Incredible India

Incredible India

1. Spain has secured the top spot in the ‘Travel and Tourism Index 2019’. It is followed by France, Germany, and Japan with the United States.

2. Japan remains Asia's most competitive travel and tourism economy.

3. The Asia-Pacific was one of the fastest-growing travel and tourism regions in this year's ranking.

What is the ‘Travel and Tourism Index 2019’?

1. The index is produced by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

2. It ranks 140 countries in the world on their relative strengths in global tourism and travel.

3. It measures the factors and policies that make a country a viable place to invest in the Travel and Tourism sector.

4.  It relies on the collaboration of a network of thinkers who provide their knowledge and insights towards its production.

5. It compiles data from its partners,

a) International Air Transport Association (IATA)

b) International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

c) World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

d) World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)

e) Bloom Consulting

6. The index uses four sub-indices to rank the countries,

a) Enabling Environment

b) Travel and Tourism Policy and enabling conditions

c) Infrastructure

d) Natural and Cultural resources

7. There are fourteen sub-pillars and ninety indicators of the index which are used to score a country's overall travel and tourism competitiveness.

How has India performed in the rankings?

1. India has moved up six places to rank 34th on world travel and tourism competitiveness index.

2. The index states that India’s growth is driven by two main factors,

a) Rich natural and cultural resources

b) Strong price competitiveness

3. This is the greatest improvement of India over 2017 among the top 25% of all countries ranked in the report.

4. India has performed well in following indicators,

a) Air Infrastructure- 33rd rank

b) Ground and Port Infrastructure- 28th rank

c) International Openness- 51st rank

d)  Natural resources- 14th rank

e) Cultural resources- 8th rank

f) Price competitiveness- 13th rank

g) Overall Travel and tourism policy- 69th rank

5. However, India is still lagging on following indicators,

a) Enabling Environment- 98th rank

b) Environmental Sustainability- 128th rank

c) Tourist Service Infrastructure-  109th rank

Which programmes have helped to improve?

1. Successive Indian governments have initiated many programs to ensure the progress of tourism sectors.

2. Following programs have helped to improve India’s ranking,

a) Atithi Devo Bhav campaign

b) Incredible India campaign

c) Recent reforms in visa process

d) Online option for applying for tourist visa

e) E-VISA facility available to citizens of 163 countries

f) Schemes such as PRASAD, Tourist circuits, etc.

Why is India preferred by tourists?

1. India offers a wide variety of things from cuisine to culture.

2. India has strong price competitiveness and strong cultural traditions.

3. Natural scenic locations in India range from beaches to mountains like the Himalayas.

4. India is also progressing in various sectors such as medical tourism, adventure tourism, pilgrimage tourism, etc.

5. Government policies have created awareness about India’s tourism potential globally.

Where does the potential of tourism lies?

Worldwide

1. In the World, tourism industry generated around 10.4% of all global economic activities.

2.  This sector contributed $8.8 trillion dollars to economies and also created 319 million jobs worldwide.

3. This sector accounts for one in five new jobs created worldwide.

4. This sector is estimated to contribute 100 million jobs generated globally in next 10 years.

India

1. India is the seventh-largest tourism country currently. It is expected to become 3rd largest tourism country in next 10 years.

2. Tourism and Travel Industry will double its contribution to 32 lakh crores by 2028.

3. This sector is expected to add 5.23 crore jobs by 2028 in India.

Eastern Economic Forum

Eastern Economic Forum

1. India’s PM has been invited as the chief guest for the fifth edition of the Eastern Economic Forum.

2. India has announced a $ 1 billion line of credit to the region and shipping line from Vladivostok to Chennai for transportation of oil would be started.  

What is Eastern Economic Forum?

1. It is an international forum held each year in Russia to encourage foreign investment in the Russian Far East region.

2. It is aimed to support the economic development of Russia’s far east.

3. It seeks to attract foreign investment in the region which is resource-rich but highly underdeveloped.

4. It also seeks to expand international cooperation in the Asia Pacific Region.

5. It also serves as a platform for discussion of key issues such as world economy, regional integration and the development of new industrial and technological sectors.

6. The forum’s business programme includes business dialogues with partner countries in the Asia-Pacific region and ASEAN.

Russia’s Far East Region

1. Russia’s Far East is a huge geographic region also known as the Siberian region is sparsely populated due to its harsh climatic conditions. It is twice the size of India and rich in resources. 2. Vegetation is mostly taiga, with a tundra belt on the northern fringe, and a temperate forest zone in the south. 3. It has short summers and long, brutally cold winters. On the north coast, north of the Arctic Circle, there is a very short (about one-month-long) summer.

Who participated in the forum?

1. India, Japan, China, South Korea, North Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Mongolia.

2. Representatives from a wide range of industries participated.

Why does Russia need India?

1. Russia needs the help of Asian countries other than China to develop this region.

2. Russia is keen to balance Chinese presence through Indian investments and manpower.

3. The resource-rich region also can fulfill India’s energy needs.

When did Indo – Russia's bilateral relationship start?

1. Soviet Union supported India’s freedom movement and many Indian leaders were inspired by the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.

2. India established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union shortly before independence in 1947.

3. After independence, the immediate goal for India was to attain self-sufficiency through investment in heavy industry.

4. Soviet Union invested in mining, energy production, steel plants, and heavy machine-building industries in India.

5. During India’s second five-year plan, 16 new projects were set up of which 8 projects were supported by the Soviet Union. This included the establishment of IIT Bombay.

6. It vetoed twice, in 1957 and 1962, the anti-Indian initiatives at UNSC in regard to J&K.

7. It also supported India’s move to liberate Goa from Portuguese rule in 1961.

8. In 1971 the treaty of Peace and Friendship was signed.

9. In 1993, India and Russia entered into a new treaty of friendship and cooperation and a bilateral military-technical cooperation agreement was signed in 1994.

Where does the bilateral relation stand now?

1. In 2000 the relationship was enhanced to the strategic partnership and in 2010 the partnership was elevated to special and privileged strategic partnerships.  

2. Since 2014 the annual bilateral summit has resulted in the following progress –

a. Both countries agreed to set up new nuclear plants in India and broader collaboration in hydrocarbon companies in oil and gas exploration and production.

b. Both countries set a target of bilateral trade of $ 30 billion trade by 2024.

c. MoUs were signed related to Trade and investment, energy, education, science and technology, culture and tourism, people to people contact, space, defence, security, railways and disaster management.

d. In 2016 India signed a deal for the S-400 air missile system and Agreement to increase mutual investments up to $15 billion.

How do both countries function on International forums?

1. Both countries have similar positions and coordinate action at international forums.

2. Both have cooperated closely within the United Nations and G20 grouping as well as in the various structures in the Asia-Pacific region such as ASEAN and East Asia Summit Forum.

3. India was admitted as a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in 2017 with Russia’s support.

Which are the issues in the bilateral trade?

1. Both countries are unable to move further from traditional areas such as defence and nuclear cooperation.

2. Partnership in new areas has made not much progress. Investment and bilateral trade are minimal, and it is not sustainable.

Towards Better LivingThe World Habitat Day was celebrated on 7th October.

Towards Better Living

The World Habitat Day was celebrated on 7th October.

When was ‘World Habitat Day’ designated?

1. In 1985, the United Nations designated the first Monday of October every year as World Habitat Day.

2. The day is celebrated to reflect the state of towns and cities and the basic right of all to adequate shelter.

3. It is intended to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat.

What is the theme of WHD 2019?

1. The theme for World Habitat Day 2019 is “Frontier technologies as an innovative tool to transform waste to wealth.”

2. This is in continuation with the World Habitat Day 2018 theme - ‘Municipal Solid Waste Management’ which focused mainly on managing garbage.

3. The theme is focussing on achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 11- Inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities.

4. The term ‘Waste’ includes all waste produced by human activity such as solid, liquid, domestic, industrial and commercial.

5. Such waste continues to have a devastating impact on climate change, public health and the environment.

Which are the problems associated with waste?

1. Currently, the world produces 7-10 billion tonnes of waste in all forms annually.

2. Inadequate infrastructure for waste management in the least developed and developing countries has impacted the health of citizens adversely.

3. Lack of adequate waste management results in air, soil, water pollution which pose threats to public health, ecosystem, and biodiversity.

4. Large quantities of waste are accumulating in world oceans which is impacting the marine ecosystems adversely.

Why should frontier technologies be adopted?

1. Frontier technologies like automation, robotics, electric vehicles, renewable technologies, and artificial intelligence can transform environmental spheres.

2. They can offer better, cheaper, faster, scalable and easy to use solutions for every-day problems, including waste management.

3. They can be used in complex situations where the manual waste management isn’t possible.

4. Such technologies can innovate the waste management system through 5Rs,

a) Reduce

b) Reuse

c) Recycle

d) Recover

e) Residual Management

5. Adoption of such technologies can create employment opportunities, promote economic growth and improve the health ecosystem.

6. It can contribute to happier, greener, healthier cities. It can save enormous public money.

How is India promoting sustainable habitat?

1. According to the report, nearly half of the Indian population will live in cities by 2050. It will create a huge burden on urban infrastructure.

2. To meet this challenge, several states along with the Central Government have speeded up the urbanization process in the country.

3. Through ‘Housing for All by 2022 Initiative’, the Government is building affordable houses built on ecological standards in rural as well as urban areas.

4. Smart Cities Mission provides for adoption of high technologies such as ‘Internet of Things’, ‘Artificial Intelligence’ etc. These systems capture the data, the lifestyle of the users.

5. Several governments are promoting ‘Waste to Wealth Mission’ i.e. by giving waste, citizens can earn money.

6. Atal Mission For Rejuvenation And Urban Transformation Mission seeks to provide basic services e.g. water supply, sewerage to households and build amenities in cities to improve quality of life.

War Against Poverty

War Against Poverty

1. Eradicating poverty in all its forms is one of the greatest challenges faced by humankind.

2. The UN defines extreme poverty as a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs which include food, safe drinking water, sanitation, and health.

What does the UN report say?

1. According to the United Nations (UN), more than 10% of the world’s population is still living in extreme poverty.

2. 23.1% of the population across 103 countries are multi-dimensionally poor and half of them are children under the age of 18 years.

3. Children suffer poverty more intensely than adults. It hurts children’s development and in turn, leads to lower-income and poor health in adulthood.

4. Half of the 1.3 billion multi-dimensionally poor people are children under the age of 18.

5. In 2018-19 about 10.7% of South Asian girls drop out of school and live in Multi-Dimensionally poor household and 22.7% of children under the age 5 are malnourished.

Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) includes both income and a number of indicators including poor health, poor quality of work and the threat of violence.

Who developed the MPI?

1. MPI is developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative and UNDP.

2. It identifies deprivations at household and individual levels based on Health, Education, and Standard of Living.

3. It relies on two main databases viz. ICF Macro Demographic and Health Survey and UNICEF’s Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey.

Which are steps taken by the UN in reducing poverty?

1. Every year 17th October is observed as International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

2. No poverty by 2030 is the first sustainable development goal set by the UN.

3. UN is also running a social media campaign called #EndPoverty to create awareness on International Day for the eradication of poverty.

4. This year marks 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the theme this year is “Acting together to empower children their families and communities to end poverty”.

5. The Convention recognizes the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development.

Where does India stand?

1. As per the 2019 Global Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index, India reduced half the number of poor between 2006 and 2016.

2. India lifted 271 million people out of poverty in the period recording the fastest reduction in the multi-dimensional poverty index values during the period.

3. Strong improvements in assets, cooking fuel, sanitation, and nutrition are cited as the reason.

4. India’s MPI value reduced from 0.283 in 2005-06 to 0.123 in 2015-16.

5. India has also reduced the number of overweight children under 5 years.

6. But, India still has about 27.9% of the population living in poverty in 2015-16.

7. 38.4% of Children under 5 years are affected by stunting and it varies among the poor, middle class and rich.

8. According to the National Family Health Survey, a third of women of reproductive age undernourished and more than half of them are anemic.

How India is trying to reduce poverty?

1. Schemes such as MGNREGA, Deen Dayal Anthodaya Yojana, National Livelihood Mission, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, National Social Assistance Programme, and the Public Distribution System India has made far-reaching progress in poverty elevation in recent years.

2. To free India from malnutrition the National Nutrition Mission or the Potion Abhiyan is implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

3. The program aims to reduce stunting, undernutrition and anemia among young children, women and adolescent girls and also reduce low birth weight by monitoring and ensuring holistic development.

4. The goal is to make malnutrition free India by the year 2022.

Why is Health Care important in reducing poverty? 

1. About 55 million Indians were pushed into poverty in a single year for having to fund their own health care. Among them, 38 million came below poverty due to spending on medicines alone.

2. Other challenges in health care are High out of pocket expenditure and Low Financial protection and low health insurance coverage.

3. But, in recent years India has taken historic steps to ensure universal health which is an important parameter in eradicating poverty.

4. The focus is largely on four main pillars of universal health i.e. preventive health, affordable health care, supply-side interventions, and mission mode interventions.

5. Due to improvement across the spectrum of health and development, the average life expectancy has risen steadily from 64 to 68 years between 2005 and 2015.

6. India’s under-five mortality for the first time estimated at 39 deaths per 1000 live births which the same as the global average.

7. Health Care is also one of the largest sectors in India in terms of revenue and employment.

Ayushman Bharat Scheme

1. It is the world’s biggest government-sponsored healthcare scheme to reduce the out of pocket health care expenditures. It has been renamed as PM Jan Arogya Yojana.

2. It aims to provide healthcare facilities to over 10 crore families covering urban and rural poor.

4. The scheme has defined benefit cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization. The scheme has no cap on family size and age.

5. It is also cashless and paperless at public hospitals and empanelled private hospitals.

Other Initiatives

1. Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan, aimed at reducing maternal and infant mortality rates.

2. Mother’s Absolute Affection, a nationwide program to bring focus on the promotion of breastfeeding and the provision of counseling services for the same.

3. Introduction of a new vaccines - rotavirus vaccine, Japanese encephalitis vaccine, Mission Indradhanush.

4. Family Planning.

5. National Deworming Day held by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

6. PM – National Dialysis Programme.

7. National Programme for Control of Blindness.

8. National Programme for Health care of the Elderly.

Cosmos- New DimensionsNobel Prize in Physics 2019 was awarded recently.

Cosmos- New Dimensions

Nobel Prize in Physics 2019 was awarded recently.

Who are the awardees?

1. Noble Prize in Physics 2019 was awarded to three scientists for their contribution to the field of astrophysics.

2. Dr. James Peebles was awarded for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology.

3. He predicted the existence of the cosmic microwave background radiation known as the ‘Afterglow of the Big Bang Explosion’.

4. The other half of the prize was jointly given to scientists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star.

What is the cosmology and its theories?

1. Cosmology is a branch of astronomy that involves the origin and evolution of the universe from the Big Bang explosion event.

2. According to NASA, cosmology is the scientific study of the large-scale properties of the universe as a whole.

3. Cosmologists deal with concepts like string theory, dark matter and dark energy and whether there is one universe or many i.e. multiverse.

4. The branch began as a branch of theoretical physics developed from Einstein’s static model of the universe.

5. Present models of the universe hold two fundamental premises i.e. Cosmological Principle and Dominant role of gravitation.

6. Cosmological Principle was derived by Edward Hubble. It holds that a large sample like Universe looks the same from all positions and directions.

7.  Cosmology also deals with theories of universe origin such as

a) Steady-State theory

b) Big Bang theory

How are the origin theories different?

1. Steady-state theory

a) It states that the universe is always expanding but maintaining a constant average density.

b) According to the theory, the matter is being continuously created to form new stars and galaxies at the same rate that old ones become unobservable as a consequence of their increasing distance and velocity of recession.

c) A steady-state universe has no beginning or end in time. The average density and arrangement of galaxies are the same. Galaxies of all possible ages are intermingled.

d) The theory was first put forward in 1948 by British scientists Sir Hermann Bondi, Thomas Gold, and Sir Fred Hoyle.

2. Big Bang theory

a) This theory states that the whole universe was evolved from a single very dense point through an explosion, that is estimated to have occurred around 13.8 billion years ago.

b) The essential feature of the theory is the emergence of the universe from a state of extremely high temperature and density.

c) The modern version of the theory was developed by George Gamow and colleagues in the 1940s.

d) The theory predicts that definite amounts of hydrogen, helium, and lithium were produced.

When was the first evidence of exoplanet noted?

1. Exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet orbiting a star other than the Sun outside the Solar System.

2. In 1917, the first evidence of exoplanet called ‘Van Maanem 2’ was noted. However, the evidence was rejected.

3. In 1992, the first exoplanet, which was orbiting the star ‘PSR B1257’, was discovered. Since then, 4031 exoplanets are confirmed to date.

4. Out of these, at least 21 exoplanets are considered habitable. Most of the discovered exoplanets are ‘Rogue planets.’ Rogue planets are basically nomad or inhabitable planets.

Which missions have discovered exoplanets?

1. Hubble Space Telescope

a) It was launched in 1990 to discover extra-terrestrial life outside the solar system.

b) The Hubble telescope has discovered a number of exoplanets.

c) It is credited with the discovery of water on the exoplanet named ‘K2-18b’ for the first time.

2. Spitzer Space Telescope

a) It was launched in 2013. It is planned to retire in January 2020.

b) It is an infrared space telescope and has observed the exoplanets in infrared wavelengths.

3. Kepler Space Telescope

a) It was launched in 2009 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

b) It is designated to monitor the main sequence stars and exoplanets.

c) It introduced the ‘modern era’ in the planet-hunting. It detected 2662 exoplanets.

4. TESS Mission

a) The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is a space telescope for NASA's Explorers program launched in April 2018.

b) It is designed to search for exoplanets using the transit method in an area 400 times larger than that covered by the Kepler mission.

5. ASTROSAT Mission

a) ASTROSAT is India’s first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory.

b) This scientific satellite mission endeavors for a more detailed understanding of our universe.

c) The mission enables the simultaneous multi-wavelength observations of various astronomical objects with a single satellite.

Unified Payment Interface

Unified Payment Interface

1. The Unified Payment Interface (UPI) crossed 100 million users, which made it the fastest adopted payment system option in the world.

2. Recently the Singapore and UAE enabled the UPI payment acceptance in their countries and NPCI aims to take the UPI global.  

What is UPI?

1. It enables users to send and receive money to the accounts with mobile platforms without entering bank details by using an email as a virtual payment address or by scanning a QR code.

2. The open architecture of UPI enables any bank account to be accessed through a UPI app.

3. It has also enabled the rise of payment apps such as Paytm, Google Pay, Phone Pe in the market.

4. These payment apps have been enrolling the small merchants including hawkers to accept payment through the UPI.

Features of the UPI

1. The UPI has also waved merchant fees up to Rs.200.

2. It also allows multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application.

3. It is very safe and as the transaction cost is so low that banks have made it free.

4. Privacy of bank accounts and instant transfer 24X7.

5. There is no loss of interest and users are rewarded with cashback.

Who launched the UPI?

1. UPI was launched in 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an umbrella organization for retail payments and settlement systems in India.

2. NPCI is controlled by the RBI and the Indian Bank Association (IBA).

Which are the challenges?

1. Acceptance of merchants and traders.

2. Amending UPI protocols to include currency conversion support.

3. Directly connecting UPI to global payment systems accompanied by amendments in Indian regulators.

4. NPCI has to rely on banks and aggregators in those countries.

How is India’s digital economy performing?

1. It is expected to cross USD 1.5 trillion by 2025 and USD 1 trillion by 2022.

2. The mobile data usage is expected to increase by 5 times by 2023.

3. China’s Alipay and WeChat are accepted in 30 countries, but these are closed and loop payments, while the UPI can work with any bank accounts.

4. NPCI also aims to capture the NRI remittance as currently, India is the largest remittance receiver in the World.

5. Digital India program aims to make India ‘Faceless, Paperless and Cashless’, which impacts the digital economy.

Where the impacts of Digital India seen?

1. Pubic Sector Services: Creating awareness and access points to Common Service Centres in rural India under the Digital Saksharta Abhiyan. Digital transformation across areas like e-governance, online citizen services.

2. Growing digital usage will affect the media and entertainment sector more.

3. Fintech sector has seen an uptick in the past few years and Indian start-ups in the digital sector have made their presence felt globally with their success.

4. IT services market set to reach USD 13.2 billion by the end of 2019 in India and E-Commerce marker to grow 3 times to over USD 100 billion by 2022.

5. India will have 2nd largest graduate talent pipeline by 2020 globally which will further boost Digital India.

6. Digital platforms have impacted the education sector in the method of learning and making education accessible.

6. Travel and Hospitality sector: This sector has seen rapid growth. The contribution by the travel and tourism sector to GDP is expected to increase more than double from 2017 to 2028.

Digital India Programme

1. It aims to turn villages into self-sustained units.

2. Over 12,000 rural post office branches linked digitally and 1.15 lakh gram panchayats were connected under the Bharat Net program.

3. Digi Gaon or Digital Village is conceptualized as a connected village where citizens avail various e-services.

5. Digital villages are equipped with solar lighting facilities, LED assembly units, sanitary napkin production units, Wi-Fi choupal.

5. Digital lockers enable the sharing and storing of documents electronically.

6. Urban-Rural divide: As of 2017, 64% of Urban India was connected to the internet while only 20% was connected in rural India.

7. Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan aims to make citizens digitally literate. It aims to reach 40% of rural households by covering one member from every household by March 2019.

8. Digital India Programme generated employment and entrepreneurship in India while also contributing to the environment by reducing fuel consumption, waste management, greener workplaces, etc.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

The 123rd birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was celebrated on 23rd January 2020.

How was Netaji’s early life?

1. SC Bose was born in Cuttack in Odisha then part of Bengal province.

2. He was influenced by the Swami Vivekananda’s teachings.

3. He cleared the Indian Civil Service (ICS) exam in 1920 and resigned in 1921 to join Indian National Congress (INC) and contribute to the freedom movement.

What was his contribution in INC?

1. He joined the Non-Cooperation Movement started by Mahatma Gandhi.

2. In 1923, he was elected President of All India Youth Congress.

3. He started the newspaper ‘Swaraj’ and also took charge of publicity for Bengal Provincial Congress Committee.

4. He was made editor of an anti-British newspaper founded by Deshbandhu Chittranjan Das. He was jailed for his anti-British writings.

5. He also worked for Swaraj party with Chittranjan Das, who is also his political mentor.

6. In 1927, he became General secretary of Congress and worked with Jawaharlal Nehru.

7. In 1928, he led a march with two thousand youths wearing military uniform, against British rule in Calcutta.

8. In the 1930s Bose travelled Europe and met Indian students and leaders including Mussolini.

9. He also wrote the first part of his book Indian struggle 1920 to 1934 during this period.

10. In 1938, Bose was elected as the President of the INC.

11. He was re-elected as the president in 1939 but resigned after the differences cropped up between him and Congress leaders.

Which are the reasons for the differences?

1. He demanded independent status for India and not dominion status or to be attached as a part of the Commonwealth of Nations.

2. Demanding complete independence i.e. Swaraj, he gave a call for freedom and asked the party to decide upon a date to achieve it.

4. In case of failure to achieve freedom by the given date, he wanted to lead the party into a violent protest against the British.

5. This was opposed by Mahatma Gandhi, resulting in a break away from Congress and establishment of Forward bloc in June 1939.

Why did Bose prefer the violent way of protest?

1. During NCM the British repression became intense as the movement proceeded.

2. So, he felt Gandhian ideology and strategy to be very mild, and non-violence as unsuitable means.

3. He wanted violence to be dealt with violence and not ahimsa.

4. His All India Forward Bloc also aimed at consolidating the political left and revolutionaries to fight for India’s independence.

Where did Bose head after quitting INC?

1. Bose believed in defeating the British in India when they are engaged in the World War.

2. He was prompted by revolutionary leader Rash Bihari Bosh to mobilize foreign help for Indian freedom struggle.

3. He reached Germany via Kabul and formed the Liberation Army by liberating Indian prisoners of war of British Indian Army imprisoned by Italy and Germany.

4. In Germany, Bose earned the title of ‘Netaji’ by the Indian soldiers.

5. Unable to garner the support of Hitler he moved to Japan.

6. In 1943, Bose reached Japan and was given the responsibility of leading the Azad Hind Fauj, established by captain Mohan Singh.

7. In October 1943, Bose proclaimed the establishment of provisional independent Indian government.

9. In February 1944, the Azad Hind Fauj attacked the British Army.

10. The Azad Hind forge along with Japanese troops reached India in March 1944 and Indian tricolour modelled after that of INC was raised for the first time in the town of Moirang in Manipur.

8. He also gave the war cry “Give me blood and I will give you Freedom” and “Jai Hind” which later became war cries of the freedom struggle.

9. In July 1944, Bose addressed Mahatma Gandhi “as father of the Nation” for the first time.

10. With the retreat and final surrender of Japanese forces, efforts of Azad Hind Fauj also came to an end.

12. On 18th August 1945, Bose reportedly died in Japanese Hospital in Taiwan as a result of burn injuries from a plane crash.

WTO Crisis

WTO Crisis

1. World Trade Organisation (WTO) has completed 25 years on 1st January 2020.

2. But it has been consistently losing its relevance due to various factors.

What is the WTO?

1. It is an international organization with the primary purpose to open trade for the benefit of all.

2. It provides a forum for negotiating agreements aimed at reducing obstacles to international trade and ensuring a level playing field for all.

3. It also provides a legal and institutional framework for the monitoring of these agreements as well as for settling disputes arising from their interpretation and application.

4. The Ministerial Conference is the highest institutional body that meets every two years and decisions are generally taken by consensus of the entire membership.

5. A General Council conducts the organization's business in the intervals between Ministerial Conferences.

How does WTO function?

WTO has the following guiding principles

1. Pursuit of open borders

2. Guarantee of most-favoured-nation principle and non-discriminatory treatment by and among members

3. Commitment to transparency in the conduct of its activities.

Main activities of WTO are

1. Negotiating the reduction or elimination of obstacles to trade and agreeing on rules governing the conduct of international trade.

2. Administering and monitoring the application of the WTO's agreed rules for trade in goods, trade in services, and trade-related intellectual property rights.

3. Monitoring and reviewing the trade policies of our members, as well as ensuring transparency of regional and bilateral trade agreements.

4. Settling disputes among our members regarding the interpretation and application of the agreements.

5. Building capacity of developing country government officials in international trade matters.

6. Assisting the process of accession of some 30 countries who are not yet members of the organization.

7. Conducting economic research and collecting and disseminating trade data in support of the WTO's other main activities.

8. Explaining to and educating the public about the WTO, its mission and its activities.

Why is WTO losing relevance?

1. Powers of WTO arm ‘Appellate body’, that resolves trade disputes among the countries have been declining.

2. United States and other major powers blocks have criticized the functioning of the organization.

3. Emergence of many trade blocks, free trade agreements have provided alternatives to the countries.

Where lies the issue?

1. The WTO’s dispute settlement system (DSS) is the most extensively used international adjudicatory mechanism.

2. Appellate body of WTO has become unable to function due to lack of judges.

3. While the Appellate body has only one judge, WTO rules require three judges to hear each case.

4. USA has blocked the appointment of new judges to the Appellate Body due to judicial activism and concerns over U.S. sovereignty.

5. Efforts to reform the dispute settlement system and new appointments have been unsuccessful.

6. So, due to lack of Quorum, disputes remain unresolved.

Which are India’s major disputes?

1. India is an active participant in WTO dispute settlement system.

2. India has been a complainant in 21 disputes and respondent in 22 cases.

3. India lost in the dispute related to Export Incentive subsidy schemes to the USA. India has been asked to withdraw subsidies within 120 days.

4. Major ongoing disputes are

a) With the USA on import restrictions by India on certain agricultural products including poultry and poultry products.

b) With the USA on Domestic Content Requirements in the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission Programme of Ministry of Renewable energy.

c) With the USA on exorbitant countervailing duty by the United States on certain hot-rolled carbon steel products originating from India.

Ease of Doing Business

Ease of Doing Business

India’s Ease of Doing Business (EDB) ranking has moved 143 to 63, but it is still below India’s real potential.

What is in the news?

1. The government is to reduce the time taken and requirement for starting new business from 10 processes and 18 days to 5 processes and 5 days.

2. 10 key services like name reservation, incorporation, registration for various taxes such as GST would be available in two forms instead of multiple forms.

Which are the current issues?

High Compliance Burden

1. Large businesses such as Pharmaceutical company, have to follow more than 1900 rules and regulations at central level and along with states it is about 6000.

2. Despite improvement in efficiency of micro-management, overall macro-management is increasing due to delay in delivering punishments for non-compliance.

3. This results in demand for compliance on all the businesses.

4. Clarity and swift action on non-adherence to the compliance in advanced economies off-sets their high compliance burden.

Implementation Issues

1. Behavioural issues: It takes lots of process and time to bring new system as the system is used to the old forms and method.

2. States following good practise for ease of doing business not integrated with other states and centre.

Cost of Doing Business

1. India’s interest rates are one among highest in the world.

2. The cost of power and compliance is high in India.

3. Cost of meeting contractual obligation is also high.

4. Such high cost of doing business has bearing on sustainability of businesses and start-ups.

Where lies the solution?

1. The new reforms should start from the central government and percolate down to state governments also.

2. EDB should be incorporated with the overall ease of doing ecosystem in India.

3. An integrated platform like GST for state government and various ministries to come together to sort out the compliance and implementation related issues in quick fashion is needed.

How to increase Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in India?

1. India is one of the top receivers of FDIs in 2019 with 49 billion USD flowing in 2019.

2. Following factors are considered by FDIs

a. Business prospects

b. Larger economic growth scenario

c. Ease of Doing business

3. India largely has first two prospects resulting in huge FDI flows despite lower growth rate.

4. Ease of doing business will help in incremental FDI flows in India.

5. A perception of India as a large and growing economy is also needed to attract FDIs.

Boosting Consumption

1. Currently the utilization capacity of industries is 75%. India cannot attract more FDI in manufacturing if its capacity is latent.

2. So, revival of economy is important for attracting FDI in manufacturing sector.

3. Reviving rural consumption through public investments will help improve capacity utilization and further increase investments.

Upcoming New Industrial Policy

1. An integrated approach to the business rather than manufacturing and services.

2. Promoting the new emerging concepts like Gig economy, shared economy and circular economy.

3. Institutional mechanism of centre-state and all ministries to implement these policies.

Carbon Trading System

Carbon Trading System

1. Madrid Climate talks ended without any agreement on rules for future carbon trading.

2.  Madrid talks were expected to finalize rules for a new global carbon market as part of the Paris Agreement.

When was Carbon trading system introduced?

1. Carbon Trading System, also known as ‘Emission Trading System’(ETS), is an exchange platform of credits between nations designed to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide.

2. Emissions trading allows countries to sell excess emission units (emissions permitted them but not ‘used’) to countries that are over their targets.

3. Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) are a type of emissions unit or carbon credits issued by the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) board for emission reductions achieved by CDM projects.

4. This trading system originated in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate climate change and future global warming.

5. ‘Cap and Trade system’ is used worldwide for carbon trading.

What is the Cap and trade system?

1. Cap and trade is an approach that harnesses market forces to reduce emissions cost-effectively.

2. It differs from ‘command-and-control’ approaches where the government sets performance standards or dictates technology choices for individual facilities.

3. Cap and trade allows the market to determine a price on carbon and that price drives investment decisions and spurs market innovation.

Key Design Elements

1. Complementary Policies- Decide on other policies that should be implemented with cap and trade system.

2. Scope –Decide on covering emission sources and greenhouse gases.

3. Target –Decide the required level of emissions reduction and dead-line.

4. Allowance Allocation –Procedure to distribute allowances.

5. Banking/Borrowing –Decide between trading and saving of the excess allowances.

6. Offsets –Decide on usage compliance of verified emissions reductions generated by companies outside the cap.

7. Market Integrity – To avoid market manipulation

Why is cap and trade system preferred?

1. A cap may be the preferable policy if a jurisdiction has specific emissions targets. They set an emissions cap and issues a quantity of emission allowances consistent with that cap.

2. Emitters must hold allowances for every ton of greenhouse gas they emit. Companies may buy and sell allowances and the market establishes an emissions price.

3. Companies that can reduce their emissions at a lower cost may sell any excess allowances for companies facing higher costs to buy.

4. It also differs from a tax as it provides a high level of certainty about future emissions, and not the price of those emissions.

How many credits India earned?

1. To lower carbon footprint, India has done

a) Investment in low carbon-intensive technologies

b) Protection and conservation of forests

c) Successfully switched to renewable energy generation

2. In this process, India has earned lot of carbon credits or ‘Certificate of Emission Reductions (CER)’.

3. Indian companies have registered 1,669 projects under the system and earned 246.6 million credits.

4. Another 526 projects were registered under the ‘voluntary’ market and these have earned 89 million credits. In total, Indian companies got roughly 350 million credits.

Which are the benefits and drawbacks?

Benefits

1. Targets Emissions Reductions

a) ETS has resulted in emission reductions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs).

b) European Union Emission Target System (EU STS) reduced emissions by 3% in phase I. Companies in EU reduced emissions by 25-28% in phase II.

c) For regional states, emissions would have been 24% higher in the absence of ETS.

2. Enables clear emissions reduction paths

a) ETS ensures emissions remain at or below specified emissions cap across covered sectors.

b) Jurisdictions aim to adopt progressively declining credit caps in line with national targets.

3. Makes Economic sense

a) ETS delivers cost-effective abatement.

b) Compared to other alternatives, ETS incurred lowest costs per ton of abated emissions.

4. Provides flexibility to the countries

a) Jurisdictions can choose where and when to reduce emissions, choose cheapest options.

b) Price signal created through ETS automatically adopts changing economic conditions.

5. Encourages low-carbon development

a) ETS facilitates transition to low-carbon economy, break away from carbon-intensive technologies.

6. Promotes innovation of low-carbon tech

a) ETS promotes deployment and innovation of low-carbon technology

b) Low-carbon production process, products are favoured by incentivizing innovation.

7. Country specific adoption

a) ETS can be adopted specifically by each country or region. There are currently 20 systems in operation.

b) Policy can be designed to accommodate domestic priorities and fulfil different roles in policy.

Drawbacks

1. Carbon trading is considered as a false solution to climate change problem as carbon trading is claimed to be creating more carbon emissions.

2. The trading system is being exploited by rich nations as it is considered as license for rich nations to pollute more.

3. Carbon permits prices are not financially attractive. It affects poorer nations.

4. There is inconsistency in the distribution of carbon credits of companies.

Where lies the solution?

1. Specific limits on carbon emissions need to be set that shouldn’t be exceeded by countries at any cost.

2.  Carbon tax should be introduced, and companies be made to pay for CO2 they produce.

3. Regulations and penalties to be made more stringent and time bound.

What is H1N1?

H1N1

Two employees of software organization in Bengaluru have tested positive for H1N1 swine flu.

What is H1N1?

1. H1N1 Flu is also known as Swine Flu as it has originated from pigs.

2. It is a highly contagious respiratory infection and spreads from human to human.

3. It is a type of Influenza A virus infection and has mix of genes from swine, bird and human flu viruses.

4. It was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) following the 2009 outbreak in Mexico.

When can it be detected? 

1. It can be detected from some common symptoms such as

a) High Fever

b) Headaches

c) Muscle Pain

d) Sore throat, blocked nose, chills, malaise and fatigue

2. It can also be detected from the neurological symptoms in children that can be severe and fatal.

3. Neurological symptoms include seizures, change in mental status and sudden cognitive or behavioral changes.

Who are at high risk?

1. Pregnant women and young children especially those under 2 years of age.

2. People with asthma, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or other chronic lung conditions.

3. People with cardiovascular conditions (except high blood pressure).

4. People with liver and kidney problems, blood disorders, neurological and neuromuscular disorder, metabolic disorders including diabetics.

5. People with compromised immune system or chronic, long term health conditions are more prone to this infection.

6. People with blood disorders, neurologic disorders, neuromuscular disorders, metabolic disorders including diabetes.

7. People with immune suppression including HIV infection and medications that suppress the immune system.

8. Elderly people.

How similar is Swine flu to other diseases?

Seasonal Flu

1. Symptoms of swine flu are similar to regular seasonal flu, making it detectable only through tests.

2. H1N1 also spreads from person to person in much the same way as seasonal flu.

3. They spread by droplets from coughs and sneezes of infected people.

4. It also infects a person coming in contact with surfaces contaminated by the virus.

5. But seasonal flu vaccines are ineffective against swine flu.

Coronavirus

1. Both Corona and Swine Flu are respiratory diseases.

2. Initial symptoms of Covid 19 and swine flu are very similar.

3. But Swine flu is declared as pandemic (global spread of diseases) by WHO, Covid 19 is an epidemic (spread widely in only a region).

Which are the other fatal viruses?

Marburg virus

1. It is a hemorrhagic fever virus.

2. It causes convulsions, bleeding of mucous membranes skin and organs.

2. It has a fatality rate of 90%.

Kyasanur Forest Virus

1. It was discovered in the southwestern coast of India in 1955.

2. It is difficult to determine any carriers of the virus.

3. People infected with this virus suffer from high fever, strong headaches and muscle pain that can cause bleedings.

Ebola Virus

1. There are five strains of the Ebola virus each named after countries and regions in Africa- Zaire, Sudan, Tai forest, Bundibugyo and Reston.

2. Zaire Ebola virus is the deadliest with a mortality rate of 90%.

Bird Flu

1. Bird flu has a mortality rate of 70%.

2. The H5N1 strain of this virus is contracted through direct contact with poultry and mostly infects those who work at the poultry farms or live in the vicinity.

Hantavirus

1. The hantavirus is also one of the deadliest viruses across the world.

2. Symptoms include lung disease fever and kidney failure.

Lassa virus

1. This is transmitted by rodents.

2. The virus occurs in a specific region like western Africa and can reoccur in that region at any time.

Junin virus

1. The Argentine Junin virus is associated with hemorrhagic fever.

2. Infected people suffer from tissue inflammation, sepsis and skin bleeding.

3. The disease is rarely detected in the initial days as the symptoms appear to be common.

Machupo virus

1. It causes Bolivian hemorrhagic fever also known as black typhus.

2. It causes high fever often accompanied by heavy bleedings.

3. The virus is carried by the rodents and it spreads from human to human.

Crimean-Congo virus

1. The Crimean-Congo virus is a type of viral hemorrhagic fever transmitted by ticks.

2. Its symptoms include fever, muscle pains, headache, vomiting, diarrhea and bleeding into the skin.

Dengue

1. The virus is transmitted by mosquitoes and affects people mostly occurring in tropical areas.

2. India faces the epidemic year after year.

Why is supportive treatment needed?

1. All these diseases don't have a specific treatment and can turn serious resulting in death.

2. There is also no specific vaccination requiring supportive treatment.

3. Hand hygiene and respiratory hygiene can help to prevent from contracting infection.

Women in Science

Women in Science

1. National Science Day is celebrated on the 28th of February to commemorate the discovery of Raman Effect and winning of Nobel Prize for Physics by CV Raman.

2. The theme for National Science Day 2020 is “Women in Science” that acknowledges women’s contribution to science and also encourage increased participation in the field.

3. Three new initiatives were also launched for gender advancement and equality in academic and R&D institutions.

Which are the new initiatives?

1. Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions (GATI)

It will assess the progress made by participating institutions in gender advancement based on well-defined parameters.

2. Online portal for Science and Technology resources for women 

It will provide information on government schemes, scholarships, fellowships, career counseling and details of subject area experts from various disciplines.

3. Vigyan Jothi

It aims to create a level playing field for the Meritorious girls in high schools to pursue Science & Technology, engineering and mathematics in higher education.

4. Also, the representation of women in Central Universities has been substantially enhanced to encourage women to take up higher studies in science.

What do the data say?

1. As per UNESCO’s 2018 fact sheet, only 28.8% of researchers in the science field are women and only 13.9% in India.

2. It defines researchers as professionals engaged in the conception of the creation of new knowledge.

3. From 2014-16 only around 30% of female students selected STEM (Science & Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) related fields in higher education.

4. While women showed a preference for arts, female enrollment in science streams rose significantly from 2010-11 to 2015-16.

5. As per the National Task Force Report, women comprise only 15% of the workforce in R&D in India compared to the global average of 30%.

6. Globally only 3 % of the Nobel Prizes for science have been awarded to women, and only 11 % of senior research roles are held by women.

7. Across research institutions and universities in India women makeup just 15 to 20% of the faculty.

Why are there fewer women in science?

1. Reasons range from gender stereotypes to the traditional perception of a woman's role in society.

2. As per NITI Aayog research report, some of the recurring reasons for fewer women in science are

a) Need for women to devote themselves in taking care of the family

b) Change in the location of the job

c) Commitment needed in terms of time or outside family objection

3. Science is rapidly changing and challenging field, requiring constant update of knowledge.  So, even a short break for marriage or childbirth could make one’s work irrelevant.

4. Gender bias is a factor because of fewer mentors and more male colleagues.

5. Science has been a non-traditional role for women with the perception that it is not a profession meant for them.

6. Perception of women as a homemaker is also a challenge faced by women in all professions.

7. Lack of recognition of the work done by women.

Why do we need women in science?

1. Increasing women in science is a necessity as modern ideas demand the need for a gender perspective in all spheres.

2. Women makeup nearly half the population and also more products focus on the needs of women.

3. Gender of the researchers also becomes a variable in the scientific study.

a) Studies have found that lab animals like rats and mice react differently to male and female researchers giving completely different results.

b) Social media sites are criticized for their codes being written by male programmers with inbuilt male biases.

4. Representation of women in all spheres is critical for success and growth and to maintain gender diversity and parity.

How to overcome this issue?

1. In India, the problem is not that there is a shortage of women in science but a shortage of working women.

a) In higher education in STEM, Indian women make up as much as 40% of undergraduates in science.

b) Enrolment of women in graduate programs in pure sciences has risen from 7.1% in 1950-51 to 40% in 2009.

c) Also, 25 to 30% of Science PhDs are women.

2. So, the entry and retention of women in science is the matter of concern the world over.

3. This gap needs to be bridged with policies and understanding within the fraternity and in the society.

4. Supporting women to work throughout their careers can make many more women to contribute to science.

5. Options like on-site childcare, work from home can be given.

6. Men must take part in providing child and elderly care and such men need to be supported and empowered.

7. The lag in terms of recognition of women for their work needs to be addressed to encourage more women to take up a career in science.

Who are some prominent women Nobel prize winners in science?

1. Marie Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel prize in 1903 for her contribution to Physics.

2.  Irène Joliot-Curie won the chemistry Nobel in 1935 for the discovery of artificial radioactivity.

3. In 1947 Gerty Theresa Cori won the Nobel for proposing the Cori cycle, a hypothetical model of how the body uses chemical reactions to break down carbohydrates.

4. Maria Goeppert-Mayer won the prize for physics in 1963 for proposing the nuclear shell model of the atomic nuclei.

5. Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1964 was awarded to Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin for her determinations by X-ray techniques of the structures of important biochemical substances.

6. Recently, in 2018, Donna Strickland and Frances Arnold won Nobel prize for their contributions in Physics and Chemistry respectively.

Committee on Petitions

Committee on Petitions

The reports of the Committee on Petitions are to be presented in the Lok Sabha.

What is the Committee on Petitions?

1. In a Parliamentary democracy, the offices of the Members of Parliament are used by the citizens to get their grievances redressed.

2. The parliamentary procedures and devices like discussions, half-an-hour discussions, questions and calling attention notices are used by MPs.

3. Similar to that, Committee on Petitions is a forum for citizens to seek redressal for any legitimate grievance against the Government or any public authority.

4. There are Committees on Petitions in both the Houses of Parliament, with members nominated by the chairman of Rajya Sabha or Speaker of Lok Sabha.

When was it established? 

1. The committee on petitions is one of the oldest committees of parliament that is in existence since the Pre-independence period.

2. It originated from a resolution moved in the then Council of states in 1921 that called for the setting up of a committee on public petitions with powers to take evidence.

3. Though the Government did not favor giving such powers to the legislature, it recognized the right of petitioning the legislature limited to public businesses.

4. The committee received its present nomenclature i.e. ‘Committee on Petitions’ in 1933.

5. Article 350 of the Constitution states that “every person shall be entitled to submit a representation for the redressal of any grievance to any officer or authority of the Union or a state in any of the languages used in the union or in the state as the case may be”.

What is the scope and functions?

1. The petitions can also be presented on any matter of general public interest under certain conditions. Except for:

a. If the issue falls within the cognizance of a court of law having jurisdiction in any part of India or a court of inquiry or a statutory tribunal or an authority or a quasi-judicial body or commission.

b. If the petition raises the matters which are not primarily the concern of the government of India.

c. Issues that can be raised on a substantive motion or a resolution

d. Issues for which remedy is available under the law including rules, regulation or by-laws made by the central government or by an authority to whom powers to make such rules or regulations or by-laws is delegated.

2. The committee examines every petition referred to it and reports to the House on specific complaints contained in the petition.

3. The committee is empowered to take such evidence or call for such papers as it deems fit to report on the specific complaints.

4. It is empowered to make recommendations about specific complaints contained in the petition and also to suggest remedial measures.

4. It orders circulation of petitions dealing with Bills or matters pending before the House.

5. As regards the petitions on matters of general public interest the committee examines them, calls for formal comments from the relevant Ministries or departments and also examines witnesses.

6. It also undertakes on the spot study tours to attain first-hand knowledge of the problem mentioned in the petition.

7. The report of the committee is presented to the House by the chairman of the committee or in his absence, by any member of the committee so authorized by the committee.

8. After making the recommendation, the committee pursues the matter with the government in order to ensure effective implementation.

9. The concerned Ministries and departments of the government are also required to inform the committee within 6 months from the date of presentation of the report about the action taken or proposed to be taken by them.

10. If the Ministry or department faces difficulty in implementing any of the recommendations, they must state the nature of the problem giving convincing reasons.

Why is this Committee important?

1. There are a lot of issues which are agitating the public and unless they get to ventilate those issues before the parliament, they cannot get the relief.

2. Not all matters can be raised in the house by MPs.

3. If a citizen files a petition and an MP sponsors it, then the committee can examine it and make recommendations based on which, a new legislation or a policy decision can be made by the government.

4. The committee has become a very important democratic tool for governance.

How can a petition be filed?

1. A petition has to be in a prescribed form as set out in the ‘Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business’ in Rajya Sabha.

2. The petition can be filed in either Hindi or English. If it is any other language, it should be accompanied by translation either in Hindi or English.

3. The petition must contain a concise statement of the grievance(s).

4. The petition should also contain the name and designation or description of the petitioner with full address and signature or the thumb impression.

5. Every petition that is to be presented by a member needs to be countersigned by that MP.

6. In Rajya Sabha, a member who desires to present a petition to the house has to give advance notice. If the Chairman admits the petition, the member can present it.

7. The Rules of Procedure also permit the reporting of the petitions received in the office by the secretary-general in the house.

8. The petition can be sent through the post, e-mail or any other electronic medium.

Which type of petitions are not admissible?

1. Petitions suggesting remission or abolition of existing taxes or imposition of fresh taxes.

2. Suggesting the withdrawal of money from the consolidated fund of India towards expenditure by the government.

3. Petitions suggesting amendments to the constitution.

Which are some important recommendations?

1. The leather factory in Kanpur was nationalized based on the committee’s recommendation, as the workers had to be laid off.

2. Sales Promotion Employees (condition of service) Act, 1975 was formulated to regulate the working conditions of medical representatives and salesmen employed by pharmaceutical companies

3. Procedure for allotment of LPG dealership to economically weaker sections of the society was streamlined.

4. Its recommendations resulted in the Ministry of Labor undertaking a major program to eliminate child labor in hazardous industry including Beedi workers by the year 2000.

5. It recommended that RBI must be autonomous in law and the audit of banks and financial Institutions must be immediately brought within the ambit of CAG.

6. It recommended manning of all unmanned level crossings in a phased manner with separate budgetary outlay every year. These recommendations were implemented by the Ministry of Railways.

Lokpal Complaint Rules

Lokpal Complaint Rules

The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions has notified the Lokpal rules, nearly a year after India’s first Lokpal was appointed.

Who are the members of Lokpal?

1. Lokpal, a non-constitutional, statutory body, is an anti-corruption authority representing the public interest in India.

2. It is a multi-membered body with a chairperson and a maximum of 8 members of whom 50% are judicial members.

3. 50% of members of Lokpal have to be from SC, ST, OBCs, minorities and women.

4. The term of office for the Chairman of Lokpal and members shall be 5 years or till attaining the age of 70 years.

5. The President of India appoints the chairman and members on the recommendations of the selection committee.

6. The committee comprises of the Prime Minister, Speaker of Lok Sabha, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Chief Justice of India or a sitting Supreme Court Judge nominated by the CJI and an eminent jurist nominated by the President on the basis of recommendations of the first 4 members.

What do the rules say?

1. A complaint can be filed with the Lokpal against the Prime minister, union ministers, MPs and bureaucrats among others.

2. A complaint filed against the Prime Minister has to be decided by the full bench of Lokpal comprising of the chairman and all the members in the first instance, at the admission stage.

3. If such a complaint is dismissed by the bench, records of the inquiry shall not be published or made available to anyone.

4. The complaint filed against a union minister or MP, has to be decided at the admission stage by a bench consisting of not less than 3 members of the Lokpal.

5. The rules bar any complaint filed against a public servant under the army act, navy act, air force act or the coast guard act.

6. Any false and frivolous complaint is punishable with imprisonment for a term up to 1 year and a fine of up to Rs.1 lakh.

7. The Lokpal shall dispose of the complaints within a period of 30 days.

8. The identity of the complainant or the public servant complained against shall be protected till the conclusion of the inquiry or investigation.

9. A non-citizen of India can also file a complaint. Only a copy of the passport is accepted as proof of identity.

Which are the ways to file a complaint?

1. A complaint can be filed electronically, by post or in person.

2. The complaint can be made in English or any of the 22 languages mentioned in the seventh schedule of the Constitution.

3. A complaint should contain the details of allegations about the commission of an offense committed by the public servant including the PM.

4. Copy of identity proof in specified format, registration or incorporation certificate of the organization, on whose behalf the complaint is being made have to be attached.

5. These complaints will be sent by Lokpal to its inquiry wing that may then order a preliminary inquiry.

6. If there is a prima facie case, Lokpal can refer the complaint for an investigation by a probe agency like the CBI.

When can the Lokpal dispose of a complaint?

Lokpal can dispose of a complaint if:

1. the contents are illegible, vague or ambiguous, trivial or frivolous

2. the complaint does not contain any allegation against the public servant

3. the cause of complaint is pending before any other court, tribunal or authority

4. the alleged offense in respect of which the complaint is being made is not committed within the period of 7 years

What are the powers and functions of Lokpal?

Powers:

1. The Act extends to the whole of India and applies to public servants in India and also abroad.

2. So, Lokpal has jurisdiction over the central government and enquires into allegations of corruption against public authorities and matters connected to corruption.

3. It has the power of superintendence and direction over any investigating agency, including CBI, for cases referred to them by the Lokpal.

4. The inquiry wing of the Lokpal has been vested with the powers of a civil court.

5. Lokpal has the power to attach or confiscate assets, proceeds, receipts, and benefits procured by means of corruption in special circumstances.

6. It has the power to recommend transfer or suspension of a public servant connected with allegation of corruption. It can also give directions to prevent the destruction of records during the preliminary inquiry.

7. If the Lokpal receives a complaint under the Prevention of corruption act, 1988 then it can initiate the investigation.

Functions:

1. The inquiry wing needs to inquire into complaints within 60 days of reference.

2. On considering an inquiry report, Lokpal has to order an investigation, initiate departmental proceedings or close the case and proceed against the complainant for false or frivolous complaint. The investigation must be completed within 6 months.

3. The Lokpal can initiate prosecution through its prosecution wing before the special court set up to adjudicate cases. The trial has to be completed within 2 years.

Limitations:

1. The Lokpal cannot inquire any corruption charges against the Prime Minister if the allegations are related to international relations, internal and external security, public order, space and atomic energy.

2. The jurisdiction of Lokpal does not extend over ministers and Members of Parliament in the matter of anything said in the Parliament or vote given there.

Which public functionaries are covered?

1. The jurisdiction of Lokpal includes the Prime Minister, Ministers, and MPs.

2. Public servants including Group A, B, C, and D officers and employees of the Government.

3. Members, chairpersons, officers and directors of any Board, Society, Trust, Corporation or Autonomous body either established by an Act of parliament or partly or wholly funded by the center.

4. Entities receiving donations from foreign sources in excess of Rs.10 lakh per year.

How did the Lokpal Act evolve?

1. The necessity of an institution of ombudsman was felt in the early 1960s on the lines of those in Scandinavian countries to root out corruption in the public offices.

2. In 1966, the 1st administrative reforms commission (ARC) recommended a two-tier machinery to redress public grievances i.e. the Lokpal and Lokayukta.

3. The Bill was introduced for the first time in Lok Sabha as the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 1968. Since then the Bill has been introduced 9 times.

4. 2nd ARC and National commission to review the working of the Constitution (2002) have also recommended various aspects of the institution of Lokpal.

5. In 2011, an anti-corruption movement under Anna Hazare demanded the Jan Lokpal Bill drafted by the civil society be adopted.

6. Later the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2013 was passed by both the houses and received the President's assent in January 2014.