PERIYAR IAS CURRENT AFFAIRS 14-APRIL-2018
Topic: Indian
culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and
Architecture from ancient to modern times.
Baisakhi
Context: Festival of Baisakhi is usually celebrated on April 13,
but once in every 36 years the festival is celebrated on April 14. This year the occasion will be commemorated on April
14. It marks the advent of Baisakhi, which is an auspicious day primarily for the Sikh
community, and is also known as Vaisakhi, Khalsa Sirjana Diwas, or the birth of
Khalsa.
About Baisakhi:
§ The word is derived from ‘Baisakh’, which is the second
month of the Sikh calendar (Nanakshahi calendar). It signifies a new year of
harvest for the community.
§ The festival is primarily a thanksgiving day when farmers
pay tribute to their deity for the harvest and pray for prosperity in future.
§ Sikhs follow a tradition named Aawat Pauni on Vaisakhi. People gather to harvest wheat that grew in the winter.
Drums are played and people recite Punjabi doha (couplet) to the tune while
harvestin on Baisakhi day.
§ Baisakhi also marks the birth of Khalsa, the collective body of all initiated Sikhs, also called
the “Guru Panth”– the embodiment of the Guru. On March 30 in 1699, Guru Gobind
Singh gathered his followers at his home in Anandpur Sahib, a city which is now
home to several Gurdwaras. At this gathering, Khalsa was inaugurated.
The birth of five ‘K’s:
The five ‘K’s are the five principles of life that are to
be followed by a true Khalsa. These include ‘Kesh’ or hair, which implies to
leave the hair uncut to show acceptance towards the form that God intended
humans to be in; ‘Kangha’ or wooden comb, as a symbol of cleanliness; the third
of the marks of being a Sikh pronounced on Baisakhi day was ‘Kara’ or iron
bracelet, as a mark to remind a Khalsa of self-restraint; ‘Kacchera’ or
knee-length shorts, to be worn by a Khalsa for always being ready to enter battle
on horseback; and ‘Kirpan’, a sword to defend oneself and the poor, the weak
and the oppressed from all religions, castes and creeds.
Science behind Baisakhi:
§ The festival of Baisakhi is celebrated amongst farmers as
the festival of harvest. The month of April is considered as the harvesting
time for the Rabi Crops, the crops which are sown during winter seasons.
§ Since the photoperiod becomes larger, the short day
plants start to flower and give fruits and grains, which are now ready to be
harvested. Therefore, the farmers gear up in their fields and start harvesting
the crops.
Facts for Prelims:
In other parts of India at this time, Bengalis celebrate
Poila Boishakh (Bengali New Year), Assamese celebrate Bohag Bihu (Assamese New
Year) and Puthandu (Tamil New Year) is celebrated in Tamil Nadu– as New Year
festivals such as Baisakhi.
Sources: the hindu.
Paper 2:
Topic:
Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and
issues arising out of their design and implementation.
e-FRRO scheme
Context: The government has launched the web-based
application ‘e-FRRO’ (e-Foreigners Regional Registration Office) which aims to
provide efficient visa related services online to foreigners visiting India.
About ‘e-FRRO’ scheme:
Aim: The
e-FRRO scheme is aimed at building a centralized, transparent online platform
for the foreigners to avail visa related services and to provide Faceless,
Cashless and Paperless services to the foreigners with user friendly
experience.
Features: under the scheme, foreigners would be able to get
as many as 27 Visa and Immigration related services in India from the comfort
of their place of stay. Using the e-FRRO application, foreigners can apply
online on the portal and obtain the service(s) through email/post without
appearing in person at the FRO/FRRO office.
Advantages of e-FRRO include facilitation of legitimate foreigners
through “Digital India” vision of the Government, foreigners need not visit
FRRO/FRO office – “Services from the comfort of home”, convenient and Time
saving, exclusive dashboard for User friendly experience and Uniform &
Standardized Services across the Country.
Significance of the scheme:
In 2017, more than one crore foreigners visited India and
out of them approximately 3.6 lakhs had to visit FRRO offices spread across the
country for various visa-related services. With the launch of the online e-FRRO
scheme, their physical visit to the FRRO offices thus been obviated.
What’s important?
§ For Prelims: e- FRRO scheme.
§ For Mains: Efforts to promote India as a tourist
destination.
Sources: pib.
Topic: Indian
diaspora.
Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS)
Context: The Reserve Bank has tightened reporting norms for
the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS). Now banks will be required to upload
daily transaction-wise information undertaken by them under LRS.
What is it?
Under LRS, all resident individuals can freely remit
$250,000 overseas every financial year for a permissible set of current or
capital account transactions.
Permitted: Remittances are permitted for overseas education,
travel, medical treatment and purchase of shares and property, apart from
maintenance of relatives living abroad, gifting and donations. Individuals can
also open, maintain and hold foreign currency accounts with overseas banks for
carrying out transactions.
Not permitted: However, the rules do not allow remittances for
trading on the foreign exchange markets, margin or margin calls to overseas
exchanges and counterparties and the purchase of Foreign Currency Convertible
Bonds issued by Indian companies abroad. Sending money to certain countries and
entities is also barred. Under LRS, people can’t send money to countries
identified as ‘non cooperative’ by the Financial Action Task Force. Remittances
are also prohibited to entities identified as posing terrorist risks.
Why is it important?
The LRS represents India’s baby steps towards dismantling
controls on foreign exchange movements in and out of the country. It has
allowed large numbers of Indians to study abroad and diversify their portfolios
from purely desi stocks and property.
Ideally speaking, capital controls in any form have no
place in a liberalised economy. But for India, which is heavily dependent on
imports of critical goods and perpetually spends more foreign exchange than it
earns, it is difficult to free up remittances because of the havoc this can
wreak on exchange rates.
What’s important?
§ For Prelims: Liberalised remittance scheme.
§ For Mains: Need for control of foreign exchange
movements.
Sources: the hindu.
Paper 3:
Topic: Indian
Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth,
development and employment.
Inflation targeting
Context: Making a case for doing away with inflation
targeting by the RBI, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM)
member Surjit Bhalla recently said it has made zero impact on prices. Under the
new policy framework, the RBI aims to contain inflation at 4% with a band of
(+/-) 2%.
Concerns:
Average inflation in 2017-18 was 3.5%. India’s real
interest rate is higher by 2.5%, which is 3rd highest in the world.
What is inflation targeting?
§ Inflation targeting is a monetary policy in which a
central bank has an explicit target inflation rate for the medium term and
announces this inflation target to the public. It will have price stability as
the main goal of monetary policy.
§ Many central banks adopted inflation targeting as a
pragmatic response to the failure of other monetary policy regimes, such as
those that targeted the money supply or the value of the currency in relation
to another, presumably stable, currency.
Why it is good?
§ It will lead to increased transparency and
accountability.
§ Policy will be linked to medium/long term goals, but with
some short term flexibility.
§ With inflation targeting in place, people will tend to
have low inflation expectations. If there was no inflation target, people could
have higher inflation expectations, encouraging workers to demand higher wages
and firms to put up prices.
§ It also helps in avoiding boom and bust cycles.
§ If inflation creeps up, then it can cause various
economic costs such as uncertainty leading to lower investment, loss of
international competitiveness and reduced value of savings. This can also be
avoided with targeting.
Associated concerns:
Inflation targeting puts too much weight on inflation
relative to other goals. Central Banks Start to Ignore More Pressing Problems.
Inflation target reduces “flexibility”. It has the potential to constrain
policy in some circumstances in which it would not be desirable to do so.
Not a panacea:
Inflation targeting has been successfully practiced in a
growing number of countries over the past 20 years, and many more countries are
moving toward this framework. Over time, inflation targeting has proven to be a
flexible framework that has been resilient in changing circumstances, including
during the recent global financial crisis. Individual countries, however, must
assess their economies to determine whether inflation targeting is appropriate
for them or if it can be tailored to suit their needs. For example, in many
open economies, the exchange rate plays a pivotal role in stabilizing output
and inflation. In such countries, policymakers must debate the appropriate role
of the exchange rate and whether it should be subordinated to the inflation
objective.
What’s important?
§ For Prelims: MPC and inflation targeting.
§ For Mains: Inflation targeting- need, significance and
challenges.
Sources: the hindu.
Topic:
Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
Sovereign Gold Bond scheme
Context: The government of India has announced that the
first tranche of Sovereign Gold Bond scheme for the current year 2018-19 will
shortly be opened for subscription.
About the Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme:
The sovereign gold bond was introduced by the Government
in 2015. While the Government introduced these bonds to help reduce India’s
over dependence on gold imports, the move was also aimed at changing the habits
of Indians from saving in physical form of gold to a paper form with Sovereign
backing.
Key facts:
Eligibility: The bonds will be restricted for sale to resident
Indian entities, including individuals, HUFs, trusts, universities and
charitable institutions.
Denomination and tenor: The bonds will be denominated in multiples of
gram(s) of gold with a basic unit of 1 gram. The tenor will be for a period of
8 years with exit option from the 5th year to be exercised on the interest
payment dates.
Minimum and Maximum limit: The minimum permissible investment limit will be 1
gram of gold, while the maximum limit will be 4 kg for individual, 4 kg for HUF
and 20 kg for trusts and similar entities per fiscal (April-March) notified by
the government from time to time.
Joint Holder: In case of joint holding, the investment limit of 4
kg will be applied to the first applicant only.
Collateral: Bonds can be used as collateral for loans. The
loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is to be set equal to ordinary gold loan mandated by
the Reserve Bank from time to time.
What’s important?
§ For Prelims: Features of the SGB scheme.
§ For Mains: The scheme and its significance for India.
Sources: pib.
Topic:
Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology.
Road map for drones
Context: With an aim to prepare a road map and fast-track
the implementation of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, or drones, in
the country, the Centre has announced setting up of a 13-member task force
headed by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha.
Terms of reference:
§ Apart from developing a road map, the task force would
also lay down implementable recommendations for central and state governments,
industry and research institutions.
§ The committee’s road map would also focus on R&D,
acquisition and commercialisation, application and adoption in specific
sectors, regulatory framework as well as preference for Make in India.
What necessitated this move?
That drones have tremendous practical applications can no
longer be disputed. Some of India’s startups are revolutionising drone
applications in areas as diverse as disaster management, precision agriculture
and crop insurance, mining, infrastructure projects, and land records. The
increasing use of drone-enabled solutions by various state departments and
ministries — such as the railways, surface transport, power, and law
enforcement — further validates their efficacy. Yet, the Indian regulatory
approach has been unfriendly thus far towards drone innovations and
applications.
Draft Regulation on Civil Use of Drones
Announced:
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation, in November
2017, announced draft regulations on civil use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft
Systems, commonly known as Drones.
§ As per the draft, all commercial categories of drones
except those in the Nano category and those operated by government security
agencies, will have to be registered by DGCA in the form of Unique
Identification Number (UIN).
§ The Mini and above categories will require Unmanned
Aircraft Operator Permit (UAOP), but the model aircraft up to maximum take-off
weight of 2 Kgs flown below 200 feet inside educational institution premises
will not require UIN/UAOP.
§ The draft regulation also mandates tremote pilots to
undergo requisite training, except for Nano and micro categories. As per the
draft regulation, the Micro and above category drones will have to be equipped
with RFID/SIM, return to home option and anti-collision lights.
§ The draft regulation also specifies certain restricted
areas for operations of drones. Drones cannot be operated within an area of 5km
from airport, within permanent or temporary Prohibited, Restricted and Danger
Areas as notified by AAI in AIP and without prior approval over densely
populated areas or over or near an area affecting public safety or where
emergency operations are underway and within 50 km from international border
and beyond 500 m (horizontal) into sea along the coastline.
Way ahead:
Flying drones safely in India will require research and
development to understand how they can be best used in India’s unique
landscape. Such R&D occurs best in a market-oriented environment, which
will not happen unless civilian drone use is permitted. Building profitable
companies around drone use can be complicated when the core business model is
illegal.
What’s important?
For Mains: Drones- civil and military uses, their
regulation- need and challenges.
Sources: pib.
Topic:
Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology.
NAAMES Mission
Context: In a first, NASA is conducting a study of the
world’s largest phytoplankton bloom in the North Atlantic, named the North
Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) mission, to see how the
tiny sea critters influence the climate in every season.
§ It is the first research mission to conduct an integrated
study of all four distinct phases of the world’s largest phytoplankton bloom.
About NAAMES Mission:
§ The North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study
(NAAMES) is an interdisciplinary investigation resolving key processes
controlling marine ecosystems and aerosols that are essential to our
understanding of Earth system function and future change.
§ NAAMES is funded by the NASA Earth Venture Suborbital
Program and is the first EV-S mission focused on studying the coupled ocean
ecosystem and atmosphere.
§ NAAMES consists of four, combined ship and aircraft field
campaigns that are each aligned to a specific event in the annual plankton
lifecycle.
Scientific objectives:
The North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study
(NAAMES) studies the world’s largest plankton bloom and how it gives rise to
small organic particles that leave the ocean and end up in the atmosphere,
ultimately influencing clouds and climate.
Background:
The North Atlantic plankton bloom is among the most
conspicuous biological events annually recorded by satellite ocean color
measurements, yet even fundamental controls on the bloom’s magnitude and
interannual variability are controversial. The bloom climax is one event within
an annual plankton cycle that essentially oscillates between a
decreasing-biomass phase beginning in the summer and an increasing-biomass
phase beginning in Winter-Spring and ending with the bloom climax in Spring.
Significance of the mission:
NAAMES is a five year investigation to resolve key
processes controlling ocean system function, their influences on atmospheric
aerosols and clouds and their implications for climate. Observations obtained
during four, targeted ship and aircraft measurement campaigns, combined with
the continuous satellite and in situ ocean sensor records, will enable improved
predictive capabilities of Earth system processes and will inform ocean
management and assessment of ecosystem change.
Sources: the hindu.
Facts for Prelims:
IMC-2018:
Context: India Mobile Congress will be held in October 2018,
at Aerocity, New Delhi.
Theme: “NEW
DIGITAL HORIZONS: Connect. Create. Innovate.”
About IMC: The India Mobile Congress 2018, hosted by the
Department of telecommunications and the Cellular Operators Association of
India (COAI), is an excellent platform for policy makers, industry and
regulators to engage in meaningful deliberations to drive the future direction
of this important sector.
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