Discuss the merits of government’s decision to bar taxpayers earning more than Rs 10 lakh per annum from availing of subsidy on LPG cylinder sales. (200 Words)

Government has finally changed its status quo of voluntary “Give it up” slogan to mandatory debarring citizens who have income above 10 lakh per annum to avail LPG subsidy. This is said to be a major step to restructure the overall method of subsidy. 
Few merits are:
1) Beginning of progressive structure for subsidies.
2) Fund saved can be used for other basic necessities of life like Health, Agriculture whose share in Budget has been low.
3) Would lead to lesser consumption of LPG & subsequently lesser wastage in households devoid of subsidy.
4) Nearly all LPG is through imports, CAD can be expected to go further low.
5) Misuse of subsidized cylinders to be stopped.
6) Will make the government to think on other subsidies which may also be removed like electricity, etc.

Apart from this, Government should take more steps to reduce the reliance on LPG & switch to cleaner forms of fuels whose funds can be taken from the cash subsidy saved in the new scheme. Creating a team for R&D should now be the immediate step by Government as the LPG prices are not expected to stay low in years to come, and with the growth of GDP along with depreciation of rupee, 10lpa income slab might not be sufficient in years to come.

Critically analyse the merits and demerits of Facebook’s “Free Basics” service offer in India. (200 Words)

Free basics is an initiative by Facebook where certain Internet services will be provided free of cost to everyone. In India, reliance Telecom has partnered with Facebook where Facebook will act as a gatekeeper and Reliance will be the service provider.

Demerits of Free basics:
-Free basics covers selected websites and ignores other websites and content providers. Thus it goes against principle of net neutrality.
-In the long run free basics can be misused for price manipulation for providing same services which once used to be free.
- It also helps one particular service provider, for example Reliance telecom will use it for promoting its services thus discriminating other service providers like BSNL, Aircel, Airtel etc.
-The nexus between "service providers" and "content providers" might be misused for anti-state propaganda.

Merits:
-Its not neutral internet if majority doesn't have access to it.Free basics will work on this principle.
-India is a large country where basic internet services are still to be made available to millions and especially to the rural India.Hence free basics will make an inclusive internet regime. This ultimately will lead to people empowerment.
-Recently GoI launched Digital India program. Free basics will help in making this programme effective by providing last mile connectivity.

Thus the debate boils down to "access" vs "neutrality". In absence of " access to internet " there is a lack of "internet inclusiveness" where as violating net neutrality will ultimately create a "digital caste system". Given India's current digital ambitions free basics certainly augments the government work,besides being pro-poor. However it goes wrong on many commercial and regulatory fronts. Hence first a strict regulatory regime, periodic government scrutiny over contents being provided and having a say over the websites selection should precede before allowing any such initiative.

Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to sign Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia, also called the ‘Raptor MOU‘ with the Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS).

• With the signing of this MOU, India will become the 54th signatory to the MOU.

About Raptor MoU:

• The Raptor MOU is an agreement under the Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) and is not legally binding.
• The MOU seeks willingness of the signatory Range States for working for conservation of the raptor species and their habitats. Under this, an action plan has been formulated which primarily envisages the conservation action for Raptor species.
• The Raptors MoU extends its coverage to 76 species of birds of prey out of which 46 species including vultures, falcons, eagles, owls, hawks, kites, harriers, etc. also occur in India.
• Raptor MOU was concluded on in October 2008 and came into effect on 1st November 2008.
• India’s neighbours Pakistan and Nepal are also signatories to this MOU.

Benefits for India:

Considering that the Raptor MOU is also in conformity with the provisions of the existing Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, wherein the birds have been accorded protection, India would gain domain knowledge which would be helpful in effectively managing the habitats of these Raptors, including concerted trans-boundary efforts for conservation through interaction with other range countries by signing of the MOU with the CMS.

The CMS or Bonn Convention, under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), aims to conserve migratory species throughout their range. India had become a party to the CMS since 1st November 1983.

sources: pib.

Criticas argue that there are many different ways by which internet can be made available to vast majority of unconnected people in developing countries rather than opting for Facebook’s Free Basics offer. Discuss. (200 Words)

The different ways other than the zero rating apps which can make internet accessible for all are-

1.Some amount of data should be provided free of cost or at discounted rates and the companies paying for it should get only a 'brought to you by' attribution.This model is being practiced in many African countries and Middle Eastern countries.

2.People watch ads in order to get access to other websites.Mozilla is working with Grameenphone in Bangladesh where users get 20 MB data free after watching short ads.

3.When financially well off people recharge their internet account, they can be asked to donate small amounts of money (Rs 1 to Rs 10) for providing internet services to the poor.

4.Donating money towards free internet access for the poor should be encouraged as a part of CSR initiative of the telecom companies.

5.Effective utilization of the Universal Service Obligation Fund which has been lying unutilized as indicated in the recent CAG report.

6.Even modification in the zero rating schemes like delinking free internet access from specific content and limit it by volume or time.

7.Increasing competition and countering monopolies will automatically reduce the cost of access to internet and even the poor will be able to afford it.

Increasing the income of people through higher economic growth is a long term solution to make internet accessible to all.

18 States agree to revoke ‘no detention policy’ in RTE

A committee headed by Rajasthan Education Minister Vasudev Devnani has sent recommendations to the Central government, stating that the ‘no detention policy’ under the Right to Education (RTE) Act should be revoked.

• The committee had received the consent of 18 States for required amendments in the ‘no detention policy’ under the Right to Education (RTE) Act.
• Under the no detention policy, no student can be failed or expelled till Class VIII. However, States, including Rajasthan, have already done away with the policy.

What has the committee recommended?

• The committee, formed by the Central government, stated that a ‘learning level’ must be fixed for each class to check whether a student is eligible for the class that he or she is in.
• The committee also notes, “Students must not be detained in Classes VI and VII. However, they must meet the required ‘learning levels’. A month’s time would be given to students to retake tests and attain the required learning levels, failing which the students would have to be detained.”

What next?

• Now, for this to happen, the Centre will have to amend the Right To Education law — which prescribes the no-detention policy for students till Class 8.

A key component of the RTE Act, the no-detention policy was enforced on April 1, 2010, with the intention of ensuring that every child between the age of six and 14 gets a school education.

sources: the hindu

Editorial:The Double Mistake – Alcohol Prohibition

The Supreme Court of India recently upheld Kerala Government’s decision to restrict alcohol consumption in the state. In doing so, the court invoked the Directive Principles in the Constitution and claimed that “strict state regulation is imperative” to discourage regular and excessive consumption of alcohol.

• Kerala government came out with this policy with the noble objective of protecting public health and nutrition.
• The closure of hundreds of bars across the State despite substantial loss in state’s revenue deserves praise.

However, according to few, this is a misguided policy. Why?

Arguments, against this decision:

• Historical evidence shows that prohibition does not encourage or enable people to quit drinking. Rather, prohibition tends to drive the trade underground and creates a market for spurious liquor.
• This policy is just a populist decision impelled by factional politics within the ruling party.
• The policy may only help to shift the drinking space from bar to home or other private spaces.
• This policy may lead to increase in the sale of consumption of beer and wine, which is a gateway to the consumption of hard liquor.

Arguments, in support of this policy:

The following arguments indicate that such ban was the need of the hour-

• The Constitution places a responsibility on all state governments to “at least contain, if not curtail, consumption of alcohol” (Article 47).
• Strict state regulation is imperative to discourage regular and excessive consumption of alcohol.
• Alcohol denudes family resources and reserves and leaves women and children as its most vulnerable victims. A social stigma at least as far as the family unit is concerned is still attached to the consumption of alcohol.
• Vulnerable persons, either because of age or proclivity towards intoxication or as a feature of peer pressure, more often than not, succumb to this temptation.
• According to the Alcohol and Drug Information Centre of Thiruvananthapuram, 44% of Kerala’s road accidents, 19% of stays in government hospitals and 80% divorces are linked to alcohol abuse.
• The drinking age is dangerously coming down. This clearly indicates alcohol has become a social sickness and we have to treat it.
• Alcoholism does also critically impacts the household budgets of the poor and may lead to domestic violence.

Differential treatment:

The liquor policy, upheld by the apex court, allows service of liquor at bars in five star hotels only. Under the policy, the sale and consumption of liquor at the bars in hotels below five star is prohibited.

Why five-star hotels are excluded?

• The exemption was sought by the government on the grounds that it was necessary to protect the tourism industry.
• The apex court has also held that there was no hostile discrimination by the state government in making an exception for only five star hotels, as it is not the state which has imposed the classification of star gradation of hotels. This is done by the Ministry of Tourism, which in turn is further guided by the criteria established in the hospitality trade.
• The court also notes that there is a “reasonable nexus” between the policy exempting five-star hotels and the State’s objective to rescue public health.
• Five-star hotels account for just .08% of alcohol consumption in the State and the prices/tariff of alcohol in five-star hotels is usually prohibitively high, which acts as a deterrent to individuals going in for binge or even casual drinking.
• Also, the patrons of five-star hotels are of a mature age and do not visit these hotels with the sole purpose of consuming alcohol.

Arguments, against this exemption:

• The apex court’s decision to exclude five-star hotels from the ambit of prohibition seems unreasonable and arbitrary. Such preferential treatment discriminates against a large segment of the tourism industry and ignores their right to a level playing field.
• If the consumption of liquor is a social problem, it should be so for all. Halfway measures can complicate issues.

Previous experiences:

Neither government nor the court appears to have studied the experience of states like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, which have tried to implement prohibition in the past — unsuccessfully so.

Gujarat:

• Prohibition has been in place ever since statehood in 1960, first under Bombay Prohibition Act, 1949, and now under the Gujarat Prohibition Act, 2011, following several amendments. The latest version, which followed 150 deaths caused by hooch in Ahmedabad in 2009, includes the death penalty for those found guilty of making and selling spurious liquor.
• The law allows for temporary and long-term drinking permits to foreigners, NRIs and tourists, with outlets and purchase limits specified. A resident can get a permit only on health grounds. At special economic zones, the government allows consumption against three-year permits.
• Every city, however, has bootleggers and an illegal interstate business thrives, estimated at around Rs 1,500 crore annually.

Mizoram:

• Total prohibition for 18 years, relaxed by a new law in July. Rules allowing regulated sale and consumption of alcohol being framed, liquor shops and bars may take a few more months to open.
• Government figures show high seizures of alcohol and several arrests of bootleggers and drunkards between 1995 and the end of the first quarter this year. Opponents of prohibition say these show prohibition has been a “failure” and has done little to reduce the availability of alcohol.

Andhra Pradesh:

• Experimented with prohibition from 1994 to 1997. Following a movement by women who vandalised liquor shops and beat up people drinking in public, N T Rama Rao promised prohibition, won elections from that plank and kept the promise after becoming CM in January 1995. The experiment failed.
• Though consumption by the poor came down drastically, there were many leaks. It also led to corruption in police, administration and politics and liquor was available although in very limited quantities.

Haryana:

• Prohibition in the state was imposed in 1996. In the very first year, estimates say, revenues dropped Rs 1,200 crore, ruling party leaders started voicing protests, and women complained about their husbands deserting their homes for places where they could drink.
• More than a lakh cases were registered, thousands of vehicles impounded, lakhs of bottles recovered and destroyed, but illicit brewing and smuggling continued, and drugs made their way into the state. The government withdrew prohibition after 19 months.

Nagaland:

• The Nagaland Total Liquor Prohibition Act, 1989, followed a movement launched by Naga Mothers’ Association (NMA) and church bodies. It exempts prohibition for traditional liquor forms ‘Zu’ and ‘Rohi’. The Army and paramilitary forces too are exempted under an amendment of 1995. From Rs 600 lakh in 1988-89, liquor-related revenue has fallen to about Rs 250 lakh a year.
• However, liquor is clandestinely available all over the state, with reports of seizure of liquor coming in regularly. In 2013, the then CM Neiphiu Rio admitted in the assembly that prohibition has been a failure.

Conclusion:

While total prohibition may be a laudable objective and one of the Directive Principles of State Policy, it is doubtful whether confining drinking to homes and private spaces by itself will bring down consumption. In a non-permissive society, it may only result in converting drinking into a covert activity, a phenomenon requiring policing and also bringing corruption in its wake. The verdict places a heavy burden on the State to rehabilitate those left unemployed by the closure of hundreds of bars, as well as to make its policy succeed. It also needs to ensure that the sweeping discretion conferred on it to differentiate between classes of licensees is not misused for any extraneous considerations

Maiden Attempt – Barak 8 Missile

India has successfully test-fired a long-range surface-to-air missile, jointly developed with Israel, from its warship in its maiden attempt.

With this, India joined a select group of countries which has such an anti-air warfare capability for their navies.
The Barak 8 missile fired by the INS Kolkata on the western seaboard successfully intercepted an aerial target at extended ranges.

Factsheet:

LRSAM is also called Barak 8 missile in Israel which in Hebrew language means Lightning.

Barak 8 is being considered to be a major asset for the Indian Navy because it would add a potent system designed to destroy any anti-ship missile launched by Pakistani or Chinese Navy.

Key to Barak 8’s ability to intercept incoming missiles is Israel-made MF-STAR radar system, which is capable of simultaneously tracking hundreds of airborne targets to a range of more than 250 kilometers.

The Barak-8 has been designed to defend against a variety of short-to-long-range airborne threats, including fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, drones and projectiles.

The LRSAM programme consists of missiles, weapon control system, MFSTAR (radar), vertical launcher unit and two-way data link.

The LRSAM system has been jointly developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd.(IAI), Israel.

sources: the hindu, drdo.

Centre pushing to revive NATGRID, looking for CEO

The Union government is all set to make an aggressive effort to revive the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID).

The government is planning to appoint a senior serving government official, in all likelihood one with an intelligence background, to head NATGRID, with a mandate to operationalise it as a federal counter-terrorism centre.

What is NATGRID?

Conceived in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) is a centralised agency which stores sensitive personal information on citizens from almost two dozen agencies to be made available for counter-terror investigations.

The National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), an attached office of the Ministry of Home Affairs, has been conceived to develop a cutting edge framework to enhance India’s counter-terror capabilities.

It will provide an intelligence database that would have networked 21 sets of data sources to provide quick and secure access of information to about 10 intelligence and law-enforcement agencies including the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and R&AW.

These data sources include records related to immigration entry and exit, banking and financial transactions.

The Union Home Ministry has indicated the grid will be fully functional by 2016.

How is it different from NCTC and NIA?

Unlike the NCTC and the NIA which are central organisations, the NATGRID is essentially a tool that enables security agencies to locate and obtain relevant information on terror suspects from pooled data of various organisations and services in the country. It will help identify, capture and prosecute terrorists and help preempt terrorist plots.

Criticisms:

NATGRID is facing opposition on charges of possible violations of privacy and leakage of confidential personal information.

Its efficacy in preventing terror have also been questioned given that no state agency or police force has access to its database thus reducing chances of immediate, effective action.

Who will head the agency?

Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued a circular to fill the post of CEO of NATGRID. The circular calls for applicants with a Masters in Electronics, IT or equivalent with an experience of working in the IT-related field for 25 years. Both serving as well as retired government officials can apply.
The circular also says that if a private person is hired, his/her salary would be Rs. 10 lakh a month and if it’s a government servant, it will be his last drawn salary or the present salary.

sources: the hindu

Editorial:Nothing Free or Basic About it

Facebook’s Free Basics app, which aims to provide ‘free Internet access’ to users who can’t afford data packs, has run into trouble in India since the last two weeks. After regulator TRAI issued a paper questioning the fairness of zero-rating platforms, it also asked Reliance Communications (the official telecom partner for Free Basics) to put the service on hold.

Facebook on its part has gone for an aggressive campaign, both online and offline, to promote Free Basics and ensure that its platform is not banned permanently.
In its campaign, Facebook is also using the generic phrase “free, basic Internet” interchangeably with “Free Basics”. This is in blatant violation of Indian rules on advertising, which forbid generic words being used for brands and products.

What is Free Basics?

Internet.org was rechristened Free Basics in September. According to Facebook, it is an open platform that gives Indian developers the opportunity to make their services and websites available free of cost to those who cannot afford internet access. However, this free access is limited to partner websites and applications.
It was launched two years ago globally in partnership with Samsung, Ericsson, MediaTek, Opera Software, Nokia and Qualcomm.

What’s the problem with this initiative?

Contrary to what it claims, it doesn’t offer equal and unbiased access to all services. Facebook is partnering with ISPs to provide preferential and selective access to a set of app developers and services. This is the main criticism of those opposed to Free Basics; they argue that the internet should be free and equal for all users. This is also the cornerstone of net neutrality.

What’s net neutrality?

Net neutrality means access to free and unbiased internet for all. To put it in simple terms, anyone from anywhere around the world should be able to access or provide services and content on the internet without any discrimination.

How Facebook defends this initiative?

Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, views this initiative as a philanthropic gesture, as part of a purported, larger aim to bring access to the Internet to those people who find the costs of using generally available mobile data prohibitive.

Arguments against this initiative:

Free Basics is not free, basic Internet as its name appears to imply. It has a version of Facebook, and only a few other websites and services that are willing to partner Facebook’s proprietary platform.

The danger of privileging a private platform such as Free Basics over a public Internet is that it introduces a new kind of digital divide among the people. A large fraction of those who will join such platforms may come to believe that Facebook is indeed the Internet.

The initiative also risks breaking the network into many smaller ones and skewing the playing field in favour of apps and services that enjoy privileged pricing.

It also threatens net neutrality, the principle that all Internet sites should be equally accessible.

The initiative also restricts access to free, full Internet for users and hampers innovation.

This initiative forgets that while English is spoken by only about 12% of the world’s population, 53% of the Internet’s content is English. If Indians need to access education or health services, they need to access it in their languages, and not in English. And hence this is not suitable for India.

And the Internet is not a substitute for schools and colleges but only a complement, that too if material exists in the languages that the students understand. Similarly, health demands clinics, hospitals and doctors, not a few websites on a private Facebook platform.

Then, what are the alternatives available?

Government subsidies: The government could subsidise ‘open’ Internet. And let people pay for it though taxes. Taxes that could be used in areas where private enterprise cannot function profitably, at scale.

There are other various ways of providing free Internet, or cost-effective Internet, to the low-end subscribers. People could be provided some free data with their data connection, or get some free time slots when the traffic on the network is low.

2G data prices can and should be brought down drastically, as the telcos have already made their investments and recovered costs from the subscribers.

Conclusion:

India is expected to have 500 million Internet users by the end of 2017, and what kind of an Internet they get access to is important for our country. TRAI must now take a call on whether such business strategies are anti-competitive. But in dealing with the question, the regulator must not allow itself to be persuaded that such schemes are necessary for bringing the Internet to the masses. It should be noted here that in spite of having 125 million Indian subscribers, Facebook refuses to be sued in India, claiming to be an American company and therefore outside the purview of Indian law. Nor does it pay any tax in India.

In India, electricity and telecom sectors provide a contrasting picture when it comes to profitability and debt management. Examine why telecom sector has done well in India and what electricity sector can learn from telecom’s experience. (200 Words)

India's telecom and electricity sector provide glaring contrasts: the former has succeeded the latter in terms of both profitibility and debt management. This comes as a surprise since telcommunication was introduced much later than electricity sector.

The possible reasons can be:
1.About 90% services in telephony are prepaid which saves it from unpaid services.
2.Most of the undertakings in telephony is done by private investors. Unlike public investments,these are hasty and involve less procedures.
3.Ease of infrastructure sharing.
4.Injection of new services from time to time,such as WiFI and Wimax.
5.Multifarious services such as health,education etc depend on telecommunication for their progress

Power sector can succeed by learning from telephony in following ways:-
1.Use of prepaid electricity cards to ensure that no electricity units go unpaid
2.Better debt management,achieving targetted total susbsidy by P&Q susbsidies
3.Compulsory metering to measure each and every unit used.
4.Ensuring that genuine competitors are available in market for power distribution.
5.DISCOMS can be encouraged to take up projects by settling tariff-cost issues.
6.Greater use of electricity in fields of infrastructure,telephony which can expand its base
Power sector can be one of the biggest benefactor of revenue to the economy. Such a sector should not be waded away due to solvable anomalies.

As the RTI starts its second decade, it is argued that India’s government should ensure that information provision has a more impersonal face and this requires the government to invest in a data infrastructure that will allow it to go from passive to active transparency. What do you understand by active transparency? Why automation is needed in RTI? Discuss. (200 Words)

PASSIVE VS ACTIVE TRANSPARENCY
Passive transparency means sharing the minimum amount of information possible, and requires communities to seek that information out.
Active transparency on the other hand is proactive, it involves making information widely available by government to public.

Benefits of Active Transparency vis a vis passive transparency :
1) Citizens can directly access data without filing requests = direct empowerment of civil society in a democracy.
2) Researchers can use this data for a range of purposes + policy evaluation.
3) Unlike passive transparency, it is impersonal in nature.

Automation is primarily needed in RTI to promote operational efficiency and active transparency. It can be done by means of technical inputs, smart policy design based on collaboration, and use of agile methodology to keep projects from going astray.

It’d keep all stakeholders informed + involved in a timely manner for all the initiatives of government. Moreover it’s also important for Sustainable Development Goal of revitalising the global partnership for development-which initiates availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data. Therefore by attaining automation in RTI, we’ll promote active transparency which in turn will ensure operational efficiency of all other initiatives. In this light, e-governance, citizen charters and digitalisation are positive steps by Indian government.

As India is becoming a major destination for start-ups, sectors like e-commerce or mobile payments are attracting strong interest among entrepreneurs and investors whereas health, clean-tech, agriculture and education sectors are neglected. Examine why and also suggest what type of start-ups can contribute in these sectors. (200 Words)

The second decade of second millennium is turning out to be an era of technology startups.

These startups can contribute immensely to sectors such as health-care, agriculture and education sectors owing to the link than technology can create between them as explicated by the following:

--These sectors are least developed in terms of technology. Startups can fill the gaps
-- Sectors such as education have huge scope and are multidimensional. A tech startup can enter into tasks such as providing MOOC projects to digitizing the education curriculum

-- Sectors such as health-care have tremendous money involved and the startups can burgeon using the same
-- The government is providing the incentives in the form of facilities and concessions for startups to jump into such sectors

Following are the type of startups that can contribute:
-- Aggregator apps in healthcare that can bring doctors or hospitals on the same platform for customers
-- Systems that can digitize the education curriculum saving time and paper of the various stakeholders
-- Platforms that disseminate information of various aspects including seeds, fertilizers etc. to the farmers
-- Companies that can partially automate the cleaning process of municipalities hashing all the data on an online platform
Technology startups along with government incentives will no doubt pave the path to a better future for India in all respects.

The Union government has decided to amend the law in order to guarantee women working in the private sector 26 weeks’ maternity leave, up from the 12 weeks they are now entitled to. Discuss the merits of this amendment and also examine if India should also consider amending the act to provide similar leave to fathers. (200 Words)

The Union government’s recent decision to amend the law to increase the maternity leave to 26 weeks is a commendable step and has various merits for the women and also society at large. They are.

1) Six months of breast feeding since birth is recommended to gain complete immunity and nutrition. This amendment would enable women to breast feed their child for a longer duration.

2) Reduce child illness occurring mainly due to lack of proper care in the initial stages

3) Nurturing by women could no way be equated to any form. Elongated mother care would also enhance child’s mental ability.

4) Creates stress free mind for women, in turn increases the performance in both professional and personal activities

5) Also helps women to build up their carrier and help in achieving desired positions.

6) Longer maternity leave will also help employers to retain expertises

7) It also increases loyalty and commitment of employee towards the organizations.

8) At last, it also strengthens the relationship between mother and the child.

In a contemporary society, where both men and women are engaged in occupational activities, providing similar kind of provisions to father would indeed build up family relationship. Many countries such as Japan, Korea, Norway, Swedan and many European countries are providing similar provisions. Certain studies also have shown that fostering child by father at the initial stages would strengthen their bond.And, this could also eliminate disagreements between parents with regard to child care. Hence results in stable family structure.

Write a note on the objectives of and sources of funds for National Investment and Infrastructure Fund. (200 Words)

National Investment and Infrastructure fund is a fund created by the Government of India for enhancing infrastructure financing in the country.

 The primary objective of NIIF is to maximize economic impact mainly through infrastructure development in commercially viable projects, both greenfield and brownfield, including stalled projects. It could also consider other nationally important projects, for example, in manufacturing, if commercially viable.

Other objectives may include:

-- Overseas ties and materializing Make in India scheme as it attracts foreign investors
-- Service provisions to the investors
-- Structuring and framing the investment models and their monitoring
-- Advisory objective to provide guidance to infrastructure projects

NIIF is not a single entity, it may contain more than one fund set up as Alternate Investment Funds. Following are the sources of this fund:

-- Government can provide upto 20000 crore per annum into these funds making 49% share of the total corpus
-- Sovereign/ quasi-sovereign/multilateral/bilateral investors
-- Cash-rich Central Public Sector Enterprises
-- Domestic pension and provident funds, National Small Savings Fund

Do you think Computer-based testing (CBT) should be introduced in our education system on a larger scale? Examine the merits and demerits. (200 WOrds)

As we progress into future with more access and advancement to technology, obvious attempts will be made to computerize and automate processes to minimize human effort. Computer-based testing is one such method to make a switch from pen and paper mode exam in our education sector.
It has following advantages:
1. Strict authentication and security features like CCTV and biometric at test centres enables protection against cheating and leakages.
2. Exam can be held in multiple sessions and can be rescheduled if required and ensures quick publish of results.
3. Saves a lots of paper used in conventional testing method.
4. We can leverage India's IT prowess and provide employment to many and reduce burden on school centres and their staff to conduct exams.

However, few demerits have checked its adoption on large scale by education institution:
1. Arranging for huge and expensive infrastructure requirement may not be possible for most of them.
2. Multiple exams with multiple question papers prevents institution as well as students to adopt CBT as claim of differential difficulty for different participant is always there. Normalization of scores is itself a complex process.
3. Most of the students don't get practice on CBT and making a switch to CBT is seen as a risk.
4. It is difficult to conduct subjective test where a student has to write long answers.

As of now, for objective type evaluation can be introduced on large scale for entrance exams and is already being done for exams like JEE, GATE and international exam like SAT, GMAT etc. But it will take time before the institution are capable enough to adopt CBT on large scale.

Public servants are likely to confront with the issues of “Conflict of Interest”. What do you understand by the term “Conflict of Interest” and how does it manifest in the decision making by public servants? If faced with the conflict of interest situation how would you resolve it? Explain with the help of examples. (150 Words)

Conflct of interest is a situation that has the potential to undermine the impartiality of a person because of the possibility of a clash between the person's self-interest and professional interest or public interest.

Since a public servant has immense responsibilities and powers simultaneously, this phenomenon can manifest in his decision making whenever he portrays partiality towards a person or an organization or puts his personal interest above public welfare.

A public servant should resolve any such situation thinking about the public good first. For example, an IPS officer gets to know that one of his relatives is caught in a serious crime in the region of the former’s ambit. In such a conflict, the officer tends to save his relative, but in order to be impartial as a public ‘servant’ he should deal with the case by the rule of law.

Similarly, an IAS officer has the option to be partial for a political boss who rewards him with greater authorities and promotion. But, while displaying non-partisanship, he should deal with every project keeping public interest in mind.

Critically comment on the Ayodhya dispute and its implications on national unity. (200 Words)

What is Ayodhya Dispute:- It is political, social and religious dispute between two groups(Hindus and Muslims) over a plot of land in Ayodhya.

Reasons:-
1) Hindus Claim that the place is the birthplace of Ram (one of their most revered deities) and the Babri Mosque a was built after the destruction of a Hindu temple by a Muslim invader in the 16th Century.

2)Muslims say they offered prayers at the mosque until December 1949, when some people placed the idols of Ram under the cover of darkness in the mosque. The worship of the idols began soon after.

With many Twists and turns in History the mosque was Demolished on 6th December 1992 by some Protagonists of Ram Temple.

Recent Events:-

Wounds of Babri Demolition have not healed up yet,We all remember the events that followed 6th December 1992 when Babri Masjid was Demolished by 200000 Karsevaks. Recent arrival of engraved stones in Ayodhya, for a future Ram temple at the site where the Babri Masjid once stood are all pointing towards some form of mishappening.

How Ayodhya Dispute can destroy National Unity:-

1)Communal Riots of a high scale may follow which will deteriorate the peace, unity and integrity of the nation.

2) Religion is a very sensitive matter, sentiments of the people are attached so the dispute can create a deep valley between Hindu and Muslims.Building up a temple may radicalize the two communities, which will divide India into 2 major groups Hindus and Muslims.

3)This will create fear, distrust and suspicion in the minds of the Minority community which will not allow them to integrate with nationhood.

However Ayodhya dispute settlement can Strengthen National Unity:-

1) SC is yet to give verdict on the Ram Janmbhoomi case,till that time no construction can be done. If SC gives a just and Fair decision over the issue encompassing the interests of both the parties then definitely wounds of Babri Demolition will heal quickly and will bring the two communities closer.

2)Ayodhya Dispute's Just settlement will increase the trust and confidence of Minority (Muslim) community in the Indian Democracy and will help in their integration with the nationhood.

3) If Dispute is settled permanently, then it might decrease the number of Hate speeches which we often hear.

4) Ayodhya issue dispute settlement will definitely help in lowering of Parliament disruptions which take place every now and then over the issue.

Govt. should intervene and prevent VHP and other radical groups from doing any such activity that will harm Unity and integrity of the nation. At the same time SC should give more time to the issue and give a just and fair decision and help in building an integrated nation.

Recently the Vijay Kelkar Committee on public-private partnership (PPP) has made many recommendations to review and revive PPP model in India. Discuss its important recommendations. (200 Words)

The Vijay Kelkar committee was constituted to review the PPP model and make recommendation to revive the sector,as the PPP model has not been able to perform as expected to various constraints .The following recommendation were given by the committee

Institutional Capacity
--It was recommended to establish 3P India as to support PPP activities as was announced in the Budget 2014-15
--To establish Infrastructure PPP Adjucation Tribunal and Infrastructure PPP Project Review Committee to settle disputes and review projects respectively

Models for PPP
--It has rejected the Swiss Challenge model for PPP projects because of lack of transparency.
--The one size fits all approach of the Model Concession Agreement should be replaced with sector specific models

Government Responsibility
--It requires the government to come with PPP Policy with backing from Parliament.
--The Prevention of Corruption Act must be amended to differentiate between genuine errors and corruption

Other recommendation
--Small projects should not be built with PPP
--Issue Zero Coupon Bonds for easy credit availability.
--Public sector should not be given PPP projects and private sector must be encouraged.
--PPP model should be introduced in other sectors as well

Thus if India needs to transform from a low income country to a high income country without being trapped in the middle income zone it need to reform the PPP for faster growth.

Gujarati writer Raghuveer Chaudhari given Jnanpith Award for 2015

Noted Gujarati writer Raghuveer Chaudhari has been conferred with India’s the highest literary honour, the Jnanpith Award for 2015.
Chaudhari, whose most noted works include novels ‘Amruta’ and ‘Uparvas,’ has become the56th writer and fourth Gujarati literary artist to receive the prestigious award.
Gujaratis who have won the award before Chaudhari were poet Umashankar Joshi (1967), novelist Pannalal Patel (1985) and poet Rajendra Shah (2001).
Chaudhari has received the Sahitya Akademi Award (1977) for his novel trilogy ‘Uparvas’. He received the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak in 1975 and the Munshi Award in 1997. He also received the Sauhard Samman from Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sansthaan for contribution to Hindi literature in 1990, Narmad Award in 2010, and the Uma-Snehrashmi Prize and Ranjitram Gold Medal for creative writing in 1975.

Jnanpith Award:
The Jnanpith Award is one of the prestigious literary honours in the country. The award was instituted in 1961.
Eligibility: Any Indian citizen who writes in any of the official languages of India is eligible for the honour.
Prior to 1982, the awards were given for a single work by a writer; since then, the award has been given for a lifetime contribution to Indian literature.
Seven women writers have won the award so far.

sources: the hindu.

Govt Changes Rules to Protect Civil Servants

According to the new rules notified by the DoPT, IAS officers working with the Centre can now be suspended only on the recommendation of the Central Review Committee and with the approval of the minister in charge of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
Until now, the Centre could suspend an IAS officer and a Central Review Committee of bureaucrats would step into the picture only if the suspension was to be continued beyond a year.
The new rules have kicked in after almost year-long deliberations with the states in the backdrop of suspensions of IAS officers including Ashok Khemka and Durga Shakti Nagpal.

New rules:
States will now have to inform the Centre within 48 hours of suspending any all-India services officer (IAS, PS and IFS) working for them. Copy of the suspension order and reasons for the suspension have to be communicated. Earlier, there was no time limit. Also, now the state cannot keep an officer suspended beyond 30 days if the Centre does not confirm the suspension or if disciplinary proceedings are not initiated. The earlier period was 45 days.
The Central Review Committee will now have the secretary of the DoPT as chairperson and its members will be the DoPT’s establishment officer and the secretary of the ministry where the IAS officer is posted. Previously, the committee was headed by the secretary of the ministry concerned and it was optional to co-opt a DoPT officer.
The new rules also stipulate that any appeals or memorials against disciplinary action taken by the state government or a central ministry against an all-India service officer must be forwarded to the Centre with the ministry or state’s comments within 30 days of receipt “or the Central government will take a decision on the advance copy of the appeal received by them.“

These rules are aimed at checking any arbitrary suspension by the governments. These All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Amendment Rules, 2015, replace the rules of 1969.

Government pitches for global north-south corridor

In a bid to boost trade with former Soviet Union countries, Iran and Russia, the commerce ministry has pitched for popularisation of International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) as an alternative route through Tehran that significantly reduces costs and travel time.
The move comes at a time when the government has adopted a market diversification strategy to help Indian exporters reduce their dependence on traditional markets in the West where there is currently not much demand and instead gain more access in growing markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America not tapped as much previously.
Even 15 years after the formalisation of the INSTC concept by India, Iran and Russia (in 2000), this alternative trade route has not taken off in a big way due to outstanding issues concerning logistics, banking connections, insurance cover as well as harmonisation of documentation and procedures for cargo.

About International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC):
The International North–South Transport Corridor is the ship, rail, and road route for moving freight between India, Russia, Iran, Europe and Central Asia.
The route primarily involves moving freight from India, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia via ship, rail and road.
The objective of the corridor is to increase trade connectivity between major cities such as Mumbai, Moscow, Tehran, Baku, Bandar Abbas, Astrakhan, Bandar Anzali and etc.
Russia, Iran and India signed the agreement for the INSTC project in 2002.
Dry runs of the two routes in INSTC were conducted in 2014, the first was Mumbai to Baku (Azerbaijan) via Bandar Abbas (Iranian Port) and the second was Mumbai to Astrakhan (Russia) via Bandar Abbas, Tehran and Bandar Anzali (Iran).
Besides Iran, India and Russia, countries that are members of INSTC include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kyrgyztan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Turkey, Tajikistan, Oman, Syria and Bulgaria (observer status).
Once the North-South Corridor becomes operational, India will have better connectivity with Russia, bringing down the freight rates.

sources: the hindu, wiki.

Goa invokes ESMA as lifeguards go on strike

The Goa State government has invoked provisions of the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), 1988 which prohibits strike in lifeguard, water safety and inland water body services coming under the State Department of Tourism. This is in response to an indefinite strike announced by the lifeguards and contractors.
Over 600 lifeguards of the Drishti Lifesaving Pvt. Ltd. and contractors engaged by the State government for ensuring safety at beaches in Goa are demanding the regularisation of their services and immediate re-instatement of 17 sacked staff members. The strike now has been rendered illegal following the invoking of ESMA.
The strike comes at a time when Goa is gearing up for the New Year celebrations with a large number of foreign and domestic tourists making a beeline for this famous tourist destination.

About ESMA:

The Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) is an act of Parliament of India. It is a central law.
It was established to ensure the delivery of certain services, which if obstructed would affect the normal life of the people. These include services like public transport (bus services), health services (doctors and hospitals).
Although it is a very powerful law, its execution rests entirely on the discretion of the State government. Each state in the union of India, hence has a separate state Essential Services Maintenance Act with slight variations from the central law in its provisions. This freedom is accorded by the central law itself.

sources: the hindu, wiki.

Foreign funds plan share in India’s infrastructure corpus

Aiming to increase investment flows into infrastructure projects, the government has set the proposed National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) rolling.
In the first meeting of the governing council of NIIF, which was held recently, the broad road map for future activities of the fund were discussed.
The fund was registered as a category II alternative investment fund with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) recently.
The finance ministry has appointed India Infrastructure Finance Co. Ltd (IIFCL) as investment adviser to NIIF and IDBI Capital Market Services Ltd as an adviser to NIIF Trustee Ltd initially for six months and one year respectively.

Several sovereign funds and pension funds across the world have expressed their willingness to participate and cooperate in various manners with the NIIF.

About NIIF:
The Union Cabinet, in July 2015, had approved creation of National Infrastructure and Investment Fund (NIIF) as a trust that will have a corpus of Rs 20,000 crore.
The Fund aims to attract investment from both domestic and international sources.
The government’s contribution would be limited to 49% of the subscribed capital.
The government will seek participation from strategic investors such as sovereign fund, quasi sovereign funds and multilateral or bilateral investors, which can help leverage this fund to many times.
Cash-rich PSUs, pension funds, provident funds, National Small Saving Fund will be able to pick up stake in the fund.
The decision to set up NIIF was announced by the union Finance minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech.
The government has budgeted to contribute Rs.20,000 crore to the fund in the current fiscal year while another Rs.20,000 crore is expected to be raised through sovereign wealth funds.

The Governing Council of the Fund has decided to complete by January-end the selection process of the Chief Executive of the investment management company responsible for taking investment decisions of its corpus.

sources: the hindu, pib.

Apex court upholds curbs on serving liquor in Kerala

Upholding the controversial ‘Liquor-Free Kerala’ policy restricting the serving of liquor to five-star hotels in the State, the Supreme Court has ruled that the State governments be given a free hand to curtail or ban public consumption of alcohol to protect public health and nutrition.

Important observations made by the court:
The consumption of tobacco as well as liquor is now undeniably deleterious to the health of humankind. Vulnerable persons, either because of age or proclivity towards intoxication or as a feature of peer pressure, more often than not succumb to this temptation.
Banning public consumption of alcohol, therefore, in Court’s considered opinion, cannot but be seen as a positive step towards bringing down the consumption of alcohol, or aspreparatory to prohibition.

Why, according to the apex court, exemption of five-star hotels did not violate Article 14?

According to the court, there was a “reasonable nexus” between the policy exempting five-star hotels and the State’s objective to rescue public health.
Five-star hotels account for just .08% of alcohol consumption in the State and the prices/tariff of alcohol in five-star hotels is usually prohibitively high, which acts as a deterrent to individuals going in for binge or even casual drinking.
Also, the patrons of five-star hotels are of a mature age and do not visit these hotels with the sole purpose of consuming alcohol.
The court notes that the classification of hotels was not the State government’s doing but that of the Union Ministry of Tourism as per the criteria established for hospitality trade.

The judgment sets a nationwide judicial precedent for States such as Bihar, where liquor sales were recently banned by the Nitish Kumar government, and for the Union government to ban or restrict liquor sale, citing public health.

Kerala’s liquor policy:

The new liquor policy was envisaged to shut down bars attached to hotels below the five-star category as part of the new government’s plans to reduce availability of liquor. And according to the policy 10% of the retail liquor stores in the state would be closed every year till there is none left by 2023. This policy had led to the closure of over 400 bars and restricted liquor availability to nearly 20 five-star hotels.

sources: the hindu.