UPSC Exams Comprehensive News Analysis 26th April 2016

Useful News Articles

A. GS1 Related

Nothing here for today folks!

B. GS2 Related

1. Eight accused in 2006 Malegaon blasts case discharged

Topic: polity Category: executive Location: The Hindu Key points:

A Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court discharged nine Malegaon locals from the Malegaon 2006 blasts case
They were arrested by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad in 2006 for their role in the blasts. The case was later handed over the CBI, which endorsed the ATS findings.In 2011, the case was handed over to the NIA
the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had told the court that it did not have any evidence to link them to the blasts case in 2014

Tags: ATS, CBI, NIA, MCOCA

2. Home Ministry confirms cancellation of Uighur-Chinese leader’s visa

Topic: International Relations Category: India-China Relations Location: The Hindu Key points:

Indian visa for Dolkun Isa, exiled Uighur-Chinese leader wanted by Beijing, has been cancelled, sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)
the visa was cancelled on finding out that the Electronic Tourist Visa that Mr. Isa had applied for and received was invalid for addressing public meetings in India

Tags: MHA, Uighur

3. Better to dance in bars than beg on streets: SC

Topic: Polity Category: Judiciary Location: the Hindu Key points:

A Bench of SC Justices said the Maharashtra government should not adopt a prohibitory mindset when the apex court has only asked it to regulate the activities of dance bars
The court directed all dance bars applicants to co-operate with providing information on any criminal antecedents of their employees to the police, besides installing CCTV cameras

Tags:SC

4. Centre steps in to expedite patent approvals

Topic: governance Category: patents Location: the Hindu Key points:

The government is taking measures to reduce the time to examine patent applications for clearing them at the earliest(The pendency in patent applications and trademark registration as on February 1, 2016 was around 2.37 lakh and 5.44 lakh respectively)
DIPP is the nodal agency for most Intellectual Property issues including patents
Now the time for the first examination of patent applications is between 5 and 7 years. The target is to bring it down to 18 months.One of the main reasons for this situation was shortage of manpower (examiners)

Tags: DIPP, Intellectual Property

5. Colombo justifies move to sign bilateral, regional trade pacts

Topic: International Relations Category: Sri Lanka and India Location: the Hindu Key points:

Justifying the proposed Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement with India, Sri Lankan govt. said foreign companies would like to invest in Sri Lanka not just for the Sri Lankan market but for the global or regional market
The Sri Lankan Foreign affairs minister said addressing the representatives of trade and industry of Sri Lanka and Swedish companies based in India and Sri Lanka: “we want to give you the access not just to what will be a 8 million -30,000 $ per capita income city in the next 10-15 years but also access to Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi markets.”

Tags:Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement

6. With eye on eliminating malaria by 2030, govt wants to rope in private sector

Topic: governance Category: health sector Location: the Times of India Key points:

With the aim of fulfilling its commitment to eliminate malaria by 2030, the health ministry has decided to rope in private players for part funding of initiatives under the national framework for malaria control programme, launched earlier this year
Government spends Rs 500 crore annually for anti-malaria initiatives whereas by its own estimate the programme requires over Rs 5,000 crore to respond to the challenge. According to the Institute of Economic Growth in 2014, the economic burden due to malaria in India is around $1.94 billion To start with, the government has signed an agreement with drug maker Sun Pharma, which makes anti-malarial drug Synriam
Government estimates show, India accounts for around 70% of malaria cases as well as deaths in South East Asian countries. Around 91% of the country’s population is at risk of malaria, with 14% being at high risk

Tags: the national framework for malaria control programme

7. Indo- Mongolia Joint Military Exercise, Nomadic Elephant- 2016 Commences at Mongolia

Topic: International Relations Category: Mongolia and India Location: PIB Key points:

The Eleventh Indo-Mongolia joint training Exercise, ‘Nomadic Elephant – 2016’ to promote military associations between India and Mongolia is ongoing now
The aim of this exercise is to develop synergy and interoperability between the two armies to fight in Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism environment under the United Nation mandate

Tags:Nomadic Elephant – 2016

C. GS3 Related

1. Off-label use of IPV vaccine to tide over shortage

Topic: S & T Category: Health Location: The Hindu Key points:

Due to shortage of Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) globally, children in Puducherry and seven States (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Telangana) will get two doses of 0.1 ml each at 6 and 14 weeks and administered intradermally (Children in the rest of the country will get 0.5 ml of the vaccine at 14 weeks administered intramuscular)
The vaccine has been licensed by the manufacturers only for intramuscular use and not for intradermal administration. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has, however, permitted the use of the vaccine intradermally as only one-fifth of the vaccine will be required to vaccinate a child
The India Expert Advisory Group (IEAG) has recommended reassessment of the use of fractional dose of IPV in seven States and Puducherry after one year and take a decision to either continue in these States and Puducherry or expand it to more States based on the “lessons learnt from the experience and the supply position at that point in time

Tags: IPV,GPEI,IEAG

2. FDI inflows hit record $51 bn in April-February last fiscal

Topic: Economy Category: investment Location: The Hindu FDI_inflows_2828494f Key points:

India received $51 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI), the highest-ever FDI inflow in a fiscal, during April-February FY16, according to Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP)

Tags: DIPP,FDI

3. Experts discover a new state of water molecule

Topic: S & T Category: Physics Location: The Times of India Key points:

Scientists have unveiled unique and unexpected behaviour of water molecules that is unmatched by any known gas, liquid or solid states
It is called tunneling state of water molecules exhibited under ultra confinement in rocks, soil and cell walls
At low temperatures, this tunnelling water exhibits quantum motion through the separating potential walls, which is forbidden in classical world( “This means the oxygen and hydrogen atoms of water molecule are `delocalised’ and therefore simultaneously present in all six symmetrically equivalent positions in the channel at the same time “)

Tags: tunneling state, quantum motion

4. $100m project unveiled to launch nano rockets into deep space

Topic: S & T Category: Physics Location: The Indian Panorama Key points:

The Breakthrough Starshot campaign aims to create a craft about the size of a postage stamp and propel it with blasts of energy from an array of laser beams
Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to Earth, located 25 trillion miles (or 4.37 light-years) away
All of the necessary parts – cameras, thrusters, power supply and navigation equipment – can all be mounted on a tiny plate that will be a fully functional space probe(nano rocket). They will travel at a speed as fast as 20 per cent of the speed of light, which is about 100 million miles per hour, using laser beams transmitted from Earth

Tags: nano rockets, Alpha Centauri, The Breakthrough Starshot

D. GS4 Related

E. Important Editorials: A Quick Glance

The Hindu

1. A desperate situation

Topic: Polity Category: Judiciary Key points:

The pendency of cases in India’s overburdened and understaffed judiciary is well documented
The numbers are startling: against a perceived requirement of about 50,000 judges, the country has a judicial strength of a mere 18,000, while more than three crore cases are pending in various courts
In the Supreme Court, the current pendency is 60,260 for a Bench consisting of 31 judges. As many as 434 posts of High Court judges are vacant, while 38.68 lakh pending cases are stretching available infrastructure and resources
Twin problems: pending cases, shortage of judicial resources
The situation demands an ambitious infusion of manpower and financial resources, for which even State governments will have to contribute immensely
the Law Commission, in its 245th report two years had suggested a ‘rate of disposal’ method by which the number of judges required at each level to dispose of a particular number of cases could be computed based on analysis
The Centre and the judiciary should collaborate on finding practical solutions: appointing more judges, including retired judges as ad hoc judicial officers, based on periodic needs assessments, increasing their retirement age, and deploying judicial resources efficiently

Tags: SC, law Commission

Indian Express:

1. How To Measure Poverty

Topic: Governance Category: poverty measurement Key Points:

Panagariya has reportedly suggested that the Tendulkar Committee’s report should be accepted for poverty estimation but socio-economic indicators, say, as collected by the Socio-Economic Caste Census, should be used to determine entitlement for benefits, an approach suggested earlier by N.C. Saxena
The Panagariya Panel on poverty has separated the two exercises –

The first would be for entitlement for schemes and the secondfor poverty estimation Poverty estimation methods adopted in the past(determining poverty ratio or head-count ratio)

calorie based(focus on food grains)- Alagh task force
based on the expenditure required to meet the calorie requirement – Tendulkar committee

(They works in a framework where the state will not have the responsibility for the education and health needs, or for that matter drinking water needs, of the poor)

the Saxena Committee for defining concepts for the next BPL emphasis on access to social facilities and asset and education opportunities, for which he suggests a system of deprivation points based on many indicators, including caste, asset positions, educational achievements, and so on
Saxena takes on the issue of entitlements head-on, but Tendulkar sidesteps it. Panagariya will have to cope with all this and it is likely that a neat separation of poverty estimation and entitlements won’t be possible

Tags:the Socio-Economic Caste Census, Tendulkar Committee report,Alagh task force, BPL

Others:

1. The Business line: Seizing the moment

Topic: Economy Category: investment Key points:

India had toppled China as the top recipient of greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2015
It reflects that investors are getting convinced about steps being taken to make India an easier place to do business
The fall of China from the top position was largely a result of build-up of excess capacity in the country and its economic slowdown
In India’s context, greenfield FDI is a lot more desirable than foreign investment that is attracted by mergers and acquisitions deals because it involves creation of new facilities and new jobs, and helps in raising the level of economic activity in a nation. FDI inflows emanating from M&A deals, in contrast, result in reallocation of resources — and only a portion of that may go into the creation of new assets, plants and jobs
Direct investments in projects are also much more stable and long-term than portfolio investments in financial assets, and help build up the country’s foreign exchange reserves, necessary to keep the exchange rate stable as well as pay for imports
But in order to attract FDI on a sustained basis — in both greenfield and brownfield projects — India needs to markedly improve the quality of its infrastructure- better roads and highways, railway networks and ports, uninterrupted and affordable power, adequate water and good communication networks — all areas where China is literally a generation ahead — the current surge may dry up if growth revives in China
In a sense, it is a chicken-and-egg situation. The country needs investments in all these areas. Some of that will have to come in the form of FDI, and investments come only when certain basic facilities are in place
Tags: FDI, greenfield and brownfield FDI

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

FDI
The Panagariya Panel on poverty
DIPP
IPV

A new business concept in the making:(source: The Hindu) peer-to-peer lending (P2P). P2P is where consumers lend and borrow from each other with the help of an intermediary.Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had come up with a discussion paper exploring the securities aspect of the business. However, RBI is yet to come up with its own discussion paper from the lending and borrowing side (source: The Hindu) Obituary:PoornimaArvindPakvasa(source:PIB) Took part in the Dandi March in Saurashtra, during which she was arrested. Her inmate in jail was Kasturba Gandhi. In 1956 she started “Shaktidal”, an institution for the cultural, physical and spiritual education of women. Later in 1969, it was transformed into RitambharaVishvaVidyapeeth and extended its activities into a full-fledged residential school and college at Saputara(Gujarat). In 2004 she was awarded the Padma Bhushan award for her services to the society.

G. Fun with Practice Questions 🙂

Question 1:Which of the following is/are included in the Indradhanush Immunization programme by GoI?

Diphtheria
Pertussis
Hepatitis B
Diarrhea

a) 1 and 2 b) 2 and 3 c) 2, 3 and 4 d) 1, 2 and 3

Question 2: Which of the following is/are true?

A major concern about OPV is its ability to revert to a form that can cause paralysis
Oral polio vaccine (OPV) is a live attenuated vaccine

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

Question 3:Which of the following statements are true?

Alpha Centauri is the nearest star system to our solar system
Nano rockets propelled by photons are being deployed to reach Alpha Centauri

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

Question 4:Which of the following statements is/are true?

The Head count ratio (HCR) is the proportion of a population that exist BPL
The Tendulkar committee recommendation was expenditure based

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

Question 5:Which of the following statements is/are true?

Jaundice can be a symptom of Malaria
Malaria is caused by Plasmodium falciparum

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

Check Your Answers

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