Brief of newspaper articles for the day bearing
relevance to Civil Services preparation
- GS PAPER 2
- Irom Sharmila to end fast, contest elections in Manipur {Polity}
-
High-level panel to recast UGC, AICTE {Education}
- Indo-U.S. expedition discovers natural gas in Indian Ocean{International Affairs}
-
800 million reasons to work together {International Affairs}
- GS PAPER 3
- Blow to India as arbitration tribunal rules against Antrix {International Affairs}
- ‘Independent RBI, a must for growth’{Economy}
GS PAPER 2
[1] Irom Sharmila to end fast, contest elections in Manipur
Context
Irom Chanu Sharmila has ended her hunger strike against the imposition of AFSPA after 16 years.
News
She said that she does not think that fasting would lead to the repeal of draconian AFSPA, hence, she will be opting the route of politics.
She will be contesting Manipur Assembly elections as an independent candidate.
What is AFSPA?
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was enacted in 1958 to bring under control what the government of India considered ‘disturbed’ areas.
The Act has often faced flak from human rights groups as it gave sweeping powers and immunity to the army in conflict-ridden areas.
Which states are under AFSPA right now?
Assam, Nagaland, Manipur (except the Imphal municipal area), Arunachal Pradesh (only the Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts plus a 20-km belt bordering Assam), Meghalaya (confined to a 20-km belt bordering Assam) and Jammu and Kashmir.
[2] High-level panel to recast UGC, AICTE
Context
A High Level Committee (HLC) headed by Arvind Panagariya has been asked to prepare a plan for reforming two regulatory bodies in the field of education – Medical Council of India (MCI) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)
Analysis
- The panel is about to recommend the scraping of MCI. It will be replaced by a National Medical Commission (NMC).
- NMC will be the main regulatory body and will be taking over all the responsibilities of MCI.
- Four Boards —Under Graduate Medical Board, Post Graduate Medical Board, Accreditation and Assessment Board and a board for registration of medical colleges as well monitoring of the ethics in the profession — will be set up under the Commission.
- The committee will also decide whether a universal exit exam should be introduced for medical students so as to make the medical education merit based.
[3] Indo-U.S. expedition discovers natural gas in Indian Ocean
Context
A joint expedition by India and U.S in the the Indian Ocean has lead to a discovery of large natural gas hydrate.
Analysis
- This large accumulation of highly enriched natural gas hydrate has been found in Bay of Bengal region.
- The gas hydrate discovered is located in coarse-grained sand-rich depositional systems in the Krishna-Godavari Basin and is made up of a sand-rich, gas-hydrate-bearing fan and channel-levee gas hydrate prospects.
- The discovery is the result of a very comprehensive gas hydrate field venture in the world to date, It included scientists from India, Japan and the United States.
What are Natural Gas hydrates?
- Natural gas hydrates are a naturally occurring, ice-like combination of natural gas and water found in oceans and polar regions.
- Gas hydrates are considered as vast resources of natural gas and are known to occur in marine sediments on continental shelf margins
- Gas hydrate resources in India are estimated at 1,894 trillion cubic meters and these deposits occur in Western, Eastern and Andaman offshore areas. By nature this gas is mostly methane
Way ahead
The next steps for research will involve production testing in these sand reservoirs to determine if natural gas production is practical and economic.
[4] 800 million reasons to work together
Context
South Asia is set to become the fastest growing region in Asia. It proves that the region is not lacking the growth potential but due to some reasons like lack of integration has not let this region realize its actual potential.
Growing poverty and less integration in South Asia
A quarter of the world’s population lives in South Asia and more than 800 million of them are poor, living on less than $3.10 a day—a fairly typical poverty line for low- and middle-income countries.
More chances are there of lifting people out of poverty if countries work together.
Despite enormous efforts in linking its economies, South Asia remains one of the least integrated regions of the world.
It accounts for just 2% of world trade and 1.7% of foreign direct investment worldwide. Trade within the region makes up less than 6% of its total trade. While East Asia’s more than half of all trade (55%) is within the region.
South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC)
In 2001, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal formed the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) programme, later joined by Maldives and Sri Lanka in 2014.
Asian Development Bank is its secretariat.
These countries have worked together to build power plants, highways, rail systems and fiber optic networks to expand and improve Internet access.
Groupings six member-countries have undertaken 37 projects worth more than $6.75 billion in the past 15 years.
Potential of SASEC
If program is promoted even more enthusiastically it could deliver huge gains to economies across Asia, including South Asia.
According to one study, closer cooperation between Asian economies could generate an additional $176 billion to $285 billion per year for the region.
According to another study, upgrading trading systems in South Asia to international standards would increase trade within the region by 75% and trade with the rest of the world by 22%.
SASEC Operational Plan 2016-2025
Representatives of the SASEC countries met in New Delhi in May, At the meeting in New Delhi, they developed a 10-year plan, the ‘SASEC Operational Plan 2016-2025’.
It combines hard infrastructure like ports, roads, bridges, power-generation units and transmission links with the crucial “software” components, such as agreements, harmonized rules and regulations, needed for the countries to share fully in the benefits.
Another important development is that new transport links among SASEC countries are routed through areas where poverty is highest.
GS PAPER 3
[1] Blow to India as arbitration tribunal rules against Antrix
Context
Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) tribunal, Hague has decided against Antrix – ISRO’s commercial arm in its case with Devas Corporation over sharing of spectrum on satellites.
News
- PCA tribunal has found that the Government of India’s actions in annulling a contract between Devas and Antrix Corporation Ltd. and denying Devas commercial use of S-band spectrum is illegal.
- Because of this ruling, India will have to pay $ 1 billion as compensation to Devas.
[2] ‘Independent RBI, a must for growth’
Context
In a recent conference, RBI Governor – Raghuram Rajan said that for a stable a sustainable economic growth, an independent central bank is very essential
News
- He also said that the best way to ensure medium term economic growth is by keeping the inflation low.
- Without any political push back as inflation rises, it is necessary to build institutions to ensure macroeconomic stability. Perhaps this is why successive governments, in their wisdom, have given the RBI a measure of independence,” he said.
- Centre govt. and RBI have made an agreement to bring the inflation down to 4% over the medium term.
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