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Digital Sky Platform: Drone Regulation 1.0

The guidelines (Drone Regulations 1.0) issued by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for commercial use of drones or remotely operated...

03 Dec 2018 News Analysis
Rendering The Perennial Lifeless

(The editorial is based on the article “Rendering the Perennial Lifeless” which appears in EPW on 1st December 2018.) The pollution...

03 Dec 2018 News Editorials
The Big Picture: One World, One Sun, One Grid

Stressing that India would generate 40 percent of power from non-fossil fuels by 2030, the Prime Minister has called for connecting solar energy...

01 Dec 2018 Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Discussions
India Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue

1st ever India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue was held at St. Petersburg in Russia to identify greater synergy in trade and investment. The...

01 Dec 2018 News Analysis
India to Chair Kimberley Process

India will chair the Kimberley System Certification Scheme (KPCS) which is also known as Kimberley Process (KP) from January 2019. India took over...

01 Dec 2018 News Analysis
Back Series GDP Data

Recently the government has released the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth estimates for previous years based on the new method of calculation and...

01 Dec 2018 News Analysis
World AIDS Day

2018 marks the 30th anniversary of World AIDS Day. The theme of 2018 World AIDS Day is “Know your status”. World AIDS Day takes place...

01 Dec 2018 News Analysis
Ten Years After The Mumbai Attack

(The editorial is based on the article “Ten Years After The Mumbai Attack” which appears in The Hindu on 26th November 2018. It...

01 Dec 2018 News Editorials
The Need For Reforms In The Education Sector

(The editorial is based on the article “The Need For Reforms In The Education Sector” which appears in Livemint on 30 November 2018. It...

30 Nov 2018 News Editorials
Eco-Sensitive Zones

30 Nov 2018 Paper 3
Global Wage Report: ILO

Recently International Labour Organisation (ILO) has released the Global Wage Report 2018. For the first time, the Global Wage Report 2018 has...

30 Nov 2018 News Analysis
Maharashtra Assembly Passes Bill For Reservation For Marathas

The Maharashtra Assembly has unanimously passed a Bill proposing 16% reservation for Maratha community. The bill provides for reservation of seats...

30 Nov 2018 News Analysis
Global Nutrition Report 2018

In its fifth edition, the Global Nutrition Report highlights the worrying prevalence and universality of malnutrition in all its forms. About a...

30 Nov 2018 News Analysis
Important Facts for Prelims (30th November 2018)

Konkan Exercise-2018 The Bilateral KONKAN exercise is a naval exercise conducted between India and the United Kingdom. The Exercise provides a...

30 Nov 2018 News Analysis
The Big Picture - CBI, IB, NIA Under RTI?

At a time when the government is mulling changes in the RTI Act, information commissioner Divya Prakash has suggested that investigative,...

29 Nov 2018 Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Discussions
ISRO Launched Satellite HySIS

ISRO launched rocket PSLV-C43 carrying India’s earth observation satellite Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite (HysIS) and 30 co-passenger...

29 Nov 2018 News Analysis
Lancet Report on Climate Change and Human Health

Lancet’s Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change 2018 report has recommended that Indian government must take a series of...

29 Nov 2018 News Analysis
Genetic Modification Goes Beyond Ethics

(The editorial is based on the article “Genetic Modification Goes Beyond Ethics” which appears in Livemint for 29th November...

29 Nov 2018 News Editorials
Sustainable Blue Economy Conference

The first global conference on the sustainable blue economy was held on 26-28th November in Nairobi, Kenya. The Sustainable Blue Economy...

29 Nov 2018 News Analysis
Government Allows Ethanol Extraction for Blending from Foodgrains

The Central Government has extended the ambit of the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme to extract the fuel from surplus quantities of food...

29 Nov 2018 News Analysis

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			'title' => 'Digital Sky Platform: Drone Regulation 1.0',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>The guidelines <strong>(Drone Regulations 1.0)</strong> issued by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for commercial use of drones or remotely operated aircraft<strong> came into force from December 1, 2018.</strong></p>
<h3>Drone Regulation 1.0</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Under this regulation, the <strong>Digital Sky Platform</strong> will enable online registration of pilots, devices, service providers, and NPNT (no permission, no take-off).</li>
<li>The Digital Sky Platform is a unique unmanned traffic management (UTM) system which is expected to facilitate registration and licensing of drones and operators in addition to giving<strong> instant (online) clearances to operators</strong> for every flight.</li>
<li>The airspace has been partitioned into <strong>Red Zone (flying not permitted),</strong> <strong>Yellow Zone (controlled airspace),</strong> and <strong>Green Zone (automatic permission)</strong>. The restricted locations are airports, near international border, near coast line, state secretariat complexes strategic locations, military installations.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Drone</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Drone is a layman terminology for Unmanned Aircraft (UA). There are <strong>three subsets of Unmanned Aircraft- Remotely Piloted Aircraft,&nbsp; Autonomous Aircraft and Model Aircraft.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Remotely Piloted Aircraft consists of remote pilot station(s), the required command and control links and any other components, as specified in the type design.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Remotely piloted aircraft have been divided into<strong> five categories-</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Nano : Less than or equal to 250 grams.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Micro : From 250 grams to 2kg.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Small : From 2 kg to 25kg.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Medium : From 25kg to 150kg.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Large : Greater than 150kg.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>All civilian drone operations will be restricted to <strong>only during day time</strong> and a <strong>maximum of 400 feet altitude.</strong></li>
<li>There can&rsquo;t be any human or animal payloads, or anything hazardous.</li>
<li>It cannot in any manner cause danger to people or property and insurance will be mandatory to cover third-party damage.</li>
<li><strong>Except nano drones</strong> and those <strong>owned by National Technical Research Organisation and the central agencies,</strong> the rest would be registered and issued Unique Identification Number.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Drone Regulations 2.0</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Meanwhile, the government is already working on <strong>drone regulations 2.0</strong>, focussing on three thresholds:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight),</li>
<li>Delivery of payloads, and</li>
<li>Automate the air traffic management to the extent possible.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The current policy allows one drone pilot for each drone whereas in the next set of regulations, one pilot can operate any number of drones.</li>
<li>Under drone regulations 2.0, the drones will be tracked by computers through artificial intelligence.</li>
<li>However,delivery of products by e-commerce players like Amazon and flying taxis like Uber Elevate are likely to be part of drone regulations 3.0.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Applications</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Agriculture-</strong> Gather data and automate redundant processes to maximize efficiency, to spray medicines, In a process of planting by distributing seed on the land, etc.</li>
<li><strong>Healthcare-</strong> Delivering quick access to drugs, blood, and medical technology in remote areas, transportation of harvested organs to recipients (through drones corridor), etc.</li>
<li><strong>Disaster Management-</strong> Surveillance of disaster-affected areas to assess damage, locate victims, and deliver aid.</li>
<li><strong>Urban Planning-</strong> Instant mapping and survey of the land which has to be developed avoiding congestion and increasing green cover. <strong>E.g.:</strong> Recently, the Greater Chennai Municipal Corporation (GCMC) became first Municipal Corporation to map Chennai using drones.</li>
<li><strong>Conservation of Endangered Species-</strong> Monitor and track the number of animals.</li>
<li><strong>Weather Forecasting-</strong> Drones can physically follow weather patterns as they develop to understand the environment and imminent weather trends in a better way.</li>
<li><strong>Waste Management-</strong> Identify where the garbage is so that it can be picked up the garbage picking vans. Drones can be used to clean ocean waste as well. UAV like Roomba by RanMarine operates at the vanguard of these initiatives and have helped to clean oceans in past.</li>
<li><strong>Mining-</strong> Drones in mining can be used in volumetric data capturing of ore, rock and minerals storage which is extremely difficult to measure manually.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Drones have immense potential apart from few mentioned above. This new policy initiative will open up many new and exciting applications that can propel India's economy forward. It can provide strong impetus to all players in the drone ecosystem and place India among the global leaders.</li>
<li>Although drone-enabled deliveries, air taxis, and many other innovations will not be widely available for years, but when available they could be as disruptive as the advent of automobiles. That gives all industry stakeholders impetus to<strong> identify roadblocks and realistically consider potential applications now.</strong></li>
</ul>',
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		],
		(int) 1 => [
			'title' => 'Rendering The Perennial Lifeless',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;Rendering the Perennial Lifeless&rdquo; which appears in EPW on 1st December 2018.)</p>
</div>
<p>The pollution of the Ganges is a huge challenge. It has already shown its adverse impact on the environment, ecosystem, and animal and human health. About 40 percent of India&rsquo;s population across 5 states (Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal) is dependent on the river for its water, but unfortunately, the water is severely polluted.</p>
<p>While other rivers are equally in danger and are no doubt equally significant, the Ganga has been in a precarious condition despite <g class="gr_ gr_85 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar replaceWithoutSep" id="85" data-gr-id="85">of</g> the government&rsquo;s added attention towards it.</p>
<h3>Causes of Pollution of the Ganges</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Industrial Waste</strong> &ndash; There are a large number of industries on the bank of the Ganges in cities like Patna, Kanpur, Varanasi, and Allahabad. Numerous tanneries, slaughterhouses, textile mills, hospitals, chemical plants, and distilleries dump untreated wastes into the river resulting in pollution of the river. Out of the total volume of effluent reaching the river, 12% is contributed by the industries.</li>
<li><strong>Human Waste</strong> &ndash; The Ganges flows through 52 cities and 48 towns. The domestic water used by the population in these cities and towns adds to the pollution of the river.</li>
<li><strong>Religious Traditions</strong> &ndash; More than 70 million people bathe in the Ganges during the festive season. Food, leaves, flowers, <g class="gr_ gr_102 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling" id="102" data-gr-id="102">diyas</g> and other wastes are left in the Ganges that adds to its pollution. According to Hindu tradition, if a deceased person is cremated on the banks of the Ganges then that would bring instant salvation. This results in thousands of bodies being cremated on the banks of the river every year, many of which are only half-burnt, thus, adding to the pollution.</li>
<li><strong>Dams are also one of the main cause of pollution</strong> in the Ganga. Dams obstruct the flow of the river and make it slow which hinders the self-purification capacity of the river.</li>
<li>T<strong>he high use of fertilizers and pesticides</strong> in agriculture field directly flows to the river through rainwater adding to its pollution level.</li>
<li>Many <strong>hydropower projects</strong> planned on the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi in Uttarakhand pose a threat to Himalayan ecology and severely impact Ganga&rsquo;s natural flow.<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/537drishti_ganges%20(1).jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/537drishti_ganges (1).jpg" style="float: right;" width="447" height="387" caption="false" /></a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Action Plans to Save The Ganga</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><a href="https://nmcg.nic.in/about_nmcg.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)</strong></a> envisages five-tier structure at national, state and district level to take measures for prevention, control, and abatement of environmental pollution in river Ganga and to ensure continuous adequate flow of water so as to rejuvenate the river, Ganga.&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://nmcg.nic.in/NamamiGanga.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Namami Gange</strong></a> integrates the efforts to clean and protect the Ganga River in a comprehensive manner.&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://nmcg.nic.in/ngrbaread.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA)</strong></a> has been mandated as a planning, financing, monitoring and coordinating authority for strengthening the collective efforts of the Central and State governments for effective abatement of pollution and conservation of river Ganga so as to ensure that by the year 2020 no untreated municipal sewage or industrial effluent will flow into the river Ganga.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<h3>Loopholes in the Policies to Clean Ganga</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Treatment infrastructure could not be in line with the scale of pollution</strong>, and riparian states and the Centre had not ensured that pollution was checked at the source before being emptied into the river.</li>
<li><strong>Lack of political will</strong> has been one of the major issues. Pollution has rarely been an electoral issue. Employment, economic growth, and poverty alleviation are more urgent.</li>
<li>Even though policies for cleaning the Ganga mention partnerships with Gram Panchayats there is <strong>almost no involvement of civil society or any citizen participation for monitoring the sustainability of the policy implementations.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Rampant violation of laws, ubiquitous corruption</strong> and absence of coordination between the Centre and States along with the delays in reviewing projects, poor inter-agency cooperation, funding imbalances across sites add to the woes of implementation of the policies.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<p>The health and aliveness of a river <g class="gr_ gr_91 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="91" data-gr-id="91">is</g> no longer seen in its ability to support the beings living in harmony with it, but it has come to mean how much it can be used for commercial purposes, as a waterway, as energy, as sludge flush, and for religious tourism.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>As long as the river continues to be seen merely as an entity for extraction, its further concretization and pollution will continue unabated. This mindset has to change.</li>
<li><strong>Making violations cognizable offenses</strong> and bringing in an armed Ganga Protection Corps under the National River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection, and Management) Bill, to be tabled soon, will be able to put a stop to pollution offenses.</li>
<li><strong>Accept that the river needs water to dilute waste.</strong> In India, where the cost of pollution control is unaffordable and massive, a cheaper option is to dilute the waste with clean and flowing water. The standards for water quality also provide for a dilution factor of 10, but it is not followed. This is why discharge standards for water bodies are set at 30 biological oxygen demand (BOD<g class="gr_ gr_94 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="94" data-gr-id="94">),</g> while bathing water quality standard is 3 BOD. So, even after the best treatment, the river needs 10 times the water to bring it to acceptable quality.</li>
<li><strong>Funding for various projects can be kept conditional</strong> for the State government and it should be held accountable for maintaining the ecological flow of the river in all its stretches.</li>
<li><strong>River-centric urban planning</strong> that strengthens decentralized public participation is the need of the hour.</li>
<li>The private sector can be given a wider role in installation and management of the STPs (Sewer Treatment Plants), besides launching schemes for cultural and tourist-interest activities, including development, maintenance, and management of bathing and cremation ghats, without impairing the sanctity and dignity of the river.</li>
<li><strong>We need more publicly available data and more local analysis of this data.</strong> There is also a need for more education and awareness on the health effects of pollution, as well as the very causes of pollution.</li>
<li><strong>The government needs to take a comprehensive look at the interconnection between policies</strong> - such as subsidies, electricity consumption, power use patterns, industrial development, urbanization plans - and pollution.</li>
<li><strong>All these policy measures should be supplemented by creativity, innovation, discipline, transparency, and strong leadership.</strong></li>
</ul>',
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			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/rendering-the-perennial-lifeless'
		],
		(int) 2 => [
			'title' => 'The Big Picture: One World, One Sun, One Grid',
			'catname' => 'Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Discussions',
			'desc' => '<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HaEJSgNoboE" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Stressing that <strong>India would generate 40 percent of power from non-fossil fuels by 2030,</strong> the Prime Minister has called for connecting solar energy supply across borders, giving the mantra of 'One World, One Sun One, Grid'. The Prime Minister also considers the 121-country International Solar Alliance as the future OPEC for meeting the energy needs of the world. Oil cartel OPEC led by Saudi Arabia currently meets close to half of the world's oil needs. Solar power will play the same role that oil wells have played over the past few decades in meeting global energy needs. India will add as much as 50 GW of non-hydro renewable energy to existing 72 GW and is on its way to <g class="gr_ gr_122 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="122" data-gr-id="122">achieve</g><strong> the target of having 175 GW of clean energy by 2022.</strong></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>International Solar Alliance</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The International Solar Alliance (ISA)</strong> is an initiative jointly launched by the Prime Minister of India and the President of France on 30 November 2015 at Paris, on the sidelines of Conference of Parties (CoP 21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.</li>
<li><strong>Headquarters-</strong> National Institute for Solar Energy, Gurugram (Haryana), India.</li>
<li>It<strong> aims at addressing obstacles to deployment at the scale of solar energy through better harmonization and aggregation of demand</strong> from solar rich countries lying fully or partially between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn.</li>
<li>After ratification by a minimum number of countries, on 6 December 2017, ISA became the first full-fledged treaty-based international intergovernmental organization headquartered in India.</li>
<li>Till date, out of 121 prospective member countries that<strong> lie either fully or partially between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, 68 countries have signed the Framework Agreement of the ISA.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>One World, One Sun, One Grid</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Humans have in the last 150-200 years relied on resources trapped below the earth&rsquo;s surface for meeting energy needs. But for a secure future, resources available above the ground like solar and wind energy need to be harnessed.</li>
<li>Sun never sets for entire earth and therefore can be the source for the entire earth if every country is connected to a single grid.</li>
<li>Hence, keeping in mind the Paris Agreement where it has been categorically mentioned that in order to prevent irrevocable changes in the climate, the stakeholders should limit the rise of temperature to 2 degrees, it is but imperative that by 2040 the world should make a substantial transition to the renewable energy.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Feasibility of such an idea</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This idea is very much feasible since countries like India (India has integrated national grid) or even big continents like Europe are connected by more or less single grid.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><em>DRISHTI INPUT</em></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The total world energy usage (coal+oil+hydroelectric+nuclear+renewable) in 2015 was 13,000 Million Ton Oil Equivalent (13,000 MTOE). This translates to 17.3 Terawatts continuous power during the year.</li>
<li>If the area of the Earth is covered with solar panels, even with moderate efficiencies achievable easily today, it will provide more than 174 TW power.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>So, solar energy generated in one part of the world can be taken where enough landmass is not available to generate such quantity of power. For example, the power generated in the Sahara desert can be transmitted to Europe and in turn, Europe can give up on gas if they are connected via a single grid.</li>
<li>Within India itself, there are huge tracts of desert in Rajasthan and Gujarat where solar panels can generate enough power so as to meet substantially the rising demand <g class="gr_ gr_92 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="92" data-gr-id="92">of</g> energy.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Challenges</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In order to see the idea come through the most important challenge is to integrate economic policy imperative and energy policy imperative. Right now these two policies are in not blended.</li>
<li><strong>Solar power depends on the efficient system of storage, which is yet to develop</strong>.</li>
<li>The mineral resources that contribute to making efficient and effective battery are dominated by China.</li>
</ul>
<h3>How to fuel and secure the energy need?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>In the last five years, India has doubled energy generating capacity from 175GW to 350GW.</strong></li>
<li>With economic growth and bettering of economic and social condition, the per capita demand for electricity is bound to increase.</li>
<li>In this regard, it is imperative that the policies are so designed that the energy demand is more tilted towards renewable energy and away from fossil fuels. The best example will be electric cars. It will bring down fossil fuel consumption and solar power can take care of electricity generation.</li>
<li><strong>India has succeeded in large solar projects.</strong> The next big target is to get the solar panel in our 6 lakh villages. Such decentralization would lead to the production of 6 lakh kilowatts into the system.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The first and foremost action would be to develop storage technology.</strong> In this regard, both the government and the private sector need to make a substantial investment.</li>
<li>Continents like Africa can be explored for ensuring the constant supply of rare earth minerals that are important for making batteries for energy storage.</li>
<li><strong>An alternative to storage like solar thermal can be explored.</strong></li>
<li>However, the most important work has to be done at the front of ISA. The team of 121 countries should come together and work as a facilitator instead of a cartel (OPEC).</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/the-big-picture-one-world-one-sun-one-grid'
		],
		(int) 3 => [
			'title' => 'India Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>1st ever India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue was held at St. Petersburg in Russia to identify greater synergy in trade and investment.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The decision to hold strategic economic dialogue was taken during the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-russia-summit-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener">19th India-Russia Annual Summit</a>&nbsp;held in October 2018 in New Delhi.</li>
<li>The Indian side was led by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman, while the Russian delegation was headed by Economic Development Minister.</li>
<li>The Strategic Economic Dialogue focused on five core areas - <strong>Transport Infrastructure, Agriculture and agro-processing sector, Small &amp; Medium Business support, Digital Transformation &amp; Frontier technologies and Industrial &amp; Trade Cooperation.</strong></li>
<li>Through the dialogue, India Russia can address a number of issues that hinder India-Russia trade like <strong>connectivity issues, distance, weak banking links, cumbersome regulations on both sides and Russia&rsquo;s restrictive visa regime.</strong></li>
<li>The next round of Strategic Economic dialogue will be held in end-July/August 2019 in India.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Areas of Cooperation Discussed</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Operationalization of INSTC </strong>(International North-South Transport Corridor) route on priority and early organization of its coordination council.</li>
<li><strong>Improvement of Inland Waterways in India</strong> through Russian collaboration and setting up of special techno-parks for Russian investments.</li>
<li><strong>Addressing market restrictions</strong> and access for both sides on agri-products, textiles, diamonds and establishing a broader dialogue on national currencies.</li>
<li>Joint action by Public and Private sector in nurturing Small and Medium Enterprises, including information exchange mechanism needed to access credit and market and for learning from best practices and mutual recognition of each others companies.</li>
<li>On the digital front, <strong>cooperation in Financial Technology, Artificial Intelligence(AI), blockchain system and Quantum</strong> <strong>computing</strong> were discussed.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Joint working arrangements and pilot projects in healthcare, Tourism, projects which can be developed for third-country markets, and to invest resources jointly in projects in the far eastern region of the Russian Federation.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Importance of Strategic Economic Dialogue</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India had shared strong ties with the former Soviet Union as which was India&rsquo;s biggest defense and trade partner during the Cold War. Despite having a Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership, India-Russia relation faces a number of challenges.</li>
<li>The reasons for the downturn in relations:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In 2017, the trade between the two countries was around $ 10 billion. <strong>They account for a meager 1% of each other&rsquo;s total trade volume.</strong></li>
<li>
<p>In the wake of the Ukraine crisis in 2013,<strong> Russia&rsquo;s proximity with China increased.</strong></p>
</li>
<li>
<p><strong>India&rsquo;s efforts at diversifying its defense procurement</strong> and thus bringing in other partners such as the United States, Israel, and France has also impacted the relations.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>India&rsquo;s<strong> growing proximity to the United States.</strong></p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>As the defense cooperation is decreasing it is necessary for both nations to develop a strong bilateral economic and trade relationship. A weak economic base is a problematic part of India Russia engagement which requires attention for long-term sustenance of the strategic partnership.</li>
<li>The importance of strategic dialogue is to identify areas where both countries could work together to further improve their trade and economic cooperation.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A strategic bilateral relationship between major powers cannot be sustained without a strong economic partnership as strong trade relations bring strategic character to the relationship.</li>
<li>The<strong> good political ties between India and Russia are not reflected in their economic links.</strong> Thus, the institution of Strategic Economic Dialogue is a positive step to address this issue given it leads to substantial changes on the ground.</li>
<li>Measures like the<strong> International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC)</strong> can solve the connectivity issue between the two.</li>
<li>There is a need to expedite the free trade negotiations between India and Russia steered Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Once finalized, the FTA with EEU aided by INSTC could increase India-Russia trade manifold.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>International North-South Transport Corridor</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>INSTC is a multi-modal transportation route linking the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Iran, and onward to northern Europe via St. Petersburg in Russia.</li>
<li>The INSTC was initiated by Russia, India, and Iran in September 2000 to establish transportation networks among the member states and to enhance connectivity with the landlocked region of Central Asia.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eurasian Economic Union</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Eurasian Economic Union<strong> was started in 2015</strong> based on the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan <g class="gr_ gr_82 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="82" data-gr-id="82">and</g> Belarus.</li>
<li>The bloc was launched to ensure the free movement of goods, services, capital and workforce within its borders.</li>
<li>Members:&nbsp;<strong> Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-russia-strategic-economic-dialogue'
		],
		(int) 4 => [
			'title' => 'India to Chair Kimberley Process',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>India will chair the <strong>Kimberley System Certification Scheme (KPCS) which is also known as Kimberley Process (KP)</strong> from <strong>January 2019.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India took over the Chairmanship of the Kimberley System Certification Scheme (KPCS) during the KPCS Plenary 2018, which was held in<strong> Belgium in November, 2018.</strong></li>
<li>The 4-day Plenary also witnessed discussion on<strong> environmental challenges in diamond mining and industry responsibility.</strong></li>
<li>India, during its chairmanship will continue with the tradition and aim to support the artisanal and small-scale mining, capacity building, technical assistance and education on valuation, differentiation between natural and lab grown diamonds, importance of legal and formal mining practices.</li>
<li>The<strong> next Intersessional session is slated to be held in India</strong> with Botswana and the Russian Federation serving as Vice-Chair during the period of 2019-2020.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Kimberley Process</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Kimberley Process (KP) is a commitment to remove <strong>conflict diamonds</strong> from the global supply chain.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p>Conflict diamonds, <strong>also known as &lsquo;blood' diamonds</strong>, are rough diamonds used by rebel movements or their allies to finance armed conflicts <strong>aimed at undermining legitimate governments.</strong></p>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is an international certification scheme which&nbsp;<strong>came into force in 2003</strong> to regulate trade in rough diamonds. It aims to prevent the flow of conflict diamonds, while helping to protect legitimate trade in rough diamonds.</li>
<li>The Kimberley Process is <strong>also described in the United Nation Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions.</strong></li>
<li>The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) outlines the rules that govern the trade in rough diamonds. The KPCS has developed a set of minimum requirements that each participant must meet.&nbsp;</li>
<li>The KP is not, strictly speaking, an international organisation: it has <strong>no permanent offices or permanent staff</strong>. It relies on the contributions &ndash; under the <strong>principle of &lsquo;burden-sharing</strong>' &ndash; of participants, supported by industry and civil society observers.</li>
<li>The Kimberley Process (KP) is a <strong>binding agreement</strong> that imposes extensive requirements through the<strong> national legislations</strong> of its participants.&nbsp;</li>
<li><strong>India is the founding member</strong> of Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS).</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-to-chair-kimberley-process'
		],
		(int) 5 => [
			'title' => 'Back Series  GDP Data',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Recently the government has released the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth estimates for previous years based on the new method of calculation and base year (2011-12) it had adopted in 2015.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The government adopted the recommendations of the <strong>United Nations System of National Accounts</strong>, which included measuring the <strong>Gross Value Added (GVA)</strong>, and the use of new data sources wherever available. One of these data sources is the <strong>Ministry of Corporate Affairs MCA-21</strong> database, which became available since 2011-12.</li>
<li>MCA-21, an e-governance initiative of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs was launched in 2006, to allow firms to electronically file their financial results.</li>
<li>The new method is statistically more robust as it tries to relate the estimates to more indicators such as consumption, employment, and the performance of enterprises, and also incorporates factors that are more responsive to current changes, unlike the old series that usually took 2-3 years to register an underlying change.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In the new series, the <strong>Central Statistics Office (CSO) did away with GDP at factor cost</strong> and adopted the international practice of <strong>GDP at market price</strong> and the <strong>GVA</strong> measure to better estimate economic activity.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p>GDP at market price = GDP at factor cost + Indirect Taxes &ndash; Subsidies</p>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Further, the change involved bringing forward of the <strong>base year used for calculations to 2011-12 from the previous 2004-05</strong>.</li>
<li>Base year revision is normally done once in five years to accommodate and factor in the changes that take place in the economic scenario of the country.</li>
<li>However, this had led to the problem of not being able to compare recent data with the years preceding 2011-12. So, the back series data released recently provided the earlier years&rsquo; data using the new calculations.</li>
</ul>
<h3>New Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Trends shown by the official back-data suggest that the old series<strong> under-estimated the impact of the global financial crisis on the Indian economy</strong>. It also over-estimated the rebound from the crisis.</li>
<li>The<strong> new data</strong> release shows that <strong>GDP growth during 2004 - 2014 averaged 6.7%</strong>, compared with the <strong>8.1% (2004-2009) and 7.46% (2009-2014)</strong>, respectively, estimated using the<strong> older method</strong>.</li>
<li>In comparison, the <strong>current government</strong> has witnessed an <strong>average GDP growth rate of 7.35%</strong> during the first four years of its term, based on the new method.</li>
<li>The <strong>new data shows</strong> that, contrary to the earlier perception, the <strong>Indian economy never graduated to a &lsquo;high growth&rsquo; phase of more than 9%</strong> in the last decade or so.</li>
<li>The newer data, especially for the mining and manufacturing sectors, shows that India did not recover from the global financial crisis 2007-2008 as quickly as initially thought.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Concerns Associated</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The choice of datasets and proxies, especially those datasets that didn&rsquo;t exist before 2011-12 have not been explained.&nbsp;For instance, for years preceding 2006, when the MCA-21 database did not exist, the CSO has used Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) data for estimating manufacturing growth without giving the&nbsp;details about why it was selected over other available datasets.</li>
<li>The new back series data diverges significantly from the estimates made in a<strong> draft report</strong> released by the <strong>National Statistical Commission</strong> (the autonomous body that helps in collection of data by India&rsquo;s statistical agencies) earlier this year.</li>
<li>The report showed that growth during 2004-2014 crossed 9% on at least four occasions, and even hit 10.78% in 2010-11. The report pegged the average GDP growth during 2004-2009 at about 8.4% and 2009-2014 at 7.7%.</li>
<li>However, the government clarified that this was just a draft report that used only one of the many methods in order to estimate the back series, and it was not the final number.</li>
<li>The<strong> role of the NITI Aayog</strong> in the release of the statistical exercise of CSO, which comes under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), has also been questioned.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Gross Value Added (GVA)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Gross Value Added (GVA) is a measure of total output and income in the economy. It provides the rupee value for the amount of goods and services produced in an economy after deducting the cost of inputs and raw materials that have gone into the production of those goods and services.</li>
<li>It also gives sector-specific picture like what is the growth in an area, industry or sector of an economy.</li>
<li>At the macro level, from national accounting perspective, GVA is the sum of a country&rsquo;s GDP and net of subsidies and taxes in the economy.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border">
<p>Gross value added = GDP + subsidies on products - taxes on products</p>
</div>
<p><strong>Gross Domestic Product (GDP)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>GDP gives the economic output from the consumers&rsquo; side. It is the sum of private consumption, gross investment in the economy, government investment, government spending and net foreign trade (difference between exports and imports).</li>
</ul>
<div class="border">
<p>GDP = private consumption + gross investment + government investment + government spending + (exports-imports)</p>
</div>
<p><strong>Comparison Between GVA and GDP</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>While <strong>GVA</strong> gives a picture of the state of economic activity from the<strong> producers&rsquo; side or supply side</strong>, the <strong>GDP</strong> gives the picture from the<strong> consumers&rsquo; side or demand perspective</strong>. Both measures need not match because of the difference in treatment of net taxes. This is one of the reasons that in the first quarter of 2015, GDP growth was stronger at 7.5%, while GVA growth was 6.1%.</li>
<li>GVA is considered as a better gauge of the economy because a sharp increase in the output, only due to higher tax collections which could be on account of better compliance or coverage, may distort the real output situation.</li>
<li>A sector-wise breakdown provided by the GVA measure helps policymakers decide which sectors need incentives or stimulus and accordingly formulate sector-specific policies. But GDP is a key measure when it comes to making cross-country analysis and comparing the incomes of different economies.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/back-series-gdp-data'
		],
		(int) 6 => [
			'title' => 'World AIDS Day',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>2018 marks the 30th anniversary of World AIDS Day.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The theme of 2018 World AIDS Day is &ldquo;<strong>Know your status&rdquo;.</strong></li>
<li>World AIDS Day takes place on the<strong> December 1st, every year</strong>. Initiated by <strong>World Health Organization (WHO)</strong> in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day.</li>
<li>World AIDS Day is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness.</li>
<li>WHO advocacy and communication for World AIDS Day 2018 will aim to achieve the following objectives
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Urge people to know their HIV infection status through testing, and to access HIV prevention, treatment and care services.</li>
<li>Urge policy-makers to promote a &ldquo;health for all&rdquo; agenda for HIV and related health services, such as tuberculosis (TB), hepatitis and noncommunicable diseases.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>National Aids Control Program</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The National AIDS Control Organization, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched the first phase of<strong> National AIDS Control Programme in 1992.</strong></li>
<li>Over time, the focus has shifted from raising awareness to behavior change, from a national response to a more decentralized response and to increasing involvement of NGOs and networks of Person Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV).</li>
<li>Subsequently, second, third and fourth phases have been launched in 1999, 2007 and 2014 with better implementation and improved strategy.</li>
</ul>
<h3>HIV/AIDS Act, 2017 Implemented</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Recently, The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, enforced the<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/hiv-aids-act-2017-implemented" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017</a> (HIV/AIDS Act, 2017) in force from 10th September 2018.</li>
</ul>
<h3>India&rsquo;s HIV Burden</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>With an <strong>HIV prevalence of 0.26% in the adult population</strong>, India has an estimated 2.1 million People living with HIV (2015). <strong>India has third largest number of cases in the world.</strong></li>
<li>Bio-behavioural surveys confirm that HIV prevalence is high or &lsquo;concentrated&rsquo; among &lsquo;key populations&rsquo; (KPs) who have unprotected sexual contacts with multiple partners or who engage in injecting drug use.</li>
<li>These populations include<strong> female sex workers (FSW), men who have sex with men (MSM), hijra/transgender (TG), people who inject drugs (PWID), long-distance truck drivers and migrants.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3><br />National Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) 2017 &ndash; 2024</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) has now revised the national approach to reach <strong>&lsquo;the last mile&rsquo;</strong> &ndash; in order to ensure a more effective, sustained and comprehensive coverage of AIDS related services.</li>
<li>This approach is being implemented by the NACO through a seven-year National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS and STI, 2017-24.</li>
<li>By 2020, the focus of the national programme will be on achieving the following fast track targets:</li>
</ul>
<ol>
<li><strong>75% reduction</strong> in new HIV infections,</li>
<li><strong>90-90-90:</strong> 90% of those who are HIV positive in the country know their status, 90% of those who know their status are on treatment and 90% of those who are on treatment experience effective viral load suppression</li>
<li><strong>Elimination of mother-to-child transmission</strong> of HIV and Syphilis</li>
<li><strong>Elimination of stigma</strong> and discrimination</li>
</ol>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>By 2024, the further achievements envisaged are:</li>
</ul>
<ol>
<li><strong>80% reduction in new HIV infections</strong></li>
<li>Ensuring that 95% of those who are HIV positive in the country know their status, 95% of those who know their status are on treatment and 95% of those who are on treatment experience effective viral load suppression</li>
</ol>
<h3>The HIV</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)<strong> targets the immune system</strong> and results in increased susceptibility to a wide range of infections, cancers and other diseases that people with healthy immune systems can fight off.</li>
<li>As the virus destroys and impairs the function of immune cells, infected individuals gradually become immunodeficient.</li>
<li>The <strong>most advanced stage of HIV infection is Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS),</strong> which can take from 2 to 15 years to develop depending on the individual.</li>
<li>HIV infection is diagnosed through<strong> rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs),</strong> which detect the presence or absence of HIV antibodies.</li>
<li>There is <strong>no cure for HIV infection</strong>. However, effective antiretroviral (ARV) drugs can control the virus and help prevent transmission so that people with HIV, and those at substantial risk, can enjoy healthy, long and productive lives.</li>
<li><strong>Antiretroviral medicines/antiretroviral (ARVs)/antiretroviral therapy (ART)/ HIV treatment:</strong> These are medicines that are used for treating HIV infection. They are highly effective in<strong> suppressing HIV virus</strong> and slowing the progress of HIV disease.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The<strong> Global Fund is a 21st-century partnership organization</strong> designed to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics.</li>
<li>Founded in 2002, the Global Fund is a <strong>partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and people affected by the diseases.</strong></li>
<li>The Global Fund raises and invests nearly US$4 billion a year to support programs run by local experts in countries and communities.</li>
<li>GFATM play a significant role in India&rsquo;s health sector It contribute a substantial portion of the external development assistance to the health sector.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Project Sunrise</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A new initiative called 'Project Sunrise' was launched by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2016, to tackle the <strong>rising HIV prevalence in north-eastern states in India</strong>, especially among people injecting drugs</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>The Red Ribbon</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The red ribbon is the universal symbol of awareness and support for people living with HIV.</li>
<li>Wearing a ribbon is a great way to raise awareness on and during the run up to World AIDS Day.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/world-aids-day'
		],
		(int) 7 => [
			'title' => 'Ten Years After The Mumbai Attack',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;Ten Years After The Mumbai Attack&rdquo; which appears in The Hindu on 26th November 2018. It analyses terror attacks in India.)</p>
</div>
<p>Ten years ago, Pakistan carried out one of the most heinous of terror attacks perpetrated anywhere in the world. The 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, named after the date in 2008. The targets were carefully chosen after being surveyed for maximum impact, viz. the Taj and Oberoi Hotels, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, the Jewish center at Nariman House, and the Leopold Cafe, since these places were frequented by Europeans, Indians and Jews.</p>
<p><strong>Terrorism is hardly a postmodern* phenomenon.</strong> Several of the terror attacks in the 21st century reflect a paradigmatic change in the tactics of asymmetric warfare* and the practice of violence. <strong>Attacks carried out in different corners of the world by al-Qaeda and its affiliates, the Islamic State, al-Shabaab, and similar terror outfits, are very different from those witnessed in the previous century. The tactics employed may vary, but the objective is common, viz. achieving mass casualties and widespread destruction.</strong></p>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In 1993, over 250 people were killed in Mumbai in a series of coordinated bomb explosions attributed to Dawood Ibrahim, reportedly as a reprisal for the demolition of the Babri Masjid.</li>
<li>In July 2006, bomb explosions in a number of suburban trains in Mumbai killed over 200 people and injured several more.</li>
<li>The most audacious terror attack till the 26/11 Mumbai terror incident was the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001 by the Pakistan-based terror outfits, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).</li>
</ul>
<h3>26/11 Attack</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The 26/11 Mumbai terror attack was one of a kind and not a mere variant of previous instances of terrorist violence.</li>
<li><strong>It was the rarest of rare cases, where one state&rsquo;s resources, viz. Pakistan&rsquo;s were employed to carry out a series of terror attacks in a major Indian city.</strong></li>
<li>It was a case of &lsquo;war by other means&rsquo;, in which the authorities in Pakistan, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, the Pakistani armed forces, were involved.</li>
<li>The Mumbai terror attack was not based on a sudden impulse. Several years of planning and preparation had preceded the attack, even as the peace talk was going on between India and Pakistan.</li>
<li><strong>From an Indian standpoint, it was for the first time that an operation of this nature involved Rapid Action Force personnel, Marine Commandos (MARCOS), the National Security Guard (NSG*) and the Mumbai Police.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Lessons Learned</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The incident made changes in India&rsquo;s attitudes toward terrorism. It hardened the country&rsquo;s attitude towards terrorists and militants of all stripes.</strong></li>
<li>Following the Mumbai attacks, the government of India came up with many measures to deal with the new threat. <strong>The National Investigation Agency was created to investigate terrorism issues, four National Security Guard (NSG) hubs were set up for a rapid response to attacks. (Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai post-2008, and in 2017 Gujarat got the 5th NSG hub)</strong></li>
<li>An amended Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was created to provide for the arrest and interrogation of terrorism suspects.</li>
<li>Outcomes of 26/11 were also to get the Multi-Agency Centre (MAC), an intelligence agency clearinghouse, in motion. Subsidiary MACS at the state level came up next.</li>
<li><strong>One of the major decisions of the government was to place the Indian Coast Guard under the Indian Navy and make the latter the overall in-charge of maritime security, in coordination with the state government agencies and the marine police.</strong></li>
<li>A number of radars and automatic identification systems were later set up along the coast, and also a command, control and coordination center was set in New Delhi to monitor the operations.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Security Guard (NSG)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>NSG is a Federal Contingency World Class Zero Error Force to deal with anti-terrorist activities in all its manifestation.</li>
<li>Motto: Sarvatra Sarvottam Suraksha</li>
<li>The Union Cabinet took the decision to create NSG in 1984 and it formally came into being from 1986. NSG is under the Ministry of Home Affairs.</li>
<li>It consists of officers/personnel from Army, Central Armed Police Forces and State Police Forces.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>New Challenges</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Although India's national integrity remains fundamentally secure, pressures from various elements in the growing challenges of communalism and religious fanaticism have acquired disturbing dimensions.</strong></li>
<li>Political manipulation of religious sentiments for narrow political ends which creates long-term implications for the future of the country has also become one of the main challenges.</li>
<li>The situation in Kashmir remains a cause for deep and continuing concern. Mishandling of a brewing political crisis brought about by the state government's dismal performance, marked by rampant corruption and inefficiency, led to an explosive situation in the sensitive valley.</li>
<li>For India particularly, which has been the host to one of the largest inflow of refugees with practically no outflow, the magnitude <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">and</g> frequency of the refugee movement has been the main problem. This has particularly grave implications for the social, economic and political stability of the sensitive north-east.</li>
<li>In addition, cybersecurity threats, border tensions, cross-border crimes top the list of challenges.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Streamlining Security</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In the wake of the terror attack, several steps were initiated to streamline the security set-up. With increased vigil and streamlining of the counter-terrorism framework, newer methodologies, newer concepts were more daringly executed.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Coastal security was given high priority, and it is with the Navy/Coast Guard/marine police. The Navy constituted a Joint Operations Centre to keep vigil over India&rsquo;s extended coastline.</li>
<li>A specialized agency to deal with terrorist offenses, the National Investigation Agency, was set up and has been functioning from January 2009.</li>
<li>The National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) has been constituted to create an appropriate database of security-related information. Operational NSG hubs have been created to ensure rapid response to terror attacks.</li>
<li>The Multi-Agency Centre, which functions under the Intelligence Bureau, was further strengthened and its activities expanded.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The actual number of terror attacks have declined in recent years</strong>, but this does not mean that the situation is better than what existed a decade ago. Terrorism still remains a major threat, and with modern refinements, new terrorist methodologies and terrorism mutating into a global franchise, the threat potential has become greater.</li>
<li><strong>One of the major gaps in security relates to ports,</strong> especially the smaller ports and <g class="gr_ gr_148 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="148" data-gr-id="148">harbours</g> of the country, most of which lack any kind of security cover should be provided with special securities. Even in the larger ports, measures should be taken to check the containers that pass through, as that requires specialized equipment.</li>
<li><strong>Many of the coastal police stations have yet to become functional.</strong> Besides the infrastructure of jetties, police stations and vessels, the problem of inculcating the personnel with a maritime culture should be quickly addressed. Automatic Identification Systems for all the fishing vessels in Indian waters should be provided. And there should be the use of technologies to protect the sensitive borders.</li>
<li><strong>Communications interoperability was a significant issue</strong> during the Mumbai attack and previous terrorist attacks. Public safety agencies must continue to expand and test interoperability of multi-agencies. Coordination, which still remains a problem should be addressed.</li>
<li><strong>Finally, the social fabric of the country has to be held firm.</strong> So that it should not get harmed and create security concerns from outside extremist pressure.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>*Postmodernism</strong>, also spelled post-modernism, in Western philosophy, a late 20th-century movement characterized by broad skepticism, subjectivism, or relativism; a general suspicion of reason; and an acute sensitivity to the role of ideology in asserting and maintaining political and economic power.</li>
<li>*<strong>Asymmetrical warfare</strong> consists of unconventional strategies and tactics adopted by a force when the military capabilities of belligerent powers are not simply unequal but are so significantly different that they cannot make the same sorts of attacks on each other.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/603india_terror%20wwwwwwww.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/603india_terror wwwwwwww.jpg" width="366" height="385" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" /></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/ten-years-after-the-mumbai-attack'
		],
		(int) 8 => [
			'title' => 'The Need For Reforms In The Education Sector',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;The Need For Reforms In The Education Sector&rdquo; which appears in Livemint on 30 November 2018. It analyses the education sector in India.)</p>
</div>
<h3>Background</h3>
<p>Lack of skill among youth stands one of the reasons for prevailing high rate of unemployment in the country and when we think about the future of work&mdash;and all the jobs that will have to be created for India&rsquo;s expanding youth population&mdash;<strong>we should hold one thought above all in mind: most children who are currently in primary school will be earning their living in employment that don&rsquo;t yet exist</strong>. As an example, just consider that today India is home to 4 million app developers&mdash;a work sector that did not exist less than three decades ago.</p>
<p><strong>These transformations in society are the result of technological progress.</strong> In a short space of time, the word &ldquo;Amazon&rdquo; has gone from meaning a mighty river in South America to one of the largest online retailers in the world. These transformations in society are the result of technological progress.</p>
<h3>Need for Reforms</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Digital technologies are changing the shape of work before our eyes.</strong></li>
<li>These technologies are enabling firms to automate and this will reduce employment in some old, typically low and medium-skill sectors, but they also help firms to increase productivity, to innovate, and subsequently to create new products and sectors. Good news is that emerging markets like India stand to gain&mdash;but they need to have the right skills at the ready.</li>
<li><strong>The demand for certain skills is going up in today&rsquo;s labour markets.</strong> These skills include complex problem-solving and analysis, and social skills such as teamwork and relationship management. Reasoning and self-efficacy are also increasingly important, particularly as they improve adaptability.</li>
<li><strong>In a survey of employers of engineers in India, socio-behavioural skills were ranked at or above technical qualifications and credentials in terms of their significance for the employability of recent graduates.</strong> Building these skills requires strong human capital foundations&mdash;and building these foundations is especially important in early childhood development.</li>
<li><strong>According to the World Development Report 2019, India needs to focus even more strongly on the quality of education it offers to its greatest asset&mdash;its citizens.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>What Kind of Reforms Are Needed?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>First, India&rsquo;s education system requires more flexibility between the general and technical tracks.</li>
<li>Second, it must focus more on building socio-behavioural skills like self-efficacy and teamwork.</li>
<li>And third, it must ensure that specific universities become effective innovation clusters. For example, as part of the Startup India initiative, seven new research parks had been established on Indian Institute of Technology campuses to promote innovation through incubation and collaboration between universities and private sector firms. More initiatives like these are needed.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Education, employment and the future of work:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Every year, 12 million youth enter the labour market in India.</strong> By 2030, the country will have 123 million 25- to 29-year-old citizens. Bolstered by social media, their aspirations will be high. For these young people, many of whom did not graduate with a high-school diploma, adult learning programmes and forms of tertiary education will be the only remaining path to adequate skills development.</li>
<li>According to some estimates, <strong>only 24% of 18- to 37-year-olds who dropped out of school before completing the primary level can read</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>India&rsquo;s tertiary education system is the second largest in the world, after China.</strong> It is home to more than 35 million students and over 50,000 institutions. The most prestigious institutions within this system have global standing and are responsible for making India a world leader in the high-tech sector. But for this success to be taken to the next level, India&rsquo;s tertiary education system needs urgent reforms.</li>
<li><strong>India also needs to overhaul its short-term skilling programmes.</strong></li>
<li>Lastly, <strong>adult learning is an important channel for readjusting skills to fit in the future of work,</strong> and it would benefit from a serious design rethink. Pedagogies that are customized to the adult brain, along with flexible delivery models that fit in well with adult lifestyles, can make adult learning programmes more effective.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>To build a society with sensible character and citizenship, it&rsquo;s vital that <strong>value education be introduced in pre-school and strengthened in primary, secondary and higher education</strong>. Since most of these traits are learnt by infants up to the age of 5-6, if children miss out during this period in life, it is hard to catch up. <strong>These foundations can be easily established through effective early childhood development programmes and basic education. Investments in nutrition, health and stimulation in the first thousand days of life also build stronger brains.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Through investments in this area&mdash;what is called foundational human capital&mdash;India can prepare its people for the coming shifts in jobs, skills and market structures.</strong> Lack of investments, instead, will leave future generations&mdash;especially the poorest&mdash;at a severe disadvantage, amplifying inequalities that already exist. In the worst-case scenario, this might create socio-political instability when rising aspirations are met with frustration instead of opportunity.</li>
<li><strong>Good news is that a lot of investments in human capital have already begun in India and are likely to have a positive impact in the coming years.</strong> The shift in the education sector towards more competitive federalism and results-based financing is expected to improve accountability and learning outcomes.</li>
<li><strong>India&rsquo;s agreement to participate in PISA* is a major step forward in its policy landscape that will help rank India with global peers based on education outcomes.</strong></li>
<li>The World Bank is also serious about getting policymakers and governments to think harder about human capital. The changing nature of work makes the case for doing this. <strong>Investing in human capital now and over the long term is an investment with profound implications for people&rsquo;s future prosperity and for national economic growth.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/back-to-pisa-after-2009" target="_blank" rel="noopener">*Read More: PISA</a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/the-need-for-reforms-in-the-education-sector'
		],
		(int) 9 => [
			'title' => 'Eco-Sensitive Zones',
			'catname' => 'Paper 3',
			'desc' => '<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/322Eco-Sensitive%20Zones-2.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/322Eco-Sensitive Zones-2.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/mind-map/gs-paper3/mind-map-eco-sensitive-zones'
		],
		(int) 10 => [
			'title' => 'Global Wage Report: ILO',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Recently <strong>International Labour Organisation</strong> (ILO) has released the Global Wage Report 2018.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>For the <strong>first time</strong>, the Global Wage Report 2018 has also focused on the <strong>global gender pay gap</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Lowest wage growth globally in 2017 since 2008:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Globally, the rate of growth in wages in 2017 fell to its lowest level since 2008, but workers in <strong>India had the highest average real wage growth in Southern Asia</strong> of 5.5% over the period 2008-17.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Slow wage growth in high-income countries:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Wages in developing countries are increasing more quickly than those in higher-income countries. But the gaps in wages are wide and the level of wages is still not high enough for people to meet their basic needs in developing countries.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>More robust wage growth in low- and middle-income countries:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>All emerging G20 countries except Mexico experienced significant positive growth in average real wages between 2008 and 2017.</li>
<li>Real wages between 1999 and 2017 have almost tripled in the emerging and developing countries of the G20.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong> Wage growth lagging behind productivity growth in high-income countries:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Labour productivity has increased more rapidly than real wages due to which the share of labour compensation in GDP in many countries remain substantially below those of the early 1990s.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Wage inequality highest in low-income countries:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Countries with the lowest levels of wage inequality are found among the high-income group, whereas countries with the highest levels of wage inequality are found in the low- and middle-income groups.</li>
<li>Among <strong>high-income countries</strong>, wage <strong>inequality is lowest in Sweden and highest in Chile</strong>. Among<strong> low-income and middle-income countries</strong>, <strong>South Africa and Namibia</strong> have the <strong>highest inequality</strong>, <strong>Armenia and Mongolia </strong>the<strong> lowest</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Gender pay gaps represent one of today&rsquo;s greatest social injustices:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Women continue to be <strong>under-represented in traditionally male-occupied categories</strong> and within similar categories, women are consistently <strong>paid below men</strong>, even if women&rsquo;s <strong>educational attainments are just as good or better</strong> than those of men in similar occupations.</li>
<li>In high-income countries, the gender pay gap was at its biggest in top-salaried positions. In low- and middle-income countries, however, the gap was widest among lower-paid workers.</li>
<li>The <strong>lack of programmes supporting women&rsquo;s return to work after childbirth</strong> also contributes to the wage penalty that women face when resuming work after a prolonged period of absence from the labour market.</li>
<li>The wages of both men and women also tend to be lower in enterprises and occupations with a predominantly female workforce.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>State-specific and comparative studies on wages are needed by the collaboration work between government agencies, academic institutions and expert organisations.</li>
<li>Good data is needed in many countries for better data on the distribution of wages.</li>
<li><strong>Educational policies</strong> targeting enrolment rates among girls may contribute to reducing the gender pay gap in the future.</li>
<li><strong>Reducing polarization and occupational segregation</strong> may require changing perceptions and stereotypes, for example- attract more women into the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), which offer better-paid employment opportunities.</li>
<li>Countries should also look into possible ways to address the undervaluing of women&rsquo;s work in highly feminized occupations and industries, including by raising wages in the latter. Eliminating this bias is not only a way to narrow the gender pay gap directly, but it is also a condition to reduce occupational segregation, for example by attracting more men into the education and health sectors.</li>
<li>More <strong>equitable sharing of family duties</strong> between women and men, as well as adequate childcare and eldercare services, would in many instances lead to women making different occupational choices.</li>
<li>An <strong>appropriate mix of policies in any national context</strong> will depend on that particular country&rsquo;s circumstances, and that robust analytical work is needed to identify the largest contributory factors &ndash; and hence the most effective remedies &ndash; in different country contexts.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>To support UN&rsquo;s SDG 8, the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC), was launched in September 2017 as a <strong>multi-stakeholder initiative</strong> that includes the <strong>ILO, UN Women and the OECD</strong>.</li>
<li>It seeks<strong> to achieve equal pay for women and men</strong>.&nbsp;</li>
<li>The UN&rsquo;s SDG 8 sets the target of &ldquo;achieving full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities and equal pay for work of equal value&rdquo; by 2030.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>International Labour Organization</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The International Labour Organization (ILO) was founded in 1919 to promote social justice and thereby contribute to universal and lasting peace.</li>
<li>The ILO is responsible for drawing up and overseeing international labour standards.</li>
<li>It is the <strong>only tripartite United Nations agency</strong> that brings together representatives of <strong>governments</strong>,<strong> employers</strong> and <strong>workers</strong> to jointly shape policies and programmes promoting decent work for all.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/global-wage-report-ilo'
		],
		(int) 11 => [
			'title' => 'Maharashtra Assembly Passes Bill For Reservation For Marathas',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>The Maharashtra Assembly has unanimously passed a Bill proposing 16% reservation for Maratha community.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The bill provides for reservation of seats for admission in educational institutions and posts in public services under <strong>Article 15(4), 16 (4) of the Constitution of India.</strong></li>
<li>Maratha community has been granted reservation under an independent category Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC).</li>
<li>The approval of the Bill has increased the reservation in Maharashtra from the current 52%to 68%, thus <strong>crossing the 50% ceiling set by Supreme Court in Indra Sawhney Case (1992).</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Article 15(4) in The Constitution Of India </strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Nothing in this article or in clause shall prevent the State from making any special provision for<br />the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Article 16(4) in The Constitution Of India </strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in favor of any backward class of citizens which, in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services under the State.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Maratha Community</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Marathas are the Marathi-speaking, politically dominant community in Maharashtra. They make up about one-third of the population of the state.</li>
<li>Historically, they have been identified as a warrior class with large land-holdings.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Reasons For Demanding Reservations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Division of land and agrarian problems</strong> over the years have led to a decline of prosperity among middle-class and lower-middle-class within Maratha Community.</li>
<li>Maratha community is a predominantly agrarian community which have been hit by the <strong>rural distress</strong>, especially the crisis in agriculture, and their efforts to seek <strong>education and alternative employment has been hampered</strong> by locational disadvantages.</li>
<li><strong>Inability of the state governments to provide enough jobs</strong> is another factor for dissatisfaction.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Basis for Reservation</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC)</strong> submitted a report after studying 45,000 families from two villages from each of the 355 talukas that have more than a 50% Maratha population.</li>
<li>According to the panel report, Marathas have been declared as socially and educationally backward class of citizens and have inadequate representation in the services under state.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Issues Around Reservation</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Judicial Scrutiny</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Reservation in Maharashtra is already beyond the Supreme Court imposed limit of 50%. After 16% is reservation is given to Marathas, the total would become 68%. Hence, whether this proposal can withstand judicial scrutiny and become policy remains to be seen.</li>
<li>However, there is no provision in the Constitution imposing ceiling on reservation. But it has provision that reservation should be given under exceptional and extraordinary cases.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Not a &ldquo;Backward Community&rdquo;</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Marathas don&rsquo;t face any social stigma which hinders their economic development. Hence, there is no reason that calls for giving them affirmative action.</li>
<li>The demand for reservations for Marathas, traditionally seen as &ldquo;upper castes&rdquo;, goes against the spirit of affirmative action. They also play a central role in states electoral politics.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Government should look at the <strong>bigger solution to the problem</strong> as quotas offer only a limited, short-term solution to these problems.</li>
<li>Reservation is an instrument to rectify social and educational backwardness, but it is not a solution for every social and economic ailment. The <strong>government should focus on increasing economic growth which might lead to new employment opportunities.</strong></li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/maharashtra-assembly-passes-bill-for-reservation-for-marathas'
		],
		(int) 12 => [
			'title' => 'Global Nutrition Report 2018',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In its<strong> fifth edition</strong>, the Global Nutrition Report highlights the worrying<strong> prevalence and universality of malnutrition in all its forms.</strong> About a <strong>third of the world&rsquo;s children</strong> suffer some form of malnutrition.</li>
<li>According to the report there has been <strong>some progress in reducing malnutrition</strong>, but it has been too slow and not spread across all forms of malnutrition.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Global Nutrition Report</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This report has been produced by the Independent Expert Group of the Global Nutrition Report, supported by the Global Nutrition Report Stakeholder Group.</li>
<li>The Global Nutrition Report was conceived following the<strong> first Nutrition for Growth Initiative Summit (N4G) in 2013. The first report was published in 2014.</strong></li>
<li>The Global Nutrition Report acts as a report card on the world&rsquo;s nutrition&mdash;<strong>globally, regionally, and country by country</strong>&mdash;and on efforts to improve it.</li>
<li>It assesses progress in meeting Global Nutrition Targets established by the World Health Assembly.</li>
<li>The<strong> World Health Organization (WHO)</strong> is a Global Nutrition Report Partner.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Stunting</strong> in children under five years of age is declining at a global level but numbers in Africa are increasing.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Although, some progress is visible<strong> only against stunting, India</strong> still holds almost a third of the world's burden for stunting. Of the three countries that are home to almost half (47.2%) of all stunted children, two are in Asia, with India having 46.6 million (31%) and Pakistan having 10.7 million.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>India also accounted for 25.5 million children who are<strong> wasted</strong>, followed by Nigeria (3.4 million) and Indonesia (3.3 million). More than half of the world's children impacted by wasting (26.9 million) live in South Asia.</li>
<li>Progress in addressing <strong>underweight and anaemia among women</strong> has been<strong> extremely slow</strong> while<strong> overweight ((body mass index (BMI &ge;25) and obesity (BMI &ge;30) among adults is getting worse</strong>, with <strong>higher rates of obesity among women</strong> than men. Conversely,<strong> diabetes is more common among men</strong> than women.</li>
<li>India also figures among the set of countries that has more than a <strong>million overweight children.</strong> The other nations are China, Indonesia, India, Egypt, US, Brazil and Pakistan.</li>
<li>Different forms of<strong> malnutrition continue to coexist</strong> with each other. Of the 141 countries analysed, 88% experience more than one form of malnutrition.</li>
<li>In situations of <strong>crises arising from conflict, fragility, violence and environmental change</strong> there is an urgent need to treat and prevent multiple burdens of malnutrition while also building nutrition resilience.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recommendations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Break down silos between malnutrition in all its forms</strong>- Different forms of malnutrition coexist which are being tackled at different rates, vary between populations, and overlap with each other in various ways. Therefore they <strong>require integrated approaches and cohesive work to address them.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Prioritise and invest in the data and capacity to use them</strong>- The efforts made to improve the collection and analysis of diet data must continue, and the<strong> gap in micronutrient data must be addressed</strong> as a matter of urgency. However, data collection and analysis is not enough, all stakeholders also<strong> need the capacity to use it</strong> to make evidence-based decisions.</li>
<li><strong>Increase financing for nutrition-</strong> &nbsp;Although nutrition financing have increased over the years, especially in developing countries, they are <strong>not adequate.</strong> Building on this progress, domestic investments must continue to grow and international aid donors must keep investing.</li>
<li><strong>Galvanise action on healthy diets-</strong> Governments and business need to implement a<strong> holistic package of actions</strong> to ensure food systems and food environments are <strong>delivering healthy diets</strong> that are affordable, accessible and desirable for all.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Malnutrition</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Malnutrition refers to d<strong>eficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a person&rsquo;s intake of energy and/or nutrients</strong>. It is often split into<strong> two broad groups of conditions:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Undernutrition,</strong> including &nbsp;<strong>stunting (low height for age)</strong>,<strong> wasting (low weight for height)</strong>, <strong>underweight (low weight for age)</strong> and <strong>&nbsp;micronutrient deficiencies</strong> or insufficiencies (a lack of important vitamins and minerals).</li>
<li><strong>Overweight, obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases</strong> (heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, etc.).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In April 2016, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming the <strong>UN Decade of Action on Nutrition from 2016 to 2025.</strong></li>
<li>The <strong>Sustainable Development Goal (SD Goal 2: Zero hunger)</strong> aims to<strong> end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030,</strong> making sure all people &ndash; especially children &ndash; have access to sufficient and nutritious food all year round. This involves promoting sustainable agricultural practices: supporting small scale farmers and allowing equal access to land, technology and markets.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Global Nutrition Report 2018 finds again that the problem of<strong> malnutrition remains severe across all regions</strong> and none of the countries are on course to meet all nine global nutrition targets.</li>
<li>Malnutrition is <strong>responsible for more ill-health than any other cause.</strong> The health consequences of being overweight and obese contribute to an estimated four million deaths globally.</li>
<li>The issue is <strong>not the degree of crises</strong> but why are <strong>things not better when there is so much more information than before.</strong> &nbsp;Therefore, the commitments designed for impact which can be continuously monitored and deliver will be fit for purpose to end malnutrition in all its forms.</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/global-nutrition-report-2018'
		],
		(int) 13 => [
			'title' => 'Important Facts for Prelims (30th November 2018)',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Konkan Exercise-2018</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Bilateral KONKAN exercise is a<strong> naval exercise conducted between India and the United Kingdom.</strong></li>
<li>The Exercise provides a platform for the two navies to build interoperability and share best practices.</li>
<li>The KONKAN series of<strong> exercises was started in 2004.</strong> Since then, the exercise is hosted in rotation by both the Navies and has grown in complexity, scale, and intensity.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Reggae got UNESCO Heritage Status</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Reggae music, which got international fame because of artists like Bob Marley, secured its place in United Nations&rsquo; list of intangible cultural heritage.</li>
<li>Reggae music genre <strong>originated in Jamaica</strong> (a Caribbean island nation).</li>
<li>UNESCO noted that while reggae started out as the voice of the marginalized, it is now played and embraced by a wide cross-section of society, including various ethnic and religious groups.</li>
<li><strong>Intangible Cultural Heritage of India: </strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Kumbh Mela, Yoga,</strong> Traditional brass and copper craft of utensils among <strong>thatheras of Punjab</strong>, <strong>Sankirtana</strong> (ritual singing, dancing and drumming of Manipur), <strong>Buddhist chanting</strong> of Ladakh, <strong>Chhau Dance</strong>, <strong>Kalbelia</strong> (folk song and dance of Rajasthan), <strong>Kutiyattam</strong> (a Sanskrit theatre of Kerala), <strong>Tradition of Vedic Chanting, Ramlila, Novruz</strong> (Persian New Year), <strong>Ramman</strong>(religious festival and ritual theatre of the Garhwal Himalayas), <strong>Mudiyettu</strong> (ritual theatre and dance drama of Kerala).</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Emissions Gap Report 2018</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>United Nations Environment Program</strong> has released its annual Emissions Gap Report.</li>
<li>The Emissions Gap Report assesses the &ldquo;emissions gap,&rdquo; the gap between anticipated emission levels in 2030, compared to levels consistent meeting with a 2&deg;C/1.5&deg;C target.</li>
<li>For India, the emissions are projected to be more than 10% below their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target. Thus, with its currently-implemented policies, India is likely to achieve its Cancun pledge of 2020 and NDC targets.</li>
<li>The report finds that
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>global emissions of greenhouse gases have risen for the first time in four years.</li>
<li>keeping global warming below 2&deg;C above pre-industrial levels is still technically possible, the potential to bridge the 1.5&deg;C gap is decreasing.</li>
<li>the current pace of national action is insufficient to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement, and the gap in 2018 is larger than ever</li>
<li>countries must triple their ambition levels to meet the 2&deg;C goal, and increase ambition five-fold to meet the 1.5&deg;C target</li>
<li>continuing with the current trends will likely lead to global warming of around 3&deg;C by the end of the century.</li>
<li>nations must raise their ambition by three times to meet the two degrees Celsius and five times to meet 1.5 degrees</li>
<li>implementing fiscal policy measures such as carbon pricing and taxes are effective ways in reducing emissions and costs of mitigating it.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>COP-16 Cancun, Mexico</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>COP-16 took place at Cancun. At the conference, all parties including both the developed and the developing countries agreed to report their voluntary mitigation goals for implementation.</li>
<li><strong>Green Climate Fund</strong> under the COP, with a board equally representing developed and developing countries was established.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-30th-november-2018'
		],
		(int) 14 => [
			'title' => 'The Big Picture - CBI, IB, NIA Under RTI?',
			'catname' => 'Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Discussions',
			'desc' => '<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8LcSzyYgl0Q" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">At a time when the government is mulling changes in the RTI Act, information commissioner Divya Prakash has suggested that investigative, intelligence and security agencies like NIA, CBI, IB, and paramilitary forces should come under the purview of the law, saying there are adequate safeguards in the Act to keep sensitive information outside the public domain. The former IPS officer, who spent most of his time in Intelligence Bureau, says transparency needs to be &ldquo;all-pervasive&rdquo; and the RTI Act helps to bring accountability in government departments. Currently, more than 20 investigative agencies are outside the ambit of the RTI Act, subject to exceptions like allegations of corruption and human rights violations. The information commissioner&rsquo;s remark came up at a time when CBI is going through turmoil with the top brass trading charges against one another.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Right To Information Act (RTI Act, 2005) </strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Information, unless exempted under Section 8(1) and 9 may be provided either in Suo Motu manner so that public have minimum resort to provisions of RTI Act, 2005 and on an application under RTI within the stipulated time frame.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Extracts of some important sections of the RTI Act, 2005</strong></p>
<p><strong>Section 8(1)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This section provides reasonable restrictions on disclosure of information. Including the information which,
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>prejudicially affects the sovereignty &amp; integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or leads to incitement of an offense;</li>
<li>causes a breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature;</li>
<li>information received in confidence from foreign Government;</li>
<li>information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes;</li>
<li>impedes the process of investigation or apprehension/prosecution of offenders.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Section 9</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Without prejudice to the provisions of section 8, a Central Public Information Officer or a State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, may reject a request for information where such a request for providing access would involve an infringement of copyright subsisting in a person other than the State.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Section 24</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organizations specified in the Second Schedule, being organizations established by the Central Government or any information furnished by such organizations to that Government:</li>
<li>Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Observations of Delhi High Court</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The source of Right To Information does not emanate from the Right to Information Act.</li>
<li>But, it emerges from the constitutional guarantees under Article 19(1)(a) as held by the Supreme Court in a series of decisions.</li>
<li>The Right to Information Act is not the repository of the right to information. Its repository is the constitutional rights guaranteed under Article 19((1) (a).</li>
<li>The RTI Act is merely an instrument that lays down statutory procedure in the exercise of this right.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Should we do away with the exemptions under Section 8(1) and 9?</h3>
<p><strong>Debate Against the View</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It would be detrimental to India&rsquo;s security. Intelligence agencies like R&amp;AW and IB deal with sensitive information which if disclosed in public domain can be misused.</li>
<li>Initially, CBI was not the part of RTI exemption, primarily because it is an investigative agency. However, later it was argued that CBI does deal with sensitive intelligence matter, hence, it should not be brought under RTI. Consequently, in 2012 CBI was also given protection from RTI.</li>
<li>View of protecting these intelligence agencies under section 24, would be a threat to human rights value, the counter-argument is that the RTI act categorically mentions that even though the agencies are protected, there is a threat. Information relating to an allegation of Corruption and violation of human rights is covered under RTI Act, 2005, and no agency would be excused.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Debate For the view</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The RTI has two provisions, section 8 and 24 which are an effective veto for transparency. If it is not sectioned 8 then section 24 becomes the hurdle. Section 8 exempts certain categories of information while Section 24 exempts certain categories of organizations from the purview of the transparency law. This is a kind of double veto as much of information sought by an applicant might get hit by either of the two provisions.</li>
<li>There is another contradiction in the RTI Act. Section 22 says the Act shall override the Official Secrets Act or any other law. But the fact remains that the state has already secured its secret information under double veto (Section 8 and Section 24).</li>
<li>RTI Act categorically says that it will override the Official Secrets Act, however, it also provides itself with the double veto. Hence, there is a process of masquerading that inhibits the real functioning of RTI.</li>
<li>Most of the intelligence agencies like IB and RAW do not have a supervising agency, and RTI act is the only piece of legislation that ensures transparency and accountability. However, section 8 and 24 dilute the process.</li>
<li>Investigation agencies like CBI are mainly engaged with investigative work which cannot be brought under the purview of RTI. However, the administrative work of the agency can be brought under the scrutiny of RTI. Thus blanket protection that is given under section 24 should end.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There is a need to rationalize some of the exempted organizations in section 24.</li>
<li>The confrontational interaction with the government has decreased with respect to accessibility of information because of RTI. So, RTI has to be protected and preserved. However, on the other hand, we should also be cognizant of the fact that the intelligence agencies have to be given leeway in cases concerning national security. Hence, the advice to both the government and the public would be that they ought to maintain the delicate fine line.</li>
<li>The time has come when we should be asking the most important question that why is there not a parliamentary oversight committee over all these agencies if they are indeed to be kept out of RTI purview.</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/the-big-picture-cbi-ib-nia-under-rti'
		],
		(int) 15 => [
			'title' => 'ISRO Launched Satellite HySIS',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>ISRO launched rocket PSLV-C43 carrying India&rsquo;s earth observation satellite <strong>Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite (HysIS)</strong> and 30 co-passenger satellites from Sriharikota on November 29.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>co-passengers of HySIS</strong> include<strong> one micro and 29 <g class="gr_ gr_27 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="27" data-gr-id="27">nano satellites</g> from eight different countries.</strong></li>
<li>The satellite <g class="gr_ gr_29 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="29" data-gr-id="29">have</g> been projected into a <strong>polar sun-synchronous orbit.</strong></li>
<li>HysIS is ISRO's <strong>first full-scale working satellite with Hyper-spectral imaging capability.</strong></li>
<li>The space agency tested hyperspectral imaging technology in April 2008, a small 83-kg demonstration microsatellite called IMS-1 (Indian Mini Satellite-1) was launched as a secondary passenger with Cartosat-2A.</li>
<li>In October, 2008, it put a HySI or Hyperspectral Imager on the Chandrayaan-1 and used it to scan Moon's surface for minerals.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Significance of <g class="gr_ gr_28 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="28" data-gr-id="28">HySIS</g></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The primary goal of HySIS is to study the <strong>Earth&rsquo;s surface in visible, near-infrared and shortwave infrared regions</strong> of the electromagnetic spectrum.</li>
<li>Hyperspectral imaging satellite can see in 55 spectral or colour bands from 630 km above ground.</li>
<li>&lsquo;Hyspex&rsquo; imaging allows <strong>distinct identification of objects, materials or processes on Earth</strong> by reading the spectrum for each pixel of a scene from space.</li>
<li>It can be highly useful in marking out a suspect object or person and separate it from the background. This could aid in detecting transborder or other stealthy movements.</li>
<li>It can be used for a range of activities from monitoring the <strong>atmospheric activity and climate change, studies of Earth&rsquo;s magnetic field, agriculture, forestry, water management, coastal patterns, looking for oil and minerals all the way up to military surveillance.</strong></li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/isro-launched-satellite-hysis'
		],
		(int) 16 => [
			'title' => 'Lancet Report on Climate Change and Human Health',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Lancet&rsquo;s Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change 2018 report has recommended that Indian government must take a series of initiatives to mitigate the increased risks to health, and the loss of labour hours due to a surge in exposure to heatwave events in the country over the 2012-2016 period.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Lancet Countdown's 2018 report tracks 41 indicators across five key domains in health and climate change. It arrives at three key conclusions:</li>
<li>From 2014-2017, the average length of heatwaves in India ranged from 3-4 days compared to the global average of 0.8-1.8 days.</li>
<li>Almost 153 billion hours of labour were lost globally in 2017 due to heat, an increase of 62 billion hours from the year 2000.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Findings of the Report</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>
<p>Present day changes in heat waves labour capacity, vector-borne disease, and food security provide early warning of compounded and overwhelming impacts expected if temperature continues to rise.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>A lack of progress in reducing emissions and building adaptive capacity threatens both human lives and the viability of the national health systems they depend on, with the potential to disrupt core public health infrastructure and overwhelm health services.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Despite these delays, trends in a number of sectors see the beginning of a low-carbon transition, and it is clear that the nature and scale of the response to climate change will be the determining factor in shaping the health of nations for centuries to come.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>The number of hours of labour lost due to heat wave increased between 2000-2017 across India.</p>
</li>
<li>In 2012, 20 million people were exposed to heatwaves, compared to 60 million in 2016 a 200% increase.</li>
<li>For the agriculture sector alone, this rose to about 60,000 million hours in 2017, from about 40,000 million hours in 2000.</li>
<li>Overall, across sectors India lost almost 75,000 million hours of labour in 2017, from about 43,000 million hours in 2000.</li>
<li>The agriculture sector was more vulnerable compared to the industrial and service sectors because workers there were more likely to be exposed to heat.</li>
<li>The findings are significant for <strong>India as agriculture makes up 18% of the country&rsquo;s GDP</strong> and employs almost half the population. Also, a fall in living standards, due to reduced precipitation and temperature changes, could therefore affect just over half of the population who are employed in agriculture related jobs.</li>
<li>Developed in conjunction with the Public Health Foundation of India and their Center for Environmental Health, the Lancet has also come up with a brief for Indian policymakers. It provides strategic direction for policy makers in four key areas:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Health effects of heatwaves and change in labour capacity due to heat&nbsp;</li>
<li>Premature mortality from ambient air pollution by sector</li>
<li>Sustainable travel infrastructure and uptake</li>
<li>Media coverage of health and climate change</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recommendation of Report</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Considering India is amongst the countries who most experience high social and economic costs from climate change the study makes several recommendations like:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Identifying <strong>&ldquo;heat hot-spots</strong>&rdquo; through appropriate tracking of meteorological data.</li>
<li>Promoting development and<strong> implementation of local Heat Action Plans</strong> with strategic inter-agency coordination, and a response which targets the most vulnerable groups.</li>
<li>The report urges a <strong>review of existing occupational health standards, labour laws and sectoral regulations for worker safety</strong> in relation to climatic conditions.</li>
<li><strong>Decrease health-harming air pollution</strong> by carrying out source apportionment studies, emission inventories, and health impact assessments of ambient and household air pollution through Statewise Clean Air Action Plans, and use these findings to inform policies targeted at reducing the main sources of pollution via an inter-ministerial approach.</li>
<li><strong>Carry out annual comprehensive city-level traffic diary surveys to guide urban infrastructure planning and facilitate solutions</strong> which address growth in population and travel demands while promoting uptake of sustainable travel forms like walking and cycling.</li>
<li><strong>Promote strategic media coverage of climate and health linkages at the state level,</strong> in regional languages, to increase support for state-by-state climate mitigation and adaptation responses.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>What is a Heat Wave?</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A Heat Wave is a period of <strong>abnormally high temperatures,</strong> <strong>more than the normal maximum temperature</strong> that occurs during the summer season in the North Western parts of India between March and June, and in some rare cases even extend till July.</li>
<li>Depending on whether a place&rsquo;s historical temperature is 40 degree C or less, a 4.5 degree C (or greater) rise in temperature counts as a &lsquo;heat wave&rsquo; and 6.5 degree C and more, a &lsquo;severe heat wave.&rsquo;</li>
</ul>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/lancet-report-on-climate-change-and-human-health'
		],
		(int) 17 => [
			'title' => 'Genetic Modification Goes Beyond Ethics',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;Genetic Modification Goes Beyond Ethics&rdquo; which appears in Livemint for 29th November 2018.)</p>
</div>
<p><strong>Globalization and ever-increasing scientific advancements in the health industry have made the </strong><g class="gr_ gr_95 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling" id="95" data-gr-id="95">upgradation</g><strong> and adoption of ethics within the regulatory framework even more significant.</strong></p>
<p><strong>In news:</strong>&nbsp;<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/worlds-first-gene-edited-babies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World's First Gene Edited Babies</a></p>
<p>Ever since researchers at the University of Alicante in Spain came up with the revolutionary new gene-editing tool CRISPR, the chance to play a vital role and the temptation to do it have been beckoning scientists. Recently a Chinese researcher He Jiankui claimed, that he had created the world&rsquo;s first genetically edited babies by altering their DNA using CRISPR. He claimed the genes of the twins had been edited to resist the HIV virus, which is what makes the framing of the argument against genetic editing much more complex. Though his claim is still unverified, it triggered the debate whether gene editing violates academic ethics and standards or not.</p>
<p>This announcement caused predictable alarm with many wondering if these experiments have gone too far. The argument that tinkering with the variability of a gene pool can have disastrous consequences, given that genes are connected and for one single character many of them have to work in unison, now stand challenged.</p>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In 1996, when Dolly the sheep became the first mammal ever to be cloned from another individual&rsquo;s body cell, fears were raised that human cloning was inevitable.</li>
<li>Since then horses, cats, dogs, and livestock have been cloned across the world without creating much of a stir through the announcement of two genetically identical macaques, Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua, at a laboratory in China did stoke fears of human cloning is the inevitable next step.</li>
<li>Although, when scientists in the 1970s discovered how to fertilize human eggs in test tubes there was the apprehension that this might lead to people cherry-picking only high-quality parents for their children, it didn&rsquo;t happen. Now it is helping childless parents to bear a child.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Applications of Gene Editing</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>CRISPR/Cas9 is one of the newest genome editing tools. It can alter sections of DNA in cells by cutting at specific points and introducing changes at that location. Already extensively used in scientific research, CRISPR/Cas9 has also been seen as a promising way to create potential genome editing treatments for diseases such as HIV, cancer or sickle cell disease. Such therapeutics could inactivate a disease-causing gene, or correct a genetic mutation.</li>
<li>CRISPR gene editing provides for the ultimate toolbox for genetic manipulation. CRISPR systems are already delivering superior genetic models for fundamental disease research, drug screening, and therapy development, rapid diagnostics, in-vivo editing and correction of heritable conditions. Scientists are working on the theory that CRISPR might be used to boost the function of the body's T-cells so that the immune system is better at recognizing and killing cancer. Disorders of the blood and immune system are other potential targets.</li>
<li>Around 80 patients with HIV had immune cells in their blood removed in the world's first gene-editing trials that took place in California and involved a different technique called (Zinc-finger nucleases) ZFNs.</li>
<li>Researchers in China edited human embryos to try to correct a faulty gene that caused an inherited blood disorder.</li>
<li>Scientists said they had used gene editing to create a mosquito that can resist malaria.</li>
<li>Plant breeders are using CRISPR to create disease-resistant strains of crops.</li>
<li>In medicine, gene editing could potentially cure inherited diseases, such as some forms of heart disease and cancer, and a rare disorder that causes vision loss.</li>
<li>In agriculture, this technique can create plants that not only produce higher yields, like Lippman&rsquo;s tomatoes but also ones that are more nutritious and more impervious to drought and pests, traits that may help crops endure more extreme weather patterns predicted in the coming years.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Ethical Concerns</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Wealthy parents buying the latest offspring upgrades for their children. There will be the <strong>emergence of genetic haves and have-nots,</strong> leading to even greater inequality than we already live with.</li>
<li>Also, human embryo editing research may not be adequately controlled, leaving it open to a lab somewhere to create gene-edited babies.</li>
<li>Some of the key scientists in this field have <strong>concerns about the potential misuse of a technology</strong> that could be used for eugenics, to create genetic discrimination.</li>
<li>But <strong>even in agriculture, genetic modification is a subject of major debate,</strong> especially in developing countries, including India.</li>
<li>Most of the ethical discussions related to genome editing center around human germline editing. This is because <strong>changes made in the germline would be passed down to future generations.</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Germline</strong>: is the cellular lineage of a sexually reproducing organism from which eggs and sperm are derived, also: the genetic material contained in this cellular lineage which can be passed to the next generation.</p>
<p><strong>Germline Editing</strong> means deliberately changing the genes passed on to children and future generations &ndash; in other words, creating genetically modified people. Human germline modification has for many years been widely considered off-limits, for both safety and social reasons. It is formally prohibited in more than 40 countries.</p>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There is also debate that, ecological disequilibrium can be caused by gene editing.</li>
<li>Due to the possibility of off-target effects (edits in the wrong place) and mosaicism (when some cells carry the edit but others do not), safety is of primary concern.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Human civilization has always progressed by interfering with the natural evolutionary process. In this process, the application of Gene Editing is inevitable. However, to prevent it from being a disruptive force, it is better to regulate it.</li>
<li><strong>India does not have a comprehensive gene editing policy in place, though germline gene editing is banned in line with international norms.</strong> Yet, in the face of persisting diseases and crippling human conditions, divine intervention may sometimes need to be supplemented with genetic ones in a carefully regulated environment.</li>
<li><strong>There is also an international effort led by the US, UK, and China to harmonize regulation of the application of genome editing technologies. This effort officially launched in December 2015 with the International Summit on Human Gene Editing in Washington, DC.</strong></li>
<li><strong>A UNESCO panel of scientists, philosophers, lawyers, and government ministers has called for a temporary ban on genetic &ldquo;editing&rdquo; of the human germline</strong>, calling for a wide public debate on genetic modification of human DNA. It is important to have c<strong>ontinuing public deliberation and debate</strong> to allow the public to decide whether or not germline editing should be permissible.</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/genetic-modification-goes-beyond-ethics'
		],
		(int) 18 => [
			'title' => 'Sustainable Blue Economy Conference',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>The&nbsp;first global conference on the sustainable blue economy was held on 26-28th November in Nairobi, Kenya.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Sustainable Blue Economy Conference was <g class="gr_ gr_49 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="49" data-gr-id="49">organised</g> by Kenya with Canada and Japan as co-hosts. India made its presence in the conference highlighting India&rsquo;s strategic advantages in Blue Economy.</li>
<li>The conference builds on the momentum of the UN&rsquo;s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the 2015 Climate Change Conference in Paris and the UN Ocean Conference 2017 &ldquo;Call to Action&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>What is the Blue Economy?</strong></p>
<p>Blue Economy refers to sustainable use of ocean resources for growth, jobs and improved living standards while preserving the ecosystem. It encompasses areas like maritime transport, fisheries, renewable energy, waste management, and tourism.</p>
</div>
<h3>The Significance of the Conference</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The conference identified the potential of the blue economy to create employment, combat poverty and hunger.</li>
<li>It brought countries together to learn how economic development and healthy waters go hand in hand.</li>
<li>The conference captured concrete commitments and practical actions that can be taken today to help the world transition to the blue economy.</li>
<li>The impacts of climate change and plastic pollution in oceans and waters has increased the need to develop an inclusive and sustainable blue economy.</li>
</ul>
<h3>India and Blue Economy</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India has a strategic location in the Indian Ocean Region, and on this basis, it endorses the growth of the blue economy in a sustainable, inclusive and <g class="gr_ gr_36 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="36" data-gr-id="36">people-centred</g> manner through the framework of the <strong>Indian Ocean Rim Association</strong>.</li>
<li>Under <strong>Sagarmala Programme,</strong> India is developing maritime infrastructure as well as inland waterways and coastal shipping which will <g class="gr_ gr_38 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="38" data-gr-id="38">revolutionise</g> maritime logistics, creating million new jobs, reduce logistics costs and bring port-led developments in the country.</li>
<li>Development of <strong>Coastal Economic Zones (CEZ)</strong> under Sagarmala, would become a microcosm of the blue economy, wherein industries and townships that depend on the sea will contribute to global trade.</li>
<li><strong>Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)</strong> is India&rsquo;s vision for the Indian Ocean Region. It aims at sustained, peaceful and yet responsive presence of Indian naval ships in the critical area and <g class="gr_ gr_47 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="47" data-gr-id="47">choke</g> points in the Indian ocean.</li>
<li>The Blue economy is crucial for India&rsquo;s economic development.</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/sustainable-blue-economy-conference'
		],
		(int) 19 => [
			'title' => 'Government Allows Ethanol Extraction for Blending from Foodgrains',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Central Government has extended the ambit of the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme to extract the fuel from surplus quantities of food grains such as maize, jawar, bajra &nbsp;fruit and vegetable waste.</li>
<li>Till now, only excess sugarcane production was allowed to be converted into ethanol for procurement under the fuel blending programme.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Importance</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It will enable the &nbsp;farmers by enabling them <strong>to make additional money from surplus production and broaden the sources for producing ethanol</strong> for the EBP programme.</li>
<li>The policy of ethanol blending &nbsp;can help in reducing vehicle exhaust emissions and also to reduce the import burden on account of crude petroleum from which petrol is produced.</li>
<li>It is estimated that a 5% blending (105 crore litres) can result in replacement of around 1.8 million Barrels of crude oil.</li>
<li>The renewable ethanol content &nbsp;is expected to result <strong>in a net reduction in the emission of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC).</strong></li>
<li>Ethanol itself burns cleaner and burns more completely than petrol it is blended into.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<h3>Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It aims at&nbsp;blending ethanol with petrol,&nbsp;thereby bringing it under the category of biofuels and saving millions of dollars by cutting fuel imports.</li>
<li>Under&nbsp;EBP&nbsp;program, availability&nbsp;of ethanol will increase due to the higher price for C heavy&nbsp;molasses&nbsp;based&nbsp;ethanol and enabling procurement of ethanol from&nbsp;B heavy molasses&nbsp;and sugarcane juice for the first time.</li>
<li>The Government has also reduced GST on ethanol for blending in fuel from 18% to 5%.</li>
</ul>
<h3>National Policy on Bio-fuels</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The National Policy on Bio- fuels 2018 has empowered the <strong>National Bio-fuel Coordination Committee (NBCC)</strong> to allow conversion of surplus quantities of food-grains for production of ethanol during an agriculture crop year when there is projected oversupply of food-grains.</li>
<li>The objective of the Bio- fuel policy is to achieve&nbsp;<strong>20% ethanol-blending&nbsp;and&nbsp;5% biodiesel-blending</strong>&nbsp;by the year 2030. The policy also expands the scope of feedstock for ethanol production and has provided for incentives for&nbsp;production&nbsp;of&nbsp;advanced bio-fuels.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>National Biofuel Coordination Committee is headed by - <strong>Prime-Minister</strong> to provide policy guidance and coordination.</li>
</ul>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Concerns</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Under the EBP programme, the Centre has asked the oil marketing companies (OMCs) to target 10% blending of ethanol with petrol by 2022. However, there is a major shortfall in the availability of ethanol as sugar mills currently tap only &lsquo;C-heavy&rsquo; molasses for ethanol production.</li>
<li>The fuel requirements &nbsp;can compete with food requirements and that only surplus food crops should be used for fuel production, if at all.</li>
<li>The annual capacity of biorefinery&nbsp;is still not enough to meet the 5% petrol-ethanol blending requirement.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There should be Increase in&nbsp;the ethanol production capacity of bio-refineries.</li>
<li>Alternatives like 3rd generation (derived from algae) and 4th generation biofuels (derived from specially engineered plants or biomass) should be encouraged.</li>
</ul>',
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	(int) 0 => [
		'title' => 'Digital Sky Platform: Drone Regulation 1.0',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>The guidelines <strong>(Drone Regulations 1.0)</strong> issued by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for commercial use of drones or remotely operated aircraft<strong> came into force from December 1, 2018.</strong></p>
<h3>Drone Regulation 1.0</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Under this regulation, the <strong>Digital Sky Platform</strong> will enable online registration of pilots, devices, service providers, and NPNT (no permission, no take-off).</li>
<li>The Digital Sky Platform is a unique unmanned traffic management (UTM) system which is expected to facilitate registration and licensing of drones and operators in addition to giving<strong> instant (online) clearances to operators</strong> for every flight.</li>
<li>The airspace has been partitioned into <strong>Red Zone (flying not permitted),</strong> <strong>Yellow Zone (controlled airspace),</strong> and <strong>Green Zone (automatic permission)</strong>. The restricted locations are airports, near international border, near coast line, state secretariat complexes strategic locations, military installations.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Drone</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Drone is a layman terminology for Unmanned Aircraft (UA). There are <strong>three subsets of Unmanned Aircraft- Remotely Piloted Aircraft,&nbsp; Autonomous Aircraft and Model Aircraft.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Remotely Piloted Aircraft consists of remote pilot station(s), the required command and control links and any other components, as specified in the type design.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Remotely piloted aircraft have been divided into<strong> five categories-</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Nano : Less than or equal to 250 grams.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Micro : From 250 grams to 2kg.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Small : From 2 kg to 25kg.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Medium : From 25kg to 150kg.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Large : Greater than 150kg.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>All civilian drone operations will be restricted to <strong>only during day time</strong> and a <strong>maximum of 400 feet altitude.</strong></li>
<li>There can&rsquo;t be any human or animal payloads, or anything hazardous.</li>
<li>It cannot in any manner cause danger to people or property and insurance will be mandatory to cover third-party damage.</li>
<li><strong>Except nano drones</strong> and those <strong>owned by National Technical Research Organisation and the central agencies,</strong> the rest would be registered and issued Unique Identification Number.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Drone Regulations 2.0</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Meanwhile, the government is already working on <strong>drone regulations 2.0</strong>, focussing on three thresholds:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight),</li>
<li>Delivery of payloads, and</li>
<li>Automate the air traffic management to the extent possible.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The current policy allows one drone pilot for each drone whereas in the next set of regulations, one pilot can operate any number of drones.</li>
<li>Under drone regulations 2.0, the drones will be tracked by computers through artificial intelligence.</li>
<li>However,delivery of products by e-commerce players like Amazon and flying taxis like Uber Elevate are likely to be part of drone regulations 3.0.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Applications</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Agriculture-</strong> Gather data and automate redundant processes to maximize efficiency, to spray medicines, In a process of planting by distributing seed on the land, etc.</li>
<li><strong>Healthcare-</strong> Delivering quick access to drugs, blood, and medical technology in remote areas, transportation of harvested organs to recipients (through drones corridor), etc.</li>
<li><strong>Disaster Management-</strong> Surveillance of disaster-affected areas to assess damage, locate victims, and deliver aid.</li>
<li><strong>Urban Planning-</strong> Instant mapping and survey of the land which has to be developed avoiding congestion and increasing green cover. <strong>E.g.:</strong> Recently, the Greater Chennai Municipal Corporation (GCMC) became first Municipal Corporation to map Chennai using drones.</li>
<li><strong>Conservation of Endangered Species-</strong> Monitor and track the number of animals.</li>
<li><strong>Weather Forecasting-</strong> Drones can physically follow weather patterns as they develop to understand the environment and imminent weather trends in a better way.</li>
<li><strong>Waste Management-</strong> Identify where the garbage is so that it can be picked up the garbage picking vans. Drones can be used to clean ocean waste as well. UAV like Roomba by RanMarine operates at the vanguard of these initiatives and have helped to clean oceans in past.</li>
<li><strong>Mining-</strong> Drones in mining can be used in volumetric data capturing of ore, rock and minerals storage which is extremely difficult to measure manually.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Drones have immense potential apart from few mentioned above. This new policy initiative will open up many new and exciting applications that can propel India's economy forward. It can provide strong impetus to all players in the drone ecosystem and place India among the global leaders.</li>
<li>Although drone-enabled deliveries, air taxis, and many other innovations will not be widely available for years, but when available they could be as disruptive as the advent of automobiles. That gives all industry stakeholders impetus to<strong> identify roadblocks and realistically consider potential applications now.</strong></li>
</ul>',
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	(int) 1 => [
		'title' => 'Rendering The Perennial Lifeless',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;Rendering the Perennial Lifeless&rdquo; which appears in EPW on 1st December 2018.)</p>
</div>
<p>The pollution of the Ganges is a huge challenge. It has already shown its adverse impact on the environment, ecosystem, and animal and human health. About 40 percent of India&rsquo;s population across 5 states (Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal) is dependent on the river for its water, but unfortunately, the water is severely polluted.</p>
<p>While other rivers are equally in danger and are no doubt equally significant, the Ganga has been in a precarious condition despite <g class="gr_ gr_85 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar replaceWithoutSep" id="85" data-gr-id="85">of</g> the government&rsquo;s added attention towards it.</p>
<h3>Causes of Pollution of the Ganges</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Industrial Waste</strong> &ndash; There are a large number of industries on the bank of the Ganges in cities like Patna, Kanpur, Varanasi, and Allahabad. Numerous tanneries, slaughterhouses, textile mills, hospitals, chemical plants, and distilleries dump untreated wastes into the river resulting in pollution of the river. Out of the total volume of effluent reaching the river, 12% is contributed by the industries.</li>
<li><strong>Human Waste</strong> &ndash; The Ganges flows through 52 cities and 48 towns. The domestic water used by the population in these cities and towns adds to the pollution of the river.</li>
<li><strong>Religious Traditions</strong> &ndash; More than 70 million people bathe in the Ganges during the festive season. Food, leaves, flowers, <g class="gr_ gr_102 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling" id="102" data-gr-id="102">diyas</g> and other wastes are left in the Ganges that adds to its pollution. According to Hindu tradition, if a deceased person is cremated on the banks of the Ganges then that would bring instant salvation. This results in thousands of bodies being cremated on the banks of the river every year, many of which are only half-burnt, thus, adding to the pollution.</li>
<li><strong>Dams are also one of the main cause of pollution</strong> in the Ganga. Dams obstruct the flow of the river and make it slow which hinders the self-purification capacity of the river.</li>
<li>T<strong>he high use of fertilizers and pesticides</strong> in agriculture field directly flows to the river through rainwater adding to its pollution level.</li>
<li>Many <strong>hydropower projects</strong> planned on the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi in Uttarakhand pose a threat to Himalayan ecology and severely impact Ganga&rsquo;s natural flow.<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/537drishti_ganges%20(1).jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/537drishti_ganges (1).jpg" style="float: right;" width="447" height="387" caption="false" /></a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Action Plans to Save The Ganga</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><a href="https://nmcg.nic.in/about_nmcg.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)</strong></a> envisages five-tier structure at national, state and district level to take measures for prevention, control, and abatement of environmental pollution in river Ganga and to ensure continuous adequate flow of water so as to rejuvenate the river, Ganga.&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://nmcg.nic.in/NamamiGanga.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Namami Gange</strong></a> integrates the efforts to clean and protect the Ganga River in a comprehensive manner.&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://nmcg.nic.in/ngrbaread.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA)</strong></a> has been mandated as a planning, financing, monitoring and coordinating authority for strengthening the collective efforts of the Central and State governments for effective abatement of pollution and conservation of river Ganga so as to ensure that by the year 2020 no untreated municipal sewage or industrial effluent will flow into the river Ganga.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<h3>Loopholes in the Policies to Clean Ganga</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Treatment infrastructure could not be in line with the scale of pollution</strong>, and riparian states and the Centre had not ensured that pollution was checked at the source before being emptied into the river.</li>
<li><strong>Lack of political will</strong> has been one of the major issues. Pollution has rarely been an electoral issue. Employment, economic growth, and poverty alleviation are more urgent.</li>
<li>Even though policies for cleaning the Ganga mention partnerships with Gram Panchayats there is <strong>almost no involvement of civil society or any citizen participation for monitoring the sustainability of the policy implementations.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Rampant violation of laws, ubiquitous corruption</strong> and absence of coordination between the Centre and States along with the delays in reviewing projects, poor inter-agency cooperation, funding imbalances across sites add to the woes of implementation of the policies.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<p>The health and aliveness of a river <g class="gr_ gr_91 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="91" data-gr-id="91">is</g> no longer seen in its ability to support the beings living in harmony with it, but it has come to mean how much it can be used for commercial purposes, as a waterway, as energy, as sludge flush, and for religious tourism.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>As long as the river continues to be seen merely as an entity for extraction, its further concretization and pollution will continue unabated. This mindset has to change.</li>
<li><strong>Making violations cognizable offenses</strong> and bringing in an armed Ganga Protection Corps under the National River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection, and Management) Bill, to be tabled soon, will be able to put a stop to pollution offenses.</li>
<li><strong>Accept that the river needs water to dilute waste.</strong> In India, where the cost of pollution control is unaffordable and massive, a cheaper option is to dilute the waste with clean and flowing water. The standards for water quality also provide for a dilution factor of 10, but it is not followed. This is why discharge standards for water bodies are set at 30 biological oxygen demand (BOD<g class="gr_ gr_94 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="94" data-gr-id="94">),</g> while bathing water quality standard is 3 BOD. So, even after the best treatment, the river needs 10 times the water to bring it to acceptable quality.</li>
<li><strong>Funding for various projects can be kept conditional</strong> for the State government and it should be held accountable for maintaining the ecological flow of the river in all its stretches.</li>
<li><strong>River-centric urban planning</strong> that strengthens decentralized public participation is the need of the hour.</li>
<li>The private sector can be given a wider role in installation and management of the STPs (Sewer Treatment Plants), besides launching schemes for cultural and tourist-interest activities, including development, maintenance, and management of bathing and cremation ghats, without impairing the sanctity and dignity of the river.</li>
<li><strong>We need more publicly available data and more local analysis of this data.</strong> There is also a need for more education and awareness on the health effects of pollution, as well as the very causes of pollution.</li>
<li><strong>The government needs to take a comprehensive look at the interconnection between policies</strong> - such as subsidies, electricity consumption, power use patterns, industrial development, urbanization plans - and pollution.</li>
<li><strong>All these policy measures should be supplemented by creativity, innovation, discipline, transparency, and strong leadership.</strong></li>
</ul>',
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	],
	(int) 2 => [
		'title' => 'The Big Picture: One World, One Sun, One Grid',
		'catname' => 'Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Discussions',
		'desc' => '<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HaEJSgNoboE" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Stressing that <strong>India would generate 40 percent of power from non-fossil fuels by 2030,</strong> the Prime Minister has called for connecting solar energy supply across borders, giving the mantra of 'One World, One Sun One, Grid'. The Prime Minister also considers the 121-country International Solar Alliance as the future OPEC for meeting the energy needs of the world. Oil cartel OPEC led by Saudi Arabia currently meets close to half of the world's oil needs. Solar power will play the same role that oil wells have played over the past few decades in meeting global energy needs. India will add as much as 50 GW of non-hydro renewable energy to existing 72 GW and is on its way to <g class="gr_ gr_122 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="122" data-gr-id="122">achieve</g><strong> the target of having 175 GW of clean energy by 2022.</strong></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>International Solar Alliance</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The International Solar Alliance (ISA)</strong> is an initiative jointly launched by the Prime Minister of India and the President of France on 30 November 2015 at Paris, on the sidelines of Conference of Parties (CoP 21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.</li>
<li><strong>Headquarters-</strong> National Institute for Solar Energy, Gurugram (Haryana), India.</li>
<li>It<strong> aims at addressing obstacles to deployment at the scale of solar energy through better harmonization and aggregation of demand</strong> from solar rich countries lying fully or partially between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn.</li>
<li>After ratification by a minimum number of countries, on 6 December 2017, ISA became the first full-fledged treaty-based international intergovernmental organization headquartered in India.</li>
<li>Till date, out of 121 prospective member countries that<strong> lie either fully or partially between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, 68 countries have signed the Framework Agreement of the ISA.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>One World, One Sun, One Grid</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Humans have in the last 150-200 years relied on resources trapped below the earth&rsquo;s surface for meeting energy needs. But for a secure future, resources available above the ground like solar and wind energy need to be harnessed.</li>
<li>Sun never sets for entire earth and therefore can be the source for the entire earth if every country is connected to a single grid.</li>
<li>Hence, keeping in mind the Paris Agreement where it has been categorically mentioned that in order to prevent irrevocable changes in the climate, the stakeholders should limit the rise of temperature to 2 degrees, it is but imperative that by 2040 the world should make a substantial transition to the renewable energy.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Feasibility of such an idea</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This idea is very much feasible since countries like India (India has integrated national grid) or even big continents like Europe are connected by more or less single grid.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><em>DRISHTI INPUT</em></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The total world energy usage (coal+oil+hydroelectric+nuclear+renewable) in 2015 was 13,000 Million Ton Oil Equivalent (13,000 MTOE). This translates to 17.3 Terawatts continuous power during the year.</li>
<li>If the area of the Earth is covered with solar panels, even with moderate efficiencies achievable easily today, it will provide more than 174 TW power.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>So, solar energy generated in one part of the world can be taken where enough landmass is not available to generate such quantity of power. For example, the power generated in the Sahara desert can be transmitted to Europe and in turn, Europe can give up on gas if they are connected via a single grid.</li>
<li>Within India itself, there are huge tracts of desert in Rajasthan and Gujarat where solar panels can generate enough power so as to meet substantially the rising demand <g class="gr_ gr_92 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="92" data-gr-id="92">of</g> energy.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Challenges</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In order to see the idea come through the most important challenge is to integrate economic policy imperative and energy policy imperative. Right now these two policies are in not blended.</li>
<li><strong>Solar power depends on the efficient system of storage, which is yet to develop</strong>.</li>
<li>The mineral resources that contribute to making efficient and effective battery are dominated by China.</li>
</ul>
<h3>How to fuel and secure the energy need?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>In the last five years, India has doubled energy generating capacity from 175GW to 350GW.</strong></li>
<li>With economic growth and bettering of economic and social condition, the per capita demand for electricity is bound to increase.</li>
<li>In this regard, it is imperative that the policies are so designed that the energy demand is more tilted towards renewable energy and away from fossil fuels. The best example will be electric cars. It will bring down fossil fuel consumption and solar power can take care of electricity generation.</li>
<li><strong>India has succeeded in large solar projects.</strong> The next big target is to get the solar panel in our 6 lakh villages. Such decentralization would lead to the production of 6 lakh kilowatts into the system.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The first and foremost action would be to develop storage technology.</strong> In this regard, both the government and the private sector need to make a substantial investment.</li>
<li>Continents like Africa can be explored for ensuring the constant supply of rare earth minerals that are important for making batteries for energy storage.</li>
<li><strong>An alternative to storage like solar thermal can be explored.</strong></li>
<li>However, the most important work has to be done at the front of ISA. The team of 121 countries should come together and work as a facilitator instead of a cartel (OPEC).</li>
</ul>',
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	(int) 3 => [
		'title' => 'India Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>1st ever India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue was held at St. Petersburg in Russia to identify greater synergy in trade and investment.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The decision to hold strategic economic dialogue was taken during the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-russia-summit-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener">19th India-Russia Annual Summit</a>&nbsp;held in October 2018 in New Delhi.</li>
<li>The Indian side was led by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman, while the Russian delegation was headed by Economic Development Minister.</li>
<li>The Strategic Economic Dialogue focused on five core areas - <strong>Transport Infrastructure, Agriculture and agro-processing sector, Small &amp; Medium Business support, Digital Transformation &amp; Frontier technologies and Industrial &amp; Trade Cooperation.</strong></li>
<li>Through the dialogue, India Russia can address a number of issues that hinder India-Russia trade like <strong>connectivity issues, distance, weak banking links, cumbersome regulations on both sides and Russia&rsquo;s restrictive visa regime.</strong></li>
<li>The next round of Strategic Economic dialogue will be held in end-July/August 2019 in India.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Areas of Cooperation Discussed</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Operationalization of INSTC </strong>(International North-South Transport Corridor) route on priority and early organization of its coordination council.</li>
<li><strong>Improvement of Inland Waterways in India</strong> through Russian collaboration and setting up of special techno-parks for Russian investments.</li>
<li><strong>Addressing market restrictions</strong> and access for both sides on agri-products, textiles, diamonds and establishing a broader dialogue on national currencies.</li>
<li>Joint action by Public and Private sector in nurturing Small and Medium Enterprises, including information exchange mechanism needed to access credit and market and for learning from best practices and mutual recognition of each others companies.</li>
<li>On the digital front, <strong>cooperation in Financial Technology, Artificial Intelligence(AI), blockchain system and Quantum</strong> <strong>computing</strong> were discussed.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Joint working arrangements and pilot projects in healthcare, Tourism, projects which can be developed for third-country markets, and to invest resources jointly in projects in the far eastern region of the Russian Federation.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Importance of Strategic Economic Dialogue</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India had shared strong ties with the former Soviet Union as which was India&rsquo;s biggest defense and trade partner during the Cold War. Despite having a Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership, India-Russia relation faces a number of challenges.</li>
<li>The reasons for the downturn in relations:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In 2017, the trade between the two countries was around $ 10 billion. <strong>They account for a meager 1% of each other&rsquo;s total trade volume.</strong></li>
<li>
<p>In the wake of the Ukraine crisis in 2013,<strong> Russia&rsquo;s proximity with China increased.</strong></p>
</li>
<li>
<p><strong>India&rsquo;s efforts at diversifying its defense procurement</strong> and thus bringing in other partners such as the United States, Israel, and France has also impacted the relations.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>India&rsquo;s<strong> growing proximity to the United States.</strong></p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>As the defense cooperation is decreasing it is necessary for both nations to develop a strong bilateral economic and trade relationship. A weak economic base is a problematic part of India Russia engagement which requires attention for long-term sustenance of the strategic partnership.</li>
<li>The importance of strategic dialogue is to identify areas where both countries could work together to further improve their trade and economic cooperation.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A strategic bilateral relationship between major powers cannot be sustained without a strong economic partnership as strong trade relations bring strategic character to the relationship.</li>
<li>The<strong> good political ties between India and Russia are not reflected in their economic links.</strong> Thus, the institution of Strategic Economic Dialogue is a positive step to address this issue given it leads to substantial changes on the ground.</li>
<li>Measures like the<strong> International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC)</strong> can solve the connectivity issue between the two.</li>
<li>There is a need to expedite the free trade negotiations between India and Russia steered Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Once finalized, the FTA with EEU aided by INSTC could increase India-Russia trade manifold.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>International North-South Transport Corridor</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>INSTC is a multi-modal transportation route linking the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Iran, and onward to northern Europe via St. Petersburg in Russia.</li>
<li>The INSTC was initiated by Russia, India, and Iran in September 2000 to establish transportation networks among the member states and to enhance connectivity with the landlocked region of Central Asia.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eurasian Economic Union</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Eurasian Economic Union<strong> was started in 2015</strong> based on the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan <g class="gr_ gr_82 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="82" data-gr-id="82">and</g> Belarus.</li>
<li>The bloc was launched to ensure the free movement of goods, services, capital and workforce within its borders.</li>
<li>Members:&nbsp;<strong> Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-russia-strategic-economic-dialogue'
	],
	(int) 4 => [
		'title' => 'India to Chair Kimberley Process',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>India will chair the <strong>Kimberley System Certification Scheme (KPCS) which is also known as Kimberley Process (KP)</strong> from <strong>January 2019.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India took over the Chairmanship of the Kimberley System Certification Scheme (KPCS) during the KPCS Plenary 2018, which was held in<strong> Belgium in November, 2018.</strong></li>
<li>The 4-day Plenary also witnessed discussion on<strong> environmental challenges in diamond mining and industry responsibility.</strong></li>
<li>India, during its chairmanship will continue with the tradition and aim to support the artisanal and small-scale mining, capacity building, technical assistance and education on valuation, differentiation between natural and lab grown diamonds, importance of legal and formal mining practices.</li>
<li>The<strong> next Intersessional session is slated to be held in India</strong> with Botswana and the Russian Federation serving as Vice-Chair during the period of 2019-2020.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Kimberley Process</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Kimberley Process (KP) is a commitment to remove <strong>conflict diamonds</strong> from the global supply chain.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p>Conflict diamonds, <strong>also known as &lsquo;blood' diamonds</strong>, are rough diamonds used by rebel movements or their allies to finance armed conflicts <strong>aimed at undermining legitimate governments.</strong></p>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is an international certification scheme which&nbsp;<strong>came into force in 2003</strong> to regulate trade in rough diamonds. It aims to prevent the flow of conflict diamonds, while helping to protect legitimate trade in rough diamonds.</li>
<li>The Kimberley Process is <strong>also described in the United Nation Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions.</strong></li>
<li>The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) outlines the rules that govern the trade in rough diamonds. The KPCS has developed a set of minimum requirements that each participant must meet.&nbsp;</li>
<li>The KP is not, strictly speaking, an international organisation: it has <strong>no permanent offices or permanent staff</strong>. It relies on the contributions &ndash; under the <strong>principle of &lsquo;burden-sharing</strong>' &ndash; of participants, supported by industry and civil society observers.</li>
<li>The Kimberley Process (KP) is a <strong>binding agreement</strong> that imposes extensive requirements through the<strong> national legislations</strong> of its participants.&nbsp;</li>
<li><strong>India is the founding member</strong> of Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS).</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-to-chair-kimberley-process'
	],
	(int) 5 => [
		'title' => 'Back Series  GDP Data',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Recently the government has released the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth estimates for previous years based on the new method of calculation and base year (2011-12) it had adopted in 2015.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The government adopted the recommendations of the <strong>United Nations System of National Accounts</strong>, which included measuring the <strong>Gross Value Added (GVA)</strong>, and the use of new data sources wherever available. One of these data sources is the <strong>Ministry of Corporate Affairs MCA-21</strong> database, which became available since 2011-12.</li>
<li>MCA-21, an e-governance initiative of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs was launched in 2006, to allow firms to electronically file their financial results.</li>
<li>The new method is statistically more robust as it tries to relate the estimates to more indicators such as consumption, employment, and the performance of enterprises, and also incorporates factors that are more responsive to current changes, unlike the old series that usually took 2-3 years to register an underlying change.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In the new series, the <strong>Central Statistics Office (CSO) did away with GDP at factor cost</strong> and adopted the international practice of <strong>GDP at market price</strong> and the <strong>GVA</strong> measure to better estimate economic activity.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p>GDP at market price = GDP at factor cost + Indirect Taxes &ndash; Subsidies</p>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Further, the change involved bringing forward of the <strong>base year used for calculations to 2011-12 from the previous 2004-05</strong>.</li>
<li>Base year revision is normally done once in five years to accommodate and factor in the changes that take place in the economic scenario of the country.</li>
<li>However, this had led to the problem of not being able to compare recent data with the years preceding 2011-12. So, the back series data released recently provided the earlier years&rsquo; data using the new calculations.</li>
</ul>
<h3>New Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Trends shown by the official back-data suggest that the old series<strong> under-estimated the impact of the global financial crisis on the Indian economy</strong>. It also over-estimated the rebound from the crisis.</li>
<li>The<strong> new data</strong> release shows that <strong>GDP growth during 2004 - 2014 averaged 6.7%</strong>, compared with the <strong>8.1% (2004-2009) and 7.46% (2009-2014)</strong>, respectively, estimated using the<strong> older method</strong>.</li>
<li>In comparison, the <strong>current government</strong> has witnessed an <strong>average GDP growth rate of 7.35%</strong> during the first four years of its term, based on the new method.</li>
<li>The <strong>new data shows</strong> that, contrary to the earlier perception, the <strong>Indian economy never graduated to a &lsquo;high growth&rsquo; phase of more than 9%</strong> in the last decade or so.</li>
<li>The newer data, especially for the mining and manufacturing sectors, shows that India did not recover from the global financial crisis 2007-2008 as quickly as initially thought.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Concerns Associated</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The choice of datasets and proxies, especially those datasets that didn&rsquo;t exist before 2011-12 have not been explained.&nbsp;For instance, for years preceding 2006, when the MCA-21 database did not exist, the CSO has used Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) data for estimating manufacturing growth without giving the&nbsp;details about why it was selected over other available datasets.</li>
<li>The new back series data diverges significantly from the estimates made in a<strong> draft report</strong> released by the <strong>National Statistical Commission</strong> (the autonomous body that helps in collection of data by India&rsquo;s statistical agencies) earlier this year.</li>
<li>The report showed that growth during 2004-2014 crossed 9% on at least four occasions, and even hit 10.78% in 2010-11. The report pegged the average GDP growth during 2004-2009 at about 8.4% and 2009-2014 at 7.7%.</li>
<li>However, the government clarified that this was just a draft report that used only one of the many methods in order to estimate the back series, and it was not the final number.</li>
<li>The<strong> role of the NITI Aayog</strong> in the release of the statistical exercise of CSO, which comes under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), has also been questioned.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Gross Value Added (GVA)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Gross Value Added (GVA) is a measure of total output and income in the economy. It provides the rupee value for the amount of goods and services produced in an economy after deducting the cost of inputs and raw materials that have gone into the production of those goods and services.</li>
<li>It also gives sector-specific picture like what is the growth in an area, industry or sector of an economy.</li>
<li>At the macro level, from national accounting perspective, GVA is the sum of a country&rsquo;s GDP and net of subsidies and taxes in the economy.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border">
<p>Gross value added = GDP + subsidies on products - taxes on products</p>
</div>
<p><strong>Gross Domestic Product (GDP)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>GDP gives the economic output from the consumers&rsquo; side. It is the sum of private consumption, gross investment in the economy, government investment, government spending and net foreign trade (difference between exports and imports).</li>
</ul>
<div class="border">
<p>GDP = private consumption + gross investment + government investment + government spending + (exports-imports)</p>
</div>
<p><strong>Comparison Between GVA and GDP</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>While <strong>GVA</strong> gives a picture of the state of economic activity from the<strong> producers&rsquo; side or supply side</strong>, the <strong>GDP</strong> gives the picture from the<strong> consumers&rsquo; side or demand perspective</strong>. Both measures need not match because of the difference in treatment of net taxes. This is one of the reasons that in the first quarter of 2015, GDP growth was stronger at 7.5%, while GVA growth was 6.1%.</li>
<li>GVA is considered as a better gauge of the economy because a sharp increase in the output, only due to higher tax collections which could be on account of better compliance or coverage, may distort the real output situation.</li>
<li>A sector-wise breakdown provided by the GVA measure helps policymakers decide which sectors need incentives or stimulus and accordingly formulate sector-specific policies. But GDP is a key measure when it comes to making cross-country analysis and comparing the incomes of different economies.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/back-series-gdp-data'
	],
	(int) 6 => [
		'title' => 'World AIDS Day',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>2018 marks the 30th anniversary of World AIDS Day.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The theme of 2018 World AIDS Day is &ldquo;<strong>Know your status&rdquo;.</strong></li>
<li>World AIDS Day takes place on the<strong> December 1st, every year</strong>. Initiated by <strong>World Health Organization (WHO)</strong> in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day.</li>
<li>World AIDS Day is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness.</li>
<li>WHO advocacy and communication for World AIDS Day 2018 will aim to achieve the following objectives
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Urge people to know their HIV infection status through testing, and to access HIV prevention, treatment and care services.</li>
<li>Urge policy-makers to promote a &ldquo;health for all&rdquo; agenda for HIV and related health services, such as tuberculosis (TB), hepatitis and noncommunicable diseases.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>National Aids Control Program</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The National AIDS Control Organization, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched the first phase of<strong> National AIDS Control Programme in 1992.</strong></li>
<li>Over time, the focus has shifted from raising awareness to behavior change, from a national response to a more decentralized response and to increasing involvement of NGOs and networks of Person Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV).</li>
<li>Subsequently, second, third and fourth phases have been launched in 1999, 2007 and 2014 with better implementation and improved strategy.</li>
</ul>
<h3>HIV/AIDS Act, 2017 Implemented</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Recently, The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, enforced the<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/hiv-aids-act-2017-implemented" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017</a> (HIV/AIDS Act, 2017) in force from 10th September 2018.</li>
</ul>
<h3>India&rsquo;s HIV Burden</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>With an <strong>HIV prevalence of 0.26% in the adult population</strong>, India has an estimated 2.1 million People living with HIV (2015). <strong>India has third largest number of cases in the world.</strong></li>
<li>Bio-behavioural surveys confirm that HIV prevalence is high or &lsquo;concentrated&rsquo; among &lsquo;key populations&rsquo; (KPs) who have unprotected sexual contacts with multiple partners or who engage in injecting drug use.</li>
<li>These populations include<strong> female sex workers (FSW), men who have sex with men (MSM), hijra/transgender (TG), people who inject drugs (PWID), long-distance truck drivers and migrants.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3><br />National Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) 2017 &ndash; 2024</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) has now revised the national approach to reach <strong>&lsquo;the last mile&rsquo;</strong> &ndash; in order to ensure a more effective, sustained and comprehensive coverage of AIDS related services.</li>
<li>This approach is being implemented by the NACO through a seven-year National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS and STI, 2017-24.</li>
<li>By 2020, the focus of the national programme will be on achieving the following fast track targets:</li>
</ul>
<ol>
<li><strong>75% reduction</strong> in new HIV infections,</li>
<li><strong>90-90-90:</strong> 90% of those who are HIV positive in the country know their status, 90% of those who know their status are on treatment and 90% of those who are on treatment experience effective viral load suppression</li>
<li><strong>Elimination of mother-to-child transmission</strong> of HIV and Syphilis</li>
<li><strong>Elimination of stigma</strong> and discrimination</li>
</ol>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>By 2024, the further achievements envisaged are:</li>
</ul>
<ol>
<li><strong>80% reduction in new HIV infections</strong></li>
<li>Ensuring that 95% of those who are HIV positive in the country know their status, 95% of those who know their status are on treatment and 95% of those who are on treatment experience effective viral load suppression</li>
</ol>
<h3>The HIV</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)<strong> targets the immune system</strong> and results in increased susceptibility to a wide range of infections, cancers and other diseases that people with healthy immune systems can fight off.</li>
<li>As the virus destroys and impairs the function of immune cells, infected individuals gradually become immunodeficient.</li>
<li>The <strong>most advanced stage of HIV infection is Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS),</strong> which can take from 2 to 15 years to develop depending on the individual.</li>
<li>HIV infection is diagnosed through<strong> rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs),</strong> which detect the presence or absence of HIV antibodies.</li>
<li>There is <strong>no cure for HIV infection</strong>. However, effective antiretroviral (ARV) drugs can control the virus and help prevent transmission so that people with HIV, and those at substantial risk, can enjoy healthy, long and productive lives.</li>
<li><strong>Antiretroviral medicines/antiretroviral (ARVs)/antiretroviral therapy (ART)/ HIV treatment:</strong> These are medicines that are used for treating HIV infection. They are highly effective in<strong> suppressing HIV virus</strong> and slowing the progress of HIV disease.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The<strong> Global Fund is a 21st-century partnership organization</strong> designed to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics.</li>
<li>Founded in 2002, the Global Fund is a <strong>partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and people affected by the diseases.</strong></li>
<li>The Global Fund raises and invests nearly US$4 billion a year to support programs run by local experts in countries and communities.</li>
<li>GFATM play a significant role in India&rsquo;s health sector It contribute a substantial portion of the external development assistance to the health sector.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Project Sunrise</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A new initiative called 'Project Sunrise' was launched by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2016, to tackle the <strong>rising HIV prevalence in north-eastern states in India</strong>, especially among people injecting drugs</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>The Red Ribbon</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The red ribbon is the universal symbol of awareness and support for people living with HIV.</li>
<li>Wearing a ribbon is a great way to raise awareness on and during the run up to World AIDS Day.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/world-aids-day'
	],
	(int) 7 => [
		'title' => 'Ten Years After The Mumbai Attack',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;Ten Years After The Mumbai Attack&rdquo; which appears in The Hindu on 26th November 2018. It analyses terror attacks in India.)</p>
</div>
<p>Ten years ago, Pakistan carried out one of the most heinous of terror attacks perpetrated anywhere in the world. The 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, named after the date in 2008. The targets were carefully chosen after being surveyed for maximum impact, viz. the Taj and Oberoi Hotels, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, the Jewish center at Nariman House, and the Leopold Cafe, since these places were frequented by Europeans, Indians and Jews.</p>
<p><strong>Terrorism is hardly a postmodern* phenomenon.</strong> Several of the terror attacks in the 21st century reflect a paradigmatic change in the tactics of asymmetric warfare* and the practice of violence. <strong>Attacks carried out in different corners of the world by al-Qaeda and its affiliates, the Islamic State, al-Shabaab, and similar terror outfits, are very different from those witnessed in the previous century. The tactics employed may vary, but the objective is common, viz. achieving mass casualties and widespread destruction.</strong></p>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In 1993, over 250 people were killed in Mumbai in a series of coordinated bomb explosions attributed to Dawood Ibrahim, reportedly as a reprisal for the demolition of the Babri Masjid.</li>
<li>In July 2006, bomb explosions in a number of suburban trains in Mumbai killed over 200 people and injured several more.</li>
<li>The most audacious terror attack till the 26/11 Mumbai terror incident was the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001 by the Pakistan-based terror outfits, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).</li>
</ul>
<h3>26/11 Attack</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The 26/11 Mumbai terror attack was one of a kind and not a mere variant of previous instances of terrorist violence.</li>
<li><strong>It was the rarest of rare cases, where one state&rsquo;s resources, viz. Pakistan&rsquo;s were employed to carry out a series of terror attacks in a major Indian city.</strong></li>
<li>It was a case of &lsquo;war by other means&rsquo;, in which the authorities in Pakistan, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, the Pakistani armed forces, were involved.</li>
<li>The Mumbai terror attack was not based on a sudden impulse. Several years of planning and preparation had preceded the attack, even as the peace talk was going on between India and Pakistan.</li>
<li><strong>From an Indian standpoint, it was for the first time that an operation of this nature involved Rapid Action Force personnel, Marine Commandos (MARCOS), the National Security Guard (NSG*) and the Mumbai Police.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Lessons Learned</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The incident made changes in India&rsquo;s attitudes toward terrorism. It hardened the country&rsquo;s attitude towards terrorists and militants of all stripes.</strong></li>
<li>Following the Mumbai attacks, the government of India came up with many measures to deal with the new threat. <strong>The National Investigation Agency was created to investigate terrorism issues, four National Security Guard (NSG) hubs were set up for a rapid response to attacks. (Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai post-2008, and in 2017 Gujarat got the 5th NSG hub)</strong></li>
<li>An amended Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was created to provide for the arrest and interrogation of terrorism suspects.</li>
<li>Outcomes of 26/11 were also to get the Multi-Agency Centre (MAC), an intelligence agency clearinghouse, in motion. Subsidiary MACS at the state level came up next.</li>
<li><strong>One of the major decisions of the government was to place the Indian Coast Guard under the Indian Navy and make the latter the overall in-charge of maritime security, in coordination with the state government agencies and the marine police.</strong></li>
<li>A number of radars and automatic identification systems were later set up along the coast, and also a command, control and coordination center was set in New Delhi to monitor the operations.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Security Guard (NSG)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>NSG is a Federal Contingency World Class Zero Error Force to deal with anti-terrorist activities in all its manifestation.</li>
<li>Motto: Sarvatra Sarvottam Suraksha</li>
<li>The Union Cabinet took the decision to create NSG in 1984 and it formally came into being from 1986. NSG is under the Ministry of Home Affairs.</li>
<li>It consists of officers/personnel from Army, Central Armed Police Forces and State Police Forces.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>New Challenges</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Although India's national integrity remains fundamentally secure, pressures from various elements in the growing challenges of communalism and religious fanaticism have acquired disturbing dimensions.</strong></li>
<li>Political manipulation of religious sentiments for narrow political ends which creates long-term implications for the future of the country has also become one of the main challenges.</li>
<li>The situation in Kashmir remains a cause for deep and continuing concern. Mishandling of a brewing political crisis brought about by the state government's dismal performance, marked by rampant corruption and inefficiency, led to an explosive situation in the sensitive valley.</li>
<li>For India particularly, which has been the host to one of the largest inflow of refugees with practically no outflow, the magnitude <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">and</g> frequency of the refugee movement has been the main problem. This has particularly grave implications for the social, economic and political stability of the sensitive north-east.</li>
<li>In addition, cybersecurity threats, border tensions, cross-border crimes top the list of challenges.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Streamlining Security</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In the wake of the terror attack, several steps were initiated to streamline the security set-up. With increased vigil and streamlining of the counter-terrorism framework, newer methodologies, newer concepts were more daringly executed.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Coastal security was given high priority, and it is with the Navy/Coast Guard/marine police. The Navy constituted a Joint Operations Centre to keep vigil over India&rsquo;s extended coastline.</li>
<li>A specialized agency to deal with terrorist offenses, the National Investigation Agency, was set up and has been functioning from January 2009.</li>
<li>The National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) has been constituted to create an appropriate database of security-related information. Operational NSG hubs have been created to ensure rapid response to terror attacks.</li>
<li>The Multi-Agency Centre, which functions under the Intelligence Bureau, was further strengthened and its activities expanded.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The actual number of terror attacks have declined in recent years</strong>, but this does not mean that the situation is better than what existed a decade ago. Terrorism still remains a major threat, and with modern refinements, new terrorist methodologies and terrorism mutating into a global franchise, the threat potential has become greater.</li>
<li><strong>One of the major gaps in security relates to ports,</strong> especially the smaller ports and <g class="gr_ gr_148 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="148" data-gr-id="148">harbours</g> of the country, most of which lack any kind of security cover should be provided with special securities. Even in the larger ports, measures should be taken to check the containers that pass through, as that requires specialized equipment.</li>
<li><strong>Many of the coastal police stations have yet to become functional.</strong> Besides the infrastructure of jetties, police stations and vessels, the problem of inculcating the personnel with a maritime culture should be quickly addressed. Automatic Identification Systems for all the fishing vessels in Indian waters should be provided. And there should be the use of technologies to protect the sensitive borders.</li>
<li><strong>Communications interoperability was a significant issue</strong> during the Mumbai attack and previous terrorist attacks. Public safety agencies must continue to expand and test interoperability of multi-agencies. Coordination, which still remains a problem should be addressed.</li>
<li><strong>Finally, the social fabric of the country has to be held firm.</strong> So that it should not get harmed and create security concerns from outside extremist pressure.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>*Postmodernism</strong>, also spelled post-modernism, in Western philosophy, a late 20th-century movement characterized by broad skepticism, subjectivism, or relativism; a general suspicion of reason; and an acute sensitivity to the role of ideology in asserting and maintaining political and economic power.</li>
<li>*<strong>Asymmetrical warfare</strong> consists of unconventional strategies and tactics adopted by a force when the military capabilities of belligerent powers are not simply unequal but are so significantly different that they cannot make the same sorts of attacks on each other.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/603india_terror%20wwwwwwww.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/603india_terror wwwwwwww.jpg" width="366" height="385" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" /></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/ten-years-after-the-mumbai-attack'
	],
	(int) 8 => [
		'title' => 'The Need For Reforms In The Education Sector',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;The Need For Reforms In The Education Sector&rdquo; which appears in Livemint on 30 November 2018. It analyses the education sector in India.)</p>
</div>
<h3>Background</h3>
<p>Lack of skill among youth stands one of the reasons for prevailing high rate of unemployment in the country and when we think about the future of work&mdash;and all the jobs that will have to be created for India&rsquo;s expanding youth population&mdash;<strong>we should hold one thought above all in mind: most children who are currently in primary school will be earning their living in employment that don&rsquo;t yet exist</strong>. As an example, just consider that today India is home to 4 million app developers&mdash;a work sector that did not exist less than three decades ago.</p>
<p><strong>These transformations in society are the result of technological progress.</strong> In a short space of time, the word &ldquo;Amazon&rdquo; has gone from meaning a mighty river in South America to one of the largest online retailers in the world. These transformations in society are the result of technological progress.</p>
<h3>Need for Reforms</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Digital technologies are changing the shape of work before our eyes.</strong></li>
<li>These technologies are enabling firms to automate and this will reduce employment in some old, typically low and medium-skill sectors, but they also help firms to increase productivity, to innovate, and subsequently to create new products and sectors. Good news is that emerging markets like India stand to gain&mdash;but they need to have the right skills at the ready.</li>
<li><strong>The demand for certain skills is going up in today&rsquo;s labour markets.</strong> These skills include complex problem-solving and analysis, and social skills such as teamwork and relationship management. Reasoning and self-efficacy are also increasingly important, particularly as they improve adaptability.</li>
<li><strong>In a survey of employers of engineers in India, socio-behavioural skills were ranked at or above technical qualifications and credentials in terms of their significance for the employability of recent graduates.</strong> Building these skills requires strong human capital foundations&mdash;and building these foundations is especially important in early childhood development.</li>
<li><strong>According to the World Development Report 2019, India needs to focus even more strongly on the quality of education it offers to its greatest asset&mdash;its citizens.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>What Kind of Reforms Are Needed?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>First, India&rsquo;s education system requires more flexibility between the general and technical tracks.</li>
<li>Second, it must focus more on building socio-behavioural skills like self-efficacy and teamwork.</li>
<li>And third, it must ensure that specific universities become effective innovation clusters. For example, as part of the Startup India initiative, seven new research parks had been established on Indian Institute of Technology campuses to promote innovation through incubation and collaboration between universities and private sector firms. More initiatives like these are needed.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Education, employment and the future of work:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Every year, 12 million youth enter the labour market in India.</strong> By 2030, the country will have 123 million 25- to 29-year-old citizens. Bolstered by social media, their aspirations will be high. For these young people, many of whom did not graduate with a high-school diploma, adult learning programmes and forms of tertiary education will be the only remaining path to adequate skills development.</li>
<li>According to some estimates, <strong>only 24% of 18- to 37-year-olds who dropped out of school before completing the primary level can read</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>India&rsquo;s tertiary education system is the second largest in the world, after China.</strong> It is home to more than 35 million students and over 50,000 institutions. The most prestigious institutions within this system have global standing and are responsible for making India a world leader in the high-tech sector. But for this success to be taken to the next level, India&rsquo;s tertiary education system needs urgent reforms.</li>
<li><strong>India also needs to overhaul its short-term skilling programmes.</strong></li>
<li>Lastly, <strong>adult learning is an important channel for readjusting skills to fit in the future of work,</strong> and it would benefit from a serious design rethink. Pedagogies that are customized to the adult brain, along with flexible delivery models that fit in well with adult lifestyles, can make adult learning programmes more effective.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>To build a society with sensible character and citizenship, it&rsquo;s vital that <strong>value education be introduced in pre-school and strengthened in primary, secondary and higher education</strong>. Since most of these traits are learnt by infants up to the age of 5-6, if children miss out during this period in life, it is hard to catch up. <strong>These foundations can be easily established through effective early childhood development programmes and basic education. Investments in nutrition, health and stimulation in the first thousand days of life also build stronger brains.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Through investments in this area&mdash;what is called foundational human capital&mdash;India can prepare its people for the coming shifts in jobs, skills and market structures.</strong> Lack of investments, instead, will leave future generations&mdash;especially the poorest&mdash;at a severe disadvantage, amplifying inequalities that already exist. In the worst-case scenario, this might create socio-political instability when rising aspirations are met with frustration instead of opportunity.</li>
<li><strong>Good news is that a lot of investments in human capital have already begun in India and are likely to have a positive impact in the coming years.</strong> The shift in the education sector towards more competitive federalism and results-based financing is expected to improve accountability and learning outcomes.</li>
<li><strong>India&rsquo;s agreement to participate in PISA* is a major step forward in its policy landscape that will help rank India with global peers based on education outcomes.</strong></li>
<li>The World Bank is also serious about getting policymakers and governments to think harder about human capital. The changing nature of work makes the case for doing this. <strong>Investing in human capital now and over the long term is an investment with profound implications for people&rsquo;s future prosperity and for national economic growth.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/back-to-pisa-after-2009" target="_blank" rel="noopener">*Read More: PISA</a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/the-need-for-reforms-in-the-education-sector'
	],
	(int) 9 => [
		'title' => 'Eco-Sensitive Zones',
		'catname' => 'Paper 3',
		'desc' => '<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/322Eco-Sensitive%20Zones-2.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/322Eco-Sensitive Zones-2.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/mind-map/gs-paper3/mind-map-eco-sensitive-zones'
	],
	(int) 10 => [
		'title' => 'Global Wage Report: ILO',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Recently <strong>International Labour Organisation</strong> (ILO) has released the Global Wage Report 2018.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>For the <strong>first time</strong>, the Global Wage Report 2018 has also focused on the <strong>global gender pay gap</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Lowest wage growth globally in 2017 since 2008:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Globally, the rate of growth in wages in 2017 fell to its lowest level since 2008, but workers in <strong>India had the highest average real wage growth in Southern Asia</strong> of 5.5% over the period 2008-17.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Slow wage growth in high-income countries:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Wages in developing countries are increasing more quickly than those in higher-income countries. But the gaps in wages are wide and the level of wages is still not high enough for people to meet their basic needs in developing countries.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>More robust wage growth in low- and middle-income countries:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>All emerging G20 countries except Mexico experienced significant positive growth in average real wages between 2008 and 2017.</li>
<li>Real wages between 1999 and 2017 have almost tripled in the emerging and developing countries of the G20.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong> Wage growth lagging behind productivity growth in high-income countries:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Labour productivity has increased more rapidly than real wages due to which the share of labour compensation in GDP in many countries remain substantially below those of the early 1990s.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Wage inequality highest in low-income countries:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Countries with the lowest levels of wage inequality are found among the high-income group, whereas countries with the highest levels of wage inequality are found in the low- and middle-income groups.</li>
<li>Among <strong>high-income countries</strong>, wage <strong>inequality is lowest in Sweden and highest in Chile</strong>. Among<strong> low-income and middle-income countries</strong>, <strong>South Africa and Namibia</strong> have the <strong>highest inequality</strong>, <strong>Armenia and Mongolia </strong>the<strong> lowest</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Gender pay gaps represent one of today&rsquo;s greatest social injustices:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Women continue to be <strong>under-represented in traditionally male-occupied categories</strong> and within similar categories, women are consistently <strong>paid below men</strong>, even if women&rsquo;s <strong>educational attainments are just as good or better</strong> than those of men in similar occupations.</li>
<li>In high-income countries, the gender pay gap was at its biggest in top-salaried positions. In low- and middle-income countries, however, the gap was widest among lower-paid workers.</li>
<li>The <strong>lack of programmes supporting women&rsquo;s return to work after childbirth</strong> also contributes to the wage penalty that women face when resuming work after a prolonged period of absence from the labour market.</li>
<li>The wages of both men and women also tend to be lower in enterprises and occupations with a predominantly female workforce.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>State-specific and comparative studies on wages are needed by the collaboration work between government agencies, academic institutions and expert organisations.</li>
<li>Good data is needed in many countries for better data on the distribution of wages.</li>
<li><strong>Educational policies</strong> targeting enrolment rates among girls may contribute to reducing the gender pay gap in the future.</li>
<li><strong>Reducing polarization and occupational segregation</strong> may require changing perceptions and stereotypes, for example- attract more women into the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), which offer better-paid employment opportunities.</li>
<li>Countries should also look into possible ways to address the undervaluing of women&rsquo;s work in highly feminized occupations and industries, including by raising wages in the latter. Eliminating this bias is not only a way to narrow the gender pay gap directly, but it is also a condition to reduce occupational segregation, for example by attracting more men into the education and health sectors.</li>
<li>More <strong>equitable sharing of family duties</strong> between women and men, as well as adequate childcare and eldercare services, would in many instances lead to women making different occupational choices.</li>
<li>An <strong>appropriate mix of policies in any national context</strong> will depend on that particular country&rsquo;s circumstances, and that robust analytical work is needed to identify the largest contributory factors &ndash; and hence the most effective remedies &ndash; in different country contexts.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>To support UN&rsquo;s SDG 8, the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC), was launched in September 2017 as a <strong>multi-stakeholder initiative</strong> that includes the <strong>ILO, UN Women and the OECD</strong>.</li>
<li>It seeks<strong> to achieve equal pay for women and men</strong>.&nbsp;</li>
<li>The UN&rsquo;s SDG 8 sets the target of &ldquo;achieving full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities and equal pay for work of equal value&rdquo; by 2030.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>International Labour Organization</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The International Labour Organization (ILO) was founded in 1919 to promote social justice and thereby contribute to universal and lasting peace.</li>
<li>The ILO is responsible for drawing up and overseeing international labour standards.</li>
<li>It is the <strong>only tripartite United Nations agency</strong> that brings together representatives of <strong>governments</strong>,<strong> employers</strong> and <strong>workers</strong> to jointly shape policies and programmes promoting decent work for all.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/global-wage-report-ilo'
	],
	(int) 11 => [
		'title' => 'Maharashtra Assembly Passes Bill For Reservation For Marathas',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>The Maharashtra Assembly has unanimously passed a Bill proposing 16% reservation for Maratha community.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The bill provides for reservation of seats for admission in educational institutions and posts in public services under <strong>Article 15(4), 16 (4) of the Constitution of India.</strong></li>
<li>Maratha community has been granted reservation under an independent category Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC).</li>
<li>The approval of the Bill has increased the reservation in Maharashtra from the current 52%to 68%, thus <strong>crossing the 50% ceiling set by Supreme Court in Indra Sawhney Case (1992).</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Article 15(4) in The Constitution Of India </strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Nothing in this article or in clause shall prevent the State from making any special provision for<br />the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Article 16(4) in The Constitution Of India </strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in favor of any backward class of citizens which, in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services under the State.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Maratha Community</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Marathas are the Marathi-speaking, politically dominant community in Maharashtra. They make up about one-third of the population of the state.</li>
<li>Historically, they have been identified as a warrior class with large land-holdings.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Reasons For Demanding Reservations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Division of land and agrarian problems</strong> over the years have led to a decline of prosperity among middle-class and lower-middle-class within Maratha Community.</li>
<li>Maratha community is a predominantly agrarian community which have been hit by the <strong>rural distress</strong>, especially the crisis in agriculture, and their efforts to seek <strong>education and alternative employment has been hampered</strong> by locational disadvantages.</li>
<li><strong>Inability of the state governments to provide enough jobs</strong> is another factor for dissatisfaction.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Basis for Reservation</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC)</strong> submitted a report after studying 45,000 families from two villages from each of the 355 talukas that have more than a 50% Maratha population.</li>
<li>According to the panel report, Marathas have been declared as socially and educationally backward class of citizens and have inadequate representation in the services under state.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Issues Around Reservation</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Judicial Scrutiny</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Reservation in Maharashtra is already beyond the Supreme Court imposed limit of 50%. After 16% is reservation is given to Marathas, the total would become 68%. Hence, whether this proposal can withstand judicial scrutiny and become policy remains to be seen.</li>
<li>However, there is no provision in the Constitution imposing ceiling on reservation. But it has provision that reservation should be given under exceptional and extraordinary cases.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Not a &ldquo;Backward Community&rdquo;</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Marathas don&rsquo;t face any social stigma which hinders their economic development. Hence, there is no reason that calls for giving them affirmative action.</li>
<li>The demand for reservations for Marathas, traditionally seen as &ldquo;upper castes&rdquo;, goes against the spirit of affirmative action. They also play a central role in states electoral politics.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Government should look at the <strong>bigger solution to the problem</strong> as quotas offer only a limited, short-term solution to these problems.</li>
<li>Reservation is an instrument to rectify social and educational backwardness, but it is not a solution for every social and economic ailment. The <strong>government should focus on increasing economic growth which might lead to new employment opportunities.</strong></li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/maharashtra-assembly-passes-bill-for-reservation-for-marathas'
	],
	(int) 12 => [
		'title' => 'Global Nutrition Report 2018',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In its<strong> fifth edition</strong>, the Global Nutrition Report highlights the worrying<strong> prevalence and universality of malnutrition in all its forms.</strong> About a <strong>third of the world&rsquo;s children</strong> suffer some form of malnutrition.</li>
<li>According to the report there has been <strong>some progress in reducing malnutrition</strong>, but it has been too slow and not spread across all forms of malnutrition.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Global Nutrition Report</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This report has been produced by the Independent Expert Group of the Global Nutrition Report, supported by the Global Nutrition Report Stakeholder Group.</li>
<li>The Global Nutrition Report was conceived following the<strong> first Nutrition for Growth Initiative Summit (N4G) in 2013. The first report was published in 2014.</strong></li>
<li>The Global Nutrition Report acts as a report card on the world&rsquo;s nutrition&mdash;<strong>globally, regionally, and country by country</strong>&mdash;and on efforts to improve it.</li>
<li>It assesses progress in meeting Global Nutrition Targets established by the World Health Assembly.</li>
<li>The<strong> World Health Organization (WHO)</strong> is a Global Nutrition Report Partner.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Stunting</strong> in children under five years of age is declining at a global level but numbers in Africa are increasing.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Although, some progress is visible<strong> only against stunting, India</strong> still holds almost a third of the world's burden for stunting. Of the three countries that are home to almost half (47.2%) of all stunted children, two are in Asia, with India having 46.6 million (31%) and Pakistan having 10.7 million.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>India also accounted for 25.5 million children who are<strong> wasted</strong>, followed by Nigeria (3.4 million) and Indonesia (3.3 million). More than half of the world's children impacted by wasting (26.9 million) live in South Asia.</li>
<li>Progress in addressing <strong>underweight and anaemia among women</strong> has been<strong> extremely slow</strong> while<strong> overweight ((body mass index (BMI &ge;25) and obesity (BMI &ge;30) among adults is getting worse</strong>, with <strong>higher rates of obesity among women</strong> than men. Conversely,<strong> diabetes is more common among men</strong> than women.</li>
<li>India also figures among the set of countries that has more than a <strong>million overweight children.</strong> The other nations are China, Indonesia, India, Egypt, US, Brazil and Pakistan.</li>
<li>Different forms of<strong> malnutrition continue to coexist</strong> with each other. Of the 141 countries analysed, 88% experience more than one form of malnutrition.</li>
<li>In situations of <strong>crises arising from conflict, fragility, violence and environmental change</strong> there is an urgent need to treat and prevent multiple burdens of malnutrition while also building nutrition resilience.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recommendations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Break down silos between malnutrition in all its forms</strong>- Different forms of malnutrition coexist which are being tackled at different rates, vary between populations, and overlap with each other in various ways. Therefore they <strong>require integrated approaches and cohesive work to address them.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Prioritise and invest in the data and capacity to use them</strong>- The efforts made to improve the collection and analysis of diet data must continue, and the<strong> gap in micronutrient data must be addressed</strong> as a matter of urgency. However, data collection and analysis is not enough, all stakeholders also<strong> need the capacity to use it</strong> to make evidence-based decisions.</li>
<li><strong>Increase financing for nutrition-</strong> &nbsp;Although nutrition financing have increased over the years, especially in developing countries, they are <strong>not adequate.</strong> Building on this progress, domestic investments must continue to grow and international aid donors must keep investing.</li>
<li><strong>Galvanise action on healthy diets-</strong> Governments and business need to implement a<strong> holistic package of actions</strong> to ensure food systems and food environments are <strong>delivering healthy diets</strong> that are affordable, accessible and desirable for all.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Malnutrition</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Malnutrition refers to d<strong>eficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a person&rsquo;s intake of energy and/or nutrients</strong>. It is often split into<strong> two broad groups of conditions:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Undernutrition,</strong> including &nbsp;<strong>stunting (low height for age)</strong>,<strong> wasting (low weight for height)</strong>, <strong>underweight (low weight for age)</strong> and <strong>&nbsp;micronutrient deficiencies</strong> or insufficiencies (a lack of important vitamins and minerals).</li>
<li><strong>Overweight, obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases</strong> (heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, etc.).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In April 2016, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming the <strong>UN Decade of Action on Nutrition from 2016 to 2025.</strong></li>
<li>The <strong>Sustainable Development Goal (SD Goal 2: Zero hunger)</strong> aims to<strong> end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030,</strong> making sure all people &ndash; especially children &ndash; have access to sufficient and nutritious food all year round. This involves promoting sustainable agricultural practices: supporting small scale farmers and allowing equal access to land, technology and markets.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Global Nutrition Report 2018 finds again that the problem of<strong> malnutrition remains severe across all regions</strong> and none of the countries are on course to meet all nine global nutrition targets.</li>
<li>Malnutrition is <strong>responsible for more ill-health than any other cause.</strong> The health consequences of being overweight and obese contribute to an estimated four million deaths globally.</li>
<li>The issue is <strong>not the degree of crises</strong> but why are <strong>things not better when there is so much more information than before.</strong> &nbsp;Therefore, the commitments designed for impact which can be continuously monitored and deliver will be fit for purpose to end malnutrition in all its forms.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/global-nutrition-report-2018'
	],
	(int) 13 => [
		'title' => 'Important Facts for Prelims (30th November 2018)',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Konkan Exercise-2018</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Bilateral KONKAN exercise is a<strong> naval exercise conducted between India and the United Kingdom.</strong></li>
<li>The Exercise provides a platform for the two navies to build interoperability and share best practices.</li>
<li>The KONKAN series of<strong> exercises was started in 2004.</strong> Since then, the exercise is hosted in rotation by both the Navies and has grown in complexity, scale, and intensity.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Reggae got UNESCO Heritage Status</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Reggae music, which got international fame because of artists like Bob Marley, secured its place in United Nations&rsquo; list of intangible cultural heritage.</li>
<li>Reggae music genre <strong>originated in Jamaica</strong> (a Caribbean island nation).</li>
<li>UNESCO noted that while reggae started out as the voice of the marginalized, it is now played and embraced by a wide cross-section of society, including various ethnic and religious groups.</li>
<li><strong>Intangible Cultural Heritage of India: </strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Kumbh Mela, Yoga,</strong> Traditional brass and copper craft of utensils among <strong>thatheras of Punjab</strong>, <strong>Sankirtana</strong> (ritual singing, dancing and drumming of Manipur), <strong>Buddhist chanting</strong> of Ladakh, <strong>Chhau Dance</strong>, <strong>Kalbelia</strong> (folk song and dance of Rajasthan), <strong>Kutiyattam</strong> (a Sanskrit theatre of Kerala), <strong>Tradition of Vedic Chanting, Ramlila, Novruz</strong> (Persian New Year), <strong>Ramman</strong>(religious festival and ritual theatre of the Garhwal Himalayas), <strong>Mudiyettu</strong> (ritual theatre and dance drama of Kerala).</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Emissions Gap Report 2018</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>United Nations Environment Program</strong> has released its annual Emissions Gap Report.</li>
<li>The Emissions Gap Report assesses the &ldquo;emissions gap,&rdquo; the gap between anticipated emission levels in 2030, compared to levels consistent meeting with a 2&deg;C/1.5&deg;C target.</li>
<li>For India, the emissions are projected to be more than 10% below their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target. Thus, with its currently-implemented policies, India is likely to achieve its Cancun pledge of 2020 and NDC targets.</li>
<li>The report finds that
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>global emissions of greenhouse gases have risen for the first time in four years.</li>
<li>keeping global warming below 2&deg;C above pre-industrial levels is still technically possible, the potential to bridge the 1.5&deg;C gap is decreasing.</li>
<li>the current pace of national action is insufficient to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement, and the gap in 2018 is larger than ever</li>
<li>countries must triple their ambition levels to meet the 2&deg;C goal, and increase ambition five-fold to meet the 1.5&deg;C target</li>
<li>continuing with the current trends will likely lead to global warming of around 3&deg;C by the end of the century.</li>
<li>nations must raise their ambition by three times to meet the two degrees Celsius and five times to meet 1.5 degrees</li>
<li>implementing fiscal policy measures such as carbon pricing and taxes are effective ways in reducing emissions and costs of mitigating it.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>COP-16 Cancun, Mexico</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>COP-16 took place at Cancun. At the conference, all parties including both the developed and the developing countries agreed to report their voluntary mitigation goals for implementation.</li>
<li><strong>Green Climate Fund</strong> under the COP, with a board equally representing developed and developing countries was established.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-30th-november-2018'
	],
	(int) 14 => [
		'title' => 'The Big Picture - CBI, IB, NIA Under RTI?',
		'catname' => 'Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Discussions',
		'desc' => '<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8LcSzyYgl0Q" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">At a time when the government is mulling changes in the RTI Act, information commissioner Divya Prakash has suggested that investigative, intelligence and security agencies like NIA, CBI, IB, and paramilitary forces should come under the purview of the law, saying there are adequate safeguards in the Act to keep sensitive information outside the public domain. The former IPS officer, who spent most of his time in Intelligence Bureau, says transparency needs to be &ldquo;all-pervasive&rdquo; and the RTI Act helps to bring accountability in government departments. Currently, more than 20 investigative agencies are outside the ambit of the RTI Act, subject to exceptions like allegations of corruption and human rights violations. The information commissioner&rsquo;s remark came up at a time when CBI is going through turmoil with the top brass trading charges against one another.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Right To Information Act (RTI Act, 2005) </strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Information, unless exempted under Section 8(1) and 9 may be provided either in Suo Motu manner so that public have minimum resort to provisions of RTI Act, 2005 and on an application under RTI within the stipulated time frame.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Extracts of some important sections of the RTI Act, 2005</strong></p>
<p><strong>Section 8(1)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This section provides reasonable restrictions on disclosure of information. Including the information which,
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>prejudicially affects the sovereignty &amp; integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or leads to incitement of an offense;</li>
<li>causes a breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature;</li>
<li>information received in confidence from foreign Government;</li>
<li>information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes;</li>
<li>impedes the process of investigation or apprehension/prosecution of offenders.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Section 9</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Without prejudice to the provisions of section 8, a Central Public Information Officer or a State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, may reject a request for information where such a request for providing access would involve an infringement of copyright subsisting in a person other than the State.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Section 24</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organizations specified in the Second Schedule, being organizations established by the Central Government or any information furnished by such organizations to that Government:</li>
<li>Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Observations of Delhi High Court</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The source of Right To Information does not emanate from the Right to Information Act.</li>
<li>But, it emerges from the constitutional guarantees under Article 19(1)(a) as held by the Supreme Court in a series of decisions.</li>
<li>The Right to Information Act is not the repository of the right to information. Its repository is the constitutional rights guaranteed under Article 19((1) (a).</li>
<li>The RTI Act is merely an instrument that lays down statutory procedure in the exercise of this right.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Should we do away with the exemptions under Section 8(1) and 9?</h3>
<p><strong>Debate Against the View</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It would be detrimental to India&rsquo;s security. Intelligence agencies like R&amp;AW and IB deal with sensitive information which if disclosed in public domain can be misused.</li>
<li>Initially, CBI was not the part of RTI exemption, primarily because it is an investigative agency. However, later it was argued that CBI does deal with sensitive intelligence matter, hence, it should not be brought under RTI. Consequently, in 2012 CBI was also given protection from RTI.</li>
<li>View of protecting these intelligence agencies under section 24, would be a threat to human rights value, the counter-argument is that the RTI act categorically mentions that even though the agencies are protected, there is a threat. Information relating to an allegation of Corruption and violation of human rights is covered under RTI Act, 2005, and no agency would be excused.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Debate For the view</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The RTI has two provisions, section 8 and 24 which are an effective veto for transparency. If it is not sectioned 8 then section 24 becomes the hurdle. Section 8 exempts certain categories of information while Section 24 exempts certain categories of organizations from the purview of the transparency law. This is a kind of double veto as much of information sought by an applicant might get hit by either of the two provisions.</li>
<li>There is another contradiction in the RTI Act. Section 22 says the Act shall override the Official Secrets Act or any other law. But the fact remains that the state has already secured its secret information under double veto (Section 8 and Section 24).</li>
<li>RTI Act categorically says that it will override the Official Secrets Act, however, it also provides itself with the double veto. Hence, there is a process of masquerading that inhibits the real functioning of RTI.</li>
<li>Most of the intelligence agencies like IB and RAW do not have a supervising agency, and RTI act is the only piece of legislation that ensures transparency and accountability. However, section 8 and 24 dilute the process.</li>
<li>Investigation agencies like CBI are mainly engaged with investigative work which cannot be brought under the purview of RTI. However, the administrative work of the agency can be brought under the scrutiny of RTI. Thus blanket protection that is given under section 24 should end.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There is a need to rationalize some of the exempted organizations in section 24.</li>
<li>The confrontational interaction with the government has decreased with respect to accessibility of information because of RTI. So, RTI has to be protected and preserved. However, on the other hand, we should also be cognizant of the fact that the intelligence agencies have to be given leeway in cases concerning national security. Hence, the advice to both the government and the public would be that they ought to maintain the delicate fine line.</li>
<li>The time has come when we should be asking the most important question that why is there not a parliamentary oversight committee over all these agencies if they are indeed to be kept out of RTI purview.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/the-big-picture-cbi-ib-nia-under-rti'
	],
	(int) 15 => [
		'title' => 'ISRO Launched Satellite HySIS',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>ISRO launched rocket PSLV-C43 carrying India&rsquo;s earth observation satellite <strong>Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite (HysIS)</strong> and 30 co-passenger satellites from Sriharikota on November 29.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>co-passengers of HySIS</strong> include<strong> one micro and 29 <g class="gr_ gr_27 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="27" data-gr-id="27">nano satellites</g> from eight different countries.</strong></li>
<li>The satellite <g class="gr_ gr_29 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="29" data-gr-id="29">have</g> been projected into a <strong>polar sun-synchronous orbit.</strong></li>
<li>HysIS is ISRO's <strong>first full-scale working satellite with Hyper-spectral imaging capability.</strong></li>
<li>The space agency tested hyperspectral imaging technology in April 2008, a small 83-kg demonstration microsatellite called IMS-1 (Indian Mini Satellite-1) was launched as a secondary passenger with Cartosat-2A.</li>
<li>In October, 2008, it put a HySI or Hyperspectral Imager on the Chandrayaan-1 and used it to scan Moon's surface for minerals.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Significance of <g class="gr_ gr_28 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="28" data-gr-id="28">HySIS</g></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The primary goal of HySIS is to study the <strong>Earth&rsquo;s surface in visible, near-infrared and shortwave infrared regions</strong> of the electromagnetic spectrum.</li>
<li>Hyperspectral imaging satellite can see in 55 spectral or colour bands from 630 km above ground.</li>
<li>&lsquo;Hyspex&rsquo; imaging allows <strong>distinct identification of objects, materials or processes on Earth</strong> by reading the spectrum for each pixel of a scene from space.</li>
<li>It can be highly useful in marking out a suspect object or person and separate it from the background. This could aid in detecting transborder or other stealthy movements.</li>
<li>It can be used for a range of activities from monitoring the <strong>atmospheric activity and climate change, studies of Earth&rsquo;s magnetic field, agriculture, forestry, water management, coastal patterns, looking for oil and minerals all the way up to military surveillance.</strong></li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/isro-launched-satellite-hysis'
	],
	(int) 16 => [
		'title' => 'Lancet Report on Climate Change and Human Health',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Lancet&rsquo;s Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change 2018 report has recommended that Indian government must take a series of initiatives to mitigate the increased risks to health, and the loss of labour hours due to a surge in exposure to heatwave events in the country over the 2012-2016 period.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Lancet Countdown's 2018 report tracks 41 indicators across five key domains in health and climate change. It arrives at three key conclusions:</li>
<li>From 2014-2017, the average length of heatwaves in India ranged from 3-4 days compared to the global average of 0.8-1.8 days.</li>
<li>Almost 153 billion hours of labour were lost globally in 2017 due to heat, an increase of 62 billion hours from the year 2000.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Findings of the Report</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>
<p>Present day changes in heat waves labour capacity, vector-borne disease, and food security provide early warning of compounded and overwhelming impacts expected if temperature continues to rise.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>A lack of progress in reducing emissions and building adaptive capacity threatens both human lives and the viability of the national health systems they depend on, with the potential to disrupt core public health infrastructure and overwhelm health services.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Despite these delays, trends in a number of sectors see the beginning of a low-carbon transition, and it is clear that the nature and scale of the response to climate change will be the determining factor in shaping the health of nations for centuries to come.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>The number of hours of labour lost due to heat wave increased between 2000-2017 across India.</p>
</li>
<li>In 2012, 20 million people were exposed to heatwaves, compared to 60 million in 2016 a 200% increase.</li>
<li>For the agriculture sector alone, this rose to about 60,000 million hours in 2017, from about 40,000 million hours in 2000.</li>
<li>Overall, across sectors India lost almost 75,000 million hours of labour in 2017, from about 43,000 million hours in 2000.</li>
<li>The agriculture sector was more vulnerable compared to the industrial and service sectors because workers there were more likely to be exposed to heat.</li>
<li>The findings are significant for <strong>India as agriculture makes up 18% of the country&rsquo;s GDP</strong> and employs almost half the population. Also, a fall in living standards, due to reduced precipitation and temperature changes, could therefore affect just over half of the population who are employed in agriculture related jobs.</li>
<li>Developed in conjunction with the Public Health Foundation of India and their Center for Environmental Health, the Lancet has also come up with a brief for Indian policymakers. It provides strategic direction for policy makers in four key areas:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Health effects of heatwaves and change in labour capacity due to heat&nbsp;</li>
<li>Premature mortality from ambient air pollution by sector</li>
<li>Sustainable travel infrastructure and uptake</li>
<li>Media coverage of health and climate change</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recommendation of Report</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Considering India is amongst the countries who most experience high social and economic costs from climate change the study makes several recommendations like:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Identifying <strong>&ldquo;heat hot-spots</strong>&rdquo; through appropriate tracking of meteorological data.</li>
<li>Promoting development and<strong> implementation of local Heat Action Plans</strong> with strategic inter-agency coordination, and a response which targets the most vulnerable groups.</li>
<li>The report urges a <strong>review of existing occupational health standards, labour laws and sectoral regulations for worker safety</strong> in relation to climatic conditions.</li>
<li><strong>Decrease health-harming air pollution</strong> by carrying out source apportionment studies, emission inventories, and health impact assessments of ambient and household air pollution through Statewise Clean Air Action Plans, and use these findings to inform policies targeted at reducing the main sources of pollution via an inter-ministerial approach.</li>
<li><strong>Carry out annual comprehensive city-level traffic diary surveys to guide urban infrastructure planning and facilitate solutions</strong> which address growth in population and travel demands while promoting uptake of sustainable travel forms like walking and cycling.</li>
<li><strong>Promote strategic media coverage of climate and health linkages at the state level,</strong> in regional languages, to increase support for state-by-state climate mitigation and adaptation responses.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>What is a Heat Wave?</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A Heat Wave is a period of <strong>abnormally high temperatures,</strong> <strong>more than the normal maximum temperature</strong> that occurs during the summer season in the North Western parts of India between March and June, and in some rare cases even extend till July.</li>
<li>Depending on whether a place&rsquo;s historical temperature is 40 degree C or less, a 4.5 degree C (or greater) rise in temperature counts as a &lsquo;heat wave&rsquo; and 6.5 degree C and more, a &lsquo;severe heat wave.&rsquo;</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/lancet-report-on-climate-change-and-human-health'
	],
	(int) 17 => [
		'title' => 'Genetic Modification Goes Beyond Ethics',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;Genetic Modification Goes Beyond Ethics&rdquo; which appears in Livemint for 29th November 2018.)</p>
</div>
<p><strong>Globalization and ever-increasing scientific advancements in the health industry have made the </strong><g class="gr_ gr_95 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling" id="95" data-gr-id="95">upgradation</g><strong> and adoption of ethics within the regulatory framework even more significant.</strong></p>
<p><strong>In news:</strong>&nbsp;<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/worlds-first-gene-edited-babies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World's First Gene Edited Babies</a></p>
<p>Ever since researchers at the University of Alicante in Spain came up with the revolutionary new gene-editing tool CRISPR, the chance to play a vital role and the temptation to do it have been beckoning scientists. Recently a Chinese researcher He Jiankui claimed, that he had created the world&rsquo;s first genetically edited babies by altering their DNA using CRISPR. He claimed the genes of the twins had been edited to resist the HIV virus, which is what makes the framing of the argument against genetic editing much more complex. Though his claim is still unverified, it triggered the debate whether gene editing violates academic ethics and standards or not.</p>
<p>This announcement caused predictable alarm with many wondering if these experiments have gone too far. The argument that tinkering with the variability of a gene pool can have disastrous consequences, given that genes are connected and for one single character many of them have to work in unison, now stand challenged.</p>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In 1996, when Dolly the sheep became the first mammal ever to be cloned from another individual&rsquo;s body cell, fears were raised that human cloning was inevitable.</li>
<li>Since then horses, cats, dogs, and livestock have been cloned across the world without creating much of a stir through the announcement of two genetically identical macaques, Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua, at a laboratory in China did stoke fears of human cloning is the inevitable next step.</li>
<li>Although, when scientists in the 1970s discovered how to fertilize human eggs in test tubes there was the apprehension that this might lead to people cherry-picking only high-quality parents for their children, it didn&rsquo;t happen. Now it is helping childless parents to bear a child.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Applications of Gene Editing</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>CRISPR/Cas9 is one of the newest genome editing tools. It can alter sections of DNA in cells by cutting at specific points and introducing changes at that location. Already extensively used in scientific research, CRISPR/Cas9 has also been seen as a promising way to create potential genome editing treatments for diseases such as HIV, cancer or sickle cell disease. Such therapeutics could inactivate a disease-causing gene, or correct a genetic mutation.</li>
<li>CRISPR gene editing provides for the ultimate toolbox for genetic manipulation. CRISPR systems are already delivering superior genetic models for fundamental disease research, drug screening, and therapy development, rapid diagnostics, in-vivo editing and correction of heritable conditions. Scientists are working on the theory that CRISPR might be used to boost the function of the body's T-cells so that the immune system is better at recognizing and killing cancer. Disorders of the blood and immune system are other potential targets.</li>
<li>Around 80 patients with HIV had immune cells in their blood removed in the world's first gene-editing trials that took place in California and involved a different technique called (Zinc-finger nucleases) ZFNs.</li>
<li>Researchers in China edited human embryos to try to correct a faulty gene that caused an inherited blood disorder.</li>
<li>Scientists said they had used gene editing to create a mosquito that can resist malaria.</li>
<li>Plant breeders are using CRISPR to create disease-resistant strains of crops.</li>
<li>In medicine, gene editing could potentially cure inherited diseases, such as some forms of heart disease and cancer, and a rare disorder that causes vision loss.</li>
<li>In agriculture, this technique can create plants that not only produce higher yields, like Lippman&rsquo;s tomatoes but also ones that are more nutritious and more impervious to drought and pests, traits that may help crops endure more extreme weather patterns predicted in the coming years.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Ethical Concerns</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Wealthy parents buying the latest offspring upgrades for their children. There will be the <strong>emergence of genetic haves and have-nots,</strong> leading to even greater inequality than we already live with.</li>
<li>Also, human embryo editing research may not be adequately controlled, leaving it open to a lab somewhere to create gene-edited babies.</li>
<li>Some of the key scientists in this field have <strong>concerns about the potential misuse of a technology</strong> that could be used for eugenics, to create genetic discrimination.</li>
<li>But <strong>even in agriculture, genetic modification is a subject of major debate,</strong> especially in developing countries, including India.</li>
<li>Most of the ethical discussions related to genome editing center around human germline editing. This is because <strong>changes made in the germline would be passed down to future generations.</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Germline</strong>: is the cellular lineage of a sexually reproducing organism from which eggs and sperm are derived, also: the genetic material contained in this cellular lineage which can be passed to the next generation.</p>
<p><strong>Germline Editing</strong> means deliberately changing the genes passed on to children and future generations &ndash; in other words, creating genetically modified people. Human germline modification has for many years been widely considered off-limits, for both safety and social reasons. It is formally prohibited in more than 40 countries.</p>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There is also debate that, ecological disequilibrium can be caused by gene editing.</li>
<li>Due to the possibility of off-target effects (edits in the wrong place) and mosaicism (when some cells carry the edit but others do not), safety is of primary concern.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Human civilization has always progressed by interfering with the natural evolutionary process. In this process, the application of Gene Editing is inevitable. However, to prevent it from being a disruptive force, it is better to regulate it.</li>
<li><strong>India does not have a comprehensive gene editing policy in place, though germline gene editing is banned in line with international norms.</strong> Yet, in the face of persisting diseases and crippling human conditions, divine intervention may sometimes need to be supplemented with genetic ones in a carefully regulated environment.</li>
<li><strong>There is also an international effort led by the US, UK, and China to harmonize regulation of the application of genome editing technologies. This effort officially launched in December 2015 with the International Summit on Human Gene Editing in Washington, DC.</strong></li>
<li><strong>A UNESCO panel of scientists, philosophers, lawyers, and government ministers has called for a temporary ban on genetic &ldquo;editing&rdquo; of the human germline</strong>, calling for a wide public debate on genetic modification of human DNA. It is important to have c<strong>ontinuing public deliberation and debate</strong> to allow the public to decide whether or not germline editing should be permissible.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/genetic-modification-goes-beyond-ethics'
	],
	(int) 18 => [
		'title' => 'Sustainable Blue Economy Conference',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>The&nbsp;first global conference on the sustainable blue economy was held on 26-28th November in Nairobi, Kenya.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Sustainable Blue Economy Conference was <g class="gr_ gr_49 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="49" data-gr-id="49">organised</g> by Kenya with Canada and Japan as co-hosts. India made its presence in the conference highlighting India&rsquo;s strategic advantages in Blue Economy.</li>
<li>The conference builds on the momentum of the UN&rsquo;s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the 2015 Climate Change Conference in Paris and the UN Ocean Conference 2017 &ldquo;Call to Action&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>What is the Blue Economy?</strong></p>
<p>Blue Economy refers to sustainable use of ocean resources for growth, jobs and improved living standards while preserving the ecosystem. It encompasses areas like maritime transport, fisheries, renewable energy, waste management, and tourism.</p>
</div>
<h3>The Significance of the Conference</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The conference identified the potential of the blue economy to create employment, combat poverty and hunger.</li>
<li>It brought countries together to learn how economic development and healthy waters go hand in hand.</li>
<li>The conference captured concrete commitments and practical actions that can be taken today to help the world transition to the blue economy.</li>
<li>The impacts of climate change and plastic pollution in oceans and waters has increased the need to develop an inclusive and sustainable blue economy.</li>
</ul>
<h3>India and Blue Economy</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India has a strategic location in the Indian Ocean Region, and on this basis, it endorses the growth of the blue economy in a sustainable, inclusive and <g class="gr_ gr_36 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="36" data-gr-id="36">people-centred</g> manner through the framework of the <strong>Indian Ocean Rim Association</strong>.</li>
<li>Under <strong>Sagarmala Programme,</strong> India is developing maritime infrastructure as well as inland waterways and coastal shipping which will <g class="gr_ gr_38 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="38" data-gr-id="38">revolutionise</g> maritime logistics, creating million new jobs, reduce logistics costs and bring port-led developments in the country.</li>
<li>Development of <strong>Coastal Economic Zones (CEZ)</strong> under Sagarmala, would become a microcosm of the blue economy, wherein industries and townships that depend on the sea will contribute to global trade.</li>
<li><strong>Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)</strong> is India&rsquo;s vision for the Indian Ocean Region. It aims at sustained, peaceful and yet responsive presence of Indian naval ships in the critical area and <g class="gr_ gr_47 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="47" data-gr-id="47">choke</g> points in the Indian ocean.</li>
<li>The Blue economy is crucial for India&rsquo;s economic development.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/sustainable-blue-economy-conference'
	],
	(int) 19 => [
		'title' => 'Government Allows Ethanol Extraction for Blending from Foodgrains',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Central Government has extended the ambit of the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme to extract the fuel from surplus quantities of food grains such as maize, jawar, bajra &nbsp;fruit and vegetable waste.</li>
<li>Till now, only excess sugarcane production was allowed to be converted into ethanol for procurement under the fuel blending programme.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Importance</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It will enable the &nbsp;farmers by enabling them <strong>to make additional money from surplus production and broaden the sources for producing ethanol</strong> for the EBP programme.</li>
<li>The policy of ethanol blending &nbsp;can help in reducing vehicle exhaust emissions and also to reduce the import burden on account of crude petroleum from which petrol is produced.</li>
<li>It is estimated that a 5% blending (105 crore litres) can result in replacement of around 1.8 million Barrels of crude oil.</li>
<li>The renewable ethanol content &nbsp;is expected to result <strong>in a net reduction in the emission of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC).</strong></li>
<li>Ethanol itself burns cleaner and burns more completely than petrol it is blended into.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<h3>Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It aims at&nbsp;blending ethanol with petrol,&nbsp;thereby bringing it under the category of biofuels and saving millions of dollars by cutting fuel imports.</li>
<li>Under&nbsp;EBP&nbsp;program, availability&nbsp;of ethanol will increase due to the higher price for C heavy&nbsp;molasses&nbsp;based&nbsp;ethanol and enabling procurement of ethanol from&nbsp;B heavy molasses&nbsp;and sugarcane juice for the first time.</li>
<li>The Government has also reduced GST on ethanol for blending in fuel from 18% to 5%.</li>
</ul>
<h3>National Policy on Bio-fuels</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The National Policy on Bio- fuels 2018 has empowered the <strong>National Bio-fuel Coordination Committee (NBCC)</strong> to allow conversion of surplus quantities of food-grains for production of ethanol during an agriculture crop year when there is projected oversupply of food-grains.</li>
<li>The objective of the Bio- fuel policy is to achieve&nbsp;<strong>20% ethanol-blending&nbsp;and&nbsp;5% biodiesel-blending</strong>&nbsp;by the year 2030. The policy also expands the scope of feedstock for ethanol production and has provided for incentives for&nbsp;production&nbsp;of&nbsp;advanced bio-fuels.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>National Biofuel Coordination Committee is headed by - <strong>Prime-Minister</strong> to provide policy guidance and coordination.</li>
</ul>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Concerns</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Under the EBP programme, the Centre has asked the oil marketing companies (OMCs) to target 10% blending of ethanol with petrol by 2022. However, there is a major shortfall in the availability of ethanol as sugar mills currently tap only &lsquo;C-heavy&rsquo; molasses for ethanol production.</li>
<li>The fuel requirements &nbsp;can compete with food requirements and that only surplus food crops should be used for fuel production, if at all.</li>
<li>The annual capacity of biorefinery&nbsp;is still not enough to meet the 5% petrol-ethanol blending requirement.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There should be Increase in&nbsp;the ethanol production capacity of bio-refineries.</li>
<li>Alternatives like 3rd generation (derived from algae) and 4th generation biofuels (derived from specially engineered plants or biomass) should be encouraged.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/Government-Allows-Ethanol-Extraction-for-Blending-from-Foodgrains.'
	]
]
$updates = object(Cake\ORM\Query) {

	'(help)' => 'This is a Query object, to get the results execute or iterate it.',
	'sql' => 'SELECT articles.article_id AS `articles__article_id`, articles.category_id AS `articles__category_id`, articles.title AS `articles__title`, articles.description AS `articles__description`, articles.shortdescription AS `articles__shortdescription`, articles.featuredimage AS `articles__featuredimage`, articles.tag_id AS `articles__tag_id`, articles.secondary_tag AS `articles__secondary_tag`, articles.type AS `articles__type`, articles.publishon AS `articles__publishon`, articles.posturl AS `articles__posturl`, articles.metatitle AS `articles__metatitle`, articles.metadescription AS `articles__metadescription`, articles.metakeyword AS `articles__metakeyword`, articles.status AS `articles__status`, articles.sort_order AS `articles__sort_order`, articles.addedby AS `articles__addedby`, articles.updatedby AS `articles__updatedby`, articles.added AS `articles__added`, articles.modified AS `articles__modified`, articles.whatsnewid AS `articles__whatsnewid`, articles.display_printpdf AS `articles__display_printpdf`, articles.display_comments AS `articles__display_comments`, articles.pdf_name AS `articles__pdf_name`, articles.display_archive AS `articles__display_archive` FROM articles articles WHERE status = :c0 ORDER BY publishon desc LIMIT 10',
	'params' => [
		':c0' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	],
	'defaultTypes' => [
		'articles__article_id' => 'integer',
		'articles.article_id' => 'integer',
		'article_id' => 'integer',
		'articles__category_id' => 'integer',
		'articles.category_id' => 'integer',
		'category_id' => 'integer',
		'articles__title' => 'string',
		'articles.title' => 'string',
		'title' => 'string',
		'articles__description' => 'text',
		'articles.description' => 'text',
		'description' => 'text',
		'articles__shortdescription' => 'string',
		'articles.shortdescription' => 'string',
		'shortdescription' => 'string',
		'articles__featuredimage' => 'string',
		'articles.featuredimage' => 'string',
		'featuredimage' => 'string',
		'articles__tag_id' => 'integer',
		'articles.tag_id' => 'integer',
		'tag_id' => 'integer',
		'articles__secondary_tag' => 'text',
		'articles.secondary_tag' => 'text',
		'secondary_tag' => 'text',
		'articles__type' => 'integer',
		'articles.type' => 'integer',
		'type' => 'integer',
		'articles__publishon' => 'datetime',
		'articles.publishon' => 'datetime',
		'publishon' => 'datetime',
		'articles__posturl' => 'string',
		'articles.posturl' => 'string',
		'posturl' => 'string',
		'articles__metatitle' => 'string',
		'articles.metatitle' => 'string',
		'metatitle' => 'string',
		'articles__metadescription' => 'string',
		'articles.metadescription' => 'string',
		'metadescription' => 'string',
		'articles__metakeyword' => 'text',
		'articles.metakeyword' => 'text',
		'metakeyword' => 'text',
		'articles__status' => 'integer',
		'articles.status' => 'integer',
		'status' => 'integer',
		'articles__sort_order' => 'integer',
		'articles.sort_order' => 'integer',
		'sort_order' => 'integer',
		'articles__addedby' => 'integer',
		'articles.addedby' => 'integer',
		'addedby' => 'integer',
		'articles__updatedby' => 'integer',
		'articles.updatedby' => 'integer',
		'updatedby' => 'integer',
		'articles__added' => 'timestamp',
		'articles.added' => 'timestamp',
		'added' => 'timestamp',
		'articles__modified' => 'timestamp',
		'articles.modified' => 'timestamp',
		'modified' => 'timestamp',
		'articles__whatsnewid' => 'integer',
		'articles.whatsnewid' => 'integer',
		'whatsnewid' => 'integer',
		'articles__display_printpdf' => 'integer',
		'articles.display_printpdf' => 'integer',
		'display_printpdf' => 'integer',
		'articles__display_comments' => 'integer',
		'articles.display_comments' => 'integer',
		'display_comments' => 'integer',
		'articles__pdf_name' => 'string',
		'articles.pdf_name' => 'string',
		'pdf_name' => 'string',
		'articles__display_archive' => 'integer',
		'articles.display_archive' => 'integer',
		'display_archive' => 'integer'
	],
	'decorators' => (int) 0,
	'executed' => false,
	'hydrate' => true,
	'buffered' => true,
	'formatters' => (int) 0,
	'mapReducers' => (int) 0,
	'contain' => [],
	'matching' => [],
	'extraOptions' => [],
	'repository' => object(App\Model\Table\ArticlesTable) {}

}
$page = (int) 258
$search = 'class'
$totalPages = (float) 301
$title = 'Search'
$lastyear = (int) 2018
$year = '2021'
$i = (int) 2017
$selected = ''
$m = (int) 13
$month = 'December'

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

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