PERIYAR IAS CURRENT AFFAIRS 4-JANUARY-2018
Paper 1:
Topic: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects
of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
Jangalmahal
Utsab
Context: Jangalmahal
Utsab was recently inaugurated at the Jhargam district in West Bengal.
About
the festival:
The
festival is organised in the state to promote tribal art and culture. Different
folk songs and dances such as Tusu, Bhadu, Ahira and Jhumur are performed by
the locals of the Jangalmahal area during the festival.
Facts
for Prelims:
The
world Junglemahal is used to refer four districts of the state — Purulia,
Bankura, Jhargram and West Midnapore. These four districts were once affected
by Maoist insurgency.
Sources:
toi.
Topic:
Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic
activity, cyclone etc.
“Bomb
Cyclone”
Context: A
massive winter storm called a “bomb cyclone” is hammering the eastern coast of
the US, bringing snow, ice, flooding, and strong winds.
What
is a Bomb cyclone?
The
term is used by meteorologists to indicate a mid-latitude cyclone that
intensifies rapidly. A bomb cyclone happens when atmospheric pressure in the
middle of the storm drops at least 24 millibars over 24 hours, quickly
increasing in intensity. The lower the pressure, the stronger the storm.
How
it works?
Deep
drops in barometric pressure occur when a region of warm air meets one of cold
air. The air starts to move and the rotation of the earth creates a cyclonic
effect. The direction is counterclockwise in the Northern hemisphere leading to
winds that come out of the northeast.
What’s
the difference between hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons?
Hurricanes,
cyclones and typhoons are all tropical storms. They are all the same thing but
are given different names depending on where they appear. When they reach
populated areas they usually bring very strong wind and rain which can cause a
lot of damage.
Hurricanes
are tropical storms that form over the North Atlantic Ocean and Northeast
Pacific. Cyclones are formed over the South Pacific and Indian Ocean. Typhoons
are formed over the Northwest Pacific Ocean.
Sources:
the hindu.
Paper
2:
Topic:
Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability.
Govt
notifies electoral bonds to replace cash donations to political parties
In
an attempt to ensure more transparent financing of political parties
participating in elections, the government has announced the introduction of
new electoral bonds that donors can buy from the State Bank of India
(SBI). The political parties who get these bonds can in turn encash them
only through a designated bank account. The bonds will be available at
specified SBI branches for 10 days each in the months of January, April, July
and October.
About
Electoral bonds:
What
are electoral bonds? Electoral bonds will allow donors to pay political
parties using banks as an intermediary. Although called a
bond, the banking instrument resembling promissory notes will not carry
any interest. The electoral bond, which will be a bearer instrument, will
not carry the name of the payee and can be bought for any value, in multiples
of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh or Rs 1 crore.
Eligibility:
electoral bonds, can be given to a registered political party which has secured
at least 1 per cent vote in the last Lok Sabha or state assembly elections.
That party will have to give one bank account to the Election Commission and it
will have to be encashed within 15 days.
Need:
The electoral bonds are aimed at rooting out the current system of largely
anonymous cash donations made to political parties which lead to the generation
of black money in the economy.
Sources:
the hindu.
Topic:
Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and
issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Pradhan
Mantri Swasthya Surakhsa Yojna (PMSSY)
Context: The
Union Cabinet has approved setting up of an AIIMS in Bilaspur in Himachal
Pradesh with an outlay of Rs. 1,350 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya
Surakhsa Yojna (PMSSY).
What
you need to know about PMSSY?
The
Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) was announced in 2003 with
objectives of correcting regional imbalances in the availability of affordable/
reliable tertiary healthcare services and also to augment facilities for
quality medical education in the country.
§ The
scheme has two components: Setting up of new AIIMS and upgradation of
government medical colleges.
§ Under
this scheme, AIIMS have been established in Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Raipur,
Jodhpur, Rishikesh and Patna while work of AIIMS Rae Bareli is in progress.
Also, three AIIMS in Nagpur (Maharashtra), Kalyani (West Bengal) and
Mangalagiri in Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) have been sanctioned in 2015 and two
AIIMS have been sanctioned at Bathinda and Gorakhpur in 2016.
Sources:
the hindu.
Topic:
Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services
relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Swine
flu
Context: The
Rajasthan government has sounded an alert in the State after more than 400
people were diagnosed positive for the swine flu virus. Nearly 11,721 people
were tested for swine flu between January 1, 2017 to December 19, 2017, of
which 3,214 were confirmed positive.
Swine
Flu:
What
is it? Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by
type A influenza viruses that causes regular outbreaks in pigs. H1N1 is a flu
virus. When it was first detected in 2009, it was called “swine flu” because
the virus was similar to those found in pigs.
Transmission
from Pigs to Humans: The H1N1 virus is currently a seasonal flu virus found in
humans. Although it also circulates in pigs, one cannot get it by eating
properly handled and cooked pork or pork products.
Pandemic:
In 2009, H1N1 was spreading fast around the world, so the World Health
Organization called it a pandemic.
Spread:
Swine flu is contagious, and it spreads in the same way as the seasonal flu.
When people who have it cough or sneeze, they spray tiny drops of the virus
into the air. If a person comes in contact with these drops or touch a surface
that an infected person has recently touched, the person can catch H1N1 swine
flu.
Pregnant
women who contract the H1N1 infection are at a greater risk of developing
complications because of hormonal changes, physical changes and changes to
their immune system to accommodate the growing foetus.
Sources:
the hindu.
Topic:
Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure,
mandate.
Typbar
TCV
What
is it? It is a Typhoid conjugate vaccine developed by Bharat
Biotech Ltd (BBL).
Why
in news? The World Health
Organisation (WHO) has pre-qualified its typhoid conjugate vaccine. The new
vaccine was found to have given a longer immunity from typhoid than older vaccines
and it required fewer doses for childhood immunisation.
What
does this mean? The pre-qualification by
WHO allows for the sale of the vaccines to UN agencies such as UNICEF and GAVI.
About
the vaccine:
Typbar
TCV is reportedly the world’s first typhoid vaccine clinically proven for use
on recipients who can be as young as six months.
A single dose offers 87% protective efficacy against typhoid.
About
Typhoid:
Typhoid
fever is caused by food and water contaminated by Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi)
bacteria. The symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, nausea,
loss of appetite, constipation and sometimes diarrhoea. According to the World
Health Organisation, typhoid affects about 21 million people per year and kills
around 222,000.
Facts
for Prelims:
What
is GAVI? Created in 2000, Gavi is an international organisation – a global
Vaccine Alliance, bringing together public and private sectors with the shared
goal of creating equal access to new and underused vaccines for children living
in the world’s poorest countries. Gavi brings together developing country and
donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the
vaccine industry in both industrialised and developing countries, research and
technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and
other private philanthropists.
Sources:
the hindu.
Topic:
Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure,
mandate.
Official
languages of the UN
Context: India
is pushing forward its proposal to include Hindi as one of the official
languages of the United Nations. The ministry of external affairs [MEA] is
currently reviewing a draft advocacy paper to present the Indian case with
regard to introducing Hindi in the UN.
Procedure
for language to be recognised as an official one of UN:
The
procedure for getting any language recognized as one of the Official Languages
of the UN involves obtaining approval of the General Assembly. Such a proposal
has to be approved by more than half of the members of the General Assembly
where every member-State has a vote. In addition, recognizing any language as
the official language of the UN entails a substantial increase in the
expenditure of the UN necessitating an enhanced contribution by every member
country, which is why most of the members remain reluctant to support such a
proposal.
Need
for recognition:
According
to the estimates around 340 million to 500 million speak, and as many as 800
million people understand Hindi language. Outside India there are countries
like Nepal South Africa, Mauritius, the United Kingdom, the United States,
Yemen, and Uganda where a significant number people speak Hindi. Also, the
government believes that at a time when Indian economy is shining and the
country is emerging as next global power it is the best time for the country to
promote its national language and get it recognised as an official language of
United Nations.
Official
languages of the UN:
There
are six official languages of the UN. These are Arabic, Chinese, English,
French, Russian and Spanish. These languages are used at meetings of various UN
organs, particularly the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, and
the Security Council.
§ Each
representative of a country may speak in any one of these six languages, or may
speak in any language and provide interpretation into one of the six official
languages. The UN provides simultaneous interpretation from the official
language into the other five official languages, via the United Nations
Interpretation Service.
§ The
six official languages are also used for the dissemination of official
documents. Until a document is available in all six official languages, it is
not published. Generally, the texts in each of the six languages are equally
authoritative.
§ The
six official languages spoken at the UN are the first or second language of 2.8
billion people on the planet, less than half of the world population. The six
languages are official languages in more than half the nations in the world.
Multilingualism
and the UN:
Multilingualism
enables communication between the UN’s linguistically and culturally diverse
Member States within the meeting rooms and halls of the UN. By promoting
tolerance, multilingualism also ensures increased participation of all Member
States in the Organization’s work, as well as greater effectiveness, better
outcomes and more involvement.
What’s
India doing in this regard?
India
has already started diplomatic efforts to promote Hindi at international level
and to gain the support of other countries. The MEA has set up the World Hindi
Secretariat in Mauritius along with the ministry of external affairs has
prepared Hindi-Chinese, Hindi-Arabic, Hindi-French, and Hindi-Spanish
dictionaries to promote Hindi. A consolidated Hindi-based dictionary of UN
languages is also under compilation.
Sources:
th
Paper
3:
Topic:
Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources,
growth, development and employment.
NABARD
Bill
The
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Amendment) Bill, 2017, was
recently passed by voice vote in the Rajya Sabha. The bill was passed by the
Lok Sabha in August, 2017.
Highlights
of the Bill:
The
Bill seeks to amend the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
Act, 1981.
Increase
in capital of NABARD: Under the 1981 Act,
NABARD may have a capital of Rs 100 crore. This capital can be further
increased to Rs 5,000 crore by the central government in consultation with the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The Bill allows the central government to increase
this capital to Rs 30,000 crore. The capital may be increased to more
than Rs 30,000 crore by the central government in consultation with the RBI, if
necessary.
Transfer
of the RBI’s share to the central government: Under the 1981 Act, the
central government and the RBI together must hold at least 51% of the share
capital of NABARD. The Bill provides that the central government alone
must hold at least 51% of the share capital of NABARD. The Bill transfers
the share capital held by the RBI and valued at Rs 20 crore to the central
government. The central government will give an equal amount to the RBI.
Micro,
small and medium enterprises (MSME): The Bill replaces the
terms ‘small-scale industry’ and ‘industry in the tiny and decentralised
sector’ with the terms ‘micro enterprise’, ‘small enterprise’ and ‘medium
enterprise’ as defined in the MSME Development Act, 2006. Under the 1981 Act,
NABARD was responsible for providing credit and other facilities to industries
having an investment of upto Rs 20 lakh in machinery and plant. The Bill
extends this to apply to enterprises with investment upto Rs 10 crore in the
manufacturing sector and Rs five crore in the services sector.
Under
the 1981 Act, experts from small-scale industries are included in the Board of
Directors and the Advisory Council of NABARD. Further, banks providing
loans to small-scale, tiny and decentralised sector industries are eligible to
receive financial assistance from NABARD. The Bill extends these
provisions to the micro, small, and medium enterprises.
Consistency
with the Companies Act, 2013: The Bill substitutes
references to provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 under the NABARD Act, 1981,
with references to the Companies Act, 2013. These include provisions that
deal with: (i) definition of a government company, and (ii) qualifications of
auditors.
Nabard:
It
is an apex development and specialized bank established on 12 July 1982 by an
act by the parliament of India. Its main focus is to uplift rural India by
increasing the credit flow for elevation of agriculture & rural non farm
sector.
It
was established based on the recommendations of the Committee set up by the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under the chairmanship of Shri B. shivaraman. It
replaced the Agricultural Credit Department (ACD) and Rural Planning and Credit
Cell (RPCC) of Reserve Bank of India, and Agricultural Refinance and
Development Corporation (ARDC).
It
has been accredited with “matters concerning policy, planning and operations in
the field of credit for agriculture and other economic activities in rural
areas in India”.
Sources:
the hindu.
Topic:
infrastructure.
Zojila
Pass tunnel
Context:
The Union Cabinet has approved the construction of Asia’s longest
bi-directional Zojila Pass tunnel at an estimated cost of Rs 6,089 crore.
About
the Zojila pass tunnel:
What
is it? It is a 14.2-km long tunnel project in Jammu and Kashmir to provide
all-weather connectivity between Srinagar, Kargil and Leh, which remains
cut-off from the rest of India during winters due to heavy snowfall. “Zojila
tunnel will be the longest bi-directional tunnel in Asia.
Implementation:
The project will be implemented by the ministry of road transport and highways
(MoRT&H) through the National Highways and Infrastructure Development
Corporation Limited (NHIDCL).
Benefits
of the tunnel: The project would enhance the safety of travellers crossing
Zojila Pass and reduce the travel time from 3.5 hours to 15 minutes. This pass
is most strategic for the entire Kargil sector which has seen intrusion and war
in the past. It will further increase the employment potential for the local
labourers for the project activities.
Facts
for Prelims: Zojila pass is situated
at an altitude of 11,578 feet on Srinagar-Kargil-Leh National Highway which
remains closed during winters (December to April) due to heavy snowfall and
avalanches cutting off Leh-Ladakh region from Kashmir.
Sources:
pib.
Topic:
Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organized
crime with terrorism.
Indo-Myanmar
agreement on land border crossing
Context:
The Union Cabinet has approved an agreement between India and Myanmar on land
border crossing which the government said would enhance economic interaction
between people of the two countries.
Significance
of the agreement:
§ The
agreement will also facilitate movement of people on the basis of valid
passports and visas which will enhance economic and social interaction between
the two countries.
§ It
is expected to provide connectivity and enhance interaction of the people from north-eastern
states of India with those of Myanmar.
§ The
agreement will also safeguard the traditional rights of the largely tribal
communities residing along the border which are accustomed to free movement
across the land border.
Background:
India
shares a 1643-km long border with Myanmar in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland,
Manipur and Mizoram. Despite threats, the India–Myanmar border has the
Free Movement Regime (FMR), which allows the tribes living along the border to
travel 16 km across the boundary without visa restrictions. There are over 250
villages with over 300,000 people living within 10 km of the border who
frequently cross the border through 150 small and large, formal and informal,
border crossings.
Sources:
the hindu.
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