PERIYAR IAS CURRENT AFFAIRS 22-FEBRUARY-2018
Paper
2:
Topic: Issues relating to
development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health,
Education, Human Resources.
N
Gopalaswami committee
Context: N Gopalaswami committee
has been constituted to select 20 institutes of higher education in India that
will be developed into “world-class” institutes. In a few months, 10 each (from
public and private category) institutions will be accorded the eminence status
with a mandate, and supported, to achieve the world-class status over a period
of 10 years.
Facilities
provided to these institutes:
These institutes will be
provided with greater autonomy to admit up to 30% foreign students, to recruit
up to 25% foreign faculty, to offer online courses up to 20% of its programmes
and to enter into academic collaboration with top 500 in the world ranking
institutions without UGC permission.
Background:
Last year, the Union ministry
of Human resources Development, through the University Grants Commission, had
invited institutes from across the country to be upgraded into “world-class
universities.” Following this the Commission had received 100 applications,
maximum being from public institutions.
Need
for world-class institutes:
India lacks world-class
universities according to international rankings, and Indian academics,
compared internationally, are rather poorly paid. Students also suffer an
immense shortage of places in top academic institutions and throughout the
higher education system. India today educates only half as many young people
from the university age group as China and ranks well behind most Latin
American and other middle-income countries.
Way
ahead:
If India is to succeed as a
great technological power with a knowledge-based economy, world-class
universities are required. The first step, however, is to examine the problems
and create realistic solutions. Spending large sums scattershot will not work.
Nor will copying the American academic model succeed.
What’s
important?
§ For Prelims: Gopalaswami
committee.
§ For Mains: Need for world class
institutes and challenges therein.
Sources: the hindu.
Topic: Government policies and
interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of
their design and implementation.
Coal
blocks for commercial mining
Context: The Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs has approved the methodology for auction of coal mines or blocks
for commercial coal mining. The opening up of commercial coal mining for
private sector is the most ambitious coal sector reform since the
nationalisation of this sector in 1973.
New
methodology:
As per the new methodology,
there will be no end use restriction or price restriction for the coal that is
mined from these blocks. The blocks will be awarded through a forward auction.
The amount accrued through the bids will be in addition to the royalty that the
States get. All the revenue from the sale of these blocks will go into coffers
of the States where they are located.
Significance
of this move:
§ As the entire revenue from the
auction of coal mines for sale of coal would accrue to the coal bearing States,
this methodology shall incentivise them with increased revenues which can be
utilised for the growth and development. States in Eastern part of the country
will be especially benefited.
§ The auction of coal mines to
private operators will help in boosting the economy. Commercial coal mining
will help increase efficiency and productivity in the sector and will attract
fresh local and foreign investments. It will also lead to the availability of
low cost power and Coal India will benefit from the government’s move.
§ As 70% of India’s electricity
is generated from thermal power plants, opening coal blocks for commercial
purposes will ensure energy security and accountable allocation of coal and as
a result, it will ensure cheaper electricity for consumers.
Background:
Despite the increasing share of
non-fossil fuels in India’s energy mix, the market for coal is projected to
grow at a solid pace for several more years as this high-emitting fuel will
continue to be the mainstay for the country’s power generation. Also, coal
exports are a potentially lucrative business for India. Recent years have seen
other state-run entities too establishing a presence in commercial coal mining
and a jump in captive coal production (thanks to a 1993 amendment to CMNA) by a
veritable cross-section of industries, public and private, but only commercial
coal mining by the private sector was to bring a transformative change in the
sector.
Sources: the hindu.
Topic: Important International
institutions, agencies and fora, their structure, mandate.
India
offers USD $1 million aid to Tonga
Context: India has contributed USD
one million for the rehabilitation efforts in Tonga after the Tropical Cyclone
Gita caused massive destruction in the Pacific island nation. India has
allocated USD 500,000 in the India-UN Development Partnership Fund for the rehabilitation
efforts while USD 500,000 will be provided for immediate relief assistance.
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.
What’s
important?
§ For Prelims: UN Development
Fund, Cyclone Gita.
§ For Mains: Need for
International cooperation in rehabilitation.
Sources: the hindu.
Paper
3:
Topic: Awareness in the fields of
IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues
relating to intellectual property rights.
Blockchain
tech
Context: According to experts, the
adoption of blockchain by India’s banks could help avert frauds such as the one
at Punjab National Bank as the disaggregated and transparent nature of the
technology, which updates information across all users simultaneously, would
have ensured that various officials would have instantly been alerted to the
creation of the letters of undertaking (LoUs).
What
is Blockchain?
Blockchain is the digital and
decentralized ledger that records transactions without the need for a financial
intermediary, which in most cases is a bank. A blockchain is an anonymous
online ledger that uses data structure to simplify the way we transact.
Blockchain allows users to manipulate the ledger in a secure way without the
help of a third party.
How
it works?
Blockchain enables two entities
that do not know each other to agree that something is true without the need of
a third party. As opposed to writing entries into a single sheet of paper, a
blockchain is a distributed database that takes a number of inputs and places
them into a block. Each block is then ‘chained’ to the next block using a
cryptographic signature. This allows blockchains to be used as a ledger which
is accessible by anyone with permission to do so. If everyone in the
process is pre-selected, the ledger is termed ‘permissioned’. If the process is
open to the whole world, the ledger is called unpermissioned.
Benefits
of blockchain technology:
A blockchain is anonymous,
protecting the identities of the users. This makes blockchain a more secure way
to carry out transactions. The algorithm used in blockchain reduces the
dependence on people to verify the transactions.
Concerns
associated:
Blockchain is still a
(relatively) new technology and is not without its problems. For a start, there
are ongoing concerns about privacy in the settlement and storage of securities
– blockchain providers are working hard to address.
Banks are also at threat with
blockchain, since more and more firms (using their IT service providers from
India and elsewhere) will build systems that can create and exchange ‘blocks’
with one another completely legally, without ever having to use the banks as a
financial intermediary.
Way
ahead:
Blockchain is not a panacea for
all issues facing the banking system today. However, blockchain is an ideal
technology to ensure proof of integrity to the data and reduce incidents of
fraud.
What’s
important?
§ For Prelims: Blockchain- how it
works.
§ For Mains: Prevention of fraud,
use of technology in this regard.
Sources: the hindu.
Topic: Conservation.
Mass
nesting of olive ridleys begins in Odisha
Context: Starting the mass nesting
this year, more than 3,100 female olive ridley turtles have come out of the sea
to the sandy beach of the Rushikulya rookery coast in Ganjam district of
Odisha.
The Rushikulya coast is
considered to be a major nesting site in the world and lakhs of olive ridleys
come here every year to lay eggs.
About
Olive Ridley turtles:
§ Also known as the Pacific
ridley sea turtle, Olive turtles are a medium-sized species of sea turtle found
in warm and tropical waters, primarily in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
§ They are best known for their
behavior of synchronized nesting in mass numbers.
§ The olive ridley is classified
as Vulnerable according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature
and Natural Resources (IUCN), and is listed in Appendix I of CITES.
§ The Convention on Migratory
Species and the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation
of Sea Turtles have also provided olive ridleys with protection, leading to
increased conservation and management for this marine turtle.
What’s important?
For Prelims: Olive ridley
turtles, Rushikulya coast.
Sources: the hindu.
Topic: security agencies.
Enforcement
Directorate
Context: The Enforcement
Directorate is grappling with a severe manpower crunch. The directorate is
currently functioning with less than 50% of the approved strength of 2,064
posts. While there are 900 officials handling operations at various levels,
there is a vacancy of more than 300 investigating officials, which has resulted
in increased work pressure on the present set-up.
About
Enforcement Directorate:
What
is it? It is a law enforcement agency and economic intelligence
agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in
India. It is part of the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
Objectives: The prime objective of
the Enforcement Directorate is the enforcement of two key Acts- the Foreign
Exchange Management Act 1999 (FEMA) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act
2002 (PMLA). Other objectives are primarily linked to checking money laundering
in India.
Composition: It comprises officers of
the Indian Revenue Service, Indian Police Service and the Indian Administrative
Service.
Background: The origin of this
Directorate goes back to 1 May 1956, when an ‘Enforcement Unit’ was formed, in
Department of Economic Affairs, for handling Exchange Control Laws violations
under Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947. In the year 1957, this Unit was
renamed as ‘Enforcement Directorate’.
Sources: the hindu.
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