PERIYAR IAS CURRENT AFFAIRS 8-JUNE-2018
Paper 1:
Topic: Modern
Indian History- significant events.
Pietermaritzburg
Context: External
Affairs Minister recently undertook a train journey from Pentrich to
Pietermaritzburg.
Significance of the place:
It is a
railway station in South Africa where a young Mahatma Gandhi was thrown out of
a “Whites-only” compartment 125 years ago. On June 7, 1893, Gandhi, then a
young lawyer, was thrown off the train’s first class compartment at
Pietermaritzburg station after he refused to give up his seat as ordered by
racially prejudiced officials.
Outcomes:
The
incident led him to develop his Satyagraha principles of peaceful resistance
and mobilize people in South Africa and in India against the discriminatory
rules of the British.
What’s important?
For
Prelims and Mains: The incident and its outcomes, the impact it had on Gandhi’s
future actions.
Sources:
the hindu.
Paper 2:
Topic:
Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
Defence Acquisition Council (DAC)
Context: The
Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved procurement of high powered
radars for the Indian Air Force and air cushion vehicles for the Army and the
Coast Guard together worth over ₹5,500 crore.
The 12
high power radars will be procured indigenously under the ‘Buy (Indian) IDDM’ category.
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.
Facts for Prelims:
§ A new
category of procurement ‘Buy {Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and
Manufactured)}’ has been introduced in Defence Procurement Procedure-2016 and
the same has been accorded top most priority for procurement of capital
equipment.
§ Under the
new category, indigenously designed equipment with 40% indigenous content (IC),
or equipment not necessarily designed in-house but having a 60% IC, is intended
for procurement from the local industry.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: composition of DAC, Buy (Indian) IDDM category.
§ For mains:
not much.
Sources:
the hindu.
Topic:
Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
(NCPCR)
Context: Indian
Railways and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)
have jointly launched an awareness campaign on Protection of children in
contact with Railways.
Significance of the campaign:
This is an
endeavour to spread awareness about large number of vulnerable children coming
in contact with Railways as passengers or abandoned, trafficked, run away
children separated from their family.
About NCPCR:
§ The
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) was set up in March
2007 under the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005.
§ It works
under the administrative control of the Ministry of Women & Child
Development.
§ The Child
is defined as a person in the 0 to 18 years age group.
§ The
Commission’s Mandate is to ensure that all Laws, Policies, Programmes, and
Administrative Mechanisms are in consonance with the Child Rights perspective
as enshrined in the Constitution of India and also the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: NCPCR- Statutory status and mandate of the commission.
§ For Mains:
Protection of vulnerable section of the society.
Sources:
The Hindu.
Topic: Issues
related to education.
World Best Universities Ranking
Context: The
15th edition of the QS World University Rankings has been released by global
higher education analysts QS Quacquarelli Symonds. QS ranks the world’s top
1,000 universities, across 85 countries.
Being the
only international ranking to have received International Ranking Expert Group
(IREG) approval, the QS ranking is viewed as one of the three most-widely read
university rankings in the world, along with Academic Ranking of World
Universities and Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
Global performers:
§ Globally,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology remains the top university for the
seventh consecutive year.
§ Stanford
University, Harvard University and California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
all retain their positions at second, third and fourth in the world
respectively.
§ From Asia,
National University of Singapore (11) Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
(12) and Tsinghua University, China (17) have been ranked the best.
Performance of Indian institutions:
§ Indian
Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B), Indian Institute of Science (IISc),
Bangalore, and Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-D) are in the top
200.
§ The number
of Indian universities in the top 1,000 increased from 20 to 24. 9 Indian
institutions have been individually ranked in the top-500 as against 6 last
year.
§ IIT-Bombay
is now the top institute in the country rising 17 positions from 2018 to 162.
Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore, rises 20 places to 170th.
§ 17 of
India’s 24 ranked universities improved their rank for Academic Reputation,
while 13 improved their rank for Employer Reputation.
Way ahead for India:
The
rankings are an affirmation of faith in the premier Indian higher educational
institutions. The Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry has been taking
several steps to improve the global rankings, especially the world-renowned
IITs by providing more funds and launching the Institutes of Eminence scheme
under which institutes would be freed from regulatory framework. However,
there’s still work to be done beyond the top universities.
Facts for Prelims:
International
Ranking Expert Group (IREG) emerged as a joint initiative of the UNESCO
European Centre for Higher Education (UNESCO-CEPES) and a group of
international ranking experts concerned with the quality of academic ranking.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: IREG, QS World University Rankings and India’s top performers.
§ For Mains:
Reforms in higher education.
Sources:
pib.
Topic:
Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or
affecting India’s interests.
Hague Abduction Convention
Context: The
government has clarified that it is not yet ready to sign the Hague treaty on
inter-country abduction of children by parents fleeing a bad marriage. On the
other hand, the government is planning to follow the Japan example and put
safeguards in place before acceding to the Hague treaty.
Background:
There has
been immense pressure from the U.S. on the government to sign the treaty though
the government has long held the view that the decision could lead to
harassment of women escaping marital discord or domestic violence.
Recommendations of the committee:
A Committee
headed by Justice Rajesh Bindal, in April, had submitted its report on legal
issues related to Inter-country removal & retention of children to the
Ministry of Women and Child Development.
‘Inter Country Parental Child Removal Disputes Resolution
Authority’:
§ The
Committee has recommended that the Government may establish an ‘Inter Country
Parental Child Removal Disputes Resolution Authority’.
§ Composition
of the authority: The Authority may be chaired by a retired High Court Judge,
with Members from Legal and Social sector background along with representatives
from key Ministries.
§ Functions
of the authority: The authority has been envisaged to provide a one window
solution in cases of inter country removal and retention of Children. The
Authority may examine the inter country cases of removal and retention of
children vis-a-vis the cultural context, merit of the case, and the best
interest of the Child.
Need for a policy:
Over three
crore Indians living abroad have cross-border marriages. When such a diverse
family unit breaks down, children suffer as they are dragged into an
international legal battle between their parents. Inter-spousal child removal
is one of the most unfortunate outcomes of such break ups. Children are
“abducted” by one parent and taken to a country with a different culture. This
can be traumatic as they are also cut off from the other parent.
The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of
International Child Abduction (1980):
§ The Hague
Convention is a multilateral treaty whereby the contracting states will have to
cooperate with each other in expeditiously sending back the runaway parent and
the child to the country of the child’s ‘habitual residence’.
§ It seeks
to return children abducted or retained overseas by a parent to their country
of habitual residence for the courts of that country to decide on matters of
residence and contact.
§ The
convention shall apply to any child, up to the age of 16 years who is a
habitual resident of any of the contacting states.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: International Child Abduction Bill, Hague convention.
§ For Mains:
Need for law on Child Abduction.
Sources:
the hindu.
Paper 3:
Topic: Disaster
management.
Dam Rehabilitation & Improvement Project (DRIP)
Context: The
Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) has approved revised cost estimate of Dam
Rehabilitation & Improvement Project (DRIP) for Rs. 3466 crore and has
extended time period for conclusion till June, 2020.
About DRIP:
The
Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR), Government of India, with assistance from
the World Bank, is implementing the DAM REHABILITATION AND IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
(DRIP), which would be a six-year project. The Central Dam Safety Organisation
of Central Water Commission, assisted by a Consulting firm, is coordinating and
supervising the Project implementation.
Goals: The
project originally envisaged the rehabilitation and improvement of about 223
dams within four states namely, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu
and later Karnataka, Uttarakhand (UNVNL) and Jharkhand (DVC) joined DRIP and
total number of dams covered under DRIP increased to 250. The project will also
promote new technologies and improve Institutional capacities for dam safety
evaluation and implementation at the Central and State levels and in some
identified premier academic and research institutes of the country.
The project development objectives of DRIP are: (i)
to improve the safety and performance of selected existing dams and associated
appurtenances in a sustainable manner, and (ii) to strengthen the dam safety
institutional setup in participating states as well as at central level.
Facts for Prelims:
§ About CWC:
Central Water Commission is a premier Technical Organization of India in the
field of Water Resources and is presently functioning as an attached office of
the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation,
Government of India.
§ Functions:
The Commission is entrusted with the general responsibilities of initiating,
coordinating and furthering in consultation of the State Governments concerned,
schemes for control, conservation and utilization of water resources throughout
the country, for purpose of Flood Control, Irrigation, Navigation, Drinking Water
Supply and Water Power Development. It also undertakes the investigations,
construction and execution of any such schemes as required.
Facts for Prelims- DHARMA:
It is a
software programme – Dam Health and Rehabilitation Monitoring Application
(DHARMA). DHARMA is a web tool to digitize all dam related data effectively. It
will help to document authentic asset and health information pertaining to the
large dams in the country, enabling appropriate actions to ensure need based
rehabilitation. It is a new stride in asset management aspect by India.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: CWC, DRIP project- goals, participants and coordinating agency, other
World Bank aided projects.
§ For Mains:
Need for Dam rehabilitation and challenges therein.
Sources:
pib.
Facts for Prelims:
Kaleshwaram project and Upper Pravara (Nilwande-II)
Project:
Context:
Ministry of Water Resources has accepted two major irrigation projects from
states.
§ The
Kaleshwaram Project of Telangana: It involves diversion of Godavari water for
irrigation and drinking water purposes.
§ The Upper
Pravara (Nilwande-II) Project of Maharashtra: It involves diversion water for
irrigation and drinking water purposes.
Various Flood management schemes approved (Can be asked
in match- the- following questions):
§ The
Mahananda Flood Management Scheme: Bihar.
§ Seer Khad
Project: Himachal Pradesh.
§ Yanam
Flood Protection Works: Union Territory Puducherry.
§ Ghatal
Master Plan: West Bengal.
Tripura’s “State Fruit”:
President
Ram Nath Kovind has declared Tripura’s queen variety pineapple as “state
fruit”.
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