China shifts stance, offers to open talks with India on CPEC Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

China shifts stance, offers to open talks with India on CPEC

India has objected to CPEC which passes through Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), as violation of its sovereignty.

China on Monday offered to open talks with India to resolve differences on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), opening the door for removing a major irritant in New Delhi-Beijing ties.
“We are ready to work with Indian side through dialogue and communication for a better solution. This best serves the interests of the two countries,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said, when asked to comment on remarks on CPEC by India’s ambassador to China, Gautam Bambawale.
“Regarding CPEC, China has repeatedly reiterated our position. As to the differences between China and India, China stands ready to communicate and talk with India to seek proper solutions so that these differences will not affect our general national interests,” Ms. Hua observed.
The Chinese foreign ministry’s advocacy for talks in the context of CPEC, follows observations by Luo Zhaohui China’s ambassador to India. In November, Mr. Luo had expressed readiness to accommodate India’s concerns regarding CPEC. “We can change the name of CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor). Create an alternative corridor through Jammu and Kashmir, Nathu La pass or Nepal to deal with India’s concerns,” he observed during a speech at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, in New Delhi. India has objected to CPEC which passes through Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), as violation of its sovereignty.
In an interview with Global Times last week, Mr. Bambawale had proposed a new phase of dialogue between India and China, which would cover all differences including CPEC. He had also highlighted that India and China were “partners” and not “rivals”.
While expressing openness for talks with India, the Chinese foreign ministry appeared markedly restrained in commenting on Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s lavish praise for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), of which CPEC is a part, during his address at the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos.
Without any direct reference to Pakistan, and dropping standard terminology of describing Islamabad as an “iron brother,” Ms. Hua said: “We have noted relevant reports. As we said many times the BRI is proposed to strengthen global cooperation and use interconnectivity of infrastructure to allow each other’s development strategy and to give full play to our comparative advantages for win-win cooperation.”
Asked to comment on China’s alleged newly developed military infrastructure in the Doklam area, as shown in recently published satellite pictures, Ms. Hua reiterated Beijing’s stock response that Donglang (Doklam) was China’s sovereign territory, and Beijing had a right to build infrastructure in the area.
“The Sikkim section of the China-India boundary has been demarcated by historical treaty and is under effective jurisdiction by China. And China will as always uphold its sovereignty along the border area including Donglang.”
The spokesperson said that China and India “should look at our border issue in a calm way…so that we can create a good condition and enabling environment to properly solve our differences.”
Ms. Hua underscored that India was China’s “cooperation partner,” endorsing the Indian envoy’s advocacy in his interview for a deeper engagement between the two countries.
“As two neighbours in Asia and major developing countries the two sides should treat each other as (neighbours presenting) opportunities for development. It is also a consensus reached by the two state leaders and we will surely treat India as our cooperation partner,” Ms. Hua observed.
She added: “We hope to enhance people-to-people ties through such communication exchanges, and to enhance our mutual trust so that we can lay a more solid foundation and public support for our bilateral relations.”(Source: The Hindu)


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China shifts stance, offers to open talks with India on CPEC

This month set to be driest January in India since 1901-Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

This month set to be driest January in India since 1901

HIGHLIGHTS
• Winter rain, snow is not only important for rabi crops but also for recharge of underground aquifers and Himalayan glaciers.
• Jan this year has seen record low rainfall across the country.
• Western disturbances which bring cold and wet weather into north India, has been more northerly than usual.
This month is heading to be the driest January in the country as a whole since record-keeping began in 1901. Just 2.2mm of average rain was recorded across India till January 24. IMD officials said the figure is unlikely to change much as it has hardly rained since then and there's little in store in the next few days.
The normal January rain across India is 19.2mm. India Meteorological Department(IMD) data spanning the past 117 years reveals that the driest January so far was in 2007, when 2.8mm rain was recorded. January 2018 is likely to be lower. Winter rain and snow is not only important for rabi crops but also for recharge of underground aquifers and Himalayan glaciers.
January this year has seen record low rainfall across the country because the path of western disturbances, which bring cold and wet weather into north India, has been more northerly than usual, met officials said.
Most of these systems, instead of moving along north Rajasthan and Punjab, swept through northern Jammu and Kashmir. As a result, they had little impact on the weather in north India.
Rain in the winter season also plays an important role in cleansing the air. Pollution usually peaks during this time of the year as the mercury plunges.
"Rain from the northeast monsoon usually ceases during the first week of January, with peninsula India witnessing a drop in rainfall activity in the month. Rain in northwest India in January is a result of an interaction between easterly troughs and western disturbances," an IMD official told TOI.
"Instances of this interactions were missing this year even though a good number of western disturbances passed the region. The interaction took place just once, during January 23-24. It rained in some parts of northwest India then," he added.
Incidentally, three of the seven driest months of January since 1901 have come since year 2000. Apart from this year and 2007, also figuring in the list is 2001, which recorded just 6.5mm of rain countrywide during the month.
Said J R Kulkarni, retired meteorologist and All India Internet Weather Radio Station founder, "The general wind circulation goes in to two phases — even and undulating. When the circulation is even, there is no interaction between the mid-latitude and tropical air, which happened this time. As a result, it rained less."
Kulkarni said during the wake of a western disturbance, cold wave and thick fog conditions prevail over north India. "These conditions were witnessed only at the beginning of January. After January 24, there has been no significant addition to the month's rainfall quota. No intense rain activity is expected in the coming days too," he said. (Source: The Times of India).


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This month set to be driest January in India since 1901

47 mn children in India reside in most polluted areas: Greenpeace report -Prragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

47 mn children in India reside in most polluted areas: Greenpeace report

It said Delhi remained the worst impacted city with annual PM10 levels exceeding approximately five times the national ambient air quality standards.
Around 47 million children in India under five years of age reside in areas where particulate matter levels exceed the prescribed limits, with 17 million among them inhabiting places where the pollution levels are twice the limits, says a recent report.'Airpocalypse-II', a Greenpeace India report, said children are worst affected in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Maharashtra and Delhi respectively.
It said Delhi remained the worst impacted city with annual PM10 levels exceeding approximately five times the national ambient air quality standards.According to the report, a massive part of the population i.e. 580 million or 47 per cent are living in areas where "no air quality data is available".
It claimed that out of 630 million, close to 550 million people live in areas exceeding national standards for PM10, including 180 million living in areas where air pollution levels are "more than twice the stipulated limit of 60g/m3 which has been set by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
"As many as 47 million children under the age of five years are residing in areas where PM10 levels exceeded CPCB annual limits, including 17 million children under the age of five who are in the areas where pollution levels are more than twice the limits," the report claimed.
Ranking of cities based on annual average of PM10 levels reveals that Delhi is the worst polluted city with 290 g/m3 followed by Faridabad, Bhiwadi, Patna with annual average ranging from 272 g/m3, 262 g/m3 & 261 g/m3, respectively, it said.It said Dehradun in Uttrakhand, once thought to be a 'salubrious preserve of retiring elite', also made it to the top 10 list of worst-polluted cities with 238 g/m3 annual average of PM10.
The report added that the most-polluted cities are spread across the Indo-Gangetic basin with the southern cities being slightly better off than their northern counterparts.However, cities in south also need focused and time-bound action plan to bring the air quality to achieve the WHO standards, thus showing a pathway for other cities across India, it said. (Source: The Business Standard)


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47 mn children in India reside in most polluted areas: Greenpeace report

Plea to exclude SC/ST creamy layer from quota - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

Plea to exclude SC/ST creamy layer from quota

‘Deserving and impoverished biting the dust’

The Supreme Court will hear a petition to exclude the affluent members, or the creamy layer, of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from the benefits of reservation.
A Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, will hear the petition which argues that the rich among the SCs/STs are “snatching away” the benefits, while the deserving and impoverished continue to “bite the dust.” It is this lack of percolation of benefits to the poor and really backward among these communities that has led to social unrest, Naxalite movements and perennial poverty, it says.
This is the first time a petition has been filed urging the Supreme Court to introduce the creamy layer concept for the SCs/STs. In 1992, a nine-judge Bench of the court in the Indra Sawhney case, or the Mandal case as it was popularly known, upheld the caste-based reservation for the OBCs as valid. The court also said the creamy layer of the OBCs (those earning a specified income) should not get the benefits of reservation. The ruling, however, confined the exclusion of the creamy layer to the OBCs and not the SCs/STs. Now, the petition filed by Samta Andolan Samiti, which represents the poor strata of the SCs/STs in Rajasthan, wants the creamy layer of the SCs/STs excluded from the benefits.
The petition, filed by advocate Shobhit Tiwari, refers to the Constitution Bench’s 2006 judgment in the M. Nagaraj case that the “means test [a scrutiny of the value of assets of an individual claiming reservation] should be taken into consideration to exclude the creamy layer from the group earmarked for reservation.”
“The uplifted/affluent and advanced sections of the SCs/STs snatch away the maximum benefit and the 95% members of these communities are at a disadvantage. The affluent among the SCs/STs are siphoning off the reservation benefits given to them by the State government as well as the Central government... The benefits of the reservation policy are not percolating down to the people who are in actual need of them,” the petition argues. This lack of percolation of quota benefits to the poorest of the poor ensures that the “weak always remains the weak and the fortunate layers consume the whole cake.”
The petition argues that no class or caste remained homogeneously backward across time. Only the backward portion of castes included in the list of SCs/STs alone are constitutionally entitled to the benefits of reservation. (Source: The Hindu)


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Plea to exclude SC/ST creamy layer from quota

India among top three countries where trust in government remains high - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

India among top three countries where trust in government remains high

India continues to be among the top three nations where trust in government remains high despite a small slip since last year, according to the Global Trust Index released annually in Davos. The ranking will reassure the Modi government in the wake of tough reforms like demonetisation and goods and services tax.

India is also in the trust zone as far as how the public sees business, media and NGOs. Though its position slipped to number three this year from first last year, its rating remains at 'trust level' with Indonesia and China ahead of it.
The annual Global Trust Index, released by communications marketing firm Edelman in Davos last week, showed that China gained strongly and jumped to the top position whereas the US reported the steepest decline in public trust in its institutions. China's climb could be linked to the view in the country that it has gained at the expense of a US "withdrawal" from the Asia-Pacific in trade and security.
In aggregate, India's trust rating across government, media, NGOs and business fell 13 percentage points, statistically marking one of the sharpest decreases. But in each category it remained in the 60-100 band marking popular 'trust' in institutions. Media was the lowest at 61, dropping five points since 2017.
The index showed that globally, trust in government, media and NGOs was low as 20 out of 28 countries surveyed online during October-November last year came in the categories where general population distrusted those institutions. India, as last year, continued to buck this trend.
The overall high trust rating will come as welcome news to the Modi government, particularly in the wake of his visit to Davos where he gave a major speech pointing to the benefits of tough and painful reforms like demonetisation and implementation of GST. A worry for India was the perception — outside the country — that its businesses could not be fully trusted. It scored low on this parameter, pointing to the need to make contracts and arbitration more reliable. The report showed that companies headquartered in Canada, Switzerland, Sweden and Australia were most trusted. The least trusted country brands were headquartered in Mexico, India, Brazil and China.
The index report — 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer — revealed that trust in the US had suffered the largest-ever-recorded drop in the survey's history among the general population. Trust among the general population fell nine points to 43, placing it in the lower quarter of the 28-country trust index. The collapse of trust in the US was driven by a staggering lack of faith in government, said an Edelman statement. (Source: Times of India).

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India among top three countries where trust in government remains high

India, Cambodia ink 4 pacts, agree to boost connectivity, defence ties-Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

India, Cambodia ink 4 pacts, agree to boost connectivity, defence ties

After detailed discussions between PM Narendra Modi and his Cambodian counterpart Samdech Hun Sen on Saturday, the countries signed four agreements to enhance cooperation on security, connectivity and development assistance while stressing the importance of adhering to the law of the sea.

Hun Sen was on an official visit to India and had joined his Asean colleagues at the Republic Day parade.
Significantly, Cambodia, which is very close to China, endorsed the importance of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in a joint statement with India. The two countries "agreed that peace and maritime security is important for both countries. To that end, they support complete freedom of navigation and overflight and pacific resolution of maritime issues based on international law, notably the 1982 UNCLOS".
India and Cambodia signed pacts for an MoU on the prevention of human trafficking; a mutual legal assistance treaty in criminal matters; a cultural exchange programme; and for a $36.92 million (approx. Rs 234.8 crore) line of credit for Cambodia's Stung Sva Hab water resource development project. The two sides also agreed to enhance bilateral defence ties, including through exchanges between senior-level defence personnel and capacity-building projects.
Connectivity was a strong focus of discussions, as evident in the joint statement. India promised to "complete the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway and agreed to explore the possibility of extending the highway to Cambodia and beyond. Both leaders agreed to have scheduled services operated by designated airlines... in the near future and supported the expansion of air traffic rights and civil aviation arrangements to facilitate people-to-people contact and promote tourism between the two countries."
India and Cambodia share strong religious and cultural ties going back almost 2,000 years. Cambodians are predominantly Buddhist but retain a strong influence of Hindu rituals, idolatry and mythology. (Source: Times of India)

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India, Cambodia ink 4 pacts, agree to boost connectivity, defence ties

India, Seychelles sign revised agreement for development of Assomption - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

India, Seychelles sign revised agreement for development of Assomption

Foreign secretary of India S. Jaishankar and secretary of state of Seychelles Barry Faure signed the agreement for the island’s development of facilities on the island.

India and Seychelles on Saturday signed a revised agreement for the development of facilities on Assomption and held productive bilateral cooperation meetings. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Seychelles in 2015, both countries had inked an agreement to develop infrastructure on Assomption Island, which lies southwest of the mainland of Mahe.
Foreign secretary of India S. Jaishankar and secretary of state of Seychelles Barry Faure signed the agreement for the island’s development of facilities on the island. “Foreign Secretary of India Jaishankar and Secretary of State of Seychelles Faure signed the Agreement between India and Seychelles for the Development, Management, Operation and Maintenance of Facilities on Assomption Island today at the Seychelles Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Victoria, India in Seychelles,” the official twitter account of the High Commission of India in Seychelles, said.
“The process of ratification will ensue. 2018 will see a real acceleration in our cooperation programme,” it said in another tweet. Jaishankar also called on Seychelles President Danny Faure. “The Foreign Secretary of India, Jaishankar called on the Danny Faure at the office of the President in Victoria, Seychelles and discussed issues of bilateral relations and cooperation between India and Seychelles today,” the High Commission said in a tweet.
“Seychelles with its Exclusive Economic Zone spread over 1.3 million square kilometers is particularly vulnerable. Recognising this, India and Seychelles have drawn up a cooperation agenda that covers within its purview joint efforts in anti-piracy operations, and enhanced exclusive economic zone surveillance and monitoring to prevent intrusions by potential economic offenders indulging in illegal fishing, poaching, drug and human trafficking,” the foreign secretary said in a statement.
“The cooperation is further exemplified by the operationalisation of the Coastal Surveillance Radar System in March 2016, and our commitment to augment Seychelles’ defence assets and capability,” it said. “This reinforces our commitment to not only further deepen India-Seychelles relations but also take our partnership to the next level,” it added.

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India, Seychelles sign revised agreement for development of Assomption

Bengal Global Business Summit - Pragnya IAS Acadmey - News Analysis

Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata govt bags Rs 2.2-trn investment pacts

More than 32 countries and over 4,000 delegates participated in the 2018 edition

The two-day "Bengal Global Business Summit 2018" organised by the state government has so far received new investment proposals worth Rs 2.19 trillion, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Wednesday.
Addressing delegates on the concluding day of the meet, Banerjee said 50 per cent of last year's business proposals and those of previous years were "in the process" of implementation.

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Bengal Global Business Summit

Supreme Court Constitution bench begins hearing pleas against Aadhaar - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

Supreme Court Constitution bench begins hearing pleas against Aadhaar

A total of 29 petitions against Aadhaar have been tagged by the Supreme Court to be heard by the Constitution bench.

A Constitution bench of the Supreme Court began hearing petitions against the Aadhaar programme on Wednesday, with one lawyer describing it in opening arguments as a “giant electronic mesh”.
Lawyer Shyam Divan said Aadhaar, the 12-digit unique identity number, was an instrument that “enabled the state to profile its citizens, track their movements and affect their social behaviour”.

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Supreme Court Constitution bench begins hearing pleas against Aadhaar

Maharashtra to sign MoU with Israeli firm to develop water grid in drought-prone regions - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

Maharashtra to sign MoU with Israeli firm to develop water grid in drought-prone regions

The Israeli company Mekorot Development & Enterprise will offer expertise on drought management and cost-efficient use of water in regions vulnerable to droughts in Maharashtra

Ahead of the Mumbai visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 18 January, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday decided to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Israeli company Mekorot Development & Enterprise Ltd to develop a water grid in the drought-prone Marathwada region. The state cabinet at its meeting on Wednesday approved signing of the MoU to seek Israeli expertise at drought management and cost-efficient use of water in regions vulnerable to chronic droughts.

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Maharashtra to sign MoU with Israeli firm to develop water grid in drought-prone regions

India confirms NSAs met in Bangkok - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

India confirms NSAs met in Bangkok

The National Security Advisers (NSAs) of India and Pakistan met on December 26 in Bangkok, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed on Thursday.



MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said it was part of the mechanism to hold Pakistan accountable for the terrorism that emanates from its territory.

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India confirms NSAs met in Bangkok

16-digit virtual identification: UIDAI system to protect privacy - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

16-digit virtual identification: UIDAI system to protect privacy partially

A 16-digit virtual identification (VID) number for authentication instead of a 12-digit unique number



A day after the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) introduced a mechanism to protect the Aadhaar data of 1.2 billion residents in the country, experts and government officials were divided over the effectiveness of the new system.

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16-digit virtual identification: UIDAI system to protect privacy partially

In a first, Collegium recommends woman advocate for direct appointment as SC judge - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

In a first, Collegium recommends woman advocate for direct appointment as SC judge

Indu Malhotra will be the first woman lawyer to be directly recommended from the Bar to Supreme Court judgeship.



In a historic decision, the Supreme Court Collegium led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra unanimously recommended the name of senior advocate Indu Malhotra for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court.

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In a first, Collegium recommends woman advocate for direct appointment as SC judge

Funds suspended, not cancelled; take decisive action on terror: US to Pak - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

Funds suspended, not cancelled; take decisive action on terror: US to Pak

Trump admin demands Taliban, Haqqani leadership and attack planners should no longer be able to find safe haven on Pakistani soil

The US on Tuesday asked Pakistan to take decisive action against terror groups, including the Taliban and the Haqqani network, operating from its soil, and said it was ready to work with it to combat terrorism.
"Our expectations are straight forward: Taliban and Haqqani leadership and attack planners should no longer be able to find safe haven or conduct operations from Pakistani soil," Pentagon Press Secretary Army Col Rob Manning told reporters during an off-camera news conference.

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Funds suspended, not cancelled; take decisive action on terror: US to Pak