UPSC 2017: Comprehensive News Analysis - November 20

A. GS1 Related
B. GS2 Related
POLITY
1. New J&K surrender policy to target local militants
2. J&K government to set up ‘milk villages’
3. ‘Dispose of old cases in mission mode’
4. Making caste slur on SC/STs over phone an offence, says SC
5. 210 govt. websites made Aadhaar details public: UIDAI
6. Govt. nod to suggestion on Haj quota increase
C. GS3 Related
ECONOMY
1. RBI to launch multimedia campaign
2. Centre to spur local electronics output
3. Centre readies institutional body to push electric mobility
4. ‘India up one notch in per capita GDP’
INTERNAL SECURITY AND DEFENSE RELATED DEVELOPMENTS
1. Tejas world-class fighter jet, plays defined role’
MISCELLANEOUS NEWS
1. ‘Trump village’ gets the biggest toilet pot model
D. GS4 Related
E. Prelims Fact
F. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
G. UPSC Mains Practice Questions 

A. GS1 Related

B. GS2 Related

Fresh surrender policy:

• Earlier, the surrender policy was limited to those who crossed the Line of Control into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early 1990s and were stuck there.
• The new surrender policy is considering provision of “passports and jobs to any local youth who gives up the gun” and “support for his full assimilation into society.

In news:

• The Jammu and Kashmir government has hit upon the idea of setting up ‘milk villages’ across the State in an attempt to bridge the demand-supply deficit of milk.
• Under this ambitious project of the Animal Husbandry Department, 50 identified beneficiaries of the village will be provided 100% subsidy to establish dairy farm units on modern lines.
• The project would also provide an opportunity to Gujjars — the main milk producer’s group — to grow up economically and contribute to the State.
• Establishing ‘milk villages’ will not only improve the standard of life of the community, but also boost the economy and social status of the tribe.

In news:

• Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad urged judges of the High Courts and the district courts to work in a ‘mission mode’ to dispose of all 10-year-old pending cases as quickly as possible.
• He also called upon lawyers to give pre-litigation services and start pro bono advocacy to give honest, credible and free legal advice to the poor.

In news:

• The Supreme Court has ruled that using casteist remarks over phone in a public place against the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe category amounts to criminal offence, warranting a jail of a maximum five years.
• The apex court refused to stay criminal proceedings and quash an FIR against a person, who allegedly used derogatory casteist remarks over phone to a woman from the the SC/ST category.

In news:

• More than 200 central and State government websites publicly displayed details such as names and addresses of some Aadhaar beneficiaries
• The UIDAI took note and got the Aadhaar data removed from the said websites

UIDAI and Data security:

• UIDAI has a well-designed, multi-layer approach robust security system in place
• It is being constantly upgraded to maintain the highest level of data security and integrity
• The architecture of the Aadhaar ecosystem has been designed to ensure data security and privacy which is an integral part of the system from the initial design to the final stage

How does UIDAI ensure data security?

• Various policies and procedures have been defined, these are reviewed and updated continually
• This helps to appropriately control and monitor any movement of people, material, and data in and out of UIDAI premises
• Security audits are conducted on a regular basis to further strengthen security and privacy of data

In news:

• The government has accepted a high-level committee’s recommendation of increasing by over 3% the quota of private tour operators sending Haj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.
• The high-level committee formed by the government to frame the draft ‘Haj Policy 2018-2022’ had made the recommendation last month.
• The committee had recommended that the quota of private tour operators be increased from the present 26.47% to 30%.
• Key fact: India has an annual Haj quota of 1.70 lakh. Out of this, according to the allocation for 2017, 1.25 lakh pilgrims could travel to Saudi Arabia through the Haj Committee of India (HCoI).

C. GS3 Related

Context:

• New innovative approach to educate the citizens.

In news:

• The Reserve Bank is planning to launch a full-fledged multimedia and multilingual campaign to create general awareness among citizens of its regulations and initiatives.
• The RBI’s communication department has sought applications from advertising agencies for designing the creatives for the pan-India awareness campaign.
• The campaign will be in 14 languages — Hindi, Assamese, Bangla, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, and English — with focus on regional languages.
• The media mix will include traditional ones such as newspapers, magazines, radio, television channels and cinema halls and new ones that include digital.
• It also plans to create an awareness campaign — Suno RBI Kya Kehta Hai — through SMSs to warn the public against falling prey to unsolicited and fictitious offers from fraudsters.

Context:

• Net zero imports in electronics by 2020

In news:

• The government is set to bring out a new policy to spur domestic electronics production by March 2018 in a bid to boost its flagship ‘Make in India’ programme and curb the country’s trade deficit.
• The government had first unveiled an Electronics Manufacturing Policy in 2012, which included schemes such as Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme and electronic development fund.
• The new policy is likely to take a re-look at the utility of these schemes which have either ended or will expire soon.
• Innovation, R&D: the revised National Policy on Electronics will strive to increase the competitiveness of the electronics manufacturing industry; innovation, R&D and start-ups; promoting research in emerging technologies and India-specific initiatives and strategies to promote/ incentivise exports in electronics system design and manufacturing.
• Key Fact: Domestic consumption of electronic hardware in India was $63.6 billion in 2014-15. Imports stood at $36.9 billion, as per NITI Aayog.

In news:

• The government plans to set up a committee for an institutional framework on large-scale adoption of electric vehicles in India as a viable clean energy mode — particularly for shared mass transport — to help bring down alarming levels of pollution in big cities.
• The government think-tank NITI Aayog has sought comments from Ministries, including heavy industry, environment, road, transport and highways, and power on the issue and is in the process of chalking out the nitty-gritty of the framework.
• The panel will be tasked with issues related to electric mobility, including setting up of charging stations across the country and subsidising the cost of electric vehicles on a long-term basis.
• The Centre has recently invited proposals from cities with population of above 10 lakh for extending grants under the FAME India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles in India) scheme to promote large-scale adoption of EVs (electric vehicles) in multi-modal public transport.

IMF data:

• India has moved up one position to 126 in terms of GDP per capita of countries.
• India still ranked lower than all its BRICS peers.
• Qatar remains the world’s richest on this parameter.
• The data, which forms part of the latest World Economic Outlook report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), ranks over 200 countries in terms of per capita GDP based on purchasing power parity (PPP).

What is PPP?

• PPP is the rate at which the currency of one country needs to be converted into that of a second country to ensure that a given amount of the first country’s currency will purchase the same volume of goods and services in the second country as it does in the first.

In news:

• Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) manufacturer of Tejas states: The indigenously developed Tejas Light Combat Aircraft is a world class fighter jet and can effectively play its “defined” role in securing Indian skies.
• Tejas is a four-and-half generation world class fighter jet.
• IAF remarks: The aircraft is not enough to maintain its combat readiness and it needed to quickly procure a fleet of foreign single engine fighters to deal with any possible security challenges, in the backdrop of the dwindling size of its fighter fleet.

• World’s biggest toilet pot model was unveiled at Marora, popularly known as the ‘Trump village’, in Haryana on the World Toilet Day on Sunday in a bid to create awareness towards sanitation and use of toilets.
• The nondescript village, with a population of 1,800, in Mewat region was in June rechristened as ‘Trump village’ by NGO Sulabh International Social Service Organisation in a gesture to U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington.
• A mega pot of toilet made up of iron, fibre, wood and plaster of Paris — measuring 20×10 feet — was unveiled in the hamlet to mark the World Toilet Day, which is observed on November 19 to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis.

D. GS4 Related

E. PRELIMS FACT

F. Practice Questions for UPSC Prelims Exam

GS Paper I

 

• Clarify how mid-eighteenth century India was beset with the spectre of a fragmented polity. (2017)

GS Paper IV

• One of the tests of integrity is complete refusal to be compromised. Explain with reference to a real life example.(2017)

Also, check previous Daily News Analysis

 

 

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