Comprehensive News Analysis - 16 February 2016

Table of Contents:

A. GS1 Related:

1. Transgender Sub-Inspector ready to take charge

B. GS2 Related:

1. Mysuru raja again

2. Nepal PM Oli says India visit aimed at normalizing ties

3. Despite threats 1000s join anti-polio drive in Pakistan

4. Djibouti,Myanmar,Sri Lanka anchor Silk Road

5. SC refuses to disclose data on pending verdicts

C. GS3 Related:

1. Not desirable to use exchange rate to spur economic growth, says Rajan

2. Policy for capital goods introduced

D. GS4 Related:
E. Important Editorials: A Quick Glance

1. Owning without interfering

2. An ominous operetta

3. India must enhance its trade diplomacy

F. Concepts-in-News: Related Concepts to Revise/Learn
G. Practice Questions
H. Archives

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Useful News Articles

A. GS1 Related:

1. Transgender Sub-Inspector ready to take charge

Topic:Society

Category:gender issues

Location:The Hindu,Page 9

Key Points:

• a transgender,PrithikaYashini has received her appointment order as SI of police in TN

• her application was initially rejected by the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board(TNUSRB) over her gender choice

• The Madras HC had passed orders allowing her to take the written test, physical endurance test and vivavoce.

B. GS2 Related:

1.Mysuru raja again

Topic:Polity

Category: Governance-sanitation

Location:The Hindu, Page 1,9

Key Points:

• Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah

Naidu announcedthe results ofthe SwachhSarvekshan Survey, conducted by the Quality Council of India

• the survey was carried out in 73 cities, including 51 cities that have a population of over 10 lakh each and 22 capitals

• the survey ranks cities based on cleanliness, availability of dustbins, regularity of waste collection, availability of toilet facilities and their maintenance and count of households with toilets

• Cities from the south and west continued to do well.

• Score card:Chennai (36), Hyderabad(19), Greater Mumbai(10),Bangalore(38) New Delhi corporation (4)

• Mysuru came first and Dhanbad last

2.Nepal PM Oli says India visit aimed at normalizing ties

Topic:International Relations

Category: India’s neighbours

Location:The Hindu,Page 14

nepal PM

Key Points:

• Nepal PM, K.P. Sharma Oli is to make his maiden visit to India this week on the invitation of PM Modi

• Agenda quoted:”to correct the misunderstanding and bring back the relations on track”

• Protests and blockade(at Indo-Nepal border from 23 Sept 2015 ) were ended by the Madhesis a few days ago on 4 Feb 2016

3. Despite threats 1000s join anti-polio drive in Pakistan

Topic:International Relations

Category: Effect of policies of countries on India’s interests.

Location:The Hindu,Page 14

Key Points:

• despite continuing militant threats to vaccination teams,1 lakh health workers fanned out across Pakistan in a drive to eliminate the polio virus this year

• Pakistan accounts for more than 70 per cent of the world’s cases of polio

• Polio is now endemic in only 2 countries- Pakistan and Afghanistan.

• Polio workers have faced attacks by militants who say they are Western spies, or that the vaccines administered are intended to sterilize children.

• With 2 of her neighboursharbouring the virus, India is not completely insulated from the threat of the disease

4. Djibouti,Myanmar,Sri Lanka anchor Silk Road

Topic:International Relations

Category: Effect of policies of countries on India’s interests..

Location:The Hindu,Page 14

Djibouti,Myanmar

Key Points:

• A military base in Djibouti along with major port development projects in Myanmar and Sri Lanka are touted as part of China’s Maritime Silk Road Project

• The naval facility will be established at Doraleh Multi-Purpose Port –a $590 million project steered by a Chinese state owned company

• Djibouti is strategically located on the junction of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea—a gateway to the Suez Canal

• China is also goingto build a new Free Trade Zone(FTZ) in Djibouti, whose first phase would open later this year

• China has signed a deal to develop an Industrial Park and a deep water port in Kyaukphyu(Bay of Bengal) in Myanmar

• In Sri Lanka there are prospects of the revival of the stalled Colombo port city project under new conditions

• China seems to be adding more nodes to her Indian Ocean Profile

5. SC refuses to disclose data on pending verdicts

Topic:Polity

Category: judiciary,RTI

Location:The Hindu, Page 13

Key Points:

• The SC dismissed a plea to maintain data on its pending judgments and make the information public under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

• the Central Information Commission’s (CIC) decision to disclose the number of pending judgments wasopposed by the SC

• The CIC’s decision was based on the SC’s 2001 judgment in Anil Rai vs. State of Bihar.

• The ruling had pointed out that “the confidence of the litigants in the results of the litigation is shaken if there is an unreasonable delay in rendering a judgment after reserving the same”

• The Commission’s decision was upheld by a single judge of the Delhi High Court

• The single judge’s order was set aside by a Division Bench following an appeal by the Registrar representing the Supreme Court.

C. GS3 Related:

1. Not desirable to use exchange rate to spur economic growth, says Rajan

Topic:Economic Development

Category:State of Indian Economy

Location:The Hindu,Page 15

Mr.Rajan

Key Points:

• The Indian rupee is one of Asia’s worst performing currencies against the U.S. dollar this year

• Mr.Rajan said the RBI and the government don’t favour undervaluation of the exchange rate as a means to spur economic growth

• He said the central bank’s policy is to minimize situations of extreme volatility and intervene when the exchange rate becomes extremely volatile.

• Indian industry is to grow based on capabilities, cost-effectiveness and innovative ideas rather than from undervaluation according to the governor.

2.Policy for capital goods introduced

Topic:Economic Development

Category:State of Indian Economy

Location: The Hindu, Page 15

Key Points:

• The government introduced a National Capital Goods Policy

• Minister of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprise unveiled the policy during the Make in India Week programme

• Objectives:

• to increase production of capital goods from Rs. 2.30 lakh crore in 2014-15 to Rs. 7.50 lakh crore in 2025

• raising direct and indirect employment from the current 8.4 million to 30 million

• making India a net exporter of capital goods

• improving technology across sub-sectors of heavy industry

• increasing skill availability

• ensuring mandatory standards

• promoting growth and capacity building of MSMEs

• Plan of action:

• Budgetary allocation to Heavy Industry Export and Market Development Assistance Scheme (HIEMDA)
andTechnology Development Fund

• setting up a new testing and certification facility

• providing more opportunities to local manufacturing units

• Scheme for skill development for capital goods sector.

D. GS4 Related:
E. Important Editorials: A Quick Glance

1. Owning without interfering

Topic:Economic Development

Category:State of Indian Economy

Location:The Hindu,Page 10

Key Points:

• The Indian banking system is in crisis at the moment

• Banks are reporting hefty losses in the face of mounting bad loans.

• The FM says that the country had not reached a stage where the government could pull out of the banking system altogether

• In the last 3 to 4 decades, state-owned banks have played an important role in reaching out to unbanked areas, he said.

• It seems that this fact has been conveniently used by govts to perpetuate their hold over the banking system.

• Reducing financial stake in state-owned banks would only help fill government coffers

• The problem of conflict of interest remains

• Ring-fencing the government’s equity stakes in banks in an independent, professionally-managed holding company is something to begin with

• Financial decision-making has become an increasingly complex process involving dynamic variables.

• It’s time to break new ground in the banking field by doing away with governmental interference

• Only then can banks take financially viable decisions determined by prudent economics rather than populist considerations

2. An ominous operetta

Topic:Polity

Category:governance

Location:The Indian Express, Page 14

Key Points:

• the writer wonders whether:

• the Indian state is becoming a fascist state by throttling the freedom of college students to shout slogans

• street violence(ABVP,Bajrang Dal) and compliant police administration have been used to silence dissent in an institution(university) where critical examination is to be fostered

• the hysteria in hunting the ‘anti national’ is emerging from the pathological fear of ideas manifested by the ‘nationalists’

• The writer says that the public university is the space to throw up ideas often contentious and even wrong

• But if deprived of it these ideas can go underground and mutate and become truly dangerous(violent)

3. India must enhance its trade diplomacy

Topic:Economic Development

Category:State of Indian Economy

Location:The Economic Times,Page 24

Key Points:

• India is keen to ratify the trade facilitation agreement (TFA) on goods of the WTO according to reports

• But the TFA would come into force only after 2/3rds of the 162 WTO member countries formally accept it; only 63 nations have done so.

• Meanwhile tariff and non-tariff walls are hurting Indian initiativeslike ‘Make in India’

• Therefore we need to explore heightened engagement on trade while keeping WTO-TFA as the ultimate target

• What is to be done immediately:

• The EU-India free trade agreement needs to be concluded

• India needs to seek membership of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum

• Apec membership could make it possible for us to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a work in progress

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

i. China’s string of pearls

ii. Constitutional development in Nepal

iii. Swachch Bharat

iv. Horn of Africa

v. RTI

vi. RBI

vii.Undervaluation of currency

viii.CIC

ix. APEC

x. Trans-Pacific Partnership

G. Fun with Practice Questions 🙂
To be Updated

Check Your Answers

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IAS General Studies Notes Links
Article 356 Civil Services
Harappan Civilisation Sources Of Indian Constitution
Reservation System In India Bodo Language
Lbsnaa Mussoorie Supreme Court Of India Judgements
Wildlife Protection Act World Day Of Social Justice

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