About: 

• Nomenclature: ‘Dard’ is derived from a Sanskrit word, ‘Daradas’, which refers to people who live on hillsides. 
  
  
• Region: Dard Aryans is a tribe of Jammu and Kashmir’s Ladakh region. The Dard Aryans inhabit Dha, Hanu, Beema, Darchik and Garkone villages in Leh and Kargil districts. The villages are together called the Aryan valley. 
  
  
• Background: Dard Aryans are believed to be the original descendants of ‘pure Aryan race’. According to researchers, the ‘Aryans of Ladakh’ or the ‘Brokpas’ were a part of Alexander’s army and had come to the region over 2,000 years ago. 
  
  
• Culture: 
  • The people of this region have unique physical features, social life, ethnic culture and language. The tribe is known for its liberal customs and ornate costumes. 
    
    
  • The community prohibits marriage with outsiders to keep the gene pool intact. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Population: The tribe is considered “threatened” due to their depleting numbers, which, at present, is around 4,000. 
  
  
• Threats: 
  • Due to modernization, migration, and religious conversion, etc., their traditions and culture are at threat. 
    
    
  • They are mainly dependent on agriculture and are “educationally and economically backward”. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Schedule Tribes Status: ‘Dard Aryan’ is ‘NOT’ among the list of notified Schedule Tribes. 
  
  
• Steps taken: Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) has taken up the following initiatives to preserve their cultural heritage – 
  • It has provided Assistance in setting up a few Museums in the Regions of Dard Aryans in Leh, Laddakh, Kargil, etc., with the help of local community. 
    
    
  • A festival of Dard Aryan was organised by in January, 2019 at IGNCA, in which around 35 artists from Dard Aryan regions participated. 
    
    
  • It organised a workshop at Dha-hanu, Laddakh, Jammu & Kashmir in June 2018 for documentation of traditions of Aryan Valley. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Demands: 
  • Set up a tribal hostel in the region, 
    
    
  • Declare the Aryan valley a heritage village to boost tourism. 
    
    
  
  
  

About: 

• The order titled Calcutta High Court (Establishment of Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri) Order 2019 was issued by the President in consultation with the Governor of West Bengal and the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court. It came into existence from February 7. 
  
  
• Such judges of the High Court, as decided by the Chief Justice from time to time, will sit as single and division benches at the circuit bench. 
  
  
• The bench will exercise jurisdiction and powers of the High Court in respect of cases arising in the districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong and Cooch Behar in North Bengal. Residents of these four districts will now have to travel less than 100 km to access the bench instead of 600 km trip to Calcutta High Court. 
  
  
• The decision to set up the circuit bench in north Bengal was taken in a full court meeting of the high court in 1988. The Union cabinet had also approved the move in 2006. 
  
  

About: 

• NATO is also called the North Atlantic Alliance.  
  
  
• Objective: It is an intergovernmental military alliance between North American and European countries. It constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party.  
  
  
• HQ: Brussels, Belgium. 
  
  
• Origin: The alliance is based on the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed in 1949. 
  
  
• Member Countries: It consists of 29 independent member countries. Three former Soviet states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) are members of NATO. 
  
  
• Partners: NATO cooperates with a range of international organisations and countries in different structures (as mentioned below) - 
  • Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC)  
    
    
  • NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue 
    
    
  • Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) 
    
    
  • Partners across the globe: Under it, countries develop cooperation with NATO in areas of mutual interest, including emerging security challenges. In 2018, Colombia become partner across the globe. Pakistan is also NATO’s partner across the globe. 
    
    
  
  
  

Recent development: 

• The Macedonia-NATO accord follows a deal with Greece ending a 27-year-old dispute over Macedonia's name. Following the signing of the Accession Protocol, Macedonia can now take part in NATO activities as an invitee.  
  
  
• The accession process now moves to the capitals of the 29 Allies where the Protocol will be ratified according to national procedures. The country will become a member of NATO as soon as all Allies have ratified the Accession Protocol. 
  
  
• Russia has opposed the development by saying that by taking in Balkan members, the alliance is undermining security in the region. 
  
  

About: 

• Objective: The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to countries of the world for capital projects. The World Bank is a component of the World Bank Group. 
  
  
• World Bank Group: The World Bank Group consists of five organizations – 
  • The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) 
    
    
  • The International Development Association (IDA) 
    
    
  • The International Finance Corporation (IFC) 
    
    
  • The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) 
    
    
  • The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) 
    
    
  • Together, IBRD and IDA make up the World Bank. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Established in: 1945. 
  
  
• HQ: Washington D.C. 
  
  
• President: 
  • The President of the Bank is the president of the entire World Bank Group. The president is responsible for chairing the meetings of the Boards of Directors and for overall management of the Bank. 
    
    
  • Traditionally, The U.S., which is the World Bank’s largest investor, normally picks its president, with the Europeans picking the International Monetary Fund head. 
    
    
  
  
  

David Malpass: 

• David Malpass, the undersecretary of the Treasury for international affairs, is a controversial candidate for the job, owing to his views on multilateralism, multilateral organisations including the World Bank. 
  
  
• He has been an advocate of a smaller, more focused World Bank, arguing that countries can raise capital in private markets. In his role in the Treasury, he has tried to slow the Bank’s ability down to raise capital. 
  
  
• He has also been critical of China’s Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) as well as China being the largest customer of the Bank. 
  
  

Steps taken by Union Government for monitoring of quality of education in Government schools – 

• ShaGun (SHAala and GUNvatta): It is a web portal having two parts – 
  • One is a Repository of good practices to showcase success stories and also to provide a platform for all stakeholders to learn from each other. 
    
    
  • The second part is the online monitoring module of Shagun which measures state-level performance and progress against key educational indicators. 
    
    
  
  
  
• National Achievement Surveys: These are carried out by NCERT to assess learning achievement of children in Classes – III, V, VIII, and X. 
  
  
• Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA): Government of India has decided to participate in the PISA to be conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2021. 
  
  
• Shaala Siddhi: It is a School Standards and Evaluation Framework, developed by the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), which enables the schools to self-evaluate based on seven key domains. 
  
  
• Performance Indicators for Elementary School Teachers (PINDICS): The NCERT has developed PINDICS, a framework for assessing teacher performance and providing constructive feedback for further improvement. 
  
  
• Performance Grading Index (PGI): In order to objectively evaluate the performance of the school education system in the States/UTs, MHRD has designed a 70 indicators-based matrix to grade the States/UTs. 
  
  

Key Highlights of RBI’s Sixth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Review: 2018-19 

• Repo, Reverse Repo, Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) and bank rate cut by 25 bps. Repo rate has been reduced to 6.25 % and Reverse repo rate has been brought down to 6 %. 
  
  
• Cash reserve Ratio (CRR) held constant at 4%. 
  
  
• Inflation had fallen to 18-month low of 2.19 per cent in December and was expected to remain in the range of 3.2 - 3.4 per cent in April - September which is lower than previous RBI prediction of 3.8 - 4.2 per cent range. 
  
  
• RBI expects GDP growth rate to be at 7.4 per cent in fiscal 2019-20 which is up from 7.2 per cent estimated for financial year 2018-19 by central statistical organization. 
  
  
• Policy stance: The MPC took its stance back to neutral, highlighting the data dependent source of policy decision making. 
  
  
• Policy Guidance: Given a rate cut today, a further cut in the April meeting has assumed a higher probability, as long as inflation trends remain benign and growth remains within a range. 
  
  
• Liquidity conditions have been oscillating between mild surplus and heavy deficit. Liquidity is supported by extraordinarily heavy government spending, but remains structurally tight. 
  
  
• The external sector remains a source of uncertainty on multiple fronts, including trade negotiations, global growth and the direction of central bank actions. 
  
  

Comment: 

• The rate cut by the RBI is expected to give a boost to the economy by providing affordable credit to small businesses and home buyers. This will further boost employment opportunities. 
  
  
• Assessment of growth and inflation is quite realistic and underlines low inflation and high growth path for India for 2019-20. 
  
  

India size report: 

• Objective: 
  • A first-of-its-kind project, India Size aims to arrive at a standard Indian size for the ready-to-wear clothing industry, on the lines of the standardized sizes available in countries such as the US and the UK. 
    
    
  • A size chart that is specific to Indian consumers' measurements will be developed. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Benefits: 
  • This will help Indian apparel manufacturers to tailor their cuts closer to the actual body measurements of consumers. 
    
    
  • The India Size project will benefit manufacturers, consumers and will also generate data for textile ministry. 
    
    
  
  
  

Study of Apparel Consumption in India: 

• The Textile Minister also launched a study of Apparel Consumption in India. 
  
  
• Representing over 45,000 apparel manufacturers and retailers, Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) will be conducting a study spread across three to six months, for arriving at an accurate assessment of the total apparel consumption in the country. 
  
  
• This will result in more accurate business projections, better marketing strategies and investment into the industry. 
  
  
• The report would be ready for release by July 2019. 
  
  

About: 

• Mandate: The Aayog will be a high-powered permanent body which will formulate policy and issue directions for scaling up sustainable genetic upgradation of bovine resources and also look after effective implementation of laws and welfare schemes for cows. 
  
  
• Background: The government had announced its proposal to set up such a commission for cows in its interim budget on February 1. 
  
  
• Working: The commission will work in collaboration with agriculture university or departments or organisations of the central/state government engaged in research in the field of breeding and rearing of cow, organic manure and bio-gas. 
  
  
• Benefits: 
  • It will lead to the development of the cattle population in the country including the development and conservation of indigenous breeds. 
    
    
  • It will result in the growth of the livestock sector which is more inclusive, benefit women, and small and marginal farmers. 
    
    
  
  
  

About: 

• Background: The Agri-Market Infrastructure Fund was announced in 2018 Budget. 
  
  
• Fund: A corpus of 2 thousand crore rupees will be created with NABARD. 
  
  
• Usage of Fund: 
  • Developing and upgrading agricultural marketing infrastructure in the 22,000 rural markets, to be named as GrAMs (Gramin Agricultural Markets) and 585 APMCs. 
    
    
  • Provide the state/UT governments subsidised loans for their proposal for developing marketing infrastructure in 585 Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) and 10,000 villages. 
    
    
  • States can access AMIF for innovative integrated market infrastructure projects, including through public private partnerships. 
    
    
  
  
  

About: 

• Background: The GEF Small Grants Programme was established by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1992, the year of the Rio Earth Summit. UNDP has financed Small Grants Programme (SGP) in India since 1997. 
  
  
• Objective: Providing financial and technical support to projects that conserve and restore the environment while enhancing people's well-being and livelihoods. 
  
  
• Implementation Mechanism: Projects under the SGP are implemented through a National Host Institution – Centre for Environment Education (CEE), and other NGO partners and stakeholders that has presence in different parts of the country. 
  
  
• Grant Amount: SGP grants are made directly to Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The maximum grant amount per project is US$50,000, but averages around US$25,000. 
  
  
• Coverage in India: MOEFCC, GEF UNDP – SGP is being implemented throughout the country. 
  
  

Key Highlights Of The Amendment

• These amendments will bring in criminal provisions to tackle film piracy and copyright infringement.
  
  
• Unauthorized “camcording and duplication of films” can lead to a jail term of three years along with a fine of Rs 10 lakh.
  
  

Any person, who without the written authorisation of the copyright owner, uses any recording device to make or transmit a copy of a film, or attempts to do so, or abet the making or transmission of such a copy, will be liable for such a punishment.               

About Prasar Bharti

• Prasar Bharati is India's largest public broadcasting agency.
  
  
• It is a statutory autonomous body established under the Prasar Bharati Act and came into existence in1997.
  
  
• It comprises the Doordarshan Television Network and All India Radio, which were earlier media units of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
  
  

Reasons

• The scheme has been able to collect less than 20 tonnes while two years back, the World Gold Council had estimated that Indian households held as much as 24,000 tonnes of gold.
  
  
• Banks have the main culprit behind this failure. 14 banks have indeed signed tripartite agreements with seven refineries and 47 hallmarking centres to run the scheme.
  
  
• However, they have not returned signed agreements with the respective centres to start the process. In other words, they have not launched the scheme.
  
  
• The present scheme failed to attract gold lying in temples as these temples are managed by trusts that have deeds that do not allow selling of gold.
  
  
• And the GMS, in its present format, gives back cash over the medium or long term – this tantamounts to selling gold, which is prohibited by the trust deeds.
  
  
• Also, in present scheme, no attention was given to the lack of availability of bills. Many potential depositors do not want to go through the hassle of depositing gold, as they don’t have supporting bills.
  
  

Features of GMS

• Launched in 2015, it has these key features:
  
  
• There are three kinds of deposits — short, medium and long term. Under the short-term (one to three years) scheme.
  
  
• Banks are allowed to lend to jewellers, collect it back and return to depositors on maturity.
  
  
• Under the medium- and long-term schemes (five to 15 years), the liability of the deposit is with the government.
  
  
• The mobilised gold is to be auctioned by the MMTC on behalf of the government, and the money collected will be treated as market borrowings.
  
  

What Is Being Proposed?

• The government is planning to ask banks to open a gold metal deposit account, which will allow banks to return gold in the metal form on maturity instead of the equivalent value in cash.
  
  
• This move could be particularly attractive to temples, which hold around 3,500 to 4,000 tonnes, as they would like to get back gold in metal format instead of cash.
  
  

• Forty-two artists from the fields including Music, Dance, Theatre, Traditional, Folk, and Tribal music were awarded.  
  
  
• Eleven eminent artists were selected in the field of Music.
  
  
• Lalith J Rao , Umakant & Ramakant Gundecha (Gundecha brothers) received award in Hindustani Vocal Music.
  
  
• S. Sheela received award in Carnatic Vocal Music.
  
  
• Nine artists were awarded in Dance category including Ramakrishna Talukdar for Sattriya and Rama Vaidyanathan for Bharatnatyam.
  
  
• Nine artists were chosen for the award in Theatre. Vijay Verma and Sandhya Purecha were awarded for their overall contribution to the Performing Arts.
  
  

About Sangeet Natak Akademi Award:

• The General Council of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture had selects the awardees.
  
  
• Established in 1952, the Award not only symbolizes the highest standards of excellence and achievements but also recognizes sustained individual work and contribution.
  
  
• The award carries a cash prize of one lakh rupees, a Tamrapatra and Angavastram.
  
  

Key Facts

• 2018’s average temperature was 58.42 degrees (14.69 Celsius), which is 1.42 degrees (0.79 Celsius) warmer than the 20th-century average.
  
  
• NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) climate scientists said even though 2018 was a tad cooler than the three previous years that’s mostly due to random weather variations.
  
  
• Using computer simulations, the British weather office forecast s that the next five years will average somewhere between 58.51 and 59.49 degrees (14.73 to 15.27 Celsius).
  
  
• That would be warmer than the last four years.
  
  

Key Findings

• As many as 92,275 elementary and secondary schools in India are running with a single teacher.
  
  
• Under UDISE, the pupil-teacher ratio at national level should be 23:1 for primary, 17:1 for upper primary, and 27:1 for secondary schools.
  
  
• Madhya Pradesh (18,307) and Rajasthan (12,052) have the highest number of single-teacher schools, together accounting for nearly one-third of the total of 92,275.
  
  
• Uttar Pradesh (8,092), Jharkhand (7,564) and Andhra Pradesh (7,483) lies at 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th place in this regard.
  
  
• Delhi has 5 schools running with a single teacher.
  
  
• There are no such schools in Odisha, Tripura and four Union Territories — Chandigarh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra & Nagra Haveli, Lakshadweep.
  
  
• Sikkim has 1 single-teacher school while Daman & Diu has 3. Other states with less than 100 are Nagaland (31) and Mizoram (66).
  
  

About UDISE:

• UDISE is a database about schools in India, which was developed at the National University for Educational Planning and Administration.
  
  
• It records information such as the level of dropouts, the condition of school toilets etc.
  
  

About The Act

• The Lokpal Act, which envisages establishment of the anti-graft body Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states to look into cases of corruption against certain categories of public servants, was passed in 2013.
  
  
• The Lokpal selection committee is headed by the Prime Minister and has as its members the Lok Sabha Speaker, leader of the opposition in the lower house, the Chief Justice of India or a judge of the apex court nominated by him, and an eminent jurist who could be nominated by the President or any other member.
  
  

Composition Of Lokpal

• There is a provision for a chairperson and a maximum of eight members in the Lokpal. Of these, four need to be judicial members.
  
  
• Not less than 50 per cent of the members of the Lokpal shall be from amongst the persons belonging to the SCs, the STs, OBCs, minorities and women.
  
  

Eligibility Criteria

• Those with less than 45 years of age are not eligible to apply.
  
  
• For the appointment as the chairman, a person who is or has been Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court judge is eligible to apply.
  
  
• Besides, individuals with "impeccable integrity and outstanding ability" having special knowledge and expertise of not less than 25 years in matters related to anti-corruption policy, public administration, vigilance, finance including insurance and banking, and law and management are eligible to apply.
  
  

Terms Of Office

• Upon selection, the chairperson and members shall hold office for a term of five years or till they attain 70 years of age.
  
  
• The salary and allowances of the chairman of the Lokpal will be same as that of the Chief Justice of India, and that of members will be same as that of a judge of Supreme Court.
  
  
• The chief and members of the Lokpal are not eligible for reappointments.
  
  
• They will also not be eligible for any diplomatic assignment, appointment as administrator of a Union territory and for further employment to any other office of profit under the government of India.
  
  

Background

• The Institution of Income-Tax Ombudsman was created in the year 2003 to deal with grievances of public related to settlement of complaints relating to Income Tax.
  
  
• However, the Institution of Ombudsman failed to achieve its objectives. It was observed that institution of new complaints have in turn fallen to single digits.
  
  
• Also, tax payers started preferring alternate methods of grievance redressal like CPGRAMS (Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System), Aaykar Seva Kendras etc.
  
  
• Thus the closure is finalized in the wake of above cited reasons.
  
  

Objective

The objective of the bill is to confer the status of Institutions of National Importance to National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) at Kundli, Haryana, and the Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT) at Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu.

Benefits

• It would provide for functional autonomy to the institutes to design and develop courses, undertake research activities and leverage enhanced status in their academic pursuits, so that they become world class institutes.
  
  
• The institutes would implement the reservation policy of the Government and would also undertake special outreach activities for the benefits of concerned stakeholders.
  
  
• It would enable the institutes to provide world class teaching and research experience by adopting innovative practices.
  
  

About Photovoltaic

• Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect.
  
  
• It is a form of photoelectric cell, defined as a device whose electrical characteristics, such as current, voltage, or resistance, vary when exposed to light.
  
  
• Solar PV has specific advantages as an energy source: once installed, its operation generates no pollution and no greenhouse gas emissions, it shows simple scalability in respect of power needs and silicon has large availability in the Earth’s crust.
  
  

Key Highlights

• The 12,000 MW or more capacity of grid connected solar power projects will be set up by the Government Producers in 4 years period, i.e. 2019-20 to 2022-23.
  
  
• The Scheme will mandate use of both solar photovoltaic (SPV) cells and modules manufactured domestically as per specifications and testing requirements fixed by MNRE. This will help in giving a push to "Make-in-lndia".
  
  
• The proposal for setting up 12,000 MW Solar Power Projects will provide direct employment to around 60,000 persons for about one year in pre-commissioning activities/ construction phase and around 18,000 persons for about 25 years in the operation and maintenance period.
  
  

What Is IFSC

• An IFSC enables bringing back to India the financial services and transactions that are currently carried out in offshore financial centers by Indian corporate entities and overseas branches / subsidiaries of financial institutions (FIs) by offering business and regulatory environment that is comparable to other leading international financial centers in the world like London and Singapore.
  
  
• It would provide Indian corporates easier access to global financial markets. IFSC would also compliment and promote further development of financial markets in India.
  
  
• The first IFSC in India has been set up at GIFT City, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
  
  

Need For Unified Regulator

• Currently, the banking, capital markets and insurance sectors in IFSC are regulated by multiple regulators, i.e. RBI, SEBI and IRDAI.
  
  
• The dynamic nature of business in the IFSCs necessitates a high degree of inter-regulatory coordination. The development of financial services and products in IFSCs would require focussed and dedicated regulatory interventions.
  
  
• It also requires regular clarifications and frequent amendments in the existing regulations governing financial activities in IFSCs.
  
  
• Further, this would also be essential from an ease of doing business perspective.
  
  
• This would also generate significant employment in the IFSCs in particular as well as financial sector in India as a whole.
  
  
• Hence, a need is felt for having a unified financial regulator for IFSCs in India to provide world class regulatory environment to financial market participants.
  
  

Key Highlights:

• The HC said that GI is a limited right.
  
  
• It can be enforced only if it is misused in respect of the same product and not for unrelated goods or services.
  
  
• It further said that GI Act clearly indicates that the geographical indication is confined to goods.
  
  
• The whole object of the act is to add economic prosperity to producers of goods and promote goods bearing Indian geographical origin for export.
  
  
• HC order is one of the first interpreting rights available to a GI holder which will help in defining the ambit of protection provided by GI law in India.
  
  

Background:

• The order came on a case filed by the Tea Board against hotels-to-tobacco conglomerate ITC in 2010 for operating a premier lounge – ‘Darjeeling Lounge’ – as its ITC Sonar Hotel in Kolkata.
  
  

What is GI Tag?

• A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
  
  
• The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act was enacted in India in September 2003.
  
  
• GIs registered in India include Darjeeling Tea, Mysore Sandal Soap, Alphonso mango and Surat Zari Craft.
  
  
• Governing body for GI
  • International Level: It is governed by WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). It derives its origin from Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
    
    
  • In India - Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, who is also Registrar of Geographical Indications.
    
    
  
  
  

What Is Trademark?

• A Trademark, on the other hand is a visible sign that can, in the course of trade, distinguish the goods or services of one trader from those of other traders.
  
  
• That sign can be fanciful or arbitrary and may include words including names, signatures, colours, designs, letters, numbers and the shape of the goods or their packaging or any combination of these.
  
  
• The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and The Madrid Agreement concerning the International Registration of Marks are treaties governing Trademark.
  
  

What is Copyright?

• Copyrights protect the expression of ideas. Artistic works are generally considered to be expressions of ideas – books, paintings, songs, movies, and computer programs are examples.
  
  
• Copyright will not protect the process through which a particular work was created or the use of information within it (instructions, etc.).
  
  
• The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works is an international agreement governing copyright.
  
  

What is Patent?

• A patent is a right, granted by the government, to exclude others from making, using, or selling one’s invention.
  
  
• Patents protect inventions such as new processes, machines, or chemicals.
  
  
• The central idea is that patents protect ideas, not just expressions of them.
  
  
• Paris Convention is the first major international agreement relating to the protection of industrial property rights, including patents.
  
  

Key Highlights

• According to a report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), of the USD 250 billion in Chinese exports that are subject to US tariffs, only about six per cent will be picked up by firms in the US.
  
  
• And of the approximately USD 85 billion in US exports that are subject to China’s tariffs, only about five per cent of this will be taken up by Chinese firms.
  
  
• The report said that unless the US and China agree to drop their tariff dispute by March 1, duty on each country’s products will rise to 25 per cent, up from the current 10 per cent level.
  
  
• According to the report, countries that are expected to benefit the most from the trade war are the EU members as exports in the bloc are likely to grow by USD 70 billion.
  
  
• Japan and Canada will see exports increase by more than USD 20 billion each.
  
  
• Other countries set to benefit from the trade tensions include Australia, with 4.6 per cent export gains, Brazil (3.8) India (3.5), Philippines (3.2) and Vietnam (5).
  
  
• The UNCTAD report also warns that the spat could hit East Asian producers the hardest, with a projected USD 160 billion contraction in the region’s exports unless discussions between China and the US are resolved before the March 1 deadline.
  
  
• The report highlighted the major concern that the ongoing trade tensions could spiral into currency wars, making dollar-denominated debt more difficult to service.
  
  

Background:

• The US and China are locked in a trade war since President Donald Trump imposed heavy tariffs on imported steel and aluminium items in March 2018.
  
  
• In response, China imposed tit-for-tat tariffs on billions of dollars worth of American imports.
  
  
• In a bid to meet the US’ demand of bringing down the USD 375 billion bilateral trade deficit, China has pledged to take measures to step-up American imports and investments.
  
  
• March 1, 2019 is the deadline for implementing the measures.
  
  

Background:

• On January 10, a 14-member committee set up by the ECgave recommendation in this regard.
  
  
• It had recommended an amendment under Part VIII (Guidelines on Election Manifestos) of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) “to fix a timeline, by way of an outer time limit, for the release of manifesto by political parties in an election, to maintain the sanctity of Section 126” of the Representation of the People Act.
  
  

Section 126 of RPA

• Section 126 of the Act embodies “election silence”, which prohibits any form of election campaign in the last 48 hours leading up to voting.
  
  

Present Scenario:

• At present, there is no stipulation on the timing of manifesto launch for political parties.
  
  
• In 2014, the BJP had released its Lok Sabha manifesto on the day of voting in the first phase.
  
  
• The Commission was unable to act then since the MCC is silent on the timing of manifesto release.
  
  

Does This Amendment Require Parliament’s Nod?

• As unlike most electoral reforms that require Parliament’s nod, MCC can be amended by the Election Commission itself.
  
  

• Asian Desert Warbler, a type of woodland bird, has been spotted in the Surajpur wetland area.
  
  
• These are winter migrant birds which belong to the region of central and western Asia and parts of eastern Europe.
  
  
• They are small in size and light brown in colour. They do not fly together in large numbers.
  
  
• Similar other woodland birds, like woodpeckers, can be distinguished by the sounds they make.
  
  
• Apart from Asian Warbler, the near-threatened black-necked stork has been an added attraction at the wetlands.
  
  

Key Highlights:

• The rocket Ariane -5 carrying Indian satellite along with Saudi Arabian payloads blasted off from Ariane Launch Complex at Kourou, a French territory located in northeastern coast of South America.
  
  
• GSAT-31 will provide transponder capacity for DTH television and connectivity to services like VSATs for ATMs, Stock-exchange, Digital Satellite News Gathering DSNG and e-governance applications.
  
  
• It will replace the ageing INSAT-4CR in orbit and is India’s 40^th communication satellite.
  
  

• This event will be organized in Rajpath Lawns in Central Delhi, from 8th – 17th Feb 2019.
  
  
• It aims to extend the outreach of Deendayal Antyodaya Mission – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM), to the most vulnerable.
  
  
• It will also showcase its initiatives and facilitate access of Self-Help Group (SHG) members to the other government schemes.
  
  
• Through Shehri Samridhi Utsav, SHG members across cities are being linked to national government schemes Swachchh Bharat Mission (U), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (U), Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana and National Nutrition Mission.
  
  

• The income approach focuses on achieving high productivity, reduced cost of cultivation and remunerative price on the produce, with a view to earn higher profits from farming.
  
  
• To ensure that the reform agenda of Government is implemented at a desired pace by all States/UTs, a need is felt to develop a competitive spirit between the States.
  
  
• In this regard, Ease of Doing Agri-Business Index is being developed which would rank the states.
  
  
• The idea is to consider farming not solely as a production oriented activity carried out to achieve food security for the country, but as a business activity carried out by farmer as entrepreneur.
  
  
• The proposed index has taken the aspects of increasing production/productivity, increasing price realization of agri produce and decreasing input costs of production, risk mitigation and investment related attributes.
  
  
• The index will obviously help in fostering agriculture among States by promoting a competitive spirit amongst the States.
  
  

• The National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Ministry of AYUSH is presently implementing following schemes for conservation and promotion of medicinal plants:
  
  

1. Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National AYUSH Mission (NAM).
   
   

• Under ‘Medicinal Plants’ component of the NAM scheme the large scale farming / cultivation of medicinal plants is being supported. This includes support for prioritized cultivation, establishment of nurseries, post-harvest management etc.
  
  
• For cultivation, the support is provided as subsidy to farmers @ 30%, 50% and 75% based on cost of cultivation.
  
  

1. Central Sector Scheme on “Conservation, Development and Sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants”.
   
   
2. Voluntary Certification Scheme for Medicinal Plants Produce (VCSMPP). The scheme is aimed to encourage Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and Good Field Collection Practices (GFCPs) in medicinal plants and enhance quality and safety of their produce.
   
   

• The Government has promulgated various laws/regulations from time to time to ensure that the rights and well being of the Sentinelese are safeguarded.
  
  
• These Laws/Regulation include i) A &N Islands (PAT) Regulation 1956, ii) Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, iii) Restrictions under Foreigner (Restricted Area) Orders, 1963, iv) Visa Manual Conditions/Passport Act 1920, and v) Indian Forest Act, 1927 and Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
  
  
• Besides, some major steps taken to ensure the protection of Sentinelese are:
  • The entire North Sentinel Island along with 5 km coastal sea from high water mark is notified as tribal reserve.
    
    
  • The Sentinelese are still in isolation practicing primordial hunting and gathering way of life. The Government respects their way of life style, therefore, has adopted an ‘eyes-on and hands-off’ practice to protect and safeguard the Sentinelese tribe.
    
    
  • A protocol of circumnavigation of the North Sentinel Island has been notified. The ships and aircrafts of Coast Guard and boats of Marine Police make sorties around North Sentinel to keep surveillance.
    
    
  
  
  
• Apart from the land territory the coastal sea up to fixed extent of 1 Km to 5 Km abutting the tribal territory has also been notified as tribal reserve so that marine resources like fish, turtle etc are available exclusively for the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
  
  
• The vehicular traffic on Andaman Trunk Road passing through Jarawa reserve is regulated by convoy system.
  
  
• Buffer Zone notified in 2013, around the Jarawa Tribal Reserve (5km landward side and 1km seaward side), prohibits all commercial / tourism activity.
  
  
• Joint patrolling by Police, Forest & Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti (AAJVS) is carried out around Jarawa area to prevent contact of poachers and unscrupulous non-tribal elements with Jarawa tribe.
  
  

• Urbanisation is increasing Green House Gas emission and increasing pollution level in India
  
  
• Unlike developing nations, most developed countries experienced lesser emission levels due to urbanisation. More urbanisation means shorter distance between home and work preference for public transport.
  
  
• On a study, w.r.t population density levels between India and China, 1% increase in urbanisation let to 0.12% increase in emission level as compared to 0.24% in India.
  
  
• India’s per capita emission has recorded the highest in the world, growing at a steady rate against the global average.
  
  
• Socio- Economic status has as impact on the high level of per capita emission. Delhi has the highest emission rate in India linked to its high pollution level.
  
  
• Remedies India needs to take is to increase the growth of electric vehicles for both private and public transport by creating better awareness, tax benefits and to increase the connectivity of public transport .
  
  

About The Rally

• The rally will travel through places historically associated with Gandhiji, both in India, as well as in Bangladesh and Myanmar, and will pass through Sabarmati, Porbandar, Dandi, Yerwada, ChauriChaura, Champaran, Shantiniketan etc in India before travelling to Dhaka in Bangladesh and concluding at Yangon in Myanmar on the 24th of February, covering a total distance of 7250 km.
  
  
• It will take up advocacy on Road Safety concerns along the route. The nearly 5 lakh road accidents in the country and the resulting huge loss of lives is a major cause for concern.  
  
  
• National Road Safety Week would help in making people more aware about the issue and the vital roles they can play in preventing accidents.  
  
  

Initiatives Taken At The Launch

• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has taken earnest steps for reducing the number of road accidents that include rectification of accident black spots, improved road engineering, training of drivers and awareness generation.
  
  
• The Minister also administered a Road Safety Pledge to the people on the occasion.
  
  
• A Dash Board for Road Accident Data of India and states which will be available on the website of the Road Ministry. People can access road accident related data and other information from this Dash Board.
  
  
• The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has declared 2019 as the Year of Road Safety, to underline its commitment and support for promoting safety on Indian roads.
  
  
• A set of comic books on road safety called Swachha Safar and Surakshit Yatra were also produced by Uber and Amar Chitra Katha to create awareness on the issue among children.
  
  

Why In News

• A total of 99 recommendations were forwarded for implementation to concerned agencies. 
  
  
• On a question raised in Rajya Sabha about non-disclosure of the full details of the Report and its recommendation, Raksha Rajya Mantri Dr. Subhash Bhamre in a written reply said that the report is not being placed in the public domain as the it covers operational aspects of the armed forces, disclosure of which is not in the interest of national security.
  
  

Measures As Recommended By The Committee And Taken Up For Implementation Include:

• Optimization of Signals Establishments to include Radio Monitoring Companies, Corps Air Support Signal Regiments, Air Formation Signal Regiments, Composite Signal Regiments and merger of Corps Operating and Engineering Signal Regiments.
  
  
• Restructuring of repair echelons in the Army to include Base Workshops, Advance Base Workshops and Static / Station Workshops in the field Army.
  
  
• Redeployment of Ordnance echelons to include Vehicle Depots, Ordnance Depots and Central Ordnance Depots apart from streamlining inventory control mechanisms.
  
  
• Better utilization of Supply and Transportation echelons and Animal Transport units.
  
  
• Closure of Military Farms and Army Postal Establishments in peace locations.
  
  
• Enhancement in standards for recruitment of clerical staff and drivers in the Army.
  
  
• Improving the efficiency of the National Cadet Corps.
  
  

About Samagra Sikhsha Scheme

The Central Government has launched an Integrated Scheme for school education- Samagra Shiksha,  which subsumes the three erstwhile Centrally Sponsored Schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) , Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education, from the year 2018-19.

Other Digital Inititatives

• e-pathshala – e-pathshala has been developed by NCERT for showcasing and disseminating all educational e-resources including textbooks, audio, video, periodicals and a variety of other print and non-print materials.
  
  
• National Repository of Open Educational Resources (NROER) - The NROER is an initiative to bring together all digital and digitisable resources across all stages of school education and teacher education. States/ UTs are motivated to contribute resources on NROER and create OERs for their own State/ UT.
  
  
• SWAYAM:- The ‘Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds’ (SWAYAM) is an integrated platform for online courses, using ICT and covering school (9th to 12th) to Post Graduate Level.  It offers online courses for students, teachers and teacher educators. National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) is promoting education through e-learning methods by providing courses on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on the portal.
  
  
• SWAYAM PRABHA:- A programme for utilization of satellite communication technologies for transmission of educational e-contents through 32 National Channels i.e. SWAYAM  PRABHA DTH-TV has been launched.
  
  
• CBSE initiatives:-  SARANSH is a tool for comprehensive self review and analysis for CBSE affiliated schools and parents. It enables them to analyse students’ performance in order to take remedial measures. SARANSH brings schools, teachers and parents closer, so that they can monitor the progress of students and help them improve their performance.
  
  
• KVS initiatives:- A pilot project e-Prajna has been started for providing tablets pre-loaded with e-content in Maths and Science.
  
  
• Operation Digital Board:- An initiative to provide interactive digital boards to nearly 15 lakh classrooms across the country for 9th standard to post graduate level, where they can receive lectures from best teachers/professors and access quality e-content, in order to enhance overall learning process and experience of the students.
  
  

Is it a Swarm?

• Data collected so far point to an “earthquake swarm”, a series of many (sometimes thousands) low-intensity earthquakes without a discernible main shock that can occur over weeks in active geothermal areas.
  
  
• A swarm lasting over 3 weeks killed 500 people on or around the Indonesian island of Lombok in July-August 2018.
  
  
• In India, sequences of low-intensity quakes are common in areas that have been hit previously, like Saurashtra in Gujarat and Koyna in Maharashtra.
  
  
• They are also seen in areas without a history of seismic activity.
  
  
• Many scientists have said that swarms are normal in peninsular India.
  
  
• Scientists have found no mining activity to explain the quakes, and have ruled out a small reservoir nearby as the caus
  
  
• Hence, they are pointing towards the swarm hypothesis.
  
  

Can There Be Other Possibilities?

• Seismologists are wary of drawing a definite conclusion without more data.
  
  
• They have not ruled out the possibility of either the quakes now subsiding or of a big one coming.
  
  
• Scientists still don’t know whether these earthquakes are a result of seismic activity, hydro-seismicity due to water percolation post-monsoon, or magmatic activity in the region.
  
  

Background

• Last month, the government eased the procedure for seeking income tax exemption by startups on investments from angel funds and prescribed a 45-day deadline for a decision on such applications.
  
  
• The Centre did away with the requirement for start-ups to have the fair market-value of their shares ascertained by a merchant banker.
  
  
• However, there is no clarity on what is the definition of start-up. As a result, various start-ups have received notice to pay taxes on angel funds.
  
  

What Is Angel Tax

• Angel tax is a term used to refer to the income tax payable on capital raised by unlisted companies via issue of shares where the share price is seen in excess of the fair market value of the shares sold. The excess realisation is treated as income and taxed accordingly.
  
  
• The tax was introduced in the 2012 Union Budget to arrest laundering of funds.
  
  
• It has come to be called angel tax since it largely impacts angel investments in startups.
  
  
• Under the Section 56(2)(viib) of the Income Tax Act, closely-held companies, when issuing shares, are charged 30 per cent tax on the difference between funds raised as per the actual valuation and the fair-market value of the company.
  
  

Background

• The coordinated move by Britain, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Austria and the Netherlands came after expiry of an eight day ultimatum for Mudro to call a new election.
  
  
• The Venezuelan leader Mudro has been accused of running the country like a dictator and wrecking the economy.
  
  
• It is also alleged by these coutries that Mudro is responsible for exodus of 3 million Venezuelan.
  
  
• Mudro became President in 2013 after the death of Hugo Chavez. He won reelection last year but critics say it was a sham.
  
  

Which Countries Are Supporting Mudro?

• Russia and China, who have poured billions of dollars as investment, are supporting Mudro.
  
  
• They are also supporting him as an extension of their geopolitical tussle with USA.
  
  
• Mudro government is paying both Russian and Chinese loans with oil.
  
  

Background:

• In 2011, French authorities had given India a list of 628 Indians who held accounts in HSBC Private Bank (Suisse).
  
  
• Later in 2015, Swiss Leaks had expanded the list to 1195 Indian accounts holding balances totalling Rs 25,420 crore for the year 2006-07.
  
  
• After an August 2018 order of the Federal Court of Switzerland in Lausanne, the process of transfer of these account details has been set into motion.
  
  

Unearth More Secret Income

• Indian tax authorities were trying to get this information for years. However, there efforts were being stonewalled by account holders.
  
  
• So far, prosecution was filed against 84 Indian HSBC account holders by the government.
  
  
• Once, more account details flow in from the Swiss, that number will sharply rise as will the quantum of undisclosed income.
  
  

Background

• Vijay Mallya is accused in India of conspiracy to defraud, making false representations and money laundering offences.
  
  
• Mallya, owner of the defunct Kingfisher Airlines, is wanted for wilful default of over Rs 9,000 crore loans from Indian banks.
  
  
• On December 9, the Westminster Magistrate’s Court had ordered Mallya’s extradition to stand trial on charges brought by the CBI and ED.
  
  

Extradition Treaty With UK

• India and the UK signed an extradition treaty in 1993.
  
  
• Since then, India has requested the extradition of 131 accused, but has managed to get only one 'fugitive' - Samirbhai Vinubyhai Patel - back. Patel, an Indian citizen, was accused of murder.
  
  
• Extradition is possible only in cases that are seen as crimes in both the countries in question.
  
  
• The UK has strong human rights laws, which make extradition of a person very difficult.
  
  
• India is among Category II countries under the UK's extradition laws.
  
  
• Category II cases take much more time to complete than Category I cases. The United States and most European countries are in Category I.
  
  

Extradition With Other Countries:

• India has extradition treaties with 47 countries, but till date has managed to get only 62 accused extradited.
  
  
• The US, UAE, UK, Canada, Germany, Nepal, Bangladesh, Iran, Singapore, Australia, Nigeria, Denmark, South Africa and France are among the 47 countries with which India has inked extradition treaties.
  
  

About The Scheme

• In the interim budget, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal announced direct income support of Rs.6,000 per year to 12 crore small and marginal farmers holding cultivable land up to 2 hectare.
  
  
• The central government's fully funded scheme, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan), will be implemented from this year and the first installment will be transferred by March.
  
  
• The state governments have been asked to prepare a database of beneficiary of small and marginal landholder farmer families in the villages capturing details such as name, gender, whether belonging to SC/ST, Aadhaar, bank account number and mobile number of beneficiaries.
  
  
• For the purpose of the calculation of the benefit, the Centre has defined a small and marginal landholder family as the one comprising of husband, wife and minor children up to 18 years of age, who collectively own cultivable land up to two hectare as per the land records of the concerned states.
  
  
• To identify the land ownership, the Centre said it will use the existing land-ownership system prevailing in the states and union territories.