PERIYAR IAS CURRENT AFFAIRS 22-SEPTEMBER-2017
Topic: Role of women and women’s organization, population and
associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their
problems and their remedies.
Women’s
Reservation Bill
The centre is planning to introduce the
Women’s Reservation Bill in the upcoming session of the parliament.
Inception:
The Women’s Reservation Bill was first conceived more than 20
years back on September 12, 1996. This bill pushed for a 33% reservation of all
Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies for women.
The Rajya Sabha passed the bill on 9 March 2010. However, the Lok
Sabha never voted on the bill. The bill lapsed after the dissolution of the
15th Lok Sabha in 2014.
Highlights of the Bill:
§
The Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth
Amendment) Bill, 2008 seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok
Sabha and the state legislative assemblies. The allocation of reserved seats
shall be determined by such authority as prescribed by Parliament.
§
Total reservation: One third of the total
number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes shall be
reserved for women of those groups in the Lok Sabha and the legislative
assemblies.
§
Rotation: Reserved seats may be allotted by rotation to different
constituencies in the state or union territory.
§
Reservation of seats for women shall cease to exist 15 years after
the commencement of this Amendment Act.
What proponents say?
There are divergent views on the reservation policy. Proponents
stress the necessity of affirmative action to improve the condition of women.
Some recent studies on panchayats have shown the positive effect of reservation
on empowerment of women and on allocation of resources.
To have more women in legislatures and the government is a big step
towards empowering women in society. The experience of several village
panchayats that have women as effective leaders bears testimony to this fact.
Affirmative action of this kind is the best way to usher in social and gender
justice.
What opponents say?
Opponents argue that it would perpetuate the unequal status of
women since they would not be perceived to be competing on merit. They also
contend that this policy diverts attention from the larger issues of electoral
reform such as criminalisation of politics and inner party democracy.
§
Reservation of seats in Parliament restricts choice of voters to
women candidates. Therefore, some experts have suggested alternate methods such
as reservation in political parties and dual member constituencies.
§
Besides, it is argued that rotation of reserved constituencies in
every election may reduce the incentive for an MP to work for his constituency
as he may be ineligible to seek re-election from that constituency.
Sources: the hindu.
Paper 2:
Topic: India and its neighbourhood- relations.
India,
Russia to hold joint military exercise in October
In the midst of evolving security situation in the region, India
and Russia will hold a mega military exercise- Indra– in October involving
their armies, navies and the air forces for the first time to further ramp up
military ties.
Key facts:
§
The Russian army, navy and air force are holding bilateral
exercises separately but this is for the first time, both the
countries will carry out a tri-services exercise. The exercise “Indra” will
primarily focus on achieving coordination between forces of the two countries
in a tri- services integrated theatre command scenario.
§
It will be for the first time that India will participate in a
tri-services military exercise with a foreign country with such a large scale
participation by the Navy, the Army and the Air Force (IAF).
§
A total of 350 Indian Army personnel will participate in the mega
exercise and the contingent will be led by a major- general rank official. The
contingents by the Navy and the Indian Air Force will also be sizeable in
numbers.
§
The military exercise is taking place at a time when India’s ties
with China have nose-dived due to the simmering border dispute and its ties
with Pakistan have deteriorated over cross-border terrorism and a number of
other issues.
Way ahead:
Russia has been a long-standing defence partner of India and both
the countries are now eyeing to further deepen the ties. Both countries had
decided to “upgrade and intensify” defence cooperation through joint
manufacture, co-production and co-development of key military hardware and
equipment.
Sources: et.
Paper 3:
Topic: Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
VASTRA
2017
The 6th edition of VASTRA i.e. “VASTRA
– An International Textile and Apparel Fair 2017”(VASTRA – 2017) was recently
inaugurated at Jaipur.
§
Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation
Ltd. (RIICO) is the organiser and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FICCI) is the co-organiser of the fair.
About VASTRA fair:
VASTRA, an all-encompassing trade fair and conference on
Textiles and Apparel, presents a fusion of the finest and the latest in textile
products – from fibre to fashion, services and technology. Crafted to create
business opportunities, it aims at revitalizing existing business ties and
forging of new business relations.
§
It is the ideal platform to enter JVs, strategic alliances and
partnerships worldwide, launch new products, as well as, harness new locations
for setting up businesses in India. It is also a place for disseminating
technology and interacting with R&D Labs and experts for solution in
technology and latest trends.
§
VASTRA, since its inception in 2012 has created a space for itself
in the calendar of international exhibitions on textiles and apparel.
Sources: pib.
Topic: Investment models.
Centre
announces new PPP Policy to promote private investments in affordable housing
Central Government has announced a new PPP Policy for Affordable
Housing that allows extending central assistance of up to Rs.2.50 lakh per each
house to be built by private builders even on private lands besides opening up
immense potential for private investments in affordable housing projects on
government lands in urban areas.
§
This policy seeks to assign risks among the government, developers
and financial institutions, to those who can manage them the best besides
leveraging under utilized and un-utilized private and public lands towards
meeting the Housing for All target by 2022.
The policy gives eight PPP (Public Private Partnership) options
for private sector to invest in affordable housing segment. Eight PPP options,
including six for promoting affordable housing with private investments using
government lands have been evolved after extensive consultations with States,
promoter bodies and other stakeholders.
Two models using private lands:
The two PPP models for private investments in affordable housing
on private lands include extending central assistance of about Rs.2.50
lakh per each house as interest subsidy on bank loans as upfront payment under
the Credit Linked Subsidy Component (CLSS) component of Pradhan Mantri Awas
yojana (Urban). Under the second option, central assistance of Rs.1.50 lakh per
each house to be built on private lands would be provided, in case the
beneficiaries do not intend to take bank loans.
The six models using government lands are:
DBT Model: Under this option, private builders can design, build and
transfer houses built on government lands to public authorities. Government
land is to be allocated based on the least cost of construction. Payments to
builders will be made by the public authority based on progress of project as
per agreed upon milestones and buyers will pay to the Government.
Mixed Development Cross –subsidized Housing: Government land to be
allotted based on number of affordable houses to be built on the plot offered
to private builders, cross subsidizing this segment from revenues from high end
house building or commercial development.
Annuity Based Subsidized Housing: Builders will invest
against deferred annuity payments by the Government. Land allocation to
builders is based on unit cost of construction.
Annuity-cum-Capital Grant Based Affordable
Housing: Besides
annuity payments, builders could be paid a share of project cost as upfront
payment.
Direct Relationship Ownership Housing: As against government
mediated payments to builders and transfer of houses to beneficiaries in the
above four models, under this option, promoters will directly deal with buyers
and recover costs. Allocation of public land is based on unit cost of
construction.
Direct Relationship Rental Housing: Recovery of the
costs by builders is through rental incomes from the houses built on government
lands.
Under these six Government land based PPP models, beneficiaries
can avail central assistance of Rs.1.00 to Rs.2.50 lakh per house as
provisioned under different components of PMAY(Urban). Beneficiaries will be
identified as per the norms of PMAY(Urban).
Way ahead:
Concerns have been expressed over the private sector so far not
entering affordable housing segment despite huge scope for the same under
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana(Urban) and an enabling eco-system put in place
through several concessions and incentives offered including the grant of
infrastructure status for this segment. With the new policy in place, it is
expected that the private sector will actively participate.
Sources: pib.
Topic: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
Intelligent
Transportation Systems (ITS)
The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) and
the International Road Federation, Geneva (IRF Geneva) have, today, signed a Statement
of Intent (SoI) to cooperate in the field of Intelligent Transportation Systems
(ITS).
The objective of the SoI is to create a national platform,
involving all relevant Government of India stakeholders, Indian and foreign
companies active in the sector, and relevant technical experts for the purpose
of developing a National ITS Policy covering:
§
Traffic Management.
§
Parking Management.
§
Electronic Enforcement of Traffic Rules and Regulations.
§
Fleet Management and Monitoring.
§
Innovation in the field of ITS.
§
Education in the field of ITS.
Objective of the policy:
The objectives of this national ITS Policy will be to contribute
to reducing urban traffic congestion, improving the situation around parking of
vehicles in cities, improving road safety, and improving the security of
passenger and goods traffic. The work of this National Platform will provide a
coherent and consistent National ITS Policy covering domains such as traffic
and parking management, enforcement, and security.
About International Road federation:
The International Road Federation (IRF) is a
nongovernmental, not-for-profit organisation with the mission to encourage and
promote development and maintenance of better, safer and more sustainable roads
and road networks. Working together with its members and associates, the IRF
promotes social and economic benefits that flow from well-planned and
environmentally sound road transport networks. It helps put in place
technological solutions and management practices that provide maximum economic
and social returns from national road investments.
§
The IRF has a major role to play in all aspects of road policy and
development worldwide. For governments and financial institutions, the IRF
provides a wide base of expertise for planning road development strategy and
policy.
§
For its members, the IRF is a business
network, a link to external institutions and agencies, such as the United
Nations and the European Union, and a business card of introduction to
government officials and decision makers.
§
For the community of road professionals, the IRF is a source of support
and information for national road associations, advocacy groups, companies and
institutions dedicated to the development of road infrastructure.
§
Through the International Road Educational Foundation the IRF
awards grants to graduate engineers and other transportation professionals from
around the world in support of full-time academic training. With this the IRF
actively supports the future generations who will build the road networks.
Sources: pib.
Topic: indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
First
Of 6 Scorpene-Class Submarines, Kalvari, Handed Over To Navy
Kalvari, the first of the six Scorpene-class submarines, has been
handed over to the Indian Navy by shipbuilder Mazgaon Dock limited, paving way
for its commissioning soon. The development marks a major milestone in Indian
Navy’s submarine programme as the vessel is expected to bolster India’s
maritime prowess.
What you need to know about INS Kalvari?
§
Kalvari is named after a deep-sea tiger shark. The Scorpene is
part of the ambitious Project 75 of Indian Navy’s submarine programme.
§
This type of submarine is designed to operate in all theatres
including the Tropics. It can undertake various types of missions that are
undertaken by any modern submarine including anti-surface warfare,
anti-submarine warfare, mine laying, intelligence gathering, surveillance, etc.
§
With its superior stealth capability, it can launch a crippling
attack on the enemy using precision guided weapons. The attack can be launched
with torpedoes, as well as tube launched anti-ship missiles, whilst underwater
or on surface.
Background:
Six Scorpene submarines are being built under Project-75 by
Mazgaon Docks Limited (MDL) with technology transfer from France. All the six
submarines under this projects will be indigenously built at Mumbai’s Mazagaon
Dockyard Ltd. These attack submarines have diesel propulsion and an additional
air-independent propulsion.
Sources: the hindu
Comments
Post a Comment