Abhimanu

Weekly current affairs Series

Week: I, Sept 2016

Abhimanu’s IAS Study Group Chandigarh

NATIONAL ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

Advance Pricing Agreements

CBDT has signed 20 unilateral advance pricing agreements (APAs) with Indian taxpayers as it looks to reduce litigation by providing certainty in transfer pricing.

The 20 APAs signed pertain to various sectors of the economy like Information Technology, Banking & Finance, Insurance, Human Resources, Pharmaceutical, Solar Energy, Oil & Gas, Foods & Beverages, Telecommunications and NGO.

The international transactions covered in these agreements include Software Development Services, IT enabled services, Investment Advisory Services, KPO services, Contract manufacture, Contract R&D services and Import of components etc.

With these signings, the total number of APAs entered into by the CBDT has reached 98. This includes 4 bilateral APAs and 94 unilateral APAs.

About APA(Advance Pricing Agreement):

An APA is an agreement between a tax payer and tax authority determining the transfer pricing methodology for pricing the tax payer’s transactions for future years. The methodology is to be applied for a certain period of time based on the fulfillment of certain terms and conditions (called critical assumptions).

An APA can be unilateral, bilateral, or multilateral.

Unilateral APA: An APA that involves only the tax payer and the tax authority of the country where the tax payer is located.

Bilateral APA (BAPA): An APA that involves the tax payer, associated enterprise (AE) of the tax payer in the foreign country, tax authority of the country where the tax payer is located, and the foreign tax authority.

Multilateral APA (MAPA): An APA that involves the tax payer, two or more AEs of the tax payer in different foreign countries, tax authority of the country where the tax payer is located, and the tax authorities of AEs.

The APA provisions were introduced in India with effect from July 1, 2012 vide the Finance Act, 2012. The detailed rules (APA Rules) for the implementation of the APAs were introduced by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) by way of a notification in the official gazette on 31st August 2012. The APA Rules provide detailed guidelines on the process along with information, data, fee details and forms that need to be filed.

The APA regime in India is widely seen as a step towards eliminating dispute and uncertainty on transfer pricing matters by creating a conduciveness environment for negotiation to arrive at a unanimous approach.

Analysis:

Transfer pricing(TP ) is viewed as a major tool to raise tax revenue. Over the past few years, the number of TP audits has increased and aggressive positions have been adopted by the Indian Revenue, which has contributed to long drawn and protracted litigation. While Courts have provided guidance on some contentious issues, TP continues to dominate the tax litigation scenario for MNCs in India.

The domestic appeal and dispute resolution process in India is slow and very time consuming. Therefore, the need for an alternative dispute resolution mechanism such as the Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) program, which provides a proactive opportunity for taxpayers to not only prevent future tax controversies but also to provide a rational basis for settling past disputes where an APA outcome may have a significant persuasive value.

The APA program is designed to avoid the confrontation inherent in an examination or an audit and foster more effective communication between taxpayers and the Indian Revenue Authority, by helping both the parties to focus on relevant facts and circumstances in advance.

A pre-emptive approach through APAs to managing global transfer pricing disputes can enhance both efficiency and effectiveness. Many countries are therefore, adopting APA programs to address evolving TP issues worldwide. In this ever evolving TP controversy’s dynamic environment, the Indian APA program has been perceived as a “Sign of Relief” for MNCs to bring tax certainty in their business.

Municipal bonds

To help the government's 'smart cities' programme, capital markets regulator SEBI notified new norms for listing and trading of municipal bonds on stock exchanges.

The move would allow authorities to mop-up funds, including for setting up smart cities, by raising money from the public and institutional investors.

Under the new norms, the municipal authorities would need to have a strong financial track record and such bonds would be listed on stock exchanges.

Commonly known as 'muni bonds', these investment products are very popular among investors in many developed nations, especially the United States, where muni bonds have attracted investments totalling over USD 500 billion and are among preferred avenues for household savings.

About Municipal Bonds:

Municipal bonds are debt securities issued by states, cities, counties and other governmental entities to fund day-to-day obligations and to finance capital projects such as building schools, highways or sewer systems.

The Bangalore Municipal Corporation was the first municipal corporation to issue a municipal bond of Rs.125 crore with a State guarantee in 1997. However, the access to capital market commenced in January 1998, when the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) issued the first municipal bonds in the country without State government guarantee for financing infrastructure projects in the city. AMC raised Rs.100 crore through its public issue.

Among others, Hyderabad, Nashik, Visakhapatnam, Chennai and Nagpur municipal authorities have issued such bonds

As per guidelines of the Urban Development Ministry, only bonds carrying interest rate up to maximum 8% per annum shall be eligible for being notified as tax-free bonds.

Analysis:

Solving urban infrastructure problems requires a lot of money. ‘Muni bond’ issues could help corporations directly raise funds without looking to State grants or agencies such as World Bank. Large institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies are always on the lookout for look for less risky avenues to invest. Municipal bonds could tap these sources of fund and help get many projects off the ground.

The money raised from municipal bonds can boost quality of life in cities. Job prospects in the locality may also look up. These bonds may also prove a good investment option for investors looking beyond fixed deposits and small saving schemes.

Municipal bonds in India enjoy tax-free status if they conform to certain rules and their interest rates will be market-linked.

NABARD Will Raise Fund For Irrigation

The National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) will raise in phases over Rs 77,000 crore from market to fund around 100 prioritised irrigation projects, including 56 in drought-prone areas, under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKYS) over the next four years.

Memorandum of agreement (MoA) between the Ministry of Water Resources and NABARD for raising a long-term irrigation fund (LTIF) of Rs 20,000 crore.

And remaining Rs 57,000 crore would be raised through NABARD in case states fail to pool their share of fund for completing the irrigation projects.

About PMKSY:

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

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

The scheme will be implemented by Ministries of Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Development.

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

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

Programme architecture of PMKSY will be to adopt a ‘decentralized State level planning and projectised execution’ structure that will allow States to draw up their own irrigation development plans based on District Irrigation Plan (DIP) and State Irrigation Plan (SIP).

It will be operative as convergence platform for all water sector activities including drinking water & sanitation, MGNREGA, application of science & technology etc. through comprehensive plan.

State Level Sanctioning Committee (SLSC) chaired by the Chief Secretary of the State will be vested with the authority to oversee its implementation and sanction projects.

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

A National Executive Committee (NEC) will be constituted under the Chairmanship of Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog to oversee programme implementation, allocation of resources, inter ministerial coordination, monitoring & performance assessment, addressing administrative issues etc.

Project Development Fund The Union Cabinet has given its approval to create a Project Development Fund (PDF) with a corpus of Rs 500

Crore for catalysing Indian economic presence in the Cambodia, Laos Myanmar and Vietnam(CLMV).

The project development fund shall be housed in Department of Commerce and operated through the EXIM Bank.

This fund shall be governed by an Inter-Ministerial Committee under the chairpersonship of the Commerce Secretary.

About CLMV and India :

CLMV countries namely Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam have a unique position in the regional value chains and offer a gateway for market access to China/EU and other markets due to various trade agreements.

The key advantage of positioning India on the regional value chains is securing on a long term basis, a dedicated market for Indian raw materials and intermediate goods besides a dedicated source for inputs and raw materials for Indian industry.

While opportunities are a plenty in CLMV region, Indian entrepreneurs' endeavors in these countries have, thus far, been limited due to limited information, infrastructure and other contingent risks.

Project development fund shall benefit India's industrial community for business expansion, and to maintain cost competitive supply chains, besides integrating with global production networks.

Analysis:

The ‘Act East’ (ACEP) policy of the Government of India endeavours to cultivate extensive economic and strategic relations in South-East Asia.

Bilateral trade with CLMV countries has been showing an upward trend over the past decade and a half. Bilateral trade was USD 0.46 billion equivalent in 2000, increased to 4.97 billion in 2010 and reached 11.85 billion in 2014.

India’s trade with these countries is approximately 16 per cent of its overall trade with ASEAN. However, India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) in the CLMV countries is mainly concentrated in Vietnam, involving more than 90 projects with a total investment of USD 1 billion. This has the potential to expand to diverse areas, including agriculture, agri-processing, agro-chemicals, mining, oil and gas, energy, healthcare, information technology, skill-development and textiles.

Till about two years ago, 55 per cent of India’s investment in joint ventures in CLMV countries was in Vietnam. It is thus clear that Indian FDI is not evenly spread in these countries and much remains to be done in relation to the other three CLMV countries, i.e., Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

Third India-CLMV Enclave was held in January 2016 where India reiterated the importance of connectivity between India and CLMV countries within the framework of the Initiative for Integration and Narrowing Intra-Asia Development Gap and the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation Process.

This summit also highlighted opportunities in respect of different areas of economic cooperation, viz., capacity-building projects, software development and training, entrepreneurship development, English language-based skill enhancement, telemedicine services, etc.

Government of India is taking up quick-impact projects in Cambodia at first and subsequently in the other three countries, which would be financially supported through lines of credit and Export-Import Bank of India playing a supportive role in the process.

Sagarmala Development Company (SDC)

The Union government cleared a plan to set up Sagarmala Development Company (SDC) to provide equity support to port-led economic development projects, with an initial authorised share capital of Rs 1,000 crore and a subscribed share capital of Rs.90 crore.

About SDC:

The SDC’s role will be to identify port-led development projects and assist special purpose vehicles (SPVs) in project development, bid out projects for private sector participation and put in place suitable risk management measures for strategic projects.

Under the administrative control of the Shipping Ministry, it will also be responsible for obtaining the required approvals and clearances for the port projects.

SDC will be raising funds as debt or equity (as long term capital), as per the project requirements/ by leveraging resources provided by the government of India and from multi-lateral and bilateral funding agencies

SDC will undertake the preparation of the detailed master plans for the Coastal Economic Zones (CEZs) identified as part of the NPP and provide a framework for ensuring the integrated development of Indian maritime sector.

Other important role assigned to SDC is to manage the coastal community development scheme and fund coastal community development projects identified under the Sagarmala Programme. The projects considered would be specific time-bound local interventions and innovative in nature.

About Sagarmala initiative:

Sagar Mala project is a strategic and customer-oriented initiative to modernize India's Ports so that port-led development can be augmented and coastlines can be developed to contribute in India's growth

It aims to develop access to new development regions with intermodal solutions and promotion of the optimum modal split, enhanced connectivity with main economic centres and beyond through expansion of rail, inland water, coastal and road services.

The Union Ministry of Shipping has been appointed as the nodal ministry for this initiative.

The Sagarmala initiative will address challenges by focusing on three pillars of development, namely: a) Supporting and enabling Port-led Development through appropriate policy and institutional interventions and providing for an institutional framework for ensuring inter-agency and ministries/departments/states’ collaboration for integrated development; b) Port Infrastructure Enhancement, including modernization and setting up of new ports. c) Efficient Evacuation to and from hinterland.

In addition to strengthening port and evacuation infrastructure, it also aims at simplifying procedures used at ports for cargo movement and promotes usage of electronic channels for information exchange leading to quick, efficient, hassle-free and seamless cargo movement.

It also strives to ensure sustainable development of the population living in the Coastal Economic Zone (CEZ). This would be done by synergising and coordinating with State Governments and line Ministries of Central Government through their existing schemes and programmes such as those related to community and rural development, tribal development and employment generation, fisheries, skill development, tourism promotion etc.

Analysis:

Indian ports handle more than 90 percent of India’s total EXIM(export - import) trade volume. However, the current proportion of merchandize trade in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India is only 42 percent, whereas for some developed countries and regions in the world such as Germany and European Union, it is 75 percent and 70 percent respectively. Therefore, there is a great scope to increase the share of merchandising trade in India’s GDP.

India lags far behind in ports and logistics infrastructure. Against a share of 9 percent of railways and 6 percent of roads in the GDP the share of ports is only 1 percent. In addition high logistics costs make Indian exports uncompetitive. Therefore Sagarmala project has been envisioned to provide ports and the shipping the rightful place in the Indian economy and to enable port-led development.

Coastal Economic Zones would be created with modern support and planned infrastructure and would carry along adequate fiscal incentives that attract more and more investment to these townships and islands. For instance, Kandla port in Gujarat is one port that has more than two lakh acres of free land within its possession and would be developed as a CEZ.

The Sagarmala Yojana would undertake redevelopment of new and existing ports through upgrading them to be developed enough to handle extensive use of equipments and IT and thus bring in an improved monitoring and hi-tech infrastructure for day to day business activity. The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust itself, which is one of the biggest ports in India, would alone get a big amount of Rs 4,000 Crore for development as an SEZ.

These model ports would build infrastructure in a way that allows bigger ships to be docked in more numbers thereby facilitating smoother port activity. These ports would focus on chemicals, energy, coal and other commodities. Along with this, inter waterways would also be developed so that the entire countries and all these ports are connected well with the mainland throughout the nation.

India has a huge coastline and this brings in a lot of opportunity to develop these ports as a profit center for creating sources of renewable energy and this is yet another segment that government is focusing on. This

would call for a lot of foreign investment. The power generated from these centers would in turn feed these coastal areas and their infrastructure so that optimum power supply is maintained.

Economic Divergence among States In India

The diversity in India is unique. Being a large country with large population. India presents endless varieties of physical features and cultural patterns. States in India are representing and strengthening diversity of India.

In order to strengthen states there is a need to provide economic freedom to states. It will be a sign of India’s maturing as a nation with diversity and as a democracy. Fourteen finance commissions is a right step in this direction. But yet states lack financial and economic freedom.

If states do not have any economic independence then this might leads to the economic disparities among states. According to a survey conducted by IDFC institute there is economic disparity within India’s States is among the largest in the world.

Highlights of the survey:

In 1960, the average person in West Bengal earned Rs.390 per annum; the average person in Tamil Nadu earned Rs.330. But in 2014, the average Bengali earned Rs.80,000 while the average Tamilian earned Rs.1,36,000.

Tamil Nadu went from being the fourth poorest among these 12 States in 1960 to the second richest in 2014.

The southern States of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have climbed up rapidly while West Bengal and Rajasthan have dropped down the order of the richest large States.

Most of these States started at roughly the same levels of per capita GDP in 1960. In five decades, some have outperformed the rest, leading to a dramatic reshuffle of their ranking.

In 1960, the top three States were 1.7 times richer than the bottom three. By 2014, this gap had almost doubled, with the top three States being 3 times richer than the bottom three. The richest (per capita GDP) State in 1960, Maharashtra, was twice as rich as the then poorest State, Bihar. In 2014, the richest state, Kerala, was four times richer than the still poorest state of Bihar.

This gap of four times between the richest and the poorest large State in India is among the highest in the world.

A similar ratio in other federal polities such as the U.S., European Union and China is between two and three times.

This economic disparity among States is only widening and not narrowing. India is the only large country in the world today that is experiencing an economic divergence among its States and not convergence, as economic theory would posit.

According to this research 1990 is the seminal year that marked a structural break in the gap between the rich and poor States.

In the 30-year period between 1960 and 1990, the economic disparity among India’s twelve largest States remained more or less constant. In 1990, the top three States were twice as rich as the bottom three, nearly the same ratio as in 1960. However, in the subsequent 25-year period from 1990 to 2015, the disparity between the richest and the poorest State doubled.

Pre-1990 and post-1990 look like almost two different eras in India’s history of economic diversity among States.

Analysis:

According to economic theories, poorer regions grow faster to catch up with the richer States to cause an eventual convergence, as is happening globally. Contrary to global experiences of narrowing disparity, both across and within nations, India actually shows trends of an exacerbating divergence among its large States, implying the richer States will continue to grow faster.

It is clear that the economic outperformance of some of these States is a function of their politics and policies over decades or the maturation of democracy.

It can also be attributed to a complex interplay of politics, leadership, policies and human capital.

It is quite evident that the priorities of a more prosperous State will be quite different from those that are still very poor. India’s cultural and political diversity is a well-entrenched fact. It is time to accept its economic diversity too. In fact, cultural diversity is what hinders free labour mobility across States.

BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement

The first cargo truck under the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicle Agreement for cross border movement reached Delhi recently.

About BBIN:

The BBIN agreement was signed on June 15 last year in Thimphu, Bhutan to facilitate cross border movement of both passengers and cargo vehicles. Protocols to implement the agreement are being negotiated by the four countries for passengers and cargo vehicles separately.

This Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) is signed for the Regulation of Passenger, Personnel and Cargo Vehicular Traffic among the four South Asian neighbours in Thimpu, Bhutan.

Analysis:

This will pave the way for a seamless movement of people and goods across their borders for the benefit and integration of the region and its economic development.

This Motor Vehicles Agreement is the “Over arching” frame work to fulfill India’s commitment to enhance regional connectivity. This will need to be followed through with formulation of the required protocols and procedures in the shortest time possible to realize the ultimate objective of free movement of people and goods in the region.

This would further need to be supplemented through building and upgrading roads, railways and waterways infrastructure energy Grids, communications and air links to ensure smooth cross border flow of goods, services, capital, technology and people. Taken together, this provides enormous opportunity for integration and development of our region.

This agreement would enable the exchange of traffic rights and ease cross-border movement of goods, vehicles, and people, thereby helping expand people-to-people contact, trade, and economic exchanges between these four countries.

Transforming transport corridors into economic corridors could potentially increase intraregional trade within South Asia by almost 60% and with the rest of the world by over 30%

Literacy among religions : Census 2011

Muslims have the highest number of illiterates at nearly 43 per cent, while Jains have the highest number of literates among India's religious communities as over 86 per cent of them are educated.

According to the Census 2011 data, Jains have just 13.57 per cent illiterate – aged seven years and above – among all the communities.

The census has taken those between zero and six years as illiterate.

The Muslims have the highest percentage of illiterates aged beyond seven years at 42.72.

This number is 36.40 per cent for Hindus, 32.49 per cent for Sikhs, 28.17 per cent for Buddhists, and 25.66 per cent for Christians, according to the latest census figure on 'education level by religious community' for age seven years and above.

As compared to 63.60 per cent of seven years-plus Hindus and 57.28 per cent Muslims in the 'literate' category, the percentage of literates among Christians is 74.34 per cent, among Buddhists 71.83 per cent and among Sikhs 67.51 per cent.

Jains have the highest percentage of educated members who are graduates and above.

At 25.65 per cent of Jains who have minimum graduation as qualification, they surpass by far the corresponding numbers for other communities, which are 8.85 per cent for Christians, 6.40 per cent for Sikhs, 6.18 per cent for Buddhists, 5.98 per cent for Hindus and 2.76 per cent for Muslims.

The overall literacy rates among all communities have gone up since 2001.

The percentage of those literate among Hindus is up from 54.92 per cent in 2001 to 63.60 per cent in 2011, while the corresponding rise for Muslims is 48.05 per cent to 57.28 per cent.

For Christians, the number rose from 69.45 per cent to 74.34 per cent, for Sikhs from 60.56 per cent to 67.51 per cent, and for Buddhists from 62.16 per cent to 71.83 per cent.

Among the Muslims, just 2.76 per cent are educated till graduation level or above, only 0.44 per cent have technical or non-technical diploma, 4.44 per cent are educated till higher secondary level and 6.33 per cent till matric level.

The highest number of literates in the Muslim community are at the primary level (16.08 per cent), followed by 14.32 per cent at below primary level and 9.73 per cent at middle school.

In comparison, Hindus have 11.83 per cent of their members educated below primary level, 15.11 per cent till primary level, 11.27 per cent till middle school level, nine per cent till matriculation and 6.62 per cent till higher secondary.

Census 2011 data on ‘education level by religious community for age 7 and above’ was recently released.

Analysis:

Education levels seem to be an indicator of wealth, and the Indian Muslim community is one of the poorest in the country – marginally better than the SC and ST communities.It is therefore no surprise that the percentage of people of the SC community who have never attended school is 40.9 per cent, very close to that of the total Muslim illiterate rate.

The one community in the Census with a higher rate of illiteracy than Muslims is the category of "Other religions and persuasions", which is at 49.65 per cent, and includes largely the marginalised tribal communities from various states. This clear caste/class divide when it comes to education is blurred when we only look at religion as a factor.

Jains are educated and literate because they give importance to "Swadhyay" . "Swadhyay" means Self-study of Jainism Scriptures which mentions various jainism principles, philosophy & concepts. Jains also emphasize to enhance their own knowledge and don't believe in imposing their principles and views on others. In Jainism It is said that Swadhyay (self-study) is the biggest Tapasya (Penance).

NATIONAL POLITY

Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA)

Delhi government invoked the stringent ESMA declaring as illegal the nurses’ stir which has severely affected functioning of state-run hospitals at a time when the city was grappling with rising cases of dengue and chikungunya.

More than 2,000 nurses are on strike demanding revision of pay scale and allowances. The strike had affected medical services in most city hospitals. The agitation is a part of a nationwide protest with over 70,000 government nurses going on an indefinite strike.

The nurses are opposing the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission and demanding immediate redress of issues related to pay and allowances.

About ESMA:

The Essential Services Maintenance Act (Esma) was enacted in 1968, to maintain “certain essential services and the normal life of the community.”

The Act includes a long list of “essential services” in its charter -- ranging from post and telegraph, through railway, airport and port operations -- and it prohibits the key employees in these services from striking.

But the Act also allows states to choose the essential services on which to enforce Esma. (Jammu and Kashmir, incidentally, is exempt from Esma.) So for instance, only some days ago, Andhra Pradesh decreed that its IT industry was an essential service. This thrilled bodies like National Association of Software & Service Companies (Nasscom) because, as one industry representative put it:

Under this employees cannot resort to strikes. Also, they cannot cite bandhs or a curfew as an excuse not to report to work. Moreover, companies which depend heavily on outside transport providers had to bear the brunt as the transport services were hit during a bandh or a curfew.

Any person who commences a strike...or otherwise takes part in...any such strike shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees, or with both,” the Act reads.

Any person who instigates a strike which is illegal under this Act shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.

Sabarimala spiritual circuit

The centre has approved the Sabarimala spiritual circuit. The approval was given by the Union Ministry of Tourism.

Under this 99.98 crores rupees will be invested on solid waste management , sewage treatment systems, and CCTV surveillance system.

Kerala has also received Rs. 19.99 crore as the first tranche to commence work for the fully funded Central project.

This circuit has to be executed by Kerala Tourism in 36 months of commencement of work and the State has to provide land free of charge.

Land owned by private individuals and trusts should not be part of the scheme. Barrier-free access for the disabled is mandatory.

Swadesh Darshan Scheme:

The Swadesh Darshan Scheme was launched in 2014-15. It covers 13 thematic circuits namely North-East India, Buddhist, Himalayan, Coastal, Krishna, Desert, Tribal, Eco, Wildlife, Rural, Spiritual, Ramayana and Heritage Circuit.

This scheme is launched with an objective to develop theme-based tourist circuits in the country. These tourist circuits will be developed on the principles of high tourist value, competitiveness and sustainability in an integrated manner.

The scheme is 100% centrally funded for the project components undertaken for public funding.

A National Steering Committee (NSC) will be constituted with Minister in charge of M/O Tourism as Chairman, to steer the mission objectives and vision of the scheme.

A Mission Directorate headed by the Member Secretary, NSC as a nodal officer will help in identification of projects in consultation with the States/ UTs governments and other stake holders.

PMC will be a national level consultant to be appointed by the Mission Directorate.

Main objective of this scheme:

Develop circuits having tourist potential in a planned and prioritized manner;

Integrated development of infrastructure in the identified theme-based circuits;

Promote cultural and heritage value of the country;

Provide complete tourism experience with varied thematic circuits;

Enhancing the tourist attractiveness in a sustainable manner by developing world-class

infrastructure in the circuit destination;

Follow community-based development and pro-poor tourism approach;

Creating awareness among the local communities about the importance of tourism for

them In terms of increase in sources of income, Improved living standards and overall

development of the area;

Promote local arts, culture, handicrafts, cuisine, etc., to generate livelihood in the identified regions;

Harness tourism potential for its direct and multiplier effects in employment generation and economic development;

Leverage public capital and expertise.

Analysis:

India’s rich cultural, historical, religious and natural heritage provides a huge potential for development of tourism and job creation.

In due recognition of this potential, the Union Govt. in the Budget Speech 2014-15, decided to create tourist circuits around specific themes.

There is a great scope and need to develop tourist circuits on specific themes to attract the tourists, both domestic and international, having special interest of visiting such places.

This can be achieved only through an integrated approach by providing engaging experiences for distinct categories of tourists i.e. National, Regional, State and International. Various themes which are unique and specific to the area can include religion, culture, heritage, etc. Thus, the theme-based tourist circuits should be developed in a manner that caters to both mass and niche tourism in a holistic manner.

Tourist destinations should be developed with an aim to enhance and harness potential of these circuits and induce requisite private sector investments. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop the requisite infrastructure so that these circuits can provide a rich tourist experience.

Cleanest Districts In India According to a survey released by Quality Council of India (QCI), Mandi in Himachal Pradesh and Sindhudurg

in Maharashtra have emerged the cleanest districts in India.

Total of 22 hill districts and 53 plain areas were assessed under the Gramin Swachh Survekshan launched in May 2016.

Mandi was judged as the cleanest district in “Hills” category and Sindhudurg as the cleanest in the “Plains” category, with districts of Sikkim, Shimla (Himachal Pradesh), Nadia (West Bengal) and Satara (Maharashtra) featuring at the top of the index.

Parameters of this survey

Each district has been judged on four distinct parameters. Maximum weightage was places on accessibility to safe toilets and water. The parameters to judge sanitation status include:

Households having access to safe toilets and using them (toilet usage, water accessibility, safe disposal of waste) (40%)

Households having no litter around (30%)

Public places with no litter in the surrounding (10%)

Households having no stagnant wastewater around (20%)

About Swachh Bharat Mission

Swachh Bharat Mission or Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a campaign run by the government of India as a massive mass movement to initiate the theme of cleanliness all through the India.

This campaign was launched to create a Clean India target by the 150th birthday anniversary of the Mahatma Gandhi. It was the dream of Mahatma Gandhi to make India a clean India and always put his hard efforts towards swachhta in India.

The aim of the mission is to cover all the rural and urban areas of the country to present this country as an ideal country before the world.

The mission has targeted aims like eliminating the open defecation, converting insanitary toilets into pour flush toilets, eradicating manual scavenging, complete disposal and reuse of solid and liquid wastes, bringing behavioural changes to people and motivate health practices, spreading cleanliness awareness among people, strengthening the cleanliness systems in the urban and rural areas as well as creating user friendly environment for all private sectors interested for investing in India for cleanliness maintenance.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana extended to people of all Hilly States

Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has decided to extend the benefits under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana to the people of all Hilly States including North-East States by treating them as ‘Priority States’ and release LPG connections to the eligible beneficiaries.

This step of the Ministry will effectively address the difficulty faced by poor people residing in the States of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Tripura in accessing LPG for cooking purposes.Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana

Highlights:

Under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Rs.8,000 crore has been earmarked for providing 50 million LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) connections to poor households.

The scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Financial support of 1600 rupees for each LPG connection will be provided to the BPL households.

The identification of eligible BPL families will be made in consultation with the State Governments and the Union Territories.

It will be implemented over three years’ time frame namely in the FY 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19.

Analysis:

There are serious health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuels. According to WHO estimates, about 5 lakh deaths in India alone due to unclean cooking fuels. Most of these premature deaths were due to non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer. Indoor air pollution is also responsible for a significant number of acute respiratory illnesses in young children. Having an open fire in the kitchen is like burning 400 cigarettes an hour.

So, Providing LPG connections to BPL households will ensure universal coverage of cooking gas in the country along with empowering women and protect their health. It will reduce drudgery and the time spent on cooking. It will also provide employment for rural youth in the supply chain of cooking gas.

In order to make this scheme a success, the distribution system needs to be strengthened to be able to meet the expected increase in demand, particularly in rural areas, as non-availability of fuel could push people back towards using solid fuels.

Ensuring reliable, sustained, last-mile supply would require multiple steps. It requires a large extension of distribution networks, especially in rural areas, since each rural distribution agency typically caters to fewer customers than urban agencies.

Implementation of direct benefit transfer schemes must be made more robust. Effective monitoring and grievance redressal systems are equally important to ensure that problems in the scheme are highlighted and addressed early.

The scheme should be accompanied by a focussed public relations campaign to build awareness and create a demand pull, not only for clean cooking but also for good service.

This scheme targets only BPL households.But, In India definition and execution of BPL line is faulty. So, this scheme should also be extended to non-BPL households who may also not be able to afford LPG connections.

Majuli named world’s largest river island

Majuli Island on the Brahmaputra in Assam was declared the largest river island in the world, toppling Marajo in Brazil, by Guinness World Records. The river island covers an area of around 880 sq km.

About Majuli

This island is home to an estimated 160,000 people of different ethnic groups, the island is an assembly constituency reserved for scheduled tribes. It was recently declared a district and was earlier a sub-division under Jorhat district.

Majuli is the nerve centre of neo-Vaishnavite culture

Majuli is a large river island in the Brahmaputra River, Assam, India.

This island is formed by the Brahmaputra river in the south and the Kherkutia Xuti, an anabranch of the Brahmaputra, joined by the Subansiri River in the north.

Analysis:

Climate change has resulted in chaos and despondency on the river island. Now the average annual rate of erosion is 6.42 km sq whereas land was lost at 1.77 sq km per year from 1917 to 1972. Since 1990, more than 35 villages have been washed away. Each year the intensity and frequency of the floods increase and the magnitude of the damage swells. The temperatures fluctuate and monsoons are more unpredictable. The floods and the erosions affect more than 95 percent of 243 small and large villages. The local people have become climate change refugees within the island.

The impact of climate change is not limited to diminution of shoreline or internal displacement of islanders. At the same time, the biodiversity of this hotspot is dwindling.

Quietly but rapidly, many of the 200 rare healing herbs, some of the 150 species of birds, unique and rich flora and fauna– endemic to the region– have disappeared. The number of migratory birds that visit the island annually has declined. Inland water and freshwater biodiversity is endangered because of increase in temperatures. Warmer temperatures, rapid change in seasonal flow regimes, total flows, lake levels and water quality, affect fish and other aquatic resources

INTETRNATIONAL AFFAIRS

G20 Summit

11th meeting of G – 20 summit was concluded in the city of Hangzhou. It was the first ever G20 summit to be hosted in China.

Next G 20 summit in 2017 will be held in Hamburg, Germany

G20 Members: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and European Union.

Highlights of the summit:

The G20 members agreed to complete their domestic legal formalities for the ratification of Paris climate deal as soon as their “national procedures allow”, a move which would provide more time to India to work out its own strategy keeping up with its developmental goals.

The push to bring the agreement into force this year was supercharged when the world’s two biggest polluters, China and the US, formalised their acceptance together.This brought the number of countries joining the treaty to 26 accounting for 39.07% of global emissions. The triggers for the pact to become law are 55 countries and 55%.

The world leaders endorsed free trade and a crowded agenda that included the Koreas, Syria and refugees.

Final communiqué of this summit was arranged around five themes: policy co-ordination; innovative economic growth; financial and economic governance; trade and investment; and development.

G-20 leaders recognized that excess capacity in steel and other industries is a global issue that requires a collective response. The G-20 called for the formation of a Global Forum to take steps to address steel excess capacity and encourage adjustments, and to report back to the G-20 in 2017. Excess capacity is a global problem, and the Global Forum will provide an opportunity to help find a global solution. As the Forum prepares to launch, the United States will continue its efforts to address many of the trade-related challenges in the global steel industry.

G-20 leaders reaffirmed their commitments to refrain from competitive devaluations and not target exchange rates for competitive purposes.

G-20 leaders reiterated their support for international tax cooperation and called for timely, consistent and widespread implementation of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) package which will help ensure a fair and efficient global business taxation system.

G-20 leaders called for all members to ratify the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement by the end of 2016. The agreement aims to eliminate bureaucratic delay for merchandise shipped around the world, stimulate trade growth, and contribute positively to other efforts, including on food security.

G-20 leaders endorsed Sustainable Wage Policy Principles, which provide a new G-20 policy framework for improving the wages of low- and middle-income earners, setting appropriate minimum wages, promoting collective bargaining, supporting key labor market institutions, addressing the gender wage gap, and encouraging regular monitoring and reporting.

G-20 leaders recognized the need to address changing skills needs, including by endorsing the G-20 Initiative to Promote Quality Apprenticeship, which sets policy priorities to increase the quantity, quality, and diversity of apprenticeships.

The G-20 endorsed a blueprint on innovative growth that affirms the importance of preserving the global nature of the internet as an engine for growth, and expressed the G-20’s commitment to the free flow of information, ideas, and knowledge across borders, freedom of expression, and the multistakeholder approach to internet governance.

The G-20 recognized the key role of effective protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights to development of the digital economy and affirmed their 2015 commitment that G-20 members should not conduct or support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property.

Analysis:

The final G20 communiqué confirms the necessary consensus for G20’s long-term vision and commits leaders to a blueprint for innovative growth, but falls decidedly short on substance.

Combined with its lack of concrete and measurable actions, the communiqué provides a clear signal that G20 leaders gained little collective ground during the summit.

Little real progress was made on key issues of climate change and energy. Other challenges that consumed the

attention and energy of leaders on the sidelines, including co-ordinated responses to the Syrian crisis, refugees, terrorism and migration, remain unresolved.

The significance of the summit was enhanced as it was the first G20 gathering after the Brexit vote and took place just before the US presidential elections, both of which will have a significant impact on the international economy and trade. However very few concrete proposals emerged to meet the growing challenges to globalization and free trade.

Permanent Residency Status to Foreign Investors

The Union Cabinet has approved the scheme for grant of Permanent Residency Status (PRS) to foreign investors subject to the relevant conditions as specified in the FDI Policy notified by the Government from time to time.

About Scheme:

Under the Scheme, suitable provisions will be incorporated in the Visa Manual to provide for the grant of PRS to foreign investors.

The PRS will be granted for a period of 10 years with multiple entry.

This can be reviewed for another 10 years if the PRS holder has not come to adverse notice.

The scheme will be applicable only to foreign investors fulfilling the prescribed eligibility conditions, his/her spouse and dependents.

In order to avail this scheme, the foreign investor will have to invest a minimum of Rs. 10 crores to be brought within 18 months or Rs.25 crores to be brought within 36 months.

Further, the foreign investment should result in generating employment to at least 20 resident Indians every financial year.

Permanent Residency Status will be granted for a period of 10 years initially with multiple entry facility, which can be renewed for another 10 years.

PRS will serve as a multiple entry visa without any stay stipulation and PRS holders will be exempted from the registration requirements. PRS holders will be allowed to purchase one residential property for dwelling purpose.

The spouse/ dependents of the PRS holder will be allowed to take up employment in private sector (in relaxation to salary stipulations for Employment Visa) and undertake studies in India.

Analysis:

The scheme is expected to encourage foreign investment in India and facilitate Make in India Programme.

In doing so, India joins countries such as the US, Canada and the UK which grant this status in return for investment. The US EB-5 visa is almost fully subscribed, largely by Indian and Chinese millionaires.

IUCN World Conservation Congress

25th World Conservation Congress of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has begun in Hawaii.

The last Congress was held in Jeju, Korea in 2012. This is the first time the US is hosting the event.

This congress held once every four years.

About IUCN world conservation congress

IUCN World Conservation Congress brings together several thousand leaders and decision-makers from government, civil society, indigenous peoples, business, and academia, with the goal of conserving the environment and harnessing the solutions nature offers to global challenges.

The Congress aims to improve how we manage our natural environment for human, social and economic development, but this cannot be achieved by conservationists alone. The IUCN Congress is the place to put aside differences and work together to create good environmental governance, engaging all parts of society to share both the responsibilities and the benefits of conservation.

The Congress is the place where IUCN’s more than 1,300 Member organisations exercise their rights, influence the global conservation agenda and guide IUCN’s work plan for the four years to follow.

About IUCN:

IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together.

It was formed in 1948

The ability to convene diverse stakeholders and provide the latest science, objective recommendations and on-the-ground expertise drives IUCN’s mission of informing and empowering conservation efforts worldwide.

IUCN provide a neutral forum in which governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, indigenous peoples groups, faith-based organisations and others can work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental challenges.

By facilitating these solutions, IUCN provides governments and institutions at all levels with the impetus to achieve universal goals, including on biodiversity, climate change and sustainable development, which IUCN was instrumental in defining.

It is the only environmental organisation with official United Nations Observer Status, IUCN ensures that nature conservation has a voice at the highest level of international governance.

IUCN’s expertise and extensive network provide a solid foundation for a large and diverse portfolio of conservation projects around the world. Combining the latest science with the traditional knowledge of local communities, these projects work to reverse habitat loss, restore ecosystems and improve people’s well-being. They also produce a wealth of data and information which feeds into IUCN’s analytical capacity.

Logistics Performance Index (LPI) 2016

The World Bank has recently released a Logistics Performance Index (LPI) 2016 report titled “Connecting to Complete 2016“.

Highlights of the report:

According to world bank report, India’s logistics performance has improved in the last two years.

In the World Bank’s biennial measure of international supply chain efficiency, called Logistics Performance Index, India’s ranking has jumped from 54 in 2014 to 35 in 2016 with a score of 4.23.

In this index Germany is on the number one spot.

The next four countries in the Index are Luxembourg (4.22), Sweden (4.20), Netherlands (4.19), and Singapore (4.14).

Syrian Arab Republic is ranked at 160th position in the Index with the score of 1.60.

Among India’s neighbour’s Bangladesh ranked 87th (score – 2.66), Nepal 124th (score – 2.38) and Bhutan 135th (score- 2.32).

Among the developing countries in the BRICS members China ranked (27th, score -3.66), India (35th, score -3.42), Brazil (55th, score -3.09) Russia (99th, score -2.57) and South Africa (20th, score -3.78).

Among the developed countries, United States is ranked 10th (score -3.99), Japan 12th (score -3.97), UK 8th (score -4.07), Canada 14th (score -3.93) and France 16th (score -3.90).

In 2016, India’s international supply chain efficiency was at 75% of top-ranked Germany. This is an improvement over the 66% efficiency when compared to the leader (again Germany) in 2014.

As per the report, India has also improved significantly in: (a) The ability to track and trace consignments, improving from 57 to 33 ; (b) The quality of trade and transport infrastructure, improving from 58 to 36 ; (c) The competence and quality of logistics services, improving from 52 to 32

India has gone past countries like New Zealand, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Iceland, Latvia and Indonesia who were ahead of it in the index.

About Index:

The Logistics Performance Index analyses countries across six components: efficiency of customs and border management clearance, quality of trade and transport infrastructure, ease of arranging competitively priced shipments, competence and quality of logistics services, ability to track and trace consignments, and the frequency with which shipments reach consignees within scheduled or expected delivery times.

It is computed from the survey responses of about 1,051 logistics industry professionals.

It is released by world bank.

Analysis:

The LPI is an interactive benchmarking tool created to help countries identify the challenges and opportunities they face in their performance on trade logistics and what they can do to improve their performance.

Better performance in logistics will not only boost programmes, such as Make in India, by enabling India to become part of the global supply chain, it can also help increase trade. In 2015-16, India’s foreign trade shrank by around 15%.

Programmes, such as Make in India, and improvements in infrastructure have helped India improve its logistical performance. Also, emergence of skilled professionals and technological improvements that have enabled services such as track-and-tracing have helped India close the gap with leaders

Goods and Services Tax (GST) has the potential to revolutionize the transport industry in India. Inter-state travel time will be drastically reduced if the hurdle of checking documents at every state border is done away with. It will also help boost the returns of the trucking industry and feed into better performance of the logistics sector

China ratifies Paris agreement ahead of G20

China has ratified the emissions-cutting agreement reached last year in Paris.

So far, 23 countries have ratified or otherwise joined the agreement, representing just 1% of global emissions, according to the World Resources Institute.

US and China produce 38% of the world’s man-made carbon dioxide emissions. Both countries have set a 2030 deadline for emissions to stop rising.

Highlights of Paris Pact:

Despite the strong objection by developed countries, the UNFCCC principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities incorporated into the Paris Agreement to provide developing countries a cushion.

The agreement binds together pledges by individual nations to cut or limit emissions from fossil-fuel burning, within a framework of rules that provide for monitoring and verification as well as financial and technical assistance for developing countries

The main goal is to bring down pollution levels so that the rise in global temperatures is limited to no more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial averages.

This agreement also expressed an ambition to restrict the temperature increase even further, to 1.5 degrees C, if possible.

The deal also requires developed nations to continue to provide funding to help poorer countries cut their carbon emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change – but does not set a legally binding level of money.

This non-binding agreement requires developed countries to continue a goal of “mobilizing” $100?billion of public and private finance for developing countries each year after 2020. It also calls on them to pledge a higher sum by 2025.

Financing had been a stumbling block throughout the talks. Developing nations had demanded legally binding commitments for developed nations to give more cash. Earlier drafts had proposed such a deal but this was scrapped after the US made clear it would never ratify such an agreement.

In 2018, nations will hold a “facilitative conference” to revisit some of the emissions reductions ideas. If it is ratified by more than 55 percent of nations or nations that cause 55 percent of global emissions, Paris will enter into force two years later, in 2020.

Then, in 2023, the world will meet again for a “global stock take,” where countries are supposed to announce new and improved emission-reduction plans. Rich countries may also announce more monetary help for poor ones at these events. And every five years after that, indefinitely, the world will meet again to discuss its renewed plans to decarbonizes.

These are the two milestones in the international climate agenda: 2018 and 2023. In between now and then, the economic trends of investment and divestment and fossil-fuel burning and solar printing will churn and fluctuate, but the international community will observe them most at those two sessions.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Salt and Arsenic Contamination Ganga basin

According to a new study published by Nature Geoscience, the gravest threat to groundwater in India isn’t over-exploitation but arsenic and salt contamination.

Important Highlights:

This reports says that 70 per cent of the water table in most of the Indo-Gangetic aquifer — among the largest in the world — is ‘stable and mostly improving’.

Nearly 23 per cent of the 300 BCM (billion cubic metre) is extremely saline and about 40 per cent contaminated by arsenic

There is alarming groundwater depletion in northwest India and Pakistan based on satellite imagery from the Gravity Recovery and Satellite Experiment (GRACE).

Canals built in the 19 and 20 centuries significantly influenced groundwater trends as water accumulated at the origins of the canal tended to “leak out”, leading to high recharge and sometimes floods.

Groundwater trends were highly variable across India and could change year on year.

Sixty per cent of the groundwater in a river basin supporting more than 750 million people in Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bangladesh is not drinkable or usable for irrigation.

The biggest threat to groundwater in the Indo-Gangetic Basin, named after the Indus and Ganges rivers, is not depletion but contamination

Up to a depth of 200m (650ft), some 23% of the groundwater stored in the basin is too salty, and about 37% “is affected by arsenic at toxic concentrations”

The Indo-Gangetic basin accounts for about a quarter of the global extraction of groundwater – freshwater which is stored underground in crevices and spaces in soil or rock, fed by rivers and rainfall.

Fifteen to twenty million wells extract water from the basin every year amid growing concerns about depletion.

The new study – based on local records of groundwater levels and quality from 2000 to 2012 – found that the water table was in fact stable or rising across about 70% of the aquifer.

It was found to be falling in the other 30%, mainly near highly populated areas.

Groundwater can become salty through natural and manmade causes, including inefficient armland irrigation and poor drainage.

According to a review of India’s water resources by the government in December 2015, India has a usable resource of 1,123 BCM/year of which surface water and groundwater is 690 BCM/year and 433 BCM/year respectively. Setting aside 35 BCM for natural discharge, the net annual ground water availability for the entire country is 398 BCM.

Impact of Arsenic Contamination

Long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking water can cause cancer in the skin, lungs, bladder and kidney. It can also cause other skin changes such as thickening and pigmentation

Soluble inorganic arsenic can have immediate toxic effects. Ingestion of large amounts can lead to gastrointestinal symptoms such as severe vomiting, disturbances of the blood and circulation, damage to the nervous system, and eventually death.

Long-term exposure to inorganic arsenic in drinking water in Taiwan has caused blackfoot disease, in which the blood vessels in the lower limbs are severely damaged, resulting eventually in progressive gangrene.

Impact of Stalinization

Detrimental effects on plant growth and yield

Damage to infrastructure (roads, bricks, corrosion of pipes and cables)

reduction of water quality for users, sedimentation problems

soil erosion ultimately, when crops are too strongly affected by the amounts of salts

Zika alert in India

Indian Medical Association has issued a Zika alert in India asking physicians and the public to be vigilant and not ignore chikungunya-like symptoms with red eyes.

India has already been struggling to fight other mosquito-borne diseases like dengue and chikungunya this monsoon season.

The association has recommended that travellers to Singapore protect themselves from mosquito bites, that pregnant women avoid travel to the Singapore and that anyone who has a partner who lives in or has travelled to Singapore use condoms or abstain from sex during pregnancy.

The association also noted that many people infected with the Zika virus may not feel sick. Among those who do develop symptoms, sickness is usually mild and lasts about a week. If a mosquito bites an infected human while the virus is still in that person’s blood, it can spread the virus when it bites another person.

Even if they do not feel sick, travellers returning to the United States from Singapore should take measures to prevent mosquito bites for three weeks so that they do not spread the infection.

About ZIKA virus

Zika virus is a member of the virus family Flaviviridae and the genus Flavivirus.

It is spread by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes, such as A. aegypti and A. albopictus.

Zika virus is transmitted by the same type of mosquito that carries dengue fever, yellow fever, and chikungunya virus.

Zika is related to the dengue, yellow fever,J apanese encephalitis, and West Nile viruses. Like other flaviviruses, Zika virus is enveloped and icosahedral and has a nonsegmented, single-stranded,positive-sense RNA genome.

A mosquito bites an infected person and then passes those viruses to other people it bites.

Treatment

While there is no specific treatment, paracetamol (acetaminophen) and rest may help with the

Symptoms

The infection, known as Zika fever or Zika virus disease, often causes no or only mild symptoms, similar to a very mild form of dengue fever.

In rare cases, Zika has been associated with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a disorder that can cause partial or complete paralysis, usually starting in the legs, most often temporary.

As of 2016, the illness cannot be prevented by medications or vaccines.

Leprosy Case Detection Campaign

In a bid to eradicate Leprosy from India, Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has launched the biggest Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC) in the country across 149 districts of 19 states/UTs.

This is a fortnight-long campaign. It will cover 1656 blocks/urban areas of these districts and screen a total of 32 crore people for leprosy. For this purpose, 297604 teams comprising of one lady ASHA worker and one male volunteer each would visit every house in their allotted area and screen all the family members for leprosy.

The states and UTs covered in this campaign are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Delhi and Lakshadweep. The districts having a prevalence rate of more than one case per 10,000 population in any of the last three years have been included in this campaign.

About the campaign:

The Leprosy Case Detection Campaign is a unique initiative of its kind in the world where each and every member of the targeted population will be examined by the search team constituted of one male and one female volunteer at household level.

House to house visits will be done by the search team as per the micro plan prepared for the local area to detect hidden and undetected leprosy cases.

The objective of the campaign is the early detection of leprosy in affected persons so that they can be saved from physical disability and deformity by providing them timely treatment and thus also halting the transmission of disease at the community level.

The first LCDC was launched during March-April 2016 in 50 districts of 7 states covering a population of about 6.8 crores. During this campaign 65427 suspected cases were identified out of which 4120 were later confirmed.

About Leprosy

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, an acid-fast, rod-shaped bacillus. The disease mainly affects the skin, the peripheral nerves, mucosa of the upper respiratory tract, and the eyes.

Leprosy is curable and treatment provided in the early stages averts disability.

Multidrug therapy (MDT) treatment has been made available by WHO free of charge to all patients worldwide since 1995. It provides a simple yet highly effective cure for all types of leprosy.

Elimination of leprosy as public health problem (with a prevalence less than 1 case per 10 000 persons) was achieved globally in the year 2000. More than 16 million leprosy patients have been treated with MDT over the past 20 years.

Leprosy was recognized in the ancient civilizations of China, Egypt and India. Throughout history, people afflicted have often been ostracized by their communities and families.

INSAT-3DR

The Indian Space Research Organisation's GSLV-F05 rocket successfully placed INSAT-3DR advanced weather satellite in the intended orbit.

The satellite is expected to provide a variety of meteorological services to the country.

About INSAT- 3DR:

INSAT-3DR similar to INSAT-3D, is an advanced meteorological satellite of India configured with an imaging System and an Atmospheric Sounder.

The significant improvements incorporated in INSAT-3DR are: a) Imaging in Middle Infrared band to provide night time pictures of low clouds and fog; b) Imaging in two Thermal Infrared bands for estimation of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) with better accuracy; c) Higher Spatial Resolution in the Visible and Thermal Infrared bands

And, like its predecessor INSAT-3D, INSAT-3DR carries a Data Relay Transponder as well as a Search and Rescue Transponder.

Thus, INSAT-3DR will provide service continuity to earlier meteorological missions of ISRO and further augment the capability to provide various meteorological as well as search and rescue services.

INSAT-3DR has a lift-off mass of 2211 kg, which includes about 1255 kg of propellant.

The propellant carried by INSAT-3DR is mainly required to raise the satellite from the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) to its final Geostationary Orbit and to maintain the satellite in its orbital slot during its life.

The satellite has a solar array generating 1700 Watts of power.

It was GSLV's 10th flight. It was GSLV's fourth flight with the desi cryogenic engine CE-7.5, with the first three being developmental flights.

Payloads:

Multi-spectral Imager: It will generate images of the Earth from a geostationary altitude of 36,000 km every 26 minutes and provide information on parameters such as sea surface temperature, snow cover, cloud motion winds, among others.

19 channel sounder: It will provide information on the vertical profiles of temperature, humidity and integrated ozone.

Data Relay Transponder: It will provide service continuity to ISRO’s previous meteorological missions.

Search and Rescue payload: It can pick up and relay alert signals originating from the distress beacons of maritime, aviation and land-based users to the Indian Mission Control Centre (INMCC).

Indigenous cryogenic engine

A Cryogenic rocket stage is more efficient and provides more thrust for every kilogram of propellant it burns compared to solid and earth-storable liquid propellant rocket stages.

Specific impulse (a measure of the efficiency) achievable with cryogenic propellants (liquid Hydrogen and liquid Oxygen) is much higher compared to earth storable liquid and solid propellants, giving it a substantial payload advantage.

Oxygen liquifies at -183 deg C and Hydrogen at -253 deg C. The propellants, at these low temperatures are to be pumped using turbo pumps running at around 40,000 rpm. It also entails complex ground support systems like propellant storage and filling systems, cryo engine and stage test facilities, transportation and handling of cryo fluids and related safety aspects.

ISRO's Cryogenic Upper Stage Project (CUSP) envisaged the design and development of the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage to replace the stage procured from Russia and used in GSLV flights. The main engine and two smaller steering engines of CUS together develop a nominal thrust of 73.55 kN in vacuum. During the flight, CUS fires for a nominal duration of 720 seconds.

Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) from the respective tanks are fed by individual booster pumps to the main turbopump to ensure a high flow rate of propellants into the combustion chamber. Thrust control and mixture ratio control are achieved by two independent regulators. Two gimballed steering engines provide for control of the stage during its thrusting phase

Analysis:

The country started on the GSLV rocket plan in the late 1980s and early 1990s so as to be able to put its 2,000-kg communication satellites to geosynchronous orbits at 36,000 km in space from its own soil. It suffered a setback from geopolitics combined with high-technology commerce: Russia, at the behest of the USA, went back on a deal to transfer critical cryogenic technology for the last and crucial stage of the rocket. Starting in the mid-1990s, ISRO has developed its own cryo engine and has tested it on three vehicles since 2010.

It was the first success of an operational GLSV flight with indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) engine. The

INSAT-3DR is also the heaviest satellite that it has so far launched from the home soil.

India has six meteorological satellites out of which three -- Kalpana-1, INSAT-3D and INSAT-3DR -- are exclusively for providing weather services.

ISRO had faced several challenges during the development of the engine. Cryogenic engines were basically essential to put satellites in geostationary orbit, but the technology was quite sophisticated. The main reasons was - burning a super-cooled fuel at extremely high temperatures. ISRO was faced with the task of developing a material that can withstand the high temperature and pressure during combustion

QUICK FACTS

Chairperson of Biocon who was appointed Knight of the National Order of the French Legion of Honour is- Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

SpaceX’s rocket that destroyed recently in an explosion during a propellant fill operation is -Falcon 9

New President of Brazil - Michel Temer

The country that advised all pregnant women with symptoms associated with Zika, to be tested for the virus is - Singapore

The typhoon that recently struck Japan – Lionrock

National Sports Day is observed across India on - 29 August (Birth anniversary of - Dhyan Chand)

India’s first gold medalist at the Rio Paralympic Games - Mariyappan Thangavelu

‘PRABAL DOSTYK – 16 is the joint army exervise between India and - Kazakhstan

Indian organisation that won the 2016 UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy- Jan Shikshan Sansthan

The country that was recently declared malaria-free by the World Health Organisation is - Sri Lanka

Part-time chairperson of Unique Identification Authority of India is - J Satyanarayana

J.C. Daniel Award, 2015 awarded to - KG George

The first edition of Nomad Film Festival held in - New Delhi

The tennis star who set a new record of most number of Grand Slam matches wins is - Serena Williams

The great ape species that has recently been declared as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature is - Eastern Gorilla

International Day of Charity is observed globally on- 5 September

New National President of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) for the year 2016-17- K K Aggarwal