PERIYAR IAS CURRENT AFFAIRS 14-FEBRUARY-2018
Paper
2:
Topic:
Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
Medical
Council of India (MCI)
Context: Medical
Council of India (MCI) proposal to amend the Screening Test Regulations 2002
has been approved by Health Ministry. It is now mandatory to qualify NEET to
pursue foreign medical course.
What’s
the issue?
A
common National Entrance Exam viz. National Eligibility cum Entrance Test has
been made mandatory for admission to all medical courses in the country. Indian
students can also pursue medical education abroad and have to qualify a
Screening Test called Foreign Medical Graduates Exam (FMGE), for registration
to practice in India after obtaining primary medical qualification (MBBS)
overseas. However, few medical institutions / Universities of foreign countries
admit Indian students without proper assessment or screening of the students’
academic ability to cope up with medical education with the result that many
students fail to qualify the Screening Test. In this regard, Medical Council of
India (MCI) had proposed to amend the Screening Test Regulations, 2002, making
it mandatory to qualify NEET to pursue foreign medical course.
About
MCI:
The
Medical Council of India was first established in 1934 under the Indian Medical
Council Act, 1933. This Act was repealed and replaced with a new Act in 1956.
Under the 1956 Act, the objectives of MCI include:
§ Maintenance
of standards in medical education through curriculum guidelines, inspections
and permissions to start colleges, courses or increasing number of seats.
§ Recognition
of medical qualifications.
§ Registration
of doctors and maintenance of the All India Medical Register.
§ Regulation
of the medical profession by prescribing a code of conduct and taking action
against erring doctors.
Why
reform the MCI?
Like
a license-raj permit controller, MCI has for long focused too much on licensing
of medical colleges and stipulating impractical conditions, while ignoring its
other mandate of maintaining ethical conduct in the profession. It has failed
to stop the sale of medical seats in private colleges for capitation fees going
up to Rs.50 lakh.
Over
the years, it has emerged as a single, all-powerful agency heavily influenced
by corporate hospitals to provide accreditation to institutions and assess
their quality, ignoring blatant conflicts of interest.
What’s
important?
§ For
Prelims: NEET, MCI.
§ For
Mains: MCI reforms.
Sources:
pib.
Topic:
Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
Defence
Acquisition Council
Context: Defence
Acquisition Council has cleared a plan to procure some much-needed fire-power
for the armed forces, expected to cost Rs. 15,935 crore. The list includes
light machine guns, assault rifles and sniper rifles.
Defence
Acquisition Council (DAC)
What
is it? To counter corruption and speed up decision- making in
military procurement, the government of India in 2001 decided to set up an
integrated DAC. It is headed by the Defence Minister.
Objective: The
objective of the DAC is to ensure expeditious procurement of the approved
requirements of the Armed Forces, in terms of capabilities sought, and time
frame prescribed, by optimally utilizing the allocated budgetary resources.
Functions: The
DAC is responsible to give policy guidelines to acquisitions, based on
long-term procurement plans. It also clears all acquisitions, which includes
both imported and those produced indigenously or under a foreign license.
What’s
important?
§ For
Prelims: composition of DAC.
§ For
mains: not much.
Sources:
the hindu.
Topic:
Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and
States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and
bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable
sections.
Jogighopa
to become India’s new gateway to South-East Asia
Context: Jogighopa,
a small town in Assam, is set to become India’s gateway to South-East Asia as
well as the rest of the North-East with the road ministry gearing up to develop
a multimodal logistics park (MMLP) there with road, rail, waterways and air
transport facilities.
What
is being done?
Under
the project, all four types of transportation—road, rail, air and
waterways—will be available. The development includes railway sidings,
container terminals, warehousing, non-cargo processing, a truck terminal,
common facilities, support infrastructure and equipment. A special purpose
vehicle, backed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), will be created to execute
the project, which will be executed in two phases.
Need
for alternatives:
The
current transit corridors from mainland India to the North-East region pass
through an area known as the “Chicken’s Neck”—a narrow tract of land in India
between the borders with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. Since it is close to
these borders and cannot be expanded, the North-East region requires an
alternative route for providing connectivity to the rest of India—a route with
adequate expansion potential. The Indo-Bangladesh road route, along with the
National Waterways-2, provides such an option.
Significance
of this move:
The
move comes at a time when India’s neighbours are gearing up for trade. For
example, Bangladesh’s development of the Khulna-Dhaka-Sylhet Economic Corridor
and the Banglabandha-Dhaka-Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar Economic Corridor—to promote
industrial development in the region. These initiatives are expected to drive
freight movement in the region and facilitate trade between India and
Bangladesh, and between Bangladesh and Bhutan through India.
Way
ahead:
North-East
is one of the regions which has played a pivotal role in terms of logistics
connectivity with the international and national corridors of India. And
Asean’s (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) strong bond with the
North-East region will act as a mascot for the entire region and for the rest
of the businesses in India.
Facts
for Prelims:
Jogighopa
is a small town located on the banks of the Brahmaputra River in the Bongaigaon
district in the state of Assam. Within the city are the remains of the five
rock cut rock-cut caves, examples of Salasthambha period architecture.
Sources:
livemint.
Topic:
Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and
States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and
bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable
sections.
LPG
Panchayat
Context: The
President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, recently hosted an ‘LPG Panchayat’ at
Rashtrapati Bhavan. The LPG Panchayat was organised by the Ministry of
Petroleum and Natural Gas with an aim to provide a platform for LPG consumers
to interact with each other, promote mutual learning and share experiences.
Each
LPG Panchayat has about 100 LPG customers coming together, near their living
areas,to discuss safe and sustainable usage of LPG, its benefits and the link
between clean fuel for cooking and women’s empowerment.
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.
What’s
important?
§ For
Prelims: LPG Panchayat, PMUY.
§ For
Mains: need for PMUY.
Sources:
the hindu.
Paper
3:
Topic:
Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources,
growth, development and employment.
Merger
of PSU non-life insurers
Context: Finance
minister Arun Jaitley had proposed a merger of these three PSU general insurers
in the Union Budget on February 1. The proposed merger of three public sector
insurance firms may be completed by early 2019.
The
three public sector general insurance companies to be merged are —
National Insurance (NIC), Oriental Insurance (OIC) and United India Insurance
(UII).
Purpose:
There
are a lot of operational advantages and savings that will accrue from this
proposed merger. The trigger for central government to go for merger of three
general insurers is mainly to boost up their solvency ratio and divest part of
its holding in the market. Merger will also stop the unhealthy competition
between the government-owned insurers. It is hoped that this merger will make
companies stronger.
Concerns:
There
is also a concern that post merger, there will be unhealthy competition between
two government-owned general insurers – New India Assurance and the new company
that emerges out of the proposed merger. Also, it will be a big task to build
the brand equity for a new entity in a highly competitive market.
Way
forward:
Few
experts are of the view that the government should go one step further and
merge all the four public sector general insurers.
What’s
important for:
§ Prelims:
names of PSU insurers to be merged.
§ Mains:
Reasons for merger.
Sources:
the hindu.
Topic:
Farm issues.
Rajasthan
announces Rs8,000 crore farm loan waiver
Context: Rajasthan
government has announced one-time farm loan waiver of up to Rs50,000 for small
and marginal farmers in the state, which would cost Rs8,000 crore to the
exchequer. The government has also announced setting up a farmer loan relief
commission where farmers can approach and present their side for getting relief
on merit basis.
Background:
In
India, farm loan waivers have been announced intermittently by both the central
and state governments to provide relief to farmers facing distress due to
natural calamities/crop failure. According to a 2017 report by the RBI, farm
loan waiver amounting to Rs 88,000 crore likely to be released in 2017-18 by
seven states, including Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, may push inflation on
permanent basis by 0.2%.
Drawbacks
of loan waivers:
§ Firstly,
it covers only a tiny fraction of farmers. The loan waiver as a concept
excludes most of the farm households in dire need of relief and includes some
who do not deserve such relief on economic grounds.
§ Second,
it provides only a partial relief to the indebted farmers as about half of the
institutional borrowing of a cultivator is for non-farm purposes.
§ Third,
in many cases, one household has multiple loans either from different sources
or in the name of different family members, which entitles it to multiple loan
waiving.
§ Fourth,
loan waiving excludes agricultural labourers who are even weaker than
cultivators in bearing the consequences of economic distress.
§ Fifth,
it severely erodes the credit culture, with dire long-run consequences to the
banking business.
§ Sixth,
the scheme is prone to serious exclusion and inclusion errors, as evidenced by
the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) findings in the Agricultural Debt
Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme, 2008.
§ Lastly,
schemes have serious implications for other developmental expenditure, having a
much larger multiplier effect on the economy.
What
needs to be done?
§ Proper
identification: For providing immediate relief to the needy farmers, a more
inclusive alternative approach is to identify the vulnerable farmers based on
certain criteria and give an equal amount as financial relief to the vulnerable
and distressed families.
§ Enhance
non- farm income: The sustainable solution to indebtedness and agrarian distress
is to raise income from agricultural activities and enhance access to non-farm
sources of income. The low scale of farms necessitates that some cultivators
move from agriculture to non-farm jobs.
§ Improved
technology, expansion of irrigation coverage, and crop diversification towards
high-value crops are appropriate measures for raising productivity and farmers’
income. All these require more public funding and support.
Way
ahead:
The
magic wand of a waiver can offer temporary relief, but long-term solutions are
needed to solve farmer woes. There are many dimensions of the present agrarian
crisis in India. The search for a solution therefore needs to be comprehensive
by taking into consideration all the factors that contribute to the crisis.
Furthermore, both short- and long-term measures are required to address the
numerous problems associated with the agrarian crisis.
What’s
important?
§ For
Prelims: Which states announced farm loan waivers in last one year.
§ For
Mains: Advantages and Disadvantages of farm loan waivers.
Sources:
the hindu.
Topic:
Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact
assessment.
India
State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2017
Context: The
environment ministry has released the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2017.
The ISFR report is published every two years. The India State of Forest Report
2017 is the 15th such report in the series. The report, however, for the first
time contains information on decadal change in water bodies in forest during
2005-2015, forest fire, production of timber from outside forest, state wise
carbon stock in different forest types and density classes.
Highlights
of the report:
§ India’s
forest cover increased by 6,778 sq km over the last two years. The increase,
based on satellite data and subsequent ‘ground truthing’, has put the total
forest cover at 7,08,273 sq km which is 21.54% of the country’s geographical
area.
§ Andhra
Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha and Telangana saw increase in their green
footprint during the last two years though there is a worrying decline in six
northeastern states, including a shrinkage of 630 sq km in the eastern
Himalayas.
§ While
overall green cover, including tree patches outside recorded forest areas,
reported an incremental 1% increase (8,021 sq km) over the last assessment year
in 2015, the quality of forests remain a hotly debated subject even as
satellite monitoring has increased availability of data.
§ Taking
into account the density (canopy covering branches and foliage formed by the
crowns of trees), forest cover is divided into ‘very dense’, ‘moderately dense’
and ‘open’ forest. The ‘very dense’ forest cover has increased over the last
assessment of 2015, but the ‘moderately dense’ category reported a decline — a
sign which environmentalists consider quite worrying.
§ The
report also shows the total mangrove cover stands at 4,921 sq km and has shown
an increase of 181 sq km. All the 12 mangrove states have shown a positive
change in the mangrove cover, as compared to the last assessment. Mangrove
ecosystem is rich in biodiversity and provides a number of ecological services.
Facts
for Prelims:
§ Report
shows that three states – Andhra Pradesh, followed by Karnataka and Kerala –
have shown the maximum increase in forest cover. On the other hand, forest
cover in states like Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and
Meghalaya has decreased in 2017 as compared to 2015.
§ The
report notes that there was an increase of 2,647 sq km in the extent of water
bodies over the decade (2005-15) with all states and Union Territories (UTs)
showing an increase except Arunachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh figure as the top three states
reporting maximum increase in areas of water bodies including lakes and
wetlands.
§ Madhya
Pradesh has the largest forest cover of 77,414 sq km in the country in terms of
area, followed by Arunachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In terms of percentage of
forest cover with respect to the total geographical area, Lakshadweep with
(90.33%) has the highest forest cover, followed by Mizoram (86.27%) and Andaman
& Nicobar Island (81.73%).
Way
ahead:
India
may be endowed with 16 major forest types, and 221 types and sub-types based on
the Champion and Seth classification, but retains very little of its ancient
forests after centuries of pre-colonial and colonial exploitation. Latter-day
development pressures are also taking their toll. Forest restoration should,
therefore, aid the return of native vegetation.
Increase
in forest cover over the years is in sync with India’s commitment to the Paris
Agreement on climate change and the country would meet its target of creating
additional carbon sink (2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent) through
increase in forest and tree cover by 2030.
Sources:
the hindu.
Facts
for Prelims:
NTPC
to supply 300 MW power to Bangladesh:
Context:
State-run power giant NTPC’s arm NVVN has emerged as the lowest bidder for
supply of 300 MW power to Bangladesh for 15 years at an estimated tariff of Rs
3.42 per unit. The company is expecting a revenue of Rs 900 crore every year
for supplying 300 MW under a tender floated by Bangladesh Power Development
Board (BPDB). At present, India exports approximately 600 MW electricity to
Bangladesh.
India
already has power grid links with Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh, and is building
power projects in the three countries. It also plans to develop power
transmission links with Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
Soyuz
rocket launches cargo freighter to International Space Station:
Context:
A Russian Soyuz rocket has launched the cargo ship Progress 69 toward the
International Space Station. Progress 69 is packed with food, science gear and
other vital supplies for the six-person Expedition 54 crew on the International
Space Station.
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