Abhimanu

Weekly current affairs Series

Week: III, August 2017

Abhimanu’s IAS Study Group Chandigarh

NATIONAL ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

Economic Survey 2016-17: External Sector

India’s balance of payments situation which was benign and comfortable during 2013-14 to 2015-16, further improved in 2016-17, as a result of low and falling trade and current account deficits and moderate and rising capital inflows, resulting in further accretion of foreign exchange reserves.

Reflecting the slowly improving world economic situation, India’s exports turned positive at 12.3 per cent in 2016-17 after an interregnum of two years. This along with a marginal decline in imports by 1.0 per cent resulted in narrowing down of trade deficit to US$ 112.4 billion (5 per cent of GDP) in 2016-17 as compared to US$ 130.1 billion (6.2 per cent of GDP) in 2015-16.

The current account deficit (CAD) narrowed down progressively to 0.7 per cent of GDP in 2016-17 from 1.1 per cent of GDP in 2015-16 led by sharp contraction in trade deficit which more than outweighed a decline in net invisibles earnings.

Net capital inflows were slightly lower at US$ 36.8 billion (1.6 per cent of GDP) in 2016-17 as compared to US$ 40.1 billion (1.9 per cent of GDP) in the previous year, mainly due to fall in NRI deposits.

Gross FDI inflows to India increased significantly to US$ 60.2 billion in 2016-17 from US$ 55.6 billion in 2015-16. Net FDI inflows (i.e. net of outward FDI) at US$ 35.6 billion, however, moderated marginally by 1.1 per cent from US$ 36.0 billion in 2015-16.

In 2017-18 (April-June) there was double digit export growth at 10.6 per cent with export growth continuing to be in positive territory continuously for the last eleven months.

Among the major economies running current account deficit, India is the second largest foreign exchange reserve holder after Brazil with reserves at US$ 386.4 billion as on 7th July, 2017.

The average monthly exchange rate of the rupee against the US dollar after depreciating continuously from November 2016 to January 2017, has appreciated continuously from February to June 2017, while in the case of the Pound sterling, Euro and Japanese yen there have been monthly variations. The rupee performed better than many other EME-currencies in 2016-17.

During 2016-17, while on an average (on a y-o-y basis), the Indian rupee depreciated by 2.4 per cent against the US dollar, in terms of the nominal effective exchange rate (NEER) against a basket of 6 and 36 currencies, the rupee depreciated by 0.5 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively. However, in terms of the real effective exchange rate (REER) against a basket of 6 and 36 currencies, it appreciated by 2.7 per cent and 2.2 per cent, respectively in 2016-17.

Most of the external debt indicators of India improved at end-March 2017 compared end-March, 2016. India’s aggregate external debt stock at end-March 2017 stood at US$ 471.9 billion registering a decline of US$ 13.1 billion (2.7 per cent) over end-March 2016. The ratio of external debt to GDP fell to 20.2 per cent from 23.5 per cent, while foreign exchange reserves provided a cover of 78.4 per cent to external debt compared to 74.3 per cent in the previous year. Debt service ratio fell to 8.3 per cent from 8.8 per cent and ratio of concessional debt to total external debt increased to 9.3 per cent from 9.0 per cent. Short term debt (residual maturity) to total external debt fell to 41.5 per cent from 42.7 per cent. Short term debt (residual maturity) to forex reserves also fell to 52.9 per cent from 57.4 per cent. Cross country comparison of external debt indicates that India continues to be among the less vulnerable countries.

Some green shoots have started to appear in the trade horizon as well with world trade growth projected at 3.8 per cent and 3.9 per cent in 2017 and 2018 and India’s trade growth also picking up.

Progress of Soil Health Cards

Indian Prime minister has recently reviewed the progress of Soil Health Cards scheme. So far, 16 States/UTs have completed the first cycle of Soil Health Cards distribution, and the remaining States are likely to complete the same within weeks.

Reform measures proposed:

Appropriate checks should be undertaken for variation, both within a sampling grid, and across different soil testing labs. This would help ensure quality in the reports.

Soil health cards should be printed in the local dialect of the area, so that the farmers are able to read and understand them easily.

Soil testing should eventually be possible through hand-held devices. Officials were encouraged to explore the possibility of involving start-ups and entrepreneurs in this exercise.

About the Soil Health Card Scheme:

Soil Health Card Scheme is a very beneficial scheme for farmers. There are so many illiterate farmers in India. And they do not know which types of crops they should grow to get maximum yield.

So, the Soil Health Card Scheme is an initiative by Prime Minister for the welfare of farmers. Under the scheme, the farmers will get a soil health card. This card will contain details about what kind of soil is there in the farmers’ land. Also, it will list what crops they can grow in their land to get maximum profits. And what corrective measures the farmers can take to improve the yield.

Key Features of the Soil Health Card Scheme

The government is planning to cover as many as 14 crore farmers under the scheme.

The scheme will cover all the parts of the country.

In the form of soil card, the farmers will get a report. And this report will contain all the details about the soil of their particular farm.

A farm will get the soil card once in every 3 years.

Benefits

The scheme will monitor the soil of the farmers well and will give them a formatted report. So, they can decide well which crops they should cultivate and which ones they should skip.

The authorities will monitor the soil on a regular basis. One in every 3 years, they will provide a report to farmers. So, farmers need not worry if the nature of the soil changes due to certain factors. Also, they will always have updated data about their soil.

The work of the government does not stop at listing down measures required to improve the quality of the soil. In fact, they will also employ experts to help farmers in carrying out the corrective measures.

Farmers will get a proper soil health record, thanks to the Soil Health Card Scheme. Also, they can study the soil management practices. Accordingly, they can plan the future of their crops and land.

Generally, in government schemes, the person carrying out the study for a particular farmer gets changed. But in the Soil Health Card Scheme, the government is paying attention that the same person carries out soil analysis for a farmer. This will further enhance the effectiveness of the scheme.

The soil card will give the farmers a proper idea of which nutrients their soil is lacking. And hence, which crops they should invest in. they will also tell which fertilizers they need. So, ultimately, the crop yield will see a rise.

The main aim behind the scheme was to find out the type of particular soil. And then provide ways in which we can improve it. Even if a soil has some limitations, we can do something to get the most out of it. And that is what the government is trying to do with the help of this scheme.

Economic Survey 2016-17: Service Sector

The services sector remains the key driver of India’s economic growth, contributing almost 62 per cent of its gross value added growth in 2016-17. However, the growth of this sector has moderated to 7.7 per cent in 2016-17 compared to 9.7 per cent achieved in the previous year, though it continues to be higher than the other two sectors and nearly at the top among the 15 major economies.

The services growth moderation is mainly due to deceleration in growth in two services categories- trade, hotels, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting (7.8 per cent), and financial, real estate & professional services (5.7 per cent). The share of services sector in total gross capital formation (GCF), at current prices has increased consistently over the last four years from 53.3 per cent in 2011-12 to 60.3 per cent in 2015-16.

There has been a significant growth in FDI equity inflows in 2014-15 and 2015-16 in general (27.3 per cent and 29.3 per cent) and to the services sector in particular (67.3 per cent and 64.3 per cent for top 15 services). However, in 2016-17, the growth rate of total FDI equity inflows moderated and FDI equity inflows to the services sector (top 15 services) declined.

India’s and world’s services export trend growth were almost flat in the pre-crisis period, while in the post-crisis period, the deceleration in trend growth of India’s services was sharper than world services export growth. In 2016-17, services exports recorded a positive growth of 5.7 per cent with pick up in some major sectors like transportation, business services and financial services; and good growth in travel. However, Software services exports, accounting for around 45.2 per cent of total services, declined though marginally by 0.7 per cent.

The performance of India’s Services Sector has been subdued in 2016-17 in line with the global trend. However, some services continue to be key drivers of India’s economic growth. There was reasonably good performance in telecom with increase in telecom connections reflecting the Jio effect, aviation particularly domestic travel, tourism related services particularly in terms of foreign exchange earnings, and even information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) despite fall in growth in computer software.

As per the Ministry of Tourism data, Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) during 2016 grew by 9.7 per cent and Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) through Tourism, in US$ terms, grew by 8.8 per cent. Various initiatives have been taken by the Government to promote tourism sector of the country that include e-Visa for the citizens of 161 countries, promotion of India as a 365 days destination, launching of Multilingual Tourist Infoline, and Swachh Paryatan Mobile App.

As per NASSCOM, in 2016-17 India’s total revenue (exports plus domestic) of the IT-BPM sector including and excluding hardware is expected to touch US$154 billion and US $140 billion, with growths of 7.8 per cent and 8.1 per cent respectively. IT-BPM exports are expected to reach USD 117 billion, with a growth of 7.6 per cent. Meanwhile, the Government of India’s rapid adoption of technologies as a platform to delivery of government-to-government and government-to-citizen services is a tremendous push factor for the domestic IT-BPM market.

Real estate sector including ownership and dwellings accounted for 7.6 per cent share in India’s overall GVA in 2015-16. The growth of this sector decelerated in the last three years from 7.5 per cent in 2013-14 to 6.7 per cent in 2014-15 and further to 4.5 per cent in 2015-16. Despite the subdued demand, residential prices did not fall with the NHB RESIDEX, showing increase in prices in 33 cities out of 50 cities in 2016-17 Q4 over 2015-16 Q4.

Satellite mapping and launching services are two areas in which India is making a mark and has huge potential for the future. The foreign exchange earned by India from satellite mapping in the last five years was more than Rs 100 crores. Foreign exchange earnings of India from export of satellite launch services has increased noticeably in 2015-16 and 2016-17 and consequently India’s share in global satellite launch services revenue has also increased.

India’s services sector growth, which was highly resilient even during the global financial crisis, has been showing moderation in recent times. However, pick up is seen in recent months with some segments of the sector showing better performance.

Long Term Irrigation Fund

Union Cabinet has approved raising Extra Budgetary Resources (EBR) by Rs 9,020 crore for Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF) for year 2018-19 through issuance of bonds by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

About LTIF:

The LTIF was launched in 2016 to complete these projects along with their command area development (CAD).

The CAD programme aims to narrow the gap between irrigation potential created and actual utilisation.

LTIF seeks to make loans from the NABARD attractive for states at the rate of 6 per cent per annum in order to complete 99 ongoing prioritised irrigation projects under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) which "were languishing mainly due to inadequate provision of funds".

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) subsumes previous schemes such as the AIBP and several other projects launched to repair and restore water bodies.

About Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana:

The major objective of PMKSY is to achieve convergence of investments in irrigation at the field level, expand cultivable area under assured irrigation, improve on-farm water use efficiency to reduce wastage of water, enhance the adoption of precision-irrigation and other water saving technologies (More crop per drop), enhance recharge of aquifers and introduce sustainable water conservation practices by exploring the feasibility of reusing treated municipal waste water for peri-urban agriculture and attract greater private investment in precision irrigation system.

PMKSY has been conceived amalgamating ongoing schemes viz. Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) of the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (MoWR,RD&GR), Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) of Department of Land Resources (DoLR) and the On Farm Water Management (OFWM) of Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC).

The scheme is implemented by Ministries of Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Development. Ministry of Rural Development is to mainly undertake rain water conservation, construction of farm pond, water harvesting structures, small check dams and contour bunding etc. MoWR, RD &GR, is to undertake various measures for creation of assured irrigation source, construction of diversion canals, field channels, water diversion/lift irrigation, including development of water distribution systems.

Ministry of Agriculture will promote efficient water conveyance and precision water application devices like drips, sprinklers, pivots, rain-guns in the farm “(Jal Sinchan)”, construction of micro-irrigation structures to supplement source creation activities, extension activities for promotion of scientific moisture conservation and agronomic measures

The programme is supervised and monitored by an Inter-Ministerial National Steering Committee (NSC) which is constituted under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister with Union Ministers from concerned Ministries.

NATIONAL POLITY

North Koel Reservoir Project

The Union Cabinet has given its approval to the proposal to complete the balance works of the North Koel Reservoir Project in Jharkhand and Bihar at an estimated expenditure of Rs.1622.27 crore to be incurred during three financial years from the start of the project.

The Cabinet also approved storage of water in dam restricted at lower level than envisaged earlier to reduce the submergence and to protect Betla National Park and Palamau Tiger Reserve.

About Project:

The project is situated on North Koel river which is a tributary of Sone river finally joining the river Ganga.

The North Koel Reservoir is located in the most backward tribal areas in Palamau and Garhwa districts of Jharkhand State.

The construction was originally started in the year 1972 and continued till 1993 when it was stopped by the Forest Department, Govt. of Bihar. Since then, the work on dam is at a standstill.

The major components of project are: 67.86 m high and 343.33 m long concrete dam called Mandal dam originally intended to store 1160 million cubic metre (MCM) water; 819.6 m long barrage at Mohammadganj, 96 km downstream of the dam; and two canals originating from left and right banks of Mohammadganj Barrage with distributaries system for irrigation.

With the new lowered elevation level (EL) of 341 metre, the Mandal dam will now have storage of 190 MCM.

The project aims to provide irrigation to 111,521 hectares of land annually in the most backward and drought prone areas of Palamu & Garhwa districts in Jharkhand and Aurangabad & Gaya districts in Bihar.

The total cost of the project as assessed on date is Rs 2391.36 crore. An expenditure amounting to Rs. 769.09 crore has been incurred on the project till date.

More Powers to Border Roads Organisation

The Ministry of Defence has decided to delegate administrative and financial powers to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) right up to the level of Chief Engineer and Task Force Commander, so as to avoid delays on account of references between the Chief Engineer and HQ DGBR and also between HQ DGBR and the Ministry.

Powers to Border Road Organisation:

In line with the aim to bring in transformational changes in the BRO, various powers of delegation have been revised. According to the earlier delegation of powers, a Chief Engineer in the BRO could give administrative approval of works only up to Rs. 10 crore, that too only for departmental works, whereas the ADGBR had powers to accord administrative approval only upto Rs. 20 crore for departmental works.

For contractual works, all administrative approvals were given by DGBR, who had powers only upto Rs. 50 crore. Enhancing the powers at all levels in the BRO, the Ministry of Defence has now approved that for both departmental and contractual mode of execution, a Chief Engineer of BRO can accord administrative approval upto Rs. 50 crore, ADGBR upto Rs. 75 crore and DGBR upto Rs. 100 crore.

Further, according to the earlier delegation of powers, a Chief Engineer in the BRO had the power to accept execution of contracts only upto Rs. 10 crore, ADGBR had powers upto Rs. 20 crore, beyond which all tenders had to be sent to DGBR.

With the intent to speed up the tendering process, the Ministry of Defence has now enhanced the powers of Chief Engineer for acceptance of bids with cost of contract upto Rs. 100 crore and that of ADGBR for cost of contract upto Rs. 300 crore.

With this delegation, the entire tendering process including acceptance of bids would be completed at the level of Chief Engineer/ADGBR for a majority of the contracts.

The Ministry of Defence has now enhanced the powers of Chief Engineer to accord administrative approval for outsourcing of consultancy services upto Rs. 2 crore and ADGBR upto Rs. 5 crore and full powers beyond Rs. 5 crore to DGBR.

In case of emergent need for construction equipment, DGBR has been given full powers for hiring upto three years and for Chief Engineers (Project), powers have been enhanced from Rs. 50 lakh to Rs. 5 crore and the period of hiring has been enhanced from 6 months to one year.

About BRO:

Functioning under the control of the Ministry of Defence since 2015, the BRO is engaged in road construction to provide connectivity to difficult and inaccessible regions in the border areas of the country.

It is staffed by officers and troops drawn from the Indian Army’s Corps of Engineers, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Army Service Corps, Military Police and army personnel on extra regimental employment.

Engineering Service and personnel from the General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) form the parent cadre of the Border Roads Organisation.

Currently, the organisation maintains operations in twenty-one states, one UT (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), and neighbouring countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.

The BRO operates and maintains over 32,885 kilometres of roads and about 12,200 meters of permanent bridges in the country.

Varshadhare

Karnataka has launched the much-touted cloud seeding project- named Varshadhare.

What is cloud seeding?

It is a process of intervening chemically to induce precipitation — rain or snow — from clouds.

Rain happens when moisture in the air reaches levels at which it can no longer be held, and cloud seeding aims to facilitate and accelerate that process by making available chemical ‘nuclei’ around which condensation can take place.

These ‘seeds’ of rain can be the iodides of silver or potassium, dry ice (solid carbon dioxide), or liquid propane. Research has shown promising results from the use of salts, including table salt, as well.

How are clouds seeded?

Cloud-seeding chemicals can be dispersed in clouds either by fly-through aircraft or by ground-based dispersion devices that use rockets or guns to fire canisters into the sky.

Seeding has been shown to work better on days that are cloudy but rainless, and with clouds that already have some moisture.

In case of seeding by aircraft, the pilot fires sodium chloride flares to the base of the cloud, and silver iodide flares to the top.

The chemical particles are the embryos for the formation of larger drops, which ultimately fall as rain. When fired by rockets, chemical ‘seeds’ are propelled by air currents.

Can cloud seeding substitute for a bad monsoon?

In terms of the area it covers, the precipitation it brings, and the length of the time it lasts, there is no substitute for the Indian monsoon. But cloud seeding can produce good rain over smaller areas, and can supplement the natural phenomenon.

Since timely rain, rather than a lot of it, is what is often more important for crops, seeding can help. It is now a fairly advanced science — even though more research is needed for a deeper understanding of cloud formations, so that more significant meteorological interventions can be made.

Different types of clouds may exist over a region, and the same type of seeding may not be effective for all; sometimes seeding is effective only over certain areas.

Where has seeding been successful?

While it is practised around the world, doubts remain over the ability of seeding to modify international weather, with studies in the US and Israel casting doubts over the efficacy of the process.

Even so, rainmaking experiments have shown increasingly better results since being first attempted in the 1940s.

The biggest faith in cloud seeding has been shown by China, which believes it can make it rain on arid regions by firing silver iodide rockets. It also claimed to have used cloud seeding to clear the air during the Beijing Olympics. Thailand, Indonesia, the UAE, several countries in Europe, Australia and the US have all experimented with cloud seeding.

In India, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have attempted to seed clouds since the 1980s. Some positive impact notwithstanding, results have generally been patchy.

Assam, Manipur can now decide on AFSPA

The Union Home Ministry is set to give up its power to impose the ‘disturbed areas’ tag on Assam and Manipur. The move effectively means it will be the States’ decision to either continue the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) or revoke it.

It would be the first time since 1990 — when the AFSPA was first invoked in Assam — that the Centre would give up its power to continue or discontinue it.

About AFSPA: Armed Forces (Special Power s) Act, 1958

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was enacted in 1958 to bring under control what the government of India considered ‘disturbed’ areas.

As of now, according to the home ministry, six more states come under the ambit of this law under various conditions.

This is applicable in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur (except the Imphal municipal area), Arunachal Pradesh (only the Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts plus a 20-km belt bordering Assam), Meghalaya (confined to a 20-km belt bordering Assam) and Jammu and Kashmir.

Section (3) of the AFSPA Act empowers the governor of the state or Union territory to issue an official notification on The Gazette of India, following which the centre has the authority to send in armed forces for civilian aid. It is still unclear whether the governor has to prompt the centre to send in the army or whether the centre on its own sends in troops.

Once declared ‘disturbed’, the region has to maintain status quo for a minimum of three months, according to The Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act, 1976.

The state governments, as in Tripura’s case, can suggest whether the Act is required to be enforced or not. But under Section (3) of the Act, their opinion can still be overruled by the governor or the centre.

This act is not uniform in nature. Originally, it came into being as an ordinance in 1958 and within months was repealed and passed as an Act. But, this was meant only for Assam and Manipur, where there was insurgency by Naga militants. But after the northeastern states were reorganized in 1971, the creation of new states (some of them union territories originally) like Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh paved the way for the AFSPA Act to be amended, so that it could be applied to each of them. They may contain different sections as applicable to the situation in each state.

Analysis:

This act is required because government (either the state or centre) considers those areas to be ‘disturbed’ “by reason of differences or disputes between members of different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities.”

The army is opposed to the withdrawal of Afspa. Many argue that removal of the act will lead to demoralising the armed forces and see militants motivating locals to file lawsuits against the army.

Critics say the undemocratic act has failed to contain terrorism and restore normalcy in disturbed areas, as the number of armed groups has gone up after the act was established. Many even hold it responsible for the spiralling violence in areas it is in force.

The justice Jeevan Reddy Committee was set up in 2005 to review Afspa and make recommendations. It recommended that Afspa should be repealed and the Unlawful Activities Protection Act strengthened to fight militancy. However, no steps were taken to repeal or reform the act.

Climate change costs India $10 billion every year

According to a recently released report by Parliamentary committee, Extreme weather events are costing India $9-10 billion annually and climate change is projected to impact agricultural productivity with increasing severity from 2020 to the end of the century.

Highlights of the report:

Productivity decrease of major crops would be marginal in the next few years but could rise to as much as 10-40% by 2100 unless farming adapts to climate change-induced changes in weather.

Wheat, rice, oilseeds, pulses, fruits and vegetables will see reduced yields over the years, forcing farmers to either adapt to challenges of climate change or face the risk of getting poorer. Adaptation will need different cropping patterns and suitable inputs to compensate yield fluctuations.

The challenge is particularly urgent for Indian agriculture where productivity for crops like rice does not compare even with neighbours like China. The possibility of a further dip due to climate change will be particularly worrying as it could turn India into a major importer of oilseeds, pulses and even milk.

By 2030, it may need 70 million tonnes more of foodgrains than the expected production in 2016-17.

2014 floods in Kashmir cost more than $ 15 billion and Cyclone Hudhud the same year cost $ 11 billion.

The quantum of loss will increase substantially in future if one takes into account the impact of climate change on farm productivity.

There is a possible decrease in yields of certain crops in traditional sown areas but an increase elsewhere due to change in weather pattern.

Increasing food demand due to an increasing population, expanding urbanisation and rising income may require India to depend on import if it does not act on time to increase production and productivity of major food crops, pulses, oilseeds and milk by adapting to climate change.

Analysis:

Vulnerability of Indian agriculture due to vagaries associated with climate change and low adaptation capacity of majority of Indian farmers poses risk to food security of the country.

If the country, which is more or less self-sufficient in foodgrain production, moves on with the business as usual approach, it will have to suffer a major loss due to rising temperature and uneven distribution of rainfall. If all the losses are compounded, India will be a major victim of climate change.

The ICAR-National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research has projected food demand of 345 million tonnes (MT) by 2030 - almost 30% higher than in 2011. Referring to its projected demands for fruits, vegetables, milk, animal products (meat, eggs and fish), sugar and edible oil, the panel said the demand for these products by 2030 is estimated to be 2-3 times more than that in 2011.

Though foodgrain production has increased from 259.29 MT in 2011-12 to 275.68 MT (estimated) in 2016-17, the country still needs to take multiple measures to match the projected demand of foodgrain by 2030.

New Metro Rail Policy

The Union Cabinet has approved a new Metro Rail Policy that seeks to enable realization of growing metro rail aspirations of a large number of cities but in a responsible manner.

Highlights of the new policy:

This policy seeks to introduce Public-Private Partnership (PPP) component in the sector by making it mandatory for seeking central assistance.

The new policy also aims at ensuring provision of last-mile connectivity and preventing escalation in cost of projects.

This new policy had been formulated to enable realisation of growing metro rail aspirations of a large number of cities in a responsible manner.

The new policy mandates Transit Oriented Development (TOD) to promote compact and dense urban development along metro corridors. TOD reduces travel distances besides enabling efficient land use in urban areas.

Private investment and other innovative forms of financing of metro projects have been made compulsory to meet resource demand for capital intensive high capacity metro projects.

No central assistance can be availed without the PPP component. Private participation either for complete provision of metro rail or for some unbundled components such as Automatic Fare Collection and Operation and Maintenance of Services will form an essential requirement for all metro rail projects that seek financial assistance from the central government.

The policy also seeks to ensure last-mile connectivity by focusing on a catchment area of five km on either side of metro stations requiring states to commit to provide connectivity through feeder services, walking and cycling pathways and introduction of para-transport facilities.

The states proposing new metro projects will be required to indicate in project report the proposals and investments that would be made for such services.

The policy also makes it mandatory to set up Urban Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) to prepare Comprehensive Mobility Plans for cities for ensuring complete multi-modal integration for optimal utilisation of capacities.

The new policy empowers states to make rules and regulations and set up permanent Fare Fixation Authority for timely revision of fares.

The states would also be required to commit to accord all required permissions and approvals.

States can take up metro projects exercising any of the three options for availing central assistance -- PPP with central assistance under the viability gap funding scheme of the Finance Ministry, Grant by the government under which 10 per cent of the project cost will be given as lump sum central assistance and 50:50 equity sharing model between the central and state governments.

The policy requires the states to clearly indicate in the project report the measures to be taken for commercial property development at stations and on other urban land, and for other means of maximum non-fare revenue generation such as advertisements and lease of space.

Under the policy, states need to adopt innovative mechanisms like Value Capture Financing tools. They would also be required to enable low-cost debt capital through issuance of corporate bonds for metro projects.

The policy mandates alternate analysis including evaluation of other modes such as Bus Rapid Transit System and provides for rigorous assessment of new metro proposals.

The policy envisages private sector participation in O & M of metro services in different ways. These include:

Cost plus fee contract: Private operator is paid a monthly/annual payment for O&M of system. This can have a fixed and variable component depending on the quality of service. Operational and revenue risk is borne by the owner.

Gross Cost Contract: Private operator is paid a fixed sum for the duration of the contract. Operator to bear the O&M risk while the owner bears the revenue risk.

Net Cost Contract: Operator collects the complete revenue generated for the services provided. If revenue generation is below the O&M cost, the owner may agree to compensate.

INTETRNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline

India will host the next steering committee meeting of the proposed 1,814 kilometre-long Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline.

About TAPI:

TAPI will run 1,800 km, 200 km through Turkmenistan (starting from Galkynysh gas field in Turkmenistan's eastern Mary province), 773 km through Herat and Kandahar provinces, Afghanistan, and 827 km through Multan and Quetta, Pakistan, to end at Fazilka in northern Punjab province, India .

TAPI will carry 90 million standard cu m/day (MMscmd) of natural gas from the 16-tcf Galkynysh field (formerly South Yolotan-Osman) for 30 years, with India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan originally set to have received 38, 38, and 14 MMscmd, respectively.

Afghanistan, however, has reduced its requirement to just 1.5-4 MMscmd, opening the possibility of India and Pakistan's share growing to as much as 44.25 MMscmd each.

Analysis:

Turkmenistan would benefit the most from TAPI through diversification of its export base. TAPI would ensure not only pipeline connectivity but also diplomatic connectivity between Turkmenistan and South Asia, most importantly India.

Turkmenistan has the world's fourth largest gas reserves behind only Iran, Russia, and Qatar .Despite such huge gas potential, Turkmenistan has so far failed to reap the benefits of exports, primarily due to a lack of developed infrastructure and being surrounded by other oil and gas producing nations such as Iran, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.

In Afghanistan, where only 43% of the population has access to electricity,12 the TAPI pipeline could be an economic boon. Aside from the $400 million/year of transit fees, equal to about 1.965% of Afghanistan's 2014 GDP, the project would provide jobs to 25,000 Afghans. Natural gas will offer Afghanistan a cheaper power-generation alternative to the diesel-based generation supported by the US government 2008-15

Pakistan, in an effort to address chronic energy shortages, has recently agreed to buy LNG from Qatar for 15 years, from 2016-2030.

It will bring India much needed energy at competitive pricing, and could easily supply about 15% of India’s projected needs by the time it is completed in the 2020s.

This project also gives India an opportunity to secure its interest in Central Asia. TAPI’s success will also ensure that India, Pakistan and Afghanistan find ways of cooperating on other issues as well.

Security remains TAPI's foremost concern, particularly in the wake of the drawdown of US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces. Some regions of the pipeline route are under Taliban control, particularly the Greshk district of southern Helmand province. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has pledged a 7,000-strong force to guard the pipeline and its construction but it is unclear if he has had contact with the Taliban regarding TAPI's security.

Similar concerns remain regarding Pakistan's Balochistan province, through which the pipeline will pass. Ongoing separatist movements in the province already attack gas pipelines passing through it.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Blockchain technology

Mastercard is working on a network that can incorporate the benefits of blockchain technology while meeting the requirements of a globally distributed financial network. In this regard, it has asked for a clear regulatory framework in India that lays down what blockchain can be used for.

What is blockchain technology?

A blockchain is an anonymous online ledger that uses data structure to simplify the way we transact. Blockchain allows users to manipulate the ledger in a secure way without the help of a third party.

A bank's ledger is connected to a centralised network. However, a blockchain is anonymous, protecting the identities of the users. This makes blockchain a more secure way to carry out transactions.

The algorithm used in blockchain reduces the dependence on people to verify the transactions. This technology used for recording various transactions has the potential to disrupt the financial system.

How it works?

Blockchain enables two entities that do not know each other to agree that something is true without the need of a third party.

As opposed to writing entries into a single sheet of paper, a blockchain is a distributed database that takes a number of inputs and places them into a block. Each block is then 'chained' to the next block using a cryptographic signature.

This allows blockchains to be used as a ledger which is accessible by anyone with permission to do so. If everyone in the process is pre-selected, the ledger is termed 'permissioned'. If the process is open to the whole world, the ledger is called unpermissioned."

Benefits of blockchain technology

Disintermediation & trustless exchange : Two parties are able to make an exchange without the oversight or intermediation of a third party, strongly reducing or even eliminating counterparty risk.

Empowered users : Users are in control of all their information and transactions.

High quality data : Blockchain data is complete, consistent, timely, accurate, and widely available.

Durability, reliability, and longevity : Due to the decentralized networks, blockchain does not have a central point of failure and is better able to withstand malicious attacks.

Process integrity : Users can trust that transactions will be executed exactly as the protocol commands removing the need for a trusted third party.

Transparency and immutability : Changes to public blockchains are publicly viewable by all parties creating transparency, and all transactions are immutable, meaning they cannot be altered or deleted.

Ecosystem simplification : With all transactions being added to a single public ledger, it reduces the clutter and complications of multiple ledgers.

Faster transactions: Interbank transactions can potentially take days for clearing and final settlement, especially outside of working hours. Blockchain transactions can reduce transaction times to minutes and are processed 24/7.

Lower transaction costs : By eliminating third party intermediaries and overhead costs for exchanging assets, blockchains have the potential to greatly reduce transaction fees.

Scientists discover new tectonic plate

A team of researchers from Rice University in Texas have discovered a new tectonic plat Malpelo e off the coast of Ecuador. There were 56 plates; now, there are 57.

About Malpelo:

Scientists discovered the microplate — which they’ve dubbed “Malpelo” — while analyzing the movements of what they believed to be the convergence of a trio of plates.

Researchers were studying the coming together of a major tectonic plate and two smaller plates.

Evidence for the Malpelo plate came with the researchers’ identification of a diffuse plate boundary that runs from the Panama Transform Fault eastward to where the diffuse plate boundary intersects a deep oceanic trench just offshore of Ecuador and Colombia.

A diffuse boundary is best described as a series of many small, hard-to-spot faults rather than a ridge or transform fault that sharply defines the boundary of two plates. Because earthquakes along diffuse boundaries tend to be small and less frequent than along transform faults, there was little information in the seismic record to indicate this one's presence.

About Plates:

The plates make up Earth's outer shell, called the lithosphere. (This includes the crust and uppermost part of the mantle.) Churning currents in the molten rocks below propel them along like a jumble of conveyor belts in disrepair. Most geologic activity stems from the interplay where the plates meet or divide.

The movement of the plates creates three types of tectonic boundaries: convergent, where plates move into one another; divergent, where plates move apart; and transform, where plates move sideways in relation to each other.

They move at a rate of one to two inches (three to five centimeters) per year.

Global Environment Facility (GEF) Grant Agreement

India and World Bank has signed an agreement of USD 24.64 million for “Ecosystem Service Improvement Project”.

This project will be financed by the World Bank out of its GEF Trust Fund.

About Ecosystem Service Improvement Project:

The objective of the Project is to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Departments of Forestry and Community Organisations to enhance forest ecosystem services and improve the livelihoods of forest dependent communities in Central Indian Highlands.

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) will implement the Project in the States of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh through Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education under the National Mission for Green India.

Measures to be taken under this project:

Using only approved and safe bio-control agents and following release and documentation protocols.

Avoiding using general bio-control agents; use host-specific ones for targeted species.

Promoting use of bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides.

Ensuring that legitimate users are not denied access to resources as a result of declaration.

Establishing village level participatory monitoring protocols and social audit arrangements for the project.

Creating village level household beneficiary lists and identifying the most poor, farthest, marginal, and backward beneficiaries.

Ensuring convergence for alternative employment or income for landless livestock owners during common property resources (CPR) restoration.

About GEF:

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to help tackle our planet’s most pressing environmental problems. Since then, the GEF has provided over $17 billion in grants and mobilized an additional $88 billion in financing for more than 4000 projects in 170 countries.

India’s Exclusive Rights to Explore Polymetallic Nodules Extended

India’s exclusive rights to explore polymetallic nodules from seabed in Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) have been extended by five years.

This has been approved unanimously in the 23rd session of International Seabed Authority (ISA) concluded recently at Kingston, Jamaica.

The rights extended are over 75000 sq. km of area in international waters allocated by International Seabed Authority for developmental activities for polymetallic nodules.

The estimated polymetallic nodule resource potential in this region is 380 million tonnes, containing 4.7 million tonnes of nickel, 4.29 million tonnes of copper and 0.55 million tonnes of cobalt and 92.59 million tonnes of manganese.

About Polymetallic nodules

Polymetallic nodules are rounded accretions of manganese and iron hydroxides that cover vast areas of the seafloor, but are most abundant on abyssal plains at water depths of 4000-6500 metres.

They form through the aggregation of layers of iron and manganese hydroxides around a central particle (such as a shell or small rock fragment), and range in size from a few millimeters to tens of centimeters.

Growth of these nodules is extremely slow, at a rate of millimetres per million years, and they remain on the seafloor surface, often partially buried in a thin later of sediment.

The composition of nodules varies with their environment of formation, but in additon to manganese and iron, they can contain nickel, copper and cobalt in commercially attractive concentrations as well as traces of other valuable metals such as molybdenum, zirconium and REEs.

About ISA:

International Seabed Authority (ISA) is a UN body set up to regulate the exploration and exploitation of marine non-living resources of oceans in international waters. India actively contributes to the work of International Seabed Authority. Last year, India was re-elected as a member of Council of ISA. India’s nominees on Legal and Technical Commission and Finance Committee of the ISA were also elected last year

Digital Police Portal under CCTNS project

A digital police portal under the CCTNS project, which aims to create a national database of crimes and criminals, was recently launched by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

The Digital Police Portal will enable citizens to register FIRs online and the portal will initially offer seven Public Delivery Services in 34 States & UTs, like Person and Address Verification e.g. of employees, tenants, nurses etc, permission for hosting Public Events, Lost & Found Articles and Vehicle theft etc. Besides, the portal will enable restricted access to law enforcement agencies on topics such as Antecedent Verification and make assessment of FIRs.

About CCTNS project

CCTNS is a Mission Mode Project under the National e-Governance Pan of Govt of India. CCTNS aims at creating a comprehensive and integrated system for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of policing through adopting of principle of e-Governance and creation of a nationwide networking infrastructure for evolution of IT-enabled-state-of-the-art tracking system around 'Investigation of crime and detection of criminals'. An allocation of Rs. 2000 crores has been made for CCTNS Project. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the project on 19.06.2009. Expression of Interest (EOS) has been invited from the Software developers by 17.08.2009. We are in the process of finalizing an MoU between NCRB on behalf of Government of India and the Software Developing Agency. The objectives of the Scheme can broadly be listed as follows:

1. Make the Police functioning citizen friendly and more transparent by automating the functioning of

Police Stations.

2. Improve delivery of citizen-centric services through effective usage of ICT.

3. Provide the Investigating Officers of the Civil Police with tools, technology and information to facilitate

investigation of crime and detection of criminals.

4. Improve Police functioning in various other areas such as Law and Order, Traffic Management etc.

5. Facilitate Interaction and sharing of Information among Police Stations, Districts, State/UT headquarters

and other Police Agencies.

6. Assist senior Police Officers in better management of Police Force

7. Keep track of the progress of Cases, including in Courts

8. Reduce manual and redundant Records keeping

QUICK FACTS

According to Forbes magazine, Highest paid actress for year 2017 is :Emma Stone

World Honey Bee Day is observed on - 19th August

Sadbhavana Diwas is organized on - 20 August

New Chief executive of India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL)- Sankara Rao

New Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) - Santosh Sharma

New MD and CEO of Karur Vysya Bank - P R Seshadri

Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India - Sohail Mahmood