5 Reasons Why Ladakh is Happy With UT Status

1. Long Term Demand: Ladakh as a region had been demanding for such a separate administrative setup. Around a year back the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) of both Leh and Kargil had unanimously passed a resolution, demanding "complete autonomy from Kashmir's administrative setup
2. Dominance: Dominance of Kashmir Valley-based political parties in State politics has resulted in discrimination against Ladakh.
3. Discrimination: Leh has always received less funds than required and has not seen development in years. People complained that Kashmir would take 90% of the funds and leave us with just 10%. Now that won’t happen.
4. Special Provisions: The Consitution makes special provisions for the administration of tribal-dominated areas in four States: Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. Locals are confident the Central government will fulfil Ladakh’s dream.
5. Distinct cultural identity: Leh has predominantly been Buddhist population.

5 Benefits of India Enterprise Architecture Framework

1. Provide a ONE Government Experience to the citizens and businesses, by offering integrated services through multiple channels, in a contactless, frictionless manner.
2. Enhance the efficiency of delivery of services, by defining and enforcing service levels of a very high order.
3. Improve the effectiveness of implementation of the developmental and welfare schemes through a holistic performance management.
4. Enhance the productivity of employees and agencies through easy access to information.
5. Provide integrated and cross cutting services through seamless interoperability across the Whole-of-Government.

5 Implications of Scrapping of A.370

1. Article 356 under which the President’s Rule can be imposed in any state, will also be applicable to the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
2. The central quota laws in school-college admissions and state government jobs will apply.
3. People from other states may be able to acquire property and residency rights.
4. RTI would be made applicable.
5. Certain provisions of the J&K Constitution which denied property rights to native women who marry a person from outside the State may stand invalidated.

5 Constitutional Problems in Scrapping Article 370

1. Legality of the Presidential order: Article 370 itself cannot be amended by a Presidential Order. Even though the Order amends Article 367, the content of those amendments, however, do amend Article 370. And as the Supreme Court has held on multiple occasions, you cannot do indirectly what you cannot do directly. Therefore, legality of the order – insofar as it amends Article 370 – is questionable.
2. Misusing the President Rule and Making Governor as a substitute for the elected assembly: The governor is the representative of the Union Government in the State. In effect, the Union Government has consulted itself.
3. Decision of Permanent Character taken by Governor: Also, President’s Rule is temporary and is meant to be a stand-in until the elected government is restored. Consequently, decisions of a permanent character – such as changing the entire status of a state- taken without the elected legislative assembly, but by the Governor, are inherently problematic.
4. Equating state assembly with constituent assembly: The difference is that the one has to exercise its powers as per the constitution, while the other develops the constitution. This distinction that is at the heart of India’s basic structure doctrine that prevents certain constitutional amendments on the ground that Parliament, which exercises representative authority, is limited and cannot create a new constitution and thereby exercise sovereign authority.
5. Going against the Jammu and Kashmir’s Constitutional position: Presidential order has assumed that legislative assembly has power to scrap Article 370. But Article 147 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution prohibits such a move. The Article makes it clear that any changes to the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution needs the approval of two-thirds of the members of the legislative assembly.

5 Alternatives to Local Job Reservation

1. Tackle Core Issues of Unemployment by more job creation and industrialisation rather than such moves. Government should provide incentives to industries for more investments and create an enabling environment for it.
2. Government should focus on making the youth of a state employable with proper investments in education, health and skill development.
3. Need to promote labour intensive industries, sunrise sectors (hi-tech companies) to absorb all kinds of job seekers.
4. Promote Self-employment: So that people create opportunities for themselves. E.g.: MUDRA; STAND UP INDIA
5. Promote services sectors such as tourism with high positive spillover on other sectors.

5 Difficulties in Implementing Local Job Reservation

1. May not pass legal scrutiny: Article 16 does not empower the state government to provide for such reservation, rather the Parliament is empowered to do so.
2. Politically Motivated Move: Rather than addressing the core concerns like structural reforms, infrastructure development and so on, states are using reservation as a tool to capture votes in the short term.
3. Dangerous for unity of the country: Such moves could lead to opening of a Pandora’s Box where other states start implementing such policies, which result in fractures in unity of India.
4. Concerns of the industry: Factories may be employing labour migrating in from different states. It may be difficult/expensive to find locals for the jobs and consequently their ease of doing business will be hampered.
5. Polarisation and Communal Strife: Such a move may disturb social harmony as many workers and their families may get uprooted because of disruption of their income source.

5 Reasons Why Local Job Reservation is Demanded

1. Agrarian Distress: Agrarian sector is under tremendous stress across the country, and young people are desperate to move out of the sector.
2. Lack of jobs: There is a serious dearth of jobs (private and government). Mot only are the jobs too few, they are precarious and do not pay well.
3. Displacement of Landowners: Since most of the land requirement is met by acquiring private agricultural lands, the landowners are being displaced and deprived of their occupation and thereby loss of income.
4. Discrimination: Several reports like the State of Working India 2018 released by the Centre for Sustainable Employment of the Azim Premji University have shown that discrimination is one of the reasons for under representations of Dalits and Muslims in the corporate sector.
5. Sentiment against workers migrating from distressed regions and ‘stealing’ limited local opportunities have created pressure upon regional politicians to take some steps.

5 Views on State Funding of Elections

1. Indrajit Gupta Committee (1998) endorsed state funding of elections, seeing “full justification constitutional, legal as well as on ground of  public  interest” in order to establish a fair playing field for parties with less money. The Committee recommended two limitations to state funding. Firstly, that state funds should  be given only to national and state parties allotted a symbol and not to independent candidates. Secondly, that in the short-term state funding should only be given in kind, in the form of certain facilities to the recognised political parties and their candidates. The Committee noted that at the time of the report the economic situation of the country only suited partial and not full state funding of elections.
2. 1999 Law Commission of India report concluded that total state funding of elections is “desirable” so long as political parties are prohibited from taking funds from other sources. The Commission concurred with the Indrajit Gupta Committee that only partial state funding was possible given the economic conditions of the country at that time. Additionally, it strongly recommended that the appropriate regulatory framework be put in place with regard to political parties (provisions ensuring internal  democracy,  internal structures and maintenance of accounts, their auditing and submission to Election Commission) before state funding of elections is attempted.
3. “Ethics in Governance”, a report of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (2008) also recommended partial state funding of elections for the purpose of reducing “illegitimate and unnecessary funding” of elections expenses.
4. National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, 2001, did not endorse state funding of elections but concurred with the 1999 Law Commission report that the appropriate framework for regulation of political parties would need to be implemented before state funding is considered.
5. View of Election Commission: The Election Commission has told a parliamentary committee that it does not support state funding of elections but instead seeks radical reforms in the way funds are spent by political parties.

5 Arguments Against State Funding of Elections

1. State funding increases the distance between political leaders and ordinary citizens as they do not depend on citizens for mobilization of party funds.
2. If all or substantial amount of the party income comes directly from the State rather than from voluntary sources, political parties risk losing their independence and become organs of the State, thereby losing their ties to the civil society.
3. State funding would encourage non-serious candidates to enter into political arena merely to avail of state funds.
4. Many experts believe that state funding of election will not stop parties from lobbying and getting undisclosed additional funds.
5. State funding of elections will increase burden on the exchequer with no guarantee that black money will stop playing a role in the electoral process.

5 Arguments in Favour of State Funding of Elections

1. It creates a level playing field for parties and candidates with fewer resources.
2. It helps to reduce the dependency on corporate or private money.
3. By providing floor level fund” to everyone, state fund scheme can be very helpful for smaller and newer political entrants.
4. Candidates who are elected through a fair electoral process would be transparent and accountable in providing governance.
5. Through state funding the demand for internal democracy in party, women representations, representations of weaker section can be encouraged.

5 Arguments against RTI Amendments

1. Incorrect Rational given: Experts have rejected the justifications of government on the rationalisation of status. The decisions of all authorities including those of the President and prime minister are challenged before high courts and that their status does not prevent or debar such challenges. The genesis of the RTI comes from Supreme Court rulings on how right to information is a precondition for informed voting and therefore, parity between information and election commissioners is not an anomaly.
2. Dilutes the independence of CICs and ICs: As the Central government may determine the term and salaries of CICs and ICs. Uncertain term and salary changeable by executive notification reduces CIC to an obedient subordinate. This also hampers accountability as it calls people’s right to information under question. A situation could arise where different commissioners will have different tenures and salaries. If salaries and tenures are downgraded, eminent people may not apply for the vacant posts.
3. Dilutes the status of CICs: Chief Information Commissioner and Chief Election Commissioner (and the state level officers) were kept at the same footing, as according to the Supreme Court of India RTI and Right to vote are equally important fundamental rights. However, the amendments tend to change this scenario.
4. Encroaches upon the state jurisdiction: As the Central government will prescribe the term, status and salary of State Information Commissioners.
5. Lack of consultation: With the civil society and the state Governments, which amounts to undemocratic imposition. It was not put in the public domain and the amendment did not undergo much scrutiny.

5 Success Stories of NHRC

1. NHRC opened the state to judicial and moral scrutiny: One example is the consistent watch the Commission has kept on incidences of ‘encounter killings’ and deaths in custody. It has issued guidelines wherein every death in police action has to be reported to the NHRC within 48 hours of the incident.
2. Vocal in its opinion against laws such as the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) and Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (POTA) – which had scope for misuse and possible human rights violations.
3. Expanding Reach: Over the years, as awareness about the NHRC’s existence and work increased, so has its reach among the people. According to the Commission’s estimate, from 169 complaints received in 1993-94, the NHRC went on to receive 68,713 complaints in 2002-2003 to one lakh in 2007-2008 and 1,17,808 in 2015-16.
4. Suo motu cognisance of human rights violations, based on media reports or other sources of information and investigates them. For example, the NHRC issued a notice to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs over the planned deportation of about 40,000 Rohingya immigrants, and asked the ministry to submit a detailed report within four weeks.
5. Enlarging its ambit/mandate: The Commission has also gone beyond the physical violation of human rights to protect the economic, social and cultural rights of people Example - being assigned to look into the extreme poverty, starvation in Kalahandi, Bolangir and Koraput regions of Odisha etc.

5 Problems in NHRC Working

1. Lack of infrastructure: In 2017, NHRC admitted that despite a 1,455 per cent increase in complaints between 1995 and 2015, its staff strength had decreased by 16.94 per cent in the same period. Commission officials have admitted in Supreme Court that with its current staff capacity, it cannot investigate more than 100 cases a year.
2. Conflict of interest: Almost 50 per cent of the NHRC’s staff is on deputation from other services who keeps changing, leaving the commission constantly short-staffed. Also, the officers conducting investigations are usually on deputation from the same forces that have been accused of violations and will have to inevitably go back to them, creating a conflict of interest.
3. Limiting its ambit of work: In terms of action against excess police action, the NHRC has limited itself to custodial death, rape and torture by police and has refrained from venturing into torture cases related to terrorism and insurgency. Civil society groups argue that NHRC has refrained from asserting its independence by not taking up cases with high political stakes.
4. Questions of independence and govt interference: The very nature of formation of the NHRC – by an Act of Parliament and where the chairperson and the members of the Commission are appointed by the President, on the recommendations of a committee that includes the Prime Minister – which has raised doubts in the minds of many about its ability to function independently. Additionally, the recommendations of the NHRC are not binding on the governments.
5. No power of granting punishment to the accused: While in over 90 per cent of cases financial compensation recommended by the NHRC is paid to the victims by the concerned authorities, the Commission has had very little success in getting the guilty punished. The NHRC may, however, move to SC if its recommendations are not accepted. For example: A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted to investigate some of the serious cases of 2002 Godhra riots of Gujarat. The NHRC has no powers to investigate human rights violations involving the armed forces. NHRC on receiving a complaint or while taking suo motu cognisance of a violation, can only send queries to the Defence Ministry and make recommendations based on it.

5 Significance of NHRC Amendment

1. The proposed amendments will enable both the National Commission as well as the State Commissions to be more compliant with the Paris Principles concerning its autonomy, independence, pluralism and wide-ranging functions in order to effectively protect and promote human rights.
2. Filling up the Vacancies: The age limit for appointment to the panel has been reduced and qualification required have been eased to fill the vacancies. The amendment has ensured transparency in the appointment of Chairman and members of the Commission.
3. Enabling conditions to incorporate Civil Society: Effort is to also to increase the presence of civil Society in the composition of the Commission. Originally act provided appointment of 2 members having knowledge of human rights to be appointed. This has been expanded to 3, of which at least one will be a women.
4. Ease of accessibility: The applicants in Union Territories can now appeal in the human Rights Commission of nearby states instead of coming all the way to Delhi. Central government may confer on a SHRC human rights functions being discharged by Union Territories.
5. The Act provides for including the chairpersons of the National Commission for Backward Classes, the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, and the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities as members of the NHRC.

07.04.17 Daily Current Affairs

Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems Project

Originally approved in 2009, the Project aims to:

• Deliver various web based police related services to citizens.
• Facilitate a pan-India search of crime and criminal records of individuals through a national database.
• Generate crime and criminal reports at the state and central level to inform policy interventions and
• Computerise police processes.
• In 2015, an additional objective of establishing a basic platform for an Inter-operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) was added to the Project.
• The Inter-operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) aims to integrate the CCTNS project with the e-courts and e-prisons databases in the first instance and with the other pillars of the criminal justice system - Forensics, Prosecution, Juvenile homes and a nationwide Fingerprint data base of criminals in a phased manner.
• Why in News? The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs for extension of the implementation phase of the Crime and Criminals Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) Project for another year beyond 31st March 2017. The extension would help in achieving the remaining objectives of the project comprehensively.

Belmont Forum

• The Belmont Forum, created in 2009, is a group of the world’s major and emerging funders of global environmental change research.
• It provides an opportunity to identify study and deliver international environmental research priorities, for the society, in an accelerated way through trans­national research collaboration.
• India is a member of Belmont Forum, besides Australia, Brazil, Canada, European Commission, France, Germany, Japan, Netherland, South Africa, UK and USA etc.
• Ministry of Earth Science (MoES), represents India in the Belmont Forum since 2012.
• Why in News? “The Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing of the Collaborative Agreement with French National Research Agency (ANR), France for supporting the Belmont Forum Secretariat from January, 2015 to December, 2017 at a total estimated expenditure of Euro 40,000. The Cabinet also approved continued financial support to Belmont Forum Secretariat beyond 2017.”

Pollution from Coal based Thermal Power Plants

• The Government has taken several steps to modernize and improve the efficiency of coal based thermal power plants and to reduce the pollution level of coal based thermal power plants in the vicinity of these plants.
• Supercritical technology has already been adopted for thermal power generation. The design efficiency of Supercritical units is about 5% higher than that of typical 500 MW subcritical units and these (supercritical) units are likely to have correspondingly lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in ambient air.
• All Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs) are required to use supercritical technology.
• Coal based capacity addition during the 13th Plan period shall be through super-critical units.
• Indigenous research is being pursued for development of an Advanced Ultra Supercritical Technology (A-USC) with targeted efficiency improvement of about 10% over supercritical unit.
• A capacity of about 7751.94 MW of old and inefficient unit has already been retired till date.
• Perform Achieve and Trade (PAT) Scheme under National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency is under implementation by BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency). In PAT cycle–II, individual target for improving efficiency has been assigned to 154 thermal power stations.
• High efficiency Electrostatics Preceptor (ESP) are installed to capture Particulate Matters from Flue gases.
• SO2 emission control is achieved through dispersion of flue gases through tall stacks (275 metres) to reduce the concentration of polluting gases at ground level.
• Harmful pollutants emitted from a typical, uncontrolled coal plants include: Sulphur Dioxide, Nitrogen Oxides, PM (soot or fly ash), Mercury, VOCs, Lead, Cadmium, toxic heavy metals, Arsenic, Carbon Monoxide and trace amounts of uranium.
• Ozone is a secondary pollutant; it is formed due to the reaction of emissions from coal power plants such as nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds with atmospheric Oxygen, in the presence of sunlight. 

Article 142

• A. 142: The Supreme Court may pass such decree or order as is necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it.
• The recent highway liquor ban was imposed by the SC under A. 142.
• The Supreme Court on Thursday indicated that it will use its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to transfer the Babri Masjid demolition related trial in Rae Bareilly against top BJP leaders L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi to Lucknow, where a CBI court is hearing conspiracy and other serious criminal charges against "lakhs of unknown kar sevaks" for the actual act of razing down the 15th century mosque.

Cyber Physical Systems

• With autonomous vehicles and robot-executed surgeries becoming commonplace around the world, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has initiated a Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) programme.
• CPS is an interdisciplinary field that deals with the deployment of computer-based systems that do things in the physical world, such as, for instance, the self-driven cars produced by Google and Tesla. However, even smart grids (where electricity is optimally distributed on the basis of calculations in real time by micro-processors) as well as autonomous unmanned vehicles and aircraft navigation systems qualify as ‘cyber physical systems.’
• CPS is a mechanism controlled or monitored by computer-based algorithms, tightly integrated with internet and its users. It is an engineered system that are built from and depend upon, the seamless integration of computational algorithms and physical components.
• In general Cyber means computation, communication and control that are discrete and logical. Physical means natural and human-made systems governed by the laws of physics and operating in continuous time. Computing and communication systems bridges with the physical world are referred to as Cyber Physical Systems. 

06.04.17 Daily Current Affairs

Right to Privacy

• Important cases cited when the above matter comes up before judiciary: ‘M.P. Sharma v. Satish Chandra’ (8 judges bench; 1954) and ‘Kharak Singh v. the State of U.P.’ (6 judges bench; 1962)
• Both judgments had categorically rejected the existence of privacy as a guaranteed right under Article 21 of the Constitution.
• The above issue was in news recently due to WhatsApp-Facebook contract, whereby the former could share the contact details of its users with the latter.

Rail Development Authority

The regulator will perform four primary functions—

• Tariff determination (it will not set the tariffs; it will only recommend tariffs “commensurate with costs”);
• Ensuring fair play and level playing field for stakeholder investment;
• Setting efficiency and performance standards;
• Dissemination of information

McMahon Line

• Frontier between Tibet and Assam in British India, negotiated between Tibet and Great Britain at the end of the Shimla Conference (October 1913–July 1914) and named for the chief British negotiator, Sir Henry McMahon.
• It runs from the eastern border of Bhutan along the crest of the Himalayas until it reaches the great bend in the Brahmaputra River where that river emerges from its Tibetan course into the Assam Valley.
• Thus it demarcates the boundary line between Tibet and present-day state of Arunachal Pradesh.

Air Service Agreement

• ASA is the basic legal framework for any air operation between the two countries.
• “An air transport agreement (also sometimes called an air service agreement or ATA or ASA) is an agreement which two nations sign to allow international commercial air transport services between their territories.
• The bilateral system has its basis under the Chicago convention and associated multilateral treaties.
• Why in News? Recently the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the signing of the Air Services Agreement (ASA) between India and Georgia.

What’s a Planet?

• In simple words, a ‘planet’ is a celestial body that “must orbit the sun, must be round, and along with its satellites, must “orbit in a clear path around the sun”.
• The exact definition, according to the IAU, of “a planet in the Solar System would be as follows: A celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.”

Geotagging

• ‘Geotagging’ is the process of adding geographical identification like latitude and longitude to various media such as a photo or video. Geotagging can help users find a wide variety of location-specific information from a device. It provides users the location of the content of a given picture.
• ‘Geomapping’ is a visual representation of the geographical location of geotagged assets layered on top of map or satellite imagery.
• Who does Geotagging? The National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), ISRO (Hyderabad) has a software platform, Bhuvan that allows users to explore a 2D/3D representation of the surface of the Earth. It also acts as a platform for hosting government data.
• Geotagging for monitoring of assets is already started in Ministry of Rural Development for MGNREGA and Department of Land Resources for monitoring of watershed activities in the states. Postal department has also geotagged the post offices using NRSC Bhuvan Platform.
• Several assets are created in the states under various schemes of various Ministries. Monitoring of such wide spread activities is of paramount importance to states and Government of India to understand flow of funds, inventorising the assets, bringing in transparency, planning of assets for future, and finally informing the farmers about the facilities available. Geotagging helps with such monitoring.
• A recent proposal of the Ministry of Agriculture and Family Welfare seeks to prepare an inventory of the assets created in the last one decade under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana through Geotagging technique.

05.04.17 Daily Current Affairs

Kani Tribe

• They have a rich traditional knowledge of the medicinal resources in the forests of Agasthyamalai Hills.
• The tribal physicians among them – known as “Plathi” – are the exclusive holders of the traditional medicinal knowledge.
• A formulation named “Jeevani”, which means “giver of life”, was made by a research institute, sourcing ingredients from a plant known called “Arogyapacha” by this tribe.
• A recently discovered arboreal crab – the first of its kind – has been named after this tribe.
• Scientists have discovered a new species of long legged, tree-dwelling crabs in Western Ghats of Kerala. The new species named Kani maranjandu after the Kani tribe in Kerala, are substantially different from other congeners. This is the first report of its kind to offer a record of an arboreal crab — a species that lives in trees.

Barak Missiles

• In News: The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) of the Defence Ministry on Monday approved the purchase of Barak surface-to-air missiles (SAM) for the Navy among other proposals. Israeli-built Barak short-range SAMs are installed on most of the front-line warships, including the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.
• About DAC: The DAC, set up in 2001 as part of the post-Kargil reforms in defence sector, approves the long-term integrated perspective plan for the forces, accords acceptance of necessity (AON) to begin acquisition proposals, and has to grant its approval to all major deals through all their important phases. It also has the power to approve any deviations in an acquisition, and recommends all big purchases for approval of the Cabinet committee on security.

Bathy Thermograph System

• India is considering procurement of expendable Bathy thermograph systems for the Navy to detect temperature changes under water through the foreign military sales route from the U.S.
• An Expendable Bathythermograph (XBT) is a small probe that is dropped over the side of a ship. As it falls through the water, it measures temperature. Small wires transmit the temperate data back to the ship where it is recorded for further analysis.
• Because the probe falls through the water at a known rate, the depth of the probe can be inferred from the time of launch. Scientists then plot temperature as a function of depth to create a temperature profile of the water.
• It may surprise you to learn that temperature profiles play an important role in multibeam mapping operations. In order to make accurate depth measurements using multibeam sonar, we need to know how fast the sound wave emitted from the sonar unit travels through seawater. The speed at which sound travels changes as the density of water varies through the water column. Temperature and salinity are the two main variables that affect the density of seawater.
• Therefore an Expendable Bathythermograph System helps with making accurate measurements – directly of Temperature throughout the water column, and indirectly of Sound speed profile for the water column and Depth of water and consequently in mapping the seabed.

Right to Vote in India

• In India, the right to vote is provided by the Constitution and the Representation of People’s Act, 1951, subject to certain disqualifications.
• Article 326 of the Constitution guarantees the right to vote to every citizen above the age of 18.
• Further, Section 62 of the Representation of Peoples Act (RoPA), 1951 states that every person who is in the electoral roll of that constituency will be entitled to vote.
• Thus, the Constitution and the RoPA make it clear that every individual above the age of 18, whose name is in the electoral rolls, and does not attract any of the disqualifications under the Act, may cast his vote.
• Therefore voting is both a constitutional and statutory right.

04.04.17 Daily Current Affairs

Gibraltar

• Gibraltar is a British overseas territory occupying a narrow peninsula of Spain’s southern Mediterranean coast, just northeast of the Strait of Gibraltar, on the east side of the Bay of Gibraltar (Bay of Algeciras).
• In the news: Following the triggering of formal Brexit negotiations, it was revealed the EU’s draft document on its Brexit strategy said no agreement on its future relationship with the UK would apply to Gibraltar without the consent of Spain – giving it a potential veto. Spain – a member of the EU – reportedly lobbied for the condition. Gibraltar, which voted by 96% to stay in the EU in June’s referendum, accused Spain of using Brexit to pursue its territorial aims.

UPSC

• In News: “Prof. Syiemlieh joined the Commission as Member on June 25, 2012 and was later appointed to perform the duties of the post of Chairman, UPSC under Article 316 (1A) of the Constitution of India w.e.f. January 4, 2017. He took the Oath of Office and Secrecy as Chairman, Union Public Service Commission, under clause (1) of Article 316 of the Constitution of India, today (3rd April, 2017).”
• Usually, the Commission consists of nine to eleven members including the chairman.
• Further, no qualifications are prescribed for the Commission’s membership except that one-half of the members of the Commission should be such persons who have held office for at least ten years either under the Government of India or under the government of a state.
• The chairman and members of the Commission hold office for a term of six years or until they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
• The President can appoint one of the members of the UPSC as an acting chairman in the following two circumstances: (a) When the office of the chairman falls vacant; or (b) When the chairman is unable to perform his functions due to absence or some other reason.

New BRV-PV Vaccine

• Developed by Serum Institute of India.
• It is a vaccine against rotavirus.
• Currently, two vaccines exist against rotavirus, but they must be kept refrigerated at all times. In addition to being heat-stable, BRV-PV is also cheaper than the other two rotavirus vaccines on the market, with a price of less than $2.50. This price should help ensure that countries quickly incorporate the new vaccine into routine immunization programs.
• Rotavac, a rotavirus vaccine produced by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, became part of India’s Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) when it was introduced in 4 states in April 2016, and was subsequently extended to 5 more states last month. The key step forward in the manufacture of Serum Institute of India’s new BRV-PV vaccine — to be ultimately called Rotasiil — is that it does not, unlike Rotavac, require refrigeration, and is, therefore, easier to store in low-income countries where rotavirus poses the greatest threat to children.
• Rotavirus: Rotavirus is a virus that causes diarrhea, mostly in babies and young children. The diarrhea can be severe, and lead to dehydration. Vomiting and fever are also common in babies with rotavirus.

Multilateral Groupings Trivia

India is a founding member of:

• International Labour Organisation
• South Asian Subregional Economic Cooperation
• Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation

Seats of Learning from India’s Past

• Takshashila: Rawalpindi District of the Punjab, Pakistan
• Somapura: Naogaon District, Bangladesh
• Jagaddala: North-west Bangladesh on the border with India
• Nalanda: Nalanda District, Bihar
• Odantapuri: Nalanda District, Bihar
• Vikramashila: Bhagalpur District, Bihar
• Valabhi: Bhavnagar District, Gujarat

A number of monasteries grew up during the Pāla period in ancient Bengal and Magadha. According to Tibetan sources, five great Mahaviharas stood out: Vikramashila, the premier university of the era; Nalanda, past its prime but still illustrious; Somapura Mahavihara; Odantapurā; and Jaggadala. The monasteries formed a network; "all of them were under state supervision" and there existed "a system of co-ordination among them ... it seems from the evidence that the different seats of Buddhist learning that functioned in eastern India under the Pāla were regarded together as forming a network, an interlinked group of institutions," and it was common for great scholars to move easily from position to position among them.

03.04.17 Daily Current Affairs

Sanskritization

• It is a particular form of social change found in India. It denotes the process by which castes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek upward mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the upper or dominant castes.
• This term was made popular by Indian sociologist M. N. Srinivas in the 1950s, although earlier references to this process can be found in Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.
• M.N. Srinivas defined sanskritisation as a process by which "a low or middle Hindu caste, or tribal or other group, changes its customs, ritual ideology, and way of life in the direction of a high and frequently twice-born caste. Generally such changes are followed by a claim to a higher position in the caste hierarchy than that traditionally conceded to the claimant class by the local community.
• One clear example of sanskritisation is the adoption, in emulation of the practice of twice-born castes, of vegetarianism by people belonging to the so-called "low castes" who are traditionally not averse to non-vegetarian food.

International Labour Organization

• India is a founder member of the International Labour Organization (ILO), which came into existence in 1919. At present, the ILO has 187 members.
• The only tripartite U.N. agency, since 1919 the ILO brings together 1) governments, 2) employers and 3) workers’ representatives of 187 member States , to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work for all women and men.
• The Union Cabinet recently has given its approval for ratification of the two fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organization namely, Minimum Age Convention (No 138) concerning minimum age for admission to employment, and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (No 182) concerning the prohibition and immediate action for elimination of the worst forms of Child Labour.
• The principal means of action in the ILO is the setting up of International standards in the form of Conventions, Recommendations and Protocol. India has so far ratified 45 Conventions, out of which 42 are in force. Out of these 4 are Fundamental or Core Conventions.

Algal Bloom

• Harmful algal blooms, or HABs, occur when colonies of algae—simple plants that live in the sea and freshwater—grow out of control while producing toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, and birds. The human illnesses caused by HABs, though rare, can be debilitating or even fatal.
• But not all algal blooms are harmful. Most blooms, in fact, are beneficial because the tiny plants are food for animals in the ocean. In fact, they are the major source of energy that fuels the ocean food web.
• A small percentage of algae, however, produce powerful toxins that can kill fish, shellfish, mammals, and birds, and may directly or indirectly cause illness in people. HABs also include blooms of non-toxic species that have harmful effects on marine ecosystems. For example, when masses of algae die and decompose, the decaying process can deplete oxygen in the water, causing the water to become so low in oxygen that animals either leave the area or die.
• The satellite based information service for Detection and Monitoring of Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) has been implemented at Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) by Ocean Colour Application Team (OCAT).
• According to researchers, the bloom develops in the Arabian Sea “as a result of a continuous process of winter cooling and convective mixing.
• Cool dry continental air from the northeast causes an increase in surface density of the sea water due to evaporative cooling and increased salinity.” The “vertical mixing of the water masses causes recharge of water column with nutrients from the deep. The resulting nutrient enrichment increases the biological production” of the water, they noted.

Algal Bloom and India

• The coastal States of India may not suffer from the massive algal bloom that has been reported from the Arabian Sea. Ocean-watchers had earlier reported that a bloom of the size of Mexico, which originated in the Gulf of Oman, had reached the Arabian Sea and feared that it could reach Indian shores.
• Those at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, (INCOIS), Hyderabad, confirmed that the algal species green Noctiluca scintillans had bloomed. The presence of the green algae gives deep green colour to the ocean in the areas of spread.
• Researchers at INCOIS say that the current bloom was unlikely to impact the coastal States of the country. The researchers use remote sensing technique for the identification of the bloom species. In-situ studies were also carried out earlier by deploying research vessels to understand the various phases of the algal bloom.

02.04.17 Daily Current Affairs

e-Visa

• With a view to stimulating economic growth, increasing earnings from the export of services like tourism, medical value travel, travel on account of business thereby making India an attractive destination for foreign direct and portfolio investment, Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, at its meeting held on November 30, 2016, had approved various measures for liberalization, simplification and rationalization of the visa regime in India.
• With effect from tomorrow i.e. April 1, 2017, e-Visa has further been sub-divided into 3 categories i.e. e-tourist visa, e-Business visa and e-Medical visa.
• E-visa facility has been extended to the nationals of 161 countries for entry through 24 airports (E-visa service was earlier granted through 16 airports) and 3 Indian Ports i.e. Cochin, Goa and Mangalore to tap the potential of cruise tourism from different countries. (that means entry through both airports and seaports)
• This service will also be provided from Mumbai and Chennai seaports shortly.
• The liberalization of the visa regime will considerably facilitate entry of foreigners into India for tourism, business and medical purposes. Consequently, the arrival of foreigners in India is expected to go up substantially in the coming years. This will in turn give a boost to the tourism, medical and business sectors resulting in substantial increase in direct and indirect employment in these sectors.

South Asia Growth Quadrangle

• The South Asia Growth Quadrangle (SAGQ) was launched in April 1997 by the Foreign Ministers of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal (BBIN).
• The Ninth Summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) on May 1997 in Male, Maldives endorsed SAGQ as a subregional initiative under SAARC.
• The goals of SAGQ are:
• to create an enabling environment for accelerating economic growth;
• to overcome infrastructural constraints;
• to make optimal use of and further develop the complementarities in the subregion, and
• to develop economic and institutional linkages and nodal points for facilitating cooperation on policy framework and project implementation.

South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC)

• SASEC program of Asian Development Bank (ADB) is expanding towards the East with Myanmar formally becoming the 7th member of SASEC in 2017.
• Myanmar was accorded an observer status of SASEC in 2013 when ADB’s annual meeting was held in Noida, India. Myanmar has been participating in annual SASEC Nodal Officials’ meetings as an observer since 2014. It was invited by the participating countries of SASEC countries to become a full member in 2015.
• The SASEC program was formed in 2001 in response to the request of the four countries of South Asia – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal – from ADB to assist in facilitating economic cooperation among them. These four countries comprise the South Asia Growth Quadrangle (SAGQ), formed in 1996, as a vehicle for accelerating sustainable economic development through regional cooperation. As a project-based partnership, the SASEC program has been helping realize regional prosperity by enhancing cross-border connectivity, facilitating faster and more efficient trade and promoting cross-border power trade.
• Maldives and Sri Lanka joined SASEC in 2014, further expanding opportunities for enhancing economic linkages in the sub-region.
• SASEC member countries recognize that most of SASEC’s multimodal connectivity initiatives include Myanmar. Road corridors in Myanmar provide the key links between South Asia and Southeast Asia. Ports in Myanmar will provide additional gateways to the landlocked North Eastern region of India. Development of multi-modal connectivity between North Eastern region of India, Bangladesh and Myanmar has the potential of unleashing tremendous economic energy in the sub-region.

Index of Industrial Production

• The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is an index for India which details out the growth of various sectors in an economy such as mining, electricity and manufacturing.
• The Eight Core Industries comprise nearly 38 % of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). 
• In ascending order of their weights in the IIP: Fertilisers, Natural Gas, Cement, Coal, Crude Oil, Refinery Products, Steel and Electricity.

Purana Qila

• Why in News? Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), National Culture Fund (NCF) and NBCC (India) Limited, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) here for the ‘Conservation, development & maintenance of Purana Qila project’ at Purana Qila, New Delhi under NBCC’s CSR initiative.
• History: Sher Shah Sur seems to have razed to the ground the city of Dinpanah built by Humayun, and on the same site, which was also perhaps the site of Indraprastha, believed to be the capital of the Pandavas, he raised the citadel of Purana-Qal'a with an extensive city-area sprawling around it. Among the seven cities of Delhi, the Purana-Qal'a is the sixth. It seems that the Purana-Qal'a was still incomplete at Sher Shah's death in 1545, and was perhaps completed by Humayun, although it is not exactly certain which parts were built by the latter.