PERIYAR IAS CURRENT AFFAIRS , 25-SEPTEMBER-2017
Topic: Issues relating to
development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health,
Education, Human Resources.
Bharat ke Kaushalzaade
Rural Skills Division, Ministry of Rural Development has
organized ‘Bharat ke Kaushalzaade’, an event honouring beneficiaries of its key skilling programmes,
on the eve of Antyodaya Diwas 2017.
The event aims to celebrate and
honour beneficiaries from both of MoRD’s flagship skill development programmes
i.e. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) and Rural Self
Employment Training Institutes (RSETI).
‘Kaushal Panjee’:
The event also witnessed the mobilization platform launch,
branded ‘Kaushal Panjee’ (Skill Register).
§ It aims to be citizen centric end-to-end solution to aid
mobilization of candidates for RSETIs and DDU-GKY.
§ It facilitates mobilization of candidates through Self Help Group
members, Gram Panchayat Functionaries, Block Officials, CSCs and directly by
the candidate.
§ RSETIs and DDU-GKY Partners can access the Kaushal Panjee to
connect with the mobilized rural youth.
§ Kaushal Panjee is connected to the Social Economic Caste Census
(SECC 2011) which will help the States plan and target their mobilizations
based on the socio-economic profile of households in their State.
§
About DDU GKY:
The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) announced the Deen Dayal
Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) Antyodaya Diwas, on 25th September
2014. DDU-GKY is a part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), tasked with the dual objectives of adding diversity to the
incomes of rural poor families and cater to the career aspirations of rural
youth.
DDU-GKY is uniquely focused on rural youth between the ages of 15 and 35 years from poor families. As a part of the Skill India campaign,
it plays an instrumental role in supporting the social and economic programs of
the government like the Make In India, Digital India, Smart Cities and Start-Up
India, Stand-Up India campaigns.
Sources: pib.
Topic: Government policies and
interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of
their design and implementation.
Govt launches ‘Pradhan Mantri LPG Panchayat’ to boost PMUY
The Central government has launched a country-wide LPG Panchayat as a backup to the Pradhan
Mantri Ujjwala Yojana to distribute LPG
connections among the rural areas where conventional fuel is used for domestic
purposes.
About LPG Panchayat:
The LPG Panchayat is an interactive communication platform aimed at educating rural LPG
users about proper safety precautions to be taken while using LPG, its benefit to the environment, its effect on women empowerment
and health.
§ With this, the government aims to reach the doorsteps of poor and
under-privileged women to educate them about the safety and efficiency, health
benefits, positive impact on environment, economic development and empowerment
on usage of LPG connections.
§ One lakh LPG Panchayats would be activated across the country
under the scheme during the next one and a half years. The idea of this
platform is to trigger a discussion through sharing of personal experiences on
the benefits of use of clean fuel compared to traditional fuels like cowdung.
§ The agenda would also include safe practices, quality of service
provided by distributors and availability of refill cylinders.
About the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana:
Under the Pradhan Mantri
Ujjwala Yojana, Rs.8,000 crore has been
earmarked for providing 50 million LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) connections to
poor households.
§ Under the scheme, an adult woman member of a below poverty line
family identified through the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) is given a
deposit-free LPG connection with financial assistance of Rs 1,600 per
connection by the Centre.
§ Eligible households will be identified in consultation with state
governments and Union territories.
§ The scheme will be implemented over the next three years.
§ The scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Petroleum and
Natural Gas.
Sources: the hindu.
Topic: Government policies and
interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of
their design and implementation.
Karnataka govt invokes ESMA against garbage contractors
The Karnataka government has invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act against garbage contractors and sanitation workers employed
under them following complaints that they were not discharging their duties.
The law has been invoked for a year to ensure that waste is removed from the
city.
Background:
The garbage problem has turned worse in Bengaluru recently as the
contractors have allegedly stopped removing the waste, causing a huge pileup
that has left many important places stinking and brought the city civic body
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike in the line of fire.
About ESMA:
The Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) is an act of
Parliament of India. It is a central law.
§ It was established to ensure the delivery of certain services,
which if obstructed would affect the normal life of the people. These include
services like public transport (bus services), health services (doctors and
hospitals).
§ Although it is a very powerful law, its execution rests entirely on the discretion of the State
government. Each state in the union of India, hence has a separate state
Essential Services Maintenance Act with slight variations from the central law
in its provisions. This freedom is accorded by the central law itself.
Sources: the hindu.
Topic: Government policies and
interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of
their design and implementation.
The lowdown on the petrol pricing policy
Amid protests against the recent spike in petrol and diesel
prices, the government has ruled out the possibility of an end to the recently
introduced policy of revising fuel prices daily.
Background:
Since June 16 this year, petrol and diesel prices across the
country have been revised on a daily basis, against the previous policy of
revising prices every fortnight. By opting for daily pricing, India has joined
advanced countries like the United States and others which follow the practice.
How did it come about?
The daily pricing policy is in line with the government’s efforts
over the years to deregulate the pricing of essential fuels. The prices of
petrol and diesel were first deregulated in 2010 and 2014 respectively,
bringing in the practice of fortnightly revision of prices.
What’s good about the new policy?
The new daily pricing policy, the government argues, will now
allow oil marketing companies to price their products even better, that is, in
accordance with their fluctuating input costs. The oil companies need not wait
a fortnight to change prices, and it is believed that this would allow them to
quickly pass on the benefit of lower crude oil prices to retail customers.
Also, daily price revisions will reduce the risk of huge revisions in prices,
which is more common under the fortnightly pricing policy.
Why is it being opposed?
The daily pricing policy has been blamed in recent weeks for the
sharp increase in petrol and diesel prices. Fuel prices fell in the initial
days after the implementation of the new policy, but have seen a sharp
acceleration ever since. The price of petrol in metro cities like Delhi and
Kolkata, for instance, has risen by more than ₹5 since the introduction of daily pricing. The government has
blamed supply constraints due to floods in the United States for
the present rise in prices. A wider criticism, however, is that domestic fuel
prices have also failed to match the drastic fall in international crude oil
prices over the last few years. The surprising divergence in the cost of crude
oil and domestic fuel prices has caused a lot of anger.
What can be done now?
Taxes are the main culprit stopping petrol and diesel prices from
reflecting the fall in international crude oil prices. About half the retail
price paid by consumers for petrol and diesel goes towards paying the excise
duty and the value added tax imposed on them. These taxes increase the price at
which oil companies can profitably sell essential fuels to consumers, thus
restricting supply and keeping prices high.
§ One option is to reduce VAT on petroleum products. But, for this, states have to forgo their share of the Centre’s
revenue from fuel taxes. 42% of the Central tax receipts from petrol go to the
States.
§ Another option is to bring petrol and diesel under the GST
to lower the tax burden. This will help bring down
their prices, but only when it is combined with better competition in the oil
sector. Otherwise, lower taxes will merely improve the profits of oil companies
without any of the benefits, whether it is lower crude oil prices or any other
fall in input costs, being passed on to consumers.
Way ahead:
What is being missed is the fact that fuel prices are determined
by market forces, not costs. So lower crude oil prices need not necessarily
lead to lower fuel prices. Costs only determine the profits of oil companies,
whose operating margins have naturally improved since deregulation.
Sources: the hindu.
Paper 3:
Topic: Indian Economy and issues
relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and
employment.
Graded Surveillance Measure
More than 900 companies are being monitored under the Graded Surveillance Measure, designed by market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of
India (SEBI).
What is the Graded Surveillance Measure?
SEBI introduced the measure to keep a tab on securities that witness an abnormal price rise
that is not commensurate with financial health and fundamentals of the company
such as earnings, book value, price to earnings ratio among others.
Why did SEBI bring in the measure?
The underlying principle behind the graded surveillance framework
is to alert and protect investors trading in a security, which is seeing
abnormal price movements. SEBI may put shares of companies under the measure
for suspected price rigging or under the ambit of ‘shell companies’. The
measure would provide a heads up to market participants that they need to be
extra cautious and diligent while dealing in such securities put under
surveillance.
How the Graded Surveillance Measure works?
Once a firm is identified for surveillance it goes through six
stages with corresponding surveillance actions and the restrictions on trading
in those securities gets higher progressively.
In the first stage the securities are put in
the trade-to-trade segment (meaning no speculative trading is allowed and
delivery of shares and payment of consideration amount are mandatory). A
maximum of 5% movement in share price is allowed.
In the second stage, in addition to the
trade-to-trade segment, the buyer of the security has to put 100% of trade
value as additional surveillance deposit. The deposit would be retained by the
exchanges for a period of five months and refunded in a phased manner.
In the third stage, trading is permitted only
once a week ie every Monday, apart from the buyer putting 100% of the trade
value as additional surveillance deposit.
In the fourth stage, trading would be allowed once
a week and the surveillance deposit increases to 200% of the trade value.
In the fifth stage, trading would be permitted
only once a month (first Monday of the month) with additional deposit of 200%.
In the sixth and final stage, there are maximum restrictions. Trading is permitted only once a
month at this stage, with no upward movement allowed in price. Also, the
additional surveillance deposit would be 200%.
Will securities remain permanently in the Graded Surveillance list?
There would a quarterly review of securities. Based on criteria,
the securities would be moved from a higher stage to a lower stage in a
sequential manner.
How would these measures affect small investors?
The challenge for the small investors is that these announcements
are often made at very short notice and implemented from the next day itself
thus giving those who have already entered the stock less than adequate time to
exit it. There is also potentially another risk. For example, even if time is
given, the stock might crash next day on the news, triggering the lower price
circuit and leaving no exit opportunity.
Sources: the hindu.
Topic: Infrastructure: Energy,
Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
Japan to fund mass rapid transit systems in Gujarat, Haryana
Funds from a Japanese government loan will soon be utilised for
the first time in the $100 billion, Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project. So far, the mega-project was
being developed only with the Indian government’s financial assistance.
§ A soft loan (with concessional conditions) to the tune of $4.5
billion to be extended by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA),
will shortly be utilised to develop two Mass Rapid Transit Systems (MRTS) — one
each in Gujarat and Haryana — that will be part of the DMIC.
About DMIC:
Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor is a mega infra-structure project
of USD 90 billion with the financial & technical aids from Japan, covering
an overall length of 1483 KMs between the political capital and the business
capital of India, i.e. Delhi and Mumbai. A MoU in this regard was signed in
2006.
§ The project would include six mega investment regions of 200 square kilometres each and will run through six
states Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh, Southern Haryana, Eastern Rajasthan,
Eastern Gujarat, and Western Maharashtra.
§ The project aims to develop an environmentally sustainable, long lasting and
technological advanced infrastructure utilizing cutting age Japanese
technologies and to create world class manufacturing and investment
destinations in this region.
Sources: the hindu.
Topic: Disaster and disaster
management.
Multi-Agency Exercise ‘Pralay Sahayam’
A multi-agency exercise was recently conducted on the banks of
Hussain Sagar Lake as the final event of ‘Pralay Sahayam’ in Hyderabad.
§ The event demonstrated efforts of all central and state agencies,
National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) and the Armed Forces towards jointly
tackling an urban flooding scenario in Hyderabad.
Key facts:
§ The exercise brought out the role and function of the State
Emergency Operations in coordinating conduct of the joint operations.
§ The exercise emphasized the significance of early warning systems
of agencies like Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), National Remote
Sensing Centre (NRSC) and Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services
(INCOIS).
§ The exercise culminated with a static display which demonstrated
the efficient and functional layout of a relief and rehabilitation camp for the
displaced persons.
About NDRF:
The Disaster Management Act has made the statutory provisions for
constitution of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for the purpose of
specialized response to natural and man-made disasters.
Background:
Two national calamities in quick succession in the form of Orissa
Super Cyclone (1999) and Gujarat Earthquake (2001) brought about the
realization of the need of having a specialist response mechanism at National
Level to effectively respond to disasters. This realization led to the
enactment of the DM Act on 26 Dec 2005.
ROLE AND MANDATE OF NDRF:
§ Specialized response during disasters.
§ Proactive deployment during impending disaster situations.
§ Acquire and continually upgrade its own training and skills.
§ Liaison, Reconnaissance, Rehearsals and Mock Drills.
§ Impart basic and operational level training to State Response
Forces (Police, Civil Defence and Home Guards).
§ Community Capacity Building Programme.
§ Organize Public Awareness Campaigns.
Sources: pib.
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