PERIYAR IAS CURRENT AFFAIRS 5-FEBRUARY-2018
Paper 1:
Topic: Indian culture will cover the
salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to
modern times.
Pelican festival
Context: ‘Pelican Bird
Festival-2018’ was recently organized at Kolleru lake. It was jointly organised
by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority (APTA) and Krishna district
administration.
Background:
Thousands of pelicans, painted
storks and other birds will visit the lake during winter season, roost, breed
and fly with their off springs. Recently, officials identified that Atapaka is
one of the largest pelicanry in the world.
About Kolleru lake:
Kolleru lake is one of the
largest fresh water lakes in the country. It is located between Krishna and
Godavari delta. It was declared as a wildlife sanctury in 1999. It is a Ramsar
site and is also listed as an Important Bird Area.
The lake is known to amateur
birdwatchers and professional ornithologists as a Pelicanery — a location were
the Grey Pelicans, a large magnificent bird, nest and breed. Grey pelicans had
vanished from the lake in 1973 for nearly 35 years and returned to it to nest again
in December 2006.
Facts for Prelims:
The Grey Pelican also called
the Spot Billed Pelican is listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act
and in the Red Data Book. It is also considered a “globally threatened species”
under the “vulnerable” category.
Sources: the hindu.
Topic: Indian culture will cover the
salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to
modern times.
International Kala Mela
Context: The First ever
International Kala Mela is being in New Delhi. The International Kala Mela has
been organised by the Lalit Kala Akademi in partnership with IGNCA of the
Ministry of Culture.
About the festival:
The central objective of Kala
Mela is to focus on direct interaction between the artist and the connoisseur
and also educating and raising awareness about art, which has been the mandate
of Lalit Kala Akademi. This comprehensive outreach shall include the
participation of National, International level Artists/ Art Critics of repute
from all over the Globe. More than 800 artists from across the world are taking
part in the Festival. The festival serves as a platform for artists to showcase
their art works.
Lalit Kala Akademi:
The Lalit Kala Akademi or
National Academy of Art is India’s National Academy of Fine Arts. It is an
autonomous organization, established at New Delhi in 1954 to promote and
propagate understanding of Indian art, both within and outside the country. It
does so through providing scholarships, a fellow program, and sponsoring and
organizing numerous exhibitions in India and overseas.
Sources: pib.
Topic: Indian culture will cover the
salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern
times.
Demetrios Galanos
Context: Indira Gandhi National
Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) is organizing an International Conference on,
‘Demetrios Galanos and His Legacy’. The convention is being held in Delhi and Varanasi,
in addition to organizing the exhibition and folk music of Greece. The
conference is being organized by Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts
(IGNCA) under the Bharat Vidya Prayojana, a long term academic program of the
IGNCA.
The aim of the conference is to
focus on academic and cultural exchanges between India and Greece made by
scholars and artists both Indian and Greek, in modern times since Demetrios
Galanos.
About Demetrios Galanos:
Demetrios Galanos (1760–1833)
has a special place among the European Indologists of the nineteenth century.
He was the only one who stayed in India for 47 years, and except for the first
seven years when he lived in Calcutta, for 40 years he lived in the city of
Varanasi, mastering Sanskrit, Hindi and Persian, from local scholars.
Contributions: He translated
the Bhagvad Gita into Greek among many other Sanskrit texts. His major
contribution was the compilation of a Sanskrit-English-Greek lexicon of about 9000
words.
Sources: pib.
Paper 2:
Topic: Government policies and
interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of
their design and implementation.
E-way bill
Context: With the E-way bill
generation platform facing technical glitches, the Government has extended the
trial period for e-way bill. However, the government has not clarified how long
the trial will run.
What is E-way Bill?
E-way is an electronic billing
system for traders who are moving their goods for sale beyond 10 km radius.
Under the system, transporters carrying goods worth Rs 50,000 will be required
to get goods pre-registered before transporting them from one location to
another. While the mandatory compliance of inter-state E-way bill may roll-out
soon once again, however, the for intra-state, the date is June 1. States such
as Kerala, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Karnataka have already implemented the
e-way bill system.
How E-way bill works?
§ E-way is valid for all-India
movement and transporters can generate the bill electronically and in
self-service mode. Under the system, there is no need to visit any tax office
and check post.
§ Transporters can generate e-way
bill on the official website through the Mobile App, SMS and offline as well.
§ Transporters can visit the
portal ‘ewaybill.nic.in’ and generate the e-way bill by registering themselves
by giving the GSTIN.
§ Those who are not registered
can get themselves registered on the website using Aadhaar or PAN card.
§ E-way bill can be generated by
entering vehicle number.
§ In case of breakdown or
transhipment, the traders can update the vehicle number using the same E-way
bill.
§ Once generated E-way bill,
however, cannot be cancelled for 24 hours.
Concerns:
Some traders are not happy with
the move. Traders are demanding simplification of the process for generation of
these electronic receipts. Explaining that it will be more of a hindrance than
compliance, traders say the move will force them to shut shops.
Sources: the hindu.
Topic: Important International
institutions, agencies and fora, their structure, mandate.
UN Development Partnership Fund
Context: India has contributed an
additional $1 million to the India-UN Development Partnership Fund earmarked
for South-South cooperation. The contribution aims to intensify its
partnerships with other developing countries.
About the India-UN Development
Partnership Fund:
What is it? The India-UN Development
Partnership Fund was set up as a partnership between India and the United
Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC).
What is it for? Managed by UNOSSC, the
fund will support Southern-owned and led, demand-driven, and transformational
sustainable development projects across the developing world. Focusing on Least
Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States, United Nations
agencies will implement the Fund’s projects in close collaboration with
partnering governments.
Focus areas: Reducing poverty and
hunger, improving health, education and equality, and expanding access to clean
water and energy.
Facts for Prelims and Mains:
About UNOSSC:
What is it?
The United Nations Office for
South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) was established to promote, coordinate and
support South-South and triangular cooperation globally and within the United
Nations system. UNOSSC, hosted by UNDP since 1974, was established by the UN
General Assembly with a mandate to advocate for and coordinate South-South and
triangular cooperation on a global and UN system-wide basis.
Functions: UNOSSC receives
policy directives and guidance from the General Assembly and through its subsidiary
body, the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation. UNOSSC submits its
strategic planning frameworks to the UNDP, UNFPA and UNOPS Executive Board for
approval and funding.
Sources: the hindu.
Paper 3:
Topic: Indian Economy and issues
relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and
employment.
LTCG tax on equity
Context: The government has
re-introduced LTCG tax on equity shares. Investors have to pay 10% LTCG tax on
gains exceeding ₹one lakh on the sale of shares
or equity mutual funds held for more than one year. Previously, short-term
capital gains (STCG) tax of 15% was levied.
The Centre said if the gains
exceeded ₹one lakh in a year, then 10%
LTCG tax had to be paid without the benefit of indexation (adjusting the profit
against inflation to compute the real taxable gains).
What is LTCG?
LTCG or long-term capital gains
refer to the gains made on any class of asset held for a particular period of
time. In case of equity shares, it refers to the gains made on stocks held for
more than one year. In other words, if the shares are bought and held for more
than a year before selling, then the gains, if any, on the said sale are
referred to as long term capital gains or LTCG.
LTCG tax is good for the
following reasons:
One, it corrects, somewhat, the
prevailing imbalance on market investments because though investment
instruments are taxed gains from holding shares for long are not. Even
short-term capital gains – money made by selling shares after holding for less
than a year – are taxed at 15%. Two, investors who park wealth in the stock
markets would be encourage to deploy the capital in ways that are more
economically productive, say, in manufacturing activities. Three, it makes the
government seem a little less pro-rich, little more benevolent towards the
no-so-rich as much of the capital gains are collected by corporates, not
individuals.
Way ahead:
LTCG tax should be seen as part
of a broader policy framework to boost capital investments while providing the
government more money for genuine public goods.
Sources: the hindu.
Topic: Inclusive growth and issues
arising from it.
CriSidEx
Context: CriSidEx, India’s First
MSE Sentiment Index, has been launched by CRISIL and SIDBI.
About CriSidEx:
What is it? CriSidEx is a
composite index based on a diffusion index of 8 parameters and measures MSE
business sentiment on a scale of 0 (extremely negative) to 200 (extremely
positive). CriSidEx will have 2 indices, one for the ‘survey quarter’ and another
for the ‘next quarter’ once a trend emerges after few rounds of the survey,
providing independent time series data.
Benefits: The crucial benefit
of CriSidEx is that its readings will flag potential headwinds and changes in
production cycles and thus help improve market efficiencies. And by capturing
the sentiment of exporters and importers, it will also offer actionable
indicators on foreign trade.
Significance of MSME:
MSME sector is backbone of the
economy. It is one of the largest employer in the country and with the vast
population where employment either in government or in the large industry
itself has limited potential. This is one sector where people not only exhibit
their entrepreneurial skills, become part of large value chains but also become
job creators in the process. And that is the reason why a bulk of the jobs in
manufacturing, trading have been created in this particular sector.
Sources: pib.
Topic: conservation.
New Project to Control
Pollution of River Sal at Navelin, Goa
Context: The Centre has sanctioned
a new project to control pollution in River Sal at Navelim town in Goa. The
project was sanctioned by the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate
Change under the National River Conservation Plan. The project would cost of
Rs. 61.74 cr. Both the Centre and State will share the cost on 60:40 basis.
Under the project, around 32
kms of sewers will be laid and sewage treatment plant of 3 million litres per
day (MLD) constructed. The project is scheduled for completion by January,
2021.
Significance of the project:
The project will help in
reduction of pollution load in the river and improvement in its water quality,
besides improving the environment and sanitation in the town.
Facts for Prelims:
The third largest river in Goa,
the Sal River is based in South Goa and starts in Cavelossim. It is one of the
nine major rivers of Goa. The River measures 35 kilometers in length and has a
basin size of 301 square kilometers. Being the only river that flows in a
north-south direction prior to flowing in to the Arabian Sea at Betul, the Sal
River is a geologically odd one because it runs parallel to the west of
geological coast.
Way ahead:
India is moving towards
disaster, as water continues to grow scarce (with quantity remaining constant
and quality deteriorating). While the reduction in quantity due to rise in
population is causing water scarcity in several parts of the country, the
reduced quality is not only furthering the scarcity, but also affecting health,
agriculture, environment and the economy. As India moves closer to 2020, it is
time the government focussed on overall scientific management of rivers. It is
in India’s interest that the government realises the importance of eradicating
river apartheid at the earliest. River conservation will, therefore, have to be
a joint effort of agriculturists, industrialists, urban managers, ecologists
and economists apart from government regulators.
Sources: pib.
Facts for Prelims:
‘Exam Warriors’:
What is it? It is a book
authored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for students facing exams. It aims to
get through to students across the country on the threshold of examinations,
and hopes to help them thread the needle with ease.
“Green Good Deeds” campaign:
What is it? The campaign has
been launched by the Environment Ministry to sensitise the people and students,
in particular, about climate change and global warming. The objective of the
campaign is to restore and return the clean and green environment to the next
generation.
Under-19 World Cup:
Context: India defeated
Australia by 8 wickets to be crowned 2018 Under-19 World Cup Champions.
Facts: India has become the
only side in history to lift the coveted title for a record fourth time.
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