CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS MAINS 2013 SPECIAL вЂ“ CONSOLIDATED NOVEMBER - DECEMBER ISSUE YEAR END 2013 SPECIAL Compiled by: CrackingIAS.com CONTENTS INDEX P.No. National International India and World Science and Technology Economics Sports & Awards and Honours Social issues & Development Political issues, Human Rights & Governance Monthly Special Focus 1 4 13 17 27 32 36 38 39 IAS 2012 SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE ASHWIN says вЂ“ MAINS TEST SERIES How to get IAS EXPRESS? You can make payment by depositing requisite fees ` 900 FOR ONE YEAR SOFT COPY ONLY in our ICICI Bank account through any of the ICICI bank branches anywhere in India. (You need not be an ICICI A/c holder to deposit cash in any of the ICICI Bank Branches.) Bank Account Details: Name of the account: King Institute of Talent Excellency (KITE) Current A/c No. : 602705500527. IFSC Code: ICIC0006027 (Chennai, Anna Nagar Branch). 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KITE4education.com IAS EXPRESS CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NATIONAL - NEWS NOVEMBER 2013 *I&B Ministry Institutes New Centenary Award to *India Declared Free from Bird FLU: "India has honour personalities for contribution to Indian declared itself free from notifiable Avian Influenza Cinema: The Centenary award would be given every (H5N1), commonly called bird flu, and notified it to the year to an outstanding Indian film personality вЂњA World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). This Film IconвЂќ for his/her contribution to Indian Cinema at could help in boosting exports and business for the IFFI. The award is the second in the series instituted country's poultry sector. by the Government to commemorate the centenary Traders are expecting to begin exports of poultry celebrations. products to overseas markets after this declaration as the outbreak of bird flu in certain parts of the country *Lifetime achievement award to JIRI MENZEL at had led many countries to impose ban on imports of 44TH Goa Film Festival: One of the best known such consumable items from India three months ago. representatives of the вЂ�New Wave Czech CinemaвЂ™, Jiri The disease is said to spread from infected birds to Menzel will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award other winged creatures through contact with nasal at the 44th edition of IFFI. and respiratory secretions and also due to contamination of feed and water. Jiri Menzel has made his mark on the cultural history of his native Czech Republic as a film auteur, theatre director and actor. His films are *National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) cherished for their lyrical realism and stylistic 2020: The plan has been approved by the National boldness. Council for Electric Mobility (NCEM) for increasing His first movie, "Closely Observed Trains", was the use and production of electric vehicles (including made when he was just 28. hybrid cars). The 44th International Film Festival of India will Electric vehicles and Hybrid cars are energy open on November 20 in Goa with the screening of efficient and environment friendly. вЂ�Don JuansвЂ™, the latest film by Jiri Menzel. The NCEM is the apex body dealing with electric The National Museum for Indian Cinema is being vehicles and its chairman is the Minister of Heavy set up in Mumbai and National Film Heritage Industries and Public Enterprises. Mission (NFHM) will come up in Pune. This was A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or more announced by the Minister of Information and distinct power sources to move the vehicle. Broadcasting during the event. The primary power in a Hybrid Vehicle comes Japan was the country in focus at the 44th from the Gasoline engine, while it uses the electric International Film Festival in Goa. motor while accelerating. Art Exhibition вЂ�Soul in ArtвЂќ was inaugurated for The Electric Motor does not need an external the first time at the IFFI. The showcasing of art power supply for recharging its batteries. forms painting and photography during the film It can recharge its batteries through REGENERATIVE BRAKING (ie. The energy festival was conceived for the first time to enrich the festival. from the forward momentum is captured during braking and used for recharging.) *Justice AP Shah takes over as Chairman of the 20th Law Commission: The 20th Law Commission was KITE4education.com NATIONAL - News 1 CrackingIAS.com constituted in September 2012. IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 is celebrated each year from 1st till 7th in the month of Law Commission is an EXECUTIVE BODY, and December. The festival takes place at Kisama Heritage not a statutory one, appointed by the GoI to look Village. into the existed laws and legal system and suggest The Festival is named after the large and colorful suitable recommendations. Hornbill bird which is displayed in folklore in It is appointed for a 3 year period. The first majority of Naga tribes. commission was appointed in 1955. The Hornbill Festival is one of the biggest The body has a Chairperson, 4 full time members celebrations of the native tribes of Nagaland and and 5 part-time members. encourages inter-tribal relations and promotes the cultural heritage of Nagaland. The festival is organized by the State Tourism and the Art & *CZECH Castles Exhibition Begins in New Delhi: Culture Departments. The Exhibition вЂњCzech CastlesвЂќ has been organized for The main attraction is the Hornbill National Rock the first time in India in collaboration with the Concert in the evenings. Archaeological Survey of India and the Ministry of Culture, Government of India by the National *e-BRC project wins 2013 eASIA Award: The Museum of the Czech Republic and the Embassy of the Directorate General of Foreign TradeвЂ™s electronic Bank Czech Republic, New Delhi. Realization Certificate (e-BRC) project has won the The Exhibition presents a selection of 37 most 2013 eASIA Award under Trade Facilitation category. interesting castles and chateaux of Bohemia and Bank Moravia, two of the historic areas that make up discharge of export obligation and to claim the Czech state. incentives under Foreign Trade Policy. Earlier Realization Certificate is required for this certificate was issued by banks manually. BRC *Health Ministry worried SC verdict will affect AIDS is also used by state government departments for control: The Health and Family Welfare Ministry has refund of VAT. expressed concern over the Supreme Court order that e-BRC project launched on June 5, 2012 created an gay sex is illegal, saying the ruling will prevent integrated platform for receipt, processing and vulnerable communities from accessing health facilities subsequent use of all Bank Realization related for fear of discrimination and stigma. information by exporters, banks, central and state The LGBT community is a high-risk community government departments. It was made mandatory according the department of AIDS control. with effect from August 17, 2012. HIV prevalence is the highest among the drug users, followed by MSM (Men having Sex with *ManipurвЂ™s ritual act to be world cultural heritage: Men) and the male migrant workers. ManipurвЂ™s famous tradition of singing, dancing and Ironically, HIV prevalence rate among the female drumming, called the SANKIRTANA, is set to be sex workers have shown progressive decline over declared as an intangible cultural heritage. tha last few years. The tradition is widely followed by the Vaishnava community in Manipur. Lord Krishna is the central theme for the Sankirtana performance. *Hornbill festival of Nagaland: The Hornbill Festival KITE4education.com NATIONAL - News 2 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS * Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Meet to have Focus on th NOVEMBER 2013 distinguished meritorious Indian pravasis. NRI Youth: The 12 edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya embassies across the world, send nominations. If Divas (PBD) Convention to be held in Delhi from 7th to a person won this award previously, he can 9th January 2014 will have вЂ�Engaging Diaspora: nominate one person. Connecting Across GenerationsвЂ™ as its theme. All nominations go to the five-member jury. One of the focus areas of the PBD this year is a (Appointed by PM.) Jury decides whoвЂ™ll get award. Youth PBD on 7th January 2014 to open new Award is presented by the President of India. horizons of a strong network of young overseas TIT BIT: Indian. Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is celebrated Eco-Driving initiative: It is a Unique initiative on 9th January every year to mark the contribution launched of Overseas Indian community to the development PCRA(Petroleum Conservation and Research of India. Association) of India and Energy Conservation January 9 was chosen since it was on this day in Centre of Japan. under the joint co-operation of 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest Pravasi, The Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva Award has returned to India from South Africa to lead IndiaвЂ™s been given to 6 individuals who have made freedom struggle and to change the lives of Indians outstanding contribution towards service for forever. PBD is the flagship event of the Ministry children, including children with various kinds of of Overseas Indian Affairs. disabilities. Overview of Indian Diaspora: Spiti valley, is located in Himachal Pradesh. Indian Diaspora is second largest in the world after Sham valley in Spiti is entirely inhabited by pure China. homogenous Tibeto-Mongoloid tribe used to But the remittances received from Indian diaspora living keeping their houses unlocked. is more than that of the Chinese diaspora for their respective countries. *Waheeda Rehman to receive First Centanary Nobel Winner Indian Diaspora Name Award at 44th IFFI: An icon for the film lovers and Field iconoclast for the professionals, Waheeda Rehman will Dr. Hargobind Khorana Medicine be honoured with the first Centanary Award for the S. Chandrashekar Physics Indian Film personality at the 44th International Film Venkatrama Ramakrishnan Chemistry Festival of India (IFFI). Highlights of the 11th PBD: The award has been introduced this year and the Loccation: Kochi veteran actor will receive the trophy on the opening Theme: Engaging Diaspora - The Indian growth day of the festival. It consists of a cash component story of Rs. 10 lakh and a citation. Chief guest: Rajakeshwar Purryag (President of The вЂ�Quintessential Beauty of BollywoodвЂ™ is Mauritius) known as much for her performance as for her Rs.5 Ghadar stamp was released to commemorate choice of roles. the 100 years of formation of the Ghadar party. Pravasi Baharatiya Samman Award: Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards given to KITE4education.com NATIONAL - News 3 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 INTERNATIONAL - News * Egypt's 3-month state of emergency ends after court ruling: Egypt's army-backed authorities announced the nightly curfew on August 14, when security forces forcibly ended the two main sit-ins by supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in Cairo, prompting waves of violence in which hundreds of people have been killed. The state of the emergency allowed the authorities to make arrests without warrants and gave security officials the right to search people's homes. The government's decision, the security source said, came after a court ruling that the state of emergency expired. Hundreds of pro-Morsi supporters have been staging almost daily protests against the army since they deposed him in July. Egyptian authorities have arrested thousands of Islamist activists and Morsi supporters in the past three months. The state of emergency and curfew had been due to last a month from August 14, but the government extended it for two more months on September 12. * Gambia leaves Commonwealth of Nations with Immediate Effect: The West African nation The Gambia is leaving the Commonwealth of Nations, putting behind it, part of AfricaВґs colonial past, and setting a signal with regards to contemporary or modo-colonialism. The government of The Gambia has announced the countryВґs immediate withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Nations, which is a remnant of the British EmpireВґs colonialist past. The Commonwealth consists of 50 nations, most of which are former colonies of the British Empire. * Russian rocket takes three astronauts and Sochi Olympic torch to space: Russia has sent the Olympic torch into space with a three-man crew that blasted off to the International Space Station three months before the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi. The torch, unlit for safety reasons, was part of the payload of a Soyuz spacecraft that lifted off from the Russian-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan. * U.N. court rules on Cambodia-Thailand row: The U.N.вЂ™s top court, the ICJ, ruled on Monday that the area around the ancient Hindu temple of Preah-Vihar on the Thai border belongs to KITE4education.com Cambodia and that any Thai security forces should leave. In 1962 the court awarded the temple to Cambodia, but allowed Thailand to retain the ownership of the land around the temple. Preah-Vihar is an ancient Hindu temple built during the reign of Khmer Empire and is a UNESCO world heritage site. * US, ISRAEL lose UNESCO voting right over Palestine dispute: The US and Israel automatically lost their voting rights at UNESCO, after missing a deadline to repay their debt to the UN cultural agency. Neither country has paid their dues in protest over the decision by world governments to make Palestine a member in 2011. Under UNESCO rules the US and Israel to resume funding, explain why funding was not forthcoming, or automatically lose their voting right. The suspension of US contributions was a serious blow for UNESCO as they account for $80 million a year or 22 percent of the organizationвЂ™s total budget. Since October 2011 the withdrawal of US funding has already amounted to a loss in UNESCO funding of $240 million. Israel donated a more modest $2 million a year. The loss of US cash has forced it to scale back a number of US led initiatives such as Tsunami research and Holocaust education. In October 2012, the Director General of UNESCO Irina Bokovo announced that UNESCO was facing a severe cash shortage due mainly to the loss of US funding. *6th Asian and Pacific Population Conference (APPC): The third draft outcome document of Asian and Pacific ministerial Declaration on INTERNATIONAL - News 4 CrackingIAS.com population and development was discussed in Sixth Asian and Pacific Population Conference in Bangkok, from 16-20 September, 2013. After a week of intense and passionate debate and negotiation the region overwhelmingly voted to adopt, support and promote progressive language on Sexual and reproductive rights, comprehensive sexuality education, the first time it has been mentioned in such a document, and the need to address discrimination, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. *Algeria announces major oil discovery: The discovery near the large oil fields in the southern region of Hassi Messaoud is one of the most important in the last 20 years. Algeria, an energy giant in Africa that already is one of the largest natural gas suppliers to Europe, had been concerned about declining oil reserves. *Bangladesh court disqualifies largest Islamic party from election: A Bangladesh court has disqualified the country's largest Islamic party from taking part in the next general election, saying it opposes secularism. The ruling comes four years after a group of citizens filed a petition seeking to cancel Jamaat's registration with the Election Commission, saying the party wants to introduce Islamic Shariah law in the Muslimmajority country. Jamaat opposed Bangladesh's 1971 independence war against Pakistan. It has been under pressure since 2010, when the government put its top leaders on trial on charges of crimes against humanity during the war. *Britain's Queen Elizabeth II signs bill legalizing same-sex marriage: The bill enables gay couples to get married in both civil and religious ceremonies in England and Wales. It also will allow couples who had previously entered into a civil partnership to convert their relationship to a marriage. France became the 14th country to legalize same-sex marriage in May, joining The Netherlands, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina, Denmark, Uruguay, Belgium, and New Zealand. Gay couples can marry in 13 US states, as well as in the capital Washington DC, while parts of Mexico also allow same-sex marriage. KITE4education.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 *EU and China reach deal in solar panel dispute: The European Commission says it has reached "an amicable solution" with Beijing in a row over imports of Chinese solar panels. Both sides have agreed a minimum price for the panels. China is the world's largest producer of solar panels. Its exports to Europe totalled 21bn euros ($27bn; ВЈ18bn) in 2011. The anti-dumping case was the biggest ever undertaken by the Commission. In June, the EU accused China of "dumping" solar panels in Europe - selling them at below cost to steal market share - and then said it would impose import tariffs of up to 47.6% on them. China said EU farm subsidies had resulted in European countries "dumping" wine on China. *EU to push ahead on data protection despite UK opposition: The European Commission is set to ignore attempts to delay the implementation of a proposed new data protection regulation (DPR). *India-born Mamnoon Hussain sworn in as Pakistan`s new President: India-born Mamnoon Hussain, a close aide of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was today sworn in as the President of Pakistan, marking the culmination of the countryвЂ™s first democratic transition. Zardari was the first elected President to complete his constitutional tenure and to be replaced by an elected individual in PakistanвЂ™s 66-year history that has been haunted by numerous military coups. Hussain will be the country's 12th President. *Iran signs major deal to export gas to Iraq: Iran has finalized a major contract to export gas to neighboring Iraq, worth 3.7 billion dollars a year. Under the terms of the contract signed in Baghdad on Sunday, Iran will eventually feed Iraqi refineries with 25 million cubic metres of gas per day. This is Iran's largest reported gas deal to date. It has a $7.5 billion gas pipeline project with Pakistan, to export 21 million cubic metres (742 million cubic feet) per day, but the plan has repeatedly run into trouble amid US opposition to the deal agreed in 2010. Iran sits on the world's second largest natural gas reserves and currently produces some 600 million cubic metres a day, almost all of which is consumed domestically due to lack of exports means. *Iran unveils drone вЂњFOTROSвЂќ which can reach Israel: Iran unveiled a missile-equipped drone with a range of 2,000 kilometres (1,200 INTERNATIONAL - News 5 CrackingIAS.com miles). In recent years, Iran has launched an ambitious drone programme, causing worry in the United States and the West. In late September, the elite Revolutionary Guards announced the mass production of the "Shahed 129" drone, which it said has a range of 1,700 kilometres, is capable of carrying eight missiles and can fly for 24 hours. In the same month, Iran unveiled a reconnaissance drone named "Yasseer," which was said to be capable of flying for eight hours with a range of 200 kilometres and at an altitude of 4,500 meters. Yasseer was based on the US ScanEagle drone, a model of which Tehran claimed to have captured in December 2012 and reproduced since then. The Iranian army also recently boasted that it was producing a series of drones called Rad-85. *Italy ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi jail term confirmed: Italy's highest court has upheld a prison sentence given to former PM Silvio Berlusconi for tax evasion. The court also ordered a further judicial review on whether he should be banned from holding public office. *Japan Unveils the IZUMO, Its Largest Warship Since WWII, Amid Tensions With China: On Aug. 6, Japan launched its largest warship since World War II in a fresh demonstration of TokyoвЂ™s steadily expanding naval capabilities. The unveiling of the destroyer вЂ” with a conspicuously large flight deck вЂ” has drawn attention from its neighbors, especially longstanding regional rival China, which in the past decade has embarked on a massive program of military modernization. *Malawi president sacks cabinet over corruption scandal: Blantyre - Malawi's president has sacked her Cabinet in the wake of reports of worsening corruption in her government. Corruption is endemic in Malawi, which ranks among Africa's poorest countries. The former director of public prosecution, Fahad Assani, has said over 30% of the national budget is lost through corruption. *Mulatu Teshome elected Ethiopian president: The Ethiopian Parliament Monday elected Mulatu Teshome new president of the country. He replaces Girma Wolde-Giorgis who served two six-year terms. KITE4education.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 Mulatu, who used to be the East African countryвЂ™s ambassador to Turkey, was elected at a joint session of the House of Peoples Representatives (HPR) and the House of Federation (HoF) to serve the next term of six years. *Philippe becomes new Belgian king as Albert II abdicates: Crown Prince Philippe has been sworn in as the new Belgian king after the emotional abdication of his father Albert II. Belgium has a CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY in which the king plays a largely ceremonial role. One of the duties the monarch does have is trying to resolve constitutional crises. *Syria polio outbreak traced to Pakistan: The recent polio outbreak in Syria has originated from Pakistan, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The WHOвЂ™s Disease Outbreak News on Monday said 13 cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) have been confirmed in the Syrian Arab Republic. Closely related wild poliovirus strains have also been detected in environmental samples in Israel, West Bank and Gaza Strip since February 2013. Wild poliovirus had not been detected in the Syrian Arab Republic since 1999, the WHO. POLIO VIRUS Poliovirus is composed of an RNA genome and a protein capsid. The genome is a single-stranded positive-sense RNA genome. Hence Polio virus is an entero virus like the Rhino virus. Polio (poliomyelitis) mainly affects children under five years of age. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis. Among those paralysed, 5% to 10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized. In 2012, only three countries (Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan) remain polio-endemic, down from more than 125 in 1988. As long as a single child remains infected, children in all countries are at risk of contracting polio. Polio and its symptoms: Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. It invades the nervous system, and can cause total Acute Flaccid paralysis in a matter of hours. The virus enters the body through the mouth and multiplies in the intestine. Prevention: There is no cure for polio, it can only INTERNATIONAL - News 6 CrackingIAS.com be prevented. Polio vaccine, given multiple times, can protect a child for life. An estimated more than 1.5 million childhood deaths have been prevented, through the systematic administration of Vitamin A during polio immunization activities. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative Launch: In 1988, the forty-first World Health Assembly adopted a resolution for the worldwide eradication of polio. It marked the launch of th:e Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), spearheaded by national governments, WHO, Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), UNICEF, and supported by key partners including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Progress: Of the three types of wild poliovirus (type 1, type 2 and type 3), type 2 wild poliovirus transmission has been successfully stopped (since 1999). Flaccid paralysis is a clinical manifestation characterized by weakness or paralysis and reduced muscle tone. If the somatic nerves to a skeletal muscle are severed, then the muscle will exhibit flaccid paralysis. Causes of flaccid paralysis are: polio, botulism and curare, guillain bare syndrome, Reyes syndrome, nerve lesions, transverse myelitis, enteroviral encephalopathy. *UN chooses five new non-permanent Security Council members: The United Nations has chosen five new non-permanent members of the Security Council, including Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Chad. The humanitarian records of those new members drew criticism from human rights advocates. Chad and Nigeria are to replace Morocco and Togo as African representatives on the body. Meanwhile, Lithuania takes the East European seat, which is currently held by Azerbaijan. Saudi Arabia takes over from Pakistan as a representative for the Asia-Pacific region, while Chile was elected from the Latin American region to replace Guatemala. Chad, Nigeria and Lithuania have never before held a place on the 15-member council, while Nigeria and Chile have each been members four times in the past. Each country must obtain support of two-thirds of all members present to gain a place. With balloting held in secret, candidates lobby intensely to ensure they garner the required amount, even where the vote is uncontested. There were initially two candidates for a West African seat, but Gambia dropped out in favor of Nigeria. Despite the lack of a contest, there was KITE4education.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 disapproval from human rights proponents for some of the choices. 5 countries have permanent seats on the Security Council - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China. The other 10 seats are awarded for periods of two years by the General Assembly. A vote is held each year for five of the seats. Seats in the Security Council are allocated by region, with regional groups nominating candidates. *US and Vietnam sign nuclear technology deal: The US and Vietnam have signed a deal allowing the US to transfer nuclear technology to the southeast Asian country. The move paves the way for future US investment in the industry boosting AmericaвЂ™s strategic presence in the region. The US-Vietnam Civil Nuclear Co-operation Agreement, otherwise known as the вЂ�123 AgreementвЂ™, will allow US industries to tap into VietnamвЂ™s nuclear power market as part of the US push to strengthen both economic and security ties with Vietnam in the face of ChinaвЂ™s growing influence. вЂњThis agreement will create numerous opportunities for our businesses,вЂќ US Secretary of State, John Kerry told Vietnam's Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh while attending the ASEAN summit in Brunei. вЂњObviously our nuclear cooperation is quite significant.вЂќ Annual growth in the country currently stands at 5 per cent and, after China, the country has the second-largest market for nuclear power in the region. Vietnam has also been working alongside Russia to build its first nuclear plant in 2014 in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan, aiming to finish it by 2020. Ninh Thuan will also be the site of a proposed second plant as the country has signed an agreement with Japan. Two reactors will likely become functional in 2014-2015. Under the terms of the agreement, Vietnam will not be permitted to either enrich or reprocess nuclear materials of US origin, according to the US State Department. ChinaвЂ™s claims over the South China Sea have contributed to heightened tensions with Vietnam, and the US hopes to forge strategic ties with the country to readdress the power balance in the region and act as a counterweight to China. However, the US has also expressed concern at VietnamвЂ™s human rights record on account of harsh worker conditions and treatment of government critics. INTERNATIONAL - News 7 CrackingIAS.com *Venezuela creates Social Happiness ministry: A new Vice Ministry of Supreme Social Happiness has been created by Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan president, in an attempt to coordinate all the "mission" programmes created by Hugo Chavez to alleviate poverty. The country has inflation of almost 50% and suffers from chronic shortages of basic goods such as staple foods and toilet roll. *World Toilet Day observed on 19 November: The World Toilet Day (WTD) was observed across the world on 19 November 2013. In the world about a third of the worldвЂ™s people donвЂ™t have an access to a decent toilet. As per the United Nations about 2.5 billion people do not have an access to adequate sanitation and about 1 billion people practice open defecation, which contributes many diseases. Each year, more than 800000 children under 5 die from diarrhea, many due to poor sanitation. World Toilet Day In 2001 WTO declared 19 November World Toilet Day (WTD). It is celebrated in over 19 countries with over 51 events being hosted by various water and sanitation advocates on this day. The World Toilet Organization created World Toilet Day to raise global awareness of the struggle 2.5 billion face every day without access to proper, clean sanitation. World Toilet Day also brings to the forefront the health, emotional and psychological consequences the poor endure as a result of inadequate sanitation. World Toilet Day popularity is gaining momentum, and in 2010 there were 51 events spanning 19 countries. The Big Squat campaign of the World Toilet Organization has generated 24 Big Squats globally and in Singapore over 600 squatters joined the cause in six locations island-wide. World Toilet Summit Earlier the World Toilet Summit in 2013 was observed from 2 to 4 October 2013 in Central Java, Indonesia. The 13th session of the World Toilet Summit was held in support of the World Toilet Organization and the Indonesia Toilet Association (ATI), and supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia and the Ministry of Public Works and the Government of Surakarta. The World Toilet Summit is an annual event, which is organized by the World Toilet Organization in partnership with a host government, since 2001. The summit has been held in 10 countries across the world namely Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Ireland, Russia, Thailand, India, USA and South Africa. The inaugural World Toilet Summit was held in KITE4education.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 Singapore in 2001. *Imomali Rakhmon re-elected Tajikistan TajikistanвЂ™s President Imomali President: Rakhmon has won re-election by a landslide, extending his 20-year-long rule by another seven years. The only credible challenger, rights activist Oinihol Bobonazarova, was disqualified for failing to collect the signatures of 5 per cent of the nation's eligible voters. Mr Rakhmon has ruled Tajikistan since 1992 and is credited with winning a five-year civil war against Islamic militants relying on RussiaвЂ™s support. Mr RakhmonвЂ™s new presidential term must be his last under the Constitution, which has been changed twice to enable him to prolong his stay in power. Tajikistan is one of the poorest states in the former Soviet Union, with more than one million Tajiks earning a living in Russia. In the run-up to recentвЂ™s election Tajikistan signed an agreement with Russia on a 30-year extension of the Soviet-era 201 military base, which Moscow considers as a bulwark against Islamist insurgency and drug trafficking from Afghanistan. The Tajik Parliament ratified the deal after RussiaвЂ™s President Vladimir Putin promised to support Mr RakhmonвЂ™s re-election for another presidential term. Moscow has also allowed Tajik migrant workers to stay in Russia for three years running, against one year for the citizens of other former Soviet states. India helped Tajikistan refurbish an air base at AYNI in the past decade in the hope of securing a bridgehead in the strategically located region. *Yaameen elected Maldivian President by a narrow margin: Abdulla Yaameen, half-brother of former Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom вЂ” who ruled the country for about three decades вЂ” will be the new President of the archipelago nation. He won the run-off round of election narrowly, by polling about three per cent votes higher than his rival, Maldivian Democratic PartyвЂ™s Mohamed Nasheed. The results, in some ways, signify a setback for India, which was seen as backing Mr. Nasheed. Though India had made it clear that it was ready to do business with anyone who was elected, Mr. Nasheed seeking refuge in the Indian High Commission in Male, fearing arrest; and the GMR airport fiasco, had turned PPM and many other political parties against India. The person who was most vocal in throwing out the Indian airport operator from Maldives, INTERNATIONAL - News 8 CrackingIAS.com Mohamed Jameel, will be the new VicePresident. India has welcomed the victory of Abdulla Yameen and taking the cue from his interactions with the Indian leadership, said, ``we saw he would bring about peace in the countryвЂ¦he had ideas that would contribute to MaldivesвЂ™ stability and prosperity.вЂ™вЂ™ *Chinese ADIZ in East China Sea: Posers for India: In the third week of November, China suddenly announced the creation of an Air Defence identification Zone (ADIZ) over the Senkakau/Diayou islands in East China Sea. What is an ADIZ? Air Defence Identification Zones are defined zones in the international airspace within which countries monitor the aircrafts heading towards their territorial airspace. ADIZ is not a territorial claim. ADIZ has no basis in international law, nor is it administered by any international organization. Reactions: The Chinese announcement has raised the tensions in the already tense East China Sea where there is a raging dispute between China and Japan over the sovereignty of the Diayou/Senkaku islands.( The Chinese call the islands Diaoyudao. The Japanese call them Senkaku.) China claims sovereignty over the uninhabited islands, while Japan has the administrative control over them. The South Koreans have also been affected because the Chinese ADIZ overlaps with a South Korean ADIZ in the area. US has also been extremely critical to this unilateral and assertive move of China. They feel that such a move of the Chinese would disrupt the status quo in the region and would alter the regional stability and balance. Chinese Defence: The Chinese have also pointed out that the Japanese and the US response to the Chinese ADIZ is hypocritical. The US, Japan and South Korea already have air defence zones in the region. These countries had never consulted China before setting up their own ADIZs. WhatвЂ™s the problem with China declaring an ADIZ? The problem is that ChinaвЂ™s ADIZ overlaps with the ADIZ that was created by the U.S. after World War-II and transferred to Japan in 1969. Japan sees this as an affront to its sovereignty. The bigger problem is that ChinaвЂ™s ADIZ encompasses the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands claimed by both China and Japan. This is the first KITE4education.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 time an overlapping ADIZ has been declared in an area where there is a sovereignty dispute. What could have been ChinaвЂ™s Motive behind the move? By declaring an ADIZ, they have strengthened their sovereignty claims over the disputed islands. Also, it could be seen as a step towards keeping the US out of the region. They are conveying by their action that the US should keep off. Third, China is also largely testing the efficacy of the USвЂ™ Asia Pivot strategy. Presently Japan and the US are carrying out joint naval exercises near Okinawa. This move of China could be a counter to the USвЂ™ China-Contain policy in the Asia region. There is now little doubt that China is displaying a muscular and assertive foreign policy. Most countries in Asia would be wary of a hard military response because of the growing dependence of their economies on the Chinese economy. The third party plenum of the Chinese communist party indicted that China is setting the stage for the next round of ambitious economic reforms. The new reforms now under consideration will benefit the Asian countries greatly. Poser for India: The poser for India is how would deal with the situation if the Chinese declared an ADIZ somewhere along the disputed border? Indian policy makers must be mulling over this eventuality. The growing assertiveness of China could be a boon for India as it will bring the other Asian countries closer to New Delhi in order to counter Beijing. However, New Delhi must be cautious in the sense that its growing closeness with the ASEAN and the US vis-Г -vis the Asia-Pacific region does not in anyway hamper the border talks or the economic cooperation with China. India should maintain its STRATEGIC AUTONOMY as it does now. The lessons for the neighbours are that when it comes to sovereignty issues, China is unlikely to compromise. China reacted adversely to the recent visit of the Indian president to Arunachal Pradesh which it claims to be disputed territory. What if tomorrow the Chinese declare an ADIZ over Arunachal Pradesh? India would need to formulate its strategies taking into consideration the insights of the Chinese behaviour in East China Sea. TIT BIT: Socotra Rock is a submerged rock located in the INTERNATIONAL - News 9 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS Yellow Sea. International maritime law stipulates that a submerged rock outside of a nation's territorial sea (generally 12 nautical miles) cannot be claimed as territory by any nation. However, the rock is the subject of a maritime dispute between South Korea, which considers it to lie within its exclusive economic zone, referring to it as Leodo and China, which considers it to lie within its exclusive economic zone and refers to it as Suyan Rock. The rock serves as the foundation for Korean Ieodo Ocean Research Station. *Hamid Karzai Asks India For Defense Assistance: In the wake of the Strategic Partnership agreement signed between India and Afghanistan in 2012, Kabul is keen on deepening the defence relationship with NewDelhi. It has towards this end, citing domestic and geo-political situations, sought lethal defence equipments, battle tanks and artillaries, from India. India has traditionally been hesitant to provide lethal equipment of the sort being requested by Karzai, but is likely to provide additional nonlethal assistance in the form of transport aircraft and other supplies. Why is India reluctant? It does not want to get itself entrenched in the ongoing struggle against the Taliban. India has faced attacks from the Taliban in Kabul вЂ” its embassy has been bombed twice, and its consulate near the Pakistani border once. Instead, it wishes to train the Afghan Security forces in counter- terrorism efforts and also focus on economic and developmental assistance to Kabul. A deeper defence ties with Kabul, as is being advocated by Mr,Karzai, may raise eyebrows in Pakistan, which is already suspicious of IndiaвЂ™s engagement with Afghanistan. PakistanвЂ™s cooperation and engagement is extremely important for ensuring a stable Afghanistan and so IndiaвЂ™s does wants to create a sense of suspicion in Islamabad. India also does not wish to interfere in other countries internal affairs, as this is one of its core Foreign policy. The wounds of interference in SriLanka in the 1980вЂ™s, and the price that India paid for it, is still fresh in memory. India wants the peace- process in Afghanistan to be Afghan-lead, Afghan-owned, without any interference from other countries. * 1st Ministerial Level Talk held for BCIM Trade Corridor: India, China, Bangladesh and Myanmar held the first ever official-level KITE4education.com NOVEMBER 2013 discussions on the ambitious BCIM economic corridor to link India and China with Bangladesh and Myanmar. The economic advantages of the BCIM trade corridor are:Approach to numerous markets in Southeast Asia, Improvement of transportation infrastructure and Creation of industrial zones Currently, the four nations raised an ambitious proposal that included developing multi-modal transport, such as road, rail, waterways and airways, joint power projects, telecommunication networks, etc. As a first step, they will identify realistic and achievable infrastructure projects to boost physical connectivity. Over the next six months, each country will come up with a joint study report proposing concrete projects and financing modalities, before the next meeting of the four nations in June 2014, hosted by Bangladesh. The linking of all four countries by road has strengthen the belief that this corridor would subsequently open up the whole of the northeastern region of India to Southeast Asia and China and turn it into a significant channel of trade. BCIM Trade Corridor The Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor is a test case for cooperation between India and China in regional development as well as addressing common challenges. It aims to connect Kolkata with ChinaвЂ™s Kunming city with a highway running through Bangladesh and Myanmar. *NSA leaker Snowden granted asylum in Russia: U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden has been granted asylum in Russia and left the transit zone of MoscowвЂ™s Sheremetyevo Airport for an undisclosed вЂњsafe locationвЂќ. *Iran signs landmark nuclear deal with West: Iran has struck a historic agreement with the U.S. and five other world powers, accepting strict constraints on its nuclear programme for the first time in a decade in exchange for partial relief from sanctions. The deal, signed at 4.30 a.m. on 24th November 2013, marks arguably the most significant foreign policy achievement of Barack ObamaвЂ™s presidency, amounting to the most significant agreement between Washington and Tehran since the 1979 Iranian revolution. The move is intended as the first step in a sixmonth process aimed at a permanent resolution to the decade-old global impasse over IranвЂ™s nuclear programme, and heading off the threat of a new war in West Asia. вЂњWhile todayвЂ™s announcement INTERNATIONAL - News 10 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS is just a first step, it achieves a great deal,вЂќ President Obama said in an address from the White House. вЂњFor the first time in nearly a decade, we have halted the progress of the Iranian nuclear programme, and key parts of the programme will be rolled back.вЂќ The Geneva deal releases just over $4 billion in Iranian oil sales revenue from frozen accounts, and suspends restrictions on the countryвЂ™s trade in gold, petrochemicals, car and plane parts. In return, Iran undertakes to restrict its nuclear activities. Over the next six months it has agreed to:вЂў Stop enriching uranium above 5 per cent, reactorgrade, and dilute its stock of 20 percent enriched uranium or convert it to oxide, which makes it harder to enrich further. The medium-enriched uranium, in its hexafluoride gas form, is relatively easy to turn into weapons-grade material, so it is a major proliferation concern. вЂў Not to increase its stockpile of low-enrichment uranium. вЂў Freeze its enrichment capacity by not installing any more centrifuges, leaving more than half of its existing 16,000 centrifuges inoperable. вЂў Not to fuel or to commission the heavy-water reactor it is building in Arak or build a reprocessing plant that could produce plutonium from the spent fuel. вЂў Accept more intrusive nuclear inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, including daily visits to some facilities. *Typhoon Haiyan kills at least 100, flattens Philippine city: Typhoon Haiyan, possibly the strongest storm ever to hit land, has devastated the central Philippine city of Tacloban, killing at least 100 people and destroying most houses in a surge of flood water and high winds. Haiyan was the second Category 5 typhoon to hit the Philippines this year after Typhoon Usagi in September. An average of 20 typhoons strike every year, and Haiyan was the 24th in 2013. Last year, Typhoon Bopha flattened three towns in southern Mindanao, killing 1,100 people and causing damage of more than $1 billion. * 20-year US-Russian nonproliferation program ends: A 20-year program to convert highly enriched uranium from dismantled Russian nuclear weapons into fuel for U.S. power plants ended, with the final shipment loaded onto a vessel in St. Petersburg's port. The U.S. Energy Department described the program, commonly known as Megatons to Megawatts, as one of the most successful nuclear nonproliferation partnerships ever undertaken. KITE4education.com NOVEMBER 2013 The agreement, signed in 1993 shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union and always scheduled to end in 2013, gave Russia the financial incentive to dismantle thousands of nuclear weapons. The initial aim was to help keep the vast stockpiles of weapons-grade uranium out of the hands of terrorists and to make sure Russia's nuclear workers got paid at a time when the country was nearly bankrupt. Under the program, 500 metric tons of highly enriched uranium, the equivalent of about 20,000 nuclear weapons, was converted into fuel for U.S. nuclear reactors. During the past 15 years, the fuel has generated 10 percent of U.S. electricity, or nearly half of all commercial nuclear energy. * Angela Merkel sworn in as German chancellor for 3rd time: German Chancellor Angela Merkel sworn in for a third term after being reelected in a vote in the lower house of parliament. The event marks the beginning of the third so-called grand coalition in the GermanyвЂ™s post-war history. вЂў MerkelвЂ™s conservative Union bloc вЂ“ The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) won 41.5% of vote. To gain absolute majority they formed coalition with their rivals Social Democrats (SPD). By this coalition, for the next four years, EuropeвЂ™s biggest economy will be ruled by the GermanyвЂ™s two biggest parties. вЂў The new government faces a host of challenges, from bedding down European reforms aimed at shielding the bloc from future crises, to seeing through MerkelвЂ™s costly switch from nuclear to renewable energy, etc. вЂў Angela Merkel is a former research scientist who has been the Chancellor of Germany since 2005, and the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2000. She is the first woman to hold either office. * China, Russia among 14 nations elected to UNHRC: China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Cuba today won an election to the UN Human Rights Council amid protests by various rights groups that these nations "systematically violate" the human rights of their own citizens and should not be allowed to serve on the body. The UN General Assembly voted here through a secret ballot to elect 14 new members to the 47member Geneva-based Council for a three-year term. The other countries that won the election are Algeria, Britain, France, the Maldives, Macedonia, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, South Africa and Vietnam. * Israel, Jordan, and Palestinians signed Water INTERNATIONAL - News 11 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS sharing Deal: Mid-East governments (Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians) signed a historic trilateral agreement at the World Bank in Washington, which outlines regional water-sharing initiatives from the Red Sea to Dead Sea to relieve shortages in the waterless lands. вЂў The Dead Sea has unique water properties like humans can float naturally on the surface, etc. Owing to human intervention, the sea is depleting 1m (3.3ft) a year. Thus, in order to save the Dead Sea, a pipeline will built on the Jordanian side of the Aqaba Gulf to carry sea water from a desalination plant at the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, while providing drinking water to the region. вЂў The plan attributes the development of a desalination plant in Aqaba that will produce water to be shared with Israel, increased water quotas to Jordan from IsraelвЂ™s Sea of Galilee and the sale of waters made potable and salt-free from Israel to the Palestinians. вЂў The deal is an outcome of the cooperation since 2005 among Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority on the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Study Program. Expected cost of the project is $250m-$400m. вЂў The Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Study Program will help to save the Dead Sea; supply water and develop hydro-electricity; and bring out strategic, political and economic cooperation. **USAfghanistan Bilateral Security Agreement: The BSA is a key document that will permit the United States to retain some military forces in Afghanistan after 2014. The significance of the document is that in the event of it not signed, there would not be any US forces in Afghanistan, as also other western forces, after 2014. This would result in a security vaccum being created in Kabul, where the Afghan National Forces are not yet equipped, both logistically and technically, to handle the mighty Taliban. Security and Stability of Afghanistan is the key to both the regional and the Non-regional neighbours. The world is still far from eliminating the Taliban. In the event of them getting control of the local territories in Afghanistan in the future, it would eventually provide new safe-havens for militant terrorist groups, a scenario the United States is keen to avoid. *Koreas hold 5th round of Kaesong talks: North and South Korea have begun a fifth round of talks on reopening a joint industrial complex, after previous meetings failed to agree on a framework for resuming operations. KITE4education.com NOVEMBER 2013 Production at the Kaesong estate has been suspended since North Korea withdrew its 53,000 workers from the complex in April at the height of soaring military tensions with the South. Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 is an international treaty that defines a framework for consular relations between independent countries. A consul normally operates out of an embassy in another country, and performs two functions: protecting in the host country the interests of their countrymen, and furthering the commercial and economic relations between the two countries. вЂў While a consul is not a diplomat, they work out of the same premises, and under this treaty they are afforded most of the same privileges, including a variation of diplomatic immunity called consular immunity. The treaty has been ratified by 176 countries. PRELIMS 2014 TEST SERIES starts from January 19, 2014 . Online test available . Classroom test @ Chennai. . Highly Potential questions . 70+ QUESTIONS IN Prelims Paper 1 based on our tests and books and class notes. Maintaining same trends since 2007 INTERNATIONAL - News 12 CrackingIAS.com INDIA & WORLD *India, Vietnam sign prisoner exchange treaty: The Government of India has so far signed such Agreements with the Governments of U.K., Mauritius, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Egypt, France, Bangladesh, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sri Lanka, UAE, Maldives, Thailand, Turkey, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel and Russia. Negotiations have also been concluded with the Government of Canada, Hong Kong, Brazil, and Spain. These treaties have helped in repatriation of 43 Indian prisoners from Sri Lanka, Mauritius and UK. Similarly 7 prisoners of UK and France where repatriated to their respective countries. The 7th United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders adopted the Model Agreement on the Transfer of Foreign Prisoners in 1985 and since then many countries have arrived at bilateral and multilateral treaties. The Repatriation of Prisoners Act, 2003 was enacted for achieving the above purpose. For achieving the objectives of the Act, a treaty is required to be signed with countries having mutual interest on this matter. *11th ASEM meeting in New Delhi: The AsiaвЂ“Europe Meeting (ASEM) was officially established in 1996 at the first summit in Bangkok, Thailand. Members: ASEM is an interregional forum which consists of 27 members of the European Union (EU), the European Commission, the 10 members of ASEAN, the ASEAN Secretariat, China, Japan,the Republic of Korea, India, Mongolia, and Pakistan, Australia, Russia, New Zealand Bangladesh, Norway, and Switzerland. NOTE: Nepal, Bhutan, Srilanka, Afghanistan and Maldives are not members from Asia. The main components of the ASEM process are the following so-called three pillars: Political Pillar Economical Pillar Social, Cultural and Educational Pillar *Fishermen issue between India and Srilanka: Both Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen have been fishing into Palk Bay area for centuries. Problem emerged only after a maritime agreement was signed by India and Sri Lanka in 1974. In fact, initially the 1974 border agreement did not affect KITE4education.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 fishing on either sides of the border. In 1976 both India and Sri Lanka agreed to stop fishing in each otherвЂ™s waters. However, the agreement could not stop the fishermen from fishing in these waters, as fishermen know no boundary. They go wherever they can get maximum number of catch. They, knowingly or unknowingly, often violate the International Maritime Boundary Lines in search of a good catch, at times at great personal risk. However, cases of arrest of Sri Lankan fishermen by Indian authorities are comparatively less since they mostly fish in the high seas by using multi-day crafts. On the other hand, due to the dearth of multi-day fishing capability, Indian fishermen cannot shift their fishing effort from the Palk Bay area to the offshore areas of the Indian waters or way beyond the continental shelf. Therefore, Indian fishermen have no other option but to fish into the Sri Lankan waters. While for the Sri Lankan authorities protecting their maritime boundary is important, for the Indian fishermen the priority is of securing their livelihood. It is noteworthy that despite the signing of maritime boundary agreements, fishermen communities of both the countries continued their fishing in the Palk Bay area peacefully until the Eelam war broke out in 1983. Nonetheless, after the end of War in 2009, the Sri Lankan fishermen have been raising their objection to Indian fishermen fishing in their waters. According to an estimate, more than 500 trawlers from Tamil Nadu cross the International Maritime Boundary Line and fish in the Sri Lankan side of the Palk Bay, depleting the fishstocks and threatening the livelihoods of the fishermen in the north of Sri Lanka, who have just commenced fishing after the end of war in 2009. The Indian fishermen, on the other hand, argue that, in the post-LTTE scenario they could not be mistaken for acting as LTTE agents and hence should not be treated harshly. India wants the cases to be handled under the 2008 agreement that allows Indian fishermen with valid licences to fish in the Srilankan waters. But Srilanka argues that the agreement is out-dated and needs a fresh revision. *India hopes new Maldives President Abdulla India & World - News 13 CrackingIAS.com Yameen will nurture democracy: India hopes that the new Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen would try to achieve consensus in the politically fragmented nation and his government would refrain from persecution of political opponents. *Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana in Dubai: The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affair launched a scheme named Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana in Dubai. The scheme is a pension and life insurance fund scheme for blue-collar Indian workers in UAE. MGPSY is a special social security scheme for overseas Indian workers who are on temporary work permit in 17 Emigration Check Required (ECR) nations. Aim: To help the overseas workers to save money for their retirement, their return to India and resettlement and provides life insurance cover against natural death during the period of coverage. Features of MGPSY: The subscribers of this scheme will be provided home and a life insurance cover for Rs. 1 lakh during their work overseas. Government of India will contribute up to Rs. 2000 every year for male workers and Rs. 3000 every year to women workers for up to either five years or until the worker returns home, whichever is earlier. It will be added to the Pension and Life Insurance (PLIF) account of each eligible subscriber. The workers have to contribute between Rs. 1000 and Rs. 12000 per annum towards the pension fund and Rs. 4000 towards the return and resettlement fund. They will derive corresponding benefits when they go back home and during their old age. Bank of Baroda is the official banking partner of the scheme to enroll the workers while the Indian Workers Resource Centre (IWRC) is the support center for Indian workers in UAE. The scheme targets to cover 5 million overseas blue collar Indian workers who have the Emigration Clearance Required (ECR) category passports in 17 nations. Emigration Clearance Required (ECR) category Emigration Clearance Required (ECR) category passports are issued to those workers who have not passed Grade 10. Around 65% of more than 2 million Indians in the UAE are blue collar workers and most of them are in the ECR category. Blue collar jobs KITE4education.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 Blue collar is a term which is used to refer to wageearning workers who wear work clothes or other specialized clothing on the job, as miners, mechanics and longshoremen. *New Delhi Declaration on South-South Cooperation for Children's Rights: A New Delhi Declaration, renewing governmentsвЂ™ commitments to the rights of children and pledging to support each other in the achievement of those rights, was adopted unanimously today by Asian and Pacific States attending the Second High Level Meeting on South-South Cooperation for Child Rights in Asia and the Pacific. The New Delhi Declaration reaffirms StatesвЂ™ commitments to childrenвЂ™s rights and sets out a series of recommendations that will serve as a roadmap for future cooperation. This includes collaboration on ways to improve the collection of data on children, and multi-country research into childrenвЂ™s issues and the best means to address them. The Declaration addresses the need for adequate investments in education, job creation and social participation to address the different threats and challenges faced by adolescents, and to eliminate violence against children and adolescents. It also recommends that governments seek meaningful participation by adolescents in decisionmaking, and improve access, quality, and relevance of lower secondary education and vocational training, in order to strengthen the job prospects of adolescents, including girls. The Declaration recommends enhancement of national and regional coordination on early childhood development, to advance exclusive breastfeeding, full immunization, and childrenвЂ™s access to clean water and hygienic sanitation. The New Delhi Declaration calls for better access to data about children in urban areas, and particularly about children in slums and peri-urban areas. It recommends information sharing and cooperation between cities in the region so they can meet their potential as places that promote child rights. It recommends efforts to ensure equitable access to services and livelihood options for the most marginalized and excluded urban children, such as those living in slums, as well as examination of the service issues facing rural populations, to allow for a more holistic approach to rural to urban migration. *OPCW and India: The Organisation for the India & World - News 14 CrackingIAS.com Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force in 1997. Headquartered at Hague,the OPCW has 190 Member States, who are working together to achieve a world free from chemical weapons. The OPCW is an independent, autonomous international organisation with a WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UNITED NATIONS. The Convention contains four key provisions: destroying all existing chemical weapons under international verification by the OPCW; monitoring chemical industry to prevent new weapons from re-emerging; providing assistance and protection to States Parties against chemical threats; and fostering international cooperation to strengthen implementation of the Convention and promote the peaceful use of chemistry. Recent Developments: OPCW is currently working in Syria to destroy the chemical weapons of the country. This is the first time the international organization is working in a country where a conflict is ongoing. In 2013, the OPCW was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize award to recognize its efforts in achieving a Chemical-free world. India and OPCW: India is a founder member of the OPCW and it has ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention. India has successfully destroyed all the Chemical weapons in its possession and has stood by its ideal of achieving a Chemical weapon-free world. The percentage of Indians in the OPCW inspection panel has always been high and its Indian Laboratories, especially the one at Gwalior, is recognized worldover. India has offered $1million towards the cause of destroying the weapons in Syria to the OPCW. IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 would have forfeited the money if they overstayed. The plan had prompted an outcry from government and business leaders in India, with which Britain has been trying to foster a closer trade relationship. *India, Senegal sign cultural treaty: Exchanges in theatre, heritage and archaeology are some of the aspects of a cultural treaty signed between India and Senegal. The two countries signed the Executive Programme for Cultural Cooperation for 2013-2015. The agreement was signed by Culture Minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch and Adboul Aziz Mbaye, minister of culture of Senegal. The agreement is valid for three years. The programme seeks to exchange experts in theatre, encourage training in artistic heritage, creative activities, audio visual, music, dance, theatre and puppetry and exchange publications on cultural heritage. There would also be exchanges on canvas works and prehistoric archaeology. The agreement also envisages organising a cultural week featuring on the cultures of both the countries. MAINS GENERAL STUDIES TEST FOLLOWING THE +VE FEEDBACK FROM THE STUDENTS FOR PRELIMS TEST SERIES. We have planned to provide complete model solutions also for GS MAINS TEST SERIES... WHY JOIN TEST SERIES @ CrackingIAS only? Nobody else PROVIDES such a set of potential questions with proper evaluation. Now with model solutions too. & Many from our class notes. (In total 500+ marks based on our guidance). Few illustrations (The same trend we have been maintaining since 2007 Mains) *UK scraps the Visa-bond plan: Britain is scrapping a plan to force visitors from six "high risk" countries to pay a cash bond of ВЈ3,000. The government had been preparing to pilot a scheme requiring visitors from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ghana and Nigeria to pay the deposit for a six-month visa. They KITE4education.com India & World - News 15 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 In optional Subjects вЂ“ Political Science, Public Administration & Sociology we have 100% coverage. KITE4education.com India & World - News 16 CrackingIAS.com Science & Technology Defence & Environment - News *Commissioning of Inshore Patrol Vessel (IPV)ICGS Rajdhwaj: The Indian Coast Guard Ship Rajdhwaj, 50 meter long Inshore Patrol Vessel (IPV), the 8th in the series of eight IPVs designed and built by M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders Engineers, Kolkata was commissioned on 11th December 2013 at Chennai by Shri GK Vasan. The special features of the ship include an Integrated Bridge System (IBS), Integrated Machinery Control System (IMCS), and an indigenously built 30 mm Gun Mount with Fire Control System. The ship is designed to carry one Rigid Inflatable Boat and two Geminis for Search and Rescue, Law Enforcement and Maritime Patrol. *Coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth in Antarctica: -94.7C (-135.8F): The old record had been -89.2C (-128.6F). Ice scientist Ted Scambos at the National Snow and Ice Data Centre announced the cold facts at the American Geophysical Union scientific meeting in San Francisco. *Advanced light Helicopter вЂ�DHRUVвЂ™: Dhruv is the first indigenously designed and manufactured Advance Light Helicopter at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. It has multi role capabilities has proven her mettle in all the three services of the Armed Forces, Indian Coast Guard, and BSF and in the inventory of foreign countries. Recently, the Navy commissioned the First Advanced Light Helicopter Squadron named, the Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 322. *Bharat Ratna for scientist Prof. C.N.R.Rao: C.N.R. Rao, the man behind IndiaвЂ™s maiden Mars mission, to be conferred with the prestigious Bharat Ratna Award, IndiaвЂ™s highest civilian award. First Indian scientist to reach the h-index of 100. One of the earliest to synthesize two-dimensional oxide materials such as La2CuO4. RaoвЂ™s findings have resulted into a systematic study of compositionally controlled metalCrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 insulator transitions. Such findings have emmensely helpes in fields such as colossal magneto resistance and high temperature superconductivity. Oxide semiconductors have uncommon promise. Made good contribution to nano materials, apart from his work on hybrid materials. What is h-index (also called the Hirsch index or Hirsch number)? H-INDEX (also called the Hirsch index or Hirsch number) is a tool that measures the productivity and impact of the published work of a scientist or scholar. Based on the set of the scientistвЂ™s most cited papers and the number of citations that the individual has received in other publications. Physicist Jorge Hirsch was the first one to coin it in 2005. George Whitesides of Harvard University has an h-index of 169, which makes him the highest ranked living chemist. *Bt brinjal gets Bangladesh nod for commercial cultivation: Bangladesh has approved the commercial cultivation of transgenic Bt brinjal, becoming the first country in South Asia to cultivate the genetically modified food crop. As per Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), the government has approved four Bt brinjal varieties (Bt begun-1, 2, 3 and 4) for limited scale cultivation with some caveats. These varieties had been developed by BARI using Indian firm MahycoвЂ™s proprietary gene construct technology. Mahyco had transferred its Bt brinjal technology to BARI in 2005-06 through a USAIDfunded and Cornell University-managed вЂ�Agricultural Biotechnology Support ProjectвЂ™. Bt brinjal Bt brinjal is a genetically modified transgenic variety of brinjal. It contains a foreign вЂ�Cry1AcвЂ™ gene derived from a soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). This gene synthesises a protein toxic to the fruit and shoot borer (FSB), a damaging pest. The gene endows the crop a вЂњbuiltinвЂќ resistance to FSB, reducing dependence on spraying pesticides. IndiaвЂ™s concerns over Bt Brinjal There are apprehensions among the environmentalists in India who fear that, given the porosity of Indo-Bangladesh border, the transgenic Science & Technology + Defence & Environment + Health Issues - News 17 CrackingIAS.com crop could leak into IndiaвЂ™s environment. They have requested the Government to take all measures to safeguard food and seed supply, apart from bio-diversity. Requests have also been sent to Environment Ministry to take all steps to prohibit any illegal or unintentional transfer of Bt brinjal or seeds through the border with Bangladesh. Environmentalists have written to the Ministry urging the Indian government to explore all options under the Cartagena Protocol to ensure that Bangladesh takes all measures to ensure that our diversity here is safeguarded from any transboundary movement of this GM food crop. *CRISPR- a breakthrough to tweak genes?: CRISPR is a newly discovered, extremely precise gene-editing technique. Under this new technique, scientists can engineer or edit any part of the human gene, down to the individual chemical building-blocks or nucloetides that make up the genetic alphabet, without introducing mutations or flaws. The technique could soon be used in gene therapy trials on humans to treat incurable viruses (eg. HIV) and inherited genetic disorders (Sickle cell anaemia, down syndrome, HuntigtonвЂ™s disease). Until now, gene therapy has had largely to rely on the inaccurate methods of editing the genome, often involving modified viruses that insert DNA at random into the genome. The new gene-editing technique could address many of the safety concerns because it is so accurate. The new technique could help cut gene defects in IVF embryos and could provide a breakthrough in molecular genetics. Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative genetic disorder that affects muscle coordination and leads to cognitive decline and psychiatric problems. It typically becomes noticeable in mid-adult life. HD is the most common genetic cause of abnormal involuntary writhing movements called chorea, which is why the disease used to be called Huntington's chorea. Down syndrome, also called Trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder in which a person is born with an extra copy of chromosome 21. People with Down syndrome can have physical problems, as well as intellectual disabilities. Every person born with Down syndrome is different. CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 *Dolphin virus outbreak in Atlantic is deadliest ever: The deadliest known outbreak of a marine mammal measles-like virus, the morbilli virus, in bottlenose dolphins has killed a record number of the animals along the US Atlantic coast since July. The cause of death is morbillivirus, a form of marine mammal measles that is similar to canine distemper and can cause pneumonia, suppressed immune function and brain infections that are usually fatal. The virus spreads among dolphins in close contact. *European Space Agency's Goce satellite falls to Earth: The Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) is an ESAвЂ™s satellite to map the EarthвЂ™s gravitational field and to study the ocean circulation behavior. It was launched in 2009. It has mapped the variations in earthвЂ™s gravity with utmost precision. The result is the most accurate shape of the geroid- a hypothetical global ocean at rest- which is being used to understand ocean circulation, sea level and EarthвЂ™s interior. It is dubbed the вЂ�Ferrari of SpaceвЂ™ because of its sleek looks. The mission was operating in an extremely low orbit - at 224km altitude, the lowest of any scientific satellite. Recently its reserves of xenon fuel were exhausted. After running out of propellant, the satellite began dropping out of orbit and made an uncontrolled re-entry into the EarthвЂ™s atmosphere on 11 November 2013. *Google launches Wallet debit card in US: Internet search engine giant Google launched Wallet Card in the US. It is a prepaid debit card that will facilitate consumers to buy goods at stores and to withdraw cash from ATM machines. What does Google Wallet Card offer? The card allows consumers access the funds stored in their Google Wallet accounts. Consumers can use this facility to purchasing goods at stores and to withdraw cash from ATM machines. Consumers add money to the new Wallet Card by linking it to a bank account or when another person transfers money to their Google Wallet account. The card can be ordered online from Wednesday, and typically takes 10 to 12 days to arrive. The card is Science & Technology + Defence & Environment + Health Issues - News 18 CrackingIAS.com free and the company will not charge cardholders any monthly or annual fees. What is Google Wallet? Google Wallet is a smartphone app and online payment service that allows consumers buy goods and transfer money to each other. *Green detector for building material: In what could be a boon to the construction and building industry in the country, the Centre for Advanced Research in Building Science and Energy (CARBSE) at Cept University has developed a 'U-Factor calculator' that will prove beneficial in selecting building material, help in analysis and building energy modeling. U-Factor, in simple terms, means 'rate of heat transfer'. So, lower the U-factor, lesser the heat transfer through walls, roof and windows of any building. *India creates 60 вЂ“ 170 km Pragati вЂ“ Surface to Surface Tactical Missile System: India has developed a new tactical surface-to-surface missile 'Pragati' with a range between 60-170 km and will offer it to friendly countries. The new missile, now on display at a defence exhibition in South Korea, is based on the Prahaar missile developed by the DRDO for the Army and can be termed as its export variant with minor differences. *India may take 3-4 years to adopt VoLTE, telecom's next big thing: Voice over the technology will lead global growth for the next 10 to 12 years but it will take India three-four years to adopt the nascent technology that improves carrying capacity of airwaves and provides data at nearly 10 times the speed offered on 3G. The US will shortly see the deployment of voice over the LTE technology (VoLTE) by some of its mobile phone companies, becoming among a few markets in the world to offer such 4G services. Telecom companies and analysts in India however belie any hopes that this development in the US widely considered the world's benchmark market would act as a catalyst for Indian mobile phone companies like Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. to speed up starting 4G LTE services in the country. India is unique in the sense that hardly any other operator globally offers LTE over the less efficient CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 2300 Mhz band that carriers in the country are saddled with. This has resulted in domestic operators choosing a 4G standard adopted only in China - a key point which many say is delaying Reliance Jio's plans. The company has had the necessary license and bandwidth for over three years now. вЂ™Voice Over LTEвЂ™ technology вЂ�Voice Over LTEвЂ™ technology is a technology for providing a unified format of voice traffic on LTE, and other systems including CSFB (Circuit Switched FallBack ), and SV-LTE (Simultaneous voice and LTE). It empowers 4G LTE operators to offer rich voice, video and messaging services as a core offering. LTE stands for вЂ�Long Term EvolutionвЂ™. LTE technology marketed as 4G LTE is a GSMA VoLTE IR.92 specification, based on global 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) standards, for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. LTE is optimized for data transfer and designed as a packet switched all-IP system only; it does not include any circuit switched domain currently used for regular voice and SMS services. Dissimilar to former cellular telecommunications standards including GSM, LTE doesnвЂ™t have devoted channels for circuit switched telephony. Rather LTE is an all-IP system allowing for an end-to-end IP connection from the mobile equipment to the core network and out again. Significance of Voice Over LTE (VOLTE)? The Voice over LTE (VoLTE) is a result of operators seeking a standardized system for transferring voice traffic over LTE. Initially LTE was seen as a totally IP cellular system just for carrying data, and operators would be able to carry voice either by reverting to 2G / 3G systems or by using VoIP. Operators, nevertheless saw the fact that a voice format was not defined as a key omission for the system. It was seen that the lack of standardization may provide problems with scenarios including roaming. SMS is a key necessity. As mobile operators receive much of their revenues from voice and SMS traffic, it is essential to have a feasible and standardized scheme to render these services and guard this revenue. Problem for India in implementing Voice Over LTE (VOLTE) technology Science & Technology + Defence & Environment + Health Issues - News 19 CrackingIAS.com Once VoLTE is implemented in USA, the technology will move faster to other countries viz. India but there are some basic issues with implementing the technology in India:Albeit software can be adapted in India but the underlying hardware for the 2300 MHz band is the key issue. The spectrum in the 2300 MHz band which Reliance Jio infocomm and Bharati Airtel won in order to offer 4G services emits weaks signals, which implies poor service quality. This issue is increased when it comes to transmitting voice. In Europe, however the LTE operated in the 700 MHz band. India and China both have opted for TD-LTE (Time-Division Long-Term Evolution) standard which owing to lack of global scale, makes necessary hardware costly. *INS Vikramaditya Commissioned in Indian Navy: The newly refurbished Soviet-era carrier, Admiral Gorshkov, has been commissioned into the Indian navy as INS Vikramaditya. It is IndiaвЂ™s second aircraft carrier after INS Viraat, which India procured from the US way back in the 60вЂ™s. IndiaвЂ™s economic development is dependent on the seas and safeguarding the nationвЂ™s maritime interests is central to our national policy. Aircraft carriers have been part of the Indian NavyвЂ™s force structure since our independence and have effectively served the country over the past five decades or so. The induction of вЂ�VikramadityaвЂ™ with its integral MiG29K fighters and Kamov-31 helicopters, not only reinforces this central policy, but also adds a new dimension to our NavyвЂ™s operational capabilities. The meaning of вЂ�VikramadityaвЂ™, which literally translates into вЂњStrong as the SunвЂќ is complemented by the ShipвЂ™s motto вЂ“вЂњStrike Far, Strike Sure. The successful culmination of Project 11430 truly symbolizes the time-tested Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia. The MiG 29K swing role fighter is the main offensive platform and provides a quantum jump for the Indian NavyвЂ™s maritime strike capability. It is also fitted with the ALH-Dhruv and the Chetak helicopters. CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 The carrier would enhance the capabilities of the Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean region, an area where China is trying to expand its geostrategic footprint. *MAKO: The newly developed artificial intelligence robot that can do anything and everything on your PC. It can navigate through almost any computer programs and across the internet. It has voice recognition and responds to even the slightest command with super speed. *MANGALYAAN or MARS ORBITER MISSION successfully launched on PSLVC-25: It is a 450cr ISROвЂ™s mission to explore MARS. It is IndiaвЂ™s first inter-planetary spacecraft. It carried five experimental payloads with a total weight of 15kg. The payloads include: Methane sensor, Composition analyser, a Photometer, colour camera and an Imaging spectrometer. ISROвЂ™s trusted warhorse rocket PSLV-XL is launched the mission. The Mars mission will propel India to the elite club of five nations comprising the U.S., Russia, Europe and Japan which have launched similar missions. The mission period will be for 300 days. Earth and Mars come closer to each other once in every 26 months. So ISRO wishes to launch it by this October failing which the mission could only be launched in 2015. The project director is S.Arunan and the programme director is Mylswamy Annadurai. United Nation observed on 11th December 2013 as International Mountain Day, an opportunity to promote the conservation and sustainable use of increasingly scarce resources from mountain areas. *Mars refreshes asteroids: Scientists:- Scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have found that Mars causes вЂњrefreshingвЂќ of some nearEarth asteroids, causing the space rocks to appear redder than meteorites. What is вЂњrefreshingвЂќ in terms of asteroids? Scientists have long been puzzled over why asteroids appear redder than meteorites вЂ“ the remnants of asteroids that have crashed to Earth. Later, it was thought to occur due to the effect of the EarthвЂ™s gravity on the asteroids passing closer to its orbit which causes the surface material to Science & Technology + Defence & Environment + Health Issues - News 20 CrackingIAS.com shift, exposing fresh material, causing it to appear redder. This surface material shift phenomenon is called Refreshing. How Mars refreshes asteroids? In the latest findings, scientists have calculated that the gravity of Mars can also cause these phenomena. Scientists calculated the orbits of 60 refreshed asteroids, and found that 10% of these never cross EarthвЂ™s orbit. Instead, these asteroids only come close to Mars, suggesting that the Red Planet can refresh the surfaces of these asteroids. These findings show that Earth is not the only major factor behind the refreshing of asteroids. The finding is also a surprising one as the Red Planet is one-third the size of Earth, and one-tenth as massive - and therefore exerts a far weaker gravitational pull on surrounding objects. But MarsвЂ™ position in the solar system places the planet in close proximity with the asteroid belt, increasing the chance of close asteroid encounters. *NASA discovers granite on Mars: As per a research team from the US space agency NASA, granite вЂ“ an igneous rock common on EarthвЂ” could be found in abundance on Mars. The research backed by the NASA Mars Data Analysis Program strengthens the evidence for granite on Mars by using remote sensing techniques with infrared spectroscopy to survey a large volcano on Mars that was active for billions of years. The ancient Martian volcano has large amounts of a mineral found in granite called feldspar. Minerals that are common in basalts rich in iron and magnesium are nearly completely absent here. For a long time Mars was understood to be geologically simplistic consisting mostly of one type of rock as opposed to the complex geology of Earth. Most of the surface of Mars is covered by dark-coloured volcanic rocks called basalt. How the granite could have formed on Mars? The location of the feldspar near the volcano can explain the formation of granite Mars. It occurs by a process called fractionation in which the magma slowly cools in the subsurface and low density melt separates from dense crystals. The cycle is repeated again and again for millennia until granite is formed. Granite or its eruptive equivalent rhyolite is often found on Earth in tectonically active regions. Though this is improbable on Mars but the scientists concluded that extended CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 magmatic activity on Mars can also produce it on a large scale. *NASAвЂ™s Maven Mars mission set for launch: NASA is sending Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (Maven) to Mars to study its upper atmosphere. Scientists want to know why Mars went from being warm and wet during its first billion years, to the cold and dry place it is today. The early Martian atmosphere was thick enough to hold water and possibly support microbial life. But much of that atmosphere may have been lost to space, eroded by the sun. Maven bearing eight science instruments will take 10 months to reach Mars, entering into orbit around the red planet in September 2014. The mission costs $671 million. Fourteen of the previous 20 missions have succeeded, the most recent being the Curiosity rover that was launched in 2011 and landed in 2012. *Smart-phone controlled toy robots developed: Engineers have developed the magnetic robot construction kits, called MOSS that enables the user to build their own smart-phone controlled toy robots that can drive and wiggle. By attaching a Bluetooth module, players can control the robots remotely using a smartphone or a tablet. *Sukhoi-30 chosen to mount BrahMos: IAF: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has decided to make its deep penetration Sukhoi-30 fighter jets a platform to mount the air version of supersonic BrahMos missiles, whose first test-launch will be conducted by the end of 2014. Sukhoi-30 is being manufactured at Hindustan Aeronautics LimitedвЂ™s Nashik facility in collaboration with the Russians. The air version of the BrahMos missile is ready, but it will take a year more for testing, simulations and aircraft modifications. BrahMos Aerospace is bound to deliver the supersonic cruise missile to the IAF starting 2015. It has also slashed the weight of the missile to 2.5 tonne from the normal 3 tonne as demanded by the IAF as the launch at high speeds requires lesser components on propulsion. The BrahMos has already been inducted by the Science & Technology + Defence & Environment + Health Issues - News 21 CrackingIAS.com Army and the Navy. However, an air platform has not been provided yet. *Sun to swap its polarity within weeks: NASA: According to the US space agency NASA, the SunвЂ™s magnetic field will reverse its polarity within weeks. Although the event is normal and not catastrophic, it will send ripple effects throughout the solar system. Why the Sun switches its polarity? The sun swaps its polarity, flipping its magnetic north and south, once every 11 years through an internal mechanism about which little is known. The polarity change is built up throughout the eleven year cycle through areas of intense magnetic activity known as sunspots which gradually move towards the poles, eroding the existing opposite polarity. Finally, the magnetic field reduces to zero, and is swapped with the opposite polarity. How the reversion of SunвЂ™s polarity could affect us? This event will not cause any catastrophe. However, the swap could cause intergalactic weather fronts such as geomagnetic storms, which can interfere with satellites and cause radio blackouts. The impact of the transfer will be extensive as the sunвЂ™s magnetic field wields influence well beyond Pluto, past NasaвЂ™s Voyager probes positioned near the edge of interstellar space. *World Bank releases new report on climate change, global warming: World Bank has released a new report -- On Thin Ice: How Cutting Pollution can Slow Warming and Save Lives. The report that talks about ways to mitigate the effects of climate change says fast action to cut common pollutants like soot (also known as black carbon) and methane will not only slow global warming, but save millions of lives. Reductions of these so-called short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) would slow rapid melting in mountain regions with glaciers, like the Himalayas and the Arctic. More than one million premature deaths could be avoided annually in the Himalayan region from reducing emissions of black carbon and methane. It would also bring multiple health, crop and ecosystem benefits, and decrease risks to development from flooding and water shortages says a new scientific study. CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 The Himalayan Mountain ranges extending 2,400 km through six nations (India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Bhutan, and Nepal) make up the largest cryosphere region. Rapid climate induced changes in the region will directly affect the water resources of more than 1.5 billion lives, as well as services such as electricity, and the food supplies of 3 billion people. * DRDO develops heavy drop system improving Army's para-dropping capacity: Defence scientists have enhanced IndiaвЂ™s capabilities in para dropping key military equipment and supplies from heavy lift aircraft like the IL76 to beef up the ArmyвЂ™s strike power. A total of 16 tonnes that could include military vehicles, ammunition trolleys and parachute subsystems, can now be airdropped by the heavy drop system (HDS). Three prototypes of the system have been designed and developed by the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE), an Agra-based laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The laboratory has also conducted two successful drops meeting performance parameters, according to a DRDO spokesperson. The system is an extension of technology developed by DRDO for the вЂ�P-7 HDSвЂ™, the 7tonne capacity Heavy Drop System developed earlier and already accepted by the Indian Army for induction. The bulk production of 146 numbers is being initiated at L&T for the mechanical platform and OPF Kanpur for the parachute systems respectively, at an approximate total cost of Rs 180 crore. The P-7 HDS, paradropped as a composite unit termed вЂ�LoadвЂ™, has been developed for paradropping military stores/equipments such as military vehicles and ammunition trolleys from the IL-76 aircraft and comprises two main subsystems, namely, platform sub-system and parachute sub-system. The Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister and Secretary, Department of Defence R&D, Avinash Chander, said the system offered вЂ�drop and driveвЂ™ capability and once inducted, the system, a force multiplier, would enhance the capabilities of armed forces. Science & Technology + Defence & Environment + Health Issues - News 22 CrackingIAS.com The organization has developed a wide range of parachute systems for applications covering вЂ�delivery of military stores and human beings to the battlefield and remote locationsвЂ™, to вЂ�recovery (from spin) parachute systems for Light Combat AircraftвЂ™, to recovery systems for the Space Recovery Experiment. * Newly discovered greenhouse gas '7,000 times more powerful than CO2: A new greenhouse gas that is 7,000 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the Earth has been discovered by researchers in Toronto. The newly discovered gas, perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA), has been in use by the electrical industry since the mid-20th century. The chemical, that does not occur naturally, breaks all records for potential impacts on the climate. Concentrations of PFTBA in the atmosphere are low вЂ“ 0.18 parts per trillion in the Toronto area вЂ“ compared to 400 parts per million for carbon dioxide. So PFTBA does not in any way displace the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal as the main drivers of climate change. It remains in the air for 500 years. PFTBA has been in use since the mid-20th century for various applications in electrical equipment, such as transistors and capacitors. The researchers said it was unclear how widespread its use was today. It belongs to an entire class of chemicals used for industrial applications whose effects on the atmosphere remain unknown. * Western Ghats: Nod for farming activities by Ministry of Environment & Forests: The Environment Ministry, following the вЂ�in principleвЂ™ acceptance of the Kasturirangan panel report, issued a fresh order on easing norms on activities related to plantations and agriculture in Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA). The Ministry elucidated that the recommendations made by the Kasturirangan panel, neither put any fresh restrictions on land use in the ESA nor do they in any way impact the continued occupation of land in possession of the local people and affect their day to day activities or normal livelihood. The new order cleared that the boundary of the ESA and the regulatory regime вЂ” an emotive issue in some of the affected states вЂ” would be CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 finalized after the draft notification for the same is placed in the public domain and comments on it from all stakeholders including state governments are received. Key suggestions made by the K. Kasturirangan panel Promotion of Ecotourism; economically empower the local population, Incentives green growth in the Western Ghats, etc. Ban on mining, quarrying, sand mining, thermal power plants, building and construction projects on areas that are 20,000 sq m or more, township and area development projects with an area of 50ha and above and red category of industries in ESA. Defined 37% of the Western Ghats landscape as ecologically sensitive. * First human artificial heart transplant executed in France: An artificial heart that can give patients up to five years of extra life has been successfully implanted for the first time, at Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris, France. The equipment designed to overcome the worldwide shortage of transplant donors was produce by French Biomedical firm Carmat, a start-up funded by the Dutch-based European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS). About Artificial Heart Powered by external, wearable Lithium-ion batteries. Inside the heart, surfaces that come into contact with human blood are made partly from bovine tissue instead of synthetic materials such as plastic that can cause blood clots. Uses a range of вЂњbiomaterialsвЂќ, including bovine tissue, to reduce the likelihood of the body rejecting it. Weighs about 900g (around 2 lb) вЂ“ nearly three times more than an average healthy human heart. It is expected to cost 140,000 to 180,000 euros in Europe. It mimics heart muscle contractions and contains sensors that adapt the blood flow to the patientвЂ™s moves. Intended to replace a real heart for as many as five years, unlike previous artificial hearts that were created mainly for temporary use. * Mobile makers should install вЂњSoSвЂќ button for women safety: Finance Minister: On the first anniversary of December 16 brutal act that jolted the country, the Centre approved several proposals for Science & Technology + Defence & Environment + Health Issues - News 23 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 improving womenвЂ™s safety under the Nirbhaya Fund. phrases like вЂњsave our shipвЂњ, вЂњsave our soulsвЂќ and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram announced that вЂњsend out succourвЂќ were popularly associated with mobile handset makers will have to introduce an SoS SOS, these may be regarded as mnemonics. alert button to ensure that women in distress can be reached by the police in the minimum possible time. * Mr. Mikhail Kalashnikov: Designer of AK-47 ( Proposal from the Ministries of Home Affairs and вЂќAvtomat Kalashnikova 1947вЂі) passed away: Officially known as вЂњAvtomat Kalashnikova 1947вЂі. It Information Technology: The police administration will be integrated with is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62Г—39mm assault the mobile phone network to rapidly respond to rifle and has a rate of fire of 600 rounds-a-minute. distress calls. The scheme will be launched in 157 The AK-47 has only eight moving parts can be cities in two phases (55 in phase I and 102 in phase broken down and reassembled in 30 seconds and will work in conditions that would render many other II). small arms inoperable. Invented by Mikhail Proposal from the Road Transport Ministry: A programme вЂ�Security of women in road Kalashnikov, who received numerous honors transport in the countryвЂ™ will be launched in 32 including the Hero of Socialist Labor and Order of towns, each with a population of over 1 million. Lenin and Stalin Prize. The expected cost is about Rs. 1,700 crore. Under this scheme, public transport vehicles will have * World's first talking humanoid robot chats with GPS for easy tracking, CCTVs and more women astronaut on ISS: The first humanoid robot in space made small talk with a Japanese astronaut and said it drivers and conductors, among others measures. had no problem with zero gravity on the International Proposal from the Railway Ministry: It proposes to start a public scheme for Space Station. establishing an SoS alert system in trains in select Kirobo is programmed to process questions and zones. The facility will cover all service providers select words from its vocabulary to construct an from all telecom circles. It will have a call answer, instead of giving pre-programmed responses to specific questions. recording facility and a call centre. The creator of the robot, Tomotaka Takahashi, said What is Nirbhaya Fund? Nirbhaya Fund is a Rs. 1000 crore fund was the autonomous functions meant nobody knew announced by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in how well Kirobo would be able to answer Budget 2013-14. The fund is aimed at enhancing the Wakata's questions. safety and for empowerment of women. It was named after Nirbhaya- the pseudonym given to the victim of *Australian school introduces worldвЂ™s first the incident to hide her identity. standing classroom to combat childhood obesity: As part of a novel experiment, Mont Albert Primary What is SoS? SOS is the widely used description for the School in Australia has launched the worldвЂ™s first International Morse Code distress signal. Earlier, SOS standing classroom which aims to combat the menace was used as the maritime radio distress signal but of childhood obesity. In this experiment being from 1999 it was replaced by the Global Maritime conducted by the researchers of Baker IDI Heart and Distress Safety System. SOS is still recognized as a Diabetes Institute, a grade six class at this school has visual distress signal. been fitted with height-adjustable desks to allow the student to sit or stand. What is the composition of SOS? The SOS distress signal is a continuous sequence of The researchers will monitor the standing students three dits, three dahs, and three dits, all run together with an objective to know if being upright can without letter spacing. The three dits form the letter S, improve their health, fitness, learning and memory. and three dahs make the letter O, so вЂњSOSвЂќ became an Pupils will also be fitted with devices to measure easy way to remember the order of the dits and dahs. how long they spend sitting, with lesson plans SOS is the only 9-element signal in Morse code, revised to reduce the time students are idle. making it more easily identifiable, as no other symbol Why this experiment? uses more than 8 elements. As per scientists, prolonged sitting during the school hours poses health risk by contributing to What is the full form of SOS? obesity in students as during these hours children It must be noted that SOS is not an abbreviation and perform less physical activity. Earlier studies have there it does not stand for anything. Although some CrackingIAS.com Science & Technology + Defence & Environment + Health Issues - News 24 CrackingIAS.com shown students spent two-thirds of a school day sitting, and long hours of childhood sitting can contribute to the onset of such diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity. In this experiment in which students are required to attend school hours standing they will engage more muscles that are likely to be of great benefit for keeping the blood flowing throughout their body and reducing the level of fatigue. If researchers find this exercise beneficial for the cardiovascular health, learning and memory of the standing students compared to a traditional class, this pilot study would be expanded to a much larger trial to find if it can make an impact on lessons across Australia. *Beidou Satellite Navigation System (BDS): Beidou Satellite Navigation System (BDS) is a Chinese satellite navigation system. It consists of two separate satellite constellations: Beidou-1: A limited test system that has been operating since 2000 Beidou-2 : A full-scale global navigation system which is also known as COMPASS and is currently under construction as of January 2013 . Beidou-2 will have 35 satellites in its network. Objective of Beidou Satellite Navigation System (BDS): Initially, when the BDS was launched in 2011, it was serving only the government and military. However, over the past year the navigation system is being widely used for civilian purposes domestically. In China, around 80% of passenger buses and trucks use the BDS. Now China intends to expand its satellite navigation services to Asia-Pacific and to South and South-East Asia regions. *China makes 'giant leap' with Jade Rabbit moon rover landing: China's Jade Rabbit rover vehicle drove onto the moon's surface on Sunday after the first lunar soft landing in nearly four decades, a huge advance in the country's ambitious space programme. China is the 3rd country to complete a lunar rover mission after the United States and the then-Soviet Union -- a decade after it first sent an astronaut into space. IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 enclosed body structure with hard top and doors. After integrating suggestions and objections, transport minister Oscar Fernandes approved the proposal that under this category, battery-powered or electric fourwheelers will also be considered. Quadricycle Vehicle It is a four-wheel vehicle with a small engine to be positioned between a three-wheeler and a passenger car which does not meet the same safety and emission norms of regular passenger cars and have their own set of regulations. The vehicle will be of two types вЂ“ passenger carriers and goods carriers вЂ“ with different maximum kerb weights and length. It will be allowed to ply only on city roads as transport vehicles and not as personal vehicles. Passenger carriers will have a maximum weight of 450kg and a max length of 3 metres, while goods carriers will have a maximum weight of 500kg and a length of 3.7 metres. It will be permitted to carry a maximum of four passengers or a maximum weight of up to 500kg. Note: Kerb (Curb) weight is the total weight of an automobile with standard equipment, all necessary operating consumables (e.g., motor oil and coolant), and a full tank of fuel, while not loaded with either passengers or cargo. *MiG-21 FL to be officially replaced by Teja: IndiaвЂ™s first indigenous fighter aircraft test fired, off the coast of Goa, an infrared seeking air-to-air missile on December 7, which hit the target in a direct hit with precision and destroyed it. Revealing that Tejas will be battle ready by end of 2014. *World Pneumonia Day: 12 November 2013 is World Pneumonia Day. Pneumonia is the single largest cause of death in children under five last year alone, 1.1 million children under five died from pneumonia, the bulk of whom were less than 2 years old. *Ocean centre creates sea cages to breed fish: If National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) has its way, fishermen along the Tamil Nadu coast can sail just a few kilometres into the sea once in a few months and return with a catch of 10 tonnes. The institute has come up with technology to breed fish in huge cages. Having done pilot studies using cages of 9m diameter that yield up to 10 tonnes of fish, NIOT is ready with cages of up to 20m diameter. Plans are afoot to tie up with National Bank for *Government sanctioned Quadricycle as a new vehicle: The road transport and highways ministry sanctioned вЂњQuadricycleвЂќ as a new category of vehicle on Indian roads. These vehicles are safer than three-wheelers as they have four wheels with fully CrackingIAS.com Science & Technology + Defence & Environment + Health Issues - News 25 CrackingIAS.com Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) and nationalised banks for fishing communities and cooperative societies to take care of the cages. *37% of Western Ghats now no-go zone for industry: The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has finally notified nearly 60,000 sq km area of the Western Ghats across six states as Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA), making it a nogo zone where activities like mining, quarrying and setting up thermal power plants and other high polluting industries will be banned with immediate effect. Hydro-electric power projects and windmills will, however, be allowed in the ESA under strict green norms and monitoring. The ESA - roughly 37% (59,940 sq km) of the Western Ghats вЂ” has been earmarked on the basis of the recommendation of a committee, under the chairmanship of K Kasturirangan. The panel had identified the more or less contiguous area вЂ” roughly 37% of the Western Ghats вЂ” as natural landscape having high biological richness, low forest fragmentation and low population density. It also found that this area also has World Heritage sites and tiger and elephant corridors, making it to be a fit case for earmarked as ecologically sensitive area.Besides being a global biodiversity hotspot and treasure trove of varieties of flora and fauna, the Western Ghats, which extends over 1,500 km and traverses through six states, is the origin of Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery and a number of other rivers. *Michiaki Takahasi: Developer of chickenpox vaccine passed away: Dr. Michiaki Takahashi (85), a Japanese virologist, who developed a vaccine for the chicken pox virus passed away. Dr. Takahashi developed his vaccine by growing live but weakened versions of the virus in animal and human cells. The disease was not sourced by the vaccine, but the vaccine encouraged immune system to create antibodies. Thus, it fools the immune system into thinking that it has seen this disease before. Chickenpox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, a form of herpes. If a person contracts the virus, has an active infection and then recovers, the virus is not actually gone from the body. It can hide in nerve cells for years or decades, then emerge again to cause shingles, a painful condition that causes a skin rash and occurs mostly in adults. Chicken Pox Caused by the Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV) which is a form of herpes. Highly contagious disease that is spread via CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 contact with infected person. Symptoms: rashes in the body, fever, loss of appetite, headache and tiredness. ItвЂ™s most common in kids under age 12, but anyone can get chickenpox. PRELIMS 2014 Batch From January 18, 2014 вЂў Wide Extensive coverage. вЂў Special Focus on Science & Tech вЂ“ Current and Applications. вЂў Socio-Economic Issues. вЂў Free Entry to Test Batch. вЂў Focused attention. вЂў Exam oriented syllabus coverage. вЂў Highly potential questions to be covered. вЂў More than 70 questions in GS PRELIMS 2013. Science & Technology + Defence & Environment + Health Issues - News 26 CrackingIAS.com ECONOMICS - News * CCEA allowed RIL Higher Gas Prices in Lieu of Bank Guarantee: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) allowed Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) to sell natural gas at the revised doubled price from April, 2014 provided the firm gave a bank guarantee. The contractor would be allowed to sell D1 and D3 (fields) gas at revised prices from April 1, 2014. The sale would be permitted on the basis of a bank guarantee by RIL in favor of the government. The bank guarantee (around $9 billion )will be encashed if it is proved that the company stored gas or deliberately put down production at the main Dhirubhai-1 and 3 (D1 and D3) fields in the eastern offshore KG-D6 block. The new gas pricing formula will be applicable to all producers and all forms of gas including Coal-Bed Methane (CBM) and shale gas. * e-Pramaan would make SMSs a valid documentary proof: Soon, SMSs will be acceptable as вЂњdocumentary proofвЂќ for a variety of citizenservices ranging from making payments to registrations. The Department of electronics and information technologY (DeitY), a part of the ministry of Communication and Information Technology, is all set to flag off a new online authentication project. The Central Government launched a platform with about 241 applications for the public after completing pilot project of mobile governance with about 100 departments and testing proof of concepts. SMS authentication is part of the e-Pramaan project which has an overall outlay of Rs 23 crore; it will become reality by June 2014. The online authentication project of the Union government would enable SMSs to be used as documentary proof for various registrations and payments. The applications relate to services will cover areas viz. Right to Information (RTI), health, Aadhaar, education, directory services, etc. * EU bestows вЂњGSP-PlusвЂќ status on Pakistan: The European Union (EU) has given GSP-Plus status to Pakistan, a move that is likely to encourage the textile and other industries as it grants exporters duty-free access to 28 member nations of the EU group. Pakistan was in talks with several EU member countries to get the status. CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS November 2013 Under this, 75 Pakistani products would have duty-free access to European markets. The status will facilitate Pakistan to export products worth over $ 1 billion to international markets and the textile industry alone is expected to earn profits of more than Rs 1 trillion a year. Experts are of the view that the EU trade concessions will benefit PakistanвЂ™s textile and clothing industry, mainly by enabling its products to compete with those of regional competitors like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, which already have duty-free access to the blocвЂ™s markets. Currently, of PakistanвЂ™s total exports to the EU, textile and clothing makes over 50% which is worth $ 9.5 billion. EUвЂ™s GSP system The EUвЂ™s вЂњGeneralised Scheme of PreferencesвЂќ (GSP) allows developing country exporters to pay lower duties on their exports to the EU. This gives them vital access to EU markets and contributes to their economic growth. The вЂњGSP+вЂќ enhanced preferences mean full removal of tariffs on essentially the same product categories as those covered by the general arrangement. These are granted to countries which ratify and implement international conventions relating to human and labour rights, environment and good governance. The EU has modified its GSP system which will come into effect from January 1, 2014. 3 key arrangements GSP scheme The standard GSP scheme, which offers generous tariff cuts to developing nations. Practically, this means partial or entire removal of tariffs on 2/3rd of all product categories. The вЂњGSP+вЂќ enhanced preferences mean full removal of tariffs on essentially the same product categories as those covered by the general arrangement. These are granted to nations which ratify and implement international conventions relating to human and labour rights, environment and good governance. вЂњEverything but ArmsвЂќ (EBA) scheme for Least Developed Nations (LDCs), which grants dutyfree quota-free access to all products, except for arms and ammunitions. * Govt allowed CIL to pump gas from CBM mines: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) allowed state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) to pump methane gas trapped in coal beds of its existing mines. This move will open a new revenue stream for the worldвЂ™s largest coal miner and help unlock several mines that have remained out of bounds because of the presence of the explosive gas that make mining unsafe. Presently, rules and regulations prohibit mining firms from extracting Coal Bed Methane (CBM) ECONOMICS - News 27 CrackingIAS.com during mining as the policy does not allow for simultaneous extraction of methane (CBM) and coal. Only those companies that successfully bid for mines with CBM are allowed to explore and produce such gas. The government auctioned 33 CBM blocks since 2001. CIL holds at least 20% of the estimated 60 billion tonnes of coal resources in India. It has many coal mines in eight States that are estimated to have CBM reserves of 3.5-4 trillion cubic feet. * RBI outlines action plan to tackle NPAs; discussion paper open for public comments: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) outlined a corrective action plan to minimize rising Non-performing assets (NPAs). The plan include three steps:To motivate early identification of problem cases. To restructure the accounts timely , which are considered to be viable, and Banks must take prompt actions for recovery or sale of unviable accounts. As per the RBI discussion paper, вЂњEarly recognition of Financial Distress, Prompt Steps for Resolution and Fair Recovery for Lenders: Framework for Revitalizing Distressed Assets in the EconomyвЂќ, which is open for public comments till January 1, 2014, it would set up a Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) to collect, store, and disseminate credit data to lenders. The credit information will include all types of exposures as defined under RBI Circular on exposure norms, and will also include data on lendersвЂ™ investments in bonds/debentures issued by the borrower/obligor. Banks will have to furnish credit information to CRILC on all their borrowers having aggregate fund-based and non-fund based exposure of Rs.5 crore and above. On the asset sales front, the RBI has shown readiness in allowing a lender to spread any loss over two years provided the loss is fully disclosed and allowing leverage buyouts by specialized entities. It also suggests takeout financing/refinancing possible over a longer period and not construing it as restructuring. RBI also proposed more expensive future borrowings for borrowers who do not cooperate with lenders in resolution. Non-performing Assets (NPA) Any asset, including a leasePDFd asset, becomes a non performing when it ceases to generate income for the bank are called Non Performing Assets or Bad loans. RBI proposed these rules to help banks to recover bad debts in an effort to ease the financial stress on banks as the economy slows. This discussion CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS November 2013 comes as there is fear of bad loans to gain a record high of around Rs. 2.9 trillion by the end of the fiscal or 4.5 per cent of the total banking assets. * RBI: Inflation linked bonds for sale from December 23, 2013: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will issue Inflation Indexed National Savings Securities Cumulative (IINSS-C) bonds (or inflation linked bonds) for retail investors by opening the subscription on December 23, 2013 and close it on December 31, 2013. Objective: The move will help to protect retail investors from price rise. The IINSS-C bonds will offer investors a return i.e. 1.5% more than inflation based on the consumer price index. Interest will be compounded half yearly, enhancing effective yield on investments. Inflation linked bonds The limit for investment per applicant per annum: Rs 5,000 вЂ“ Rs 5 lakh. Eligibility for subscription: Individuals, Hindu Undivided Family, charitable institutions and universities. The interest rate on these bonds would be linked to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The interest rate would comprise two parts вЂ” a fixed rate of 1.5% per annum and inflation rate based on CPI with a lag of three months. It would be compounded on the principal on half-yearly basis and paid at the time of maturity. For senior citizens (65 years and above of age), early repurchase will be allowed after one year from date of issue and other investors can redeem them after three years but with penalty of 50 per cent of the last coupon paid. RBI will act as a central depository, as these securities will be issued in the form of Bonds Ledger Account (BLA) and held with RBI. Distribution or sale of bonds would be through banks: SBI, nationalized banks and three private banks HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank and Stock Holding Corporation of India. *Apple is world's most valuable brand: Global technology major Apple is the world's most valuable brand followed by Microsoft, Coca-Cola, IBM and Google, according to Forbes. Apple has topped the 'World's Most Valuable List' compiled by 'Forbes' magazine with a brand value of $104.3 billion, nearly double than the other technology major Microsoft which has a brand value of $56.7 billion. *Implementation of MGNREGA, 2005: The Standing Committee on Rural Development (Chair: Sumitra Mahajan) submitted its report on the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National ECONOMICS - News 28 CrackingIAS.com Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA) on August 14, 2013. The MGNREGA was enacted in 2005 to guarantee 100 days of employment per year to rural households. The Committee highlighted several achievements of the MGNREGA in the seven years of its implementation; especially ensuring livelihoods for people in rural areas, large scale participation of women, SCs/STs and other traditionally marginalised sections of society, increasing the wage rate in rural areas, strengthening the rural economy through the creation of assets, facilitating sustainable development and strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) like the gram sabha by involving them in planning and monitoring of the scheme. However, the Committee found several issues with the implementation of the scheme including fabrication of job cards, delay in payment of wages, non payment of unemployment allowances, a large number of incomplete works, poor quality of assets created, several instances of malpractices and corruption, and insufficient involvement of PRIs. The Committee made the following recommendations, based on its findings: Fabrication of Job cards: Offences such as missing entries in the job cards and unlawful possession of job cards with elected PRI representatives and MGNREGA functionaries should be made a punishable offence under the Act. Increase awareness among Women: Since studies have shown that the income of female workers raises the standard of living of their households to a greater extent than their male counterparts, the participation of women must be increased through raising awareness and forming self help groups. Needs of Disabled: Special works must be identified, meeting the specific needs of disabled people. Special job cards must be issued and personnel must be employed to ensure the participation of persons with disabilities. Issues related to finance: The Department of Rural Development must analyse poor utilisation of funds and take steps to bridge the gap between outcome and outlay. In addition, it should initiate action against officers found guilty of misappropriating funds under MGNREGA. Dated receipts for demanded work should be issued so that workers can claim unemployment allowance. Funds for unemployment allowance CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS November 2013 should be met by the central government. Increase the role of States and PRIвЂ™s: Since states are at various stages of socio-economic development, they may have varied requirements for development and therefore, state governments should be allowed to undertake works that are pertinent to their context. Training and capacity building of elected representatives and other functionaries of PRIs must be done regularly. Address the quality of work: There should be more emphasis on skilled and semi-skilled work under MGNREGA, possibly through greater coordination with the National Rural Livelihoods Mission. The Committee recommends convergence with other schemes such as the National Literacy Mission and Mid Day Meal Scheme. Audit and Accountability: Frequency of monitoring by National Level Monitors should increase and appropriate measures should be taken based on their recommendations. Additionally, social audits must mandatorily be held every 6 months. A nodal officer should be designated to ensure this. *Mr. Sidharth Birla took charge as President of FICCI: Mr. Sidharth Birla, Chairman of Xpro India Limited took the charge as the President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on December 21, 2013. He succeeded the HSBC India Country Head Naina Lal Kidwai. Chairperson and MD of Bharat Hotels, Jyotsna Suri elected as Senior Vice-President. Chairman of Ambuja Neotia group, Harshavardhan Neotia elected as Vice-President of FICCI. *Nation gets its first All-Women bank- BMB:As promised in the Budget 2013-2014,the Bharathiya Mahila Bank was inaugurated in India recently. The All-Women bank has been established to cater to the needs of the women. Only 26% of Women in India have a bank account and the percapita credit they obtain from bank is also 80% less than Men. This is because they are not able to produce collateral to loans as the property is invariably held in the name of the father, husband or son. This leads to gender bias in banking. The BMB will have its branches initially at: Mumbai, Kolkota, Chennai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Lucknow,and Guwahati. It will be headquartered in New Delhi and would be headed by Usha Ananthasubramanian. The bank is set to open 25 branches this fiscal. *Rs. 852.57 Crore Allocated for North-East States under RKVY: Rs. 852.57 crore allocated for North ECONOMICS - News 29 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS East States under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. Assam (Rs. 440.03 crore) has been allocated highest amount followed by Mizoram (Rs. 132.01 crore). The state wise fund allocation to the north eastern States is given below: S. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Name of State Arunachal Pradesh Assam Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Sikkim Tripura Total Allocation (201314) Rs. crore 32.30 440.53 40.96 60.89 132.01 51.90 20.20 74.28 852.57 Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) aims at achieving 4% annual growth in agriculture sector by ensuring holistic development of agriculture and allied sectors. To achieve this end, the States have been given complete flexibility to choose projects for achieving the desired growth in these sectors. Under this scheme Government of India does not fix targets, rather gives complete autonomy to state to customize interventions as per their requirements. *SBI to act as lead bank for four newly-formed Meghalaya districts: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) designated SBI to act as the lead bank in four newly constructed districts in Meghalaya. The central bank also assigned State Bank of India (SBI), the district working codes for the purpose of Basic Statistical Returns (BSR) reporting. The four new districts of Meghalaya are North Garo Hills, East Jaintia Hills, South West Khasi Hills and South West Garo Hills. Lead Bank Scheme (LBS) The RBI introduced вЂ�Lead Bank SchemeвЂ™ in 1969, based on the recommendations of the Gadgil Study Group. The basic idea was to have an вЂњarea approachвЂќ for targeted and focused banking. Under the Scheme, each district had been assigned to different banks (public and private) to act as a consortium leader to coordinate the efforts of banks in the district particularly in matters like branch expansion and credit planning. The Lead Bank was to act as a consortium leader for coordinating the efforts of all credit institutions in each of the allotted districts for expansion of branch banking facilities and for meeting the credit needs of the rural economy. *SEBI made fund-raising easier for corporate India and tightened noose on fraudsters: In order to raise funds easier for companies through genuine CrackingIAS.com November 2013 equity or debt offers, the market regulator SEBI approved new norms for its search and seizure operations, settlement proceedings, refund to investors and crackdown on illicit money-pooling schemes. The measures of new norms:To consider the Financial Portfolio Investors (FPIs) similar to Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) on tax purposes. To raise funds through Initial Public Offer (IPO) of equity shares and allowed companies to file shelf prospectus for debt offers that would be valid for multiple offers within a year. To ensure faster refund of money to investors, essential checks are put in place to avoid any misuse of its newly granted powers with regard to conduct of search and seizure of fraudsters and market manipulators. And detailed regulations have also been put in place for settlement of administrative and civil proceedings in a transparent manner, while ensuring that serious offences like insider trading are kept out of settlement window. These decisions are related to the promulgation of an ordinance by the government for grant of greater powers to SEBI to check mushrooming of illegal money-pooling schemes across the country and to take strict actions against fraudsters and market manipulators. *SEBI: Foreign portfolio investors will be treated on par with FIIs on tax issues: In consultation with the Finance Ministry, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) decided to treat the three categories of Financial Portfolio Investors (FPIs) uniformly for tax purposes. In other words, the new rule aims to bring all foreign investors under a common framework called the SEBI (Foreign Portfolio Investors) Regulations, 2013. The Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), their sub-accounts and Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs) will soon be merged into a single and new investor class, called FPIs. As per their risk profiles, FPIs are divided into three categories. These are as follows:Category I- the lowest risk entities comprises foreign government and government-related foreign investors. Category II вЂ“ regulated entities such as university funds, university-related endowments and pension funds, etc. Category III вЂ“ other entities viz. Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs), etc. Stock market regulator SEBI received a clear note from the Department of Economic Affairs in the Finance Ministry to consider the FPIs similar to Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) on tax purposes. The proposal was made by the K M ECONOMICS - News 30 CrackingIAS.com Chandrashekhar panel that reviewed various classes of foreign investors and suggested to unify foreign investment norms met for the first time. The clarity on tax treatment of FPIs is aimed at encouraging inflows into the domestic equity and debt markets. The Government of India appointed MS USHA SANGWAN as the first woman managing director of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and Vijay Kumar Sharma as an MD and chief executive officer of LIC Housing Finance. Other than uniform tax zone for FPIs, the SEBI Made grading of Initial Public Offering (IPO) voluntary to boost the dormant primary market. Allowed companies to issue debt through a shelf filing, along with regulations empowered it to monitor investorsвЂ™ call records and conduct searches at companies suspected of wrongdoing. Note: Under the former system, tax treatment for FIIs was different from that for sub-accounts and QFIs. Beneath the new FPI norms, all categories of FPIs would be given similar tax treatment as currently available to FIIs. *Service Tax revenue grew over 300 times in past two decades: As per official data, the finance ministry has earned revenue of about Rs 1.32 lakh crore in 2012-13 (provisional figures) compared to Rs 407 crore in 1994-95. Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme (VCES) The Finance Ministry is implementing VCES which allows a service tax defaulter to pay dues without any penalty or late payment charges. Under VCES, an individual may make a declaration to the designated authority on or before December 31, 2013. It has come to the notice of the government that of the 17 lakh people who voluntarily registered themselves as service tax providers only 7 lakh actually paid service tax, the remaining 10 lakh did not. Though these people have charged the service tax from their customers but have not These nonpayers are classified as no-filers or stop-filers. Nofilers are those who have never filed service tax whereas stop- filers are those who have paid for a year or two but later stopped filing service tax. In order to make these evaders pay the due service tax the government has chosen VCES path rather than forcing them through punitive action. The ministry has set an indirect tax collection target of Rs 5.65 lakh crore for 2013-14, through customs, excise and service tax. That figure is up from the Rs 4.73 lakh crore collected in the fiscal 2012-13. CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS November 2013 PRELIMS 2014 TEST SERIES starts from January 19, 2014 . Online test available . Classroom test @ Chennai. . Highly Potential questions . 70+ QUESTIONS IN Prelims Paper 1 based on our tests and books and class notes. Maintaining same trends since 2007 ECONOMICS - News 31 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS SPORTS & AWARDS *PM condoles the passing away of Sri Lankan economist Gamani Corea: Gamani Corea was a Sri Lankan economist, civil servant and diplomat.He was also the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and UnderSecretary-General of the United Nations from 1974 to 1984. *Pakistani folk singer Reshma: Legendary Pakistani folk singer Reshma of the Lumbi Judai fame died in Lahore recently. She was also very popular in India. In January 2006, she was one of the passengers on the inaugural Lahore-Amritsar bus, the first such service linking both parts of the Punjab since 1947. *Raj Mukherjee, young Indian-American, wins New Jersey State Assembly election: Raj Mukherjee, 29 year old Indian- American and a democratic nominee, won the State Assembly polls in New Jersey, becoming one of the youngest to be elected to the house. *Rajasthani author Detha dead: Vijaydan Detha, also known as Bijji, was a noted Rajasthani folk writer. He was also the recipient of the Padma Shri award and the Sahitya academy award. *Prestigious India Pride Award for IRCON: Another significant achievement, IRCON International Limited, the countryвЂ™s largest construction, Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) of Ministry of Railways, has been awarded the prestigious India Pride Awards for Excellence in Central PSUs in India Image Enhancement. The Award was received by Shri Mohan Tiwari, CMD, IRCON, from Dr. M.M. Pallam Raju, Union Minister for Human Resources Development. The Award was instituted by Dainik Bhaskar group in 2009 to honour the PSUs in their areas of excellence. *Javed Akthar, Mridula Garg chosen for Sahitya Akademi Awards: Bollywood lyricist-scriptwriter Javed Akhtar, Hindi novelist Mridula Garg and renowned Bengali poet Subodh Sarkar are among those selected for this year's Sahitya Akademi Award. CrackingIAS.com NOVEMBER 2013 Akhtar has been chosen for "Lava", his compilation of 55 Urdu poems. Mridula Garg for (Hindi- Miljul Man) and Subodh Sarkar for (Bengali- Dwaipayan Hrader Dhare) novel. *Ashwin to get Polly Umrigar Award at BCCI awards function: Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will receive the Polly Umrigar Award from the BCCI for being IndiaвЂ™s best international cricketer of the year 2012-13. *Indian Railways Bags Highest Ever 22 National Energy Conservation Awards for the Year 2013: The President Shri Pranab Mukherjee gave away National Energy Conservation Awards-2013 at a function in New Delhi today. Indian Railways bagged 22 National Energy Conservation awards out of total awards of 112 during 2013 from 829 applicants which is the highest by any organisation. Ministry of Power has instituted вЂњNational Energy Conservation AwardвЂќ which is given on вЂњNational Energy Conservation DayвЂќ on 14th December every year. *India win Women's Kabaddi World Cup: India clinched the women's Kabaddi World Cup championship for the third time in a row, defeating debutant New Zealand 49-21 in the summit clash played at Guru Gobind Singh sports complex in Jalandhar. *Malala awarded 2013 UN Human Rights Prize: Pakistani teenage activist Malala Yousafzai, who survived a Taliban assassination attempt last year, has been awarded the 2013 UN Human Rights Prize, an honour previously given to icons like late Nelson Mandela in recognition of outstanding achievement in human rights. The prize is awarded every five years and has previously been bestowed on Amnesty International and former US president Jimmy Carter. *вЂ�BeatrizвЂ™s WarвЂ™ from East Timor bags вЂ�Golden PeacockвЂ™ at IFFI 2013: East Timor film вЂ�BeatrizвЂ™s WarвЂ™ bagged Golden Peacock award for Best Film at the closing ceremony of 44th International Film Festival of India. The film, directed by Bety Reis and Luigi Acquisto, is a passionate story of one womanвЂ™s conviction to remain true to the man she loves. The SPORTS & AWARDS - News 32 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS award carries a Golden Peacock, a certificate and a Cash Prize of Rs. 40 lakh. *Malala Yousafzai declared Britain's most influential Asian: Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager shot in the head by the Taliban for campaigning for girls' education, has been named as Britain's most influential Asian by a weekly publication. At the 'GG2 (Garavi Gujarat2) Leadership Awards 2013' on 27th November 2013, Malala, along Kainat Riaz and Shazia Ramzan, who were shot and wounded by the Taliban in Swat Valley last year, were chosen for the GG2 Hammer Award, for their bravery. *Sachin Tendulkar becomes UNICEF's brand ambassador for South Asia: Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar today became UNICEF's first brand ambassador for South Asia and is all set to work in promoting hygiene and sanitation in the region. *Mexico to give equality prize to Pakistan's Malala: Mexico will award its 2013 International Prize for Equality and Non-Discrimination to Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager shot by the Taliban for championing girls' rights to education. *Lifetime achievement award to JIRI Menzel at 44TH Goa Film Festival: One of the best known representatives of the 'New Wave Czech Cinema', Jiri Menzel will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 44th edition of IFFI. Jiri Menzel has made his mark on the cultural history of his native Czech Republic as a film auteur, theatre director and actor. His films are cherished for their lyrical realism and stylistic boldness. The genteel humanism and comic tone of his work has earned him love and acclaim of film aficionados across the globe. *Angela Merkel to get 2013 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace: German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be awarded the coveted Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2013 with an international jury headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh choosing her. The announcement was made by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust which said that the award was being given to 59-year-old Merkel for her CrackingIAS.com NOVEMBER 2013 exemplary leadership in Europe and the world during the financial crisis and her stewardship of German economic growth. The trust said the prize was being given to the German leader because of the work done by her for promotion of global economic stability, her commitment to universal peace and disarmament and her leadership role in strengthening productive and mutually beneficial relations with India and other developing countries. *Ratan Tata elected to board of US think tank: Top Indian industrialist Ratan Tata has returned as a board member of East West Centre, a prominent American think tank. Tata, 75, is returning to the board and has worked with the organisation several times between 1993 and 2004. East West Centre also elected Takeshi Niinami, the CEO of Japan's Lawson Inc. *Waheeda Rehman to be Honoured with Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year at IFFI 2013: Renowned actress Waheeda Rehman was conferred with the Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year at the International Film Festival of India 2013 in Panjim, Goa. *Abdulla Yameen won the Maldives presidential election: Abdulla Yameen won the Maldives presidential election run-off on 16th November 2013, the spokesman for the outgoing leader said, beating favourite Mohamed Nasheed in a close-run contest that voters hope will end nearly two years of political turmoil. *Bharat Ratna for Prof CNR Rao and Sachin Tendulkar: The Government has decided to confer, the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award on eminent scientist Prof C.N.R.Rao and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar. Prof. C.N.R. Rao is an eminent scientist and a well recognized international authority on solid state and materials chemistry. He has published over 1,400 research papers and 45 books. Prof. Rao`s contributions have been recognized by most major scientific academies around the world through conferment of memberships and fellowships. He has been honoured with several national and SPORTS & AWARDS - News 33 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS international awards. *CSIR Scientist Bags Infosys Prize 2013: The Infosys Prize 2013 in Life Sciences is awarded to Dr. Rajesh S. Gokhale, Director, CSIR-Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology, for his work in the field of lipid metabolism in tubercle bacilli. Each year two million people are infected and die of tuberculosis (TB) and there will be 10 million new patients every year. Dr. Gokhale discovered biochemical networks and new paradigms necessary for the synthesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) cell envelope coat that makes these bacteria escape host immune systems. *Ms Universe: Ms Gabriela Isler: Ms Gabriela Isler, a 25-year-old television presenter and accomplished flamenco dancer from Venezuela, has been crowned Miss Universe 2013 at a grand finale after beating 85 contestants. *India to host 2018 hockey World Cup: India has been awarded the 2018 menвЂ™s hockey World Cup, the second time in a span of eight years the country will be hosting the event having successfully organised the previous edition three years ago. *Polio worker from India honoured with UN award: A polio worker from Bihar has been honoured with a prestigious UN Foundation award for her work in protecting children from the disease. Martha Dodray, a front-line polio worker who is "performing heroic work in protecting children from this crippling disease" was honoured at the GlobalLeadership Awards Dinner 2013 in New York on Thursday hosted by the UN Foundation and the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA). Besides Dodray,those honoured for advancing UN causes are Pakistan girls' education activist Malala Yousafzai, US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Powerfor her fierce commitment to human rights, front-line polio workers like Dodray, GE Africa, which is a leader in improving health care for women and children through the SecretaryGeneral's Every Woman Every Child movement and '10x10', the filmmakers who created 'Girl Rising' and are trailblazers in raising awareness of the importance of girls' education. CrackingIAS.com NOVEMBER 2013 Dodray, who hails from Darbhanga, said she was delighted and felt honoured to receive the award at such a global stage. *Heena Sidhu wins pistol gold in World Cup shooting: Woman shooter Heena Sidhu created history by becoming the first pistol exponent from India to win a gold medal at the ISSF World Cup finals in Munich, Germany. *Deepika Kumari clinches 34th National Archery Championship: Screenshot_2Ace archer Deepika Kumari created history by clinching her sixth consecutive title at the 34th National Archery Championships held at JRD Tata Stadium, Jamshedpur. With this achievement, Deepika now holds more individual titles at the national meet than Dola Banerjee, who won 5 national titles. However, the record of winning most individual titles is still held by Bengal archer Krishna Ghatak, with seven consecutive titles between 1975 and 1982. *Andhra Pradesh High Court directs 2 Telugu actors to return Padma Shri: The Andhra Pradesh High Court directed to Telugu actors Mohan Babu and Brahmanandam Kanneganti to surrender Padam Shri to the President of India, as they allegedly misused it. The HC gave its decision on the petition filed by the BJP senior leader N Indraseena Reddy. Why High Court directed Telgu actors to return Padam Shri? Tollywood actor-producer Mohan Babu bestowed the award in 2007 and comedian Brahmanandam in 2009, in acknowledgment of their services to the Telugu film industry. They both used the title вЂ�Padma ShriвЂ™ before their names for promoting the Telugu feature film вЂњDenikaina ReadyвЂќ (вЂ�Ready for AnythingвЂ™, produced by Mr. Mohan Babu and starring his son Vishnu). The petitioner argued that as per the Article 18(1) of the Constitution, the national awards does not amount to a title and cannot be used as suffixes or prefixes. Aftermath, the Court took the serious note of the actors for prefixing the name of the award to their names in the credits of the Telugu movie that was released in 2012. And raised objection for using вЂ�Padma ShriвЂ™ in SPORTS & AWARDS - News 34 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS title cards in a wrong way (as if it was their surname) and delivered judgment in the petitionerвЂ™s favour. This will be a lesson for the actors who misuse the honorary award. Padma Awards Padma Awards, the countryвЂ™s highest civilian awards, are conferred in three Categories viz. Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in all disciplines/ fields of activities, viz. art, social work, Public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature And education, sports, civil service, etc. вЂ�Padma VibhushanвЂ™ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; вЂ�Padma BhushanвЂ™ for distinguished service of high order and вЂ�Padma ShriвЂ™ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. The Awards are conferred by the President of India at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhawan sometime around March/ April. * SANDEEP ACHARYA, who won the second season of Indian Idol in 2006, passed away at Gurgaon. He was suffering from jaundice and is survived by his wife and a one-month-old daughter. The playback singer belonged to Bikaner, Rajasthan. * вЂњUnbreakableвЂќ: The autobiography of Mary Kom unveiled: Mary Kom, the legendary boxer from North East wrote her autobiography titled вЂњUnbreakableвЂќ. The book was inaugurated by Bollywood Megastar Amitabh Bachchan at Mumbai. Mary decided to pen down her lifeвЂ™s battles, so that she could inspire and motivate others to never loose hope and fight for their dream. The autobiography details her rise to the top from a modest background; the book beautifully brings out her long lasting spirit and is an inspirational story for everyone, especially for women. About Mary Kom Five-time World Boxing champion, and the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six world championships. First Indian women boxer to qualify and win a bronze medal at the London Olympics in the flyweight (51 kg) category. CrackingIAS.com NOVEMBER 2013 Won lots of awards like Padma Bhushan (2013), Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award (2009), Padma Shree (2006), Arjuna Award (2003), etc. Appointed the International Boxing AssociationвЂ™s Ambassador for WomenвЂ™s Boxing in 2009. *Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen is new chess champion: Norwegian chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen has become the world champion, beating Indian title holder Viswanathan Anand. *Vettel registers record eighth win in a row: Red BullвЂ™s quadruple World champion Sebastian Vettel won the US Grand Prix on Sunday to become the first Formula One driver to take eight consecutive victories in a single season. Prelims 2014 вЂ“ Batch From January 18, 2014 вЂў Wide Extensive coverage. вЂў Special Focus on Science & Tech вЂ“ Current and Applications. вЂў Socio-Economic Issues. вЂў Free Entry to Test Batch. вЂў Focused attention. вЂў Exam oriented syllabus coverage. вЂў Highly potential questions to be covered. вЂў More than 70 questions in GS PRELIMS 2013. SPORTS & AWARDS - News 35 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS SOCIAL ISSUES & DEVELOPMENT - News NOVEMBER 2013 (Department of Pharmaceuticals), Government of India in November, 2008, in collaboration with the *International day for elimination of violence against women: The United Nations General Assembly has designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The premise of the day is to raise awareness of the fact that women around the world are subject to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence; furthermore, one of the aims of the day is to highlight that the scale and true nature of the issue State Governments, as a direct market intervention strategy. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 19th November 2013 inaugurated the first women commercial bank of the country, the Bharatiya Mahila Bank. It's headquarter will be at Delhi. Dr. Singh also simultaneously inaugurated branches of the bank in Chennai, Bangalore, Guwahati, Kolkata, Lucknow and Ahmedabad. The medicines for the campaign are supplied by is often hidden. the Central Pharma PSU (CPSUs) under the *PMRDF will address the challenge of Poverty Department of Pharmaceuticals. head on-Jairam: The Prime MinisterвЂ™s Rural Under this campaign, it was proposed to open, Development Fellowship (PMRDF) is an initiative of initially, at least one store in each district of the the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) where country. the focus is to reduce poverty and improve the lives of people in rural India. PMRD Fellowship is being *Vatsalya mela 2013: The Mela is an outreach implemented programme which is intended to give necessary boost in collaboration with State to the existing schemes and programmes of the Governments. The Fellowship is a short term work opportunity for young women and men who Ministry of Women to enhance the awareness to the common people. already possess academic and/or professional The focus of the Vatsalya Mela-2013 is on three expertise. themes- Ahimsa Messenger, Protection of PMRD Fellowship was launched in September Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) and 2011 and the first batch of Fellows joined in Declining Child Sex Ratio. June 2012. Fellows were selected through a highly competitive process conducted by Tata Institute of *CCEA approves continuation of National Scheme Social Sciences (TISS). of Welfare for fishermen in 12th Plan: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs ( CCEA) on *Jan Aushadi campaign: In order to provide relief Thursday approved the central sector to the common man in the area of healthcare, a "National Scheme of Welfare of Fishermen" during countrywide campaign for ensuring availability of the 12th Plan. generic medicines at affordable prices to all, in the The scheme has been formulated by the Department name of вЂњJan Aushadi CampaignвЂќ was launched of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers Ministry of Agriculture and is an ongoing scheme. KITE4education.com SOCIAL ISSUES & DEVELOPMENT - News scheme 36 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 service delivery at the doorstep of citizens. The objectives of the scheme are: Provision of basic amenities like drinking water Initially around 45 thousand people will be trained and sanitation in fishers' villages under the program. Better living standards for fishers and their Beneath the project, economically weaker sections families, of the society including rural SC, ST and women Social security for active fishers and their will receive IT training. dependants, and It will make at least one individual in every Economic Security. household e-literate. During the Twelfth Plan period, the following The project will improve the quality of life of benefits have been targeted for the fisherman people, especially those living in rural India and across the country: (i) additional 4600 houses per will allow them to actively participate in year, (ii) coverage of 3.5 lakh fishers under knowledge based activities and also access Saving-cum-Relief every year; (iii) an additional financial, social and government services by using coverage of 3 lakh fishermen under Group Internet. Accident Insurance has been set; (iv) covering 6400 fishermen per year under Training and Extension. The scheme will be implemented within an outlay of Rs 640 crore including a Central outlay of Rs. 320 crore for the remaining part of the 12th Plan. The scheme has following components:1) Group Accident Insurance for active fishermen 2) Development of model fishermen village 3) III)Saving-cum-Relief &Training and Extension. *e-Inclusion: IT Training for Rural Sc/St/Women BeneficiariesвЂ™ Project Launched: The Government of India launched e-inclusion project to make people e-literate. On this occasion, Minister of Communication & IT, Mr. Kabil Sibal released the handbook titled вЂ�e-Literacy: Towards Empowering Rural IndiaвЂ™ bearing profiles of 50 beneficiaries who have successfully undertaken the basic IT training programme under the E-Inclusion project. e-Inclusion project ItвЂ™s the initiative under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) for creating a transparent and accountable governance KITE4education.com model for enabling PRELIMS 2014 TEST SERIES starts from January 19, 2014 . Online test available . Classroom test @ Chennai. . Highly Potential questions . 70+ QUESTIONS IN Prelims Paper 1 based on our tests and books and class notes. Maintaining same trends since 2007 SOCIAL ISSUES & DEVELOPMENT - News 37 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS POLITICAL ISSUES & HUMAN RIGHTS - News *Chief Justice inaugurates National Lok Adalat:In a mammoth exercise to settle 39 lakh pending cases, Supreme Court Chief Justice P Sathasivam RECENTLY inaugurated a day-long National Lok Adalat where for the first time cases are being taken up simultaneously all over the country for settlement. The Lok Adalats are taking place in the Supreme Court, 24 high courts and all the district courts of the country. Inaugurating the National Lok Adalat, Chief Justice Sathasivam said that the main object of the adalat was to ensure speedy justice to the litigants and to make sure that there were no further appeals. Resolution of disputes through the Lok Adalat is cost-effective and providing easy access to justice. What is вЂ�utmost good faithвЂ™ or вЂ�uberrimae fideiвЂ™ principle?. Under the newly accepted principle, a person filing a PIL to question the credentials of another- a public authority or a politicial- must first prove his own and demonstrate before the court that he has no ulterior motives and trust can be reposed on the petitioner. Shri Justice Ajit Prakash Shah has taken over as the new Chairman of the 20th Law Commission of India. * Principle of вЂ�utmost good faithвЂ™ to be litmus test for PIL- SC: The principle of "utmost good faith" вЂ” a litmus test in insurance business and trust KITE4education.com NOVEMBER 2013 jurisprudence вЂ” will be the first point of scrutiny of the credentials of those who file public interest litigations (PILs), the SC has ruled. The move is a measure to curb the proliferation of petitions with vested interests. * Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill passed - Highlights: Following are some important features of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011, passed by Parliament. Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayukta at the level of the states. Lokpal will consist of a chairperson and a maximum of eight members, of which 50 per cent shall be judicial members. 50 per cent of members of Lokpal shall be from SC/ST/OBCs, minorities and women. The selection of chairperson and members of Lokpal shall be through a selection committee consisting of Prime Minister, Speaker of Lok Sabha, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Chief Justice of India or a sitting Supreme Court judge nominated by CJI, eminent jurist to be nominated by the President of India on the basis of recommendations of the first four members of the selection committee. Prime Minister has been brought under the purview of the Lokpal. LokpalвЂ™s jurisdiction will cover all categories of public servants. All entities receiving donations from foreign source in the context of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) in excess of Rs 10 lakh per year are brought under the jurisdiction of Lokpal. Provides adequate protection for honest and upright public servants. Lokpal will have power of superintendence and direction over any investigation agency including CBI for cases referred to them by Lokpal. A high powered committee chaired by the Prime Minister will recommend selection of the Director, CBI. Directorate of Prosecution headed by a Director of Prosecution under the overall control of Director. The appointment of the Director of Prosecution, CBI on the recommendation of the Central Vigilance Commission. Transfer of officers of CBI investigating cases referred by Lokpal with the approval of Lokpal. The bill also incorporates provisions for attachment and confiscation of property acquired by corrupt means, even while prosecution is pending. The bill lays down clear time lines for preliminary enquiry and investigation and trial and towards this end, the bill provides for setting up of special courts. A mandate for setting up of the institution of Lokayukta through enactment of a law by the State Legislature within a period of 365 days from the date of commencement of the Act. POLITICAL ISSUES, HUMAN RIGHTS & GOVERNANCE - News 38 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 TRANS FATS Just over 100 years after the advent of trans fats, the FDA has announced that it's taking the first steps toward banning them outright, removing them from the "generally safe to eat list" and out of the American food supply. It's about time. Trans-fats seemed like such a good idea at the time. Better tasting, better looking, less greasy foods that would last far longer on store shelves, all thanks to the miracle process of hydrogenation and the delicious little trans fats that it produced. At the time, though, we had no clue about the deleterious effects this wonder-ingredient would have on our arteries and cholesterol levels. So what exactly is trans fat? Trans fat is most commonly found in partially hydrogenated oils. They're the result of the hydrogenation process-bubbling hydrogen through hot vegetable oil to it into a solid at room temperature. The hydrogenation process essentially adds hydrogen to "saturate" unsaturated fat, and break apart its double carbon bonds. Trans fat has been used in a wide variety of packaged food products including margarine, canned frosting, packaged cookies and cakes, frozen dinners. Since the hydrogenation process made the oil less likely to spoil, trans fats were added to anything that needed to sit on a store shelf for more than three weeks and still be edible. How is it different from saturated and unsaturated fat? Let's take it from the top. You have two types of cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and lowdensity lipoprotein (LDL). LDL is the "bad cholesterol" because it promotes the formation of plaque on your arterial walls. Conversely, HDL is considered the "good cholesterol" because as it floats merrily through your blood stream, it scrapes LDL and plaque off of the walls of your arteries, lowering your risk of heart disease. Both saturated and unsaturated fat occur naturally in almost every food we eat. Unsaturated fat is typically found in vegetables, avocado, and nuts and are easily identifiable by the presence of double chemical bonds between the carbon atoms. It makes your good cholesterol go up! Saturated fats, on the other hand, are found primarily in meat, dairy, and processed foods, and are held together solely by single bonds. They raise your bad cholesterol, which is why you're so often encouraged to enjoy that bacon and bacon sandwich in moderation. Saturated fat is bad, yes. But trans fat is even worse. Not only does it increase your LDL cholesterol levels at a far higher rate than either saturated or unsaturated fat, it simultaneously lowers your HDL. UNFCCC & CLIMATE TALKS The United nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international environmental treaty, under the auspices of the United nations Environmental programme(UNEP). It was the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio Di Janeiro in 1992. The objective of the convention is to stabilize greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interferences with the climate system. CrackingIAS.com ARTICLES вЂ“ MONTHLY FOCUS 39 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 The UNFCCC is a legally non-binding convention. But it sets legally binding protocols with mandatory emission limits. Conference of Parties (COP) to the Convention: The 194 parties to the convention are classified into 3 groups: Annex 1 countries: They are the industrialised countries and the economies in transition that have ratified the protocol and have agreed to reduce the GHG to that of the pre-1990 level. Annex 2 countries: They are a sub-group of annex 1 countries and pay for the costs for development of the developing countries. The OECD members come under this group. Non-Annex 1 countries: These are the developing countries, who need not take mandatory emission targets. They get funding and tech from the developed countries to ensure cleaner economic development. India comes under this group. KYOTO PROTOCOL: It is a legally binding, GHG emission-reduction protocol, under the UNFCCC, adopted in 1997 and came into force in 2005. The objective of the protocol is to reduce the 6 GHG вЂ“ carbon- dioxide, sulphur hexafluoride, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluro carbon and perfluro carbon- to 5.2% from that of the 1990 level within the first commitment period of 2008-2012.. The limits do not include the emissions from international aviation and shipping. The protocol allows for several flexible mechanisms or emissions reduction like- Clean development mechanism, Joint Implementation and Emissions trading. India has ratified the Kyoto protocol. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PREVIOUS CLIMATE TALKS: Cancun summit in 2010(COP 16): To establish a fund called Green Climate Fund (GCF) of 100bn$ by 2020 for funding the developing countries to address the climate change. Parties agreed to reduce the rise in temperature by 2 degree Celsius. Durban Summit in 2011(COP 17): Discussed the ways and means to operationalize the GCF. Quantitative Emission Limitation and Reduction Objectives (QELRO) set for the developed countries. NAMA portal вЂ“ Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions- launched. It is a web-based portal to upload the Mitigation actions taken at the national level for seeking international support. Durban platform launched for discussing the new global treaty after post-2020. Doha summit in 2012(COP 18): Second commitment (2013-2020) period for Kyoto protocol agreed upon. During the second commitment period, individual nations will select their own target for emissions reductions. Russia, Canada and Japan pull of the Kyoto protocol demanding the developing countries вЂ“ particularly India and China- to take binding emission cuts. Countries decided to sign a new global climate change treaty by 2015 so that it will enter into force by 2020. What are Bali pillars? The 4 pillars that were discussed in the climate negotiations held in Bali, Indonesia. They include: Finance, Adaptation, Mitigation and Technology transfer. CONTENTION BETWEEN THE DEVELOPED AND THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: CrackingIAS.com ARTICLES вЂ“ MONTHLY FOCUS 40 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 Issue of вЂ�Loss and DamageвЂ™: It refers to demands of poorest countries that they must be compensated for inevitable losses caused by the existing level of greenhouse gas emissions, which are due to the historical emissions of the developed and the industrialised countries, which any amount of reduction of future emissions will not stop. The two key blocs of countries, Association of Small Island States (AOSIS) and the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) have been at the forefront demanding an arrangement under the U.N. climate convention from the developed countries to support and compensate for such вЂњloss and damageвЂќ. India is also working with the Like Minded Developing countries on this issue. Issue of Finance: The developing countries have also asked for clarity on how the rich world will provide the $100 billion annually it had promised to deliver, starting 2020. India, along with other countries in the BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) group, has also demanded that the talks bring out a clear timeline of how the funds would be ratcheted up to reach the target amount by 2020. Developed countries want that the funding for loss and damage too should be provided through the market route. In contrast the poor countries require a clear public funded system where the funds are adequate and predictable. Issue of targets: The developing countries feel that the current emission-reduction targets for the developed countries are very much lower than that required. The targets, they feel, are not commensurate to the level of Climate change that has been caused by their industrialized economy. The Developed countries, on the other hand, feel that the developing economies, in particular China, India and Brazil, must start taking mandatory emission-reduction targets to fight the climate change effectively. Warsaw summit in 2013(COP 19): The developing countries, including India, oppose the idea of the developed countries that the talks must deliver a new carbon market mechanism even before they make their emission reduction targets. Carbon markets help developed countries take credit for reduction of emissions carried out by poor countries by paying for their actions. The costs of paying the developing countries works out much lower for the rich nations in comparison with undertaking such actions in their highly developed economies. Japan dials back climate change emissions target: The new target approved by the Cabinet on Friday calls for reducing emissions by 3.8 percent from their 2005 level by 2020. The new target represents a 3 percent increase over 1990 emissions. Given Japan's status as the world's third largest economy, the decision to back away from the earlier, more ambitious target could be a significant setback for efforts to reach a new agreement at world climate talks now underway in Warsaw, Poland. Japan had sought to take the initiative on working to prevent climate change but has had to rely more on fossil fuels as all its nuclear plants are offline for safety checks following the disaster at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant. OPINION POLLS Recently the Election Commission of India issued a proposal to the political parties seeking a ban on the pre-poll opinion polls. While the Congress welcomed the move of the ECI on the grounds CrackingIAS.com ARTICLES вЂ“ MONTHLY FOCUS 41 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 that opinion polls are not scientific and transparent, the other political parties had reservations against this. Should opinion polls be banned or should they be regulated? Why are opinion polls required?: First of all, we must recognise that systematic collection of public opinion is a must in modern democracies. Since elections are not a private act, citizens wish to, and need to, know how others are making up their mind. Survey based tracking of the mood of the electorate performs that crucial role. Scientific sample surveys of public opinions are one of the few ways in which the voice of the poor and the disadvantaged gets registered. This is a better method to monitor the popular mood than anything else that exists. This creates a widespread need for this information among politicians, the media and people at large. That is why opinion polls and their use to track the electoral race are here to stay. What impact do opinion polls create on the voters and the elections? One does not win elections by leading in opinion polls; nor does a negative election forecast seal oneвЂ™s electoral fate. But it does influence the race in small and, possibly, crucial ways. Available evidence suggests that there is a small degree of вЂ�bandwagon effectвЂ™ of opinion polls. A party that is seen to be leading in the polls gets some additional support from fence-sitters. This small difference could be decisive in a close contest. More than the voters, opinion poll-based forecasts do affect the morale of party workers and supporters. This makes a big difference during the campaign. Problems with the Opinion polls conducted in India: The problem is not that opinion poll-based forecast has been inaccurate. On balance, the record of Indian polls has been quite impressive. The real problem with Indian opinion polls, barring some honourable exceptions, lies with their non-transparency,non-professionalism and lack integrity. A general unwillingness on the part of polling agencies and the media to share even basic methodological details about their polls compounds the problem. In the last few years, the proportion of rogue polls has increased. Why it should not be banned completely? Banning pre-election opinion polls is a remedy worse than the disease it seeks to cure. There already exists a ban on publishing the findings of polls beginning 48 hours before polling and till the last voter has cast her vote. This is a reasonable restriction, enough to safeguard against manipulations. A full ban for the entire duration of campaign may not stand judicial scrutiny. It is hard to see how such a ban could be presented as a вЂњreasonable restrictionвЂќ of freedom of expression guaranteed under the Constitution. Besides, it would be very hard to implement. It could either exist only on paper, like the ban on smoking in public places. Or, worse, it could drive all the credible and law-abiding agencies out and leave the field open for rogue polls of fly-by-night operators. In all likelihood, it would open a black market of information where confidential polls and rumours will replace transparent and accountable polling. Besides, a ban is only a measure of last resort, when all other methods have been tried and found wanting. The amazing thing about the Indian debate on opinion polls is that there has been CrackingIAS.com ARTICLES вЂ“ MONTHLY FOCUS 42 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 little effort to explore alternatives to a ban, alternatives that have been successfully used all over the world. Needed intervention: Opinion polls need to be regulated, rather than banned completely. Every election-related poll, or any opinion poll for that matter, must be required to make the following disclosures: the ownership and track record of the organisation carrying out the survey, details of the sponsor; sampling frame, sample size and the exact technique used to draw the sample; the social profile of the achieved sample; where, when and how were the interviews conducted; the exact wording of the question and sequence of questions asked; raw vote shares reported in the survey and how they were converted into vote estimates and seats forecast. Once in place, such a mechanism would help the public tell the difference between a genuine and rogue poll and incentivize transparent practices. That would be a significant step forward in democratic public culture. NAGA VIOLENCE вЂњWhen you have to shoot, shoot, donвЂ™t talkвЂќ, is a line that has stayed over the years from the classic The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. ThatвЂ™s the kind of scenario unfolding in Nagaland. Shooting has been rampant, with little room for talk, and inter-tribal feud and tension between the civilian Naga population and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim led by Isak Chisi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah (NSCN-IM) is high. It all started on December 21, 2013 when two Sumi women were allegedly molested by four NSCN (IM) cadres near Aghuito town as they were travelling towards Zunheboto. The NSCN (IM) cadres stopped the vehicle in the early hours of that morning, and allegedly stripped searched the women and injured the two male passengers who were accompanying them. This led to a large rally the next day organized by the powerful Sumi Hoho who demanded that the four cadres must be handed over to the District Administration by December 25. When the NSCN (IM) refused to oblige and instead stated that it would carry out its own internal review, the Sumi Hoho along with thousands of Sumi villagers marched towards the nearby NSCN (IM) designated camp at Mukali in Zunheboto district. This has resulted in a cross-fire between the outfit and the villagers leading to approximately eight deaths (two NSCN вЂ“IM cadres and five civilians) and a few injured. This kind of protest by local Nagas against the NSCN (IM) designated camps is the first of its kind. While there have been incidences of NSCN (IM) cadre misbehavior, it is usually reported to the NSCN (IM) leadership at the top level like Muivah or Swu who looks into the matter. In fact, Swu, the Chairman of the outfit, has held numerous meetings in the past with cadres who have misbehaved warning them of the strictest punishment possible. This time around, what is significantly new is that local Naga population has asserted their unwillingness to be dictated by the armed groupвЂ™s diktat. Tension between the NSCN (IM) and the Sumi Hoho is not new. In 2007, Azheto Chophy, a low rung leader of the NSCN (IM) along with 100 or more NSCN (IM) cadres deserted the outfit and formed the NSCN (Unification). The NSCN (IM)вЂ™s hold on Naga society was questioned at that time after civil society bodies like the Western Sumi Hoho, which had earlier supported the outfit, shifted their loyalty to the NSCN (U). This was an alignment along tribal lines as Chophy is a Sumi Naga. This rift got reflected in the NSCN (IM)вЂ™s inner workings when there were indications then that there CrackingIAS.com ARTICLES вЂ“ MONTHLY FOCUS 43 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 was a difference of opinion between the two main leaders of the NSCN (IM), Muivah (a Tangkhul) and Swu (a Sumi), on this split but matters seems to have settled down between the two leaders. Going beyond the particular, the broader implications of the recent violence is that local people are now openly challenging the NSCN (IM)вЂ™s methods of collecting so called вЂњtaxesвЂќ from vehicles plying on roads in Nagaland. This must have miffed the outfit as it amplifies its decreasing hold on the imagination of the Naga population. The deeper social impact of this trend is that if NSCN (IM) cadres have been asked to behave tough on those who refuse to cede to their monetary demands, they may end up misusing their ill-begotten power and visibly indulge in more coercive methods. The second significant implication is that the cease-fire framework between the NSCN (IM) and the Union government is under threat of breaking down if the cadres have indulged in fire-power. It also shows that the cease-fire ground rules have not been followed by the outfit. Cadres of the NSCN (IM) and NSCN (K) have admitted to the national media that they often broke cease-fire rules. For instance, according to cease-fire rules, both the NSCN (IM) and NSCN (K) cadres are to be confined to designated camps and carrying of arms in civilian areas is banned. No one follows these rules and armed insurgent cadres are found moving in civilian areas. The recent violence indicates that armed groups have not disarmed and that state forces are simply unable to keep вЂњextortionвЂќ networks in check. Neither are they capable of enforcing the cease-fire with the outfits. The third implication of the recent violence is on the Naga peace talks. Both Muivah and Swu are in New Delhi for the next round of peace talks. While the cease-fire agreement signed in 1997 has been the harbinger of the subsequent peace talks, blatant violations of the agreement by the outfit with extortions, inter-factional killings, and the recent violence against civilians render the framework of the talks weak and question its effectiveness and legitimacy. Such violent incidences between the NSCN (IM) who will want to maintain its dominance in Naga areas and the local population, starting to challenge the outfit openly, will recur. The only mechanism by which the negative consequences of such incidences are limited is a robust and effective police presence to maintain law and order. A viable programme of disarming the outfit should also be worked out soon, and be made a condition for continuance of peace talks. CRISIS IN GREECE: CAPITALISM ON TRIAL The crisis in Greece, which began five years ago with its economy collapsing, is now reaching a stage where the spectre of a civil war is no longer a patently preposterous idea. In fact, as the political battle between neo-fascists and anti-fascists in the country grows fiercer day by day in the backdrop of a massive unemployment rate and high inflation, some predictions speak of the availability of a six-month grace period at the most before a conflagration erupts. During his recent brief tour of the country, this writer saw ample evidences of a very serious socio-economic-political situation in Greece with the centrist-rightist government led by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras clearly unable to find its moorings in the myriad crises-ridden country. The crisis is multi-dimensional; on the economic plane, it is similar to what has been happening in the developed world since 2008 with banks eating away their assets by reckless and mala fide investments and risk-taking, industry increasingly unable to protect and expand its markets as demands began to dry up, leading to uncontrollable unemployment, and governments deliberately moving away from the already shrinking social welfare measures like pensions, low-cost and free health care and inexpensive education. CrackingIAS.com ARTICLES вЂ“ MONTHLY FOCUS 44 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 GreeceвЂ™s woes have, however, been multiplied by the equally complex socio-political problems. The principal problem is the fierce struggle between a rising tide of neo-fascism and the traditional anti-fascism, inherited from the pre-Second World War period. The experiences under the German occupation in the 1940s have left an indelible mark on the Greeks and continue to shape the countryвЂ™s politics. At the same time, extreme Rightist thoughts culminating in neo-fascism have also crystallised into a strong political movement as in several other European countries. In GreeceвЂ™s case, however, the success of neo-fascist forces has been quite spectacular, and this factor is primarily responsible for the fierceness of the current struggle with anti-fascists. The fascist Golden Dawn party has eighteen members in the 300-member-strong Parliament and won as much as 8.8 percent of the total votes cast in the last general election. Apart from the fact that the Samaras Govern-ment has on occasions betrayed more than a sympathy for the party, its precarious position in a typically unstable coalition obliges it to be more than mindful of the negative potentialities of the fascist party. There is yet another political element in Greece, also present in several other southern European countries, which has also contributed to the complications. It is the substantive presence of anarchists, a strange left-over from the 19th century when fighting the monarchy was the principal occupation of liberal forces Anarchists continue to be active in Greece, and public manifestations of demands for the release of various such activists from captivity are not unusual. It is essentially this combination of the continuing economic crisis in its myriad forms and the passionate and disparate political disharmoniesвЂ” accentuated by the countryвЂ™s inability to help itself that in turn forces it to continue to take orders from the European Union (EU)вЂ”that highlights the crisis of capitalism in Greece. Thus, the hapless government finds itself at the mercy of a continually faltering economy, trying desperately to faithfully implement the EU-dictated measures hoping that therein lies the way to recovery while the rising popular discontent over joblessness, reduced (government employees have largely been subjected to a 25 per cent cut for eight months and thereafter to opt between pre-arranged transfers or voluntary retirements) and low salaries, vanishing pensions and accompanying privations are accentuating an increasingly volatile situation. It is against this background that certain specific developments have come to assume ominous implications. The first and foremost of these was the assassination of prominent rapper and anti-fascist activist Pavlos Fissas on September 18. The very next day Athens woke up to feverish police patrolling by the black-clothed police zipping past neighbourhoods on fast motor-cycles, and the days since have continued to witness demonstrations and counter-demonstrations, apart of course from a revenge spate of assassinations by anti-fascists as FissasвЂ™s assassin was soon identified as a member of the Golden Dawn party. The uproar over FissasвЂ™s death was so serious that the government was forced to act and arrested the Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos and fifteen others, all of them MPs, against whom a trial has started. It was on November 1 that anti-fascists struck. Two men on a motorcycle approached a local office of the Golden Dawn party and fired indiscriminately at the building. Two members of the party were killed and a third member was severely wounded. The police suspected that extremist Left elements were behind the shoot-out. All this was in due course followed by strong police action against suspected anti-fascists. However, the people did not appear to have been surprised by the apparent diligence with which the police embarked upon hunting down extreme Left elements following the assassinations of Golden Dawn members. CrackingIAS.com ARTICLES вЂ“ MONTHLY FOCUS 45 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 In another manifestation of the struggle between neo-fascists and anti-fascists, the Golden Dawn has recently sought to send to prison one of the most prominent anti-fascists in the country, Savvas Michael-Matsas, who is better known internationally as a highly respected writer on philosophy and literature. The neo-fascist partyвЂ™s move against Michael-Matsas, however, appears to have been welcomed by the government which is probably hoping to use this development as a useful means to bring Leftists, liberals and anti-fascists under some kind of a check. A major demonstration of the determination of anti-fascists in the country to effectively counter the rising might of neo-fascists occurred on November 17 at the 40th anniversary of what is popularly known as the Athens Polytechnic Uprising. It was this historic revolt by students and citizens that triggered the eventual end of the brutal military dictatorship in 1973. The impressively massive commemoration of that day forty years ago is believed to have conveyed the message that as in the past, this time too the government of the day, weighed down by the accumulated burden of a collapsed economy and highly unpopular austerity measures imposed by foreign governments for the last five years, must go. The authorities must have been disturbed by a side-show to the commemoration of the Athens Polytechnic Uprising. A previously unknown group of Leftists, calling itself The Militant PeopleвЂ™s Revolutionary Forces, announced in an 18-page proclamation that it вЂњassumes responsibility for the political executions of the neo-Nazis. The armed attack-response is the starting point of the peopleвЂ™s campaign to send the neo-Nazi scum of (the) Golden Dawn where they belong, the dustbin of history. The revolutionary movement has to proceed with the material destruction of the infrastructure of (the) Golden Dawn and in a coordinated (fashion) attack those who belong to it.вЂќ Commenting on the massive scale and palpably angry mood of the commemoration of the Uprising, the Guardian newspaper wrote that for a nation that had become increasingly polarised in the midst of (an) economic crisis, the event is a defining moment, hallowed in the minds of many as the catalyst of the collapse of seven years of military rule only decades after a brutal Left-Right civil war. The newspaper quoted Panos Garganas, a prominent Leftist and editor of the newspaper Workers Solidarity, as saying, вЂњThe mood this year is very similar to 1973 when there was a feeling that the junta was disintegrating and (the) people were full of expectation. After five years of worsening levels of austerity and poverty, there is a sense that things are coming to an end, and that the situation cannot continue. We give the government six months at the most.вЂќ Greece is thus set to stumble into 2014 on a sombre note just as neighbouring Italy continues to erupt in a rapidly spreading popular upsurge, both signalling the continuing crisis of the efficacy of unbridled capitalism. 3D PRINTING AND DEFENCE: A SILENT REVOLUTION Imagine a technician in a war zone sending an e-mail along with a digital scan of an unserviceable part of an armoured fighting vehicle which then gets printed at the nearest available 3D printer and delivered to him in no time. This can possibly minimize the need of carrying and maintaining large inventories in battle zone. This revolution is taking place in a very silent manner and is likely to have far reaching implications for supply chain and logistics management of the armed forces. In a 3D printing technology, an object is created layer by layer through a specially designed printer using plastic or other materials. CrackingIAS.com ARTICLES вЂ“ MONTHLY FOCUS 46 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 The history of 3D printing dates back to 1984 when commercial 3D printing was based on вЂ�stereolithographyвЂ™ technique in which ultraviolet beams were used to trace a slice of an object on the surface of liquid вЂ�photopolymerвЂ™ resulting in the hardening of the вЂ�photopolymerвЂ™. The process is repeated over several layers depending upon the shape and size of the object, till the complete object is printed. As mentioned, 3D printing is likely to alter the ways in which supply chains and logistics are maintained in defence forces. For any supply chain the key elements are the manufacturer, goods/supply carrier and the end user. Considering the range and depth of the inventory maintained by defence forces, the supply chain and logistic lines of control stretches from one end of the country to remote border areas as also several hundred nautical miles into the sea carrying millions of tons of stores comprising of ammunition, spares and components, minor and major assemblies etc. Some of these stores are sensitive and a large number of them have limited shelf life. Operational readiness of defence forces largely depend upon the serviceability state of equipment in the hands of the troops. Often, non-availability of critical spares and components leads to non-availability of equipments and weapons to the troops, seriously hampering their war-fighting capability and especially when it comes to vintage foreign origin equipments. Once the digital scan or drawing is made available, the component can be straightway printed by a suitable 3D printer and raw material made available close to the site of breakdown in repair workshops. To start with, critical components of armoured fighting vehicles, small arms, field guns, UAVs, aircraft components etc. can be identified for printing onsite or close to the deployment of equipment which will drastically reduce the downtime of the equipment. Logistic tails thus will get reduced, reducing security risk with favorable economy of scales. The advantage of 3D printing also lies in its efficiency. The waste generated during traditional manufacturing is drastically reduced by 3D printing. The labour can also be reduced by 3D printing. The most striking thing about 3D printing is the way it can convert the digital inventory into physical objects thereby reducing the requirement of critical storage space drastically. Navy is in an advantageous position since it allows digital inventory to be carried onboard ships and submarines. Disaster relief is also one area where 3D printing can aid the relief operation. Shelters can be printed onsite as per the requirement. Walls of these shelters are printed using special blend of cement and there strength is found to much higher than traditional walls due to layer by layer printing. Another area where defence forces have its utility is healthcare. There is a possibility in the near future of bio-printing drugs and vaccines. Instead of keeping the sensitive drugs and vaccines close to battlefield, they can be simply printed through 3D printer to avert any pandemic or provide defence against a possible biological or chemical attack. Bio printing machines are able to recreate heart tissues, lungs, jaw bones and other prosthetics limbs which will prove to be very useful for military hospitals for onsite treatment when removal of patient is not possible. The US Army has started experimenting with logistics based on 3D printing. Its Rapid Equipping Force (REF) has been assigned with 3D printers and have been deployed in war zones of West Asia. The US government has launched a 30 million dollar pilot programme for research on 3D printing and NASA is likely to launch its first 3D printer in space sometime in 2014. China is also not far behind and is likely to expand its 3D printing capabilities many folds in next 3 years. In May 2013, China showcased the worldвЂ™s largest titanium aircraft critical component produced using 3D Laser Direct Manufacturing technology. CrackingIAS.com ARTICLES вЂ“ MONTHLY FOCUS 47 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 This technology if adopted by Indian defence forces will have a broad effect on the long supply chains being maintained thus reducing the cost of its maintenance substantially. Components which are critical to functioning of any vehicle or combat equipment can be identified by each of the three services and by placing the 3D printers along with raw material and digital designs at key locations these components can be churned out as and when needed. This will save the exchequer on maintaining the storage space, shelf life and manpower needed to maintain the long supply chains. 3D printing technology is going through a phase of evolution but at the same time there are certain flip sides which also need to be taken into consideration before its mass utilization by defence forces. First, replacement parts which in war fighting machines are very critical have to be ensured for their safety standards since quality of 3D printer, the material used and the environment in which they are created has serious bearing. Therefore, standards are needed which are virtually non-existent world over. Secondly, printing of parts also requires purchasing intellectual property rights from original equipment manufacturer (OEM) which may cost a substantial amount to exchequer. Thirdly, the ease with which parts can be printed does raise serious questions. Anyone holding digital designs with printing capability can churn out critical parts which have serious implications for national security. Digital designs of weapons falling into the hands terrorist organizations can result in disastrous situation. Further, if an adversary lays his hands on digital files of proprietary designs, there is a possibility of altering the designs by hacking into the digital repository. Therefore, cyber security will assume greater importance. 3D printing technology is still in nascent stage. However, it is not difficult to imagine as to how it will drastically enhance the capabilities of defence forces. KERALA MODEL: GONE WITH THE WIND? Kerala, a tiny strip of land in the extreme south-west of the Indian subcontinent, became a state on October 1, 1956 following the dictates of the States Reorganisation Commission. This area, renowned for the spices grown there, especially pepper, was known in countries, East and West. Its fame increased when the very next year, that is, in 1957 the people voted to power a Communist Government, the first in India. This attracted lots of people, from other States and outside the country, as they were keen to see the place and meet with the people. In due course the StateвЂ�s other attributes, which included women outnumbering men in census, high literacy rate, political awareness, high life expectancy, low infant mortality rate also became noted and known. In all these, Kerala stood at a much higher plane than the rest of India. In some cases, Kerala was nearer to the developed countries. Even before the formation of the new State, the region, particularly the princely states, were advanced in sectors like literacy and education, primarily for women, primary health care etc. A place which could attain all the above without significant economic growth naturally got much publicity. Curious researchers and academics, politicians and tourists came to see this вЂњwonderlandвЂќ. Small girls and boys walking towards schools very early in the morning even in faraway villages, men sitting on benches sipping tea and reading newspapers or listening to what is read aloud and engaging in discussion вЂ”all became big news. These were photographed and written about. The term вЂњKerala ModelвЂќ emerged and received wide publicity. Such personalities like Prof. Amartya SenвЂ™s approval raised it to a higher level. These gave the educated Keralites, including the political elite class, a sense of achievement. The ordinary people by and large did not hear about it. CrackingIAS.com ARTICLES вЂ“ MONTHLY FOCUS 48 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 The first Communist Government was thrown out by the vested interests mainly because of their attempt to bring about вЂњradicalвЂќ reforms in education and land relations. Over the years the political situation in the State got changed and assumed a pattern. The Communist Party was split and the major national party, the Indian National Congress, also faced changes. Many groups were formed. Still they remained with the Congress. They together formed the United Democratic Front (UDF). The others formed the Left Democratic Front (LDF). The history of these formations and functioning are not dwelt here. But these impacted on the socio-political process more deeply than is recognised. The integration of the State within the federal system of the Republic of India has also to be understood. This brought many Central Government offices to the State. A number of women and men, who had college education and degrees, were absorbed in them. At the same time, the number of job-seekers, with and without much education, went on increasing. Something which has not been seen as part of the Kerala Model was the poor womenвЂ™s acceptance of the small family norms sponsored by the government. In most other parts of India women favoured a large number of children as they saw in them a support to their life and livelihood. Kerala womenвЂ™s hope was that some amount of education would help their children in their upward mobility. A serious development of the same period was the dwindling of the traditional occupations including agriculture. The young girls and boys in these families also developed aversion to their parentsвЂ™ attitude and hopes. All these coincided with major changes in the Central GovernmentвЂ™s vision of development itself. The category called Class IV workers was converted to contract workers. That meant that they lost even the minimum security which they had hitherto. The little self-esteem they had was also lost. The government had, even earlier, started sending out ideas on self-employment in a big way. At the same time eradication of poverty and reduction in income and wealth which were seen together and given high priority from the beginning of the Five Year Plans were given a back seat. Today, I am not sure whether anyone remembers all this. All these coincided with India entering the вЂњneo-liberalвЂќ world. Though we did not write a new Constitution or delete the word Socialism from it, reduction in inequality ceased to be our goal. Visible inequality and all that it displays got acceptability and even respect. How did these affect Kerala? Educated people, including some employed, began to go outside Kerala and outside India in a big way. While the educated went mainly to the developed capitalist countries, the less educated, skilled and even non-skilled, went primarily to the Gulf countries. The State Government, whoever ruled, I donвЂ™t think, was overly concerned. It is now when the Gulf countries have created strict rules regarding foreign workers and are sending them back in large numbers that our politicians and rulers are waking up. Money coming into the State from these peopleвЂ”all of them did not have a decent life or high enough incomeвЂ”was welcome. The authorities have not spent time, even at this stage, to find out ways and means to find jobs which will provide sufficient income and a tolerably satisfying life for these people. We have to link the above with the growth of a rich upper class whose demands and affordability set the norms for development. Footpaths became highways. Public transport gave way to private cars. Every government began acquiring newer brand cars. Construction of multistoreyed buildings, shopping complexes, resorts and tourist centresвЂ”seldom keeping with the topography, climate, and traditional simplicityвЂ”came up everywhere. Often paddy fields and other cultivating land were used for these. It is said that most of the flats are owned by people who are not living there or even in the State. There is a big tug-of-war going on in the State between environmentalists CrackingIAS.com ARTICLES вЂ“ MONTHLY FOCUS 49 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 supported by local people and a group which wants to build a private airport in a very sensitive area. The latter, is said to have the support at least of a section of the ruling party. It has to be remembered that this tiny State already has four international airports. Kerala, seen as a mini-tropical forest, is slowly becoming a forest of ultra-modern buildings, a large section of these being private educational buildings, private hospitals, centres of religious groups, bars and restaurants, apart from those mentioned earlier. Trees are cut and many poor people evicted from their dwellings for the above purpose. Already many places are suffocated with jewellery shops, stuffed with gold and diamond. Every month a newer silk shop is opened by a popular film star. These inaugurations and thereafter what materials are available in the shops are telecast several times a day over a large number of TV channels. Gold and silk are not the only items for sale. Dress materials, cosmetics, furniture, household goods, electronics goods, ...list goes on endlessly. An everbuying consumer class has emerged. What about those who cannot afford to buy all these? There has emerged mafias in all spheresвЂ”water, sand, trees, illegal mining and quarrying and several other fields. This year will remain etched in the history of Kerala as a time of fraudulent ways of acquiring wealth by cheating innocent people, the clever ways used to hook people in authority to promote the above games and the lack of earnestness on the part of the government in tackling the above developments. Innocent people may mistake the above вЂњstoriesвЂќ as the script for a thriller movie. Coming to the health scene, doctors in Kerala talk about life-style diseases. People are in a rush. No regularity in anything including food, sleep, rest or exercise. Diabetes, heart problems etc. are becoming quits common, Cancer is a big killer. True, despite all this the number of the elderly is increasing. There are senior citizensвЂ™ associations, but I doubt whether that reduces their loneliness. Violence in the society has increased enormously. It is there inside the house and outside, women and children being the principal victims. The society is in turmoil. The people are distressed. The average person, well-to-do and educated as well as the poor and ill-educated, says: вЂњTimes have changed, we cannot do anything, One or two cannot change anything .....:вЂќ I cannot say how the political class views all this. Of course, there are individuals and groups who are concerned and active. From the Kerala Model to the present turmoil needs a thorough, perhaps difficult and painful, inquiry. The Kerala Model emerged out of a series of developments, mainly social and political. An atmosphere filled with genuine concern to create a fair, equal, honest, caring society was there. We should dare to bring back the lost values. If that becomes possible, others will follow. вЂ�ARAB SPRINGвЂ™: IMPLICATIONS FOR INDIA The wave of poplar protests called вЂ�Arab SpringвЂ™ started in Tunisia in December 2010 when the people protested against their ruler Ben Ali who then fled to Saudi Arabia. This raised hopes among millions of other citizens in the neighbouring Arab countries. Thus, within a short span of time the protests spread to other countries like Algeria, Libya, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Bahrain, Yemen and some other Gulf countries. The demands of the protesters varied from country to country but in general it included demands for political freedom, social freedom, press freedom, improved human rights conditions, economic betterment etc. The demands reflect a desire among the masses, particularly the new generation of young and educated, to be liberated from the reins of the old and authoritarian leadership and play a role in the decision making process of the state. Till date, the CrackingIAS.com ARTICLES вЂ“ MONTHLY FOCUS 50 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 protests have overthrown four long serving dictators вЂ” Ben Ali of Tunisia, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen. While the Bashar Al Assad regime in Syria is struggling for its survival, other countries have successfully managed to suppress the protests against the regimes either by crackdown by the security forces or by promising economic and political reforms. This has brought the region a new contour вЂ“ a wave of protests for democratic reforms in an otherwise authoritarian Arab world. The regime change also carries with it the potentials of change in policies towards the neighbourhood and beyond. Throughout the uprisings, the major regional countries have fought political and diplomatic wars among themselves trying to assert their influence over the region. The Shia-Sunni war of words has come to the fore during the protests. The outside powers have taken the opportunity to strengthen their interests by intervening in the conflicts. On the whole, the regional security scenario in West Asia has worsened with the arrival of the Arab Spring. But the prospect of democracy in the region has receded. Most regimes have been able to keep at bay, at least for the time being, the calls for change. The expectations from the Arab Spring turned out to be overambitious. The old order has reasserted itself and managed to survive for the time being. Arab spring is now commonly referred to as Arab winter, reflecting the failure of protests movements to bring about change in the region. Democracy may not have come to these countries as expected, yet the region has nevertheless changed dramatically in the last three years. The regimes have survived, but there is no surety how long will they survive. The internal and external environment has changed. What is now clear is that the change will be unpredictable and nonlinear and violence ridden. The old order will have to find new ways of surviving. Repression, inducement and cajolement seem to be the tactic. The major characteristics of the Arab spring have been: A great deal of violence has erupted and is likely to continue. There is no early prospect of democracy taking hold in the region. The new regimes are likely to be even more repressive. They will use repression and inducements to subdue protests and perpetuate themselves. A fall of Syrian regime will change the balance of power. The so called Shia вЂњaxis of resistanceвЂќ consisting of Iran, Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon will be weakened. Extremism will grow exponentially, affecting not only the region but globally. The historic sectarian fault lines have become wide open and the region could be torn apart if the sectarian tensions continue unchecked. Amidst the protests and violence in the Arab streets, Iran has risen as a major regional power. Iran-Saudi rivalry for supremacy will be the defining feature of the evolving situation. Religious extremism has become pronounced. Al Qaeda had got a second wind. Salafists are on the rise and becoming prominent in the political arena. Muslim Brotherhood has tasted power in Egypt but later has been thrown out of power and subsequently banned by the Egyptian government. The behaviour and future action of the Muslim Brotherhood will, to large extend, determine the security and democratic transition in Egypt. GCC counties like Qatar are involved in carving out a new balance of power. Qatar, though small but extremely rich, is playing an aggressive role in the new balance of power. Likewise, Turkey, which led the call for Assad regime to reform, has become an important player in the region. The regime is sympathetic to Muslim Brotherhood. But, the role of Turkey and Qatar is controversial and may lead to unintended consequences. CrackingIAS.com ARTICLES вЂ“ MONTHLY FOCUS 51 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 The rise of Iran has deeply upset the Sunni regimes. Its alleged quest for nuclear weapons has alarmed the GCC countries and Israel. If Iran acquires a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia will almost certainly do so, possibly with the help of Pakistan. Chemical weapons have been used in Syria. Russia has brokered a deal under which Syria is set to hand over its pile of chemical weapons for destruction. Syrian regime has got a reprieve. In this process, the US has been seen as weak and not in control of the situation. The US policies may undergo change. The US has already started talk to Iran on nuclear issue and was forced to take Russian help in the Syrian case. The shale gas revolution in the US will reduce its dependence upon the oil from the region although its strategic objective of controlling Iran still remains. Saudi Arabia is extremely upset with the US on the Syrian deal and the US talks with Iran. It showed its displeasure by not accepting a seat in the UNSC, an unprecedented step. Implications for India India has longstanding historical and cultural relations with the West Asian region. For India, in particular, West Asia is a significantly important region. People-to-people contacts have existed between India and West Asia for centuries. India has been a supporter of the Palestinian cause and has demanded a comprehensive relationship with the Palestinian state and the people. Any development in the region has direct implications for India. There are nearly 6.5 million Indians living and working in the West Asian region. According to a World Bank report India received US $ 70 billion in remittances during 2012 and a majority of the remittances came from the region. In addition, IndiaвЂ™s total trade with West Asia in the year 2012-13 stands at US$ 205.71 billion. The region is also vital for India's energy security. Nearly two-thirds of our hydrocarbon imports are from this region. India has two choices: be passive and reactive as the region takes new shape, or, be proactive and help shape the region keeping its own interests in mind. Most countries in the region want India to play a more proactive role in keeping with its rising global profile. IndiaвЂ™s substantial interests in the region would compel India to be proactive and not be a mere bystander. India will have to carve out a well thought out strategy towards the region. Political Declare a clearly articulated вЂњLook West PolicyвЂќ: As IndiaвЂ“Gulf relationship is taking an upward trajectory, and IndiaвЂ™s stakes and interests are growing with time, it is time for India to adopt a formally articulated вЂњLook West PolicyвЂќ in line with the successful вЂњLook East PolicyвЂќ. The sheer volume of IndiaвЂ™s engagement with the region and its critical importance IndiaвЂ™s security means that standing aloof is no option. A вЂњLook West PolicyвЂќ should focus on strengthening bilateral political, economic and security ties with the countries of the Gulf region. As the countries of the region have adopted a Look East Policy to targeting the Asian powers, it is an opportune time for India to adopt and pursue a policy solely focusing on the region. Institutionalising the exchange of regular high-level visits and setting reasonably high targets with specific time lines will be necessary. Regular interaction at the highest levels will infuse further confidence in the relationship. Thus, India must articulate its interests in the region clearly through a Look West Policy backed by road maps and resources. Appoint a special envoy for West Asia: It may be useful for India to resume the practice of appointing a special envoy for West Asia who keeps in regular touch with the leaders of the region on a regular basis. It would help in understanding the changing political dynamics in the region and help shape IndiaвЂ™s policy towards them. Upgrade bilateral relationships: India has excellent bilateral relations with most countries in the region such as Iran, Iraq and the GCC countries. Egypt is reaching out to India to which India must CrackingIAS.com ARTICLES вЂ“ MONTHLY FOCUS 52 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 respond favourably. With Palestine India has had historically friendly relations and India supports the Palestinian cause. IndiaвЂ™s relationship with Israel has strengthened since the establishment of the diplomatic ties in 1992. Israel has emerged as a major source of defence technology and equipments and also as a supplier of agricultural technologies to India. It is also keen to expand its ties with India at political level. These relationships are valuable and need to be solidified and India must strengthen the bilateral relationship by engaging them in multiple fronts. Cooperate on multilateral formats: Along with strengthening bilateral ties with the countries of the region India must deal with these countries in multilateral forums like the GCC and Arab League. GCC is one such important and influential regional organisation in the region India has been trying to engage deeply with. India has links with GCC which must be continuously stimulated. Despite their internal differences on some matters, the countries of the GCC follow a similar policies on several political, economic, security and strategic matters. Most recently, their unity was reflected during the uprising in Bahrain where the member countries not only gave political support but also economic aid and military support to deal with the crisis. The shared challenges in the region have gradually made the organisation stronger and they have been taking steps to further strengthen their links and discover new areas of cooperation among themselves. Thus, it may be easier to deal with the organisation as a whole on matters on which all members of GCC have a common position. Follow a balanced approach between countries: India will have to do some fine balancing acts: between Iran and GCC; between Israel and the Arabs; between Israel and the Palestinians. The situation can be handled by taking principled positions, by expanding the basis of bilateral relations, by focussing on the economic and people to people content of the ties. India should also strengthen ties on human security issues, particularly, counter-terrorism. Given the complex nature of the politics in the region, it would be wise for India to continue with the policy of balancing its relationship with major players in the region. As India has stakes transcending the GCC, Iran and Iraq, taking sides will be detrimental to IndiaвЂ™s interests. Rather, India should try to engage with the countries and work together on the mutual areas of interest. Security Forging new cooperative security architecture: The present security architecture in West Asia is US-centric. With the rise of new actors the balance of power in the region is being altered. India, on account of its considerable security interests should be alive to the emergence of new developments in the security arena and be proactive in the region. IndiaвЂ™s recent initiatives with the region reflect its growing desire to strengthen defence and security ties with the Gulf countries, though this has been taking place at a slow pace. There are several issues such as terrorism, piracy, criminal activities, money laundering and small arms smuggling which call for increasing security cooperation between India and the Gulf countries, but security being a very sensitive issue, these countries usually adopt caution in moving forward. However, as the security challenges continue to grow not only for India but also for the Gulf countries, increased cooperation in this field is required in the future regional security architecture. We should expand and strengthen our missions by posting new Defence Attaches in the region. Build out of area capabilities: During the protests as the security situation deteriorated in some countries, India took up the rescue efforts to evacuate citizens. India has successfully evacuated citizens from countries like Egypt and Libya. Keeping in view the fluid political and security situation in the region, such contingencies may be expected to arise in future. India should pay special CrackingIAS.com ARTICLES вЂ“ MONTHLY FOCUS 53 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 importance to building out of area capacities. This will require building diplomatic capabilities, naval capacities and a dialogue with partners in West Asia. Be prepared for a fundamentalist backlash: The rise of extremism in the region will have unpleasant consequences for India. There are reports that extremists from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh are fighting in Syria. India must be prepared to deal with the fundamentalist blow back from the region by strengthening its internal security systems, by raising awareness about the looming threat and by involving our moderate populations in bilateral and multilateral contacts. In the past, there have been reports of some extremist elements in India being ideologically motivated by some groups in the region and also of receiving money through hawala channel. Thus, India should remain prepared for any such backlash coming from the region. Economic Diversifying IndiaвЂ™s trade relations: IndiaвЂ™s trade with West Asian countries is highly skewed and trade balance is mostly in favour of the regional countries except the UAE. IndiaвЂ™s bilateral trade is heavily dominated by the energy supply from the region. Also, a large chunk of the IndiaвЂ™s total trade is exchanged with big trading partners like the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Thus, there is a need to diversify trade with other countries of the region which needs special attention by India. Need for enhancing investment: The GCCвЂ™s investments into India have increased in recent years (from US$ 223 million in 2005 to US$ 2639.5 million in January 2012), however, it remains much below their potential. India need to take tangible steps to attract foreign investments by further relaxing some trade rules including regulatory restrictions and inviting West Asian investors in general and GCC investors in particular to actively participate in IndiaвЂ™s robust growth story for mutual benefit. It is equally important to identify specific areas for cooperation such as export of engineering goods and textiles, and also a huge scope for increase in consultancy, including turnkey projects in the infrastructure sector in the Gulf region. Cooperation in small and medium enterprise (SME): India has built its expertise in the SME business model worldwide; though, this talent has still not been used in West Asian countries appropriately. India could influence this potential and the desire of West Asian countries to diversify their economies to build a mutually beneficial relationship. Trade and investment cooperation between India and the West Asian region must be based on a long-term strategy and an effective mechanism so as to achieve the desired objectives of the two sides. The mechanism should be a multistage setup involving both official and non-official agencies like trade organisations, financial institutions and shipping corporations. Energy Energy Cooperation: The current buyerвЂ“seller relationship needs to change into a partnership of criss-cross investments in India and the West Asian oil-exporting countries. This policy will facilitate greater interdependence and also help address the general criticism that IndiaвЂ™s policy towards the region needs to go beyond energy considerations. India should look for opportunities for joint ventures in West Asia not only with international companies but also with local companies. Priority should be accorded to projects like LNG liquefaction, fertiliser and desalination plants and other such ventures which will be beneficial for both sides. For attracting investments from the sovereign funds of these countries, India should engage in high-level diplomacy with countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. CrackingIAS.com ARTICLES вЂ“ MONTHLY FOCUS 54 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 Through a mutually agreed upon mechanism, a share of the oil and gas revenues earned from India should be earmarked for investment in India. The purchase of a minimum fixed volume of oil and/or gas at average monthly prices could be worked out and agreed upon bilaterally. Iran and Iraq need to be factored in a big way while formulating India's energy policy towards the region. Although Iraq is a high-risk proposition and Iran a problematic one, to ensure its future stable energy supply, India should work on long-term plans to expand its energy cooperation with Iraq and Iran. Food security is a big issue in the West Asian region. Therefore, an energy and food trade-off can be looked upon as a policy option to strengthen IndiaвЂ™s energy ties with the regional countries. Surplus refining capacity is IndiaвЂ™s strength, which should be leveraged through contractual arrangements involving the purchase of crude oil and sale of refined products with as many countries as possible. Some oil-exporting countries may want refining capacities to be created on their soil. India could enter into joint ventures for establishing refineries on their soil. There could be a structured IndiaвЂ“GCC energy cooperation dialogue every year to enhance the energy cooperation between India and the GCC countries. Such a dialogue could cover upstream and downstream hydrocarbon cooperation, energy efficiency, renewable energy, clean technologies and civil nuclear cooperation. Soft power Establishing India Chairs in the West Asian countries would further promote their understanding of India. It is important for us to create awareness about IndiaвЂ™s foreign policy and the role that India can play in the establishment of peace and stability not only in the south or West Asia but also the in the world. IndiaвЂ™s capability and enthusiasm to play the role of a responsible world power should be emphasised and spread in the intellectual discourse and among the policy makers in the region. In this regard, establishing India chairs would be an important step in right direction. Indian educational, technical and vocational institutions should be encouraged to open their branches in West Asia, much the way the Western institutions are doing. Similarly, to give a further boost to the diplomatic presence in the region and spread Indian culture among the West Asian countries, India should seriously consider establishing India Culture Centres throughout the region. Culture Centres would facilitate understanding and exchange of each otherвЂ™s culture, people and promote understandings between the people. India needs to use its soft power such as cultural exchange, holding inter-faith dialogues and developing language skills. An annual India-West Asia dialogue should be established to discuss the developments in the region and to promote mutual bilateral relations between the two. Such a dialogue would provide an avenue for discussion of scholarly and policy related issues. Scholars and representatives from both India and the West Asian countries can gather to freely discuss and deliberate on the issues of mutual concern and interest. Premier Indian security think tanks could anchor such dialogues. India must devote substantial diplomatic and intellectual resources to understand the evolving trends in this highly complex region. Contacts must be maintained at official and non-official levels. MEAвЂ™s public diplomacy division should be active in explaining IndiaвЂ™s links with the region and stressing IndiaвЂ™s stakes. Building academic linkages: India should devote significant scholarly and academic interests in studying the region. One dynamic step in this regard would be to bolster the teaching of Arabic and Persian languages and produce a crop of youngsters who can engage with the region at a level beyond that of skilled workers. CrackingIAS.com ARTICLES вЂ“ MONTHLY FOCUS 55 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 3D PRINTING 3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file. The creation of a 3D printed object is achieved using additive processes. In an additive process an object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the entire object is created. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced horizontal cross-section of the eventual object. How it works It all starts with making a virtual design of the object you want to create. This virtual design is made in a CAD (Computer Aided Design) file using a 3D modeling program (for the creation of a totally new object) Гіr with the use of a 3D scanner (to copy an existing object). This scanner makes a 3D digital copy of an object and puts it into a 3D modeling program. To prepare the digital file created in a 3D modeling program for printing, the software slices the final model into hundreds or thousands of horizontal layers. When this prepared file is uploaded in the 3D printer, the printer creates the object layer by layer. The 3D printer reads every slice (or 2D image) and proceeds to create the object blending each layer together with no sign of the layering visible, resulting in one three dimensional object. Methods and technologies Not all 3D printers use the same technology to realize their objects. There are several ways to do it and all those available as of 2012 were additive, differing mainly in the way layers are build to create the final object. Some methods use melting or softening material to produce the layers. Selective laser sintering (SLS) and fused deposition modeling (FDM) are the most common technologies using this way of printing. Another method of printing is to lay liquid materials that are cured with different technologies. The most common technology using this method is called stereolithography (SLA). Selective laser sintering (SLS) This technology uses a high power laser to fuse small particles of plastic, metal, ceramic or glass powders into a mass that has the desired three dimensional shape. The laser selectively fuses the powdered material by scanning the cross-sections (or layers) generated by the 3D modeling program on the surface of a powder bed. After each cross-section is scanned, the powder bed is lowered by one layer thickness. Then a new layer of material is applied on top and the process is repeated until the object is completed. All untouched powder remains as it is and becomes a support structure for the object. Therefore there is no need for any support structure which is an advantage over SLS and SLA. All unused powder can be used for the next printing. SLS was developed and patented by Dr. Carl Deckard at the University of Texas in the mid-1980s, under sponsorship of DARPA. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) The FDM technology works using a plastic filament or metal wire which is unwound from a coil and supplies material to an extrusion nozzle which can turn the flow on and off. The nozzle is heated to melt the material and can be moved in both horizontal and vertical directions by a numerically controlled mechanism, directly controlled by a computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) CrackingIAS.com ARTICLES вЂ“ MONTHLY FOCUS 56 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 software package. The object is produced by extruding melted material to form layers as the material hardens immediately after extrusion from the nozzle. FDM was invented by Scott Crump in the late 80вЂ™s. After patenting this technology he started the company Stratasys in 1988. The software that comes with this technology automatically generates support structures if required. The machine dispenses two materials, one for the model and one form a disposable support structure. The term fused deposition modeling and its abbreviation to FDM are trademarked by Stratasys Inc. The exactly equivalent term, fused filament fabrication (FFF), was coined by the members of the RepRap project to give a phrase that would be legally unconstrained in its use. Stereolithography (SLA) The main technology in which photopolymerization is used to produce a solid part from a liquid is SLA. This technology employs a vat of liquid ultraviolet curable photopolymer resin and an ultraviolet laser to build the objectвЂ™s layers one at a time. For each layer, the laser beam traces a crosssection of the part pattern on the surface of the liquid resin. Exposure to the ultraviolet laser light cures and solidifies the pattern traced on the resin and joins it to the layer below. After the pattern has been traced, the SLAвЂ™s elevator platform descends by a distance equal to the thickness of a single layer, typically 0.05 mm to 0.15 mm (0.002вЂі to 0.006вЂі). Then, a resin-filled blade sweeps across the cross section of the part, re-coating it with fresh material. On this new liquid surface, the subsequent layer pattern is traced, joining the previous layer. The complete three dimensional object is formed by this project. Stereolithography requires the use of supporting structures which serve to attach the part to the elevator platform. This technique was invented in 1986 by Charles Hull, who also at the time founded the company, 3D Systems. Applications Applications include design visualization, prototyping/CAD, metal casting, architecture, education, geospatial, healthcare and entertainment/retail. Other applications would include reconstructing fossils in paleontology, replicating ancient and priceless artifacts in archaeology, reconstructing bones and body parts in forensic pathology and reconstructing heavily damaged evidence acquired from crime scene investigations. In 2007 the use of 3D printing technology for artistic expression was suggested. Artists have been using 3D printers in various ways. As of 2010 3D printing technology was being studied by biotechnology firms and academia for possible use in tissue engineering applications where organs and body parts are built using inkjet techniques. Layers of living cells are deposited onto a gel medium and slowly built up to form three dimensional structures. Several terms have been used to refer to this field of research like: organ printing, bio-printing, and computer-aided tissue engineering. Industrial printing In the last couple of years the term 3D printing has become more known and the technology has reached a broader public. Still most people havenвЂ™t even heard of the term, while the technology has been in use for decades. Especially manufacturers have long used these printers in their design process to create prototypes for traditional manufacturing and research purposes. Using 3D printers for these purposes is called rapid prototyping. Why use 3D printers in this process you might ask yourself. Now, fast 3D printers can be had for tens of thousands of dollars and end up saving the companies many times that amount of money in CrackingIAS.com ARTICLES вЂ“ MONTHLY FOCUS 57 CrackingIAS.com IAS EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2013 the prototyping process. For example, Nike uses 3D printers to create multi-colored prototypes of shoes. They used to spend thousands of dollars on a prototype and wait weeks for it. Now, the cost is only in the hundreds of dollars, and changes can be made instantly on the computer and the prototype reprinted on the same day. Besides rapid prototyping, 3D printing is also used for rapid manufacturing. Rapid manufacturing is a new method of manufacturing where companies are using 3D printers for short run custom manufacturing. In this way of manufacturing the printed objects are not prototypes but the actual end user product. Here you can expect more availability of personally customized products. Personal printing Personal 3D printing or domestic 3D printing is mainly for hobbyists and enthusiasts and really started growing in 2011. Because of rapid development within this new market printers are getting cheaper and cheaper, with prices typically in the range of $250 вЂ“ $2,500. This puts 3D printers into more and more hands. The RepRap open source project really ignited this hobbyist market. For about a thousand dollars people have been able to buy the RepRap kit and put together their own personal 3D printer, complete with any customizations they were capable of making. What really speeds the development is the open source idea. Everybody working on the RepRap shares their knowledge so other people can use it and improve it again. This rapid development of open source 3D printers is gaining interest in both the developed as well as the developing world and it enables both hyper-customization and the use of designs in the public domain to fabricate open source appropriate technology through conduits such as Thingiverse and Cubify. This technology can also assist insustainable development as such technologies are easily and economically made from readily available resources by local communities to meet their needs. PRELIMS 2014 Batch From January 18, 2014 Wide Extensive coverage. вЂў Special Focus on Science & Tech вЂ“ Current and Applications. вЂў Socio-Economic Issues. вЂў Free Entry to Test Batch. вЂў Focused attention. вЂў Exam oriented syllabus coverage. вЂў Highly potential questions to be covered. вЂў More than 70 questions in GS PRELIMS 2013. вЂў CrackingIAS.com ARTICLES вЂ“ MONTHLY FOCUS 58