SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

1 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

T

CONTENT

Title Page No

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES 03

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS 15

INDIA AND WORLD 30

POLITY 40

SCHEMES 53

ECONOMY 56

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 73

ENVIRONMENT 83

AWARDS 90

PERSONALITIES 95

OTHERS 97

Editorial Board Sub - Editor

Sivarajavel. S Anandhi. H

Sadik. M.A

Co-ordinator

R. Senthilkumar

No. 9, Plot No. 2163, (Behind Hot Chips) 12th Main Road, Anna Nagar West,. Chennai-40 Tel:044-43525468/ 7200010122/9176787980. www.smartleadersias.com

2 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

LETTER TO ASPIRANTS

There was a man and his favourite donkey walking on a

muddy road. Donkey suddenly fell onto a sand pit unnoticed and

tried hard to get out of it. The man, not willing to leave his favourite

donkey on its own, tried his efforts to pull it out of the pit. But, the

pit was all too mighty to give up its prey, like a crocodile catching a

lame sheep.

The man, with all his efforts wearied down, decided to help

donkey in a novel way. He started filling the pit with the soil from

the sides of the road. The soil had fallen straight onto donkey. The

tired and scary donkey, not knowing the intention of his master, was

initially puzzled and clueless on what to do next. But spontaneously,

it shrug its body off mud which fell onto the ground. It then stood on

top of fresh soil and gained some ground. The master continued

pouring down the soil from atop and donkey continued to shake it

off and started reaching the surface. At last, the master and his

favourite donkey were reunited and walked their rest of their

journey together.

Falling onto pit or facing troubles or failures is common to all,

more particularly for civil service aspirants’ community. But

strongly believe, there is your Master who is all willing to help you

in your tougher times. All that we have to do, is trust Him and act on

what He gives. Like the donkey, we have to shake off our troubles

trusting our Master and keep standing on feet. A time will come for

our success for our efforts to be seen by the world. Till then, stay in

the struggle and keep standing on your feet.

Regards,

ANANDHI. H FACULTY

(SMART LEADERS IAS)

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

3 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

CHINA

Muslim Uighurs seethe at China’s crackdown

Xinjiang region in the far west of China revealed a society seething with

anger and trepidation as the government, alarmed by a slow-boil

insurgency that has claimed hundreds of lives, has introduced

unprecedented measures aimed at shaping the behaviour and beliefs of

China‘s 10 million Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority that

considers this region its homeland.

Driving these policies is the government‘s view that tougher security and

tighter restraints on the practice of Islam are the best way to stem a wave

of violence.

The tough security measures are on full view for travellers as they stop at

the ubiquitous highway checkpoints that slow movement across this

rugged expanse of deserts and snowy peaks.

Intrusive search

Armed soldiers rummage through car trunks and examine ID cards, ethnic

Uighur motorists and their passengers are sometimes asked to hand over

their cell phones so police can search them for content or software deemed

a threat to public security.

In addition to jihadist videos, the police are on the lookout for Skype and

WhatsApp, apps popular with those who communicate with friends and

relatives outside China, and for software that allows users to access

blocked websites.

Kashgar, the fabled Silk Road outpost near China‘s border within Pakistan

and Afghanistan, officials have banned mosques from broadcasting the

call to prayer, forcing muezzins to shout out the invocation five times a

day from rooftops across the city.

The new rule is an addition to longstanding policies that prohibit after-

school religious classes and children under 18 from entering mosques.

Southeast of Kashgar, shopkeepers in the city of Hotan seethed over a

government decision to outlaw two dozen names considered too Muslim,

4 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

forcing parents to rename their children or be unable to register them for

school, according to local residents and the police.

‘Strike-hard operation’

Beijing began a ―strike hard special operation‖ after 43 people were killed

in a pair of attacks in the regional capital, Urumqi, in 2014. It dismantled

nearly 200 terrorist groups and resulted in the execution at least 49 people.

China’s 6.9 per cent growth calms global market nerves

China‘s economy grew by 6.9 per cent last year, in line with the official

projection of around 7 per cent.

The numbers signalled that the government was on track of transitioning

the economy from manufacturing to the lower growth ―new normal‖ path,

where consumption and services would dominate.

Though last year‘s growth was the slowest since 1990, it nevertheless

calmed nerves in the global market, which had feared that the Chinese

economy was on the brink of a ―hard landing‖ following the recent

mayhem in the stock market and spurts of currency volatility.

Consequently, the data emerging from China‘s National Bureau of

Statistics (NBS) triggered a significant rally in industrial commodities, in

anticipation that Chinese demand may not be falling as sharply as feared.

Brent crude, the international energy benchmark, which had dropped to

$27.67 a barrel, a 12-year intra-day low firmed up by 5.5 per cent to reach

$30.12, following data from Beijing. Copper also rose to $4,447 a tonne,

after dropping last week nearly to a seven-year low of $4,318.

The NBS figures revealed that China‘s GDP stood at around $10.3 trillion.

Significantly, the services sector, the indicator of an economic shift from

inefficient manufacturing accounted for 50.5 per cent of the GDP. This

was the first occasion that services sector‘s contribution had breached the

50 per cent mark. Unemployment rate in major cities stood at around 5.1

per cent.

Urban fixed-asset investment continued to taper, expanding 10 per cent

year-on-year, compared with 15.7 per cent in 2014. Retail sales grew 10.7

per cent, significantly below the 12 per cent recorded in 2014. For the first

time in six years, foreign trade contracted in 2015.

China‘s government debts were not a cause of anxiety, as they accounted

for less 40 per cent of the country's GDP, well below the 60 per cent alert

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

5 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

line that was internationally accepted. Supply-side structural reforms were

essential to streamline the economy.

CHINA AND IRAN

China moves to deepen its footprint in Iran

Rising from the yellowish, treeless plains so typical for central Iran stands

a square, three-dimensional labyrinth of pipes and conveyor belts, topped

by a silver chimney that glitters in the summer sun.

Sanctions against Iran failed to halt the construction of the complex, a

steel mill that went into operation in September and now churns out ingots

and billets. Sheng Kuan Li, a wealthy Chinese businessman, from pouring

$200 million into the project.

Li‘s steel mill and other similar endeavours are the result of a strategic

pact that gives China a much-needed western gateway to West Asian

markets and beyond, and that has saved Iran from international isolation

and economic ruin.

Both countries agreed to increase trade to $600 billion in the coming

decade. That agreement was made during a meeting between Iran‘s

leaders and China‘s President Xi Jinping, who became the first foreign

leader to visit Iran after most international sanctions were lifted.

China has relied on Iranian oil and views the country as a vital link in

Mr. Xi‘s so-called Silk Road strategy, an ambitious agenda that seeks to

extend China‘s economic influence westward.

The deep Chinese footprint in Iran does not only manifest itself in the tens

of thousands of inexpensive cars that have flooded the streets of Tehran in

the past few years

In Tehran, the Chinese have been involved in the construction of a huge

elevated expressway and the building of the Niayesh Tunnel, one of the

longest urban tunnels in the world. The city‘s metro system was built from

scratch, starting in 1995, with Chinese capital and Chinese engineers. The

train cars that run on it are Chinese, too.

Thirst for cheap crude oil and enthusiasm for the Silk Road project, which

incorporates the goal of unlocking China‘s isolated western provinces,

brought the Chinese to Iran, the only country in West Asia where the U.S.

had no presence.

China looked the other way when the Iranians sought to advance their

missile technology, and assisted in developing the country‘s nuclear

energy programme.

6 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

So the two countries, which were connected by the old Silk Road, have

embarked on establishing a new one.

Train to Tehran will take Silk Road into West Asia

China demonstrated the integration of West Asia in its New Silk Road

connectivity project by flagging a train from its trading hub of Yiwu to

Tehran.

The container train will cover a journey of 10,399 km in its maiden

journey to West Asia in14 days. It will exit China through Alataw Pass in

western China‘s Xinjiang province, and then pass through Kazakhstan and

Turkmenistan before heading for the Iranian capital. Yiwu is already

connected by trains that head for Duisburg in Germany and Madrid.

A strategic partnership agreement between China and Iran that was inked

covers military and security cooperation, including intelligence-sharing

and this pact is valid for 25 years.

Xinhua reported that 4,000 businessmen from West Asia live in Yiwu,

where more than 180 companies from the region have made investments.

In 2015, the city exported goods worth $8.8 billion dollars to West Asia.

CHINA AND AFRICA

African economies shaken by slowdown in China

Years of rapid economic growth across sub-Saharan Africa fuelled hopes

of a prosperous new era. To many, the world‘s poorest continent was

finally emerging, with economies that were no longer dependent on the

fickle global demand for Africa‘s raw resources.

But as China‘s economy slows and its once seemingly insatiable hunger

for Africa‘s commodities wanes, many African economies are tumbling,

quickly.

Since the start of this year, the outlook across the continent has grown

grimmer, especially in its two biggest economies, Nigeria and South

Africa. Their currencies fell to record lows this month as China, Africa‘s

biggest trading partner, announced that imports from Africa plummeted

nearly 40 per cent in 2015.

The International Monetary Fund has in recent months sharply cut its

projections for the continent. Credit rating agencies have downgraded or

lowered their outlook on commodity exporters like Angola, Ghana,

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

7 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Mozambique and Zambia, which were the darlings of international

investors until just over a year ago.

Many economists expect South Africa, the continent‘s most advanced and

diversified economy, to slide into a recession this year, a projection

disputed by the government. As Africa‘s biggest exporter of iron ore to

China, South Africa is suffering from a slump in mining, as well as in

other sectors like manufacturing and agriculture.

Increased food costs

The weak rand will make it more painful for South Africa, which is

experiencing the worst drought in a generation and is usually an exporter

of agricultural products, to import corn, the nation‘s staple. Higher food

prices could pose a challenge to the government of President Jacob Zuma.

Nigeria, Africa‘s biggest economy and oil producer, is reeling from the

crash in crude prices, at the same time President Muhammadu Buhari tries

to deal with Boko Haram, the Islamic extremist group that has long

terrorised the nation.

With oil accounting for 80 per cent of government revenue, the

government may also lack the resources to quell potential unrest in the

Niger Delta, the source of the country‘s oil.

Weakening currencies will make it harder for Nigeria and many other

African governments to repay China for loans used to build large

infrastructure projects.

While previously high-flying commodity exporters, like Angola and

Zambia, have been hit hardest by China‘s slowdown, other countries are

showing greater resilience.

East African countries, including Kenya and Ethiopia, which have been

forced to diversify their economies in part because of their dearth of

commodities, will probably continue to enjoy robust growth.

SAUDI ARABIA

What is the difference between Sunnis and Shias

Saudi Arabia‘s execution of Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr escalated

tensions in the Muslim world. Here is a primer on the basic differences

between Sunni and Shia Islam.

What caused the split?

A schism emerged after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632. He

died without appointing a successor to lead the Muslim community, and

8 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

disputes arose over who should shepherd the new and rapidly growing

faith.

Some believed that a new leader should be chosen by consensus; others

thought that only the prophet‘s descendants should become caliph. The

title passed to a trusted aide, Abu Bakr, though some thought it should

have gone to Ali, the Prophet‘s cousin and son-in-law. Ali eventually did

become caliph after Abu Bakr‘s two successors were assassinated.

After Ali also was assassinated, with a poison-laced sword at the mosque

in Kufa, in what is now Iraq, his sons Hasan and then Hussein claimed the

title. But Hussein and many of his relatives were massacred in Karbala,

Iraq, in 680.

His martyrdom became a central tenet to those who believed that Ali

should have succeeded the Prophet. (It is mourned every year during the

month of Muharram). The followers became known as Shias, a contraction

of the phrase Shiat Ali, or followers of Ali. The Sunnis, however, regard

the first three caliphs before Ali as rightly guided and themselves as the

true adherents to the Sunnah, or the Prophet‘s tradition. Sunni rulers

embarked on sweeping conquests that extended the caliphate into North

Africa and Europe. The last caliphate ended with the fall of the Ottoman

Empire after World War-I.

How do their beliefs differ?

The Sunni and Shia sects encompass a wide spectrum of doctrine, opinion

and schools of thought. The branches are in agreement on many aspects of

Islam, but there are considerable disagreements within each. Both

branches include worshippers who run the gamut from secular to

fundamentalist.

Shias consider Ali and the leaders who came after him as Imams. Most

believe in a line of 12 Imams, the last of whom, a boy, is believed to have

vanished in the ninth century in Iraq after his father was murdered. Shias

known as Twelvers anticipate his return as the Mahdi, or Messiah. Sunnis

emphasise God‘s power in the material world, sometimes including the

public and political realm, while Shias value martyrdom and sacrifice.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

9 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

UNITED STATES

Gun control measure to mandate background check

President Barack Obama announced executive actions designed to expand

background checks for some firearm purchases and step up federal

enforcement of the nation‘s gun laws.

Executive action

Mr. Obama will take modest steps that stop well short of the kind of large-

scale changes to the gun trade that he unsuccessfully sought from

Congress three years ago. That legislation would have closed loopholes

that allow millions of guns to be sold without background checks at gun

shows or in online firearm exchanges.

Mr. Obama will clarify that existing laws require anyone making a living

from selling guns to register as a licensed gun dealer and conduct

background checks. White House officials said the President would note

that criminal penalties already existed for violating those laws.

Under President plan, the officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,

Firearms and Explosives would begin contacting gun sellers to let them

know of new standards to ―clarify‖ who would be considered a regulated

dealer, taking into account factors such as whether someone has a business

card, uses a website, or sells guns in their original packaging.

There is no definition for how many guns sold would make someone

called as a ―dealer‖. White House officials said someone could sell as few

as one or two guns yet still be considered a dealer whose sales are subject

to background checks.

The changes are particularly meant for online gun merchants, who often

avoid conducting background checks despite making high-volume gun

sales through websites like armslist.com.

Smaller U.S. atom bombs are adding fuel to nuclear fears

The Obama administration was preparing a test of its own in the Nevada

desert.

A fighter jet took off with a mock version of the nation‘s first precision-

guided atom bomb. Adapted from an older weapon, it was designed with

problems like North Korea in mind: Its computer brain and four

manoeuvrable fins let it zero in on deeply buried targets like testing

tunnels and weapon sites. And its yield, the bomb‘s explosive force, can

be dialled up or down depending on the target, to minimise collateral

damage.

10 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

President Barack Obama has long advocated a nuclear-free world. His

lieutenants argue that modernising existing weapons can produce a smaller

and more reliable arsenal while making their use less likely because of the

threat they can pose. The changes, they say, are improvements rather than

wholesale redesigns, fulfilling the President‘s pledge to make no new

nuclear arms.

The B61 Model 12, the bomb flight-tested last year in Nevada, is the first

of five new warhead types planned as part of an atomic revitalisation

estimated to cost up to $1 trillion over three decades. As a family, the

weapons and their delivery systems move toward the small, the stealthy

and the precise.

Russia called the B61 tests ―irresponsible‖ and ―openly provocative‖.

China is said to be especially worried about plans for a nuclear-tipped

cruise missile.

Pakistan’s nuke warheads aimed at deterring India: U.S. report

Pakistan‘s nuclear arsenal probably consists of approximately 110-130

nuclear warheads, although it could have. Islamabad is producing fissile

material, adding to related production facilities, deploying additional

nuclear weapons and new types of delivery vehicles by Congressional

Research Service (CRS) report.

In its 28-page report, the CRS noted that Pakistan‘s nuclear arsenal is

widely regarded as designed to dissuade India from taking military action

against it, but Islamabad‘s expansion of its nuclear arsenal, development

of new types of nuclear weapons and adoption of a doctrine called ―full

spectrum deterrence‖ have led some observers to express concern about an

increased risk of nuclear conflict between Pakistan and India, which also

continues to expand its nuclear arsenal.

CRS is the independent research wing of the U.S. Congress, which

prepares periodic reports by eminent experts on a wide range of issues so

as to help lawmakers take informed decisions. Reports of CRS are not

considered as an official view of the U.S. Congress.

Pakistani and U.S. officials argue that since the 2004 revelations about a

procurement network run by former Pakistani nuclear official A.Q. Khan

Islamabad has taken a number of steps to improve its nuclear security and

to prevent further proliferation of nuclear-related technologies and

materials.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

11 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

SRI LANKA AND PAKISTAN

Sri Lanka, Pakistan to expand FTA

Sri Lanka and Pakistan have agreed on the inclusion of services and

investment in the bilateral free trade agreement. This would help

companies of the two nations to form joint ventures for exports to other

nations.

When the FTA came into effect in June 2005, Pakistan‘s exports to

Sri Lanka were to the tune of $150 million. In 2010-11, they went up to

$332 million but dropped to $260 million in 2013-14 and 2014-25, Under

the agreement, Sri Lanka‘s exports to Pakistan were valued at about $52

million, accounting for around 70 per cent of the country‘s total exports to

Pakistan.

Both countries have agreed to reinvigorate their efforts to realize the goal

of $1 billion at the earliest.

The MoUs covered a number of areas, including trade promotion and

curbing money laundering and terrorism financing.

NORTH KOREA

North Korea claims to have tested

hydrogen bomb

North Korea declared that it

had detonated its first hydrogen

bomb.

In an announcement on Central

Television, the state-run

network, North Korea said the

test was a ―complete success‖.

But it was difficult to tell

whether the statement was true.

North Korea has made repeated

claims about its nuclear

capabilities that analysts elsewhere have greeted with scepticism.

This is the self-defensive measure Korea took to defend their right to live

in the face of the nuclear threats and blackmail by the United States and to

guarantee the security of the Korean Peninsula.

12 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

The North‘s announcement came about an hour after detection devices

around the world had picked up a 5.1 seismic event along the country‘s

northeast coast.

It may be weeks or longer before detectors sent aloft by the U.S. and other

powers can determine what kind of test was conducted.

PAKISTAN

Pak. to host meet on Afghan peace talks

Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States hold talks in Islamabad

aimed at reviving the Afghan peace process.

Talks do not include the Taliban, who have been battling the U.S.-backed

government for nearly 15 years and have recently stepped up their attacks.

Talks with the Taliban have been on hold since July, when they collapsed

after just one meeting following Afghanistan‘s announcement that long-

time Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar had been dead for more

than two years. The Taliban called off its participation and a second

meeting was cancelled.

Pakistan is believed to have influence over the Taliban, but relations with

Kabul have been tense in recent months. The two countries have long

accused each other of backing the Taliban and other insurgents operating

along their porous border. Taliban leaders are widely believed to be based

in Pakistani cities near the Afghan border, including Quetta and Peshawar.

Analysts have cautioned that despite the rapprochement between Kabul

and Islamabad, any substantive peace talks are still months off.

Taliban demands have consistently focused on the end to an international

military presence in the country. The U.S. and NATO have 13,000 troops

stationed in Afghanistan, mostly in a training capacity. They include 9,800

Americans.

The Taliban have intensified attacks in recent weeks and come close to

taking over strategically important districts in southern Helmand province,

the world‘s premier poppy-producing region. Almost all the world‘s

heroin is made from opium grown in southern Afghanistan.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

13 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

GERMANY

Merkel wants expulsion rules toughened

German Chancellor Angela Merkel backed a toughening of expulsion

rules for convicted refugees, as protesters took to the streets against a

shocking rash of sexual assaults blamed on migrants during New Year's

festivities.

Both women's groups and supporters of the xenophobic PEGIDA

movement mobilised in separate rallies in Cologne, as Ms. Merkel

declared that refugees found to have committed a crime even those who

have not been given jail terms should be required to leave Germany.

Pegida rally

Pegida rally took place in Germany against the migrants.

Carrying banners and signs bearing slogans like ―Rapefugees not

welcome,‖ the protesters took aim at Ms. Merkel, accusing her of allowing

migrants to run amok through her liberal stance towards those fleeing

war.

What is Pegida?

PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the

Occident) is a German political movement based in Dresden in the east

of the country.

It claims to be anti-Islamist and against what it sees as the growing

influence of Islam in Europe.

NEPAL

India welcomes Nepal amendments

India welcomed the first round of amendments of the Nepal Constitution,

which is expected to create a more inclusive society in Nepal.

The amendments, supported by 461 of the 601 members of Parliament,

covered Article 42 to ensure more inclusive social justice, Article 84 to

create a House of Representatives, and Article 286 to create a new process

of constituency delimitation, helping the Madhesi groups.

All the three elements of the amendment process were part of a deal

between the government of Nepal and its mainstream political parties, and

the rebel Madhesi political formation of the United Madhesi Democratic

14 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Front (UMDF), which has been agitating for the changes in the

Constitution.

Main demand

The amendment process has not addressed the core issue of creating two

provinces for Madhesi people on the 1,200-km-long southern plains of

Nepal bordering India. The amendments were passed in the absence of the

35 members of the Madhesi political parties who boycotted the late night

session.

Nepal‘s Constitution, promulgated on September 20, 2015, has attracted a

series of amendment proposals. This amendment was the first of the

process and several others are expected to come up soon.

PORTUGAL

Law prof. wins Portugal presidency

A 67-year-old law professor and TV pundit, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa,

was the clear winner in Portugal‘s presidential election, with over 52 per

cent of the vote, according to a nearly-complete count.

Rebelo de Sousa, a former head of the centre-right Social Democratic

Party, secured the post with 52.78 per cent of the vote, far ahead of his

closest rival, independent leftist Antonio Sampaio da Novoa, who won

22.17 per cent, according to results from 97 per cent of constituencies.

Although largely ceremonial, Portugal‘s presidency has make-or-break

power over the nation‘s fragile ruling alliance and the right to dissolve

Parliament in the event of a crisis.

MARSHALL ISLANDS

Marshall Islands to sue India, Pak. over nukes

The tiny Marshall Islands will, in March, seek to persuade the UN‘s

highest court to take up a lawsuit against India, Pakistan and Britain which

they accuse of failing to halt the nuclear arms race.

The International Court of Justice, founded in 1945 to rule on legal

disputes between nations, announced for separate hearings for the three

cases between March 7 and 16.

In the cases brought against India and Pakistan, the court will examine

whether the tribunal based in The Hague is competent to hear the lawsuits.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

15 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

The hearing involving Britain will be devoted to ―preliminary objections‖

raised by London.

In 2014, the Marshall Islands, a Pacific Ocean territory with 55,000

people, accused nine countries of not fulfilling their obligations with

respect to the cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to

nuclear disarmament.

They included China, Britain, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan,

Russia, and the U.S.

The government based in the Marshall Islands capital of Majuro said by

not stopping the nuclear arms race, the countries continued to breach their

obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) even if the

treaty has not been by signed by countries such as India and Pakistan.

The Marshall Islands had decided to sue the world‘s nuclear heavyweights

as it has a particular awareness of the dire consequences of nuclear

weapons.

U.S. tests

Between 1946 and 1958, the U.S. conducted repeated nuclear tests in the

Marshall Islands, Majuro‘s representatives said in papers filed in court.

But the court only admitted three cases brought against Britain, India and

Pakistan because they already recognised the ICJ‘s authority.

In March 2014, the Marshall Islands marked 60 years since the devastating

hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll, that vapourised an island and exposed

thousands in the surrounding area to radioactive fallout.

The 15-megaton test on March 1, 1954, was part of the intense Cold War

nuclear arms race and 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb

dropped on Hiroshima. Bikini Islanders have lived in exile since they were

moved for the first weapons tests in 1946.

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION

$50-mn loan to fund education of minorities

The Union government and the World Bank signed a $50-million credit

agreement for a project aimed at helping young people from minority

communities complete their education and improve their employment

opportunities.

The Nai Manzil Scheme is designed as an integrated education and

training programme that provides youth from minority communities skills

needed for different tasks in a rapidly changing world.

16 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Around 20 per cent of those between 17 and 35 years of age from minority

groups such as Muslims, Parsees, Jains, Buddhists, Christians, and Sikhs

are out of the labour force, according to the World Bank.

Digital dividends not spreading rapidly - World Bank

With 60 per cent of the world‘s population still offline, institutional and

regulatory barriers to efficiency are exacerbating the problem of low and

unevenly distributed ―digital dividends‖ from growing Internet penetration

across countries, a new World Bank study has found.

In its annual World Development Report (WDR) the Bank appeared to

strike a balance between outlining the positive outcomes from a deepening

digital economy in countries such as India, and the fact that automation of

jobs was in some cases leading to inequalities in the labour market

between high-skill and low-skill workers.

The 2016 WDR issue titled ―Digital Dividends,‖ noted that almost 1.063

billion Indians were offline even though India ranked among the top five

nations in terms of the total number of Internet users, along with China,

the U.S., Japan and Brazil.

With nearly 20 percent of the world‘s population unable to read and write,

the spread of digital technologies alone is unlikely to spell the end of the

global knowledge divide.

The report also cautioned that with the advent of big data, which includes

the likes of India‘s Aadhaar unique identity project secret snooping by

governments can be for legitimate law enforcement reasons, but

sometimes violates laws and rights, as the Edward Snowden revelations

about spying by the security agencies of the United States, the United

Kingdom, and others have shown.

Among them, the Bank‘s report outlined several cases of NGOs partnering

with the Indian government and such ―digital citizen engagement‖ led to

success with projects such as ―I Change My City,‖ ―I Paid A Bribe,‖ and

the ―Karnataka BVS.‖

India signs Agreement with World Bank for Bihar Kosi Basin

Development Project

The Financing Agreement for World Bank (IDA) assistance of US$ 250

million for Bihar Kosi Basin Development Project was signed between

Government of India and the World Bank.

The objective of the project is to enhance resilience to floods and increase

agricultural production and productivity in the targeted districts in the

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

17 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Kosi River Basin, and to enhance Bihar‘s capacity to respond promptly

and effectively to an eligible crisis or emergency.

The primary beneficiaries will be rural producers and households in the

Kosi River Basin who are regularly exposed to floods. This includes

farmers who lost their agricultural lands due to the silt deposits brought by

the 2008 Kosi River Flood as well as farmers in the project area that are

currently without access to irrigation and other technologies, improved

agricultural practices and an adequate transport network.

Project Components: The project has five components: (i) Improving

Flood Risk Management; (ii) Enhancing Agricultural Productivity and

Competitiveness; (iii) Augmenting Connectivity; (iv) Contingent

Emergency Response; and (v) Implementation Support.

It is a loan for an implementation period of 5 years. Government of Bihar

is the implementing agency.

WORLD BANK

The World Bank is an international financial institution that

provides loans to developing countries for capital programs. It comprises

two institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and

Development (IBRD), and the International Development

Association (IDA). The World Bank is a component of the World Bank

Group, which is part of the United Nations system.

The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty. However,

according to its Articles of Agreement, all its decisions must be guided

by a commitment to the promotion of foreign investmentand international

trade and to the facilitation of Capital investment.

The World Bank is not to be confused with the World Bank Group, an

extended family of five international organizations:

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)

International Development Association (IDA)

International Finance Corporation (IFC)

Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)

International Centre for Settlement of Investment

Disputes (ICSID)

18 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

India to counter ‘non-issues’ at WTO talks

The government is firming up a strategy to prevent ‗attempts‘ by rich

nations to introduce ‗new pro-corporate issues‘ such as global value

chains, digital economy, labour and climate-related trade into the World

Trade Organisation (WTO) deliberations and negotiations on mega free

trade agreement.

When the Doha Round negotiations (for a global agreement to lower trade

barriers) resume at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, India will make it

clear that discussions on any ‗new issue‘ can take place only after

resolving all the outstanding matters related to the Doha Round talks.

The development came after India had opposed the declaration brought

out after the WTO‘s ministerial conference (its highest decision making

body) in Nairobi last month as it did not include measures primarily meant

for improving trade prospects of developing and poor nations.

The outstanding issues include an effective ‗Special Safeguard

Mechanism‘ (or a tool to help developing countries protect the interests of

their poor farmers by temporarily increasing duties to counter farm import

increase and price fall) and a permanent solution for the issue of public

stockholding for food security purposes.

Two criteria

India will state at the WTO that any country pitching for the introduction

the ‗new issues‘ will first have to ensure that they meet two criteria.

One is to establish the relevance of these issues in the context of trade and

the other to ensure that there is a consensus among all 162 WTO member

countries in taking up such an agenda.

India will strengthen the alliance of developing and poor countries to put

an end to the attempts to introduce 'new issues' into the WTO talks at this

stage.

These ‗new issues‘ that the developed world is keen to introduce into the

WTO‘s Doha Round talks include global value chains, e-commerce,

labour, climate-related trade (such as environmental services and goods),

competition policies, investment pacts, government procurement and

state-owned enterprises, on all of which the rich nations have superior

standards or rules than the developing and poor countries.

The developing nations feel these standards or rules might therefore

become non-tariff barriers, hurting their exports to rich nations while the

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

19 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

latter will be able to indirectly open up the developing markets through an

agenda that includes 'new issues'.

India to pitch for TFA in services

India will pitch for a trade facilitation agreement (TFA) in services at the

WTO and other bilateral free trade pacts as the sector has huge potential

and it contributes significantly to the country‘s economy.

India is already pushing hard for a comprehensive trade pact in the

services sector, a key area of interest for the country, in the ongoing free

trade agreement negotiations including with the European Union and

Regional Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

After doing TFA in goods at the World Trade Organization, India intend

to take TFA in services to the WTO. TFA in services means liberalised

visa regime such as multiple entry visas, visa-free travel for foreign

tourists and long term visas for business community.

In RCEP negotiations India wants a comprehensive agreement in goods,

services and investments. India has decided that it would be now

aggressive in demanding freer movement of people because it is in the

interest of India and the world.

India is very strong in the services area as the sector contributes over 50

per cent in the country‘s economic growth. To boost services exports, the

ministry is already working on some reform measures in sectors including

education and legal.

Ex-post-facto approval on the approach adopted by India at the Tenth

Ministerial Conference of the WTO

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has

given its ex-post facto approval for the approach adopted by India at the

Tenth Ministerial Conference of the WTO held in Nairobi, Kenya during

15-19 December 2015.

Background

The outcomes of the Conference, referred to as the 'Nairobi Package'

include Ministerial Decisions on agriculture, cotton and issues related to

least developed countries (LDCs). These cover a Special Safeguard

Mechanism (SSM) for developing countries, public stockholding for food

security purposes, a commitment to abolish export subsidies for farm

exports and measures related to cotton.

Decisions were also made regarding preferential treatment to LDCs in the

area of services and the criteria for determining whether exports from

LDCs may benefit from trade preferences. A Ministerial Declaration was

also adopted.

20 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

In the run-up to the Nairobi Conference, it became clear that the

Conference would determine the future of the Doha Round of trade

negotiations. While the Round is very important for greater integration of

developing countries in the global trading system, a few developed

countries were strongly opposed to the continuation of the Doha

Development Agenda (DDA).

India took the stand that the DDA must continue after the Nairobi

Conference and no new issues must be introduced into the WTO agenda

until the DDA has been completed. The Nairobi Ministerial Declaration

acknowledges that members "have different views" on how to address the

future of the Doha Round negotiations but noted the "strong commitment

of all Members to advance negotiations on the remaining Doha issues."

In view of the reluctance of developed countries to agree to continue the

Doha Development Agenda post-Nairobi, India negotiated and secured a

re-affirmative Ministerial Decision on Public Stockholding for Food

Security Purposes honouring both the Bali Ministerial and General

Council Decisions. The decision commits Members to engage

constructively in finding a permanent solution to this issue.

India negotiated a Ministerial Decision on another very important issue

which recognizes that developing countries will have the right to have

recourse to an agricultural Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) as

envisaged in the Doha mandate. Members will continue to negotiate the

mechanism in dedicated sessions of the Committee on Agriculture in

Special Session. The WTO General Council has been mandated to

regularly review the progress of these negotiations. This is a crucial

decision in view of the differing views about the future of the Doha

Round.

Members also agreed to the elimination of agricultural export subsidies

subject to the preservation of special and differential treatment for

developing countries such as a longer phase-out period for transportation

and marketing subsidies for exporting agricultural products. The

Ministerial Decision also contains disciplines to ensure that other export

policies are not used as a disguised form of subsidies. These disciplines

include terms to limit the benefits of financing support to agriculture

exporters, rules on state enterprises engaging in agriculture trade, and

disciplines to ensure that food aid does not negatively affect domestic

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

21 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

production. Developing countries have been given a longer time to

implement these rules.

India supported outcomes on issues of interest to LDCs including

enhanced preferential rules of origin for LDCs and preferential treatment

for LDC services providers. India already provides substantial preferences

in these areas to LDCs.

Another area under negotiation in Nairobi dealt with the rules on fisheries

subsidies. Like India, several other countries had strong reservations on

this issue due to the lack of clarity. This was in tune with India's position.

There was no outcome in this area of the negotiations. A group of 53

WTO members, including both developed and developing countries, also

agreed on a timetable for implementing a deal to eliminate tariffs on 201

Information Technology products. Duty-free market access to the markets

of the members eliminating tariffs on these products will be available to

all WTO members. Though not a party to the Agreement, its benefits will

also be available to India.

WTO The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental

organization which regulates international trade. The WTO officially

commenced on 1 January 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement, signed

by 123 nations on 15 April 1994, replacing the General Agreement on

Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in 1948.

The WTO deals with regulation of trade between participating countries

by providing a framework for negotiating trade agreements and a dispute

resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to WTO

agreements, which are signed by representatives of member governments

and ratified by their parliaments. Most of the issues that the WTO focuses

on derive from previous trade negotiations, especially from the Uruguay

Round (1986–1994).

The WTO is attempting to complete negotiations on the Doha

Development Round, which was launched in 2001 with an explicit focus

on developing countries. As of June 2012, the future of the Doha Round

remained uncertain: the work programme lists 21 subjects in which the

original deadline of 1 January 2005 was missed, and the round is still

incomplete.

The conflict between free trade on industrial goods and services but

retention of protectionism on farm subsidies to domestic agricultural

sector (requested by developed countries) and the substantiation of fair

22 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

trade on agricultural products (requested by developing countries) remain

the major obstacles. This impasse has made it impossible to launch new

WTO negotiations beyond the Doha Development Round. As a result,

there have been an increasing number of bilateral free trade

agreements between governments. As of July 2012, there were various

negotiation groups in the WTO system for the current agricultural trade

negotiation which is in the condition of stalemate.

WHO declares end to Ebola epidemic

The World Health Organisation declared an end to the deadliest Ebola

outbreak ever after no new cases emerged in Liberia, though health

officials warn that it will be several more months before the world is

considered free of the disease that claimed more than 11,300 lives over

two years.

Liberia, which along with Sierra Leone and Guinea was an epicentre of

the latest outbreak, was first declared free of the disease last May, but new

cases emerged two times in Liberia.

That‘s because there is still ongoing risk of re-emergence of the disease

because of persistence of the virus in a proportion of survivors. In Liberia,

there was guarded optimism about reaching the 42-day benchmark with no

new cases. The Ministry of Health is still carrying out Ebola tests on dead

bodies before burial, and remains on the lookout for any suspicious cases.

WHO unit to focus on achieving universal health coverage

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced setting up of a

dedicated unit that will focus on achieving universal health coverage

(UHC), which is target 3.8 of sustainable development goals (SDGs).

The goals within SDGs emphasise the need to achieve UHC by ensuring

financial risk protection and improving access to essential health care

services for those marginalised. So far, the quality of services has been

neglected within the UHC dialogue

This special unit will focus on three key aspects: alignment of country

engagements and global framework, health service resilience, and quality

and lastly establishing partnerships to reach these goals.

This year, the prestigious award (in medicine) was conferred upon

Professor Morton Mower from the United States for invention of the

Automatic Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator, a device that helps

monitor heart rate and rhythm, and deliver electrical current when

abnormality is detected.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

23 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Sir Michael Marmot of the U.K. won the award in public health for his

evidence-based evaluation of the role of Social Determinants of Health, a

concept adopted by the British government and the WHO to eliminate

health inequities.

WHO

WHO began when our Constitution came into force on 7 April 1948 – a

date we now celebrate every year as World Health Day. We are now more

than 7000 people working in 150 country offices, in 6 regional offices and

at our headquarters in Geneva.

Their primary role is to direct and coordinate international health within

the United Nations‘ system.

These are our main areas of work:

Health systems

Promoting health through the life-course

Noncommunicable diseases

Communicable diseases

Corporate services

Preparedness, surveillance and response.

We support countries as they coordinate the efforts of multiple sectors of

the government and partners – including bi- and multilaterals, funds and

foundations, civil society organizations and private sector – to attain their

health objectives and support their national health policies and strategies.

Opening of AIIB part of global financial revamp

The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was formally

opened, signalling the steady revamp of the global financial architecture,

which will also soon incorporate the New Development Bank of the

Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) grouping.

The bank would target investments in ―high-quality, low-cost‖ projects.

Analysts say the AIIB is likely to lend anywhere between $10-15 billion a

year during the first five or six years of its existence.

The AIIB is expected to open a new channel of funding for the Global

South, which was so far dependent on the western backed International

Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank

(ADB), in which Japan plays a pre-eminent role.

Observers say the new lender will focus on infrastructure development in

Asia, a move that is likely to support the Eurasian connectivity initiative

under the China-led Belt and Road framework

24 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

The EBRD was set up in 1991 to aid infrastructure development in

Eastern Europe. Since then, it has broadened its area of operations to

include central Asia, some Mediterranean and North African nations, the

Balkans and Southern Europe.

Bonding with Europe

The Silk Road will reduce time taken for exports between China and

Europe. If we can get the infrastructure moving, this will reduce the costs

of imports and exports both ways between China and Europe.

Without specifying the amount, India was likely to be in the beneficiary of

lending from the AIIB, especially in the power sector.

Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang confirmed Beijing‘s closer structural

bonding with Europe, after China formally joined the EBRD as its 67th

member. The AIIB‘s President-designate, Jin Liqun, stressed the bridging

the digital divide between the regional and global economies would be the

bank‘s top priority in the future.

ASIAN INFRASTRUTURE INVESTMENT BANK

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an international

financial institution that aims to support the building of infrastructure in

the Asia-Pacific region. The bank has 30 member states (all "Founding

Members") and was proposed as an initiative by the government of China.

The initiative gained support from 37 regional and 20 non-regional

Prospective Founding Members (PFM), all of which have signed the

Articles of Agreement that form the legal basis for the bank. The bank

started operation after the agreement entered into force on 25 December

2015, after ratifications were received from 10 member states holding a

total number of 50% of the initial subscriptions of the Authorized Capital

Stock. Major economies that did not become PFM include the United

States, Japan and Canada.

The United Nations has addressed the launch of AIIB as having potential

for "scaling up financing for sustainable development" for the concern of

global economic governance. The capital of the bank is $100 billion,

equivalent to2⁄3 of the capital of the Asian Development Bank and about

half that of the World Bank.

The bank was proposed by China in 2013 and the initiative was launched

at a ceremony in Beijing in October 2014.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

25 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Sri Lanka tops South Asia in human development

Sri Lanka has maintained its high ranking in human development. But the

country‘s performance in terms of average annual human development

index (HDI) growth rate during 1990-2014 was lower than many other

South Asian countries.

UN Development Programme (UNDP) released the Global Human

Development Report (HDR) 2015.

Sri Lanka has been placed at the 73rd rank with an HDI value of 0.757. In

the previous year‘s report, it occupied the 74th place. Since the end of the

civil war in 2009, the country‘s rank went up by five.

According to the document, the region of South Asia includes Iran too,

apart from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and

Maldives.

Iran is ahead of Sri Lanka, standing at 69th rank, the Maldives is ranked

104th. India and Bhutan fall under the category of medium human

development countries and Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan come under

the group of low human development countries.

India is placed at 130th rank and Pakistan, 147th. As for the growth rate

during 1990-2014, South Asia‘s figure was 1.38, the highest among all

regions.

The UNDP took 1990 into account as it was from that year that the series

of global HDI reports began. In the context of Sri Lanka, too, the year was

significant as the Eelam War resumed in June 1990 after the withdrawal of

the Indian Peacekeeping Force three months earlier.

In 1990, Sri Lanka‘s HDI value was 0.620 whereas the region‘s figure was

0.437. In 2014, the region‘s tally was 0.607.

HDI

The report, which studied a total of 188 countries and territories, has

determined the HDI values by assessing long-term progress in three basic

dimensions of human development, a long and healthy life, access to

knowledge and a decent standard of living.

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United

Nations' global development network.

Headquartered in New York City, UNDP advocates for change and

connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people

build a better life. It provides expert advice, training, and grant support to

26 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

developing countries, with increasing emphasis on assistance to the least

developed countries.

The status of UNDP is that of an executive board within the United

Nations General Assembly. The UNDP Administrator is the third highest-

ranking official of the United Nations after the United Nations Secretary-

General and Deputy Secretary-General.

To accomplish the MDGs and encourage global development, UNDP

focuses on poverty reduction, HIV/AIDS, democratic governance, energy

and environment, social development, and crisis prevention and recovery.

UNDP also encourages the protection of human rights and the

empowerment of women in all of its programmes. The UNDP Human

Development Report Office also publishes an annual Human Development

Report (since 1990) to measure and analyse developmental progress. In

addition to a global Report, UNDP publishes regional, national, and local

Human Development Reports.

UNDP is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from member nations.

The organization operates in 177 countries, where it works with local

governments to meet development challenges and develop local capacity.

Additionally, the UNDP works internationally to help countries achieve

the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Currently, the UNDP is one

of the main UN agencies involved in the development of the Post-2015

Development Agenda.

UNDP works with nations on their own solutions to global and national

development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the

people of UNDP and its wide range of partners.

Denmark the least corrupt country, India at 76th position

India has climbed nine points to rank 76th in this year‘s global corruption

index launched by Transparency International, topped by Denmark.

According to Transparency International‘s International Corruption

Perceptions Index 2015, India is placed at 76th position along with

Thailand, Brazil, Tunisia, Zambia and Burkina Faso out of 168 countries.

India has improved its past year‘s position of 85 and has a grade index

score of 38 out of a possible 100 which indicates the least corrupt, said the

report topped by Denmark.

The index was prepared by using data from institutions including the

World Bank, the African Development Bank.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

27 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

According to Berlin-based Transparency International, 68 per cent of

countries worldwide have a serious corruption problem and half of the

G20 are among them.

Not one single country, anywhere in the world, is corruption-free, the

report said. Denmark tops of the index for the second consecutive year as

the country perceived as least corrupt. It scored 91 points, while North

Korea and Somalia remained at the bottom with unchanged scores of 8.

Europe scores high

The U.S. rose one spot this year to 16th place with a score of 76, tying

with Austria. The U.K. rose three spots to place 10th, with a score of 81

that tied it with Germany and Luxembourg.

The other top spots, from second to ninth, were occupied by Finland,

Sweden, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore

and Canada.

Brazil and Turkey were among nations that tumbled the most. Brazil slid

to 76th place, sharing its position with India, down from 69th last year.

Turkey fell two spots to 66th, continuing its descent from 53rd place in

2013.

―Dealing with many entrenched corruption issues, Brazil has been rocked

by the Petrobras scandal, in which politicians are reported to have taken

kickbacks in exchange for awarding public contracts,‖ the report said.

Global corruption index

Global corruption index, a composite index that draws from 12 surveys to

rank nations around the globe, has become a benchmark gauge of

perceptions of corruption and is used by analysts and investors.

Transparency International India

Transparency International India (TII) is a non-government, non-party and

not-for-profit civil society organization of Indian citizens with

professional, social, industrial or academic experience seeking to promote

transparent and ethical governance and to eradicate corruption.

Transparency International India is the Indian chapter of Transparency

International, an international organization based at Berlin that has turned

the fight against corruption into a worldwide movement.

To create a corruption-free India, so that the poor do not lose their voice to

corruption.

To lead and support a committed effort to improve transparency and

accountability by eradicating corruption through widening of knowdedge

and catalyzing action.

28 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Good governance, research, capacity building, communication and

advocacy, participatory monitoring, engaging with Government, private

sector and NGOs

IMF reforms: India, China, Brazil get more voting rights

In long-pending reforms that came into effect that emerging economies

gained more influence in the governance architecture of the International

Monetary Fund (IMF).

India‘s voting rights increased to 2.6 per cent from the current 2.3 per cent

and China‘s to six per cent from 3.8. Russia and Brazil are the other two

countries that gain from the reforms.

More than six per cent of the quota shares will shift to emerging and

developing countries from the U.S. and European countries. The combined

quotas or the capital countries contribute doubles to about $659 billion

from about $329 billion.

The reforms were agreed upon by the 188 members of the IMF in 2010, in

the aftermath of the global financial meltdown, and their delayed

implementation has been a major concern for India.

Among the reasons for the delay has been the time it took the U.S

Congress to approve the changes. U.S voting share will marginally drop,

from 16.7 per cent to 16.5 per cent. The U.S Senate had approved the

changes in December 2015.

The reforms bring India and Brazil to the list of the top 10 members of the

IMF, along with the U.S, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, the U.K., China

and Russia.

For the first time, the Executive Board will consist entirely of elected

executive directors, ending the category of appointed executive directors.

Currently, the members with the five largest quotas appoint an executive

director, a position that will cease to exist.

There were problems in China although not that big as stock markets were

making it to be.

IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 188

countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial

stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and

sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

29 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Created in 1945, the IMF is governed by and accountable to the 188

countries that make up its near-global membership.

Membership: 188 countries

Headquarters: Washington, D.C.

Original aims:

promote international monetary cooperation;

facilitate the expansion and balanced growth of international trade;

promote exchange stability;

assist in the establishment of a multilateral system of payments; and

make resources available (with adequate safeguards) to members

experiencing balance of payments difficulties.

Agartala, Aizawl get $80 mn ADB loan

India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed an $80 million loan

agreement for improving the infrastructure in the two North-Eastern cities

of Agartala and Aizawl.

The loan is the third tranche of a $200 million financing facility under the

North-Eastern Region Capital cities Development Investment Program

and will be used for investments in water supply, solid waste management

and sanitation in Agartala and Aizwal. It will also support urban reforms,

benefiting nearly a million people in the two cities.

The previous two tranches were aimed at improving the infrastructure in

Shillong, Aizawl, Kohima, Gangtok and Agartala.

Urban infrastructure and services in the northeast of the country are

grossly inadequate and this third tranche loan will help Agartala and

Aizawl improve and expand services, as well as strengthening the

institutional, managerial, and financial capacity of service institutions.

The Ministry of Urban Development is to complete the third tranche-

related activities by June 2019.

ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank

established on 19 December 1966 which is headquartered in Ortigas

Center located in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines, and maintains

31 field offices around the world, to promote social and economic

development in Asia.

The bank admits the members of the United Nations Economic and Social

Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP, formerly the Economic

30 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Commission for Asia and the Far East or ECAFE) and non-

regional developed countries. From 31 members at its establishment, ADB

now has 67 members, of which 48 are from within Asia and the Pacific

and 19 outside.

The ADB was modeled closely on the World Bank, and has a similar

weighted voting system where votes are distributed in proportion with

members' capital subscriptions. ADB releases an annual report that

summarizes its operations, budget and other materials for review by the

public.

At the end of 2014, Japan holds the largest proportion of shares at 15.7%.

TheUnited States holds 15.6%, China holds 6.5%, India holds 6.4%,

and Australiaholds 5.8%.

The highest policy-making body of the bank is the Board of Governors,

composed of one representative from each member state. The Board of

Governors, in turn, elect among themselves the twelve members of the

Board of Directors and their deputy. Eight of the twelve members come

from regional (Asia-Pacific) members while the others come from non-

regional members.

INDIA AND WORLD

INDIA AND NEPAL

India-Nepal bus service resumes after 27 years

A friendship bus service between India and Nepal via Champawat in

Uttarakhand resumed after a gap of 27 years, much to the delight of people

on either side of the border who have family and trade ties with each

other.

These air-conditioned buses with free Wi-Fi facility, painted with Indian

and Nepalese flags, will enter the Nepalese district of Kanchanpur at 6

a.m. every day and start for Delhi, and return from there at 6 p.m.

The bus which runs between Kanchanpur in Nepal close to Banbasa

border in Champavat district of Uttarakhand and Anand Vihar, Delhi.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

31 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

No special documents are required to travel in these buses. A bottle of

mineral water would be provided free of cost to the passengers. The

service was suspended 27 years ago in the wake of the Indo-Nepal Trade

and Transit Treaty.

Resumption of the service between the two countries was welcomed by

locals on either side of the border as about 10,000 Nepalis travel in these

buses daily from Kanchanpur district, Dandel Dhura, Voti, Sapen, Acham,

Kalali, Jagbuddha and Siddhartha Nagar areas in Nepal.

INDIA AND SINGAPORE

Cabinet approves MoU with Singapore to manage airports

The Union Cabinet approved the signing of a Memorandum of

Understanding with Singapore for operating and maintaining the terminal

building of airports at Jaipur and Ahmedabad.

This is the first time the Airports Authority of India will award operation

and maintenance contract to any entity for terminal building. The city side

and airside of Jaipur and Ahmedabad airports will continue to be managed

by the AAI.

The objective of this MoU is to establish mutual cooperation in the field of

civil aviation, which will cover, to begin with, the airports of Jaipur and

Ahmedabad.

The MoU envisages collaboration with Singapore in areas such as traffic

development, commercial development, master planning and design,

training and development, cargo handling and management among others.

INDIA AND CHINA

Chinese initiative for India-centric magazine

China-India Dialogue, the first ever India-centric publication in China, is

seeking to put renewed focus on issues common between and related to

India and China.

The idea is to provide a platform for Chinese and Indian commentators to

write on politics and economy, and for academics from both countries to

communicate and debate with each other on specific themes.

China-India Dialogue, brought out by the China International Publishing

Group (CIPG) based in Beijing, will focus on a monthly theme. The

inaugural issue took up Internet connectivity in an inclusive economy as

the theme. The next issue would focus on ―poverty relief‖.

32 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

China-India Dialogue would attempt to expand its readership and presence

in India, looking for both contributors and partners, and eventually to

register as a publication in the country. It also had a website in the works,

and would have other multimedia content hosted on it, she said.

The CIPG also publishes periodicals including China Pictorial, which

comes out in Chinese, English, Russian and Korean.

INDIA AND AUSTRALIA

Naval exercises will strengthen ties

Australia, which held its first bilateral naval exercise with the Indian Navy

last year, has been long keen on joining the Malabar exercises along with

the U.S. and Japan.

The India-U.S. Malabar naval exercises, which began in 1992, have grown

in scope and complexity, acquiring geopolitical significance in recent

times. The bilateral format gave way to a trilateral one with inclusion of

Japan as a permanent member in 2015.

In 2007, Australia joined the other three in a quadrilateral format for the

exercises, but based severe criticism from China which saw it as a

containment strategy.

Trading nations

Emphasising that both India and Australia are ―maritime trading nations‖,

it was for the importance of the freedom of the seas and respect for the

international law and the rule of law.

China, which claims the part of the South China Sea up to the nine dash

line as its own, has been reclaiming reefs in the region at a rapid pace.

Recently, it landed civilian planes on a 3,000-metre airstrip on the Fiery

Cross reef raising concern that fighter jets could follow next.

Lt. Gen. Campbell said that with growing prosperity, there was an

increasing trend of military modernisation across Asia as was evident with

India, China, Indonesia and others.

Both India and Australia seek to understand their security concerns by

looking at the constructive security arrangements and the strategic settings

across the India-Pacific oceans.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

33 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

INDIA AND EUROPEAN UNION

India, EU hold stock-taking meet on outstanding issues on FTA

India and the European Union held a stock-taking meeting on ―outstanding

issues‖, including duty cut on automobiles and wines/spirits as well as

easier temporary movement of skilled professionals which had stalled

talks on the proposed bilateral free trade agreement (FTA).

The FTA talks were launched in 2007 and around 16 rounds of

negotiations were held till 2013. Though after that, no negotiations have

been held, India has moved ahead on many issues (that were demanded by

the EU) such as permitting 49 per cent FDI in insurance, 100 per cent FDI

in telecom and easing of foreign investments norms in the banking sector.

The main demands of the EU included duty cuts on automobiles, wines

and spirits, while India‘s demands included data security status, easier

temporary movement of skilled professionals, seamless intra-corporate

movement, real market access in terms of sanitary and phytosanitary

(norms related with plants and animals) and technical barriers to trade

measures adopted in EU.

The talks were to be restarted in August 2015, but India deferred them

expressing disappointment and concern over the EU banning sale of

around 700 pharma products clinically tested by GVK Biosciences.

EUROPEAN UNION

The EU is a unique economic and political partnership between 28

European countries that together cover much of the continent.

The EU was created in the aftermath of the Second World War. The first

steps were to foster economic cooperation: the idea being that countries

who trade with one another become economically interdependent and so

more likely to avoid conflict.

The result was the European Economic Community (EEC), created in

1958, and initially increasing economic cooperation between six countries:

Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Since

then, a huge single market has been created and continues to develop

towards its full potential.

34 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

INDIA AND SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi Arabia’s oil premium may force India to tap Africa

India is looking at Africa to spruce up its oil and gas imports as it seeks to

diversify its energy basket after Saudi Arabia‘s decision to charge a

premium for the oil it sells to Asian customers.

Africa already contributes around 15 per cent of India‘s oil needs, with

India having imported 32 million metric tonnes from the entire continent

in 2014.

Last year, Nigeria overtook Saudi Arabia as the largest contributor to

India‘s oil imports for a short period of time and currently remains one of

the top providers of oil to India.

Saudi Arabia‘s national oil and gas company, Saudi Aramco, recently

announced that it would be charging Asian customers 60 cents a barrel

more for Arab Light crude oil during February compared to the prices they

would be paying in January.

India is currently the third-largest oil importer in the world, relying on

imports for 76 per cent of its oil needs. The International Energy Agency

projects that this would rise to around 90 per cent by 2030 as India‘s

demand continues to increase.

State-run ONGC and BPCL will invest $6 billion in developing a gas field

off the coast of Mozambique. OVL, ONGC‘s overseas arm, already has

investments in Sudan, South Sudan, Libya and Mozambique.

INDIA AND NIGERIA

India to buy more crude oil from Nigeria

India is set to import more crude oil from Nigeria, already one of the

biggest contributors to the country‘s oil imports.

Nigeria has now agreed to increase the term contract from 1.7 million

tonnes per annum to three million tonnes in 2016 on the sidelines of the

fourth India- Africa Hydrocarbon Summit in New Delhi.

Nigeria is the third-largest contributor to India‘s oil imports, accounting

for 11.59 million tonnes (MT) in the first half of this financial year, behind

Saudi Arabia (19.56 MT) and Iraq (17.01 MT). The benefit of a term

contract is that not only does it assure a certain quantity to be supplied but

also ensures a stable price unlike oil bought from spot markets whose

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

35 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

price can fluctuate drastically. Apart from Nigeria, Sudan also wants to

increase its engagement with India.

India, on its part, is also keen to diversify its oil import basket as Saudi

Arabia‘s national oil and gas company recently announced that it would be

selling oil to its Asian customers, including India, at a premium of $0.6 a

barrel above the prevailing market price in February.

Sudan offer

Sudan have offered more oil blocks for exploration and asked for Indian

companies‘ expertise to raise production from existing fields.

Sudan currently owes India $240 million for the oil it consumed from the

Greater Nile Oil Project in the country of which OVL owns 25 per cent.

Sudan offered Blocks 8, 15 and 24 to OVL for exploration and urged the

Indian company to consider buying a stake in Block 17, which reportedly

produces 7,000 barrels of oil per day.

INDIA AND ARAB LEAGUE

India, Arab League vow to check terror, funding sources

India and the Arab League vowed to combat terrorism and called for

developing a strategy to ―eliminate‖ its sources and for delinking religion

from terrorism.

While addressing the 1st Ministerial Meeting of Arab-India Cooperation

Forum here in the Bahraini capital, Ms. Swaraj also warned that those who

―silently sponsor‖ terror groups could end up being used by them, in an

apparent jibe at Pakistan.

The Manama Declaration

The meeting, which was opened by Bahrain‘s Foreign Minister Khalid bin

Ahmed Al Khalifa, culminated with the two sides issuing a joint statement

called the Manama Declaration.

The two sides discussed regional and global issues of mutual concern,

including the Palestinian issue, developments in the Arab region and in

South Asia, as well as counter-terrorism, Security Council reforms and

nuclear disarmament.

The two sides condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and

rejected associating it with any religion, culture or ethnic group.

They also emphasised the need for concerted regional and international

efforts to combat terrorism and to address its causes and develop a strategy

to eliminate the sources of terrorism and extremism, including its funding,

as well as combating organised cross-border crime, the Declaration stated.

36 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

In this context, the two sides affirmed their respect to the independence,

sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Iraq and non-interference in

its internal affairs and rejecting infringement of such principles, strongly

condemned crimes committed by all terror organisations, especially those

committed by the Islamic State.

INDIA AND FRANCE

India, France can gain by sharing strategies against terrorism

India and France are carrying out Shakti 2016 in Rajasthan which reflects

our common interests, French Ambassador to India Francois Richier,

referring to the joint exercise under way in Rajasthan, which focusses on

counter-terror and counter-insurgency operations.

Collaboration with France on counter-terror will help to bring in anti-

terror resolutions at the United Nations and on other multilateral platforms

in near future, explaining that the armed counter-measures were not

sufficient to deal with terror sponsors and terrorists as the global war on

terror demanded a multi-layered strategy.

Greater French support for India‘s decades-old anti-terror struggle would

help India attain both regional as well as global targets in the fight against

terrorism.

Rafale pact concluded, but no deal yet on price

India and France signed 14

agreements, including an

intergovernmental

agreement for the purchase

of Rafale fighter jets,

nuclear reactors, French

railway locomotives and a

major commitment to

counter -terror cooperation.

Bilateral talks

In a joint statement, the

two sides said they would

embark on new ways of

cooperation on fighting

terrorism, including

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

37 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

intelligence-sharing and joint exercises along with the annual strategic

dialogues and a joint working group on counterterrorism meetings.

They called for decisive action to be taken against Lashkar-e-Tayibba,

Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network and other

terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda urging Pakistan to bring to justice the

perpetrators of the Pathankot and Gurdaspur attacks and the 2008 Mumbai

attack, in which two French nationals were among those killed.

RAFALE

Rafale is a twin-jet combat aircraft capable of carrying out a wide range of

short and long-range missions, including ground and sea attacks,

reconnaissance, high-accuracy strikes and nuclear strike deterrence.

The aircraft were developed for the French Air Force and Navy.

The Rafale entered service with the French Navy in 2004 and with the

French Air Force in 2006. Ten aircraft are operational on the Charles de

Gaulle aircraft carrier.

Rafale can carry payloads of more than 9t on 14 hardpoints for the air

force version, with 13 for the naval version. The range of weapons

includes: Mica, Magic, Sidewinder, ASRAAM and AMRAAM air-to-air

missiles; Apache, AS30L, ALARM, HARM, Maverick and PGM100 air-

to-ground missiles and Exocet / AM39, Penguin 3 and Harpoon anti-ship

missiles.

The aircraft is also equipped with fixed-frequency VHF / UHF radio for

communications with civil air traffic control. A multifunction information

distribution system (MIDS) terminal provides secure, high-data-rate

tactical data exchange with Nato C2 stations, AWACS aircraft or naval

ships.

India, France set to expand space partnership

The Indian Space Research Organisation and its French counterpart CNES

(National Centre for Space Studies) agreed to work together in the next

Mars mission, as well as a satellite launch and a thermal infrared

observation mission.

Under the Make in India banner, India and France signed a deal that will

allow French industrial major Alstom to make 800 high horse power

locomotives in India. The locomotives are expected to be made in the

electric locomotives factory in Madhepura, Bihar.

38 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Both sides also signed an agreement on upgrading the Delhi-Chandigarh

line to 200 kmph, in keeping with France‘s special focus on the

Chandigarh ‗Smart City‘ project.

France remains an important interlocutor for India, in the European Union,

as India‘s position on sensitive issues have often been supported by France

even when it faced opposition from other European power.

In the joint statement, France also committed itself to supporting India‘s

bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council and India‘s

accession to the multilateral (nuclear) export control regimes in 2016

itself.

France commits €300 million for solar energy

French President Francois Hollande committed €300 million (around $325

million or Rs. 2,200 crore) over the next five years for the global

development of solar energy and the real challenge was to attract

investments worth a trillion dollars to promote the renewable source.

Through this solar alliance, it will be helpful for the countries with no

resources other than the sun an opportunity to produce electricity for

meeting the needs of most of their people.

The International Solar Alliance, envisaged to bring together 122 countries

that lie wholly or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of

Capricorn, is an initiative announced by Mr. Modi at the COP 21 Summit

in Paris in November. The member countries are to be those that enjoy

300 or more days in a year of bright sunlight.

The Alliance would focus on three broad areas. First, it is about pooling

together the requests of countries with a huge potential in order to reduce

their cost of capital. Second, it is about opening the markets in order to

reduce the cost of investment. Third, it is about transferring the necessary

technology and know-how from developed to developing countries.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

39 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Progress is impossible without energy. The developing countries still have

a lot of progress to achieve. But the problem is that energy through fossil

fuels yields issues of global warming and harm to the environment, and

without energy, these countries will sink into darkness.

INDIA AND ARMENIA

India and Armenia Signed Double Taxation Avoidance Convention

A Protocol to amend the existing Double Taxation Avoidance Convention

was signed by the Government of India and the Government of Armenia.

The Protocol amends the Double Taxation Avoidance Convention

between India and Armenia that has been in existence since 9th

September, 2004. The Protocol amends the Article on Exchange of

Information for tax purposes to bring it in line with the updated provisions

in the OECD Model.

The Protocol will enable the two countries to exchange information related

to financial and banking transactions under the Double Taxation

Avoidance Convention, and thereby facilitate them in addressing tax

evasion. It is also expected to further strengthen the efforts of Government

of India in curbing generation of black money.

DOUBLE TAXATION AVOIDANCE CONVENTION

Double taxation is the levying of tax by two or more jurisdictions on the

same declared income (in the case of income taxes), asset (in the case

of capital taxes), or financial transaction (in the case of sales taxes). This

double liability is often mitigated by tax treaties between countries.

The term 'double taxation' is additionally used, particularly in the USA, to

refer to the fact that corporate profits are taxed and the shareholders of the

corporation are (usually) subject to personal taxation when they receive

dividends or distributions of those profits.

40 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

POLITY

NDC to be scrapped, NITI Aayog council likely to get its powers

After the Planning Commission, the Narendra Modi-led government is set

to bring down the curtains on another Nehruvian legacy: the National

Development Council (NDC).

The Cabinet will, in early

January, take up its closure

and also pass a resolution for

transferring its powers to the

Governing Council of the

NITI Aayog, chaired by Prime

Minister Narendra Modi.

After getting the Cabinet‘s

approval, Mr. Modi will take

up the resolution with the

Chief Ministers at a meeting of the Governing Council of the NITI Aayog.

Shyam Benegal to head CBFC revamp panel

The Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry constituted a

committee, headed by film-maker Shyam Benegal, to suggest best

practices to help the Board members understand the nuances of certifying

films.

A Ministry note said the recommendations of the committee were

expected to provide a holistic framework and enable those tasked with the

work of certification of films to discharge their responsibilities keeping in

view this framework.

The exclusion of Mr. Nihalani from the deliberations of the committee

raises serious questions on the controversial decisions taken by him from

blocking cuss words to chopping of scenes deemed objectionable even

from adult films such as the recent James Bond starrer, Spectre, two

months ago. Sources in the Ministry said Mr. Nihalani was very much part

of the decision to set up a committee to streamline certification process of

films.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

41 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Direct transfer of kerosene subsidy

The Centre announced a scheme to implement direct benefit transfers for

kerosene subsidies starting April 1, as is already being done for LPG

users, by incentivising States to make the transition.

Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh,

Maharashtra, Punjab, and Rajasthan have already agreed to initiate the

scheme in a few of their districts. Together, they will implement DBT for

kerosene in 26 districts.

Under the scheme, the consumer would have to pay full unsubsidised price

of kerosene at the time of purchase. The subsidy amount will then be

directly transferred to bank account.

Special Package for Siddi Tribe

Ministry for Social Welfare has announced a Rs. 55.35-crore special

package for the overall development of the Siddi tribe of Uttara Kannada

district.

The plan is to implement all welfare schemes under the special package

within one year. To ensure access for education to the Siddi children, the

government will open a residential school at Vada.

Besides, two new residential schools, modelled on the lines of the

Navodaya residential schools, will be opened in Yellapur and Haliyal, and

nearly 70 per cent of the seats would be reserved for Siddi children in

these schools.

The government had released Rs. 5 crore to provide drinking water,

streetlights and other such amenities, and Rs. 2.5 crore to construct 150

houses.

Enhancing crop productivity vital

Globally, India lags behind in productivity of most crops and it is of

utmost importance that the productivity per hectare is raised urgently to

pull out farmers from poverty.

Productivity and production could not be improved till the quality of land

improves. Therefore, improving soil health is one of the most important

issues in agriculture especially in irrigated areas where extensive use of

urea has resulted in deterioration in soil health.

Improving soil

Centre had been emphasising on improving the health of soil by integrated

nutrient management and had announced a programme of collection of

soil samples, conduct analysis and issuance of soil health card in a time

bound manner.

42 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Many of our farmers are not able to get the optimal yields from their

fields, as they are not aware of the soil conditions. Our goal is to

communicate benefits of soil health to the farmers so that they can apply

appropriate dosage of fertilisers to increase productivity and profitability

Health cards

Government decided to provide soil health cards to 14 crore farmers of the

country.

Five crore farmers will be provided these card in 2015-16 and remaining

farmers will be given the cards in 2016-17. Under the Soil Health Card

Scheme Rs. 109 crore have been released till December 2015.

The national e-Market will be launched by March 2016 under the National

Agriculture Market Scheme (NAM).

20 States have expressed interest in linking their markets (mandis). While

200 mandis will be connected by September 2016, another 200 mandis

will be connected by March 2017.

Legalise betting in cricket - Lodha panel

Urging lawmakers to legalise betting in

cricket for all except cricket players,

officials and administrators, the

Supreme Court-appointed Justice R.M.

Lodha Committee report said that

government servants and ministers

should be banned from holding posts in

the BCCI.

The committee commended the ―good

work‖ done by the BCCI, including a

pension scheme for national players.

Justice Lodha, along with Justices Ashok Bhan and R.V. Raveendran, said

their objective handed down by the apex court was not to limit the

autonomy of the BCCI.

Taking a realistic stand on betting, the very cause for the apex court

setting up the panel, Justice Lodha said betting was a $ 400 billion

phenomenon practised across the globe and lawmakers in India should

enact laws to legalise it.

But the committee said players, team and match officials and cricket

administrators should not be allowed to indulge in betting, which should

be restricted through licensed betting houses.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

43 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

SC wants interim mechanism to protect whistleblowers

Whistleblowers who raise their voice against corruption in government

need to be protected, the Supreme Court gave the Centre a week‘s time to

report back on the time required for setting up a foolproof interim

mechanism to receive complaints and protect the lives of whistleblowers

till a law is enacted in Parliament.

The Bench then scheduled for January 13 hearing of the public interest

litigation petition filed by NGO Parivartan on how whistleblowers who

exposed corruption ended up victims of their own courageous act and even

faced threats to their lives. Earlier, the Centre had said legislation was in

the offing.

The Bill has been passed by the Lok Sabha and there is a demand to send

it to the Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha.

Panel proposes bringing elite clubs under RTI Act

In yet another proposal by politicians that could control the functioning of

elite clubs in the city, a Legislature committee has proposed to bring all

clubs under the ambit of the government‘s rules and the Right to

Information (RTI) Act.

There is already strong resistance from club managements to the

controversial move to bring in legislation to control membership and other

issues at clubs in the city.

A seven-member Legislative Assembly Committee headed by the

Congress MLA, N.A. Harris, which visited clubs in the city, found that

most clubs in Bengaluru and other parts of the State charged exorbitant

fees for membership and enforced dress codes.

The panel members said the clubs were behaving in an ―extremely

exclusive‖ manner despite getting grants, land and other concessions from

the government.

The committee members cited the Supreme Court-appointed Justice R.M.

Lodha Committee recommendation for bringing the Board of Control for

Cricket in India under the RTI Act to back their proposal. The committee

is expected to submit its final report in a few months.

Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs merged with MEA

In order to avoid duplication of work and to improve efficiency, the

government merged the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) with

the Ministry of External Affairs.

Sources, however, indicated that the decision to merge MOIA with MEA

was taken as senior diplomats wanted officials dealing with foreign

44 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

workers-related issues and emergencies to have better diplomatic back-up

and coordination.

The merger of MOIA was to avoid ―duplication‖ as most of the work of

MOIA was done by Indian missions abroad. Even the information for

answering the questions related to MOIA in Parliament used to be

provided by the Indian missions.

But reportedly, the MEA, which has been short of staff, wanted greater

number of officials with diplomatic experience in key positions in MOIA

to deal with emergencies involving Indians in various crisis-prone

countries in West Asia. The merger is expected to increase efficiency in

MEA‘s emergency work abroad.

MEA wanted the key operational posts, including that of the Protector

General of Emigrants, one of the most important offices in MOIA, to have

diplomatic focus.

The post of Protector General of Emigrants is responsible for issuing

registration certificates to recruitment agents who send workers abroad,

especially to the Gulf region.

NRIs likely to get Aadhaar number

The government is considering giving Aadhaar cards to non-resident

Indians and a decision on it will be taken soon.

Women workers would be allowed to go to Gulf countries for employment

only through the government agencies to ensure they were not duped by

recruiting agents or firms.

The PBD, webcast by almost all Indian Missions and Posts, was organised

for the first time by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) after the

government‘s decision to merge Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs

(MOIA) with it.

Earlier the MOIA used to host the event. January 9 was chosen as the day

for PBD as it was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi, the ―greatest

Pravasi,‖ returned home from South Africa to lead India‘s freedom

struggle.

Asked the diaspora to participate in government‘s various flagship

programmes including the Skill India, the Digital India and the Clean

Ganga initiatives and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted the

Aadhaar card scheme to be extended to the NRIs.

So far, Aadhaar card has been given to those Indians who live in India. It

is not for non-resident Indians.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

45 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

PM even wants it for OCI (Overseas Citizens of India card) holders. The

matter is under consideration. No decision has been taken as discussions

on it are underway.

The government has so far issued Aadhaar cards to over 92 crore citizens.

Under the programme, every citizen is to be provided with a 12-digit

unique identification number for which biometric information is collected.

Bonus Act notified

The Union government has notified the Payment of Bonus (Amendment)

Act, 2015, allowing lakhs of workers to become eligible to bonus

retrospectively from the last financial year, the Labour Ministry.

While the decision has enthused workers, the industry is unhappy. It has

written to the government suggesting ways to simplify bonus distribution.

It has said the new Act will lead to financial stress, especially on small and

medium enterprises, and as the account books for the previous financial

year would have been closed, difficulties are bound to crop up in bonus

distribution.

Under the law, all employees earning Rs. 21,000 a month will be entitled

to bonus, against the earlier limit of Rs. 10,000. Also, the ceiling for bonus

calculation has been doubled from Rs. 3,500 to Rs. 7,500 a month. This

will retrospectively come into effect from April 1, 2014.

An employee earning up to Rs. 7,000 per month will be eligible to a bonus

on his or her entire salary. If the salary is between Rs. 7,000 and Rs.

21,000, bonus will be calculated on the salary of Rs. 7,000 a month. The

notification was published on January 1.

NITI Aayog plans model lease law

After several State

governments resisted the

Union government‘s

ordinance and Bill

proposing amendments to

the Land Acquisition Act,

2013, NITI Aayog has

taken up with the States a

proposal for unlocking

the value of farmland

through leasing.

An expert group, headed

by T. Haque, former Chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs

and Prices, held consultations with officials from various States on a

46 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

model land leasing law that NITI Aayog will prepare for the States to use

for reforming land lease provisions.

Representatives of farmers‘ organisations and non-governmental

organisations attended the meeting.

The organisations and individuals unanimously supported a model law,

which should help the tenant and protect the landowner‘s right.

The majority opinion was that the law should be restricted to agriculture

and should not encourage corporate farming.

The measure is among the reforms NITI Aayog is taking up with the

States on the subjects under the State and Concurrent Lists of the

Constitution.

Land bank

A land bank held by a public agency is being considered in which

interested landowners could deposit their land parcels for cultivators to

lease land. Under this system, the public agency acts as an intermediary

and transfers rent from the actual cultivator to owner while charging a

small fee to cover its costs. This is expected to permit the consolidation of

operational landholdings, given the steadily declining size of and

fragmentation of farmland holdings in the country.

The biggest advantage of a liberalised and secure land lease market will be

that it will ease the exit of those farmers who find farming unattractive or

non-viable and economically strengthen those farmers who want to stay in

the farming and raise the scale of operational holdings.

Such a market offers solution to several problems of Indian agriculture

such as consolidation of operational holdings, fallow land, access to

institutional credit, and productive use of land belonging to farmers

unwilling to engage in farming.

Telangana becomes first State to make gender education compulsory

Telangana has become the first State to introduce compulsory gender

education at the graduate level; without repeating gender stereotypes in its

bilingual textbook titled, ‗Towards a World of Equals‘.

The book introduced on a pilot basis in engineering colleges affiliated to

the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU-Hyderabad)

discusses gender in its composite form without limiting itself to crime

against women. From information on unacknowledged women writers of

Telangana to problems of sex selection and women‘s work in politics and

economics, the book attempts to cover it all.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

47 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

It also touches upon complex subjects like female-centric history and

male-female relationships.

Structured in simple language and form to suit under-graduates, the book

discusses different strands of women‘s movements across the world,

introducing students to political movements of Afro-American, Caribbean,

African, Dalit and minority women.

A nine-member, all-women, panel which drafted the syllabus and

developed its content has already held four training workshops for groups

of 15 to 40 teachers and is expected to take up yet another session this

week.

What makes the textbook interesting is the gamut of reactions and

classroom discussions which it attempts to generate. For instance, in its

first chapter on Socialisation, the book hints at initiating a discussion in

the classroom on ―Are boys taught household work while growing up?

Discuss your experiences at home.‖

Govt. to set up three committees to address issues in medical tourism

The government would set up three sub-committees to look into the issues

of regulation, accreditation and marketing of medical and wellness tourism

in the country, in an attempt to promote the sector.

Tourism Ministry will address the problems faced by the people (coming

to India for medical and wellness purposes). They are going to propose

hassle-free visa facility to medical tourists. They have plans to engage

with tour and travel operators and ensure that a transparent system of

medical facilities.

Some of the issues raised by the members of the board were the need for

more accredited hospitals, an easy visa regime, linkages between service

providers and the end user, besides promoting and marketing India as a

medical and wellness tourism hub.

The government had last year announced the setting up of the National

Medical and Wellness Tourism Promotion Board. Its members include

yoga guru Ramdev, renowned cardiologists Naresh Trehan, Devi Prasad

Shetty and K.K. Aggarwal, and Sangeeta Reddy of Apollo Hospitals.

Government formed a board with a seed capital of Rs.2 crore.

Centre clears new crop insurance scheme

The Union government approved the much-talked about new crop

insurance scheme in which it has kept the premium amount for farmers at

a maximum of two per cent for food grains and oilseeds while capping it

up to five per cent for horticulture and annual commercial crops.

48 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana will bring about a huge change in the

lives of farmers.

The Cabinet had approved the PMFBY, replacing the existing National

Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) as well as the modified NAIS. The

scheme will be implemented from the kharif season this year.

The farmer‘s share of premium has been substantially reduced and the

government will provide subsidy on premium adding that government

liability on premium subsidy would be shared by the Central and State

governments on a 50:50 basis.

The scheme will have a uniform premium of only two per cent to be paid

by the farmers for all kharif crops and 1.5 per cent for all rabi crops. In

case of annual commercial crops such as cotton and horticultural crops, it

will be only five per cent.

The premium rates to be paid by farmers are kept very low and the balance

premium will be paid by the government to provide full insured amount to

the farmers against crop loss on account of natural calamities.

There is no upper limit on government subsidy. Even if the balance

premium is 90 per cent, it will be borne by the government.

Coverage raised

The scheme comes at a time the country is facing a drought for the second

straight year due to poor monsoon rains and the government wants to

enhance insurance coverage to more crop area to protect farmers from

climate variations.

The government expects the scheme to help increase the insurance

coverage to 50 per cent of the total crop area of 194.40 million hectares

from the existing level of about 25-27 per cent crop area.

National Family Health Survey-4

‘37% children under age 5 stunted’

The new National Family Health Survey-4 data

for 15 States showed that 37 per cent of

children under the age of five is stunted, a fall

of just five percentage points in a decade.

Bihar and Madhya Pradesh are the worst off,

with 48 and 42 per cent respectively of

children stunted. The proportion of

underweight children has reduced equally

slowly, from 39 per cent to 34 per cent, with

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

49 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Bihar and Madhya Pradesh the worst again.

The one success has been in the area of child wasting (low weight for

height).

The States for which data are available have more than halved their

proportion of such children in the last decade, from 48 per cent to 22 per

cent. The proportions of adult men and women with below normal Body

Mass Index have also declined.

The data cover only half the country and does not include high-performing

States in the Northeast, Kerala and Maharashtra

Child sex ratio dips further

Shockingly, Karnataka‘s

preference for male children

appears to be only getting worse.

While child sex ratio (females per

1,000 males) stood at 922 in the

last NFHS survey, it has declined

to 910 now.

What is even more shocking is the

divide between the urban and rural

areas, with rural areas clearly less

biased against girl children. While

child sex ratio stood at 875 in urban areas, it was 935 in urban areas. In the

overall population too, there is a decline in the number of females, down

from 1,028 to 979.

The NFHS-4 was conducted from February 25 to June 20, 2015 in

Karnataka and information was gathered from 23,842 households, and

26,291 women and 3,743 men.

Drop in married women using modern family planning methods

Karnataka has recorded a decline in use of modern family planning

methods by married women, with just over 50 per cent of them using

them, the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) for 2015–16 has

revealed.

The survey shows that 51.8 per cent of married women in the 15 to 49 age

group are using ―any method‖ of family planning, with the decline in

terms of percentage during the last one decade at 11.8 per cent. It stood at

63.6 per cent in NFHS survey (2005–06).

There has been a decline in all categories. While women using ―modern

method‖ stood at 51.3 per cent in 2015–16, it was 62.5 per cent in 2005–

50 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

06, a decline of 11.2 per cent. The percentage of women undergoing

sterilisation saw a decline of 8.8.

SSA to develop ‘model’ schools

A total of 3,843 elementary schools in Andhra Pradesh have been

identified for development as ‗model schools‘ by upgrading the facilities

in the institutions, State Project Director of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).

Strengthening the existing infrastructure through provision of additional

classrooms, toilets, drinking water, computers, and maintaining healthy

teacher- student ratio are among the initiatives to be taken up in the model

schools. The target is to develop all the model schools by March-end.

The objective of the SSA is to provide free education in the 6-14 age

group as guaranteed by the 86th amendment of the Constitution as a

Fundamental Right.

One of the focus areas of the SSA was ensuring education of girls and

bringing down the dropout rate.

Girls education is being taken care of through the Kasturba Gandhi Balika

Vidyalayas (KGBVs). There are 352 KGBVs in Andhra Pradesh and most

of them are giving excellent results. These are residential schools where

food and accommodation needs of the students are met.

WEF offers to team up with State

The World Economic Forum has offered to partner with the Andhra

Pradesh government to make agriculture profitable and commercially

viable by bringing in best practices from across the world.

Addressing a session on ‗The New Vision for Agriculture: Advancing the

Action Agenda‘ at the WEF‘s annual summit at Davos, Chief Minister N.

Chandrababu Naidu explained the government‘s vision to create a

knowledgeable farmers‘ community in the State.

The WEF has come forward to set up a secretariat in the State. The WEF

and AP will work towards bringing in best practices, improve the value

chain and improve the incomes of farmers. WEF has already created sub-

groups to study and implement best agricultural practices in South

America, Africa, Asia and Pacific regions. The studies from these groups

will be implemented in AP to enhance productivity and profitability in

agriculture. Mr. Naidu gave an overview to the delegates on Primary

Sector Mission and the irrigation initiatives, including the linking of the

Godavari and Krishna rivers taken up by the State. He said the

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

51 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

government took a brave step by launching debt redemption scheme for

farmers in spite of revenue deficit.

An exercise to reduce neonatal deaths

A seemingly inane exercise of holding meetings with women on health

issues brought down neonatal death rates in five remote districts of

Jharkhand and Odisha – a success story recorded in 2011 and 2012 that

will feature in the February edition of medical journal The Lancet Global

Health .

The model is already being scaled up, with the Union Health Ministry

sending a circular to 10 States with a high burden of neonatal and maternal

mortality earlier this month to emulate the ‗meeting‘ approach to bring

down newborn baby deaths. A quarter of world‘s neonatal deaths and 15

per cent of maternal deaths are recorded in India.

The exercise‘s appeal lies in its simple, yet effective approach. The trial,

led by non-governmental organisation Ekjut that is active in Jharkhand

and Odisha over the last decade, was carried out in 30 geographical

clusters (each cluster with a population of 5,000 people and covering three

to five villages) in five districts.

Government accredited social health activists (ASHAs) were asked to

spend an additional one hour in their meetings with women in the 15 to 49

age group. During these meetings, they discussed maternal and newborn

health issues and possible solutions. They also set the agenda for the next

meeting, identifying subjects such as nutrition or hygiene.

Health workers made home visits following child birth to counsel families

on newborn care and meetings were held with midwives and Anganwadi

workers. In the subsequent meetings, women discussed if the solutions had

worked practically.

In all, 4,903 meetings were held. The outcome? The early neonatal death

mortality rate dropped from 49.8 to 30.2 in the first year of the research

and then to 23 in the next year, much lower than the control clusters where

the meetings were not held. A drop was recorded in the late neonatal

mortality rate as well — from 13.7 to 3.8 in the first year to 2.8 in the

second year. A drop was recorded in maternal mortality ratio as well.

Ekjut carried out this trial in collaboration with the Institute for Global

Health, University College London (UK). ―Communities were able to

navigate through health issues better, choose a better midwife, and even

choose a better vehicle (to take women for check-ups, delivery), and keep

the newborn baby warm.

52 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Cabinet approves India joining the International Energy Agency – Ocean

Energy Systems

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has

given its approval for India becoming a member country of the

International Energy Agency - Ocean Energy Systems (IEA-OES) by

signing the Implementing Agreement (IA).

The nodal agency for the membership would be Earth System Science

Organisation - National Institute of Ocean Technology (ESSO-NIOT)

under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

By becoming a member of the IEA-OES, India will have access to

advanced R&D teams and technologies across the world. India will

partner in developing test protocols along with other countries. This will

help in testing Indian prototypes as per international requirements and

norms. Joint cooperative programs with institutes of member countries

could be taken up. India's own research projects with specific targets can

be taken up in conjunction with other countries.

Background:

The long coastline of India and severe power deficit in the country,

warrant the study of ocean renewable energies. Vagaries of the sea makes

harnessing ocean energy a technological challenge. In the Indian context

designing of scaled up ocean energy devices (including wave, currents and

tidal) and their techno-commercial viability needs to be undertaken.

Tropical countries have high sea surface temperatures and hence Ocean

Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a good option for countries like

India. NIOT, an autonomous research institute under the Ministry of Earth

Sciences, is working in the area of ocean energy and desalination.

The IEA is an inter-governmental organization with a broad role of

promoting alternate energy sources (including renewable energy), rational

energy policies and multinational energy technology co¬operation and

acts as energy policy advisor to 29 member countries. The OES, launched

in 2001, is an intergovernmental collaboration between countries, which

operates under framework established by the International Energy

Agency. This initiative is to advance research, development and

demonstration of technologies to harness energy from all forms of ocean

renewable resources, as well as for other uses, such as desalination etc.

through international cooperation and information exchange.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

53 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

SCHEMES

Cabinet approves Stand Up India Scheme

A boost to promote entrepreneurship among SC/ST and Women

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi,

approved the ―Stand Up India Scheme‖ to promote entrepreneurship

among SC/ST and Women entrepreneurs. The Scheme is intended to

facilitate at least two such projects per bank branch, on an average one for

eachcategory of entrepreneur. It is expected to benefit atleast 2.5 lakh

borrowers.

The expected date of reaching the target of at least 2.5 lakh approvals is 36

months from the launch of the Scheme.

The Stand Up India Scheme provides for:

Refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of

India (SIDBI) with an initial amount of Rs. 10,000 crore.

Creation of a credit guarantee mechanism through the National Credit

Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC).

Handholding support for borrowers both at the pre loan stage and during

operations. This would include increasing their familiarity with factoring

services, registration with online platforms and e-market places as well as

sessions on best practices and problem solving.

The details of the scheme are as follows:

Focus is on handholding support for both SC/ST and Women

borrowers.

The overall intent of the approval is to leverage the institutional credit

structure to reach out to these under-served sectors of the population

by facilitating bank loans repayable up to 7 years and between Rs. 10

lakh to Rs. 100 lakh for greenfield enterprises in the non farm sector

set up by such SC, ST and Women borrowers.

The loan under the scheme would be appropriately secured and

backed by a credit guarantee through a credit guarantee scheme for

which Department of Financial Services would be the settler and

National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd. (NCGTC) would be

the operating agency.

Margin money of the composite loan would be up to 25%.

Convergence with state schemes is expected to reduce the actual

requirement of margin money for a number of borrowers. • Over a

54 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

period of time, it is proposed that a credit history of the borrower be

built up through Credit Bureaus.

Background:

The "Start up India Stand up India" initiative was announced by the

PrimeMinister in his address to the nation on 15th August, 2015. The

Stand up India component is anchored by Department of Financial

Services (DFS) to encourage greenfield enterprises by SC/ST and Women

entrepreneurs.

eNPS-Online Subscriber Registration and Contribution Facility under

NPS developed

In light of the Prime Minister‘s ―Digital India‖ campaign on promoting e-

governance for providing last mile connectivity through extensive use of

ICT (Information and Communications Technology) platforms, Pension

Fund Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA) has been pursuing the

development and operationalization of online transaction facilities for the

prospective as well as existing subscribers of NPS.

Towards this end, an online platform for registration of subscribers and

receipt of contribution under National Pension System (eNPS) through

NPS Trust at www.npstrust.org.in has been developed. Through this

platform, a prospective subscriber can register for NPS; contribute to

his/her Permanent Retirement Account. Further, the subscribers who

already have an NPS account can make contributions through eNPS

directly.

A prospective subscriber can visit NPS Trust website www.npstrust.org.in

and select NPS Online menu to register and contribute to NPS.

While registering, a Subscriber will provide his/her name & Permanent

Account Number (PAN) details which will be validated online with the

Income Tax Department. Subscriber will then select the Bank (through

which KYC verification to be done), fill up the personal details and upload

photograph & signature. After filling up of details, the Subscriber will

make contribution through net banking from the account of the selected

Bank. Once payment is made, PRAN will be provided online to the

Subscriber.

The details submitted by the subscriber will be sent through CRA system

to the selected Bank for KYC verification. After verification of KYC by

the Bank, the PRAN will become active and operational. Subscriber will

be required to print the form, paste photograph, affix signature and submit

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

55 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

the physical form to CRA within a specified period while continuing

contributing online.

Subscriber can make subsequent contribution online through net banking

/debit card/credit card at any time and the same will be credited in the

subscriber‘s PRAN account on T+2 basis.

The complete information about eNPS is available in PFRDA website

www.pfrda.org.in and also on NPS Trust websitewww.npstrust.org.in.

Presently, ten banks viz. Allahabad Bank, Bank of India, Bank of

Maharashtra, Oriental Bank of Commerce, South Indian Bank, State Bank

of Travancore, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Patiala, Tamilnadu

Mercantile Bank and United Bank of India have provided the facility of

online KYC verification. PFRDA has advised all other Bank POPs to join

the eNPS platform and provide online verification of KYC for the

customers of their Banks willing to open NPS account online.

Through this facility, it is expected that the subscriber will have multiple

advantages like seamless on boarding experience where he need not visit a

Point of Presence and can register from anywhere through an internet

connection, contribution with minimum cost of transaction and reduction

in errors resulting from various manual activities.

Currently, NPS has more than 1.13 Crore subscribers with total Asset

under Management (AUM) of more than Rs. 1.08 lakh crore.

Cabinet approves New Crop Insurance Scheme

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has

approved the ‗Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana‘ - a path breaking

scheme for farmers‘ welfare.

The highlights of this scheme are as under:

There will be a uniform premium of only 2% to be paid by farmers for

all Kharif crops and 1.5% for all Rabi crops. In case of annual

commercial and horticultural crops, the premium to be paid by

farmers will be only 5%. The premium rates to be paid by farmers are

very low and balance premium will be paid by the Government to

provide full insured amount to the farmers against crop loss on

account of natural calamities.

There is no upper limit on Government subsidy. Even if balance

premium is 90%, it will be borne by the Government.

Earlier, there was a provision of capping the premium rate which

resulted in low claims being paid to farmers. This capping was done

to limit Government outgo on the premium subsidy. This capping has

56 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

now been removed and farmers will get claim against full sum insured

without any reduction.

The use of technology will be encouraged to a great extent. Smart

phones will be used to capture and upload data of crop cutting to

reduce the delays in claim payment to farmers. Remote sensing will

be used to reduce the number of crop cutting experiments.

The new Crop Insurance Scheme is in line with One Nation – One

Scheme theme. It incorporates the best features of all previous

schemes and at the same time, all previous shortcomings/weaknesses

have been removed.

One Nation – One Scheme: best features of all previous schemes

incorporated + all previous shortcomings / weaknesses removed.

ECONOMY

PUBLIC FINANCE

CBDT clarifies rules regarding quoting of PAN

The Central Board of Direct Taxes clarified the rules regarding the

quoting of PAN for certain transactions which will come into effect from

January 1, 2016.

It has been decided that quoting of PAN will be required for transactions

of an amount exceeding Rs. 2 lakh regardless of the mode of payment, the

CBDT said in a release, adding that the previous limit was Rs. 1 lakh as

announced by Finance Minister.

The CBDT also said that in an effort to balance the burden of compliance

on legitimate transactions and the need to capture information regarding

high-value transactions, the government has increased the monetary limits

for many transactions requiring the quoting of PAN.

Open multi-brand retail, e-commerce, education to more FDI: India Inc.

The government should further ease Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

norms, especially in sectors such as multi-brand retail, education and e-

commerce, where its stance has been ambivalent till now, the country‘s

leading industry associations demanded. They also sought more liberalised

norms for the insurance industry.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

57 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

In a pre-Budget meeting with the commerce and industry ministry, India

Inc. also raised concerns on the ―adverse‖ impact of Free Trade

Agreements (FTA) on local manufacturing and demanded support to boost

manufacturing, exports and startups. FTAs, they said, have led to import

surges as a consequence of lower/nil duties.

On greater liberalisation of FDI in retail, FICCI said: Taking into account

the sensitivities regarding ‗protecting kiranas‘, the government could

consider allowing 100 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail in non-food

segment such as electronics and apparel. In food space, there is scope to

allow 100 per cent FDI in fresh food product retail.

FICCI also sought clarity on FDI norms in e-commerce by pointing out

that though 51 per cent FDI is permitted in multi-brand retail, FDI is

prohibited in business-to-consumer (B2C or retail) e-commerce. It added

that FDI should be allowed in B2C e-commerce in a phased manner and

there could be a requirement to source significantly from within India to

promote ‗Make in India‘ and focus on preferable sourcing of certain

percentage from SMEs and MSMEs.

On the education sector, it said 100 per cent FDI should be allowed in all

service companies ancillary to education including construction of student

housing, faculty housing, sports facilities, auditoriums and related

facilities.

On the insurance sector, though the government enhanced the FDI limit

from 26 per cent to 49 per cent, the provision mandating that management

and control should be in Indian hands is restrictive and therefore should be

done away with.

Volatility is the new norm, says Arun Jaitley

Global economic volatility is the new norm, said by Finance Minister

Arun Jaitley. Earlier, challenges and crisis emerged once in a decade. With

the global economy so critically integrated, volatility is the new rule, it‘s

the new norm.

The World Bank has downgraded the global growth forecast by 0.4

percentage points to 2.9 percent, India is struggling to improve its own

growth. At a time like this, the Centre wants states like West Bengal to

increase the economic growth rate.

Given the structure of India‘s federal polity, it is imperative that the states

grow as well. Strong states mean a stronger India. West Bengal

contributes nearly 6 to 7 per cent of national GDP. Given the fact that

growth of the eastern states was lower than those of the western states, the

additional growth will have to come from the former, adding that the

58 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Centre will stand behind states to ensure that they attract more

investments.

An increase in public spending on infrastructure, social infrastructure and

rural infrastructure was needed.

States told to meet exporters more often

The Centre has asked the state governments to hold bi-monthly meetings

with exporters, especially to address infrastructure and tax-related issues.

Inputs received from the states would be then considered by the Centre, on

a dynamic basis, for taking further steps to reduce the transaction costs of

exporters and in turn boost the competitiveness of India‘s exports.

This was one of the main takeaways from the first meeting of the Council

for Trade Development and Promotion, which was chaired by Commerce

and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The Centre has been trying to push a ‗competitive and cooperative

federalism‘ model to encourage states to take measures to improve the

ease of doing business, thereby attracting more investment, generating

greater employment and boosting exports as well.

Suggestions by States

The states, on their part, wanted the Centre to take care of all the

infrastructure-related issues including at ports, special economic zones and

inland container depots (ICD). The land-locked states sought 1-2 per cent

subsidy to exporters to compensate higher logistics costs.

Maharashtra leading exporter

Maharashtra with Rs.4,45,350 crore and Gujarat (Rs.3,64,316 crore) were

the leading states in exports in 2014-15.

Tax on seed funding to be scrapped

The government has decided to scrap

a tax on seed funding provided to

start-ups by Indian angel investors in

the upcoming Union Budget, to help

domestic financiers bankroll new

entrepreneurial ventures under its

Start Up India campaign.

The tax provision in question treats

infusion of funds by domestic angel

investors as income in the hands of

the start-up, making India the only

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

59 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

country in the world to penalise local angel investors in such a manner.

Senior government officials working on the Start Up India action plan to

be unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the tax is one of the

key reasons that 90 per cent of Indian start-ups are financed by foreign

venture capital and angel funds.

Government keen to do away with the tax provisions that characterise

angel investments into a new venture as the investee company‘s income,

thus taking away roughly 30 per cent of the investment from the start-up‘s

cash flow as it is taxed.

This tax also applies only to domestic investors and thus acts as a

disincentive to local funding for start-ups that the government wants to

incentivise instead.

Government mulls Shome panel suggestions on tax administration

The government is considering the recommendations of the Parthasarathi

Shome committee aimed at simplifying tax administration. Among the key

proposals of the Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC),

headed by Dr. Shome, was a suggestion that Income Tax Return forms

should also include wealth tax details.

The panel had mooted that retrospective amendments to tax laws should

be avoided as a principle and that the post of Revenue Secretary be

abolished.

Other recommendations were for the CBDT and the CBEC to be merged

and for the use of Permanent Account Number (PAN) to be widened.

The TARC, which was appointed by the UPA Government, submitted its

report to Mr. Jaitley in June 2014.

The proposal for reducing corporate tax from 30 per cent to 25 per cent

over 4 years along with removal of corresponding tax exemptions that

finance ministry made in his last Budget would make the tax system

cleaner and simpler and will ensure that ―oppressive taxman does not

hover over us‖.

GDP expanded 7.2 % last year, slower than estimated

India‘s economy expanded 7.2 per cent in the financial year ended March

2015, marginally slower than the previous estimate of 7.3 per cent.

Real GDP or GDP at constant (2011-12) prices for the years 2014-15 and

2013-14 stands at Rs.105.52 lakh crore and Rs. 98.39 lakh crore

respectively, showing growth of 7.2 per cent during 2014-15, and 6.6 per

cent during 2013-14,‖ according to a statement released by the Statistics

and Programme Implementation Ministry.

60 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

In terms of real Gross Value Added, that is, GVA at constant (2011-12)

prices, there has been a growth of 7.1 per cent in 2014-15, as against a

growth of 6.3 per cent in 2013-14.

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had warned that we should be careful

about how we measure growth. People are shifting between activities, but

it is important that when they shift to a new area, they are creating value.

High-employment sectors such as agriculture are growing very slowly,

adding to the concerns. The revised numbers peg the agricultural GVA at

1.3 per cent in 2014-15, up from the 0.6 per cent provisionally estimated

earlier. The secondary sector, comprising manufacturing and construction,

grew at 5.4 per cent in the same period, down from the estimated 6.5 per

cent. The services sector grew at a robust 10.3 per cent.

More than 50 per cent of the workforce is employed in agriculture, but the

sector is growing at less than 2 per cent.

Gross Capital Formation, a proxy for economic activity, decreased

marginally from 36.2 per cent of GDP in 2013-14 to 35.9 per cent in 2014-

15.

At constant (2011-12) prices, the private final consumption expenditure [a

measure of individual spending capacity and inclination] is estimated as

Rs. 55.20 lakh crore and Rs. 58.64 lakh crore, respectively for the years

2013-14 and 2014-15.

The corresponding rates of PFCE to GDP for the years 2013-14 and 2014-

15 are 56.1 per cent and 55.6 per cent respectively, according to the

ministry statement.

MONETARY MANAGEMENT

RBI asks banks to open more branches in rural areas

India‘s central bank has asked the lenders to open more brick and mortar

branches in villages with no banking facilities and with a population of

more than 5,000.

The banking regulator has asked banks to submit a roadmap on how many

branches they will be opening by 31 March 2017. Banks have to submit

the roadmap by end of January 2016.

It has been observed that coverage of banking services in unbanked

villages is skewed towards the BC model and the ratio of branches to BC

is very low. For increasing banking penetration and financial inclusion,

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

61 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

brick and mortar branches are an integral component, according to a

statement by the Reserve Bank of India.

Therefore, it has been decided to focus on villages with population above

5,000 without a bank branch of a scheduled commercial bank. This will

also enable banks to provide quality financial services and timely support

to BC outlets that would help in sustaining and strengthening the services

provided through BCs and also ensure close supervision of BC operations.

The convenor banks of the state-level bankers committee have been asked

to identify villages with population above 5,000 without a bank branch.

New form for ASBA in place

With a checklist regime kicking in for initial public offerings (IPOs),

capital markets regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India

(SEBI), has put in place a new form for ASBA (Application Supported by

Blocked Amount) facility.

ASBA facility has become mandatory for all categories of investors

applying for a public issue for making payment. The facility allows the bid

amount to remain in the applicants account till the time the shares are

finally allotted.

In a circular, SEBI said that the application form for ASBA would be

printed in a booklet form of A4 size paper.

Besides, SEBI has prescribed white colour form for Resident Indian, NRIs

applying on a non repatriation basis and blue colour form for NRIs,

Foreign Venture Capital Investor, Foreign Institutional Investors, their

Sub-Accounts (other than sub-accounts which are foreign corporates or

foreign individuals bidding under the QIB Portion), on a repatriation basis.

It further said that top of the application form will have a coloured

identifier strap incorporating the name of the issuer, ISIN (An

International Securities Identification Number) and type of form

(Repatriation, Non- Repatriation). Besides, the main application should

have information about eight digit application number, PAN number,

bidders depository account details, investor category, among others.

A confirmation by the applicant (on behalf of joint bidders) that he/she has

read, understood and agrees to such confirmations is also required.

The regulator said that application should also highlight about different

category of investors (retail, non-institutional and QIBs), number of equity

shares (reservation if applicable), percentage of issue available for

allotment, basis of allocation in case of over-subscription, mode of

allotment and terms of payment.

62 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

The new circular will be applicable for all public issues opening on or

after January 1, 2016, SEBI.

In order to enhance the points for submission of applications, SEBI had

also allowed Registrar and Share Transfer Agents (RTAs) and Depository

Participants (DPs) to accept application forms (both physical as well as

online) and make bids on the stock exchange platform.

This will be over and above the stock brokers and banks where such

facilities are presently available. The number of bank branches with

ASBA facility has now increased to about 95,500, from 9,800 when this

facility was introduced.

ASBA

ASBA (Applications Supported by Blocked Amount) is a process

developed by the India's Stock Market Regulator SEBI for applying to

IPO. In ASBA, an IPO applicant's account doesn't get debited until shares

are allotted to them.

Rupee among best of Asian currencies in 2015

Rupee turned out to be one of the best performers in 2015 among all Asian

and BRICS currencies, excluding yen.

The currency‘s depreciation of about five per cent against the dollar was

less than the losses of most of its other Asian peers. The Indian rupee

fared better in 2014, when it weakened by only two per cent.

The Indian rupee was caught between the leviathans like the U.S. dollar

and China‘s yuan devaluation and the erosion of rupee against the dollar

continued relentlessly in 2015.

However, the rupee fared much better despite a pullout by foreign funds

from the emerging markets, including India, as an interest rate hike was

expected from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The currency was stable when the U.S. raised the benchmark interest rate

and has actually strengthened against the dollar since then.

Its Asian counterparts like the Indonesian rupiah weakened by 11.30 per

cent and the Thai baht depreciated 9.5 per cent against the dollar. Only the

Chinese currency fared marginally better, losing only 4.6 per cent.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

63 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

BRICS nations

Among the BRICS nations also the Indian currency fared well. The

Brazilian real depreciated 49 per cent against the dollar while the South

African rand declined 34.75 per cent.

The Indian currency, which tumbled 12.4 per cent in 2013, started

recovering in 2014.

Experts attribute the relative stability of the rupee to the improved macro-

economic conditions.

The country‘s foreign exchange reserves rose by more than $75 billion

since the currency crisis of 2013. From about $274.8 billion in early

September 2013, foreign exchange reserves rose to $351 billion as on 25

December, 2015.

In the two and half year since the currency crisis, the twin deficits – fiscal

and current account - have narrowed. In 2013-14, the fiscal deficit was 4.5

per cent of the GDP, which is now seen at 3.9 per cent for 2015-16.

Similarly, the current account deficit in the first quarter of 2013-14

zoomed to a record high of 4.9 per cent of the GDP. CAD has since

narrowed to 1.6 per cent of GDP during the July-September quarter of the

current financial year and is expected to be 1 per cent of GDP in 2015-16,

mainly due to soft crude oil prices.

SCHEMES

‘Start-up India’ Action Plan: a good start, but Govt. apathy, big

corporates a hurdle

The much anticipated, and

needed, ‗Start-up India‘

initiative was Prime Minister

Narendra Modi in a move to

help start-ups and catalyse

entrepreneurship.

Start-ups and entrepreneurship

are critical to India‘s efforts to

restart private investment into

the economy, in the face of risk aversion, stalled or slow investments from

corporate India.

Start-ups in India have faced two significant obstacles. One is government

apathy, corruption and a complex approvals process. The other is the

64 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

power of entrenched corporates, to oppose or kill start-ups which

challenge them.

The Action Plan unveiled by Mr. Modi is a catalyst, also needed are

structural reforms that permit free and fair competition and other issues

that determine the viability and existence of start-ups. Net neutrality, for

instance, is a policy requirement that will determine the future for tech

start-ups.

The Start-up India Action Plan lists out a comprehensive set of structural

and regulatory reforms in order to achieve this. Income tax exemption,

easing compliance through reduction of regulations and having fixed

qualifications as to what a ‗start-up‘ is, were expectations at the top of the

entrepreneurial bucket-list.

But the Action Plan goes further. It goes on, for instance, to provide an 80

per cent waiver on patent filing fees by start-ups, provide advisory

services and create a Rs.10,000 crore fund-of-funds which is to be

managed by professionals drawn from the private sector. These are just a

few of the ‗sweetheart‘ deals for start-up entrepreneurs under the Action

Plan.

Money matters

But the Action Plan also appears to have a few flaws which need to be

addressed. For instance, it sets up an ‗Inter-Ministerial Board‘ led by the

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion which ‗validates‘ the

innovative nature of an enterprise, thereby qualifying it as a start-up – an

involvement of government in this ecosystem that is hardly desirable. It

also requires a start-up to obtain a recommendation from an incubator in

order to be eligible.

The most obvious and tangible benefits to start-ups under the Action Plan

are the tax breaks and funding support. The Action Plan waives income

tax on profits for a period of three years and also exempts taxes on capital

gains which are invested in the ‗fund-of-funds‘.

This move will help to reduce cash outflows and bring down the cost of

running a start-up. In conjunction with the waiver of the ‗angel investor‘

tax under the Finance Act, 2013, start-ups now can have improved access

to funding opportunities.

Pending reforms like the GST regime, would also make it easier for small

start-ups to operate across the country.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

65 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Rs.10,000 crore ‘fund-of-funds’

The Rs.10,000 crore ‗fund-of-funds‘ is a significant financial commitment

by the Government under the Action Plan. It is set to start with Rs.2,500

crore initially with the amount set to recur for 4 years.

This mega fund will not directly invest in start-up ventures. Instead, it will

do so via SEBI registered venture funds. This fund will contribute a

maximum of 50 per cent of the daughter fund size, providing a significant

boost to the corpus of investments that start-ups have access to. It is

important that this corpus is not managed by Politicians or bureaucrats, but

smart, savvy fund managers who have a track record on investing.

On the cost saving side, an 80 per cent rebate on patent filing costs

alongside an exemption from having ‗prior-experience‘ to be eligible

under the public procurement process are steps taken to promote tech-

based start-ups in particular.

While tax incentives, cost saving measures and funding support will

undoubtedly drive up investment into innovative start-ups it is essential

that the government not lose sight of non-tech start-ups. It should make

special provisions to ensure that this support structure extends to the

agriculture, manufacturing, and handicrafts sectors.

Ease of doing business

Promoting start-ups by improving ease of doing business is clearly at the

forefront of the Action Plan. A significant benefit a start-up accrues under

this policy is the waiver from labour inspections for 3 years.

Now, anyone who has run a business and navigated the maze of

bureaucracy understands the quagmire that labour laws can be, especially

for a start-up. Along with the ease in environmental checks, these changes

to labour inspections are a step in the right direction particularly for those

start-ups which are based in the manufacturing sector. But the Action Plan

exempts starts-up from inspection under a fixed number of labour laws

six to be specific. There are about 45 laws at the central level and about

four times this number at the state level. The Centre needs to work with

the States to ensure a smooth rollout of the benefits under the Action Plan

and avoid discord between policies at the two levels.

‘Start-up India Hub’

The Action Plan also creates a centralised system under the ‗Start-up India

Hub‘ which assists start-ups by providing advisory services on financing,

business structuring and improving management skills. It also provides for

a mobile app which allows start-ups to self-certify themselves and also

acts as a single point of contact between entrepreneurs, regulators and the

66 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

government. This is a positive move in simplifying the registration

process.

This is perhaps the most pertinent question which has been answered by

the Action Plan. In order to obtain the wide ranging benefits which have

been detailed in the 40-page Action Plan, it is essential for an enterprise to

qualify as a ‗start-up‘. An uncontroversial requirement, but the devil is in

the details.

The Action Plan requires an enterprise or partnership to be innovative by

developing and commercialising a new product or service a step to

promote truly innovative ideas. But it institutes an inter-ministerial body

led by DIPP to examine whether an enterprise is ‗innovative‘.

It also requires a ‗recommendation‘ from an incubator setup by the

government or be supported by an incubator in a post-graduate institution

recognised by the government this need for validation and

recommendation goes against the very steps the Action Plan takes to

reduce government involvement. This additional layer of bureaucracy

could slow down the starting up process and needs to go.

Start-up India is consistent with the PM‘s call for innovation when he

launched Digital India. The Start-up India Action plan is a good start to

this – but will need continued support and evolution to make this a true,

deep revolution for the youth of India.

Start Up India schemes get funds for take-off

The government can finally start deploying funds from the Self-

Employment and Talent Utilisation (SETU) scheme and the Atal

Innovation Mission (AIM) announced in the Union Budget for 2015-16 to

promote startups and scientific research, after over 10 months of

spadework.

While the AIM would focus on inviting aspiring entrepreneurs to solve

India‘s contemporary socio-economic problems via grand challenges that

offer substantial awards to incubate and scale up winning ideas, the SETU

scheme‘s resources would be devoted to strengthening incubators and

setting up tinkering labs where ideas can be shaped into prototypes before

they are ripe for funding.

An overarching supervisory body with about ten members is being formed

to oversee the allocation of funds under the schemes to line ministries.

Finance Ministry had allocated Rs 1,000 crore to the SETU scheme and

Rs 150 crore for AIM.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

67 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Likely to be chaired by Niti Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya, the

panel would include secretaries from the departments of science and

technology, biotechnology, industrial policy and promotion as well as the

ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises.

Professor Tarun Khanna, director of the South Asia Institute at Harvard

University, is also likely to be part of the panel as an external expert. He

was earlier appointed by the Aayog as chairperson of an expert panel on

innovation and entrepreneurship, that was also asked to advise on the

‗detailed contours‘ of AIM and SETU.

Half of the funds under SETU would be earmarked for strengthening

existing incubators in the country, backed by different departments, so that

the support mechanism for budding entrepreneurs is more robust.

The rest, Rs 500 crore, would be used for setting up tinkering labs, where

students can literally potter about and create prototypes and models of

their ideas with the ability to demonstrate basic functions,‖ the official

said, adding a similar lab already exists at the Indian Institute of

Technology in Kanpur.

The idea of posing social problems as a ‗grand challenge‘ for aspiring

startups under the AIM, is to engage young graduates eyeing the startup

space into thinking beyond the internet, e-commerce and mobile

applications space.

Government’s UDAY scheme may light up power distribution companies:

Crisil

The government‘s UDAY Scheme to aid ailing electricity distribution

companies (discoms) has a better chance of succeeding than the previous

financial restructuring plan, says Crisil.

UDAY is better than the previous financial restructuring plan that didn‘t

do much to change the health of the discoms.

Under UDAY, state governments will take over 75 per cent of the debt

held by their discoms as of September 30, 2015. Half the debt will be

taken over in 2015-16 and 25 per cent in 2016-17. The balance 25 per cent

of the debt is to be serviced through state government-guaranteed bonds

issued by the discoms.

15 states have joined the UDAY scheme. Around 90 per cent of the losses

made by the discoms are covered by the states that had joined UDAY.

Many of these projects find it difficult to service their debt obligations

because either the plant is running at a low plant load factor, tariffs are not

adequate or they have won coal blocks where the premium to the state

government is very high, which cuts into their cash flows.

68 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

UDAY SCHEME:

The Scheme UDAY (Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana) has been launched

to improve financial and operational efficiencies of power distribution

companies (DISCOMs). It envisages to reduce interest burden, cost of

power and AT&C losses. Consequently, DISCOM would become

sustainable to supply adequate and reliable power enabling 24x7 power

supply. The scheme provides that States would take over 75% debt of

Discoms, as on 30th September, 2015 in two years.

UDAY has inbuilt incentives encouraging State Governments to

voluntarily restructure their debts. These incentives include taking over of

DISCOM debt by the States outside the fiscal deficit limits; reduction in

the cost of power through various measures such as coal linkage

rationalization, liberal coal swaps, coal price rationalization, correction in

coal grade slippage, allocation of coal linkages at notified prices;

priority/additional funding through schemes of MoP & MNRE; and,

reduction in interest burden.

UDAY is different from earlier restructuring schemes in several ways

including flexibility of keeping debt taken over outside fiscal deficit limit,

reduction in cost of power and a series of time bound interventions for

improving operational efficiency. UDAY provides for measures that will

reduce the cost of power generation, which would ultimately benefit

consumers.

Credit fund to guarantee loans worth Rs.1 lakh cr

The government said the Credit Guarantee Fund for loans disbursed under

the Pradhan Mantri Micro Units Development Refinance Agency

(MUDRA) Yojana would be able to guarantee loans of over Rs.one lakh

crore as it gave its approval to convert MUDRA into a bank.

The government expects the fund to be able to guarantee loans worth more

than Rs.one lakh crore over the next three years of micro and small units.

In the event of defaults under the scheme, the Fund will safeguard banks

and financial institutions.

The Union Cabinet had approved the creation of a Credit Guarantee Fund

for Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) loans and to

convert MUDRA Ltd into MUDRA Small Industries Development Bank

of India (SIDBI) Bank into a wholly owned subsidiary of SIDBI.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

69 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

The MUDRA (SIDBI) Bank will undertake refinance operations and

provide support services with focus on portal management; data analysis

etc apart from any other activity entrusted or advised by Government of

India.

MUDRA Bank and a Credit Guarantee Fund was proposed to be set up

with a refinance corpus of Rs.20,000 crore and a corpus of Rs.3,000 crore

respectively in the Budget 2015-16.

ENERGY

International Solar Alliance set to be operational in 6 months

An International Solar Alliance (ISA) is likely to be operational by the

middle of 2016. The international alliance is expected to have 121

members.

The initiative was announced by Prime Minister, at the Conference of

Parties in (COP 21) in Paris last November. Mr. Modi and French

President François Hollande would lay the foundation stone of the alliance

at the National Institute of Solar Energy in Gurgaon, Haryana on January

25.

It comprises of countries with land between the Tropic of Capricorn and

the Tropic of Cancer which typically have 300 or more days of sunshine a

year.

One of the objectives of the alliance is to get $1 trillion investments in the

solar sector worldwide by 2030. Another objective is to get solar sector-

specific human resources development in all member countries and ensure

that any research and development in a country becomes available to all.

This will be the first time that India will have the headquarters of an

international agency. The government of India will host the ISA‘s

Secretariat for five years, following which it is expected to generate its

own resources and become truly independent.

India has already offered Rs. 100 crore for an ISA corpus, which is

expected to grow to $1 billion when all the member countries contribute.

Following the signing of the statute, each member country will have to

send the document to their Cabinets or Parliaments for ratification within

three months. The International Solar Alliance will become a legal entity

after a minimum of 25 countries ratify it.

Only countries between the two Tropics will be eligible as members,

others can join as partners. Around 30 countries were present at each of

the two Steering Committee meetings held so far.

70 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Increase in renewable energy use to boost global GDP by $1.3 trillion

A 36 per cent share of renewable energy in the global energy mix by 2030

would increase global gross domestic product by nearly $1.3 trillion,

generating millions of jobs and helping countries like India dependent on

importing oil and gas.

‗Renewable Energy Benefits: Measuring the Economics‘, released at Abu

Dhabi during the International Renewable Energy Agency‘s (IRENA)

sixth assembly session, provides the first global estimate of the

macroeconomic impacts of renewable energy deployment.

Specifically, the report highlights the benefits that would be achieved

under the scenario of doubling the global share of renewable energy by

2030 from 2010 levels.

The recent Paris Agreement sent a strong signal for countries to move

from negotiation to action and rapidly decarbonise the energy sector.

This analysis provides compelling evidence that achieving the needed

energy transition would not only mitigate climate change but also

stimulate the economy, improve human welfare and boost employment

worldwide.

Beyond finding that global GDP in 2030 would increase by up to $1.3

trillion more than the combined economies of Chile, South Africa and

Switzerland as of today the report also analyses country-specific impact.

Japan would see the largest positive GDP impact (2.3 per cent) but

Australia, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea would

also see growth of more than one per cent each.

According to the report, improvements in human welfare would go well

beyond gains in GDP thanks to a range of social and environmental

benefits. The impact of renewable energy deployment on welfare is

estimated to be three to four times larger than its impact on GDP, with

global welfare increasing as much as 3.7 per cent.

Employment in the renewable energy sector would also increase from 9.2

million global jobs today, to more than 24 million by 2030.

A transition towards greater shares of renewables in the global energy mix

would also cause a shift in trade patterns, as it would more than halve

global imports of coal and reduce oil and gas imports, benefiting large

importers like Japan, India, Korea and the European Union. Fossil fuel

exporting countries would also benefit from a diversified economy. The

report builds on previous IRENA analysis on the socio-economic benefits

of renewable energy and on REmap 2030, a renewable energy roadmap to

doubling the global share of renewable energy by 2030.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

71 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

TRANSPORT

ABS will be mandatory for two-wheelers

In an attempt to make roads safer, the Union government will soon make it

mandatory for all two-wheelers to fit anti-lock braking system (ABS) and

combined braking system (CBS) by April 2019.

The Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry, which has released

the draft notification, had earlier planned to implement the rule on all two-

wheelers by April 2018.

If we took a call on the deadline a year back and it took time to frame the

policy, then we might need to extend the deadline by a year.

The Ministry has proposed mandating ABS for all vehicles with an engine

capacity above 125 cc and CBS for vehicles below 125 cc engine. While

ABS helps the rider to maintain stability while applying brakes, the CBS

distributes the pressure applied on the rear wheel to the front wheel. At

present, two-wheelers account for the highest share in road accidents. In

2014, two-wheelers accounted for around 27 per cent of the total road

accidents.

ABS will be mandatory for all new models with more than 125 cc engine

from April 2017 and the existing ones from April 2018. Also, the

Ministry‘s notification set an April 2017 deadline for CBS in all new

models of two-wheelers with less than 125cc engine and April 2018 for

existing models.

Panel warns against ‘Swiss Challenge’ route

India‘s ambitious plan to build new expressways across the country by

adopting the ‗Swiss Challenge‘ method for awarding these projects has

become uncertain following an expert committee‘s warning to the

government against using this approach for infrastructure investments.

It is a difficult task to find builders to develop Greenfield expressways, we

were keen on taking the ‗Swiss Challenge‘ route to find bidders for

building around 19,000 km expressways as per the master plan.

In its report on ‗Revisiting and Revitalising the PPP model of

infrastructure development,‘ presented to the Finance Ministry, the panel

led by the former Finance Secretary, Vijay Kelkar, had discouraged the

government from following the ‗Swiss Challenge‘ model of auctioning

infrastructure projects. Incidentally, the Centre had already approved the

use of this model for redeveloping 400 railway stations.

Unsolicited proposals (―Swiss Challenge‖) may be actively discouraged as

they bring information asymmetries in the procurement process and result

72 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

in lack of transparency and in the fair and equal treatment of potential

bidders in the procurement process, according to the panel‘s report.

The original proposer will get the right of first refusal in such cases and

the cost of the DPR will be covered by the agency which bags the

contract.

India plans to build 18,637 km expressways in a phased manner by 2022

under an official Master Plan for the National Expressway Network.

An express highway is a controlled-access highway, generally six-lane or

more, where entrance and exit are controlled by the use of slip roads.

Under the ‗Swiss Challenge‘ model, any bidder can offer to improve upon

a project proposal submitted by another player.

The Union government has identified building 16 greenfield expressways

at present. However, some of the projects put on priority such as the 135-

km long Eastern Peripheral Expressway, the 66-km Delhi-Meerut

Expressway and the 400-km Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway, are not

being bid using the ‗Swiss Challenge‘ route.

Govt. to implement BS-VI norms by 2020

The government, in a move to fight pollution, will implement Bharat

Standard (BS)-VI emission norms by April 1, 2020.

Government has decided that it will move to BS-VI norms across the

country directly from BS-IV norms by April 1, 2020. The Petroleum

Ministry would spend Rs.30,000 crore for upgrading refineries to

implement the clean fuel technology,.

The decision was taken a day after the Supreme Court pressed for

implementing clean vehicular fuel norms soon amid concerns on rising air

pollution in the country, especially in Delhi.

BS-VI is the Indian equivalent of the Euro-VI norms followed globally.

The Supreme Court had asked the government to implement BS-VI norms

earlier than the April 2021 deadline fixed by the Union government. The

apex court also ordered shutting down more entry points at the national

capital border for heavy commercial vehicles not meant for Delhi.

The BS-VI norms will be implemented for new vehicles by April 2020

and for existing vehicles by April 2021 and a notification will be issued by

the Union government soon, according to sources in the ministry.

The Road Ministry had issued a draft notification in November to

introduce BS-V and BS-VI norms for new vehicles from 2019 and 2021

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

73 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

respectively. It was planned to switch to BS-V and BS-VI norms for

existing vehicles from April 1 2020 and April 1, 2022 respectively.

At present, BS-IV auto fuels are being supplied in over 30 cities while the

rest of the country has BS-III fuels.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

SPACE

ISRO puts fifth GPS satellite in orbit

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched IRNSS-1E, the

fifth of the seven-satellite

Indian Regional Navigation

Satellite System (IRNSS)

into space.

ISRO‘s workhorse PSLV C-

31 rocket lifted the 1,425 kg

satellite from the second

launchpad of the Satish

Dhawan Space Centre here

at 9.31 a.m. and placed it in

the intended orbit some 19

minutes later. This is ISRO‘s

first launch for this year.

Though it was a textbook launch, the extremely cloudy skies in Sriharikota

deprived the onlookers and journalists of a clear view, as the soaring

rocket was visible only for a few seconds, before clouds engulfed it.

The national space agency had a long way to go since two more satellites

were to be launched by March.

With the launch of the first four satellites IRNSS-1A, 1B, 1C and 1D were

launched in July 2013, April and October, 2014 and March last year

respectively.

IRNSS-1E with a mission life of 12 years was launched into a sub

geosynchronous transfer orbit with a 284 km perigee (nearest point to

Earth) and 20,657 km apogee (farthest point from Earth) with an

inclination of 19.2 degree with reference to the equatorial plane.

74 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

IRNSS-1E carried navigation and ranging payloads, including a rubidium

atomic clock, C-band transponder and corner cube retro reflectors for laser

ranging. The signal-in-space of four satellites has already been validated

by various agencies within and outside the country.

IRNSS

IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system being

developed by India. It is designed to provide accurate position information

service to users in India as well as the region extending up to 1500 km

from its boundary, which is its primary service area. An Extended Service

Area lies between primary service area and area enclosed by the rectangle

from Latitude 30 deg South to 50 deg North, Longitude 30 deg East to 130

deg East.

IRNSS will provide two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning

Service (SPS) which is provided to all the users and Restricted Service

(RS), which is an encrypted service provided only to the authorised users.

The IRNSS System is expected to provide a position accuracy of better

than 20 m in the primary service area.

IRNSS is a 7-satellite constellation to provide an indigenous terrestrial,

aerial and marine navigation, vehicle tracking and fleet management,

disaster management, precise timing, mapping, visual and voice

navigation for drivers etc,.

IRNSS would have seven satellites, out of which five are already placed in

orbit. The constellation of seven satellites is expected to operate from June

2016 onwards.

ISRO conceives two ‘space parks’

Two space industry enclaves or ―parks‖ that have been conceived one for

launchers at Sriharikota and a smaller one at an existing Bengaluru

spacecraft campus signal increased privatisation of the nation‘s space

programme over the next five years.

For now, the facilities will be ―captive‖ to drive the future missions of the

Indian Space Research Organisation.

First, ISRO wants to groom and engage domestic industry in the launch

vehicles area from integrating sub-systems up to assembling, and even

launching the PSLV.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

75 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

This well-established rocket has put Indian and foreign satellites of up to

1,600 kg into space.

Currently industries such as Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Godrej & Boyce,

Larsen & Toubro, MTAR and Walchandnagar Industries produce 80 per

cent of the launch vehicle parts and sub-units.

These production works are scattered across their respective locations. The

launch industry initiative must be close to ISRO‘s launch complex, the

Satish Dhawan Space Centre, at the 145-sq km Sriharikota range.

Satellite support

On the spacecraft front, ISRO plans to increasingly support small and mid-

sized industries at its 10-year-old second spacecraft complex, the 100-acre

ISITE, at Marathahalli in Bengaluru.

ISITE, short for ISRO Satellite Integration & Test Establishment, is

already open to a few suppliers who assemble and test their spacecraft

systems for the ISRO. In the coming years, more satellites will be needed

for replacing the ageing ones in orbit and new advanced communication,

Earth observation and navigation spacecraft.

The most energetic light ever in space

Scientists have discovered the most energetic light ever detected in the

universe from the centre of a supernova known as ‗Crab pulsar‘ which is

situated 6,500 light years away from Earth.

The Crab pulsar is the corpse left over when the star that created the Crab

nebula exploded as a supernova.

It has a mass of 1.5 times the mass of the Sun, concentrated in about a 10

km diameter object, rotating 30 times per second.

It is surrounded by a region of intense magnetic field 10 thousand billion

times stronger than that of the Sun.

The pulses were found by researchers working with the Major

Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov (Magic) observatory in the

Canary Islands, Spain.

The new observations extend this tail to much higher, above trillion

electron volt (TeV) energies, which is several times more energetic than

the previous measurement.

The Crab pulsar, created in a supernova explosion that occurred in 1054

A.D., is located at the centre of a magnetised nebula visible in the Taurus

constellation.

The Crab is the most powerful pulsar in our galaxy and it is one of only a

few pulsars detected across all wavelengths, from radio up to gamma rays.

76 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

In its rotating magnetic field, electrons and positrons are accelerated up to

relativistic energies and emit radiation that arrives to our telescopes in the

form of pulses every 33 millisecond, each time the neutron star rotates and

meets our telescopic sight.

Before the MAGIC measurement, this radiation was believed to stop

abruptly when the photons reach energy few billion times larger than

visible light.

CRAB PULSAR

The Crab Pulsar (PSR B0531+21) is a relatively young neutron star. The

star is the central star in the Crab Nebula, a remnant of the supernova SN

1054, which was widely observed on Earth in the year 1054. Discovered

in 1968, the pulsar was the first to be connected with a supernova remnant.

The Crab Pulsar is one of very few pulsars to be identified optically. The

optical pulsar is roughly 20 km in diameter and the pulsar "beams" rotate

once every 33 milliseconds, or 30 times each second.

Ninth planet may exist, say scientists

There might be a ninth planet in the solar system after all and it is not

Pluto.

A ninth planet could be gravitationally herding them into these orbits.

For the calculations to work, the planet would be quite large at least as big

as Earth, and likely much bigger a mini-Neptune with a thick atmosphere

around a rocky core, with perhaps 10 times the mass of Earth. It would

dwarf Pluto, at about 4,500 times its mass.

Pluto, at its most distant, is 4.6 billion miles from the sun. The potential

ninth planet, at its closest, would be about 20 billion miles away; at its

farthest, it could be a trillion miles away. It would take from 10,000 to

20,000 years to complete one orbit around the sun.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

77 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

NAVY

Commissioning of INS Kadmatt

INS Kadmatt, second ship of Project 28 (P28) class Anti-Submarine

Warfare (ASW) Corvettes, was commissioned into the Indian Navy by the

Chief of Naval Staff at a glittering ceremony held at Naval Dockyard,

Visakhapatnam today.

The event marks the formal induction into the Navy of the second of the

four ASW Corvettes, indigenously designed by the Indian Navy‘s in-

house organisation, Directorate of Naval Design and constructed by

Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited, Kolkata.

The earlier Kadmatt, also an ASW Corvette, acquired in 1968 from the

erstwhile Soviet Union, distinguished herself in the 24 years of service to

the nation, particularly during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, Operation Pawan in

Sri Lanka, and Operation Tasha.

INS Kadmatt is named after one of the large islands amongst the

Lakshadweep group of Islands off the west coast of India. The

Lakshadweep Islands and the Navy share a special relation with the Island

chain being home to our base INS Dweeprakshak, as well as detachments

on Minicoy, Androth and Bitra Islands. The commissioning of INS

Kadmatt today signifies the importance of our Island territories as our

maritime interests said the Admiral.

Regarded as a very prestigious acquisition, INS Kadmatt is one of the

most potent warships to have been constructed in India. The ships of P28

class have been constructed using high grade steel (DMR 249A) produced

in India. With a displacement of 3300 tonnes, the sleek and magnificent

ship spans 109 meters in length and 13.7 meters at the beam and is

propelled by four diesel engines to achieve speeds in excess of 25 knots

with an endurance of 3450 Nm. Some of the advanced stealth features

have been incorporated in this ship.

INS Kadmatt has a multitude of networks such as Total Atmospheric

Control System (TACS), Integrated Platform Management System

(IPMS), Integrated Bridge System (IBS), Battle Damage Control System

(BDCS) and Personnel Locator System (PLS) to provide a contemporary

and process oriented System of Systems for optimal functioning of the

warship.

78 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

COAST GUARD

Coast Guard women officers trained to sail hovercraft

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Coast Guard, which has already

deployed women officers to operate its fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters,

has now trained them for operations on board hovercraft an amphibious

craft that patrols in shallow water to check illegal activities in seas,

especially near international maritime boundary lines.

In the first batch, four women officers were trained in a 10-day first-phase

training capsule at ICGS Mandapam in Ramanathapuram district.

The Coast Guard decided to train women officers in hovercraft. In the first

batch, Assistant Commandants Sneha Khatayak, Anuradha Shukla, Shirin

Chandran and Vasundhara Chouksey from Coast Guard stations in

Paradip, Mumbai, Chilika and Chennai respectively, completed their

training.

The 10-day training was in familiarising with the way sea patrol is

undertaken. Other basics of operating the hovercraft and other procedures

were part of the training.

Ms. Chouksey was also part of a different team that underwent training

under Commander Dilip Donde, the first Indian to circumnavigate the

globe on board the sailing boat INSV Mhadei .

This is the first time, women in the forces, would be posted in craft

operating from sea.

Hovercraft or Air Cushion Vehicles are amphibious vehicles that can

move in land and sail at sea at a maximum speed of 40 knots to intercept

any boat or ship suspected to be involved in illegal activity.

Presently, a total of 18 hovercraft serve in the Coast Guard, attached to

units in Okha and Jakhua in Gujarat, Mumbai in Maharashtra, Mandapam

in Tamil Nadu, and Haldia in West Bengal.

HEALTH

Boost for immunisation drive in India

India‘s immunisation programme, in dire need of expanding the number of

vaccines on the list, will receive a boost with Gavi the Vaccine Alliance

pledging to spend up to $ 500 million between 2016 and 2021.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

79 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

The Government of India

and Gavi, the Vaccine

Alliance, was announced in

Delhi, after a meeting

between Prime Minister

Narendra Modi and Seth

Berkley, CEO, Gavi.

In addition to introducing

new vaccines into the

schedule, the idea is also to

reach the unreached and

increase access to vaccines

for millions of children in

India.

Under the new partnership

strategy, Gavi will allocate

the $ 500 million in two

tranches $ 100 million to

support the country‘s current immunisation programme and enhance

reach, and $ 400 million for country-wide introduction of new vaccines for

diarrhoea and pneumonia, cervical cancer, and Rubella with measles.

India is due to begin transitioning away from Gavi support from 2017 and

is expected to begin fully self-financing all its vaccine programmes by

2021, according to sources at Gavi.

India has a huge birth cohort of about 27 million. While historically India

has been slow in introducing new vaccines, over the last few years. Also,

with the polio immunisation programme, India has proved that it is

possible to reach every child.

He also lauded the Prime Minister and the Health Minister for taking the

initiative.

The Gavi team will create a joint action plan with the government,

marking out specific milestones and timelines, and providing targeted

release of funds. There will also be an active communication programme

to take the message of vaccination to people and explain the benefits of

the new vaccine.

Gavi procures 60 per cent of its vaccines from Indian manufacturers. It is

hoped that through the partnership, Gavi and the Government of India will

work more closely together.

80 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

GAVI

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private global health partnership

committed to increasing access to immunisation in poor countries.

Gavi brings together developing country and donor governments,

the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine

industry in both industrialised and developing countries, research and

technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and

other private philanthropists.

Gavi was launched in 2000, at a time when the distribution of vaccines to

children in the poorest parts of the world had begun to falter. By the end of

the 1990s, immunisation rates were stagnating or even declining. Nearly

30 million children born every year in developing countries were not fully

immunised.

India sets an example in subsidised TB diagnosis

There is a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy TB scenario in India. Of the

12 high-burden countries where the private sector is a major player in

providing health care, the Indian private sector offers the cheapest price

for the WHO-approved Xpert MTB/RIF, a molecular test for diagnosing

TB.

India also has the highest number of private labs offering the test, with 113

labs offering it at a subsidised rate.

While it costs only Rs. 2,000 in the 113 labs (with 5,200 collection

centres) which are part of a novel initiative Improving Access to

Affordable & Quality TB Tests (IPAQT) that was launched in India in

March 2013, the charges are anywhere between Rs. 3,500 and Rs. 5,000 in

labs that are not part of the IPAQT initiative.

The mean price of the highly accurate TB test in Bangladesh is nearly $75,

while it is $50 in the case of Afghanistan. It is as high as $155.5 in

Philippines. Xpert is not commercially available in the private sector in six

other high-burden countries.

The cost of the test will see a further drop if the Indian government waives

off customs duty of 31 per cent levied on Xpert machine and reagents.

As a result of the subsidised pricing agreement with the manufacturer,

there has been an increase in the number of people in India accessing the

highly accurate diagnostic test since 2013. From 15,190 people who

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

81 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

availed themselves of the test between March and December 2013, it has

gone up to 1,31,440 tests in 2015. The total number of tests done since

March 2013 stands at 2,08,550.

Access to accurate tests at subsidised price is very important in India as

nearly 80 per cent of the population in India first seek the private sector. If

one out of every four TB patients in the world is an Indian, one in eight

TB patients in the world is a privately treated Indian patient.

Though the price is internationally set at $9.98 per cartridge, and the

agreement allows for a 10 per cent variation in the exchange rate, the cost

of the test has not been increased since January 2014 despite the rupee

depreciating against the dollar in recent times. But the price may be

revised if the rupee continues to depreciate.

Serological test

Besides increasing the access to the highly reliable and sensitive test, all

labs that become a member of the Initiative abide to ban the unreliable

serological test. India banned serological test for TB in June 2012. Also,

TB notification by the member labs has improved dramatically as IPAQT

helps them with the process of notifying all TB cases.

While the sensitivity of smear microscopy is about 50 per cent, Xpert has

90 per cent sensitivity (in smear positive cases) and 98 per cent specificity.

It can also indicate resistance to rifampicin, a first-line TB drug.

TECHNOLOGY

Photonics to drive terabit chips

Scientists from the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE) at

the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru are working on two

projects in the area of photonic integrated circuits.

In the first, researchers and scientists at CeNSE are building a next-

generation processor. It‘s hard to imagine a world without

microprocessors. These ubiquitous little chips drive our technology and

are embedded everywhere, from phones to laptops to DVDs and rockets.

But at its very core, each unit is still electrical; it has millions of transistors

connected with copper lines.

What if you replaced the copper lines with photonic components? It would

exponentially improve the power of microprocessors. Now, scientists from

CeNSE, in a project supported by the Defence of Research and

82 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Development Organisation (DRDO), are trying to develop indigenous

technology for high-speed optical interconnect technology. CeNSe has

received a Rs. 5-crore grant from the DRDO for the three-year project.

The copper wires/interconnect create a bottleneck for data transfer, but the

project, will exploit high-speed Silicon photonics to improve data transfer

between the core and the memory exponentially.

In the second project, a CeNSE team is working towards improving the

existing optical communication technology.

The aim is to build integrated photonic transceivers that will allow for

communication speeds beyond 1 terabits per second per channel in a

scalable fashion.

CERT-In signs cyber security pacts with 3 nations

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has signed

cooperation pacts with its counterparts in Malaysia, Singapore and Japan

for cyber security.

CERT-In is the nodal agency responsible for dealing with cyber security

threats. The Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) will promote closer

cooperation for exchange of knowledge and experience in detection,

resolution and prevention of security-related incidents between India and

the three countries, according to an official statement. The Cabinet,

chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was on Wednesday apprised of

the three MoUs which were signed last November and December. An

agreement between CERT-In and CyberSecurity, Malaysia, was signed on

November 23, 2015, in Kuala Lumpur during Mr.Modi's visit to Malaysia,

while the MoU with Singapore Computer Emergency Response Team

(SingCERT), Cyber Security Agency (CSA) of the Republic of Singapore

was signed on November 24, 2015 during the Prime Minister‘s visit to

Singapore.

The agreement between CERT-In and Japan Computer Emergency

Response Team Coordination Center (JPCERT/CC) was signed on

December 7, 2015 through diplomatic exchange. The exchange of the

signed MoU between the two parties was completed by December 22,

2015, according to the release.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

83 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

ENVIRONMENT

POLLUTION

Stranded ship sets alarm bells ringing

A dead vessel stranded off the coast off North Maharashtra near Hazira,

Gujarat, has set the alarm bells ringing with a possibility that it may be

carrying organic pollutants and radioactive substances.

The Basel Action Network (BAN), an international toxic waste watchdog,

has flagged off the American vessel Horizon Trader, which has falsely

claimed blackout but has the intention of dumping toxic waste into the

Indian Sea.

The Ministry of Shipping and the Coast Guard are looking into the

whereabouts of the vessel with an IMO number 7326233, which according

to BAN is stranded at Hazira, Gujarat.

The ship, according to BAN, is laden with Persistent Organic Pollutants

(POPs), asbestos and possibly with radioactive substances, putting the

country‘s maritime security and environment at risk.

Turkish vessel, Bulk Rose with IMO number 9501215, was stranded

around the same location off the coast of Hazira and had also cited

blackout. The crew of the Turkish ship had sought assistance of the Coast

Guard and were rescued recently.

The ship has been in anchorage for a number of days and is waiting

assistance from owners. It is a commercial dispute and is no threat to the

country. Every ship carrying some toxic material does not mean it is a

threat.

Activists have demanded inquiry into both the vessels from the Union

Minister for Shipping Nitin Gadkari to ensure the Ship Breaking Code and

Basel Convention are not violated by creating a ‗fait accompli‘ situation

like in the case of end of life ships like Riky, Blue Lady, Platinum II, all

accused of dumping hazardous waste in Indian waters in the past.

Air in Indian cities fouler than in Beijing

All six north Indian cities for which data was available had worse air

quality than Beijing in 2015, analysis of official data shows.

However the south‘s comparatively better air quality levels could hide

some lethal truths about toxic combustion sources. Launched in April

2015, India‘s National Air Quality Index portal produces an Air Quality

84 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Index (AQI) value for around 15 cities based on the most prominent

pollutant at that time for that city.

Pollution monitoring stations measure the concentration of six different

pollutants PM2.5 (particulate matter of diameter less than 2.5

micrometres), PM10, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide

and ozone.

The AQI is then classified along one of six categories good, satisfactory,

moderate, poor, very poor or severe.

Analysing AQI data for 2015, found that Anand Vihar in east Delhi

measured the worst air quality of any of the 25 monitoring stations for

which adequate data were available, with just 15 per cent of its days being

good, satisfactory or moderate.

AIR QUALITY INDEX

The Minister for Environment, Forests & Climate Change Shri Prakash

Javadekar launched The National Air Quality Index (AQI) in New Delhi

on 17 September 2014 under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. It is outlined as

‗One Number- One Colour-One Description‘ for the common man to

judge the air quality within his vicinity. The index constitutes part of the

Government‘s mission to introduce the culture of cleanliness. Institutional

and infrastructural measures are being undertaken in order to ensure that

the mandate of cleanliness is fulfilled across the country and the Ministry

of Environment, Forests & Climate Change proposed to discuss the issues

concerned regarding quality of air with the Ministry of Human Resource

Development in order to include this issue as part of the sensitisation

programme in the course curriculum.

While the earlier measuring index was limited to three indicators, the

current measurement index had been made quite comprehensive by the

addition of five additional parameters. Under the current measurement of

air quality there are 8 parameters .

There are six AQI categories, namely Good, Satisfactory, Moderately

polluted, Poor, Very Poor, and Severe. The proposed AQI will consider

eight pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, CO, O3, NH3, and Pb) for which

short-term (up to 24-hourly averaging period) National Ambient Air

Quality Standards are prescribed.

Water from Bharathapuzha poses health hazard in Kerala

The all-time high coliform count recorded in the once mighty

Bharathapuzha, which continues to remain a major drinking water source

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

85 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

for Palakkad, Malappuram, and Thrissur districts, has evoked widespread

concern. Already facing an imminent death largely because of massive

deforestation, encroachments, chemical contamination, dumping of waste,

and unscientific sewage disposal, the river is now posing severe health

hazard to people living in its basin areas.

According to official statistics, the river meets the drinking water needs of

a population of over 5.9 lakh in rural areas and 1.73 lakh in urban areas.

It quenches thirst of 175 grama panchayats and a dozen municipalities

spread in the three districts and they include the temple town of

Guruvayur.

Tests conducted at government labs on water collected from the river from

Pattambi have confirmed that the coliform count was above 1,000 per 100

ml water.

The samples were collected from the close vicinity of the pumping station

of the Pavaratty Drinking Water Scheme that distributes drinking water in

Guruvayur.

‗Alarming situation’

The situation is quite alarming. The count is high at a time when the river

is reduced to a trickle because of the onset of summer months. The count

would increase manifold if allowed unchecked during rainy months. The

situation demands better steps to properly treat sewage in areas close to

the

The much-trumpeted river revival mission of the Rural Development

Department with an initial outlay of Rs.76.79 crore still remains on paper

Relief eludes Kerala endosulfan victims

According to an unofficial survey, 613 children below the age of 14

continue to suffer from the illnesses caused by the aerial spraying of the

pesticide in mango plantations of Muthalamada in Palakkad district of

Kerala.

Hemalatha was born two years after the global ban on the killer pesticide

endosulfan came into being. Now two-and-a-half-years, her swollen head

and apparent physical illnesses are testimony to the residuary harm the

banned pesticide had been doing to the people of Muthalamada in

Palakkad, known widely as the mango hub of Kerala.

Six years have passed since the National Human Rights Commission

(NHRC) directed the State government to conduct a health survey and

economically empower the poor victims of the killer pesticide, once

sprayed indiscriminately in the mango orchards of Muthalamada.

86 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

The order issued on December 31, 2010, directed the government to pay at

least Rs. 5 lakh to the close relatives of those who died because of the

aerial spraying of the banned pesticide.

An equal amount was promised to those who became permanently

bedridden and suffered from severe deformities. The NHRC also ordered

payment of at least Rs. 3 lakh to all those who turned living victims of the

killer pesticide.

Now the families of the living victims are demanding an expert study at

Muthalamada, Elavanchery, Kozhinjampara, Velanthavalam,

Vadakarapathi, Eruthempathy, Nenmara, and Nelliyampathy grama

panchayats.

According to an unofficial survey conducted by the Chittur Taluk

Endosulfan Virudha Samara Samithi, 613 children below the age of 14

continue to suffer from the illnesses caused by the aerial spraying of the

pesticide in mango plantations of the region. While some of them have

apparent physical illnesses and swollen heads, rest of the children had

severe birth deformities, cancer, cerebral palsy, mental disorders, skin

diseases, and vision loss.

The pesticide was sprayed on individual trees with nozzles directed

skywards here. The person spraying gets affected almost instantly and the

after-effects are transferred genetically to kids.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Indian climate models to aid future IPCC reports

India will have its own climate change models to project the impact of

global warming over the decades and these will form part of the

forthcoming Sixth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Reports

that is expected to be available in 2020.

The IPCC reports there have been five so far since 1988 are coordinated

by the United Nations and bring together the scientific consensus on the

causes and impact of climate change. They also assess the extent to which

the globe is expected to warm up over the medium and long term.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

87 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Crucial at Paris summit

The IPCC‘s fifth report in 2014, was critical in shaping the resolution at

the recently concluded climate talks in Paris that all countries developed

and developing had to, over time, do their bit to contain their greenhouse

gas emissions to keep ensure that mean global temperatures did not rise

beyond 1.5 to 2 degree of temperature in the 19th century.

As per the Paris Agreement, which will come into effect in 2020, India

and several other countries will have report their emissions as well as

detailed plans to curb them.

The climate models, being developed by the Earth Sciences Ministry, will

be prepared by the Pune-based Centre for Climate Change Research.

These are so-called dynamic models that rely on super-computers to

compute the weather on a given day and simulate how it would evolve

over days, months and even years. These models, developed in the United

States, have over few years been customised to Indian conditions.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading

international body for the assessment of climate change. It was established

by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World

Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide the world with a

clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change

and its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts. In the same

year, the UN General Assembly endorsed the action by WMO and UNEP

in jointly establishing the IPCC.

The IPCC reviews and assesses the most recent scientific, technical and

socio-economic information produced worldwide relevant to the

understanding of climate change. It does not conduct any research nor

does it monitor climate related data or parameters.

As an intergovernmental body, membership of the IPCC is open to all

member countries of the United Nations (UN) and WMO. Currently 195

countries are Members of the IPCC. Governments participate in the

review process and the plenary Sessions, where main decisions about the

IPCC work programme are taken and reports are accepted, adopted and

approved. The IPCC Bureau Members, including the Chair, are also

elected during the plenary Sessions.

88 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

2015 was Earth’s hottest in modern times, by far

Last year was the planet‘s hottest in modern times by the widest margin on

record, setting a troubling new milestone as the climate warms at an

increasing pace

During 2015, the average temperature across global land and ocean

surfaces was 1.62 [0.90 Celsius] above the 20th century average said the

report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

This was the highest among all years in the 1880-2015 record. This is also

the largest margin by which the annual global temperature record has been

broken.

The report, which was confirmed by a separate analysis from NASA

scientists, marks the fourth time a global temperature record has been set

this century.

The latest finding adds to a steady rise in heat across land and sea surfaces

that have seen records repeatedly broken over the years.

Since 1997, which at the time was the warmest year on record, 16 of the

subsequent 18 years have been warmer than that yeart.

Last year alone, 10 months had record high temperatures for their

respective months. The heat was felt worldwide, with unprecedented

warmth covering much of Central America and the northern half of South

America.

Hot temperatures were observed in parts of northern, southern and eastern

Europe as well as western Asia and a large section of east-central Siberia.

The El Nino effect

Regions of eastern and southern Africa experienced more blistering heat

than ever, as did large parts of the northeastern and equatorial Pacific

boosted by the El Nino weather phenomenon.

SPECIES CONSERVATION

New thrush species found in eastern Himalayas

An international team of scientists have described a new species of the

thrush in northeastern India and adjacent parts of China. The species was

distinguished by its musical song.

The Himalayan Forest Thrush (Zoothera salimalii) is common in the

eastern Himalaya range but was overlooked till now because of its

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

89 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

similarity in appearance to the plain-backed thrush, now renamed as

Alpine thrush.

This is the first Indian bird to be named after late Dr. Salim Ali, who was

closely associated with Bombay Natural History Society as researcher,

honorary secretary and president. The bird has been named after him in

recognition of his huge contribution to the development of modern Indian

ornithology and wildlife conservation.

New bird species are rarely discovered to science nowadays, when most

natural habitats are shrinking. Since 2000, an average of five new species

have been discovered globally every year, mostly from South America.

The Himalayan Forest Thrush is only the fourth new bird species

described from India by modern ornithologists since Independence.

Scientists from India, Sweden, China, U.S. and Russia worked on the

project.

Scientists Per Alström and Shashank Dalvi first found the bird between

May and June 2009, while studying the thrushes at high elevations in

western Arunachal Pradesh. They realised that instead of a single species

of plain-backed thrush ( Zoothera mollissima ), there were two different

species in the eastern Himalayas.

What first caught the attention of the scientists was the fact that the ones

found in forests (Himalayan forest thrush) had a rather musical song,

whereas those found in the same region on bare rocky habitats above the

tree-line (Alpine thrush) had a much harsher, scratchier and unmusical

song.

The Himalayan forest thrush, found to be breeding in the coniferous and

mixed forests of the eastern Himalayas, had not been separately classified.

A third species called Sichuan forest thrush is present in China.

Sundarbans buzzes with discovery of solitary bee

A ―solitary bee‖ species was

recently discovered in the

Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve.

The 6.2-mm-long bee,

named Braunsapis chandrai , is

black in colour and has punctured

legs. What makes it distinct from

other species of solitary bees is the

different patterns of the marks on

its face and frontal region.

90 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

The 96 species of bees of the genus Braunsapis do not make combs as

common honeybees do. Solitary in nature, they nest in stems and twigs

independently.

The findings were published recently in the Journal of Environment and

Bio-sciences. The new species plays a significant role in pollination.

83-mn-year-old dinosaur species identified

Researchers have identified and named an 83-million-years-old species of

a rare, primitive duck-billed dinosaur, after studying its fossils discovered

in the eastern United States.

This new discovery also shows that duck-billed dinosaurs originated in the

eastern US, what was then broadly referred to as Appalachia, before

dispersing to other parts of the world.

The researchers have named the new dinosaur Eotrachodon orientalis ,

which means dawn rough tooth from the East.

This duck-billed dinosaur also known as a Hadrosaurid was probably 20 to

30 feet long as an adult and mostly walked on its hind legs, though it could

come down on all four to graze on plants with its grinding teeth and had a

scaly exterior.

A large crest on the nose, plus indentations found in the skull and its

unique teeth alerted the researchers from McWane Science Centre in US

and the University of Bristol in UK that the skeleton they had was

something special.

The skeletal remains of this rare dinosaur were originally found by a team

of amateur fossil enthusiasts alongside a creek in Alabama in marine

sediment. The dinosaur likely was washed out to sea by river or stream

sediments after it died.

AWARDS

Suket Dhir bags Woolmark Prize

Delhi-based fashion designer Suket Dhir was named the winner of the

2015-2016 Menswear International Woolmark Prize.

The award was judged by a panel that included designer Haider

Ackermann, The Business of Fashionfounder and editor-in-chief Imran

Amed, Vogue international editor Suzy Menkes, and the Woolmark

Company managing director Stuart McCullough.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

91 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Using the traditional technique of hand-tied and dyed yarn ( Ikat ), the

collection aims at tracing the mellowed and faded experiences of the past

memories through the ombre pattern. Seamless moulding and heat setting

of the fabric reinforces the garments.

This is the second year that the International Woolmark Prize has included

a menswear category, last year won by New York-based label Public

School.

The Hindu Prize for 2015 goes to Easterine Kire

Easterine Kire, poet, novelist and children‘s writer from Nagaland,

won The Hindu Prize, 2015, for her novel When the River Sleeps, a book

about a lone hunter seeking a faraway river, to take from it a stone that

will give him untold powers.

Ms. Kire was one of the six authors shortlisted from nearly 60 entries for

the sixth edition of the prize. The shortlisted books included Amit

Chaudhuri‘s Odysseus Abroad ; Amitav Ghosh‘sFlood of Fire ; Anuradha

Roy‘s Sleeping on Jupiter ; Janice Pariat‘s Seahorse and Siddharth

Chowdhury‘s The Patna Manual of Style .

K. Satchidanandan, one of the judges, described When the River Sleeps as

a sample of how the mythopoeic imagination can work in our times.

The award, a citation and a cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh.

Anuradha Roy wins DSC Prize

Author Anuradha Roy won the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature,

2016, for her novel Sleeping on Jupiter , which deals with violence against

women.

At the Fairway Galle Literary Festival, about 130 km south of here, Sri

Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe handed Ms. Roy the prize.

The award cash prize of $50,000 and a trophy, according to a release.

Te DSC Prize received 74 entries this year.

DSC Prize for South Asian Literature

The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature is a literary prize awarded

annually to writers of any ethnicity or nationality writing about South Asia

themes such as culture, politics, history, or people. It is for an original full-

length novel written in English, or translated into English.

The award is for novels published in the year preceding the judging of the

prize. The winner receives Rs. 2,800,000 (about US$50,000).[2]

The prize

was instituted by DSC Limited, an Indian infrastructure and construction

company which also sponsored the Jaipur Literature Festival.

92 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Greek islanders to be nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Greek islanders who have been on the frontline of the refugee crisis are to

be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize with the support of their national

government.

Of the 9,00,000 refugees who entered Europe last year, most were

received scared, soaked and travelling in rickety boats by those who live

on the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.

The islanders, including fishermen who gave up their work to rescue

people from the sea, are in line to be honoured with one of the world‘s

most esteemed awards. Eminent academics from the universities of

Oxford, Princeton, Harvard, Cornell and Copenhagen are drafting a

submission in favour of awarding the prize to the people of Lesbos, Kos,

Chíos, Samos, Rhodes and Leros.

It must be noted that a people of a country already dealing with its own

economic crisis responded to the unfolding tragedy of the refugee crisis

with ―empathy and self-sacrifice‖, opening their homes to the

dispossessed, risking their lives to save others and taking care of the sick

and injured.

Only individuals or organisations are eligible to win the prize.

Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami posthumously awarded Ashok Chakra

Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami from the Army‘s elite Para Special

Forces has been awarded the Ashok Chakra, the country‘s highest

peacetime gallantry award, posthumously for his role in saving two

colleagues during an encounter with militants in Kashmir last year.

Another of his colleague, Subedar Mahendra Singh was awarded Kirti

Chakra for his valiant actions in the same operation.

These are among the 365 gallantry awards and other defence decorations

approved by President Pranab Mukherjee on the eve of the 67th Republic

Day Celebrations.

These include four Kirti Chakras, 11 Shaurya Chakras, one Bar to Sena

Medal, 48 Sena Medals, four Nao Sena Medals, two Vayu Sena Medals in

addition to 298 Distinguished Service medals.

Lance Naik Goswami

Late night on September 2 last year, Lance Naik Goswami was engaged in

a fierce encounter with terrorists hiding in the Haphruda forest in

Kupwara, North Kashmir.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

93 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

When two of his colleagues were wounded, he rushed to rescue them,

braving the volley of fire despite getting grievously wounded himself.

Subedar Mehendra Singh

In the same operation, Subedar Mehendra Singh moved with Lance Naik

Goswami to evacuate his colleagues, drawing heavy fire in the process. He

returned fire and killed one terrorist at close quarters which also bought

them additional time. He was awarded the Kirti Chakra for his exemplary

leadership, selflessness and courage beyond compare.

The other Kirti Chakra was posthumously awarded to Sepoy Jagdish

Chand from the Defence Security Corps for his display of raw courage in

tackling terrorists during the attack on the Pathankot air base on January 2.

Of the eight Shaurya Chakra given to Army personnel, two were awarded

posthumously.

Among the four Navy gallantry awards, three went to personnel at INS

Shikra , the naval air station in Mumbai, for their efforts in the rescue of

vessels in distress.

In the Air Force, the two Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry) went to Wing

Commander Nirmal Kumar Bakshi and Wing Commander Rajiv Dobhal,

both Mi-17 helicopter pilots, for their role in Operation Maitri to provide

relief operations in adverse weather conditions in Nepal following the

devastating earthquake last year.

Techie, born in T.N., wins Academy Award

When Cottalango Leon steps up to receive the Technical Achievement

Award of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this year, all

of India will be cheering, and Coimbatore will be the loudest.

Mr. Leon will take home the recognition with J Robert Ray and Sam

Richards for the design, engineering and continuous development of Sony

Pictures Imageworks Itview. It is a tool used only within Sony

Imageworks

Mr. Leon was born in Thoothukudi. He grew up in Coimbatore and visits

the place every alternate year. He studied in the Government High School

at Kallappalayam here till Class VII and in Kadri Mills Higher Secondary

School from Class VIII to XII. His mother, Rajam (72), lives here with his

brother Cafasa.

Mr. Leon went on to do his B.E. at PSG College of Technology during

1988 to 1992 and later worked in Delhi for two years.

Master‘s degree at Arizona State University in computer graphics as his

specialisation and pursued jobs in that field after graduating in 1996.

When Mr. Leon started working at Imageworks, there was a similar

product that was hard to use and hence he was asked to create something

better.

94 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Indian-origin doctors, scientist win honours

Three Indian-origin persons have been awarded Australia‘s highest

civilian honour for their contribution in the fields of physics, engineering

and medicine.

Chennupati Jagadish

Chennupati Jagadish, an eminent professor at Australian National

University (ANU) in Canberra, was conferred with the award for his

eminent service to physics and engineering, particularly in the field of

nanotechnology and to education as a leading academic.

Jay Chandra

Jay Chandra, an eye doctor in New South Wales, who has been the head of

vitreoretinal surgery at Westmead Hospital since the unit opened in 1985,

also received the award for his significant service to medicine in the field

of ophthalmology.

Sajeev Koshy

Mr. Sajeev Koshy, a dentist in Melbourne, was awarded the medal for his

service to dentistry in the State.

This year‘s Australia Day honours list included over 600 people whose

remarkable achievements range from high-profile humanitarian missions

to work at the grassroots level.

They are a source of courage, support and inspiration, and we are a

stronger, safer and more caring nation because of them.

Book on Partition wins prestigious Colby Award

A book on India‘s Partition and its consequences has won a prestigious

$5,000 prize in the U.S.

Midnight‘s Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India‘s Partition by Nisid Hajari

won the William E. Colby Award for 2016.

Hajari‘s first book covers the Partition and the violence that surrounded

that event.

COLBY AWARD

The prize, named after a former CIA Director, is awarded annually by

Norwich University to a first-time author in recognition of a work of

fiction or non-fiction that has made a major contribution to the

understanding of military history, intelligence operation, or international

affairs.

The award and honorarium will be presented to Hajari at Norwich

University in April.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

95 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

PERSONALITIES

New Year gift for Adnan Sami

Mr Sami can become an Indian citizen as soon as he completes the

necessary paperwork. The Union Home Ministry cleared the proposal.

Mr Sami, who has been staying in India since 2011, will have to fill a

citizenship form at the Home Ministry‘s office in Delhi and pay Rs

13,700.

Mr Sami will be given citizenship under Section 6 (I) of the Indian

Citizenship Act, 1955 under the category ―citizenship by naturalisation.‖

The power to grant citizenship lies only with the Home Ministry and

Mr Sami will have to go to the Foreigners Division Office located on Jai

Singh Road, near Connaught Place to complete the paperwork.

As of now, Mr Sami is on a three-month visa extension which was given

to him on October 6 by the MHA. Mr Sami‘s Pakistani passport issued on

May 27, 2010 expired on May 26 this year and it was not renewed by the

Pakistan government.

He renounced his Pakistani citizenship then. Following this, Mr Sami

approached the Home Ministry with the request to legalise his stay in

India on humanitarian grounds.

Lahore-born Sami first arrived in India on March 13, 2001 on a visitor‘s

visa with a validity of one year. It was issued by the Indian High

Commission in Islamabad.

Mr Sami was exempted from deportation proceedings under Section 3 of

the Foreigners Act.

Arunima Sinha scales Mt Aconcagua in Andes

Arunima Sinha, the amputee mountaineer who set a record by conquering

Mount Everest, has added another feather to her cap by conquering Mount

Aconcagua in Argentina.

Aconcagua is the highest mountain outside Asia, at 6,960.8 metres.

She was successfully completed the 5th summit of the Mission 7 Summits.

She have climbed Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina, South America. This is

also known as second Everest.

After completing this she also sets a world record as first female amputee

to climb five mountains of the world. She will also summit the other two

mountains and complete the goal of Mission 7 Summits.

96 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Arunima lost her left leg in a train accident in 2011 and she surprised the

world by scaling Mt. Everest on May 21, 2013. She was awarded the

Padma Shri for her achievement.

Amitabh Kant to take over as NITI Aayog CEO

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi has appointed Amitabh Kant as the chief executive officer

of NITI Aayog.

The appointment will take effect after Mr.Kant retires from service in

March.

A 1980 batch Kerala cadre IAS officer, Mr.Kant is currently serving as the

Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion in the

Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The Cabinet‘s Appointments Committee had given Mr.Kant additional

charge of the NITI Aayog CEO from January 1, with the extended tenure

of the previous CEO Sindhushree Khullar ended on December 31.

Mr.Kant, who was earlier the CEO of India‘s largest industrial

infrastructure project - the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor

Development Corporation – has been the Industry Secretary since March

2014.

He has been steering the government‘s two major campaigns to attract

investments and create jobs – Make In India, which was launched in

September 2014, and Start Up India that would be unveiled by Mr.Modi.

Mr.Kant was said to be in the reckoning for a couple of other post-

retirement roles, including the chairperson of the Competition

Commission of India, whose current chief, Ashok Chawla, was retired and

a possible role in the proposed National Industrial Corridor Development

Authority.

Mrinalini Sarabhai passes away

Veteran dancer and Padma Bhushan recipient Mrinalini Sarabhai passed

away at her residence in Ahmedabad after a day‘s hospitalisation. She was

97.

Fondly called ‗Amma,‘ Mrinalini was one of the most celebrated Indian

classical dancers, proficient in Bharatanatyam, Kathakali and

Mohiniyattam. She studied at Santiniketan under the guidance of Nobel

laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

Born into the renowned Swaminathan family, Mrinalini married Dr.

Vikram Sarabhai, father of India‘s space programme and institution

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

97 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

builder who belonged to an illustrious industrial family of Gujarat.

Vikram‘s father Ambalal Sarabhai was a leading textile baron and was one

of the patrons of Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom struggle.

Mrinalini‘s father was a freedom fighter, parliamentarian and social

worker. Her mother Ammu Swaminathan was also a noted freedom

fighter.

After settling down in Ahmedabad after marriage, Mrinalini set up the

Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, where more than 15,000 students

trained.

Besides being a celebrated classical dancer, she was a poet, writer and

environmentalist and played a leading role on the social and art scene. She

choreographed over 300 shows.

OTHERS

SHGs to provide food on trains

Passengers travelling in trains will now have the option of enjoying food

prepared by some women‘s self-help groups (SHGs) as the Indian Railway

Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is planning to tie up with

them to enhance its e-catering portfolio.

The empanelled SHGs will be displayed on e-catering websites with their

menu and prices. Passengers may choose meal or food items offered by

the SHGs and place the order. This will help in sustainable development

of SHGs.

The initiative aims to develop local communities and ensure all-inclusive

growth. India has no less than one crore SHGs, mostly functioning in rural

and semi-urban areas with 10 to 20 members (majority women) per group.

Currently, IRCTC provides e-catering facility in all the trains passing

through the most important 45 stations of Indian Railways. It also provides

food to 1,516 trains without pantry cars. The food is directly delivered by

the vendor on the berth/seat of the passenger.

In its e-catering service which facilitates supply of food on ordering two

hours before boarding the train, IRCTC is already in a collaboration with

Foodpanda, KFC, Domino‘s, TFS, Street Foods, Wimpy, Jan Aahar, Mio

Amore, Alibaba, Cafe Lite, Hello Curry and Ratna Cafe besides IRCTC

Food Plaza and IRCTC Fast Food Units.

98 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Book raises a toast to 100 women scientists of ZSI

The rich contributions of 100 women scientists of the Zoological Survey

of India (ZSI) have been compiled into a book by the country‘s premier

zoological body.

Called ‗The Glorious 100 Women‘s Scientific Contribution in ZSI‘, the

book is part of the ZSI‘s activities to mark its centenary in 2016.

These women scientists were responsible for 10 percent of the discoveries

of new species by ZSI in the last 100 years, Dhriti Banerjee, deputy

director of ZSI and co-author of the compilation.

Ms. Banerjee said that starting from 1949, when Mira Mansukhani became

the first woman to join the ZSI, women researchers have made ―major

contributions‖.

Large blue star sapphire found in Sri Lanka

The world‘s largest blue star sapphire, weighing 1,404.49 carats and

valued at an astonishing $100 million, has been found in a mine in Sri

Lanka.

Lankan gemmologists say the sapphire was found in the city of Ratnapura,

known as the ‗City of Gems‘, in southern Sri Lanka. It could be sold at

auction for $175 million.

The current record for the largest blue star sapphire is 1,395 carats.

The sapphire has been named the ‗The Star of Adam‘ by its current owner,

after an Islamic belief that Adam arrived in Sri Lanka after being sent

away from the Garden of Eden. Blue star sapphires are so named because

of the distinctive mark found at their centre.

MVD e-Seva kendras to keep touts away

The Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) has roped in Kudumbasree to

commence 72 e-Seva Kendras to provide hassle-free service to motorists

and to keep touts and middlemen away from its offices.

The e-Seva Kendras, to be manned by Kudumbasree volunteers, will

function from the premises of 17 Regional Transport Offices (RTO) and

55 Joint RTOs in the State from February 1. The motorists will get all

services related to payment of fee and motor vehicle tax at these kendras

on payment of a nominal fee.

The aim is to ensure hassle-free service to the motorists stepping into the

MVD offices and to keep the touts and middlemen away. We have seen

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

99 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

that they fleece those who do not have access to the online facility

extended.

The e-Seva Kendras will function under the direct supervision of the RTO

and Joint RTO. The MVD has issued a Standard Operating Procedure

(SOP) for smooth functioning.

Internet connectivity

Two computers, printer, scanner, photocopier, and Internet connectivity

will be made available by the MVD.

The applications submitted will be accorded top priority after the ones

received through fast-track counters.

The RTOs and Joint RTOs have been asked to ensure that the touts and

middlemen do not get service from these kendras.

Govt. approves closure of HMT units

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the closure of

three Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) units HMT Watches Ltd., HMT

Chinar Watches Ltd. and HMT Bearings Ltd.

While earlier attempts to shut down the company were opposed by its

employees, the 923-strong force welcomed the move this time. They will

be given an attractive Voluntary Retirement Scheme package based on the

2007 pay scale.

The production of HMT watches will come to an immediate halt, the

procedure to wind up the three units is expected to take a few more

months. HMT Watches Ltd. presently has an unsold inventory of around

six lakh watches. The company has decided to sell these watches in a mela

across the country in the coming months.

Premji most generous Indian, Mukesh Ambani ranks sixth

Azim Hashim Premji, 70, chairman

of Wipro, is the most generous

Indian of the year for the third time

in a row with donations worth Rs.

27,514 crore for education,

according to Hurun India

Philanthropy List 2015.

In the list all the top five

contributors belonged to the

information technology industry.

Premji is followed by Nandan Nilekani and wife Rohini Nilekani with

donations of Rs. 2,404 crore while Infosys co-founder Nagavara Ramarao

Narayana Murthy stood third in the list with donations of Rs. 1,322 crore,

100 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

according to the report by the Hurun Research Institute.The Azim Premji

foundation works in the education sector of India with operations in eight

states and over 3,50,000 schools.

The top five are also the biggest wealth creators on the Hurun India Rich

List while richest Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, chairman of

Reliance Industries (RIL), stood sixth in the list with donations of Rs. 345

crore. Nandan Nilekani, an Indian entrepreneur, bureaucrat and politician

left Infosys and joined Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)

as its chairman.

Rohini Nilekani is the chairperson and founder of Arghyam, an

organisation that grants funds to implement and manage ground water and

sanitation projects in India.

Infosys‘s K Dinesh, after retiring from Infosys in 2011, has been actively

involved in philanthropic ventures in education, entrepreneurship

encouragement and healthcare. With donations of Rs. 1,238 crore Dinesh

shot into the top ten for the first time with fourth rank.

Dinesh is followed by Shiv Nadar, promoter of $6.3 billion HCL

Technologies, India‘s fourth-largest software company, as he donated Rs.

525 crore to various charitable activities through the Shiv Nadar

Foundation.

Richest Indian, Mukesh Ambani with personal wealth of about $21.3

billion is ranked sixth in Hurun India Philanthropy list as he donated Rs.

345 crore towards healthcare through Reliance Foundation, the

philanthropic arm to promote sustainable growth in India.

This year only 36 individuals made it to the Hurun India Philanthropy List

compared to 50 last year. According to Charity Aid Foundation UK, as per

the World Giving Index, India came down in its ranking from 93rd in

2013 to 106 in 2014, demonstrating an overall reduction in Indian

philanthropy.

Shanghai-based Hurun Report Inc., a business and lifestyle media

platform, measures the donations made upwards Rs. 10 crore from

November 1, 2014 to October 2015 to compile this list.

Rohan Murthy is a good example of the new generation of Indian

philanthropists, according to the report. His transition from IT professional

to philanthropist demonstrates a new wave of philanthropy in India by

donated Rs. 32 crore toward education, said Hurun in its India

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

101 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

Philanthropy List adding that with six individuals Infosys has created the

highest number of philanthropists on the list.

Mission Bhageeratha brings Telangana forest lands in focus

Forest rights of Scheduled Tribes and other forest dwelling communities

have come into sharp focus in connection with Mission Bhageeratha, the

drinking water project of Telangana State, which requires the alienation of

vast tracts of forest lands.

Exercise is on to identify locations where the pipelines would cut across

lands on which the rights of the tribals and forest dwellers have been

recognised as per the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers

(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act.

Once the locations are identified, it is upon the respective district

authorities to conduct ‗gram sabha‘ and obtain consent from the villagers

for acquiring land.

Diversion of forest lands

As per the Act, the authority to divert forest lands for public purposes,

which include drinking water supply and water pipelines, is vested with

the Central government.

However, such diversion is subject to the rider that the land in question is

less than one hectare in each instance and the ‗gram sabha‘ recommends

it.

Of the 26 segments the project is divided into, 21 need forest clearances.

They have been further divided into 96 sub-segments for the purpose of

convenience, and proposals are being prepared for the same.

District collectors, as chairpersons of the district level committees for

recognition of forest rights, have to issue certificates that the requirements

under the Act have been fulfilled.

If tribal lands are involved, alternative land or compensation will be

offered, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests.

Adilabad and Khammam are two districts where the project might come

into conflict with forest rights, as they have large number of tribal

inhabitants.

1700 hectares needed

Over 1700 hectares of forest land are required for the project, informed the

Engineer-in-Chief (Rural Water Supply and Sanitation).

First Braille-embedded train to chug out of Mysuru

The Mysuru-Varanasi Express will become the country‘s first Braille-

embedded train. The bi-weekly express (Train No. 16229/16230), which

will leave Mysuru for Varanasi on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

102 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

It has been provided with metallic Braille signage indicating berth

numbers, location of alarm chains, toilets, and emergency windows. There

are also instructions on how to operate the emergency exit windows. The

initiative has been financed by Mysuru MP Pratap Simha from the

MPLAD fund.

Though the Puri-Delhi Purushottam Express was the first train in the

country to have a Braille-embedded coach, the Mysuru-Varanasi Express

will be the first in the country where all reserved coaches have embedded

Braille signage.

Braille signage has been introduced on one rake of the express and it will

soon be introduced in the second rake as well.

The Chamundi Express and the Mysuru-Talguppa Express are the other

two trains that will be provided with Braille.

The plan is to extend the facility to all reserved coaches of long-distance

trains in a phased manner. Braille signage indicating the coach number is

next on the agenda.

Villagers here swipe a card to get drinking water

Packaged drinking water and long queues are things of the past in

Orakkadu village, located 30 km from Chennai. People here get drinking

water at the swipe of a smart card.

People are getting drinking water round the clock with my ATM card, it‘s

actually an ‗any time water‘ card. I recharge it with Rs.100 every month.

Many families have stopped buying packaged water and don‘t have to

plan their day around the water supply time.

The reverse osmosis plant and the ATM (the villagers prefer to call it

ATM) are perhaps the first such facility in the State. It all started with a

discussion on drinking water scarcity in the village, where the

groundwater was saline. The total dissolved solids content was over 1,600

ppm.

The novel idea of a reverse osmosis plant with an ATM was mooted by

Vasanthi Baskaran, panchayat president, to solve the water crisis.

The village now has two RO plants with attached ATMs in Alimedu and

Orakkadu supplying water to nearly 500 families.

Groundwater drawn from the borewell is stored in the overhead tank and

transmitted to the plant, which has the capacity to treat 2,000 litres per

hour. Though the Kosasthalaiyar river is just two km away, the village

grappled with poor quality groundwater for a decade.

SMART LEADERS IAS: JANUARY 1-31

103 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

They use the fund generated at the ATM to maintain the plants. Both the

facilities supply drinking water of 8,000 litres every day. We provide

60,000 litres of water from overhead tanks for other needs.

While the plant was designed by a Chennai-based firm, pre-paid cards for

the ATM were sourced from Pune. These facilities were established at a

cost of Rs.9.7 lakh each under the self-sufficiency scheme. The rejected

water is used to water plants in the neighbourhood.

In a first, all-woman naval team to go around the world under sail

The Navy has firmed up its plans to embark on all-women

circumnavigation under sail in August 2017, in a bid to push the frontiers

of gender constructs. Six women naval officers shortlisted for the historic

voyage are training under the first Indian solo circumnavigator on a sail

boat, Commander Dilip Donde.

A whole new sloop, of the class of the legendary INSV Mhadei with over

one-lakh nautical miles under the keel and two circumnavigations behind

it, is being built for the purpose. (Cdr Abhilash Tomy took the boat on a

non-stop, unassisted solo circumnavigation in the wake of Cdr Donde‘s

feat).

In the run-up to this exciting new phase of the Navy‘s Sagar Parikrama

project, Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi part of the present crew of

Mhadei skippered by Cdr Donde as the 56-ft-long sloop leads a ‗Parade of

Sails‘ comprising 50 small boats at the International Fleet Review (IFR) in

Visakhapatnam next month will take command of the vessel in March. By

mid-May, the all-woman crew of Mhadei will add zeal to their sea legs by

embarking on a round trip under sail to Mauritius.

The Mhadei will then have a whole new crew that will steer her to cruise

across the South Atlantic in what was originally known as the Cape-to-Rio

Ocean Race.

Mhadei at IFR

Now at Visakhapatnam, Mhadei skipper Cdr Donde sounds confident

about his crew of four women officers Lt Cdr Vartika Joshi, a naval

constructor; Lt Pratibha Jamwal and Swati P., both air traffic controllers;

and Sub Lt Payal Gupta, an education officer.

104 Smart Leaders IAS - “Smart News”

IMPORTANT DAYS

January 1 Army Medical Corps Establishment Day

January 5 Louis Braille Day

January 8 African National Congress Foundation Day

January 9 NRI Day

January 10 World Laughter Day

January 12 National Youth Day (Birthday of Swami

Vivekanand)

January 15 Army Day

January 23 Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose‘s birth anniversary

January 24 Rashtriya Balika Divas

January 25 National Tourism Day, Voter‘s Day, International

Customs and Excise Day

January 26 Indian Republic Day, International Customs Day

January 28 Birth Anniversary of Lala Lajpat Rai

January 30 Martyr‘s Day (Mahatma Gandhi‘s Martyrdom),

World Leprosy Eradication Day