine, and have not been
able to service their debt obligations for external reasons. Many of them are willing to
cooperate with banks to change the management but have been unable to find suitable
buyers/investors (as mentioned above)
Implementation issues as most of the existing debt may not be sustainable, that is, not
serviceable over the long run even if the economy revives. (Sector like metal)
IASbabas Views:
It is not advisable for banks to go for the SDR route unless they are certain of a sale
as well as RBI should bring about a concept of sustainable debt. Quick decisionmaking within defined time-lines will be central to the effectiveness of such a
framework.
Under the SDR scheme, banks are exempted from making an open offer while
acquiring majority stake in a stressed company. But such exemption is not available
to the new promoter, who may have to delist the company. To make the SDR
mechanism successful, banks should discuss this with SEBI and seek an exemption
from open offer for the new promoter
TOPIC:
General studies 3:
Government Budgeting.
General studies 2:
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Budget and Infrastructure investment

A month from now, the Finance Minister will present his Budget for the 2016-17 fiscal to
Parliament.
Some fiscal issues the budget needs to tackle:
Ongoing demand to introduce Indian Financial Code.

To cap fiscal deficit at an achievable target.
Demand to make principle of inflation targeting as the sole objective of monetary
policy.
Issue of composition of the Monetary Policy Committee.
What is the need in India?

India needs to create jobs for a fast-growing workforce and lift large numbers out of poverty
Hurdles which come in the way:
One major hurdle in achieving job creation is the scale of the challenge to build
infrastructure.
The other side is whether fiscal consolidation and inflation targeting could become
constraints on infrastructure investment, growth and job creation.
Consider the question of fiscal deficit:
As conventionally calculated, fiscal deficit is the difference between the

government's income and expenditure on both revenue and capital
accounts.
The deficit adds to government debt, but surely there is a huge difference
between, say, the expenditure incurred in implementing the recent award
of the Seventh Pay Commission, and the money spent on building roads,
ports, or other infrastructure, which adds to government assets?
This apart, investments in infrastructure are essential to maintain growth
momentum and the resultant increase in GDP improves the government's
debt servicing capacity.
Case study of Ethiopia:
Rapid growth in the most successful economy in Africa, namely Ethiopia, was the
result of "a massive increase in public investment, from five per cent of GDP in the
early 1990s to 19 per cent in 2011 - the third-highest rate in the world.
The government went on a spending spree, building roads, railways, power plants
and an agricultural extension system that significantly enhanced productivity in rural
areas where most of the poor reside.
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Lacunas in private sector financing:
It may be argued that the building of infrastructure could be left to the private sector
and bank financing rather than through fiscal resources.
While prima facie this sounds reasonable, at present there seem to be several
constraints on this happening on any significant scale.
Some of the more important ones are as follows:

1. The banking supervisor has been expressing serious concerns about the level of nonperforming assets of the banking system.
Loans to the infrastructure sector have a disproportionate share in the
aggregate non-performing assets, and banks would be reluctant to increase
their exposure.
Even otherwise, the banking system would be reluctant to increase its loan
book because of the much higher capital requirements prescribed by the
Basel III norms, which are to be complied with in the next few years.
2. For the private sector, its experience with stalled projects in the infrastructure sector
has not been happy, and that will surely dim its enthusiasm.
3. Another problem is that, in Maharashtra at least, there has been strong political
opposition and agitations against the collection of tolls on roads financed by the
private sector.
One also wonders to what extent the prevailing high real interest rates would
adversely affect infrastructure investment by the private sector and this is not
entirely the result of inefficient monetary transmission on the part of the
banking system.
Way ahead:
In short, relying on the private sector to undertake infrastructure investment

may not be a realistic proposition.
The virtue of fiscal deficit may need to be dented in the interest of
investment, growth and job creation.
Economic survey 2014-15 pointed out to structural problems for low economic
growth in India. What do you understand by structural problems? Explain the
measures taken by government to solve them.
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TOPIC:

resources; Banking & related Issues
Fashioning a Banking Turn- Public Sector Banks
Looking at the Indias domestic macroeconomic situation, one might perceive that
the economy is well ahead on its road towards growth and development but the sad
reality is starkly visible- the banking sector continuously facing challenges due to the
lack of any meaningful recovery in asset quality, capital constraints and sluggish
profitability
The Union budget thus, needs to incentivise savings to rescue public sector banks
and come up with a proper backing of the policy and regulatory environment,
Indradhanush Scheme
Revitalising public sector banks (PSBs) has been a key focus area for policymakers and the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central government have put in place key enabling
measures as under:
A) Appointments: Separation of the post of Chairman and Managing Director by prescribing
that in the subsequent vacancies to be filled up, the CEO will get the designation of MD &
CEO and there would be another person who would be appointed as non-Executive
Chairman of the bank.
B) Bank Board Bureau: A Banking Boards Bureau (BBB) comprising of a chairman and six
more members of which three will be officials and three experts (of which two would
necessarily be from the banking sector). The search committee for members of the BBB
would be made up of the RBI Governor, Secretary (Financial Services) and Secretary
(Department of Personnel and Training) in the Government of India.
C) Capitalization: Rs 70,000 crore of equity support to be provided in phases during the next
four years and another Rs 110,000 crore to be raised as debt from the markets. PSBs
market valuations will improve significantly due to
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
far-reaching governance reforms;

tight NPA management and risk controls;
significant operating improvements;
capital allocation from the government
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D) De-stressing PSBs Government to push clearances for stalled projects in roads, power
and steel and seek RBI support for more generous categorization of existing loans plus more
leeway. Major reasons causing stress in the power, steel and road sectors were
Delay in obtaining permits/approvals from various governmental and regulatory

agencies,
Land acquisition,
Delaying Commercial Operation Date (COD);
Lack of availability of fuel, both coal and gas;
Cancellation of coal blocks;
Closure of Iron Ore mines affecting project viability;
Lack of transmission capacity;
Limited off-take of power by Discoms given their reducing purchasing capacity;
Funding gap faced by limited capacity of promoters to raise additional equity and
reluctance on part of banks to increase their exposure given the high leverage ratio;
Inability of banks to restructure projects even when found viable due to regulatory
constraints
Steel sector: prevailing market conditions, viz. global over-capacity coupled with
reduction in demand led to substantial reduction in global prices, and softening in
domestic prices added to the woes.
Some of the actions proposed / undertaken:
Facilitate issue of pending approval/permits expeditiously

Evolve policies to address long-term availability of fuel for these projects
Respective Discoms will be provided hand-holding towards enabling early reforms
Bring in additional equity in an attempt to address the worsening leverage ratio of
these projects
Changing the extant duty regime without adversely impacting the downstream user
industry (increased import duty on steel)
Further flexibility in restructuring of existing loans wherever the Banks find viability.
E) Empowerment: There will be no interference from government to these banks so they

can take their decision independently keeping the commercial interest of the organisation in
mind
F) Framework of Accountability: A new framework of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to
be measured for performance of PSBs Indicators:
Efficiency of capital use and diversification of business/processes

NPA management and financial inclusion
Strategic initiatives taken to improve asset quality,
Efforts made to conserve capital,
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HR initiatives and
Improvement in external credit rating
G) Governance Reforms: Banks to have robust grievance redressal mechanism for

borrowers, depositors as well as staff GyanSangam
Strengthening of risk management practices

No interference policy
Improving HR management practices and removing barriers so that the Banks can
share and work together on common resources
The upcoming budget session of Parliament GEAR Approach

There is a need to boost savings in the economy in order to enhance the inherent economic
strength of the financial sector via the Gear Approach to augment the savings rate:
Growth
Efficiency
Attractiveness
Reach
Enhance growth to increase per capita incomes
Need to increase disposable incomes by raising the personal income tax exemption
slab to Rs 5 lakh.
This could be a one-time correction and the slab could thereafter be linked to
inflation and reviewed every three years.
Focus on improving the efficiency in financial transactions
Usage of plastic currency and e-transactions (via the internet and mobile phone) will
not only improve the ease of transactions but also enhance the saving propensity
among citizens
Every 1 per cent reduction in the currency in circulation is likely to add 0.4 per cent
to the savings rate
Will also help curb the flow of black money
Make financial savings attractive by providing tax incentives
For instance, the tax exemption limits under Section 80C could be doubled to Rs 3
lakh which will deepen the mutual fund and equity markets
Increase inflation-adjusted post-tax returns for bank deposits by reducing the lock-in
period eligible for tax rebate to one year from five years
Enhance the threshold for mandatory tax deduction at source (TDS) on interest
income to Rs 50,000 a year from the current level of Rs 10,000; will prove to be
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useful to roll back TDS on recurring deposits to encourage wider adoption, as this is a
product that promotes the habit of regular saving
The National Pension Scheme should enjoy EEE (exempt, exempt, exempt) tax
status
Expand the financial reach Government could consider converting India Post into the
postal bank of India, a full-fledged payments and savings bank, to leverage its rural
penetration for greater financial inclusion.
Other Measures
Passage of the GST bill

Further rationalising direct taxes, tax sops for start-ups
Introduction of key structural reforms in terms of real estate, labour, and micro,
small and medium enterprises
Help to the farm sector that needs significant focus on irrigation and technological
support.
The bankruptcy bill will also turn out to be a game changer for spurring economic
activity and confidence
Advent of the JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhar, Mobile numbers)
Jan DhanYojana: Furthering the objective of financial inclusion
Aadhaar Platform: Furnish the much-needed basic digital intelligence and mobile
phones will leverage this through innovative payment systems, such as Immediate
Payment Service or IMPS.
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ENVIRONMENT
TOPIC:
General studies 3:
Infrastructure: Energy (Renewable) , Conservation, environmental pollution and

degradation, environmental impact assessment.
General studies 2:

Shifting India to Clean Energy

India is running one of the largest renewable capacity expansion programs and by 2022,
India aims to have:
An installed solar energy capacity of 100 gigawatts (Gw)

Wind turbine capacity amounting to another 60 Gw
The 175 GW target by 2022 will result in abatement of 326 million tons of CO2
equivalent/year.
The next target is to double this, to 350 GW of RE by 2030
Positive Public Associations with Renewables:

Assumed that the environmental footprint will be small and woes will be eased off
Anthropogenic global warming,

Conflicts in petroleum-rich regions,
Atmospheric pollution,
Environmental damage
Conflicts caused by coal mining
Solar Energy
Ongoing scheme for development of the following owing to the high solar irradiation
25 Solar Parks
Ultra-Mega Solar Power Projects
Canal top solar projects
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One hundred thousand solar pumps for farmers

Solarisation of all petrol pumps, toll plazas across country
Utilization and maintenance of solar requires water or manual labour for keeping the
panels clean
Solar energy concentration technologies (some) kill birds by flash frying them in large
numbers.
Large amount of land is required
Setting up a capacity of 50 Mw in India needs about one square km of land
A Gw (1 Gw=1,000 Mw) therefore, needs about 20 square km and 100 Gw will
require upwards of 2,000 square km
40 Gw of that by 2022 is to be built on roofs
Gujarat: Built arrays on top of canals
But
Wind Energy
Estimations speak of millions (by some estimates more than 10 million) of birds
getting killed all over the world every year by wind turbines
Each turbine installation consumes large amounts of concrete and steel, PVC and
fibre-reinforced plastics (materials with cruel footprints)
Offshore Location:
Problems connecting to the grid due to the necessity of laying undersea cables
Will incur much higher maintenance costs due to the corrosive effects of sea
water
Overall Costs & Concerns

Huge capital investment is required around $95-100 billion equivalent of investments (at
Rs 65/USD) to meet the 100 GW target of 2022 (current outstanding bank credit to the
entire Indian power sector (conventional and RE) is $85 billion equivalent)
Technical challenges
In integrating intermittent power generation via solar and wind, with conventional
grids
Grid-balancing needs to get smarter
Requirement of smart solutions for net metering i.e., adjusting power bills to reflect
RE generated and be put on the grid by the consumer
Labour-intensive-Manual supervision is required to install, maintain and repair installations.

Thus, loss of employment and loss of revenues in
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Construction Sector
Less construction activity required

Construction sector that has also led to back-to-village phenomena- creating
difficulties in the rural employment landscape- Think!
Coal Mining and the associated value chain requires much better management of the
transition phase (laying off phase)
Dependency on other fuels Rare Earth Imports as well as crude and gas may increase
(China and its market dynamics needs to be put into perspective as the country is the largest
producer)
Energy and environment are two side of the same coin

Write short notes on the following
a) National Clean Energy Fund
b) National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency
TOPIC:
General studies 2:
General studies 3:
Infrastructure: Energy; Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation
Putting wind into renewable sails
The present Prime Minister wants to mainstream renewable energy (RE) and has set
a target of 175 GW by 2022.
Some experts say the target is too ambitious.
To an extent, they are correct that the targets are huge and pose challenge to grid
operator due to inconsistent generation.
Precise and significant decision by the Prime Minister:
The counter argument to the above arguments is that even the demand is
inconsistent and governments and utilities do very little on demand-side
management.
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Further, with improved technologies, renewable generation can be predictable with

reasonable accuracy.
The other important aspects to consider are pollution from fossil fuels, their finite
availability, and the cost of imports.
Renewable energy is abundant and domestic.
Even if the targeted capacity is not fully achieved, the resultant successes will be
better than meeting small targets.
Therefore, the Prime Ministers decision is precise and significant.
Issues to tackle:
The above targets imply renewable additions at about seven times the current rate.
This in turn will require a serious overhaul of the systems and processes.
Inadequate grid infrastructure, open access issues, poor fiscal health of utilities,
inconsistent policy processes at the State levels and lack of quality consciousness
resulting in the creation of bad assets are the major issues blocking investments into
renewable energy sector.
The case of wind and solar energy:
Of late, wind and solar are unnecessarily discussed as competition.

Both the sectors have a successful global track record. The benefits and drawbacks
for each depend on the application and location.
Wind power growth has declined from an addition of 3,000 MW in 2011to only 1,600
MW in 2015-16 so far, against a target of 2,400 MW.
This slowdown is mainly due to inadequate evacuation, refusal to enter into power
purchase agreements by some States, political interference at local levels and
cumbersome land acquisition processes
It should also be noted that the regulatory regime by centre and states is strongly
weighted against wind energy.
Against the wind energy:
In contrast with the various land and evacuation bottlenecks for wind, the
government is bullish in promoting solar.
State governments are de-risking large solar projects by acquiring land and creating
evacuation facilities.
For smaller projects, when the investor acquires land directly, the processes of land
alienation is exempted.
Solar projects are also let off from inter-State transmission and cross subsidy
charges. Currently, they are exempted from forecasting and scheduling.
Promote wind energy:
The Prime Ministers vision will benefit, if wind is given the same treatment.
In particular, national renewable purchase obligation (RPO) must be announced
immediately.
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The wind-rich States should be allowed to sell surplus wind energy generated to
deficit States.
Areas near green corridor can be designated as manufacturing hubs to absorb power
near source, reducing capital costs in transmission, and cutting T&D losses.
India also needs to invest in gas-based spinning reserves along the green corridor for
grid stability.
Role of the industry:
While the government has much to do, the industry can also contribute by
rationalising excessive manufacturing capacity, and passing on the benefits of higher
hub height and larger rotor diameter trend towards lower capital cost per kWh.
Quality must be a key focus.
Further, we should also revisit the tariff process.
For wind, State regulators fix feed-in-tariff after due consultations with
stakeholders and public hearings.
However, for solar, tariffs are decided through bidding.
It is perceived that bidding has contributed to reduction in tariffs.
The recent low bids in Andhra Pradesh are also used to showcase this argument.
Way ahead:
In sum, India needs all sources of renewable energy and the government must
promote every source on equal terms.
Land acquisition, power evacuation, local political interference, tariff process, and
quality are the key areas that need attention.
It is also necessary to reconsider the policy without the restricted approach from
purely commercial application of mind.
Energy mix is the key for energy security in India. Substantiate.

Critically examine the INDC targets of India with special focus on the renewable
energy component in the target.
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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
TOPIC:
General studies 3:
General Studies 3: Science and Technology - developments and their applications

and effects in everyday life Achievements of Indians in science & technology;
indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
General Studies 2: Government policies and interventions for development in

various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. I;
Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governanceapplications, models, successes, limitations, and potential
General Studies 1: The Effects of globalization on Indian society; Social

empowerment

If the growth of the Internet in the 1990s led to the fear of a new kind of social inequity in
the form of the digital divide, the present potential of this same internet has brought in a
majority of changes right from the way it overcomes existing divides to its role in
providing government support to capture the challenges of ICT (information and
communications technology) in under-served areas
Ability to Use
The modern consumer today, understands the level of dependency and usage that
internet has commanded and with this viewpoint, it thus, becomes important to also
measure the relevance of it, in the context of, the need to balance the allocation of
scarce public money among different urgent priorities
Social Inclusion: European Union Universal Service Directive in 2002 had suggested
that a necessary condition for a service to be included within the ambit of universal
service is that of it being critical for social inclusionthat is, it is a consumption
norm.
Minimum number of users of a service that would need to be crossed before

provision of subsidies for its universalization: In the context of India, number of
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internet users have multiplied multi-fold but these numbers are still low for it to be
considered as a consumption norm that a government is obligated to provide
Government & New Technologies: Since the 1980s, sophisticated statistical

techniques have been used to establish cause-effect relationships between the
adoptions of new technologiesthe mobile phone, the Internet and broadband
and gross domestic product (GDP) growth.
India- Studies show that a 10% increase in Internet penetration can increase the GDP
by 1.6% in the presence of a minimum penetration level of 25% and this study has
thus, made a case for the use of public money for Internet access and broadband
expansion
Major Policy Concerns:
Positive spillovers are not guaranteed by the studies conducted
The cause-effect relationship also needs to be considered while identifying the

various factors that are getting affected by the internet.
Also, the level of penetration is visibly low considering the under-served areas
that lie far below the threshold
Secondly, will the investment reap- as much benefit as much as the investments that
can be diverted towards providing basic facilities like health and education?
Third, these econometric studies are carried out with either a country or a province
within a country as the unit of analysis and given the immense size and
heterogeneity of the unit; the claims do not automatically extend to the sub-unit
levelfor example, to rural areas within a province. Therefore, bias as well as
inconsistency remains.
Rural areas & Internet:
The externalities may not accrue in many rural areas at their present level of
development mainly because of the issue of it being relevant and the theory of utmost
needs playing foul here.
Compared to the internet, the roads and education as well as proper provision of health
would serve as a major and the utmost requirement faced by Indian villages which are
still majorly under-developed and lacks access to even basic amenities of life.
In fact, the ability and willingness of the villagers, if put to question regarding the usage
of the new technology, would result in the proof of the access without a host of
complementary inputs is unlikely to lead to positive spillovers
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Enabler of development:
Ideally, one should view internet as an entity which has value not in and of itself but rather
as a medium that gives access to other basic goods and services
ICT for development projects cover many domains including healthcare, education, online
government services and the provision of commodity price information to small producers
and therefore, there exists two implications
Provision of the basic goods and services facilitated via ICT should adhere to some
consumption norm which can simply be in the form of, as an example, aiming for a level
that at the minimum achieves the targets of the Millennium Development Goals
Complementary inputs need to be provided to utilize internet facility efficiently by

making it largely a demand-based service as well as align itself with its complementary
entities; for example- the ICT network should develop in rough alignment with the
complementary institutions, processes and skills needed to provide remote medical
services
Complementary inputs and the development of ability to use (build it and they will
come) can also be triggered with the penetration of internet but the experience of
several government schemes in India shows that there are limits to this rationale for
advance build-out of connectivity
Questions to be Answered by TRAI

(1) Who are the actors?
(2) What factors influence each actors position?
(3) What is in the best interest of the sector and for realizing the ambitions of Digital India?
(4) If operator-service provider arrangements would limit competition and weaken
innovation?
IASbabas Views:
Universal access to the Internet need not be interpreted as uniform access and the
build-out of networks should be aligned to the absorptive capacity of a region by making
it a demand-driven service
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Deliberations on the national optic fibre network (NOFN) and free basics should
understand the various nuances, theories and explanations and design a plan
accordingly.
With Facebook nudging its 130 million Indian users to send emails to TRAI to lend their
voice to differential pricing, and about 1.4 million obliging, TRAI should make sure that
paid prioritisation, blocking and throttling of lawful content and services on the net be
excluded (strictly, at that)
What do you mean by Free Basics? Do you agree with the stand taken up by
Facebook in the course of spearheading the issue, in India?
TOPIC:
General studies 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector
or Services relating to Health
General studies 3: Nano-technology, bio-technology
Superbug and quantum dot
Rampant and indiscriminate usage of antibiotics, have led to the evolution of some
of the bacterias like Salmonella, Staphylococcus and E. coli- showcasing their ability
to shuffle their genes and defeat these drugs
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have infected about two million people and killed at
least 23,000 people in the US alone (each year) and being the worlds largest
consumer of antibiotics and a leading hotbed of untreatable bacterial infections
(threat doubling over five years); India could do well to analyse the situation and
strategize better to deal with the same.
With advancements in nanotechnology, a new revelation has been forwardeddevelopment of a light-activated superbug-killing nanoparticle (20,000 times smaller
than the width of a human hair) and which has required enormous interdisciplinary
research, stretching into biology, chemistry and electronics.
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Quantum Dot
These nano-particles are known as quantum dots and each quantum dot is one
million times smaller than a millimetre
Usage: These quantum dots were used in tiny concentrations (about a thousand
times smaller than current drugs in a pill)
Capacity to kill- Could kill nine of 10 drug-resistant bacterial cells grown in a

laboratory culture and the ones who are resistant to all known antibiotics
Claimed to have destroyed 92% of drug-resistant bacteria in a laboratory trial
Working of Quantum DotFollowing the traits of the superbugs (evolve-adapt-fight back), these quantum dots
can be tuned or customised, with an atom added or subtracted to create a new
material, property or therapy, while using data from related clinical trials or drugs
Fashioned in the researchers laboratory in water from several semiconductor
materialsused in solar panels or mobile phonesshow different effects on
bacteria:
Cadmium telluride nano-particles have a therapeutic effect against drug-resistant

bacteria;
Copper indium sulphide particles help good bacteria grow
Light excites electrical charges in the quantum dots and sparks a chemical reaction.
Varying the wavelength of light, or size, composition and surface of the dots, allows
selective killing of drug-resistant bacteria, without harming host human cells.
If Clinical Trials approve

A simple administration of these dots to patients with infections can cure the infection
without potential effects (or side-effects) for healthy host cells
Three models of quantum-dot therapy and drug administration envisaged:
1. For topical infections caused by wounds or cuts, where a sticky adhesive patch
coated with nano-particles will need to be illuminated with light to begin treatment
2. For systemic infections, which will need the drug to be injected or administered
intravenously
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3. As a disinfectant, on hospital surfaces or instrumentsin a well-lit or specially

lighted room
Good signs- If the nano-particles are dispersed evenly, will be effective for patients exposed
to a well-lit room or photo-therapy room
Other Ways
PRAAN Biosciences- Uses a separate discovery from their laboratories, i.e., a single DNA
molecule to sequence genetic profiles to diagnose and treat the infections that drugresistant bacteria cause
Gold and Silver nano-particlesThey have been used to attack superbug infections but
with varying degrees of success
Lack of consistency with no guarantee
Damages the surrounding cells
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DEFENCE/SECURITY
TOPIC:
General studies 2:
Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges
pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local
levels and challenges therein.
General studies 3:
Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal

security.
Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media
and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security;
money-laundering and its prevention.
Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organized
crime with terrorism.
Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.

The recent Pathankot incident has again highlighted the security lapses that is prevalent in
the country.
Practical mistakes India committed while tackling Pathankot incident:

1. No coordination between the foreign office, the defence forces and the internal
security establishment. There is no regular interaction and exchange of messages
between the above said three main pillars of any defence establishment.
2. There was no sign of a single command and control :
The Defence Security Corps re-employs retired jawans who are not much
better than armed gatekeepers.
The Guard Force is a defensive arm of the air force to protect air force
assets.
The NSG is a target-specific counter-terrorist force, not a battlefield unit.
Yet, these were the units that were called in as the first responders.
The one trained battle-ready counter-terrorist force, the armys Special
Forces, was nearby but not deployed to secure the sprawling base or the
perimeter.
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In short it can be said most terror attacks in India are characterised by three critical
missteps: ignored intelligence inputs, inconsistent security response, and heavy casualties.
Reshaping Indias security posture:
Though Indias wars with neighbouring countries have played the most important
role in impacting its security posture, terrorism has, in fact, been the biggest threat
faced by the country on almost all major counts the number of soldiers killed,
duration of engagement with armed movements or the spread of the menace.
However, terrorism hasnt had a commensurate impact on reshaping Indias security
posture and tactics, as well as political strategies.
Support for National Counter Terrorism Centre(NCTC)
The National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) is a proposed federal anti-terror

agency to be created in India, modelled on the National Counter Terrorism Centre of
the USA.
The proposal arose after the 2008 Mumbai attacks aka 26/11 attacks where several
intelligence and operational failures revealed the need for a federal agency with real
time intelligence inputs of actionable value specifically to counter terrorist acts
against India.
The proposal has however met with much criticism from the Chief Ministers of
various states who see this as a means of weakening India's federalism.
However with the recent pathankot incident the arguments favouring the
establishment of NCTC has been strengthened.
Why states are opposing NCTC?
Unlike the American NCTC which deals only with strategic planning and integration
of intelligence without any operational involvement or the Joint Terrorism Analysis
Centre, which too plays a purely coordinating role, the Indian agency will have not
only intelligence functions but also powers to conduct operations.
It is this concentration of powers that has had the states objecting to the NCTC,
arguing that such sweeping powers vested in a Central agency will violate the
autonomy of state governments, given that law and order is a state
subject according to the Constitution.
It has also been argued that given the establishment of the National Investigating
Agency in the aftermath of the 26/11 attacks, the establishment of an NCTC would
only add to the bureaucratic tangle in intelligence sharing and counter terrorist
action.
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A case of strengthening NATGRID:
The National Intelligence Grid or NATGRID is the integrated intelligence grid

connecting databases of core security agencies of the Government of India to collect
comprehensive patterns of intelligence that can be readily accessed by intelligence
agencies.
It was first proposed in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on Mumbai in 2008.
What NATGRID can do?
NATGRID will serve as a valuable platform to trace suspicious cross-border

movements of individuals like David Headley, who had made several trips to India
before the Mumbai attacks.
It will become a centralized database with sensitive information on individuals
collected from 21 sources, which include data on immigration, banks and the
telecom sector, in addition to data from intelligence agencies.
NATGRID will help to collate scattered information into a transparent, accessible,
integrated grid and do away with the inefficiencies associated with information
asymmetries that hitherto delayed counter-terror operations.
Need revamping of NATGRID:
In its present form, NATGRID suffers from many inadequacies, some due to
bureaucratic red tape and others due to fundamental flaws in the system like
consolidating data from a huge population, lack of compatibility with data sets in
regional languages, risk of spies ratting out vital information to outside sources etc.
If government takes enough measures to ensure that information does not fall
through the firewalls that guard it, NATGRID has the potential to become Indias goto grid for a 360-degree perspective to prevent and contain crises.
Need for a documented security doctrine
It is time to finally accept the reality and move forward on a broad sweep of reforms
in the security establishment.
This could be done at three levels parliamentary oversight, a well-defined
national security doctrine and a national security strategy to implement the
doctrine, and, finally, an independent federal commission of accountability on
security matters.
1. Parliamentary oversight:
There have been several discussions about improving the accountability of
intelligence agencies and other federal organisations responsible for the
security of the country.
Many experts are apprehensive of an adverse effect of parliamentarians
being given oversight of intelligence agencies.
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P a g e | 153
However, the fact is that there is no better accountability system possible.

The diversity of Indian politics will ensure there is robust oversight, and that
the mechanism is not held hostage by a few vested interests in Parliament.
2. A well-defined national security doctrine:

As many experts recommend, it is time for India to have a documented
national security doctrine, like the Constitution, so that successive
governments do not forget the fact that they are mere custodians of an idea
called India, and not revolutionaries mandated with recreating the nationstate.
3. National security strategy:
The doctrine should be accompanied by a security strategy that should spell
out the state response to various kinds of security challenges.
If it is a terrorist strike, then the decision-makers must know the responses
expected of them, and not try to improvise based on their limited
awareness.
Command and control for such operations should also be spelt out in the
document.
Finally, and most importantly, India must constitute a very credible, and permanent,
federal commission of accountability on security matters.
This is important not just to bring in accountability to the security establishment, but
also to ensure that the many insurgencies and terrorist challenges do not result in
the intelligence and security apparatus getting a free hand to misuse their powers.
Such a commission can also be a watchdog in places like Kashmir and the Northeast,
where repeated allegations of human rights violations are haunting political efforts
to find peace, and feeding terrorism.
Way ahead:
India, and its security forces, cant any more trust the wisdom of a few wise men to
tackle terror threats, secure our assets and safeguard national interests.
The first step is to write down what the rulers of the day should do when a terror
threat occurs.
Critically examine the growing need for national counter terrorism centre with
special reference to security lapses in the recent Pathankot attack.
Explain the various intelligence agencies in India along with their mandate.
Even though India has an extensive intelligence infrastructure, attacks like 26/11,
Pathankot etc make us doubt our intelligence systems. At this backdrop explain the
various drawbacks in our intelligence system. Suggest measures to revamp the same.
www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 154
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Farm vision statement- We need a national framework to address agricultural problems

Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/farm-vision-statement/
Breaking The Terror Cycle- A full engagement with Pakistan cannot withstand major terror
strikes.
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/breaking-the-terror-cycle/
Related Articles:
www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 173
Why India looks set to finally come out of the closet on Israel- 2016 is expected to be the
breakout year for Indias relationship with Israel, when it is likely to finally come out of the
closet
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/in-fcat-why-india-looks-set-to-finally-come-outof-the-closet-on-israel/
Rise and fall- Latest IIP and CPI data outlines the policy challenges that lie ahead
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/rise-and-fall-2/
Live Mint
http://www.livemint.com/Money/pzUV2DNqP3pEgy4pEYEklM/The-message-in-IIPnumbers.html
Digital expansion helps rich more than poor: World Bank report- Says gains of higher
growth, more jobs and better public services also short of expectation, recommends more
focus on access
Business Standard
http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/digital-expansion-helps-richmore-than-poor-116011400053_1.html
Tech tonic for the heart of India

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/tech-tonic-for-the-heart-ofindia/article8109230.ece
www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 174
Stagflation risk ahead

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/stagflation-riskahead/article8109223.ece
Return of terror in Indonesia

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/return-of-terror-inindonesia/article8109224.ece
Indian engineers, scientists in U.S. nearing one million

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/indian-engineers-scientists-in-us-nearing-onemillion/article8109700.ece
Pakistans polio plan needs global support

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/pakistans-polio-plan-needs-globalsupport/article8109229.ece
Related Articles:
Is India actually free of polio?
Startup shakeup- None of the e-commerce startups in India has yet made money. And with
no entry barriers, e-commerce has seen several stampedes.
Business Standard
http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/bhupesh-bhandari-startup-shakeup116011401262_1.html
www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 175
Bankruptcy law: key to tackling the burgeoning NPA issue- Reforms in bankruptcy laws can
play a crucial role in economic growth and financial stability
Live Mint
http://www.livemint.com/Money/27jZJSt1N5qYoVRP4xjrxL/Bankruptcy-law-key-to-tacklingthe-burgeoning-NPA-issue.html
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Focus offline to make it big online: World Bank report- The takeaway from World Banks
World Development Report is that there is no short cut for developing countries if they
want to reap digital dividends
Live Mint
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/f2A9UNAjVG1RfrhA6ISnLM/Focus-offline-to-make-it-bigonline-says-World-Development.html
The return of public investment- Its time to reconsider economic wisdom that prioritizes
private markets at the expense of the public sector
Live Mint
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/NyQqg7mQyESlVzx2SosgZO/The-return-of-publicinvestment.html
India- Israel: Driven by technology

Indian Express 1
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/driven-by-technology-external-affairsminister-sushma-swaraj-israel-benjamin-netanyahu/
Indian Express 2
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/no-longer-shy/
www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 176
Religious quagmires- Can elements of a secular morality be enforced in ways that dont
reinforce a sense of state arbitrariness?
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/religious-quagmires/
For the farmer- The new crop insurance scheme may entail a cost thats worth paying.
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/for-the-farmer/
The irony in the start-up world- Global start-ups look at India, while Indian start-ups look
outward
Live Mint
http://www.livemint.com/Companies/llyTWkJAqA4gesRMxuKV9M/The-irony-in-thestartup-world.html
Making the brain transparent - Life Sciences Breakthrough Prize for 2016, Prof. Karl
Deisseroth- optogenetics
Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/making-the-braintransparent/article8117894.ece
Freedoms only for the outraged

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/freedoms-only-for-theoutraged/article8117718.ece
www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 177
Turkeys failed double game

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/turkeys-failed-doublegame/article8117722.ece
After playing odds and evens- The challenge is sustainable improvement, so that no special
effort is needed in future
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/kejriwal-odd-even-policy-in-delhioverafter-playing-odds-and-evens/
A harvest-time gift- New crop insurance scheme is welcome. Its litmus test: Whether cropdamage assessment can be done within two weeks of the extreme weather event and
compensation paid a week after that
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/narendra-modi-crop-insurance-sysytemnda-governmenta-harvest-time-gift/
Redefining education- Make it creative, encourage risk-taking and expand the idea of
success
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/redefining-education/
www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 178
Reduction in interest burden could possibly prevent more companies heading

towards bankruptcy- The tight fiscal, easy monetary policy mix can better address
problems that plague private investment.
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/be-tight-fisted/
Decoding emission norms- Oil marketing companies will have to spend Rs 28,000 crore to
upgrade to meet BS-VI norms. Business Standard explains the refining process and what will
change
Business Standard
http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/decoding-emission-norms116011800034_1.html
Testing direct democracy- The notion of direct democracy is being challengednot in the
name of liberalism, but of technocratic efficiency
Live Mint
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/hEQyvGVO7VHh96NYRlMUoK/Testing-directdemocracy.html
In god and guns they trust

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/in-god-and-guns-theytrust/article8121742.ece
Death of a Dalit scholar
Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/death-of-a-dalitscholar/article8121741.ece
www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 179
A Road To Bastar- New mobile towers, better roads are making a difference in a troubled
region.
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/a-road-to-bastar/
Essential start-up lessons- Risk taking, experimentation and teamwork must also infect
government machinery
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/essential-start-up-lessons/
Business Standard
http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/t-v-mohandas-pai-a-new-paradigm-forstart-ups-116011801268_1.html
Live Mint
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/P3JbP5Fp5hpMrEkurXQFEN/Startup-India-Did-thegovernment-overreach.html
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Yes, Delhi, it worked- The odd-even pilot reduced hourly particulate air pollution
concentrations by 10-13 per cent. But for the longer run, a congestion-pricing programme
may be better
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/odd-even-policy-delhi-pollution-yesdelhi-it-worked/
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Delhis traffic experiment Will this reduce the Emission Levels?
Clearing the Air: An alarming rise in pollution levels
www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 180
Right track- Connecting the northeastern capitals by rail will produce enormous dividends.
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/right-track/
Reduction in interest burden could possibly prevent more companies heading
towards bankruptcy- The tight fiscal, easy monetary policy mix can better address
problems that plague private investment.
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/be-tight-fisted/
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Debt recovery tribunals: More pain than gains for banks- Experts suggest that the law
should be strengthened to ensure mandatory time bound disposal of cases
Business Standard
http://www.business-standard.com/article/finance/debt-recovery-tribunals-more-painsthan-gains-for-banks-114121600139_1.html
Lessons from a floating armoury

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/lessons-from-a-floatingarmoury/article8126642.ece
Growing crackdown on activists

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/growing-crackdown-onactivists/article8126645.ece
www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 181
Sex ratio down, literacy rate of women up: Family health survey
Business Standard
http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/sex-ratio-down-literacy-rate-ofwomen-up-family-health-survey-116012000029_1.html
Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/fewer-children-dying-in-infancy-sayssurvey/article8126686.ece
First flower in space is giant leap for zero-gravity gardening

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/first-flower-in-space-is-giant-leap-forzerogravity-gardening/article8126611.ece?ref=sliderNews
Poor Ganga- Public wrangling between ministries sends out dispiriting signals for the river
cleaning project
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/cleaning-proposal-uma-bharti-ndauttarakhand-flood-poor-ganga/
India eyes more crude oil imports from African nations-New Delhi to host oil and gas
producing African countries at a two day conference from 21st Jan, 2016
Business Standard
http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/india-eyes-more-crude-oilimports-from-african-nations-116011901004_1.html
Northeast can be developed as an organic region

Business Standard
http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/northeast-can-be-developed-asan-organic-region-pm-116011901103_1.html
www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 182
Beyond Netflix and 4G- The lack of bandwidth and content means it will be a long time
before online streaming services take off in India
Business Standard
http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/vanita-kohli-khandekar-beyond-netflixand-4g-116011901197_1.html
Can rural India reap digital dividends? The virtual world has increased the possibilities of
trade in the real world
Live Mint
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/KsEuifavdjE6KDeFcpu5AM/Can-rural-India-reap-digitaldividends.html
The environmental costs of subsidies- Its time to look at the deleterious environmental
impact of subsidies so as to attain correct pricing of resources
Live Mint
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/AdHe6IDqu7OfxsDPAyuNDN/The-environmental-costsof-subsidies.html
Dealing with the slowdown

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/dealing-with-theslowdown/article8131577.ece
Forging PPP of a different kind

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/forging-ppp-of-a-differentkind/article8131584.ece
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P a g e | 183
http://iasbaba.com/2016/01/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-1st-january-2016/
How to fix Public Private Partnership (PPP) financing?
How to revive the PPP model in India?
http://iasbaba.com/2015/10/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-24th-october-2015/
The new quota- Bihars job reservation for women is a welcome gesture, but focus has to
be on increasing opportunities and capabilities.
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/the-new-quota/
New power tariff policy tightens regulators role- The tariff policy has more than 30
amendments in the existing tariff policy the National Electricity Policy, 2005.
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/business/business-others/new-power-tariff-policytightens-regulators-role/
India must capitalise on cheap crude oil-Even if Opec finally cuts production, it will be more
than compensated by the return of Iran
Business Standard
http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/oil-price-trough-116012001194_1.html
Ending open defecation - The issue is deathly serious because widespread open defecation
in India often leads to contamination of the water supply
Business Standard
http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/rahul-jacob-ending-open-defecation116012001221_1.html
www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 184
Revamping teacher education- Unless average capacity of the existing teacher pool goes
up, we will not see clear improvement in education for 20-25 years
Live Mint
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/wbc1Tft9lmehFLEAyxHBtI/Revamping-teachereducation.html
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The road from Pathankot

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/the-road-frompathankot/article8136936.ece
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Compassion on death row cases

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/compassion-on-death-rowcases/article8136934.ece
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Capital punishment : should it be banned or allowed in India?
http://iasbaba.com/2015/09/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-23rd-september-2015/
www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 185
Rural India too battles hypertension- Obesity and diabetes cases increase in urban areas;
experts blame it on stress and faulty diet
Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/rural-india-too-battleshypertension/article8136975.ece
Gender equality still not a reality-Survey involving 13 states reveals there is no end to
preference for boys
Business Standard
http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/a-partial-picture-116012101266_1.html
Power Tariff Policy

Business Standard
http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/power-tariff-policy116012100709_1.html
Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)- India is just months away from
deploying a regional alternative to GPS
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/you-are-here-2/
And diplomacy won- The fruits of the Iran nuclear deal, visible from this month,
demonstrate the necessity and benefits of multilateralism.
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/and-diplomacy-won/
Fine print of Indias start-up policy- The governments ambitions of turning limited partner
to venture capital funds has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters
Live Mint
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/HxCGIWvOyVpMafvEkKZ1nI/Fine-print-of-Indias-startuppolicy.html
www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 186
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All India Radio- STARTUP INDIA STANDUP INDIA
http://iasbaba.com/2015/12/startup-india-standup-india/
NIA: Alert, fair, transparent

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/alert-fairtransparent/article8149184.ece
Global Slowdown: Sobering reflection from Davos

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/sobering-reflection-fromdavos/article8149185.ece
India, Arab League vow to check terror, funding sources

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/india-arab-league-vow-to-checkterror-funding-sources/article8149532.ece
The big military challenge- PM has a bold vision for defence reform. Can his defence
minister deliver?
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/narendra-modi-military-india-defencemanohar-parrikar/
www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 187
National problems, local solutions- Countering rising pollution, endemic across the country,
is best done via solutions ground-up
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/national-problems-local-solutions/
How India should respond to the China slump- China's slump will hopefully reduce the
Indian fascination for the Chinese model of controlled economy
Business Standard
http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/ajay-shah-channels-of-influence116012400722_1.html
Great fall of Indias exports

Live Mint
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/RAIxZQM6kafh6a5Hp41wgL/Great-fall-of-Indiasexports.html
After the Delhi experiment

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/after-the-delhiexperiment/article8152982.ece
RBI Governor steps up to the challenge

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/rbi-governor-steps-up-to-thechallenge/article8152981.ece
Operation begins to curb money laundering, terror funding
Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/operation-begins-to-curb-moneylaundering-terror-funding/article8153035.ece
www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 188
A debate beyond clicktivism

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/a-debate-beyondclicktivism/article8152977.ece
Play it Again- With the launch of Raagam, a first of its kind digital classical music channel by
Prasar Bharati, All India Radio is set to open its treasure trove of archival recordings
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/music/play-it-again-19/
Act Near-East- Realising the economic potential of the eastern region is key to solving
Indias poverty problem
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/act-near-east/
Sell to spend- Asset sales are the way for government to protect credibility while avoiding
procyclical fiscal stance
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/sell-to-spend/
Sril Lanka : Need safeguards against majoritarianism

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/need-safeguards-againstmajoritarianism/article8155800.ece
A ringside view of the proposed GST
Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/a-ringside-view-of-the-proposedgst/article8155799.ece
www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 189
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http://iasbaba.com/2015/09/q-9-how-is-gst-different-from-vat-what-is-the-grand-bargainsuggested-by-the-13th-finance-commission-for-the-implementation-of-gst/
http://iasbaba.com/2015/07/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-18th-july-2015/
Consolidating ties with France
Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/consolidating-ties-withfrance/article8155796.ece
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Minority status?- If we accept the reasoning of the apex court in the AMU case, it means
that a religious minority is debarred from establishing a university inasmuch as a university
can only be established by a legislature
Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/jamia-amu-minority-status/
View From The Right: Red terror

Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/view-from-the-right-red-terror/
Hidden hunger and the Indian health story-India needs to find better value for money in
the health sector
Live Mint
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/CcE7fkG3behtIalLdiw3oO/Hidden-hunger-and-theIndian-health-story.html
www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 190
For Detailed Analysis Healthcare issues & challenges refer the below linkshttp://iasbaba.com/2015/08/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-25th-august-2015/
http://iasbaba.com/2015/10/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-22nd-october-2015/
Sounding the smoke alarm - The high consumption of tobacco products by children under
18 is a warning that not enough is being done to spread awareness about health or enforce
specific laws
Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/sounding-the-smokealarm/article8160090.ece
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Tobacco and Pollution : Can we afford to breathe easy?
http://iasbaba.com/2015/12/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-2nd-december-2015/
After Paris, keep the heat on - In order to have a chance of limiting temperature rise to 1.5
degrees Celsius, we need suitable technologies to make low-carbon transitions in
development right away
Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/after-paris-keep-the-heaton/article8159982.ece
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A Solar-y Alternative
A Green New Deal
www.IASbaba.com
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Denmarks absurd law on refugees

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/denmarks-absurd-law-onrefugees/article8159977.ece
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Europes Humanitarian crisis
European Migrant Crisis: The Humanitarian Crisis that has made the world awkward
The case for full disclosure - Now is a good time to debate the criteria which enables the
government to keep secrets instead of making everything public
Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/the-case-for-fulldisclosure/article8159981.ece
CBI:The stained steel frame

Hindu
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Crisis of Credibility: CBI caught on the wrong foot
Why yuan matters- Indian equity markets are turbulent due to high foreign ownership and
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Indian Express
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www.IASbaba.com
P a g e | 192
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How India lost the plot in global iron ore trade- While miners are losing their export
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on imports
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Disaster management: Preparing for the deluge- Coastal states have learnt to handle
cyclonic storms better, but more needs to be done.
Indian Express
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Ghosts Of Ship-To-Mouth- Price spikes, production fluctuations challenge us, not

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Delivering benefits to the poor- The issue of cash-versus-kind is not one that can be
resolved by just fixing the delivery mechanism
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Chinas long game in West Asia

Hindu
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Who benefits when the RBI cuts rates?

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/who-benefits-when-the-rbi-cutsrates/article8164760.ece
Mounting grievances, little regulation

Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/mounting-grievances-littleregulation/article8164754.ece
Solar Scam: Oommen Chandy must resign
Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/oommen-chandy-mustresign/article8164755.ece
Home grown energy security for Europe-Europes energy security is likely to gain salience in
the coming months, as 2016 shapes up to be another turbulent year in international politics
Live Mint
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www.IASbaba.com

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Page |1

Taming bulls, wounding rights

Anarchy through kritarchy: Judicial Activism or Judicial Adventurism?

Article 356Arunachal Pradesh: Is Presidents rule being misused?

INTERNATIONAL (Pages 72-102)

Turkeys war on the Kurds

Taking India Israel relationship to the next level

Kelkar panel to revive PPP in infra projects

Shifting India to Clean Energy

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Internet-The Public Good

Save security from the establishment

Taming bulls, wounding rights

What is the issue?

Supreme court in 2014 banned the sport jallikattu as it violates provisions of

A start of cruelty towards animals:

Wider interpretation by Supreme Court:

The tradition of bullfighting in Spain is cited to legitimise the conduct of Jallikattu

Connecting the dots:

TOPIC: General Studies 2

Keralas Liquor Policy: All in the spirit of equality

August 2014: Intensification of Excise Policy by Government:

Tried enforcing complete prohibition

A pre-constitutional enactment was duly amended, and the States excise

New Policy Challenged:

Right to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business

1994: Khoday Distilleries Ltd. v. State of Karnataka

Prohibit completely the trade or business in potable liquor since liquor as

Reflection- In the Kerala Bar Hotels Association case, SC thus, held

Categorisation has led to an unnecessary classification by treating persons on an

An intelligible differentia, which distinguishes persons or things that are grouped

If a commodity is res extra commercium a thing outside commerce this particular

Connecting the Dots:

TOPIC: General studies 2

Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and

Lodha panel lays out a new pitch for BCCI

The Supreme Court appointed Justice R M Lodha-led committee has suggested a

Key recommendations of the panel:

2. One Zone One Member One Vote:

3. The inclusive approach to spreading cricket across India

4. No geographical base, No Votes

They have no geographical base for representation as they dont represent

5. Say no to Affiliates and Future Members

6. Restrictions on the BCCI office-bearers

According to experts, cricket satta (illegal betting) in India could be as much as Rs 3

On an average, daily turnover of Rs 100 crore is seen by cricket satta in

What did BBCI say?

The committee recommendations is a good move towards revamping the corruption

The Freedom Struggle - its various stages and important contributors or

The promise of Dalit capitalism

Low Dalit entrepreneurship:

Hurdles in realising Dalit entrepreneurship:

How to break the existing business networks?

Connecting the dots:

Critically examine the various measures taken by the government to promote

TOPC: General Studies 2

Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and

Time for expansion of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)

Linkage with Aadhaar

The intended beneficiary receives the money in his account

Eg: Case of MGNREGA wages

Linking Postal Account with Aadhaar

Post Banks should become a game-changer in Indian banking sector by becoming a