India and Pakistan to participate in multi-nation military drill for the First Time - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

India and Pakistan to participate in multi-nation military drill for the First Time.

The drill will also see the resumption of bilateral military exercise between India and China, which was suspended last year following the 73-day Doklam standoff.

Even though ties between India and Pakistan continue to remain strained, the two neighbours will participate together for the first time in a multi-nation counter-terrorism exercise in Russia in September. The military exercise, being conducted by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on, will see participation of almost member nations, including China. Quoting officials, PTI reported that Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had confirmed India’s presence during the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting in Beijing last week.
The drill will also see the resumption of bilateral military exercise between India and China, which was suspended last year following the 73-day Doklam standoff. At the informal meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the two leaders aksed their militaries to strengthen communication, build trust and mutual understanding and “enhance predictability” and “effectiveness” in managing border affairs.
Termed “Peace Mission”, the military exercise will be held at the Ural mountains of Russia and its main aim will be to to enhance counter-terror cooperation among the eight SCO member countries. Even though military personnel of India and Pakistan have worked together in United Nations’ peace keeping missions, it will be for the first time since Independence that the countries will take part in a military exercise.
While repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan from across the Line of Control and interference in Kashmir by lending support to militant groups have seen relations between the countries on a free fall, the participation in a joint military exercise is certainly a positive step. Till April 21, Pakistan has violated ceasefire 650 times in Jammu and Kashmir, which has led to 31 casualties, including 16 security personnel.
The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan were admitted as observers of the grouping in 2005. Both the countries were admitted as full members of the bloc last year. India’s membership was strongly pushed by Russia while Pakistan’s entry into the grouping was backed by China. SCO now represents over 40 per cent of humanity and nearly 20 per cent of the global GDP. (Source: The India Today)


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India and Pakistan to participate in multi-nation military drill for the First Time.

All Indian villages now have access to power supply - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

All Indian villages now have access to power supply.

HIGHLIGHTS
• All 597,464 inhabited villages in the country now have access to power
• Manipur's Leisang village became the last non-electrified inhabited village to join India's mainline supply network on Saturday
• A village is considered electrified if 10% of its households and public places such as schools etc have access to electricity

Manipur's Leisang village became the last non-electrified inhabited village to join India's mainline supply network at 5.30pm on Saturday, an important milestone in the country's journey towards universal electricity access.
This means that all 597,464 inhabited villages in the country now have access to power, fulfilling a promise the PM had made on August 15, 2015, when he announced that all unelectrified villages would get power over the next 1,000 days.
The last inhabited village to be powered through the off-grid system — isolated supply networks, mostly with solar power plants — was Pakol, also in Manipur.
While basic infrastructure such as distribution transformer and lines need to be set up in inhabited localities, including Dalit hamlets, a village is considered electrified if 10 per cent of its households and public places such as schools, panchayat office and health centre have access to electricity.
Having fulfilled that promise, the PM took to Twitter in a big way. "28th April 2018 will be remembered as a historic day in the development journey of India. Yesterday, we fulfilled a commitment due to which the lives of several Indians will be transformed forever. I am delighted that every single village of India now has access to electricity," he said in a series of tweets.
At the time of Modi's announcement in August 2015, data showed 18,452 villages without power. When work on village electrification started, another 1,275 villages were found to be without access to electricity. Some 1,200 villages are uninhabited and 35 were notified as grazing reserves.
"Village electrification means that the infrastructure to supply power has now reached certain parts of the village. The next step should be to focus on providing connection to all households and ensuring adequate power supply to these homes," former power secretary P Uma Shankar said.
While villages have the power infrastructure, it is now up to households to seek a connection and for state governments to ensure supply. "Village electrification and household electrification are different things. It is up to the people to seek a connection," added R V Shahi, another former power secretary.
After electrifying all villages, the real challenge now is to feed power to each household in those — indeed, all — villages, a task being undertaken through the Saubhagya scheme.
The seeds of 100 per cent village electrification were sowed with the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJUY), a scheme with a projected outlay of Rs 76,000 crore, that Modi had launched on July 25, 2015. This scheme drew from Modi's successful experiment as Gujarat chief minister to separate farm and household feeders in rural areas to ensure 24x7 power to households and assured supply to farmers.
One of the key objectives of the DDUGJUY was to achieve 100 per cent village electrification. It also envisaged separating feeders, strengthening distribution network, metering at all levels and setting up micro grid and off-grid distribution networks. (Source: The Times of India)


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All Indian villages now have access to power supply.

Petition in Supreme Court seeks measures to combat heat wave - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

Petition in Supreme Court seeks measures to combat heat wave.

The petition said that a heat wave should be considered on a par with other disasters as per Article 14 of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court has asked a PIL petitioner to submit a representation to the government to reschedule office hours and provide drinking water and medical facilities to the public and in educational institutions to beat the heat wave sweeping across the country.
A Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, said that it was the Supreme Court’s “considered opinion” that advocate Sravan Kumar, who moved the PIL in his personal capacity, should “submit a representation to the competent authority, which shall contain suggestions” to combat the heat wave.
Calling the rising temperatures a “silent killer”, Mr. Kumar argued in the court that it was the state’s duty to protect the citizen’s Right to Life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution from the adverse affect of the heat wave.
The petition said that a heat wave should be considered on a par with other disasters as per Article 14 of the Constitution and that it was necessary to implement the Heat Wave Action Plan-2016 prepared by National Disaster Management Authority.
Mr. Kumar laid before the court the rising statistics of deaths extracted from the Heat Wave Action Plan-2016, which shows that there were 1,247 deaths in 2012, 1,677 in 2014 and 2,422 in 2015 due to heat waves.

“Higher daily peak temperatures and longer, more intense heat waves are becomingly increasingly frequent globally due to climate change. India, too, is feeling the impact of climate change in terms of increased instances of heat waves which are more intense in nature with each passing year, and have a devastating impact on human health thereby increasing the number of heatwave casualties,” the petition said.
The petition said many States are affected during the heat wave season, such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand and Delhi.

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New system to measure air quality - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

New system to measure air quality

To be jointly developed by the U.S. and Finland to forecast pollution levels.

Most Indians prioritise happiness and health over money with 72 per cent respondents in a survey defining success as 'being happy'.
According to a survey by professional networking site LinkedIn, about 72 per cent Indians chose the option of 'being happy' as their ultimate definition for success. For others, good health (65 per cent) and a healthy work-life balance (57 per cent) stood as the important indicators of success.
Amongst the countries surveyed, Indian professionals ranked third in feeling successful, just after the UAE in the first spot and Brazil in the second.
Contrary to the popular perception of relating more money with more success, the survey found that only 22 per cent attribute success to a 'rise in paycheck', while 36 per cent define success in terms of 'earning a six-figure salary'.
The LinkedIn survey, carried out online between October 12 and November 3 last year, considered 18,191 adults across 16 countries - Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Brazil, the UAE, the UK and the US.
"The growing optimism in India's macroeconomic environment shines through in the confidence professionals feel towards achieving success. While success means many different things to different people, it is heartening to see indicators like work-life balance, family time and health taking precedence over a six-figure salary," LinkedIn head of communications for India Deepa Sapatnekar said.
The survey also said that despite building pressures of a competitive job economy and rising inflation, one in 10 Indians (10 per cent) feel optimistic about achieving success within one year, double the global average of 5 per cent.
About 79 per cent Indians felt that education plays a positive role in their ability to achieve success, along with other factors like age (61 per cent), gender (56 per cent), and the career they have chosen (68 per cent).
Around 30 per cent Indians think achieving social success is more important than achieving professional success, higher than the global average of 22 per cent.
The survey also revealed that Indians recognise success today with having good friends, getting opportunities to travel and finding time to cultivate new hobbies. (Source: The Business Standard)


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New system to measure air quality.

SC notice to govt. on petition to outlaw Section 377 - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

SC notice to govt. on petition to outlaw Section 377.

Plea seeks inclusion of ‘right to choice of sexual orientation’ as a fundamental right of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the government to respond to a plea by a hotelier to strike down the colonial Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises homosexuality.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra issued notice to the Centre on the plea by the Lalit Suri hospitality group head Kesav Suri, seeking the ‘Right to choice of sexual orientation’ to be declared as part of the fundamental right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The Bench, also comprising Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud, considered the submission of senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi on behalf of the hotelier and asked the Centre to respond within a week.
On January 8, the three-judge Bench decided to re-visit a December 2013 verdict of the Supreme Court in Suresh Kumar Kaushal versus Naz Foundation, which dismissed the LGBT community as a negligible part of the population while virtually denying them the right of choice and sexual orientation.
The court said a section of people cannot live in fear of a law which atrophies their right to choice and natural sexual inclinations. It said societal morality changes with time and the law should change pace with life, adding that the concept of consensual sex may require more protection.
While the court noted that Section 377 punishes carnal intercourse against order of nature, it added that “the determination of order of nature is not a common phenomenon. Individual autonomy and individual natural inclination cannot be atrophied unless the restrictions are determined as reasonable”. It observed that what is natural for one may not be natural for the other, but the confines of law cannot trample or curtail the inherent rights embedded with an individual under Article 21 (right to life).
(GS Paper-2 Related Article)
(Source: The Hindu)


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GST Council to take call on turning GSTN into govt entity on May 1 - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

GST Council to take call on turning GSTN into govt entity on May 1.

GST Council will also weigh options of raising the government's stake in the IT body to 51% from the current 49%.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting on May 1 will deliberate on the pros and cons of converting the GST Network (GSTN), the GST’s information technology backbone, into a government-owned company.
The meeting, to be held via video conferencing, is likely to discuss simplifying return forms and the recent resolution by the authority of advance ruling (AAR) on imposing the GST on duty-free outlets at Indira Gandhi International Airport.
The Council will meet on May 1 with a limited agenda of converting GSTN into a government company, return simplification and clarity on advance rulings,” said an official in the know.
The Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, will also weigh options of raising the government’s stake in the IT body to 51 per cent from the current 49 per cent. Earlier this month, Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia was asked by Jaitley to review whether this was possible.
“A few states have been demanding that GSTN be a government-owned body. With Facebook data leak to Cambridge Analytica, the national security argument is gaining ground now,” said another government official.
Currently, five private institutions — HDFC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, NSE Strategic Investment Co and LIC Housing Finance — hold a combined stake of 51 per cent in GSTN, which was incorporated on March 28, 2013. The Centre and respective states hold 24.5 per cent each.
Once the Council gives approval, the Union Cabinet will take up the proposal.
“Discussions on converting GSTN into a government body, per se, should not affect its functioning so long as it continues to be professionally managed,” said Pratik Jain, partner, PwC India.
GSTN Chief Executive Officer Prakash Kumar told Business Standard in an interview that ‘hiring and firing’ was faster here because it was a private company and the private sector salary structure helped it hire the right set of people.
Allaying concerns on information lapses, he stressed confidentiality was embedded in the GSTN structure. “No single person has complete information of a taxpayer. One has registration data, the other has returns data etc. So it will require three persons to collude to get the full data of a taxpayer. Even I cannot see the details of an individual taxpayer,” he had said.
A Group of Ministers, led by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, had failed to reach a consensus on simplifying GST return forms in its meeting last week. They would submit a draft with three options for the Council to discuss.
One of the options, as recommended by Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani, requires the seller to upload all invoices, which the buyer must acknowledge. Based on this, the buyer would get credit for taxes paid on inputs. No credit would be available if the buyer claims that some invoices are missing.
The other model requires a seller to upload invoices and moots provisional credit even if the invoice has not been uploaded. However, if a seller disputes a particular transaction, credit will be reversed at a later stage.
The third model is likely to be a combination of the first two.
“With respect to simplification, the issue pertains to providing provisional input tax to taxpayers, and whether it should be linked to tax payments made or not will be discussed,” said another government official.
“If the Council takes a decision on May 1, it could possibly be introduced in the last quarter of this year. While three monthly returns may be combined into one, I expect the principle of invoice matching to continue,” added Jain.
In addition, the Council is expected to provide clarity in the recent AAR judgment that stated outlets at Delhi International Airport were not ‘free from duties’ under the new indirect tax regime.
In the previous indirect tax regime — prior to the July 1 GST roll out — duty-free shops were exempt from the central sales tax and value-added tax as sale from such shops was considered exports and supplies were taking place beyond customs jurisdictions.
Jain said the recent advance ruling that the GST would be applicable to airport duty-free shops at departure terminals came as a surprise as it was not in line with the earlier practice as well as global VAT regimes.
The ruling was in response to an application filed by Rod Retail Private Limited, which runs a retail outlet at Terminal 3 (International Departure) of Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi.
(GS Paper – 3 Related Article)
(Source: The Business Standard).


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GST Council to take call on turning GSTN into govt entity on May 1.

Diu Smart City becomes first to run on 100% Renewable Energy during Daytime - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

Diu Smart City becomes first to run on 100% Renewable Energy during Daytime.

Diu Smart City has become the first city in India, that runs on 100% renewable energy during daytime setting a new benchmark for other cities to become clean and green.

Diu had been importing 73% of its power from Gujarat until last year. It has now adopted a two-pronged approach whereby a 9 MW solar park spread over 50 hectares rocky barren land has been developed besides installing solar panels on the roof tops on 79 government buildings thereby generating 1.3 MW annually. To further enhance its solar capacity, Diu offers its residents a subsidy of Rs 10, 000-50,000 for installing 1-5KW roof top solar panels. Diu is saving about 13,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year. Due to low-cost solar energy, power tariffs have been cut in residential category by 10% last year and 15% this year.
To improve traffic management in Bengaluru Smart City, a prototype of an intelligent traffic management solution is currently being tested in collaboration with the Electronics City Township Authority (ELCITA). It will provide traffic information that is currently unavailable, and help improve management of commuter traffic. It involves capturing video streams from several cameras and processing them using artificial intelligence so that typical traffic management tasks such as vehicle detection, traffic density estimation and control of traffic lights can be automated for real-time performance.
To revitalise urban public spaces and socially activating the area besides generating economic activity, Jaipur Smart City Ltd (JSCL) has planned to develop night bazaar at Chaura Rasta, in the heart of Pink city. The JSCL would register up to 700 vendors who will be allowed to set up stalls, including eateries, between 9pm and 1am. The project will provide entertainment, culture and shopping to citizens after office hours. (Source: PIB)


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India at the forefront of global growth in financial inclusion: World Bank - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

India at the forefront of global growth in financial inclusion: World Bank.

The report lists how the number of account holders in the country has risen from 35% of the adults in 2011 and 53% in 2014 to 80% in 2017.

The Global Findex Report, 2017 released by the World Bank on Friday gives India more than one reason to cheer, as it notes the rapid increase in financial inclusion that has taken place in the country.
The report lists how the number of account holders in the country has risen from 35 percent of the adults in 2011 and 53 percent in 2014 to 80 percent in 2017.
This, as per the report, is comparable to 80 percent of adults in China who have an account.
It also attributes the progress being driven by the Jan Dhan Yojana policy which has used biometric ID to expand access to financial services.
Further, it may be pertinent to note that the report sources its data largely from surveys that were conducted in the summer of 2017.
According to the government data sourced from the banks, the total number of Jan Dhan account holders has risen from 281.7 million in March 2017 to 314.4 million in March 2018.
The total number of current and savings accounts in banks has risen from 1.22 billion in March 2015 to 1.57 billion in March 2017.
The report states that about 514 million accounts have been opened globally from 2014 to 2017.
It is heartening to see that of these 514 million accounts, the number of Jan Dhan Accounts opened in India during the same period is about 28.17 crore, constituting almost 55 percent of the accounts opened globally during this period.
Further, the report takes cognizance of the "dramatically increased account ownership" in India and reduced gender gap in ownership by six percentage points vis-a-vis 2014 with 83 percent of the men and 77 percent women now having an account.
Moreover, among MUDRA loan beneficiaries, women account for almost 75 percent.
This reveals how, building on this basic foundation of providing a bank account to all its people, India has huge potential to further improve the account usage.
In what can be seen as an answer to apprehensions raised earlier by some critics on usage of digital payments in India, the report states that 36 percent of account owners in India are already using their accounts to make or receive digital payments.
It has also identified the large existing potential in India which can be utilised to improve on this count and give people more opportunities to use their accounts for digital transactions and mobile payments.
It recognises the availability of bank accounts, debit cards and mobile connections in India, which would be critical in improving the account usage in future.
In other words it may be said that the report reaffirms the potential of the "Jan Dhan-Aadhar-Mobile (JAM) Trinity" in expanding financial inclusion.
Other potential target groups identified in the report to increase digital payments are adults in India who have an account and a mobile phone.
Among these are about 50 million adults receiving payments for sale of agricultural goods, about 70 million adults working in the private sector and receiving wage payments in cash and about 170 million adults who pay their utility bills in cash.
This heartening review of India's financial inclusion and digital payment initiatives by the Global Findex Report, 2017 and the identification of potential waiting to be unlockedgives further impetus to the Government's ongoing efforts for financial inclusion. (Source: The Business Standard)


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India at the forefront of global growth in financial inclusion: World Bank.

India has 94 cities with toxic air. Half of them in just four states - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

India has 94 cities with toxic air. Half of them in just four states.

Low- and middle-income groups are the worst affected by pollution; 92% of deaths due to pollution occurred in that income group.

Every third city that failed to meet national air quality standards in India–where most people die of air pollution than any other nation–was in two of the country’s biggest states, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, in five years to 2015, according to government data.
With 17 of 94 cities, Maharashtra had the highest number of cities identified by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) as failing to meet national air-quality standards over five years to 2015, according to this reply to the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) by Mahesh Sharma, minister of state for environment, on April 6, 2018.
Maharashtra was followed by Uttar Pradesh (15), Punjab (8) and Himachal Pradesh (7).
Half of the 94 cities were in these four states.

Cities Failing Air-Quality Standards, 2011-15

state	State Count	cities
Maharashtra	17	Akola, Amravati, Aurangabad, Badlapur, Chandrapur, Jalgaon, Jalna, Kolhapur, Latur, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nashik, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Sangli, Solapur, Ulhasnagar
UP	15	Agra, Allahabad, Anpara, Bareily, Firozabad, Gajraula, Ghaziabad, Jhansi, Kanpur, Khurja, Lucknow, Muradabad, Noida, Raebareli, Varanasi
Punjab	8	Dera Bassi, Gobindgarh, Jalandhar, Khanna, Ludhiana, Naya Nangal, Pathankot/Dera Baba, Patiala
HP	7	Baddi, Damtal, Kala Amb, Nalagarh, Paonta Sahib, Parwanoo, Sunder Nagar
Odisha	6	Angul, Balasore, Bhubneshwar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Talcher
AP	5	Guntur, Kurnool, Nellore, Vijaywada, Visakhapatnam
Assam	5	Guwahati, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sibsagar, Silchar
MP	5	Bhopal, Dewas, Indore, Sagar, Ujjain
Rajasthan	5	Alwar, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Udaipur
Karnataka	4	Bengaluru, Devanagere, Gulburga, Hubli-Dharwad
Telangana	3	Hyderabad, Nalgonda, Patencheru
Chhattisgarh	2	Bhillai, Korba
Nagaland	2	Dimapur, Kohima
Uttarakhand	2	Kashipur, Rishikesh
Chandigarh	1	Chandigarh
Delhi	1	Delhi
Gujarat	1	Surat
J&K	1	Jammu
Jharkhand	1	Dhanbad
Meghalaya	1	Byrnihat
TN	1	Tuticorin
Total cities	94

Source: Lok Sabha
In 2015, 2.5 million of 10.3 million deaths in India due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) were linked to pollution, according to a global study, IndiaSpend reported on January 3, 2018.
Rising air pollution in cities is increasing incidences of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer, diabetes and other pollution-related ailments, said the study, which noted that 27% of Indians died of causes related to air pollution, exceeding the proportion who died similarly in China.
Low- and middle-income groups are the worst affected by pollution; 92% of deaths due to pollution occurred in that income group, IndiaSpend reported on November 14, 2017.
Technically called “non-attainment cities”, the 94 cities were identified as part of the National Air Quality Monitoring Programme, under which 683 operating stations in 300 cities/towns across the country monitor sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, respirable suspended particulate matter (PM10) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) for a day twice a week. (Source: The Business Standard)


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Giant asteroid makes surprise flyby past Earth - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Articles

Giant asteroid makes surprise flyby past Earth.

Nasa estimated that the asteroid measures 48 to 110 meters wide—3.6 times the size of the one that levelled 2,000 square kilometers of Siberian forest when it exploded over Tunguska in 1908.

A giant asteroid gave Earth a surprise close shave this week, flying by at a distance of 192,000 kilometers, just a day after astronomers discovered the object, scientists say.
Nasa estimated that the asteroid measures 48 to 110 meters wide—3.6 times the size of the one that levelled 2,000 square kilometers of Siberian forest when it exploded over Tunguska in 1908.
Designated 2018 GE3, made its closest approach to Earth at around 12.11am local time on 16 April (0641 GMT, 15 April) whizzing by at about half the average distance between Earth and the moon, according to Nasa’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).
The asteroid is three to six times as big as one that broke up over Russia in 2013, injuring over 1,200 people and damaging thousands of buildings up to 93km away from the impact site, ‘Space.com’ reported.
The asteroid 2018 GE3 was first spotted on 14 April by astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey, a Nasa programme based at the University of Arizona in the US. This first sighting occurred just 21 hours before the asteroid’s closest approach to Earth.(Source: Livemint)


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Giant asteroid makes surprise flyby past Earth.

Rocket-control glitch delays launch of NASA's planet-hunting satellite - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

Rocket-control glitch delays launch of NASA's planet-hunting satellite.

TESS will help catalog at least 100 more rocky exoplanets for further study.

An 11th- hour technical glitch prompted SpaceX to postpone its planned launch on Monday of a new NASA space telescope designed to detect worlds beyond our solar system.

SpaceX halted the countdown a little more than two hours before its Falcon 9 rocket had been scheduled to carry the Transit Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, into orbit from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Space Exploration Technologies, as billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's private launch service is formally known, said on Twitter that the blast-off was scrubbed due to unspecified problems in the rocket's guidance control system.
The launch was rescheduled for 6:51 p.m. EDT (22:51 GMT) on Wednesday.
Search for exoplanets
The two-year, $337 million TESS mission is designed to build on the work of its predecessor, the Kepler space telescope, which has discovered the bulk of some 3,700 exoplanets documented during the past 20 years and is running out of fuel. NASA expects to pinpoint thousands more previously unknown worlds, perhaps hundreds of them Earth-sized or ”super-Earth”-sized — no larger than twice as big as our home planet.
Those are believed the most likely to feature rocky surfaces or oceans, and are thus considered the best candidates for life to evolve. Scientists said they hope TESS will ultimately help catalog at least 100 more rocky exoplanets for further study in what has become one of astronomy's newest fields of exploration.
Transit photometry
Roughly the size of a refrigerator with solar-panel wings and equipped with four special cameras, TESS will take about 60 days to reach a highly elliptical, first-of-a-kind orbit looping it between Earth and the moon every two and a half weeks. Like Kepler, TESS will use a detection method called transit photometry, which looks for periodic, repetitive dips in the visible light from stars caused by planets passing, or transiting, in front of them.
But TESS will scan a broader swath of the heavens to focus on 200,000 pre-selected stars that are relatively nearby — some of them just dozens of light years away — and thus among the brightest as seen from Earth. That makes them better suited for sensitive follow-up analysis of exoplanet candidates TESS locates.
TESS will concentrate on stars called red dwarfs, smaller, cooler and longer-lived than our sun. Red dwarfs also have a high propensity for Earth-sized, presumably rocky planets, making them potentially fertile ground for further scrutiny. (Source: The Hindu)


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Rocket-control glitch delays launch of NASA's planet-hunting satellite.

India wins elections to key UN subsidiary bodies - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

India wins elections to key UN subsidiary bodies.

HIGHLIGHTS
• The UN's Economic and Social Council held elections to a number of its subsidiary bodies on Monday.
• The ECOSOC focusses on advancing the three dimensions of sustainable development - economic, social and environmental.
• India topped the election to this Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations.

India has won an election to a crucial non-governmental organisation committee in the UN after garnering the highest number of votes besides getting elected by acclamation to other subsidiary bodies in five separate polls.
The UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) held elections to a number of its subsidiary bodies on Monday. The ECOSOC focusses on advancing the three dimensions of sustainable development - economic, social and environmental.
Following the elections, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin told PTI that the "results reflect, yet again, the broad support and many friends India has amongst UN members".
India topped the election to the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations.
In one round of secret balloting, the Council elected Bahrain, China, India and Pakistan in the Asia Pacific States category and Brazil, Cuba, Mexico and Nicaragua (Latin American and Caribbean States) to serve a four-year term beginning on January 1, 2019.
India got the highest number of votes at 46, followed by Pakistan (43), Bahrain (40) and China 39. Iran lost the elections, having got only 27 votes. The Council elected by acclamation 11 other nations to serve the same four-year term.
The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations is a standing committee of ECOSOC and its main tasks include consideration of applications for consultative status and requests for reclassification submitted by NGOs and consideration of quadrennial reports submitted by NGOs in General and Special categories.
India was also elected by acclamation to the Commission on Population and Development for a term beginning April 16, 2018 and expiring in 2021.
Under its terms of reference the Commission is to assist the Council by arranging for studies and advising the Council on population issues and trends, integrating population and development strategies and population and related development policies and programmes.
The Council elected India and Kuwait (Asia-Pacific States) by acclamation to the Commission for Social Development, filling outstanding seats for a four-year term beginning on the date of election.
The Commission's purpose was to advise ECOSOC on social policies of a general character and, in particular, on all matters in the social field not covered by the specialised inter-governmental agencies.
India was among the 17 members elected by acclamation to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. The elected members, to serve a three-year term beginning on January 1, 2019 and expiring on December 31, 2021 include Algeria, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Swaziland, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Thailand, Belarus, Brazil, Cuba, Mexico Austria, France, Turkey and the United States. (Source: The Times of India).


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World Bank says Indian economy has recovered from the impact of demonetisation, GST - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

World Bank says Indian economy has recovered from the impact of demonetisation, GST.

But the organisation added that India needed to create 81 lakh jobs a year if it wanted to maintain its employment rate.

The World Bank said on Sunday that India’s economy has recovered from the impact of demonetisation and the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax regime, and would grow at 7.3% in 2018 and 7.5% in 2019. The organisation, in its bi-annual South Asia Economic Focus report, said this would drive South Asia’s growth rate to 6.9% in 2018 and 7.1% in 2019.
“Around 80% of the region’s Gross Domestic Product is generated in India,” the report said. “Both demonetisation and GST created short-term disruptions in economic activity. As the inflation rate rebounded pushing real interest rates down, a recapitalization plan for banks was announced, and the effects of the two temporary shocks vanished, and growth bounced back.”
India’s recovery will once again make South Asia the fastest growing region in the world, the report said. East Asia overtook South Asia’s growth rate after Indian economic growth decelerated.
“The acceleration of growth that we see in the region is not necessarily that all countries in the region are doing much better, it’s a mixed picture,” World Bank chief economist for South Asia Martin Rama said in an interview with the Hindustan Times. “But given the size of India, India’s bouncing back is driving the growth.”
However, the South Asia Economic Focus report added that job creation remained a concern for India. It said India needed to create 81 lakh jobs a year to maintain its employment rate, which has been declining as women leave the labour market.
Women were dropping out of the job market in areas which were “borderline” between rural and urban regions, where farming jobs had disappeared but others had not been created, Rama said.
The World Bank official added that he was “very confident” India could keep growing at 7% to 8% “without much effort, just good policies”, but it was doubtful whether it could approach double-digit growth rate again in future. (Source:scroll)


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World Bank says Indian economy has recovered from the impact of demonetisation, GST.

Ministry notifies Plastic Waste Management (amendment) rules - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

Ministry notifies Plastic Waste Management (amendment) rules.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules 2018. The amended Rules lay down that the phasing out of Multilayered Plastic (MLP) is now applicable to MLP, which are “non-recyclable, or non-energy recoverable, or with no alternate use.”
The amended Rules also prescribe a central registration system for the registration of the producer/importer/brand owner. The Rules also lay down that any mechanism for the registration should be automated and should take into account ease of doing business for producers, recyclers and manufacturers. The centralised registration system will be evolved by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for the registration of the producer/importer/brand owner. While a national registry has been prescribed for producers with presence in more than two states, a state-level registration has been prescribed for smaller producers/brand owners operating within one or two states.
In addition, Rule 15 of the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules 2018 on “explicit pricing of carry bags” has been omitted.
Based on several representations received from various stakeholders, MoEF&CC had constituted a committee on issues/challenges faced with regard to the implementation of Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 and Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. The committee deliberated on several issues related to the Rules and its implementation by various stakeholders and submitted its recommendations to the Ministry.
The Ministry notified the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2018 on March 27, 2018. (Source: PIB)


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Ministry notifies Plastic Waste Management (amendment) rules.

Erosion of steep mountains may be adding CO2 to our atmosphere - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

Erosion of steep mountains may be adding CO2 to our atmosphere.

It’s been well-established that steep mountain ranges can draw carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the atmosphere. This is because erosion of the mountain exposes new rock, initiating a chemical reaction between the CO2 in the air and the minerals on the mountain face, weathering the rock and using CO2 to produce carbonate minerals such as calcite. But a new study published in the journal Science has flipped this idea around.
Researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have found that the erosion process can also be a source of new CO2 gas, releasing it back to the atmosphere at a much higher rate than newly exposed rock can absorb it.
“This goes against a long-standing hypothesis that more mountains mean more erosion and weathering, which means an added reduction of CO2,” says Jordon Hemingway, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University and lead author of the paper. “It turns out it’s much more complicated than that.”
The research team studied the central range in Taiwan, one of the most erosion-heavy mountain chains in the world. The steep mountain range is exposed to more than three significant typhoons every year, which erode the soil and rock through powerful winds and rain. They analyzed samples of soil, bedrock, and river sediments from these mountains, looking for signs of organic carbon in the rock. Their ensuing discovery was quite the shock.
“At the very bottom of the soil profile, you have basically unweathered rock,” explains Hemingway. “As soon as you hit the base of the soil, layer, though, you see rock that’s loose but not yet fully broken down, and at this point the organic carbon present in the bedrock seems to disappear entirely.” Around this point in the soil, the researchers also found an increased presence of lipids known to come from bacteria. The extra CO2 is actually a byproduct of microbes in the soil that “eat” ancient sources of organic carbon that are trapped in the rock. As the microbes metabolize these minerals, they release CO2.
The researchers don’t yet know exactly which bacteria are responsible for this action, but they note that determining this will be the “next step” in their research. They also note that the total level of CO2 released by the microbes isn’t significant enough to cause any immediate impact on climate change. These processes only have an impact on geological time scales. But this research may lead to a better understanding of how the lithospheric – or mountain-based – carbon cycles work. This in turn could help scientists determine how CO2 has been regulated since the Earth was first formed.
“Looking backwards, we’re most interested in how these processes managed to keep the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere more or less stable over millions of years. It allowed Earth to have the climate and conditions it’s had – one that has promoted the development of complex life forms,” says Hemingway. “Throughout our Earth’s history, CO2 has wobbled over time, but has remained in that stable zone. This is just an update of the mechanism of geological processes that allows that to happen.”


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Erosion of steep mountains may be adding CO2 to our atmosphere.

Seven MoUs signed with Russian OEMs - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

Seven MoUs signed with Russian OEMs.

Seven MoUs were signed at the Defence Expo 2018 by Indian private companies and Russian original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to manufacture and develop spares and sub-assemblies of identified Russian-origin platforms in use by the Indian armed forces.
The MoUs were signed after the third India-Russia Military Industrial Conference at the Defence Expo 2018.
The delegations from the two sides deliberated on the need to improve after-sales support of Russian-origin platforms being used by the Indian forces.
They also deliberated on facilitating domestic manufacturing of some of the identified spare parts through collaborations between Indian vendors and Russian OEMs.
Earlier in the day, Dr. Ajay Kumar, secretary, Defence Production, invited Russian companies to invest in India. He invited them to manufacture spare parts and facilitate the transfer of technology of Russian equipment in India's armed forces.
“Platforms such as Sukhoi 31, Mig-29, Mi-17 and INS Vikramaditya have been identified for manufacturing of spares in India through joint ventures and transfer of technology with Russian OEMs,” Mr. Kumar said. (Source: The Hindu)


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Seven MoUs signed with Russian OEMs.

Supreme Court seeks attorney general’s help to examine plea on allocation of cases - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

Supreme Court seeks attorney general’s help to examine plea on allocation of cases.

This is the first instance of the Supreme Court showing a willingness to hear a challenge to the chief justice’s absolute power in allocation of cases to various benches.

The Supreme Court on Friday sought the assistance of attorney general K.K. Venugopal on a petition challenging the administrative powers of the chief justice of India regarding allocation of cases.
This is the first instance of the apex court showing a willingness to hear a challenge to the chief justice’s absolute power in allocation of cases to various benches.
On 11 April, a bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra dismissed a plea challenging his prerogative to allot cases and decide composition of benches of the apex court.
The petition on Friday was heard by a bench comprising justices A.K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan. Justice J. Chelameswar, who has publicly criticized the administrative powers of the chief justice, had refused to hear the matter on Thursday.
The plea filed by Shanti Bhushan, a senior advocate and former law minister, and his son, Prashant Bhushan, called for the authority to allocate important and sensitive cases to be extended to the Supreme Court’s four senior-most judges, apart from the chief justice.
This is not a workable option, said justice Sikri, “It will not be feasible to interpret that the ‘chief justice of India’ could mean the entire collegium (five senior judges). How can five senior judges of the Supreme Court sit everyday or twice a week to allot cases,” he said.
The chief justice is at the “helm of the institution” and is conferred with authority under the Constitution to take decisions on allotment of cases, justice D.Y. Chandrachud said on Wednesday. “There should not be a presumption of mistrust in the discharge of duties by the chief justice,” he added.
Reiterating that the chief justice was the “master of the roster” and sole authority to decide on allotment of cases, the court went on to say, “As a repository of constitutional trust, the chief justice is an institution in himself. The authority is entrusted to the chief justice because such an entrustment of functions is necessary for the efficient transaction of the administrative and judicial work of the court.” (Source: Livemint)


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Supreme Court seeks attorney general’s help to examine plea on allocation of cases.

NASA’s new exoplanet-hunting telescope set to launch on Monday - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

NASA’s new exoplanet-hunting telescope set to launch on Monday.

NASA’s next exoplanet-hunting telescope is preparing for launch. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), is scheduled to blast off aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on 16 April

TESS is take up the mantle of the Kepler Space Telescope, which is expected to run out of fuel by the end of this year. Kepler has found more than 5000 exoplanet candidates so far, and confirmed about half of them. TESS will be able to search 350 times more area of the sky than Kepler can, and is expected to find about 20,000 exoplanets in its first two years alone.
It will take about two months after launch to manouevre the satellite into its orbit – about half as far from Earth as the moon – and test its cameras. “After that, there’ll just be a flood of information,” says the mission’s principal investigator, George Ricker at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Eyes on the sky
TESS will use the same transit method Kepler used to find planets. This involves watching a star for dips in its light as a planet passes between the star and the telescope. How often the dips repeat indicates how fast the planet circles its host star, and the amount of light that’s blocked tells us the size of the distant world.
Rather than looking at distant stars in a small area of sky, like Kepler did, TESS will look at closer stars over 85 per cent of the sky. It is optimised to observe smaller, cooler stars that emit mostly red light.
“90 per cent of the stars in the Milky Way emit in those red wavelengths, and then seem to have more planets than stars like the sun, especially smaller Earth-sized planets,” says Ricker. “Nature’s really saying, ‘look here, look here’ and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
Because those stars are so nearby and rich with planets, they will be ideal targets for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), due to launch in 2020. JWST will examine exoplanet atmospheres for signatures of life, which is only possible when their stars are relatively close.


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NASA’s new exoplanet-hunting telescope set to launch on Monday.

India should ensure privacy and security controls while implementing Aadhaar: IMF report - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

India should ensure privacy and security controls while implementing Aadhaar: IMF report.

The International Monetary Fund said that lack of sufficient security features makes the system vulnerable to unauthorised access.

The International Monetary Fund has said that India should ensure privacy and security controls while implementing biometric identification programmes like the Aadhaar.

In its Fiscal Monitor report on digital government, the organisation said that India’s biometric identification programme and electronic payments had helped reduce leakages in Liquefied Petroleum Gas subsidies. “With more than 1.2 billion registered citizens in India’s biometric identification system, Aadhaar, the country stands out as a leader in this area,” the report said.
However, the report expressed concerns about the alleged leakage of Aadhaar data. “In a recent data breach in India, it has been reported that 135 million Aadhaar numbers were compromised, underscoring the importance of sound privacy measures,” the IMF said.
“In India, privacy and security concerns have led to alternating periods of mandatory and non-mandatory use of Aadhaar in social programmes,” the report said. “A court decision is still pending on the programme’s compliance with the right to privacy.”
“Advocates of the system assert that Aadhaar is compatible with the right to privacy because the captured biometric traits are encrypted,” the IMF added. “However, the lack of sufficient security controls makes the system vulnerable to unauthorised access.”
The IMF report said that the cost of Aadhaar implementation and maintenance between 2009 and 2017 was $1.25 (Rs 81) per card. However, it added that this was lower than the cost of electronic identification systems in other countries.
The report added that the government may find it difficult to phase out Aadhaar in future given its broad coverage, notwithstanding the Supreme Court verdict in the case.


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India should ensure privacy and security controls while implementing Aadhaar: IMF report.

Union Home Minister launches e-FRRO scheme - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

Union Home Minister launches e-FRRO scheme .

Shri Rajnath Singh says it provides efficient visa related services online to foreigners visiting India.

The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh launched the web-based application ‘e-FRRO’ (e-Foreigners Regional Registration Office) at a function here today. Speaking on the occasion Shri Rajnath Singh said that it has been a constant endeavour of the Home Ministry to provide fast and efficient services to foreigners visiting India so that they have a pleasant experience of their stay here.
He said the e-FRRO scheme is aimed at building a centralized, transparent online platform for the foreigners to avail visa related services and to provide Faceless, Cashless and Paperless services to the foreigners with user friendly experience.
The e-FRRO scheme would be a quantum jump in improving the ease of service delivery with respect to foreigners visiting and staying in India. In the new system, foreigners would be able to get as many as 27 Visa and Immigration related services in India from the comfort of their place of stay. Using the e-FRRO application, foreigners can apply online on the portal and obtain the service(s) through email/post without appearing in person at the FRO/FRRO office.
It may be noted that the online services offered by E-FRRO scheme are not available even in some of the most advanced countries in North America and Europe.
In 2017, more than one crore foreigners visited India and out of them approximately 3.6 lakhs had to visit FRRO offices spread across the country for various visa-related services. With the launch of the online e-FRRO scheme, their physical visit to the FRRO offices thus been obviated.
The e-FRRO scheme has been implemented on the IVFRT platform with negligible extra expenditure, taking a cue from the already successfully running e-Visa scheme. It may be noted that the e-Visa scheme has earned revenue of more than Rs 1400 crores since its launch in Nov 2014.
Union Home Secretary Shri Rajiv Gauba, Director IB Shri Rajiv Jain, senior officials of MHA, NIC, MEA and Dept of Tourism were present on the occasion.
In the present system, foreigners staying in India on Visa duration of more than 180 days have to get themselves registered with their respective FROs/FRROs. Similarly, foreigners requiring different kind of visa related services such as Visa extension, Visa Conversion, Change of address, Change of Educational institutions, Exit permits etc are currently required to visit the FROs/FRROs office.
Some of the salient features of the e-FRRO include online FRRO Service delivery mechanism without requirement of visiting FRRO/FRO Office barring exceptional cases. Using this application, foreigners are required to create their own User ID by registering themselves. Afterwards, they can apply online through registered User-ID for various Visa and Immigration related services in India viz. Registration, Visa Extension, Visa Conversion, Exit Permit etc.
The necessary Immigration/Visa document e.g. Registration Permit/Certificate (RP/RC), Visa Extension Certificate etc will be sent by post on the address mentioned in the online application. It would also be electronically sent to the foreigner to his registered email ID. In case of exigency, the foreigner can visit the FRRO/FRO office directly for grant of service.
e-FRRO has already been implemented and is running successfully as a pilot project in four FRROs (Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai) since February 12, 2018. Now it has been rolled out in the remaining eight FRROs, - namely Kolkata, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Cochin, Thiruvananthapuram, Calicut, Lucknow and Ahmedabad.
Advantages of e-FRRO include facilitation of legitimate foreigners through “Digital India” vision of the Government, foreigners need not visit FRRO/FRO office – “Services from the comfort of home”, convenient and Time saving, exclusive dashboard for User friendly experience and Uniform & Standardized Services across the Country.


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Union Home Minister launches e-FRRO scheme.

India among four countries where water taps may run dry, says report - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

India among four countries where water taps may run dry, says report.

Last month, the Gujarat state government halted irrigation and appealed to farmers not to sow crops.

Shrinking reservoirs in India, Morocco, Iraq and Spain could result in water taps going completely dry in these four countries, a study based on a new early warning satellite system has warned.

According to the developers of the new satellite early warning system for the world's 500,000 dams, shrinking reservoirs in India, Morocco, Iraq and Spain could spark the next "day zero" water crisis, The Guardian reported.
The system has named countries where shrinking reservoirs could lead to the taps completely drying up, the study said.
Tensions have been apparent in India over the water allocations for two reservoirs connected by the Narmada river, it said.
Poor rains last year left the upstream Indira Sagar dam in Madhya Pradesh a third below its seasonal average.
When some of this shortfall was passed on to the downstream Sardar Sarovar reservoir, it caused an uproar because the latter is a drinking supply for 30 million people.
Last month, the Gujarat state government halted irrigation and appealed to farmers not to sow crops.
Cape Town recently grabbed global headlines by launching a countdown to the day when taps would be cut off to millions of residents as a result of a three-year drought.
Drastic conservation measures have forestalled that moment in South Africa, but dozens of other countries face similar risks from rising demand, mismanagement and climate change, says the World Resources Institute (WRI).
The US-based environmental organisation is working with Deltares, the Dutch government and other partners to build a water and security early warning system that aims to anticipate social instability, economic damage and cross-border migration.
A prototype is due to be rolled out later this year, but a snapshot, unveiled on Wednesday, highlighted four of the worst-affected dams and the potential knock-on risks.
The starkest decline is that of Morocco's second-largest reservoir Al Massira which has shrunk by 60 per cent in three years due to recurring drought, expanding irrigation and the increasing thirst of neighbouring cities such as Casablanca.
Spain has suffered a severe drought that has contributed to a 60 per cent shrinking of the surface area of the Buendia dam over the last five years.
In Iraq, the Mosul Dam has seen a more protracted decline but it is also now down 60 per cent from its peak in the 1990s as a result of low rainfall and competing demand from Turkish hydropower projects upstream on the Tigris and Euphrates.(Source: The Business Standard)


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India among four countries where water taps may run dry, says report.

Aadhaar Act validating collection of biometric 'badly drafted': SC - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

Aadhaar Act validating collection of biometric 'badly drafted': SC.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that the provision of Aadhaar Act that seeks to validate the data collected from 2009 to 2016 when the statute was enacted was "badly drafted" and it could not be read to mean waiving of fundamental rights of the people.

The five judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra told Attorney General K.K. Venugopal that the supposed deemed consent for parting with biometric data can't be stretched to mean waiving of fundamental rights to privacy of the people.
Other judges on the constitution bench are Justice A.K. Sikri, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Ashok Bhushan.
The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, that was enacted in 2016 seeks to validate the collection of biometric and demographic Adata of the people from 2009 till law came into existence in 2016 on the strength of administrative instructions.
Section 59 says: "Anything done or any action taken by the Central Government under the Resolution of the Government of India, Planning Commission bearing notification number A-43011/02/2009-Admin. I, dated the 28th January, 2009, or by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology under the Cabinet Secretariat Notification bearing notification number S.O. 2492(E), dated the 12th September, 2015, as the case may be, shall be deemed to have been validly done or taken under this Act."
Unimpressed by the argument advanced by the Attorney General, Chief Justice Misra said: "You have said that it was voluntary and with minimal invasion. We can't hold that the fundamental rights can be waived or compromised" by stretching the deemed consent to that extent.
The court's observation as Venugopal sought to defend the data collected from 2009 to 2016 on the strength of administrative orders and without obtaining the consent of the people on the collection and storage of their biometric and demographic data.
The Attorney General said that people gave their biometric data voluntarily and at that point of time, it did not violate the privacy as right to privacy was not a fundamental right.
Defending the insertion of Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act that mandates the linking of PAN number with Aadhaar, Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that the said provision advanced the "legitimate interest of the State, it did not suffer from any lack of proportionality and was not arbitrary".
He said that the provision was introduced to eliminate the duplicate PANs from the system, which he said were being used for illegal transactions.
Mehta asserted that by linking Aadhaar with PAN helped in curbing the tax evasion, prevention, accumulation and circulation of black money and money laundering including preventing terror financing - which he described as legitimate state interest.
The top court's nine judge constitution bench had on August 24, 2017 while holding that right to privacy was fundamental, which is a intrinsic and core feature of life and personal liberty, had said that yet state can for legitimate reasons such as protecting national security, preventing and investigating crime could collect and store data about people.
"Apart from national security, the state may have justifiable reasons for the collection and storage of data", the majority judgment by Justice Chandrachud had said: "In a social welfare state, the government embarks upon programmes which provide benefits to impoverished and marginalised sections of society."
He had however calling for a robust data protection regime, which "requires a careful and sensitive balance between individual interests and legitimate concerns of the state".
The constitution bench is hearing a batch of petitions by former Karnataka High Court Judge K.S. Puttuswamy, Magsaysay awardee Shanta Sinha, feminist researcher Kalyani Sen Menon, social activist Aruna Roy, Nikhil De, Nachiket Udupa and others challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar scheme on the touchstone of the fundamental right to privacy.
Mehta will continue with his arguments on Wednesday. (Source: The Business Standard)


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Aadhaar Act validating collection of biometric 'badly drafted': SC.

India top recipient of Commonwealth FDI, says a new report - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

India top recipient of Commonwealth FDI, says a new report.

Between 2005 and 2016, India remained the top recipient of greenfield FDI from the Commonwealth, more than doubling the amount it received over 10 years, says report.

India has emerged as the top recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) from within the Commonwealth and is the second-most lucrative source of investment within the 53-member organisation after the UK, according to a new trade review.

The trade review released in the lead up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) next week. ‘Commonwealth Trade Review 2018: Strengthening the Commonwealth Advantage’, compiled by the Commonwealth secretariat, also found that India has moved into the top five providers of intra-Commonwealth services trade, surpassing Canada, and alongside Australia, Singapore and the UK.
“Between 2005 and 2016, India remained the top recipient of greenfield FDI from the Commonwealth, more than doubling the amount it received over 10 years...India is the leading country for attracting greenfield FDI, not only from the Commonwealth but also from the world. In 2015, it overtook China for the first time as the biggest destination for greenfield FDI,” the report notes.
Green-field investments occur when a parent company or government begins a new venture by constructing new facilities in a country outside where the firm is headquartered.
The trade review found that intra-Commonwealth exports of goods and services stood at $560 billion in 2016 and this trade, as a proportion of global trade, is rising and is now 20% of Commonwealth countries’ total trade with the world.
“This underlines the growing significance of Commonwealth markets for many member countries. With world trade growth forecast to rebound in 2017-18, the Commonwealth appears on track to achieve $700 billion in intra-Commonwealth trade in goods and services by 2020, while proactive policy measures can trigger even greater gains,” the report notes.
Intra-Commonwealth trade is projected to reach $700 billion by 2020, driven in large part by India’s economic growth. According to the findings, the “dramatic rise” in the increased prominence of intra-Commonwealth investment is driven by India, a country which also presents enormous potential across economic sectors from the application of digital technologies.
The 2015 ‘Commonwealth Trade Review’ had found that Commonwealth countries, on average, tend to trade around 20% more and generate 10% more investment with each other than with non-member countries. The 2018 review was undertaken to explore how Commonwealth members, individually and collectively, can strengthen this Commonwealth advantage in two ways: by harnessing new technologies, especially digitisation, to trigger new trade and investment opportunities; and by strengthening certain aspects of their domestic trade governance regime to reduce trade costs further.
“Trade and investment flows among our members are strong and continue to grow. Despite the unexpected contraction in world trade since our 2015 Trade Review, intra-Commonwealth trade in goods and services, and productive ‘greenfield’ investment, is growing fast and projected to exceed $1 trillion by 2020,” said Baroness Patricia Scotland, Commonwealth Secretary-General.
The review will feed into the Commonwealth Business Forum deliberations among business leaders and policy-makers from across the member countries, scheduled in London between 16-18 April. Among the Indian business leaders expected to participate include Rakesh Bharti Mittal, president designate, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and vice-chairman, Bharti Enterprises, for a panel on global economic growth; Ajay Piramal, chairman, Piramal Group, for a panel on business trust; and Ravi Parthasarathy, chairman, Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited, for a panel on Smart Cities.
The business forum, alongside parallel Youth, Women’s and People’s forums, will mark a precursor to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London and Windsor on April 19-20, to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Source: Livemint)


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India top recipient of Commonwealth FDI, says a new report.

First International conference on Water, Environment held in Kathmandu - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

First International conference on Water, Environment held in Kathmandu.

An international conference on ‘Water, Environment and Climate Change: Knowledge Sharing and Partnership’ will start in Kathmandu from Tuesday.

The three-day event is being organised by the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage, Govt of Nepal in association with the Society of Public Health Engineers Nepal (Sophen) and Nepal Engineers Association.
The basic objective of the conference is to bring together professionals, academicians,researchers,entrepreneurs, government and non government institutions to discuss and deliberate on challenges,opportunities and strategies related to water and environmental issues.
It will also provide an opportunity to various stake holders to discuss critical issues concerning environment and sustainable water resources management.
According to the organizers, more than 100 international participants from 20 different countries, including India, will attend the conference.


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First International conference on Water, Environment held in Kathmandu.

India Signs MOU With World EXPO 2020 Dubai - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

India Signs MOU With World EXPO 2020 Dubai.

India and World Expo 2020 signed participants contract today for India’s pavilion in the prestigious World Expo 2020 held once in 5 years. The contract was signed by Shri Manoj K. Dwivedi, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Government of India on Indian side and Mr. Najeeb Mohammed Al Ali, Executive Director, Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau on behalf of Expo 2020 at the Expo site in the presence of Shri Navdeep Suri, Ambassador of India to UAE, Shri Vipul, Consul General of India, Dubai and Dr. Tarek Shayya, Board Director-Chief International Participants Officer, Dubai Expo.
The contract provides for the setting up of India pavilion at Expo 2020 on an extra large plot (about one acre) in the ‘Opportunity’ segment. This is tune with the great opportunity for economic activity that India provides today on the way to becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2025. Focus will be given to India’s advances in Space, Pharma, IT, Renewable Energy, Telecom sectors.
The pavilion will be developed in public-private partnership mode. Leading industries and businesses will work with Central government and State governments to participate in India’s pavilion. A number of state governments, various ministries of central government and major industry associations and businesses have shown interest in partnering and participating in World Expo 2020 which will take place for six months beginning October 2020.
Commerce & Industry Minister, Shri Suresh Prabhu has expressed his happiness on the signing of the contract. Commerce Secretary, Smt. Rita Teaotia has held meetings with stakeholders and industry associations like FICCI and CII for helping the Government in making India’s participation a memorable and befitting one. (Source: PIB)


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India Signs MOU With World EXPO 2020 Dubai.

Isro to launch navigation satellite on Thursday - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

Isro to launch navigation satellite on Thursday.

Isro will on Thursday launch a navigation satellite IRNSS-1I, the 8th such satellite to be a part of NavIC navigation satellite constellation, from Sriharikota.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) will on Thursday launch a navigation satellite, the eighth such satellite to be a part of a constellation, from Sriharikota, the space agency said on Tuesday.
PSLV-C41/IRNSS-1I Mission is scheduled to be launched on Thursday morning at 04:04am. IRNSS-1I is expected to replace IRNSS-1A, the first of the seven navigation satellites, that was rendered ineffective after its three rubidium atomic clocks failed. The seven satellites are part of the NavIC navigation satellite constellation.
The launch will be Isro’s second attempt at sending a replacement satellite. The previous mission of a PSLV carrying IRNSS-1H in August last year failed after the heat shield covering the satellite failed to separate.
“India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its forty-third flight (PSLV-C41) in XL configuration will launch IRNSS-1I Satellite from First Launch Pad (FLP) of SDSC (Satish Dhawan Space Centre), Sriharikota,” the Isro said.
The IRNSS-1I mission will take place two weeks after the space agency launched GSAT-6A on board GSLV Mk-II. Though the rocket placed GSAT-6A in orbit, Isro lost communication with the satellite. (Source: Livemint)


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Isro to launch navigation satellite on Thursday.

India to host the 16th International Energy Forum Ministerial - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

India to host the 16th International Energy Forum Ministerial.

The 16th International Energy Forum Ministerial comes in the backdrop of a supply cut by Opec and Russia that has led to a rally in global oil price.

India, the world’s third-largest energy consumer after the US and China, will host the 16th International Energy Forum Ministerial (IEF—16), that will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.
The ministerial comes in the backdrop of a supply cut by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and Russia that has led to a rally in global oil price. This has resulted in the cost of Indian basket of crude, which averaged $47.56 a barrel in 2016-2017, touching $63.80 (average price) in March 2018, according to information from Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell. Extreme volatility has marked crude oil prices, which reached a record $147 per barrel in July 2009.
The Indian basket represents the average of Oman, Dubai and Brent crude.
“Covering all six continents and accounting for around 90% of global supply and demand for oil and gas, the IEF is unique in that it comprises not only consuming and producing countries of the IEA and Opec, but also Transit States and major players outside of their memberships, including Argentina, China, India, Mexico, Russia and South Africa,” the Indian government said in a statement on Monday.
The ministerial hosted by India also assumes significance given that the country’s energy needs are primarily met through imports, with India importing 214 million tonnes of crude oil in 2016-17.
“Sellers also need a steady and stable buyers’ market. India fulfils that need,” said an Indian government official closely involved in evolving the country’s new energy security paradigm, requesting anonymity.
This also comes at a time when India has been pushing for a gas based economy. India, the world’s fourth-largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer, has been trying to leverage the glut in global LNG supplies to renegotiate its contracts. Indian firms have been exploring strategies such as time swap of volumes, destination swaps and contract on free on board basis to reduce the final fuel price. India imported 19 million metric tonnes of LNG in 2016-17.
Also, India has been recalibrating its crude sourcing strategy and sourcing heavy crude from Latin America as part of its strategy to become a preferred refining hub. It also sourced crude oil from US last year.
“The International Energy Forum (IEF) aims to foster greater mutual understanding and awareness of common energy interests among its members. Its 72 Member Countries are signatories to the IEF Charter, which outlines the framework of the global energy dialogue through this inter-governmental arrangement. Apart from them, 20 countries are also participating in this meeting as special invitees,” the statement added.
The ministerial will be attended by Dharmendra Pradhan, India’s petroleum and natural gas minister; Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s petroleum and mineral resources minister; Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, United Arab Emirates’s energy and industry minister; Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, Iran’s petroleum minister; Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Qatar’s energy and industry minister; Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, Nigeria’s minister of state for petroleum resources; and Kosaburo Nishime, Japan’s state minister of economy, trade and industry.
As a major consumer, India is trying to leverage its position to seek reasonable rates. New Delhi is also reworking its import strategy by stepping up the share of short-term contracts whenever the market is favourable and exploring long-term supply deals at discounted prices as its new energy architecture evolves.


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India to host the 16th International Energy Forum Ministerial.

India among the hardest hit by protectionism in G-20 club - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

India among the hardest hit by protectionism in G-20 club.

India has been hit hard by the rising tide of protectionism, followed by the US and China, and could be one of the major casualties of a global trade war.

Among the largest economies in the G-20 group, China, the US and India have been hit the hardest by protectionist measures in 2017, according to data from the Global Trade Alerts (GTA) database. Among emerging economies, China faced the greatest number of protectionist interventions in the past year (403), followed by India (236). Recent developments—including US tariff actions against India—suggest that India could be hit hard by the growing tide of protectionism in the coming months as well.
India was affected by protectionist interventions implemented largely by rich economies, the data shows. Within the G-20 club, fellow emerging economies have been less unkind to India compared to the advanced economies.
The magnitude of loss in export earnings for India might be relatively smaller than in the case of China because of India’s lower share in global exports. Nonetheless, the rising tide of protectionism threatens India’s trade surplus in the services sector and will hit export earnings of Indian firms.
The GTA database is a trade policy monitoring initiative by Simon Evenett and Johannes Fritz, economists with the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. The database attempts to record all unilateral actions by governments, including those by public institutions such as the central bank, which affect trade. The countries affected by each such action are identified on the basis of existing trade pattern between the countries concerned.
The data shows that protectionism has been on the rise ever since the global financial crash of 2008 shook the world, and disrupted trade and financial flows. The ongoing skirmish between the US and China over tariffs only marks a new phase in the global lurch towards protectionism. Protectionism appears to have been more enthusiastically adopted by advanced countries, which have struggled to grow their economies in the wake of the global financial crisis.
Between 2004 and 2008, the global trade-GDP ratio rose 6.6 percentage points to reach a peak of 60.8% in 2008. The slowdown in global growth and the rising spate of protectionist interventions have brought down that ratio to 56.4% in 2016.
Indian firms, which witnessed a significant rise in export earnings in the years leading up to 2008, have witnessed a steep decline in such earnings since then, data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) shows.
The tariff threats by the US and China against each other suggest that protectionist interventions will only increase in the months to come, even if a full-fledged trade war does not break out. This will hurt the balance sheets of Indian corporations.
Services sectors such as IT may be among the hardest hit. India’s trade surplus in services is already under pressure. Rise in protectionism will crimp the services trade surplus even further.
While import tariffs have been governments’ most preferred tool to restrict movement of goods, qualitative restrictions have been used to dissuade services. For instance, the US has tightened H-1B visa norms, making it more difficult for other countries to export services supplied through the temporary movement of persons. The OECD’s Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI) report released in January said that 2017 was a far more restrictive year for services trade than 2016.
India should ideally have served as a bulwark in the fight against protectionism, and could have worked to further the agenda of globalization, given the huge benefits the Indian economy has reaped from it. But India’s own protectionist tendencies have precluded such a role for the country.
In fact, among major economies, the US and India imposed the most number of restrictions in 2017, according to the GTA database.
India followed it up with even more import duty hikes in the Union Budget presented in February 2018. The budget substantially raised tariffs across a range of products, from fruit juice to mobile phones. Finance minister Arun Jaitley cited the goal of job creation and ‘Make in India’ to justify the move.
These measures might not only be counter-productive but could also invite further backlash. The US has already challenged India’s export subsidy programmes at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The US contends that the Indian government is providing $7 billion worth of benefits to Indian companies which have allegedly created an uneven playing field for US companies and workers. India has a trade surplus of around $30 billion with the US.
Although most US trade interventions were directed against China in 2017, the GTA database shows that India was also a top target of those interventions.
The data suggests that the coming months are not going to be easy for India’s trade officials and export-dependent firms. (Source: Livemint)


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India among the hardest hit by protectionism in G-20 club.