Short note RTI ambit

why political party should ambit of RTI?
because one answer is that when political party issue whip to their member of parliament in any point then we can say that political party has influenced the indian government system so by any way political party should come under RTI Act

International Organization: Bird life international, Friends of the eart...

Tiger conservation: National tiger conservation authority, Tiger reserve...

Geography mapping: Location of important straits (Google maps)

CURRENT AFFAIRS - August 11, 2015

Critically examine if India’s prisons are succeeding in reforming inmates and imparting them skills to rejoin civil society successfully. (200 Words)

Ans:When it comes to Indian prison system,a grimmer view of the prison environment should be provided in tune with the reality :

1) First of all,corruption is prevalent in jail staff.They are involved in Smuggling of contraband and it's sale to inmates for exorbitant sums.
2) Young men,mostly under trials,who are new to jail environs,face intimidation,frequent beatings and worst of all,sexual abuse and rape by predators.

3) There's always a section of Hardened criminals and history-sheeters who are impervious to the hard life in jail and it's reform policies.They pose a great risk to new inmates as they often bully them into joining their gangs.

Solutions :

1) The prison system can be compartmentalized as practiced in many developing countries viz US i.e Hardened criminals and those convicted for heinous crime should be put in a "maximum-security" prison.Similarly Undertrials and those accused of petty crimes should be put in separate facilities.

2) Corruption charges against prison authorities should be dealt with swiftness.A separate central agency/statutory body with prosecuting power is long due to weed out corruption in the prison system.

“The original sin of Israel’s birth has scarred it for life and it remains incapable of finding an identity that would meet basic democratic norms.” Do you agree with this view? Critically comment. (200 Words)

Ans: Israel birth can be traced to the Zionist movement of early 20th century that aimed to create a separate homeland for the Jews based on a biblical promise of a “Promised Land”. Nazi’s persecution of Jews secured them global sympathy and with the backing of UK and USA, Israel was born.

The timing of Israel birth was indeed unfortunate and highlights the hippocratic attitude of western power. When the global consensus was of decolonisation, Palestine was colonised by the western powers to reward Jews with their promised land. The saga became more sinister with ethnic cleansing of Arabs from Israel, an event that is still going on. Even the UN, established to secure global peace and security, was grossly overlooked to create Israel. Israel too, left no stone unturned in making a mockery of UN. Green line was violated, permanent settlements are rapidly expanding, Gaza is always beleaguered and food supplies are blocked. Even the rise of terrorism can be traced to the creation of Israel.

Democracy has became a big joke. Even inside Israel voting rights of Arabs is curtailed. Israel not only rejects the rightful elected government of Palestine but works tirelessly to convince the world of non existence of Palestine. Its boundaries are ever increasing as is its atrocities on Arabs.

It is in the interest of both the Israel and the global peace and security that both Israel and its supporter introspect themselves. They should correct their hippocratic chanting of democracy. Or else the democratic identity that Israel claims, will remain liquid forever.

Is watching porn an unethical and immoral act? Justify. (200 Words)

The recent ban on pornographic websites has elicited diverse opinions ranging from mild opposition of the move to questioning the act of watching porn itself on an ethical platform. The ethical dimensions of watching porn can be summarized as follows:

1. Freedom of internet vs. Cultural roots :
Conflict of a traditional mindset with modern individualistic expression of free thought.

2. Inducing criminal tendencies vs.Reducing criminal outbursts :
Various studies show varied outcomes of watching porn ranging from positive to pathological. The very base of ethical argument in favor of porn rests on the assumption that porn reduces sex crimes but this claim is also refuted with studies which show contradictory results.

3. Policy of transparency vs Policy of discretion :
The attention porn receives due to restrictions indicates that some policies should be implemented discreetly. Like a banned movie, it only gets publicized by being restricted. It is here that government has the ethical dilemma of being transparent or being discreet about its policies

4. Social image vs Personal views :
The social pressure of exhibiting a morally clean image of an avid opposition to porn is opposed to the personal view, mostly shared in informal friend circles, in favor of watching porn. This alienates the individual from his own self as he tries to become socially what he is individually not.

The social outcomes of watching porn can only be known via sociological studies but imposing a particular view or repressing a contrary view is also ethically unfair.

It is argued that India lacks a coherent and strong policy to tackle cross border and other forms of terrorist activities emanating from Pakistan. Critically discuss the existing policy and suggest how should India respond to Pakistan’s terrorism activities. (200 Words)

Recently LeT targeted the BSF in Udhampur in J&K. the interrogation of the caught terrorist has revealed active participation of ISI in this conspiracy. This has mandated the early requirement of a strong policy to tackle cross border terrorism. Current policy to deal with cross border terrorism is as follows:

1. Intelligence gathering: this involves preventive actions to gain insights about the plans being conceived to destabilize India.

2. Mutual dialogue: a peaceful dialogue process and confidence building measures are parts of our policy to extend Pakistan a helping hand.

3. Fund crunch: every conspiracy needs finances, and cracking on finances of terror groups is pivotal for success against terrorism. Check on arms trafficking, human trafficking, drug trafficking, counterfeit currency, pornography sale form an important part of our cross border terror policy.

4. International conventions: sharing intelligence with Interpol, signatory to wassegnar, Australia group ensures that arms proliferation is restricted. Thus it helps in curbing terrorism.

5. Border security: barb wiring fences, increase in deployment along borders, establishment of lighthouses/checkposts near border areas to check intrusion.

6. Stricter visa norms: Through a stringent visa regime, people movement is restricted which checks terror incidents.

Inspite of these measures, our existing cross border policy still has some loopholes. India in addition to the existing policy, needs to undertake following measures to respond to pakistan’s activities:

Modified Israeli approach:

It can occasionally make use of Israel’s aggressive policy of retribution provided the time/ place /situation of action is advantageous to India.

The Cold start approach:

It involves the various branches of India's military conducting offensive operations as part of unified battle groups. The Cold Start doctrine is intended to allow India's conventional forces to perform holding attacks in order to prevent a nuclear retaliation from Pakistan in case of a conflict.

Natural resource approach:

India can always bargain effectively since some of the major Pakistani rivers pass through India. Pakistan can be brought to the dialogue table by this natural resource approach.

Thus these approaches need to supplement our existing cross border terror policy for a safer and secure India and South Asia

Explain the differences between 3G and 4G technologies. It is argued that in India 3G technology as good as dead. Examine why. (200 Words)

Ans 1:

The 'G' in 3G and 4G stands for 'Generation'. It means that 4G is a technology than 3G. The 3G service offers Voice, Messaging, Data services at High Speed while the 4G offers all these services where Data services are multiple times faster than the 3G services. The 3G technology is near dead in India due to --

--High Prices--
--The 3G Spectrums in India were sold on a higher than Global average prices to the Telcos, making it less economical for them.
--The taxes on among others Spectrum usage, license fee etc. are higher on India telecom operators compared to what is charged on their counterparts in the neighbouring countries.
--The Municipal authorities levy exorbitant charges for letting the Fibre Cables to be laid.
--All these make the '3G' prices higher due to 'Cost push' factor.

--Technology Related Issues--
--The high prices and low penetration of '3G' technology have resulted in the 3G services to become as slow as 2G services. The difference in the data is hardly recognizable by the consumers.
--The advent of 4G at the cost of 3G has made customers to switch to 4G, making 3G obsolete.
--The introduction of 'Smart' devices viz Mobile wifi 4G compatible routers, Wifi Hotspot, 4G dongles, Bluetooth 4.0 has made the consumers to move towards the 4G services.

----The 3G technology due to high acquisition and operational costs count not spread as much as expected in India and with the advent of 4G now, it seems to get forgotten in the next 5 years.

Ans2:

Difference s in 3 G and 4 G
1. High speed of at least 100 Mbites per second in 4G while 3G usually has speed of 200 kb per sec .
2. 4G requires new technology phones and new towers supporting 4G technology while 3 G covers most urban areas of india
3. 4G is basically 4 generation of technology while 3G is third generation technology.
4. 4G is particularly useful for watching videos , youtube and those who use lot of internet while 3 G is good for FB, Emails , Whatsapp , Weather, Google maps .
5. 4G is available only on new phones like iPhone 5 , Samsung galaxy 3 etc while 3 G is available on cheap phones too with 2G technology embed ed in it .
6. LTE (long term evolution) , Wimax and HSPA + are some deployments of 4 G which provide fastest speed .
Drawbacks of 3 G( as good as dead) while 4G and 3G are available at equal prices the shortcomings in 3G network are overcome in 4 G network which is in the initial stages of telecommunication revolution due to its high speed and cost effectiveness.
1.High power consumption your battery needs charging every other hour .
2. 3G is available only in urban setting and that too in variable and inconsistent speed .
3. 3G is available only in few and costly handsets .
4. Service providers .have to pay high prices for 3G licensing and infrastructure development.

Ans3:
The "G" stands for a generation of mobile technology in phones and cellular network. 3G stands for 3rd generation mobile technology used for wireless voice telephony,internet access,video calls with speed of 21 Mbps whereas 4G stands for fourth generation technology enabling high internet speeds 5 times faster than 3G with download speed upto 100 Mbps providing ultra broadband internet access to laptops with USB wireless modems,smartphones.Used in 3-D television,cloud computing,video conferencing,gaming.
Reasons behind failure of 3G in India:
1. Poor quality of 3G including both data speeds and connectivity.On the other hand 4G provides digital superhighway with uninterrupted services.
2. Unwillingness of telecom operators to invest in 3G due to high spectrum prices.
3. 4G technology and Wi-Fi services are more prominent attracting users to switch from 3G.
4. 3G is limited in reach and service standards,lack of good coverage in both urban and rural areas.
5.Government liberalised spectrum usage and thus telcos are free to offer any type of service on various bands.
6. Indian customers demands for high quality high speed data which 3G failed to deliever.

Still 3G services can be continued by those who cannot afford 4G technology based smartphone,where there is no such need of high speed internet access and is mostly for voice use, in areas facing network coverage problem,in cities where 4G network is unavailable.Technology is a continous evolving platform as per customer needs, working for betterment of services making customers choose options served in their plate as per their use.

Write a note on the generalised system of preferences (GSP) system and its impact on India. (200 Words)

Generalised system of preferences is a system of preferential treatment against the general principle of Most Favoured Nation of World Trade Organisation (WTO). It aims to exempt WTO members for the purpose of lowering tariffs for developing and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) against developed countries.

Although the exemption was made to help developing countries and LDCs to compete with developed countries in the international markets, the benefits have accrued mainly to richer developing countries like India and Brazil. Recent negotiations of renewal of GSP for Indian gem and jewellery industry in the USA will boost the sector which is facing slowdown owing to low global demand in the international markets. Similar negotiations are also going with countries like Israel and Belgium.
The sector is extremely important for the Indian economy as it is labour intensive and export oriented.

Any system that increases the export of India will have a positive impact by providing employment, bringing in foreign exchange. This has a cascading effect in the economy. So, such steps are welcome and government of the day must engage in constructive negotiations with developed countries for such concessions.


India is in negotiations with the US to renew its GSP that would levy only 1 % import duty on gems and jewellery as compared to previous 6.5%. This had expired in 2013 as a result the export to US decreased from over 40% to less than 30%.

Impact on India:

1. Export revitalization: This would revitalize our gems/jewellery export to US. We might breach the 40% again. Exports would witness an immediate jump of about 20%

2. Reduction in CAD: The increased exports would further improve the CAD and might reduce it even below 2.7%.

3. Credit ratings: A better CAD would ensure better credit ratings and this would ensure better foreign investments.

4. Increase in import of gold: Since gold is a raw material required for manufacturing jewellery, import of gold would increase.

5. Rise in price of gold: more demand and more imports would increase the price of gold and would again become a saving alternative of individuals. It may even result in gold hoarding.

6. Employment: Expansion of jems/jewellery would increase employment opportunities.

7. Forex reserves: GSP would definitely boost our forex reserves which can be used in infrastructure expansion.

Thus a GSP would boost the exports and help in revitalization of our gems and jewellery industry which can then help in strengthening its hold in the rest of the world

Despite being hailed as a hub for medical tourism, it is found that in India for most Indians, healthcare is becoming increasingly unaffordable, owing to rising cost of treatment in recent years. Critically examine why and suggest what interventions are needed to address this dichotomy. (200 Words)

Though earning a distinct reputation for affordable healthcare in the world, the challenges in making the healthcare affordable to people at large are many.

1. Health infrastructure at lower level is inadequate. The number of Sub centres, Primary Health Centres per 1,00,000 person is very low.

2. Even with the existing infrastructure, there are faults in management of resources. Though there are about 9 lakh ASHA employees, still 100% immunisation is not being reached. There is a need for improved human resource management. Poor personnel management in government run hospitals.

3. Free medicines and other medical equipments are often diverted to black market.

4. Poor coverage of health insurance is one of the reason for several people falling below BPL once they fall ill. At present it is a meagre 17% which needs to be enhanced substantially and in ideal case there should be universal coverage.

5. Preventive healthcare is not much stressed upon. Vaccination, Sanitation, nutrition, safe drinking water supply will ensure there is less burden on health infrastructure for curative purposes.

Transparency, human resource management, enhancing health insurance coverage, emphasising on preventive healthcare and vigilant public can ensure that healthcare is affordable while at the time, raising further the scope of inbound medical tourism.

It is argued that a strategic framework involving India, Japan and Australia is fast evolving in the Indo-Pacific region. Critically analyse the objectives and significance of this framework.

In the past couple of years, we have witnessed a growing convergence of interests of India, Japan and Australia. Past month, the 3 foreign ministers met each other to discuss their common interests.

Objectives:
· Curb China’s aggressive outlook: on the account
of new found china’s aggression in the south and east china sea and also in
indian ocean, China’s establishment of
ADIZ in the south and east china sea,its claim on the Senkaku islands,Spratley,
fishing (permits) regulations in Hainnan province. Its opposition to India’s
presence in veitnam oil blocks in south china sea, its growing clout in the Indian ocean, its string of pearls, Its proposed Maritime silk route, Its establishment of
listening posts in Seychelles, presence at hambantota, embassy at Maldives.

· It is also a concern for Australia as china
using its deep pockets to finance cheap loans for pacific countries around
Australia.

· American presence in Indian ocean on the pretext
of Asia Pivot: American presence in near waters is always a cause of concern as
SLOC security is threatened.

· Revitalise maritime trade ties and defence cooperation to gain foothold in Indian
ocean and East China sea.

Significance:

· Will help in securing SLOC of all the nations in both the South china sea and the indian ocean.

· Will help in tackling threats like piracy, arms trade, drug trafficking, natural disasters like tsunami. Annual exercises like JIMEX, Malabar with japan has helped curbing such threats.

· Will help in tackling illegal migration through sea.

· Also will help in capacity building of all three navies through joint naval exercises.

· Might help India in gaining membership of TPP.

· Will help india in securing india’s nuclear interests since a continuous association might help in gaining Japanese waiver for signing NPT for nuclear reactors

Thus cooperation of these 3 nations is essential for them to ensure healthy economic growth and develop a regional dominance in the Indo-pacific region.

Birds: Critically endangered species in India: IUCN Red list

Discuss why India’s Western Ghats is considered as one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, the threats it is facing and recent measures taken to protect this biodiversity. (200 Words)

Western Ghats is one of the top biodiversity hotspots in the world reknowned for its high concentration and variety of endemic flora and fauna. Subsequently biosphere reserves, restricted and protected areas have been demarcated in this region in bids to conserve it. However it faces considerable threats :
- high population pressure developing along coastal plains is causing human settlements to venture deeper into western ghats area. Clearing land for agricultural and human settlements is increasing
- introduction of invasive plant/tree species as part of afforestation drives
- buidling of roads through region in a bid to improve connectivity and increasing volume of traffic through this region
- greater industrial/mining activity is affecting natural ecosystems, degrading them and causing fragmentation.

Several measures have been taken to protect this region:
- Gadgil report and Kasturirangan committee report seek to bring attention to vulnerability of this region. The demarcation of Ecologically Sensitive Areas, and regulating disruptive human activiy is sought
- extending limits of core zone regions for in-situ conservation efforts by converting wildlife sanctuaries to national parks, increasing boundaries of wild life sanctuaries, and buffer regions
- closing operation of highways during hours in the night to protect wildlife through these regions
- prohibiting use of exotic plant species in afforestation programs

The question of balancing the developmental needs of people living in these areas to access better livlihood facilities and the need for conserving nature and wildlife applies here. Greater involvement of local panchayats while pursuing conservation efforts is necessary to make the effort effective, holistic and long lasting.

Reptiles: Critically endangered species in India: IUCN Red list

CURRENT AFFAIRS - July 31, 2015