November 2016 Editorial Full - FINAL

NEWS
NOVEMBER 2016
Sr. No. TOPIC NEWS Pg. No.
A. INDEX 1-9
I. CULTURE 1. A.P. develops cold feet over cultural centre near 10
Buddhist site
2. Lost Chandrabhaga river flowed in Odisha:
Study
3. Airborne lasers to throw light on Rajgirs
history
4. Cut derogatory references to Nadars in
textbook: MP
5. Balamuralikrishna, maestro of Carnatic music,
passes away
6. Nalanda University gets new governing board
7. Xuan Zang stayed in Vijayawada to study
Buddhist scriptures
II. HISTORY 1. BJP vows to cancel Tipu Jayanthi in 24 hours 13

if voted to power
III. GEOGRAPHY 1. First titanium project begins test production in 13

Odisha
2. Swimmers attempt 7-hr crawl across shrinking
Dead Sea
3. The flash floods in Kerala come from a distance
IV. AGRICULTURE 1. TNs new mantra: kill pests with insects 16

2. Centre increases MSP for rabi crops
V. POLITY-BILL / ACT 1. After shutting liquor shops, Bihar seeks 17

suggestions on prohibition
2. Diluted HIV Bill leaves activists shocked
3. HIV community rejects AIDS Bill in current
form
4. The HIV bill falls short
5. Industries should use recycled groundwater
VI. POLITY- 1. Retired judges to wield the gavel again 20

JUDICIARY 2. Govt. returns 43 names cleared for HC judges
3. SC Collegium stands by 43 names rejected by
govt.
4. Judiciary failed to fill 4,937 vacancies in lower
courts: Centre
5. Even nil vacancies wont cut backlog: Report
6. SC fears riots, says people are frantic due to
demonetization
7. Apex court slams Centre over Lokpal
8. SC verdicts talked tough against security
personnel on fake encounters
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9. Dont aggravate Maoist situation, find peaceful
solution: SC
10. Sack 70-year-old cricket bosses, says Lodha
Committee
11. Why import a Roman-type gladiator sport, asks
SC
12. SC sets up panel on night shelters
13. Lesser wages for equal work is violation of
human dignity: SC
14. Supreme Court to hear petition on making yoga
compulsory in school
15. Form nodal agency to check online pre-natal
sex selection ads: SC
16. Plea against use of word Dalit by media, HC
seeks Centres reply
17. HC orders winding up of Kingfisher Airlines
18. Disclosure of names of big loan defaulters
pointless: SC
19. Religion has claimed more lives than politics,
says CJI
20. SC refuses to order probe into Sahara-Birla
papers
21. Supreme Court bans sale of firecrackers in
National Capital Region
22. BJP, Cong. get nod to recall FCRA appeals
VII. POLITY-CENTER- 1. Expenditure by States on key sectors remains 36

STATE flat
VIII. POLITY-INTER 1. Ken-Betwa project hangs on forest nod 37

STATE RIVERS 2. Punjab law to stop sharing Ravi, Beas waters
illegal: SC
IX. POLITY- 1. PM makes a pitch for concurrent elections 40

ELECTIONS
X. POLITY - CAG 1. CAG flags tax breaks for companies 41
XI. POLITY- 1. Not consulted on scrapping drug pricing 41

REGULATORY agency: Chairman
BODIES
XII. GOVERNANCE 1. High drama after veteran commits suicide over 42
OROP
2. Banned Mandrax tablets seized in Udaipur
3. FCRA licenses of 11,000 NGOs expire
4. Ban on NDTV India on hold
5. Centre mulls changes to BPO scheme on tepid
response
XIII. E-GOVERNANCE 1. WhatsApp governance works wonders for 45

Bengaluru
2. Exclusive e-platform soon for payments to govt.
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XIV. CIVIL SERVICES 1. Govt. accepts pay panel clause on increment 46
cut
XV. SOCIAL 1. Kairana exodus national issue, says Hukum 48

Singh
XVI. SOCIAL-WOMEN 1. Now, Kerala govt. favours entry of women into 48

Sabarimala temple
XVII. SOCIAL- 1. Dont burden teachers with non-academic 49

EDUCATION work: CBSE
2. More differently abled attend schools than
before: Census
3. 75 per cent score is a must for NIT seat
XVIII. SOCIAL-HEALTH 1. Unhealthy lifestyle major risk factor of stroke 51

2. Expert team to probe Odisha encephalitis
deaths
3. Lack of wait list for donor organs, a matter of
concern
XIX. ECONOMY 1. Cess plan could mean 10 different GST rates 53

2. Council fixes 4-level GST rate structure
3. GST transmission clause spooks industry
4. Low inflation fuels rate cut hopes
5. SEBI eases rules for angel funds
6. 'Global situation not to blame for fall in
exports'
7. Startups capital drying up: Study
8. PF claims in cases of death set to be settled in a
week
9. Inoperative EPF accounts to fetch 8.8 per cent
interest
10. Rupee slumps to record low; nears 69/dollar
11. RBI takes measures to absorb excess liquidity
12. Bitcoin adoption in India sees surge
13. Centre forms committee to push cashless
transactions
XX. ECONOMY - 1. Rs. 500, Rs. 1000 currency notes no longer legal 61
DEMONETISATION tender
2. New notes to cost RBI more than Rs. 12,000
crore
3. Move was in the pipeline for months
4. Demonetisation to hit terror financing hard
5. Currency recall version 3.0 also has same story
to tell
6. Currency demonetisation has precedence in
India, elsewhere
7. New Rs. 100 and Rs. 50 notes also in the
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pipeline
8. PMO pushed to print new notes in India, says
official
9. Plea in SC seeks quashing of demonetisation
decision
10. Supreme Court refuses to stay demonetisation
notification
11. Is demonetisation safe in law?
12. Cooperative banks to move apex court against
RBI curbs
13. Notes were printed only after Sept. 4
14. UPA government also proposed it, we said no
15. Economists see short-term pain, long-term
gain
16. Task Force led by Mundra formed to
recalibrate ATMs
17. Card usage surges, micro-lending grinds to a
halt
18. Employers, workers left in a quandary
19. For jute workers in Kolkata, the seams come
undone
20. Give tax breaks for digital payments, says Niti
Aayog
21. Rs. 35,000 cr. to ease rural cash crunch
22. Go digital in mission mode, Jaitley tells banks
23. Jaitley takes up cudgels for Urjit
24. Tax defaulters get another chance
XXI. INFRASTRUCTURE 1. Protest against Bengaluru steel flyover project 72

intensifies
2. Airfares to soar as Centre slaps levy
3. AERA to hold talks on new airport tariff
4. Higher funds for smaller aircraft on regional
routes
5. U.P. opens autobahn to Agra with an air show
6. Your rail journey is set to get smoother, safer
and smoke-free
XXII. S&T -HEALTH 1. Herbal compound promises cure for liver 75

cancer
2. Blood test to detect drug-resistant TB
3. Good cholesterol may not help with heart
disease
4. Flu infection depends on the year you were
born, says study
5. Band-aid-like sensor can monitor heart health
6. New eye test method to prevent vision loss
7. Zebrafish offers hope for spinal cord repair
8. Brain implants help paralysed monkeys walk
9. WHO: Zika no longer a public health
emergency
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10. Pharma companies owning up to the onus of
Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR)
11. Discovery of special stem cells in fruit flies to
help study diseases
12. PETA urges shift to non-animal produced
antitoxins
13. The stealth superbug, decoded
14. H5N8 expands its reach
15. Poor diet sees scurvy reappear in Australia
XXIII. S&T - SPACE 1. Develop cheaper satellite launch vehicles 86

2. ISRO adopts drought-hit Brahmasandra to
help farmers
3. India joins CERN as an associate member
4. Bullish investors back Team Indus moon shot
5. ISRO drones help map disasters in north-east
6. Antrixs major revenues will come from
satcom business
7. Spinal fluid changes harm astronauts vision
8. NASA builds telescope 100 times more
powerful than Hubble
9. Novembers supermoon will be biggest and
brightest in 60 years
10. New light on dark matter
11. Paving the way to backpack-sized gravimetry
XXIV. S&T - IT 1. IIT team builds solution that weeds out 98

clickbait headlines
2. Commercial apps will soon be able to strike
open data gold
3. Pune researchers fabricate a flexible
nanogenerator for wearable electronics
4. Pune researchers turn insulating MOFs into
semiconductors
5. Chennai team turns leather waste into carbon
for electrodes
6. Why does the ink in an ATM slip fade after
some days? How can we preserve it?
XXV. S&T- 1. Scientists tweak photosynthesis to up crop yield 102

BIOTECHNOLOGY 2. Master control genes help worms regrow parts
XXVI. S&T - ENERGY 1. New super battery made from junkyard metal 103
2. Hungry bacteria can extract energy from
sewage
3. The world of aviation did not believe that a
solar-powered plane could be made
XXVII. S&T - ANTARCTICA 1. India begins to drill into the Antarctic ice 105
XXVIII. S&T - CHEMISTRY 1. Researchers aim to scoop out marine oil spills 106
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2. IIT team with a Midas touch, on a nano-scale
3. A clue into making of biodegradable plastic
XXIX. ENVIRONMENT 1. Himalayan projects face flood risk 107

CLIMATE 2. At CoP 22, India will highlight climate impact
on Himalayas
3. Construction banned near Uttarakhand
glaciers
4. Indias carbon emission increased by over 5%
in 2015
5. World likely to cross 1.2C global warming
level this year
6. No nod for using Russian aircraft for Cusat
project
XXX. ENVIRONMENT - 1. Govt unveils roadmap to tackle air pollution 112

POLLUTION 2. Govt. shuts schools as Delhi chokes
3. To combat air pollution, NGT comes out with a
range of directions
4. Make enforcement stricter
5. Centre asked to frame incentive policy for
scrapping vehicles
6. Smog could return
7. India overtook China in number of deaths due
to pollution: Report
8. Australias Great Barrief Reef sees largest coral
die-off ever
XXXI. ENVIRONMENT - 1. Global conservation team visits Odishas 117

BIODIVERSITY Bhitarkanika park
2. Goa bird festival calling all nature enthusiasts
3. Migratory painted storks sighted at salt pans
4. Mudumalai redraws eco-tourism map
5. Can herbivores from Nagarahole be prey for
tigers in Kali reserve?
6. Uttarakhand accounts for one-third of tigers
outside reserves: Study
7. Annual temple fest in Bandipur irks activists
8. This cat is so small, science is forgetting it
XXXII. DISASTER 1. Kerala state declared drought-hit 126

MANAGEMENT 2. Old coaches turn death traps
XXXIII. SECURITY 1. NIA to HC: No objection to Sadhvi Pragyas 128

bail plea
2. SIMI men had no guns: Witnesses
3. Broken fences, open gate: The jail hardly posed
a challenge
4. Armed Forces Act extended in Assam by six
months
5. Centre extends AFSPA to check Naga factions
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6. Court asks J&K govt. to protect schools
7. Kashmir Valley back to life after shutdown
8. Terrorists diary may change the course of Uri
case
9. 2016 turns annus horribilis for security forces
in J&K
10. Armed men free Khalistani leader
11. Your flight plan may soon be under govt. watch
12. Low-risk flier? Security at airports will now
be a breeze
XXXIV. CYBER-SECURITY 1. The thrill of saving India from cybercrime 136
XXXV. DEFENCE 1. DRDO still aims for Kaveri in LCA 137

2. Agni-I missile test-fired
3. Parrikars remarks can be mistaken: Experts
XXXVI. CORRUPTION 1. Huge bribes paid to Indian arms dealers 140

2. Is the arms deal trail destined to go cold?
3. Blacklisting policy for tainted defence deals
approved
XXXVII. MONEY 1. Serious on Panama Papers probe: Govt. 142

LAUNDERING
XXXVIII. BILATERAL 1. India denies Pak. claims of submarine intrusion 144
INDIA-PAKISTAN 2. 2 jawans killed in Pakistan firing
3. Militants mutilate soldiers body, kill 2 others
in ambush
4. After Indias retaliation, an alarmed Pakistan
moves UN
5. 7 soldiers, 6 militants killed in twin attacks near
Jammu
6. Hydel projects: World Bank asks India, Pak. to
agree to mediation
XXXIX. BILATERAL 1. Xuan Zang to build another bridge to India 150

INDIA-CHINA 2. ITBP, Chinese forces face-off in Demchok over
water project
3. Face-off at Leh ends as India finishes work on
irrigation project
4. India-China border talks slated for next year
5. India is non-committal on market economy
tag for China
6. China agrees to import rice from 17 mills in
India
7. After G-20 summit, China sees India as partner
to shore up global economy
8. Dalai Lama visits Mongolia despite Chinas
objections
XL. BILATERAL 1. India-Japan nuclear deal: Will India accept a 156

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INDIA-JAPAN nullification clause?
2. India signs landmark civil nuclear deal with
Japan
3. Deal or no deal? India, Japan wrangle over N-
pact note
XLI. BILATERAL 1. India opens IITs to Nepal students 159

INDIA-NEPAL 2. Avoid interference: Nepal to India
XLII. BILATERAL 1. Hotline to address fishermen issue 161

INDIA-SRI LANKHA 2. Sri Lanka wants an end to bottom trawling
3. T.N. fishermen injured in firing by Lankan
Navy
XLIII. BILATERAL 1. India, Bangladesh joint exercise 164

INDIA- 2. Hindu villages come under attack again
BANGLADESH 3. Bangladesh to honour 1,668 martyrs of the
Indian Army
XLIV. BILATERAL 1. Turkey wants India to start free trade pact 165
INDIA-TURKEY talks soon
XLV. BILATERAL INDIA- 1. India to restore grounded aircraft in 166

AFGHANISTAN Afghanistan
XLVI. BILATERAL 1. Israel President arrives in Mumbai on 6-day 168

INDIA-ISRAEL visit
XLVII. BILATERAL 1. May visits India under a cloud of uncertainty 169

INDIA-UK 2. U.K. govt. failing India as true partner: Corbyn
3. India seeks return of 57 fugitives from U.K.
4. Swift entry for business flyers to U.K.
5. Britain raises tax issues, India social security
taxation
6. Kohinoor represents sentiments of people
7. Britain tightens visa regulations
8. Landmark ruling deals blow to U.K.
deportation programme
XLVIII. BILATERAL 1. India and Ukraine to close gap in ties 174

INDIA-UKRAINE
XLIX. BILATERAL INDIA- 1. WHO settles India, EU medicine dispute 176
EU
L. BILATERAL 1. U.S. cautions its citizens on IS threat in India 177
INDIA-USA 2. Indias IT industry extends a cautious welcome
3. What can Trump do to your U.S. dreams?
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LI. BILATERAL 1. India to raise work permit issue with Canada, 179
INDIA-CANADA U.K.
2. We are not for building walls, says Canada
Minister
LII. BILATERAL 1. Dhruv deal with Ecuador crash-lands 180

INDIA-ECUADOR
LIII. MULTILATERAL 1. India makes fresh push to gain NSG entry 181
2. Azhar sanctions: Uri out of Indias proposal to
U.N.
3. NSG still a far cry for India as China insists on
NPT linkage
4. India hopes Bhutan will ratify vehicles pact
LIV. INTERNATIONAL - 1. IS used chemical arms 52 times in Syria, Iraq 186

ASIA 2. Syrian Army seizes northeast Aleppo
3. Lebanon deal underscores Hezbollahs clout
4. Bangladesh seeks peaceful solution to
Rohingya crisis
5. 43 dead in suicide blast at Sufi shrine in
Balochistan
6. Russia-Pak.-China forum clouds Afghan donor
meet
7. Sri Lanka to summon Chinese envoy over
controversial remarks
8. Solving problems of Tamils is my obligation:
Sirisena
LV. INTERNATIONAL 1. Gitmo, a site where even nightmares were 193

USA classified
2. Shock and awe win for Donald Trump
3. U.S. could join Chinas Belt and Road
initiative
LVI. INTERNATIONAL- 1. Fidel Castro passes away at 90 198

CUBA
LVII. INTERNATIONAL 1. Parliaments nod needed for Brexit: High 199
UK Court
2. Sweeping British spy Bill becomes law
LVIII. INTERNATIONAL - 1. Gargantuan dome set to keep Chernobyl safe 200

UKRAINE for generations
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I. CULTURE
A.P. develops cold feet over cultural centre near Buddhist site
After finding itself on a sticky wicket over allotment of 15 acres of

prime land near the famous Thotlakonda Buddhist site for
establishment of Filmnagar Cultural Centre, the government
appears to have developed cold feet.
Following vociferous protests from Buddhist monks, various social
action groups, the government at the highest level had decided to
go-slow on the project.
A huge Buddhist monastery dating back to 3rd Cenury BC is
believed to have existed atop Thotlakonda and the nearby
Bavikonda hillocks located between Visakhapatnam and the
17th century Dutch township of Bheemunipatnam.
The sites have been declared as archaeologically sensitive areas.
Lost Chandrabhaga river flowed in Odisha: Study
After an expert panel recently

confirmed the existence of the
mythical Saraswati river in
Indias northwest, scientists at the
Indian Institute of Technology,
Kharagpur, now claim to have
found evidence of another lost
Indian river.
Called Chandrabhaga, this
ancient river is believed to have
existed at a distance of about two
km from the 13th century Sun
Temple at Konark, a Unesco
World Heritage Site in Odisha.
No trace of any water body is at
present visible in the proximity of
the temple, but the mythical river
figures prominently in ancient
literature, the scientists report.
The researchers integrated
geological and geophysical
exploration in conjunction with
historical evidence and analysis of
satellite data.
Imagery from Landsat and Terra satellites of the U.S. and those obtained by NASA Space Shuttle Endeavours Radar
Topographic Mission in 2000 were used.
According to their report, satellite imagery and Google Earth images showed a sinusoidal trace, characteristic of a
typical palaeo-channel remnants of an inactive river passing north of the Sun Temple.
The existence of a palaeo-channel was further corroborated through profiling the surface using ground penetrating
radar that showed the existence of a V-shaped subsurface river valley. Field studies revealed that the palaeo-channel
is characterised by swampy lands and the area is covered with alluvium, a deposit characteristic of rivers.
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Airborne lasers to throw light on Rajgirs history
Indian archaeologists plan to deploy high-end scanning

lasers, Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), on
airborne platforms to survey the archaeological
evidence, flora and fauna in the ancient Rajgir hills in
Bihar, an area associated with Buddha.
LIDAR is a remote-sensing technique that uses laser light to
sample the surface of the earth. The LIDAR device can be
mounted on drones or on helicopters to map the area.
The modern techniques of archaeological survey involving
GPR (ground-penetrating radar) and LIDAR may help
locate some of the monuments mentioned by the Chinese
Buddhist monks Fa Hien and Xuan Zang in their
records and travelogues.
This is part of the Rajgir Archaeological Survey Project
(RASP), a collaborative project between the Bihar Heritage
Development Society, and Nalanda University in co-
ordination with Bihars Ministry of Art, Culture and Youth.
With its complex of temples and monasteries, Rajgir in
Bihars Nalanda district is one of Indias most
important tourist places for Buddhist pilgrims.
The city of Rajgir was the first capital of the Magadha
empire.
Buddha not only spent many years in Rajgir but also
delivered sermons here.
His teachings were penned at Rajgir and it was also the
venue for the first Buddhist Council.
The region is also associated with Jainism.
Cut derogatory references to Nadars in textbook: MP
An MP from Tamil Nadu, has urged Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar to remove
derogatory references to the Nadar community of the State from the Class 9 social science textbook followed by
the CBSE.
I would like to bring to your kind notice [that] Standard IX CBSE social science book, page no. 168, clearly brings
derogatory remarks about the Nadar community, referred [to] as Shanars which is an abusive word and a
socially stigmatised concept, the letter said. The Nadar community is not a lower caste, as mentioned in the CBSE
book; rather, they have been rulers of South India at one point of time.
The letter recalled that the veteran politician Kamaraj, a Nadar, made an immeasurable contribution to the Indian
leadership.
Balamuralikrishna, maestro of Carnatic music, passes away
Carnatic vocalist, playback singer and composer Mangalamapalli Balamuralikrishna, who burst into the music
world as a child prodigy, died recently.
He was also an accomplished violinist and once accompanied Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, the pioneer of the modern-
day Carnatic concert format.
He won the national award for best playback singer, music director and classical singer. He was awarded the Sangita
Kalanidhi award of the Music Academy. He is also a recipient of France's Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
Carnatic Music:
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern India including the modern states Andhra
Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, but also practiced in Sri Lanka.
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It is one of two main subgenres of Indian classical music that evolved from ancient Hindu traditions, the other
subgenre being Hindustani music, which emerged as a distinct form because of Persian and Islamic influences in
northern India.
The main emphasis in Carnatic music is on vocal music; most compositions are written to be sung, and even when
played on instruments, they are meant to be performed in gyaki (singing) style.
Although there are stylistic differences, the basic elements of ruti (the relative musical pitch), swara (the musical
sound of a single note), rga (the mode or melodic formul), and tala (the rhythmic cycles) form the foundation of
improvisation and composition in both Carnatic and Hindustani music.
Although improvisation plays an important role, Carnatic music is mainly sung through compositions, especially the
kriti (or kirtanam) a form developed between the 14th and 20th centuries by composers such as Purandara Dasa and the
Trinity of Carnatic music; Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri.
Nalanda University gets new governing board

A day after Nalanda University asked
university Vice-Chancellor Gopa Sabharwal to
continue as interim vice-chancellor after her
term ends on November 24 till her replacement
is found, the President has cancelled the
extension and dissolved the Nalanda Mentors
Group to pave the way for a new governing
board to be headed by the Chancellor.
The Nalanda University Act, 2010, permits only
a single one-year extension to the Vice-
Chancellor, which ends on November 24.
When the Nalanda University Act was moved
through Parliament, the NMG was to be the first
governing body of the university for one year.
After this, the NMG continued to get extensions.
The Act, however, provides for the constitution of a governing board and the present decision puts it in place.
The new governing board will be headed by the Nalanda University Chancellor George Yeo and have the Vice-
Chancellor and representatives of India, China, Australia, Laos and Thailand on it.
Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen who quit as chancellor in 2015 is no longer part of the Board.
Nalanda University was initially a Bihar government initiative to rebuild the renowned ancient seat of learning. The
State government persuaded the Manmohan Singh government to take over the project.
The Ministry of External Affairs which is the administrative ministry of this university constituted a Nalanda
Mentors Group (NMG) to run it.
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Pawapuri where Lord Mahavira, the 24th Jain Tirthankara attained Nirvana,
Xuan Zang stayed in Vijayawada to study Buddhist scriptures
Chinese Buddhist pilgrim and scholar Xuan Zang stayed a couple of years in Bezawada (the old name of
Vijayawada) to copy and study the Abhidhammapitakam, the last of the three pitakas (Pali for baskets)
constituting the Pali canon, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism.
The writings of Xuan Zang (also spelled Hsuan Tsang or Hiuen Tsang) about his travels in India are detailed
accounts of the life of the people in the 7th century.
Xuan Zang travelled to Andhradesa to visit the Viharas at Amaravathi and Nagarjunakonda around 640 C.E.
These Buddhist Viharas were converted into Hindu Cave temples during the reign of the Vishnukundins.
II. HISTORY
BJP vows to cancel Tipu Jayanthi in 24 hours if voted to power
The Karnataka-sponsored Tipu Jayanthi, on November 10, is poised for a political battle between the Congress
government and right-wing groups, with Bharatiya Janata Party State president B.S. Yeddyurappa giving a call to
party workers to observe the occasion as a black day and court arrest.
He said the BJP, if voted to power, would cancel the official celebration of Tipu Jayanthi within 24 hours, besides
banning organisations such as the Popular Front of India, which he accused of having a role in fatal attacks against
right-wing activists.
III. GEOGRAPHY
First titanium project begins test production in Odisha
The first titanium project of India being established by Saraf Group in Ganjam district of Odisha started its
test production.
After inception this plant is expected to produce 36,000 tons of titanium slag and 20,000 tons of pig iron per
year.
Its raw material, ilmenite would be procured from Odisha Sands Complex (OSCOM), a unit of Indian Rare
Earths Limited (IREL) in Ganjam district of Odisha as well as a private company which has its unit in Srikakulam of
adjoining Andhra Pradesh.
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This project had been proposed in 2005. In 2007, the then Russian Premier Viktor Ubkov had shown interest in
this project during visit of then Indian PM Manmohan Singh to Russia.
Saraf Group had signed MoUs with two Russian State-run companies for the proposed titanium project. But later
the Russian companies had backed out.
But Saraf Group had entered into a MoU with Odisha government in 2008, to take up the project on its own.
This export based industry is expected to export around 75 per cent of its produce to countries like China,
Japan. Its produce would also be used within country in ship making, aeronautics, automobile and defence
products manufacturing industries.
This titanium project of Saraf Group is coming up near Gopalpur port and the proposed SEZ of Tata Steel in the
region.
Titanium:
It is a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density and high strength.
It is highly resistant to corrosion in sea water, aqua regia, and chlorine.
The two most useful properties of the metal are corrosion resistance and the highest strength-to-density ratio of
any metallic element.
In its unalloyed condition, titanium is as strong as some steels, but less dense.
Titanium can be alloyed with iron, aluminium, vanadium, and molybdenum, among other elements, to produce
strong, lightweight alloys for aerospace (jet engines, missiles, and spacecraft), military, industrial process
(chemicals and petro-chemicals, desalination plants, pulp, and paper), automotive, agri-food, medical
prostheses, orthopedic implants, dental and endodontic instruments and files, dental implants, sporting
goods, jewelry, mobile phones, and other applications.
Swimmers attempt 7-hr crawl across shrinking Dead Sea
Swimmers from around the world plunged into the salty waters of the Dead Sea to attempt a seven-hour-swim across the
fabled lake in a bid to draw attention to its environmental degradation.
The Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth at 1,388 feet below sea level, has shrunk significantly over recent decades, a
process environmentalists blame on unsustainable water management and over-exploitation of the lakes minerals.
The Dead Seas southern basin, disconnected from the shrinking northern side, has seen flooding in recent years
because of heavy industrialisation.
It is the deepest hypersaline lake in the world.
With 34.2% salinity (in 2011), it is 9.6 times saltier than the ocean, and one of the world's saltiest bodies of water.
This salinity makes for a harsh environment in which plants and animals cannot flourish, hence its name.
The lakes high salt concentration causes bathers to float.
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Don Juan Pond:
It is a small and very shallow hypersaline lake in Antarctica.
With a salinity level of over 40%, Don Juan Pond is the saltiest known body of water on Earth.
The flash floods in Kerala come from a distance
The flash floods (Kallakadal) that wrecked havoc in the coastal areas of Kerala come furtively from a distance,
nearly 6,000 km away from the Southern Indian Ocean, scientists have concluded.
Kallakadal, as they are locally known, or flash floods that swept across the Kerala coast in 2005 caught the
scientific community and local communities off-guard. There were no apparent oceanographic reasons or
scientific explanations for the process.
During the event, the sea surges into the land and inundates vast areas to leave a trail of destruction.
While locally visible weather features like cyclones or storm surges could account for the usual coastal flooding, it is the
absence of such elements that baffled the scientists.
In 2012, UNESCO formally accepted the term for scientific use.
Studies carried out by the scientists of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad,
revealed that the flash-flooding reported along the south-west coast was caused by the swell waves coming from the
Southern Ocean.
Assessing the 2005 events and the generation mechanism and environmental conditions that caused the flooding,
researchers suggested the meteorological conditions in the Southern Indian Ocean creates helpful conditions for the
generation of long period swells. These oceanic regimes are marked by strong westerly jet streams in the atmosphere.
Sometimes, low-pressure cyclonic circulations (clockwise circulation) will be formed within these westerlies, and very
slowly they move northward...
These anomalous wind patterns, they say, have a strong northward component, and sustain over the ocean for a long
period, typically around two to three days. These strong winds and the availability of large ocean area create helpful
conditions for the generation of swells. According to the paper, these swells travel northward and reach the Indian coasts
within three to five days creating havoc in the coastal areas.
The intensity and direction of the swells can be predicted, and with advance knowledge about the tidal conditions in the
Northern Indian Ocean forecasters would be able to predict the high wave activity/Kallakkadal events in the NIO coastal
regions at least to two to three days in advance.
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IV. AGRICULTURE
TNs new mantra: kill pests with insects
The Tamil Nadu government is promoting as

well as training farmers in as many as 150
villages under the Integrated Pest
Management (IPM) programme originally
conceived by Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO).
The logic is simple: pests feeds only on
plants, whereas the beneficial insects -- such
as the spider, ground beetle, wasp, assassin
bug and damsel bug -- destroy the pests. By
using pesticides, you only end up killing the
enemies of the pest.
As part of IPM, farmers are encouraged to
plant inter-crops, border crops and trap
plants. They attract beneficial insects. We
can gradually reduce pesticides and switch over
to natural farming in five years, Mr. Selvam said.
Under IPM, a farmer can harvest, say, six quintal of cotton from one
acre. This yield may double if pesticides and fertilisers are used, but
when you take into account the input cost, the six quintals achieved
through IPM is not only profitable but also environment friendly,
explains Mr. Selvam, a senior agriculture officer and entomologist who is
training the farmers.
Though cotton was cultivated on only five percent of the total cultivable
land in the country, 50 per cent of pesticides manufactured in the
country was used to control pest in the crop.
The beneficial insects either feed on the pest or lay eggs in the body of
larvae or eggs of pests and in the process break their life cycle.
Many farmers are not aware that pests have four cycles egg, larvae,
pupa and adult and pesticides mainly target adult and larvae and the
insect in other two stages. It results in a virulent pest that is resistant to
pesticides, he said.
Mr. Selvam, who has written and lectured extensively on IPM and has visited
China, Malaysia, Philippines, Tajikistan, Mozambique and Tanzania in
connection with his training programme, said pesticides should be the last
resort as they proved extremely harmful to humans.
Paul Muller invented mosquito repellent in 1939 and it has not eradicated mosquitoes. On the other hand the
insect has developed resistance to 250 insecticides over the years, he said.
Centre increases MSP for rabi crops

In a bid to boost production of pulses, the Centre increased its minimum support price (MSP) by up to Rs. 550 per
quintal, including the bonus, while increasing the MSP for wheat by Rs. 100 to Rs. 1,625 per quintal for the rabi 2016-
17 season.
The decision to increase the MSP for rabi crops was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic
Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
To incentivise cultivation of pulses and oilseeds, the government has announced a bonus on these crops, payable
over and above the approved MSP, said a statement.
Minimum Support Price

It is the price at which government purchases crops from the farmers, whatever may be the price for the crops.
The MSP is announced by the Government of India for 25 crops currently at the beginning of each season viz. Rabi and
Kharif, on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
If there is a fall in the prices of the crops, after a bumper harvest, the government purchases at the MSP and this is the
reason that the priced cannot go below MSP. So this directly helps the farmers.
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V. POLITY-BILL / ACT
After shutting liquor shops, Bihar seeks suggestions on prohibition
A month after implementing the new stringent Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act 2016, Bihar government invited
the general public to provide feedback and suggestions regarding its provisions through email, postal mail or fax till
November 12.
The Supreme Court is to shortly hear a petition regarding prohibition in the State and the government is said to
have taken this step to avoid any embarrassment.
The prohibition law has been termed by Opposition parties as draconian and stringent.
Over 18,000 people have been sent to jail so far for violating prohibition laws since April 5 2016, when prohibition came
into effect in the state, and several lakh litres of liquor were seized.
Diluted HIV Bill leaves activists shocked
The version of the HIV Bill, set to be tabled in the Parliament during the current winter session, has shocked the HIV community as it
dilutes rights to access treatment.
Besides seeking to prevent stigma and discrimination against the HIV community, the Bill was intended to safeguard the
rights of people living with HIV by guaranteeing access to treatment.
The amendments state that the government will only focus on prevention and not treatment as far as possible.
There are approximately 21 lakh persons said to be living with HIV (PLHIV) in India and only 25 % of these PLHIV currently
receive anti-retroviral therapy (ART) treatment, as against the global percentage of 41 % according to the 2015 Global Burden
of Diseases (GBD) study.
India is the pharmacy of the developing world; it has technical capacity to produce and lower prices of all essential and life-
saving medicines.
The HIV and AIDS Bill will establish a formal mechanism to probe discrimination complaints against those who
discriminate against such people.
Establishments keeping records of information of PLHIV have been asked to adopt data protection measures as the Bill
requires that no person shall be compelled to disclose his HIV status except with his informed consent, and if
required by a court order.
The Bill lists various grounds on which discrimination against HIV-positive persons and those living with them is
prohibited. These include the denial, termination, discontinuation or unfair treatment with regard to employment,
educational establishments, health care services, residing or renting property, standing for public or private office,
and provision of insurance (unless based on actuarial studies).
HIV community rejects AIDS Bill in current form
The HIV community in India rejected the long awaited HIV/AIDS Bill in its current form and demanded removal
of the phrase as far as possible from the proposed legislation.
The crucial public health legislation is first on the list of legislative business of the Rajya Sabha with Health Minister J.P.
Nadda set to move the Bill for consideration and passing.
The current version of the HIV Bill has shocked the HIV community as it dilutes rights to access treatment.
The Bill was approved by the Cabinet in October 2016and was expected to guarantee the rights of Indias 2.4 million
HIV positive community.
Instead, the version that has been put in public domain reveals that the Bill has been amended to state that
governments are required to focus on prevention and not on treatment that too, as far as possible.
Injection safety programme

An earlier version of the Bill clarified the need to strengthen injection safety programme as IDUs (Injecting Drug
Users) can substantially reduce their risk of getting and transmitting HIV, viral hepatitis and other blood borne
infections by using a sterile needle for every injection.
However, Clause 22 of the current Bill simply states the words injection safety requirements without specifying
the rules.
Basically, if a volunteer gives sterile needles and takes back used needles from a patient, he could be picked up for
aiding and abetting unlawful use of drugs. Provision of sterile needles is seen as a crime and this Bill was expected to
clarify the needles safety guidelines. What we have now instead clarifies is completely open to interpretation, said Tripti
17 | Page
Tandon, who works with Lawyers Collective, a legal aid organisation that was a part of the drafting committee for this
Bill.
The HIV bill falls short
The version of the HIV Bill to be tabled in Parliament is a watered down version of the former bill approved by
the Cabinet.
Prevention as far as possible

In the Bill, the proposed Section 14 talks of prevention measures that the Central or State governments may take,
as far as possible, for the provision of Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) and Opportunistic Infection (OI)
Management, against the spread of HIV. Not only does the amendment not address treatment it also goes on to
provide drugs for both ART and OI as far as possible.
It has to be appreciated that before the advent of ART, HIV was a death sentence for People living with HIV (PLHIV).
The Indian government has been providing free-of-cost antiretrovirals for PLHIVs since 2004.
Today, first-line and second-line ART is available in the government programme free of cost.
Soon, the third line of treatment may be required.
Indias HIV community has legitimate apprehensions about access to life-saving medicines as up to now the
government programme has been largely funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
(GFATM). The fund is in danger of being discontinued from 2017.
The phrase as far as possible is a significant loophole in the Bill which would set the clock back to before the mid-
1990s. Without the guarantee of treatment, HIV will once again become a death sentence for patients.
As the global target moves towards ending AIDS, India will be in danger of seeing its resurgence.
Indian generic companies supply antiretrovirals to the developing world while the HIV community in the country
is left stranded. The irony is unmissable.
Thus the provision in the proposed Section 14 has to be amended to provide for guaranteed treatment.
The expression as far as possible must be deleted, as the community of PLHIV is rightly demanding.
Ombudsman jurisdiction:
The other major flaw is the amendment that is sought to be made on the scope of the ombudsmans jurisdiction,
an innovation of civil society.
The proposed Bill states that the ombudsman shall inquire into violations in the provision of health-care services.
However, the government has proposed amendments to increase the scope of the ombudsmans jurisdiction which
mandates him to enquire into all violations of the provisions of the Bill including discrimination. This would be a
disaster.
The law as drafted by civil society envisaged an ombudsman working at the district level who would attend to
complaints on health issues relating to HIV.
The original drafts envisaged a full-time person working on the issue at the district level.
Under the proposed Bill, the ombudsman is now to function at the State level. Moreover s/he can be an ordinary
government servant.
Now that the ombudsman is neither a full-time officer nor trained in judicial matters and considering the types of
issues that he would have to deal with from informed consent to discrimination etc., coupled with the huge workload
foisted on him the proposed amendment would only result in the whole mechanism becoming unworkable.
Thus the amendment as proposed by the government has to go.
Needle safety programme

Another crucial flaw deals with the needle safety programme.
The government has proposed amendment to Clause 22 of the Bill, by deleting all references to needle and syringe
exchange.
This clause of the Bill was aimed to protect volunteers and patients from illegality as providing sterile needles is
considered a crime and PLHIV and health workers can be picked up for aiding and abetting the unlawful use of
drugs.
On employment
Further, the Bill does not confer powers to civil courts in relation to employment.
As per prevailing law, only a government or a public sector employee can seek employment or reinstatement if s/he
is discriminated and not employed or illegally terminated.
18 | Page
Thus, if the person is not employed in the entities which are State as defined under the Industrial Disputes Act
s/he cannot seek employment or reinstatement if s/he has been discriminated. In such cases, a person can only go the
civil court and claim damages.
The law as originally drafted provided for specific powers to the civil court including employment and reinstatement and
compensation for loss of wages and damages.
None of this is provided in the latest version currently waiting to be passed in Parliament.
All these need to be considered positively to make the HIV Bill a game changer in India.
Industries should use recycled groundwater

Earlier this year, the Ministry had made public a draft Bill that proposed significant changes to the way
groundwater would be regulated.
This included guaranteeing every individual a certain amount of water for life and protecting groundwater from
undue exploitation and pollution as well as mandating the use of rainwater harvesting in residential projects.
However, this version of the Bill only demands that users give priority to recycling water and does not compel
companies and other stakeholders to use recycled water.
The Water Ministry is now planning amendments to the Bill on groundwater management that will impose
restrictions on how companies, farmers and various groups can use groundwater.
Industries can only use recycled water, and activities such as gardening would require the use of treated sewage
water.
Extracting pristine water from aquifiers, the norm in much of the country, would be sharply regulated.
Failing to adhere to this would invite stringent punishment.
Groundwater depletion is among the grave ecological threats that the country faces. Around 85 per cent of
drinking water and 65 per cent of water for irrigation is sourced from groundwater, said Shashi Shekhar, Secretary,
Ministry of Water Resources.
However, previous plans to address the problems have been stalled as water is a State subject and, existing laws give
the owners of a piece of land complete right over its groundwater.
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VI. POLITY-JUDICIARY
Retired judges to wield the gavel again
After a gap of six months, the Union government has agreed to a resolution passed by the judiciary to use the
services of retired High Court judges with proven integrity and track record to tackle pendency of cases.
The resolution to deal with the backlog of cases for a period of two years or the age of sixty five years, whichever
is later until a five plus zero pendency is achieved, was forwarded by the Delay and Arrears Committees of the
judiciary and had been hanging fire since April 2016.
20 | Page
The provision to use the services of retired judges is open to the Chief Justices of High Courts under Article 224A of the
Constitution with the previous consent of the President as an extraordinary measure to tide over case pile-ups.
Five plus zero is an initiative by which cases pending over five years are taken up on priority basis and their
numbers are brought down to zero.
The pendency of cases in the High Court has been stagnant for over three years; 43 per cent of the pendency is of cases of
over five years; concentration of five years plus cases in a few High Courts; and stagnant pendency figures of five years
plus cases (33.5 per cent in 2015) in district courts.
Accordingly, it was resolved that all High Courts shall assign top-most priority for disposal of cases which are pending
for more than five years.
As in June 2016, while the total sanctioned strength was 21,303, the subordinate courts were functioning with
16,192 judicial officers a shortage of 5,111.
The 24 High Courts face a shortage of nearly 450 judges. Nearly three crore cases are pending in courts across India.
Govt. returns 43 names cleared for HC judges
The Centre has returned 43 of the 77

names recommended by the
Supreme Court Collegium for
appointment of judges in High
Courts for re-consideration.
The appointments of remaining 34
names have been done. So there is
not a single file pending with us, the
Attorney General of India, Mr. Rohatgi
concluded.
In fact, Chief Justice Thakur had told
the Centre to send back the names of
candidates Collegium sent them in
case of any difference of opinion
rather than keep the entire process
of judicial appointments hanging.
Mr. Rohatgi also highlighted there
has been no word from the Supreme
Court Collegium on the draft
Memorandum of Procedure (MoP)
for judicial appointments the
government sent it on August 3.
21 | Page
Chief Justice Thakur responded that the Collegium was meeting on November 15 to discuss the MoP.
Chief Justice Thakur had criticised the government for inaction in the past nine months since a Constitution Bench
scrapped the NJAC law and asked the government to frame a new Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for Judicial
Appointments in a separate judgment on December 18, 2015.
22 | Page
SC Collegium stands by 43 names rejected by govt.
The Supreme Court Collegium, led by Chief Justice of India T.S.

Thakur, refused to accept the governments rejection of 43 names it
handpicked for judicial appointments in various High Courts.
The battle lines were drawn when the Supreme Court informed the
government that it had reiterated every one of the 43 names that
was sent back by the Centre to the Collegium for re-consideration.
The Collegium had met on November 15.
The government is now on a sticky wicket as the new Memorandum of
Procedure (MoP) is yet to be finalised. The prevalent procedure is that
once the Collegium has reiterated its recommendations, as in this
case, the government is bound to clear the names for appointment
as judges.
The government had returned the 43, out of a total 77 names,
recommended by the Collegium. The appointments of the remaining 34
names have already been completed by the government.
Judiciary failed to fill 4,937 vacancies in lower courts: Centre
As Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur yet again accused the government of delay in filling the 442 judicial
vacancies in the High Courts, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad parried the thrust on Constitution Day
by throwing the spotlight on the judiciarys lapse in appointing judges to the district and subordinate courts,
which need 10 times more judges.
The governments counter to the Supreme Courts consistently sharp criticism is a pertinent question: why is the
judiciary not filling the 4,937 judicial vacancies in the district and subordinate courts all over the country?
The total sanctioned strength of judicial officers in district and subordinate courts is 21,320 as on June 30, 2016. Of these,
16,383 have been filled, leaving 4,937 vacancies.
But even if the vacancies are all filled, the statistics of pendency in the subordinate courts continue to be staggering.
The National Judicial Data Grid shows that as on November 27, the pendency in district courts is 2,30,02468 cases (Mr.
Prasad, in his reply to the Lok Sabha, pegged the pendency numbers even higher at 2.7 crore).
Ten per cent of this pile 2,32,3781 are cases pending over 10 years.
The data show that a trial court takes anything between 94 and 822 days to dispose of criminal matters. A sessions case
takes an average of one year and two months.
As per monthly pending cases statistics released by the Supreme Court, 61,436 cases were pending in the apex court as on
October 31.
Over 38 lakh cases were pending in the High Courts as on December 31, 2015 of this 7,45,029 had been pending for
over a decade..
The joint conference found that 33.5 per cent of cases were lying stagnant for five-plus years in subordinate courts
compared with 43 per cent in the High Courts. It has been resolved that these cases would be given topmost
priority.
Judicial statistics show that 63 per cent of jail inmates awaiting justice, or even a court hearing, are undertrial
prisoners.
But, even if all vacancies are filled, lack of basic infrastructure, even courtrooms, for the new judicial officers would be a
serious handicap.
23 | Page
24 | Page
Even nil vacancies wont cut backlog: Report
A study ordered by the Supreme Court shows that more judges in the High Courts, or even filling all the vacancies
in them, does not necessarily end pendency.
Not a single High Court has been able to eliminate backlog even when vacancies are non-existent or very low (say zero
to 20 per cent), said the Supreme Court-appointed study by the National Court Management Systems Committee
(NCMSC).
The report, presented before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur, questions Chief Justice Thakurs recent
observation that 70,000 judges are required to clear pendency.
The two-year study was commissioned by the court through an order dated August 20, 2014 while hearing Imtiyaz
Ahmad versus State of Uttar Pradesh.
The court had directed the committee to study the recommendations made by the Law Commission of India on
pendency and the relation between backlog and judges strength.
In 1987, the Law Commission recommended 44,000 judges to battle backlog. The country now has only about
18,000 judges.
Effective judicial strength has not expanded adequately to meet the rising inflow of cases. In the last five years, the
number of new cases filed in the High Courts of India has increased by 24 per cent and pendency by 32 per cent.
Yet, effective judge strength has increased only by 8.5 percent, the report said.
The report calls for a long-term scientific method to assess the number of judges required in a court.
It said judges strength should be augmented after calculating the judicial hours required to hear and dispose of
cases on the basis of their individual nature and complexity.
SC seeks details of funds allocation for judiciary

The Supreme Court asked the Centre to provide a detailed break-up of how Rs. 9,749 crore was allocated by the
14th Finance Commission to improve the justice delivery system in the States.
Expressing concern about the dismal lack of courtrooms and other infrastructure, a Bench led by Chief Justice of
India T.S. Thakur, asked the government to specify the manner in which the Centre proposes to monitor the utilisation of
the amount.
The Centre agreed to file an affidavit within 10 days.
The Bench sought the details while reserving for final orders on a petition relating to arrears and vacancies in several
courts.
25 | Page
SC fears riots, says people are frantic due to demonetization
Apprehending riots, the Supreme Court refused the governments plea to stay cases filed against inconveniences
caused by demonetisation in High Courts and lower courts across the country, saying, How can we shut our doors
to people when there is an issue of such magnitude.
Noting that people have started becoming frantic for money, braving queues for hours, a Bench led by Chief Justice of
India T.S. Thakur observed that the very fact that cases are being filed in courts all over is a signal that the problem is
serious and of magnitude.
They are going to the courts for relief. We cannot shut our doors to the people, Chief Justice Thakur said, refusing
the governments plea.
This is very serious. This will require great consideration. People have become frantic, people are affected... There may
be riots, the Bench, also comprising Justice Anil R. Dave, told Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi. That is completely
wrong. People are patiently standing, Mr. Rohatgi protested.
Apex court slams Centre over Lokpal

For a government which seems to be always
interested in cleansing the system, the
Centre has been uncharacteristically
dragging its feet on the appointment of
anti-corruption ombudsman, Lokpal, to
usher in probity in public life, the Supreme
Court said.
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act has not
seen the light of day since it was made into
law in 2013.
Subsequent amendments to the Act are in
limbo.
One of these amendments is to make the
leader of the single largest Opposition
party in the House a part of the high-
profile search committee to appoint the
Lokpal in case there is no recognised
Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok
Sabha. Currently, the 16th Lok Sabha has
no recognised LoP.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur asked whether the Lokpal amendment could be implemented by way
of an ordinance.
Mr. Rohatgi submitted that the court should not just assume that Parliament would not pass the amendment.
The Bench pointed out that the leader of the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha, in case of an absentee
LoP, has found a place in other high-profile appointments of institutional integrity like the Central Vigilance
Commissioner.
26 | Page
SC verdicts talked tough against security personnel
on fake encounters
As videos of the alleged police encounter of eight SIMI men
who broke out of the Bhopal Central Jail continue to raise
demands for a judicial probe, a series of Supreme Court
judgments show that the law is heavily, even fatally, loaded
against police officers found guilty of 'fake encounters'.
One of the judgments even recommends death penalty to
trigger-happy cops and compares them to Nazi war
criminals at Nuremberg trials who tried to brush off their
culpability on their superior officers.
We are of the view that in cases where a fake encounter is
proved against policemen in a trial, they must be given death
sentence, treating it as the rarest of rare cases. Fake
encounters are nothing but cold blooded, brutal murder
by persons who are supposed to uphold the law, the
27 | Page
Supreme Court held in Prakash Kadam versus Ramprasad Vishwanath Gupta on May 13, 2011.
The encounter philosophy is a criminal philosophy, and all policemen must know this, Justice Katju, who wrote
the judgment, observed. The case concerned policemen used as contract killers.
The 2011 judgment became a precedent for a larger Bench of three judges led by then Chief Justice of India R.M.
Lodha in the PUCL case, which dealt with 99 encounters committed by the Mumbai police between 1995 and 1997.
In the 2014 judgment, the apex court empathised with the police force, saying their job was tough: We are not
oblivious to the fact that police in India have to perform a difficult and delicate task, particularly, when many hardcore
criminals, extremists, terrorists, drug peddlers, smugglers who have organised gangs...
But that did not mean the police overlook the rule of law, the Supreme Court cautioned.
It listed 16 guidelines to be mandatorily complied by the State in case of police encounter deaths. This included a
scientific, well-documented and decisive investigation by an independent agency. The fairness of the probe was
open to challenge before a Sessions Court.
More importantly, if the Bhopal encounter videos are found to be true, it shows that the officers involved violated the
Supreme Court judgment that immediate medical aid should be administered to the suspects shot in an encounter.
Further, the Supreme Court laid out that the intelligence tip-off leading to the encounter should be recorded and an
FIR registered.
The court held that killings in police encounters require independent investigation to restore the public's faith in
the police force.
It does not matter whether the victim was a common person or a militant or a terrorist, nor does it matter
whether the aggressor was a common person or the State. The law is the same for both and is equally applicable to
both... This is the requirement of a democracy, the Supreme Court held in a July 2016 judgment on 1,528 cases of
alleged fake encounters involving the Army and the police in Manipur.
Dont aggravate Maoist situation, find peaceful solution: SC
The Supreme Court observed that there is an aggravation of Maoist situation and the government should take a
pragmmatic view of life and find a peaceful solution, and drew an assurance from the BJP-ruled
Chhattisgarh government that it will not arrest or detain Delhi University professor Nandini Sundar till
November 15, the next day of hearing.
The court was hearing an application filed by Ms. Sundar for a stay and quashing of an FIR filed against her and three
others, a DU professor and two activists, for the murder of a tribal person in the insurgency-hit Sukma district of
Chhattisgarh.
Mr. Desai called the FIR astonishing as they had visited the area in May and are being booked for a crime committed
on November.
Sack 70-year-old cricket bosses, says Lodha Committee

Tightening the leash on the powerful and the political among the
administrators in the Board of Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI) and its member State associations, the R.M. Lodha-led
Supreme Court Committee reiterated before the apex court
its recommendation to remove office-bearers who are over
70 years old, government ministers and those who have
already served at the Boards helm for nine years.
In its third report filed in the court, the committee said the
Supreme Court had upheld its recommendations in a July
18, 2016, judgment, and the time had come to implement
them so that work on reforming the Board could go ahead.
The committee recommended that former Union Home
Secretary G.K. Pillai be made observer to guide the
BCCI in its administration by the chief executive officer,
particularly with regard to the award of contracts,
transparency norms, and audit for domestic, international and IPL cricket.
The Lodha committee said Mr. Pillai, if appointed, should be allowed to appoint an auditor and the necessary
secretarial staff.
The panel sought the disqualification of BCCI office-bearers who are not Indian citizens, those who hold any office
or post in a sports or athletic association or federation apart from cricket, those declared insolvent or of unsound
28 | Page
mind and administrators charged with a crime. Several office-bearers at both the BCCI and the State associations
continue to hold the posts, although they stand disqualified as per the order of the Supreme Court, the report said.
Why import a Roman-type gladiator sport, asks SC

Asking why bulls should be made to suffer
for the entertainment of humans, the
Supreme Court has pulled up the Centre
for trying to import a Roman-type
gladiator sport despite a judgment clearly
banning Jallikattu as a cruelty and crime to
animals.
The Bench is testing the legality of the
Centres January 7 notification permitting
Jallikattu, which has been stayed by the
Supreme Court.
The notification by the Ministry of
Environment and Forests had allowed the
exhibition and use of bulls as performing
animals for Jallikattu and bullock-cart
races despite an express ban from the apex
court in a judgment in 2014.
The Ministry claimed that Jallikattu
encourages breeding of indigenous bulls.
The NDA government too had invoked tales
from the Mahabharata to urge the Supreme
29 | Page
Court to lift its ban on the ancient sport of Jallikattu, arguing that it was good for maintaining bio-diversity.
The Centre had toed Tamil Nadus line that Jallikattu was not mere organised entertainment but an age-old tradition
practised for time immemorial.
You say that Jallikattu is an age-old tradition, so was child marriage until it was declared a crime, Justice Misra
had retorted then.
The 2014 Supreme Court judgment had termed Jallikattu inherently cruel and specifically held that no regulations or
guidelines should be allowed to dilute or defeat the spirit of a welfare legislation like Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals (PCA) Act, 1960 and constitutional principles. If so, the Supreme Court should strike them down without
hesitation.
The judgment had already laid down that a courts duty under the doctrine of parents patriae was to take care of the
rights of animals, since they were unable to take care of themselves as against humans.
The judgment had classified the bull as a draught animal not meant for running but sedate walking under the
Prevention of Cruelty to Draught and Pack Animals Rules, 1965.
Jallikattu
It is also known as Eruthazhuvuthal or Manju virattu, is a bull taming event held in Tamil Nadu as a part of
Pongal celebrations on Mattu Pongal day.
Bulls are bred specifically by people of the village for the event and attended mainly by many villages' temple bulls (koil
kaalai).
During the event, prizes are announced to encourage the youth to participate.
The terms Jalli and Kattu refer to silver or gold coins tied to the bulls horns.
Jallikattu has been known to be practised during the Tamil classical period. It was common among the ancient people
aayars who lived in the Mullai geographical division of the ancient Tamil country.
SC sets up panel on night shelters
The Supreme Court has asked the government to respond on the lackadaisical attitude shown by authorities to
provide sufficient number of night shelters to the poor and homeless in the towns and cities of northern States
despite the availability of funds and a clear mechanism through which to disburse them.
Yet another winter approaches and enough has not been done for protection of many homeless in our towns/cities, a
Bench led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur observed.
Noting the disparity between the claims of the government and the adverse reports of the National Legal Services
Authority (NALSA), the Bench observed that the citys poor shiver in the winter cold as welfare measures like the
National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) scheme continue to remain a distant dream.
The court directed that a committee headed by former Delhi High Court judge Justice Kailash Gambhir be
constituted to verify the availability of night shelters, including if they are in compliance with the operational
guidelines under the NULM and to inquire into the reasons for slow progress in setting up shelter homes by the
States/Union Territories.
The committee shall further inquire about non-utilisation and/or diversion/misutilisation of funds allocated for the
scheme for providing shelters to the urban homeless ... The committee shall issue suitable recommendations to the States
to ensure that at least temporary shelters are provided for the homeless in urban areas to protect them during
winter season, the court directed in a recent order.
The State governments shall ensure compliance with the recommendations along the time frame indicated by the
committee, the Bench directed.
The committee has been given four months to submit its report.
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National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM)
It was launched in September 2013 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MHUPA), replacing
the existing Swarna Jayanti ShahariRozgarYojana (SJSRY).
The NULM will focus on organizing urban poor in their strong grassroots level institutions, creating opportunities
for skill development leading to market-based employment and helping them to set up self-employment venture
by ensuring easy access to credit.
The Mission is aimed at providing shelter equipped with essential services to the urban homeless in a phased
manner.
In addition, the Mission would also address livelihood concerns of the urban street vendors.
Lesser wages for equal work is violation of human dignity: SC
Terming the denial of equal pay for equal work to daily wagers, temporary, casual and contractual employees
exploitative enslavement, the Supreme Court has held that they should be paid at par with regular employees
doing the same job as them.
The Supreme Court called the various fallacious terms used by employers to classify and discriminate their employees
as artificial parameters to deny fruits of labour.
An employee engaged for the same work cannot be paid less than another who performs the same duties and
responsibilities. Certainly not in a Welfare State. Such an action besides being demeaning, strikes at the very foundation
of human dignity, the apex court held.
The court stripped the layers of artificiality to expose how discrimination in pay affected the basic human dignity of an
employee and amounted to involuntary subjugation to the will of the employer.
Citing that India has been a signatory for the past 37 years to Article 7 of the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights of 1966, the Supreme Court observed that any act of paying less wages, as compared to
others similarly situated, constitutes an act of exploitative enslavement, emerging out of a domineering position.
Supreme Court to hear petition on making yoga compulsory in school
Over a year after a California appeals court declared yoga secular and not a means to advance or inhibit
Hinduism, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea on whether yoga is an inherently religious ritual or a
secular pursuit for good health and a dignified life.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur has agreed to hear on November 7 whether yoga should be made
compulsory for students of Class one to eight.
The petition, which quotes the U.S. court ruling, has also sought a direction to the government to frame a National
Yoga Policy, saying that right to health was part of the right to lead a dignified life under Article 21 of the
Constitution.
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The plea, which has made the Ministry of Human Resource Development, NCERT, NCTE and the CBSE as parties,
sought a direction to provide standard textbooks of Yoga and Health Education for students of Class one to eight,
keeping in spirit various fundamental rights such as right to life, education and equality.
There are about 20 crore children throughout the country studying in primary and junior classes at the cost of public
exchequer. Yoga should be taught to them as a compulsory subject as per the National Curriculum Framework 2005
notified under Section 7(6) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009, the plea said.
Form nodal agency to check online pre-natal sex selection ads: SC
The Supreme Court directed the government to

constitute a nodal agency to monitor and trigger
search engines to crack down on online pre-natal sex
determination advertisements.
A Bench led by Justice Dipak Misra ordered that the
nodal agency should receive complaints about illegal
online advertisements under the Pre-Conception and
Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act of 1994.
It should communicate the tip-offs to online search
engines like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, which
would delete these advertisements within 36 hours of
getting the information.
We direct the Union of India to constitute a nodal
agency which would give advertisements on TV, radio and in newspapers ... that if anybody comes across anything which
identifies a girl or a boy [at pre-natal stage], it should be brought to the notice of the nodal agency, the Bench observed.
The apex court said this interim arrangement would continue till it took a final decision on the continued existence
of online sex selection ads.
The court was hearing a petition filed in 2008 which contended that pre-natal sex determination tests continue with
impunity despite being made illegal in 1994.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Google India Pvt Ltd, along with counsel representing other
search engines, assured the Bench that their clients were complying with the courts past orders and had taken steps
against pre-natal sex determination advertisements.
In the previous order, the Supreme Court concluded that it was the liability of the search engines to check for pre-
natal sex determination advertisements and develop in-house methods to prohibit such content.
Solicitor-General Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the Centre, had informed the court that the search engines had developed
a technique called auto block which prohibited advertisements on sex determination. Mr. Kumar had also
submitted a list of 43 proposed key words to trigger the auto block mechanism.
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Plea against use of word Dalit by media, HC seeks Centres reply
The Delhi High Court sought the response of the Centre on a plea seeking a direction to restrain media houses
from using the word Dalit in news articles, alleging it creates inequality in society.
The court has fixed January 13, 2017, for further hearing of the plea by Prem Kumar Singh, who has also sought a
direction to the Press Council of India to restrain all print and electronic media from using the word Dalit.
Referring to some news headlines, which had used the word Dalit, the petitioner said: The legislature has made
provisions to ensure no one may create any kind of hatred or animosity between the different communities or religions in
India.
Aggrieved by the excessive use of the words Dalit and upper caste, the plea alleged that despite a law and
guidelines in place, the media houses keep on raising the issue of Dalit atrocities unnecessarily.
Crime is crime and can be committed against or by any community and thus cannot be treated on a different footing
compared to crime committed by or against the people of the general community, especially when people from the
Scheduled Caste are involved, the plea said.
HC orders winding up of Kingfisher Airlines

In a major blow to liquor baron Vijay Mallya, the Karnataka High Court ordered winding up of Kingfisher Airlines
Limited (KFL) for recovering US $6 million due to UK-based company, Aerotron Ltd,which was supplying
rotable aircraft components to the airline.
The Court has also directed the Official Liquidator to take possession of the assets of the defunct airline in terms of
the provisions of the Companies Act and the Rules, and submit a report in this regard within four weeks.
The KFL was required to pay US $6,023,724.01 to Aerotron Ltd as on July 4, 2012 of which US $5,192,483.80 was the
principal amount.
The petitioner-company had moved the Court in 2012 seeking winding up of the airline for recovering the amount
due to it while complaining that the airline had failed to pay the amount despite repeated reminders.
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Disclosure of names of big loan defaulters pointless: SC
The Supreme Court said public disclosure of names of defaulters who owe banks over Rs. 500 crore in bad loans is
pointless.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur said focus, instead, should be on the question why these non-
performing assets [NPAs] are piling up.
The observation from the Bench gains significance as it was on the Supreme Courts order that the government filed
a confidential list of 57 defaulters who owe the banks about Rs. 85,000 crore in bad loans.
The previous hearings had seen the apex court turn the heat on the Reserve Bank of India for expressing reluctance in
making public the names of big loan defaulters.
The apex court had said the RBI should bring the names of defaulters into the public domain through the Right to
Information (RTI) Act.
Religion has claimed more lives than politics, says CJI

Noting that more lives have been lost in the name of religion than political ideology, Chief Justice of India T.S.
Thakur said the manner which a person chooses to practise his religion is between him and God and no third
person has any business to interfere.
Religion is personal. No one has any business to say how you practise your faith. The thought that only my path is
right has led to destruction, damage and bloodshed, the CJI said.
The CJI was speaking at the launch of a book, The Inner Fire, authored by fellow Supreme Court judge, Justice Rohinton
Nariman, a first-of-its-kind analysis of the 238 verses of the Gathas the most sacred text of the Zoroastrian faith.
Justice Nariman, in his turn, said only fraternity can bring unity in a multi-religious country. Fraternity is a cardinal
value of our Constitution. There will be fraternity only if we know something about the other person... Only
fraternity will lead to unity, he said.
SC refuses to order probe into Sahara-Birla papers
The Supreme Court refused to order an investigation into a tranche of documents recovered during raids at the
offices of the Aditya Birla and Sahara groups in 2013 and 2014 allegedly showing entries of massive bribes paid
to high-profile politicians and ministry officials.
A Bench of Justices J.S. Khehar and Arun Mishra said the entries did not arouse its conscience enough to order a
probe. Among the records is an email dated November 16, 2012 found in the laptop of an Aditya Birla executive
which contained a cryptic entry of bribe paid to Gujarat CM.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had recently claimed in the Assembly that it was a reference to PM Modi.
Supreme Court bans sale of firecrackers in National Capital Region

The Supreme Court issued a blanket ban on the sale of firecrackers in the National Capital Region, citing the
grave quality of air.
The petition filed by parents on behalf of their children claimed that the smog caused by firecrackers post Diwali
celebrations were choking their right to live.
The apex court banned fresh issuance of licence to sell firecrackers and suspended licence already issued.
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The Bench ordered the Central Pollution Control Board to study the effects of "harmful materials" used in
firecrackers and report back in three months.
"See if the materials used cause any cancerous diseases," Chief Justice Thakur told Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar,
representing the Board.
BJP, Cong. get nod to recall FCRA appeals

The Supreme Court allowed the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress to withdraw their appeals against a
Delhi High Court judgment of 2014 holding them prima facie guilty of violating the Foreign Contribution
(Regulation) Act by accepting funds from the London-based multinational Vedanta during 2007 and 2009.
A Bench, led by Justice J.S. Khehar, allowed them to withdraw their appeals after counsel for the parties said the
appeals were infructuous following certain amendments to the Act in 2010, easing the norms for receipt of foreign
donations. The parties argued that the amendments had a retrospective effect.
(Refer 23 November News)

VII. POLITY-CENTER-STATE
Expenditure by States on key sectors remains flat

Expenditure by the States on key social and economic sectors has not changed substantially following the
implementation of the 14th Finance Commission recommendations in 2015-16, shows an analysis of the budgets of
17 States by PRS Legislative Research.
These States account for over 80 per cent of the total expenditure of all States.
By the commissions recommendations, the share of Central taxes devolved to States, which they can spend as per
their discretion (untied funds), was increased from 32 per cent to 42 per cent.
The increase was compensated by a decrease in Central spending on schemes, most of which are tied in nature.
This change was expected to increase the fiscal autonomy of the States, allowing them the flexibility of deciding the
schemes they would wish to continue and allocating the additional funds accordingly.
The State of State Finances report of PRS says that between 2014-15 and 2016-17, expenditure on education, health
and rural development is expected to grow marginally.
Comparisons here are made between actuals (reflects actual expenditure) for 2014-15 and budget estimates
(allocations only, not spending) for 2016-17.
Data from the study show that spending as a percentage of total expenditure is expected to increase from 14.2 per cent to
14.6 per cent on education, from 3.9 per cent to 4 per cent on health and from 5.8 per cent to 6 per cent on rural
development.
The tied transfers, as a proportion of gross tax revenues of the Union government, reduced by 6.5 per cent, while
untied transfers increased by 8.5 per cent between the two years, says a working paper published by the National
Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) in November.
One problem is that only the last year of the 13th Finance Commission, 2014-15, has been used for comparisons, which
itself was a low-base year. In 2014-15, data show that aggregate transfer to States as a proportion of gross tax
revenue of the Union government was 55 per cent, down from 63 per cent in 2010-11. In 2015-16 and 2016-17, the
figure was 57 per cent an increase of 2 percentage points from the 2014-15 figure, but likely to be lower than
the average of the TFC period, the NIPFP study remarks.
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VIII. POLITY-INTER STATE RIVERS
Ken-Betwa project hangs on forest nod
The Rs. 9,000-crore Ken-Betwa river-interlinking project, which will partly submerge the Panna tiger reserve,
may be delayed after a key Environment Ministry body tasked with giving it forest clearance has deferred it at
least until January 2017.
The project will submerge 6,221 hectares of land 4,141 hectares of it is core forest inside the reserve.
The Forest Advisory Committees clearance is required for this diversion of forest land.
Depending on whether a project takes over land in wildlife sanctuaries or notified forest land, it requires separate wildlife,
forest and environment clearances.
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The main feature of the project is a 230-km canal and a series of barrages and dams connecting the Ken and the
Betwa to irrigate 3.5 lakh hectares in Madhya Pradesh and 14,000 hectares in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar
Pradesh.
The project will facilitate irrigation, domestic and industrial water supply and power generation.
The key components are the Makodia and the Dhaudhan dams, the latter expected to be 77 metres high, which will
submerge 5,803 hectares of tiger habitat in the tiger reserve.
The Ken-Betwa project is the template for the Union governments stated plan to transfer water across river basins. Water
Resources Minister Uma Bharti has said that she would go on a hunger strike if environmental clearances impeded the
project.
Punjab law to stop sharing Ravi, Beas waters illegal: SC
Sounding the death-knell on the hopes of thousands of Punjab farmers set to re-claim their lands acquired for the
Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal and triggering a political crisis in the poll-bound State, the Supreme Court
declared that Punjab reneged on its promise to share the waters of rivers Ravi and Beas with neighbouring States
like Haryana by unilaterally enacting the controversial Punjab Termination of Water Agreements Act of 2004.
A five-judge Constitution Bench gave its opinion on a Presidential Reference made to it twelve years ago, on July 22,
2004, questioning the constitutional validity of the Act.
The apex court concluded that the Act was illegally designed to terminate a December 31, 1981 agreement entered
into among Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan to re-allocate the waters of Ravi and Beas in overall national interest
and for optimum utilisation of the waters. The SYL Canal was a product of this 1981 agreement.
By introducing the 2004 Act, the State defied two back-to-back apex court verdicts, pronounced in 2002 and 2004.
The first one had directed Punjab to complete the SYL Canal in a year. The second judgment had ordered the
formation of a central agency to take control of Punjab's work on the canal.
In short, the Supreme Court said Punjab acted as a judge in its own cause.
Referring to its 2006 Mullaperiyar dam judgment, the Supreme Court held that a State Legislative Assembly
cannot through legislation do an act in conflict with the judgment of the highest court which has attained
finality.
It termed the enactment of the Punjab Satluj Yamuna Link Canal Land (Transfer of Proprietary Rights) Bill in
2016 by the current Akali Dal government as unwarranted developments when the Presidential Reference was still
pending in the Supreme Court.
The 2016 Bill, which is yet to receive the assent of the Governor, assumed to give back over 5000 acres of land
acquired for the canal back to the Punjab farmers. The apex court opined that this Bill would have clearly violated the
1981 water-sharing agreement had it been made law.
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IX. POLITY- ELECTIONS
PM makes a pitch for concurrent elections

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the media to encourage debate on issues that have a constructive effect on
society, including organising simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.
Issues such as the frequent application of the model code of conduct, poll funding etc. also need to be re-looked
seriously, he said.
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X. POLITY CAG
CAG flags tax breaks for companies
The Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) has

castigated the Income-Tax Department for extending
tax exemption amounting to hundreds of crores to
several companies by inappropriately extending
benefits available for infrastructure projects.
The CAG said the biggest beneficiary was Reliance
Industries Ltd. (RIL).
We noticed in eight cases in two States that the ITD
[Income-Tax Department] allowed deduction in
respect of profits derived from railway
sidings/jetties constructed and operated by the
assesses for their private purposes, which did not
qualify to be treated as infrastructure facilities in
terms of explanation to Section 80 IA(4). Irregular
allowance of deduction in these cases had attracted a tax
effect of Rs. 2,066.7 crore, the report said.
Reliance Ports & Terminals Ltd., an arm of the RIL, was
allowed an aggregate deduction of Rs. 5,245.38 crore
from 2006-07 to 2011-12 as claimed, without
examining the eligibility criteria for allowance of the
deduction in the assessment orders, it said.
The report said the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) had
entered into an agreement with the Reliance group on July 28, 1999, for construction of four captive jetties at Port Sikka
near its refinery complex in Gujarat, with a condition that captive jetties were meant for landing and shipping of captive
industrial raw materials by the Reliance group companies.
Since jetties were captively used by the assessee company and not for public purposes, the deduction allowed was
not in order, the audit report pointed out.
The irregular allowance of deduction by the AO has resulted in under-assessment of income of Rs. 5,245.38 crore
involving a tax effect of Rs. 1,766.74 crore, the CAG said.
The CAG dismissed the I-T departments argument that the I-T Act did not distinguish public facility and
private facility for claiming the deduction under section 80IA.
The audit also pointed out that Essel Mining & Industries Limited, part of the Aditya Birla group, was provided over
Rs. 73 crore tax benefits between 2010 and 2013 though the infrastructure it developed was for private use.
The CAG pointed out that Section 80IA deduction is not allowed on private and captive facilities.
Captive Service is a portion of Business Process Outsourcing where an organization will use a wholly owned subsidiary
instead of a Third Party Vendor.
XI. POLITY- REGULATORY BODIES
Not consulted on scrapping drug pricing agency: Chairman

Days after it was revealed that the Centre is likely to dismantle the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Agency
(NPPA), its chairman said the decision was rushed and the agency was not consulted.
The NPPA was established in 1997 to monitor the prices of essential drugs. At present the Drug Price Control
Order (2013) regulates ceiling prices of 432 medicines based on essentiality.
There were two meetings and the NPPA was not a party to them. Both meetings were held at short notice. This has been
a rushed decision. For any policy change, there needs to be consultation. I understand the file is currently with the
Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers for approval, said Mr. Bhupender Singh.
At a meeting on October 19, the four officials decided that the NPPA would be wound up and deployed in the
Department of Pharmaceuticals and the right to regulate prices should be vested with the government.
Meanwhile, secretaries of three Ministries health, chemicals & fertilizers, and commerce along with Chief
Executive Officer of NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) have been served with a legal notice
41 | Page
by a civil society organisation, the All India Drug Action network, which is the petitioner in the Supreme Court case that
resulted in lifesaving drugs being placed under price control.
You are aware that the Supreme Court had directed the Union of India to bring all life saving and essential drugs
under price control. You are also aware of the above mentioned proceedings in the Supreme Court where a number of
orders have been passed regarding price control, stated the notice.
Besides dismantling the pricing agency, the October 19 meeting also decided that the Indian drug regulator, Central
Drug Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), would now consult the NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant for
reissue of licences and approval of new drugs.
NITI Aayogs CEO does not have the legal capacity to take these decisions. This is an undemocratic way to decide
on subjects that are fundamental to the health of the people. Thinking about drug price control from the frame of
reference of ease of business is a wrong approach. I dont think the government can see this decision through. They are
on weak footing, legally and morally, said S. Srinivasan of LOCOST, a non-governmental outfit that advocates
affordable medicine.
XII. GOVERNANCE
High drama after veteran commits suicide over OROP
A retired Army subedars suicide demanding one rank, one pension (OROP) plunged the capital into chaos
with the police detaining and releasing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia and
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
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Banned Mandrax tablets seized in Udaipur
In a huge haul, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has confiscated 23.5 tonnes of banned Mandrax
tablets at Udaipur, Rajasthan.
It contained about 2 crore tablets, which have been seized.
The tablets, estimated to be worth over Rs. 3,000 crore, were meant for illegal exports to Mozambique and
South Africa.
The party drug, a depressant, overdose of which can lead to coma and death, is used as a recreational drug in
Africa and Asia.
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FCRA licenses of 11,000 NGOs expire
Two years after the NDA government cancelled the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licences of
10,000 NGOs, the licences of another 11,000 NGOs expired as they did not apply for renewal in time.
A senior Home Ministry official said expiry technically meant cancellation and the NGOs could no longer
receive foreign funds now.
Among the most significant cancellations were Adani Foundation promoted by business tycoon Gautam
Adani, Oxfam Trust, the Indian arm of the British human rights organisation and Salam Balak Trust, which
works for childrens rights.
The fate of another 1,700 NGOs is in a limbo as the Home Ministry has put them under closed category for
submitting incomplete documents.
According to Arjun Kumar Phillips of Voluntary Action India, an umbrella organisation of over 500 NGOs, the
closed category is a new procedure initiated by the Home Ministry. Despite many NGOs submitting completed
documents, they have been put under the closed category. Tata Memorial Trust, which is a renowned
organisation and has always complied with norms, has also been put under this category, Mr. Phillips said.
This brings down the number of NGOs that can receive foreign donations from 33,000 to 25,000.
Soon after it came to power in 2014, the NDA government began a cleaning exercise and cancelled the
registration of 10,000 NGOs which were either dormant or were not complying with the norms.
Since the FCRA licence is given for five years, this year all the NGOs had to apply for a renewal and the last date
was June 30. The last time such an exercise was done was in 2011 after the FCRA Act was amended in 2010.
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Ban on NDTV India on hold
A day before the Supreme Court was to hear NDTVs challenge to the government order imposing a one-day ban
on its Hindi channel, NDTV India, Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu put the order on hold, and
gave NDTV Ltd. a chance to present its case once more before an inter-ministerial committee.
NDTV had moved the Supreme Court earlier in the day against the ban after a government panel accused it of
broadcasting sensitive details of Januarys terror attack on the Air Force base in Pathankot.
The decision of the inter-ministerial committee to impose the one-day ban on the channel, starting at midnight on
November 9, provoked widespread criticism both within and outside the country.
Reporters without Borders called on the authorities to stop using national security as a pretext for silencing the media.
Centre mulls changes to BPO scheme on tepid response

The Centre is mulling changing some of the clauses in its scheme to promote BPOs in smaller towns across the
country, following tepid interest received from companies until now, a senior IT ministry official said.
The India BPO Promotion Scheme (IBPS), under Digital India Programme, was introduced in April 2016 to
incentivise BPO firms to extend operations beyond the metros.
ith an outlay of about Rs.500 crore, it aims to incentivise establishment of 48,300 seats, providing about 1,45,000
jobs considering three-shift BPO operations.
Against this, the government has so far been able to allocate about 13,000 seats.
Currently, the scheme allows for subsidy only if the company builds a new centre and not for expansion of existing
centres.
Further, the scheme requires that the centre becomes operational within a period of three months.
Under the scheme, the government will provide support up to Rs.1 lakh per seat, which is being determined
through a bidding system. There are also special incentives if a company employs women or people with disability.
XIII. E-GOVERNANCE
WhatsApp governance works wonders for Bengaluru

In 2015, when a woman went on her morning walk in north Bengaluru, two men on a motorbike accosted her and
snatched her gold chain. She posted the details of the incident on a local WhatsApp group, which comprises beat
policemen and residents.
Within minutes, policemen and volunteers were on the streets. The chain snatchers were apprehended before they could
leave the neighbourhood.
Such stories play out every day across the city as residents associations use social media to bridge the gap between
citizens and those who govern them.
Whatsapp has become a tool to cut through the red tape and drive change.
Civic officials, traffic police and the local inspector are now just a text away.
Many successful groups have taken up citywide issues.
N.S. Ramakanth, a waste management expert, says: Volunteers take photographs of garbage mounds. Officials are
forced to act. The mobile phone in our hands has turned out to be the best weapon to drive civic action, he said.
It isnt just tech-savvy citizens. Even the government has jumped on to the bandwagon. Reporting and project monitoring
are done via groups comprising officials.
A big success is Be Ready Bengaluru, a group run by the State Disaster Monitoring Cell with multi-agency heads,
which became a virtual control room during the July floods. We provided alerts on the rainfall and floods, which helped
multiple agencies in their response, said N. Manjunath Prasad, Commissioner, BBMP.
However, a platform that allows citizens to air their views unfiltered comes with its own set of problems. For those
running the groups, there is a constant battle to keep out political bickering, abuse and forwards, which dilute the
cause of the group. There is a drastic increase in work pressure as these messages come in even after our office timings.
When citizens complained that a joint commissioner had exited a group, the commissioner gave him an earful, indicating
the change in attitudes to civic governance.
Apart from officials, many groups seek to include political representatives.
With RWAs and smartphones still being a middle-class phenomenon, there have been concerns of skewed governance
mirroring the digital divide. Social media and WhatsApp amplify upper middle class voices, making governance over-
responsive to one section and under-responsive to other sections.
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For instance, a citizen RWA group asked for the removal of street vendors in Yelahanka, to which BBMP
officials responded in earnest, but street vendors were never consulted, said Vinay Sreenivasa of the Alternative
Law Forum, a lawyers collective.
Exclusive e-platform soon for payments to govt.

The NDA government's demonetisation gambit is being backed up by an effort to move all government
transactions to the cashless mode, with the Centre working on a new single window e-payment system that
individuals or businesses can use to make payments to any central or State department.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will be issuing a request for proposal (RFP) by December to set
up a common e-governance platform for end-to-end transactional experience for a citizen, businesses as well as internal
government functions.
While some government departments have introduced electronic payments system, a lot of PSUs, schools and courts
have said they lack mechanisms to introduce such a system.
While it will not be mandatory for the government bodies to be part of the platform, the IT ministry will continue to
encourage and push all departments to go cashless.
In 2015, the Prime Ministers Office had also set an ambitious target to shift at least 90 per cent of all government
transactions that involve payments or receipts from citizens and businesses to electronic or paperless mode by the
end of 2016, replacing the use of cash, demand drafts, cheques and challans in government offices.
The implications of such a platform on corruption will be huge.
XIV. CIVIL SERVICES
Govt. accepts pay panel clause on increment cut

Reversing its earlier decision, the Union government has opted to accept a contentious recommendation of the 7th
Central Pay Commission report, to deny annual increment to an employee whose performance has been rated
as not up to the mark.
The 7th Pay Commission in its recommendation had held that annual increments for the employees who are not
able to meet the benchmark within the first 20 years of their service can be withheld.
There is also no clarity on the parameters which would form the basis of monitoring the performance of an
employee.
Over one crore Central government employees, past and present, will benefit from the 7th Pay Commission
recommendations approved by the Union Cabinet.
The panel, headed by Justice (Retd.) A. K. Mathur, had recommended an overall hike of 23.5 per cent, which has
been cleared for the employees with effect from January 1, 2016.
The central government has 50 lakh serving employees and 58 lakh pensioners.
The starting salary for new recruits at the lowest level has been raised to Rs. 18,000 from Rs. 7,000 per month.
Freshly recruited Class I officers will receive Rs. 56,100.
This reflects a compression ratio of 1:3.12 signifying that the pay of a Class I officer on direct recruitment will be
three times the pay of an entrant at the lowest level.
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PAP: Pay, Allowances and Pensions
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XV. SOCIAL
Kairana exodus national issue, says Hukum Singh
A day ahead of the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJPs)

Parivartan Yatra, the BJP MP from the Kairana Lok
Sabha contituency Hukum Singh said the exodus
of Hindus from Kairana had become a national
issue and will certainly be raised in the Uttar
Pradesh election campaign.
Hukum Singh claimed that he had met the Home
Minister several times over the issue of the forced
exodus from Kairana and Kandhla, and had informed
him about the gravity of the deteriorating law and
order in western Uttar Pradesh.
The MP said he had also given the Minister a list of
the affected families who had left due to the fear of
criminals.
In June 2016, Mr. Hukum Singh alleged that
Kairana had become a new Kashmir, with the
exodus of 250 Hindu families after they were
targeted by criminals who were Muslims.
However, several independent media houses
reported several loopholes in his claims, noting
that many of the families that Mr. Singh claimed
had left Kairana and Kandhla, were still living
there.
XVI. SOCIAL-WOMEN
Now, Kerala govt. favours entry of women into Sabarimala temple
The Left Democratic Front government in Kerala junked its Congress predecessors stand favouring restriction
on womens entry into the Sabarimala temple and declared that its doors should be thrown open to women of all
ages.
The latest turn of events caused consternation in the camp of the Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the
famed temple.
The temple authority has challenged the government in the Supreme Court, arguing that the government cannot alter its
stand to suit its convenience.
This is the second time in a year the State has changed its position on allowing devotees aged 10-50 to enter
Sabarimala.
On February 4, 2016, the then United Democratic Front government had declared that the restriction had been in
place from time immemorial and was a part of the temples unique idol concept. It reasoned that since the
presiding deity, Lord Ayyappa, was a celibate or Naisthik Brahmachari, even the slightest deviation caused by
the presence of young women on the temple premises was undesirable.
Senior advocate for the royal family of the erstwhile Pandala kingdom that is believed to be the foster family of
Lord Ayyappa, said public faith in the customs and legends of the Sabarmiala temple was deep-rooted and a decision
should be taken only after hearing the sentiments of the devotees and the royal family.
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XVII. SOCIAL-EDUCATION
Dont burden teachers with non-academic work: CBSE
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has said that all schools affiliated to it should ensure that
teachers are not engaged in any activity other than those related to teaching, professional enhancement,
examinations and evaluation.
A CBSE circular said tasks related to transport, canteen and activities of ministerial nature should be done by
separate trained staff deployed by the schools.
The decision came after several teachers across the country shared their sentiments about their non-academic
duties.
The issue was raised by various State governments at the Central Advisory Board on Education (CABE) meeting
held recently.
According to a report prepared by the National University of Educational Planning and Administration for 2014-2015,
teachers, on an average in urban areas, spent 17 out of 224 days for non-teaching activities. The number was far
lower in rural areas where teachers, on an average, spent nine days out of 224 for non-teaching work.
A teacher working in one of the Kendriya Vidyalayas in Bengaluru said that over the past year, several teachers have
been involved in digitisation of student data, which eats into class hours. Many a time we get called for meetings by
the Block Education Officer for various matters, and inevitably these are scheduled during school hours, the teacher
said.
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The CBSE circular also points out that Section 27 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act
2009 stipulates that no teacher shall be deployed for any non-educational purposes other than decennial
population census, disaster relief duties, or duties relating to elections...
More differently abled attend schools than before: Census

Nearly two-thirds of the disabled population in the age-group of 5-19 in 2011 were attending educational
institutions, according to new census data released.
As many as 40.2 lakh (61.2 per cent) out of the total of 65.7 lakh disabled population in the specified age group were
attending educational institutions in 2011.
This is an improvement of 11 percentage points from 2001 when 33 lakh (50 per cent) of the 65.3 lakh differntly
abled persons had attended educational institutions.
The enrolment figure is 10 percentage points lower than that of the total population 71 per cent attending
educational institutions.
Data show those who reported to have any other disability has the highest percentage (71.2 per cent) of the people
attending any educational institution. This was followed by those having visual disability (68 per cent) and hearing
difficulty (67 per cent).
Twenty-seven per cent of the disabled people in the age group of 5-19, however, have never attended any
educational institute, as per the 2011 census data.
Around half of the people with multiple disability (54.4 per cent) and mental illness (50.3 per cent) did not attend
any educational institute.
75 per cent score is a must for NIT seat

With the government notifying changes in the eligibility conditions for admission to the National Institutes of
Technology, students in the general category who score below 75 per cent or are not in the top 20 percentile in the
12th class examination in the Class-12 board examinations will no longer be able to join NITs irrespective of their
JEE (Mains) performance.
For the SC/ST students the qualifying marks would be 65% in the 12th class examination.
The changes will be applicable from the next academic session itself.
Ninety-nine percent of students getting admission in the NITs score above 75 per cent in board exams. So, it is not
going to adversely affect candidates. said an official.
With this change, the NITs will follow the eligibility criteria followed by the IITs. The eligibility criterion for
admission to the IITs is 75 % in Class-12 for general candidates.
The 31 NITs offer admission to about 18,000 students each year at present, which is higher than the 10,000 students the
IITs admit at present.
About 12-13 lakh students appear for the JEE Mains at present, of which just 2 lakh are eligible to appear for the JEE
Advanced, which determines admission to the IITs. The admission to NITs is done on the basis of performance in JEE
Mains.
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XVIII. SOCIAL-HEALTH
Unhealthy lifestyle major risk factor of stroke
Young stroke victims are likely to suffer from blockage of

small vessels deep in the brain, the risk of which can be
lowered by avoiding smoking, moderating alcohol
consumption and lowering cholesterol levels, a new study
suggests.
World Stroke Day was observed on 29th October 2016 and
Hyderabad played host to World Stroke Congress where
leading clinical and scientific names in neurology had gathered to
present revised guidelines in stroke care and management.
Rising incidence of cardiovascular diseases, mainly stroke,
among people younger than 50 years was discussed, even as
experts spoke about modifiable risk factors.
Stroke victims younger than 50 years are likely to suffer
from small vessel occlusion (SVO) type strokes.
The researchers identified alcohol use as the most important
modifiable risk factor; it was recognised as a risk factor in over
80 per cent of the SVO cases.
Smoking was identified a risk factor in 74 per cent of the cases
while hypertension was seen in nearly 60 per cent of the
patients.
During the World Stroke Congress, the organisers voiced it
clearly that stroke can be prevented and is treatable.
The American Stroke Association mentions three common signs for identifying stroke including drooping or
numbness of face, arm weakness or numbness and sudden difficulty with speech.
Expert team to probe Odisha encephalitis deaths
With children continuing to die due to Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in Odishas Malkangiri district, a team of
experts have started investigations to identify the root cause of the epidemic.
Since the first week of September, 248 children (119 male and 129 female) suffering Acute Encephalitis
Syndrome (AES) were admitted in hospital.
Of them 105 children were tested JE positive. Reports of 74 deaths from Malkangiri were received. Only 27 JE-
infected deaths were found while 47 were due to AES. Children aged below 10 had fallen victims, said the
department.
The government has taken every step -- from carrying away pigs, the host of JE virus, from near human
habitations to fogging in villages -- but has failed to bring the epidemic under control.
The government is currently imparting training to workers for carrying out the mass-vaccination programme.
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Lack of wait list for donor organs, a matter of concern
The number of organ pledges in the country has seen a dramatic surge over the last year, from 9,000 in 2015 to
1.25 lakh this year (a 14-fold increase).
Kerala leads the way among States, with 35,000 pledges from the single village of Pootharakkal.
While more people are coming forward to pledge their organs, the National Organ and Tissue Transplant
Organisation (NOTTO), the apex centre functioning from the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, is concerned about
States not submitting data of the wait list for donor organs.
We are keen on developing a national registry of transplants and wait list of organs to know the demand-supply
situation and plan. However, not all States are submitting data and this is a matter of concern, said NOTTO Director
Vimal Bhandari.
Currently, 301 hospitals that are transplant centres in the country are registered with NOTTO and 150 of these from 13
States are regularly updating data regarding wait lists and organ transplantations, he said. Data on the remaining,
however, is little known.
Dr. Bhandari said formation of State Organ and Tissue Transplantation Organisations (SOTTOs) in every State
would help in collecting data and preparing a national registry.
Pointing out that organ retrieval centres should be set up in every government medical college in districts to
promote cadaveric donations, Dr. Bhandari said NOTTO had now submitted a proposal to the Union Health Ministry to
give incentives to the hospital staff and doctors for identifying brain death cases and counselling them to donate. The
proposal is awaiting approval, he said.
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Dr. Bhandari said the challenge is also to see that these pledges are honoured by family members of the donors. Many
times, family members refuse to donate despite the person having pledged his or her organ. This needs
sensitisation and there is a need to create more awareness at the cultural level, he said.
XIX. ECONOMY
Cess plan could mean 10 different GST rates
To ensure that the tax incidence on products like cigarettes, tobacco products and luxury commodities doesnt
decline under the GST regime, the Finance Ministry has proposed differential cess rates to be levied over and
above the highest tax rate of 26 per cent for such products.
For instance, cigarettes, currently taxed at 53 per cent, could attract a cess rate of more than 100 per cent to bring the total
GST levy on them in line with present taxation levels.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the cess over and above the 26 per cent GST rate would apply to luxury items
and tobacco products. At the moment, the government levies a different rate of tax on items such as luxury cars, high-
end watches, and tobacco products such as cigarettes, even though all are taxed at above 26 per cent.
This means that there will be a separate cess on each of these items, further complicating the GST tax structure
under which the government has proposed six different tax rates ranging from zero to 26 per cent, including a
four per cent tax on gold, to the GST Council.
The government has said it would remove the cesses after five years, following which it will no longer need to
compensate States for any losses in revenue due to the implementation of GST.
This, however, is unlikely, according to Mr. Mani. Historically, we are not good at abolishing cesses, but are very
good at implementing them, he said. It would be just too much revenue for the Centre to do away with.
Council fixes 4-level GST rate structure
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be levied at multiple

rates ranging from 0 per cent to 28 per cent.
Ultra luxuries, demerit and sin goods, will attract a cess for a
period of five years on top of the 28 per cent GST.
Overcoming opposition from some States, the GST Council
finalised a multiple-slab rate structure, including the cess, for the
new indirect tax. The quantum of cess on each of these will
depend on the current incidence of tax.
On nearly half of the consumer inflation basket, including
food grains, the GST will be at 0 per cent, Council Chairman
and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told a media conference
after the meeting.
The approved slabs vary slightly from the proposal the Centre had
moved at the Councils last meeting.
The lowest slab of 5 per cent will be for items of common
consumption, Mr. Jaitley said.
There would be two standard rates of 12 per cent and 18 per
cent, which would fall on the bulk of the goods and services. This
includes fast-moving consumer goods.
Most services are expected to become costlier as the ones being
taxed currently at the rate of 15 per cent are likely to be put in the 18-per cent slab. The services being taxed at lower
rates, owing to the provision of abatement, such as train tickets, will fall in the lower slabs.
The highest slab of 28 per cent will include white goods and all those items on which the current rate of incidence
varies from 30-31 per cent.
The principle for determining the rate on each item will be to levy and collect the GST at the rate slab closest to the
current tax incidence on it.
Mr. Jaitley said the Council will review annually the tax revenue raised from the cess that will fund compensations
from the Centre to States for losses arising out of the transition to the GST.
The Centre gave a constitutional guarantee to States for making good these losses for a period of five years.
If the revenue raised from the cess is found to be in excess of the sums needed to finance the compensations to
States, the Council will decide to what use the surpluses will be put, Mr. Jaitley said.
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The GST will subsume the multitude of cesses currently in place, including the Swachh Bharat Cess, the Krishi Kalyan
Cess and the Education Cess. Only the Clean Environment Cess is being retained, revenues from which will also
fund the compensations.
Though on the expiry of the five-year period the cess will no longer be collected, the Council will, Mr. Jaitley said, revisit
the GST rates on ultra luxury and demerit goods.
The Council did not take a call on the GST rate on gold. GST rate on gold will be finalised after the fitting to the
approved rates structure of all items is completed and there is some idea of revenue projections, Mr. Jaitley said.
GST transmission clause spooks industry
The Centre has empowered itself to impose penalties on businesses that fail to pass on the benefits of the new
indirect tax regime to consumers in the form of lower prices, triggering concerns in industry about a return to the era
of socialist controls and harassment.
It will achieve this through an enabling provision introduced in the model Goods and Services Tax (GST) law,
unveiled by the Centre on November, 26.
The Central government may by law constitute an authority, or entrust an existing authority to examine
whether input tax credits availed by any registered taxable person or the reduction in the price on account of any
reduction in the tax rate have actually resulted in a commensurate reduction in the price of the said goods and/or
services supplied by him, section 163 of the proposed model GST law states.
Moreover, this designated authority shall have functions and powers, including those for imposition of penalty, as
may be prescribed in cases where it finds that the price being charges has not been reduced.
A similar caveat has also been imposed on the credit of excise and counterveiling duties paid on transition stock
and such input credits would only be allowed if the benefit is passed on to the recipient.
The revised drafts of the model GST law, as well as the Integrated GST Act and GST (Compensation to the States
for loss of revenue) Act which the government hopes to introduce and pass in this session of Parliament in
order to meet its April 1, 2017 deadline for rolling out GST will now be debated by the GST Council in
meetings scheduled on December 2 and 3.
Comments have been sought by the Central Board of Excise and Customs under the Finance Ministrys revenue
department, on the new proposed GST bills.
The bill also seeks to allay some industry concerns about its implementation by exempting free goods from GST unless
they are being supplied to related parties, and treating supplies to special economic zones as zero-rated.
Securities will be exempted from GST as well as subsidies paid by the Centre and states, while credits will be
permitted against payments of excise and counter-veiling duties.
While the proposal to treat intangibles as services in the earlier draft model GST law has been removed, several
concerns of the services sector, particularly with respect to single centralized registration and clarity in terms of place of
supply rules, have not been adequately addressed.
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Low inflation fuels rate cut hopes
Retail and wholesale inflation slowed in October due to lower

food prices with analysts predicting a further declining trend due
to a demonetisation move, leading the central bank to cut rates in
its next review meeting slated for November 30.
There could be further softening in the inflation in the near-term, as
demand side is likely to get impacted due to demonetization.
Growth in the Wholesale Price Index slowed to 3.4 per cent and in
the Consumer Price Index dipped to a 14-month low of 4.2 per cent.
The easing of inflation across both indices lends hope of a rate cut by
the Reserve Bank of India, according to analysts.
The deceleration in WPI inflation for the seventh successive month
was led primarily by the softening of the prices of food and primary
items.
SEBI eases rules for angel funds

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has liberalised norms for angel funds to invest in early-stage
entities as part of its attempts to facilitate fund-raising for start-ups.
The regulator has increased the upper limit for number of angel investors in a scheme from forty nine to two
hundred.
Angel Funds will also be allowed to invest in start-ups incorporated within five years instead of the earlier norm of
three years.
The requirements of minimum investment amount by an angel fund in any venture capital undertaking has been
reduced from Rs.50 lakh to Rs.25 lakh.
Further, the lock-in requirements of investment made by angel funds in the venture capital undertaking has been
reduced from three years to one year.
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FIIs allowed to invest in unlisted NCDs:
The regulatory watchdog has also permitted foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) FIIs in common parlance to invest
in unlisted non-convertible debentures and securitised debt instruments of a public or private company based on the
guidelines issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).
Earlier, FIIs were allowed to invest in such securities only if it was issued by a company from the infrastructure sector.
Such investments, however, will be subject to a minimum residual maturity of three years and end use-restriction on
investment in real estate business, capital market and purchase of land.
Exchange disclosure:
The regulator also clamped down on agreements between company management personnel and shareholders that
assure a certain compensation or share in profits to the employee.
SEBI has stated that all such agreements entered into during the last three years will have to be disclosed to the stock
exchanges and companies will have to seek an approval from the public shareholders of the company.
Further, interested persons involved in the transactions will have to abstain from voting on the said resolution, the capital
markets regulator said.
Nonconvertible debentures are unsecured bonds that cannot be converted to company equity or stock.
Nonconvertible debentures usually have higher interest rates than convertible debentures.
'Global situation not to blame for fall in exports'
India cannot put the entire blame on the global environment for its poor export performance, according to
a Crisil study.
While Indias share in global exports is declining, those of Bangladesh, Vietnam and China are still rising
despite the adverse environment, according to the report.
Pointing out that many obstacles lie in Indias path to raise its export competitiveness, Crisil said to harness its full
potential, India needs to remove bottlenecks, capture the space vacated by China, integrate faster with the
world and improve international competitiveness of its key exports.
The bottlenecks, which India need to remove to raise its export competitiveness, include rigidity in labour
laws, challenges associated with land acquisition, inadequate physical infrastructure (roads, ports and
electricity), and poorly skilled manpower. These have held back manufacturing sector growth, Crisil said.
It cited World Bank data to show that cost to exports (in 2014) in India was $1,332 per container, while that of
Bangladesh was $1,281, China ($823), Vietnam ($610) and Indonesia ($572).
Crisil also said that while India needs to bend over backwards to find export avenues, its domestic market
is on the cusp of an expenditure boom.
It encourages policymakers to put the country on a dual path of striking a balance between export-led and
domestic demand-led growth strategies of focusing on exports as well as domestic market.
On the need for India to capture the space vacated by China, the paper stated that China has been moving up the
value chain, exiting the low value-added manufacturing space (textiles, apparel, footwear, toys).
This, along with rising wages in China and the its strategy to focus on domestic demand, means more export
opportunities will become available to other competing economies and India must strive to capture the space.
For instance, Indias share in world exports has remained more or less similar between 2001 and 2015 in
textiles and apparel, while it has increased manifold for Bangladesh and Vietnam.
In footwear too, Vietnams share in world exports zoomed, while Indias share stagnated.
56 | Page
On the recommendation that India needs to integrate faster with the world, Crisil said, India must move fast to
renew its stalled trade negotiations with the EU and the ongoing dialogue in the Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership (RECP, a proposed free trade pact between 16 Asia-Pacific nations including India).
Crisil also said the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), a measure of international competitiveness, for some of
Indias key export items, has declined in the past decade.
Startups capital drying up: Study
With insufficient capital available, startups are going hungry. Only 8.3 per cent of them are successful in getting
funding, according to a study by Indian Institute of Technology- Madras.
Odds of success for getting funded continue to be low. In our estimate, for every 875 startups that get founded, only
one is able to successfully raise 4 or more rounds of funding,
Out of the total start-ups that get founded, about 6 per cent take part in an accelerator or incubation programme. A total of
75 of the 875 are able to get first round of funding, only 15 get second round of funding and 5 are able to secure the third
round of funding.
Mr. Rajan said that there has been a steady decrease in the average age of the startup at the time of receiving
angel investment from 4.77 years in 2008 to 0.54 years in 2015.
The six tier 1 cities received the largest chunk of investment of Rs. 661.29 billion, accounting for about two-thirds of the
angel and venture funding. Tier 2 cities received 31 per cent (about Rs. 306 billion) and start-ups in Tier 3 cities
accounted for only Rs. 19.74 billion.
PF claims in cases of death set to be settled in a week

The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has decided to settle PF money claimed after death of an
employee within seven days from 20 days at present, in the wake of concerns raised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
recently about delays in settlement of EPF claims, especially in death cases.
It is often found that documents attached with the claim form are incomplete due to which the case is referred back to
the claimant and it leads to delays, said an officer.
The present circular said that all the death case claims will be given top priority and officers-in-charge at all EPF
offices will personally monitor the death cases on day-to-day basis.
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Inoperative EPF accounts to fetch 8.8 per cent interest
The government is all set to issue a notification authorising retirement fund body Employees Provident Fund
Organisation (EPFO) to pay 8.8 per cent interest on inoperative accounts, Union Labour Minister Bandaru
Dattatreya said.
The inoperative EPF accounts are not being paid interest since 2011.
Rupee slumps to record low; nears 69/dollar
The rupee slumped to a record low of 68.87 to a dollar in intraday trading as foreign funds continued to sell local
stocks and debt amid a broader flight of capital from emerging market assets.
Firming expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month, combined with projections
that growth in the worlds largest economy will gather momentum on the back of policy measures that a Donald
Trump administration is expected to unveil have helped the dollar post gains against all major currencies.
The rupees slide tantalisingly close to the 69 a dollar level prompted the Reserve Bank of India to intervene, helping
the currency to pare some of its losses and close at 68.73.
The rupees previous record low of 68.85 was touched on August 28, 2013.
Currency dealers said state-run banks sold dollars on behalf of the RBI.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have dumped a combined $4.2 billion of Indian equity and debt so far this
month, according to data on the NSDL website. This is the highest monthly sales of local assets by FIIs since June 2013
and almost three times the $1.5 billion they sold last month.
The rupee is also expected to come under further pressure due to the redemptions of FCNR (B) deposits. Estimates
suggest more than half the expected $25 billion of FNCR redemptions are scheduled for the second half of
November.
Foreign Currency Non Resident (FCNR) account
An FCNR account is a term deposit account that can be maintained by NRIs and PIOs in foreign currency.
Thus, FCNRs are not savings accounts but fixed deposit accounts.
RBI takes measures to absorb excess liquidity

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has taken steps to absorb excess liquidity in the banking system following
demonetisation and said banks have to maintain 100 per cent cash reserve ratio (CRR) for the deposits they have
received between September 16, 2016 and November 11, 2016.
The central bank clarified that the overall CRR requirement would stay at 4 per cent and the move will come into
effect from the fortnight beginning November 26.
CRR is the proportion of deposits that banks have to keep as cash with the central bank.
Banks do not earn any interest on CRR balances kept with the RBI.
The RBI withdrew the prevailing Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes on November 8 and banks started depositing and
exchanging those notes from November 10.
This is intended to absorb a part of the surplus liquidity arising from the return of specified bank notes to the
banking system, while leaving adequate liquidity with banks to meet the credit needs of the productive sectors of
the economy.
The central bank said the incremental CRR requirement is intended to be a temporary measure and within its
liquidity management framework, and will be reviewed on December 9 2016 or even earlier.
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Bitcoin adoption in India sees surge
Unocoin, an Indian bitcoin start-up, has unveiled a new app for Apples mobile operating system iOS and Googles
Android platform.
According to the firm, the app will allow consumers to buy, sell, send, receive and store bitcoins, all in one place,
from any remote device.
Unocoin said the implementation is timely because bitcoin adoption is rapidly ascending in India, coupled with the
governments decision to demonetise Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes.
Bitcoin is a digital currency founded in 2008 that is not supported by any countrys government or central bank.
Also known as crypto-currency, it can be traded for services or goods with sellers who accept bitcoins as payment.
The Reserve Bank of India issued a public advisory that highlighted the risks involved in dealing with virtual
currencies and added that it could be used for money laundering and funding terrorism activities. It stopped short,
however, of issuing a ban or any other restrictions.
(Refer 14 November News video)
Centre forms committee to push cashless transactions
The Centre announced a new committee, headed by Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, to form a strategy to expedite
the process of transforming India into a cashless economy.
The panel is tasked with identifying various bottlenecks affecting access of digital payments.
The committees aim is to identify various digital payment systems appropriate to different sectors of the economy and
coordinate efforts to make them accessible.
The committee was set up following a directive from the Prime Ministers Office to back up the demonetisation move, a
senior government official said.
The attempt is to establish and monitor an implementation framework with strict timelines to ensure that nearly 80 per
cent of the transactions in India moves to the digital-only platform, according to the government statement.
The committee will also attempt to estimate costs involved in various digital payments options and oversee
implementation of measures to make such transactions between the government and citizens cheaper than cash
transactions.
The Centre is working towards moving all government transactions to the cashless mode, through a new single
window e-payment system that individuals or businesses can use to make payments to any central or state
department. The official said that during the first meeting of the committee on November 24, it was decided to rope in
Common Service Centres to help train merchants to use digital payment methods.
Each CSC will be asked to train at least 10 merchants to use mobile wallets or get swipe machines, the official
said, adding that there are about 2.5 lakh common service centres across the country.
The government said the committee would also implement an action plan on advocacy, awareness and hand-holding
efforts among public-, micro-enterprises and other stakeholders.
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XX. ECONOMY DEMONETISATION
Rs. 500, Rs. 1000 currency notes no longer legal tender

Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes will cease to be legal tender from November 8, 2016 midnight, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said in a surprise address to the nation.
From midnight today, till November 10, ATMs will not function. Banks will be closed for public transactions for a
day.
"These notes will only be papers from tomorrow," he said in Hindi, adding that the move is to curb circulation of
counterfeit notes and fight blackmoney.
People who posess currency notes of these denomination can exchange them in banks and head and sub post
offices from November 10 to December 30, by providing a valid proof for identity such as Aadhar card, PAN card
or voters ID card.
Post December 30, these notes will be accepted only by the Reserve Bank of India after submitting a declaration.
For a few days, only upto Rs. 2000 can be withdrawn from ATMs. This will be enhanced to Rs. 4000 later. The
withdrawal limit for ATM will eventually be fixed at Rs. 10,000 per day and Rs. 20,000 per week.
However, for 72 hours, government hospitals, railway, air and government bus ticket booking counters will
continue to accept the old notes. Old notes will also be accepted till November 11 at petrol, diesel and gas stations
authorised by public sector oil companies, consumer co-operative stores authorised by State or Central government,
milk booths authorised by States as well as crematoriums.
This move will not affect debit cards, cheque and digital transfer of money.
All other denominations such as Rs. 100, Rs. 50, Rs. 10, Rs. 5, Rs. 2 and Re. 1 as well as coins will continue in
circulation unaffected.
The Reserve Bank of India will issue new Rs. 500 and Rs. 2,000 notes starting from November 10. The new Rs. 500
note will feature the Red Fort and the new Rs. 2,000 note will feature Mangalyaan.
Mr. Modi said there will be no restriction of any kind on non-cash payments by cheques, demand drafts, debit or credit
cards and electronic fund transfer.
Without naming Pakistan, the Prime Minister made a pointed reference to cross-border terror which was being
funded by forged currency notes.
Your money will be your money. You dont have to worry about this. We have made arrangements to ensure that
citizens suffer the least possible difficulty, he said.
Justifying the last-minute announcement to demonetise the currency notes, a government official said that the move was
necessary to stop terrorists and drug cartels in their tracks. An element of surprise is essential, or else they would
have made necessary arrangements, he said.
He claimed that this will result in a reduction of inflation as conspicuous consumption will come down.
Till March 2016, Rs. 14 lakh crore out of Rs. 16 lakh crore worth currency issued by RBI were in denominations of Rs.
500 and Rs. 1,000, as per the central banks official data
New notes to cost RBI more than Rs. 12,000 crore
Replacing all the Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 denomination notes with other denominations, as ordered by the
government, could cost the Reserve Bank of India at least Rs. 12,000 crore, based on the number of notes in
circulation and the cost incurred in printing them.
Data from a Right to Information answer by the RBI in 2012 shows that it costs Rs. 2.50 to print each Rs. 500
denomination note, and Rs. 3.17 to print a Rs. 1,000 note.
That means that it cost the central bank Rs. 3,917 crore to print the 1,567 crore Rs. 500 notes in circulation, and Rs.
2,000 crore to print the 632 crore Rs. 1,000 notes in circulation currently.
Assuming that the new Rs. 500 notes cost the same to print, then that is an additional Rs. 3,917 crore spent in simply
maintaining the same number of notes in circulation.
The new Rs. 2,000 notes are likely to cost about the same or a little more than the Rs. 1,000 notes, which means an
additional cost of Rs. 2,000 crore to print them.
In total, removing the old notes and replacing them with the new Rs. 500 and Rs. 2,000 notes will cost the central bank a
total of at least Rs. 12,000 crore.
This figure is likely to go up since additional security measures, which the new notes are set to have, will only add to
the cost of printing.
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Move was in the pipeline for months
The governments move to scrap nearly 23.2 billion high-

value currency notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000, was in the
pipeline for several months but was kept tightly under wraps,
with just a handful of officials in the know.
The Reserve Bank of Indias central board had approved the
production of the Rs. 2,000 notes several months ago and even
began production of the new Rs. 500 and Rs. 2,000 notes,
which are to be issued from November 10 a few months ago.
The timing [of the announcement by the Prime Minister] was
appropriately chosen as we should be ready with adequate
number of notes to replace the existing ones. We had ramped up
production in the past few months of the new notes, and hence, it was decided to do it now as we can provide more of
them in the weeks and days to come, said RBI governor Urjit Patel said.
The bold and decisive step to fight black money and the use of fake currency notes to finance terrorism was backed
by analysis of Indias currency trends.
The long shadow of the ghost economy has to go for the real economy to grow. This will add to our economys
strength.
Demonetisation to hit terror financing hard

The government has said one of the reasons to demonetise
currency notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 was to curb the
circulation of fake currency notes, but there seems to be no
definite account of the amount of such notes in circulation.
As per a study done by the Indian Statistical Institute,
Kolkata in 2015, the only concrete work done on the
subject, at any given point of time Rs. 400 crore worth of
fake currency notes were in circulation in the economy.
This is merely 0.025 percent of the total budget outlay of Rs.
19.7 lakh crore as announced this fiscal.
The Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata study was done on
the behalf of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and
it also said that Rs. 70 crore fake notes were pumped into
the economy every year.
Officials in the security establishment were upbeat about the
demonetisation scheme as they expected that crimes like
terror financing would be severely hit by the move.
Another official said that in 90 per cent cases, the fake currency had been pumped in through the land route from
Bangladesh. The fake notes are manufactured in Pakistan and they reach Bangladesh through air and sea route.
An organised group then pushes the money into India through the porous border areas, said the official.
On being asked on how the yet to be launched Rs. 2,000 notes would be deterrent to the resurgence of the fake currency
notes, an official said, It is difficult to say and we can only assume that Pakistan or the elements involved in it would not
be able to compromise the security features. It is true that certain security features of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes had
been compromised. The supplier of raw currency notes, the ink and the silver thread is same for India and Pakistan
and we have been asking the the countries like the U.K, the U.S. and Germany, where these are manufactured to
stop the sale to Pakistan.
Currency recall version 3.0 also has same story to tell

Years and years have gone by since the country witnessed the first and the second demonetisation of high denomination
currency notes. But, the primary reason behind the move remains the same.
The countrys first demonetisation took place in January 1946 and the second, thirty two years later (January
1978).
On both the occasions, as is being pointed out now, the elimination of black money was cited as one of the major
reasons.
Both in 1946 and 1978, ordinances were promulgated whereas, now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, through
a televised address to the nation, informed the public of the governments decision.
62 | Page
In 1946 when the British Raj was still in power, the notes of the value of Rs. 500, Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 10,000 were
withdrawn.
Eight years later (1954), the Reserve Bank of India re-introduced the high denomination notes (Rs. 1,000, Rs. 5,000 and
Rs. 10,000).
Within a year of the Janata government capturing power in March 1977, the people were surprised by a late night
ordinance on January 16, 1978 that the notes of the denomination of Rs. 1,000, Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 10,000 ceased to be
legal tender.
Currency demonetisation has precedence in India, elsewhere

India is not the only country to have opted for currency demonetisation. There are similar examples from other countries
as well.
Zimbabwe went through hyper-inflation in 2008 following which its currency lost value. In June 2015, the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe said the country had adopted the multiple currency system or dollarisation in 2009 and it is
therefore necessary to demonetise the Zimbabwe $ unit to replace it with the multiple currency system.
In Singapore, though Japanese Banana notes had been in circulation during the Japanese occupation, after the
Japanese surrendered, the note was demonetised in 1945.
In Fiji, its Reserve Bank said, demonetisation of the pounds and shillings was necessary as Fiji transitioned to the
new decimal currency structure from January 13, 1969.
The central bank of the Philippines, decided to demonetise the New Design Series banknotes issued on 12 June 1985,
to align with the practice of other central banks around the world which change the design of their currency that
has been in circulation for over 10 years.
New Rs. 100 and Rs. 50 notes also in the pipeline
The Centre said it would also replace the smaller denomination currency notes of Rs.50 and Rs.100, incorporating
new features and design.
The new currency notes will be gradually infused in the system while slowly phasing out the old series.
New Rs. 1,000 denomination notes, with enhanced security, will be in circulation soon too.
PMO pushed to print new notes in India, says official
A new facility in Mysuru was used to print the new Rs 2,000 denomination notes to enhance self reliance
India imports bank note papers from European firms like Louisenthal in Germany, De la Rue in United Kingdom,
Crane in Sweden and Arjo Wiggins in France and Netherlands.
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Currently, 70 per cent of the notes are being produced in India and in the next two years, the target is to achieve
100 per cent self-reliance.
But for the Rs. 2,000 notes, it was decided that all raw notes would be produced in India and the Bank Note Paper
Mill India Private Limited (BNPMIPL) in Mysuru, which started functioning in 2015, was given the task.
For some of the new Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes, however, imported bank note paper has been used.
Another official said the production of the notes in India was pushed by the Prime Ministers Office (PMO).
The PMO was of the opinion that all the bank notes are imported from countries, which are members of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organisation. If tomorrow, there is an embargo on India then the currency manufacturing will be crippled
as we rely heavily on imports. With this aim it was decided to push the production in India, said the official.
On being asked whether the new design would minimise the chances of counterfeiting the new currency notes, the official
said, It is not impossible. Only the design has changed but the security features remain the same. Pakistan prints
fake notes at their government press, said the official.
The official said the decision to print the Rs. 2,000 notes was taken six months back and the Mysuru facility was asked to
produce the raw bank notes.
Plea in SC seeks quashing of demonetisation decision
A petition was filed in the Supreme Court seeking a judicial order quashing the governments decision to
immediately discontinue the circulation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 currency notes and give the poor a reasonable
opportunity to organise their lives.
It has asked the apex court to direct the government to provide a stipulated time to citizens for making alternative
arrangements for necessary activities, may it be medical, educational, weddings, farming, etc.
Supreme Court refuses to stay demonetisation notification

The Supreme Court refused to stay the November 8 government notification demonetising Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000
currency and asked the Centre to take immediate measures to alleviate the hardships and sufferings of the
traumatised common man who is "forced" to stand in queues to withdraw a little bit of his own hard-earned
money.
Noting that the apex court does not want to interfere with the government's economic policy, Chief Justice Thakur
said the objective of demonetisation may be a "surgical strike" on black money, but it should not cause hardship to the
common man.
The Bench asked the Centre to file an affidavit by November 25, 2016, detailing the various measures it can take to
lessen the hardship and inconvenience caused to people without hindering the larger objective of the government
notification to get rid of black money and cross-border terror financing.
In his submissions, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for one of the four petitioners. asked how banks, which
are only trustees of a person's money, can restrict withdrawal.
Mr. Sibal said the previous demonetisation" in 1978 only dealt with high denomination notes which only
comprised two per cent of the currency value in circulation. Now, Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes occupy 86 per cent of
the currency value.
Is demonetisation safe in law?
The legal provision under which the Reserve Bank of Indias (RBI) demonetisation notification of November 8 was
issued empowers the Union government only to scrap a series of bank notes and not the entire existing
currency of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 denomination.
Section 26 (2) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act of 1934 allows the Centre to declare that any series of bank
notes of any denomination ceases to be legal tender.
The argument, pressed before a Bench of Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, remains to be
addressed by the Supreme Court.
We are on the constitutional validity of the November 8 notification. Under what diktat have all series of Rs. 500 and
Rs. 1000 notes become black money? Does this mean any note of Rs. 500 is black money, Kapil Sibal, counsel for the
petitioner Adil Alvi, submitted.
The court was informed of how the government had insisted on identity cards for people coming to exchange the
demonetised notes. Section 26 (2) poses no such requirements.
Even the use of the indelible ink mark to prevent repeat exchanges is not found in the legal provisions.
The court was asked to adjudicate on the authority of the notification to restrict a citizens right to withdraw
money from his own bank account.
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Another legal question placed before the court was on what basis the notification categorising Rs. 500 currency as
high denomination was made in this time of inflation.
Section 26A of the 1934 Act records the first demonetisation which took place in 1956 when the government of that
time scrapped all Rs. 500, Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 10,000 bank notes minted before January 13, 1946.
In 1978, demonetisation happened again, but the bank notes frozen then formed only two per cent of the currency
value in circulation.
Cooperative banks to move apex court against RBI curbs

A meeting of district cooperative bank presidents and top officials of the Department of Cooperation, and
presidents of District Cooperative Banks (DCBs), is understood to have decided to move the Supreme Court
against the restrictions imposed by the Reserve Bank of India on cooperative institutions in participating in the
exchange of demonetised high-value currency notes.
They resolved to look at different ways to lessen the difficulties being experienced by tens of thousands of persons
holding accounts or deposits with cooperative banks and credit societies.
The meeting concluded that the current crisis would affect a large majority of account holders and hurt Centrally-
sponsored projects such as the Jan Dhan Yojana and interest subvention schemes meant in particular for the farming
community.
Notes were printed only after Sept. 4
The new Rs. 2,000 and Rs.

500 notes were sent for
printing only after the
Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) Governor Urjit Patel
took charge on September
4.
Though the decision was
taken six months ago, the
government waited for the
new Governor to take over,
and the plates were signed
soon after by him.
A senior government official
said this explained the
signature of Urjit Patel on
the new currency notes as it
takes at least two months to
switch over to new design
plates. The initial plan was to
phase out the existing
banknotes in circulation.
The process of changing
the currency notes had
been long overdue. It had
been pending since 2011.
When the NDA government
came to power, the
discussions began. But the
entire process started moving
in a decisive direction since
May 2016, when Prime
Minister Narendra Modi gave the go-ahead. There is rationing of cash as printing started only two months ago as the
machines had to be attuned to the new plates and security features, said a senior official.
The magenta Rs. 2,000 notes contain the same covert security features as the old Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes.
Changing the security features is a huge exercise and takes anywhere between five and six years. The last time such
an exercise was done was in 2005 when currency notes of all denominations with new security features were
introduced.
65 | Page
There are three types of security features in a note: overt, which can be detected by the naked eye; semi-covert,
detected by a hand-held machine; and covert, visible only in big machines installed at banks.
The government has said that the introduction of new notes would check counterfeiting.
According to investigations done by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), much of the fake currency in
circulation in India was printed in the government press of Pakistan.
Pakistan was able to copy the overt security features of old notes, which is mostly the design part and was pushing in
counterfeit notes in India. Though the covert security features in the new notes have not been upgraded, our
investigations show that Pakistan was never able to crack the old ones either, said a Home Ministry official.
Another official said it would take years to counterfeit the new notes. In normal circumstances any country
changes its notes every 7-8 years with additional security features to check counterfeiting, he added.
There was no major change in the Rs. 1,000 notes introduced in 2000, while changes in the Rs. 500 notes, launched
in 1987, were done more than a decade ago.
UPA government also proposed it, we said no

K.C. Chakrabarty, who was deputy governor of Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) between June 2009 and March 2014, said that there
was no economic rationale behind the ongoing demonetisation
drive and that such a proposal had been floated in the past too.
What is black money? No notes are black. All notes are white. It
is the process that creates the black money. When a person does
not pay tax, it becomes black money. Here you are killing the notes
and not the fellow who is not paying tax, he said.
The government also argues it will address the issue of
counterfeiting, however he says, If you buy a kilo of rice, there
will be some small stones (interspersed). What you do is remove
those particles and not the entire rice. The law enforcement
authorities should identify those notes and take action. Here people
are standing in the queues to get their own money because there are
inefficiencies with the income tax (process), police machinery etc.
Economists see short-term pain, long-term gain
While the governments demonetisation drive will likely negatively impact the economy in the short term, it could
help over the longer term propel economic growth into double-digit levels as more of the informal economy
becomes formal and the Goods and Services Tax comes into effect, according to economists.
Another benefit from the drastic currency step could be a reduction of banks non-performing assets, a critical
constraint that is holding up the flow of bank credit for private sector investment in the country.
To the extent that there is shrinkage of money supply, conventional economics says that that should be deflationary.
It will lead to a contraction of output as well in the short run, so there will be an impact on GDP.
However, in the long run, say within two years, this move combined with the Goods & Services Tax legislation will
help in a pick-up, and take the country's growth to double-digit levels.
Foreign investors have welcomed this as a bold move, and in the right direction.
More savings will enter the formal financial economy. India has a fairly high savings rate, but the financial part of that
is low, so that is likely to go up.
Then the exponential increase in all the cashless mechanisms like cashless wallets and online banking may also help
in the formal part of the economy.
Looking a little deeper at the sectoral impact, the view is that the demonetisation move will hurt growth in cash-heavy
sectors like real estate, gold and jewellery.
Interest rates will come down because the money will go to the banks and to some extent some of it will go to the
government as taxes.
Also, there is going to be a short-run demand shock. But a lower interest rate will cushion this to some extent. Once the
RBIs currency liability shrinks, we think they will have lower open market operations.
The overall economic impact expected would include a likely appreciation of the rupee, a sharp slowing in inflation,
the banking system getting a boost and real estate prices falling about 20-25 per cent before stabilising.
Stocks would benefit due to the gradual shift from physical assets to financial assets.
66 | Page
Task Force led by Mundra formed to recalibrate ATMs
With automated teller machines (ATM) still unable to cope with the huge demand for cash and consequently
running dry, a Special Task Force has been formed under the chairmanship of S.S. Mundra, Deputy Governor,
Reserve Bank of India (RBI), to speed up the process of recalibration of these machines to dispense the new
denomination notes.
A representative from each of the ATM original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), managed service providers, cash in
transit (CIT) companies and white label ATM (WLA) operators will be invited to the Task Forces deliberation, the
RBI said.
Each and every ATM machine in the country needs to be physically visited by the ATM operators for recalibration of the
new notes which are of a smaller size.
White Label ATM:

The Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) which is set up, owned and operated by non-banks is called as White Label
ATM (WLA).
Features and Functions of White Label ATM are same as that of Normal ATM machines.
Difference is this ATM machine does not have any branding of Bank.
This machines are usually deployed by NBFC (Non-Banking Finance Companies).
The basic idea about White Label ATM is to increase geographical spread of ATM so that more number of people
can be incorporated under financial inclusion program.
The government has given approval of 100% FDI for the White Label ATM.
Card usage surges, micro-lending grinds to a halt
The countrys micro finance sector (MFI), which essentially

extends small loans to the poor and weaker section of the
society, is one of the worst hit by the demonetisation move of
the Centre.
The micro finance sector extends loans and well as accepts
repayments in cash. With Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes being
demonetised, both business and recovery of loans have been
impacted badly.
Repayments have fallen to below 10 per cent since the
demonetisation drive, which is typically 100 per cent for
micro lenders. Loans worth Rs.650 crore has become over due
and the numbers will go up.
Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) the self
regulatory body of micro lenders has written to both the
Finance Ministry as well as the banking regulator for
allowing them to accept Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 bank notes.
Micro lenders are registered as non-banking finance company and regulated by RBI.
The micro finance institutions which are a part of MFIN, has 3.5 crore customers from low income households across
India, of which 99.9 per cent is women.
Also, the Centres demonetisation move has led to a spike in the usage of debit and credit cards.
Industry participants agree that the Centres move would lead to an increase in the usage of credit and debit cards
leading to the twin objectives of financial inclusion and making India a cashless society.
In large cash intensive businesses such as real estate, there can be sufficient motivation to move explicitly to
transactions in alternative storage of value, including Bitcoins.
67 | Page
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Employers, workers left in a quandary
The sudden demonetisation policy and the consequent cash crunch have resulted in unusual repercussions for employers
and wage workers.
Employers are worried that once the wages of the seasonal, migrant, casual, temporary workers whom they
usually hire without a legal contract are paid through cheque or direct deposits in bank accounts, it could be
treated as proof of employment. This could then help such workers to claim that they should technically be
considered as part of the payroll and be made eligible for statutory benefits; such as those related to the Employees
State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), Employees Provident Fund (EPF), accident compensation and maternity.
On the other hand, labourers, many of whom belonging to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category, fear that they
might lose various benefits provided by the government for the poor (including food security-related, pension,
medical treatment, as well as benefits meant for the girl child and economically weaker sections) if it is found that the
wages getting credited in their bank accounts are more than the stipulated income thresholds for availing such
benefits.
Out of Indias total workforce of about 474 million, about 75 per cent do not have written legal contracts and about
80 per cent do not get any social security benefits.
It is claimed that workers want more cash at hand and do not want any deductions from their wages or salary
towards EPF and ESIC benefits. Moreover, since most of these workers constantly shift places of work, contractors
and employers, they also do not trust the EPF and ESIC systems and prefer cash payments.
For jute workers in Kolkata, the seams come undone

Ghost workers of the jute industry, also known as zero number workers, are hit hard by the cash crisis triggered
by the Centres demonetisation.
A bane of the nearly 160year-old industry, these are the faceless workers who work in night shifts in jute mills.
Most have now been forced to go without wages, which are paid on a daily cash basis.
They arrive in truckloads at night and leave at dawn. No records are kept. These nameless, faceless workers are
mostly skilled and get daily wages around Rs. 330 per shift (against the Rs. 239-Rs. 250 range earning of a regular
worker) .
They are arranged by labour syndicates that are run with the patronage of trade unions and political leaders.
Says a mill manager .. it is a win-win situation for all ... the mill owners get labour on demand on a hire and fire basis in
a skill shortage industry and they have no liability either on statutory payments [PF, ESI, gratuity].
The agents get hefty commissions and the workers too feel they are getting a good deal as they work regular shifts during
day and double up as zero workers at night.
Give tax breaks for digital payments, says Niti Aayog
Niti Aayog has proposed giving tax breaks to consumers and merchants for debit or credit card payments.
The government think-tank has also suggested levying surcharge for cash transactions beyond a set limit to
encourage electronic transactions.
It suggested that to encourage digital payments, tax rebates be given for such payments similar to what has been
adopted by South Korea. In South Korea, the government promoted electronic payments by providing tax breaks for
both shoppers and merchants on card transactions.
It has also been recommended that mobile wallets be allowed to participate in one of the governments key reforms
Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme for subsidies, minimum wage payments for various government schemes and other
payments, using JanDhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM).
While there was a sharp uptick (50 per cent rise) in e-payments in the past few years, 78 per cent of transactions
were still cash-based.
E-commerce contributes about only one per cent to the total retail market as compared to 14 per cent in China,
the official said.
The government think-tank has also pitched for stronger policy for protection of interests of online shoppers.
It was pointed out that existing legislation does not recognise e-commerce consumers. The Aayog recommended early
enactment of Consumer Protection Bill, 2015 introduced in Lok Sabha in October 2015 and updating National
Consumer Helpline regularly for e-commerce complaints.
For example, in China, on one hand, online shoppers can return goods within seven days without assigning any reason
and on the other, it is mandatory for sellers to be registered and compensate users in case of fraud, among other things.
69 | Page
Rs. 35,000 cr. to ease rural cash crunch
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley directed commercial bank chiefs to focus their attention on rural Indias
cash crunch over the next 40 days, with a war chest of Rs. 35,000 crore for providing credit to farmers by
December.
The Centre also relaxed its demonetisation policy for high-value currency notes further by allowing farmers to
buy seeds for the Rabi sowing season using old Rs 500 notes.
Mr Jaitley also asked banks to provide Rs 5,000 crore to the currency chests of district central co-operative banks
(DCCBs) to ensure that the farming community faces no cash shortages for the Rabi crop.
Separately, the Reserve Bank of India eased the asset classification norms for loans of less than Rs 1 crore to allow
small businesses, home loan borrowers and farmers 60 more days to pay instalments that fall due in November
and December, to prevent them from being classified as non-performing assets owing to the ongoing cash crisis.
Both banks and NBFCs will get the additional 60 days before they need to classify the loan as NPA.
Both business or personal, including home loans, loans to non-banking companies and micro-lenders by banks, are
eligible for the relaxation.
Go digital in mission mode, Jaitley tells banks

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, said the principal objective of the
governments reform programme was to curtail the use of physical
currency.
To this end, the Minister set banks a target of converting cash
transactions worth Rs. 2 lakh crore into digital transactions by
December 30.
According to bankers, the directives, seen as a move to fight the cash
shortage following the ban on high denomination notes, will lead to an
increase in use of point-of-sale terminals at merchant establishments
and prepaid cards.
Mr. Jaitley said that a task force under the Additional Secretary in the Finance Ministry will be set up to oversee the
process. The committee, comprising government officials and bankers, will periodically review the progress by individual
banks.
The Ministry is keen that all small transactions, like buying grocery etc. also are conducted in the digital mode. We
have to encourage the merchants to accept prepaid cards as well as installing PoS terminals, said a chief executive
of a bank who was present in the meeting.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had directed banks to waive the merchant discount rates (MDR) at the shops etc.
till the end of December. MDR is the charge paid by a merchant for every swipe at his PoS terminal.
Bankers said this move will encourage more merchants to accept card payments.
Apart from urban areas, banks will increase and sustain their focus on semi-urban and rural areas. This outreach
would be backed-up by an advertising campaign from Indian Bankers Association (IBA), including demonstration
videos, on how to use cards and other modes for cash less transactions, the Finance Ministry statement said.
Jaitley takes up cudgels for Urjit

Former union minister Jairam Ramesh alleged that the Central bank had been kept in the dark by the
government about its demonetisation move.
Urjit Patel is either guilty of misleading the nation about the RBIs preparedness on demonetisation or has
sacrificed the autonomy of the RBI. Either way, he should resign, Mr. Ramesh had said.
The RBI is the monetary authority of India and is solely responsible for making bank notes available to all residents of
India. If the RBI headed by Mr. Patel gave its approval to the Prime Ministers demonetisation plan, then ostensibly the
RBI was confident of making currency notes available easily, he said.
Questioning the RBI Governors stoic silence through the entire currency crisis of the last two weeks, Mr.
Ramesh said the Central bank was supposed to be independent and autonomous and therefore needed to offer
clarity about the current situation.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley termed former Union Minister Jairam Rameshs adverse comments against Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel as an unfair attack.
This is not the first time Mr. Jaitley has sprung to Mr. Patels defence. In response to a question from The Hindu on Mr.
Patels rather low profile during the demonetisation process he had said, People in public offices perform, in terms of
action and policy, and are not to be judged by how often they appear in front of the camera.
70 | Page
Tax defaulters get another chance
In what virtually amounts to another voluntary income disclosure scheme, the Centre introduced a Bill in the Lok
Sabha that gives tax defaulters an opportunity to come clean by paying tax and penalties.
The key feature of the proposed amendment to the Income-Tax Act, 1961 is a proposal to impose 50 per cent tax on
undeclared income that is voluntarily disclosed till December 30, following which 82.5 per cent (75 per cent tax
and 10 per cent of such tax as penalty) could be levied on undeclared income detected by authorities.
The tax changes are intended to supplement the demonetisation move targeted at curbing black money, the Finance
Ministry said in a statement.
The proceeds made a part of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana will be used to fund schemes for
providing irrigation, housing, toilets, infrastructure, primary education, primary health and livelihood, so that
there is justice and equality, the Ministry said.
Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said no questions would be asked about source of funds for disclosures under the
scheme. It would ensure immunity from Wealth Tax, civil laws and other taxation laws, he said. However, the
proposed tax scheme would provide no immunity from FEMA, PMLA, Narcotics, and Black Money Act.
71 | Page
The scheme will cover deposits made from November 10, he said. We will notify the last date after the Bill is passed,
but it is likely to be December 30. Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) will come in as a new Chapter
(nine) in Finance Act 2016.
XXI. INFRASTRUCTURE
Protest against Bengaluru steel flyover project intensifies
Opponents of the proposed steel flyover project connecting Hebbal and Basaveshwara Circle in Bengaluru
are planning to scale up their protest.
The nearly 7 km-long flyover planned by the government will cost Rs. 1,800 crore and will result in the removal of
800 trees along its route - a cost that residents say they're not prepared to accept.
National Green Tribunal, the country's highest environmental court, has ordered the suspension of all plans for
now.
Citizens for Bengaluru, which is engaged in a legal battle on the issue, claims the support of 56 residents welfare
associations (RWAs).
The organisation aims to increase its vigilance and not limit itself to the steel flyover, but will take up a wide range of
issues and projects that are adversely affecting the city.
The issues include an installation of between 50 and 100 air pollution monitoring stations; the testing of waters in
existing lakes; and testing of soil and health of trees.
Airfares to soar as Centre slaps levy
The Centre has set up a regional connectivity fund, 80 per cent of which will be financed by levying a cess on other
domestic routes, except north-eastern states and regional sectors and the rest will flow from the States.
The Centre will be able to collect around Rs.400 crore from this levy every year which will be used to promote regional
air connectivity.
Leading domestic airlines have already opposed the move to impose a levy fund subsidies for regional flights and are
likely to challenge it in the courts.
72 | Page
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), a state-owned aerospace and defence company, may soon lease its 19-
seater Dornier planes for civilian use on non-metro routes.
Air India has plans to lease 10 Dornier planes from HAL to become part of the regional connectivity scheme.
AERA to hold talks on new airport tariff
The Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) has initiated a process to adopt a hybrid-till approach for
calculating airport fees and the regulator is slated to hold talks with airlines and airport operators to seek their views.
The regulator has called for a meeting of airlines, airports, International Air Transport Association (IATA), Airports
Authority of India (AAI), state governments, consumers organisation, fuel suppliers, and ground handling companies,
among others.
Currently, AERA has a single-till model in place to determine aeronautical charges at 20 major airports across the
country, including Kolkata and Chennai. The airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad follow a shared-
till model.
The National Civil Aviation Policy, 2016 has called for adopting a hybrid-till model for all airports under which 30
per cent of airport operators non-aeronautical revenue would be used to subsidise airport costs.
Apart from its core operations, airports earn income from the non-aeronautical side which includes food and
beverages, duty-free shops, advertising, car parking and hotels.
Under the single-till model, both aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenues are taken into account to calculate
passenger fee.
This is in contrast with the stance taken by tariff regulator AERA, set up in 2009 by AERA Act, 2008, for major
airports across the country. In its consultation paper released last month, the airport regulator said it had been
advocating a single-till model as the airport charges are the lowest and therefore it is beneficial to the customers.
Although the Authority stated in the consultation paper that it received no directions from the civil aviation ministry, as
required as under section 42 of the AERA Act, 2008, it said it decided to align its tariff determination model in line
with the National Civil Aviation Policy released in 2016.
The move to switch to hybrid-till may revive private developer interest in running the airports as the model
increases their revenue.
The higher costs for major airports could come into effect soon for a five-year period till 2021 as the tariffs are due for
review this year.
Airlines are in favour of a single-till model as it reduces their charges and passenger fees. Airport costs constitute
10-14 per cent of an airlines operational costs.
IATAs new Director General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac raised concerns related to mandating a hybrid-till
model for regulation of airport charges on his recent visit to India recently.
Higher funds for smaller aircraft on regional routes
The Centre will provide a higher subsidy support to airlines operating smaller aircraft in a bid to make its
regional connectivity scheme more attractive, Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Nayan Choubey said.
For the same distance, we will provide significantly higher subsidy to an airline operating a 20-seater aircraft than
to a 40-seater or a 70-seater aircraft, Mr. Choubey said, adding the subsidy would be about 30 per cent more for
such smaller planes.
The Civil Aviation Ministry had recently organised its first pre-bid meeting of the regional connectivity scheme
(RCS). Higher subsidy was one of the few demands. We also did our calculations and found that the proposed subsidy
was not adequate for smaller aircraft, Mr. Choubey said.
Under the scheme, the government will provide three-year subsidy to fund the losses of airlines so that they offer
airfares at Rs.2,500 for an hours flight on half the number of seats. For providing subsidies, the Centre has set up a
regional connectivity fund, 80 per cent of which will be financed by levying a cess on other domestic routes, except
for those in the north-eastern states and regional sectors and the rest will flow from the states.
The Centre aims to collect about Rs.400 crore for the regional connectivity fund every year, to be used to promote
regional air connectivity.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said that the national civil aviation policy, along with RCS, is expected
to increase the number of functional airports to 150-200 in the next few years. At present, 69 airports across the
country receive commercial flights.
The Centre has launched an Air Sewa portal for registering complaints of air passengers against airlines and
airports. Passengers will be able to check flight status, register complaints and check complaint status on the Air
Sewa website and mobile application.
Complaints related to flight delays, baggage loss and unusually long periods for refunds along with long queues at
airports can be registered by passengers in this portal.
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U.P. opens autobahn to Agra with an air show
The Lucknow-Agra six-lane expressway, the longest in the country at 302 km,
was formally opened with a spectacular touch-and-go manoeuvre of take-offs
and landings by six IAF fighter planes.
The new road, upgradable to eight lanes, has a 3-km stretch designed for
emergency take-offs and landings of fighter planes.
This makes the Uttar Pradesh capital more accessible to New Delhi. It joins the
Yamuna Expressway at Agra to connect Delhi.
Your rail journey is set to get smoother, safer and smoke-free

As part of its ongoing initiatives to make travel in train a pleasant experience, the Indian Railways has empowered
ticket checking staff to slap fine on passengers found smoking or littering on trains.
Among the new tasks entrusted with Traveling Ticket Examiners (TTEs) are ensuring high standards of services and
amenities on board besides taking care of passenger safety by coordinating with security agencies like the Railway
Protection Force and Government Railway Police.
Travelling Ticket Examiners have also been told to keep a watchful eye on child trafficking and alert security
agencies if they came across suspicious cases.
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XXII. S&T HEALTH
Herbal compound promises cure for liver cancer

A medicinal plant which grows as weed in wastelands across India
could soon provide a potent cure for liver cancer.
An interdisciplinary team of scientists from four major institutes in
India reported that a compound derived from the leaves of Solanum
nigrum , known as Manithakkali in Malayalam, and also known as
Black nightshade, has remarkable efficacy in treating liver cancer.
Evaluation of the compound, a saponin named Uttroside B, has
shown that it is 10 times more effective than Sorafenib, the only
drug currently available for the treatment of hepatocellular
carcinoma.
It is widely used in traditional medicine for various ailments such as
inflammation, jaundice, bronchitis, asthma, leprosy, and skin
disorders.
It is a rich source of anticancer molecules.
It also found that unlike Sorafenib, the plant-based compound does
not cause noticeable side effects.
Laboratory tests showed drastic inhibition of tumour growth in mice. The team has filed for a patent on the finding and
is exploring the possibility of a tie-up with the University of Oklahoma, USA, for clinical trials.
According to Ruby John Anto, cancer researcher at the RGCB and a lead author of the paper, various plant species of
the Solanum family have been reported to have considerable amount of saponins which exhibit potent activity
against different cancer cell lines.
Blood test to detect drug-resistant TB
Mumbai-based researchers have identified two microRNA biomarkers present in serum samples that could
potentially be used for TB diagnosis and TB disease prognosis.
It could be used both for drug-sensitive pulmonary TB and multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) patients.
In India, generally patients are first started on drug-sensitive TB drugs. It is only when they do not show any
improvement despite medication even after a couple of months that MDR-TB suspected.
Good cholesterol may not help with heart disease

Although well associated with lowering cardiovascular disease risk high-density lipoprotein (HDL) known as
good cholesterol may not always be able to protect against heart disease.
A new study has suggested that it increases the inflammatory response of certain immune cells called macrophages.
This can potentially counteract its well-established anti-inflammatory effect in various other cell types, the study said.
This pro-inflammatory effect induced by HDL showed enhanced pathogen protection in mice, the researchers said.
Lung macrophages ingested disease-causing bacteria upon exposure to HDL. On the other hand, mice with low HDL
levels were impaired at clearing these bacteria from the lungs.
The results demonstrate that HDLs pro-inflammatory activity supports the proper functioning of macrophage
immune responses.
Whether HDL exerts beneficial or detrimental effects on the macrophage in a complex micro-environment, such
as the atherosclerotic plaque, remains to be determined.
For instance, in early atherosclerosis, a proper macrophage response could result in more effective scavenging and
elimination of lipids and cellular debris, which may alleviate disease, whereas at later stages, such exaggerated
responses may be detrimental because they destabilise the plaque.
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Flu infection depends on the year you were born, says study
The first type of flu virus you encounter as a child gives you protection against similar strains, and leaves you
vulnerable to others, research suggests.
Scientists have shown that the generation you belong to and even the year of your birth predicts how
vulnerable you will be to a given strain of seasonal virus.
The flu virus a person first encounters as a child, they found, leaves a permanent imprint on the immune system, giving
them robust protection against similar strains and much weaker protection against less closely related varieties of the
illness.
In future, seasonal vaccines could be targeted at people of particular ages who are most likely to benefit, and in
pandemics when medications are scarce, vulnerable age ranges could be prioritised for protective measures.
The age effect is seen because influenza A viruses the kind considered most likely to cause pandemics have
evolved into two major branches known as type 1 and type 2.
Up until 1968, all viruses in circulation belonged to the type 1 branch; between 1968 and 1979, type 2 dominated.
Since then, strains belonging to both branches have been in circulation simultaneously, but with one type tending to
dominate each year.
Using vast databases of historical epidemiological data, the scientists tracked the susceptibility of each birth year from
1918 to the present to the different flus in circulation during their lifetime.
The scientists also studied two bird flu viruses, H5N1 (belonging to the type 1 branch) and H7N9 (type 2), each of
which already has caused hundreds of cases of severe illness or death in humans. Scientists are concerned that in the
future either of these strains could gain mutations that allow them to not only jump from birds into humans, but also
spread rapidly between people, triggering a deadly pandemic.
The findings explain the surprising observation that H5N1 tends to cause far more mortalities in younger people
contrary to what might be expected, while H7N9 tends to be most devastating in the elderly population.
When a person is infected by flu, their original antibodies are woken up as the bodys first line of defence, meaning if
they are poorly-matched they will be less efficient at attacking the virus.
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Band-aid-like sensor can monitor heart health
Researchers in USA have developed a tiny, soft and wearable acoustic

sensor that measures vibrations in the human body, allowing them to
monitor heart health and recognise spoken words.
The stretchable device captures physiological sound signals from the
body, has physical properties well-matched with human skin and can be
mounted on nearly any surface of the body.
The sensor, which resembles a small band-aid, weighs less than one-
hundredth of an ounce and can gather continuous physiological data.
This device has a very low mass density and can be used for
cardiovascular monitoring, speech recognition and human-machine interfaces in daily life.
The device can pick up mechanical waves that propagate through tissues and fluids, showing characteristic acoustical
signatures of individual events, researchers said. They include the opening and closing of heart valves, vibrations of the
vocal cords and even movements in gastrointestinal tracts.
Using the data from these sensors, a doctor at a hospital far away from a patient would be able to make a fast, accurate
diagnosis.
Vocal cord vibration signals also could be used by the military personnel or civilians to control robots, vehicles or
drones.
New eye test method to prevent vision loss

Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine has come out with a new test to check eye
pressure to prevent possible vision loss.
The most common complication from cataract surgery is high eye pressure, which can cause swelling and other
issues that can lead to vision loss or even blindness.
The current standard of care following cataract surgery is to refill the eye with a saline solution and tap on the eye
with a Q-tip to observe if it is too firm, too soft or just right, said an Associate Professor.
This Goldilocks-style guesstimate is often inaccurate, and patients might actually have higher eye fluid pressure
than the surgeon believes. We use a device known as a tonometer to accurately gauge eye pressure.
An electronic eye pressure monitoring device known as a tonometer is often used in a clinical setting to determine
eye pressure, but the device rarely is used in a surgical setting.
The researchers studied 170 patients who had eye pressure adjusted after cataract surgery with a tonometer and found that
patients were 2.5 to 4 times less likely to develop cystoid macular edema cyst-like pockets of fluid in the macula of the
eye.
Zebrafish offers hope for spinal cord repair
The Zebrafish, which can completely regenerate its severed spinal cord, might hold promise for research into tissue
repair in humans, researchers said.
Scientists are looking at one protein in particular that is key to this accomplishment in the fish, the researchers said.
When the severed spinal cord of the zebrafish undergoes regeneration, a bridge forms.
Nerve cells follow and within eight weeks new nerve tissue has plugged the gap, allowing the fish to reverse their
paralysis completely.
To figure out what is going on, scientists searched for all of the genes whose activity abruptly changed after spinal
cord injury. Seven of these were found to code for proteins secreted from cells.
One of these proteins, called CTGF connective tissue growth factor was intriguing because its levels rose in
supporting cells that formed the bridge in the first two weeks following injury.
When the protein was deleted genetically, those fish failed to regenerate.
People and zebrafish share many genes, and human CTGF protein is nearly 90 percent similar in its amino acid
components to that of zebra fish.
Inserting human CTGF into the injury site in fish helped the regeneration process. The fish go from paralysed to
swimming in the tank. The effect of the protein is striking, said a researcher involved.
But CTGF alone is probably not enough for people to regenerate their spinal cords, the team said. The process is
more complex in mammals, in part because scar tissue forms around an injury.
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Brain implants help paralysed monkeys walk
Swiss scientists have helped monkeys with spinal cord injuries regain control of non-functioning limbs in research
which might one day lead to paralysed people being able to walk again.
The scientists, who treated the monkeys with a neuroprosthetic interface that acted as a wireless bridge between the
brain and spine, say they have started small feasibility studies in humans to trial some components.
The link between the decoding of the brain and the stimulation of the spinal cord to make this communication exist
is completely new, said a neurosurgeon involved.
The team said the interface works by decoding brain activity linked to walking movements and relaying that to the
spinal cord through electrodes.
WHO: Zika no longer a public health emergency

The World Health Organization announced that the Zika virus outbreak, linked to deformations in babies heads
and brains, no longer poses a world public health emergency, though it warned that the epidemic remains a
challenge.
Brazil, the epicentre of the outbreak, has however refused to downgrade the risk, while experts swiftly lashed out
against the world health bodys decision.
The Zika virus remains a highly significant and long-term problem, but it is not any more a public health emergency of
international concern, the world health bodys emergency committee chair said.
While Zika causes only mild symptoms in most people, pregnant women with the virus risk giving birth to babies
with microcephaly a deformation that leads to abnormally small brains and heads.
It can also cause rare adult-onset neurological problems such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which can result
in paralysis and even death.
There is no vaccine or treatment for the disease.
In the outbreak that began in mid-2015, more than 1.5 million people have been infected with Zika, mainly in
Brazil, and more than 1,600 babies have been born with microcephaly since last year, according to the WHO.
The UNs global health agency declared the Zika epidemic a global health emergency in February 2016.
Earlier this year, researchers warned that at least 2.6 billion people, over a third of the global population, live in parts of
Africa, Asia and the Pacific where Zika could gain a new foothold, with 1.2 billion at risk in India alone.
In most cases worldwide, people have been infected with the virus by mosquitoes, though some have contracted the
disease through sexual contact.
The virus, which has been detected in 73 countries worldwide, mainly in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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Pharma companies owning up to the onus of Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR)
Ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance
(AMR), 13 pharmaceutical companies came up with a new road map, assigning to themselves four key
commitments that they will deliver by 2020 to reduce resistance.
Companies that have signed up to the scheme include some of the top names in drug production, including Pfizer,
Merck, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline and Allergan, and Indian drug makers Cipla and Wockhardt.
In India costs may go up 20-30 per cent initially after making changes to the infrastructure in factories.
Specifically, this group of diversified companies commit to:
1. Reduce the environmental impact from the production of antibiotics, including a review of the companies
manufacturing and supply chains, and work with stakeholders to establish a common framework for assessing and
managing antibiotic discharge;
2. Help ensure antibiotics are used only by patients who need them, recognizing this requires concerted efforts from
many stakeholders, through continued provider and patient education, an examination of the companies
promotional activities, sharing of surveillance data with public health bodies and healthcare professionals, and
collaboration with stakeholders to reduce uncontrolled antibiotic purchase;
3. Improve access to current and future antibiotics, vaccines, and diagnostics, including working with stakeholders
to strengthen global health systems and address access bottlenecks; establishing new business models that balance
access needs, appropriate antibiotic use, expanded vaccine coverage and adequate return to companies; and working
to reduce the prevalence of substandard/counterfeit antibiotics in high-risk markets; and
4. Explore new opportunities for open collaborations between industry and the public sector to address challenges
in the research and development of new antibiotics, vaccines, and diagnostics, recognizing the value these bring to
society.
While awareness on use/misuse and abuse of antibiotics is common knowledge, as is the impact of dosing poultry
with antibiotics, the environmental impact of antibiotics-manufacturing companies not treating their wastes has scarcely
been discussed at any length or seriousness thus far.
As they begin delivering on their commitments, a fresh hope emerges in a world that is literally down to its last effective
bunch of antibiotics with the emergence of resistance even to last-line drugs.
The report, Superbugs in the Supply Chain: How pollution from antibiotics factories in India and China is fuelling
the global rise of drug-resistant infections, exposed the occurrence of resistant bacteria surrounding the pharma
manufacturing plants and maps out the supply chain which delivers antibiotics from the dirty factories where they
are produced to patients in Europe and the United States.
High levels of drug-resistant bacteria were found at sites in three Indian cities: Hyderabad, New Delhi and
Chennai.
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Discovery of special stem cells in fruit flies to help study diseases
For the first time, researchers have discovered hematopoietic stem cells in Drosophila (fruit flies), thus providing
an invertebrate model to study hematopoietic stem cells.
Hematopoietic stem cells are the stem cells that give rise to all the other blood cells.
Till date there has been no evidence of hematopoietic stem cells in fruit flies and only the progenitor cells, which are
precursors to differentiated cells, were found in these flies.
Many diseases in humans are linked to the development of blood cells. For instance, leukaemia and Fanconi
anaemia take root at an early embryonic stage. But studying how the development of blood cells in humans leads to
these diseases has been difficult as the early hematopoietic stem cell development takes place in a six-week-old
embryo.
There are technical difficulties in studying hematopoietic stem cell development in human embryos as it would involve
sacrificing the embryos.
Also, when we take the hematopoietic stem cells and culture them in a plate, the signal produced might not be identical to
the ones produced by cells inside the organism
Fruit fly will serve as a good model as it shares many similarities with humans the signalling pathways and a lot
of molecules and processes are common. Also, the way the HSCs [hematopoietic stem cells] are generated and the early
process of blood cell development are similar in vertebrates and in fruit flies.
Precursor cells that have already been found in the lymph gland (blood-forming organ) of fruit fly larvae give rise to
mature blood cells. This led the research team to wonder if there are cells that actually give rise to these precursor cells.
This search led to the discovery of hematopoietic stem cells in flies.
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PETA urges shift to non-animal produced antitoxins
The People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) International Science Consortium is funding ground
breaking research that will spare thousands of Indian horses currently being forced to produce antitoxins for
diphtheria.
The development of human antitoxins will also help to avoid the serum sickness that horse-derived antitoxins can
cause in humans, and will mitigate the global shortage of diphtheria antitoxins.
The consortium is providing 134,000 Euros to the Institute of Biochemistry, Biotechnology, and Bioinformatics at the
Technische Universitt Braunschweig in Germany.
This research will lead to the development of recombinant human antibodies that can block the illness-causing
diphtheria toxin.
There is a need to adopt and develop modern non-animal methods of producing antitoxins and antivenins.
Each year, thousands of horses are used as living factories to produce antitoxins. These antitoxins are isolated from
horses' blood after the horses are repeatedly injected with toxins including the diphtheria toxin.
Many of the horses are kept on farms in India, from where the antitoxins are exported and used worldwide.
A recent inspection by veterinary and PETA India experts uncovered rampant negligence and inadequate veterinary care
at the farms. Horses and other equines used in India showed signs of lameness, anaemia, diseased hooves, eye
abnormalities, and malnutrition.
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The stealth superbug, decoded
A team of scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru is behind the genome sequencing of
Candida auris, a deadly fungus that has caused disease outbreaks in five continents this year.
Apart from the U.S., outbreaks have been reported this year in eight countries across four continents India,
Pakistan, South Korea, Kuwait, South Africa, Colombia, Venezuela and United Kingdom.
Candida auris is widely considered an emerging superbug fungus as it does not respond to conventional antifungal
drugs.
The genome data were submitted to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. and is now considered as
the reference genome across the globe.
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Candidiasis is a fungal infection caused by Candida species, often seen in patients whose immune system is
compromised, such as AIDS patients or in case of transplants, malignancies and the use of catheters. Most of the
infections are hospital-acquired, especially in ICU settings.
The first case reported was in Japan in an external ear canal infection in a patient in 2009. Since then, most cases have
been invasive in nature and India has one of the highest number of infections caused by this superbug.
In many cases, the fungus had been misidentified with another Candida species, Candida haemulonii.
The rise of more virulent forms is connected to the indiscriminate use of antibiotics.
One reason for the high resistance to existing drugs is that this species has a higher number of drug efflux pumps
compared to other species.
H5N8 expands its reach
India has reported an outbreak of a highly contagious bird flu virus in Karnataka, the Paris-based World
Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said, citing a report from the Indian Agriculture Ministry.
The virus, H5N8, spreads through direct contact with secretions from infected birds, their feed, etc.
So far there are no reported cases of H5N8 affecting people.
The virus is caused by Type A influenza and is a subtype of the H5N1 virus.
With nearly 50 ducks dying of the virus last month at Delhi zoo, the State government had issued a health advisory
asking people to not consume uncooked chicken or eggs.
In the latest case, in Karnataka, the H5N8 virus was confirmed among birds in the village of Itagi; all 1,593 of the birds
at risk from the disease died or were culled, according to the report posted by the OIE.
The H5N8 bird flu strain has been found in several countries in Europe and West Asia in recent weeks, leading
some states to order poultry flocks to be kept indoors.
The same virus had previously affected livestock in Haryana, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala.
The Union Health Ministry has issued an advisory to the States and Union Territories to minimise bird-human interface,
ensure that those handling sick or dead birds use personal protective equipment, and also keep them under surveillance.
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Poor diet sees scurvy reappear in Australia
Scurvy, a disease historically associated with old-world sailors on long voyages, is making a surprise comeback in
Australia.
Caused by vitamin C deficiency, the condition used to be a common and often fatal curse among sea-farers who
went months without fresh fruit and vegetables.
Once barely heard of in developed countries, reports suggest the problem is also on the rise in Britain
Researchers claim scurvy has reappeared because of poor dietary habits.
A lack of vitamin C can lead to defective formation of collagen and connective tissues, and cause bruising, bleeding
gums, blood spots in the skin, joint pain and impaired wound healing, researchers said.
XXIII. S&T SPACE

Develop cheaper satellite launch vehicles
India will have to re-engineer its launch vehicle systems to remain cost-effective in the face of emerging
competition from space agencies in other countries, according to S. Rakesh, chairman and managing director, Antrix
Corporation, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation.
More affordable launch vehicles under development in countries such as the U.S., New Zealand, Russia, and
China could pose a challenge to ISROs PSLV and other rockets in the near future.
The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is much sought-after in the commercial satellite launch market,
presently.
ISRO was already working on driving down the cost of satellite launches.
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ISRO adopts drought-hit Brahmasandra to help farmers
Antrix Corporation Limited, marketing arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has adopted the
Brahmasandra village in the Sira taluk of Tumakuru district, Karnataka in an effort to improve the quality of life
of farmers and prevent suicides caused by acute financial distress.
As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, Antrix will implement the endeavour with help from
the Bharatia Agro-Industries Foundation, for which it has earmarked Rs. 3.81 crore over a period of five years.
We selected the perennial drought-hit village, Brahmasandra, to implement watershed development, tank
rejuvenation and rainwater harvesting for drinking water, the construction of farm ponds to increase the
groundwater table, and also to train farmers to use modern tools and advanced technology in agriculture.
The Antrix will focus more on the construction of toilets to make the village open defecation free, construct school and
anganwadi buildings, and develop activities for women to increase their income.
India joins CERN as an associate member

India became an associate member of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), the worlds
largest nuclear and particle physics laboratory and best known as operator of the Large Hadron Collider, which
found the elusive Higgs boson in 2012.
India was inducted as an Observer at CERN in 2004.
The latest upgrade allows Indian companies to bid for lucrative engineering contracts for developing sophisticated
equipment, software and instruments; and Indians can apply for staff positions at the organisation.
The associate membership would cost India CHF (Swiss Franc) 11.5 million (approximately Rs. 78 crore) annually
though it still wouldnt have voting rights on decisions of the Council.
The Union Cabinet had cleared Indias participation in 2015.
India can choose to apply for full membership after two years or continue with associate member status for five years.
CERN is based in Geneva on the French-Swiss border.
It has 22 member states and four associate member states and other associate members transitioning to full member
status.
Associate members pay about 10 per cent what full members pay.
Though India was invited to be member of CERN at least two years ago, it tarried. Incidentally, Pakistan became an
associate member of the body in 2014. This, even though Indias association with CERN goes back decades with an
active involvement in the construction of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), in the areas of design, development and
supply of hardware accelerator components/systems and its commissioning and software development and deployment in
the machine.
Indian scientists have played a significant role in the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment, one of the two
large experiments that led to the discovery of the Higgs Boson.
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Bullish investors back Team Indus moon shot
Three major investors in the stock market - Rakesh Jhunjhunwla, Ashish Kacholia and R.K.Damani - have picked
up a stake in Team Indus, the start-up that plans to send Indias first privately-funded spacecraft to the moon in
2017.
The overall mission will cost us $ 75 million or around Rs. 450 crore.
The start-up is the only Indian aspirant and among the four from across the world that plan to send spacecraft to
soft-land on the moon before December 2017, deploying a rover and sending lunar pictures.
In 2015, it won a $1 million milestone prize from Google Lunar X Prize for completing the viable concept of its
moon lander. The final prize amount stands at $ 30 million (about Rs. 200 crore at current exchange rates).
Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, the angel backer, came on board two years ago and is now the single largest
investor in the company that was started in 2012.
The company is poised to start building its 600-kg-plus moon lander. It plans to launch it on a hired PSLV rocket
of the Indian Space Research Organisation.
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XPRIZE competition deadline has been extended to December 2017.
As of 2016, 16 teams remain in the competition, with three teams, SpaceIL, Moon Express and Synergy Moon, having
secured verified launch contracts for 2017 (with SpaceX, Rocket Lab and Interorbital Systems respectively).
All other teams have until the end of 2016 to secure a verified launch contract, and remain in the competition.
ISRO drones help map disasters in north-east

The Shillong-based North-Eastern Space Applications
Centre (NE-SAC) of the Indian Space Research
Organisation has tested unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)
to assess several regional problems, ranging from
measuring diseased paddy fields to damage caused by
frequent landslides, according to the space agency.
Data from ISROs remote sensing satellites are generally
combined with ground-based details. Use of drones cuts
much leg work that ground surveyors must take up, an
official said.
Drone-based studies are new and currently confined to the
north-eastern States. Depending on demand from other
States, they could be extended to other places.
Among various services provided on request to the north-
eastern States using the drones, NE-SAC mapped the area affected by landslides along Meghalaya's life line, NH40.
It gave the extent of damage caused to pest-infested paddy fields in Naramari village of Assam.
However, the area studied by a drone will be smaller compared to the area assessed from space by satellites. The
processing and storage of large amounts of data given by a drone are a problem, ISRO said.
The NE centre was started in the year 2000 to provide Space technology-based communication and technology
support to the region.
Antrixs major revenues will come from satcom business
Antrix Corporation Limited will be completing 25 years in 2017 in marketing niche products and services from
Indias satellites and launch vehicles.
It is a mini ratna under the Department of Space / Indian Space Resarch Organisation
Antrix was separated from ISRO in 2011.
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The turnover of Antrix for 2015-16 was Rs.1,920 crore. About 70-75 per cent of this comes from the satcom (satellite
communications) business.
Today, the Indian satcom market that is, leasing transponders for DTH broadcasting, DSNG (digital satellite TV
news gathering from remote places), VSAT and cellular backhauling has grown and we have capitalised on that.
Launch services revenue coming from commercial foreign satellites fluctuates and it could be around 15 per cent
besides a small amount from offering telemetry and tracking support to other operators.
The revenue from earth observation (EO) or remote sensing is less than five per cent of the total.
Actually, the business given by satellite services such as leasing of transponders far outweighs the cost of building a
satellite (for a customer) or (the fee from) a launcher.
Addressing the chronic capacity shortage for DTH operators, Antrix is bridging this gap by leasing capacity from
foreign satellites. Perhaps the bandwidth requirement is being met at a slightly higher cost. Users have been requested to
come on to the INSAT/ GSAT platform once the capacity is available.
All over the world, even in our villages, there are requirements for increased bandwidth.
In the future, High-Throughput Satellites (HTS) will be a big breakthrough for improving Internet services.
For ISROs HTSs, we will look at partnering Indian industry to provide services, somewhat as in the case of DTH.
The first opportunity will come once the GSAT-11 is launched.
DTH:
Direct-broadcast satellite television (DBSTV) also known as Direct-to-home television (DTHTV) is a method of
receiving satellite television by means of signals transmitted from direct-broadcast satellites.
Signals are transmitted using Ku band and are completely digital which means they have high picture and stereo
sound quality.
Prior to the arrival of DBS services in the early to mid-1990s signals were sent from fixed service satellites on the C-
band analog and received with television receive-only systems, which had more disadvantages to DBSTV including
the requirement of large satellite dishes.
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Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT):
It is a two-way satellite ground station with a dish antenna that is smaller than 3 meters.
VSATs access satellites in geosynchronous orbit to relay data from small remote Earth stations (terminals) to other
terminals (in mesh topology) or master Earth station "hubs" (in star topology).
VSATs are used to transmit narrowband data (e.g., point-of-sale transactions using credit cards, polling or RFID data,
or SCADA), or broadband data (for the provision of satellite Internet access to remote locations, VoIP or video).
VSATs are also used for transportable, on-the-move (utilising phased array antennas) or mobile maritime
communications.
Spinal fluid changes harm astronauts vision
Astronauts may experience blurry vision and impaired eyesight after long space flights due to changes in spinal
fluid that occur while in microgravity, researchers have found.
Nearly two-thirds of astronauts have reported problems with their eyes after spending months at the International
Space Station, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America
(RSNA).
The problems include flattening at the back of their eyeballs and inflamed optic nerves, which can lead to far-
sightedness.
Researchers initially thought that the problems were due to changes in the way blood is distributed in the body in
microgravity, with more fluid lingering around the head area.
After brain scans it was found that these astronauts had significantly more cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain
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This fluid typically helps cushion the brain and spinal cord while circulating nutrients and removing waste
materials.
On Earth, this spinal fluid system is designed to accommodate changes whether a person is sitting, standing or lying
down.
But in space, the system is confused by the lack of the posture-related pressure changes.
NASA builds telescope 100 times more powerful than Hubble
James Webb Space Telescope, successor of 26-

year-old Hubble, may find the first galaxies that
were formed in the early universe.
The National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) of the United States has
successfully completed building the largest space
telescope one that is 100 times powerful
than the Hubble Space Telescope and may find
the first galaxies that were formed in the early
universe.
The Webb telescopes infrared cameras are so
sensitive that it needs to be shielded from the
rays of the Sun. A five-layer sunshield of the size
of a tennis court will prevent the heat from
interfering with the telescopes infrared sensors.
It is a joint project of the NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.
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Novembers supermoon will be biggest and brightest in 60 years
The moon will be the biggest and

brightest it has been in more than 60
years on 14th November 2016.
Its what is commonly called a
supermoon, or technically a perigee
full moon a phenomenon that
occurs when a full moon coincides
with the moon being the closest it gets
to the Earth on its orbit.
What makes this one special is that the
moon is going to be even closer to the
Earth than it normally gets, making it a
tiny bit bigger than even your average
supermoon.
Supermooons are roughly 30% larger
in area and 30% brighter than the
smallest full moons full moons that
happen when the moon is at its
furthest distance from Earth: at
apogee.
The boost in actual size of the moons
image from a supermoon is totally
swamped by whats known as the
moon illusion, which affects your perception of the size of the moon.
When the moon is close to the horizon, it can appear up to 300% the size it does when it is high in the sky which
makes much more of a difference than the actual 7% boost you get from it being a bit closer to the Earth.
Exactly what causes the moon illusion is still a matter of debate.
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New light on dark matter
Dark matter is as mysterious as it sounds very little is known about it, save that it makes up about 85 per cent of all
the matter in the universe.
Now, German and Hungarian scientists have thrown some light on a type of dark matter particle that has been
postulated, known as the axion.
They have established that axions can have a mass between 50 and 1500 micro electron volts, making them some
ten billion times lighter than the electron.
An interesting fact is that these calculations were done numerically using a (Bluegen/Q) super computer, JuQueen,
housed in the Julich Supercomputer Centre in Germany.
Dark matter is so known because it interacts weakly with matter and so is notoriously difficult to detect. Yet,
indirect proof of its existence comes from observation of rapidly rotating galaxies, which cannot be held together
merely by the gravitational pull of the matter they contain there has to be a lot of invisible stuff known as dark
matter to prevent them from flying apart with the force of their own energies. Such inferences imply that nearly 85
per cent of the universe is made of dark matter, the known matter only contributes 15 per cent.
Several candidate particles have been postulated that may constitute dark matter both highly massive and
lightweight but none of the experiments have detected any such particle so far, directly.
Axions are particles proposed by extending quantum chromodynamics (QCD) the theory that describes strong
interactions, the way quarks and gluons bond to form matter particles such as protons, neutrons etc.
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Paving the way to backpack-sized gravimetry
A high degree of precision in measuring gravity comes in
useful in many contexts from minute measurements of
plate tectonics and seismology to searching for minerals
underground.
Gravimeters, which are used for this purpose, are often
bulky.
Now, scientists from Germany, Canada and the U.S. have
demonstrated an atom-chip, quantum device which paves
the way to developing gravimeters that can fit into a
backpack.
Also, the newly proposed device would improve by a factor
of ten the accuracy of measurement attributed to currently
available gravimeters.
The device uses a cloud of ultracold atoms which are
trapped in a centimetre-size chip using lasers and magnets.
Using atomic interferometry to measure gravity is not new
and has been around for a while.
In this method, atoms are cooled to a temperature near
absolute zero when their quantum nature is dominant.
Measurements using this process can be made more precise if the atoms are first squeezed together to form a so-called
Bose-Einstein condensate.
This is a state of matter where all the atoms of the substance occupy the same quantum level in other words, they
coalesce into a blob and can be described by a single wave function.
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Using a Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) instead of independent atoms contributes to the aim of miniaturisation the
BEC has a diameter which is about a hundred times smaller than a non-BEC atom cloud.
The BEC atoms are trapped near the surface of a chip using atom-chip technology.
Using lasers and magnetic fields, about 10,000 atoms are compressed to form the condensate, within about 15 seconds,
which lies just below the surface of the centimetre-sized chip.
The laser is then made to kick the BEC. This results in the cloud being split, and a part of it is kicked and shoots
up while the other falls without feeling the kick. The two pieces are made to follow slightly different paths, with the
part that was kicked having followed a longer path. When they eventually meet and interfere, their interference
pattern gives a measure of the gravitational field on them.
XXIV. S&T IT
IIT team builds solution that weeds out clickbait headlines
When perusing news online, how often have you been lured by clickbaits headlines that are catchy and excite
your curiosity and then found the article in question disappointing?
Repeated occurrence of clickbaits can lead to important news stories getting missed out due to reader fatigue.
To tackle this problem, IIT Kharagpur researchers have developed a browser extension Stop Clickbait that can
detect and block clickbaits.
Relying on the premise that good content must be embodied by good language, Stop Clickbait analyses a range of
features in the headline, including sentence structure, and categorises the headline as clickbait or non-clickbait.
The extension enjoyed 93 per cent accuracy in detecting clickbaits and 89 per cent accuracy in blocking them.
Consider the clickbait headline This Rugby Fans Super-Excited Reaction To Meeting Shane Williams Will Make You
Grin Like A Fool, and compare it with a non-clickbait one, such as, Tata Sons Announces Key Organisational
Changes.
One marker was length of the headline for clickbait the average was 10 words, whereas for non-clickbait it was seven.
Another feature was extensive usage of common words in clickbaits for example, How well do you or what
happens when.
News outlets, however, in competing for reader attention, could be using headlines with clickbait qualities to package
news. The team was working to make sure that such news items are not blocked.
Commercial apps will soon be able to strike open data gold

The Centre will soon notify a policy that will allow apps and services to be created for commercial purposes using
over 42,000 databases. This will remove the restriction on their use solely for academic purposes.
The Open Government Data (OGD) Platform publishes datasets collected by various Ministries and departments,
including Agriculture, Union Budget, Transport and Commerce.
This will provide India a place among the top 10 countries that have an open data platform.
For example, in transport, on the basis of registration numbers, a mobile app can offer a user the facility to check
details of a car, including previous owners. The data were available in the public domain, but someone would have to
work on the set, use analytics and build a value added service.
The government will not charge for data but the provider may price the services.
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Ensuring privacy filtering, Chief Data Officers (CDOs) in each Ministry maintain databases and initially decide
what can be put out in the public domain.
No data that put a citizens privacy at risk were published , is assured.
Pune researchers fabricate a flexible nanogenerator for wearable electronics
Producing wearable electronics that uses a portable nanogenerator which generates electric power when pressure
or twist is applied got a shot in the arm, thanks to research carried out by Pune researchers.
The nanogenerator, which was fabricated by them, produced 14 volts when thumb pressure was applied.
To demonstrate the potential of the nanogenerator to power small electronic devices, pressure equivalent to thumb
pressure was continuously exerted on the nanogenerator for 20 minutes by using a vibration producing motor.
About 28 micro watt per square cm power and 14 volt that was generated was stored in a capacitor and used for
charging a mobile phone.
Currently, there is considerable research emphasis to develop flexible or wearable devices. Such devices should be
portable, lightweight, shock-resistant, and inexpensive. And the devices should ideally be powered by harvesting
easily available mechanical or vibration energy, making battery or related wiring redundant.
Piezoelectric materials, which can generate electrical power locally through stress or flexing, are a great
proposition in this regard.
To produce the nanogenerator, researchers from Punes Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) and
the National Chemical Laboratory electrospun a piezoelectric polymer [P(VDF-TrFE)] directly onto a flexible,
conducting carbon cloth. The carbon cloth was produced by the researchers by heating a piece of cotton cloth at 800
degree C for several hours in an inert atmosphere.
To improve the piezovoltage of the polymer fibres, the researchers coated the fibres with a stronger, inorganic
ferroelectric material (BaTiO3) paste. The nanoparticles from the coating helps fill the gaps between the polymer
nanofibres and increase the piezoelectric property.
Due to the roughness of the cloth surface, when you press or flex the device the applied force is transmitted along
different directions of the piezoelectric active layer. And this improves the piezoelectric property of the nanogenerator.
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Pune researchers turn insulating MOFs into semiconductors
After four years of intensive screening, researchers at Punes Indian Institute of Science Education and Research
(IISER) have transformed insulating cadmium-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which are generally
used for gas storage and solvent separation, into semiconductor MOFs at room temperature by incorporating
polymers through nanochemistry.
The electrical conductivity increased nine-fold (a billion-fold increase) when chains of conducting polymers were
introduced into the nanochannels of MOFs.
Initially, the pores of metal-organic frameworks are loaded with pyrrole monomers, which are not electrical
conductors. The addition of iodine brings about an oxidation reaction and converts the monomers into polymers.
Unlike monomers, polymers are electrically conducting in nature and this helps turn the metal-organic framework
into a semiconductor.
The size of the pyrrole monomer nearly matches the dimension of nanochannels of the metal-organic framework. So no
branch polymer was formed but only single-chain (linear) polymerisation took place, says Dr. Ballav. Branch polymers
are generally less electrically conducting in nature than single-chain polymers.
The MOF continued to retain its fluorescence even after becoming electrically conducting.
Though the researchers have been able to produce a nine-fold increase in the electrical conductivity of the MOF-
nanocomposite, it is still far less than silicon.
But our work shows promise that organic materials can be used in electronic industry where silicon is primarily used. It
will be an economic approach for the development of future electronic applications, says a researcher involved.
The hybrid nanocomposite can be used for fabricating electronic devices for gas sensing applications and for making
electrochemical devices such as super capacitors, he says.
Metal Organic Framework (MOF)

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Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are compounds consisting of metal ions or clusters coordinated to organic ligands
to form one-, two-, or three-dimensional structures.
They are a subclass of coordination polymers, with the special feature that they are often porous. In some cases, the
pores are stable during elimination of the guest molecules (often solvents) and could be used for the storage of gases
such as hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
Other possible applications of MOFs are in gas purification, in gas separation, in catalysis, as sensors and as
supercapacitors.
Semiconductor:
Semiconductors are crystalline or amorphous solids with distinct electrical characteristics.
They are of high resistance higher than typical resistance materials, but still of much lower resistance than
insulators.
Their resistance decreases as their temperature increases, which is behavior opposite to that of a metal.
Finally, their conducting properties may be altered in useful ways by the deliberate, controlled introduction of
impurities ("doping") into the crystal structure, which lowers its resistance but also permits the creation of
semiconductor junctions between differently-doped regions of the extrinsic semiconductor crystal.
The behavior of charge carriers which include electrons, ions and electron holes at these junctions is the basis of diodes,
transistors, ICs and all modern electronics.
Semiconductor devices can display a range of useful properties such as passing current more easily in one direction than
the other, showing variable resistance, and sensitivity to light or heat.
Because the electrical properties of a semiconductor material can be modified by doping, or by the application of
electrical fields or light, devices made from semiconductors can be used for amplification, switching, and energy
conversion.
Chennai team turns leather waste into carbon for electrodes
Researchers at the Vellore Institute of Technology University, Chennai, have successfully converted leather solid
waste (wet blue leather splits) containing chromium (III) into porous carbon matrix for use as electrodes in
supercapacitors using a simple, sequential, two-step process.
This approach not only yielded excellent porous electrode material for supercapacitors, but also effectively
addressed the management of chromium-containing leather solid waste, which is considered to be the major issue of
leather manufacturing industry.
The prime constituent of leather is collagen fibre.
Chromium (Cr) is widely used in leather tanning as it imparts toughness to leather.
Though Cr(III) present in leather waste is not toxic, it can undergo spontaneous oxidation and get oxidised into
Cr(VI) which is toxic.
The conventional disposal methods, such as land filling and incineration, cannot be considered as an ideal way of
disposing the waste in an eco-friendly manner.
As a first step, the leather waste was precarbonised by heating it for four hours at 400 degree C. The precarbonised
material was soaked in potassium hydroxide overnight and then heated at higher temperature in an inert atmosphere to
produce porous carbon that contains inter-connected nanopores of all three sizes micropores (less than 2 nm),
mesopores (2-50 nm) and macropores (over 50 nm).
Since the carbon contains all the three types of pores, it is called hierarchical porous carbons (HPCs).
The three types of interconnected pores have very different roles in rendering the carbon a good electrode material.
(While the micropores enhance the electrical double layer formation, the mesopores provide ion-transport
pathways with low resistance, and the macropores serve as ion-buffering reservoirs to reduce the diffusion
distance.)
As the hierarchical porous carbon is highly porous and has higher surface area, adequate ions diffuse into the inner pores
of the electrode material. Since more ions are adsorbed on these electrodes compared to normal electrodes, the charge
storage capacity becomes higher.
Hierarchical porous carbon is considered as a promising material for making electrodes that can be used in
supercapacitor devices.
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Why does the ink in an ATM slip fade after some days? How can we preserve it?
ATM receipts are made by a simple printing method called thermal printing.
It is based on the principle of thermochromism, a process of change in colour with heating.
Thermal printing essentially works by creating impressions using print-heads over a special kind of paper roll
(found in ATMs, vending machines) coated with organic dyes, waxes.
When the print-head made of regular array of minuscule heating elements receives the signal for printing, it raises the
temperature to the melting point of the organic coating to cause print impression on the paper roll through the process of
thermochromism.
Usually black colour printouts are obtained, but it is also possible to generate red printouts by controlling the
temperature of print heads.
It is common to see these printouts fade over time, even when stored at normal room temperature. More so when heated
or brought near a candle flame or exposed to sunlight.
Continuous exposure to sunlight generates a lot of heat, much above the melting point of these coatings, which
causes irreversible damage to chemical composition of the coating eventually leading to fading or disappearance
of the printed matter.
XXV. S&T- BIOTECHNOLOGY
Scientists tweak photosynthesis to up crop yield

Scientists from USA have successfully tweaked the process of photosynthesis to make it more efficient and increase
plant productivity by raising the level of three proteins involved in the process.
Many years of computational analysis and laboratory and field experiments led to the selection of the proteins targeted
in the study. Researchers used tobacco plants as they can be easily modified.
Crop leaves exposed to full sunlight absorb more light than they can use. If they cannot get rid of this extra energy,
it will actually bleach the leaf. Plants protect themselves by making changes within the leaf that dissipate the excess
energy as heat. This process is called non-photochemical quenching (NPQ).
However, when a cloud crosses the sun, or a leaf goes into the shade of another, it can take up to half an hour for
that NPQ process to relax. In the shade, the lack of light limits photosynthesis, and NPQ is also wasting light as heat,,
a researcher involved explained.
Researchers used a supercomputer to predict how much the slow recovery from NPQ reduces crop productivity over the
course of a day. These calculations showed surprisingly high losses of 7.5 per cent to 30 per cent, depending on the
plant type and prevailing temperature.
Researchers suggested that boosting levels of three proteins might speed up the recovery process.
To test this concept, they inserted a cassette of the three genes taken from the model plantArabidopsis into
tobacco. A fluorescence imaging technique allowed the team to determine which of the transformed plants recovered
more quickly upon transfer to shade.
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Two of the modified plant lines consistently showed 20 per cent higher productivity and the third was 14 per cent higher
than the unaltered tobacco plants.
Master control genes help worms regrow parts
Is it possible for humans to regrow an amputated arm or leg, or completely restore nervous system function after a
spinal cord injury?
It might be possible one day, as a new study, led by the University of Washington, of one of our closest invertebrate
relatives, the acorn worm, reveals that they can regrow every major body part including the head, nervous
system and internal organs from nothing after being sliced in half. Further slicing results in further
regenerations.
Acorn worms burrow in the sand around coral reefs, but their ancestral relationship to chordates means they have a
genetic make-up and body plan surprisingly similar to ours.
Acorn worms are one of the few living species of hemichordates.
We share thousands of genes with these animals, and we have many, if not all, of the same genes they are using to
regenerate their body structures, said a researcher involved.
The researchers analysed the gene expression patterns of acorn worms as they regrew body parts, which is an important
first step in understanding the mechanisms driving regeneration.
They suspect that a master control gene or set of genes is responsible for activating a pattern of genetic activity
that promotes regrowth, because once regeneration begins, the same pattern unfolds in every worm.
XXVI. S&T - ENERGY
New super battery made from junkyard metal
Researchers in USA have developed a new high-performance, grid-scale

battery made from metal scrap and common household chemicals.
The battery, which is no bigger than a pill bottle, could withstand the
equivalent of 13 years of daily charging and discharging while retaining 90
per cent of its capacity, researchers said.
The researchers were inspired from an ancient technology called the
Baghdad battery, which dates to the first century BC.
It consisted of a terracotta pot, a copper sheet and an iron rod along with
some trace chemicals that could possibly have been electrolytes.
The team soaked metal pieces in a jar with a solution of water and salt or a
solution of water and antifreeze.
They then applied a voltage to induce a known process called anodisation,
which restructures the nanoscopic composition of a metal.
That exposes the metals interior surface and makes it more receptive to storing
and releasing energy.
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Researchers placed a physical barrier between the two pieces of metal and submerged it in an electrolyte solution made
from water and potassium hydroxide.
When connected by wires to a device that generated a current, such as a solar panel, their contraption worked just like a
car battery.
Hungry bacteria can extract energy from sewage

Sewage contains a source of energy that can be harvested by using hungry bacteria, researchers from Ghent
University in Belgium have discovered.
The levels of organic matter in sewage are too low to be directly recovered. We investigated how we can use
bacteria to capture this material, said one of the researchers.
We periodically starve the bacteria, in a kind of fasting regimen. Afterwards, wastewater is briefly brought into
contact with the starved bacteria which are gluttonous and gobble up the organic matter without ingesting all of it,
Professor Nico Boon said.
This enables us to harvest the undigested materials for the production of energy and high-quality products. We
starve the rest of the bacteria, so that they can purify fresh sewage again, a researcher explained.
The researchers said their approach is unique because they have developed a high-rate variation of the so-called contact-
stabilisation process.
By using the contact-stabilisation process, up to 55 per cent of the organic matter could be recovered from sewage, the
researchers said.
This is a huge step forward, because the existing processes cannot recover more than 20 to 30 per cent. The researchers
calculated that this amount can provide sufficient amounts of energy to completely treat sewage without the need for
external electricity.
This is an important step in the direction of wastewater treatment that is energy neutral, or even produces energy.
The world of aviation did not believe that a solar-powered plane could be made
Swiss aviator Bertrand Piccard, whose paternal lineage of explorers led him to attempt the seemingly impossible task
of flying without fuel.
At the recently concluded U.N. climate summit in Marrakech, Morocco, where he unveiled a World Alliance for Clean
Technologies, he narrated the story of co-piloting the first solar-powered flight, the Solar Impulse, around the world.
The aircraft uses 17,000 solar cells and has flown 40,000 km in its first round-the-world trip, which concluded in
July, 2016.
With the International Civil Aviation Organisation leading the adoption of the historic agreement to mitigate greenhouse
gas emissions in the sector this October 2016, such experiments could show the way in greening commercial
aviation, he says.
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XXVII. S&T - ANTARCTICA
India begins to drill into the Antarctic ice
An Indo-Norwegian project to understand the response of Antarctic ice shelves to the global warming has begun
in the less-studied areas of East Antarctica, especially the Dronning Maud Land (DML), which is characterised by
loosely-connected ice shelves along the 2000-km-long coast.
Ice shelves of East Antarctica are poorly understood when compared to the West Antarctica region.
Climatologists are increasingly worried about the large uncertainties in the future Antarctic contribution to the global sea-
level rise since the Antarctic contribution to the climate changes has increased significantly during the past two decades.
Under the project, mass-balance, dynamics, and climate of the Dronning Maud Land coast, East Antarctica
(MADICE), geophysical field measurements, ice core drilling, ice-sheet modelling and satellite remote sensing-based
studies will be conducted to understand the future Antarctic contribution to the global sea-level rise
Under the MADICE, research will be conducted during 2016-17 and 2017-18 Antarctic field seasons.
The scientific programme, jointly funded by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, India and the Research Council, Norway, has
National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), Goa and the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) as the
partnering research institutions.
Maitri, Indias Antarctic research station, will serve as the logistic support base.
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Antarctic Treaty System (ATS):
The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively known as the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS).
They regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only continent without a native human
population.
For the purposes of the treaty system, Antarctica is defined as all of the land and ice shelves south of 60S latitude.
The treaty, entering into force in 1961 and having 53 parties as of 2016, sets aside Antarctica as a scientific
preserve, establishes freedom of scientific investigation and bans military activity on that continent.
The treaty was the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War.
India is a signatory to the Antarctic Treaty System.
Indian Antarctic Program

It is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional program under the control of the National Centre for Antarctic and
Ocean Research (NCAOR), Goa, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.
It was initiated in 1981 with the first Indian expedition to Antarctica.
The program gained global acceptance with India's signing of the Antarctic Treaty and subsequent construction of the
Dakshin Gangotri Antarctic research base in 1983, superseded by the Maitri base from 1990.
Dakshin Gangotri was abandoned in 1988-1989 after it was submerged in ice.
It was succeeded by Maitri, which was set up in a moderate climatic zone at a distance of 90 km and made operational in
1990. Dakshin Gangotri was finally decommissioned on 25 February 1990 and subsequently turned into a supply base.
The newest base commissioned in 2015 is Bharati, in the Australian division in Antarctica constructed out of 134
shipping containers.
Under the program, atmospheric, biological, earth, chemical, and medical sciences are studied by India.
In 2008, India set up its first permanent research base on the Arctic Ocean, Himadri.
XXVIII. S&T OTHER
Researchers aim to scoop out marine oil spills
Recovering marine oil spills may soon become simple, efficient and cost-effective, thanks to a compound
(gelator) developed by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER)
Thiruvananthapuram.
The team used glucose as a starting material and through several chemical reactions produced compounds
(gelators) that selectively congeal oil, including crude oil, from an oil-water mixture.
Unlike other alternatives, the gelators, which are in a powder form, can be easily applied over oil-water
mixture and do not cause any environmental damage.
The gelator molecule is partly hydrophobic and partly hydrophilic. While the hydrophilic part helps in self-
assembling to form gelator fibres, the hydrophobic part is responsible for its diffusion into the oil layer.
Since the outer part of the fibre is hydrophobic, oil tends to gets into the spongy network made of fibres.
Once inside the fibre network, oil loses fluidity and becomes a gel. As the self-assembly is strong, the gel
maintains its structure and rigidity even under pressure.
When the researchers applied the compound on a benzene-water mixture and diesel-water mixture, it was able to
congeal all the benzene and diesel within a short span of time. The gel was strong enough to be scooped with a
spatula.
In the case of crude oil, it took a longer time for the compound to form a gel that was strong enough to be
scooped off. The crude oil is a mixture of several low- and high-boiling and polar and non-polar fractions. So the
efficiency to form a gel is less in the case of crude oil, he explains.
We are trying to improve the efficiency of the compound in terms of better absorption capacity and use in
real marine oil-spill situations, says a researcher involved.
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IIT team with a Midas touch, on a nano-scale
A team from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has successfully transformed nanoscale pieces of
silver to gold and gold to silver by replacing their atoms one at a time.
The shape and structure of these materials before and after transformation are identical, although they are completely
different chemically.
When nanoparticles of gold and silver, which have different mass but identical atomic arrangements, are mixed in
solution at room temperature an atom by atom replacement takes place.
Generally, nanoscale materials are more reactive as they have higher energy compared with bulk matter.
A clue into making of biodegradable plastic
For the first time, scientists from MIT have succeeded in decoding the structure of an enzyme that is used by
bacteria to make polymer chains which is used for storing carbon when going through nutrient deficits.
What is special about these polymers is that they make up a range of biodegradable plastics.
The polymers can be extracted from the bacteria and used. A bacterium can produce polymers that measure up to 85 per
cent of its weight.
Known as Polyhydroxyalkanoic acids (PHAs), these polymer chains have properties ranging from thermoplastics
to elastomers depending on the type of monomers attached to them.
Their property of being biodegradable renders them of great value in producing environment-friendly plastics
for industrial use; however, the process is not cost-effective.
One such PHA is polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB). Knowing the structure of the enzyme PHB synthase can greatly help in
developing the process further. While the present work does not promise biodegradable plastic at competitive rates just
yet, it is a step in that direction.
XXIX. ENVIRONMENT CLIMATE

Himalayan projects face flood risk
Potential hydro power projects in the Himalayan region would need to factor in chances of increased floods from
the formation of new lakes and the expansion of existing ones due to melting glaciers, says an analysis of Himalayan
glaciers and their possible future impact on livelihoods in States adjoining the region.
The results are part of a modelling study by Swiss researchers on the impact of climate change in the Himalayas.
According to the study, 441 hydro-power projects spanning India, Nepal, Pakistan and China, that is, 66% of
constructed and potential hydro power projects, are on possible Glacier Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) tracks,
which means they could be gorged with extra water from melting glaciers.
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Almost a third of these hydro power projects could experience GLOF discharges well above what these dams
account for, says a study.
If hydro-power projects were to be situated close to these glaciers, they would have to account for higher water flows,
said Dr. Markus Stoffel from the University of Geneva, lead scientist with the study, but that does not mean they cannot
be built. It might need extra design or safety features.
India accounts for 129 of the hydro projects analysed.
Indias environment and water resources ministries are engaged in a tiff with the power ministry over the
construction of forthcoming hydro power projects in Uttarakhand. Broadly, they deal with the impact of these
projects on the local ecology and on the natural flows of the rivers they are built upon.
Dr. Stoffel added that there was a paucity of data regarding the health of Himalayan glaciers, and depending on their
location within the Himalayan range, there were varying rates of glacial melt. The findings come even as researchers note
that global warming could cause glaciers to melt rapidly, which is already evident in an increase in the number of glacier-
fed lakes in Himachal.
The Indian Himalayas Climate Adaptation Programme, which coordinated research into Himalayan glaciers and their
potential impact downstream, is set to receive an additional $3.5 million CHF (Swiss Francs; approx. Rs 24 crore) in
funding for the next phase of the programme.
At CoP 22, India will highlight climate impact on Himalayas
India will host a special side event during the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (CoP 22) at
Marrakech, Morocco, on the 12 Himalayan States that face the impact of a changing climate.
The Himalayas provide water to 1.3 billion people in Asia, but have been inadequately represented over the past three
decades in climate change discussions.
Dr. Dhyani said the Centre has asked the G.B. Pant Institute to represent the 12 Himalayan States at the CoP 22 of the UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change being held between November 7 and 18. The Hindu Kush region was
represented at UNFCCC by the Nepal-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development.
At the CoP 22, the impact of climate change on disasters, biodiversity, livelihood, and agriculture will be
highlighted.
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Construction banned near Uttarakhand glaciers
Taking notice of the degradation in the Himalayan ecology and environment, the Uttarakhand High Court
directed the government to take steps to preserve the Hill States glaciers.
Uttarakhand has 968 glaciers spread across an area of 2,857 sq.km.
Uttarakhand glaciers are a source of major rivers including the Ganga and the Yamuna.
The Bench was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on encroachment and illegal construction around various
water bodies including the Nainital lake.
1. In the Order, the Court directed that no new permanent constructions must come up within a 25 kilometre
radius from the edges of all the glaciers across the State.
2. The court also passed orders restricting the burning of fossil fuels within a 10 kilometre radius of the edges of
glaciers.
3. The State Government is directed to provide the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Kerosene Oil, in
abundance, to the people living in these areas to mitigate their hardships by involving Oil Companies, the Order
stated.
4. The Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand must be the authority to issue limited passes for persons visiting the
glaciers. The State government could also impose a cess in the form of Glacier Tax on persons visiting places in
the vicinity of the glaciers, the Order stated.
5. The Court Order also prohibits the use of plastic, in all forms, within a 20 kilometre radius of glaciers.
6. Also, the State administration is directed to put up stations 20 kilometres from each glacier to ensure the
enforcement of the Court directions.
7. However, the Army and the paramilitary forces shall be permitted to set up infrastructures but they too must
consider the environment of the area before undertaking constructions of any kind.
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Indias carbon emission increased by over 5% in 2015
Indias carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels increased by 5.2 per cent while Chinas decreased by 0.7 per
cent in 2015, according to new research which found that global CO2 emissions remained nearly flat for three years in a
row.
India contributed 6.3 per cent of all global CO2 emissions, with emissions increasing 5.2 per cent, in 2015 continuing
a period of strong growth.
The projected rise of only 0.2 per cent for 2016 marks a clear break from the rapid emissions growth of 2.3 per cent per
year in the decade to 2013, with just 0.7 per cent growth seen in 2014.
The data shows emissions growth remained below one per cent despite GDP growth exceeding 3 per cent.
Decreased use of coal in China is the main reason behind the 3-year slowdown.
China, the biggest emitter of CO2 at 29 per cent, saw emissions decrease by 0.7 per cent in 2015, compared to
growth of more than 5 per cent per year the previous decade.
The US, the second biggest emitter of CO2 at 15 per cent, also reduced its coal use while increasing its oil and gas
consumption and saw emissions decrease 2.6 per cent last year.
The EUs 28 member states are the third largest emitter causing 10 per cent of emissions. The EUs CO2 emissions
went up 1.4 per cent in 2015, in contrast with longer term decreases.
Although the break in emissions rise ties in with the pledges by countries to decrease emissions until 2030, it falls short of
the reductions needed to limit climate change well below 2 degrees Celsius.
In spite of a lack of growth in emissions, the growth in atmospheric CO2 concentration was a record-high in 2015,
and could be a record again in 2016 due to weak carbon sinks. Part of the CO2 emissions are absorbed by the ocean
and by trees.
With temperatures soaring in 2015 and 2016, less CO2 was absorbed by trees because of the hot and dry conditions
related to the El Nino event.
World likely to cross 1.2C global warming level this year
The world is likely to cross 1.2 C of global warming above pre-industrial levels in 2016, coming dangerously close
to breaching the 1.5 C warming levels advised as an ambitious target to stay safe from the worst impacts of
climate change.
In a preliminary assessment provided by the World Meteorological Organisation in its Status of the Global Climate in
2016 report, the global UN weather agency warned that 2016 will be the hottest year on record, with global
temperatures even higher than what 2015 experienced.
The Paris Agreement last year had adopted 2C as the absolute threshold for staying within safe global warming
levels. However, 1.5C was advised as an ambitious target, especially bearing in mind the fate of small island
countries such as Haiti or Maldives that are threatened with submergence due to sea-level rise and extreme
weather events.
Global temperatures for January to September 2016 have been about 0.88C (1.58F) above the average (14C) for the
1961-1990 reference period, which WMO uses as a baseline.
Extreme weather events:

Because of climate change, the occurrence and impact of extreme events has risen. Once in a generation heatwaves
and flooding are becoming more regular. Sea level rise has increased exposure to storm surges associated with
tropical cyclones.
Cyclones:
The WMO report outlined the major weather events associated with increasing global warming levels in 2016.
The most significant, in terms of casualties, was :
1. Hurricane Matthew affecting Haiti and parts of the U.S.
2. Typhoon Lionrock caused destructive flooding and heavy casualties in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea,
3. Cyclone Winston was the most severe tropical storm on record to affect Fiji.
In total, there have been 78 tropical cyclones globally in 2016 as of October 31, close to the long-term average, the report
said.
Flooding:
The Yangtze basin in China had its most significant summer floods since 1999.
Sri Lanka experienced flooding and landslides in Sri Lanka in mid-May leaving many dead or displaced.
Above-normal seasonal rainfall in the Sahel led to significant flooding in the Niger River basin, with the river
reaching its highest levels in about 50 years in Mali.
Heatwaves and Droughts:
There were a number of major heat waves and droughts experienced during 2015-2016.
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The year started with an extreme heat wave in southern Africa, exacerbated by the ongoing drought.
The report also mentions Phalodi in Rajasthan, India which set a new record for heat in India recording 51.0C on
May 19.
Over 400 million people were affected by the strongest ever El Nio weather event, causing droughts around the
world.
No nod for using Russian aircraft for Cusat project
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has turned down a proposal to permit Russian aircraft M-55 Geophysica to fly over
the Indian skies as part of an international research programme on climate change involving Cochin University of
Science and Technology (Cusat) and supported by the European Union.
The decision has hit the prospects of collecting valuable data on the impact of the Indian monsoon convection on
the tropical tropopause layer and climate as part of the Strato Clim project.
The aim of the ambitious venture is to assess the role of upper troposphere and stratosphere in climate change and
it involves 28 research institutions in 11 countries.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has expressed defence and security concerns for not clearing the proposal.
Efforts by the research team to convince the authorities that the aircraft would be used only for research purpose have
failed.
The high-altitude aircraft has only a single seat, making it impossible for an Indian pilot to join the mission
programme. The research team has taken the aircraft on rent from a private firm.
The StratoClim project had been planning a measurement campaign during summer 2016 over India using the high-
altitude aircraft hoping that it will bring unparalleled information.
A former Russian spy plane, the M-55 Geophysica can carry 1,500 kg of sensors.
The aircraft payload included instruments devoted to characterise aerosols and ice crystals as well as the chemical
composition of gas tracers.
The Dynamic Meteorology Laboratory in Paris had recommended a joint venture with the Cusats Centre for
Atmospheric Radar Research to study the impact of the Indian monsoon convection on the tropical tropopause layer
and climate.
The centres Rs.20-crore Stratosphere Troposphere (ST) Radar was indigenously-developed at the Cochin
University of Science and Technology (Cusat), showcased under the Centres Make in India initiative.
It was expected to play a key role in generating valuable data towards the StratoClim research project.
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XXX. ENVIRONMENT POLLUTION
Govt unveils roadmap to tackle air pollution
As various agencies termed the Capitals air quality severe in the aftermath of Diwali celebrations, the Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP) government convened an emergency meeting to chalk out a roadmap to combat air pollution.
Following a lengthy meeting with representatives of various government departments at his Delhi Secretariat office,
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that the governments plan to tackle air pollution included the use of
emission-control devices, resuming vacuum cleaning of arterial roads, sprinkling water on streets, and
cutting dust pollution from construction sites.
Jet pressure pump technique will be used for sprinkling water on footpaths, road bumps and central verges.
By doing this, we can control dust particles. In several countries, such technology is being used to curb dust
pollution, Mr. Sisodia said.
The Deputy CM said that the Public Works Department (PWD) was exploring the option of installing air purifiers
and mist fountains at five major traffic intersections including Mukarba Chowk in northwest Delhi and Anand
Vihar, which is the most polluted area in the Capital.
Mr. Sisodia said that the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has been told to carry out strict and regular
inspections at construction sites of above 20,000 square meters and had also been directed to submit a detailed
note about dust pollution from such sites.
As much as 90 per cent of dust pollution comes from construction sites, which needs to be regulated. There
are 61 major construction sites in Delhi, but there are several smaller sites and most of them are violating the rules,
the Deputy Chief Minister said.
Mr. Sisodia said that the government had also decided to make citizens aware about dust pollution.
We will appeal to them to inform us about violations of rules. The Swachh Delhi App, developed by the Urban
Development Department, can be used for this, he said.
Emission-control devices such as chimneys and wet scrubbers will be installed at 75 cremation grounds in
collaboration with all three municipal corporations, the Deputy Chief Minister added.
Govt. shuts schools as Delhi chokes
As air pollution levels remained alarmingly high, with a blanket of smog enveloping the city, Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal announced that all schools in the Capital will remain shut for three days.
The city has turned into a gas chamber mainly due to large-scale crop stubble burning in neighbouring States, he
said.
The decision was taken at an emergency Cabinet meeting, held at Mr. Kejriwals residence, to discuss measures to
tackle the air pollution.
The government is also considering bringing back the odd-even car rationing scheme to bring down the pollution
levels. The decision comes a month after the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) told the National Green
Tribunal (NGT) that there was no improvement in air quality in the city during the second phase of the odd-even
scheme in April 2016. The CPCB had monitored several pollutants between April 1-14 before the odd-even experiment
and April 15-30 during it, to arrive at the conclusion.
All construction and demolition work in the city has also been banned for five days.
He also announced that the coal-based Badarpur power plant would be shut for the next 10 days. He, however, gave
an assurance that the power supply to the city would not be affected.
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The use of all diesel gen-sets has been prohibited for the next five days, except for emergency services like hospitals
and mobile towers.
The government also decided to sprinkle water on roads of 100-foot width. The PWD will undertake the measure on all
such roads at least once a week.
To combat air pollution, NGT comes out with a range of directions
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) passed a slew of directions, including the setting up of centralised and State
level monitoring committees, to prepare action plans to combat pollution.
Terming severe levels of pollution when PM 10 and PM 2.5 are above 431 and 251 micrograms per cubic metre in
the ambient air, a bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar asked Uttar Pradesh, Punjab,
Haryana and Rajasthan to consider banning 10-year-old diesel vehicles from plying on the roads.
The NGT directed that every State committee should, in their first meeting, notify one district where land use of
agriculture is high and make it a model district for implementing orders to stop stubble burning.
Coming down heavily on States for not taking action against farmers burning farm residues, NGT asked them,
particularly Punjab, to consider withdrawal of incentive including grant of free power to farmers burning crops.
In such emergency, States shall immediately provide happy seeders or other such machines in agriculture fields
for removal of agriculture residue and incentives should be provided to farmers to sell their paddy straw to
biomass plants, industries and board making unit. All construction and demolition activities and transportation of
construction material should be halted temporarily and stone crushers should be directed to shut down, it said.
In such situations, helicopters should be used to sprinkle water in the Delhi-NCR region, especially in those areas
where pollution levels are in excess of the prescribed standard limits, the bench said.
Providing breathable air to citizens is the constitutional obligation of the State governments, the NGT observed and
directed them to install air purifiers in government schools.
If thermal power plants, hot mix plants and brick kilns are found to be emitting pollution more than the prescribed
standards during an emergency situation, they should be shut down temporarily till they reduce level of emissions,
the bench said.
All five State governments shall start vacuum cleaning of roads to prevent dust pollution and vehicular pollution,
the bench said while asking Delhi to strictly enforce their existing order on deregistering diesel vehicles older than
10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years.
The panel directed the inter-State central monitoring committee and State committees to enforce their orders on vehicular
pollution, dust pollution, solid waste and crop burning.
While the Central monitoring committee would meet once in two months starting from November 17, the State level
committees would conduct meetings every month starting November 24, it directed.
Make enforcement stricter

Union Environment Secretary called for special attention to the enforcement of orders issued by the Central Pollution
Control Board (CPCB).
In December 2015, the CPCB had issued a 42-point guideline to the States to tackle air pollution. There were
short-, medium- and long-term measures.
Because the enforcement mechanism is still weak, the States have been asked to make enforcement stricter and take steps
that need to be taken.
Delhi is currently in the midst of one of the worst bouts of pollution.
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Centre asked to frame incentive policy for scrapping vehicles
On November 26, 2014, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had banned plying of all diesel or petrol vehicles which were
more than 15-years-old in Delhi-NCR.
The Tribunal on April 7, 2015 held that all diesel vehicles which are more than 10-years-old will not be permitted to ply
in Delhi-NCR.
Also, on April 20, 2015, the Supreme Court upheld this ban by the NGT.
The National Geeen Tribunal on July 18, 2016, directed the Delhi government to cancel the registration of all
diesel-powered vehicles which are more than 10-year-old from plying in the city.
A Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said more than a year has passed since its
directions in this regard, but nothing has been done till date.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the Ministry of Heavy Industries to expeditiously frame policy with
regard to scrapping of vehicles and publicise benefits associated with it for persons who opt for it.
The green panel also directed Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh governments to hold meeting with Chief
Secretary of Delhi govt. for identifying land in border areas to park vehicles banned from plying in Delhi NCR.
The green panel had also asked Delhi government to respond on the issue of capping of vehicles and submit its views on
limiting private cars in the national capital.
The NGT had asked the Delhi government to take immediate steps to improve and strengthen public transport
system and introduce buses which are CNG, hybrid or electric ones.
The Tribunal had said that even during odd-even scheme initiated by the Delhi government, the ambient air
quality did not improve and in fact, the parameters remained on the higher side more than the permissible limits.
Smog could return
The heavy blanket of smog that enveloped Delhi for days after Diwali could return soon as the constant sources of
pollution have remained largely the same, experts said.
If wind speed drops, cooler temperatures in the weeks ahead could provide a favourable setting for smog to
develop and stick around.
Though winter pollution, which is aided by cooler temperatures that prevent dispersion of particulate matter and
gases, has the attention of the Delhi government right now, experts say that will not be enough.
A factor that contributed to heavy particulate matter concentration during the recent smog episode was burning of
agricultural residue in neighbouring States. The government is yet to look at a long-term plan to prevent the practice,
he said, adding that farmers should be given incentive to not burn their crop waste.
Other sources of pollution, including industries, power plants and vehicles, have also remained largely untouched.
India overtook China in number of deaths due to pollution: Report
India had more people dying every day as a result of outdoor air pollution in 2015 than China a first since 1990.
According to a Greenpeace India report released, India overtook China in the number of deaths caused by air
pollution in 2015.
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India had 3,283 premature deaths due to ambient air pollution every day, as opposed to Chinas 3,233 per day.
The average exposure to particulate matter was higher for Indians than Chinese for the first time this century.
After toxic levels of particulate matter between 2005 and 2011, China implemented some harsh measures to curb
air pollution.
While, on the other hand, Indias pollution levels have been increasing every year, making 2015 the worst.
Australias Great Barrief Reef sees largest coral die-off ever

A mass bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef in 2016 killed more corals than ever before, scientists said,
sounding the alarm over the delicate ecosystem.
The 2,300-kilometre long reef the worlds biggest suffered its most severe bleaching in recorded history, due
to warming sea temperatures during March and April, with the northern third bearing the brunt.
Follow-up underwater surveys, backing earlier aerial studies, have revealed a 700-kilometre stretch of reefs in the less-
accessible north lost two-thirds of shallow-water corals in the past eight to nine months.
This region escaped with minor damage in two earlier bleaching events in 1998 and 2002, but this time around it has
been badly affected.
Scientists estimate the northern region, which teems with marine life, will take at least 10-15 years to regain lost corals,
but are concerned that a fourth major bleaching event may occur before that, hampering the recovery.
Bleaching occurs when abnormal environmental conditions, such as warmer sea temperatures, cause corals to
expel tiny photosynthetic algae, draining them of their colour.
Algae are vital to the coral, which uses the organic products of photosynthesis to help it grow.
The loss of algae makes the host vulnerable to disease and means it will eventually die.
However, coral can recover if the water temperature drops and the algae are able to recolonise them.
Environmentalists blame the burning of fossil fuels for global warming and repeated calls for Australia to
abandon coal mining to help prevent further bleaching disasters.
Canberra insists it is doing more than ever to safeguard the reef, which is also under pressure from farming run-off,
development and the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish.
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XXXI. ENVIRONMENT BIODIVERSITY
Global conservation team visits Odishas Bhitarkanika park
A two-member technical evaluation mission team of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),
deputed by UNESCO, visited the Bhitarkanika National Park.
The visit is to perform field assessment of the unique mangrove ecosystem of the park, which figured on thetentative
list of future heritage sites of UNESCO in 2009 and made its way to the final list in 2014.
The national park presently figures in the listed of protected wetlands under the Ramsar Convention.
The Odisha government had submitted a dossier, compiled by Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India,
recommending to UNESCO that the park be declared a World Heritage Site.
In 1984, UNESCO had declared the Sun Temple at Konark in Odisha as a World Heritage Site.
We hope Bhitarkanika gets the tag on merit and the visit of IUCN team is a move towards this direction. This will
enable the park to get more funding from the government and international agencies and will also attract more
tourists, said a divisional forest officer.
The biodiversity, ecosystem and local human habitation and socio-economic condition of locals and their dependence on
forest produce will be assessed.
Bhitarkanika is a unique ecosystem, highly dynamic and at the same time fragile. The delta, the river mouth, the sea,
mangrove forest, avian fauna, reptiles, amphibians and fauna and flora contribute to the parks biological diversity.
In 1974, the Ministry of Forests, in collaboration with UNDP, had started a crocodile hatchery project at Dangmal in the
park.The crocodile population in the park has increased from 96 in 1974 to 1,665 in January 2016.
Wheelers Island and the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary are also on the itinerary.
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Wheeler Island:
Abdul Kalam Island, formerly known as Wheeler Island, is an island off the coast of Odisha, India, approximately 150
kilometres from the state capital Bhubaneshwar.
The Integrated Test Range missile testing facility is located on the island.
The island is about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) in length and 390 acres (1.6 km2) in area.
The nearest port is Dhamra Port.
Goa bird festival calling all nature enthusiasts

Goa is expecting tourists, amateur birdwatchers and renowned ornithologists to participate in its three-day bird festival
at the Bondla wildlife sanctuary in south Goa.
Goas state bird, the bulbul, has been chosen as the logo for the festival.
Of the 1,224 bird species recorded in India, tiny Goa has recorded 432 species.
Goa is part of the biodiversity-rich Western Ghats region.
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Migratory painted storks sighted at salt pans
Migratory painted storks are being sighted at salt pans at Humma
in Ganjam district of Odisha this winter.
Usually no fish and very few aquatic animals survive in the
extreme saline water bodies of salt pans.
Although Humma is just few kms away from Chilika lake, a major
destination of migratory birds during winter, very few migratory
birds come here to nest because of low availability of food.
But this year hundreds of migratory painted storks are being sighted at
salt pans. They are feeding on molluscs and insects found in the
embankments of salt pans that are natural food of painted storks
Painted storks are inland migratory birds that come from northern
parts of the country.
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In other parts of Ganjam district like Chatrapur away from Chilika lake open billed storks are also seen to be building
nests on trees.
The Integrated Test Range, sometimes referred to as the Interim Test Range, is a missile testing facility composed of two
complexes - Launch Complex-IV (LC-IV) located on Abdul Kalam Island and Launch Complex-III (LC-III) located at
Chandipur.
Mudumalai redraws eco-tourism map
Illegal tourism in the buffer zone of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu, mostly organised and
conducted by private jeep drivers, continues to affect wildlife.
Buffer zone is the area adjoining the reserve forest.
In a bid to regulate this form of tourism, the forest department is making a bold attempt to get taxi drivers to fall under
the remit of the Eco-Development Council, whereby the environment as well as the livelihood of local jeep drivers can be
protected.
Under the forest departments proposal, more than 200 vehicles would come under the Eco-Development Council of
MTR. Tourists and the public could use the vehicles, after buying tokens from the department. This will ensure that the
drivers get a steady stream of business, and there is also a sustainable model in place for forest conservation, Mr.
Saravanan said.
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Can herbivores from Nagarahole be prey for tigers in Kali reserve?
Can scores of chitals (spotted deer), gaurs (Indian bison) and deer,
currently grazing in the plains of the Nagarahole and Bandipur
forests, come to the rescue of the tiger population in Kali Tiger
Reserve (KTR)?
This concept, which the forest officials iterated was in the preliminary
stages of discussion, seeks to undertake the growth of tiger
population by introducing more prey.
In a proposal sent to the National Tiger Conservation Authority
(NTCA) in June by the previous Field Director of KTR, officials quote
that the herbivore population was in low densities and is far below the
carrying capacity of the habitat.
Among the examples quoted in the Forest Departments letter are the
shifting of 19 gaurs from the Kanha National Park to Bhandhavgarh,
both in Madhya Pradesh, in 2011. Similarly, in 2015, 20 barasingha
(swamp deer) were shifted from Kanha to Satpura Tiger Reserve.
Sambar is an ideal base for Kali. Chital habitat is in very small
pockets of valleys in the tiger reserve. If the conservation measures are
good and poaching is stopped, then relocation is a good way of
increasing prey base density quickly instead of waiting for a decade or
so.
However, on the other side of the debate, wildlife activists in the
region have expressed concern over the tampering of a natural habitat.
Kali Tiger Reserve

It is a Project Tiger reserve and is located in Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka, bordering the state of Goa.
The park is a habitat of Bengal tigers, black panthers and Indian elephants, amongst other distinctive fauna.
The Kali River flows through the Tiger reserve and is the lifeline of the ecosystem and hence the name.
Anshi National Park and Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary were together granted the status of Project Tiger reserve, being
declared as 'Anshi Dandeli Tiger Reserve' in January, 2007
In December 2015, Dandeli Anshi Tiger reserve was renamed to Kali Tiger Reserve.
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Uttarakhand accounts for one-third of tigers outside reserves: Study
While tiger reserves contain the majority of the countrys tiger population, a study reveals that Uttarakhand forest
departments western circle has 119 tigers, which is one-third of the total tiger population found outside the 49
tiger reserves across the country.
The study was carried out as Phase IV monitoring, which, according to the National Tiger Conservation Authority
(NTCA) guidelines, involves monitoring of tiger and its prey on an annual basis, while Phase I to III monitoring
are done at every four-year interval at the national level.
The survey found that the States western circle has more tigers than states such as Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan,
Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, all of which have less than 119 tigers each.
A similar study on tiger population is currently being undertaken in the Corbett Tiger Reserve.
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Annual temple fest in Bandipur irks activists
The annual temple festival in Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Karnataka will test the resolve of forest officials in curbing
human pressure on forests even as they grapple to balance local religious sentiments with conservation
imperatives.
Beladakuppe Mahadeshwara temple in the Hediyala range of the tiger reserve draws thousands from the adjoining
villages during the last week of Karthika Masa (during November/December) every year.
Though wildlife activists have sought a ban on the festival citing the law, they have been unsuccessful so far, who now
claim that the fair was getting bigger with each passing year.
Vegetation is cleared to make way for makeshift kitchens or to widen the access route, bringing humans in close
proximity to wildlife.
There are fears that of diseases such as Foot and Mouth, Canine Distemper, Rinderpest, and Anthrax being transmitted
from livestock that move into the forests.
The animals could feed on leftover food and the change in dietary pattern may force them to stray into human habitation,
escalating conflict situations.
Incidentally, Bandipur, which is home to the highest density of tigers and elephants, is also witness to the highest
number of conflict incidents, as these forests are surrounded by nearly 200 villages that support about 3 lakh
humans.
Bandipur is known for its wildlife and has many types of biomes, but dry deciduous forest is dominant.
Bandipur, along with the adjoining Nagarhole National Park, Karnataka; Mudumalai National Park, Tamil Nadu
and Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala; is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
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The Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve, while covers the Shendurney and Peppara wildlife sanctuaries and parts of the
Neyyar sanctuary in Kerala and the Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve of Tamil Nadu, has been added to the list of
UNESCOs World Network of Biosphere Reserves in Marh 2016.
With this addition, 10 of the 18 biosphere reserves in the country have made it to the list.
This cat is so small, science is forgetting it
The rusty spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus), one of the few wild
cats that inhabit the forests of Andhra Pradesh, is among the animals
in the Eastern Ghats that need more research support.
Reputed to be the smallest wild cat at about half the size of its domestic
cousin, the rusty spotted species shares its habitat with the tiger.
Both tigers and rusty spotted cats inhabit the Nagarjuna Sagar-Srisailam
Tiger Reserve in Andhra Pradesh.
The State is one of the few where wildlife enthusiasts can study both ends
of the cat spectrum in the same sanctuary.
Yet, while the tiger is closely monitored, little is known about the status of
the rusty spotted cat.
The species has been recorded in India and Sri Lanka, but it has been
sighted in Nepal also in recent times.
Many wildlife experts describe it as the smallest cat species in the wild,
though some say the African black-footed cat qualifies for that status.
The small Indian cat is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, but its health in the Eastern Ghats is not
clear.
While the cat is said to be present in all forests in the Eastern Ghats, no significant study has been done.
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XXXII. DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Kerala State declared drought-hit

All the 14 districts in the State have been declared drought-
affected following a deficit in rainfall during the southwest
monsoon and anticipation of a deficit northeast monsoon.
There is a rainfall deficit of 34 per cent in the State during the
southwest monsoon. During the northeast monsoon, it is projected
that we will have a deficit of 69 per cent even if 90 to 100 per cent
rainfall is received in November and December. In view of the
drought situation prevailing in the districts, the Kerala State
Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), at its meeting
presided over by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on
October 28, decided to declare the entire State drought-hit.
The Minister informed the House that a moratorium was under
consideration on all loans taken by farmers.
The government would seek Central aid to overcome the peculiar
situation faced by the State.
The District Collectors had been given a 26-point guideline to be followed for drought-relief.
Old coaches turn death traps

Nearly 85 per cent of India's train coaches are not equipped with anti-telescoping features, making them death
traps in case of an accident like the Rajendranagar-Indore Express derailment.
The Rajendranagar-Indore Express, which derailed near Kanpur, had Integral Coach Factory (ICF) rakes which
turned turtle and telescoped into each other after jumping off the rails, claiming at least 148 lives.
Around 53,000 of the 63,000 rail coaches in operation are the old ICF rakes without anti-telescopic features which would
prevent them from toppling over and piling on top of one another in the event of an accident or derailment.
Railways has decided to expedite the replacement of ICF coaches with LHB coaches.
There are only around 8,000 Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches in operations so far, mostly in Rajdhani and
Shatabdi trains. The LHB coaches have anti-telescoping features and advanced coupling systems which prevent rakes
from climbing onto to each other.
The Indian Railways has also decided not to produce any more ICF coaches from 2018, the official said.
In 2012, the Anil Kakodkar high-level committee on railway safety had suggested switching over to LHB coaches
completely.
LHB coaches have been designed by a German firm and are manufactured in Kapurthala, India
The Kakodkar panel had observed that ICF coaches were not desirable from the safety point of view at the
present operational speed of 100-120 kmph.
LHB coaches are currently used only in high-speed premium trains like Rajdhani and Shatabdi.
The committee further highlighted that none of the passengers were hurt following the derailment of Bhubneshwar-New
Delhi Rajdhani Express with LHB coaches in 2010.
Among other measures, the Railway Board decided to increase the frequency of its ultrasonic fault detection test to
detect rail fractures from monthly to bi-weekly exercise, the official said.
ANIL KAKODKAR COMMITTEE ON RAILWAY SAFETY
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Ultrasound fault detection test
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XXXIII. SECURITY
NIA to HC: No objection to Sadhvi Pragyas bail plea
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) informed the Bombay High Court that it has no
objection to Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur applying for bail in the 2008 Malegaon blasts.
The court directed the agency to file a compilation of statements of all witnesses who had deposed
before the NIA and the previous prosecuting agency, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).
On May 13, the NIA filed its supplementary charge sheet that dropped charges under the
stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against Pragya and 5
others.
Sadhvi was charge-sheeted in 2009 by the Maharashtra ATS, which said her motorcycle was
used to plant the bomb.
On June 7, the agency had told the NIA court that it had no objection to the bail plea. Based on the charge sheet
filed, we have stated that there is no case made out against Sadhvi, the prosecutor had then said. We have left it to
the court to decide on the bail plea.
However, on June 28, the NIA court rejected her bail plea.
On August 22, Sadhvi had moved the High Court stating that the special NIA court had failed to take the changed
circumstances between November 2015 when her last bail plea was rejected and June 2016 into consideration.
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SIMI men had no guns: Witnesses
Scores of people from about a dozen villages witnessed the alleged encounter between the police and the SIMI
undertrials who escaped from Bhopal central jail, but eyewitnesses did not recall seeing the suspects use firearms
against the police.
The eyewitnesses are sure the suspects threw stones at the police and the public, shouted curses, chanted slogans and
challenged them to attack.
The eight SIMI men had no escape route when the police surrounded them.
Most of the locals acknowledged that the SIMI suspects had no escape options. The other side of the rocks they were
standing on overlooks a 50-foot drop.
Broken fences, open gate: The jail hardly posed a challenge
The eight SIMI suspects who allegedly escaped from the Bhopal Central Prison before being gunned down
recently, used wooden logs and bed sheets to make a ladder, using which they scaled a 35-foot wall, said jail
officials and the police.
Since this arrangement alone was apparently not enough, the undertrials also formed human pyramids to help each
other climb over the walls.
Describing the structure of the jail walls, Deputy Inspector General of Prisons M.R. Patel said the prisoners first formed
human pyramids to scale a 10 foot wall immediately after getting out of from their cells. Iron spikes on this wall made
their job easier.
Thereafter, they found themselves behind a 35-foot wall, their only physical obstacle to freedom at that point. That wall
is joined by a 20-foot wall that serves to separate two wards of the prison. Some of them first climbed the short wall
using their ladders before hauling up their associates, Mr. Patel told The Hindu.
A similar arrangement was then made to scale the remaining height of the connected outermost wall, he said, based on the
initial probe. Once all prisoners were on top of the outermost wall, they apparently used bed sheets tied together to climb
out to their freedom.
A visit to the jails periphery reveals the absence of any security apparatus to stop the prisoners once they manage to
scale the outermost wall. A 50-metre walk from that outermost wall to the main road sees no patrolling by security
guards. Broken fences and an open gate hardly pose a challenge.
Jail officials said the eight SIMI suspects were among 21 high-risk prisoners lodged in separate cells. Two men, a head
warder and a warder, are deployed to guard them. Overall, there were 29 suspected SIMI operatives at the jail that has a
capacity of 2,650 inmates, but accommodates around 3,400 prisoners.
All the eight suspects were kept in the same ward as this arrangement made it easy to manage their security and
arrange videoconferencing during their ongoing trial.
Two or three prisoners allegedly carved their toothbrushes in the shape of keys, which they used for opening the
locks of their cells. Those who managed to escape then killed one guard and tied the other before collecting the keys
from them to free their associates, said Mr. Patel.
The prisoners are provided aluminium plates and spoons at the jail. They sharpened these items to make
weapons, he said.
Since the SIMI suspects were not convicted, they were dressed in civil clothes. They can wear shoes, but watches are
not allowed, he said when asked whether it was possible that the clothes, footwear and accessories found on these
prisoners at the time of their deaths were the same they wore in jail.
Mr. Patel acknowledged that there were lapses by the jail personnel and said four of them had been suspended. The men
on the watchtowers should have spotted the prisoners, he said, adding they had orders to shoot at inmates attempting to
escape.
It must be mentioned that the police did at no time produce the bed sheets used for the escape, nor demonstrate how
the locks could be picked by keys fashioned out of toothbrushes.
The police claim the logs used for the makeshift escape ladder were lying near the outer perimeter wall. They
believe the ladder was fashioned after the prisoners scaled the first wall, but did not give a specific number to the
bedsheets used for the escape.
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Armed Forces Act extended in Assam by six months
The controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, (AFSPA) has been extended by six months in entire
Assam and the 20 km-wide belt in Meghalaya bordering the State with the Centre declaring that the disturbed
area status, which has been in force since 1990, will continue.
In a gazette notification, the Home Ministry said the law and order situation in Assam has continued to be a matter of
concern due to the violent incidents by underground outfits and during January-September 2016, different militant
groups were involved in 66 incidents of violence in Assam which resulted in killing of 29 people.
The militant outfits operating in the area continue to have been making constant efforts to regroup, re-strengthen and
intensified their efforts for recruitment/infiltration of new cadres into the State and indulging in coercive extortion
targeting businessmen, tea garden owners, contractors, commercial vehicles, timber smugglers, transporters and even
government officials and politicians.
United National Liberation Front of Western South East Asia (UNLFW) was formed in April 2015, and two of its
constituents viz ULFA(I) and NDFB(S) have been desperately making efforts to perpetrate demonstrative acts of
violence and during the current year they have been responsible for 57 per cent of the incidents of violence and 84 per
cent of the deaths in the State, the notification, issued by Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry Satyendra Garg, said.
NDFB(S) militants shot dead 14 civilians and injured 19 others in a busy local market on the outskirts of
Kokrajhar town on August 5, 2016, while the ULFA(I) cadres also shot dead two Hindi-speaking persons in
Tinsukia district and orchestrated five and two IED explosions in Tinsukia and Charaideo districts respectively on
August 12, 2016.
The Central government had first imposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in Assam by
declaring the entire State as disturbed area on November 27, 1990 when insurgency led by ULFA was at its
peak. The then Prafulla Kumar Mahanta-led AGP government was subsequently dismissed by the Centre and the
Presidents rule was imposed.
AFSPA withdrawn from Tripura in May 2015
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Centre extends AFSPA to check Naga factions
The Centre has decided to extend the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in three districts of Arunachal
Pradesh, all bordering Assam.
One of the primary reasons cited by the Centre is extortion and intimidation by the cadres of National Socialist
Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), who are contriving to dominate areas hitherto occupied by NSCN
(Khaplang).
The notification has been issued even after the NDA government signed a framework agreement with NSCN-IM in
September 2015 to find a final solution to the six-decade-old Naga issue.
The latter was banned last year after its alleged involvement in an ambush on an Army convoy in Manipurs
Chandel district, resulting in the death of 17 personnel. Its leader S.S. Khaplang is said to be in Myanmar.
After decades of violence, the NSCN-IM had entered into a ceasefire agreement with India in 1997. The largest group
representing the Nagas has demanded a Greater Nagalim or a contiguous land for the Nagas, across the States of
Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Mizoram.
When asked about the notification, a senior government official said, The ceasefire signed with NSCN-IM is only
for Nagaland; it does not include Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. This notification has been issued after much
consultation between the security agencies.
The order said the three districts were being declared as disturbed area under Section 3 of the AFSPA as Naga
underground factions including NSCN-IM and NSCN-K continue to indulge in extortion, area domination,
recruitment of locals and inter-factional rivalry.
NSCN-K had unilaterally abrogated the ceasefire in March 2015 but NSCN-IM continues to be in a ceasefire pact
with the Government of India.
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Court asks J&K govt. to protect schools
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court came down heavily on the authorities for failing to safeguard school
infrastructure in Kashmir and called for reopening of all schools even as the separatists shutdown call of the
last 115 days continued to affect all aspects of life.
Taking suo motu cognisance of the mysterious burning of 27 schools, Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir and Justice Ali
Muhammad Magrey observed: It is the responsibility of the State to keep educational institutions open. Whether
children come to schools or not, the authorities cannot say they have difficulty in protecting school buildings.
It directed the government to submit a compliance report by November 7 on the matter.
State Education Minister Nayeem Akhtar told The Hindu: It is not physically possible to provide security to all
14,000 schools. Around 13 lakh students have to sit for the exams.
Mr. Akhtar said, Separatists with their shutdown calls are trying to destroy academic careers. In reality, it is
examination time for leaders like [JKLF chief] Mohammad Yasin Malik, who is now facing questions from the
people over the way they are pushing Kashmiris into perpetual economic and academic dis-empowerment.
With separatist leaders, including Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik, condemning the
burning of schools, United Jihad Council supremo Syed Salahuddin followed suit.
The government should talk to the students. Instead, it is intimidating them into complying with its plan to hold exams,
despite the loss of almost four months of classes, said former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
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Kashmir Valley back to life after shutdown
After the shutdown called by separatist groups stretched on for 133 days, Kashmir Valley woke up to a normal
morning on 19 November 2016, as businesses lifted shutters and educational institutions re-opened to start the
next session.
This was also the first time that private vehicles plied without facing stone-throwers or restrictions by security forces.
The killing of militant commander Burhan Wani in an encounter on July 8 had plunged the Kashmir Valley in a
cycle of deadly street violence, with 94 people dead and over 15,000, including security forces, being injured
during this period.
Of late, separatist leaders, especially Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik, were facing
pressure from the transporters to relax the shutdown to allow them earn their livelihood.
The return of normalcy also allowed the authorities to lift the ban, imposed on July 5, on mobile internet services
in Kashmir, bringing relief to more than 35 lakh users.
Terrorists diary may change the course of Uri case
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is basing its investigations on a blue diary recovered from one of the
three Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists who were killed while attempting to storm an Army camp in Kupwara on
October 6.
The diary could prove to be a vital piece of evidence as investigators suspect the September 18 attack on the Army
camp in Uri too was carried out by LeT operatives, though the Army was quick to name the Jaish-e-Mohammad
barely hours after the attack.
The diary contains the name of a publication house near the residence of LeT founder Hafiz Saeed at Muridke in
Pakistan.
A senior NIA official said, The name of the publication house is not the only clue. The diary has other details as well
linking the terrorists to LeT and Hafiz Saeed. Several notes in Urdu suggest that the terrorist, who has identified
himself as Faidullah in the diary, was living in the Muridke camp and had received training there.
The diary was recovered by an NIA team which took over the investigations on October 9, three days after the three
terrorists were killed in an encounter.
Three AK rifles, three under barrel grenade launchers, magazines, several rounds of bullets, four Icom radio sets, three
GPS devices, three cellphones, dry fruits, medicines, a map and a matrix sheet found on the terrorists had tell-tale
imprints of the LeT, said an NIA official.
A vial containing some medicinal liquid was also found on the attackers with an Urdu sticker saying: khoon rokne ke
liye (to stop bleeding). The official said the terrorists had come for a long haul.
2016 turns annus horribilis for security forces in J&K
The year 2016 is turning out to be the worst year for security forces in Kashmir in almost a decade, with data
showing a dramatic deterioration in the situation from most perspectives.
According to statistics available and projected figures, the current year will record the highest number of casualties
after 2007.
Conversely, 2016 would also record the highest number of successful militant infiltrations from Pakistan after
2007.
Militancy has seen a steady decline since 2007 upto 2014. Kashmir also recorded a steady drop in militancy-related
violence starting from 2008. The trend continued until 2014, when the situation suddenly began to worsen and violence
flared up. This year has so far been worse than the previous two years.
On the other hand, the number of terrorists killed has also gone up, touching 119 by the end of September.
The number of civilians killed and injured in militant attacks has dropped, though overall violence level has gone up in
2016. The militants are only targeting security installations, avoiding civilian casualties, one officer pointed out.
Armed men free Khalistani leader
At least five armed men in police uniform stormed the high-security Nabha Jail in Punjab and escaped with six
prisoners including Harminder Singh Mintoo, chief of Khalistan Liberation Force, after opening fire
indiscriminately at jail staff.
Mintoo, who formed a new outfit after breaking away from Babbar Khalsa International in 2009 was held in
November 2014 after he was deported from Thailand. He was wanted in 10 terror cases.
They gained entry pretending that they had come to hand over a prisoner. The involvement of insiders was not ruled out.
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The shocking incident comes at a time when maximum security is in force on the eve of the Heart of Asia Summit to be
held in Amritsar from December 3 to 5.
However, hours later, the alleged mastermind of the jailbreak, Parminder Singh, was arrested from Kairana in
Uttar Pradeshs Shamli district when their getaway vehicle was stopped at a police picket.
Khalistan movement
It was a Sikh nationalist movement, which seeks to create a separate country called Khalistan in the Punjab region
of South Asia.
The territorial definition of the proposed country ranges from the Punjab state of India to the greater Punjab region,
including the neighbouring Indian states.
When the Muslim League demanded a separate country for Muslims via the Lahore Resolution of 1940, a section of Sikh
leaders grew concerned that their community would be left without any homeland following the partition of India
between the Hindus and the Muslims. They put forward the idea of Khalistan, envisaging it as a theocratic state
covering a small part of the greater Punjab region.
After the partition was announced, the majority of the Sikhs migrated from the Pakistani province of Punjab to
the Indian province of Punjab, which then included the parts of the present-day Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
In 1971, the Khalistan proponent Jagjit Singh Chauhan travelled to the United States. He placed an advertisement
in The New York Times proclaiming the formation of Khalistan and was able to collect millions of dollars from
the Sikh diaspora. He released stamps and currency of Khalistan.
On 12 April 1980, he held a meeting with the Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi before declaring the formation of
"National Council of Khalistan", at Anandpur Sahib.
The inaction of the authorities in Amritsar and elsewhere was decried by Akali Dal headed by the Sikh leader
Harchand Singh Longowal as a political stunt by the Congress(I) party of Indira Gandhi.
In the 1980s, some of the Khalistan proponents turned to militancy, resulting in counter-militancy operations by the
Indian security forces. In one such operation, Operation Blue Star (June 1984), the Indian Army led by the Sikh
General Kuldip Singh Brar forcibly entered the Harimandir Sahib (the Golden Temple) to overpower the armed
militants and the militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
The handling of the operation, damage to the Akal Takht (which is one of the five seats of temporal physical religious
authority of the Sikhs) and loss of life on both sides, led to widespread criticism of the Indian Government.
The Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards in retaliation.
Following her death, thousands of Sikhs were massacred in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, termed as a genocide by the
congress activists and mobs.
Your flight plan may soon be under govt. watch

India is sprucing up its aviation security apparatus with a profiling upgrade, under which potential troublemakers
will come under the scanner of aviation security authorities the moment their tickets are booked.
The Centre will track air travel data and may look for unusual ticket purchases in a bid to keep a check on terror,
senior government officials said.
Additionally, the passenger pre-screening system, which will be adopted soon, will run a criminal check and see
whether a passengers name is in the terror blacklist.
There is a plan to put in place a passenger profiling system. Unlike in U.S., where passenger data is sent to security
agencies 24 hours before the departure of a flight, here the profiling of passengers will begin the moment an air ticket
is booked, said a senior Civil Aviation Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Profiling will not be based
on religion, caste or creed.
The move is seen as part of Indias efforts at tightening security at airports given the global concerns after This year has
seen heightened security at airports across the globe after Turkeys Ataturk International Airport and the Brussels
airport were bombed by suspected Islamic State militants; and this is a part of Indias efforts to tighten the security at
its airports.
Belgium airport bombing in March 2016
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Turkey airport bombing in June 2016
Low-risk flier? Security at airports will now be a breeze

The Centre is mulling over secure traveller notion, a risk-based pre-screening plan to enhance passenger
convenience.
Under the system, a passenger will be pre-screened and those who are low-risk will be able to get through the airport
queue faster.
These systems do exist around the world. The goal is to improve security and raise passenger experience.
In a few countries, passengers submitted information required by the security agencies before the travel date. Once you
establish your credentials and show that you have received high security clearance, besides authenticating yourself
through biometrics, you gain certain privileges to get through the security clearance process quickly, he said.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection pioneered a similar programme named Global Entry that allows speedy
clearance for low-risk passengers on arrival in the U.S. Citizens of the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Singapore, South
Korea and others are eligible for the programme and can board their flights through automatic kiosks at select airports.
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XXXIV. CYBER-SECURITY
The thrill of saving India from cybercrime

In India, there has been a surge of approximately 350 per cent of cybercrime cases registered under the
Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 from the year of 2011 to 2014, according to a joint study by The Associated
Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has also reported a surge in the number of incidents
handled by it, with close to 50,000 security incidents in 2015, noted the Assocham-PwC joint study.
Indeed, a new breed of cyber criminals has emerged, whose main aim is not just financial gains but also cause
disruption and chaos to businesses in particular and the nation at large, according to the Assocham-PwC study.
Attackers can gain control of vital systems such as nuclear plants, railways, transportation and hospitals. This can
subsequently lead to dire consequences such as power failures, water pollution or floods, disruption of transportation
systems and loss of life, noted the study.
There is a new breed of ethical hackers-turned-entrepreneurs who are betting big on this opportunity.
An ethical hacker is a computer expert who hacks into a computer network on the behalf of its owner in order to
test or evaluate its security, rather than with malicious or criminal intent.
You cannot live in a world where you think that you can't be hacked. It doesnt matter who you are, said Mr. Saket
Modi who cofounded Lucideus four years ago. The New Delhi-based firm now counts Reserve Bank of India,
Ministry of Defence and Standard Chartered among its top clients.
This year, Lucideus was hired by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) along with other information
security specialists to protect its most ambitious project, the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) platform, from
cyber attacks. UPI aims to bring digital banking to 1.2 billion people in the country.
Indias cybersecurity budget is woefully inadequate when compared to the spending by other countries. In 2014-15,
the government doubled its cybersecurity budget by earmarking Rs.116 crore.
The Cyber Security Task Force (CSTF) set up by Data Security Council of India (DSCI) and industry body Nasscom
expects to create a trained base of one million certified and skilled cybersecurity professionals. It also aims to build
more than 100 successful security product companies from India.
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RuPay is an Indian domestic card scheme conceived and launched in 2012 by the National Payments Corporation
of India (NPCI).
XXXV. DEFENCE
DRDO still aims for Kaveri in LCA

Kaveri, the indigenous aeroengine with over 25 years chequered story, may after all fly on the indigenous LCA
(Light combat Aircraft) Tejas.
If not, we will use it for Ghatak, the proposed combat drone.
DRDO hopes to take the help of an overseas aeroengine maker to revive Kaveri, remove its shortcomings and get it
certified to safely power the fighter.
Frances engine maker Snecma, which already has projects with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, is seen as a candidate; it
could come on the back of offsets (or return obligations) that are due after the government ordered 36 Rafale
fighter planes from another French company Dassault for nearly Rs. 59,000 crore.
The engine was test flown on a Russian IL-76 aircraft back in 2011 and was found wanting on at least five counts.
LCA Tejas will undergo the remaining three or four mandated tests up to March 2017 and will go in for certification as
battle-ready or FOC by mid-2017.
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Agni-I missile test-fired
The strategic missile, Agni-I, was test-fired from the Wheeler Island, off Damra village on the Odisha coast.
The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) fired the missile positioned on a massive truck called a road-mobile launcher.
From the missiles lift-off to its reaching a targeted area in the Bay of Bengal, the mission lasted about 10 minutes.
There are five Agni variants from Agni-I to Agni-V which form the bulwark of Indias nuclear deterrence
programme.
The DRDO designed and developed the series of Agni missiles.
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Parrikars remarks can be mistaken: Experts
Experts said that Defence Minister Manohar Parrikars remarks on Indias No First Use (NFU) policy on nuclear
weapons could prove detrimental to Indias interests and that the comments can be interpreted as official policy by
Indias adversaries.
Mr. Parrikar recently expressed his personal opinion that if a written down strategy exists on a nuclear aspect, we
are actually giving away our strength in nuclear. ..Why do lot of people say that India has NFU policy? Why should
I bind myself, he had asked.
No first use has been the hallmark of Indias effort to build an international image as a responsible nuclear power,
observed Toby Dalton, co-director of the nuclear policy program at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace.
Unpredictability could in theory strengthen Indias deterrent, but not necessarily at the low end of the spectrum,
where the instability is currently located. The question is whether the potential deterrence gains from ditching no
first use would outweigh the reputational costs, he told The Hindu.
India has put in place its nuclear doctrine with NFU and massive retaliation forming its core tenets soon after it tested
nuclear weapons in the summer of 1998. The concept of maintaining a minimum credible deterrence and a nuclear triad
for delivery of nuclear weapons based on aircraft, missiles and nuclear submarines flow from that.
XXXVI. CORRUPTION
Huge bribes paid to Indian arms dealers

Stunning details of millions of dollars of payments by several foreign defence companies to alleged Indian arms
dealers have emerged in secret documents accessed by the BBC and The Guardian.
Among the key details are remittances of almost 100 million (approx Rs. 730 crore) in just 12 months by Russian
arms firms into accounts of companies controlled by alleged arms dealer Sudhir Choudhrie and his family and
close associates, and about 10 million paid by British company Rolls-Royce to firms linked to Mr. Choudhrie.
The Rolls-Royce is a key player in the Indian defence market. Its engines power among other systems, the Hawk
advanced trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force. The report raises questions about the Hawk deal.
Mr. Choudhrie has been investigated by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate in various arms deals in the past. Ever
since his name emerged in the Tehelka tapes, Mr. Choudhrie and his family have been living in London.
He figures in the CBIs confidential list of Undesirable Contact Men, who are suspected of manipulating
government contracts.
Is the arms deal trail destined to go cold?

The sensational revelation that hundreds of crores was paid by Russian and British arms firms to companies
controlled by alleged arms dealer Sudhir Choudhries family may not result in any breakthrough against corruption in
defence deals in India, say defence establishment sources.
For any breakthrough, especially in deals involving Russian firms, unwavering political will is necessary.
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Quoting the BBC and The Guardian, The Hindu reported that secret banking documents showed remittance of almost
100 million (about Rs. 730 crore) in just 12 months by Russian arms firms into accounts of companies controlled
by Choudhrie, his family and close associates.
In a separate revelation, the investigations revealed that at least 10 million was paid by the British company Rolls-
Royce to firms linked to the Choudhries.
The Rolls-Royce investigation could potentially make some breakthrough because of British investigations. However,
the Russians would be a tough nut to crack, a senior civil servant said.
Some of the payments were viewed as suspicious at the time by the Swiss bank, Clariden Leu. Its compliance office
in Singapore raised anti-money laundering alerts and the Choudhrie family accounts were reviewed by the banks risk
management team.
Through the past several decades, the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate have investigated allegations of
corruption in many defence deals. However, not one of them has resulted in successful conviction of all the
accused. In many of those cases, they were closed by the agency saying lack of evidence.
In 2007 the CBI had claimed corruption in the upgrade of artillery guns, and named Sudhir Choudhrie and others. In
2010, the agency told a Delhi court that it had no evidence to prosecute Mr. Choudhrie, and whatever money his company
received from the Israeli company Soltam was for stainless steel kitchen utensils.
Similarly, in the ongoing investigations into the allegations of bribery in the purchase of VVIP helicopters from
AgustaWestland by the Indian Air Force too, there is no major breakthrough on the Indian side. Most of the
information that is known has all emerged in Italian investigations.
Blacklisting policy for tainted defence deals approved
The government approved the long-pending policy for blacklisting firms involved in corruption in arms
purchases.
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) also accorded approval to begin the procurement process for fighter jets, tanks
and attack helicopters cumulatively worth over Rs. 82,000 crores, all produced domestically.
The DAC headed by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar also reviewed all capital acquisition proposals of the armed
forces currently under way.
The government has stated that instead of blanket blacklisting of firms involved in corrupt practices, heavy fines
could be imposed and banning would be the last resort.
In several instances in the past, banning of firms had adversely affected defence preparedness as major military
platforms were grounded due to lack of spares and support.
In other decisions, the DAC accorded approval for issuing Acceptance of Necessities (AON) for the purchase of 83
Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas worth about Rs. 50,025 crore and 15 Light Combat Helicopters (LCA) worth Rs.
2,911 crore, both manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
An AON is the first step in the long process of acquisition under the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP).
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The government has also re-designated the two projects under the recently created Indigenously Designed Developed
and Manufactured (IDDM) category under the DPP.
Two other AONs have been approved for the Army. These include 464 T-90 tanks from the Ordnance Factory Board
(OFB) for Rs. 13,448 crore in a repeat order and 598 mini Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) under buy Indian
category, estimated to cost Rs. 1,100 crore.
Clearance was also given for issuing a Request For Proposal (RFP) for procurement of six additional Pinaka Multi-
Barrel Rocket Launchers at a total cost of Rs. 14,633 crore.
XXXVII. MONEY LAUNDERING
Serious on Panama Papers probe: Govt.

The government told the Supreme Court that it was absolutely serious about conducting investigations into
disclosures in the Panama Papers leak.
The centre was reacting to a query from the Supreme Court on how it intends to enquire into the Panama papers leak
allegedly naming nearly 500 high-profile Indians, who have money reportedly parked in off-shore accounts.
Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Board of India asked the apex court for permission to withdraw from the
public interest litigation petition filed by advocate Manohar Lal Sharma seeking an SIT probe into the Indians
allegedly named in the Panama Papers. Senior advocate Arvind Dattar, for SEBI, said his client was a market regulator
and had no role in the current litigation.
The petition sought direction to the CBI to lodge FIRs and conduct investigation for alleged offences under the
Prevention of Corruption Act and Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The centre also wants the PIL to be dismissed.
A Multi-Agency Group (MAG) comprising officials of the CBDT, RBI, Financial Intelligence Unit and the ED has
been formed by the government to go into the disclosures made in the list.
Five reports have been submitted by MAG to the apex court-appointed Special Investigation Team on black
money led by Justice (Retd.) M. B. Shah.
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The Panama Papers contain an unprecedented amount of information, including more than 11 million documents
covering 2,10,000 companies in 21 offshore jurisdictions.
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XXXVIII. BILATERAL INDIA-PAKISTAN
India denies Pak. claims of submarine intrusion
The Indian Navy denied Pakistans claim that it had prevented Indian submarines from intruding into its
territorial waters, even though the Pakistan navy released footage of a submarine that was blocked.
Significantly, the incident is raised even as Pakistan and China are launching the fourth naval exercise near Gwadar
port in Balochistan, which is vital for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). China has sent the rescue
vessel Changxingdao and PLA(N) ship Handan to Karachi for the exercise.
It is well known that both sides send submarines on patrols into each others waters, and both the navies are also
perpetually trying to track and map the others submarines.
Given that deniability is extremely critical in submarine warfare, it was no surprise that Pakistan made such claims, and
India denied it.
2 jawans killed in Pakistan firing
Two soldiers were killed and five others, including two women, were injured as Pakistan Rangers resorted to
shelling and firing to provide cover to two infiltration bids in the Pir Panjal Valleys Poonch district.
Of late, Pakistan is using long-range 120-mm mortar shells. These have led to fresh migration as more areas have
become vulnerable.
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Though no ceasefire violation has been reported along the 192-km IB in Jammu, sources said Pakistan is trying to
push more militants through the Pir Panchal Range before winter sets in.
Militants mutilate soldiers body, kill 2 others in ambush
Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up with the killing of three jawans and mutilation of one of them,
amid continuing exchange of fire between the two armies along the Line of Control.
They were part of a counter-infiltration patrol when they were ambushed near Lashdut post in Machhil sector of north
Kashmirs Kupwara, more than 100 km from Srinagar.
The Indian Army warned of heavy retribution for the cowardly act.
This was the second mutilation of an Indian soldier, ever since tensions between the two sides flared up after the
attack on an Army unit in Uri on September 18.
In retaliation, Indian Army had carried out surgical attacks on terrorist launch pads located inside POK on September 29.
On October 28, the Army said infiltrating terrorists mutilated the body of a soldier in the Machhil sector before fleeing
into POK as Pakistani Army posts provider covering fire.
Pakistan has denied the Indian claims of mutilation.
The latest incident comes amidst continuing Ceasefire Violations across both LOC and International Border in
Jammu and Kashmir, which has forced thousands of border villagers to shift out to safety, while contributing
significantly to the ongoing negative slide in bilateral relations.
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After Indias retaliation, an alarmed Pakistan moves UN
Alarmed by the escalation of tension with India along the Line of Control (LoC), Pakistan asked the United Nations
to act before the situation snowballed into a full-fledged crisis.
This follows India's strong retaliation a day after three jawans were killed and the body of one of them was mutilated by
terrorists in Machhil sector on the LoC. The Indian Army launched a massive fire assault on Pakistani posts in
Kashmir and Pir Panchal Valleys and Pakistan said three soldiers and four civilians were killed in the Indian firing.
Pakistan alleged that the situation along the LoC posed a grave threat to international peace and security.
The UN Department of Peace Keeping Operations was separately asked to mobilise the United Nations Military
Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to effectively monitor the LoC and the Working Boundary as
a step to help deescalate tensions between India and Pakistan, the statement said.
United Nations mediation on Kashmir:

Following the outbreak of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, India referred the dispute to the United Nations in
January 1948, under article 35 of the UN Charter, which allows the member states to bring to the Security Council
attention situations `likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace'.
Following the set-up of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP), the UN Security Council
passed Resolution 47 on 21 April 1948.The Security Council Resolution 47 (1948) enlarged the membership of the
UNCIP to 5 members.
India and Pakistan signed the Karachi Agreement in March 1951 and established a ceasefire line to be supervised
by observers.
After the termination of the UNCIP, the Security Council passed Resolution 91 (1951) and established a United
Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to observe and report violations of ceasefire.
After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the two countries signed the Simla Agreement in 1972 to define the Line of
Control in Kashmir.
The Tashkent Declaration was a peace agreement signed in 1966 between India and Pakistan that resolved the Indo-
Pakistani War of 1965.
India and Pakistan disagree on UNMOGIPs mandate in Kashmir because India argued that the mandate of
UNMOGIP has lapsed after the Simla agreement because it was specifically established to observe ceasefire
according to the Karachi Agreement.
However, The Secretary General of the United Nations maintained that the UNMOGIP should continue to function
because no resolution has been passed to terminate it.
The military authorities of Pakistan have continued to lodge complaints with the UNMOGIP about ceasefire
violations.
The military authorities of India have lodged no complaints since January 1972 and have restricted the activities of the
UN observers on the Indian side of the Line of Control.
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7 soldiers, 6 militants killed in twin attacks near Jammu
Seven soldiers, including two officers, and six militants were killed in twin pre-dawn attacks launched by fresh
infiltrators near Jammu, coinciding with the takeover of General Qamar Javed Bajwa as new Pakistan Army chief
across the border.
In another attack, a Border Security Force patrol came under attack from a group of militants in Ramgarh sector, near the
International Border in Samba district, 55 km from the first attack.
Hydel projects: World Bank asks India, Pak. to agree to mediation
The World Bank has urged India and Pakistan to agree to mediation on how to proceed in their dispute over
two hydropower dam projects in Jammu and Kashmir.
Replying to a strong statement from India that the World Bank, a signatory to the Indus Waters Treaty 1960, was
favouring Pakistan by going ahead with an arbitration process, the Bank said it had gone ahead with both countries
requests.
Conceding that a draw of lots was held to appoint three neutral umpires despite Indias objections, a senior World
Bank official explained that the decision was a procedural one.
The World Bank Group has a strictly procedural role under the Indus Waters Treaty and the treaty does not allow it to
choose whether one procedure [Indias] should take precedence over the other [Pakistans]. This is why we drew the lots
and proposed potential candidates for the Neutral Expert, said Senior Vice-President and World Bank Group General
Counsel Anne-Marie Leroy.
The dispute is over the Kishenganga (330 MW) and Ratle (850 MW) hydel plants India is constructing on the
Kishenganga and Chenab rivers.
Kishanganga Hydroelectric Plant

Kishanganga dam is part of a run-of-the-river hydroelectric scheme that is designed to divert water from
the Kishanganga River to a power plant in the Jhelum River basin.
It will have an installed capacity of 330 MW.
Construction on the project began in 2007.
Construction on the dam was temporarily halted by the Hague's Permanent Court of Arbitration in October 2011
due to Pakistan's protest of its effect on the flow of the Kishanganga River (called the Neelum River in Pakistan).
In February 2013, the Hague ruled that India could divert a minimum amount of water for power generation.
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Ratle Hydroelectric Plant
It is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power station currently under construction on the Chenab River, downstream
of the village of Ratle in Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir.
The project includes a 133 m (436 ft) tall gravity dam and two power stations adjacent to one another.
The installed capacity of both power stations will be 850 MW.
In 2013, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for the dam.
Pakistan opposes to project as they believe it is in violation of the Indus Water Treaty.
Baglihar Hydroelectric Power Project

It is a run-of-the-river power project on the Chenab River in the southern Doda district of the Indian state of Jammu and
Kashmir.
The project is estimated to cost USD $1 billion.
This project was conceived in 1992, approved in 1996 and construction began in 1999.
After construction began in 1999, Pakistan claimed that design parameters of Baglihar project violated the Indus
Water Treaty of 1960.
The treaty provided India with exclusive control over three eastern rivers, while granting Pakistan exclusive control
over three western rivers, including Chenab River. However it contained provisions for India to establish run-of-
the-river power projects with limited reservoir capacity and flow control needed for feasible power generation.
The first phase of the Baglihar Dam was completed in 2004.
With the second phase completed on 10 October 2008, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India dedicated the 900-
MW Baglihar hydroelectric power project to the nation.
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XXXIX. BILATERAL INDIA-CHINA
Xuan Zang to build another bridge to India

Seventh century Chinese pilgrim and scholar-monk Xuan Zang, also known as Hsan-Tsang, is a familiar
traveller-historian to Indians.
The Chinese Consulate General in Kolkata has decided to use his work at a public event to explain the depth of
Chinas relationship with India over the last 1400 years and focus on cooperation.
It is organised by the Consulate in association with Nalanda University.
Ties between the neighbours have dipped in recent months over differences on Indias entry to the Nuclear Suppliers
Group, UN terror listing of Masood Azhar and campaign against Chinese goods. But the effort is to focus on
cooperation rather than competition.
In the decade that began in 630 AD, Xuan Zang came to India through Kashmir after visiting Central Asia, Iran
and Afghanistan. He travelled from north to east during his 14-year stay and lived in Bihar for a couple of years. At
Nalanda University, Xuan Zang interacted with students and scholars, mastered local languages and discovered
Buddhist stupas.
He was offered a stay in Nalanda but he left to write, and provided detailed descriptions of 7th century India and its
Buddhist links with China.
Fa-shien and Yi Jing are other prominent Chinese pilgrim-monks who visited India.
ITBP, Chinese forces face-off in Demchok over water project
The Indo Tibetan Border Police and the Army have been engaged in a face- off with the Chinese Peoples
Liberation Army along the LAC in Lehs Demchok area.
The official said around 50 Chinese Army personnel had come close to the Indian side of the LAC and were
refusing to go back.
The Chinese side is objecting to an irrigation project under the MNREGA to link a village with a hot spring.
The Chinese troops took positions and demanded that work be stopped as either side needs permission before
undertaking any work.
India disputed the claim, stating that as per the agreement between the two countries, information about
construction needs to be shared only if it was meant for defence purposes.
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Face-off at Leh ends as India finishes work on irrigation project
The face-off between the Indo Tibetan Border Police Force and the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA)
along the Line of Actual Control in LehsDemchok area endedafter an irrigation project, to which the Chinese had
objected to, was completed.
The stand-off ended hours before National Security Adviser AjitDoval met his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi in
Hyderabad to discuss measures to improve bilateral ties.
Around 50 Chinese Army personnel had come close to the Indian side of the LAC and refused to go back as they
objected to an irrigation project under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
(MGNREGS) where work for linking a village with Hot spring was under way.
The Chinese troops had taken positions and demanded that work be stopped as either side needs to take permission
before undertaking any work, a claim disputed by the Indian side, which says that as per the agreement between the
two countries, information about construction needs to be shared only if it was meant for defence purposes.
This is the first time since the 2014 incident when the Chinese Army had come deep inside the Indian territory in
Demchok to protest an ongoing irrigation project.
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India-China border talks slated for next year
National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi discussed a gamut of issues covering
bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest during a meeting held in Hyderabad.
Both sides agreed to hold the 20th round of Special Representatives talks on the border question in India next year.
The meeting came against the backdrop of a series of dampeners appearing prominently in the bilateral ties,
including the recent stand-off between the two Armies at the border.
However, the statement issued did not carry any reference to the two key issues of Indias concern vis-a-vis China
Indias entry to the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the U.N. ban on Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar.
Both are held up because of Chinas tough positioning.
India is non-committal on market economy tag for China

India is not inclined to automatically grant the coveted Market Economy Status (MES) to China in December
2016 under World Trade Organisation (WTO) norms, highly placed official sources said.
China became a member of WTO in 2001.
Citing the provisions in the Protocol on the accession of China to the WTO in 2001, Beijing has said WTO member
countries must fulfil their promise to deem China a market economy from December 2016.
However, granting MES to China will severely curb the ability of nations including India to impose anti-dumping
duties on unfairly priced Chinese imports.
Of the 535 cases where anti-dumping duties were imposed by India during 1994 to 2014, a maximum of 134 has been
on goods from China.
To refuse China the MES, India has taken sides with the U.S. and European Union in stating that unlike in
'market economies' where prices of items are market determined (based on demand & supply conditions), there is
still a significant government influence in the Chinese market.
In this regard, they have referred to the Chinese government subsidies for various sectors, currency manipulation
and the related price fixing, absence of transparency in lending rates and bad loans of banks as well as in
minimum wages & property rights besides the lack of proper business accounting standards all of which in
turn cause distortions in global trade, the sources said.
The sources said several nations that have a strong manufacturing base are concerned about according MES to
China, while nations including in Africa and Latin America dependant on Chinese investments to boost
manufacturing are inclined to grant Market Economy Status to China.
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China agrees to import rice from 17 mills in India
In a major breakthrough that New Delhi had been waiting for, China has agreed to import rice, non-basmati and
basmati varieties, from 17 registered mills in India, following efforts to ensure market access for Indian products
in that country.
India had repeatedly sought market access for items including non-basmati rice, pharmaceuticals and many fruits and
vegetables among others, citing the countrys widening goods trade deficit with China. Indias goods trade deficit with
China has ballooned from $1.1 billion in 2003-04 to $52.7 billion in 2015-16.
China is the worlds largest rice importer. However, Beijing had so far not granted market access to Indias non-
basmati rice claiming that the item had failed to meet Chinese norms on quality, health and safety.
Its apprehensions included the possibility of the Khapra beetle (or cabinet beetle) pest getting transported along with
Indian non-basmati rice consignments to China.
Official sources said after numerous requests from the Indian side, Chinese officials visited India in September to inspect
19 rice mills registered with the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO). These mills are in Punjab,
Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
To export to nations including China, it is mandatory that Indian rice exporters are registered with NPPO, the
Indian government agency for inspecting the mills and granting certificates on plant health for export purposes.
The NPPO assisted its Chinese counterpart AQSIQ during the inspection for pest-risk analysis and plant quarantine
purposes to ensure that the non-basmati consignments from India will be pest-free, safe and of good quality.
The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under the Indian Commerce
Ministry was also involved in the process.
After G-20 summit, China sees India as partner to shore up global economy
Taking the cue from the G-20 summit in Hangzhou, in September 2016, China is advocating greater participation of
the Global South and the emerging countries in the world economy, including closer ties between Beijing and New
Delhi.
At a major brainstorming exercise marshaled by the Communist Party of China (CPC)Chinas most influential core
several speakers recognised that western economies were avoiding structural reforms, which were necessary to revive
an anemic global economy.
Two separate sessions focused on Africa, and countries along the Mekong River, signaling Chinas intent to
include the Global South in its blueprint to lift the global economy.
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Many participants proposed a pervasive economic engagement between China and India, to help bring about a global
turnaround. If you look at the economic perspective, China and India are complementary to each other. There is
immense scope to enhance cooperation, observed Lin Yifu, former Vice President of the World Bank.
Once the no-go areas were clarified, there was immense scope for scaling up the India-China economic partnership.
By 2050, China will be the first and India will be second largest economies of the world, with very complementary
type of demographic and supply chain structures.
The biggest thing India can learn from China is in the arena of infrastructure. The Chinese are a powerhouse of
infrastructure.
The U.S. based academic highlighted that collaboration in high speed railways was promising at it would not be
hampered by the availability of landa chronic problem confronting foreign investors, seeking avenues in Indias
manufacturing sector.
China cited, refugee crisis, climate change and terrorism, as some of the factors undermining growth.
Consequently, the Chongqing conclave called for re-defining the rules of economic governance, which should equally
focus on non-economic factors hampering revival. Usually, when we say global governance, we refer to global
economic governance, which is also the focus of this dialogue. I believe, however, effective global governance cant be
founded on economics alone.
G20 :
It is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies.
It was founded in 1999 with the aim of studying, reviewing, and promoting high-level discussion of policy issues
pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability.
Summit was initiated in 2008 as a response both to the financial crisis of 20072010 and to a growing recognition that
key emerging countries were not adequately included in the core of global economic discussion and governance.
Dalai Lama visits Mongolia despite Chinas objections

The Dalai Lama met with Buddhist worshippers during a four-day visit to Mongolia, despite Beijings strident
demand that he be barred from entering the country.
Home to devout Buddhists but heavily dependent on trade with China, Mongolia has tried to avoid angering its
giant neighbour, which views the Nobel Peace Prize winner as a devious separatist bent on breaking apart China.
But the spiritual leader has pressed more for Tibetan autonomy rather than outright independence.
Mongolias Minister of Foreign Affairs said that the Dalai Lamas visit had no connection with the government.
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XL. BILATERAL INDIA-JAPAN
India-Japan nuclear deal: Will India accept a nullification clause?
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe prepare to discuss the conclusion of
the civil nuclear cooperation agreement after their talks, all eyes will be on whether India will accept a
nullification or termination clause.
The deal, which will open up access for India to cutting edge nuclear energy technology, reactors and critical parts,
has been held up for years over the clause, which stipulates that it would be cancelled if India were to conduct a
nuclear test.
The Prime Minister landed in Tokyo for the India-Japan annual summit meeting after a brief stopover in Thailand
where he paid respects to the late King Bhumibol Aulyadej.
Along with the $1.5 billion deal for U-2 amphibious aircraft, the civil nuclear agreement will be the highlight of the
talks between Mr. Modi and Mr. Abe, which will follow business meetings and a call on Emperor Akihito.
India maintains a voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing, but has thus far refused to sign on to the Nuclear Non-
Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) or given any other undertaking outside of its
commitments at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). However, analysts concede that Japan, the only
country to have suffered a nuclear attack has special sensitivities that India may need to make an exception for,
despite Indias insistence on nuclear sovereignty.
A nullification clause, it is argued, would send an unfortunate signal to others that the IAEA safeguards are
insufficient in ensuring that Indian nuclear energy facilities are used for peaceful purposes alone.
Also, other countries who were refused similar guarantees, like Australia and Canada, could be annoyed if India
allows the nullification clause.
Another factor, say officials, is Japans critical position in nuclear supplies to India. Although India has a guaranteed
supply of nuclear fuel, all planned reactors including those from France and the U.S. and other than existing
Russian reactors depend largely on Japanese parts.
In addition GE, Westinghouse and Areva, the companies planning reactors in India at present have significant ownership
stakes from Japanese companies Hitachi, Toshiba and Mitsubishi, and are held up until the India-Japan nuclear deal is
cleared by the Diet or parliament expected in early 2017.
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India signs landmark civil nuclear deal with Japan
India signed a historic civilian nuclear deal with Japan during the annual bilateral summit held in Tokyo during
the ongoing visit to Japan by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The nuclear deal which will help India access Japans nuclear market, had been under negotiation for six years,
since 2010, and was firmed up during the 2015 visit of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to India when the principles of the
agreement were frozen.
However, the final seal on the text had to wait legislative clearance from Japan, which has 13 civil nuclear
agreements with countries such as France and the U.S.
India is the first non-member of the non-proliferation treaty (NPT) to have signed such a deal with Japan.
The deal was stuck on Indias non-NPT status as Japan sought assurances that the deal would be used for peaceful
purposes.
The last stage of negotiations was keenly watched due to a nullification clause which seeks automatic cancellation
of the deal if India resorts to nuclear testing.
The Japanese side claims that the deal includes the option that Japan can give a years notice before terminating it,
in case India breaks the nuclear testing moratorium that it had extended to the Nuclear Suppliers Group in 2008.
Apart from the Russian reactors, the planned nuclear reactors with France and the U.S. depend on Japanese
parts. That apart, GE, Westinghouse, and Areva, the companies planning reactors in India have important
ownership stakes of Japanese companies Hitachi Ltd, Toshiba and Mitsubishi, that were stopped from doing
business with India without a final nuclear deal.
The deal is also likely to revitalise Japanese nuclear majors that are yet to recover from the setback of the Fukushima
accident.
Both sides also signed nine agreements including one on cooperation between ISRO and JAXA in outer space. Another
MoU that was signed covered investment in infrastructure projects in railways and transport terminals.
Deal or no deal? India, Japan wrangle over N-pact note
Indian and Japanese officials continued to wrangle over the legality of a document signed as part of the nuclear
deal during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Tokyo.
The document indicates a link between nuclear testing and the cancellation of the deal. While government sources
say the document is not legally binding, a Japanese official insisted the document had been signed by the nuclear
negotiators in the presence of Prime Ministers Shinzo Abe and Narendra Modi, and hence legally binding.
The Note on Views and Understanding which was signed directly after the nuclear cooperation agreement
contains contentious clauses that effectively allow Japan to invoke an emergency suspension of supplies if India
were to test a nuclear weapon, and to contest any compensation claims from India in court.
India has traditionally refused to link its nuclear trade with pre-conditions on testing, holding it is a matter of nuclear
sovereignty, and instead giving a voluntary moratorium on tests.
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In response to questions about the differences, government sources said the note is simply a record by the negotiators of
respective views on certain issues, given Japans special sensitivities as the only nation to have suffered a nuclear
attack.
Officials also explained that it had been included to help the Japanese government clear the deal in early 2017
through the Parliament or Diet, where it is already under fire for making an exception for India that has not signed
the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The wrangling over the Indo-Japan deal, which was hailed as a landmark agreement, casts a shadow similar to the
controversy over the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal in January 2015.
At the time, despite Prime Minister Modi and President Obama announcing a breakthrough in negotiations on civil
nuclear liability, U.S. companies refused to accept the Indian governments assurances on limited liability, until months
of discussions between the two sides convinced Westinghouse to go ahead with a plan for six nuclear reactors in
Andhra Pradesh.
However, those reactors, and several others on the anvil, now await clearance of the deal with Japan, that has run into
rough weather over the legality of the additional text.
XLI. BILATERAL INDIA-NEPAL
India opens IITs to Nepal students
Reaching out to the younger generation of Nepal, India announced that from 2017, Nepalese students
would be able to compete for seats in IITs for graduate and postgraduate courses.
Announcing the new opportunity for the students of Nepal, President Pranab Mukherjee said academic and
student exchange programmes had been part of the long tradition in bilateral ties and India would continue to
help Nepal with developing its human resources.
[IIT] aspirants would have the option to write these examinations in Kathmandu, he said. Our commitment is
reflected in the grant of around 3,000 scholarships to Nepalese students every year, providing
opportunities to study in Nepal and in India. We offer more than 250 scholarships annually for Government
and non-Government employees of Nepal for training in technical institutes in India.
President Mukherjee also met with a broad spectrum of political and civil society figures in the evening and
reminded Nepal that India remained committed to its neighbourhood first foreign policy.
Avoid interference: Nepal to India
Nepal accorded a warm welcome to President Pranab Mukherjee but asserted that India should avoid
interfering in the internal issues of the country.
Soon upon the arrival of the Indian President, divisions in Nepali politics became evident on the issue of
constitutional amendments for the Madhesi people of the plains, even as the visiting President praised the
democratic struggle in Nepal and urged his hosts to draft a constitution that would address the diverse social
fabric.
Top sources from the Government of Nepal maintained that Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda
was on his way to complete a series of amendments to the year-old Constitution in the next three or four
months, but said they would prefer to do so without interference from major powers, including India.
The new constitution adopted in September 2015 had triggered an internal upheaval.
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XLII. BILATERAL INDIA-SRI LANKHA
Hotline to address fishermen issue
India and Sri Lanka have agreed to set up a Joint Working Group on Fisheries (JWG) and a hotline between their
Coast Guards to address the long-standing issue of fishermen from Tamil Nadu being arrested.
It was also decided that the JWG would meet every three months while the Ministers of Fisheries on both sides
would meet every six months beginning January 2017 along with Coast Guard and Naval representatives to
discuss the protracted issue.
The decision came three days after fishermen of both countries failed to reach an agreement on ending fishing in Sri
Lankan waters by Indian fishermen.
The Rural Fishermen Society president offered a deal for Indian boats to be allowed to fish in Sri Lankan waters for
85 days every year for the next three years before they are phased out.
Rejecting that offer, fishermen from Jaffna said they wanted an immediate end to bottom trawling, a practice
that depletes the oceans resources, and refused to return more than 100 trawlers seized by Sri Lankan authorities
since 2014.
The terms of reference of the JWG includes expediting the transition towards ending the practice of bottom trawling at
the earliest, as well as framing procedures for returning fishermen arrested by both sides, and the possibility of joint
patrolling.
However, the issue of their seized boats is unresolved, and has been an emotive issue in Tamil Nadu. The issue of
the release of detained fishing vessels will be discussed at the first JWG meeting, the statement said.
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Katchatheevu
It is an uninhabited islet in the Palk Strait that was formed due to volcanic eruption in the 14th century.
The 285-acre land, strategically important for fishing activities, was owned by the Raja of Ramnad
(Ramanathapuram) and later became part of the Madras Presidency after the delimitation of Gulf of Mannar and
Palk Strait during British rule between the then governments of Madras and Ceylon.
In 1921, both Sri Lanka and India claimed this piece of land for fishing and the dispute remained unsettled.
In 1974, Katchatheevu was ceded to Sri Lanka by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi through the Indo-Sri
Lankan Maritime agreement to settle the maritime boundary in the Palk Strait with her counterpart Srimavo
Bandaranaike.
Though ceded to Sri Lanka, the agreement, which did not specify fishing rights, allowed Indian fishermen to fish
around Katchatheevu and to dry their nets on the island.
In 1976, without the consultation of the state assembly and Parliament, another agreement was finalized to
determine the boundary in the Gulf of Mannar and Bay of Bengal and restricted both the countries fishermen
from fishing in the others waters.
Every February, thousands of devotees from Rameshwaram visit the 110-year-old St Anthonys Church on
Katchatheevu island built by a Tamil Catholic from Tamil Nadu, Srinivasa Padaiyachi.
Sri Lanka wants an end to bottom trawling
Sri Lanka urged India to expeditiously end unsustainable industrial-scale fishing in the coastal waters between
the two countries, claiming Indian trawlers were using heavy-duty fishing techniques.
The two sides have agreed that the Joint Working Group would have three tasks of expeditiously working to end
bottom trawling, facilitating joint patrolling of the coastal waters, and working towards release of arrested
fishermen who strayed into each others waters.
Both sides agreed that the JWG would meet every three months and a meeting between the Ministers for Fisheries
would be held every six months.
Both sides also agreed that there should be no military attacks by the Navies and the coast guards of the two countries in
dealing with the fishermen.
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T.N. fishermen injured in firing by Lankan Navy
Two fishermen from Nagapattinam, in Tamil Nadu, and Karaikal, in the Union Territory of Puducherry,
sustained injuries in alleged firing by the Sri Lankan Navy, and were admitted to the Indira Gandhi Government
General Hospital and Postgraduate Institute in Puducherry.
They were among the nine fishermen who were on the boat, suffered bullet injuries on the hip and shoulder
respectively, official sources said. The boat was partly damaged.
We were fishing off the Kodiakarai coast when a Sri Lankan patrol boat came to the area. Its personnel threw stones and
threatened to arrest us. While we tried to hide in the boat they fired indiscriminately on us. We didnt stop the boat and
returned to Karaikal, said Aravind.
It is suspected the Sri Lankan Navy fired rubber bullets.
Fishermens associations have strongly condemned the firing by the Sri Lankan Navy, especially after the recent talks
between the two countries on resolving the issue. If at all the fishermen had trespassed, they could have been arrested.
The Sri Lankan navy has dismissed the charges of firing.
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XLIII. BILATERAL INDIA-BANGLADESH
India, Bangladesh joint exercise from tomorrow
Bangladesh and India will hold a 14-day joint military exercise in Bangladesh, code-named Sampriti-7, to
practise counter-terrorism and disaster-management operations.
The bilateral defence cooperation endeavour, hosted alternately by both countries, is into its seventh edition.
An Indian Army release said personnel from both countries would be familiarised with each others
organisational structure and tactical drills.
The first exercise in this series was held at Jorhat in Assam in 2010.
The two sides will simulate a scenario where both nations are working together under U.N. charter
Hindu villages come under attack again
Four days after Hindu temples and houses were attacked in Bangladeshs Brahmanbariadistrict, extremists
targeted the minority community again.
Police said several houses were set on fire at Madhyaparha and Dakhshinparha in the Upazila town at dawn. No one
was injured in the incident.
On October 30, over a 100 people were injured when a mob of around 3,000 local Muslims demolished at least 10
temples and vandalised hundreds of houses of the Hindu community in the area.
The two-hour mayhem followed a Facebook post from the account of a local Hindu youth, which the attackers said did
hurt the religious sentiment of the Muslims.
The youth, Rasraj Das, a fisherman, had already apologised to Muslims saying his account had been hacked.
Meanwhile, a team of the National Human Rights Commission, which visited the affected area, has said the attack was
deliberate and aimed at grabbing land from the minority community.
Bangladesh to honour 1,668 martyrs of the Indian Army
Bangladesh will honour 1,668 members of the Indian Army, who were martyred during the Bangladesh
Liberation War.
Their families will receive a Rs. 5 lakh purse as a mark of respect, said Liberation War Affairs Minister A.K.M.
Mozammel Huq.
The Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, will be in Delhi between 18-20 December to hand over the money,
in Indian currency, to the martyrs family members, the Minister said.
A letter of gratitude from Ms. Hasina in Bengali, English and Hindi, and a plaque, will also be given. A book on the
contribution of the martyrs will be published, too.
Besides, we will be raising a war memorial in the Brahmanbaria district [in Bangladesh] to pay homage to the
Indian soldiers who laid down their lives for our war of liberation and independence, said Mr. Huq, who himself
took part in the armed resistance during the 1971 war and was a senior official of Bangladesh Chhatra League
(formerly the East Pakistan Student League), the students political wing of the Awami League, at the time of the
countrys independence.
The gesture was mentioned in the joint declaration during PM Modis visit to Dhaka in 2015.
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XLIV. BILATERAL INDIA-TURKEY
Turkey wants India to start free trade pact talks soon
Turkey wants India to start talks on a proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) soon and said the ongoing political
turmoil will not impact foreign investment flows.
Turkish companies want to make India a gateway for improving business ties in South Asia.
Indian companies can use Turkey as a hub to expand operations in the European Union (with which Turkey has a
Customs Union agreement), the Middle East and Africa.
In FY16, India-Turkey trade had shrunk nearly 28 per cent year-on-year to $4.91 billion of which Indias exports
to Turkey were $4.14 billion (contraction of 22.7 per cent) while Turkeys exports to India fell 47 per cent to $776
million.
Asked if Turkey is planning special measures to protect investors from losses due to political unrest, Turkish
representative said: Investors have been coming even after the (failed) July coup attempt. The month following the
coup, there was $1 billion worth of capital flows into Turkey.
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XLV. BILATERAL INDIA-AFGHANISTAN
India to restore grounded aircraft in Afghanistan
After supplying four attack helicopters to Afghanistan, India is quietly moving to qualitatively scale up military
assistance in terms of long-term spares and support.
This involves a trilateral framework with Russia, likely to be discussed on the sidelines of the sixth Heart of Asia
(HoA) ministerial conference in Amritsar, which will be attended by Russia as well.
Two Indian Air Force technical teams have visited Afghanistan to assess the requirements for spares and
maintenance to restore the Soviet-era helicopters and transport aircraft lying there,.
There are at least 40-50 helicopters of various types and some An-32 medium transport aircraft which have been
grounded from a long time for need of spares. We have asked Indian help in refurbishing them, diplomatic sources
stated.
India has supplied three Cheetal utility helicopters, and in a major policy shift, agreed to transfer four Mi-25
attack helicopters from its inventory in 2015. While India seems to be open to supplying lethal hardware, involving
Moscow is inevitable as most of the equipment is manufactured in Russia.
This was evident in the case of an Mi-25 helicopter that was grounded due to lack of spares which had to be
procured from Russia.
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The Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process
It was established in 2011 to provide a platform to discuss regional issues, particularly encouraging security,
political, and economic cooperation among Afghanistan and its neighbors, in facing common threats, including
counterterrorism, counternarcotics, poverty, and extremism.
The United States and over 20 other nations and organizations serve as supporting nations to the process.
XLVI. BILATERAL INDIA-ISRAEL

Israel President arrives in Mumbai on 6-day visit
Setting the stage for a prime ministerial visit from India in 2017, Israeli president Reuven Rivlin arrived in India on a
six-day visit.
He is accompanied by a delegation of leading agriculture, defence and university figures of Israel.
Mr. Rivlin is likely to focus on agriculture cooperation between the two sides during the visit. He is accompanied by
Michael Mirilashvili, chairman of Watergen, one of the most important futuristic companies of Israel that specialises in
optimal use of water resource.
He will also visit the Centre of Excellence of Indo-Israeli Agricultural Project in Karnal, Haryana.
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This is a special visit to celebrate our 25 years of diplomatic relations diplomatic ties which started in 1992 at the
end of the Cold War.
XLVII. BILATERAL INDIA-UK
May visits India under a cloud of uncertainty
British Prime Minister Theresa May headed for New Delhi, leading a 40-member business delegation, on her first
trade mission, and her first bilateral visit outside the European Union.
The visit, which has been pegged as one of Mays first major opportunities to showcase post-Brexit Britain to the world,
is taking place under a cloud of uncertainty, with Parliament set to get a say in the process of exiting the EU, and
toughening immigration rules governing Indian temporary workers and students.
A Downing Street spokesperson highlighted that among Britains priorities will be furthering the defence and
security relationship.
Nevertheless, from the Indian perspective a couple of issues cloud the visit. Firstly, there is the issue of Britains stance
on Pakistan which is notably different from that of the U.S., which issued a strong statement condemning cross-
border terrorism.
Another issue haunting the visit will be visas. The British government has announced that a planned tightening of
immigration rules including the raising of salary thresholds for those on an intra-company transfer visa will
come in on November 24.
We have made it clear the country wants to be open to the brightest and the best students, said the spokesperson, adding
that Britain gave more student visas to Indians than it did to Chinese and U.S. combined. Yes we need to balance it
against concerns of the British public against immigration.
U.K. govt. failing India as true partner: Corbyn
The Conservative Government has failed to treat its relationship with India as a true partnership, British
Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn said on the eve of Prime Minister Theresa Mays visit to India.
Mr. Corbyn called for the relationship to be imbued with respect, and pledged that a Labour government would adopt a
very different policy to the Tories on immigration.
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[The government] looks at India as a place to do business in and thats fine but Im not sure they fully appreciate
that a partnership is something that you have to work two ways on, the Labour leader said, pointing to the British
governments tough regime governing student visas, which limits the ability of students from India and outside the
EU to gain work experience after education.
A Labour government would also tackle the unfair rules, and high-income threshold that made it hard for family
members from India to move to Britain, Mr. Corbyn said, lambasting the governments plans to make it harder for
foreign doctors to work in the country. I think the contribution that Indian doctors made to Britain is phenomenal. The
idea that the NHS could somehow survive without foreign doctors is simply untenable, he said.
Mr. Corbyn welcomed the recent high court decision, which will require the government to consult Parliament
before triggering a Brexit.
India seeks return of 57 fugitives from U.K.

India has asked the United Kingdom to return 57 fugitives, including liquor baron Vijay Mallya, and members of
some Sikh extremist groups. Apart from Mr. Mallya, the list includes the likes of Christian Michel, the alleged
middleman in the Agusta- Westland VVIP helicopter deal and 2002 Gujarat riots accused Sameer Ali.
A list of wanted individuals was handed over to the visiting delegation, led by British Prime Minister Theresa May, even
as the two sides agreed on enhancing counter-terror measures but failed to reach a consensus on how to deal with
outstanding visa issues. Ms. May refused to commit to an unconditional increase in visas for Indian professionals.
The U.K. will consider further improvements to our visa offer if at the same time we can step up the speed and volume
of returns of Indians with no right to remain in the U.K., Ms. May said, addressing the media. This drew a firm response
from the Ministry of External Affairs which said verification of nationality of returnees to India is a difficult process.
Swift entry for business flyers to U.K.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May has offered a first of its kind frequent traveller scheme for Indians
travelling to Britain for business that will speed up their entry into Britain.
Under the scheme, Indian nationals who frequently come to the U.K. and contribute to growth in both countries will face
a significantly easier entry process - fewer forms to fill out, access to the EU-EEA passport controls, swifter
passage through our airports.
Stronger trade and investment ties between India and the U.K. need not wait for Britains exit from the European
Union, she emphasised.
However, a formal free trade pact or investment treaty can only be completed after Brexit procedures are
complete.
Britain raises tax issues, India social security taxation
The U.K. sought an early resolution of the Indian Governments disputes with Cairn and Vodafone on
retrospective taxation and raised concerns over tax uncertainties in India while New Delhi took up Britains
curbs on visas for work and studies.
On Britains visa restrictions, Ms. Sitharaman said, it seems that the U.K. is mainly interested in greater market
access for its goods in India and in getting investments from India but not in attracting talented Indian services
professionals and students.
India raised the issue of the lack of a bilateral totalisation (or social security) agreement with the U.K. to do away
with dual social security taxation.
As there is no India-U.K. totalisation agreement, Indian companies, including from the IT sector, have to shell out huge
amounts to the U.K. Government towards social security, with no benefit (as the Indian employees do not stay on in the
U.K.) or prospects of refund, she said.
The U.K. extended support to Indias proposal for a Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) for Services at the World
Trade Organisation (WTO)-level.
The India-U.K. CEO Forum, a group of business leaders from both the countries, proposed the setting up of an
Advanced Material & Manufacturing Technology Centre in India.
The focus would be on primary applications in the Defence and Aerospace sector in India.
Once established, the centre will be at the forefront of the Make in India and Skill India programmes.
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Kohinoor represents sentiments of people
Over 167 years after the Kohinoor diamond was duplicitously

confiscated by the East India Company from a minor Indian
maharaja, the Centre told the Supreme Court that the diamond, though
a symbol of victory for the British Empire, represented the
sentiments of the people of India.
The seven-page affidavit filed by the Centre said Indias credentials
regarding the ownership of the Kohinoor diamond was based on historical
evidence and could not be doubted.
The affidavit was filed by the Ministry of Culture.
The affidavit has an open-ended conclusion, saying the government was
continuing to explore ways for a satisfactory resolution over the diamond
with the U.K.
The affidavit said the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act of 1972 was
toothless as the British East India Company confiscated the Kohinoor diamond from the boy king, Maharaja
Duleep Singh, in 1849.
The 108-carat diamond was presented to the then British monarch, Queen Alexandra, in 1850 after the Anglo-
Sikh wars, in which Britain gained control over the Sikh empire in the then undivided Punjab.
Though both India and the U.K. were signatories to the UNESCO Convention on Means of Prohibiting and
Preventing Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, a restitution of Kohinoor
would require a special agreement between both countries.
Kohinoor and others:

It is not just Kohinoor; nine other famous diamonds left the shores of India and these are now displayed in
museums in Washington, Moscow, Paris and Istanbul, besides forming a part of the Iranian crown jewels.
The precious nine, all categorised as legendary diamonds and mined by the Qutub Shahis of the Deccan, are
the Hope Diamond, Hortensia, Darya-i-Noor, Noor-ul-Ain, Orlov (also called Orlof), Regent, Sancy, Shah Diamond
and Spoonmaker's, says V. Madhavan, who worked as a Professor of Geology in the Kakatiya University.
Two pink diamonds, the 182 carat Darya-i-Noor and 60 carat Noor-ul-Ain are part of the Iranian crown jewels .
History of Kohinoor:
By all historical accounts, the Kohinoor was mined by the Kakatiyas when Rani Rudrama Devi headed the
kingdom, its headquarters in present day Warangal. There is a general consensus among historians that it was
found at Kolluru, part of the Kakatiya kingdom, in the late 13th century in present day Guntur district of
Andhra Pradesh.
In the early 14th century, Alauddin Khilji, second ruler of the Turkic Khilji dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and
his army began looting the kingdoms of southern India. Malik Kafur, Khilji's general, made a successful raid on
Warangal in 1310, when he possibly acquired the diamond.
It remained in the Khilji dynasty and later passed to the succeeding dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate, until it came
into the possession of Babur, a Turco-Mongol warlord, who invaded India and established the Mughal Empire in
1526.
Shah Jahan had the stone placed into his ornate Peacock Throne.
While in the possession of Aurangazeb, it was cut by Hortenso Borgia, a Venetian lapidary so clumsily that he
reduced the weight of the stone from 793 carats (158.6 g) to 186 carats (37.2 g). For this carelessness, Borgia was
reprimanded and fined 10,000 rupees
Following the 1739 invasion of Delhi by Nadir Shah, the Shah of Persia, the treasury of the Mughal Empire
was looted by his army.
Nadir Shah allegedly exclaimed Koh-i-Noor! (meaning "mountain of light") when he finally managed to
obtain the famous stone, and that is how the stone got its name.
After the assassination of Nader Shah in 1747 and the collapse of his empire, the stone came into the hands of one of
his generals, Ahmad Shah Durrani, who later became the Emir of Afghanistan.
One of Ahmed's descendants, Shah Shujah Durrani, on been overthrown, fled to Lahore, where the founder of
the Sikh Empire, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, in return for his hospitality, insisted upon the gem being given to
him, and he took possession of it in 1813.
In 1849 after the Anglo-Sikh wars, the British East India Company confiscated the Kohinoor diamond from
the boy king, Maharaja Duleep Singh.
Diamonds worldwide:
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India was the only producer of diamonds in the world till 1725 AD when they were mined in Brazil. Later in
1870, diamonds were explored in South Africa. Marco Polo, who visited India in the 13th century, talks in his
travelogue of an inland kingdom ruled by a queen (Rudrama Devi)... which produced all the diamonds in the
world.
At the time of its discovery, the Kohinoor was the largest diamond in the world. But no longer.
In 1905, workmen at the Premier Mines in South Africa unearthed the 3106 carats (621 grams) Cullinan
diamond, which remains the largest so far. It was named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, the founder of Premier Mines.
Britain tightens visa regulations
New visa regulations that will impact Indian workers in the U.K. as well as their families are set to come into
affect, as part of the governments tightening of its immigration regime, but which critics argue will be damaging to the
countrys efforts to build relations with India.
Changes impacting a number of areas including salary thresholds for those on a Tier 2 visa (the most common
category for non-EU workers), and English language requirements for family members of non-EU migrants were
announced by the government earlier in 2016 on the advice of the Migration Advisory Committee, an independent public
body that advises the government.
In order to be sponsored, experienced workers will need to earn a salary of at least 25,000 in all professions barring a
few (nurses, radiographers, paramedics, secondary school teachers in mathematics, the sciences, and Mandarin will be
exempt until July 2019). The salary threshold is set to rise even higher next year to 30,000 by April. The minimum
salary threshold for a Tier 2 migrant was 20,800.
The government is also increasing the minimum salary for short-term staff using the intra-company transfer route
used by companies including the Indian IT sector to bring key personnel from abroad to 30,000, and closing the
ICT skills transfer sub-category.
Landmark ruling deals blow to U.K. deportation programme
Critics of a British Home Office programme that was responsible for deporting thousands of students, workers
and others from the Indian subcontinent and beyond, have welcomed a landmark judgment by the Court of
Appeal in London that has dealt the progamme a severe blow, and led the government to admit that past, current
and future cases need to be reviewed.
The British government has, for a number of years now, been taking foreign students, workers and others to court
on the charge of committing fraud to obtain the English-language qualifications they acquired to stay in the U.K.
Since 2010, a number of institutions, including the Educational Testing Services (ETS), an American company with
many Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) test centres, have been responsible for running
tests covering different levels of English language proficiency required by different types of visas that were
recognised by the U.K. government.
In February 2014, a BBC Panorama investigation found evidence of fraud at one ETS centre, which acted as a
trigger for the British governments deportation programme.
In the years that followed, thousands of people, who had gained their qualification via ETS at different test centres across
the U.K., were accused of partaking in fraud. Over 4,000 were deported while others, who were unable to work or
study, and with limited financial resources, left the country, distraught.
XLVIII. BILATERAL INDIA-UKRAINE
India and Ukraine to close gap in ties
After a gap of four years, India and Ukraine are set to begin a new phase of exchanges which is likely to warm up
political, military and diplomatic ties.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister is likely to visit India soon even as the Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete undertook a
visit to the country presently.
The visit of the Indian Minister breaks a gap in bilateral exchanges that had formed due to the ongoing violence in
eastern Ukraine.
India had evacuated citizens from Ukraine in 2014 as the disturbance intensified in the region.
The last major visit from Ukraine was by President Viktor Yanukovych who visited Delhi and met Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh in 2012.
However, another problem in bilateral ties was Ukraines military ties with Pakistan.
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Ukraine is a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and a non-permanent member with two-year term at the
U.N. Security Council.
The diplomat indicated that Ukraine is interested in supporting Indias military modernisation plans and the visit of Mr.
Klimkin is likely to take up several key projects in aviation and space research.
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XLIX. BILATERAL INDIA-EU
WHO settles India, EU medicine dispute

In a significant victory for the global access to medicines campaign, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has
dropped the term counterfeit and retained falsified to describe medicines of inferior quality.
The terms were being used interchangeably to confiscated Indian made generic drugs exported to other countries
by showing that they were in violation of intellectual property.
The decision was taken by a technical working group on draft working definitions of substandard/spurious
/falsely-labelled/falsified/counterfeit (SSFFC) medical products.
The term counterfeit was being described substandard or falsified medicines even though, under international law,
the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) the definition of counterfeit is
clearly targeted at one particular area: wilful infringement of trademark on a commercial scale.
The European Union Free Trade Agreement (EU FTA) had reached a deadlock after affordable, safe-to-use generic
drugs made in India were confiscated as illegal and counterfeit.
Nearly 20 shipments of generic drugs, including basic antibiotics and anti-retrovirals, were detained while in
transit from India to several developing countries via Europe between 2008 and 2009, derailing the free trade
agreement negotiations.
This decision by the WHO settles a long-standing battle about labelling of drugs. For far too long, genuine generic
medicines have been labelled as counterfeit. The confusion had taken away the much needed attention from the
substandard medicines which is a bigger public health problem for developing countries.
Indian generic medicines are used to treat a wide variety of diseases, including tuberculosis, malaria, HIV/AIDS
and other infections that afflict the poorest and most vulnerable populations.
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L. BILATERAL INDIA-USA
U.S. cautions its citizens on IS threat in India
An advisory issued by the American Embassy warned its citizens of an increased threat by ISIS in places
frequented by Westerners in India, such as religious sites, markets, and festival venues.
This is the first time that a specific travel advisory has been issued citing heightened threat perception from the IS
targeting India.
Indias IT industry extends a cautious welcome
Donald Trumps election is likely to impact Indian Information Technology (IT) industry already battling
challenges stemming from sluggish economic growth and automation threatening jobs and profit margins.
Donald Trumps protectionist views would further dampen growth prospects, if his views were to crystallise into some
serious policy implementation.
During his election campaign, Mr. Trump had come out against IT companies, claiming that Indian employees
were taking away American jobs using the H-1B visas. One of his promises had been to increase the H-1B wage to
$100,000 per annum and to bring in strict immigration laws.
However, what happens during campaigns and what actually transpires in office can vary greatly and we did get early
signs of that in his victory speech.
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What can Trump do to your U.S. dreams?
I am totally committed to eliminating rampant, widespread H-1B abuse and ending outrageous practices such as
those that occurred at Disney... I will end forever the use of the H-1B as a cheap labour programme, U.S.
President-elect Donald Trump had said in one of his campaign meetings earlier this year, specifically talking about
an incident in which Indian workers replaced American workers at the Disney amusement park in Florida.
H-1B visas are run under a Congressional mandate and the executive cannot arbitrarily make changes in them.
But a Trump presidency raises concerns about what the future holds for potential visa seekers and immigrants from India,
since he has made immigration and visa regulations a centrepiece of his politics.
Puneet Ahluwalia, a Washington DC-based lobbyist who was a member of Trump campaigns Asia Advisory Committee,
says Indian IT companies will have a big role to play in the new Presidents economic agenda.
Mr. Trump is a pro-business guy. The U.S. wants to keep its competitive technology edge in the global market and will
require talented folks in that sector. H1 B visa is the legal way of importing talent into our nation. It will be important that
Indian technology companies look in U.S. rural areas and create opportunities, he says, adding Indian companies might
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require to align with the new Presidents political priorities. They can assimilate a lot of semi-skilled workers into jobs
that can be done from their homes, in the U.S.
We have to create job creators. One man went to Harvard, did well, but was not allowed to stay, went back to his
home in India, started a company, which is now a very successful company with thousands of employees. We have
to be careful about this. We have to keep the talented people in this country, Mr. Trump said, referring to
Snapdeal founder Kunal Bahl, though the details were wrong. Mr. Bahl did not go to Harvard, but to University of
Pennsylvania.
All told, the increase in cap of the H-1B currently 65,000 annually as many American and Indian companies
have been arguing for several years, is unlikely to happen.
It is unlikely that a Trump administration will want such a route, and such a proposal may not get enough support from
members of Congress. It is unlikely to be cut either. But the companies will be under pressure to use those visas more
creatively to fit into the Trump political agenda.
At the same time, a future immigration policy of the U.S. will encourage more foreign students to pay and study
STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Management in the U.S, by promising them an easier route to
permanent residency.
LI. BILATERAL INDIA-CANADA
India to raise work permit issue with Canada, U.K.
India will raise its concerns over restrictions on the movement of foreign skilled workers for short-term duration
work with Britain and Canada, as these curbs are affecting the Indian IT industry.
Canada, U.K., the U.S, Germany and Switzerland are the top five markets for Indian IT firms. The annual revenue
of Indian IT firms from the U.K. and Canadian markets is about $18 billion and $3 billion respectively, according to
industry body Nasscoms estimates.
Separate bilateral talks are slated for November 7, with Canada and Britain, on various issues, and workers movement is
one among them.
The Centre and Nasscom are expected to take up the issue of Canadas plan to introduce a new short-duration work
permit exemption for inter- and intra-company transferees and experts, among others, for work up to 30 days
annually. The IT industry feels this 30-day limit does not serve a purpose too short a time frame for the sector.
Under the specialised knowledge category to avail exemption from Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) in
Canada, the employer will have to demonstrate that the employee (foreign worker) has the specialised skill and the
requisite proprietary knowledge to carry out a certain task.
However, getting an LMIA exemption is difficult as about 20 per cent of applications are usually rejected.
Nasscom, said: We feel a lot more needs to be done (by Canada) to realise the full potential by setting a clear and
objective criteria around specialised knowledge in the LMIA exempt category that has seen the rejection rate rise
since these guidelines were introduced a couple of years ago.
He said the introduction of measures with clarity will help Canadian businesses and their customers plan with confidence
to fill local skill shortages.
On the U.K. governments recently announced changes in visa policy towards curbing immigration, India is likely
to take up its concerns on the higher minimum salary threshold for intra-company transfers.
We are not for building walls, says Canada Minister
Canada will invite more Indian students and high tech professionals as part of its immigrant-friendly policy said
its Minister of Immigration even as he questioned U.S. President-elect Donald Trumps policy of building walls.
We do not stand for building of walls. Canada stands for globalisation and we pursue a policy of multiculturalism
which is not a bad word for us, said John McCallum, Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.
We are going to make it much easier to bring in immigrants as we are going for expansion of our immigration
programme. Immigration process for global talent from the high-tech sector and for international students will be made
easier and seamless. Students will also be provided express entries as part of the new immigration process, said Mr.
McCallum.
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LII. BILATERAL INDIA-ECUADOR
Dhruv deal with Ecuador crash-lands

In a clear indication of its ambition to emerge as a key player in the global defence market, India began exports of
its indigenous Dhruv helicopters in 2009 to Ecuador with much fanfare.
Almost seven years later, however, the expectations have been severely belied Ecuador is planning to sell off
three remaining helicopters, after four crashed; the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has now moved a local
court.
Ecuador had procured the seven Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) in two batches five in 2009 and two in
2011 in a deal worth $ 45.2 million.
But following the four crashes, Ecuador unilaterally terminated the contract with HAL in October 2015.
Of the four helicopters that crashed, two had been attributed to pilot error,one was due to a mechanical failure while
the reason for the fourth crash is not clear.
After the termination, HAL had offered free maintenance beyond the contractual obligations but they wanted more.
Defence sources said HAL was responsible for the maintenance of the choppers for 24 months after which Ecuadorean
personnel, who had been trained by HAL, were expected to take over.
Ecuador had also complained about lack of spares and maintenance and the reasons cited for contract termination
were non-compliance of the seller of some of the obligations contracted by virtue of the present contract and
value of the fines exceeding the amount of guarantee of faithful compliance of the contract.
HAL officials rejected the charges and said enough spares were supplied and stocked in the country during the contract
period.
TheDhruv, indigenously designed and developed by HAL, is powered by a Shakti engine, jointly developed by
HAL and Turbomeca of France.
Over 200 of these choppers are currently in service in India.
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LIII. MULTILATERAL
India makes fresh push to gain NSG entry

Indias bid for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group will be centre-stage again as the NSG group meets for the
Consultative Group technical meeting November 9-10, followed by the Plenary session in Vienna.
The government hopes its application will be considered again, five months after the last unsuccessful round.
A flurry of diplomatic activity since then has focused on all the countries, including China, that didnt back Indias bid.
All NSG countries that have hardline positions, including New Zealand, Turkey, Brazil and South Africa, who are
still unconvinced about the issue of non-signatories to the Non Proliferations Treaty(NPT) like India being
made members of the nuclear club.
However, with China making it clear that its position hasnt changed, and little movement in the objections of other
countries on the issue of the NPT, officials are calling it a long haul, given that the NSG works by consensus.
At best, said one diplomatic source, India will hope that a process will be set into motion to define criteria for non
signatories to the NPT, but that the criteria will broadly fit Indias credentials as a non-proliferator. India, Pakistan,
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Israel and South Sudan are all non-signatories of NPT, of which India and Pakistan have both applied for NSG
membership this year.
Meanwhile, India has been working with its support base that includes the U.S., Japan, Australia and South Korea, that
has been exerting its influence as the new Chairperson of the NSG to push for Indias case.
The U.S., that has backed India, said it remained optimistic about Indias chances of NSG membership by the
year-end.
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Azhar sanctions: Uri out of Indias proposal to U.N.
India has decided to drop any reference to the Uri attack from its proposal to be placed before a United Nations
1267 sanctions committee to designate Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as an international
terrorist, a senior government official told The Hindu.
China had put a technical hold on this proposal in April 2016, which was extended on October 1.
Within hours of the attack on the Uri Army camp on September 18, where 18 soldiers were killed, the Director-
General of Military Operations Lt. General Ranbir Singh told a press conference in Delhi that the attack was
carried out by two terrorists belonging to the JeM.
The investigations were then handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is yet to conclude its
probe.
Intelligence officials, however, have said the modus operandi of the Uri attack had tell-tale signs that it was carried out by
Lashkar-e-Taiba, another Pakistan-based terrorist outfit.
Azhar, a resident of Bahawalpur in Pakistan, has been accused by Indian agencies of orchestrating several terror
attacks here including the attack at the Pathankot airbase on January 2.
The official said India would apprise the 1267 Taliban/Al-Qaeda sanction committee that Azhar has close links to the
Taliban and consequently to Al-Qaeda. His involvement in the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001 has also
been included.
Azhar also runs a charitable organisation, Al Rehmat Trust, as a cover for the activities of his terrorist outfit, the JeM.
NSG still a far cry for India as China insists on NPT linkage
China maintains that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which India has not signed, is the cornerstone of
preventing the spread of atomic weapons.
The November 11 meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in Vienna, discussed the, Two-Step
Intergovernmental Process to Address the Issue of Non-NPT States Participation.
The meeting follows Indias bid to become a full members of the 48-nation NSG.
China has so far opposed Indias membership, citing the need for evolving a common criteria for all non-members
of the NPT, which includes Pakistan.
184 | Page
China insists that the first step for membership was the evolution of formula, which would be followed by a
second step, which would be country-specific.
India has underscored that NPT membership was not essential for joining the NSG, as was the case with France.
France acceded to NPT in 1992.
"Accession" is the act whereby a state accepts the offer or the opportunity to become a party to a treaty already negotiated
and signed by other states. It has the same legal effect as ratification. Accession usually occurs after the treaty has entered
into force.
The NSG was founded in response to the Indian nuclear test in May 1974 and first met in November 1975. France
was a founding member.
The test demonstrated that certain non-weapons specific nuclear technology could be readily turned to weapons
development.
Nations already signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) saw the need to further limit the export of
nuclear equipment, materials or technology.
Highly-placed sources said that during bilateral talks with the Chinese, India has insisted that the NSG was not a non-
proliferation, but an export control mechanism. Its NSG bid should therefore be de-linked from the criteria of
NPT membership.
India hopes Bhutan will ratify vehicles pact
Despite a vote in Bhutans National Council (NC) disallowing the sub-SAARC motor vehicle zone among
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN), India hopes Bhutan will join the grouping at an early date.
The National Council decided not to ratify the Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA), defeating the governments
proposition 13 votes to 2.
India, Bangladesh and Nepal have already ratified the MVA, after Foreign Ministers of the BBIN nations signed
an agreement to allow ease of motor vehicular traffic on June 15, 2015.
Bhutans National Assembly or Lower House had cleared the Bill and forwarded it to the National Council or Upper
House in July 2016, with the hope it would be passed by year end.
However, protests from the Opposition, mainly over environmental concerns of vehicular pollution increasing have
derailed the process. In
The concerns in Bhutan, of our lawmakers, our media, our people are well-founded, as our country is very small, our
roads narrow and infrastructure limited. So the prospect of millions of cars coming in, however remote that prospect
might be is very scary. There is a big asymmetry between Bhutan and the other countries, but we want to cooperate and
be part of any regional cooperation, Bhutans Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay said.
If the Bhutanese government decides to give the agreement another chance, it could ask for a joint sitting of both Houses
to clear the MVA, or to bring it back to the National Council after a year, according to the rules of procedure.
In the meanwhile, the BIN (Bangladesh-India-Nepal) countries could go ahead with building their logistics.
Along with its potential as a road link that will extend to rail and waterways reducing circuitous shipping routes
by 1,000 km, the BBIN grouping is also seen as Indias way of countering Pakistan in the SAARC grouping.
The MVA was first proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the SAARC summit in Kathmandu in 2014, but
Pakistan refused to ratify it, as a consequence of which land-locked Afghanistan had to stay out as well.
With India pulling out of the SAARC summit, any hopes of the South Asian body clearing the agreement ended, which
gave the BBIN grouping even more prominence.
185 | Page
LIV. INTERNATIONAL ASIA
IS used chemical arms 52 times in Syria, Iraq
The Islamic State (IS) has used chemical weapons, including chlorine and sulphur mustard agents, at least 52
times on the battlefield in Syria and Iraq since it swept to power in 2014, according to a new independent analysis.
More than one-third of those chemical attacks have come in and around Mosul, the IS stronghold in northern Iraq,
according to the assessment by the IHS Conflict Monitor, a London-based intelligence collection and analysis service.
The U.S. and Iraqi military officials have expressed growing alarm over the prospect of additional chemical attacks as the
allies press to regain both Mosul and Raqqa, the IS capital in Syria.
Col. John Dorrian, a military spokesman in Iraq, said the IS ability to use chemical arms is rudimentary, and that
American, Iraqi and other allied troops are equipped to deal with the impact of these chemical attacks typically
rockets, mortar shells or artillery shells filled with chemical agents. The effects of these chemical munitions thus far have
been limited to the immediate area where they land.
186 | Page
187 | Page
Syrian Army seizes northeast Aleppo
Syrias rebels lost all the northern neighbourhoods of their stronghold in east Aleppo, as the army made
significant advances in its offensive to recapture the entire city.
The regimes gains have prompted an exodus of desperate civilians, most fleeing to districts held by the government or
Kurdish forces, others heading south into areas still under Opposition control.
The rebel losses suggested it would only be a matter of time before all of east Aleppo held by the opposition since
2012 is back in government hands.
The loss of the citys east would be a potentially devastating blow for the rebels, who have seen their territory fall steadily
under government control since Russia began an intervention to bolster President Bashar al-Assad in September
2015.
The government forces seized the Sakhur, Haydariya and Sheikh Khodr districts, while Kurdish fighters took the Sheikh
Fares neighbourhood from rebels,
Syrias Kurds are officially aligned with neither the government nor the rebels, but the Opposition views them as
effectively allied with the regime in its bid to recapture Aleppo city.
Lebanon deal underscores Hezbollahs clout
Lebanons President Michel Aoun has asked Sunni Muslim leader Saad al-Hariri to form a new government after
he won the support of a majority of MPs and the endorsement of the influential parliament speaker Nabih Berri.
Mr. Hariris nomination is part of a political deal that resulted in the election of Christian leader Michel Aoun, a
close ally of the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, as head of State, ending a two-and-a-half year long presidential
vacuum.
Lebanon has been buffeted by instability from the war in Syria, where Hezbollah is fighting in support of
President Bashar al-Assad. Jihadists have mounted attacks in Lebanon targeting Shia areas and the army.
A big concession on the part of Mr. Hariri, the deal has underscored Hezbollahs dominant position in Lebanon and
the diminished role of Mr. Hariris regional backer, Saudi Arabia, which appears more focused on confronting Iran
elsewhere in the region.
Underscoring Hezbollahs continued mistrust of Mr. Hariri, who remains critical of its role in Syria, the group did not
name him as PM though it is expected to take part in his Cabinet.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, head of the Shia Amal movement and a close Hezbollah ally, had earlier come
out in opposition to the deal struck by Mr. Hariri and Mr. Aoun.
188 | Page
However, while announcing his decision to endorse Mr. Hariri for PM on Thursday, Mr. Berri indicated he would
cooperate in efforts to set up the new administration. If there was no intention to cooperate, we would not have named
him, he said.
Bangladesh seeks peaceful solution to Rohingya crisis
The foreign office has handed a formal letter to Myanmar asking the authorities to intervene so that the Rohingya
Muslims fleeing the conflict-zone can return to their homes.
Bangladesh has expressed great concern over the ongoing crisis in Myanmars Rakhine State where a military
operation against Islamist jihadists has triggered a humanitarian emergency.
Tension has been rife on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border after militants allegedly linked to Aqa Mul Mujahidin
group launched attacks on Myanmars border police and the army, resulting in the deaths of a dozen law enforcers
early this month. The Myanmar Army has since been conducting operations in Rakhine, home for the countrys
over a million Rohingya people.
Local media reported that hundreds of Rohingyas were now floating in boats in the Naaf river, struggling to enter
Bangladesh territory.
Bangladesh has already tightened its border security by deploying more personnel to prevent a further influx of
Rohingyas as officials say the country already hosts a large number such refugees from Myanmar.
Despite tight security, many Rohingya families have entered Bangladesh along river routes after the latest crisis broke
out. In some cases, the border security guards pushed them back after giving humanitarian assistance.
The UNHCR on November 18 urged Bangladesh to keep its border with Myanmar open for the Rohingyas.
189 | Page
43 dead in suicide blast at Sufi shrine in Balochistan
At least 43 people, including women and children, were killed and more than 100 others injured in a suicide attack
carried out by a 14-year-old boy at a popular Sufi shrine in Balochistan, Pakistan.
The devotees were attending a Sufi dance called dhamaal at the Dargah Shah Noorani shrine.
The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack through Amaq, its affiliated news agency.
Russia-Pak.-China forum clouds Afghan donor meet

After helicopter sales, and military exercises with Pakistan, Indias traditional ally, Russia, is working on a
regional partnership on Afghanistan that includes Pakistan and China.
The meeting of Russia-China-Pakistan consultations to be held in Moscow in December, would lay the ground for a
regional project centred around Afghanistan.
Despite naming India and Iran as regional stake-holders, the Russian official didnt include them in the
consultations to be held in December.
The timing of the announcement is significant as it comes just ahead of the 13-nation Heart of Asia donor
conference for Afghanistan, due to be held in Amritsar on December 3 and 4.
190 | Page
The annual Heart of Asia (HoA) conference is held by turns in one of the member countries that include Afghanistan,
Russia, China, India, Iran, Saudi, Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
Azerbaijan and Turkey.
The last summit, held in Islamabad in December 2015, was attended by Foreign Ministers of most of those countries,
including External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who had used the visit to announce the resumption of India-Pakistan
comprehensive dialogue which was, however, derailed because of the Pathankot attack.
In October, Pakistan Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz had confirmed that Pakistan would attend, but didnt specify the
level of its participation.
The separate consultation in Moscow fuels speculation of a growing Russia-China-Pakistan axis, spurred by the new ties
between Moscow and Islamabad in the past few months.
In September, India made its displeasure known when Russian troops went ahead with military exercises, their first such
engagement in Pakistan, just days after the Uri attack.
Despite Indias requests during the BRICS summit, Russia and China refused to insert specific references to cross-
border terror that targets India in the final statement.
Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process

It was established to provide a platform to discuss regional issues, particularly encouraging security, political, and
economic cooperation among Afghanistan and its neighbors.
This region-led dialogue was launched in November 2011 to expand practical coordination between Afghanistan and its
neighbors and regional partners in facing common threats, including counterterrorism, counternarcotics, poverty,
and extremism.
The United States and over 20 other nations and organizations serve as supporting nations to the process.
Sri Lanka to summon Chinese envoy over controversial remarks
Chinese Ambassador Yi Xianliang recently had criticised Sri Lankan Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayakes
remarks on Chinese loans being expensive, and asked why Colombo sought more loans if that was the case.
Apparently taking objection, Mr. Karunanayake responded , saying: I am the Sri Lankan Finance Minister, not the
Chinese Foreign Minister. He told reporters in Colombo: If he says they have not given loans with an interest over 2
per cent fine we have to pay only 2 per cent then.
Following the January 2015 presidential polls, Colombos equation with Beijing changed considerably, with
newly-elected President Maithripala Sirisena vowing to investigate corruption allegations related to Chinese-aided
projects initiated by the previous Mahinda Rajapaksa administration.
At the same time, Colombo enhanced its ties with New Delhi, which had been concerned about the perceived pro-
China tilt of Mr. Rajapaksa.
191 | Page
After going back and forth on the $1.4 billion port city project in Colombo, inaugurated by Chinese President Xi
Jinping in September 2014, Colombo has now agreed to proceed with it after revising its agreement with Beijing,
tweaking some conditions.
Solving problems of Tamils is my obligation: Sirisena

Emphasising his commitment to resolving Sri Lankas Tamil question, President Maithripala Sirisena has said he
has an obligation to address the concerns of the islands Tamils, most of whom had voted for him.
About 90 per cent of the people in Sri Lankas Tamil-dominated north voted for him in the January 2015 elections.
Amid growing concern over the apparently slow-paced reconciliation efforts, President Sirisena said: Reconciliation
is not something that can be done in a few days.
The governments endeavour must be acceptable to the Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and other communities. That is
not an easy task, he observed.
Asked about accountability for alleged war crimes, which many Tamils believe is integral to reconciliation,
President Sirisena ruled out participation of international judges in any probe, as suggested in the UNHRC
resolution co-sponsored by Sri Lanka. However, he added: We can obtain advice from foreign judicial experts.
192 | Page
INTERNATIONAL USA
Gitmo, a site where even nightmares were classified
Dozens of men who underwent agonising treatment in secret CIA prisons or at Guantanamo left with
psychological problems that persisted for years, despite government lawyers assurances that the practices did not
constitute torture and would cause no lasting harm.
Some men should never have been held, government investigators concluded.
In recent interviews, more than two dozen military medical personnel who served or consulted at Guantanamo
provided the most detailed account to date of mental health care there.
After the 2001 terror attacks on New York and the Pentagon, and the subsequent U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan,
detainees began pouring into the island in early 2002.
193 | Page
The Gautanamo Bay Detention Camp was established by the Bush administration in 2002 at the Gautanamo Bay
US Naval Base. Former President Barack Obama had promised its closure during his first campaign in 2008, but it
remains open as of November 2016.
Only 60 prisoners remain at Guantanamo, and about a third of them have been approved for transfer. Ten have
been charged with or convicted of crimes by the military commissions system.
Due to the facts that the inmates are detained indefinitely without trial and several inmates were severely tortured
this camp is considered as a major breach of human rights by great parts of the world.
Shock and awe win for Donald Trump

Republican Donald J. Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States, the first public office that the 70-
year-old real estate mogul-turned-politician will hold, succeeding President Barack Obama.
Mr. Trump defeated Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton by garnering about 300 votes in the electoral college. He
did so by winning most of the swing states, despite losing the popular vote marginally to Ms. Clinton.
Mr. Trump is now the oldest person to be elected President.
By praising Ms. Clinton and promising to seek the guidance of all people, including those who opposed him, Mr. Trump
sought to open a new chapter. I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be President for all Americans... For
those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, Im reaching out to you for your
guidance and your help, he said.
Calling himself the ultimate insider-turned ultimate outsider, Mr. Trump built a hyper-nationalistic campaign
that accused Ms. Clinton and leaders of his own party of being in collusion with global corporations to squeeze the
interests of the working class.
Over 512 days, his comments about immigrants, Mexicans, Muslims, women, veterans, and the differently abled
generated an unending train of controversies that commentators thought would destroy him.
The Republicans have also retained control of both chambers of the U.S. Congress.
194 | Page
195 | Page
U.S. could join Chinas Belt and Road initiative
The head of China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Jin Liqun, has signalled that the United
States under President-elect Donald Trump could reverse its decision not to join the lender a move that could
pave the way for Washingtons broader acceptance of Beijings One Belt One Road (OBOR) connectivity initiative
across the Eurasian region.
The AIIB is widely viewed as part of a new global financial architecture, and is expected to back infrastructure projects in
Asia that are part of OBOR
Mr. Jin said: I was told that many in his team have an opinion that Obama was not right not to join the AIIB, specially
after Canada joined, which was a very loud endorsement of the bank.
196 | Page
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
It is an international financial institution that aims to support the building of infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region.
The bank has 57 member states (all "Founding Members") and was proposed as an initiative by the government
of China.
The initiative gained support from 37 regional and 20 non-regional Prospective Founding Members (PFM), all of
which have signed the Articles of Agreement that form the legal basis for the bank.
The bank started operation after the agreement entered into force on 25 December 2015, after ratifications were
received from 10 member states holding a total number of 50% of the initial subscriptions of the Authorized Capital
Stock.
Major economies that did not become PFM include the G7/G8 members' Japan and the United States,
although Canada was accepted on 23 September 2016.
197 | Page
LV. INTERNATIONAL-CUBA
Fidel Castro passes away at 90
With a shaking voice, President Raul Castro said on state television that his older brother, Fidel Castro, died .
Castros reign over the island-nation 90 miles (145 kilometres) from Florida was marked by the U.S.-backed Bay
of Pigs invasion in 1961 and the Cuban Missile Crisis a year later that brought the world to the brink of nuclear
war.
The bearded revolutionary, who survived a crippling U.S. trade embargo as well as dozens, possibly hundreds, of
assassination plots, died eight years after ill health forced him to formally hand power over to Raul Castro.
Castro overcame imprisonment at the hands of dictator Fulgencio Batista, exile in Mexico and a disastrous start to his
rebellion before triumphantly riding into Havana in January 1959 to become, at age 32, the youngest leader in Latin
America.
The U.S. was among the first to formally recognise his government, cautiously trusting Castros early assurances he
merely wanted to restore democracy, not install socialism.
Within months, Castro was imposing radical economic reforms. Members of the old government went before
summary courts, and at least 582 were shot by firing squads over two years. Independent newspapers were closed and in
the early years, homosexuals were herded into camps for re-education.
198 | Page
As Castro moved into the Soviet bloc, Washington began working to oust him, cutting U.S. purchases of sugar, the
islands economic mainstay. Castro, in turn, confiscated $1 billion in U.S. assets.
The American government imposed a trade embargo, banning virtually all U.S. exports to the island except for
food and medicine, and it severed diplomatic ties on Jan. 3, 1961.
Bay of Pigs invasion, 1961:

On April 16 of that year, Castro declared his revolution to be socialist, and the next day, about 1,400 Cuban exiles
stormed the beach at the Bay of Pigs on Cubas south coast. But the CIA-backed invasion failed.
The debacle forced the U.S. to give up on the idea of invading Cuba, but that didnt stop Washington and Castros exiled
enemies from trying to do him in. By Cuban count, he was the target of more than 630 assassination plots by militant
Cuban exiles or the U.S. government.
Nuclear missiles crisis, 1962:

The biggest crisis of the Cold War between Washington and Moscow exploded on Oct. 22, 1962, when President
John F. Kennedy announced there were Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba and imposed a naval blockade of the
island.
Humankind held its breath, and after a tense week of diplomacy, Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev removed them.
End of Cold War:

As the end of the Cold War eased global tensions, many Latin American and European countries re-established
relations with Cuba.
The collapse of the Soviet bloc ended billions in preferential trade and subsidies for Cuba, sending its economy
into a tailspin.
Castro briefly experimented with an opening to foreign capitalists and limited private enterprise.
For decades, he served as an inspiration and source of support to revolutionaries from Latin America to Africa.
Socialism or death remained Castros rallying cry even as Western-style democracy swept the globe and other
communist regimes in China and Vietnam embraced capitalism, leaving this island of 11 million people an
economically crippled Marxist curiosity.
In December 2014, Cuban President Raul Castro and US President Barack Obama, announced normalisation of
ties.
LVI. INTERNATIONAL UK
Parliaments nod needed for Brexit: High Court
In a major victory for Remain campaigners and those alarmed by the British governments efforts to
single-handedly control the countrys exit from the European Union (EU), the High Court ruled that Brexit
could not be triggered without a parliamentary vote.
The court rejected government arguments that clauses in a piece of legislation from 1972 gave it the power to act
without parliamentary approval when it came to triggering Article 50, which gives EU member states a two-
year period to withdraw.
The governments argument was contrary to the fundamental constitutional principles of the sovereignty of
Parliament and the governments lack of entitlement to use its prerogative powers to change domestic law, the
court said.
199 | Page
The developments are the latest dramatic twist in the political drama that has enveloped the U.K. since the
surprise vote in favour of leaving the EU in June 2016.
It is too early to tell the long implications of the ruling: the government has announced it will appeal the
decision to the Supreme Court, with a hearing likely to take place in early December at the earliest.
Should the government be forced to seek parliamentary approval, it is unlikely that MPs would vote against
Article 50, despite comments from former UKIP leader Nigel Farage that a betrayal may be near at hand.
Where the ruling is likely to have a decisive impact is on the shape and scope of Brexit, making it far more
likely that Parliament will require the government to opt for a softer version, involving some form of free
market access or customs union membership.
This would leave Prime Minister Theresa May in a challenging position as pushing for those positions would make
it far harder, if not impossible, for her to further her tougher immigration agenda.
It is also likely to delay the governments hope for a rapid Brexit. Even setting aside the Supreme Court hearing,
any parliamentary acceptance of the need to trigger Article 50 is likely to be riddled with caveats and riders,
shaping the direction of Brexit.
Sweeping British spy Bill becomes law

After months of wrangling, the British Parliament has passed a contentious new snooping law, The Investigatory
Powers Bill, that gives authorities from police and spies to food regulators, fire officials and tax inspectors powers
to look at the internet browsing records of everyone in the country.
The law requires telecoms companies to keep records of all users web activity for a year, creating databases of
personal information that the firms worry could be vulnerable to leaks and hackers.
Civil liberties groups say the law establishes mass surveillance of British citizens, following innocent internet users from
the office to the living room and the bedroom.
Tim Berners-Lee, the computer scientist credited with inventing World Wide Web, tweeted news of the laws
passage with the words: Dark, dark days.
It will become law when it receives the formality of royal assent next week.
But big questions remain about how it will work, and the government acknowledges it could be 12 months before
internet firms have to start storing the records.
LVII. INTERNATIONAL UKRAINE

Gargantuan dome set to keep Chernobyl safe for generations
The worlds largest metal moveable structure will be unveiled over the Chernobyl nuclear power plants doomed
fourth reactor in Ukraine to ensure the safety of future generations across Europe.
The giant arch nearly as long as two football grounds and taller than New Yorks Statue of Liberty will edge
into place over an existing crumbling dome that the Soviets constructed in haste when disaster struck three
decades ago.
Radioactive fallout from the site of the worlds worst civil nuclear accident contaminated Ukraine and spread
across three-quarters of Europe.
Then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev only admitted that something had gone terribly wrong.
200 | Page
A United Nations estimate in 2005 said around 4,000 people had either been killed or were left dying from cancer and
other related disease.
Chernobyl nuclear disaster, 1986:

It was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 in the No.4 light water graphite moderated
reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat, in what was then part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist
Republic of the Soviet Union (USSR).
During a hurried late night power-failure stress test, in which safety systems were deliberately turned off, a
combination of inherent reactor design flaws, together with the reactor operators arranging the core in a manner contrary
to the checklist for the stress test, eventually resulted in uncontrolled reaction conditions that flashed water into steam
generating a destructive steam explosion and a subsequent open-air graphite "fire", which produced updrafts for 9 days
lofting plumes of radioactive isotopes into the atmosphere, in total approximately equaling the quantity of airborne
material initially released in the explosion, with practically all of this material then going on to fall-out onto much of
the surface of the western USSR and Europe.
The Chernobyl disaster was the worst nuclear power plant accident in history in terms of cost and casualties.
It is one of only two classified as a level 7 event (the maximum classification) on the International Nuclear Event
Scale, the other being the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011.
The remains of the No.4 reactor building were enclosed in a large sarcophagus (radiation shield) by December 1986,
at a time when what was left of the reactor was entering the cold shut-down phase; the enclosure was built quickly as
occupational safety for the crews of the other undamaged reactors at the power station, with No.3 continuing to produce
electricity into 2000.
201 | Page

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NEWS

II. HISTORY 1. BJP vows to cancel Tipu Jayanthi in 24 hours 13

III. GEOGRAPHY 1. First titanium project begins test production in 13

IV. AGRICULTURE 1. TNs new mantra: kill pests with insects 16

V. POLITY-BILL / ACT 1. After shutting liquor shops, Bihar seeks 17

VI. POLITY- 1. Retired judges to wield the gavel again 20

VII. POLITY-CENTER- 1. Expenditure by States on key sectors remains 36

VIII. POLITY-INTER 1. Ken-Betwa project hangs on forest nod 37

IX. POLITY- 1. PM makes a pitch for concurrent elections 40

XI. POLITY- 1. Not consulted on scrapping drug pricing 41

XIII. E-GOVERNANCE 1. WhatsApp governance works wonders for 45

XV. SOCIAL 1. Kairana exodus national issue, says Hukum 48

XVI. SOCIAL-WOMEN 1. Now, Kerala govt. favours entry of women into 48

XVII. SOCIAL- 1. Dont burden teachers with non-academic 49

XVIII. SOCIAL-HEALTH 1. Unhealthy lifestyle major risk factor of stroke 51

XIX. ECONOMY 1. Cess plan could mean 10 different GST rates 53

XXI. INFRASTRUCTURE 1. Protest against Bengaluru steel flyover project 72

XXII. S&T -HEALTH 1. Herbal compound promises cure for liver 75

XXIII. S&T - SPACE 1. Develop cheaper satellite launch vehicles 86

XXIV. S&T - IT 1. IIT team builds solution that weeds out 98

XXV. S&T- 1. Scientists tweak photosynthesis to up crop yield 102

XXIX. ENVIRONMENT 1. Himalayan projects face flood risk 107

XXX. ENVIRONMENT - 1. Govt unveils roadmap to tackle air pollution 112

XXXI. ENVIRONMENT - 1. Global conservation team visits Odishas 117

XXXII. DISASTER 1. Kerala state declared drought-hit 126

XXXIII. SECURITY 1. NIA to HC: No objection to Sadhvi Pragyas 128

XXXIV. CYBER-SECURITY 1. The thrill of saving India from cybercrime 136

XXXV. DEFENCE 1. DRDO still aims for Kaveri in LCA 137

XXXVI. CORRUPTION 1. Huge bribes paid to Indian arms dealers 140

XXXVII. MONEY 1. Serious on Panama Papers probe: Govt. 142

XXXIX. BILATERAL 1. Xuan Zang to build another bridge to India 150

XL. BILATERAL 1. India-Japan nuclear deal: Will India accept a 156

XLI. BILATERAL 1. India opens IITs to Nepal students 159

XLII. BILATERAL 1. Hotline to address fishermen issue 161

XLIII. BILATERAL 1. India, Bangladesh joint exercise 164

XLV. BILATERAL INDIA- 1. India to restore grounded aircraft in 166

XLVI. BILATERAL 1. Israel President arrives in Mumbai on 6-day 168

XLVII. BILATERAL 1. May visits India under a cloud of uncertainty 169

XLVIII. BILATERAL 1. India and Ukraine to close gap in ties 174

LII. BILATERAL 1. Dhruv deal with Ecuador crash-lands 180

LIV. INTERNATIONAL - 1. IS used chemical arms 52 times in Syria, Iraq 186

LV. INTERNATIONAL 1. Gitmo, a site where even nightmares were 193

LVI. INTERNATIONAL- 1. Fidel Castro passes away at 90 198

LVIII. INTERNATIONAL - 1. Gargantuan dome set to keep Chernobyl safe 200

After finding itself on a sticky wicket over allotment of 15 acres of

Lost Chandrabhaga river flowed in Odisha: Study

After an expert panel recently

Indian archaeologists plan to deploy high-end scanning

Cut derogatory references to Nadars in textbook: MP

Balamuralikrishna, maestro of Carnatic music, passes away

Nalanda University gets new governing board

Xuan Zang stayed in Vijayawada to study Buddhist scriptures

BJP vows to cancel Tipu Jayanthi in 24 hours if voted to power

First titanium project begins test production in Odisha

Swimmers attempt 7-hr crawl across shrinking Dead Sea

The flash floods in Kerala come from a distance

TNs new mantra: kill pests with insects

The Tamil Nadu government is promoting as

Centre increases MSP for rabi crops

Minimum Support Price

Diluted HIV Bill leaves activists shocked

HIV community rejects AIDS Bill in current form

Injection safety programme