UPSC 2017: Comprehensive News Analysis - 22 May 2017

A. GS1 Related:
B. GS2 Related:

POLITY

1. The coal block allocation case may become a benchmark for other ongoing prosecutions

2. Defence deals await private firms

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. Bid to boost India, Africa trade ties

C. GS3 Related:

ECONOMY

1. Urjit to brief MPs’ panel on note ban only in June Framing of monetary policy to hold up RBI Governor 

2. ‘Centre has plan to make AI a great global airline’ 

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Green energy target tough, say officials Rooftop solar programme making poor progress as it is not cost-effective 

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Google woos start-ups to heat up its cloud Offers technology that combines a large amount of storage and computing to ventures that study Earth and simulate cities 

D. GS4 Related:
E. Concepts-in-News: Related Concepts to Revise/Learn
F. Bills/Acts/Schemes/Orgs in News
G. Practice Questions for UPSC Prelims Exam

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Useful News Articles for UPSC Current Affairs

A. GS1 Related

Nothing here for Today!!!

 

B. GS2 Related

Category: POLITY

1. The coal block allocation case may become a benchmark for other ongoing prosecutions

Key Points

  • It is seemingly the consistent result of the 2014 Supreme Court arrange proclaiming all coal piece distributions made since 1993 illicit and subjective.
  • The conviction of three Coal Ministry authorities, including previous Secretary H.C. Gupta, marks the main case in which singular criminal obligation has been settled on open workers in the coal square trick.
  • Two past trials had finished in feelings, however those held blameworthy were authorities of privately owned businesses who had hoodwinked the specialists into dispensing them squares.
  • Gupta was the director of the screening panel that suggested allotments. It worked for a considerable length of time without respect for rules, standards or straightforwardness, until the peak court ended its unpredictable run. He and two other open hirelings have been discovered liable of mishandling their positions to obtain a coal obstruct for Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Limited.
  • The decision is an examined arraignment of government procedures, or the absence of procedures, amid the period.
  • Regardless of whether there was a scheme between the authorities and the organization and whether the indictment demonstrated that these oversights added up to consider mishandle of their positions will be matters that will, most likely, be taken up on request; yet the hugeness of the decision is that it might turn into a benchmark for other continuous arraignments on comparable lines.
  • The case additionally brings up issues about the part and obligation of a Secretary to the administration, who is the authoritative leader of a division as well as a counselor to the Minister on matters of approach.

2. Defence deals await private firms

Key Points

  • The Union government will unveil mega defence deals estimated at over Rs. 5 lakh crore involving the private sector under the strategic partnership model to build a domestic defence manufacturing base in key areas such as submarines and fighter aircraft.
  • The new model, which is a chapter under the Defence Procurement Procedure, has four segments —submarines, single-engine fighter aircraft, helicopters and armoured carriers/main battle tanks — and specifically intends to open up defence manufacturing to the private sector.

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. Bid to boost India, Africa trade ties

Key Points

  • Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will discuss potential areas of boosting cooperation between India and Africa here on Monday.
  • Jaitley will open the India-Africa Cooperation session being held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the African Development Bank (AfDB).
  • The sessions will cover areas such as trade and investment, agriculture, renewable energy and manufacturing among others.
  • Total trade between India and Africa increased almost fivefold between 2005-06 and 2015-16, and stood at $52 billion in March 2016-17.
  • This is the first time that the African Development Bank is holding its annual meeting outside of the African continent.

 

C. GS3 Related

Category: ECONOMY

1. Urjit to brief MPs’ panel on note ban only in June Framing of monetary policy to hold up RBI Governor

Key Points

  • RBI Governor Urjit Patel will appear before a parliamentary panel for a second briefing on demonetisation on June 8, and not on May 25 as scheduled, as work on framing the monetary policy will be under way at that time.
  • The Standing Committee on Finance, which had questioned Mr. Patel on January 18 on the move to ban notes of 500 and Rs.1,000 denominations, allowed him to appear at a later date after he made a request expressing his inability.

2. ‘Centre has plan to make AI a great global airline’

Key Points

  • The Central government has a ‘winning’ strategy for its ailing national carrier Air India which is to turn it into a “great” global airline.

NITI Road-map

  • The Center as of late requested that NITI Aayog detail a guide for Air India’s future as the legislature is rethinking its procedure on future value imbuement into the national transporter. As a feature of the turnaround arrange, the Center has mixed Rs. 24,745 crore as value into Air India, as toward the finish of 2016-17.
  • He said that the Center needed to guarantee that the present obligation weight of the carrier, which is a “devastating burden” on its execution, is diminished.
  • Air India’s obligation remained at Rs.50,357 crore toward the finish of 2015-16.

Category: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Green energy target tough, say officials Rooftop solar programme making poor progress as it is not cost-effective

Key Points

  • The legislature is probably not going to meet its greatly advanced focus of 175 GW of sustainable power source by 2022 because of the poor advance of the rooftop solar based program.
  • The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is additionally considering expanding the commitment of different sources like biogas and small hydro to compensate for any shortfall.
  • The administration had declared an objective of 40 GW of rooftop solar oriented by 2022, however had accomplished just around 1.3 GW as of December 2016, which is somewhat more than 3% of the objective.

A few issues

  • The arrangement issue is that the levy structure at this moment is with the end goal that it is recently not gainful for individuals to set up rooftop solar based. The cost of doing as such is higher than the cash they remain to make.
  • The other issue is the utilization that individuals put their rooftops to.
  • Most rooftops in India are level, and individuals locate a few option utilizes for these, for example, drying garments, and notwithstanding facilitating gatherings or suppers. There are parts of India where individuals even consider their rooftops. So they would prefer not to cover that entire space with solar rooftops.

Challenges

  • The difficulties for rooftop solar based are distinctive. The first is that we don’t have budgetary foundations amassing request over an on a very basic level divergent arrangement of undertakings.
  • The second issue was the de-gambling of interest in the housetop space. While this has been accomplished for business solar powered tasks, it has not been accomplished for rooftop solar based.
  • The third issue is that there is no administrative lucidity on ensured installment by utilities on the net metering premise.

Category: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Google woos start-ups to heat up its cloud Offers technology that combines a large amount of storage and computing to ventures that study Earth and simulate cities

Key Points

Google is wooing a portion of the world’s most sweltering new companies to offer its distributed computing innovation.

  • These incorporate endeavors that send satellites into the space to concentrate the evolving earth, firms that change over conventional assembling plants into shrewd industrial facilities and new companies that are reproducing whole urban areas.
  • Google is putting forth cloud innovation that consolidates a lot of capacity and processing. It then pitches it to clients who might need to upgrade or set up new server farms.
  • Planet Labs, Inc, a start-up which is set for picture the whole Earth each day, and roll out the worldwide improvement unmistakable, said that it has changed to Google Cloud to host its symbolism and do information preparing.

 

D. GS4 Related

Nothing here for Today!!!

 

PIB Articles                                         

 

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

 

F. Bills/Acts/Schemes/Orgs in News
Article in News About the article

 

G. Practice Questions for UPSC Prelims Exam
Question 1: What is the target of solar rooftop energy from renewable electicity target 
set by MNRE by 2022?
  1. 5 GW
  2. 20 GW
  3. 40 GW
  4. 100 GW
See
Answer


(c)

Topic: Renewable energy
Type: Factual
Level: Medium

Explanation:

The Defence Acquisition Council recently discussed the much-awaited ‘strategic partnership model’ under which select private firms would manufacture fighter jets, helicopters and submarines in India in partnership with foreign companies.

Question 2: Defence Acquisition Council is headed by which of the following minister?
  1. Prime Minister
  2. Home Minister
  3. Defense Minister
  4. Finance Minister
See
Answer


(c)

Topic: Polity
Type: Factual
Level: Medium

Explanation:

MNRE renewable electricity targets have been upscaled to grow from just under 43 GW in April 2016 to 175 GW by the year 2022, including 100 GW from solar power, 60 GW from wind power, 10 GW from bio power and 5 GW from small hydro power.

The 100 GW has been split into 40 GW and 60 GW for solar rooftop panels and grid connected solar power plants(Solar PV and solar thermal).

Question 3: With reference to African Development Bank Group (AfDB), consider the 
statements.
  1. The AfDB promotes the investment of public capital onlyl in projects and programs that are likely to contribute to the economic and social development of the region.
  2. It comprises of three entities: The African Development Bank, the African Development Fund and the Nigeria Trust Fund.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. None
See
Answer


(b)

Topic : IR
Type : Factual
Level : Medium

Explanation:

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or Banque Africaine de Developpment (BAD) is a multilateral development finance institution established by Laston M. to contribute to the economic development and social progress of African countries.

The AfDB was founded in 1964 and comprises three entities:

  1. The African Development Bank,
  2. The African Development Fund and
  3. The Nigeria Trust Fund

The AfDB’s mission is to fight poverty and improve living conditions on the continent through promoting the investment of public and private capital in projects and programs that are likely to contribute to the economic and social development of the region.

The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies investing in the regional member countries (RMC).

Question 4: Consider the statements:
  1. International Solar Alliance includes all the members of United Nations.
  2. It was launched during Paris summit.

Which of the above statements is/are correct ?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. None
See
Answer


(c)

Topic: Environment
Type: Factual
Level: Medium

Explanation: On the first day of the COP-21 summit, the International Solar Alliance was launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande as a union of countries with abundant sunlight.

Under this alliance, 121 countries that fall within the tropics {i.e. between Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn} have been invited to make collaborative efforts to harness solar energy to generate the electricity. Most of these countries fall within Asia, Africa and South America.

There are three objectives behind the International Solar Alliance:

  • first is to force down prices by driving demand;
  • second is to bring standardization in solar technologies and
  • third is to foster research and development.
Question 5: Consider the following statements:
  1. Urjit Patel panel report has recommended for setting up of monetary policy committee.
  2. Monetary Policy Committee is an executive body of 6 members of which, three members are from RBI while three other members are nominated by the Central Government.

Which of the above statements is/are correct ?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. None
See
Answer


(c)

Topic: Economy
Type: Factual
Level: Medium

Explanation:

Recommendations for MPC Strong recommendations to set monetary policy committee in India had come from Urjit Patel panel report.

Setting up of MPC The Monetary Policy Committee was set up in 2015 after amending the RBI Act. Before that, Government and RBI made an agreement via which Government tasked RBI with the responsibility for price stability and inflation targeting. In context, a Monetary Policy Framework Agreement was signed on February 20, 2015.

Composition of MPC Monetary Policy Committee is an executive body of 6 members. Of these, three members are from RBI while three other members are nominated by the Central Government. Each member has one vote. In case of a tie, the RBI governor has casting vote to break the tie. MPC is required to meet for two days before deciding on rates. Further, it is needed to meet at least four times a year and make public its decisions following each meeting.

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