Comprehensive News Analysis - 13 November 2016

Useful News Articles

A. GS1 Related

Nothing here today folks!

B. GS2 Related

India, Japan differ on nuclear tests

Category: International Relations

Topic: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests

Key Points:

By signing the civil nuclear agreement with India,Japan made a major exception for a non-signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
This departure was madebased on India’s impeccable nuclear record.
Sources allege that India may have given exceptional commitments on its nuclear sovereignty and right to conduct nuclear tests in order to bag the deal.
Foreign Secretary S.Jaishankar has maintained that there were “striking similiarities” in the Japan deal with those of other countries.
Former nuclear envoys say the text signifies India has gone “much further” in commitments to Japan than ever before.
In India, the debate over nuclear sovereignty will be an important issue.
This would be similar to the criticism the government faced over curtailing liability of foreign suppliers in the India-U.S. civil nuclear agreement resolution between PM Modi and US President Obama in January 2015.

India and Ukraine to close gap in ties

Category: International Relations

Topic: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests

Key Points:

After a gap of four years, India and Ukraine are set to begin a new phase of exchanges.
This initiative is likely to warm up political, military and diplomatic ties.
The last major visit from Ukraine was by President Viktor Yanukovych who visited Delhi and met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2012.

Reasons for the gap in ties:

Ukraine’s military ties with Pakistan.
India had evacuated citizens from Ukraine in 2014 as an ongoing violence in the eastern part of Ukraine had intensified.

Why is Ukraine Important:

Ukraine’s rising profile in multilateral platforms.
Ukraine is a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
Ukraine is a non-permanent member with two-year term at the U.N. Security Council.

We are not for building walls, says Canada Minister

Category: International Relations

Topic: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests

Key Points:

Canada will invite more Indian students and high tech professionals as part of its immigrant-friendly policy.
Comments from Canada are significant as they came on Tuesday, which was when the U.S election process was underway.
The US President Donald Trump had opposed immigration from Mexico and Islamic countries into the US.
The Canadian Government has maintained that the immigration process for global talent from the high-tech sector and for international students will be made easier and seamless.
Students will also be provided ‘express entries’ as part of the new immigration process.

C. GS3 Related

India still losing fight against child pneumonia, diarrhoea epidemics

Category: Science and Technology

Topic: Health, Govt. Initiatives

Key Points:

The International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) published the Pneumonia and Diarrhoea Progress Report and this report has put India at the top of the list of 15 nations.
India recently announced a partial introduction of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in five states (Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh) from 2017.
Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda has mentioned that, “Adding life-saving vaccines such as PCV (pneumococcal conjugate) and rotavirus to our immunisation programme will not only improve the health of our children but will also reduce hospitalisation and other conditions associated with diarrhoea and pneumonia, such as malnutrition and delayed physical and mental development among children.”

As ATMs run out of cash, RBI ‘encourages’ public to go digital

Category: Indian Economy

Topic: Govt. Policies

Key Points:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has urged citizens to switch to alternative modes of payments such as such as pre-paid cards, credit and debit cards, mobile banking, and Internet banking.
The RBI has maintained that such usage will alleviate the pressure on the physical currency and also enhance the experience of living in the digital world.
The central bank maintained that adequate stocks of notes were kept ready in currency chests located at more than 4,000 places across the country.

What are pumpkin stars?

Category: Science and Technology

Topic: Developments

Key Points:

Recently, astronomers have discovered a batch of rapidly spinning stars that produce X- rays at more than 100 times the peak levels ever seen from the sun.
These stars spin so fast that they’ve been squashed into pumpkin- like shapes.
These stars are thought to be the result of close binary systems where two sun-like stars merge.
So far, 18 such stars have been found.

Burning an HIV test

Category: Science and Technology

Topic: Developments

Key Points:

HIV can now be tested with a pen drive.
The device, created by scientists at Imperial College London and DNA Electronics, uses a drop of blood to detect HIV, and then creates an electrical signal that can be read by a computer, laptop or handheld device.
The disposable test could be used for HIV patients to monitor their own treatment.

D. GS4 Related

Nothing here today folks!

E. Important Editorials: A Quick Glance

The Hindu

Make medical education a public good

Category: Governance, Science and Technology

Topic: Health, Govt. Initiatives

Key Points:

There is a justification for commercialization of education.
The justification lies in the belief that it will incentivise investors to set up medical colleges, increase the supply of doctors, induce competition and reduce the cost of tuition fees and services.
However, one should also take note of how things have unfolded in the U.S. where, post 2002, student debt has climbed to $1.2 trillion with 44 per cent of loan defaults among the “working-class students”.

The NITI Aayog, has given a three-point recommendation. These recommendations include,

allowing private investors to establish medical colleges untrammelled by regulations
freedom to levy fees for 60 per cent of the students to recoup their money
making the exit examination the marker for quality and for crowding out substandard institutions

These three-point recommendations are is expected to trigger healthy competition, reduce prices and assure quality.

The Indian Landscape:

India has 422 medical colleges with 58,000 annual admissions.
There is a dire need of doctors, with the doctor-population ratio at 1:1,500
Thus, a comprehensive policy framework is important. This would consist of a package of innovative approaches such as use of technology, faculty training in pedagogical skills, permitting foreign faculty to teach, etc.
These would be required to optimise churning out of doctors appropriate to our needs from existing colleges besides establishing new ones.

Will ENDS justify the means?

Category: Environment and Ecology

Topic: Climate Change

Key Points:

The recently concluded global anti-tobacco conference toed a hard line towards e-cigarettes and other vaping devices.
This was the seventh session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)
The session ended with Southeast Asian countries voting for complete prohibition of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) and Electronic Non-Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENNDS) in the region.

What is ‘Vaping’?

‘Vaping’ — a ‘tobacco-free’ version of the cigarette where smokers inhale the vapour through liquid in a vaporiser — has become extremely popular among smokers as a ‘healthier’ option to smoking.
It is important to note that, all vaping devices heat a solution called ‘e-liquid’. This creates an aerosol; the e-liquid comes in flavours that are dissolved into propylene glycol or/and glycerine.

What Health Organizations say?

Health organisations maintain that the toxicants generated by e-liquids can vary enormously.
Variations occur even within brands.
This is due to the increased thermal decomposition of e-liquid ingredients with rising applied temperatures in open system devices.

F. Concepts-in-News: Related Concepts to Revise/Learn:

G. Fun with Practice Questions 🙂

Question 1.Consider the following statements,

‘Vaping’ — a ‘tobacco-free’ version of the cigarette where smokers inhale the vapour through liquid in a vaporiser — has become extremely popular among smokers as a ‘healthier’ option to smoking.
All vaping devices heat a solution called ‘e-liquid’. This creates an aerosol; the e-liquid comes in flavours that are dissolved into propylene glycol or/and glycerine.

a) 1 Only b) 2 Only c) Both 1 and 2 d) Neither 1 nor 2

Question 2.Consider the following statements,

Recently, astronomers have discovered a batch of rapidly spinning stars that produce X- rays at more than 100 times the peak levels ever seen from the sun.
These stars spin so fast that they’ve been squashed into pumpkin- like shapes. These stars are thought to be the result of close binary systems where two sun-like stars merge.

a) 1 Only b) 2 Only c) Both 1 and 2 d) Neither 1 nor 2

Question 3.Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding the three-point recommendation given by the NITI Aayog, regarding commercialization of education,

Allowing private investors to establish medical colleges untrammelled by regulations
Freedom to levy fees for 60 per cent of the students to recoup their money
Making the exit examination the marker for quality and for crowding out substandard institutions

Which of the following statements is/are correct? a) 1 and 2 Only b) 2 and 3 Only c) All, 1, 2 and 3 d) Neither 1 nor 2 nor 3

Question 4.Consider the following statements,

Ukraine is bordered by the waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
Ukraine borders with seven countries: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Russia, and Belarus.

Which of the following statements is/are correct? a) 1 Only b) 2 Only c) Both 1 and 2 d) Neither 1 nor 2

Question 5.Consider the following statements,

The IAEA is the international centre for cooperation in the nuclear field, and works within the United Nations family.
The Agency works with its Member States and multiple partners worldwide to promote the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies.

Which of the following statements is/are correct? a) 1 Only b) 2 Only c) Both 1 and 2 d) Neither 1 nor 2

Check Your Answers

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