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Important Facts for Prelims (31st July 2018)

Parkinson's disease Parkinson’s disease is a chronic, degenerative neurological disorder that affects the body’s motor system, often...

31 Jul 2018 News Analysis
DAC Approves Strategic Partnership Guidelines

In a step to boost private sector participation in domestic defence manufacturing, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the implementation...

31 Jul 2018 News Analysis
Women Rice Farmers to be Trained in the Philippines

Eight women farmers have been selected to visit the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines to learn about new rice farming...

31 Jul 2018 News Analysis
Vengeance or Justice?

The article “Climb the escalator of reason” was published in The Hindu on 30-07-2018. Our editorial is a further extension and...

30 Jul 2018 News Editorials
Important Facts for Prelims (30th July 2018)

National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System-II (NASAMS-II) It is an advanced air defence system jointly developed by United States (US) and...

30 Jul 2018 News Analysis
Arsenic Accumulation in Paddy Plants

A recent publication by the Jadavpur University, has revealed rise in arsenic contamination of paddy plants from ground water in West Bengal. It...

30 Jul 2018 News Analysis
Govt. Plans ‘ISRO-like’ Ocean Mission

Recently, the Union Earth Sciences Ministry has unveiled a blueprint of the ‘Deep Ocean Mission (DOM)’ to explore the deep recesses of...

30 Jul 2018 News Analysis
EU Ruling on Gene Editing Technology

The European Court of Justice has ruled that altering living things using the relatively new technique of genome editing counts as genetic...

30 Jul 2018 News Analysis
All About the FASTag

The FASTag is a reloadable tag that allows automatic deduction of toll without having to stop for carrying out the cash transaction. The tag uses...

30 Jul 2018 News Analysis
Gold Council to Aid Exports on the Anvil

The Government of India has decided to set up a Domestic Council for Gold to aid exports of jewellery and to create an ecosystem to harness the true...

30 Jul 2018 News Analysis
The Big Picture – India’s Africa Outreach

Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a three-nation, five-day tour to Africa today (July 23, 2018). The visit to Africa comes ahead of the 10th...

28 Jul 2018 Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Discussions
Justice BN Srikrishna Committee Submits Data Protection Report

A committee headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Justice BN Srikrishna has submitted its report on "Data Protection Framework" to the...

28 Jul 2018 News Analysis
India in the AI Race

This article is based on an opinion piece published in The Hindu “AI superpower or client nation?” and has inputs from various...

28 Jul 2018 News Editorials
Lending Hands to Someone is Better than Giving a Dole

–Aditya Choppa Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others. According to Dalai Lama, our prime purpose in life is to help...

28 Jul 2018 Model Essays
Make Ethanol Directly From Sugarcane Juice

Recently, the government has notified a decision to allow sugar mills to manufacture ethanol directly from sugarcane juice or an intermediate product...

28 Jul 2018 News Analysis
Agitations for Reservations and the Way Out

Reservations in India has grappled with the question of whether “caste” or “class” should be made the basis of giving...

27 Jul 2018 News Editorials
Einstein Was Right: Astronomers Confirm Key Theory of Relativity

Astronomers have finally confirmed the ‘gravitational redshift or Einstein shift’ with observational data. They got this result by...

27 Jul 2018 News Analysis
Supermarkets Flooded with Foreign GM Foods Despite Ban

Recently, researchers from Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) randomly tested 65 food samples in Gujarat, Punjab and Delhi-NCR and they have...

27 Jul 2018 News Analysis
Important Facts for Prelims (27th July 2018)

Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY) aims at the overall development of selected SC majority villages. It...

27 Jul 2018 News Analysis
Direct Benefit Transfer under MGNREGS

To streamline the fund flow mechanism and bring down delay in payment of wages, the Ministry of Rural Development has implemented the National...

27 Jul 2018 News Analysis

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			'title' => 'Important Facts for Prelims (31st July 2018)',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Parkinson's disease</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Parkinson&rsquo;s disease is a chronic, degenerative neurological disorder that affects the body&rsquo;s motor system, often causing shaking and other difficulties in movement. Worldwide, about 10 million people have the illness.</li>
<li>A research team in Japan has announced their plan to conduct the first human trial to treat Parkinson&rsquo;s disease by injecting stem cells into brains. The trial is a follow up to successful trials on monkeys.</li>
<li>The primates with Parkinson&rsquo;s symptoms regained significant mobility after iPS cells were inserted into their brains.</li>
<li>The human trial will include plans to inject five million induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells, which have the potential to develop into any cell in the body, into a patient&rsquo;s brain.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>NOTE:</strong> Induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are pluripotent stem cells, i.e., capable of becoming any cell in the human body or behave like an embryonic stems cell.</li>
<li>They are generated from adult cells by reprogramming them.</li>
<li>iPSCs can self-renew and can differentiate into all cell types of the body except for cells in extra-embryonic tissues such as the placenta.</li>
<li>This capability enables the development of an unlimited source of any type of human cell needed for therapeutic purposes.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Dhangar: A Nomadic Tribe</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Leaders of the Dhangars community claim Dhangars in Maharashtra are the same as those who are called &ldquo;Dhangad&rdquo; elsewhere in the country and are listed as a Scheduled Tribe.</li>
<li>Dhangars are currently on the list of Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT) in Maharashtra. However, they have been demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the past several decades.</li>
<li>The Dhangars, a &lsquo;Nomadic Tribe, is a shepherd community who live mostly in Western Maharashtra and Marathwada and make up about 9% of Maharashtra&rsquo;s population.</li>
</ul>',
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		(int) 1 => [
			'title' => 'DAC Approves Strategic Partnership Guidelines',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>In a step to boost private sector participation in domestic defence manufacturing, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the implementation of Strategic Partnership (SP) guidelines to reduce timelines so as to ensure timely delivery of equipment to the Armed Forces</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The DAC has also approved platform-specific guidelines for procurement of Naval Utility Helicopters.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Highlights</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Strategic Partnership model aims to revitalise defence industrial ecosystem and progressively build indigenous capabilities in the private sector to design, develop and manufacture complex weapon system for future needs of armed forces.</li>
<li>The guidelines lay emphasis on promoting higher indigenous content and to incentivise the transfer of niche technology thus giving a major fillip towards encouraging self-reliance and aligning the defence sector with the 'Make in India ' initiative of the Government.</li>
<li>The SP model has four segments &mdash; submarines, single-engine fighter aircraft, helicopters and armoured carriers/main battle tanks &mdash; which would be specifically opened up for the private sector.</li>
<li>Under this policy, one Indian private company would be selected in each segment which would tie-up with shortlisted global equipment manufacturers to manufacture the platforms in India under technology transfer.</li>
<li>All procurements under the SP model would be executed by specially constituted Empowered Project Committees to provide <g class="gr_ gr_32 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="32" data-gr-id="32">focussed</g> attention and ensure timely execution.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Defence Acquisition Council</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>As per the recommendations of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on 'Reforming the National Security System', the Ministry of Defence had set up broad structures and systems to deal with acquisitions.</li>
<li>The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) under the Defence Minister was constituted for overall guidance of the defence procurement planning process.</li>
<li>The objective of the Defence Acquisition Council is to ensure expeditious procurement of the approved requirements of the Armed Forces in terms of capabilities sought and within the time frame.</li>
<li>The functions of the DAC include:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In principle approval of 15 Years Long Terms Integrated Perspective Plan for Defence Force</li>
<li>Accord of Acceptance of Necessity to acquisition proposals</li>
<li>categorization of the acquisition proposals relating to 'Buy', 'Buy &amp; Make' and 'Make'</li>
<li>Issues relating to Single vendor clearance</li>
<li>Decisions regarding 'offset' provisions in respect of acquisition proposals above Rs. 300 crore</li>
<li>Decisions regarding Transfer of Technology under 'Buy &amp; Make' category of acquisition proposals</li>
<li>Field Trial evaluation.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>',
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		(int) 2 => [
			'title' => 'Women Rice Farmers to be Trained in the Philippines',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Eight women farmers have been selected to visit the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines to learn about new rice farming techniques.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This is an initiative by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology.</li>
<li>At the forthcoming workshop, the women are expected to be exposed to &ldquo;advanced farming experiences and technological advancements.&rdquo;</li>
<li>Earlier at the IRRI&rsquo;s Bhubaneshwar centre, the women were taught about crop planning, stages of rice cultivation, pest and weed management, use of crop calendar, land selection, crop monitoring, post-harvest management and seed management.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>The International Rice Research Institute </strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>(IRRI) is the world&rsquo;s premier research organization dedicated to reducing poverty and hunger through rice science; improving the health and welfare of rice farmers and consumers; and protecting the rice-growing environment for future generations.</li>
<li>It is an independent, nonprofit, research and educational institute, founded in 1960 by the Ford and Rockefeller foundations with support from the Philippine government.</li>
<li>The institute is headquartered in Los Ba&ntilde;os, Philippines.</li>
<li>Recently, the IRRI South Asia Regional Center (ISARC), was inaugurated Varanasi, India. ISARC will serve as a hub for rice research and training in South Asia and the SAARC region.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Feminisation of&nbsp;Agriculture</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>As per Census 2011, the workforce participation rate for females is 25.51% against 53.26% for males. Among female workforce participation, 55% of women workers were agricultural labourers and 24% were cultivators.</li>
<li>However, only 12.8% of the operational holdings were owned by women, &nbsp;which reflect the gender disparity in ownership of landholdings in agriculture.</li>
<li>Moreover, there is concentration of operational holdings (25.7 per cent) by women in the marginal and small holdings categories.&rdquo;</li>
<li>According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger), there would be an increase in output by 20-30% if women farmers had the same access to resources as men, which would translate into &nbsp;dramatic reduction in hunger.</li>
<li>This requires that women farmers should have enhanced access to resources like land, water, credit, technology and training which warrants critical analysis in the context of India.</li>
<li>Towards this, Government has been implementing various schemes which help improve the entitlements of women farmers, which will prove to be advantageous in bridging the policy gaps which exits in the sector.</li>
<li>The following measures have been taken to ensure mainstreaming of women in agriculture sector:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Earmarking at least 30% of the budget allocation for women beneficiaries in all ongoing schemes/programmes and development activities.</li>
<li>Initiating women centric activities to ensure benefits of various beneficiary-oriented programs/schemes reach them.</li>
<li>Focusing on women self-help group (SHG) to connect them to micro-credit through capacity building activities and to provide information and ensuring their representation in different decision-making bodies.</li>
<li>Recognizing the critical role of women in agriculture, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has declared 15th October of every year as Women Farmer&rsquo;s Day.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>',
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		(int) 3 => [
			'title' => 'Vengeance or Justice?',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<p><em>The article &ldquo;Climb the escalator of reason&rdquo; was published in The Hindu on 30-07-2018. Our editorial is a further extension and appropriation of the idea. We suggest readers to read both the Hindu&rsquo;s and our piece to get insights on the philosophical and ethical aspects of death penalty.<img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/16530072018.jpg" width="279" height="173" style="float: right;" data-pagespeed-url-hash="41597990" onload="pagespeed.CriticalImages.checkImageForCriticality(this);" /></em></p>
<p>Montesquieu said, <em>&ldquo;Every punishment, which does not arise from absolute necessity, is tyrannical&rdquo;</em>.</p>
<p>The death penalty is one of the most controversial subjects all over the world which has given rise to passionate and heated debates among proponents and abolitionists. On one hand, it may be contended to be an emotive issue having its roots basically in the vengeance sentiments of a mob, on the other it may be considered an exemplary penalty important for deterring homicidal crimes.</p>
<h3>India, Death Penalties and Mob lynchings</h3>
<p>In India, we have witnessed an increase in mob violence in the recent years. Although, many immediate factors may be attributed to this upsurge in incidences of mob violence such as inefficient law and order management, unaccountability of part of social media platforms such as Whatsapp and Facebook, hate mongering by some religious-fanatic and politically motivated groups. etc.</p>
<p>However, a psychoanalysis of such incidences render us the bitter truth that the <strong>vengeance mentality which is responsible for supporting death penalty is also a root cause of mob lynchings</strong>.</p>
<p>While, mob lynchings are being widely criticized by the intellectual class of our society, capital punishment most of them have long kept a mum on.</p>
<p>At the same time, we are seeing inclusion of more and more crimes in the category of &ldquo;heinous&rdquo; crimes for which the death sentence is to be awarded.</p>
<p>In April, the President signed the criminal law amendment ordinance having provisions for death penalty, for those convicted for the rape of girls below the age of 12 years.</p>
<p>The Punjab government even sought for death penalty for first-time drug abusers, peddlers and smugglers, earlier this July.</p>
<h3>The Idea of Justice</h3>
<p>Amartya Sen writes <em>&ldquo;a theory of justice that can serve as the basis of practical reasoning must include ways of judging how to reduce injustice and advance justice, rather than aiming only at the characterization of perfectly just societies&rdquo;</em>.</p>
<p>Mob lynchings should be seen as a reactionary <strong>retributive action,</strong> devoid of rational rumination. Similarly, capital punishment is a retributive action that doesn&rsquo;t confer justice to the victim but rather promulgates the idea of <strong>&ldquo;injustice for injustice&rdquo;</strong>. The basic thought process behind both of them are the same, which is that of satiating public anger.</p>
<p>Humans, with the advent of civilizations, felt the need to make &ldquo;laws&rdquo; in order to live in peace and security. This was a departure from previous system where violence was the only means to secure oneself food, partner or even peace. &ldquo;Civilization&rdquo; was essentially about giving up the idea of &ldquo;war for peace&rdquo;. Our lessons from the two World Wars highlight the same.</p>
<p>We need to rethink the idea of justice and what it means for a civilized society. The act of capital punishment or mob violence, both reflect more about the society which awards them these, rather than reflecting on the offenders. It suggests that we are forming a society that &ldquo;kills&rdquo;.</p>
<h3>Rational Thinking</h3>
<p>The one thing which is seriously undermined by the acts of mob justice is public reasoning. The hurry to make the offender suffer for what s/he has done snatches away from the public the opportunity to ruminate on the issue more rationally and devise more sustainable solutions of the issue. The ability to make informed decisions on the basis of interactive discourse is one of the most important indicators that can be used to measure how effectively a democracy functions.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Notwithstanding the extensive data we have on the ineffectiveness of brutal punishments in deterring crimes, the proponents of death penalty go on to justify such acts. When it comes to choosing between emotional impulse and reason, reason is that which leads to a more just, sustainable and liveable society.</p>
<h3>Certainty of Justice</h3>
<p>Often, death penalties are justified by saying that they instil in the minds of potential offenders <strong>&ldquo;a fear of law&rdquo;</strong>. However, the fact which is completely ignored is that it is the <strong>&ldquo;certain&rdquo;</strong> and <strong>&ldquo;timely&rdquo;</strong> <strong>delivery of justice</strong> which, creates a fear of law (if it is needed at all) rather than the &ldquo;brutality&rdquo; of justice&rdquo;.</p>
<p>The introduction of death penalty for non-homicidal crimes, unchecked by the court, *inspires the state to create &lsquo;short-term&rsquo; symbols of justice like the death penalty which regresses the notion of justice in the eyes of the public.</p>
<p>In cases of mob violence, the mob is convinced that the justice is certain, timely and also brutal. However, the process of ascertaining whether the accused is the offender and whether the punishment is proportionate, lacks the deliberation it requires.</p>
<p>Conferring the hardest of punishment is the easiest task for the state and the society. However coming up with more humane solutions is a daunting task. We should not forget that this is the aim for which we had institutionalized the process of justice delivery in the first place.</p>
<p>Over the course of human evolution, the number of cases in which capital punishment is awarded has lessened and only the most heinous crimes are now considered for the same. In 103 countries, capital punishment has been abolished, which includes France, United Kingdom and Bhutan. However, it still prevails in some countries including India, United States, Saudi Arabia etc. Is it worth patting our backs for being the largest democracy when we are in the league of nations like Saudi Arabia (who have no regard for human rights) with respect to capital punishment? Nevertheless, since we claim to be an ardent supporter of human rights, we cannot, at the same time, go retrograde when it comes to bettering our criminal justice system viz-a-viz capital punishment.</p>',
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		],
		(int) 4 => [
			'title' => 'Important Facts for Prelims (30th July 2018)',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3><strong>National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System-II (NASAMS-II)</strong></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is an advanced air defence system jointly developed by United States (US) and Norway.</li>
<li>India is in talks with the US to procure NASAMS-II to defend the National Capital Region (NCR), Delhi from aerial attacks (9/11 type attacks). It is in the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) stage now.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>NOTE</strong>: 'Acceptance of Necessity' clears the way for the tendering process to start.</p>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India is deploying a multi-tiered air defence network to fully secure its airspace from incoming fighter aircraft, missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).</li>
<li>The system would complement other systems such as the medium and long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems that are under procurement in India.</li>
<li>Apart from these imports, India is also developing an indigenous Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system.</li>
</ul>
<p><img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/893NASAMS - II.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" data-pagespeed-url-hash="1598902145" onload="pagespeed.CriticalImages.checkImageForCriticality(this);" /></p>
<h3></h3>
<h3>&lsquo;DigiYatra&rsquo;- A New Digital Experience for Air Travellers</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Civil Aviation Ministry is close to rolling out DigiYatra service at airports which seek to make flying speedy and hassle-free.</li>
<li>The basic objective is to reduce queues at airports and bring efficiency to the boarding process.</li>
<li>The&nbsp;&lsquo;DigiYatra&rsquo;&nbsp;is&nbsp;an industry-led initiative coordinated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in line with Digital India&rsquo;s vision to transform the nation into a digitally empowered society.</li>
<li>The&nbsp;DigiYatra&nbsp;initiative envisages providing airline travellers in India, a pioneering &lsquo;digitally unified flying experience&rsquo; across all stages of their journey.&nbsp;</li>
<li>It will deliver Indian customers a seamless, consistent and paperless service experience at every touch point of their journey.</li>
<li>The platform will be built on 4 key pillars, like Connected Passengers, Connected Airports, Connected Flying and Connected Systems.</li>
</ul>
<h3>World Tiger Day<img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/909image1.jpg" style="float: right;" width="503" height="377" /></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Global Tiger Day, often called International Tiger Day, is celebrated on </span><b>July 29</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to give worldwide awareness about tigers.</span></li>
<li>It was established at the <b>St. Petersburg Tiger Summit in 2010 </b><span>as a means to draw worldwide attention to the global plight of wild tigers.</span></li>
<li>The celebration is one of the many features of the <b>Tx2</b><span> pledge by &nbsp;</span><b>13 tiger range countries</b><span> who committed to efforts that would double the world&rsquo;s tiger population by 2022.</span></li>
<li>Out of <b>9 subspecies </b><span>of Tigers, </span><b>4 have become extinct</b><span>. The extinct subspecies are: Bali, Javan, Caspian and South China tiger. The remaining 5-- Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan, Sumatran and Amur tiger are still found in the range countries.</span></li>
<li>India had launched <b>Project Tiger in 1973</b><span> to conserve tigers. &nbsp;Till now, the coverage of &ldquo;Project Tiger&rdquo; has increased from 9 reserves to</span><b> 50 tiger reserves</b><span> spread across 18 states.</span></li>
</ul>',
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		],
		(int) 5 => [
			'title' => 'Arsenic Accumulation in Paddy Plants',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A recent publication by the Jadavpur University, has revealed rise in arsenic contamination of paddy plants from ground water in West Bengal.</li>
<li>It also highlighted that the &nbsp;concentration of &lsquo;arsenic accumulation&rsquo; depended on the variety of paddy and its stage in the crop cycle.</li>
<li>The study shows that arsenic uptake in the paddy plant reduces from root to grain, and that its concentration is related to the variety of the rice cultivated as well.</li>
<li>The study have also raised concerns over the disposal of the contaminated rice straw which is used as animal fodder or burnt or sometimes left in the field itself to serve as fertiliser.</li>
<li>In India, &nbsp;West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh in the flood plains of the Ganga; Assam and Manipur in the flood plains of the Brahamaputra and Imphal rivers and Rajnandgaon village in Chhattisgarh state have been reported to be affected by arsenic contamination in groundwater.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Arsenic</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Arsenic (As) is an odourless and tasteless metalloid widely distributed in the earth&rsquo;s crust.</li>
<li>Arsenic can get into the human body through drinking water as well as eating food that has been contaminated with arsenic.</li>
<li>Arsenicosis is the medical word for arsenic poisoning, which occurs due to accumulation of large amounts of arsenic in the body.</li>
<li>Arsenicosis leads to adverse health effects through inhibition of essential enzymes, which ultimately leads to death from multi-system organ failure.</li>
<li>Long-term exposure to arsenic from drinking-water and food can cause cancer and skin lesions. It has also been associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes. In utero and early childhood exposure has been linked to negative impacts on cognitive development and increased deaths in young adults.</li>
<li>Arsenic is one of WHO&rsquo;s 10 chemicals of major public health concern. WHO recommended current limit of arsenic in drinking-water is 10 &mu;g/L.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
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		],
		(int) 6 => [
			'title' => 'Govt. Plans ‘ISRO-like’ Ocean Mission',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Recently, the Union Earth Sciences Ministry has unveiled a blueprint of the &lsquo;Deep Ocean Mission (DOM)&rsquo; to explore the deep recesses of the ocean.</p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It will develop an offshore desalination plant that will work with tidal energy.</li>
<li>Also to be developed is a submersible vehicle that can go to a depth of at least 6,000 metres with three people on board.</li>
<li>The mission proposes to explore the deep ocean similar to the space exploration started by ISRO about 35 years ago.</li>
<li>The focus will be on technologies for deep-sea mining, underwater vehicles, and underwater robotics and ocean climate change advisory services, among other aspects.</li>
</ul>
<h3>India&rsquo;s Share</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India has been allotted a site of 1,50,000 square kilometres in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) by the UN International Seabed Authority for exploitation of polymetallic nodules (PMN).</li>
<li>It is envisaged that 10% of recovery of that large reserve can meet the energy requirement of India for the next 100 years.</li>
<li>It has been estimated that 380 million metric tonnes of polymetallic nodules are available at the bottom of the seas in the Central Indian Ocean.</li>
<li>India&rsquo;s Exclusive Economic Zone spreads over 2.2 million square kilometres and in the deep sea, lies &ldquo;unexplored and unutilised&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p>Note: Polymetallic nodules (PMN) are rocks scattered on the seabed containing iron, manganese, nickel and cobalt</p>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/govt-plans-isro-like-ocean-mission'
		],
		(int) 7 => [
			'title' => 'EU Ruling on Gene Editing Technology',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>The European Court of Justice has ruled that altering living things using the relatively new technique of genome editing counts as genetic engineering.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It ruled that the gene editing technology (also called mutagenesis) would follow the same stringent guidelines as conventionally genetically modified organisms (GMO).</li>
<li>Genetic modification involves the introduction of foreign DNA into an organism, while gene editing involves editing of the organism&rsquo;s native genome.</li>
<li>The best-known genome-editing technique, known as CRISPR-Cas9, involves cutting strands of DNA with molecular "scissors". When the organism's natural repair systems kick in to repair the break, it presents scientists with the opportunity to insert the DNA sequence of their choosing - essentially rewriting the blueprint for life.</li>
<li>Scientists studying the effects of CRISPR/Cas9 said it could cause unexpected genetic damage which could lead to dangerous changes in some cells.</li>
</ul>
<h3>What EU court ruled</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Court of Justice said that organisms obtained by mutagenesis are GMOs within the meaning of the GMO Directive because the techniques and methods of mutagenesis alter the genetic material of an organism in a way that does not occur naturally.</li>
<li>It, however, leaves out other mutagenesis techniques like irradiation. It has observed that these have a proven track record and need not be considered under the same bracket.</li>
<li>All products made through gene editing to be regulated, assessed for their health and environmental impacts, and labelled.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Note:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Irradiation is a physical treatment of food with high-energy ionising radiation to:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Destroy microorganisms, viruses, bacteria or insects</li>
<li>Prevent germination and sprouting of potatoes, onions and garlic</li>
<li>Slow down ripening and ageing of fruit and vegetables</li>
<li>Prolong the shelf life and prevent food-borne diseases in meat, poultry and seafood</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Arguments of Scientists</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Scientists had hoped that gene editing technologies would find wider acceptance than GM, considering that gene editing does not involve introducing a foreign element into the plant&rsquo;s genetic code.</li>
<li>With gene editing, under appropriate regulations and policy, product development would be faster.</li>
<li>Gene editing has the potential to make hardier and more nutritious crops as well as offering drug companies a new way to fight human disease.</li>
<li>These techniques can be used to introduce new traits into a crop variety, for example, to make a plant resistant to herbicides. Yet the court ruling means that herbicide resistant crops produced through conventional breeding can be used freely, while crops produced using newer approaches must be subjected to intense scrutiny.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Arguments of Environmentalist</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Environmental organization have applauded the court&rsquo;s decision and they have called for all products made through gene editing to be regulated, assessed for their health and environmental impacts, and labelled.</li>
<li>Environmentalists, anti-GM groups and farmers concerned about the potential environmental and health impacts of all genetically engineered products said allowing gene editing would have ushered in a new era of &ldquo;GMO 2.0&rdquo; via the backdoor.</li>
<li>These genetic engineering techniques have the potential to radically change the food system, threatening non-GMO and organic agriculture and the livelihoods that depend on it.</li>
<li>The gene editing technology is not yet proven safe&mdash;an argument that may have gained weight after research suggested gene editing can cause risky collateral DNA damage.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Indian Scenario</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In India, as in the EU, GM crops have faced resistance from farmers and environmental groups that have called for proper study and labelling.</li>
<li>India does not have any regulations on CRISPR as it does on GMO crops.</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/eu-ruling-on-gene-editing-technology'
		],
		(int) 8 => [
			'title' => 'All About the FASTag',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The FASTag is a reloadable tag that allows automatic deduction of toll without having to stop for carrying out the cash transaction. The tag uses radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and is fixed on the windscreen of the vehicle once active.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border">
<p><strong>NOTE</strong></p>
<p>Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) is the use of radio waves to read and capture information stored on a tag attached to an object. &nbsp;A tag can be read from up to several feet away and does not need to be within direct line-of-sight of the reader to be tracked.</p>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The tag is valid for five years and comes in seven different colours &mdash; violet, orange, yellow, green, pink, blue, black. Each colour is assigned to a particular category of vehicles.</li>
<li>It was rolled out in April 2016, &nbsp;and the Government made it mandatory from December 1, 2017 for all new cars and trucks to be fitted with a FASTag before they were sold.</li>
<li>To encourage the use of FASTags, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) refunds 5% of the total monthly transactions.</li>
<li>Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL) (a company incorporated by National Highways Authority of India) and National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) are implementing this program.</li>
<li>FASTag is presently operational at both, national and state highways.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Benefits</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Ease of payment &ndash; No need to carry cash for the toll transactions, saves time.</li>
<li>Near non-stop movement of vehicles leading to lower fuel cost.</li>
<li>Other benefits are:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Environmental benefit &nbsp;: reduced air pollution, reduced use of paper.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>Social benefit : reduced toll payment hassles ,analytics for better highway management.</li>
<li>Economic benefit : reduced effort in management at toll plaza, reduced effort in monitoring centrally.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/all-about-the-fastag'
		],
		(int) 9 => [
			'title' => 'Gold Council to Aid Exports on the Anvil',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>The Government of India has decided to set up a Domestic Council for Gold to aid exports of jewellery and to create an ecosystem to harness the true potential for jewellery-making in the country.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Also, a Coordination Committee will be set up to address of the gold industry. It will comprise senior officials of the Ministry of Commerce and members from the Gem &amp; Jewellery Export Promotion Council, who will meet regularly to ensure that industry concerns are addressed on a priority basis.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Highlights</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The council would work towards industrial development, job creation, the building of regional clusters and strengthening of value chains.</li>
<li>It will represent all the jewellers of India who will be the electoral college. They will form different interest groups and elect those who will sit in the council.</li>
<li>The council will also provide domestic support for exports.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The gold industry sector is a USD 41 billion export industry and it contributes 7 per cent to the country&rsquo;s economic growth and 15 per cent to exports.</li>
<li>With the industry witnessing a crisis of sorts as banks have curtailed lending to traders (due to Nirav Modi scam) and have been demanding collateral security and extensive documentation.</li>
<li>Gem and jewellery exports from India declined by 9 per cent between April and June to $10.1 billion against the $11.1 billion logged in 2017.</li>
<li>Also, a 3 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on exporters for procuring gold from nominated agencies is hampering jewellery exports from India.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Gem &amp; Jewellery Export Promotion Council</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Gem &amp; Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), headquartered in Mumbai, was set up by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India (GoI) in 1966.</li>
<li>The GJEPC is the apex body of the gems &amp; jewellery industry and represents almost 6,000 exporters in the sector.</li>
<li>It is one of several Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) launched by the Indian Government, to boost the country&rsquo;s export thrust, when India&rsquo;s post-Independence economy began making forays in the international markets.</li>
<li>Since 1998, the GJEPC has been granted autonomous status.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/gold-council-to-aid-exports-on-the-anvil'
		],
		(int) 10 => [
			'title' => 'The Big Picture – India’s Africa Outreach',
			'catname' => 'Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Discussions',
			'desc' => '<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pPHU7JFHmaU" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<div class="border">
<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a three-nation, five-day tour to Africa today (July 23, 2018). The visit to Africa comes ahead of the 10<sup>th</sup> BRICS summit in Johannesburg. First on the Prime Minister's itinerary is Rwanda, being referred as the <strong>"gateway to Africa"</strong>. PM Modi's visit to the nation, from July 23-24, will be the first by any Indian prime minister. PM Modi is being accompanied by a <strong>high level business delegation in a bid to take forward strategic partnership with Rwanda</strong>.</p>
</div>
<p>The PM will next visit Uganda, where he is slated to address the parliament of Uganda. <strong>Two lines of credit worth $164 million will be extended during the visit</strong>. PM Modi's visit to Uganda too will be <strong>the first by an Indian PM in 20 years</strong>. In the final leg, PM Modi will head to South Africa on July 25 to attend the BRICS summit.</p>
<h3>Why Rwanda and Uganda are important for India?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>According to the Ministry of External Affairs both the above mentioned countries are the Gateways to the larger blocs.</li>
<li><strong>Rwanda will be the Chairman of the African Union</strong> this year and consequently, would play a <strong>major strategic role</strong>. Besides, it is <strong>also at the forefront of the East African Community</strong>. In the past few years we have seen that India has developed a focused relationship with the continent and the visit to these countries would <strong>strengthen and further consolidate the relationship especially on the economic front</strong>.</li>
<li>As for Rwanda, it is a small <strong>country exerting a disproportionate influence in the region</strong>. The regime of Paul Kagame has consolidated power and had built a strong military and a thriving economy. It is a great success story.</li>
<li>Besides defense collaboration, Kagame wants to attract Indian investors.</li>
<li>These two countries would play a <strong>major role in south-south cooperation</strong>. The <strong>credit line of $164 million is supposed to be extended</strong>. This economic help <strong>would definitely increase India&rsquo;s soft power</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<h3>India and Africa relations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India&rsquo;s focus of Africa is not new. For the past 3 to 4 decades India has engaged actively with the continent. However, since the past decade the focus has been intensified and in the last couple of years the engagement has developed by leaps and bounds.</li>
<li><strong>The Third India-Africa Summit in Delhi was the jewel in the crown as for the first time India did not see Africa as a bloc but as individual countries comprising the African bloc</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>Strategically, politically and economically</strong> Africa is very important to us. Hence, the Indian Prime Minister is accompanied by a business delegation.</li>
<li>India is focusing on trilateral partnership like the <strong>Asia-Africa corridor with Japan</strong>. India has taken <strong>a more bottom up, participatory approach,</strong> whereby, it has looked into the aspirations that Africans have in their minds and not merely thrusting upon them from the top.</li>
<li>In the last couple of years India has made it a <strong>conversation and not a one way monologue</strong>. India has brought in African people into confidence.</li>
<li>India&rsquo;s engagement with the African countries has almost always been bilateral. Example, India-South Africa bilateral relations. Effort must be put in to engage with various trade blocs. Amongst them would be COMESA, ECOWAS, ECCAS,The African Free Trade Zone.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Is Africa Big Enough to Accommodate both India and China?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Presently the phenomenon of anti-globalisation has seen the western countries retracting from the world stage. The US and the European countries are vacating their position of influence from the continent. Hence, it is an <strong>opportunity for the Asian countries to fill up the shoes</strong>.</li>
<li>We should not see Africa as a competition ground for these two countries. Contrary to China, India is constrained by resources. Consequently, <strong>we should focus on our strength like solarisation of the continent, human resource development, entrepreneurship development, etc.</strong></li>
<li>Disillusionment with China&mdash;
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Most of the Chinese financing to africa is associated with securing the continent&rsquo;s natural resources. <strong>Also called the Angola Model,</strong> that is, providing low interest loans to nations who rely on commodities, such as oil or mineral resources, as collateral.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>The Chinese construction companies bring in chinese workers. Hence, employment generation which is one of the signs of healthy economic development remains stagnant.</li>
<li>Besides, the chinese military footprint is ever increasing.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In contrast to huge infrastructural loans sanctioned by Xi Jinping, the Indian Prime Minister will donate 200 cows in a rural part of Uganda as part of Paul Kagame&rsquo;s social mobility project. <strong>India has used a bottom up approach which will be beneficial for the relationship.</strong></li>
<li>The Chinese model enables the elites and the well-connected in Africa to make a lot of money and flourish. <strong>However, India is trying to engage with the Africans on a face to face basis, that is, more on a personal level.</strong> In the long run we should not face the backlash as much as the Chinese would.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Issues</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The issue of delivery</strong> has always been a problem. Like providing aids and grants have not been met in time. <strong>The reason is mainly because of bureaucracy and red tapism.</strong></li>
<li>However, gradually we have realised the harm it causes and we have tried to rectify it. And, the African countries have also acclimatised themselves with how India works. <strong>There are no surprises or shocks in the relationship now.</strong> &nbsp;</li>
<li>India has limited herself to the eastern part of the continent. Like Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia. The effort should be to expand to other part of the continent, especially the western part of the continent and engage countries like Morocco, Togo, Benin, Congo, etc.</li>
</ul>
<h3>The Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>India&rsquo;s cumulative trade with Africa is around $100 billion.</strong> Hence, there are ample opportunities here if we play to our strengths. Besides, the <strong>change in the demographics and gradual democratisation</strong> (like in Ethiopia) of Africa has opened up a window for India to further strengthen its relations democratically.</li>
<li>We have to develop people-to-people relationship <strong>like training doctors and teachers, and other professionals</strong>.</li>
<li>We have to make our presence felt in the West African countries. They are rich in natural resources particularly oil and raw materials. India can help countries like Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria fight the menace of Boko Haram.</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/the-big-picture-india-s-africa-outreach'
		],
		(int) 11 => [
			'title' => 'Justice BN Srikrishna Committee Submits Data Protection Report',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>A committee headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Justice BN Srikrishna has submitted its report on "Data Protection Framework" to the Government.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Committee was constituted by the union government in July 2017, to deliberate on a data protection framework.</li>
<li>The Supreme Court in its <strong>Puttaswamy judgment, 2017</strong> declared privacy a fundamental right. This set the government in motion to take steps to bring a new data protection legislation for the country.</li>
<li>The report has emphasized that interests of the citizens and the responsibilities of the state have to be protected, but not at the cost of trade and industry.<br />The Committee has also proposed a draft Personal Data Protection Bill.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Highlights from the Report&nbsp;<img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/980DATA.jpg" style="float: right;" width="589" height="378" data-pagespeed-url-hash="3330125528" onload="pagespeed.CriticalImages.checkImageForCriticality(this);" /></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Individual Consent:</strong> The proposed Bill makes individual consent the centrepiece of data sharing, awards rights to users, imposes obligations on data fiduciaries (all those entities, including the State, which determine purpose and means of data processing).<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Consent will be a lawful basis for processing of personal data. However, the law will adopt a modified consent framework thereby making the data fiduciary liable for harms caused to the data principal.</li>
<li>The Data Protection Bill also calls for privacy by design on part of data processors, and defines terms like consent, data breach, sensitive data, etc.</li>
<li><strong>Right to be forgotten:</strong> It refers to the ability of individuals to limit, delink, delete, or correct the disclosure of personal information on the internet that is misleading, embarrassing, irrelevant, or anachronistic.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Data Protection Authority:</strong> The data protection law will set up a Data Protection Authority (DPA), which will be an independent regulatory body responsible for the enforcement and effective implementation of the law. The DPA shall perform the following primary functions:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>monitoring and enforcement</li>
<li>legal affairs, policy and standard setting</li>
<li>research and awareness</li>
<li>inquiry, grievance handling and adjudication</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Personal Data</strong>: The law will cover processing of personal data by both public and private entities.The law will have jurisdiction over the processing of personal data if such data has been used, shared, disclosed, collected or otherwise processed in India.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Bill has proposed that critical personal data of Indian citizens be processed in centres located within the country.</li>
<li>Sensitive personal data will include passwords, financial data, health data, official identifier, sex life, sexual orientation, biometric and genetic data, and data that reveals transgender status, intersex status, caste, tribe, religious or political beliefs or affiliations of an individual. However, the DPA will be given the residuary power to notify further categories in accordance with the criteria set by law.</li>
<li>Additionally, personal data collected, used, shared, disclosed or otherwise processed by companies incorporated under Indian law will be covered, irrespective of where it is actually processed in India. However, the data protection law may empower the Central Government to exempt such companies which only process the personal data of foreign nationals not present in India.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Data Storage:</strong> The Bill lays out provisions on data storage, making it mandatory for a copy of personal data to be stored in India.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Appellate Tribunal:</strong>The Central Government shall establish an appellate tribunal or grant powers to an existing appellate tribunal to hear and dispose of any appeal against an order of the DPA.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Penalties:</strong> Penalties may be imposed for violations of the data protection law. The penalties imposed would be an amount up to the fixed upper limit or a percentage of the total worldwide turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Committee has suggested a penalty of Rs. 15 crore or 4% of the total worldwide turnover of any data collection/processing entity, for violating provisions. Failure to take prompt action on a data security breach can attract up to Rs. 5 crore or 2% of turnover as a penalty.</li>
<li>The penalties paid by violating entities in this case will be deposited to a <strong>Data Protection Fund</strong>, which will, among other purposes, finance the functioning of the Data Protection Authority.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Obligations on Fiduciaries and rights to principles</strong> are the two underlying themes of the Bill. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Obligations would include &ldquo;purpose limitation&rdquo; where data will be used only for clear, specific and lawful purposes and &ldquo;collection limitation&rdquo; where only data necessary for the purpose would be collected and be held as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose.</li>
<li>The Bill lays out obligations for fiduciaries to ensure no harm to the user, with transparency and security safeguards; a data protection impact assessment is embarked upon before new technologies are introduced; data policies are audited by a data auditor; and they have data protection officers.</li>
<li>For data processors not present in India, the Act will apply to those carrying on business in India or other activities such as profiling which could cause privacy harms to data principals in India.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">The law <strong>will not have retrospective application</strong> and it will come into force in a structured and phased manner.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Impact on allied laws:</strong>The report has also listed the impact of the proposed data protection framework on allied laws, including the Aadhaar Act and the RTI Act, which require or authorise processing for personal data for different objectives.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The committee has noted that the Aadhaar Act is silent on the powers of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to take enforcement action against errant companies in its ecosystem. The Aadhaar Act needs to be amended to bolster data protection.</li>
<li>The report has also recommended amendments to the RTI Act, pointing out that disclosure of information from public authorities may lead to private harm being caused.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Exceptions:</strong> The state can process data without consent of the user on ground of public welfare, law and order, emergency situations where the individual is incapable of providing consent, employment, and reasonable purpose.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Processing of data for certain interests such as security of the State, legal proceedings, research and journalistic purpose, may be exempt from certain obligations of the proposed data protection law.</li>
<li>However, adequate security safeguards must be incorporated in the law to guard against potential misuse.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Cross border data transfers</strong> of personal data, other than critical personal data, will be through model contract clauses containing key obligations with the transferor being liable for harms caused to the principal due to any violations committed by the transferee.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Personal data determined to be critical will be subject to the requirement to process only in India (there will be a prohibition against cross border transfer for such data).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Data of Children:</strong> Committee has made specific mention of the need for separate and more stringent norms for protecting the data of children, recommending that companies be barred from certain types of data processing such as behavioural monitoring, tracking, targeted advertising and any other type of processing which is not in the best interest of the child.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li style="text-align: left;">The justification for such differential treatment arises from the recognition that children are unable to fully understand the consequences of their actions. This is only exacerbated in the digital world where data collection and processing is largely opaque and mired in complex consent forms.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">The committee&rsquo;s recommends that the Data Protection Authority will have the power to designate websites or online services that process large volumes of personal data of children as guardian data fiduciaries.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">The committee noted that this approach, of placing the onus of properly processing the data of a child on the company, is preferable to the existing regulatory approach which is based solely on a system of parental consent.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">The parental concern is prone to circumvention. It risks encouraging children to lie about their age, without achieving the intended purpose of protection.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Concerns</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Though the draft bill addresses various issues plaguing the data ecosystem in India, it falls short on key principles that are at the core of a robust data protection framework</li>
<li>The Bill proposes that personal data of individuals can be processed for the exercise of any function of the state. This can be done without the consent of the individual as long as it is to provide a service or benefit to the individual. This runs directly counter to the articulation of informed consent as central to informational privacy in the Puttaswamy judgment, 2017.</li>
<li>One key subject missing from the draft bill is the reform of surveillance laws. There is very little legislative and judicial oversight on surveillance activities carried out in India.<br />As proposed by the Bill, requiring all businesses to store data within India, without any reform of surveillance governance, can pose even bigger privacy issues in the future.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Bringing in a legislation on the data protection in the country would protect individual privacy, ensure autonomy, allow data flows for a growing data ecosystem.</li>
<li>It can create a free and fair digital economy where freedom is the enhancement of individual autonomy with regard to personal data and fairness is the regulatory framework where this individual right is respected.</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/justice-bn-srikrishna-committee-submits-data-protection-report'
		],
		(int) 12 => [
			'title' => 'India in the AI Race',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<p><em>This article is based on an opinion piece published in The Hindu &ldquo;AI superpower or client nation?&rdquo; and has inputs from various sources.</em></p>
<p>American author and programmer Daniel Keys Moran says <em>&ldquo;You can have data without information but you cannot have information without data.&rdquo;</em> If the 20<sup>th</sup> century was of computers, 21<sup>st</sup> was of Information Technology, then the next century is going to be of Artificial Intelligence. So, what drives AI? - Big Data. The raw and unstructured data extracted from different sources is processed to create BIG Data which is then used to train AI. In a way, Big Data acts as fuel for AI i.e. Artificial Intelligence be the catalyst that brings ROI &amp; tangible asset value to data.</p>
<p>Top governments and corporates envision that the future is going to be all about the ownership of data and the power to analyze it - and that is what Artificial Intelligence (AI) does. While India has made its mark in the IT sector, it is yet to carve out its place in the world of Artificial Intelligence.</p>
<h3>Countries in AI race</h3>
<p><strong>China,</strong> alongside the US, is already a world leader in terms of AI research. China has published the most research papers, among leading countries, on <strong>deep learning</strong> in the last few years. Coupled with the fact the country benefits from a huge supply of data &ndash; generated from its estimated 750 million internet-using population &ndash; China&rsquo;s dominance in AI is a highly likely future.</p>
<p>The US benefits from a well-established tech scene. Apple, Facebook and Tesla have already invested billions in AI research in the recent years. And Microsoft remains the top organisation when it comes to producing <strong>high-value quoted research,</strong> with Google and IBM also making names for themselves in this space.</p>
<p>It&rsquo;s worth noting that other countries are also making strides in AI.<strong> Last year, the United Arab Emirates became the first country with a government minister dedicated to AI</strong>. Russia plans to make 30% of its country&rsquo;s military equipment robotic by 2025. And Singapore&rsquo;s government pledged SG$150 million to AI industry research just last year. Apart from these, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the UK are other countries are moving towards automation at a fast pace.</p>
<h3>Where Does India Stand?</h3>
<p>No doubt that India also hopes to become an AI powerhouse in near future. The NITI Aayog released a report on National Strategy on AI which underlines the importance of AI in transforming every sector of the economy and how India is going to harness its potential for public welfare.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Strategy on Artificial Intelligence</strong></p>
<p><em><strong>Key Highlights:</strong></em></p>
<p>NITI Aayog has decided to focus on five sectors that are envisioned to benefit the most from AI (in solving societal needs):</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Healthcare:</strong> Increased access and affordability of quality healthcare.</li>
<li><strong>Agriculture:</strong> Enhanced farmers&rsquo; income, increased farm productivity and reduction of wastage.</li>
<li><strong>Education:</strong> Improved access and quality of education.</li>
<li><strong>Smart Cities and Infrastructure:</strong> Efficient connectivity for the burgeoning urban population.</li>
<li><strong>Smart Mobility and Transportation:</strong> Smarter and safer modes of transportation and better traffic and congestion management.</li>
</ul>
<p>To truly reap the benefits of deploying AI at scale, the report identifies the <strong>following barriers</strong> that need to be addressed in order to achieve the goals of <strong>#AIforAll</strong>:</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Lack of broad based expertise in research and application of AI.</li>
<li>Absence of enabling data ecosystems &ndash; access to intelligent data.</li>
<li>High resource cost and low awareness for adoption of AI.</li>
<li>Privacy and security, including a lack of formal regulations around anonymisation of data.</li>
<li>Absence of a collaborative approach to adoption and application of AI.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>Budget allocation for <strong>Digital India,</strong> the government&rsquo;s umbrella initiative to promote AI, <strong>machine learning, 3D printing,</strong> and other technologies, has been almost doubled.</p>
<p>NITI Aayog is also working on building the country&rsquo;s largest blockchain network &ndash; <strong>IndiaChain</strong>. IndiaChain will be linked to <strong>IndiaStack</strong> and other government digital identification databases. IndiaStack is a set of code developed around India&rsquo;s unique identity project <strong>Aadhaar</strong>.</p>
<p>India lags far behind in terms of owning its own large commercial digital databases. Even the handful of Indian ventures present in the market are being taken over gradually eg. taking over of Flipkart by Walmart.</p>
<p>India isn&rsquo;t faring badly, though. <strong>Over half (58%) of the companies using AI in the country work at scale</strong>. But, India is yet to devise a law on data protection and privacy. However, Justice BN Srikrishna committee has submitted its report on data protection recently.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Recommendations of Justice BN Srikrishna Committee</strong></p>
<p>The committee recommends that</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Processing (collection, recording, analysis, disclosure, etc) of personal data should be done only for &ldquo;clear, specific and lawful&rdquo; purposes.</li>
<li>The committee also recommends giving a person the &ldquo;right to be forgotten.&rdquo;</li>
<li>&ldquo;Sensitive&rdquo; personal data (such as passwords, financial data, sexual orientation, biometric data, religion or caste) should not be processed unless someone gives explicit consent.</li>
<li>A Data Protection Authority which is supposed to &ldquo;protect the interests of data principals (persons giving their data) should be set up.</li>
<li>Aadhaar Act 2016 should be amended to ensure autonomy of the UIDAI and to &ldquo;bolster data protection&rdquo;.</li>
<li>RTI Act 2003 should be amended so, that there is no obligation to reveal personal information which was not related to &ldquo;public activity or interest&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>What can India do?</h3>
<p>The various applications and strategies mentioned in the NITI aayog report <strong>emphasize &ldquo;using AI&rdquo;</strong>. However, <strong>what we are missing out on is &ldquo;developing AI&rdquo; of our own</strong>.</p>
<p>It is being speculated that India might end up as a <strong>big consumer of the new tech-economy featuring AI and IoT (Internet Of Things) related technologies</strong>.</p>
<p>Further. we cannot afford to become the source of big data for corporations all over the world which are mostly foreign. Also, a non-AI military against an AI-powered one will be like a hapless infantry unit facing an armoured division.</p>
<p>Thus, it is high time that India realizes that the control that comes with Artificial Intelligence, it <strong>military, economic or political,</strong> is of paramount importance in deciding the future leaders of the world.</p>
<p>The plethora of <strong>start-ups is not going to serve as a storehouse of big data</strong> that is needed to develop Artificial Intelligence for a country as big as India, especially when they can be easily bought by giants like Amazon, Walmart, Facebook or Google.</p>
<p><em>&ldquo;Indian policymakers should be aiming at the highest levels of new value chains that AI will create in every sector. It is mastery over the systemic cores of AI where the real national advantage lies.&rdquo;</em> We need to create centres of AI ecosystem instead of focussing on peripherals like small IT industries. Instead, we need big digital corporations with a global outreach that can compete with other similar platforms all over the world.</p>
<p>For this, it is important that the government makes policy interventions that give a push to domestic data-based sectoral platforms, like in e-commerce, urban transport, agriculture, health, education, etc.</p>
<p><em>&ldquo;Such policy protection alone will ensure that we have large-scale data-driven Indian companies able to develop the highest AI in every sector, by employing huge Indian data to solve (equally huge) Indian problems.&rdquo;</em></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/india-in-the-ai-race'
		],
		(int) 13 => [
			'title' => 'Lending Hands to Someone is Better than Giving a Dole',
			'catname' => 'Model Essays',
			'desc' => '<p><strong><em>&ndash;Aditya Choppa</em></strong></p>
<p>Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others. According to <g class="gr_ gr_112 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="112" data-gr-id="112">Dalai</g> Lama, our prime purpose in life is to help others. Helping each other is what makes us humans special. Compassion and altruism are the basic components of humanness. Even the most hard-hearted person might have helped someone in need at some point <g class="gr_ gr_109 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="109" data-gr-id="109">of</g> time. Helping others is the fundamental characteristic of humans, but different people do it in different ways. Some tend to donate money to charitable <g class="gr_ gr_128 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="128" data-gr-id="128">organisations</g>, some people give money to the poor directly, some people volunteer to do social work, while some create work for others. It is important to understand which type of help is most beneficial to humankind. As a Chinese proverb says, "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." This essay gives examples of alternative ways of helping people that are more helpful than just donating money.</p>
<p>Recently, Chennai experienced one of the worst floods in over 100 years. Life had come to a standstill. The repercussions were such that almost all aspects of life were affected in the city, from public transport, railways, flights to electricity supply. In such <g class="gr_ gr_89 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="89" data-gr-id="89">crisis</g>, help poured in from different corners of the world. Many contributed to <g class="gr_ gr_114 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="114" data-gr-id="114">flood</g> relief fund. But this help couldn't reach the Chennai residents in time as the transportation facilities were derailed. This money could be only used for rehabilitation. But the helping nature of the locals, the various business entities in Chennai and initiatives by tech companies helped immensely in avoiding a major disaster. Individuals opened their houses while schools, movie theatres <g class="gr_ gr_124 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="124" data-gr-id="124">and</g> marriage halls welcomed families and persons who needed a safe and dry shelter. Facebook initiated a Safety Check feature for Chennai floods, BSNL gave users in Chennai free local and STD calls, Paytm gave residents of Chennai a Rs 30 recharge to help them stay connected during floods, Ola joined hands - and resources - with the Chennai fire department to help residents reach their homes safely and Zomato launched 'Meal for flood relief' wherein people could order free meals for flood victims. Chennai floods made people united and take efforts to combat the disaster. Clearly, the helping hand lent by individuals and different companies helped the Chennai flood victims more than the money donated to the flood relief fund.</p>
<p>This principle can be seen in our day-to-day life too. Many of us tend to give money or food to beggars. This doesn't really help them to get out of poverty. In India, begging is quite often carried out in organized gangs. Beggars have also been known to deliberately maim and disfigure themselves to get more money. In these circumstances, real help would be, to provide some source of livelihood to them, rather than giving them money which <g class="gr_ gr_123 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="123" data-gr-id="123">incentivises</g> them to continue their lifestyle. It would be more compassionate to buy an item from a street hawker, even if we don't require it, to provide him <g class="gr_ gr_94 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="94" data-gr-id="94">livelihood</g>. Many of us tend to donate money to different welfare <g class="gr_ gr_129 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="129" data-gr-id="129">organisations</g>, orphanages, old-age homes, NGOs etc. But some of them could be just scams, while some <g class="gr_ gr_134 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="134" data-gr-id="134">organisations</g> may waste money on managerial duties instead of actually helping the needy. It would be much more useful if we give clothes, blankets, food or time to these <g class="gr_ gr_138 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="138" data-gr-id="138">organisations</g> depending on the need. Instead of giving money, it would be much more useful if one can lend his/ her expertise to help others. For example, a teacher can provide free <g class="gr_ gr_80 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="80" data-gr-id="80">tutions</g> for the poor, a doctor can volunteer some time in a week at a free clinic, a lawyer can provide his legal services to the poor and a software engineer can help in decreasing digital divide. In this way, one can ensure that their contribution directly benefits the people in need.</p>
<p>In democratic states, the governments have a tendency to provide a number of freebies, especially during election year. Loans are waived, electricity is subsidized, water is subsidized, free television and laptops are given and so on. But the need of the hour - better governance, timely public services, <g class="gr_ gr_79 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="79" data-gr-id="79">corruption free</g> state, good public infrastructure, good business environment, reliable law and order etc - are not provided. If there are no irrigation canals, the subsidized fertilizers are of no use to a farmer in drought years. If there are constant power cuts, the subsidized electricity doesn't help the industries in the area. Providing free education without increasing the number of quality teachers doesn't solve the problems of education. Clearly, doling out money instead of providing good governance is not a step in the right direction.</p>
<p>Even in international relations, the utility of rendering a helping hand rather than giving aid in money can be recognized. America has been giving billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan to keep a lid on the Taliban issue. Much of the American money is not making its way to frontline Pakistani units. Money has been diverted to help finance weapons designed to counter India, not Al Qaeda or the Taliban. This is an illustration of how aid money can be wrongly utilized and in fact can be counter-productive to the intended purpose. In contrast, India's aid to Africa is quite productive as it contributes by supporting human resource development, building Pan African e-network which now connects 48 African countries, increasing foreign direct investment, sending peacekeeping forces etc. Clearly, there is larger scope for misuse of financial aid than the aid provided in kind. Projects <g class="gr_ gr_140 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_hide gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation multiReplace replaceWithoutSep replaceWithoutSep" id="140" data-gr-id="140">like developing roads, developing human resources, constructing dams, providing medical services in countries like Afghanistan</g> will <g class="gr_ gr_81 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="81" data-gr-id="81">nnot</g> only ensure that aid has reached the deserving people, but it will also increase the goodwill towards the country providing aid. This principle can be used in Climate Change negotiations too. More than the money given for the less developed countries to counter climate change, giving them technology that enables development at lower carbon emissions will help them more. This has to be recognized and <g class="gr_ gr_131 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="131" data-gr-id="131">focus</g> should be on <g class="gr_ gr_125 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="125" data-gr-id="125">transfer</g> of technology rather than on increasing money for Green Climate Fund (GCF).</p>
<p>It is not that money and financial resources are unimportant, in <g class="gr_ gr_122 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="122" data-gr-id="122">fact</g> they are <g class="gr_ gr_96 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="96" data-gr-id="96">essential</g> part for <g class="gr_ gr_103 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="103" data-gr-id="103">success</g> of most of the humanitarian efforts. While a major disaster during the Chennai floods was averted due to the helping nature of the locals, the rehabilitation was possible because of the money donated by philanthropic people. While some of the beggars are part of an organized gang, there are a lot of people languishing in poverty who do need financial assistance. Social security net for the poor is essential even in developed countries. Many under-developed and developing countries do need aid <g class="gr_ gr_126 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="126" data-gr-id="126">money,</g> so that the help received can be <g class="gr_ gr_135 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="135" data-gr-id="135">utilised</g> in accordance <g class="gr_ gr_113 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="113" data-gr-id="113">to</g> the needs at ground level. Clearly, money is <g class="gr_ gr_108 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="108" data-gr-id="108">intrinsic</g> part of most of the help being given, but one should recognize that there is much more to <g class="gr_ gr_118 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="118" data-gr-id="118">helping</g> others than just providing money. Doling out money should not become the de facto method of helping others. There are many more valuable ways in which one can help others. Giving financial help is just one of the ways.</p>
<p>Helping others should be the primary motivation <g class="gr_ gr_99 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="99" data-gr-id="99">of</g> any human being. The help need not always be in the form of donating money. Rendering a helping hand <g class="gr_ gr_105 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="105" data-gr-id="105">through</g> offering services or expertise is much more valuable. Moreover, one should recognize the kind of help that is required. Different circumstances require different kinds of help. In the example of Chennai floods, the most appropriate help at that time was to provide shelter and food, which could be arranged at a short notice, thanks to the helping nature of Chennaites. In most circumstances, one should help people help themselves. As Henry Ford has said, "Time and money spent in helping men to do more for themselves is far better than mere giving".</p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/mains/model-essays/lending-hands-to-someone-is-better-than-giving-a-dole'
		],
		(int) 14 => [
			'title' => 'Make Ethanol Directly From Sugarcane Juice',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Recently, the government has notified a decision to allow sugar mills to manufacture ethanol directly from sugarcane juice or an intermediate product called B-molasses.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The move would help mills divert cane juice for ethanol manufacturing during surplus years.</li>
<li>Sugar mills are incurring losses as prices of sugar have fallen below the production cost because of surplus production i.e. the supply is more than the demand (32 million tonnes produced in 2017-18 season as compared to the annual domestic demand of 25 million tonnes).</li>
<li>According to Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), the losses currently stand at Rs 63 per quintal, based on the Rangarajan panel&rsquo;s linkage formula.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p>Note: The Rangarajan Committee linkage formula, based on revenue-sharing, determines cane prices at 70 percent of revenue generated by sugar and by-product sales or 75 per cent from sugar alone, with 5 percent weightage given to by-products.</p>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>At present, ethanol is allowed to be made only of C-heavy molasses, a cane by-product that has no sugar content left in it. Whereas, the B-heavy molasses and sugarcane juice have some sucrose content left in them for sugar production.</li>
<li>The sugarcane control order of 1966 has been amended in this regard and the same has been notified by the Union Food Ministry.</li>
<li>The move follows the government&rsquo;s decision to make available subsidised loans of Rs 4,440 crores to sugar mills to create additional ethanol capacity.</li>
<li>Oil marketing companies (OMCs) procure ethanol from sugar mills for blending with petrol. India, which is over 80 per cent dependent on imports to meet its oil needs, has mandated blending of up to 10 per cent ethanol in petrol but inadequate availability has restricted this to less than 4 per cent.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Impact of the Decision</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The move will enable mills to trim surplus sugar output (in times of excessive cane supplies) by diverting a portion of B-heavy molasses for ethanol production, without further extracting sugar out of it, so that prices of the sweetener don&rsquo;t crash unreasonably.</li>
<li>In June, the government has fixed the price of ethanol produced from intermediary or B-molasses at Rs 47.49 per litre for the marketing year starting December 2018.</li>
<li>The price of ethanol produced from C-molasses has been raised by Rs 3 per litre to Rs 43.70 per litre. Therefore, a higher price for ethanol will incentivise higher ethanol production.</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/make-ethanol-directly-from-sugarcane-juice'
		],
		(int) 15 => [
			'title' => 'Agitations for Reservations and the Way Out',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<p>Reservations in India has grappled with the question of whether &ldquo;caste&rdquo; or &ldquo;class&rdquo; should be made the basis of giving reservation to a section of the population. While a lot many were the proponents of using only economic backwardness as a criterion for reservation, many others held the view that social backwardness also needs be included in it.</p>
<p>In the landmark <strong>Indra Sawhney case</strong>, the Supreme Court held that &ldquo;social backwardness&rdquo; is a measure of marginalization of a community and a purely economic criterion would allow the higher-ups in the hierarchy of social status to monopolise state power, which will nullify the purpose of <g class="gr_ gr_82 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="82" data-gr-id="82">reservation</g>.</p>
<p>The agitations against caste-based reservations picked up its peak when the reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) was introduced by Mandal Commission in 1989. Over time, the anti-reservation agitations have taken the form of violent groups demanding reservations for themselves.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/679708840-maratha-protest-pti.jpg" width="701" height="394" style="display: block; margin: auto;" data-pagespeed-url-hash="398442289" onload="pagespeed.CriticalImages.checkImageForCriticality(this);" caption="false" alt="Image: Maratha Reservation stir in Maharashtra (Source: DNAIndia)" /><span style="font-size: 12px;">Image: Maratha Reservation stir in Maharashtra (Source: <g class="gr_ gr_84 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="84" data-gr-id="84">DNAIndia</g>)</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>In recent times, a multitude of communities, consisting of both dominant and cornered groups, have launched agitations in various parts of the countries demanding reservations. This includes Patidars in Gujarat, Gujjars in Rajasthan, Jats in Haryana, Tea Tribes in Assam and the most recent - Marathas in Maharashtra. Their agitations can be described in a number of factors which include farming crisis and rising unemployment among others.&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Crisis in Agriculture</h3>
<p>The occupation of farming has become an unviable one due to low prices, underdeveloped irrigation system, decrease in landholding size and lack of government support and it has rendered the powerful farming community to a state of debt and depression.</p>
<p>Having prospered after the green revolution, these castes are now facing agrarian distress and deep stagnation in the rural economy. According to the National Sample Survey (NSS 59th round), the average land holding in India came down from 2.63 acres in 1960-61 to 1.06 acres in 2003-4, or down by about 60% in four decades.</p>
<h3>Unemployment</h3>
<p>As farming became less and less profitable, rural youth migrated to cities in search of jobs. The avenues for government jobs were scarce and private jobs paid very low wages. This was one of the reasons the Patidars in Gujarat demanded an end to private educational institutions that charged high prices from students but could not give them jobs due to the lack of quality in the education so received.</p>
<p>The lack of jobs is one of the major reasons for the unreserved communities blaming the reserved ones for taking up their jobs. The uneven economic development and unequal distribution of its fruits have led a section to believe that reservation is the reason for their miseries.</p>
<h3>Corporate-driven Economic Model Leading to an Increased Rift Between Rich and Poor</h3>
<p>Following the boom of private industries, farmers sold their lands at high prices. However, soon they realized that they were not gaining much from these industries. With time, the money earned from selling land was exhausted and they were left with nothing but despair. Some of them invested in MSMEs but even these met with failure, given the lack of skills and expertise, red-tapism and lack of support from the government.</p>
<h3>Resentment Towards OBCs</h3>
<p>While the dominant castes see their power declining, their resentment towards the OBCs and especially the creamy layer, grew by leaps and bounds.</p>
<p>Grievances over reservations existed before Mandal but it did not lead to serious conflicts or turmoil. Numerous surveys and official statistics pointed out the fact that the reservation of OBCs has empowered the poor. Nevertheless, it led to a new breed of identity politics and a spate of violence and unrest that keeps recurring at an alarming frequency.</p>
<h3>Political Interests</h3>
<p>Many of the agitations are a byproduct of mobilization of populations by a few in order to gain political advantage. Though it is righteous to demand proportional representation in a democracy, these agitations seldom achieve the purported goals. Most of the participants indulge in arson and violent acts and serve as pawns for the political agents.</p>
<h3>The Way Ahead</h3>
<p>We need to view reservations with a more critical and neutral lens, where though it has helped many sections, it is a limited concession which does not tackle the root of the problem necessary for the social and economic emancipation of the marginalized. The SC/ST communities still lag far behind other communities in terms of education, employment or social status. Thus, it is important that the problem is addressed in a more holistic manner.</p>
<p>First, most of the agitations come from the peasant class. Therefore, agrarian reforms need immediate attention so that the agitated rural poor can be pacified.</p>
<p>Second, if social justice is the cornerstone of the reservation policy, India is at a juncture where social justice can only be ensured by creating jobs on a large scale and not by further extending reservations along caste lines.</p>
<p>Third, reservations in India essentially refers to the inclusion of subordinated and marginalised groups. We need to rethink that poverty as a new face of subordination and therefore economically backward classes need to be included just the same.</p>
<p>Fourth, many castes that form the creamy layer of OBC have been questioned on the basis of their comparatively better social status. Thus, further filtering of the reserved category will enable the benefits of reservations to reach only the most deserving ones.</p>
<p>Fifth, it is important to condemn and oppose the manoeuvrings of greedy political leaders who seek to make <g class="gr_ gr_79 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="79" data-gr-id="79">reservation</g> a device for consolidating their influence and thereby fan caste divisions and divide the people. This is a cynical manipulation of the aspirations of the most oppressed sections of the downtrodden castes.</p>
<p>Last but not the least, the government and the people need to work together for the upliftment of the depressed classes. If increased reservations in educational institutions are present, it must go hand in hand with compensatory increases in seats in higher education for the unreserved, so that no deserving candidate is deprived of his higher education.</p>
<p>The pace at which these agitations are gaining momentum serves as a warning for all of us. Not only it undermines social harmony and peace, it also threatens our democracy by instilling in us the attributes of a mobocracy.</p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/agitations-for-reservations-and-the-way-out'
		],
		(int) 16 => [
			'title' => 'Einstein Was Right: Astronomers Confirm Key Theory of Relativity',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Astronomers have finally confirmed the &lsquo;gravitational redshift or Einstein shift&rsquo; with observational data. They got this result by tracking the movement of a star S2 as it passed through the gravitational field of a black hole Sagittarius A* (the huge black hole at the heart of the Milky Way).</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>S2 is one member of a star cluster that surrounds Sagittarius A*. These stars reach extremely high speeds when they approach the black hole - S2 comes very close to Sagittarius A* once every 16 years.</li>
<li>The Very Large Telescope (VLT) of The European Southern Observatory, in Chile, was used to find this evidence.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Process of Prediction</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Astronomers followed S2 before and after it passed close to the black hole on 19 May 2018, tracking its progress hour-by-hour. They then calculated its velocity and position using a number of instruments and compared it with predictions made by Einstein that the light would be stretched by the gravity, in an effect called gravitational redshift.</li>
<li>The astronomers have found that light from the star has been stretched to longer wavelengths by the very strong gravitational field of Sagittarius A*. The results are perfectly in line with the theory of general relativity - and not explained by Sir Isaac Newton's ideas - which exclude such a shift.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">Note:
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Gravitational redshift occurs as particles of light (photons) climb out of a gravitational well like a black hole and the light's wavelength gets drawn out. This shifts the wavelength to the red part of the light spectrum - hence "redshift".</li>
<li>In order to escape intense gravity, particles of light (photons) must expend energy. However, at the same time, these photons must travel at a constant speed - the speed of light. Therefore, the photons can't lose energy by slowing down but must expend it in another way. This lost energy manifests itself as a shift towards the red end of the light spectrum.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Practical Utility</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The result will help scientists better understand the physics of black holes.</li>
<li>It is important in astronomy to check that those laws of physics are still valid where the gravitational fields are very much stronger.</li>
<li>The results are also perfectly in line with the theory of general relativity and therefore is a major breakthrough towards better understanding the effects of intense gravitational fields.</li>
<li>Astronomers hope they can make practical use of the latest confirmation of Einstein&rsquo;s theory by tracking shifts in S2&rsquo;s trajectory, which could yield information on mass distribution around the black hole (i.e till what extent the effect of gravity is felt by the star S2).</li>
</ul>',
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		],
		(int) 17 => [
			'title' => 'Supermarkets Flooded with Foreign GM Foods Despite Ban',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Recently, researchers from Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) randomly tested 65 food samples in Gujarat, Punjab and Delhi-NCR and they have found that 32 per cent were GM positive.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Under the Section 22 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, GM foods are not allowed to be manufactured, imported or sold in India unless approved under the Act.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Out of 65 food samples, 30 were manufactured in India; of these, 17 per cent, were GM positive.</li>
<li>Among the 35 imported samples- manufactured in Canada, the UAE, the US, the Netherlands and Thailand &mdash; 46 per cent, were GM positive.</li>
<li>Domestically manufactured cottonseed oil samples tested GM positive, but no GM positive packaged oil sample mentioned GM ingredients on its label. But since India allows cultivation of only genetically modified BT cotton, the cottonseed oil extracted from it will be GM positive, too.</li>
</ul>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Implications of Poor Enforcement</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Most GM foods in the study did not disclose GM on their labels and 15 per cent made false claims saying they were GM-free.</li>
<li>A consumer should be able to make an informed choice.</li>
<li>Two of the eight infant food samples, imported from the US and the Netherlands, were GM positive, but the labels did not disclose this.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg" p=""><strong>Note:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and GM Foods</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>GMOs can be defined as organisms (i.e. plants, animals or microorganisms) in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination.</li>
<li>The technology is called &ldquo;recombinant DNA technology&rdquo; or &ldquo;genetic engineering&rdquo;.</li>
<li>It allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism into another and also between nonrelated species.</li>
<li>Foods produced from or using GM organisms are referred to as GM foods.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Why GM Foods are Produced?</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>GM foods are supposed to have a lower price and greater durability and/or nutritional value.</li>
<li>GM crops are aimed at providing an increased level of crop protection by introducing resistance against plant diseases caused by insects or viruses and from herbicides.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>',
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		(int) 18 => [
			'title' => 'Important Facts for Prelims (27th July 2018)',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY) aims at the overall development of selected SC majority villages.</li>
<li>It aims to provide them with all the necessary facilities to ensure that the disparity between SC and non-SC population in terms of common socio-economic indicators is eliminated and the indicators are raised to at least the level of the national average.</li>
<li>The performance of the scheme is being monitored in terms of achievement of the targets listed out in the Village Development Plan (VDP) prepared for each village.</li>
<li>Under the PMAGY, the National Institute of Rural Development &amp; Panchayati Raj (NIRD&amp;PR) has been identified to provide technical resource support at the national level.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg"><strong>Criteria for being Declared as Adarsh Village</strong>
<p>As per the scheme, for a village to be declared as Adarsh village, a minimum of three of the targets listed below have to be achieved by the end of the third year of implementation of PMAGY:</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>As far as possible, elimination of poverty, but <g class="gr_ gr_54 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="54" data-gr-id="54">reduction</g> in its incidence by at least 50% within three years.<br />Universal adult literacy</li>
<li>100% enrolment and retention of children at the elementary stage (<g class="gr_ gr_52 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="52" data-gr-id="52">I-VIII</g>).</li>
<li>Reduction of infant mortality rate (per thousand live births) to 30 and maternal mortality rate (per lakh) to 100, by 2012.</li>
<li><g class="gr_ gr_63 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="63" data-gr-id="63">Village</g> should fulfil the Nirmal Gram Puraskar norms of the Deptt. of Drinking Water Supply, M/o Rural Development, ie, these villages should be 100 % open defecation free</li>
<li>Access to safe drinking water facility to all villagers on a sustainable basis.</li>
<li>100% institutional deliveries for pregnant women</li>
<li>Full immunisation of children</li>
<li>Achieving all-weather road connectivity to the village</li>
<li>100% registration of deaths and births in the village</li>
<li>No child marriages, and child labour</li>
<li>No public consumption of liquor and other intoxicating substances</li>
<li>100% allotment of Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana (PMGAY) houses to all eligible families</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Ramon Magsaysay Awards, 2018</h3>
<p>Recently, two Indians have been named for the 2018 Ramon Magsaysay Awards.</p>
<p><img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/648image 1 (27-7-18).png" width="719" height="412" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" data-pagespeed-url-hash="3751877569" onload="pagespeed.CriticalImages.checkImageForCriticality(this);" /></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Sonam Wangchuk (an educational reformer from Ladakh) and Bharat Vatwani (a psychiatrist who works for mentally ill street persons in Mumbai) are among six winners of the award, which &ldquo;celebrates the greatness of spirit and transformative leadership in Asia.&rdquo;</li>
<li>The others are Youk Chhang from Cambodia, Maria de Lourdes Martins Cruz from East Timor, Howard Dee from the Philippines and Vo Thi Hoang Yen from Vietnam.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Note:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia&rsquo;s premier prize and highest honour, celebrates the greatness of spirit and transformative leadership in Asia.</li>
<li>The trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation select the awardees annually.</li>
<li>Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay was the third president of the Republic of the Philippines after World War II.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Eight-lane Bridge coming across Pamban Strait</h3>
<p>The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has started preparing a detailed project report (DPR) for construction of a world-class eight-lane road bridge across Pamban Strait to connect Rameswaram Island with the mainland.</p>
<p><img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/598image 2 (27-7-18) N.png" width="350" height="382" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" data-pagespeed-url-hash="3942376027" onload="pagespeed.CriticalImages.checkImageForCriticality(this);" /></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The existing (2.345-km-long Annai Indira Gandhi Bridge) road bridge, which was more than 29 years old, would be used for light motor vehicles.</li>
<li>The bridge would be built on the lines of Bandra-Worli Sea Link cable-stayed bridge in Mumbai as part of the four-lane road project of the 39-km-long Paramakudi-Ramanathapuram section and 63-km-long Ramanathapuram-Rameswaram section.</li>
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		(int) 19 => [
			'title' => 'Direct Benefit Transfer under MGNREGS',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>To streamline the fund flow mechanism and bring down delay in payment of wages, the Ministry of Rural Development has implemented the National Electronic Fund Management System (<g class="gr_ gr_78 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="78" data-gr-id="78">NeFMS</g>) in 24 States and 1 Union Territory.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This process reduces the delay in allocation of funds for payment of wages to the States and removes parking of funds at various levels.</li>
<li>As per NREGA Soft, around 99% of the wages are being paid electronically (as on 24.07.2018) into the Bank/Post Office accounts of MGNREGA workers through Electronic Fund Management System (<g class="gr_ gr_83 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="83" data-gr-id="83">eFMS</g>). Whereas in 2013-14, only 37% of the wages were paid electronically.</li>
<li>The Ministry along with the States/UTs has been making concerted efforts for improving the timely payment of wages. States/ UTs have been advised to generate pay orders in time.</li>
<li>This has resulted in considerable improvement in the status of timely generation of pay order and leading to improvement in <g class="gr_ gr_75 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="75" data-gr-id="75">actual</g> time taken to credit wages in the <g class="gr_ gr_79 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="79" data-gr-id="79">workers</g> account. In 2018-19 (as on 23.07.2018), 92% pay orders have been generated within 15 days.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg"><strong>Electronic Fund Management System (e-FMS)</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In order to streamline the system of fund releases and to avoid multiple levels of fund release and thereby do away with the delays and corruption, an electronic Fund Management System (e-FMS), has been introduced in MGNREGA.</li>
<li>Under this system, funds are held in one account at the State level (e-FMS Debit account) which is electronically linked to all implementing levels.</li>
<li>The implementing agency (Gram Panchayat/ Block), after due verification of the work and the muster rolls, generates an electronic Fund Transfer Order (FTO) to transfer the wages <g class="gr_ gr_72 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling" id="72" data-gr-id="72">direct</g> into the beneficiary accounts.</li>
<li>This electronic device allows transfer of wages within 2 working days into the accounts of the beneficiaries.</li>
<li>Although the funds are held centrally at State level, the decision to spend is taken at the field level.<br /><br /><strong>NREGA Soft</strong></li>
<li>NREGA Soft envisions implementing e-Governance across State, District and three tiers of Panchayati Raj Institutions.</li>
<li>It empowers the common man using the information technology as a facilitator.</li>
<li>NREGA Soft provides information to <g class="gr_ gr_65 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="65" data-gr-id="65">citizen</g> in compliance with the right to information Act (RTI Act).</li>
<li>It makes available all the documents like Muster Rolls, registration application register, job card/employment register/muster roll issue register, muster roll receipt register which are hidden from public otherwise.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Major Reasons for Delay in Generation of Pay Orders</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Delay in filling of attendance sheet on account of delayed submission of filled in Muster Roll by the Gram Rozgar Sahayak (GRS) or non-entry of attendance by Data entry operator within 2 days of closure of muster roll.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A <strong>&ldquo;muster roll&rdquo;</strong> is essentially a <g class="gr_ gr_80 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="80" data-gr-id="80">labour</g> attendance register, pertaining to a particular worksite and a particular period (e.g. two weeks). It is also used as a receipt, to claim funds from the Programme Officer for the payment of wages.<br /><br /><strong></strong></li>
<li><strong>Gram Rozgar Sahayak (GRS) or the Employment Guarantee Assistant</strong> assists the Gram Panchayat in executing MGNREGA works at Gram Panchayat level.<br />Other Functions:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Overseeing the process of registration, distribution of job cards, provision of dated receipts against job applications, allocation of work to applicants etc. c. Facilitating Gram Sabha meetings and social audits.</li>
<li>Recording attendance of <g class="gr_ gr_62 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="62" data-gr-id="62">labour</g> every day either himself/ herself or through the mate in the prescribed Muster Rolls at the work site.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Delay in <g class="gr_ gr_59 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="59" data-gr-id="59">measurement</g> of work due to <g class="gr_ gr_61 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="61" data-gr-id="61">inadequate</g> number of technicians.</li>
<li>Delay in <g class="gr_ gr_58 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="58" data-gr-id="58">generation</g> of wage list by data entry operator.</li>
<li>Lack of IT infrastructure at gram panchayat level.</li>
<li>Inadequate Core Banking Solution (CBS) based banking facility.</li>
<li>Mismatch of wage seekers <g class="gr_ gr_60 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="60" data-gr-id="60">account</g> information due to wrong entry of account particulars in NREGA Soft.</li>
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		'title' => 'Important Facts for Prelims (31st July 2018)',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Parkinson's disease</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Parkinson&rsquo;s disease is a chronic, degenerative neurological disorder that affects the body&rsquo;s motor system, often causing shaking and other difficulties in movement. Worldwide, about 10 million people have the illness.</li>
<li>A research team in Japan has announced their plan to conduct the first human trial to treat Parkinson&rsquo;s disease by injecting stem cells into brains. The trial is a follow up to successful trials on monkeys.</li>
<li>The primates with Parkinson&rsquo;s symptoms regained significant mobility after iPS cells were inserted into their brains.</li>
<li>The human trial will include plans to inject five million induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells, which have the potential to develop into any cell in the body, into a patient&rsquo;s brain.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>NOTE:</strong> Induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are pluripotent stem cells, i.e., capable of becoming any cell in the human body or behave like an embryonic stems cell.</li>
<li>They are generated from adult cells by reprogramming them.</li>
<li>iPSCs can self-renew and can differentiate into all cell types of the body except for cells in extra-embryonic tissues such as the placenta.</li>
<li>This capability enables the development of an unlimited source of any type of human cell needed for therapeutic purposes.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Dhangar: A Nomadic Tribe</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Leaders of the Dhangars community claim Dhangars in Maharashtra are the same as those who are called &ldquo;Dhangad&rdquo; elsewhere in the country and are listed as a Scheduled Tribe.</li>
<li>Dhangars are currently on the list of Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT) in Maharashtra. However, they have been demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the past several decades.</li>
<li>The Dhangars, a &lsquo;Nomadic Tribe, is a shepherd community who live mostly in Western Maharashtra and Marathwada and make up about 9% of Maharashtra&rsquo;s population.</li>
</ul>',
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	(int) 1 => [
		'title' => 'DAC Approves Strategic Partnership Guidelines',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>In a step to boost private sector participation in domestic defence manufacturing, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the implementation of Strategic Partnership (SP) guidelines to reduce timelines so as to ensure timely delivery of equipment to the Armed Forces</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The DAC has also approved platform-specific guidelines for procurement of Naval Utility Helicopters.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Highlights</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Strategic Partnership model aims to revitalise defence industrial ecosystem and progressively build indigenous capabilities in the private sector to design, develop and manufacture complex weapon system for future needs of armed forces.</li>
<li>The guidelines lay emphasis on promoting higher indigenous content and to incentivise the transfer of niche technology thus giving a major fillip towards encouraging self-reliance and aligning the defence sector with the 'Make in India ' initiative of the Government.</li>
<li>The SP model has four segments &mdash; submarines, single-engine fighter aircraft, helicopters and armoured carriers/main battle tanks &mdash; which would be specifically opened up for the private sector.</li>
<li>Under this policy, one Indian private company would be selected in each segment which would tie-up with shortlisted global equipment manufacturers to manufacture the platforms in India under technology transfer.</li>
<li>All procurements under the SP model would be executed by specially constituted Empowered Project Committees to provide <g class="gr_ gr_32 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="32" data-gr-id="32">focussed</g> attention and ensure timely execution.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Defence Acquisition Council</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>As per the recommendations of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on 'Reforming the National Security System', the Ministry of Defence had set up broad structures and systems to deal with acquisitions.</li>
<li>The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) under the Defence Minister was constituted for overall guidance of the defence procurement planning process.</li>
<li>The objective of the Defence Acquisition Council is to ensure expeditious procurement of the approved requirements of the Armed Forces in terms of capabilities sought and within the time frame.</li>
<li>The functions of the DAC include:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In principle approval of 15 Years Long Terms Integrated Perspective Plan for Defence Force</li>
<li>Accord of Acceptance of Necessity to acquisition proposals</li>
<li>categorization of the acquisition proposals relating to 'Buy', 'Buy &amp; Make' and 'Make'</li>
<li>Issues relating to Single vendor clearance</li>
<li>Decisions regarding 'offset' provisions in respect of acquisition proposals above Rs. 300 crore</li>
<li>Decisions regarding Transfer of Technology under 'Buy &amp; Make' category of acquisition proposals</li>
<li>Field Trial evaluation.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/dac-approves-strategic-partnership-guidelines'
	],
	(int) 2 => [
		'title' => 'Women Rice Farmers to be Trained in the Philippines',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Eight women farmers have been selected to visit the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines to learn about new rice farming techniques.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This is an initiative by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology.</li>
<li>At the forthcoming workshop, the women are expected to be exposed to &ldquo;advanced farming experiences and technological advancements.&rdquo;</li>
<li>Earlier at the IRRI&rsquo;s Bhubaneshwar centre, the women were taught about crop planning, stages of rice cultivation, pest and weed management, use of crop calendar, land selection, crop monitoring, post-harvest management and seed management.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>The International Rice Research Institute </strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>(IRRI) is the world&rsquo;s premier research organization dedicated to reducing poverty and hunger through rice science; improving the health and welfare of rice farmers and consumers; and protecting the rice-growing environment for future generations.</li>
<li>It is an independent, nonprofit, research and educational institute, founded in 1960 by the Ford and Rockefeller foundations with support from the Philippine government.</li>
<li>The institute is headquartered in Los Ba&ntilde;os, Philippines.</li>
<li>Recently, the IRRI South Asia Regional Center (ISARC), was inaugurated Varanasi, India. ISARC will serve as a hub for rice research and training in South Asia and the SAARC region.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Feminisation of&nbsp;Agriculture</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>As per Census 2011, the workforce participation rate for females is 25.51% against 53.26% for males. Among female workforce participation, 55% of women workers were agricultural labourers and 24% were cultivators.</li>
<li>However, only 12.8% of the operational holdings were owned by women, &nbsp;which reflect the gender disparity in ownership of landholdings in agriculture.</li>
<li>Moreover, there is concentration of operational holdings (25.7 per cent) by women in the marginal and small holdings categories.&rdquo;</li>
<li>According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger), there would be an increase in output by 20-30% if women farmers had the same access to resources as men, which would translate into &nbsp;dramatic reduction in hunger.</li>
<li>This requires that women farmers should have enhanced access to resources like land, water, credit, technology and training which warrants critical analysis in the context of India.</li>
<li>Towards this, Government has been implementing various schemes which help improve the entitlements of women farmers, which will prove to be advantageous in bridging the policy gaps which exits in the sector.</li>
<li>The following measures have been taken to ensure mainstreaming of women in agriculture sector:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Earmarking at least 30% of the budget allocation for women beneficiaries in all ongoing schemes/programmes and development activities.</li>
<li>Initiating women centric activities to ensure benefits of various beneficiary-oriented programs/schemes reach them.</li>
<li>Focusing on women self-help group (SHG) to connect them to micro-credit through capacity building activities and to provide information and ensuring their representation in different decision-making bodies.</li>
<li>Recognizing the critical role of women in agriculture, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has declared 15th October of every year as Women Farmer&rsquo;s Day.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/women-rice-farmers-to-be-trained-in-the-philippines'
	],
	(int) 3 => [
		'title' => 'Vengeance or Justice?',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<p><em>The article &ldquo;Climb the escalator of reason&rdquo; was published in The Hindu on 30-07-2018. Our editorial is a further extension and appropriation of the idea. We suggest readers to read both the Hindu&rsquo;s and our piece to get insights on the philosophical and ethical aspects of death penalty.<img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/16530072018.jpg" width="279" height="173" style="float: right;" data-pagespeed-url-hash="41597990" onload="pagespeed.CriticalImages.checkImageForCriticality(this);" /></em></p>
<p>Montesquieu said, <em>&ldquo;Every punishment, which does not arise from absolute necessity, is tyrannical&rdquo;</em>.</p>
<p>The death penalty is one of the most controversial subjects all over the world which has given rise to passionate and heated debates among proponents and abolitionists. On one hand, it may be contended to be an emotive issue having its roots basically in the vengeance sentiments of a mob, on the other it may be considered an exemplary penalty important for deterring homicidal crimes.</p>
<h3>India, Death Penalties and Mob lynchings</h3>
<p>In India, we have witnessed an increase in mob violence in the recent years. Although, many immediate factors may be attributed to this upsurge in incidences of mob violence such as inefficient law and order management, unaccountability of part of social media platforms such as Whatsapp and Facebook, hate mongering by some religious-fanatic and politically motivated groups. etc.</p>
<p>However, a psychoanalysis of such incidences render us the bitter truth that the <strong>vengeance mentality which is responsible for supporting death penalty is also a root cause of mob lynchings</strong>.</p>
<p>While, mob lynchings are being widely criticized by the intellectual class of our society, capital punishment most of them have long kept a mum on.</p>
<p>At the same time, we are seeing inclusion of more and more crimes in the category of &ldquo;heinous&rdquo; crimes for which the death sentence is to be awarded.</p>
<p>In April, the President signed the criminal law amendment ordinance having provisions for death penalty, for those convicted for the rape of girls below the age of 12 years.</p>
<p>The Punjab government even sought for death penalty for first-time drug abusers, peddlers and smugglers, earlier this July.</p>
<h3>The Idea of Justice</h3>
<p>Amartya Sen writes <em>&ldquo;a theory of justice that can serve as the basis of practical reasoning must include ways of judging how to reduce injustice and advance justice, rather than aiming only at the characterization of perfectly just societies&rdquo;</em>.</p>
<p>Mob lynchings should be seen as a reactionary <strong>retributive action,</strong> devoid of rational rumination. Similarly, capital punishment is a retributive action that doesn&rsquo;t confer justice to the victim but rather promulgates the idea of <strong>&ldquo;injustice for injustice&rdquo;</strong>. The basic thought process behind both of them are the same, which is that of satiating public anger.</p>
<p>Humans, with the advent of civilizations, felt the need to make &ldquo;laws&rdquo; in order to live in peace and security. This was a departure from previous system where violence was the only means to secure oneself food, partner or even peace. &ldquo;Civilization&rdquo; was essentially about giving up the idea of &ldquo;war for peace&rdquo;. Our lessons from the two World Wars highlight the same.</p>
<p>We need to rethink the idea of justice and what it means for a civilized society. The act of capital punishment or mob violence, both reflect more about the society which awards them these, rather than reflecting on the offenders. It suggests that we are forming a society that &ldquo;kills&rdquo;.</p>
<h3>Rational Thinking</h3>
<p>The one thing which is seriously undermined by the acts of mob justice is public reasoning. The hurry to make the offender suffer for what s/he has done snatches away from the public the opportunity to ruminate on the issue more rationally and devise more sustainable solutions of the issue. The ability to make informed decisions on the basis of interactive discourse is one of the most important indicators that can be used to measure how effectively a democracy functions.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Notwithstanding the extensive data we have on the ineffectiveness of brutal punishments in deterring crimes, the proponents of death penalty go on to justify such acts. When it comes to choosing between emotional impulse and reason, reason is that which leads to a more just, sustainable and liveable society.</p>
<h3>Certainty of Justice</h3>
<p>Often, death penalties are justified by saying that they instil in the minds of potential offenders <strong>&ldquo;a fear of law&rdquo;</strong>. However, the fact which is completely ignored is that it is the <strong>&ldquo;certain&rdquo;</strong> and <strong>&ldquo;timely&rdquo;</strong> <strong>delivery of justice</strong> which, creates a fear of law (if it is needed at all) rather than the &ldquo;brutality&rdquo; of justice&rdquo;.</p>
<p>The introduction of death penalty for non-homicidal crimes, unchecked by the court, *inspires the state to create &lsquo;short-term&rsquo; symbols of justice like the death penalty which regresses the notion of justice in the eyes of the public.</p>
<p>In cases of mob violence, the mob is convinced that the justice is certain, timely and also brutal. However, the process of ascertaining whether the accused is the offender and whether the punishment is proportionate, lacks the deliberation it requires.</p>
<p>Conferring the hardest of punishment is the easiest task for the state and the society. However coming up with more humane solutions is a daunting task. We should not forget that this is the aim for which we had institutionalized the process of justice delivery in the first place.</p>
<p>Over the course of human evolution, the number of cases in which capital punishment is awarded has lessened and only the most heinous crimes are now considered for the same. In 103 countries, capital punishment has been abolished, which includes France, United Kingdom and Bhutan. However, it still prevails in some countries including India, United States, Saudi Arabia etc. Is it worth patting our backs for being the largest democracy when we are in the league of nations like Saudi Arabia (who have no regard for human rights) with respect to capital punishment? Nevertheless, since we claim to be an ardent supporter of human rights, we cannot, at the same time, go retrograde when it comes to bettering our criminal justice system viz-a-viz capital punishment.</p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/vengeance-or-justice?'
	],
	(int) 4 => [
		'title' => 'Important Facts for Prelims (30th July 2018)',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3><strong>National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System-II (NASAMS-II)</strong></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is an advanced air defence system jointly developed by United States (US) and Norway.</li>
<li>India is in talks with the US to procure NASAMS-II to defend the National Capital Region (NCR), Delhi from aerial attacks (9/11 type attacks). It is in the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) stage now.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>NOTE</strong>: 'Acceptance of Necessity' clears the way for the tendering process to start.</p>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India is deploying a multi-tiered air defence network to fully secure its airspace from incoming fighter aircraft, missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).</li>
<li>The system would complement other systems such as the medium and long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems that are under procurement in India.</li>
<li>Apart from these imports, India is also developing an indigenous Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system.</li>
</ul>
<p><img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/893NASAMS - II.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" data-pagespeed-url-hash="1598902145" onload="pagespeed.CriticalImages.checkImageForCriticality(this);" /></p>
<h3></h3>
<h3>&lsquo;DigiYatra&rsquo;- A New Digital Experience for Air Travellers</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Civil Aviation Ministry is close to rolling out DigiYatra service at airports which seek to make flying speedy and hassle-free.</li>
<li>The basic objective is to reduce queues at airports and bring efficiency to the boarding process.</li>
<li>The&nbsp;&lsquo;DigiYatra&rsquo;&nbsp;is&nbsp;an industry-led initiative coordinated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in line with Digital India&rsquo;s vision to transform the nation into a digitally empowered society.</li>
<li>The&nbsp;DigiYatra&nbsp;initiative envisages providing airline travellers in India, a pioneering &lsquo;digitally unified flying experience&rsquo; across all stages of their journey.&nbsp;</li>
<li>It will deliver Indian customers a seamless, consistent and paperless service experience at every touch point of their journey.</li>
<li>The platform will be built on 4 key pillars, like Connected Passengers, Connected Airports, Connected Flying and Connected Systems.</li>
</ul>
<h3>World Tiger Day<img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/909image1.jpg" style="float: right;" width="503" height="377" /></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Global Tiger Day, often called International Tiger Day, is celebrated on </span><b>July 29</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to give worldwide awareness about tigers.</span></li>
<li>It was established at the <b>St. Petersburg Tiger Summit in 2010 </b><span>as a means to draw worldwide attention to the global plight of wild tigers.</span></li>
<li>The celebration is one of the many features of the <b>Tx2</b><span> pledge by &nbsp;</span><b>13 tiger range countries</b><span> who committed to efforts that would double the world&rsquo;s tiger population by 2022.</span></li>
<li>Out of <b>9 subspecies </b><span>of Tigers, </span><b>4 have become extinct</b><span>. The extinct subspecies are: Bali, Javan, Caspian and South China tiger. The remaining 5-- Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan, Sumatran and Amur tiger are still found in the range countries.</span></li>
<li>India had launched <b>Project Tiger in 1973</b><span> to conserve tigers. &nbsp;Till now, the coverage of &ldquo;Project Tiger&rdquo; has increased from 9 reserves to</span><b> 50 tiger reserves</b><span> spread across 18 states.</span></li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-30th-july-2018'
	],
	(int) 5 => [
		'title' => 'Arsenic Accumulation in Paddy Plants',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A recent publication by the Jadavpur University, has revealed rise in arsenic contamination of paddy plants from ground water in West Bengal.</li>
<li>It also highlighted that the &nbsp;concentration of &lsquo;arsenic accumulation&rsquo; depended on the variety of paddy and its stage in the crop cycle.</li>
<li>The study shows that arsenic uptake in the paddy plant reduces from root to grain, and that its concentration is related to the variety of the rice cultivated as well.</li>
<li>The study have also raised concerns over the disposal of the contaminated rice straw which is used as animal fodder or burnt or sometimes left in the field itself to serve as fertiliser.</li>
<li>In India, &nbsp;West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh in the flood plains of the Ganga; Assam and Manipur in the flood plains of the Brahamaputra and Imphal rivers and Rajnandgaon village in Chhattisgarh state have been reported to be affected by arsenic contamination in groundwater.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Arsenic</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Arsenic (As) is an odourless and tasteless metalloid widely distributed in the earth&rsquo;s crust.</li>
<li>Arsenic can get into the human body through drinking water as well as eating food that has been contaminated with arsenic.</li>
<li>Arsenicosis is the medical word for arsenic poisoning, which occurs due to accumulation of large amounts of arsenic in the body.</li>
<li>Arsenicosis leads to adverse health effects through inhibition of essential enzymes, which ultimately leads to death from multi-system organ failure.</li>
<li>Long-term exposure to arsenic from drinking-water and food can cause cancer and skin lesions. It has also been associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes. In utero and early childhood exposure has been linked to negative impacts on cognitive development and increased deaths in young adults.</li>
<li>Arsenic is one of WHO&rsquo;s 10 chemicals of major public health concern. WHO recommended current limit of arsenic in drinking-water is 10 &mu;g/L.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/arsenic-accumulation-in-paddy-plants'
	],
	(int) 6 => [
		'title' => 'Govt. Plans ‘ISRO-like’ Ocean Mission',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Recently, the Union Earth Sciences Ministry has unveiled a blueprint of the &lsquo;Deep Ocean Mission (DOM)&rsquo; to explore the deep recesses of the ocean.</p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It will develop an offshore desalination plant that will work with tidal energy.</li>
<li>Also to be developed is a submersible vehicle that can go to a depth of at least 6,000 metres with three people on board.</li>
<li>The mission proposes to explore the deep ocean similar to the space exploration started by ISRO about 35 years ago.</li>
<li>The focus will be on technologies for deep-sea mining, underwater vehicles, and underwater robotics and ocean climate change advisory services, among other aspects.</li>
</ul>
<h3>India&rsquo;s Share</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India has been allotted a site of 1,50,000 square kilometres in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) by the UN International Seabed Authority for exploitation of polymetallic nodules (PMN).</li>
<li>It is envisaged that 10% of recovery of that large reserve can meet the energy requirement of India for the next 100 years.</li>
<li>It has been estimated that 380 million metric tonnes of polymetallic nodules are available at the bottom of the seas in the Central Indian Ocean.</li>
<li>India&rsquo;s Exclusive Economic Zone spreads over 2.2 million square kilometres and in the deep sea, lies &ldquo;unexplored and unutilised&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p>Note: Polymetallic nodules (PMN) are rocks scattered on the seabed containing iron, manganese, nickel and cobalt</p>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/govt-plans-isro-like-ocean-mission'
	],
	(int) 7 => [
		'title' => 'EU Ruling on Gene Editing Technology',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>The European Court of Justice has ruled that altering living things using the relatively new technique of genome editing counts as genetic engineering.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It ruled that the gene editing technology (also called mutagenesis) would follow the same stringent guidelines as conventionally genetically modified organisms (GMO).</li>
<li>Genetic modification involves the introduction of foreign DNA into an organism, while gene editing involves editing of the organism&rsquo;s native genome.</li>
<li>The best-known genome-editing technique, known as CRISPR-Cas9, involves cutting strands of DNA with molecular "scissors". When the organism's natural repair systems kick in to repair the break, it presents scientists with the opportunity to insert the DNA sequence of their choosing - essentially rewriting the blueprint for life.</li>
<li>Scientists studying the effects of CRISPR/Cas9 said it could cause unexpected genetic damage which could lead to dangerous changes in some cells.</li>
</ul>
<h3>What EU court ruled</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Court of Justice said that organisms obtained by mutagenesis are GMOs within the meaning of the GMO Directive because the techniques and methods of mutagenesis alter the genetic material of an organism in a way that does not occur naturally.</li>
<li>It, however, leaves out other mutagenesis techniques like irradiation. It has observed that these have a proven track record and need not be considered under the same bracket.</li>
<li>All products made through gene editing to be regulated, assessed for their health and environmental impacts, and labelled.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Note:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Irradiation is a physical treatment of food with high-energy ionising radiation to:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Destroy microorganisms, viruses, bacteria or insects</li>
<li>Prevent germination and sprouting of potatoes, onions and garlic</li>
<li>Slow down ripening and ageing of fruit and vegetables</li>
<li>Prolong the shelf life and prevent food-borne diseases in meat, poultry and seafood</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Arguments of Scientists</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Scientists had hoped that gene editing technologies would find wider acceptance than GM, considering that gene editing does not involve introducing a foreign element into the plant&rsquo;s genetic code.</li>
<li>With gene editing, under appropriate regulations and policy, product development would be faster.</li>
<li>Gene editing has the potential to make hardier and more nutritious crops as well as offering drug companies a new way to fight human disease.</li>
<li>These techniques can be used to introduce new traits into a crop variety, for example, to make a plant resistant to herbicides. Yet the court ruling means that herbicide resistant crops produced through conventional breeding can be used freely, while crops produced using newer approaches must be subjected to intense scrutiny.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Arguments of Environmentalist</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Environmental organization have applauded the court&rsquo;s decision and they have called for all products made through gene editing to be regulated, assessed for their health and environmental impacts, and labelled.</li>
<li>Environmentalists, anti-GM groups and farmers concerned about the potential environmental and health impacts of all genetically engineered products said allowing gene editing would have ushered in a new era of &ldquo;GMO 2.0&rdquo; via the backdoor.</li>
<li>These genetic engineering techniques have the potential to radically change the food system, threatening non-GMO and organic agriculture and the livelihoods that depend on it.</li>
<li>The gene editing technology is not yet proven safe&mdash;an argument that may have gained weight after research suggested gene editing can cause risky collateral DNA damage.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Indian Scenario</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In India, as in the EU, GM crops have faced resistance from farmers and environmental groups that have called for proper study and labelling.</li>
<li>India does not have any regulations on CRISPR as it does on GMO crops.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/eu-ruling-on-gene-editing-technology'
	],
	(int) 8 => [
		'title' => 'All About the FASTag',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The FASTag is a reloadable tag that allows automatic deduction of toll without having to stop for carrying out the cash transaction. The tag uses radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and is fixed on the windscreen of the vehicle once active.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border">
<p><strong>NOTE</strong></p>
<p>Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) is the use of radio waves to read and capture information stored on a tag attached to an object. &nbsp;A tag can be read from up to several feet away and does not need to be within direct line-of-sight of the reader to be tracked.</p>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The tag is valid for five years and comes in seven different colours &mdash; violet, orange, yellow, green, pink, blue, black. Each colour is assigned to a particular category of vehicles.</li>
<li>It was rolled out in April 2016, &nbsp;and the Government made it mandatory from December 1, 2017 for all new cars and trucks to be fitted with a FASTag before they were sold.</li>
<li>To encourage the use of FASTags, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) refunds 5% of the total monthly transactions.</li>
<li>Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL) (a company incorporated by National Highways Authority of India) and National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) are implementing this program.</li>
<li>FASTag is presently operational at both, national and state highways.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Benefits</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Ease of payment &ndash; No need to carry cash for the toll transactions, saves time.</li>
<li>Near non-stop movement of vehicles leading to lower fuel cost.</li>
<li>Other benefits are:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Environmental benefit &nbsp;: reduced air pollution, reduced use of paper.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>Social benefit : reduced toll payment hassles ,analytics for better highway management.</li>
<li>Economic benefit : reduced effort in management at toll plaza, reduced effort in monitoring centrally.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/all-about-the-fastag'
	],
	(int) 9 => [
		'title' => 'Gold Council to Aid Exports on the Anvil',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>The Government of India has decided to set up a Domestic Council for Gold to aid exports of jewellery and to create an ecosystem to harness the true potential for jewellery-making in the country.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Also, a Coordination Committee will be set up to address of the gold industry. It will comprise senior officials of the Ministry of Commerce and members from the Gem &amp; Jewellery Export Promotion Council, who will meet regularly to ensure that industry concerns are addressed on a priority basis.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Highlights</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The council would work towards industrial development, job creation, the building of regional clusters and strengthening of value chains.</li>
<li>It will represent all the jewellers of India who will be the electoral college. They will form different interest groups and elect those who will sit in the council.</li>
<li>The council will also provide domestic support for exports.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The gold industry sector is a USD 41 billion export industry and it contributes 7 per cent to the country&rsquo;s economic growth and 15 per cent to exports.</li>
<li>With the industry witnessing a crisis of sorts as banks have curtailed lending to traders (due to Nirav Modi scam) and have been demanding collateral security and extensive documentation.</li>
<li>Gem and jewellery exports from India declined by 9 per cent between April and June to $10.1 billion against the $11.1 billion logged in 2017.</li>
<li>Also, a 3 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on exporters for procuring gold from nominated agencies is hampering jewellery exports from India.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Gem &amp; Jewellery Export Promotion Council</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Gem &amp; Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), headquartered in Mumbai, was set up by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India (GoI) in 1966.</li>
<li>The GJEPC is the apex body of the gems &amp; jewellery industry and represents almost 6,000 exporters in the sector.</li>
<li>It is one of several Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) launched by the Indian Government, to boost the country&rsquo;s export thrust, when India&rsquo;s post-Independence economy began making forays in the international markets.</li>
<li>Since 1998, the GJEPC has been granted autonomous status.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/gold-council-to-aid-exports-on-the-anvil'
	],
	(int) 10 => [
		'title' => 'The Big Picture – India’s Africa Outreach',
		'catname' => 'Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Discussions',
		'desc' => '<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pPHU7JFHmaU" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<div class="border">
<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a three-nation, five-day tour to Africa today (July 23, 2018). The visit to Africa comes ahead of the 10<sup>th</sup> BRICS summit in Johannesburg. First on the Prime Minister's itinerary is Rwanda, being referred as the <strong>"gateway to Africa"</strong>. PM Modi's visit to the nation, from July 23-24, will be the first by any Indian prime minister. PM Modi is being accompanied by a <strong>high level business delegation in a bid to take forward strategic partnership with Rwanda</strong>.</p>
</div>
<p>The PM will next visit Uganda, where he is slated to address the parliament of Uganda. <strong>Two lines of credit worth $164 million will be extended during the visit</strong>. PM Modi's visit to Uganda too will be <strong>the first by an Indian PM in 20 years</strong>. In the final leg, PM Modi will head to South Africa on July 25 to attend the BRICS summit.</p>
<h3>Why Rwanda and Uganda are important for India?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>According to the Ministry of External Affairs both the above mentioned countries are the Gateways to the larger blocs.</li>
<li><strong>Rwanda will be the Chairman of the African Union</strong> this year and consequently, would play a <strong>major strategic role</strong>. Besides, it is <strong>also at the forefront of the East African Community</strong>. In the past few years we have seen that India has developed a focused relationship with the continent and the visit to these countries would <strong>strengthen and further consolidate the relationship especially on the economic front</strong>.</li>
<li>As for Rwanda, it is a small <strong>country exerting a disproportionate influence in the region</strong>. The regime of Paul Kagame has consolidated power and had built a strong military and a thriving economy. It is a great success story.</li>
<li>Besides defense collaboration, Kagame wants to attract Indian investors.</li>
<li>These two countries would play a <strong>major role in south-south cooperation</strong>. The <strong>credit line of $164 million is supposed to be extended</strong>. This economic help <strong>would definitely increase India&rsquo;s soft power</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<h3>India and Africa relations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India&rsquo;s focus of Africa is not new. For the past 3 to 4 decades India has engaged actively with the continent. However, since the past decade the focus has been intensified and in the last couple of years the engagement has developed by leaps and bounds.</li>
<li><strong>The Third India-Africa Summit in Delhi was the jewel in the crown as for the first time India did not see Africa as a bloc but as individual countries comprising the African bloc</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>Strategically, politically and economically</strong> Africa is very important to us. Hence, the Indian Prime Minister is accompanied by a business delegation.</li>
<li>India is focusing on trilateral partnership like the <strong>Asia-Africa corridor with Japan</strong>. India has taken <strong>a more bottom up, participatory approach,</strong> whereby, it has looked into the aspirations that Africans have in their minds and not merely thrusting upon them from the top.</li>
<li>In the last couple of years India has made it a <strong>conversation and not a one way monologue</strong>. India has brought in African people into confidence.</li>
<li>India&rsquo;s engagement with the African countries has almost always been bilateral. Example, India-South Africa bilateral relations. Effort must be put in to engage with various trade blocs. Amongst them would be COMESA, ECOWAS, ECCAS,The African Free Trade Zone.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Is Africa Big Enough to Accommodate both India and China?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Presently the phenomenon of anti-globalisation has seen the western countries retracting from the world stage. The US and the European countries are vacating their position of influence from the continent. Hence, it is an <strong>opportunity for the Asian countries to fill up the shoes</strong>.</li>
<li>We should not see Africa as a competition ground for these two countries. Contrary to China, India is constrained by resources. Consequently, <strong>we should focus on our strength like solarisation of the continent, human resource development, entrepreneurship development, etc.</strong></li>
<li>Disillusionment with China&mdash;
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Most of the Chinese financing to africa is associated with securing the continent&rsquo;s natural resources. <strong>Also called the Angola Model,</strong> that is, providing low interest loans to nations who rely on commodities, such as oil or mineral resources, as collateral.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>The Chinese construction companies bring in chinese workers. Hence, employment generation which is one of the signs of healthy economic development remains stagnant.</li>
<li>Besides, the chinese military footprint is ever increasing.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In contrast to huge infrastructural loans sanctioned by Xi Jinping, the Indian Prime Minister will donate 200 cows in a rural part of Uganda as part of Paul Kagame&rsquo;s social mobility project. <strong>India has used a bottom up approach which will be beneficial for the relationship.</strong></li>
<li>The Chinese model enables the elites and the well-connected in Africa to make a lot of money and flourish. <strong>However, India is trying to engage with the Africans on a face to face basis, that is, more on a personal level.</strong> In the long run we should not face the backlash as much as the Chinese would.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Issues</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The issue of delivery</strong> has always been a problem. Like providing aids and grants have not been met in time. <strong>The reason is mainly because of bureaucracy and red tapism.</strong></li>
<li>However, gradually we have realised the harm it causes and we have tried to rectify it. And, the African countries have also acclimatised themselves with how India works. <strong>There are no surprises or shocks in the relationship now.</strong> &nbsp;</li>
<li>India has limited herself to the eastern part of the continent. Like Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia. The effort should be to expand to other part of the continent, especially the western part of the continent and engage countries like Morocco, Togo, Benin, Congo, etc.</li>
</ul>
<h3>The Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>India&rsquo;s cumulative trade with Africa is around $100 billion.</strong> Hence, there are ample opportunities here if we play to our strengths. Besides, the <strong>change in the demographics and gradual democratisation</strong> (like in Ethiopia) of Africa has opened up a window for India to further strengthen its relations democratically.</li>
<li>We have to develop people-to-people relationship <strong>like training doctors and teachers, and other professionals</strong>.</li>
<li>We have to make our presence felt in the West African countries. They are rich in natural resources particularly oil and raw materials. India can help countries like Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria fight the menace of Boko Haram.</li>
</ul>',
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	],
	(int) 11 => [
		'title' => 'Justice BN Srikrishna Committee Submits Data Protection Report',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>A committee headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Justice BN Srikrishna has submitted its report on "Data Protection Framework" to the Government.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Committee was constituted by the union government in July 2017, to deliberate on a data protection framework.</li>
<li>The Supreme Court in its <strong>Puttaswamy judgment, 2017</strong> declared privacy a fundamental right. This set the government in motion to take steps to bring a new data protection legislation for the country.</li>
<li>The report has emphasized that interests of the citizens and the responsibilities of the state have to be protected, but not at the cost of trade and industry.<br />The Committee has also proposed a draft Personal Data Protection Bill.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Highlights from the Report&nbsp;<img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/980DATA.jpg" style="float: right;" width="589" height="378" data-pagespeed-url-hash="3330125528" onload="pagespeed.CriticalImages.checkImageForCriticality(this);" /></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Individual Consent:</strong> The proposed Bill makes individual consent the centrepiece of data sharing, awards rights to users, imposes obligations on data fiduciaries (all those entities, including the State, which determine purpose and means of data processing).<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Consent will be a lawful basis for processing of personal data. However, the law will adopt a modified consent framework thereby making the data fiduciary liable for harms caused to the data principal.</li>
<li>The Data Protection Bill also calls for privacy by design on part of data processors, and defines terms like consent, data breach, sensitive data, etc.</li>
<li><strong>Right to be forgotten:</strong> It refers to the ability of individuals to limit, delink, delete, or correct the disclosure of personal information on the internet that is misleading, embarrassing, irrelevant, or anachronistic.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Data Protection Authority:</strong> The data protection law will set up a Data Protection Authority (DPA), which will be an independent regulatory body responsible for the enforcement and effective implementation of the law. The DPA shall perform the following primary functions:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>monitoring and enforcement</li>
<li>legal affairs, policy and standard setting</li>
<li>research and awareness</li>
<li>inquiry, grievance handling and adjudication</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Personal Data</strong>: The law will cover processing of personal data by both public and private entities.The law will have jurisdiction over the processing of personal data if such data has been used, shared, disclosed, collected or otherwise processed in India.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Bill has proposed that critical personal data of Indian citizens be processed in centres located within the country.</li>
<li>Sensitive personal data will include passwords, financial data, health data, official identifier, sex life, sexual orientation, biometric and genetic data, and data that reveals transgender status, intersex status, caste, tribe, religious or political beliefs or affiliations of an individual. However, the DPA will be given the residuary power to notify further categories in accordance with the criteria set by law.</li>
<li>Additionally, personal data collected, used, shared, disclosed or otherwise processed by companies incorporated under Indian law will be covered, irrespective of where it is actually processed in India. However, the data protection law may empower the Central Government to exempt such companies which only process the personal data of foreign nationals not present in India.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Data Storage:</strong> The Bill lays out provisions on data storage, making it mandatory for a copy of personal data to be stored in India.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Appellate Tribunal:</strong>The Central Government shall establish an appellate tribunal or grant powers to an existing appellate tribunal to hear and dispose of any appeal against an order of the DPA.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Penalties:</strong> Penalties may be imposed for violations of the data protection law. The penalties imposed would be an amount up to the fixed upper limit or a percentage of the total worldwide turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Committee has suggested a penalty of Rs. 15 crore or 4% of the total worldwide turnover of any data collection/processing entity, for violating provisions. Failure to take prompt action on a data security breach can attract up to Rs. 5 crore or 2% of turnover as a penalty.</li>
<li>The penalties paid by violating entities in this case will be deposited to a <strong>Data Protection Fund</strong>, which will, among other purposes, finance the functioning of the Data Protection Authority.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Obligations on Fiduciaries and rights to principles</strong> are the two underlying themes of the Bill. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Obligations would include &ldquo;purpose limitation&rdquo; where data will be used only for clear, specific and lawful purposes and &ldquo;collection limitation&rdquo; where only data necessary for the purpose would be collected and be held as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose.</li>
<li>The Bill lays out obligations for fiduciaries to ensure no harm to the user, with transparency and security safeguards; a data protection impact assessment is embarked upon before new technologies are introduced; data policies are audited by a data auditor; and they have data protection officers.</li>
<li>For data processors not present in India, the Act will apply to those carrying on business in India or other activities such as profiling which could cause privacy harms to data principals in India.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">The law <strong>will not have retrospective application</strong> and it will come into force in a structured and phased manner.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Impact on allied laws:</strong>The report has also listed the impact of the proposed data protection framework on allied laws, including the Aadhaar Act and the RTI Act, which require or authorise processing for personal data for different objectives.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The committee has noted that the Aadhaar Act is silent on the powers of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to take enforcement action against errant companies in its ecosystem. The Aadhaar Act needs to be amended to bolster data protection.</li>
<li>The report has also recommended amendments to the RTI Act, pointing out that disclosure of information from public authorities may lead to private harm being caused.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Exceptions:</strong> The state can process data without consent of the user on ground of public welfare, law and order, emergency situations where the individual is incapable of providing consent, employment, and reasonable purpose.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Processing of data for certain interests such as security of the State, legal proceedings, research and journalistic purpose, may be exempt from certain obligations of the proposed data protection law.</li>
<li>However, adequate security safeguards must be incorporated in the law to guard against potential misuse.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Cross border data transfers</strong> of personal data, other than critical personal data, will be through model contract clauses containing key obligations with the transferor being liable for harms caused to the principal due to any violations committed by the transferee.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Personal data determined to be critical will be subject to the requirement to process only in India (there will be a prohibition against cross border transfer for such data).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Data of Children:</strong> Committee has made specific mention of the need for separate and more stringent norms for protecting the data of children, recommending that companies be barred from certain types of data processing such as behavioural monitoring, tracking, targeted advertising and any other type of processing which is not in the best interest of the child.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li style="text-align: left;">The justification for such differential treatment arises from the recognition that children are unable to fully understand the consequences of their actions. This is only exacerbated in the digital world where data collection and processing is largely opaque and mired in complex consent forms.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">The committee&rsquo;s recommends that the Data Protection Authority will have the power to designate websites or online services that process large volumes of personal data of children as guardian data fiduciaries.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">The committee noted that this approach, of placing the onus of properly processing the data of a child on the company, is preferable to the existing regulatory approach which is based solely on a system of parental consent.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">The parental concern is prone to circumvention. It risks encouraging children to lie about their age, without achieving the intended purpose of protection.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Concerns</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Though the draft bill addresses various issues plaguing the data ecosystem in India, it falls short on key principles that are at the core of a robust data protection framework</li>
<li>The Bill proposes that personal data of individuals can be processed for the exercise of any function of the state. This can be done without the consent of the individual as long as it is to provide a service or benefit to the individual. This runs directly counter to the articulation of informed consent as central to informational privacy in the Puttaswamy judgment, 2017.</li>
<li>One key subject missing from the draft bill is the reform of surveillance laws. There is very little legislative and judicial oversight on surveillance activities carried out in India.<br />As proposed by the Bill, requiring all businesses to store data within India, without any reform of surveillance governance, can pose even bigger privacy issues in the future.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Bringing in a legislation on the data protection in the country would protect individual privacy, ensure autonomy, allow data flows for a growing data ecosystem.</li>
<li>It can create a free and fair digital economy where freedom is the enhancement of individual autonomy with regard to personal data and fairness is the regulatory framework where this individual right is respected.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/justice-bn-srikrishna-committee-submits-data-protection-report'
	],
	(int) 12 => [
		'title' => 'India in the AI Race',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<p><em>This article is based on an opinion piece published in The Hindu &ldquo;AI superpower or client nation?&rdquo; and has inputs from various sources.</em></p>
<p>American author and programmer Daniel Keys Moran says <em>&ldquo;You can have data without information but you cannot have information without data.&rdquo;</em> If the 20<sup>th</sup> century was of computers, 21<sup>st</sup> was of Information Technology, then the next century is going to be of Artificial Intelligence. So, what drives AI? - Big Data. The raw and unstructured data extracted from different sources is processed to create BIG Data which is then used to train AI. In a way, Big Data acts as fuel for AI i.e. Artificial Intelligence be the catalyst that brings ROI &amp; tangible asset value to data.</p>
<p>Top governments and corporates envision that the future is going to be all about the ownership of data and the power to analyze it - and that is what Artificial Intelligence (AI) does. While India has made its mark in the IT sector, it is yet to carve out its place in the world of Artificial Intelligence.</p>
<h3>Countries in AI race</h3>
<p><strong>China,</strong> alongside the US, is already a world leader in terms of AI research. China has published the most research papers, among leading countries, on <strong>deep learning</strong> in the last few years. Coupled with the fact the country benefits from a huge supply of data &ndash; generated from its estimated 750 million internet-using population &ndash; China&rsquo;s dominance in AI is a highly likely future.</p>
<p>The US benefits from a well-established tech scene. Apple, Facebook and Tesla have already invested billions in AI research in the recent years. And Microsoft remains the top organisation when it comes to producing <strong>high-value quoted research,</strong> with Google and IBM also making names for themselves in this space.</p>
<p>It&rsquo;s worth noting that other countries are also making strides in AI.<strong> Last year, the United Arab Emirates became the first country with a government minister dedicated to AI</strong>. Russia plans to make 30% of its country&rsquo;s military equipment robotic by 2025. And Singapore&rsquo;s government pledged SG$150 million to AI industry research just last year. Apart from these, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the UK are other countries are moving towards automation at a fast pace.</p>
<h3>Where Does India Stand?</h3>
<p>No doubt that India also hopes to become an AI powerhouse in near future. The NITI Aayog released a report on National Strategy on AI which underlines the importance of AI in transforming every sector of the economy and how India is going to harness its potential for public welfare.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Strategy on Artificial Intelligence</strong></p>
<p><em><strong>Key Highlights:</strong></em></p>
<p>NITI Aayog has decided to focus on five sectors that are envisioned to benefit the most from AI (in solving societal needs):</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Healthcare:</strong> Increased access and affordability of quality healthcare.</li>
<li><strong>Agriculture:</strong> Enhanced farmers&rsquo; income, increased farm productivity and reduction of wastage.</li>
<li><strong>Education:</strong> Improved access and quality of education.</li>
<li><strong>Smart Cities and Infrastructure:</strong> Efficient connectivity for the burgeoning urban population.</li>
<li><strong>Smart Mobility and Transportation:</strong> Smarter and safer modes of transportation and better traffic and congestion management.</li>
</ul>
<p>To truly reap the benefits of deploying AI at scale, the report identifies the <strong>following barriers</strong> that need to be addressed in order to achieve the goals of <strong>#AIforAll</strong>:</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Lack of broad based expertise in research and application of AI.</li>
<li>Absence of enabling data ecosystems &ndash; access to intelligent data.</li>
<li>High resource cost and low awareness for adoption of AI.</li>
<li>Privacy and security, including a lack of formal regulations around anonymisation of data.</li>
<li>Absence of a collaborative approach to adoption and application of AI.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>Budget allocation for <strong>Digital India,</strong> the government&rsquo;s umbrella initiative to promote AI, <strong>machine learning, 3D printing,</strong> and other technologies, has been almost doubled.</p>
<p>NITI Aayog is also working on building the country&rsquo;s largest blockchain network &ndash; <strong>IndiaChain</strong>. IndiaChain will be linked to <strong>IndiaStack</strong> and other government digital identification databases. IndiaStack is a set of code developed around India&rsquo;s unique identity project <strong>Aadhaar</strong>.</p>
<p>India lags far behind in terms of owning its own large commercial digital databases. Even the handful of Indian ventures present in the market are being taken over gradually eg. taking over of Flipkart by Walmart.</p>
<p>India isn&rsquo;t faring badly, though. <strong>Over half (58%) of the companies using AI in the country work at scale</strong>. But, India is yet to devise a law on data protection and privacy. However, Justice BN Srikrishna committee has submitted its report on data protection recently.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Recommendations of Justice BN Srikrishna Committee</strong></p>
<p>The committee recommends that</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Processing (collection, recording, analysis, disclosure, etc) of personal data should be done only for &ldquo;clear, specific and lawful&rdquo; purposes.</li>
<li>The committee also recommends giving a person the &ldquo;right to be forgotten.&rdquo;</li>
<li>&ldquo;Sensitive&rdquo; personal data (such as passwords, financial data, sexual orientation, biometric data, religion or caste) should not be processed unless someone gives explicit consent.</li>
<li>A Data Protection Authority which is supposed to &ldquo;protect the interests of data principals (persons giving their data) should be set up.</li>
<li>Aadhaar Act 2016 should be amended to ensure autonomy of the UIDAI and to &ldquo;bolster data protection&rdquo;.</li>
<li>RTI Act 2003 should be amended so, that there is no obligation to reveal personal information which was not related to &ldquo;public activity or interest&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>What can India do?</h3>
<p>The various applications and strategies mentioned in the NITI aayog report <strong>emphasize &ldquo;using AI&rdquo;</strong>. However, <strong>what we are missing out on is &ldquo;developing AI&rdquo; of our own</strong>.</p>
<p>It is being speculated that India might end up as a <strong>big consumer of the new tech-economy featuring AI and IoT (Internet Of Things) related technologies</strong>.</p>
<p>Further. we cannot afford to become the source of big data for corporations all over the world which are mostly foreign. Also, a non-AI military against an AI-powered one will be like a hapless infantry unit facing an armoured division.</p>
<p>Thus, it is high time that India realizes that the control that comes with Artificial Intelligence, it <strong>military, economic or political,</strong> is of paramount importance in deciding the future leaders of the world.</p>
<p>The plethora of <strong>start-ups is not going to serve as a storehouse of big data</strong> that is needed to develop Artificial Intelligence for a country as big as India, especially when they can be easily bought by giants like Amazon, Walmart, Facebook or Google.</p>
<p><em>&ldquo;Indian policymakers should be aiming at the highest levels of new value chains that AI will create in every sector. It is mastery over the systemic cores of AI where the real national advantage lies.&rdquo;</em> We need to create centres of AI ecosystem instead of focussing on peripherals like small IT industries. Instead, we need big digital corporations with a global outreach that can compete with other similar platforms all over the world.</p>
<p>For this, it is important that the government makes policy interventions that give a push to domestic data-based sectoral platforms, like in e-commerce, urban transport, agriculture, health, education, etc.</p>
<p><em>&ldquo;Such policy protection alone will ensure that we have large-scale data-driven Indian companies able to develop the highest AI in every sector, by employing huge Indian data to solve (equally huge) Indian problems.&rdquo;</em></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/india-in-the-ai-race'
	],
	(int) 13 => [
		'title' => 'Lending Hands to Someone is Better than Giving a Dole',
		'catname' => 'Model Essays',
		'desc' => '<p><strong><em>&ndash;Aditya Choppa</em></strong></p>
<p>Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others. According to <g class="gr_ gr_112 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="112" data-gr-id="112">Dalai</g> Lama, our prime purpose in life is to help others. Helping each other is what makes us humans special. Compassion and altruism are the basic components of humanness. Even the most hard-hearted person might have helped someone in need at some point <g class="gr_ gr_109 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="109" data-gr-id="109">of</g> time. Helping others is the fundamental characteristic of humans, but different people do it in different ways. Some tend to donate money to charitable <g class="gr_ gr_128 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="128" data-gr-id="128">organisations</g>, some people give money to the poor directly, some people volunteer to do social work, while some create work for others. It is important to understand which type of help is most beneficial to humankind. As a Chinese proverb says, "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." This essay gives examples of alternative ways of helping people that are more helpful than just donating money.</p>
<p>Recently, Chennai experienced one of the worst floods in over 100 years. Life had come to a standstill. The repercussions were such that almost all aspects of life were affected in the city, from public transport, railways, flights to electricity supply. In such <g class="gr_ gr_89 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="89" data-gr-id="89">crisis</g>, help poured in from different corners of the world. Many contributed to <g class="gr_ gr_114 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="114" data-gr-id="114">flood</g> relief fund. But this help couldn't reach the Chennai residents in time as the transportation facilities were derailed. This money could be only used for rehabilitation. But the helping nature of the locals, the various business entities in Chennai and initiatives by tech companies helped immensely in avoiding a major disaster. Individuals opened their houses while schools, movie theatres <g class="gr_ gr_124 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="124" data-gr-id="124">and</g> marriage halls welcomed families and persons who needed a safe and dry shelter. Facebook initiated a Safety Check feature for Chennai floods, BSNL gave users in Chennai free local and STD calls, Paytm gave residents of Chennai a Rs 30 recharge to help them stay connected during floods, Ola joined hands - and resources - with the Chennai fire department to help residents reach their homes safely and Zomato launched 'Meal for flood relief' wherein people could order free meals for flood victims. Chennai floods made people united and take efforts to combat the disaster. Clearly, the helping hand lent by individuals and different companies helped the Chennai flood victims more than the money donated to the flood relief fund.</p>
<p>This principle can be seen in our day-to-day life too. Many of us tend to give money or food to beggars. This doesn't really help them to get out of poverty. In India, begging is quite often carried out in organized gangs. Beggars have also been known to deliberately maim and disfigure themselves to get more money. In these circumstances, real help would be, to provide some source of livelihood to them, rather than giving them money which <g class="gr_ gr_123 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="123" data-gr-id="123">incentivises</g> them to continue their lifestyle. It would be more compassionate to buy an item from a street hawker, even if we don't require it, to provide him <g class="gr_ gr_94 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="94" data-gr-id="94">livelihood</g>. Many of us tend to donate money to different welfare <g class="gr_ gr_129 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="129" data-gr-id="129">organisations</g>, orphanages, old-age homes, NGOs etc. But some of them could be just scams, while some <g class="gr_ gr_134 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="134" data-gr-id="134">organisations</g> may waste money on managerial duties instead of actually helping the needy. It would be much more useful if we give clothes, blankets, food or time to these <g class="gr_ gr_138 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="138" data-gr-id="138">organisations</g> depending on the need. Instead of giving money, it would be much more useful if one can lend his/ her expertise to help others. For example, a teacher can provide free <g class="gr_ gr_80 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="80" data-gr-id="80">tutions</g> for the poor, a doctor can volunteer some time in a week at a free clinic, a lawyer can provide his legal services to the poor and a software engineer can help in decreasing digital divide. In this way, one can ensure that their contribution directly benefits the people in need.</p>
<p>In democratic states, the governments have a tendency to provide a number of freebies, especially during election year. Loans are waived, electricity is subsidized, water is subsidized, free television and laptops are given and so on. But the need of the hour - better governance, timely public services, <g class="gr_ gr_79 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="79" data-gr-id="79">corruption free</g> state, good public infrastructure, good business environment, reliable law and order etc - are not provided. If there are no irrigation canals, the subsidized fertilizers are of no use to a farmer in drought years. If there are constant power cuts, the subsidized electricity doesn't help the industries in the area. Providing free education without increasing the number of quality teachers doesn't solve the problems of education. Clearly, doling out money instead of providing good governance is not a step in the right direction.</p>
<p>Even in international relations, the utility of rendering a helping hand rather than giving aid in money can be recognized. America has been giving billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan to keep a lid on the Taliban issue. Much of the American money is not making its way to frontline Pakistani units. Money has been diverted to help finance weapons designed to counter India, not Al Qaeda or the Taliban. This is an illustration of how aid money can be wrongly utilized and in fact can be counter-productive to the intended purpose. In contrast, India's aid to Africa is quite productive as it contributes by supporting human resource development, building Pan African e-network which now connects 48 African countries, increasing foreign direct investment, sending peacekeeping forces etc. Clearly, there is larger scope for misuse of financial aid than the aid provided in kind. Projects <g class="gr_ gr_140 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_hide gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation multiReplace replaceWithoutSep replaceWithoutSep" id="140" data-gr-id="140">like developing roads, developing human resources, constructing dams, providing medical services in countries like Afghanistan</g> will <g class="gr_ gr_81 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="81" data-gr-id="81">nnot</g> only ensure that aid has reached the deserving people, but it will also increase the goodwill towards the country providing aid. This principle can be used in Climate Change negotiations too. More than the money given for the less developed countries to counter climate change, giving them technology that enables development at lower carbon emissions will help them more. This has to be recognized and <g class="gr_ gr_131 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="131" data-gr-id="131">focus</g> should be on <g class="gr_ gr_125 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="125" data-gr-id="125">transfer</g> of technology rather than on increasing money for Green Climate Fund (GCF).</p>
<p>It is not that money and financial resources are unimportant, in <g class="gr_ gr_122 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="122" data-gr-id="122">fact</g> they are <g class="gr_ gr_96 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="96" data-gr-id="96">essential</g> part for <g class="gr_ gr_103 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="103" data-gr-id="103">success</g> of most of the humanitarian efforts. While a major disaster during the Chennai floods was averted due to the helping nature of the locals, the rehabilitation was possible because of the money donated by philanthropic people. While some of the beggars are part of an organized gang, there are a lot of people languishing in poverty who do need financial assistance. Social security net for the poor is essential even in developed countries. Many under-developed and developing countries do need aid <g class="gr_ gr_126 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="126" data-gr-id="126">money,</g> so that the help received can be <g class="gr_ gr_135 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="135" data-gr-id="135">utilised</g> in accordance <g class="gr_ gr_113 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="113" data-gr-id="113">to</g> the needs at ground level. Clearly, money is <g class="gr_ gr_108 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="108" data-gr-id="108">intrinsic</g> part of most of the help being given, but one should recognize that there is much more to <g class="gr_ gr_118 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="118" data-gr-id="118">helping</g> others than just providing money. Doling out money should not become the de facto method of helping others. There are many more valuable ways in which one can help others. Giving financial help is just one of the ways.</p>
<p>Helping others should be the primary motivation <g class="gr_ gr_99 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="99" data-gr-id="99">of</g> any human being. The help need not always be in the form of donating money. Rendering a helping hand <g class="gr_ gr_105 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="105" data-gr-id="105">through</g> offering services or expertise is much more valuable. Moreover, one should recognize the kind of help that is required. Different circumstances require different kinds of help. In the example of Chennai floods, the most appropriate help at that time was to provide shelter and food, which could be arranged at a short notice, thanks to the helping nature of Chennaites. In most circumstances, one should help people help themselves. As Henry Ford has said, "Time and money spent in helping men to do more for themselves is far better than mere giving".</p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/mains/model-essays/lending-hands-to-someone-is-better-than-giving-a-dole'
	],
	(int) 14 => [
		'title' => 'Make Ethanol Directly From Sugarcane Juice',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Recently, the government has notified a decision to allow sugar mills to manufacture ethanol directly from sugarcane juice or an intermediate product called B-molasses.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The move would help mills divert cane juice for ethanol manufacturing during surplus years.</li>
<li>Sugar mills are incurring losses as prices of sugar have fallen below the production cost because of surplus production i.e. the supply is more than the demand (32 million tonnes produced in 2017-18 season as compared to the annual domestic demand of 25 million tonnes).</li>
<li>According to Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), the losses currently stand at Rs 63 per quintal, based on the Rangarajan panel&rsquo;s linkage formula.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p>Note: The Rangarajan Committee linkage formula, based on revenue-sharing, determines cane prices at 70 percent of revenue generated by sugar and by-product sales or 75 per cent from sugar alone, with 5 percent weightage given to by-products.</p>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>At present, ethanol is allowed to be made only of C-heavy molasses, a cane by-product that has no sugar content left in it. Whereas, the B-heavy molasses and sugarcane juice have some sucrose content left in them for sugar production.</li>
<li>The sugarcane control order of 1966 has been amended in this regard and the same has been notified by the Union Food Ministry.</li>
<li>The move follows the government&rsquo;s decision to make available subsidised loans of Rs 4,440 crores to sugar mills to create additional ethanol capacity.</li>
<li>Oil marketing companies (OMCs) procure ethanol from sugar mills for blending with petrol. India, which is over 80 per cent dependent on imports to meet its oil needs, has mandated blending of up to 10 per cent ethanol in petrol but inadequate availability has restricted this to less than 4 per cent.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Impact of the Decision</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The move will enable mills to trim surplus sugar output (in times of excessive cane supplies) by diverting a portion of B-heavy molasses for ethanol production, without further extracting sugar out of it, so that prices of the sweetener don&rsquo;t crash unreasonably.</li>
<li>In June, the government has fixed the price of ethanol produced from intermediary or B-molasses at Rs 47.49 per litre for the marketing year starting December 2018.</li>
<li>The price of ethanol produced from C-molasses has been raised by Rs 3 per litre to Rs 43.70 per litre. Therefore, a higher price for ethanol will incentivise higher ethanol production.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/make-ethanol-directly-from-sugarcane-juice'
	],
	(int) 15 => [
		'title' => 'Agitations for Reservations and the Way Out',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<p>Reservations in India has grappled with the question of whether &ldquo;caste&rdquo; or &ldquo;class&rdquo; should be made the basis of giving reservation to a section of the population. While a lot many were the proponents of using only economic backwardness as a criterion for reservation, many others held the view that social backwardness also needs be included in it.</p>
<p>In the landmark <strong>Indra Sawhney case</strong>, the Supreme Court held that &ldquo;social backwardness&rdquo; is a measure of marginalization of a community and a purely economic criterion would allow the higher-ups in the hierarchy of social status to monopolise state power, which will nullify the purpose of <g class="gr_ gr_82 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="82" data-gr-id="82">reservation</g>.</p>
<p>The agitations against caste-based reservations picked up its peak when the reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) was introduced by Mandal Commission in 1989. Over time, the anti-reservation agitations have taken the form of violent groups demanding reservations for themselves.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/679708840-maratha-protest-pti.jpg" width="701" height="394" style="display: block; margin: auto;" data-pagespeed-url-hash="398442289" onload="pagespeed.CriticalImages.checkImageForCriticality(this);" caption="false" alt="Image: Maratha Reservation stir in Maharashtra (Source: DNAIndia)" /><span style="font-size: 12px;">Image: Maratha Reservation stir in Maharashtra (Source: <g class="gr_ gr_84 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="84" data-gr-id="84">DNAIndia</g>)</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>In recent times, a multitude of communities, consisting of both dominant and cornered groups, have launched agitations in various parts of the countries demanding reservations. This includes Patidars in Gujarat, Gujjars in Rajasthan, Jats in Haryana, Tea Tribes in Assam and the most recent - Marathas in Maharashtra. Their agitations can be described in a number of factors which include farming crisis and rising unemployment among others.&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Crisis in Agriculture</h3>
<p>The occupation of farming has become an unviable one due to low prices, underdeveloped irrigation system, decrease in landholding size and lack of government support and it has rendered the powerful farming community to a state of debt and depression.</p>
<p>Having prospered after the green revolution, these castes are now facing agrarian distress and deep stagnation in the rural economy. According to the National Sample Survey (NSS 59th round), the average land holding in India came down from 2.63 acres in 1960-61 to 1.06 acres in 2003-4, or down by about 60% in four decades.</p>
<h3>Unemployment</h3>
<p>As farming became less and less profitable, rural youth migrated to cities in search of jobs. The avenues for government jobs were scarce and private jobs paid very low wages. This was one of the reasons the Patidars in Gujarat demanded an end to private educational institutions that charged high prices from students but could not give them jobs due to the lack of quality in the education so received.</p>
<p>The lack of jobs is one of the major reasons for the unreserved communities blaming the reserved ones for taking up their jobs. The uneven economic development and unequal distribution of its fruits have led a section to believe that reservation is the reason for their miseries.</p>
<h3>Corporate-driven Economic Model Leading to an Increased Rift Between Rich and Poor</h3>
<p>Following the boom of private industries, farmers sold their lands at high prices. However, soon they realized that they were not gaining much from these industries. With time, the money earned from selling land was exhausted and they were left with nothing but despair. Some of them invested in MSMEs but even these met with failure, given the lack of skills and expertise, red-tapism and lack of support from the government.</p>
<h3>Resentment Towards OBCs</h3>
<p>While the dominant castes see their power declining, their resentment towards the OBCs and especially the creamy layer, grew by leaps and bounds.</p>
<p>Grievances over reservations existed before Mandal but it did not lead to serious conflicts or turmoil. Numerous surveys and official statistics pointed out the fact that the reservation of OBCs has empowered the poor. Nevertheless, it led to a new breed of identity politics and a spate of violence and unrest that keeps recurring at an alarming frequency.</p>
<h3>Political Interests</h3>
<p>Many of the agitations are a byproduct of mobilization of populations by a few in order to gain political advantage. Though it is righteous to demand proportional representation in a democracy, these agitations seldom achieve the purported goals. Most of the participants indulge in arson and violent acts and serve as pawns for the political agents.</p>
<h3>The Way Ahead</h3>
<p>We need to view reservations with a more critical and neutral lens, where though it has helped many sections, it is a limited concession which does not tackle the root of the problem necessary for the social and economic emancipation of the marginalized. The SC/ST communities still lag far behind other communities in terms of education, employment or social status. Thus, it is important that the problem is addressed in a more holistic manner.</p>
<p>First, most of the agitations come from the peasant class. Therefore, agrarian reforms need immediate attention so that the agitated rural poor can be pacified.</p>
<p>Second, if social justice is the cornerstone of the reservation policy, India is at a juncture where social justice can only be ensured by creating jobs on a large scale and not by further extending reservations along caste lines.</p>
<p>Third, reservations in India essentially refers to the inclusion of subordinated and marginalised groups. We need to rethink that poverty as a new face of subordination and therefore economically backward classes need to be included just the same.</p>
<p>Fourth, many castes that form the creamy layer of OBC have been questioned on the basis of their comparatively better social status. Thus, further filtering of the reserved category will enable the benefits of reservations to reach only the most deserving ones.</p>
<p>Fifth, it is important to condemn and oppose the manoeuvrings of greedy political leaders who seek to make <g class="gr_ gr_79 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="79" data-gr-id="79">reservation</g> a device for consolidating their influence and thereby fan caste divisions and divide the people. This is a cynical manipulation of the aspirations of the most oppressed sections of the downtrodden castes.</p>
<p>Last but not the least, the government and the people need to work together for the upliftment of the depressed classes. If increased reservations in educational institutions are present, it must go hand in hand with compensatory increases in seats in higher education for the unreserved, so that no deserving candidate is deprived of his higher education.</p>
<p>The pace at which these agitations are gaining momentum serves as a warning for all of us. Not only it undermines social harmony and peace, it also threatens our democracy by instilling in us the attributes of a mobocracy.</p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/agitations-for-reservations-and-the-way-out'
	],
	(int) 16 => [
		'title' => 'Einstein Was Right: Astronomers Confirm Key Theory of Relativity',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Astronomers have finally confirmed the &lsquo;gravitational redshift or Einstein shift&rsquo; with observational data. They got this result by tracking the movement of a star S2 as it passed through the gravitational field of a black hole Sagittarius A* (the huge black hole at the heart of the Milky Way).</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>S2 is one member of a star cluster that surrounds Sagittarius A*. These stars reach extremely high speeds when they approach the black hole - S2 comes very close to Sagittarius A* once every 16 years.</li>
<li>The Very Large Telescope (VLT) of The European Southern Observatory, in Chile, was used to find this evidence.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Process of Prediction</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Astronomers followed S2 before and after it passed close to the black hole on 19 May 2018, tracking its progress hour-by-hour. They then calculated its velocity and position using a number of instruments and compared it with predictions made by Einstein that the light would be stretched by the gravity, in an effect called gravitational redshift.</li>
<li>The astronomers have found that light from the star has been stretched to longer wavelengths by the very strong gravitational field of Sagittarius A*. The results are perfectly in line with the theory of general relativity - and not explained by Sir Isaac Newton's ideas - which exclude such a shift.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">Note:
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Gravitational redshift occurs as particles of light (photons) climb out of a gravitational well like a black hole and the light's wavelength gets drawn out. This shifts the wavelength to the red part of the light spectrum - hence "redshift".</li>
<li>In order to escape intense gravity, particles of light (photons) must expend energy. However, at the same time, these photons must travel at a constant speed - the speed of light. Therefore, the photons can't lose energy by slowing down but must expend it in another way. This lost energy manifests itself as a shift towards the red end of the light spectrum.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Practical Utility</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The result will help scientists better understand the physics of black holes.</li>
<li>It is important in astronomy to check that those laws of physics are still valid where the gravitational fields are very much stronger.</li>
<li>The results are also perfectly in line with the theory of general relativity and therefore is a major breakthrough towards better understanding the effects of intense gravitational fields.</li>
<li>Astronomers hope they can make practical use of the latest confirmation of Einstein&rsquo;s theory by tracking shifts in S2&rsquo;s trajectory, which could yield information on mass distribution around the black hole (i.e till what extent the effect of gravity is felt by the star S2).</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/einstein-was-right:-astronomers-confirm-key-theory-of-relativity'
	],
	(int) 17 => [
		'title' => 'Supermarkets Flooded with Foreign GM Foods Despite Ban',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Recently, researchers from Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) randomly tested 65 food samples in Gujarat, Punjab and Delhi-NCR and they have found that 32 per cent were GM positive.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Under the Section 22 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, GM foods are not allowed to be manufactured, imported or sold in India unless approved under the Act.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Out of 65 food samples, 30 were manufactured in India; of these, 17 per cent, were GM positive.</li>
<li>Among the 35 imported samples- manufactured in Canada, the UAE, the US, the Netherlands and Thailand &mdash; 46 per cent, were GM positive.</li>
<li>Domestically manufactured cottonseed oil samples tested GM positive, but no GM positive packaged oil sample mentioned GM ingredients on its label. But since India allows cultivation of only genetically modified BT cotton, the cottonseed oil extracted from it will be GM positive, too.</li>
</ul>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Implications of Poor Enforcement</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Most GM foods in the study did not disclose GM on their labels and 15 per cent made false claims saying they were GM-free.</li>
<li>A consumer should be able to make an informed choice.</li>
<li>Two of the eight infant food samples, imported from the US and the Netherlands, were GM positive, but the labels did not disclose this.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg" p=""><strong>Note:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and GM Foods</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>GMOs can be defined as organisms (i.e. plants, animals or microorganisms) in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination.</li>
<li>The technology is called &ldquo;recombinant DNA technology&rdquo; or &ldquo;genetic engineering&rdquo;.</li>
<li>It allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism into another and also between nonrelated species.</li>
<li>Foods produced from or using GM organisms are referred to as GM foods.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Why GM Foods are Produced?</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>GM foods are supposed to have a lower price and greater durability and/or nutritional value.</li>
<li>GM crops are aimed at providing an increased level of crop protection by introducing resistance against plant diseases caused by insects or viruses and from herbicides.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/supermarkets-flooded-with-foreign-gm-foods-despite-ban'
	],
	(int) 18 => [
		'title' => 'Important Facts for Prelims (27th July 2018)',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY) aims at the overall development of selected SC majority villages.</li>
<li>It aims to provide them with all the necessary facilities to ensure that the disparity between SC and non-SC population in terms of common socio-economic indicators is eliminated and the indicators are raised to at least the level of the national average.</li>
<li>The performance of the scheme is being monitored in terms of achievement of the targets listed out in the Village Development Plan (VDP) prepared for each village.</li>
<li>Under the PMAGY, the National Institute of Rural Development &amp; Panchayati Raj (NIRD&amp;PR) has been identified to provide technical resource support at the national level.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg"><strong>Criteria for being Declared as Adarsh Village</strong>
<p>As per the scheme, for a village to be declared as Adarsh village, a minimum of three of the targets listed below have to be achieved by the end of the third year of implementation of PMAGY:</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>As far as possible, elimination of poverty, but <g class="gr_ gr_54 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="54" data-gr-id="54">reduction</g> in its incidence by at least 50% within three years.<br />Universal adult literacy</li>
<li>100% enrolment and retention of children at the elementary stage (<g class="gr_ gr_52 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="52" data-gr-id="52">I-VIII</g>).</li>
<li>Reduction of infant mortality rate (per thousand live births) to 30 and maternal mortality rate (per lakh) to 100, by 2012.</li>
<li><g class="gr_ gr_63 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="63" data-gr-id="63">Village</g> should fulfil the Nirmal Gram Puraskar norms of the Deptt. of Drinking Water Supply, M/o Rural Development, ie, these villages should be 100 % open defecation free</li>
<li>Access to safe drinking water facility to all villagers on a sustainable basis.</li>
<li>100% institutional deliveries for pregnant women</li>
<li>Full immunisation of children</li>
<li>Achieving all-weather road connectivity to the village</li>
<li>100% registration of deaths and births in the village</li>
<li>No child marriages, and child labour</li>
<li>No public consumption of liquor and other intoxicating substances</li>
<li>100% allotment of Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana (PMGAY) houses to all eligible families</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Ramon Magsaysay Awards, 2018</h3>
<p>Recently, two Indians have been named for the 2018 Ramon Magsaysay Awards.</p>
<p><img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/648image 1 (27-7-18).png" width="719" height="412" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" data-pagespeed-url-hash="3751877569" onload="pagespeed.CriticalImages.checkImageForCriticality(this);" /></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Sonam Wangchuk (an educational reformer from Ladakh) and Bharat Vatwani (a psychiatrist who works for mentally ill street persons in Mumbai) are among six winners of the award, which &ldquo;celebrates the greatness of spirit and transformative leadership in Asia.&rdquo;</li>
<li>The others are Youk Chhang from Cambodia, Maria de Lourdes Martins Cruz from East Timor, Howard Dee from the Philippines and Vo Thi Hoang Yen from Vietnam.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Note:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia&rsquo;s premier prize and highest honour, celebrates the greatness of spirit and transformative leadership in Asia.</li>
<li>The trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation select the awardees annually.</li>
<li>Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay was the third president of the Republic of the Philippines after World War II.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Eight-lane Bridge coming across Pamban Strait</h3>
<p>The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has started preparing a detailed project report (DPR) for construction of a world-class eight-lane road bridge across Pamban Strait to connect Rameswaram Island with the mainland.</p>
<p><img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/598image 2 (27-7-18) N.png" width="350" height="382" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" data-pagespeed-url-hash="3942376027" onload="pagespeed.CriticalImages.checkImageForCriticality(this);" /></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The existing (2.345-km-long Annai Indira Gandhi Bridge) road bridge, which was more than 29 years old, would be used for light motor vehicles.</li>
<li>The bridge would be built on the lines of Bandra-Worli Sea Link cable-stayed bridge in Mumbai as part of the four-lane road project of the 39-km-long Paramakudi-Ramanathapuram section and 63-km-long Ramanathapuram-Rameswaram section.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-27th-july-2018'
	],
	(int) 19 => [
		'title' => 'Direct Benefit Transfer under MGNREGS',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>To streamline the fund flow mechanism and bring down delay in payment of wages, the Ministry of Rural Development has implemented the National Electronic Fund Management System (<g class="gr_ gr_78 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="78" data-gr-id="78">NeFMS</g>) in 24 States and 1 Union Territory.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This process reduces the delay in allocation of funds for payment of wages to the States and removes parking of funds at various levels.</li>
<li>As per NREGA Soft, around 99% of the wages are being paid electronically (as on 24.07.2018) into the Bank/Post Office accounts of MGNREGA workers through Electronic Fund Management System (<g class="gr_ gr_83 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="83" data-gr-id="83">eFMS</g>). Whereas in 2013-14, only 37% of the wages were paid electronically.</li>
<li>The Ministry along with the States/UTs has been making concerted efforts for improving the timely payment of wages. States/ UTs have been advised to generate pay orders in time.</li>
<li>This has resulted in considerable improvement in the status of timely generation of pay order and leading to improvement in <g class="gr_ gr_75 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="75" data-gr-id="75">actual</g> time taken to credit wages in the <g class="gr_ gr_79 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="79" data-gr-id="79">workers</g> account. In 2018-19 (as on 23.07.2018), 92% pay orders have been generated within 15 days.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg"><strong>Electronic Fund Management System (e-FMS)</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In order to streamline the system of fund releases and to avoid multiple levels of fund release and thereby do away with the delays and corruption, an electronic Fund Management System (e-FMS), has been introduced in MGNREGA.</li>
<li>Under this system, funds are held in one account at the State level (e-FMS Debit account) which is electronically linked to all implementing levels.</li>
<li>The implementing agency (Gram Panchayat/ Block), after due verification of the work and the muster rolls, generates an electronic Fund Transfer Order (FTO) to transfer the wages <g class="gr_ gr_72 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling" id="72" data-gr-id="72">direct</g> into the beneficiary accounts.</li>
<li>This electronic device allows transfer of wages within 2 working days into the accounts of the beneficiaries.</li>
<li>Although the funds are held centrally at State level, the decision to spend is taken at the field level.<br /><br /><strong>NREGA Soft</strong></li>
<li>NREGA Soft envisions implementing e-Governance across State, District and three tiers of Panchayati Raj Institutions.</li>
<li>It empowers the common man using the information technology as a facilitator.</li>
<li>NREGA Soft provides information to <g class="gr_ gr_65 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="65" data-gr-id="65">citizen</g> in compliance with the right to information Act (RTI Act).</li>
<li>It makes available all the documents like Muster Rolls, registration application register, job card/employment register/muster roll issue register, muster roll receipt register which are hidden from public otherwise.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Major Reasons for Delay in Generation of Pay Orders</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Delay in filling of attendance sheet on account of delayed submission of filled in Muster Roll by the Gram Rozgar Sahayak (GRS) or non-entry of attendance by Data entry operator within 2 days of closure of muster roll.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A <strong>&ldquo;muster roll&rdquo;</strong> is essentially a <g class="gr_ gr_80 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="80" data-gr-id="80">labour</g> attendance register, pertaining to a particular worksite and a particular period (e.g. two weeks). It is also used as a receipt, to claim funds from the Programme Officer for the payment of wages.<br /><br /><strong></strong></li>
<li><strong>Gram Rozgar Sahayak (GRS) or the Employment Guarantee Assistant</strong> assists the Gram Panchayat in executing MGNREGA works at Gram Panchayat level.<br />Other Functions:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Overseeing the process of registration, distribution of job cards, provision of dated receipts against job applications, allocation of work to applicants etc. c. Facilitating Gram Sabha meetings and social audits.</li>
<li>Recording attendance of <g class="gr_ gr_62 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="62" data-gr-id="62">labour</g> every day either himself/ herself or through the mate in the prescribed Muster Rolls at the work site.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Delay in <g class="gr_ gr_59 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="59" data-gr-id="59">measurement</g> of work due to <g class="gr_ gr_61 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="61" data-gr-id="61">inadequate</g> number of technicians.</li>
<li>Delay in <g class="gr_ gr_58 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="58" data-gr-id="58">generation</g> of wage list by data entry operator.</li>
<li>Lack of IT infrastructure at gram panchayat level.</li>
<li>Inadequate Core Banking Solution (CBS) based banking facility.</li>
<li>Mismatch of wage seekers <g class="gr_ gr_60 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="60" data-gr-id="60">account</g> information due to wrong entry of account particulars in NREGA Soft.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/direct-benefit-transfer-under-MGNREGS'
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$year = '2021'
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Cake\View\View::_renderElement() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1554
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