Table of Contents

GEOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................................... 1
Earthquake in Italy kills 120 ............................................................................................................. 1

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE ................................................................................................................. 2

Ponzi schemes not under our purview: SEBI ................................................................................... 3
The Great Wall of Class IX: Evaluation of No Detention Policy ........................................................ 4
Former Cabinet Secretary and Head of the committee on the new education policy views .......... 5
L-G appoints panel to scrutinise AAP govt files................................................................................ 6
Minimum wage hiked to Rs. 350...................................................................................................... 7
Curfew lifted in Kashmir as situation eases after 51 days .............................................................. 8
Debate over Citizenship Bill ............................................................................................................. 9
Debate on powers of Speaker ....................................................................................................... 11
MHA seeks oversight for all NGOs ................................................................................................ 12
Why the Surrogacy Bill is necessary .............................................................................................. 13
SC asks Centre to respond to plea to declare triple talaq illegal ................................................... 15

Women can enter Haji Ali sanctum, rules HC ................................................................................ 16

Centre seeks clarification on another Delhi Bill ............................................................................. 16

Evaluation of move to replace MCI ................................................................................................ 17

Beginning of New Civil Avaitaion Regional Connectivity Scheme .................................................. 18

New Initiatives Planned at IITs ....................................................................................................... 19

Ramya will not apologise, says she is entitled to her opinion........................................................ 20

PMO open to single water panel.................................................................................................... 21

Time for a National Water Commission ......................................................................................... 22

Sushma asks jobless in Saudi to return, not to wait for dues ........................................................ 24

Latest MoP draft awaits green light from judges .......................................................................... 25

Hasten a consensus on Judicial Appointments .............................................................................. 27

1
Supreme Court pulls up Centre for sitting on Collegium list .......................................................... 28

The burden on Supreme Court ....................................................................................................... 29

SC judges seek reduction of routine complaints to ease burden of SC .......................................... 30

SC upholds bar on automatic arrests in dowry cases..................................................................... 31

Evaluation of Bihar Liquor Prohibition Law.................................................................................... 32

Evaluation of Sedition Law ............................................................................................................. 33

SC imposes curbs on Dahi Handi celebrations ............................................................................... 34

Draft Ganga Act to draw from Highways Act ................................................................................ 35

Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 .................................................................................... 36

Women MPs pitch for paternity leave ........................................................................................... 38

Prasar Bharati to the rescue as I&B shuts offices .......................................................................... 39

Mental health care bill ................................................................................................................... 40

Relief for diesel luxury car makers as ban goes ............................................................................. 41

LPG subsidy savings largely due to falling oil prices: CAG ............................................................. 42

No surge pricing after August 22 ................................................................................................... 44

SC ruling on Lodha panel unconstitutional, says Katju .................................................................. 44

SC verdict on BCCI is the final word: Lodha .................................................................................... 45

Former Arunachal CM Kalikho Pul found hanging ......................................................................... 46

Irom Sharmila ends 16-year ........................................................................................................... 47

Amended GST Bill gets Parliament green signal ............................................................................ 47

Change of guard in Guiarat............................................................................................................ 48

Blow to AAP as HC says L-G is administrative head of Delhi.......................................................... 49

Former Lokayukta charge-sheeted ................................................................................................ 51

Foreign funds pour in; 3,000 NGOs get over Rs. 22,000 cr. ........................................................... 52

Being picked up one by one, AAP MLAs on alert............................................................................ 52

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 Amendments to Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 .......................................... 53

SC asks former U.P. CMs to exit govt. bungalows.......................................................................... 54

Parliament passes Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws Amendment Bill,
2016 ............................................................................................................................................... 55

Lok Sa ha passes E ployee s Co pe satio A e d e t Bill, 6 ......................................... 56

Gujarat HC quashes 10% quota for economically backward classes ............................................. 57

Union Cabinet approves Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill, 2016 .................................................. 58

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ........................................................................................................... 60

U.S. backs India plea for Pak. Action.............................................................................................. 60
LEMOA ........................................................................................................................................... 60
Explanation of nature of LEMOA ................................................................................................... 62

Highlights of visit of Myanmarese President U. Htin Kyaw ........................................................... 63

O ar itratio tool ust for BICS ............................................................................................ 64

Fra e s top ourt suspe ds urki i a ........................................................................................ 64

Panel to speed up steps to put Azhar on U.N. terror list ................................................................ 65

Continuing human tragedy in Syria ............................................................................................... 66

Karzai praises Modi for statement on Balochistan ........................................................................ 67

SAARC loosing importance ............................................................................................................. 68

Evaluation of PMs Independence Day Speech ............................................................................... 68

On eve of I-Day, India trades barbs with Pakistan ......................................................................... 69

Chinese Foreign minister visit to India ........................................................................................... 70

Akashvani Maitree: AIR Service in Bangladesh .............................................................................. 71

Kuwaiti held for funding trip of IS supporters from Mumbai to Syria ............................................ 72

Prachanda is new Nepal PM .......................................................................................................... 72

Tripura gets Delhi train, now sights set on Dhaka ......................................................................... 73

India looks to counter U.S. move on trade sanctions ..................................................................... 74

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 Mya ar to support Chi a s OBO, BCIM i itiati es .................................................................... 75

OIC expresses concern over Kashmir violence ............................................................................... 76

ECONOMICS ..................................................................................................................................... 78
Raghuram Rajan brainchild UPI, turns your smartphone into a bank with UPI ............................ 78
Preparing for the Fed rate hike ...................................................................................................... 80
Ports to promote waterways as Centre plans policy rejig ............................................................. 81

Major Challenges before new RBI Governor: Challenges before ................................................... 81

High food inflation ......................................................................................................................... 83

Plane leasing firms may get a boost .............................................................................................. 84

Steel Ministry wants review of policies affecting producers .......................................................... 84

Focus on price stability ................................................................................................................... 85

River-linking to cost Rs. 5-lakh crore .............................................................................................. 86

U.S. Law FATCA under implementation ......................................................................................... 87

Benefits and Challenges in Merger of SBI ...................................................................................... 88

GST Bill passed by Parliament and States ...................................................................................... 89

Government to import pulses to check prices ................................................................................ 93

On-tap bank licence ....................................................................................................................... 94

Union Government constitutes Amitabh Kant committee to review e-commerce rules .............. 96

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ............................................................................................................. 97

ISO s s ra jet o ourse .............................................................................................................. 97

4-D printing to allow for shape-changing materials ...................................................................... 98
First driverless taxi hits the streets of Singapore .......................................................................... 99

From Android to an Eye phone .................................................................................................... 100

Indians online to hit 730 million by 2020 ..................................................................................... 100

US gives up Internet-naming powers in October ......................................................................... 100

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 Google Duo: Video call app by Google ......................................................................................... 101

Cupping Technique for Medical Cure ........................................................................................... 102

Faulty data stations cloud IMD weather predictions ................................................................... 103

ISRO ex-chief Madhavan Nair named in Antrix charge sheet ...................................................... 104

About Pokemon Go ...................................................................................................................... 105

Intel unveils Project Alloy device creating merged reality .......................................................... 106

ENVIRONMENT .............................................................................................................................. 107

Scientists develop mechanism to recycle CO2 into usable fuel .................................................... 107

DISASTER MANAGEMENT ............................................................................................................... 108

Lack of trains to blame for track deaths: CAG ............................................................................. 108
Indian Monsoon: Return of the great deluge............................................................................... 108
Needed: Scientific flood management ......................................................................................... 109

SECURITY ....................................................................................................................................... 111

Probe ordered after data on stealth submarine leaked ............................................................... 111
Assam seeks more dole for ex-militants, Centre in a fix .............................................................. 112
14 killed as Bodo rebels attack market in Kokrajhar ................................................................... 113

1.3 million pellets used in 32 days in J&K by CRPF ....................................................................... 113

SPORTS ...................................................................................................................................................... 115

After dismal Rio show, PM forms task force to plan for next three Olympics ............................. 115
Olympic flag arrives in Tokyo ....................................................................................................... 115

Rio Olympics ................................................................................................................................. 116

2016 Rio Olympics comes to an end ........................................................................................... 116

Sindhu wins Silver Medal at Olympics ......................................................................................... 117

Sakshi Malik, first woman wrestler from India to bag an Olympic medal in wrestling ............... 117

Evaluation of Performance at Rio Olympics................................................................................. 118

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 Narsingh Yadav given clean chit by NADA but banned by Court of Arbitration for Sport ........... 119

Wrestler Yogesh ar Dutt s Lo do Oly pi s ro ze edal upgraded to silver medal

..................................................................................................................................................... 120

Sindhu, Sakshi, Dipa, Jitu Rai to get Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award .......................................... 121

RELEVANT FOR PRELIMS ONLY .................................................................................................... 123

Sakshi brand ambassador for the Beti padhao beti bachao programme of the Haryana
government .................................................................................................................................. 123
Kamal Haasan to get prestigious French honour......................................................................... 123
Indo-Canadian Sikh MP becomes 1st woman House leader of Canada ...................................... 123

Gallantary Awards ....................................................................................................................... 124

Kudankulam unit: Single largest Unit .......................................................................................... 125

Kolkata scientist gets global green award ................................................................................... 125

Defence Ministry sanctioned construction of National War Memorial, War Museum in New Delhi
..................................................................................................................................................... 126

SR Nathan: former longest-serving Singapore President of Indian-origin passes away ............. 127

World s Lo gest Glass Bridge i Chi a ......................................................................................... 128

6
GEOGRAPHY
1. Earthquake in Italy kills 120

A powerful earthquake affected remote area of central Italy, leaving at least 120 people
dead and scenes of carnage in mountain villages.

Reason for Earthquake in Italy

The Earth s shell is divided into several major tectonic plates. Southern )taly is very close to
the line where the Eurasian and African plates meet and constantly grate against each
other creating seismic and volcanic tension. )taly s major volcanoes such as Etna, Stromboli
and Vesuvius lie close to this fault.

In addition, Italy has a series of smaller fault lines, particularly along the Appenine
Mountains. The Apennine range, or Apennines Mountains, is a mountain range that runs
from north to south along the country, essentially like a geological spine of )taly. Relatively
shallow earthquakes are fairly common along the entire length of these mountains due to
the number of faults which run along the range, which can rupture and cause earthquakes.

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Question:
How do you explain the formation of thousands of islands in the
Mediterranean sea? Do you think that same reasons explain the
vulnerability of Southern Europe to recurrent earthquakes?

8
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

2. Ponzi schemes not under our purview: SEBI

View of SEBI
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) denied any regulatory purview over
ponzi schemes, squarely placing the responsibility of protecting investors on State
governments.

The same is banned under the Prize Chit and Money Circulation (Banning) Act, 1978 and
the State government concerned is the enforcement agency. Though it is a Central Act, the
respective State governments are the enforcement agency of this law, SEB) submitted in
an affidavit perused by the Bench on Monday.

When did SEBI express its opinion?

SEB) was responding to the Supreme Court s poser as to what the government and the
market regulator were doing to check the menace of schemes running across the country
in various forms which robbed the poor and small investors of their hard-earned money.

The issue was brought before a Bench in a P)L petition, seeking the court s intervention to
direct the government to devise a long-term plan to end unauthorised and illegal deposit
schemes, collective investment schemes (CIS), prosecute fraudsters and recover the
investors money.

About Ponzi Scheme

A Ponzi scheme (also a Ponzi game or a Ponzi) is a fraudulent investment operation where
the operator, an individual or organization, pays returns to its investors from new capital
paid to the operators by new investors, rather than from profit earned through legitimate
sources. Operators of Ponzi schemes usually entice new investors by offering higher
returns than other investments, in the form of short-term returns that are either
abnormally high or unusually consistent.

Ponzi schemes occasionally begin as legitimate businesses, until the business fails to
achieve the returns expected. The business becomes a Ponzi scheme if it then continues
under fraudulent terms. Whatever the initial situation, the perpetuation of the high returns
requires an ever-increasing flow of money from new investors to sustain the scheme.

9
The scheme is named after Charles Ponzi, who became notorious for using the technique in
1920. The idea was actually performed in real life by Ponzi who with his operation took in
so much money that it was the first to become known throughout the United States.

3. The Great Wall of Class IX: Evaluation of No Detention Policy

What is Non-Detention policy?

As per the NDP, no student can be held back in the same class or expelled from school until
the end of Class VIII, the time when the student attains the age of 14.

The NDP was introduced in conjunction with the Right to Education Act (RTE) in 2010.
Section of the RTE Act states that no child shall be required to pass any Board
examination till completion of elementary education .

Re-examining policy
On its part, the Centre is examining the provisions of the NDP to develop a suitable
academic approach on the issue, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD)
informed in response to a Parliament question.

Arguments in Favour
1. Those in favour argue that the NDP has led to a decline in dropout rates in elementary
school, keeping the child in the learning cycle for at least eight years, as envisioned by the
RTE.
2. Empirically, it has been found that since the introduction of NDP, there has been a steady
rise in enrolment at the elementary level across gender and social classes.
. Further, a policy brief document from the Centre for Policy Research states: Research
evidence indicates that detention of students by a year or more does not improve learning .
4. Even the Gita Bhukkal Committee [constituted by the MHRD] admits that there is no
research that shows that repeating helps children perform better. But research does say
that repeating has adverse academic and social effects on the child.

Arguments against the Policy

1. But those who are against the policy worry that automatic promotion to the next class
leaves no incentive for both the student and the teacher, which deteriorates the quality of
education.

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2. With no fear of detention, students start skipping school and don t pay attention in the
class.
3. According to the Delhi government, over 50 per cent of the students in government
schools failed to clear the Class-IX examination last year the first time they faced serious
exams.
4. Further, promoting students who are not well equipped with concepts from previous
class pushes down the standard of the whole class, making it difficult for the teacher to
teach the curriculum at the expected pace.
5. T.S.R. Subramanian panel on education policy states that the No Detention Policy till
Class VIII has adversely affected academic performance of students

Reforms sought in Policy

1. In fact, the draft National Education Policy itself asks for an amendment to the present
provisions of the NDP as it has severely affected the academic performance of students.
The policy will be limited up to Class-V and the system of detention will be restored at the
upper primary stage. Academically weak students will be identified, based on CCE
conducted by schools, for providing remedial instructions, the draft policy says.
2. Along with the NDP, Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) was also put in
place, which was supposed to be the assessment mechanism focussed on learning rather
than just pass or fail.

Question:
The unqualified No-Detention Policy is the cause of undesirable primary
school learning outcomes in India. Do you agree? Do you favour
elimination of this policy?

4. Former Cabinet Secretary and Head of the committee on the

new education policy views

Former Cabinet Secretary and head of the committee on the new education policy, T.S.R.
Subramanian tells that the government published only extracts of the report submitted by
the committee, as the report was critical of India's journey in education.

The title of your committee on the new education policy was changed from 'drafting
committee' to 'evolution committee'. Now your report is being called 'inputs'. Has its
importance been watered down?

11
I don't know if the expectation was that we would praise the system. We have done
wholesale criticism... The main reason why the report was not published and extracts were
given was that this criticism should not come to the public. Unfortunately, there is nothing
to praise. We showed the reality. It has nothing to do with A or B but shows 70 years of
misgovernance.

What is the way forward on the policy?

Each of these 95 recommendations can be converted into policy, modified or rejected. It
has details on how things are to be done. In 1986, they did not have a framework
committee to convert policy into action points. There was no time-frame. It is for the
Ministry to decide. But that, in my opinion, is absolutely essential. There should also be
monitoring. Otherwise, any new policy will be in the air.

There has been criticism that your committee lacked real educationists.
I have been chancellor of a university for three years. I have an educational programme for
poor children. As chief secretary, I went to Washington for the first World Bank
programme on education for all. I have been to Imperial College and Harvard. The others in
the committee had educational experience. Educational field has many kinds of expertise
pedagogy, school, infrastructure, training, management, financing, etc. If anyone says he
knows all about it, he is a fraud.

5. L-G appoints panel to scrutinise AAP govt files

Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung constituted a three-member panel to examine over 400

files containing infirmities and irregularities in administrative decisions taken by the
Aam Aadmi Party government.
The panel, comprising former CAG V.K. Shunglu, former Chief Election Commissioner N.
Gopalaswami and ex-Chief Vigilance Commissioner Pradeep Kumar, has been asked to
submit its final report within six weeks of its first meeting.

The panel will recommend appropriate administrative, criminal or civil action as well as
action for recovery of financial loss to the government exchequer, if any, by wrong
decisions . Also, it will recommend further course of action to be taken on each of the files
or proposals, including whether the decisions can or cannot be regularised by the L-G, the
statement said.

12
Background
The Delhi High Court, in relation to the jurisdictional powers of the elected State
government and the L-G as a representative of the President, had recently ruled that the L-
G was the administrative head of the Delhi government. Following this, the various
departments had started submitting their files to the L-G Secretariat for Mr. Jung s ex-post
facto approval on administrative matters.

After the Delhi (igh Court s judgment, on August and again on August , , the
Principal Secretaries or the Heads of Departments of the Delhi Government were directed
to review instances where prior approval of the L-G was required as per rules but was not
obtained and to place all such matters before him. On preliminary scrutiny of these files, it
is found that over the last one-and-a-half years several decisions taken are in violation of
acts/rules with attendant legal and financial implications. It has become necessary to
examine them in depth and suggest forward action. Therefore, the committee has been
constituted, the statement said.

6. Minimum wage hiked to Rs. 350

The government decided to hike in the minimum wage for unskilled non-agricultural
workers in central public sector units from Rs. 246 to Rs. 350 a day and formation of a
committee to look into extending benefits under the Employees State )nsurance
Corporation Act to unorganised sectors, including anganwadi, mid-day meal and Asha
volunteers. The Government increased the minimum wages in response to strike
undertaken by trade unions.

Response of TU's
The RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh saw it as a historic victory for workers and
decided not to participate in the strike, while the others were dissatisfied and refused to
drop the strike plan.

13
7. Curfew lifted in Kashmir as situation eases after 51 days

All Party Delegation to visit Kashmir

With an all-party delegation headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh set to visit
Kashmir Valley on September 4, lifting of curfew and security restrictions on Monday eased
life for locals for the first time in 51 days.

Mr. Singh will head an all-party delegation to J&K for a dialogue with stakeholders to
restore normality in the Valley, where the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani on
July 8 sparked a cycle of violence that has left 70 dead and 10,000 injured.

Call by Separatists
Private vehicles plied in the commercial hub of Lal Chowk, where many government offices
and banks resumed functioning. However, shops, petrol pumps, business establishments
and educational institutes remained closed in response to the separatists shutdown call till
September 1.

View of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti

Threads need to be picked up from where they were left by former Prime Minister Atal
Bihari Vajpayee in 2005, when a serious effort was made, both on the external and internal
fronts, to resolve the Kashmir issue through a credible and meaningful dialogue and
confidence-building process, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said in Jammu.

She said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had the mandate to take bold decisions on the
lines of Vajpayeeji .

A credible mechanism for dialogue, reconciliation and resolution needs to be put in place.
It should not be half-hearted efforts made in similar situations after the 2008 and 2010
unrests, she added.

14
8. Debate over Citizenship Bill

On July 19, 2016, the government introduced a Bill to amend certain provisions of the
Citizenship Act, 1955. The Bill has now been referred to the joint select committee of
Parliament. The object of the proposed Bill is to enable Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains,
Parsis and Christians who have fled to India from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh
without valid travel documents, or those whose valid documents have expired in recent
years, to acquire Indian citizenship by the process of naturalisation.

Under the Bill, such persons shall not be treated as illegal immigrants for the purpose of the
Citizenship Act. In another amendment, the aggregate period of residential qualification for
the process of citizenship by naturalisation of such persons is proposed to be reduced from
11 years to six years. A large number of people who would otherwise be illegal immigrants
can now heave a sigh of relief if the Bill goes through as they would be eligible to become
citizens of the country.

Muslims Ignored
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, owes its genesis to the assurance given by the
Prime Minister that Hindus from these three countries who have sought asylum in India
would be conferred Indian citizenship. But since singling out Hindus alone could be
discriminatory, the Bill has extended the right to acquire citizenship to other religious
minorities living in the three countries.

But it would have been appropriate if the Bill had used the term persecuted minorities
instead of listing out non-Muslim minorities in three countries. To give an example, the
Ahmadiyyas are not considered Muslims in Pakistan and are subject to many acts of
discrimination.

Other groups include members of the Rohingyas, who being Muslims are subjected to
discrimination in Myanmar and have fled to India. Such a gesture would also have been in
conformity with the spirit of religious and linguistic rights of minorities guaranteed under
our Constitution. Unfortunately the Bill does not take note of the refugees in India from
among the Muslim community who have fled due to persecution and singles them out on
the basis of religion, thereby being discriminatory.

The bill should not restrict itself to minorities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh
but should include refugees from persecuted minorities of all denominations who have
made India their home.

15
The case of the Malaiha Tamils
Yet another disappointing feature of the Bill is that it does not provide citizenship to the
people of Indian origin from Sri Lanka who fled to Tamil Nadu as refugees following the
communal holocaust in July 1983. The Indian Tamils, or Malaiha (hill country) Tamils as
they like to be called, are descendants of indentured workers who were taken by the
British colonialists in the 19th and 20th centuries to provide the much-needed labour for
the development of tea plantations.

The British gave an assurance that the Indian workers would enjoy the same rights and
privileges accorded to the Sinhalese and the Sri Lankan Tamils. But soon after
independence, by a legislative enactment the Indian Tamils were discriminated and
rendered stateless.

According to informed sources, there are nearly 30,000 Malaiha Tamils in the refugee
camps scattered throughout Tamil Nadu. They have absolutely no moorings in Sri Lanka.
Their children have intermarried with the local people and are well integrated into Tamil
society. The young have availed of educational facilities, but are unable to get jobs
commensurate to their qualifications because they are not Indian citizens.

All these refugees qualify for Indian citizenship by registration under Article 5 of the
Citizenship Act of 1955. However, their plea for citizenship has been negated citing a
Central government circular that Sri Lankan refugees are not entitled for Indian
citizenship.

Implications of provision
In short, members of every major religious community barring Islam coming into India
without legal passports or staying on without valid papers will be entitled to Indian
citizenship after six years of residence in India.

View of Opposition
How can one community be left out? )ndia is not yet officially a (indu state. This reading
fits into the RSS vocabulary. For years together, Bangladeshi Hindus who crossed into India
were referred to as migrants by the Sangh, while Bangladeshi Muslims who came in were
referred to as infiltrators . This, despite the fact that a vast majority of both groups were,
in fact, economic migrants, crossing the border into India in search of work and a better
life.

Response of the Government

The principle is victimhood. How can a Muslim claim he has been victimised in these
Muslim Countries ? But what if a Muslim is victimised? The answer is, (e can always seek
asylum in )ndia.

16
Question:
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 dilutes the conditions for religious
minorities from neighboring countries to secure citizenship of India.
Explain the details of these provisions. Do you think that government s
justification to exclude particular religious community from benefits
under this bill is acceptable?

9. Debate on powers of Speaker

As the presiding officer of the legislature, the Speaker enjoys all power that is integral to
the conduct of business and regulation of the proceedings of the House. In a parliamentary
democracy, he or she is the sole arbiter in interpreting the rules of procedure of the House;
the ruling is final, and beyond any legal challenge.

Wholesale suspension of opposition MLAs in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu

Even so, the recent orders of suspension of almost all the members of the principal
opposition party in the legislatures of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat are extraordinary, raising
serious questions relating to freedom and fairness on the part of the Speakers.

In Gujarat, opposition members had sought to raise the issue of the assault on Dalits by cow
vigilantes when the issue for discussion was ratification of the Goods and Services Tax Bill.
In Tamil Nadu, members of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam were evicted en masse when
they protested against expunging a remark by M.K. Stalin.

Arguments against wholesome suspension

. )t is nobody s case that opposition MLAs in either State were exemplary in their
behaviour. But the wholesale eviction and suspension gave rise to the spectacle of empty
opposition benches, and robbed important debates in the House of the contribution of the
opposition members.

2. For presiding officers to take away the right of members to express themselves is to
undermine the very foundation of parliamentary institutions. True, the government must
have its way in transacting business, but not before the opposition is allowed to have its
say.

3. Vast powers have been vested in the office of the Speaker to strengthen the democratic
institutions of the parliamentary system, and not to stifle dissent or protest in the House.

17
4. Thwarting the voice of members of the opposition is not the Speaker's remit, except
when they make the conduct of business in the House impossible.

10. MHA seeks oversight for all NGOs

View of Home Ministry

The Home Ministry wants the Finance Ministry to surrender its powers to monitor non-
governmental organisations (NGOs) under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
A Home Ministry official said the idea is to bring all NGOs which receive foreign
contributions under one umbrella for better monitoring and regulation.

Explanation for such view

Currently, there are nearly 100 international NGOs and associations which receive foreign
funds through their liaison offices and disburse them to NGOs across India. International
donors such as the Ford Foundation, the U.K. s Department for )nternational Development
and Canada s )nternational Development Research Centre are registered under FEMA but
not the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010.

The Home Ministry monitors foreign funds donated to NGOs and organisations through the
FCRA.The number of NGOs registered under the FCRA is 33,000 and last year alone the
FCRA registration of nearly 10,000 NGOs was cancelled for not following norms.There are
certain NGOs which are registered under FEMA and continue to disburse foreign funds to
various associations here. Since FEMA is regulated by the Finance Ministry, there are many
occasions when MHA is not able to monitor the flow of funds effectively.

Since there is a separate law the FCRA to deal with such transactions, it will be better
if they are brought under a common head.

Objective of FCRA
The FCRA was brought into force to regulate flow of foreign funds to voluntary
organisations with the objective of preventing any possible diversion of such funds to anti-
national activities.

Stringent norms under FCRA

An official explained that many NGOs and foreign donors do not want to register under the
FCRA due to its stringent provisions.

18
11. Why the Surrogacy Bill is necessary?

What is surrogacy?
Surrogacy is when a woman carries a baby for another couple and gives up the baby at
birth. In the past decade, commercial surrogacy has grown tremendously in India. It is
currently estimated to be a $2-billion industry.

Background
Before November 2015, when the government imposed a ban, foreigners accounted for 80
per cent of surrogacy births in the country. This is because most countries, barring a few
such as Russia, Ukraine and some U.S. states, do not permit commercial surrogacy. Many
countries in Europe have completely prohibited surrogacy arrangements, both to protect
the reproductive health of the surrogate mother as well as the future of the newborn child.

Instances that triggered the need for surrogacy bill

1. The debate began when, in 2008, a Japanese doctor couple commissioned a baby in a
small town in Gujarat. The surrogate mother gave birth to a healthy baby girl. By then the
couple had separated and the baby was both parentless and stateless, caught between the
legal systems of two countries. The child is now in her grandmother s custody in Japan but
has not obtained citizenship, as surrogacy is not legal in Japan.

2. In 2012, an Australian couple who had twins by surrogacy, arbitrarily rejected one and
took home the other.

3. A single mother of two from Chennai decided to become a surrogate mother in the hope
that the payment would help her start a shop near her house. She delivered a healthy child,
but her hopes bore little fruit for herself. She received only about Rs.75,000, with an
autorickshaw driver who served as a middleman, taking a 50 per cent cut. After repaying
the loans, she did not have enough money.

4. On January 29, 2014, 26-year-old Yuma Sherpa died in the aftermath of a surgical
procedure to harvest eggs from her body, as part of the egg donation programme of a
private clinic based in New Delhi.

These incidents highlight the total disregard for the rights of the surrogate mother and
child and have resulted in a number of public interest litigations in the Supreme Court to
control commercial surrogacy. The 228th report of the Law Commission of India also
recommended prohibiting commercial surrogacy and allowing ethical altruistic surrogacy

19
to needy Indian citizens by enacting a suitable legislation.

Surrogacy Bill
The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016 proposes to regulate surrogacy in India by
permitting it as an option for couples who cannot naturally have children, have a lack of
other assisted reproductive technology options, are keen to have a biological child, and can
find a surrogate mother among their relatives.
Altruistic surrogacy, which means an arrangement without transfer of funds as
inducement, is currently practised in some centres in India, though the majority of
surrogacy centres use women who are paid for their services.

The child born through surrogacy will have all the rights of a biological child. Indian
infertile couples between the ages of 23-50 years (woman) and 26-55 (man) who have
been married for five years and who do not have a surviving child will be eligible for
surrogacy. The surrogate mother should be a close relative of the intending couple and
between the ages of 25-35 years and shall act as a surrogate mother only once in her
lifetime.

Implementation will be through the national and State surrogacy boards.

The Bill bars surrogacy/Ineligibility

. Foreigners including NR) s and P)O s
2. Homosexual couples
3. People in live-in relationships
4. Single individuals

Eligibility
Straight Indian childless couple married for a minimum of five years

Other Provisions
1. Eligible couples will have to turn to close relatives, not necessarily related by blood for
altruistic surrogacy where no money exchanges hands between the commissioning
couple and the surrogate mother.
2. Clinics have to maintain records of surrogacy for 25 years.
3. The rights of the surrogate child will be the same as that of a biological child.

Violations according to the bill

1. Commercial surrogacy
2. Abandoning the surrogate child,

20
3. Exploitation of surrogate mother,
4. Selling/ import of human embryo

Penalities
Violation of the provisions would be punishable by a jail term of at least 10 years and a fine
of up to Rs 10 lakh. Registered surrogacy clinics will have to maintain all records for a
minimum period of 25 years.

Adoption as an alternative Option

While infertility is a growing problem in India, there are many different ways of making a
family. Adoption is an underutilised option that can not only give happiness to a childless
couple but also provide a home and a future for an orphan child. While the Bill will now be
placed before Parliament and the details debated, the basic tenet of disallowing commercial
surrogacy is at its heart, and will remain.

Question:
What are the provisions of Surrogacy Bill, 2016? Do you think that the bill
effectively safeguards the rights of the surrogate mother?

12. SC asks Centre to respond to plea to declare triple talaq

illegal

Response sought from Centre

The Supreme Court sought a response from the Centre to a petition by a West Bengal-based
Muslim woman to declare the practices of talaq-e-bidat (triple talaq), nikah halala and
polygamy under Muslim personal laws as illegal and unconstitutional.

Nikah Halala is a divorce diktat in Sharia law. A divorced couple cannot remarry unless the
woman marries another man again and he divorces her.

A Bench of Supreme Court tagged the petition filed by Ishrat Jahan, who is a native of
Howrah, with a batch of petitions filed to consider whether certain practices of marriage
and divorce under Islamic personal law amount to gender discrimination.

21
13. Women can enter Haji Ali sanctum, rules HC

Ruling of Bombay HC
Women be permitted to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the (aji Ali Dargah at par with
men , ruled the Bombay (igh Court in a landmark verdict allowing the entry of women up
to the mazar in the revered Sufi dargah in south central Mumbai.

Time given to appeal

However, the Division Bench granted a six-week stay on the order on a request by the Haji
Ali Dargah Trust to enable it to go on appeal before the Supreme Court.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation petition filed in November 2014.

Reasons given by Court

Setting a precedent in allowing women to enter religious places, the court said that the ban
order by the Trust contravened Article 14 (equality before law), 15 (prohibition of
discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth) and 25 (freedom of
conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion) of the Constitution.

The Bench said: The Trust is always at liberty to take steps to prevent sexual harassment
of women, by having separate queues for men and women, as was done earlier.

The (C said the Trust cannot enforce a ban contrary to the fundamental rights enshrined
in the Constitution.

14. Centre seeks clarification on another Delhi Bill

Another Bill passed by the Delhi Assembly has run into trouble with the Centre. The union
Home Ministry has sought clarifications from the Delhi government on the Minimum
Wages (Delhi) Amendment Bill, 2015, passed by the Assembly last year. A proposal in the
Bill says the head of the dispute resolution body will be appointed by the Delhi
government.

View of Union Government

Since Delhi is not a full fledged State, the power to appoint a statutory body lies with the
Centre. The Delhi government cannot appoint just anyone to the important post, which
will redress the grievances of the labour force. It is desirable as well as legally tenable that
a statutory body, cleared by an Act of Parliament, is instead constituted to look into

22
grievances and disputes, the official said.

Provisions of the billl

The Bill proposes higher fines and imprisonment for violation of labour norms. As per the
amendments, companies in Delhi would have to periodically upload data of their
employees on a website as prescribed by the Delhi government.

Tussle between Delhi and Union Government

Earlier, a Bill seeking 400 per cent hike in the salary of MLAs, was returned by the Home
Ministry as it had not come in the proper format.In all, 14 Bills passed by the Delhi
Assembly are pending with the Centre. Similarly, the Delhi (Right of Citizen to Time Bound
Delivery of Services) Amendment Bill, 2015, has been sent to the union Law Ministry for
comments.

The official said the contentious Jan Lokpal Bill, 2015, was not likely to be given the go-
ahead as it was repugnant with several Central laws. The Delhi High Court earlier this
month ruled that Delhi was a union territory and that the Lieutenant Governor was its
administrative head.

15. Evaluation of move to replace MCI

Views of Dr. Jayshree Mehta, president of the Medical Council of India

Dr. Jayshree Mehta, president of the Medical Council of India which has been under the
scanner for corruption and is currently being monitored by a three-member committee
mandated by the Supreme Court, has said that the Council was not given a reasonable
opportunity to present its side of the story.

Dr.Mehta said the Supreme Court mandated Lodha panel which is monitoring the
functioning was not the first oversight panel for the Council. )n , the Delhi (igh Court
appointed a full time administrator who supervised the MC) s functioning for a year. During
that year, they could not bring even a single event pertaining to the functioning of the
Council, which could be said to be contrary to the governing rules, Dr Mehta claimed.

Later a four-member ad hoc committee was formed which examined all of the MCI's
decisions between to . So, we have been under scrutiny from 1996 - 2001 and
then 2002 2009 and nothing has been found.

23
National Medical Commission
Government plans to replace MCI with National Medical Commission. The draft Bill on the
National Medical Commission, 2016 is required to be passed.

16. Beginning of New Civil Aviation Regional Connectivity

Scheme

Maharashtra s move in becoming the first State to embrace the Regional Connectivity
Scheme RCS ticks a few boxes for the Centre s ambitious plan to use civil aviation to boost
tourism, jobs and balanced regional growth across the country. It also lends a fillip to
)ndia s aim of emerging as the third largest aviation market by .

Background Analysis
The report highlighted two points: the immense potential that lay in activating the nearly
450 dormant airports and airfields, and the need for a subsidy fund, which is a global norm,
in keeping such routes going. A key point in that document was its optimism about India
having 300-odd operational airports by 2030, from about 80 now, by tapping into the
potential of regional routes.

When linked to a concept such as a hub and spoke of route flexibility and also feeding
into larger airline operators and major aviation hubs the sky was indeed the limit. (ub
and spoke is a system of air transportation in which local airports offer flights to a central
airport where international or long distance flights are available.

New Policy
At its heart lies the importance of Centre-State cooperation, in the form of viability gap
funding, subsidised aviation fuel and a controversial fare cap, pivotal to enabling the
scheme s success.

Challenges in Regional Connectivity Scheme

. Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju s remark that States would have to be
prepared to take some haircuts by providing free land and operational infrastructure, and
that the Centre would have to agree to forego excise on aviation fuel and service tax on
tickets signals that the scheme may end up testing the actual commitment of governments
both at the Union and State levels.

24
2. With private airlines having evinced interest but not having expressly committed
themselves so far to the Regional Connectivity Scheme, there is also the issue, going by
experience, of whether the burden of operating such routes could end up ultimately falling
on Air India.

. The episodes of the now-on, now-off air services to Mysuru and Puducherry, for
instance, are illustrative and instructive. These operations had the backing of the respective
governments but never reached cruise altitude .

4. Given the scale of the scheme, there is also the issue of providing air traffic control
services. With mounting worries over air safety and the alarming rise in near-miss
incidents, there can be no room for compromise on this vital component of the aviation
industry.

17. New Initiatives Planned at IITs

1. The IIT Council approved in principle an increase in number of seats by 2020, subject to
each ))T s assessment of its preparedness.

The ))Ts have to take a call as per their needs. Classrooms cannot be overcrowded. We will
permit the relaxation of hostel stay rule so as to facilitate it. Our vision for 2020 is one-lakh
seats, though it is up to the institutes to decide how to go about it, a senior official said.
The student-teacher ratio, which should be 10:1 is right now 15:1. New recruitments will,
therefore, have to accompany the capacity expansion planned. As of now, the IITs admit
10,500 UG students, 8,000 PG students and 3,000 Ph.D students.

2. The government is planning to put in place an engineering aptitude test that students of
classes 11 and 12 can take up to assess their ability to excel as engineers beforehand.

3. Research collaboration
Under the Global Research )nteractive Network, we will have research collaborations with
other countries, Minister for (uman Resource Development Prakash Javadekar said
Professors from these nations will come to )ndia. Our students will also go there and
access high-end laboratories and facilities.

25
4. Mr. Javadekar said a Prime Minister Research Fellowship would be started so that bright
students do not suffer for lack of funds.

18. Ramya will not apologise, says she is entitled to her opinion

Allegation on Ramaya
Actor-turned-politician Ramya passed a comment that Pakistan is not hell .

Ramaya s claim
BJP is using the sedition law to target those who have differing opinions. Sedition charge is
slapped against anyone who is entitled to an opinion. She said the law was being misused
and needed to be modified.

The private complaint has sought a direction to police to book Ms. Ramya under IPC
Sections 124-A (sedition).

About IPC Section 124 A

Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or
otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to
excite disaffection towards the Government established by law in India, shall be punished
with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may
extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.

Explanation
. The expression disaffection includes disloyalty and all feelings of enmity.

2. Comments expressing disapprobation of the measures of the Government with a view to

obtain their alteration by lawful means, without exciting or attempting to excite hatred,
contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an offence under this section.

3. Comments expressing disapprobation of the administrative or other action of the

Government without exciting or attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection, do
not constitute an offence under this section.

26
19. PMO open to single water panel

The Prime Minister s Office PMO is receptive to the idea of forming the proposed National
Water Commission (NWC) by merging the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the
Central Ground Water Board (CGWB).

The NWC was the key recommendation of a report by Mihir Shah committee that was
tasked with reorganising river water management in the country.

Background
Since 1945 the CWC has been tasked with managing surface water and its associated
structures such as dams and barrages. The CGWB, on the other hand, is largely concerned
with the quality of groundwater.

Utility of Integration
1. The proposed NWC pushes for an integrated policy, greater cognisance of over-
extraction of groundwater.
2. It will also maintain environmental stability by ensuring States that share water do not
draw from river basins more than what is ecologically tenable.

States will get more power

As of today, States must get a technical clearance from the CWC before they can go ahead
with constructing dams and other reservoirs. Were an NWC to come into being, this power
would devolve to the States and other research institutions, with the Central body
becoming a research organisation and a repository of data on )ndia s river basins.

Committee s Findings
. The Shah report was scathing in its assessment of the CWC s competence to manage
)ndia s future water needs. CWC and CGWB suffer from a lack of professionals.
2. Several States testified that huge delays in techno-economic appraisal by the CWC which
has become a matter of concern.

Opposition by CWC
(owever, the possibility of an integration hasn t gone down well with the CWC. An
association of engineers associated with the organisation said the Shah committee report
was based on incorrect water resource scenario, wrong interpretation of data, selective
literature review to suit certain ideology and is not aligned with constitutional & legal
framework of the country.

27
20. Time for a National Water Commission

Mihir Shah , water policy expert, member of the erstwhile Planning Commission and in
recent months head of several committees tasked with reforming Indias water laws, says
existing institutions are inadequate to address our water needs. Which is why, he says in an e-
mail interview, India needs an overarching water commission.

Excerpts:
The proposed National Water Commission (NWC) subsumes the Central Water
Commission (CWC) and Central Ground Water Board (CGWB). How specifically does
it improve national water management?
The CWC (set up in 1945) and CGWB (set up in 1971) were created in an era when India
faced a very different set of challenges. Then it was crucial to create irrigation capacity to
ensure food self-sufficiency. But today the challenge is different. At huge cost (around
Rs.400,000 crore) we have created 113 million hectares of irrigation potential. But is this
water reaching the farmers? No. As the Chief Minister of Maharashtra has said, the State
has per cent of the country s large dams, but per cent area of the state is rainfed.

We also highlight the fact that groundwater is the main source of water in India. This
means we cannot go on endlessly drilling for groundwater through tubewells, which is
what CGWB has promoted thus far. This has actually aggravated )ndia s groundwater crisis,
as water tables fall and water quality declines, with arsenic, fluoride and even uranium
entering our drinking water.

What are the key shifts in water management your report recommends?
One, we must take a multidisciplinary view of water. We require professionals from
disciplines other than just engineering and hydrogeology.

If river rejuvenation is the key national mandate of the Ministry of Water Resources, then
this cannot happen without hydrologists and hydrogeologists working together, along with
social scientists, agronomists and other stakeholders.

Two, we need to adopt the participatory approach to water management that has been
successfully tried all over the world, as also in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra
Pradesh.

Three, we must view groundwater and surface water in an integrated, holistic manner.
CWC and CGWB cannot continue to work in their current independent, isolated fashion.

28
The one issue that really highlights the need to unify CWC and CGWB is the drying up of
)ndia s peninsular rivers, the single most important cause of which is over-extraction of
groundwater.

Four, we need to focus on river basins which must form the fundamental units for
management of water. We have carefully studied the regional presence (or absence) of the
CWC and CGWB and proposed a way forward whereby the NWC is present in all major
river basins of India.

The Central Water Commission has opposed the NWC on the grounds that several
reform measures are already in place. Are you throwing the baby out with the
bathwater?
Not at all. We have taken great care to ensure that all existing functions and personnel of
the CWC find their appropriate place in the eight divisions of the NWC, which include
Irrigation Reform, River Rejuvenation, Participatory Groundwater Management, Urban and
Industrial Water, Water Security (including droughts, floods and climate change) and
Water Quality.

Water is frequently a political issue in several States. Why should States listen to an
NWC?
As a Committee, we took great care to get views of States on board. We have suggested that
appraisal must become a demand-based exercise, done through a partnership between the
Central and State governments, as also institutions of national repute.

This is a key part of the reform we are proposing. We are not for a monolithic NWC. The
NWC will be a knowledge institution providing solutions to water problems faced by State
governments, farmers and other stakeholders, on demand, in a truly user-friendly manner.

Your report doesn t encourage interlinking of rivers, one of the most vocal
commitments of Water Minister Uma Bharti.
Our report contains a summary of all the scholarly work available on interlinking of rivers
(ILR). This work demolishes the engineering myth that water must not be allowed to flow
wastefully into the sea. Scientists fear that the humongous )LR project could even
endanger the integrity of )ndia s monsoon cycle, which depends crucially on fresh river
water flowing into the sea.

However, our report is not centrally concerned with this question and is not really into the
pro- versus anti-big dam debate. It is much more concerned with the challenge of ensuring
that the water stored in dams, present or future, actually reaches the farmers. This is low-

29
hanging fruit that can give us an increase of millions of hectares of irrigated area at much
less than the cost of the ILR and in much less time, avoiding all inter-State conflicts, land
acquisition problems, as also corruption that has become a big issue in irrigation projects
over the years.

Question:
The Proposed National Water Commission reflects the coordinated
response to the ensuing water problems in our nation. Analyse the
statement in context of technical skills, federal implications and functions
sought to be placed under the Proposed Commission.

21. Sushma asks jobless in Saudi to return, not to wait for dues

Message from External Affairs Minister

The External Affairs Minister asked stranded Indian workers in Saudi Arabia to return
without waiting for unpaid salaries from their Saudi employers, indicating that
negotiations to secure their dues had not made headway.

When Saudi government settles with the companies which have been closed down, your
dues will also be paid, Ms. Swaraj said in a tweet.

The Minister-level declaration is the first sign that quiet diplomacy led by MoS Gen. (Retd.)
V.K. Singh, to ensure dues and salaries for at least 3,172 workers who became jobless after
three major Saudi construction firms folded up, did not yield results.

Background
The issue erupted when External Affairs Minister announced from her Twitter handle that
, )ndian nationals were facing a food crisis in Saudi Arabia as they had not been
paid salaries for several months. The crisis was due to non-payment of salaries for Indian
nationals.

The workers were to be evacuated even as the Consulate General in Jeddah and the Indian
Embassy in Riyadh delivered food packets to feed hundreds of Indians.

However workers could not be evacuated quickly as most of them did not possess no-
objection certificates from employing firms that had folded up and that apart they were
also reluctant to leave without the unpaid salaries.

30
(owever, Ms. Swaraj s announcement indicates that the government would prefer the
jobless workers to return after registering the claims without any further assurances
with the Saudi authorities, as the companies that have ended operations are not in a
position to pay the dues immediately.

22. Latest MoP draft awaits green light from judges

Vision of government on judicial appointments

The latest draft of the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) gives an insight into the NDA
government s vision for future judicial appointments as a transparent and broad-based
exercise, involving not just a handful of senior collegium judges but all their fellow judges,
the Chief Ministers and top law officers of the Centre and the States.

The draft is currently with Chief Justice of )ndia T.S. Thakur and awaiting the judges
approval. The past months have seen a stalemate with the judiciary raising objections
against the earlier government drafts of the MoP.

Background
On October 16, 2015, a Constitution Bench had revived the collegium after declaring the
government s NJAC law unconstitutional. The Bench then went on to invite public opinion
on ways to improve the opaque collegium system of judicial appointments. After receiving
over 11,500 views from the public, the Bench had summarised them and tasked the
government to draft a new MoP on December 16, 2015.

Details of latest MoP

1. Recommendation of names: To implement the judicial direction to widen the zone of
consideration , the latest MoP draft wants all Supreme Court and (igh Court judges to be
able to recommend names to their respective collegiums. Chief Ministers should also have
the right to recommend names to the respective High Court collegiums. Similarly, the
Attorney General should be allowed to recommend the names of judges to the Supreme
Court at the Centre and Advocate-General of States to their respective State High Courts.

2. Vetting of names: The draft also details a mechanism for an elaborate vetting process of
names recommended for High Court judgeship through appraisal committees to be set up
in High Courts. The government wants these appraisal committees to be made up of sitting
or retired judges, jurists and academicians. The appointments to these appraisal
committees would be made by the Chief Justice of the High Court.

31
3. 2 fold: Screening of candiates
1. These High Court committees would screen the names of the candidates, their
backgrounds, the number of cases they have argued as lawyers, etc, before forwarding
them to the High Court collegium.

2. Once the High Court collegium clears certain names, they would be sent to a similar
appraisal committee at the Supreme Court. This apex-level committee would again sift
through the names before they are finally referred to the SC collegium.

The government reasons that the two-fold vetting process one by the respective High
Court appraisal committee and then by the Supreme Court committee would ensure
transparency in judicial appointments.

The government has further asked the judiciary to fix an age for High Court judgeship and
make it non-flexible. )t also wants the mechanism for redressing complaints against
judges to remain within the judiciary.

Details of new memorandum of procedure (MOP):

. For the first time, the government has sought to include merit and integrity as prime
criteria apart from seniority for appointment of judges to the higher judiciary.

The new MoP seeks to introduce performance appraisal as a standard for appointing Chief
justices of high courts and Supreme Court judges.

2. Another key change being sought by the NDA government pertains to appointment of
lawyers and jurists as judges. The MoP states that up to three judges in the Supreme Court
need to be appointed from among the eminent members of the Bar and distinguished
jurists with proven track record in their respective fields.

3. Establishment of a permanent secretariat to maintain records. A permanent secretariat

to be set up in the Supreme Court for maintaining records of high court judges, scheduling
meetings of the SC Collegium, receiving recommendations as well as complaints in matters
related to appointments.

4. It further states that a high court should not have an acting chief justice for more than
three months, while awaiting appointment of a full-time Chief justice by the Collegium.

32
 . Advocating fair representation of all high courts in picking SC judges, the government
has said preference should be given to the chief justices of high courts, keeping in view
their inter-se seniority.

6. In case a senior chief justice of a high court is being overlooked for elevation to the
Supreme Court, the reasons for the same should be recorded in writing . At present, no
records are put in public domain by the Collegium to show why a judge is not elevated to
the Supreme Court despite his seniority.

7. The Union Law Minister should seek the recommendation of the incumbent CJI for
appointment of his successor at least one month prior to his retirement.

8. A notice for vacancies of judges should be put up on the website of the high courts at the
beginning of the year for appointments. A permanent secretariat for the High Court
Collegium to process appointments pertaining to a High Court.

23. Hasten a consensus on Judicial Appointments

Concern of judiciary
The Chief Justice of India, T.S. Thakur has expressed his concern about the chronic shortage
of judges and questioned the delay on the part of the executive in filling up vacancies in the
high courts.

Cause of Delay in filling the vacancies

1. The executive and the judiciary are yet to agree on a fresh Memorandum of Procedure
(MoP) for appointments to the superior courts.

2. The Union government, tasked with revising the MoP, is awaiting the approval of the
Chief Justice and his senior colleagues for its draft proposals.

3. Constitution Bench that invalidated the laws relating to the NJAC conceded that the
collegium process requires improvement.

Given that there are over 475 vacancies in the high courts, it is arguable whether so many
judges should be appointed under a system that is going to be shortly dispensed with and,
worse, considered inadequate and opaque.

33
24. Supreme Court pulls up Centre for sitting on Collegium list

In its sharpest-ever attack in open court on the NDA government, the Supreme Court asked
whether the Centre intends to bring the entire judiciary to a grinding halt by sitting on
recommendations of the Collegium for appointment and transfer of judges to High Courts
across the country. Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur made it clear to the Centre,
represented by Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi, that the court would not shy away from a
confrontation with the government if driven to a corner.

The Supreme Court Bench which pulled up the Centre on a PIL plea filed by war veteran Lt.
Col retd. Anil Kabotra, who highlighted the enormous backlog of cases in various courts
which has acquired uncontrollable proportions.

Question:
After Scrap of National Judicial Appointments Commission, there is delay
on Judicial Appointments on account of lack of consensus between the
Judiciary and the Executive over the Appointment Process in Higher
Judiciary. What factors should be kept in mind while establishing a
mechanism for Judicial Appointments? Do you think that latest
Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for appointments to the superior courts
as proposed by Executive abide by the above cited factors?

34
25. The burden on Supreme Court

A two-judge Bench has flagged the issue once again by observing that routine appeals may
result in the obstruction of the constitutional role assigned to the highest court . There are
two separate reasons why the Supreme Court is bogged down by routine litigation:

1. the first is the tendency among litigants to seek special leave to appeal against any order
or decision of the high courts and tribunals;

2. the second is the provision for statutory appeals against orders of various tribunals. For
instance, the Electricity Act, 2003, and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
(Amendment) Act, 2000, provide for direct appeals to the Supreme Court against orders of
appellate tribunals. The court has asked the Law Commission to examine whether allowing
such direct statutory appeals is affecting its primary role.

The primary role of the Supreme Court is considered to be a court undertaking

constitutional and federal issues.

Analysis of reasons
Part of the blame has to be borne by the judges of the Supreme Court themselves. The
power to grant special leave is one that is meant to be used sparingly; in practice it is used
much too liberally. This has an impact on the time and number of judges devoted to hearing
matters of constitutional importance.

Implications
In recent times, it is a matter of regret that some major decisions involving interpretation
of the Constitution were delivered by two-judge Benches, whereas such significant
questions ought to have been decided by at least a five-judge Bench.

The verdict reversing the Delhi High Court decriminalising homosexuality and the
judgment upholding criminal defamation are two examples.

The court s concern also extends to laws ousting the jurisdiction of high courts by the
establishment of various tribunals. Such provisions result in the Supreme Court being the
first appellate court.

35
26. SC judges seek reduction of routine complaints to ease
burden of SC

View of SC judges
Private litigants and cash-rich companies who file routine appeals, thwart the Supreme
Court objective to decide cases of national interest. )t endorsed the view that the Supreme
Court of India must cease to be a mere court of appeal to litigants and a daily mentor of the
Government... SC judges felt the apex court was being prevented from fulfilling its
constitutional objective.

Justice Goel acknowledged that the rush of humdrum commercial and private appeals had
thwarted the Supreme Court s constitutional objective to hear matters of only national and
public interest. Even an increase in the sanctioned strength of Supreme Court judges to 31
has not helped because they are busy hearing routine cases at the cost of pending
constitutional matters.

The judgment endorsed former Solicitor-General T.R. Andhyarujina s view that the
Supreme Court started losing its character after 1990, when it began entertaining cases of
all kinds.

The verdict refers to a speech by a fellow sitting Supreme Court judge, Justice J.
Chelameswar, in 2014 about the decline in the stature of a Supreme Court inundated by
routine appeals. Justice Chelameswar had spoken about how parties ignore the fact that a
certificate of the High Court is required to appeal to the Supreme Court. Only in exceptional
circumstances would the Supreme Court admit a case without the (igh Court s certificate.
The exception has become the rule now. The result is more and more unsuccessful people
are encouraged to have another go at it by approaching the Supreme Court, the judgment
quoted Justice Chelameswar.

Direction to Law Commission

SC judges directed the Law Commission of India to file a report within a year on whether it
is permissible to stop the filing of all appeals which are not of national and public
importance.

)t also wanted the Commission to consider the desirability of laws that allow parties,
including the government, to file appeals against tribunal orders in the Supreme Court
bypassing the High Courts.

36
National Cour of Appeal: A possible solution
The Supreme Court is also hearing a petition filed by Tamil Nadu-based advocate V.
Vasanthakumar for setting up National Courts of Appeal with regional benches to hear civil
and criminal appeals.

Question:
National Court of Appeal will not only improve the access of Higher
Judiciary to common people but will enable Supreme Court to concentrate
on Federal and Constitutional Cases. Analyse the statement.

27. SC upholds bar on automatic arrests in dowry cases

A Curative Bench, led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur, has upheld a 2014 Supreme
Court verdict that men cannot be automatically arrested on dowry harassment
complaints filed by their
wives.

Earlier Order
Days before his retirement in 2014, Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad led a Bench that
lamented that courts were filled with mothers-in-law, sisters-in-law and fathers-in-law and
husbands facing prosecution under Section 498 A (dowry harassment) of the Indian Penal
Code.

About Dowry Harassment Offence

Dowry harassment is a cognisable and non-bailable offence. If guilty, a person faces up to
three years' imprisonment and fine. Women s rights groups were irked by the verdict, and
the National Commission for Women sought a rare curative relief in the court.

Reason to stop automative arrests

)n his verdict, Justice Prasad pointed to a phenomenal increase in matrimonial disputes in
recent years even as the institution of marriage is greatly revered in this country .

The simplest way to harass is to get the husband and his relatives arrested under this
provision. In a quite number of cases, bedridden grandfathers and grandmothers of the
husbands, their sisters living abroad for decades are arrested, the verdict observed.

Presenting government crime statistics to show that 1.97 lakh people were arrested in

37
 for dowry harassment, nearly a quarter of those being women, the verdict said: This
depicts that mothers and sisters of the husbands were liberally included in their arrest
net.

More statistics were shared to show Section 498A made up 4.5 per cent of the total crimes
charged under different sections of the IPC more than any other crimes excepting theft
and hurt .

The rate of charge-sheeting in cases under Section 498A of the IPC is as high as 93.6 per
cent, while the conviction rate is only 15 percent, which is lowest across all heads. As many
as 3,72,706 cases are pending trial of which on current estimate, nearly 3,17,000 are likely
to result in acquittal, the verdict observed.

28. Evaluation of Bihar Liquor Prohibition Law

Problems with Prohibition

1. Liquor bans have led to a spurt in the consumption of illicit brews. 15 persons died this
week following consumption of illicit alcohol in Bihar s Gopalganj district.
2. Incidence of hooch tragedies tends to be higher when prohibition is in force as the trade
is driven underground: the black market grows and production becomes unregulated.

Reasons for such problems

Of late, political parties have resorted to the prohibition card, sensing the growing support
for such a move among large sections of women, especially in the lower income groups,
who have had to deal with financial neglect and physical abuse by drunken family
members.

However, the States starved of revenue from the liquor business have been hesitant to
invest adequately in prohibition enforcement. The end result is that bootleggers and illicit
brewers just replace liquor shops.

Bihar Prohibition Law

1. In any case, Bihar seems to have gone too far with its prohibition legislation, even
providing for capital punishment for those trading in illicit liquor.

2. Provisions for punishing family members above the age of 18 in case of consumption of

38
alcohol at home, and the top management of companies in case of consumption within their
company premises, are draconian to the point of being absurd.

3. Also, district magistrates can impose fines on whole villages or communities in case of
repeated violations of the prohibition regime.

But other than changes to the law, the government seems to have done nothing to facilitate
enforcement on the ground. The liquor trade appears to have gone underground, thus
increasing the risks for the most vulnerable sections of the population.

29. Evaluation of Sedition Law

Charge of Sedition
The police in Bengaluru have registered an FIR, under Section 124-A of the Indian Penal
Code, against Amnesty International India, highlighting once again the anachronism of the
sedition law and its potential as a tool for harassment.

What was the event?

Amnesty India had organised a function as part of its campaign to seek justice for victims
of human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir, an event that ended in heated
arguments and pro- azadi sloganeering.

Who filed the FIR?

The FIR was lodged on the basis of a complaint by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, a
student body affiliated to the RSS. Although the Karnataka Home Minister has clarified that
the police would proceed against the rights group only if evidence is found to substantiate
the claims made , the incident draws attention to the danger in retaining a law that should
have no place in our statute books, one that Jawaharal Nehru himself had described as
highly objectionable and obnoxious , back in .

View of Courts
Although the courts have repeatedly held that the operation of Section 124-A is limited to
cases where what is spoken incites violence and public disorder, the limitations of the
section have rarely stopped prosecuting authorities from using it as a tool to stifle dissent
and criticism.

39
Unfortunately, a focus on the use of the sedition law by both public intellectuals and the
media has been largely limited to high-profile cases such as those involving JNU student
leader Kanhaiya Kumar (for supposedly raising anti-national slogans), Tamil folk singer
Kovan for criticising the government s liquor policy), Hardik Patel (for rallying Patidars to
demand reservation) and Aseem Trivedi (for anti-corruption cartoons).

But it is important to also keep sight of the countless cases that do not receive individual
attention and which expose the full extent of the misapplication of the sedition law. Most
sedition cases do not result in trials, leave alone convictions, but it is a sobering thought
that as many as 58 people were arrested in 2014 under Section 124-A a vague and
dangerously inexact provision that punishes those who by use of words, signs or visible
representation bring into hatred or contempt or excite disaffection towards the
government.

That people continue to get charged with an offence added to the IPC a decade after its
promulgation in 1860, to help a colonial government hold sway over its subjects, is a
matter of shame. India failed to scrap the law in the first few years after Independence,
after which it was upheld, albeit with caveats, by the Supreme Court in Kedarnath Singh v.
State of Bihar in 1962. In the intervening years, countries including Britain have abolished
their sedition laws. )t s time )ndia joined their ranks.

Question:
What are the provisions of Section 124-A of Indian Penal Code? Why are
they controversial? Is the judgment of Supreme Court on this section
sufficient to prevent misuse of this section?

30. SC imposes curbs on Dahi Handi celebrations

Order of Supreme Court

The Supreme Court banned those under 18 from participating in the Dahi Handi
celebrations and limited the height of the human pyramids to 20 feet.

A Bench of Justices at the same time voiced its concern at the near-impossibility of
verifying the age of the Dahi Handi participants and ascertaining the heights of the
pyramids in the midst of frenzied celebrations that are due to begin shortly in Maharashtra.

Reasons for order

40
The Dahi Handi ceremony is annually held on Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna.
In the event that recreates an episode in the life of Lord Krishna, people form human
pyramids to break an earthen pot filled with buttermilk tied to a string at a height.

Frequent accidents, often fatal, led to the Child Rights Commission framing safety
guidelines in February 2014.

Views of SC Judges
Why did you not carry out any amendments or change the law, Justice Rao asked the
Maharashtra government. We only know of Lord Krishna stealing butter, but the not about
the acrobatics involved, he remarked.

At one point, Justice Dave recalled having seen Govindas climb human pyramids up to nine
stories high without even the safety of a rope to arrest their fall.

31. Draft Ganga Act to draw from Highways Act

Proposed Ganga Act on lines of National Highways Act

A first-of-its-kind bill to regulate a river the Ganga Act, as it is now called and being
drafted by experts will draw from the National Highways Act and allow the Centre final
say over States during disputes over management of its water.

The National Highways Authority of India Act empowers the Central government to have
complete power over roads designated as national highways. )t also gives them authority
over bridges, culverts and associated land stretches near highways.

Need for Ganga Act

The Union Water Resources Ministry is the nodal agency in charge of implementing the Rs.
20,000-crore National Clean Ganga Mission by 2022, and has so far spent only around Rs.
320 crore, despite Rs. 2,000 crore being sanctioned. Nearly 70% of the budget is to be
apportioned for commissioning sewage treatment plants.

This was partly due to a lack of consensus between the Ganga States on how money allotted
should be spent though. The proposed Ganga Act was to ensure that future disputes which
could arise in the proper management of the river were avoided.

41
Implication of Proposed Ganga Act
The proposed act will give more powers to Central Government to implement Clean Ganga
Mission. At the same time, powers of the states will reduce. Consequently, the problem
arising on account of lack of coordination among states with regard to cleaning of Ganga
will resolve.

32. Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016

Provisions of the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which was passed by
the Rajya Sabha

The Bill introduces four major changes to the law relating to maternity benefits.

1. It extends the period of maternity benefit from 12 weeks to 26 weeks of which not more
than eight weeks can precede the date of the expected delivery.
This exceeds the )nternational Labour Organisation s minimum standard of weeks and
is a positive development.
However, a woman who has two or more surviving children will be entitled to 12 weeks of
which not more than six weeks can precede the date of the expected delivery.

2. Women who legally adopt a child below the age of three months or a commissioning
mother will be entitled to maternity benefit for weeks from the date on which the child
is handed over to her. A commissioning mother is defined as a biological mother who
uses her egg to create an embryo implanted in another woman.

3. It gives discretion to employers to allow women to work from home after the period of
maternity benefit on mutually agreeable conditions, if the nature of work assigned to
them permits such an arrangement.

4. It requires establishments having 50 or more employees to have a crche facility, either

separately or along with common facilities. Further, employers should allow the woman to
visit the crche four times a day, which shall also include the interval for rest allowed to
her.

Criticism of the bill

42
1. The Bill is steeped in an patriarchal notion of family and the workplace. It assumes that
only a mother is a parent or primary caregiver, while a father is the provider and an
employee bereft of an active responsibility in childcare. It is silent on paternity/parental
leave.

2. Restricting the option of working from home to only women also reinforces gender-
based roles within the family. Provisions like these will inevitably cause employers to view
these measures as an undue burden.

3. Adoptive parent/s discriminated

Since 2006, the Government of India has granted adoption leave of 135 days to women
government servants on adoption of a child upto one year of age. The Guidelines Governing
Adoption of Children, 2015, require government and public sector undertakings to provide
adoption leave to all adoptive parents working in their offices irrespective of the age of the
child. The Bill regresses as it entitles an adoptive mother to maternity leave of 12 weeks
only if she adopts a child below three months of age.

It overlooks the rigorous procedures on declaring a child free for adoption under the
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, that makes it nearly impossible
to adopt a child below three months. The Bill also ignores Section 57(3) of the JJ Act, which
enables a single person to adopt.
In effect, the Bill discriminates against almost all adoptive mothers, particularly those who
adopt older babies or children. It also discriminates against adoptive fathers and
transgendered persons who may adopt, as it does not even recognise their right to parental
benefits.

4. The state appears to be incentivising the adoption of younger babies and discouraging
the adoption of older babies and children. It also fails to recognise that children require
equal amounts of time, care, attention, and protection irrespective of the ways in which
they come into a family.

5. Another problem with the Bill is that it says maternity benefit is available to a woman
only if her egg was used to create an embryo. This is a demeaning way of sanctioning
surrogacy and is fairly unscientific as well. It fails to recognise that either of the parents
could be a donor and need not necessarily be the mother. It also sidesteps the controversy
surrounding surrogacy involving anonymous donors.

6. While maternity should certainly be protected, the law should recognise that raising a
child is a social function and the responsibility is commonly owed by all parents and not

43
just the biological/ adoptive/ commissioning mothers. An amendment cannot be blind to
the need for recognising parenting responsibilities and protecting children irrespective of
the gender identity of their parents.

What is required?
To ensure genuine equality in employment, protection of maternity, and promotion of
childcare, Lok Sabha members should ensure that the Bill extends maternity benefits
equally and unconditionally to all women who parent a child and introduce parental leave
as well.

Employers should be under an obligation to provide crche facilities and work-from-home

options to all parents and not just to working mothers as childcare is a shared
responsibility.

Lastly, a non-discrimination clause should be added that no person should be

discriminated against in employment for having availed any parental benefits under the
law.

Question:
The Maternity benefit Bill, 6 is a step in the right direction for the
welfare of Women and Children but it still symbolizes the patriarchal
nature of our society. Critically Analyse.

33. Women MPs pitch for paternity leave

Demand by Women lawmakers

Women lawmakers sought paternity leave norms to enable fathers to be active in childcare
as the Rajya Sabha passed a Bill doubling the maternity leave for women.

Amendment in Maternity law

The Maternity Benefits (Amendment) Bill allows 26 weeks maternity leave as against 12
weeks now.

Reasons for demand

Men leave the burden of bringing up kids to women, Rajya Sabha Member Anu Aga said.
By bringing in paternity leave, we can sensitise them on bringing up children, she said.

44
)ndia doesn t have a law mandating paternity leave. From , the Centre allows male
staff to take 15 days paid leave. When fathers take more paternity leave, it may increase the
ability of mothers to engage in paid work.

34. Prasar Bharati to the rescue as I&B shuts offices

An intervention by Prasar Bharati, the autonomous public service broadcaster, after a

public outcry has led to the reversing of a Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Ministry order effectively closing down seven Regional News Units (RNUs) under All India
Radio.

Order by Ministry of I & B

The Ministry s order has lead to the closure of offices across its three organs
Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI), Press Information Bureau (PIB) and All India
Radio (AIR).

Conflict with Prasar Bharti

The changes at AIR, however, brought the Ministry into direct conflict with Prasar Bharati.
Just days after the Ministry order relocating 19 Indian Information Service officers without
mentioning a destination, resulting in the closure of seven RNUs and ending the presence of
AIR correspondents in five towns, AIR Director General (News) Sitanshu Kar sent an
)mportant Advisory that the affected RNUs are hereby requested to continue with their
normal services such as news bulletins, and programmes etc as usual till further orders.
(e also wrote that the same would apply to affected correspondents. This is issued on the
direction of Chairman, Prasar Bharati, he added.

Response by Prasar Bharati Chairman

Responding to the decision, Prasar Bharati Chairman A. Surya Prakash said the Ministry s
decision came after he wrote to Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting M
Venkaiah Naidu. ) wrote to the Minister in response to a public outcry: Prakash Javedekar
and Vinay Sahasrabuddhe were among those who called me expressing concern. I thank
the Minister for his decision, he said, speaking to The (indu.

About Prasar Bharti

Prasar Bharati (is India's largest public broadcasting agency. It is an autonomous body set
up by an Act of Parliament and comprises Doordarshan Television Network and All India

45
Radio which were earlier media units of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The
Parliament of India passed the act in the year 1997.

35. Mental health care bill

Mental Health Care Bill

The Mental Health Care Bill, 2016, passed by the Rajya Sabha is a watershed legislation that
lays down clear responsibilities for the state and has provisions that empower individuals
and families. Crucially, it can expand access to treatment, which is dismally poor today.

State of Mental Health Care in India

)ndia allocates just over per cent of the Centre s health budget to mental health, with
States making comparable allocations. This situation should change if the provisions of the
bill are to be meaningful.

Details of the proposed bill and present status in Mental Health Services
1. The legislation, inter alia, gives everyone the right to access mental health care as well as
treatment from mental health services run or funded by the government;

2. It also provides for supply of all notified essential medicines free of cost to those with
mental illness, through the government.
The situation today is a far cry from what is promised.

3. While the bill says mental health services should be available at the district level, even
States with well-functioning district hospitals do not offer regular psychiatric outpatient
services, leave alone in-patient facilities.

In government hospitals, medication to treat even the more common psychiatric disorders
is not always available.

4. In a much-needed change, the Centre has adopted a medicalised approach to attempted

suicide, treating it as the outcome of severe stress. The bill rightly blocks the application of
the Indian Penal Code section that criminalises it.

A duty is also cast on the authorities to care for and rehabilitate such individuals. What this
means is that official policy must strive to strengthen the social determinants of health,
especially when it comes to universal welfare support systems against catastrophic events

46
in people s lives. Reliable and free professional counselling must be widely offered.

For too long, mental health treatment in India has existed with the colonial legacy of large
asylums and degrading confinement. Many who are held in such places have nowhere else
to go, as families facing stigma have abandoned them. There is much to be said, therefore,
in favour of the halfway home system that the bill provides for, where supportive families,
medical care and a better quality of life will help many recover.

Question:
What are the provisions of Mental Health Care bill, 2016? Do you think the
State possesses adequate infrastructure to fulfill the promises made under
this bill?

36. Relief for diesel luxury car makers as ban goes

SC Judgment
Luxury car makers and dealers breathed a sigh of relief with the Supreme Court allowing
the fresh registration of high-end diesel cars and SUVs in Delhi and the National Capital
Region, provided they pay the green charge of one per cent of the vehicle s ex-showroom
price.

)mplementing the polluter pays legal principle, a Special Bench led by Chief Justice of )ndia
T.S. Thakur directed the car makers or dealers to deposit the one per cent environment
compensation charge with the Central Pollution Control Board.

Backgorund
The ban, imposed on December 16, 2015, on diesel-run luxury vehicles, was meant to curb
air pollution. The apex court has now agreed to hear arguments on extending the levy to
smaller diesel cars with less than 2000 CC engine capacity.

The Bench s decision to modify its December , ban on fresh registration of diesel
cars with 2000 CC and above engine capacity came after manufacturers and dealers agreed
to convey to their buyers that the payment of ECC would be a condition precedent for
registration.

47
The court modified its December order despite the Centre s objection that courts do not
have the authority to levy such charges, which lie solely within the domain of the Executive.

37. LPG subsidy savings largely due to falling oil prices: CAG

CAG findings
About 92 per cent of the Rs. 23,300-crore savings in subsidy payouts by the Petroleum
Ministry in 2015-16 was due to the sharp fall in oil prices, the Comptroller and Auditor-
General of )ndia has found, picking holes in the government s claims on where these
savings actually came from.

The subsidy burden over the period from April to December was lower than
that for the comparable period in by Rs. , . crore, the CAG report, tabled in
Parliament, said. (owever, this was a combined effect of decrease in off-take of subsidised
cylinders by consumers (Rs. 1,763.93 crore) and lower subsidy rates arising from the sharp
fall in crude prices (Rs. 21,552.28 crore) in 2015- , it said.

While implementation of PA(AL DBTL Scheme coupled with the Give it Up campaign
has resulted in the reduction of offtake of domestic subsidised LPG cylinders, the resultant
subsidy savings was not as significant as that was generated through fall of subsidy rates,
the report added.

Claim by Government
This comes against the backdrop of the Centre s claims that it has saved about Rs. ,
crore due to the Give it Up campaign, coupled with the direct bank transfers of the
subsidies.

The CAG s figure of a saving of Rs. , crore due to a lower offtake of LPG cylinders was
based on actual numbers while the government s calculations were estimates.

The Petroleum Ministry s clarification said that, due to the PAHAL direct benefits transfer
scheme, it had weeded out 3.34 crore duplicate/fake/ghost/inactive domestic LPG
connections as of April 1, 2015.

This figure was 3.56 crore in 2015-16. Using these figures, the government estimated a
savings of Rs. 21,261.4 crore over the two years.
48
 Before DBTL, all or many of these . crore consumers would have continued to
purchase subsidised cylinders from the distributors, the government clarification had said
at the time. But for the blocking of these accounts, the subsidy bill would have been much
higher despite the fall in crude oil prices.

Details of CAG findings

. (owever, the CAG report finds that the government s calculations were still problematic
as they made erroneous assumptions. The Ministry had estimated the potential savings for
2015-16 from the PAHAL scheme to be Rs. 9,211 crore. This, the CAG report found, was on
the assumption that all of the consumers would have availed the Rs 169.45 per cylinder
subsidy for the entire quota of 12 cylinders a year.

The national average per capita consumption of domestic LPG cylinders in -15 was
. cylinders, the report said. As such, the underlying assumption made while working
out the subsidy savings that blocked/inactive consumers would have availed the maximum
quota of cylinders on which subsidy is payable appears to be an overstatement.

2. The report adds that, when calculated using the national average LPG cylinder usage, the
government s estimate would be revised downwards to Rs. 4,813 crore, a little more than
half the original estimate.

Similarly, the CAG report found that the oil marketing companies, in their own calculations
of the estimated savings for 2015-16, had in fact correctly used the national average
consumption figure but had used the 2014-15 subsidy amount of Rs. 338 per cylinder.

If the average subsidy of Rs. 169.45 per cylinder (the correct figure for 2015-16) had been
used, as the Ministry had done, then the estimated subsidy savings would have been Rs.
2,359.28 crore instead of the Rs. 5,107.48 crore as stated by the oil marketing companies.

3. The CAG report also found that the government still has a long way to go in fully
eradicating duplicate/fake/ghost accounts. The report found several instances of intra-
OMC duplication (where a single Aadhaar number or bank account number was used for
multiple LPG connections), and many instances of consumers receiving more than
mandated 12 subsidised cylinders a year.

49
38. No surge pricing after August 22

Decision of Delhi High Court

Cab users can travel easy come August 22 with the Delhi High Court directing that after the
said date all app-based aggregators like Ola and Uber will have to abide by the Delhi
government's tariff policy and under no circumstance can they charge more than the
prescribed fares.

Even if the cab services engage in surge pricing, they cannot go beyond the tariff fixed by
the government.

With this order, Delhi will follow Karnataka, which was the first to impose such restriction
on cab services.

A SC bench fixed the deadline after Uber prayed for 10 days time to make changes to its
software to ensure passengers are not charged more than the rates stipulated by the Delhi
government in June 2013.

39. SC ruling on Lodha panel unconstitutional, says Katju

Justice Katju view on Lodha Panel recommendations

The former Supreme Court judge, Justice Markandey Katju, has lashed out at the Supreme
Court and its committee led by the former Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha, saying their
intention to clean up cricket may be good, but it cannot be done by throwing the law to the
winds.

Grounds of rejecting Lodha Panel Recommendations

1. This order is legislative in nature and could not have been passed validly by the Court.
The Supreme Court could have no doubt forwarded the Lodha Committee s
recommendations to Parliament with their own recommendation that they be enacted as a
law by Parliament, but to direct itself that the recommendations be implemented is clearly
a legislative act not within the court s domain.

2. He also pointed out that the Lodha Committee was only mandated to examine and make
suitable recommendations to the BCCI for such reforms in its practices and procedures and
such amendments to the memorandum of association, rules and regulations as may be

50
considered necessary. Instead, the Lodha Committee sent its recommendations to the
Supreme Court.

. The Supreme Court had over-reached itself and indulged in judicial legislation
unmindful of the fact that there are several larger Bench decisions prohibiting the same, .

4. Justice Katju said the Supreme Court plainly ignored the law that any change in the rules
of the BCCI should have been made through a special resolution initiated under the Tamil
Nadu Societies Registration Act. Complaints against the BCCI should have been filed before
the Registrar of Societies, the competent authority under the Act.

. (ere, the Supreme Court has not only usurped the powers of the Registrar of Societies,
but also outsourced the power of punishment to a committee of retired judges. All this was
done under a PIL [petition]. This is nothing but a violation of the Constitution and the
relevant statute... It is time the judiciary learnt self-restraint, Justice Katju said.

6. He cited the past case laws when the Supreme Court itself had stood up for the Principle
of Separation of Powers when High Courts had gone overboard and ignored the prevalent
statutes.
Under the Motor Vehicles Act, the Regional Transport Authority is the competent
authority to give licences. The Supreme Court had held that no other body can usurp its
powers provided under a statute... Likewise, a District Collector grants licences to cinemas,
no other body can assign to itself that function, Justice Katju said, referring to the court s
own precedents.

How Justice Katju was brought into picture?

Justice Katju, appointed by the BCCI to head a four-member panel to advise and guide
it on the July 18 Supreme Court verdict, asking the BCCI to implement the Lodha
Committee s recommendations in six months to overhaul the cricket body to usher in
accountability, declared that the judgment itself was unconstitutional.

40. SC verdict on BCCI is the final word: Lodha

Reacting to the report of the former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju to the BCCI that
the Supreme Court judgment on reforms in the cricketing body is unconstitutional , the
former Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha, who headed a committee that recommended the
reforms, said the court s verdict was the final word in the dispute.

51
Reasons for response for former CJI Lodha
Justice Katju, appointed by the BCCI to advise on the reforms and the court judgment
accused the court of judicial activism for interfering in the working of a private registered
society.

Deadline for reforms

Justice Lodha said the panel gave the BCCI specific timelines to complete the transition in
six months as directed by the Supreme Court. This is the first phase of timelines. We have
given them a schedule of 11 or 12 items to be completed by September 30.

41. Former Arunachal CM Kalikho Pul found hanging

Suicide by Former Arunachal Pradesh CM

Former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul allegedly committed suicide on
Tuesday, less than a month after the Supreme Court unseated him and reinstated his rival
Nabam Tuki.

Mr. Pul s body was found hanging from a ceiling fan in a bedroom of the Chief Minister s
official bungalow, which he had not vacated.

Protests by Supporters
As news of his death spread across )tanagar, hundreds of Mr. Pul s supporters gathered
outside his residence and staged a protest, blaming Congress legislators for their betrayal
of the former chief minister.

While some demanded Chief Minister Pema Khandu s resignation, others set fire to a coffin
that was brought for Mr. Pul s body, claiming it was not worthy of a popular CM like Pul.

Sequence of events
In 2015, Mr. Pul led a year-long rebellion against Mr. Tuki but his efforts came to naught as
the Congress leadership refused to remove Mr. Tuki. The political instability culminated in
the imposition of President s rule on January , .

In February, Mr Pul and other Congress rebels formed the government with outside
support from the BJP. But in a dramatic turn of events, the Supreme Court on July 13
restored Mr Tuki as the Chief Minister.
Days later, the Congress leadership, in a bid to assuage the party rebels, asked Mr. Tuki to

52
step down, paving the way for Mr. Khandu to become the Chief Minister and the return of
Mr Pul and his rebels to the party.

42. Irom Sharmila ends 16-year

End of fast
Ending her 16-year fast when she took a few drops of honey, Irom Chanu Sharmila could
not hold back her tears. A few moments later the frail woman, who had been force-fed all
these years, regained composure and announced that she wants to be the Chief Minister of
Manipur, some day.

Why Irom Sharmila says she wants to be Chief Minister?

There is no democracy in Manipur. ) want to be Chief Minister of Manipur and make
positive changes, she said calmly.

The moment marked a historic transformation of Irom Shamila from a global icon of
protest and the most recognisable face of resistance in the conflict-ridden State into a
political leader.

Ms. Sharmila ended her fast exactly a month after the Supreme Court judgment questioned
the immunity enjoyed by the security personnel under the Armed Forces (Special Powers)
Act of 1958 (AFSPA) against criminal action for acts committed in disturbed areas. The
apex court had said last month that there was no concept of absolute immunity from trial
by a criminal court if an Army man had committed an offence.

Ms. Sharmila started her fast at the age of 28 following a massacre in Imphal in which 10
persons were killed allegedly by security forces. She has been demanding repeal of the
draconian AFSPA.

43. Amended GST Bill gets Parliament green signal

Eleven years after the GST was first proposed by former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram,
in 2005, Parliament on Monday passed the Bill.

Lok Sabha passed the Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014, as amended by the
Rajya Sabha last week.

Ratification required

53
As the constitutional amendment bill involves division of powers between Centre and
States, the bill is required to be ratified by atleast half of the states before going to
President for assent.

44. Change of guard in Guiarat

After having turned down the chance to be king, Amit Shah played the kingmaker. As the
national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, it was natural that he considered the post
of Gujarat Chief Minister a political demotion.

But he did not let go of the opportunity to handpick his own man to head the government
in Gujarat. That Mr. Shah could trump caste calculations and have his protg Vijay Rupani
elected to the post is an indication of the clout he wields at all levels in the party, and the
influence he has on Prime Minister Narendra Modi even with regard to decisions relating to
Gujarat, their home State.

About Mr. Shah

Mr. Rupani, like Mr. Shah, is more an organisation man with not much by way of
administrative experience. A first-time member of the Assembly, he was pushed ahead of
Nitin Patel, who will have to be content with being the Deputy Chief Minister despite
coming from a dominant caste and laying claim to a wider political base.

Analysis of Appointment
The elevation of Mr. Rupani is much more than a personal triumph for Mr. Shah. The Patel
agitation for reservation quotas had cut into the BJP s vote bank, and the party leadership
would not have thought it possible to win those voters back as a caste bloc with the
Assembly elections due later next year.

Having at the helm another Patel, chosen by the outgoing Ms. Patel, might not have seemed
a smart move to either Mr. Modi or Mr. Shah. In any case, the BJP had built its support base
in Gujarat by blurring the caste divides; therefore, appeasing specific caste groups would
have been a zero-sum game.

Analysis of Anandiben Patel Resignation

Ms. Patel did not step down voluntarily. The circumstances and pressure from the Modi-
Shah duo created a situation where she had no other option but to resign. The fact that she
would turn 75 this year was no secret, and the sudden change could not have been a part of

54
the original plan when Mr. Modi handed over the reins in 2014. The mishandling of the
Patel agitation and the Dalit unrest by the Anandiben government had forced a Modi-Shah
rethink of the arrangement in Gujarat.

45. Blow to AAP as HC says L-G is administrative head of Delhi

Decision of Delhi HC
The Delhi (igh Court held that the Lieutenant Governor was its administrative head and
that it continues to be a Union Territory. T

he (igh Court also set aside the AAP government s contention that the L-G was supposed to
act only on the aid and advice of the Ministers even as it declared illegal the commission
of inquiry ordered by the AAP government into the CNG Fitness scam in the transport
department and also the Commission of Inquiry to go into the alleged irregularities in the
functioning of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA).

Implications of Judgement
1. Delhi continues to be a Union Territory even after the Constitution (69th Amendment)
Act, 1991 inserting Article 239AA making special provisions with respect to Delhi.

2. The court also quashed several notifications issued by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
after returning to power in February , terming them illegal as they were issued
without concurrence of the L-G.

3. The order has come as a huge setback to the AAP government which has been fighting
for complete control over the governance of Delhi and has repeatedly blamed the Bharatiya
Janata Party-led Central government for trying to rule through the L-G.

Unless the Supreme Court adopts a diametrically opposite view, the Aam Aadmi Party,
which has engaged in a turf war with the Centre over who rules Delhi, will have to abide by
the categorical ruling that the Lt Governor is not bound to act on the aid and advice of the
Council of Ministers.

Debate that has arisen

The popular debate will continue about whether the right balance has been struck between
the Union government s responsibility in exercising control over an area in which
Parliament, other key central institutions, and foreign missions are located and the
democratic principle that people are ruled by a representative government.

Implications
At the political level, one may read into the developments a political setback to Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose AAP enjoys a massive majority in the Delhi State

55
Assembly.

As for the Bharatiya Janata Party, it may read the judgment as a vindication of its position
that Mr. Kejriwal must accept the constitutional limitations of his office. The AAP has
questioned the relevance of holding elections if the winning party is not going to run the
territory.

Relevant Constitutional Provisions under Article 239 and 239AA

Article 239 Administration of Union territories
(1) Save as otherwise provided by Parliament by law, every Union territory shall be
administered by the President acting, to such extent as he thinks fit, through an
administrator to be appointed by him with such designation as he may specify.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in Part VI, the President may appoint the Governor
of a State as the administrator of an adjoining Union territory, and where a Governor is so
appointed, he shall exercise his functions as such administrator independently of his
Council of Ministers.

Article 239AA Special provisions in respect of Delhi

1. UT of Delhi shall be called National capital territory of Delhi and administrator of Delhi
shall be called Lieutenant Governor.

2. There shall be a separate Legislative assembly and Council of Ministers for Delhi.

3. Legislative assembly shall have the power to make laws on all matters of State and
Concurrent list with the exception of public order, police and land.

However, Parliament also has the power to make laws with respect to any matter
(mentioned in all the three lists) relating to Delhi.

In case of conflict between law made by legislative assembly and law made by Parliament
with respect to a particular matter, law made by Parliament shall prevail. However, law
made by legislative assembly can prevail if the law has been reserved for the consideration
of the President and has received assent of the President.

4. The strength of Council of Ministers shall not exceed 10% of total strength of the
legislative assembly (The strength of Legislative assembly of Delhi is 70 members).

5. Lieutenant Governor is required to act in accordance with the aid and advice of Council
of Ministers except in those matters where he is required to act in his own discretion.

56
Question:
Give a brief about the latest judgment passed by Delhi High Court on
powers of Lt. Governor in Delhi. Do you think that this judgment is
contrary to the democratic ethos of our country?

46. Former Lokayukta charge-sheeted

The former Karnataka Lokayukta, Y. Bhaskar Rao, has been charge-sheeted as an accused
in a corruption case and booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Mr. Rao is
the first former Lokayukta in the country to be charge-sheeted in a corruption case.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which probes the 2015 bribery scandal in the
Lokayukta s office, filed a charge sheet in one of the five cases related to the scandal.

Corruption Charges
(is son Y. Ashwin is the prime accused in the case. (e allegedly ran an extortion racket in
which several government officials were threatened with cases if they did not pay up.

The case came to light after M.N. Krishnamurthy, a Public Works Department Engineer,
lodged a complaint with the Lokayukta police in May 2015.

Mr. Rao has been charged with abetting illegal gratification to influence a public servant,
concealing evidence and being part of a criminal conspiracy to cover up and protect the
offenders. He resigned from office in December 2015 only after a motion to remove him
was moved in the State legislature. And recently the Governor had granted permission to
the SIT to prosecute him.

Post of Lokayukta in Karnataka vacant

Meanwhile, the post of Loakyukta has remained vacant as the Governor had rejected the
name of S.R. Nayak proposed by the State government. The government is yet to finalise
another candidate.

What is Lokayukta?
The Lokayukta (also Lok Ayukta) works on behalf of people and is an anti-corruption
ombudsman organization in the respective state.

57
47. Foreign funds pour in; 3,000 NGOs get over Rs. 22,000 cr.

A total of 3,068 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) received foreign funding above Rs.
22,000 crore in 2014-15, according to government data presented in response to a
question in Parliament.
These are NGOs who reported receiving more than Rs. 1 crore from foreign donors. This
amount was 83.3 per cent (nearly double) more than the Rs. 12,000 crore received by
2,301 such NGOs during 2013-14.

As much as Rs. 7,300 crore or 33 per cent of the total went to NGOs based in Delhi
and Tamil Nadu alone. In fact, 80 per cent of this funding went to NGOs based in seven
States Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and West
Bengal.

As of July 2016, 33,091 NGOs were registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation
Act, which regulates foreign funding to these bodies.

48. Being picked up one by one, AAP MLAs on alert

Since the Arvind Kejriwal-led government resumed power in the Capital 18 months ago, a
sixth of the AAP MLAs have seen the inside of a jail cell. Of the 12 AAP MLAs arrested, one is
in jail MLA from Narela, Sharad Chauhan, and the remaining 11 are out on bail.

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Possibility of victimization
The promptness of the police in arresting the AAP MLAs would have not raised questions
had the same treatment been meted out leaders of other parties with similar or serious
charges levelled against them.
There are Union Ministers facing murder, rape and corruption charges, but the police
haven t arrested them, said Raghav Chadha, an AAP leader. Mr. Chadha claimed that of the
75 Union Ministers, 24 have criminal cases against them and 14 of them face serious
criminal charges.

Besides arrests
Apart from arrests, the Income Tax department recently raided Chhatarpur MLA Kartar
Singh s residence, the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) registered cases against Mr. Kejriwal,
DJB Chairperson Kapil Mishra and former Transport Minister Gopal Rai, while the CBI
raided CM s principal secretary s office and allegedly took away files kept in Mr. Kejriwal s
room.

Status of Delhi
At the heart of the Centre-AAP tussle is Delhi s peculiar status: )t is not a full State and the
Delhi Police, the ACB, the CBI, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the Municipal
Corporations come under the Centre. Since the beginning, the AAP has demanded full-
Statehood for the Capital city so it can gain control over the land and policing.

49. Amendments to Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation)

Act, 1986

Government has recently passed amendments to Child Labour (Prohibition and

Regulation) Act, 1986. Some of the important provisions are as follows:

1. Prohibition against employment of children below 14 years of age.

Parliament has retained some exceptions. These exceptions include: (i) helping family and
a family enterprise which are not hazardous occupations, after school hours or during
vacations, and (ii) working in the audiovisual entertainment industry (films, TV, etc.) or
sports activities.

2. Prohibition against employing Children between 14 to 18 years of age in hazardous

occupations and processes.
Central government may specify kinds of non-hazardous occupations and processes in
which adolescents may be employed.

3. Regulating conditions of work: Appropriate government may make rules in this regard

59
(eg. number of hours for which adolescents may work, how establishments employing
adolescents must maintain registers, etc.)

4. Penalties: Parents or guardians of children/ adolescents will not be liable for

punishment in case of first offence. Parents or guardians of children/ adolescents will
punishable with a fine up to Rs. 10,000 for subsequent offence.

Only certain offences by employers will be cognizable: (i) employing children, and (ii)
employing adolescents in hazardous occupations/ processes.

Certain additional provisions have been added for: (i) compounding of certain first time
offences by employers (like violating health and safety standards), (ii) compounding of any
offence by parents/ guardians, (iii) empowering appropriate government to make rules for
compounding of offences, etc.

5. Rehabilitation of rescued children and adolescents: Child and Adolescent Labour

Rehabilitation Fund will be constituted at the district level. Fines from employers and Rs.
15,000 from the appropriate government for each child/ adolescent rescued will be
credited into the Fund. Appropriate government may frame rules regulating manner of
paying rescued children/ adolescents from the Fund.

Question:
The Latest Amendment to the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act
is a step in the direction for protection of child rights. Explain the
provisions of this amendment. Do you think that our social realities make
implementation of this law difficult?

50. SC asks former U.P. CMs to exit govt. bungalows

View of Supreme Court

Except former Presidents, Vice-Presidents and Prime Ministers in the evening of their
lives , no dignitary, even former Chief Ministers, can be provided government bungalows
for their lifetime unless backed by a specific statutory provision. The court said bungalows
were maintained at a great cost to the exchequer.

60
Details of Judgement
The verdict, which enters the judicial annals as a precedent, was pronounced by a Bench
while declaring illegal an Uttar Pradesh law providing official bungalows to the State s
former Chief Ministers for life.

The judgment came on a petition filed by an NGO, Lok Prahari Foundation, exposing the
fact that several former Chief Ministers of the State were occupying Type VI government
bungalows even after demitting office. It challenged the validity of the Ex-Chief Ministers
Residence Allotment Rules, 1997, allowing life-long residence to them.

In one case, the court found that a former Chief Minister was allotted a bungalow on lease
for 30 years, renewable for another 90 years at a yearly rent of Re. 1. The court ordered the
former Chief Ministers to vacate the premises within two months, and directed the State
government to recover appropriate rent from them for the period of unauthorised
occupation.

The Supreme Court pointed out that the Uttar Pradesh Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and
Miscellaneous Provisions) Act of 1981 specifically provides that a government minister,
including Chief Minister, should vacate his or her bungalow within 15 days of demitting
office.

51. Parliament passes Enforcement of Security Interest and

Recovery of Debts Laws Amendment Bill, 2016

Parliament has passed Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws
Amendment Bill, 2016. It was first passed in Lok Sabha and later in Rajya Sabha.

The Bill seeks to strengthen the debt recovery laws, improve financial health of the banks
and lead to ease of doing business.

Key Features

The Bill seeks to amend the following laws:

Amendments to SARFAESI Act

3. It allows District Magistrate (DM) to take possession over collateral within 30 days
for securing the creditors.

61
 4. It empowers DM to assist banks to take over the management of a company, in case
the company is unable to repay loans.
5. It creates a central database to integrate records of property registered under
various registration systems with central registry meant for maintaining records of
transactions related to secured assets.
6. Unless collateral is registered with the central registry, secured creditors will not be
able to take possession over it.
7. Empowers the RBI to carry out audit and inspection of Asset Reconstruction
Companies (ARCs) and penalize them if they fail to comply with any directions
issued by it.

Amendments to Indian Stamp Act, 1899

Stamp duty will not be charged on transactions undertaken for transfer of financial
assets (loans and collaterals) in favour of asset reconstruction companies.

Amendments to the RDDBFI Act, 1993

1. Increases the retirement age of Presiding Officers (PO) of Debt Recovery Tribunals
(DRTs) to 65 years from 62 years.
2. Increases the retirement age of Chairpersons of Appellate Tribunals to 67 years
from 65 years.
3. Allows PO and Chairpersons eligible for reappointment to their positions.
4. Allows banks to file cases in tribunals having jurisdiction over the area of bank
branch where the debt is pending.

51. (A) Lok Sabha passes Employee s Compensation

(Amendment) Bill, 2016

The Lok Sabha has unanimously passed the Employee s Compensation Amendment Bill,
2016 to reduce litigation in cases of disputes arising over compensation to workers.

The Bill seeks to amend the Employee s Compensation Act, . This law provides
payment of compensation to employees and their dependents in the case of injury by
industrial accidents, including occupational diseases.

Key Features of Bill

1. Duty to inform employee of right to compensation: Mandatory for employer to inform

the employee of his right to compensation under the parent Act.
62
2. Such information must be given in writing in Hindi, English, or the relevant official
language at the time of employing him.
3. Penalty for failure to inform: If employer fails to inform his employee of his right to
compensation he will be fined penalty between Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1 lakh.
4. Appeals from the Commissioner s order: Any dispute related to an employee s
compensation will be heard by a Commissioner (with powers of a civil court) only if the
amount in dispute is ten thousand rupees. It allows Union Government to further raise
this amount.
5. In parent Act, appeals related to a substantial question of law from the Commissioner s
order will lie before the High Court.

Deletion of withholding payments pending appeal provision: Earlier in the parent Act, any
payments towards the employee can be temporarily withheld if an employer has appealed
against a Commissioner s order in (igh Court. This provision has been deleted.

52. Gujarat HC quashes 10% quota for economically backward

classes

The Gujarat high court has quashed 10 percent reservation quota for the economically
backward classes (EBCs).
In this regard, the Court has declared The Gujarat Unreserved Economically Weaker
Sections (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions in the State and of Appointments
and Posts in Services under the State) Ordinance, 2016 unconstitutional.

Key Facts

1. The ordinance was termed as unconstitutional as the total reservation exceeds in the
state exceeded the 50 percent cap set by the Supreme Court.
2. The ordinance had provided 10 percent quota for EBCs in higher educational
institutions and government jobs.
3. Moreover, the HC also stated that there was no survey conducted to grant this ECB
quota.

Background

In May 2016, the Gujarat Government had announced to implement 10 percent quota in
admission for students belonging to EBCs with effect from the academic year i.e. 2016-17.
This quota was additional to the existing reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs.

63
 53. Union Cabinet approves Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill,
2016

The Union Cabinet has approved the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill, 2016 to improve
road safety scenario in the country.
The bill seeks to amend Motor Vehicles Act (MVA), 1988 and proposes to hefty penalties
against violations of road safety rules as a deterrent measure.

Key Features of the Bill

1. Compensation: Increases compensation for Hit & Run cases to Rs. 2 lakh from Rs.25000.
Adds provision for payment of compensation in road accidents fatalities upto Rs. 10 lakh.
2. Role of states: It permits states to grant exemptions in Stage carriage and contract carriage
permits for promoting rural transport, last mile connectivity, public transport and for road
safety and passenger convenience.
3. Permits state Government to specify a multiplier to be applied to each fine under this Act
and such modified fine. The multiplier must be not less than one and not greater than ten.
4. Allows State Government to regulate the activities in a public place of pedestrians and such
means of transport.
5. E-Governance: It focuses on improving delivery of services to the stakeholders using e-
Governance. It enables (i) online learning licenses, (ii) increases period of driving licenses
validity, (iii) Do away with the requirements of educational qualifications for transport
licenses etc.
6. Vahan & Sarathi platforms: Proposes to create National Register for Vehicle registration
and National Register for Driving Licence through Sarathi and Vahan platforms.
This will facilitate uniformity of the process across the country and bring harmony of the
registration and licensing process.
7. Offences committed by Juveniles: The owner or guardian will be deemed guilty in cases of
offences by the Juveniles. Juvenile will be tried under JJ Act and the registration of Motor
Vehicle will be cancelled.
8. Other Provisions: (ii) Registration at the end of the dealer will be enabled and restrictions
will be imposed on temporary registration. (ii) Proposes increased penalties against traffic
violations as deterrent for road safety (iii) Proposes stricter provisions in respect of
offences like drunken driving, driving without license, juvenile driving, over-speeding,
overloading etc. (iv) Proposes stricter provisions for helmets along with provisions for
electronic detection of violations. (v) Good Samaritan guidelines have been incorporated to
help the road accident victims. (vi) Proposes an automated fitness testing for the transport
vehicles with effect from 1st October 2018. Its mandate is to reduce corruption in the

64
Transport Department while improving the road worthiness of the vehicle. (vii) Proposes
penalties for deliberate violation of safety and environmental regulations as well as spare
part suppliers and body builders.

Comment

1. The proposed amendments to MVA, 1988 mainly focuses on issues relating to

improving road safety, citizens facilitation while dealing with the Transport
Department.
2. It also focuses on strengthening rural transport, public transport, last mile connectivity
automation and computerization (e-Governace) and enabling online services.

Background

1. In India every year 5 lakh road accidents are reported in which 1.5 lakh people lose
their lives.
2. To address the issue of road safety, the Union Government had proposed a draft Road
Transport & Safety Bill earlier. However, most of the States had expressed reservations.
3. To address the reservations of states the Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
constituted a Group of Transport Ministers (GoM) of the States.
4. The GoM was headed by Yoonus Khan, Transport Minister of Rajasthan held three
meetings in which total of 18 Transport Ministers from different states had
participated.

The GoM had recommended that Union Government should immediately bring
amendments to the present Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 to address the issue of road safety and
improving transport scenario.

65
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
54. U.S. backs India plea for Pak. Action

Talks Between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and US Secretary of State
John Kerry
Terrorism, especially that emanating from Pakistan, figured prominently in talks between
Mr. Kerry and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who briefed him on the continuing
problem of cross-border terrorism that )ndia and the larger region face from Pakistan .

The U.S. fully backed )ndia on its demand that Pakistan should act against terrorists
operating from sanctuaries on its soil, with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry asserting that
his country stands in strong partnership with )ndia against all terrorism.

Secretary Kerry and ) also agreed on the need for Pakistan to do more to bring the
perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai and the 2016 Pathankot terrorist attacks to justice
quickly.

Ms. Swaraj said they agreed that nations must not maintain double standards, such as the
categorisation of good and bad terrorists, nor must they act as sanctuaries for terrorist
organisations.

55. LEMOA

The signing of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) during

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar s visit to Washington is a significant step forward for
India and the U.S.

About LEMOA
The agreement, which comes after more than a decade of negotiations, puts easy process in
place for the two militaries to share each other s bases for various operations. These
include port visits, joint exercises, joint training, and humanitarian assistance and disaster
relief efforts; other uses are to be discussed on a case-by-case basis.

Benefits to India

66
1. The agreement will aid the sort of operations India has undertaken to rescue stranded
Indians in conflict zones.
2. Further, as the Indian military continues to expand its role to aid in disaster relief, as it
did during the 2004 tsunami, it will benefit from easier access to America s network of
military bases around the world.

3. The pact will also enhance the military s capability to be an expeditionary force, at a time
when Indian interests are distributed around the world with major investments planned
both onshore and offshore in oilfields.

Benefits to US
The U.S., too, has required the help of India, as it did when emergency planes were refuelled
in Delhi during the Nepal earthquake relief operation. As India and the U.S. explore plans
for maritime cooperation in the Asia-Pacific as a part of the joint vision statement, LEMOA
is going to add value.

Concerns raised over LEMOA by Opposition

The agreement has been a controversial one, and two previous governments led by A.B.
Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh did not sign it though it has been on the table since 2002.

A major reason for this was that although India embarked on closer defence ties with the
U.S. years ago, there was no consensus or support within the establishment for an alliance
of any kind, which the LEMOA had come to symbolise.

As Mr. Parrikar pointed out during his joint appearance with U.S. Defence Secretary Ashton
Carter, the finally negotiated text has nothing to do with setting up U.S. bases in India, and
there is no obligation on either side to carry out any joint activity.

LEMOA is one of the four foundational agreements

The LEMOA is one of the four foundational agreements that the United States enters into
with its defence partners.

With this, India has signed two of the four. After the first one in 2002 the General
Security Of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) the governments led by BJP s A.B.
Vajpayee and the Congress s Manmohan Singh were wary of signing the other three amid
concerns that these may lock India into an uncomfortably close embrace with the U.S.

67
The Communications and Information Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) and
the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) for Geospatial Intelligence are the
two pending ones.

56. Explanation of nature of LEMOA

Ashley J. Tellis, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, explains what the pact is
and what it does to India-U.S. defence ties:

Is this a case of overcoming the hesitations of history as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said
about India-U.S relations? Or a natural progress in the course set with the civil nuclear deal?
It represents both: the nuclear deal was the epitome of overcoming the hesitations of history on both
sides. The signing of the LEMOA is a small actually quite trivial example of the continuing
transformation of the bilateral relationship.

Does this put India and the U.S. on the path to becoming military allies?
No, it does not make India either a de jure or a de facto ally. All the LEMOA does is that it allows both
countries to seamlessly pay for military goods, services, and supplies consumed during their exercises
and other interactions. The decision to engage in any of these activities remains a sovereign decision of
each government nothing in the LEMOA changes that. So the issue of India becoming an ally of any
sort does not arise.

No military bases, both countries say. What is it then? Could you please give one or two
scenarios in which LEMOA will come into play?
I am mystified by this obsession with bases. The U.S. has LEMOA agreements with over 100 countries
but basing agreements which are different with only a fraction of those partners.

Two examples of the LEMOAs utility:

A U.S. carrier battle group steams from the Persian Gulf to the western Pacific through the Straits of
Malacca. Along the way, Indian Navy ships operating off Kochi are authorised by the Government of India
to conduct a previously unprogrammed passing exercise with the U.S. flotilla. During the exercise, the
U.S. vessels offload fuel and supplies from their Indian counterparts. Instead of having to pay in cash for
the victuals, India simply maintains a ledger balance for the transactions, which is cleared in one go at the
end of the fiscal year.

Similarly, an Indian naval vessel suffers a maintenance problem while visiting the U.S. for an exercise.
The repairs are done at an American port. The LEMOA will permit the costs of the repairs to be defrayed

68
against any comparable debts the U.S. may owe India for supplies and services received in other
circumstances through a simple balancing of the books at the end of the fiscal year.

Question:
What are the benefits expected by signing LEMOA with USA? Do you think
that LEMOA is a step towards becoming military ally of USA?

57. Highlights of visit of Myanmarese President U. Htin Kyaw

1. In a wide-ranging discussion with the Myanmarese President U. Htin Kyaw, who chose
India as the first foreign destination after coming to power in March, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said )ndia would stand with Myanmar at every step as it opened a new
chapter.

2. Chief among the MOUs signed by the two sides was the agreement on construction of 69
bridges, including approach roads in the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa section of the Trilateral
Highway, which will establish better connectivity between India and Southeast Asia.

. Mr. Modi said: We recognised that our security interests are closely aligned. To this end,
the President and I agreed to work together for the safety and security of our people. And,
actively cooperate to tackle the common challenges of terrorism and insurgent activity in
our region.

The comments about security threats are significant in view of )ndia s recent hot pursuit
strategy for dealing with rebels in the Northeast.

Background
During the discussions, India supported the national reconciliation and peace process of
the Myanmar government under the st century Panglong Conference.

)ndia s support to the peace process came after China scored a diplomatic victory, leading
Aung San Su Kyi, Myanmar s most powerful leader and Foreign Minister, to visit China first,
avoiding India.
Monday s talks, held at (yderabad (ouse, were the first high-level interaction after the
democratic government came to power in Myanmar after 57 years of military rule.

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58. Own arbitration tool must for BRICS

View of Arun Jaitely shared at BRICS Arbitration meet

It is extremely important that the BRICS nations develop an arbitration mechanism among
themselves at a time when certain centres in the world have monopolised the bulk of the
cases. In order to develop this mechanism, it is necessary that we have arbitrators of the
required capability and lawyers with a great international ability.

Need for Arbitration Centres

1. Lack of adequate representation of the developing nations in the arbitration process
2. The need to quickly dispose off frivolous cases
3. The need to take into account the exigencies of populous nations.

59. France s top court suspends burkini ban

Decision by highest court

France s highest administrative court suspended a ban on the burkini by a French Riviera
town after it was challenged by rights groups.

The State Council ruled that local authorities could only restrict individual liberties if
wearing the )slamic swimsuit was a proven risk to public order.

In a judgement expected to lead to bans being overturned in around 30 towns, the State

70
Council ruled the measure was a "serious and clearly illegal violation of fundamental
freedoms".

Background
Police have fined Muslim women for wearing burkinis on beaches in several towns,
including in the popular tourist resorts of Nice and Cannes, sparking controversy in France
and abroad.
The bans have triggered a fierce debate about women's rights and the French state's
strictly-guarded secularism.

France was the first European country to ban the wearing of the Islamic face veil in public
in 2010.

60. Panel to speed up steps to put Azhar on U.N. terror list

The Home Ministry has constituted a three-member committee to expedite the procedures
required to place Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, Bhatkal resident Shafi Armar,
said to be the media chief of the Islamic State, Hizbul Mujahiddeen chief Syed Salahuddin
and nine others on the United Nations list of proscribed terrorists.

71
Background
After China put a technical hold on designating Masood Azhar as an international terrorist
in April this year, India decided to send a robust proposal to the U.N. committee.

Reasons why India is interested in placing the terrorists under UN List

1. It will help India to seek extradition of terrorists.
2. It will also help India in pressurizing Pakistan to end terror activities in India
3. India can demand from Pakistan action against these terrorists.

61. Continuing human tragedy in Syria

International attention
The image of five-year-old Omran Daqneesh, sitting alone in the back seat of an ambulance,
his face bloodied and dusty, has turned the spotlight again on the sheer barbarism of the
Syrian civil war. Omran was rescued from the rubble of a building in the Qaterji
neighbourhood of Aleppo, hit by air strikes by the Russian or Syrian regimes.

Nearly a year ago an image of another Syrian boy had shaken the world s conscience. Aylan
Kurdi, who had fled the civil war with his parents, was found lying dead on a Turkish beach,
provoking strong reactions from around the world. But the war continued, killing and
injuring many more Syrians.

Estimates of damage
According to the UN Special Envoy to Syria, around 400,000 people have been killed in the
civil war over the past five and a half years. Besides, millions have been displaced,
triggering one of the worst refugee crises since the Second World War.

Reason for damage

The complete disregard for human life displayed by almost all the actors of the Syrian civil
war is impossible to comprehend. A government that bombs its citizens; a group that is
employing mass killing as a weapon to terrorise enemies; the world s two largest military
powers that don t care much about collateral damage ; and a multitude of rebel factions,
backed by regional powers, who compete with the regime in brutality. All of them must
share the blame for turning a pluralist country of 23 million people, relatively stable and
peaceful till six years ago, into the largest zone of human suffering.

Could have been avoided

What is more tragic is that this man-made disaster could have been avoided had there been
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a proper diplomatic intervention in the early days of the civil war. If the regime was more
receptive to voices of dissent, if the protesters stuck to peaceful methods as their
counterparts in Egypt and Tunisia had, and if Syria s rivals in West Asia stayed away from
exploiting the conflict, the story would have been completely different.

Way Forward
Of course, it is too late to mull over such questions. But the images of Omran and Aylan
expose both the monstrosity of the regime of Bashar al-Assad and the miserable failure of
the international system to intervene. Finding a way out of the current spell of war will not
be easy. But for the players involved in the conflict, there seems to be no other option. But
how long can Mr. Assad kill his own people in the name of fighting the rebels? And how
long can the rebels leave at the mercy of Syrian jets the people in the territories they
control? Syria needs an immediate ceasefire between the regime and the rebels, followed
by constructive talks backed by regional and global powers.

62. Karzai praises Modi for statement on Balochistan

Statement by former Afghanistans former President Hamid Karzai

Afghanistans former President Hamid Karzai appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modis statement on
the human rights situation in Balochistan, saying that India had every right to respond to Pakistans
provocations.

Pakistani authorities have spoken freely on Afghanistan and India, but this is the first time that the PM of
India has spoken about Balochistan, Mr. Karzai said, during a visit to Delhi. However I dont think India
intends to go to any proxy wars as it has a tradition of peaceful coexistence. The region should not go to
proxy wars.

Support by Bangladesh
The remarks from Mr. Karzai, who has often called out Pakistan for its support to the Taliban, come a day
after Bangladesh Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu had also backed Mr. Modi. In his address on
Independence Day, Mr. Modi had vowed to take up the cause of the Baloch people, facing repression in
Pakistan, on the international stage.

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63. SAARC loosing importance

Manifestation
1. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will most likely skip the SAARC Finance Ministers
conference in Islamabad on August 25 and 26 as some of his counterparts are also not
likely to participate owing to their domestic pre- occupations.
According to official sources, a senior Finance Ministry official is likely to represent the
country instead.

2. Nepal, where a new government has just been sworn in, is unlikely to send a ministerial-
level representative and will probably send an official.

3. The Finance Minister of Bangladesh is also unlikely to attend. Only the participation of
the Finance Minister of Sri Lanka is likely. In the circumstances, it will be appropriate for
India to also send a Ministry official.

The SAARC Finance Ministers conference is the next big item on the regional grouping s
agenda following the (ome Ministers conference earlier this month. Also, Union Home
Minister Rajnath Singh s unpleasant visit to Pakistan for the SAARC (ome/)nterior
ministers conference had raised doubts on a ministerial level representation from India at
the Finance Ministers meeting.

Question:
The Indo-Pak differences in recent times have overshadowed the agenda
of SAARC. Explain with the help of events of last one year SAARC meets.

64. Evaluation of PMs Independence Day Speech

Achievements mentioned by PM in Independence Day Speech

Quicker delivery of government services, wider coverage of Aadhaar, curbing of inflation,
more toilets in villages and rural electrification, among other things.

In his first year Mr. Modi spoke about taking a series of small steps to bring about concrete
change; in his second speech from the Red Fort, he held up his development agenda as the

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counter to the twin evils of casteism and communalism. This year he sought to present
himself as a far-sighted statesman who is above petty politics and empty populist gestures,
as someone who holds the interests of the country to be more important than his or his
party s electoral prospects.

Mention of Pakistan
While Mr. Modi was silent on the violence in Kashmir, he had a lot to say about attacks on
Balochs in Pakistan. )n what was perhaps intended as a hint of )ndia s capability to
intervene, in an unspecified manner, in Balochistan, he said the people there had
commended him for highlighting attacks against them by people within Pakistan.

The warning sent out was that if Pakistan continues to interfere in Kashmir, India can do
likewise, making an issue over the violence in Balochistan.

65. On eve of I-Day, India trades barbs with Pakistan

India and Pakistan exchanged salvos instead of the usual Independence Day greetings, with
Pakistan (igh Commissioner Abdul Basit calling for Kashmir s freedom and )ndia terming
)slamabad s policies on Kashmir illegal and absurd .

Pakistan High Commissioner remarks

Addressing a gathering at the Pakistan High Commission to mark the Independence Day of
Pakistan, Mr. Basit said: We dedicate this year s )ndependence Day celebrations to
freedom in Kashmir.

Minister of State in PMO remarks

The government responded sharply. Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh said
Pakistan should end its illegal occupation of PoK.

If at all there is any outstanding issue with Pakistan, it is how to liberate the part of J&K
which remains under the illegal occupation of Islamabad after 60-65 years of Independence
and make it a part of J&K and part of the Indian Union.

(is response came soon after the Ministry of External Affairs termed Pakistan s offer to
send relief material to Kashmir as absurd . )ndia and others in the region have already
received enough of Pakistan s trademark exports international terrorism, cross-border

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infiltrators, weapons, narcotics and fake currency, the Ministry of External Affairs tweeted.

On Saturday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj termed counter-terror vital to Indian
diplomacy. Unlike in the past, we cannot agree that dialogue with the sponsors and
supporters of terrorism should carry on without being linked to action in that regard, she
said, at an event attended by a large section of foreign diplomats serving in India.

Word of Caution
The daily war of words has also drawn a word of caution with veteran diplomats hinting
that unless addressed carefully, the current state of affairs might jeopardise the political
understanding built by the governments of Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz
Sharif.

Comment on Pakistan High Commissioner

Former (igh Commissioner to Pakistan, G. Parthasarathy, said: Envoys are expected to
serve as a channel of communication during times of crisis. But by speaking offensively
against the country to which he is accredited, High Commissioner Basit has become an
embarrassment to his government. Personally speaking, I did not make a single critical
remark against Pakistan even in the height of the Kargil war in 1999 as Indian envoy
because as envoys we are expected to maintain open communication channels.

It means India will hesitate approaching him to serve as envoy in times of crisis. In
knowledgeable circles in Delhi, High Commissioner Basit is known to be close to Pakistan
military and not to the civilian government.

66. Chinese Foreign minister visit to India

1.China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)

Ms. Swaraj conveyed )ndia s concerns on the CPEC which runs through Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir (PoK) and is fast emerging as a strategic lifeline between Islamabad and Beijing.

2.End to China s opposition to blacklisting Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Hafiz Saeed under

UN. Hafiz Saeed is believed to be behind mumbai terror attacks.
Ms. Swaraj also urged China to reconsider its opposition to )ndia s UN-level campaign to
blacklist Pakistan-based terror mastermind Masood Azhar, who is wanted for his role in

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multiple terror attacks including the January 2 attack on the airbase in Pathankot.

3. The proposed talks featuring the Directors-General on disarmament would be a

new track to convince China about India s needs to be integrated into the global
nuclear technology market (Nuclear Suppliers Group) for addressing the growing
domestic demand for energy.

The proposal for a separate track for discussion on nuclear issues came weeks after India
failed to get into the NSG during the June 23-24 plenary of the organisation in Seoul.

)ndia had said only one country indirectly referring to China had raised a procedural
objection to )ndia s inclusion into the NSG. China had opposed )ndia s candidature saying
that its application for membership lacked merit as India had not signed the Nuclear Non-
Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The declaration for a separate track for discussion on the Nuclear Suppliers Group is
significant as it means that the issue will receive more immediate bilateral attention.

Question:
What are the benefits expected by becoming member of NSG? On which
grounds this membership has been opposed by China? Examine whether
the ground of opposition cited by China is relevant in context of India
keeping into consideration India s Nuclear Policy?

67. Akashvani Maitree: AIR Service in Bangladesh

The launch of Akashvani Maitree, A)R s cross-border Bangla service will begin from August
23. The service will be broadcast in India and Bangladesh on 596 KHz. Joint-collaborations
are also being planned for future telecast.

Wartime history
The Bangla radio service, launched in 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation Movement
and discontinued in 2010, was to go on air with a mix of news and cultural programming.

Reasons for re-launch of service

The re-launch of the channel on 596 KHz has twin objectives, say officials: To counter the
presence of CRI (Chinese Radio International with its strong programming) and to attract

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Bengali-speaking listeners from both countries. Live-streaming of programmes online will
cater to the Bengali diaspora.

68. Kuwaiti held for funding trip of IS supporters from Mumbai

to Syria

Following )ndia s request, Kuwait has arrested one of its residents for allegedly funding the
trip of four Maharashtra-based men to Syria. NIA officials said they were likely to go to
Kuwait to interrogate him. The Kuwaiti resident, identified as Abdullah Hadi Abdul Rahman
Al-Enezi (32), had allegedly transferred $1,000 to the four men when they reached Iraq.

The Kuwaiti authorities have informed that Al-Enezi indeed sent $1,000 to Areeb Majeed
through Western Union. He admitted to having financed terrorism after his return from
Pakistan in 2013.

Four Maharashtra men

In 2014, the NIA arrested Kalyan resident Areeb Majeed on his return from Syria. Majeed
and his three friends left India on the pretext of a pilgrimage to Iraq in May 2014 and from
there on joined the IS. While Majeed returned after being disillusioned by the violence
there, the whereabouts of Fahad Sheikh, Aman Tandel and Saheem Tanki are still not
known. Security agencies believe that Tanki was killed in a drone strike last year.

Question:
On account of ISIS, India may not be vulnerable like Iraq and Syria but it
can be as vulnerable as countries like France and Belgium. Do you agree?

69. Prachanda is new Nepal PM

New PM of Nepal
Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal better known by Prachanda the fierce one was
elected by lawmakers as Nepal s Prime Minister for a second time.

Voting for PM
He was backed by the largest party in the House, Nepali Congress, constituents of the

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United Democratic Madhesi Front and the Federal Alliance and some other smaller parties.

Implications of Appointment
1. Prachanda signed a three-point agreement with the Madhesi Front to secure support
from the Madhesi parties. As per the agreement, the government would implement the
Madhesi Front s demands that include acknowledging those killed during the Madhesi
agitation as martyrs and providing free treatment to the injured besides amending the
Constitution to redraw provincial boundary, while the Madhesi parties would support the
new government.

India supports the cause of Madhesi. Madhesi share the ethnicity with people living in
Bihar and UP.

2. Prachanda is believed to have tilt towards China and has an anti- India stance.
Specifically, Prachanda seeks revision of Indo-Nepal Treat of peace and friendship under
which Nepal is required to consult India while making defence purchases.

Question:
The recent change in government at Nepal may lead to fulfillment of
demands for Madhesi. Do you agree? The change of government will
facilitate good relations between India and Nepal. Critically evaluate.

70. Tripura gets Delhi train, now sights set on Dhaka

Two Historic events at Tripura Railway Station

1. As Tripura Sundari Express rolled out of the station, the Railways marked the milestone
of establishing connectivity between the capital of the northeastern State and New Delhi.
2. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu joined his Bangladeshi counterpart to lay the
foundation stone for the India-Bangladesh broad-gauge link between Agartala and
Akhaura. Agartala Akhaura rail link would lead to Agartala-Kolkata direct train.

Further promise by railway minister

He said Bangladesh would be convinced to reopen the British-era rail link between Belonia
in south Tripura and Feni in southeast Bangladesh. Ministers and MPs of Tripura had been
insisting on reviving the pre-Independence rail connectivity.

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71. India looks to counter U.S. move on trade sanctions

The Centre is weighing all options including retaliatory measures to counter a U.S. move
to seek imposition of more than $450 million in trade sanctions against India on the
grounds that New Delhi failed to comply with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) order
in the poultry import ban case.

Background
The WTO Appellate Body had found that )ndia s import prohibition on poultry and poultry
products was discriminatory and more trade-restrictive than required , and therefore
violated WTO norms. As per the U.S., India failed to comply with the WTO body s
recommendations within the set deadline (of June 19) -- a claim which New Delhi is
contesting on technical grounds.

According to the WTO, the U.S. had filed the case against )ndia s prohibition on importation
of various agricultural products (including poultry) from the U.S. purportedly because of
concerns related to Avian Influenza (bird flu). The U.S. had claimed that the ban was
against WTO norms and had hurt its poultry exports to India.

Demand by US
The U.S. now wants an arbitration panel under the WTO to approve imposing trade
sanctions that could cost India more than $450 million annually.

Options with India

Official sources said that the options now being considered by )ndia include:
(i) raising its concerns over the surprisingly aggressive U.S. push for such trade
sanctions at high-level bilateral meetings in August (the Strategic & Commercial
Dialogue) and October (Trade Policy Forum) and

(ii) ensuring through discussions that the U.S. agrees to withdraw its efforts to seek an
arbitration panel for assessing the quantum of trade sanctions, and instead give consent to
)ndia s demand for a sequencing agreement.

The sequencing agreement is to ensure that the matter is instead referred to a WTO
compliance panel, which will look into )ndia s claim that it has complied with the WTO
appellate panel s recommendations.

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The sources said the retaliatory measures that India is planning include expediting internal
preparations to file as many as 14 cases at the WTO against the U.S. alleging that renewable
energy policies of many State governments in the U.S. have very significant domestic
content requirements violating America s obligations under the WTO agreements on
Trade-Related Investment Measures as well as on Subsidies & Countervailing Measures.

Explanation by India: Bird flu concerns

As against the June deadline agreed at the WTO, )ndia s final notification on poultry
import) came only on July 8. The Centre had received many representations from farmers
in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana who had raised their concerns
on such poultry imports includinf Bird Flu.

72. Myanmar to support China s OBOR, BCIM initiatives

Myanmar has officially announced to support for China s ambitious One Belt and One Road
(OBOR) connectivity initiative along the ancient Silk Road. It was announced in the joint
statement released by both countries during official state visit of Myanmar s State
Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi to China.

Key highlights of Aung San Suu Kyi s visit to China

1. BCIM corridor will link Kunming in China with Mandalay in Myanmar and will pass
through Bangladesh and ends at Kolkata in India.
2. Myanmar also asked for China s support to realise peace and national reconciliation
through political dialogue in case of militancy.
3. Myanmar has been a victim of militancy which for decades is fuelled by clandestine sale
of drugs, jade and timber, mostly channelled through China.
4. Myanmar also discussed on issues for China s support for it infrastructure projects
including on Myitsone dam project.
5. Myitsone dam project is controversial China-backed project in Northeastern
Myanmmer stalled since 2011 on the grounds of causing extensive ecological damage.

Talks were also held for establishing an Asian super-grid with Myanmar as one of its nodes
with China s state-owned State Grid Corporation.

Implication of Aung San Suu Kyi Visit to China

It is said that by choosing China as her first foreign destination for a visit outside the 10-
nation Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Ms. Suu Kyi has signalled that
China was seemingly more significant than )ndia in Myanmar's diplomacy.

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Yet, the article written by Liu Zongyi of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies
acknowledged that Ms. Suu Kyi has chosen China for her first overseas trip outside ASEAN
probably not because she is emotionally close to Beijing, but out of Myanmar's domestic
politics and national interests .

)ndia s )nterests in Myanmar

The five key aspects of Indo-Myanmar engagement. First in geopolitical terms, New Delhi
saw Myanmar as a buffer state with China, and therefore cannot be controlled by major
powers like China .

Second, Myanmar is a crucial link to Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor,

and has worked jointly with China on oil and natural gas pipelines and port construction.
)ndia is thus worried that Myanmar may become a convenient corridor for China to come
and go in the Indian Ocean, which can hence threaten India's national security and its
peculiar interests in the waters.

Third, India saw Myanmar as a gateway for India's Look East Policy towards both East Asia
and Southeast Asia. Connectivity between the two is therefore crucial to a stronger
economic, political and cultural relationship between )ndia and ASEAN.

Fourth, Myanmar is central to Northeast )ndia s security as a large number of cross-border

ethnic groups and rebels from Northeast )ndia have military bases in Myanmar.

Finally, Myanmar is on )ndia s energy security radar on account of its abundant oil and
natural gas reserves.

Question:
Aung San Suu Kyi first official visit outside ASEAN as China does not hold a
positive signal for India s interests in Myanmar. Critically Evaluate. Also,
Examine Myanmar s interest in BCIM corridor is not without a cause of
concern for India.

73. OIC expresses concern over Kashmir violence

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has voiced its concern over alleged excesses
of the Indian military and the paramilitary forces in Kashmir.

This issued had surfaced after former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai had
appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi s statement on human rights situation in
Pakistan s Balochistan province.

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Key Facts

1. OCI Secretary General of OIC Iyad Amin Madani had quoted that the organisation will
continue to expose human rights excesses in the Kashmir Valley.
2. It will support to Pakistan till the issue is resolved in accordance with the United
Nations resolutions and wishes of the people of Kashmir.

What is Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)?

1. The OIC is an international organization founded in 1969.

2. Members: It consists of 57 member states including Iran and Pakistan.
3. Administrative centre (headquarters): Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
4. Objective: (i) Raise the collective voice of the Muslim world. (ii) Collectively work to
safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting
international peace and harmony.
5. Issues with India: In this organisation, India is a blocked country, though it has about
% of the world s Muslim population.

India has been blocked by Pakistan from joining the OIC over Kashmir issue. OIC regard
parts of Kashmir as occupied by )ndia .

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ECONOMICS

74. Raghuram Rajan brainchild UPI, turns your smartphone

into a bank with UPI

India moves a step closer to becoming a cashless economy with the launch of unified
payment interface (UPI), the brainchild of RBI governor Raghuram Rajan.

The application, a move that will revolutionise peer-to-peer payments and will be made
available on the Play Store for download, will help the track cash flow and collect tax
accordingly.

What exactly is Unified Payments Interface (UPI)?

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a digital payment architecture rolled out by
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) using advanced digital payment features
with mobile phone as the main device.

According to the NPC), Unified Payments )nterface UP) is a system that powers multiple
bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several
banking features, seamless fund routing & merchant payments into one hood. The app will
allow users to pay for transactions as low as Rs. 50 and go all the way up to Rs. 1 lakh.
Payments can be made between friends, to merchants and even to delivery boys instead of
doing cash on delivery.

So, how does this work?

Built on the same infrastructure as the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), all that you
need is a smartphone. Once you register for UPI with your bank, a unique 'virtual address'
will be created. This is mapped with your mobile phone.

Why the UPI is important in the national framework?

UP) s overall importance comes from the intense desire and effort made by the RB) and the
government to create a cost effective, simple and safe digital payment system that will be
usable for the large population of the country.

Following features makes the UPI a unique payment platform.

1. Mobile as the main device: Use of personal mobile as the primary device for all payments
including person to person, person to entity, and entity to person provides the UPI

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platform a mass appeal. Immediate money transfer through mobile device round-the-clock
24x7 and 365 days is possible with UPI.

2. Single mobile application for accessing different bank accounts (Unified): The UPI app
can be used to access multiple bank accounts/

3. Single Click two Factor Authentication: While adhering to Regulatory guidelines, the UPI
has a strong feature of seamless single click payment. At the same time, the system follows
a 2 Factor Authentication. Two factor authentication means besides the password or user
name an additional piece of information is to be added (like OTP) by the individual to
authenticate the payment.

4. Role of virtual address that hide your financial and banking details from
hackers: Another unique feature as well as an improvement of UPI over the previous
platforms is the use of virtual payment address.Virtual Payment Address is a digital
identifier that is uniquely mapped to an individual s account using a translation service.
This virtual address effectively hides financial identity of the customer.
Once the individual register for UPI by downloading and submitting user name and
password and connecting to a bank account, a unique virtual address will be provided by
the Payment Service Provider. This virtual id is mapped with the customer s mobile phone.

5. UPI is a pay (Push) and collect (pull) transaction platform: The UPI has the feature of
making payment (PUSH) and pay someone (PULL) transactions using the mobile.

6. Creating National Interoperability: In digital payment platforms, interoperability means

the ability to transfer money through different sources: bank accounts, Prepaid
instruments etc. The interoperability is vital to facilitate transactions in a financial world of
different account types. This transfer from one type of account to an entirely different one
is possible with UPI.

7. The role of Payment Service Providers (PSPs): Another major component of the UPI
platform is an entity called Payment Service Provider (PSP). Payment service provider may
be a Bank, Payment Bank, PPI, or any other RBI regulated entity that is allowed to acquire
customers and provide payment (credit/debit) services to individuals or entities. They use
a software as a service model and form a single payment gateway for their clients.

8. Aadhaar authentication: The marvelous feature of UPI is the aadhaar authentication. In

the case of usual bank to customer digital transactions the authentication data are kept at

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the bank. But in the case of UPI, the UIDAI acts as the third party providing authentication
proof of the client to the bank.

9. Cost Effective: One should remember that the expected cost of one transaction under UPI
is 45 paisa. This is very low.

Question:
The Unified Payments Interface has the potential to transform the
payment mechanism in our country. Justify the statement by giving your
rationale.

75. Preparing for the Fed rate hike

Plan of Interest Rate Hike in US

U.S. central bank is preparing for its next interest rate increase amid signs that a
consumption-led expansion in the world s largest economy is gaining momentum relatively
at a moderate pace.

With U.S. benchmark interest rates having hovered close to zero for almost a decade, some
economists and central bankers, including the Reserve Bank of )ndia s Raghuram Rajan,
have openly questioned the efficacy and long-term impact of ultra-low rates adopted
widely across developed economies as part of the response to the 2008 financial crisis.

Consequences of ultra-low rates

Among the consequences of the easy money policies in the U.S. and the European Union,
which were accompanied by a stimulus in several emerging markets, was the
1. Sharp upsurge in liquidity.

2. The resultant second-order effects on asset prices and inflation.

)t is in this context that the Fed s decision last year to embark on a policy normalisation
was seen as central to a gradual and welcome restoration of global monetary normalcy.

Possible Consequences of Interest rate Hike in US on India

1. Flight of capital due to higher returns in US as compared to India.

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2. Depreciation of Rupee because of rise in demand for dollar on account of withdrawal of
investment from India.

Question:
The Decision to increase interest rates in US can have both advantages
and disadvantages for the Indian Economy. Explain

76. Ports to promote waterways as Centre plans policy rejig

The Centre is framing a policy to enable all major ports to set up subsidiary companies to
develop inland waterways.

Objective of the government

To reduce logistics costs to make exports competitive and all ports will be asked to
improve inland waterways in their periphery to divert large part of the cargo on
waterways which is cost effective.

Advantages of the policy

1. The establishment of separate units will facilitate easy foreign funding for inland
waterway projects by capitalizing on the financial credentials of the government owned
ports.
2. Can raise foreign funds at low interest costs.
For Example, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), which posted a profit of Rs.1,000 crore
last year, will set up a subsidiary that will take care of all rivers in Maharashtra. They will
raise about Rs.4,000 crore at 2.75 per cent interest rate from foreign banks and this will
improve economic viability of the projects. JNPT will develop waterways on seven to eight
rivers in Maharashtra which flow from Madhya Pradesh.

77. Major Challenges before new RBI Governor: Challenges

before

Evaluation of government decision

Dr. Patel (24th Governor) will take up the top job for a three-year term on September 4, the
day Dr. Rajan s three-year term expires.

The decision to pick Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Urjit Patel as the successor to

87
outgoing Governor Raghuram Rajan is a clear affirmation of the Centre s commitment to
ensure policy continuity at the central bank.

That the man chosen for the top job at the RBI is a person who helped formulate crucial
changes in the monetary framework, including the decision to target a specified inflation
level as the primary remit of the bank, reflects the administration s focus on making price
stability central to its economic agenda. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently reiterated
his backing for the 4 per cent retail inflation target, at a time when the Consumer Price
Index-based measure had accelerated to 6.07 per cent.

Major Challenges before new Governor

1. The first among many challenges that the new Governor will face will be the changed
circumstances of monetary policy formulation. When Dr. Patel chairs the first meetings of
the Monetary Policy Committee the six-member panel that is expected to start deciding
interest rates from the October 4 policy announcement onwards it will be interesting
and instructive to see how he helms the committee approach to rate-setting.

2. As the head of the banking regulator, Dr. Patel also inherits the ongoing clean-up of bank
balance sheets. Unclogging the credit pipeline by helping resolve the build-up of stressed
assets with the country s lenders and thereby improving monetary transmission are tasks
that Dr. Rajan will now leave unfinished. Investors and markets alike will be keenly
watching his successor s approach to expediting the process, especially given Dr. Patel s
past stress on fiscal restraint.

Appointment Process
According to a press note announcing the appointment, Dr. Patel was picked in a new, two-
step selection process. For the first time, a systematic approach and an objective
mechanism have been put in place, it said.

In the first step, the Financial Sector Regulatory Appointments Search Committee (FSRASC)
headed by the Cabinet Secretary P. K. Sinha made a shortlist for the consideration of the
ACC. )t undertook an extensive exercise to suggest a panel of names to the ACC, the note
said.

Thereafter, the ACC comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath
Singh, settled for Dr. Patel from a list of five names received from the FSRASC.

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78. High food inflation

High inflation on CPI and WPI

The latest inflation readings based on the Wholesale Price Index and the Consumer Price
Index are a cause for concern. While the annual gain in wholesale prices hit a 23-month
high of . per cent in July, retail inflation quickened past the Centre s new Monetary
Policy Framework s upper limit for tolerance % to . per cent.

Reason for high food inflation

Food costs a key component in both indices were the main culprit. Inflation in the
food category of the CPI accelerated to 8 per cent, and in the case of the WPI surged to a 31-
month high of 11.8 per cent.

Prediction for future

Some economists and the Reserve Bank of India have pointed to the forecast of normal
rainfall this year, and the improvement in sowing on the back of the steady progress of the
monsoon, as clear indicators that the outlook for supply can only improve going forward.

Possible risks on food inflation front

For one, any beneficial monsoon impact on the predominantly agrarian rural economy is
bound to result in an uptick in rural wages, and by extension demand-side consumption
pressures. According to a January 2016 International Monetary Fund working paper on
Understanding )ndia s Food )nflation: the Role of Demand and Supply Factors , rising real
rural incomes have had the largest impact on food inflation.

This is particularly so as the large weight on food in household expenditure has meant that
robust real income growth has tended to translate into substantial demand-side pressures
that far outpace the supply-side gains. This stickiness of food costs can undermine the
steady gains in the fight against price gains, a battle that must be fought since inflation
ultimately ends up being a tax on the poor.

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79. Plane leasing firms may get a boost

The Centre plans to ease norms for aircraft leasing firms to enable them to take back
aircraft quickly from defaulting airlines in a bid to make its regional connectivity scheme
more attractive for such lessors.

Aircraft re-possession
The official said companies are often not comfortable leasing aircraft to start-up airlines. )f
we permit lessors to take back the aircraft, in case of a default, within a week or ten days,
even for smaller aircraft they will have some faith in the system and attract them more
towards the )ndian market.

At times, the lessors are prevented from taking back the aircraft due to outstanding dues,
such as airport charges, on the part of the airline, said a senior civil aviation ministry
official.

De-registering aircraft
When Kingfisher Airlines had ceased operations in 2012, the lessors faced legal hurdles in
re-possessing the aircraft as the DGCA was not deregistering the aircraft which was an
essential requirement for taking back the planes.

The Centre will soon release the final regional connectivity scheme that aims to promote
the use of smaller aircraft. The regional connectivity scheme seeks to attract a lot of
regional airlines who will be looking to lease planes to commence operations as it is very
cost-effective compared to buying aircraft. Leasing business will be a critical part of the
scheme, a top civil aviation ministry official said.

80. Steel Ministry wants review of policies affecting producers

Existing Policies hampering interest of Steel Industry

Even as the Centre has extended curbs on steel imports, the Steel Ministry is pushing for a
rethink on domestic policies that are hurting producers.

This includes the

a. railways freight policy and

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b. the clean energy cess that was doubled in this year s Budget.
c. Power costs in India are higher than China, Japan or Korea.

With (rates in) sea freight becoming very low, major consumers of steel near the coast,
prefer to import steel as the cost of reaching finished steel by railways to those areas is
higher by about Rs.1,000 per tonne.

Details
1. The Steel Ministry wants the Indian Railways to change the tariff classification for steel
goods and treat them on par with coal, which, it reckons, could cut the logistic costs of
moving finished steel by around 14 per cent.

2. The Ministry, which had opposed the 2.5 per cent import duty on coking coal when it was
first introduced in 2014, will continue to seek its abolition, since per cent of )ndia s
coking coal requirements are imported.

3. Moreover, it has questioned the levy of clean energy cess on coking coal since it is
distinct in quality and not only cleaner with lower ash content, but also an essential
requirement for steel production with no alternatives from the coal used in thermal power
plants.

First introduced in 2010, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley renamed the levy Clean
Environment Cess in this year s Budget and doubled its rate from Rs. 00 per tonne to
Rs.400 per tonne of coal, lignite and peat.

Question:
India has emerged as the third largest producer of steel in the last year.
However, this status is challenged on account of both domestic as well as
international factors. Comment.

81. Focus on price stability

RBI recent monetary policy review

Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan provided no surprises in his final
monetary policy announcement, set to leave office at the end of his three-year term on
September 4, as he kept the central bank s unwavering focus on inflation by leaving
interest rates unchanged for the second successive time this fiscal.

There were expectations among some sections that he will reduce the interest rates.

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Inflation levels
The Consumer Price Index-based inflation reading edged up in June to 5.77 per cent, well
above the RB) s March target of per cent and nearing the per cent upper bound set
by the government s monetary framework, largely on account of food prices. Mr. Rajan may
have taken this into consideration in taking this decision.

Reason for leaving interest rates unchanged?

1. The rationale proffered for sitting pat on rates is the sharper-than-anticipated increase
in food costs, particularly the rising prices of pulses and cereals.

However, the steady progress of the rains so far has translated into a strong improvement
in sowing, with its potential for a salutary impact on food inflation.

. The full impact that the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission s
recommendations with rise in income levels may in future have impact in inflation levels.

Question:
The structural constraints in Indian agriculture has forced the RBI to
continue Rajan Tradition in monetary policy review despite government s
desire to show high numbers in economic growth. Explain the statement.
Do you think that Government and RBI have different view on Monetary
Policy?

82. River-linking to cost Rs. 5-lakh crore

Estimated Expenditure required for inter-linking of rivers

The government expects to spend a massive Rs 5,60,000 crore on various river interlinking
(ILR) projects. Though this is only a projection and not timebound as none of these
projects are underway and costs could be dramatically revised it s roughly four per cent
of )ndia s economy, now valued at Rs 1,35,00,000 crore, and significantly more than what
India spends on either scientific research, the social sector or defence.

Scale of Inter-linking of rivers

The National Water Development Agency the central agency that plans and prepares
cost estimates for such projects has so far identified 16 peninsular rivers and 14
Himalayan rivers that could potentially be linked to transfer water. The peninsular
component of the project could likely cost Rs 1,85,000 crore and the Himalayan Rs
3,75,000 crore.

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Projects at advanced state
ILR projects at the most advanced state of planning are those involving building canals and
storage connecting the Ken and Betwa rivers in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh; the
Damanganga and Pinjal rivers involving water from Gujarat and Maharashtra. Pre-
feasibility reports of 36 Intra-State link proposals out of 46 proposals of Intra-State links
had also been completed, the Minister added.

Ken-Betwa link controversy

The controversial Ken-Betwa link that will partially submerge the Panna Tiger sanctuary, is
yet to be cleared by the National Wild Life Board and discussions are on between the Water
Resources Ministry and the Ministry of Environment and Forests to mitigate the potential
loss of forests. The Government is planning to begin implementing this as a model ILR
project, which will benefit the drought prone areas of Bundelkhand region.

Question:
The interlinking of rivers is fraught with financial, human and ecological
challenges. Examine these challenges and do you think Indian should
pursue the interlinking of rivers despite these challenges?

83. U.S. Law FATCA under implementation

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)

About Signed into law in the U.S. in 2010, FATCA affects not just financial institutions in the
U.S. and U.S. persons , i.e., citizens and residents of the U.S. and companies, trusts and other
entities controlled by them, but also what the U.S. defines as Foreign Financial )nstitutions
or FF)s foreign is with regard to the U.S.).

These institutions, which include banks, mutual funds, PE and hedge funds, among others,
are required to collect information on U.S. persons who are depositors or investors. Failure
to do so would entail a 30 per cent withholding tax on the FF) s U.S. source income.

Implications
1. It is likely that a financial institution outside the U.S. pays money to or gets money from a
U.S. source and not complying with FATCA will automatically mean being subject to a
withholding tax.

2. To overcome any country specific hindrances to sharing information on investors and

depositors, the U.S. has entered into Inter Governmental Agreements (IGAs) with partner
countries. An IGA was signed with India in 2015.

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 . FATCA is part of the U.S. s answer to tracking money hidden in offshore accounts so it
can be brought into the tax net.

4. This is part of a larger global trend to fix loopholes in international taxation in order to
make evasion harder. But the picture is a bit messier with FATCA owing to the
fundamentally different nature of U.S. taxes.

About US Taxation Laws

The U.S. is the only developed country in the world that imposes citizenship based taxes
so American entities everywhere are normally required to file U.S. tax returns regardless of
their residence or the source country of income.

84. Benefits and Challenges in Merger of SBI

Proposed Merger
The proposed merger of the State Bank of India with its five associate banks and the
Bharatiya Mahila Bank may pose several benefits.

Benefits
1. The increased balance sheet size will enable the bank to obtain better pricing on both
internationally sourced funds and domestic deposits, thus helping it lower lending rates
and improve profitability.
2. The added branch network and customer base will also help it expand reach and enable
the lender to rationalise resources across the board.
3. There are various estimates of the potential cost savings, with one projection putting the
possible reduction in cost-to-income ratio at 1 percentage point.
4. The lender s increased size, in terms of assets, will also give it the requisite muscle to
take on new competition from larger banking entities that are likely to be created by
consolidation in the banking industry.
5. The Bank Board Bureau has been tasked with overseeing a restructuring among public
sector banks in keeping with the government s aim of reducing the number of state-owned
lenders and improving their financial health.

Challenges from merger

The merger will, however, pose its unique set of challenges.
1. The scale of the task is substantial given the total staff strength. With more than two
lakh employees, the parent will add close to one-fifth that number by way of additions
posing a huge test in terms of integration of roles, salary, perquisite and pension structures

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and, no less importantly, work cultures.
2. Much of the opposition from the bank unions stems from concerns relating to these
issues. Customers of the smaller, community or regional market-focussed subsidiaries such
as the State Bank of Travancore may be discomfited by having to deal with a larger, more
impersonal lender, one where the size of their accounts may be viewed as comparatively
marginal. For regulators, the new entity will throw up interesting oversight issues.
3. Already identified by the Reserve Bank of )ndia as the country s key Domestic
Systemically )mportant Bank, or too big to fail in simple terms, the enlarged SB) s capital
adequacy norms will climb and may require far more by way of infusion of funds than the
Centre has committed so far.
But such challenges must not be used to undermine the obvious benefits of merger.

Question:
The merger of SBI with its five associate banks and the Bharatiya Mahila
Bank is a solution to higher NPAs faced by these banks. Justify the
statement.

85. GST Bill passed by Parliament and States

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The Parliament passed the 122nd constitutional amendment bill on Goods & Services Tax
(GST) by two-thirds majority. Already, 16 states have also ratified the bill. Now, the bill will
require assent of the President to turn into law.

All About GST

Components of GST
The GST will have two components keeping in mind the federal structure of India: the
Central GST (CGST) and the State GST (SGST).

What will GST subsume?

Central GST will subsume central indirect taxes like excise duty, countervailing duty and
service tax and State GST will subsume Value added tax, Octroi and Entry tax, luxury tax,
Purchase tax and Entertainment Tax.

GST will be based on consumption and not production

The final consumer will bear only the GST charged by the last dealer in the supply chain,
with set-off benefits at all the previous stages. This is going to benefit consumer states.

SGST totally belongs to the state. Therefore, the consuming state (who is the recipient of
SGST will get the total benefit).

For example, a manufacturing state Gujarat sales its goods priced Rs. 1000 to Bihar. Bihar,
being an importer, will have the entire SGST and also the share from Central GST while
Gujarat will only get the share from Central GST.

It means the poor states which are large consumers such as Bihar, UP, West Bengal, Assam,
Odisha, etc. are all set to benefit from GST.

Commodities outside GST

The government of India will continue to charge central excise duty on all petroleum &
natural gas products, tobacco and opium products. GST on above products will be
applicable at a later stage, which will be decided by GST Council.

Only one product has been kept out of purview of GST and that is alcohol for human
consumption, which means all central and state taxes will continue to apply on alcohol. The
state and centre reserve full rights to increase or decrease VAT or any form of taxes on
alcoholic beverages.

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GST on Inter- state trade and Commerce
Only the Centre may levy and collect GST on supplies in the course of inter-state trade or
commerce. The tax collected would be divided between the Centre and the states in a
manner to be provided by parliament on the recommendations of the GST Council.

Composition of GST Council

GST Council to be formed within 60 days of the commencement of GST Act. GST Council will
have following members :
a) Union Minister of Finance as the chairman,
b) Union Minister of State in charge of Finance as member
c) Finance/revenue ministers of each state government as members.

GST Rate
GST rate has not been capped. It will be decided by the GST Council and will be reviewed
from time to time.

Compensation to states
To compensate the manufacturing states, Parliament shall, by law, provide for
compensation to states for any loss of revenues, for a period which may extend to five
years (it may be less than 5 years, but not more). This would be based on the
recommendations of the GST Council.

Implication of introducing GST

1. GST will provide uniform market, make taxation simple, efficient, transparent and
hassle-free. GST will also drastically increase the ambit of taxation and improve tax
compliance.

2. Most of the essential goods will become cheaper, since currently we pay about 26-28% of
tax while GST will be much lesser. Government has also planned to keep the GST rate for
extremely important commodities lower than the normal GST rate.

3. The reduced tax burden on companies will decrease the price of goods, will lower the
production cost and improve exports. Implementation of GST, in long run, will create a
large number of jobs.

4. Services are presently taxed at 15%. The GST rate is expected to be around 18 %. Thus,
services are expected to be costlier.

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Proposed Amendment to 2014 bill which have been incorporated in 2016 bill:
Demands of Opposition accepted by Government

1. The government dropped the one per cent additional tax and included a provision for
compensating the States for revenue loss arising from the implementation of GST for five
years.
2. Government had promised that the GST Council in consultation with the States
would work out a set of bands to ensure a revenue neutral tax.
3. On the other hand, Opposition accepted the demand by Government of not keeping cap
of 18% on GST by way of constitutional amendement.

Question:
The demand by Opposition for independent Dispute Resolution Mechanism
under the new GST regime is important to maintain the federal structure
within the indirect taxation system in India. Critically evaluate the
statement in context of role expected from Dispute Resolution Mechanism
post GST system.

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86. Government to import pulses to check prices
Measures taken to control inflation in Pulses
Scrambling to control prices of pulses, the Centre has decided to import 30,000 tonnes
more pulses in an attempt to narrow down the gap between demand and supply of pulses.

The Consumer Affairs department held a meeting in which it was decided that more pulses
would be procured for the buffer stock. The government had recently increased the buffer
stock limit of pulses to 20 lakh tonnes.

State of Pulses Economy

As per the latest government estimate, pulses production is likely to dip marginally to
16.47 million tonnes during 2015- against the previous year s production of .
million tonnes.

Pulses saw an average price rise of 29.6 per cent during 2015-16. Pulses prices have soared
up to Rs. 200 per kg in the retail markets in recent months due to fall of production in last
two crop years following back-to-back drought.

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87. On-tap bank licence

What is an on-tap license?

On-tap licensing means that the window for getting a bank license from RBI is open
throughout the year.

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Earlier, RBI used to invite applications for giving bank licenses, and prospective players
submitted their applications within a fixed time-frame as prescribed by RBI. This
arrangement was not open all the time.
Now, virtually anyone, who fulfills the criteria, can apply for a bank license anytime.

Criteria for Bank License

1. In the final guidelines on on-tap licensing, the central bank has allowed individuals with
years of experience in banking and finance, as well as business groups with years
track record to promote universal banks.
2. For business groups with more than Rs.5,000 crore in total assets to be eligible for a
licence, their income from non-financial businesses should not account for 40 per cent or
more in terms of total assets/in terms of gross income.
3. Large industrial houses are excluded as eligible entities but are permitted to invest in
the banks up to 10 per cent.
4. The existing non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) that are controlled by residents
and have a successful track record for at least 10 years will also be eligible. However, an
NBFC, which is a part of the group where the non-financial business of the group accounts
for 40 per cent or more in terms of total assets/gross income, is not eligible, the banking
regulator clarified.

Conditions for new bank License

1. The bank should have a minimum capital of Rs.500 crore and should list on the stock
exchanges within six years of commencing operations, RBI said.
2. The bank shall open at least 25 per cent of its branches in unbanked, rural centres.
3. The bank should also maintain a capital adequacy ratio of 13 per cent in the first three
years of operation as compared to 9 per cent in existing banks.
4. The promoters should hold a minimum of 40 per cent stake in the bank, locked-in for a
period of five years, but the stake should be brought down to 15 per cent within 15 years.

Who will take the final decision?

A Standing External Advisory Committee (SEAC) will be set up by the RBI to vet the
applications. The committee would send its recommendations to the Internal Screening
Committee (ISC), consisting of the Governor and Deputy Governors. The ISC would then
submit its recommendations to the Committee of the Central Board of RBI for the final
decision to issue an in-principle approval, which would be valid for 18 months.

Unsuccessful applicants can appeal against the decision to the Central Board of Directors,
within one month of being rejected. Names of applicants and successful candidates would
be made public, the RBI s

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88. Union Government constitutes Amitabh Kant committee to
review e-commerce rules

The Union Government has decided to set up a committee to look at easing the policy
regime for e-commerce players, including the rules for foreign direct investment (FDI).
The committee will be headed by Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI (National Institution for
Transforming India) Aayog.

The terms of reference of the Committee

1. Examine various issues in e-commerce sector and making recommendations for further
liberalisation of the policy.

2. Look into all issues including FDI norms pertaining to the fast growing e-commerce
industry in the country.

There are issues related to e-commerce players selling pharmaceuticals and some e-
commerce firms are facing taxation related problems in few states.

Setting up of this committee assumes significance as the Union Government recently had
permitted 100 per cent FDI in food processing sector. The DIPP (Department of Industrial
Policy and Promotion) has permitted 100 per cent FDI through automatic route in the
marketplace format. But FDI has not been allowed in inventory-based model of e-
commerce.

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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

89. ISRO s scramjet on course

The Indian Space Research Organisation became fourth nation when, it successfully
launched a rocket using a scramjet engine that was developed indigenously. This is )SRO s
first major step towards developing an air breathing propulsion system.

Advantages of Scramjet Technology over Conventional Technology

1. A scramjet engine uses oxygen present in the atmospheric air to burn the hydrogen fuel.
As a result, the amount of oxygen required to be carried on board would be reduced
considerably as atmospheric oxygen is utilised to burn the fuel in the first stage. In general,
propellant (Fuel and Oxygen) accounts for nearly 85 per cent of the weight of a rocket, and
oxygen accounts for nearly 60 per cent of the weight of the propellant.

2. Scramjet-powered rockets also have several times greater thrust compared with rockets
powered by liquid fuel or even cryogenic fuel.

3. Since about half of the propellant is required for the first stage to achieve the required
velocity, a rocket using a scramjet engine would be significantly lighter and smaller and,
therefore, cheaper. Alternatively, rockets fired by scramjet engines will be able to carry
more payload.

Rockets with scramjet engines should remain in the atmosphere for a longer period to suck
oxygen than normal rockets.

Highlights of the test flight

1. Test flight has attained six times the speed of sound (Mach 6) and was able to achieve
ignition and maintain stable combustion even at such high velocity for about six seconds
which is a big technological achievement. This is akin to lighting a matchstick in a
hurricane condition and sustaining the flame for six seconds.

2. The air intake mechanism and fuel injection systems were also successfully
demonstrated during the maiden test flight.

Way forward

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1. Typically, scramjet rockets climb to a certain altitude and remain in the atmosphere for
as long as possible to achieve the required velocity. It will take many years before a
commercial rocket powered by a scramjet engine takes to the sky as there are several
challenges to be overcome.

2. Challenge will be to test the engine at higher Mach speeds and prolong the period of
combustion. Since the scramjet comes into play only when the rocket goes beyond Mach 5,
an engine that initially works at subsonic speed (as a ramjet) and later as a scramjet has to
be developed.

The Scramjet when fully developed could help bring down the cost and time of
intercontinental travel. It could be used in Launch Vehicles, Missiles, etc.

Question: What is Scramjet Technology? How is is an improvement over

conventional rocket technology?

90. 4-D printing to allow for shape-changing materials

4D Printing
Scientists are developing D printing technology to pave way for smart materials that can
change shape by themselves. Imagine buying a dress online that takes shape in front of
your eyes in your living room.
Researchers are combining different types of plastics and fibres to create smart materials
that change shape when they come into contact with stimuli such as heat or water.

How it will work?

Objects designed in this way can expand, fold or unfurl into predesigned forms after being
printed, in a process dubbed D printing. Using a scan of the customer s body, the dress
could be designed to fit perfectly and would be created with a series of tessellating
segments. A computer model would then compress the design into the smallest possible
space to fit inside a normal 3D printer. The customer would simply download the design,
print it and unfurl it.

Skylar Tibbits, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is pioneering the research
with Stratasys, a digital manufacturing company.

Question:
What is 4-D Printing? How it is an improvement over 3-D printing? Cite 5
possible applications of 4-D Printing with examples?
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91. First driverless taxi hits the streets of Singapore

The first driverless taxi began work in a limited public trial on the streets of Singapore.
Developer nuTonomy invited a select group of people to download their app and ride for
free in its "robo-taxi", hoping to get feedback ahead of a planned full launch of the service in
2018.

Parker, whose company has partnered with the Singapore government on the project, said
he hoped to have 100 taxis working commercially in Singapore by 2018.

Nutonomy is one of several companies racing to launch self-driving vehicles, with

automakers and technology firms striking new alliances.

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92. From Android to an Eye phone

EYE DOCTOR IN AN APP

The Eyephone app , a smartphone application which can detect eye diseases and
disorders, could prove to be a boon in many countries. Used as part of an ophthalmological
study and examination, carried out by technicians from the Nakuru Eye Disease Cohort
Study , and led by Dr. Andrew Bastawrous of the London School of (ygiene and Tropical
Medicine, the Android mobile application is being used to scan people s eyes and optic
nerves to detect eye diseases, including cataracts and glaucoma.

The technology is deceptively simple to use and costs a few hundred euros compared to a
professional ophthalmoscope that costs tens of thousands of euros.

The technology will revolutionalise access to eye treatment for millions of low-income
people who are suffering from eye diseases.

93. Indians online to hit 730 million by 2020

The number of Internet users in India is likely to more than double to 730 million by 2020,
according to a new report. As per the report The Future of )nternet in )ndia , compiled by
Nasscom and Akamai Technologies, there were about 330 million Internet users in the
country as of December 2015.

India, which has an Internet user base next only to China, will remain the fastest growing
market, the report s authors wrote, adding that per cent of the new users would come
from rural areas. Interestingly, a majority (75 per cent) of new users are expected to
consume data in local languages.

94. US gives up Internet-naming powers in October

The US is set to cede power of the )nternet s naming system to a non-profit organisation
based ICANN the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers a non-profit
organization on October 1, ending the almost 20-year process to hand over a crucial part of
the )nternet s governance.

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The Domain Naming System, DNS, is one of the )nternet s most important components. )t
pairs the easy-to-remember web addresses with their relevant servers. Without DNS, one
would only be able to access websites by typing in its IP address, a series of numbers such
as . . . .

Users of the web will not notice any difference because ICANN has essentially been doing
the job for years.

Objections to ceding power

But it s a move that has been fiercely criticised by some US politicians as opening the door
to the likes of China and Russia to meddle with a system that has always been protected
by the US. The proposal may significantly increase the power of foreign governments over
the Internet.

About ICANN
ICANN was created in 1998 to take over the task of assigning web addresses. Until that
point, that job was handled by one man Jon Postel. (e was known to many as the God of
the )nternet , a nod to his power over the Internet.Postel, who died not long after ICANN
was created, was in charge of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).

95. Google Duo: Video call app by Google

What is Google Duo?

Google Duo provides simplified one tap video calling on Android and Apple iOS platforms,
and the ability to work better on low bandwidth connections.

Competitors
The application, which is being rolled out worldwide over the next few days, will compete
with Microsoft s Skype and Apple s FaceTime.

Distinct Features
1. A distinct feature on the app Knock Knock allows people to see live video of a
caller who is in their phone book, before answering. Early reviewers said this would help
people look presentable before taking a call. The feature can be disabled totally, or callers
blocked.

2. Also, for video calls on the go, Duo switches between Wi-Fi and cellular data seamlessly,

107
without dropping the call.

3. Duo has been built with an emphasis on privacy and security, and all calls are end-to-
end encrypted, the company said.

4. Call quality adjusts to changing network conditions to keep one connected when
bandwidth is limited, Duo will gracefully reduce the resolution to keep the call going
smoothly.

96. Cupping Technique for Medical Cure

Why in news?
Olympic champion and U.S swimmer Michael Phelps is one of a number of athletes who
practices cupping an ancient Chinese healing practice. Curiosity grew after dark purple
circles were spotted on his shoulders at the Rio Olympics.

What is cupping technique?

In this therapy, cups are placed on the section of the body in need of repair to create
suction. In most practices, a substance is placed in the circular cup and set on fire. Once the
flame goes out, the cup is placed upside down on acupuncture points on the skin for about
five to 10 minutes, resulting in red circular marks or bruises on the skin.

Benefits expected
The method is said to draw out toxins, mobilise blood flow, soothe sore muscles and even
help cure insomnia.

Scientific evidence

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Western medical societies are quite sceptical about the procedure saying that it has no
scientific rationale.

97. Faulty data stations cloud IMD weather predictions

State of recently installed Rain gauges and Automatic Weather Stations

At least a quarter of the )ndia Meteorological Department )MD s recently installed rain
gauges and Automatic Weather Stations (AWS), meant to supply hourly weather data from
across the country, are not working to capacity.

Reasons for such a state

Several instruments remain non-functional because of lack of qualified personnel to repair
them.

Background
The AWS, a key part of a modernisation drive and critical to improving monsoon forecasts
and warning of emerging thunderstorms, cloudbursts and pollution spikes, are part of a
Rs.1,000-crore upgrade of the department s infrastructure, initiated barely four years ago
in 2012.

These instruments are expected to relay hourly updates of temperature, sea level pressure
and rainfall. Updated data from these instruments are necessary for climate research as
well as the )MD s fortnightly and weekly rainfall outlook over States.

Problem in forecast
The lack of continuous and uniform data from these AWS impacts the accuracy of short-
term (periods between 24 hours to five days) and medium-term (two weeks) forecasts.

View of IMD
A senior meteorologist associated with the organisation admitted, There are problems
with the network and sometimes nearly half of them aren t working. He added that though
the AWS were automatic, they needed battery replacements and periodic re-calibration as
the instruments were sensitive to changes in humidity. Many are located on hills and other
hard-to-reach regions and could malfunction unless regularly maintained. However, a
shortage of technical personnel has made maintenance and upgrades difficult.

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98. ISRO ex-chief Madhavan Nair named in Antrix charge sheet

CBI charge sheet

The Central Bureau of Investigation filed a charge sheet against former ISRO Chairman G.
Madhavan Nair and other senior officials in the Antrix-Devas deal case for allegedly
facilitating a wrongful gain of Rs.578 crore to Devas Multimedia Private Limited.

The charge sheet has been filed in a Delhi court days after the commercial arm of ISRO,
Antrix Corporation lost its case in the international tribunal of arbitration in The Hague
over cancellation of the contract.

The agency said the Managing Director of Forge Advisors (U.S.A.) and CEO of Devas,
Ramachandra Vishwanathan, former ISRO scientist M.G. Chandrasekhar, and two directors
of Devas Multimedia M. Umesh and D. Venugopal have also been named. The CBI has
pressed conspiracy, cheating and corruption charges against the accused.

Details of allegation
It is alleged that the government officials abused their position to favour Devas by giving
them rights for delivery of videos, multimedia content and information services to mobile
phones using S-Band through GSAT-6 and GSAT-6A satellites and terrestrial systems in
India. They, thus, caused a wrongful gain of Rs.578 crore to the private firm and its owners.

The CBI has alleged that while the deal for lease of S-Band transponders was decided in
principle between Antrix and Devas in January 2005, the then Antrix Executive Director
signed it six months later after Mr. Chandrasekhar and Mr. Vishwanathan became the
majority stakeholders in Devas. They continued to hold the positions till 2009.

The CBI probe revealed that when a proposal for budgetary support of Rs.269 crore for
approving design, manufacture and launch of GSAT-6/INSAT-4E (PS1) was placed at the
104th meeting of the Space Commission on May 26, 2005, it was allegedly not informed
that an agreement for leasing out the S-Band had already been struck with Devas.

)t alleges that the Space Commission s approval was obtained by keeping it in the dark.

According to the CB), the change in the company s board, where a U.S. company
represented by Mr. Chandrasekhar and Mr. Vishwanathan had majority stakes, was never
verified by Antrix. The agreement was allegedly in violation of Shankara Committee

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 recommendations, according to which any such agreement should be entered into with an
Indian company alone.

The agency also alleges that Bengaluru-based Devas siphoned off and transferred a large
part of the wrongful gain to a U.S.-based subsidiary.

About Antrix Corporation

Antrix Corporation Limited is the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO). Its objective is to promote the ISRO's products, services and
technologies. It was incorporated as a private limited company owned by the Indian
government on 28 September 1992. The company is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU),
wholly owned by the Government of India.

99. About Pokemon Go

Pokmon Go is a free-to-play, location-based augmented reality game developed

by Niantic for iOS and Android devices. In the game, players use a mobile device's GPS
capability to locate, capture, battle and train virtual creatures, called Pokmon, who appear
on the screen as if they were in the same real-world location as the player.

It quickly became a global phenomenon and was one of the most used mobile apps,
reportedly having been downloaded by more than 100 million people worldwide. It has
also attracted controversy for contributing to accidents and becoming a public nuisance at
some locations. Multiple governments expressed concerns over the game's security, and
game was banned in some countries as a result.

Cons
The game is already getting blamed for some injuries, criticized over data privacy issues,
and implicated in crimes, as a few people have used the game to lure players to locations to
rob them.

It gets you outside, but you re still on your phone. While the app does encourage
outdoor play, you re still plugged into technology.

Playing the app makes you more distracted. The app itself features a
disclaimer cautioning you to be alert and aware of where you re going while you re playing,
but there have already been reports of injuries incurred when playing the game.

The game puts you in a heightened "stressed" state. Since you re technically trying to
find and catch something, your body is most likely in a fight-or-flight state, meaning your

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 adrenaline is pumping and your heart rate is a bit higher than usual.

The game could exacerbate symptoms for people who have difficulty separating
reality and fantasy. The game blends elements of reality with virtual/fantasy elements, so
it can be confusing for those who already have difficulty distinguishing out what is real or
not, specifically people who may have psychotic symptoms.

100. Intel unveils Project Alloy device creating merged reality

Tech giant Intel has unveiled Project Alloy, a device that creates merged reality. Project
Alloy is a headset that uses the Real Sense technology to enable people to use their hands to
interact with elements of the virtual world without using cables to connect computer.

What is Merged reality?

Merged reality is a new way of experiencing virtual reality and real world together, using
cutting-edge technology.

It digitises the real world and allows people to experience the virtual world without coming
into conflict with the real world.

One example of merged reality is playing two musical instruments at the same time. It
means that person can play a virtual piano with one hand and a cello with the other.

Besides, using it one could go right into the centre of a basketball court and watch the
match.

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ENVIRONMENT
101. Scientists develop mechanism to recycle CO2 into usable
fuel

Researchers from United States have developed a mechanism to convert greenhouse gas
(GHG) Carbon dioxide (CO2) into carbon monoxide (CO) that can be recycled into usable
fuel.

Key Facts

1. This mechanism is based on the natural photosynthesis process that take place in green
plants in which CO2 is converted into sugars.
2. However, in it this scientific conversion process of converting CO2 into CO is different
from natural photosynthesis.
3. In this scientific conversion process, metal compound called tungsten diselenide (an
inorganic compound) has been used in the form nano-sized flakes for converting CO2
into CO.
4. In natural photosynthesis process plants use an organic catalyst called an enzyme to
convert CO2 from the atmosphere into a sugar.
5. In this case, green plants need energy from light, water and CO2 from atmosphere in
order to make their fuel.

The obtained CO which is also a greenhouse gas can be converted into usable fuel, such as
methanol.

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DISASTER MANAGEMENT
102. Lack of trains to blame for track deaths: CAG

CAG Report
A recent Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report has blamed the Indian Railways for
not providing adequate train services, leading to overcrowding and death of passengers in
suburban trains.

Details of the report

1. The report, released last week, noted that 33,445 people died between January 2010 and
December 2014, with half the cases being reported from the Mumbai suburban train
network. This translates into more than 18 deaths a day in suburban trains.

. A comparison of the average number of passengers carried per rake with its carrying
capacity, indicated an average crush load of passengers per rake, the CAG said of the
Mumbai suburban trains.

Crush load refers to a passenger density of twice the seating capacity of a rake, as per the
Indian Railways. Around 15 per cent of the deaths happened due to passengers falling from
running trains.

3. The CAG report said, most of the people who died by falling from running trains were
travelling in Mumbai s suburban trains, reflecting that the number of services is not
sufficient to cater to the needs of heavy passenger traffic.

4. Most of the deaths (59 per cent) in the suburban train network happened while line
crossing and trespassing.

103. Indian Monsoon: Return of the great deluge

Reason for floods in rivers and heavy destruction on account of floods

1. Heavy siltation of rivers reduces their carrying capacity
2. Weak embankments break on rise in water level
3. The low efficacy of the flood forecasts issued by nearly 180 specialised stations now in
operation

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4. The lack of preparedness by flood vulnerable regions namely 19 States and Union
Territories.

Reasons for floods in Urban Areas

The scenes of gridlock and frustration in Gurgaon, Bengaluru and Delhi last week travelled
around the world, just months after the disaster in Chennai.
1. Severely encroached upon or polluted Wetlands, Lakes and Open spaces reduces seepage
on ground water.
2. Siltation of lakes and other water bodies
3. Haphazard development which ignores the gradient of the city

104. Needed: Scientific flood management

)ndia s vulnerability to severe flooding during the monsoon is spectacularly demonstrated

year after year, with the season invariably ending in significant loss of life and property.
One research study for the period 1978-2006 based on official data reports that there were
2,443 flood events that led to the death of nearly 45,000 people and caused economic
losses of $16 billion.

The same story is playing out this year too. Residents of five States are currently struggling
to cope with the effects of intense rainfall. Many of those lucky to have been rescued owe it
to the

Shortcomings
1. National Disaster Response Force naturally have limited efficacy in predominantly rural
States such as Bihar.
2. What stands out in the annual cycle of floods is the generally tardy pace of preparation
for rescue and relief.
3. Capacity-building to handle catastrophic weather events is poor, and
4. serious attention is not given to setting up relief camps, creating crisis-proof health
infrastructure and stockpiling dry rations and medicines.

The collapse of systems in acute conditions is undoubtedly a reflection of the lack of robust
regular services that could be upgraded for emergencies. This is particularly true of health
facilities in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. There are cascading outcomes of
infections and the absence of care for pregnant women. These challenges require to be met
in emergency mode.

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Required Action/ Demands
1. An integrated approach to managing floods requires a sound understanding of the
patterns that rivers such as the Ganga and its tributaries display during the monsoon.
2. Governmental understanding on ground-level surveys and anecdotal reporting of the
problem than on advanced techniques such as mapping based on satellite imagery and
Geographic Information Systems.
3. Farakka Barrage itself be removed to allow the Ganga to flow freely comes in the wake of
steady silting of the river and its tributaries, raising the risk of annual flooding.
. )n Bihar s case, the shifting patterns and breaches of the Kosi requires a deeper
understanding of the areas most at risk which is essential in creating a defensive
infrastructure, the Kosi itself poses a danger to vast parts of the State as its embankments
are no match for the fury of floodwaters.

Question:
The recurrent annual floods during the monsoons are more on account of
man- made factors than those on account of nature. Critically Evaluate.

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SECURITY
105. Probe ordered after data on stealth submarine leaked

India began multiple investigations to determine the extent of damage caused by the
reported leak of huge quantity of secret data detailing the combat and stealth capabilities of
the )ndian Navy s soon-to-be-inducted Scorpene submarines.

The Navy, in its early response, said the leak was from outside India while downplaying the
operational impact of the leak.

Implications
1. The leak would discredit the Indian defence establishment and thus,would prevent
foreign defence manufacturers to share technology with India.

2. It may have a serious bearing on the significantly large defence ties between India and
France with French companies in the race for deals worth billions of dollars including the
Rafale fighter deal.

. The leak is an intelligence bonanza if obtained by )ndia s strategic rivals, such as Pakistan
or China.

Who reported the incident first?

The incident emerged in a news report in The Australian which also released a few sample
documents.

The news report in The Australian said the stunning leak, which runs to , pages
details the entire secret combat capability of the six Scorpene-class submarines that French
shipbuilder DCNS has designed for the Indian Navy.

View of Defence officials on impact of leak

Defence officials underplayed the impact of the data leak on Scorpenes, stating that the
information released related to technical specifications given by the manufacturer while
the operational specifications would be determined by the Navy once the submarine was
inducted and put into water.

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Background
India had entered into an agreement with the French in 2005 and Mumbai-based Mazagon
Docks Limited (MDL) is building Scorpenes locally with technology transfer.

106. Assam seeks more dole for ex-militants, Centre in a fix

Demand by Assam CM
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal s demand to increase the monthly stipend of
surrendered militants has put the Union government in a fix because it thinks obliging
Assam could lead to similar requests from other north-eastern States as well.

The newly elected Chief Minister, at a recent meeting with Union Home Minister Rajnath
Singh, asked that the stipend be increased from Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 10,000. The Ministry of
Home Affairs (MHA) reimburses the amount paid to the surrendered cadres by the State
government under the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme. The MHA also
reimburses the cost incurred on maintenance of designated camps for insurgent groups.

Assam has suspension of operations agreements going with 13 insurgent groups, which
include the ULFA (Pro-Talk), the NDFB (Progressive), and the NDFB (RD) among others.
The number of cadres living in the camps run for the various insurgent groups is around
12,000. The Government has been in talks with some of these groups for over 14 years.
Other States such as Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura also have similar
agreements with 10 other insurgent groups.

View of Union Government

)f we increase the stipend for surrendered militants in one State, we will have to amend
the rules in other States such as Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura. The demand
for increase in stipend is steep and it will be a huge burden on the exchequer, a senior
Home Ministry official said.

In 2015-16, the MHA released Rs. 280 crore from SRE funds for Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura,
Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland. Of this Rs. 140 crore was released to Assam
alone.

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107. 14 killed as Bodo rebels attack market in Kokrajhar

At least 14 people, including one militant were killed, and over 20 injured when suspected
Bodo militants attacked market in Kokrajhar district in Assam.

About Kokrajhar district

The Kokrajhar district is a Bodo-dominated area and has been a centre of ethnic conflicts
for a long time.
The mastermind behind the attack is suspected to be the National Democratic Front of
Bodoland (NDFB).

Security forces and the police said the NDFB(S) was not in talks with the government. This
group is against the peace talks. Intelligence agencies reckon that the attack may be in
retaliation to the killing of a leader of the faction last month.

About NDFB
The National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) is an armed separatist outfit which
seeks to obtain a sovereign Bodoland for the Bodo people in Assam, India. It is designated
as a terrorist organisation by the Government of India.

NDFB traces its origin to Bodo Security Force, a militant group formed in 1986. The group
has carried out several attacks in Assam, targeting non-Bodo civilians as well as the
security forces.

108. 1.3 million pellets used in 32 days in J&K by CRPF

Response of CRPF
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) told the Jammu and Kashmir High Court that it
used 1.3 million pellets in 32 days in Kashmir to control street protests.

In response to a public interest litigation seeking a ban on pellet guns that has left more
than injured in their eyes, the CRPF in its affidavit admitted that it was difficult to
follow the standard operating procedure (SOP) given the nature of the protests.

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Need of Pellet Guns
Pellet guns were introduced in 2010 as an accepted weapon of riot control. In case this
(pellet shotgun) is withdrawn, the CRPF would have no recourse in extreme situations but
to open fire with rifles, which may cause more fatalities.

The CRPF said it has used types of less lethal and non-lethal munitions to control
crowds, including oleoresin grenades, pepper balls, stun grenades and electric shells. The
CRPF, while admitting that the weapon should be aimed below the waist, argued that the
situation prevailing on the streets during the ongoing law and order incident is
uncontrollable.

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SPORTS
109. After dismal Rio show, PM forms task force to plan for next
three Olympics

Task Force
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the setting up of a task force which will help to
plan for the effective participation of )ndian sportspersons in the next three Olympics, to
be held in 2020, 2024 and 2028.

He made the announcement at the monthly meeting of the Union Council of Ministers and
said the structure of the task force would be in place in the next few days.

Functions expected of Task Force

The task force will prepare an overall strategy for facilities, training, selection procedures
and other related matters.

India s Performance at Last Two Olympics

India had to content itself with two medals in the Rio Olympics, although a larger number
of sportspersons qualified for the 2016 Games than for the previous events. The medal
tally, however, came down from six in London Olympics of 2012 to just two.

110. Olympic flag arrives in Tokyo

Japan s capital Tokyo gears up to host the Olympics Games.

Tokyo last hosted the summer Olympics in 1964

Setbacks to Preparations
. Tokyo s Olympic preparations have suffered high-profile setbacks including soaring
costs which could potentially double or even triple from the reported original forecast of
$7.14 billion.

2. Redesign of the Games logo after accusations of plagiarism.

3. French prosecutors have also launched an investigation into alleged bribes linked to
Tokyo s winning Olympic bid, which organisers have denied.

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The Games were awarded to Tokyo in 2013, with expectations that they would be a model
of efficiency with the city touting itself as a peaceful, reliable, safe, and stable one.

111. Rio Olympics

The 2016 Summer Olympics officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad and
commonly known as Rio 2016, is a major international multi-sport event in the tradition of
the Olympic Games as governed by the International Olympic Committee, held in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil. Opening rounds in certain events began on 3 August 2016 two days
before the opening ceremonyand the Games were held from 5 August to 21 August 2016.

Participation
More than 11,000 athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), including first
time entrants Kosovo and South Sudan, took part. With 306 sets of medals, the games
featured 28 Olympic sports, including rugby sevens and golf, which were added by the
International Olympic Committee in 2009. These sporting events took place at 33 venues in
the host city as well as at five venues in the cities of So Paulo (Brazil's largest city), Belo
Horizonte, Salvador, Braslia (Brazil's capital), and Manaus.

Organisation
Rio became the first South American city to host the Summer Olympics.

Controversies
The lead-up to these Games have been marked by controversies, including the instability of
the country's federal government; health and safety concerns surrounding the Zika virus
and significant pollution in the Guanabara Bay; and a doping scandal involving Russia,
which has affected the participation of its athletes in these Games.

112. 2016 Rio Olympics comes to an end

The 31st Summer Olympics (or 2016 Rio Olympics) hosted by Brazilian City, Rio de Janeiro
ended. The games had seen participations from 205 countries, including a first-ever
refugee team featuring in 306 events of 42 sporting disciplines.

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Key Facts

Medals Tally: United States ended the Games at the top of the medals tally. They
finished with 46 Gold, 37 Silver and 38 Bronze.
Great Britain finished on second spot with 27 Gold, 23 Silver and 17 bronze. China
finished on third position with a tally of 26 Gold, 18 Silver and 26 Bronze.

India finished at joint 67th position with Mongolia in the medals tally with two medals.
They were won by Sakshi Malik (Bronze medal in 58 kg weight class of Wrestling) and PV
Sindhu (Silver medal in Badminton).

113. Sindhu wins Silver Medal at Olympics

The final of the women s singles Badminton won by World No. Carolina Marin Spain .

P.V. Sindhu emerged the first woman athlete from the country to earn such an honour at
the Games, the second Indian to win a badminton medal after Saina Nehwal Bronze
(London 2012) and emulate the similar deeds of Rajvardhan Rathore (Athens 2004), Sushil
Kumar and Vijay Kumar (London 2012).

PV Sindhu has been trained by Ex- badminton player Pullela Gopi Chand.

114. Sakshi Malik, first woman wrestler from India to bag an

Olympic medal in wrestling

After ending )ndia s agonising wait for an Olympic medal at the Rio Games with a bronze
medal, wrestler Sakshi Malik said it was the result of her 12 years of persistent hard work.

Sakshi scripted history by becoming the first woman wrestler from India to bag an Olympic
medal and only fourth female athlete from the country to climb up the podium at the
biggest sporting event.

About Sakshi Malik

The 23-year-old from Haryana, a silver medallist at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth
Games and bronze winner at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, earned a dramatic come-
from-behind 8- win over Kyrgysztan s Aisuluu Tynybekova in the bronze medal play-off.

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115. Evaluation of Performance at Rio Olympics

Comparison with London Olympics

When India won six medals at the 2012 London Olympics, it was considered a watershed
moment. The significance of this accomplishment lay in the fact that until then the country
had earned a sum total of just seven individual medals.

The performance was expected to provide a springboard for future successes. Four years
hence, on the back of heightened expectations and hopes of a double-digit tally, how should
a return of two medals from the Rio Olympics be assessed? India shared 67th Rank with
Mongolia in final Olympics Tally.

Assesment
There were a few near-misses Dipa Karmakar and Abhinav Bindra both finishing fourth,
Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna losing the bronze medal match, the women s archery team
coming close, and men s hockey showing substantial improvement. Yet, it was no doubt
underwhelming from the largest contingent of Indian athletes at the Olympics ever.

This leads to questions about the lack of a sporting culture . Does )ndia have the
infrastructure and coaching facilities to produce medal winners consistently?

Lack of Sporting facilities

)ndia s lone individual gold-medallist Bindra, alluding to the vastly improved performance
by the British athletes backed by massive funding, says one must not expect much until we
put systems in place .
However, developing a sporting culture means more than improving facilities.

View of Sports in India

It demands that people cease to see sport in archaic terms, of being nothing more than a
pastime. While it is true that it cannot be a substitute for life-subsistence needs of the
disadvantaged, the disdain for it transcends classes. It is important to understand that
modern-day sport is professional at its core and helps in creating jobs and businesses. It is
also an important tool for human resource development. In fact, the success of P.V. Sindhu
and Sakshi Malik is representative of what a good sporting culture can achieve.

In addition to shooting, badminton and wrestling enjoy more patronage than other Olympic
sporting events. But it is also enabled by parents and coaches willing to show faith and
patience in their wards.

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Question:
Give a brief facts about India s Performance in Olympics. Also evaluate the
reasons why India could won only two medals at Rio despite winning six
medals at London Olympics?

116. Narsingh Yadav given clean chit by NADA but banned by

Court of Arbitration for Sport

Decision of NADA
Wrestler Narsingh Yadav was cleared by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) of
doping charges, allowing him to participate in the Rio Olympics, which are scheduled to
begin from 5 August.

Background
Earlier this month, Yadav had tested positive for a banned steroid in a routine test, which
had put a halt to his dream of going to Rio. The 26-year-old, however, maintained that he
had been framed by his opponents in a conspiracy.

Basis of decision by NADA

The NADA today ruled that the wrestler was a victim of "sabotage" and deserved the
benefit of doubt. The Wrestler has never been charged of doping in the past.

Final decision at Court of Arbitration for Sport

Indian wrestler Narsingh Yadav has been ousted from Olympics as the CAS slapped him
with a four-year ban, while hearing into the World Anti-Doping Agency's appeal against the
clean chit given to him in a dope scandal by NADA.

Sequence of events
"WADA filed an urgent application before the CAS ad hoc Division to challenge the decision
of NADA India to exonerate Narsingh Yadav following two positive anti-doping tests with
methandienone on June 25 and July 5. The athlete asserted that he was the victim of
sabotage (food/drink tampering) by another person. WADA requested that a four-year
period of ineligibility be imposed on the athlete," the CAS said in a statement.

"The CAS panel did not accept the argument of the athlete that he was the victim of
sabotage and noted that there was no evidence that he bore no fault, nor that the anti-
doping rule violation was not intentional. Therefore the standard four-year period of
ineligibility was imposed by the panel," the statement added.

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The embattled 74kg category grappler has maintained that his scandalous dope test was a
result of conspiracy by rivals who spiked his food or drinks.

Having grabbed the quota by virtue of his bronze in Las Vegas 2015, Narsingh's road to Rio
was fraught with obstacles after he was named to represent India ahead of double Olympic-
medallist Sushil Kumar.
Sushil dragged Narsingh to Delhi High Court and a bitter courtroom tussle followed but the
judgement went in latter's favour.

There was more drama in store for the Asian Games bronze-medallist after he returned
positive for a banned steroid following a dope test in June by the NADA.Days before the
Olympics, Narsingh was cleared of doping charges by the NADA who said the wrestler was
indeed a victim of 'sabotage' and deserved the benefit of doubt.

However, his hopes were dealt a massive blow when WADA challenged the NADA's
decision and moved the CAS amid speculation that the wrestler may face a ban up to four
years.

117. Wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt s London Olympics bronze

medal upgraded to silver medal

)ndian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt s bronze medal from the London Summer Olympics
has been upgraded to silver. This up gradation comes after second-place finisher and silver
medalist late Besik Kudukhov from Russia was stripped off his medal for failing a dope test.

Kudukhov was found to have used a banned substance in a test conducted by the World
Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). He had died in a car crash in 2013 in southern Russia. As a
result, Yogeshwar, who had bagged a bronze medal in men s kg freestyle category in the
London Games, has now joined Sushil Kumar as the other silver medalist wrestler from the
Olympics. With this up gradation, )ndia s silver medal tally in Olympics has gone to
five.

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118. Sindhu, Sakshi, Dipa, Jitu Rai to get Rajiv Gandhi Khel
Ratna Award

The government conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2016 to Olympic medallists.
First time the nation's highest sporting award has been conferred on four athletes.
1. P.V. Sindhu (Badminton)
2. Sakshi Malik (Wrestling)
3. Dipa Karmakar (Gymnastics)
4. Jitu Rai. (Shooting)

About Rajiv Gandhi Award

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award is the highest sporting honour of the republic of India. The
award is named after Rajiv Gandhi, former PM of India. It is awarded annually by
the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The recipient(s) is/are selected by a committee
constituted by the Ministry and is honoured for their "spectacular and most outstanding
performance in the field of sports over a period of four years at international level. As of
2016, the award comprises a medallion, a certificate, and a cash prize of 7.5 lakh.

Dronacharya Award
Bishweshwar Nandi (Dipa Karmakar's coach) and 5 others

About Dronacharya Award

Dronacharya Award is an award presented by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and
Sports, government of India for excellence in sports coaching. The award comprises
a bronze statuette of Dronacharya, a scroll of honour and a cash component of Rs.5,00,000.

Apart from Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Dronacharya award, Fifteen sportspersons will be
honoured with the Arjuna Award and three with the Dhyan Chand Award.

About Arjuna Award

The Arjuna Awards are given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, government of
India to recognize outstanding achievement in National sports. Instituted in 1961, the
award carries a cash prize of Rs. 500,000, a bronze statue of Arjuna and a scroll.

About Dhyan Chand Award

Dhyan Chand Award is the India's highest award for lifetime achievement in sports and
games, given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. The award

127
is named after the legendary Indian hockey player Dhyan Chand. The award was initiated
in 2002. The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 500,000, a plaque and a scroll of honour.

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Relevant for Prelims Only
119. Sakshi brand ambassador for the Beti padhao beti bachao
programme of the Haryana government

The Chief Minister announced that Ms. Malik would be the brand ambassador for the Beti
padhao beti bachao programme of the government.

120. Kamal Haasan to get prestigious French honour

Actor Kamal Haasan will be awarded the Chevalier de L'Ordre Arts et Lettres (The Knight
of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government. The Order is part of France s
premier award, the Legion of Honor.

About the award

The order of merit is awarded to recognize eminent artists and writers, as well as people
who have contributed significantly to furthering the arts in France and throughout the
world.

The Order has three ranks chevalier (knight), officier (officer), commandeur
(commander) and two high offices.

Other Indians who have been conferred the Chevalier Order include actors Sivaji Ganesan,
Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Nandita Das and Shah Rukh Khan.

121. Indo-Canadian Sikh MP becomes 1st woman House leader

of Canada

Indo-Canadian Sikh MP Bardish Chagger has been named as the new Leader of the
government in Canada s (ouse of Commons, becoming the first woman to hold the post in
the country s history.

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Ms. Chagger, the 36-year-old Waterloo MP and Minister of Small Business and Tourism,
was among 19 Indian-origin candidates who won in last year s general election.

The latest development makes her the first woman in Canadian history to hold the job of
guiding government legislation through Parliament.

She will retain her title as the Minister along with the new role. She is one of the four Sikh
Canadians inducted into Trudeau s Cabinet besides Defence Minister (arjit Sajjan a
combat veteran who did three tours in Afghanistan as a member of the Canadian Armed
Forces, Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi and Innovation Minister Navdeep Singh
Bains.

122. Gallantary Awards

In all, 82 Gallantry Awards have been awarded this year to armed forces personnel and
members of paramilitary forces. They include one Ashok Chakra, 14 Shaurya Chakras, 63
Sena Medals (Gallantry), two Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry) and two Vayu Sena Medals
(Gallantry).

Havildar Hangpan Dada, who died in Kupwara on May 27 after killing three terrorists, has
been awarded Ashok Chakra, while Lt. Col. Niranjan Ek of the National Security Guard, who
died during Pathankot operations, was awarded Shaurya Chakra on the eve of
Independence Day by President Pranab Mukherjee.

Details of achievements
Hav. Dada, 36, hailed from Boduria village in Arunachal Pradesh and was posted in the high
mountain north Kashmir since late last year. On May 26, 2016 as four heavily armed
terrorists sneaked in across the Line of Control, Hav. Dada along with his team was tasked
to chase and trap the fleeing terrorists. The ex-commando moved quickly in the
inhospitable, snow-bound high altitude terrain and blocked the escape route of the
terrorists, the Army said in a statement. In the ensuing action, Hav. Dada killed three
terrorists singlehandedly despite being injured and his action led to elimination of the
fourth terrorist.

Lt. Col. Niranjan Ek from the Corps of Engineers was with the NSG during the terrorist
attack on the Pathankot airbase in January. An improvised explosive device (IED) attached
to the body of one of the slain terrorists accidentally went off killing him and injuring four
others.

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About Gallantry Awards
Wartime gallantry awards
1. Param Vir Chakra Highest military award for, equivalent to the Victoria Cross (which
was replaced once India gained its independence).
2. Maha Vir Chakra The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) is the second highest military decoration
in India and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy,
whether on land, at sea or in the air.
3. Vir Chakra Third in precedence in the awards for wartime gallantry

Peacetime gallantry awards

1. Ashok Chakra Award An Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous
action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield. It is the peacetime equivalent of the Param
Vir Chakra.
2. Kirti Chakra Second in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards.
3. Shaurya Chakra Third in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards.

Wartime/Peacetime service and gallantry awards

Sena Medal / Nao Sena Medal / Vayusena Medal

123. Kudankulam unit: Single largest Unit

Nearly 28 years after Russia and India signed the agreement to set up the plant, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister
Jayalalithaa did the honours through a video conference organised from Moscow, Delhi,
Chennai, and Kudankulam.

The 1,000-MWe KNPP- is the largest single unit of electrical power in )ndia. At
Kudankulam alone, five more units of 1,000 MWe each are planned, Mr. Modi said.

124. Kolkata scientist gets global green award

At a time when East Kolkata Wetlands, a swathe of water bodies spanning over 100 sq. km.,
is fast shrinking due to illegal filling of fishponds, the scientist who mapped the area and
calculated its economic value has received one of the highest international awards in

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environmental leadership.

The steering committee of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources (IUCN) informed Dr. Dhrubajyoti Ghosh, the first Indian environmental activist
to receive the Luc Hoffman award, about the recognition. Dr. Ghosh, formerly the chief
environment officer of the State government, was the key architect to map the wetlands
and name it.

About Global Green Award (also known as Global Green Award)

The Luc Hoffmann Award, named in honor of one of the foremost leaders in conservation
over the past 50 years, recognizes individuals who have made an exceptional contribution
to conserving ecosystems.

Past winners:
2012: Germano Woehl Jr.
2014: Eduard Zanen
Hans Lukas "Luc" Hoffmann (23 January 1923 21 July 2016) was a Swiss ornithologist,
conservationist, and philanthropist. He co-founded the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), helped
establish the Ramsar Convention for the protection of wetlands and set up the Tour du
Valat research centre in the Camargue area of France. In 2012, Luc Hoffmann's MAVA
Foundation, along with WWF International, established the Luc Hoffmann Institute. He was
the author of more than 60, mostly ornithological, books.

125. Defence Ministry sanctioned construction of National

War Memorial, War Museum in New Delhi

The Union Defence Ministry has sanctioned the construction of a National War Memorial
and National War Museum in New Delhi. The National War Memorial will honour the
memory of all soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces who have made the ultimate sacrifice for
the nation.

The selected site of the memorial is located in the heart of New Delhi, within the C-Hexagon
that lies in the close vicinity of India Gate and Chattri.

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126. SR Nathan: former longest-serving Singapore President
of Indian-origin passes away

The Indian-origin former Singapore President S.R. Nathan passed away days after suffering
a stroke. He was 92. He was the sixth and longest-serving President of Singapore. He was
closely associated with the country s founding leader Lee Kuan Yew.

About S.R Nathan

1. Born as Sellapan Ramanathan on 3 July 1924 in the family of Indian Tamil descent in
Straits Settlements of Singapore.

2. He had served as President of Singapore for two terms from 1999 to 2011. He was
elected unopposed as President for first time in August 1999.

3. He officially stepped down in August 2011 after announcing that he would not seek a
third term.

Awards and honours: Government of India had conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman
(Overseas Indian Award) upon him in 2012 in recognition of his contribution in building
closer links between India and Singapore.

Nita Ambani becomes first Indian woman member of IOC

Noted sports promoter and founder chairperson of Reliance Foundation, Nita Ambani was
elected as an individual member of International Olympic Committee (IOC).

With this, she becomes the first Indian woman to join the prestigious body which governs
Olympic sports in the world.

Key Facts

Nita Ambani is only current active individual member of the IOC from India and shall serve
at the high-profile world body until she attains the age of 70.

Nita Ambani spearheads all sports initiatives of Reliance Industries , notably cricket,
football, kabaddi, basketball, tennis and golf either through company, foundation or its joint
ventures.

About International Olympic Committee (IOC)

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The IOC is the supreme authority of the Olympic Movement headquartered at Lausanne,
Switzerland.

It ensures the regular celebration of the Olympic Games, supports all affiliated member
organisations of the Olympic Movement and strongly encourages, by appropriate means,
the promotion of the Olympic values.

127. World s Longest Glass Bridge in China

The world s longest and highest glass bridge metres long, metres high in the
Hunan province of China.

The world s longest and highest glass bridge which has set ten world records for its design
and construction has been opened for visitors in China s (unan Province.

The 430-meter long, six-meter wide bridge, paved with 99 panes of three-layer transparent
glasses, hangs between two steep cliffs 300 meters above the ground.

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