polity & governance 1 · polity & governance) .....19 12. what a petition on citizenship...

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Table of Contents

Polity & Governance .......................................................... 1

1. How child rapes led to four death sentences (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II;

Polity & Governance) ..................................................................................................................... 1

2. How India identifies citizens (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; Polity &

Governance) ................................................................................................................................... 2

3. How Parliament has amended anti-graft law (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II;


4. How is seniority decided in the SC? (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; Polity &

Governance) ................................................................................................................................... 6

5. How Rajya Sabha elects Deputy Chairperson (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II;


6. Reform with some concessions: What SC order means for Cricket Board (Relevant for GS

Prelims, GS Mains Paper I; Polity & Governance)) ................................................................... 10

7. Beyond Delhi: how law makes begging a crime (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper

II; Polity & Governance) .............................................................................................................. 12

8. In Fact: In call for separate North Karnataka, some old wounds, some new politics

(Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; Polity & Governance) ...................................... 13

9. How, why Bill proposes to let NRIs nominate proxies to vote on their behalf (Relevant for

GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; Polity & Governance) .............................................................. 15

10. India and Pakistan: How they differ on key constitutional questions (Relevant for GS

Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; Polity & Governance) ................................................................... 17

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11. Naga agreement: three years in the making (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II;

Polity & Governance) ................................................................................................................... 19

12. What a petition on citizenship law could mean to Assam NRC update (Relevant for GS


13. How Maharashtra law defines dangerous persons (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains

Paper II; Polity & Governance) ................................................................................................... 23

14. Cap on election expenses by parties and candidates: where things stand (Relevant for GS


15. Why court acquitted two in 1981 Indian Airlines flight hijack case (Relevant for GS Mains

Paper II; Polity & Governance) ................................................................................................... 26

16. India s tightrope walk on Maldives (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; Polity &

Governance) ................................................................................................................................. 27

17. TADA to UAPA, what India s terror laws say (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II;

Polity & Governance) ................................................................................................................... 29

18. Drone regulations: how, where Indians can fly from December 1 onward (Relevant for GS


International Organizations and Relations ............ 32

1. Import of dual-use tech from US: Dual use, multiple benefits (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS

Mains Paper II; IOBR) ....................................................................................................................... 32

2. Hope in Harare? — on victory in Zimbabwe elections (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains

Paper II; IOBR) .................................................................................................................................. 34

3. What lies behind India s Africa outreach? (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II;

IOBR) ................................................................................................................................................... 35

4. Re-imposed US sanctions on Iran kick in — what they are, what it means (Relevant for GS

Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; IOBR) .................................................................................................. 36








5. Why Antigua and Barbuda for citizenship? (Relevant for GS prelims, GS Mains II; IOBR) .. 38

6. On road to Mandalay, beyond (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; IOBR) ............. 41

7. India-Pakistan trade: status, outlook (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; IOBR) 44

8. India-Pakistan, cricket and politics (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; IOBR) .... 46

9. Kerala floods: Why India turned down UAE offer — a 2004 policy, its symbolic signal

(Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; IOBR) ................................................................... 49

10. A year after Doklam face-off (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; IOBR)................ 52

Geography .......................................................................... 56

1. Bermuda Triangle mystery solved? Experts claim 100-feet rogue waves behind

disappearances (Adapted from GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper I; Geography) ......................... 56

2. What a liquid water lake reveals and conceals about Mars (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS

Mains Paper I; Geography) ......................................................................................................... 57

3. Why, for only third time, Idukki dam is open (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper I;

geography) ................................................................................................................................... 59

Economics ........................................................................... 61

1. Online shopping set to change (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Economics) . 61

2. Position of India s forex reserves (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Economics)

....................................................................................................................................................... 62

3. Why a currency war is a worry (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Economics) 63

4. What makes an airport fit for night landing: lighting, landing guidance (Relevant for GS

Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Economics) ...................................................................................... 65

5. Politics and economics: The rupee s Turkish worries ............................................................. 67

6. The data that's making growth under Manmohan Singh look so good (Relevant for GS

Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Economics) .................................................................................. 71








7. Why a few hold most mutual funds assets (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III;

Economics) ................................................................................................................................... 72

Environment ....................................................................... 76

1. How do roads impact wildlife, and why should anyone bother? (GS Prelims, GS Mains

Paper III; Environment & Biodiversity) ........................................................................................ 76

2. What is a national disaster ? (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Internal

Security & Disaster Management) ................................................................................................. 78

3. Kerala floods: The prescriptions for the Western Ghats (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains

Paper III; Environment & Biodiversity) ........................................................................................ 80

4. Cyclone Warning Centre to be set up in Thiruvananthapuram within a month (Relevant

for GS Prelims; Disaster Management) ......................................................................................... 84

Science & Technology ....................................................... 84

1. Research, training needed: Why snakebites remain a burden for India (Relevant for GS

Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Science & Technology) .................................................................. 84

2. How mosquito vs mosquito can fight dengue (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III;

Science & Technology) ..................................................................................................................... 86

3. Clampdown on oxytocin: why, what now (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III;


4. Gaganyan: How to send an Indian into space (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III;


5. What Cosmos Bank s Rs 94 crore online fraud says of bank security (Read only for

understanding, Science & Technology) ......................................................................................... 92

6. How Chandrayaan-1 helped confirm and reconfirm water on the Moon (Relevant for GS

Prelims, GS mains Paper III; Science & Technology) .................................................................. 93








7. Why biofuel for aircraft holds out promise, but isn t ready to fly yet (Relevant for GS

Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Science & Technology) .................................................................. 95

8. How Johnson and Johnson hip implants system went wrong (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS

Mains Paper III; Science & Technology)........................................................................................ 97

Social Issues .................................................................... 102

1. Who are Dhangars, why demand for ST status is a challenge for Maharashtra (Relevant

for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper I; Social Issues) ........................................................................ 102

2. Indians online: One in five harassed, here is how, why (Relevant for GS Mains Paper I;

Social Issues) .................................................................................................................................... 103

3. In the running of children s homes, the rules that apply — or do not (Relevant for GS

Mains Paper II; Social Issues) ....................................................................................................... 105

4. What is Sikh pilgrim corridor to Pakistan (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper I;

Social Issues) .................................................................................................................................... 107

Miscellaneous ................................................................. 110

1. Maths that won Fields Medal: number theory diversified, optimal transport (Relevant for

GS Prelims) ....................................................................................................................................... 110






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Polity and Governance

1. How child rapes led to four death sentences (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains

Paper II; Polity & Governance)

Change in criminal law?

In the three months since April 21, when the government promulgated the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance providing for the death penalty for the rape of girls below age 12 — the Ordinance has been replaced by the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018, passed by Lok Sabha — courts in at least two states have already sentenced four convicts to death under the provisions of the Ordinance. Corresponding state laws

These states are Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, both of which had also passed their own laws with the same provision. Their Bills were pending central clearance when the Ordinance took effect. Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh, too, had passed similar laws providing for the death sentence for the rape of girls below age 12. The Madhya Pradesh Assembly unanimously passed its Dand Vidhi (Madhya Pradesh Sanshodhan) Vidheyak on December 4, 2017, proposing amendments to sections of the IPC and CrPC, and was waiting for the President s assent when the Centre passed the Ordinance. The Rajasthan government had passed its Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill in March. It introduced sections 376AA (rape for girls up to age 12) and 376DD (gangrape for girls up to age 12), with both offences punishable with death. On July 21, special judge Jagendra Kumar Agarwal of Alwar s SC/ST court convicted Pintu, 19, for raping a seven-month-old child on May 9 this year, and sentenced him to death under Section 376AB of the central Ordinance. Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh too had passed their Bills in March, with similar provisions. After the Ordinance came, Haryana informed the Centre that the state was adopting the law, DGP B S Sandhu said. Application of new law

This month, courts in the state have passed two death sentences under provisions of the Ordinance. On July 7, a court in Rehli of Sagar district sentenced Bhaggi alias Narayan Patel, 40, to death for the rape of a nine-year-old child in a temple on May 21. Bhaggi was arrested on May 22, and the chargesheet was filed within 72 hours. On July 27, Rajkumar Kol, 35, an autorickshaw driver, was sentenced to death by a POCSO court for the rape of a kindergarten student in Katni town. She had told her mother that the auto wale bhaiyya had kissed her, penetrated her with his finger, beaten her, and asked

not to disclose it to anyone. Kol, who drove the six-year-old girl to school, was arrested on






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July 7, and the chargesheet was filed on July 18. He was sentenced to death under IPC section 376 AB, introduced by way of the amendment. Also on July 27, Jitendra Kushwah, an ice candy vendor, was given a double death sentence by a Gwalior court for raping and killing a six-year-old girl he had lured from a wedding hall in the intervening night of June 20 and 21. He was arrested on June 22, the chargesheet was filed 10 days later. The double death sentence was handed under sections 376AB as well as 302. Besides these, there have been four more death sentences in rape cases in Madhya Pradesh this year. Two verdicts came before the Ordinance came into effect. While the other two came after the Ordinance, they related to rapes that predated the Ordinance. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

2. How India identifies citizens (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; Polity &

Governance)

The issue of citizenship has been dominating the public discourse since Monday, when Assam released the draft of an updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) leaving out 40 lakh of 3.29 crore applicants for inclusion. What determines who is or is not a citizen of India? And what are the special circumstances in Assam, the only state with an NRC? How is citizenship determined in India?

Indian citizenship can be acquired by birth, descent, registration and naturalisation. A person domiciled in India as on November 26, 1949 — the date when the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution — automatically became a citizen if he or either of his parents was born in India, or if he had been in India for at least five years until that date. For those born in India after the Constitution came into effect, the Citizenship Act, 1955, grants citizenship by birth based on birth dates. Anyone born between January 26, 1950 and July 1, 1987 is a citizen by birth; a person between July 1, 1987 and December 3, 2004 is a citizen by birth if either of his parents is a citizen of India at the time; those born on or after December 3, 2004 is a citizen by birth if both parents are citizens of India at the time, or if one parent is a citizen and the other is not an illegal migrant — defined as a foreigner who entered India without valid documents, or stayed beyond the allowed period Citizenship by registration can be acquired by persons of Indian origin who have lived in India for 7 years before applying, persons of Indian origin who live in any country outside undivided India, persons married to a citizen of India and who have lived in India for 7 years before the application. Any minor child can be registered as a citizen if the government is satisfied that there are special circumstances. Is it possible for a foreigner with no connection to India (marriage, descent etc) to

become a citizen of India ?






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This is citizenship by naturalisation. Any foreigner, provided he is not an illegal migrant, can acquire citizenship, provided he has stayed in India for 12 consecutive months preceding the date of application, and for 11 years out of the preceding the 14 years. Is citizenship permanent?

Under Section 9(1) of the 1955 Act, a person ceases to be a citizen if he or she voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country or renounces Indian citizenship. India does not allow dual citizenship. Under Section 10, anyone who has become a citizen of India by naturalization or by registration due to marriage to an Indian citizen can be deprived of the citizenship by the Home Ministry for certain reasons. How is Assam different? Why a separate National Register of Citizens?

This is because of a history of migration. During British rule, Assam was merged with Bengal Presidency for administrative purpose. From 1826 to 1947, the British continuously brought migrant workers to Assam for cheap labour in tea plantations. Two major waves of migration came after British rule — first after Partition, from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), and then in the aftermath of the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971. This eventually led to an agitation during 1979-85, led by the All Assam Students Union. It culminated in the 1985 Assam Accord signed with the Rajiv Gandhi government, under which illegal migrants were to be identified and deported. Clause 6A was inserted in the Citizenship Act with special provisions for Assam. What are those provisions?

These take into account two cutoff dates — January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971. Anyone who was a resident of Assam before the first date is a citizen. Migrants who entered on any day between these two dates, and remained there, would need to register with a Foreigners Tribunal. For 10 years, they would have all rights of a citizen except the right to vote, which would be granted at the end of 10 years. Finally, migrants who entered Assam on or after March 25, 1971, are not eligible for citizenship.

Is this not the cutoff date for NRC, too?

Yes. For inclusion, applicants need to prove that they — or their parents, grandparents etc — were citizens before March 25, 1971. Those who could not prove this, as well as their offspring, have been excluded. Assam already has an NRC, prepared in 1951 with 80 lakh citizens, on the basis of that year s Census. In 2003, the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules were amended for updating the NRC in order to identify genuine citizens. What was the mechanism for identifying migrants earlier?

When Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister, the government introduced the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act, applicable only to Assam. Against the Foreigners Act that was in force elsewhere, the IMDT Act was seen as ineffective as the burden of proof of someone being a foreigner was on the accuser and not on the state or the accused. In 2005, the Supreme Court struck down IMDT Act on a petition filed by Sarbananda Sonowal, then an AGP leader, now Assam Chief Minister and a BJP leader.






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Before the NRC update, Assam was witnessing protests over the Citizenship

Amendment Bill. What was this about?

In 2016, the Centre introduced amendments to the Citizenship Act to grant citizenship to religious minorities (mostly Hindus and including other non-Muslims) from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who took shelter in India. The Bill relaxes norms for granting them citizenship by decreasing the residency requirement from 11 years to six years. In Assam, where the agitation was against migrants irrespective of religion, this has led to protests. The Bill is currently pending with a Joint Parliamentary Committee. Is there a similar situation for migrants in any other state?

In Arunachal Pradesh, a demand for citizenship to Chakmas has been pending for decades. While the Centre is keen to grant them citizenship, it is being opposed by the state government. In Kashmir, West Pakistan refugees are allowed to vote in national elections but not in Assembly elections. Assam s updated National Register of Citizens, which has listed 2.89 crore citizens, has left out 40 lakh others who could not prove their citizenship. How did the 2.89 crore prove that they were citizens? NRC officials verified two kinds of evidence — legacy data , or any one of 12 admissible documents. Legacy data is a collective term for a set of legacy documents , comprising Assam s 1951 NRC and electoral rolls up to 1971. Anyone named in any of these legacy documents, as well as their descendants, were eligible for the updated NRC. Legacy data were available in photocopies (area-specific) at NRC Seva Kendras, which also had digitised legacy data (all-Assam). For every entry in these documents, a unique 11-digit legacy data code was generated; every applicant had to submit either her own legacy data code, or that of an ancestor. For those who could not link their ancestry to these legacy records, the option was to submit any one of 12 documents — land/tenancy records; citizenship certificate; permanent residential certificate; refugee registration certificate; passport; LIC policy; govt licence/certificate; govt service certificate; bank/post office accounts; birth certificate; board/university educational certificate; court records — provided that the document was dated before the 1971 cutoff. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

3. How Parliament has amended anti-graft law (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains


Parliament last month passed crucial amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, changing definitions and giving the anti-graft law more teeth. In the nearly five years since The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013 was introduced in Rajya Sabha, the proposed amendments have been discussed by a Parliamentary Standing Committee, which submitted its report in 2014, the Law Commission, which gave an extensive report in 2015, and finally a Select Committee of Rajya Sabha, which studied the amendments over 15 sittings and several field visits before finalising its recommendations in August 2016. The content, tone and tenor of The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2018, passed by Rajya Sabha on July 19 and by Lok Sabha on July 24, reflect these detailed deliberations.






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Bribe, bribe-giver

The Bill describes bribe as an undue advantage , an expression used by the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, which India ratified in 2011. Any gratification other than legal remuneration (official salaries and perks) received by a public servant can be construed as an undue advantage. Gratification would include things that can t be measured in money, as well as gifts . While endorsing the expression undue advantage , however, the Select Committee cautioned that enforcement/probe agencies may misuse the said expression to harass public servant as well as members of civil society in corruption cases , and advised that adequate precautions be taken. As per the changed law, a collusive bribe giver can be punished with up to seven years in jail, and fined. The Select Committee wanted courts to decide the minimum punishment for bribe givers on the merits of the specific case. Someone who is forced to give a bribe to avail of a service — a coercive bribe giver — is treated differently, however. During the discussion in Lok Sabha, the Congress gave the example of a father who is forced to bribe a government doctor to have his child admitted to hospital. Under the changed law, anyone who is forced to give such a bribe can inform the authorities within seven days to escape punishment. Minister Jitendra Singh assured Lok Sabha that the government would consider increasing this window, given that its beginning may change depending on the circumstances of the bribe-giving. Activists have warned that corrupt officials may delay providing services until seven days after taking the bribe, to escape this provision. Punishment, faster

Punishment for corruption has been enhanced to a minimum three years in jail, extendable up to seven years with fine, from the earlier 6 months with an extension up to three years. Repeat offenders will attract 5-10 years in prison, with a fine. A corruption case must be ordinarily concluded between two and four years from the date of filing the case. The

Select Committee had found cases often went on for 20 years currently. The use of the word ordinarily is intended to provide for situations in which the judiciary may feel an extension is required, the government told Lok Sabha. Permission first

A new provision says government functionaries at all levels, including those who are retired, can be prosecuted only with the permission of the competent authority . Earlier, this immunity was available only to officials of the level of Joint Secretary and above. The request for permission (granted or denied) must be processed within three months. The government has argued that this provision would mitigate corruption and check undue harassment of honest public servants. A public servant who is found to be in possession of assets disproportionate to his/her legal sources of income will be deemed to have committed criminal misconduct , and will have to explain the sources of those assets. Law enforcers have been empowered to immediately attach the illegal property of a public servant, invoking provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Possession of illicit property is cause for






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investigation/prosecution.A new provision criminalises corporate bribery by bringing in superior functionaries of a commercial organisation into the ambit of direct

accountability, if an employee/agent is found to have bribed with their approval, for advancement of the organisation s interests. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

4. How is seniority decided in the SC? (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II;

Polity & Governance)

What was the significance of the Supreme Court Collegium recommending Justice K M Joseph first among three judges for elevation? What changes after government placed him third in its list? On Monday, a day ahead of the swearing-in of three new judges in the Supreme Court, a section of sitting judges met Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and lodged their protest against the lowering in seniority of one of the three new judges in the government notification on the appointments. The government has placed Justice K M Joseph last in seniority, after Justices Indira Banerjee and Vineet Saran, although the SC Collegium had recommended his name ahead of the other two. How is the seniority of judges in the Supreme Court decided?

It is decided on the basis of date of induction in the Supreme Court. A judge who takes oath earlier becomes senior to another who takes oath later. In cases where warrants for appointment of judges to Supreme Court are issued by the government on different dates, the seniority is automatically decided by virtue of the dates of swearing-in by the CJI. There is no stated rule, whether in the current Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) or the draft MoP that is under finalisation, to decide the seniority of judges whose warrants of appointment are issued on the same date. As the warrants are issued by the government in a sequence, the practice has been for the CJI to administer the oath in the same order. For example, the warrants for appointment of current CJI Misra and now retired Justice J Chelameswar were issued on the same day but, as Misra s warrant was numbered above that of Justice Chelameswar, he was sworn in first. This ensured that he became CJI, deemed as senior to Justice Chelameswar. On what basis are the warrants issued by the government?

These are on the basis of the recommendation of the Collegium, which comprises the five most senior SC judges. The Collegium s recommendations for any name can be returned by the government, but if the Collegium reiterates the name, the government is bound to issue the warrant of appointment. The procedure for this is laid down in the MoP. Article 124(2) of the Constitution says: Every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with such of the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts in the States as the President may deem necessary for the purpose and shall hold office until he attains the age






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of sixty-five years. Provided that in the case of appointment of a Judge other than the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of India shall always be consulted. What does the Collegium consider while making the recommendation?

As per the judgment in the Second Judges case which led to the current Collegium system, it is a subjective process that doesn t just follow the seniority list. The Collegium, along with merit, is also supposed to consider the suitability of a person for elevation to the Supreme Court, and as stated in the MoP, it looks at seniority of judges in the All India High Court Judges Seniority List and broadly tries to ensure balanced representation of various high courts. For example, Justice J S Khehar was junior to both Justices Misra and Chelameswar in the High Court seniority list but was elevated to the Supreme Court a few months before them. This led to him becoming the CJI, which would not have been possible if he had been elevated along with the other two, who came to the High Court before him. What is the current controversy around Justice Joseph s seniority?

The Collegium had recommended the name of Justice Joseph, Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court, on January 10 for elevation to the Supreme Court, along with the name of then senior advocate Indu Malhotra. In April, the government issued the warrant of appointment for (now Justice) Malhotra but returned the name of Justice Joseph. On July 16, the Collegium reiterated Justice Joseph s name. The same day, it also recommended the names of Justices Banerjee and Saran for elevation but segregated the reiteration of Justice Joseph s name from the two new recommendations, making it the first file, so that his case remains separate and first in the list. On Friday, the government issued the three warrants, with Justice Joseph s seniority placed after Justices Banerjee and Saran in the order in which warrants were issued. This means he will be junior to the two judges, whose names were recommended in July while his name was originally recommended in January. Why are some SC judges upset about it?

As per the unanimous Collegium resolution of January 10, Justice Joseph was found to be more deserving and suitable in all respects than other Chief Justices and senior Puisne

Judges of High Courts for being appointed as Judges of the Supreme Court of India . Some judges of the Supreme Court feel that the established procedure for determining seniority of judges has been violated by the government, to deliberately slight the judiciary, a position which should not be acceptable to the CJI. While none of these three judges are in a position to become the CJI, if the principle of seniority is followed while appointing the CJI, it does affect the membership of the Collegium. If more senior to his two colleagues, Justice Joseph would have started heading benches earlier. What is the government s argument about placing Justice Joseph third in seniority?

The government stand is that as it received all three names — one reiteration and two recommendations — on the same day, it treated all of them as equal, going by the principle of their inter-se seniority in the All India High Court Judges Seniority List. It did not consider the original dates of recommendation as having a bearing on the warrants.






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(Adapted from The Indian Express)

5. How Rajya Sabha elects Deputy Chairperson (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains


The new Deputy Chairperson of Rajya Sabha will be elected Thursday. The Deputy Chairman is a constitutional position created under Article 89 of the Constitution, which specifies that Rajya Sabha shall choose one of its MPs to be the Deputy Chairman as often as the position becomes vacant. The office becomes vacant either by resignation or removal from office or when the Rajya Sabha member s term gets over. The last Deputy Chair of Rajya Sabha was Prof P J Kurien, whose tenure in Rajya Sabha ended on July 1. Procedure

The process of electing the Deputy Chair is straightforward. Any Rajya Sabha MP can submit a motion proposing the name of a colleague for this constitutional position. They have until Wednesday afternoon to do so. The motion has to be seconded by another MP. Additionally, the member moving the motion has to submit a declaration signed by the MP whose name s/he is proposing stating that the MP is willing to serve as the Deputy Chairperson if elected. Each MP is allowed to move or second only one motion. On Wednesday, the valid motions will be taken up in the House a little after 11 am when the House convenes. If there are motions that propose the names of more than one MP, then the majority of the House will decide who gets elected as the Deputy Chairperson. But if the political parties arrive at a consensus candidate, then that MP will be unanimously elected as the Deputy Chair. Elections so far

Since 1952, there have been 19 elections for the post. On 14 of these occasions, there was no contest in the election. 1969 was the first time that two MPs were in contention for the position of the Deputy Chair. By then, S V Krishnamoorthy Rao, the first Deputy Chair, had already served for a decade, followed by Violet Alva, the first woman Deputy Chair, who held the position for seven years. It was her resignation in 1969 that led to the contest between Dr Bhaurao Dewaji Khobragade and Godey Murahari. The motion for Dr Khobragade to be elected as the Deputy Chair was passed with 128 votes in favour and 60 against. It was the first time that a non-ruling party MP (Dr Khobragade represented Republican Party of India) became the Deputy Chair of Rajya Sabha. When Dr Khobragade s term ended three years later in 1972, Murahari was elected unopposed twice and served until 1977. He then resigned and contested the Lok Sabha election and was elected the Deputy Speaker of the sixth Lok Sabha. He and Krishnamoorthy are the only two individuals who have held the position of Deputy Chair of Rajya Sabha as well as Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha. Ram Niwas Mirdha was the next Deputy Chair, elected in 1977 during the Prime Ministership of Morarji Desai. His election was unanimous. It was also the last time that an






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MP who was from the Opposition (Mirdha was a Congress MP) became the Deputy Chair of Rajya Sabha.

The next contested election happened in 1980. It was between Shyam Lal Yadav, who was from the ruling Congress party and had been Parliamentary Affairs Minister in Uttar Pradesh, and Arvind Ganesh Kulkarni whose name was proposed by Bhupesh Gupta, L K Advani and Piloo Modi. A tally of 134 votes carried the motion in favour of Yadav, with 81 against him. Yadav held the position until the end of 1984. It was in 1985 that Dr Najma Heptulla became the second woman Deputy Chair of Rajya Sabha. During her election, Opposition MPs stated that the ruling party had not consulted them while deciding the candidate and walked out of the House in protest. Her first stint as the Deputy Chair was for a year.






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Her successor was M M Jacob, who was Deputy Chair for less than a year and was succeeded by Pratibha Devisingh Patil who became the third woman Deputy Chair in the Upper House. In 1988, Dr Heptulla was re-elected as the Deputy Chair. And it was her subsequent re-election in 1992 that saw the last contest for the Deputy Chair s position. The motion in her favour received 128 votes with 95 votes against her. The candidate on the other side was Renuka Chowdhury (then TDP). Dr Heptulla continued as the Deputy Chair until 2004. She has been the longest serving Deputy Chair of Rajya Sabha. Since then, K Rahman Khan and Prof P J Kurien have both been elected unopposed. Although the Shiv Sena had given a motion for a candidate against Khan for his first election in 2004, the motion was not moved, following a consensus. The Deputy Chair is the one position that is elected solely by members of Rajya Sabha. It is a critical position not just because s/he steps in when there is a vacancy in the office of Chairperson/Vice President but also because s/he plays a critical role in ensuring the smooth running of the House. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

6. Reform with some concessions: What SC order means for Cricket Board (Relevant

for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper I; Polity & Governance)

The Supreme Court Thursday approved a new draft constitution for the BCCI, with a few tweaks. A look at what it means What is the SC order about?

The order was passed following a comprehensive exercise that involved the amicus curiae taking suggestions from all stakeholders involved with the Board, including the Committee of Administrators (CoA), state associations and office-bearers. The CoA s original draft constitution was prepared in accordance with the recommendations of the Justice Lodha committee that had looked at the functioning of the Board. After the SC approved these in 2016, the BCCI raised a number of objections and even had a review petition dismissed. The slight modifications to the final draft — with relation to the one state, one vote and cooling period issues —that were approved Thursday indicate that the BCCI s objections have been addressed. What is the cooling off issue? According to the Lodha panel report, no officer-bearer either at state or BCCI level was eligible to contest for a succeeding election and would have to serve a three-year cooling period following each term. The BCCI had raised many objections, stating that every office-bearer needed some form of continuity to apply his knowledge and experience to the administration of the game , or to strengthen the BCCI s clout within the ICC. The new constitution has found middle ground, allowing all office-bearers to serve two consecutive terms (six years) before they serve a necessary cooling-off period, but sticking to the






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maximum cumulative term of nine years. These include terms at both state and BCCI level, and/or a combination of both. What does this mean to the current BCCI leadership?

It means there will be a new-look BCCI — all the present office-bearers, including Amitabh Choudhary, Anirudh Chaudhry, Rajeev Shukla and Anurag Thakur, have served nine or more years either on the various committees or as office-bearers. It also means that Sourav Ganguly, one of the prominent office-bearers in the Cricket Association of Bengal, can be in the running for a top BCCI position. And what is one state, one vote ?

Under the one state, one vote recommendation by the Lodha panel, the idea was to ensure representation for every state in the BCCI. The panel had also asked for only one association from each state to be considered a full member and have voting rights. Maharashtra and Gujarat, for example, have three associations each. The BCCI had argued that their geography was different, brought up how some of the smaller states had no cricketing culture, and argued that one state, one vote might end up compromising the influence of established cricketing bastions such as Mumbai and Baroda. Eventually, the BCCI had its way with the new draft constitution restoring full membership to all three associations in both states. What are the other major takeaways from the ruling?

A key one concerns the full membership status for Railways, Services and the Universities. The Lodha panel had recommended stripping them of full membership with a view that this would mean the end of government influence on the BCCI s functioning. A widely held view is that the party in power in New Delhi has control over these institutional votes. The BCCI argued against stripping of full membership, on the ground that the Railways had employed more cricketers than any other institution in the country. The Supreme Court has agreed with the Board s view.

What next for the BCCI and the CoA? The BCCI CEO will present the new constitution to the Registrar of Societies under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act. The Registrar will then register them with the court within four weeks. The state associations then have 30 days to register their respective constitutions and provide a compliance report to the CoA. The CoA will conduct elections at state level, and the newly elected bodies will send their nominees to the BCCI. The new BCCI will adopt the new constitution and then elect their representatives. The CoA had said earlier that this whole process from now on should be completed within 120 days. What does the new structure broadly mean?

At no point has the BCCI had a holistically professional setup, with paid employees executing the decisions adopted by elected members. Even now, part-time office-bearers were performing executive roles. And it s this professional makeover that Justice Lodha and his panel were keen on bringing in. The new structure will allow employed professionals to execute the decisions made by the Apex Council, which for the first time will have well-rounded representation, including players and women cricketers.






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Will the BCCI finally have more transparency?

It is likely, with the BCCI set to come under the RTI Act based on the Lodha panel recommendations and with the appointment of an ombudsman, an election officer and an ethics officer. If you want to ensure accountability and transparency in such an organisation, information must be available to the public at large, Lodha had said on the RTI Act. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

7. Beyond Delhi: how law makes begging a crime (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains


Last week, Delhi High Court decriminalised beggary by striking down, as unconstitutional, certain sections of the Bombay Prevention of Beggary Act, 1959, as extended to Delhi. There being no central Act on beggary, many states and Union Territories have used the Bombay Act as the basis for their own laws. The order, on a petition by Harsh Mander and Karnika Sawhney, is the first in the country to strike down provisions of the 1959 Act. The order

Among the 25 provisions struck down are those permitting the arrest, without a warrant, any person found begging, taking the person to court, conducting a summary inquiry and detaining the person for up to 10 years. People beg on the streets not because they wish to, but because they need to… The government has the mandate to provide social security for everyone, to ensure that all citizens have basic facilities, and the presence of beggars is evidence that the state has not managed to provide these to all its citizens, ruled the Bench of Delhi Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar. The roots

The Act was formulated with the objective of keeping the streets of then Bombay clear of the destitute, leprosy patients or the mentally ill so they could be sent into institutions. Section 10 (struck down) gives a chief commissioner powers to order the immediate, indefinite detention of any person detained in a certified institution who is considered blind, a cripple or otherwise incurably helpless .

What does not change

The court has not struck down provisions that do not treat beggary per se as an offence, including Section 11, which deals with penalty for employing or causing persons to beg. This addresses forced begging or begging rackets , which are used to justify retaining the Act. Activists advocating repeal of the Act, however, say that these can be dealt with existing provisions in the Indian Penal Code. Precedents

The Centre made an attempt at repealing the Act through the Persons in Destitution (Protection, Care and Rehabilitation) Model Bill, 2016, with provisions including doing






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away with the Beggary Act and proposing rehabilitation centres for the destitute in each district. Some provisions allowed detention. Discussion on the Bill was halted in 2016. Campaign against the law

Mohammed Tarique, director of Koshish, the field action project of Tata Institute of Social Sciences, says the Act violates the fundamental rights of the citizen. He calls for intervention in states such as Maharashtra, where the Census categorises 24,307 persons as beggars but where activists believe many more come under the purview of the Act. There are 14 homes in the state for detention of beggars. Many of these homes remain

without superintendents, probation officers or doctors. A few months ago, many were detained in Nashik and sentenced to one year imprisonment without proper trial showing disregard even to the existing law, Tarique said. While repealing the Act would require legislative and judicial intervention, Tarique suggests immediate alternative steps such as the Bihar government s Mukhyamantri Bhikshavriti Nivaran Yojana, where Koshish is a knowledge partner. Instead of detaining persons under the Act, open homes were set up and community outreach for destitute persons was put in place. Now, rehabilitation centres have been set up, with facilities for treatment, family reintegration and vocational training. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

8. In Fact: In call for separate North Karnataka, some old wounds, some new politics

(Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; Polity & Governance)

Three months into his term, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has faced the accusation that his is a government of South Karnataka, for South Karnataka. Flagging the alleged discrimination to the North in the state Budget, a couple of organisations raised a demand for a separate state of North Karnataka last month. BJP legislators B Sriramulu and Umesh Katti joined the clamour, before the party leadership moved in to swat away the idea and distance itself from the demand. So, is there such a thing as a North Karnataka subnationalism? And what explains the

divide, if any, between South and North Karnataka?

History, background

In 1954, at the height of the debate over the unification of Karnataka, Mysore Chief Minister Kengal Hanumanthaiah set up a committee to survey the Kannada-speaking areas scattered across the Bombay Presidency, Hyderabad, and Coorg. Its task was to assess the levels of development in these areas with respect to education, irrigation, and industrialisation. As historian Janaki Nair narrates in her book Mysore Modern: Rethinking the Region under Princely Rule (2011), the committee returned a stark assessment: though united by language, a large chunk of these areas were decades behind the State of Mysore. Under the rule of the Wodeyar king and his dewans, Mysore had achieved many impressive feats. In 1806, it was perhaps the first state to take up vaccination against smallpox.






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According to the first Human Development Report prepared by the government of Karnataka in 1999, the first two birth control clinics in the world were set up by the government of Mysore in 1930. Its emphasis on education and health, and its aid to industries laid the foundations for the state s many public sector institutions. Agriculture boomed thanks to its big dam projects. Mysore became the first state to use electric power to light up a city (Bengaluru). In contrast, the area under the Nizam — which is now known as Hyderabad-Karnataka — remained a feudal and desperately poor place. Bombay-Karnataka, where the demand for a united Kannada-speaking state first emerged in the 20th century, also lagged behind. Both these areas felt alienated from the political regimes that ruled them; unification was a way to seek a new, fairer deal. But for Mysore, the calculation was different: would this model state not be dragged down by embracing the backward regions to its north? Many leaders of Mysore, including Sir M Visvesvaraya, architect of the modern princely state, shared this fear, and were opposed to adding on political units. There was also the question of caste — the Vokkaligas, who were concentrated in the South, feared that a united state would give Lingayats, their rival dominant caste in the northern regions, unprecedented political power. Nevertheless, Hanumanthaiah, also a Vokkaliga, argued that a bigger state would bring about greater and varied development. In 1956, the newly unified state, called Mysore, was formed. It was renamed Karnataka in 1973. Old, new demands

The first demand for a separate state of North Karnataka was made in 2000. Why would the people of the region want to reverse something they had fought for? The reality is that in the decades since 1956, the arid and drought-prone regions of Hyderabad-Karnataka (comprising the districts of Bidar, Gulbarga, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal and Bellary) and Bombay-Karnataka (Bijapur, Hubli-Dharwad, Belagavi, Gadag and Bagalkote districts) have not kept pace with the South. Hyderabad-Karnataka, especially, has areas with alarmingly low HDI indicators, resulting in stunting and malnourishment in children. These are also areas characterised by great inequality. They haven t been able to pull up every section of the society, economist Narendra Pani said. In 2000, Chief Minister S M Krishna s Congress government formed a high-powered committee headed by economist D M Nanjundappa to look into the regional imbalance in the state. The committee confirmed that the northern regions were some of the most backward, and recommended spending Rs 2,000 crore on their development every year, for eight years. In 2012, the UPA government awarded special status to Hyderabad-Karnataka under Article 371J, allocating more funds to the region, and reservation in jobs and education to its residents. Why fresh demand?

Ever since the Kumaraswamy government took oath, there have been rumblings that a Vokkaliga Chief Minister would not do justice to the North. Some of the criticism has come






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from Lingayat leaders in the Congress, who have found themselves out of the Ministry. Certain statements by Kumaraswamy have not helped either. On the BJP side, former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, while saying that his party is against a separate state, has emphasised that the neglect of the northern regions will be an issue in the coming Lok Sabha election . Said Muzaffar Assadi, professor of political science at Mysore University: The sense of underdevelopment in the region is very real and is felt by everyone irrespective of caste. And so, it will be played up again and again. On the ground, in fact, there is no fire of separatism to fan. The statehood demand has few takers among writers, intellectuals and artists of North Karnataka — as well as farmer leaders. Karnataka Pradesh Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao has said that the BJP tried but failed to polarise people . The Congress, he has said, is the only party that is

present across the state, and we do not discriminate against any region . By stirring the pot, the BJP hopes to cash in on the old Lingayat resentment and prevent Kumaraswamy from positioning himself as a pan-Karnataka leader. The BJP is worried that the farm loan waiver is making him popular beyond Old Mysore, said N H Konareddi, the former JD(S) MLA from Navalgund in Dharwad district. How this divide, as old as Karnataka, plays out electorally remains to be seen. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

9. How, why Bill proposes to let NRIs nominate proxies to vote on their behalf


During the recent monsoon session, Lok Sabha passed a Bill that proposes to allow non-resident Indians to use proxies to cast votes on their behalf in Indian elections. How have NRIs been voting so far, and what does the Bill propose to change? What proxy voting means

Voting in an Indian election can be done in three ways — in person, by post and through a proxy. Under proxy voting, a registered elector can delegate his voting power to a representative. This was introduced in 2003 for elections to the Lok Sabha and Assemblies, but on a limited scale. Only a classified service voter — a definition that includes members of the armed forces, BSF, CRPF, CISF, General Engineering Reserve Force and Border Road Organization — is allowed to nominate a proxy to cast vote on his behalf in his absence. A classified service voter can also vote by postal ballot. The Bill

The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2017, proposes to amend Section 60 and extend the facility of proxy voting to Indian voters living abroad. Introduced in Lok Sabha last December and passed last week, it now needs Rajya Sabha s approval. … The said rules (Registration of Electors Rules, 1960) stipulate the physical presence of the overseas electors in the respective polling station in India on the day of polling. This causes






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hardship to the overseas electors in exercising their franchise by being present in India on the day of polling, reads Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad s statement on the objective of the Bill. According to a UN report of 2015, India s diaspora population is the largest in the world at 16 million. Registration of NRI voters, in comparison, has been low. In 2014, 11,846 people were registered as overseas electors , of whom 11,448 were registered in Kerala. According to figures tabled by the government during the winter session of Parliament, the number of NRI voters has risen to 24,348, including 23,556 in Kerala. Nomination of proxies

It is not clear yet how NRIs will nominate their proxies. The Election Commission will lay down the procedure by amending the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, after the Bill is passed by both Houses of Parliament. A classified service voter belonging to the armed forces or a paramilitary force, on the other hand, can appoint a proxy as long as the proxy, too, is a registered voter in the same constituency. The proxy is appointed through Form 13F, signed by the classified service voter and the appointed proxy before a first class magistrate or notary or the commanding officer of the service voter. The form has to be submitted to the returning officer of the seat before the nomination of candidates closes. The proxy will continue to represent the service voter for all polls until the service or the appointment is revoked. Overseas voting, elsewhere

Many countries allow expatriates to vote, with different rules. For instance, a British citizen living abroad can either travel back to the UK to vote in person, or vote by post, or nominate a proxy to do so, but this is subject to eligibility rules that factor in the expatriate s period of stay abroad and the period for which the voter was registered in the UK. Those who were minors at the time of leaving the country can also vote as long as their parent or guardian was registered to vote in the UK. American expatriates can vote for federal office candidates in primary and general elections, irrespective of how long they have been living abroad. Once registered, an overseas Amercian voter will receive a ballot paper by email, fax, or download, depending on the US state. This has to be returned the same way as received. How Bill came about

The Election Commission decided to look for options to enable NRIs to vote from overseas after it received several requests, including from former Rajya Sabha MP and industrialist Naveen Jindal and the Ministry of Overseas Affairs, while three writ petitions were filed by NRIs in the Supreme Court in 2013 and 2014. A 12-member committee was set up in 2014 to study mainly three options — voting by post, voting at an Indian mission abroad and online voting. The committee ruled out online polling as this could compromise secrecy of voting . It also ruled out the proposal to vote at Indian missions abroad as they do not have the resources






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to organise polling. In 2015, the panel finally recommended that NRIs be given the additional alternative options of e-postal ballot and proxy voting , apart from casting their

vote in person. E-postal ballot is a ballot paper that is sent to the voter electronically and returned to the returning officer by post. The Law Ministry accepted the recommendation on proxy voting and the Cabinet passed the proposal to amend the law last August. How parties stand

In 2014, the 12-member Election Committee committee consulted six national parties, of which four attended — BJP, Congress, CPI(M) and CPI. Only the BJP was in favour of proxy voting. Others feared that the proxy voter may not vote as per the wishes of the overseas voter. Further it suffers from an inherent problem of trust deficiency and violates the principle of secrecy of voting and free and fair elections , states the EC report quoting views of political parties opposed to the idea. The government responded to this fear in Parliament stating that the EC will frame rules in such a way that if proxy voting is misused, it will lead to cancellation of the mandate. Former election commissioners too have expressed apprehensions in the past that proxy voting for NRIs could prove a logistical nightmare for the EC. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

10. India and Pakistan: How they differ on key constitutional questions (Relevant for

GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; Polity & Governance)

In his first address to the nation after taking oath Saturday, Prime Minister Imran Khan promised a naya Pakistan that would follow the path envisioned by Jinnah and Iqbal . Jinnah saw Pakistan as a liberal and democratic nation state with equal rights for all citizens, rather than an orthodox Islamic state. As Pakistan begins a new experiment in constitutional democracy, how does its national experience differ from India s with regard to key aspects of government and law? The Constitution

While the preamble to the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan begins with an invocation of Almighty Allah and mentions the Founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah , the Constituent Assembly of India had rejected any reference to God or to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. The preamble to Pakistan s constitution promises adequate provision to safeguard the legitimate interests of minorities and backward and depressed classes , and the independence of the judiciary . The preamble to the constitution of India is more compact — it encapsulates, but doesn t explicitly mention, the rights of minorities and independence of the judiciary. Pakistan s constitution, unlike India s, recognises the right to privacy (which was declared a fundamental right by the Supreme Court last year), and the right to education for children from ages 5 to 16. (The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, gave this right to Indian children between ages 6 and 14.) Pakistan s constitution guarantees the right to information (India passed The Right to Information Act in 2005), and declares human dignity as inviolable. Unlike the Indian constitution, it specifically mentions the






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freedom of the press, but this freedom is subject to the glory of Islam . Pakistan has a regressive and widely abused blasphemy law that carries mandatory death penalty; also, its freedom of religion is conditional, and unlike in India, available only to citizens. The Judiciary

Pakistan s government has no role in the appointment of the country s Chief Justice. Article 175A(3) of the Pakistani constitution says the President shall appoint the seniormost Judge of the Supreme Court as the Chief Justice of Pakistan . While India s Supreme Court in October 2015 struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission — which was intended to decide appointments and transfers of judges of the higher judiciary — Pakistan has had its version of the commission since 2010. There are six judges, a senior advocate, and two government nominees on it, and its recommendations go to an eight-member committee of Parliament — comprising two members each from the government and opposition in both the National Assembly and Senate — which confirms nominations by majority vote. To deal with alleged judicial misconduct — a hot-button issue in India currently — Pakistan s constitution provides for a supreme judicial council consisting of the Chief Justice, two seniormost judges of the Supreme Court, and two seniormost Chief Justices of High Courts. If this council concludes that a judge is incapable of performing his duties or is guilty of misconduct , impeachment by the President follows. This process is different from India s, where the key role in impeachment is that of Parliament, and the grounds for action are more stringent: proved misbehaviour or incapacity . Elections

The Pakistani Prime Minister resigns ahead of elections, and the Leader of Opposition and he together select a caretaker PM. If they cannot agree, each will send two names to the Speaker, who will refer it to a parliamentary committee with equal representation from the ruling party and the opposition. On May 28, former CJP Nasir-ul-Mulk was chosen caretaker PM to replace Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and lead the country until the elections of July 25. While India s Election Commissioners are picked by the government and are generally IAS officers, the process in Pakistan is more complex. The Chief Election Commissioner has to be a sitting or retired judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court, or be qualified to be appointed as an SC judge. The PM in consultation with the Leader of Opposition forwards three names to a 12-member parliamentary committee that has equal representation from the government and opposition. The Election Commission has four other members, each a judge from one of the four provincial High Courts of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Election Act of 2017 gave the Election Commission of Pakistan financial autonomy as well, which India s EC does not have. Muslim candidates in Pakistan s elections have to be of good character, sagacious, righteous, honest, and non-profligate, have adequate knowledge of Islam, and should not have committed any major sin. Nawaz Sharif was disqualified under this provision, as he






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had failed to declare in his nomination papers that he was entitled to receive money from his son s offshore company. The Government

The PM and provincial Chief Ministers are elected by the newly constituted House; unlike in India, the President or Governors have no role even if no party has a clear majority. If two candidates are tied, voting continues until one secures a majority. Imran Khan was elected PM on August 17 after he defeated Shahbaz Sharif by 176 votes to 96 in the National Assembly. The Pakistani constitution has no provision for a confidence vote as the PM/CM is elected by the new House. A motion of no-confidence can be moved by 20% of members and will succeed if passed by a majority of the total membership of the House (unlike in India, where it must be passed by a simple majority of those present and voting). Reservations

Of the 342 seats in the National Assembly, 272 are filled by direct elections. Sixty seats are reserved for women and 10 for religious minorities, which are filled by proportional representation among parties that get more than 5% of the popular vote. The four provincial assemblies have their own quantums of reservations for both women and minorities. Parties must give 5% of tickets to women candidates in the general seats, and if less than 10% women voters cast their votes in any constituency, the result there is nullified. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

11. Naga agreement: three years in the making (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains


A little over three years ago, on August 3, 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the signing of a historic framework agreement to end the decades-old Naga insurgency. However, the peace accord is yet to be finalised — even though all stakeholders other than the government appear keen on a conclusion. Many details of the 2015 agreement are shrouded in mystery — while Naga groups have given up the demand for sovereignty and redrawing of boundaries, issues like a separate passport, flag and army are still unresolved. Framework agreement

The agreement was signed nearly 18 years after the government s ceasefire 1997 deal with Naga armed groups. While neither the Centre nor the Naga groups have been forthcoming with details, the framework agreement did accept special status for the Nagas. There was an understanding on a settlement within the Indian federation, with due regard to the uniqueness of Naga history. In a recent submission before a Standing Committee of Parliament, the Centre s interlocutor for the Naga talks, R N Ravi, said it was implied in the agreement that some






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special arrangement would be made for the Nagas. On being asked what the special arrangement will be, the Committee was told that with respect to Nagaland there is already a special arrangement. Article 371A of the Constitution makes it very clear that they are special and a special status has been accorded to them, states the report of the Committee, which was tabled in Parliament on July 19. Some progress

Former Intelligence Bureau officer Ravi was appointed interlocutor in August 2014. The Nagas initially insisted on the unification of Naga inhabited areas — no integration, no solution — but have now reached an understanding with the government that current boundaries of Northeastern states will not be touched. Interlocutor… submitted that the negotiations were proceeding towards a situation, where boundaries of any State will neither be changed nor altered, says the report of the House panel. Besides the NSCN-IM, the government held discussions with six other groups. The NSCN-K, which violated the ceasefire in 2015, was not part of the peace process. Role of NSCN-IM

On November 11, 1975, the Shillong Accord was signed between the government and a section of the Naga National Council (NNC), under which this NNC faction and the underground Naga Federal Government (NFG) laid down arms. A 140-strong group led by Thuingaleng Muivah refused to accept the Accord and, in 1980, formed the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN). With Muivah were his comrades Isak Chishi Swu and S S Khaplang. In 1988, the NSCN split into two groups, led by Isak and Muivah, and Khaplang. After NNC leader Angami Zapu Phizo died in London in 1991, the NSCN-IM came to be seen as the predominant Naga rebel outfit. Peace efforts

The efforts for peace started soon after the NNC declared Nagaland an independent state on August 14, 1947. It took until August 1997, however, for the first ceasefire agreement to be signed between the government and the NSCN-IM. The security situation in Nagaland and neighbouring states, however, remained grim, and the ceasefire was violated by both the NSCN-IM and NSCN-K. The NSCN-K unilaterally broke the agreement in March 2015, and was subsequently declared an unlawful association under The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The NSCN-IM dropped its demand of sovereignty after several rounds of negotiations with the government. Demand for Greater Nagalim

In the NSCN s conception, Greater Nagalim consisted of Nagaland and all contiguous Naga-inhabited areas , which included several districts of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, and a part of Myanmar. While the area of Nagaland in 16,527 sq km, Greater Nagalim sprawled over 1,20,000 sq km. The demand for Nagalim has always agitated Assam, Manipur and Arunachal. Delay in finalising accord






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Political parties and Naga groups had pressed for the finalisation of the accord ahead of the Nagaland Assembly elections last year. The framework agreement was signed with the NSCN-IM, which had threatened to pull out if the government engaged with any other group. After several rounds of discussions, however, the NSCN-IM agreed to involve smaller groups, and six groups besides NSCN-IM are now formally part of the peace process. Delays were also caused by the demand for a separate flag and passport, and the question of the armed Naga battallions. With barely months to go for the Lok Sabha elections, it now seems unlikely that the accord will be finalised in this term of the central government. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

12. What a petition on citizenship law could mean to Assam NRC update (Relevant

for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; Polity & Governance)

A petition pending before the Supreme Court and expected to come up before a five-judge Bench, could potentially affect the way the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is being updated in Assam. What is this petition, and how does it relate to the NRC? The petition

It was filed in 2012 by a group of organisations in Assam. They have challenged Section 6A, inserted in the Citizenship Act in 1986 and applicable only to Assam. This is relevant to the NRC update because it is being carried out in accordance with Section 6A. While this section grants citizenship to those who entered Assam before March 25, 1971, the reference date for the rest of India is July 19, 1948. In 2014, a two-judge Bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi referred the petition to a five-judge Bench. The Bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur held a hearing on April 19, 2017, but it got dissolved on the retirement of Justice P C Pant in August 2017. In February this year, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra assured that he would soon constitute a new Bench. Citizenship in Assam

Applicable only to Assam, Section 6A defines as citizens every person of Indian origin who came to Assam before January 1, 1966 and are ordinary residents of Assam. Those who came after January 1, 1966 but before March 25, 1971, and have been ordinary residents of Assam and got themselves registered, will not have the right to vote for 10 years from the date of their detection as foreigners, but will have all other rights available to citizens. All others who entered Assam after March 25, 1971 would be considered illegal immigrants and deported after due process under the Illegal Migrant Determination Tribunal (IMDT) Act. This Act was later scrapped by the Supreme Court. Citizenship in India

Under Article 6 of the Constitution, anyone who migrated to India before July 19, 1948, from territory that had become part of Pakistan, automatically became a citizen if either of their parents or grandparents was born in India. But those who entered India after this date needed to register themselves. Again, under the original Citizenship Act, 1955, anyone






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born in India or whose parents were born in India, could claim Indian citizenship. But after the 1986 amendment, a person born on or after July 1, 1987, can become an Indian citizen only if he was born in India and if either of his parents was a citizen of India at the time of his birth. In 2003, the then NDA government made the condition more stringent, by adding that those born in India on or after December 3, 2004, can become citizens only if both their parents were Indian citizens or one parent was a citizen and the other was not an illegal immigrant. Past judgments

In three judgments —2005, 2006, 2014 — the Supreme Court had expressed displeasure about the citizenship law, in respect of foreigners who had entered Assam, being different from the law in the rest of the country. 2005: On a petition by Sarbananda Sonowal (now Chief Minister of Assam), a three-judge Bench struck down the IMDT Act as unconstitutional since it applied only to Assam and was at variance with the Foreigners Act, 1946. The court ignored the fact that there is variance in the rest of the country too: while for Western Pakistan the cut-off date is July 19,1948, for Eastern Pakistan the Nehru-Liaquat Pact had pushed it to 1950. The judgment is problematic as no law can be struck down on the ground that it was less efficient than an earlier law. If this were so, then the original provision of the Citizenship Act, 1955, giving citizenship on birth in India is certainly better than the 1986 and 2003 amendments. Moreover, special law can be at variance with general law. 2006: Following the scrapping of the IMDT Act, the government issued the Foreigners (Tribunal) for Assam Order, 2006, which amended the Foreigners (Tribunal) Order, 1964. On a petition by Sonowal, the Supreme Court struck down such subordinate legislation on the ground that these orders were issued to nullify its judgment of 2005. The court ruled that a mandamus issued by the court cannot be nullified by a subordinate legislation particularly when the parent Act remains in force and applicable. 2014: In the Asom Sanmilita Mahasangha judgment, the Supreme Court discussed NRC in just one sentence while laying down that it be completed by 2016. This led to a number of orders and supervision of the NRC process by the Supreme Court. The judgment quoted from a book in which immigrants had been termed as vast horde of land hungry immigrants mostly Muslims and vultures who will gather wherever there is a carcass ; it seems this carcass means Assam. The court also relied on former Governor S K Sinha s controversial report of November 8, 1998, where he talked about Indian and Bangladeshi secularism and then said that it will then only be a matter of time when a demand for their merger will Bangladesh may be made . What it may mean

If the Constitution bench declares Section 6A unconstitutional, then the entire exercise of NRC may become redundant. Since the petitioners are asking for a uniform cutoff for the entire country, it could mean that many people already included in the NRC would no longer be eligible. In the 2014 judgment, the court discussed at length Section 6A, which had been inserted in 1986 as a result of the Assam Accord. Also, the court accepted the






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challenge to the constitutionality of Section 6A and referred to a Constitution Bench as many as 13 questions, such as whether Section 6A is constitutional when it prescribes a different cutoff date for Assam from the one prescribed for the rest of the country; whether singling out of Assam in Section 6A violates the right to equality; whether Section 6A dilutes the political rights of citizens in Assam; whether Section 6A violates the right to life of people of Assam under Article 21 who have been adversely affected by the massive influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh; and whether Section 6A violates rule of law in that it gives way to political expediency rather than to government according to law. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

13. How Maharashtra law defines dangerous persons (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS

Mains Paper II; Polity & Governance)

Aurangabad Police recently detained a city corporator, Sayyed Mateen Rashid of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), under the stringent Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Bootleggers, Drug Offenders and Dangerous Persons Act (MPDA), 1981. What is this stringent law about? Passed by the state government, it came into effect on June 11, 1981. The Act empowers the district magistrate and the commissioner of police to exercise provisions under MPDA to detain a person who in their view is acting in manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order. Either of these two authorities can pass an order under the Act directing that such a person be detained. In Rashid s case, Aurangabad Commissioner Chiranjeev Prasad said, Serious offences like arson, rioting, inciting mob for breach of communal harmony, creating alarm in society… hence left with no choice but to book him under MPDA. Other preventive actions failed to check him. The corporator

Rashid had reportedly opposed a resolution to pay tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and was allegedly beaten by some BJP corporators. In the past, he had reportedly opposed singing of the national anthem in the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation. After he reportedly opposed the resolution on Vajpayee, some BJP corporators allegedly beat him up and filed a complaint under the IPC, accusing him of promoting enmity between members of communities. Rashid was granted bail in the IPC case Tuesday. However, minutes after being released, he was served the Commisioner s notice under MPDA and sent back to judicial custody in Harsul jail. When & how

The Act states that an order under it can be issued against a person who uses his influence and resources to clandestinely organise and carry out dangerous activities in violation of law. These include slumlords, bootleggers and drug offenders. People who directly or






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indirectly cause or calculate to cause any harm, danger or alarm or a feeling of insecurity among the general public or a section of it could be detained. Senior police officers described how the law came about: the mafia in Maharashtra, particularly Mumbai, was making much of its earnings from bootlegging in the 1980s and drugs in the 1990s. During this period, slumlords too were flexing their muscle in Mumbai. Today, the police use the law mainly during a buildup to a protest, or when they feel that an activity or event could affect law and order. In the recently concluded monsoon session of the Assembly, Minister of State for Home (Urban) Ranjit Patil said the government was looking at a proposal to bring human traffickers under the realm of MPDA so as to deal effectively with the issue of missing girls. Detention rules

In the first instance, an order under MPDA passed by the district magistrate or the police commissioner cannot exceed three months. The person against whom the order is issued could challenge his detention before a higher court and, if the court is satisfied with his/her plea, the order can be revoked or set aside. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

14. Cap on election expenses by parties and candidates: where things stand


At an all-party meeting called by the Election Commission Monday, all major parties except the BJP pushed for a cap on election expenditure by parties. Argument for a cap

Limits on campaign expenditure are meant to provide a level-playing field for everyone contesting elections. It ensures that a candidate can t win only because she is rich. The 255th Report of the Law Commission on electoral reforms argued that unregulated or under-regulated election financing could lead to lobbying and capture, where a sort of quid pro quo transpires between big donors and political parties/candidates . Ceiling applicability

The Election Commission (EC) imposes limits on campaign expenditure incurred by a candidate, not political parties. Expenditure by a Lok Sabha candidate is capped between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 70 lakh, depending on the state she is fighting from. In Assembly elections, the ceiling is between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 28 lakh. This includes money spent by a political party or a supporter towards the candidate s campaign. However, expenses incurred either by a party or the leader of a party for propagating the party s programme are not covered.






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Candidates must mandatorily file a true account of election expenses with the EC. An incorrect account, or expenditure beyond the ceiling can attract disqualification for up to three years under Section 10A of The Representation of the People Act, 1951.

Effectiveness of cap

There is evidence to suggest that candidates may be spending beyond their ceilings. An analysis of expenses for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections by the nonprofit Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) found that even though candidates complained that the EC s limits were too low and unrealistic, as many as 176 MPs (33%) had declared election expenses that were less than 50% of the limit in their constituency — indicating that candidates may not be providing true accounts of their poll expenses to the EC. Capping party spends

The Law Commission was against identifying a ceiling for expenditure by parties. The 255th Report on electoral reforms said: It is recommended that the law on this point does not change, namely that there are no caps on party expenditure under the RPA given that it would be very difficult to fix an actual, viable limit of such a cap and then implement such a cap. In any event, as the experience with section 77(1) [which asks candidates to keep correct accounts of all election-related expenditure]… reveals, in the 009 Lok Sabha elections, on average candidates showed election expenditures of 59% of the total expenses limit. There is no reason why the same phenomenon of under-reporting will not transpire amongst parties. It added: Our previous experience in prohibiting corporate donations in 1969 did not lead to a reduction in corporate donations. Instead, in the absence of any alternative model for raising funds, it greatly increased illegal, under the table and black money donations. EC view on party spends

The EC has asked the government to amend the R P Act and Rule 90 of The Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, to introduce a ceiling on campaign expenditure by political parties in the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. It should be either 50% of or not more than the expenditure ceiling limit provided for the candidate multiplied by the number of candidates of the party contesting the election, the EC has told the Law Ministry. The limit… will ensure level playing field for all political parties and curb the menace of unaccounted money in elections. …It will also control the money power used… by political parties and their allies. Reaction of the parties

The EC s proposal to the Law Ministry on party expenditure was on the agenda of Monday s meeting. All major parties barring the BJP pushed for a cap on their election-related expenses, saying only this could ensure a level playing field. The BJP has argued that since all parties have to mandatorily file their income and expenditure accounts with the EC, there is no need for a ceiling on expenses during elections. The Congress, too, supported a cap on party expenditure, even though it was not as vocal as the regional parties. (Adapted from The Indian Express)






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15. Why court acquitted two in 1981 Indian Airlines flight hijack case (Relevant for

GS Mains Paper II; Polity & Governance)

A Delhi court Monday acquitted Tajinderpal Singh and Satnam Singh — two of the five men from the radical Sikh organisation Dal Khalsa who hijacked the Delhi-Srinagar Indian Airlines flight IC423, with 117 on board, to Lahore on September 29, 1981. The trial was initiated under unusual circumstances, which the court described as unique . Satnam s case

Tajinderpal, Satnam, and the other three hijackers — Jasbir Singh Cheema, Gajinder Singh, Karan Singh — were arrested by the Pakistanis on September 30, 1981, tried, and jailed. Upon their release in 1994, the men knocked on the doors of several national governments. Satnam finally returned to India in 1999, and surrendered before an Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM). He submitted details of the Pakistani trial, and pleaded that since he had already served jail time in that country from September 30, 1981 to October 31, 1994, he could not be criminally prosecuted again. On February 11, 2000, the court, after seeking opinion from Indian government prosecutors, ruled that if put on trial, the case would be hit by double jeopardy , and ordered Satnam s discharge . Tajinderpal s case

In July 2000, Tajinderpal, who had returned to India in December 1997, moved an application for discharge on grounds of parity with Satnam s case. But when the court asked for full records of the case, it was informed that the file had been destroyed, and the police submitted that there was nothing to suggest that Tajinderpal Singh had, in fact, been chargesheeted. The ACMM then directed police to investigate further, especially under the charges of sedition as they were not the charges framed by the Lahore Special Court . On October 1, 2011, police filed a supplementary chargesheet, accusing all five of sedition and waging war against the state, and said they had raised slogans such as Khalistan Zindabad , Indira Gandhi Murdabad , Sant Baba Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale Zindabad , and Bharat Sarkar Murdabad . After the court issued non-bailable warrants against the men, Satnam and Tajinderpal moved Delhi High Court (Jasbir, Gajinder and Karan are abroad), which directed them to seek bail from the trial court. Hearings started last year, and the prosecution argued that the case against the accused had been proved through their own admission in their discharge applications. Additional Prosecutor S K Kain told the court that the accused could no longer resile or backtrack from the admissions voluntarily made by them . Counsel for accused Maninder Singh argued that the prosecution must stand on its legs , and mere filing of applications by accused… does not relieve the prosecution to prove its case . The verdict

The court focused on three main points.






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* Whether the prosecution could prove proper application of mind in the grant of sanction to file a supplementary chargesheet: The police letter for sanction said they had the chargesheet, FIR and other records; however, It has come in the order sheets of the courts that even the main chargesheet, FIR was not available and it could not have been sent to any authority seeking sanction , the court said. * Whether conviction in the absence of records and main chargesheet would be unjustified: The court described the case as unique in that prosecution proceedings were not launched by police, but had rather been initiated by the filing of the discharge application. The court said it was clear that the main chargesheet was not available with police or the court, and even the Ministry of Home Affairs had been unable to trace the documents relating to the first sanction for prosecution. Several things could be verified from the main chargesheet alone, and in its absence, it would be unjustified to convict the accused, the court said. * Whether admissions of the accused in their applications could be acted upon: The court said it was not bound by the Pakistan court s judgment — and even that record was unavailable. Intention and purpose of filing of application for discharge was not to make confessions but was limited to seek discharge of the applicant. Reference of the earlier conviction by the Pakistan Court does justify reasoning in the order of conviction, but was only to highlight that the accused may not be subsequently tried in the court at India and is not proof of positive facts required to proved by prosecution, the Delhi court held. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

16. India s tightrope walk on Maldives (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II;

Polity & Governance)

The summoning of the Indian High Commissioner to Maldives, Akhilesh Mishra, by Maldives topmost diplomat, Foreign Secretary Ahmed Sareer, is the latest sign of a lack of trust that has developed between New Delhi and Malé over the last few years. The provocation for Sunday s summoning was a tweet by BJP s Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy on August 24: India should invade Maldives if rigging of election takes place . The tweet included a link to a Maldivian news report on a meeting between Swamy and exiled former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed in Colombo last week. The Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Raveesh Kumar made it clear that Swamy s tweeted opinion is personal , and does not reflect the views of the Indian government. How distance grew

Maldives has emerged as the latest theatre of the geopolitical tussle between India and China, and Malé has been carefully using its newfound proximity to Beijing to make New Delhi wary. With Maldivian elections due on September 23, India does not want to be seen to be as interventionist.






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The current controversy rings a bell with what Nasheed had sought in February this year, after Emergency was declared by President Abdullah Yameen. Nasheed had tweeted then, seeking India s military intervention to release dissidents in prison. We would like the Indian government to send an envoy, backed by its military, to free the judges and the political detainees, including former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, from their detention and to bring them to their homes. We are asking for a physical presence. While many in the strategic community recalled the events of 1988, when the Maldives with the help of Indian troops had successfully fended off an attempted invasion by foreign mercenaries, South Block was this time cautious about not heeding such requests for intervention. The Emergency proclamation was seen by New Delhi as an attempt to quell opposition in Maldives. Back then, the Maldives Supreme Court had ordered the release of high-profile prisoners including Nasheed and former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb. It had also reinstated 12 MPs earlier stripped of their seats — in effect giving the Opposition coalition a majority, and making Yameen vulnerable to impeachment. Yameen reacted by ordering the arrest of Supreme Court judges and former President Gayoon, who is also his half-brother. Following this, India constantly urged Maldives to restore democracy, but Emergency continued for 45 days before it was lifted. As relations between the two governments frayed, Malé asked New Delhi to take back two helicopters stationed for medical evacuation and rescue work. Rules were also tightened for Indian workers in the Maldives tourism sector, and work visas are being tightened, causing some worry in Delhi. In June, a prominent leader from the Maldives ruling party, Ahmed Nihan, considered close to Yameen, was not allowed to enter India, prompting Malé to raise the issue with New Delhi. India concerns

While for the western community, the top priority is restoration of full-fledged democracy where the judiciary and political opposition are not jailed, for India what ranks high is the geopolitical stakes in the island. With the Chinese expanding their footprint in Maldives through the Belt and Road Initiative, as they build massive infrastructure in and around Malé, India also faces an economic challenge with Maldives signing a Free Trade agreement last December during Yameen s visit to China. However, suspicions in Maldives on New Delhi s role have grown after India expressed concern over the announcement of elections without allowing democratic institutions, including Parliament and the judiciary, to work in a free and transparent manner. India said it wanted credible restoration of the political process and the rule of law before the elections are conducted.






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From India s perspective, it would rather not get drawn into a interventionist role, although it has not objected to targeted sanctions on the Yameen regime imposed by the European Union. India believes it is a responsible power in the region, and as it urges major powers in the world to follow rules-based order , it cannot be seen as not following those rules. We are an aspiring member of the United Nations Security Council. And our record in following the rules-based order will be dented, if we do not follow international rules and decide to intervene in some way in Maldives political situation. That is why we have steered clear of intervening in Maldives, a top government functionary said. For now, India will be watching the elections, where joint opposition candidate Ibrahim Solih will be contesting against Yameen. As the campaign heats up, India expects to be dragged more into the election rhetoric, but it wants to not be a factor in the polls — and that is the reason it chose to distance from Swamy s tweet calling on India to invade if elections are rigged. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

17. TADA to UAPA, what India s terror laws say (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains


Pune Police have said that five prominent human rights activists are being investigated for offences under The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, a tough anti-terror law that was last amended in 2012 to give sweeping powers to law-enforcement agencies. Here is how India s central laws against terrorism have evolved over the years. TADA

The Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987, was at one time the main law used in cases of terrorism and organised crime, but due to rampant misuse, it was allowed to lapse in 1995. The Act defined a terrorist act and disruptive activities , put restrictions on the grant of bail, and gave enhanced power to detain suspects and attach properties. The law made a confession before a police officer admissible as evidence. Separate courts were set up to hear cases filed under TADA. POTA

In wake of the 1999 IC-814 hijack and 2001 Parliament attack, there was a clamour for a more stringent anti-terror law, which came in the form of The Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), 2002. A suspect could be detained for up to 180 days by a special court. The law made fundraising for the purpose of terrorism a terrorist act . A separate chapter to deal with terrorist organisations was included. The Union government could add or remove any organisation from the schedule. However, reports of gross misuse of the Act by some state governments led to its repeal in 2004. UAPA

In 2004, the government chose to strengthen The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. It was amended to overcome some of the difficulties in its enforcement and to update it in accordance with international commitments. By inserting specific chapters, the






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amendment criminalised the raising of funds for a terrorist act, holding of the proceeds of terrorism, membership of a terrorist organisation, support to a terrorist organisation, and the raising of funds for a terrorist organisation. It increased the time available to law-enforcement agencies to file a chargesheet to six months from three. The law was amended in 2008 after the Mumbai attacks, and again in 2012. The definition of terrorist act was expanded to include offences that threaten economic security, counterfeiting Indian currency, and procurement of weapons, etc. Additional powers were granted to courts to provide for attachment or forfeiture of property equivalent to the value of the counterfeit Indian currency, or the proceeds of terrorism involved in the offence. The Union Home Secretary told a Parliamentary Committee in 2012 that the proposed amendment in the principal Act was in order to comply with the guidelines of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental organisation set up in 1989 to develop policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. India got FATF membership in 2010 on the assurance that it would make suitable amendments in the Act by March 31, 2012. Non-compliance would lead to diminution of India s stature, and the country could be placed under the enhanced follow up procedure , which would require giving a progress report every four months to the FATF, the 160th Report of the Department-related Committee on Home Affairs noted. The report was tabled on March 28, 2012. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

18. Drone regulations: how, where Indians can fly from December 1 onward


Civil aviation regulator DGCA this week published final guidelines for operating drones or remotely piloted aircraft systems by ordinary citizens. The guidelines come into effect on December 1, the date when the civilian use of drones becomes legal in India, subject to various requirements and clearances. Drone types

DGCA has identified multiple categories of drones, which can be broadly classified as Nano (weighing up to 250 g), Micro (more than 250 g but less than 2 kg) and Small and above (weighing 2 kg or more). Before flying

Every drone bigger than Nano must obtain a unique identification number (UIN) from the aviation regulator (similar to the registration number for a car), which must be displayed on the aircraft. A UIN will be issued once, against a fee of Rs 1,000, and will not be issued to a foreign citizen or entity. Users of bigger drones will be required to obtain a Unique Air Operator s Permit (UAOP), similar to a driver s licence. The permit will cost Rs 25,000 and will be valid for five years. Renewals will cost Rs 10,000. The UIN and UAOP can be obtained from the online platform Digital Sky that will go live on December 1. The permits will be issued in less than a week, DGCA officials have said.






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Flying conditions

All drones other than those in the Nano category must meet mandatory equipment requirements such as GPS, anti-collision light, ID plate, radio-frequency identification (RFID) and SIM facilities with software that ensures no-permission, no-takeoff , among other features. Before flying a Small or bigger drone, an operator has to file a flight plan, and inform the local police, so that the machine can reach a height of 400 ft or more, and use both controlled and uncontrolled airspace. Micro drones will be required to submit a flight plan only if using controlled airspace; the operator must, however, inform the local police in all cases. Many drones used for amateur photography fall in this category. These aircraft will need a UIN but no UAOP, and will be allowed to climb only to a height of 200 ft. Nano drones will be able to operate freely, without any registration or permit, but their operations will be restricted to 50 ft above the ground, and to uncontrolled airspaces and enclosed premises. All those requiring a UAOP must undertake a five-day training programme that will expose them to regulations, basic principles of flight, air traffic control procedures, weather and meteorology, emergency identification and handling, etc. These operators will also have to take written tests and flight simulator tests before they are issued permits. Only during day

All categories of drones must be flown in the visual line of sight, and only during daytime. An item in the DGCA s FAQs says: I am a wedding photographer… Most of the marriages in Northern India happen after sunset. Can I use my (Micro) drone for covering marriages at night? The regulator has replied that while all drone operations are restricted to daylight hours, photography using drones is allowed in well-lit enclosed premises. But it would still be mandatory to inform the local police before flying. No-fly zones

The regulator has listed 12 categories of no-drone zones . These include the area up to 5 km from the perimeters of the high-traffic airports of Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. For other airports, the no-drone zone extends up to 3 km. Drones cannot fly closer than 25 km of international borders, including the Line of Control and Line of Actual Control. The area within a 5-km radius of New Delhi s Vijay Chowk is a no-drone zone; this, however, is subject to any additional conditions/restrictions that local law enforcement agencies/authorities may impose for security reasons. A drone can t be flown within 2 km from the perimeter of strategic locations and vital installations notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs, unless cleared by the Ministry; within a 3 km radius of secretariat complexes in state capitals; and from a mobile platform such as a moving vehicle, ship or aircraft. (Adapted from The Indian Express)






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International Organizations & Relations 1. Import of dual-use tech from US: Dual use, multiple benefits (Relevant for GS

Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; IOBR)

After 1½ years of negotiations, the US has eased controls on high-technology dual-use exports to India, granting exemption under the Strategic Trade Authorisation-1 list. What is the significance of this move? The background

One of India s key objectives in signing the civil nuclear deal with the United States in 2008 was to gain access to high technology that it had been denied, especially from the 1970s through the 90s. Towards the end of Barack Obama s term as President, the US recognised India as a Major Defence Partner , and committed itself to sharing technology to the same level as its closest allies and partners, and to collaboration for defence co-production and co-development. The status of Major Defence Partner is, however, unique to India. The US either has military alliances such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) or bilateral defence treaties. Indian and American negotiators had to thus sit down to draw up the framework of what the status of a Major Defence Partner would entail. As things stand, the export of defence and dual-use technology by the US is almost always a political call — what Washington DC insiders refer to as political determination . Two factors — US national security, and the recipient s regional stability — are key to the political determination of whether the US will give or deny to another country an item or technology that can be put to both military and civilian use. The US has traditionally had a very restrictive export licensing regime. The Munitions List, which contains defence items and technology, is controlled by the State Department; the Commerce Control List, which has items of dual-use technology, is with the Department of Commerce. In August 2009, Obama announced a comprehensive review of the US export control system with the aim to simplify Cold War era practices that were intended mainly to prevent technologies from falling into Soviet hands, and to make the American tech industry more competitive and create more jobs. Gradual changes have been under way ever since. STA-1 and STA-2

In 2011, as part of the export control reforms initiative, the US government came up with the concept of Strategic Trade Authorisation (STA) — a move towards a licence-free or license exemption regime. Two lists were created — STA-1 and STA-2 — and countries that were not part of either list had to apply for a licence for every item on the Commerce Control List (of dual-use items). STA-1 and STA-2 established a hierarchy among those the US was willing to certify as good countries that would not contribute towards proliferation in the world.






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The STA-1 list has 36 countries — including NATO allies and bilateral treaty allies like Japan, South Korea, and Australia — whose non-proliferation controls the US considers to be the best in the world. These countries are also among those that are part of the four multilateral export control regimes — the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), Australia Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement. STA-1 countries, America s most trusted allies, have licence-free access to almost 90% of dual-use technology, and are eligible to import items that are controlled for reasons of national security, chemical or biological weapons, etc., irrespective of whether the technology or item impacts regional stability or American national security. Countries in the STA-2 list enjoy some form of licensing exemption, but cannot access dual-use items/technology that may impact regional stability, or contribute to nuclear non-proliferation, etc. Before being elevated to STA-1 this week, India was in this list, along with seven other countries — Albania, Hong Kong, Israel, Malta, Singapore, South Africa, and Taiwan. It is important to flag some points here:

* A vast majority of countries remain outside both STA-1 and STA-2, and cannot access high technology from the US without specific licences. * Albania is a NATO member, but is still in STA-2. Israel, a major US ally, is not in STA-1. The Philippines, another major non-NATO ally, is on neither list. * China and Pakistan, too, are on neither list. Expectedly, Russia isn t either. Coming closer

For India s government, scientific community, and the defence and high-technology industry, the move from STA-2 to STA-1 is a leap. New Delhi considers the STA-1 list as the holy grail of the Indo-US defence partnership. Membership of this elite club of US allies is

expected to lead to greater high-technology trade and commerce. According to US estimates, India s not being part of STA-1 has resulted in a lost opportunity worth $10 billion over the last seven years since 2011. For the Indian high-tech industry, being part of STA-1 could open up doors for both sales and manufacturing in India. Industry can set up manufacturing bases in India without worrying whether the licence will come through. Even third countries seeking to set up high-technology manufacturing units that require import of dual-use equipment from the US, will not have to go through the process of obtaining a licence, a source said. This, the source said, was important in boosting confidence — earlier, one would not even go for an exam because one feared one would fail. The fact that India is now part of STA-1, despite not being member of all four multilateral export control regimes, is a testament to its non-proliferation credentials. (China has been blocking India s entry into the NSG.) Ahead of the 2+2 dialogue between the Indian and US Foreign and Defence Ministers on September 6, this is a major takeaway, as India inches






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closer to realising the potential of being a Major Defence Partner of the US. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar has described the decision to put India in STA-1 a logical culmination of its 2016 designation as Major Defence Partner, and a reaffirmation of its impeccable record as a responsible member of multilateral export

control regimes. In the longer arc of India-US relations, another step has been taken to overcome the hesitations of history , and to forge closer defence and commerce partnerships, notwithstanding the political change in Washington DC. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

2. Hope in Harare? — on victory in Zimbabwe elections (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS

Mains Paper II; IOBR)

President election result

Mnangagwa's victory as President in general election confers popular legitimacy on Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe s military-installed leader since November 2017. The two-thirds majority for the ruling Zanu-PF party in Parliament will tighten its control over state institutions. There had been palpable relief in Harare when the 37-year-long dictatorship of the veteran liberation leader Robert Mugabe was brought to an end in a soft coup last year. Why are the elections important? : The first since Mugabe

This election is the first in decades without Robert Mugabe, 94, Zimbabwe s ruler for 37 years who once declared he could be removed from power only by God, but who was forced to resign in November last year following moves to impeach him. For many years, Mugabe s main opponent was Morgan Tsvangirai, Prime Minister from 2009 to 2013, and who contested for President against Mugabe in 2002 and 2008. Following Tsvangirai s death this February, Monday s election was fought between 75-year-old Mnangagwa (who succeeded Mugabe as President) and Nelson Chamisa, 40, the new leader of the MDC. Another 21 minor candidates were also in the fray. Fifty-five parties contested the election for Parliament. There were over 56 lakh voters, 43.5% of whom were under age 35. International scrutiny

Unlike Mugabe, Mnangagwa allowed international and regional observers for the election. This was the first time in 16 years that representatives from the European Union, US and the Commonwealth — countries that the former President thought were hostile to him — monitored a Zimbabwean vote. On Wednesday, the observers were divided in their assessment of the election — the EU delegation said there was an improved political climate, but un-level playing field and lack of trust and underlined bias in the media and intimidation of voters, while the African Union team and the Southern African Development Community observers said the elections had been peaceful and lawful, the BBC reported. Impact on economy

Tawanda Majoni, national coordinator at the media advocacy group Information for Development Trust, told The New York Times that irrespective of the outcome, the vote could potentially help transform Zimbabwe s economy, as long as the results were not






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contested. If the ruling post-Mugabe establishment wins to form a government on its own, the results may be contested, meaning that the resulting government may lack legitimacy among key international powers and aid providers, Majoni was quoted as saying. On the other hand, if the opposition wins and the current government, in which the military has a high stake, accepts the outcome, this may also encourage international investors, development agencies and embassies to render substantial economic, social and political support . Mugabe faced widespread international criticism for alleged electoral fraud, and its struggling economy suffered further as a result of the sanctions it faced.

(Adapted from The Hindu and The Indian Express)

3. What lies behind India s Africa outreach? (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper

II; IOBR)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping have visited Rwanda within a few hours of each other, before going for BRICS meet last month. Modi went on to Uganda, while Xi is visiting Senegal and Mauritius. Why Rwanda, the country Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister (and Xi the

first Chinese President) to visit?

It is one of Africa s fastest growing economies, and President Paul Kagame is chair of the African Union. India signed two loan agreements worth $ 100 million each for investments in agriculture and the development of special economic zones; China gave a loan of $126 million to build two roads. After the end of its civil war, Rwanda is moving steadily on the path of recovery and national reconciliation. About 3,000 Indian nationals and PIOs live in the country — its only sugar refinery, only modern textile mill, and a soap and cosmetic factory are all PIO-owned. The Rwandans have always had a positive attitude towards the Indian community. During the infamous 1994 genocide — in which an estimated 500,000 to a million Rwandans, mostly Tutsis, were massacred in a window of 100-odd days — no Indian was killed or injured, and neither the government forces nor Kagame s Rwandan Patriotic Front interfered with the evacuation of Indian nationals by the Indian government from Rwanda to Bujumbura (Burundi) and Nairobi (Kenya). India-Rwanda bilateral relations have been cordial and have grown steadily over the years. In 1999, Rwanda officially opened its mission in New Delhi and posted a charge d affaires; in 2001, it appointed its first resident ambassador in New Delhi. India has taken a decision to open a diplomatic mission in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, and the modalities are being worked on. Relations with Uganda

In Uganda, India established its diplomatic presence in 1965, even though the countries relationship dates back to the era when traders ferried goods in dhows across the Indian Ocean. Eventually a number of Indians settled in East Africa, and many made Uganda their






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home. India s freedom struggle inspired early Ugandan activists to fight colonialism, and the country achieved freedom in 1962. Under President Idi Amin in the early 70s, nearly 60,000 Indians and persons of Indian origin were expelled from Uganda. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who came to power in 1986 and continues to rule Uganda, however, reversed his country s anti-Indian policies. Modi s visit to these countries is a reflection of the intensity and seriousness of New Delhi s engagement with Africa, which got a fillip with the visit of more than 40 Heads of State and Government for the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit in October 2015, and of several other Heads during the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Founding Conference this March. President Kagame visited India to participate in the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017, and again the following year for the ISA conference. Uganda is currently chair of the East African Community. There are over 30,000 Indians/PIOs in the country, and President Museveni is credited with inviting back many Indians and assuring them of their safety and security. He has also been hosting the Indian community for Diwali dinners in the State House. With both Rwanda and Uganda, India signed defence cooperation agreements — a

key takeaway from Modi s visits.

While India s structured outreach to Africa began in 2008, China was quicker — President Jiang Zemin began the process in 2000, with the first ministerial meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing. Africa, in many ways, has been a learning ground for China s international role. What China has been doing in the continent must be watched closely as it showcases the future of Chinese power… It was the Sudan conflict where China first took a proactive position on an internationally significant conflict; it was in Mali that China sent its first combatant unit under the UN peacekeeping framework in 2013; and Djibouti will be the first location of the People s Liberation Army s overseas base, researcher Avinash Godbole wrote in a 2015 paper, China s Deepening Engagement with Africa and Its Implications, for the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA). (Adapted from The Indian Express)

4. Re-imposed US sanctions on Iran kick in — what they are, what it means (Relevant

for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; IOBR)

On May 8, President Donald Trump took the United States out of the nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 — formally the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) reached in July 2015 and implemented from January 2016 — and announced a phased reimposition of sanctions at the end of two wind-down periods of 90 and 180 days. The 90-day window closed Monday, and the first set of sanctions was to snap back at 12.01 am EDT (9.31 am India time) Tuesday. Which sanctions, when






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In the National Security Presidential Memorandum issued May 8, Trump directed the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Treasury to draw up a roadmap for a return to a full-sanctions regime. According to an explanatory document posted on the website of the Treasury Department, updated June 27, the following sanctions will snap back starting Tuesday: * On Iran buying/acquiring US dollars; * On Iran s trade in gold/precious metals; * On direct or indirect sale or supply from or to Iran of graphite, aluminum, steel, coal, software for integrating industrial processes; * On significant transactions related to purchase or sale of Iranian rials, or maintenance of significant funds or accounts in rials outside Iran;

* On buying or facilitating the issuance of Iranian sovereign debt; and * On Iran s automotive sector. The import of Iranian carpets and foodstuffs will also be stopped after Tuesday. The second wind-down window of 180 days closes on November 4. The additional three months are available to companies in Iran s energy, infrastructure and financial sectors. Thereafter, sanctions will return on:

* Iranian port, shipping and shipbuilding operations; * Purchase of petroleum and petroleum products from Iran; * Transactions by foreign financial institutions with the Iranian central bank and financial institutions; * Providing underwriting, insurance, or reinsurance services in Iran; and * Iran s energy sector. Impact of sanctions

The sanctions re-imposed are extraterritorial — they apply to not just American individuals and businesses, but to non-American businesses or individuals as well. Their aim is to penalize trade and investment activity related to Iran by everyone who is not specifically excluded from the sanctions. Many big international companies have shuttered their Iranian businesses already or are preparing to do so. The European guarantors of the JCPOA issued a joint statement Monday






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saying they regretted Trump s decision to pull out of the deal, and Tehran declared that American efforts to isolate Iran had ended up isolating Washington DC, instead. We deeply regret the re-imposition of sanctions by the US… the JCPOA is working and

delivering on its goal, namely to ensure that the Iranian (nuclear) program remains exclusively peaceful, as confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the statement, signed by the EU s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini, and the French, German and British Foreign Ministers, Jean-Yves Le Drian, Heiko Maas, and Jeremy Hunt respectively. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said while American bullying and political pressures may cause some disruption, the fact is that in the current world, America is isolated . The Europeans statements of outrage notwithstanding, many economists and strategic affairs experts question their ability and determination to stand by Tehran in a direct with-us-or-against-us confrontation with the US, more so if that means joining hands with

China and Russia. Iran s economy, which is heavily dependent on oil exports, has taken a hit since May as companies have called off deals and cancelled investments, and the rial has crashed to half of its April value. The US has told third countries they must halt imports of Iranian oil or face US sanctions. During a meeting in June, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lessen India s dependence on Iranian oil. India s official position so far has been that it can get oil from anywhere depending on geopolitics and the national interest.

What happens next

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared Sunday that the US was going to enforce the (reimposed) sanctions until there is enormous change on the part of the Iranian regime . Iran, he said, was being led by bad actors who were engaged in malign activity , and demanded that they ve got to behave like a normal country . Wire services quoted unnamed European diplomats as saying such language was essentially code for a regime change demand by the US. They expressed apprehensions that should Iran s government really collapse, the outcome could be catastrophic, and could include civil war or a total or partial takeover by radicals — similar to what happened in Syria or Iraq — and a massive new refugee crisis for Europe. Pompeo said the Iranian people were unhappy not with the Americans but with their own leadership . (Adapted from The Indian Express)

5. Why Antigua and Barbuda for citizenship? (Relevant for GS prelims, GS Mains II;

IOBR)

Fugitive Mehul Choksi has paid for and got citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda, with which India has now notified an extradition deal. Will it help bring Choksi back? Where else can the wealthy buy citizenship?






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India last week notified an extradition arrangement with Antigua and Barbuda, where fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi, an accused along with his nephew Nirav Modi in the Rs 13,600-crore PNB scam, has acquired citizenship. There have been other Indian businessmen who, wanted by law, have obtained citizenship of countries with which either there is no extradition treaty or the legal process is so tedious that the fugitive cannot be extradited after acquiring citizenship. To what extent does such citizenship protect a fugitive from Indian law? What options does India have in getting the fugitive back? What is attractive about an Antigua and Barbuda passport?

Citizenship there can be easily obtained by investment, either in the country s National Development Fund with a contribution of $100,000, or in real estate and approved business projects. The applicant cannot change his/her name, according to a 2014 decision by the country s cabinet. As per a 2018 ranking by Henley s Global Residence and Citizenship Program, Antigua s passport is the 25th most powerful and provides visa-free access to 149 countries. A citizenship-by-investment request is processed in less than 3 months, and anyone who has stayed for 5 days in 5 years is eligible. Choksi applied in November 2017 and took oath in January. Citizens of Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Somalia, Yemen and Sudan cannot obtain citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda.

Where else can citizenship be bought?

Five other countries are listed in a 2015 report by the International Monetary Fund (see map). Among these is Malta, whose passport is among the most powerful (Henley s rank 7, with visa-free access to 182 destinations). Many other countries offer residency — rather than citizenship — in return for investment, including Australia, Bulgaria, the US, the UK and New Zealand. The qualifying period for residency varies (see table).






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Why do countries offer such options?

It can encourage investment. For example, in St Kitts and Nevis, the money flowing into the public sector from the economic citizenship programme grew to nearly 25% of the country s GDP in 2013.

How popular is this option with Indians?

Many Indians have obtained foreign citizenship for various reasons. Only a handful of them have been fugitives from law — in 2013, Winsome group owner Jatin Mehta, accused of bank frauds amounting to Rs 7,000 crore, and his wife acquired citizenship of St Kitts and Nevis. Common reasons for migration of wealthy individuals, according to a 2018 AfrAsia Global Wealth Migration review, include safety, climate, financial concerns, opportunities for education and work/business, and standard of living. A large number who get residency in a country, however, never actually move there. When someone like Choksi takes citizenship abroad, does he not lose his Indian

citizenship automatically?

India s Citizenship Act does not allow dual citizenship. If a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) acquires foreign citizenship, the Act requires that s/he surrenders his/her Indian passports.






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Can India not act against them?

It is difficult for authorities to keep a tab on a person who has not surrendered his/her Indian passport after becoming a citizen in another country. Such cases come to light only if a probe is on. Even after acquiring citizenship abroad, many PIOs continue to use Indian passports, and others apply for fresh passports by suppressing the fact that they are citizens elsewhere. These are offences under the Indian Passport Act, 1967. Under the Renunciation of Citizenship Rules, the Indian passport must be surrendered within 90 days of obtaining a foreign naturalisation certificate. Penalties depend on the number of trips made on the Indian passport after acquiring foreign nationality, and for retention of the Indian passport for more than three years after. In Choksi s case, he lost his Indian citizenship the moment he became a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda. However, as per a 2009 circular from the Consular, Passport and Visa division of the External Affairs Ministry, such a PIO may use the Indian passport for three months unless it is revoked by the authorities. Will the new extradition arrangement help India get Choksi back?

Although Interpol has issued a red corner notice (RCN) against Choksi, and Antigua and Barbuda is an Interpol member, this does not ensure his arrest by member countries. India has thousands of RCNs pending against fugitives yet to be arrested. While an extradition treaty would allow India to push for custody of Choksi, extradition is a judicial process and may take years since the accused has the right to appeal in court. On the other hand, deportation is a quicker process if New Delhi can use its diplomatic clout. India does not have extradition treaties with the other five countries where citizenship can be bought instantly. However, being member of the Commonwealth, New Delhi can rely on various laws in seeking to bring back a fugitive from another member nation. Can citizenship by investment be revoked?

Rules on revocation differ from one country to another. Citizenship can be revoked if it has been obtained by false representation or concealment of facts. Some countries also cancel citizenship if the person has been convicted of an offence. However, the individual whose citizenship has been revoked has the right of appeal to the court of that country. In 2015, gangster Chhota Rajan was traced by Interpol after he had applied for a visa and a resident permit, and furnished his fingerprints. Invesigators in Australia sent fingerprints to India through Interpol, and the gangster was arrested. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

6. On road to Mandalay, beyond (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; IOBR)

India and Myanmar opened two land border crossings last week. But weren t these

crossings already open?

On August 8, the two countries operationalised a Land Border Crossing Agreement that had been in the pipeline for long, and which they signed on May 11 during External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj s visit to Myanmar. The key change as a result is that any Myanmarese or Indian national with a valid passport and visa can now cross over without requiring special permission. The two crossing points are at Moreh in Manipur, opposite






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Tamu in Myanmar s Sagaing division, and Zokhawthar in Mizoram, opposite Rhikhawdar in Myanmar s Chin state. Earlier, these crossing points were meant only for people of the border villages on either side — for family visits, buying and selling in the border markets and, from the Myanmar side, to consult doctors or get diagnostic tests done. Border passes valid for up to three days were issued for these visits, and travel was restricted to 16 km from the crossing point. Passes were issued to other citizens, but they could not stay overnight across the border. Indian citizens could travel to Tamu for a day visit with a pass costing Rs 20. To travel further on either side, cross-border visitors needed special permits. For Indians, the process had to be initiated by a Myanmar-based travel agent and, in many cases, needed approval from no less than the President of Myanmar. Under the new regime, local residents will continue to have the right to cross over with a border pass within 16 km. For all others with a passport and visa, the crossing points will be open routinely to travel anywhere in the other country. Does that mean you can now drive across to Myanmar in your own vehicle?

Not until the two countries sign a Motor Vehicles Agreement. The Land Border Agreement is 50% of the work done, the other 50% is the Motor Vehicles Agreement, India s Ambassador to Myanmar Vikram Misri told The Indian Express. The Motor Vehicles Agreement, first proposed in 2015, is envisaged to include Thailand, too — India is building a Trilateral Highway connecting the three countries as a key element of its Act East policy. The Trilateral Highway is aimed at increasing trade, tourism and people-to-people contact with ASEAN, through Myanmar and Thailand. V S Seshadri, a former Ambassador to Myanmar, told The Indian Express that the operationalising of the Land Border Agreement was a signal to tour operators to get their act together on travel groups, especially for pilgrimage to Indian Buddhist sites. During Prime Minister Manmohan Singh s 2012 visit to Myanmar, he and then Myanmar President Thein Sein had agreed on an Imphal-Mandalay bus service, and a trial run was held in December 2015. Last year, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi s visit, the modalities of the cross-border service were discussed. However, finalisation has to flow from a Motor Vehicles Agreement — until then, officials said, bus services up to the border on either side, depending on the numbers of travellers, could serve the purpose. India has a 1,643-km border with Myanmar in four Northeastern states. Myanmarese Buddhist pilgrims, medical tourists, and students travel to India. Thousands of Manipuris live in and around Mandalay; going to Imphal for them until now meant taking a flight from Yangon to Kolkata. With the opening of the border crossing, the 110-km journey from Imphal to Moreh will take about three hours, and from Tamu to Mandalay another four. A pilgrim from Mandalay need not go to Yangon anymore, and instead could head to Imphal by road and then fly to Bodhgaya. Where does the work on the Trilateral Highway stand?






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First proposed in 2002 by India, the Trilateral Highway was intended to connect India to Thailand, and beyond to Cambodia, Laos through Myanmar, and promote trade, business, tourism and people-to-people contacts, and spur the economic development of the Northeast. It was scheduled to open in 2016, but is now expected to be completed only by 2021. The road goes from Moreh/Tamu, and across Myanmar to Mae Sot in Thailand, covering a distance of nearly 2,000 km.

In March, Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs V K Singh told Rajya Sabha that on a section of the Trilateral Highway — the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa (TKK) Road, also known as Friendship Road, constructed and upgraded by the Border Roads Organisation






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and handed over to the government of Myanmar in 2009 — India is repairing 69 bridges. It is also constructing/upgrading the Kalewa-Yagyi section of the highway in Myanmar. Both these projects pass through challenging geographical terrain that prolonged the

process of project design and selection of executing agencies, the Minister said. The second land border crossing at Zokhawthar-Rhikhawdar will be connected to the Trilateral Highway at Kalemyo, near Kalewa. Besides the Trilateral Highway, India is also executing the ambitious $484 million Kaladan Mutlimodal Transport Project, to link the Indian mainland to the Northeastern states via Myanmar. Under this project, loaded freight ships will leave Kolkata port and dock at Sittwe, a port in Myanmar s Rakhine province. There, the goods will be loaded on barges that will transport them upstream on the Kaladan river to Paletwa. From Paletwa to Zorinpui on the Mizoram border, and further inland into the Northeast, the goods will be transported by road. While the dredging of the Kaladan, the construction of the unloading and loading terminals at Sittwe port and Paletwa have been completed, and seven barges readied and handed over to the Myanmar government, the road remains a work in progress. The 109-km road construction project from Paletwa to Zorinpui began only in April this year, and given the challenging terrain, the deadline of 2019 is unlikely to be met. The road from Zorinpui to the nearest National Highway also needs to be upgraded. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

7. India-Pakistan trade: status, outlook (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II;

IOBR)

Pakistan s new Prime Minister Imran Khan posted on Twitter Tuesday that the best way to alleviate poverty and uplift the people of the subcontinent is to resolve our differences through dialogue and start trading . Where do India-Pak trade ties stand, and why? Minuscule numbers

Trade between the neighbours jumped nearly three-and-a-half times between 2000-01 and 2005-06 (from $251 million to $869 million per annum), but progress was slower in the decade that followed, with volumes rising a little over three times. India s trade with much smaller Bhutan is over half that with Pakistan (In 2016, total India-Bhutan bilateral trade was Rs 8,723 crore; with Pakistan, it was around Rs 17,200 crore.) Back in 2007, the Indian Council of Research on International Economic Relations (Icrier) had projected a bilateral trade potential of $11.7 billion (Rs 46,098 crore), if both neighbours took proactive measures to exploit untapped areas of economic cooperation. But in FY17, India-Pakistan trade was a mere $2.29 billion, or about 0.35% of India s overall trade.






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Potential vs reality

The Icrier study had identified export potential of $2.2 billion from Pakistan to India, and $9.5 billion from India to Pakistan per annum. Of the top 50 potential export items from Pakistan at the time, India was importing 45 from countries other than Pakistan. This situation remains largely unchanged even now. There has been minimal increase in Indian exports to Pakistan after Islamabad changed its import policy in 2012. According to fresh estimates by Icrier, in 2016-17, new exports accounted for only 12% of India s total exports to Pakistan. The bulk (88%) of Indian exports is still made up of commodities that were being traded earlier, too. Policy bottlenecks

Article 1 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), 1994, requires every WTO member country to accord Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to all other member countries. India accorded Pakistan MFN status in 1996; a Pakistani cabinet decision of November 2, 2011 to reciprocate this, however, remains unimplemented. In March 2012, Pakistan substituted a Positive List of a more than 1,950 tariff lines permitted for import from India, by a Negative List of 1,209 lines that could not be imported. In August 2012, India announced a 30% reduction in its SAFTA Sensitive list for Non-Least Developed Countries (NLDCs), including Pakistan, allowing for peak tariff on 264 items to be cut to 5% within three years. At the Commerce Secretary-level talks in Islamabad on September 20-21 that year, a roadmap was established to move towards full normalisation of bilateral trade. However, Indian officials say, Pakistan s failure to take the first step of permitting all importable items through the Wagah-Attari land route (only 137 items are allowed currently), the roadmap has remained unimplemented. At their meeting in New Delhi on January 18, 2014, the Indian and Pakistani Commerce Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to expedite normal trading relations, and to provide Non-Discriminatory Market Access (NDMA) on a reciprocal basis. While both governments have facilitated a degree of industry outreach in recent years, progress on the ground has been subdued. These restrictions notwithstanding, India continues to maintain a substantial trade surplus with Pakistan. Industry pressure






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An influential grouping of businesses in Pakistan has recently sought a moratorium on new trade agreements, and renegotiation of the trade agreement with China. The 100-Day Economic Agenda of the Pakistan Business Council (PBC) has called upon the new government to not pursue proposed trade agreements with countries such as Turkey and Thailand, and to ensure complete transparency of costs, benefits and financial flows associated with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, Dawn reported. Instead, the grouping has urged increased trade with immediate neighbours such as India, Iran and Afghanistan. In a presentation in Kathmandu last year, the Islamabad-based think tank Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) identified obstacles in the way of normalising India-Pakistan trade relations, including weak logistics and customs processing, and technical barriers to trade such as sanitary or phytosanitary (SPS) restrictions, visa and travel restrictions, and lack of financial intermediation and telecommunication connectivity. There is pressure on Prime Minister Khan because Pakistan s annual trade deficit, which was $20.435 billion when the Nawaz Sharif government came to power in 2013, has been rising steadily, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data. The deficit has been driven by the rising import bill of capital goods, petroleum products, and food products, and a steep fall in exports. The external balance of payments position is expected to be one of the top concerns for Khan s government. Beyond goods

While India s electricity diplomacy with Bangladesh has broken new ground, a similar initiative with Pakistan continues to hang fire. Under a proposal that was actively discussed until early 2015, Pakistan wanted to hook up a portion of Lahore with the Indian side, enabling the capital of its Punjab province to draw electricity from the Indian grid. Pakistan made the proposal to an Indian government expert group that visited the country in June 2013, and met then Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in Lahore and then federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif in Islamabad. The idea then was to transfer 250-300 MW from India as a short-term fix for Pakistan s power crisis, and there is potential to revive it yet. Illegal trade

In the absence of full trade relations, illegal trading is rampant, mostly routed through West Asian countries and Nepal. Two years ago, India had received information on illegal transfer of funds from Pakistan through import of California almonds via Trade Facilitation Centres in Jammu and Kashmir. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a case on December 16, 2016. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

8. India-Pakistan, cricket and politics (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II;

IOBR)






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Imran Khan is keen on India and Pakistan resuming bilateral cricket, and he had taken this up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his visit to India in December 2015. India s condition for playing again is that Pakistan must stop cross-border terror. Except in tournaments organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC), cricket s global governing body, the Asian giants haven t played each other since Pakistan toured India for ODIs and T20s in December 2012-January 2013. The game has, in fact, been hostage to politics since the mid-1960s. The early years

A year before Independence and Partition, the cricket team of undivided India travelled from Karachi to England for three Tests. The team was led by Iftikhar Ali Khan, the Nawab of Pataudi, and had a swashbuckling allrounder, Abdul Hafeez Kardar. In 1952-53, when Pakistan came to India for their first-ever Test series, Kardar was captain, and India was led by Lala Amarnath. From then until 1961, when cricket ties froze for the first time, the countries played three five-Test series. The entry of politics

In 1955, when an team led by Vinoo Mankad was touring, Pakistan s Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Bogra said in London: It must be a matter of the utmost concern to the conscience of the free world that after seven long years the four million inhabitants of Kashmir should still (be) denied the right of self-determination. Despite that provocation though, the tour was a great success. In his A Corner of a Foreign Field: The Indian History of a British Sport, historian Ramachandra Guha wrote how the Maharajkumar of Vizianagaram (Vizzy), speaking for the Indian cricket board, had said: Where politicians had failed, we (cricketers) succeeded by coming nearer to each other. Vizzy proposed that India and Pakistan play each other every alternate year on the Ashes model, for an urn containing soil from the two countries. A Pakistani fan named Syed Khan Bahadur wrote to the editor of a publication suggesting the two countries play for a Gandhi-Jinnah Trophy . On the field, Polly Umrigar, Vijay Manjrekar and Pankaj Roy shone with the bat for India, and G S Ramchand and Subhash Gupte with the ball. War interruption

After Pakistan toured India in 1960-61, India were supposed to go for a return tour in 1964. But by then, political relations between the two countries had deteriorated significantly. Pakistan had been planning Operation Gibraltar, which involved infiltrating forces into Jammu and Kashmir to start a rebellion against India. Skirmishes began in April 1965, and war in August. The Tashkent peace agreement was signed on January 10, 1966, but persisting tensions ensured that no cricket was played between the two countries for the next few years. War broke out again in 1971, and this time the hostilities ended in the humiliating defeat and dismemberment of Pakistan. Resumption aborted






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In 1975, the cricket boards started discussions on reviving bilateral cricket. In 1976, during the Emergency, the boards met again to discuss the possibility of a full series in 1977. But Gen Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq s coup d état of July 1977 hurled Pakistan into turmoil. Goodwill and cricket

Morarji Desai, who became Prime Minister in 1977, decided to extend an olive branch to Zia and, as Bishan Singh Bedi wrote some years ago, it was us cricketers he chose to send to Pakistan on a goodwill tour . Bedi was captain of the side that travelled for three Tests and three ODIs in October-November 1978, ending a 17-year freeze. It was not pleasant, Bedi wrote: We had never experienced anything like that… There were social do s just about every evening, but did we ever see a charming feminine face? Our lads quickly became disillusioned… And on the cricket field we were destined to be even more disillusioned. Pakistan won the Tests 2-0 and the ODIs 2-1 after Bedi conceded the third game to protest shortpitched bowling by the home side (the so-called Sahiwal fiasco). Five Pakistanis — Mushtaq Mohammad, Asif Iqbal, Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas and Imran Khan — had joined Kerry Packer s World Series Cricket, but Zia s government ordered the board to lift its ban on them so a full-strength side could be fielded against India. Asif s Pakistanis played six Tests in India in 1979-80, a series that Sunil Gavaskar s men won 2-0. In 1982-83, Imran blew Gavaskar s team away, picking up 40 wickets in the six-Test series that Pakistan won 3-0. Pakistan also won the four-match ODI series 3-1. In September-October 1983, Zaheer Abbas led Pakistan to India, drawing all three Tests, but losing the ODI series 0-2 to Kapil Dev s side. A series cut short

On October 31, 1984, India were batting in an ODI in Sialkot, when the deputy commissioner, Ismail Qureshi, received information that Indira Gandhi had been shot dead. The official was told that the game should be abandoned immediately. I sat there…, thinking, This cannot be implemented ! Qureshi was quoted as saying by Cricinfo s The Cricket Monthly. India was playing Pakistan, 25,000 people in the stands were cheering every ball. How could I step in and tell everyone to pack up and go home in the middle of the innings? I decided it was beyond what I could handle, so for the moment I let the match go on. After India had batted out their 40 overs, Qureshi broke the news to captain Gavaskar and manager Raj Singh Dungarpur. India returned immediately, abandoning the rest of the tour. When the crowd was informed why the game was being called off, people started clapping (and then) melted away, peacefully, out of the stadium , Qureshi was quoted as saying. Indira Gandhi was deeply unpopular in Pakistan, but this was a reaction I could never have predicted. In January-March 1987, Imran led a team to India for five Tests and six ODIs, which Pakistan won 1-0 and 5-1 respectively. Zia showed up during the series, met with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and watched a match in Jaipur. In November-December 1989, India played four Tests and four ODIs in Pakistan, drawing the Test series 0-0, and losing the ODIs 0-2 with no result in two games.






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Kashmir and Kargil

Through the 90s, as the Kashmir insurgency raged, India and Pakistan mostly played each other in neutral venues like Sharjah and in tournaments like the World Cup. The countries hosted the 1996 World Cup, along with Sri Lanka. In September-October 1997, Sachin Tendulkar led India to Pakistan for three ODIs, which Pakistan won 2-1. In January-February 1999, Pakistan toured India for the Asian Test Championship and a triangular ODI series. On June 8, 1999, as the Kargil War raged, India and Pakistan played a World Cup match in Old Trafford. But Kargil ensured there would be no bilateral cricket between India and Pakistan for the next five years. When the teams faced each other at Centurion in the 2003 World Cup, it wasn t just another match . Lata Mangeshkar sent a message to Sourav Ganguly, urging him to lead India to victory. Tournament director Ali Bacher requested both teams to send out a friendship message to avoid untoward incidents in the stands. Match referee Mike Procter had a chat with the captains, telling them it was a huge opportunity to perform, and also a great responsibility . India won, riding on Tendulkar s scintillating 75-ball 98. He called home after the match and his wife Anjali took to the phone near the window so that he could hear the firecrackers outside. Dil bhi jeetiye

Bilateral cricket resumed in 2004, mainly because of the efforts of Jagmohan Dalmiya and his PCB counterpart Shahryar Khan. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee gave the go-ahead months before he demitted office, sending the side off to Pakistan with the message, Khel bhi jeetiye, dil bhi jeetiye (win matches, and win hearts, too). Bilateral cricket relations were relatively normal for the next few years. India visited Pakistan in June-July 2008 for the Asia Cup. And then 26/11 happened. Almost five years later, in 2012-13, India hosted Pakistan for a short limited-overs series, but the two countries haven t played any bilateral cricket since. Current position

A couple of years ago, when he was helming the BCCI, BJP MP Anurag Thakur had tweeted: Dawood (Ibrahim) in Karachi. NSA wants to meet separatists here. Are you really serious

about peace and you expect we ll play cricket with you? Over the last year, the BCCI has approached the government several times to know its stand on India-Pakistan bilateral cricket, but the replies have always been negative. Because of Pakistan s participation, this year s Asia Cup has had to be shifted from India to the UAE. The Pakistan board, meanwhile, has taken the bilateral cricket issue to the ICC dispute resolution panel, demanding a $60-million compensation from the BCCI for not honouring the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that required the two countries to play five bilateral series between 2015 and 2023. The matter will be heard in October. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

9. Kerala floods: Why India turned down UAE offer — a 2004 policy, its symbolic

signal (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; IOBR)






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On Wednesday, India turned down the UAE s reported offer of Rs 700 crore as aid for flood relief in Kerala. While this came despite a 2016 National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) that provides for accepting foreign assistance, the NDMP is different from the policy followed by New Delhi since December 2004, soon after the tsunami. The NDMP, finalised in May 2016, says, The Government of India does not issue any appeal for foreign assistance in the wake of a disaster. However, if the national government of another country voluntarily offers assistance as a goodwill gesture in solidarity with the disaster victims, the Central Government may accept the offer. It says the Home Ministry is required to coordinate with the External Affairs Ministry, primarily responsible for reviewing foreign offers of assistance and channelising these. While the 2016 guidelines have been mostly on paper, the government has been following the policy on disaster aid decided in 2004, when then PM Manmohan Singh said, We feel that we can cope with the situation on our own and we will take their help if needed. Since then, New Delhi has decided to follow a policy of not accepting aid from foreign governments. How policy began

Prime Minister Singh was taking forward the NDA-I government s broader policy on foreign aid. The idea that India had become a large economy, and that accepting small aid moneys from countries was not in keeping with the times, had taken root during Atal Bihari Vajpayee s first full term in office as Prime Minister. Jaswant Singh, who was External Affairs Minister for three years, held a worldview that aid from the rich to the poor in a globalising world had become irrelevant. Within his first six months as Finance Minister after taking over in mid-2002, he was determined to send a symbolic signal to end India s dependence on concessional debt. India had already graduated to become a less indebted country in the IMF ranking. There were some doubts whether such a move would be perceived as a rude gesture in diplomatic circles. Besides, the External Affairs Ministry was miffed since its explicit concurrence was not sought — it had to deal with countries bilaterally, and manage the fallout of an abrupt change in aid receiving policy. Nevertheless, a political call was taken riding on strong macroeconomic fundamentals. India had registered a surplus in its current account in 2001-02 and its foreign exchange reserves had topped $75 billion by February 2003. Jaswant Singh proposed to actually pre-pay $10 billion of India s external loans. Since 1956, India had severe foreign exchange constraints, but 2003-04 was a different year, and the Finance Minister was preparing the ground for the India Shining campaign for the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. In his last Budget speech in 2003-04, he said it was time to review India s dependence on external donors. The government not only pre-paid a part of its external debt but also






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decided to provide debt relief to highly indebted poor countries that owed India substantial sums. In his speech, Singh announced that India would ask its bilateral partners that provided small assistance packages to route it through non-governmental organisations. He did not abruptly stop funding for agreed programmes, saying they would be allowed to complete their due course. In May 2005, in reply to a Parliament question, then MoS (Home) S Regupathy said, Government has decided to negotiate external assistance from multi-donor agencies viz

World Bank, ADB and UN agencies for long term rehabilitation and reconstruction for mainland States/UT of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. Bilateral assistance could also be accepted if routed through the multi-donor agencies. The negotiations for US $465 million for Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry have been completed with the World Bank and assistance of US $200 million has been approved by the ADB for Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The shortfall, if any, after final negotiations with the multi-donor agencies, will be met from internal resources. Before & after 2004

After the tsunami, the government might have felt that India had the capacity to handle disasters like these. And secondly, accepting from any one government opens the floodgates for others as well, and it would be diplomatically difficult to refuse from some while accepting from others, an official said. However, this policy is limited to foreign governments and does not extend to individuals and charity organisations. Until then, India had accepted aid from foreign governments — for the Uttarkashi earthquake (1991), Latur earthquake (1993), Gujarat earthquake (2001), Bengal cyclone (2002) and Bihar floods (July 2004). In the last 14 years, it has refused aid from Russia, the US and Japan for the Uttarakhand floods in 2013, the Kashmir earthquake in 2005 and Kashmir floods in 2014. Clarifying the grounds for refusal of foreign aid for Kerala floods, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, In line with the existing policy, the Government is committed to meeting the requirements for relief and rehabilitation through domestic efforts. Maldives, Qatar and Thailand, besides the UAE, have offered monetary support for relief operations in Kerala. For multilateral assistance, the 2016 NDMP guidelines say, An offer of assistance from UN agencies, India will accept the offer only if the government considers it necessary, based on various factors. If accepted, GoI will issue directions to the respective Ministry or State Government to coordinate with the concerned UN agency. Any financial assistance offered by UN financial institutions involving foreign exchange will require the approval of the Department of Economic Affairs. India will allow UN agencies and international NGOs already operating in the country at the time of the disaster event to continue their humanitarian assistance to people in the affected area in coordination with the relevant Central Ministries/Departments and the State Government as per applicable norms and protocols.






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10. A year after Doklam face-off (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; IOBR)

When, and why, did the face-off begin?

The faceoff on Dolam plateau in Doklam area of Bhutan between Indian and Chinese soldiers started on June 16, 2017, when a large construction party of the Chinese Army entered the area with road construction equipment and tried to build a road in Southern Doklam region to Jampheri ridge. The Bhutanese patrol initially confronted them but they turned the patrol away. Indian soldiers from Doka La, an Army post overlooking the area, sought to dissuade the Chinese personnel from their attempt to alter the status quo. The Chinese did not agree, leading to a face-off between soldiers of the two sides deployed in the close vicinity, as Indians physically stopped any Chinese construction attempt. Did Bhutan raise it with China?

The Bhutanese Ambassador to India publicly stated that they had lodged a protest on June 20, 2017, with the Chinese government through their Embassy in New Delhi. On June 29, Bhutan s Foreign Ministry issued a statement underlining that the construction of a road inside Bhutanese territory was a violation of the 1988 and 1998 agreements between Bhutan and China. It also urged a return to the status quo as before June 16, 2017. What were India s concerns?

India s concerns emanated from Chinese action to change the status quo on the ground by building a road in violation of China s existing understanding with both India and Bhutan. This had implications for the determination of the tri-junction point demarcating India, China and Bhutan — India says it is at Batang la while Chinese claim it to be at Gymochen — and the alignment of the India-China boundary in the Sikkim sector. India was working in close coordination with Bhutan at various levels, and was equally concerned about the violation of its 1988 and 1998 agreements with China; these do not allow any change in status quo while boundary negotiations were in progress.






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Road construction would have brought the Chinese military close to the India border in West Bengal and exposed the Jampheri ridge to the possibility of Chinese presence, creating serious security vulnerability for the Silguri Corridor. This became a red line for New Delhi. When did negotiations between India and China to resolve the crisis begin?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on July 7, 2017 on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Hamburg, where he said such matters can only be resolved through diplomatic channels. India initiated diplomatic communications with the Chinese side in Beijing to seek a resolution: 13 rounds of negotiations were held, led by then Indian Ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale, the current Foreign Secretary. From time to time, officials from the External Affairs Ministry assisted him in these discussions. What arguments did India put forth in these negotiations?

One, India contested the Chinese claims of sovereignty over this region as it is part of Bhutan. Two, India argued that the Chinese attempt to alter the status quo amounted to a unilateral determination of the tri-junction of the three countries. Moreover, the India-China boundary in Sikkim sector had not been settled as the Anglo-Chinese convention of 1890. Three, China was violating the 2012 written common understanding between the two countries that the tri-junction would be finalised in consultation with all concerned countries. Four, having a basis of alignment of the India-China boundary is not the same as






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finalisation of boundary, as corroborated by the Chinese request for an early harvest to finalise the boundary. Five, China selectively quoting Nehru on the Sikkim boundary was against a full and accurate account of his letter. Six, settlement of India-China boundary questions was best left to the two Special Representatives. Seven, continuation of the faceoff was not in the mutual interest of India and China and prolonging it would only give others an opportunity to take advantage. Finally, India reminded the Chinese side of the Astana Consensus wherein both sides had agreed that differences should not become disputes. What led to a breakthrough?

Both sides were conscious of the importance of ending the face-off before the BRICS Summit in Xiamen, scheduled that September. India also said that on its part, as a gesture of goodwill, it was willing to take the first step to break the impasse. After six weeks of diplomatic persuasion, India got the Chinese side to reach an agreement to resolve the situation with the disengagement of border personnel at the site on August 28, 2017. The Chinese removed troops, equipment and tents by 150 m from the site, while Indian troops returned to their original positions. This addressed the challenge of the Chinese building a road and concerns about them pushing the tri-junction point southwards. But it did not bring the Chinese troops back to the status quo as before June 16, 2017 as they remained deployed in northern Doklam where they were earlier absent. Had China entered Doklam earlier?

As per External Affairs Ministry records, Chinese troops have been entering Bhutan areas since as far back as 1966, when India sent a protest note as it was handling the foreign policy for Bhutan. In Doklam, this has been happening regularly in the last two decades, where the Chinese have been coming down from Batang la, Merugla Sinchala ridge line. The Bhutanese usually stop them when they come up to the Torsana la. Usual Chinese patrols comprised less than 10 soldiers, but this time there were 80 people with a lot of construction equipment. This was with a declared purpose of extending a road they had built over the last 15 years in northern Doklam up to the point of face-off. This track was preceded by the Chinese coming over the ridge line in 1999-2000. In 2007, a Chinese patrol came and destroyed Indian self-help bunkers in Doklam. But 2017 was the first time a Chinese transgression was meant to alter the tri-junction and threaten India s national security. What has happened in the one year since?

Tensions have subsided to a great extent following an informal summit between Modi and Xi in Wuhan four months ago. The two leaders agreed to provide strategic guidance to their militaries, which has since led to both armies working actively to avoid any confrontation. In June, Foreign Secretary Gokhale said India and China would be holding a series of dialogues, including the 21st round of talks on the unsettled boundary between their special representatives, besides separate talks involving their defence and home






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ministers. Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe was on a four-day visit to India last week that focused on stepping up strategic communication between the two countries. (Adapted from The Indian Express)






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Geography

1. Bermuda Triangle mystery solved? Experts claim 100-feet rogue waves behind

disappearances (Adapted from GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper I; Geography)

Also known as the Devil s Triangle, the region between Florida, Puerto Rico and Bermuda has reportedly claimed hundreds of lives and dozens of ships/planes in the last century itself. (File) The mystery of Bermuda Triangle – a 5,00,000 km square patch in the Atlantic Ocean – has baffled many for decades. At least 75 planes and hundreds of ships have reportedly disappeared under mysterious circumstances while crossing the Bermuda Triangle. This has also given birth to a number of conspiracy theories including that of sub-sea pyramids to hexagonal clouds and alien bases. Also known as the Devil s Triangle, the region between Florida, Puerto Rico and Bermuda has reportedly claimed the lives of 1,000 people in the last 100 years. Now, a Channel 5 documentary claims that these mysterious disappearances could have been caused by 100 feet rogue waves . What are rogue waves?

Scientists often refer rogue waves as extreme storm waves . These waves can reach a height of up to 100 feet and are very spontaneous. Rogue waves were first observed in 1997 by a satellite off the coast of South Africa, The Sun reported.






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The waves are more than twice the size of surrounding waves, are very unpredictable, and

often come unexpectedly from directions. Daily Mail quoted National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration in its report. In the channel 5 documentary, The Bermuda Triangle Enigma , researchers re-created the monster water surges by using indoor stimulators. The Southampton-based research team built a model of the USS Cyclops which went missing in 1918 claiming 300 lives. The Cyclops was a 542-feet vessel which was used to ferry fuel during World War 1 and vanished while on its way from Bahia to Baltimore in 1918. No evidence of the wreckage or the 306 member crew has ever been found. Some experts argue that the Cyclops met with a supernatural end. Possibly the biggest loss in US Naval history, the ship could have disappeared anywhere and not necessarily in the Triangle itself. The infamous area in the Atlantic can see three massive storms coming together from

different directions – the perfect conditions for a rogue wave , DailyMail quoted an ocean and earth scientist, Dr Simon Boxall, as saying. He further added that such waves could even snap the Cyclops in two. Another scientist, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, told News.com.au that according to Lloyds of London and US Coast Guard, the number of planes which go missing in Bermuda Triangle is just like everywhere in the world. Yet, the Bermuda Triangle remains a mysterious place with a high number of disappearances. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) agrees with Krusnelnicki and said that Bermuda Triangle has the same degree of air and sea traffic like any other place. The ocean has always been a mysterious place to humans, and when foul weather or poor navigation is involved, it can be a very deadly place, the NOAA told DailyMail. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

2. What a liquid water lake reveals and conceals about Mars (Relevant for GS

Prelims, GS Mains Paper I; Geography)

In The Things that Live on Mars, which appeared in Cosmopolitan in March 1908, H G Wells asked, Is it probable that evolution has gone upon exactly parallel lines on the two planets (Earth and Mars)? Intelligent beings could not be present in isolation, he wrote; they can be but a part of the natural history of Mars in just the same way that man is but a part of the natural history of the earth . The discovery by an 11-member Italian team led by Prof Roberto Orosei of the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica in Bologna of a 20-km lake a kilometre and a half under the






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southern polar ice cap of Mars concludes in some ways a decades-old debate over the presence of a persistent body of liquid water on the planet. Does it also make it more likely for life to be present on Mars? Water of life?

Life as we know it on Earth is kind of tied up with water. Our definition of life is based on how it is on Earth. But why does that have to be (the same) elsewhere? said Dr Amitabha Ghosh of NASA s Mars Exploration Rover Mission. Our fascination with Mars is partly because there is evidence of water and partly because of popular imagination. For example, some of the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn apparently have underground oceans, which also might have past or present life… However, Dr Ghosh said, We don t think of Jupiter as a hospitable planet. By chance, the more we explored Mars, the more we found evidence of past water, present water… the more we explore, there does seem there is evidence of water, all over. The repeated missions to Mars in search of life coincided with the search for life in extreme environments on Earth, Dr Ghosh said. A couple of decades back at NASA, we started looking at extreme environments on Earth. We perhaps don t think life can exist in very hot conditions, in oceans, in the Antarctic. (But) In absolutely unexpected places, in extreme conditions, people find life. It helped broaden our sense of where life can survive. Martian salts

Dr Anil Bhardwaj, Director of the Ahmedabad-based Physical Research Laboratory, said atmospheric pressure on the Martian surface is almost a hundred times less than on Earth, ensuring that water will not be in liquid form, but rather, as ice or vapour. What this means is that the presence of water is much beneath the surface, said Dr

Bhardwaj, who previously worked on ISRO s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM). Now, this observation (by the Italian scientists) is based on a very large number of datasets collected over a three-year-period which previous researchers had an inkling about, but the finding was not conclusive. Dr Bhardwaj said it is possible the water is mixed with other compounds including salt, which reduces the temperature and helps it retain liquid form. Dr Ghosh agreed: The atmospheric pressure is so low that water doesn t survive. The perplexing thing here is how does this persistent body of water survive? That we might have to probe. The way we do it on Earth is we add a lot of salt. What is the composition of water? Is it water, is it combined with salts? Mission technology

While this isn t the first-time water has been found on Mars (Dr Orosei and his team said evidence of lakes, rivers, and deltas had been reported by the Viking Mission Orbiter 40 years ago, and findings from NASA s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter last year provided evidence of intermittent flows of liquid water on present-day Mars), the discovery of the underground lake is still important.






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We have gotten water in different forms, subsurface water, this is perhaps the persistent

stagnant lake, but see, it is like, you find water at a lake near Delhi and then you have underground water from a well. Both are equally interesting, Dr Ghosh said. The Italian researchers surveyed the Planum Australe region, or the southern polar plains of Mars, using the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) instrument, a low-frequency radar on board the European Space Agency s Mars Express Orbiter. However, MARSIS could not detect the composition of the water, Dr Orosei said at the press conference where he announced the discovery. There was no technology yet to investigate the discovery, he said. Dr Ghosh concurred that All missions start with technology that needs to be developed to an extent, (and) an entire mission cannot be put together by existing technology. It was perfectly conceivable , he said, that the technology would be developed once a space

agency thinks this is a kind of mission they want to do . Humans on Mars

Dr Bhardwaj said the discovery was very significant because of its implications for human exploration of Mars. India s MOM, launched in November 2013, has been in orbit around the planet since September 24, 2014, and has picked up its surface features. Our belief is that there will be more areas where liquid water could be, it so happens it has not be discovered so far, he said. Dr Ghosh made the point that while water is important for the journey to Mars and its colonisation, it is also important to rationalise the cost structure of going to Mars . Referring to SpaceX founder Elon Musk s push to get humans to Mars, he said: One of the core things is the generation of fuel. He (Musk) talks about fuel depots on Mars, and water is a very important part of that story. We have just found evidence of water. (It is a) minute example… and it is not economically viable to extract it, so you have to show that Martian water can be extracted, converted… The game of space exploration is also in large part (about) doing things at a rational cost. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

3. Why, for only third time, Idukki dam is open (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains

Paper I; geography)

For only the third time since the Idukki dams system in Kerala was commissioned in 1975, one of the five shutters at Cheruthoni was opened recently (the earlier occasions were in 1981 and 1992) after water in the reservoir rose to 2,399.04 ft, precariously close to its full storage level of 2,403 ft. Even after a discharge of 50 cubic metres per second, the reservoir has continued to rise, and the discharge will be increased to 100 cubic metres per second from 7 am Friday. Rain and reservoir






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The lake sprawls across Kerala s lifeline Periyar river, and was created by the arch dam of Idukki, and the smaller Cheruthoni and Kulamavu dams. Incessant rain since the onset of the monsoon has left Idukki and other reservoirs downstream brimming. While Kerala as a whole has received 15% excess rain, Idukki district got 41% excess until August 8. Full and overflowing

The Idukki arch dam has no shutters. The Kulamavu dam has penstock pipes that carry water to an underground power station at Moolamattam 43 km away. The water from the reservoir is used to run six generators with a total installed capacity of 780 MW. Shutters of Cheruthoni dam are opened when the dam reaches full reservoir level. At Panamkutty downstream from Cheruthoni, a tributary of the Periyar called Mudirapuzhayar joins the flow from the dam. At Kallarkutty on the Mudirapuzhayar stands a power generation dam with a storage of 457 ft above sea level — this dam is currently overflowing, boosting the flow in the Periyar. A little ahead stands the Lower Periyar dam, which, too, is overflowing. Further on its journey towards the sea, the Periyar is joined by a tributary called Edamalayar, which has a dam by the same name. The shutters of Edamalayar dam were opened Thursday. Next along the route is the Bhoothathankettu dam in Ernakulam district. The Periyar then winds its way through Kalady and Aluva on the last leg of its journey to drain into the Arabian Sea 24 km north of Kochi. Another branch of the river flows from Aluva to Kochi s Udyogamandal before merging with the backwaters.

Threat to Kochi airport In its journey to the sea, the Periyar comes within 2 km of Kochi s international airport, the runway of which was built after reclaiming a paddy field. A stream called Chengalthodu drains water from the airport into the Periyar. When the Edamalayar dam was opened in 2013, water had flooded the runway; fears that the rising Periyar would also lift the Chengalthodu led to operations at the airport being suspended temporarily Thursday afternoon. A first this monsoon

On both earlier occasions, the Idukki dam was opened in October, during the northeast monsoon. This is the first southwest monsoon that has seen the dam being opened, and when the Edamalayar dam too, has been opened. (Adapted from The Indian Express)






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Economics

1. Online shopping set to change (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III;

Economics)

The recommendations of a Commerce Ministry task force — if accepted and written into policy — can significantly affect e-commerce in India. It could change the way you buy and pay at online marketplaces A task force of the Commerce Ministry has submitted its recommendations on a draft national e-commerce policy. The suggestions, if accepted by the government, could impact consumers online shopping experience in multiple ways, including how discounts are given, the availability of newer products, and the redressal of complaints. Why does India need an e-commerce policy to begin with?

India s e-commerce sector, currently estimated to be worth around $25 billion, is expected to grow to $200 billion over the next 10 years. Much of the growth in the sector is on account of cheaper smartphones and data tariffs, along with enhanced connectivity. Having covered the metros and large cities, the bigger e-commerce firms expect their next phase of growth to come from tier-II and tier-III towns, where the expansion of 3G and 4G networks have put consumers online. This is seen as resulting in job creation, productivity improvement, and increased consumer presence on online platforms. The task force has said that for India to fully benefit from these opportunities, it is important for policymakers to be cognizant also of the underlying challenges — which makes it imperative to have clearly laid-down rules for electronic commerce in the country. Many of these rules currently exist in some or the other form, and are enforced by a multiplicity of government departments and regulators. A national e-commerce policy will be an attempt at creating a one-stop shop for the norms and regulations under which online retailers will be covered. And what is this task force that has put forward recommendations for the new e-

commerce policy?

A 70-member think tank was set up in April this year, headed by Minister for Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu, and comprising the secretaries of ministries including Commerce, Information Technology, Communications, Consumer Affairs, etc., and various industry representatives. The think tank set up a task force under Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia to suggest a framework for the national policy on e-commerce. Now that the task force has submitted its recommendations, the think tank will work on creating a draft policy, which will be taken up by the government. What does the task force say about the inventory model of marketplace operations?

The government does not currently allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in e-commerce companies that hold their own inventories. Online retailers with foreign investments can only operate as marketplaces — letting sellers list their products on the platform. However, given that the lion s share of investments in e-commerce firms came from abroad, the e-tailers found a way around the government s norm by setting up seller entities that sold






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their products on the platforms. Later, in 2016, the government mandated that no platform should have more than 25% of its sales coming from a single seller. Due to the restrictions on the inventory-based model, e-commerce companies have not been able to offer their in-house brands extensively. The task force has recommended that FDI may be allowed in inventory-based e-commerce companies up to 49%, with the condition that the e-tailer sells 100% Made-in- India products. This will allow e-commerce firms to offer their own brands — as long as they are made in India. On the other hand, for online marketplaces, the task force has suggested imposing restrictions on group companies of such platforms to prevent them from directly or indirectly influencing the prices of goods and services. The marketplaces will not be able to offer deep discounts through their in-house companies listed as sellers. Why is a Central Consumer Protection Authority needed for e-commerce?

There have been several incidents across the country of customers expressing dissatisfaction with products they purchased online. In some cases, bricks and soaps have been delivered instead of mobile phones. This is an inherent flaw of the marketplace model, where platforms do not have full control over the supply chain. Customers have also complained of prices being artificially jacked up higher than the maximum retail price (MRP), and of problems with the delivery of purchased products. The Consumer Affairs Ministry s National Consumer Helpline is currently the only redressal mechanism available for such grievances. Between April and November last year, the National Consumer Helpline received 54,114 complaints related to the e-commerce sector. To provide a forum for consumers, the task force has suggested the setting up of a Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), which, besides helping consumers, will also act as the nodal agency for intra-government coordination, and provide a platform for e-commerce operators regarding complaints of fraudulent activities. Will the ways in which payments are made for online purchases change?

If the task force s recommendations finally go through and become policy, e-commerce platforms will have to mandatorily provide the government s RuPay payment option. The task force has also suggested that foreign e-commerce websites should be brought on a level playing field with their Indian counterparts by making them follow the same rules for payment systems such as two-factor authentication. With the aim to make online payments safer, the task force has also suggested creating a fraud intelligence mechanism, using artificial intelligence-based authentication systems, for early detection of frauds. Currently, a large chunk of payments for online purchases is made through the cash-on-delivery option. (Adapted from The Indian Express) 2. Position of India s forex reserves (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III;

Economics)






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India s foreign exchange reserves have been falling steadily over the last many weeks, possibly due to intervention by the Reserve Bank of India to stem the rupee s slide and also because of capital outflows from the debt market. The forex reserves were $405.14 billion as on July 20, a decline of $19.40 billion from the March 30 figure of 424.36 billion, and $20.94 billion from the highest value of $426.08 billion (April 13). The forex reserves had crossed the $400-billion mark for the first time in September 2017. obligations. Another factor to which the decline in forex reserves can be attributed is a rise in the trade deficit on account of rising crude prices and electronic imports. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

3. Why a currency war is a worry (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III;

Economics)

Last week, Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel warned that trade wars among various countries may lead to a currency war. What does this expression mean, what leads to a currency war, and what are its implications on economies around the world, including India s? When did the world first hear of a currency war?

In the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis that started with the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the US in September 2008, fears of a global contagion followed. The biggest concern of countries then was to avert a sharp slide in their respective economic growth curves; decelerating growth means job losses, and slow growth means no new jobs. In view of the enormity of the situation, then US President George W Bush announced the G20 (Group of 20) Summit, the first to be held, in Washington DC in November 2008. India, the 13th largest economy then, was a member of the G20, a grouping that represented almost






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four-fifths of the world economy. The single most important decision by the summit leaders in DC was to coordinate efforts and strive for a broad revival of the global economy. Developed countries — the US and members of the European Union — embarked on expansionary fiscal and monetary policies (spending more and keeping interest rates low). Worried about their individual growth prospects, some countries turned protectionist in due course by introducing non-tariff barriers, and also occasionally imposing higher duties on imports. A potent weapon wielded by many countries was to either devalue their currencies, or deliberately keep the value suppressed so that their exports remained cheaper and competitive in the world market. The US and key European countries adopted several measures to keep interest rates low and stoke demand. China, the fourth largest economy and a major global exporter even in 2008, deliberately kept the renminbi value low, and Japanese and South Korean central bankers stepped into the currency markets to keep their currencies low too. Then finance minister of Brazil (also a G20 member) Guido Mantega described such competitive lowering of currency values using monetary and exchange rate instruments as international currency wars . Why talk about a currency war now?

Global trade skirmishes have intensified since March this year, when US President Donald Trump threatened to slap tariffs on Chinese goods. China refused to blink, and the war has only intensified in the past few months. The US tariffs on Chinese imports that are actually in effect are less than 10% of total $506 billion US imports of Chinese products. But the war may escalate given the shrill voices of the currently dominant power, the US, and the rising power, China. Higher tariffs make Chinese products more expensive, but a weakening of the yuan partly offsets the impact. In the last three months, the yuan has depreciated almost 8% vis-à-vis the US dollar. While this may be due to fundamental changes in the Chinese economy (slower growth), it has left Trump frustrated, leading him him to announce more measures. Similarly, a war between the US and Europe too has escalated after Trump imposed tariffs on European steel and aluminum in the beginning of June, and the EU retaliated three weeks later. Such protectionist measures (higher customs duties on EU steel and aluminum make these expensive in the US and protect domestic US producers) entail the risk of countries using various exchange rate and monetary policy instruments competitively to weaken or devalue their currencies. This is what RBI Governor Patel meant on August 1 when, after a meeting of the monetary policy committee, he said: We are possibly at the beginning of a currency war. Does India need to worry about this currency war?

In the last 10 years, the Indian economy has grown rapidly, from being the 13th largest in 2008 to the sixth largest in 2018. It has integrated more and more with global markets. When world trade is robust and the global economy is on an upswing, India s growth rate gets a booster. This happened during 2003-08 when the Indian economy grew almost in double digits. Rising crude oil prices (around $68-70 a barrel now), however, do not bode






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well for India. The country is a net importer of energy and higher prices will put pressure on key macro-economic variables such as fiscal deficit and current account deficit. There is also this fear of capital flight if the macroeconomic situation worsens. Flight of capital may not be restricted to institutions pulling out money from the markets. Indians have been remitting more and more money abroad over the last few years. In 2017-18, these outward remittances totalled $11.33 billion. Just a decade ago, it was just $1.58 billion. This will adversely impact currency, inflation and interest rates. In the calendar year 2018, the Indian rupee has already depreciated or weakened 6.77% against the dollar. Patel s warning on increasing external risks and a currency war should be seen in the context of the global trade skirmishes that have intensified since March when Trump first threatened tariffs on Chinese goods. China has refused to blink and so has the European Union. Countries are looking inward, and have become more protectionist in trade. The US, and India as well, may be growing at a faster clip now. But fears of a global trade war loom large unless countries retreat from their current positions of remarkable brinkmanship. The current 25-basis-points increase in policy rate, that came quickly on the back of a similar hike in June, in part, addresses the problem of currency too. Higher interest rates and stable inflation make a country more attractive for foreign investment. This helps the rupee strengthen. An international currency war due to heightened tariff tensions can hurt the global economy, and in the process hurt India s growth prospects too. This is worrisome for India, because it would curtail the central bank s flexibility in use of instruments to address problems of high inflation, slowing growth and weakening rupee. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

4. What makes an airport fit for night landing: lighting, landing guidance (Relevant

for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Economics)






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Last week, a test flight landed at Srinagar airport after sunset, demonstrating that the airport is safe for night landing. Once all the regulatory procedures are completed, passengers will be able to take night flights to the summer capital of Jammu & Kashmir. When, and how, is an airport suitable for night landing? In Srinagar s case, two main factors came together to make it possible – and upgrade of the runway lighting system at the airport, and an extension of watch hours by the Indian Air Force, to which the airport belongs. India has 101 airports; until last year, about 35 did not have night landing facilities. These were primarily smaller airports that saw lower passenger traffic. According to a Civil Aviation Ministry source, it is usually the Airports Authority of India, which manages most of the airports in India, that takes up a particular one for consideration for providing night landing facilities, once airlines have shown an interest in post-sunset operations. The facilities

The main requirement for night landing is that the runway approach lighting system include a series of light bars with strobe lights installed at the end of the runway. Such a system serves a runway that is equipped with an instrument landing system, or ILS. With modernisation of aircraft and airport equipment, ILS is replacing the traditional approach, under which pilots landing aircraft depended on what was visible to them. ILS uses a series of navigational aids to help pilots land the aircraft if they cannot establish visual contact with the runway. As per the International Telecommunication Union, ILS is a system which provides the aircraft with horizontal and vertical guidance just before and






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during landing and, at certain fixed points, indicates the distance to the reference point of landing . It is also important for airport operators to have lighting along the runway edge, so that pilots landing at night are able to make visual contact and align the aircraft with the centre of the runway. ILS versions

Instrument approach operations in India are classified on the basis of the lowest operating minimum range , below which approach to the runway requires a visual reference. At the low end is the CAT-I category, under which the touchdown zone cannot be lower than 550 metres; in other words, the landing aircraft can make contact with the tarmac only when the pilot can see at least 550 m ahead. Under CAT-II, this can go down to 300 metres. Under CAT-IIIA and CAT-IIIB, the touchdown zone can be as low as 175 metres and 75 metres, respectively. Currently at Indian airports, CAT-IIIB is the most modernised version of ILS installed. Usually, the system is installed at airports that are expected to experience low-visibility conditions during the winter, due to fog. At present, CAT-IIIB systems are installed at Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Amritsar and Kolkata airports. Simply installing the system at airports, however, is not enough. Airlines also have to use aircraft that are compliant with the latest systems and engage pilots who are trained to make instrument-based landing. Most major airlines flying frequently out of airports that experience low-visibility conditions, in fact, do have the relevant aircraft. Generally, however, they tend to train only those pilots who will be flying to these airports regularly. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

5. Politics and economics: The rupee s Turkish worries (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS

Mains Paper III; Economics)

Recently, the rupee breached the 70-mark for the first time against the US dollar, hitting a new low of 70.08 in intra-day trading. A day earlier, the Indian currency had recorded its biggest intra-day fall in five years, hitting 69.93 against the greenback, amid rising concern that the precipitous slide of the Turkish lira could spark fresh turbulence in global currency markets. The falling lira

The lira has been in free fall following political and economic problems in Turkey, combined with fresh trouble on the external front. President Donald Trump s doubling of US import tariffs on Turkish steel and Aluminium has further strained the already wobbly relations between the NATO allies. The primary reason for the ongoing rout in the lira, though, is poor economic management by the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Turkish economy is overheating due to soaring inflation, which reached an annual rate of nearly 16% in July,






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mounting levels of foreign debt, and a very high current account deficit. Both the Turkish government and central bank are facing a serious loss of credibility. There are signs of a massive bubble in the construction sector, further threatening the country s already fragile banking system. Even before Trump s tariff hit sparked the current crisis last week, the lira had been the world s worst performing currency, having slid by almost 50% against the dollar in the past one year. After the US move, the lira has fallen by a fifth against the dollar during the past week alone. Political trigger

Behind the trade dispute is a standoff over Andrew Brunson, an American Christian pastor who has been detained in Turkey since October 2016 on charges of terrorism, espionage, and of helping plan the failed coup d état against Erdogan. Turkey is also holding an American NASA scientist, and three Turkish nationals working for US consulates in the country. The countries had appeared to come close to an agreement last month, but the deal collapsed at the final stage, infuriating Trump who on July 26 threatened large sanctions if Brunson was not released immediately. The tariffs and the crash of the lira followed, and the two countries were plunged into what is being described as the worst bilateral crisis since the US arms embargo on Turkey following its invasion of Cyprus in 1974.

Erdogan has remained defiant amidst the currency crisis, and threatened Tuesday to boycott all American-made electronic products. The lira pulled back from a record low it hit a day earlier, helped by the Turkish central bank s new liquidity measures.






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Reports from Ankara, though, suggested Turkey s options were shrinking. According to estimates by the International Monetary Fund, Turkey has the least adequate level of reserves of the major emerging market economies, which makes it particularly vulnerable to speculative attacks , The Guardian reported. There are concerns about political interference with the independent central bank, especially after the President appointed his son-in-law the country s Finance Minister. The Turkish central bank has been reportedly restrained from raising interest rates to quell surging inflation — the last time it raised rates was at an emergency meeting back in January 2014. On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Ankara to ensure the independence of its central bank as a way out of the crisis. Impact on rupee

The rupee has been on the downslide this year, having slipped 9% in 2018 (it started the year at 63.67 to a dollar) as foreign investors sold $6.8 million and $5.15 billion in equity and debt markets respectively. Turkey s currency crisis has been the trigger for fresh selling across emerging markets, and the rupee has reacted sharply. The rupee has been among the hardest hit in Asia from the Turkey-led selloff in emerging assets, largely due to a wide current account deficit (CAD, or the difference between the country s imports and its exports) that is already strained by higher oil prices. The Finance Ministry has blamed external factors for the rupee s fall; Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chander Garg said Tuesday that the external factors may ease going forward, and that there was nothing at this stage to worry . SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar said all currencies have weakened against the dollar, and the Indian currency has not weakened very much in comparison to other currencies.






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After the rupee breached the 70-mark Tuesday, traders indicated that the currency recouped some of the losses as state-run banks sold the dollar on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India. The rupee climbed back to 69.90 at the close of the day s trading. Analysts maintain that the rupee extended losses Tuesday on account of panic demand from importers, who are buying dollars aggressively. The capital markets brushed off the panic in the currency market, with the BSE Sensex closing 207 points higher Tuesday. Going forward, analysts expect factors such as the broader trend of currency movements in key emerging markets, the trend in crude oil prices, and the trajectory of the greenback strengthening against other currencies to drive the outlook for the rupee in the short term. Mixed bag ahead

A falling rupee is very good news for exporters, as it turns exports more competitive. Despite the slide in the value of the rupee relative to the dollar, it needs to be kept in mind that the fallout has negatively impacted most major currencies, especially those from emerging markets. There was a similar selloff at the time the crisis in Greece in 2009, mainly on account of contagion fears across the Euro currency union, but a majority of analysts don t see the Turkey situation cascading into a crisis of those proportions. Also, what the rupee is experiencing is a correction of sorts, given that between 2013-14 and 2017-18, its real effective exchange rate or REER — currency s weighted average in relation to a basket of 36 major currencies that is adjusted for the effects of inflation with regard to the countries concerned — appreciated by 15.9%.






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The US dollar is likely to strengthen further in the months to come, with the expected rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve in the coming quarters. According to the investment information and credit rating agency ICRA, the RBI is likely to assess the trend in the rupee vis-à-vis the emerging market currency pack, and if all emerging market currencies are depreciating, the rupee must weaken to protect export competitiveness. A weaker currency does, however, make imports costlier. High oil prices (India is the world s third biggest oil importer and ships in about 80% of its crude oil requirements) exert further pressure. The RBI has already hiked interest rates twice in its last two reviews to check inflationary pressures. It has also been intervening in the currency market using its foreign reserves to check currency volatility. In a recent report, the IMF had flagged global risks such as high oil prices and trade tensions among the factors weighing on India s growth outlook. There will also be an impact on product prices. Manish Sharma, president and CEO, Panasonic India and South Asia, said that continual strengthening of the US dollar is putting pressure on the overall input costs , and that if this trend continues, it will have an impact on prices within the white goods industry ahead of the festive season. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

6. The data that's making growth under Manmohan Singh look so good (Relevant for

GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Economics)

The Narendra Modi government has just handed the opposition Congress party an important data point that it can use to redeem the tarred image of the UPA rule, which has been accused of grossly mismanaging the economy. The revised GDP numbers show that the Manmohan Singh government did far better than earlier thought. The GDP growth touched double digits during its tenure, the second time in the history of India. The new numbers have emerged after a committee set up by the National Statistical Commission calculated the GDP with the base year of 2011-12 instead of the earlier base year of 2004-05. The committee has issued adjusted numbers for the 1994-2014 period. The revised back-series data of the GDP growth rate shows 0.3 to 0.5 percentage points increase for each year. The Congress party said growth numbers were better under the UPA. It proves that like-for-like, the economy under both UPA terms (10-year avg: 8.1%) outperformed the Modi Govt (avg 7.3%), the party s official handle tweeted. What the government did

From January 2015, the Central Statistics Office updated the base year for GDP calculation to 2011-12, replacing the old series base year of 2004-05, as per the recommendations of the National Statistical Commission. The Commission had initially suggested 2009-10 as the new base year, but it was dropped as the year was considered abnormal as the economy was still recovering from the global financial crisis of 2008. Base year is carefully selected because of the impact it has on the numbers and is usually choses as one in which no serious anomaly was present.






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The new series includes corporate information from the MCA21 database of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs instead of the results obtained from the RBI study on company finances, which means a more comprehensive inclusion of corporate data in GDP numbers. It also helped improve accuracy, particularly for the services sector, which accounts for about 60 per cent of GDP. Why government changed the base year

Change of base year to calculate GDP is done in line with the global exercise to capture economic information accurately. Ideally, the base year shoud be changed after every five years to capture the changing economy. GDP based on 2004-05 did not reflect current economic situation correctly. The new series is also compliant with the United Nations guidelines in System of National Accounts-2008. It takes information for the corporate sector and has better estimates of the unorganised sector from 2010-11 National Sample Survey on unincorporated enterprises and data on sales and service taxes. What it meant

The overhaul of the GDP was expected to expand the size of the economy due to broadening of coverage of unorganised sectors, agriculture and corporate sector. According to the revised numbers, average growth in first five-year term of the Congress-led UPA, FY05-09, goes up under the new series to 8.37% from 8.03% earlier in terms of market prices. In terms of factor cost, the increase is from 8.43% to 8.87%. Average growth during the preceding Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government is down marginally from 5.89% to 5.73%. In terms of factor cost, the decline was from 6.01% to 5.83%. In the first three years of UPA-2 (FY10-12), the average growth rate goes up from 8.46% to 8.86%. In terms of factor cost, the revision is up from 8.06% to 8.49%. Growth data based on the old series is available till FY12 while the revised series is till FY14. The committee said the deviations were not significant and attributed these to discrepancies. The statistics office has not yet taken a call on the numbers. (Adapted from The Economic Times)

7. Why a few hold most mutual funds assets (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper

III; Economics)

Last week, Ajay Tyagi, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), raised concerns over the concentration of assets among top mutual fund houses and said there was a need for more competition in the industry to bring down the cost for investors. Over the last four to five years, mutual funds have seen a significant jump in the pool of money they manage, on account of both a jump in incremental flows from domestic investors as well as a rise in equity markets. Top mutual fund houses (by assets under management) have emerged the biggest beneficiaries of this growth and have consolidated their market share. A look at these trends and the resultant concerns:






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How has the industry grown?

Over the last 12 years, the mutual fund industry has grown over 6.5 times from an average asset under management (AUM) of Rs 3.53 lakh crore in March 2007 to Rs 23.05 lakh crore in March 2018. Mutual funds are collective investment schemes run by asset management companies registered with and regulated by SEBI. They collect funds from investors to be invested in specific schemes that aim to invest the fund in stocks of companies, government and private sector bonds, gold and exchange traded funds among others, based on the nature of the scheme. A significant jump in equity markets over the last five years, along with a relatively subdued performance of other asset classes such as debt, real estate and gold, saw a large number of domestic investors diverting their focus towards equity markets through mutual funds, leading to a significant jump in assets managed by mutual funds. Between May 2014 and July 2018, the net inflow into equity schemes was Rs 3.88 lakh crore; as a result, the equity AUM of the mutual fund industry rose from 1.89 lakh crore to Rs 6.84 lakh crore in this period. What has this meant to fund houses?

The rise in the industry s assets under management brought significant gains to the fund houses. Data sourced from the Association of Mutual Funds in India show that the top five fund houses in March 2007 accounted for 52% of the industry AUM, and the top five in March 2018 account for 57.1%. Also, the top 10 mutual funds in 2007 accounted for 75% of the industry AUM, and the top 10 in March 2018 has gone up to nearly 81%. Large fund houses have gained a disproportionate share of the incremental business that came to the industry over the last five years. While this is something the regulator seems to be concerned about, industry experts say it is the natural form of growth and in any growing industry; companies best positioned to take advantage of the growth take the lead. So, even in the mutual fund industry, big fund houses, which had a stable management and good performance and invested in branch expansion and reach, benefited the most from this growth. It is important to note that after the industry saw the number of players rise from 34 in March 2007 to 46 in March 2013, this came down to 42 by the end of March 2016. While a few foreign fund houses exited the Indian market, the industry also witnessed some consolidation as a result of which some fund houses were taken over by others.






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Should this be a cause for concern?

While it is ideal to have a healthy industry with a large number of competitors, which would benefit of the consumer, the 80-20 rule seems to apply across industries where 20% of the individuals or companies account for 80% of the income. Those watching the mutual fund industry say the large fund houses have been able to consolidate their position on the back of investment on expansion across smaller cities over the last six years, and by delivering scheme performance. Industry insiders say this is the trend in developed markets too. In fact, in the $4 trillion global exchange traded fund industry, the top three players (Blackrock, Vanguard and State Street) account for nearly 70% of the market share. Some say the regulator s job is to prepare guidelines and regulate the industry; within this framework, if some fund houses are more successful in growing their business on the back of performance and reach, then it should not be a cause for concern. These are the dynamics of a free market and it should not concern the regulator who has grown, if there is transparency, performance and good governance across companies within the industry, said an industry insider. What is the trend in other sectors?






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If SEBI s concern is taken as valid, the situation should be seen as more alarming in the insurance sector, where the LIC alone accounts for close to 70% of the premium collection. While there are 24 players in the life insurance business, the top four players — LIC, HDFC Standard Life, SBI Life and ICICI Prudential Life — account for more than 86% of the industry market share. Private banks too are growing their market share in the banking business. According to recent report by Nomura, the large private banks have grown their market share in current accounts (CAs) by 5 percentage points between FY16 and FY18 and held nearly 41% of all such deposits at the end of the March 2018. It said private banks have also garnered nearly 65% of all new current account deposits between FY14 and FY18. Even in the automobile sector, in the passenger vehicle market, just two companies — Maruti Suzuki India and Hyundai Motor India — account for over 67% of domestic sales as per the July 2018 sales figures. So, the mutual fund industry is not a case in isolation. (Adapted from The Indian Express)






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Environment

1. How do roads impact wildlife, and why should anyone bother? (GS Prelims, GS

Mains Paper III; Environment & Biodiversity)

Wild animals are vulnerable to vehicular traffic passing through forests, especially at night when, blinded by bright headlights, even swift species like cats freeze. Over time, as animals learn to avoid roads, busy multilane highways become barriers that hinder wildlife movement, fragment populations, and restrict gene flow. By blocking access to potential habitats, roads, railway lines and irrigation canals act as a major contributor to habitat loss. India s policy

In September 2013, the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), the apex advisory body to the central government on all wildlife-related matters, said no to new roads through protected forests, but was open to the widening of existing roads with adequate mitigation measures irrespective of the cost, only if alternative alignments were not available. The government accepted this as policy in December 2014. In February 2018, the NBWL made it mandatory for every road/rail project proposal to include a wildlife passage plan as per guidelines framed by Wildlife Institute of India, an autonomous wildlife research body under the Environment Ministry. However, features like underpasses are unlikely to suffice in dense wildlife-rich forests where too many animals compete for space. Elsewhere too

Roads have destroyed tropical rainforests in South America, Asia and Africa. Though under severe pressure, the Amazon rainforests still hold over 1 million sq km of no-go zones, including national parks and territories for indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation. In North America and Europe, where the road network is extensive and wildlife density lower, wildlife passageways are more common. These features are seen in Malaysia and Kenya as well. In many protected areas such as South Africa s Kruger National Park and Botswana s Moremi Game Reserve, night traffic is prohibited.






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Bandipur story

In July 2008, Karnataka closed night traffic on the Mysore-Mananthavadi highway passing through Nagarhole Tiger Reserve. This, and reports of frequent roadkills in Bandipur, prompted the Chamarajnagar district administration in June 2009 to restrict vehicular traffic between 9 pm and 6 am on two national highways passing through the reserve. Protests by Kerala, however, led to the order being withdrawn. After a PIL was filed, Karnataka High Court restored the ban on night traffic in July 2009. After the final order came in March 2010, Karnataka spent Rs 75 crore to repair an alternative road, but also opened the forest highway to 12 state transport buses and emergency services during restricted hours. The state s night traffic ban was subsequently replicated in Tamil Nadu (Mudumalai Tiger Reserve) and Gujarat (Gir National Park).






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After the Bandipur matter went to the Supreme Court, the court in an interim order asked Karnataka and Kerala to consider allowing convoys of goods vehicles at night — an idea which was eventually discarded. Again in 2015, the Chief Ministers agreed with an expert panel s recommendation to maintain status quo. This January, the Supreme Court gave a committee under the Road Transport Secretary, with a representative each from Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) three months to file a report. In March 2018, the NTCA recommended maintaining status quo; the following month, Karnataka wrote to the Road Transport Ministry that it wanted to continue with the existing restrictions , and that Tamil Nadu agreed. The new plan

Two days before the July 23 date of submission of its report, the Ministry Secretary asked Karnataka to consent to a proposal to open the road 24×7 with certain mitigation measures. The proposal included elevating the road over four 1-km stretches to provide wildlife passageways below, and fencing the entire highway passing through the reserve with 8-foot-high steel wire barriers. While this may work for elephants if the passageways cover their traditional routes, for territorial animals, just four openings in a 24-km stretch may not suffice. To move between two halves of its territory (split by the highway) a big cat may, for example, have to use a passageway in its neighbour s territory. If it risks it, a mortal combat is likely; if it doesn t, it loses access to a part of its hunting ground and, possibly, partners. The argument for opening up and widening the restricted road is that the alternative road is 30 km longer, and apparently passes through hilly terrain — increasing travel time, fuel consumption, and pollution. Also, it is argued, traffic through a tiger reserve endangers wildlife even during the day, so fencing and passageways are a better idea. What next

The question is whether a 30-km detour to safeguard one of India s most wildlife-rich forests is an unaffordable economic burden or a minor concession necessary in the national interest. Depending on Karnataka s response to the request from the Union Ministry, the committee will finalise and submit its report before the Supreme Court by September 10. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

2. What is a national disaster ? (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Internal

Security & Disaster Management)

THE DEVASTATION caused by the floods in Kerala has led to calls from political leaders in Kerala — of the ruling Left as well as the Congress — that the floods be declared a national calamity. Congress president Rahul Gandhi made the same demand Friday, when he tweeted: Dear PM, Please declare #Kerala floods a National Disaster without any delay. The lives, livelihood and future of millions of our people is at stake. While the government has examined proposals in the past to define a national disaster, there is no fixed criterion






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to define any calamity as such. A look at how calamities are actually classified, and what that means on the ground: How does the law define a disaster?

As per the Disaster Management Act, 2005, disaster means a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or man-made causes, or by accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage to, and destruction of, property, or damage to, or degradation of, environment, and is of such a nature or magnitude as to be beyond the coping capacity of the community of the affected area. A natural disaster includes earthquake, flood, landslide, cyclone, tsunami, urban flood, heatwave; a man-made disaster can be nuclear, biological and chemical. How can any of these be classified as a national disaster?

There is no provision, executive or legal, to declare a natural calamity as a national calamity. In reply to a question in Parliament during the recent monsoon session, MoS (Home) Kiren Rijiju said, The existing guidelines of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF)/ National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), do not contemplate declaring a disaster as a National Calamity . In March 2001, then MoS (Agriculture) Shripad Naik had told Parliament that the government had treated the 2001 Gujarat earthquake and the 1999 super cyclone in Odisha as a calamity of unprecedented severity . Has there ever been an attempt to define a national calamity?

In 2001, the National Committee on Disaster Management under the chairmanship of the then Prime Minister was mandated to look into the parameters that should define a national calamity. However, the committee did not suggest any fixed criterion. In the recent past, there have been demands from states to declare certain events as natural disasters, such as the Uttarakhand flood in 2013, Cyclone Hudhud in Andhra Pradesh in 2014, and the Assam floods of 2015. How, then, does the government classify disasters/calamities?

The 10th Finance Commission (1995-2000) examined a proposal that a disaster be termed a national calamity of rarest severity if it affects one-third of the population of a state. The

panel did not define a calamity of rare severity but stated that a calamity of rare severity would necessarily have to be adjudged on a case-to-case basis taking into account, inter-alia, the intensity and magnitude of the calamity, level of assistance needed, the capacity of the state to tackle the problem, the alternatives and flexibility available within the plans to provide succour and relief, etc. The flash floods in Uttarakhand and Cyclone Hudhud were later classified as calamities of severe nature . What happens if a calamity is so declared?

When a calamity is declared to be of rare severity / severe nature , support to the state government is provided at the national level. The Centre also considers additional assistance from the NDRF. A Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) is set up, with the corpus shared 3:1 between Centre and state. When resources in the CRF are inadequate, additional assistance is considered from the National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF), funded






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100% by the Centre. Relief in repayment of loans or for grant of fresh loans to the persons affected on concessional terms, too, are considered once a calamity is declared severe . How is the funding decided?

As per the National Policy on Disaster Management, 2009, the National Crisis Management Committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary deals with major crises that have serious or national ramifications. For calamities of severe nature, inter-ministerial central teams are deputed to the affected states for assessment of damage and relief assistance required. An inter-ministerial group, headed by the Union Home Secretary, studies the assessment and recommends the quantum of assistance from the NDRF/National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF). Based on this, a high-level committee comprising the Finance Minister as chairman and the Home Minister, Agriculture Minister, and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman as members approves the central assistance. How much funds has the Centre been disbursing under the NDRF?

According to a reply in Parliament by Rijiju last January, the Centre released Rs 3,460.88 crore in 2014-15, Rs 12,451.9 crore in 2015-16, and Rs 11,441.30 crore in 2016-17 under the NDRF to various states. In 2017-18 until December 27, it had disbursed Rs 2,082.45 crore. State-wise figures presented by Rijiju showed that the highest amounts for 2016-17 were released to Karnataka (Rs 2,292.50 crore), Maharashtra (Rs 2,224.78 crore) and Rajasthan (Rs 1,378.13 crore). How do other countries classify disasters?

In the US, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) coordinates the government s role in disaster management. When an incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of state and local governments, the Governor or Chief Executive of a tribe can request federal assistance under the Stafford Act. In special cases, the US President may declare an emergency without a request from a Governor. The Stafford Act authorises the President to provide financial and other assistance to local and state governments, certain private nonprofit organisations, and individuals following declaration as a Stafford Act Emergency (limited) or Major Disaster (more severe). (Adapted from The Indian Express)

3. Kerala floods: The prescriptions for the Western Ghats (Relevant for GS Prelims,

GS Mains Paper III; Environment & Biodiversity)

The floods in Kerala have brought the focus back on an almost forgotten 2011 report on the Western Ghats that had made a set of recommendations for preserving the ecology and biodiversity of the fragile region along the Arabian Sea coast. Its lead author, Pune-based ecologist Madhav Gadgil, has publicly argued that had the report s suggestions been implemented by the concerned state governments, the scale of disaster in Kerala would not have been as huge as it is. A look at some of the main recommendations of the Gadgil report, how these were substantially relaxed by a subsequent committee led by space






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scientist K Kasturirangan, and whether implementation of the first report would have made any difference to the Kerala crisis: Why was the Gadgil Committee set up?

In February 2010, then Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh attended a public meeting in Kotagiri in Tamil Nadu organised mainly by those associated with Save the Western Ghats group. Speakers pointed to threats to the ecosystem from construction, mining, industries, real estate, and hydropower. After the meeting, Ramesh set up the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel under Gadgil. The panel was asked to make an assessment of the ecology and biodiversity of the Western Ghats and suggest measures to conserve, protect and rejuvenate the entire range that stretches to over 1500 km along the coast, with its footprints in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. What did the Gadgil Committee say?

It defined the boundaries of the Western Ghats for the purposes of ecological management. The total area in this boundary came to 1,29,037 square km, running about 1.490 km north to south, with a maximum width of 210 km in Tamil Nadu and minimum of 48 km in Maharashtra. It proposed that this entire area be designated as ecologically sensitive area (ESA). Within this area, smaller regions were to be identified as ecologically sensitive zones (ESZ) I, II or III based on their existing condition and nature of threat. It proposed to divide the area into about 2,200 grids, each approximately 9 km × 9 km, of which 75 per cent would fall under ESZ I or II or under already existing protected areas such as wildlife sanctuaries or natural parks. construction, the report said. It recommended:

* Ban on cultivation of genetically modified in entire area * Plastic bags to be phased out in three years * No new special economic zones or hill stations to be allowed * Ban on conversion of public lands to private lands, and on diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes in ESZ I and II * No new mining licences in ESZ I and II area * No new dams in ESZ I * No new thermal power plants or large scale wind power projects in ESZ I * No new polluting industries in ESZ I and ESZ II areas * No new railway lines or major roads in ESZ I and II areas * Strict regulation of tourism






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* Cumulative impact assessment for all new projects like dams, mines, tourism, housing * Phase-out of all chemical pesticides within five to eight years in ESZ I and ESZ II The committee proposed a Western Ghats Ecology Authority to regulate these activities in the area. What was the need for the subsequent Kasturirangan Committee?

None of the six concerned states agreed with the recommendations of the Gadgil Committee, which submitted its report in August 2011 (its official public release was cancelled). Suggestions and comments were received from a number of others as well. In August 2012, then Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan constituted a High-Level Working Group on Western Ghats under Kasturirangan to examine the Gadgil Committee report in a holistic and multidisciplinary fashion in the light of responses received from states, central ministries and others. This committee submitted its report in April 2013. Its report revealed that of the nearly 1,750 responses it had examined, 81% were not in favour of the Gadgil recommendations. In particular, Kerala had objected to the proposed ban on sand mining and quarrying, restrictions on transport infrastructure and wind energy projects, embargos on hydroelectric projects, and inter-basin transfer of river waters, and also the complete ban on new polluting industries. So, what did the Kasturirangan Committee say?

It broadened the definition of Western Ghats and included a total of 1,64,280 square km in it. It then classified it as comprising cultural landscape and natural landscape. It said nearly 60% of the Western Ghats was cultural landscape, where human settlements, agriculture and plantations existed. The remaining was natural landscape, of which the biologically rich area was only 37% or about 60,000 sq km. It was only this part that the committee said needed to be classified as ecologically sensitive area (ESA) Its main recommendations for ESA

* Ban on mining, quarrying and sand mining * No new thermal power projects, but hydro power projects allowed with restrictions * Ban on new polluting industries * Building and construction projects up to 20,000 sq m was to be allowed but townships were to be banned * Forest diversion could be allowed with extra safeguards What was finally decided?

Last year, the Environment Ministry notified an area of 56,285 sq km in the Western Ghats as ESA. This was slightly less than the 59,940 sq km recommended by the Kasturirangan committee. In Kerala, specifically, the Kasturirangan committee had proposed an area of






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13,108 square km as part of ESA. This was brought down to 9,993.7 sq km at the insistence of Kerala government. Would implementation of the Gadgil report have lessened the impact of the Kerala

floods?

The Kerala disaster essentially has been caused by extreme rainfall. Since the 2013 Uttarakhand flooding, such extreme rainfall events have led to one disaster-like situation in India every year. The Gadgil report was submitted in 2011. Even if the state governments had begun implementing the recommendations in all seriousness immediately thereafter, it is not clear what activities would have stopped. What Gadgil seems to be arguing for is the need to learn lessons from past tragedies, and increase the resilience of disaster-struck areas through sustainable and long-term development that would involve minimal intervention in natural processes. Even in the Uttarakhand disaster, uncontrolled construction, large hydropower plants and deforestation were assessed to have aided the scale of destruction. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

4. Cyclone Warning Centre to be set up in Thiruvananthapuram within a month

(Relevant for GS Prelims; Disaster Management)

With several incidents of tropical cyclones and severe weather events striking over Kerala and Karnataka coasts in the recent times, the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences is proposing to set up a Cyclone Warning Centre in Thiruvananthapuram. The Ministry is planning to set up the Centre in another one month. At present, IMD has cyclone warning centres only at Chennai, Vishakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Relevance of Proposed centre

The Centre will cater to the needs of Kerala and Karnataka states and will be equipped with all state of the art infrastructure including forecasting tools to issue weather warnings and coastal bulletins (for fishermen,etc.).It will further strengthen the present forecasting activity in India Meteorological Department s existing office in Kerala. C-Band Doppler Weather Radar

The Ministry is also planning to set up another C-Band Doppler Weather Radar at Mangalore by end of 2019, which will cover the northern parts of Kerala. At present, there are two Doppler Weather Radars in the state, at Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. With these 3 radars, the entire state will be covered for monitoring of rainfall and severe weather events, and adequately warn the people well in advance. IMD has developed many new models and tools right from nowcasts (2-3 hours) to extended range forecasts (15-20 days lead time). (Adapted from The Indian Express)






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Science and Technology 1. Research, training needed: Why snakebites remain a burden for India (Relevant

for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Science & Technology)

WHO has called for a global effort against envenoming . Some 50,000 die in India each year due to lack of trained doctors and difficulties in supply of anti-snake venom Two months ago, the World Health Organisation s (WHO s) 71st World Health Assembly in Geneva adopted a resolution to accelerate and coordinate global efforts to control snakebite envenoming — the life-threatening disease that follows the bite of a venomous snake . Between 1.8 million and 2.7 million people are bitten worldwide every year, between 81,000 and 1,38,000 of them die, and four or five times that number are disabled, according to the WHO. In India, which was a signatory to the resolution, some 50,000 die every year; however, the WHO fears this estimate may be just 10% of the actual burden. In 2017-18, 1.96 lakh cases of snakebites were recorded, with West Bengal, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu reporting the biggest numbers. This June, Maharashtra approved the setting up of a National Venom Research Centre and asked the Centre to aid the public sector Haffkine Institute in its work on snake species and poisons. Of the 300-odd species of snakes found in India, 52 are venomous, but all their poisons are different. Manufacturing problems

The high case burden, poorly trained doctors, and lack of anti-snake venom (ASV) makers hobble India s battle against snakebites. Biological E Ltd, VINS Bioproducts Ltd, Bharat Serums and Vaccines Ltd, and Premium Serums and Vaccines Pvt Ltd, are India s only private ASV manufacturers; the nearly 120-year-old Haffkine Bio-Pharmaceutical Corporation Ltd is the only government-owned maker. In 2015, Sanofi stopped producing ASV saying it cost too much. ASV manufacture requires a series of forest department permissions. Horses are needed

for the test, for which a large space is necessary. Private companies do not find all this financially feasible, Subhash Shankarwar, general manager at Haffkine, said. Licensed snake catchers need clearance to trap snakes in the wild, and a separate licence is issued to keep them in captivity for 90 days. The snakes are milked every week to collect a multipurpose enzyme secreted by the animals salivary glands. The diluted venom is administered to horses to immunise them; they are then bled to collect the antibodies that are generated. The plasma is separated, purified and converted into powder or liquid form to produce ASV. The manufacturing process can take a year.






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Each manufacturer has its own protocol, which is why the quality of ASV differs… We need uniform guidelines, said Sampada Mehta, MD, Haffkine Bio-Pharma. Haffkine produces 24 lakh vials annually — Maharashtra purchases 3.8 lakh, West Bengal 3.5 lakh, Tamil Nadu 1.4 lakh, and Odisha 1.2 lakh. Overall, India produces some 1.5 million vials of ASV every year, Haffkine Institute director Dr Nishigandha Naik said — which is a third of the estimated annual requirement. Lack of research

A decade ago, Sri Lanka stopped importing ASV from Haffkine citing inefficacy, a company official said. We are noticing that the potency of ASV is reducing in the last few years. There is need for research to understand which combination works best, Dr Naik said. Doctors say locally produced ASVs are the most effective. A snake s venom changes with terrain, diet and environment. But most manufacturers source their venom from Irula Cooperative Venom Centre in Tamil Nadu, which houses a large number of snakecatchers. This explains why, to treat a saw-scaled viper s bite in Tamil Nadu, less than 10 vials may be required, while in Maharashtra it could be 30-80 vials, and in Jammu and Kashmir, over 80. The cost of treatment in a private hospital can be huge — a Russell s viper s bite requires 30-40 vials, which could cost upwards of Rs 20,000. Untrained doctors

In a study of 1,686 snakebite cases from 2013-16 in Maharashtra s tribal Palghar district, researchers found poor training among doctors, and high wastage of ASV. The research, funded by the Tribal Health Research Forum of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), showed that in most cases, primary health centres referred patients elsewhere and the golden hour was lost , principal investigator Dr Rahul Gajbhiye said. Dr Himmatrao Bawaskar, who specialises in scorpion and snake bites, said doctors often miss the small mark left by the bite of a krait, the species responsible for 40% of snakebite deaths in India. In most cases, doctors do not identify the bite mark as it is small, and the victim is attacked while asleep. Within hours, the victim develops neuroparalysis, Dr Bawaskar said. MBBS courses should have a separate chapter on snakebites, he said. Dr Smita Mahale, director of the National Institute of Research in Reproductive Health, which is supporting the Maharashtra government in training doctors, said, In 2009 and 2016, snake bite protocols were drafted by the central government. But the training is yet to cover all doctors. Monovalent vs polyvalent

A monovalent ASV, made from the venom of one species, can treat the bite of only that species. It is more efficient, but the purpose is lost if the snake is not identified correctly. A polyvalent combines the venoms of India s four most common poisonous snakes — cobra, common krait, Russell s viper, and saw-scaled viper. More venom is wasted in the manufacture of the ASV, and more vials are required to treat the patient.






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India currently manufactures only polyvalent ASV. It needs to train doctors to identify snakes by their bites before switching to the production of monovalent ASVs. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

2. How mosquito vs mosquito can fight dengue (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains

Paper III; Science & Technology)

TWO YEARS ago, the head of India s top medical research organisation had said India was looking at newer strategies to combat dengue . Dr Soumya Swaminathan, then director-general of the Indian Council for Medical Research and now Deputy Director-General (Programmes), World Health Organization, had cited ongoing research on a bacterium called wolbachia that, if introduced in mosquitoes, could stop disease-spreading viruses from growing and spreading. Today, the experiment has proved remarkably effective in a small town in Australia, preventing fresh outbreaks of dengue. What was the experiment like, and what hope does it hold out for India s fight against vector-borne disease? The bacterium

Wolbachia is a tiny bacterium that is present in up to 60% of all species of insects, including several mosquito species, but not usually in the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the primary species responsible for transmitting dengue, chikungunya and Zika. Wolbachia is one of the world s most common parasitic microbes and possibly the most common reproductive parasite in the biosphere. The experiment looked at whether introducing wolbachia in Aedes aegypti could indeed reduce their ability to transmit these diseases. The experiment

Australian researchers were able to protect the 1.87 lakh population of Townsville, Queensland, from dengue for the last four years. Mosquitoes were specially bred to carry wolbachia and were let loose over 66 square km in places where they could naturally breed. In the four monsoon seasons since these mosquitoes were introduced, dengue ceased to be a problem. When present in the mosquito, the viruses cannot replicate as well. So, small numbers of

wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes are released in target areas. They then breed with wild mosquitoes and over time the percentage of mosquitoes carrying wolbachia grows until it remains high without the need for further releases, Prof Scott O Neill, who leads the World Mosquito Programme at Monash University, Australia, told The Indian Express by email. Once wolbachia has been established, the World Mosquito Program s self-sustaining

method offers a safe, effective and long term solution to reduce the burden of dengue, Zika and chikungunya, Prof O Neill said. India connection

This is a safe and effective approach and needs to be tested at different settings in India, Dr Soumya Swaminathan said. The ICMR is collaborating with Monash University for Phase-I






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laboratory studies to use these strains of Aedes aegypti for the control of dengue and chikungunya. At the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, officials said this approach is being tested in India. Field testing, however, is still several years away as this approach needs to be tested in large cities where a large number of mosquitoes will require to be released. As of now, mosquito eggs with wolbachia have been imported and are being bred at the Vector Control Research Centre at Puducherry. Years of laboratory and field research have shown that this method is safe for people, animals and the environment, said Prof O Neill, who feels that this strategy can work in highly populated cities of India and other countries. Last year, there were 1.9 lakh dengue cases and 325 deaths in the country. Until July this year, there have been 15,000 cases and 38 deaths. There has been a reduction due to various preventive measures and participation of the community in controlling this vector, but officials said they are also open to this new bio-control approach. Elsewhere

At present, large-scale trials are under way in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Medellin (Colombia) and Yogyakarta (Indonesia). According to Prof O Neill, long-term monitoring at international project sites have shown that wolbachia is self-sustaining at high levels and there has not been local dengue transmission. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

3. Clampdown on oxytocin: why, what now (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper

III; Science & Technology)

On August 2, the central drug regulator ordered a strict vigil to stop oxytocin imports, and to ensure imported stocks were not used in any form or name . The government has banned production of oxytocin for domestic use by private companies, and its sale by private chemists from September 1. Why? Drug and its uses

Oxytocin is naturally secreted by the pituitary glands of mammals during sex, childbirth, lactation or social bonding, and is sometimes called love hormone . It is chemically synthesised and sold by pharmaceutical companies across the world. It is used as a drug during childbirth because it can contract the uterus and induce delivery, control bleeding, and promote the release of breast milk. Oxytocin can be administered to humans as an injection or a nasal solution. An oxytocin injection is generally available for Rs 3-20 at any chemist. The concerns

In October 2014, Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi wrote to the Health Ministry to flag the loss of livestock in the country due to illegal use of oxytocin. On March 15, 2016, Himachal Pradesh High Court passed an order listing the






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grave dangers oxytocin posed to humans. This judgment forms the basis of the Centre s clampdown on oxytocin production, import, and sale. …There is a grave misuse of Oxytocin by farmers and diary owners… It is not only the health of the animals, which is a matter of concern, but a greater concern lies in the fact that it is this very milk and vegetables which have been injected with Oxytocin to increase its size, that is being consumed by all of us… Oxytocin filters into the milk and… has been held responsible for breast and uterine cancers, male impotence… Its use is also considered harmful for eyes, especially in children. The hormone affects the reproductive ability of woman… Consumption of Oxytocin infected milk by pregnant woman increases risk of haemorrhage. It is also responsible for high spike in tuberculosis cases…, the court said. It directed the government to consider the feasibility of restricting the manufacture of Oxytocin only in public sector companies and also restricting and limiting (its) manufacture by companies to whom license have already been granted . The counter-view

A study commissioned by the central government and published in the June 2014 issue of the Indian Journal of Medical Research, reported that exogenous OT (Oxytocin) injections do not influence its content in milk , and that OT present in milk is rapidly degraded during intestinal digestion, ruling out its intestinal absorption and associated adverse health consequences, if any . On December 22, 2015, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh told Lok Sabha: The National Dairy Research Institute has informed that there is no scientific evidence that artificial use of Oxytocin has adversely affected progeny of cattle and buffaloes resulting in dwindling of livestock. However, continuous Oxytocin use could lead to a progressive addiction and lack of response to normal let down of milk. Several gynecologists told The Indian Express that no international study has so far definitively demonstrated the harmful effects of oxytocin on humans when consumed through vegetables or milk. It has uses as a drug, and regulators elsewhere have not felt it necessary to put restrictions on its production by private firms or sale by private chemists. Government action

At its meeting on February 12 this year, the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) — a Health Ministry body that advises central and state governments on technical matters related to the provisions of The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 — agreed on a draft notification for regulating, restricting the Oxytocin formulations for human use to be supplied only to registered hospitals and clinics in public and private sector . On April 27, the central government in a gazette notification said that from July 1, private companies would not be allowed to manufacture oxytocin for domestic use, and private retail chemists would not be allowed to sell it. The government subsequently pushed the deadline back to September 1. The import of oxytocin was banned by a separate notification on April 24.






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Monopoly and supply

The April 27 notification did not say which PSUs could manufacture oxytocin for domestic use after September 1; it emerged only later that the public sector Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceuticals Limited (KAPL) would have a monopoly. While the central government has given no reason for choosing KAPL, a senior official said it believes KAPL is the only pharmaceutical PSU that has the capacity to manufacture and supply oxytocin across the length and breadth of India . However, according to a Health Ministry guidance note to state governments, KAPL will have just 17 distribution centres across the country for oxytocin, and none at all in 19 states and UTs, including all of the Northeast, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal, Haryana, Punjab, and Goa. A nodal centre in the vicinity will distribute oxytocin formulations to these states, the note said. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

4. Gaganyan: How to send an Indian into space (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains

Paper III; Science & Technology)

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing Wednesday that an Indian astronaut would go into space by 2022, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has finally got a definitive timeline for a project it has been working on for the last 15 years. While preparations have been going on since 2004, when the manned space mission was first endorsed by the ISRO Policy Planning Committee, there was lack of clarity on when exactly the mission would be launched, although the target initially in discussion was 2015. As recently as May 2016, the government had told Lok Sabha, as it had done earlier, that there was no plan for a manned mission to be launched in the near future . In fact, formal approval from the government is still awaited. But over the years, the government had continued to support ISRO s efforts to build its capabilities for sending a human being into space. A manned space mission is very different from all other missions that ISRO has so far completed. In terms of complexity and ambition, even the missions to the Moon (Chandrayaan) and Mars (Mangalyaan) are nowhere in comparison. For a manned mission, the key distinguishing capabilities that ISRO has had to develop include the ability to bring the spacecraft back to Earth after flight, and to build a spacecraft in which astronauts can live in Earth-like conditions in space. Over the years, ISRO has successfully tested many of the technologies that are required, but many others are still to be developed and tested. The rocket: GSLV Mk-III

One of the most important requirements is the development of a launch vehicle that can carry heavy payloads into space. The spacecraft carrying human beings, called crew module, is likely to weigh in excess of 5 to 6 tonnes. ISRO s main launch vehicle, the PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle), which carried the Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan missions too, can carry payloads that are barely up to 2 tonnes, and that too only to orbits at about






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600 km altitude from the Earth s surface. That is why the development of GSLV Mk-III, a launch vehicle with capabilities to deliver much heavier payloads much deeper into space, was necessary. After three decades of efforts, mainly concentrated at developing an indigenous cryogenic engine to power the rocket, ISRO successfully tested GSLV Mk-III, now called LVM-3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-3), in an experimental flight in December 2014. Then, in June last year, ISRO successfully launched the first developmental flight of LVM-3, which carried the GSAT-19 satellite into space. The LVM-3 is the declared launch vehicle for taking the manned crew module into space. Over the next few years, many more flights of GSLV are scheduled. These will help ISRO in perfecting the cryogenic technology for sending up heavier and heavier payloads. In fact, only on June 6, the government approved the funding for the next 10 flights of GSLV Mk-III at an estimated cost of Rs 4,338.2 crore. This was supposed to take care of GSLV Mk-III missions till 2024. Reentry & recovery tech

The satellites normally launched by ISRO, like those for communication or remote sensing, are meant to remain in space, even when their life is over. Even Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan were not meant to return to Earth. Any manned spacecraft, however, needs to come back. This involves mastering of the highly complicated and dangerous reentry and recovery ability. While reentering Earth s atmosphere, the spacecraft needs to withstand very high temperatures, in excess of several thousand degrees, which is created due to friction. Also, the spacecraft needs to reenter the atmosphere at a very precise speed and angle, and even the slightest deviation could end in disaster. The first successful experimental flight of GSLV Mk-III on December 18, 2014, also involved the successful testing of an experimental crew module that came back to Earth after being taken to an altitude of 126 km into space. Called the Crew module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment (CARE), the spacecraft reentered the atmosphere at about 80 km altitude and landed in the sea near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, from where it was recovered by the Coast Guard. The external configuration of that crew module was the same as that to be used in the manned flight. Many more tests would be done over the next few years.

Crew Escape System

This is a crucial safety technology, involving an emergency escape mechanism for the astronauts in case of a faulty launch. The mechanism ensures the crew module gets an advance warning of anything going wrong with the rocket, and pulls it away to a safe distance, after which it can be landed either on sea or on land with the help of attached parachutes. Only on July 5, ISRO completed the first successful flight of the crew escape system. A simulated crew module weighing about 3.5 tonnes was launched from Sriharikota. It reached 2.7 km into space before unfurling its parachutes and floating back to the Earth s surface. The system is likely to undergo many more tests in the coming years.






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Life support

The Environmental Control & Life Support System (ECLSS) is meant to ensure that conditions inside the crew module are suitable for humans to live comfortably. The inside of the crew module is a twin-walled sealed structure that will recreate Earth-like conditions for the astronauts. It would be designed to carry two or three astronauts. The ECLSS maintains a steady cabin pressure and air composition, removes carbon dioxide and other harmful gases, controls temperature and humidity, and manages parameters like fire detection and suppression, food and water management, and emergency support. While the layout and design of the ECLSS has been finalised, its many individual components and systems are in the process of being tested. The design and configuration of the inside of the crew module have also been finalised. Ground testing will have to be followed by tests in the space orbit while simulating zero gravity and deep vacuum. ISRO Chairman K Sivan told reporters in Bangalore Wednesday that the first manned mission would last at least seven days. Astronaut training

In the early part of the planning process, a proposal for setting up an astronaut training centre in Bangalore was floated. Initially targeted by 2012, it is yet to take off. While ISRO still plans to set up a permanent facility, the selected candidates for the first manned mission will most likely train at a foreign facility. Candidates will need to train for at least two years in living in zero gravity and dealing with a variety of unexpected experiences of living in space. Some training would also be imparted at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine of the Indian Air Force at Bengaluru. The process of selecting candidates has not yet begun. Budget

During the early years of planning, the cost of India s first manned space mission was estimated at about Rs 12,400 crore. But that was for a mission to be launched in 2015. On Wednesday, Sivan told reporters in Bengaluru that the mission would now be completed for less than Rs 10,000 crore. From an idea to a plan

August 2004: ISRO Policy Planning Committee recommends manned space mission November 2006: National committee comprising 80 scientists and technocrats endorses proposal September 2007: First public announcement of the human space programme February-March 2009: Another committee, comprising Montek Singh Ahluwalia, R Chidambaram, Roddam Narasimha, M G K Menon, Yash Pal, M S Swaminathan and K Radhakrishanan, discusses the desirability and feasibility of the programme and expresses support






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April 2010: Failure of GSLV-D3 December 2010: Failure of GSLV-F06 December 18, 2014: Successful testing of experimental flight of GSLV Mk-III; this also successfully tests an experimental crew module, demonstrating reentry capability June 2017: First developmental flight of GSLV Mk-III July 2018: First successful flight of the crew escape system August 15, 2018: Prime Minister announces manned mission to take place before 2022 (Adapted from The Indian Express)

5. What Cosmos Bank s Rs 94 crore online fraud says of bank security (Read only for

understanding, Science & Technology)

Last week, Pune-based Cosmos Bank lost Rs 94 crore in a coordinated digital fraud comprising thousands of online transactions, made possible because of a malware attack on the bank s systems. A look at how the fraud was carried out, and what questions it raises of security systems: What the software did

The fraud began with a malware attack. Malware is malicious software that is normally sent as a link to the intended target; once clicked, it can install executable codes and scripts. It is normally avoided by using anti-malware and antivirus software, and firewalls. In this case, the malware compromised a digital system responsible for settling cash dispensation requests raised at ATMs. As soon as one swipes a card, a request is transferred to the core banking system (CBS) of the bank. If the account has enough money, the CBS will allow the transaction. In this case, the malware created a proxy system that bypassed the CBS and approved a series 14,800 fraudulent transactions to withdraw Rs 80.5 crore — Rs 78 crore through 12,000 transactions in 28 countries, the rest in India. Another Rs 13.5 crore was transferred to a Hong Kong-based entity using a facility called Society for Worldwide Interbank Telecommunications (SWIFT). The ATM transfers

These are suspected to have been done with cloned cards , although a senior source at National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) said that this is not certain at this stage. Cloned debit and credit cards have been used in several cyber crimes. The fraudster collects the card details (these are sometimes even sold over the dark net, a network with restricted access) and uses a a machine to copy these on dummies, or blank plastic cards. How SWIFT works






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It is a network that enables financial institutions to send and receive information about transactions in a secure environment. Earlier this year, the SWIFT system at City Union Bank, with its headuarters at Kumbakonam (Tamil Nadu) was targeted, and nearly $2 million in three lots was transferred to banks in Dubai, Turkey and China. The SWIFT system frequently releases security updates. Muslim Koser, director (product development) of Volon, a cyber security firm, suggested that banks ensure that their systems are patched immediately after the update. The developers at SWIFT need to understand the particular kind of exploits being used and neutralise them, he added. Former NPCI managing director and CEO A P Hota said, I think it is responsibility of individual banks to ensure that their protection measures are in place. The timing

The attack on Cosmos took place around the same time that the FBI issued a warning of an ATM cash out attack where fraudsters could compromise a bank or payment processors,

use cloned cards at cash machines across the world to withdraw money. These attacks normally take place over the weekend, and Cosmos was attacked on a Saturday. Security concerns

Hota said the RBI has clear guidelines and if these are followed, such incidents will not happen. There is a case that as far as security is concerned, attention is given more to commercial banks and cooperative banks have been sidelined. However there are 9-10 cooperative banks as big as private banks and Cosmos Bank is one of them. Maybe RBI should pay special attention to large cooperative banks, Hota said. Cyber crime investigation expert Ritesh Bhatia said security measures across Indian banks are moderate and given the high level of coordinated international attacks, all banks need to upgrade their security mechanisms. Customers money

RBI guidelines say that if banks are at fault, they are liable to pay customers. However, there is also the issue of inconvenience for account-holders. Account-holders at Cosmos Bank could not carry out Internet and mobile banking which were suspended in the aftermath of the attack… Banks form a part of the critical infrastructure and one would be sceptical about opening an account at a bank where security has been compromised, Bhatia said. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

6. How Chandrayaan-1 helped confirm and reconfirm water on the Moon (Relevant

for GS Prelims, GS mains Paper III; Science & Technology)

From first evidence of water in 2009 to latest finding on ice, a role for ISRO and NASA instruments aboard Indian spacecraft. Recently, US space agency NASA said a team of scientists, while studying data generated by an instrument that had travelled on India s Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft in 2008, had directly






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observed definitive evidence of water ice on the Moon s surface. NASA said the ice deposits were patchily distributed and could be ancient . M3 (NASA s Moon Mineralogy Mapper) aboard the Chandrayaan- spacecraft… was

uniquely equipped to confirm the presence of solid ice on the Moon. It collected data that not only picked up the reflective properties we d expect from ice, but was able to directly measure the distinctive way its molecules absorb infrared light, so it can differentiate between liquid water or vapour and solid ice, NASA said in a statement. While NASA s announcement is based on the results of a new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, this is not the first time that evidence of water has been found on the Moon. Nor is it the first time that the contribution of Chandrayaan-1 is being acknowledged in establishing such evidence. First confirmation

In September 2009, data from the same M3 instrument was used to announce unambiguous evidence of presence of water across the lunar surface. That announcement

was made after the data of M3 had been corroborated by observations of NASA s EPOXI spacecraft as it passed the Moon on its way to comet Hartley 2, and a reassessment of the data produced by a spectrometer aboard Cassini spacecraft in 1999. The data from ISRO s hyperspectral imager, an instrument used for mapping minerals, also aboard Chandrayaan-1, supplemented the evidence.

Distribution of surface ice (blue) at Moon’s south (left) and north poles, detected by

NASA’s M3 instrument on board Chandrayaan-1. (Source: NASA)






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That announcement was seen as the final confirmation of water on Moon, something that had been hypothesised since the first lunar missions in the 1960s and 1970s. Water molecules were found mostly in the polar regions of the Moon. Days after that announcement, ISRO said another of its instruments on Chandrayaan-1, the Moon Impact Probe or MIP, had produced compelling evidence of water on the Moon. ISRO said this evidence was available at least a few months before NASA s announcement. MIP, a 35-kg cube-shaped instrument with the Tricolour on all sides, is the first Indian object to land on the Moon. G Madhavan Nair, ISRO chairman at the time of Chandrayaan-1 launch, explained why the agency could not publish the findings of the MIP: There was an instrument inside MIP that was supposed to assess the moisture content in Moon s surface. It gave us distinct signature (of the presence of water). But unfortunately, there were some calibration anomalies in the data because of which we could not have quantified the amount of water content. As a result, we were not in a position to publish the results. Nair said data of the hyperspectral imager, however, was very useful in establishing the presence of water. Reconfirmation

After 2009, several studies have pointed to the presence of water, in different forms. Most of these have used the same data sets as used for the 2009 announcement. In August 2013, for example, a team of US scientists looked at the same M3 data and detected magmatic water, or water that originates within the Moon s interior , on the lunar surface. A NASA statement said it represented the first detection of this form of water from lunar orbit . Last year, another team used M3 data and produced the first map of water distribution on the lunar surface, showing it was spread across the Moon and not just in polar regions. In February this year, NASA reported a new analysis of data from two lunar missions that presented fresh evidence of water being widely distributed across the surface. It said the water appeared to be present day and night, though it is not necessarily easily accessible . The latest finding, that of solid ice, takes these discoveries forward. Most of the newfound water ice lies in the shadows of craters near the poles, where the warmest temperatures never reach above -250°F (-150°C). Because of the very small tilt of the Moon s rotation axis, sunlight never reaches these regions, the NASA statement said. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

7. Why biofuel for aircraft holds out promise, but isn t ready to fly yet (Relevant for

GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Science & Technology)






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An estimated 20,000 aircraft currently ferry some 3 billion passengers around the world annually, and contribute about 2% of the world s annual greenhouse gas emissions. In 20 years, more than 50,000 planes and many more passengers could be flying. The difficulty in apportioning responsibility for jet emissions among countries makes it among the more complex problems of the global climate change fight. Also, as jet fuel prices rise alongside those of crude oil, it makes sense for governments and airline companies to move towards alternative sources of fuel. Budget carrier SpiceJet Monday operated India s first technology demonstrator flight on biojet fuel, which Ajay Singh, the airline chief, said could reduce dependence on traditional aviation fuel by up to 50% on every flight and bring down fares . The fuel

Dehradun-based CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) manufactured 330 kg of biofuel especially for Monday s 40-odd-minute Dehradun-Delhi flight. The Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft with 28 people on board burnt a mix of 75% traditional aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and 25% oil extracted from the Jatropha plant, sourced from nearly 500 farmer families in Chhattisgarh. Biofuel blends for jet engines can also be prepared using biomass, animal fat, vegetable oil, agricultural waste, and natural gas. The bio-oil concentration can rise to 50%, beyond which, however, the combustibility of the fuel can be impacted. Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan said only three to four nations are using biojet fuel . In 2008, Virgin Atlantic flew a Boeing 747 between London and Amsterdam using fuel derived from a mixture of Brazilian babassu nuts and coconuts. In January this year, Australian flag carrier Qantas operated a 15-hour flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne using a blended fuel that was 10% derived from Brassica carinata, an industrial variety of mustard.

The significance

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is committed to an average annual improvement of 1.5% in fuel efficiency from 2009 to 2020, a cap on net aviation carbon emissions from 2020 (carbon-neutral growth), and a reduction in net aviation carbon emissions of 50% by 2050, relative to 2005 levels. IATA has also set a target of 1 billion passengers flying on aircraft using a mix of clean energy and fossil fuels by 2025. It has noted that given the current immaturity of the supply chain of the aviation biofuel industry, these fuels have lower economies of scale and can cost almost two to three times higher than conventional ATF. So far, more than 5,000 commercial flights have been operated across the world using biofuels. The impact

An international research programme led by NASA reported last year that the use of biofuels can reduce particle emissions in jet exhaust by as much as 50%-70%. But the equation is sometimes not simple: In a 2014 analysis of biofuels for the aviation industry, IATA had noted: According to a lifecycle assessment by the Yale School of Forestry on the plant jatropha (a tropical drought-resistant, oil-rich flowering plant), just one source of






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potential biofuels, its use could either reduce greenhouse gas emission by up to 85%, or increase them by 60%, depending on the circumstances in which it is produced. The future

Commercial use of aviation biofuel is still some way away. The infrastructure to mass-produce biojet fuel, and to deliver it at airports, is awaited. The airport at Los Angeles is one of the few that have the relevant infrastructure to support biofuels. Fuel companies are still working out sustainable ways to manufacture biofuel for aircraft. The 2014 IATA analysis said that the production of the first generation of biofuels had shown that the displacement of other agricultural activity, if not monitored carefully, could become a significant long-term concern. Second generation fuels, it said, posed greater extraction challenges. The Indian government is working on ways to use biofuel in the aviation sector; Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said Monday that a Cabinet note would be moved on a special policy in this regard.


8. How Johnson and Johnson hip implants system went wrong (Relevant for GS

Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Science & Technology)

An expert committee set up by the Health Ministry has indicted Johnson & Johnson for suppressing key facts on the harmful effects of the company s faulty hip replacement

systems, withdrawn globally after complications required many patients to undergo revision surgery. A look at the concerns raised in India and elsewhere: How is hip replacement done?

The hip joint consists of a ball and a socket, which are covered with cartilage and surrounded by a lubricating membrane to protect against wear. In total hip replacement, all components are replaced with prosthetic components. While a metal stem is placed into the hollow centre of the thighbone (femur), the prosthetic ball, socket and cartilage can be made of strong plastic, metal or ceramics. The commonest hip implants are metal on polythene, and ceramic on polythene. What kind are the implants at the centre of the current controversy?

These are metal on metal, with cobalt, chromium and molybdenum as major constituents. Called ASR (Articular Surface Replacement) XL Acetabular System and ASR Hip Resurfacing System, these were being manufactured and sold for several years by Deputy International Limited (DePuy), UK, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. What problems arose with these?

When the prosthetic ball and socket rub against each other, it causes wear. If the implant is metal on metal, this can sometimes releases metallic debris into the bloodstream. This can lead to complications, sometimes requiring revision surgery. Of the 93,000 patients implanted with ASR worldwide, many experienced serious adverse reactions, some






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requiring revision surgery to replace the ASR implant with another kind. Because of this, the company recalled the product on August 24, 2010. To what extent has it happened in India? In India, the company got the licence to import the device in 2006. By the time it was recalled worldwide, an estimated 4,700 ASR implants had been done in the country. Amid concerns worldwide, the Health Ministry set up an expert committee in 2017 to examine issues arising out of faulty ASR implants in India. Headed by Dr Arun Kumar Agarwal, former Dean and Professor of ENT at Maulana Azad Medical College, the committee reviewed action taken by the company to replace faulty ASR implants, and reviewed compensation provided to those who had suffered. What did the committee find?

While more than 3,600 of the 4,700 patients could not be traced, the committee sent letters to 101, of whom 22 responded. The committee concluded that not only did patients undergo revision after first surgery, but in some cases, more than one revision surgeries have been performed .






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About the adverse effects, it observed: Some of the patients had reported that they had to undergo excoriating pain during all these and more particularly after the implant. Many patients reported general fatigue or local issues such pseudo tumour, pain walking, metallosis (increase in Cobalt and Chromium levels, Asthenozoospermia (reduced sperm motility), cyst in kidney, claudication pain. Besides physical problems, it noted: Some of them informed that they are still having difficulty in carrying out their routine activities and are confined to bed which has led them to mental turmoil and agony. These patient also informed that the cost of revision surgery






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was reimbursed either by the company or the insurance firms. The patients are still sceptical about their future with the implant in their body. Has the committee suggested how these issues should be addressed? The committee

has recommended that:

* The company should be made liable to pay at least Rs 20 lakh to each patient with such complications, and the reimbursement programme be extended until August 2025. * A central expert committee and a regional expert committee should be constituted by the Ministry for evaluation of patients claims in respect of disability and suffering caused due to use of faulty ASR . The regional committee will determine whether there is permanent disability, and whether such disability has affected or will affect the patient s earning capacity, and then submit its report to the central expert committee.

* The central expert committee will determine the quantum of compensation. According to the committee that examined ASR implants, the base amount should be Rs 20 lakh, and in addition to this, the patient should be given compensation on the basis of suffering on account of monetary loss due to wages and other loss and percentage of disability. It has

recommended that the maximum amount be at par with the maximum granted for clinical trial-related death and permanent disability as per rules and guidelines of the Drug Controller General of India. * With 3,600 patients yet to traced, the firm has to give due diligence to trace those remaining patients who have received ASR but have not registered with the helpline . * Health assessment of patients should be reported once a year till 2025 and compliance report periodically, preferably six-monthly, submitted to the Ministry. Follow-up should be done regularly. * An independent registry should be established for tracking usage of high-risk medical devices. Provisions for compensation should be included in Medical Device Rules if any serious adverse event or death is caused due to the sole use of a medical device. Was this the first time the government has examined the problem?

The first red flag had been raised in 2010, when the Maharashtra Food & Drug Administration (FDA) got an anonymous complaint about a patient suffering a serious adverse reaction, leading to an FDA investigation and an FIR with Mahim police. In 2012, the state FDA asked the regulator CDSCO to cancel the firm s import licence for not taking proper remedial measures or creating awareness about the defective . CDSCO cancelled the product s import and marketing in 2012, then issued a medical device alert on ASR implants in 2013 — three years after the global recall. How have other countries addressed issues relating to ASR?

Australia, which had approved the product in 2004, was the first to take regulatory action against it. In 2007, an analysis by Therapeutic Goods Administration suggested that the ASR Hip Resurfacing System was associated with a higher-than-average replacement rate, as shown by Australian National Joint Replacement Registry data. In 2009, ASR was






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removed from the Australian market, By 2016, ASR had the highest revision rate for any hip implant used in Australia. In the US, the National Institutes of Health in 2014 found that the ASR Hip Resurfacing System had the highest all-cause revision rate (24.2 % at 7 years) among resurfacing brands. It recommended continued clinical surveillance and laboratory monitoring of patients. (Adapted from The Indian Express)






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Social Issues

1. Who are Dhangars, why demand for ST status is a challenge for Maharashtra

(Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper I; Social Issues)

Dhangars are currently on the list of Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT) in Maharashtra. However, they have been demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the past several decades. As Maharashtra grapples with the Maratha agitation for quotas in jobs and education that flared up again, the state Dhangar Welfare Association has convened a meeting to discuss street protests of its own to press the community s demands. The community

The Dhangars are a shepherd community who live mostly in Western Maharashtra and Marathwada, and make up about a crore of Maharashtra s roughly 11.25 crore population (9%). They play a key role in election outcomes at four (Baramati, Madha, Solapur, Satara) of the state s 48 Lok Sabha seats, and 30-35 of the 288 Assembly seats. Their demand

Dhangars are currently on the list of Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT) in Maharashtra. However, they have been demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the past several decades. Leaders of the community claim Dhangars in Maharashtra are the same as those who are called Dhangad elsewhere in the country, and are listed as a Scheduled Tribe. A typographical error had led to the community s name being recorded as Dhangar , thereby denying them the benefits available to the ST Dhangads , they say. Of the 52% reservation in Maharashtra, SCs and STs have 13% and 7% respectively, OBCs have 19%, and the Vimukta Jati/Denotified Tribes, Special Backward Class, and Nomadic Tribes together have 13%. Dhangars are a Nomadic Tribe . Government stand

Ahead of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections of 2014, the BJP had promised the Dhangars ST status. At the end of 2015, the state asked the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to establish whether Dhangars met the criteria to be identified as ST. In effect, this meant establishing whether Dhangars were the same as Dhangads, so as to guard against any future legal challenge to Dhangars being moved from VJNT to ST. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said the study is in an advanced stage, and reiterated the government s commitment to Dhangars. The agitation

Mahadeo Jankar, chief of the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP), is the most prominent Dhangar leader in the state. Despite the RSP not winning a single seat in either Lok Sabha or the Assembly, Jankar was made an MLC and given the plum portfolio of diary development and animal husbandry with cabinet rank in the Fadnavis government. While Jankar has






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refrained from threatening to escalate the protest, BJP Rajya Sabha member Dr Vikas Mahatme has called for a street agitation. The Maharashtra State Dhangar Welfare Association, which meets Tuesday to chalk out a plan, is led by Prakash Shendge. The politics

Over the past two decades, almost all parties including the Congress, NCP, and BJP have supported the inclusion of Dhangars in the ST category. Every political party, however, has found itself facing the prospect of dealing with STs who are unwilling to allow the dilution of their quota by the inclusion of a large community like the Dhangars. ST MPs and MLAs from all parties have said that Dhangars could be included only if the overall ST quota is increased. The BJP s decision to give Mahatme a Rajya Sabha seat was part of a political move to send a signal to the Dhangars, besides an acknowledgment of his public service as an ophthalmologist. However, dealing with a possible ST backlash remains the biggest challenge to its plan to give Dhangars ST status. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

2. Indians online: One in five harassed, here is how, why (Relevant for GS Mains

Paper I; Social Issues)

ONE IN every five Internet users surveyed in India have reported having faced online harassment. This is one of the findings of surveys by the policy think-tank LIRNE Asia on the Global South and information technology; other findings were reported in The Indian Express Wednesday. Out of 919 Internet users in India in the age group 15-65, 175 (19%) reported that they had online harassment. This was more than in Pakistan or Bangladesh (12% each). Rural users in India (20%) experienced more online harassment than urban ones (17%) while males (20%) faced more harassment more than females (17%). Almost half of those who had experienced online harassment in India were called offensive names, while one-fifth were purposefully embarrassed or criticised in another way and one-sixth were cyber-stalked, or repeatedly approached by unwanted contacts. Again, 38% of those who faced online harassment did not know the motivation for the harassment, while roughly 20% each believed the motivation to be gender, religion or race, or politics. Most experienced the harassment on social media, while 29% faced it on chat applications, 16% on website comment sections and 7% in online gaming.






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The source of the harassment was split into thirds (33% each) among someone the user had met offline earlier, an online contact never encountered offline, or someone unknown online and offline.






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For almost half (48%) of those who experienced harassment, the incident(s) had no effect. Some reduced their time on the particular website (28%) while 15% deleted the app altogether. Only 5% unfriended or blocked the contact, or left the group or forum. E-commerce

Mobile money use in India was just 6% of phone owners. On the other hand, awareness and use of e-commerce platforms was higher in India than in Pakistan and Bangladesh for most sectors. That said, e-commerce participants were often not heavy users, and only completed the search or search-and-order process. Of those who did purchase online, 27% used debit cards, 22% used cash on delivery, and 18% used mobile banking or internet banking. Of those who didn t participate in e-commerce, 31% said they could already buy what they needed offline, 24% were not comfortable sharing personal details and 23% were not certain of the product s quality. Non-users

The 919 Internet users represented 19% of a pool of 5,000 Indians surveyed. Among the non-Internet users, 64% said they did not know what the Internet is. This proportion was third-highest among all 16 countries surveyed, below only that in Pakistan (69%) and Bangladesh (67%). Also, 9% of non-users, while aware of the Internet, did not know how to use it. The non-users included 68% female respondents and 68% from rural areas. Three-fourths had either no education or only studied up to primary level. Even among smartphone users, 35% were unaware what the Internet is. At 19%, Internet use in India is lower than that in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Cambodia. Most other surveyed African and Asian countries, however, had lower overall penetration than India. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

3. In the running of children s homes, the rules that apply — or do not (Relevant for

GS Mains Paper II; Social Issues)

In July 2007, a decade before the sexual exploitation of girls at the Muzaffarpur and Deoria shelters came to light, a sting by the Hindi daily Hindustan had revealed that several NGO- and state-run orphanages in Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu were facilitating the sexual abuse of children by foreigners and Indian tourists in exchange for money. Two months later, the report became the basis of a PIL in the Supreme Court; in its order of May 2017, the court mandated sweeping institutional and procedural reform in the running of childcare institutions — from requiring them to be registered under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act (JJ Act) to laying down provisions for social audits and inspection committees. The continuing instances of sexual exploitation of women and children in shelter homes, however, indicate the situation on the ground is yet to change.






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Child Care Institutions

The construction and running of the homes is entirely a matter for the states — done either by state governments themselves or through NGOs they appoint. Much of the funding, however, comes from the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, which also has the power to monitor the overall working of these homes. A host of working women s hostels, one-stop centres for women affected by physical or sexual violence, Swadhar homes for widows and the destitute, Ujjawala homes for trafficked women, and Child Care Institutions (CCIs) for abandoned, rescued, or orphaned children function under the aegis of the Ministry. WCD Minister Maneka Gandhi Tuesday ordered a social audit of 9,000-odd CCIs, to be completed over the next two months. For effective implementation of the JJ Act, the Centre financially supports the running of the CCIs under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme. A mapping of CCIs across the country, carried out for the first time in 2017, showed almost half of them to be unregistered, despite the 2015 JJ Act requiring them to be registered within six months of the law coming into force. Registrations rose after the Supreme Court ordered the process to be completed by December 2017; even so, stocktaking by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) this year found 1,339 CCIs of the total 7,189 that could be identified across the country, to be unregistered. Some 2.33 lakh children live in the CCIs. We have managed to identify 9,000 CCIs, thousands more may be operating without registration, Maneka said. There may be so many similar cases of abuse. The only way to monitor these is for MPs to regularly visit women and child homes and submit reports to us. Role of the Centre

While the Centre has no direct role in the running of these homes, it does have a supervisory role as it provides the funding. In addition to the inspection carried out by the child welfare committees and the district and state level inspection committees, the central government has the power to carry out social audits and to take action against those found to be non-compliant, juvenile law expert Anant Kumar Asthana said. Under the JJ Act, resident facilities for children in conflict with the law are to be inspected by Juvenile Justice Boards at least once in a month, and for other children, by the Child Welfare Committee at least twice a month, in addition to visits by state- and district-level inspection committees once in three months. The Supreme Court had directed that the setting up of the inspection committees should be completed by July 2017. Protocol, SOPs

The protocol for social audits and inspection committees was developed after the SC s order. The standard operating procedure (SOP) for escaped/runaway/sexual abuse/death of children in CCI was released by the NCPCR only last month. We have been urging states to put in place their inspection committees and conduct regular inspections. Many have set






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them up after repeated follow-ups, but a few are yet to comply, NCPCR chairperson Stuti Kacker said. The SOP for the first time lays down the procedure to deal with physical, sexual or emotional abuse in CCIs. Corporal punishment is punishable by up to three months in jail, and cruelty to child by up to five years. Sexual offences can attract life imprisonment under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. Says the SOP, Every institution shall evolve a system of ensuring that there is no abuse, neglect and

maltreatment and shall include the staff who is aware of what constitutes abuse, neglect and maltreatment, and their early indication and how to respond to these abuses. And yet, whether these mechanisms are in place remains unverifiable, because several states are yet to conduct inspections or social audits of their CCIs. Also, the model social audit proforma for children s homes only examines whether there is a written child protection policy, adherence to it by staff, whether complaint systems are in place, and the measures taken to prevent such abuse — but there is no mechanism to record the lived experiences of the children themselves. (Adapted from The Indian Express)

4. What is Sikh pilgrim corridor to Pakistan (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper

I; Social Issues)

The corridor would bring Pak infrastructure right up to the Indian border. Over the past year, gurdwaras in Pakistan have been used for a pro-Khalistan campaign. Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has claimed that Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa has told him that Islamabad would open a corridor to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Pakistan s Narowal district on the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak next year. The gurdwara at Kartarpur stands at the site of the final resting place of the first Sikh Guru, just across the border from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district. Former Union Minister M S Gill told The Indian Express that the offer was a huge signal that New Delhi should welcome. The shrine

The gurdwara in Kartarpur stands on the bank of the Ravi, about 120 km northeast of Lahore. It was here that Guru Nanak assembled a Sikh community and lived for 18 years until his death in 1539. The shrine is visible from the Indian side, as Pakistani authorities generally trim the elephant grass that would otherwise obstruct the view. Indian Sikhs gather in large numbers for darshan from the Indian side, and binoculars are installed at Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak. The pilgrims

The gurdwara was opened to pilgrims after repairs and restoration in 1999, and Sikh jathas have been visiting the shrine regularly ever since. This was one of the outcomes of the historic bus trip to Lahore by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayeein February 1999, and






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there are no restrictions on visiting Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib once a pilgrim has entered Pakistan on a valid visa. Sikh jathas from India travel to Pakistan on four occasions every year — for Baisakhi, the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev, the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and the birthday of Guru Nanak Dev. These Indian pilgrims are given access to all gurdwaras in Pakistan. Corridor demand

There have long been demands from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and political leaders to build a corridor flanked by barbed wire to allow pilgrims to cross over into Pakistan to visit the Kartarpur Sahib shrine, and return the same day. A bridge will need to be constructed over the Ravi, and there shall be no need for passports or visas. Most recently, the demand was placed before a Parliamentary Standing Committee that visited Dera Baba Nanak last year.

Complex issue

The corridor would bring Pak infrastructure right up to the Indian border. Over the past year, gurdwaras in Pakistan have been used for a pro-Khalistan campaign. Earlier this year, a gurdwara displayed posters and distributed pamphlets for the so-called Sikh Referendum 2020 , and Pakistan denied permission to the Indian envoy and diplomats to visit it. Pakistan s intent also remains suspect, and Indian officials are wary of the corridor






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being misused by both state and non-state actors in that country. — (With Kamaldeep Singh Brar in Amritsar) (Adapted from The Indian Express)






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Miscellaneous

1. Maths that won Fields Medal: number theory diversified, optimal transport

(Relevant for GS Prelims)

Four mathematicians, including India-born Australian Akshay Venkatesh, were awarded the Fields Medal, often described as the Nobel prize of mathematics the most prestigious award in the subject, at the once-in-four-years event, International Congress of Mathematicians, in Rio de Janeiro. The Fields Medal is awarded to a maximum of four mathematicians, all below the age of 40; the 60 winners so far include one more India-born mathematician, Manjul Bhargava, in 2014. A look at the work that fetched the medal to this year s winners: Akshay Venkatesh, 36

The Stanford University professor, whose family moved from New Delhi to Perth when he was two years old, is a number theorist but has also contributed to diverse mathematics disciplines, often using amalgamated techniques. A Stanford University profile says one substantial area of his work has been finding more ways in which homogenous dynamics can be used in number theory. For example, he describes a ball bouncing inside a triangle when the ball doesn t slow down. His math asks questions about what spaces the ball avoids or prefers and how this change if the triangle s sides are curved. He then uses those ideas to solve problems in number theory. Problem solver and theory builder

Most mathematicians are either problem-solvers or theory-builders. Akshay Venkatesh is both. What is more, he is a number theorist who has developed an unusually deep understanding of several areas that are very different from number theory. This breadth of knowledge allows him to situate number theory problems in new contexts. (Adapted from The Indian Express)





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