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Electro-Kinetic Streaming to Tap Energy from Water

Why in News The Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati (IIT-G) researchers have developed materials that can produce energy from flowing or...

31 Dec 2019 News Analysis
Higher Education in India

For...

30 Dec 2019 Paper 2
Creamy Layer for SCs/STs

This article is based on “Creamy layer principle in SC, ST quota for promotion: judgments, appeals” which was published in The Indian...

30 Dec 2019 News Editorials
Higher Education in India

Introduction India's higher education system is the world's third-largest in terms of students, next to China and the United States. India's...

30 Dec 2019 Paper 2
Red Sand Boa Snake

Why in News Recently, a red sand boa snake (Eryx johnii), worth around ₹1.25 crore, was rescued from five persons, who were trying to sell it in...

30 Dec 2019 News Analysis
Telangana Industrial Health Clinic

Why in News The Telangana Industrial Health Clinic Ltd. (TIHCL), an initiative of the State government to handhold Micro and Small Manufacturing...

30 Dec 2019 News Analysis
Cyclone Sarai

Tropical Cyclone Sarai hit Fiji on December 28, 2019, causing widespread damage. It is a category two tropical cyclone and is moving east towards...

30 Dec 2019 News Analysis
Mere 30% of Poshan Abhiyaan Funds Used

Why in News Only 30% of the funds released under the Poshan Abhiyaan have been utilised by the State governments and the Union Territories since it...

30 Dec 2019 News Analysis
Elephant Colony in Bandhavgarh

Why in News For the first time, Bandhavgarh Reserve forest located in Madhya Pradesh (MP), has a colony of elephants who migrated from Chhattisgarh...

30 Dec 2019 News Analysis
Afghan Peace Deal

Why in News The Taliban’s ruling council has agreed to a temporary ceasefire in Afghanistan. It provides a window during which a peace...

30 Dec 2019 News Analysis
Internet Curfew

This article is based on “Achieving public order by suspending freedoms is unacceptable”, “People’s Daily article on Net...

28 Dec 2019 News Editorials
SnowEx

Why in News Recently, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has launched a seasonal campaign to understand how much water is...

28 Dec 2019 News Analysis
MGNREGA Trends

Why in News After July 2019, the number of jobs generated under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has gone down...

28 Dec 2019 News Analysis
Financial Stability Report: RBI

Why in News The Reserve Bank of India has released the 20th issue of the Financial Stability Report (FSR). The FSR reflects the collective...

28 Dec 2019 News Analysis
Kalaripayattu

Kalaripayattu is a martial art based on the ancient knowledge of the human body. It originated in Kerala during 3nd century BC to the 2nd century...

28 Dec 2019 News Analysis
Belum Caves Festival

Why in News Andhra Pradesh Government will be hosting the Belum Caves festival in January 2020 to popularise the Belum caves. The name...

28 Dec 2019 News Analysis
The Big Picture - Rajya Sabha 250th Session – Takeaways

The Winter Session of Parliament was held from November 18, 2019 to December 13, 2019. During this session, Parliament celebrated two milestones:...

27 Dec 2019 Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Discussions
Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana

This article is based on “UDAY scheme loses power, sharp spike in discom losses”(IE), “Power under pressure”(IE),...

27 Dec 2019 News Editorials
Joint Naval Exercise by China, Russia and Iran

Why in News China, Russia and Iran to hold joint naval drills from December 27 to 30 to deepen exchange and cooperation between the navies of the...

27 Dec 2019 News Analysis
Earliest Sanskrit Inscriptions in South India found in A.P.

Why in News The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has discovered the earliest Sanskrit inscription in South India which is also an earliest...

27 Dec 2019 News Analysis

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			'title' => 'Electro-Kinetic Streaming to Tap Energy from Water',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The <strong>Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati (IIT-G)</strong> <strong>researchers</strong> have developed materials that can <strong>produce energy from flowing or stagnant water in households.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The decentralised energy model involves a large number of small generation devices which can generate energy in every household and the excess energy can be transferred to energy-deficient areas nearby.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The generation of energy from water in various forms like river flow, ocean tides, stagnant water and even raindrops is now known as <strong>"Blue Energy&rdquo;.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>These are the traditional form of blue energy and there have been efforts to harness the power of water in other ways. One such out-of-the-box blue source is electrokinetic energy.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Two different methods have been employed to harvest energy from the flowing water and the stagnant waters.</li>
<li><strong>Electro-Kinetic Streaming Potential:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>By this method, energy can be harvested from flowing tap water.</li>
<li>When fluids stream through tiny channels that are charged, they can generate an electrical voltage, which may be harnessed through miniaturised generators.</li>
<li>Although the exploration of such electrokinetic phenomena and their possible use for energy conversion have been known for over half a century, they have not been harnessed because of low efficiency arising from the unsuitability of channels for the fluid stream.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Contrasting Inter-Facial Activities:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>These entail different types of semiconducting materials to generate power from stagnant water.</li>
<li>Devices were fabricated with doped graphene flakes for generating power by dipping in a bucket of water in the stagnant water source to &ldquo;complementary charge transfer activities&rdquo;.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Graphene is the sheet produced by oxidation followed by reduction of natural graphite flakes.</li>
<li>Graphene was modified to manipulate its electron density so that even stagnant water in contact with this form of graphene can produce energy.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Streaming Potential</strong></p>
<p>It is the potential difference at zero current produced by the convective flow of charge due to a pressure gradient (flow of liquid) through a charged capillary, membrane, plug, or diaphragm.</p>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/iit-g-offers-new-tech-to-tap-energy-from-water/article30435707.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
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		(int) 1 => [
			'title' => 'Higher Education in India',
			'catname' => 'Paper 2',
			'desc' => '<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1582722521_Higher%20Education in India (Mind Map)_Artboard 1.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1582722521_Higher Education in India (Mind Map)_Artboard 1.png" width="545" height="1679" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/higher-education-in-india-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>For TTP</em></a></p>',
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		(int) 2 => [
			'title' => 'Creamy Layer for SCs/STs',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>This article is based on <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-creamy-layer-principle-in-sc-st-quota-for-promotion-judgments-appeals-6157100/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;Creamy layer principle in SC, ST quota for promotion: judgments, appeals&rdquo;</strong></a> which was published in The Indian Express on 11/12/2019. It talks about applicability of creamy layer principle to promotions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in government jobs.</p>
</div>
<p>Recently, the Centre had asked the Supreme Court to refer the question of <em><strong>&lsquo;whether the creamy layer concept should apply or not to the Scheduled Castes (SCs)/Scheduled Tribes (STs) while providing them reservation in promotions&rsquo;</strong> </em>to a larger Bench reconsidering its earlier pronouncement in <em><strong>M. Nagaraj &amp; Others vs Union of India case (2006).</strong></em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577705970_pasted%20image1.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><strong><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577705970_pasted image1.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="444" height="347" /></strong></em></a></p>
<h3>What is the creamy layer concept?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The expression <strong>&lsquo;means-test and creamy layer&rsquo;</strong> first found its mention in the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/supreme-court-of-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Supreme Court&rsquo;s</strong></a> landmark judgment in the <a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/reservation-in-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Indra Sawhney vs Union of India case of 1992</strong></a> (<em><strong>also known as Mandal Commission case</strong></em>), that was delivered by a <strong>nine-judge Bench</strong> on November 16, 1992. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The creamy layer was then described as- &ldquo;some members of a backward class who are socially, economically as well as educationally advanced as compared to the rest of the members of that community. They constitute the forward section of that particular backward class and eat up all the benefits of reservations meant for that class, without allowing benefits to reach the truly backward members&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The Court also asked the Central government to fix the <strong>norms for income, property and status</strong> for identifying the creamy layer. In 1993, the creamy layer ceiling was fixed at ₹1 lakh. It was subsequently increased to ₹2.5 lakh (2004), ₹4.5 lakh (2008), ₹6 lakh (2013), and at <strong>₹8 lakh since 2017.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Creamy Layer Chronology</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In <strong>1980, the Mandal Commission report</strong> recommended to <strong>provide 27% reservation</strong> to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in jobs.</li>
<li>In <strong>1990,</strong> the V P Singh Government <strong>declared such reservation of 27%</strong> in government jobs for the OBCs.</li>
<li>In <strong>1991,</strong> the Narasimha Rao Government introduced a change in order to <strong>give preference to the poorer sections among the OBCs</strong> while granting the 27% quota.</li>
<li>In the Indra Sawhney judgment <strong>(1992),</strong> the <strong>Court upheld the government&rsquo;s move</strong> and proclaimed that the advanced sections among the OBCs (i.e, the creamy layer) must be excluded from the list of beneficiaries of reservation. It also held that the concept of creamy layer must be excluded for SCs &amp; STs.</li>
</ul>
<h3>How was the creamy layer made applicable to SC/ST members?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In the <strong>Nagaraj case (2006)</strong> the issue had arisen regarding the validity of the following four Constitutional amendments, claiming that these amendments made by the government were meant to reverse the decisions made by the Court in the <em><strong>Indra Sawhney Case, 1992:</strong></em><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>77<sup>th</sup> Constitutional Amendment Act, 1995:</strong> The Indra Sawhney verdict had held there would be reservation only in <strong>initial appointments and not promotions.</strong> But the government through this amendment introduced <strong>Article 16(4A)</strong> to the Constitution, empowering the state to make <strong><em>provisions for reservation in matters of promotion</em></strong> to SC/ST employees if the state feels they are not adequately represented.</li>
<li><strong>81<sup>st</sup> Constitutional Amendment Act, 2000:</strong> It introduced <strong>Article 16(4B),</strong> which says unfilled SC/ST quota of a particular year, when <em><strong>carried forward</strong></em> to the next year, will be <strong>treated separately</strong> and not clubbed with the regular vacancies of that year. While the Supreme Court in the Indra Sawhney Case capped the reservation quota at 50%, the government by this amendment ensured that 50% ceiling for these carried forward unfilled posts does not apply.</li>
<li><strong>82<sup>nd</sup> Constitutional Amendment Act, 2000:</strong> It inserted a condition at the end of <strong>Article 335</strong> that enables the state to <strong>make any provision</strong> in favour of the members of the SC/STs <em><strong>for relaxation in qualifying marks in any examination or lowering the standards of evaluation, for reservation in matters of promotion</strong></em> to any class or classes of services or posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Constitutional Provision: Article 335</strong> recognises that <em><strong>special measures need to be adopted for considering the claims of SCs and STs to services and posts, in order to bring them at par.</strong> </em>It is read as: &ldquo;The claims of the members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes shall be taken into consideration, consistently with the<strong> maintenance of efficiency of administration,</strong> in the making of appointments to services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State.&rdquo;</p>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>85<sup>th</sup> Constitutional Amendment Act, 2001:</strong> It provided for the reservation in promotion can be applied with<em><strong> &lsquo;consequential seniority&rsquo;</strong></em> for the government servants belonging to the SCs and STs with retrospective effect from June 1995.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Key Pronouncements of M. Nagaraj Case (2006)</strong></p>
<p>The Court in this case laid down <strong>three conditions</strong> for promotion of SCs and STs in public employment:</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Government cannot introduce quota unless it proves that the particular community is <strong>backward,</strong></li>
<li><strong>Inadequately represented</strong> (based on quantifiable data), and</li>
<li>Providing reservation in promotion would not affect the <strong>overall efficiency</strong> of public administration.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>five-judges Bench in Nagaraj case</strong> although <strong>upheld the</strong> constitutional validity of all four amendments, but the following two validations by the Supreme Court in this case became the bone of contention: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>First:</strong> The Court proclaimed that the State is <strong>not bound</strong> to make reservation for SC/ST in the matter of promotions. However if they wish to exercise their discretion and make such provision, the State has to <strong>collect quantifiable data showing backwardness</strong> of the class and inadequacy of representation of that class in public employment<strong> in addition to compliance of Article 335.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Second:</strong> Also, it<strong> reversed its earlier stance in Mandal case, </strong>in<strong> which </strong>it had<strong> excluded the creamy layer concept on SCs/STs</strong> (that was applicable on OBCs). The verdict in Nagaraj case made clear that even if the State has compelling reasons (as stated above), the State needs to ensure that its reservation provision does not lead to <strong>excessiveness-</strong> breaching the <strong>ceiling-limit of 50%,</strong> or <strong>destroying the creamy layer principle,</strong> or <strong>extending the reservation indefinitely.</strong> Therefore, the <em><strong>Court extended the creamy layer principle to SCs and STs too</strong></em> in this verdict.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Current Demand by the Centre</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Centre asked the Court to review its stance on the above two issues:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>As <strong>collecting quantifiable data</strong> showing backwardness is <strong>contrary to the Mandal</strong> case pronouncement where it was held that Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are the most backward among backward classes. It is, therefore, presumed that once they are added in the <strong>Presidential List under Articles 341 and 342</strong> of the Constitution of India, there is no question of proving backwardness of the SCs and STs all over again.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The said List cannot be altered by anybody except<strong> Parliament</strong> under Articles 341 and 342- defining who will be considered as SCs or STs in any state or Union Territory.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>And, the <strong>creamy layer concept has not been applied</strong> in the Indra Sawhney case.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The Court clarifying its stance in<em><strong> Jarnail Singh vs Lachhmi Narain Gupta case (2018)</strong></em> refused to refer the above issue to a larger bench. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>However, it <strong>invalidated</strong> the requirement of <strong>collecting quantifiable data</strong> by states on the backwardness of SCs and STs while granting quota in promotions as laid down by the Court in Nagaraj verdict, but states need to back it with appropriate data showing the inadequate representation of SCs &amp; STs in the cadre.</li>
<li>On the <strong>creamy layer principle</strong> for excluding the well-off amongst the SC/ST communities from availing the benefit, the Court followed the Nagaraj verdict. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The Court held that <strong>socially, educationally, and economically</strong> advanced<strong> cream</strong> of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes communities must be excluded from the benefits of reservation in government services in order to transfer quota benefits to the weakest of the weaker individuals and not be snatched away by members of the same class who were in the &ldquo;top creamy layer&rdquo;.</li>
<li>The Court also observed that it will not be possible to uplift the weaker sections if only the creamy layer within that class bags all the coveted jobs in the public sector and perpetuate themselves, leaving the rest of the class as backward as they were.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The government is now asking the Supreme Court to reconsider its verdict in Jarnail Singh case with respect to the applicability of creamy layer principle.</li>
</ul>
<p>Reservation provides <strong>appropriate positive discrimination</strong> for the benefit of the socially and educationally backward sections of the society. And the creamy layer concept helps in ensuring that only the <strong>genuinely deserving and the most downtrodden</strong> members of any particular community get those reservation benefits.</p>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%; border-style: dotted; border-color: #ff0000; background-color: #e6ffd1;"><span style="color: #000080;"><em><strong>Drishti Mains Question</strong></em></span><br /><br />Briefly discuss the process of the evolution of &lsquo;principle of creamy layer&rsquo; in reservations. What are the advantages and challenges associated with it?</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>',
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		(int) 3 => [
			'title' => 'Higher Education in India',
			'catname' => 'Paper 2',
			'desc' => '<h3>Introduction</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India's higher education system is the world's third-largest in terms of students, next to China and the United States.</li>
<li>India's Higher Education sector has witnessed a tremendous increase in the number of Universities/University level Institutions &amp; Colleges since independence.</li>
<li>In the prestigious <strong>Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings 2020,</strong> only three Indian Universities- IIT-Bombay, IIT-Delhi and IISc (Bangalore)- have been included in the top 200 institutes.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Issues and Challenges in India&rsquo;s Higher Education Sector</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Enrolment:</strong> The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of India in higher education is only 25.2% which is quite low as compared to the developed and other major developing countries.</li>
<li><strong>Equity:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>There is no equity in GER among different sections of society. GER for males (26.3%), females (25.4%), SC (21.8%) and ST (15.9%).</li>
<li>There are regional variations too. While some states have high GER some are far behind the national figures.</li>
<li>The college density (number of colleges per lakh eligible population) varies from 7 in Bihar to 59 in Telangana as compared to All India average of 28.</li>
<li>Most of premier universities and colleges are centred in a metropolitan and urban city, thereby leading to the<strong> regional disparity</strong> in access to higher education.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Quality:</strong> Higher Education in India is plagued with rot learning, lack of employability and skill development due to the low quality of education.</li>
<li><strong>Infrastructure:</strong> Poor infrastructure is another challenge to higher education in India. Due to the budget deficit, corruption and lobbying by the vested interest group (Education Mafias), public sector universities in India lack the necessary infrastructure. Even the Private sector is not upto the mark as per the global standard.</li>
<li><strong>Faculty:</strong> Faculty shortages and the inability of the state educational system to attract and retain well-qualified teachers have been posing challenges to quality education for many years. Shortage of faculty leads to Ad-hoc expansion even in the premier institutions. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Pupil-to-teacher ratio though has been stable in the country (30:1), however, it needs to be improved to make it comparable to USA (12.5:1), China (19.5:1) and Brazil (19:1).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Outdated Curriculum:</strong> Outdated, irrelevant curriculum that is dominantly theoretical in nature and has a low scope for creativity. There is a wide gap between industry requirements and universities&rsquo; curriculum that is the main reason for the low employability of graduates in India.</li>
<li><strong>Accreditation:</strong> As per the data provided by the NAAC, as of June 2010, not even 25% of the total higher education institutions in the country were accredited. And among those accredited, only 30% of the universities and 45% of the colleges were found to be of quality to be ranked at 'A' level.</li>
<li><strong>Regulatory issues:</strong> Management of the Indian education faces challenges of over-centralization, bureaucratic structures and lack of accountability, transparency, and professionalism. As a result of the increase in a number of affiliated colleges and students, the burden of administrative functions of universities has significantly increased and the core focus on academics and research is diluted.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577701547_image7.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577701547_image7.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="710" height="246" /></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Research:</strong> Poor fund allocation in research, Low levels of PhD enrolment, fewer opportunities for interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research, Low levels of industry engagement, Low quality of research work, etc. are some of the factors affecting the research ecosystem in India.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>India&rsquo;s investment in R&amp;D has remained constant at around 0.6% to 0.7% of India&rsquo;s GDP.</strong> This is below the expenditure of countries like the US (2.8), China (2.1), Israel (4.3) and Korea (4.2).</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recent Initiatives Taken by the Government</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme (EQUIP) has been recently launched:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This is a five-year vision plan to improve the quality and accessibility of higher education over the next five years (2019-2024).</li>
<li>Double the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education and resolve the geographically and socially skewed access to higher education institutions in India.</li>
<li>Position at least 50 Indian institutions among the top-1000 global universities.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Revitalising Infrastructure and Systems in Education (RISE) by 2022</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Qualitatively upgrade the research and academic infrastructure in India to global best standards by 2022.</li>
<li>Make India into an education hub by making available high-quality research infrastructure in Indian higher educational institutions.</li>
<li>To allow access of HEFA funding to institutions like Central Universities, AIIMS, IISERs and newly created Institutes of National Importance, without creating any additional burden to the students.</li>
<li>Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) has been tasked to mobilise Rs. 1,00,000 crores for this initiative.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>UGC&rsquo;s Learning Outcome-based Curriculum Framework (LOCF)</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>LOCF guidelines, issued by UGC in 2018, aims to specify what graduates are expected to know, understand and be able to do at the end of their programme of study. This is to make student active learner and teacher a good facilitator.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Graded Autonomy to Universities &amp; Colleges:</strong> 3-tiered graded autonomy regulatory system has been initiated, with the categorization based on accreditation scores. Category I and Category II universities will have significant autonomy to conduct examinations, prescribe evaluation systems and even announce results</li>
<li><strong>Global Initiative for Academics Network (GIAN):</strong> The programme seeks to invite distinguished academicians, entrepreneurs, scientists, experts from premier institutions from across the world, to teach in the higher educational institutions in India.</li>
<li><strong>All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE):</strong> The main objectives of the survey are to- identify &amp; capture all the institutions of higher learning in the country; and collect the data from all the higher education institutions on various aspects of higher education.</li>
<li><strong>National Institutional Ranking Framework</strong> was developed in 2015. The rankings are published annually since 2016. It outlines a methodology to rank educational institutions across the country based on five broad parameters:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Teaching, learning and resources;</li>
<li>Research and professional practice;</li>
<li>Graduation outcomes;</li>
<li>Outreach and inclusivity; and</li>
<li>Perception.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Regulatory and governance reforms:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Restructure or merge different higher education regulators (UGC, AICTE, NCTE etc.) to ensure effective coordination.</li>
<li>Amend UGC Act to give legislative backing to regulatory structure.</li>
<li>Allow foreign institutions to operate joint degree programmes with Indian institutions.</li>
<li>Link University grants to performance.</li>
<li>Select Vice-Chancellors of universities through a transparent &amp; objective process.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Creating &lsquo;world-class universities&rsquo;:</strong> 20 universities &ndash; 10 each from the public and private sector &ndash; are being selected as <strong>&lsquo;Institutions of Eminence&rsquo;,</strong> to help them attain world-class standards of teaching and research.<strong> A graded mechanism</strong> to ensure additional funds flow to top public universities should be developed, as in China &amp; Singapore.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/draft-national-education-policy-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Draft National Education Policy, 2019</strong> </a>recommended Restructuring of the higher education system into Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Tier 1 includes research universities focusing equally on research and teaching, Tier 2 includes teaching universities focusing primarily on teaching; and Tier 3 includes colleges focusing only on teaching at undergraduate levels. All such institutions will gradually move towards full autonomy - academic, administrative, and financial. The idea is to spread &lsquo;research culture&rsquo; at the undergraduate level.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Increased focus on vocational and profession led education:</strong> Include vocational subjects in mainstream universities to allow for greater acceptance and utility for vocational learning.</li>
<li><strong>Accreditation Framework:</strong> All higher education institutions must be accredited compulsorily &amp; regularly, by agencies, empanelled through a transparent, high-quality process.</li>
<li><strong>Performance-linked funding and incentives:</strong> All central universities should develop strategic plans for getting into the top 500 global universities rankings in the next 10 years. Funding to these institutions should be linked to performance and outcomes through the MHRD and newly constituted Higher&nbsp;Education Funding Agency</li>
<li><strong>Distance and online education:</strong> Broaden the scope of Massive Open Online Course (MOOCs) and Open and Distance Learning (ODL) to provide access to quality education beyond geographical boundaries.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="/mind-map/gs-paper2/higher-education-in-india-mind-map" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>For Mind Map</em></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/to-the-points/Paper2/higher-education-in-india-1'
		],
		(int) 4 => [
			'title' => 'Red Sand Boa Snake',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, a <strong>red sand boa snake (Eryx johnii)</strong>, worth around ₹1.25 crore, was rescued from five persons, who were trying to sell it in Madhya Pradesh.<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577695130_image3.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577695130_image3.jpg" width="150" height="168" caption="false" style="float: right;" /></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is a <strong>rare non-poisonous snake</strong> that is used for making certain medicines, cosmetics and in black magic, and is in huge demand in the international market.</li>
<li>It is <strong>found in whole of India excluding North-east states</strong> after North-Bengal; also not found in Indian islands.</li>
<li>Among layman it is famous as <strong>"Two-headed Snake"</strong> due to the presence of very thick tail having rounded end.</li>
<li>The trade and possession of the red sand boa is an offence under the <strong>Wildlife Protection Act 1972.</strong> The species is listed under <strong>Schedule 4</strong> of the Act. Also, it is listed in <strong>CITES Appendix II.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/red-sand-boa-rescued-in-mp-five-nabbed/article30427651.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/red-sand-boa-snake'
		],
		(int) 5 => [
			'title' => 'Telangana Industrial Health Clinic',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The<strong> Telangana Industrial Health Clinic Ltd.</strong> (TIHCL), an initiative of the State government <strong>to handhold</strong> <a href="/to-the-points/paper3/micro-small-and-medium-enterprises-msme" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Micro and Small Manufacturing Enterprises (MSMEs)</strong></a> <strong>from slipping into sickness,</strong> is ready to extend its services at pan India level.</p>
<h3>Telangana Industrial Health Clinic Limited</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It was established in 2018 as a <strong>fintech</strong> <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/A%20nuanced%20understanding%20of%20the%20NBFC%20sector" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC)</strong></a>. It is a diagnostic and curative industry initiative for MSMEs.</li>
<li>It is <strong>promoted by</strong> the State Government of Telangana and <strong>supported by</strong> Telangana Industrial Development Corporation (TSIDC).</li>
<li><strong>Objectives:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>To <strong>ensure</strong> healthy MSMEs through responsive counselling and responsible consulting and other mentoring services</li>
<li>To <strong>engage</strong> MSMEs in strong and consistent financial performance through better compliance standards</li>
<li>To <strong>support &amp; enrich</strong> a sustainable working environment that attracts, retains and develops committed team sharing common values</li>
<li>To play the role of <strong>advocacy</strong> in assuring prompt payment by the vendees of MSMEs</li>
<li>To <strong>propel</strong> potential MSMEs to equity platforms like the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Corpus:</strong> It has a corpus of <strong>Rs.100 Crores,</strong> with an initial contribution of Rs.10 Cr. from State Government of Telangana, Rs.50 Cr. from Government of India, and the rest through equity holding from MSMEs, Banks and Financial Institutions, etc.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The TIHCL has been managing with just one-tenth (contribution made by the State government) of the originally envisaged ₹100 crore corpus fund, making it eligible for Central government funding in order to fulfill the industry demand.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Investment:</strong> In terms of its investment, it is up to <strong>₹25 lakh per unit.</strong> Its portfolio of products comprises of <strong><em>bridge loan, stressed assets finance, credit financing and margin amount funding.</em> </strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>For women entrepreneurs, it offers these services at a concessional rate of interest under <strong>NARI scheme.</strong> It also provides <strong>composite loans</strong> with flexible repayments and withdrawals to new micro and small enterprises established by women.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577694981_image1.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577694981_image1.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="460" height="484" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/telangana-industrial-health-clinic-to-spread-wings/article30427856.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/telangana-industrial-health-clinic'
		],
		(int) 6 => [
			'title' => 'Cyclone Sarai',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p><a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/in-depth-western-disturbance" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Tropical Cyclone</strong></a> <strong>Sarai</strong> hit Fiji on December 28, 2019, causing widespread damage.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is a <strong>category two tropical cyclone</strong> and is moving east towards the Tongan waters at nearly 10 kmh speed.</li>
<li>It is expected to have average winds of up to 110km/hr with momentary gusts to 150km/hr close to its centre.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577694315_image4.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577694315_image4.jpg" caption="false" width="600" height="428" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Fiji and Tonga</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Fiji is a country and archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean. It surrounds the Koro Sea about 1,300 miles north of Auckland, New Zealand.</li>
<li>Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga (also called Friendly Islands), is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It lies east of Fiji.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a 1 to 5 rating based on a hurricane's sustained wind speed. This scale estimates potential property damage.</li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #f29b7e;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 35px;">
<td style="width: 11.088%; height: 35px;"><strong>Category</strong></td>
<td style="width: 16.3894%; height: 35px;"><strong>Sustained Winds</strong></td>
<td style="width: 45.2876%; height: 35px;"><strong>Types of Damage Due to Hurricane Winds</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 11.088%; height: 19px;">1</td>
<td style="width: 16.3894%; height: 19px;">119-153 km/h</td>
<td style="width: 45.2876%; height: 19px;">Very dangerous winds will produce some damage</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 11.088%; height: 19px;">2</td>
<td style="width: 16.3894%; height: 19px;">154-177 km/h</td>
<td style="width: 45.2876%; height: 19px;">Extremely dangerous winds will cause extensive damage</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 11.088%; height: 19px;">3&nbsp;(major)</td>
<td style="width: 16.3894%; height: 19px;">178-208 km/h</td>
<td style="width: 45.2876%; height: 19px;">Devastating damage will occur</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 11.088%; height: 19px;">4 (major)</td>
<td style="width: 16.3894%; height: 19px;">209-251 km/h</td>
<td style="width: 45.2876%; height: 19px;">Catastrophic damage will occur</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 11.088%; height: 19px;">5&nbsp;(major)</td>
<td style="width: 16.3894%; height: 19px;">252 km/h or higher</td>
<td style="width: 45.2876%; height: 19px;">Catastrophic damage will occur</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/one-dead-more-than-2500-evacuated-as-cyclone-sarai-lashes-fiji/article30424251.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/cyclone-sarai'
		],
		(int) 7 => [
			'title' => 'Mere 30% of Poshan Abhiyaan Funds Used',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Only 30% of the funds released under the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/poshan-abhiyaan" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Poshan Abhiyaan</strong></a> have been utilised by the State governments and the Union Territories since it was launched in 2018.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Until October 31, 2019, only 29.97% of the funds granted were used.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Poshan Abhiyaan:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is the<strong> centre&rsquo;s flagship programme</strong> which aims at <strong>improving nutritional outcomes among pregnant women, lactating mothers and children</strong> by<strong> reducing</strong> the level of <strong>stunting, underweight, anaemia and low birth weight by 2022.</strong></li>
<li>It was launched to benefit more than 10 crore people with a total budget of ₹9,046.17 crore for three years.</li>
<li><strong>50%</strong> of the total budget comes <strong>from the<a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/world-bank-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> World Bank</a> or other multilateral development banks</strong> and the rest of the <strong>50%</strong> is through <strong>Centre&rsquo;s budgetary support.</strong></li>
<li>Centre&rsquo;s budgetary support is further divided into <strong>60:40 between the Centre and the States, 90:10 for the north-eastern region</strong> and the<strong> Himalayan States</strong> and <strong>100% for the Union Territories without legislature.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Best Five Performers-</strong> Mizoram (65.12%) &gt; Lakshadweep (61.08%) &gt; Bihar (55.17%) &gt; Himachal Pradesh (53.29%) &gt; Meghalaya (48.37%).</li>
<li><strong>Worst Five Performers-</strong> Punjab (0.45%) &lt; Karnataka (0.74%) &lt; Kerala (8.75%) &lt; Jharkhand (13.94%) &lt; Assam (23.01%).</li>
<li>The programme was conceptualised to be implemented in phases so the utilisation will increase over the years. Few services showed a slow start and are now pickling up like the<strong> Integrated Child Development Services-Common Application Software (ICDS-CAS).</strong></li>
<li>The <strong>Ministry of Health and Welfare</strong> released the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/national-nutrition-survey-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS)</strong></a> in October which showed that <strong>35% of children under the age of 5</strong> are <strong>stunted</strong> and in this age group, <strong>17% are wasted (low weight for height)</strong> and <strong>33% underweight (low weight for age).</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Integrated Child Development Services</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The scheme provides specific interventions targeted towards the <strong>vulnerable groups</strong> include <strong>children below 6 years and women.</strong></li>
<li>It is being implemented by the<strong> Ministry of Women and Child Development.</strong></li>
<li>It provides a <strong>package of six services</strong> namely <strong>supplementary nutrition, pre-school non-formal education, nutrition &amp; health education, immunization, health check-up </strong>and<strong> referral services.</strong></li>
<li>Common Application Software is intended to <strong>use technology for furthering of the objectives</strong> of the scheme.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577693720_image2.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577693720_image2.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="562" height="376" caption="false" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/3-years-on-a-mere-30-of-poshan-abhiyaan-funds-used/article30427608.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/mere-30-of-poshan-abhiyaan-funds-used'
		],
		(int) 8 => [
			'title' => 'Elephant Colony in Bandhavgarh',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>For the first time, <strong>Bandhavgarh Reserve forest</strong> located in Madhya Pradesh (MP), has a colony of elephants who migrated from Chhattisgarh in November 2018 and has stayed on. Bandhavgarh is a <strong>large reserve forest</strong> that has plenty of food and water which is the possible reason for this migration and stay.</p>
<h3>Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In <strong>1968,</strong> it was notified as a national park and in <strong>1993</strong> was declared<strong> a tiger reserve-</strong> under the Project Tiger Network at the neighbouring <strong>Panpatha Sanctuary.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Historical Significance:</strong> Its mention can be found in the ancient books of the <strong>&lsquo;Narad Pancharatra&rsquo;</strong> and the <strong>&lsquo;Shiv Purana&rsquo;</strong> that this place is being associated with Ramayana. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>Bandhavgarh Fort</strong> is a great masterpiece of<strong> &ldquo;Treta Yuga&rdquo;</strong> (one of the ages of mankind in Hinduism).</li>
<li>It was ruled by major dynasties including <strong>Sengars, the Kalchuris, and the Baghels</strong> (believed to rule the regions for the longer period).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Geographical Aspect:</strong> It resides on the extreme north eastern border of Madhya Pradesh and the northern edges of the <strong>Satpura mountain ranges.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Climate: Tropical monsoon climatic zone.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Streams:</strong> The whole park is filled with <strong>more than 20 streams</strong> out of which some of the most important streams are <em><strong>Johilla, Janadh, Charanganga, Damnar, Banbei, Ambanala and Andhiyari Jhiria.</strong></em> These streams then <strong>merge into the Son river</strong> (an important southern tributary to the <strong>river Ganga)</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Biodiversity:</strong> There is a large number of <strong>tigers in the core zone.</strong> There are more than 22 species of mammals and 250 species of birds. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Species Found:</strong> Asiatic Jackal, Bengal Fox, Sloth Bear, Striped Hyena, Leopard and Tiger, Wild Pigs, Nilgai, Chinkara and <strong>Gaur</strong> (a herbivore and the only coarse feeder).</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577692881_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577692881_image1.jpg" width="600" caption="false" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Note:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Elephant is a <strong>Schedule-1 species</strong> as listed under the <strong>Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.</strong></li>
<li>While India is home to 50% of the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/world-elephant-day" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Asian Elephant</strong></a> <strong>population,</strong> and according to <strong>2017</strong> <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/elephant-undercounting" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>elephant census</strong></a>, there are 27,312 elephants in the country, marking a decrease of nearly 3,000 elephants from the 2012 census.</li>
<li>The<strong> &lsquo;Tiger State&rsquo; of MP,</strong> which in the 2019 census recorded the <strong>most number of estimated tigers</strong> at 526, presently has no know-how of dealing with elephants.</li>
<li>There are <strong>no elephants in MP</strong> and there is<strong> no known reason</strong> for this disappearance from India&rsquo;s central region, including MP and until a few years ago Chhattisgarh. A loss of <strong>habitat</strong> could have led to this problem. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>But growing <strong>urbanisation and deforestation</strong> in other elephants residing areas, such as West Bengal and Jharkhand, could now be pushing the animals westwards (i.e, in MP).</li>
<li>In October 2019, the Union Ministry for Environment, Forests and Climate Change constituted a technical committee to develop a <strong>National Elephant Action Plan.</strong></li>
<li>Although there is extensive forest cover, relying of elephants on crops makes <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/daily-updates-news-editorials-the-high-cost-of-man-animal-conflict" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>human-elephant conflict</strong></a> inevitable.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/madhya-pradesh-gets-its-first-elephant-colony/article30427157.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/elephant-colony-in-bandhavgarh'
		],
		(int) 9 => [
			'title' => 'Afghan Peace Deal',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The <strong>Taliban&rsquo;s</strong> ruling council has agreed to a<strong> temporary ceasefire</strong> in <strong>Afghanistan.</strong> It provides a window during which a peace agreement with the United States could be signed.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>However, the Taliban chief has not yet approved the cease-fire decision.</li>
<li>Also, the duration of the cease-fire has not been specified.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Background</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Afghanistan</strong> has been <strong>ravaged by war since 2001</strong> when a US-led coalition overthrew the Taliban.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In <strong>2018, Afghanistan</strong> was the <strong>world&rsquo;s deadliest conflict.</strong></li>
<li>The <strong>Taliban</strong> initially emerged as a <strong>militia - largely consisted of students (talib),</strong> in <strong>1994.</strong> This group comprises of militants who had been educated in traditional Islamic schools and fought during the <strong>Soviet&ndash;Afghan War (ended in 1989).</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Since October 2018, Taliban representatives and US officials have been meeting to chalk out a peace treaty.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Key Elements of Afghan Peace Deal</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The U.S. currently has an estimated 12,000 troops in Afghanistan.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>To prevent Afghanistan from being used by terrorist groups.</li>
<li>A permanent ceasefire between the Taliban and Afghanistan.</li>
<li>Direct negotiations between the Taliban and Afghan Government (Intra - Afghan Negotiations).<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The negotiations will cover a variety of issues, including the rights of women, free speech, and changes to the country&rsquo;s constitution.</li>
<li>The Intra-Afghan talks would also lay out the fate of tens of thousands of Taliban fighters as well as the heavily armed militias belonging to Afghanistan&rsquo;s warlords who have amassed wealth and power since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/taliban-council-agrees-to-cease-fire-in-afghanistan/article30428663.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/afghan-peace-deal'
		],
		(int) 10 => [
			'title' => 'Internet Curfew',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>This article is based on <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/india-caa-protest-internet-shutdown-police-public-order-6177492/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;Achieving public order by suspending freedoms is unacceptable&rdquo;</strong></a>, <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/peoples-daily-article-on-net-shutdowns-in-india-internet-cannot-be-independent-of-sovereignty-6174073/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;People&rsquo;s Daily article on Net shutdowns in India: &lsquo;Internet cannot be independent of sovereignty&rdquo;,</strong></a> <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/internet-access-government-restriction-shutdown-3102734/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;The cost of internet shutdowns&rdquo;,</strong></a> <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/internet-shutdown-west-bengal-assam-protest-6168496/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;The problem with shutting down the Internet&rdquo;</strong></a> which were published in The Indian Express. It talks about issues related to internet shutdowns in India.</p>
</div>
<p>Ensuring unhindered access to the internet at all levels is a top priority under<a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/in-depth-digital-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> Digital India programme.</strong></a> Ironically, a new report from the <strong>Center for Technology and Innovation at the Brookings Institute</strong> shows that<strong> India</strong> and Iraq share the dubious position of reporting the <strong>highest number of incidents</strong> involving the government-mandated shutdown of internet access.</p>
<p>Increasingly governments are resorting to shutting down the internet as the go-to solution for <strong>maintaining law and order</strong> like in case protests emanating from <a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/citizenship-amendment-act-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Citizenship Amendment Act</strong></a>, Ayodhya dispute judgement etc. <strong>These shutdowns curb free speech online and have other multidimensional implications.</strong></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p>According to a report by Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC), since 2012, India has witnessed at least 254 internet shutdowns, of which 107 took place in 2018 alone.</p>
</div>
<h3>Related Internet Shutdown Laws</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Home Departments in the states are mostly the authorities that enforce shutdowns, drawing powers from the <strong>Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules,</strong> 2017.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Powers have now been given to the Secretary of the Union Government, Secretary of the state government, to issue orders related to internet shutdown.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/section-144-of-crpc" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973</strong></a> has enabled many of the shutdowns in the recent past, especially until the time the telecom suspension Rules came into force in 2017.</li>
<li>The<strong> Indian Telegraph Act, 1885,</strong> whose Section 5(2) allows central and state governments to prevent the transmission of messaging during a &ldquo;public emergency or in the interest of public safety&rdquo;, or &ldquo;in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state&rdquo;.</li>
<li>The <strong>Information Technology Act</strong> (India&rsquo;s principal information technology sector law), has provided limited power to the government to issue individual web content blocking orders, instead of a larger suspension of interest itself.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Rationale of Internet Shutdown</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Check Fake News:</strong> Internet shutdowns are typically used <strong>when there is civil unrest,</strong> in order to block the flow of information about government actions or to end communication among activists and prevent the spread of rumours and fake news.</li>
<li><strong>Preventive Response:</strong> Cutting off the Internet is both an <strong>early and preventive response</strong> to block restive groups to organise riots against the Government.</li>
<li><strong>National Interest:</strong> The Internet <strong>cannot be independent of national sovereignty.</strong> Therefore, the necessary regulation of the internet is a reasonable choice of sovereign countries based on national interests.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Arguments Against Internet shutdown</h3>
<p><strong>Curbing Free Speech:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Constitutionalism</strong> envisages limited powers of the government (which is a trustee and custodian of taking forward certain constitutional values).</li>
<li>The promise of<strong> free speech is preserved in Article 19(1)(a)</strong> of the Constitution.</li>
<li>Supreme Court in its landmark <strong>Shreya Singhal judgment</strong> recognised the <strong>internet as an essential medium to further our constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Supreme Court in Sakal Papers judgement,</strong> held that no policy of the state can so much as regulate the circulation of a newspaper, as any such programme will directly impinge on the right to freedom of expression.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Since today publishing a newspaper without access to the Internet is an unimaginable task. Therefore, a blanket ban placed on the web will also transgress the guarantee of free speech.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Economic Losses:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>According to SFLC, there is a <strong>collective loss of 16,000 hours</strong> to Internet shutdowns in India. This has led to a loss of $3 billion to the Indian economy.</li>
<li><strong>Gig economy</strong> (Ola, Uber, Swiggy, Zomato etc), <strong>e-commerce sector,</strong> online banking all suffer due to restrictions on the internet.</li>
<li>The Internet has become so fundamental to our lives that the economic impact is only going to be higher in the future.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Social Cost:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Mobile-based essential services like mobile banking, health, education will also be denied due to internet shutdown.</li>
<li>It prevents even people who are caught in the midst of these kinds of law-and-order problems, people fleeing from arsonists, people who want to send word of safety to families, who want to arrange ambulances for someone who&rsquo;s injured.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>UN Human Rights Council</strong> also pitches for the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet.</p>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>State interests like security are important because they are the prerequisites for us to exercise our freedoms. However, in pursuing this, the freedoms themselves cannot be suspended.</p>
<p>Therefore, the government needs to clearly lay down a comprehensive framework, stating the conditions behind such Internet shutdowns.</p>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%; border-style: dotted; border-color: #ff0000; background-color: #fcffcc;">
<p><span style="color: #003366;"><em><strong>Drishti Mains Question</strong></em></span></p>
<p>State interests like security are important because they are the prerequisites for us to exercise our freedoms. However, in pursuing this, the freedoms themselves cannot be suspended. Analyse the statement in the context of increasing internet shutdowns in India.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/internet-curfew'
		],
		(int) 11 => [
			'title' => 'SnowEx',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/national-aeronautics-and-space-administration-nasa" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Aeronautics and Space Administration</strong> (<strong>NASA)</strong></a> has launched a <strong>seasonal campaign</strong> to understand how much water is contained in each winter&rsquo;s snowfall and how much will be available when it melts in the spring.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This campaign is <strong>part of a five-year programme called SnowEx</strong> which was initiated in <strong>2016-17.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The geographical focus of SnowEx is North America but NASA&rsquo;s <strong>overall target</strong> is optimal strategies for <strong>mapping global snow water equivalent (SWE)</strong> with remote sensing and models leading to <strong>&ldquo;Earth System Explorer&rdquo; mission.</strong></li>
<li>NASA currently has no global satellite mission to track and study SWE.</li>
<li>Snow is a vital source of water for <strong>drinking, agriculture</strong> and <strong>electrical power</strong> in the western United States and other locations around the world. To know how much water will be available the following spring, water resource managers and hydrologists <strong>need to know where snow has fallen, how much there is and how do characteristics change as it melts.</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Remote sensing:</strong> It is the science of obtaining information about objects or areas from a distance, typically from aircraft or satellites.</p>
</div>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-what-is-snowex-6188445/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/snowex'
		],
		(int) 12 => [
			'title' => 'MGNREGA Trends',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>After July 2019, the number of jobs generated under the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/sub-group-of-chief-ministers-on-coordination-between-mgnrega-and-agriculture" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)</strong></a> has gone down compared to 2018.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577525881_image8.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577525881_image8.jpg" style="float: right;" width="300" caption="false" height="595" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There has been a decrease in the number that were actually provided work out of the total number of households whose demand for work was registered by the gram panchayat authorities concerned. In 2018-19, demand was registered from 5.88 crore households, and 5.27 crore of them were provided work.</li>
<li>The year 2019 has witnessed a dip in the person-days of employment under MGNREGA, which is visible after July.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In the period before July 2019, the work provided exceeded the corresponding levels for 2018.</li>
<li>The fall in MGNREGA employment after July has been<strong> largely due to the onset of the southwest monsoon.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The gap between the number of households demanding MGNREGA work and the number who were provided work has been the highest in 2019-20. This indicates that even if demand fell, the supply of work fell even more.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Lack of Funds</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The cost of providing a day&rsquo;s work to a single person has been taken at an average of ₹249.86 for 2019-20. For 270.21 crore people, the MGNREGA budget worked out to roughly ₹67,514.67 crore.</li>
<li>But the total budgetary allocation has been only ₹60,000 crore, which also includes provision towards material and administrative expenses.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Adding to the problem, ₹55,829.62 crore was already spent as on December 24, 2019.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Apart from this, the Centre has revised upwards its original plan of providing 260 crore person-days of work for 2019-20 to 316.73 crore person-days.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This move came after a decision to augment the number of days of employment per household under MGNREGA from 100 to 150 in flood-affected districts of states such as Karnataka.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Other Schemes Facing Similar Situations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/will-the-6000-farmer-payout-help" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)</strong></a><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In the first instalment (December 2018 to March 2019), 8.05 crore farmers were covered, with each of them receiving ₹2,000. Those numbers fell to 7.43 crore in the second instalment (April-July 2019) and further to 5.91 crore in the third (August-November).</li>
<li>In all, the total amount disbursed under the scheme for 2019-20 is ₹32,320.86 crore, which is significantly short of the ₹75,000 crore budgeted for it.</li>
<li>Further, of the total ₹95,000 crore allocated for the scheme since its inception in 2018 ₹48,421.65 crore (roughly half of the total amount) has been spent up to December 2019.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/pradhan-mantri-awas-yojana-grameen-behind-target" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>PM Awas Yojana-Gramin</strong></a><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The number of rural houses built under the scheme has seen a drop to 7.2 lakh in 2019-20 from 47.33 lakh in 2018-19.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/mgnrega-trends-fewer-jobs-since-july-wider-demand-supply-gap-6188148/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/mgnrega-trends'
		],
		(int) 13 => [
			'title' => 'Financial Stability Report: RBI',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The <strong>Reserve Bank of India</strong> has released the <strong>20<sup>th</sup> issue of the Financial Stability Report (FSR).</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The FSR reflects the collective assessment of the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/financial-stability-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Sub-Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC)</strong> </a>on risks to financial stability and the resilience of the financial system.</li>
<li>The Report also discusses issues relating to development and regulation of the financial sector.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Credit Growth</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Bank credit</strong> is the total amount of funds a person or business can borrow from a bank.</li>
<li>Scheduled Commercial Banks&rsquo; (SCBs) credit growth remained subdued at 8.7% year-on-year (y-o-y) in September 2019, down from 13.2% in March 2019.</li>
<li>Private Sector Banks (PVBs) registered double digit credit growth of 16.5% in September 2019.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Expected Increase in Gross Non-Performing Asset (GNPA) Ratio</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>SCB&rsquo;s Gross Non-Performing Asset (GNPA) ratio of banks may increase to 9.9% by September 2020 from 9.3% in September 2019.</li>
<li>Public Sector Banks&rsquo; (PSB) GNPA ratios may increase to 13.2% by September 2020 from 12.7% in September 2019.</li>
<li>For private banks, the ratio may climb to 4.2% from 3.9%, under the stress scenario.</li>
<li>Foreign banks&rsquo; (FB) GNPA ratio may increase to 3.1% from 2.9% in September 2019.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577526162_images.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577526162_images.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="472" height="428" /></a></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Non-Performing Asset</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Non-Performing Assets (NPA) refer to a classification for loans or advances that are in default or are in arrears on scheduled payments of principal or interest.</li>
<li>In most cases, debt is classified as non-performing, when the loan payments have not been made for a minimum period of 90 days.</li>
<li>Gross non-performing assets are the sum of all the loans that have been defaulted by the individuals who have acquired loans from the financial institution.</li>
<li>Net non-performing assets are the amount that is realized after provision amount has been deducted from the gross non-performing assets.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>All banks&rsquo; <strong>Capital to Risk-weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR)</strong> improved to 15.1% in September 2019 from 14.3% in March 2019, following the recapitalisation of PSBs by the government.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>CRAR</strong> is a measurement of a bank's available capital expressed as a percentage of a bank's risk-weighted credit exposures. It is <strong>also known as the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR).</strong></li>
<li>CAR = (Tier 1 Capital + Tier 2 Capital)/Risk weighted Assets</li>
<li><strong>Tier-1 capital,</strong> or core capital, consists of equity capital, ordinary share capital, intangible assets and audited revenue reserves. Tier-1 capital is the capital that is permanently and easily available to cushion losses suffered by a bank without it being required to stop operating.</li>
<li><strong>Tier-2 capital</strong> comprises unaudited retained earnings, unaudited reserves and general loss reserves. This capital absorbs losses in the event of a company winding up or liquidating</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR)</strong> of all SCBs rose to 61.5% in September 2019 from 60.5% in March 2019 implying increased resilience of the banking sector.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Provisioning Coverage Ratio (PCR) refers to the prescribed percentage of funds to be set aside by the banks for covering the prospective losses due to bad loans.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The global economy confronted a number of uncertainties &ndash; a delay in the Brexit deal, trade tensions, oil-market disruptions and geopolitical risks &ndash; leading to significant deceleration in growth.</li>
<li>As regards the domestic economy, aggregate demand slackened in second quarter of 2019-20 further extending the growth deceleration.</li>
<li>Reviving the twin engines of consumption and investment while being vigilant about spillovers from global financial markets remains a critical challenge going forward.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/business/gross-npas-may-rise-to-99-by-next-sept-says-rbi-report/article30415340.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/financial-stability-report-rbi-1'
		],
		(int) 14 => [
			'title' => 'Kalaripayattu',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Kalaripayattu is a <strong>martial art</strong> based on the <strong>ancient knowledge of the human</strong> body.</li>
<li>It originated in<strong> Kerala</strong> during <strong>3<sup>nd</sup> century BC to the 2<sup>nd</sup> century AD.</strong> It is now practised in <strong>Kerala</strong> and in some parts of <strong>Tamil Nadu.</strong></li>
<li>The place where this martial art is practised is called a <strong>'Kalari'.</strong> It is a Malayalam word that signifies a <strong>kind of gymnasium.</strong> Kalari literally means <strong>'threshing floor' or 'battlefield'.&nbsp;</strong>The word Kalari first appears in the <a href="/to-the-points/paper1/sangam-age-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Tamil Sangam literature</strong></a> to describe both a battlefield and combat arena.</li>
<li>It is considered to be one of the <strong>oldest fighting systems</strong> in existence.</li>
<li>It is also considered as the <strong>father of modern Kung - Fu.</strong><strong></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577524167_image3.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577524167_image3.jpg" width="500" caption="false" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></strong></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/kalaripayattu'
		],
		(int) 15 => [
			'title' => 'Belum Caves Festival',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Andhra Pradesh Government will be hosting the Belum Caves festival in January 2020 to popularise the Belum caves.<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577518540_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577518540_image1.jpg" width="300" caption="false" style="float: right;" /></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The name <strong>&lsquo;Kandanavolu Sambaralu&rsquo;</strong> has been proposed for the festival. <strong>Kandanavolu</strong> was the <strong>ancient name of Kurnool</strong> district.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Location:</strong> Belum Caves, also known as Belum Guhalu in Kurnool district of <strong>Andhra Pradesh</strong> is the <strong>second-longest cave</strong> in the <strong>Indian subcontinent open to the public.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>longest natural cave</strong> in the Indian subcontinent is <strong>Krem Liat Prah caves in Meghalaya.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Formation:</strong> The cave is <strong>more than a thousand year old,</strong> and was formed by the <strong>constant flow of underground water</strong> over a period of time.</li>
<li><strong>Geographical Features:</strong> These caves are renowned for their <strong>speleothem structures</strong> (Speleothems are secondary mineral deposits formed in a cave), such as <strong>stalactite and stalagmite</strong> formations.</li>
<li><strong>Historical Background:</strong> The caves were occupied by <strong>Jain and Buddhist monks</strong> many centuries ago. The presence of 4500 years old vessels from the pre-Buddhism era ensures the same.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Stalactites and Stalagmites</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Stalactites</strong> hang as icicles of different diameters. Normally they are broad at their bases and taper towards the free ends showing up in a variety of forms.</li>
<li><strong>Stalagmites</strong> rise up from the floor of the caves. In fact, stalagmites form due to dripping water from the surface or through the thin pipe, of the stalactite, immediately below it.</li>
<li>The stalagmites and stalactites eventually fuse to give rise to columns and pillars of different diameters.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/festival-to-promote-belum-caves-planned-in-december/article30000402.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/belum-caves-festival'
		],
		(int) 16 => [
			'title' => 'The Big Picture - Rajya Sabha 250th Session – Takeaways',
			'catname' => 'Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Discussions',
			'desc' => '<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FFuZjNW1clY" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>The Winter Session of Parliament was held from <strong>November 18, 2019 to December 13, 2019.</strong> During this session, Parliament celebrated two milestones: first, function held in the Central Hall of Parliament to commemorate the <strong>70<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the enactment of the Constitution</strong> and second, was the <strong>250<sup>th</sup> session of Rajya Sabha</strong>. Marking almost <strong>100% productivity</strong> during its 20 sittings this session, <strong>15 Bills</strong> were passed by Rajya Sabha including the landmark <strong>Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill</strong> (2019) and <strong>Citizenship (Amendment) Bill</strong> (2019). This session also highlighted the wider role of Rajya Sabha in Indian Polity.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Significance of Rajya Sabha</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Formation:</strong> The Rajya Sabha <strong>was first constituted in 1952</strong> as a <strong>permanent body</strong> which is not <strong>subject to dissolution.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>However, <strong>one-third of its members retire every second year</strong> and are eligible for re-election &amp; renomination any number of times.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Strength:</strong> The <strong>maximum strength</strong> of the Rajya Sabha is <strong>fixed at 250,</strong> out of which,<strong> 238</strong> are the representatives of the states and union territories (elected indirectly) and <strong>12 are nominated by the President.</strong> The seats are allotted to the states in the Rajya Sabha on the <strong>basis of the population.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Term of Office:</strong> The <strong>Constitution</strong> has<strong> not fixed the term of office</strong> of members of the Rajya Sabha and left it to the Parliament.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Accordingly, the <strong>Parliament</strong> in the<strong> Representation of the People Act (1951)</strong> provided that the term of office of a member of the Rajya Sabha shall be <strong>six years.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Special Powers:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Rajya Sabha can authorize the Parliament to make a <strong>law on a subject enumerated in the State List (Article 249).</strong></li>
<li>It can authorize the Parliament to <strong>create new All-India Services</strong> common to both the Centre and the states <strong>(Article 312).</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577450842_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577450842_image1.jpg" width="600" caption="false" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></strong></a></p>
</div>
<h3>Key Takeaways from the 250<sup>th</sup> Session</h3>
<p>Praising the members for their brevity, the Chairman of Rajya Sabha noted that about 9.5 starred questions were answered orally every day of this Session- making a new record since 1971 (previous best was 8.7 during the 198<sup>th</sup> session in 2003).</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Difference over Previous Sessions:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Increased Productivity:</strong> Despite being the shorter session, this session remained highly productive over the previous ones. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The Rajya Sabha worked for around 92% of its scheduled time, of which 39% of the total functional time was spent on legislative business, 25.4% on raising and discussing matters of urgent public importance under Short Duration Discussion, Calling Attention Notices, Zero Hour and Special Mentions, 13% on Question Hour meant for ensuring accountability of the executive and 5% on <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/introduction-of-private-member-s-bill" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Private Members&rsquo; Bills.</strong></a></li>
<li>Significant importance given to the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/starred-questions-in-parliamentary-proceedings" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Question Hour,</strong></a> <strong>answering of more oral questions,</strong> short, intense and precise discussions by legislators over <strong>Standing Committees reports,</strong> and the increased<strong> zero hour</strong> submissions reflect the enhanced <strong>accountability.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Absenteeism:</strong> Chairman this time freely discussed over issues like, non-attendance of legislators to target the <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/the-big-picture-strengthening-parliamentary-institutions" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>problem of absenteeism.</strong></a> Many a times this leads to halting of Business of the House due to absence of the required <strong>Quorum.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The Chairman also asked the members to ensure their presence in the <strong>Parliamentary Standing Committees.</strong> He highlighted that out of 80 members in 8 Parliamentary Standing Committees (under the administrative control of Rajya Sabha), only 18 members had 100% attendance.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Charter:</strong> At the beginning of the session, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/point-reforms-charter-for-parliament" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>15 point charter</strong> </a>was released by the Vice-President highlighting the support and reforms Rajya Sabha needed.</li>
<li><strong>Issues Addressed:</strong> The <strong>discussions on contemporary issues</strong> like onion prices, economic slowdown, inter-alia reflects the receptive and compassionate behaviour of the House towards the people. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Also a special discussion on 'The <strong>Role of Rajya Sabha in Indian polity</strong> and the way forward&rsquo; was held.</li>
<li><strong>Calling attention motions</strong> on &lsquo;Situation arising out of the dangerous levels of air pollution in the country, particularly in Delhi&rsquo;, &ldquo;Need for completion of National Irrigation Projects to tackle emerging water crisis and to transfer 'Water' to Concurrent List from State List&rdquo; were also taken up in the Rajya Sabha.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Language:</strong> The Chairman expressed his will to<strong> address the language barrier</strong> by allowing less spoken regional languages in the House. He proposed to recruit expert translators who can efficiently translate the regional languages into English and Hindi (as according to <strong>Article 120</strong> the language to be used in the Parliament shall be Hindi or English).</li>
<li>The <strong>Rajya Sabha secretariat</strong> also released the <strong>first-ever analysis</strong> of its legislative work viz., <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/250th-session-of-rajya-sabha" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;Rajya Sabha: The Journey since 1952&rdquo;</strong> </a>to commemorate the 250<sup>th</sup> session.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Drishti Input</strong></p>
<p><strong>Parliamentary Mechanisms:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Short Duration Discussion-</strong> also known as <strong>two-hour discussion</strong> as the time allotted for such a discussion should not exceed two hours. The members of the Parliament can raise such discussions on a <strong>matter of urgent public importance.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Calling Attention Notices</strong>- It is introduced in the Parliament by a member<strong> to call the attention of a minister to a matter of urgent public importance,</strong> and to seek an authoritative statement from him/her on that matter.</li>
<li><strong>Special Mentions-</strong> A matter which cannot be raised during question hour, half-an-hour discussion, short duration discussion or under adjournment motion, calling attention notice or under any rule of the House can be raised under the special mention in the Rajya Sabha.</li>
<li><strong>Zero Hour-</strong> It is an <strong>informal device</strong> available to the members of the Parliament to raise matters without any prior notice. The zero hour starts immediately after the question hour and lasts until the agenda for the day (i.e., regular business of the House) is taken up.</li>
<li><strong>Quorum-</strong> Quorum is the minimum number of members required to be present in the House before it can transact any business. It is <strong>one-tenth of the total number of members of the House</strong> (including the presiding officer). If there is no quorum during a meeting of the House, it is the duty of the presiding officer either to adjourn the House or to suspend the meeting until there is a quorum.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Bills Passed in Rajya Sabha:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <a href="/prs-capsule/prs-capsule-august-2019#32" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2019</strong></a> for the erection of a National Memorial in memory of those killed or wounded on April 13, 1919, in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar.</li>
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/transgender-persons-bill-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019</strong></a> defining a transgender person and provides for protection of rights of Transgender persons and their welfare.</li>
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/chit-funds-amendment-bill-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Chit Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2019</strong></a> amends the Chit Funds Act, 1982 to increase the commission of the person conducting the chit, and the aggregate amount of chit funds which may be collected.</li>
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/promulgation-of-the-prohibition-of-electronic-cigarettes-ordinance" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Bill, 2019</strong></a> prohibiting the Production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement of e-cigarettes and like devices, considering the highly addictive nature of nicotine.</li>
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/special-protection-group-amendment-bill-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill, 2019</strong> </a>amends the Special Protections Group Act, 1988 to provide for security cover to a former Prime Minister, and his immediate family members for a period of five years from the date on which he ceases to hold the office of Prime Minister.</li>
<li>The<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/dadra-and-nagar-haveli-and-daman-and-diu-merger-of-union-territories-bill-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Bill, 2019</strong> </a>merging the two UTs to provide better delivery of services to the citizens of both Union Territories by improving efficiency and reducing paperwork.</li>
<li>The <strong>National Capital Territory of Delhi (Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Unauthorised Colonies) Bill, 2019</strong> recognising the property rights of residents of certain unauthorised colonies in the National Capital Territory of Delhi.</li>
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/taxation-laws-amendment-bill-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019</strong></a> amends the Income Tax Act, 1961, and The Finance (No 2) Act, 2019 to provide domestic companies with an option to opt for lower tax rates.</li>
<li>The<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/hong-kong-convention-for-ship-recycling" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019</strong></a> restricts the use of hazardous material on ships and regulates the recycling of ships.</li>
<li>The <strong>Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2019</strong> amends the definition of illegal migrant, reduces the residency requirement to obtain Indian citizenship through naturalisation, and empowers the central government to cancel registration of OCI card.</li>
<li>The <a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/citizenship-amendment-act-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019</strong></a> amends the definition of illegal migrant, reduces the residency requirement to obtain Indian citizenship through naturalisation, and empowers the central government to cancel registration of OCI card.</li>
<li>The<strong> Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Sixth Amendment) Bill, 2019</strong> retaining the inclusive character of the Constitution by continuing the reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for another ten years ie. upto 25th January, 2030.</li>
<li>The <a href="/prs-capsule/prs-capsule-january-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019</strong></a> amending Part VI of the Order which specifies the Scheduled Tribes in Karnataka.</li>
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/international-financial-services-centres-authority-bill-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019</strong></a> establishes the International Financial Services Centre Authority to regulate and develop a market for financial services in India.</li>
<li>The <strong>Appropriation (No.3) Bill, 2019</strong> authorizing payment and appropriation of certain sums from and out of the Consolidated Fund of India for the services of the financial year 2019-20.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Members need to abide by their commitment and <strong>ensure their presence</strong> for smooth functioning of the House.</li>
<li>The balance between the <strong>government (Executive) business and the Parliamentary business</strong> needs to be maintained by effectively discussing and addressing the contemporary issues concerning the nation.</li>
</ul>
<p>Indeed, Rajya Sabha has all through been a <strong>lively and sagacious institution.</strong> It must continue to function with greater vigor and zeal towards fulfilling the aspirations of the people.</p>',
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		],
		(int) 17 => [
			'title' => 'Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>This article is based on <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/uday-scheme-power-discom-losses-6180263/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;UDAY scheme loses power, sharp spike in discom losses&rdquo;(IE)</strong></a>,<a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/uday-scheme-narendra-odi-finance-economy-bjp-arun-jaitley-5741261/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> &ldquo;Power under pressure&rdquo;(IE)</strong></a>, <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/power-minister-lays-out-govts-agenda-for-2020-here-are-reforms-planned-for-power-sector/1802093/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;Power Minister lays out govt&rsquo;s agenda for 2020; here are reforms planned for power sector&rdquo;(FE).</strong></a> It talks about issues related to UDAY scheme.</p>
</div>
<p>Government of India launched the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/discom-losses-and-uday-scheme" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY)</strong> </a>in November 2015. It was designed to turn around the precarious financial position of state power distribution companies (discoms). Discoms are responsible for buying electricity from the generation companies and selling them to consumers.</p>
<p>The Discom losses, which had progressively reduced in the first couple of years (since the inception of UDAY), have rebounded in 2019 to nearly double the losses recorded the previous year.</p>
<p>According to PRAAPTI (Payment Ratification And Analysis in Power procurement for bringing Transparency in Invoicing of generators) portal, the discoms&rsquo; total outstanding dues to power gencos (power generating companies) rose 48% to Rs 81,010 crore in October 2019.</p>
<p><strong>The primary reason for this is the failure of discom to collect the full cost that they pay for power.</strong></p>
<h3>What are the issues in the power distribution sector?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India now generates more power <strong>than it needs (surplus power).</strong> But, the practical experience signals that the scheduled and unscheduled power cuts are the norms in cities, and the situation in most rural areas is worse.</li>
<li>This means the consumption of power has consistently lagged behind availability.</li>
<li><strong>Reasons for financial losses of discoms:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The discoms suffer <strong>Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&amp;C) Losses.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Technical Loss:</strong> It is due to the flow of power in transmission and distribution system.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Almost <strong>25%</strong> of the power is lost, and never gets billed.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Commercial Loss:</strong> It is due to the theft of electricity, deficiencies in metering, etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The gap between the <strong>average per-unit cost of supply (ACS) and average revenue realised (ARR).</strong></li>
<li>The remaining <strong>75%</strong> is sold at prices that are much lower than the discoms&rsquo; procurement costs.<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577448010_Image.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577448010_Image.jpg" width="335" caption="false" style="float: right;" /></a><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>In almost every state, the increase in tariff rates is avoided because of the associated political costs.</li>
<li>Therefore, political unwillingness is at the heart of commercial losses.</li>
<li>Due to this, there has been a gap between ACS and ARR.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>As a result, by March 2015, discoms' accumulated losses were approximately Rs 3.8 lakh crore &mdash; more than 3.5% of the GDP.</li>
</ul>
<p>In order to make discoms financially viable, UDAY scheme was launched. The scheme has <strong>three critical components.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The takeover of discoms debt by state governments.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>State governments took over 75% of the debt of their discoms and issued<strong> lower-interest bonds</strong> to service the rest of the debt.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In return, discoms were given target dates (2017-19) to <strong>meet efficiency parameters.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Aggregate technical and commercial (AT&amp;C) losses of discoms, are to be reduced.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>This has to be matched up by <strong>timely tariff revisions and elimination of the gap between the average per-unit cost of supply (ACS) and average revenue realised</strong> (ARR) by 2019.</li>
</ul>
<h3>The scheme resulted in some positives</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Out of the 28 states that implemented UDAY, 10 states have shown either reduced losses or profits in 2019.</li>
<li>Instead of just focusing on distribution, UDAY focused on interventions in coal, generation and transmission sectors as well.</li>
</ul>
<p>However, the indications are that the turnaround as envisaged by UDAY hasn&rsquo;t materialised, with several targets being missed:</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Burgeoning AT&amp;C Losses:</strong> At the aggregate level, the <strong>AT&amp;C losses for major states stood at 19.05%</strong> as against the<strong> target of reducing them to 15% by the end of 2019.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In the case of some states, especially in the northern and central parts of the country, the losses are of a much higher magnitude, suggesting that pilferage continues to be rampant.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>High ACS-ARR Gap:</strong> While the ACS-ARR gap was supposed to be eliminated by 2019, it remains as high as Rs 0.25 per unit.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In many states, the gap is even higher. This can be traced to inadequate tariff hikes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Mixed Progress:</strong> Operational efficiency targets under UDAY, such as the installation of feeder metering, smart metering and feeder segregation, are still not completely met.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>For instance, not much progress has been made in the case of smart metering above 200 and up to 500 kwh and above 500 kwh.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Inadequate Power Subsidy:</strong> Also, <strong>the power subsidy released by state governments</strong> to discoms appears to be <strong>inadequate.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>As a result, discoms have reported financial losses to the tune of Rs 21,658 crore at the end of 2019, reversing the declining trend since the launch of UDAY.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Economic Roadblock:</strong> Further, UDAY bonds were issued at a premium, due to this, the cost of debt servicing has gone up for the UDAY states.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The impact on state finances is likely to continue due to interest payment on UDAY bonds and redemption of these bonds.</li>
<li>This makes for a <strong>grim prospect for most states combating a tight fiscal situation amid a</strong> <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/slowdown-in-india-part-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>continuing slowdown.</strong></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Government's announcement of the launch of<strong> UDAY 2.0</strong> which seeks installation of <strong>smart prepaid metres, prompt payment by discoms, making coal available for short term</strong> and <strong>reviving gas-based plants</strong> is a step in the right direction.</li>
<li>There is an urgent need to address the issues of burgeoning outstanding dues of discoms towards power generators and stressed projects that are being dragged under insolvency proceedings.</li>
<li><strong>Formulation of pragmatic power tariff policy</strong> is the need of the hour because without a financially viable power sector and subsequently, socio-economic growth of India will suffer.</li>
</ul>
<p>The Indian government has vowed to provide 24X7 power supply to every village and every house in India. The fulfilment of this dream will rest upon a sustainable power sector. Therefore, the government should proactively address the concerns of these power distribution companies.</p>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 506px; border-style: dotted; border-color: #fc6100; background-color: #ffeddb;"><span style="color: #003366;"><em><strong>Drishti Mains Question</strong></em></span><br /><br />Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana was designed to turn around the precarious financial position of state power distribution companies. However, there are still many underlying issues in it. Discuss.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p></p>',
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		],
		(int) 18 => [
			'title' => 'Joint Naval Exercise by China, Russia and Iran ',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577439390_802image2.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577439390_802image2.jpg" style="float: right;" width="422" height="238" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>China, Russia and Iran to hold joint naval drills from December 27 to 30 to deepen exchange and cooperation between the navies of the three countries.</li>
<li>The exercise is launched from the <strong>southeastern port city of <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/chabahar-port-us-sanctions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chabahar</a> in the Gulf of Oman</strong> and is aimed at boosting the <strong>security of the region&rsquo;s waterways.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Chabahar port has been <strong>jointly developed</strong> by <strong>India, Iran, and Afghanistan.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It is a part of &ldquo;normal military cooperation&rdquo; between the three countries.</li>
<li>During the exercise, China would deploy its <strong>guided-missile destroyer</strong> &mdash; the <strong>&ldquo;carrier killer&rdquo;</strong> for its array of anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles.</li>
<li>The exercise comes in the backdrop of the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/us-reimposes-sanctions-on-iran" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal</strong> </a>and escalated sanctions on Iran by the USA.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/report-iran-kicks-off-joint-naval-drills-with-russia-china/article30409776.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
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			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/joint-naval-exercise-by-china-russia-and-iran'
		],
		(int) 19 => [
			'title' => 'Earliest Sanskrit Inscriptions in South India found in A.P.',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/monuments-of-national-importance" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)</strong></a> has discovered the <strong>earliest Sanskrit inscription in South India</strong> which is also an <strong>earliest epigraphic evidence</strong> (Epigraphy is the study of ancient inscriptions) for the <strong>Saptamatrika cult.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Saptamatrikas are a group of <strong>seven female deities</strong> worshipped in <strong>Hinduism</strong> as personifying the energy of their respective consorts.</li>
<li>Another inscription in <strong>Prakrit language and of Brahmi characters</strong> belonging to the <strong>1st century A.D.</strong> was also found.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Inscriptions related to Saptamatrika:</strong> The found inscription records the <strong>construction of a Prasada (temple), a mandapa</strong> and <strong>consecration of images</strong> by a person named Kartika at the temple of <strong>Goddess Saptamatrika</strong> at Tambrape.</li>
<li><strong>Location:</strong> Tambrape is the <strong>ancient name</strong> of <strong>Chebrolou, Andhra Pradesh.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Earlier References to Saptamatrika:</strong> Earlier references to Saptamatrika worship have been found in the early Kadamba copper plates and the early <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/chalukyan-rulers" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Chalukyas and Eastern Chalukya</strong></a> copper plates<strong> dated around 600 A.D.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Language and Characters:</strong> All the available records proved that the found inscription (also known as <strong>Chebrolu inscription</strong>) is in <strong>Sanskrit and in Brahmi characters.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Issued by: Satavahana king Vijaya in 207 A.D.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>So far the <strong>Nagarjunakonda inscription</strong> of <strong>Ikshavaku king Ehavala Chantamula</strong> issued in the 4<sup>th</sup> century A.D. was considered the earliest Sanskrit inscription in South India.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Satavahanas</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In the Deccan, the Satavahanas established their independent rule after the decline of the Mauryas. Their rule lasted for about <strong>450 years.</strong></li>
<li>They were also known as the <strong>Andhras.</strong></li>
<li>The Puranas and the <strong>Nasik and Nanaghad inscriptions</strong> remain important sources for the history of Satavahanas.</li>
<li>The<strong> founder</strong> of the Satavahana dynasty was <strong>Simuka.</strong> The greatest ruler of the Satavahana dynasty was <strong>Gautamiputra Satakarni.</strong></li>
<li>There was remarkable progress in the fields of trade and industry during the Satavahana rule. The greatest port of the Satavahanas was <strong>Kalyani on the western Deccan</strong> and <strong>Gandakasela, Ganjam on the east coast</strong> were the other important seaports.</li>
<li>The Satavahanas <strong>patronized Buddhism and Brahmanism.</strong> Brahmanism was revived by the Satavahanas along with the performance of asvamedha and rajasuya sacrifices.</li>
<li>They also <strong>patronized the Prakrit language and literature.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/earliest-sanskrit-inscription-in-south-india-found-in-ap/article30397972.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 0 => [
		'title' => 'Electro-Kinetic Streaming to Tap Energy from Water',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The <strong>Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati (IIT-G)</strong> <strong>researchers</strong> have developed materials that can <strong>produce energy from flowing or stagnant water in households.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The decentralised energy model involves a large number of small generation devices which can generate energy in every household and the excess energy can be transferred to energy-deficient areas nearby.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The generation of energy from water in various forms like river flow, ocean tides, stagnant water and even raindrops is now known as <strong>"Blue Energy&rdquo;.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>These are the traditional form of blue energy and there have been efforts to harness the power of water in other ways. One such out-of-the-box blue source is electrokinetic energy.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Two different methods have been employed to harvest energy from the flowing water and the stagnant waters.</li>
<li><strong>Electro-Kinetic Streaming Potential:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>By this method, energy can be harvested from flowing tap water.</li>
<li>When fluids stream through tiny channels that are charged, they can generate an electrical voltage, which may be harnessed through miniaturised generators.</li>
<li>Although the exploration of such electrokinetic phenomena and their possible use for energy conversion have been known for over half a century, they have not been harnessed because of low efficiency arising from the unsuitability of channels for the fluid stream.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Contrasting Inter-Facial Activities:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>These entail different types of semiconducting materials to generate power from stagnant water.</li>
<li>Devices were fabricated with doped graphene flakes for generating power by dipping in a bucket of water in the stagnant water source to &ldquo;complementary charge transfer activities&rdquo;.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Graphene is the sheet produced by oxidation followed by reduction of natural graphite flakes.</li>
<li>Graphene was modified to manipulate its electron density so that even stagnant water in contact with this form of graphene can produce energy.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Streaming Potential</strong></p>
<p>It is the potential difference at zero current produced by the convective flow of charge due to a pressure gradient (flow of liquid) through a charged capillary, membrane, plug, or diaphragm.</p>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/iit-g-offers-new-tech-to-tap-energy-from-water/article30435707.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 1 => [
		'title' => 'Higher Education in India',
		'catname' => 'Paper 2',
		'desc' => '<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1582722521_Higher%20Education in India (Mind Map)_Artboard 1.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1582722521_Higher Education in India (Mind Map)_Artboard 1.png" width="545" height="1679" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/higher-education-in-india-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>For TTP</em></a></p>',
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	(int) 2 => [
		'title' => 'Creamy Layer for SCs/STs',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>This article is based on <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-creamy-layer-principle-in-sc-st-quota-for-promotion-judgments-appeals-6157100/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;Creamy layer principle in SC, ST quota for promotion: judgments, appeals&rdquo;</strong></a> which was published in The Indian Express on 11/12/2019. It talks about applicability of creamy layer principle to promotions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in government jobs.</p>
</div>
<p>Recently, the Centre had asked the Supreme Court to refer the question of <em><strong>&lsquo;whether the creamy layer concept should apply or not to the Scheduled Castes (SCs)/Scheduled Tribes (STs) while providing them reservation in promotions&rsquo;</strong> </em>to a larger Bench reconsidering its earlier pronouncement in <em><strong>M. Nagaraj &amp; Others vs Union of India case (2006).</strong></em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577705970_pasted%20image1.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><strong><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577705970_pasted image1.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="444" height="347" /></strong></em></a></p>
<h3>What is the creamy layer concept?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The expression <strong>&lsquo;means-test and creamy layer&rsquo;</strong> first found its mention in the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/supreme-court-of-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Supreme Court&rsquo;s</strong></a> landmark judgment in the <a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/reservation-in-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Indra Sawhney vs Union of India case of 1992</strong></a> (<em><strong>also known as Mandal Commission case</strong></em>), that was delivered by a <strong>nine-judge Bench</strong> on November 16, 1992. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The creamy layer was then described as- &ldquo;some members of a backward class who are socially, economically as well as educationally advanced as compared to the rest of the members of that community. They constitute the forward section of that particular backward class and eat up all the benefits of reservations meant for that class, without allowing benefits to reach the truly backward members&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The Court also asked the Central government to fix the <strong>norms for income, property and status</strong> for identifying the creamy layer. In 1993, the creamy layer ceiling was fixed at ₹1 lakh. It was subsequently increased to ₹2.5 lakh (2004), ₹4.5 lakh (2008), ₹6 lakh (2013), and at <strong>₹8 lakh since 2017.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Creamy Layer Chronology</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In <strong>1980, the Mandal Commission report</strong> recommended to <strong>provide 27% reservation</strong> to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in jobs.</li>
<li>In <strong>1990,</strong> the V P Singh Government <strong>declared such reservation of 27%</strong> in government jobs for the OBCs.</li>
<li>In <strong>1991,</strong> the Narasimha Rao Government introduced a change in order to <strong>give preference to the poorer sections among the OBCs</strong> while granting the 27% quota.</li>
<li>In the Indra Sawhney judgment <strong>(1992),</strong> the <strong>Court upheld the government&rsquo;s move</strong> and proclaimed that the advanced sections among the OBCs (i.e, the creamy layer) must be excluded from the list of beneficiaries of reservation. It also held that the concept of creamy layer must be excluded for SCs &amp; STs.</li>
</ul>
<h3>How was the creamy layer made applicable to SC/ST members?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In the <strong>Nagaraj case (2006)</strong> the issue had arisen regarding the validity of the following four Constitutional amendments, claiming that these amendments made by the government were meant to reverse the decisions made by the Court in the <em><strong>Indra Sawhney Case, 1992:</strong></em><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>77<sup>th</sup> Constitutional Amendment Act, 1995:</strong> The Indra Sawhney verdict had held there would be reservation only in <strong>initial appointments and not promotions.</strong> But the government through this amendment introduced <strong>Article 16(4A)</strong> to the Constitution, empowering the state to make <strong><em>provisions for reservation in matters of promotion</em></strong> to SC/ST employees if the state feels they are not adequately represented.</li>
<li><strong>81<sup>st</sup> Constitutional Amendment Act, 2000:</strong> It introduced <strong>Article 16(4B),</strong> which says unfilled SC/ST quota of a particular year, when <em><strong>carried forward</strong></em> to the next year, will be <strong>treated separately</strong> and not clubbed with the regular vacancies of that year. While the Supreme Court in the Indra Sawhney Case capped the reservation quota at 50%, the government by this amendment ensured that 50% ceiling for these carried forward unfilled posts does not apply.</li>
<li><strong>82<sup>nd</sup> Constitutional Amendment Act, 2000:</strong> It inserted a condition at the end of <strong>Article 335</strong> that enables the state to <strong>make any provision</strong> in favour of the members of the SC/STs <em><strong>for relaxation in qualifying marks in any examination or lowering the standards of evaluation, for reservation in matters of promotion</strong></em> to any class or classes of services or posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Constitutional Provision: Article 335</strong> recognises that <em><strong>special measures need to be adopted for considering the claims of SCs and STs to services and posts, in order to bring them at par.</strong> </em>It is read as: &ldquo;The claims of the members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes shall be taken into consideration, consistently with the<strong> maintenance of efficiency of administration,</strong> in the making of appointments to services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State.&rdquo;</p>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>85<sup>th</sup> Constitutional Amendment Act, 2001:</strong> It provided for the reservation in promotion can be applied with<em><strong> &lsquo;consequential seniority&rsquo;</strong></em> for the government servants belonging to the SCs and STs with retrospective effect from June 1995.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Key Pronouncements of M. Nagaraj Case (2006)</strong></p>
<p>The Court in this case laid down <strong>three conditions</strong> for promotion of SCs and STs in public employment:</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Government cannot introduce quota unless it proves that the particular community is <strong>backward,</strong></li>
<li><strong>Inadequately represented</strong> (based on quantifiable data), and</li>
<li>Providing reservation in promotion would not affect the <strong>overall efficiency</strong> of public administration.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>five-judges Bench in Nagaraj case</strong> although <strong>upheld the</strong> constitutional validity of all four amendments, but the following two validations by the Supreme Court in this case became the bone of contention: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>First:</strong> The Court proclaimed that the State is <strong>not bound</strong> to make reservation for SC/ST in the matter of promotions. However if they wish to exercise their discretion and make such provision, the State has to <strong>collect quantifiable data showing backwardness</strong> of the class and inadequacy of representation of that class in public employment<strong> in addition to compliance of Article 335.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Second:</strong> Also, it<strong> reversed its earlier stance in Mandal case, </strong>in<strong> which </strong>it had<strong> excluded the creamy layer concept on SCs/STs</strong> (that was applicable on OBCs). The verdict in Nagaraj case made clear that even if the State has compelling reasons (as stated above), the State needs to ensure that its reservation provision does not lead to <strong>excessiveness-</strong> breaching the <strong>ceiling-limit of 50%,</strong> or <strong>destroying the creamy layer principle,</strong> or <strong>extending the reservation indefinitely.</strong> Therefore, the <em><strong>Court extended the creamy layer principle to SCs and STs too</strong></em> in this verdict.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Current Demand by the Centre</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Centre asked the Court to review its stance on the above two issues:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>As <strong>collecting quantifiable data</strong> showing backwardness is <strong>contrary to the Mandal</strong> case pronouncement where it was held that Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are the most backward among backward classes. It is, therefore, presumed that once they are added in the <strong>Presidential List under Articles 341 and 342</strong> of the Constitution of India, there is no question of proving backwardness of the SCs and STs all over again.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The said List cannot be altered by anybody except<strong> Parliament</strong> under Articles 341 and 342- defining who will be considered as SCs or STs in any state or Union Territory.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>And, the <strong>creamy layer concept has not been applied</strong> in the Indra Sawhney case.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The Court clarifying its stance in<em><strong> Jarnail Singh vs Lachhmi Narain Gupta case (2018)</strong></em> refused to refer the above issue to a larger bench. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>However, it <strong>invalidated</strong> the requirement of <strong>collecting quantifiable data</strong> by states on the backwardness of SCs and STs while granting quota in promotions as laid down by the Court in Nagaraj verdict, but states need to back it with appropriate data showing the inadequate representation of SCs &amp; STs in the cadre.</li>
<li>On the <strong>creamy layer principle</strong> for excluding the well-off amongst the SC/ST communities from availing the benefit, the Court followed the Nagaraj verdict. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The Court held that <strong>socially, educationally, and economically</strong> advanced<strong> cream</strong> of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes communities must be excluded from the benefits of reservation in government services in order to transfer quota benefits to the weakest of the weaker individuals and not be snatched away by members of the same class who were in the &ldquo;top creamy layer&rdquo;.</li>
<li>The Court also observed that it will not be possible to uplift the weaker sections if only the creamy layer within that class bags all the coveted jobs in the public sector and perpetuate themselves, leaving the rest of the class as backward as they were.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The government is now asking the Supreme Court to reconsider its verdict in Jarnail Singh case with respect to the applicability of creamy layer principle.</li>
</ul>
<p>Reservation provides <strong>appropriate positive discrimination</strong> for the benefit of the socially and educationally backward sections of the society. And the creamy layer concept helps in ensuring that only the <strong>genuinely deserving and the most downtrodden</strong> members of any particular community get those reservation benefits.</p>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%; border-style: dotted; border-color: #ff0000; background-color: #e6ffd1;"><span style="color: #000080;"><em><strong>Drishti Mains Question</strong></em></span><br /><br />Briefly discuss the process of the evolution of &lsquo;principle of creamy layer&rsquo; in reservations. What are the advantages and challenges associated with it?</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>',
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	(int) 3 => [
		'title' => 'Higher Education in India',
		'catname' => 'Paper 2',
		'desc' => '<h3>Introduction</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India's higher education system is the world's third-largest in terms of students, next to China and the United States.</li>
<li>India's Higher Education sector has witnessed a tremendous increase in the number of Universities/University level Institutions &amp; Colleges since independence.</li>
<li>In the prestigious <strong>Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings 2020,</strong> only three Indian Universities- IIT-Bombay, IIT-Delhi and IISc (Bangalore)- have been included in the top 200 institutes.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Issues and Challenges in India&rsquo;s Higher Education Sector</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Enrolment:</strong> The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of India in higher education is only 25.2% which is quite low as compared to the developed and other major developing countries.</li>
<li><strong>Equity:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>There is no equity in GER among different sections of society. GER for males (26.3%), females (25.4%), SC (21.8%) and ST (15.9%).</li>
<li>There are regional variations too. While some states have high GER some are far behind the national figures.</li>
<li>The college density (number of colleges per lakh eligible population) varies from 7 in Bihar to 59 in Telangana as compared to All India average of 28.</li>
<li>Most of premier universities and colleges are centred in a metropolitan and urban city, thereby leading to the<strong> regional disparity</strong> in access to higher education.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Quality:</strong> Higher Education in India is plagued with rot learning, lack of employability and skill development due to the low quality of education.</li>
<li><strong>Infrastructure:</strong> Poor infrastructure is another challenge to higher education in India. Due to the budget deficit, corruption and lobbying by the vested interest group (Education Mafias), public sector universities in India lack the necessary infrastructure. Even the Private sector is not upto the mark as per the global standard.</li>
<li><strong>Faculty:</strong> Faculty shortages and the inability of the state educational system to attract and retain well-qualified teachers have been posing challenges to quality education for many years. Shortage of faculty leads to Ad-hoc expansion even in the premier institutions. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Pupil-to-teacher ratio though has been stable in the country (30:1), however, it needs to be improved to make it comparable to USA (12.5:1), China (19.5:1) and Brazil (19:1).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Outdated Curriculum:</strong> Outdated, irrelevant curriculum that is dominantly theoretical in nature and has a low scope for creativity. There is a wide gap between industry requirements and universities&rsquo; curriculum that is the main reason for the low employability of graduates in India.</li>
<li><strong>Accreditation:</strong> As per the data provided by the NAAC, as of June 2010, not even 25% of the total higher education institutions in the country were accredited. And among those accredited, only 30% of the universities and 45% of the colleges were found to be of quality to be ranked at 'A' level.</li>
<li><strong>Regulatory issues:</strong> Management of the Indian education faces challenges of over-centralization, bureaucratic structures and lack of accountability, transparency, and professionalism. As a result of the increase in a number of affiliated colleges and students, the burden of administrative functions of universities has significantly increased and the core focus on academics and research is diluted.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577701547_image7.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577701547_image7.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="710" height="246" /></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Research:</strong> Poor fund allocation in research, Low levels of PhD enrolment, fewer opportunities for interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research, Low levels of industry engagement, Low quality of research work, etc. are some of the factors affecting the research ecosystem in India.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>India&rsquo;s investment in R&amp;D has remained constant at around 0.6% to 0.7% of India&rsquo;s GDP.</strong> This is below the expenditure of countries like the US (2.8), China (2.1), Israel (4.3) and Korea (4.2).</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recent Initiatives Taken by the Government</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme (EQUIP) has been recently launched:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This is a five-year vision plan to improve the quality and accessibility of higher education over the next five years (2019-2024).</li>
<li>Double the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education and resolve the geographically and socially skewed access to higher education institutions in India.</li>
<li>Position at least 50 Indian institutions among the top-1000 global universities.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Revitalising Infrastructure and Systems in Education (RISE) by 2022</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Qualitatively upgrade the research and academic infrastructure in India to global best standards by 2022.</li>
<li>Make India into an education hub by making available high-quality research infrastructure in Indian higher educational institutions.</li>
<li>To allow access of HEFA funding to institutions like Central Universities, AIIMS, IISERs and newly created Institutes of National Importance, without creating any additional burden to the students.</li>
<li>Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) has been tasked to mobilise Rs. 1,00,000 crores for this initiative.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>UGC&rsquo;s Learning Outcome-based Curriculum Framework (LOCF)</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>LOCF guidelines, issued by UGC in 2018, aims to specify what graduates are expected to know, understand and be able to do at the end of their programme of study. This is to make student active learner and teacher a good facilitator.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Graded Autonomy to Universities &amp; Colleges:</strong> 3-tiered graded autonomy regulatory system has been initiated, with the categorization based on accreditation scores. Category I and Category II universities will have significant autonomy to conduct examinations, prescribe evaluation systems and even announce results</li>
<li><strong>Global Initiative for Academics Network (GIAN):</strong> The programme seeks to invite distinguished academicians, entrepreneurs, scientists, experts from premier institutions from across the world, to teach in the higher educational institutions in India.</li>
<li><strong>All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE):</strong> The main objectives of the survey are to- identify &amp; capture all the institutions of higher learning in the country; and collect the data from all the higher education institutions on various aspects of higher education.</li>
<li><strong>National Institutional Ranking Framework</strong> was developed in 2015. The rankings are published annually since 2016. It outlines a methodology to rank educational institutions across the country based on five broad parameters:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Teaching, learning and resources;</li>
<li>Research and professional practice;</li>
<li>Graduation outcomes;</li>
<li>Outreach and inclusivity; and</li>
<li>Perception.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Regulatory and governance reforms:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Restructure or merge different higher education regulators (UGC, AICTE, NCTE etc.) to ensure effective coordination.</li>
<li>Amend UGC Act to give legislative backing to regulatory structure.</li>
<li>Allow foreign institutions to operate joint degree programmes with Indian institutions.</li>
<li>Link University grants to performance.</li>
<li>Select Vice-Chancellors of universities through a transparent &amp; objective process.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Creating &lsquo;world-class universities&rsquo;:</strong> 20 universities &ndash; 10 each from the public and private sector &ndash; are being selected as <strong>&lsquo;Institutions of Eminence&rsquo;,</strong> to help them attain world-class standards of teaching and research.<strong> A graded mechanism</strong> to ensure additional funds flow to top public universities should be developed, as in China &amp; Singapore.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/draft-national-education-policy-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Draft National Education Policy, 2019</strong> </a>recommended Restructuring of the higher education system into Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Tier 1 includes research universities focusing equally on research and teaching, Tier 2 includes teaching universities focusing primarily on teaching; and Tier 3 includes colleges focusing only on teaching at undergraduate levels. All such institutions will gradually move towards full autonomy - academic, administrative, and financial. The idea is to spread &lsquo;research culture&rsquo; at the undergraduate level.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Increased focus on vocational and profession led education:</strong> Include vocational subjects in mainstream universities to allow for greater acceptance and utility for vocational learning.</li>
<li><strong>Accreditation Framework:</strong> All higher education institutions must be accredited compulsorily &amp; regularly, by agencies, empanelled through a transparent, high-quality process.</li>
<li><strong>Performance-linked funding and incentives:</strong> All central universities should develop strategic plans for getting into the top 500 global universities rankings in the next 10 years. Funding to these institutions should be linked to performance and outcomes through the MHRD and newly constituted Higher&nbsp;Education Funding Agency</li>
<li><strong>Distance and online education:</strong> Broaden the scope of Massive Open Online Course (MOOCs) and Open and Distance Learning (ODL) to provide access to quality education beyond geographical boundaries.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="/mind-map/gs-paper2/higher-education-in-india-mind-map" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>For Mind Map</em></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/to-the-points/Paper2/higher-education-in-india-1'
	],
	(int) 4 => [
		'title' => 'Red Sand Boa Snake',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, a <strong>red sand boa snake (Eryx johnii)</strong>, worth around ₹1.25 crore, was rescued from five persons, who were trying to sell it in Madhya Pradesh.<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577695130_image3.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577695130_image3.jpg" width="150" height="168" caption="false" style="float: right;" /></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is a <strong>rare non-poisonous snake</strong> that is used for making certain medicines, cosmetics and in black magic, and is in huge demand in the international market.</li>
<li>It is <strong>found in whole of India excluding North-east states</strong> after North-Bengal; also not found in Indian islands.</li>
<li>Among layman it is famous as <strong>"Two-headed Snake"</strong> due to the presence of very thick tail having rounded end.</li>
<li>The trade and possession of the red sand boa is an offence under the <strong>Wildlife Protection Act 1972.</strong> The species is listed under <strong>Schedule 4</strong> of the Act. Also, it is listed in <strong>CITES Appendix II.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/red-sand-boa-rescued-in-mp-five-nabbed/article30427651.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/red-sand-boa-snake'
	],
	(int) 5 => [
		'title' => 'Telangana Industrial Health Clinic',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The<strong> Telangana Industrial Health Clinic Ltd.</strong> (TIHCL), an initiative of the State government <strong>to handhold</strong> <a href="/to-the-points/paper3/micro-small-and-medium-enterprises-msme" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Micro and Small Manufacturing Enterprises (MSMEs)</strong></a> <strong>from slipping into sickness,</strong> is ready to extend its services at pan India level.</p>
<h3>Telangana Industrial Health Clinic Limited</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It was established in 2018 as a <strong>fintech</strong> <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/A%20nuanced%20understanding%20of%20the%20NBFC%20sector" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC)</strong></a>. It is a diagnostic and curative industry initiative for MSMEs.</li>
<li>It is <strong>promoted by</strong> the State Government of Telangana and <strong>supported by</strong> Telangana Industrial Development Corporation (TSIDC).</li>
<li><strong>Objectives:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>To <strong>ensure</strong> healthy MSMEs through responsive counselling and responsible consulting and other mentoring services</li>
<li>To <strong>engage</strong> MSMEs in strong and consistent financial performance through better compliance standards</li>
<li>To <strong>support &amp; enrich</strong> a sustainable working environment that attracts, retains and develops committed team sharing common values</li>
<li>To play the role of <strong>advocacy</strong> in assuring prompt payment by the vendees of MSMEs</li>
<li>To <strong>propel</strong> potential MSMEs to equity platforms like the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Corpus:</strong> It has a corpus of <strong>Rs.100 Crores,</strong> with an initial contribution of Rs.10 Cr. from State Government of Telangana, Rs.50 Cr. from Government of India, and the rest through equity holding from MSMEs, Banks and Financial Institutions, etc.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The TIHCL has been managing with just one-tenth (contribution made by the State government) of the originally envisaged ₹100 crore corpus fund, making it eligible for Central government funding in order to fulfill the industry demand.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Investment:</strong> In terms of its investment, it is up to <strong>₹25 lakh per unit.</strong> Its portfolio of products comprises of <strong><em>bridge loan, stressed assets finance, credit financing and margin amount funding.</em> </strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>For women entrepreneurs, it offers these services at a concessional rate of interest under <strong>NARI scheme.</strong> It also provides <strong>composite loans</strong> with flexible repayments and withdrawals to new micro and small enterprises established by women.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577694981_image1.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577694981_image1.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="460" height="484" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/telangana-industrial-health-clinic-to-spread-wings/article30427856.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/telangana-industrial-health-clinic'
	],
	(int) 6 => [
		'title' => 'Cyclone Sarai',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p><a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/in-depth-western-disturbance" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Tropical Cyclone</strong></a> <strong>Sarai</strong> hit Fiji on December 28, 2019, causing widespread damage.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is a <strong>category two tropical cyclone</strong> and is moving east towards the Tongan waters at nearly 10 kmh speed.</li>
<li>It is expected to have average winds of up to 110km/hr with momentary gusts to 150km/hr close to its centre.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577694315_image4.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577694315_image4.jpg" caption="false" width="600" height="428" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Fiji and Tonga</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Fiji is a country and archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean. It surrounds the Koro Sea about 1,300 miles north of Auckland, New Zealand.</li>
<li>Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga (also called Friendly Islands), is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It lies east of Fiji.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a 1 to 5 rating based on a hurricane's sustained wind speed. This scale estimates potential property damage.</li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #f29b7e;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 35px;">
<td style="width: 11.088%; height: 35px;"><strong>Category</strong></td>
<td style="width: 16.3894%; height: 35px;"><strong>Sustained Winds</strong></td>
<td style="width: 45.2876%; height: 35px;"><strong>Types of Damage Due to Hurricane Winds</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 11.088%; height: 19px;">1</td>
<td style="width: 16.3894%; height: 19px;">119-153 km/h</td>
<td style="width: 45.2876%; height: 19px;">Very dangerous winds will produce some damage</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 11.088%; height: 19px;">2</td>
<td style="width: 16.3894%; height: 19px;">154-177 km/h</td>
<td style="width: 45.2876%; height: 19px;">Extremely dangerous winds will cause extensive damage</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 11.088%; height: 19px;">3&nbsp;(major)</td>
<td style="width: 16.3894%; height: 19px;">178-208 km/h</td>
<td style="width: 45.2876%; height: 19px;">Devastating damage will occur</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 11.088%; height: 19px;">4 (major)</td>
<td style="width: 16.3894%; height: 19px;">209-251 km/h</td>
<td style="width: 45.2876%; height: 19px;">Catastrophic damage will occur</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 11.088%; height: 19px;">5&nbsp;(major)</td>
<td style="width: 16.3894%; height: 19px;">252 km/h or higher</td>
<td style="width: 45.2876%; height: 19px;">Catastrophic damage will occur</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/one-dead-more-than-2500-evacuated-as-cyclone-sarai-lashes-fiji/article30424251.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/cyclone-sarai'
	],
	(int) 7 => [
		'title' => 'Mere 30% of Poshan Abhiyaan Funds Used',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Only 30% of the funds released under the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/poshan-abhiyaan" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Poshan Abhiyaan</strong></a> have been utilised by the State governments and the Union Territories since it was launched in 2018.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Until October 31, 2019, only 29.97% of the funds granted were used.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Poshan Abhiyaan:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is the<strong> centre&rsquo;s flagship programme</strong> which aims at <strong>improving nutritional outcomes among pregnant women, lactating mothers and children</strong> by<strong> reducing</strong> the level of <strong>stunting, underweight, anaemia and low birth weight by 2022.</strong></li>
<li>It was launched to benefit more than 10 crore people with a total budget of ₹9,046.17 crore for three years.</li>
<li><strong>50%</strong> of the total budget comes <strong>from the<a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/world-bank-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> World Bank</a> or other multilateral development banks</strong> and the rest of the <strong>50%</strong> is through <strong>Centre&rsquo;s budgetary support.</strong></li>
<li>Centre&rsquo;s budgetary support is further divided into <strong>60:40 between the Centre and the States, 90:10 for the north-eastern region</strong> and the<strong> Himalayan States</strong> and <strong>100% for the Union Territories without legislature.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Best Five Performers-</strong> Mizoram (65.12%) &gt; Lakshadweep (61.08%) &gt; Bihar (55.17%) &gt; Himachal Pradesh (53.29%) &gt; Meghalaya (48.37%).</li>
<li><strong>Worst Five Performers-</strong> Punjab (0.45%) &lt; Karnataka (0.74%) &lt; Kerala (8.75%) &lt; Jharkhand (13.94%) &lt; Assam (23.01%).</li>
<li>The programme was conceptualised to be implemented in phases so the utilisation will increase over the years. Few services showed a slow start and are now pickling up like the<strong> Integrated Child Development Services-Common Application Software (ICDS-CAS).</strong></li>
<li>The <strong>Ministry of Health and Welfare</strong> released the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/national-nutrition-survey-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS)</strong></a> in October which showed that <strong>35% of children under the age of 5</strong> are <strong>stunted</strong> and in this age group, <strong>17% are wasted (low weight for height)</strong> and <strong>33% underweight (low weight for age).</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Integrated Child Development Services</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The scheme provides specific interventions targeted towards the <strong>vulnerable groups</strong> include <strong>children below 6 years and women.</strong></li>
<li>It is being implemented by the<strong> Ministry of Women and Child Development.</strong></li>
<li>It provides a <strong>package of six services</strong> namely <strong>supplementary nutrition, pre-school non-formal education, nutrition &amp; health education, immunization, health check-up </strong>and<strong> referral services.</strong></li>
<li>Common Application Software is intended to <strong>use technology for furthering of the objectives</strong> of the scheme.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577693720_image2.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577693720_image2.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="562" height="376" caption="false" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/3-years-on-a-mere-30-of-poshan-abhiyaan-funds-used/article30427608.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/mere-30-of-poshan-abhiyaan-funds-used'
	],
	(int) 8 => [
		'title' => 'Elephant Colony in Bandhavgarh',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>For the first time, <strong>Bandhavgarh Reserve forest</strong> located in Madhya Pradesh (MP), has a colony of elephants who migrated from Chhattisgarh in November 2018 and has stayed on. Bandhavgarh is a <strong>large reserve forest</strong> that has plenty of food and water which is the possible reason for this migration and stay.</p>
<h3>Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In <strong>1968,</strong> it was notified as a national park and in <strong>1993</strong> was declared<strong> a tiger reserve-</strong> under the Project Tiger Network at the neighbouring <strong>Panpatha Sanctuary.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Historical Significance:</strong> Its mention can be found in the ancient books of the <strong>&lsquo;Narad Pancharatra&rsquo;</strong> and the <strong>&lsquo;Shiv Purana&rsquo;</strong> that this place is being associated with Ramayana. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>Bandhavgarh Fort</strong> is a great masterpiece of<strong> &ldquo;Treta Yuga&rdquo;</strong> (one of the ages of mankind in Hinduism).</li>
<li>It was ruled by major dynasties including <strong>Sengars, the Kalchuris, and the Baghels</strong> (believed to rule the regions for the longer period).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Geographical Aspect:</strong> It resides on the extreme north eastern border of Madhya Pradesh and the northern edges of the <strong>Satpura mountain ranges.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Climate: Tropical monsoon climatic zone.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Streams:</strong> The whole park is filled with <strong>more than 20 streams</strong> out of which some of the most important streams are <em><strong>Johilla, Janadh, Charanganga, Damnar, Banbei, Ambanala and Andhiyari Jhiria.</strong></em> These streams then <strong>merge into the Son river</strong> (an important southern tributary to the <strong>river Ganga)</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Biodiversity:</strong> There is a large number of <strong>tigers in the core zone.</strong> There are more than 22 species of mammals and 250 species of birds. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Species Found:</strong> Asiatic Jackal, Bengal Fox, Sloth Bear, Striped Hyena, Leopard and Tiger, Wild Pigs, Nilgai, Chinkara and <strong>Gaur</strong> (a herbivore and the only coarse feeder).</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577692881_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577692881_image1.jpg" width="600" caption="false" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Note:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Elephant is a <strong>Schedule-1 species</strong> as listed under the <strong>Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.</strong></li>
<li>While India is home to 50% of the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/world-elephant-day" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Asian Elephant</strong></a> <strong>population,</strong> and according to <strong>2017</strong> <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/elephant-undercounting" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>elephant census</strong></a>, there are 27,312 elephants in the country, marking a decrease of nearly 3,000 elephants from the 2012 census.</li>
<li>The<strong> &lsquo;Tiger State&rsquo; of MP,</strong> which in the 2019 census recorded the <strong>most number of estimated tigers</strong> at 526, presently has no know-how of dealing with elephants.</li>
<li>There are <strong>no elephants in MP</strong> and there is<strong> no known reason</strong> for this disappearance from India&rsquo;s central region, including MP and until a few years ago Chhattisgarh. A loss of <strong>habitat</strong> could have led to this problem. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>But growing <strong>urbanisation and deforestation</strong> in other elephants residing areas, such as West Bengal and Jharkhand, could now be pushing the animals westwards (i.e, in MP).</li>
<li>In October 2019, the Union Ministry for Environment, Forests and Climate Change constituted a technical committee to develop a <strong>National Elephant Action Plan.</strong></li>
<li>Although there is extensive forest cover, relying of elephants on crops makes <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/daily-updates-news-editorials-the-high-cost-of-man-animal-conflict" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>human-elephant conflict</strong></a> inevitable.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/madhya-pradesh-gets-its-first-elephant-colony/article30427157.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/elephant-colony-in-bandhavgarh'
	],
	(int) 9 => [
		'title' => 'Afghan Peace Deal',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The <strong>Taliban&rsquo;s</strong> ruling council has agreed to a<strong> temporary ceasefire</strong> in <strong>Afghanistan.</strong> It provides a window during which a peace agreement with the United States could be signed.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>However, the Taliban chief has not yet approved the cease-fire decision.</li>
<li>Also, the duration of the cease-fire has not been specified.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Background</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Afghanistan</strong> has been <strong>ravaged by war since 2001</strong> when a US-led coalition overthrew the Taliban.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In <strong>2018, Afghanistan</strong> was the <strong>world&rsquo;s deadliest conflict.</strong></li>
<li>The <strong>Taliban</strong> initially emerged as a <strong>militia - largely consisted of students (talib),</strong> in <strong>1994.</strong> This group comprises of militants who had been educated in traditional Islamic schools and fought during the <strong>Soviet&ndash;Afghan War (ended in 1989).</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Since October 2018, Taliban representatives and US officials have been meeting to chalk out a peace treaty.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Key Elements of Afghan Peace Deal</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The U.S. currently has an estimated 12,000 troops in Afghanistan.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>To prevent Afghanistan from being used by terrorist groups.</li>
<li>A permanent ceasefire between the Taliban and Afghanistan.</li>
<li>Direct negotiations between the Taliban and Afghan Government (Intra - Afghan Negotiations).<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The negotiations will cover a variety of issues, including the rights of women, free speech, and changes to the country&rsquo;s constitution.</li>
<li>The Intra-Afghan talks would also lay out the fate of tens of thousands of Taliban fighters as well as the heavily armed militias belonging to Afghanistan&rsquo;s warlords who have amassed wealth and power since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/taliban-council-agrees-to-cease-fire-in-afghanistan/article30428663.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/afghan-peace-deal'
	],
	(int) 10 => [
		'title' => 'Internet Curfew',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>This article is based on <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/india-caa-protest-internet-shutdown-police-public-order-6177492/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;Achieving public order by suspending freedoms is unacceptable&rdquo;</strong></a>, <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/peoples-daily-article-on-net-shutdowns-in-india-internet-cannot-be-independent-of-sovereignty-6174073/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;People&rsquo;s Daily article on Net shutdowns in India: &lsquo;Internet cannot be independent of sovereignty&rdquo;,</strong></a> <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/internet-access-government-restriction-shutdown-3102734/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;The cost of internet shutdowns&rdquo;,</strong></a> <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/internet-shutdown-west-bengal-assam-protest-6168496/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;The problem with shutting down the Internet&rdquo;</strong></a> which were published in The Indian Express. It talks about issues related to internet shutdowns in India.</p>
</div>
<p>Ensuring unhindered access to the internet at all levels is a top priority under<a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/in-depth-digital-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> Digital India programme.</strong></a> Ironically, a new report from the <strong>Center for Technology and Innovation at the Brookings Institute</strong> shows that<strong> India</strong> and Iraq share the dubious position of reporting the <strong>highest number of incidents</strong> involving the government-mandated shutdown of internet access.</p>
<p>Increasingly governments are resorting to shutting down the internet as the go-to solution for <strong>maintaining law and order</strong> like in case protests emanating from <a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/citizenship-amendment-act-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Citizenship Amendment Act</strong></a>, Ayodhya dispute judgement etc. <strong>These shutdowns curb free speech online and have other multidimensional implications.</strong></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p>According to a report by Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC), since 2012, India has witnessed at least 254 internet shutdowns, of which 107 took place in 2018 alone.</p>
</div>
<h3>Related Internet Shutdown Laws</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Home Departments in the states are mostly the authorities that enforce shutdowns, drawing powers from the <strong>Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules,</strong> 2017.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Powers have now been given to the Secretary of the Union Government, Secretary of the state government, to issue orders related to internet shutdown.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/section-144-of-crpc" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973</strong></a> has enabled many of the shutdowns in the recent past, especially until the time the telecom suspension Rules came into force in 2017.</li>
<li>The<strong> Indian Telegraph Act, 1885,</strong> whose Section 5(2) allows central and state governments to prevent the transmission of messaging during a &ldquo;public emergency or in the interest of public safety&rdquo;, or &ldquo;in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state&rdquo;.</li>
<li>The <strong>Information Technology Act</strong> (India&rsquo;s principal information technology sector law), has provided limited power to the government to issue individual web content blocking orders, instead of a larger suspension of interest itself.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Rationale of Internet Shutdown</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Check Fake News:</strong> Internet shutdowns are typically used <strong>when there is civil unrest,</strong> in order to block the flow of information about government actions or to end communication among activists and prevent the spread of rumours and fake news.</li>
<li><strong>Preventive Response:</strong> Cutting off the Internet is both an <strong>early and preventive response</strong> to block restive groups to organise riots against the Government.</li>
<li><strong>National Interest:</strong> The Internet <strong>cannot be independent of national sovereignty.</strong> Therefore, the necessary regulation of the internet is a reasonable choice of sovereign countries based on national interests.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Arguments Against Internet shutdown</h3>
<p><strong>Curbing Free Speech:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Constitutionalism</strong> envisages limited powers of the government (which is a trustee and custodian of taking forward certain constitutional values).</li>
<li>The promise of<strong> free speech is preserved in Article 19(1)(a)</strong> of the Constitution.</li>
<li>Supreme Court in its landmark <strong>Shreya Singhal judgment</strong> recognised the <strong>internet as an essential medium to further our constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Supreme Court in Sakal Papers judgement,</strong> held that no policy of the state can so much as regulate the circulation of a newspaper, as any such programme will directly impinge on the right to freedom of expression.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Since today publishing a newspaper without access to the Internet is an unimaginable task. Therefore, a blanket ban placed on the web will also transgress the guarantee of free speech.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Economic Losses:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>According to SFLC, there is a <strong>collective loss of 16,000 hours</strong> to Internet shutdowns in India. This has led to a loss of $3 billion to the Indian economy.</li>
<li><strong>Gig economy</strong> (Ola, Uber, Swiggy, Zomato etc), <strong>e-commerce sector,</strong> online banking all suffer due to restrictions on the internet.</li>
<li>The Internet has become so fundamental to our lives that the economic impact is only going to be higher in the future.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Social Cost:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Mobile-based essential services like mobile banking, health, education will also be denied due to internet shutdown.</li>
<li>It prevents even people who are caught in the midst of these kinds of law-and-order problems, people fleeing from arsonists, people who want to send word of safety to families, who want to arrange ambulances for someone who&rsquo;s injured.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>UN Human Rights Council</strong> also pitches for the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet.</p>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>State interests like security are important because they are the prerequisites for us to exercise our freedoms. However, in pursuing this, the freedoms themselves cannot be suspended.</p>
<p>Therefore, the government needs to clearly lay down a comprehensive framework, stating the conditions behind such Internet shutdowns.</p>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%; border-style: dotted; border-color: #ff0000; background-color: #fcffcc;">
<p><span style="color: #003366;"><em><strong>Drishti Mains Question</strong></em></span></p>
<p>State interests like security are important because they are the prerequisites for us to exercise our freedoms. However, in pursuing this, the freedoms themselves cannot be suspended. Analyse the statement in the context of increasing internet shutdowns in India.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/internet-curfew'
	],
	(int) 11 => [
		'title' => 'SnowEx',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/national-aeronautics-and-space-administration-nasa" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Aeronautics and Space Administration</strong> (<strong>NASA)</strong></a> has launched a <strong>seasonal campaign</strong> to understand how much water is contained in each winter&rsquo;s snowfall and how much will be available when it melts in the spring.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This campaign is <strong>part of a five-year programme called SnowEx</strong> which was initiated in <strong>2016-17.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The geographical focus of SnowEx is North America but NASA&rsquo;s <strong>overall target</strong> is optimal strategies for <strong>mapping global snow water equivalent (SWE)</strong> with remote sensing and models leading to <strong>&ldquo;Earth System Explorer&rdquo; mission.</strong></li>
<li>NASA currently has no global satellite mission to track and study SWE.</li>
<li>Snow is a vital source of water for <strong>drinking, agriculture</strong> and <strong>electrical power</strong> in the western United States and other locations around the world. To know how much water will be available the following spring, water resource managers and hydrologists <strong>need to know where snow has fallen, how much there is and how do characteristics change as it melts.</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Remote sensing:</strong> It is the science of obtaining information about objects or areas from a distance, typically from aircraft or satellites.</p>
</div>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-what-is-snowex-6188445/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/snowex'
	],
	(int) 12 => [
		'title' => 'MGNREGA Trends',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>After July 2019, the number of jobs generated under the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/sub-group-of-chief-ministers-on-coordination-between-mgnrega-and-agriculture" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)</strong></a> has gone down compared to 2018.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577525881_image8.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577525881_image8.jpg" style="float: right;" width="300" caption="false" height="595" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There has been a decrease in the number that were actually provided work out of the total number of households whose demand for work was registered by the gram panchayat authorities concerned. In 2018-19, demand was registered from 5.88 crore households, and 5.27 crore of them were provided work.</li>
<li>The year 2019 has witnessed a dip in the person-days of employment under MGNREGA, which is visible after July.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In the period before July 2019, the work provided exceeded the corresponding levels for 2018.</li>
<li>The fall in MGNREGA employment after July has been<strong> largely due to the onset of the southwest monsoon.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The gap between the number of households demanding MGNREGA work and the number who were provided work has been the highest in 2019-20. This indicates that even if demand fell, the supply of work fell even more.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Lack of Funds</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The cost of providing a day&rsquo;s work to a single person has been taken at an average of ₹249.86 for 2019-20. For 270.21 crore people, the MGNREGA budget worked out to roughly ₹67,514.67 crore.</li>
<li>But the total budgetary allocation has been only ₹60,000 crore, which also includes provision towards material and administrative expenses.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Adding to the problem, ₹55,829.62 crore was already spent as on December 24, 2019.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Apart from this, the Centre has revised upwards its original plan of providing 260 crore person-days of work for 2019-20 to 316.73 crore person-days.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This move came after a decision to augment the number of days of employment per household under MGNREGA from 100 to 150 in flood-affected districts of states such as Karnataka.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Other Schemes Facing Similar Situations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/will-the-6000-farmer-payout-help" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)</strong></a><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In the first instalment (December 2018 to March 2019), 8.05 crore farmers were covered, with each of them receiving ₹2,000. Those numbers fell to 7.43 crore in the second instalment (April-July 2019) and further to 5.91 crore in the third (August-November).</li>
<li>In all, the total amount disbursed under the scheme for 2019-20 is ₹32,320.86 crore, which is significantly short of the ₹75,000 crore budgeted for it.</li>
<li>Further, of the total ₹95,000 crore allocated for the scheme since its inception in 2018 ₹48,421.65 crore (roughly half of the total amount) has been spent up to December 2019.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/pradhan-mantri-awas-yojana-grameen-behind-target" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>PM Awas Yojana-Gramin</strong></a><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The number of rural houses built under the scheme has seen a drop to 7.2 lakh in 2019-20 from 47.33 lakh in 2018-19.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/mgnrega-trends-fewer-jobs-since-july-wider-demand-supply-gap-6188148/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/mgnrega-trends'
	],
	(int) 13 => [
		'title' => 'Financial Stability Report: RBI',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The <strong>Reserve Bank of India</strong> has released the <strong>20<sup>th</sup> issue of the Financial Stability Report (FSR).</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The FSR reflects the collective assessment of the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/financial-stability-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Sub-Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC)</strong> </a>on risks to financial stability and the resilience of the financial system.</li>
<li>The Report also discusses issues relating to development and regulation of the financial sector.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Credit Growth</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Bank credit</strong> is the total amount of funds a person or business can borrow from a bank.</li>
<li>Scheduled Commercial Banks&rsquo; (SCBs) credit growth remained subdued at 8.7% year-on-year (y-o-y) in September 2019, down from 13.2% in March 2019.</li>
<li>Private Sector Banks (PVBs) registered double digit credit growth of 16.5% in September 2019.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Expected Increase in Gross Non-Performing Asset (GNPA) Ratio</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>SCB&rsquo;s Gross Non-Performing Asset (GNPA) ratio of banks may increase to 9.9% by September 2020 from 9.3% in September 2019.</li>
<li>Public Sector Banks&rsquo; (PSB) GNPA ratios may increase to 13.2% by September 2020 from 12.7% in September 2019.</li>
<li>For private banks, the ratio may climb to 4.2% from 3.9%, under the stress scenario.</li>
<li>Foreign banks&rsquo; (FB) GNPA ratio may increase to 3.1% from 2.9% in September 2019.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577526162_images.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577526162_images.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="472" height="428" /></a></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Non-Performing Asset</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Non-Performing Assets (NPA) refer to a classification for loans or advances that are in default or are in arrears on scheduled payments of principal or interest.</li>
<li>In most cases, debt is classified as non-performing, when the loan payments have not been made for a minimum period of 90 days.</li>
<li>Gross non-performing assets are the sum of all the loans that have been defaulted by the individuals who have acquired loans from the financial institution.</li>
<li>Net non-performing assets are the amount that is realized after provision amount has been deducted from the gross non-performing assets.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>All banks&rsquo; <strong>Capital to Risk-weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR)</strong> improved to 15.1% in September 2019 from 14.3% in March 2019, following the recapitalisation of PSBs by the government.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>CRAR</strong> is a measurement of a bank's available capital expressed as a percentage of a bank's risk-weighted credit exposures. It is <strong>also known as the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR).</strong></li>
<li>CAR = (Tier 1 Capital + Tier 2 Capital)/Risk weighted Assets</li>
<li><strong>Tier-1 capital,</strong> or core capital, consists of equity capital, ordinary share capital, intangible assets and audited revenue reserves. Tier-1 capital is the capital that is permanently and easily available to cushion losses suffered by a bank without it being required to stop operating.</li>
<li><strong>Tier-2 capital</strong> comprises unaudited retained earnings, unaudited reserves and general loss reserves. This capital absorbs losses in the event of a company winding up or liquidating</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR)</strong> of all SCBs rose to 61.5% in September 2019 from 60.5% in March 2019 implying increased resilience of the banking sector.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Provisioning Coverage Ratio (PCR) refers to the prescribed percentage of funds to be set aside by the banks for covering the prospective losses due to bad loans.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The global economy confronted a number of uncertainties &ndash; a delay in the Brexit deal, trade tensions, oil-market disruptions and geopolitical risks &ndash; leading to significant deceleration in growth.</li>
<li>As regards the domestic economy, aggregate demand slackened in second quarter of 2019-20 further extending the growth deceleration.</li>
<li>Reviving the twin engines of consumption and investment while being vigilant about spillovers from global financial markets remains a critical challenge going forward.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/business/gross-npas-may-rise-to-99-by-next-sept-says-rbi-report/article30415340.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/financial-stability-report-rbi-1'
	],
	(int) 14 => [
		'title' => 'Kalaripayattu',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Kalaripayattu is a <strong>martial art</strong> based on the <strong>ancient knowledge of the human</strong> body.</li>
<li>It originated in<strong> Kerala</strong> during <strong>3<sup>nd</sup> century BC to the 2<sup>nd</sup> century AD.</strong> It is now practised in <strong>Kerala</strong> and in some parts of <strong>Tamil Nadu.</strong></li>
<li>The place where this martial art is practised is called a <strong>'Kalari'.</strong> It is a Malayalam word that signifies a <strong>kind of gymnasium.</strong> Kalari literally means <strong>'threshing floor' or 'battlefield'.&nbsp;</strong>The word Kalari first appears in the <a href="/to-the-points/paper1/sangam-age-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Tamil Sangam literature</strong></a> to describe both a battlefield and combat arena.</li>
<li>It is considered to be one of the <strong>oldest fighting systems</strong> in existence.</li>
<li>It is also considered as the <strong>father of modern Kung - Fu.</strong><strong></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577524167_image3.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577524167_image3.jpg" width="500" caption="false" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></strong></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/kalaripayattu'
	],
	(int) 15 => [
		'title' => 'Belum Caves Festival',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Andhra Pradesh Government will be hosting the Belum Caves festival in January 2020 to popularise the Belum caves.<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577518540_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577518540_image1.jpg" width="300" caption="false" style="float: right;" /></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The name <strong>&lsquo;Kandanavolu Sambaralu&rsquo;</strong> has been proposed for the festival. <strong>Kandanavolu</strong> was the <strong>ancient name of Kurnool</strong> district.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Location:</strong> Belum Caves, also known as Belum Guhalu in Kurnool district of <strong>Andhra Pradesh</strong> is the <strong>second-longest cave</strong> in the <strong>Indian subcontinent open to the public.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>longest natural cave</strong> in the Indian subcontinent is <strong>Krem Liat Prah caves in Meghalaya.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Formation:</strong> The cave is <strong>more than a thousand year old,</strong> and was formed by the <strong>constant flow of underground water</strong> over a period of time.</li>
<li><strong>Geographical Features:</strong> These caves are renowned for their <strong>speleothem structures</strong> (Speleothems are secondary mineral deposits formed in a cave), such as <strong>stalactite and stalagmite</strong> formations.</li>
<li><strong>Historical Background:</strong> The caves were occupied by <strong>Jain and Buddhist monks</strong> many centuries ago. The presence of 4500 years old vessels from the pre-Buddhism era ensures the same.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Stalactites and Stalagmites</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Stalactites</strong> hang as icicles of different diameters. Normally they are broad at their bases and taper towards the free ends showing up in a variety of forms.</li>
<li><strong>Stalagmites</strong> rise up from the floor of the caves. In fact, stalagmites form due to dripping water from the surface or through the thin pipe, of the stalactite, immediately below it.</li>
<li>The stalagmites and stalactites eventually fuse to give rise to columns and pillars of different diameters.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/festival-to-promote-belum-caves-planned-in-december/article30000402.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/belum-caves-festival'
	],
	(int) 16 => [
		'title' => 'The Big Picture - Rajya Sabha 250th Session – Takeaways',
		'catname' => 'Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Discussions',
		'desc' => '<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FFuZjNW1clY" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>The Winter Session of Parliament was held from <strong>November 18, 2019 to December 13, 2019.</strong> During this session, Parliament celebrated two milestones: first, function held in the Central Hall of Parliament to commemorate the <strong>70<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the enactment of the Constitution</strong> and second, was the <strong>250<sup>th</sup> session of Rajya Sabha</strong>. Marking almost <strong>100% productivity</strong> during its 20 sittings this session, <strong>15 Bills</strong> were passed by Rajya Sabha including the landmark <strong>Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill</strong> (2019) and <strong>Citizenship (Amendment) Bill</strong> (2019). This session also highlighted the wider role of Rajya Sabha in Indian Polity.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Significance of Rajya Sabha</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Formation:</strong> The Rajya Sabha <strong>was first constituted in 1952</strong> as a <strong>permanent body</strong> which is not <strong>subject to dissolution.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>However, <strong>one-third of its members retire every second year</strong> and are eligible for re-election &amp; renomination any number of times.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Strength:</strong> The <strong>maximum strength</strong> of the Rajya Sabha is <strong>fixed at 250,</strong> out of which,<strong> 238</strong> are the representatives of the states and union territories (elected indirectly) and <strong>12 are nominated by the President.</strong> The seats are allotted to the states in the Rajya Sabha on the <strong>basis of the population.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Term of Office:</strong> The <strong>Constitution</strong> has<strong> not fixed the term of office</strong> of members of the Rajya Sabha and left it to the Parliament.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Accordingly, the <strong>Parliament</strong> in the<strong> Representation of the People Act (1951)</strong> provided that the term of office of a member of the Rajya Sabha shall be <strong>six years.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Special Powers:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Rajya Sabha can authorize the Parliament to make a <strong>law on a subject enumerated in the State List (Article 249).</strong></li>
<li>It can authorize the Parliament to <strong>create new All-India Services</strong> common to both the Centre and the states <strong>(Article 312).</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577450842_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577450842_image1.jpg" width="600" caption="false" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></strong></a></p>
</div>
<h3>Key Takeaways from the 250<sup>th</sup> Session</h3>
<p>Praising the members for their brevity, the Chairman of Rajya Sabha noted that about 9.5 starred questions were answered orally every day of this Session- making a new record since 1971 (previous best was 8.7 during the 198<sup>th</sup> session in 2003).</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Difference over Previous Sessions:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Increased Productivity:</strong> Despite being the shorter session, this session remained highly productive over the previous ones. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The Rajya Sabha worked for around 92% of its scheduled time, of which 39% of the total functional time was spent on legislative business, 25.4% on raising and discussing matters of urgent public importance under Short Duration Discussion, Calling Attention Notices, Zero Hour and Special Mentions, 13% on Question Hour meant for ensuring accountability of the executive and 5% on <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/introduction-of-private-member-s-bill" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Private Members&rsquo; Bills.</strong></a></li>
<li>Significant importance given to the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/starred-questions-in-parliamentary-proceedings" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Question Hour,</strong></a> <strong>answering of more oral questions,</strong> short, intense and precise discussions by legislators over <strong>Standing Committees reports,</strong> and the increased<strong> zero hour</strong> submissions reflect the enhanced <strong>accountability.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Absenteeism:</strong> Chairman this time freely discussed over issues like, non-attendance of legislators to target the <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/the-big-picture-strengthening-parliamentary-institutions" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>problem of absenteeism.</strong></a> Many a times this leads to halting of Business of the House due to absence of the required <strong>Quorum.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The Chairman also asked the members to ensure their presence in the <strong>Parliamentary Standing Committees.</strong> He highlighted that out of 80 members in 8 Parliamentary Standing Committees (under the administrative control of Rajya Sabha), only 18 members had 100% attendance.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Charter:</strong> At the beginning of the session, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/point-reforms-charter-for-parliament" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>15 point charter</strong> </a>was released by the Vice-President highlighting the support and reforms Rajya Sabha needed.</li>
<li><strong>Issues Addressed:</strong> The <strong>discussions on contemporary issues</strong> like onion prices, economic slowdown, inter-alia reflects the receptive and compassionate behaviour of the House towards the people. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Also a special discussion on 'The <strong>Role of Rajya Sabha in Indian polity</strong> and the way forward&rsquo; was held.</li>
<li><strong>Calling attention motions</strong> on &lsquo;Situation arising out of the dangerous levels of air pollution in the country, particularly in Delhi&rsquo;, &ldquo;Need for completion of National Irrigation Projects to tackle emerging water crisis and to transfer 'Water' to Concurrent List from State List&rdquo; were also taken up in the Rajya Sabha.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Language:</strong> The Chairman expressed his will to<strong> address the language barrier</strong> by allowing less spoken regional languages in the House. He proposed to recruit expert translators who can efficiently translate the regional languages into English and Hindi (as according to <strong>Article 120</strong> the language to be used in the Parliament shall be Hindi or English).</li>
<li>The <strong>Rajya Sabha secretariat</strong> also released the <strong>first-ever analysis</strong> of its legislative work viz., <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/250th-session-of-rajya-sabha" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;Rajya Sabha: The Journey since 1952&rdquo;</strong> </a>to commemorate the 250<sup>th</sup> session.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Drishti Input</strong></p>
<p><strong>Parliamentary Mechanisms:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Short Duration Discussion-</strong> also known as <strong>two-hour discussion</strong> as the time allotted for such a discussion should not exceed two hours. The members of the Parliament can raise such discussions on a <strong>matter of urgent public importance.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Calling Attention Notices</strong>- It is introduced in the Parliament by a member<strong> to call the attention of a minister to a matter of urgent public importance,</strong> and to seek an authoritative statement from him/her on that matter.</li>
<li><strong>Special Mentions-</strong> A matter which cannot be raised during question hour, half-an-hour discussion, short duration discussion or under adjournment motion, calling attention notice or under any rule of the House can be raised under the special mention in the Rajya Sabha.</li>
<li><strong>Zero Hour-</strong> It is an <strong>informal device</strong> available to the members of the Parliament to raise matters without any prior notice. The zero hour starts immediately after the question hour and lasts until the agenda for the day (i.e., regular business of the House) is taken up.</li>
<li><strong>Quorum-</strong> Quorum is the minimum number of members required to be present in the House before it can transact any business. It is <strong>one-tenth of the total number of members of the House</strong> (including the presiding officer). If there is no quorum during a meeting of the House, it is the duty of the presiding officer either to adjourn the House or to suspend the meeting until there is a quorum.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Bills Passed in Rajya Sabha:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <a href="/prs-capsule/prs-capsule-august-2019#32" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2019</strong></a> for the erection of a National Memorial in memory of those killed or wounded on April 13, 1919, in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar.</li>
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/transgender-persons-bill-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019</strong></a> defining a transgender person and provides for protection of rights of Transgender persons and their welfare.</li>
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/chit-funds-amendment-bill-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Chit Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2019</strong></a> amends the Chit Funds Act, 1982 to increase the commission of the person conducting the chit, and the aggregate amount of chit funds which may be collected.</li>
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/promulgation-of-the-prohibition-of-electronic-cigarettes-ordinance" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Bill, 2019</strong></a> prohibiting the Production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement of e-cigarettes and like devices, considering the highly addictive nature of nicotine.</li>
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/special-protection-group-amendment-bill-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill, 2019</strong> </a>amends the Special Protections Group Act, 1988 to provide for security cover to a former Prime Minister, and his immediate family members for a period of five years from the date on which he ceases to hold the office of Prime Minister.</li>
<li>The<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/dadra-and-nagar-haveli-and-daman-and-diu-merger-of-union-territories-bill-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Bill, 2019</strong> </a>merging the two UTs to provide better delivery of services to the citizens of both Union Territories by improving efficiency and reducing paperwork.</li>
<li>The <strong>National Capital Territory of Delhi (Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Unauthorised Colonies) Bill, 2019</strong> recognising the property rights of residents of certain unauthorised colonies in the National Capital Territory of Delhi.</li>
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/taxation-laws-amendment-bill-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019</strong></a> amends the Income Tax Act, 1961, and The Finance (No 2) Act, 2019 to provide domestic companies with an option to opt for lower tax rates.</li>
<li>The<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/hong-kong-convention-for-ship-recycling" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019</strong></a> restricts the use of hazardous material on ships and regulates the recycling of ships.</li>
<li>The <strong>Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2019</strong> amends the definition of illegal migrant, reduces the residency requirement to obtain Indian citizenship through naturalisation, and empowers the central government to cancel registration of OCI card.</li>
<li>The <a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/citizenship-amendment-act-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019</strong></a> amends the definition of illegal migrant, reduces the residency requirement to obtain Indian citizenship through naturalisation, and empowers the central government to cancel registration of OCI card.</li>
<li>The<strong> Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Sixth Amendment) Bill, 2019</strong> retaining the inclusive character of the Constitution by continuing the reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for another ten years ie. upto 25th January, 2030.</li>
<li>The <a href="/prs-capsule/prs-capsule-january-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019</strong></a> amending Part VI of the Order which specifies the Scheduled Tribes in Karnataka.</li>
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/international-financial-services-centres-authority-bill-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019</strong></a> establishes the International Financial Services Centre Authority to regulate and develop a market for financial services in India.</li>
<li>The <strong>Appropriation (No.3) Bill, 2019</strong> authorizing payment and appropriation of certain sums from and out of the Consolidated Fund of India for the services of the financial year 2019-20.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Members need to abide by their commitment and <strong>ensure their presence</strong> for smooth functioning of the House.</li>
<li>The balance between the <strong>government (Executive) business and the Parliamentary business</strong> needs to be maintained by effectively discussing and addressing the contemporary issues concerning the nation.</li>
</ul>
<p>Indeed, Rajya Sabha has all through been a <strong>lively and sagacious institution.</strong> It must continue to function with greater vigor and zeal towards fulfilling the aspirations of the people.</p>',
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	],
	(int) 17 => [
		'title' => 'Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>This article is based on <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/uday-scheme-power-discom-losses-6180263/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;UDAY scheme loses power, sharp spike in discom losses&rdquo;(IE)</strong></a>,<a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/uday-scheme-narendra-odi-finance-economy-bjp-arun-jaitley-5741261/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> &ldquo;Power under pressure&rdquo;(IE)</strong></a>, <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/power-minister-lays-out-govts-agenda-for-2020-here-are-reforms-planned-for-power-sector/1802093/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;Power Minister lays out govt&rsquo;s agenda for 2020; here are reforms planned for power sector&rdquo;(FE).</strong></a> It talks about issues related to UDAY scheme.</p>
</div>
<p>Government of India launched the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/discom-losses-and-uday-scheme" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY)</strong> </a>in November 2015. It was designed to turn around the precarious financial position of state power distribution companies (discoms). Discoms are responsible for buying electricity from the generation companies and selling them to consumers.</p>
<p>The Discom losses, which had progressively reduced in the first couple of years (since the inception of UDAY), have rebounded in 2019 to nearly double the losses recorded the previous year.</p>
<p>According to PRAAPTI (Payment Ratification And Analysis in Power procurement for bringing Transparency in Invoicing of generators) portal, the discoms&rsquo; total outstanding dues to power gencos (power generating companies) rose 48% to Rs 81,010 crore in October 2019.</p>
<p><strong>The primary reason for this is the failure of discom to collect the full cost that they pay for power.</strong></p>
<h3>What are the issues in the power distribution sector?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India now generates more power <strong>than it needs (surplus power).</strong> But, the practical experience signals that the scheduled and unscheduled power cuts are the norms in cities, and the situation in most rural areas is worse.</li>
<li>This means the consumption of power has consistently lagged behind availability.</li>
<li><strong>Reasons for financial losses of discoms:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The discoms suffer <strong>Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&amp;C) Losses.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Technical Loss:</strong> It is due to the flow of power in transmission and distribution system.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Almost <strong>25%</strong> of the power is lost, and never gets billed.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Commercial Loss:</strong> It is due to the theft of electricity, deficiencies in metering, etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The gap between the <strong>average per-unit cost of supply (ACS) and average revenue realised (ARR).</strong></li>
<li>The remaining <strong>75%</strong> is sold at prices that are much lower than the discoms&rsquo; procurement costs.<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577448010_Image.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577448010_Image.jpg" width="335" caption="false" style="float: right;" /></a><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>In almost every state, the increase in tariff rates is avoided because of the associated political costs.</li>
<li>Therefore, political unwillingness is at the heart of commercial losses.</li>
<li>Due to this, there has been a gap between ACS and ARR.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>As a result, by March 2015, discoms' accumulated losses were approximately Rs 3.8 lakh crore &mdash; more than 3.5% of the GDP.</li>
</ul>
<p>In order to make discoms financially viable, UDAY scheme was launched. The scheme has <strong>three critical components.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The takeover of discoms debt by state governments.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>State governments took over 75% of the debt of their discoms and issued<strong> lower-interest bonds</strong> to service the rest of the debt.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In return, discoms were given target dates (2017-19) to <strong>meet efficiency parameters.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Aggregate technical and commercial (AT&amp;C) losses of discoms, are to be reduced.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>This has to be matched up by <strong>timely tariff revisions and elimination of the gap between the average per-unit cost of supply (ACS) and average revenue realised</strong> (ARR) by 2019.</li>
</ul>
<h3>The scheme resulted in some positives</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Out of the 28 states that implemented UDAY, 10 states have shown either reduced losses or profits in 2019.</li>
<li>Instead of just focusing on distribution, UDAY focused on interventions in coal, generation and transmission sectors as well.</li>
</ul>
<p>However, the indications are that the turnaround as envisaged by UDAY hasn&rsquo;t materialised, with several targets being missed:</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Burgeoning AT&amp;C Losses:</strong> At the aggregate level, the <strong>AT&amp;C losses for major states stood at 19.05%</strong> as against the<strong> target of reducing them to 15% by the end of 2019.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In the case of some states, especially in the northern and central parts of the country, the losses are of a much higher magnitude, suggesting that pilferage continues to be rampant.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>High ACS-ARR Gap:</strong> While the ACS-ARR gap was supposed to be eliminated by 2019, it remains as high as Rs 0.25 per unit.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In many states, the gap is even higher. This can be traced to inadequate tariff hikes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Mixed Progress:</strong> Operational efficiency targets under UDAY, such as the installation of feeder metering, smart metering and feeder segregation, are still not completely met.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>For instance, not much progress has been made in the case of smart metering above 200 and up to 500 kwh and above 500 kwh.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Inadequate Power Subsidy:</strong> Also, <strong>the power subsidy released by state governments</strong> to discoms appears to be <strong>inadequate.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>As a result, discoms have reported financial losses to the tune of Rs 21,658 crore at the end of 2019, reversing the declining trend since the launch of UDAY.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Economic Roadblock:</strong> Further, UDAY bonds were issued at a premium, due to this, the cost of debt servicing has gone up for the UDAY states.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The impact on state finances is likely to continue due to interest payment on UDAY bonds and redemption of these bonds.</li>
<li>This makes for a <strong>grim prospect for most states combating a tight fiscal situation amid a</strong> <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/slowdown-in-india-part-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>continuing slowdown.</strong></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Government's announcement of the launch of<strong> UDAY 2.0</strong> which seeks installation of <strong>smart prepaid metres, prompt payment by discoms, making coal available for short term</strong> and <strong>reviving gas-based plants</strong> is a step in the right direction.</li>
<li>There is an urgent need to address the issues of burgeoning outstanding dues of discoms towards power generators and stressed projects that are being dragged under insolvency proceedings.</li>
<li><strong>Formulation of pragmatic power tariff policy</strong> is the need of the hour because without a financially viable power sector and subsequently, socio-economic growth of India will suffer.</li>
</ul>
<p>The Indian government has vowed to provide 24X7 power supply to every village and every house in India. The fulfilment of this dream will rest upon a sustainable power sector. Therefore, the government should proactively address the concerns of these power distribution companies.</p>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 506px; border-style: dotted; border-color: #fc6100; background-color: #ffeddb;"><span style="color: #003366;"><em><strong>Drishti Mains Question</strong></em></span><br /><br />Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana was designed to turn around the precarious financial position of state power distribution companies. However, there are still many underlying issues in it. Discuss.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p></p>',
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	],
	(int) 18 => [
		'title' => 'Joint Naval Exercise by China, Russia and Iran ',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577439390_802image2.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577439390_802image2.jpg" style="float: right;" width="422" height="238" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>China, Russia and Iran to hold joint naval drills from December 27 to 30 to deepen exchange and cooperation between the navies of the three countries.</li>
<li>The exercise is launched from the <strong>southeastern port city of <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/chabahar-port-us-sanctions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chabahar</a> in the Gulf of Oman</strong> and is aimed at boosting the <strong>security of the region&rsquo;s waterways.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Chabahar port has been <strong>jointly developed</strong> by <strong>India, Iran, and Afghanistan.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It is a part of &ldquo;normal military cooperation&rdquo; between the three countries.</li>
<li>During the exercise, China would deploy its <strong>guided-missile destroyer</strong> &mdash; the <strong>&ldquo;carrier killer&rdquo;</strong> for its array of anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles.</li>
<li>The exercise comes in the backdrop of the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/us-reimposes-sanctions-on-iran" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal</strong> </a>and escalated sanctions on Iran by the USA.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/report-iran-kicks-off-joint-naval-drills-with-russia-china/article30409776.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
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		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/joint-naval-exercise-by-china-russia-and-iran'
	],
	(int) 19 => [
		'title' => 'Earliest Sanskrit Inscriptions in South India found in A.P.',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/monuments-of-national-importance" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)</strong></a> has discovered the <strong>earliest Sanskrit inscription in South India</strong> which is also an <strong>earliest epigraphic evidence</strong> (Epigraphy is the study of ancient inscriptions) for the <strong>Saptamatrika cult.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Saptamatrikas are a group of <strong>seven female deities</strong> worshipped in <strong>Hinduism</strong> as personifying the energy of their respective consorts.</li>
<li>Another inscription in <strong>Prakrit language and of Brahmi characters</strong> belonging to the <strong>1st century A.D.</strong> was also found.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Inscriptions related to Saptamatrika:</strong> The found inscription records the <strong>construction of a Prasada (temple), a mandapa</strong> and <strong>consecration of images</strong> by a person named Kartika at the temple of <strong>Goddess Saptamatrika</strong> at Tambrape.</li>
<li><strong>Location:</strong> Tambrape is the <strong>ancient name</strong> of <strong>Chebrolou, Andhra Pradesh.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Earlier References to Saptamatrika:</strong> Earlier references to Saptamatrika worship have been found in the early Kadamba copper plates and the early <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/chalukyan-rulers" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Chalukyas and Eastern Chalukya</strong></a> copper plates<strong> dated around 600 A.D.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Language and Characters:</strong> All the available records proved that the found inscription (also known as <strong>Chebrolu inscription</strong>) is in <strong>Sanskrit and in Brahmi characters.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Issued by: Satavahana king Vijaya in 207 A.D.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>So far the <strong>Nagarjunakonda inscription</strong> of <strong>Ikshavaku king Ehavala Chantamula</strong> issued in the 4<sup>th</sup> century A.D. was considered the earliest Sanskrit inscription in South India.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Satavahanas</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In the Deccan, the Satavahanas established their independent rule after the decline of the Mauryas. Their rule lasted for about <strong>450 years.</strong></li>
<li>They were also known as the <strong>Andhras.</strong></li>
<li>The Puranas and the <strong>Nasik and Nanaghad inscriptions</strong> remain important sources for the history of Satavahanas.</li>
<li>The<strong> founder</strong> of the Satavahana dynasty was <strong>Simuka.</strong> The greatest ruler of the Satavahana dynasty was <strong>Gautamiputra Satakarni.</strong></li>
<li>There was remarkable progress in the fields of trade and industry during the Satavahana rule. The greatest port of the Satavahanas was <strong>Kalyani on the western Deccan</strong> and <strong>Gandakasela, Ganjam on the east coast</strong> were the other important seaports.</li>
<li>The Satavahanas <strong>patronized Buddhism and Brahmanism.</strong> Brahmanism was revived by the Satavahanas along with the performance of asvamedha and rajasuya sacrifices.</li>
<li>They also <strong>patronized the Prakrit language and literature.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/earliest-sanskrit-inscription-in-south-india-found-in-ap/article30397972.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
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		'tag_id' => 'integer',
		'articles__secondary_tag' => 'text',
		'articles.secondary_tag' => 'text',
		'secondary_tag' => 'text',
		'articles__type' => 'integer',
		'articles.type' => 'integer',
		'type' => 'integer',
		'articles__publishon' => 'datetime',
		'articles.publishon' => 'datetime',
		'publishon' => 'datetime',
		'articles__posturl' => 'string',
		'articles.posturl' => 'string',
		'posturl' => 'string',
		'articles__metatitle' => 'string',
		'articles.metatitle' => 'string',
		'metatitle' => 'string',
		'articles__metadescription' => 'string',
		'articles.metadescription' => 'string',
		'metadescription' => 'string',
		'articles__metakeyword' => 'text',
		'articles.metakeyword' => 'text',
		'metakeyword' => 'text',
		'articles__status' => 'integer',
		'articles.status' => 'integer',
		'status' => 'integer',
		'articles__sort_order' => 'integer',
		'articles.sort_order' => 'integer',
		'sort_order' => 'integer',
		'articles__addedby' => 'integer',
		'articles.addedby' => 'integer',
		'addedby' => 'integer',
		'articles__updatedby' => 'integer',
		'articles.updatedby' => 'integer',
		'updatedby' => 'integer',
		'articles__added' => 'timestamp',
		'articles.added' => 'timestamp',
		'added' => 'timestamp',
		'articles__modified' => 'timestamp',
		'articles.modified' => 'timestamp',
		'modified' => 'timestamp',
		'articles__whatsnewid' => 'integer',
		'articles.whatsnewid' => 'integer',
		'whatsnewid' => 'integer',
		'articles__display_printpdf' => 'integer',
		'articles.display_printpdf' => 'integer',
		'display_printpdf' => 'integer',
		'articles__display_comments' => 'integer',
		'articles.display_comments' => 'integer',
		'display_comments' => 'integer',
		'articles__pdf_name' => 'string',
		'articles.pdf_name' => 'string',
		'pdf_name' => 'string',
		'articles__display_archive' => 'integer',
		'articles.display_archive' => 'integer',
		'display_archive' => 'integer',
		'articles__star_rating' => 'integer',
		'articles.star_rating' => 'integer',
		'star_rating' => 'integer'
	],
	'decorators' => (int) 0,
	'executed' => false,
	'hydrate' => true,
	'buffered' => true,
	'formatters' => (int) 0,
	'mapReducers' => (int) 0,
	'contain' => [],
	'matching' => [],
	'extraOptions' => [],
	'repository' => object(App\Model\Table\ArticlesTable) {}

}
$page = (int) 182
$search = 'class'
$totalPages = (float) 332
$title = 'Search'
$lastyear = (int) 2018
$year = '2021'
$i = (int) 2017
$selected = ''
$m = (int) 13
$month = 'December'

include - ROOT/plugins/Drishti/src/Template/Element/rightsection.ctp, line 100
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1196
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1157
Cake\View\View::_renderElement() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1554
Cake\View\View::element() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 668
include - ROOT/plugins/Drishti/src/Template/Element/articlebox.ctp, line 5
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1196
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1157
Cake\View\View::_renderElement() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1554
Cake\View\View::element() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 668
include - ROOT/plugins/Drishti/src/Template/Search/index.ctp, line 85
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1196
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1157
Cake\View\View::render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 765
Cake\Controller\Controller::render() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 623
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 125
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 93

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