Comprehensive News Analysis - 24 February 2017

A. GS1 Related

B. GS2 Related

1. India, Israel to develop missile for Army

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

Key Points:

• Ahead of the likely visit of Prime Minister Naendra Modi to Israel in June, India has approved a deal to jointly develop a medium range surface-to-air missile (MR-SAM) system for the Army in a Rs. 17,000-crore deal.
• The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), headed by Mr. Modi, gave the go-ahead for the deal to be executed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI).
• The deal is for 200 missiles for five regiments, each getting 40 units. The missile has a range of 50-70 km.

• Digital India offers opportunities but there is little clarity on the underlying potential for corporates — such as outlook on software applications for payment apps, educational tools, healthcare solutions. The companies should seek more information.
• Greater deployment of IT in public services would be useful in bringing down corruption in government and widen the access of citizens.
• The US federal and State governments have also been clients of the Indian IT and ITeS companies for the past two decades. Many of the learnings and experiences in the US market can be offered by these companies in India — to the Union and State governments as well as the private sector.

• The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated an international conference on ‘Bharat Bodh’ (Idea of Bharat) organized by the Indira Gandhi National Open University and Bhartiya Shikshan Mandal in New Delhi.
• He also hoped that deep insights would be gained into the idea of statecraft, governance, individual-society relations, structures, purposes and methodology of education, organic relationships with nature, and correlation between spiritual and material life.
• The President said that Bharat has always been recognized as the storehouse of knowledge and discovery – knowledge which liberates, and discovery which fathoms the deepest thoughts of humanity and co-existence.
• As the origin and repository of philosophical and spiritual values, rivers of wisdom flow through the collective consciousness of our great people.
• He quoted American author Mark Twain and said “India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only”.
• The President said that this was indeed true. India is a land of great traditions, history and discoveries. Its people have lived in this great civilization giving rise to a unique trait of oneness overcoming the apparent contradictions, thriving on a composite culture and yet alive to the identities of its sub-parts. The President said that India is a land of huge diversity. Yet all its people are living under one system, one flag and one Constitution. All of us are proud to be Indians and we celebrate this diversity. He hoped that the deliberations at the Conference would enrich our perceptions regarding our country.
• The President said that the idea of Bharat flows from the eternal wisdom of our rich intellectual traditions. Constant churning and refinement has been the secret of the continuity of the Bharatiya thought through times and turbulences.
• Our core civilizational values which are equally relevant today and which speak of love for the motherland, performance of duty, compassion for all, tolerance for pluralism, respect for women, honesty in life, self-restraint in conduct, responsibility in action, and discipline – form the Bharatiya world view.
• The Bharatiya conceptualization of the world encompasses philosophy, knowledge systems, principles of statecraft and legality, literature, architecture, art and music and all other important spheres of life.
• The diverse strands of the Bharatiya thought find unity in their objectives similar to the diversity and oneness of the universe. They remain instilled with the same essential spirit residing in every being and non-being. This is manifested in the unique ways of celebrating our diversity and confluence, and change with continuity.

• The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (SDE) and Wadhwani Operating Foundation (WOF) signed two Agreements for effectuating an earlier understanding of jointly developing and implementing Entrepreneurship and Skill Development initiatives in the country with the Pradhan Mantri YUVA Scheme being the first joint effort in this regard.
• Pradhan Mantri YUVA Scheme launched by the Ministry during November, 2016 aims at providing on line Entrepreneurship Education to about 15 lakh students across the country through 3050 Project Institutes consisting of Institutions of Higher Learning; Schools; ITIs and Entrepreneurship Development Centres, both Government and Private.
• The on-line Entrepreneurship Modules will be duly supplemented by the class room based experiential learning activities and practicums which will be facilitated by specially trained Faculty of the educational institutions.
• The Ministry would also provide financial assistance to these institutions for different activities under the Scheme. The total scheme outlay is Rs.450 crores.

Question 1: Consider the following statements:

Question 2: Consider the following statements, regarding the newly 
discovered exoplanet system:

Question 3: Which of the following organizations bring out the report 
known as ‘The World Trade Report’?

Question 4: Consider the following statements, regarding MUDRA Bank:

Question 5: Which of the following organizations bring out the report 
known as ‘World Social Protection Report’?